Chapter Seventeen
When a week had passed since the press release, considerably fewer members of the press could be found on the front lawn of the Muppet Boarding House, due to a combination of the weather forecast and the passage of time.
Those who paid strict enough attention knew that Miss Piggy was slowly, very slowly, making a little progress. The tiny sliver of a sparkle in her eyes that Kermit had noticed proved to be intermittent at best, but she was, at the very least, flinching less, and sometimes looking at them a little more often, maybe.
The physical improvements were even smaller and subtler, if they were there at all. Even the initial steady growth of her appetite had slowed.
After lunch, when Rowlf was at the piano, Kermit quietly expressed his concern to the dog on this subject.
Rowlf slowly shook his head. "Physical doesn't mean visible," he said softly.
Kermit frowned. "It doesn't?"
Rowlf slowly shook his head again, and sighed. "She hasn't had the proper nutrients in a while..."
"Well, I
know that," Kermit said, "She wouldn't-- look, the way she does, if--"
But Rowlf shook his head and sighed again. "Body fat only has so many nutrients by itself," he said softly.
Kermit frowned deeply, trying to process it. "...So..."
"...So," Rowlf said softly, "Body fat isn't all she lost, and isn't all she has to rebuild."
Kermit frowned at looked at where Miss Piggy was standing at the window. "...What-- ...What else... did she lose?" he whispered.
Rowlf kept his eyes on the piano as one of his paws strayed along the keys, delaying in his answer a bit. "...Some bone mass, probably. Some muscle mass. Possibly some organ tissue... Anything she could possibly spare."
Kermit swallowed hard. "...Organ tissue?" he whispered. "She could
spare organ tissue?"
"Well, she couldn't spare the nerve tissue," Rowlf said softly. "Not saying she lost any organs... just-- they might be weaker."
Kermit watched as Miss Piggy gently pushed one of the drapes an inch or two over. "...But-- ...But muscle-- she needed muscle..."
"Not as much as she had, in the places she had it," Rowlf said softly. "And when she stopped climbing trees, there was that much less she needed..."
"...And… bone?"
"Less weight for her to carry, when she climbed."
"...But-- but couldn't that-- rebuild, when-- she stopped--"
"Rebuild with what?" Rowlf reluctantly met his friend's eyes.
Kermit sighed and winced. His eyes once again settled on Miss Piggy, who was looking out the window, quite oblivious to the rest of the room. "...Do-- ...Do you-- ...Do you think-- she-- ...maybe-- ...maybe—lost--" ...But he couldn't get the words out, and he put his hand on his head and gave the dog a deeply worried look.
Rowlf looked at him for a long time. "...I think she
needed her mind," he said softly.
"But--" Kermit's eyes darted back to her. So much of her had changed...
"Give her time," Rowlf said softly.
"But-- but she's
been here for--"
"A matter of days."
"A week and a half!"
"Sure, if you include the days she slept." Rowlf shook his head. "
Time, Kermit. Time, and rest, and nutrition. She's lucky she's even alive right now. Remember that."
Kermit winced, shivered, and sighed, his eyes settling on her. "...She..."
But the conversation was cut off there, for its very subject chose that moment to hurry to the front door and throw it open.
"Piggy?" Frog and dog glanced at each other, and Kermit hurried to the door.
She was slowly walking out onto the porch, reaching a loosely gloved hand out over the steps, palm up.
"Piggy?" Kermit stood in the doorway. "Piggy, what are you doing?"
"...HA HA!" She ran down the steps and out into the yard with her arms spread wide and her face turned up to the sky, and she spun around twice, grinning and giggling at the light but steady rainfall.
Kermit slowly walked out onto the porch, watching her, his urge to shield her from the wet and cold put very much on hold. She was... smiling, and… and laughing... and it had been... so-- ...so very long, since... he had seen... had heard...
She was getting wet out there as she laughed and spun and danced around, and her damp clothes were starting to cling to her skin, starting to show just how bony she was under the baggier-than-it-should-have-been dress.
Kermit was fairly certain that he spotted a camera flash from the bushes, and it stirred a sense of urgency in him. "PIGGY!" he called out to her. "SHOULDN'T YOU COME INSIDE?"
She laughed with delight, seemingly oblivious to him, his voice, and his urgency, not to mention the reason for it.
It started to rain harder, and Kermit decided he had no choice but to take the umbrella someone handed him and go out and get her.
"Piggy!" He ran out under the open umbrella. "Piggy--"
She laughed as she spun around, completely drenched by now, and perfectly thrilled about it.
He sighed and felt a smile grow on his lips. Her joy was just... contagious, so pure and uninhibited and rare... "Piggy?" he asked, weary but strangely content as he watched her. "What are you doing?"
"
Rain!" She giggled and spun around and danced over to him. "It's
raining, Kermie!
