We begin at the front entrance to a rather large amusement park. Balki suddenly ran into view, jumping and cheering for all he was worth. Larry ran up next, huffing and puffing, with the girls following.

"It may not be Disneyland, but I love it!" Balki crowed, a large smile plastered to his face.

"Balki..." Larry began, trying to catch his breath, "don’t run off like that when we get in there! I didn’t wear sneakers just to chase you around."

"Oh, Larry, he’s just excited. I’m sure you felt the same way when you first went to an amusement park," Jennifer said, putting an arm around him.

Larry made a bit of a face. "Well..."

"Cousin’s got his antacid flashback look on his face," Balki said.

Larry wrang out his hands. "The first time I went, I got sick on the first ride."

"A roller coaster?" Mary Anne asked.

Larry shook his head. "The Merry Go Round. I haven’t been to a park since."

"We’re gonna fix that for you right now, Cousin!" Balki said, cheerily.

"I don’t have to go on the Merry Go Round, do I?" Larry asked, worry etched on his face.

"No, you don’t have to," Jennifer said.

"Oh good," Larry said, with a sigh.

The quartet entered the park after paying for their tickets. Balki grabbed a park map and opened it up.

"I want to find the water rides!" Balki exclaimed.

"I love the water rides!" Mary Anne said.

"It’s this way!" Balki said, then started pulling Mary Anne in that direction.

Jennifer turned to Larry. "We’d better follow them."

"I don’t have to do the water rides, right?" Larry asked, making a face.

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Larry, you can just watch, I promise."

Larry let out a sigh. "Good." He took Jennifer’s hand and they ran after Balki and Mary Anne.

At the log flume ride, Balki and Mary Anne got in line, Balki refolding the map. He then pointed at the bridge where many people stood, watching over the rail. "What they doing?"

Mary Anne grinned. "Watch!"

Within seconds, a log came down and splashed water onto the crowd on the bridge, effectively soaking everyone.

"Lets go up there after the ride!" Balki said. Mary Anne nodded.

Larry and Jennifer caught up to them, but only Jennifer got in line. "Larry, this one isn’t that bad! Why don’t you give it a try?"

Larry shook his head. "No, I’ll be fine waiting for you right here."

"Cousin, you missing all the fun!" Balki said, as the line moved forward.

Larry waved as they moved along in line farther than he could follow. He sighed, wishing he could join in. He turned away and found the nearest bench and sat down. He slouched down, hands clasped, and watched the people mill about. He couldn’t help but think about how his stomach seemed to be doing backflips. He hadn’t had the heart to tell his friends the real reason he wasn’t going on the rides.

Larry felt there was no sense in ruining the others’ fun by telling them that he was just plain sick.

It was about fifteen minutes later when Larry heard Balki cheering, running from the ride’s exit, the girls just two steps behind him.

Larry stood to greet them and plastered a smile on his face. "How was it?"

"How was it? How was it?" Balki repeated, then paused. "What was the question?"

Larry sighed. "How was the ride?"

"It was so much fun! Cousin, you have to go on with me!" Balki grabbed Larry’s hand and started to pull him along.

Larry’s eyes widened and he started to dig his heels into the ground. "Balki, stop!" He managed to pull out of Balki’s grasp. "I don’t want to go on it! Why can’t you just leave me alone about it?" he snapped.

Balki looked hurt. "But, Cousin, I just want make sure you have fun, too."

Larry rubbed at his face and noticed, to his horror, that he felt warm and not just from sitting in the sun. "Balki, really, I’m fine. I don’t need to do the rides to have fun." He paused, thinking he really needed to get a drink and sit down again. "Why don’t you find the roller coaster? You’ve been looking forward to that all week."

Balki grinned like a kid in a candy store. "Okay!" He unfolded the map and began walking in the direction of the coasters. Mary Anne fell in step next to him.

Jennifer joined Larry. "Larry... are you okay? You look a little pale. It couldn’t be heat stroke, we’ve only been out here a half an hour."

"I’m fine," Larry said, waving it off.

"Okay, but maybe you should get a cold drink while we ride the coaster," Jennifer suggested.

"Already thought of it," Larry said, forcing a smile. If he didn’t start feeling any better soon...

The group made their way to the coaster, Larry stopping briefly at a vendor to get a lemonade. He slurped the drink as the other three got in line for the coaster. He waved at them, then went to the nearest bench and sat. The lemonade helped a little, but despite that, he still felt warm when he wiped a fine layer of sweat from his forehead.

Larry made a decision. When the others returned, he’d excuse himself and head back to the hotel they were staying at for the weekend, then they wouldn’t have to keep asking him to go on rides and he’d be able to lie down.

