Kjiersten folded her arms across her chest and wished that she had listened when Norman told her to wear a jacket. She'd obediently thrown her Northwestern jacket in the back of Josh's sleek black Infiniti, but had no intention of actually wearing at the time. Now that the friends were far from the car, and consequently the jacket, she really wanted it.

Josh rolled his eyes and dutifully wrapped his arms around her from behind, letting her relish in his body heat and the warmth of his hoodie. She sighed and leaned back into his body, grateful for the gesture. Her arms were freezing even through her long sleeve Mariners shirt, and the crisp, biting wind that blew every couple minutes wasn't helping.

"Hey, Momma. We're back from kings, just came home yesterday. Dad's not here, but, uh, Josh came. You came with me here after last opies, right?" She rolled her head up to see him nod, eyes fixed on the stone. "Thought so. Dad never comes to these. I'm not even sure he knows I come after the season."

"I'm sure he does," Josh supplied, sinking his head down onto her shoulder. "He's a pretty smart guy." Kjiersten snorted.

"He is," she agreed. "We had a weird season, Momma. Never could get solid numbers, funky weather…we had this new crew member, too. A camerawoman. Dana Camden. I don't like her." Josh watched her twirl her ring. "She's pretty. I think Dad likes her; Uncle Eddie doesn't really have an opinion yet. She didn't really do anything either way, you know? But Uncle Sig said she's coming back, didn't do anything stupid or dangerous so he wants to keep her around, see what she's made of in opies. I don't know. I don't like her."

"You said that," Josh smirked. Kjiersten elbowed him lightly. "Just pointing it out. Mrs. H, your daughter is really mean to me."

"He deserves it," she retorted. "You should meet his girlfriend."

"Don't start," Josh rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on. She hates me, Momma."

"She doesn't hate you," Josh sighed, gently swaying her back and forth. "She just doesn't get you. You've only met her once; give her a shot. Gina's a really great girl, but you both take a little getting used to. Just cut her some slack, huh? I think you scare her."

Kjiersten smirked. "I'm not scary."

"You're terrifying," he corrected, tucking her hair behind her ear so it stopped blowing in his face. After returning his hand back around her waist, he continued. "You were having a bad day when you met her, so you have to admit that your opinion was skewed."

"It was," she agreed. "Which is why, for your sake, I'm giving her another shot with this lunch thing. I'm not giving her any more time than that. "

"Hey, I'm glad for what I'm getting, and she's not hanging out with us after lunch. I'm not fucking with post-season traditions."

"See, Momma," she grinned at the tombstone, "I trained him well."

"She didn't train me," he insisted. "I'm just a good friend."

Kjiersten laughed. "Yeah, whatever, Joshie. Let's just get this over with; I want 'us' time, not 'us plus Gina' time. The sooner we do this, the better."

"Be nice," he ordered, letting her out of his arms and shoving his hands in his pockets. She put her hands in her pockets, too, shivering in the breeze, and let Josh get a few steps ahead.

"I'll see you again soon, Momma," she promised. Josh turned back when he realized Kjiersten wasn't beside him and watched as she kissed her hand and then rested it on the stone for a moment. She'd been pushing him for months to visit his dad's grave, but he'd kept putting it off. Seeing her like this made him think that maybe he should swing by someday soon.

Kjiersten tugged on the bottom of her Mariners shirt and licked her lips as she looked around the restaurant. Gina was showing Josh something on her phone that was apparently too important to wait until later, giving her maximum time to realize just how out of place she was.

If Josh had told her about this lunch sooner, she would have made more of an effort to look nice, but she could hardly blame him. He looked just as bad compared to the other diners. Gina must have sprung it on him, too. When he'd swung by Norman's house to wake Kjiersten up from the dead sleep she fell into after a crab season, he told her that Gina was insisting on having a decent lunch, just the three of them. No Ani, No Vince, no Jake.

She'd chosen a modern bistro where every diner, minus Josh and Kjiersten, was obviously stopping in for their lunch break from a high end office with their suits and laptops and briefcases. Gina seemed to fit right in, donning a pair of hip-hugging khakis and a berry red cashmere sweater with a white peacoat draped over her chair. Her chocolate hair was pulled back in a loose bun held with a pair of black chopsticks, and seeing that made Kjiersten run her fingers through her own blonde locks in a desperate attempt to look like she'd at least run a brush through it that day. In her loose-fitting unisex Mariners shirt, baggy jeans, and work boots, she knew their rather dapper-looking waiter was passing more than a few judgments about her. The only consolation she had was that Josh was in a pair of paint-stained jeans and work boots, too. At least they were being judged together.

