Safe in Your Arms

Chapter 4

Tina ran her hands through her hair, smoothing it down. They had been staying at Newt's house for nearly a week and she had spent most of the time in the basement. Besides the one time Newt had come up to speak to her, he had kept his distance. Part of her was glad for this, it meant she wouldn't have to discuss Queenie, but it also meant she couldn't talk to him at all and that bothered her.

She took one last look in the mirror then left her room, making her way down to the table for breakfast. She was the last person to arrive. She quietly took her seat and began eating. Newt and Nagini began talking quietly. Jacob chimed in occasionally. Tina still didn't feel she could really talk to people so she stayed out of it.

When the meal was over, Jacob offered to wash the dishes and Nagini offered to dry.

"The whole thing can be done by magic," Newt insisted. "No one even has to supervise it."

"No," Jacob said. "Just let me do it. I need something to do."

He and Nagini set to work. Bunty came in, carrying a few letters.

"Here's your mail, Newt." She said. "There's a letter for you too, Miss Goldstein."

Tina took the letter from Newt's assistant and glanced at the address. It was just her name, but the handwriting made her freeze. Achilles, she realized. She turned and dashed into the basement, quickly making her way to the spot she had spent the last week in. She opened the letter shakily and read it.

Dear Tina,

I miss you. Two and a half months is too long, especially when I can't write to you. I figured I'd be able to write now after I saw that article in the newspaper. There weren't too many details about the rally in Paris or the fight afterward but it mentioned that you were there as well as a No-Maj, that war hero, Theseus Scamander, and his brother, the author of the weird book about magical creatures.

Tina cringed. She didn't like the way he referred to Newt but she kept reading.

I hope you're okay. I assume you're no longer needed in Paris, so when are you coming home? I can't wait to see you. I don't know where you are so I've sent this using an owl. You can just send your reply using the No-Maj postal service. It'll be safer.

I love you.

Love,
Achilles

Tina folded up the letter and stared across the basement. She didn't appreciate the tone of the letter, especially at the beginning. Realizing she needed to reply, she got to her feet and made her way back to her room. She pulled open a drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper, a bottle of ink, and a quill. She dipped the quill in the ink and held it poised over the paper.

She hesitated. What do I say?

Dear Achilles,

It's good to hear from you. Two and a half months is a long time. I'm alright. I'm in London now and I'm safe. I don't know when I'll be returning to New York but I don't think it will be any time soon. Grindelwald is still out there and I want to be able to help when people move against him. Besides, I'm so deeply involved that it might be safest for me to stay in England where there are people who I know aren't following Grindelwald.

I'll write more another time.

I love you too.

Love,
Tina

She didn't know why she found it so hard to write the words "I love you" in the letter but had. She folded the paper up and slipped it into an envelope and wrote Achilles's address as well as Newt's address in the corner. Realizing she didn't know where a post office was, she made her way down to the basement to find Newt. He wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Bunty," she said, approaching Newt's assistant. "Where's Newt?"

The red-haired witch looked up. "Um -- he's in the Zouwu enclosure. You might want to wait until he comes out. Even I'm not allowed near it until the Zouwu is more comfortable."

"It's okay," Tina said. "The Zouwu knows me." She made her way over to the enclosure and looked inside. The Zouwu was curled up in a corner. Newt was on the other side of the space, busily working on something. He had rid himself of his vest and his sleeves were rolled up past his elbows. She watched him work for a moment then took a careful step forward. 

"Newt," she called. The Zouwu looked up and bounded over, nuzzling against her. Newt came over to them.

"Yes," he said quietly.

Tina was suddenly nervous. The letter felt like it was burning a hole in her pocket. She buried her face in the Zouwu's mane.

"Is there something you want me for?" Newt prompted.

Taking a deep breath, Tina gathered herself and looked up at Newt. "I -- I was wondering if you could show me where a post office was."

"Sure," Newt said quietly. "Just give me a moment to finish up here and I'll take you." He turned and went back to work. Tina followed him and offered to help. He showed her what to do and they worked together in silence. She wished he would say something.

"You haven't been talking to me," she said, presently. "You seem to have been avoiding me, actually."

Newt didn't look at her. "I -- I thought that's what you wanted," he murmured. "You were sitting up there in your corner. It's such an isolated part of the basement that I could only assume you wanted to be alone."

"You came up there once."

"Yes, and I -- I tried to talk to you but you pushed me away. I assumed you didn't want to talk to me."

Tina looked down at her hands. "I -- I did want to talk to you but . . . when you brought up Queenie . . . it hurt. I want to talk to you but I -- I don't want to talk about . . . her."

"I know you don't but . . . keeping your feeling bottled up like that . . . it's not healthy. Sometimes it helps to talk through things. I know you don't want to talk about it because you don't want to think about it, but I know you're thinking about it anyway. You sit up on that landing, all alone, and I know you're thinking about your sister. You try to act like everything's okay and like you're not dying inside but it shows, Tina. It really shows," Newt said.

Tina glanced up at him. He was looking directly at her so she quickly averted her gaze. She felt tears form in her eyes but she blinked them away. She didn't want to cry in front of Newt.

You cried when he left, she reminded herself.

"It's okay to cry, Tina," Newt said gently. "Crying doesn't make you weak, it makes you human."

Tina shook her head slightly and swiped at her eyes, brushing her tears away, but one still made it down her cheek. She was startled to feel Newt's finger brushing away. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was watching the way she had seen him watch an injured animal when trying to find the best way to approach it. 

Suddenly she was crying freely, but not because of Queenie. She didn't understand how Newt could be so understanding and so comforting. He rested his hand on her arm. His touch was comforting. She moved closer to him and let him pull her into a hug. She cried into his shoulder, her tears staining his shirt.

They stood like this for several minutes until Tina's tears slowed. She pulled away, blushing slightly, and wiped her eyes. They finished their work. Then Newt unrolled his sleeves and pulled on his vest. 

"Come on, Tina," he said quietly. "Let's go find that post office."

A/N: I FINISHED ANOTHER CHAPTER . . . ALREADY! I know it's astounding. I'm actually really surprised I finished this so quickly. I'm really proud of myself but I doubt it will last long. We'll see how long I can keep this up.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story. Please vote and comment. I really enjoy your comments. And I just want to say that I appreciate all your support. Even when I'm not particularly happy with a chapter or story, you always tell me it's amazing. Thank you so much for being so supportive and such awesome readers.

Have a good day!

Bye!