A/N: Two chapters in one day is a first for me. But inspiration hit and I had to get it down. Please note that any medical advice given in this story is purely to move the story forward, although some research has been done it's all in the name of fiction.
Edgar woke up as his internal clock told him it was time for his turn at watch. He opened his eyes to find Antha in the exact same position she'd been in the night before. Edgar easily slipped from the bed taking care to cover her up with the blanket. Walking up to the wheelhouse he grabbed a cup of coffee and a meringue to tide him over until breakfast. Norman was sitting in the captain's chair looking out into the inky night.
"Hey Norman" said Edgar.
"Hey" he replied.
Norman slipped out of the captain's chair and Edgar slid into it. Normally this was the only time they ever really talked since the Discovery crew was fast asleep.
"How's it going?" asked Edgar.
"The weather is still pretty shitty. Confused seas and driving rain" said Norman.
"It's going to be hell to work in" replied Edgar.
"Maybe it will be better when we get to the first set of pots" said Norman pointing at the plotter.
"Possibly, although I don't get why Sig thinks there will be crab there. There hasn't been a crab there for the last 3 years" said Edgar.
"Maybe he thinks it's due" said Norman.
"Hopefully it is, the sooner we get this first trip out of the way the better" said Edgar.
"I would think you liked having Antha on the boat. Everyone gets to enjoy three hearty meals without listening to Matt bitch about making them. She's doing the laundry for Christ's sake, I mean when have we ever had clean clothes this often" said Norman.
Edgar grunted noncommittally.
"You know you like it. But I understand how having her on here is just added worry" said Norman.
"Yeah, like when she disappeared into the stacks" said Edgar. "I think she gave me a few gray hairs."
"I think I see a few more than last trip" said Norman teasingly.
"Anyway, the point is I just want to get this trip over with before the guys get too use to being mothered and start bitching about not having fresh towels when Antha's gone" said Edgar.
"I don't want to be put on laundry duty" said Norman firmly.
"Exactly my point" said Edgar.
"But I am going to enjoy it while it lasts" said Norman with a smile.
Samantha woke slowly, she rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. She knew she wasn't in her bunk because the ceiling was much farther away. The events of the night before came rushing back. She looked down and realized that she still just wearing her pink bra. Immediately she cast her eyes around until she found her shirt, then she slipped it on. Sitting up she was greatly relieved that she was alone in the room. Getting up she headed to the bathroom to freshen up and then into the galley to make breakfast. The crew was up within the hour and breakfast was piping hot and on the table. After everyone finished eating it was time to head out on deck. Edgar pulled Samantha aside and gave her a very careworn baseball hat.
"Put this on" said Edgar.
"Why?" asked Samantha.
"Because I want to keep you as dry as possible and if you aren't wearing a hat and the hood of the raingear comes off your hair is going to get wet" explained Edgar.
"I don't think it's going to fit over the ponytail" said Samantha.
"Then change your hair" said Edgar. "You need to wear the hat."
"Fine" said Samantha petulantly.
She pulled her hair out of the ponytail and shook it slightly, then she haphazardly braided it. For a brief moment Edgar thought she looked strangely familiar with her hair down, but quickly dismissed the thought. He had other things to worry about than who Antha reminded him of. With the hat securely on her head she and the rest of the crew headed out on deck.
The first pot over the rail was empty, as was the second and the third. Sig swore in the wheelhouse, angry that once again the sand bank had proven to be a complete waste of time. He watched as fishing slowed because the pots had to be stacked back on the boat. The weather was still dismal, but the waves seemed to be decreasing in size and frequency. But even that small favor wasn't enough to lift Sig's spirits. The rest of the day went on with blank pots and an increasingly surly crew. Samantha decided that perhaps lunch was in order, so after asking Edgar if it was ok, she headed inside. The first thing she did was brew a fresh pot of coffee, then she started to work on making Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. Taking out her sharpest knife she sliced down a few steaks into tiny ribbons of meat. Throwing those on the flat top she chopped a few onions and got some cheese out of the fridge. Sig smelled the aroma of lunch in the wheelhouse and decided that maybe his outlook on life would be better after something to eat. He called the crew inside, set the boat on autopilot and headed down to the galley. Everyone was in a pretty nasty mood when they walked in, however no one was able to stay upset after tasting the delicious lunch.
