disclaimer: I own nothing

Author's Note: Due to me being an idiot, this rather serious chapter begins with fluff that didn't fit into the other chapter either. Sigh.

Katherine, glad you're still reading! I wondered where you went :). Here's a chapter I think you'll enjoy. I hope everyone does.


Newt sat back to inspect his handiwork and his heart sank a little as he did.

"I think I'm going about this all wrong." he said to Tina, who was sitting and watching him.

"It can't be that hard." she said, propping her chin in her hand.

Newt said nothing.

"Do you want me to help?"

"Not yet." Newt said, turning back to stare at his attempt to put together the cradle.

He had nothing close to instructions. It was actually a hand-me-down from his mother, who had come to visit them two days before. It had been five since the Ministry.

Newt had felt a little guilty about not contacting her when they had come to London, but she didn't seem to harbor many ill feelings about it. Newt supposed Theseus must have mentioned something to her about it. If that was the case, Theseus hadn't said anything about Tina's pregnancy.

But that hadn't been much of a problem either.

His mother had been happy for them and it became clear that she adored Tina. She had stayed for a few hours, during which Tina had, in a very quiet voice, told her about the rape and the baby. She hadn't said anything more than that, but Newt was hoping that his mother might provide what Tina needed in Queenie's absence. She had also given them the cradle, which she'd used for both him and Theseus. That had been very kind of her, but it had been completely disassembled and packed into a box and Newt was having an incredibly difficult time figuring out how to reassemble it. Tina was also finding it incredibly amusing.

Newt tapped a piece of the polished wood against his hand.

"You could always use a spell if you can't figure it out." Tina suggested.

"This is something we should do without magic." Newt answered, disassembling it again and grouping the pieces together again.

Tina moved to sit beside him.

"Let's do this together." she said.

Newt nodded.

With Tina's help, it turned out a little better, but she had as much experiance with this sort of thing as he did.

Finally, after a lot more time than it should have been, they had figured it out. Newt stood back to admire their work. The cradle looked just as it should have, the smooth, polished wood gleaming in the sunlight slanting in through the window.

"That was fun." Tina said, sliding an arm around his waist. She gave the cradle a gentle push, sending in rocking.

"And much harder than it should have been." Newt agreed with a slight chuckle.

"I think our areas of expertise lie elsewhere." Tina said.

This comment made Newt smile and he pressed a kiss to the top of Tina's head.

"I love you, Tina."

"I love you too."

They stood there for a moment. With the cradle complete it wasn't hard to imagine a baby in this room now. They had added some furniture aside from the cradle. They didn't have much else to do now.

Tina winced, her hand sliding low on her belly.

"Are you all right?" Newt asked, looking at her.

Tina nodded.

"Just a hard one there."

Newt nodded.

"We're going to need some blankets." Tina said, pulling herself away from Newt and looking into the cradle.

Newt said nothing. As far as he knew, many mothers made blankets when they were expecting babies, but that was a somewhat limited, stereotyping view. And Tina did not seem to be the kind of woman that bothered with knitting or sewing of any kind. Now that Newt thought about it, he didn't think he could even picture her at such a task. He chose not say this, afraid that he might accidently offend Tina if he did.

They left the room a minute or so later, Newt closing the door behind himself. From there, Newt wasn't entirely sure what to do. It was only early afternoon. The creatures were all fine and they had finished cradle. Tina announced her intention to visit Diagon Alley for a few things and invited Newt to accompany her. Newt accepted, mostly because he had nothing else to do.

They explored Diagon Alley as they had before, taking a little more time. In Newt's opinion, there was always something more to discover about Diagon Alley no matter how familiar you were with it. They did split up for a bit and when they went home, Tina lay down for a nap. She did look pretty tired. Newt wasn't truly concerned about this. Pregnancy wore the expectant mother down more than usual, creature or human.

Newt was in the nursery when she woke up about an hour and a half later.

"Newt?"

Tina opened the door. Newt was standing on a small stool by the cradle, finishing his small project. He looked over his shoulder and smiled.

"Good." he said, stepping down. "I want you to see something."

He guided Tina over to the cradle and showed her what he had been doing. A mobile now hung over the cradle. From it dangled all manner of creatures. There was an owl -typical among wizards- along with creatures such as a Thunderbird, a niffler, a hippocampus, an Erumpet, a unicorn, and a phoenix.

