Disclaimer: I do not own How the Grinch Stole Christmas or it's characters.

Chapter 3,

The Grinch walked down the street cautiously. He didn't want to miss the little blonde in the pink jacket. The Grinch always thought that it was odd that the kosher butcher was right beside the regular butcher. He wasn't exactly sure what made 'kosher meat' kosher, but wasn't there a change that a delivery truck would mistake the shops. Can kosher meat be contaminated by regular meat?

The Grinch shook his head to help push those thoughts out of his head. The front of the store was clean if young girls and their dogs. The Grinch checked the alley beside the kosher butcher, and saw nothing. He went ahead and looked through the window; just in case Cindy went inside to ask about her dog. There were plenty of people there to buy brisket for their romantic dinners, but no blonde little girls. He slowly walked to the other shop, glancing at the alley between the two shops. He looked in the window of the other shop, and the other alley. The Grinch scoffed at his lack of success. He walked to that alley that's between the two stores. This seemed like such a good spot for Cindy and that dog to be. He wasn't sure of another place for him and Donna to look. And surely that kid must be freezing by now. The snow was three inches tall, and the wind made it 39 degrees cooler. The Grinch being covered in fur and had a scarf around his neck, and even he was cold.

He crossed his arms and shivered, shutting his eyes. It was then, that he heard a low sound, a tiny metallic squeak. The Grinch opened his eyes, and looked down the alley. There was a garbage can at the edge, so he walked over to it. He was hesitant at first, until he saw a blonde pigtail, and then he rushed over.

"Cindy!" The Grinch said and he saw her behind the metallic trash bin, and she seemed to be pushing it.

"Cindy Lou, what are you doing back there?" The Grinch asked and she looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Sprinkles is under there." Cindy said and the Grinch blinked.

"Well, maybe we can get a sausage to tempt her out from under there." The Grinch suggested and Cindy shook her head violently.

"I tried that, it didn't work. I think there is something seriously wrong with her. I think she might be bleeding, and there's a funny smell coming from it too." Cindy said and she weakly pushed the bin, which squeaked.

"P-please help me, Mr. Grinch." Cindy said and the Grinch sighed. He straightened his back and grabbed the bin with both hands. He pulled it away from the wall as if it were as light as a coffee table.

"Sprinkles!" Cindy cried. The Grinch looked down at the dog, or should he say dogs. Sprinkles was hiding under that trash bin giving birth. She had already given birth to one puppy, and almost finished a second one.

"Come on girl." Cindy petted her dog. She quickly removed her own jacket, and held her hands out to catch the baby like a doctor would. The Grinch looked down at the puppy in the snow. He was worried about it. He read somewhere that a dog can give birth to puppies 20 minutes apart. The Grinch knelt down and shook the tiny thing, to see if it was still alive. The puppy shifted slightly and the Grinch gasped. He tore off his scarf and wrapped the frozen dog, keeping the head exposed so it could still breath properly. The Grinch held this dog close to his body, and looked over at Cindy who was putting puppies on her jacket like a blanket.

"Grinch? Cindy!" Donna rushed over.

"Look mom, Sprinkles is having puppies." Cindy said and Donna hugged her daughter.

"uh, I think I better run and get a vet." The Grinch said, standing up.

"Thank you, Mr. Grinch." Donna said, and the Grinch froze for a moment. A statement like that rarely hit his ears and it surprised him every time. He took a deep breath, and held the dog close to his chest and ran to the vet.

Ironically the Grinch knew exactly where the vet was. Luke a great informant whenever he made an invention for pets. Luke knew that the Grinch made people uncomfortable, so Luke allowed the Grinch to use the employee entrance in the back. The Grinch rushes throughout the door and Luke jumped when he saw the Grinch.

"Oh, hey there. Whose that in your arms?" Luke asked, coming over to look at the dog in the Grinch's scarf.

"I, uh, listen Luke." The Grinch pulled the dog closer and rose his hand to stop Luke.

"There this little girl by the butchers. We found her dog giving birth in the show. I just picked this one up, because I thought it was dead until moved." The Grinch said and Luke's eyes widened. He grabbed a a plastic bin and a medical bag, and threw on a jacket.

"Zoey! I'm going out. Fees the kittens and give Mr. Whiskers his medicine!" Luke called out and the men ran out. He hey both ran as fast as he could, back to Cindy Lou and Sprinkles. All the while, the Grinch held onto this random little puppy; afraid that it's life depended on the Grinch's warmth. When Luke got to the dog, Donna pulled Cindy away to give him more room.

"That was fast, Mr. Grinch." Donna whispered to the Grinch, who suddenly got flustered.

"I, uh... thanks. Luke's the best." The Grinch said and Donna smiled at him.

"Oh, what's with this little guy." Donna asked, gently using a finger to shift the scarf.

"It's the first one out. It was just laying in the snow when we found it. I thought some bodily heat would help to warm it up." The Grinch said and Donna smiled.

