Disclaimer: I only own Bren, Christa, Erik, and Nik, also the Aleutian Starfire when it's mentioned. No money is made from this either, its purely for entertainment.
A/N: After three re-writings I finally got this chapter out, and it's still short and not how I planned it. I'll make up for it in the next chapter though, if I can work past this writer's block I've had going on. Bear with me for a bit though, I'll pick things up soon, I promise!
An hour later, Bren was sipping on a beer, watching Sig and Nik dancing together over in the corner. Every time he would lean close to her ear, she would blush and then grin up at him, Bren still couldn't get used to the new Nikolina. She saw someone walk up to her side and she glanced up to see Phil's song, Josh, standing there with a smile. "Care to dance?" Putting her drink down, she looked up at him, propping her head on her hand, "Don't you think I'm just a little bit old for you?" He grinned and held out his hand, "Come on, unless you're scared."
Raising her eyebrows, Bren stood up and pushed her hair back from her face, "I don't scare easily, you know." Josh laughed and then reached out, taking her hand into his, turning to walk toward Sig and Nik in the corner. She went along behind him, casting a glance at Nik and rolling her eyes over the actions of the Harris boy. When the next song started, Josh put his hands on her waist and then started to move with the music. Bren laughed a bit and fell into step with him, glancing back at the table where Phil was watching them with an intense gaze.
She blushed at the look in his eyes and quickly looked away, raising an eyebrow when Josh pulled her closer to him. Sig's eyebrows shot up at the move Josh made, not saying a word though, he wasn't about to miss Josh getting pummeled. "Alright, boy, you make another move like that and I'll break your arms." He just grinned, something that irked Bren's temper, she didn't like being toyed with, especially by someone like him. Opening her mouth to speak, she was stopped instantly when she felt his hands slide into her back pockets.
Sig moved Nik to the side and slightly behind him, having a feeling that things were about to start getting ugly. Fire flashed in Bren's eyes when she looked up at Josh, but she didn't have time to react before Phil was at her side. He was giving his son an icy glare that even made her shiver, and apparently it had the desired message. Josh moved back from her and held up his hands a bit, backing off before quickly retreating from the corner to go back and sit with this brother, who was laughing at the near-death mistake the oldest had made.
Once he was satisfied that he had things under control, Phil turned to look at Brenna, not completely able to explain the intensity. He'd seen red as soon as his son's hands had drifted lower into her pockets, and then he'd been at her side. Glancing over at Phil, she tried to think of something to say at this point. Nik laughed softly and nudged her husband, who turned to look at her as she leaned up and whispered, "Want to make a bet, Captain Hansen?" Raising an eyebrow, he grinned and turned to her, "Depends on what that bet is, Mrs. Hansen."
Quietly excusing herself, Bren nearly sprinted to the bar and ordered another beer, taking a long drink as soon as it was placed in front of her. She needed to get her mind back on track, she wasn't here to find a boyfriend, she was here to work for Christa for a while. Really, she'd only come because Nik had called her, she couldn't work with her sister anymore, the due date for the baby was too close. Taking another long drink of her beer, she put some money down on the bar and then started back toward the table.
Putting a smile on her face, she looked at Sig and Nik, "I hate to be running off, but I'm going to go over to Christa's shop." Smiling, Nik stood up, with Sig's help, and hugged her friend gently, whispering to her as well. "When he's here before the season starts, Phil goes to the diner for breakfast every morning, you should come visit with him sometime." Rolling her eyes, Bren let go of Nik and then turned to Sig, holding her hand out to him, "It was good to finally meet you face to face, Sig."
He reached up and took her hand and then stood up, pulling her into a light hug before letting go of her. "It was nice to meet you too, and thanks for coming to help Christa while Nik's on maternity leave." Grinning, Bren shrugged her shoulders and looked up at the Norwegian, "She's a great friend and I owe her a lot. Besides, it gives me a chance to spoil the kids before I have to go back home." Nik laughed and shook her head with a light yawn, "You joke now, just you wait until you have kids, I get to spoil them then, but for now, I'm going to go take a nap, this kid is wearing me out."
Sig led Nik over to the door and got their coats on before waving to Brenna and then walking outside to head back to the Northwestern. Realizing that Phil was standing at her side, Bren looked over to him and smiled a bit. "It was nice to meet you too, Captain Harris, maybe I'll see you around sometime." Phil stood up and held his hand out to her, "It's a small place, we'll meet up again sometime soon. Oh, and call me Phil, no need for the Captain Harris stuff." She laughed softly and slid her hand into his, "Alright then, Phil, I'll see you again sometime."
When she moved to leave, he gently squeezed her hand and pulled her back, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. Bren's eyes went wide and she blushed, glancing up at him with a light smile. Waving a bit, she hurried over and put her coat on, picking up her bags and heading outside, wincing from the coldness of Dutch Harbor. "And I left Texas to come here for three months…Nik owes me big time for this one…"