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For a moment, Tina wondered whether it might be best to leave her husband to his thoughts. To go back upstairs and get them both a cup of tea to sit with, let him do some more work with the creatures and let him process. It was only fair after all, she had suspected that she might be pregnant for a week. He’d just had this bombshell dropped on him in the middle of the afternoon. This was life changing for them both.

But instead, she held off for a few more moments, smiling at his little nod. He was responsive at least. She can hear her heart thumping underneath her blouse, having shed her coat and jacket when she’d arrived in the cottage. One of their kneazles, the only creature they let stay upstairs had rubbed itself happily against her legs for a little bit. She’d had a quick cuddle before beginning downstairs to talk to Newt.

She couldn’t help it, she had to let out a little laugh when he told her about elephants, of all things. “No, I didn’t. That’s nearly two years, gosh.” She commented when he explained how all creatures spent a lot of their lives preparing for childbirth. Tina nodded, looking down at their conjoined hands. “What I mean to say is that we don’t need to rush to get started. We have time to think about all this.” She explained. The last thing she wanted was her husband throwing himself into work preparing for a baby before they’d both come to terms with it. 

A small crack appeared in Tina’s heart when he told her that he would have to take the creatures back to the wild. She knew how much he loved his creatures and the idea that he would have to let some of them go for her and their baby made her feel guilty.  She agreed with him fundamentally, some of the creatures were probably too dangerous to have with a newborn. She doesn’t know what to say. “I’ll really miss them.” She whispered. 

She straightened up slightly when he turned fully to face her, squeezing his hands softly. “Well, it’s obviously not the most perfect of times but from what I’ve been told, it never really is. We can’t be expected to keep putting our lives on hold.” She commented when he asked her how she felt about it. Tina supposed it didn’t matter in the end, they were having a baby whether they liked it or not. “They’re probably going to put me in another department the moment they find out. But I suppose it’s better than back in MACUSA, they simply fired you there.” She muttered, thinking back to memories of fired colleagues in her old workplace. 

Tina gave his hand another squeeze. “But I’m happy even if it’s not the overriding emotion underneath all the rest of it. All the shock and questions.” She explained, smiling a little brighter as she looked up at Newt. “This is a new type of adventure.” 

“I’m not entirely sure there’s much more to think about,” Newt admits openly, lips forming a thin line. If Tina was pregnant then that much was settled, the next part was preparation. It wasn’t ideal, he wasn’t even sure he much wanted to be a father (not then), but there was no denying that for whatever reasons the fates decided they needed exactly that. There was no more thinking to do, simply doing.

He brushed a finger down the bridge of his nose uncertainty settling in his shoulders. It feels odd, to think about the coming months, which for him had been empty save editing a new edition of the book and waiting on orders from Dumbledore. All things he was prepared for, in his own way, he highly doubted he’d ever be fully ready for this next adventure. Canting his head to the side when Tina speaks, he shift to untangle his hand from hers and reaches swiftly to tuck a lock of hair away.

“Come now,” He says lightly, forcing a smile onto his features, “they were never going to stay forever. You know that. Very few of our creatures stay forever, only those that need to. My highest hopes for them is that they’ll be well and safe enough to return to their homes. It wouldn’t do to keep them locked up forever. They’ve been ready to go, but it seemed… Easier to wait until Dumbledore sent me.” After all, he couldn’t explain why he was heading to Asia or southern Africa in a short span without proper, explainable reason. Newt’s fingers ghost over her cheek before he drops his hand once more with an exhale.

There’s a short nod when she continues, eyes focused on their now entwined hands. There would never be a good time, for that he agreed, but it seemed a dangerous time. Human babies often seemed more fragile and helpless than animal ones to him. And though he thinks she might have her suspicisions, Newt doesn’t want to say he’s not exactly thrilled with the idea of having such a small child around. He knows it will sound wrong, but to him it seems selfish when he has so many others that need care. 

Instead he presses the thought back with a small hum, “Well, I always did say America was backward.  But is that what you think, Tina, that we’ve been putting our lives on hold?” Had Tina been wanting children this whole time and he’d been a fool not to see? Was she unhappy with what they had? It was true, he’d much rather neither of them have to deal with the war, but he was never unhappy with the quiet life he held with Tina (or at least, as quiet as it got for them).

Newt’s eyes are drawn to their hands as she continues. He concentrates on the warmth in them and her voice before he glances up at her. An exhale.”Then a new adventure we’ll have,” he manages softly, the words sounding odd even to him, “you’ll have to forgive me if I never pictured myself a father. Not to a human child, anyway, it’s– It’s a very strange idea.” And he’s rather not sure he’ll be any good at it, but that’s a private worry and one he’ll keep to himself. If Tina is happy then, for now, that’s all that matters.