Two years later...
Rescue. After many years on the island, they were finally being rescued. It had come about when a helicopter had landed on the island. Once the chopper touched down, a fairly familiar looking man emerged.
They didn't recognize him at first. His hair had been cut short and he was wearing a suit. Coming closer to him, Gilligan gradually recognized him as Irving from the singing group, The Mosquitoes.
"Gilligan! How have you been my man?" Irving asked as he shook Gilligan's hand.
"What are you doing here?" Gilligan asked in amazement. The last he had heard, the Mosquitoes had broken up and Bingo went on his own as a solo artist. Besides that, it had been almost four years since the Mosquitoes had been on the island. What had made Irving come back now.
"Well man, as you know the Mosquitoes split a couple of years ago. Bingo found a solo career, Bango found religion, Bongo found the bottle, and I... well I found the stock market. "Buy low, sell high" they say. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago Bingo was throwing this massive bash in honor of his first gold record. Bongo was completely hammered, and Bingo... well, he was taking a little "trip" so to speak. He started carrying on about you guys, just out of the blue. Of course, Bango said it was only right to go back and rescue you guys. Bongo was passed out, and Bingo told him, "forget about those losers". Well, Bango didn't have the dough to come rescue you, so I said I would do it. So here I am."
"Home! Oh we're going home!" Mary Ann said as she grasped Gilligan's arm. Irving spied the baby bump on Mary Ann and gave Gilligan a sly look.
"Impressive man. Looks like you done well," Irving replied.
"Wow! I've gotta go tell the others!" Gilligan said.
"I'll be by next week with a ship big enough for all of you... um, how many are there of you again?" Irving said.
"Well... there's Mary Ann and myself, Ginger and Professor, Mr. and Mrs. Howell, Skipper and Nala, and three children. Eleven."
"Sounds like you all did well for yourselves," Irving said as he boarded the helicopter. He shouted down to them as the pilot readied for take-off. "Remember, I'll be back within the week."
...
As the week went by, everyone was a flurry of excitement and melancholy. The Skipper, while at dinner one night, had revealed that he and his family would not be returning to the states with them.
"You have to Skipper. You just have too," Gilligan whined.
"I'm sorry Gilligan, " the Skipper replied, "my mind is made up. I know this island like the back of my hand. We'll be fine. Besides, I don't want to put Nala and the children through a culture shock like that. She's been through enough. This is the right environment for Niko and Balooka," he said, referring to his stepson and now almost one year old daughter. He also brought up the fact that in a couple of months, Nala would be giving birth again.
"Skipper, won't you be awful lonesome?" Ginger asked as she burped her daughter Marilyn.
"Ginger is right," the Professor said, " I know you have Nala and the children... but it's not the same as having others in your life... such as friends. You could drive yourself insane being the only family on the island."
"I'll come visit him," Gilligan said, "it's not like I don't know where the island is. Besides that, I can bring him a transmitter so he can talk to all of us whenever he wants."
"Gilligan, I appreciate that. I really do. Your support of my decision means alot to me," the Skipper said as he slapped his Little Buddy on the back.
"Yes, and we'll bring you plenty of steaks and extra goodies you can't get here," Mary Ann added.
"New furniture," Mrs. Howell chimed, "your hut will look like something out of "Southern Living". "
"You guys are the best... and I am going to miss you. This just feels like home to me," the Skipper said.
...
Like Irving had promised, a week later a yacht large enough to carry all the passengers docked itself not too far from where the Minnow had run aground years ago. Everyone was ready to go almost immediately... they had been packed for days, just in case Irving decided to come early. Excitement filled the air as everyone talked at once about what they would do when the arrived back home. Yet, the excitement died down when the Skipper and his family approached the beach. This would be good bye. No one could hardly believe that the Skipper wouldn't be among the ones receiving fan fare and a hearty welcome whenever they landed in Honolulu.
"It's been an honor to get to know all of you. You're like family to me. Just know that this Skipper, if he had to be stranded with anyone, couldn't have asked for better people to be stranded with." He then turned to Gilligan. "Little Buddy, make sure that my family knows that I'm alright and I'll contact them as soon as you send that transmitter. Also let Peggy, that little waitress from the pub on the pier, know that I"m taken. Take care of yourself, Little Buddy." He wrapped his beefy arms around his little buddy and hugged him as hard as if he were hugging his own brother.
"Are you sure you won't come with us?" Mary Ann begged once again. "It won't be the same without you."
"Mary Ann, I assure you I will be fine," he said giving her a fatherly embrace.
