Disclaimer: yeah some of the people (OK maybe most) are real people so obviously i do not own them but Mariah and Stanley and as far as i know the Golden Crest are original characters of my making. if you have any questions please go ahead and ask, i don't bite...hard

"Chapter 1" a little Elbow Room/ new acquaintances

She walked into the Elbow Room with everything she had in life except her young daughter. This was no place for a two year old and she had known that before she had even made up her mind to make this trip up here but she needed a job and some quick money and after watching the documentaries she thought she would try her hand at life up here for a while. She knew that being a single mother would be hard, especially since she needed to give Sophi the life that she had only dreamed of when she herself was a child and wasn't all that long ago. A quick glance around the room and a few smoke choked coughs later she was used to the dim lighting and the din of drunken cussing and boasting. Many fishermen's tales and tips met her ears and she smiled as comfortable here as at a family new year's party back home. Home, how she missed it, how she missed Sophi.

"I'll have a Budweiser please" she said to the bartender as she dropped her bag at the feet of an open bar stool and sat down. The bartender handed it to her a moment later "thanks" she mumbled and began to sip at her drink. With each sip she relaxed a little more after her long flight up here. Just as she finished up the last of her beer she heard a young man's voice behind her. "Can't you handle anything stronger than that?" with a smirk she turned around "Only if you're buying" the young fisherman smiled "Pick your poison" he said daringly. She nodded her head sending a cascade of chocolate colored hair from her black cowboy hat and looked into the stranger's eyes. "ill take a captain" she said putting down her empty bottle. He looked around looking disappointed with his eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?" she asked "Oh nuthin' just looking fer a captain fer ya, you see I'm only a greenhorn" he pointed to a rowdy table almost enveloped in smoke "ya want a captain, yer best bets ta head over there ta prospect yerself one. I gotta warn ya though the youngest one may be single but he aint what he seems to be he just plain greedy and trigger happy and the others are either old or married or both."

She laughed a sweet laugh accompanied with a small snort that caused more than one head to turn in her direction, it even warranted a momentary lapse in joviality over at the captains' table. "I meant captain Morgan smart ass" she hit the man softly on the arm and he shook his head slowly "well then I am really sorry I can't help you, he never came up this way, and to top off he is dead for years now, yer a bit late" she held back the urge to hit him again "I meant the Rum smart one" and rolled her eyes. "Oh I see" he nodded and ordered the drink for her. "Your accent, you are from California aren't you?" he asked. She looked up at him, "yeah I am" she nodded "where are you from?" he replied after shrugging his shoulders "im from everywhere, there is probably only a handful of states I have lived and worked in, I don't like to be tied down to a piece of soil too long" they took their shots and kept talking into the night, until the bartender yelled out for last call. "Well I better get going, I have to look for a job in the morn…in a few hours" she corrected herself after looking at her cell phone and sighing, "what time does this place open up tomorrow?" she asked him "it opens bright and early so we could get some breakfast, what do you like?" "Are you serious?" she asked then continued on "I like waffles and coffee." She got up and walked out before he could even say goodbye.

--

Once outside she took a deep breath of the clean air to try and clear out her lungs of all of that smoke when a man called her over. She looked around to see if anyone else was around, knowing full well not to go near a drunken man alone but she took a step closer anyway. "You called me over, what for, wait aren't you Andy Hillstrand?" Her attitude changed completely once she saw his familiar face and she walked up to him. "you want to watch out for that one you were talking to in there lady, you obviously don't know much about this place, he's a snake born and raised and I don't mean the biting kind, hes a constrictor." She wanted to trust Andy because of how he was portrayed in the show but after talking to the other man for so long she felt like she had made a friend, he wasn't looking for more she was sure of it. "I don't know Hillstrand, he seems alright to me, I've consorted with worse in my time, oh yeah I'm Mariah" she added almost as an afterthought. "We'll miss Mariah, what exactly does your time imply, twelve years?" At that one of the men he had been talking to all night turned around and her jaw dropped "Both of you are here?" Johnathan looked blankly at her, clearly drunk "na there is only one a me here," and he nodded to Andy "he's my brother, not me" she laughed at this, he was just as adorable in person as he was on the show especially when he was drunk. "Actually Hillstrand" she addressed Andy as she had gotten used to back in her JROTC days "eighteen years and a handful of months and every day of those years was spent learning men in orange county, men are defiantly a cruel creature" "well see here, we are not all cruel, us men" john said looking once again at her. She couldn't help but smile again and blush. "I gotta get going I have to get up early and find a job" as she went to turn to leave john spoke again, more clearly this time "I thought you looked new" "John weren't you listening, she just said she was new" Andy said, turning to his brother and hitting him upside the head. "What was that for?" John said as he rubbed his head where Andy had hit him. She just laughed and waved as she walked away towards her hotel.

