This was the toughest story birth EVER! We start out on the Opilio grounds where the ice is killin'. Soon and very soon the action will move to Seattle where the deadly Bering Sea will seem like a cold day in Acapulco!

October 2012! My 1st anniversary writing Deadliest Catch FF! I want to thank each and every one of you, (and Lawd knows, you know who you are!) for hangin' wit me and my gurls. . . my OC's. Dawne, Lita, Darleen, Jimmy Sue. And I ain't done with OC Marcos yet! ;)

Most of all, I want to thank you sooo much for feeling my FIRST OC. . . Ma Muse. . . Ma Gurl. . . MA SIOUX! ONLY the Epic Men of Deadliest Catch could have inspired her!

To keep going, I need all ya'll to keep me going. FTLOG! Keep your Read & Reviews coming! That said. WooHooo! Away we go! =:-)

The Opilio Grounds

Less than a mile from the dock at St. Paul Harbor with 40,000 pounds of ice suffocating the boat, the Time Bandit listed heavily to port as Johnathan fought the throttles and roared curses out the window into the freezing high wind that had created the ice shroud that threatened to capsize the boat or send her crashing into the dock. For a frantic lifetime that was only minutes, every man and woman desperately hacked away at the ice on the port side as the 100 mile an hour winds fought to capture the unbalanced boat.

Johathan bellowed over the hailer. 'We're going in! We're takin' our shot! Get ready to tie her up! Get that line ready!'

Sioux dropped the bat she had been swinging like a heroic Valkyrie against the ice, and lurched across the deck, through the dry room that dipped close to 45 degrees on legs stiff and leaded with cold. She kicked cans, bottles, everything that had not be secured out of her path, as she stumbled, fell and scrabbled up, and made it to the stairs to the wheelhouse. Just as she made it up, Johnathan hollered over the hailer.

'Sioux? Sioux! Mike where is she? Neil?!'

'I'm h-h-ere!' She gasped as she clung to the co-Captain chair and took in the horrifying sight of the Time Bandit almost on her side heading head-long, out of control for the dock.

Their eyes locked and Johnathan roared a psychotic laugh and bellowed over the hailer at the crew.

'I got her! Be ready to throw that 60 lb test line and fuckin' fast! I'll be goddamn if I'm gonna sink fuckin' yards from gettin' a drink at the bar!'

'Come here and give me a hand sexy.' He grinned down at the bedraggled soaking wet figure in full deck gear as he desperately muscled the boat to his will.

Sioux clutched the counter and anything else she could grab a handhold, as she climbed up the deep slope, stumbled to the Captain chair, and clung to it. Her neoprene flaming skull face mask muffled a fierce warrior cry.

'Here we go baby!' Johnathan hissed through clenched teeth.

Later, after the boat was safely secured at the dock, and everyone safe and accounted for, he had crushed her to him, fell back in his chair shaking, burying his face in her neck breathing in the wonder that was the smell of her.

'That was too damn close! We almost bought it just feet from the dock.' Johnathan shivered as razor sharp adrenaline seeped from his nervous system leaving his eyes wet and glazed with relief. Sioux cupped his face in her hands, threw her head back and gallows laughed until tears ran down her face.

'Sioux! You losing it?' He shook her shoulders.

' N-o-o-o !' She caught her breath and held his eyes with the triumphant serene green of hers.

'Have I told you lately how smokin' hot you are when you're savin' our asses?'

And captured his tense mouth and kissed him deep and hard. When she let him up for air, he studied her closely. Crazy girl couldn't know how close they just came to dying. . .again.

It pained him but he had made up his mind.

'The ice just gave me the 411 baby. And I got the message loud and clear. Time to get the fuck up out of here!'

But they both knew before they could head to the safety of Dutch Harbor, they had to offload, get out of St. Paul before the ice storm closed the harbor, and retrieve the 40 pots that were soaking way too close to the march of the encroaching army of ice.

