A/N: Thank you all for the reviews. Please continue to leave them as I enjoy reading each and every one of them.
Natalie ducked as Edgar threw another cod into the bait bin. The crew had dropped a few cod pots in order to get more fresh bait. The trip was almost finished and Natalie couldn't be more relieved. Sig was dialed into the crab and the trip was going quick. She'd spent almost all her time on deck with the guys. When she wasn't on deck she was treating minor aches and pains. Bishop had taken over the cooking responsibilities and Natalie suspected that had been at Sig's suggestion. Avoiding Bishop was pretty easy if she wasn't in the wheelhouse with Sig then she was in the galley. Natalie easily avoided both of those places. She'd been using some physical therapy exercises to help the guys feel better. A few stretches and strengthening moves would help them once Natalie got off the boat.
"Earth to Bug" called Matt.
Natalie's snapped her head up and she walked over to where Matt was standing at the rail.
"Come throw the hook" he said.
"No thanks" said Natalie.
The weather was great, the sea was flat calm and there was no wind. Matt walked up to Natalie and dragged her to the rail.
"Here" he said placing the hook in her hand.
It was heavier than she expected and for a moment she wondered how far she'd actually be able to throw it.
"Ok, here's the deal. Sig's going to pull as close to the bags as possible and you are going to start throwing before the boat even gets to them. Understand?" explained Matt.
"Not really, but I'll do my best" said Natalie.
"Sig, Bug is on the hook" said Edgar into the intercom.
"Fine" said Sig over the hailer.
The boat slowed to a crawl as it approached the first set of buoy bags. Natalie lined up her shot and threw the hook as far as she could. It sailed out of her hands on a great trajectory towards the lines.
"You probably want to grab onto the end of the rope before we lose the hook" suggested Matt.
"Fuck" said Natalie in response as she tried to find the end of the rope.
Edgar smiled and pointed down to his foot which was anchoring the end of the rope to the deck.
"Don't worry, I've got your back" he said with a wink.
"Thanks" said Natalie.
Of course she didn't hook the rope on the first toss, or the second, third or fourth. By the fifth toss Natalie was thinking it would be easier just to jump in and swim to the bags. On the seventh throw she finally got it and started pulling in the rope. Her arm muscles started to burn when the buoys were only half way to the boat, by the time she hauled them over the rail she was dying.
"Ok, now put them in the block" said Edgar.
Natalie nodded and made a valiant effort but failed repeatedly.
"Alright Bug, I think you need a little help" said Matt.
He got the rope in the block and then into the coiler. Natalie stood back as the pot cleared the rail and settled into the launcher.
"I'm going back to bait" said Natalie breathlessly. "Any more pulling and I'm not going to be able to lift my arms."
"Come on Bug, one more" said Matt.
"No" replied Natalie. "I won't be able to massage anyone if I do."
"Can't have that happening" said Edgar.
Natalie scuttled back to the bait station and happily finished out the string in the relatively easy job of baiting pots.
The crew was in high spirits, the boat had turned and burned through the gear and the tanks were almost stuffed. Everyone on deck was already talking about getting to town and the possibility of having only one trip left until the end of the season. They were two pots away from the end of the thirty pot string when the hook moved out from its binding and swung into Nick's ear. He dropped to the deck with a thump. Without thinking Natalie started to make a dash across the deck, Jake grabbed her by the sleeve to stop her. He pointed towards the swinging hook and when Edgar managed to secure it Jake released Natalie. She skidded to the deck immediately using her body to shield Nick from the waves crashing over the rail and began looking for the source of the blood.
"Nick, can you open your eyes for me?" she asked.
Nick's eyes fluttered open and she could see they were wildly shifting back and forth.
"It's ok, just an ear. You have a spare" said Natalie.
Nick's eyes widened in shock. Natalie smiled at him showing she was jesting and then pushed him down to keep him still. Her hands flitted over his head, then his neck and finally feeling his pulse. When she determined there was no chance of a spinal injury she asked Nick if he could stand up. A nod of his head was all the confirmation she needed and she pulled him to his feet.
"He's going to take a bit of a break" she said. "Finish up without him."
"God if that's all it takes to get out of a few pots I'm going to get hit in the head with something" said Jake.
