"Gilligan's Acres" Chapters Eleven & Twelve

[kirsdarke]

Title: "Gilligan's Acres"
Chapter 11/Chapter 12
Author: Karen/kirsdarke
Pairings: Mary Ann/Gilligan, Ginger/Professor
Rating: PG
Summary: A friend of the Howells rescues the castaways, then leaves them a surprise when he passes away.
Disclaimer: Sherwood Schwartz owns Gilligan's Island and the castaways, not me.
Note: Apparently having no internet makes me very productive. Please comment! I'll try to update again as soon as I can.




Chapter Eleven
Wayward Community Playhouse

The next morning dawned bright and sunny, with not a cloud in the sky.

Ginger and Mary Ann had taken a small guest bedroom for themselves. Like the rest of the house, the room was bare and dusty, with a creaky door and floor. Still, it had two beds, and while they were uncomfortable, they were miles better than the bamboo cots they'd had on the island.

Ginger heard Mary Ann get up at sunrise, as she always did. After trying desperately to get back to sleep for about half an hour, the actress gave up and got out of bed. It would sure be nice when she got back to New York and had her own room again.

As she got dressed, Ginger made a note to ask one of her New York friends to send more of her clothes. She had only packed for a week or so, and had no idea how long they would be staying now. She didn't have much to work with as far as make-up, either, but she managed to make herself presentable enough before she went downstairs.

As Ginger stepped off the stairs into the living room, Mary Ann was walking in from the kitchen.

"Good morning," the younger girl said cheerfully.

"Good morning," Ginger said. "Is anyone else awake?"

"No, it's just me. I was just outside taking a look at the fields and the barn."

"What do you think?"

"I think we have our work cut out for us."

The girls heard footsteps walking on the front porch, followed by a knock on the door.

"Who could that be, this early?" Ginger asked.

"Early?" Mary Ann repeated. "It's already seven o'clock."

Ginger rolled her eyes. "Farm girls," she muttered.

Mary Ann opened the front door and found Jimmy standing on the porch, carrying a loaded cardboard box. He smiled and nodded to her.

"Good morning, Miss Mary Ann," he said.

"Hi, Jimmy," she said.

"Morning, Miss Ginger."

"Morning, Jimmy," Ginger said. "What have you got there?"

"Well Patti and me figured you wouldn't have any food here, so I brought a few things for breakfast." He looked down into the box. "I've got some bread, and eggs, and milk and coffee."

Mary Ann smiled. "Oh, that's so sweet," she said. "Here, give it to me. I'll take it into the kitchen."

She took the box and carried it away. Jimmy walked inside and closed the door behind him.

"Miss Ginger-"

"I'm not your teacher, sweetie," she interrupted with a smile. "You can just call me Ginger."

"All right, Ginger," he said nervously. "Look. Miss Mary Ann, is she...spoken for?"

Ginger gave him a sympathetic smile. "I'm afraid so," she said.

Jimmy sighed. "The pretty ones always are, aren't they?" he said. He gave Ginger a small nod. "Thanks."

He headed for the kitchen, leaving Ginger to wonder just how insulted she should be.

"Oh, good morning, Ginger," the Professor said, coming down the stairs.

"Good morning, Professor," she said.

"Did I hear someone at the front door?"

"Oh, that was Jimmy. He brought us a few things for breakfast."

"That was nice of him."

"Good morning, Professor," Mary Ann said as she and Jimmy walked back into the room.

"Good morning, Mary Ann," the Professor said. "Hello, Jimmy."

"Hi, there," Jimmy said.

"I'm glad you're here," Professor said. "I must ask you for a favor. Mr. and Mrs. Howell sent their driver and limousine away last night, so we're without transportation. Would you be willing to give me a ride into town so I could pick up some things that we need?"

"Why, sure," Jimmy said. "My truck is right outside."

"I appreciate it."

"I'll come with you, Professor," Ginger said. "In case you need any help." She didn't say what she was really thinking: that it would give her something to do so she didn't feel completely useless.

"Why don't you go right now?" Mary Ann said. "I'll have breakfast ready when you get back."

"Will the store be open this early?" Professor asked.

"Sure," Jimmy said. "Patti's there now. She can get a tab set up for you, too."

