Summary: follows the story and plight of the Andrea Gail and her unfortunate crew as they head off to sea for one more haul before the end of the season. A new crew mate joins them, the niece of Billy Tyne himself... things get complicated fast as a love found too late blooms and an unavoidable tragey tries to tear it apart. Bobby/OFC
Disclaimer: I do not, in anyway, own this story or the people in it. This was based off a tragic event rewritten as a book and then later turned into a movie... I'm just taking those characters and the story and adding a little twist to it.
'The Perfect Storm'
Not too many things surprised Billy Tyne all that much anymore. He'd seen too many things to be surprised anymore. Seen too many things that came and went, too many things that reminded a man the world was cruel and you hardly ever got a break from it or from anything else for that matter. No, surprises were few and far between for him now days... but that morning, climbing up into his wheelhouse, Billy ate his words as he came face to face with his first honest to god surprise in eight years. He blindly dropped the charts he was carrying onto the table to his left as a looked over a young woman sitting in his chair. He squinted at her, something in the back of his mind telling him that he recognized the dimpled curl of this woman's cheeky grin and the wave of her auburn hair.
"Hey uncle Billy..." Her grin widened as she lifted a palm to him, waving it just so in greeting. The sound of his crew out on the dock loading the ship seemed loud in the silent wheelhouse as she stared at him, a barely contained glee far too noticeable in her brown eyes to be over looked - brown eyes that Billy couldn't help but realize looked exactly like his own.
"...Deac?"
She burst out into a loud laugh, lifting herself from the chair and over to him. Her arms went around his neck in a tight loop, her laughter vibrating in his chest as he returned her embrace. A grin broke through his face and the man joined in on her laughter, ignoring the fact that he knew his men could hear them and were undoubtedly puzzling over the unexpected noise coming from their captain's wheelhouse.
"Deacon Gallagher," He grinned, pulling back enough to look over her face again. She's grown so much over the eight years since he had last seen her, as was only to be expected, but there was no doubt in his mind that it was her. Deacon Marie Gallagher, only child to his older sister Marie who had passed away years ago, god rest her soul. He shook his head as his hands lifted to frame both sides of her head, palms smoothing over her hair, "Well I'll be damned if I thought I'd ever be seeing you again. Look at ya... what are you now? Twenty-four, twenty-five years old?"
She chuckled again, so happy to see her uncle again. "Yeah, something like that. Just turned twenty-six last month..."
"God..." he shook his head again, taking a step back from her, the corners of his own eyes crinkling with pleasure. "Twenty-six... as if I didn't feel old enough already."
They chuckled together at that, Deacon leaning back against the table Billy had tossed his charts onto. Billy noticed that too, something he had almost forgotten... their laughs were even a lot alike, reminding him how family used to joke that Deacon resembled him more then her own mother and father - aside from the bright shade of her hair she looked so much like Billy she might as well have just been his own kid.
"So, what uh... what are you doing out here? Hmm?" Billy pressed as he removed his hat and took up his pen, preparing to looking over his charts even with his niece there with him.
"Just thought I'd come pay my favorite uncle a visit..." she tucked her head down against her own shoulder and glanced down as the man unwrapped a chart and leaned over the table to study it.
Billy scoffed at that, "I'm your only uncle, ya brat." They had another soft chuckle together at that, Deacon mumbling something along the lines of the accusation being true. Billy dropped the point of his pen against the chart, marking something Deacon really didn't understand out on the it. He straightened a little to look her in the eye, arching a knowing brow at her, "Come on, Deac... what're ya doing down here? You really gonna tell me your dad gave you the ok to come see me of all people?"
"Well..."
"Don't lie to me, Deac." He flashed a grin, "Your dad and me have never been on good terms. Everyone on this side of the Atlantic knows that..." His eyes were on her again and he watched as she nodded a little, arms lifting to cross over her chest and lip catching between her teeth as she thought over something. He nudged her softly with his elbow, "Come on, Deac... what're you doing here? You need money or something? I haven't got much, but if you're in a tight spot don't be afraid to ask me, honey."
"No, no..." She shook her head this time, palms up as she backed a step away from him - backed up like she was backing up from his offer altogether. "Nothing like that, honest."
He nodded, "Ok then..." he straightened up completely then, dropping his pen to the table and leaning against it to study her rather then the charts. "What's wrong then?"
Deacon gave a halfhearted laugh, "Why's there got to be something wrong for me to come and see you? You know, sometimes a niece will just go and see her uncle every now and then... it's kind of what family does, in cause you've missed the memo."