"I can arrange that" said Edgar.
"Yeah, but if you do it I won't be getting up at all" said Jake.
Edgar smiled and then laughed maniacally.
Once inside Natalie helped Nick slip out of his rain gear. She hung it up and then stripped out of hers. She passed a towel to him to hold against his ear to staunch the flow of blood. Leading him to the galley she sat him down in the seat. Removing the towel she wiped the majority of the blood off and then moved to look into his ear.
"I can't see anything" said Natalie. "I'll be right back."
Natalie ran towards her stateroom before returning with a thin yellow object.
"Ok, I'm going to clean out a bit of the ear wax you've got in here and try to see if the hit has burst your eardrum" explained Natalie.
"What?" said Nick in response.
With a firm hand Natalie moved his chin and then started to gently remove what looked like a ridiculous amount of gunk. Natalie grabbed a napkin from the middle of the table and started wiping the small tool each time she dug into his ear. Nick winced slightly but never said a word of complaint.
"My God, the clumps are the size of raisins" commented Natalie. "Do you ever clean your ears?"
"No" replied Nick with a cringe.
"I've never seen so much junk in an ear, holy shit there's a fish scale in here" she remarked.
"I bet it's a cod scale" said Nick.
"Gross" muttered Natalie.
She worked on his ear for the better part of an hour before she could see if there was any blood or fluid leaking. Seeing nothing she shifted around to Nick's other side and started cleaning out the other ear. By the time she was finished the napkin was pretty full and Nick could hear better than anytime he could remember.
"All done" announced Natalie.
"Wow, did you dig out some of my brain while you were in there?" asked Nick while rubbing his ears.
"Almost" said Natalie.
"It's loud in here" said Nick.
"Well I cleaned out 35 years of wax and fish scales from your ears" said Natalie. "It's probably going to seem weird for a while."
As if illustrating her point the crew marched into the galley with all the grace of a heard of elephants. Nick's eyes widened at the sheer volume of it all.
"Well Nick did you get a clean bill of health or did she have to cut off your ear?" asked Edgar.
"She tried to kill me with a sharp stick to the ear" said Nick.
"Unfortunately I was unsuccessful" said Natalie.
The rest of the strings were pulled and the pots set back to soak. There was a 15 hour steam to Dutch and Natalie was plotting in the wheelhouse. Sig had asked her to do the first wheel watch while he and the crew had a meeting in the galley. Natalie had no idea what the meeting was about, she imagined it could involve her but it wasn't really a concern. She just hoped that it lasted long enough to call Antha. Grabbing the SAT phone she dialed Antha's number, crossed her fingers she was home and could talk.
"Hello" said Antha.
"Antha, it's Natalie."
"Is Edgar ok?" asked Antha.
"He's fine. Everyone on the boat is fine" said Natalie. "Listen I don't have much time and I need your help."
"Sure" said Antha. "What's going on?"
Natalie rattled off the Bishop situation, the only detail she left out was the strip tease for Edgar. She finished her story with a sigh and waited for Antha's response. When she didn't get one she panicked.
"Antha, are you still there?" said Natalie. "God, this fucking boat is a piece of"
"I'm still here" cut in Antha. "I just don't know what to say."
"I know, right" said Natalie.
"Honestly, the whole thing sounds like a letter to Penthouse" said Antha.
Natalie chuckled at the thought.
"I think you should fight fire with fire" said Antha.
"Um, I haven't taken a proper shower for over a week, I'm not sleeping with anyone" said Natalie.
"I wasn't suggesting that" said Antha. "I think you should compliment the guys more, maybe wear a low cut shirt or something."
"Do you really think that's going to work?" asked Natalie.
"Even if it doesn't work on the guys, it will with Bishop" said Antha. "She'll notice and probably step up her games."
"How is that going to help me" said Natalie.
"She's going to start being ridiculous and the guys are going to catch on" said Antha.
"You really think so?" asked Natalie.
"They aren't as dumb as you think" said Antha.
"If you say so" said Natalie with an eye roll.
There was a commotion downstairs and Natalie started to panic.
"Antha, I have to go someone is coming" said Natalie. "I'll try your suggestion."
"Good luck, give Edgar a big hug for me" said Antha.
