The water around him felt warmer than he thought it would be. The burning in his lungs was matched by the pins and needles piercing his body. He let himself hang in the roiling waters until his survival instinct kicked into action. Struggling to get his limbs to respond, his head and shoulders cleared the water and he sucked down two gulps of air before partially submerging again. Treading water, he waited for the next cresting wave to lift him up and squinted into the darkness for the lights of his family's boat…or any boat. His numbing senses made this difficult and a last conscious thought rolled through his brain before succumbing to the tempting darkness. At least I'm wearing a life vest...

"I see him! Straight off the starboard bow!" Sig threw down his window and leaned out to try and get a better view. Maria's shout and pointed arm guided his eyes to a tiny orange speck.

"Capitan! Two o'clock, he's off your two o'clock!" A quick glance down at the deck monitor showed him she was lining herself up with the launcher and a sick feeling rose in his gut. Although the survival suit she wore was a little ill fitting, Sig could still see her tensing up in anticipation of the wave's crest. With no warning, Maria took a flying run up the launcher and cleared the next wave before diving into the water, Sig's shouted curses ringing in her ears.

"Maria! God damn it, NO! FUCK!" Cutting through the frigid water, she surfaced with a gasp of shock before beginning her frantic swim. After an eternity, she reached Norman and wrapped an arm around his chest. He groaned faintly as his head lolled back to rest underneath her chin as she frantically struggled to return to the Northwestern.

Backpedaling with one arm through violent seas was an awkward affair, and when she saw Jake lower the life sling, she grabbed it with a grateful sob. She shoved Norman onto the sling, and though she clung to the bright red ring Matt threw for her, she lost her grip twice before Norman cleared the rail. Matt's cussing snapped her back to attention and soon she thudded unceremoniously to the deck. She allowed Jake to help her towards the hatch as Nick and Matt carried Norman to his bunk.

Once inside, Jake and Maria saw Nick disappear up the wheelhouse stairs as they struggled to peel the survival suit from her shivering frame. Moments later Sig thundered down. Pausing long enough to grab Maria by the front of the hoodie she'd borrowed, he ignored both her and Jake's startled shouts as he dragged Maria behind him. Matt jumped back as Sig stormed into the tiny room and pointed at his unconscious brother.

"Heal him. No, don't anyone say anything! You might not have been able to do anything for Edgar-but, but if you heal Norman…" Tears trailed down Sig's ashen face as he struggled to control his emotions. Taking a few deep breaths, the distraught skipper tried again.

"Try. Try harder than you did with Edgar… that's all I'm really asking." Features contorted with barely controlled emotion, Sig turned and left a stunned Jake and Matt staring open mouthed at Maria, who stared in shivering shock at Norman. They flinched as Sig poked his head back into the stateroom and added,

"Um…thank you. For bringing my brother back to me."

"You're welcome," Maria whispered to the retreating skipper before slowly, numbly shoving the survival suit from her waist onto the floor. She was vaguely aware of Jake helping her into warm sweatpants as Matt shoved a hovering Peter from the room, muttering softly,

"Make yourself useful and fix everyone coffee. Then make more coffee, 'cause we're all gonna need it."

****

Sitting in the co-captain's chair across from Nick, Sig anxiously bit at his fingernails. Deep in thought, he missed the tear running down his cheek, loosened as his eyes slowly scanned the still heaving horizon. He didn't move as the processor called to push up his offload date, and he barely heard Nick's end of the conversation. Sig sat for hours in his shaken state, jumping as Matt suddenly appeared at his side with a steaming mug of coffee.

Sig sucked in a deep breath, missing the look Matt and Nick shot each other and the shrug Matt gave in response to the unspoken question; scrubbing a hand over his face, he frowned as the dried tears gave way and finally accepted the coffee and sat up straighter in his chair. Anticipating Sig's question, Matt sat on the bench behind the skipper and answered.

"I think he'll be okay. He's woken up a couple times, and he recognizes people and knows where he is. Maria insists he goes to the clinic as soon as possible though. Norm says he's fine, but she doesn't want to take any chances." Matt and Nick watched Sig cautiously, and when he silently rose, Matt followed suit. As Sig descended the stairs, he shot Matt a dark glare before he disappeared from view. Catching the meaning, Matt sat down with eyes widened in an "oh, shit" expression.

Sig paused by the partially opened stateroom door, the galley light stopping at the foot of Edgar's bunk. It's Maria's bunk for now...but as soon as Ed's back… Sig shook his head to rid himself of that thought. As the skipper gently nudged the door open, he heard Maria groan softly and sheets rustle as she propped herself on her elbows. Mussed black hair fell across her forehead and she blinked away the sleep that clogged her eyes. Taking the upturned bucket from near the foot of Norman's bunk, Sig scooted closer to his sleeping brother. The middle Hansen was bundled tightly against the effects of hypothermia, and though sweat beaded on his forehead, his skin still held an unhealthy tinge to it and was cold to the touch. Sig studied his hands while he searched for the right words to say while Maria rolled over to peer from under the covers.

Glancing up at Maria, seeing her timid yet soul-worn look, the skipper smiled kindly. Clearing his throat softly, Sig ran his hands through his hair.

