The tiny little girl slept for a while keeping the worried wealthy couple on their toes.
Thurston left the hut briefly about an hour later wondering if the Professor and Gilligan had returned, but the two hadn't come back.
" Mr. Howell? How are things?" Mary Ann asked.
" Fine. The girl, she's asleep. We've given her a name." He proudly announced.
" What did you pick?" Ginger asked.
" Charlotte." Thurston replied, grinning.
" That's a swell name." Skipper replied with a smile.
" Lovey wanted to name the child after her mother," Thurston cringed but continued. " If the Professor comes back with some sort of identification for the child, we'll call her by that name. For now it's Charlotte Howell."
The 3 chuckled, knowing Mr. Howell detested Lovey's mother. He frequently mentioned it.
Suddenly the three heard the Professor's voice and Gilligan's as well.
They appeared from the jungle with items in their arms.
" Professor, what did you find?" Skipper asks, eyeing everything the two are holding.
His first mate and the Professor both set the belongings down onto the table before taking a seat themselves.
Mary Ann poured the two some water, knowing they had to be parched.
The Professor swallows the glass down quickly before speaking up.
" On the other side of the island, Gladys took us to the beach. We found a wooden crate that washed up to shore, with a blanket and some letters and a few items belonging to the family of the girl." He began.
Thurston's eyes went wide. The little girl had a family. Where were they? Why would they put her in a crate? She wasn't an animal!
" Well- where are they?" Thurston asks.
" I found an unfinished letter in the bottom of the crate sealed up in a bottle. It has a bit of blood on it. From what I can tell the family was on a neighboring island doing research and a group of headhunters attacked. The father managed to write this note before they caught up to him." He replies rather sadly.
The others all looked at the Professor with wide eyes. They'd already had several encounters with headhunters and various tribes but so far they'd managed to keep their lives and their heads.
The 5 others around the table went silent.
" You don't think we'll come across those headhunters here, do you Professor?" Ginger asks as she nervously bites her nails.
" I'm not certain. Whatever tribe it was could still be out there." Professor responds solemnly.
" Does she have a name?" Thurston asks, trying to steer the conversation in a lighter direction.
" She does. It's Gracie Anna Howard." Professor said as he handed over the little journal he recovered as well with a photo of the family tucked away inside.
Opening up the leather bound book, the pages were stained by a bit of water and the photograph looked a bit tattered. It was a photo with the little jungle girl as an infant only taken two years prior. Something caught the millionaire's eyes.
The mother of the child looked remarkably like his own wife.
" This woman looks like my wife!" Thurston exclaimed, looking up at the others.
He passed the picture to the group and the hall agreed. The blonde woman in the photo did favor Lovey Howell.
Thurston couldn't believe it. This girl. The child lost both her parents and had a harrowing experience being cast out to sea. He vowed to love and protect her, and to teach her all about the value of a dollar.
He grabbed the photo back from the others when they were finished and tucked the book away into his pocket.
" Did it say which island they came from?" Skipper asked.
" Gilligan found coordinates. I believe if I use them on our map, I may be able to retrace their steps and find out where they were living and try to see if we can find anything to help us get rescued."
" B-b-but do you think the headhunters will still be there?" Gilligan asks.
" They shouldn't be. But I'll be prepared when I do goto their island." Professor replies confidently.
" You're not going alone are you?" Skipper questioned, unsure if he heard him correctly.
Professor nodded. " It should be relatively safe. They probably attacked and moved on."
He wanted to explore it and figured there just had to be a way to get them off the island.
" I don't know Professor- I feel like one of us should join you." Skipper replied.
" Speak for yourself." Thurston deadpanned.
There were a few belongings of the little girl on the table that Professor gave to Thurston. Her stuffed animal, a panda bear, and a blanket. He kept the photo of the little girl and her parents but gave the little journal back to the Professor.
He headed back to his hut to see the two. After discussing the fate of the little girl's parents, Thurston wanted nothing more than to get rescued and never let the two women out of his site again.
He headed inside the hut to see the newest little Howell still fast asleep.
Lovey had fallen asleep on his own bed but woke up upon hearing him come back in the hut.
" Thurston?" She saw all the items in his hands wondering where they came from.
She sat up and followed her husband to the little area in their hut they'd made into a walk in closet area so they could talk but still keep an eye on the little girl.
" Did the Professor and Gilligan return?" She asks eagerly.
Thurston nodded. " They did Lovey. I'm afraid her parents were killed by savages, only about a week ago according to the note Professor found."
Lovey's eyes went wide. " Oh the poor dear."
