A/N: Thank you again for all the wonderful reviews.
Sig started to get out of his seat to go after Samantha when Edgar stopped him. The whole situation seemed to turn the boat on it's axis, they'd been duped by both John and Samantha.
"I'll go see if she's ok" said Edgar. "After all she still may be mad at her for trying to kill her earlier."
"I did not try to kill her" said Sig angrily.
"Fine, whatever you want to call it. Take some time to get your head straight and work out some of your anger" said Edgar.
"How do you suggest I do that?" asked Sig.
"Take it out on the camera guy" suggested Edgar.
Sig turned a malevolent glare on Eric who happened to be filming in the wheelhouse. Edgar took the opportunity to slip out of the wheelhouse to find Samantha.
"Did you know about this?" asked Sig.
"No, I swear we thought she was a fan just like everyone else did" said Eric.
"But you must have met her before, she edits all the tapes you send in" said Sig.
"I've maybe talked to her on the phone but that's it. We have no contact with the editors except maybe at parties. But I don't remember ever meeting her" said Eric.
Sig gave Eric a hard look then looked outside at the setting sun.
"What are you going to do with her now?" asked Eric.
"Do with her? We are in the middle of a trip, what do you suggest I do with her?" countered Sig.
"I mean are you going to keep her inside, put her in a life raft and have someone else come pick her up, you know what are you going to do with her?" said Eric.
"You have a very vivid imagination. I suppose I could chain her to your bed if you want" quipped Sig.
"I don't have a bed" replied Eric.
"Too bad" said Sig.
"Yeah, it has been a bummer" said Eric.
"To answer your questions, she'll stay on the boat as planned, she can help out if she wants to and when we offload she'll get off" said Sig.
"That sounds fair" said Eric.
"How much money do you think she makes?" asked Sig.
"I have no idea, probably more than we do" said Eric. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because she just got fired. I wonder how she'll make ends meet" said Sig.
"Oh, well didn't you say she was a dancer or something. Maybe she can go back to doing that" said Eric.
"She's an aerobic instructor. Do they make a lot of money?" asked Sig.
"Again, I have no idea" replied Eric.
"Eric, you are absolutely no help" said Sig.
Eric shrugged and adjusted the camera, wondering if any of this season would end up in the show.
Meanwhile Edgar made it as far as the galley. He'd been stopped by Jake, Matt and Nick who demanded to know what was going on with Antha. Edgar had asked where she was and was told she was outside with Norman. Knowing Norman would take care of her he told the guys the whole sordid tale.
"So she works at Discovery. That makes so much more sense" said Matt.
"What do you mean?" asked Edgar.
"Well I wondered how she supported herself on the pay of an aerobic instructor. I mean they can't make that much" explained Matt.
"Yeah, well I hope they make something because John fired her" said Edgar.
"What? No wonder she was upset" said Nick.
"Was she really upset?" asked Edgar.
"Kind of, we just assumed Sig had yelled at her or something" said Jake.
"Why did he fire her?" asked Nick.
"She broke her contract when she told us she worked for Discovery" said Edgar.
"Why did she tell you?" asked Nick.
"Because she thought it was important for us to know what was going on. I'm not sure why now and not in the beginning" said Edgar.
"Maybe it was the near death experience" said Nick.
"Possibly" said Edgar with a sigh.
"Do you think she'll be up for making dinner?" asked Matt.
"Who knows" said Edgar. "I'm going outside to check on her."
"Alright, I'll start dinner. Jake do you still want Lasagna?" asked Matt.
"Yeah, but I want Antha to make it" said Jake.
"Can we still call her Antha or should we call her by her real name?" asked Nick.
"I don't know, I'm sure you can call her whatever you want. Antha, Samantha, Sam she'll probably answer to all of them" said Edgar looking slightly annoyed.
Edgar walked out of the galley leaving the guys looking slightly stunned at his abrupt exit.
"What crawled up his ass and died?" asked Matt.
Nick and Jake just shrugged in response and turned back to the movie they were watching.
Outside on deck Edgar glanced around searching for where Norman and Antha were sitting. He spotted Norman coming out of one of the little nooks where they kept the cigarettes. Norman walked around to the small space where Antha was sitting between two large metal pipes. Edgar followed him.
"Hey, has Norman been taking good care of you?" asked Edgar.
"Yes, he's been blessedly silent the entire time we've been out here" said Samantha. "Just a slightly bony shoulder to cry on."
"Please tell me you haven't been crying" said Edgar.
At the comment Norman punched Edgar in the arm, gave Antha a kiss on the cheek and walked inside.
"So what if I've been crying. It was really only a little at the shock of it all" said Samantha.
"Sorry, it doesn't matter if you're crying or not" said Edgar.
"Do you want to sit down or are you going to deliver a lecture?" asked Samantha.
"No lecture" said Edgar.
Samantha picked up the cigarettes and scooted over slightly to give Edgar some room. She reached into the pack of smokes and extracted one. The moment the cigarette was at her lips Edgar lit it. Samantha took a long drag and leaned her head back against one of the pipes closing her eyes.
"How many of those have you had?" asked Edgar.
"I don't know, a few" said Samantha.
