SECOND CHANCES

Part Seven

"Where is she?" The Captain quickly paced in front of the bay window in the living room. He turned to face the rather amused figure of Martha, seated knitting in the wing chair next to the fireplace. "Something must be wrong."

"Oh, nothing's wrong, Captain. And for Heaven's sake stop pacing, you're wearing out the floor. I told Mrs. Muir to come home and she's on her way. Boston's not 'round the corner, you know..."

"Boston? I could have circumnavigated the globe by now! Why, I have made more rapid journeys on horseback."

Martha laughed. "Well, I'm sure ol'Paint had a bit more horsepower under the hood than that old station wagon."

"Automotive machinery has nothing to do with it. Females are genetically incapable of being on time for anything!"

Grinning ear to ear, Martha was thoroughly enjoying the Captain's impatience. "Well, maybe, but you have to admit that you males sure seem to love us anyway."

"I admit nothing." He shook a disapproving finger at her. "And you, Madam, can stop that snickering at once!"

"I'm sorry, Captain, it's just that I've never seen you so nervous before."

"Nervous!! I am not now, nor have I ever been, nervous! Cautious, anxious, perhaps even apprehensive at times, but never 'nervous'. No, I'll leave such useless emotional states to lily-livered jellyfish like Claymore. Nervous, indeed!"

He seated himself on the couch and crossed his feet up on the coffee table. Arms crossed across his strong chest he stroked the edge of his beard with his fingertips, the very picture of relaxed discomfort. He forced a smile in Martha's general direction, eliciting smothered giggles in return.

After what seemed like an eternity, lights flashed in the window as the car turned into the drive. Martha quickly rose from her chair and crossed the room toward the double doors leading to the hall.

"That'll be Mrs. Muir. I think I'll go check on the children," she said with a knowing smile.

The Captain rose, keeping careful tabs on his composure, and walked to the fireplace. He suddenly became aware of the pounding in his chest. He resisted the urge the run to the door and place his heart at her feet. He placed his arm on the mantle, as much to steady himself as to present a casual appearance. At long last, he heard the familiar voice from the entryway. He closed his eyes and waited.

"Martha. What a long day," she placed her purse and briefcase on the chair near the door. She removed her sweater and tossed it on the arm of the chair.

"Good evening, Mrs. Muir. How was Boston?"

"Exhausting. So, tell me what is it that couldn't wait until tomorrow."

"Well, it's not so much a 'what' as a 'who', Mrs. Muir. You have a guest." Martha gestured to the half closed doors to the living room. Bending close to Carolyn's ear she added, "Marry him the moment he asks you."

Carolyn let out a small laugh, her first in days, and cocked her head in response. "That must be some guest..." As she entered the room she stopped short at the sight of the figure by the fireplace.

"Guest? No Captain is a passenger aboard his own ship."

There was no mistaking the voice. The physical presence is what took her by surprise, and not just because he was in different clothes. As the Captain turned to face her she noticed how blue his eyes were. His familiar face seemed tanned and he somehow appeared larger, more imposing than ever before. It was as though she were seeing him for the first time, and the same thought came to mind as had on that first occasion: magnificent.

So many emotions flooded her mind at once; incredible relief at seeing him again, embarrassed discomfort at facing him for the first time since their very emotional confrontation several days before, anger at his leaving her to worry, and finally doubt about what she was truly seeing. It could not be the Captain standing before her. This man was obviously alive and, apparently, very well. Her own heart pounded with possibilities while her head recommended a steady course. She stared, frozen and expressionless for several moments.

"It is I, dear lady," he said softly. It took all the restraint he possessed not to instantly sweep her into his arms. Somehow he knew he must let the shock wear off before giving in to emotion.

Carolyn slowly shook her head in disbelief. She found her voice. "No. No, it can't be. This is some sort of a joke, right? I mean, it's just not possible..."

"These past few days I have learned that, under the right circumstances, anything is possible." He crossed the room and stood very near to her. For a long moment their eyes met. Never altering his gaze, the Captain took her hand in his. They both felt the electricity as their flesh touched for the first time.

"How lovely you look tonight." Bringing her hand to his lips, he kissed her lightly on the fingertips.

Carolyn gasped slightly as her hand brushed his beard. She tentatively broke free of his hand and gently touched the side of his face, her eyes still locked on his. There was no doubting the love she found there.

"It is you. Tell me I'm not dreaming."

He smiled down at her. "Not this time, my dear. Not this time."

They heard Martha rather noisily making her way back downstairs, so as not to interrupt anything.

