Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own creations.
Author's Note: Not entirely sure where this came from, but enjoy. This story stems from "The Grinch" starring Jim Carrey.
"I knew that story was a lot of total and utter whononense," muttered Cindy Lou as she rubbed the side of her swollen abdomen. "I knew it couldn't be that easy."
Babies most certainly did not come in little who baskets in the still of the night.
"Babies come in packages that take nine months to unwrap," she continued, less than impressed. There was still a few more days left before this one would be revealed.
She expelled air.
The circumstances of such a pregnancy had not been anticipated, and whilst Cindy Lou Who was one of the more alert and free thinking Whos of Whoville, such a situation had opened her eyes up to the ways of the world even further.
Not so long ago, Mr Grinch had moved to town to pursue a romance with Martha May, but her flittering affections and desire to be wealthy – and not tied to the person who was the town garbageman (as the Grinch had become) – had the fickle woman ultimately marrying Augustus, the man somehow still the May-Who.
Yes, that same Martha May, who the Grinch had sworn to love forever more, had left and the odd couple were no more.
It had taken all her best efforts to convince him to stay in town and not escape up Mt Crumpet once again. Max's puppy dog eyes had certainly helped her mission.
Three years later, when the news that the Grinch was loose in town had reached her mature ears, she had known that it would take more than Maxine's – Max's female offspring that had refused to leave the Grinch once her father died – puppy dog eyes to calm him down.
The Grinch was rip-roaring drunk.
The imbibing of such alcoholic beverages was not generally encouraged, and rather frowned upon, and so when the roar of the Grinch had sounded, Whos scattered left, right and centre, scrambling to save their presents, willingly leaving behind the town decorations for the more brave of heart to save.
The cause for such a break from reality for our dear green scruffy-haired man was the announcement that Martha May had a baby named Gertie. Cindy Lou had thought about such things and considered that such an event may happen for the couple. And now that it had, it was time to enter damage control once again.
As the crowd dispersed around her, she had forged ahead.
The Grinch and Cindy Lou had a fascinating relationship. At the tender age of eight, she had been the only Who in years to willingly climb Mt Crumpet to face the Grinch. In the ten years since then, their relationship had been one of equals.
It was with this equalness that a determined Cindy Lou had marched forward, grasped the ear of the Grinch and marched him toward his dwelling. She clasped the large brass knob and pushed the door open, her pullee beginning to calm.
She hadn't quite thought of what she was going to say yet, but she knew that it would have involved some reprimanding and the like. She was never to know that night because she was pushed back against the curved wall and summarily kissed.
And indeed, what a kiss it was.
Their tongues had duelled and by some unspoken command, her hand had buried itself in the stiff hair at his neck and she had deepened the kiss. The actions of both had gone a step further. Several in fact.
Which brought them to this point in time.
Cindy Lou Who was not a happy camper: this pregnancy – nothing like those fantastic tales of little babies arriving in the night to land on your doorstep – was not planned, and it put a damper on her plans for Whoville domination.
Never you worry though. When the time came, Augustus would not be May-Who for much longer.
Mere days later, Cindy Lou sat upon on her favourite bright orange stuffed chair as she brushed away a stray plait that fell across her eyes. With that free hand she then stroked the soft hairy cheek of the little body in her arms. "Careful there sweetie," she said softly. "Mummy needs that nipple when you're done with it."
Finch blinked his eyes sleepily, as if he had understood every word that his mother had said. He must have, because his grip eased and feeding became a much more pleasurable experience for both.
Her hours old son settled, Cindy Lou looked up to where her baby's father was standing. His tool belt was strapped on and one hand with those long fingers was pressed against his back. His brow was furrowed as he looked at the piece of paper containing instructions before him.
As she watched, he shredded the piece of paper, threw it over his shoulder, where it fell like snowflakes, and in the blink of an eye with movements that seemed to blur into one he got to work.
When he stood back seconds later with a 'ta da', hands thrown outward, she yawned as she struggled to look suitably impressed. She eased the milk-full baby up into a seated position as his face took on an exaggerated frown. Shrugging her shoulders, she smiled when Finch burped.
That should be response enough.
Finch was followed by Penny Lou, Linch and Hetty Lou in successive years. Their facial features may have been different from that of the normal Who, but the people accepted all, big or small, green or not, and they settled down.
It was one fixed family unit, but the Grinch's attitude changed not one iota.
Whos still scattered left, right and centre when they saw him coming, although these days, he didn't really look that scary when he carried his youngest child in a sling on his chest, his other offspring trailing behind him, flinging snow at each other in preparation for Christmas.
The showdown between Augustus May-Who and Cindy Lou was well attended in the middle of Who square. The Grinch had his beady eye trained on his four children as their mother rallied the crowd for a change. He had offered his wife several options on how he could sabotage her opponent's efforts – including a strategically placed garbage can – but for some reason she had been keen on facing him free of tricks.
It hadn't stopped Augustus though. A big show – funded by the taxpayers of course – included showgirls and the like, shiny glittering lights capturing the attention of the crowd. Martha May ended the line and he smirked when the whiny brat that was Gertie and the plump blob that was her brother Bertie ran wild to the horror of both parents.
The overweight man - the arrogrance of school days still ever there - fumbled in the face of Cindy's attack, and the Grinch grinned widely when he realised that success was near and his nemesis was going to be evicted from the palatial May-Who residence.
When Cindy accepted the ceremonial sceptre two weeks later after the popular vote saw a landslide victory to his woman – and it had absolutely nothing to do with his threat to make a Christmas tree out of garbage this year if anyone dared vote otherwise – the Grinch was eager to hurry along the moving in process.
Augustus was livid and he couldn't resist the urge to poke his tongue out at him, an effect in stereo as Finch, Penny Lou, Linch and Hetty Lou all copied him. He ignored his one time long love and smirked when Gertie grouched from her position in the snow and Bertie threw a tantrum.
Pushing and pulling his favourite armchair into the centre of the lounge room – splat damn in front of the fire – the Grinch then proceeded to give himself a long run up. Flinging his arms back he sprinted across the room, ready to jump into his cushioned goodness.
He had to slam the brakes onto his heels though when he got closer and saw from the grinning faces that four little beings had beaten him to it. "Out of my chair," he ordered with a sniff, looking down his nose upon them as he flung his arm out, pointing their expected direction clear.
His scary value had no impact whatsoever on his children as they all laughed and shook their head. "No!" they cried in a voice so loud.
He spun the chair and was ready to tip them out when he heard a cough. He immediately righted the couch and appeared all innocent as he turned to where Cindy Lou was standing in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest as she tapped her foot. "Ahem?"
He skipped across the floor, mindful of not tripping over his suddenly present children as Maxwell panted, bouncing all around. When he pulled his willing wife into his arms, his call was joined by little voices with varying clarity, a dog's bark right amongst it.
"There's no place like hooooome!"