Sliding into the desk in the back of the classroom, Brian's leg bounced nervously as he waited for the class to begin. The beige of his fresh cast appeared as bleak as his future aboard the Northwestern. He turned his gaze from the plaster bearing three autographs from his best friends to the rainy view outside and soon lost himself in memories of the past summer.

A streak of honey-gold hair flashed past the window as the late bell began it's ominous ringing and Brian grinned. Sliding in the door as the last note faded, the girl's face was flush with embarrassment. The teacher glared at her over his wire-framed glasses and she slunk to the seat next to Brian.

"You'll be in your seat before the late bell tomorrow, right Miss Henthorn?" Evelyn nodded her head as she steadied her breathing, grinning at Brian by way of greeting.

"Yes sir, Mr. Jetton." With a slight nod of acceptance and a slight smile, Mr. Jetton began his first senior English class of the semester. Class rules and expectations took the first half hour; picking up a stack of syllabi from the edge of his desk, Mr. Jetton passed around the packets before describing the assignments planned for the semester. Twenty minutes later, right before the bell rang, he paused and set his syllabus on the desk.

"Read over the syllabus tonight, and make sure you read all of it! Tomorrow, you will have a quiz on what you've read. Oh, by the way, welcome back!" As the bell rang, the students grabbed their bags and jackets. Brian waited by the door for Evelyn and when she reached him, held her hand as they made their way to the next class. Each class progressed in a similar fashion, minus the tardiness. By lunch, both were caught up on the other's summer vacations.

As they made their way through the lunch line, the conversation moved on to plans for after graduation. Joining two other classmates, a boy with curly brown hair sitting in a custom made wheelchair and a girl with a long, black braid and drumsticks, Brian grinned as he greeted them in their ritual corner of the cafeteria.

"Hey Nolan, Dusty. Did either of you get homework yet?" Nolan shook his head with a grin while Dusty nodded, a bit glumly. Drumming a rhythm on the edge of the table, she glared at the half-empty tray before her. Brian's brows rose in silent question, and Dusty huffed as she slid her drumsticks back into one of many pants pockets.

"In band we got three songs to review for the first concert. And that's not the worst part. Oh, no…the worst part is the fact that there are no guitars anywhere in the songs. So of course I'm going to have to play a totally different instrument for the first two songs…Thankfully, I'm able to play the drums in the third song…" She trailed off as her three friends stared blankly in response to her rant. Brian cleared his throat in the awkward silence.

"But don't you play five instruments…" Dusty shot him a dirty glare while Nolan and Evelyn shared a grin. After a moment of glaring, Dusty provided the answer to Brian's unfinished question.

"She has me playing the violin…it was either violin or not play at all. I hate the violin. And anyway, the first two songs were originally written without the violin. They were originally meant for the fiddle, which is something totally different. I swear…she did this just to piss me off."

"Didn't you point this out Mrs. Fenwick? The violin fiddle difference, I mean?" Evelyn's question seemed to deflate the fire in Dusty's rantings and the teen sighed heavily.

"Yes, but she went all high and mighty and was like 'I'm the professional musician here, not you young lady.' I swear…" Dark eyes flicked over to where a teacher was slowly winding her way through the crowded lunchroom and she trailed off. With the fight momentarily leaving a bad taste in her mouth, Dusty took a swig of Dr. Pepper and turned her attention to Brian.

"So, did your dad give you an answer yet? About this January, I mean?" Brian shook his head and took a bite of pizza. Taking his time, he explained how Edgar had adamantly refused to allow him on the boat come January. When the bell signaled the end of the lunch period, Brian and his friends had something resembling a plan for getting the seventeen year old onto the Northwestern for the January Opilio season.

The rest of the day dragged by in an agonizing crawl for Brian. His leg continually bounced in eager anticipation, and Evelyn kept reaching across the aisle to lightly touch his knee. Finally, the last bell of the day rang and Brian shoved his books and notebook into his bag; waiting long enough for Evelyn to pack her things, Brian all but ran out the door and into the drizzly afternoon.

They met Nolan, Dusty and the twins at the public bus stop just up the road from the high school. During the bus ride home, his mind buzzed with all he'd learned since returning from salmon tendering. His father's late night admission of fear of loosing his family unsettled the teen, although it hardened his resolve to prove his capability of becoming a successful commercial crab fisherman. Lost in thought, he jumped when Evelyn's hand entwined with his. At her questioning glance, he shook his head and smiled disarmingly. He kissed her lips with a murmured 'I'm fine.'