"Chapter 2": surprise visit

It was the sunlight that woke her, or was it a knock at her door. No she was sure the knock was just in her dream, this was a small town but surly no one had already gotten to know her enough to find out where she was staying. That knock at the door again, this was definitely not her dream. She threw her robe on, even with the Alaskan cold she just wasn't comfortable sleeping clothed, probably not too smart in a motel. "I'm coming, just don't expect me to be nice I haven't had my coffee yet" she yelled to whomever was calling this early in the morning, looking at her watch she saw that it was only three and she had gone to bed sometime past midnight. "It's ok I brought you some, as a peace offering for waking you at this hour, not everyone is a crabber with a crabbers hours I should know that by now." said a smooth young voice through the door. She smiled inwardly when he spoke because she remembered him from the show as well. It was strange to her that complete strangers would already try to make friends with her but hey the more the merrier. She opened the door trying to hide a smile and look disgruntled but one look at Josh Harris' smile made her laugh. "Well are you going to invite me in or what?" he said as he walked in anyway. "Sure why not" she rolled her eyes "where is my peace offering?" she said grumpily and he handed her the coffee "Your welcome" he charmed to which she replied "no you are, now you don't have to worry about me killing you for waking me up" and stuck her 

tongue out. "So, I'm Josh" he said ignoring her last statement. "And you are?" he probed. She took a long sip of her coffee, black like she liked it and stronger than she was used to. "I'm Mariah" she put her hand out to shake and he responded likely. "So Mariah, where you from?" he asked obviously uncomfortable with small talk. "California, So Cal, Fullerton area" she kept mumbling until he laughed "what?" she demanded. "nothing" he replied I was just wondering if you were going to give me your exact address and house color along with everything else, miss Google earth." She laughed realizing how idiotic she looked and blushed. Seeing her blush made him look around the room and then look her over, she wasn't shocked to see that he wasn't the least bit embarrassed to see her in nothing but a robe, she had heard once that he was something of a playboy so there was no reason why a homely girl like her would have any effect on him at all when he is used to all the skinny blonds he could have.

"nice place" he said before taking a swig of his coffee "I stayed in this room once with a girl, what was her name" he trailed off tilting his head to the left trying to remember the one of many one night stands. She grimaced and got up "where are you going?" he asked. "You just convinced me that I should be wearing clothes in here." "Your naked?" he sounded surprised and he got a twinkle in his eyes and she rolled hers before retreating to the bathroom to shower and dress, taking care to lock the door behind her. While she showered he lay on her bed and watched some television, waiting for her to come out. Just as he was getting bored he heard the water shut off. "Mind if I smoke?" he hollered at her. "naw, just open the window first". she finished dressing and came out in her hip hugging jeans and her boots with an Iron Maiden t-shirt then sat down and drank her coffee. josh turned from the window and smiled looking at her "you really are from California arnt you. your gonna freeze your ass off up here wearing that stuff" she blushed "yeah i know" they were quiet for a moment then josh took a drag on his cigarette after which he spoke "So my dad sent me over because he was talking to John and Andy about you and that guy you were talking to, Stanley. Hes dangerous" josh caught her not making eye contact "Mariah! seriously" she sat there quietly for a moment. being new here she didnt know anything or anyone, the show had made her decide this was the place to escape to. all she knew was how the guys were portrayed on the show and now, none of them even knowing her yet, they were already watching out for her, people didnt do this in california, she didnt know how to react. "what is he like then?" she asked meekly looking up at josh from her perch on her side of the bed. Josh sat on the edge of the bed once again and lay back, sprawled from the foot to the middle of the bed, his arms stretched out one lying comfortably on her lap "he went out with this one girl that used to work in the Elbow Room and one night he was drunk and went to her place to talk to her. he asked her to marry him and she was creped out since they had not gone out long. well that girl refused him and he shot her twice in the arm. he got fired off of the Golden Crest after that and was black balled so he couldnt get work on any of the ships." mariah put her hand to her lips and spilled her now cold coffee when she jumped "but he said he was a green hand out here." she was upset that he had lied to her. josh tried to hold back a laugh but couldnt stand it so he let it out, a cigarette still hanging from his mouth "greenhorn stupid" he said and she smiled "yeah i forgot greenhorn, green hand is in th FFA" she looked down at his hand and traced her finger along his palm. josh looked up at her and she blushed "im probably creping you out arnt i?" "no i was just wondering what you were doing, wierdo" he cocked a grin and flipped over onto his belly so he wouldnt have to strain to look at her. "well?" he prompted "i dont know ive just always had a thing for hands, oh, and scars. to me they are the symbol of the hard working proletariat" she looked down embarrassed by her strange fetish when he suddenly jumped up "well, i got scars" he exclaimed and he pulled up his pant leg to show her one. she laughed and smiled then got up and walked over to the fridge "you want something to drink?" she asked "yeah ill have a bud if you got it. he replied "king of beers" she joked as she handed him one and sat down to open one for herself.

"so where are you working?" asked josh putting the bottle to his lips and she shrugged "i dont, not yet at least. im looking to get a job on one of the boats for red crab and then maybe even opi so i can save up some dough to send home till i can afford to bring my daughter up with me, you know once i get a real place. i cant keep her here in this hotel room its just this one room. you see she is my real kick in the ass to get out of cali and make some money, she cant grow up to be me" she sighed and swigged down the last of her beer "you want to go somewhere josh?" he grinned "yeah its only five, nothing opens until five thirty so where are we going to go?" he said in his smart ass tone "i dont know, im new here remember, your the one who knows where all the places are." she gave a sideways smile and sat crossed legged on the floor "yeah i know where to take you" he got up and pulled her to her feet. as she reached her feet she caught a whiff of him and he smelled marvelously just like the tough man that he was. his was a smell of hard work on a crab boat and even though she had always hated the smell of seafood she knew immediately that she would learn to love this smell, especially if she got a spot on a boat. even though he was nearly a foot taller than her she looked up and saw the mischievous gleam in his eyes "im taking you to meet dad"