"These are awesome, where did you learn to make them?" asked Matt.
"Actually I've never made them before, but I've eaten Philly cheesesteaks lots of time so it wasn't hard to figure out what's in them" replied Samantha.
"I've been to Philly and these are just as good as any I had there" said Edgar.
"Thanks for the compliment" said Samantha.
Once lunch was finished everyone headed back to work. Samantha stayed inside until the dishes were finished then joined the crew out on deck.
The later pots in the string had sporadic crab in them, so Edgar was able to show Samantha how to sort. At first Samantha refused to put her hands anywhere near the table for fear of one of the crab taking off a finger. Edgar patiently showed her what to do then when she refused to pick it up he threatened to throw her overboard.
"Fine, I'll pick the stupid thing up" said Samantha.
She picked up the crab just as Edgar had suggested and turned it towards her.
"Hello, cake. How are you today?" said Samantha in a sticky sweet voice.
"What are you doing?" asked Edgar laughingly.
"I'm talking to crab cake" said Samantha.
"Are you going to name all the crab we catch?" asked Edgar.
"Well if we catch them at this rate I probably could" said Samantha.
"Ouch. Don't let Sig hear you say that" said Edgar. "Throw crab cake in the tank and lets dump the by-catch."
The next few pots had a smattering of crab and Samantha did her best to name each one. There was drawn butter, lemon, Louie, salad and patty. The whole crew was laughing hysterically at the names and it made for a lighthearted approach to a rotten day of fishing. They were 5 pots away from finishing the string when Sig cut the engine to the boat and called Edgar to the wheelhouse.
Edgar didn't even bother drying off, he walked up the outside ladder and into the wheelhouse dripping water all over the floor. Sig was already standing when Edgar walked in.
"What's up?" asked Edgar.
"I think we have line wrapped around the prop" said Sig.
"What the hell got run over?" asked Edgar.
"A pot, some random line, I don't know, but the point is that something is on the damn prop and I can't steer" barked Sig.
"Can you make it back to Dutch?" asked Edgar.
"We've already wasted so much time and I'm not sure if I can properly steer the boat in this weather" said Sig.
"So basically were fucked" said Edgar.
"Lets send Antha down to check it out" said Sig.
"You can't be serious" said Edgar in disbelief.
"Why not? John said she is a professional diver, it will be a piece of cake for her. We have the gear, the wetsuit will probably fit, it's not really that cold out there and all she has to do is find out what's wrong" said Sig.
"You're sure we can't make it back to Dutch?" asked Edgar.
"I'm sure" said Sig.
"Well then she's our only hope" said Edgar.
He walked out of the wheelhouse and yelled for Antha to come up. She trudged up the ladder into the wheelhouse and found both Sig and Edgar smoking cigarettes and looking grim.
"What's up?" asked Samantha.
"We need to use your expertise to get us out of a jam" said Sig.
"What do you want me to cook?" asked Samantha.
"Not cooking, diving" said Sig.
Samantha said nothing, at no time had she ever mentioned diving to anyone on the boat and she was confused as to what they expected her to be able to do.
"I don't understand" said Samantha.
"There is probably a line of rope wrapped around the propeller of the boat. We want you to dive down there and find out" said Sig.
"You're insane" said Samantha.
"John told us you were a certified diver. Did you lie?" accused Sig.
"No, I'm a certified diver, but a pleasure diver. I've done dives in tropical water like St. Barts and the Cayman Islands. I've never been on a cold water dive, I don't know how my body will react" said Samantha.
"It will be fine, we have all the gear. You will be in the water for an hour tops" said Sig.
"I don't want to do it" said Samantha.
"You are the only one on the boat who can do it. This is going to make or break our season. If you were really a fan you'd do this for us, for me" said Sig.
