Mary Ann looked over at Ginger while the two were working on the laundry. She was a little worried about her famous friend who was awfully quiet during breakfast and even more withdrawn when she invited her over to visit with her and Gilligan. The married couple tried to get the actress to tell them the latest juicy Hollywood gossip but she seemed disinterested. It was very unlike Ginger. Normally she bubbled over with endless news from Tinsletown. Today she shared some little tidbits and that was it. She was very distant. The farm girl could sense something was eating at the movie star and she was determined to find out just what it was.

"Ginger are you okay?" Mary Ann asked as she rinsed Gilligan's shirt.

"I'm fine." The redhead replied as she hung an expensive polo shirt of Mr. Howell's on the line. She picked up one of the Professor's blue shirts and sighed as she dipped it into the soapy water of the bucket.

"You don't seem fine." The brunette frowned. "What's wrong? Something is bothering you. What is it?"

"Nothing. I told you I'm fine." Ginger insisted as she wrung the shirt through the wringer.

Mary Ann clipped the red shirt she had been washing on the clothes line and walked to her friend and pulled her away from the soap bucket. "Ginger what is wrong. You can tell me."

"I…Well I had this awful dream last night." She began. "It was horrible."

"What was the dream?"

"I was back in Hollywood. There was a big party celebrating my return. And then all of as sudden this woman comes up to me asking when I was going to get married. And when I tried to tell her Roy loves me…she said that he was never going to marry me. Ever. And more people surrounded me saying that it was never happening. I would never marry Roy or have his children. They laughed and taunted me."

"Ginger." Mary Ann said sympathetically. "It was just a stupid dream. You know the Professor loves you."

"I know he does." Ginger sighed. "He tells me all the time. And I believe him. I do. I just…I can't help but wonder if maybe the dream is true."

"That's ridiculous!" The girl from Kansas exclaimed. "The Professor would marry you. I know he would."

"I suppose." Ginger said sitting down on a large rock. "I guess I'm just…I don't know.."

"What..what is it?"

Ginger turned her head towards her young friend. "When I was in Hollywood I had several admirers. Men dropped at my feet. I'm not going to say I didn't enjoy the attention, I did but…at the end of the day I wanted a man to love me. I mean really love me. All of me. Not one of the men I dated did. I know they didn't because they always left me."

"Ginger…"

"It was the same thing. Baby we had a good time but I am moving on. Ginger you are a great girl and we had fun but I'm not the type to settle down or I'm not a one woman guy…Excuse after excuse. A few times I got…You are a wonderful girl Ginger but I found someone better."

"Listen to me." Mary Ann said taking Ginger's hands in hers. "You have to know that the Professor is not like those men. He would not do that to you."

"I know." The redhead nodded. "He's wonderful. And I don't want to lose him."

"You won't." The farm girl insisted. "You remember when Gilligan and I first got together. I had my fears. I thought that Gilligan wouldn't want to marry me. After all he always said that he was staying single forever. He had no interest in marriage. You told me to have faith. You told me to trust in his love for me that he would in fact wish to make that step and join me in Holy Matrimony. And I did. I did trust it. Look at me now. I'm married to Gilligan! I'm having his baby! It will happen for you too. Have faith."

Ginger smiled. "I'll try. I promise I will."

"Have you talked to the Professor about any of this by chance?"

"Not exactly. I mean he told me that no matter how long we are stuck on this island even if it is for the rest of our lives, he wants to spend it with me by his side."

"Well there you go!" Mary Ann said encouragingly. "That's something."

"I know that I should talk to him about this. I'm just sacred."

"What are you sacred of? "

"Losing him." Ginger answered plainly. "I could not bear that."

"You think you will lose him if you bring up marriage? That's crazy."

"He may think I'm pressuring him. I don't want him to think that I'm doing that."

Mary Ann shook her head. "He is not going to think that. Ginger you need to let go of that fear you are going to lose him. He is not going anywhere. You have to know that. No one is saying that you have to marry him tomorrow or the next day but it would be wise to clue him in on what you feel. He's not a mind reader." She then grinned. "Unlike you."

Ginger laughed. "Shut up."

"What was the Professor thinking again? Oh that's right…36-22-36."

"Oh hush." The movie star said turning slightly red.

"Face it Ginger. That man is nuts about you. There is nothing to worry about. Come on…let's go finish this laundry."

"Alright." The starlet said standing up and walking back to the wash. "Thanks Mary Ann. I appreciate your support."