Kelly signaled the bus to stop, and the three Hansens climbed off with Evelyn and Dusty following right behind. Waiting for the bus driver to lower the ramp so Nolan could join his friends, Brian brought his siblings up to date on the plan he and his friends had formulated earlier in the day. Walking home, the six teens dissected the plan and discussed ways for strengthening it until they arrived at something better than originally designed. By the time the Hansens reached their house, Evelyn, Nolan and Dusty had broken off and disappeared into their own homes. Pausing on the sidewalk in front of their house, Brian faced his brother and sister with a stern look.

"Remember, the plan stays between the six of us. Nobody is to hear about this, and I mean nobody. Not even Colin is to hear about it, understand, Kelly?" The twins nodded, Kelly crossing her heart with her pinkie. Satisfied with the promises he knew he didn't need, Brian led the way up the walk, past their father's truck and into the house.

Although Edgar had left for Alaska the day before, they silently left their wet shoes by the front door and padded up the carpeted stairs to shed their backpacks before meeting up in the kitchen for a quick raid of the refrigerator. After Kelly checked the answering machine, they made cold sandwiches before retreating back to Brian and Christopher's room to begin their homework while they munched.

"I don't know, Brian. It's not even Thanksgiving yet. I need more time to think about it." Edgar's tired voice sounded thin and hollow over the landline connection. Brian bit back an impatient response but his father heard the sigh. "Look, can we talk about this when I get home? I promise I'll have an answer for you then." Edgar added.

"Yeah, sure…Um, Kelly wants to talk to you. Yeah, love you too." Handing the phone to his sister, Brian slouched in his chair and stared down at his algebra homework. Missing Kelly's smirk, he rolled his eyes at her response. "No, it's more like he's sulking. Haha. Dad…I saw the weather reports for the next week. It's gonna get ugly out there." She winced as her father's rough laugh rasped in her ear. She glanced at Brian as he suddenly appeared at her shoulder to hear Edgar's response.

"It's already ugly out here, Princess. Don't worry about us, we'll be fine." Brian rolled his eyes at Edgar's machoism and returned to his homework.

"I'm serious Dad. You think it's ugly now, but it's gonna get worse. Please, just be careful out there." She heard muffled voices before Edgar returned to the line with promises of continued vigilance.

"I'm sorry, Princess. I gotta get back to work. I love you."

"Okay, love you too." A click was followed by a monotone dial tone and Kelly slowly lowered the phone from her ear. Replacing it on the stand, she crossed the kitchen and pulled out the chair to join Brian. She stared at the blank spiral notebook in front of her a moment before taking her pencil and began her English assignment.

"Kel, what –?"

"I don't want to talk about it, okay?" Meeting his sister's eye, Brian silently nodded. They held each other's gaze for a brief second before Kelly broke eye contact; returning to their homework, the siblings worked in silence. Hardly thirty seconds passed before Kelly answered her brother's unspoken question.

"I mean, if he wants to just laugh off something as serious as the storms heading their way then fine. Who am I to try and ask him to be careful…?" Brian studied her profile, struggling to find the answers he wasn't sure she wanted to hear.

"I know. But he's always been like that…and he always will. Don't be mad at him because he laughed you off…He probably doesn't know any other way to react." Faint ticking from the foyer clock and the scratching of pencil on paper filled the silence as Kelly ignored him. His eyes narrowed as a sudden thought came to him.

"This week's weather isn't the only thing bugging you, is it?" Kelly kept her eyes on her work, but Brian caught the subtle narrowing of her eyes and thinning of her lips and knew he'd hit his mark.

"What's really bugging you, Ducky? C'mon…. you can talk to me." Pausing, he hesitated only a split second before pressing on. "It's Colin, isn't it? I saw the look he gave you on the way to fifth –."

"Fuck off Brian! You don't know shit about anything! All you're worried about is going off and fishing with Dad – you don't have the time to be worried, or care, about anything else!" Slamming her pencil down with enough force to snap it, Kelly exploded at her brother. She missed the look of shock and hurt written on Brian's face through the tears filling her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. Without waiting for a response, she stormed up the stairs and down the hallway, slamming her bedroom door behind her and buried her face in the pillows.

Sobbing, she barely heard Brian's soft knocking. When he poked his head inside with a murmured "Ducky?", she tossed a threadbare plush duck in his direction.

"Go away." Brian ignored her weak protest and paused to pick up the duck on his way across the room. Stretching his legs out before him, the tall teen settled on the floor by her headboard. His back rested against the wall and he focused his gaze on the duck as he straightened the faded pink bow. Faded yellow fuzzy fabric was patched with pastel colored squares and Brian smiled in fond memory.

