With impish glee, Rachel stuck her tongue out at her brother. Potential, my ass, she was already awesome. But her expression softened almost to tears when Aliya offered to let her hold Tyler. She wasn't awkward around kids, not since Nathan had been born, not after she'd spend nights sneaking in his room to hold him when he was at the mansion. But this... this was different.

Taking her nephew (and ignoring the way he instantly took a fistful of her hair and pulled), she smiled and touched his mind in greeting. Words just couldn't quite cover what she wanted to say, but she could let the little baby (and his nearby parents) know how she felt. How happy she was to be with family again, alive and whole and healthy. To have hope that his life would be better than hers and his father's. She might have a past, but this kid - he had a future. Now more than ever and she believed that. Needed to believe that.