Half of the Stairs are Missing

[Alpha Centauri]

Oh my! Poor Leaper, poor Jimmy, poor Kermit and poor Robin!

 

[redBoobergurl]

Wow....I love Miss Piggy in this chapter, she's taking good care of Kermit and being completely selfless and I love that side of her! And then Jimmy and Leaper...the arguing...Kermit's "He's not going anywhere" Oh more please!

 

[theprawncracker]

KERMIT! ! ! You TELL her, frog! Taht was brilliant, Lisa. I loved Kermit standing up for Robin and Piggy nursing Kermit--who may need it just as much as Robin. But my favorite part was Rowlf going around putting a hand on the shoulder of whoever needed it. That was incredible and it really... well, just amazing. I love those little things you throw in. A great chapter--of course--and I can't wait to see more!

 

[TogetherAgain]

Chapter Seven

Leaper grabbed Kermit’s shoulders. “He is! He’s coming home!” She shook him, her fingers digging into him. “My son. My baby…”

Sitting on a coffee table, Pepe pulled his cards against his chest and leaned over to Rizzo. “If she’s so worried h’about him… why have I never seen her befores, hokay? Jimmy, he has been here, but d’is lady…”

“Shh!” Rizzo scolded, pushing the king prawn back. “Good point, but bad timing. An’ don’t look at my cards.”

“H’I wasn’t looking!” Pepe said, scrambling back to his seat.

“Our son,” Jimmy said firmly, prying Leaper from his brother. She flinched and broke away from Jimmy, and he let her go. “Kermit—“

But Kermit was already hauling his brother into a tight hug. “…I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Jimmy gave him a firm squeeze. “I know,” he whispered, and he pulled out of the hug. “How is he? Can we see him?” His voice was laced with urgency.

Kermit shook his head. “He’s having a CAT scan right now—“

“What’s a CAT scan?” Jimmy asked, frowning.

Kermit froze. “…Uh—well, it’s… They’re looking at his brain,” he said. “To see—how—how badly—damaged, it…”

Leaper buried her face in her hands. Jimmy looked down at his flippers, very quiet for a long moment.

Kermit gulped. “…He—He will wake up. I know he will,” he said quickly.

“How do you know?” Leaper asked, pulling her head from her hands.

He stared at her for a moment. “…I… I know,” he said simply.

Her eyes darkened and she slowly shook her head. “You don’t know,” she whispered.

“What about his hand?” Jimmy asked quickly, changing the subject. “Mom said something about his hand—“

“It—it was shattered,” Kermit said. “They operated on it earlier today—“

“Operated?” Leaper repeated.

Pepe rearranged the cards in his hand. “What, do dey live under h’a rock?” he whispered.

“Dey might. It is a swamp,” Rizzo whispered back.

“Dr. Prosper said it went well,” Kermit tried to assure Leaper. “He said—he said Robin will probably—regain full use of his hand—“

“If he ever uses it again,” she whispered darkly.

Kermit flinched violently, and suddenly found that Fozzie’s hand was on his shoulder.

“Have you seen him?” Jimmy asked. “Robin—have you seen him at all? Since it—“

“Of course,” Kermit said firmly, softly adding, “I spent the whole night with him.”

Jimmy nodded. “Of course,” he said. “Of course… How—how did he look? Is—is he… he isn’t awake…”

Kermit winced and sadly shook his head.

That was when Dr. Livelong poked his head into the waiting room. “Kermit—Oh!” Seeing Jimmy and Leaper, he stepped into the room. “Are you Robin’s parents?”

“Yes,” Jimmy said quickly as he shook the doctor’s hand.

“I’m Dr. Livelong,” the doctor said.

Leaper turned and frowned at Kermit. “I thought you said Dr. Prosper—“

“Dr. Prosper operated on Robin’s hand,” Dr. Livelong said. “He’s a very good surgeon.” He cleared his throat. “Mr. and Mrs.—“

“Ms,” Leaper firmly, sternly corrected, glancing at the other two frogs. She folded her arms across her chest. “Ms. Leaper Slough,” she said quietly.

