After another day and night at sea, the ship had at last pulled into the port for Colombia. Bruno was asleep until he heard the bell ring, he opened his eyes then stretched then had gone down to the cabin to wake up Elsa. Bruno decided if it was for best for Elsa to sleep in one of the cabins since she would at least have a bed and be a little more comfortable. Bruno had opened the door to the cabin then saw Elsa sleeping peacefully, snoring lightly. Bruno stared at her lovingly for a moment then had walked over to her bedside then kissed her forehead and lips.
"We are here, mi vida." Bruno whispered.
Elsa opened up her eyes then looked over at Bruno and smiled then had kissed him. Bruno helped her sit up then sat beside her then kissed her cheek then placed his hand upon Elsa's belly and gently rubbed it then had kissed Elsa's neck then removed a strand of her hair away from her face.
"How did you and the baby sleep, amor?" Bruno asked, looking at Elsa's belly then to her.
"Slept pretty well for awhile but then our little guy or girl had other ideas." Elsa chuckled, looking down at her bump nestled between them.
"Oh, they did, did they?" Bruno asked in a playful tone, also looking down at where their unborn child was growing.
Bruno had gotten off the bed then had knelt down to Elsa's belly then rested his head against it while he continued gently caressing the swell, Elsa smiled at Bruno then leaned back and treaded her fingers against his hair while he remained close to her belly.
"You need to learn not to give your M'ma such a hard time, carino. Can you do that for your Papa, mi bebe?" Bruno cooed to Elsa's belly.
Bruno could feel the baby kick at the sound of his voice, Bruno chuckled softly then gently had cupped Elsa's belly and tenderly kissed below the dip of her bellybutton that connected his wife and their child together. Bruno then laid his head back against Elsa's belly then looked up at her.
"I can hear the baby's heart, mi querida." Bruno whispered.
"Maybe they're just as excited to get off this boat as I am."
"Oh. Right."
Bruno had then helped Elsa stand up to her feet, then Elsa had taken Bruno's arm and they had left the cabin. They had gone to the upper deck then the gangway was laid out for them. Bruno carefully helped Elsa along the way, worried that she might stumble. When they were on land, Elsa had taken Bruno's arm again then they saw the small village. Bruno began to smile. He never realized how much he also missed the village until now. Elsa moved close to her husband then had turned to him.
"Are you ready?" Elsa asked.
"As long as you are." Bruno replied.
"Everything's gonna be fine, dear, remember that." Elsa said quietly.
Bruno nodded then Elsa kissed his cheek then they had begun walking through the village. Some people turned and had noticed them. They either seemed surprised or...concerned. Some were muttering fearfully, others had kept gazing at them.
They were about to cross a street, just as Elsa was about to cross, a wagon suddenly came speeding by, ready to slam into Elsa, Bruno quickly noticed and had carefully pulled Elsa back, the wagon missing her only by an inch. Bruno held onto Elsa as she panted, she could feel her heart racing.
"Are you alright, mi vida?" Bruno asked, worriedly.
Elsa didn't hear him and had panted and panted, she could feel the snowflakes forming on her hands and her magic surging. Bruno stared at her then had placed his hand back onto her belly and gently rubbed it while he hugged her to his side.
"Deep breaths, corazon. It's alright. You're both safe." Bruno murmured in a soothing tone.
The sound of Bruno's voice and him holding her and their unborn child close had slowly calmed Elsa's nerves until her magic had faded. Elsa sighed then she had placed her hand on Bruno's shoulder.
"I'm better now, Bruno. Thank you."
"You gave me a huge scare. If that wagon had been any closer..."
Elsa touched Bruno's cheek then had kissed him then wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest to hopefully calm him down. Bruno had also relaxed after a few minutes then kissed Elsa's forehead.
Bruno and Elsa had walked through the village without any more mishaps. They kept walking and walking until they could see the mountains followed by Casita a distance away. Bruno and Elsa had put their arms around each other as they looked out at the place Bruno once called home.
"It looks as if we really didn't leave." Bruno said.
"I know. Still as beautiful when I first saw it." Elsa chimed in.
Bruno kept staring at Casita. Elsa had slid her hand into her husband's then gently squeezed it causing him to turn to her. Elsa kissed Bruno then the tip of his nose.
"We've got this."
"We've got this." Bruno repeated.
They had kissed again then had made their way to Casita. Inside of the kitchen, Antonio was standing on the counter and looking out the window then he gasped and beamed when he saw his Tio and Elsa coming down the hill. Antonio then turned to his Tia Julieta and Mirabel who were cooking.
"They're here! They've come back!" Antonio cried out, happily.
