Eric's mind was reeling. Taylor had a daughter. A daughter she didn't tell him about. That daughter was the little girl he'd met a couple days ago. The girl that looked like him.

Looking back, everything made sense. When he first pulled her over, Taylor had looked so familiar, but he couldn't figure out why. Then, during the picnic, while she was chasing him to try to get her book back, they'd ended rolling down a hill and she'd landed on top of him. It had felt like déjà vu. Even when they kissed, every time had felt so familiar. Like they'd been reunited after years apart.

A memory suddenly surfaced.

There was a girl with curled blonde hair that nearly reached her hips. She was sitting at the bar alone. No. There was a man with her. She was trying to get him to leave, but he kept trying to get her to go with him.

"She said to leave her alone," he walked up behind the man.

"Are you her keeper?" the man asked in a thick French accent.

"I don't stand for harassment."

The drunk man tried to punch him, but, even in his drunken state, Eric was stronger and faster. The man was down within thirty seconds.

The girl turned to him. "Thank you."

One thing was clear. He could tell by the mischievous twinkle in her blue eyes and small, genuine smile. The girl was Taylor Earhardt.

"Paris," he whispered.

"What?" Taylor asked.

Eric looked up and grabbed her wrist. "I need to talk to you."

"Okay?" She whispered something to Michael and the girl nodded before running back to the picnic table and sitting down.

The Quantum ranger practically dragged his girlfriend out of the temple, and she led him to a secluded spot in the forest of the floating island before turning to him and crossing her arms.

"What's gotten into you?"

"How old is she?"

"Michael? She turned seven in April."

Eric started pacing. "Which means she was born in '95, so she was conceived in about July of '94."

"What are you talking about?" Taylor asked. "Eric? You're acting like a madman!"

He stood still and looked at her. "Paris."

"Paris?" She was clearly confused.

"You were in Paris in July of 1994," he walked up to her until he was standing directly in front of her.

"How did you?" she trailed off.

"Because I was there, too."

"No," she shook her head. "You can't possibly be saying."

"She looks just like me, Taylor!" he interrupted, grabbing her arms.

The yellow ranger pulled away from him. Looking panicked, she sat down on a rock. "No," she whispered, covering her face with her hands.

Eric sighed and squatted down in front of her.

"That's not possible," she said.

"Do you know who her father is?"

There was a pause. "No," she sighed.

"Where did you wake up July 15th, 1994?"

Taylor finally looked at him, teary eyed. "In a motel with a man I didn't know," she admitted quietly.

Eric pulled her into his arms, and Taylor held onto him.

"Do you remember?" she asked softly.

"Very little." He told her, "I remember you leaving. Your hair was longer. And curled." He chuckled softly. "'Miss California High School Rodeo Queen 1993'?"

"Shut up," she said, though he could hear the small smile in her voice.

"I also remember a guy harassing you."

"Doesn't surprise me."

He laughed. "I decked him."

"Also doesn't surprise me."

He laughed more, and she looked at him with the same small smile she'd had in the memory.

"We can get a paternity test to make sure," he said.

She nodded. "I don't want to tell her until we're positive you're her father."

"I understand," he agreed.

She smiled softly and kissed him.

"What was that for?" Eric asked when she pulled away.

The eagle ranger shrugged. "Can I not kiss my boyfriend?"

"Only if I can kiss my girlfriend," he smirked and kissed her.

Soon after, they broke the kiss, and she laid her head on his shoulder. "Eric?"

"Hm?"

"I need you to do something for me."

"What's that?"

"I need you to take Michael to my dad's."

"Okay?"

"And make sure that he doesn't know I'm here or that you even know me. Just tell him that you found her wandering on the street or something."

"Why?"

"He can't know. I'm officially MIA, remember?"

Eric sighed and looked at the blonde. "You're asking me to lie to your father?"

"I know it's stupid, but please. I trust you."

"You don't trust your teammates?"

She looked at him. "You know them," she said plainly. "They'd all accidentally say something stupid."

Eric nodded; she had a point. "True."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Doing this. Staying with me. Michael's my everything. I'm sure I'd be six feet under if it weren't for her. I can't help but think, if I'd been that stupid with such a small amount of freedom, what would I have done if I hadn't had her?"

"Taylor, if we're right, then she's my daughter, too. My dad walked out on me. Even if it somehow turns out that she isn't, I won't walk out on her. Everyone deserves a father."

His girlfriend kissed him again. "You don't know how much that means to me."

He smiled and pulled them both to their feet. Hand in hand, fingers laced together, they walked back to the temple.

"What's her full name?" he asked.

"Michaela Heaven Earhardt," she replied. "Remember what I told you about my brother?"

He nodded. Her brother had died in the Army when she had been fourteen.

"Well, she happened to be born on his birthday, so I named her after him."

Eric smiled softly. From what she'd told him, her brother had been her hero growing up.

"Where'd you go?" Cole asked as soon as the couple returned.

"We had some things to talk about," Taylor said before Eric could open his mouth. She led him to her daughter and let go of his hand.

"Hi, Eric," Michael smiled.

Eric squatted down so that he was looking up at her. "Hi, Michael."

"You're my mommy's boyfriend?"

He nodded. "I am."

"Are you taking care of her?"

He laughed softly. "I try, but your mommy's pretty good at taking care of herself."

"I know she is. But even the toughest people need a shoulder to cry on sometimes."

Eric stared at her. "Smart kid."

"Indeed," she smiled and turned to her mother, asking about braiding her hair.

Eric watched her. She looked exactly like him when he was that age. The only differences were that she's a girl, of course, and that she had blue eyes instead of dark brown. Her mother's eyes. The shape of them was clearly his, but when he looked into her eyes, all he saw was Taylor. The way she talked, the way she held herself, the way she looked him in the eye when she spoke, her smile, it all exuded the same confidence Taylor presented in herself. Michael was clearly her mother's daughter.

"What do you do for a living?" the little girl interrupted his thoughts.

Laughing slightly, Eric sat down near her as Taylor braided her hair. "I'm co-commander of the Silver Guardians."

"Is that dangerous?"

"It can be."

"All done," Taylor announced.

Michael moves the braid so that it rested on her shoulder. "Thanks, Mama!"

Kneeling down in front of the little black-hair girl, Taylor put her hand on her shoulder. "Eric's going to take you back to Papa, okay? He must be really worried."

The girl nodded. "Tha gaol agam ort, Mam." Michael wrapped her arms around her mother.

"Tha gaol agam ort, cuideachd, pàisde," the yellow ranger hugged back.

"A bheil thu a 'dol a phòsadh?" Michael suddenly asked Taylor.

"Michaela!"

"I was just asking."

With a shake of her head, Taylor stood up and turned to her boyfriend.

"Take care of her?"

"Of course," he replied.

Michael gave her mother an other hug, waved goodbye to everyone else, and took Eric's hand.