"Oh, Newt." Tina said, smiling. "It's beautiful."

"Watch this." Newt slid his wand out and tapped the tip against the mobile. It slowly began to spin, the creatures in motion.

Tina laughed.

"Did you make this?"

"I bought the parts. But I put it together and enchanted it. I thought it was better than just owls."

Tina smiled again as Newt tapped the mobile once more, halting it.

"It's perfect."


XXXXXXX


A few days later, it was evening and pouring outside. Inside the house it was cozy and warm. Newt was just heading down the stairs when there was a knock on the door. Slightly confused as to who it could have been at this hour, he walked over to the door and opened it.

"Newt!"

Newt just stared in shock at the people standing on the front step. Queenie and Jacob.

"Queenie. Jacob. C-Come in."

Newt stepped back and they came in from the rain. Jacob surprised him by hugging him instantly. Newt hugged him back, laughing slightly, mostly due to shock.

"It's wonderful to see you. How are you even here?" Newt said as Jacob pulled away from him.

"We went by Queenie and Tina's place. Tina's gone, so we thought we'd try you." Jacob said, smiling at him.

"Newt?"

Newt turned.

Tina was standing behind him in the living room. Her eyes went wide and her hand flew to her swollen belly at the sight of Queenie.

"Teen!"

Queenie beamed at her sister, practically bouncing towards her, then froze. The smile melted off of Queenie's face.

"Oh no. Oh no. Why wouldn't you tell me?" Queenie said, staring at Tina, no doubt reading her thoughts.

Tina started to say something, looking like she was about to burst into tears. Queenie moved forward and hugged Tina tightly. Newt took Jacob's elbow.

"Let's give them some privacy." he said to Jacob.

"Why?"

Jacob looked confused, but Newt simply guided his friend past the two sisters and down into the basement. He heard Jacob laugh in amazement as they went down the stairs. It was a small mercy that Bunty wasn't here tonight.

"What's up with the girls?" Jacob asked as Newt continued further down the stairs.

Newt froze. He would have to tell Jacob, he knew that, but it seemed hard at the same time. Newt turned back to face Jacob, feeling pained.

"Tina was raped, Jacob." he said quietly.

He saw the shock pass across Jacob's face.

"When? How? Is she all right? I mean-" Jacob broke off with a lot of stammering.

Jacob had probably never spoken about such a thing before.

"Around seven months ago. A Dark wizard..." Newt trailed off.

He wasn't certain he could truly detail what had happened to Tina and everything since, not even to Jacob.

"Seven months? Why wouldn't she tell Queenie?"

Jacob ran a hand over his face, not seeming to know what to say.

"Tina said she didn't deserve to ask for Queenie to come after the argument they had."

Newt said as the niffler edged towards Jacob.

"The argument? Queen got over that months ago. Tina really thought she couldn't reach out to her?" Jacob seemed stunned, the mixture of emotions Newt had felt when Tina had told him flicking over his face.

"I didn't question Tina's motives." Newt said.

Jacob was silent for a moment.

"Why is Tina here? We looked for her in New York, but...nothing. Queenie didn't want to go to Macusa in case we got caught."

"Tina and I are married, Jacob." Newt said, looking up fully at Jacob.

Jacob's eyebrows went up.

"You two- You two got hitched?" Jacob said, surprise in his voice.

Newt nodded. Jacob smiled. Then he descended the stairs to Newt and hugged him again.

"Congratulations."

Jacob thumped Newt on the back. Newt couldn't help the smile and laugh that came at this. Jacob stood back.

"W-When did this happen?"

"Around two months ago."

Jacob took this in, a frown forming.

"Hey, I'm no expert, but isn't Tina a...a little big for-"

"She's around seven months pregnant, Jacob."

Jacob stared. Newt knew he was putting things together.

"So the baby-"

"Isn't mine." Newt finished for him.

Jacob stared. Newt couldn't blame him for being a little speechless. He felt the need to continue in the silence.

"We worked through it for a while. It...it was hard, Jacob. I asked Tina to marry me when she was five months pregnant. She said yes. So a few days later..."

