A.N. This story takes place in-between and after my first Lorax story Once-ler's Real Family, so some things that were previously mentioned in that story will be explained further here.

It was just a couple days after the animals returned to the valley. Ted and Audrey were sitting on the ground watching the animals play. Audrey was smiling peacefully, obviously loving being out in the valley. Ted however looked confused about something.

Lorax soon noticed Ted and Audrey and decided to say hi.

"Hi Truffula Hair, hi kid." He smiled.

Despite having known Ted as long as Audrey Lorax hadn't been able to think of a nickname for him. Same with Sally. Audrey was easy though, especially since Lorax rarely saw humans with bright and soft hair like hers. It was bright and soft enough to compare to the Truffula tufts. And with her hair being red, well, that just made coming up with a nickname even easier.

"Hello Lorax." Audrey smiled.

"Hi." Ted sounded distracted.

"Something wrong?" Lorax asked.

"Not really, it's just that when I first held the seed I...felt something." Ted explained. "Something I had never felt before. Then the feeling slowly became stronger, starting from when I planted the seed. It became overwhelming when the animals returned. It's still a little overwhelming."

"I've been feeling something too." Audrey admitted. "I think I've always felt it, but I didn't notice until I first held the seed. I then felt it again, except stronger, when the animals returned."

"I noticed how attached the animals became to you right away, and now after hearing this I believe I know what it is." Lorax smiled. "One sec..."

Lorax put his hands over Ted and Audrey's hearts, which made them feel kinda awkward. Especially since they had no idea what Lorax was doing. Lorax then smiled and stepped back.

"Thought as much, your hearts have become connected to nature." He explained. "It's a common trait for animals and guardians, but it's very rare for humans. What you two have been feeling was what nature had been feeling: gratefulness and love. With an added touch of protectiveness for nature."

Ted now smiled as much as Audrey.

"You know, Mother Nature and I have been wanting to reward you both for bringing the trees back." Lorax said.

"Oh neither of you have to do anything." Ted shook his head.

"Of course not, being able to enjoy the valley is reward enough." Audrey agreed.

"Well, you can't stop Mother Nature." Lorax chuckled.

Sure enough a gold mist appeared out of nowhere and flowed right into Ted's and Audrey's chests, right where their hearts are. Ted and Audrey both looked a bit freaked out at first, but relaxed when they realized that the mist wasn't going to harm them. Then they felt a warm glow in their hearts. After the glow faded somewhat Pipsqueak showed up.

"Hey, you two want to play?" He asked.

Ted and Audrey dropped their mouths open.

"What is it?" Pipsqueak shrugged, confused.

"You're-you're talking." Audrey was stunned. "I mean like a human."

"No I'm not-wait, you can understand me?" Pipsqueak was now stunned.

Ted and Audrey nodded. Lorax chuckled.

"That's your reward, you now can understand trees and animals." He explained. "Though it'll take a while to learn how to hear trees, they're very quiet."

There was a silence at that point. Ted and Audrey listened carefully and sure enough heard whispers. Most of the whispers were praises for the two of them, which made them blush.

"Uh, have they always been saying that stuff about us?" Ted asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Lorax chuckled.

It took a while but eventually Ted and Audrey got used to their new ability and were very happy about it. They left to tell their families, who were all very happy too. Well except for Once-ler, he seemed sad about something. Ted took him aside.

"What's wrong Grampy?" He asked.

"Nothing really, it's just...well, I guess I was a little jealous that's all." Once-ler admitted. "But I don't deserve to have the ability to understand trees and animals so I'm over it now."

"Of course you deserve the ability, both you and Grammy do." Ted shook his head.

Once-ler just hung his head. Ted realized that Once-ler still felt guilty about the past.

"Mother Nature just probably hasn't given you two the ability because you're still burdened with guilt." Ted explained before becoming stern: "You really should stop feeling guilty, remember it was really your mom's fault. You need to let go of the past and forgive yourself. You need to move on."

"I can't." Once-ler shed a tear. "I just can't. It still hurts."

Ted hugged him comfortingly.