Stories of Our Life: The Second Volume

6: Lullaby

It was midnight when Newt awoke to the sound of crying coming from down the hall. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he stretched with a groan and got out of bed.

Quietly, he walked down the hall to the nursery where the crying came from. Upon entering, he found his daughter Willow, only ten months old, wailing and screaming. Newt sighed and picked her up, cradling her in his arms.

"Shh, shh. You wouldn't want to wake your brother, now, do you?" he whispered to her, rocking her from side to side to calm her down. "Shh, Will, daddy's here. Daddy's here..."

It didn't work much, for the baby continued to cry. Newt sighed. Then, he thought of something.

What was that song Tina used to sing her to sleep?

"Ah," Newt smiled, remembering. He breathed in, swaying the baby gently, and began to sing.

Sun goes down

And we are here together

As soon as the words left his mouth, little Willow's crying began to subside. Newt smiled and continued to sway his daughter, looking at her lovingly. He continued to sing softly.

Fireflies

Glow like a thousand charms

Stay with me

And you can dream forever

Right here in my arms tonight

Newt finished singing and Willow finally fell asleep again. Gently, he placed her back into her tiny cot. He caressed her little face and kissed her forehead, tucking her in. He sighed happily and turned to leave the room when...

"Tina?"

Under the threshold stood Tina. She was smiling softly at him, arms around herself.

"Hi," she greeted quietly.

They were met with silence, then. Newt didn't know what to say or do. He wanted to hold her, touch her, kiss her.

But he knew that he couldn't.

It was impossible now.

Newt closed his eyes and sighed. "You're...you're not really here, are you?" he asked. He opened his eyes a second later in time to her shake her head, her face crestfallen.

"Sadly..." she began. "No."

Newt nodded. "I...see..." His heart wrenched in his chest. She wasn't there, with him. Completely. She was just... "You're just a vision, right? An...apparition of sorts?"

"I don't really know, love," Tina replied in a whisper, shrugging. She didn't meet his eyes. "I just...I just wanted to see you before I..."

"Before you go," Newt finished for her.

Tina nodded silently. Another moment passed before she continued. "Newt...I...I'm so sorry..."

"What for?"

"For..." she gulped, hugging herself tighter. "For going on that mission. I...I know we just had Willow and...and..." she sniffled, bowing her head. "I was just so reckless, I...I.."

"Tina," Newt lamented. She raised her head. "It's alright...I completely understand. You had to, it's your job." He offered her a weak smile. "And you wanted to protect us. To protect Evan and Willow. You did it to help stop him."

"I know!" Tina cried. "It's just...I left them too soon...they won't have a mother..."

Newt bit his lip as the tears came flooding in. It had been three months since he last saw her in person. The last time he held her in his arms, the last he kissed her, the last time they said, "I love you."

Newt missed it—missed her.

It was just too soon.

"Newt?" Tina called, pulling him out from his thoughts.

"Y-yes?"

"Protect them. For me, please?" she requested, her tears shimmering as they rolled down her cheeks. Newt wanted to wipe them away.

"I will. I promise," Newt nodded.

Tina sighed. She stared at him lovingly. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

And with that, Tina faded away like she wasn't there, to begin with.

Newt fell to his knees and cried.

I miss you, so much, Tina.

A/N: This one shot is my lame attempt on angst without a happy ending :') I am sorry

[Edited and Re-uploaded: August 8, 2020]