8
The Skipper and Gilligan paced in the cave as the others sat depressed and quickly getting a case of cabin fever.
Gilligan broke the silence, "How far out is Eva now?" The hurricane about to bear down on them had been given the name of another visitor to the island that had left them stranded there.
Ginger then spoke up, "Probably a lot closer than the real Eva ever was to coming back to get us."
They turned up the radio to hear the latest weather report which had it coming ever closer. The Skipper then declared, "Gilligan, its time. Get me that umbrella thing you made so I can keep some of the wind whipped rain off my face while I make it back to camp. If the Professor and Mary Ann are going to make it to the cave in time, we've got to act now."
Gilligan ran and got the device he made himself out of palm leaves while bored yesterday. He told him as he handed it to him, "Be careful Skipper, I hope that helps and keeps Mary Ann dry so she doesn't get even more sick."
Everyone else looked at each other again, realizing once again how frail Mary Ann was and the very real possibility that she might not survive, or hadn't, they didn't really know. The Skipper thought that at least Gilligan didn't understand the gravity of the situation and that was good for now.
The Skipper took the umbrella and told him, "Little buddy, I'm sure this will help and I must say, that I'm impressed with it. Even the Professor will be impressed with it I know." Then as Gilligan walked with him to the edge of the cave, the Skipper turned to him and said, "Now, in the meantime, you, as first mate, are in charge. Take care that no one leaves and everyone gets something to eat. That includes you." He then saluted Gilligan who saluted back and with that the Skipper left.
Gilligan then straightened his hat and informed the rest of the group, "Ok, now, its time to get something to eat. We should probably just all take one piece of fruit and save the rest for later. Let's get to the back of the cave."
They started to get up and go to the back all walking together when Ginger said, "You know, I had a role in a movie once where I got caught out in a rainstorm. My co star was supposed to sweep me off my feet and carry me to a shed for shelter and then...well it was supposed to be a romance...anyway, the director had the sound effects guy play the thunder, only he played it much louder than he was supposed to and the actor dropped me because it scared him!" They all chuckled for a second at her story.
Gilligan then said, "He doesn't sound so brave to me. But don't worry Ginger, if you get scared, you can always come to me. I'm first mate..." before he could say anything else, a loud clap of thunder hit and Gilligan jumped into Ginger's arms the way he would the Skipper's should he have been there.
Ginger said, "So...does this mean I sweep you off your feet Gilligan?"
Gilligan started to blush and then cleared his throat as he got down and explained, "I...uh...I was just showing you Ginger what you could do if you needed me."
Gilligan then led the way to the back of the cave blushing slightly, as Mrs. Howell started to comment, "Really you two...if you need privacy all you have to do is tell Mr. Howell and myself. We remember what it's like to be young and in love." She said that with a wink to Ginger and Mr. Howell as they all tried hard to suppress their laughter.
The Professor packed everything away as Mary Ann slept. Although she was recovering, and he knew that, he was still debating whether or not to keep the seismometer attached to Mary Ann. There had been no irregularities in two days, but the idea of not being able to look and see that constantly frightened him.
He thought to himself, 'I'm a scientist...I understand the circulatory system and I know, rationally, that if she hasn't had a problem since the attack she should be fine. Why I can't I trust that knowledge?'
The Professor sat back down beside her and watched as she slept. It occurred to him that the risk was even greater for him now. They had both confessed that they loved the other and the joy of that declaration both elated and scared him. Losing her would come at too high a toll for him. She was vital to his very survival, he surmised.
On a positive note, being with her and around her brought him a sense of happiness he had never experienced with anyone else. He wanted nothing more than to explore these new feelings with her, record each and every one in his journal and muse over them for the rest of his life. He carefully packed that journal as well since it was so precious to him now.
He chuckled as he did pack it. When he first took this trip to Hawaii, some of his fellow scientists at the university had given it to him so he could document his entire trip. They meant it as a well understood joke that really applied to all of them that even leisure activities were subject to scientific scrutiny. So it was a fresh journal and he had worked at conserving the pages, writing mostly about plant life and currents and weather patterns, all the scientific recorded data one needed to survive for this long on this island.
