Author's Note: I may open up with these notes first just so you know what goes on in my mind so please read these first. You may have missed something important! First off, a special shout out to LooneyWriter! Thanks for your encouragement, having it in favorites already? (I need a moment!) and being the first to review! Also, AngetianPrincess18, thank you for putting this fiction in your Story Alert. I'm touched. Secondly, I'll have a little analysis on one of my OC characters on my profile soon. Check it out if you'd like. Thirdly, I'm using Once-ler as the last name to stay true to the book and I can't think of a particular last name for The Once-ler. First name will be revealed in time! I like putting little details about original creator or books for fun. See if you can find some! This chapter is more like telling history, so keep reading for some adorableness later on here. Thanks for reading!

(Oh, I forgot to do this last time! Stupid me! The Lorax and The Once-ler do not belong to me. They're Dr. Seuss' and Illumination's. Same goes for his family shown in the film. You know who they are! My OC and her family are only mine.)

Chapter 2

The Whole Once-ler Family

Anyone who knew of the Once-ler family knew how odd they were. It seemed like they were all naturally black sheep. Once-ler wasn't even a real name. It was made up. How it came to be wasn't hard to trace back. Family members liked learning how they earned such a last name. There was even a notebook telling the history. It wasn't anything grand or such. From what Will Once-ler knew of, it was that his great-grandmother, Henrietta, made it herself.

Henrietta was an orphan, abandoned on the doorstep. What no one knew was that she was unexpected and not wanted in her dirt poor family. Nobody found interest in the little dark haired, green eyed girl to adopt her. The masters never taught the children anything to impress adults. If you were cute, you got a family. If not... Henrietta was released from the orphanage when she was considered an adult. Eighteen though is still a naïve age and dangerous for a young woman. Henrietta lived and moved from boarding house to any shelter earning what money she could. Money was sacred to her because it meant survival. The more she could get, the more secure she would be. No matter how dirty, low or immoral the jobs were, the money would continue. It was one thing to be greedy and another thing to be financially secure, but both could mix with each other if not cautious.

However, it was one of these jobs, one that meant satisfying men's filthy desires that she became more desperate; pregnancy. On one very cold night in early December she had a son. The boarding home she lived in was kind enough to help with the birthing. When the doctor asked what her last name was she came up with one so as to be a real person. A real person had a last name; a nobody had only a first name.

"It's-um-Once," she started. Then she had paused. Ville? Berg? Ton? Son? Ing? "Onceler."

That was how it happened. When writing out the birth certificate for her since she couldn't write, the doctor hyphenated it because of her pausing. And that was how Once-ler came to be a last name. It was peculiar, but charming. Good things soon happened after the baby was born.

Henrietta and her child, Robert, moved into a mansion to be part of the serving staff. The rich, but gracious family allowed her to live in the furnished basement while she worked as a scullery maid. It was like a small, but cozy apartment. Necessary things for hygiene and comfort were there. She had time to take care of Robert too. There were times though when she was putting him to sleep she would wandered into the parlor, gazing dreamily at the beautiful paintings, furnishings and accessories hoping Robert could have a home as perfect when he grew-up. The mother and son were very close. Robert adored her and Henrietta thought of Robert as a precious gift from above.

Robert grew-up as one of the cooks in the household. At the age of ten he was helping with little kitchen chores. At eighteen, he and Henrietta left the staff. They moved into a part of the city that had terraced houses. Having an actual house was new and exciting to Henrietta. She and Robert soon expanded their household when Robert married his sweetheart Cecelia LeSieg. They had two boys, Hubert and Nathaniel. However, Nathaniel couldn't pronounce Hubert as a toddler and just called him Ubb. All still had the last name Once-ler. Cecelia had dreaded having it as her last name, but it grew on her. The couple provided for their family working in multiple restaurants. Cecelia could cook just as well as Robert. Both were kind and hardworking parents for their sons.

Will Once-ler knew Nathaniel well because Nathaniel was his father. Will didn't have a small family like his father or grandfather before him. He had many siblings and he was the youngest of all. After Nathaniel had moved away from city life to be with his future wife Lydia Stone, he developed the life of a farmer. Ubb came to live with them a few years later. It seemed there was always a new baby being born. There were endless combinations of brown or black hair, blue or olive-green eyes, and round faces either awkward or sweet. In the closest town which took three hours to drive out to everyone knew who they were.

Down the line it was Thomas, Norville, Reuben, Ivan and Levi, who were fraternal twins. Then Benjamin, Andrew, Joyce and Grace (identical twins and the beloved girls among a family of males) and Will. All births were a year apart, but with more children on a huge farm it seemed better. With a farm containing countless livestock many hands were needed. With having a large family it was easy to see that the siblings looked after each other and taught things to the next one. Thomas looked after Norville. Norville looked after Reuben. Reuben looked after Ivan. Ivan looked after Levi and so on. Grace acted more like a second mother than a sister to Will. All were close despite the age differences and all the brothers had watchful eyes when boys came around calling on their sisters.

