Disclaimer: I don't own Gilligan's Island or any of its characters!
It felt like years since Kincaid had made it onto the island. The hunt was over now, though, and he was alive. As soon as Kincaid got into his helicopter to leave, Gilligan had started to apologize. It felt like it was his fault that they once again didn't get rescued, and no matter how many times Skipper and the Professor tried to convince him otherwise, Gilligan didn't believe them.
Gilligan barely made it back to the tables before he needed to sit. The Professor claimed that it was dehydration- he'd been on the move for a while, after all. Gilligan couldn't argue with that. When Skipper sat next to him, he tensed a bit, still expecting Kincaid to show up once again. Guilt rose in Gilligan's chest when he realized exactly what happened. Gilligan couldn't meet Skipper's eyes. How could he expect the Skipper to do the same thing that Kincaid did? Skipper wasn't like Kincaid, why did he have to be afraid of him?
It didn't take long for Mary Ann and Ginger to be by his side, wanting to check him over to make sure that he was okay. As much as Gilligan wanted to reassure them that he was okay- and tried to a few times- they still insisted that he have a cup of water and try to eat something. While Gilligan did agree to it, he mainly wanted the others not to worry. He'd be okay.
While they were eating, Gilligan kept wondering if Kincaid would come back. If he did, would he try to hunt one of the others just like he did Gilligan? Gilligan definitely didn't want the others to be hunted.
"You know, Gilligan, I saw a butterfly a bit ago that we haven't been able to catch yet," Mary Ann started as she glanced at him. "Do you want to go after it with me later?"
Gilligan paused as he looked at Mary Ann. He really just wanted to sleep, but that did sound like it'd be fun. Maybe it'd give him an opportunity to make sure that Kincaid really did leave, too.
"Okay," Gilligan said, a hesitant tone to his voice. He forced a smile on his face before he continued. "Oh, maybe I can introduce you to some of the animals there!"
Mary Ann smiled at him, a relieved look in her eyes. That sounded normal, at least. "That sounds great," she told him.
The day had gone by quickly, and it wasn't long before the group were in their huts. While Skipper did some small things around the hut, he glanced back at Gilligan. He smiled a bit when he saw Gilligan, sitting in a chair and messing with a stick he had found. Still, he looked tired, like he could fall asleep anytime.
"Why don't you get some rest?" Skipper asked, a casual tone to his voice. Gilligan looked up at him before shaking his head and going back to the drawing he was making with the stick. "Any reason why not?"
"I don't want to," Gilligan said. There was a pause for a few seconds as he finished the drawing he was working on. "Do you think he's going to come back?"
Skipper's eyes narrowed as he looked at Gilligan. Kincaid? He was sure that Kincaid likely wasn't going to come back to the island. Was that what Gilligan had been worried about?
"Little buddy, I really don't think Kincaid's going to come back here, if that's who you were talking about," Skipper said, sitting in the chair across from Gilligan. After a couple moments, he smiled a bit. "If he does, he'll have to get through me to get to you."
Gilligan glared at Skipper, though there wasn't much of a threat in the glare. "No. I don't want you taking him on," he said. He wanted Skipper here, not being willing to fight off Kincaid. "That doesn't help."
Skipper nodded at that. "Alright," he said. For a moment, Gilligan looked so much like some of the people he'd seen right after a battle, scared that what they'd just faced was going to come right back. There were other people on the island to help out if that did happen, though. He knew that, right? Would Gilligan answer that question if he asked? "Gilligan? You know we do have your back if you ever need it, right?"
Gilligan nodded at him. "Yeah, I know," he said. Gilligan then went to erase the drawing he had made. "Just like I have yours, and everyone else's."
A few days passed by, and there wasn't a night that Gilligan didn't wake up in the middle of the night. He'd refused to acknowledge it to Skipper, and would try to find something on the island to do.
On the fourth day after Kincaid had left, Gilligan was out looking for something to do. Most of the chores had been taken care of already, so when he couldn't find anything that he could do, he went to find Mary Ann. Was she serious about looking for that butterfly a few days before? Would she still be willing to go looking for it?
It didn't take long for Gilligan to find Mary Ann, putting laundry up on the line. As he approached her, he smiled a bit.
"Hey, Mary Ann," Gilligan said. She turned to look at him, smiling a bit at him. "I was wondering if you'd want to go looking for that butterfly? Once things get done, I mean."
"Sure!" she said. Gilligan grinned at how excited she sounded as she said this. "If you help me with the laundry, we can head out sooner."
Gilligan nodded and helped her finish putting the laundry on the line- only tripping over his feet a couple times- before they went to get the nets. There had been some light teasing from both of them, though neither of them really meant anything by it.
Mary Ann described the butterfly and where she'd seen it, smiling to herself when Gilligan smiled. It was closer to his normal smile than what there had been the last few days, which she was glad for.
Things had gone well, for the most part. A couple animals had come up, and Gilligan had talked to them. They'd found a few butterflies, but not the one that Mary Ann had seen. Gilligan had kept looking around, like he was expecting someone to show up, though.
"Gilligan, it looks like you're looking for someone," Mary Ann commented as they sat in the sand for a few minutes. She didn't mean anything by it past a comment.
"Are you sure that he's gone?" Gilligan asked. How could he be sure? How did he know that Kincaid hadn't stayed behind? Gilligan still wanted to be sure that he wasn't still on the island.
"Kincaid?" Mary Ann asked. When Gilligan tensed at the name, she sighed. "Yeah, he left." Mary Ann paused as she looked at him. He looked tired, more so than she thought she'd ever seen him. "I'm so sorry it was you. I would've been with you if I could."
That got Gilligan's attention. "No!" Gilligan said. "No, you shouldn't have. He could've hurt you, too!" Mary Ann shook her head, but Gilligan continued. "You should not have been with me."
Mary Ann grabbed his hands. "Gilligan," she started. "I wanted to help you. I wanted to keep you from him that whole day."
Gilligan nodded, sighing to himself. "I keep having dreams about it. If it was one of you, or if he killed us," he whispered. He refused to meet Mary Ann's eyes as he continued. "I didn't want it to be one of you."
Mary Ann smiled sadly at him. "I know," she whispered. "And the rest of us are going to be here, okay?"
Gilligan smiled at her, his eyes finally meeting hers. "Okay," he said.