A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews. Please continue to read and review if the mood strikes.
Samantha stirred slightly in her sleep, her head turning into the soft touch caressing her. Sig sat on the corner of the bed slowly stroking her cheek. He couldn't decide if he wanted her to wake up or not. Wanting to check the wrapping around her body he turned her slightly and lifted up her t-shirt. The wrapping was tight and Sig wondered if it was as uncomfortable as it appeared. He stroked his hand across the bandage being careful not to press to hard. The first thing he noticed was the area was slightly swollen and warm to the touch. Sig shook his head, wondering how many times Samantha was going to be hurt on this trip. Suddenly Samantha moved rolling away from Sig with a pained moan.
"Hey Antha, do you want some pain meds?" asked Sig quietly.
Samantha moaned again as she back over to face Sig. Her eyes fluttered open and after a moment she raised her head from the pillow.
"I would like it if you could just bash me over the head with a blunt object and put me out of my misery" said Samantha.
"But you haven't made my favorite dinner yet" said Sig.
"Hmph" said Samantha.
Sig went into the bathroom and grabbed the bottle of medicine. Walking back into his room he found Samantha was sitting up in bed. Sig handed her the pills and Samantha tossed them back taking a few sips from the bottle next to the bed to wash them down.
"Who's driving the boat?" asked Samantha.
"Jake is on wheel watch" replied Sig. "The boat drives itself."
"Even when we're fishing?" asked Samantha.
"No, then I drive the boat. When we are running between strings and the seas are fairly calm the boat stays on autopilot and I can get some sleep" explained Sig.
"It's nice you get to take a break every once in a while" said Samantha.
"Yeah, well even when I'm resting I'm thinking about fishing. When I sleep I dream about fishing" said Sig.
"What do you dream about when you aren't fishing? Like when you're at home" asked Samantha.
"I don't really dream when I'm home. I just sleep" said Sig.
"That's interesting" said Samantha.
Sig yawned and Samantha moved over so Sig could lay down.
"I'm not going to sleep with you" said Sig.
"Oh, do you want me to go back to my bunk?" asked Samantha.
"No, I'll find somewhere else to sleep" said Sig.
"You can sleep with me, you have before" said Samantha.
"But you're hurt" said Sig.
"I didn't say we'd be having a night of wild passionate sex, I said you can sleep with me" said Samantha exasperatedly.
"I wasn't suggesting that we would be having sex" said Sig. "But I don't want to roll over on you or anything."
"Do you think that would be a problem?" asked Samantha.
"Possibly" said Sig.
"Well why don't we just see what happens. If you crush me in my sleep I'll let you know" said Samantha.
"Fine" said Sig.
He got himself comfortable and Samantha rolled over and snuggled under the blanket. Sig had trouble falling asleep, his desire to touch Samantha was overwhelming. Her scent again seemed to completely engulf him and he felt himself grow hard. He turned slightly in an attempt to move away from her.
"Sig, stop moving around. Just pick a spot and stay there" complained Samantha.
Sig moved again and Samantha rolled over and flung her leg over his in an attempt to keep him still. Her arm encircled his chest and her head was right next to his on the pillow. Sig wondered why the gods were so cruel to him, now he was practically pinned under her with an erection less than 6 inches above her leg. He prayed she wouldn't move her leg up in her sleep. Eventually Sig fell into a fitful sleep.
Samantha awoke to a dull pain in her ribs and something very annoying poking her in the backside. Opening her eyes she realized she'd shifted positions in her sleep and that Sig's arm was draped over her injured ribs. For a moment she wondered what the hell was poking her in the ass before realizing what it was. She wiggled her bottom experimentally and found that Sig's response was to tighten his arm painfully around her waist. Gasping for air she attempted to pull herself away from him.
"Where do you think you're going" muttered Sig sleepily into her hair.
"You're crushing my ribs" said Samantha.