Unfortunately, it was almost a half an hour by the time the trio returned from the ride. Larry had finished his drink in about fifteen minutes and was really starting to feel the heat again. He didn’t get up as they came over, and Jennifer sat down next to him.

"Larry, what’s wrong? You really don’t look good," Jennifer said.

"I know it’s only been an hour, but I think you were right about the heat stroke, Jen," Larry lied. Or maybe it wasn’t a lie... completely.

"Oh, Cousin, we’ll take you back to the hotel--" Balki began.

"No, no, I’ll head out and get the shuttle back. All of you stay here and have fun. I’d just be in the way. I’ll go back to the room and cool off. I’ll be good as new later," Larry said, giving them a half smile. He stood up. "I’ll just head on out." He jerked a thumb in the direction of the gates.

"Okay, Cousin," Balki said, a little let down.

"Feel better, Larry," Jennifer said.

Mary Anne waved. "See you later!"

Larry sighed, his shoulders slouching as he walked away from them, and they turned in another direction to continue on. It sure was his rotten luck...

-----------

Nearly an hour later, Larry finally entered his and Balki’s hotel room. He felt horrible. His stomach flipped and now he felt dizzy. He pulled off his shoes and detoured into the bathroom and checked his reflection. Jennifer was right, he didn’t look good. He was even more pale than his usual complexion

Larry splashed some cool water on his face, then grabbed a towel and dried his hands. He left the bathroom and headed for the far bed which he’d claimed for his own. Slowly, he crawled onto it and curled into a ball. He sighed as he closed his eyes, willing himself to fall asleep.

-----------

Balki shot Nerf balls at wooden painted ducks. The bell went off signaling him as the winner. He jumped up and down as he was given a prize, a big blue stuff dog, which he gave to Mary Anne.

Meanwhile, Jennifer was having pretty good luck of her own. She was currently spraying water into a clown’s mouth, trying to be the first to pop the balloon on its head. A loud *pop* was heard and the bell went off. She pointed at a medium-sized brown bear with curly fur and a blue ribbon around its neck. The bear was handed to her and she hugged it as Balki and Mary Anne joined her.

"What next?" Balki asked, unfolding the map for the umpteenth time.

"I’m hungry," Mary Anne stated.

"I could use some lunch, too," Jennifer agreed, then paused. "And I’d like to call the hotel to check on Larry."

"He might not answer. I’ve been through enough of Cousin Larry being sick and he can sleep like a boulder!" Balki said.

"Good point..." Jennifer said, unsure.

"We could have lunch, play some more games, then take our prizes back to the hotel and check on him then. Maybe he’ll be feeling better and can come back with us for the afternoon," Mary Anne suggested.

Jennifer smiled. "That’s a good idea."

"Okay, ladies, this way to the food!" Balki proclaimed, pointing to their left. As they headed for the food area, they tried to decide what to get...

-----------

The room was dark, a stark contrast to when he’d originally came in and laid down, only to get a beam of sunlight cut through the blinds and land directly on his face.

With great difficulty, Larry had gotten up in a huff and daze, trudged over to the window, and pulled the drapes closed, completely blocking the sunlight and pretty much any other light coming in.

Now, Larry was curled up on the bed again, back to the window. He couldn’t sleep, however, despite being very tired. He felt horrible, not just sick, but guilty as well. Their weekend of fun wasn’t so for him and he wondered what the others were doing.

He was lost in his thoughts when a knock came at the door. His first thought was that it was the maid. "Don’t you see the ‘Do Not Disturb’ out there?"

Another knock came. Larry groaned, then slid off the bed and trudged his way to the door. When he opened it... he was met by a furry face. "What--?"

Jennifer appeared in the doorway, holding the teddy bear she’d won earlier. "I talked Balki and Mary Anne into letting me bring our prizes back here so they could keep going on the rides. Balki really wanted to come back to check on you, but I told him you didn’t need all three of us." She held out the teddy bear to him. "He reminds me of you."

Larry took the bear... and smiled. "He’s cute." He looked up. "You didn’t have to do this." He moved aside to let her in and closed the door after.

"I wanted to..." she began, then trailed off, seeing how dark it was in the room. Jennifer turned to him. "You don’t just have heat stroke, do you?"

"No," he said, then sat of the end of Balki’s bed. "I felt it coming on yesterday and I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s weekend." Larry paused, then gave a slight grin. "Imagine that, I actually wasn’t being selfish for a change."

"No, but you might’ve made yourself sicker by going out," she said, gently.

Larry sighed, then looked down to play with the bear’s ribbon. "I guess I just can’t do anything right. I’m an albatross, that’s all."

