(The Lorax, songs titles 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. Marie and those cute toddler girls are mine!)

Chapter 28

To Cause a Stir

"Pop?" murmured Brett. Like a little child in curiosity he stepped towards Will.

"Hi Brett-So," said Will softly using an old nickname for his eldest.

"Hey!" hollered out a genuine Ubb. He jumped up on him, very similar to when he greeted The Once-ler on the day they all arrived to the valley. "I missed you kid! What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd stop by," said Will wholeheartedly who hugged him back.

Then Chet raced up and joined the hug with Brett following as Marie stepped back. She felt a little out of place, but was happy to see two sons of Will's with him.

"Pa!" laughed Chet. "Mom didn't say you were coming to visit!"

Isabella still looked terrified of Will and turned her chair around. For once she didn't know what to do. Marie thought it over smugly and knew she was at a loss for words!

"What a nice change," she said under her breath.

"You smell like a barn," grumbled Grizelda when she passed Will. No hugs from or for her!

"What are you doing here?" asked Chet when he freed himself from the group hug. He high-fived his father's hand with eagerness and hugged him again. "Ma said you were having a mid-life crisis and needed to sort it out."

"Really?" said Will who wasn't in pain over the rough hand of his middle child. "Isn't that interesting?" He narrowed his eyes at Isabella who was still ignoring him. Then he brightened up again. "Well it doesn't matter anymore Chetmiester. I'm here now."

Will stroked Chet's back and let Brett join in again. Then he realized someone was missing. He pulled the boys back and looked around.

"Where's Once-ler?" he asked. He sounded excited.

"He's filing out some stuff," said Chet. "He doesn't want to be bugged right now. He said so to us!"

"Until Once-ler is through with his task let's have dessert and get reacquainted," offered Marie who felt warmed in gratefulness.

"You," said Will when he heard her. "You are as kind as the fairy tale heroines I used to read to the boys." He embraced her tenderly and turned back to his family. "She has become very dear to me within the last hour."

Marie couldn't help but smile. She noticed the other men were smiling too. It looked like the family would work out for the better. Soon five people went back to Once-ler Hideaway, but the other two remained outside. When alone, Grizelda hobbled the best she could with her weight to Isabella. She sighed and looked back down the direction they'd exited.

"I told you that Stretch was a waste of time for you," she grumbled. "What are you going to do now?"

Isabella stiffened and then stood with a terrible fierceness in her eyes. She marched to the sliding door of her son's home, ready for a war with her ex-lover. She didn't want him to ever come back. He'd make an influence on Oncie if they met. After all that time of trashing-or as she called it, "motivating" her son-he'd tear down all her hard work!

Inside Once-ler Hideaway Marie got out a cake she had baked the day before. Chloe raced out from the playroom and found Will. She shuffled in wearing a little mermaid outfit complete with a silver tail and a green top.

"Can I show you something?" she asked shyly to Will.

"What is it?" asked Will with a curiosity that adults have when children want to show something off.

"My zoo," said Chloe.

"Your zoo?" exclaimed Will.

"Daddy got it for me," said Chloe.

She led him upstairs to show him her big girl bed, an adorable daybed with a canopy, which was lined up all around the inner area with stuffed animals. She had a great variety; from a giraffe named Butterscotch, to a coyote called Pancake, to a kangaroo with a joey in her pouch called Sweet 'n' Sour. (Chloe had named the little joey Sauce.)

"He got you all these?" said Will in amazement as Chloe nodded to reply.

"This is Mint," introduced Chloe as she held up a moose with red tufts for hair. Then she held up a baggy looking elephant. "This is Peanut and my penguin Popsicle."

The man who was her grandfather chuckled as he knelt down and let her go through her animal parade. Natalie had stomped up the stairs in a pair of red stilettos, a blue dress and a floppy straw hat with a black ribbon decorated with red cherries. She pouted as Chloe showed of her little bird with a green tail that she called Puddin'.

"I have this," said Natalie who wanted some attention. She pulled up from the little tea set table of hers a teapot with pink flowers. She had little decorated pottery sets on a big shelf too.

"It's pretty," chimed Will. "You're daddy got you all this?"

"When we go on vacation he gets us something," said Natalie. "I don't want those!" She pointed at Chloe's zoo in disgust.

"Why not?" asked Will. "Don't you like animals?"

"No," said Natalie. "Well, I still like my cat, Kitten. She's on my bed." Sure enough, Marie's old white cat was nestled on Natalie's lacey pillow.

"Girls," Marie called. "Come on down here! I've got dessert ready!"

Will let Natalie lead him down by the hand. Chloe followed hitching up her fin, dragging a monkey by the tail and calling out: "Apples wants some too! Apples wants some too!"

The girls took a plate of their chocolate cake and retreated to their playroom. Eagerly the men sat down for a piece and talked. Will forgot all about how on the bus he had fiddled with his shirt thinking it looked so plain. Seeing his sons in overalls and plaid shirts helped him feel less conscience of himself. Nobody seemed to mind that he had on worn jeans, scuffed work boots and an oversized denim shirt.

"So what happened to the farmhouse Will?" asked Ubb.

"I sold the farmhouse a year afterwards," said Will. He folded his sunglasses in his shirt pocket. "I couldn't take care of it anymore. The owners took the chickens and cows, but I kept Hazelnut and Duchess. Poor old Hazelnut passed away a year ago from a virus. I had to sell Duchess to afford this trip."

"Horses of yours?" asked Marie.

"They were some old mules," said Brett after he swallowed. "They liked to bite."

"I can't imagine why," thought Marie. Then she left to check on the girls.

"Where did you all go after you left?" asked Will to Ubb. "I couldn't find you in the entire county."

"You looked for us?" asked Chet after shoving a forkful of cake.

"I sure did," said Will sadly. "I was devastated when I came home after a walk and found the house empty. I'm only sorry I couldn't be there for you all."

There were no glares or grimaces at him. Everyone was purely happy to see him. After giving his arm a squeeze with a chuckle Will's aging uncle poured out what happened to them.

