I feel that I have to warn you on two things: 1) my movie is still barricated so I might not have gotten their tones right... sowwie. 2) The Grinch is naughty (but nothing explicit) *giggles*

It was hard coming up with an explanation and possible variations of real pregnancy simptoms Oh well lol lets hope for the best.

Dedicated to.... Hannah, Nati, Cira... and.... Erinn (for being extra patient)

Questions and pregnancy symptoms circled his mind as he stared at the high ceiling of the lair. It exasperated him to no end because Martha was not even in her third month of pregnancy and yet there he was rolling his eyes at all those thoughts and questions. Couldn’t he just lie calmly on his bed enjoying the feeling of having Martha’s skin pressed against his fur? Couldn’t he just accept the changes that Martha was going through and ignore them like all the other Who-men did?

The answer was a very plain ‘no’ which even his mind screamed at him.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” A semi sleepy voice very close to his ear asked him. Martha’s voice always had an effect in him, even at this hour in the morning. She unconsciously, or maybe seeking the warmth his fur provided, cuddle up close to him.

He could feel the swell of her belly press against his side and once more his mind was filled with questions, this time not so related to the future but to the past. His hand, though unconsciously, passed over his own belly to gently lay on the side of hers.

“What is wrong my Grinch?” She asked him, her voice a little stronger. She moved closer, her head raising just enough to make eye contact. Once more he couldn’t help but be stolen of his breath when he saw the beauty named Martha May. “You’ve been rather… silent… all the afternoon and night.”

He supposed that it was a sign something was wrong. “Well… you see...” he said before stopping and looking deeply into her eyes.

“Yes?” she asked before leaning slowly and kissing his warm green cheek. “What is it Grinch?”

“I was thinking… and before you ask no it didn’t hurt, I do think occasionally,” He stated trying to alleviate the slight tension. “I was just wondering if you will… about…. Well you see I’ve been pondering…”

Martha knew that he wouldn’t be able to ask her. For some reason whenever he really wanted to express his true feelings, at least with her, he got tongue tied easily. She knew what he had been doing and what he wanted to ask. “You want to know about the baby.” She stated.

The Grinch sighed in relief at not having to admit he was curious. “You betcha!” he called out making her giggle in the process.

“You could have asked me earlier instead of going through that illustrated edition book which is not completely accurate by the way.” She said in between her giggles. The Grinch’s expression showed his surprise. He thought he had hid the whole getting information from books very well but it appeared that not only did she know but had actually read it. With highly raised eyebrows, and a mouth formed in a slight ‘o’ he stared at her until she smiled and leaned in to peck his lips. “Grinch I love you.” She whispered as she moved in closer and laid her head on his chest.

At least she didn’t outright laugh at him and tell him he was dumb, not that she would of course. He knew that he could be himself around her, he was himself around her, but this was something new, something he had never gone through and he was scared for the Whomanity within him. “How?” he let out very quickly, so quickly Martha almost didn’t catch it.

“Grinch!” She exclaimed playfully. “I don’t think I have to explain to you how baby-Whos are created.” She couldn’t help but blush as his eyebrows waggled and she couldn’t help but breathe quickly and deeply when his finger traced the outline of her body under the sheets. “Stop it!” she said, playfully hitting his arm.

“But you like it Martha Baby.” He said in a sultry voice. “Don’t deny it!”

“I… I can’t.” she said as he masterfully made her arch her neck and delivered tiny kisses throughout. “Stop! Or I won’t answer your questions!”

That quickly made him stop, not that he wanted, because he would rather continue that later than have those thoughts and questions circling his mind and driving him crazy. “Fine mommy.” He said in a very tiny voice.

Martha’s heart fluttered as she heard the word ‘mommy’ being given to her, even if it was by the teasing Grinch. She couldn’t believe that she would soon have a baby calling her that. “So… what do you want to hear about?” She asked as she again settled against him, this time her leg intertwined with one of his.

The Grinch took a second to think. He could ask her about what was to come and how she felt. He could probably give her a couple of names as options for the baby since he had been thinking about it although he would never accept that to others. Or he could simply ask his most burning question.

“How… how did you find out about… the little Grinch?” He asked using the pet name that Martha had bestowed on their baby.

Martha chuckled lightly giving him one of those dazzling smiles only she could give even if he couldn’t quite see it. “My dress didn’t fit.” She finally whispered.

The Grinch grunted in confusion. “What? Your dress didn’t fit?” He had been sure it had been something like… vomiting, fainting, or pain… like the book had said.

“I think I should elaborate on that.” Martha quickly said before he could think again that she was materialistic. “I noticed various things, little things but I refused to believe that they were the results of a pregnancy.”

