For my beloved Counters, who may be without electricity, here is your update on a stormy day! As promised - we're gonna see what Fozzie's been up to and Kermit needs to make a big decision.
Fozzie Bear had been a busy little bee.
For someone who had just survived a plane crash, the comic’s outlook of life seemed to buoy itself even higher than he normally did. He actually didn’t remember much of the crash, having been taking a nap during the near fatal drop from the sky, he had been knocked unconscious when his head had slammed into the seat in front of him; his next recollection was waking up after having landed, with a raging headache and his stomach rolling uncontrollably.
For the following few days, he seemed fine, if you didn’t count some of his night terrors or the fact that he would most likely never fly again.
This new thirst for life had the comic wanting to make sure that his fellow passengers were alright, but most importantly, wanting to learn more about the people that had saved his life.
Captain John Murphy and First Officer Craig Davis hadn’t made it out like the rest of them, but from what the NTSB people had said, what they did was basically sacrifice themselves for the good of the passengers and cabin crew. They were still trying to figure out what exactly had caused the plane to crash and how the pilots had managed to save everyone but themselves, but Fozzie didn’t care if the cause was ever found.
The important part of the matter was that both Capt. Murphy and XO Davis had done what they could so that he, one Fozzie Bear, could live.
Fozzie had spoken to the family of the first officer, offering his condolences and whatever else he and Piggy could do. They seemed to be nice folk, still hurt of course by their loss – Davis had left a wife and three kids, not to mention that his poor parents had lost their son. Nothing killed Fozzie more than the thought of losing a parent, especially when you were a kid; that was the worst. He couldn’t imagine what it was like to lose a child and he hoped he never would.
Having a plan, but needing a partner, Fozzie headed out to drive and find Piggy. He and Piggy usually missed each other during the day, with Fozzie usually being a part of the morning meeting while Piggy kept to herself until the afternoon. To be honest, he was actually hoping to run into her today; granted, he could probably call her – he was one of the lucky few to actually have her cell number – but he didn’t want to just talk to her, he actually needed to see her. Piggy was good at saying one thing and meaning something else and Fozzie knew if he asked, she’d tell him she was perfectly fine, no worries.
But he was worried. His best frog let slip that he himself was worried about the diva, mentioning that she hadn’t been sleeping well. That was concerning – not that Kermit knew she wasn’t sleeping, that was obvious – but the fact that Piggy was clearly more affected by that crash certainly said something. Piggy was the strongest person he knew and if she was being affected, then something was definitely wrong.
Fate must have been playing in Fozzie’s favor because he managed to catch the diva as she came to snag the last donut from the breakfast cart, receiving an earful from Sam about the dangers of snacking before meals. It was clear something was going on with the diva because normal Piggy would have never let the eagle go on this long without a retort or a karate chop to get him to back off.
“I got it, Sam,” the comic replied, coming to the relieved rescue of the pig. Taking her by the arm and pulling the donut from her hand, Fozzie turned them in the direction of the stage. “You don’t have to worry about our star munching on this, I assure you.”
“Thank you, Fozzie,” the eagle said, nodding his thanks. “I was just telling Miss Piggy…”
“Right, right,” the comic interrupted, starting to head off in the opposite direction. “Four food groups, pyramid, health…I think Rizzo and Pepe are running a gambling ring.”
“What?” Sam asked. “I can’t believe they would do something so…so…devious. And right under my nose. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I’m going to put a stop to this right now.”
“You are my hero,” Piggy said, listening to the eagle mutter about how un-American gambling was.
Handing back the donut, Fozzie said, “Remember you said that.”
“Need something, Bear?” she asked, bringing the treat up to take a bite, noticing that there already seemed to be a piece missing. “Hey!”
Said piece was currently leaving the comic’s hand and entering his mouth. “Payment for saving you,” he munched, happily. Swallowing quickly, he continued with, “Yeah, I was looking for you. Wanted to tell you that I invited everyone from the plane to the show.”
“Tonight’s show?”
“Every show,” he corrected. “Season passes, whenever they want.”
“Okay.”
Pulling her to a stop, Fozzie whispered, “The funeral for the pilots is supposed to be this week. I think we should go.”
Surprised, Piggy slowly nodded. Of course they would go to the funerals, why wouldn’t they? These were two people who had died, while she had lived. While all the passengers and cabin crew had lived; wasn’t that ironic? “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, of course, obviously. I mean…”
“They saved our lives.”
“They did,” she continued. “And they deserve all the honor and respect we can give them.”