"Isabella took us on a road trip after we left," said Ubb using his arms to exaggerate the details. "A very long road trip! She kept driving around and around for a whole year! It was crazy!"

"You were in that big, clunky RV for a whole year?" exclaimed Will. "That makes me being farm hands for the past years seem short!"

"I swear we went all over the place," said Ubb. "Well, except here. I guess she was trying to find a place to live. We finally stopped at a rickety farm outside of Palmer and lived on the prairie until Oncie called us to come out here and help with his Thneed."

"He worked on it for years Pa," piped up Chet. "He started it when he was like sixteen!"

"Ma kept motivating him," added Brett.

"That's ambition," chuckled Will. "I hope he can give me a tour around here."

"Are you here to work?" asked Ubb.

"I would like to be a part of the family business," said Will with hopefulness. "I don't mind doing any dirty work either. I just want to be here."

"Are you here to stay?" asked Brett. Marie had come back in when he asked and she saw a glint of a childlike quality in his eyes.

"A soon as I find an apartment," said Will with a broad (and familiar) smile.

Brett and Chet whooped with a gleeful punch at each other's arms. Ubb got up again and squeezed his nephew. Marie started laughing with joy. Will being in the family and being a grandfather was more than she dreamed of. When she saw Will she knew it wasn't by chance that Once-ler was similar to him in so many ways.

"Oh I hope Once-ler hurries up with work to see this," she thought with enthusiasm. "Today's been great!"

It was a terrific day for Marie's brood. Until the door slid open and all heard the footsteps of high heeled boots clunking on the floor. Isabella came into the kitchen and eyed Will. She readjusted her faux fox stole before she strode up to him.

"Ma!" said Chet so cheerfully. "Pa's staying with us!"

"Are you Will?" asked Isabella. She smiled and he waited anxiously for her to continue. "I didn't expect to see you again. Why are you here?"

"Isa," said Will using her old nickname. He slowly stood up. "I'm glad to see you."

He held out his arms for a hug, but she made no movement at first. Then she patted his arm with a fakeness that Marie knew. Will lowered them down and shyly put them behind his back. Very much like his youngest. What was unlike his youngest was that Will started to twiddle his thumbs.

"Why are you here Will?" his ex-wife asked again.

"I finally knew where you all were so I decided to see you again," he said. "I missed my kids and uncle." He eyed Ubb with a genuine smile. "I was worried about you and Grizelda too. I wouldn't want to hear that you all crashed in your RV which you left with."

"Now?" said Isabella with her hand locked together under her chin. "After all these years you've decided to come?"

"Well I couldn't find you. I searched as far as I could and there was nothing. I'm here now and I want to stay here. I apologize for the pain I've caused in my kids by not being there and also because I didn't strive enough for you. We don't have to remarry if you want Isa, but I don't want us to fight like before."

"Remarry?" Isabella scoffed. "My mistake was marrying you in the first place!"

The tension became thicker than fog with her words. Marie noticed her brother-in-laws looked downhearted. Memories crept back of hearing fights from them. Ubb shrunk back and by then Grizelda slunk back in and grabbed Marie's portion of cake.

"Isabella I don't-" began Will.

"You were a waste of time!" retorted Isabella. "You did nothing for me! You were a lazy bum!"

"Maybe I was," admitted Will. "But I want to make things right and I have worked at it. I hitched up Duchess and Hazelnut in a trailer and drove for days and days until I found a town called Mulvaney to get a better job. I'm a custodian. Oh! I brought this too! Look here."

Will lifted up his shirt to reveal a tucked in undershirt and a notebook tucked into the waistband by his hip. He pulled it out and held it up for her to see. Marie noticed it was written in black marker "The Once-ler Family Tree." Once-ler would finally know all the many uncles and aunts he had been mentioned about. He didn't know their names!

"I even brought my family memoirs with me so the boys could read it," said Will. He put the book on the table and Ubb began flipping through the pages.

"I haven't seen this in years," he whispered to himself. He seemed at ease to look at his family line until Isabella interrupted and he cowered up as he watched Will get torn down.

"You wouldn't change," said Isabella sourly who didn't care about some old journal.

"I want us to be together as a kind of family again," continued Will. "I don't want to be your foe. I want something close to the old days. Remember that Isabella? Back when we were happy? We can be happy again as just friends or we can…fall back in love for real. If the kids have the time I'd like to take them back to where they were born for a visit."

"All the way to Wilberforce?" asked Ubb. Grizelda became wide-eyed in memory of the dusty town.

"Where's Wilberforce?" asked Marie who hadn't heard of it.

"It's none of your business!" snapped Isabella to Marie.

"Ma!" cried her boys in dismay.

"Hey settle down!" snapped Will back. "She just asked a question!"

"Was she a part of this?" demanded Isabella. "Did she find you?"

"I met her on the bus by surprise," defended Will. "She figured out who I was after we chatted."

Isabella glared at Will and he frowned back at her antic. Marie wanted to run out and grab Once-ler to make peace between them. She had inched for the exit until Isabella spat out a command which halted her to listen.

"Get out of here," she said to Will.

"I'm not leaving," said Will sternly. "You-do you know why I'm really here? You took my kids away from me! You just stole them! Took them right out of my grasp! I didn't get to be there for anything they did! Preschool, kindergarten, high school, dances, first dates, shaving and graduation! I should've been there!"

"Don't get all dramatic." Isabella rolled her eyes and dug her fists in her hips.

"I can't believe you would do that to me," Will pressed on. "I want to be reunited with them like an ordinary dad! For goodness sakes Isabella! Once-ler was a baby the last time I saw him! He has no memory of me!"

"He wouldn't want to see you anyway," she hissed. "Why would he want to see you when he has better than what you couldn't even work your butt for?"

"Now let's all just-" began Ubb to calm everyone down.

"Ubb!" snapped Isabella. "I may have let you come, but don't you get fresh!"

"It's not fair to Brett, Chet or Once-ler," added Marie who was growing furious at her mother-in-law's stubbornness. She made Melvin seem easygoing. "You got them to yourself for their whole lives, why shouldn't Will see them?"

