*Updated 21-05-2018*

Chapter 75 - Diagonal Insanity

"Vaasaco! Erlina! Dinner will be ready soon; you can't stay out here on the beach forever!" Rosa called.

Her two children were too busy playing on the sands and playing in the sea to hear their Mother's request. Rosa rolled her eyes at the pair as she couldn't help but laugh. How did she get here?

So much had happened in her life yet it felt like it was gone in the blink of an eye. She never expected to even have one child, let alone two. She would never forget the day when she told Vaas she was pregnant again. It had been two years after VJ had been born and they weren't even trying for another baby.

Rosa felt like she had known she was pregnant and when the leaves had confirmed it, she had ran into the compound to tell Vaas, whose face had simply erupted in a smile as he picked her up in his arms and carried her around the compound. She thought back to that day as she watched her children playing ...

"Oh my god."Rosa said quietly, putting a hand to her mouth.

She looked down at the green leaf which had turned blue, which was held in her shaking hand. She was actually pregnant again. Excitement overwhelmed her as she ran into the compound to find Vaas. Nothing else mattered in that moment.

"Vaas! Vaas!" she cried, pushing past the pirates to find her husband.
She spotted him sat on the couch with Raul and a heavily pregnant Jane, as they played with VJ. He looked up at her and smiled, but noticed she looked flustered and pink in the face.

"Hermana, what is it? What's wrong?" Vaas asked, concerned.
He got to his feet and rushed over to her. He placed a hand on either cheek and tilted her head up to the sun.
"What's happened? Are you hurt?"
Rosa shook her head but smiled. She moved her hand closer to him and opened her palm. Vaas followed her gaze down to the leaf.

"Are you serious?" he whispered, his eyes growing wider by the second.
Rosa began to laugh a joyous laugh.
"I'm serious. We're going to have another baby, Vaas!"

Suddenly, Vaas picked Rosa up into his arms and carried her around the compound.
"Ay, ay, ay!" he shouted.
Rosa bent down to kiss him deeply as the pirates sat there with a confused look on their face.

"Tell them." Rosa mumbled, looking down at her husband.
"We're having another recruit boys! Should be here in about nine months!"

The pirates exploded, cheering, screaming and clapping. Vaas could not take his eyes off his wife who was now carrying another one of his children. She instantly became even more beautiful which Vaas didn't think was possible. He held her in his arms, walking around the compound, seemingly showing her off to everyone. Jane, Raul and VJ were clapping on the couch.

"Put me down a sec, Vaas." Rosa instructed.
He placed her down on the floor as she ran over to VJ and scooped him up in her arms, tossing him in the air to the sound of his squeals.

"You're going to have a little brother or sister, Vaasaco." she cried, holding her son close to her.
Vaas came around the other side and enveloped the pair into a big hug.

This was her family.

Rosa looked back on that day with fond memories. And here she was, two years later.

VJ had taken after his Father in every way; his caramel skin, his piercing green eyes, a mini mohawk which all the pirates adored yet never really said it because it would seem too pussy to admit that VJ was actually an extremely cute kid. Even his name; Vaasaco Hoyt Montenegro.

Vaas' full name had always been of secret between him and Rosa; even though she secretly adored it. She thought that VJ would be a nice nickname; Vaas Junior as he was a replica of his Father.

Erlina however, had taken after her; her mannerisms were identical and she was such a strong character for a small child. She naturally had dark hair and skin like her Father but to everyone's surprise, she had inherited Rosa's magnificent blue eyes that shimmered like the sea. Rosa had kept her promise to Vaas; they had called their daughter Erlina, the name with so much meaning behind it.

She remembered when he had first suggested the name after she had lost her baby but knew that it had to happen as everything happens for a reason. They truly were beautiful children, inside and out, even with their business on the island, which had toned down slightly. Tourists still came and were never to return back home but it was how they did everything. No-one came back to bother them and no fights were had and yet Rosa and Vaas were never bored. They had two little ones to chase after.