"Wonderful," Professor said. "Let's not waste any more time."

Mary Ann and Ginger got to work writing up a list of what was needed for the house, the land, and the barn that quickly grew to a foot and a half in length.

"Boy," Jimmy said when he saw it. "It's a good thing I got a big truck."

The three of them took Jimmy's truck into town, with Ginger riding between the two men in the middle of the front seat. She was the happiest of them when they pulled up in front of Smith's General Store and the Professor helped her out.

"On the way back, you can sit in the middle," she told him.

When they walked inside, they found Patti leaning on the counter, reading a book. She smiled and set it aside when she saw them. "Morning, folks. Have a good night?"

"I've had worse," Ginger said.

"Good," Patti said. "I guess. What can I help you with this morning?"

"We need a few things," Professor said. He took the list out of his shirt pocket.

"Like what?"

"Everything," Ginger said.

Patti looked at the long paper laying unfolded on the counter. "You're not kidding."

"Can you help us?" Professor asked.

"Sure," Patti said. She began reading the list. "I might have to order a few of these things from the next town, but it shouldn't take more than a few days to get 'em here."

"I told 'em we could start a tab for them," Jimmy said.

"I guess we can do that," Patti said. She smiled. "I suppose we can afford it now."

"Speaking of that, have you decided yet how you're going to use that money?" Professor asked.

"Sure," Patti said. "We've been making a list of our own. We have a few buildings that need fixing: City Hall, the schoolhouse, the firehouse, the library, the theater-"

Ginger's eyes lit up. "Did you say 'theater'?" she asked. "You have a theater here?"

"Sure, it's right down the road."

"May I see it? I just love old theaters."

"Sure," Patti said. She nodded towards her brother. "Jimmy can-"

"Jimmy can walk you down there," he finished for her.

Patti pulled a set of keys from under the counter and passed them to her brother. He headed for the door, mumbling to himself, "Jimmy do this, Jimmy do that."

"Jimmy crack corn and I don't care," Patti sang, gently teasing him.

Ginger smiled and took Jimmy's arm as they walked out. Patti looked back down at the list in front of her.

"All right, let's see here," she said. She grabbed a box and handed it to the Professor. He followed behind her as she began walking through the store, pulling items off the shelves and putting them into the box.

"Patti, may I inquire as to something that's been puzzling me?" Professor asked as his load got bigger.

Patti smiled at the formality of his question. "Sure," she said.

"The welcome sign lists the town's population as 5," he said. "But so far, we've only encountered you and your brother."

"Oh, yeah," she said. "We've been kinda lax on changing that thing."

It took the Professor a moment to understand her meaning. "Am I to understand that you and your brother are the only natives left in the town?"

"Yeah," she said. "Over the years, everyone just sort of moved on. Our folks were the last to go. They moved down to Florida around the time Mr. Friedman left."

"So why haven't you left?" Professor asked.

"Where would I go?" she asked. "This is my home."

The Professor had no answer to that, not one that she would accept. As a logical man, he could clearly see that the town was on its last legs, so to speak. However, it was even more clear to him that Patti was one of those proud people who would hold onto the life she knew until all hope was gone.

It was clear to him because they, the Minnow survivors, were doing exactly the same thing. For four years, all they had thought of was returning to their old lives, yet here they were, in a nearly abandoned farm town that they knew nothing about, all because they couldn't stand to say good-bye.

The theater was on the opposite end of the road from the store. It was possibly the biggest building on the street, except for City Hall. The front had a small ticket booth with doors on either side, and above the doors was a long, engraved metal plate that read Wayward Community Playhouse. It reminded Ginger of the theaters she used to go to when she was a young girl.

"This place's been here as long as I can remember," Jimmy said as the walked up to the doors. "It says 'Playhouse,' but it used to show movies, too. There's a screen behind the stage."

He pulled the keys out of his pocket and took a moment to find the right one before unlocking the door. He held the door open for Ginger, and then followed her inside.

The wooden floor creaked under their feet as Ginger and Jimmy walked into the lobby. On either side of the room were stairs leading up to the balcony, with the rails falling apart and parts of the carpet torn up. Ginger looked up and saw an old chandelier hanging high above them at the top of the ceiling. It seemed like it might fall at any moment, but it still shined like a diamond in the sun. The whole lobby was run-down, dusty, and dim, but it was lovely, and there was still magic in the air.