She was propped up in bed in their stateroom, the wall swing lamp over her head focused on her lap, where the essential tools of her current activity resided. Yarn, pattern, and needles. A week ago she had pulled out the bag from Nettie's and had started knitting when she had the time. The gloves, despite their shocking girly colors had been a hit as Scotty and Eddie Jr. testified when they received theirs.

'Sioux! You're a life saver!' Scotty sputtered as he stumbled in from another freezing, grueling shift and planted a smacking kiss on her cheek as she rustled up a hot meal in the galley. His hands were not just protected with the wool and rubber gloves of his usual gear, but with the neon orange gloves he wore next to his skin she had knit for him. Eddie Jr. stumbled in behind him and shyly seconded Scotty with a soft kiss on her other cheek.

'Gotta say the neon pink gave me a moment. But my hands should be frozen claws this point in the trip, but they're not. I worship you.'

Sioux batted the two off with feigned annoyance. 'Quit smooching all over me! Jeez! Go find yourselves young hot chicks who can knit!'

'The girls at the bars I hang out at have other skills!' Scotty laughed as he grabbed a crispy potato slice from the roaster pan of brisket, potatoes, carrots and onions from which she was draining savory drippings into a skillet of browned flour for gravy.

Mike hovered over her shoulder and groaned. 'Sioux if I didn't know for a fact Johnathan would kill me, then eat my still beating heart, I'd kidnap you and run off to Bolivia and have your cooking all to myself!'

'Your stomach will be the death of you.' She warned.

'True that!' He laughed and kissed the top of her head. 'Sides you still have my gloves to finish.'

She was secretly tickled and pleased the yarn she'd had Nettie search all of the knitting cyberspace for, made by a Norwegian company that excelled in creating world-class yarns for cold weather sports and work, had lived up to her expectation. This particular yarn was not only water repellent, held in warmth, and last for years. It figured these same brilliant Norwegians had discontinued the yarn she sought to craft the gloves for the Time Bandit crew the previous year. Granted the cyber space cull had produced the quantity she needed, but the colors ranged from the sublime to the down-right bizarre.

Initially the crew had balked.

It was bad enough she'd made them place their hands on flatten out paper bags to trace each individual pattern sizing, as they cast pained looks at the basket filled with hot neon, puke green, or girlie pastel balls of yarn.

Mike had whimpered as she carefully traced his right hand and fingers, his big, sweet blue eyes pleading. 'You're not gonna make mine yellow are ya Sioux? Pleeease not the Buttercup Yellow!'

From day one, Mike Fourtner had held a special place in her heart and he knew it. Only he could wheedle special desserts and other treats from her. Only he could smooth talk her into taking a break when even Johnathan failed. With a gentle slap on his wrist, she made sure no one was looking and whispered. 'You pick sweetie.'

Mike examined the basket of yarn in colors no man would willingly wear, sighed and whispered.

'Gimme the neon green.' He groaned then brightened. 'You gonna make molten lava brownies tonight Sioux?'

'Don't push it fool.' She muttered as she traced.

And it figured only Neal and Eddie Jr., Sr. had the nerve and stupidity to go there with her.

'Whoa Sioux! I didn't know you were interested.' Eddie had drawled with a leer as she traced his left hand. 'What's next? You gonna measure me for a plaster cast of my. . .'

His next words were choked off as excruciating pain radiated from his right index finger up his arm, as Sioux pressed and smiled sweetly. Neal had experienced the same agonizing pain, this time with a dangerous look from Sioux that spoke volumes, when he inquired if she was gonna next knit them pecker socks.

Sioux both frowned and smiled as she knit. Smiled as with each stitch she wove special protection and affection into her work, yet she frowned as she ruminated over the terrible weather and ice that had plagued them and the fleet. Johnathan and the crew had been battling the racing ice that threatened to devour their gear, and they had been up for close to 72 hours with only brief cat naps as Johnathan grimly maneuvered the Time Bandit through the gauntlet of ice flows that would rip through the hull if he wasn't very careful and very skilled. Good thing he was.