“My mistake,” Dr. Livelong said quickly, humbly. “But—We’re just putting Robin back into his room now, and I’d like to discuss the CAT scan results with—“ he glanced at Kermit “—the three of you—“

“Kermit doesn’t have custody, now that both of us are here,” Leaper said icily.

“But he’s welcome, of course,” Jimmy said firmly, giving her a hard look.

Kermit gulped, shifting his weight. Fozzie wrapped a protective arm around his shoulders.

“…Of course,” Dr. Livelong said. He shifted the file in his hand and nodded for the three frogs to follow him.

Kermit took a deep breath, gave the bear’s hand a grateful pat, and marched after the doctor and the other two frogs.

Fozzie sighed, hugging himself as he watched them go.

“Doesn’t have custody?” Miss Piggy snapped under her breath, gloved fists clenched. “What is that supposed to mean? Kermit doesn’t have any say? He’s raising Robin!”

“Not for long, the way she’s talking,” Rowlf muttered. He shook his head.

“But they’ll LISTEN to Kermit, won’t they?” Scooter asked.

“They’re his parents,” Clifford reasoned. “They want what’s best for him, too.”

“And they want Robin to stay in the swamp?” Gonzo shook his head. “That’s not what’s best for him.”

“Si, si. He needs de stage. He’s too much h’of a ham, hokay,” Pepe said, reshuffling the cards. He glanced up at the automatic glare from Miss Piggy. “Is h’a compliment! In dis case,” he said defensively.

She shook her head, but it was hard to care about such trivial things now anyway.

Rowlf thoughtfully scratched his ear. “…I’m not sure we should put much faith in anything Leaper says right now,” he said quietly. “She’s as shocked by all this as we are… Maybe more so.”

Fozzie sighed heavily, wringing what was left of his hat in his hands. “I don’t think they should TALK like that, anyway,” he said, pacing.

“It’ll be alright, once they calm down, won’t it?” Scooter asked of no one in particular.

Sweetums quietly lumbered through the room and folded his arms across his chest, leaning against the child-friendly wallpaper as he watched the doctor and the three frogs walk down the hall and vanish into Robin’s room.

 

[The Count]

Yo ho, that a new chappy I spy? Good job Cap'n... But I be wantin' more... Or we'n make you face the dreaded penguin cannons.
Gun boom-boom.
Will he be all right? Kermit I mean...
Lisaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Post more!

 

[Libba Yuki]

Yay! New Chappie!

I wanna slap Leaper, how dare she talk to Kermit like that! I know she's supposed to be upset, but I get the feeling that this nasty tone is normal for her.

As always, you're an amazing writer TogetherAgain. I can't wait for more!

 

[redBoobergurl]

Man there is sooooo much going on in this chapter! I think I need to give you a detailed review. So here we go.

If she’s so worried h’about him… why have I never seen her befores, hokay? Jimmy, he has been here, but d’is lady

Exactly Pepe - where's she been?

“Shh!” Rizzo scolded, pushing the king prawn back. “Good point, but bad timing. An’ don’t look at my cards.”
“H’I wasn’t looking!” Pepe said, scrambling back to his seat.

Thank you for the comic relief with these two hokay? We were kind of needing it!

“Our son,” Jimmy said firmly, prying Leaper from his brother

That's right Jimmy he's your son too.

Her eyes darkened and she slowly shook her head. “You don’t know,” she whispered

I'm not liking Leaper all that much right now, I mean, yes she's hurting, but man, she's a little rough around the edges!

Pepe rearranged the cards in his hand. “What, do dey live under h’a rock?” he whispered.
“Dey might. It is a swamp,” Rizzo whispered back.

Again, more comedy relief in a VERY tense chapter - thank you for defusing the tension a bit here.

