Disclaimer : I own nothing except my own fictional characters and recieve no payments of any sort. This story is for simple entertainment and fun only.

Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! I noticed there were 3 stories total about Norman in the whole DC community and thought he deserved another. I know he's the silent one and in the last 7-8 years the Deadliest Catch filming crew has got about 10 minutes tops of talking from him, lol. But I still think he's a pretty cool guy. Definitely an essential part of the boat and very loved. Besides I think his silent demeanor and elusive attitude is what makes him most attractive. Dont you agree? Probably not, lol. But anyway enjoy this chapter and please review.

The Northwestern crew had now been fishing for a month. The grind was hard, but the crab were plentyful and Sig was sure that they'd pull in enough crab to get home within the next 2-3 weeks. Everyone was excited to return home to their loved ones. Gia was especially excited to see her best friend Imani. They'd grown up together since they were in 3rd grade, Gia being 8 and Imani being 7. They were eachother's oldest and truest friends. Gia was now 26, turning 27 in January, and Imani was 26. They're friendship would soon be going on 19 years. Gia was not only excited to see Imani, she was also excited to introduce Norman to her. Every chance Gia got to phone her best friend, she would tell her about Norman and update her on their newly found relationship. Gia had never been in love before. But with Norman she was, though she'd yet to tell him that. She didnt want to come off too strong or scare him away. They'd only known each other a month and had been dating for an even shorter time.

Gia was never sure how'd she'd be able to tell when she was really in love. She only had one serious boyfriend and that was during her freshman year in highschool. Other than that, she didnt date. Gia had also grown up seeing her parents living in a loveless marriage and go through a bitter divorce, so she was always very closed up to relationships because of that. She didnt want to make mistakes, waste time, or end up looking like a fool. She wanted to love but she wanted a gaurantee to come with it. But she knew as well as anyone that in life there were no gaurantees.

Her first love was the sea and that was who she dedicated all her time to. She never thought she'd ever find love, let alone on a crab boat. Gia was like every typical girl, in the sense that she did want to be married and have a family. But she never truly saw it as a possibility, so she dismissed the idea and accepted it. Then she met Norman and everything changed. He was such a genuine and honest person. Though he was quiet and reserved, when he spoke you wanted to listen. He was a hard worker and a caring man. Gia had never met anyone quite like him. Gia had never been so certain of her feelings in her life as she was now. Facing life and day everyday the way she did certainly helped put things in a better perspective for her.

The offload had been going on for the past 9 hours and Sig found himself ready to pass out. No matter any crab season was going, lack of sleep and exhaustion was inevitable. Sig rubbed his eyes and picked up the loud hailer.

"Hey Edgar!"

"What?"

"Dude, I need to crash for a while. Come up here incase anyone calls."

"Roger." Edgar called before briskly walking to the wet room and stripping off his gear. He made his way into the galley, pouring himself a cup of coffee and then took the stairs two at a time to the wheelhouse. Sig rose as he saw his brother and the two Hansen's wordlessly switched places. Edgar sighed in contentment as he settled into the captain's chair, sipping his coffee. He looked down at the offloaders and processors and saw that they were halfway done. He then spotted Gia jump onto his older brother's back and place a kiss on his cheek. Edgar picked up the loud hailer, deciding to remind the happy couple they were here to do a job.

"Hey cut it out! This isn't the love boat. Pay attention to the task at hand."

Though Edgar couldn't see it Gia rolled her eyes from under her hat and hopped off of Norman's back. She walked over to Nick who had an arm outstretched and she graciously accepted her place under it. Norman boldly turned to face his brother, giving him a hard glare and then flipped him off. Edgar rolled his eyes and sat back comfortably. No more than 5 minutes later a call came through the SAT phone and Edgar grumbled before answering.

"Hello." He said in an impatient and grumpy voice.

"Um..Hi. Is this the Northwestern?"

"The one and only."

"Is this Captain Sig?"

"No this is his younger, better looking brother. Who's this?"

"Oh sorry. This is Amanda. Im Gia's older sister. Could I speak with her?"

"Is it important?"

"Yes. There's been an accident with her best friend."

"Oh geez. Umm okay, sure. Just hold on a minute."

Edgar set the SAT phone on the dashboard and looked out on deck. He saw Gia laughing at something Matt had said, and instantly Edgar felt bad about the way he'd been treating her the past month. Even he had to admit he'd gone overboard with his hazing. He sighed heavily before picking up the loud hailer.

"Uh, Gia. Phone for you."

Gia looked up at the wheelhouse, puzzled. But she simply shrugged it off, not giving it much thought as she made her way to the wet room. She stripped and ran up the stairs to the wheelhouse. As she was making her way over to where Edgar was sitting, she looked into his eyes expecting a glare. But surprisingly she found none. And what was even more surprising was the look she did find there. It seemed to be a combination of pity, sadness and remorse. Before Gia had any time to speculate on what she was seeing, Edgar abruptly stood and made his way over to the co-captains chair. Gia shrugged as she sat down in the captains chair and picked up the SAT phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey Gia. It's Amanda."

"Amanda, hey!"

