Phil was calmly jogging the boat to the next string when he heard a whimper come from the bench seat behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Tess was laying down on the seat her face scrunched into a frown. She was clearly having a nightmare. Phil got up from his seat and pulled her into his arms.

"Tess, it's ok, I'm here." said Phil softly. Tess' eyes fluttered open and she stared into his clear blue eyes. Her eyes were full of tears and they'd started to trickle out of the corners of her eyes. Phil picked her up and carried her to his chair, he sat down holding her in his lap. Tess just leaned her head on his shoulder and cried quietly. Once her crying was finished she lifted her head and gave Phil a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks" she said her voice sounding strangely young.

"You're welcome, I'll always try to be there to protect you" said Phil. Tess nodded her head in understanding then moved to get up from Phil's lap.

"Stay" he said "At least until my legs fall asleep."

"I'd love to." said Tess settling down to get comfy. She was asleep within minutes. Phil shifted her so she was cuddled into his arms with her head on his chest. He wondered what she'd say if he asked her to stay with him on the boat for the rest of the season. The possibility of her and Stella getting hurt still concerned him, he didn't want to put them in harms way any longer than necessary. But he loved having her on the boat, in fact he admitted only to himself was that he loved her and Stella. He wanted to keep them safe and that probably meant keeping them off the boat. They would be ready to unload in a few days if fishing kept up, he'd have to make his decision then, so for now he'd just enjoy the moment.

Tess woke a few hours later still seated on Phil's lap. She smiled sleepily at him.

"Your legs must have fallen asleep a while ago."

"Nope, they feel fine." said Phil. "We are just an hour or so away from the next string, do you think you can wake up the troops."

"Of course" said Tess. She made her way down to the galley and started a new pot of coffee. Next she got out a few ham steaks and set them on the griddle. She mixed up a huge batch of pancake mix then went to go wake up the guys. Murray and Freddie both said sleepy good mornings and seemed like they were well on their way to getting up. It was a completely different story for Jake and Josh, neither moved when Tess tried to wake them. Finally she sat down on Jake's bed and ran her fingers through his hair singing Good Morning by the Beatles. Josh was actually the first one to wake up and leaned down from his bunk to hear the rest of the song. Tess sang it until Jake opened his eyes.

"It's time to get up. I'm making pancakes" said Tess. Josh was up and digging through his bag to get on some clothes.

"I'll make sure Jakey gets up." said Josh in a sing song voice. Tess nodded and headed back to the kitchen.

By the time everyone made it to the galley the table was stacked with pancakes. Tess had made plain, blueberry and chocolate chip. There was also ham and eggs on the table as well as juice and milk. The guys sat down and started eating. Jake and Stella came out a little later than everyone else and Tess presented both of them with special Mickey Mouse pancakes. The whole crew got a kick out of seeing Stella's eyes light up and Jake turn pink. Phil came down and joined them just in time to see the special pancakes.

"Tess, why didn't you make me a special pancake." asked Phil petulantly.

"It's only for people that are hard to wake up." said Tess..

"Did Jake give you a hard time this morning?" asked Phil.

"Just a bit." said Tess with a smile.

"It was awesome dad, she sang the Beatles until he opened his eyes." explained Josh.

"Did you have to go through the whole catalogue?" said Phil.

"No, I just sang one song over and over, I find it works better." explained Tess.

"I bet, how many times did you have to repeat it?" asked Phil.

"I lost count" said Tess.

"Figures" said Phil.

Breakfast was quickly finished and the men suited up and headed out on deck. Tess and Stella quickly finished the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen.

Tess set up a movie for Stella to watch and headed back to Phil's room to lie down, she wasn't feeling good. She laid down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, her eyes drifted closed but she couldn't seem to fall asleep. Her head was pounding and she felt cold. Getting up she helped herself to a few ibuprofen and returned to the bed. Thinking a change of outfit would make her feel better she moved to grab some pajamas out of her bag. She knocked her purse over in the process and cursed her clumsiness. The next minute was spent picking up all the odds and ends that had fallen out. Her hand stopped as she passed over the piece of paper she'd started to write out her will on. She set the paper aside and finished pushing items back into her purse. Once she'd changed into a clean set of pajamas she returned to the bed, sitting cross legged she stared at the piece of paper. Somewhere deep in her mind, she knew she should finish the will today. She leaned down and picked up a pen and something to write on. Putting pen to paper she decided to leave all of her earthly possessions to Stella. In the event that Stella is not old enough to take charge the money and property would be held in trust until her 18th birthday.

Tess paused in her writing, the next part was the most important. She needed to select a guardian for Stella. Her first thought was Kristin in San Diego, but she knew she wanted to get married and have her own family some day. She wouldn't want Stella to hinder those plans. Her next thought was Margie, she loved Stella and always took such good care of her. She sighed, if she really thought of who Stella would like to go with most it would be Jake Harris. It was too bad he was only 22 years old. To ask him to be her guardian would be a huge request that Tess would not ask of him. Tess would have to call Margie and ask her if she'd be willing to take Stella in the event something happened to her. Pulling herself out of bed she walked to the wheelhouse with her paper in hand. Passing through the galley she noticed that Stella was still watching her movie happily. Tess almost stopped to ask her who she would want to take care of her, then thought better of it.

