"Skipper!" Ginger shouted as she brought her hands to her face. "Oh! I knew it was you! I just knew it!"

"You... you mean you've known all along?" The Skipper asked. "Are you disappointed?"

"Oh Skipper, " Ginger said, taking his hand, "I said I would be fine with whoever it was... but after that last letter, not counting the one Mary Ann gave me yesterday afternoon, I... well I kind of hoped it was you. The words, they just seemed like words you would use. I have to admit, I thought it was the Professor at first, just because of how he reacted at dinner when you accused him of being my admirer... now I see you were trying to get the focus off of yourself."

"You.. you were hoping it was me?" The Skipper asked in disbelief.

"Well, I'll be honest, at first I kind of hoped it was Gilligan. You know, he's so sweet and shy. I found it all flattering," Ginger said, but then got back on topic as she saw the Skipper's face fall, "well, then like I said, I got that last letter where you said you'd "travel the world to find a woman like me," and that "your heart is anchored on the image of my smiling face." It did something to me. I compared that letter with the first letter, then I realized the flowers you sent. The card said, "to the most beautiful woman on the island". The only person I could imagine saying that to me was the person who said it to me in the first place... when you nominated me for Miss Castaway."

"Oh Ginger, I do think you are the most beautiful woman on the island, but I do want you to know that I think of you more than that," the Skipper said.

"I know," Ginger said, "I should have seen it before. You've always looked at me with admiration, but I've always turned a blind eye to it. Like you said, a man like you is not usually my type... but maybe I don't even know what my type is. You're a bit older than me, and I've always assumed you were nothing but a skirt chaser just because you're a sailor. That was wrong of me, and I'm sorry."

"Well, you're right, I was a skirt chaser," the Skipper said, blushing.

"What about that part about having trouble talking to women?" Ginger asked a bit puzzled.

"Ginger, I was a man in uniform. All most women saw was a free dinner and someone to spend a long lonely evening with... that didn't require much talking," the Skipper said blushing. Ginger blushed as well. Seeing him smile, she was sure some of those women had to see more than just a man in uniform.

"Are you two, going to sit there yakking? How come you're not getting to know one another... I mean really know one another past a casual friendship," Mary Ann barked at them. The two of them smiled, as the Skipper brought his hand up to Ginger's cheek once again. That's when he noticed the glitter.

"My ring!" He said, as he gazed at the two hundred some year old ring that his pop had passed down to him, "you felt the metal of my ring on your face. That's how you guessed it was me. Am I right?"

"You are right," Ginger said, "you know, you're a clever fellow, having Mary Ann play double agent, throw me off the trail by copying everyone's personality style. That blindfolding trick, that really takes the cake. That was um... well," Ginger began to blush again. The Skipper let out a roar of laughter at Ginger's shyness. Once the laughter died down, the Skipper looked her in the eyes.

"Ginger," he said, "would you, well, would you want to take a moonlit walk with me after dinner? I can tell you all about the real me. Perhaps you can tell me all about Ginger Grant, the woman, and not just the actress."

"Skipper, I would love to," Ginger replied, "just one more thing though."

"What's that?" He replied.

"Kiss me," she whispered. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and that is exactly what he did.

***Well, what did you all think? This story was a test of sorts... to get my feet wet. I'm thinking about writing another Skipper/Ginger, and not sure what kind of response I would get. My other stories... all MAGs, are sprinkled with Pinger, but just once I wanted Skipper to have his chance with the fair Ginger Grant. Also, there are those of the opinion that Skipper's feelings for Ginger were superficial. I've not analyzed episodes to confirm that, so I did a "what if", if you will... a story where the Skipper is truly in love with Ginger. Anyway, I would love any comments, please, whether you loved it, hated it, should I do another? Just let me know.***

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