Disclaimer: I don't own any BtVS or A:ts characters, they belong to Joss. I don't own the Grinch either or the Whos, or Whoville or anything that came from "How the Grinch stole Christmas" It all belongs to Dr. Suess. Everything I say about Dr. Suess in this fic isn't true. In fact I like Dr. Suess books, they're cute. As far as I know, his tales are completely original. And I don't own Santa, Santa belongs to himself. :) (The elves belong to themselves as well.)
Translations: ostendo = reveal; somnus = sleep

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++Sunnydale, California/Tuesday, December 18, 2001/7:31AM++

          The sleigh touched down a half an hour late. Apparently, even Santa isn't immune to the delays of air travel. They landed in a cemetery. Buffy's neighbors were already up, and they might notice a sleigh and three reindeer in Buffy's backyard.
          They walked quickly to Buffy's home and their Santa hats. On the way there, they noticed the townspeople were a little more angry from the day they left. Someone yelled at a pedestrian for not being old enough to drive yet. A guy got upset with his dog because he wouldn't walk fast enough. And a woman yelled at the grass for being to long.
          "I guess Christmas cheer is really important to the world," Dawn commented as they reached their doorstep.
          They walked inside.
          "Okay, Dawn, I want you to stay here."
          "What!? I knew you would do this. I knew there was a reason you wanted me to come with you."
          "Dawn, I can't save the world if I have to worry about you."
          "What's gonna happen!? Is the Vrinch gonna steal my Christmas presents if I get in the way?!"
          "Buffy, let's just go. I understand that you want to protect Dawn, but who knows. Maybe she'll be able to help us. And anyway, would you rather her be with a slayer and a vampire with soul who can protect her or a town full of evil creatures all by herself," Angel tried.
          Buffy looked at the ground. "If you wind up hurt, it's not my fault. Just for the record, I want everyone know, I wanted you to stay out of this." She paused. "Let's go to the magic shop."
          A few minutes later they were at the store.
          Buffy went to the backdoor and took out her keys. She had keys for the back door. Giles gave them to her so if she wanted, she could train whenever she felt like it. Buffy unlocked the door and everyone went in.
          "I just need to get a book," Buffy said as she went to the door leading to the actual shop.
          Angel inspected Buffy's training quarters while she was gone.
          Buffy walked in a few minutes later. She held a book in her hands.
          Angel looked at the book. "'Liber Fabula', you have this text?"
          "It's Giles'. He left it here."
          "What's liber fabula?" Dawn asked.
          "It's Latin. The literal translation is 'offspring tale'. It means 'children's stories'. I think they talk about the Vrinch in here. Giles showed me this book back when I still was in high school. He said, Dr. Suess got his ideas from this book."
          "We can look through the book on the way to the Bahamas," Angel hurried. "But we should get going."

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++Inside the Sleigh/Tuesday, December 18, 2001/ 10:33AM++

          "The book is gibberish," Dawn said flipping through the book.
          "Some it is in French," Angel replied. "Un Poisson, Deux Poisson, Roux Poisson, Bleu Poisson." Angel flipped over a few pages. "Oeufs Verts et Jambon."
          "And that means...?" Dawn trailed off.
          "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. and Green eggs and Ham," Buffy answered.
          "Those are Dr. Suess books," Dawn said.
          "Remember what we said earlier," Buffy replied.
          "Some also say, Dr. Suess's past self wrote this book, and that's how he got the ideas," Angel stated.
          "Anyway, find 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'," Buffy asked Angel.
          Angel flipped around in the book, "Here, 'Comment le Grinch a Vole Noel.' It says the Vrinch's heart is six sizes too small. We have our work cut out for us. At least we have time."

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++The Bahamas/Tuesday, December 18, 2001/ 1:42PM++

          "Well," Buffy said as they landed, "Now, what?"
          "Buffy!? Buffy? Angel? Dawn? Can you guys hear me?" Willow called through the intercom.
          "Will, we're here, what is it?" Buffy replied.
          "Buffy, get out of there. The Vrinch knew you were coming. He hypnotized some Whos. Thy're coming to get you. Get out now!" Willow yelled through the intercom.
          "Let's go guys," Buffy said to the others. "Rudolph, you heard Will, let's go."
          Rudolph leaped into the air. They flew off.
          "Buffy," Willow called back. "Don't land for more than five minutes. Where ever you go, the Whos will find you. Tell the reindeer, if they get tired to use their magic. You can't come here either. The Whos have already taken over Santa's Workshop. Since most of the squads have been sent out to find the Grinch, there's no one left here who can help protect the place. We're under attack. The Whos haven't found me yet because the control room is hidden. I have to go guys, the elves need my help. You're on your own now. Good luck guys. I'm out."
          Click, Willow's radio turned off.
          "We can still talk to each other right?" Dawn asked.
          "Yeah, Will only turned off her end. We're okay. We'll be fine," Buffy replied. Then to herself she whispered, "I hope."

