**This story is GI, but also an alternate universe... of sorts. This story is dedicated to both Alan Hale Jr. and his father, Alan Hale Sr. The angel in this story is modeled after Alan Hale Sr. and the name I chose for the angel has a significance as well. If you are a fan of Alan Hale Sr. you'll get it. Hope you enjoy this odd little tale.***
"Skipper! Skipper, watch out!" Gilligan yelled as his best friend slipped from a rock formation that had come loose. The Skipper's foot had slipped, causing him to loose his grip. He tumbled from the mountain he had been climbing, as his rotund body smacked to the ground. He had felt the impact, but then everything had went black. He could still hear Gilligan yelling to him... yet, he couldn't respond. The darkness turned into a white light... a blinding white light. Suddenly, he saw gates of Pearl. Had he died? He must have, was his only reasoning.
"Hello Jonas," a voice said to him.
"God? Is that you?" The Skipper said nervously. He looked around and shifted his eyes nervously. The Skipper wasn't a bad man... but he wasn't always the nicest man either.
"No! The voice said authoritatively, "I'm not God. Guess again."
"Saint Peter?"
"NO! And before you ask, I'm not the great and powerful Oz either!"
"What?" The Skipper scratched his head in confusion. Placing the cap back on his head, he looked around once more. Suddenly, he heard the sound of laughter. Whoever this being was had a bright and hearty laugh... it didn't sound much different than his own.
Finally, the mystery voice came into view. The being was a man in a white suit. He looked as if he was just slightly older than the Skipper himself... late forties or even early fifties. The man, who had curly, redish-brown hair and the same color of mustache, was built similar to the Skipper. In fact, upon a closer glance, this specter's facial features also closely resembled that of the Skipper.
"Pardon me, but who are you?" The Skipper asked timidly as he removed his cap out of respect.
"The name is Rufus. I'm the angel of Joy. Rather fitting with that belly laugh o' mine, ain't so?" He said in an Irish accent.
"Yeah... I guess," the Skipper said. All of this was just odd to him... extremely odd. "You know, you look very familiar. I see a bit of me in you... if you don't mind me saying.
"Oh sure sure! Of course we do indeed. I see it me self... but it's you who resembles me. I'm thousands of years old. You're but a mere forty-five." The angel said with a smile.
"So this is it?. I'm really dead huh?" The Skipper said. He was in Heaven and he knew he shouldn't be sad... but he couldn't help but worry about Gilligan.
"Oh merciful Heavens, no!" Rufus exclaimed, "you've got a lot of living to do yet. You see, you fell pretty hard. The jolt shook your spirit loose from your body. I got to get you back before they decided to bury ya." The Skipper gulped at Rufus' words.
"Buried?"
"That's what I said... buried."
...
"It's my fault! It's all my fault!" Gilligan cried as the other castaways gathered around the Skipper's motionless body. While the Professor examined him head to toe, Mary Ann stood to the side in tears as her friend Ginger Grant held her close. Mrs. Howell was sobbing as well, while her husband rubbed her back and handed her one handkerchief after another. Poor Gilligan, was knelt down in front of the Skipper, shaking him hard by the shoulder and shouting.
"Come on, Skipper! Wake up! Wake up!" He shouted. "Boy, I should have climbed that mountain... but I was too scared. The Skipper tried to make me do it, but I wouldn't budge."
"Gilligan, you're not afraid of heights," Ginger replied.
"No, but I"m afraid of wild boar. You should have heard them. They were rooting, and snorting, and squealing. All the Skipper was trying to do was make provision for us...but why did he have to die doing it!"
"Oh!" Mary Ann wailed. "Poor Skipper!" She allowed Ginger to comfort her some more with a friendly embrace. Ginger spoke not a word, as she dabbed at her tear stained face, and dabbed at her dripping nose.
"That dear dear man has gone to the Marina in the sky," Mrs. Howell blubbered, as she held her husband's hand.
"He's not dead," the Professor said confidently, "yet... that is. He's in a coma, but his breathing is very shallow and his pulse is very weak. If we can stop the bleeding and get his body temperature back to normal, then we may have hope yet. Though, from the fall he took...he may not ever be able to walk again.
"Oh!" Mary Ann wailed even louder this time. Everyone gathered around Mary Ann and Gilligan to comfort them. They were obviously taking this the hardest. They all stood there staring at the Captain, just watching and waiting.
...
"Gosh, they're all broken up over this," the Skipper said in amazement.
"Well of course they are!" Rufus exclaimed as if he couldn't believe what the Skipper had just said. "They love ya. They depend on ya... especially that little skinny one over there." He pointed right toward Gilligan.
"Oh, you mean my little buddy."
"Yeah, he looks up to you. That's for certain. Don't be so hard on the boy all the time. He's just a kid. Well... to me everyone is a kid. He don't mean no harm. In fact, I'll bet sometimes he tries too hard. He just wants to please ya, Jonas," Rufus said as he laid a hand on the Skipper's shoulder.
"Yeah, he does at that. He is a good kid... don't cuss, don't smoke, don't drink..."
'A little naive about the women... ain't he?" Rufus added.
"Yep, but that's okay. He's young. He's got plenty of time to take an interest in women." The Skipper smiled, this time his spirit glanced in Ginger's direction.
...
"Please work, please work, oh please work," Ginger muttered over and over as she planted a light kiss on the Skipper's lips.
"Ginger, what are you doing?" The Professor asked, puzzled by Ginger's actions. His hand was planted on his hip, as he stared at Ginger, just wondering what in the world she was going to say.
