A/N: I wrote this story over the span of about five years. Originally written for BAM and then Calzona, it is now being told to the tune of Brittana. This story is very special to me and captured a large part of my life working with my cousin and our friends at our marina during my summers in college. I hope you all enjoy it as I have loved writing it.

I will post a few chapters this week. Depending on how people like it, I will add more as I can. It is done and will be long, but I am open to coupling/shipper requests and suggestions. Thanks in advance – this is my first story on fanfiction.

Brittany woke to the sound of her alarm going off, very loudly, at a quarter to six in the morning. "Ugh," she groaned. The blonde was not a morning person by any means. No, let's not quite say that - she actually loved mornings. She loved the sunrise, the smell of breakfast cooking and coffee brewing, the stillness of the water at daybreak. But to physically get out of bed? Nope, Brittany Pierce was not a fan of that at all. She rolled back over and buried herself in the covers.

"Brit, wake up! It's six and you need to get going!" her mother yelled from the bathroom. Brittany was half awake now, really wanting just 'another five minutes' before getting out of bed. Unfortunately, she was one of those people who actually took those five minutes and ended up being two hours late for work every day. Her parents knew this.

Her dad walked into her room. "Brittany, get up - it's 6:15."

"No."

"Yes. You're going to be late, honey."

"Five more minutes," she mumbled from beneath the covers.

"No," her father said.

"Yes."

Splash! About two cups of cold water found the blonde's face.

And with that, she was up. She looked at her clock. 6:21. She had to be at Noah's to pick him up in less than ten minutes. She grabbed a tank top, pair of shorts, her bra and was out the door. Minutes later, she was parked in front of the Puckerman house, honking her horn.

Puck came stumbling out of his house a few minutes later and got into the car. Brittany laughed. "Drunk from last night, or just wake up?" she asked.

"Both."

"I see. You know, you should really start getting some adequate rest, Puck. Considering what you do for a living, I wouldn't want you getting yourself injured or anything." she giggled.

"Whatever, it looks like you just woke up yourself, Brit."

"Me? Naw, I've been up since like 5:30."

"Sure ya have," Puck said with a sleepy smirk.

They worked at the Lima Point Marina, a small boating community that rested on the Chesapeake Bay. Brittany ran the marina's ship store and Puck worked in the yard along with Kurt and Brittany's brother, Finn. Finn owned the marina and had recruited Brittany to manage the ship store after their grandmother had passed away. She and the guys were all very close with each other and had been for years.

Brittany and Puck pulled into the corner market to get breakfast and coffee, just as they did every morning before work. "I don't know how you drink your coffee black," Puck muttered as he dumped four packets of sugar into his cup.

"Whatever, it's good like that. You ruin it putting in all that crap." Brittany replied as they made their way to the register.

"Mornin' guys, looking mighty chipper today. Rough night last night?" the regular morning clerk said.

"You could say that." Puck confessed, resting his head on the counter.

"No surprise to me, that's the usual down there at the marina for you guys, right?" Rory asked.

"For the boys, it is, but I went to bed suuper early last night," Brittany replied with a grin.
"Sure ya did," Both Puck and Rory said in unison as the blonde pouted playfully in defeat.

It was no secret to everyone in Lima Point that Brittany and the guys partied at the marina every night. They were young and had fun. They took their boats out almost every day, had a few beers and a lot of laughs. It was life on the river. It was a simple life…and they loved it.

The sleepy duo made their way out of the corner market with food and drinks for everyone in hand. They pulled up to the marina just at seven a.m. Brittany got her clothes and her coffee and went to the office to open up. She changed out of her pajamas, brushed her teeth, clocked in and went to the lower shop where the guys usually started their day. Artie and Puck were waiting for her when she got there.

"So, rock, paper, scissors for who's gonna wake Finn up today?" Puck asked. Like Brittany, her brother was not a morning person either. But unlike her, he drank a little more than the average person and it was a bitch and a half getting him up every morning. To his advantage, however, Finn lived on-site in his trailer. They all agreed to the game, just as they did every morning. Kurt lost.

Forty-five minutes later, Finn and Kurt came into the shop.

"So," Brittany asked, looking at the wall calendar where they kept their work orders. "What's going on today?"

Finn gave a hung-over groan as he ran his fingers through his brown hair. "Well, Puck is painting the boot stripe on the Pathfinder, then we're gonna put in back in the water. And I think Artie is putting in a couple of toilets on Hermione."

"And you, Finn?" Brittany asked.

"I'm finishing a dock up down on the creek, then I guess I'll do some work Mr. Figgins' boat. Oh, and we have a transient that came in late last night - a 37' Grand Banks. I put them in the Dirty Dozen at the end of the dock. I'm not sure how long they are staying, but they seem very nice. And the girl is very cuuute, Brittany. I think you will like her." Finn said with a sleepy smirk.