He tried to remember hard, very hard, if there was anything he should have noticed which could potentially make him spend the night with Max if he didn’t mention them. Since he drew up a blank he allowed her to continue. “Why?”

Martha turned upwards to catch a glimpse of him but all she could see was green beard, green nose, and green lips. “When you… love someone that is not exactly accepted in your world, and who prefers to be out of it, you tend to… accept that… you will never have a family.”

Her voice sounded so soft and so sad that he couldn’t help but feel the need to protect her so he settled, for the moment, on hugging her closer. “You were saying?” He asked so that she would move away from those feelings and concentrate on the fact they were together now, forming a family. Who would have thought the Grinch would have been this way? Certainly not him!

“The first thing was my nose.” She said trying hard not to giggle as she felt him jump once more with confusion. One of his fingers came up and gently touched her upturn nose which tickled her and made her giggle. “For the first week I could smell things from farther away and not to be surprised it was your…cooking… what first came to my nose.” At that the Grinch gave a grunt of disdain at being mocked of his cooking talents. “Oh Grinch don’t take it serious… you know I eat everything you cook.” She offered as a consolation. “I think I spent hours looking at the mirror, particularly the reflection of my nose, to find that it was slightly more reddish than normal…”

So that’s what she had been doing that day he caught her looking at herself in the mirror. He had thought it was just a little vain of her to just look at herself, but he hadn’t mentioned anything for he knew better than to get on her bad side.

“As you know… heightened smell and colory nose are the first symptoms of a pregnant Who-lady, but even then I refused to believe I could be blessed with a child.” She continued on explaining. “The next thing I thought could mean pregnancy was sensitivity all over my body, particularly in my… cleavage.” She said blushing even harder than before.

“So that’s why when I…” The Grinch interrupted her only to be interrupted by her.

“yes, that’s why I flinched.” She agreed with him. “Sensitivity could be a blessing when we were together but it wasn’t always desired.” She said shrugging slightly. “The tiniest brush against them and I felt it…. But along with sensitivity comes size.” She said smiling as he grinned. “Of course you like that!”

“I LIKE THEM PERFECTLY THE WAY THEY ARE!” he declared loudly to make her feel better. “But I did notice.” He added as an afterthought.

Martha once again slapped his arm playfully even as his fingers trailed their way and brushed gently against one of her breasts. “Grinch… behave.” She cautioned him. The hand was immediately detracted. “Then the other Whos started telling me about how I looked, and what procedure had I done to look so young and alive.” She shrugged a little. “It made me feel a little bad because I wasn’t completely feeling well… I had so many doubts that my head was about to explode.”

He gently rocked her as best as he could in their current position, which hadn’t changed much from the time the conversation started. “Then you fainted? Had nausea? Any pain?” he asked, trying to sound smart according to the book.

“No.” she said, trying very hard not to laugh at his question. “Not the physical kind except for the headache… I told you that book was wrong.” She then explained what she did feel. “I just felt… different…. Like I was part of something very important and magical… something I couldn’t understand… and then the dress happened.”

Something told him he had to be very careful with what he said now that the ‘not fitting’ part came up. “As you know… Who-ladies who are pregnant tend to… expand and well… my favorite dress; the one you love so much because it has our colors and reminds you of a fruit, did not fit!”

Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh… unless you want to spend a sleepless night by Max’s side The Grinch thought to himself. He would be in very deep trouble if he even smiled at his point.

“That’s when I knew for sure that I had to get checked at the Whospital.” She said, her voice was strangely merry and almost had a jingle sound to it. “I could have understood that I gained a little but… not enough for my dress not to fit so I got checked and that’s when I realized that I couldn’t ignore it anymore… I was pregnant with my little Grinchy.” She said, rubbing her belly just a little.

Although the Grinch knew that the baby was not physically there, he also knew that the Who-mother and Who-baby shared a very special link unbreakable by time and space. When Martha rubbed her belly the baby felt it as if she was rubbing his or her tender skin. When Martha talked to her belly the baby heard it loud and clear. For that reason he was happy to see Martha caressing her distended belly, bonding with their child and giving him or her the ‘normal’ factor.

His most burning questions were answered so he felt the pressure in his head slowly ebb away with the power of Martha’s words and the loving softness of her voice. He grinned as he felt her naked belly press against his side once more. She was pretty much wrapped around him and he was enjoying it immensely, much more now that he could concentrate on her completely. Finally able to look away from the ceiling for more than a couple of seconds, the Grinch turned to look at her, his fingers tracing the contour of her body again. “Martha Baby…”

“Yes?” she interrupted him as he turned so that he was half draped over her and half on the bed.

He didn’t say anything; he didn’t need to for Martha knew him very well. So when the Grinch leaned down to claim her lips in a passionate kiss Martha surrender completely.