So it's not really romantic, but it IS Jacob/Queenie and I thought it would be an interesting thing to explore…

Enjoy!

It was a slow Monday morning when the bell above the door jingled cheerily to announce the entrance of a customer; having sent the shop-boys on break, he decided to attend to the counter himself. Straightening his apron, Jacob grinned and turned to greet the new customer with his usual jovial attitude – only to have his expression wiped clean at the sight.

She looked different to how she had before, so long ago in Paris; her clothes were darker, less vibrant and more mature, elegant and form-fitting – there were a few tatters here and there, the odd mark, but overall a classy outfit. Gone was her pink coat, her bright smile, the healthy flush of her cheeks; for a moment, just a moment, he couldn't believe that she was the same woman – the woman he had fallen in love with and not been able to forget.

"Queenie," He whispered, astounded. "Am I… I'm dreamin', right?"

She had to be a figment of his imagination, he told himself, there was no chance it was her, not after what had happened in the graveyard – she simply couldn't be standing there in his bakery, looking at him with wide eyes and a nervous look on her face. He had to be dreaming again, like he had for so many months after she'd first joined him; he would wake up anytime now, alone in bed and wondering about her.

"No," Queenie said quietly, taking a hesitant step forward. "You're not… It's me, Jacob."

It felt too real all of a sudden: the smell of pastries, how wan and tired she looked, the way she was biting her lip – no, it was too vivid to be a dream. For one thing, if it had been a dream, he'd have been able to say something to her, to move and embrace her in relief – but now he was rooted to the ground, staring at her with great uncertainty as he debated what to do. Part of him longed to take her into his arms, to tell her how much he'd missed her, how not a day passed where he didn't think about her and want her with him – but then he reminded himself that she had chosen her side, she had gone with him and made it clear where her loyalties lay. For all he knew, it was a trap: perhaps he had sent her on a mission of some kind, to lure him and their friends to danger.

Queenie's eyes filled with tears, shaking her head as she moved even closer. "No… No, Jacob, honey, that's not true! I ain't working for him no more, I promise – not after he…" Her breath hitched, and it was obvious that she was holding back a sob. "He lied and I fell for it."

Strangely, Jacob found himself unable to doubt her; perhaps it was how worse for wear she looked, maybe he just had too soft a heart – whatever the reason, he decided he believed her. "It's okay," He managed gently, stepping out from behind the counter and ushering her over to a table – hopefully no customers would enter and require his attention any time soon. "C'mon, you look exhausted; sit down and I'll make you a hot cocoa or something, get you something to eat... Just take it easy, alright?"

As he returned to the kitchen, he made his decision right then and there: as soon as the shop-boys were back from their break, he'd leave them in charge for an hour or so while he took care of Queenie – it was a Monday, there'd be less customers anyway, and he really didn't want to leave her alone. No, the best thing to do would be to take her back to his apartment down the street so that she could rest, and then hopefully they'd be able to talk properly about things.

After all, they had a lot of catching up to do.

She was silent during their walk to his apartment, barely able to even look at him; when they had reached his abode and the door had shut behind them, she quietly thanked him before gazing down at the floor awkwardly. It was clear she wanted to say something but she didn't know what – he, himself, felt lost for words.

"I'm afraid I ain't got any women's clothes," Jacob said, and then he hastily added, "I mean, it's just me living here, you know? Otherwise I'd be more than happy to lend you something…"

"I don't mind," Queenie murmured softly, looking around his apartment in interest. "I just…I don't wanna be in these clothes no more. I can't wear them, they make me feel sick and…and all I got on me is my slip and my wand."

For a moment, he wondered if it would be inappropriate to mention that he didn't mind her just wearing her slip in his apartment – not for any indecent reasons, just because he'd already seen in her in a slip before. Having said that, the circumstances then had been different – they hadn't seen each other in so long, so perhaps she'd feel awkward wearing nothing but her slip.

"I don't mind," She said suddenly, still not looking at him. "It ain't as modest as my old ones though…maybe I should just keep the dress on-"

"No, hang on," He interrupted, hurriedly making his way over to the small bedroom across the apartment. "I'll get you a robe or something to put on over it, just so you don't get cold."

