Newt winced, trying not to turn and stare at Jacob, who stood behind Queenie, when the President asked after him.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Seraphina said what they'd all been dreading.

"Obliviate him. There can be no exceptions."

There was a beat while she wrangled the words out. "I'm sorry, but even one witness… You know the law. I'll…let you say goodbye," she finished, voice noticeably subdued.

Newt closed his eyes briefly as the group left. He'd known this was likely coming, but…

In silence, the foursome climbed to the platform and up the stairs toward the metropolis above. They could hear the patter of the rain before they reached the sheltered top. It had been a wonderful, welcome sound just minutes before; and yet now it was like a clanging funeral bell, a death toll.

As they came to the subway entrance, Queenie grabbed the back of Jacob's coat, preventing him from going any further.

He turned. "Hey, hey….this is for the best."

They all looked at him forlornly.

"Yeah," he continued, "I …I was… I was never even supposed to be here." Jacob's voice broke, and as it did, so did something inside of Newt.

"…I was never supposed to know…a-any of this." He gestured helplessly around, laughing weakly, and heaved a sigh. Then Jacob sniffed, nodded slightly, and started again.

"Everybody knows Newt only kept me around because –" he stopped suddenly, turning to Newt. "Hey, Newt? Why did you keep me around?"

Grasping for words, Newt tried to phrase what he needed to say. Why were beasts so much easier? "Because I like you," he began, struggling to express himself. "Because…you're my friend."

He exhaled sharply, holding back tears as he finished. "And I'll never forget how you've helped me, Jacob."

Jacob tipped his head back, voice cracking even worse. "Oh."

Queenie stepped quickly up to him, trying to smile, eyes swollen. "I'll come with you!"

They laughed, the two of them, nervously, desperately, and Newt felt like an intruder on this moment.

"We'll go somewhere – we'll go anywhere!"

Jacob emitted a faint, sad laugh, but Queenie persisted in a quieter voice.

"Hey…I ain't ever gonna find anyone like you."

He glanced behind him at this, gesturing half-heartedly at the rain-fogged city. "This load is like me."

She shook her head. "No. No," she said, softly, fiercely. "There's only one like you."

Newt looked down, reining his emotions in check as Jacob choked back a sob. Beside him, Tina sniffled. He wanted to scream, to fall down and weep like a child, to curse the unfairness of it all. When he was able to look up again, Jacob was nodding in finality.

"I gotta go," he said in a broken voice.

He turned, wiping tears away with a sleeve. Queenie brought a fist to her mouth, trying not to cry. Unable to help himself, Newt paced up beside her quickly.

"Jacob…"

Jacob turned back. "It's okay, it's okay." He spoke the words like a lifeline, whispering once more, "It's okay." It was clear to see he had accepted it, resigned himself to the inevitable.

"….This is like waking up, right?"

He smiled at them, and they all tried to smile back, to give him this one bit of assurance even though their hearts were squeezed with guilt.

Like waking up? Newt thought, as Jacob stepped backwards into the rainfall, his eyes only for Queenie. As Newt moved up beside her, eyes burning, he couldn't help thinking that was all wrong.

Jacob stopped walking and closed his eyes, steeling himself as he raised his face to the sky, the rain soaking into him, stealing his memories. Next to Newt, Queenie, taking a shaky breath, raised her wand and stepped out from the subway entrance, an umbrella of air shielding her. She walked to him, placing her hand on his cheek, caressing it. He lowered his face slightly, eyes still closed, and she ran her thumb over his lips. Then she leaned in, kissing him sweetly.

Newt sniffed, his eyes itching with tears No, this wasn't like waking up, not at all.

Out in the rain, Queenie pulled back slowly and backed away, back to the metro entrance. Newt's last view before they Disapparated was of Jacob, still raising his hands to embrace the air where Queenie had stood moments before.

He didn't bother to pay attention to where they came out – a park, it seemed – just sat down hard on a nearby bench.

It's not like waking up, Jacob, he thought fiercely, pushing a hand through his hair while Queenie sobbed on Tina's shoulder. It's like you're falling into a dream that you'll never wake up from, one where you won't know the pain of remembering us, but we don't get that luxury.

And all we can do is watch…

*Finis*