Problem was 'Captain Pain in Her Ass' kept a hawk eye on her and had ordered her off duty and confined to quarters 'to rest' as only he saw fit. This inevitably lead to power struggles over who was the boss of her, and this morning had been no exception. This time after she had studiously ignored him and continued to sort crab, as the rest of the crew studiously ignored her ignoring their Captain, he called Neal up to take the wheel, stormed on deck, grabbed her arm and bum rushed her all the way up to their stateroom, slammed the door, and threw her on the bed.

'Sioooux!' He had hissed, his body heavy on top of her, her arms and legs imprisoned under his bulk, when for the umpteenth she had disobeyed his orders to stand down and take a break.

'You listen to me and listen up good. You're NOT doing your 'Wonder Woman on Crack' act this season. Got me? You liked ta died from hypothermia and I shouldn't have let you come out here in the first damn place.'

'You almost died too!' She pouted as she struggled to get loose.

'I just came close to drowning. I wasn't unconscious. Nobody had to perform CPR on me! You know what the medic said.'

Sioux rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. The medic had said although she was in remarkable physical shape, she should take it easy for a while and let her body heal from the after affects of the shock. As if.

'God give me strength!' Johnathan prayed as he desperately thought of a way to knock some sense into her hard head. Where was Andy when he needed him to whisper her mule stubborn butt? She'd work herself to total exhaustion if he didn't think of some scheme to chill her out. As he stared into her defiant, fiery green eyes, he had a thought that just might work. It was sneaky and manipulative but the situation, in his mind, was dire and best of all it just might work. Here goes nothing!

And he stopping struggling with her and surrendered. Abruptly he freed her, rolled over and went limp. Sioux bounded up, straddled him, ready to let him have it, then froze at the look in his eyes.

His weary dark eyes searched hers. 'I can't battle this ice and you too baby. I'm just so tired.' He sighed as his eyes slowly closed in defeat.

'You win. I give up.' And moved to push her off him.

Sioux felt like she'd been struck in the face. WTF?! Give up? Her Johnathan never gave up. Ever.

'Are you alright?' She patted his cheek, smoothed the hair off his wearied brow and kissed his closed eyes, as hot tears sprang in hers. How could she be so self absorbed? All about me, me, me! She had just done her Super Sioux thing, because she could, and hadn't given a toss about his feelings or how she made his job more difficult. Everything and everyone, and yes that meant her, was under his command and dominion on the boat. She was just crew out here. Not his hand-full of a scary, mega-bitch girlfriend. If he was giving up on her, she had inadvertently miss-step yet again and added to his already crushing burden.

Here we go again, she groaned. The compromise thing. Gad! She hated this shit.

'Shhhhh. Look at me.' She murmured. 'I'll make a deal with you.'

He washed his face with his hands and looked up at her with defeated, tired eyes.

She leaned over him and her hair covered them like a dark veil. 'What if. . .' She ran a finger over his tight mouth. 'I take a break like every 24 hours and. . .'

'Twelve. Every twelve hours. Non-negotiable.' His teeth snapped at the finger she quickly snatched away .

'Alright ! You got my attention! She pouted then wheedled. 'Every twelve hours I'll take a few hours off.'

'Twelve on, eight off.' He bluffed.

'Whaaat! This a fishing not a cruise on the QE2! Two hours off.' She bargained.

WTF is the QE2 he thought but kept his head in the game. 'Twelve hours on, four hours off. Final answer.' He stared her down, held his ground and his breath.

'Arrgh! Why you got to be such a worry wart? ' She grumped, but he knew he had her.

'Promise?' His eyes narrowed. He knew if she promised him, she wouldn't break her word and he'd have her compliant, safe and healthy, for the season which would take a major hassle off his plate.

Sioux raised up, brushed her hair back, and groaned. 'Allright then. Have it your way. I promise. Honest injin.' She swore. However, she had fingers crossed on both hands behind her back.