"Too many will make you sick" said Edgar.
"Oh yeah? How many does it take to make you sick?" asked Samantha.
"When I was little, just one" said Edgar.
"Oh really? How old were you?" asked Samantha.
"I was 6, stole it from my dad. And it made me sick as a dog" said Edgar.
"Poor thing and yet you still didn't learn your lesson" said Samantha teasingly.
"Yes I'm a bit hard headed" said Edgar.
"I think it's a trait all your brothers have" said Samantha.
"Why did John fire you?" asked Edgar.
"Because I told you that I worked for Discovery and basically blew his whole deception" said Samantha.
"Why did you agree to come out here?" asked Edgar.
"I asked for 3 times my salary" said Samantha. "But now I don't suppose I'll get any of it. Breach of contract is probably pretty hard to fight."
"What are you going to do now?" asked Edgar.
"Right now? At this instant? I'm just going to stay on the boat until we get back to Dutch. After that I'll probably go home and lick my wounds" said Samantha.
"Where's home?" asked Edgar.
"L.A." answered Samantha.
"Will you be ok, financially?" asked Edgar.
"Probably. I have money in savings and I guess if worse comes to worse I can take money out of my 401K" said Samantha. "I suppose I'll try to find another job."
"I'm sorry if we got you fired" said Edgar.
"I got myself fired. I knew the moment I said anything to you that it would be my ass" said Samantha.
"You could always be a full time aerobic instructor" said Edgar.
"I couldn't live on the money I'd get as a full time aerobics instructor" said Samantha. "I have a very expensive lifestyle."
"Really?" asked Edgar.
"Oh yes, it's all caviar and champagne at my house" said Samantha. "You should come visit."
"I'd love to come visit" said Edgar.
"Well, we'll have to plan a visit" said Samantha.
"Are you sure you are going to be ok?" asked Edgar.
"Yes, I'll be fine. It really is no ones fault but my own and I'll get through it" said Samantha.
Edgar placed his arm around her and she laid her head down on his shoulder. They stayed like this until Samantha started to shiver. Edgar stood up pulling Samantha with him and leading her inside.
The moment Samantha got inside she walked into the galley and got to work making dinner. It was already late for dinner but no one seemed to mind. The lasagna was in the oven in 20 minutes and Samantha finished making some garlic toast and a salad. The cooking was cathartic for her and by the time the meal was on the table she was in a much better state. The guys filed into the galley hesitantly, the delicious aroma drew them in but now they were unsure how to act. Samantha put down the pitcher of lemonade and slid into the inside seat. Jake slid in next to her and Norman decided to sit on her other side.
"Did you make this especially for me?" asked Jake.
"I did, it's what you wanted for you special dinner" said Samantha with a smile.
"You seem happier" said Norman.
"I feel much better, cooking always makes me happy" said Samantha.
"So what do you want us to call you?" asked Nick.
"What do you mean?" asked Samantha confused.
"You know since your name isn't really Antha" said Nick.
"Oh, you can call me Antha or Samantha or Sam, they are all acceptable and I will answer to any of them" said Samantha.
"Which do you like best?" asked Nick.
"Um, I've gotten use to Antha and my grandma use to call me that" said Samantha wistfully.
"Antha it is" said Edgar.
Sig was strangely silent throughout the entire meal. The subject of what Antha would do next came up and everyone had a suggestion.
"How about you open a restaurant" suggested Matt. "You've already been to cooking school."
"It's a nice idea but it takes a lot of capital to open a business and the actual hours you work are ridiculous. Actually you know all about it because you work ridiculous hours" said Samantha.
"You could be someone's personal chef" said Norman.
"Yeah, I'd hire you" said Jake.
"You couldn't afford me" said Samantha.
"You could just stay on the boat and work for us" said Sig.
Everyone at the table turned to stare at Sig, matching looks of surprise on all their faces.
"I don't know what to say" said Samantha tentatively. "It's a very nice offer, but I think my presence on the boat has already proved to be a distraction at times."
"You are no more distracting than the camera guys" said Sig.
At that comment every single person in the galley burst into uncontrollable laughter. The subject was brushed aside as the conversation turned to fishing.
Later that night found Samantha tossing and turning in her bunk. The events of the day came back to her in rolling waves. She thought about what would happen to her when she got off the boat. She wondered if John would even get her a ticket back to LA, how many months she'd be able to pay her bills and rent without a paycheck and what her next job would be. Starring up at the ceiling it all seemed oppressive. Throwing off her blanket she turned slightly and fell out of the bunk. Cursing violently when she landed she began sorting through her clothes. Picking out what she wanted to wear she stripped off her pajamas and underwear before redressing in her fresh clothes. Unbeknownst to her she had a captive audience. Matt, Nick and Jake were watching her every move through the dim light in the room, although they couldn't see every single detail of her body they certainly got a good show. Once she was dressed Samantha slipped out of the room heading to the wheelhouse to see what time she needed to make breakfast. The moment the door closed the comments started.
"Wow, did anyone else see that" said Jake.
"Yes, everyone saw it" said Nick. "Now go back to sleep."
"Where's the lotion?" asked Matt.