N- Never Grow Up

Summary: Chuckie and Shenzi Finster go to the beach with their toddling daughter, Maya, for her first time. She's growing up so fast, that her loving parents can't keep up.

"We're ready, Daddy!" 3-year-old Maya Finster's innocent voice rang throughout the hallway of her maternal grandparents' house.

"Are you?" 21-year-old Shenzi Finster knocked on her former bedroom door. "We've never been ready before you, right honey?" She glanced at her daughter, who giggled.

"Almost," 22-year-old Chuckie Finster replied from the other side of the door, "I'm just trying to look for the perfect swim trunks."

"Here, I'll help you. Are you decent?"

"Yeah."

Shenzi opened the door, and entered her former bedroom, where she found her handsome husband looking through his suitcase. She walked up behind him, and kissed his cheek, surprising him, but he calmed down when he saw her next to him. "Let's see what you have here." She looked through the neatly-arranged contents in his suitcase for the perfect swim trunks. "Ooh! What about these? We all could match!"

"Umm, I dunno," He hesitated, "I'm not sure about wearing pink at the beach. It's different in your parents' pool."

"Aww, come on," She pouted, "Please? Guys wear pink all the time." She turned to Maya, who had walked in the room earlier. "Maya, don't you think Daddy should wear these today?" She held them up for her to see.

"Yes!" She agreed. "We can be matchies! Daddy, please?"

Chuckie felt his heart melt from his wife and daughter's pleading expressions. Saying no to one of them was already impossible, but to both of them? That was just unthinkable. "O-okay," He chuckled.

"Yay!" Shenzi and Maya cheered.

"Okay, we'll let you get dressed," The black-haired young woman headed for the doorway, guiding her red-haired daughter along the way, "We'll be in the living room."

"Alright."

The two girls walked and sat in the living room, where Shenzi's parents waited with them. They weren't going to the beach with their daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter; They just loved being around them. "Yay! We're going to the beach as matchies!" Maya cheered as she ran around in front of the couch, amusing the adults.

Shenzi's parents, Felicia and Friar Tuck smiled as they watched their granddaughter. It was like a young Shenzi was right there in front of them. Just like her, she was a bundle of energy who seemed to never get tired. It was adorable.

"I'm ready!" Chuckie ran in the living room.

"Ooh, you look great!" Shenzi smiled at him.

"Thanks, Shen." He was wearing black swim trunks with pink palm trees on them, a simple black t-shirt, black flip-flops, and held a black Converse All-Stars bucket hat in one hand. His wife matched him in a black rayon short-sleeved babydoll dress, black and pink flip-flops, a black visor hat, and black rose earrings. Under her dress was a black, pink, and purple lips printed peplum tankini top and matching hipster bottoms. She carried a plain black beach bag in one hand, containing their towels, toys, and sunblock. Maya was in a white sleeveless dress with a black skirt, and a pink bow waistband and trimming only on the skirt, pink and black Nike sandals, a light pink visor hat, and carried her plush Dalmatian puppy, Georgia, in her arms. She wore a black and pink Batgirl tankini under her dress. Chuckie's beach towel was a plain black, Shenzi's was pink and from Victoria's Secret, with "PINK" in black letters, and Maya's was white and light pink with a Minnie Mouse hood.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Maya jumped up and down with excitement.

"Alright, we're going," The male redhead chuckled at his adorable daughter. "Come on, babe." Shenzi turned to her parents. "We'll be back momentarily."

"Have fun," Felicia told them, "And be careful."

"We will," Chuckie nodded, "Bye!"

"Bye!" Maya waved to her grandparents.

"Bye, baby," Felicia smiled down at her.

"You have fun, alright?" Friar Tuck smiled at their granddaughter.

"I will!" With that, the family of 3 gathered in the red Mini Cooper, with Chuckie in the drivers' seat, and they started heading for their destination.

"You look so handsome, Chuckie," Shenzi kissed her husband's cheek.

"Thanks Shen," He blushed, "And you look very lovely."

Her cheeks flushed as she shyly averted her gaze. "Thanks, babe." She laid her hand on his arm as he continued driving. She then turned back at their daughter, who looked very excited. "Maya, isn't Daddy handsome?"

