A Heart of Gold

[The Count]

Hi... Thought I'd take this opportunity and bring this story back to the forefront by nagging for more. So please post an update pronto!

 

[BeakerSqueedom]

I actually cried.
I bawled--I do not cry hard so easily.
Please continue! ;-;

*SOB*

 

[The Count]

Hey Lisa... Wonder if you had any more of this story to post. If so, please update it soonerishkibbible. Thank you.

 

[The Count]

Hello... It has come to our attention that this delightful and touching story hasn't been updated in quite a while. Perhaps now that your three minds are assisted by two other halves, maybe you could post some more? If not, we will not hesitate to launch the penguin cannons and turn the milk hose on you.

Thank you, and we sincerely hope for more story soonerishkibbible.

 

[The Count]

Sure would be nice if we could get this story updated... That, plus it'd break the tie between Heart of Gold and Kermie's Girl, both currently at 51 chapters posted...

 

[Beauregard]

I'm now planning to use a line from here as a signiture...

...that is all.

Beau

 

[TogetherAgain]

Chapter Fifty-Two

Jerry's Pizza Place was always a cheerful place.

Except, of course, for when it wasn't.

And right now, it wasn't.

The uncheerful atmosphere was thanks entirely to one customer, who apparently had decided that Jerry's Pizza Place was the perfect place to get up on his soapbox and preach about all the evils of World War III, formerly known as the War on Terror.

It was a familiar lecture. Everyone in the country seemed to be giving it these days. It started with the monetary cost of war, mentioned supposedly intolerable rations, went on to casualties, and then climaxed with discussion of the 'slaughter of countless innocent children,' not only in the 'suicidal massacre of the Child's Corps Charge,' but every single day that the troops spent in Baghdad.

This particular lecturer, from his stool at the counter, had just begun to mention the rations and was all ready creating quite the disturbance among his fellow diners. Whether or not they agreed with him wasn't quite clear yet.

The girl behind the counter folded her arms across her 'the' apron. "Excuse me, sir?" She forced herself to unfold her arms and continue wiping the counter, her eyes darting to her fellow workers and to a booth tucked into the corner. "I'd hate to offend, but most of our customers come here to eat."

"EAT?" the man barked. "You can hardly eat a thing, with all these rations-"

"Actually, sir," the boy behind the counter with a 'kiss' apron said, "The rations really haven't had an affect on anything that we serve here."

"Oh, well la-de-da!" the man said, leaning on the counter. "Well, lucky for you. Maybe they oughta give us some more rations so you feel the pain, too, huh? I bet those soldiers over there could get a whole lot of use out of- oh, let's say... flour! Why not put a nice strict ration on that?" He spat his words.

"Flour, sir?" Lisa raised her eyebrows.

"Sure, flour, why not!" the man said. "Heck, the soldiers need whatever they can get, right? Goodness knows, our troops are struggling to survive. Haven't you seen the numbers of casualties? They're up to- oh wait! They just went up again."

"Sir." Bo calmly set down the paper and pencil with which he had been ready to take an order. "I would ask that you not mock the war."

The man innocently raised his hands. "Oh I'm not mocking anything," he said, and then he set his hands on the counter and snarled, "That doesn't deserve to be mocked."

"SIR!" Ryan slapped his rag down on the empty table he had been wiping and stared at the man. "There are at least three veterans sitting in this pizza place at this very minute, several of us have family members overseas right now, and I for one would ask that you either start being respectful right now, or leave." He folded his arms over the word 'cook.'

Bo and Lisa also folded their arms over their aprons and watched the man. The three workers stood very straight and waited for the man to decide.

After a brief, awkward moment, a woman at a nearby booth also stood up and folded her arms and stared at the man.

A big, tough looking man at the far end of the restaurant also stood up and folded his arms and stared at the man.

Another big, tough looking man stood next to the first, and then there was a whole group of big, tough looking men standing up, folding their arms, and staring at the man.

Everyone at the first woman's booth stood beside her, folded their arms, and stared at the man.

And the booths to either side of her booth were also on their feet, each customer folding their arms over their chests, staring at the man.

And the customers at the counter stood, and folded their arms, and stared at the man.

Other customers began to stand as well, but the man, thoroughly outnumbered, jumped from his stool and bolted out the door.

Ryan blinked at the door and slowly turned to look at Lisa. "I did not think that would happen," he said blankly.

"Yeah," Lisa said. "...We should try that more often."

"Well we'd have to get some veterans in here more often," Bo said, trying to cast his voice towards a distant booth.

Lisa shook her head at him, then thought about it. "Well, we wouldn't necessarily have to be honest when we say there's a veteran in here..."

"Lisa!" Ryan folded his arms at her.

"Tsk tsk," Bo shook his head.

"I'm just saying," Lisa said innocently. "He didn't question us."

"Well now that is true," Bo said thoughtfully.

"Bo!" Ryan put his hands on his hips. "You can't just go from tsk-ing at her to agreeing with her! Whose side are you on?"

"I'm on the... East side," Bo said. "Of the restaurant."

Meanwhile, the distant booth that Bo had tried to cast his voice towards was very quiet.