Samantha's voice cut through the fantasy of Sig's dream and his eyes shot open his body going rigid. He realized immediately that his hard cock was nestled between Samantha's cheeks. Samantha moved Sig's arm so it sat low on her hip, well away from her ribs. His fingers dangled over her hip and he found himself stroking the soft skin on her hip unconsciously. The whole situation suddenly seemed to take on a much more sexual air. Samantha dropped her hip slightly giving Sig more access to her skin. Taking the hint Sig slipped his hand down farther dipping in the low slung waistband of her pajamas. His hand easily slipped in encountering nothing but soft skin. Samantha reacted to his ministrations by grinding her bottom into Sig's cloth covered erection. Sig's hips responded by pressing back against her body. Samantha's better judgement was quickly taking leave of her mind. Her body's desire made her bold and she guided Sig's hand closer to her center. Before his hand reached its goal the cabin phone rang. Sig removed his hand from Samantha's pants and picked up the phone.
"This had better be important" grunted Sig.
While Sig listened to the caller Samantha whacked her head repeatedly on the wall in front of her.
"Fine, I'll be right there" said Sig angrily hanging up the phone. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to knock some sense back into myself" replied Samantha.
"Well don't damage the wall" said Sig. "An alarm is going off so get up and come with me to the wheelhouse."
Sig got out of bed, his erection still clearly evident, and walked into the bathroom. Samantha sighed and got out of bed, immediately leaving the room and heading to the wheelhouse.
In the wheelhouse Jake was still sitting in the captain's chair with Edgar standing behind him wearing nothing but a pair of low slung pajama pants. The alarm was still blaring on the console which drowned out Samantha's entrance into the room. Samantha mentally shook herself as she stared at Edgar's chest and muscular back.
"This boat is going to be the death of me" muttered Samantha to herself.
Sig arrived a moment behind her, he pressed his body against hers as he moved past giving her a gentle squeeze.
"What's going on?" asked Sig.
"The alarm says its the bilge" said Edgar.
"Have you checked it?" asked Sig.
"No, I just got out of the shower. Norman is checking it right now" said Edgar.
"Ok" replied Sig.
The boat phone rang, Jake picked it up and handed it to Sig.
"Well" queried Sig.
Clearly Norman had quite a few things to explain because Sig was completely silent for a few minutes.
"Ok" said Sig as he hung up the phone.
"Well?" asked Edgar.
"He said he can't find anything wrong with the pump, the only thing he thinks it could be is a problem with the alarm system itself" said Sig.
"Alright Junior lets go check it out" said Edgar.
Samantha had been sitting quietly in the port side chair casually staring out the window while listening to the conversation. She had no idea what a bilge was but the fact that no one was telling her to get into a survival suit made her feel pretty safe. Edgar walked over to where Samantha was standing startling her out of her revery.
"How are you feeling?" asked Edgar.
"Huh? Oh I'm feeling fine, thanks" said Samantha.
"How are the ribs?" asked Edgar.
"They're a little sore, but no more painful than last night" answered Samantha.
"You want to come down and check out the engine room with us?" asked Edgar.
"No thanks, I don't want to have to put on a sweatshirt" said Samantha.
"I could help you" said Edgar.
"Thanks, but I'm going to make breakfast" said Samantha.
"Suit yourself. I vote for french toast" said Edgar.
Edgar and Jake exited the wheelhouse with Samantha following them as far as the galley.
Samantha was almost finished making breakfast when Norman appeared from outside. He was shivering with cold and soaking wet. Without ceremony he stripped down to his skivvies tossing the wet clothes into the laundry basket. Samantha considered whacking her head against the counter just to keep herself from the inappropriate fantasies running through her head. Norman walked into the kitchen and gave Samantha a wet hug before standing in front of the flat top to warm up.
"I think you'd get warmer if you took a hot shower and put some clothes on" suggested Samantha.
"What's the matter Antha? Not enjoying the view" asked Norman.
"The view is very nice, but the goosebumps all over you look uncomfortable" said Samantha. "Let me get you some coffee."
Samantha poured him a cup, fixing it just the way he liked it before handing it to him. Norman took a grateful sip and toddled off towards his stateroom. Samantha let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding and resumed making breakfast. Matt and Nick emerged from their stateroom and sauntered into the galley. Samantha filled a couple cups of coffee, setting them on the table in front of the guys.