His bathrobe was far too big for her, but she didn't seem to mind a bit as she took it from him and retreated to the bathroom to strip off her dress; when she returned, she had tied it around herself tightly. She managed a weak smile. "Thank you, Jacob. It's real nice of you."

"No problem," Jacob assured her easily, though he felt slightly awkward; he still didn't know what to say, what to do. He had no idea if she wanted to talk about it or if it would be better left unsaid for now – for all he knew, she no longer wanted to talk to him about things: perhaps she just needed a place to stay.

Queenie bit her lip, gazing down at the floor again. "No, I…I do wanna talk. We need to talk. I just…it ain't easy. Everything's so balled up…I understand if you don't wanna talk, I ain't gonna blame you-"

"No, no, we can talk," He agreed quickly. "Tell you what, you take a seat at the table and I'll whip us up some more hot cocoa – we can talk then."

Ten minutes later, he set down two large steaming mugs before taking the seat opposite her at the table; Queenie was anxiously twisting her wand between her fingers, eyes wide and almost-frightened. It didn't escape his notice that her hands were shaking slightly, or that she seemed to be sporting more than a few cuts and bruises. He didn't even want to imagine what she'd been through to get those.

"You just talk when you're ready," Jacob said patiently, not wanting to rush her. "I won't go nowhere, not unless you ask, alright?"

"You're too kind," She sighed, attempting to smile but failing miserably. "I don't deserve you being so nice, not after what I did… I'm sorry, Jacob."

"Queenie…"

Her breath hitched as she continued, tears starting to roll down her face. "I'm so sorry; I was stupid and naïve – I should never have believed him! I knew what he was, what he'd done, but I thought…he said…"

"Queenie, honey," He said without thinking, leaning over to put a hand on her arm; after a moment of hesitation, he pulled away, cheeks red. "Queenie, I ain't mad or nothing – I just been worried 'cause I want you safe. Besides, you ain't the only one who went to him; people keep joining up every day, that's what Tina says."

At the mention of her sister, she lifted her head. "Tina…I've missed her so much. How is she, Jacob? How is Newt? I heard rumours but he didn't let me know much about them, thought I'd leave if I did – how are they?"

"They're both fine," Jacob assured her; a small grin involuntarily made its way to his face. "Tina's been working over here with Newt's brother, Newt's got all his creatures in his basement… Actually, they're both doing better than fine: they got married last year."

Her mouth fell open in surprise. "Teen…she married Newt? They're together properly?"

"Yeah," He agreed. "Took 'em long enough, but they got there in the end."

"Oh." For a moment, she looked as if she were about to smile – and then she promptly burst into tears instead. "O-Oh…"

"Woah, Queenie," Jacob said worriedly, leaning forward. "Hey, what's the matter? That's a good thing, right? They're married and love each other, they're both happy…no need to cry."

"I-I am happy for them," Queenie insisted, choking on a sob. "But…But I should've been here! I can't believe I missed it – I missed Teen getting married! I was supposed to be there for her, to support her…she had no one else. I let her down."

He frowned but understood. "You ain't let her down, Queenie. Yeah, she wanted you to be there," He admitted carefully. "But she and Newt were still pretty happy; there were a bunch of us there for the two of them, so they weren't alone, I promise. They had a great day."

"They did?" She asked tearfully; when he nodded, she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of the robe she was wearing. He knew she was slowly shifting through his thoughts, trying to discover as much as she could about the wedding, and he decided to let her without complaint – he couldn't blame her for wanting to know more.

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes as she looked through his mind and memories, Queenie's eyes glazed over in deep thought. Finally, she sat back in her seat and sighed softly.

"I'm so happy for them," She whispered, though she didn't cry. "Oh, Jacob… She looked so beautiful, and she probably didn't even realize – but the way Newt looked at her…" A small smile started to tug at her lips despite herself. "It was a small wedding then."

