A/N: HELLO TO EVERYONE… THIS STORY IS A SERIES THAT WILL HAVE 3 PARTS IN TOTAL, AND THIS IS JUST PART 1. IT BEGINS AFTER 'reinforcements FROM THE FUTURE' AND THROUGH THE FINALE OF WILD FORCE.

NOTE: SPD WILL BE USED HEAVILY IN THIS SERIES, AND YOU WILL SEE WHY IN UPCOMING CHAPTERS AND IN PARTS 2 AND 3. I REALLY HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS AS MUCH AS I DID WHEN I WROTE IT. '

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS OR ANYTHING HAVING TO DO WITH POWER RANGERS.

PLEASE REVIEW!

"You met other Power Rangers? Were they nice?"

Shayla's words kept echoing through Taylor's head as she ran after the Quantum Ranger who, moments ago had tickled her in a totally childish manner and stole her book.

Their mission had been a complete success and, to Taylor's surprise, she realized that she was going to miss the man who had been driving her insane since he had given her a speeding ticket days earlier… he wasn't too bad to look at either.

As soon as she had seen him in her window a few days ago, she thought he was the most gorgeous guy she had ever laid eyes on. It was pathetic in her opinion that she was acting like some mindless teenager, but she couldn't get his image out of her head.

Up ahead, she saw Cole and Wes run past Alyssa and Jen. Eric was in her sights and she zeroed in on her target like she had been trained to do.

Eric saw the surprised faces of his friends and teammates as he ran past them as fast as his legs could go. The path ahead of him ran into the jungle, and he glanced behind him and saw Taylor actually catching up.

Her blonde hair was blowing behind her and he grinned.

The day he gave her that ticket would be embedded in his memory forever. There was just something about her that drew him to her. For one, she was absolutely beautiful in his eyes. Then there was the fact that she tried to fight him over the ticket. Over the past three days he found that he wanted to get to know her better… not like other girls he had been interested in.

"Meyers, you give that back!" she cried laughing a little.

Eric smirked and stopped, turning around to face her. Unfortunately for Taylor, she ran right into him, sending them both to the ground. Eric held her and took most of the impact landing them both on his back.

They both let out a sort of grunting sound as they landed. Taylor felt his arms around her and couldn't help but look into his soft brown eyes as she lay on top of him.

Eric too was caught up in the moment. Originally he hadn't planned on this happening, but now that is was, there was only one thing he could do…

His head moved up and his lips met hers in a quick, soft kiss.

Taylor felt his lips on hers and was shocked for the brief moment they were joined. When he pulled away however, she found that she didn't want him to stop. She leaned down then and met his lips.

Eric was pleasantly surprised when she didn't slap him. He figured she would have kicked his ass for a stunt like that, but he was happy that she didn't.

He slipped his tongue into her mouth and felt hers gently press against his. She tasted like fruit and something that was uniquely her. One of his hands found their way into her hair, while the other kept a firm hold on her waist.

Taylor felt his tongue on hers and then her senses seemed to ignite. His hand weaved itself into her hair, and she moaned approvingly. She gently ran her fingers along his face and into his hair, getting a tighter hold around her waist as a result.

Their hands began to roam somewhat, until both felt the need to breath. Pulling away, they were both breathless from running and making out. Letting out deep breaths, Eric could only look into her blue eyes and grin like an idiot.

Taylor saw his face and gave him a sly smile. "I can't believe I have to go through all this to get my book," she said.

Eric let out an exasperated sigh and ran his hand through her blonde hair. "I would have hoped you didn't do this just to get a book Lieutenant," he replied.

She grinned and saw a certain spark in his eyes. "Well, maybe not just for the book." Eric leaned into her again and kissed her softly, tenderly.

"What would you say if I asked you to dinner sometime?" he asked.

Taylor was indeed surprised by this… and a little nervous. She was supposed to be the ice queen… she didn't let people get attached to her, and she didn't get attached to anyone else. From what she had heard, Eric was very much the same.

She knew why she shied away from relationships… she had seen what happened when things went wrong. Her childhood had shown her that in big bold letters, but she refused to go back there now. Right now, she didn't want to think about that…

"I'd say you were nuts."

