Natalie stood on the frosted deck of the Time Bandit. She was helping Scott, Josh and Travis clear the deck of ice. They were a few hours away from the northern string which was in peril thanks to a quick moving ice pack. They'd already moved through a small ice flow that had detached from the main pack. The last few days on the Time Bandit had been interesting to say the least. The guys had been very solicitous to Natalie, she'd had breakfast in the wheelhouse and each guy had offered her their warmest sweatshirts. They asked about how she was feeling and she'd been given more neck and shoulder massages in a two day span than she'd had in the last year. While she was sure there was a reason behind all of it, Natalie preferred the ignorance is bliss approach.
"Ok, lets clear the bow" said Jonathan from the wheelhouse. "Keep Natalie down stairs, she can work on the bait table."
Natalie moved where she was commanded and started to chisel away at the thick ice on the metal table. The scraping sound of metal on metal put her teeth on edge. The waves crashed over the bow of the boat sending rivulets of freezing spray all the way to the wheelhouse.
"Watch out guys" yelled Jonathan over the hailer.
A wave crashed over the rail covering the deck in green water. Natalie held on to the table with all her strength as the surge of water threatened to pull her off her feet. It took her a moment to right herself once the water slowed but by then she was soaked from head to toe.
"Is everyone accounted for?" asked Jonathan.
Natalie raised her hand and then waited for the guys to come down from the bow. It took an eternity but eventually all three guys appeared.
"That's enough de-icing for now" said Jonathan. "Come in and dry off."
A few hours later the boat was slowly picking it's way through small icebergs as the crew sought out their pots. So far they'd loaded two onto the boat. Natalie was fairly certain she was partially frozen. She and Josh were taking turns popping in and out of the shelter, but all eyes were needed on deck to find the small orange buoys.
"I think my eyes are frozen" complained Natalie.
"Open or shut?" asked Scott.
"What?" asked Natalie.
"Are they frozen open or frozen shut?" clarified Scott.
"Um, open" said Natalie.
"Well that's better than having them frozen shut" said Scott cheerfully.
"If you say so" replied Natalie.
"I see it" yelled Josh.
And there it was, a lone buoy off the stern surrounded by huge chunks of ice. Natalie watched as Jonathan slowly maneuvered the boat as close as he could get. Once in tossing distance Travis heaved the heavy hook towards the small amount of line that was in open water. It was like threading a needle, blind.
"Can you get me any closer?" asked Travis.
"Not if you want to keep afloat" said Jonathan.
After nearly twenty minutes of throwing, the hook finally found the line and slowly the pot was brought aboard. Natalie stepped to the table and started to sort the crab. The pot was half full and most of the catch were keepers. It was a small bright spot in an otherwise crappy day.
It took the better part of twenty hours to pull the first string of pots. The going had been slow and by the time the crew walked off deck they were thinking only of bed. But as they walked through to the ready room the smell of roasted meat filled the passage. Stripping out of their rain gear at lightning speed three guys and one girl tumbled into the galley. Mike was standing at the stove stirring a pot.
"Mike" said Natalie in utter astonishment. "You shouldn't be up."
"You guys must be starving" said Mike. "I just wanted to help get a hot meal in you."
"It smells awesome" said Josh.
"Sit down" said Mike. "Dinner is already on the table."
The galley table was piled with food. There was a rib roast, potatoes, carrots, salad and rolls. Natalie scooted all the way in and began serving herself a plate. Once it was piled with food she began eating with gusto, she stopped chewing only when drinking. The conversation around her was just a din, if people were speaking to her she couldn't hear them. Her goal was to eat and then sleep. She was still dressed in her yoga pants and sweatshirt, both of which were slightly damp. Her bag, which was still on the Sea Star, held long underwear, wool socks and hand warmers. The extra clothes on the boat that actually fit her were not really appropriate for cold weather. Her only saving grace was that Scott was willing to give her a pair of sweats. While he was the closest to her size his clothes were still baggy.
"Natalie, I left an extra pair of sweats on your bunk" said Scotty.
"Thank you" said Natalie, then she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"Where's Andy?" asked Travis.
"He and Jon already ate" said Mike.
"Does that mean we can eat the rest of what's left on the table?" asked Josh.
"Have at it man, you guys deserve it" said Mike.
