Fanfic - "We Need A Little Christmas"

[Beth C]

We Need a Little Christmas

~by Beth C

Summary: Christmas takes a turn for the worst when the Muppet Theater goes up in flames. One of our Muppet friends is hurt and another one takes the blame for the fire. With only two weeks until Christmas, can the Muppets pull together enough to make the holiday happen?

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Not mine, never were, never will be. I just borrowed them for a bit of holiday fun. Don’t sue, there is no sense in it, I ain’t even got a car.

Feedback: Sure! I live for it. Trekie386@aol.com if you want to make my day.

**********

“Is there a Mr. Frog present?” The young secretary asked as she opened the door to the waiting room of guests for the talk show. She scanned the room with her eyes, checking out each person inside. “I have a phone call holding for him.”

Kermit slowly lowered the newspaper he had been reading upon hearing his name. He folded it carefully and put it in the empty chair next to him. “That would be for me then.”

The secretary glanced over to him and nodded. “Follow me, please.”

Kermit stood and followed her out of the room to the main lobby where a desk stood where a phone was sitting off the hook. She gestured towards it and then took her seat behind the desk and began sorting out some paperwork in various shades of colored paper.

Kermit picked up the phone and nodded towards her. “Thank you.” He then turned away as he brought the phone to his head. “Hello? This is Kermit the Frog.”

The voice on the other end of the line was a very familiar one. “Kermie?”

“Piggy?” he held back a sigh. “Can this wait until after I’m done with the talk show?” His face creased into a frown. He knew she liked to bother him when he was away from the theater, but the lengths she would go to at times still amazed him. “I’m going to be on in less than 15 minutes.”

“Oh Kermie!” she said sounding quite desperate and panicked. “It’s horrible! It’s terrible! You need to get back here right now!”

Kermit now sighed knowing that this was going to be another one of those melodramatic moments that she was famous for. “Calm down, Piggy. I’m only gone for a few days. It’s not that bad.”

“No, Kermie, you don’t understand.” Her voice rose an octave and she actually began to cry.

Kermit held the phone piece away from his head as he stared at it. This was not the way she usually acted even when she was on one of her loneliness kicks. Just what was her problem anyway? “Piggy?” he asked as he brought the phone back. “What’s really wrong?”

He heard a strangled cry and then the words, “It’s gone!”

“What’s gone?” Kermit asked, now quite puzzled by her bizarre behavior.

“The theater! It’s gone, Kermie!” Now the sobs reached near hysterical proportions.

Kermit rolled his eyes heavenward. “Piggy! You aren’t making any sense. Where could the theater go? Calm down and take a deep breath and talk to me.” Kermit had to shout the directions a bit to get Piggy to hear him over her loud cries. The secretary glanced over to him and was watching him suspiciously. He covered the mouthpiece and shrugged, “Girlfriend,” he whispered in her direction.

She just nodded as if that explained it all and went back to filing her papers.

“Kermit,” Piggy said trying very hard to control her tears. “It’s gone.”

“You said that already,” Kermit pointed out as he tried to control his frustration. “What do you mean by ‘gone’ exactly?”

He then heard a deep sigh and then something he hadn’t been expecting. Silence.

“Piggy?”

Her voice came back to him again, this time eerily calm. “It burned, Kermie.” It was like she was forcing herself to stay emotionally detached from the situation. “It burned in the fire.” Saying those words seemed to bring out something in her as she started to cry again, this time a bit more quietly.

Kermit felt all the blood in his body grow cold. “Fire? Piggy, what fire? Is everyone okay?”

He then heard the phone drop from her hand and hit the floor and disconnect. Fire? The Muppet Theater was gone? He hung up the phone and turned towards the secretary. “I’m sorry. I have to go. I’ll call later and apologize to the host.” Without another word, he turned and hurried out the door. He had to catch a bus and then a cab to get back home now.

**********

In less than two hours, Kermit was back. He had worried the whole trip back just what was going on that had Piggy so upset that the time had practically flown by. He knew she tended to over-dramatize situations a bit, so how bad a fire could it have been?

The taxi stopped and Kermit got out and paid the driver. The first thing he noticed as the car pulled away was the acrid stink of charred wood in the air. It was so thick you could actually taste it.

Then he actually looked at the theater and his mouth hung open in shock. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but this surely wasn’t it. His dream had indeed gone up in flames. The whole outside of the building was covered in soot and ash. The scrolling ‘Muppet’ sign had fallen off partway and was hanging down. There were no lights.

Windows were either smashed or removed entirely by the flames. The doors had been ripped off and from what he could see, most of the roof was gone.

Kermit could feel his heart hammering as he stared at what had been his life’s work. What had caused this? His eyes watered as the remaining smoke stung them and he blinked away tears.

The whole scene was roped off with yellow police caution tape that Kermit had to duck under to get inside. He didn’t think there was anyone inside the place but something told him he just had to see the damage for himself.

