"It's better to trim them now," he offered, clipping a stalk from each side and studying the planet critically. He took off one more piece, then handed the flowers over with a nod of satisfaction. "The stress of repotting will keep them from blooming again for a few days, so you want them to look their best before you move them."

The bell over the door chimed, and they both looked up in surprise.

Kendall wandered over, a fond look on her face as she considered the arrangement. "You said you'd be waiting outside," she reminded him, tweaking one of the leaves with her fingers.

"Oh--what time is it?" He glanced down at his watch, found it covered by the gardening gloves, and looked around for the clock in confusion. "I was just showing Carrie..."

"I asked him for his advice," Carrie put in when he trailed off. "I didn't realize you were waiting for him."

Kendall just smiled. "You're not even supposed to be working today," she chided, taking his hands to pull his gloves off and set them on the table. "And Max is threatening to leave without us."

He let her lead him toward the door, shooting an apologetic look at Carrie as he did so. He transferred the look to Kendall when she pushed the door open for him, and she linked her arm through his with a laugh. "You just can't resist the new faces, can you?" she teased.

"She wanted to know," he blurted out, trying to explain how exciting that was to him. "She cares what's good for the plants, not just what will look nice in the arrangement. Most people--"

A horn sounded impatiently from the curb, and he looked up to see Max waving at them. He lifted his hand in return, glad when Kendall agreed, "Carrie's one of the good ones. I hope she stays."

"I thought you'd gotten lost," Max was complaining as Danny opened the door for Kendall. "The rink's already been open for half an hour!"

"There's never any music until later in the afternoon anyway," Kendall pointed out, climbing into the cab of the pickup and squeezing to make room for Danny. He had barely gotten the door shut before Max was pulling out.

"Like music is the point," Max scoffed, glancing over his shoulder as they threaded their way down the crowded street. "I bet Cole and Alyssa were there when it opened."

Danny and Kendall exchanged glances, silently disagreeing on the likelihood of that scenario. Dogs were allowed in the skate park but not the actual rink, and Cole had never been very fond of anything with wheels. He went because the others liked it, but it was a rare day when they got him to put on skates. Mostly he kept Ness company on the sidelines.

The rink was only sparsely populated by the time they got there, no matter Max's complaints. There were almost as many people in the skate park, which remained open but unsupervised throughout the week. As Danny had suspected, Cole and Alyssa were nowhere to be seen.

"Hey," Max called, standing up inside the truck and leaning on his open door to peer at the rink. "Is that Taylor over there? Who's that with her?"

Danny paused, holding the door for Kendall as he followed Max's gaze. It hadn't even occurred to him to look for Taylor; she hadn't made an appearance at one of their gatherings for weeks. But sure enough, there was a flash of yellow on the rink and a swirl of color from the person with her, and he squinted in an effort to identify her companion.

"It's the princess!" Kendall exclaimed, shading her eyes as she moved up to the front of the truck. "I didn't know they were going to be here!"

Max jumped down, retrieving his skates and swinging them over his shoulder before he slammed the door. "Well, who'd have thunk it?" he remarked, to the world at large. "Princess Shayla does know how to have fun!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Danny saw Kendall frown at Max for his irreverence. Predictably, it didn't deter Max in the slightest, and he headed toward the rink without waiting to see if they would follow. Danny didn't move--he was too busy trying to catch another glimpse of Taylor and the princess.

"I've never seen her wear anything but white," Kendall said, nudging his arm gently.

He took the hint and started walking, but he kept his eyes on the rink. "Neither have I..." Taylor came around the corner again, and he got a good look at the long-haired woman with her. It was Princess Shayla, wearing a gauzy skirt and a sleeveless wraparound shirt that didn't match any of the colors in her skirt. She was--laughing?

They were both laughing, he realized a moment later. She and Taylor were clumsier on skates than he was, which was saying something. They were holding hands to keep from falling, and every time one of them wobbled they grabbed at each other to keep from losing their balance completely. He had never seen either of them having quite so much... fun.

He heard a dog bark, and he and Kendall looked around at the same time. He was the first one to spot Ness, charging down the river walkway with a tennis ball in her mouth. He lifted his hand to wave when he saw Cole and Alyssa, a considerable distance behind but apparently unworried by her antics, and finally Alyssa saw him.

Kendall and Alyssa waved at the same time, and Ness came to a screeching halt just outside the skate park. She whirled, tennis ball still firmly in her possession, and took off back toward Cole and Alyssa. Bounding in circles around them, she dropped the tennis ball and barked again, throwing her whole body into the chase when Cole picked it up and threw it for her.