Mirabel and Julieta looked at each other in surprise then had run over to the window and indeed saw Bruno and Elsa halfway near Casita. Julieta turned to Mirabel then gently grabbed her shoulders, smiling just as big as Antonio.
"Mira, go fetch your sisters and your cousins, I will go and get your Papa, Felix and Pepa." Julieta instructed.
Mirabel had quickly nodded then had raced out of the kitchen followed by Julieta. Antonio jumped off the counter then the stool then Casita had opened its door and Antonio saw Bruno and Elsa just as they had reached the pathway.
"Tio Bruno! Elsa!" Antonio called out, waving.
Elsa and Bruno heard Antonio and looked up and saw their youngest nephew waving over to them. Antonio had run over to them and Bruno knelt down then had scooped Antonio into his arms then both he and Elsa had hugged him tight.
"I've missed you guys a whole lot. I thought I'd never see you again ever."
"We thought the same thing, Tonio." Bruno said.
"And we missed you too, sweetheart." Elsa said, ruffling Antonio's hair, making him giggle.
The three had continued hugging then Bruno had placed Antonio back onto the ground then he had noticed that Elsa's large stomach. Antonio walked over to Elsa then looked up at her.
"Elsa, why is your tummy bigger?" Antonio asked, both confused and concerned.
Bruno and Elsa both laughed then Elsa had carefully picked up Antonio then had tapped him on the nose.
"Because your new little cousin is growing inside there." Elsa said.
"A new little cousin? You mean, you and Tio Bruno got married and you're gonna have a baby?" Antonio asked, eyes shining with hope.
"You figured it out, kid." Bruno chuckled, tickling Antonio.
The three heard hurried footsteps approaching and saw Mirabel, Julieta, along with Pepa, Felix, Augustin, Isabel, Luisa and Dolores and Camilo up ahead. Elsa put Antonio down then Antonio had grabbed onto both his new Tia's hand and Bruno's.
"Come on. Everyone's gonna be excited about this."
Bruno and Elsa let Antonio lead them over to the rest of the family. Bruno nearly fell back as both Pepa and Julieta had hugged him. Once regaining his balance, Bruno had embraced his sisters back.
"Oh, Brunito. This feels like a dream." Julieta said.
"Don't ever stay away that long again." Pepa added, trying to sound firm, failing miserably.
After the three siblings had pulled away from each other, Julieta and Pepa had gone over to Elsa next. They stopped short when they noticed her pregnant belly. They looked up at Elsa. Julieta had happy tears welled in her eyes while Pepa looked surprised.
"Are you...?" Julieta began.
"I am." Elsa confirmed, chuckling.
Julieta and Pepa let out exclamations of joy then they had carefully hugged Elsa then Pepa had placed her hand against Elsa's belly, feeling her soon-to-be-born sobrina or sobrino kick then she looked up at Elsa and frowned.
"But why did you and Brunito never write to us you got married and were expecting?" Pepa asked, blinking in confusion.
Bruno had gone over to Elsa and put his arm around her then placed his hand onto Elsa's belly, rubbing it, then looked over at Julieta and Pepa with a slight look of resentment.
"M'ma. That's why. You know she'd never approve of this." Bruno said, shrugging.
"Well, just know that we're behind the both of you every step of the way." Julieta assured, touching both Elsa and Bruno's shoulders.
"Thanks, Juli." Bruno said, smiling a little.
"That does mean a lot."
"Tio?"
Bruno and Elsa turned and saw Mirabel standing there along with Isabela, Dolores, Luisa and Camilo. While Dolores and Camilo had gone over to embrace Elsa, Bruno had walked over to Mirabel. They stared at each other. Bruno had slowly lifted his hand then touched Mirabel's cheek. Bruno could no longer hold back his tears of happiness as he looked upon his favorite sobrina. Eyes shining with tears, Bruno let out a trembling sigh of relief and joy while Mirabel had done the same, her eyes also glassy. Bruno had then hugged Mirabel, afraid that if he'd let go, she'd disappear.
"Mi mariposa." Bruno whispered.
"Welcome back home, Tio." Mirabel whispered back.
Luisa, Dolores and Isabela had soon joined in on the hug as Elsa watched, tears spilling down her cheeks while she continued hugging both Camilo and Antonio. This reunion was everything she and Bruno could've asked for.
After wiping away her tears, Julieta had gone over to Elsa and Bruno and put her arms around their shoulders as the family began to make its way back to Casita.
"Are you two hungry at all?" Julieta asked.
"You're really asking a pregnant woman that question?" Elsa joked, giggling.
The rest of the family also laughed then Bruno had picked up Antonio then placed him up on his shoulders and put his arm around Elsa and Mirabel. When they made their way back, however, they immediately halted when they saw Alma standing there.
