Here's the final chapter as promised. This was actually the part that I started with when writing and then I just kept asking myself well how did they get here? So I wrote this one backwards. This needed a lot of editing because I backtracked through the story. I hope everything lines up properly now.

Awareness came to Newt in stages. First, he was aware of the discomfort. It was more an intense soreness than actual pain. His neck, shoulders, arms and chest were all very sore, particularly on the right side. His head was also sore. It throbbed in time with his heartbeat. While he was categorizing these aches, he also became aware that it was quiet, warm, and relatively dark where he was. He hadn't opened his eyes yet, but he was awake enough now to register a distinct lack of ambient light on the inside of his eyelids. He could hear what sounded like a fire, and the comforting tick of a clock. The air smelled like old timbers and smoke.

He couldn't remember what had happened to leave him feeling sore and exhausted and in what he assumed was an unfamiliar bed, and this concerned him somewhat. He hadn't felt this terrible in a long time. His arms and legs felt so heavy that some small part of him feared that he might be experiencing paralysis. He tried to wiggle his toes and was relieved to feel them respond. When he repeated the experiment with his fingers, he was surprised to realize someone was holding his hand!

"Newt?"

The voice was a bit muddled, but it was unmistakable. He struggled to open his eyes. Even the dim light was almost too much for him. Everything came flooding back in a panic.

"Shhh. It's okay. You're safe. Can you hear me?"

Definitely Tina's voice. Newt's heart skipped a beat. A hand brushed his cheek, then his forehead. He took a deep breath. It even smelled like her! Blurry colors started to come into focus. The first thing he saw was her eyes, dark and deep and full of concern. Newt could feel the corners of his mouth pull into what he assumed was a ridiculous looking grin. His vision sharpened and he could make out her face, soft and glowing in the dim light.

"Hey," she said and smiled brightly.

Newt tried to answer, but it came out as part growl, part cough.

"Shhh. Don't try to talk yet." Tina reclaimed both her hands, much to Newt's dismay, and used them to retrieve a glass of water. She helped him to sit up, and offered it to him, and he took it gratefully.

"You've been out for almost two days," she explained as he started taking in details of their surroundings. They were in what appeared to be a room at Le Balai Tordu. Light peaked around heavy curtains on the window. The room was dimly lit by the fireplace. The flames cast a warm glow over Tina's face. In one corner there was an old grandfather clock. That was the source of the ticking.

"We were so worried about you! When we found you in the cemetery, you were barely breathing. Theseus was beside himself."

A thought occurred to Newt. Through cracked lips he rasped "My case?"

Tina smiled. "Theseus has been taking good care of your creatures. He's here. So are Queenie and Jacob. They're asleep right now. We've been watching over you in shifts. We… I wanted to make sure that the first thing you saw when you woke up was a friendly face."

"Thank you," Newt croaked. His voice was getting stronger. The water he sipped was helping. But it felt like his throat was being simultaneously scoured by sandpaper and burned by firewhiskey.

There was an awkward silence as Newt drank. Tina watched him and worried at her bottom lip, something he was far more used to seeing Queenie do. "How do you feel?" Tina finally asked.

"Like I've been chewed up and spit out by a giant snake."

Tina bristled a bit at his weak attempt at humor.

"Sorry. Not funny. I feel lucky, all things considered."

Tina frowned for a moment, and Newt thought she might choose to push the matter. Then she seemed to come to some sort of a decision and busied herself arranging medical supplies on the small table by Newt's bedside. Newt used the uncomfortable silence that followed to take further stock of his condition. He was dressed in a pair of striped pajamas. They were too big for him and in Gryffindor colors, from Theseus he assumed. The shirt was opened, much to Newt's discomfort, and he could see the dressing that covered his snake bite out of his peripheral vision. What was more striking was the vivid bruising that extended far beyond the bandages, and halfway down the trunk of his body on the right side. He was sure his arm near to his elbow was a similar shade of black and purple. No wonder he felt so rotten.

Tina handed Newt a glass that gave off a bitter smell that Newt recognized as blood replenishing potion. He sighed and choked it down. Then Tina set to work on peeling the bandages away from his injury. Newt tried not to squirm, but he was definitely in unfamiliar territory here. He wasn't used to having others care for him when he was hurt, and of the few occasions since childhood where it had happened, it was always a clinically detached professional… a doctor or a nurse or a field medic. Being tended to by Tina evoked a whole different slew of emotions… emotions he wasn't sure he wanted to share with her considering how taciturn she seemed.