"You stay out of this!" shouted Isabella to Marie. "You're not even a real part of this family! You just married into it!"

"So did you," said Will coldy.

"I swear Will if you stay I'm going to make Oncie force you out!" Isabella played a wild card at the game of competition. "He does whatever I want and I won't let you change that! I deserve it after all these years and he's done better than you. He's no longer a failure!"

Marie felt a sickness in her soul as she listened. She felt grateful the twins were still in the playroom while the disorder progressed.

"Ma you can't let Pop leave," said Brett. "I want us to play catch and stuff!" He sounded more desperate than Marie could've imagined.

"I can do that with you Brett," said Isabella with a fake smile.

"You never have," said Chet softly.

"What's the worst that could happen if Will stayed?" demanded Marie. "If you can be here then-"

"I spent all my time raising Oncie and the twins," interrupted Isabella as her voice rose higher and higher. "You'll ruin everything Oncie's worked hard for! I motivated him to where he is today and you'd just tear him down with you being here! He'll be a miserable mess! You'll scar him for life. You're not worth our time!"

"That's your excuse?" muttered Marie under her breath.

"You motivated him?" Will's eyes narrowed in disgust.

"Of course I did!"

"That's pretty interesting considering you refused to see him in the NICU when his life was barely hanging by a thread!"

"I was tired! You try giving birth and see how you feel!"

"What's more; if you didn't care for him, why did you take him? He could've stayed with me!" Will didn't wait for an answer. "Oh, I know why! It's so obvious! You wanted to try molding him into your little mutant! He didn't turn out that way did he? I didn't walk until sunset with Marie today and not learn anything about him! She told me how he is and was! You've got this sick, strong hold on him!"

Isabella huffed, but it wasn't in defeat. Will was right though. She hoped her son wouldn't be like him, but somehow he ended up too familiar to him. Marie was astonished to see how much of a change in personality Will had just done from when she first met him. It was like watching two different people inside him emerge.

Will finally sighed in frustration and rolled his shoulders. "You know what? I'm going to see him and I'm going to stick around! Sorry for the newsflash Isabella!"

Will plodded for the sliding door and Marie smiled triumphantly.

"Fine then," retorted his ex-wife. "If you stay then I'll tell Oncie what I wished I had done before he came."

Her tone froze Will who turned and looked at her. Isabella gave a wicked grin.

"I'll tell Oncie that I would've prevented him," she said. "I'll tell him that I wished he had never been born. That he was my biggest regret."

A silence hung over with an impending doom. Everyone looked shocked and horrified. Even Grizelda. Will looked like his heart had been ripped out and Marie felt like a dagger had cut her. She didn't want Once-ler to know that horrible feeling of being unloved for real. Isabella at least acted like she cared. Marie knew that pain all too well. She wouldn't have wished it on her greatest enemy!

"But-but I thought of you were proud of him," said Ubb after a long pause. "That's all you've said even if we all just want to be rich."

"Oh I am Ubb. I am. Oncie's good now and he's giving me everything I wanted. That's the only reason he's hear; to make his mama happy. If he'd still had been fussing around, being a failure I would've thought different." She turned to Will completely. "Now, you don't want Oncie to know what I would've done. That'd be the final nail in the coffin for him. But if you must stay then at least he should know the truth."

"I-I." Will was at a loss for words whether he expected it or not.

"If you do love him like you say you do then you won't stay. You'll let him be happy as he already is. He's a happy young man whose done fine without you. You do love him don't you Will?" Isabella looked on with a sneer.

"Will don't," Marie wanted to cry out. Her words though were stuck.

"No," said Will softly after another pause. He sighed heavily. "I don't want him to ever know that you regret him. He should never know if anyone felt that way to him."

"Then it's settled," concluded Isabella. She seemed satisfied that she still had a hold to make him weak. "You're going right now."

"Ma please! He can't! Don't let him go!" The twin brothers' pleas came to no avail while their great-uncle made no move in shame.

Will went back to his sons and hugged them tightly as they protested. Will only stroked their faces gently and gave a reassuring smile.

"I love you son," he whispered to both of them.

He hugged Ubb who seemed limp as wet spaghetti from the fight. Then he left to retrieve his suitcase, avoiding his granddaughters because it'd be harder to bid them goodbye.

"Will!" said Marie who wasn't ready to give up. The stress on the fight had taken her toll, but she was fired up to try again.

Isabella watched in a terrible satisfaction as she watched Will look sadly at her and then move out. The middle-aged man slipped out with slump in his shoulders. Marie took it upon herself to run out to get him. She could bring him back and she was certain that all Will needed was encouragement.

"Will I won't have it!" she cried as she raced up behind him when he was outside. "You can't let her do this to you!"

"Marie you know what she'll do," said Will sadly. "I don't want Once-ler to ever know something like that. It's better he never knows because nobody deserves that."

"You came all this way for nothing then?" said Marie near tears of frustration. "That's not fair to you!"

"I didn't come out here for nothing," said Will when he stopped walking. "I did come out here for something. I saw Brett and Chet again. I saw Uncle Ubb and met three lovely ladies who are a part of me now. I will never ever forget you, Chloe or Natalie. However, the rest of it didn't go like I hoped. I-I should move on. Once-ler's an adult now with a company to run. When I think about it now, he doesn't need me like he used to."

"But he still…I mean…" whimpered Marie who was tongue tied in grief. "Why does Isabella have this hold on you? Why?"

"She's intimidating," said Will. "I don't like fighting Marie. A fight is what made Isabella leave me. I only wanted to come here peacefully and I caused trouble with her. I don't want to cause trouble with Once-ler either."

Marie's body felt tense and her chest heaved as it held back sobs that begged to be released. She didn't understand! All she thought about was what was wrong with the family! It didn't have to be the way Isabella wanted!

"This is so stupid!" Marie's stress finally released and she sobbed. "It's stupid!"

"Come now," said Will with a comfort in his voice as he took out a hankie from his pocket. "I don't want you crying." He hugged her from the side and gently wiped her heart-shaped face.

