The gang disembarked in San Juan around three in the afternoon, trying to decide where to go. Nancy immediately started to drag Ned towards the older parts, specifically two forts. "We'll meet up for dinner somewhere. Later!"

"Sounds good to me, I'm going to go shop!" Callie said excitedly. "Want to join me, Frank?" As an afterthought, she added, "Alicia, you can come too, if you want."

Alicia smiled slightly and shook her head. "I really want to see that fort, then I'm going to walk around the city. Joe?"

"I really want to spend time on the beach…" he said unhappily.

"We'll go to the beach in St. Martaan. And in Dominica, but you don't want to spend time on the beach I want to see there." Alicia smiled and ran to catch up with Nancy and Ned. "Wait up!"

Joe sighed, then shrugged. "I guess shopping we'll be close to food…"

"You'll love the fort, Joe, and there is food all over the place." Frank pointed to where the group was waiting for Joe, Alicia waving him over. "Besides, if Alicia breaks off, do we really want her wandering a strange city alone?"

Joe chuckled. "I guess not. Have fun you two." He ran over to them and threw his arm around Alicia.

Frank turned to Callie. "And then there were two. Lead the way," he smiled.

Callie, however, was frowning. "You want to go see the forts with them, don't you?" she accused.

"And miss out on spending some time with you alone? No way." He put his arm around her waist. "They can find their mysteries and last a few more days on the ship. Me, I'm going to take full advantage of the week."

Callie was satisfied with that answer and started pulling him along, gleeful.

Frank, however, was uneasy. He had just told Callie another lie. He wondered how long it would take him to break down and tell her everything.

It wasn't long before the four sleuths ran out of old places to find mysteries, which had everyone down except Ned, who was trying to cheer them up.

"Come on, we're on an island in the Caribbean! Let's go find a little drink shop, get a little umbrella drink, and go relax on the beach for a bit."

"But we didn't bring beach gear, no one wanted to haul it around for hours and hours," Joe complained, fanning himself with a brochure. "It's so hot, though… water sounds nice."

Ned motioned for all of them to follow, and led them through the streets to one of the public beaches. "Last one to the water line is a Mystery-less sleuth!" he called, stripping off his socks and tennis shoes before sprinting towards the water, Alicia and Nancy right behind him. Joe had strayed to two cute girls who were having a little trouble setting up.

"Allow me," he said with a smile. The girls giggled and thanked him by exchanging room numbers.

"Joseph Hardy! Are you going to join us, or do you plan on flirting all day?!" Alicia called from the ankle deep water, laughing.

"Excuse me, ladies, I have some unfinished business to take care of." With that, Joe Hardy took off down the beach, chasing after her.

An unusually strong wave made Alicia misstep, and she cried out as she was pulled backwards into the deeper water. Both Ned and Joe rushed in after her, pulling her out as the next wave pushed them. As Joe picked her up and set her on dry ground, she winced.

"Are you alright, Alicia?"Nancy asked, kneeling next to her.

Alicia nodded. "Mostly wet. Help me up?"

Ned was shaking his head. "You ankle looks sprained."

"It is fine," she argued, trying to get to her feet. The pain that shot through her leg confirmed Ned's observations, and Alicia fell back to the beach.

Ned ran to grab her shoes, slipping the one carefully back onto her foot and tying it as tight as he could without hurting her. "This will have to brace your foot until we get back to the ship."

"Do you need help with your other shoe?" Joe asked.

"I'm fine." Alicia tried to look stubborn, but honestly, she was frustrated, and it was hard for her not to start crying. As she pulled on her other shoe, Nancy shooed the boys away, asking them to bring back cold drinks.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked when the boys were out of ear shot.

Alicia shook her head, closing her eyes. "I'm so mad at myself right now. I injured myself at the first stop, and now all of the rest of our plans are ruined."

Nancy rubbed her back. "Hey now, as far as anyone else is concerned, we're winging this entire trip. So don't be mad at yourself. Be mad at the sand, then forgive it and move on." Alicia chuckled, and Nancy smiled. "Better?"

"Much. Thanks Nancy."

The boys came back with their hands full. "Two Lemonades, one Raspberry Lemonade and water: who wants what?"