"Blast," the Captain muttered to himself.

Self-consciously they separated, with the Captain resuming his pose at the edge of the fireplace, his arm resting on the mantle, his fingers rubbing his right ear. He soon realized that his hand bore the lingering scent of Carolyn's favorite perfume.

The three stood in awkward silence for a moment or two. The Captain's eyes rarely left Carolyn, taking in everything about her as he often did when she was in the room. Of course, prior to this night, his admiring glances usually went unnoticed by human eyes. For her part, Carolyn was still quite shocked and confused by the events unfolding before her. She had a million questions that she was afraid to ask. She couldn't help but keep her own gaze fixed on him, afraid that if she so much as blinked he would be gone. It was Martha who broke the deafening silence.

"Well, the children are off to sleep. Jonathan was so excited, I didn't think he'd ever give in. I think you wore them out, Captain," Martha smiled and gestured toward the Captain. "They didn't leave him alone for a minute, Mrs. Muir. I wouldn't be surprised if Jonathan wants to bring the Captain in to school for Show-and-Tell."

"I can just imagine," Carolyn responded. Her voice somewhat distant, still a bit unsteady. "Looks like you've got yourself a playmate, Captain."

"Quite. He's a fine lad, and Candy is a lovely girl...not to mention a great hitter."

They all laughed and lapsed into awkward silence again.

"Can I get you anything, Mrs. Muir, before I turn in?"

Carolyn looked at her watch in surprise. "Turn in? It's not even nine o'clock..." Am I afraid to be alone with him?

"Well, I've got a book I'm just dying to finish." She was obviously lying, and enjoying it as well, but never one to leave with an unexpressed thought, she added: "Besides, it's a bit crowded in this room, what with the elephant and all...Goodnight." Martha left, closing the double doors behind her.

Carolyn blushed and the Captain suppressed a smile beneath his hand. He moved to the table where the bottle of brandy sat. Pouring two glasses, he spoke first.

"Your housekeeper is quite perceptive, Madam. Irritating, but perceptive." He handed Carolyn a glass and gestured for her to have a seat on the couch. After she had done so, he took a long draw on the brandy enjoying the aroma and taste. With a gentle swirl, he held the glass up to the light of the fireplace, admiring the color and body of the liquid. "One never forgets the simple pleasures your senses can provide."

"I should hope not," said Carolyn, sipping from her own glass. She desperately tried to sound casual. Her reporter's mind still doubted what her heart already knew for certain. "It's what makes life worthwhile."

"Indeed." The Captain caught himself looking at her again. He seated himself on the couch, turned slightly to face her. He placed his glass on the table in front of them and then took Carolyn's glass from her hand and did the same. "Isn't it about time we acknowledged the elephant in the room?"

"I...I don't know where to start." She was afraid that the answer to her inquiries would provide the ultimate disappointment, that somehow this was but another fragile, and temporary, illusion. Or worse, she might discover that this man was not who he appeared to be. Carolyn chose to begin with the obvious.

"What's going on? How did you..." She was silenced by his finger on her lips. A chill went through her body as he touched her again. All doubts as to his identity faded as he smiled and moved his hand from her lips across her face and tenderly smoothed her hair. Although impossible, she knew his lover's touch. "Captain..." she whispered.

"The tea party is over, Carolyn."

Carolyn's face flushed red as she heard him utter her name. Unable to hold back any longer she fell into his arms, "Daniel." Her voice was tentative as she spoke his name for the first time, but her physical response was unrestrained. Their first embrace was as tender and electrifying as they had each imagined. After a long while of silent passion, they separated, recovering their breath and composure. Carolyn nuzzled her face in his neck, her arm draped across his chest, unconcerned about the how and why of their current situation.

Daniel leaned back on the couch, eyes closed, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. He gradually became aware of a muffled sound from his neck. Pulling away slightly, he looked down into the tearful face of the woman he loved.

"I am compelled to confess that this is not the reaction for which I had hoped." His face registered his utter confusion.

Carolyn laughed beneath her sobs. She looked up at him and stroked the side of his beard with the back of her fingers. "I'm sorry. I've been such a mess lately. Trying to hold everything in and to be strong for the children. And then you left and I thought...And now this, it's just so, so...unbelievable." She tried to catch her breath, laughing and crying and releasing the pent up emotion of the last few weeks.

He held her close, rubbing her back to comfort her. He felt the softness of her hair. He felt the warmth of her body in his hands and the dampness of her tears on his neck. For the first time in a century he felt like a man and, for the first time ever, Daniel Gregg felt like man in love.