Ginger walked across the lobby to a pair of large, dark wooden doors with old, rusted handles. She pulled one open and stepped into the back of the auditorium.

The floor of the auditorium was covered in worn, dark red carpet. Many of the chairs were broken, their upholstery ripped, or they were just gone. The size of the room was impressive, not huge, but certainly big enough for its purpose. Above Ginger's head was the balcony, and along the sides of the room were smaller private viewing boxes.

At the front of the room was the stage. Ginger walked down the aisle towards it. There were several boards missing, and the dark red curtain had been torn in several places.

Ginger walked to the side of the stage and up the steps, then walked carefully to the back of the stage and pulled the curtain aside. Like Jimmy had said, there was a large movie screen with a large tear near the top.

She turned back to face the room. She could imagine all the seats filled with people, watching a show and having the time of their lives.

"O Romeo, Romeo," she said dramatically. "Wherefore art thou Romeo?" She listened carefully. "Good acoustics."

"Yeah," Jimmy said from the front row. "You know, Patti did that play in middle school. They did all the school plays here."

"Really? Did she play Juliet?"

"Yeah, and Leann Robinski was Romeo."

"Leann?" Ginger asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. It was a really small class."

Ginger looked around with a smile.

"Whatcha thinking?" Jimmy asked.

"I'm thinking I just found myself a project," Ginger said.

When Ginger and the Professor returned to the farm, they found Gilligan and the Skipper walking back to the house from the fields.

"Good morning, Skipper," Ginger said as she got out of the truck. "Hi, Gilligan."

"Good morning, Ginger," Skipper said. He pointed to the truck in confusion. "Where did you two get that truck?"

"The twins agreed to loan it to us while we're here, since we don't have any transportation of our own," Professor said.

"Well that was nice of them."

"It certainly was."

"We were just taking a look at the barn," Skipper said. "It looks like we've got our work cut out for us."

"You should see it," Gilligan said. "There are holes everywhere. The floor, the ceiling, the walls, everywhere."

"Well, we brought back some lumber," Professor said. "Patti's going to order some more for us from a store in the next town."

"Great," Skipper said. "Gilligan, why don't you get that wood off the truck and take it into the barn so we can get started right after breakfast?"

"Yes, sir," Gilligan said. He headed over to the truck.

"Skipper, have you seen Mr. Howell?" Ginger asked. "I want to talk to him about something."

"He's inside," Skipper said. "I think he's listening to the news."

"Great. Thanks." Ginger left them and went inside.

"Would you help me unload the truck, Skipper?" Professor asked.

"Sure, Professor," Skipper said.

He followed the Professor to the back of the truck and was almost knocked off his feet by a plank of wood to the back of his head.

Gilligan winced. "Sorry, Skipper."

"Are you all right?" Professor asked.

Skipper put a hand to the back of his head and sighed. "Why do I always set myself up for these things, Professor?" he cried. "Why?"

Ginger found Mr. Howell in the kitchen, listening to the radio as Mary Ann finished fixing breakfast.

"Hi, Ginger," Mary Ann said. "Good timing. Breakfast will be ready in just a minute."

"You were starting breakfast when we left," Ginger said. "What took you so long?"

"Gilligan offered to help."

Ginger nodded knowingly. "And you let him."

Mary Ann shrugged. "What can I say? I'm an optimist."

Ginger nodded towards Mr. Howell. "Is he in a good mood?" she asked.

"Howell Industries opened five points up this morning. What do you think?"

Ginger smiled. "Great." She sat down next to Mr. Howell at the small table. "Hi, Mr. Howell."

"Hello, Ginger," he said cheerfully. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm wonderful. I have something I'd like to talk to you about, if you have a moment."

"Well, I don't normally hear business propositions before breakfast," he said. "But I suppose I can make an exception."

"Mr. Howell," Ginger said. "The Professor and I just came from town, and Jimmy showed me the most darling little theater that they have. It only needs one thing, and do you know what that is?"

"No, but I imagine you're about to tell me."

"A generous benefactor to help get it back on its feet."

"No."

"No?" Ginger repeated, taken aback.

