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.

Hey everyone, hope your enjoying the story so far. I know that Norman probably wouldnt act like this in real life, but then again they dont call it fanFICTION for nothing, lol. Hope you enjoy this chapter. It's not super long, but still sweet, I think. Please review :)

It had been three and half long weeks since Norman and Gia's confrontation, and much to everyone's relief the Northwestern was now steaming home to Dutch Harbor. The season had been a grind, but there were few injuries, no casualties and their quota had been met, which was more than anyone could ask for. Sig, Edgar, Nick, Jake, and Gia were all sitting in the wheelhouse watching the Harbor grow bigger as they drew closer to it.

"This is probably one of the best King Crab seasons we've ever had." Sig said.

"Seriously man. Great crab and for the most part, smooth sailing." Nick said thoughtfully. Gia was sitting between him and Jake.

"So this is really one of the best King Crab seasons this boat has had, ever?" Gia asked.

"Yeah, probably THE best." Sig said and Nick nodded.

"Now who said having a woman on board was bad luck?" Gia asked smugly and everyone turned to look at Edgar sitting in the co-captains chair. He was looking out the window and didn't so much as glance at them when he said

"Shut up."

Everyone laughed and fell into an easy chatter with eachother. At one point Norman had come up the stairs to see what everyone was doing, but as soon as he spotted Gia, he immediately turned around and went down the stairs again. Everyone saw him but nobody said anything, and kept talking like he'd never came in. By now everyone had figured out that he and Gia were broken up, but the only people who knew the why were Norman, Edgar, Gia and Sig because he asked Edgar what the hell had been going on. As far as Sig was concerned Gia had done nothing wrong and his brother needed to get his ass out of his head. But Sig wasn't the type to get into peoples' romance and relationship problems. He was a fisherman, not a therapist. He figured that in time the two would work things out for themselves, but Gia could still work on the boat, whether Norman approved or not. She was a damn good deckhand, hard working, ready to learn and be the best she could be. Most importantly she wasn't a cry baby. He'd have to remember to thank Johnathan for recommending her.

The Northwestern had finally pulled into Dutch Harbor and all of the crew went down to tie up the boat. It was always a bittersweet moment. Everyone was happy to be back on land and see their families, but they'd also really miss eachother, though none of them would admit as much. When the boat was properly tied up, Gia headed back inside to get her duffle bag while the rest of the crew went into the wheelhouse, which she assumed was to get their paychecks. She stepped back onto the deck and took a long look around. In the past two months, she'd really come to love this boat and the people on it. It had become her home and the men had become her brothers. Gia sighed reflectively when she heard the outside door to the wheelhouse open.

"Hey greenhorn, your not leaving without saying goodbye are you?"

Gia turned around to see Edgar and the rest of the crew follow him down the stairs. The only person she didn't see was Norman, and she felt dissappointed. She was hoping that they would've been able to talk and work out their problems, but Norman avoided her like the plague, and no matter how much Gia loved him, she would not make a fool of herself over him.

"No, I wasn't leaving yet. I was just taking a look around." She said and smiled at the men in front of her. "Im gonna miss you guys."

"Dont get all mushy on us. It's not like we wont see you again in a couple of months." Edgar said

"Wait, what?" Gia asked, confused.

"You do wanna work here again, dont you? Or did you already find a better boat to fish with?" Sig asked jokingly.

"Wow, really?" Gia asked, afraid that this might be some kind of joke. But the smiles and nods everyone gave her told her it wasn't. She looked to Ryan, who'd been filming the guys while they were in the wheelhouse, having this dicussion, and he gave her a thumbs up and a smile.

"Your in kid." Edgar said with a smile.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Gia said excitedly, giving everyone a big hug, even Ryan. Everyone laughed and returned the hug lovingly. Sig took a check out of his pocket and handed it to Gia. She looked at it and frowned in confusion.

"Something wrong?" Sig asked. Gia shook her head and said

"Not wrong, exactly. Im no great mathmatician or anything, but I think this number is more than I was supposed to get paid. I think you made a mistake." Gia attempted to hand the check back to him so he could write her a new one, but he shook his head and Matt spoke up.

"We all decided to chip in a percentage of our earnings, as a way of welcoming you to the family."

Gia smiled broadly but didn't say anything, because she felt herself getting emotional and didn't want the guys to start thinking she was soft or something.

"One more thing." Edgar said and Gia turned her gaze to him. He began taking off her black rain jacket and Gia wasn't sure what exactly he was doing. It was when he then removed his Navy Blue rain jacket, with the words 'Northwestern' written across the back and front, that she finally understood. Gia wordlessly held out her arms and Edgar slipped his jacket onto her. She remembered watching the episode when Jake first joined the crew and at the end of the season Sig gave him the Northwestern jacket off his back, as a way of telling him that he earned the right to be on this boat and to call himself a crew member. And Gia knew that's exactly what Edgar was telling her. He zipped it up for her and smiled, and before Gia could help it a few tears had fallen down her face. She quickly wiped them away and cleared her throat.

"So much for no cry babies." Edgar muttered and Gia punched him in the chest, causing everyone to laugh.

As much as Gia didn't want the moment to end, she had a plane to catch home to Montana and needed to leave soon if she didnt want to miss it. She hugged everyone goodbye, Ryan included, and hurriedly hopped over the rail. Gia turned to give everyone one last wave goodbye and when she averted her gaze to the wheelhouse she saw Norman staring back at her. She still saw anger in his eyes but she also saw hurt. Gia took a deep breath and turned to walk away. Discovery had provided a car to take her to the airport and Gia was grateful. She was the only one who didn't live in Washington state, so while she was on a plane, the rest of the guys would be sailing into Puget Sound, where they would be greeted by their families. Gia looked longingly out the car window, as the driver drove away from the Northwestern. She leaned back into her seat, closed her eyes, and thought about all the events that had transpired the past two months. On the bright side she'd been able to join one of the most well-known and thriving crab boats in the fleet. She had proved herself to her captain and crew and was now an official crew member. On a sadder note, her best friend had passed, and though it still hurt her inside, Gia was learning to cope. She still had to visit Imani's mother, in New York, and visit Imani's grave site, and that made her feel very nervous and scared. She had also fallen in love with Norman and lost him all in the span of a month's time. Gia felt tears burn in her eyes.

" I dont know how I'm going to do this."