* Note: This story was written by my good friend, Aimee so all credit goes to her..Reviews & constructive criticism are welcome, flames are not. *

***********************************************************************************************************

"Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are about to begin our descent into Dutch Harbour so please fasten your seatbelts, turn off all electronic devices and make sure your table trays are safely stowed. The winds are out of the south, so the landing shouldn't be too bumpy today. On behalf of the myself and the crew, thank you for flying Dutch Air".

Kris listened to the announcement as she quickly typed the last few words on her text message to Bunny and Aimee, telling them that she had to go. This was it! She was finally here!! She gathered her things together into her bag and looked out the window as the plane flew over the boats docked in the Harbour as it made it's way lower to the airport. Thank goodness the weather had brightened up a bit. The last two days stuck in Anchorage had been pure hell. She was so close she could taste it, but wasn't able to get there! But now, it was a memory because she was really here. And she couldn't wait to get out to the docks.

Getting a job on the Cornelia Marie had been the single most luckiest thing that had ever happened to Kris. Just like millions of others, she was a huge fan of the show, and never in her wildest dreams did she ever imagine she would be up in Alaska getting to work on one of the boats, especially not the CM. It's rather funny how it all happened. Obviously, the captains have to take their applications with a grain of salt - since the show took off every Tom, Dick and Harry was itching to come aboard, and there were some real pieces of work, too! It had never been Kris's intention to work on one of the boats. She guessed it was fate that played the hand there. A friend of a friend currently working on a processor boat had heard that the Captains were having a hard time finding real, honest people to work for them, so they were mostly going by word of mouth from people that had good, honest friends looking for work. Imagine Kris's surprise when her friend called her up one day and asked if she'd be interested in working on a boat in Dutch Harbour! At first she thought it was a prank call, but as more details came out, she thought about the possible adventure and, in the fangirl corner of her mind, how close she could potentially be to the Deadliest Catch boats. She almost fell through the floor when she found out she'd be working on the Cornelia Marie!! THAT had been the happiest day of her life! Once the details got all sorted out, she packed her things, said goodbye to her family and friends and hopped on the plane up north.

As she walked across the runway to the tiny terminal, she thought how strange it was how she had never actually talked to Phil. Obviously she hadn't met him as he'd been up here. He was supposed to be picking her up at the airport, and as she got closer to the door, she suddenly got incredibly nervous. She desperately wanted to make a good impression because let's face it - despite the year, women still need to prove themselves in Dutch Harbour. As she reached for the door handle, she decided that now would not be the time to tell Phil that she had never been to sea before.......

Kris made her way with the others through the lobby of the airport, looking all around for some sign of someone from the CM. So far, nothing. She headed to the baggage area and grabbed her bags. She turned to see a small canteen and headed over to grab a snack. She wondered if perhaps Phil was outside, and she was supposed to go out there, so she headed for the front doors. Looking around, he wasn't there either. She made her way back in and sat on a small bench, eating her sandwich. She must have been quite hungry because she wolfed it down, stopping only when she heard the distinctive voice behind her.

"Did they run out of snacks on the plane?" asked Phil.

Kris swallowed the bite in her mouth and turned to face him. She immediately blushed thinking that she had totally made a pig of herself in front of Phil. Before she could speak, Phil walked around the front of the bench and extended his hand. She took it, shaking it.

"I'm Phil" he said, as if she didn't know.

"Kris" she replied, smiling. She looked down at the wrapper in her other hand. "Sorry about that, I guess I was hungry."

"Don't worry, people gotta eat!" Phil joked. He looked at her bags. "Is this all you have?" he asked, sounding surprised.

Kris looked down at them, then back up to Phil. "Yes. Why?"

"Oh just wondering" he answered. "I figured you'd have a shitload, you know, being a girl and all".

Kris's face must have conveyed her thoughts because Phil immediately apologized. He explained something about his ex-wife when she used to travel, and then tried to change the subject. He grabbed her bags and headed outside, Kris trailing along behind him.

They walked to the truck, where Phil tossed the bags into the back, and then opened Kris's door for her. She smiled and thanked him and climbed in. "Hmm" she thought. "I guess he's the old fashioned type". Phil walked around to the driver's side, got in and headed to the dock.

The drive to the boat was quite interesting. Kris got the whole lowdown on the crew in about 5 minutes. The closer they got to the CM, the more nervous she became. What if she couldn't cut it? What if she completely screwed everything up? Her brain was working overtime so much that she didn't even realize they had stopped. She looked up to find Phil staring at her.

"You've never been on a boat before, have you?" he commented. She shook her head, no. No good to lie to the captain.

Phil chuckled softly. "You'll be fine. There are some motion sickness pills in the first aid kit, but don't take too many of them. You have to let your body get used to it all"

Kris nodded, feeling better but still nervous. Phil looked out the window when he caught sight of the crane moving out of the corner of his eye.

"Jesus Christ, I told them not to load the bait yet!" He grabbed the keys out of the ignition and flung open the door. Kris quickly took off her seatbelt, following along. She grabbed her bags from the back and walked behind the captain to the boat. Phil moved swiftly up the ladder, striding across the deck barking orders. Kris was still on the dock, wondering how in the hell she was going to even get ON the boat, nevermind the two bags in her hands. She stood there for a few minutes before Phil appeared over the side again.

"Hey, sorry about that" he called down to her. "Leave your bags there, I'm coming down"

Phil climbed back down the ladder and stood behind her, showing her the best way to get on board. She climbed up the ladder, getting close to the top.

"Good" said Phil. "Now, swing your leg over". Kris did as he said and soon found herself standing on the deck. Phil made two trips bringing her bags up, and soon he too was standing there beside her. Never having had a girl on the boat before, the other deckhands soon appeared, eager to introduce themselves.

"Boys, this is Kris" announced Phil. "She's going to be our cook and sometimes our deckhand if we need some help, but mostly she's just going to look after us, right?" he looked to Kris and she nodded, smiling.

"Now, I expect you all to behave yourselves, and help her with anything she needs".

Jake whispered something, which got him a death glare from Phil. Jake shut up as Phil went on. "I expect you to treat her with respect as she'll do for us, right?" Again, Kris nodded.

Phil clapped his hands together. "Ok. Enough of the formalities" He picked up her bags again and motioned his head for her to follow him. They made their way inside and down to the galley, Phil explaining everything as they went. Finally, they came to a small room away from the other bedrooms. Phil stepped inside and set her bags down.

"This will be your room" he said. "I know it's small, but I don't think you'd really want to share a room with one of the guys. You'd be dead from the smell in a week!"

Kris laughed. "That wouldn't be very good, would it!"

Phil laughed along with her. "Nope, not at all. You can go ahead and get your stuff settled, and I'll come get you later on after I deal with this bait bullshit". He headed for the door, then stopped, turning back.

"If you need anything, anything at all, you just let me know. And if anyone gives you any shit, you let me know that too" he said. "We're happy to have you on board. It's gonna take some getting used to, but I think you'll be just fine" He winked at her and headed back to the deck.

Kris looked around the tiny room, then sat on the bunk. She let the events so far sink into her head and she couldn't help but smile. Yes, she had a feeling that this was the best decision she had ever made, and she couldn't wait to get started!!.........