(A/N: Sorry I took so long with this one. I don't have that much experience in writing the Rugrats as, well... Rugrats. XD But anyway, enjoy! It's based off the Rugrats episode "Under Chuckie's Bed"; celrock gave me the idea for this one. Thanks, celrock!)
U- Under Shenzi's Bed
Summary: Two-year-old Shenzi Tuck moves from her beloved crib to a "big girl bed", and is not happy about it, especially after history repeats itself with Angelica claiming that there are monsters under the bed. Shenzi's best friend, two-year-old Chuckie Finster, who has had experience with this situation, tries to help ease her into it.
On a nice, sunny day, two-year-old Shenzi Tuck was napping peacefully in her crib, wearing her pjs. It had pink sheets with a black and white polka dot cuddly blanket, and matched her whole room. The walls were ivory, decorated with black and white polka dot hearts that had pink lace trimming the edges and matched the hooks. There was also a changing pad cover, as she was in the middle of potty training, crib rail guard covers draped over the sides, curtains on the window, a clothes hamper, a crib skirt, a small toy sack on the wall, a rug, a memo board on the wall, a wallpaper border, and extra blankets and pillows. Hanging above the crib was a mobile with hearts. All of these had black and white polka dots, with some pink. Plus a pink carpet softened the floor to ensure the child's safety. Inside the crib, a couple of Shenzi's toys were laid out around her; A zebra-striped cute octopus with a brown mustache, and a matching labbit. Black and white polka dot (with hints of pink) heart stickers decorated the headboards.
The toddler's large eyes blinked open as she yawned and shifted herself to lay on her back. Her long, black hair spread out on the pillow as she gazed at the mobile and the white ceiling. "I have the bestest room in the whole wide world," She said to herself, "The heartsies, the soft floor, my toys, my crib! It doesn't get better than this!"
Her heart leapt with joy when she saw her father, Friar Tuck come in the room. She sat up with her arms for support as he walked up to her. "I'm glad to see you're awake, sweetheart." He took her out of her crib, and set her on the floor, so she was sitting up. "You're going to get a very big surprise today!" She giggled with excitement as he got her dressed for the day. After she was ready, he carried her into the living room, where one-year-old Tommy Pickles, one and three fourths-year-old twins Phil and Lil DeVille, and her best friend, two-year-old Chuckie Finster, were gathered in the colorfully-fenced playpen. "Look Shenzi, your friends have come to visit you!" He set her in the playpen. "Why don't you play with them, while I set up that surprise I told you about?"
As he talked with Tommy and the twins' mothers, Didi Pickles and Betty DeVille, and Chuckie's father, Chaz Finster, Shenzi yawned and laid on the floor with a pillow under her head. "What's the matter with Shenzi?" Phil wondered aloud.
"Yeah, I never seed her so happy," Lil added.
"Maybe she's sick," Phil guessed.
"Maybe she's sleepy," Tommy added in his two cents.
"Maybe she just eated a bad crayon," Lil guessed.
"No, I know what she's happy about," Chuckie chimed in.
"I just waked up from my favoritest place in the whole world," Shenzi stood up, "My crib! It's the bestest crib ever! It's where I talk to my toys before I nap, it's where I dream my little dreams, and it's where I lay in and make noises until my daddy comes in!" For the last one, she laid face-up on the pillow, before she relaxed her arms and legs with a sigh of serenity. "Ah, my crib. I dunno what I'd do without it!" If only she knew what was going on in her room just at that moment. "When I'm in my crib, everything's beautiful!" Shenzi reminisced to her friends. "Behind those walls, I'm safe and sound! The world is my toaster!" Her friends noticed the adults carrying crib pieces out of her room behind her.
'Uh oh! Not again!' Chuckie thought to himself, before speaking up. "Uh, Shenzi? Does your crib have brown bars on it?"
"And the tall sides?" Phil added.
"And the heartsies?" Lil finished.
"Uh huh," Shenzi nodded, "That's it. Why?"
"I think the grown-ups just carried it out of your room in pieces," Tommy pointed out.
"WHAT?!" Her eyes widened in horror; She hastily jumped out of the playpen and ran down the hall, with Chuckie and their friends following. "No one took my crib anywhere! Why would someone take it?!" She yelled in denial. "You'll see! It'll be right where it's always been! All comfy, and cozy, and...!" She stopped at the doorway, with Chuckie next to her, when she saw that her beloved crib was gone; And a bed with similar sheets and covers was in its place. "AAAAAAAAHHH!" She screamed as loud as she could, before she started crying, gaining the adults' attention.
"Well, looks like the Shenster found her surprise!" Betty remarked to Didi over the toddler's loud fussing, as Friar Tuck came to his young daughter's aid.
"It's happening again," Chuckie said to himself, although he was drowned out.