Finally, she pulled the soiled dressing away from the injury. In some spots the gauze clung unpleasantly, but she managed to pry it loose without causing much pain. Newt grimaced at the sight. He wasn't by no means a squeamish person, but that really did look awfully unpleasant.

Tina started cleaning the wound and Newt wasn't sure if it was the aftereffects of the venom, or if it was Tina's proximity that was making him feel so lightheaded.

"So, do you want to tell me how you went from a quick walk to clear your head to nearly being killed by Grindlewald's pet maladictus in under an hour today?"

Her voice was tight, and Newt noticed that she avoided making eye contact with him while she worked, which was a bit of a role reversal. She was upset. He couldn't really blame her. He wasn't terribly happy with the way things turned out either.

"I was foolish," he admitted. "I saw Nagini while I was walking in the cemetery. I thought that if I followed her, she might lead me to Credence. I tried to keep my distance. I really had no intention of doing anything but observe. It never occurred to me that it might be a trap."

"It didn't?" Tina had done a thorough job of cleaning the bite, but she continued to work, almost absent mindedly. The warm, herb scented water, her gentle touch and the growing suspicion that there was something wrong that he couldn't quite pick up on were all making it very hard for him to think properly.

"Why go to all that trouble for someone like me? I'm not important like Theseus," he stammered. Tina winced when she heard him underestimate himself like that, but she said nothing about it. "You weren't deceived by him like the rest of us. You aren't as easily manipulated by promises of wealth, or power… or respect." Her voice became hushed at that last part. She wasn't proud of how easily she fell for Grindlewald's act when the face of her superior was offering a place back on the investigative team. "He sees you as more of a threat than most of us."

Newt shook his head, unwilling to see himself as anything so special. "The good news is that Nagini isn't all that easily manipulated either."

"Newt, she tried to kill you, I assume on Gridnlewald's order."

"But she didn't kill me. She could have. She's confused and scared, and she's doing what she must to survive, but she is not one of his followers. She's a prisoner."

Newt was so pleased to share this news that he didn't notice Tina's increasing agitation. "No one has ever survived a maladictus bite before. As far as she was concerned, you were dead when she sunk her teeth into you."

"No. I mean yes, she did bite me and the intent was clearly to kill, but she was being coerced."

"Coerced?" Tina was in disbelief that Newt would go so far to defend someone who nearly killed him.

"And she saw that I had an antidote in my hand. She could have alerted Grindlewald, but she chose to distract him. She ran… she drew him away from me so that I could take the antidote. She saved me at some risk to herself. This," he indicated towards his neck, "shouldn't be held against her when we rescue her…"

"Rescue her? Newt, she's a monster!"

"No, she needs our help!" it registered to him that they were arguing, but he still didn't recognize how upset she was until she exploded at him, eyes all fury. "WHAT IS IT WITH YOU AND THESE DANGEROUS WOMEN?"

"Tina?"

The voice was quiet, but it cut through Tina's anger like water on a fire. All at once she realized that she was breathing heavily, and that she had yelled at such a volume as to draw Queenie and Theseus from their rooms. They were both standing in the door way. She also realized that Newt's jaw was tightly clenched. His face was all hard lines and tension, and he was breathing shallow ragged breaths through his nose. And his eyes were very pointedly looking away from her. Full realization of what she had done registered.

"Can I talk to you for a moment," Queenie continued gently. Tina deflated completely. Shame and self-loathing colored her cheeks. She turned to her sister, her eyes moist.

Theseus stepped into the room. Tina noticed that Pickett was clinging to his shoulder and giving her the dirtiest look a bowtruckle could muster. "I'll watch my brother for a bit. You two go talk. You can use my room, so you don't disturb Jacob."

Without another word Tina followed Queenie out of the room. She swore she could hear Pickett growl softly at her as she passed by. Theseus' room was next to Newt's. Tina closed the door behind them. They both stood there for a long, uncomfortable minute. "Well, that was really something, Teenie,"

Tina passed a shaky hand over her face. "This has been a very bad day," she sagged against the door.

"No kidding," Queenie gave her a sympathetic smile. "Tina, I know you're scared, but you gotta be careful with Newt. He's a sensitive guy. You lay into him like that too much and he's gonna skidaddle."

"I know, I know! It's just, he almost got killed today and he acts like it's nothing. How can he be so cavalier about what happened? How can he be talking about going after that… that…"

Thing had been the word she wanted to use, but she couldn't quite bring herself to say it. She knew what it would sound like. She also knew that Queenie already heard her think it.