"Larry, you know that’s not true," she said, sitting next to him.

"They named Murphy’s Law after the wrong person," he said, then sighed. He looked up again. "You don’t have to stay here, Jen. Why don’t you go back to the park? I’ll be fine. I’ve been sleeping for most of the time I’ve been back here anyway."

"I don’t feel like going back." Jennifer paused. "There’s an observation deck two floors up. Think you’d be okay for that?"

He considered it, then gave a half shrug. "I guess so, as long as there’s somewhere to sit." He paused. "Sunglasses, I need to find my sunglasses. I’ve gotten too used to the darkness in here and the bright light won’t help anything."

"I’ll get them. Where are they?" she offered.

Larry pointed at a backpack on the chair in the corner of the room. "Outer front pocket."

Jennifer went over to the bag and pulled the sunglasses out of the pocket. "Found them." She turned and went back to him and held out the sunglasses, which he accepted. She then offered her arm. "Shall we?"

"Yes," he agreed and took her arm, then headed out of the room.

-----------

Being mid-day, the observation deck wasn’t awfully busy, seeing as at least ninety-five percent of the people staying at the hotel were outside enjoying the beautiful day. There were, however, two people about to make use of the area.

Jennifer and Larry stopped in the doorway, Jen turning to Larry. "Still okay?"

Larry slid his sunglasses on, then sighed. "So far, so good."

They claimed a small couch in the middle of the room and sat down. From where they sat, they could easily see the amusement park.

"I still feel rotten... in more ways than one," Larry said.

Jen gave his hand a squeeze. "Don’t worry about it. Balki and Mary Anne are still at the park and I get to spend time with you." She smiled at him.

Larry gave a slight grin. "It isn’t like I’d go on most of the rides, anyway. I remember going to Disneyland when I was six. We went to Tomorrowland... It wasn’t a pretty sight." He paused. "I can’t recall if that was before or after the Fantasia incident."

"I kind of liked Tomorrowland," Jennifer said, then shrugged.

Larry slouched down enough to rest his head on her shoulder, the top of his head touching her neck. "On the other hand, I really liked Opryland in Nashville. There was atleast one day that my parents could not get my youngest siblings off the Mini Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. It was hilarious watching them get on, then get off and run right back in line again. They eventually dragged me on and then I kept doing the same thing. My parents have atleast one good picture taken as the coaster was going down one of the short descents where I have my arms up in the air. That was a great vacation... I’d never been more sunburnt in my life."

"Larry?"

He sighed. "I know, Jen, I’m babbling."

"No, that actually wasn’t what I was going to say."

"What were you going to say?"

"You feel warm. I can feel it on my neck," Jennifer said, removing his sunglasses to check his eyes.

Under normal circumstances, Larry would’ve pulled away quickly, saying that he felt fine. But he really didn’t and didn’t feel like arguing... for a change. "That doesn’t surprise me."

"Maybe we should go back to the room--"

"Not yet, please?" Larry glanced up at her. He immediately regretted the action as his equilibrium slipped, causing his eyes to close.

"But, Larry--"

His eyes remained closed as he spoke, "How do you feel about me, Jen?"

"Truthfully, you’re annoying me a little bit right now."

Larry frowned. "Not what I meant."

Jennifer sighed. "Larry, we’re going back to the room, then I’ll answer, okay?"

"Alright," he agreed.

-----------

They entered the still-darkened room and Jen led Larry back to his bed. As soon as he laid down, he curled up. His eyes opened slightly. "Well?"

"Well what?" she asked.

"How do you feel about me?"

Jennifer smirked. "You can be incredibly stubborn."

Larry groaned, pulling the pillow over his head.

"I’m sorry, Larry. I’m just... thrown by the question. I wasn’t expecting it," she admitted.

"I was just wondering if this was sympathy... or pity..." he muttered.

Jennifer pulled the pillow away, then swatted him with it. "Larry, how can you say that!?"

"Jen!" He reached out for her, but she stood just out of reach. His arm dropped, defeated. "Only two other people have spent this much time with me when I was sick... my mom and Balki. I’m not used to it. And you know I’m not overly tactful at times."

"At times?" she repeated, questioningly. Jen’s expression softened and she knelt down to match his eye level. "We’ve known each other for over three years and I like to think I know how you are normally and I’m fine with that. I’m just not used to... this side of you."

"What do you mean by this side?" he asked.

"Vulnerable," Jennifer answered, honestly.

Larry’s eyebrows raised slightly. "Maybe a little... okay, a lot." He paused. "I’m probably getting delirious. Just forget I said anything. Hey, why don’t you go grab something to eat? I could probably try to get some soup down."