Danny and Kendall waited by one of the benches until they caught up. Max was already tearing up the rink on his K2s, but Danny was in no hurry to put his own skates on. The best part of coming to the rink was the company and the fresh air, occasionally the snacks, and even more occasionally the music. He wished he had an excuse as good as Cole's for just watching.

"Hey guys!" Alyssa greeted them cheerfully, as soon as they were within shouting distance. "We thought we might beat you here this time!"

"Not with Max driving," Kendall countered, smiling. "He wanted to be here at noon."

"We didn't even leave until noon," Cole put in. "Here, Ness!"

He threw the tennis ball for her again, careful to keep it low and inside the park. "Have you guys been to the Animarium yet?" he added, turning back to them. "We're kind of worried about Princess Shayla."

"That Princess Shayla, you mean?" Kendall hooked her thumb over her shoulder innocently.

It seemed to take Cole a moment to recognize her, but Alyssa got it right away. "Wow," Alyssa said with a laugh. "Maybe she and Taylor are good for each other."

"How did Taylor know we were going to be here?" Danny wanted to know. "Or is it just a coincidence?"

"No, I told her," Alyssa assured him. "I just didn't expect her to show up. She never has before... she's always been too busy."

Cole reached down to pat Ness absently as she returned with the tennis ball. "Should we have invited the princess to do things with us before?" he wondered out loud. "Do you think she was just waiting for us to ask?"

"The Animarium is her home," Danny said, frowning a little. "She's comfortable there. If she had wanted to come with us, she would have said something."

"Besides," Kendall pointed out, "it's only been a few days."

"What about before now?" Alyssa asked worriedly. "Back when we were Rangers..."

"She came to earth on her own then," Danny reminded her. "Maybe she still is. If she hasn't been sleeping--how do we know what she's been doing?"

That was greeted by silence. He was starting to wonder if he'd said something wrong when he saw Cole and Alyssa exchange glances. "That's true," Alyssa agreed at last. "We don't know."

Cole jumped over the bench easily and loped up to the rink, leaning on the half wall as Taylor and the princess wavered toward them again. Danny saw Taylor point, obviously catching sight of Cole, and the two of them tried awkwardly to coordinate some kind of turn. They almost fell several times, but it was hard to tell whether it was because of the turn or their hysterical giggles as they tried to remain upright.

Finally the princess caught hold of the wall and pulled Taylor up against it, both of them huddling together as they tried to stop laughing long enough to catch their breath. Cole said something that Danny couldn't overhear, but it only made Taylor laugh harder. If he was planning to ask the princess what she'd been doing, it didn't look like it was going to be easy.

Something warm bumped against his hand, and Danny looked down automatically. Ness was standing next to him, tail wagging as she gazed up at him with adoring eyes. The tennis ball was still in her mouth, and she wagged harder as he reached out to take it from her. Dropping it at his feet, she backed off a few steps and waited expectantly.

"Sucker," Alyssa accused, startling him. "You're as bad as Cole!"

"But she wants me to throw the ball for her," he protested, looking from Alyssa to Kendall for support.

"She always wants someone to throw the ball for her," Alyssa countered with a laugh. "The only reason humans exist is to throw tennis balls for Ness."

Ness gave her a reproachful look, and Alyssa's apparent exasperation melted away. "Yes, I know," she told the dog, as though Ness had said something and she had understood. "I'm a bad influence and I shouldn't call people suckers. I don't need Cole to translate that expression for me."

"That does look like what she's saying," Kendall said with a giggle. "Does she talk to people even when they don't understand her?"

"Yes," Alyssa said with an indulgent sigh. "Cole says that animals are talking to us all the time, we just don't listen hard enough."

Danny had picked up the ball and was about to throw it when a distinctive ring made him reach for his growlphone. It took a few seconds to realize it wasn't his, and his gaze went from Alyssa to Cole and Taylor, still hanging on the edge of the rink while they talked. Cole was pulling his growlphone out of his pocket, flipping it open and leaning over the wall so Taylor could listen too.

Unfortunately, that didn't do them any good. They had to wait until Cole nodded, put his growlphone away, and waved to get Max's attention before turning away from the rink and heading back to them. Behind him, Taylor and Princess Shayla were making their way along the half wall toward the nearest exit.

"What's going on?" Alyssa asked, as soon as he was close enough for some amount of privacy. "Was that Wes?"

Max cruised up to the edge of the rink, spun to a stop and bounced up onto the half wall. He swung his legs over and slid off on the other side, rolling over to the bench and stopping with enviable grace. "What's happening?" he wanted to know. "You look serious."

"It was Eric," Cole answered. Even Ness had sat down, apparently sensing this was not the moment to press the tennis ball case. "He says there's a time hole downtown, and he wants us to see it so we know what we're dealing with."

"Oh, man," Max groaned. "Now I remember why we stopped being Rangers. Is this going to take all afternoon?"