"Hey, hey..." He frowned at her, holding his arms up in surrender, "alright. I'm sorry, ok?" Silence fell between them and she nodded, silent now. Billy grinned, hand reaching out and grasping her shoulder; he gave her a little shake by it. "I'm glad to see you again, if that counts for anything."
She sighed heavily, smiling as her eyes rolled over to look at him. "Yeah, well you better be... I don't do this sort of thing for just anybody. Family or not."
"I'm honored then." Billy turned to his charts again, lips curled just slightly as he did so. His mood was considerably higher with seeing Deacon again, the strokes of his pen brisk and clear on the charts under his scrutiny. Even with as much attention he was pouring into his charts, Billy could still see the girl twitching just so from the corner of his eye, he didn't think much of it though. Figured it was just a quirk for her... she'd done it a lot when she was younger, he recalled, though it mostly happened only when she was nervous back then.
"Ah... uncle Billy?" She spoke up after a long stretch of silence between them, jittery movements settling only a little as she shifted her position. He made a questioning sound at the back of his throat, not lifting his head from his studying just yet, and she continued, "So, uh... listen. I did have a reason to come up here. I came to see you, honest I did, but... I also came cause I wanted to ask a favor of you."
Billy stilled, glancing up at her again. He sighed heavily, "I told ya not to lie to me, Deac."
"I didn't! Well, not entirely... I don't want money from you, uncle Billy. I don't." She leaned down on her elbows on the table next to him, shoulder pressed to his as she stared down at her hands. "I came cause... I wanted to ask you for a job."
"A job?" Billy's brow furrowed, thoroughly confused and showing it.
"Yeah," she gave him a hopeful grin, "I'm wanting to join on this site. Come fishing with you and your boys."
"No." His answer was fast, immediate, leaving no time between her words and his for thought. His face had grown serious, head shaking, all the laugher in his expression gone now.
"Ah come on, uncle..." Her own expression crumbled, eyes following him as he straightened up from the table completely and crossed over to the other side of the wheel house.
"I said no, Deacon." He right out snapped at her.
"Why? Cause I'm a girl?" She scowled at him, "I can hold my own, uncle."
"I'm sure you can. But the answer is still no." He turned his back on her, hearing her stand herself and approach him from behind.
"But why not? Why can't I join?"
"This isn't the place for you, Deacon." He explained stonily, "You belong back home-"
"Bull! That's a lie and you know it!" She grabbed his arm and tugged him around to look at her, "You don't believe that at all. You and me both know it."
"Deacon..."
"I want to come out to sea with you, uncle Billy." He tried to avoid her gaze, but she followed him on it and forced him to look at her. She gave him a grin, "It's been eight years and things change, but I loved the sea back then and I do know. You know how crazy I was about it when I was little, you better then anyone else cause you love it too." He nodded and she chuckled, "Now you get to live your dream all the time and go out on it and fish and captain like a mad man... you really gonna send me packing without giving me a chance to do what I love too?"
"That's not fair, Deacon." Billy grinned at her, shaking his head as he spoke calm and low. "You're pulling cheap shots now."
She arched a brow at him, "I learned from the best, I'd say."
"Yeah ya did..." He turned away from her, looking out the window and mulling it all through his head. He rubbed a hand across his face, aware that she was scrutinizing him with the same look he used looking at his charts. He shook his head. "It isn't gonna be a vacation, Deac. You're gonna have to work, understand. Work like my men do. We can't treat you like a lady at all times, alright? We don't have enough time or space here to do that..."
"No, no, of course. I know." Her grin stretched across her face, "I'd have it no other way. I wanna work. I wanna fish and do all the things you guys do out here. I'll even cook for ya..."
He turned his eyes to her, regarding her good and long and hard. "It's not a game, Deac. It gets pretty choppy out here... and the Great Banks in October aren't a laughing matter."
"I know."
He fell silent, giving her a stern look right in the eyes. "...don't make me regret this, Deac."
She breathed a breath of relief, looping her arms back around his neck once more. "You wont, I swear! Oh god, thank you, uncle Billy! Thank you!"
He chuckled, patting her back as she right out strangled him, "Yeah, yeah... now go on. Go get all your stuff together and ready. We're leaving tomorrow morning. Early; be out here before sunrise or I'm leaving ya, understand?"
"Yes sir, Captain Tyne."
He chuckled as she turned and hurried down and out of the wheelhouse, all smiles and giddy like he always remembered she had been. He moved to the doorway, looking out to watch her jump off the edge of the boat onto the dock, either ignoring the men or in too much of a pleased daze to see them. They gave each other odd looks, muttering questions none of them had the answers to before looking up to him. He shrugged, grinning, offering no more of and answer then theythemselves had.
REVIEW PLEASE! comments and constructive criticism welcomed.