" But how did she get here?" Lovey asks, still curious as to how the girl made it to their island.
" A crate. Professor found some valuable items that may help us to get rescued, and he also found this."
Thurston pulled out the photo in his jacket pocket. A tattered one of the family. Lovey examined the photo quite surprised to see the mother looked remarkably like her.
" Who's Gracie Anna Howard?" Lovey asked.
" That's Charlotte's real name. We'll ask her what she'd like to be called. Gracie Anna Howell does have a nice ring to it." Thurston replied as he wrapped his arm around Lovey and pulled her close.
She nodded in agreement. Lovey remained quiet for a moment as she stared at the photo.
" Thurston- she can't really be ours. Why, the little girl must have grandparents or aunts or uncles that know about her! It wouldn't be fair to take her away from them." Lovey spoke up, voicing the obvious, pulling away from her husband slightly so she could face him.
Raising a brow, Thurston registered what she said before replying.
" She'll be a Howell by and by. Lovey my dear, she's got nobody else. What if she was born right there on the island and the family doesn't know about her? We'll give her love, a good home, and teach her how to become the boss of her very own company. She's going to do great things, Lovey, and she'll be ours." Thurston confidently replies.
Lovey sighed, not wanting to get her hopes up. She looked towards the little sleeping blonde and couldn't help but smile.
" You're right, Thurston darling. She'll be a Howell." Lovey looked up to him, smiling, concealing her real emotions.
He kissed her cheek.
" Lovey- we're going to have to establish some rules. Professor thinks the island she came from can't be too far, which means those headhunters could be on the prowl, so no more walks alone my dear. Heaven forbid they get a Howell!" Thurston eyes his wife eagerly, hoping she understands the urgency of the situation.
She nodded swiftly, biting her lip. She grabbed onto her husband. " Oh Thurston I don't want them to hurt us. What if they reach our island?!" Lovey worried.
Thurston took his wife in his arms and calmed her with a firm embrace. " Those cads won't harm a hair on your head, or our little Howell. The last thing those Yale men want to do is mess with papa bear!"
" Aww Thurston, you're such a good father, protecting me and our little Howell." Lovey said as she baby talked to her husband, patting his cheek.
The millionaire blushed as his adoring wife doted over him.
Lovey feared their demise by way of headhunters on the island. They had come close a few times to being victims of native tribes but so far none had succeeded.
The girl began stirring and waking up from her nap. Lovey went right over as did Thurston.
The little girl blinked a few times and looked down, seeing Thurston's bear and her own and lit up, hugging the two stuffed animals close.
" This is your bear? He's a very handsome one. This one is Thurston's- his name is Teddy." Lovey told the girl.
She scooted right to Lovey's side and Lovey pulled her close, smoothing out her hair.
" Thurston- do you think we should call her Charlotte or Gracie?" Lovey asked her husband.
"Gracie." The child spoke up in her sweet little voice they had yet to hear. It was her name after all.
The two looked at each other with wide but adoring eyes. It was the sweetest voice Thurston had ever heard.
" Gracie it is, Lovey." Thurston replied, smiling at his wife then down at the little blonde.
" Gracie is a lovely name!" Lovey gushed.
" Barry." She pointed at the stuffed animal panda bear.
" Oh his name is Barry? Hmm I like it. Teddy and Barry. Oh how marvelous! Maybe they'd like to join us for a tea party?"
Gracie looked up at Lovey, cocking her head to one side.
" Lovey, perhaps she doesn't know what a tea party is. Maybe she'd rather join me for a round of golf?" Thurston inquired, secretly hoping the little girl would go with him. He was quite smitten with her.
" Hungwy." She told the two.
" Ahh yes! We can settle that matter. I'm sure Ginger and Mary Ann will be happy to feed you. Why don't we take Teddy and Barry with us?" Thurston asked.
Lovey was quite shocked to see her husband taking charge and taking such initiative with Gracie. It made her heart swell.
Gracie held Barry and Teddy as tightly in her small arms as Thurston lifted her up.
The two left the hut with Lovey following beside them, admiring how easily he fell into his role as a father. It came so naturally.
They did miss having Gilligan as their son and Lovey knew her husband always wanted an heir to carry on the Howell name but the two never had any luck.
It made her sad she couldn't give her husband something he desired and something she also longed for, which was a child, but this little jungle girl that fell into their lap seemed to capture her heart and Thurston's.
He was telling Gracie some of his jokes he thought she'd understand and making the little girl giggle on the path towards the common area.
They got there and found Mary Ann cutting up some fruit
" Hello Mr and Mrs. Howell." She greeted the couple, surprised to see the millionaire holding the little girl in his arms.