"Okay," she said and nodded. "I’ll be back shortly." Jen got up and left the room.

Larry groaned. "Good going, Appleton." He paused. "Think I’m going to be sick..." With that, he slowly got up and made his way to the bathroom.

-----------

Jennifer returned to the room a short time later, using the key to let herself in. The room was slightly lighter now as a couple lights had been turned on, but the drapes remained pulled. She set the styrofoam container of soup on the nearby dresser, then glanced around the room. Her gaze landed on the closed bathroom door. She stepped over and listened a moment. She heard water running, slightly. "Larry?"

The running water shut off abruptly, but it tooks a few seconds before the door opened slowly. Larry stood leaning against the inside of the door frame and held the door open. His curls were damp and he had a weary look on his face. He made an attempt to smile, but it didn’t work. "Hi, Jen."

"Larry... you look worse than you did earlier. Why did you let me leave?" she asked, taking his arm and leading him out of the doorway.

Despite looking like he might collapse at any moment, Larry stopped her in the middle of the room. "I needed to think." He sighed. "I managed to do a lot of thinking while I was in there." He made a slight wave toward the bathroom. He looked away. "I hate feeling vulnerable." He turned back and swallowed hard. "I thought I’d end up spending the rest of the day alone here after I left the park. It never occurred to me that any of you would show up. Well, maybe Balki, but..." He swayed a little, but Jennifer hung onto him, allowing him to lean on her. "I’ve never been cared for this way before. You know, by someone who wasn’t my mom. Or Balki."

Jennifer wasn’t sure how to respond. She met his gaze and realized it was unwavering. He was pale and sick as all get out, but he was determined to tell her what he was thinking. "I do care about you, Larry, a lot. I couldn’t possibly have stayed at the park knowing you were here by yourself and sick." She paused, "Speaking of... you look like you’re going to pass out. Lets sit down--"

But Larry interrupted, "I hope I’m not contagious." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

Jen was surprised at first, but it faded quickly and she melted by his kiss. Or maybe it was the heat radiating from him, she wasn’t sure, but at the moment it didn’t matter.

It was several moments before Larry pulled away from her slightly. The act of kissing her took too much exertion and he felt dizzy.

Jennifer noticed the faraway look on his face and sat him on the bed. She placed the back of her hand to his forehead and gave subconscious gasp. "You’re burning up. I’ll go grab a wash cloth and run it under some cool water. I’ll be right back."

Larry still sat dazed, his gaze fixed on the floor. When Jen returned, he looked up and whispered, "Can’t believe this is happening..."

She dabbed the wash cloth at his forehead. "It’s perfectly natural, Larry, don’t worry about it."

He reached up and lightly took hold of her hand, keeping the cloth to his head. "I need to sleep this off..."

Jen let him take the cloth and watched as he leaned back, head resting completely off the pillow. Once his eyes closed, she shook her head, then decided there wasn’t much else she could do and laid down on the opposite bed.

-----------

It was late evening when Balki returned to the room he shared with his cousin. Mary Anne waved as she went into the room she shared with Jennifer. Balki returned the wave and went into his room. Inside, he found Larry snoring softly on the bed that he’d claimed while Jennifer slept soundly on Larry’s bed, her arms wrapped around one of the pillows.

Balki smiled a little as he moved closer to Larry. He pulled away the now-dry wash cloth and frowned seeing how pale his cousin looked. Balki turned and headed for the bathroom. He ran the cloth under the cool water and went back out. He folded it and placed it back on Larry’s forehead. Larry didn’t even flinch.

Balki turned and gave Jennifer’s arm a gentle shake. She opened her eyes, then went to say something, but Balki put an index finger to his lips, then motioned to the still-sleeping Larry.

Jennifer nodded her understanding, then got up. She leaned close to Balki and whispered, "Call me first thing in the morning and let me know how he’s feeling."

"Okay," Balki agreed, then let Jennifer out of the room. He turned back and spotted the styrofoam container on the dresser and peeked inside. He had an idea of why it was sitting there, but also realized the soup was cold. Rather than wasting it, he slurped it up as quietly as he could while he watched a muted TV.

-----------

It was about three o’clock in the morning when Larry woke with a start. He’d had the strangest dream, which now any memory of was fading quickly. He sat up slowly, glancing around the darkened room and saw Balki had taken up the other bed. He gave a slight smile seeing Dimitri wedged between the pillows.

Larry rubbed at his face with both hands, the wash cloth having fallen into his lap. He thought he still felt warm, but it was hard to tell with cold hands. He did notice one positive: he was starving! He got up slowly and felt along the bureau for the room key. He picked it up, then felt his way along the wall to the door.

