Prompt: Post-movie. Jake updates his grandfather's photos of the peculiar children, including a new 'group' photo.
A/N: The whole synopsis on time loops and time portals is not really explained much in the series. And I think I read somewhere after the movie came out that Ransom Riggs said not to focus too hard on it because it will give you a headache. It is. I think he said he's not really sure how it works himself, and while I believe an author should know the ins and outs of their story, I always give a free pass on temporal story lines and praise anyone who can do it justice and make any sort of sense out of it. So if the time loop part doesn't make sense, please don't worry about it. Not because I want you to find a plot hole, but because it's really of no importance in this story. It is a one-shot and is focused more on the photos than the time line. I am just trying to lay out the groundwork of the story quick enough so we can get on to the part that actually matters. Thank you.
The old aged photos of the peculiar children was possibly the most cherished possession Jake Portman had growing up. His grandfather had given them to him when he was a child. When Abe died Jake took them out to look at once more, even though at the time he grew to believe it was all nonsense. When he learned that it was all real he cherished them even more. He made sure to take the photos with him when he made his way back to 1943 to find Emma and the children. After a few weeks of living on a ship and settling down into their new home, Jake made sure to keep the photos in a safe place. He was glad to know they didn't get damaged during his travels trying to get back to the year he needed, but it wasn't easy since all he had was a backpack. Thankfully they survived. And so did the camera he packed. It was an old Polaroid but a modern camera wouldn't work in his now present year, or at least he wouldn't be able to get to the photos since that advanced technology was non-existent.
However, hearing that he had left his family to live in another time didn't ease Miss Peregrine's mind. Being a sort of mother herself, she could understand if Jake's mother would be worried about him. Even after years passed when Abe left her loop to fight in the war, Miss Peregrine was always worried for his safety. While Jake wasn't fighting in a war, Alma had no doubt that his parents would wonder for him if they had no contact. Thankfully, their new home was located near Miss Avocet's time loop leading to 2016, so Jake agreed that he would return home ever so often to assure his family he was safe. And then an idea occurred.
In his room Jake pulled out the box of photos from under his bed, just as he had done many nights as a child when his grandfather would repeat the stories that were now his life. He looked through each snapshot and realized that perhaps new ones were in order. He took out the Polaroid and headed downstairs. He realized that while he cherished the photos, looking back at them now they seemed…posed. Too stiff and planned. He wanted to show his grandfather that his old family, and Emma, were all doing well; but he also wanted the photos to represent their life, not just show their image. He wasn't much of a photographer, but the peculiars were free people. Why shouldn't their photos represent that?
He felt like a spy, sneaking around the house trying to capture moments of each of the children's life without them knowing. When that didn't work he simply told them what he was doing. They all loved the idea and were ready to take the photos, but he told them not to worry about it. He wanted to catch them at their most relaxed when they were just living their life and not posing for a picture. It took a few tries, but eventually he got the hang of it. He captured a photo of Hugh and Millard playing ball. Horace was reading and while that may have seemed posed, Jake wasn't sure he had ever seen such a relaxed pose from the boy since he had known him. There was one of Claire and Brownyn playing tea time with their bears. Jake snapped a photo of Fiona growing a apple from a tree. When he looked back at the photo he could almost see the apple growing from the branch. Just as he could see Enoch's dolls fighting each other in the Polaroid of the peculiar that could bring the dead alive. Jake captured a photo of Olive making a fire. He had gotten lucky with that one. It was at the right moment where the fire was beginning. Not to small but not to big where it took up the whole photo, and Olive's form seemed to have a glow about it. The twins were a little more difficult because personally to Jake, they always seemed cold and rigid. He wasn't sure if that was because of their peculiarity of turning people into stone, or something to do with twins. Of course he knew they were very polite and quite sweet, but he always found them the most peculiar. But it didn't matter. They didn't mind posing for the camera. Though in the end Jake did manage to snap a photo of them fighting over the bear, again. He wasn't sure why Miss Peregrine continued to sew it back together for them.
His favorite photo was Emma's, though perhaps that was because of his love for her and a sort of favoritism. Enoch was holding onto the rope and he took the photo of her floating up towards the tree. Like everyone else, Emma had two photos. The second was different from all the others because this time, Jake was in it. Fiona took the photo of him holding her rope as Emma floated towards the sky. They both loved the result. Emma wished they could get a copy somehow but Jake let her keep it.
After a couple of days he had finally managed to capture a photo, and two, of all the children. They even took a few photos of him to keep for when he was gone. There was just one person left. Miss Peregrine. Looking back at his own photos his grandfather had given him, there was only one of the headmistress and that was in the group shot. He wondered if she was camera shy but the children showed him photos of her when she was still training as an ymbryne. She looked the same if not slightly younger, holding up her pocket watch with a peregrine falcon on her shoulder. While she was smiling it definitely looked planned, as did the group photo obviously. And now he knew why. Catching a photo of Miss Peregrine when she was being herself was actually very difficult. Jake asked her why she didn't like photos, but she didn't give a response. At least not one that satisfied his curiosity. He shrugged. Like the others, he knew he would catch the right moment.
