When Dutch woke up she felt like she had been hit by a truck. She checked her reflection in the mirror as she stood in the bathroom. Her whole body was sore and bruised. The bruises hadn't come to full color yet, they were still too fresh.

'It always gets worse before it gets better'. She mumbled to herself as she reached for the bottle of painkillers and fiddled with the lid.

'Are you in a lot of pain Dutch?' Phil asked as he took the bottle of her and opened the lid.

'Nah, they just make me feel happy.' She tried to laugh it off as she took a couple of pills and swirled them down with some Pepsi.

Johnathan and Phil exchanged concerned looks but decided to let it go.

'I still need to go to home and throw some stuff in a bag' she said.

'We are nearly ready to go then we will come with you and wait while you pack'.

On Mike's request, they hadn't left her out of their sight ever since they went back to the hotel last night. She didn't have the energy to put up a fight, so she simply accepted and sat down waiting for Phil and Johnathan to get ready.

Dutch was trying desperately to find the stuff she wanted to bring. She ran around her room as if she was having some sort of panic attack.
John and Phil had a look around. It was a hotel room, but to Dutch it was home.
Her room kept no secrets, looking around it was easy to read Dutch's lifestyle and personality. The furniture was the same as in their room, the same big tv, the same bedcovers, the same lighting. It wasn't really tidy, but then again it wasn't a mess either. It was more unorganized. A four pack of Pepsi stood next to the coffee table, missing one bottle. That missing bottle, half empty, stood on her nightstand. No glass in sight, obviously. She liked drinking from the bottle. Her clothes were nicely folded, which seemed out of character for Dutch, but she probably had her laundry done by the hotel service.

While waiting for Dutch who was at this point frantically throwing stuff around the place, they looked at the painting on the wall above her bed. It showed a woman with female curves, dark long slightly curled hair and emerald green eyes. She was portrayed from the back, looking over her shoulder. The dark green slim dress had a low cut back and showed her flawless skin. At first Phil thought it was Dutch, but when he had a better look he realized it wasn't her.

'That's my mum' Dutch said as she rested her eyes on the painting 'I painted that a few years ago. It isn't finished though, but I am scared of fucking it up if I work more on it.'

'You look just like her' Johnathan said.

'More then you know…' She whispered softly.

'Guys, I am clueless. I have no idea what to bring. I don't know what the weather is like over there, I don't even know how long I will be gone for.'

'Just grab some things Cheeks, you can buy whatever you need when we get there.'

'Retail therapy starts on arrival.' She said as she put her sunglasses on the top of her head.
She threw her bag on the bed and looked around. Her room looked like it was hit by a terrorist attack. She started laughing 'Thank fuck for housekeeping.'

'Just need my passport and then I am ready to go.'

She stood on the bed and moved the painting of her mother to the side and revealed the safe behind it.
She looked through the items inside. As she found what she was looking for she felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She hesitated for a moment than took her passport, a few pictures and some money before she carefully locked the safe again.

Ken knocked on the door and let himself him.

'Are you ready to go? The taxi is waiting at the back'

'Yeah, we are good to go.'

'Dutch, I need your phone.'

She sighed and handed him her mobile phone.
She knew she wasn't allowed to take her phone with her. It was just one more way for Frank to trace her down.

'Sorry babe. Get yourself a phone when you are in Seattle, call the hotel if you need to speak to anyone. Your call will just blend in with all the other phone calls we get every day, making it harder to trace.'

'Right.' She said goodbye to Ken and then the three of them got into the taxi. Within 20 minutes they arrived at the airport and were heading towards the departure hall.

They checked in and received their boarding passes.
Johnathan looked at his boarding card and sighed in disbelieve.

'Joy, I get the window seat again.' He sarcastically mumbled to himself.

When they walked towards the gates, Dutch wasn't paying attention.
She bumped into someone and was nearly knocked off her feet. She quickly checked if she still had her passport and money and was relieved it was still there.

'Watch where you are going.' The man said to her with irritation in his voice.

She half apologized to the man, but he gave her an irritated look and walked off.

'Yeah, whatever! Good morning to you too!' She shouted after him.

