Jean Grey from Earth-811, aka Days of Future Past

[astraia]

I guess I can't fault you for taking me away from my family, if you're waiting until I die.

On the other hand, it's not like that stopped me last time. [Her smile is more wistful than amused.]

I keep telling myself that, if I'm careful, I can use this power to make a difference. To do good. If it didn't work on my world, well, maybe it'll work on this one.

[Still, her gaze is troubled.] I just wish you could find a way for me to protect Rachel and Scott. I've already failed my parents, I can't - I couldn't bear to see them killed, too. Or worse.

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[astraia]

[She feels it, when the shields fade, and oh - yes, this is her son. Scott's son.

And then she can see Rachel, standing tall in his mind. A teacher, and her heart swells -

- and then she can see the markings on her face, and she knows what they mean, and everything inside her screams.]

What did they do to her?

[It's her voice and her thoughts and her fire, blazing in her eyes and whipping up her hair and she's going to find them and destroy them all for taking her little girl's childhood away, she's going to -

No. Breathe, breathe - ]

[oldsoldiersneverdie]

[It's hard not to shy away from the Phoenix-presence, Jean's anger - but he knows it's important that he doesn't. This is harder for Jean than it is for him. He projects calm, caring, and pulls her into a gentle hug]

::I know. It's not right, and it's not fair. But not a lot in our lives is.::

[astraia]

[She's not sure what she expected, but this - it calms her immediately, even though anger and guilt and grief still rage in her chest. She rests her forehead against Nathan's shoulder, wraps her arms around his waist, and tries not to cry.]

No. That's what being a mutant means. [It shouldn't, it really shouldn't, but that's how the world is, and it's only going to get worse.] I wanted something better for her.

[oldsoldiersneverdie]

[And those words strike a chord in him, a sentiment he has only ever briefly shared with Scott, both of them too awkward and stubborn and busy to be the first to speak.]

::I... have a daughter. Sixteen. All her life's been fighting and running so far, and I don't want that for her. Not what Rachel had, or what I had. She deserves better.:: [They all deserve better, but for him, it's too late for that, now]

[astraia]

So do you. [The words are gentle and fond and a little chiding.

But then her lips curve against his shoulder.]

So we have a granddaughter. [And her life has been hard, but she's a survivor. There's always hope, when you survive.]

[oldsoldiersneverdie]

[He's not going to bother arguing with her, because honestly, he's too old to contemplate 'what-could-have-been's any more. It wasn't fair, but sometimes even a time traveller can't change the past - just look towards a better future]

*::Yes. I don't think Scott really knows what to do with her - he still blames himself too much for everything that's happened to me. And a lot was resting on her shoulders - that's done, though.::

[He shares a memory - when they first came back to the 21st century, of Hope's pure surprise and joy at the sheer ordinariness of a motel, of lights and running water on demand, of safety]