It was finally Christmas day and after having a small panic attack about what to wear and calling Wes maybe 3 times to ask, Taylor finally decided on black tights with an oversized yellow t-shirt with a red cardigan, for Christmas spirit if anyone asked, with her new knee high black boots. Not wanting to be late she left her house promptly at 4, knowing it only takes her about 15 minutes to get to Wes's mansion home but she didn't want to take any chances today.

She finally reached the Silver Hills residences at 4:20, having been right about the traffic being a little slower today. But as she pulled into the drive and parked behind Eric's crimson truck she could see someone else standing at the closed entrance to the house. As Taylor, grabbing her hand gun out of the dashboard console, climbed slowly out of the yellow Mustang the person that was standing at the door turned to face her. Taylor instantly relaxed seeing who had turned to see her. She put the gun back in it's hiding spot and grabbed the casserole dish before walking to the new person.

"Does Wes know you're here?" Taylor asked as she approached the door.

"No," the lady replied.

"Well damn. I thought I had gotten him the best gift. How long have you been standing out here?"

"Twenty minutes or so," the brunette replied.

"Well come on then. I'm hungry," Taylor said ringing the doorbell at 4:28. A greying man in all black answered the door and ushered the two in.

"The rest of the party is in there," he said gesturing to his left towards what Taylor guessed was the living room. He took the casserole out of her hands before walking down a long hallway to the right.

"Ready?" Taylor asked.

"No. Yes. No," was the reply she got.

"Walk in behind me," Taylor said before leading the way into the room housing the 2 Collins men and Eric. It wasn't long before she was noticed standing in the doorway.

"Ah Ms. Earnhardt! Merry Christmas! Right on time! So glad you could join us today," Mr. Collins said walking over to give her a small hug, as Wes and Eric laughed at her discomfort.

"Thank you for having me. If you don't mind I brought one other person. I found them on the porch to stay out of the wind and figured one more wouldn't hurt," she said once Wes' dad released her. She saw a look of worry cross between the 3 men in the room but spoke before they could say anything more. "Come on in!" she said moving to the side so the new person could walk in the room. All you could hear in the room was the shocked gasps that went around the room when the brunette stepped into view. Wes and the stranger's eyes locked instantly and they nearly ran to each other across the room before locking their arms around each other. Taylor moved out of the way to across the room to stand beside Eric as the two slowly separated.

"What are you doing here Jen?" Wes asked pulling out of the hug but keeping his arms around her.

"I'm your Christmas present from Katie, Trip, Lucas, and Alex," she said smiling up at him.

"Well there goes my present out the window," Eric whispered to Taylor.

"Yeah no one can ever beat that now," she said laughing with him while the red and pink ranger continued to talk to themselves.

Soon enough Wes released her and allowed her to greet his dad and best friend before they moved from the living room into the grand dining hall for Christmas dinner. Mr. Collins said Grace and soon they were all seated passing around the many dishes that the cooks and Taylor had prepared. An extra place was hastily set beside Eric and Taylor offered to give up her place beside Wes so Jen could sit there, forcing her to sit beside Eric. As she was reaching to grab the dish of mashed potatoes Eric glanced over at her and could see a glimpse of deep red beneath her t-shirt. His mind instantly flashed back to two days ago at the mall and the bras she held in her hand and the conversation he and Wes had after she walked away. He could feel the blood in his body move to his face and his head, his mini head. As she was pulling back to sit down her leg bumped against his making his hardness rub against his pants creating friction making him groan quietly, but not quietly enough as Taylor looked over at him. She could tell he had a slightly, what she thought, was pained expression on his face, but before she could ask what was wrong Mr. Collins spoke up.

"Taylor this casserole is delicious. You must share it with the cooks," he said chuckling. Eric was grateful for her being distracted so he could discreetly adjust himself without drawing too much attention

"Sorry Mr. Collins it's a family recipe, but I'd be more than happy to make it for you whenever you want it. It's one of my favorite dishes from home and I make it atleast once a month. Back home I only got it during the holidays so it's always a special week at my house when I make it and eat the leftovers for every meal," she said laughing with the rest of the table.

Once everyone had filled their plates and was happily eating away, Eric thought he had gotten away with it without anyone, especially Taylor, seeing. That was until now. Taylor kept her napkin on her lap while she ate like most people so when she would reach for it to wipe her mouth and put it back she was very aware of how close her and the quantum ranger were actually sitting. After she had seen him adjust himself she knew she was having the same effect on him as he was on her, but his was more obvious. So she decided to play with him a bit.

When she reached to for her napkin this time a plan formed in her mind. After she wiped her mouth as she went to put it back on her lap she ''accidentally'' bumped her arm into Eric causing her to drop her napkin under the table. She knew that Eric would reach for it at the same time she did.

"Sorry Myers, didn't see ya there," she said placing her hand on his arm to stop him from reaching. "Don't worry about it. I'll get it. After all I'm the one that dropped it," she said scooting back her chair at the same time trying to get a glimpse of where the napkin fell. Seeing it right in front of Eric's seat she smiled and laughed to herself. She squatted to reach under the table and then got onto her knees to shimmy under the table a little more to be more in front of Eric. She braced herself by putting one hand on his upper thigh, where she felt him tense under her hand. Smiling more to herself she grabbed her napkin and went to stand back up, putting more pressure on the hand that rested on Eric's leg, causing it to ''slip'' and fall on top of his lap as she too lost her balance and leaned against the inside of his thigh. She was proud of him not flinching to much to where the others could see it but just enough for her to feel him harden against her hand. She looked up at him through her eyelashes like she had done 2 years ago. That night flashed through both of their minds, causing Eric to stiffen more against her. He had to fight with all his power to keep from thrusting into her hand. She quickly gave him a wink and picked herself up off her knees and back into her chair in one fluid motion.

"Thanks Myers." He just gave her a quick nod, not trusting his voice. Before anymore could be said Mr. Collins spoke.

"So Ms. Earnhardt-" he began but was cut off.

"Please Mr. Collins call me Taylor," the yellow ranger said causing him to laugh.

"As long as you call me Arthur," he replied. With a laugh and nod from Taylor he continued on with his original sentence. "So Taylor, about that career change? What do you think? Now with Jen back I'm sure the boys could find a nice position for both of you."

"Like I told Wes at the Christmas party, if you ever decided to have an air aide division I'll be the first to offer my services but until then I don't think I could part with the Yellow Eagle," she said shaking her head and laughing lightly while taking a sip of her wine.

"The Yellow Eagle?" Arthur asked confused.

"That's my plane. I command the Eagle Squadron," was her quick reply when she saw the panic cross Wes's face. She knew that he knew about her ranger days but apparently didn't know a lot.

"Ah I see. How funny. Well what do you all say about retiring to the sitting room for gifts?" Arthur asks as 2 men came out to clear the table. As they all rose from their seats Taylor decided to freshen up a bit before the gift exchange.

"Where's the washroom?" she asked Wes as they walked out of the dining room and back across the hall to the room they were in earlier.

"Down the hall, around the corner and the last door on the left," Wes pointed down the same hall that the man that answered the door earlier walked down. With a nod she headed away from the group, but what she didn't see was the dark haired man following her down the hall.