Decided to do a bit more writing today. Thanks so much to all who reviewed!!

The crew of the Northwestern bustled around the kitchen, trying to get the food done in time.

"How's desert coming?" asked Jake over his shoulder.

"Good," replied Matt, "Just need some chocolate frosting to top off the fudge cake…hey Jack, toss that over here would you?"

Jack grabbed the icing out of the pantry and tossed it over to Matt, then ran over to Edgar as he held out a plate full of food to be sat on the table.

"Looks great Edgar," she said, giving him an encouraging smile, "If your salted cod doesn't bring them together I don't know what will!"

Edgar smirked, "I love my wife," he murmured as Norman walked by.

Norman shook his head and smiled slightly as he washed his hands in the sink.

"Are we almost ready guys?" asked Jack.

"Yep!" announced Matt as he held up his masterpiece, "Chocolate fudge cake with chocolate icing is good to go!"

"Dude! Pass that over this way!" shouted Jake.

Matt scowled at him and pulled the cake out of his reaching distance.

Jack covered her mouth with her hand to hold back an amused laugh.

They finished setting the table and cleaning up the dishes. Finally, they all paused and glanced around the room.

"So…what do you think?" asked Matt in a worried tone, "Is this gonna work?"

Jack sighed, "I don't know…but the food looks delicious. We've done all we can do, now it's up to them."

"Griffin!" shouted Jake, "Come on! Food's on the table!"

Edgar walked by with the last load of food for the crew. They had set up a small table and chairs in the break room near the door, far enough away from the galley so that the Hansens could have their privacy.

Griffin slowly opened his door and stepped out into the small hallway. He walked toward the galley, giving Jake a curious look. Jake had a goofy grin on his face and looked like he was going to start jumping up and down at any given second.

Suddenly, Griffin's eyes opened wide in astonishment when he saw all the food sitting on the table. He turned around quickly to ask Jake what was going on, but Jake had disappeared.

A few seconds later, Baylee emerged from her room and gaped in shock at all the food on the table.

"Wow…Jack told me that dinner would be ready soon but I had no idea…"

Just then, Sig walked down the stairs and paused when he saw his wife. He went over to her and gave her a 

hug.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, quietly.

"I'm okay…thanks to Jake," replied Baylee, not meeting his gaze.

Sig frowned slightly, realizing for the first time the impact of his actions on his wife. She looked worn out and beaten down.

"Wow," Sig breathed after a moment, "What in the world did they do?"

He walked into the galley and saw that the entire galley table was covered in food. He smiled slightly to himself when he realized what the crew had really done. He shook his head slightly as he moved aside to allow his wife to sit down first.

Griffin slid in beside his mom and Sig sat down last.

"They really went to town!" he exclaimed as he put some of the cod on his plate.

"I call the cake," said Griffin, eyeing Matt's masterpiece.

Baylee smirked as Sig reached over and put some cod onto her plate.

After a couple minutes, Sig cleared his throat and put down his fork.

"So I talked to Edgar earlier," he began, "He, um, made me aware of how everyone's been feeling lately…and I wanted to let you both know that I'm sorry."

Griffin raised an eyebrow in surprise, but Baylee just stared down at her plate.

Sig sighed and put a hand on her leg.

"And I mean it this time," he said in a soft voice, "There's no excuse for me treating you guys this way. Fishing is fishing and it needs to be left in Dutch when I'm in Seattle. You guys need to be my priority when I'm home…and I'm going to make sure that that's the case. I'm also going to try and hang out with Edgar and Norm a little more…apparently they aren't too happy about my obsession with fishing either."

Baylee smirked slightly at that.

"At least you admit its an obsession," she said.

Sig smiled slightly and patted her leg.

"Yeah it is…and that's going to change. I got a crew of very well-trained crabbers and they can help me take care of the boat. I don't need to be doing it on my own…I know that now."

Griffin was grinning happily and glancing between his parents. It was the first time in a long time that they had sat down together for dinner and had actually had a pleasant conversation.

Meanwhile, in the break room…

"Move your big head, Matt!" hissed Jake, "I can't see a thing!"

"Would you shut up!" whispered Matt, angrily, "They'll hear us!"

Jack shook her head at them and rolled her eyes.

"They're such little boys," she said to Norman.

He nodded his agreement as he took another bite of chocolate cake.

"Dude, Matt I'm not kidding! Move your fat head!"

Matt turned around to hit Jake, but Jake jumped out of the way and bumped into the table.

"Hey!" exclaimed Edgar as he grabbed his drink just before it fell off the table.

"Knock it off!" shouted Norman.

"Would you both grow up?" snapped Jack as the two began to circle each other.

The goofy looks on their faces showed that it wasn't serious.

"What's the matter Bradley?" taunted Jake, "Getting a bit too old?"

"I'll get you, you little punk!" laughed Matt as he lunged at him.

Jake screamed and leapt out of the way. He hit the wall near the door and fell to the ground.

"Jake!" hissed Edgar, "Dude they're gonna hear you!"

Jake laughed and screamed again as Matt took advantage of his stumble and leapt at him. They began to wrestle on the ground, Jake crying for help and Matt laughing evilly.

"Say I have a fat head now!" said Matt, "Go on, Jakers…say it!"

"No! No…I'm sorry!" laughed Jake as he glanced back at the rest of the crew, "Why won't you all help me? Come on! He's gonna kill me!"

"Darn," muttered Norman, "What a shame…"

Jack smirked and watched as Matt jabbed Jake slightly in the ribs.

Jake let out another cry of help, much to the rest of the crew's displeasure.

"Would you quit?" asked Edgar, exasperated, "Sig's gonna…"

Just then, the door opened. Matt and Jake froze and glanced up, guilty and fearful looks on their faces.

Jack put her head in her hands and shook her head.

Sig glanced around the room.

"You guys alright?" he asked, a slightly confused expression on his face.

"Yeah…those two are just being stupid," said Edgar, shooting a glare at Matt and Jake.

"Yeah I can see that," said Sig as he looked down at Jake and Matt, who were now scrambling back to their feet.

"Sorry bout that," said Matt, "We were just playin' around."



Sig smirked and glanced around at his crew, "This was one giant conspiracy wasn't it? Let me guess…the female deckhand's idea, right?"

Jack raised her hand.

"Guilty as charged…but these guys did most of the cooking. Matt did the cake."

"Well thanks guys," said Sig, "I really appreciate it."

"So…did it work?" asked Jake.

Sig laughed, "So it was a conspiracy…I knew there was more to it than just a nice dinner. And yeah I think it worked."

Jack and Edgar exchanged victorious glances while Matt and Jake high-fived each other.

"Alright, I'm going back to my family…you guys, try not to kill each other okay? I need you to haul pots tomorrow."

Sig left the room and the Northwestern crew leapt to their feet and cheered.

"So maybe things will get better now?" asked Matt.

"Yeah…maybe Griffin will step it up a little more," agreed Jake.

"Maybe you both should knock on wood," snapped Edgar, "Don't jinx us…not after all this!"

Jack laughed, a warm feeling creeping up her spine. The crew was working as a team again and getting along rather well. This entire situation had brought them even closer together than before. They were more than a team…and even though they weren't all blood related…

They were a family.

PLEASE REVIEW!!

I'm gonna do an epilogue tomorrow!! Then I'm hoping to start the sequel on Monday…just got some stuff to do this weekend and gotta finalize my ideas for the sequel. Lauren Grant has given me some ideas so that's helping A TON!! I'm always up for suggestions or ideas, so PM me if you got any!!

I'll update Real Life tomorrow too!!