No one said anything. No one moved. No one even blinked.

The crew just stood there and stared at the man in front of them, their captain, the magnificent captain Ignacio, in disbelief, unsure of whether they could actually believe their eyes. Perhaps he was just a wishful dream, a communal figment of their imaginations. Perhaps he would vanish into thin air if they took their eyes off him for just a second.

But the moments went by, and he still stood there. As real as the salty ocean and brisk air around them.

Alba acted first. She ran. She ran up and threw herself around Captain Ignacio's neck.

"Ouch," the man said as she squeezed too hard in an attempt to ensure herself he was of flesh and blood. His ribs protruded through the frayed shirt. The captain had lost a few pounds, probably on behalf of a diet consisting of mangos and guava, but he was undeniably real.

"Captain," Alba mumbled into his knotted chestnut-colored hair. "We thought you were gone forever."

"I'm right here," the captain replied. "And I've missed all of you."

Alba noticed the captain throwing a glance toward Grace as she released her grip on him. A smile graced the captain's lips and the stern woman smiled back. But before Captain Ignacio could walk over to his beloved Joe and Pedro attacked him from both sides in an ungentle embrace. All three men tumbled into the sand.

"Captain!" Pedro yelled. "You're back!"

"I always knew you would be!" Joe added.

"I never meant to leave," the captain said from under the two men. "And I'm not quite sure how I even ended up here. I remember walking around on deck, drunk out of my mind, when I saw an baby iguana in the water. It appeared to be struggling, so I decided to try to fish it out. The next thing I remember I was in the water. Then I woke up on this island, surrounded by talking lizards. I've been here ever since."

"I think I can perhaps help fill in some of the details," Ignacio, of the lizard variety, said and skittered up next to Alba. Despite knowing of his vocal ability, she still jumped slightly at the appearance of the talking lizard.

"The captain did save one of our younger brethren," the iguana said and threw a blaming look toward a smaller lizard behind him. "Rodrigo here had got lost in the waves."

"I... I was just exploring," Rodrigo stuttered with a bashful look. Because, yes, lizards can look bashful. "But I got too far from the shore. I wouldn't have been able to make it back."

In what seemed like an attempt at consolation, Oliviero walked up next to the small lizard and gave him a lick on the back. "You wanna play?!" the feline asked because a talking cat is still a cat and still obsessed with cat stuff. Soon the cat and the lizard were engaged in playful wrestling in the sand.

"We sent out an expedition to find Rodrigo," Ignacio continued."And we found him sitting on top of the captain, who was floating in the water. We thought he had already drowned but we brought the body with us back to our island. And once here, the captain suddenly woke up. Since he had proven himself to be a good man, by saving Rodrigo, we decided to let him stay on the island. But as the weeks went he seemed to feel lonely so we decided to fetch his crew, that he spoke so highly of, here to accompany him."

"So the map and this whole treasure hunt were just to show us the way here?" Alba asked, confused about how elaborate their journey to the island had been. "Why couldn't you just tell us the captain was here and where we should go?"

"Well, this island is well hidden," Ignacio explained. "You can't just sail here. The stones are the key to gain access to it. And unfortunately, I can't talk once I'm away from the island. So we made the map to show you where to go and I, who is the best surfer on these isles, set out to find you. We figured you humans, who are supposed to be so smart would figure the map out in no time... I thought it was quite straightforward."

Because, of course, reading an iguana's scales as a map and overlaying a paper atop its mane was very straightforward. Perhaps lizards had a different definition of that word.

"But your scales?" she wondered. "How could they show the exact map of the area?"

"Oh, that's easy," Ignacio replied. "I can change the pattern of my scales by will. We all can. It's a handy way to show people the way."

To demonstrate the colors and shapes of his scales started moving into a different pattern. Green turned into orange and orange turned into green. Black lines moved like snakes over the colored areas.

It seemed handy indeed.

"We lizards aren't that good at drawing so this is easier," Ignacio continued. "But we figured you needed the paper map to understand what you needed to do once you came here. Although I didn't realize how long it would take you to figure everything out... Human intelligence is greatly exaggerated I must say."

Alba was quite sure she had liked this lizard more before he started talking back to her.

"We got here eventually, didn't we, Ignacio?" Alba snapped and threw an annoyed look at the lizard. "Although I guess that's not your real name."

"Actually, it is," the iguana replied. "It's a funny coincidence really that the captain and I happen to share a name."

