Disclaimer: Power Rangers does not belong to me, nor does Savage Garden's song, "Truly, Madly, Deeply."

A/N: And you really thought that was the last chapter of "Wild Storm" ? Come now, I would NEVER really end a story without thanking each and every last one of you who reviewed.

FYI, I had always planned to end "Wild Storm" this way you will soon read. I just wanted to take y'all for a little ride, so that this epilogue and ending would come as a bigger surprise. I hope you enjoy (thank-yous to reviewers will be at the end of the epilogue).

Epilogue

Two months later

Cole had desired never to see Alyssa again after the heartbreak he'd endured during their last conversation on the Animarium and her rejection of his affection. Yet Cole had forgotten about Taylor's upcoming wedding, and the literally heartache he would feel if the air force pilot didn't see him there. So here he was two months later at yet another ranger reunion for the celebration of Taylor Earheart's marriage to Quantum Ranger Eric Meyers of Time Force.

Just like Taylor and Eric themselves, their wedding had been no frills, but still impressive affair. Neither of them had wanted a big wedding all or a huge reception with caviar and filet mignon afterward. The wedding had taken place outdoors on a local mountain top in Turtle Cove where, as Taylor insisted, Princess Shayla and Merrick could have the closest view watching down from the Animarium in the sky. Plus much to Taylor's delight, her eagle zord had frequently flown overhead during the ceremony, crowing his message of congratulations and approval.

Of course also typical Taylor/Eric style, the couple had been food-fighting with their wedding cake the entire time their romantic music for their first dance as husband and wife had been playing. As much as the Taylor and Eric playfully argued, Cole couldn't imagine the two most regimented rangers he knew finding a better life partner than in each other. Oh, Cole thought Taylor had looked beautiful in her plain, white silk wedding dress with sheer, long sleeves and a crown of yellow roses.

Of course so did Taylor's maid of honor, Alyssa, who wore a white sundress with a crown pink and red rose buds adorning her dark, brown locks. Her ever-growing beauty only served the wrench Cole's heart further out of his chest, so he'd spent most of the reception catching up with Shane and Dustin, who had attended the festivities along with the rest of the Ninja Storm team. Cam would have been conversing with them as well, but was too busy trying to contain his fearless father as the guinea pig enjoyed a gleeful go-round on the DJ turn tables.

Indeed Taylor and Eric had invited all the groups they'd each teamed-up with to fight alongside during their rangers days. From Lightspeed came Chad, bouncing his two-year-old godson, Joel Jr., on his knee as his father and mommy Mrs. Fairweather looked on proudly. Meanwhile moms-to-be Jen and Dana were chatting about their pregnancy experiences as their respective husbands, Wes and Carter, formed their own support group to exchange their own tales of trauma living with a pregnant wife. A little over to the side stood Ryan, still seeming a little in shock that his little sister Dana would soon be having a baby.

Of course, Eric's own Time Force teammates had flown back from the future to attend his wedding. Wes though only needed to travel a few hours instead of a few years to get to Turtle Cove, along with Jen who had chosen long ago to come back to the present to be with the Red Time Force Ranger. Cole did not really want to wrack his brains over the historical complexities of Jen, who'd been born in the future, now having Wes's child in the present.

Lucas had brought along Nadira, who he introduced as his fiancée much to everyone's shock that the notorious playboy had finally settled down. Katie and Trip had spent the night joking that no girl could have ever tamed their teammate's wild heart, so it figured well that Lucus would have married an alien. As much as Cole loved the Time Force crew though, his Wild Force teammates would always be first in his heart.

Taylor had chosen Max and Danny to be part of her wedding part, serving along with Wes as Eric's ushers. Cole was delighted to see his old Wild Force boys again at the wedding, where he watched with amusement as Danny tried to split his time between his boy friend Max and his girlfriend, Kendall. Taking in everything at the reception, Cole was thrilled he had gotten to see all his friends again so soon.

Except for Alyssa, who Cole realized with dread was making her way toward him across the dance floor. Alyssa side-stepped over Tori and Blake, who were oblivious to everyone but each other on the dance floor, and continued to make her way over to Cole with a huge smile on her face. Cole's insides grimaced, knowing he did not have the endurance to hear about just how happy Alyssa was with Hunter.

"Hey!" said Alyssa to him brightly, walking over to him without hesitation and giving him a huge hug.

"Hey yourself," said Cole, her positive demeanor automatically bringing a grin to his face.

"Fancy a dance with an old friend?" Alyssa asked

"Of course," said Cole, both pleased and puzzled. "But where's Hunter? Shouldn't he be taking the slow songs with you?"

"Ummm," stalled Alyssa, looking downward. "Hunter and I aren't together."

Cole felt like running around the reception room and singing he was so ecstatic. He took Alyssa's hand and led her to the dance floor as Savage Garden's "Truly, Madly, Deeply" began to play. The song described exactly how he cared for Alyssa, and Cole took it as a sign that he might still have a chance with her.

"I'll be your dream,
I'll be your wish,
I'll be your fantasy.
I'll be your hope,
I'll be your love,
Be everything that you need.
I love you more with every breath
Truly madly deeply do."

"So what happened between you and Hunter?" asked Cole as he wrapped his arms around Alyssa. "Things seemed to be going great between you both when we last spoke on the Animarium."

