Grinch awoke to Mabel licking his face. It took him a moment to realize what was happening, but he finally batted her away.

"I'm up, I'm up!" he groused. Max woke up and stretched then shook and yipped.

"It would be a good morning if Mabel brushed her teeth," Grinch retorted.

Mabel growled.

"Don't care, furball. Your breath stinks. Besides, Max brushes his teeth so it's not impossible."

Max sat up straight and puffed out his chest, looking smug. Mabel let out several low noises then headed out to the kitchen. Max barked twice and circled once before jumping out of bed. Grinch rubbed his eyes then sat up and yawned. He got ready for the day then headed out to the dining room. Bricklebaum was singing in the kitchen, and delicious smells floated through the house. Only one mattered to Grinch, and he hesitated a moment before going into the kitchen.

"Morning, Grinchy!" Bricklebaum said jauntily.

Grinch grunted. "Coffee?"

"Over there," Bricklebaum said, gesturing with his spatula.

Grinch gladly made a cup but made a face at the taste. His own personalized coffeemaker was better. "You like weak coffee," he muttered.

"Well, you're free to make a new pot. I'll try whatever you've got," Bricklebaum challenged.

Grinch sniggered and studied the coffeemaker until he figured out how it worked then quickly started a pot of real coffee. Bricklebaum was humming as he made breakfast.

"Do you have to be cheery in the morning?" Grinch groused.

"Of course! It's a new day and anything could happen."

"Exactly," Grinch said, but he smiled a little.

As usual, Bricklebaum took it in stride. "Boy, you're grumpy in the morning, aren't you?"

"When I have coffee-flavored water? Yes," Grinch replied.

Bricklebaum laughed again and flipped the pancakes out of the skillet onto a plate. Grinch watched as the delightful smell of coffee overcame everything else. When the coffee was ready, Grinch made two cups and set one beside Bricklebaum.

"Here. Have some real coffee."

Grinch took a drink, and he glanced down as Max and Mabel ran into the room, nipping and playing. Bricklebaum pulled the last pancakes off of the skillet then turned to watch, too. Max was certainly different from Mabel. He was far more Who-like. Then again, Grinch was an animal-whisperer, and animals raised in those circumstances always turned out to be more intelligent. But Max was a whole new level of intelligent. Bricklebaum had never seen an animal so clever as he outsmarted Mabel by simply using what was around him.

"They're certainly having fun," Grinch said.

"When did you get Max?"

"Oh, he was outside my cave as a puppy," Grinch said absently. "Last March, I believe. I took him in and here we are."

"Did you know you were an animal-whisperer before him?"

"Oh yeah," Grinch said. "Prunella and Brilla were always so impressed by it. I don't get the big deal. Then again, why would I when I can do it?" He stared at his coffee for a moment. "Is breakfast ready?"

"Oh, yeah. Let's eat," Bricklebaum said. He put down dog food for the dogs, but Max stared at it blankly. He looked up at Grinch and wrinkled his nose, making a soft noise.

"I'll feed you something good when we get home," Grinch said.

"You don't use dog food?" Bricklebaum asked.

"Nope. I give him meat most of the time. He's never liked dog food."

"So Max won't eat it? Well, we can't leave him out," Bricklebaum said. "Let's find something for them to eat."

He picked up the dog food and Mabel barked angrily. Grinch looked at her. "Trust me, you'll get something better. I don't know how you can stand that stuff. It's not even appetizing."

Mabel barked again.

"No, you'll like this better. I promise."

When Bricklebaum brought out the rest of the green ham from the night before, Mabel was appeased, and she gave a big doggie smile and wagged her stubby tail. Max trotted over to the table and hopped into a chair. Bricklebaum laughed.

"That's the smartest dog I've ever met."

"I tried to teach him good manners," Grinch said, waving gently at Max's paws. He removed his paws from the table and dipped his head as he waited patiently for food.

Mabel snatched up her breakfast without hesitation, but Max nodded at Bricklebaum as he set the meat on a plate for him. Bricklebaum grinned then served himself and Grinch pancakes.

Bricklebaum took a sip of coffee then turned and coughed. "Wow! That's some strong coffee!"

"You mean real coffee," Grumpy said smugly. "It'll cut the sweetness of the syrup, too. Makes it better."

"It sure does," Bricklebaum said. "But I'm going to be wired."

"It'll get you through the morning," Grinch admitted, unable to stop from grinning.

They ate their breakfast in silence, but it wasn't awkward, much to Grinch's relief. He was tired of always feeling uncomfortable around people. It hadn't been this bad when he was a kid. But he'd had his old gang around then. At that thought, he set his fork down, frowning.

"Do you talk to Prunella or Timonius?"

Bricklebaum thought about this. "Prunella Drivner?"

"She married then," Grinch said. "What about Timonius Justus? He still around?"

"Oh yeah," Bricklebaum said. "He owns the machine plant in Whotand about ten miles down the way. Employs a lot of people."

"He was always business minded. What about Brilla Brickham?"

"She got married to Silvanus Pruitt."

"Ha!" Grinch shouted, slamming his fist on the table. "I knew they were going to end up together. They were always so sure I was wrong, but they must have gotten over that years ago!" He took another drink of coffee and leaned forward. "What about Elena Trish?"

"She got married to Louis Who and they had a son, Darius. He got married to Donna Strickson."

Grinch jerked his head up. "What was that?" He stared at Bricklebaum, sure he'd misheard.

"Donna's late husband," Bricklebaum confirmed. "Yep. Cindy Lou is Elena's granddaughter."

Grinch swallowed and looked down. "I should have recognized her. A part of me did, I think. She looks a lot like Elena did when we palled around."