Samantha just stood there with her mouth hanging open. She couldn't believe what Sig had just said. He was going to make her put her life on the line because he thought she was a fan of the show.
"No" said Samantha.
"Ok this is how it works on this boat. I'm the captain, I'm in charge. What I want I get. You are going to get suited up and take a look at my propeller because I say so. When I agreed to do this fan contest there was one thing I asked for. To have total control over whoever came on the boat, that they would be required to listen to me and follow my orders. This is an order" said Sig his voice going dangerously quiet.
Samantha was seething, she didn't know what to say or do.
"Edgar, take her downstairs and get her suited up. If she refuses, throw her overboard" said Sig.
Edgar smiled sadly at Samantha then took her by the arm leading her back outside and down the stairs.
An hour later Samantha was on the deck of the Northwestern wearing a wetsuit that was too big for her. Nick was wrapping duct tape around her ankles and wrists in an attempt to make it waterproof. Samantha hadn't said a word to anyone but had put the suit on and checked the gear. She was so ridiculously upset that it took all her strength to keep herself from bursting into tears.
"Ok, here's how it's going to work" said Edgar. "Are you listening?"
Samantha nodded.
"We are going to lower the skiff into the water, Norman is going to be in the boat with you. You'll have a lead line on so we will be able to pull you back to the boat if you need help. Don't swim too close to the bottom of the boat, it's going to be moving up and down in the ocean. All you need to do is go down there and see if there is line around the propeller. Just look and come back up" said Edgar.
"What if there is line around it?" asked Samantha.
"Then you'll get a knife and cut it off" said Edgar.
"Wouldn't it just be simpler to give me the knife right away so I can get started. The air in the tank is limited to an hour given my breathing rate. It would take more time for me to come up and tell you the line is caught and then go back down then to just go down once and cut the line" said Samantha.
"If you are comfortable with doing that, then it's fine with me" said Edgar.
"I'm not comfortable doing any of this" said Samantha. "But my idea makes more sense."
"Let me get you a knife" said Edgar.
Edgar got a knife and Samantha secured it on her diving belt. Once she'd checked the gear on last time she, Eric the camera guy and Norman loaded into the boat and were lowered into the choppy ocean. Edgar watched nervously as Norman rowed away from the boat towards the rear. Norman handed her something then turned the skiff so she could flip over the side closest to the Northwestern. Samantha flipped into the water and all that was left was a trail of bubbles. Edgar started the stopwatch. She'd have about an hour before the air ran out. He said a prayer to any deity listening to keep her safe. Up in the wheelhouse Sig watched the progress out of the window, when Samantha splashed into the water he begin his own timer. He hoped sending her down there wasn't a mistake.
Samantha felt like her heart was going to explode. The cold water was already filling her lousy fitting suit making her cold. The water was murky and dark. Pulling the flashlight off her belt she turned it on and started swimming towards what she hoped was the right end of the boat. Large shapes loomed just out of focus and for a moment Samantha's heart skipped a beat as she imagined the shapes as some horrible animal about to attack her. As it turned out the shape was the propellor with a huge tangle of rope around it. With a determined chin she set out to cut through it. Wielding the knife was complicated by the gloves she was wearing, she debated taking them off but decided against it. She was going to be in the water a long time and her hands would get waterlogged and useless before she was done cutting the first layer of rope. Starting with the trailing end she sliced through the thick rope one layer at a time. It was slow going, the cold water made her shiver which made her sawing slower and less precise. Also it was impossible to hold the flashlight at the same time so she was cutting the rope in the dark. The digital watch on her wrist ticked by the minutes but Samantha paid it no notice. She was singularly focused on cutting through the rope as quick as possible. She was almost to the last layer of rope when the timer on the watch started to beep. Samantha ignored it for the time being, the tank had reserve air in it and she knew she wasn't far from the surface so she continued cutting.
On the surface everyone's alarms had gone off. Edgar, Norman and Sig all looked at their watches and then turned their attention to the water. In the boat Norman decided to give her another two minute befores he physically pulled her out of the water using the rope.
