An announcement that 'the plane would be landing shortly' brought Bruce out of a deep sleep. Amy stayed sound asleep. She was lying against him, wrapped in blankets. Bruce put his hand on her forehead: she didn't feel warm. Her skin was clammy as if she had been sweating. "The fever must've broken," he thought. Amy's temperature had risen again at the start of the flight. Bruce shook Amy gently.

"We're in Maui," he said softly before kissing her head.

Amy didn't move. Bruce slid her to one side and held her in place with his arm in order to be face-to-face with her. She was out cold; Bruce smiled. Amy looked peaceful, even slightly angelic as she slept. Her skin was a little paler than usual... he questioned if it was lack of make up and not whatever ailed her. He found her beautiful regardless. He leaned in and kissed her lips, still no movement. Bruce began to unwrap the blankets off of her. Her clothes were damp. Amy had sweat through all of he clothes. Bruce started to worry.

"Amy, honey, wake up," he said as he caressed her cheek with his free hand and shook her more aggressively with the arm that held her.

Amy began to scowl as Bruce shook her.

"Oww," she cried before finally opening her eyes.

Bruce smiled warmly at her as she looked up puzzled at him. His hand cupped her cheek and his thumb rested on her chin.

"We're about to land. We need to sit up and get our seatbelts on," he said as he lowered his hand and tried helping her sit up.

"I feel awful. Really awful," Amy whined as she grabbed her throat.

She sat up and Bruce brought her seat upright.

"I'm sorry baby," he said as he brought his own seat upright.

"I'm glad we're here... I need a bed. This turned out to be the most and least fun that I've ever had on a plane," she sulked with a pitiful voice.

Bruce interlaced his fingers with Amy's and brought her hand to his lips for a kiss. The plane landed within minutes. Amy groaned and kept her hands over her ears. The pain was worsening. Bruce rubbed her back. He flagged a flight attendant down and got some pain relievers for Amy. He could tell she was in a lot of pain; tears welled in her eyes. He held her close and tried comforting her as best as he could as they exited the airplane and maneuvered around the airport.

"I'll call for a doctor, or find out where there is a hospital, as soon as we get to the hotel," Bruce said as he retrieved their luggage from the conveyer belt.

The pain relievers kept Amy mobile long enough to get to their honeymoon suite. In the taxi ride to the hotel, the cab driver assured Bruce that a doctor would be able to check Amy there. She clung close to him, Bruce rubbed her back affectionately as if he was attempting to ease the pain. They arrived to the hotel. The cab driver was nice enough to help Bruce and Amy get inside with their things. The front desk paged a doctor as they checked in Bruce and Amy. A young man from the hotel staff carried their luggage as Bruce guided a pain riddled Amy to their room. An older gentleman holding a doctors bag was waiting for them at their door.

"Hello, I was told the guests here needed a physician. My name is Dr. Viloria. How may I be of assistance?" he asked with a smile.

Dr. Viloria looked like a Hawaiian native. He was dressed in what seemed like a golfing outfit. He had a kind smile and bright disposition.

"She started with a fever, and then complained of her ears and throat. She seems to be in a great deal of pain. We were able to get some Tylenol from the flight attendant when we landed but it's been almost three hours since she took it," Bruce said as he brought Amy to the bed.

She sat on the bed looking miserable, not saying a word. Bruce left her side to tip the young man from the hotel staff. Dr. Viloria went over to Amy and began checking her.

"You have great timing; I was headed this way to get a game of golf before dinner. Hmm... You must've gotten water in your ears prior to take off. The pressure of the air travel caused a rapid infection. Its very common, and very painful. I have a strong antibiotic that I'll give you, not to mention a shot of penicillin. I'm slightly old school, but considering that you're here on vacation, I'm sure you'll appreciate being able to enjoy some of your time here. Get some food and ibuprofen. Make sure you eat before taking the ibuprofen or antibiotic. And no alcohol for at least 3 days while on the medicine. You'll have to take the medicine for a week," said Dr. Viloria as he put away his otoscope and prepared an injection.

Amy began to cry. Bruce crawled from the other side of the bed and laid next to her. She turned toward him and sobbed on his chest. He smiled awkwardly but appreciatively at the doctor as she cried. Bruce wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her arms to comfort her.

"Oh miss, I'm sorry, I know you feel terrible but you'll be better soon. Are you allergic to penicillin?" asked Dr. Viloria.

Amy shook her head no.

"Not how you expected to spend your honeymoon huh? But you have a very good husband here. I'm sure he'll take care of all your needs and make the best out of this ugly situation. Now this will sting for just a second," he said as he lowered her waistband, swiped her backend with an alcohol prep, and gave her the injection.

Bruce sympathized with Amy; he pulled her hair out of her face and stroked her back. She quit crying and looked as if she was falling asleep again. He whispered to her to get some rest while he attended to the doctor and set her head down on a pillow. He kissed her forehead gently before climbing out of the bed. He wondered why the doctor considered them newlyweds. They weren't even wearing rings. He was comfortable around the good doctor. Bruce decided to ask him why he thought they were newlyweds. Dr. Viloria had put away the syringe and took out what looked like a bottle of medicine.

"Dr. Viloria, do we have patient confidentiality?" Bruce asked the doctor.

"Of course," answered the doctor as he handed him the bottle.

"It's nothing major; I'm just a private person. Well, I was wondering how you came to the conclusion that we're married. We don't have wedding rings on and I don't believe the front desk mentioned this being a honeymoon suite. I was curious to what prompted your conclusion," Bruce asked somewhat lightheartedly.

"I didn't mean to offend," Dr. Viloria said vehemently.

The two men stood in front of each other. Bruce with a very lax stance, Dr. Viloria looking very concerned. Bruce had the doctor's full attention.