And he did. It was a collaboration on his and Emma's part. She distracted Miss Peregrine with a conversation while he hid, and finally he got her photo. It was simply, unlike the others, from her waist up. She had her elbows bent, her fingers intertwined, and the most gentle smile on her lips. It was perfect. All that remained was the group photo.
But just a few nights before he had to leave there was a terrible storm. The weather was another change of not living in a loop the children had to get use to. While they already knew the weather wasn't constant, the same day they lived for 70 years was always sunny. Except for at night when it would lightly rain and the thundering sounds they heard were from the planes and bombs in the far off distance. But this storm was really bad. Such so that the children found their way to Miss Peregrine's room. While she loved her children she always kept a line between them and her, so as not to confuse ymbryne and mother. The only times she allowed the children to sleep in her bed with her was when Claire was a toddler, or when the twins first arrived. With those two exceptions, she had the children sleep in their own bed, always letting them know that they would be safe.
However, even the older ones had gotten scared. After 70 years of constant sun and only light rain, the loud thundering of the storm had everyone fearing the roof of their new home would fall in. Jake didn't blame them. He could only remember a storm this bad in Florida when he was a child, so he was a bit startled as well. He made his way up to Miss Peregrine's room. He was scared enough to seek comfort in her presence as the younger ones felt, but he didn't really want to be alone either. And he was. He searched the house for Emma or anyone else, but he couldn't find them. For a brief moment he wondered if everything he had been through was a dream and he had a mental breakdown of sorts when he arrived at Wales, where his mind made all his adventures with the peculiars real. But it couldn't be true. He now knew what was real because he had photos to prove it. And since he took them this time, he believed it.
He quietly entered Miss Peregrine's room and was shocked at what he found. All the children, even Emma and Enoch and Olive, were all piled on top of Miss Peregrine's bed. And there were three things he noticed. The first was how big her bed was, because it was certainly large enough to hold eight children, three teenagers, and a grown woman. The second was that everyone was sound asleep and looking quite peaceful. Even Miss Peregrine, despite seeming to have no room to toss and turn. Jake wondered if she would wake up stiff and sore. The third…this was his perfect group photo.
Jake quickly headed back to his room, grabbed the camera, and back to Miss Peregrine's room. Thankfully no one had moved from their spot. He held up the camera and carefully adjusted it so it could get everyone in the shot, and snapped the photo. He pulled it out and smiled.
"Now that's a group photo." He said.
The next day Jake headed back to the loop entrance and into 2016, where his parents and grandfather were waiting. It took him a few days to get back to Florida, but since his parents believed he was traveling, it wasn't an issue. Once back home he showed his grandfather his photos. Abe smiled and laughed. It was great seeing new photos of his old family. After so many years of looking at the same ones, there was a small fear that maybe they hadn't survived the bombing. That maybe the photo was just that. A moment in time, and that time had moved forward, costing the lives of the people he fought for. But now, seeing the updated photos as Jake put it, it brought Abe Portman great joy.
He laughed as he looked through each one, smiling at their new life. While none of them actually changed in their appearance, seeing how happy they were was all that mattered to him. Jake told him he could keep them since they were taking for him and Abe smiled.
"Thank you. I truly do enjoy them. Though I'm surprised you managed to capture a rather beautiful photo of Miss Peregrine."
Jake laughed. "Yeah, she wasn't easy. I think we kind of had to trick her."
They laughed. Jake then pulled out the last photo. The one he was most proud of. Abe took it from him and after a few moments, a tear found its way to his cheek.
"Grandpa, are you okay?" Jake asked. He hadn't expected for the photo to make him cry. And he wasn't quite sure why it was either.
Abe nodded. "Yes. Yes, I'm fine."
"Why are you crying?"
"They may be sleeping, but they look happy."
And Jake realized that was all his grandfather wanted for Miss Peregrine and her children. Jake hugged him and said goodbye, letting his family know he would return in a few more months. He promised his grandfather he would keep him updated on what was happening at the home and Abe smiled. After Jake left he took all the photos and put them in an album Jake had bought, but didn't have time to put together. However, for the last one, the group photo, Abe placed on in a frame.
On the nightstand besides Abe Portman's bed was a photo of a woman and children. She was laying in a large bed surrounded by children, both small and big. There were two masked twins sleeping to her left, holding hands because they didn't want to be apart. Next to them was a girl with pigtails who was lying next to a boy who seemed to have bees resting on his cheek. To the woman's right appeared to be clothes with no one in them. Two little girls, one blonde and the other brown-haired, was lying next to the empty space. Around her feet was the older children, trying to squeeze themselves onto the bed. One of the two older girls seemed to be wearing large shoes, but no one seemed bothered by them. The other girl was wearing gloves and was holding the hands of the boy. They slept right next to each other as if they were together. The last was a boy who, unlike some of the others, had his own pillow. First the first time in a long time, he was smiling, sleeping free of nightmares. As for the woman, crowded by the various peculiar children, had the most peaceful expression of them all. She couldn't move much, but one arm was wrapped around the set of clothing while the other was resting above the twins, her hand resting gently on the shoulder of the pigtail-haired girl. She is a mother, comforting the fear of her children during a bad storm. This was her family. And this was Abe Portman's family too. And Jake's. This was the photo of Miss Peregrine and her peculiar children.
Tell me what you think! :)