Johnathan raised a brow. 'Lemme see those hands. Both of them.'

Shit! She sourly produced both hands. 'See, I promise.'

Johnathan barely contained a hoot. Busted! She'd have to get a lot more rest and get up waaaay earlier in the morning to pull that old chestnut move over on him. He'd had that one covered since he was ten.

With a leap and barrel roll he had her pinned and squirming as he tickled her ribs and rained wet sloppy kisses on her resisting face. He couldn't wait to tell Andy how he'd conned her into doing exactly what he wanted.

'Lemme slip ya a little sumfin', sumfin' to seal the deal.' He growled as he sneaked a hand up her top in search of a succulent titty and leaned in to capture her mouth.

'Don't you even think about it!' Sioux batted his hand away and re-doubled her efforts to push him off. Then she searched his eyes and sputtered as realization became clear.

'Oh no you didnent just con me! You low down, dirty, dawg you!'

'A deal's a deal!' He reminded. She was so hot when she was pissed, all flushed and dangerous lookin'.

In a flash he rolled away and was on his feet as she propped herself up on her elbows glowering green daggers at him.

'Storm's comin' and gotta get the gear pulled. Glad we got this knocked. 'Sides if I had to nail you every time you needed to listen to reason, we'll still be out here 4th of July!' He taunted recklessly.

Sioux mouth dropped in indignation as she searched for something to throw at him. With a snigger he made it out just as her hefty volume of Alexander Dumas' 'The Count of Monte Cristo' hit the wall just inches over his head.

Sioux glanced the clock bolted to the shelf next to the bed and saw she was only into hour two of her imposed four hour 'break'. Promise or no promise, she decided after she finished the next row of Mike's gloves, she'd creep out to see how Johnathan and the crew were holding up, when the door of the stateroom burst open and the exhausted, barely conscious, mumbling mess that was the love of her life stumbled in.

He sat heavily on the side of the bed and kicked off his shoes. She barely had time to raise her knitting over his head, as he rolled over and swept everything off her lap, draped a heavy leg and arm over her and buried his face her stomach.

'Two. IcouldntgetsoIhadtoleaveitbu t..'His mumbled, his hot wet breath tickling.

'Shhhhh. We headed back to Dutch?' She soothed and reached up to shift the lamp towards the wall until they were lit in a soft shadow. He mumbled some nonsense as his breathing slowed and the snores that were the lullaby of her slumber rumbled.

There was a soft knock on the open door, and an equally exhausted Scotty stood rubbing his eyes.

'Just wanted to make sure the old man made it to his bunk. He's pretty tuckered out. I think he was sleep driving the boat there for a minute or two.'

As another loud snore rumbled against her belly, Sioux motioned to the comforter on the other bed. 'Hand me that would you sweetie and help me cover him up.'

As she clucked and tucked, Scotty shook his head as he lounged in the doorway and looked down at his father.

'He's the toughest son of a bitch I've ever known. Anyone else woulda left all 40 of those pots to the ice, but his cussed ass wasn't about to give 'em up. It was hairy, but we got all but two back and every one filled with over 500 crab. Really pissed him off to leave those two pots out here.'

Sioux smiled at Scotty as she as she finger combed Johnathan's hair. 'How long to Dutch?'

'Gonna be at least a 10 hour steam. As soon as we get the deck squared away we're hitting the sack. Eddie Sr., has first watch.'

Sioux blew him a kiss. 'Tell the crew I'll wake them up in a few hours with a dinner that will give them the will to live.'

Before he closed the door, Scotty turned and his heart welled at the sight of Sioux running her fingers through his father's hair humming what sounded like the Beatles 'Let It Be'.

His voice cracked as he closed the door behind him. 'Thanks for taking care of my old man Sioux.'

She stroked his hair until she found what she had been searching for. What they had discovered the morning after the spirits of the men who loved them, saved them.