Everyone helped themselves to the rest of the food before cleaning up.
Natalie walked down the hallway, she'd just tossed her clothes into the dryer and was currently doing her best to keep Scotty's borrowed sweats on her hips. She had already checked on Mike's pain level and his stitches. He was healing well and hopefully the scaring would be minimal. Her final stop before falling into her bunk was Andy's room. From what she'd heard he'd been up today for a couple of hours and had eaten dinner with Jonathan, both were positive signs he was on the mend. Natalie took a deep breath and walked into the room.
"Hi Andy" said Natalie. "How are you feeling today?"
"Oh hey Natalie" said Andy distractedly.
He was sitting up in bed and frowning over some figures on a notebook. Natalie settled herself on the edge of the bed and waited for Andy to finish what he was doing. After a moment or two she laid down and closed her eyes. Andy's eyes swept from the notebook to the sleeping body next to him. He smiled at her choice of outfit. The too big sweats were riding down low on her hips and the Time Bandit shirt was inching up, which combined to expose a huge swath of creamy skin.
"What are you doing here Natalie?" asked Andy softly.
"Checking on the shoulder" mumbled Natalie, her eyes straining to open.
"It feels much better" said Andy. "I can lift it a little more today."
"That's smashing" said Natalie, her voice heavy with sleep. "We'll start some PT tomorrow."
"Ok, whatever you want" said Andy.
"Cheers" said Natalie her eyes still closed, her breath coming slower.
"Get under the covers" said Andy, his voice slightly stern.
Natalie's head bobbed and she deftly pulled the covers out from under her and rolled under them. Andy tossed the notebook on the floor and turned towards his new bedmate. Careful not to strain his shoulder he puller her into the crook of his good arm. Gazing down at her sleeping face, her hair was loose and falling haphazardly around her head like a halo. His smile softened and he settled carefully into position next to her. He had things to discuss with Jonathan but for the moment he was going to take a little nap. His hand gently moved across the softness of her stomach, occasionally dipping into her bellybutton or up to her ribs. He knew she was exhausted and in this exhaustion she was probably completely at his mercy but he hesitated to do anything he couldn't talk his way out of. His eyes closed as the soft sounds of Natalie's breathing lulled him to sleep.
A few hours later Natalie woke slightly, shivering all over she sought the nearest heat source. Curling her body into Andy's side she slipped her arm up through the bottom of his shirt to feel his skin. Her leg slipped between his, her toes slipping into the top of his sock. Natalie rubbed her hand across Andy's fine dusting of chest hair, her hands slowly mapping the contours of his torso. The unexpected massage was causing Andy's body to react. Using his good arm he pulled Natalie astride him. Her face pillowed into his neck and her hot breath puffed into his ear. He pushed his hips up to grind himself against Natalie. His hand slipping into the back of her sweats and encountering only bare skin. Andy groaned in pleasure as he turned his head to capture Natalie's lips in a kiss. Natalie, still caught between sleep and wakefulness responded. Just as Andy's hands began to lift the hem of Natalie's shirt the boat phone rang.
"No" said Andy quietly. "Not now."
He picked up the phone angrily and whispered a litany of curses.
"Sorry brother, but we are skirting the edge of the ice pack and our pots are no where in sight" said Jonathan.
"Fuck" said Andy. "I'll be right up."
During the brief conversation Natalie had moved off of Andy, her eyes were open and she looked very dazed.
"Why am I in here?" she asked.
"You fell asleep while waiting for me to finish some paperwork" said Andy. "I didn't want to wake you."
"Oh, ok" said Natalie. "Is it time to get up?"
"No, stay here and go back to sleep" said Andy. "I have to see Jonathan in the wheelhouse."
"Everything ok?" asked Natalie, as she settled back to sleep.
"Yep" said Andy with a half smile.
Natalie half nodded and then she was back asleep. Andy moved a strand of hair behind her ear before hefting himself out of bed.