"How are you feeling?" asked Matt.
"Sore" replied Samantha.
"Did you take anything?" asked Nick.
"Yeah, Sig gave me some pills this morning" said Samantha.
Samantha returned to the kitchen and finished making breakfast. She'd just set everything on the table when Edgar and Jake walked in. Like Norman both of them were soaked to the bone and again just like Norman they stripped down to their underwear before walking towards the staterooms. Nick walked behind Samantha to refill his cup of coffee.
"Down girl" he whispered in her ear.
"I think there is some sort of plot against me" muttered Samantha.
Nick just chuckled to himself before returning to the table. Once everything was set on the table Samantha fixed a plate for Sig setting it aside so he could have a little of everything before the rest of the guys inhaled it all. Sig walked downstairs a few minutes later and gratefully accepted the plate from Samantha before sitting down.
"Well, what's the verdict" asked Sig.
"As far as I can tell there is no damage, the alarm mechanism itself maybe faulty" said Edgar around bites.
"The weather is really shitty out there" said Norman.
"Yeah, it looked pretty nasty" commented Sig.
"Yeah, from your nice dry wheelhouse" said Edgar.
"We are an hour away from the next string, so suit up and get out there. The boat is half full, lets hope we can top it off in the next couple of days" said Sig.
The guys quickly finished their breakfast and left to get dressed. Samantha stacked the breakfast dishes in the sink and wiped down the table. She was unsure if she really wanted to go outside on deck. She supposed it was her prerogative and they'd be fine without her, just like they had been for every other season prior. Slowly washing the dishes she was still contemplating when Norman quietly walked into the kitchen. Norman took a minute to verify there wasn't a camera within earshot before speaking.
"Will you make my dinner tonight?" he asked quietly.
Samantha visibly started, dropping the platter she was washing into the soapy water causing a huge splash of water to fall on her shirt.
"Jesus Norman, you need to get a bell or something" she said exasperatedly.
"Sorry to startle you. But it's like a quest for the camera guys to hear me talking so I try to avoid them as much as possible and that means learning to be very very quiet" explained Norman.
Samantha turned around displaying her wet t-shirt to Norman before giving him a very wet hug.
"Hey, I just changed" said Norman.
"What do you want for your special dinner?" asked Samantha.
"Tacos" replied Norman his voice taking on a wistful quality.
"Sure, no problem" said Samantha mentally going over the ingredient list.
"You're the best" said Norman before dropping a kiss on Samantha's cheek.
Samantha blushed slightly as she smiled up at Norman.
"By the way you should go change, your shirt's all wet" said Norman as he walked out of the kitchen.
Samantha picked up the sponge she was using and threw it at Norman who deftly caught it and tossed it back.
"Hey you two, no fighting" said Edgar as he walked towards the ready room.
Norman punched him in the arm in response before walking to the ready room to get suited up.
"Samantha, are you coming out today?" asked Edgar.
"I don't know yet" replied Samantha.
"Well it's cool if you stay in, the weather is shitty" said Edgar. "Although it already looks like you are cold and wet."
Samantha looked down at her t-shirt realizing that her nipples were poking out underneath the soaked shirt. Instead of responding she merely turned back to the dishes.
Hours later Samantha was sitting in the wheelhouse with Sig watching the boat cut it's way through choppy seas. Sitting on the bench seat listening to her ipod and reading a book on her kindle she vaguely heard the conversation going on between Sig and Eric. They'd been constantly talking about the state of the weather, the offload date given by the processor and how the trip was going thus far. Samantha ears perked up when she heard her name being called. Looking up from her book she saw Sig standing right in front of her motioning to the captains chair.
"What?" she said pulling her ear buds out.
"Sit there, so I can hit the head" said Sig.
"Ok" said Samantha.
Setting down the electronics she slid into the captain's chair.
"How does it feel to be driving the boat?" asked Eric.
"I'm not driving it, it's driving itself. I'm just warming the chair" replied Samantha dismissively.
