Alta Mar/High Seas

Epilogue

There will be a season three! Thank goodness. While we wait though I need some closure. I do hope you enjoy the story ;)

OOOOOO

Chapter One

The Aftermath

Nicolas would have thought he'd jump at the opportunity to meet his wife again. He'd mourned her deeply, he'd looked everywhere he could for her but to no avail. After a while he'd forced himself to accept that she'd died somewhere in one of those horrible prison camps. He'd clammed up inside, thrown himself into work to numb the pain it caused him to even think about her death. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought he'd see her again.

The irony was that after everything that had happened recently he didn't cherish the thought of meeting her. He'd come to love the stubborn brunette who'd so briskly walked into his life only a few days before and he didn't want to let her go. Unfortunately he had no choice but to let Eva Villanueva walk out of his life never to come back. Nicolás just didn't know how he would be able to put a lid on his emotions and newfound love for the petite woman and find his way back to his wife. Maybe it wasn't even possible?

When he'd first met Chantal all those years ago he'd been young and brash and she had thought she could change the world; make it a better place. He'd been smitten by her enthusiasm and her charisma, her soft lilting voice and that French accent of hers. Chantal and Eva shared the same stubborn streak, the nosiness, the will to find the truth and to do something about injustices in the world but there was something more to Eva he couldn't quite put his finger on. There was something that felt so right about her.

He felt terrible for thinking about Eva when he waited patiently for Chantal to come and meet him but he couldn't help it.

It wasn't joy that overcame him when Chantal finally called out his name, it was sadness and a sense of despair. She was his wife yet after three years of absence she felt like a complete stranger to him.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the black car carrying Fernando, Carolina and Eva slowly idling away along the busy streets of the harbor. He swallowed hard as he realized he'd just let the real love of his life leave him forever.

"Nicolás?" Chantal spoke up softly. "Aren't you glad to see me?"

He forced a smile as they broke the awkward embrace and stood at an arms distance from each other. "I guess I am just surprised, that's all," he replied softly as he took in her appearance. "Chantal, I thought you died three years ago."

She looked at him with disappointment. "Do you wish I had?" she asked carefully.

Nicolás swallowed. "Chantal. How can you even suggest such a thing?" he asked sadly. "I looked for you everywhere I could. In the end I was forced to accept that-" he trailed off and sighed as he looked away.

She placed a petite hand on his shoulder and gave him a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Are you coming home with me?" she asked carefully.

"How long have you been living here?" he asked curiously.

Chantal swallowed and broke eye contact for a while to stare at the ground. "Not long," she finally said as she tilted her head upwards to look at him again. "Nicolás, you have to believe me. I haven't been hiding from you I-," she trailed off and sighed wearily. "It's been a trying time and there is so much to tell you I don't even know where to start."

He nodded gloomily.

"It isn't that easy to track down a sailor either, love," she whispered, her eyes downcast once again as if she was ashamed of something.

He forced a polite smile on his lips. "Well, it's going to be all right now that we've finally found each other," he said kindly.

Hope lit behind her eyes as she looked at him. "Will you come then?" she asked.

"When I am ready," he replied cryptically and nodded at the large ship tied to the dock not too far away. "My home is here at the moment."

"I thought you'd had enough of rough seas for a while," she said dejectedly. "This is not the reunion I had imagined Nicolás."

He smiled at her. "A lot of things has happened, Chantal. Do you live nearby?"

She smiled back and gently tugged at his arm to follow her. "Please, Nicolás, can't you at least come over and talk?" she asked. "Let me at least explain my absence."

OOOOOO

A sense of relief oddly washed over Alvaro Rojas as he was lead off the ship closely followed by Detective Varela and his goons. He, a doctor, had shot a man to death. The strange thing was that he wasn't sorry and he would have done it again. He cursed being the family doctor of the Villanueva family as they finally reached dry land.

It was a strange sensation to have solid ground under his feet again after having been on that blasted ship for what felt like ages. Yet it was with a sense of regret he looked back upon the large vessel, things would never be the same again after this trip. Considering everything that had happened during the last few years he doubted he'd ever see the sun again nor set his foot outside the four walls of the prison he was being taken to. His worst fears was finally coming true.

"Please wait," a familiar voice called out from behind.

Rojas turned around in surprise to see Pedro Villanueva as he walked up to them.

The other, older man, studied his former friend and doctor for a moment then gave him a sad smile before he shifted his focus to the tough detective.

"Varela, I have made some calls, asked a few favors while I waited to disembark the ship," he explained seriously. "You see Doctor Rojas and I go back a long way. I simply have to grant him a final chance to live freely without any restraints."