"Five more minutes you two! You don't want to keep Auntie Jane waiting, do you? She's making chilli, your favourite." Rosa called out.
VJ and Erlina shrieked happily as they splashed each other with the sea water.

"Princesa?" a familar voice sounded behind her.

Rosa turned around to see Vaas, her beautiful husband stood there. He had never changed in the years that had passed as he was still her loveable, yet unpredictable, sexy pirate lord. His eyes were still the same, his hair and his beard, his clothing; it was all the same, yet he did look older in himself.

Long gone were the days of partying and doing drugs. He liked a beer every night and a cigarette but he hadn't touched a drug since the day the locals were removed. A change in Vaas had occurred after that.

"I'm not having any more drugs, princesa. I've decided." he declared.
Rosa sat up from the couch, wincing at the pulling on her leg but blinked at him.

"What?" she scoffed, "You love your drugs. I don't mind Vaas; I'm not taking anything else but you still can until the baby comes."
Vaas sat up as well as they were both staring at the stars in the quiet compound; the fight had taken it out of the men and Jane and Raul were still recovering.

"My Father was one of the shittest Father's around. He lead the tribe and he was a good leader in some respects but he did not care for his family. He used drugs when we were growing up - they all did - and I hated it at the time. He would slap my Mother around and beat me senseless. He didn't touch her."
Rosa touched his unbroken hand as she knew who he was referring to.

"I remember her not trying to stop him from beating me or my Mother and I physically hated her for it. She always played up to the men when they were drugged up, flirting with them and sitting on their knees; I realise now that she was getting them on her side to kill me. But all I could do was watch as he hit me again and again."
Vaas took a deep breath.

"My mother would be with the other tribeswomen being tended to after her beatings and I just had to take it as others laughed - they thought it was amusement. For a while, I thought I was going to be like my Father. You were my light at the end of the tunnel, Rosa. You led me out. You taught me to be a better man than him and I knew for as long as I had you, I wasn't going to be my Father. I am not Rakyat."

Rosa blinked a few times in realisation in that he had said that word. Rakyat. He hardly ever said it; they never needed to be reminded of them. Rosa knew in that moment, that Vaas had fully let go of that life. The Rakyat no longer had a hold over him.

"I am not my Father. I am not my Mother. And I am certainly not like Citra." he said adamantly as Rosa held her tears in, "She murdered my family in their sleep, she tried to kill me and she tried to kill you. You know something? I believe that I was that leopard, ripping off her head and getting justice for what she did. Do you want to know why? Because I am not Citra."

Vaas took a few deep, shallow breaths as Rosa could see the anger coursing through him. All of a sudden, he then calmed, without her having to touch him. He was finally free.

"I'm not going to be like my Father. I was for a while in the early days but I'm going to do right by my child and if that means swearing off the drugs, then so be it. Fuck them."
"I am so in love with you right now, Vaas. I can't imagine another second of my life without you. You are me ..."
"And I am you." he said, finally smiling.

They both leaned in to kiss and for a moment, they were teenagers again, kissing under the stars for the very first time.

Yes, the world may be a diagonal but he was her balancing point.

He had been clean of the hard stuff ever since and they never spoke of his past. He said his life began when he met Rosa and that he wanted to look forward - not back.

There were a few times when he had woken up in the night in a cold sweat and Rosa knew he was dreaming of his life in the tribe but all she did was hold him to her and calmed him down; he thanked her everyday for that. It wasn't easy to kick the drugs but he was strong and did it, like he always did.

Vaas also liked to keep the hostages hidden from his children, to which Rosa wondered why but did not feel the need to argue. Hoyt had shown her everything when she was small and she enjoyed it, yet Vaas was insistent that they have a childhood without being scarred by murder and violence like his. Therefore,they did it where the kids couldn't see until they were old enough. Vaas liked to keep it that way.

He had grown as a person, which Rosa only loved him more for as she assumed it was because of their children. He was a wonderful father to them both, loving and caring of them equally.

He stood tall in front of her holding a bunch of white lilies.