"She looked good, Mrs.Lou-Who. I brought this bin to help transport her and her puppies, back to your house. Normally I would advise to not move her but this environment could effect the puppies." Luke said and Donna went over and helped Luke to move Sprinkles as gently as possible.

Cindy stayed beside the Grinch, watching her mother, and the vet. Cindy was silent for a long time. She didn't utter a word when Sprinkles was lifted in the bin, or on the walk back home, or when the vet took Sprinkles into the living room. She was silent for so long, that the Grinch even became worried about Cindy. Donna has asked them to wait in the kitchen. So he was sitting down at the table, staring at a silent child. He kept thinking of something fun or distracting to think about, but he really didn't know what to say. The Grinch wasn't good at this sort of thing. He was always better at working with his hands, then talking to someone.

The Grinch stood up, and grabbed a metal sauce pan and filled it with water. He turned it on a high heat, and grabbed two mugs. Cindy Lou was too distracted to focus on what the Grinch was doing, which was fine with him. He filled the glasses about 1/3 with milk. He looked over at Cindy again, and she was just staring at the door to the living room. The Grinch turned back to the hot chocolate he was making, and saw that the water was warm enough. He finally added the water to the mugs and brought them to the table, where Cindy was at. When he sat them down, he expected Cindy to turn, thank him, and try it; but she just stared at that door. The Grinch wondered if this reaction was normal or not. Then he looked at his scarf. He placed it, and the dog gently on the table, so he could make Cindy the hot chocolate. The Grinch gently placed his hand on the scarf and stared at the tiny dog within. He barely knows Cindy, and the dog was hers, but already the Grinch could feel himself caring about the girl and the dog. Perhaps he should say something.

"I'm sure that Sprinkles will be alright." The Grinch said and Cindy looked at him.

"What about the puppies?" Cindy asked.

"Well, I'm sure they'll be alright as well. Luke is very good at what he does." The Grinch says and Cindy looked down and saw the hot chocolate. She took a test sip and then a real sip when she saw that it wasn't too hot.

"It must be a little exciting knowing you get to play with a bunch of puppies." The Grinch said with a smile, and Cindy looked more sad.

"I'm not sure we can afford to keep them." Cindy said, and in that moment, Donna walked into the kitchen.

"Cindy, honey. The vet says that you can see Sprinkles." Donna said and Cindy rushed out of the kitchen.

"Thank you for keeping her company during all this." Donna said and the Grinch nodded.

"She was quiet for the longest time. She did say that you may not keep the puppies." The Grinch said and Donna took a deep breath and sat down where Cindy was.

"Puppies are adorable. And if I could afford to keep them I would. But with my job, I have very limited funds for luxuries like pets." Donna said and the Grinch looked at the scarf dog.

"Understandable." The Grinch said and Donna looked at the dog as well.

"This one looks about half the size of the others. If it lives, it may not be adopted." Donna said and the Grinch blinked.

"It's a runt? Oh dear, you're right. Poor thing." The Grinch said and Donna stared at him for a moment, then, smiled.

"Did you know that puppies are born deaf and blind?" Donna asked and the Grinch looked at her.

"I know their eyes don't open for a while, but I didn't know they were deaf." The Grinch admitted.

"I remember a while back I helped Luke for some extra cash. He told me about the development of puppies. They may not see or hear, but they can feel and taste immediately. Then they have a transitional stage, which is two to four weeks after their born. They start to hear, and smell, and their eyes open up. Their sight isn't fully developed by 4 or 5 weeks though. They can also stand, stumble around and such. The puppies need to be with their mother and each other for about 8 weeks so they can properly develop physically and socially." Donna said and the Grinch listened.

"8 weeks, roughly two months depending on if they develop with the proper timeline." The Grinch said.

"Exactly. So I guess what I'm saying, is... well... though you've never had a pet, are you interested in adopting this little guy?" Donna asked and the Grinch stared at her.

"A-adopt?" He said quietly. That word stuck to his core, but Donna didn't seem to notice.

"You seem to really care about this little guy. You wouldn't be able to take him home for about two months, but you would be more then welcomed to come visit it." Donna said and the Grinch gave a breathy chuckle.

"Actually, I'd love that. My cave can be so lonely, and I could use the company." The Grinch said and Donna smiled.

"Then I know that it will have a good home." Donna said and she smiled at the puppy. The Grinch wasn't sure how he got to this moment, but it certainly changed his life; when had asked him about her dog. Actually, when the Grinch thought about it, the mother changed his life for having Cindy. No actually it was the father for giving Cindy Sprinkles in the first place.

"I just wanna let you know that I have the perfect name." The Grinch said and Donna smiled.

"That was fast. What is it's name?" Donna asked, and the Grinch took a deep breath.

"I want to name him, Max." The Grinch said and Donna stared at him.

"You're naming him after my late husband?" Donna asked and the Grinch nodded.

"He sounds like the type of person to honor. Besides if it wasn't for him, then I may never adopt a pet." The Grinch said and Donna felt touched.

"Hello, Max." Donna said and the Grinch smiled.