"No," Mr. Howell said. "Ginger, I came here to take care of Frederick's estate, and that's all. Now, the last thing I need is another project costing me money. Besides, Frederick already left them a very generous inheritance. I'm sorry, but my answer is no."

"But Mr. Howell," she said. "The twins have so many other things to take care of. The theater will be the last place to see any of that money, if it does at all. Now, they're both willing to help, and so is the Professor, so you won't have to pay for labor. And a theater can be the heart and soul of a small town like this. Imagine the good publicity."

She looked off into the distance, and held up her hand, outlining an invisible headline: "Thurston Howell the Third, Patron of the Arts, Revives Theater, Brings Life Back to Small Town."

Mr. Howell stared at the imaginary words. "A bit lengthy for a headline, isn't it?"

"Well, you get the idea," Ginger said. "What do you think, Mr. Howell?"

The millionaire touched his chin, thinking to himself. After a moment, he smiled. It was just impossible to say no to Ginger.

"All right, you've sold me," he said.

Ginger gave me a happy squeal.

"But I want regular reports, do you understand?" he said firmly. "I want to know everything that's happening, and I want to know where my money is going."

"Of course," Ginger nodded. She jumped out of her seat and hugged him tightly around his neck. "Thank you, Mr. Howell!"

"Goodness, girl, don't excite yourself. I'm only fixing the place. I'm not buying it for you."

Ginger and Mary Ann exchanged a small wink as Ginger left the room.

"Of course, I don't know what you're going to do with a theater in a town of two people," Mr. Howell said. "Punch and Judy, perhaps."


Chapter Twelve
Pulling Weeds

The next day was another beautiful one- sunny, clear, and warm. Especially warm. When Mary Ann stepped out of the house, she was reminded of summertime on the island.

Patti pulled up to the house just after breakfast. Mary Ann was on her way to the fields and stopped when she saw the truck.

"Morning, Patti," she said.

"Hi, Mary Ann," the blonde said, closing her door. She looked up at the sun. "It's gonna be a hot one."

"Feels like it already is."

The Skipper and Gilligan came out of the house and down the porch steps.

"Good morning, ladies," Skipper said.

"Morning, Skipper," Mary Ann said.

"Hi, Skipper," Patti said. "How are you this morning?"

"We're just fine," Skipper said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. I brought some more wood for you to use. We found some in the back of the church this morning."

"Well, thank you. That's very nice of you."

"Sure," Patti said. "If y'all need anything, don't hesitate to ask. We're happy to help."

"Well, we appreciate it."

"Yeah," Gilligan said.

Skipper looked at Gilligan in annoyance. "Well, don't just stand there, Gilligan. Get the wood off the truck and take it to the barn."

"Yes, sir, Skipper," Gilligan said. He went to the back of the truck and pulled off a long plank. "Hey, Patti, don't you need this wood for something?"

"Oh, don't worry," she said. "That's not all of it. Jimmy took the rest of it to City Hall, and to the theater for Ginger to use."

"Oh, okay. Good." He lifted the board onto his shoulder and turned away. Patti and the Skipper both ducked as the board swung right over them.

Two hours later, Gilligan left the barn with Skipper's angry shouting following him. He walked towards the house and stopped when he saw Mary Ann. The brunette was sitting in the field, pulling things up from the dirt and, Gilligan noticed as he got closer, singing a Mosquitoes song that was stuck in her head. He joined in as he walked up to her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he sang. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Mary Ann looked up at him with a smile. "Hi, Gilligan."

"Hi, Mary Ann," he said. "That's my favorite song."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's the only one I can remember all the words to."

"Aren't you supposed to be helping Skipper in the barn?" she asked.

"I am," Gilligan said.

"How?"

"By helping someone else," he said. "What are you doing?"

"Pulling weeds," she said.

"Can I help?"

"Sure." After all, what harm could he do pulling things out of the ground? She pointed to the end of the row. "Why don't you start down there, and head this way, and we'll meet in the middle?"

"Okay." He took a few steps away, then stopped and looked back at Mary Ann. "How do I know what's a weed and what isn't?"

"From what I've seen, all we've got is weeds. Just pull everything."

"All right."

