19

                                    

                                          
The idea sounded easy on paper. When the next night came, the dock was nearly empty except for the few night passengers who were still loading on. Newt was just supposed to go on, bring his case, and get the hell out of New York. Tina came with him just in case anything went wrong.
                          
It was lucky that she did.
                          
Roy and a few other wizards had been watching Newt very closely. He hasn't left her side so far, I don't see any reason for him to start now, he thought, watching Newt and Tina approach the docks. His orders were simple: find ______, and make sure she stays in New York. He thought something like this might happen, but he never expected good-girl Goldstein to be in on it. He was surprised to even see her helping Newt get out of New York without MACUSA's help. He was lucky she was; it would make this a whole lot easier on him.
                          
Tina turned the corner with Newt, making sure he knew the plan. "The second she wakes up, write me a letter, okay?" Tina double-checked. "If she remembers anything, I'd really appreciate it."
                          
Newt nodded. "I remember, Tina. I'll make sure, but I don't think she'll remember anything along the lines of what you're thinking of. What do you think is going on?"
                          
"I can't say very much," Tina admitted. "I'm sorry. All I can tell you is that I have a feeling that there's something bigger going on here than Roy looking for her. There's some kind of danger surrounding her, and I think it has something to do with my case at MACUSA."
                          
"You're not too far off, Tina," Roy came from around the corner, and both Tina and Newt pulled their wands out at the same time.
                          
"What is it this time?" Tina asked. "______ isn't here, Newt's just heading home."
                          
Roy laughed. "Does it look like I was born yesterday, Tina?" he asked. "Look, I'm unarmed, but the wizards I brought with me aren't. From what I've seen, Mr. Scamander here never leaves ______'s side. I'm sure he'd hate to see her hurt more than anything else, isn't that right Mr. Scamander?"
                          
Newt took a small step closer to Tina, a plan forming in his mind. "Whatever it is that she's involved in, this isn't necessary. She doesn't remember anything."
                          
"He likes it that way," Roy grinned sickly. "Hand her over, and the senseless violence will end."
                          
"Not a chance," Newt told him, quickly grabbing Tina's arms and apparating. He took them to an alley not too far from the docks. Tina took a moment to catch her breath, and before either of them spoke, Newt put a finger to his lips and listened to the unnecessarily loud voice of Roy.
                          
"Split up and look for them! You, go onto that ship and search it for any sign of them or that case. You, go back to the Goldstein's apartment and check if you see anyone go in and out of that building. I'll search around the area," Roy's voice came through in the quiet of the night.
                          
Newt and Tina sat behind a large dumpster, keeping their voices down. "What now?" Newt asked Tina. "They're searching the boat, so there's no way that I'm getting on that ship tonight without some struggle."
                          
Tina sat for a moment, trying to think of a new plan. "Tomorrow there should be another boat heading to Britain," she started. "You're not going to get a ticket, but if you and ______ catch a ride in your suitcase, I can sneak you into the baggage cart."
                          
"Why can't we do that now?"
                          
"They're looking for your case right now, or anything that might resemble it. We can't risk it," Tina sighed. "I can't believe I didn't see this coming. I should've known that they'd keep tabs on us..."
                          
"It's not your fault, Tina," Newt started, trying to comfort her. He could tell Tina had been stressing out about this for a long time. He checked around them to make sure they were hidden before continuing. "You've been helping ______ and I ever since we showed up at your house, which is more than you ever had to do. You've been stressing out at work, and coming home to deal with ______ and I can't be any easier when this is an equally stressful situation. You can't be expected to know when things are going to happen and exactly what's going to happen."
                          
Tina looked over at him and smiled. "Thank you, Newt," she whispered. She looked around, and her heart was beating faster than anything when she thought about telling him. Telling him how she felt about him. She knew that he didn't feel the same, that it wouldn't serve any purpose, but she felt like she needed to tell him. She needed to hear him say that he was in love with someone else so she could move on. "Can I change the subject for a moment Newt?" she asked, looking over at him.
                          
Newt looked around. "Can it wait until we're somewhere a little safer?"
                          
"No, it can't."
                          
Newt was surprised that Tina, the one who was always thinking ahead and staying safe, wasn't worried about staying here where they could get discovered any second. He leaned in. "Okay," he whispered. "What's on your mind?"
                          
Tina took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "Newt, when you left New York, I wasn't able to stop thinking about you. I wanted you to come back, and when you wrote me that letter saying that you finished your book and wanted to bring it to me, I was ecstatic. I was hoping that you felt the same way about me that I felt about you, because Newt... I... I've fallen in love with you."
                          
Newt knelt, a surprised expression on his face that Tina could just barely make out in the dark. He was at a loss for words, he didn't know what to do or say. He knew he didn't feel the same way, but that didn't mean he wanted to hurt Tina's feelings. He cared about their friendship, and if nothing else, he wanted to preserve that. "Tina, I..." he started, unsure of where to go with the information. "I'm sorry, I don't feel the same way. Ever since I met ______, I knew that there was something about her. I'm... I'm sure that I'm in love with her."
                          
Tina just smiled, tears lingering in her eyes but none of them falling. "I know, Newt. You care about her so much, it's hard not to see that. I don't have to read minds like Queenie to know how you feel about her. I needed to hear you say it, is all."
                          
"Say what?"
                          
"That you loved her. I think she feels the same way about you, and when she wakes up, I'm sure that everything will be different," Tina smiled, and although there were a few small tears that threatened to fall from her eyes, she was happy. Happy for Newt that he could finally tell himself he was in love with her, happy he was able to say it out loud, and happy that she'd be able to move on. Tina looked around. "It looks like they've split up. We have to apparate home, and we have to be careful about coming and going. They're watching us closely, so we must be prepared."
                          
Newt nodded. "Got it. How am I going to get on the boat tomorrow?"
                          
Tina thought for a moment. "I'll figure it out by tomorrow morning. For now, we have to get out of here and go home," she took out her wand. "Ready to go?"
                          
Newt pulled his wand out, nodding back at her. "Ready."
                          
With a simple flick, the two of them returned to the Goldstein residence.
                          
—-
                          
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