"Meaning," Varela demanded gruffly.

"Meaning," Pedro echoed. "That one of the best attorneys in the country is awaiting Rojas at his arrival. As far as he is concerned the good doctor here only acted in everyone's best interest when he shot my deluded and demented brother."

Alvaro could hardly believe a word as he swayed on his feet. The idea of being free once again was mind-blowing.

"I'm sure that you're aware, Detective Varela that Doctor Rojas saved several lives during this journey, my own and the ship's first officer included."

"It is his duty to save lives," Varela said, not the least impressed.

"A lot of bad things happened during this voyage across the ocean wouldn't you say?" Pedro reasoned. "Put in a different light Doctor Rojas killed a murderer of the worst possible kind."

The policeman narrowed his eyes at him as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Pedro gently tipped his hat at them as he began to walk away. "Goodbye Alvaro, I am afraid our friendship can't be saved but at least your life can be spared. Have a pleasant stay in Rio."

OOOOOO

Pierre swallowed as he leaned casually over the railing to overlook the bustling harbor. People cheered, laughed and celebrated on the streets. Reunions of families played out before him and the sea lay calm as a mirror all the way to the horizon. The journey had been a trying one with Captain Aguirre momentarily losing his mind, pulling a gun on Nicolás and Mr. Fábregas only to be aimed at himself by a seemingly outrageous Mr. de Souza. In the end the captain had gathered his wits but not before Nicolás had been shot and almost killed.

Then there was the raging storm that had threatened to bring the entire ship to the bottom, a situation he had been left to deal with alone as Nicolás was unconscious and the captain detained. He'd pulled through the ordeal and come out of it stronger in his role as the second officer but on a personal level he had lost a part of himself during the journey, a part that seemed unreplaceable at the moment. Clara Romane had been the love of his life. He felt sick to his stomach as he thought about how he'd let her down, how he hadn't seen how bad she was faring. He had realized too late, far too late, how manipulative Natalia could be and what a coward she'd been while trying to save her own skin. At first he had felt sorry for the woman due to the way Aníbal had treated her. The man's aggressive and arrogant behavior had caused Natalia to drink away her sorrows and that was something no woman should ever have to do.

Pierre had seen the way Aníbal's eyes had roamed over other women in the dancehall and he had seen the bruises on Natalia's cheek the day after the storm. Their relationship had been passionate, infectious and dangerous which Clara had come to learn the hard way as she accidentally got between them. That's whom she was, a kind young woman who wanted nothing more than to sing for a large crowd and help others if she could. He would forever curse the two of them for driving her to an early grave.

Pierre's heart stopped at the sight of a white casket being gently lifted off the ship and he squeezed the railing so hard that his knuckles turned white. He set his jaw and clenched his teeth as his soft brown eyes darkened with anger and sorrow. He had wanted to marry her, to have a family. He had loved her deeply, still did, which was why seeing her casket felt like a knife to his chest, like an open wound that never seemed to stop bleeding.

He didn't know where to go from here except that he would stay on as second officer of Barbara de Braganza. Perhaps, after the funeral, that was the best thing he could do, to come to terms with everything, to sail the seven seas and focus on his career until the agony of losing her would be bleached and washed away by the ocean.

OOOOOO

Verónica was standing in a dimly lit corridor that seemed to stretch for miles ahead. She gently wiped the tear away from under her eyes as she peered at the door which lead to the room where her mother lay unconscious. She couldn't understand how it had happened in the first place. Her mother wasn't capable of killing another woman, she was the kindest woman there was to find to hear her confess such an act made her skin crawl.

"Verónica!" Carolina called worriedly as she set a brisk pace towards her with her husband and little sister in tow.

She gave them a forced but at the same time genuine smile as they neared.

"It's going to be okay," Eva said softly as she gently put her hands on Verónica's shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze. "I promise you."

Veronica couldn't hold her emotions back any longer. "To think mother killed another woman,-" she whispered and trailed off in despair.

"It was in self-defense," Fernando reasoned.

Carolina nodded seriously. "Of course it was. Francisca would never do such a thing," she added.

Veronica nodded with a forlorn expression and dabbed at the ruined makeup under her eyes.

"How is she?" Eva asked carefully.

"I don't know. Dimás went to see if we could speak to the doctor. The nurse didn't want tell us anything," she said.

Carolina eyed Fernando who nodded and took a step backwards. "Maybe it helps if I push a little for the information," he said and turned to leave.

OOOOOO

To be continued