Disclaimer- I don't own Gilligan's Island or any of its characters!
Gilligan was sure that he couldn't say that he didn't still afraid after what had happened with Kincaid and have people believe him. The things that had happened while he had been hunted weren't the most pleasant and the thought that he thought he was going to be killed several times throughout the twenty-four hour period didn't help anything. Honestly this had caused Gilligan to be more cautious when Kincaid had left. It wasn't long before the nightmares stared and Gilligan had woken up because of these nightmares several times.
Within a couple weeks, Gilligan hadn't gotten too much sleep and, as a result, didn't have nearly the same amount of energy he once had. Even further, Gilligan had become more easy to snap at the others and, after realizing what he had done, he would pull away from the others for several hours. During this time, he hadn't been too willing to discuss what had happened. These things had resulted in the Skipper worrying more about Gilligan than what he already had been. Although he had seen some people act like this, it had been mainly in the Navy after the person had been in battle.
The others had tried to get Gilligan to talk with them, but he didn't seem too interested in talking. Instead, he would try to distract himself with what he could do, not wanting to think about what had happened with Kincaid.
One day, a little over two weeks after Kincaid had left, Gilligan had been struggling to get himself to eat. Although this had been the case plenty of times since Kincaid had left, he was struggling more than he had been and wouldn't look at any of the others or say too much. It had seemed almost as though Gilligan didn't want to see any pity the others might have had, but it had ended up resulting in more worry from the others. However, Gilligan didn't really like the idea of them worrying too much about him, especially now.
In an attempt to get Gilligan to eat more, Mary Ann had placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, finding it hard to ignore the way he tensed as she did this and the protective look the Skipper had given her a moment later. "I made a coconut cream pie for once you're done. I thought you might like that," Mary Ann told him, offering him a small smile.
Gilligan tried at a smile only a moment later, hoping that she wouldn't be too upset with him. "I'm not that hungry, Mary Ann, but thank you," Gilligan told Mary Ann, feeling bad when he saw the worried look in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I just haven't been too hungry lately."
Mary Ann sighed to herself as she nodded. Although she couldn't stand the fact that she couldn't get him to eat more, she didn't know what she could do. As Gilligan got up to head into another part of the island, worry filled the others' eyes. what was going on with Gilligan and what could they do to help him?
It wasn't long before the Professor approached the Skipper, a worried look in his eyes. "Skipper, I think something serious is going on with Gilligan. This isn't right and I think it'd be a good idea to talk to him about this," the Professor told the Skipper, forcing his voice to remain calm. "It might not fix it, but it might be a starting point."
Skipper looked at the Professor for a moment before nodding. This made sense, really, but how would that be started? "What do you think this could be, then?" If he were being honest, the Skipper was more than a bit worried about Gilligan and wanted to be sure that he would be alright.
"I can't know for sure, at least without talking with him, but how he's been acting is similar to acute stress reaction," the Professor told the Skipper. Skipper nodded at the Professor's words a moment later, not sure what to say to that. "Keep in mind that I can't diagnose anything. I do know some things we can do to help, but only if he's willing."
Gilligan had been walking by as the Professor had told the Skipper this, his eyebrows furrowing before hiding behind some trees so he could hear what the Professor would say without being seen. Did the Professor really think there was something wrong with him? The thought made Gilligan almost want to run and to escape any conversation there might be about this, but he couldn't get himself to.
"I can talk to him some if you'd like. I don't know how willing he'd be to talking, but I'll see," Skipper told the Professor, sighing to himself. Honestly, he was worried about how Gilligan had reacted since Kincaid had left the island, but wasn't sure how willing Gilligan would be to discussing what had happened.
Hearing this, Gilligan's hands closed into fists, not knowing what to think about this. Did they think that he couldn't handle what had happened with Kincaid? Even though he had been having nightmares and didn't quite feel safe, Gilligan knew that he didn't want to be pitied for what had happened. How did he know that the others weren't already doing that?
When Gilligan stepped out from behind the trees, looking between the Skipper and the Professor. "Maybe if either one of you had been hunted, you'd act the same way. Did you think about that?" Gilligan asked, a hint of frustration finding its way into his voice. As he spoke up once again, more frustration found its way into his voice. "Did you think that I might not want to talk to you about things because I don't want to be pitied or that I don't want any of you to worry about me?"
Skipper took a step toward Gilligan, resulting in Gilligan trying to back away from him, only to back into a tree. Gilligan closed his eyes tightly, wanting to get away, but not knowing where to go. After all, he didn't know if the Skipper was mad at him and wouldn't have blamed him if he were. Honestly, Gilligan wouldn't have blamed any of the others if they were mad at him.