" And Gracie." Thurston replied, smiling down at the little thing.
" She's positively smitten with Thurston." Lovey giggled.
" You two have made her very happy." Mary Ann said, smiling at the child.
" We adore her." Lovey replied as she once again smoothed out the girl's hair.
" Could you fix her something to eat? The poor dear is hungry." Lovey asked.
" Sure. We have some leftovers from brunch, I'll go grab them." Mary Ann replied smiling.
Lovey noticed Gracie was reaching for some of the fruit on the table and handed her a banana out of the bowl, peeling it before giving it to her.
" Chew it slowly. We don't want you to choke." Lovey reminded gently.
The little girl sat in Thurston's lap chewing on the banana.
" Lovey, why don't we adopt her today? We should make it official. Little Gracie and Barry can become Howells." Thurston smiled down at the girl in his lap.
" Howell." Gracie repeated, as her eye's met Thurston's, trying out the name for herself.
" Yes my little deduction, a Howell." He repeated.
" Oh Thurston! What a brilliant suggestion!" Lovey gushed, clasping her hands together in delight.
" We will do it after dinner. I'll stop by the Professor's hut in a bit and then we can get the matter settled this evening." Thurston said.
Mary Ann came back to the table with pancakes and turtle eggs and coconut milk for the three.
Gracie's big blue eyes grew wide when she saw the food. She smiled in delight.
Lovey cut everything up and helped her take small bites. The growing little girl had an appetite much like Gilligan's and finished off her food in no time.
She sat patiently while the Howells finished eating.
Thurston told Mary Ann about their plan to adopt Gracie right after dinner.
" Ohh! Ginger and I can cook a special meal tonight and make a coconut cream pie! I'm sure she'd love it."
The Howells nodded in agreement anxious and eager to make the child their own.
After eating his meal, Thurston decided to go golfing with Gilligan and the Captain. He bid the three women farewell before taking off to get Gilligan so he could caddy for them.
Lovey employed the help of Ginger and Mary Ann to help make clothes for the little girl. She needed help sewing some of the old shirts so the girl had dresses to wear.
Gracie stood on the little crate as Mary Ann and Ginger marked and pinned along the lines of the shirts that were Thurston's so they could make dresses for her.
As Ginger was finishing up the hem, Mary Ann stood back talking with Lovey.
" Maybe if Professor finds which island they came from, he can see if they had clothes for her." Mary Ann spoke up.
Lovey nodded. " I hope so too. The poor dear needs other clothes to wear." She sighed. Lovey wished she was back home in the comfort of Newport, with an endless supply of clothes and essentials.
As the two carried on conversation, Ginger was helping finalize the touches on Gracie's shirt.
" Pwetty." Gracie said as she pointed at Ginger.
" Thank you honey, so are you." Ginger smiled, touched at the little girl's observation.
" We're all done here, Mrs. Howell!" Ginger said as she removed the pinned shirt carefully off the little girl. She still had on the one Lovey had fastened into a dress that morning on.
With Ginger's help, she crawled off the crate and went right over to Lovey, grabbing her legs.
Lovey hugged Gracie close. She wanted to talk with the Professor about her. " MaryAnn, could you be a dear and watch Gracie for me? There are some things I'd like to discuss with the Professor without her there." Lovey asked quietly.
" Sure." Mary Ann smiled.
Lovey bent down and grabbed Gracie's hands in her own.
" I'm going to go and speak with the Professor. Mary Ann and Ginger are going to keep you company. I promise I'll be quick." Lovey tapped her nose.
" No. stay." She whimpered.
" It's alright darling girl. I promise I'll be right back." Lovey bit her lip, not wanting the poor thing to cry.
" We'll take great care of her. Come on Gracie, why don't we play with your bear!" Mary Ann took her hands and held her so Lovey could leave.
Lovey quickly exited the hut so she could speak to the Professor.
She went to his hut and knocked before entering.
Roy Hinkley was busy mapping out his plans to travel to the island where the girl was found.
" Ah Mrs. Howell is everything alright?" He looked up from his notes.
He noted the blonde woman seemed a bit frazzled.
He motioned for her to take a seat and stood across from her hoping she'd tell him what was on her mind. He figured it pertained to the jungle girl.
" Professor, do you think poor girl's parents are still alive?" Lovey asked the question that had been plaguing her mind.
The Professor shook his head. " No, I don't believe they are. I think they were killed by headhunters."
Lovey nodded slowly, trying to figure out how to phrase her next question without sounding desperate.
She fumbled with her lorgnette a few moments before speaking up once more.