"I thought you might want to take them to Hoyt?" Vaas suggested.
Rosa smiled slightly at him before nodding.
"Good idea, he needs a couple more flowers."

She turned to look at her children.
"They'll be okay; they won't be out of our sight." Vaas reassured her.
He held out his hand for Rosa to take. She still felt the same sparks with him as she did when she was seventeen. The pair walked around twenty paces to further down on the sands.

"I still miss him every single day." Rosa said, closing her eyes.
Vaas rested a hand on her shoulder and gently kissed her on the cheek.
" I know you do, hermana, I know you do."

Rosa placed the lilies down in front of Hoyt's grave. Carved beautifully into the stone were the words:

"Here lies Hoyt Volker, loving father to Rosa. He was feared, respected but most of all loved. He lived a full and wonderful life and will be terribly missed by many."

A small tear ran down Rosa's face and Vaas used his thumb to wipe it away. He pulled her into his arms and just held her, the laughs of their children and the sound of the ocean the only thing being heard.

Hoyt had died before Rosa had become pregnant with Erlina, which is what crushed her the most: the fact that he didn't get to see his second grandchild. His years of smoking had finally caught up with him as Doctor Earnhardt suspected that his lungs had become cancerous.

His health began to deteriorate and he eventually took residence over on North Island with Rosa and Vaas so that they could care for him better.
The painful memory of his death flashed through Rosa's mind.

"Rosa." Hoyt said, coughing, "I think it's time for me to go now."
Rosa's eyes snapped open as she rushed to her feet to be next to her Father. She grabbed his hand in hers and kissed it.
"No, it's not your time yet. Not now. You'll fight this; you're strong."

It was as if Rosa was begging him to stay alive for her, for the island. She needed him in her life. Hoyt coughed, his whole body shaking as he did so. Vaas was leaning against the wall, looking at the floor, not being able to face up to what was actually happening. It was hard for him too; Hoyt had been like a father figure to him.

"Remember when I told you that this empire is yours. That still stands. You own it now; take good care of her. My business is my second baby next to you, my English Rose."

Rosa was trying hard not to cry but she could feel her bottom lip wavering. She bit down hard; trying not to show weakness in front of her dying Dad, but it was hard as she couldn't stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. Vaas approached the opposite side of Hoyt and sat down next to him.

"It's been a good run, boss." Vaas said, his voice slightly cracking.
"You're a good boy Vaas. Take care of my little girl for me. I know you will. And look after my grandson ..."
Hoyt looked at Vaas with a sort of plea in his eyes.
"Make sure he doesn't forget me now, you hear? I want him to know about how great his Grandpa was."

Hoyt's voice caught in his throat as he swallowed his tears.
"Of course, boss. I'll make sure of it." Vaas replied, managing a small smile, "No one could forget about Hoyt Volker."
Hot sobs ran through Rosa as she rested her head on Hoyt's hand and cried.

"Hey now. Come here to your old man."
Hoyt pulled Rosa's arm and she fell into his chest, crying on his shirt.
"Dad, please don't go." she whispered.

It broke Hoyt's heart as well as Vaas'. The man reached around his neck and pulled off his gold chain. He feebly placed it over Rosa's head.
"I want you to have my chain. It brought me luck in my life. It brought me to you."

Hoyt coughed again, wiping away the small stain of blood on the corner of his mouth with a hanker chief. Rosa touched the cool gold against her skin, holding onto it tightly. Hoyt could feel himself growing weaker with each breath as Rosa pulled away from him to give him some room.

"You completed my life, Rosa. Thank you." he whispered.
Rosa held gripped his hand tightly, kissing it.
"I love you, Dad." she cried, tears falling onto the bed, "I'm going to miss you so much."

Suddenly, Vaas grasped Hoyt's other hand lightly, trying to provide him so comfort. He looked at the man that had made Rook Islands so great, a man who had now been reduced to a frail, weak being in his penultimate weeks. Hoyt looked at Vaas and smiled. They had said all they needed to. Hoyt was content.