"Well, they were kinda planning for a bigger thing," Jacob informed her with a shrug. "Pretty sure his parents wanted it to be bigger, some kinda upper-class thing, real fancy - but things didn't work out. All Newt said was that they'd had a bad time with his parents, and they didn't want to waste anymore time planning it. They just wanted to get married without any hassle – they were both so happy that afternoon, happier than I ever seen them before."

When she looked up at him, her eyes were wide with awe. "You walked her down the aisle?" He nodded, and she appeared both astounded and touched. "You're a good man, Jacob... Our Pa would be so happy that you did that since he couldn't – Ma would have been too, I know it. Thank you."

"No problem," Jacob said genuinely. "Honestly, I was honoured to do it – that and the cake. That was the first thing they asked for: me to bake a wedding cake."

"Of course they did," She told him, somewhat fondly. "No one else bakes like you do – the things you make, they taste like magic. I'm glad they had a nice day…they deserve it."

Just like that, her smile faded away again – he didn't need three guesses to figure out why. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, wondering once more what to say to her; once it had been so easy to speak to Queenie, even if he discounted the mind-reading, but now things were different – he didn't know what would be appropriate to say under these circumstances.

"I'm sorry, Jacob," She said quietly, staring down at her drink. "I know I oughta give you an explanation for what happened – I never should've done it, any of it, and I'm real ashamed of it all now."

"It's okay," Jacob tried weakly, not sure whether to try patting her again or not. "I mean…it's the past, right? I'm not mad or nothing, I promise…But…" He hesitated. "I am kinda curious. I mean, what made you do it? Why?"

Queenie sighed. "I thought he was telling the truth – I thought he was the answer. The way he talks…he's real convincing, even when you don't wanna believe him. That's why people keep joining him: he knows just what to say, just what they need to hear. I should've known better than to believe a thing he said – I knew what he was, what he'd done, but…but the way he talked about loving openly, loving freely? I wanted that so bad, Jacob – I wanted that for us."

He could still remember the words of Gellert Grindelwald at the rally in Paris; despite how much Queenie seemed to believe in them, he himself had felt uncomfortable and anxious the entire time. He remembered the names that people like him were called by those followers, and the sentiments of Grindelwald continued to echo in his mind.

Not lesser, but other. Not worthless, but of other value. Not disposable, but of a different disposition.

The words sounded silky sweet, but it had left him chilled to the bone: they disguised the truth, disguised Grindelwald's real feelings towards non-magical people – it was why he was so dangerous, why he was getting as far as he was.

Across the table, Queenie's shoulders shook with the emotion she was trying to hold in. "Oh, Jacob, I know! I know I shouldn't've believed him for one second, but he made it all sound so easy! It was all I wanted: the two of us to be together, to be married and have a family without having to hide it – I thought if we joined him, he could give us that. But…But I was wrong." She hid her face in her hands, now crying despite her best efforts not to. "I-I ruined everything for us."

"What? Nah, you didn't," Jacob said, surprised by this proclamation.

"You all probably hate me right now."

"Queenie," He said firmly, reaching across the table to pat her arm. "No one hates you – we've been worried sick about you, that's all. We wanted you to come home and be safe, be away from him and those people…but no one hates you, honey. No one." He swallowed. "Like I said, I'm just glad you're safe now."

She carefully laid a hand over his own, looking up and sighing. "It weren't easy escaping, Jacob – he wanted to keep me close, wanted me to do things for him. Nothing too bad," She added hurriedly at his look. "He had me reading minds, seeing who was loyal and all that; occasionally he had me listen to a prisoner or something, but he said it was important for his cause. Aurelius…" She paused. "Credence, I mean; he's training him to kill someone."

"To kill someone?" Jacob repeated, perplexed by this. "Who?"

"His brother," Queenie said quietly. "Grindelwald never said it out loud in front of me, and his thoughts were all locked up tight – he's an expert at Occlumency, see – but I think… I think he wants Dumbledore dead."

"Dumbledore? As in Albus Dumbledore?"

She nodded, somewhat anxiously. "Yeah. Grindelwald, he told Credence who he really was: his real name is Aurelius. Aurelius Dumbledore."

"Jeez…" His mind was whirring fast, everything suddenly weighing down on him. "Queenie, you…you gotta go to the people here, the Ministry, tell them everything you know."