That night, Shenzi stayed awake after getting tucked into her new bed. "I can't believe they want me to sleep in this thing!" She exclaimed to herself. "There's no walls, or sides neither!" She knelt down on her hands and knees, and crawled to the foot of the bed, which seemed to get further and further away as she crawled further, and stood up. But when she heard a mysterious growl, she gasped and fell on her backside on the covers. "What was that? Is someone there?- Nah, there can't be," She decided, "Things don't live under beds. There is nothing down there!" She then laid back down. "Nothing, at all." She pulled the covers up to her shoulders and her eyes closed.
"Hiya, Shenzi!" She heard a deep voice address her from under the bed.
"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" She shot up as she screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Shenzi! Shenzi! What's wrong?!" Friar Tuck rushed in the room, where he saw her flailing on the bed, with tears falling down her cheeks. "It's okay, Shenzi! It's okay! Don't be scared!" He sat on the bed, and hugged her in an attempt to comfort her, and set her on his lap. "It's just a bed! A big girl's bed, because you're becoming a big girl! It's exactly the same as your old crib; But it doesn't have any sides, that's all! Okay?" She was able to calm down, as he set her back on the bed; She laid back down, and pulled the covers back up to her shoulders. He went to walk out of the room, but stopped at the doorway and turned to her. "Goodnight, Shenzi." He blew a kiss to her, before he closed the door.
Shenzi sighed quietly as she sat up. "My, my daddy's right," She said to herself, "There's nothin' scary under the bed; I mean, what could possibly be living down there? Unless it's an elephant," She wondered aloud, "Or a troll," She started feeling nervous as she stood up, "Or a monster!"
"Nope!" She gasped at the deep voice. "It's me, Shenzi! The monster living under your bed!"
"But, but my daddy said there's nothing scary about this bed!" She protested.
"Hah, right! What does he know? He doesn't have to sleep in this bed! Now, why don't you come down here? I've got candy."
"No way!" She boldly refused. "You're a scary monster! You'll eat me!"
"Eat you? Me? Why would I do a terrible thing like that?" The monster asked her, before chuckling evilly.
Shenzi gulped and stuck her index fingers in her ears. "I'm not listening to you, you monster! You're not real! I'm just imagining, that's all! There's no such thing as monsters!" She started telling herself, as she went to look under the bed. "There's no such thing as monsters! There's no such thing as monsters! There's no such thing as..." When she peeked under the foot of the bed, she saw a small, but menacing-looking monster down there! "AAH!" She shot back up in fear.
The next day, the toddling friends were all at Chuckie's house, playing outside. "So uh, how's the new bed working out, Shenzi?" Chuckie asked her.
"Oh, it's horrible! Just horrible!" She replied fearfully. "It's big, it gots no sides, and... ugh, you wouldn't believe me!" She hid her face behind her arms and knees.
"Sure we would," Tommy assured her.
"We'll believe you," Chuckie added, although he had a feeling that he knew what she was going to say.
"There's a scary monster living under my bed!" She exclaimed in fear. The twins and Tommy gasped in shock.
"Shenzi, that's not true!" Chuckie tried to assure her.
"Yes it is!" She insisted. "It is! I seed it with my own two eyes! It was big, and scary, and tried to grab me!"
"Shenzi, that's not where monsters live," Phil told her.
"Yeah! They live in caves, and swamps, and stuff like that," Lil added.
"And under beds is not in those places," Chuckie finished.
"Oh brother!" Three-year-old Angelica Pickles, Tommy's cousin, walked up to them. "Shenzi, don't let those dummies lie to you! Of course monsters live under beds."
"That's not true!" Chuckie glared. "There wasn't one under my bed, and there isn't one under hers!"
"Under beds is their favoritest place in the whole world," Angelica ignored him.
"I knew it!" Shenzi exclaimed. "I'm in trouble now!"
"That's a lie, Angelica! Monsters don't live under beds!" Tommy insisted.
"That's what poor little Barnaby Jones thought," Angelica remarked.
"Who's that?" Shenzi asked her.
"This little boy who got eaten by a monster under his bed," Chuckie replied as Angelica told the story, "But it's not true!"
"And they never saw little Barnaby Jones again," The blonde finished the tale, "So remember, there's only one place you can hide: Under the covers. And sometimes, the monsters will still get you." Shenzi gasped, then fell on her back in fear. "Shenzi's gonna get eated!" Angelica started singing mockingly. "Eated! Eated! Shenzi's gonna get eated, by the monster under her bed!" She finished, and left them be.
"Don't listen to her, Shenzi," Chuckie told the slightly younger girl.
"Yeah, she's a terrible singer," Lil added.
"I'm doomed," The black-haired toddler hid her face again.
"No, Shenzi! I won't let Angelica's lies scare you!" Chuckie protested with determination. "And you know why? 'Cause there are no monsters under your bed!" Just then, he heard something from his and Shenzi's fathers that initially made him nervous, but then determined; He was going to sleep over at her house, to help her sleep better in her new bed. He yearned to help his friend like how Tommy helped him. She was a lot like him (Chuckie, not Tommy), so it had to work. It just had to!
