Part 37

Phil was just done warming up some tins of chicken soup when the weary crew stumbled into the galley. No Jake this time stripping on his way to the showers, but five cold and exhausted men and one very cold and absolutely worn out woman. They didn't even speak anymore but just grunted when Phil shoved them onto the benches and put a bowl of soup in front of them and pushed a spoon in their hands. Once these six's where seated Phil went up to the wheelhouse again to tell Murray and Tod to get down and eat also.

The next five minutes he heard the tinkling of the metal spoons against the ceramic bowls then silence ruled.

After another ten minutes he decided to go down and look, because he didn't hear anybody get into the shower or do the dishes.

When he saw the table he had to snicker softly, this was a sight alright. He tiptoed back upstairs and got Tod's camera. Going down again he started filming, giving a running commentary as he went.

First he aimed the camera on Josh, who was sitting so bend over his nose was nearly in his soup bowl. All the while Josh was concentrating hard on getting some soup into his mouth. But he clearly found it very hard to get his spoon out of his mouth without the soup falling out too, back into the bowl.

And why didn't Josh just sit up straighter? Well because sitting next to him was Lindsy, and she had slumped over, resting her head on Josh his shoulder, softly blowing spitbubbles, and she was just to heavy to push away.

On the other side of Josh was Freddie, he had parked himself in a corner, and at first sight he was pretty save only next to him sat Dave. Dave not being in a corner slowly slumped over towards Freddie, when Dave's head touched Freddie, Freddie just pushed him back into an upright position without even opening his eyes. Dave would stay there in the middle of the bench for a bit and then slowly the same process would take place on the other side with Russell as the recipient. And Russell would also push Dave back to the middle. Next to Russell Murray was lying down, with his head beside the bench. The two camera men where nowhere to be seen.

Phil decided to go and save his crew, they had to work again later on, and sleeping like this they would not be able to.

But first things first, saving the most important thing.

He turned off the camera and got most of the soup bowls and spoons and put those in the sink. Leaving Josh to eat. Then he picked up his fiancé, Josh sat up a bit straighter and managed to eat something and he grunted to his dad in thanks. Lindsy mumbled something and more or less stood on her own two feet for a bit.

"Come on honey time for bed."

Phil told her, this seemed to wake her up a bit more.

"Have to pee."

So Phil turned her in the direction of the head. There he parked her against the wall while he opened the door and found one of the missing camera men, sleeping on the porcelain throne.

Being the captain of a crabboat was really more like babysitting than anything else on moments like these.

Sighing Phil shook Tod's shoulder and got him to start moving again in the direction of his bunk. When he turned around he saw that Lindsy had slide down the wall in the hallway and was now sitting on the floor tucked into a ball with her feet against the other wall, knees high in the air staring into nothing.

Bending over to pick her up again he saw Josh finally sliding over and ending up in a similar position as Murray. Knowing that those two guy's where going to have neck problems the rest of the trip if he didn't hurry Phil started to undress Lindsy, but she slapped his hands away, she was more or less awake again and mumbled something about being able to go to the toilet on her own since she was three.

So closing the door on Lindsy Phil went to save his son. Josh let himself be put to bed real easily, it only was the wrong bunk. But never mind. Next up was Murray. He got stuffed into the same bottom bunk as Josh. Sleeping head to toe. The idea of pushing those guy's into upper bunks was just to much work. Phil had already resigned himself to some major cursing in the morning when the guy's would find out that they where in the same bunk.

Freddie and Russell went the same way as Josh and Murray.

Now that nobody was pushing him back Dave could finally lie down and sleep on his bench. And to prevent Dave from hurting himself once he fell off, not if but when, Phil knew what it was like, he pulled the back cushions from the benches and put those underneath the table. And there he found cameraman number two nicknamed Mouse because you cant have two Joshes on one boat. Grinning again Phil went and got some blankets from one of the upper bunks and covered Dave and Mouse with those.

He was already on his way up when he remembered Linsdy.

Hurrying back he saw her standing in the hallway looking lost. Gently taking her by the shoulders he steered her towards his stateroom and into bed. After a goodnight kiss on her forehead he went back to his real work in the wheelhouse. Burning with the desire to tell somebody what had just happened.

Without even thinking about it his hand closed over the mike and he called Johnathan Hillstrand. Within minutes they where both sitting in their wheelhouse with tears of laughter streaming down their cheeks.

After the call with Johnathan Phil was still grinning when the satellite phone was ringing, Phil answered and it was Jake, telling his dad that he was going to pop the big question to Hilde. So if it wasn't to much trouble, could the CM get back to Seattle in between King and Opie so they could get married on the boat. Then the phone went dead again leaving Phil staring at the phone as if the thing was going to explode.

Phil just sat still and thought about a bunch of things. First that he really loved that woman of his. His Lindsy was willing and able to work for over twenty hours on deck, pulling her weight among the crew. But she could also play French maid, while running a multinational company.

She was a keeper alright, and no way that he was going to let her get away.

Second, and the more he thought about it, the more he was getting pissed off. Why should the wedding of Hilde and that silly son of his come before his and Lindsy's?

Why weren't they married yet. The first time all he had to do was pop the question and after that hand over the money. And within a couple of weeks the knot had been tied. The second time? Well he cant even remember popping the question.

This time is seems the bride is not in a hurry to do anything. Unless she is going for a surprise wedding but Lindsy doesn't seem like the type for that kind of thing. She also doesn't seem like the big wedding or bridzilla material. The birthday of her dad showed that her family wasn't to be invited. So no problems with the European connection.

After thinking about it some more Phil came to a conclusion. Grabbing the microphone again he now called Sig.

"Hey Sig you there buddy?"

Only the answer was disappointing.

"Hello Phil, Sorry but no, its Jake Anderson, Sig and the others are sleeping. But he should be awake and working over two hours or so."

"Thanks kid, I'll try again in two hours. Phil out."

Those two hours where the about the longest two hours in Phil's live. He had a plan but he needed Sig to pull it off.

When it was time to call Sig again Mouse was back in the wheelhouse. Turns out Dave was not only snoring laud enough to bring down a house, but also a bit touchy feely in his sleep and Mouse was starting to feel taken advantage of, he just wasn't a spooning kind of guy.

Just as Mouse is setting himself up to go to sleep again but now in the co captain chair the radio crackles to live and Sig is on the other side.

"Hey Phil, Sig here, I hear from Junior that you where looking for me?"

"Yeah that's right, I wanted to talk to you, but I first have to strangle the camera man."

Looking over at Mouse, who was right away shaking no and signaling that he didn't even have a camera with him.

"Okay Mouse, but don't say a word about this to anyone."

Mouse was more than willing to agree with that.

"Okay Sig, I am back. The thing is this. I want to get married with Lindsy, Now. Not in a couple of months or even weeks, but fast. So I want to do it on your boat and with you as the captain to do the ceremony. Just a little affair, the big party will be done once we get back to Seattle. Or something."

He is just rushing it all out. Not giving Sig any time to think. And it is working, they make the deal that during the next unload Sig is going to marry Phil and Lindsy, on the Northwestern, with Josh and Murray as Phil his best men and Edgar and Jake Anderson as Lindsy's brides maid's, the idea as those two in dresses was all it needed to pull Sig over the line.

Leaving Mouse sitting in the wheelhouse, kicking himself for not grabbing a camera and filming it anyway. He was so fired if the Discovery guys ever found out, all he could do now was hope that the cameraman on the Northwestern was filming.