Marie only cried more because of the paternal affection he showed. How such a good father could be torn away from his offspring when he would've done more than the mother baffled her.

"If anything Marie," said Will who hugged her again. "If she hadn't had taken them, Once-ler wouldn't have found you and from what I've heard it'd be a terrible pity if you hadn't met. He needs you more than he needs me and you need him too. That's how life goes. I can live contently knowing he has you and two beautiful daughters. He knows how happy it feels to be a parent as I felt with him and his brothers. I do have some words of wisdom for both of you. Don't have ridiculous fights like I did with Isabella. You're better than us."

"It's not the same thing," breathed Marie. "It's not!"

"If I found you once I can find you twice," said Will who was still a bit naïve deep down. "Maybe this is the world's way of saying it's not my time to be here."

"I don't know if I can let this go on," sobbed Marie. She was annoyed by his positivity. "I just-I didn't think in-laws would be this hard!"

"I know how you feel," Will chuckled. "I've learned to be lighthearted if I can find the positive. I couldn't before, but now that I have met you I'm glad Once-ler hasn't made any mistakes like me."

"You two are eerily, irrationally optimistic," muttered Marie. There was silence and Marie found the fire in her to change things had dimmed.

"Don't tell Once-ler about what she said," pleaded Will taking her hands in his. "Don't let any of them tell of today. Please Marie. Spare him of that."

"Fine," Marie swallowed reluctantly. "If I must keep it secret then I will, but I still don't like it. I'll never like it." To think Marie used to be fine if she lied when younger. Now it really hurt as a young woman.

"Some secrets shouldn't be told," said Will solemnly. "That's the truth." Then he hugged Marie one more time.

Will smelled like nature as Marie hugged him back in the quietness of the evening. She took in what she could for memory. He smelled like sweet straw, oats and apples. Things that Melvin would like to eat lingered on him. He felt stronger than Once-ler in muscle tone and had muscles brimming in his shoulders from farming. Marie found it a shame that Once-ler would miss out on his hugs.

"Take care of them," whispered Will into her hair.

Marie only nodded and felt him let go. The secret made her feel like an anchor had just taken her down to the bottom of the ocean and she couldn't swim up to breathe. She already hated the feeling. Feeling remorse for those she loved, Marie watched the gentleman until he was out of her sight.

Will kept his head up as he walked for the gate around the other side. He didn't bother to put on his sunglasses. However, he turned around to not see Marie and found his feet carrying him somewhere besides the gate. He was walking nearer to the factory and saw The Lurkim. Beyond the Lurkim was a balcony with a long stairway. Leaning on the balcony was a lean figure. The figure looked like a mirror reflection to Will and the farmerhand found small tears of happiness.

The figure was looking out the opposite way and heaved a sigh, burdened from a forest guardian's rant. The sunset was fading down with only beams of light. He didn't notice the man who watched him from a safe distance. Will couldn't move his feet as he watched. He had considered his baby son to be photogenic and it was surely real. That son had grown up to be a handsome young man with his own family.

"He is better off without me," thought Will. "All have come along well without me. I couldn't keep any of them forever."

"Dad!" came Natalie's voice. The faint sound of little feet was heard and the long haired girl ran onto the balcony. The figure turned and smiled.

"Hey Hummingbird," Will heard him say as he scooped her up.

Then Chloe raced out and was lifted as well. Will sighed deeply seeing the three who were in bliss. Somehow something had gone right with what he saw.

"Good night Once-ler," he whispered as he repeated the last words he said to a certain baby years before. Then he left to never return to Truffula Valley.

As for Marie, she had trodden indoors with a heavy heart and a disquieting thought; she hated Isabella. When she wandered back into the kitchen she watched her relatives slowly walk out with gloomy expressions. No doubt Isabella and Grizelda were already gone. Marie was alone in her house. She knew her children had gone to their father so she slipped upstairs. She wanted to be alone and sort out her thoughts. So with an ache within her Marie took a long shower and as the hot, rain-like streams poured over her, she wept.

She grieved over how terrible Isabella was to everyone, how deprived Will had been for years, and out of sorrow for her Once. She had been blessed to have Rufus fill in the role of a paternal figure, but Once-ler didn't have many good candidates. Marie would never understand why Isabella regretted Once-ler. Marie had not one ounce of bitterness to Natalie and Chloe. She couldn't understand the nasty hold that woman had on her family that made them bow to her every whim.

"How can anybody be like that?" Marie choked out as her tears meshed with the shower water.

There was no answer. Not even a compassionate glance. She would never know why. When finished bathing Marie, wrapped in a Thneed towel, searched for her pajamas only to remember she hadn't started her laundry yet. She went for the second option and put on a pair of her husband's shirts and boxers. Dressed in black and white Marie crawled into bed with a want to hug Once-ler tightly when he came to her.

She took out a diary her loved one had given for her for Christmas. Opening the lock, Marie poured out her secret. Only the pen and paper would know. With a sigh, she rested against her pillow and locked it back up.

"Maybe Once-ler will get sneaky and try looking in," she said to herself. "Then he'll know and it won't be entirely my fault because he read it."

After what had started as a good day and ended badly, Marie twisted into the white, cotton sheets and dozed off. He would come, crawl in next to her like usual after putting the girls to bed, and not suspect something went wrong. He'd smile seeing her in his clothes and think how attractive she looked in them.

As for his day, it had been unusual. It had been involved with some trouble caused by his mother. It had all started after he had kissed his girls goodbye and went for his office while they went shopping. He said he expected the girls to show off their new shoes when they came home.

For anyone who worked at Thneeds Inc. it was not unusual to see The Once-ler walk on the stairway of the factory's inside as he overlooked the birthing of his precious success. All the employees tried to avoid his eyes and it wasn't easy to do considering he wore the sparkly spectacles all the time. They couldn't tell if he was looking at them directly or not. It was worse when Isabella came in and barked orders. Her eyes would squint behind her spectacles as she stalked. She would say she was in Oncie's place, but nobody totally believed her. She was a madwoman for all they cared.