"Well, it worked for Sleeping Beauty... and Snow White. I thought maybe perhaps it could work in reverse. Princess Charming saves the day," Ginger replied, batting her eyes at the Professor. The Professor sighed, as he went back and continued to patch up the Skipper's head wound.
"Life isn't a movie, Ginger," he muttered.
"Don't worry," Gilligan said to her, "I appreciate you trying. I know the Skipper does too." Ginger smiled slightly as Gilligan laid a hand on the small of her back.
...
"Did you see that?" The Skipper said to Rufus in disbelief as he pointed to his own motionless body. "That was some kiss!"
"She is quite a lovely specimen... ain't she?" Rufus said, as he looked down and observed Ginger for himself. "Have you ever told her how much you like her?"
"No."
"Why in the world not?"
"I'm not her type," the Skipper admitted, "she's kind of got her eye on the Professor I think. It's okay though. She's a little too high maintenance for my taste... but she is one terrific friend. We do actually get along pretty good."
Rufus looked down and observed Ginger assisting the Professor as they both tried to gently elevate the Skipper's head underneath a pillow. "They do look awfully sweet together at that."
...
In spite of stopping the bleeding and treating the shock, the Skipper's pulse became even more faint. The Professor sighed in frustration. What else was he suppose to do? Perhaps it was just the Skipper's time. He looked over to sweet Mary Ann, who had come to adopt the Skipper as almost like another dad. She sat there, gently holding his hand and speaking softly to him. The Professor decided not to deter her. Her talking to the Skipper couldn't hurt anything. In fact, there was the slightest chance that perhaps he could hear her.
"Come back to us Skipper. Please, we need you. Come on, wake up. When you wake up, I'll bake you the largest coconut cream pie you've ever seen... and I'll hide it from Gilligan. You can have it all. What do you say?" Mary Ann sighed as she realized that the Skipper wasn't going to respond to her pleas.
...
"Poor little girl," the Skipper said sadly.
"Indeed. She feels alone and frightened. That trip she took to Hawaii was the first time she's been from home. Now she's stuck here without her family. You have to be the dad she's missing in her life right now. That's another reason it ain't your time yet," Rufus said, then looked at a watch on his wrist. "We had better hurry. If you're pulse drops anymore, we'll miss our opportunity."
...
The Professor sighed once more. The Skipper's pulse was almost gone. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He fought the urge to cry. While being the brains of the outfit, he knew when it came to survival, it was ultimately the Skipper who had pulled them through on several occasions. The Professor needed time to ponder, think, and study on things. The Skipper, on the other hand, had been trained to think on his feet and be a quick and decisive decision maker. That was something that the Professor had always admired about the man. What would they do once he was gone? More than that, when would he ever make a friend like that again?
"He's going fast," the Professor muttered, "we had better say our good byes while we can." Everyone stood there in shock for a moment, before they approached their near lifeless Skipper.
...
"Well, go on," Rufus urged, "jump back in."
"What do you mean jump back in? Is it that easy?"
"YES! Now do it before it's too late! The boss only gives me so much time on returns. You waste any more of my time, you're coming back with me." He said in exasperation.
The Skipper stepped forward over to his body. Once next to it, he leaned forward and crawled back inside. Strangely enough, it felt comfortable getting back into his own body.
Rufus looked upward and smiled. Before he left, he leaned over and touched the Skipper's back.
"Hey God, would you please put this young man's spine back together? His hands are too full to be living life in wheelchair." After the prayer, Rufus suddenly disappeared.
Immediately, the Skipper could feel the bones in his back and neck fusing back together. He felt at peace, and he felt restored. He did sigh as Rufus left his presence. He had kind of enjoyed the jovial angel's company..
...
Just as Gilligan was preparing to give his condolences, the Skipper let out a heavy sigh. He mumbled and murmured, as he rolled his head from side to side to relieve the stiffness in his neck.
"Hey! I don't believe it! He's coming around!" The Professor shouted. Everyone gathered around just in time to see the Skipper's eyes open.
"What's going on around here?" The Skipper questioned, as he raised himself up. Everyone gasped, as they tried to encourage him to lay back down.
"Skipper, it's a miracle," Mary Ann exclaimed, "it's like nothing ever happened to you... but that can't be. You fell so far down."
"Looks like maybe I had a guardian angel. I don't even hurt," the Skipper said, as he tried to stand.
"Oh Skipper!" Ginger said, throwing her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"This calls for a celebration," Mr. Howell declared. "Let the music and champagne flow."
"Would you be my date, Skipper?" Ginger asked.
"Well... that 's very tempting, but why don't you ask the Professor? I think he's kinda sweet on you?"
"What do you say?" Ginger asked.
"Sure... why not?" The Professor replied with his cheeks turning hot.
"Skipper... I'm... I'm sorry I disobeyed your orders. You wouldn't have almost died if it wasn't for me," Gilligan said as he removed the Skipper's hat and handed it to him. Instead, the Skipper put the hat back on his head.
"Gilligan, I'm the one whose sorry. You could have almost died if I had made you climb that mountain. It was just too dangerous of a thing to ask. I'm sorry I tried to pressure you to do it."
"It's all right. I'm just glad you're okay."
"I still can't figure out how you could almost die, then just get up and act like nothing ever happened," the Professor said, rubbing his chin. In the distance, the Skipper could see Rufus standing beside a coconut tree. He smiled at the Skipper and gave him a double thumbs up. Upon seeing him, the Skipper was filled with joy, as he smiled right back at his guardian angel.
"Professor, some things can't be explained. Even if I tried, you would never ever believe it."
The End