Newt shrugged. Jacob nodded at this.

"H-Have they caught the guy? The wizard, I mean?"

"No." Newt let out a deep breath at this.

"Newt, I'm sorry. I know it doesn't sound like much, but..."

"It's all right, Jacob. We're still trying to figure this out for ourselves." Newt told him.

"Tina's been having a hard time." Newt's voice grew quiet at this. "I...I'm hoping that having Queenie here will help her."

Jacob nodded.

They both knew how close Tina and Queenie were.

"If anyone can help Tina, Queenie can." Jacob said.

Newt nodded. That was what he hoped. If not...as well as Tina was doing, he knew she still had a long way to go. There was silence now.

"So how's married life treating you?" Jacob asked after a few tense seconds, then jerked as the niffler suddenly appeared on his shoulder.

"Where did you come from, little guy?" Jacob asked it as the niffler practically glared at him.

"Did you have anything shiny on you?" Newt asked.

"No." Jacob said as the niffler scurried back down him.

"Tina and I are happy." Newt said, answering Jacob's question.

"But I am worried about her."

"I thought worrying made you suffer twice." Jacob cracked a smile as he said this.

Newt smiled faintly himself.

"It's a different kind of worry than what I was talking about then."

There was another silence and Jacob rubbed his hands together.

"What else have you two been up to for the past few months?"

Newt thought about it for a moment, wondering how to describe how his and Tina's live had been since she'd been raped. It wasn't wholely interesting, but it had been what they needed.

"We've been taking it one day at a time." he said finally.

They spent some more time in the basement. Jacob was more than happy to get a tour and they went into the case for a while. They were sitting in the hut, talking a little until Minty suddenly descended the steep stairs and mewed at Newt. Jacob jumped and looked up at the kneazle sitting above his head.

"Hey, little guy. What are you?"

"Minty is Tina's kneazle. And female." Newt said, setting down the jar of billywig stings he'd been sorting.

Minty mewed again, tail flicking, then bounded back out of the case.

"I think we can go back upstairs." Newt said.

He and Jacob followed the kneazle. When they got upstairs, they found Tina and Queenie sitting together in the living room. Both women had red tinged eyes, suggesting that they'd both been crying. Newt and Jacob both stood there awkwardly, not sure if they were intruding or not. Queenie stood up, however, and smiled at Newt.

"I hope you don't mind us showing up like this, Newt." she said, staring at him.

Newt wondered if she was looking into his mind. If she was, there wasn't really anything he could do about that.

"Not at all, Queenie." Newt said, giving her a small smile back.

Queenie surprised him by hugging him.

"Tina says you two are married now." she said as he belatedly hugged her back.

"We are." Newt said.

Queenie hugged him tighter for a moment.

"Thank you." she whispered in his ear.

This surprised Newt more than the hug. She pulled away and Newt turned to Tina as Tina rose, a hand going to the small of her back. Newt brushed past Queenie to Tina.

"Are you okay?" Newt asked her quietly, lightly touching her shoulder.

Tina nodded, brushing at her eyes with the back of her hand again.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Her voice was a little hoarse, probably from crying.

"We had a good conversation." Queenie said, turning around to face them.

They all stood there for a moment, facing each other. Then Queenie clapped her hands together.

"Since we just showed up like this, I will make dinner for all of us."

Newt had no response to this.

"I'll help you." Tina said.

Newt and Jacob watched as they moved into the kitchen. This reminded Newt of the first night they had all had a meal together. It had been a long time since then and things had changed. He wasn't entirely sure what Queenie and Jacob's situation was, but he and Tina were married. Tina was pregnant. Newt blew out a breath as the rest of just how different this all was went through his mind. He wished for a moment that he could look into Tina's mind like Queenie could and see if having her sister here would actually help her or not.

Tina and Queenie seemed to be bickering in the kitchen, which Newt took as a good sign. The meal was ready within minutes and Newt was impressed with what Queenie had been able to do with what he and Tina had in the way of food. There were candles on the table, like there had been the first time. Queenie seemed to have a flare for cooking and presenting meals. They all sat down. The atmosphere relaxed a little.

"We really should have let you know we were coming." Queenie said as the food finished placing itself on the table. "But we didn't know you two were married!"