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++In the Sleigh/Wednesday, December 19, 2001/2:15PM++

          "I think the reindeer need to rest," stated Dawn.
          "We've already tried to get the reindeer back to the North Pole so we could switch them. The reindeer aren't kept with the rest of the building and it would only take a few minutes. But they won't have any of it. I guess they really want to save Santa and Christmas," Angel replied.
          "We have some brave reindeer on our hands," announced Buffy.

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++In the Sleigh/Thursday, December 20, 2001/3:58PM++

          "Why is it, the Whos always know where our next stop is?" asked Buffy.
          "Yeah, is there something we're not noticing?" wondered Dawn.

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++In the Sleigh/Friday, December 21, 2001/4:11PM++

          "Time is starting to run short," stated Dawn.
          "We know," replied Angel, "We know."

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++In the Sleigh/Saturday, December 22, 2001/5:06AM++

          "Guys, guys, it's Willow, can you hear me? Buffy, Angel, Dawn, are you guys there?" Willow whispered.
          "Go ahead Will. It's good to talk to you, we were worried," Buffy replied.
          "We're okay, for the time being, a bunch of us are hiding in the control room. Anyway, Squad E found the Grinch. He's heading down to the Bahamas and will meet you there. Good luck. I'm out."
          Click, the intercom turned into static over the air waves.
          "I guess we're going back," Dawn said to the reindeer.
          The reindeer turned east to head to the Atlantic.

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++The Bahamas/Saturday, December 22, 2001/1:22PM++

          "Okay guys, we have to find the Vrinch and turn him good by 4AM, Monday morning." Angel stated.
          "What are you talking about, we have till midnight that night," Dawn replied.
          "There's the time difference, Dawn. When it's 4AM in California, it's midnight around New Zealand."
          "Oh, you're right. I guess we should hurry up then."
          "Guys, I have a plan," Buffy announced.
          "Great, let's hear it," replied Dawn.
          "We get captured."

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++The Vrinch's Condo/Saturday, December 22, 2001/9:29PM++

          Buffy sat up slowly. She was in a large type of cage. There cage was in a room. It was dark. She could see fairly well. Dawn lay sleeping to her left and Angel was on her right. He sat up slowly.
          "What happened?" He asked.
          "The Whos got us from behind. I think they knocked us out. And now we're here. Where ever here is."
          "Okay, we're here. But where is Santa?" Angel asked.
          "Mrs. Clause said he'd be revealed after the Vrinch's heart grew," replied Buffy.
          "Then where's the Vrinch?" Angel wondered.

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++The Vrinch's Condo/Sunday, December 23, 2001/12:42AM++

          Buffy and Angel tried to get out of the cage. They weren't strong enough. It was late and they were tired. Dawn was still sleeping. Angel held Buffy in his arms as they tried to fall asleep.
          "Do you mind this?" Buffy whispered.
          "Mind what?" Angel asked.
          "This. Us, being so close?" She whispered back.
          "I don't mind. In fact, I'm glad we're this close. It feels good, you know what I mean?"
          "Yeah, I get it."
          At that moment a door opened. Through it, came a little dog with a branch tied to it's head.
          "I guess twin's think alike," Buffy whispered to Angel.
          Soon, in walked the Vrinch. He was yelling at the puppy.
          "I'm glad I have real reindeer now. Santa's an idiot. There won't be any Christmas this year!" The Vrinch yelled. Then he laugh an evil laugh, "Muah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!"
          "Angel, I was just thinking--"
          "So, you're awake!" Bellowed the Vrinch.
          Buffy and Angel didn't say anything. They didn't know what to say.
          "Well, I don't wanna deal with you right now, so..." The Vrinch got out some magic dust and yelled, "Somnus!"
          Instantly, Buffy and Angel fell asleep.

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++The Vrinch's Condo/Sunday, December 23, 2001/11:11AM++

          The Vrinch was setting things up on the other side of the room. No sunlight entered the room. Buffy and Angel woke up simultaneously.
          "Angel?" Buffy whispered.
          "I'm here."
          "What are we going to do? We have less than an hour left."
          "What? It's still Sunday."
          "Think about it. It'll take about twelve hours to get to the North Pole with three tired reindeer, from the Bahamas. Then Santa is going to need a few hours, let's say four, to get everything set up, all of the elves back, and the workshop running again. Not to mention a little time with Mrs. Clause."
          "We should leave by twelve in the afternoon. Quick what time is it?"
          "It's 11:13AM."