The Once-ler wasn't aware of her inspections. She always did it when he was swamped over his desk. It was the same-old-same-old with paperwork and calls. Not only that, he had blueprints and topographic maps of Truffula Valley splayed out to look over. The Once-ler had just finished writing out a speech for a gathering when he thought he heard something from his open doors. (They had been closed while his family had gotten into battle in his house, preventing him from hearing.) It sounded like shouting; a woman's angry shouting.

He forgot to grab his hat and glasses when he opened the two glass doors to the work room. He peeked over the railing and saw the workers scrambling for the far corner where the Thneeds were washed before packing. Isabella was screaming nonsense at someone.

"How could you?!" came her squawking. "Look what you've done! You've ruined it all!"

The wash station had its hoses in the wall and one of them was gushing water into the large, curved basin. The drain in the sink was plugged up and spilling over the side. Water was overflowing into one of the floors drain holes, but it spilled like a swished wave on a shore making the girl's clothes soaked. A strange color of liquid blended with the clearness and some of it was on her shirt and the Thneeds she was scrubbing.

"I think its stuck Ma'am," said the rough voice of Mack Wickersham who was one of the truck drivers. He squeezed the hose's handle and by accident it spurted on the girl who began to weep from embarrassment.

"Serves you right," said Grizelda who grabbed the hose and continued to blast her down.

The girl screamed and others shouted. The Once-ler hurried down the metal stairs which rang with each footstep. He skipped the last one and felt the impact of concrete sting into his soles. The workers were in a crowd and nothing more than a sea of green vests or aprons and white shirts.

"What is going on?" The Once-ler shouted. Eyes turned to him as he stormed to his mother. "This is a factory, not a zoo!"

"She started it Oncie," whined Isabella and she pointed a finger to the floor. "She messed up the system!"

"Stop that!" he shouted as his great-aunt who wasn't halting the blasting. "That's enough! All of you out! Out!"

All obeyed and when The Once-ler gave a growl to his female patriarchs they followed. Soon the work room was empty save for two people. He recognized the girl. Arabella Diller, an employee who had been hired at sixteen and one of the first teenagers to be hired at Thneeds Inc. when it had just started. She was lying on the floor with tremors. The Once-ler took a dry Thneed off the conveyer belt and knelt down to get her warm.

"Hey come on," he said. "You can't stay down. Get up."

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. Her hands were locked over her head as she lay in the fetal position. "I didn't mean for it to happen sir! Please don't fire me!"

"Quit crying," he said in a softer tone as he pried her up. "I have to fix those things anyway."

"Please don't fire me! Please Mr. Once-ler sir!" The girl groped at his suit and buried her face into his tie.

"Miss Diller! Settle down!"

When the girl made no avail, The Once-ler allowed himself to fully pull her up and wrap the warm blanket around her. Arabella continued to cry and cry in humiliation, fear, embarrassment and out of stress from her week.

"It hurt," she sobbed. "That hose!"

"I know, I know," said her boss who was having his patience tested. Then he noticed Arabella place a hand on her lower belly and softly rub it. "You just got wet. No need to cry over wet clothes."

"No she might've hurt-" she began but ceased when she saw his quizzical stare. "Nothing."

The softer side of The Once-ler crept out and felt an instinct he had for Marie which had lasted for a certain nine months. At first he wasn't sure about it, but the way Arabella's calloused hand moved over her it made him ask out of reflex.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" he asked as he guided her for the stairs.

Arabella didn't answer, but gagged. She turned quick enough and pulled her tucked in shirt over her nose. The Once-ler screwed his mouth in disgust hearing her vomit. At least she had missed his shoes! Carefully, he brought her up to his office and had her sit in his chair.

"Stay here," he ordered.

Then with a swish of his coat tails around his long legs he was gone. Arabella pressed both hands to her abdomen in concern instead of wrapping herself up more. Later, her very attractive boss returned with a cup of water. Hesitantly the eighteen-year-old took it to clean her mouth. Then he stood back, arms crossed and waited for her to recover.

"Something's up here," she heard him say.

"No there isn't," she said hoarsely.

"Then can you at least tell me what happened at your station?" he asked.

"The-the hose handle got stuck," said Arabella quietly. "I couldn't get it unstuck and tried changing the water pressure on it. It got too strong and then I threw up. It clogged up the drain and then I did it on the floor which clogged the drain hole. Then-oh, the hose went wild and I slipped. Then your mom-"

Arabella didn't finish for she spilled fresh tears. They brimmed from her hazel eyes, down her rosy cheeks and they slipped into her pouty lips. The Once-ler sighed and leaned against his desk.

"She saw you and started yelling," he finished for her.

"Then that other woman…" The poor girl couldn't finish and shivered.

"I know what she did, but something's up with you." He shifted closer to her and Arabella felt her cheeks burn and her heart pound. It wasn't only from terror. "If you didn't feel good, then why didn't you take a sick day? You've been here since I started the factory and only used one the whole time."

"I'm not sick," she swallowed. She hugged herself and then he said it.

"You're pregnant," The Once-ler stated.

A minute passed. Then Arabella, who was shocked he had figured it out, gulped and sniffed as she nodded. She looked as guilt ridden as Chloe when she stole an extra treat. The Once-ler turned around and scribbled out a note after he stared long enough at her.

"Please don't tell my parents," she said meekly. "Please! They'll kick me out!" When he didn't answer she started again. "I'm sorry for not saying anything and puking on your Thneeds! I couldn't control it! Please don't fire me! I need to afford my own home before I tell them!"

"Here," the gentleman said with a swift twist. He dropped a card to her lap. "Go home today, checkup to see the baby's okay and rest. You can go their tomorrow."

"Where?" Arabella stuttered.

"Do you know where Little Saplings is?"

"Yes sir."

"You can start working there. The manager will be nice to you."

Arabella gazed at the note that had his beautiful calligraphy…which he wrote out with his long fingers. She cleared her throat and blinked as he reacted.

"What?" he asked. "Are you still here? I said go home."