Queenie seemed genuinely delighted by the fact and Newt smiled a little. Tina, however had an expression on her face that hovered between awkwardness and guilt.

"I'm sorry I didn't-" she began, but Queenie interrupted her.

"I told you that you need to stop apologizing, Teen."

It was the closest Newt had ever seen Queenie to reprimanding her sister and he wondered just what had been said during their long conversation.

"What about you, Queenie?" Newt asked, trying to deflect the conversation away from what could end up being a depressing and painful subject. "How are things with you and Jacob?"

He had pretty much already heard it from Jacob, but it was at least polite to ask Queenie the same question.

"Things are wonderful! We've been spending the last few months together-it ain't illegal in Europe, Tina." Queenie broke off and looked at her sister.

Newt watched as Tina's cheeks colored slightly.

"I know. It's just..." Tina trailed off.

Queenie narrowed her eyes and Newt wondered just what it was Tina was thinking.

"Get out of my head, Queenie." Tina added, voice a little sharp.

Now it was Queenie's turn to color a little. Jacob had been silent through this, but shot Newt an amused look.

"So. Jacob." Tina turned her attention to Jacob. Jacob looked a little startled by this and Newt realized that Tina and Jacob had never really spoken directly to each other in a situation that wasn't life threatening or on the verge of being so. "How are things with your bakery?"

Jacob looked a little awkward at the question.

"Well, I-I don't really know. I've been gone a while with Queen, but I left some good people in charge. So...things should be fine."

There was silence briefly at this, which Jacob broke by clearing his throat.

"So do you still have that Auror thing going on or what?" he said to Tina.

Tina's expression turned sour.

"The British Ministry won't take me on until some time after I've given birth." she said, stabbing her fork at her plate with a lot of unneccesary force.

Newt explained what Tina had told him and then the conversation they'd had with Travers. Both Queenie and Jacob listened, but at one point, when Newt was describing Travers and what he'd said, Queenie interrupted.

"Tina! That is a foul thing to call someone."

They all looked at Tina, who looked uncomfortable, but did smile a little, in an embarrassed sort of way. Newt smiled, amused, and finished.

"Have you talked to your brother since then?" Queenie seemed genuinely interested, assuring Newt that she was not currently inside his mind.

"No." Newt said, though he was now the one that felt uncomfortable. "I don't see the need, really."

"He's your brother." Queenie said this like she didn't need to state any other reason.

That made Newt think about how he'd been convinced of just how much Tina needed Queenie. He didn't feel it was the same with him and Theseus. The conversation lightened after this, though Newt noticed Tina wasn't eating much. He looked at her with concern, but as the meal progressed, she seemed happier with Queenie there. Jacob was the one that brought up the baby as the meal was winding down.

"Are you two hoping for a boy or a girl? Come up with any names?" he asked.

Newt and Tina looked at each other.

"We haven't really thought about it yet." Newt said.

It wasn't something that they had discussed. It had taken them so long to even talk about the baby existing inside of Tina. They hadn't really talked about it existing independently, though they were both well aware of the fact that it would soon enough. And coming up with a name hadn't even crossed Newt's mind. From the look on Tina's face, he was willing to guess that it was the same with her.

"Oh, don't worry. You've got time." Queenie said, a laugh in her voice as she took in their expressions.

Newt, however, was slightly concerned with the expression on Tina's face, wondered if being confronted with this so unexpectedly when she had struggled with the baby for so many months would drive her back behind her walls. Queenie, to Newt's relief, did not seem to pick up on any of this. And if she had, Newt knew she would have said something. Queenie wasn't one to keep something to herself, especially if it just popped into her mind through someone else's.

The rest of the conversation was light, friendly. It was a family feeling that Newt hadn't felt for a long time, which made him think about what Queenie had said. Perhaps he did need to try and reach out to Theseus, as much as the idea did not appeal to him. Newt and Jacob did the dishes, though this did take some time considering Jacob couldn't use magic.

Newt then made tea. He had a feeling that Queenie and Jacob -and probably Tina, now that he thought of it- would have preferred coffee, but he didn't have any. They settled in the living room, still making conversation.

At one point it turned to his book, which was sitting on a table, bookmarked. Even Jacob had read it, though it was clear that most of the contents had surprised Jacob and seemed unbelievable to the Muggle.