Johnathan pulled her arm to divert her attention. 'Let's find a place in this airport to have one last smoke.'

Just at the end of the intercontinental gates they found a small smoker's booth. It was smelly and yellow stained of nicotine, but it served its purpose.
As Dutch reached into the pockets of her leather jacket, she felt a piece of paper.
She looked at it and her face lost all color. Just as she wanted to put the paper back into her pocket Phil grabbed her wrist.

'Give me that.'

He took the paper of her and had a look.

'Stakes are high. Winner takes all. Game on. F'

'Fucking hell!' Phil said as he handed Johnathan the paper.

Her hands were shaking but her voice was calm and steady when she spoke.
'I can't come with you. Frank knows where I am going. You have to leave, I will catch another random flight out.'

Johnathan spoke to her. 'You are coming with us.'

Phil nodded. 'We promised your dad and Mike that we would keep you safe and that is just what we intent to do. '

'No. It is too dangerous. I don't care about me, but if I go with you it will mean that you are in danger too. You hardly know me, I can't ask that of you.'

'You can't just get a random flight out here not knowing where to go and where to stay. That son of a bitch that you ran into earlier probably putted that piece of paper in your pocket and he is most likely to be hanging around here somewhere to make sure he knows where you are going.'

'I am fucked, what do I do?'

'You are going to get that cute little ass of yours on the plane to Seattle.'

'Maybe that's the best for now, but I promise that I will vanish from Tacoma after we arrive.'

They were the last to board the airplane. They found their seats and she was disappointed to see that Johnathan had the window seat.

'Cheeks, if you want you can sit next to the window. I don't mind.' Johnathan tried to keep a straight face.

'Are you sure?'

'Yeah babe, go on.'

She hopped over the two seats and sat down next to the window. 'Perfect' she said.

'Anything for you Cheeks' Johnathan couldn't suppress the grin on his sat down in the seat next to her and Phil joined him on the other side.

The airplane left the runway and Dutch was glued to the window. She saw Amsterdam beneath her. She was trying hard to recognize the buildings when she saw the familiar shapes of Dutch Harbor. Her hand touched the window as she tried to reach out to it. She tried to get a glimpse of Sharkey's, but the bar was too tucked away to be noticed from the air. She sighed as the houses became smaller. Way too soon Amsterdam was out of sight and they were flying over the sea. Her sea.
Johnathan placed his hand on her leg and gave a slight squeeze to let her know he was there for her, she looked at him and smiled.
Once the seatbelt signs were turned off, she unzipped her boots and kicked them off. She lifted the armrest of the chair and crawled up on her chair, leaning against Johnathan's arm and resting her head on his shoulder.

'If crab fishing doesn't work out for you, give me a call, I might have an opening for you as my personal pillow.' She said as she closed her eyes.

Johnathan looked at her. She had dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep and her face showed the marks of the night before. His hand was still resting on her leg. After a while noticed her chest was moving up and down more slowly and he figured she must have finally dozed off. She had grabbed his arm as if she was hugging it. He felt for her, she had been through so much all ready and he was scared that there was even more to come her way.

'Is she asleep?' Phil asked.

Johnathan nodded.

'Good. Listen John, she needs our help. I am not going to turn my back on her. I hope she will trust us enough to keep her safe. I am not scared of any of that shit happening in Amsterdam coming our way, but we might want to take a few more precautions.'

'We will stick with her. When we get home we will call in a favor or two here and there, just to be on the safe side. It all just seems to be a little more than we expected. She has all ready been to hell and back. I will be damned if I am going to let her go down that road again.'

'She's got attitude, I like her. Hopefully everything will be done and over with before we head out for Dutch. She is a strong girl, but how high can you fly with broken wings?'

When Dutch woke up she was still hanging onto Johnathan's arm. It took her a few moments to figure out where she was. She lifted her head and rolled her eyes when she felt the pain aching through her body.
Johnathan was happy to have his arm finally released.