Also, just like Henrietta, who had passed away around the time Andrew was born the family worked hard for the financial security. Everyone one of them was motivated to survive financially. (Sometimes, though it's just a friendly way of saying greed.) Most of the children had two jobs along with helping at the farm. Though most of them had grown-up, they all still lived at home. They were the talk of the town when it was a day of trade in the town's stores with their livestock, jam preserves, homemade pies and calico fabrics. It was during one of those trade days that Will's fate was doomed; Isabella Gilford.

Isabella didn't have a life like Will's. Will lived in a decent farmhouse while she lived in a trashy condo with her insane parents. Now the Gilford family was power hungry, not hardworking. Her parents Arthur and Annabelle were always quitting their jobs when they didn't get to where they wanted to be. Her mother could be a waitress one day wanting to be assistant manager within a month. When the month passed and still being on the bottom she would quit! The same went with Isabella's father. Not only that, the couple always argued be it over the design of a chair or what oil was best to use for making fried chicken. They loved money, but while The Once-ler family put it to good use, the Gilford family splurged it! The reason they were always in debt was because of buying wasteful things. Isabella was also a natural gold digger. Any young man she dated was to see how rich he could be and how well he could get what she wanted. Men broke up with her, not her to them.

Will had been the first man she had actually felt attracted too. Will was handsome. The moment she met him on that trade day in town with her friends she knew she had to speak to him. That jet black hair, blue eyes and round face. Just perfect! She found the route to his family home, keen on meeting him. He was fixing the roof of the garden shed, shirtless of all things. Perhaps what really got her attention was when she saw the muscles he had. Then later on, how much cash he had stored away for future college plans. Will, almost childish in personality, liked her instantly. He thought she was adorable with her Southern drawl, perky charm and glasses. Just seventeen, both easily fell in love, if it could be called so.

It seemed more like infatuation to the rest of the family. Not true love, just too many sparks flying and no real communication. Besides, something about Isabella concerned the family. They didn't doubt Will in any of his qualities which included drawing and a hope of a job in mechanics. They were pleased he was happy. It was just Isabella. Something in her tone and body language made them nervous. She seemed to look down at all of them with fake politeness. Nathaniel and Lydia could have warned their youngest, but they didn't want to seem controlling. So they let Will live in ignorant bliss. They never got their true say in how they felt about their possible daughter-in-law when they died in a car crash. Not long after, Cecelia passed from old age. Losing his parents and grandmother was a huge blow to Will. Isabella was Will's source of comfort.

Only months later, an aging Robert, Thomas, Norville, Reuben, Ivan, Levi, Benjamin, Andrew, Joyce and Grace were sitting in rickety chairs on a chilly October afternoon watching a pregnant Isabella strutting down the aisle to their little brother in her mother's silk wedding dress. The outdoor wedding would have been better if she had not been the bride. In mid-May, they were aunts and uncles to twin nephews, Brett and Chet. Isabella picked out the names and if that wasn't strange enough their middle names were Horace and Morris. Will was a doting father, but his wife seemed more of the lazy, pamper herself kind of mother. Also Reuben and Benjamin who worked in a bar late at nights would spot her with friends drinking and smoking long cigarettes. It didn't seem like a fitting image of a new parent.

Will had never had a rocky relationship with his siblings or grandfather until all of them begged for him to leave Isabella. Grace even pleaded for him to take the twins with him. They could all raise them. Will said he wouldn't. He loved her. One evening, learning that Isabella was pregnant again and hopefully with a girl, Will and Robert got in a fight over the phone. It's fair to say that neither side handled their words well and hung up with wounded souls. Will wanted to apologize and ask for his whole family to make amends, including him, but he was too late. Robert passed from a heart attack a day after their fight. Will felt it was his fault and distanced himself from his brothers and sisters. All but him blamed Isabella for the chaos.

Then around early March Joyce awoke extremely early in the morning to the sound of her phone ringing. Groggily she answered expecting an order from some elderly woman wanting some jam preserves.

"Hello?" she yawned. The clock on her nightstand showed it was three-thirty and it was raining hard outside.

"Joyce?" It was Will. He sounded afraid. "Something's wrong. Isa went into labor early."

"How early is she?" Joyce sat up right in bed. A pre-term baby was rare to the family.

"Two months early," Will gulped. "I know you don't like Isa, but could you all please come down? The doctors say its going bad."