Fozzie nodded, a small smile growing on his face. Just as he was about to walk off, Piggy stopped him. “Fozzie,” she said. “Let…let the families know whatever the funeral cost, we got it. We’ll take care of it.” Again, the comic nodded, feeling better about the whole thing now that his co-star was aware of what he’d been doing on their behalf.
“Is…is that what you’ve been doing all week?”
“Yeah.”
“Why…” she started, before taking a breath. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
The hurt in her voice was surprising. It wasn’t that Fozzie thought she wouldn’t care – of course she would – but he had actually thought he was making it easier on her; she was already having such a hard time, he didn’t want to put more on her shoulders than she already had.
“Well,” he said, taking a step closer to her, waiting to keep their conversation as private as possible. “Honestly, I’ve been worried about you, especially when Kermit told me you haven’t been sleeping. And well…I didn’t want to make things worse.”
Piggy sighed. Of course Kermit would tell him she hadn’t been sleeping; he literally told Fozzie everything. Not that she minded really; Kermit usually went to Fozzie or Rowlf whenever he had something on his mind, especially if it concerned her. She couldn’t stop the stray thought that wondered what he had been telling Denise, if anything; the frog was a worrywart and the diva wasn’t sure how much his current girlfriend appreciated that.
“I’m fine, Fozzie.” At his disbelieving look, she gave his arm a quick squeeze. “Really. I’m…I’m just a little restless, that’s all.”
“Yeah.”
Piggy must have recognized something in Fozzie’s face because she immediately asked, “Are you alright?”
The comic’s affirmation was a little hesitant, much like the diva’s, but it seemed as though he was handling things a little better than she was apparently. Poking him in the shoulder, she growled, “You’d better be.”
Knowing there was no bite or malice in that, Fozzie grinned at her. Nodding and having taken care of the comic’s quest, Piggy turned to head back the way they came. Not even five steps into her walk, she was wrapped up in a bear hug that literally pulled her off her feet a few inches. “No fair, Foz,” she said. “Jumping me from behind in my weakened state.”
“It was a calculated risk I couldn’t pass up,” he confessed, causing the diva to giggle. “I love you,” he whispered. “I just wanted you to know in case…”
He didn’t want to say the last part of that sentence, but it went unspoken. They had survived an accident this time; the next time they might not be so lucky. Fozzie watched enough of those crash investigations to know that their specific crash shouldn’t have been one they walked away from and while he had been unconscious for most, it still meant that now was as good a time as any to tell the people he loved that he loved them.
He was currently working his way from the people closest to him to those he still cared for. He and Piggy weren’t best friends – heck, sometimes he wondered if Piggy even countered him as a friend – but she was his best frog’s girl and even if they weren’t together, Fozzie knew above anyone that the two of them had never and would never stop loving each other. And Piggy had been a brick during times when he needed his friends the most, often surprising him with just how much she cared.
“I wanted you to know,” he continued. “And I’m gonna make a point of telling you more often.”
Piggy took a deep breath and managed to tamper down the urge to cry. It still surprised her to this very day that the others counted her among their friends, even when she had convinced herself – and some of them – that the only thing they had in common was Kermit. That ideal shattered with Rowlf and Scooter, but she had never held out hope that Gonzo and Fozzie – two of Kermit’s best friends – counted her among their circle.
She needed to probably change that.
Patting him on one of the arms that held her, she said, “You’re an emotional menace. God knows why I love you so.”
“Because I’m an emotional menace and I’m cute to boot,” he retorted, delivering a sloppy kiss to her cheek that had her laughing.
“Get off me before I start yelling about you accosting me in the hallway.”
Laughing along with her before releasing her, Fozzie joked, “And you call me a brat?”
“You are the biggest brat,” she quipped. Patting him on the arm again, she said, “Find out about those costs.”
The comic nodded, his characteristic smile again firmly on his face, though there was still a small amount of concern that rested in his brown eyes. “If…if you need anything, Piggy…” he started.
“Moi knows where to find to you.”
[hr]
Denise Morton was not the kind of girl to get jealous. She wasn’t.
She was a respectful kinda woman, knowing that men needed to have their own set of friends that may or may not be the same people she considered friends. It was perfectly fine for a couple to do things together, but it was also important for them to do things apart. That was one of the reasons she never denied her boyfriend his friends; they were important to him and had known him way longer than she had.
Even if that circle of friends included his ex-girlfriend.
She knew exes could be friends, she knew that on an intellectual level, however it didn’t mean that she had to like the time her boyfriend spent with his ex.
It had been a few weeks since they had gotten word that the plane carrying Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear had crashed into a remote part of the California desert and while the news had ended joyfully, with every one of the passengers and cabin crew having survived, Kermit apparently saw it as his duty to keep tabs on both Fozzie and Piggy. It made sense – he had been worried about them both, without receiving word if they were okay or not, but now that they were okay, her boyfriend seemed to be…well, obsessed with their well-being.