Rain!"
He chuckled as she threw her drenched arms around him. "I noticed that." He tried to keep the umbrella over her, but she pushed it aside and grinned up at the clouds.
"
Rain!" She pulled away from him to spin again. "
Rain, Kermie!"
"I know, Piggy--" He grabbed her hand to pull her back. "But--"
She flung her arms around his shoulders and tucked her head beside his, shaking with a musical sort of laughter.
He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, having given up on the umbrella, and he soon found himself chuckling.
They laughed in the rain together for several long, wonderful moments, and before he tried to lead her inside again, he decided that she felt
good in his arms-- far skinnier than she should have, but
good, vibrant and alive in so many ways...
He finally closed the forgotten, unused umbrella and took her by the hand. "Piggy... let's go inside."
"But it's
raining!" she said brightly, her hand easily slipping from his as she grinned up at the sky.
"Yes, it's raining," he chuckled, stepping closer to put his hands on her arms. "It's also wet and cold, Piggy."
He took her hand, and she let him lead her to the steps, but there she stopped. "But it's
rain!"
He sighed and shook his head, still grinning. "Piggy..."
"I
like rain," she said, happy and stubborn.
"I can tell," he smiled. "But, Piggy--"
"It's
safe," she whispered sweetly, her head tilting back and her arms spreading wide as she felt the water running over her...
His breath caught at this last comment. He set the umbrella down on the porch and wrapped his arms around her. "It's safe at
home, too," he whispered.
"Safe?" She wrapped her arms around him.
"Safe," he repeated assuringly.
She settled her face beside his neck. "I like safe," she whispered.
"Me too," he whispered, and he let himself lightly nuzzle against her soaking-wet hair, just for a moment. "Come inside, Piggy," he said softly, and at last, she did, without the slightest bit of protest, safely wrapped in his arm.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
While Miss Piggy was upstairs drying off, Kermit shooed most of the Muppets out of the kitchen and called his mother.
"Hello?"
"Hi Mom, it's Kermit!"
"Hello, son. How's Piggy?"
"Well, she-- She's doing really well today," Kermit said, settling his back against the wall. "Actually, uh-- ...depending, on... how she is tomorrow, maybe... maybe it'll be okay for Robin to come up here."
"...That so?"
Kermit nodded. "Mm-hm."
"...Well that's quite a turn-around, son. What happened?"
"...It rained," Kermit said softly.
"...Well, that DOES tend to happen... What's it got to do with Miss Piggy?"
"...Well, it-- ...It made her-- happy," he said. "She went outside, and she was spinning around, and—and— she
laughed, Mom... and she was smiling..."
"...Well, that's something. Just because of the rain, you say?"
"I think so," Kermit said. "She-- she didn't wanna come inside, Mom. She--" He lowered his voice. "She said that... that rain is safe. And I told her that-- that home is safe, too. And she's been so much calmer since then..."
"...Rain is safe, hm?"
"That's what she said," Kermit said softly. "So-- I figure, if-- if she's still calm tomorrow, then-- she'll probably
stay calm, and Robin can come up."
"...It seems reasonable, I suppose. How is she physically?"
Kermit sighed. "Well, she's strong enough to spin around in the rain," he said dryly.
His mother chuckled.
"Well, I suppose that's something, but it's not quite what I was asking..."
"Well, why not?" Kermit smirked. "It's a major improvement from only waking up to eat..."
"Well, that's very true. Has she put on any weight, though?"
"...Well-- not that I can see," Kermit said softly. "But-- I talked to Rowlf about it earlier, and he said that-- ...that a lot of her body-- that we
can’t see, probably needs to be... replenished, first..."
"Well, that dog has a good head on his shoulders. She eating any more today?"
"...Not... very noticeably more than yesterday..."
"Mm. Well, if she does have more to rebuild than we can see, maybe letting her stomach grow isn't her body's biggest priority."
"I suppose," Kermit said with a thoughtful nod.
"So you'll let us know tomorrow, if we should have someone bring Robin up?"
"Well-- or I could send someone down to get him," Kermit said. "I mean, I was supposed to bring him back, to begin with..."
"Well... We'll figure it out when the time comes."
Kermit nodded. "Okay. How's everyone there?"
"Oh, everyone's fine. Just the usual around here."
Kermit smiled. "Has Roseanna forgiven me yet?"
"She has not, nor does she appear to have any intention to."
Kermit chuckled. "Tell her she's not allowed to be that picky until she's got a star on her own dressing room door, outside of the swamp."
His mother chuckled.
"Tell you what, son. You take care of your diva, and we'll take care of ours, and if either of us needs help, we'll call each other. Deal?"
"Fair enough, I suppose," Kermit sighed. "Good luck, Mom."
"You too, son. Talk to you soon."
"Yup. Bye for now!"
"Bye-bye!"
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