That night, the two toddlers were tucked into the bed, clad in their pajamas, with Shenzi at the left side, and Chuckie at the right. She was in a pink Minnie Mouse polka dot nightgown with matching striped softee socks, while Chuckie was in his regular blue pjs. "Goodnight Shenzi, goodnight Chuckie," Friar Tuck said to them, before he closed the door and left them alone.
They stayed quiet for a couple seconds, before Chuckie spoke up. "See, Shenzi? This isn't so bad."
"Y-yeah, I suppose." "I told you there are no monsters."
"Yeah, maybe you were..." Shenzi began to agree with him, but was cut off.
"Wrongarooni!" The monster's voice interrupted her.
"AAAAAAHHH!" She screamed and jumped almost a yard in the air, landing on Chuckie's waist. "Did you hear that?!"
"Hear what?" Chuckie asked her, feeling a bit stunned.
"Hear me, girly girl!"
"AAAHH! Angelica was right! There really is monsters under my bed!" She pulled the covers over her head, so she was completely concealed.
"Shenzi, what's wrong?" Chuckie asked her. "Come on out!"
"No, Chuckie! You heard Angelica! This is the only place I'm safe!" The redhead tried to pull the covers off of Shenzi, but she pushed him away. "Stop it!"
"Shenzi, listen to me! You have to come out from under those covers!"
"Why should I?"
"'Cause monsters aren't real! You've gotta look under your bed, and tell yourself that!"
"What for?" She finally unveiled herself.
"'Cause if you don't, you'll be scared forever and ever!"
"Is that bad?"
"Shenzi, you're gonna go down there, look that monster in the eye, and prove he isn't real!" Chuckie pulled her up on her feet. "You're gonna stand up, and say "I'm Shenzi Callie Tuck, and I'm not ascared!""
The black-haired girl filled up with determination. "You're right, Chuckie! I can't be scared of no monsters, no matter how big they are!"
"Right!"
"No matter how ugly they are!"
"Right!"
"No matter how long and sharp their teeth and claws are!"
"Uh, right."
"There's only one thing I want to ask you!"
"What is it?"
Shenzi dove down, and hugged his legs fearfully. "Please come with me, Chuckie. Please, please, please! Don't make me go alone!"
"I'll come with you, Shenzi! And then you'll see once and for all!" He stood her on her feet. "There's no such things as monsters!" The two toddlers stood at the foot of the bed. "I'll go first."
"Yeah, g-good call." Chuckie jumped down on the floor, and Shenzi followed.
"Okay, look under the bed."
"Y-you first."
"But you're the one who's scared."
"No, no, you're the guest," She insisted.
"Alright, we'll look together, on the count of three."
"Okay," She agreed, and they grabbed the bed skirt.
"One..."
"Two..."
Shenzi hesitated with fear. "... Th-three!" They then pulled the bed skirt up, but were looking away. "Nothing there, right?"
"Right." They looked with caution, but under her bed, they saw the monster!
"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" They screamed simultaneously.
"Hey! What's going on in here?!" The toddlers stood up as the door was opened and the light was turned on. Friar Tuck came running in the room, alarmed by the kids' screams. "Shenzi, Chuckie! What are you two doing down he... wait." He pulled something out from under the bed. "Hey! Shenzi, it's your old sweater! I wondered where this thing went. I must've left it down there when we put the bed together. Is this what scared you?" She responded with a timid, slightly embarrassed expression. "I know it's scary moving out of your crib, but you'll be alright." He set the toddlers back in the bed, and laid her sweater in front of them. "There's nothing scary under there. G'night kids, sweet dreams." He then left them be after turning off the light and closing the door.
"You see, Shenzi? You had nothing to be scared of," Chuckie said to her.
"Yeah, you was right," She nodded, "This bed isn't so bad. I actually kind of like it! Y'know, I think this might be the start of a beautiful friendship." She then let out a yawn. "Well, 'night Chuckie." The toddlers laid back down under the covers.
"'Night Shenzi."
But when the black-haired girl shifted to the side, she fell on the floor! "Oomph!" Chuckie quickly crawled up to check on her. "Well, maybe there's still a couple of problems." He grabbed her hands and helped her back up on the bed. "Owie," She rubbed the back of her head. "What do I do? What if I cutted myself again? I can't go through that again! Should I cry for my daddy?"
"Let me see it," Chuckie offered, and she turned to face away from him. He brushed her hair away from where she hit her head as much as he could, and took a peek. "Hmm, it just looks a bit red. I'll turn on the light." He crawled to her lamp and switched it on after figuring out how, and crawled back to her. "Y-yeah, it's just a little red. No biggie." He then kissed the red spot on her head, knowing that it would help it heal.
"Th-thanks Chuckie," She blushed, and crawled back to her spot on the bed, now staying closer to the middle. "G'night."
"'Night, Shenzi." With that, the two friends drifted off to sleep.
(A/N: Finally, U is done! You know the disclaimer. Originally, I was going to have Shenzi shown as a teen at the end, but didn't know how to put it in properly, so I scrapped the idea. So, this is the only one of the oneshots that doesn't show her and Chuckie as pre-teens and/or beyond.)