"Whatever she's done, she's still a person, Teenie. She's scared and she's in pain. Newt has to help her. That's who he is. That's why you love him."

Tina decided to ignore her sister's forward comment for now. She wasn't sure how she felt about Newt, but that was for another conversation.

"Queenie, I just don't want to lose him to a monster."

Queenie crossed her arms and shook her head. "Uh-uh. That's not it. I mean sure, you don't want to see him get killed, but twice a day he goes down into that case and messes around with half a dozen creatures that could kill him. Even as good as he is, all it would take is one bad decision… a little bad luck…"

"You're not helping."

"My point is, you don't want to yell at him for that, do you? Heck, you don't even want to yell at him for trying to save Credence, and he nearly killed Newt too. It's not the monster part of Nagini that's got you so hot and bothered. It's the lady part."

Tina glared sharply at her sister. She had no words. She was furious at her sister for making such a bold accusation. She was suddenly humiliated by the very personal turn the conversation had taken. Her thoughts were racing so fast she couldn't even pick one out of the chaos in her head. Her mouth hung agape.

"Face it Teenie. She's a beautiful woman. You've never been terribly confident about yourself around the gentlemen. You're afraid that Newt's gonna fall for her, but he ain't that kind of guy. Besides, I think he's kind of sweet on you!"

Tina laughed miserably as tears began to fall. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. And I would know, right?"

Tina leaned onto her sister's shoulder and let it all out.

Back in Newt's room, Theseus watched as the two women left. The door closed. He paused before walking over to his brother. Newt was avoiding eye contact.

Typical, Theseus though. Instead of talking he opted to continue the work that Tina had started. He sat down beside Newt's bed and began to work carefully and quietly applying bruise cream and healing salve. Pickett transferred himself from Theseus' shoulder to Newt's bed. He chirped and fretted over Newt's condition and then crawled to his uninjured side and began patting his cheek with twiggy fingers. Meanwhile, Theseus noticed that Newt was bleeding again at the site of the bite. It wasn't enough to draw serious concern, but it did catch his notice.

"You used a blood thinner in that potion of yours, little brother?"

Newt looked at him briefly, surprised at the comment. Theseus' attention remained fixed on his work. He continued to prod.

"Yes," Newt answered. "Reduces the amount of venom that you're dealing with, though it can cause problems of its own, of course."

Theseus nodded. "What else? There wasn't enough left to analyze, and I didn't want to pry through your notes in your case."

"Mostly mandrake leaf and shrivelfig. A touch of dittany…"

"…and let me guess. A drop of felix felicis. I'm surprised you haven't run out of that stuff yet."

Felix felicis was, of course, notoriously difficult to brew. But once Newt had theorized that just a drop of it could vastly improve the outcome of healing potions, he became determined. He brewed hundreds of unsuccessful batches of the stuff, and only one successful batch. He kept it well hidden, and only his brother even knew it existed. He only ever used it in very small amounts as an additive to his healing potions. "That's saved me on more than one occasion. And not just me, Theseus."

"I don't deny it. And in case I never said it at the time, thanks for that. Are you going to share this recipe with St Mungo's?"

"Probably. It needs a lot of refining."

"You did go a little heavy on the blood thinners."

"Had to. Had to counteract the dittany so it didn't close the wound too quickly."

"So you want to tell me what happened with Tina just now?"

"I…oh!" Newt glared at Theseus. He was good at that… getting Newt to talk about something he was comfortable with as a sort of back door to a conversation Newt didn't want to have. He had to admit, he was much calmer now, and Theseus was just redressing Newt's injury. He wasn't getting out of this discussion, so now was a good a time as any.

"She's upset with me."

"Oh, you think?" Theseus' voice dripped with sarcasm.

"She thinks Nagini isn't worth saving. She thinks I acted recklessly in the cemetery. She doesn't think I should risk my life to help others, but she's an auror. She does that every single day. I know that she's upset, but I don't understand."

"You can't for a moment put yourself in her place and imagine why she might be upset? How would you feel if she almost died and wanted to go right back into the situation that almost got her killed?"

"Scared." Newt didn't hesitate in his answer. "I'd be terrified. Tina sees Nagini as a threat to me, and she thinks I don't recognize the threat?"