"So, Matt tells me you think he should go to the clinic when we dock. Wait; let me finish. I think you're right, I think Norman should get checked out." Seeing the tears well up in Maria's eyes as she stared at Norman, Sig's fatherly instincts overrode his slowly shrinking dislike of her and he moved over to sit on the edge of the bunk. He reached over to take her hand, and the concern in his eyes deepened as Maria shrank back from the skipper.

"Hey, you had nothing to do with what happened to Norman. That was a freak of nature…a scary-assed freak of nature. Nobody here blames you for Norman going overboard so don't blame yourself. I still need your help with him remember? I need Matt, Jake and Nick to worry about the crab, and I can't take care of him because -"

"He can barely take care of himself…I don't expect him to take care of me." Sig flinched as Norman's raspy voice interrupted and Maria laughed timidly as tears spilled over and darkened the pillowcase she hugged to her chest. She wiped her eyes and sniffled as she sat up. For the first time, Sig noticed the dark shadows beneath her eyes and the hollow look in her gaze.

Not wanting to meet Sig's gaze, Maria played with the ends of her damp hair and sighed. Her lower lip rolled in so she could chew the chapped skin and stared at the floor beneath Sig's worn out sneakers. Taking a deep breath, Maria started to speak when Matt knocked on the door with an apologetic look.

"Nick says we're coming up on our next string, but we also have to go offload in a day. The weather is still shitty, and he wants to know what he should do." Sig looked to Norman, who was slowly drifting back to sleep and nodded to himself as he decided.

"Tell him... we're gonna haul this string. It's gonna be a bitch to haul in time for the offload, especially with Norman out of the game, but I know we can do it. I'll be up in a minute to let him gear up." Turning his gaze to Maria, the skipper's brows furrowed.

"C'mon, Norman still might be sick, but I think he'll be fine for a little while. You can check back on him in between pots, but I don't want you dwelling on what happened to him…or on Edgar. I need your head here, with us, with me. Okay?"

"Can I ever repent for what happened to Edgar?" Sig frowned again and took one of her hands in his. Squeezing gently, he gave her hand a light tug. He flashed a smile, trying not to betray the pain brought surging up when she mentioned his youngest brother.

"You already are…believe me, you already are."

****

Maria sat in the wheelhouse, watching as Sig climbed into the cab of the idling pickup before it disappeared into the early morning fog. Although Nick was left in charge of the boat, Jake volunteered to sit with Maria during the offload while Nick and Matt dealt with the cannery workers.

From the corner of her eye, she watched as Jake absently chewed at the skin peeling around his fingernails and his eyes wandered around the wheelhouse. She smiled as he caught her eye and he returned the smile warmly, letting his hand drop from his mouth. For something to fill the silence, Jake said the first thing that came to mind.

"This is my sixth consecutive season on the Northwestern. It feels weird not having Edgar with us…it feels weird having a girl-woman with us too. I think the others are used to having the crew be all guys…but you're growing on us, I think." Maria blushed as Jake struggled to keep from digging himself into a hole he couldn't back out of. Quickly changing the topic, she looked at Jake's profile as he stared out the large windows.

"You're close to him, aren't you? Edgar, I mean." Jake's brows scrunched as he thought on Maria's question a moment before nodding.

"Yeah. I am. He might seem like a jackass, but he's a good guy. He just likes to have fun while he works. He's a lot like Sig too…very anal in the way things get done, but his way of doing things gets them done right the first time. That's why I threw him for a loop when I came on as a greenhorn. I don't think he was used to working with a guy as touchy as I am. I'm too emotional, but I can't help it." A momentary silence fell as they both thought on what Jake had said.

"Jake?"

"Mmm?"

"Why were you nice to me from the very beginning? I mean, everyone else avoided me unless necessary, and even then whatever contact we had was short and to the point." Out of nervous habit, Jake's teeth closed on another loose piece of skin peeling away from his nails as he struggled to answer her question.

"I dunno. I guess I was mad at you at first, like the others. But you did everything you were told without even saying a word…and took their hazing in the same way. It was like you were Sig's perfect robot…you still are. I didn't think it was fair to take my anger out on you. I mean, yeah, you were there and watched as he got jumped and all, but you did make sure Ed got help. Right?" Jake shifted in his seat to get a better look at Maria, whose expression turned painful as she consciously thought about the night when her problems really started.

"Yeah…about that night. My brother and our cousins had seen Edgar in the bar that night…" As she started telling Jake the truth about what happened that night, it was as if a levy had been lifted and the emotions flooded out. She didn't hear Nick, Matt, and the two cameramen join them; only when she finished with her narration did she tear her gaze from the floor at her feet. She paled at the three crewmen's mixed expression, and was grateful for Mark's interruption.

"Shit…Jake do you know how long this camera was on?" All eyes flew to the senior cameraman as Jake's brows furrowed in confusion.

"I don't remember. I thought you turned it off when you went downstairs…two and a half hours ago. Why?" Jake followed Mark's apologetic look to Maria.

"I'm sorry, Maria. I think we just recorded your story…"

****

A/N: I realize timing and some grammatical issues are still two of a couple things I need to work on, so hopefully by the time this story is finished I'll be much better with both. I keep forgetting to mention that I don't own (nor do I want to) the Northwestern, her crew, the rest of the Trident fleet or the greater fishing fleet or the crews' families. Reviews and constructive criticsms are still most welcome, and many thanks to y'all for reading! I appreciate it!

Copyright Alissa Franko 2009