Journey (Icebreakers) by stargazer_1017 Disclaimer: In the first part of the story

Author's Notes: See, told ya I'd come out with a second part =) Then this'll be my last update on the story till I get back.
Thanks to everyone that reviewed--I'm glad that you enjoyed the first part, and I'm very motivated to finish up this story (adds "Journey" to the growing list of fics to finish).

Journey
Icebreakers
By: stargazer_1017

February 24

Guess what? Today's Danny's birthday! I can't believe the guy didn't tell us. Well, we've only known him for almost two months, so I guess we haven't really bonded but still, it's something to share!

I love birthdays. It's a great time to celebrate one's life and eat some cake too *grin* I'm actually writing this journal while trying to bake Danny's cake. He doesn't know that I know about his birthday--actually he doesn't know that any of us know that it's his birthday, so we're gonna throw a little surprise party. I hope he doesn't freak out about it. Some people don't actually like surprise parties.

"Are you kidding me? He'd love it," Max said, waving his arm dismissedly in the air. "A buff guy like him doesn't get scared easily--well, except maybe climbing mountains and jumping buildings."

"Some people don't actually like suprise parties, Max," Taylor pointed out. She was sitting at the table, reading a magazine.

"You may not like surprise parties, Taylor," Max said, walking towards her. Taylor rolled her eyes as Max took a seat across her. "But I think it'd be good for Danny. He might not have gotten a lot of surprise parties."

"What do you mean?" Cole spoke up from a tree branch on the tree next to the table.

Max shrugged. "Well, his parents weren't really around much and he was an only child."

I guess that's why Danny was shy around others--he probably spent a lot of time by himself instead of with other people. I wonder if he'd be interested in having parents that watch your every move all the time.

I frowned slightly. "That's so sad," I said softly.

"I know--exactly why we should have this party for him! To show him that we can be his family."

Cole jumped off the tree branch--without a wince, I might add. "That sounds like a great idea," he said. He looked at Max and I and we nodded in support. Then he turned to Taylor. "Taylor?"

I could see Taylor's eyes narrow just the tiniest bit, and then return to her normal expression. "Fine." She said, and crossed her arms. "So, what's the game plan? I hope you're not expecting for everything to just show up and turn the place into a party."

Cole looked a bit taken back, so I spoke up and said, "Well, I'd love to cook the food! How does cake and some barbeque sound?"

Taylor nodded in approval. "I guess I could go to Turtle Cove and pick up some supplies to decorate the place."

"Decorations? For what?"

We all spun around to see Danny with a potted plant in his hands. "Uh. . ." Max trailed off.

Taylor jumped up from her seat. "What I meant was decorations for the Animarium," she lied. "I was just thinking. . .we needed some, uh. .. paint! Yeah, some paint to liven up the place, and some posters of. . .fighter planes to make this place more comfortable. Yeah, that's it," Taylor clapped her hands together and smiled with satisfaction.

Taylor's the worst liar I've ever seen--now I've heard that *I* didn't make a good liar either (something about me stuttering and clasping my hands behind my back), but I could've done better than *that*. I think. I hope!

Danny actually bought the excuse. He still looked uncertiain about the whole thing, but he shrugged it off. Now we had the problem of getting Danny out of the Animarium while we got the place ready. Max was our solution for that.

"Hey man, let's check out that. . .garden expo they've got downtown," Max said, running up to Danny.

"Garden expo?" Danny echoed uncertainly. "I've never heard of such a thing."

Max gave Danny a disbelieving look. "And you call yourself a gardener? Come on, let's go before we're late!"

Then he basically grabbed Danny by the arm and dragged him away.

The only other person without a job was Cole--and Taylor was staring at him, waiting for an answer. I thought quickly and grabbed Cole by the arm and told Taylor I needed his help with the cooking. Cole looked relieved and Taylor looked slightly irritated by my gesture. Thank goodness she didn't say anything. She basically said, "All right, I'll be back" and then she was off.

And yes, I got Cole to help me out in the kitchen--all this food prep, of course I'd need a dish-washer ;-)

I could tell Cole was still confused by Taylor's demeanor, but he had to understand that Taylor isn't impressed so easily. You've gotta earn her respect. I explained it to Cole and he seemed disappointed, but he understood.

So after everything was baked and decorated (and can you believe Taylor actually got Danny model Fighter planes? "It'd help him be more agressive," she insisted), we waited for Danny and Max to get back.

"I wonder where they could be," Taylor thought aloud. She paced back and forth in front of the Sacred Fountain and shook her head. "It doesn't take that long to bring Danny around Turtle Cove to pretend to be searching for the Garden Expo."