Puck and Artie laughed as Finn teased his sister.

"Oh, will I?" the blonde asked, looking through some paperwork, brushing off her brother's comment. Finn nodded his head and walked out the door. The two others followed.
Her curiosity sparked, Brittany flipped the 'closed' sign to 'open' and started her day.

Brittany went about her day as usual. She checked in orders, unloaded freshly delivered shipments from Mesco and Paxton, and did her weekly inventory. When her morning was coming to an end, she decided to start making lunch for the guys, just as she did every day.

In truth, Brittany wanted to be outside in the sun, sweating and working with the guys. She wanted to pain, wax, and do woodwork. She wanted to learn how to do engine work and how make gaskets. But she knew there was no one else that could run the office the way she could. No one else knew where to find galvanized carriage bolts or ¼'' elbows or any of the other things people always seemed to need around the marina. Even though she didn't really understand what they were used for, she knew where to find them. No one else knew everyone in that marina by name, rather than face. Yes, Brittany Pierce was the only girl with enough charm to run that office, especially with all of the idiots that came through it day in and day out.

"Guys! Lunch is ready!" Brittany shouted.

With the call, right at noon, Finn, Puck, and Artie came strolling into the shop from the boatyard. Like clockwork, Brittany and the guys always took lunch at noon. She cooked every day except for Fridays when the four of them would go into town and eat at Breadstix.

"What's for lunch today, sis?" Finn asked.

"Food," she replied with a bubbly smirk, watching on as the guys scarfed on hot dogs and corn she had cooked on the grill.

"Good?" she questioned.

"Mmm Hmm."

"Yep."

You're the best, Brit. What would we do without you?" Artie asked.

"Really, I don't know." Brittany stated matter-of-factly with a smile. Just then, the VMF radio rang aloud in the office.

"Ahhh," she moaned. "I never get a decent lunch break around here. Gotta go guys. Throw your trash away, please. I think, between the three of you, you could manage to do that for me, yeah?"

"Sure boss, we got it." Puck replied.

The blonde shook her head and went to the office for the phone, knowing she would have to clean after them later in the day, as usual. Brittany picked up the radio.

"Lima Point Marina to Naugty Gal, come in." Brittany said into the mic.

"Yeah this is Naughty Gal, coming in from the bay. Do you have space for us at your marina overnight?"

"Uhhh, let me see," The blonde checked the slip chart to see what was available. "How long is your boat and how much water does it pull?" she asked.

"52' and we draw about eight feet. No other marinas can accommodate us, they all referred us to you guys."

"Well, I think I can help you out. Pull up to our gas dock out front and I'll meet you there and help you tie in." Brittany said. She hung up the receiver, grabbed a hat, and made her way out the door and to the pier.

The docks of the Lima Point Marina were the biggest around. There was room to accommodate about 300 boats, 150 on each side. Since the water was shallower the further in you were, the size of the slips grew larger as you made your way down the pier.

"Hello, Mrs. Evans." Brittany greeted. "How are we doing today?"

"I'm well, just having a martini here while Sam here finishes up this work on the teak." A cute face peeked up from the deck below with an irritated look.

"Yeah, don't see any drink in my hand, now do you?" He smiled at Brittany before turning back to his wife. "Why don't you come down here and help me, Quinn?"

Brittany laughed at the couple's usual banter. Sam and Quinn Evans never seemed to get along, but they always, somehow, seemed so good for each other. Brittany continued her way down the dock to meet Naughty Gal. She was walking past the last, and best, part of the pier. They called in the Dirty Dozen. With six slips on each side, this was the part of the marina where the partying took place. Every weekend, the boaters in these twelve slips had cookouts, steamed crabs, and played poker. It was, by far, the place to be at the marina. The wealthiest people in Lima Point kept their boats there including Mr. and Mrs. Figgins, the Berry's and, of course, Sue Sylvester.

As Brittany was passing the last of the Dirty Dozen, she noticed a boat she had never seen before, Esses For My Fingers. She noted its odd name and then it dawned on her - this must have been the transient that had come in last night.

Just as Brittany was turning around, she noticed a brunette come up from the lower cabin on this new boat. Her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail with a few stray strands hanging around her eyes. She was dancing around, quite silly and very uncoordinated, to music playing in the cabin below. Brittany let out a small giggle. On cue, as if she had heard her, the brunette turned around and pulled her sunglasses off. She wasn't embarrassed because she had been caught dancing, very badly, Brittany would later add. And she didn't wonder why the blonde had been staring at her. Instead, their eyes met and they both smiled softly. Neither of them said anything.

Realizing she was holding the gaze a little too long, Brittany snapped back into it, turned around, and made her way to meet Naughty Gal.

"Huh," she said to herself, with a huge smile on her face.