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Yet another chapter. Please review. I love to read what you have to say! :)
Joelle opened her eyes, and looked up and realized she was on a boat, but her surroundings weren't familiar at all to her. She sat up quickly, hitting her head, which forced her to lay back down.
"What did you do that for?" Crosby asked, putting his arm around her waist.
It was then that everything that happened last night came rushing back to her.
"We didn't sleep together, did we?" She asked, covering her face with her hands.
Crosby laughed.
"If you meant have sex, then no. Hard to do with clothes on, don't you think?" He asked.
Joelle looked under the covers that lay on her, and sighed.
"I remember a lot of kissing, and me wanting to do it, but not actually stopping." She said, honestly.
"You're in the clear, don't worry."
"Wait a minute, what time is it?" She asked, sitting up again, hitting her head again. "That is definitely not helping my headache."
"Then quit doing it." He said. "It's around eight in the morning."
"I need to get back to my boat." She said, crawling out of the bed, very aware of keeping her head away from the upper bunk.
"Knowing Sig, he would leave without you." He said, following her out of the bunk.
"Exactly." She said, putting her shoes on, and then throwing her Northwestern jacket on as well.
"I know this is going to make me sound like a girl and all, but what happened last night…?" He asked, trailing off.
"I don't know." She said, looking over at him, and then leaving the room. She walked through the galley, where she saw Gary sleeping on the bench by the table. She quietly walked up the stairs to go outside on the deck. "I said a lot of things last night, said feelings that I didn't realize I had until that moment."
He nodded.
"They suck, huh?" He said, trying to joke about the matter.
Joelle sighed. She walked up and gave Crosby a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Stay safe out there, okay?" She said to him.
"You too." He responded, and then watched her climb off the boat, and then run down the docks towards where the Northwestern was docked. She jumped on deck, where she saw Sig, Matt and Edgar standing, watching the bait get loaded onto the deck.
"And where, may I ask, have you been?" Sig asked, watching Joelle walk up to them.
"Or do we already know?" Edgar asked with a sly smile on his face.
"Funny." She said. "I didn't sleep with him if that's what you think."
"Yeah, sure." He laughed.
"She couldn't have. She would be much happier right now." Matt said, smiling.
"Shove it Bradley." She said, giving him a look.
"You're right. Much too angry." Edgar said, laughing.
"I work with a bunch of pigs." Joelle said, heading inside to change into something more appropriate for work. She changed into a pair of sweatpants, sweatshirt, put on her rainpants, and deck boots, and then walked outside.
"So, you decided to join us to work, huh princess?" Edgar asked.
"I do remember telling you I don't like that nickname." Joelle said, joining Jake, who had started to put the bait away in the freezer.
"What do you remember from last night. You were a trip to watch." Sig asked, laughing.
"Not a whole lot, and my head is reminding me why I don't drink so much alcohol in a short period of time."
The guys all laughed at the comment.
"So, did you and Crosby kiss and make-up?" Jake asked, smiling at Joelle.
"If you want to call it that." She said, tossing a box of herring bait to him.
"So what did happen?" Nick asked, smiling at her.
"I do know that you all are a bunch of nosy old men." She said, looking over at them. "And I know that Jake and I aren't the only ones on the boat that work here."
Matt laughed as Nick and himself joined to help put the bait away.
"So, you're really not going to tell us?" Sig asked, looking upset.
"Nothing worth talking about at this point in time. Not until I figure out what exactly happened last night." She said.
"Gotta' figure out your feelings?" Norman asked, smiling.
"Well, I bet that will happen after I figure out, what the hell happened last night. I remember kissing him, but that's about it." She said.
"So, you DID kiss and make up!" Jake said, smiling.
"You guys really are unbelievable." She said, throwing the box of herring at Jake harder than she should. He just laughed in response.
"You guys need to really hurry up and finish that. I want to set off in the next hour or so." Sig said.
Norman and Edgar started to make sure that the deck was secured while the rest of them got the bait put away quickly. Sig was ready to set sail about the time they were putting the last boxes in the freezer. They quickly brought in the bags and the lines that tied them to the dock, and they were officially on their way to the crab grounds.
Matt made everyone a nice big lunch while heading out to the grounds. The weather was picking up, as a huge snow storm was heading their way. They were expected to get to the crab grounds in about 10 hours after eating, and the storm was to be at them in full force in about 15. Sig wanted the pots off the boat as soon as possible, no matter where they were set. He just wanted to stabilize the boat, which made him more on edge as they drove on closer to the ground.