Cole shrugged. "Eric didn't say he needed backup, just that he wanted us to see a time hole."

"Time Force is probably with him already," Alyssa added. "But time holes can last a long time, can't they?"

"Or a really short time," Max said hopefully. "Maybe it'll be gone by the time we get there."

"I'll put our skates in the truck," Danny offered.

"I'll go with you," Kendall said quickly, and he saw Cole glance over at her.

Cole didn't say anything, though, and Max handed over his skates without complaint. Danny breathed a sigh of relief as they walked back to the truck. He and Max had taken Kendall with them the second time they'd gone to the Animarium, and it looked like that was all right with Cole. At least, he hadn't told her to stay behind yet.

"Do you think I can come?" she whispered, as he took her skates from her and put them on the floor of the cab with his and Danny's. "I don't want to get in the way."

"You won't," he said quickly. "Do you want to come?"

She nodded, and he smiled a little. "Then you can," he said, taking her hand as they rejoined the others. "It's just another lesson, anyway."

Taylor had already caught up with them by then, and the princess was right behind her. There were hellos and greetings all around, and no one objected to Kendall's presence as they walked out of the skate park and headed upriver along the walkway. Ness, too, accompanied them, and Danny wondered if she had been on the Animarium before.

Maybe it was the idea of confronting a time hole, or maybe it was the more concrete concern of seven people vanishing into thin air at the same time. Whatever it was, something made Danny look over his shoulder as they passed under the trees that shaded the walkway. There was only one person between them and the skate park, standing motionless on the grass and staring out across the river.

Not following them. Not even looking at them. They were in the clear.

"Something wrong?" Kendall asked quietly.

Not quietly enough, because he saw Alyssa give him a curious look too. He shook his head once. "It's nothing," he assured them.

With Princess Shayla leading them, the trees turned into the wilderness of the Animarium in seconds. Cole took over then, and finally the Animarium faded into the small copse behind the city library. "It's inside," he explained, seeing their startled looks. "Downstairs, in Bound Periodicals."

"Where?" Max said skeptically. "Is that an old person's store?"

Taylor shot him a withering look. "Try to pretend you've ever been in a library, kid."

"Don't call me kid!" he exclaimed.

"Then grow up," she snapped.

Alarmed, Danny stepped between them. "Guys, calm down," he told them, surprised at their vehemence. He expected them to tease each other. He didn't expect them to sound so serious about it.

They made it inside without further incident, but one of the Silver Guardians stopped them at the stairs. "I'm sorry," he told them without expression. He didn't sound remotely apologetic. "The ground floor is closed for the afternoon."

"Commander Myers asked us to come," Cole told him, looking just exasperated enough to make the Guardian hesitate. "We know about the time hole."

That did it. The Guardian reached for his radio, not taking his eyes off of him. "Commander," he said, resting his free hand casually on his weapon. "I've got seven people and a dog on the stairs. They say you asked for them?"

The curt reply came back immediately. "Send them down."

The man didn't look happy about it, but he did step out of their way. He stared straight ahead as they filed past, and when Danny looked back from the bottom of the stairs he saw the Guardian back in his original position. Very military. He wondered if Taylor approved.

The basement of the library seemed deserted when they emerged from the stairwell, but Cole turned right without hesitation. He led them through the stacks as though he knew exactly where they were going, and the rest of them followed in silence. And it was the silence that finally tipped him off.

The stairs were guarded, none of them were making a sound, and yet there were voices. Faint at first, appropriate for a library, but that was the sound Cole was aiming for. As they got closer, Danny realized that the voices were actually a normal volume, just muffled by the thousands of books.

"Rock," a woman's voice announced, eliciting immediate protest from another remotely familiar voice.

"You can't change your choice! That's not how it works!"

"But I said the wrong thing," the first voice protested. "I'm just saying what I showed. You lose."

"Eric!" The second voice turned to someone who probably wasn't going to be very sympathetic. "Tell her she can't change her choice!"

"Katie, you can't change your choice," Eric's voice obliged. He actually sounded amused. "But she's right, Trip. She did choose rock."

"But she said paper!" Trip complained. "Scissors cut paper!"

"And rock crushes scissors," Katie declared triumphantly. "It's the hand motion that counts, not the word. Right, Eric?"

"Right," Eric agreed. "Sorry, Trip.

"That's not fair," Trip muttered. Then, voice noticeably lighter, he suggested, "Best two out of three?"

"Hey, guys," Cole said easily, as they came around the end of the stacks and almost tripped over a table that been pushed up against a study carrel. Eric was leaning against the side of the carrel while Katie and Trip sat across from each other at the table and argued.