"Besides that he won't be alone," Mr. Howell said. Suddenly all eyes turned to Mr. and Mrs. Howell.
"What do you mean he won't be alone?" Ginger asked.
"I'm buying the island. This is a perfect spot for another resort... and I can let the Skipper oversee the whole project when I can't be here. What do you say, Captain?"
"Well, I say yes!" He said, heartily shaking Mr. Howell's hand. "What an honor!"
"I have jobs for all of you if you want them," Mr. Howell said.
"Such as?" Gilligan asked with curiosity. For as much as he wanted to go home, part of him wanted an excuse to stay on the island.
"Well Gilligan, for you I was thinking you might like to be captain of your own ship,' Mr. Howell said as everyone's eyes went wide. While Gilligan was still processing this information, the others patted him on the back and congratulated him. "After all, we will need someone to transport passengers to this island."
"How about me?" Mary Ann asked with excitement.
"You can be the head chef of my five star restaurant I'm going to build. Of course, I would give you a staff to work with... haven't worked out all the details yet, my dear girl."
"What will I do?" Ginger asked, although she was pretty sure she knew what her duty would be.
"You, my dear, will be the headline entertainer. As for you, Professor, I was thinking you could give guided tours while pouring your vast knowledge of primitive islands into the tourists."
"What about me?" The Skipper asked.
"You will be manager of operations. You'll have to make sure the guests are happy, the rental cottages are in tip top shape, making sure the staff are doing what they're suppose to."
"Gosh, that's a big responsibility. I hope I don't disappoint you."
"Me?" Nala humbly asked.
"Dear," Mrs. Howell began, "your tribal dances are so beautiful. Could you teach some of them to the guests?" The Skipper reworded in a simpler form that Nala would understand.
"Yes," she replied.
As everyone hugged good bye and boarded the ship, the Skipper stood there with his arm around Nala and his two children in front of him. He waved until the yacht was nearly out of sight.
Once it was gone, he led his family back to their now three bedroom hut. As Nala laid Niko and Balooka down for a nap, the Skipper poured to glasses of coconut milk. He lit a candle that Mrs. Howell had left behind and turned on the record player that had been aboard his long lost Minnow. As Nala came out of the bedroom, he turned on the record player as he wrapped his arms around Nala. "Younger Than Springtime" began to play, and she laid her head upon his shoulder. They swayed across the room as they listened to the sound of the song, as well as their beating hearts. Things were going to be so different now. His friends had gone home and here he was with the sweetest girl on Earth in his arms. Soon he would be a business man. Soon, this island would be full of people once again. He didn't know if he was ready for the changes to come... but at least he had Nala and the children to see him through.
...
Years later...
The Howell resort, which was nestled right in the middle of Gilligan's Island, was huge success. Everyone commented on the beauty of the island, the amenities, the food, the entertainment, the culture and background, and the genuine friendliness of the staff. It got to the point that Gilligan's Island became one of the top ten vacation spots. The original seven passengers of the Minnow were pleased as punch at the product they had helped Mr. and Mrs. Howell create and cultivate.
After twenty years of being in business, a wealthy man propositioned Mr. Howell about turning the island from a resort to an actual city where people could work and live. Mr. Howell gladly accepted the offer, and he was voted as first mayor of the island.
By this point, Nala and the Skipper had six children, five of them being his own flesh and bllood. He had a total of four sons and two daughters. Gilligan and Mary Ann had two boys and two girls. The Professor and Ginger had four beautiful daughters that constantly had to keep shooing the boys away. With the Skipper getting on in years, he began to teach Niko the ways of running a hotel.
...
One night, as Nala had readied herself for bed, she noticed her husband squinting at a financial report Mr. Howell's executor had presented to him. Mr. and Mrs. Howell had passed a few years before, thus leaving his business partner from the mainland in charge of his financial affairs.
"Here," she said handing him a pair of spectacles, "now isn't that better? You must take care of yourself, Jonas. I'm not your servant," she said with a chuckle, as she recalled her old way of life.
"Much better darling," the Skipper had said as he let out a raspy cough. This concerned Nala. Her husband wasn't well. The doctors that came to the island were doing all they could. Best case scenario would be the Skipper granted with five more years. It was one of the drawbacks of marrying an older man... yet she never regretted it, not for a single day. The years had been good to them. They had much to be thankful for. She sat beside her husband and squeezed his hand.
"I love you, Jonas Grumby," she said.
"I love you too, Nala," he said, "Lama Mahai... forever and ever."
The End