Larry eased the door open and stepped out, keeping one hand pressed to the wall to keep his balance as he didn’t trust himself fully on his feet. He went a few doors down and found the vending machine. He debated which of the snacks in the machine wouldn’t make him regret eating. He sighed, put some change in, and hit the button for the Pop Tarts. He knelt down to pull out the snack. As he stood, he heard foot steps behind him.

Larry turned to find Jennifer behind him. "Hi, Jen." He gave her a small smile.

She returned it. "Feeling a little better?" She nodded toward the snack.

"Feeling hungry, so... yeah, I guess I am." Larry paused. "But I can’t tell if I’m still warm. My hands feel like ice."

Jen put a hand to his forehead. "Fever’s still there, but at least you feel like eating, finally."

They started back down the hall to their rooms, her arm around his shoulders. "Don’t take this the wrong way, Jennifer, but I think this has been the worst weekend of my life," Larry commented with a sigh.

"I understand," she said as they stopped between the doors to their rooms. "I’ve got an idea. Would you want to go downstairs and sit in the lobby while you have your snack?"

Larry gave a slight nod. "Even though I doubt the wrapper would be loud enough to wake Balki, knowing my luck, this time it would."

-----------

A short time later, Jennifer and Larry still sat in the lobby. Larry finished off the last of the Pop Tarts. "I hope I’ll be able to manage real food tomorrow."

"You mean those aren’t real food?" Jen asked, a slight grin appearing.

"They’re about as real as Dimitri," Larry quipped. He paused, then said, "Thanks again for spending the day with me, I really appreciate it."

"I was glad to stay with you," she responded.

"Even though I ruined the weekend," he said.

"You did no such thing, Larry. Like I said before, you couldn’t help being sick. Besides, you thought of us over yourself. That’s a big step for you," Jennifer said, with a wink.

Larry chuckled slightly. "Yes, it was a big step. Either that, or I was delirious."

Jennifer playfully swatted his arm. "You don’t give yourself enough credit."

He shrugged. "Maybe." He sighed. "I don’t know why these things always happen to me. It’s almost like I’m cursed or something."

"You aren’t cursed, Larry," Jennifer said.

"No, I just have a lot of bad luck." Larry glanced out the windows, then made a poor attempt at stifling a yawn.

"I saw that," she said, poking him in the arm.

Larry nodded. "I am starting to feel tired again."

Jennifer stood. "How about we head back up, then? Maybe you’ll feel better in the morning."

He stood as well. "I doubt it, but it’s a nice thought."

She slugged him playfully in the arm and he feigned being in pain as they headed for the elevator.

-----------

The next morning came all too quickly. Unfortunately, Larry had an unceremonious wake up call in the form of a shaft of sunlight peeking through the slight space between the curtain, landing directly on his face. He winced against the offending light and rolled over, all intentions of going back to sleep.

It wasn’t to be. The curtains were suddenly flung open and were followed by Balki letting out a pleased sigh. "It’s a beautiful day!" He turned and went over to Larry’s bed. Seeing his cousin facing the opposite direction, he leaned over him.

Despite having his eyes closed, Larry knew what Balki was doing and opened his eyes enough to glare at him. "Balki..."

Balki smiled, then spoke quietly. "Good morning, Cousin. How you do feel this morning?"

"Well," Larry began, then paused to figure it out, "actually, I feel better--"

"You’ll join us on the rides, then?" Balki said, a hopeful expression crossing his face.

Larry sighed. "Not quite that good, but I think I’m up to walking around with you. But first, you’ll have to let me up."

"Oh!" Balki straightened, then motioned toward next door. "I let the girls know."

"You do that," Larry said, then sat up and watched Balki head out. He sighed again, but followed it up with a smile.

-----------

Later that night, the guys entered their apartment, carrying luggage and souvenir bags.

Larry dropped his bags, then dropped himself onto the couch and gave a sigh of relief. "Feels good to be home."

Balki set his bags down, then climbed over and sat on the back of the couch. "Cousin, I’m sorry you didn’t get to enjoy our trip that much, but I’m glad we went. I had a lot of fun!"

Larry shrugged. "I knew how much you’d been looking forward to it. And I did walk around with you today."

Balki grinned. "Was that you under the dark sunglasses and Cubs hat?"

Larry leaned over to dig in his bag. He sat back up with the sunglasses on, then put the ball cap on. "What do you think, Balki?"

Balki snatched the hat, causing Larry to laugh as he replaced it backwards. "Backwards looks better."