"Uh huh!" She nodded. "And you're very pretty, Mommy!"

"Aww, thanks sweetie," Shenzi shifted back in her seat, so she gazed out the windows, admiring the clear sky and the palm trees that lined the streets. California was truly paradise, especially with her loving husband, and her angelic daughter by her side. She stifled a yawn as she watched the scenery roll by. It was quite early in the morning, around 7, so she was very tired. Maya had fallen asleep in her booster seat a few minutes ago, while Chuckie was fighting to keep his eyes open and focused. "D-do you want me to drive, Chuckie?"

"No thanks," He shook his head as he let a yawn out, "I'm fine. We're almost there anyway."

"Yay," She smiled sleepily, before glancing back at their sleeping daughter. "This'll be Maya's first time at the beach."

"Yep," He nodded, "I bet she'll love it."

"I know she will. She loves everything, basically."

"That is true." Just then, he stopped the car in the parking lot, at a wooden beam separating the concrete from the sand. "We're here, ladies!" He turned the car off, and jumped out on the concrete.

"Maya, we're here!" Shenzi followed his lead.

The red-haired toddler practically shot awake. "What? We're here?! Yay!" When Shenzi opened her door and undid her seat belt, Maya practically leapt out of the car as her mother grabbed their beach bag.

"Whoa, whoa!" Chuckie carefully grabbed Maya's shoulders when she tried to run towards the ocean. "Hold on there, little speedster. We need to use sunblock first." As Shenzi kept her still, he applied sunblock on himself, chuckling at his wife staring at him after his shirt was stripped off. He never saw himself as attractive, but Shenzi always did, for the whole time they knew each other. Maybe Maya did as well, in an innocent way.

After he finished, he put his shirt back on, and gave the sunblock to Shenzi. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Chuck." She accepted the bottle, squirted some in one hand, and started rubbing it on her body. Chuckie blushed when her hands and arms pushed her dress up, fully revealing her long legs and slender shoulders. She giggled when she saw him staring, as she started rubbing her arms, neck, ears, and face after briefly removing her glasses. "Can you put some on Maya?"

"Sure thing," Chuckie nodded, and held the bottle in his hand. "Okay, come here, you." He gently pulled Maya closer to him by her shoulders, squirted a bit of sunblock on his hand, then started rubbing his daughter's arms and shoulders. When his hands sneaked under her dress to get her stomach and sides, she started squirming with her shoulders hunched up. "Hold still," He chuckled.

"It tickles!" She giggled.

"Well sweetheart, the Tickle Monster doesn't want you to get hurt from the sun," He smiled at her. She grimaced when he gently rubbed her face, and her shoulders hunched up again when he applied sunblock on her neck. "Okay, we're done. Let's hit that sand!" After they were on the other side of the beams, Chuckie chuckled and Shenzi giggled when Maya literally hit the sand with her toy shovel.

"There's a good place over there," Shenzi pointed to an empty area, where they would be close enough to the sea without getting hit by the waves.

"Yeah, that is good," Chuckie nodded, as he put his hat on his head, pressing his wild hair down, "Let's set up there." While holding hands with his favorite girls, he walked towards the spot suggested by his wife. He had to carefully tighten his grip on Maya's hand when she tried to run ahead from excitement. After seeing a home video of his wife at 2-3 years old, he joined his in-laws in believing that his daughter was a true incarnation of Shenzi Tuck. Er, Shenzi Finster.

Before long, they arrived at the spot after having to shake sand out of their shoes multiple times. "Here we are!" Shenzi took out her towel from the bag and spread it out, then set Chuckie's next to it, and sat on hers.

Chuckie sighed in relief as he sat closely next to his lovely wife. "Let's eat, shall we?" He reached in the beach bag, and took out 2 takeout bags from Burger King, one containing his and Shenzi's classic hot dogs, and the other containing Maya's fries/nuggets kids' meal. Maya enjoyed the novelty Cynthia toy from the meal, as she and her parents ate their lunches, watching the waves wash up, then retreat in a pattern, and other beach patrons.

