The weather cleared a little during the Northwestern's steam to its next string of pots. Sig had figured once more through the gear and the boat should be ready for an offload. Deciding he needed a cup of coffee he grabbed his empty cup and headed down the stairs. Natalie was up early, talking to Chris about the class she took with the Coast Guard.
"You look rested" said Sig as he walked into the galley.
"I feel rested" said Natalie with a grin. "So rested I even made breakfast."
"I thought Jason and Chris were going to be doing all the cooking" said Sig.
"She beat me to it" said Chris.
"Why are you up so early?" asked Sig.
"I just felt like I was ready to get up" said Natalie.
"We still have another hour to two before we get to the gear" said Sig. "Is breakfast still going to be edible in another hour?"
"Yes, it's a yummy breakfast casserole" said Natalie.
Sig made a face.
"Antha gave me the recipe, she said you thought it was delicious when she made it for all of you" said Natalie, her voice full of warning.
"It should be good, it has like two pounds of bacon in it" said Chris helpfully.
"I am sure it will be delicious" said Sig.
"There's fresh coffee" said Natalie pointing to the coffee pot.
"Where is my french press?" asked Sig. "I liked the system we had last season."
"I haven't seen it" said Natalie.
"Oh" said Sig. "That's weird, I'm pretty sure we didn't take it off the boat."
Natalie had an idea of where it was and who took it but she stayed silent. Sig filled up his cup and then returned to the wheelhouse. Jake appeared a moment later and slid into the table next to Natalie.
"Morning Jake" said Natalie with a smile.
"You're up early" said Jake.
"I got a good rest" said Natalie.
She started to run her fingers through her hair, trying to separate the tangles. Jake turned her body and so she was facing away from him and started to detangle her hair. He was gentle and Natalie felt like a little girl having her hair brushed out by her nanny.
"Where did you learn to do that?" asked Chris.
"I have sisters" said Jake. "Lots of sisters."
"Are you going to braid my hair again?" asked Natalie, her eyes closed.
"If you'd like me to, I can" said Jake.
"I would love it" said Natalie dreamily.
Chris kept the camera trained on Jake's hands as they wound through Natalie's hair. He gently separated the sections and expertly braided them together. When he finally finished he plucked a hairband from the table and easily secured the end of the braid before tucking it under itself.
"All done" said Jake.
"That was heavenly" said Natalie. "I think I could go back to sleep, I'm so relaxed.
Chris trained the camera on Natalie's blissed out expression.
"That is a money shot" he murmured as he turned off the camera.
The deckhands of the Northwestern were in full zombie mode, no one was talking. The crew had been working for almost 24 hours stepping off deck only for two meal breaks. The temperature had dropped to bellow freezing and everyone was probably in stage one hypothermia. They only had one more string of pots to go before the boat would be loaded and they could head in to St. Paul. Sig was counting up his crab total for a string when the radio crackled to life.
"Coast Guard this is the fishing vessel Time Bandit, over."
Sig sat up, turning up the radio as loud as it went, the voice on the radio was Jonathan's . While it wasn't odd to hear his voice on the radio during King Crab it was very out of character during Opies, since that is when his brother Andy takes over as captain.
"Go ahead Time Bandit" said the Coast Guard.
"We've had an accident and need help" said Jonathan.
"What is your location?" asked the Coast Guard.
The coordinates were given and Sig realized that Jonathan was just north of where the Northwestern was fishing.
"We have a gushing head wound and maybe a broken arm or something" said Jonathan.
"Roger, we can dispatch a helo now, but based on your location and the winds it wouldn't reach your vessel for close to 15 hours. Do you think the crew members can do basic first aid?" asked the Coast Guard.
"We've done all we can, with the knowledge we have" said Jonathan.
"Roger" said the Coast Guard curtly.
There was a few moments of silence before the radio crackled to life again.
"Northwestern this is the Coast Guard. We need to speak to Natalie Moore immediately."
Sig picked up the radio with an angry flourish.
"She is on deck" he barked.
"We need her to assist on the fishing vessel Time Bandit, it is an emergency" said the Coastie.
"Roger, just a moment" said Sig angrily.
He picked up the hailer and demanded Natalie come up to the wheelhouse. While she was on her way Jonathan's voice filtered into the radio.
"Sig, it's Jon. We can send you a guy or two if you will send her" begged Jonathan. "I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't totally fucked up over here."
"How are you going to send me guys?" asked Sig.
"Larry's filming up here with us, I'll send the guys with him and then you just send her back" said Jonathan.
"We're going in for an offload after the next string" said Sig.
"We can trade them back when we meet in St. Paul" said Jonathan.
"Northwestern, this is an emergency situation" said the Coast Guard, effectively cutting off both Sig and Jonathan.
"Fine, send two guys and I'll get her ready to go" said Sig.
"Roger" replied Jonathan. "I owe you man."
Natalie arrived in the wheelhouse a moment later, looking slightly worse for wear.
"What's up?" she asked.
"Grab your gear, you are going to the Time Bandit" said Sig.
"What?" asked Natalie.
"You're going to the Time Bandit, they had some sort of an accident and they need your help" said Sig.
"How am I getting there?" asked Natalie.