"We called it off shortly after that actually," said Alyssa blushing. "After that honeymoon period, we realized we our connection was, well, mostly physical."

"Oh I see," said Cole amusedly.

"I will be strong I will be faithful
'Cos I'm counting on a new beginning.
A reason for living.
A deeper meaning, yeah."

"Plus, Hunter's more an actions than words guy," elaborated Alyssa. "Not exactly the talkative type, you know? I wanted to go out to dinner where we could talk and all he wanted to do all the time was take me out on his dirtbike."

"Are you doing OK with everything?" asked Cole concernedly.

"I want to stand with you on a mountain.
I want to bathe with you in the sea.
I want to lay like this forever.
Until the sky falls down on me..."

"Oh yeah, I'm fine," said Alyssa dismissively. "And so is Hunter. He's been hanging out with Kelsey this whole weekend. Honestly, I think she really does make a better match with him than I ever would."

Cole looked over to see the Yellow Lightspeed Ranger chatting her usual mile a minute pace with Hunter.

"And then tomorrow we'll go rock climbing, and then Monday we'll go to the motocross track and then on Tuesday we'll go extreme inline skating and the on Wednesday we'll go…" Cole heard Kelsey chatter away to Hunter, who seemed pleased at the fact he didn't have to hold up his end in the conversation .

"I think you're right," chuckled Cole in happiness for more than just Kelsey and Hunter's newfound romance.

"I guess," continued Alyssa hesitantly. "Hunter and I were never really meant to be together."

"Oh can't you see it baby?
You don't have to close your eyes
'Cos it's standing right before you.
All that you need will surely come."

Cole's heart stopped as he suddenly realized it was now or never. He had no more excuses for not telling Alyssa about his feelings for here. There was no more rangering, no Animarium business, and most importantly, no Hunter. Cole, who had faced the challenges present by the Orgs and life outside the jungle with immense courage, suddenly realized how the battlefield of love was the one arena that scarred him. He was terrified of losing Alyssa's friendship, but Cole knew he would always look back with regret and wonder what could have been if let this moment pass him by.

"Alyssa, I'm sorry if this freaks you out," began Cole, shaking as he held the girl in his arms. "But would you maybe sometime want to go together for coffee or…"

"I love you," blurted out Alyssa with raw honesty.

Cole's heart soared. "I love you too, Tiger," he said.

"I'll be your dream,
I'll be your wish,
I'll be your fantasy."

He drew Alyssa close to him, leaning his head against hers as he kissed the top of her forehead. Cole could feel Alyssa gripping him tightly as a release for her own emotions. Touching her chin gently, Cole lifted Alyssa's face towards his to see eyes filled both excitement and expectation. Cole didn't want to wait any longer either. Pulling her face toward his, Cole gently gave Alyssa the kiss they'd both been yearning to possess for so long.

"I'll be your hope,
I'll be your love,
Be everything that you need."

As Alyssa rose on her tippy-toes to meet Cole, she pulled herself deeper around his neck into their kiss as well. She loved the touch of Cole's full lips, caressing his firm face, running her hands through his dark, thick hair as she got to know her jungle boy on a whole, new level. The sensation was sublime of kissing someone she truly loved. In a way, Alyssa felt that after a very wild storm on the high seas of ranger romance, she had at last gotten her own happy ending.

"I'll love you more with every breath
Truly madly deeply do."

A/N: WOW, I can't believe this story is now finally over for real. I've gotta say out of all the stories I've written, "Wild Storm" has by far been the biggest and most personally challenging journey for me, even as the story became the most popular out of the dozen or so I've written. "Wild Storm" helped me learn A LOT about how I do and don't like to write, so for that I am grateful.

But most of all, I am SO GRATEFUL to everyone who took the time to check out this story, helping make it the most read and reviewed out of any I've written so far. BIG shout-outs and thanks going out to: BiccaBoo, Islandgurlie12, MagCat, jfkpommie09, SSL, Synch14, Enigmaforum, ThunderBrosRule, JuseaPeterson, Titanium Gold, Misawa Kaitou, Sango A.R, Nefertiri, TrueRomantic, JDPhoenix, footychick, IAmTheBoss, The Original Space Cadet, samuraistorm, shanie, Princess Aelita Lyoko, iceprincessforever, Mony19, Star Fata, Fayt Esteed, power rangers lover, Marcus S. Lazarus, Blue Eyed Dragon Girl, Virtual Enforcer, jean, silversayain12, ja5684 and Mistress of Phoenix.

In case you're wondering what's up next for me PR fan fic wise, I'm in the middle of writing my first Mystic Force story called "Under Your Spell." It's a Maddie/Nick romance with hints of Xander/Vida where Leelee puts everyone under a love spell, causing everyone to go a bit crazy (Vida even gets engaged to Phineas!).

Also, I am starting soon the long-promised sequel to my SPD story, "Guy Talk, Girl Talk." Unlike my other more cutesy, fluffy romance stories, this SPD sequel is going to be very raw and very real, definitely addressing more mature emotional themes if you're into those type of more adult-situated setups. So be on the look out for that, coming soon!

I look forward to reading many more stories from y'all and seeing you around the site soon. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Power Rangers continues to stay on the air for many years to come.

Thanks again, y'all!

- Destiny45