And it would have been fine if his attention hadn’t immediately turned to Piggy.
Just that morning, she had called him and had been surprised to discover he was still in bed sleeping, telling her he had a late night and had barely gotten to bed after 2am. It wasn’t like Kermit to sleep in late – in fact, this had been the fourth such occurrence that she seemed to have woken him when he should have been awake - but then again, if he hadn’t gotten to bed until earlier that day, of course he’d want to get as much sleep as he could. Her guy tended to overwork himself sometimes, forgetting the normal meals of the day, but she loved his spirit and can do attitude. So she wanted to treat him – he had been so worked up over Piggy, Fozzie, the show, and everything in between that, well…honestly, she was feeling a little neglected.
Walking into the studio that morning, she carried a drink carrier that held one cup of coffee and another cup of tea and headed in the direction of his office. She had a special dinner for him planned, where she was going to tell him how she felt; she was pretty sure he felt the same. However, as she came around the corner, she stopped when she saw the scene before her –
Kermit and Piggy were standing in the doorway to his office, having what looked like…an intimate conversation. The diva was leaning against the doorjamb, with the frog standing only inches away, his hand on her arm; they were both smiling at each other, laughing at something Kermit said.
Denise was not a jealous pig, but this was not a scene she thought she would see between her boyfriend and her ex.
Kermit had told her time and again that dating Piggy had been a nightmare; they were too different from each other, with most of their conversations ending in an argument of some kind, and they seemed to be more volatile than loving at some points. Knowing Piggy as she did, Denise was fairly sure their relationship hadn’t been happy for anyone involved; she still wasn’t even sure what it was Kermit found so appealing about her.
She was loud, demanding, egotistical, manipulative, and the list went on.
She was the epitome of the ‘bad girl’; was that attracted her frog? She knew people got involved with others who were bad news, just for the thrill and excitement. That had to be the reason.
But if that was true, why did it seem as though Kermit was falling under that spell again?
Seeing her coming towards them, Piggy nodded to her before making her departure, leaving Kermit to stare – did she think it? – dreamily after her. “Hey,” he said, turning to greet her.
“Hi,” she said. Holding up the drink carrier, she continued with, “I brought you some coffee.”
“Oh,” the frog replied, holding up his own large cup. “I actually already have some. But hey, when have I ever turned down free coffee? Come on in.”
She followed him into the office, watching as he sat down behind the desk and started getting his stuff in order for the morning. “What um…what did Piggy want?”
Kermit looked a little surprised at the question, but quickly countered with, “Uh, I just did her a favor. That’s where the coffee comes from.”
“Well,” Denise replied, grinning at him. “The quickest way to your heart is through a mug of coffee.”
That got a laugh from him. “Is that how it goes?” he asked, looking at her in a way that made her heart beat just a little faster.
“So I’ve heard,” she said. “I’m hoping I can use it to temp you into having dinner with me tonight.”
“Tonight?” he asked. “Aw, sweetheart I can’t tonight. The guys wanted to go see a movie with me.”
“Oh,” she sighed, in disappointed. “Is Piggy going?” She wasn’t sure where the question came from, but it seemed it needed to be asked.
“No,” he said. Brightening, he quickly grabbed his phone, saying, “But hey, that’s a good idea. I should invite her.”
“Kermit…”
“Wait,” he said, looking at her. “Oh. Oh! Did you wanna come with? I’ll send a message over to Gonzo, I’m sure it’s fine.”
“No, Kermit,” she said. “I’d actually rather have a quiet night with you. Alone.” Seeing the somewhat blank look on his face, she continued with, “This is kinda a special dinner.”
“Right…” he trailed off. “Right! No worries, babe, I have this. Look, the movie isn’t until eight, so the two of us can dinner beforehand. That’s a good idea, right?”
It was on the tip of her tongue to say, no, that wasn’t alright because his friends should know when he needed or wanted to spend time with his girlfriend. That no matter what they tried – and while Denise wasn’t sure, she had suspicions – Kermit and Piggy were not getting back together and they had both seemed to move on. Love his friends as he did, Kermit needed to stand up to them and state that his love life was not their affair and he would be a lot happier if they weren’t trying to interfere with it.
But that’s not what she said. She said yes, it was okay to see her first, then his friends.
Hopefully, her announcement at dinner would be the jump start he needed to get his friends to back off.
[hr]
Dinner was going to be a quiet affair, of that she was going to make sure.
