Thirteen

And so, days turned into weeks, and those weeks turned into a month. 'Time heals all wounds' was a familiar saying to Tina Goldstein, but there were several reasons why she wasn't sure that she believed it.

It had been over fifteen years since she and Queenie had become orphans, but she missed her parents every single day.

It had been seven months since Tina had been reinstated to the investigative team, but she still worked as hard and carefully as she could to make up for her past mistakes.

It had been about a month since her weekend in London, but Tina still thought of Newt every day and dreamed of him every night.

So, every day, Tina wishes for that saying to become absolutely true.

Tina loved to take walks in New York City. No matter what mood she was in, a walk always seemed to be an option for her. If in a good mood, a walk made it even better. If in a bad mood, a walk always calmed her down. If the weather were lovely, as it was on this Friday afternoon in June, all the better.

The young auror exited the Walworth building more than ready to enjoy the perfect weather. She had learned long ago to find moments of happiness in the small things in life. Queenie was better at it than she was, but she truly made an effort to do this, especially in the last month. However, Tina settled for moments of peace rather than happiness now. She felt as though she had left her happiness across the Atlantic Ocean a month ago, and it could be a long time before some of it managed to find her again.

Wanting to truly enjoy the weather, Tina walked to Central Park. She knew it well, from a childhood full of outings here to an adulthood staking out criminals here. Her favorite spots were well-established in her mind by now. Since it was a beautiful day, and she had just finished a good day's work with a weekend off-duty in front of her, Tina decided to spend some time at her first-choice spot.

The Bethesda Fountain had always held fascination for Tina. The creature atop the fountain was what No-Majs called an 'angel.' She had seen images of these angels in many cemeteries, several churches and museums, usually in passing as she worked. As far as she could tell, their only power was that of flight, given the huge and bird-like wings these beings had. However, to a No-Maj, that would be a great power indeed that they could only dream of. She always meant to ask Jacob what he knew about these beings, but it always slipped her mind until she saw an image of one again.

So, Tina settled herself comfortably on a bench near the fountain. Sometimes, she would bring a book with her on these occasions, but she hadn't today. So, she settled for watching the park-goers coming and going. She smiled at the sight of two little girls chasing each other around the fountain, one fair-haired and one dark-haired. How many times as children had she and Queenie done just that…

"Hello."

Tina blinked. Surely, she'd imagined hearing that voice. It couldn't be that voice. But even so, she felt the presence of someone standing several paces to her left, where the voice had come from. Her heart beginning to pound, Tina very slowly turned her head to the left.

She blinked again, wanting to be sure that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. They weren't. Newt Scamander was indeed standing there.

Tina's first impression was that, in the revealing light of the afternoon sun, the man looked far from his best. It looked as though he'd barely slept for some time, that he'd lost some weight, and that he'd fallen a day or two behind in shaving his face. Her instincts upon seeing that he really was there were torn: part of her wanted to take him in her arms, and part of her wanted to run away as fast as she could.

In the end, she did neither of these things, but only replied softly, "Hello."

Newt, who held the handles of his case with both hands, shifted from one foot to another for a moment before asking meekly, "M-may I sit down?"

Though her instinct to run was becoming more powerful than her instinct to gather him close to her, Tina had a good head on her shoulders that told her to stay calm and reasonable. So, she gave a somewhat-curt nod in response.

Newt sat down on the opposite side of the bench, careful not to sit very close to her. He set his case down on the ground between them, close to his feet. Tina looked down at it and noticed that two strong lines of twine were bound around the exterior.

"Thanks for the precaution," she said, awkwardly pointing at the case and keeping her gaze on it rather than him.

Newt replied, "Yes. Even with the more secure locks that I told you about, the Ministry insisted on every precaution. Initially, my request to come back here was blocked, due to what happened last time. If it hadn't been for Theseus using a lot of his connections and favors, I wouldn't have gotten the request approved."

Tina listened to this silently. She had been working so hard in her mind to prepare herself for the possible disappointment of Newt not coming back. Of course it should have occurred to her that his return to America may not have happened because of past events. That made perfect sense. It also relieved her somewhat that Theseus had helped Newt come back. That had to mean that the brothers were on better terms or were trying to be at least.

"I see," she said in that same soft tone.

She felt his gaze on her like a hot ray from the June sun. Swallowing, she met his gaze. Those eyes that seemed to hold blue, green, hazel and gold all at once seemed to be drinking her in like a starving man in the desert.

"Are you alright?" The question burst from his lips as though he'd been holding it in for some time – most likely, for a month.