When they arrived to the southernmost edge of the crab grounds, Sig ordered the crew to start offloading the pots. The wind was blowing, and the seas were high, but with as many pots as they had on the boat, working on the deck was safer than keeping the pots on the boat. The crew scrambled and worked fast and relentlessly to get the pots off the boat, and was working in record time.
When the last pot was off the boat, everyone came in, relieved that the job at hand was done.
"My nose is numb." Joelle said, smiling at the camera guy Adam.
"It's all red."
"You look like Rudolph." Jake said, laughing.
"And you look like Dumbo." She said, bluntly.
"Hey!"
Joelle laughed, throwing her raincoat at him. She walked into the galley and poured herself a cup of coffee, and then grabbed one for Sig as well, and then walked up to the wheelhouse.
"This storm is blowing." Sig said when he saw Joelle.
"I brought coffee." She said, handing him his glass.
"You are amazing." He said, graciously accepting it. Joelle took a seat on the bench behind the captains chair and watched out.
"I don't think I've ever seen those pots come off the boat that fast before." Joelle said.
"Good to know you guys can do it." Sig said, with a sly smile.
"Great, now you're going to expect it every time." She said, groaning.
"Suck it up." Sig said, laughing.
Joelle reached over and grabbed her uncles pack of cigarettes, and then took one. He eyed her, but let it go. She happily lit the cigarette, leaning back on the bench.
"You should think about getting some sleep. We're in for a long day once the weather calms down a bit."
"Yeah yeah." She said, taking a drag. "After my goodnight cigarette."
"That stuff will kill ya', ya' know."
"Take your own advice." She said, smiling.
Sig laughed, not keeping his eyes off the weather.
After she finished, she went downstairs and went to bed. Every muscle in her body ached, but she ignored it. She did know, however, when she woke up, she would be in a load of pain.
A few days later, the storm had passed, and they had been fishing the pots that had been dropped days before. They had already gone through the string once, and they were pleased to find that they had found a good mass of crab. They were averaging about 650 crab per pot, and the crew were more than thrilled with it. They were filling up the boat in record time as well, and already saw themselves going in for an offload soon. They had been working non-stop for over 40 hours, and they were exhausted, however, Sig was in no mood to stop fishing until the boat was filled, which is what ended up happening.
Joelle collapsed on her bed after they were done fishing. She was too tired to shower, and sleep was all that she cared about at that point. They were on their way to St. Paul, and would be there in about six hours, and Joelle was fully intended to spend the fully six hours sleeping.
When they got near port, Joelle walked up on deck to get ready to start the offload. When they pulled up, she saw that the Wizard was docked, and not at an offload boat like normal.
"What's going on with the Wizard?" She asked, looking in their direction.
Edgar shrugged his shoulders.
Joelle walked up the stairs to the wheelhouse and walked in to where Sig was concentrating on going into harbor.
"Why is the Wizard docked up like that?" She asked.
"There was a little incident on the boat." He said, a little worried himself.
"What kind of incident?" She asked.
"Now, I don't know details, so don't get all pissy with me. I just know that they took a rather hard wave and a few crew members were banged up pretty badly and had to be taken to the hospital."
"Who?"
"Didn't I say I don't know details?"
Joelle slammed the door shut, walking back on deck, anxiously waiting for the boat to dock. She helped put the bags between the boat and the dock, and once the boat was securely docked, she ran off the boat, with her uncles yelling after her. She ran over to where the Wizard was, and jumped on, not seeing anyone in sight. She made her way inside where she saw Travis sitting in the wheelhouse.
"What are you doing here?" Travis asked.
"What happened?"
"We took a pretty bad hit. Keith took the guys to the hospital."
"What happened to them?"
"Lynn and Soper's faces are pretty messed up. Monty may have some broken ribs." He said, shaking his head.
"Are they okay?" She asked.
He shrugged his shoulders.
"And what about Crosby?" She asked.
"What about me?" Crosby walked into the wheelhouse.
"Oh thank God." She said, putting her hand on the side of the boat for stability.
"Aw, were you worried?" Travis asked, smiling.
"Yes! Sig could tell me nothing but a few guys were taken to the hospital. Seriously, when you hear something, will you let us know? I worry about you guys."
"Roger. Will let the boss know." Travis said.
Joelle walked out of the wheelhouse, and Crosby followed close behind.
"You're not getting away that easy." He said, getting in front of her to stop her from walking.
"You had me worried sick." She said, tears stinging her eyes.
"I didn't mean too. I would have called if we had that luxury out here."
"I know." She said, putting her hands up to her face.
Crosby wrapped his arms around her, bringing her in for a hug.
"I'm okay though."
She nodded, sobbing a little.