It was nearly midnight when they arrived in Seattle and got out of the airport. They hit the nearest bar as they were waiting for Phil's friend Ray to come and pick them up. Only one hour and a couple of drinks later she was sitting in the back of a SUV. The driver looked at her in the rearview mirror as he was chatting away with Phil and Johnathan. The three of them were loud and laughing. She didn't really follow the conversation, but it was about Amsterdam, Phil's sons, motors and people she had no clue off who they were. She learned that Mandy had met some guy from the internet what ended in a disaster date. She had bailed out on him by climbing the window of the toilet, leaving him waiting for her in the bar with the bill. She had called Ray who collected her from the car park. She had no idea who Mandy was, but Phil and Johnathan were amused by the story.

He looked at her again. She sat quietly in the back and he was dead curious to know who she was. He decided to take a gamble.

'So love, who did you have to piss off so badly that you got stuck these two dirty old men?' he said jokingly, trying to make conversation.

'My ex husband Frank. ' She said bluntly.

'Long story.' Phil said and by the tone of his voice Will understood to leave the topic alone.

The drive took less than an hour. When they arrived at Phil's home the four of them walked in.
Phil took her hand and pulled her to the side.

'How are you holding up Cheeks?'

'I feel like I was the main objective in a paintball competition.'

'Come on, I show you where you can find everything and then I will get you a drink.'

'Yes please'

She was sitting down as Phil handed her a drink. The smell of the alcohol burned her nostrils, but she downed it in one. She shook her head as she grasped for breath. All three of them looked at her and couldn't help laughing.

'Just what I needed' she said while she was trying not to cough.

Phil gave her a refill. This time she took a little longer before she emptied her glass. She watched Phil and Johnathan talk to Ray and listened to their stories.
They didn't pay much attention to her, which she was grateful for. She felt she was slowly starting to relax. She got up and walked over to Phil.

'I am ready to lie down if that's ok' she said softly.

'Sure baby, I walk with you'

She walked over to Phil's friend and gave him a small hug.

'Thank you for picking us up. I am sorry I wasn't really talkative, I hope to see you again.'

She walked over to Johnathan and sat on his lap. She put her arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck.

'Thank you Captain. I will see you in the morning.'

She gave him a slow kiss while she took his glass out of his hand. With now both his hands fee, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her gently, careful not to press on any bruises and sore spots. He whispered her to have sweet dreams.

'Will do!' She said as she hopped of his lap and emptied his glass.

'You sneaky bitch!'

She laughed 'That's me.'

Phil walked her into the bedroom and watched as she undressed herself.

'You want me to get your bag so you can pick something to wear?'

'I honestly can't be bothered to go through my stuff. I am leaving tomorrow anyways, so it saves me packing again. I just want to lie down really. Maybe you have a shirt that I can wear?'

Phil threw her one of his shirts and she put it over her head. It made him smile, she looked so tiny in one of his shirts. He helped her into bed and pulled the covers over her.

'Will you join me later and hold me?'

'Sure will baby. Now close your eyes and get some sleep. You look like death warmed up.'

'Gee thanks!' She couldn't help but smile. 'You're not half bad yourself.'

He leaned down to kiss her goodnight and she closed her eyes.
She could hear the guys talk for a little while longer as she drifted off to sleep.

Ray left and Phil peeked through the door of the bedroom and saw Dutch tossing and turning in her sleep, but she was sleeping nevertheless. He walked back to the living space and saw John put the phone down.

He had phoned the hotel and Ken had patched him through to Mike. Johnathan had filled him in on the latest details. Mike was surprised to hear that Frank had a man ready at the airport, but wasn't surprised to hear that Dutch wanted to go on the run. She had a habit for running off. He was happy to hear that Johnathan and Phil decided to stick with her, knowing that they didn't owe him anything.

'How are we going to keep Dutch from doing a runner on us.'

'Now there is a challenge. I got more chance of licking my own elbow then to keep her here.' Phil stood thinking for a moment. 'Desperate times call for … simple solutions'

'What are you up to?'Johnathan asked as he saw Phil go through Dutch's Stuff.

'It will be a lot harder for her to pull off a disappearing act without her passport and money.'

'Good thinking batman'

Johnathan crashed on the sofa as Phil walked in the bedroom. Dutch was still caught in a restless sleep and looked somewhat uncomfortable. He undressed himself, slid next to her in the bed and took her into his arms. She moved closer to him and he rested his head on top of hers.