Grinch stared at his plate then stood up. "You said the orphanage is gone, right?"

"Yep. Destroyed decades ago. Why?"

"But they never found the safehouse?" Grinch pressed.

"I've never heard of anything of the sort being found. Why?"

Grinch stood up and headed for the living room. "I'm going for a walk."

Bricklebaum jumped to his feet and followed. He wasn't letting Grinch go alone, not after what he'd told him the night before. He'd been alone long enough.

Grinch threw his scarf on and whistled. "Max!"

Max gulped down the rest of his ham then bounded off the chair and shook himself. Mabel waddled in and woofed. Grinch turned.

"Not if you don't want to. We're going pretty far."

Mabel huffed then went to her bed and lay down.

"You hold down the fort, Mabel," Bricklebaum called.

Mabel didn't acknowledge his words. Bricklebaum wrapped himself in a coat and he locked the door as they headed out. Max barked excitedly, heading toward town. Grinch hunched in on himself and began to march. He did not want to go near where he'd grown up, but if they'd never found the safe, that meant that his suspicions about Illicure were correct. He'd been up to something that night. Why else make sure Grinch didn't get up. He'd had years to think about it, and he had a pretty good idea on what he'd been doing making all that noise.

Bricklebaum grabbed Grinch's wrist and jerked him to a stop. "Whoa now! You always walk this fast?" he huffed.

"To get through town? Yes," Grinch admitted reluctantly.

"Well, slow down. We're in no hurry. But what are you up to? Where are we going?"

"Did they build anything else after they tore down the orphanage?" Grinch asked, resuming his walk at a much slower speed.

"They made it into a lovely park. There's a statue to mark our Whovillation. In the spring, it's so pretty. Mabel loves walking there. Maybe you could bring Max and they'll have a doggie play date!"

Max raised his eyebrows and whined a little, giving him puppy eyes.

"We'll see," Grinch said.

Max gave a big smile, and he bounded through the streets, wagging his tail and yipping over everything. Grinch peered around Whoville. It had certainly changed since he was a kid. He'd canvassed the whole town on Christmas Eve, but he'd hardly taken in anything but his mission that night. Almost all the shops were new, and he passed by, recalling a very different Whoville. He couldn't help but slow down as they approached the former orphanage. Grinch could see a beautiful snowy paradise with a large pond for ice skating, several vendors selling breakfast treats and small trinkets, and so many children. He couldn't help but smile a little.

"It really is gone," he sighed, pressing a hand to his chest.

"Yep," Bricklebaum said. "But why are we here? I don't see any safehouse. Are you sure there was something worth finding?"

Grinch nodded. "He wanted nothing to do with us. He wouldn't take them with him. And I bet…" he trailed off then headed into the park, clutching at his scarf.

Bricklebaum followed, too curious about where his neighbor was going to even perform his usual greetings. Grinch was steamrolling through the crowd again, heading for the back corner of the park where the statue was. Grinch stopped at the base and stared at it.

"Do you like the statue?" Bricklebaum asked.

"This," he said, touching the stone. "Is not a statue base. This is the safehouse. And I was right."

"Grinch?" a soft, slurred voice asked.

Grinch turned to see Prunella standing there. He'd recognize her eyes anywhere. Soft Prunella with a backbone of steel, that was her standing there, fifty-three years older but no less beautiful.

"Nella," Grinch said, smiling a little.

Prunella's eyes lit up and she stepped forward and hugged him. "I thought you'd never come back."

"It's taken awhile," Grinch admitted. He pulled back. "You all got my letter?"

"Of course. We all read it. I still have it." Prunella stared up at Grinch.

A throat cleared, and a very tall Who stepped forward and took Prunella's arm. "You know this thief, Pruny?"

Grinch's face grew hot, but Prunella turned her furious eyes to the Who and spoke in a voice like ice. "Don't you dare call my friend a thief. He gave it all back anyway."

"But Pruny," the Who said, a look of astonishment on his face. "You're the one who guessed it was him before he even returned anything."

"Of course it was Grinch," Prunella said, her voice still cold. "But I understand why he did it." She turned back to Grinch. "We all do, Grinch. We don't blame you."

"Thanks, Nella," Grinch said. He turned to tap the statue base. "Was this like this after Illicure left?"

Prunella nodded. "Yep. Cyllikum Plaster will laster and laster. It's impossible to break through, impossible to move. They tried then just gave up and put a statue on it."

Grinch leaned forward and tapped the base. "Looks like I have a new project."

Prunella's eyes lit up. "Need any help? I think I could do one last mission, Boss."

Bricklebaum and the Who gazed between the two Whos as Grinch grinned like a child. "Sure. I want that statue moved off that base. Find a way to get it done, Nella. I need a few days to run some tests and come up with a solution."

Prunella laughed. "Ooh, we're really going to do it, aren't we?"

"It's impossible to break through Cyllikum Plaster," Bricklebaum said.

"For now," Grinch said. He patted Prunella's shoulder. "Statue off base. You have a week."

"Gotcha."

"Max! Let's go home!" Grinch called, and Max bounded over, paused to lick Bricklebaum goodbye, then headed after his master.

Prunella watched Grinch go, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Ignatius, dear? I want to have a few old friends over."

"Prunella?" Ignatius asked. "Are you… What's going on with you?"

"We never finished our last mission," Prunella said calmly, then she turned and strode off into town.

Bricklebaum watched with raised eyebrows then turned to tap the base of the statue. "Man, I've heard of Cyllikum Plaster, but I didn't think I'd ever see any."

Ignatius shook his head. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure we'll find out in a week," Bricklebaum said.

And he, for one, couldn't wait.