That was very convenient. At least, Alba wouldn't have to learn a new name for the iguana.

"I'm very happy you're all here now," Captain Ignacio said as he finally escaped from under Joe and Pedro. "Although I do think being on this island, without any rum or other spirits, has been good for me. It has made me see the error of my ways. I realized what I really needed."

He reached out his hand towards Grace, who still stared at him as if he was a ghost. She hesitated for a moment but then obliged.

"Grace," Captain Ignacio said. "I know I was a fool before, thinking I deserved your love. I'm still a fool, but at least I'm a sober fool. And maybe, just maybe, I might one day deserve you."

The whole pirate crew around them gasped. After all, most of them hadn't even known that their beloved captain and their feared cook harbored such feelings toward each other.

"You're not a fool, Ignacio," Grace replied. "I should have given you a chance before, a chance to get better."

"I am better," he said. "I missed the bottle at first when I came here. But then it got easier. Being here, with only greenery and lizards around me made me evaluate my choices. And I realized that the only thing I really missed was you."

"Hey, what about us?" Pedro yelled because of course he couldn't help but ruin the moment.

"Of course, I missed all the rest of you too," the captain quickly added. "But you know... not in the same way.

Pedro accepted that answer.

The captain turned to Grace again. With a serious look on his face, he went down on one knee in front of her. Another gasp went through the audience.

A frightened look flew over Grace's face. Perhaps this was too fast.

But it seemed the captain understood that too. Because he was not a fool. Not anymore.

"I won't ask you to marry me, Grace," he said, and the fright vanished from her features. "Not now. I know I still need to prove myself to be worthy. But, I wanted to ask you to give me a year. A year without touching the bottle. And when that year has ended I hope you will allow me to ask you what I won't ask you now."

Grace ruffled her hands through the captain's rust-colored curls before letting them rest around his chin. Then she reached down and placed a kiss on his forehead.. "I'll give you that, Ignacio," she said. "I'll give you a year. So ask me in a year... and you'll find out what my answer is."

The smile on Grace's lips indicated what her answer would be. But the captain would have to prove himself worthy of that answer before it was spoken out loud.

Captain Ignacio rose from the sand with a smile on his lips as well. He placed his hands on Grace's hips and lingered close to her for a moment as if he didn't quite know what he was allowed to do. They shared a look, a look that seemed to be a silent question, and she gave him a nod of approval. Slowly he moved his hands to her chin and closed the distance between their faces. Lips met for the first time in a union of love and understanding.

It was a cute moment. So, of course, it had to be interrupted by Pedro and Joe, who still laid next to each other on the beach with sand in their hair and adoration in their eyes as they looked upon their returned captain.

"I think I understand now," Pedro said. "The captain is the treasure!"

"The best treasure ever!" Joe agreed. "Let's get some rum and drink to that! We need to celebrate!"

Grace threw Joe an angry look that shut him up real quick. They would celebrate, but there would be no rum.

Alba picked up a stray mango that had rolled down on the beach and flung it at Joe. He deserved it, and throwing produce at each other was a time-honored tradition aboard the Estrella.

"You almost hit my eye!" Joe complained as he ducked down to avoid the mango onslaught.

"Well, that would be kind of fitting," Alba replied. "Perhaps you'd need your eye patch again."

Captain Ignacio gave Joe a weird look like he suddenly noticed something was different with the man. "Didn't you use to just have one eye, Joe?" he asked.

"I... eh, got better," Joe replied sheepishly. "It's a long story."

"Alba called you out?"

"Basically..."

"Not a very long story..."

A papaya hit Alba on the leg. Apparently, Pedro had now joined the fight as well. "Lucien!" Alba yelled. "Help me vanquish these guys!"

The blonde boy moved in behind her, armed with pockets full of peaches and tangerines.

"I'll help too!" Captain Ignacio bellowed excitedly. "You know I'm never one to back away from a fruit fight! And it's been too long since the last one!"

Soon the whole crew had joined in on the fight. They flung all kinds of fruit toward each other in a game with no set rules. It was childish silly entertainment, and it was just what they needed. Their captain was back, and what better way to celebrate than a fruit fight?

On the outskirts of the juicy squabble stood the group of talking iguanas, probably wondering if they had made a mistake inviting this rowdy pirate gang to their precious island.

Author's Note: My plan is to publish the last chapter + the epilogue of this story on Sunday. And that's it! Then it's over!