So I've started another story, as you can see. This is a story in what I've dubbed 'The Lexi Chronicles', so if you haven't read Off In The Distance and Coming Home Again, I suggest that you do. There are many of the same characters, mainly my original characters, and there could be a chance of getting confused while reading. As always, I do not own anyone or anything that has to do with Deadliest Catch or the Discovery Channel. I only own my OCs and the situations that I chose to put the characters in. This one is a bit different in the fact that it is not told from Lexi's first person point of view…it is told more from Sig's point of view but I kept it in the third person. Lexi also in this story is told from a third person point of view. Another thing that I will be doing differently is that I will only be posting once a week (could be twice a week depending on my schedule) due to the fact that I am very busy and I really should not be writing now as it is, but I am and I want to share it with everyone. Please be patient with me. I will try and post on the weekends, either Saturday or Sunday but those days are not set in concrete. If there is a week I can't post, I will make it up to you by posting twice the next week. I will try really hard to stick to this but there may be a week or two (mainly on weeks where I have lots of tests) where I can't do what I promise. Alright, enjoy the story and as always, reviews are appreciated and ideas and thoughts are always welcomed. Also I'd like to thank NorthwesternSig for the idea and for her support.
Sig sat in his car and stared up at the looming building. Hospitals in general were not his favorite place to be and with his family's history involving hospitals, he hated being anywhere near them. Bad things always seemed to happen in hospitals. He sighed and slowly climbed out into the unusually sunny Seattle day. He squinted in the bright sun, silently cursing the fact that he'd left his sunglasses at home, sitting on the kitchen counter.
Why was he here, why was he wasting this nice day getting checked out at a hospital? Oh yeah, because he had to go and open his big mouth around his daughter. He really needed to learn to keep things a secret from her. During king season, he'd experienced some minor chest pain. He hadn't really thought anything of it, except for the fact that this wasn't the first time that it had happened. He has had issues before and so when he told Lexi about the latest episode, she'd freaked out and made him promise that he'd get himself checked out, again, before the next season started.
He'd managed to put this daunting task off until his daughter had gotten home her little adventure with Crosby but the minute she found out he hadn't gone yet, she'd called his doctor herself and made him an appointment. He figured it was good that someone was watching out for him. His late wife had always been the one to keep his health under check and control but with her gone, the complete responsibility had fallen onto Lexi's shoulders. He felt bad that his little girl had the unfortunate chore of becoming an adult too quickly. She should have been able to enjoy her early 20s, instead of having to deal with the aftermath of a tragedy and taking care of her father. It should have been the other way around, he should have been the one taking care of her and he had tried, he really had, but his wife's death had hit him so hard. He had had a very difficult time moving on with his life. Now that Lexi was doing better, maybe it was time for him to start thinking about himself and doing something that would make him happy for a change. Sig shrugged his shoulders and started the trek across the expansive parking lot.
The sterile stench of cleaning products and antiseptics stung his nose. Why did the smell of hospitals have to be so nauseating? He followed the signs in the direction his doctor had given him. He was starting to get a little nervous. That should be a ridiculous concept. How could Sig Hansen, captain of a crab boat in the Bering Sea, be nervous? When it comes to one's health, he guessed that nerves were just a part of the picture. He took a few deep breaths and pushed open the door to the catheterization lab. He'd never had a procedure like this performed on him before and he was unsure of what to expect. His doctor had gone over a few things with him but it was all a foreign language and he didn't understand any of the medical jargon.
There was a women sitting behind the desk. She didn't smile. She didn't even look up at him right away. He ended up having to clear his throat to get her attention. She sort of just stared at him, like she had no idea why he would even be there, "Sig Hansen. Dr. Barker scheduled me for a coronary something-or-other for today."
"Of course Mr. Hansen, I just need you to fill out a couple forms and we'll call you when we're ready. Do you have any questions about the procedure?" She talked to him like he was stupid or incompetent and he was beginning to get a bit frustrated with her attitude.
He shook his head, "No, I think that I've got the basics." He turned his back to her before she had a chance to even comprehend his words. He took a seat in the far corner of the room. From his vantage point he had a good view of the other people waiting to be poked and prodded. There seemed to be a lot of middle aged men, such as himself, and he figured that maybe it was a good thing he was here after all. He glanced down at the forms in his hands. They all seemed simple enough, just his basic information and medical history.