"Just look up into the sky, Rosa, and I'll be the brightest star there. I'll be watching over you, VJ and Vaas, always."
His breaths were becoming laboured and heavy as he was struggling to breathe. Rosa kissed his cheek as his final moments were imminent.

"Goodnight, my English Rose." Hoyt whispered, smiling softly to himself.

Within that moment, Hoyt Volker took his final breath.

"Goodnight, Dad." Rosa replied, sobs overwhelming her.
She collapsed onto the floor as Vaas rushed around to comfort her.

He sat behind her and cradled her in his arms, kissing the back of her head and rocking her. A few tears escaped Vaas' eyes as he watched Rosa break down. The noises she made were of pure heartbreak. She screamed in anguish, the idea of living without Hoyt too much for her to bear.

After a few minutes, she had calmed slightly and was crying more silently.

"Vaas?" she croaked.
"Yes, princesa?"
"Can we just sit here for a while please? I don't want to go anywhere yet."
Her voice was so small and sad.
"Of course, princesa. Anything you want."

Vaas had held her there for the rest of the night.

Rosa felt a pang in her chest at the memory, but smiled slightly as she knew that Hoyt was always there, watching over her and protecting her. His gold chain hung down from her neck as she brought it up to her mouth and kissed it.

"I'm going to put one on Doctor Earnhardt's as well." Rosa said, plucking a lily from the bunch and placing it on Doctor Earnhardt's grave next to Hoyt's.

Doctor Earnhardt was old and frail and his years on the island had put a strain on his body. He knew it was his time to go, so sick and tired of living, he had ingested a poisonous plant which calmly put him into a sleep from which he was never to awaken, shortly after Erlina was born. The island mourned his death, as they did Hoyt's and Rosa only saw it fit that they gave him a grave.

On his tombstone, it read:

"Here lies Doctor Alec Earnhardt, the true hero of Rook Island, who dedicated life to save others."

The island had changed after his death and Hoyt's.

Rosa and Vaas took over the business but operated it over on North instead. They had passed South over to Jane and Raul to take over. They lived over there with their daughter, Poppy, who was three but came over to North Island three days out of the week so Jane could cook a special meal for them and so they could all get together.

Doctor Earnhardt's place was filled with Doctor Coito who was better known as Luca, the pirate who Doctor Earnhardt was training up.

Everything was different but they were safe and happy.

"I can't believe we're actually safe now." Rosa sighed, wrapping her arms around her pirate lord.
"We rule this fucking kingdom, princesa. Don't you forget it."

"How many people do you reckon we've killed? Between us?" Rosa asked, squinting up at Vaas.
"Probably a lot, hermana. Too many to count. But we've had the memorable ones though, ey?"
He then moved Rosa away from him and grabbed her arm, signally her to twirl around. She rolled her eyes but smirked, an evil glint in her eyes.

"Citra." she started, still being spun around by Vaas.
"Jason." Vaas said.
"Caddo." Rosa smiled.
With each name, Vaas spun her around again and again.

"Buck."
"Liza."
"The Rakyat."
"The locals."

Vaas pulled a dizzy Rosa into him suddenly at the end of their list and held her in his arms, tipping her backwards. He grinned wildly at her before kissing her so she couldn't say anything.
"Beautiful memories." she said sarcastically after he had finished kissing her.
She could still hear her children playing so she relaxed a little more.

"If they hadn't have happened, then everything might have been different, hermana. That's why I'm grateful that everything that happened, did. It kept me with you. Soul mates forever and all that." he laughed, adding a creepy voice at the end.

Rosa giggled, a sound that Vaas was certain he would never tire of. They stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity as Vaas pulled Rosa back up.
"My boy with the Mohawk." she mumbled, touching his cheek. Vaas placed his hand over hers and smiled.

"Papa! Mama!" VJ shouted, running up to the two with his little sister following behind.
VJ ran into Vaas' legs and clutched himself to them, whilst Rosa scooped Erlina up in her arms, kissing her on her cheeks.

"Was Abuelo nice, Mama?" VJ asked, looking down at Hoyt's grave.