" In that journal Thurston said you found, did it mention any other family? Could Gracie have family members that are aware of her existence?" Lovey asked.
" I haven't made it very far but from what I can gather, her father has a brother and their parents are still living. They are from California. There is a possibility that they know about her. From what I gather, she was born shortly before they left for Hawaii." Professor replied.
" Oh, I see." Lovey replied, her face falling now.
" Mrs. Howell, what's going on? Professor worried.
" Hmm? Oh n-nothing. Nothing at all." She tossed her hand in reply.
" Are you worried about having to give her up?" Professor asked.
Lovey's shoulders dropped slightly and she looked down examining her nails a moment before nodding.
Her head snapped back up. " You see- Thurston's already attached to her. Before he went to play golf he insisted that we adopt Gracie this very evening and make her a Howell. Only if we get rescued I'm sure her family will want her back. They'll be missing her."
The millionaire's wife adored the little girl and so desperately wanted her to be a Howell but she just felt as though both she and her husband were jumping the gun.
" She's so young and we're not exactly spring chickens Professor, I just worry that if something happened to either one of us, she'd be orphaned twice over." Lovey bit her lip.
Professor could understand the woman's reservations about it all, but knew the Howells were already smitten over the child. He thought back to the time they tried to adopt Gilligan and how that didn't exactly pan out but thought they deserved a chance.
He knew the two were childless and thinking back, he remembered how happy having an heir had made them. The two had smothered gilligan.
" Having a child is a very big responsibility, Mrs. Howell." Professor replied, pausing a bit before continuing, " However, I think you and your husband will do a fine job of raising her. Besides, you have all of us here to help you. You two aren't in it alone. As far as her other family is concerned, we don't know when we'll see them and in the meantime, I think you both will be wonderful parents."
Lovey smiled slightly at the vote of confidence but just wasn't sure what they were getting themselves into. She didn't know what kind of mother she'd be especially to such a young child.
She knew she would need to speak to her husband once he returned from his golf game.
" Thank you Professor." Lovey said softly before getting up to leave his hut.
He watched the woman leave with some hesitation. He figured she was simply getting cold feet when it came to keeping this child.
He didn't know the Howells had nearly been parents before, years ago. They'd lost a child and he didn't understand the impact or reservations it left on Mrs. Howell. He went back to his experiment and made a mental note to speak to Mary Ann later.
Lovey walked towards the hut and went to collect Gracie from the girls and the two went back to the Howell hut.
Gracie sat on Lovey's bed clutching her bear tightly, snuggling into the pillows where she'd fallen asleep before.
Lovey sat near her and suddenly felt a sense of dread. How could she and Thurston possibly raise this child without the help of a nanny or a staff of servants willing and able to help if needed? How could the child obtain proper breeding and understanding of the life she'd lead back home being raised on an island?
The socialite swallowed, unsure of how they were really going to do this under the circumstances.
Gracie began to pull at her arm bringing Lovey out of her head. She notices the girl had taken an interest in her diamond bracelet.
Lovey smiles brightly. " Would you like to wear it?" Lovey asks.
She nodded and patiently sat as Lovey unfastened the bracelet before placing the heavy thing on her tiny arm.
It weighed her wrist down a bit but Gracie squealed in excitement.
Lovey tucked the girl's hair behind her ear and her blue eyes met Lovey's.
" Pwetty." She grinned.
" It is pretty, just like you, my dear girl." Lovey smiled.
She was so fascinated by the bracelet. Lovey got up off the bed and brought her jewelry box over and the two found themselves covered in all different types of jewelry by the time Thurston walked in.
He heard his wife and little girl giggling upon entering the hut and saw the two decked out in Lovey's jewelry.
" Well now, what do we have here?" Thurston asks, smiling at his wife.
" Gracie and I are playing dress up. Doesn't she look divine in the jewelry?" Lovey giggled.
Gracie was adorned in some of Lovey's biggest diamonds and one of her hats. The little thing was careful and fascinated by every little piece.
" Lovey is it a good idea to give a child such valuable pieces?" Thurston raised a brow, worried something would happen to some of these precious, priceless pieces.
" Nonsense, Thurston. Every little girl needs real jewelry. When we get back to the mainland, I intend to get her a diamond bracelet to match mine, if we keep her…." Lovey replies, her voice trailing off.
Thurston raises a brow. " If!?" He questions.
He moved to the bed to sit by his wife. " Lovey, what do you mean if we keep her? Of course we are going to keep her."
Lovey looked up at her husband with watering eyes. " We don't know that for sure, Thurston." She whispered.