Soon, Maya finished her lunch first, sucking her fingertips after eating her last nugget. "I'm done!"

"You're fast," Chuckie remarked amusedly, before he took a bite out of his hot dog. His and Shenzi's fries were already done.

"You and Mommy are slowpokes, Daddy!" She giggled.

"Apparently," He chuckled, "You can play in the water after a few minutes."

"Why do I have to wait?"

"Because if you don't, then you'll get a tummy ache from moving too much while your food digests."

"Ohhh." She played with her BK toy as she waited for the minutes to pass.

Shenzi felt concerned when Chuckie started grimacing a bit. "Chuckie, you okay?"

Maya looked up at him. "What's wrong, Daddy?"

He held up his index finger for "one second", before he carefully punched his chest and let out a loud burp. "Whoa! Excuse me!" He snickered.

The two girls burst into fits of laughter. "Th-that was a big one!" Shenzi giggled hysterically.

"That was funny, Daddy!"

"Thanks girls," He smiled at them in turn. None of them noticed the stares they received from other beach goers, Chuckie's loud burp and the girls' equally loud laughter attracting attention.

After a few minutes, the family of 3 stripped out of their day clothes, the girls their dresses and Chuckie his shirt, and ran to play in the waves. Shenzi tackled her husband so he was soaked in an instant, and he was kept down by her and Maya, although his head wasn't submerged. He managed to tackle them as well, although he was more careful with their daughter. He then engaged in a tickle fight with both of them, as the waves washed up on them repeatedly. The girls' squeals and screams of laughter made other beach patrons stare at them, but the family ignored them; Their fun time was more important than strangers, anyway.

A while later, Shenzi and Chuckie relaxed on their towels as they watched Maya join a group of kids around her age in building sand castles. "Hey, you have Mickey Mouse on your swimsuit!"

The 4-year-old boy nodded. "Uh huh! My mommy and daddy boughted it for me at Disneyland! Have you been there?"

Maya thought about it before shaking her head. "Uh-uh, I haven't."

"Really?" Another 3-year-old girl, wearing a Snow White swimsuit, widened her eyes. "Never?" Maya shook her head again. "Your mommy and daddy sound bad!" The boy nodded in agreement.

Maya's eyes widened, before she glared at them angrily. "They are not bad! They are the bestest mommy and daddy in the whole wild world!"

"Not if they haven't taken you to, what my mommy and daddy call, the "happiest place on Earth"," The girl used air quotes.

"Well, I don't care! They're the bestest mommy and daddy any kid could ask for!" Tears filling and falling, she then ran to her parents and practically jumped in Chuckie's lap.

"What's wrong, little Mayflower?" He asked her in concern. Mayflower was a nickname he gave her a few days after she was born.

"Th-those kids over there s-said that you and Mommy are bad! Just because I haven't been to Disneyland!"

Shenzi rubbed the child's back over her swimsuit in attempts of comfort. "It's okay, baby. Don't listen to them."

"Yeah, they don't know what they're talking about," Chuckie added. One thing he kept to himself was, he and his wife actually planned on taking her to Disneyland at some near point. They intended on it being a surprise. "Just because we haven't taken you to a certain place, doesn't mean we're bad parents. It's not like we haven't enrolled you in your preschool or anything." He thought for a few seconds. "Hey, how about we play in the water some more, what do you say?"

Maya sniffled and wiped her eyes as she gazed up at him. "O-okay."

"Atta girl." He gently set her on the towel, stood up, and held her hand. "You coming, Shen?" He asked his wife when she stayed out.

"I'm kind of tired," Shenzi shrugged, as she laid back against the bag, "I'll just watch."

"Okay then," Chuckie turned to Maya, "Let's get to it."

Shenzi smiled as she watched her loving husband and precious daughter have fun together, as waves washed on them repeatedly. She truly had the best family anyone could ask for; Loving parents, supportive stepsister, devoted husband, and angelic daughter. Not to mention she had wonderful in-laws, and an adorable nephew. Her chin rested on her knees as she watched the sweet scene before her; Chuckie was helping Maya build a sand castle, one superior to the one made by the two brats from earlier. She wished that parents would control what their kids say. She and Chuckie definitely did that with Maya, and planned on continuing in the future.

