"Three cheers for the rookie!" Jason said as he and the assorted red rangers celebrated their victory.

It had been a long journey, but it was successful and they were all anxiously awaiting their arrival home.

Eric stood off to the side and watched the stars float by. He hadn't talked to Cole about Taylor, and he thought it was best to keep things to himself… not get too personal.

Unfortunately, the others on the ship were talking about their personal lives and the women in them.

"I'm telling you man, when I first saw Kat I was like, wow," TJ said laughing. "I mean, tall, blonde, long legs-"

"Easy over there," Jason said. "That's my wife you're talking about." The others all laughed. "I bet she'd love to hear you talking about her like that."

"Especially now man," Tommy put in.

At that, Eric turned his attention to the group. Wes, of course, was right in the middle of it.

"Why now?" Wes asked.

"Well, considering how's she's eight months pregnant, she's pretty moody," Jason finished.

"Boy or girl?" Wes asked.

Jason grinned. "One of each." Everyone in the group, except Tommy, gaped at him.

"You're serious?" Andros asked. Jason nodded.

There was a silence before Carter dropped a bomb. "Dana's pregnant too," he said sheepishly.

Leo, Eric, and Wes smiled. They had been to the wedding a few months ago.

"You don't waste any time do you?" Eric asked, finally joining the group. Carter blushed and received a little nudge from Leo.

Carter looked at Leo. "You're not far behind my friend."

Leo shut his mouth at that comment. Andros smiled. "Cassie told me you and Kendrix were thinking about it." Leo nodded his head. "I know Ashley and I wanted kids right away."

"How are my favorite little terrors?" TJ asked. Andros just smiled.

"Zhander and Ella are fine. Driving their mother crazy, but fine," he replied.

Eric couldn't take much more of this 'family talk.' His mind was racing. Did she get his message? What did she think of it? What would she think of him?

Cole nudged Wes. "Has he been spacing out like that a lot?" he asked.

Wes sighed. "Yeah… ever since he and Taylor had that fight."

"Taylor's been the same. I don't know exactly what happened, but she's been…upset. It's really not like her."

"I'm sure everything will be fine once we get back," he said.

"What about you guys?" Tommy asked. Eric, Wes, and Cole all turned their attention to their leader.

"What about us?" Eric shot back.

"Girls, man," TJ put in. "I know you guys have to have something waiting for you at home."

"Well, I'm engaged," Wes said.

"Jen?" Carter asked. Wes just nodded his head and everyone smiled. Eric really didn't want to talk about this, so he got up and walked out of the room.

"What's his problem?" Leo asked.

"The yellow ranger from my team," Cole said. After that comment was out, the guys ribbed Cole until he finally admitted that he liked Alyssa.

Wes left the playful conversation and went in search of his teammate. He found him in the meeting room staring at the Earth that was growing larger.

Eric knew Wes would follow him. "Wes, I really don't want to talk about this right now. As soon as we get back, I'm going over to talk to her alright?" he spat.

Wes grinned. "Just making sure," he said. He turned on his heel and left Eric with his thoughts. He would make this right… tonight.

A few hours later found the nine rangers back at NASADA. Tommy bid them farewell, and the eight remaining poked fun at each other before heading back in their respective vehicles.

Wes offered Cole a ride back with him and Eric, leaving Eric with no excuse as to why he couldn't talk to Taylor.

Eric drove and listened to Cole and Wes talk about everything under the sun. Frankly, he would have rather beaten his head in with a hammer, but he was glad for the distraction. Wes had made a phone call earlier, and Eric assumed he had spoken to Jen. Hopefully she had talked to Taylor and told her that they were okay.

They arrived at the Animarium as the sun set. Clouds were gathering, and an impending storm was heading their way. Cole and Eric got out and Wes walked around to the driver side, getting in.

"You're sure about this?" he asked of Eric.

The co-commander of the Silver Guardians smiled. "I'll let you know tomorrow," he said.

"There's another car around the corner for you if you need it. I called it in for you just in case," he said. Eric grinned as he turned and followed Cole through the portal.

"I'm sure she'll be happy to see you," Cole said as they saw the stone lion in front of them.

The fire was burning brightly as they approached and Cole saw a familiar figure in a tank top and pink plaid pajama pants.

"Alyssa," he said softly. The figure by the fire turned at her name and smiled broadly.

"Cole! You're alright!" she said as she just about ran to him and grabbed him in a tight hug.

Cole just smiled and held her. Eric watched the scene and wondered where Taylor was. As Cole released her, his face sank.

Alyssa had a few small scratches on her otherwise flawless face, as well as a small bandage around her arm.

"What happened?" he asked as he gently touched her face. It was then that she saw Eric and her face fell.

"We… um, had an Org while you guys were away," she said softly.

Eric felt his heart stop for a moment when Alyssa looked at him.

"Where's Taylor?" he asked nervously. Alyssa saw his expression and knew she shouldn't sugar coat it…

"She's at her apartment… she was pretty banged up and said she wanted some time to herself."

"What happened? Alyssa, tell me!" he said desperately.

Cole held her waist and felt her shudder a little. "The Org had these… whips that he used… they burned." She showed her other arm and there was a clear, red line running from her armpit to her elbow. "Taylor took most of the hits, trying to protect us."

Somehow, Eric knew that that was something Taylor would have done.

"Are the others ok?" Cole asked.

"Danny and Max got hit in the head pretty bad, but they're sleeping now, and Merrick destroyed him with the Predazord," she said softly.

Eric looked to Cole and Alyssa. "Ok, well I'm glad you all are alright, but…"

"You need to go to her," Cole finished for him. Eric nodded and left them. Alyssa turned to Cole and smiled.

"He really loves her doesn't he?" she asked. Cole looked into her eyes,

"Yeah… he does." They leaned in then and shared their first, sweet kiss. When they broke away, Cole led her to the fire pit and told her about his adventure…