"I really need to get back." She said, breaking away from him.
"We do need to talk at one point."
She nodded.
"I just need to figure things out." She said, looking at him. "I don't know what to do with this. It's very scary to me."
He nodded.
"Ya' know, Patrick really did ruin you."
Joelle sighed, watching him.
"I will talk to you later. Tell the guys when they get back that I'm thinking about them."
Crosby nodded, and watched her leave. She was scared, and he knew that she would be. She never let herself fall for anybody after what Patrick had done to her. She had a hard time trusting anyone anymore. He just hoped that she would realize that she could trust him, in time.
Joelle jumped back on deck of the Northwestern and was greeted by six smiling guys.
"And how is Crosby?" Edgar asked, smiling.
"You're an ass." She said, stealing the clipboard from him, wanting to record the weight totals.
"No, seriously, how are the guys?" Sig asked.
"Monty may have broken ribs. Lynn and Soper are pretty banged up, especially their faces."
"So, Crosby is fine?"
"Yes, the rest of the guys are fine." Joelle said, rolling her eyes.
Joelle ignored the guys for the rest of the offload, making sure her totals were correct. After the offload, Sig made a beeline back towards their strings. Much to their dismay, they brought up the pots to find out that they had next to no crab in them.
"Looks as if the crab has left us." Sig said over the hailer. "Let's stack up and move up the hill."
"Roger!" Edgar yelled up to the wheelhouse.
Joelle was working the rail, which was one of her favorite jobs on deck. She wasn't throwing the hook, but was across from Edgar, who was. She never minded throwing the hook, but Edgar and Matt seemed to enjoy doing it more than her, so they actually did the task more. They spent the next ten hours stacking the pots, rail dumping the little crab that were in the pots, since most of them were juveniles or females.
While on a run to the new spot, Joelle sat in the wheelhouse across the room from Edgar, who was at the helm while Sig got a couple of hours of sleep.
"So, you gonna' talk about it?" Edgar asked her.
"About what?"
"Don't play stupid." Edgar said, smiling at her.
"Nothing to talk about."
"You say you don't care about him in that way, yet, when you find out something may happen to him, you go running off this boat almost in tears because you're so worried about him."
"He's my best friend."
Edgar shook his head.
"You're afraid." He said. "You're afraid to love him. I can tell you do. We all can. You just won't admit it to anybody."
Joelle took a sip of her coffee, sitting back in her chair.
"I don't want to get hurt again." She said. "You saw what happened the last time I dated someone."
"Patrick is a tool. Not every guy is like that, and you know it."
"Larry was like that. Patrick was like that. I am just a girl that nobody can treat right."
"Now you shut the hell up with that talk. I will slap you, don't tempt me."
Joelle gave him a look, and then took a cigarette out and lit it.
"You deserve nothing but the best, and you know that. Patrick is not like every guy. Larry is not like every guy. Your mom and yourself just happened to pick two rare guys."
"Lucky me." She said, groaning.
"Do you trust him?"
Joelle shrugged her shoulders.
"If I asked you that six months ago, how would you have answered?"
Joelle sighed.
"I think you would have said yes." He answered for her. "Why does that change now?"
Joelle knew he was right.
"Joelle, he's the guy. I'm telling you. I see you two together. I have never seen you with any other guy that way before."
Joelle nodded, taking another sip of her coffee.
"Thanks Edgar." She said softly.
"I am wise beyond my years, I know this. I don't know how anyone can be around this greatness sometimes." He said, smiling.
Joelle threw a pen at him, which he deftly caught, laughing.
"Are you going to get some sleep?" He asked Joelle, who was staring off in deep thought.
"I want too, but don't think I'll be able to sleep." She said, glancing over at him.
"Then you take the helm. I'm going to try to get a couple of hours sleep then." He said, getting up.
Joelle stood up and switched spots with her uncle, who went down to his bunk to get a little sleep before Sig sent them out to work again. She pulled her legs up underneath her and sat and watched as the boat headed towards where they were planning on setting the next string of pots.
After awhile, Sig stumbled into the wheelhouse to see Joelle staring off into space.
"Is that what you do when you are up here?" Sig barked.
"No, usually I sleep." Joelle shot back, sipping on her now cold coffee.
Sig, who was not awake yet, waved for Joelle to get out of his seat, which she was happy to do.
"How much longer until the spot we were heading too?"
"About 30 minutes." She said, grabbing a cigarette.
Sig nodded.
"Did you sleep?" He asked her.
Joelle shook her head.
"I better not hear you bitching for the next 24 hours." He said, lighting his own cigarette.
"Do I ever bitch?" She asked, sitting on the bench.