Minty padded back in. Though her kittens were only a few yards away, still tucked safely away in the closet, she did seem oddly comfortable with leaving them. Instead of going to Tina, Minty went to him and mewed, pawing at Newt's leg.

"What's wrong, Minty?" Newt asked, leaning forward.

The kneazle mewed again and then rolled over, showing her belly. It was a very odd behavior for a feline -normal cat or kneazle- but Newt saw the reason right away. Her teats were very swollen and it looked like pink balloons had been attached to Minty's belly. Jacob let out an exclamation when he noticed and leaned closer.

"God, is she okay?"

"She's nursing. Eight."

"Really?"

"They're in the closet if you want a look." Tina said, sipping her tea.

Queenie got up to do just that. Newt, meanwhile, stood up.

"Come on, Minty. I've got just the thing for you." he said to the kneazle.

Minty trotted after him and Tina followed into the kitchen. Newt heard what was almost a squeal from Queenie, which must have meant that she'd seen the kittens. Jacob, after a moment, followed them into the kitchen as Newt removed a squat, fat glass jar from a cabinet. He unscrewed the lid.

"Pick her up, please, Tina." he said.

Tina did, stretching Minty up so her belly was exposed, her back paws balanced on the table, Tina's hands gently supporting her under the front legs. Newt dipped his hand into the thick, almost waxy ointment in the jar. He had made it a while ago, in anticipation of such a thing. Jacob watched in apparent fascination as Newt spread the thick salve over Minty's swollen teats. The kneazle purred as he did so. Newt smiled a little at this.

"What's wrong with her?" Jacob asked, grimacing as Newt spread another large dollop of the ointment on to Minty.

"Overproduction of milk." Newt responded, screwing the top back on the jar. "It can happen sometimes, when the mother is trying to adjust to her newborns and this is Minty's first litter. Her body hasn't gotten the hang of it yet."

Newt cleaned his hand in the sink as Tina let Minty go. Minty nuzzled Newt's leg and walked away. Queenie came back.

"Those kittens are so cute!" she exclaimed, smiling again.

"Perhaps you can take one when they're weaned." Newt said, drying his hand.

No one said anything to this as the returned to the living room. They talked for a while there, until Newt noticed that Tina was yawning and seemed to be struggling to remain focused on the conversation.

"I think it's time we got to bed." Newt said.

Jacob swore at this, checking the time.

"We need to find somewhere to stay-" he started, but Newt interrupted him.

"Nonsense. You and Queenie can stay here tonight."

"Newt is right. We're not just going to toss you out on to the street in the middle of the night." Tina added.

Queenie and Jacob smiled. Newt magicked two camp beds for Queenie and Jacob and he and Tina bid them goodnight. They went upstairs. Tina was giggling as they did. It was very uncharacteristic of her. Newt looked at her, confused.

"They might have just wanted one bed." Tina said, still laughing a little.

Newt just stared at her for a moment.

"Oh."

He felt his eyebrows raise. Tina laughed again at this.

"Queenie is going to pick up on your thoughts in a minute." Newt told her.

They headed up to their bedroom and walked in by wandlight. There were silent for a minute or so.

"Are you all right?" Newt asked Tina.

Tina paused for a moment, undoing the last button of her blouse.

"Yes." she said after a moment. "I really am. I just...I really needed a woman to talk to. I needed my sister."

Newt relaxed a fraction and nodded at this.

"I'm glad." he said.

Tina stood still for a moment, cradling her swollen belly with both hands. She seemed to be thinking about something under a rush of emotions. Newt thought that she probably was struggling to describe how Queenie being here made her feel.

"I understand, Tina." he said.

Tina nodded. Newt crossed to her and wrapped his arms around her. He was relieved that she finally had what he couldn't give her, had a greater chance of healing now. Tina rested her head against his neck. Newt released her a moment later and placed his hands beside hers on her stomach. The baby stirred sleepily beneath their hands. Newt smiled a little at this, looking up at Tina, seeing that she was as well.


Author's Note: Tina and Queenie have finally reunited! (Queenie and Jacob are going to stick around for a while, don't worry)

All reviews, questions, and comments are welcome at any time!