YAY! More free time to write!! LOL, I get soooo excited when I get to write this story. This honestly has to be my favorite story I've written so far. I'm glad I chose to make a sequel! Thanks for all your support!!
Chapter 16: Hail Mary
For the next several hours Sarah and her crew bailed water out of the soppy Northwestern. The storm had long since passed and the ocean looked like a totally different world. The sun was out and shining brightly, the waves lapped lazily along the side of the vessel, and the birds called out to one another happily.
Sarah shook her head in disbelief as she thought over all that had happened a few hours ago. It was a complete miracle that the Northwestern had managed to resurface. The resiliency of the vessel astounded her. All those hours of labor at the dock to repair broken parts and to maintain the boat's strong structure were suddenly well worth the time and effort.
"How goes it, skip?" called Alex from the deck with a slight smirk on his face.
Sarah laughed and shook her head at the senior deckhand in amusement. He certainly had come a long way from his stubborn, irritable, and hateful self. Ever since the day the Maverick pulled him from the freezing sea he had changed his way of thinking. He had suddenly grown to respect the Maverick and their brave crew and the near-death experience had made him more humble. It made him realize how precious and fleeting life was.
"It's almost dry up here!" shouted Sarah through the back wheelhouse window, "How's the galley shaping up?"
Alex shrugged, "Aw, it's a little damp but it'll do. When we gonna go fishing?"
Sarah smiled as Jake walked out from the galley and stood beside Alex.
"How's now work for you boys?"
Jake's face lit up and he gave a shout of excitement. Alex laughed loudly and practically skipped across the deck to begin preparing the bait. The other deckhands came out from below deck at the sound of Jake's cry. They looked around in confusion, half expecting another rogue wave to be the cause of his sudden outburst.
"We're going fishing!" announced Jake as the deckhands glanced around warily.
Andrew's face lit up at the sound of that and he smacked Jake on the back with glee. Jon and Amy beamed happily as they looked out onto the calm seas.
For the first time in weeks, Andrew and Alex embraced in a friendly bear-hug. Finally able to forgive one another for the past, they were more than ready to get back to fishing. The warmer weather and calm seas lifted their spirits.
Sarah noticed a sudden change in her crew. The terrifying nightmare they had experienced the day before had somehow fused them all together. Feuds, disagreements, and rivalries dissolved in the morning sunlight as the crew banded together to prepare the pots for launching.
Two hours later, Sarah came out of the wheelhouse and leaned on the rail to look down on her deckhands. Jake glanced up and saw her standing there. His eyes narrowed in concern.
"What's up?" he asked her.
"I got bad news," she said slowly as the other deckhands paused to glance up at her.
Instantly the crew felt a thrill of dread run through their veins. The last time Sarah had bad news it was about the storm that had nearly killed them all.
"What is it?" asked Alex, equally concerned.
"The season's over in five days," she announced, "So we have to turn and burn…and I mean turn and burn. This is going to be a Hail Mary string. It's all or nothing for us now. We're going to begin dropping the pots in about an hour so get inside and get something to eat because it's going to be a long day."
The crew nodded in agreement, exchanging excited and nervous glances. This is what they were born to do. Fishing under pressure was how the Northwestern had always thrived on and the pressure was on.
One hour later, the crew assembled on the deck and waited for their captain's orders to begin fishing.
"Don't you guys think that this could end up being bad?" asked Andrew, skeptically, "I mean, what happens if we don't catch anything? Won't that mean we almost died for nothing?"
Collectively, the rest of the crew turned to glare angrily at Andrew.
"What the hell are you talking about?" snapped Jon.
"You have a lot of nerve saying that!" snarled Jake as he got in Andrew's face, "After what just happened we should be glad we're alive! You have no right to question any order from the captain."
"I didn't!" protested Andrew as he shoved Jake away from him, "I'm just saying that would suck. I mean, shouldn't we catch at least a little something for all our trouble?"
Alex sneered and shook his head in disgust. He turned his back on his friend and began to help Amy prepare the first pot.
Jake's lip curled up in a snarl as he prepared to unleash a stinging retort.
"Might I make a suggestion?" asked Sarah, leaning on the railing outside of her wheelhouse.
She had seen the entire thing and was just waiting for the right moment to intercede. The crew looked up at her, surprised and slightly embarrassed. Andrew looked away sharply and felt his cheeks flush. Jake never took his infuriated gaze off of Andrew. Even though the guy had seemed to try to make an effort to make up for his earlier actions, he and Jake never got along, not ever since the day they had gotten into a fight on deck. Jake's respect for the man dissipated that day and his sharp comments and constant challenging of Sarah's decisions got on his nerves.
Sarah leaned further over the railing and gave Andrew a hard, long look.
"Shut up…and fish!"
Thanks for the reviews! You guys are awesome!
Don't forget Deadliest Catch comes on tonight at 9!!
And if you haven't checked it out yet, look up the Deadliest Catch forum on that I started! I updated it the other day too. You can access it from my profile page I believe.
When you get on the forum check out the topic about other D.C. fanfics!! There are links to all the Deadliest Catch fan fiction stories that have been started since Greenhorns and Rivals. Feel free to ad your own if you decide to start one!
I've read all of the D.C. fanfics and they are AMAZING so I encourage you all to look them up too!
And as always….
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