The two of them got to work, slowly moving closer to each other, singing together. When they ran out of Mosquitoes songs, they moved on to The Beatles. Halfway through "Twist and Shout," Mr. Howell found them. He was carrying a large bag on his shoulder.

"Here you are, Gilligan," he said. "What are you doing?"

"Pulling weeds," Gilligan said.

"So I see." He looked at the small piles of weeds scattered around the ground. "There are quite a few of them, aren't there?"

"Unfortunately," Mary Ann said.

"Well, Gilligan, I have a job for you."

"Is that okay, Mary Ann?" Gilligan asked.

"Oh, sure," she said. "I can manage."

"Good," Mr. Howell said. "Now- Stand up, Boy, when I'm talking to you." Gilligan stood up and wiped the dirt off his pants. "That's better. Now." He began taking things out of his bag and handing them to Gilligan. "I want you to take this compass and find where our property line is on this map, and mark it with this rope and these stakes. Now, any questions?"

"Just one, Mr. Howell," Gilligan said, looking over the small mountain of things in his arms. "What's a property line?"

"Well, that's where this property ends, and the neighbor's begins. If we have a neighbor, that is."

"Oh, okay."

"Now, off you go, my boy! Ta-ta, Mary Ann!" Mr. Howell gave Gilligan a few cheerful taps of his cane before walking away.

"I'll see you later, Mary Ann." Gilligan took a few steps before dropping half of his supplies.

Mary Ann smiled and stood up. She brushed the dirt off her jeans and helped Gilligan gather up his supplies.

"Do you need some help, Gilligan?" she asked.

"Well, I don't want wanna take you away from your weed-pulling."

"Oh, that's okay," Mary Ann said. "I could use a break. I'll just help you get started."

Gilligan read the map and the compass as Mary Ann followed him, carrying the rope and stakes. When they found the Eastern end of the property, they planted the first stake and started walking south. Mary Ann pulled the rope behind them and tied it off with a stake every few hundred yards.

They found the Southern boundary just a few yards from a wooded area that they hadn't noticed before. Mary Ann placed another stake and tied it off.

"I suppose I should get back to pulling weeds," she said. She leaned on the stake and looked at the woods. "Gee, I wonder what's back there."

Gilligan looked at the trees curiously. "I don't know," he said.

"Should we go see?" she asked with a smile.

"I don't know," Gilligan said nervously.

"Well I don't think a little exploring could hurt anything," Mary Ann said.

"Well..."

She shrugged. "All right. Stay here if you like."

Mary Ann walked off and disappeared into the trees. Gilligan looked at the rope and stakes, then looked at the woods, and then followed her.

Mary Ann looked over her shoulder and smiled when she saw Gilligan following her. They walked down a narrow path for a little while before she stopped.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

Gilligan listened carefully. "Yeah. It sounds like water."

"It sounds like it's coming from that way," she said, pointing to her right. "Come on."

Gilligan followed Mary Ann as she left the path and walked through the trees. The sound of the water got louder as they got closer, until they broke through some low-hanging branches to discover a strong, clear stream, narrow and deep, running right through the woods.

"Oh, Gilligan," Mary Ann said, walking towards the edge of the water. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Yeah," Gilligan said. "It kinda reminds me of the lagoon on the island. Except it's smaller. And it's on a farm."

Mary Ann smiled as she climbed onto a large rock to get a better look.

"Hey, I wonder if I could skip a rock to the other side," Gilligan said.

He looked for a good skipping stone and found a perfect one in the shadow of Mary Ann's rock. He carried it back to the edge of the water, where he tripped on his untied shoelace and fell into the water.

"Oh, Gilligan!" Mary Ann cried. Gilligan reappeared on the surface of the water. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," he said. "Can you help me out?"

"Here, take my hand." Mary Ann leaned out and reached for him.

Gilligan grabbed her hand and pulled, and Mary Ann fell off the rock and into the water.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mary Ann," he said. "Are you okay?"

Mary Ann smiled. "Oh, I'm fine, Gilligan." She splashed water on him.

He smiled and splashed her back.

Mary Ann gasped. "You can't splash a lady!" She splashed him again.

"Oh, yeah? Watch me." He did it again.

With that, they became involved in a full-on splash war, and forgot all about barns, weeds, and property lines.

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