"Anytime." Mary Ann smiled.

Howell's Hut

"Okay Professor." Mrs. Howell said with authority. "I have the perfect plan. Ginger's birthday is coming up."

"Right. Three days from now." The Professor responded.

"Exactly so I think what we will do is plan a party for her. A big celebration to let her know how much we all love her. It is during the festivities that you present her with this."
She held out a beautiful pink diamond ring on a silver band.

The Professor took the ring and looked at the older woman. "Mrs. Howell I don't think I can.."

"Nonsense." Lovey said waving her hand. "That ring actually belonged to my mother. I would be honored if Ginger wore it. She is like a daughter to me."

The academic smiled. "It's very generous of you Mrs. Howell thank you. This will mean a lot to her I'm sure."

"No problem." The millionaire's wife smiled. "I'm glad to help. Ginger is a wonderful woman and she deserves to be happy."

"She does." Roy agreed. "She most certainly does. You know before her I never thought I would ever marry."

"And the beautiful movie star changed all that didn't she?"

"She most certainly did. Ginger opened up my world in ways I never thought possible."

Lovey nodded. "I would have to agree. I noticed when we were on the Minnow you seemed a little stuffy but when I saw you look at her…your whole demeanor was changed. I though it quite endearing."

"My beautiful starlet is the best thing that ever came into my life. I will always be thankful that I took that voyage because she was brought to me."

The Professor put the ring in his pocket. "I should go. I told Ginger that you wanted Skipper and I to make a mirror for you. I think it would be good to make it look like we are doing that. Thank you again Mrs. Howell."

He left the hut and hurried into his own placing the ring in a safe place. The Professor then rounded up the sea captain and the two began working on the faux mirror. It was important that Ginger did not suspect anything. He could not wait to see the look on her face when he gave her the gorgeous ring. It was a sight he most definitely wished to see.

Ginger emerged from the jungle carrying a load of laundry in a basket. She paused seeing her love working building the contraption for Mrs. Howell. The sight of him hammering the frame together and the way his shirt hugged his body…She quickly turned away and ran inside her hut. The things he did to her were still all new. No man made her feel the things she did when she was near the Professor.

She took her dress out of the basket and hung it up in her closet. While she worked she hummed a little tune to herself. Mary Ann was right. She needn't worry about anything. Roy loved her and in time he would wish to marry her. There was no need to rush to the altar. They had plenty of time. Right now she was going to enjoy all the time the spent together. Especially at night. She loved sitting out at the lagoon gazing at the stars with him. He would tell her about the different stars and constellations. Ginger thought it romantic. One night he found a particularly bright star and said he was naming it after her. It was her star. Ginger kissed him telling him he was the most loving man in the world. Every night since then the redhead would check the night sky looking for "her star" through a telescope that the Professor built for her. Every now and then she would spot a "new star" and excitedly tell the man of science about it.

Roy Hinkley was everything she could ever want. Those loser men she had dated in Hollywood could not hold a candle to him. In fact she wished that stupid Ty was around. Boy how she wished she could show of Roy to that idiot! Show him how she found someone a million times better than he ever would be. Ginger wished she could show her darling Professor off to everyone. Her family included. She knew her parents would love him.
Well maybe someday they will get to go home. Until then she had Roy and that was enough.

Ginger finished hanging her clothes and set the basket on the floor. She went over and sat down at her vanity table. Her eyes spotted a bottle of perfume and she smiled picking it up. The very perfume that the Professor sniffed on her neck. She recalled the elation she felt thinking that she had finally won him over and he was going to say Ginger I want you to be mine! It didn't happen right then but she was pretty certain the wheels were most likely in motion. They had to be. The actress was fairly certain that his attraction to her was coming to surface whether or not the academic wanted it to or not. He could not hide it much longer. His shaky hands also clued her in. All she did was ask how it was going with the nails and he turned into a stuttering flustered mess. It was cute though.

The movie star picked up her nail buffer and thought to when that Duke was on the island. Why was she so stupid to pay attention to that brawny dofus! Maybe deep down she had hoped that the Professor would be jealous and fight for her hand. She was sure that was probably what she was wishing would happen. This of course did not occur but the silver lining was that she got to be alone with the scholar and kiss him. He didn't say but Ginger had a suspicion he enjoyed getting the surfer's goat by making him see Ginger fawn over him. He seemed to have a lighter step the next morning and seemed very cheerful. Duke on the other hand had a dejected look on his face and could not wait to hightail it out to there on his board.