"Oh, you definitely don't recognize the threat, little brother." There was a slight smile on Theseus' face that was puzzling to Newt. "You're all done here." Theseus had finished inspecting, prodding and redressing Newt's injury. He cleaned up the supplies as Newt considered what he had said.

"Theseus, what do you mean, I don't recognize the threat? I've worked with maladictus victims. I know what her venom can do. I know from first-hand experience now, so I understand the threat better than she does, I would hazard."

"How can someone as brilliant in animal behavior as you are be so blind to human behavior?" Theseus put the first aid supplies on a table by the door and sat beside Newt's bed. "Have you stopped to consider that maybe Ms. Goldstein feel threatened less by Nagini the maladictus, and more by Nagini the woman?"

Newt's brow furrowed. "When she's in her human form she's not a…"

"Very attractive woman who has you risking life and limb for her?" Theseus' eyes sparkled with the humor of the situation.

"She's… wait a moment… Tina doesn't think…". Realization finally dawned on Newt. His system was flooded with something between disbelief and alarm. "She's… jealous?"

"There we are now."

"But she has to know that I would never…"

"She doesn't have to know anything. Woman's prerogative. And you ARE chasing after another woman, you old dog. Plus there was that gorgeous veela that you saved only a few days ago." The cheeky smile on Theseus' face was utterly frustrating.

"Stop that!" Newt's irritation made Theseus chuckle. "How do I fix this?"

Theseus stood up and smiled sympathetically at his brother. "You really want my advice?"

"Yes, please," Newt begged.

Theseus scooped up Pickett from the bed, despite the creature's protests. "I suggest you talk to her." He opened the door to reveal Tina on the other side, poised to knock. How does he do that Newt wondered.

"He's all yours," Theseus said to Tina, and then slid past her and out the door. "Come on Pickett. Let's get you some nice grubs to eat."

"Wait, Theseus…" Newt felt the panic rise is him as the door closed. Then silence. Tina looked at Newt. Newt looked at Tina, then quickly away.

"Eventually, one of us is bound to start talking," he said.

Tina threw her arms up and walked over to Newt's bed. "I can't believe I behaved like that. I don't even know how to start to apologize. Are you alright? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"I'm fine, and I owe you an apology as well."

"No."

"Yes. You were upset. I gave the wrong impression…"

"No. Newt. Stop. You don't owe me an apology. I… didn't even know why I was so upset. That's not your fault. That's just…" she waved her arms again, unable to come up with the right words. "But that doesn't justify the way I treated you. I lost my temper and I could have hurt you. You can say you're fine, but I know what I did. I had no right to lose my temper like that." Tina was getting herself worked up. She was really disappointed in herself.

"For Deliverance's sake, as an auror I should know better…"

By now she was standing right next to him. Newt didn't know what else to do, so he took her hand. She stopped, mid rant and sat down.

"Please just listen for a moment. I want to make something very clear, and I'm not good at doing that." He paused to think for a moment, not looking at Tina.

"I want to help Credence. I know you do too. He's suffered through so much. He deserves so much better. He's also a danger to those around him, and under Grindlewald's influence, I fear what he might do. My interest in Nagini is no different than my interest in Credence. I know that she's dangerous, and that I wasn't careful enough…"

"I know. I…"

"Mmm." Newt shook his head. "Not finished." Tina was quiet.

He took a calming breath and look at her so intensely, she thought she might catch fire. "She has suffered, and she deserves better, but I have no other feelings for her beyond that… nor for that veela… not even for Leeta. I couldn't possibly, because you're the one I lo…"

Newt stopped suddenly, caught completely off guard when, for the second time, Tina leaned in and pressed her lips to his. This was not a tentative first kiss. Tina put all the emotion, all the meaning she couldn't express in words into it. Newt stiffened in surprise for less than a second. Then his mind went blank… blissfully blank. Newt couldn't remember a time when his mind wasn't whirling away, and the sensation of nothing but Tina was overwhelmingly euphoric. He reached his left hand out to her, threading it through her hair and pulling her closer to him.

They stayed that way for as long as they could, finally breaking contact to catch their breath. They were both smiling like school children. Tina tried to suppress a giddy laugh that was bubbling to the surface. She wasn't sure if it was coming from her overwhelming relief, or from near nervous collapse. She decided it didn't really matter when Newt got a cheeky grin on his face. "Well, that went considerably better than I expected."

They both laughed.

Several rooms away, Queenie climbed back into bed next to Jacob, who was still asleep. She smiled, confident that things would be alright for a while at least.