AN - Disclaimer: I own nothing, no-one (except my OCs Abbey Carter and Estelle) no matter how much I may wish I did. Enjoy!

Fuck. Just fuck, how he could have been so stupid to have thought that maybe he would finally catch a break he didn't know. It was what had led him to sitting in the forest utterly lost, curled up by a tree scrubbing at the tears that traitorously spilled down his face.

Only an hour ago he had been sitting in Abbey's tatty old car with only Abbey herself for company, trying to think of all the bright sides to the move. The drive had been pleasant and Justin had been pleased to find that Reefside was a pleasant enough town; there had even been a cyberspace café that sounded interesting enough that he wouldn't mind checking it out.

The blue sign by the gated entrance proudly announced they'd arrived at Reefside Orphanage. The large red house encompassed by a green background of trees, was promising. It was reasonably sized, obviously new and looked less run down and more homely than most orphanages he had stayed in.

It wasn't until he was pulling his small blue suitcase out of the car that the front door opened. It was who stepped out that caused his jaw to drop and eyes to widen. The man who stepped out hadn't changed much in the years that had passed. He had filled out in muscle but his smiling blue eyes and short spikey hair remained the same. The navy suit trousers and dark red formal shirt seemed unusual and constricting on such a free-spirited person.

The suitcase suddenly weighed a ton and slipped through his numb fingers with a thud as it hit the ground. He stared unblinkingly at the man barely six feet in front of him, because it couldn't possibly be him. As far as Justin was concerned this man had disappeared off the face of the planet right when he needed him the most, when his world had started crumbling down around him.

Everything suddenly clicked into place, exactly who Abbey could have possibly mentored in his time away from Angel Grove, who his new social worker was. It couldn't be.

Rocky?

It felt like eternity was passing by as they entered into a standoff. Rocky broke it first, sighing as his smile dropped slightly his eyes softening a touch more if possible. He opened his mouth as though to speak but Justin had already started running.

"Justin! Justin wait please!"

The words faded into background noise to Justin as he ran. Just ran away. What else could he do? He'd never prepared to come face to face with one of them again and he couldn't bear to hear their excuses and reasons. What if it had been his fault? Had he been too clingy? Too young? Just so god damned annoying that the phone calls and e-mails just went silent as though they had never been there to start with.

That was how he now found himself utterly confused, betrayed and most importantly heartbroken in the middle of the woods. Emotions warring between themselves for control and he didn't have the energy to stop the sobs rising in his throat as he wept, alone again.

Of all the kids' folders that ended up on his desk, Rocky never thought he would see Justin Stewart's. After recovering from his back injury Rocky had worked hard to get his degree in social work and child care, once Abbey had found out what he was doing she had instantly taken him under her wing and mentored him. Volunteering at the orphanage had been one of the best decisions he had ever made. After fast tracking through his degree and two years of hard but satisfying work, at twenty-two years of age he found himself in charge of the newly built Reefside orphanage working his dream job.

So when the folder for Reefside's newest resident to be was handed to him by Estelle, the old quirky administrator for the orphanage, his heart had dropped into the pit of his stomach, he had barely managed a smile as he sent Estelle on her way. His hands had trembled as he opened the folder; Justin was supposed to be happy at home with his father, not still stuck in the care system. The further he read the further his heart dropped, until it rested firmly in his feet.

In short everything had gone wrong for Justin just as it had all gone right for him. It appeared that Justin and his father had been having problems, the then current social worker had noted that there was tension between them as though they'd been arguing continuously. Before a conclusion was reached Justin had lost his father in a terrible car accident much like the one that had taken Justin's mother beforehand. When Justin lost the last semblance of family he'd had, he'd also lost his voice. As far as the doctors were concerned Justin could speak, he just chose not to.

Rocky stared at the tea in his hands and then glanced at his companion sitting opposite to him. "Maybe I should have gone after him," he repeated for what must have been the sixth time in the last ten minutes.

"Rocky, he needs to process everything before you bombard him, trust me he needs the time to himself. Justin is a very solitary person." Abbey replied.

"He didn't used to be," he muttered running a hand through his hair. Abbey looked at him sympathetically as she set down her mug.

"A lot has changed Rocky, you can't expect him to be the same twelve year old you once knew." She said firmly.

"I know, I just wish… what does it matter anyway? I should be concentrating on the Justin of now not dwelling on the past."

"See, now all you have to do is regain his trust you did it once Rocky, just be patient," Abbey advised. He nodded his smile back in full force with a determined set to his jaw.

Reefside was where Rocky had found his new home, but had also reintroduced him to his past roots. He internally winced, if Justin reacted this badly to only seeing him how would he react when he found out that Reefside had almost become the new Angel Grove? Rangers seemed to be gravitating to this general location, out of fate or coincidence he wasn't sure but he knew it was going to make his job all the more difficult. He didn't fancy the idea of trying to explain to certain past rangers that they couldn't just storm into the orphanage and greet Justin as though it was just yesterday that they'd last seen him. He would give Justin an hour, maybe forty-five minutes until he initiated a one man man-hunt after him and if necessary as only a last resort reinforcements would be called in. He groaned but until then he had several dreaded phone calls to make.