"So am I fired?" asked Arabella in confusion.

"Let's just say it's sort of a promotion," he said. When she still looked puzzled he sighed. "Look, it's in town, you'll be closer to home and a hospital for when the time comes and the manager will be more sympathetic if you feel sick. You can still work there after you have the baby. You'll still have a job and get good pay."

"Really?" asked Arabella. "Why are you doing this?"

"I'm not heartless," said The Once-ler. "You'll like the manager there. Last I checked she's a mother too. She'll be more understanding. I know most of my employees. And one more thing…"

"Yes sir?"

"You have to tell your parents about this." He pointed a gloved finger at her, though not as harshly as Isabella had earlier. "Trust me on this. It only gets worst when you don't tell your mother certain things and if they do love you they won't kick you out."

"Are you sure?" asked the girl.

"I'm sure," he said with a small smirk. "Now go home and take a shower."

Arabella jumped out of the chair and hugged him tightly as she suddenly squealed.

"Thank you Mr. Once-ler sir! Thank you! Thank you!"

The Once-ler grunted when she let go and smoothed out his suit. He flopped down in his chair in exhaustion.

"Oh and Miss Diller?" he called out after a pause.

"Yes sir?" she said before she was completely out.

"One last thing," he added with a smile. "Don't call me 'sir.' I'm not that old."

"Alright," she said while nodding. "Thank you Mr. Once-ler." She cheerfully went down to the workroom and fetched her belongings from a locker and punched her card out.

When the day was ending, The Once-ler retreated to the balcony in thought. Moments after Arabella left The Lorax crashed in and ranted on how he was bad. He didn't get how The Lorax said he was bad. Would a bad person have done what he had just did? He was making the world a better place with who he was. He had more power and say than he had five years before. Nobody could question him and he had everything he wanted. He had just made one person's life better and if her parents kicked her out, then they'd answer to him. If there was anything he hated from his past experience with family, it was parents who didn't show love to their children. It didn't matter much anymore; his mother loved him. Then right on the moment he thought of his hatred, he had heard two of his three favorite people rush out to him in their new shoes.

The next morning, Little Saplings had a new employee and Marie was the first to welcome her when she was told of the new affairs at breakfast. So far she liked Arabella who was the only girl who didn't waste lunch while ogling over magazines with The Once-ler on them.

As for Isabella and Grizelda they got an earful from their boss. As someone who thought hitting a woman was a terrible low, he did not tolerate one getting hit with a hose as if she was a delivery truck in a car wash after a dust storm. Not to mention, a girl who was expecting a baby! Then Isabella gave the usual "But Oncie she did this or that," and Grizelda grunted that she was just doing her job. No, The Once-ler was not taking any of it. Having two girls of his own, he had felt a pinch of protection while helping Arabella.

"Settle down," droned Grizelda to him after his little lecture. "It was just a spritz. She'll get over it."

"It wasn't a spritz," he said sternly. "And if you weren't family, I would've fired you! If someone had done that to Marie I would've made sure that person was fired!" He was glaring hard at both of them. "However, since you are family I'm not firing you, but if you do anything like that again; if you physically hurt anyone in this company, let alone the whole factory again, you won't get a second chance."

"Of course Oncie," said Isabella with a tone as sweet as maple syrup. Then she hugged him tightly and remembered how she still had what she wanted. "Still though, you wouldn't fire your mama right?" She tapped his nose in endearment.

"Maybe not," said The Once-ler softly. He wouldn't fire her after all. Sadly, her control was too strong on him.

As weeks passed Marie felt the guilt of her secret linger deep down, but she wouldn't break the promise to Will. Her mind went back and forth over what was right. Of all things, she asked Ubb to keep the book after he asked how she felt. She mentioned she had to write it in a diary to help cope. She had enough on her plate with Little Saplings and also because The Lorax started griping to her. It started on April 11th, one day before Marie's birthday, in the morning while she prepared for work. She was just fixing her hair when he came crawling up the balcony as he huffed and puffed.

"Waterfall!" he called out. "We've got trouble!"

"What do you want?" asked Marie as she peeked out from her bathroom door.

"It's him," The Lorax stated. "Do somethin' about Beanpole! He won't stop!"

"I'm not entirely in control of the company's decisions," said Marie.

"He's got to stop it," said The Lorax with exasperation. "He's makin' smogulous smoke and the Swomee-Swans can't sing! They've got smog in their throats thanks to him and don't get me started about the river! It's all smeary!"

"I'm sorry about the pipes and all Mr. Lorax," said Marie kindly. "I can assure you though Once-ler's not doing it to be evil or get revenge on you for sending him downstream." She added a chuckle at the final word. "It's not always easy to get rid of the gunk from machines so he went for what he could find."

"He shouldn't use the river!" The Lorax complained. "The Humming-Fish can't swim in that trash! Their gills will get gummed!"

"Not all the water can be ruined," said Marie who thought the river was too big to be covered completely from the gluppity-glop. "Can it?" She looked nervously as The Lorax.

"Are you blind?" snapped The Lorax. "Yes! It's all black and slimy."

"You're not just saying this because you're mad at him for chopping trees?" said Marie. Her question, in all respect, was foolish. "I don't want lies from you especially."

"You lied about somethin' of runnin' away," he said.

"Touché," said Marie. She was surprised he remembered her talking about that once. "I'll check it out."

"You really think nothing's wrong?" The Lorax didn't want to hear the answer and pressed on. "You want a bet?"

"I'm not going to wager with you. I want to be sure you're not exaggerating. There are no bets because I just want to see it for myself.

"Go on then, but I'm right. You'll see what I mean." The Lorax looked agitated of Marie being clueless. "You're just standin' up for him cause he's your mate."

"That's what mates do; we don't turn our backs on each other." Marie slipped her hair up in a high ponytail and dodged for the door after seeing the nightstand clock. "I have to get going. I'll drive up river tomorrow at sunrise."

"He's a poison to her," he thought as he watched her flee.

Marie kept her word and got up really early to drive out to see what The Lorax meant. She balanced a coffee between her knees and put on a pair of sunglasses for when the sun rose. Marie followed over the hills to the route of the river.