"Hey. How's fishing going?"

"Good. It's hard but it's good."

"That's good."

The phone went silent for several akward moments. Gia cleared her throat before finally speaking.

"So what's going on? Something you wanted to tell me?" Gia asked, figuring it had to be important. Amanda never called when Gia was out in Alaska. Whether you were working in a cannery, processor, or crab boat the hours were always long and unpredictable. Gia was usually the one to call her family.

"Uh yeah. Look, Gia I'm really sorry. But there was an accident."

Gia immediately sat up in her chair and her grasp on the SAT phone tightened.

"What kind of accident?"

"There was a car crash. It was Imani. She was just driving home from work. It was late and some idiot drunk driver slammed right into her. She died from the impact instantly."

Gia felt her world suddenly crashing around her. She was sure she'd stopped breathing. How could her best friend be dead? She'd spoken to her less than a week ago. Suddenly "less than week ago" felt like a million years. Gia felt tears swell up in her eyes, but she remembered Edgar was in the wheelhouse with her. Whenever Gia called Imani, she often spoke of Edgar's hazing and one thing Imani constantly told her was "Never let him see you cry. Then he wins." Gia swore she heard her best friend's voice and she quickly wiped her eyes.

"Gia?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Im really sorry Gia."

"Not your fault."

"Imani's mom wanted me to tell you that the funeral is in a week from today. Would you be able to make it? I know she'd really like to see you there."

As much as Gia would love to be there for Imani's mother, who basically her own, she didnt want to face that reality just yet. If she left tonight, if she went to that funeral, then that made everything real. It meant Imani was really gone. Gia wasn't ready for that. She felt safe out here on the Bering Sea, as ironic as that might seem. When she was out on the Bering Sea, it became her world, her truth, and everything else was an illusion. Gia wanted to keep it like that for awhile longer.

"Gia?"

"No. Im not gonna be able to make it."

"Are you sure? She'd really love it if you were there."

"I'll visit her when I get back."

"I understand."

"Listen, I've gotta get back to work."

"Oh okay. Well be safe out there."

"Will do." With that Gia hung up the SAT phone and took a deep breath. Amanda rarely told Gia she loved her. Even when tough situations like this arose. They just didnt have that kind of relationship. Imani had always been more of a sister to Gia then Amanda. And now she was gone. In the blink of an eye, she was gone.

"Everything alright?" Gia had again forgotten that Edgar was still in the wheelhouse with her and she jumped slightly. She immediately rose from the captain's chair.

"Yep. Everything's fine." She made her way to the staircase and was just about to put her foot on the first step when Edgar spoke.

"Hey Gia."

"Yes?" Gia didnt raise her head to look at him. She just continued to stare down the stairwell as if it were an escape.

"Where are you going?"

Gia was so puzzled by his question that she actually did raise her head to the direction of the co-captians chair to look at him.

"Umm..to work?"

"You dont think you need...well did you want to take a break or something?"

"For what?"

"Uhh.. no reason I guess. You just looked tired is all." Edgar figured that she didnt know that he knew, atleast somewhat, about her friend being in an accident.

Gia shrugged and turned her gaze back towards the stairwell.

"Im always tired."

With that she left the wheelhouse, put on her gear and went back to work for the next 9 hours. During the rest of the offload everyone noticed the change in Gia's attitude. She was quiet and often stood off away from everyone else, staring at nothing in particular, walking around back and forth. Twice Norman went over to her trying to see what was wrong, but she simply smiled and said "nothing".

When the offload was over it was early morning. Edgar got the check from the cannery and thanked the processor's for doing a rather fast job. Edgar decided to wake up Sig so he could finally go to bed. He decided to bring him a cup of coffee so he wouldnt be as grumpy as he normally would be. Edgar didnt knock when he arrived at Sig's room. He simply opened the door and made the way over to his bed.

"Sig."

"Hmm..."

"Sig!"

"What man?" Sig asked grumpily, putting his pillow over his face.

"Wake up. The offload is finished. I got the check. Its time to go."

"Oh shit really?" Sig asked, jumping out of bed. Edgar rolled his eyes and extended his hand which held the coffee. Sig pulled on a shirt and then graciously took the coffee from his youngest brothers hand.

"You do love me."

"Not even." Edgar rolled his eyes and made his way down the stairs and into the galley. He saw that Junior had fallen asleep at the table with his hood over his head. Edgar shook his head, went to his stateroom and laid down in his bunk.

Meanwhile Gia and Norman were still outside on deck.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes Norman. Im fine. Just really tired. I guess all the sleep deprivation is catching up to me."

Norman said nothing. He saw right through her facade but didnt want to push her further. He simply nodded and together they walked inside. Gia went straight to her stateroom and Norman lingered in the galley a moment as he watched her retreating form. He knew her phone call that she'd recieved earlier was what had been bothering her. But what he didnt understand was why she wouldnt open up to him about it. He was her boyfriend. If she could tell anybody anything, it was him. Norman shook his head in confusion and walked into his stateroom to find an already sleeping Nick and Matt. Even though it was early morning, just about everyone on the Northwestern was calling it a night.