"I'm just making it clear where we stand, that's all." He said.
"You're a crab when you wake up." She said, smiling at her uncle.
"And you're such a ray of sunshine yourself." He said, glancing over at her.
Joelle shook her head.
"Nick is cooking downstairs. Bring me up a plate before you get your own." Sig said, sipping on his coffee.
"Roger."
Joelle walked downstairs and emptied her almost empty coffee cup and immediately refilled it with the fresh coffee that was just made. She dished up a plate of food quickly and brought it to Sig, and then made her own plate and ate it quickly.
"Did you even sleep?" Jake asked, looking over at Joelle.
"Couldn't." Joelle responded, starting to clean up from the meal.
"We'll be ready in ten!" Sig yelled down to the crew.
"Roger!" Edgar yelled back up to him.
Joelle quickly finished cleaning while the guys started to change and get on deck. Joelle was last to arrive after cleaning the galley and walked up to the pot to hook the crane on it.
"Nice of you to join us princess." Sig said over the hailer.
Joelle rolled her eyes. Sig was in a mood that he wasn't in a lot, and she knew it was going to be a long day.
"And this is with sleep." Joelle said to Matt, who was laughing.
"We're in for a long, interesting day." Matt responded, nodding in Sig's direction.
Joelle watched as Norman moved the pot towards the launcher. Joelle unhooked the crane from the pot, and then walked it over to the next pot. She untied it from the boat, and watched as the guys prepped the pot to go over.
"You're moving too slow!" Sig yelled over the hailer.
Joelle watched as Edgar shook his head, putting his cigarette between his teeth.
"Roger!" He responded, looking over at Jake, who was getting ready to bait the pot.
"I want these pots set!" Sig yelled. "You guys are doing this at a crawl!"
Joelle sighed. She quickly set the crane up on the next pot, and then ran over to help prep the pots faster. She climbed up waiting for Jake to hand her the string on the bait to tie it to the pot, and then watched as the pot went over.
They quickly got the pots off the boat, trying to please Sig, but it didn't seem to work at all. As time went on, Sig only got angrier and angrier.
"What crawled up his ass and died?" Nick asked in between setting strings.
"Beats the hell out of me." Edgar said.
"Edgar! Norman! Get your ass up here!" Sig yelled over the hailer.
Joelle made a face, looking over at her uncles.
"Good luck!" Joelle said, laughing a little.
Edgar took his rain jacket off, tossing it at Joelle.
"You know, the last time you two got called up there, it wasn't good. If I get called in after you, heads are rolling." Joelle said, eying her uncles.
"I'm sure it's nothing bad." Norman said, smiling
Joelle nodded, watching her uncles leave. She lit a cigarette, her knee starting to bounce with anxiety.
"I'm sure it's nothing." Jake said, looking over at Joelle.
"I guess we'll see." Joelle responded, leaning against the wall.
After a short while, she heard her name yelled over the hailer. Joelle sighed, standing up.
"Don't think anything bad is going on. Just sounds like you're in trouble." Matt said, smiling.
"I don't know what the hell I did." She said, starting to take her rain gear off.
"Good luck!" Jake yelled after her.
"If I don't come back in 5 minutes, come for me. Please." Joelle said, smiling.
Joelle headed into the wheelhouse where she was greeted by three angry looking men.
"What?" She asked, looking at them.
"Sit." Sig said, angrily.
Joelle sat on the bench next to Norman, feeling as if he was the safest of the three to sit next too.
"So, I was talking to June earlier, after I slept, and she said she was at the store, where she came across something at the check out." Sig said, crossing his arms.
Joelle thought a minute how that would concern her, and then her eyes got big.
"Yeah, you know exactly what he's talking about, don't you?" Edgar asked, giving her a look.
"I can't believe it's out already. I was hoping I'd be off the boat when it would."
"Playboy? Seriously!?" Sig yelled.
Joelle laughed.
"Seriously. You can't see anything."
"Well I guess we can't confirm that until we get to land now, huh?" Sig said flatly.
"I can't believe you guys are shocked by this honestly. You had to of known that I'd be doing something like that sooner or later."
"Playboy?!" Edgar yelled.
"Don't yell at me until you see the pictures. They turned out really well!"
"You posed naked in a magazine! How can that turn out well?"
"If you saw the pictures, you would know that I didn't pose naked. Don't jump to conclusions before you even see what you are snapping at me about. Did June not tell you about the pictures?"
"June only saw the cover, and was too appalled to actually look through it."
"Have her look through it, and then come and talk to me." Joelle said, and then stood up. "Until then, keep your mouths shut."
