A/N: I don't think the last chapter got sent out as a chapter update alert. Please make sure you read Chapter 12 first, it has important plot details.
Samantha finished up doing the notes for the tapes and went back to bed. She was surprisingly relaxed and was able to fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. The guys woke up a few hours later as they approached the next string. Jake was tasked to wake Samantha up and took his newest assignment very seriously. Standing on top of his bunk he leaned over Samantha and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek.
"Come on sleeping beauty, it's time to get up" said Jake quietly.
"5 more minutes" said Samantha rolling away from Jake.
"I already gave you 5 more minutes" said Jake.
"No you didn't, I just asked" mumbled Samantha.
"Come on it's time to get up. Don't make me get Edgar" threatened Jake.
"What can he do to me?" asked Samantha.
"Don't think of what he could do to you. Think of what he will do to me" said Jake.
"Fine, I'm getting up" said Samantha. "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble because of me."
Jake leaned over and gave Samantha another kiss on the cheek before pulling her out of the bunk. Samantha quickly changed into a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt before heading out of the stateroom. She made a quick detour to the dryer and pulled out a load of clean clothes. Matt appeared out of nowhere and helped to carry the basket into the galley. He set it down on the bench and started to help her fold.
"Matt, stop sucking up to Antha" chided Edgar.
Matt flipped Edgar off and went back to folding. Samantha grabbed a towel and folded it gingerly. Matt picked out another piece out of the basket and held it up to show Edgar.
"Matt, are you are only helping her so you can fondle her underwear?" asked Edgar.
"Possibly" replied Matt with a smirk.
Samantha snatched back her underwear and tossed a pair of boxers at him to fold. Edgar came over and grabbed a pair of Samantha's underwear and began inspecting them.
"What are you doing?" asked Samantha warily.
"Just checking out the merchandise. I didn't get and up close and personal show like Sig did" said Edgar.
Samantha turned and stared at Edgar her eyes wide with shock. Edgar just smiled a roguish smile and turned to walk up to the wheelhouse still holding her underwear.
"What was that all about?" asked Matt.
"Something terribly embarrassing" said Samantha.
"Did you do it in front of Edgar?" asked Matt. "Because if you did, you will never live it down."
"No I did it in front of Sig, but clearly Edgar's heard about it" said Samantha.
"What happened?" asked Matt.
"I don't want to talk about it" said Samantha sullenly.
"Ok, if you want me to beat someone up let me know" said Matt.
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind" said Samantha.
"Hey Antha can you make omelets this morning?" asked Jake.
"Sure" said Samantha.
Matt grabbed the sweatshirt Samantha was holding and tossed it in the basket.
"I'll take care of the rest of the laundry" said Matt.
"Thanks" said Samantha. "What kind of omelet do you want, Jake?"
"Ham and cheese" replied Jake.
Samantha slid into the kitchen with Jake following behind her. She dug around in the fridge handing ingredients to Jake who set them on the counter. Once she'd removed everything she turned around and found Jake anxiously standing next to the ingredient filled counter.
"Do you want a lesson?" asked Samantha.
"Yeah, if that's ok with you" said Jake.
"It's fine. I love forming young culinary minds" said Samantha.
"Right. I just want to learn how to make an omelet" said Jake.
"Roger" muttered Samantha.
She placed two bowls, two cutting boards and two knives onto the counter. She set up two identical stations with the equipment and ingredients.
"First thing we do is prep the add ins, so we are going to dice the ham, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers and onions" said Samantha.
She grabbed a few pieces of ham and showed Jake how to dice them. He followed her knife movements as best he could but she cut a little too fast for him to catch everything. Next they worked on the onions and peppers.
"God, these things are making my eyes water" complained Jake.
"The key to not crying while cutting onions is to cut them fast" said Samantha with a smile.
Her knife flew through her pile of ingredients and soon they were scooped and dropped into several small bowls. Jake's progress slowed to a crawl as he watched Samantha's skills. Samantha stopped and looked at Jake's pile of ingredients.
"Come on Jake, you still have a lot to chop" said Samantha.
"I can't believe you're done already" said Jake.
"I'm sure there are a lot of things you can do much faster than I can. For example, I can't throw the hook" said Samantha placatingly.
"Yeah, that too a lot of practice to do it well" said Jake.
"It took me a lot of practice to learn how to work a knife as well as I do" said Samantha. "For weeks at cooking school all I did was learn to slice, dice and julianne."
"How many years did you go to cooking school?" asked Jake.
"Two years" replied Samantha. "Ok, lets make these omelets."
Samantha showed Jake how to beat the eggs, saute the add ins and flip the perfect omelet. It took them a while but eventually everyone got their made to order omelet. The last omelet was for Jake. Samantha made his perfectly and as she slid it out onto the plate she even garnished it with a few pieces of artfully cut ham. Samantha set down the plate in front of Jake and slid in next to him digging into her own omelet he'd made for her.