She had covered the table with a nice lace cloth, with a glowing candle set in the middle, and plates on either side; she had been lucky enough that her apartment came with dimmer lights because it gave the room a much more romantic atmosphere, especially when she turned on the soft instrumental music in the background. Denise had put on her classic little black dress and was smoothing out any wrinkles when she heard the knock on her door.
“Come in,” she called, knowing it was Kermit.
“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Kermit replied, opening and closing the door. He was staring at his phone before he started typing out a message. “Honestly, how hard is it for you guys to pick a movie?” he muttered. “Just pick one, I don’t even care. Why is it so dark…in…
“Wow.”
Just noticing the darkness around him had caused him to finally look up and take a look around him, noticing the lights, the music, the table, and most importantly, the beautiful pig that stood in front of him. “I seem to be a little underdressed,” he joked, swallowing deeply. When Denise had told him she wanted to have dinner with him, he had been thinking along the lines of take out or delivery, while they sat on the couch and watched TV.
He wasn’t expecting romantic overtures and he wasn’t sure if the idea thrilled him or terrified him.
“You’re perfect just the way you are,” she said, sweetly, delivering a kiss to his quickly reddening cheek.
Dinner was simple, a cozy meal that Denise had made and their conversation was easy going and relaxed. Denise was currently in a story about work that Kermit was really trying his best to pay attention to; the problem was that his phone, which he had placed on the table, kept sending out little beeps that corresponded to someone – or multiple someones – texting him. He was trying to keep his focus on his girlfriend, however he had been glancing casually at his phone every few minutes; it was the rudest thing ever to answer your phone at dinner, but he would need to grab it, even if it meant he silenced it.
If he could just reach it, turn it on, swipe really quickly, maybe he could find out what exactly was so important…
“Kermit?”
“Yes!” he exclaimed, jerking the hand that had been reaching for his phone back in his lap. “I’m here! Totally listening.”
She gave him props for trying to be sneaky about checking his phone; the SMS beeps didn’t escape her notice either, though she may have been better at ignoring it than Kermit was. “Sweetie,” she cooed. “Why don’t you see what the urgency is?”
Kermit grimaced. Wasn’t this the same pet peeve he had had with Piggy, who had seemed to be more attached to her phone than she was to him? “Yeah,” he sighed, reaching for his phone. “Sorry. Honestly, I’ll see what the problem is and I’m all yours!”
That’s what I’m hoping, came her thought.
It was a squabble, of course, because when you went to the movies with three other people, you needed to be able to pick a movie that you would all enjoy. So apparently instead of just picking one movie, the other two had swayed to the comic, so now they were seeing two movies – Mission Impossible 6 and Jurassic World – because it would just be too easy to pick just one. Sending his response that, fine, whatever, if they wanted to stay out all night long, he would be fine for two movies and that was it.
Taking that moment to silence his phone, he quickly put it face down on the table and once again focused his energy on his girlfriend. “Sorry,” he said, reaching over to take her hand. “Won’t happen again. Promise.”
Denise smiled, pushing down that little string of doubt that wondered what would happen next time; instead, she squeezed his hand and took a deep breath. “Were you aware,” she began. “That we’ve been together for six months?”
“I…I was,” he said. He had been aware and had actually been a little surprised about it. He couldn’t remember the last girlfriend he’d had where their relationship had gone further than a few months; six months was half a year and few couples got to that point and the fact that he had managed that, with someone who wasn’t Piggy, seemed…strange.
“So I wondered,” she said, smiling coyly at him. “Where you saw our relationship going after this?”
“Well, I invited you to the movies, but you didn’t want to go,” he joked, chuckling, until he saw that Denise didn’t seem as amused by that as he had in his head. “That…that was inaprops,” he chuckled. “I see that now.”
“I wanted this to be special,” she said, giving his flipper a squeeze. “Kermit, I love you.”
“What?”
“I love you.”
Of all the things Kermit had expected to hear, it was not that. So shocking, he had to snap his mouth close when he realized that it had dropped in surprise. What was he supposed to say to that?
“Kermit?”
“Yes?”
“Do you…” Drawing her hand back, she gave him a look that was both heartbroken and confused. “Is there nothing you wanted to say in return?”
“Uh…”
This…was going badly. Really, really badly. And for the life of him, Kermit wasn’t really sure what he needed to do to fix it. Oh, he knew; he wasn’t a complete idiot, after all, but it was on the tip of his tongue to ask what it was he was supposed to say in the face of that? The problem was…actually, he wasn’t even sure what the problem was to be exact! For all of his huffing and puffing over dating Piggy and all the hurt she had caused him, Kermit should have happy with this normal, non-aggressive girlfriend, the frog just couldn’t think up the words he needed to say in return.
Which brought up a very good question – did he love Denise?
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