"The Ministry?" She frowned.

"They need to know this stuff," Jacob insisted earnestly. "They ain't been having any luck convincing that Dumbledore guy to fight, and from what Newt and Tina told me, they don't know anything about Grindelwald's motives either. You need to tell them all this stuff."

Queenie was growing tearful again, this time with fear. "Oh, Jacob… I can't. They'll lock me up, think I'm an enemy and following his orders. Yeah, they will think that," She disagreed, clearly having read his thoughts. "Besides, if he finds out what I did…he won't rest 'til I'm disposed of. He'll hunt me down, murder me in my sleep."

"No, I won't let that happen," He told her firmly, now taking her hand in his own without hesitating. "Queenie, honey, I won't let nothing like that happen to you – if you come clean to the Ministry, they'll help you. Maybe they can give you somewhere safe and secret to go; they'll let you go if you cooperate, right? You help them, they might drop charges or something."

"Jacob…"

"Newt and Tina will help protect you from him," He continued. "And so will I. I know I can't do magic, I'm just me, but I won't let none of them hurt you – I ain't got a wand, sure, but I got two good fists I can use."

Despite the situation, she giggled softly and wiped her face. "You make it all sound so easy, Jacob – maybe it could all work out…maybe."

"It will," Jacob assured her, now more confident. "I'll tell you something, it's a lot safer here in London than anywhere else in the world: Newt's brother said Grindelwald ain't gonna come here because of Dumbledore – seems neither of them want to fight each other. He won't come here for you."

"One of the others might."

"If they do, we'll sort them out," He decided, rather sure. "None of them are as powerful as him, right? I think if you're given a safe place with extra security and all that, you'll be fine – they'll never find you."

It was starting to get darker outside now; the clock on the wall was now nearing five, meaning the bakery would be closed soon. As Queenie digested what he had said, Jacob took both of their mugs over to the sink to wash them out, still thinking – he knew she'd pick up his thoughts anyway.

Won't let nothing happen to her, He told himself, Newt and Tina will want her safe – and she can take care of herself too, she's more than capable with her wand… Nah, anyone who comes looking for her won't get her if we act quick. She'll be safe here-

"Alright," She said quietly.

Jacob froze on the spot, turning to look at her. "Alright?"

"I'll go to the Ministry," Queenie agreed softly. "I'll tell them anything they wanna know, answer any questions – even if they put me in jail, it's for the best. Maybe if I tell them what I know, they can stop him."

"Oh. Yeah." He gave her a small, hopeful smile. "You're doing the right thing, Queenie." He quickly cast a glance out of the window before looking at her once more. "It's kinda late now though – most of them are probably packing up, and I don't exactly know how to get there; I only ever been there with Newt."

She nodded, relieved by this. "Yeah, that's a good idea – I think I should rest first, before they start asking any questions."

"Of course. Here, you can take my bed tonight," Jacob decided. "You get a good night sleep – you're probably exhausted after everything – and I can take the couch."

"Oh, Jacob, you don't have to-"

"No, you're taking the bed," He insisted. "It'll make me feel easier, knowing you're sleeping properly. Newt and Tina's place is a couple streets away from here, so maybe we could go to them in the morning so they can take us to the Ministry."

Unless she don't want me there, he thought privately.

Queenie managed a weak but genuine smile. "I do want you there, Jacob – so long as you don't mind. You've got the bakery and everything now over here, and I don't wanna drag you away from that."

"It'll be fine," Jacob insisted. "I'll get one of the shop-boys to take over, they know how it's all run by now, and Tuesdays ain't that busy usually anyway." He hesitated again, clearly not sure whether he should say what was on his mind.

He didn't need to. "It's good to see you again too," Queenie murmured softly. "I thought 'bout you every day as well – I missed you terribly… Thank you, Jacob – you're too kind for your own good, you know."

Neither of them said anything else on the matter; there would be time to discuss things at the Ministry the next day, when Newt and Tina could listen to the full story too. For now, they were both content to just spend the rest of the evening together, pleased to be in each other's company once more.

The ending sucked but I'm tired :p

Comments and reviews are love!