Natalie didn't have a chance to say goodbye, she barely had a chance to hang up the phone before Sig barreled into the wheelhouse.
"What's up with you?" he asked suspiciously.
"Nothing" said Natalie.
"You look guilty. Did you fall asleep or something?" he asked.
"No, you just surprised me" said Natalie.
"Oh" said Sig suspiciously.
Bishop arrived a moment later and Natalie felt herself bristle. Instead of going with her first instinct which was to bolt out of the room as fast as possible she asked Sig if he needed anything.
"Like what?" was his response.
"Like a temple massage" said Natalie. "Are you still getting headaches?"
"I'd love one" said Sig.
"I've got it covered" said Bishop at the same time.
Sig looked at Bishop confusion written all over his face. Natalie's eyes shifted from Sig to Bishop and then back.
"It's your call" she said noncommittally.
"I'd like one" said Sig. "The headaches aren't as intense but they're still there."
"Have you been drinking water?" asked Natalie.
She walked around until she was standing behind Sig, then remembering what Antha had suggested, moved until she was standing in front of him.
"No, I haven't been drinking water, it's all out on deck with you guys" said Sig.
"You have two working legs right? Besides if you get out of the chair once in a while it would help with the blood flow, which will help with the headaches" said Natalie.
"Sig, how are you able to see with her standing in front of you like that" said Bishop.
Natalie gave an internal smirk.
"I see fine" said Sig. "In fact the view is excellent."
Bishop frown deepened and she went back to peppering Sig with procedural questions. After a few minutes Natalie got tired of listening to Bishop's voice and removed her hands from Sig's head.
"Over so soon?" asked Sig, his voice tinged with disappointment.
"All these questions are giving me a headache" said Natalie.
"Well, maybe Bishop won't mind giving us a little private time" said Sig.
"I have a job to do and it involves asking questions" said Bishop hotly.
"Maybe later" whispered Natalie.
Sig nodded and moved so Natalie could scoot by, she purposefully dragged her breasts along his arm. Sig looked down at his arm and wondered if the tingle was from the friction or if he was having a cardiac event.
"Hey" said Bishop calling him back to reality.
"Yeah" said Sig tiredly.
"How about I finish up and then I can give you a real massage" she suggested with a wink.
"No thanks" said Sig. "I have some paperwork to do."
Bishop humphed quietly before seeking out more receptive pastures.
Natalie woke up hours later and made her way quietly into the kitchen. Usually the crew slept the entire trip back to Dutch but there was a tradition to wake up for one meal. This was affectionately known as the "trip in" breakfast and Natalie wanted to make it special. Her first thought was steak and eggs but she had made that before and while well received it wasn't really that special. She decided on breakfast burritos with homemade tortillas. It took less than an hour before everything was on the table.
"What's for breakfast today?" asked Edgar.
"Breakfast burritos" said Natalie. "With steak, cheese, pico de gallo, beans, rice, eggs and tortillas."
"Sounds amazing" said Edgar. "And I get to have the first one."
The other crew members slowly trickled into the galley, devoured a burrito or two before heading back to their racks. Jason appeared with a disgruntled Bishop. She was holding her notebook and looking upset. For a moment Natalie thought she was going to cry but then a mask slid into place and the moment was over.
"Burritos, seems like someone isn't too interested in making anything edible" quipped Bishop.
Before anyone could come to her defense Natalie handed Bishop and Jason their plates.
"Here you go" she said with a smile.
"Thanks Bug" said Jason cutting off whatever cutting remark was about to fly out of Bishop's mouth.
"Yeah, these are amazing" said Sig.
Natalie smiled graciously and then moved back into the kitchen to start the dishes. Jake jumped up and started to help.
"Jake, I have some interviews for you to do" said Bishop, her mouth still full.
"Sure, let me know when you're done eating and we can do it maybe outside" suggested Jake.
Bishop gave Jake a quizzical look as he turned and began helping Natalie clean the kitchen. He took his sweet time and made sure everything was spotless before joining Bishop out on deck.
Sitting in the stateroom Natalie was wearing a small tank top as her sexy outfit of the day. Norman had been chatting with her about what she normally did during the fall. Natalie had explained her business and how she did physical therapy as an at home therapist. She was licensed and contracted through certain insurance companies to help patients who'd been injured or suffered from chronic pain.
