Natalie woke suddenly, the wisps of a dream were sitting just outside her conscious mind. Sitting up in the bunk she realized the boat felt different. It was quiet and seemed to be still. Smiling to herself she realized that they must have arrived in St. Paul harbor. She scrambled out of bed and headed towards the wheelhouse. The hallway was empty and as she peered into the rooms as she passed she saw that the crew was still in bed.
"Weird" she mumbled to herself.
Taking the stairs 2 at a time she rushed into the wheelhouse and was surprised to see Mike Fourtner sitting in the captain's chair. He seemed just as surprised to see her.
"Wow, hey" said Mike.
"Are we in St. Paul?" asked Natalie.
"Not exactly" said Mike.
Natalie looked past him, through the large windows. The sky was dark and the twinkle of lights in the distance told her they were close to land.
"Why are we stopped?" asked Natalie.
"The harbor is closed" said Mike.
"Why? Did something happen?" asked Natalie.
"It's choked with ice, no boats can get in or out" explained Mike.
"So we're here, but can't get in?" asked Natalie.
"Yep" said Mike.
"Well that's frustrating" said Natalie.
"Yep" said Mike.
"How long will we be stuck waiting out here?" asked Natalie.
"Until the ice flows back out" said Mike. "Probably a little longer, because other boats will get to offload before we do."
"Is the Northwestern in the harbor?" asked Natalie.
"I don't think so" said Mike. "I can call them on the radio and find out."
"No, that's ok" said Natalie. "It's not important."
"The harbor's been closed for a couple of days so they could have made it in" said Mike. "Maybe Jon knows."
"I suppose I can ask him when I see him" said Natalie.
"By the way, nice outfit" said Mike.
Natalie looked down and realized that she was still wearing the leopard print dress Scott had placed on her bed the night before.
"Thanks" said Natalie. "I'm sure it looks better with the proper accessories."
"Like what?" said Mike.
"Oh, I don't know" said Natalie. "A bra, underwear, some shag me shoes..."
"Well, that is the type of conversation I like to walk in on" said Jonathan from the doorway.
Natalie dropped her head to her chest and sighed.
"Hi, Jonathan" she mumbled.
"I may have some of those shoes you're talking about" said Jonathan with a wink.
"Um, no thanks" said Natalie. "I can barely walk around on this boat as it is."
"Hey Jon, is the Northwestern in the harbor?" asked Mike.
"Nope" said Jon. "Sig went to Dutch to unload."
"Why?" asked Mike.
"I guess because the harbor was closed" said Jon. "He was probably anxious to make his offload date."
Natalie just nodded, wondering when she would be able to see Sig and the rest of the Northwestern crew again.
"Well we have nothing but time, I can call him on the radio and you can talk to him if you want" said Jonathan.
"I don't want to bother him" said Natalie. "I'm sure he's fine."
"Fourtner, you are free to go" said Jonathan.
"Great, I'm going to make breakfast" said Mike.
"Take your time" said Jonathan. "We aren't going anywhere."
Natalie turned to follow Mike down the stairs but stopped when she heard Jonathan sigh heavily.
"Are you ok Jonathan?" asked Natalie.
"Yeah, just a crick in my neck from filling out the offload paperwork" said Jonathan.
"I can help with that" said Natalie.
She walked behind Jonathan and started to massage the knots from his neck.
"That feels great" said Jonathan.
"Good" said Natalie soothingly.
The night closed in quickly and the deck of the Time Bandit was illuminated by the harsh glare of sodium lights. Natalie sat bundled up on the sorting table staring at the distant lights of St. Paul island. The guys were playing cards in the galley but Natalie had put off their jovial attempts to get her to join them. Jonathan and Andy were discussing numbers in the wheelhouse and she could almost make out their shadows from where she was sitting.
"If you sit out there much longer your ass is going to freeze to that table" said Andy's voice over the hailer.
Natalie waved a hand in response and went back to watching the lights. Taking a deep breath she watched as her breath clouded in the cold night air.
"What's wrong?" asked Andy, this time from right next to her.
"Nothing" replied Natalie, her eyes fixed on the harbor lights.
"It's weird that it's so close and we can't get to it" said Andy.
"Yeah" said Natalie.
Andy slid onto the table next to her trying to fit his legs onto the table. He struggled for a moment before just letting them dangle awkwardly over the edge.
"That looks terribly uncomfortable" said Natalie.
"It is, but I don't want you to be out here by yourself" said Andy.
"I'll be perfectly safe" said Natalie. "Nothing is going to get me, it's flat calm out here and the nearest boat is like a thousand kilometers away."
"Um, I don't think it's quite that far" said Andy.
Natalie shot him a challenging look.
"But I could be wrong" said Andy, his palms up.
"I'm fine" said Natalie.
"You seem sad" said Andy. "We have a rule about sad girls on this boat."
"What's the rule?" asked Natalie warily.
"No sad girls allowed" said Andy.
"So, what do you just chuck them overboard if they are seized with a fit of melancholy?" asked Natalie.
"Uh, no" said Andy. "We cheer them up. Everyone leaves the Time Bandit with a smile on their face."
"Do you think the smile is just from the relief of getting off the boat?" asked Natalie, a cheeky grin on her face.
"Very funny" said Andy.
He reached awkwardly to grab her and Natalie slid just out of his reach. He regrouped and reached for her again. This time Natalie scooted off the sorting table, making a quick escape.