"Norman, how much extra time does she have in the tank?" asked Eric.
In an uncharacteristic move Norman answered him.
"I don't know, maybe 10 minutes. It depends on how hard she's breathing. If she's calm then the air in the tank will last longer if not then she'll go through it faster" said Norman.
"What are you going to do if she doesn't come up?" asked Eric.
"Pull her up or go down and get her" said Norman.
The timer sounded again and Norman began pulling the rope up hand over hand.
Under the water Samantha felt the rope begin to pull at her waist. She was almost finished, only 2 sections of rope left to cut. The tug at the rope began to get more insistent, she tried to pull back but she was no match for Norman's strength. She started to get pulled away from the prop and in a desperate bid to finish the job she cut the line anchoring her to the skiff. Once free of the distraction she hurried to cut through the rest of the line.
Norman felt the rope lighten and smiled as he imagined Antha was probably swimming along the line towards the boat. He pulled hand over hand until the end of the rope appeared before his eyes. Everyone on deck froze staring at the cut line in Norman's hand. Without a second thought Norman sat down and removed his boots and rain gear, in nothing but sweats and a sweatshirt he stood ready to jump overboard when Samantha breached the surface of the water. Norman sat back down with a thud. Removing her breathing mouth piece she gasped for fresh air.
"You weren't thinking of coming in after me were you? Because it's really really cold in here" said Samantha breathlessly.
Norman said nothing, he couldn't, his heart was hammering in his throat. Instead he reached over the side of the boat and with Herculean strength pulled Samantha into the skiff. By the time the skiff was back on deck Samantha was shivering violently. The wetsuit had done little to keep her dry or warm. Edgar pulled her out of the boat and carried her to the ready room. There he and Matt stripped her out of the wetsuit and started rubbing her with towels. Samantha's lips were blue and her skin was a pale gray color.
"We need to get her warm" said Edgar. "Jake throw some towels in the dryer. We need to warm her up slowly." Sig met the guys inside the galley and his heart dropped as he took in Samantha's shivering body.
"Well?" he asked.
"The ropes off" said Samantha just before she threw up on the galley floor.
"Shit, lets get her in the shower" said Edgar.
Edgar stood in the shower in his boxer shorts holding Samantha under the cool spray, every few minutes Matt would adjust the temperature slightly higher. Edgar himself was shivering against the cool water, but if Samantha's skin temperature was any indication of how cold she was then she needed to be warmed up very slowly to prevent her body from going into shock. Jake periodically took Samantha's oral temperature. It took almost an hour in the shower for Samantha's temperature to reach 95. Once she was deemed warm enough Edgar handed her off the Nick who wrapped her in dryer warmed towels and dried her off. Carrying her into the stateroom he pulled out a pair of flannel pajamas from her bag and quickly dressed her. Sig stood in the doorway watching silently. When Nick moved to put Samantha in a bunk Sig finally spoke.
"Put her in my room. It has a better heater and the bed is bigger" he said.
"Roger" replied Nick.
Nick carried her up to Sig's room holding her patiently while Jake laid hot blankets on the bed before Nick lay her down. She was crying silently, tears leaking heavily out of the corners of her closed eyes. Sig could only imagine the pain of reheating an entire body after being in the water for over an hour. Nick stood at her bedside unwilling to leave her alone but unsure if Sig wanted him to stay.
"You can go, I'll sit with her" said Sig his eyes never leaving Samantha's face.
"Ok, I'll let the guys know what's up" said Nick.
Edgar arrived a few minutes later with Norman in tow. They both looked at Samantha's still shivering form and frowned.
"Why is she still shivering?" asked Edgar.
"The suit didn't fit her right. It was too big" said Norman. "She was probably already in stage two hypothermia before she came out of the water."
"I never should have made her go" said Sig.
Neither Norman or Edgar chose to respond, they knew Sig already felt horrible about his decision to pressure Samantha into the water, but it was done and there was no way to take anything back.