Maya Melinda Finster was going to be a good girl, not a troublemaker. Shenzi and Chuckie would make sure of it.

After the sand castle was completed, Maya sat in Chuckie's lap as they admired it. "That's a very nice castle, sweetheart."

"Thanks, Daddy."

He then let his thoughts occupy him; His daughter was growing up so fast, he could hardly keep up. Before he would know it, she was going to start... dating. Now he knew how his father Chaz felt about Kimi, and his father-in-law Friar Tuck about Shenzi. Simply thinking about Maya dating was hard enough; He didn't think he could handle it when it should actually happen. "Hey, Maya?"

She looked up at him, innocence shining in her big, brown eyes. "Yes, Daddy?"

He hesitated for a second, thinking that she wouldn't understand what he wanted to say. "Um, I, pro-promise me that you won't grow up too fast."

Just as he feared, she looked confused, but thankfully, she seemed to understand. "I promise."

He smiled lovingly at her. "Thanks, babygirl." He took her in his arms, and hugged her as she sat in his lap. She rested on his chest, as his cheek was in her soft hair. She was truly the perfect combo of him and his beautiful wife; Dark red hair, peachy pale skin with a slight grey tint, freckles, and large eyes. She was, and will be a lovely girl.

"Can I join in?" Shenzi crawled up to them, and joined the embrace with a giggle. The small family of 3 sat in the wet sand, relishing the sweet moment as waves relieved them of the heat. They received stares again, but didn't notice. They were going to be a loving family for the rest of their lives; They just knew it.

Years and years passed, and before long, Maya was all grown up. She was going to the beach with her boyfriend, Parker DeVille, for their one-year anniversary of when they started dating. She was wearing a denim-like bikini with hipster bottoms and a triangle top, and surprisingly, a belly button ring with a USA flag beandeau bikini charm. She daringly had her belly button pierced when she was 13, after Shenzi and Chuckie reluctantly let her. Chuckie was too squeamish when it came to piercings, so Shenzi took her to the parlor, which also had tattoos, and helped her through the pain, although she was strong.

Parker was currently driving his new convertible, which was royal blue, with the top down so the wind blew through their hair. He smiled as he saw his girlfriend rocking out to "California Gurls", as it played on the radio. She wasn't wearing anything other than her swimsuit, and flip-flops. No dress, shirt, shorts, or anything. Unlike her shy mother, Maya was very outgoing and loved attention. Although she was still the sweet, humble girl that he fell in love with. His denim-like swim trunks matched with her bikini very well, as he also wore a white wife-beater tank top.

When the song was over, he parked at the beam separating the concrete from the sand, turned off the car, and turned to his girlfriend. "We're here!"

"Yay!" Maya jumped out of the car, beach bag in hand, and practically dragged Parker to the sand as he hastily locked the car. He stumbled to keep up with her as they stopped at an empty area, so they were a good distance away from the ocean. They sat on their towels as they watched the waves wash in, then retreat into the sea in a pattern. The couple ate takeout from Hardee's for lunch, explored the shops (after Maya's persuasion), and played in the cold, salty water together. Parker had to shoo away any boys that gawked at his beautiful girlfriend.

When the evening started rolling in, they sat on their towels and enjoyed the peace and quiet as they watched the ocean again. "Happy anniversary, Parker," Maya smiled up at her handsome boyfriend. His dirty blond hair and brown eyes always made her heart skip.

"Happy anniversary, Maya," He kissed her cheek, before she laid on his shoulder.

She vaguely remembered the day her parents took her to this same beach when she was 3 years old. But one thing that stuck in her mind was her promise to her father: That she would never grow up. She wished that she had kept his promise, but it was against her will. She was still a kid, though; She was only 14 at this moment.

She may grow physically and mentally, but she'll always be young at heart. So, in a way, she was keeping her promise to her beloved father.

(A/N: Well, I finally finished N. You know the disclaimer. I know the last part is kind of short, but I'm lazy. And plus, I know it doesn't go with the song "Never Grow Up" by Taylor Swift; I just didn't use it as a guide for the storyline.)