"Skipper! Skipper! Skip-" Gilligan turned around to see that The Skipper was standing directly behind him.
"What is it now, Gilligan?"
Gilligan handed him the pair of binoculars he was holding.
"There's a ship coming this way, sir."
The Skipper rolled his eyes. "This is the third time this week you've seen an imaginary ship, Gilligan. Now stop daydreaming and get to work collecting coconuts for lunch!"
With one last look out to sea, Gilligan said, "Aye, aye, sir."
"Pass the guava jelly, please, Ginger," Skipper said later at lunch. "You know, Gilligan saw another imaginary ship today!"
"Really, Gilligan! You simply must get your eyes checked!" said Mrs. Howell.
The Professor chimed in. "Yes, and I just happen to have an eye chart with me. Maybe-"
He stopped when a man dressed in a white sailing outfit walked up to the table. He was about six feet tall, with dark hair and a glowing tan. Even though he looked to be in his mid-thirties, he was in top physical condition.
"Greetings!" spoke the newcomer. "My name is Christopher Trevic. I was out on my yacht when I stumbled across this island. I noticed the 'SOS' sign on the beach and thought I should stop and investigate."
No one at the table said anything.
"Hmm. Must be some sort of civilized native tribe." Christopher mumbled to himself. He started waving his arms in the air. "DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?"
Finally the seven castaways rushed toward him, all speaking at once.
"We've been here for years!"
"Is Hollywood the same?"
"Can your ship take us all back to Hawaii?"
"Do you have any ice-cream with you?"
Christopher laughed. "I would be more than happy to take you back to Hawaii! When do you think you'll be ready to leave?"
The Skipper looked around. "How about tomorrow at high tide?"
"Very well. Tomorrow at high tide we shove off for Hawaii!"
The castaways cheered.
"Professor! Professor!" Gilligan jogged to catch up to the Professor. "Which of these do you think I should bring home with me?" He held up a conch shell and a coconut.
The Professor smiled at the younger man's excitement. "Well, Gilligan. Why don't you bring both?"
"Gee, thanks, Professor! I hadn't thought of that!"
The two of them looked up to see Christopher and Ginger walking along, holding hands.
"Well," Gilligan commented innocently. "It sure looks like those two are getting along."
The Professor looked at Gilligan coldly, then turned and walked away.
"What'd I do?"
Back in his hut, the Professor was scribbling madly in his journal.
It was stupid of me to think that Ginger might be falling in love with me. Ginger Grant could never love a college professor. It is much too tame for her taste.
He shut his journal quickly when the Skipper walked in.
"Well, Professor. Are you ready to shove off for Hawaii?"
The Professor tried to seem excited. "Yes! Is it high tide already?"
"Yes. Everyone is down at the ship."
As the ship pulled away, the seven castaways looked back at their island sadly. Their home of five years, and they would probably never see it again.
A few hours later, Christopher's yacht pulled into port in Hawaii. The castaways leaned over the ship's railing excitedly. This was the first time they'd seen civilization in quiet a while!
As soon as they stepped off the ship and onto the dock, reality sunk in. After seeing each other every day for years, they were about to go their separate ways. Everyone was quiet.
Finally the Professor spoke up. "Well. I guess this is goodbye."
After the exchange of addresses and many hugs, the castaways went their separate ways.
Gilligan and Skipper found the nearest restaraunt. The Howells called a limosine to carry them to their Hawaiian house. Ginger, Mary-Ann and the Professor went to the airport to catch flights back to Hollywood, Kansas and Sacramento.
It was over an hour before any of the flights left, so the three of them sat in the airport together. No one said much; just the occasional, "Remember the time..."
Mary-Ann's flight was the first to leave, and then Ginger's. The Professor's was going to be a bit longer. He dug his journal out of his suitcase.
After years of being with Ginger, she has just walked away from me for the last time. I will never see her again now. She is going back to her old life now, just as I should go back to mine.
Finally the Professor's plane was boarding. It was time to go home.
*A Few Months Later*
The Professor threw last months People magazine down on the floor. Ginger Grant's face still stared up at him. Ginger had been able to go right back into her life as a Hollywood actress, almost as though she hadn't been missing for five years. The Professor was following her every move through magazines. Her life, and her engagement to Christopher Trevic.
Finally, as he was standing in line at the super market one day, he saw the opening he'd been waiting for. This month's magazine headline read:
Christopher Trevic caught with another woman. Ginger Grant is heartbroken. The engagement is off.
The Professor fled from the store. He ran back to his apartment. He dug through a drawer until he found what he was looking for. Finally he put the little box in his pocket, got Ginger's address, and set off. He was going to Hollywood.
The Professor was standing at the door to Ginger's apartment, holding a single rose in his hand. He check his pocket. Yes, it was still there. The ring he had crafted back on the island out three pearls, and one of Mrs. Howells earrings. Finally he got the courage to knock on the door.
A few seconds later, Ginger opened the door. The Professor could tell that she had been crying a lot recently. But, to his delight, she seemed to instantly perk up at the sight of him.
"Professor! But-what-how? I haven't seen you since we were rescued!"
"I know, but I saw in a magazine how Christopher had treated you, and I came to make sure you were alright." He handed her the rose as they walked into her apartment.
The two of them sat down on her couch. There wasn't much to talk about.
Finally the Professor said, "Ginger, do you remember that time on the island..."
"What time?"
"You know...that time...uh..." He pulled the ring from his pocket. "Ginger, will you marry me?"
The next thing he knew, Ginger was kissing him. For five years he had been in love with Ginger, and now he was finally able to show it!
When she stopped kissing him to admire her ring, he said, "Can I take that as a yes?"
*3 Months Later*
It was just after the Ginger and the Professor's wedding. They had invited the other 5 castaways, and they had indeed come. (Gilligan and Mary-Ann had come together since, after all, they were engaged-but that is a whole other story!) The seven of them had sat down to do an interview about their time on the island.
"Since your time on the island, it has been put on the map, and you seven are getting the honor of naming it! Have you put any thought as to what you want to name it?" the interviewer asked.
The castaways-minus Gilligan- answered in unison: "Gilligan's Island!"