The millionaire's brows went up. Earlier his wife seemed happy and cheerful, now she was sad. He wondered what happened, what made her think this way?
" Lovey dear, please be sensible about this. We are going to adopt her and make her a Howell. She'll be our little girl."
" You can't promise that, Thurston. Ohh you know it isn't fair. We shouldn't get attached like this."
Lovey wiped her eyes trying to keep the tears that threatened to spill over at bay.
Thurston hugs his wife close before whispering in her ear. " I can, my darling. With Thurston Howell the Third as your husband you can have anything your heart desires and if it's Gracie you want, we'll keep her."
Lovey pulls away from him slightly. Not wanting to hear what he has to say.
" I'll be right back." Thurston got up and quickly went to find Mary Ann hoping she'd keep an eye on Gracie so they could talk.
The farm girl agreed and the Howells decided to take their conversation to the supply hut.
The two sat down and Lovey burst into tears.
" Thurston we're too old to have a child her age! How will we get along without a nanny? What experience do we have?"
" I resent that we aren't too old, Lovey. I think we will be just fine. Forgive me my dear for saying this, and I do apologize that I can't provide you with the creature comforts from home. We have MaryAnn to help us. She was raised on a farm after all. That kind of training comes in handy when one has children."
Lovey was going to reply but she sat processing what her husband told her.
Wiping her eyes, Lovey just nodded in reply.
" It will all work out. What are you so afraid of my dear?" Thurston rubbed her back gently.
Losing her. Lovey thought to herself.
" I just want another chance." Lovey chose her words carefully as she spoke, picking at her nails and avoiding her husband's gaze as she did so.
The millionaire stiffened. He thought back 20 years ago to a time when Thurston Howell IV would be born. His impending arrival had both the families so excited until...until they came home from the hospital empty handed.
Clearing his throat, Thurston grabbed his wife's hands in his own, knowing exactly why she wasn't being vocal about her feelings and understanding her reservations about adopting the little girl.
" I understand now, Lovey. But she's here and she's ours and we'll make her a Howell. She may not be Thurston Howell the IV, but she'll be just as special to me. She may not be a Howell by blood, but it doesn't matter. She'll grow up loved and happy and have the best education money can buy and above all two parents that adore her."
" Oh Thurston, what did I ever do to deserve you, you wonderful man." Lovey willed herself not to cry. Thurston's sweet words took her by surprise. He held her in a warm embrace.
Thurston sat by his wife, giving Lovey some time to collect herself before they went back to the others.
They made their way back to camp and saw everyone was gone. Lovey saw a note on the table.
" Mary Ann took Gracie swimming. They all went. She said she cooled a bottle of wine for us in the stream and made us something to eat." Lovey smiled sweetly after reading the note.
" How thoughtful. I have been missing meals with you, Lovey." Thurston replies with a cheeky grin.
Gathering up the food and cups Mary Ann left out, the Howells sat and ate a quiet meal just the two of them.
It had been a while since they'd had any time to themselves uninterrupted.
After eating, the couple headed towards the beach to check in because the sun was setting and Gracie would be going to bed soon. Lovey wanted to tuck her into bed and read her a story.
They met up with the others about halfway to the beach. Thurston took Gracie in his arms and held the girl tightly. She laid her head on his shoulder.
" Did you have fun at the beach, my girl?" Thurston asked as the three walked back slowly.
She nodded her head sleepily against him.
It would be the girl's first evening in a real bed. Lovey had Gilligan put the cot from the supply hut in between their beds until they could make Gracie her own.
Once they got to their hut, Lovey changed the girl for bed and laid her down in the coat with her own little stuffed animal.
Gracie yawned, trying to stay awake to hear the story about the princess Mrs. Howell was telling her.
Thurston sat on the edge of one side of the cot, Lovey on the other. The two falling perfectly into the rhythm of parenthood.
Gracie's big blue eyes closed and she drifted off into a deep sleep.
" Good night my darling girl." Lovey whispered, placing a gentle kiss on her temple.
Thurston adjusted her blanket and sat in awe as he watched the girl sleep.
" She's had a big day." Lovey kept her voice quiet, standing now as she walked over to her wardrobe to grab her own pajamas.
Lovey changed for bed but watched as her husband observed the tiny little blonde, protectively sitting with her.
Her own heart swelled by his gesture. He was a natural. She had always pictured him tucking their son into bed, never a girl- their daughter. Somehow the sight put her at ease.
The Howells got into their own beds respectively and found themselves off in dreamland much like Gracie. The three slept peacefully, the island sounds lulling them to sleep.
TBC...
Author's note: Thank you all so much for the reviews! It means so much! XX.