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++The Vrinch's Condo/Sunday, December 23, 2001/11:54AM++

          The Vrinch was still working in the same room the cages were in. Dawn had finally woke up.
"You know, Mom would be so proud of me. My first Christmas on my own, and we're stuck in a cage."
          "Buffy, it's not your fault. Everything will be okay," Dawn tried.
          "Mom, used to say when I was younger, 'I can't wait till we have Christmas at your own house when you're older.' But Mom stopped saying things like that after she found out I was the slayer. Mom really wanted me to grow up right, but I'm the slayer. No merry Christmas for Buffy."
          "Well, let's have our own Christmas, right now, here," Angel suggested.
          "What?" Buffy asked.
          "Yeah, we could sing songs and tell Christmas stories," Finished Angel.
          "No, no singing. Angel, I've heard you sing before...we are not singing," Buffy said quickly.
          "Well, we could tell stories then," he replied.
          "Buffy already told us a story, Angel, you go," Dawn jumped in.
          "Dawn!"
          "You told your story, Buffy."
          "That was not a story, that...was something...from the past." Buffy knew she had lost. "Fine, fine."
          "Okay, a Christmas story...When I was a little boy in Ireland. I don't actually understand why I remember this, but it was before my father and I hated each other.
          "We, used to do holiday shopping as a family. Well, one year..."
          The Vrinch heard tales being exchanged and thought to himself "How could it be so? It's coming without ribbons! It's coming without tags! It's coming without packages, boxes or bags!" And he puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. "Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"
          Then, out of nowhere, the Grinch came into the room.
          "Brother?" he asked.
          Not many believe what happened next. The Vrinch's little heart grew seven sizes that day.
          "We have to save Christmas," he whispered, then he started to yell. "We have to save Christmas!!" He ran over to the cage pulled out some keys and unlocked the door. Then he took out some more magic dust and yelled, "Ostendo!"
          Suddenly, Santa appeared.
          "Come on!" Yelled the Vrinch. "Christmas might be late!"

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          Mr. and Mrs. Clause were reunited, but that's not the end of this Christmas tale.

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++Santa's Workshop/Monday, December 24, 2001/3:39PM++

          Everyone had gone home, since everything would be okay. Buffy and Angel decided to stay until Santa was off, just for assurance. But...
          "Owwww!!" Cried Santa in agony.
          "What's wrong?" asked Mrs. Clause.
          "My ankle, I think it's broken!"
          "But you have to leave, it's almost midnight in New Zealand."
          "I know, I know. But I don't think I could go! They could do it though," Santa said pointing to Buffy and Angel.
          "What? No, we've done our job. I'm tired, I want to go home," Buffy whined.
          "Think of the millions of children that won't get any presents this year;" pleaded Mrs. Clause.
          Buffy hated when people made her feel guilty. "Fine! I'll go, but there better be some good presents in there for me."
          Buffy and Angel left the room.
          "So, do you think they bought the ankle bit?" Santa asked his wife.
          "Well, I think they did."
          "I wonder how long it'll take them to figure out that one of our presents for the two of them is bring them back together?"
          "Those two? It might take them years." Mrs. Clause replied as she and her husband walked away.

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++Sunnydale, California/Tuesday, December 25, 2001/12:00AM++

          "Only a few more time zones to go," Buffy said going into her own house with Angel.
          "I still can't believe I'm wearing this. They even gave me a fake beard."
          "Well, I like the dress they gave. It's cute. I think it's made of velvet. Anyway, 'Santa' put the presents down and let's go."
          "Don't you want to see what you're getting?"
          "I'll wait till we're done with this." Buffy turned to leave.
          "Wait," Angel pulled her back to him and kissed her.
          "What was that for?"
          Angel pointed to the ceiling, there was a mistletoe.
          "I never put that there."
          Then Angel pulled out some pixie dust from his pocket and showed it to Buffy.
          "Santa's always prepared." Angel smiled.

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++Sunnydale, California/Tuesday, December 25, 2001/9:01AM++

          Buffy and Angel walked down stairs in robes. Both of them were still tired.
          "Took you awhile," Dawn commented.
          "Hey, you be Santa. This job is tiring. Give me slaying any day," replied Buffy.
          "Anyway, we were waiting for you two so we could open presents. Anya, Xander and Cordelia are in the kitchen. Wesley and Gunn will be here in a minute. I don't know where they went. We put everybodys' presents in separate piles."
          "What else were you guys doing this morning?" Angel asked.
          "I told them what we did for the last week. Since I didn't get a chance to tell my story, yesterday, I was going to do that now."
          "Go ahead Dawn," Angel encouraged her.
          "It's actually a song, but no one can sing along. Okay, here we go: