**Getting back into a longer story, this one has been sitting in my brain for a bit. Please read and review. Rating may increase in later chapters**

Victoria stood at the counter slowly eating her dinner, her eyes trained on the answering machine light. Impulsively she pressed play, the machine crackled a bit and then the voice of her agent began speaking.

Vicks,

I hope you've had enough time to lick your wounds. You knew it was going to happen though, no one marries their stylist and keeps the same staff that knew her when she was a stylist. I've got another job for you all lined up. It's for a group of guys and none of them have stylists. I'll send you over a few seasons of their show. They all do a lot of appearances and you are going to be their social coordinator and assistant. It's going to be a cake walk for you. You leave in two days so get your bags packed, you are going to Alaska so dress warm. I'll have a car pick you up on Wednesday at 9. Before you start dialing me back to say no, your old boss Thom Beers is asking specifically for you and hopes you consider this a personal favor to him. Watch the tapes, get a feel for the guys and call me when you get there. Bye.

Victoria looked disdainfully down at the message machine as if it had personally wronged her. It was a low blow for Tony to pull the personal favor card. She had no desire to go to Alaska, although she needed the work. Looking around her apartment she knew it wouldn't pay for itself, she was almost at the end of her severance pay from her last job. Glancing at the box that had arrived that afternoon she knew she should open it, but she really had no desire to see the guys she would be working for. Why couldn't Tony have found her a nice woman for her to work with, she snorted at the thought, women were never nice, at least in her experience. Sighing she put her dish in the sink and popped the first DVD into the player. Her mouth dropped open when she saw the opening footage. Crab Fisherman, she was going to be an assistant to a bunch of crab fisherman. Her fingers were dialing Tony's number before she'd even closed her mouth.

"Vicks" answered Tony.

"Is this some sort of joke?" she asked her voice slightly hysterical.

"Is what a joke?" asked Tony.

"These tapes you sent over, crab fishing, you want me to be an assistant to crab fishermen? Why do they need an assistant? What am I suppose to be doing for them, giving them blow jobs and getting themcoffee?" yelled Victoria.

"Victoria, get a hold of yourself. You won't be on the boats, you are meeting them up there to get to know them before the promotional tour starts. You are going to coordinate their appearances and their travel plans. The job will probably run for the summer, they have websites, clothing lines, merch stuff that needs to be tended to, you will also be doing that sort of thing." explained Tony.

Victoria turned back to the screen watching the guys moving around on deck. She was surprised to learn they had merchandising lines and doubted they really needed an assistant.

"Vicks are you still there?" said Tony.

"Yes. I'm still here, just in shock. Why did Thom call in this favor?" asked Victoria.

"Because, he says they need a little wrangling and you are just the girl to do it. Victoria, listen to me I think you need to get out of LA. I haven't heard from you for weeks, you've been sulking about getting fired. I bet your icebox is full of ice cream." said Tony.

"Shut it Tony." said Victoria as she walked to extract a pint of mint chocolate cookie Ben and Jerry's from her freezer. "Fine, I suppose I'll call you from Anchorage when I arrive."

"Vicks, you are going to Dutch Harbor in Unalaska." said Tony.

"Well wherever I end up I'll call you" said Vicky hanging up the phone. Turning up the sound on the tv she watched one of the guys throw a flaming hook into the ocean. "What the hell am I getting myself into." she said to herself.

The plane touched down in Dutch Harbor after only two attempts. The pilot turned around and looked at Victoria before giving her a thumbs up. Victoria looked up from her magazine and smiled.

"I thought you'd be screaming your head off on that last pass but you were as cool as a cucumber." said the pilot.

"I've been on a lot of small planes, and if it's my time it's my time" said Victoria.

"Good luck out there, watch your step it's icy" said the pilot opening the door.

"Thanks for the warning" said Victoria grabbing her carryon. She walked into the tiny airport pulling her suitcase behind her and looked around. Tony had said someone from the Discovery crew would pick her up and take her to the hotel.

"You must be Victoria" said a guy bundled in a coat, cap and gloves. Thrusting out his hand for her to shake he continued "I'm Mark, the executive producer."

"Nice to meet you" said Victoria.

"Well now that the niceties are over, lets go" said Mark immediately turning around and heading to the door. Victoria followed after him wondering where he went to charm school. He walked out to an SUV and tossed her suitcase in the trunk before getting into the driver seat, Victoria gracefully slid into the passenger seat and put on her seatbelt. When she turned to look at Mark she saw him staring at her tight covered legs. Looking up into her eyes he smirked.

"I hope you brought something warmer than that to wear up here" he said haughtily.

"I'm sure I'll be fine" said Victoria placing her bag over her legs.

"Whatever, I'm just trying to help you out." said Mark.

"So what do you do up here?" asked Victoria.

"I'm the EP up here and I coordinate the embedded producers and the line producers" said Mark proudly.

"Sounds interesting" said Victoria.

"So, who did you piss off to get sent up here?" asked Mark.

"I'm doing it as a personal favor" said Victoria.

"Oh really, well you must have owed them big time because these guys are animals, they are going to eat you alive" said Mark.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence" said Victoria.

They pulled up in the front of the Aleutian Hotel. Victoria was impressed it looked like a nice 4 star hotel. Walking into the lobby her expectations were confirmed, it was a beautifully appointed hotel. She received her room key and Mark walked her up to her room. Opening the door it looked like a pretty standard hotel room, she set her suitcase in her closet and turned back to Mark who was sitting on the bed.

"You got a really nice room. Ready to go down to the dock?" he asked.

"Sure, let me grab my stuff" said Victoria, quickly packing her laptop and a few notebooks into a bag. She was ready a minute later and Mark was still laying on the bed. "I'm ready."

"Wow, you're fast for a girl" said Mark standing up. Victoria just rolled her eyes and followed Mark out of the room.

The SUV pulled up next to a black boat with a skull and crossbones on the front. Victoria knew it was the Time Bandit before she even saw the name painted on the side. Mark jumped out of the car and scurried towards the boat, hopping effortlessly over the side. Victoria slowly got out of the passenger seat and walked to the edge of the dock. She stared down onto the deck which from her vantage point looked miles away. Two men emerged from a door and walked out onto the deck. Mark was talking animatedly to them and pointing in Victoria's direction.

"Well are you coming down or what?" asked one of them. Victoria took a deep breath and stepped onto the railing of the boat. She balanced their for a second before sitting down on the railing then dropping to the deck. Double checking she was uninjured she walked over to the guys.

"Hi, I'm Victoria" she said holding out her hand.

"I'm Andy Hillstrand" said Andy shaking her hand.

"I'm Jonathon" said Jonathon shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you both" said Victoria.

"Come inside and we will try to get you thawed out." said Andy taking her hand. Feeling Andy's warm hand holding hers made her realize how cold she actually was.

Victoria found herself sitting in the galley sipping a very hot cup of coffee and listening to Mark talk with the captains and the embedded crew. Andy and Jonathon both seemed nice enough, they had provided her with some general ideas of what they would need her to do. Mainly help to streamline their website and clothing sales. She pulled out her laptop and gingerly pulled up their website, making notes about what she could do to make it work better. She asked if they had any samples of their clothing line and they said just the shirts they wore. They looked pretty standard and since they already had a manufacturer making them it would be easy to increase or decrease orders based on demands. She showed them their show promotion schedule and went over the dates they would need to be places and if they had any personal vacations planned. Once all the business was out of the way the guys began peppering her with questions.

"You are really organized" said Jonathon.

"I have to be, especially since I don't have just one client I have a dozen" said Victoria.

"So Victoria have you ever been on a boat like this?" asked Andy.

"Nope" said Victoria.

"Would you like a tour?" asked Jonathon.

"Sure" answered Victoria. The next hour was spent going through the boat seeing the different staterooms, the wheelhouse, the engine room, a look into the crab tanks and finally the sauna. Victoria was hesitant to come out of the sauna because it was probably the first time she'd been really warm since she got off the plane. When they returned to the wheelhouse one of the camera guys told her that Mark had left and that she would have to find her own way back to the hotel. Victoria just shrugged.

"We were just heading to the bar, why don't you join us" suggested Jonathon.

"Sounds like fun" she said. Walking back out onto the deck she stared at the distance from the deck to the dock.

"Don't worry, we'll help you" said Andy hopping up to the dock. Victoria was picked up by Jonathon and Andy was able to grab her wrists and hoist her onto the dock. "Tada" said Andy when her feet hit the dock.

"Thank you" said Victoria.

"Anytime" said Jonathon jumping onto the dock behind her. The trio walked together to the bar.

Inside the Elbow Room the crew of the Time Bandit was already well into their drinks. When Andy and Jonathon walked into the bar with a leggy girl in a skirt and tights they knew their night just got a little more interesting. Jonathon and Andy walked Victoria over to the crew and introduced her.

"Hi everyone" said Victoria smiling at each guy.

"Wow, I've never seen such a pretty girl in Dutch before" said Scotty.

"Thanks for the compliment" said Victoria.

"She's the new personal assistant for the Deadliest Catch" explained Andy. "So treat her nice."

"So you are all of our assistant?" asked Shea.

"Kind of, but don't get any ideas that I'm going to be bringing you coffee or picking up your dry cleaning." said Victoria jokingly.

"Who has dry cleaning up here" laughed Eddie.

"What do you want to drink?" asked Jonathon.

"I'll have a crown and coke" answered Victoria.

"Good choice" said Jonathon before walking to the bar. Victoria took a seat next to Andy and tried to get to know the crew a little better. Jonathon brought her drink and she sipped it slowly enjoying her new employers. She hoped the rest of the crews were this nice. Neil slid in next to her and asked her where she was from and what she was doing in Alaska. Victoria explained the personal favor and her agents insistence that she needed to get out of LA.

"Did you kill someone there?" asked Neil.

"No, but it's definitely crossed my mind" said Victoria with a smile. Andy tapped her leg to get her attention.

"Hey, it's starting to snow, so we should probably get you back to your hotel." he said.

"Sounds good" said Victoria sliding out of the booth and straightening her skirt. Andy led her outside to a truck and helped her inside. They took off slowly towards the hotel. Victoria stared out the window the entire time. Pulling the car into the hotel parking lot Andy walked around and opened the door for Victoria.

"Thank you" said Victoria taking his hand to hop down. She looked up to the sky and opened her mouth catching a snow flake on her tongue.

"Is this the first time you've ever seen it snow?" asked Andy.

"Yes, I've been in snow skiing and stuff but I've never actually seen it fall. It's beautiful" said Victoria.

"Well I'm sure you are going to see a lot more snow while you are up here." said Andy leading her towards the door of the hotel. He walked her up to her room and then kissed her chastely on the cheek telling her that they boat was leaving tomorrow for their second trip. Victoria wished them good luck on their catch and looked forward to seeing everyone when they got back. Closing the door Victoria quickly changed into her nightgown and slipped into bed.

The next few days were spent working on the Time Bandits website and clothing sales. She'd managed to contact Jonathon's ex-girlfriend who'd originally set up the site and who happily gave Victoria the passwords and script she needed to update it. Victoria was surprised to see how many personal messages were sent to the website and decided to start a note to the crew section. She'd just finished testing the message center when there was a knock at her door. Getting up she opened the door and saw Captain Sig Hansen standing in the hallway.

"Are you Victoria?" he asked gruffly.

"Yes" she answered.

"Lets go, I'm missing part of the offload." he said.

"Ok, give me a minute." said Victoria inviting Sig into the room. She quickly shoved her laptop and notebooks back into her satchel, then put on her coat and grabbed her hat and gloves. Her boots were the last thing to be put on before she announced she was ready to go. Sig looked her up and down and nodded his approval. The ride to the docks was very informative. Sig explained that the Northwestern had a website and clothing line which partnered with Helly Hansen. They did signings at the Helly store all the time and had a few set up for the summer. Victoria took notes in her notebook as they drove. Sig watched her out of the corner of his eye wondering what she was doing here. Victoria looked very out of place in Dutch Harbor, in fact the rumor mill was already spinning out stories about why she was here. Her visit to the Elbow room with the TB crew had not gone unnoticed. Pulling up at the dock Sig leaned over and opened the door for her. He watched as she gracefully slid out of the seat her feet sinking into the ankle deep snow. Victoria walked carefully towards the Northwestern, quickly getting use to walking on the uneven snow covered dock.

Edgar and Jake were on the deck watching the scales and marking down the brailer weights when they heard Sig yell from the dock.

"Edgar, how's it going?" asked Sig.

"It's good" said Edgar turning to look at Sig. His eyes stopped on the girl standing on the dock next to his oldest brother. She looked like she'd just stepped out of a movie. Her hair was tucked into a knit cap with wisps of caramel colored hair framing her face. She was wearing jeans and a sweater that hugged her figure.

"Who's she?" asked Jake.

"I have no idea" answered Edgar walking towards the dock. He stopped just under where Victoria was standing. She looked down at him and smiled. Sig jumped down onto the deck and looked up expectantly at Victoria.

"You have permission to come aboard, if that's what you're waiting for" said Sig. Victoria took a step onto the rail and then sat down on it. Edgar held his arms up and she dropped herself into them. The second Edgar caught her he smelled her shampoo and felt how soft and curvy she was. Setting her down gently he made sure she was steady before he released her.

"Thank you, I'm still getting use to getting down onto a deck" said Victoria.

"No problem." said Edgar.

"I'm Victoria, your new personal assistant." said Victoria sticking out her hand. Edgar pulled off his glove before shaking her gloved hand.

"Edgar, deck boss" said Edgar.

"Nice to meet you." said Victoria before walking over to where Sig was standing with Jake. She didn't say anything until he turned to look at her.

"Well, personal assistant, what do you need to know." he asked.

"I have your promotion schedule, I can make any updates to the boats website or work on any merch problems you have. I'm really here to help with any business that you can't handle when you are out at sea" explained Victoria.

"So what do you know about crab fishing in general and this fishing vessel in particular" asked Sig.

"Crabs are caught in pots that can weight up to 800 pounds, adult male crabs are the only permissible type to be caught and must be at least 10 inches across at their widest point. Each boat or coop is given a specific quota which is part of the rationalization guidelines. The Northwestern was built in Seattle in 1977, it's been lengthened twice and is currently 125 feet long and can carry as many as 250 pots, it's been owned and operated by the Hansen family since it's purchase."

"Alright, you've clearly done your homework" said Sig. "So what will you be doing for us?"

Victoria mentally sighed. "I will do anything for you, with in reason." she said.

"Will you cook for us?" asked Sig.

"Yes" said Victoria.

"Are you a good cook?" asked Sig suspiciously.

"Yes, I've gone to culinary school" said Victoria.

"What about laundry, will you do our laundry?" asked Sig.

"I suppose I could. Although I'm not a maid." said Victoria. She had a feeling he'd have her cleaning the bathroom if she didn't give him some limitations.

"Well lets start with dinner, let me show you to the galley" said Sig. Victoria followed him through the door and into the galley. Taking off her jacket, hat and gloves she laid them down on the bench.

"Can I use whatever I want?" she asked Sig.

"Sure" said Sig. Victoria walked into the galley and quickly found the vegetables and a small freezer with an insane amount of meat in it. She found some lamb and quickly decided to make lamb stew with herbed rice.

Matt walked into the galley to start dinner and was shocked to see a girl chopping vegetables. He watched her quietly wondering who she was. Sig made it a rule not to have women on the boat while they were fishing and he wondered who this exception to the rule was. He heard the deck door open and saw Edgar shucking off his sweatshirt. Without saying a word he pointed to the girl in the kitchen, Edgar shrugged and mouthed something that Matt couldn't understand. Edgar brushed past him and headed to his stateroom. Matt finally decided if he wanted answers he was going to have to ask the girl himself.

"Hi" said Matt walking up behind her. He got no response and realized that the girl was listening to her ipod. He waited until she put down the knife before tapping her on the shoulder. Victoria jumped a mile and stifled a scream. Ripping out her earbuds she turned around.

"Hi, I'm Matt."

"Hi, I'm Victoria."

"Whatcha making?" asked Matt.

"Lamb stew with herb rice" answered Victoria.

"Why?" asked Matt.

"Because it's really good and I've made it a bunch of times so I can make substitutions if necessary." answered Victoria.

"No, I meant why are you cooking." said Matt.

"Because Sig asked me. I'm the new assistant" said Victoria.

"Boat Assistant?" asked Matt.

"No, deadliest catch assistant. A personal assistant for all the boats to help with appearances, website content, etc." said Victoria.

"Then why are you cooking?" asked Matt.

"I don't really know." said Victoria turning back to the stove.

"Nice to meet you Victoria" said Matt. After Matt's visit word spread to the rest of the crew that they had a new assistant and she was cooking dinner. Victoria became the newest attraction on the boat getting multiple visits from every single member of the crew. Dinner was cooking on the stove and Victoria settled herself at the galley table and started to work on her computer. She first updated her date book with the Helly Hansen appearances that Sig had told her about then updated her personal file on the crew of the Northwestern. She was just checking her email when Edgar walked in.

"Dinner done already?" he asked.

"Nope, it needs to cook a little longer" said Victoria.

"Nice laptop" said Edgar sliding in beside her.

"Thanks" said Victoria.

"How do you get internet on this boat?" he asked surprised to see her yahoo account up.

"With this" she said pointing to her wireless internet card.

"How far out does it work?" asked Edgar.

"I don't know the farthest I've tried it is here and the Time Bandit yesterday." said Victoria. She moved through her email then synched up her phone to update her date book. Disconnecting her phone she set it down on the table. Edgar immediately picked it up and started playing with it.

"You've got a lot of stuff on this phone" he said flipping through her date book.

"My whole professional and personal life in a tiny silver square" said Victoria with a smile.

Dinner was a success and everyone enjoyed the food. The offload ended right before 8, so the crew was able to eat all together. Victoria was able to meet everyone and chat with them about what they thought about personal appearances and their websites. She got Edgar, Norman and Matt's myspace and facebook passwords so she could update them and add content at the guys requests. Jake took her on a tour of the boat showing her everyone's quarters and all the interworkings of the boat. Edgar drove her back to the hotel and walked her up to her room. He followed her in and sat down on the bed.

"So, personal assistant Victoria, you learned a lot about us tonight but we didn't really learn anything about you."

"Well, I'm 31, I've been a personal assistant for 10 years to a few different people. Most notably to you would be the creator of Deadliest Catch Thom Beers" said Victoria. "I'm doing this as a personal favor to him and because my agent thinks it will be good for me to be away from Hollywood."

"What happened in Hollywood?" asked Edgar.

"I got fired when my previous boss married his stylist. She fired everyone who knew her when she wasn't married to him. It's pretty common, but it still hurt" said Victoria.

"Well that sucks" said Edgar.

"It sure does, but it's over and now I'm here" said Victoria.

"I for one am glad you are, you add a little class to our little corner of the world" said Edgar with a smile. "See you when we get back in."

"Have a safe trip" said Victoria walking Edgar to the door.