"She's just been taken back to her room," the nurse told Igor and Audrey. "You may go back and see her now."

Father and daughter entered the room to find Ginger staring forlornly at the television, which was not on. "Sweetheart!" Eagerly Igor went to his wife and, mindful of her IV, gathered her into his arms in a fierce hug.

Ginger, comforted by the familiar scent of her husband's aftershave, clung to him. "It's over, Igor," she whispered.

"Yes, it is all over now, moya lyubov," Igor murmured. "All that is left is for you to get strong and healthy again."

"My uterus is gone," Ginger continued.

"Yes, and I am glad that it is gone, because it is what make you sick. Now that it is gone, you are all better again."

Audrey hugged her next. "Mom." She was near tears.

"Sweetheart," said Ginger. "Now you're forever my one and only. I always wished I could give you a brother or sister."

"That's all right, Mom. I know it's not your fault."

"We were on that island for so long..." Ginger's voice trailed off.

"I enjoyed growing up there, Mom. The Prof...Roy and Mary Ann were the best, Gilligan was always so much fun, and everyone else was great as well. I'll always treasure all those special memories."

"So will I," Ginger replied.

"There is one memory that I will always hold dear," Igor put in. "That is the day I see my sweet Ginger again. I think that I will never see her again, that I will be man alone for rest of my life, and then miracle happen. I find her again, and not only that, but also beautiful daughter that I did not even know I had."

"I never forgot you, you know, the entire time we were stranded on that island," said Ginger. "Every time I looked at Audrey, I saw you. That dark hair, those eyes, that scientific mind..."

Igor smiled and gave her hand an affectionate squeeze. "Others are here as well, but if you do not feel like seeing them now, it is all right. I will tell them to wait until later."

"Oh, no, that's all right!" Ginger exclaimed. "I can't wait to see them all again."

Roy and Mary Ann were first. Mary Ann eagerly embraced her friend. "Oh, Ginger!" She took a good look at the redhead and saw how pale and tired she looked. "You poor thing!"

"How are Dawn and Dusty?" asked Ginger.

"They're both fine! Here's the most recent picture of them." Mary Ann showed her friend the photograph.

"They're beautiful!" Ginger smiled weakly. "Dawn looks just like a younger version of you, and Dusty's the spitting image of Roy."

Roy embraced Ginger. "I've done an intensive study of the type of cancer you were diagnosed with," he told her. "I learned that with surgery, the prognosis is excellent."

Ginger wanted to tell him that she was more concerned with the prognosis for her marriage but knew that she couldn't discuss such matters with Roy.

Gilligan and Cindy were next. Cindy regaled Ginger with stories of her children's latest antics while Gilligan nosed about all the medical equipment, in the process tripping over a cord and accidentally unplugging a monitor.

Next the Howells visited and and asked if Ginger needed any financial help with the medical expenses. Ginger thanked them and told them that everything had already been taken care of.

Last was Jonas, who entered with Claudia, as the two of them had been chatting together for awhile in the waiting room. After they left, Ginger was very tired.

"Rest now, moya lyubov." Tenderly Igor stroked her hair. "You deserve it."

Ginger spent several days recuperating in the hospital. Her friends were able to spend a few days visiting with her but then had to return to their own lives. Audrey also had to go back to school a short time after the operation, but Igor never left his wife's side. He constantly lavished loving care on her, catering to her every desire, returning only briefly to their home to take care of necessary business every so often.

Several days after her surgery, when she was more awake and alert than she'd been the first day, Ginger's husband brought her a giant get-well card.

"Mark and Jennifer send this for you," he told her. Thirteen-year-old Mark and eleven-year-old Jennifer were his children from his first marriage. "They are sorry they cannot come to visit. They would miss too much school."

The card was made of poster board. A recent photograph of Mark and Jennifer had been glued to the center, and they'd decorated it with hearts cut from red construction paper. Mark had written 'Get well soon, Ginger! We love you!' beneath the photograph, and they'd both signed it.

Ginger was moved to tears. "They love me!" she exclaimed.

Igor laughed. "Of course they love you! You are their family!"