Arriving up in the wheelhouse she asked Phil if she could use the satellite phone, he readily agreed and even dialed Margie's number for her.

"Hi Margie, it's Tess."

"Tess honey, how are you?" asked Margie.

"I'm doing well." answered Tess. "How's everything where you are?"

"It's ok" said Margie a little sadly.

"What's wrong Marg?" asked Tess.

"I'm going to Seattle for a couple of tests." said Margie. "I'm sure it's nothing, but I'm a little worried."

"I'll say some prayers for you. I just wanted to say thanks for rescuing my stuff and find out if the family has been back." said Tess.

"Thanks for the prayers. No one has been back to town, so far." said Margie.

"Ok, thanks again Margie. We send you our love and prayers." said Tess passing the phone to Phil to hang up.

"Everything ok?" asked Phil. Tess just nodded as she sat down heavily on the bench seat. Now she needed a new plan and she had no idea what to do.

"I have to say I'm having a hard time believing you're ok." said Phil. Tess looked up with teary eyes.

"I need to find a guardian for Stella. I was going to ask Margie, but she's going to Seattle for tests and stuff and I think she may be sick. I couldn't ask her to care for Stella if she's sick." finished Tess.

"Are you planning on dying?" asked Phil.

"No, but just in case. I wanted to make it before we left Dutch Harbor just in case. I didn't get a chance to finish it and I found it today." explained Tess.

"Honey, anyone you choose would be happy to take care of Stella. In fact I bet Jake would be the first one to step up and volunteer." said Phil.

"He's so young, it would be saddling him with a responsibility for the next 13 years. I know he cares for her but it's too much to ask." said Tess.

"I'd love to do it, if you'd consider me." said Phil. Tess looked up from the paper.

"Are you sure?" she asked tentatively.

"Yes." said Phil.

"Thank you." said Tess. She quickly bent over the paper and finished writing.

"If you want you can get Murray and Freddie to witness it for you." said Phil.

"Yes, that would be great. Once it's all set it will be a huge weight off my mind." said Tess.

Walking back into the galley Tess sat down with Stella, they played some games and did a few puzzles. Tess turned and pulled Stella into her lap, she explained who would take care of her if something happened and Tess wasn't able to anymore. Stella sat quietly listening intently to everything her mother said.

"Just know sweetie that if something happens to me Phil, Jake and Josh will take care of you, ok?"

"Ok. Are you sick?" asked Stella with concern.

"No. I just want to make sure that you are taken care of just in case." said Tess giving Stella a big squeeze.

"Ok mommy I understand." said Stella.

"Are you hungry?" asked Tess. Stella nodded. "Then lets make some lunch" The two worked together to make a mountain of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Stella took one up to Phil while Tess followed behind carrying a glass of milk. She wasn't sure if Phil would drink it, but she brought it at Stella's insistence. Tess sat in the portside chair while Phil and Stella ate their sandwiches.

"Aren't you having one?" asked Phil.

"She doesn't like peanut butter." explained Stella.

"How can you not like peanut butter?" said Phil in astonishment.

"I just don't, it's really not a big deal." said Tess nonchalantly.

"But you still make it for Stella and the guys even though you don't like it." said Phil.

"Yes, because she likes it, you like it, and the rest of the crew likes it. I'm just sacrificing for the good of the team." said Tess.

"Thank you for your sacrifice, it was delicious." said Phil.

"Sandwiches in the galley" announced Phil over the hailer. The crew scurried over the deck and into the galley like little rats after cheese.

"I guess they were hungry." said Tess with a laugh. She decided to check and make sure there were enough sandwiches for everyone. Stella and Phil sat alone together in the wheelhouse.

"Thanks for saying you'll take care of me." said Stella quietly.

"Come here Stella" said Phil. He settled Stella in his lap, grabbing a paper towel to wipe the jelly and peanut butter off her mouth. "It's an honor to be chosen to take care of you. I care about you and your mom very much."

"She likes you a lot too." said Stella. "She use to be really sad and she's not when she's with you."

"I'm glad I can make her happy." said Phil.

Phil and Stella sat together watching the crew return to the deck and pull part of the next string of pots. Phil was pleased when the crew had stuffed the second tank. He even let Stella give the guys a congratulations over the hailer. The two spent most of the day together talking, learning about each other's lives. Phil was surprised to find out that Stella would eat just about anything and her favorite food was sushi. Stella was thrilled to learn that Phil liked watching cartoons. She asked him a lot about when Jake was little and Phil told her many stories of the boys antics as children.

It was late by the time Tess told them dinner was ready. Dinner was meatloaf with mashed potatoes and carrots. Phil called the crew in and everyone sat together at the table to eat. When everyone was finished Jake, Josh and Stella did the dishes while Murray and Freddie witnessed Tess' will. They clapped Phil on the back telling him congratulations for being selected as Stella's guardian.

The crew returned to the deck to work through the night. Stella and Tess read in the wheelhouse until it was time for Stella to go to bed. Tess laid down in the bunk next to Stella and sang both Stella and herself to sleep. She was woken up by a very tired looking Jake who merely told her he'd take over. Tess dragged herself out of his bunk and into Phil's bed.