"Oh no, no... you didn't offend me. Please, I'm only interested in how you came to the conclusion," Bruce said trying to ease the apparent anxiety the doctor's body language was expressing.

Dr. Viloria finally understood. He smiled and reached into his bag as he answered Bruce's question.

"Well, no, it wasn't the hotel. I've seen my fair share of tourist couples through out the years. I've retired from having office hours for some years now; the tourism keeps me busy enough to support my family's lifestyle and afford me great leisure. I've become familiar with airline travel tags to know the region people are traveling from without having to ask. I have an idea of people's disposition generally based on those locations," explained the doctor as he wrote in a book.

"–It's been my experience that people arriving here with sick partners from your region aren't as nice as you are. The complaints or behavior of their ill partner on the long flights seem to get the best out of them... Happy couples are a seldom few; especially from the region you're traveling from. You are still very caring toward her and she seems to still find comfort in you, regardless of your travel. It seems to me that you have learned to be very good friends and care for each other very much. Nowadays, people don't always use rings to symbolize marriage, so I just used instinct. If you aren't married, you should be. You make a nice fit, better than most of the married couples that come through here," Dr. Viloria said emphatically.

"Thank you. That's good to know," said Bruce as he chuckled and nodded appreciatively.

The doctor handed Bruce the directions for the medicine on the invoice he had written.

"So are you married?" asked Dr. Viloria with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

"No. It feels like it sometimes. We've been friends for a long time and have been through a lot together. Maybe marriage is the logical next step," Bruce said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"It is if you can't picture life without her. I've been married to my Betty for 26 wonderful years. She almost slipped through my fingers; Betty was supposed to marry someone else. She was one of the nurses at the local hospital where I worked at after medical school. I loved working with her and realized eventually that I just loved her period. We became good friends after working together for five years. I knew she considered me a good friend, her best friend even, but I didn't know if she had any other feelings for me. We had such a great relationship, people used to kid us all the time about getting together. She was my greatest supporter both in and out of work. It didn't strike me how much I cared for her until she told me she was engaged. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't see just having the small portion I had in life with her. I wanted her in all of my life. I didn't know how to approach the subject of my feelings. I'm not a very communicative man when it comes to emotions. I just tried showing her how much I care just by being there for her. I let her know I didn't like her fiancé. I even told her I didn't want to hear about her relationship, thinking she might understand why. It was the week before her wedding that I got up enough courage to tell her how I felt. At first she was angry with me. She didn't think a best friend would put her under more duress during such a crucial time in her life. She told me it was best that I didn't bother to attend her wedding. I left brokenhearted. The next day she found me after we were both off from work. She was completely thrown off by my declaration. She said she had always loved me deeply but didn't think I'd ever see her that way. I'm a very serious conservative man and she was somewhat wild and very lively. My news only angered her because she had gotten used to things the way they were and it put her in an awkward moment. She felt as if she should've said something herself and not wasted all this time trying to find my substitute. She told me that she would hate a life without me in it. My response was to kiss her... and the rest is history," Dr. Viloria ended with a chuckle.

"That's amazing. Stuff movies are made of," said Bruce as he filled out the invoice with his credit card information.

"Betty is amazing and my life is better than any movie. That's my advice to you young man: if you know you can spend the rest of your life with her –do it. Best friends make the best spouses. After all, marriage is a partner ship... Who else is better to have as a partner than your best friend?" added Dr. Viloria as Bruce handed him back the invoice.

"You're right. I definitely won't forget all you said and I truly appreciate your time. This was definitely as beneficial for me as it was for Amy. I enjoyed your company and thank you for your services. This trip is looking up by the second," Bruce said as he shook hands with Dr. Viloria.

"Well she'll feel much better by the morning. The ibuprofen will help her get through the night. I left a dosage on the nightstand. Just make sure she gets some food. A soup from room service will be easy for her to take in and it shouldn't make too much of a dent on your budget. She'll need to do that within an hour. In 48 hours, she'll feel fine but make sure she takes the medication for the week or the infection can start up again. Ibuprofen as she needs it for the discomfort. It was nice meeting you and speaking with you. I'm gonna skip the golf game and spend some quality time with Betty," he said with a smile as he walked out of the room.

Amy was sound asleep on the bed. Bruce stared at her. All the times they had shared together went through his mind... times at work, times outside of work: the times her life was a wreck and he was there for her, the times his life was a wreck and she was there for him and the time they first kissed and tested their boundaries in friendship. Just as the unsuspecting Dr. Viloria, Bruce almost lost Amy. How strange that Amy didn't go through with her wedding. How strange that Bruce couldn't bring himself to attend her wedding. How strange that she came to confront him. Yet it was anything but strange that they made love that night. It felt so right. The doctor's words rang true; who else to have as a partner than your best friend? Bruce had never felt so at ease with another woman. They knew each others quirks and knew how to deal/relate/treat each other. They knew what the other one needed and wanted in life. They accepted each other for who they were, both the good and bad. A feeling of serenity swept over him. "So this is love? I can get used to this," he laughed to himself. He walked over to the phone and ordered Amy some soup, crackers, juice and gelatin. He then climbed in the bed next to her. Bruce looked both longingly and lovingly in her sleeping eyes.

"Stuff of fairy tales and movies: Happily ever after, Made for each other... –That all sounded like such bullshit before but it makes some sense to me now... We've suffered enough; it's our turn for happiness... We're always there for each other... Always thinking of each other... We love each other unconditionally... God, I love you woman... I can't thank Him enough for the day he dropped you in my world... Get better baby... But if it takes awhile, I'll spoil you rotten this week regardless," he whispered with a smile before he leaned in to kiss her lightly on the lips.

There was a knock on the door... "Room service!"