The floor was both wet and still warm, he had to step carefully over shards of burnt wood and broken glass. The normally welcome carpet was charred and sodden. Black streaks marked the walls where there wasn’t cracks or breaks.

He passed the lobby and entered the main theater. Nothing he had seen already could prepare him for the sight of the main stage. The red velvet curtains that normally framed it hung in blackened and burnt strips of cloth. This was where the roof was mostly missing and he could see the sky above. Water was in abundance everywhere, puddles had formed and warped the remaining wood.

The stage itself was destroyed. Burnt slabs of hardwood floor was all that was left. Kermit turned slowly around and looked at the box where Stadtler and Waldorf usually sat. It hung off, and it was obvious that flames had reached inside the box as well. He could only hope the two old men had made it out safely.

The rows and rows of seats were soaked and ruined. Stuffing was coming out from the cushions and black soot marks were in abundance. Some looked like they had been trampled, others looked like they had been hacked away with an axe.

He had seen enough. He didn’t need to go backstage to know that it would be in a similar state. Shock and fear filled him now. The ever present questions were now screaming at him. What had happened? Was anyone hurt? Where was everyone?

He had to find out. The theater could wait. He ran back up the aisle with his feet squishing every step of the way. He needed to find Rowlf or Fozzie. He already knew Piggy was safe and for the most part, unharmed, but he wanted to know exactly what had transpired since he left yesterday. He also needed to find Robin. Worry over his nephew now filled him.

Either one of his two best friends would help him get to the bottom of this. Just two weeks until Christmas and now he was facing a giant crisis. With a determination he didn’t know he had, he set out for the Muppet Boarding house.

**********


(More to come as the days go on! Let me know what you think!)

~Beth C

 

[G-MAN]

That is a good story, it brought tears to my eyes, I'm dying to find out more.

 

[Beth C]

More, you say? Here is the next part!

The Boarding house had been empty when he arrived. There were no notes explaining where everyone had gone and no clues either. On a whim he decided to check the local vet clinics and the General Hospital nearby. He really hoped that there were no recent admittances for smoke or, heaven forbid, burn injuries among muppet folk.

It was at the hospital where he finally caught up with his friends. He had just entered the lobby when he caught the sight of something brown and shaggy coming out of the elevator near the gift shop.

Kermit felt his heart leap up into his throat and he swallowed thickly. “Rowlf?”

The dog looked up at the call of his name and Kermit could see worry in the eyes of his friend. Rowlf bounded over to Kermit’s side in seconds. “Boy, am I glad to see you. When Piggy lost contact with you, I didn’t know how to reach you and let you know where we were.” He sighed heavily. “I guess by now you’ve seen the theater?” It wasn’t really a question, more of a statement, but he asked it anyway.

Kermit nodded sadly. “What happened, Rowlf?”

Rowlf took his friend by the hand and led him over to the elevator. “I’ll explain it all to you in due time. Right now, I think we should get upstairs.”

The feeling of ice in his veins flooded Kermit again. The doors opened and the two of them stepped inside and Kermit watched Rowlf press the button for the fourth floor. He wanted to stop the elevator and get direct answers already, but he didn’t. Why was everyone being so vague with him? He let out a small sigh and touched Rowlf’s shoulder gently. “Who is it? Who got hurt, Rowlf?”

Rowlf had been dreading this moment from the time everything had broken loose and the fire had started. He had known that he was going to have to be the one to tell, and now the time had come. He looked down at his feet and then finally up to Kermit’s very confused and questioning eyes. He licked his lips slightly, and said one word. “Fozzie.”

Where Kermit’s heart had been in his throat, now he felt his stomach sink to the bottom of the elevator floor. “No,” he whispered. “Oh, no.”

Rowlf put out a hand to help steady the frog, who was now looking decidedly greener. The elevator stopped at last and he helped Kermit out of the elevator and over to the waiting room doors.

Another thought had suddenly occurred to Kermit. He stopped Rowlf from opening the doors and whispered, “Is Robin okay?” Fear was very evident in his normally calm tone.

Rowlf paused, then nodded and Kermit felt his knees go weak with relief. He almost fell and would have hit the floor if his friend hadn’t put out a paw to catch him.

“Easy, Kermit. I know this is all shocking and I promise, I’ll explain. Let’s get you in the room first and then we can talk.” He opened the door and led Kermit inside where most of his friends were either pacing or waiting.

Everyone looked towards the door as it opened. Scooter was serving coffee in paper cups while Beaker was picking up empty cups and discarding them in the trash. Animal was sitting near a window, looking outside and being unusually quiet. Floyd and Janice were sitting together in one corner of the room, talking quietly. Rizzo and Pepe were pacing the floor between the benches and the table set in the middle of the room. Bunsen had his head in his hands and the Swedish Chef was filling fresh coffee cups from a coffee pot in the other corner of the room. Beauregard had his mop out and was wiping up a spill on the floor. Stadtler and Waldorf just sat quietly, looking quite grim.