"I'm sure they're fine," Princess Shayla, who was seated on the edge of the fountain, said, trying to calm Taylor down. Taylor stopped looked at her--and then she leaned over and adjusted the birthday hat Princess Shayla was wearing.

"When they get back, everyone put your hats on!" Cole suddenly yelled out.

"No way," was Taylor's immediate response.

"Come on, Taylor--even Princess Shayla's wearing the hat!" I pointed out. Taylor raised her eyebrow at me.

Did she actually put it on, journal? Yep, she did--for a moment, at the end of the party, of course. I've got a picture to prove it *grin* It's definitely going on the wall. . .uh, tree.

Danny and Max came back a few minutes later, and we all did the traditional surprise party thing--yelled "surprise" at him when he and Max entered. Danny was certainly touched. I don't think I've seen him so happy--or so talkative either.

We talked a bit later, and he told me about his family life. His parents were workaholics, and they never really had time to do things with him. He just basically withdrew from other people and did things on his own. That's how he got into gardening--it was something that he could really call his own, yet he didn't feel alone because he was surrounded by his plants and flowers.

I discussed with him how different our families were, and after he found out that my father pounded martial arts into me, he asked if I would be able to spar with him.

"I don't think my fighting skills have been all that great. Maybe sparring with you will help me fight better," Danny said, taking a bite out of his cake.

So I agreed to spar with him everyday--in between classes from Turtle Cove University, of course.

February 25

Not much today. Oh, my dance teacher asked me if I wanted to participate in the Dance Expo, and I'm still considering it. I haven't really done competitions since doing Martial Arts tournaments. Hmm. . .

February 26

Finally! Cole and Taylor are on better grounds--and therefore, so is the team. What happened? Well, I thought it was going to end up being an all out brawl, but they worked out their differences and it's all thanks to, of all things, an Org. Taylor was angry this morning because Cole had said she made up too many rules.

You should've seen Taylor's reaction. She looked so angry, she could've mentally thrown daggers through Cole. And I think if she got a hold of one of Danny's potted plants, she might've thrown it at him. Instead, she walked off.

Taylor stormed off, heading towards the door, but I ran to block her path. "Taylor, he didn't mean to insult you," I said gently.

I opened my mouth to say more, but Taylor just glared at me. "Whatever." With that, she moved around me and headed out the door.

Out of all the things to happen, Taylor runs into an Org--an Org that makes you invisible. Being herself, she tries to take on the Org on her own and becomes invisible. I didn't even think it was possible. She told us later that she was morphed while it happened, and I always figured the suit would protect her. Guess it didn't--and it's kinda scary. I mean, I know we're not *completely* protected by our Ranger suits, but I would think that it would take a lot to penetrate the suit like that.

Cole was really angry with what happened, and blamed himself for what happened to Taylor--and he too went after the Org on his own.

Know what's funny? I felt kinda jealous. I mean, I wonder if Cole would ever do that for me if I went invisible. I wonder if he'd go after the Org for me. Or maybe he would--I can only guess that he would because we're friends. Okay Max, you'd better have not read that last passage. I know you're still looking for this!

Ahem. Anyway, all things ended well and we defeated the Org. Taylor got her image back, and she and Cole reconciled. Cole had proven himself to be worthy of Taylor's friendship. He had stood up for a friend and never once backed down.

And the team feels a bit more connected now. I don't know, I can't describe it. . .I mean, when we found Cole we were finally a team--but now, I can't help but feel connected. We have a lot to work on between the five of us, definitely, but things are going to be okay. As long as we stay together, we'll be fine.

Let's see, other than Org news. . .oh! I decided to actually do the Dance Expo, but Ms. Lawrence, my dance instructor, told me I'd have to practice probably an hour extra each day to keep up. Whew. . .and I thought I was already busy.

I'm still sparring with Danny--and Max decided to join us too. Danny's gotten much better with fighting. He and Max still can't beat me, but I've noticed that Danny's a lot more comfortable throwing punches and kicks.

Also got a call from one of my old friends, Barry Juarez. He told me he was thinking of enlisting into the military to help pay for school, since he found out he'd be running out of funds. I told him that I had a friend who was a pilot in the Air Force and suggested the Air Force. Barry said he'd think about it.

He said he could probably stop by Turtle Cove during Spring Break, and I invited him to come and see me dance.

Barry's a totally cool friend. In high school, he used to be in my circle of friends, which was made up of minorities. We all had basically the same background, so it was funny just trading stories of childhood.

Whoops, it's getting late. I should probably get to bed--I start my dance routine practice tomorrow.