Around seven thirty, Frank and Callie went to meet up with the rest of the group. Everyone was gathered around a seated Alicia, poking her arm.

"Dear baby sister," Joe said with a sad chuckle, "If you don't want to burn and you don't want freckles, wear sunscreen."

"I reapplied it twice today," she pouted. "It's not that bad, is it?"

"Not at all," Ned reassured kindly.

Nancy was not so kind. "Not yet. Sometimes it takes a while to see the full effects."

"Meany," she smirked.

Frank raised an eyebrow. "What happened to you four," he asked, taking in their appearance, surprised Nancy was the driest and cleanest in the group.

Joe shook his head. "We had some extra time, so we went to the beach to walk."

"Only it turned more into a run…" Ned pointed out.

"And a little bit of surf came in…" Nancy added, looking at Alicia. "And someone fell in and hurt themselves."

Alicia pouted. "It's hard to run on sand."

Ned stretched. "I think it's only fair Frank carries her, this leg of the trip," he smiled.

"Oh no, I am not getting wet and sandy, and my arms are full," he said with a chuckle, pulling Callie quickly towards the boat. "We'll meet you back on the ship."

Joe quickly stood up. "I carried her all the way here! Looks like you're up, Nickerson!" he called as he ran off.

Nancy chuckled and shrugged. "I would help, but I'm all clean, and it'd be nice to stay dry until dinner."

"Nancy… Don't you run off too…."

Nancy smiled and backed away. "Sorry Ned." She turned around and followed Joe. "Hey! Wait up!"

Alicia sighed. "It's so nice to know that I'm loved, even when I can't walk," she quipped. "I feel like a hundred pound hot potato."

"That might be the sun burn," Ned chuckled as he stooped down to pick her up off the bench. Alicia laughed and put her arms around his neck.

"I'm sorry you got stuck with me," she said after a moment. "This probably isn't how you wanted to spend your spring break."

He shook his head. "It's ten times better. If Joe hadn't been with us, we would have spent most of our time trying to decide what to do next and getting lost. And it was fun, pulling you out of the water while the waves tried to knock us down." He smiled at her reassuringly. "The only downer is your ankle, and only because I don't want to see you feeling left out."

Alicia smiled slightly. "No complaints from here," she said softly. "I get to be carried around by three handsome men for the rest of the week until we find crutches." She handed the security guy her keycard and the two passports while Ned fished out his card.

"Welcome back, Ms. Hardy. Faking an injury, I see. Welcome back, Mr. Nickerson." He winked and let them pass.

Ned chuckled. "Thank you, sir."

When they got to the gangway, a giant dancing parrot was waiting for them. "Oh no… the photographers brought backup. Don't make eye contact," Alicia said, looking away from them. It was too late. The parrot captured them in a hug and started pushing them over to the camera man.

"We're trapped, no escaping now," Ned muttered to Alicia, who giggled.

"Come, come. Let's take a picture of the lovely couple!" said the enthusiastic photographer. The parrot held then in place as he snapped a few pictures. "Beautiful! Thank you! Your pictures will be in the photo gallery on deck 6." The Parrot ran off to claim another victim, and Ned turned back to head up the gangway.

"Can you make it through the metal detectors on your own?" he asked as he carefully set her down.

Alicia smiled. "I guess we're about to find out." With the help of security and a set of crutches, Alicia and Ned made their way to the crowded elevators.

"I wonder where everyone went. I was sure they'd wait for us." Alicia struggled to get the crutches under her and sighed. "These are so uncomfortable…"

Ned held the elevator open for her and a few other people before squeezing in next to her. "Let's check out the suite, wrap your ankle, and if they're not there, then we'll go do our own thing until we run into them. I hear they're having a Dance like Michael Jackson night. It would be entertaining to watch."

Alicia smiled. "More entertaining to dance. You'll just have to dance for me, and I'll watch for you." Ned made a face and Alicia giggled. "Please?"

Ned sighed. "We'll see."

A/N: Incentive to review! Do you think Ned can be persuaded to Dance like Michael Jackson? And do you want him to? Cast your vote in a review and leave a note on what you think! Thanks for all your support! And thanks to corky for kicking me into gear and to all of the reviews I do get. They really make my day.