The Seattle rain was sheeting down outside of Natalie's home. Her sister Nicole sat glumly at the breakfast table watching the dismal weather forecast on the television. Edgar and his family had spent the weekend at the house. The children had loved playing in the toy filled playroom and Nicole had loved the life they'd brought to the house. Now it was empty again and seemed destined to stay that way until little Diana got over her cold. Antha had insisted they leave in order to prevent Nicole from getting sick. While Nicole understood the point and she appreciated the thoughtfulness it still meant she was back to being alone in a big empty house. She was never alone. She had people who until a month ago had done everything for her. Now in the quiet confines of this house she was well and truly on her own. Just as she was about to drag herself into a self pitying bowl of ice cream there was a knock at the door. Stumbling out of her seat she walked briskly to the door and swung it open. On the other side, looking like a drown rat in a parka was a woman Nicole had never seen before.
"Hello" said the girl. "Surprised to see me again?"
"I'm surprised to see you at all" said Nicole. "And I'm afraid I don't recognize you."
"You're joking" said the girl. "I'm Bishop, you stabbed me."
"Ah, yes" said Nicole feigning interest.
Her brain fired off a brief recollection of Natalie talking about what happened on the boat at dinner in Costa Rica. None of the actual conversation came back to Nicole, her memory fuzzy at best.
"So what are you doing here then?" asked Nicole, smiling awkwardly.
"I came to give you some news" said Bishop, her eyes narrowing.
Nicole stood quietly waiting for the news. The lack of response seemed to let some of the air out of Bishop's sails.
"Well" said Nicole, prompting the girl with her hand.
"I'm pregnant" blurted Bishop.
"Congratulations" said Nicole. "I can only assume I'm not the father."
"Well thank you very much for stopping by and telling me such exciting news" said Nicole, as she began to close the door.
"Wait" said Bishop, thrusting her hand into the door jam.
"What?" asked Nicole, exasperatedly. "Do you want a medal or something? People have been having babies since the dawn of time so really it's not a special skill or anything."
"Don't you want to know who the father is?" asked Bishop, her eyes alight with malice.
"No" said Nicole. "That's between you and the father."
Again Nicole tried to shut the door. Her brain was swirling with thoughts, all she wanted was a cup of tea and some time to figure them all out.
"It matters very much to you" said Bishop. "You are the reason I lost my job, but I'm going to get it back and make the Northwestern pay."
"Bully for you" said Nicole.
She was about to close the door when she stopped. She'd recognized the boat's name.
"How exactly are you going to make a boat pay?" asked Nicole.
"Well when you are carrying the heir to the Northwestern throne, you have quite a bargaining chip" said Bishop proudly.
"They aren't exactly royalty" said Nicole, chidingly. "They own fishing boat."
"Yeah, well what are you anyway?" spat Bishop.
Nicole's mouth was open, poised to tell this little guttersnipe exactly who she and her family was, then she shut it with a snap.
"You're right" said Nicole. "Good luck with your extortion."
"Sig may think he likes you but once he hears I'm carrying his child he'll drop you like the wench you are" said Bishop.
"You're nothing" said Nicole, her anger bubbling over. "Natalie is a thousand times better than you and you deserve what you get, which I guarantee will be nothing from Sig."
"Well if not Sig, then I can move on to Norman or maybe even Edgar" said Bishop hastily. "I've had them all."
"Then how do you know it's one of their babies?" challenged Nicole.
"Are you calling me a slut?" yelled Bishop.
"I didn't say you were a slut, I just implied that you don't sleep in your own bed very often" said Nicole evenly.
Bishop took a step forward.
"I don't think fighting is good for someone in your condition" said Nicole.
"You know what, you say what you want, it won't matter. I'll have my revenge" said Bishop before she turned and walked away.
"I'm sorry you were offended when I called you a whore, I didn't know it was a secret" said Nicole airily as she closed the door.
Staggering back to the kitchen Nicole sat down heavily on the kitchen stool and replayed the conversation back. The facts of who the girl at the door was began to fall into place. With a sigh she picked up the phone and called Antha's cell phone.
"Hello?" answered Antha.
"Hi Antha, it's Nicole."
"Hi Nicole, is everything ok?" asked Antha distractedly.
"Not really, I just had an odd visitor" said Nicole.
"Um, sorry Nicole, can I call you back. We are in the hospital with Diana, they think she has an infection or something" explained Antha.
"Of course, no it's not emergent" said Nicole. "Give little Diana a big hug for me, I hope she gets better soon."
Nicole quickly hung up the phone. She muttered a few curses and then picked up the phone again.
"Yes, hello" she said. "I need to book a flight to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, as soon as possible."
After the plans were set she trudged upstairs to pack a bag.