So much has happened since that three hour tour on Minnow. Mary Ann was married to Gilligan and having his baby. A precious little baby. How happy the redhead was for her!
She was going to be a terrific parent and so was that sailor. Ginger was thrilled she could be a part of it. The actress knew how nervous the farm girl was about the birthing process and was worried she wouldn't be able to handle it. Amazingly enough Gilligan calmed her fears telling Mary Ann that she was brave and strong. If anyone could do it, it was her. He promised he would be there for her during the whole thing and vowed he would not faint. Mary Ann kissed him saying she was thankful he was in her life and what she would do without him, she didn't know.

Ginger herself assured the young girl that she was going to be there by her side as well. She was not going to do it alone. There was no way she was going to let that happen.
After all, what better nurse to have than her! Mary Ann laughed and asked if Ginger had a complete nurse's outfit. She laughed again when the movie star stated she did in fact have a nurse uniform. It was a costume from a movie she had done where she played a nurse. The Professor had taken her aside asking if he could see her in that. Ginger playfully kissed him on the nose telling him he was cute.

What Ginger would do without him she didn't know. And maybe she should talk to him about her feelings. If she didn't she was sure to lose her nerve. She decided to pack a nice picnic lunch which they could have in what she referred to as "their spot". The little clearing by the cliff. Yes it was perfect. Just the two of them.

She raised herself from the chair and walked out of her hut and towards the supply hut. Her eyes then went over to the Professor who was working on attaching part of the frame to what she believed was glass. He still looked sexy as hell in her eyes. How she was going to keep her hands off him long enough to speak to him about her feelings she didn't know. It was not something she could help. She loved him. She was only human.

Ginger walked into the supply hut and over the food locker. She opened it up and picked out a few oysters. Oysters. They were perfect for increasing…Ginger blushed to herself as she placed them in a basket. The movie star found a pineapple and some mangos. She closed the door and walked out the hut. She walked to what was the kitchen area setting her basket on the table. She began neatly arranging everything and placed two dishes inside along with two cups. Ginger then cut the pineapple and squeezed the juice into a bottle. The movie star thought about how she would broach the subject with him. That was not an easy task. It had to be done delicately. That last she wanted was to make him feel pressured. This needed to be done tactfully. Yes she knew that Roy Hinkley loved her. She fully believed that with all her heart. Whether or not he was prepared for marriage was something she did not have the answer to. With any luck, she would get the answers she needed.

The movie star finished packing the basket and left the kitchen. She walked over to where the Professor and Skipper were working. "Hello darling." She greeted the academic.

"Ginger." He said looking up.

"I thought you could use a break. I thought we could have a nice picnic."

The academic stood up. " That sounds wonderful." He said. "Just let me clean up a bit and I'll be right with you." He kissed her lips and took off in the direction of his hut.

Ginger sighed watching him.

The Skipper noticed this. "You really love him don't you?"

"I do. Very much."

"Well Ginger I would have to say that the Professor is a very lucky guy."

Ginger smiled. "Thank you Skipper. But I think I'm pretty darn lucky too. To find a man was wonderful as my Roy...I never thought that would happen."

Skipper nodded. "I'm happy for you. I mean it. Just like I'm happy for my little buddy. He did good finding a nice girl like Mary Ann."

"Oh yes he most certainly did." Ginger agreed. "I couldn't imagine a better wife for him than Mary Ann. She loves him a great deal. You know Skipper I hope someday you find someone."

The sea captain smiled. "Well Gilligan did say if he found another eye of the idol, he would wish for a woman for me."

Ginger giggled. "How sweet of him."

"Look don't you or anyone worry about me." The old sailor began. "I promise you all that I will be just fine. Do I wish that there was another woman available to me, sure I do. But as it stands, there isn't and there is nothing I can do about it. I just have to make the best of it. There is no point getting all upset about something you simply cannot change."

"You are very wise Skipper." Ginger smiled. "I bet someday you will in fact make some woman a terrific husband."

"Thank you Ginger." He said tipping his hat. "I appreciate that."

The Professor returned and he and Ginger headed out to their picnic. The Skipper watched the pair. He meant what he said. The Professor was lucky and he truly was happy for both of them. He hoped that the academic did in fact marry that movie star. Jonas had a keen sense when it came to the female species and he knew that Ginger longed for a ring and a commitment. Would the academic give her that? He most certainly hoped so.