《 Skip a Beat 》

Swan song

Charlotte had indeed been allowed to stay in the room the next afternoon when Nick and Mallord came in to help Newt with the crutches.

Theseus only found out when she greeted him perkily as soon as he entered. Tina happily greeted her back, but Theseus jumped and gave a sharp yelp of surprise when a robotic voice wished him a good morning and asked if he liked Griffins or Hippogriffs better, much to everyone's amusement.

"You ready?" asked Leta nervously. Mallord chuckled, organising some kind of tool on the wheelie table. Nick smiled, looking towards Newt.

He wasn't lying on the bed today. Nick had told him that he'd be allowed to sit on the edge of the bed, so Newt happily perched there. Leta was sure that he would be contentedly swinging his legs if one of them wasn't locked in a splint.

"Yes. Definitely." Newt was smiling radiantly too.

"Newt..." started Jacob. There was a slight wobble in his voice that made a twinge of fear spike inside him. "Does it hurt to bend your leg?"

"A bit. It's alright." Mallord looked up. "Movement is good for it. Exercises the muscles. Gets it used to being used." Nick nodded subtly. "Mm."

"Ah." Jacob's gaze flickered between the two doctors, then to Newt.

Nick drifted over to his little sister and bent down. He whispered something in her ear and Charlotte keyed something out on her keyboard.

"No problem. Thanks for letting me stay."

Nick chuckled softly. "Just try to stay relatively quiet?" Charlotte grinned innocently.

"Right. Let's do this, shall we?" said Mallord his tone slightly clipped.

From behind the table, he picked up a pair of crutches, long and silver-white.

Mallord considered the crutches, then looked at Newt, then back at the crutches. He drew his wand and swished it at the crutches. At once, one of them flew out of his grasp and, with a vibrate, then a jerk, extended into a slightly longer version.

"Yes. Yes, that works..." he murmured, then swished his wand at the other one and watched it grow longer.

Charlotte was grinning. So was Tina. Newt looked like he was trying to smile while sucking a lemon.

Nick reached for the crutches and threw Newt a wink. He smiled awkwardly back. Theseus hesitantly took a step forward, then grew more confident and strode over to Nick's side to help him with the crutches.

"Okay? We're going to take this nice and slow..." muttered Nick, handing Newt one of the crutches. Theseus gave him the other one. "Alright. We're alright. Cool!"

Mallord crossed the room and paused at Newt's other side. He nodded at his elder brother, and Theseus nervously took hold of one of Newt's arms. Gently, but firmly. A silent reminder that he was there if Newt needed him.

"Ready?"

He nodded, swallowing thickly. "Yes."

Newt gripped the crutches firmly, and only hesitated a moment before pushing into a wobbly stance. One of the crutches slipped from underneath him, and both brothers cringed as it hit the floor with a clatter.

"Woah. Okay. Alright, Newt.. Uh- wow. Alright," muttered Theseus, clutching onto his arm to balance him. Mallord immediately rushed to support him by holding onto Newt's other arm, though the latter seemed mildly uncomfortable with it.

Jacob moved forward to pick up the crutch left on the floor, and Queenie helped him hand it back to Mallord, who carefully slid it back into Newt's hand, almost like pass-the-parcel with a discarded crutch.