"That's really interesting" said Norman. "Have you worked more or less being out here?"
"I've definitely cooked more out here" said Natalie. "As for treatments, I'm not sure."
"The crew has never worked better" said Norman. "Usually by this time in the season we aren't even speaking to each other in the mornings. We're just running on fumes and pain killers."
"I can't believe the amount of pain you guys suffer with on a daily basis" said Natalie. "The cuts and bruises I've received constantly hurt and I'm only out on deck a fraction of the time you are."
"If you did it more you'd toughen up" said Norman.
"That's not something I'd really like to try" said Natalie.
Bishop burst through the door and it was like the air and happiness was sucked out of the room. Natalie smiled benignly knowing her presence there was enough to set Bishop off.
"Why are you here?" she asked.
"I sleep here" replied Natalie.
"I need to speak to Norman" said Bishop her voice hard.
"Thanks for asking so nicely" said Natalie.
"You don't have to go" said Norman. "I don't do interviews anyway."
Bishop put on a little pout which made Natalie's skin crawl. Norman just shrugged in response.
"It's ok, I'm sure I can find something else to do" said Natalie.
She grabbed her shower stuff and headed to the bathroom.
The hot water pounded over her body. She gave a tired sigh and closed her eyes, turning her head up so her face was splattered by the spray. The shower was tiny and she always thought it was odd that the shower head was set so low for a boat full of guys. Natalie reached for her shampoo and was shocked when she realized the bottle was almost empty.
"That dumb bitch" she said into the shower spray.
Natalie finished shampooing her hair and then sat under the spray until she was done soaping and rinsing every inch of her body. Her thoughts were swirling as she contemplated how to repay Bishop for using her shampoo. They were almost back to port, so she could buy more or ask Kale for more. She smiled evily and got out of the shower. Wrapping herself in a towel she snuck into her room and grabbed her kit. Back in the bathroom she popped off the top of the shampoo before rummaging through the little bottles in her massage kit.
"Aha" she exclaimed.
In her hand was a small vial or oregano oil. She poured it into the bottle of shampoo and shook it gently before replacing it in the shower. She knew Sig hated the smell of oregano oil, mixing it with the shampoo would douse Bishop in a very unpleasant smell. Smiling to herself she cleaned up the bathroom and went on with her day.
Sig handed over the big chair to Edgar for the last part of the trip into Dutch. The stack of paperwork was finally finished and Sig was confident they'd be delivering their required quota. Nick was up in the wheelhouse sitting in the chair waiting to chat with Edgar.
"I thought all of you guys wanted to sleep" said Sig.
"My room is too loud" said Nick.
"Why's that?" asked Sig.
Nick and Edgar shared a look as Nick prepared to answer.
"You know what never mind, I probably don't want to know" said Sig. "I'm to tired to care."
Sig walked down to his stateroom ignoring the snickers coming from the wheelhouse. He thought about calling Natalie for a treatment but decided he was even too tired for that. As he walked into the stateroom he noticed his clothes were strewn around the room. While he was messy while fishing he was fairly sure he didn't do this. Trying to figure out what the person was looking for he sorted through the mess of clothes. When he realized that nothing was missing he settled into his bunk and closed his eyes. He felt it had just been a moment when the door opened and someone walked in. Lifting his head sleepily he didn't even bother opening his eyes.
"What do you want?" he asked sleepily.
"Hi Sig" said Bishop.
"Hey. What time is it?" asked Sig.
"Early or late, who knows" said Bishop. "Can I come in?"
"Sure" said Sig.
He moved over in his bunk making room for Bishop. The second she lay down the scent hit his nose making him want to gag.
"What is that smell?" he asked.
"I just took a shower" said Bishop.
"With what?" said Sig. "It stinks."
Bishop sat up and smelled her hair, while the underlying scent was still citrus something else was overpowering it. To her it didn't smell bad, just different.
"I don't smell anything" she said.
"I do, go wash it again" said Sig. "I can't have you sleep in here smelling like that."
Bishop huffed and got up.
"In that case you can sleep by yourself" said Bishop angrily.
"It's better than sleeping with that smell" said Sig.
