Mending Mr. Graves

Four

The first day Credence stayed, it was calm and the boy slowly began to open up to her. As the weeks went on, Credence began helping Caitlin around the house, he talked more, but what made Caitlin happy was that he was amazed by her magic. She would move books around and he would be so amazed he would have her do it one more time.

Queenie and Tina would come over and eat dinner with them. Tina was happy to see Credence open up, she thanked Caitlin when the sisters were getting ready to leave. "Thank you, Caitlin. So much. Its great to see him happy and talking." She said and Caitlin chuckled, "Its fine, Tina. He is a great kid." She responded and Tina nodded in agreement. "Ill see you tomorrow." She said and gave Tina a hug. Queenie came up and gave her a hug. "Goodnight sweetie." She said and the two left.

Caitlin started going back to work as normal, she noticed Percival started acting different. He began to talk less and avoided eye contact. She began to worry about him and came by his office every other hour.

Towards the end of the day, Caitlin walked in to see Percival asleep, his hair messed up and a now cold cup of coffe sitting in front of him. There were multiple papers laying around, and she began to pick them up, seeting them into a neat pile on the desk.

"Percival? Wake up." She whispered, shaking his shoulder a bit. The man jumped slightly and looked up at her then looked at his hands, yawning slightly. "Whats wrong, Percival." She asked leaning against the desk and gave him a worried look. She shook his head and didnt say anything. "Percival, tell me what is bothering you." She said lifting his chin, "Im worried about you." She finished and he looked at her for a moment. "He's haunting me." He finally said, pulling his face away and rubbing his face. "Who is?" Caitlin asked, having an idea of who it was but didnt want to say anything. "Grindelwald. I was up all night last night. His voice echos through my head." He said pushing his hair back.

"Percival, he is not here anymore. The stuff that happened to you is over. All the voices that are in your head is not him. You are bigger and better than this." She said looking at him, he looked up at her and she gave him a small smile. "Ill help you get through this." She said and he nodded.

+×+

At the end of the day, Caitlin invited Percival, Queenie and Tina over for Dinner. She told Tina and Queenie her plan to have Credence and Percival meet and explain to Credence that Percival wasnt a bad guy.

Caitlin walked into her apartment, Credence gave her a smile when he seen her. "Hello Credence dear. How was your day?" She asked and he stood up from the couch and gave the woman a smile. "Good. How was work?" He replied and Caitlin shrugged. "It was good. Tina and Queenie are coming over for dinner. Another guest is too." She said giving him another smile and moved to the kitchen, "Would you like to help cook dinner?" She asked taking her coat off and he nodded.

+×+

There was a knock on the door and Caitlin took the chicken out of the oven. "Credence, can you go to the living room?" She asked and he nodded.

Caitlin walked to the front door and opened it to see the sisters and Percival. "Hey! Come on in." She said moving to the side, they walked in and Caitlin took their coats and put them away. "Percival, are you ready for this?" She asked, more nervous than the man. She worried what would happen when they meet each other.

Percival nodded, pushing his hair out of his face. Tina and Queenie walked into the living room and greeted Credence happily. "Credence, we have someone who wants to meet you. His name is Percival Graves. But its the real Percival." Tina said and Credence's face fell and he looked worried. "A..are you sure?" He asked looking at her and she nodded.

Caitlin stood beside Percival, out of sight. She felt the man's hand grab hers and she calmed a bit. She pulled him into the room and noticed the look on Credences face. "Credence, this is Percival." She introduced them looking between the two. Percival moved down and looked at the shaking boy, "Hello, Im Percival. Nice to meet you." He said softly and Credence looked at him for a moment. "Im Credence." He said softly and Percival smiled.

+×+

Credence slowly became comfortable being around Percival during dinner. It was like they were a big family, talking and laughing at stories and jokes.

At the end of the night, Credence wanted to stay with Tina and she happily agreed. Queenie and Credence walked outside, "Thank you, for everything Caitlin. I owe you a lot.'' Tina said wrapping a scarf around her neck. "No problem. I like how much he opened up." She said watching Queenie create animals out of the snow and Credence laughing. "Oh and you and Percival need to get together." She said and Caitlin blushed lightly and laughed. "Yeah yeah. Go home or someone will get sick." She replied pushing Tina slightly. Tina laughed and walked out. "Bye."

+×+

Percival stayed at Caitlins a bit after Tina and Queenie left. "Well, Ive got to go, Caitlin. I had a great time hanging out with you." He said standing from the couch, "I had a great time too." She replied standing too and walking him to the door. He slipped his jacket on and fixed his scarf. "Ill see you tomorrow." Caitlin said opening the door for him and he smiled. "Ill see you tomorrow." He replied, the stared into each others eyes for a moment and she looked away blushing a bit. "Goodnight." She said, "Goodnight." He responded and walked out, shutting the door behind him.