After a short time, Carolyn sat up and wiped her eyes. She took a tissue from her skirt pocket and dried her face. Now laughing, she looked up at her Captain.

"I'm sorry, I must look a mess."

The Captain shook his head. "I can honestly say that you have never appeared more beautiful to me than at this very moment." He wiped away her last tear with his hand as he stroked her face.

Again blushing, Carolyn dropped her gaze for a moment, looking at the glasses on the table before her, averting her eyes from his. Then, aware that he was still looking at her, it dawned on her that this moment was unlike all the other compliments she had received from him. There was no need for retreat, no longer cause for denying the feelings he stirred inside her. She looked up and found his eyes still fixed on her, his expression revealing the same thoughts.

She met his intense look with one of her own. "Thank you." She decided to return the compliment. "And speaking of appearances, I once thought that your portrait didn't do you justice, I now realize that I could say the same for your spirit."

The Captain laughed, running his hand away from her face and lightly down her arm. "It would seem, Madam, that we have something of a mutual admiration society."

Their conversation again familiar and casual, Carolyn was finally feeling comfortable enough to take the initiative. "Oh, I don't know, Captain." Playfully reminding him of his own earlier admonition. "I think we have more than that..." She pulled closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, playing with the curls at the back of his hair. The kiss she offered him revealed all the deepest emotion she had denied ever since meeting him, emotion which he eagerly accepted and returned.

They became lost in their passion for each other, unaware of the passage of time. They were slowly becoming as familiar with each other physically as they were spiritually, when suddenly a great thunderclap pierced the romantic silence of their private world and lightning flashed a warning across the firelit room. They broke their embrace, startled at the interruption.

"Oh, blast!" The Captain was instantly aware of the warning Digby had given him on the beach.

Carolyn looked up quizzically, "Did... you do that?"

"No," he sighed, glancing upward. A mass of conflicting emotions, the Captain forced himself to pull away from her slightly. He knew if they remained entwined on the couch much longer that there would be a storm of their own creation.

"What would you say to a stroll...on the beach?" He looked and sounded very much like someone who was trying to convince himself that this was a very good idea. He was unable to take his eyes off the beautiful woman sitting within his reach. "In the fresh air?"

Carolyn was shocked, not to mention disappointed. "A stroll? You mean, now?"

The Captain stood beside her, taking her hands in his and pulling her up to a standing position. He ran his hands along her back stopping as he reached the start of her slightly rumpled skirt. With a reluctant shake of his head and a smile he released her, took her hand and led her out the door of Gull Cottage, stopping only long enough to grab her sweater from the chair in the hall.

The night was cool for mid-June, even by Maine standards, but the moonlight illuminated their path to the beach. They walked hand in hand for some time in silence, enjoying the sound of the surf.

"I suppose you would like an explanation for my present condition?" His voice was soft, but still a beacon of strength in the quiet of the night.

"Among other things," Carolyn responded with a laugh as she dropped his hand and interlocked her arm tightly in his.

He nodded in agreement. Stopping and turning to face her, he was rendered almost breathless at the sight of her bathed in the soft light of the moon.

Mistaking his distracted state for apprehension, Carolyn feared that there was something he was reluctant to tell her. "Daniel, is this temporary?" She had to know, it was the question nagging at her since she first realized it was, indeed, him before her.

"Life is always temporary, my dear," he smiled as he spoke. "And, thankfully, in my case so was death."

"But how? How did you manage this?" She feared his answer, wondering what he had sacrificed to gain this incredible end.

"I am flattered by your faith in my powers, Madam, but I assure you that even I could not begin to conceive of accomplishing this particular feat."

"Well then, who did?"

"It was you, dear lady."

"Me? I don't understand..."

"Yes, you. Or more, specifically, your love for me, yours and the children's. My life is a gift from you and, I suppose, to you as well." He stood facing her, taking both her hands in his. "My spiritual presence in your lives was proving too painful for the spirits to allow. Removing me, or rather, my leaving...did nothing to lessen that pain. Since there were other extenuating circumstances as well, it was determined that I should be returned to this plane, to you and to the children, to live out my true destiny. Our true destiny." He brought her hands to his lips.

"Then you really did leave Gull Cottage?" She hadn't wanted to believe that he was really gone, that he was capable of leaving her.

"Yes," he admitted. "Looking back I must admit that I was...encouraged to do so, for your benefit. I must also admit that I charted that course with the deepest regret...It was, by far, the most difficult thing I have ever done."

"You didn't even say good-bye," Carolyn looked hurt.