Bishop flounced out of the room making a point to slam the door and then for good measure opened it and slammed it again.
Sig sighed and rolled over going back to sleep without giving the incident a second thought.
The boat pulled into Dutch Harbor and made a beeline right into the dock at the processor. They were anxious to get the Northwestern unloaded. Two other boats were waiting to unload and Sig had just beat them into the harbor. Natalie sat outside in what was considered beautiful weather for Dutch Harbor. She was working hard on writing her grocery list while simultaneously writing down the brailer weights. Norman was on deck with her watching for dead loss and working on a few things while Jason filmed the offload. The rest of the guys were still asleep.
"Jason, do you need anything from the grocery store?" asked Natalie.
"Actually do you think you could get me some Visine? My eyes are killing me" he said.
"Sure, no problem" said Natalie scribbling it down on her paper. "It's probably from lack of sleep."
"No joke" said Jason. "I feel like a one person camera crew."
"What are you taking about?" said Natalie. "Bishop is constantly filming interviews."
"Really?" said Jason in surprise. "She hasn't dropped a tape since getting on the boat."
Natalie was shocked, she'd personally seen Bishop tape every single member of the crew.
"Seriously Jason, she has to have tapes. I've seen her do interviews" said Natalie.
"Maybe she does, but I haven't seen them and Discovery hasn't gotten any" said Jason.
"That's so weird" said Natalie.
"Clearly she has an alternative motive but I don't have time to figure it out" said Jason.
"What else do you need from the store" replied Natalie.
"Piece of mind" said Jason.
"I don't know if that's in season" said Natalie.
"Certainly not on this boat" said Jason.
"Bug, can you get some grape soda at the store" asked Norman.
"Sure, anything else?" she asked.
"No, just that" said Norman.
"Damn it, he just spoke and I didn't even have the camera on" said Jason.
"He's tricky like that" said Natalie with a smile.
The next few brailers were loaded and Natalie dutifully wrote down their weights before passing the tally sheet to Norman and heading to the store.
Natalie sat in a hot bath tub completely covered in bubbles. In her hand she clutched a glass of white wine, across from her Kale sat with her feet in the tub. Natalie had decided to take a detour on the way to the store. The unload would be going on for the next twelve hours so there was no need to rush back. She wanted to get some feedback from another girl on the situation on the boat.
"So what have you been doing?" asked Kale.
"Little things, wearing tighter clothes, rubbing up against the guys, little things like that" said Natalie.
"Is it working?" asked Kale.
"I don't know if the guys are noticing it but it's driving Bishop crazy" said Natalie.
"Well I guess that's the point right" said Kale.
"True" replied Natalie. "Oh I also caught her using the shampoo you gave me so I spiked it with oregano oil."
"What did that do?" asked Kale.
"It makes it smell yucky. Specifically yucky to Sig" said Natalie.
"How did you find that out?" asked Kale.
"I tried to use it when he had a cold and he couldn't stop saying how much he hated the smell of it" said Natalie.
"Do the other guys hate it too?" asked Kale.
"I don't know" said Natalie.
"But you don't care if she's with them, you only want to keep her away from Sig" prodded Kale.
"I don't know what I want" said Natalie. "I guess I know Sig's likes and dislikes better than the others."
"I wouldn't worry about her" said Kale. "Once she gets off the boat it's going to be a different story."
"What do you mean?" asked Natalie.
"Guys like a slutty girl for the easy sex, but they don't want to date the slutty girls" said Kale.
"A lady in the street but a freak in the bed" said Natalie.
"Whatever you say Usher" said Kale.
"She's got something going on" said Natalie.
Natalie went on to explain what Jason had told her about the tapes. Kale couldn't give an explanation to why Bishop was keeping the tapes. The bath stretched until it started to get dark.
"I should go, I don't want the store to close before I can get there" said Natalie.
"You still have a few hours before closing time" reassured Kale.
"Good to know" said Natalie. "Thanks again for letting me come over and use your facilities."
"Any time" said Kale. "It's nice to hold a conversation with someone who isn't trying to look down my shirt."
Natalie smiled and then made a point to look down Kale's shirt. Kale slapped Natalie lightly on the arm and then helped her blow dry her hair.