"Hi!" Trip grinned up at them as Katie turned in her chair to look at them. "We're just learning how to play 'Rock, Paper, Scissors.' Want to try?"

"How to play what?" Cole was instantly diverted, but Taylor broke in before Trip could answer.

"As important as that sounds," she said, giving Eric a pointed look, "we're here to see the time hole. That's it."

The smile that had been in Eric's voice as they made their way through the stacks was nowhere to be seen now. He gestured stiffly at empty space on the other side of the table, not even straightening up as he addressed Cole. "There it is. Appeared about an hour ago, growing at a rate of four millimeters a minute. Seems to be stabilizing now, but it's hard to tell."

"Yeah, since you can't see it," Max remarked, rolling his eyes. "Where is this thing, again?"

A smirk tugged at the corner of Eric's mouth, and he regarded Max with the same air of superiority that had made Danny afraid to say anything. Max just gave him an equally contemptuous look in return, not at all embarrassed. There wasn't, after all, anything there.

Eric reached into the carrel and grabbed a piece of scrap paper. It was one of the little quarter pages salvaged from the recycling bin and cut up to serve as a place for scribbling call numbers from the online catalogue. Eric crumpled the paper up without looking at it and tossed it down the aisle of carrels.

Two carrels down, there was a ripple in the air and the paper vanished. "Right there," Eric said, deadpan.

"Whoa!" Max was around the table in an instant, not bothering to hide his enthusiasm. "That's so cool! How did you know it was there?"

"We do have instruments to detect these things," Eric said dryly.

"Which you're obviously using to great effect," Taylor retorted.

Eric didn't even look at her. "We know it's here. We knew the instant it formed. We won't let anyone from this time go through, and we'll send back anyone who comes through from another time. It's safer to let it dissipate on its own than it is to try and close it ourselves."

"So you can close it, if you have to?" Alyssa asked. "What if it appeared somewhere that you couldn't close off? Like the highway?"

"What if something dangerous came through?" Danny added, shooting a nervous look at the place where the paper had vanished. He had heard stories about how Eric had acquired his zord.

"We can close off the highway," Eric said patiently. "With the backing of Time Force, the Silver Guardians have that authority. And the possibility of a temporal incursion, or 'dangerous things', is why we're here."

"Yeah, you look ready for anything," Taylor agreed sarcastically.

Eric didn't pretend to ignore her this time. Before he could do more than glare, though, Trip jumped in. "It's not likely that anything malicious would be able to exploit something this unpredictable," he said, glancing from Taylor to Katie and back again. "But if something tried, then yes, we could close the time hole from this side."

"So why don't you just close it now?" Max wanted to know.

"We could lose the crystal shard if we close the time hole prematurely," Trip said earnestly. "If we let it do its thing, we'll be able to retrieve the shard as soon as the time hole vanishes and we won't have to track it down again later."

"You..." Kendall sounded a little apprehensive, but when everyone turned to look at her she continued gamely. "You have to stay here until the time hole disappears? How long will that take?"

Eric just shrugged, but Trip answered, "It depends on the size of the shard and the temporal location of the other terminus. Some of them only last a few minutes, but we had one that stuck around for days."

"That's a long time," Alyssa said slowly, looking both surprised and sympathetic.

"We switch off," Katie said, throwing one arm over her chair as she leaned back. "Me and Trip and Eric, Jen and Wes and Lucas. Depends who's on duty, who went last time, whatever."

"We caused the problem," Trip added. "It's only fair that we take care of it ourselves."

"Plus they get to keep coming back to 2004," Eric muttered.

Katie grinned unrepentantly, but Trip appeared to take him seriously. "That's right!" he agreed. "Time Force would never have let us stay here so long if we didn't have a good reason!"

"Blew up that crystal on purpose, I bet," Eric said idly, staring in the direction of the time hole.

Trip looked taken aback, but Katie just chuckled. "You'll never prove it," she said, stretching lazily over the back of her chair. "Especially not when Jen has the final say on every report that goes back to the future."

Kendall nudged him, and he caught her quizzically amused look. She obviously knew they were joking, but without knowing anything about the Time Force team it probably didn't mean anything to her. "Jen and Wes are in love," he whispered. "She can't stay here, and he can't go with her."

Her eyes widened, and he knew he didn't have to say anything else. She touched the macrame bracelet on her right wrist and he smiled. The princess was speaking for the first time, asking something about time holes that made both Eric and Trip listen attentively. Max seemed to have gotten over his initial awe and was demanding to know when he could go back to the rink, while Cole called Ness from her wanderings in the stacks.

None of it made much of an impression on Danny at that moment. He was lost in an answering smile that reminded him just how much he had to be thankful for. His love was here, in this time, in his life, and he couldn't ask for anything more.