Author's Note: This is sort of an M-rated chapter in K-rated terms. Please let me know if you think I should change the story rating at this time. Otherwise, I'll hold off till Chapter Nine.

When Gilligan woke the morning after his first night in the canoe with Mary Ann, he realized that exactly what he was afraid of happening had happened. The only good thing about it was he was still facing away from Mary Ann and, from the sound of her breathing, she was still asleep.

His father had long ago explained this condition to him. He said it happened when he (Gilligan, not his father) was thinking too much about girls. So Gilligan would do his best not to think about girls, which was one reason why he joined the Navy. He thought if he were surrounded by men all the time, then he wouldn't think about girls so much. The problem was some of the fellas had pin-ups of girls on their walls and all of the fellas talked about girls. And it turned out that there were women in the Navy, and even if there hadn't been, there were women on shore.

Gilligan did his best to cover his eyes when he walked by the pin-ups (even if he did bump into things) and he covered his ears when the other fellas talked about girls. And when he ran into a WAVE, he'd try to salute her with just his arm. As for shore leave, well, he read a lot of comic books. (Although even there, he had to be careful, because there are sometimes girls in comics.)

He did OK until he got shipwrecked with two beautiful girls. And one of them kept kissing him! Especially in the first few months they were on the island. And this wasn't just any beautiful girl. This was Ginger Grant the movie star! She had put him in this condition even before they met, which was one reason he'd make sure to have a big tub of popcorn in his lap, so no one else in the movie theater would notice.

That she usually wanted something from him, other than hugs and kisses, didn't keep him from being affected by her. The only defense he had was to knock himself out. Luckily, there was usually a handy palm tree or, if they were indoors, a post of the hut. Then she'd go away and leave him. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was the best he had. And she didn't do it nearly as often these days, although she had kissed him a lot for finding this canoe.

Meanwhile, there was a less aggressive girl, one who wore short-shorts and halter tops, so he could sometimes see her navel. She didn't seem aware of the effect her bare skin had on him. She would sometimes hug and kiss him, too, not as often, but usually just for the fun of hugging and kissing, rather than for some sneaky reason. She could put him in this condition, too.

Gilligan would go for swims in the lagoon, when possible. That usually calmed him down. Or he'd do his exercises, push-ups and stuff. These weren't perfect solutions either. When it got really bad, he'd find someplace private on the island and touch himself until the condition went away. But of course it wasn't always easy to find privacy on the island.

Still, it was more than he was going to have on this canoe. Yesterday, while Mary Ann was napping and he was trying not to think about how cute she looked curled up like that, he'd carefully lowered himself over the side of the canoe and taken a quick plunge, trying not to rock the boat too much, or splash too much.

He supposed he'd have to do the same now, since obviously he couldn't touch himself in front of her. Never mind that married people did something mysterious naked together. He wasn't ready to take off any of his clothes with her. Not only did he feel shy, but it apparently would sap his energy.

He went in fully dressed. The water was bitterly cold at dawn, unlike the afternoon, when it wasn't too bad. He shivered but at least it cured his condition. He'd do his best not to think anymore about kissing and cuddling with her. He didn't stay in the water too long, and then he carefully climbed back into the canoe.

"Gilligan, what are you doing?"

Uh oh, Mary Ann was awake. "Uh, just taking a nice, refreshing dip in the ocean."
"At daybreak?"

"Yeah, it's a great way to wake up."
"Uh, if you say so. Oh, Gilligan, you're shivering!"

"I'll be OK. I just need to dry out in the sunshine."

"Gilligan, you know what the Skipper said."

"Uh, about what?"

"In sickness and in health. I need to take care of you." She picked up a towel and started vigorously drying him off.
"Gee, thanks, Mary Ann, but I can do that myself." He grabbed the towel from her. The last thing he needed was her rubbing all over his wet body.

"Suit yourself. I'll start breakfast."

It didn't take her long to make of course, since it was just fruits and vegetables. He wondered if he'd get tired of them after awhile. Well, he could fish later on.

After breakfast, they started paddling again. That definitely dried him out, except when he started sweating. The aches and pains of the day before came back.

"Gilligan, how far do you think we are from the shipping lanes?"

He felt bad for her having to paddle. She was a girl, even if she was strong for her size. "Maybe a couple days. Why don't you work the compass and make sure I'm heading in the right direction? You can rest awhile."
"Gilligan, we just got started. I will check the compass though." She did and then said, "I think we're on course. Although it's hard to tell this soon in the journey. It'll probably be a long while till we pass land of any significance."

"Yeah." Maybe not even till Hawaii. He had never traveled much in this part of the world before the shipwreck, and of course she hadn't. For the first time, he wished the Skipper were there. Preferably instead of himself and Mary Ann.