Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

Author's Note: I know near-nothing about the military or the Air Force, so if I screw anything up, tell me.

After the Wars
by Froggie Lover

Chapter Three: Base Pains

On Monday morning, Alyssa heard the annoying buzz of her alarm clock in her dream. Her eyes shot up and her hand reached over to turn the alarm off. She sighed and got up, wiping the sleep from her eyes. Her surroundings appeared to her in a blur of white and gray. Alyssa checked the clock and shook her head. Great. Only seventeen and half more hours until this bad day is over, she told herself.

~*~*~*~

Danny woke up from his deep slumber, a slight smile on his face. He pulled on a black shirt and left his room to enter the kitchen of his apartment. He started up the coffee and his smile grew. The dream he had the night before had been... amazing. And it there was no need for this dream to be a wet one; that requirement had been thrown out the window on Saturday afternoon when he saw Alyssa at the flower shop.

For the first time since he'd returned to Turtle Cove, Danny had not needed the aid of his alarm clock. He looked up at the wall clock in his kitchen. He had gotten up before his alarm was set. Maybe Max was right about this whole thing. Maybe it was possible that Danny, for the first time since his terrible dead-end crush with Kendall, was in love. Really, truly, madly, deeply in love.

~*~*~*~

"Lieutenant Earheart," Taylor heard a voice say as she arrived at the Turtle Cove Air Force Base.

She looked up. "Captain O'Brien," Taylor said, bristling. O'Brien had been a pain in her side since she joined the Air Force. He'd always been one step ahead of her and always watching her, making sure she didn't screw anything up. And if she did well, he only managed to suck the glory out of the victory.

"You're late, Earheart. I thought you'd realize by now that to do well, you'd have to get to Base on time," O'Brien said, a manical grin across his face.

Taylor rolled her eyes. I'd rather deal with Cole in his Jungle Boy state than with this guy. "Listen, don't give me any crap about my work habits. There was an emergency on Base Saturday, and I failed to see your face in the crowd. Hmm... Wonder why?"

O'Brien's grin dropped, and he glared at Taylor. "I could have you reported for that, Earheart."

"I'd love to see that, O'Brien," Taylor spat, walking towards the Base Headquarters.

Taylor was walking so fast, O'Brien had to jog to catch up with her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to face him. "Listen, you give me any more that shit than you already have, and I will report you, Earheart. Got it?"

The female of the two scoffed. "Me giving you shit? I think you need to turn that statement around. You're the one hassling me all the time, and I'd thoroughly appreciate it if you'd just stop. None of it is getting you anywhere, and it could get you reported."

O'Brien looked all-in-all pissed as Taylor moved out of his grasp and continued walking to the Base Headquarters. He shook his head and simply walked behind her wordlessly.

~*~*~*~

Taylor did her normal rounds of the base before heading into the HQ. She at first went in the direction of her office, then turned around and went to the room where she knew the falcon that Cole had found was being kept. It was only ten, but she found Cole already in the room, feeding the falcon.

"Hey Cole," she greeted.

Cole looked up. "Hey Taylor. What's up?" He carefully closed the cage and sat down at the table in the center of the room.

Taylor sighed. "Nothing but trouble," she said, plopping down in a seat across from Cole.

"Trouble?" Cole asked. He raised an eyebrow as the door to the room swung open.

"So, this is the Bird Boy that's the talk of Base," a voice from the doorway said.

Taylor turned to see O'Brien walking into the room and over to Cole. She steeled herself for any comment the captain might decide to dish out at her or Cole.

"Bird Boy?" Cole wondered out loud.

"Yes. It seems that your tree-hugging exploits have reached every corner of the base," O'Brien said, a cold grin on his lips.

"O'Brien," Taylor warned through clenched teeth.

The captain only laughed. He shot a glance at Taylor and shook his head. "Oh, do forgive me, Lieutenant Earheart for even thinking of insulting your new boyfriend."

Cole tensed. "We're not together," he said.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot," O'Brien laughed. "Earheart is the number one man-hater. It's a wonder that she doesn't join the other side." With that, he turned and left the room.

Taylor sighed and relaxed a little. She rubbed her temples and stood up.

Cole walked over to her and set a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry about that, Cole. O'Brien is just... an ass."

"I gathered that much."

~*~*~*~

Alyssa closed her eyes with relief as the last of her morning kindergarten class left the room. They were all off to the buses and their parents, leaving her with some time to think before the afternoon class arrived. She stood up from her desk and closed the door to the classroom. This day is only getting worse, she thought.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the classroom door. Alyssa rolled her eyes and opened it. "Yes?"

Standing there was one of the fifth graders who worked in the main office. "Um, Miss Enrile, these came for you in the office." The student handed her a bouquet of flowers.

"Thank you," she replied and took the flowers.

The fifth grader turned and walked away.

Alyssa stared at the flowers in her hand. It was an arrangement of white roses and pink carnations, plus one white lily in the center. She just stood there, mystified. Who would send her flowers? She read the card attached and smiled.

Alyssa,

It was nice to see you again on Saturday. I hope we see each other again soon, before another year has passed at least.

- Danny

On the back of the card was the name of the florist's shop: "Delgado Flowers." Alyssa sighed dreamily and found a vase to put the flowers in. So, he had been thinking of her too.