"I really hope he's wrong," she said aloud when she made a swerve to avoid a tree. "If he's wrong then I'll-"

Marie slammed her brakes so suddenly her mug tipped and warm coffee spilled down her legs. The reason she braked was because what she saw was terribly true. It didn't change when she pushed her glasses over her head and looked in surprise. The river was floating of a dark liquid and a smell of oil and gasoline was wafted. She jumped out with a slam of the car door and walked down a steep hill to the riverbed.

"Mercy," she breathed and coughed. She pulled up her Thneed, which had been a cute over jacket, into a scarf to cover her mouth. The smell of butterfly milk entered her senses. Sure the air had a hint of smokiness before, but now it seemed worse than the day before.

Marie lifted a pebble and flicked it in the river. It hit with a heavy plunk. Then having an idea she went back to get the empty mug and stooped over the edge to get a cupful. Once she had stood up from her collection she swished it around. The consistency was very thick. It reminded her of molasses. It was as if someone had poured gallons of goop into an empty ravine to make the river instead of something of natural beauty.

"This isn't ordinary water," she whispered. "Doesn't Once-ler realize this?"

Marie felt shame as she looked both ways at the river. The black goop stretched on and on. She regretted not trusting The Lorax and for backing Once-ler up with her encounters of running companies. She didn't remember seeing anything like a polluted stream as a child with Diamond Waters or Shaye and Neely. Never! Or…was there a chance it had been hidden from her so well that she wouldn't expect it? From what she learned from her father at least (as if it was good advice!) was that nature was stronger than anything and no matter how hard it got trashed it would live. It was a lie.

Feeling overwhelmed by the discovery Marie looked up at the sky which was breaking out bright colors. The factory's smoke hadn't started yet, but the clouds seemed gloomier than a rainy day. With a steady hand, Marie watched the schlop ooze as she tilted the mug. She wrinkled her button nose in disgust and grimaced. It was bad enough to swim in it, it would be worse to drink it. Poor Humming-Fish who had to live in it!

"This is insane," mumbled Marie as she clambered uphill.

She was sure her famous spouse didn't mean to do it on purpose. It had to have been poor planning. Progress was progress and anyone who learned about the business industry knew that businesses had to grow to succeed. Sometimes no matter what the cost was.

The sun peeked out even brighter and Marie adjusted her sunglasses back over her eyes. She stole one more glance at the river before putting the key in the ignition. She then sped off for back home. Marie bit her lips thinking about how she doubted The Lorax. He wouldn't really lie. His only problem was his bossy demeanor.

Marie returned home to quickly change her pants after her spilled drink incident. Once she put on a new pair of khakis she was ready for work again and left her husband alone with his showering. Something grabbed her attention and she found her feet carrying her to the end of the hall. She looked up with glistening eyes and bit her lip. She watched the counter and stared at the new painting that had just been put up.

The counter said "Thneeds Sold!" and the numbers clicked away. The painting was under it with The Once-ler. The huge words traced within were "Too Big To Fail" above his head. A terrible smug etched his typical smile with a hand against his face. He had a Thneed scarf around his neck and his eyes were fierce. The eyes were painted in pride and greed. Marie had seen those eyes millions of times. She had watched those eyes mature from a child's to an adult's. She barely recognized them though they were the same light hue of blue. Something was seriously off. In the corner of the painting were the words printed in simple, white words.

The Once-ler. President. Thneeds Inc.

Marie marched down to head out. There was a huge change in him. It made her feel nervous about bringing up her new realization. Why should she be nervous? It was only The Once-ler she had to speak to. Later in the evening Marie waited for him to show up for dinner. She was in her pink flowered apron as she slammed the oven door which cooked a meatloaf and stirred a pot of homemade mashed potatoes. Running around in their aprons were Natalie and Chloe. They jumped up and down from their stepstools to get spoons and ingredients for their mommy. Their ponytails bounced vigorously with each movement.

"Is Dad going to be late tonight?" asked Natalie. Dinners without her father had been more frequent.

"He'll be here on time," said Marie. "If he has to stay late that only means he's working to make us happy."

"Can I work with him?" asked Natalie.

"What would you do?" chuckled Marie.

"I would count the money," said Natalie. "I can count to twenty now!"

"I'm sure Daddy would appreciate it," said Marie. She caught Chloe trying to dip a spoon in the potatoes. "Chloe those are for dinner!"

"Not even a teensy, weensy bite?" asked Chloe.

"Not a smidgen," said Marie. "Would you please set the table instead?"

"Yes Mommy," she said brightening up. She took handfuls of forks and spoons out of the silverware drawer.

"Natalie can you do the napkins?" requested Marie.

"Yes Ma'am," her oldest replied.

"Oh and don't touch the knives," warned Marie. "I'll get those."

The girls crawled up each chair to put down the silverware. Edwin, who had just awoken from a nap, crawled into the kitchen and circled around Marie's legs. She could feel the vibrations of his purring and the tickling of his whiskers.

"You want dinner too Edwin?" asked Marie. She gave a pat to his head. "Hold on one minute and I'll get you something."

After Marie stirred up the mixed vegetables in the skillet she took a can out of the pantry. After using the standing can opener, she dumped the juicy meat of giblets in a silver dish. Edwin had begun nibbling when the sound of a long stride was heard.

"He's here!" cried Natalie and she raced out, but was beaten by Chloe who was more athletic.

"Evening my little princesses," said The Once-ler as he kissed their heads of ebony. Natalie had taken on the job of taking his glasses and hat when he returned.

"I got them," she said as a sing-song and felt proud of herself.

"Happy birthday you amazing woman," said the man in green. He swooped Marie away from the stove and kissed her.

"Once," said Marie. "We have to discuss some kind of –"

"Save it My Beauty," chuckled The Once-ler then lowered his voice. "Tonight's all about you."

"Honey I," began Marie.

"When can we have cake?" asked Chloe as she tapped a spoon to her plate.

