Always

Babysitting

"So let me get this straight, you want us to have Cepheus overnight. Us unsupervised looking after a baby for the night?"
"Well... Yes?"
Tina looked at Theseus incredulously before taking a long sip of cold coffee and looking back at her work. It was midday on a substantially drizzly June Thursday and while she was perfectly happy to work through her lunch break and finish analysing some forensic potions that had arrived, the older Scamander brother just had to come slinking to her desk and ask her a favour. The offices were empty apart from the two of them as everyone was either at lunch or taking the few rookies they had obtained on a low-level case to ease them in so the silence was clear. Theseus heaved an immense sigh then said
"We've been invited to Leta's fathers for dinner tomorrow evening"
This made her drop her quill and look at him in surprise as she exclaimed
"I thought he was dead?"
"We hoped he was dead. No, he's very much alive and wants us round to 'discuss prospects'. Apparently, Kama is going to be there as well so it will be a lovely family reunion"
"Damn Thes"
"Yep. Leta and I don't want Cephy within ten miles of that place so...". He looked at her hopelessly and Tina conceded mentally. She was rather nervous about caring for an infant but Newt seemed to know what to do whenever they interacted with their nephew so she sent him a reassuring smile and replied.
"Of course, we'll take him for the night"
He let out a sound of relief
"Thank you, Tina. I- I just can't stand the man and I certainly don't want Cepheus involved. We're expected at dinner for seven so we will drop him off at half six tomorrow."
Theseus then hopped off Ree's desk and walked back into his office, an air of uncertainty still surrounding him.

She went to pick her quill up but hesitated and instead turned to look out of the fake window beside her desk. It was made to look like the street outside and looked quite depressing due to the unrelenting stream of light rain forcing people to rush about with umbrellas in the early summer. When she had asked Newt about it that morning, sat on the steps to the menagerie as he wandered around with several buckets, he had simply said
"I did warn you" then dove into the kelpie habit leaving very little room for discussion.
Surely he won't mind spending the weekend with his nephew?
Silencing her doubt she finally picked up her thunderbird quill and went back to skimming her notes, the feather swirling in her thought.

Hours later (two hours after she should have been) Tina found herself pushing open the front door at Sherringford ford square and slipping inside. The house was a pleasant cool as the outside had become horribly humid with the falling rain and as she toed off her shoes the smell of tomato wafted through the open living room door. She walked through to the living room, then to the kitchen where she leant against the door frame and looked into the room. Stood humming to the radio as he stirred a pot of what looked like pasta on the stove was Newt Scamander. He wasn't wearing his waistcoat and his shirt was uncuffed and unbuttoned at the top with a creature balanced on each shoulder, Pickett was chirping from his left ear and Peppers long tongue was making its way into his right. He jumped at the contact
"Pepper! What have I said about you eating ear wax?" Pickett chirped in a way that sounded like a laugh and Newt turned to him and scowled
"Do you want her next to you?"
Unable to muffle her laughter she chuckled and he jumped and turned around. The scowl melted into his signature lopsided grin as he greeted her with a tight hug and a chaste kiss.

"How was your day, Love?"
"Long, annoying. Trying to train the rookies by condensing a three-year course into three months and after the others got to take them to do fieldwork and actually interesting parts I had to do a crash course in filing so it doesn't look like a hurricane has gone through our system. By the end of it, we all wanted those cabinets to fall and crush us" she said it lightly but she couldn't be bothered to keep the exhaustion out of her tone as she asked, "How about you?"
"Eh. Rather regular day. The young graphorns are getting rather boisterous, the Zouho had a large thorn stuck in its paw and I believe the female Nundu may be pregnant as she's getting angrier and angrier at her mate. He went and sat by the Augerys because she kept hissing at him" He gave a chuckle as he stepped away and ran a hand through his hair before returning to the pot of pasta.
"So after that delightful experience, I thought I might try and remember the recipe from some Italian fare I had once upon a time. It smells edible- so that's something I suppose?"
"It smells delicious Newt don't sell yourself short" He shot her another crooked grin and waved the food to serve itself.