He managed to get them all filled out before his name was called and with only one call to his daughter. See, he could do this taking care of himself stuff. Well, as long as he had a phone nearby and as long as Lexi was always waiting for his call. He grimaced as he realized that he had to take the forms back to the grumpy women, tapping loudly on her keyboard. He placed the clipboard on her desk, right in front of her and still, she didn't look at him, she just waved her hand and told him that he would be called shortly. He had known very little about dealing with the public until the Discovery Channel had decided to put a camera on his boat and that small act had exploded into national fame. He now spent plenty of the time with the public and he knew that if he treated any of his fans as the women had treated him, he'd probably have a very short line at the autograph table.
He hadn't been sitting long when his name was called. He looked towards the sound and a very pretty, young nurse was standing in a doorway holding a clipboard of her own. He smiled at that, maybe this really wouldn't be so bad. He shook his head. Stupid Sig, she had to be near Lexi's age and gawking at a girl his daughter's age was just disgusting. It wasn't unacceptable though, men his age married women her age all the time. They probably didn't have a daughter like he had and that changed everything. He pushed inappropriate thoughts from his mind as he walked past the nurse and then followed her down the hall and past her again as he entered an examination room. He was told to remove his clothing and put on the barely there hospital gown. He was told he could keep his underwear on, which made him feel better. He didn't like the idea of his old, white ass hanging out for all the nurses, young and pretty or mean and nasty, to see.
The pumped him full of pain-numbing drugs and he didn't feel a thing as the doctor inserted the catheter. He had to admit that it was kind of cool to see the dyes light up his arteries but it wasn't so cool to watch the doctor frown or sigh or shake his head as he looked around inside Sig's body.
After getting dressed and sitting, uncomfortably, on the exam table the annoying paper crinkling under his ass, the doctor walked in. Sig looked at Dr. Barker's face and didn't like what he saw. There was a frown crossing his lips and his eyebrows were squished together in concentration.
"It isn't the best news in the world Sig but it isn't the worst either." Dr. Barker took a seat in the only chair in the room. "You've got the beginnings of arteriosclerosis which simply means that the arteries in your body are starting to get a buildup of fatty plaque. This happens from excessive smoking and a lifetime of bad eating habits, all of which you have. Good news is that this can be treated with a change in lifestyle. Bad news is that you'll have to make these changes before I allow you to be out in the middle of the ocean for months. That is where all of your bad habits magnify and if you want to live to see grandchildren, I can't have you living the way you have been."
Sig did not like anything that he was hearing. He couldn't give up smoking and how was he supposed to eat healthy while on the boat. The food they stocked was for the crew and he just ate whatever was prepared.
Dr. Barker must have know what Sig was thinking because he answered the questions that were starting to form in Sig's head. "I realize that giving up smoking is going to be a chore, so I don't expect you to do it cold turkey or not smoke at all while on the boat. I, however, expect you to eat well and slow the smoking down, a lot. I also suggest that you have someone go out with you that will monitor your behaviors and keep you on track. I'm going to stand firm on his Sig. It is my job to keep you alive and get you healthy. This problem has been brewing over some time and if we don't start turning it around now it may be too late."
"You want me to have a boat mother aboard the ship?" Sig for some reason was a bit confused.
"If that's someone that will keep an eye on you, then yes, I want you to have a boat mother on board." Dr. Barker made a few notes in Sig's chart. "Didn't your daughter go fishing with you once? She's very good at keeping you in line, maybe you should take her along with you again."
Sig shook his head, "She's made it pretty clear that she has no interest in going fishing again. I can ask her but I'm fairly certain that she'll say no. Are you sure that is no other option? I can get my brother's to do the monitoring?"
Dr. Barker actually chuckled at that, "Sig I've been you're family's doctor for a few years now and I know you and your brothers well enough to know that anything I tell you or them will just be left at the dock, completely forgotten until you have another episode. No, you're brothers are not allowed to be the monitors. I want someone who will be there to specifically keep an eye on you and will be stubborn enough to stand up to your tantrums."
Sig did not like what the doctor was saying at all. Where in the world was he going to find someone who would be willing to go out onto the Bering Sea for two months with a stubborn crew and an even more stubborn captain?