Seeing that the majority was not up for talking about nature's misery, Marie sighed and playfully shoved her best friend off to finish cooking.

"There's always after dinner," thought Marie. "He has to listen to me."

Marie waited to bring up the topic. She waited during the present giving, which included a diamond necklace and ruby pendant from her rich man. It was more than she expected from him. She still waited when she got the girls ready for bed and waited for The Once-ler to finish the dishes for her. Marie splayed herself on the bed in her nightdress as she planned out what to say.

"He'll listen," she thought. "He always listens to you. He's just not thinking clearly about the factory's waste."

The door slammed with an impressive force and Marie heaved herself up at the chest to see her significant other suavely crawling onto the bed. She couldn't help but smile when he did, but her mind drove her forward.

"Evening Sexy," said The Once-ler as he loomed over her.

"Hello to you," she replied back.

"I was thinking about you all day," he said as his hands trailed on her side.

"Don't you always?" Marie teased and tried sitting up.

"You may want to stay down," he said huskily and lightly pushed her back.

"I could tell him tomorrow…" she thought, but her mind snapped back. "No! No distractions! Talk about it now!"

"Look Handsome," Marie said aloud. "I need to tell you something before my birthday's over. It's the only way I can end tonight on a good note for me."

"I know the perfect way to end tonight," The Once-ler purred. He nuzzled his button nose against hers and gave a nipping kiss.

"Stay strong, stay strong, stay strong!" Marie's thoughts encouraged on as she felt herself begin to slip away to one of her attractions to him.

"In a moment," squeaked Marie. She was trying hard to resist. "I wanted to talk with you about something. It's about the-"

Marie couldn't finish as she felt warm kisses along her jawline and she began to tremble. Her dear Once, whom her love had matured along with him, was holding her close and making her greedy for him.

"Once-ler," Marie said firmly and putting a hand to his mouth. "I'm serious. It's about the river."

"What about it?" he said sounding concerned and getting up on his elbows. "Did the girls try swimming in it?"

"No," she answered and shook her head. "They don't go near it…it's too dirty to go near. Once-ler did you know it's full of black glop stuff from the machines?" When he didn't answer she spoke again. "It's all black and I'm sure you don't mean harm by it, but couldn't you do something else?"

"I'm not meaning any harm," he said. "I haven't done anything wrong."

"I'm not saying you've done anything wrong," said Marie gently. She combed her fingers over his silky bangs.

"Marie you have nothing to worry about. I've got everything under control and we're doing great. Everything."

"I know but isn't-"

"Forget about it." His voice sounded hastily to avoid the subject. As if his conscience hadn't wrestled over it before!

Marie wondered for a second if he was at a war within himself over the subject. Before she could speak again, she was carried off with him. She forgot the topic until she was visited by the mustached creature again. The next morning The Lorax came back to find Marie sitting out on the balcony's edge. When she saw him she closed her eyes and rubbed them in frustration. She wasn't in the mood to talk yet. She felt a little embarrassed that she hadn't pressed on with the issue.

"Did it work?" asked The Lorax anxiously. "Did he listen to you?"

"No," sighed Marie. "He didn't feel like listening."

"He's got a head full of rocks," grumbled The Lorax.

"Not entirely," said Marie. "He gets in over his head sometimes, but he's not stupid."

"I don't care what you say," the forest guardian griped. "Don't you go on defendin' him!"

Marie looked out on the balcony and tilted her head to see the smoke rising over the rooftop. It curved and twisted around above the sun. Anymore smoke and it would block it. She rubbed her temples to concentrate on what to do.

"Look," she said. "I'll try again, but don't rush me. I'll help you about the trees, but I'm not the kind to barge in and carry on about it. I'll wait for when he's calm and not busy."

"So you see somethin's wrong?" asked The Lorax. "You see there's a problem?"

Marie saw the valley which stretched out far from her eyesight and there were patches of emptiness among the forest. She knew breaking the promise in the first place was wrong, but she always thought that the trees would never run out. When she looked over it again, it seemed ridiculous to think that. An ignorant bliss. With all the chopping the trees were fading. She had been too attached to The Once-ler to see what was wrong. She had protected his actions too much because she thought after his whole life of being at the bottom he deserved to be higher. She loved him too much to see him get put down. It dawned on her that she had to pull him into reality.

"Yes," she said with a lump in her throat.

The Lorax gave a small smile. Then he lifted a fuzzy paw to her hand and patted it. Marie looked puzzled over his action.

"You're my only other voice Waterfall," he said gently. "You're beansprouts don't understand yet. You can start by telling Beanpole that the Swomee-Swans have loose feathers now."

Marie felt the pressure of the words said in friendship. When she faced work she anticipated her speaking. She concentrated on her words that could make The Once-ler less defensive. After seeing the portrait it seemed that he had huge pride for his work.

"He seems different than before," Marie thought when she paused at the shop's window to take a Thneed dress off of a mannequin when at work.

She shifted her eyes to the window's scenery. The billboards were empty, waiting for a new advertisement. She returned back to her work where all the customers were buying. Cash registers were dinging with every sale and the chattering teen girls were working harder. Arabella was a good addition to the store and already Marie had recommended Dr. Helms for her prenatal visits. At least the job was good and it remained good until Marie locked the doors. When she went home, she still thought of her father-in-law and hoped that her birthday wish (as naïve as it sounded for her age) would come true.

Author's Note: Here's an update as you watch the poor valley fall… I don't blame any of you for being upset of what just happened! Not everything is happy and works out for the time being. For some reason Fleetwood Mac's song "Landslide" helped with the chapter! Arabella is a name Seuss used for an adult book he did called "The Seven Lady Godivas." She'll play an importnat part when...you'll see. ;) 25 pages long... (fixed up on 05/04/13.)

I don't know if you're reading this story, but if you are, thanks you ilvbrownies for the favorites on my old work. Thanks for faving as well XLil MEkoX and queen-of-the-libary-and-light for my old fic and for the author fave. Thanks mickeykity.413 for the follow and review on both fics. I'm glad you like the Once-ler and Marie moments!