Bob Geraldson, Craig Rivers, and Kermit the Frog sat in silence for a moment, listening as Jerry's Pizza Place returned to being the cheerful place it always was. Finally Bob turned to Kermit. "Do those three always talk so crazy?" he asked.

"Oh this is nothing," Kermit said. "You should see when Ryan and Lisa give each other a high-five." Bob and Craig raised their eyebrows, and Kermit shrugged. "I don't get it either."

Craig sighed. "It's guys like that, though... The one that was jest in here..."

Bob nodded. "Who don't know what's going on," he said quietly.

"Yeah," Craig said. "But they talk, an' folks listen..."

They were quiet for a moment.

"I guess that's what they're making a television station for," Kermit whispered. "To tell the truth. Tell people how it really is there."

"Yeah," Bob whispered.

Craig looked at his hands and gulped. "I think it'll work, sir," he whispered.

Kermit looked at his own hands. "I think it will, too," he said. He set his head back against the booth and sighed, with a distant look in his eyes.

Bob watched him carefully. "Frog," he said thickly.

Kermit looked at him. "Geraldson?"

Bob swallowed and looked at Kermit, eye to eye. "Stop pretending you haven't decided yet."

Kermit held his gaze for a long time. He turned and held Craig's gaze for a long time. He looked at his glass of water. "I don't want to leave-"

"Nobody does," Bob said.

Kermit looked at him for a moment, and then nodded.

“So?” Bob said.

Kermit nodded. "So," he said heavily.

The decision was made.

Craig slowly traced lines in the condensation on his water glass. "Lance Corporal," he murmured. His face twitched into a smile, and he grinned at Kermit. "I guess ya can't complain if I call ya 'sir' now," he said. "You'll outrank me."

Bob chuckled, and Kermit scrunched up his face. "I can complain all I want," he said with a smile in his voice. "You've been discharged, Private First Class Rivers!"

They chuckled. "If you say so, sir," Craig grinned.

"Sheesh! Rivers!"

"I'll be enlisted, though," Bob pointed out, "So I can call you sir!"

"Oh, no, not both of you!" Kermit moaned.

But they were all smiling for a few moments before they settled back to the inevitable matter that hovered in all three of their heads.

"So I'll be the only one home," Craig said.

Bob and Kermit reluctantly nodded.

"Well, look at it this way," Kermit said with a light smirk, "It'll give you a chance to catch up with me."

Craig raised his eyebrows.

"Well, I wasn't the only one with a, uh, question," Kermit smiled.

Craig grinned sheepishly and wrapped his hands around his glass.

Bob looked around thoughtfully. "We go by twos," he said. He gestured to himself and Kermit. "Two of us going back..." He gestured to Kermit and Craig. "Two of us in love..." He gestured to himself and Craig. "And two of us human."

Kermit scrunched up his face, and Craig laughed.

"And I'm just green with envy," Kermit said dryly.

Bob smiled and leaned back. "Same to you, Frog," he said as he casually folded his arms across his chest.

"You ain't got no interest in love?" Craig said, propping his head in his hand.

"Not today, thank you very much," Bob said.

Craig leaned back. "Yer missin' out," he said.

Bob's face grew serious as he brought them back to the topic at hand. "Aren't we all?"

Kermit shrugged uneasily. "Matter of opinion," he mumbled.

Craig's eyes grew distant as one of his fingers lightly rubbed at the side of his glass.

Kermit watched him. "Rivers?" he said quietly. "Take care of Betty Sue."

Craig nodded slowly. "It jest feels purty small most times," he said quietly.

Bob nodded, leaned forward, and set his elbows on the table. "In something like this... we're all gonna feel small." His eyes darted to Kermit. "Except maybe Frog, on TV, but he's short enough that he'll always feel small."

They smirked and shrugged the joke away.

"But the thing is," Bob said, "Stuff's gotta happen on the home front, too. ...Somebody's gotta do it."

Craig nodded. "Yeah," he said. He winced for a brief second.

Kermit's mind raced. "Rivers." He hesitated, and then spoke slowly. "I'm not really sure how they'll set up this... this television station... but- well they'll probably need some people working here, too... and there's all sorts of stuff that goes into television, I mean... There's office workers, and- and control room operators, and- all sorts of people. And the military could always use some, y'know, recruiters and such- there's all sorts of stuff..."

Craig listened intently and nodded. "I'll look around, sir," he said earnestly.

"Oh good!" Kermit said. "...Stop calling me sir."

"Yer up a rank," Craig grinned.

"Not yet I'm not," Kermit said. "Besides, at the moment, Geraldson here's the only one actually enlisted."

"Oh, technicality!" Bob said, and they were smiling again as Ryan brought their pizza to the table.

 

[TogetherAgain]

By the way, folks... This chapter was for Prawnie. He knows why.

 

[theprawncracker]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! PIZZA! WASHCLOTH! LARGE, TOUGH LOOKING MEN! BOB! BOB! BOB! I LOVE IT SO MUCH! *GLOMP! GLOMP! GLOMP!* AWESOME chapter, as always, my half! Love Kermit talking about not being the only one with a question! ...But the decision... was made... ugh... I love that frog...

MORE PLEASE!

EDIT: *GLOOOOOOMP* again. And, yes, I do know why. Love ya, half.

 

[TogetherAgain]

<Hugs> Love ya too, half!