"The chase boat is coming to get you" said Sig.
"Ok" said Natalie. "How much time do I have?"
"Not much" said Sig.
"Enough time to shower?" asked Natalie.
"I don't know" said Sig. "Maybe?"
Natalie looked confused for a moment before she took a deep breath and her face went blank. Sig watched the emotion drop from her face before she turned and walked down the stairs.
An hour later Natalie was standing on the deck of the Northwestern. Sig had started to steam towards the Time Bandit's location in an effort to cut down the distance the Sea Star had to travel to meet them. At first Natalie was impressed by his thoughtfulness but Nick had told her that he was probably just in a hurry to get back to fishing. Natalie could see a faint set of lights in the distance and figured the chase boat was almost to them. She was wearing her rain gear and had a small bag of clothes along with her medical kit. The deck was pitching a bit more than it had been earlier and Natalie was nervous about crossing from one boat to the other. Jake had explained that they would probably use the crane to send her over. The boats were converging quickly and Natalie began to go through her mental checklist. By the time the Sea Star was in spitting distance Jake was tying a safety line around her waist and Norman was waiting at the hydros for the signal to hoist. Sig and Larry coordinated things from their wheelhouses and before too long Natalie was airborne. The actual transfer took less than 2 minutes but to Natalie it seemed much longer. By the time her feet hit the deck she was frozen solid from a combination of fear and cold. Her medical box was next and once it was on the deck she felt like everything would be fine. The duffle bag was the final delivery. Natalie hustled off deck, when she stepped into the galley she met the two crew members the Time Bandit had sent. She waved to both of them, not remembering either of their names.
"Take care of my brother" said one of them.
Natalie just nodded, unsure of what to say. She certainly couldn't promise anything, she didn't even know the extent of the injuries. The two crew members were transfered to the Northwestern and the Sea Star turned north. Natalie walked up to the wheelhouse and sat across from captain Larry Hendricks. The camera man on board was taking some exterior shots of the Northwestern as it shrank into nothing more than a tiny speck on the horizon.
"We should be there in a few hours" said Larry. "Why don't you try to get some sleep."
"Ok" replied Natalie. "Um, where should I go?"
"Use any stateroom, the bunks are all made up" said Larry with a smile.
"Thanks" said Natalie.
She disappeared downstairs and quickly found a bunk to sleep in.
A few hours later Natalie was standing on the deck of the Sea Star in what she considered a snowstorm. Larry had assured her that it was nothing and she would be on the deck of the Time Bandit in no time. They were approaching the other boat, the sodium lights gleaming in the distance. Natalie had spoke to Jonathan briefly about what injuries she would face when she got to the boat but he'd been less than helpful. He clearly had no medical training because every time she asked about something specific he had to ask her to simplify the question and even then he didn't have a clear answer. She'd double checked the medical supplies she had, familiarizing herself with where everything was in the case the situation was dire once she stepped on the Time Bandit.
"Natalie, get ready" said Larry over the hailer.
The deck of the Time Bandit loomed just ahead of the bow of the Sea Star. The camera man was filming both Natalie and the boats. The maneuvering necessary to get both Natalie and the stuff on the boat safely was going to make great television. The deck of the Time Bandit was empty and for a moment Natalie thought they were approaching a ghost ship. The door on the deck opened and a lone figure in orange rain gear walked slowly across the deck.
"OK, LETS GET HER ON DECK" yelled a voice over the Time Bandit's hailer.
Natalie walked to the edge of the deck and looked across the chasm between the boats. Someone had told the deck hand how they'd gotten Natalie from one boat to the other because the crane slowly began edging towards the Sea Star's deck. The weather was not cooperating and the pitching decks made it almost impossible to drop the crane to the deck. Natalie jumped up and caught the rope attached to the boom. She tied the medical supply box as tight as she could, double and then triple checking her knot.
"OK" she yelled. "THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, PLEASE DON'T DROP IT."
The figure working the crane nodded and then slowly pulled the cargo to the other side. Once the box was on deck he untied it and moved it under the sheltered awning. Natalie sighed in relief that the medical equipment had made it safely. Then she said a prayer that she would make it just as safely. The boom dropped as low to the deck as it could and Natalie tied the rope around herself before reaching up to grab onto the rubber part of the crane. She closed her eyes and started to count. She could feel her body being lifted and while the rope held some of her weight she didn't trust her knot to hold so she held herself up as much as possible. Halfway over the chasm a wave broke between the boats, pushing them apart. The deck of the Sea Star moved farther away and when Natalie looked down she saw nothing but water. She looked up at the crane and beyond it at all the beautiful stars and thought in a moment of slight panic that this wasn't such a terrible thing to look at before dying. Then her feet hit the deck and she crumpled into a shaking heap. Strong arms picked her up and half dragged her under the small shelter.
"Are you ok?" asked the deckhand.
Natalie tried to say something but no sound came out of her mouth so she settled on nodding.
"My name is Josh, we need to get inside, the guys really need your help" said the deckhand.
Natalie nodded again and started to struggle to her feet. The deckhand pulled her up and then grabbed the medical kit before steering her across the deck and in to the house.
***NOT A CLIFFHANGER, CHAPTER 44 IS ALREADY UP***