"I vaguely remember picking this out for you when you were born. Dad says I said something like, 'Gotta get ducky for my Ducky.' Uncle Norman laughed when Dad tried to explain that you weren't a duck, but my baby sister. I didn't get it until I saw you. Uncle Norman about died with laughter when I explained to the nurse that I had to give the toy to my sister who wasn't a duck."

Kelly sniffled and turned to face Brian, fighting a smile. Although she'd heard the story countless times it was one of her favorites, and she knew Brian chose to tell it to cheer her up. Accepting the duck from him, she held it close to her chest with a faint smile. The smile faded as her thoughts shifted to other matters.

"Colin broke up with me today. He thought if I…if I loved him I would…you know…but I didn't so he said I didn't love him. He tried to make me, but I refused." At the dark look on Brian's face, Kelly stopped talking and the silence that fell was broken after a while by the muted sounds of the front door opening and closing. Christopher's angry voice drifted up the hallway and Brian's furious look turned to displeased confusion. He looked up to the doorway as his brother dropped his football gear in the hallway before shutting Kelly's door behind him.

Sitting with his back against the door, Christopher hugged his knees to his chest and stared sullenly at a spot on the beige carpet. His right eye was swollen in a dark purplish bruise and a nasty cut was held together with several stitches.

"What the fuck happened to you, Chris?" Christopher's mouth pulled up into a sneering scowl as he breathed a mocking laugh.

"Colin's what happened. He tried bragging about how he was gonna make Kelly out to be a whore…and I flipped. We were running laps at practice. I just spun around and jumped the bastard. Coach Svensen let us beat the shit out of each other for a full two or three minutes before pulling us apart."

"Who won?"

"Me."

"Good for you."

Chris' blue-gray eyes flickered to his siblings and he shared a wan grin with Brian; Kelly had moved to a sitting position during his explanation and she forced a small smile at the proud look her brothers shared. When her twin looked to her, her fingertips touched her lower lip briefly before pulling out in the sign for 'thank you'. Christopher nodded silently in response.

"Both me and Colin got kicked off the team for fighting, but he go suspended for what he said. Coach gave me a warning though, then he called Mom. Mom wanted to call Dad, but I managed to talk her out of it."

"Speaking of Dad, he called today. I think he's about to cave and let me go with them in January…" Brian watched with a sad smile as Christopher's head rolling back against the door mirrored Kelly's exasperated sigh.

"I know in the end it's Uncle Sig's decision whether or not I go out with them, but Dad definitely has a say in it too." Kelly met Brian's eye with a sad look in her gaze.

"Don't we have a say? I mean…you're our brother." The conversation dropped and a silence descended for a while before a soft knock sounded at the door. Christopher got up and sat on the edge of the bed as Ashton poked her head in the door. Studying her teenagers' grim expression, she cocked a head towards the stairs.

"Dinner'll be ready in fifteen minutes. Kelly, Brian, I need you to move your homework from the table and one of you to set it please." Accepting her children's nods, she partially closed the door as she went back down to the kitchen and the meal she was preparing.

Ashton watched her children move about the kitchen in silence as they cleared and set the table. When Brian brought the food to the table and Christopher began dishing, she caught herself scrutinizing them and managed to fix a neutral look on her face before they looked over at her. During the meal, she silently watched as they made small talk about school, homework and Brian's upcoming graduation in December. Ten minutes into the meal, she watched her children's reaction as she spoke.

"I spoke to Sig while I was making dinner. He said if Nick's wife isn't better by the time they head out for Opilio, he's going to ask Nick to stay home with her. If that happens, he said there would be a spot open until Nick gets back. Sig asked if you were still interested, Brian, and suggested you get your gear together if you were."

Ashton watched as Brian exchanged a meaningful look with his siblings and wondered what the message that single look contained. The look was gone in an instant, but a chill settled in Ashton's belly that she couldn't shake; she suppressed a shudder as a morbid thought crossed her mind.

It's almost like they were saying goodbye to Brian, almost as if they knew he wouldn't be coming back home.


A/N: This chapter was a long time coming. It was one of those difficult ones that I'm not quite sure I like, but it'll suffice for now I think. Like all my other stories, all real people, places, things, entities, events, etc, belong to their original owners/creators/themselves. All others belong to me. Thanks again for reading, and as usual constructive criticsm and reviews are most welcome and appreciated!

Copyright Alissa Franko 2010