Vaas was also insistent on the fact that both of their children learn Spanish as well, as it was his first language as well as Rosa's second. Her beautiful son looked up to his Mother as Rosa couldn't help but see a miniature Vaas staring back her and she smiled. She never thought she could love someone as much as Vaas but her children had proved otherwise.

"He was one of the nicest people that I knew, even though he could have a mean side like your Papi when it came to business." Rosa said, giggling, "He was the best man in the world."
"Hey, don't forget me!" Vaas shouted in protest, making the children laugh.

"I love living here." VJ said, "The pirates are my bestest friends, Papi."
"I know." Vaas replied softly, "They're mine too."
Rosa had to blink to stop a small tear forming again as Vaas never admitted that he needed his pirates as much as they needed him. They were family.

"They're all pretty crazy though VJ, right?" Rosa laughed.
"We're all mad here." he replied, quoting his favourite book.
She had read her children Alice in Wonderland from when they were tiny and they had loved it, just like she did. Rosa beamed as Vaas ruffled his hair.

"Go in to your Tía and Tío now and tell them that we'll be along in a minute." Rosa said, playfully rubbing her nose against her daughters before setting her down.

The two ran off into the compound, squealing and Rosa felt a swell of pride in her chest.

Rosa turned and walked down closer to the beach.

Vaas stood beside her and looked at his beautiful wife. He lifted up her hand to look at the ring which still sat on her finger. The green glimmered in the sunlight, catching the light within it. Vaas brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it delicately. He still remembered when the ring was made making him smile at the sentiment.

"Are we an old married couple yet?" Rosa asked, raising her eyebrow at him.
"Fuck no, hermana. We still have a while to go before we become an old married couple. Anyways, you'll always be young and beautiful in my eyes."
Rosa grinned at him.

"I should hope so. You still going to think I'm hot when I've got no teeth and I'm all wrinkly?"
"Of course. Cause I'll have no teeth and be wrinkly right beside you."
Vaas spun her around as she laughed at his comment.

"I'll always love you, Rosa Montenegro. Even when we're still badass at seventy, looking down on our kingdom on top of a hill somewhere, enjoying ourselves."
Rosa thought back to the time where they had first said that to each other and then how close she'd come to death. That was in the past now and they were finally safe; no one was bothering them anymore.

"I can't believe you still remember me saying that." she chuckled, resting her hand on his chest.
"I can't believe that you still forget." Vaas teased her back.
"I could never forget a life with you, Vaasy bear. Never, ever, ever."

Her hair shone in the sunlight and her eyes were still had the same sparkle they did when they were seventeen years old. Rosa could feel him looking at her, so turned to face him instead.

"I look at you and I still see the same girl I fell in love with all those years ago. Te amo, princesa, for all of eternity."
"Te amo, Vaas, my insane man, my mohawked boy. You're my definition of insanity." she replied, putting her arms around his neck.

"I think we're going to be okay now. I think we're finally going to be safe, here, on this island." she whispered.
Vaas smiled before he kissed her, fireworks flying.

"It's a beautiful life, Mrs Montenegro."
"It's a beautiful life."

THE END

To all my readers,

As I write this, it is a year to the date since I started this fanfiction (freaky how things work out, huh?) I just want to say thank you to anyone who had ever reviewed, favourited, followed, PM'd me, drawn something from the fic or has just shown support by simply reading this! I never thought I would make it this far into a story as I just wrote it as I was bored and it was something to do. I hope you all enjoyed this final chapter and that I didn't disappoint but DON'T WORRY! Keep looking on my page as there will be more one shots to come as I have plenty of ideas and have already written things for Rosa and Vaas so it's not the end for Mr and Mrs Montenegro! If you have any questions, I'll be sure to answer them for you! I'm so happy that people liked this fanfic and I love all of my little cherubs so much...

Happy reading,
Katie x

*I HAVE ADDED SOME MORE TO THIS FIC TO CLEAR A FEW THINGS UP ON THIS CHAPTER! ENJOY*