"You did a great job on the omelet Jake, I'm sure some day you will make a one night stand a very nice breakfast" said Samantha.
"Antha, be nice" said Nick.
"Sorry, you will make delicious breakfast for your girlfriend" said Samantha. "Do you have a girlfriend?"
"I've had a few, but I don't have one currently" said Jake. "Are you interested in the position?"
"Hmm, I'll think about it" said Samantha.
Standing in the ready room everyone was suited up and ready to go out. Edgar watched Samantha with a critical eye, he was waiting for her to don the one piece of clothing he considered essential. When she walked out onto the deck without a hat on, Edgar placed his plan into action. On deck Samantha was promoted to pot baiter. Edgar waited until the wave was about to crash over the deck before he signaled Samantha into the pot. Each time she hung the bait she was completely drenched by wave after wave. She was slipping and sliding on the deck. By the time the string was over, hours later, Samantha was soaked to the bone. As the crew tidied up the deck Matt decided that this was a perfect time to show off his amazing deck sliding skills. Edgar, Nick, Jake and Samantha were sorting the last of the crab while Matt slid along the deck. On his last pass he stopped suddenly howling in pain.
"Oh shit, it finally happened" said Edgar with a snort.
"What?" asked Samantha.
"He got a fucking splinter in his ass. Oh this is classic" said Edgar.
Then a few things happened at once. A wave tipped the boat slightly causing Samantha to loose her footing. She stumbled backwards tripping over Nick's foot and falling ass first into the funnel on top of the crab tank. Now for anyone else it would have just meant owing everyone on the boat a case of beer. However, because Samantha was considerably smaller than anyone on the boat she slid down until she was almost completely submerged. Nick grabbed one of her arms and was about to pull her out when the boat pitched again causing Nick to fall on top of her forcing her down farther into the funnel.
"Edgar, give me a hand. I think she's stuck" said Nick.
Edgar rushed over helping Nick to extract her from the funnel.
"Samantha are you ok?" asked Nick.
"No! I'm wet and cold and this boat is a death trap" cried Samantha.
"Why don't you go inside and take a hot shower, we can finish up out here" said Edgar.
Samantha just nodded, pushing past Nick to get inside as quickly as possibly.
"Why did we fish in the trough all day?" asked Jake.
"Just to teach Samantha the importance of wearing a hat" replied Edgar.
"You are such an asshole" said Nick.
"Hey fuck you, I told her to wear a hat, if she can't be assed to remember then she deserves what she gets" said Edgar. "Besides I didn't push her into the funnel."
"I didn't do anything to make her fall" said Nick defensively.
"Whatever, lets get this shit done so we can go inside" said Edgar.
The crew finished securing the deck for the run to the next string and headed inside to the warmth and comfort of the house.
Samantha was hard at work in the kitchen, she was making Nick's favorite meal which was proving more difficult because of the pain radiating from her back and side. At least she was clean and warm, the shower was deliciously hot and she'd taken as long as she wanted even making time to shave her legs and underarms. Dressing herself in a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt she set to work on dinner. By the time the crew got inside she'd just dropped the pasta in the water.
"How long till dinner?" asked Edgar.
"10 minutes" replied Samantha.
Edgar watched as Samantha winced as she reached up to get the dishes down from the cabinet. A frown was immediately set on his face as he wondered if she was just sore of if it was something more.
"For fucks sake Edgar, stop mad dogging her" said Norman.
"Whatever, I'm going to take a shower. Watch her" said Edgar before storming out of the room.
Norman shrugged then moved around Samantha to the fridge to pull out the drinks for dinner.
"Antha, what the hell is up with the kool-aid. Usually it's just one color, yet when you make it, it's always a disgusting brown color" said Norman.
"I like the mix the flavors" said Samantha with a shrug.
"What's this one?" asked Norman.
"I call it the Jonestown special" said Samantha an evil grin spreading across her face.
"You have a serious mental illness" said Norman.
"I know, yet I'm the sanest person on this boat" countered Samantha.
"I don't doubt that" said Norman with a chuckle.
Norman set the table and halfheartedly watched Samantha move around the kitchen. He noticed her favoring one side and every time she reached up to get anything she cringed. Norman realized that Edgar was probably right to be worried. Samantha carried the huge platter of beef stroganoff to the table and set it down with a little more effort than normal. Everyone was down for dinner, including Sig.
"Sit next to me" said Edgar.
"Why?" asked Samantha suspiciously.
"Because that's where Norman set your cup of jesus juice" said Edgar.
Samantha sat down and served herself some dinner. Everyone ate ravenously and after the second helpings were served the conversation started up.
"Who's favorite dinner is this?" asked Jake.
"It's Nicks. Kind of" replied Samantha.
"I asked for Hamburger Helper beef stroganoff, but Miss fancy pants had to make the real thing, which I've never actually had" said Nick in mock complaint.
