Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

Author's Note: And it continues! You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you? Heehee. :^)

After the Wars
by Froggie Lover

Chapter Two: It Starts

Max Cooper held the bowling ball with one hand and supported it with the other. He stared out onto the lane with much concentration. He loosened his form and swung his arm back, then brought it foward and let the ball fly onto the lane. He grinned as the ball hit the pins with a loud crash. All ten fell over with ease.

"Hey Max," a voice said from behind him.

Max turned to see his best friend, Danny, sitting at the table that overlooked the pair of lanes that Max was bowling on. "Hey Danny, what's up?"

Danny grinned as Max walked out of the bowling area and plopped down next to him. "Not much. Guess who I ran into today?"

"Who?" Max asked while scratching down his strike into the score card. He looked back up at his Hispanic friend.

"Alyssa," Danny said casually.

The former Blue Ranger almost dropped the pencil in his hand. He raised an eyebrow. "How the hell did you wind up seeing her? I thought you two ran two different circles completely around Turtle Cove."

"We do," Danny replied. "But, it's Saturday; the weekend. Anything's possible."

"Yeah, true," Max said. "So, what happened?"

"Well, I was working at the flower shop, and I noticed someone standing outside and looking at the display," Danny said.

Max got up and picked up his ball from the return and got into form, once again contemplating the lane. "Uh-huh."

Danny followed Max into the lane area and sat down in front of the scoring computer. "I went outside and saw that it was Alyssa. We got to talking and I found out what she's been doing lately."

Max threw the ball down the lane and turned back around to face Danny. "Score?"

Danny glanced at the screen. "Strike."

"Good." Max sat down next to Danny. "So, anything special happen?"

"I gave her a free flower, if that counts," Danny said, blushing a little.

Max grinned. "I believe, my friend, that you have a girlfriend."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Here we go."

~*~*~*~

"Is this it?" Cole asked, looking around the room that he and Taylor had just entered.

"Yep," Taylor replied. She walked over to a cage and looked at the falcon inside. "Here he is."

Cole followed Taylor and noticed the large cut on the falcon's wing. "Yeah. So, this is where I have to go every day to make sure this falcon makes it out all right?"

Taylor nodded. "Except on Sundays. Just tell the guard at the gate your name, and you're in. If anyone gives you any trouble, they'll be answering to me."

"Thank you for doing this, Taylor," Cole said. He smiled. "It was really nice of you."

Taylor shrugged. "It was nothing." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "We were Rangers together, remember? That means we're friends, powers or no powers."

Cole's smile widened. "Definitely."

~*~*~*~

Alyssa set the white lily into the narrow vase that was filled with water. She smiled and gazed at the flower, thinking of the one who had given it to her. The last thing Alyssa had expected was to run into Danny on a Saturday afternoon. It's not like I didn't want to... She shook her head and walked into the living room of her apartment, plopping down onto the couch. Alyssa sighed and reached for the remote, then stopped, and her hand fell at her side. She couldn't do anything with Danny on her mind.

You're a moron, Alyssa told herself. You ran into Danny today and didn't even ask him out. She sighed and closed her eyes, tyring to get rid of the thoughts of the former Black Wild Force Ranger that were plaguing her mind.