The two men stared at the boat. It was a creamy white color with bluish trim. It was no more than twenty-five feet in length, and was sporty as a new red convertible.

"Would you guys like to check out the inside?" Scott asked, breaking the awed silence.

Snapping out of his daze, Skipper said, "Sure!"

They all three carefully boarded the tiny ship, Gilligan losing his balance only once.

"Deck feels sturdy," the Skipper noted, testing the strength of the floor by shifting his weight up and down. "Everything up here looks well taken care of. Let's see the control room." –AN-

"Right over here," Scott said, motioning for them to follow him. They entered through a whitewashed wooden door. Inside was a neat, furnished captain's quarters.

"Isn't this something?" Skipper mused. To him, the smallish control room was high-tech and interesting.

Gilligan stared at the ocean ahead. "It looks a lot different out there than it did from the SS Gillis," he stated.

"Yeah, I'll bet she handles a lot easier too," the Skipper agreed. "Compared to the Gillis, this ship is…..just a little minnow."

"So, do you guys wanna look at any others, or is this gonna be the one?" Scott asked, dollar signs dancing in his head.

The Skipper and Gilligan shot one another a short glance, and the Skipper nodded. "We'll take it," he said, then quickly added, "if it's got a reasonable price!"

"Did you give my sister a big tip?" Scott wondered.

"I told her she could get free rides on our boat," Gilligan said, helpfully.

Scott laughed. "Okay. Let's step back into the office."

Scott led the way out of the cabin onto the deck of the ship, followed by Gilligan and Skipper. As soon as they were outside again, they began to hear a small crying sound. It got closer and closer until they saw its source: a young Hawaiian girl, perhaps three years old running down the cement pier that bordered on the edge of the water. She ran past the boat they stood on, screaming and crying desperately.

Gilligan was the first to react; he disembarked the ship, without stumbling once, and ran after the girl. He caught up to her quickly and picked her up off the ground. She stared at him, terrified, with big, green, watery eyes.

Gilligan told her, "You shouldn't be running so near to the water! You might fall in!"

By this time, Scott and the Skipper had caught up to them. The little girl had her head laying on Gilligan's shoulder, saying, "Makuahine, Makuahine….."

"Where's your mommy?" Gilligan asked, stroking her long brown hair.

"Um…..Makuahine, aia i hea?" Scott said, trying to remember the few Hawaiian words he had learned.

"Kokua, Makuahine, Makua kane!" she cried, shaking her head.

"What'd you say?" Skipper asked. "And what'd she say?"

"She was crying for her mom," Scott explained. "So I asked her if she knew where she was, but she just called for her mom and dad for help." He gently touched the girls' bare shoulder and, indicating Gilligan, said, "Hoaloha." To the Skipper and Gilligan, he said, "Her parents can't be too far off. I'm gonna go see if I can find them. Don't go anywhere." He jogged in the direction the little girl had come.

By this time, she was just crying silently, rubbing her face into Gilligan's borrowed jumpsuit.

"Skipper?" Gilligan asked, sounding tearful himself. "Let's buy her some ice cream."

"You stay here in case Scott comes back with her parents," Skipper said, looking around. He shrugged and walked off in a random direction. "Don't know where he expects me to find ice cream around here," he mumbled.

"Don't worry," Gilligan consoled her. "We'll find your mom and dad."

--

NoV: Sorry about the wait! I was busy! This chapter is actually based on a personal experience of mine involving a little Colombian girl. Til nexties!

AN: I know that the Minnow on the show didn't appear to have a control room. Screw it. I want a control room.

Makuahine: means mother.

Aia i hea: means where.

Kokua: means help.

Makua kane: means father.

Hoaloha: means friend.