"If I wasn't injured I could catch you" said Andy.
"I sort of doubt it" said Natalie. "I'm a lot faster than I look."
"But I know this boat like the back of my hand" said Andy.
"I'm still faster than you" said Natalie.
"But I would find you" said Andy.
"Whatever you say" said Natalie dismissively.
"I propose a challenge" said Andy, his voice booming officially.
"What sort of challenge?" asked Natalie.
"A game of hide and seek" said Andy.
"Like the children's game?" said Natalie warily.
"Yes, I'll count to 100 while you hide and then I'll find you" said Andy.
"That sounds... kind of fun" said Natalie.
"Alright, I'm going to start counting" said Andy.
Natalie smiled and darted off towards the bow of the boat.
Three hours later and Andy was loosing all patience with Natalie. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of her since he'd covered his eyes on deck to start counting. He enlisted the rest of the crew after an hour of searching and yet no one had found her. He was starting to get worried she'd fallen overboard and they just hadn't noticed. The guys were calling in on the boat phones telling Jonathan where they'd checked.
"Where the fuck could she fucking be" groused Andy. "I helped fucking build this fucking boat and I can't find one fucking girl."
"Are you sure you checked everywhere we use to hide?" asked Jonathan.
"I've gone through every single nook and cranny on this boat" said Andy. "Why don't you get up and help."
"I'm coordinating the effort from up here" said Jonathan. "Why don't you check the staterooms again. Maybe she's moving around."
"Moving around?!" yelled Andy. "That's cheating."
He reached over Jonathan's head and grabbed the hailer.
"YOU CAN'T MOVE AROUND NATALIE! ONE HIDING SPOT!" he shouted.
Andy dropped the radio and stormed out of the room.
"I think by the time he finds you he's going to kill you" muttered Jonathan.
"I'm hoping he'll be too tired to do any real damage" said Natalie.
Jonathan looked down at his feet. Natalie was crouched up in a little ball, hiding below the radar display. She'd been there the whole time and Jonathan couldn't help but think she was going to need a massage when she finally got up.
"Aren't you getting tired?" asked Jonathan.
"No man, this is the most fun I've ever had on a boat" said Josh from behind him.
Jonathan spun the chair around in an attempt to block Josh's view of his little stowaway.
"No kidding" said Jonathan with an easy smile. "Where's Andy?"
"Flipping the mattresses off the beds in all the staterooms" said Josh.
"Where do you think she is?" asked Jon.
"I don't know, but wherever she might be I hope she's safe and warm" said Josh. "It started snowing again."
Jonathan looked out the window and saw the snow flurries swirling around on the deck. He realized that Fourtner and Scotty were both out combing the deck in search of Natalie.
"Josh, go tell them to come inside" said Jonathan. "I think this little game has gone on long enough."
"Roger" replied Josh.
Once he left the wheelhouse Natalie emerged from her hidey hole. She stretched and rolled her neck, wincing as her vertebrae cracked ominously.
"Find a place to be found" said Jonathan.
"Ok" said Natalie.
Andy slammed his head against the wall as he stood just inside the galley. He was going to have to admit defeat. Natalie had bested him at his own game on his own boat. The taste of failure was bitter in his mouth. With a sigh he trudged up the stairs to the wheelhouse. A flicker of movement caught his attention as he passed the captain's quarters. He took a step into Jonathan's stateroom and flicked on the light. His eyes widened as he saw Natalie's feet poking out from the end of the blanket.
"Well, well, well" said Andy. "Look who we have here."
He ripped the blanket off of Natalie's prone form and immediately climbed onto the bed, trapping her legs under him.
"What took you so long?" asked Natalie between giggles.
"You weren't here when I checked earlier" said Andy.
"I know, but I didn't think you'd ever find me in my other hiding spot and I was getting a stiff neck" said Natalie.
"Where were you?" asked Andy, his voice just a whisper.
"I'll never tell" said Natalie.
"I can torture it out of you" said Andy.
Natalie raised an eyebrow in response and Andy responded by pinning her arms above her head.
"Tell me" said Andy, his teeth clenched.
Natalie just shook her head.
Andy pressed both her wrists into one of his hands and let the other trail down Natalie's side.
"Then I suppose I'll just have to tickle it out of you" said Andy.
"I wouldn't recommend it" said Natalie.
"Why's that?" asked Andy, his hands skimming Natalie's ribs.
"Because I haven't gone to the toilet in almost four hours and I don't want to piss in Jonathan's bed" said Natalie.
"I won't mind" said Andy.
"I'm sure you won't but I'm sure he will and I'll tell him it's all your fault" said Natalie defiantly.
"Let me tell you, it won't be the first or last time someone pees in this bed" said Andy.
A look of disgust and horror crossed Natalie's face before she let out a piercing scream. Jonathan and Scott were in the room in less than a second, pulling Andy off of Natalie.
"What the fuck are you doing?" asked Scotty.
"Nothing" said Andy, rubbing his shoulder.
"It sure doesn't look like nothing" said Jonathan.
"I was going to tickle her into telling me where she was hiding" explained Andy. "Then she said she was going to pee in your bed. So I explained to her that many people have already done that before and she just started screaming."
Natalie had stripped off her sweatshirt and pants all the while mumbling about disgusting boys.
"No need to get all crazy" said Jonathan. "I replace the sheets after every incident."
"That is just foul" said Natalie.
She stalked out of the room in a flurry of mumbled cursing.