Feeling her cheeks beginning to burn (and her instinct to practically pummel him strengthen) Tina turned her head to look at the fountain as she replied, "I…can't complain." Tina looked around to make sure No-Majs were close enough to hear them. There weren't, but Tina still kept her voice low. "Work keeps me busy. Picquery put me on the team of investigators charged with tracking down any of his followers, because if he were ever to escape, it would take help from his followers."

"Well, Merlin knows that those fanatics would go to any lengths for him," said Newt, his tone dark.

Tina nodded. "Well, we're doing our best to round them up and get them talking. It's hard work, but Queenie makes sure that I'm not overtaxing myself. You know that nothing gets past her."

Newt managed a hollow chuckle. "That I do."

The two lapsed into an awkward silence for a while, and settled for watching the sights around them. Tina didn't know what to say or what to do now. Hadn't Queenie told her that Newt would come back, though he hadn't written at all since her weekend in London? Truthfully, Tina hadn't known whether or not she'd wanted Queenie to be right. Of course she wanted to see Newt again; one always wants to see the person that they're in love with again. But what would he want when he did? Especially when he'd already expressed that he didn't want to return her feelings?

"So…" Tina broke the silence, but she didn't look at him. "How long are you in town for?"

"Well…my book will be officially released on the 30th."

"That's Thursday, so just less than a week."

"Yes, so I have to be back in England then. I have a return portkey scheduled that day, early in the morning. I booked a room at The Prancing Unicorn for the duration of my stay."

Tina nodded. That made sense; that inn was the equivalent of The Leaky Cauldron in London. So he would be here for close to a week…if he only meant to give her his book, that was a trip that would last no more than a day…

She took a deep breath and looked down at her hands, which were shaking and resting on her lap. "What do you want from me, Newt?" She wished that her voice didn't sound so broken as she spoke, but it was the question that needed to be asked now or else Tina felt she would explode.

Tina felt Newt scooch closer to her on the bench. Her heart rate increased, and she kept her gaze on her hands. Out of the corner of her eye, though, she caught Newt reaching into an inner pocket of his blue coat. Then, he placed a parcel wrapped in brown paper and twine in her hands carefully.

"It's the first copy printed," said Newt softly. "And I want you to have it."

His book…as he'd promised her…but then, Newt reached into his inner coat pocket again. What he pulled out was a sealed envelope. Tina could see by its volume that it was full of at least several sheets of folded parchment. On the face of the envelop was her first name in Newt's handwriting. He holds it out to her.

Resting the parcel on her lap, Tina's hands reach up to take the envelope. As they do, Newt's freckled and scarred hands very gently encircle her own. Just as she remembers, his palms and fingers are rough with old callouses, but his touch is gentle and warm. A silent gasp escapes her lips, and her heart can't help but stir.

Newt's head had leaned in, and she felt his breath against her ear as he spoke His voice remained soft and rich with emotion. "There is no excuse…for the abominable way that I behaved…I only hope that this will help you to at least understand someday. Please, Tina. Read it when you can."

Tina's trembling fingers gripped the envelope, and she nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak past the lump in her throat, especially as tears filled her eyes. So this is it…not only his apology, but his farewell, too…

A traitorous tear fell from her left eye and onto the envelope, blurring the 'a' at the end of her name. At once, one of Newt's hands left hers and went up to her cheek. "Tina," he said softly, his voice cracking.

Feeling exposed, humiliated, and heartbroken, Tina jumped to her feet and had barely said, "I have to go," before walking away as fast as she could.

Tina didn't look back because she couldn't. If this was the last time that Newt wanted see her, she would rather his last memory of her be of her retreating back than her crying face.

When Tina's long walk home ended and she was in her apartment once more, she shut the door and leaned back against it for a moment. Catching her breath, she still held Newt's parcel and letter close to her chest, as she had during her whole walk.

Finally, she lifted her head and called out, "Queenie, you home?" Then, she shook her head, remembering that Queenie was spending tonight at Jacob's. Though a part of her was sad that her sister wasn't here, a bigger part of her was glad that she had the chance to be alone. She held out the parcel and the envelope in front of her.

Yes, alone was better for this.

Not feeling at all hungry for supper, Tina walked past the kitchen and into her bedroom. After shutting that door, she settled onto her bed and placed both items in front of her on the bedspread.

Which do I open first?

Eventually, Tina decided on the parcel. Carefully, she untied the twine and unwrapped the brown paper. Just as Newt had said, the leather binding of the small book was scarlet. The embossed lettering was gold, and the title seemed to burn through her eyes like sunlight:

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

"Oh, my…" Tina breathed, as the memory of seven months ago came back to her. She'd never imagined, in a million years, that Newt would really name his book with the title that she had called it at the docks. It hadn't been a serious suggestion; she'd meant it as a light-hearted tease, knowing that was what he wanted his book to be about.

Her heart was warm as she opened the book to read…