With that, Joelle walked out of the wheelhouse before her uncle could say another word. She knew that they would have a problem with it, but she was hoping that she wouldn't be stuck on a boat with them when they heard. She didn't think about how her aunts might see the issue, and then call the boat. She knew that in time, they would calm down, it was just until then, she would have to listen to them lay into her about what she did wasn't right. To her, she had fun with it all, and would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
Joelle went and got dressed again to start setting the next string.
"What did they want?" Matt asked.
"Nothing that is worth telling. I'm sure Edgar will come down here and blab his big mouth here shortly." She said, throwing her jacket on. Once on, she took a cigarette and lit it with the blow torch, and then headed out on deck.
It wasn't long before the rest of the guys joined her, and Edgar walked around, obviously still angry. He was muttering under his breath to himself while working, barking orders to everyone to move faster, and how to do their jobs. Matt and Nick didn't seem pleased at all to have to listen to both Edgar and Sig bark orders, and not knowing the reason for their anger.
"Edgar! Come on! Quit yelling at us! What the fuck is your problem?" Matt yelled angrily.
"Nothing worth telling you!" Edgar yelled. "Bad enough that the rest of the world knows it right now."
"Know what?" Nick yelled.
"Nothing!" Norman said, eying his brother.
"Well then quit yelling and bitching at us. We're working as fast as we can!" Matt yelled.
"I'm not mad at you!" Edgar yelled.
"He's mad at me for posing for Playboy!" Joelle finally screamed.
"What?!" Matt, Jake, and Nick all yelled.
"There, happy now Ed?" Joelle asked, glaring at her uncle.
"Why aren't you guys working!" Sig yelled over the hailer.
"Because your brother is a dick!" Joelle yelled, her hands on her hips.
"That issue, when is it out?" Matt asked, eying Joelle.
"Fuck you Bradley!" Edgar yelled.
"What? I'm just curious!"
"It's out now. And I did not pose nude. But no, my uncles don't have an open mind, and don't give a shit, and are jumping to conclusions!"
"I don't give a shit what is going on! I want these pots set, and I want them in the water NOW!" Sig yelled over the hailer.
"I couldn't have said it better myself." Joelle said, standing by the next pot that was ready to go to the launcher.
"Lets just get to work." Norman said, and then pushed the lever that controlled the crane and started to bring the pot to the launcher. Joelle, relieved that Norman was breaking everyone's train of thought, helped the pot get to the launcher.
They spent the rest of the season grinding on average numbers, and after time, her uncles let the Playboy issue rest until they could see things for themselves.
In Dutch Harbor, after their final offload, they worked at getting the pots off the boat and getting the boat ready for the drive back to Seattle.
Joelle was busy tying pots to the crane when she saw the Wizard coming in to dock. She stood up and watched the boat come in and stared until she heard Edgar say "so, you going to go talk to him?"
Joelle hopped off the pots and signaled to Norman that they were ready to go.
"Yes." She said, walking over to the next two pots that were going to get lifted off the boat.
"What better time than now?" He asked.
"Because we have work to do." She said. "And I'm sure they do too. I mean, they have the offload."
"You're just stalling." Edgar said, shaking his head.
Joelle watched the crane come back her way to get the next two pots to go on the tractor to go into storage. She quickly tied the rope around the two pots, and then gave Norman the signal to lift them off.
"Just go Joelle." Edgar said, crawling up the stack of pots to where she was sitting.
"Are you sure?"
"Go before I push you off." He said.
Joelle jumped off the pots and then headed towards the Wizard. When she got there, they were just getting ready to dock. She sat down on one of the posts on the dock while she waited for them to get the boat situated.
"Crosby, you have a visitor." Monty said, laughing.
Crosby looked up on the dock, and then shook his head.
"What do you think she wants this time?" Travis asked him.
"Beats the hell out of me." Crosby said. "But whatever it is, this will be interesting."
Crosby walked over to the side of the boat and jumped onto the dock. He walked up to Joelle, who just sat there and watched him.
"What's up?" He asked, looking at her.
Joelle took a deep breath, and he just watched her. She stood up slowly, and then walked over to him. She put her hands up to his face, and brought him in for a kiss. Everyone on the boat cheered at the sight, which caused them to stop the kiss.
"What was that for?" He asked, looking at her.
"To show you that I do care about you, however, I'm scared." She said honestly.
"I know you are."
"You finish up here, and I will meet you at the Elbow Room later." She said to him, and then walked off. She said everything that she wanted to say to him at that time in front of everyone.
A/N: Hope you are enjoying. What will make me happy? A review right now! Even if it just one word. Please review!!! :)