"So, uh, Gina," she faked a smile and swirled her water with her straw, "how've you been doing?"

"Huh?" Gina frowned, looking up from her phone like she'd forgotten Kjiersten was sitting across from her at the little round table. "Oh, well, you know. I've been keeping busy, waiting for you all to get back. I had no idea how stressful it was to just sit around waiting."

"Well, opies is longer," Kjiersten shrugged, frowning at the chicken wrap the waiter placed in front of her. "But Josh is always safe on the boat, so you really shouldn't worry."

"Yeah, no one's going to send me hanging over the Bering any time soon," he smirked, and Kjiersten flipped him off. As soon as she remembered the setting, though, she threw her hands in her lap and bit her lip to keep from laughing in embarrassment. Sig was right- she couldn't go anywhere nice.

"Wait…what?" Gina frowned between the two friends. "This some kind of inside joke? Josh, you know I hate…"

"No," he held a hand to cut her off. "It's not an inside joke. Kjiersten just had a close call this season. That's all."

"We were stacking our pots on the boat and my dad lost control of the crane for a minute, so the pot was swinging around and I had to hang off the side," Kjiersten shrugged. "Could've been a lot worse."

"How much worse?" Gina asked, the hint of panic in her voice not going unnoticed by either crabber. Kjiersten turned helplessly to Josh, not sure what she had thrown them into, but he was more focused on Gina at the moment.

"You know what it's like," he said gently, placing a hand over hers on the table. She immediately pulled her hand away. "There are dozens of freak things that can happen."

"But Josh is one of the safest guys on a boat," Kjiersten insisted again. "I'd trust him above anyone else out there."

"Yeah, and I'm sure that has just so much to do with fishing," Gina snapped before turning back to Josh. "I knew what you did was dangerous, Josh, but you never told me that hanging out over the water was considered one of the safer parts!"

"It's not like that, Gina!" he insisted.

"Can we back up for a second here?" Kjiersten held her hand up, but she respected Josh enough to bite her tongue when he shot her a look. This wasn't about her, so she would just wait it out.

"Oh, like you don't know exactly what I mean," Gina snapped right back, but Josh turned her back to him before the girls could go down a road he really didn't want them to travel down right now. "Tell me what it's like, Josh. Tell me it's safe out there and that I shouldn't be freaking out every day you're gone. Look me in the eye and tell me that, because I'm not going to be some sad, pathetic girl talking to a tombstone because someone I love was taken from me too soon!"

"Okay, now we are going to back it the fuck up!" Kjiersten hissed before Josh could say anything. He sent her a pleading look but really didn't expect her to let that last comment drop; at this point, he knew he'd lost control of both of them. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I'm not sure I'm willing to sit around wondering if he's going to come back to me in one piece. I didn't know what I was getting into here!"

"Wait, are you breaking up with me?" Josh asked at the same time that Kjiersten snapped, "I'm not talking about that; you made that much pretty clear. I mean the tombstone comment. What the fuck was that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, you heard me," Gina leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "I don't want to be one of those sad girls in the cemetary. Like anyone wants to do that."

"Gina," Josh started, but Kjiersten interrupted again.

"I do that. I do that a lot. Actually, Josh and I just came from 'talking to a tombstone'," she mimicked Gina's dismissive tone before letting her disgust show through. "I always thought I was talking to my mother, not the stone, but obviously you think otherwise. I didn't realize that was so pathetic to you."

"Look," Gina pulled her arm out of Josh's grasp, "I'm sorry about your mother. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna go recite poetry to a hunk of marble or anything. What you believe is totally up to you."

Kjiersten raised her eyebrows and leaned back in her seat. She was most like her dad when she was upset, and the silence she fell into was the best signal that she had been pushed too far. Josh hated when she went quiet in an argument because he was so used to knowing what she thought that not knowing bothered him. He did know, though, that the look she was giving Gina would lead to someone getting hurt. Probably him, since he'd be honor-bound to get in the way when she lunged across the table.

"Alright," he stood up in such a way that he kept himself between them, "this is over. Here." He fished out his wallet, pulled out some cash, and threw it on the table. "That should cover lunch. We're going." He grabbed Kjiersten's elbow and helped her to her feet. She lingered at the table, but he edged her towards the door. "And, Gina?" He studied her face for a moment. "Did you break up with me?"

"No," she shook her head. "No, of course I didn't."

"Okay, then." He cracked his knuckles and heaved a sigh. "I'm breaking up with you. Consider this over. C'mon, Kier," he took her elbow again and headed for the door, "Let's get out of here."