"Sig, can you pull up on the throttle" came Edgar's voice over the hailer.
"No" said Samantha in reply.
"What are you doing up there? Sitting on Sig's lap?" asked Edgar.
"No, I'm sitting on the chair. Sig will be back in a minute" said Samantha.
"Pull up on the throttle, we are going to let Junior throw the hook" said Edgar.
"I'll try but I really have no idea what you are talking about" said Samantha.
She did know what the throttle was and Eric confirmed with a nod as her hand hovered over the silver handle. Pulling it back lightly she felt the boat slow slightly.
"Is that slow enough?" asked Samantha over the hailer.
"Yeah, that should be fine" said Edgar. "Watch the bags, make sure you don't run over them."
"Ok, but I don't know how to steer" said Samantha in a panic.
"It's the black knob, it controls the rudder" said Edgar.
Samantha looked at the innocuous black knob wondering where the hell Sig was.
"Hey Sam, you are going to need to move to port a little because you are in danger of splitting the buoys" said Eric.
"Ok" said Samantha.
She slowly moved the black knob and was relieved when the boat shifted slightly to the left moving the buoys into her line of sight on the starboard side of the boat. She slowly moved the knob back to center and the boat straightened out.
"Are you having fun driving the boat?" asked Sig.
"Oh shit, you scared me" said Samantha. "What took you so long? Last time I checked boat driving was your job."
"You seem to be doing a good job" said Sig conversationally.
"Yes, well I'm done with doing it" said Samantha getting up out of the chair.
Sig slid into the chair and Samantha went back to lounging on the bench with her book and music. She left the wheelhouse briefly to make lunch and even sat in the chair while Sig ate downstairs with the rest of the crew. The rest of the day was spent either doing laundry or sitting in the wheelhouse.
Samantha went down to the galley when there were 2 pots left to make Norman's special dinner. It didn't take her long to get everything prepped. The taco meat was cooking on the stove and Samantha decided to make some spanish rice and refried beans as side dishes. While she found store bought taco shells she decided to make homemade shells out of the corn tortillas from the pantry. She'd managed to shred a gigantic pile of cheese when the guys finally trouped inside. They all looked worn out and tired. Samantha moved into high gear to make sure dinner would be finished by the time the guys finished changing and warming up. In honor of the mexican food night she mixed up some lemon lime koolaid which she labeled as Margarita. She set up the tacos on a platter, set out a platter of enchiladas, the bowl of beans and plate of rice. The entire table was filled with food by the time the guys got back to the galley. Samantha ran upstairs to tell Sig dinner was ready. He set the boat on manual and headed down to dinner. Everyone was gathered around the table when Sig and Samantha arrived. Samantha slid in next to Norman and Sig sat next to her. Norman said a quick prayer and everyone dug in.
"This is quite a spread, who knew Norman would ask for so much" teased Edgar.
"I only asked for tacos, but this is amazing" said Norman.
"My favorite is the margaritas" said Jake reaching for the jug.
"Save some for the rest of us" said Nick.
"How'd the day go?" asked Sig.
"Fine, the weather was shit all day today though" said Edgar.
"At least the pots were pretty full" said Jake.
"How close are we to topping off the tanks?" asked Nick.
"I would hope maybe cycling through the gear one more time will probably do it" said Sig.
There were absolutely no leftovers from dinner every platter was completely licked clean. Sig got up and headed back to the wheelhouse and Samantha got up and started to clear the dishes. Norman collected the rest of the dishes and helped Samantha do the dishes. Once again after checking to see where the camera guys were he started to speak.
"Thanks for making the dinner for me, it was awesome" said Norman.
"You're welcome. I'm really glad you liked it. How was it outside today?" asked Samantha.
"Horrible, I'm glad you weren't out there. I would have been worried about you" said Norman.
"Well I think I'm feeling well enough to go out tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will be nicer" said Samantha.
"At least when you're outside there is someone pretty to look at" said Norman.
Samantha and Norman finished the rest of the dishes in relative silence. When the kitchen was cleaned she walked to the stateroom and crawled into her bunk.