"And I'd say you're just being difficult." Taylor felt his hand run along her face. "I'm serious. I would like to take you out."

"And start World War three in public? You're crazy. We'd kill each other."

"I'm counting on it," he replied. He knew she could dish it out just like he could… that was part of the attraction…

Taylor sighed. "There's no talking you out of this is there?" she asked.

"Not unless you kill me."

She sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to win the battle. "As long as it's not any place tacky," she replied. Eric smirked.

"You're very demanding aren't you?"

"You better believe it." Eric smiled then, the first genuine smile he had shown in a long time.

"I'll have to call you then," he said as he leaned up again to meet her pouting lips…

The all too familiar sound of Taylor's Growl Phone interrupted them, and Taylor got to her feet slowly.

Eric got up as well and straightened himself out. He was sure he'd get an earful from Wes later, but he didn't care right now. He looked at Taylor as she attempted to straighten her hair out.

"Ok- we'll be right there," she said. She turned back to Eric with a questioning look on her face.

"What? Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Who's Captain Logan?"

Eric's face was blank for a moment… something must be happening. "He's in charge of Time Force."

"That was Cole. He said that they're getting a transmission from him."

"Let's go," he said. To both he and Taylor's surprise, he took her hand and held it firmly, running again.

"Hey!" she cried out as they made their way back to camp.

When they returned to the temple, Eric immediately saw that Wes was holding Jen in his arms tightly and it appeared that they both had tears shining in their eyes.

"Oh shit," Eric said under his breath.

Taylor saw the scene and was thinking the same thing Eric was… Jen had to leave Wes… again. "Come on," she said as they walked over to Trip and Katie.

"What happened?" Eric asked. Wes and Jen both broke their embrace and looked at Eric, surprisingly, with smiles on their faces.

"Looks like I'll be sticking around for a while," Jen said. It was then that Eric understood why she and Wes were crying… they were so happy…

"Seriously?" he asked in shock. Jen nodded her head and Wes pulled her into another hug.

"Captain Logan said that Jen went above and beyond the call of duty with this mission," Lucas said.

"So he's letting her stay here, with Wes," Katie finished. Taylor watched as Eric broke away from her and went to talk to his team. The rest of the Time Force squad joined the happy couple.

Alyssa sidled her way over to Taylor and smiled. "So… where were you and Eric?" she asked.

Taylor turned a light shade of red, much to Alyssa's delight. "Nowhere interesting," she replied. Alyssa smirked and reached into her hair to remove a leaf.

"I bet," she said. Taylor sent her a small glare and the white ranger just smiled.

The rest of the afternoon went off without a hitch, but as night fell, the Time Force rangers knew it was time to finally say goodbye.

Both teams, along with Nadira and Ransik went to the beach to bid their friends farewell.

After saying her goodbyes, Taylor stood back with her team and watched as Eric hugged each member, even Nadira, and shook Ransik's hand. Jen and Wes did much of the same, and then walked back to the others.

Eric stood with Wes and Jen as the ship drifted off into the sky and vanished. He turned and saw that Taylor was the only one remaining. The others decided to head back to the Animarium.

He felt eyes on him and knew that Wes, and now Jen, were going to let him have it for running off with her earlier.

"I don't know if I'll be able to handle… this," Eric said jokingly as Wes held Jen closer to him.

"Maybe if you find someone of your own," Jen said, obviously motioning to Taylor.

"Now I have to hear it from you," he said throwing his hands in the air. They both smiled and kissed as Eric walked over to Taylor.

"I take it they're happy?" she said referring to Wes and Jen.

"Oh yeah… I doubt Wes will be at work tomorrow. They have a lot of… catching up to do."

"I bet," she said softly.

Eric reached out and took her hand. "How about dinner, Saturday," he suggested.

"You know where the Animarium entrance is."

Eric grinned. "I'll see you Saturday then."

Moments later, Taylor was in the parking lot on her way back… she had a date… an actual date… she needed to talk to Alyssa…

Eric watched her drive off with a satisfied smile.

"Awe… I think Eric's growing up," Wes said as he and Jen joined him.

"You two make me sick," he said as he made his way up to his car. Jen just grinned.

"This should be interesting," she said. "I bet they kill each other." Wes laughed and led her up to his motorcycle.