AN: This is my first PRNS fanfiction so please be nice. I don't think I ever heard how old the NSR were so for all purposes of this story Cam and Hunter are 22, the rest are 19 and Audrey's 18.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and Audrey Donahue.
It felt so good to be home. Six years had passed since she had walked these woods and that had been as she had left her home; it hadn't been the first time. When she was six her parents had all but dragged her kicking and screaming through the woods, all the while trying to explain why the east would be a better growing experience. They thought she'd forget this place but she didn't allow herself to forget.
Audrey Donahue breathed in the earthy scent of wet land and running water. At eighteen there were few memories of the woods she wandered as a child but there were ones that stood out. The trees loomed overhead in a protecting canopy. Letting out a laugh she spun herself around, sending her dark auburn hair around her. She wondered vaguely if he would keep his promise.
She found it odd that while she couldn't remember much about her old home, that she could remember the way into the woods. The path to the safest place she knew. She stopped at the waterfall. It couldn't possibly be the same. Maybe, she thought, I should send a message alerting them. She didn't want to be attacked by students; after all they probably knew so much more than she did.
A smile played across her lips and she nudged his mind, I'm home. She bit her lip when she felt the wall come up. He had never been the most receptive to her nudges, even twelve years ago when she had been five and he nine. Perhaps it would be better to come back after everyone went home and then there would be no surprises. Yet as she stood there debating herself she couldn't help but feel the longing and excitement that twisted in her stomach. They had belonged to one another before her birth. It had been written in the stars.
She walked slowly across the water, her fingers tightening on her pack. The only things that she deemed valuable in her life packed carefully. Her fingers found their way to the chain that hung around her neck, the ring dangling from it. A present from so long ago, a reminder of her future and her past it had been hers from the tender age of four. It had belonged to his mother and with it came a promise.
She paused for a moment cast a look around her, making sure there was no one to notice her sudden disappearance. Sighing and nervously twisting the chain around her fingers she walked through the waterfall. The sight that she saw when she entered the other side had her breath catching. The destruction that had befallen her home made her heart ache. It wasn't possible. There was no one that would attack.
Audrey walked forward and smiled at the small dent someone had made in the reconstruction. When the attack happened, she had felt it, a prick to her heart that brought tears to her dark eyes (it hadn't helped that she had been in the middle of history class). Please, she thought, please come home and let me know you are all right.
"Sensei?" she called out dropping her back at her feet. She didn't bother being quiet now and walked ahead, "Sensei? Anyone?"
The birds were her only answer. Not everyone could have been taken. They were too smart for that; besides she would have felt him leave. Her heart raced as she headed down the familiar path, never realizing her feet had begun running her down it stumbling a few times. She didn't stop until she stumbled over the stairway. She had never been the most graceful.
Answer me damn it, she nudged again and the tone in her head demanding. I need to know that everything is okay.
Kinda busy at the moment, leave a message. The thought rang clear in her head making her sigh in relief. He was okay and all ready thought of her as a fly that he could swat away.
Sitting down heavily she buried her head into knees. Letting the fear drain she fell asleep.
"Come on Audrey wake up," a voice cut through sleep-induced fog.
"Don't wanna," she complained and slapped at the hand that shook her shoulder. "Wanna sleep."
She heard the person chuckle and felt herself being lifted up. She breathed deep, how was it possible that he smelled the same? She heard the faint beating of his heart and fell back to sleep; feeling safe and warm.
When Audrey woke the next morning she was in an unfamiliar room. She blinked at the cream colored walls. This was not where she fell asleep the night before. Stretching, her hands brushed against her bare knees. Confusion sparked in her mind, how did she end up in only her t-shirt? The smile broke across her face that had to have been horribly uncomfortable for him.
The room reminded her of the one she had stayed in growing up. Little bits of pink and green had decorated it. Sighing she got up, scooping up the jeans that laid across the foot of her bed and the necklace that now lay on the side table she began dressing.
Moments later she was twisting her long hair into a knot on the top of her head. She needed a shower but it could wait until later. She slipped the ring she used as a pendant off the chain and onto her left ring finger. Making sure everything was in its place she walked out the door. Audrey paused and listened unsure of which way to go. He was near but as she tried nudging his mind again, she came up against the wall that he seemed so fond of. She closed her eyes and listened for noises. Then she heard the voices and followed.
She emerged at the end of the hallway and smiled at the high-tech area. Of course he'd have one, even at a young age he was interested in technology. There was a small group of people loitering around the room, each color-coded, glass cage sat on a wheeling cart and sitting at the computer in the center of the room was the one she had come to stay with. Turn around, she nudged.
Cameron Watanabe heard the voice in his head. He had tried ignoring it to an extent. He hadn't heard her voice in six years and at the time it hadn't been quite as deep. To hear the deeper voice echo in his head, knowing it was her, was a shock to say the least. He had never liked the idea that there was one
person out there could enter his mind so easily. He wanted to ignore her but knew from experience that she was stubborn and wouldn't go anywhere.
He turned in his chair. The others were still lost in conversation and completely oblivious to the new presence. They needed to work on their training a little more. She hadn't changed much in the past years. Her dark auburn hair was longer reaching the middle of her back and she once again had a fringe of bangs, she'd lost the baby fat that clung to her face and she had grown a couple of inches but probably barely made five one. The freckles that decorated her face had darkened and glasses sat on the bridge of her nose.
"Rie," he said suddenly causing the conversation from his teammates to come to a halt. His eyes glanced curiously at her left hand.
"Cam. Sorry to show up so unexpectedly. Kinda busy right now, leave a message? What the hell kind of welcome is that?" she demanded.
"I was in the middle of something important. I can't drop everything to welcome you home. As you can see we've had a problem in the past few months."
"Um, Cam maybe you'd like to introduce us?" Tori asked carefully.
"This is Audrey, her parents were students here. Besides my parents they were the only two that had a child while they were in school."
Nice intro, she thought and then continued, "They dragged me kicking and screaming out of here when I was six and I've been given the privilege of coming back every six years. This time however," she narrowed her eyes at Cam, "I'm staying for good. Now where's your dad and what exactly happened to the school?"
"Mediating, I should warn you though he isn't like he was the last time. As for the school, you can tell it was attacked." He said wanting to turn back to his computer but knew that the idea of him working was long gone until she found another subject.
A look of confusion crossed her face, "Not like he was the last time?"
He rolled his eyes and tapped the roof of his dad's house, "Dad, come out you have a visitor."
Audrey watched in curiosity. There was no way sensei would fit in that, she thought, unless he was a gerbil. Of course the idea was absurd but brought a small smile to her face until a guinea pig came out dressed in miniature sensei clothing.
The rodent's eyes locked on hers, "Audrey, it's time you visited again."
It took a lot of willpower not to let her jaw drop, instead she knelt in respect, "Sensei, it's good to see you again. You're looking well, albeit a little smaller than the last time I saw you. I hear osteoporosis will get you in the end."
"At least she had enough sense not to call him a rat," Cam muttered loud enough for Dustin to hear him.
Her stomach rumbled, making her chuckle, "Where's the kitchen?"
Cam turned back to his computers, motioning behind him, "Down the hall and to the right."
Audrey scooped Sensei into her hands, settling him on her shoulder, "You'll have to tell me what I've missed. Hey Cam you guys have mangoes right?"
He rolled his eyes. Her favorite food always had been. No, we haven't been shopping for company, he thought. He heard her curse inside her head and chuckled. She had picked up a more mature vocabulary in the past six years. The alarms rang, sending the rangers into another mindset.
Cam followed suit, pushing Audrey out of his mind and putting the wall up between them.