However, in the last few weeks the entries had changed. More and more of them focused on Mary Ann. They started as observations on her dedication and hard work to see their small colony survive, but now had turned to romantic notions of love, caring and physical contact. He was recording the ways his feelings for her had changed and the exhilaration of those changes for him. He chuckled to himself at how frivolous his colleagues would find his journal now.
She stirred again and he brushed her hair back. Waking to his smiling face made her smile as she thought over and over again at how lucky she was. Despite being stranded on this island away from the rest of her family, she was in love.
He asked her, "How do you feel?" Are you thirsty?" He started to get up, but she grabbed his arm to stop him.
She told him, "No, I'm not that thirsty. I still feel tired..." She noticed that everything seemed to be packed up. "What's going on? Oh wait...we were supposed to move to the caves, weren't we?"
The Professor rubbed her arms with his hands as he sat by her on the bed and explained, "Yes we were and I think we had better move today. I'm not sure how far out the storm is, but the rain, thunder and lightening are picking up momentum so it couldn't be that far off. Do you feel like you can walk at least part of the way? I can and plan to carry you for most of it."
Mary Ann looked skeptical, "Professor, you can't carry me and those bags. I'll walk and if I get tired and I will stop and rest, alright?" She smiled at him and he leaned over to brush one soft kiss off her lips before getting up to finish packing.
He told her, "Just lay back for now and save your strength. I still have a few things here to take care of and when I get done, we'll start out, at your pace. You need to tell me though when you are feeling too tired." He looked back and into her eyes when he told her, "I can always leave these bags wherever and carry you. You are much more valuable to me."
She started to blush when suddenly the door flew open. The Skipper came in almost panting he was breathing so hard and had some sort of umbrella looking thing that appeared as though it had gone through a washing machine.
"Skipper!" The Professor shouted as he went over to the door and started to help him to the chair in the hut. "Here sit down, are you alright?"
The Skipper took several deep breaths and then smiled as he saw Mary Ann looking at him too, but still in bed. He told them, "I'm..." deep breath..."I'm fine Professor. Just ran the last mile or so. The thunder and lightening are so close! Gilligan made this umbrella for us, but it didn't stand a chance against those winds either!" He held up what were at that point sticks with palm leaves tied to them with vines.
The Professor took it from him and said, "This is actually pretty clever. You say Gilligan devised this and supervised its construction? I'm impressed."
The Skipper smiled and then asked Mary Ann, "Uh Mary Ann...are you feeling better now? We've all been so worried."
Mary Ann looked down for a second and then said, "Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry I worried you all. I just made a stupid mistake..."
The Professor walked over to her and took her hand, looking in her eyes he told her, "You didn't make a stupid mistake, you made a very human mistake. You have nothing to be sorry for, alright? Everyone worried because they care about you so much." He smiled at her to get her to smile back, which she did.
The Skipper then spoke up, "Well, we need to get all of us back to the cave. Professor, what do you need me to carry?"
The Professor then looked at the bags which he knew were not that heavy and Mary Ann. He knew the Skipper had the strength to carry Mary Ann himself easily, but the Professor really wanted to do that himself, to hold her. They hadn't really discussed whether or not to share with the others their new relationship yet. He told the Skipper, "Well, there are several bags here, so it would probably be best if you got those. I can carry Mary Ann and monitor her fatigue. We should probably wait an hour or so until this dies down however."
The nodded to each other and waited. In the meantime, the Professor finished packing things up and once the wind and thunder died down the Skipper grabbed the bags while the Professor carefully picked Mary Ann up.
They got back to the cave quickly and everyone was happy to see Mary Ann. The two had decided not to tell anyone of the change in their relationship. They had whispered to one another as he carried her and came to the mutual decision. He had told her it was like a hypothesis, you didn't share it until you had engaged in enough observation and experimentation to determine its viability. She had just chuckled and said, "You mean we want to make sure everything works out first." To which he chuckled and nodded his head, yes.