Kermit scanned all the occupants of the room, looking for three in particular. He located one pretty quickly, as a small green head poked out from under a hospital blanket that had been thrown over the small curled up and sleeping form of his nephew.

He found another of the missing muppets a moment later when the door to the ladies room opened up and Piggy came out. Her eyes were puffy and red, and she looked like she had been recently crying. She noticed Kermit about the same time he saw her. She ran over to him and embraced him in a hug that he didn’t protest. He patted her gently on the back and then she released him.

“Where is Gonzo?” He asked at last to the room of muppets. He was the third one Kermit was looking for.

Every face he saw looked away as people shook their heads at the name. Kermit looked to Rowlf. “No, please.” Desperation filled his face as he thought the worst. “Tell me he didn’t…he isn’t…” he couldn’t say it. He didn’t want to say it and have it come true.

Rowlf let Piggy lead a very stunned Kermit to an empty bench. When they had Kermit seated they sat beside him, with Piggy holding his hand. Kermit didn’t seem to notice as his whole attention was focused on what Rowlf was going to tell him next.

“Kermit,” Rowlf started to say but was interrupted by the waiting room door opening up. Again all the heads in the room swiveled up to see who the newest visitor was.

A doctor stepped into the room and cleared his throat. “I’m Doctor Craig Snyder. I was told that the friends of Fozzie Bear were in here.” He got a whole room full of nods in response. “I just wanted to let you all know that Fozzie is going to be fine.” A collective sigh of relief washed over the whole room and the doctor waited patiently. “He suffered some really bad burns, which we have treated and some internal damage to his lungs, so he will have to stay here for a few days until he can breathe without the oxygen. He needs to rest and recover. I’m only going to allow three visitors for the time being, until he is stronger.”

Being the head of the muppets, Kermit stood. “Thank you, Doctor Snyder. We will be sure to follow your instructions.”

The doctor smiled at him and said, “You have a very strong friend in that room. I’m sure he will be out of here in no time.” He then shook Kermit’s hand and left.

Kermit looked to Rowlf and Piggy. “Would the two of you come with me please?”

They both nodded and got up. The explanation about Gonzo would have to wait. It was a short trip to Fozzie’s room, they got the number from the Nurse’s desk and approached it quietly. Kermit knocked gently then opened the door.

Fozzie lay in the hospital bed, an oxygen mask strapped to his face. Patches of his fur had been removed from areas that had been burnt on his body, leaving reddened skin below. His hat was gone as was his normal polka-dot scarf. He was awake, yet obviously under some sort of medication as his eyelids were drooping as Kermit approached the bed with Piggy and Rowlf behind him.

“Hi, Fozzie,” Kermit greeted. “How are you feeling?”

Fozzie raised one hand weakly. “Wocka, wocka, Kermit.” He tried to smile, but the effort combined with the medicines tired him. He gasped weakly. “It hurts.”

Piggy stepped out from behind Kermit and took the bear’s nearly bare hand in her own gloved ones. “You were very brave, Fozzie. I just wanted you to know that you are a hero.” Fresh tears began to fill her eyes and drip down her cheeks.

Fozzie tried to lift his other hand to wipe them away, but he was exhausted. So he simply nodded and whispered, “Thank you, Piggy.” His eyes slid closed as he began to drift off to sleep.

Kermit motioned for them to leave. “We will be back later to check on you, Fozzie. Rest well.”

After closing the door to the room, Kermit led them down to the end of the hall where there were chairs set up by the elevators. He didn’t want to go back to the waiting room just yet, he wanted answers as to just what had happened in the short time he had been gone.

“Sit, guys.” He told them. “I need to know what is going on. Where is Gonzo? How did Fozzie get hurt?” He began to pace nervously while asking.

Rowlf looked to Piggy who had wiped her eyes with one hand and nodded silently. It was time to tell the whole story. He sighed and began to explain. “Kermit, after you had gone, Gonzo thought it would be a good idea to…”

**********

(Ohhhh the suspense! In the next chapter we take a step back to see just what was Gonzo's brilliant idea that set this fiasco in motion)

~Beth C

 

[Beauregard]

Love the first part!

I'll read the second later. oooh, I hope Robin's ok.

 

[Aaron]

more please!

 

[Beauregard]

Oh, wow!

This is the most sad Mupet story I've read.

 

[Beth C]

Well, it is sad, but only for a few parts.... It is a Christmas story after all, and we know that Christmas isn't sad... right?

~Beth C

(who is working on the next part where you find out just what was going on while Kermit was gone)

 

[Beauregard]

Oh, noooo. Gonzo burnt down the theatre...

 

[Beauregard]

I think...

 

[Fozzie Bear]

It is a Christmas story after all, and we know that Christmas isn't sad... right?

It is if Santa doesn't leave you what you wanted! HAAA!

Intriguing and can't wait for more!! I had actually expected that Gonzo would have finally got hurt doing something crazy--but, I suppose those aliens have thicker skin--and fur--than the rest of us, huh?