Back in Dutch Harbor, Danni was sitting out on her bench in front of the Elbow Room. She gazed out across the now-empty harbor with a heavy heart.

A gust of cold air blew past and she pulled her parka closer to her to escape the invading chill. She frowned slightly as she watched the waves crash on the shore. The harbor was usually rather calm considering it was tucked away nicely and well-protected by the surrounding mountains and shoreline. Today, however, the waves were growing stronger and larger as the day wore on.

Danni remembered hearing on the news last night that a large storm system was moving in. Early this morning, after Blake left, the newscaster announced that the storm was actually a massive hurricane. To make matters worse, another storm system was brewing further south and was expected to reach Dutch Harbor within the next two or three days.

Emily walked into the Elbow Room and called out for Danni. She waited for a moment but got no response. She smiled slightly as she realized where her boss would be. She walked over to door that faced the harbor and opened it. Sure enough, there was Danni sitting with her arms folded in her favorite bench.

"Hey," said Emily tentatively, "You okay?"

Danni jumped at the unexpected sound of her friend's voice. She turned around and glanced briefly at her before turning back to face the harbor.

"Yeah, just thinking," she replied slowly.

Emily nodded in understanding as she stepped outside and closed the door behind her. Another fresh gust of cold air rushed past and she shivered, hugging her jacket closer to her.

"So, did you hear about the storms?" she asked with worry in her voice.

Danni looked up at her friend with a mixture of fear and uncertainty in her eyes.

"Yeah, I did…that one that's on the crab grounds is a hurricane, and a big one too. They said that other storm is going to be here in Dutch within the next couple days. Said it could be hurricane force winds."

"What are you going to do?" asked Emily, "I mean, with the Elbow Room and all? You can't stay here. Maybe we should head back to the Alaska mainland and wait it out."

Danni shot Emily an angry and shocked look. She stood up from the bench and turned to face her.

"I won't leave this place!" she exclaimed with conviction, "My entire life has been one failure after another. This place is the one thing that kept me together. After all the things I did in the past and all the mistakes I made, this is the once choice that made a difference. I have a life now Emily! A real one. And I don't want to lose that. Besides that I've actually found a good guy to be with. And now he's out there facing some monstrous storm! There's no way I'm leaving this place."

Emily frowned in concern and shook her head in protest.

"But that's suicidal, Danni! Think about it. If this storm is anything like the one on the fishing grounds, this place is going to get wiped out with you in it!"

Danni's eyes flashed defiance as she turned to walk away. She looked over her shoulder and shot Emily a final glare.

"I'm not leaving!"

Emily watched as Danni walked back into the Elbow Room. She sank down on the bench and ran a hand 

through her hair. Danni was not the only one who could lose something to the storms. For Emily, this was the only job she managed to hold down. She never got a chance to go to college and she barely finished high school. She never found the "right man" until she met Josh Harris. Now he may very well be in danger right that very moment.

Emily shuddered to think what could happen to him out there. The thought of losing Josh made her throat close up and her chest tighten with fear.

She sighed in resignation and stood up. Giving the harbor one last, passing glance, she turned and walked back into the Elbow Room with a heavy heart and a growing sense of dread…

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