"Gilligan, little buddy, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not," Skipper told Gilligan, making sure that there was gentleness in his voice. Skipper had approached Gilligan, but made sure not to touch him, thinking that it might make things worse.
Gilligan kept his eyes closed tightly, not wanting to risk seeing any pity in the Skipper's eyes. "I don't want to talk about it right now." Gilligan's voice was quiet and he was ready to try to get away if he felt like he needed to.
Skipper sighed to himself as he heard Gilligan say this, but wasn't going to force him to say something he didn't want to. "That's okay, Gilligan," Skipper told him, looking at him carefully. It was a while before Gilligan convinced himself to open his eyes, looking at the Skipper. Although he didn't want to talk about what had happened with Kincaid, he was glad to hear that the Skipper wasn't going to hurt him. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, okay? I'm not going to make you tell me if you don't want to." Even though he was worried about Gilligan, he was sure that making him talk wouldn't help anything. When Gilligan nodded at the Skipper, he smiled a bit at Gilligan. "How about we get back to the hut and you can get some rest?"
Gilligan hesitated for a moment before agreeing, flinching slightly when the Skipper wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Skipper had pretended not to notice, but could practically feel his heart break as he saw Gilligan do this. Was Gilligan afraid of him? Although he hoped that wasn't the case, he didn't know if it was true or not.
The next few hours went by slowly for the Skipper as he watched over Gilligan, wanting to make sure that Gilligan would be alright. For a while, Gilligan looked calm, falling asleep with an arm covering his eyes. If he were being honest, he was glad Gilligan was getting some rest, especially with how little he had been getting recently.
During this time, the Skipper had been reading a book, wanting something to do, but not wanting to leave Gilligan. At least, he didn't want that when Gilligan could have another nightmare. Even though he knew that Gilligan didn't really like being worried about after a nightmare, the Skipper wanted to make sure he knew he wasn't alone.
When Gilligan's eyes snapped open, he looked at the Skipper, sighing to himself when he realized that he wasn't alone. For the time being, he was glad to realize that he wasn't being hunted, but he didn't want to go back to sleep and risk having the nightmare once again.
"Hey, Skipper," Gilligan said, a small smile on his face. Gilligan wasn't much in a smiling mood, but he wanted to reassure the Skipper where he could. It also might have helped keep him from worrying more than he already was. After all, Gilligan knew he hadn't been acting like he did normally, but wasn't sure how to get back to that. "Skipper, you didn't have to stay here."
Skipper shook his head slightly at Gilligan, raising an eyebrow. "I know I didn't have to stay, but I wanted to." Skipper's voice was calm as he offered Gilligan a small smile, hoping that it would do some good. "I didn't want you to have to be alone if something happened. It's not that I don't think you can handle yourself, though."
The smile on Gilligan's face grew slightly as he heard this, becoming a bit more genuine. That would mean that the Skipper cared, wouldn't it? If he were being honest, Gilligan didn't want to continue feeling like he had been, but what could he do? Since Kincaid had left, Gilligan had been trying to figure out a way to not be as scared, but hadn't been able to figure out what to do. Would the Skipper be able to help him?
Gilligan remained quiet for a few moments before convincing himself to speak up. "Skipper? Do you think the Professor would be able to help me?" Gilligan asked, a cautious tone to his voice. Gilligan then got up, tilting his head slightly as he looked at the Skipper. "I mean, do you think he would be able to help if he's right about what's going on with me?"
The smile on the Skipper's face grew slightly as Gilligan asked this, happy that he was at least asking about it. "Yeah, I think he'd be able to help. Would you like to talk to him after a while?" Skipper asked Gilligan, wanting to make sure that Gilligan would be alright.
"Yeah, I think it would be good. Could you come with me?" Gilligan rubbed the back of his neck after a moment, keeping his gaze on the Skipper. Honestly, he didn't want to have the conversation about what was going on when he was alone. Gilligan realized that, if he were having a conversation about what was going on, he wouldn't be alone, but he would have felt a bit better about it if the Skipper was there with him.
"I'll be willing to do that," Skipper told Gilligan, a small smile on his face for the time being. If it would make Gilligan more comfortable with talking about what had happened, then he would at least try it. "How about we go and get some food? We can talk to the Professor after."
Gilligan nodded at the Skipper after a moment, hoping that agreeing to get some food would have the others worry less about him. During this, he could try to see how much the others were worried about him.