You never know how much someone means to you until something happens to them. I have learned that lesson many times on this tiny, little island.

I watch the Captain leave to get some form of rest. He hasn't left the boy's side since this disease first hit him. I can't blame him really. As quick to anger as he is with that boy he is just as quick to forgive him for whatever transgression he committed that day. He truly loves that boy.

I take the seat next to Gilligan's bed and tuck Teddy under the crook of his arm. I smile a bit as he instinctively hugs him in his sleep. In an instant he doesn't look like the young man we have come to rely on for our sanity but rather he reminds me of a small boy that needs only his mother's love to nurse him back to health.

I daresay my wife has taken on that role. We were never able to bear any children and there was certainly no way we could choose any one particular child to adopt. Instead her children are all of the orphans in her charities.

Now she mother's Gilligan, Mary Ann, and even Ginger at times. I admit I feel like their father on occasion.

I chuckle as I remember when Gilligan had become G. Thurston Howell the Fourth. For a week he tried so hard to become what we wanted him to be: a Howell. His reward was seeing us happy even if it meant his own unhappiness. Having him in our hut and teaching him was truly a joy.

I admit I envy the Skipper. Gilligan himself told me one time that I had everything while the Skipper only had him in this world. He said it wasn't much…that he was only Gilligan…but he was all the Captain had.

Truth is the Captain has something I will never be able to have. Not fully anyway. He has Gilligan. He has a boy that looks up to him. That talks to him. That he can share his life with. That he can leave his legacy to.

He has a son. A son that he…and I admit we all take for granted.

I have never met anyone more exasperating or more infuriating in my life! When I first met Gilligan I saw him as just another poor, working man and not worth my time. All he was to me was someone to carry our luggage and serve us. He did it with a smile and shining blue eyes that gleamed in the sunlight.

When we landed here I found myself wondering why the Captain had hired such an inept first mate! He was clumsy, naïve, and a fool! I could manipulate him easily and used him for my own gain, especially in the power struggles against the Skipper! I used that boy to win!

Yet somehow Gilligan wound up besting me and not even trying! I swear that poor boy has alternating luck! Good and bad!

I chuckle again and shake my head fondly as I put my hand on the boy's fevered brow.

I see it now. I see why the Captain gets panicky each time something befalls Gilligan. I see why he keeps his first mate close and is so protective. I have become the same way.

This boy has brought out the best in me. He reminded me of myself when I was his age. I used to be clumsy at times myself and often wondered about my place in this world. Disappointing my parents had seemed to be a hobby during my childhood and teenage years. That is until I managed to get into Harvard. It was the first time I had ever seen him regard me with pride.

And the only time. When I eloped with Lovey he was furious! So furious that he actually struck me across the face! I was surprised he didn't banish me from the family! When we found out we were barren he only shook his head unsurprised and we never spoke again. I only found out about his death through the servants. I had inherited the family fortune and empire and that was all he gave me.

Adopting Gilligan had been a great idea at the time but letting him go was the hardest and best choice I had ever made. He hadn't been happy and I had trapped him very much like I had been trapped my whole life. He's a free spirit, that boy. The night he had the dream I had been woken up by his movement and yells of "I don't wanna be king!" At last I could be the father I wished I'd had! He would come to me to talk about it I was sure of it!

Alas I watched with dismay as he left the hut and went to the one that housed the Skipper. I listened to their conversation and Gilligan's confession about not wanting to hurt us.

His voice…his stance…everything that night made me realize I had become as bad as my father. I never struck him of course (I would not be here breathing alive if I'd had! The Skipper's at his most dangerous when Gilligan is in danger!) but I had tried to change him…to mold him into a version of myself. I had been hurting him and yet his worries were for myself and my wife and our feelings.

That was the first time I ever felt stabbed and it wasn't Gilligan holding the sword. I had done it to myself. I was killing him and it had to stop! I felt horrible and for the first time I decided to do something truly selfless for someone else.

Even though I acted the part of embarrassed father I was inwardly roaring with laughter at his performance at the coming out party! He could give Ginger a run for her money in Hollywood should he ever decide to go that route! I believe she knows it too!

Watching him return to the arms of his friends…and especially the Skipper's had warmed my heart and became a major turning point for me. That night I had had a dream myself…I had dreamed of Gilligan locked in a room in a castle staring outside unhappily. In his hands was a toy ship. He looked at me with eyes that were dying. The beautiful room had been filled with many things that would make any normal boy happy but it hadn't mattered to him. The tears were landing on a wooden ship in his hands.

What had I, King Thurston had done? The past week he had done nothing but force him to be who he's not. That night I had opened the door and let the boy out. I had then lead him to the throne room to where Queen Lovey was seated smiling on her throne. Standing to the sides were Maid Mary Ann and Lady Ginger as well as Professor Hinkly of the local university.

Standing there nervously was the Lord Admiral of my Navy. He caught sight of him and instantly smiled. The boy looked at me in surprise but all I did was take the crown off his head and nod to the man. I smiled gently as he ran into the man's open arms!

The days after I became more and more convinced I had done the right thing. A silent agreement of sorts was made between myself and the Skipper. In a way we shared custody and the time I spend with Gilligan are cherished memories. Through the years I can feel my own heart softening only to this boy.

Then…that horrid monster came here! Jonathan Kinkaid nearly took him from us! Worry does not even begin to explain what I was feeling in that cave that night…and the night before when I checked on him and went to offer money for his release…

When it truly began to sink in that Kinkaid was really going to kill him the next day I had never seen him so frightened! I was willing to offer my entire fortune but Kinkaid was too evil and wicked to accept it.

To this day I am angered that anyone would want to harm a hair on that boy's head! The nerve!

I looked now at the sleeping first mate and feel my eyes burn and a wetness fall down my cheeks. I didn't bother to hide them as I let my heartbreak and worry show. I leaned over and kissed his forehead. "Gilligan you must be alright! My Boy you are worth more than the gold in Fort Knox! You…you're a priceless treasure!"

He's a treasure that I need in my life.

A priceless…

precious…

beautiful…

treasure…