"I couldn't. I knew that, despite our problems, if I saw you again I would never leave. I am still not even certain I could have stayed away. In fact, I highly doubt it. Anyway, it was the correct choice, one which earned me the right to be here with you now."

Her expression warmed with the realization that it had all worked out for the best. She leaned in close to him, resting her head on his chest, listening to the comforting sound of his heartbeat. She imagined herself falling asleep to that sound every night for the rest of their days.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up at him once more, suddenly a reporter. "What 'extenuating circumstances'?"

The Captain had also been distracted by his own thought of her in his arms and failed to follow her thought. "I beg your pardon?"

"You said there were 'other extenuating circumstances.' What did you mean?"

He laughed and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "It's a long story." He decided to save the extended version of his encounter with Digby for a later time. "Let's just say that my death was really an accident, an...administrative error. The first of many, actually." He rolled his eyes.

"They have administrative errors in the afterlife?" Carolyn chuckled.

"Well, after all, they're only human. Or, at least, they were." They both laughed and he pulled her chin up to his and kissed her once more, gently and tenderly. "It happened about here, you know." He gestured around them to a spot at the waterline. "This is where I first appeared in this form."

"Really?" said Carolyn. She wished she could have been with him at that moment, slightly jealous that the children had seen him first.

"Yes," he looked away from the ocean and fixed his eyes on hers, taking her in his arms again. "Carolyn, my new life may have started then, but it didn't begin until I held you in my arms."

She flushed as he bent to one knee in the sand before her. She felt the warmth of his hand as he held hers. Sensing what was coming, she tried to memorize every detail, almost detaching herself from her body so she could watch the moment unfold.

"I am not sure what I ever did to deserve this gift of life, nor what I have done to deserve your love. But I promise you that neither one is misplaced in me. I have been returned once more to this Earth with but one purpose. To love you and your children forever, in this life and the next. And I do love you, Carolyn Muir." The tears in his eyes and the tightness in his throat prevented him for saying more. His voice breaking, he managed to utter the phrase he had practiced a thousand times, "Carolyn, will you marry me?"

Whether it was the overriding sound of the surf against the rocks or the absence of sound from her throat he did not know, but the Captain heard no audible response to his question. He only saw her tears of joy and the small nod of her head as she bent down to meet him. As they kissed again, they settled into the sand, sitting facing the shoreline. She nestled in between his knees, leaning against his chest with his arms and body wrapped around her to shield her from the cool breeze. They sat for several hours, as comfortable as an old married couple and as excited by each other as teenagers experiencing love for the first time.

In the course of their conversation, Carolyn turned her head toward him as he kissed her neck.

"Are you sure this is how you want to spend your new life, Captain?" Carolyn teased. "I mean, there is a whole new generation of conquests out there for you." Her tone became a bit more serious as she watched the moonlight dance on the horizon. "It's a different world, don't you have any desire to see it?"

His response was one of mock arrogance. "I have seen the world and it is vastly overrated." He could barely hold back his grin as he shrugged. "Besides, it's mostly water anyway." They both laughed aloud as he reached for her, his voice low and intimate. "And as for what I desire..." His expression revealed his hunger for her touch. "We must marry tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" She responded with amused outrage. "You've got to be kidding? You can't just throw a wedding together in 12 hours!"

"Madam, if you think I am going to spend another night on the couch like some blasted Boy Scout, you are out of your beautiful, female mind." He pulled her to him and kissed her, giving her a taste of the passion their wedding night would bring.

Completely convinced, and slightly woozy, Carolyn agreed, "You're right. Definitely tomorrow."

They walked back toward the house satisfied in their declaration, at long last, of their love for one another and anticipating the sweet ecstasy of the coming hours. When they reached the living room, the Captain allowed Carolyn to enter first. She crossed to the fireplace and warmed her hands on the last dying embers. He approached her from behind and slipped his arms around her waist and nuzzled his beard in her neck.

"It's very late, my darling, and you have a big day tomorrow. Or should I say today. Perhaps you should get some sleep." He kissed her just below her ear.

"No," she said quietly, wrapping her arms over his. "I'm not spending another night in that bed without you." She turned in his arms to face him. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

They spent the rest of the night on the couch talking about their shared miracle and enjoying each other's physical presence. Carolyn fell asleep to the strong beat of his heart as she imagined. For a long while Daniel watched her, remembering all those nights he would spend in their room wishing he could hold her as she slept. Eventually he, too, gave in to mortal slumber and dozed peacefully as dawn broke over the horizon.