Only Joyce came. The family did pitch in some money for flowers and best wishes, but they didn't want to see her. Had it had been a different woman they would have been there until the hospital shooed them out. Even Grace who cared deelpy for her baby brother didn't come. Joyce arrived in the waiting room seeing Will pacing and her nephews sleeping in the chairs.

"Hey W," she said softly. The bouquet of daisies twisted in her hands.

"Hi Joycie," he said. He pulled her into a hug and shook. He was so glad she had come.

"How's Isabella?" she asked. She sat down next to Chet. Joyce had never seen her brother so frantic as he walked up and down the perimeter of the waiting room.

"I don't know what happened," he said trembling. "She was fine earlier and then she complained of pain. I brought her here and now-I'm out here. I've been out here all day and night."

"I'm sure things will be okay," said Joyce. "Maybe she's having fake labor pains. What's it called? Braxton-"

"Joyce!" Will shouted. "The doctors are worried! Just two minutes ago, a nurse came out saying that Isa confessed to smoking and drinking while pregnant! She might have hurt the baby! It may die! Why didn't I notice those things? I know she wasn't planning for a third, but she has hoped for a girl! How could she?"

Joyce remained shocked and silent. She dared not to say the old "I told you so," about her sister-in-law. Waiting was the hardest part. Brett and Chet's birth had been a full twenty-four hours. Joyce wondered why fathers weren't allowed in the labor room. It was said to be a privacy thing. It was Will's baby too. He could be there. So far they were told the baby could arrive within the rest of the day, but Isabella's labor was going slowly. Joyce didn't look at the clock knowing she'd only feel more tired. Finally Will asked Joyce to take the fussy twins to his home. Nothing was happening.

The worst news came around. The baby's heart beat was becoming dangerously low and they had to do an emergency cesarean. When Will asked how Isabella was feeling, the nurse was honest.

"She's throwing a nasty fit and swearing like a truck driver at her bulging belly."

Rain poured continuously and the streets became muddy along with the snow that hadn't completely melted. The long twenty hour wait was over when the doctor came out looking tired, but relieved.

"Well," he said pulling of his gloves. "It's a boy. He's tiny and will have to stay here until he's the right amount of weight. We've got him hooked up to almost every machine possible to help him breathe. We'll have more tests run on him. Despite the odds, I'm certain he'll live."

Will almost cried at the news. 8:37 on March 2nd he had another son on a wet and slushy morning. He took Joyce's flowers when he met his wife. She looked awful, not because of her long labor, but very angry.

"This is your fault!" she snapped the moment he walked in. "You did it all over to me again! Labor with the twins wasn't this painful! And of all things, I didn't get a girl!"

Will said nothing, but knew in his heart that maybe if Isabella hadn't had been so careless the baby would have stayed in full term. None the less, he was happy to have another child. He had wanted a big family. Isabella refused to see the baby or name it. Only Will went to see the new bundle of joy. He couldn't hold him yet, but gazing in awe was enough. He couldn't believe how tiny his son was or how much it hurt to see him barely hanging on to life. He named him and stayed in the hospital all day.

With Isabella on bed rest, Will had Joyce stay with the twins while he worked on their own farm. However, he found himself in the hospital more often than working and feeling anxious over his newborn. To his surprise his uncle Ubb came to help since he was thrilled to learn he had another nephew. Isabella's aunt Grizelda came too because she got kicked out of her apartment. Will knew she had a bad temper sometimes and maybe the neighbors had complained for her to leave. Whatever the reason, Brett and Chet received much attention so they didn't feel forgotten.

Will had always done the farm chores while Isabella stayed in the house. Will also tried inventing new ways to make the chores simple. One was having (or more like trying) tubes that could connect out of the henhouse for egg collecting. They sold eggs and milk which easily meant they had cows and chickens. They did have two mules, named Duchess and Hazelnut.

Isabella didn't know why Will got a mule instead of a horse for work in the fields, but Will thought Duchess and Hazelnut were sturdier and not as big so there was less likely chances of a child accidentally getting bucked or stepped on. Plus, mules seemed more like pets than horses. Isabella didn't want dogs or cats, so a mule seemed a fine idea for the boys as they got older.

Isabella came home a week later and acted like nothing had happened. It was like she forgot she had a third child. Two months later, the baby came home. Will was perhaps the most happy. Brett and Chet didn't like the new creature that came home. Grizelda acted more like she was crashing the place than helping out. Ubb did his best with helping, but he panicked when the baby even moved. Will thought that was why he never had his own children. Isabella did nothing. Will was the one who got up at night to provide. The best feeling was holding his child and looking into those small blue eyes that were identical to his. Will would do anything for his kids and he hoped the best for them. As long as they were safe, happy, encouraged and confident in themselves life would go smoothly for them.