"Do you like it better than the box stuff?" asked Samantha. "If you don't I can make you the hamburger helper version tomorrow."
"It's delicious, I may never be able to eat the Hamburger Helper mix again" said Nick sadly.
"I'm sure you'll be able to" said Samantha reassuringly.
"Yeah, when it's the only thing Matt feels like cooking" said Norman.
Everyone helped Samantha clear up the dinner dishes and soon the galley was clean. Sitting down wearily at the table Samantha rubbed her tired eyes before laying her head down on the table. Edgar sat down next to her and playfully poked her in the side. The howl that hurled out of her mouth was enough to let everyone on the boat know something was wrong.
"What the hell was that?" asked Sig over the hailer.
"Lets go see the captain" said Edgar, helping Samantha stand up.
Sig was waiting expectantly in the wheelhouse when Edgar and Samantha arrived. He looked both concerned and angry at the same time. Samantha was gingerly rubbing her side trying to make the pain go away.
"What did you do to her?" asked Sig.
"She fell in the funnel" replied Edgar.
"You owe everyone on deck a case of beer" said Sig.
"Great, who owes me new ribs?" asked Samantha.
Sig's eyes narrowed suspiciously at her question.
"Take off your shirt" said Edgar.
"I usually expect dinner first" said Samantha.
"You just had dinner" countered Edgar.
"Why do you want me to take off my shirt?" asked Samantha wearily.
"So I can see if you really hurt anything" replied Edgar impatiently.
"Yeah, well I'm not wearing a bra" said Samantha.
"It's nothing we haven't seen before" said Edgar.
Samantha's mouth dropped open at the brazenness of Edgar's statement.
"I meant, that we've both seen plenty of boobs in our lives not that we've seen yours specifically" said Edgar placatingly.
Samantha was pretty sure they'd both seen her boobs but decided not to comment. Instead she attempted to pull her shirt off as painlessly as possible which turned out to be impossible. Edgar finally stepped in and pulled her t-shirt off the rest of the way. Samantha's hands covered her breasts and Edgar pulled her over to where Sig was standing. They both examined her, touching and stroking her swollen flesh. Samantha felt like this type of attention would be very arousing had she not been in terrible pain.
"I think she may have cracked some ribs" said Sig.
"Are you having trouble breathing?" asked Edgar.
"No" replied Samantha.
"What hurts?" asked Sig.
"Everything" replied Samantha.
"What hurts the worst?" asked Sig.
"Right here" said Samantha moving one of her hands to point at the spot.
This move left one breast completely exposed, both Sig and Edgar took a moment to admire the revealed piece of flesh before returning to the matter at hand. Sig palpated the spot Samantha had pointed to as gently as possible. Samantha bit her lip as hard as she could to keep herself from crying out.
"Alright, lets get some liniment on it and wrap her up" said Sig. "She can sleep in my bunk so she has more room."
"Roger" replied Edgar.
Samantha sat on Sig's bed waiting for Edgar to finish rubbing her with the foul smelling ointment. She didn't even bother covering her breasts her hands were too busy clutching the blanket in a vain attempt to keep her mind off the pain. Edgar reached for the ace bandage and took a moment to consider the best way to wrap it. Samantha blushed slightly under his perusal of her body, even if it was for purely medical reasons. Edgar was mesmerized by the sight of her breasts rising and falling with each breath. Her breasts were high and perky on her chest with pink tipped nipples hardened into tight peaks. He reached out grazing his fingers on the bottom of her right breast as he placed the bandage underneath it. Samantha shuttered sightly and her skin broke out into gooseflesh. Wrapping the bandage around her Edgar secured it with the metal clasps. The tight bandaging seemed to accentuate her breasts even more. Edgar leaned forward and for a moment Samantha thought he was going to take one of her nipples into his mouth. Instead he veered lower at the last moment and placed a light kiss on her bruised ribs.
"All done" Edgar announced his voice slightly husky.
"Not yet" said Samantha.
Edgar quirked an eyebrow wondering what she had in mind.
"I need help putting my shirt back on" said Samantha.
Edgar picked up the shirt and slipped it over her raised arms, as he pulled the hem down he grazed the sides of both breasts causing Samantha to stifle a moan. Shuffling down into the bed Samantha made herself comfortable. Edgar laid the blanket over her tucking her in loosely. Leaning down he gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek.
"Now, if you need anything just call" said Edgar pointing to the phone. "Or you could yell and Sig will come in. But if you need help with anything personal, call me first."
"What sort of personal thing?" asked Samantha.
"Like if you need help doing what you did last time you were laying on this bed" said Edgar.
Samantha closed her eyes shaking her head back and forth in an effort to completely strike the last sentence from her memory. Sig had told Edgar about what she'd done, she knew he had but she'd prayed he hadn't gone into detail."
"Thanks for the offer, I'll let you know if I need anything" said Samantha.
Edgar left the room turning one last time to blow her a kiss. Samantha groaned quietly and closed her eyes.