“Ms,” Leaper firmly, sternly corrected, glancing at the other two frogs. She folded her arms across her chest. “Ms. Leaper Slough,” she said quietly.

Ok Leaper, we get it, you're not married to Jimmy anymore, calm down.

“Kermit doesn’t have custody, now that both of us are here,” Leaper said icily.

OUCH!

Kermit gulped, shifting his weight. Fozzie wrapped a protective arm around his shoulders.

Thank goodness for Fozzie!

“Doesn’t have custody?” Miss Piggy snapped under her breath, gloved fists clenched. “What is that supposed to mean? Kermit doesn’t have any say? He’s raising Robin!”

I would like to put Miss Piggy and Leaper in a room alone together and see what happens...just saying.

Rowlf thoughtfully scratched his ear. “…I’m not sure we should put much faith in anything Leaper says right now,” he said quietly. “She’s as shocked by all this as we are… Maybe more so.”

Ok Rowlf, I hope you are right, maybe she is just in shock...

OOF, Lisa this chapter was just so intense! I can only imagine what's ahead - but let's see what you got. More please!

 

[theprawncracker]

Darn it! Beth beat me to the review! Ah well... I'm just glad someone gave you one for this GREAT chapter, Lisa. Pepe was SO on mark here--he was perfect. I loved all of his lines. And I can't believe Piggy didn't jump from her seat and start clawing Leaper--but I'm glad she didn't. Everyone was perfect here--Leaper had me pulsating with anger, but that's expected, she's a worried mother. I just hope she's not serious about taking Robin away... Pepe's right--for once.

Another amazingly perfect chapter, my other half! This is a GREAT story and I can't wait to see more!

 

[James Denny]

I go into the house, into the family room. Rowlf is at the piano, unable to play, his paws bound in colorful casts. Ah... Say Cheese! He looks up from his casts and gives me a dirty look for leaving the tale to gather dust for so long. Around him, Rizzo paces on the phone with his brothers and sisters who refuse to tend to his sick aunt, and Fozzie practices for a number that doesn't have music anymore, and Clifford shifts his suitcase from one hand to the other and back, and somewhere in there, Kermit and Miss Piggy are casting each other awkward glances. I sigh and wince at the complicated plot, afraid to even try to remember the last scene I tried to write of it. I shake my head and turn to the kitchen.

Here waits another story, as evidenced by the repeat appearance of characters I just saw by the piano. Here, Miss Piggy sits at the table, unhealthily thin, her hair limp, her clothes loose. She looks at me, and her empty blue eyes stare, numbly, mechanically assessing whether or not I'm a threat. Amazon? Moi? Kermit sits beside her, nervously watching, waiting to see the pig he knows and loves grow back from this shell of herself that a year in the jungle made her. The other Muppets whisper and encourage her, somehow bouncing back in an instant from the grief of thinking she was dead. I wonder at her progress and wince, afraid to find out whether or not I've figured out how to guide that tale to where it needs to go.

I stop in Kermit's bedroom and see him standing at attention, in uniform, staring out the window. Heart of Gold. I gulp. He's preparing to go overseas again. I know what waits for him there, and I cringe. If only I didn't have this painful obsession with being somewhat accurate in my writing... WHY did I start a story about something so political? But I know why. I know so many reasons why. I wish I'd found a way to deal with my own personal issues that wasn't so... oh... international?

Brushing the dust off my legs, I stand up and leave the room, walking down the hallway to Miss Piggy's room. She is standing at the foot of the bed, cradling a baby piglet in a soft yellow blanket. Change of Heart. She looks up from the baby and gives me an annoyed look. Am I EVER going to explain to the readers why she HAS this baby? Kermit fidgets nearby, glancing at Miss Piggy and looking away, again and again, wondering. I sigh and wonder what happens AFTER that explanation.
Maybe I should just start a new story.

...Oy. Here we go again.[/quote]

Can I just say, I've not always been posting but have certainly been reading and I love your stories.

 

[TogetherAgain]

Glad you're enjoying, James!

And glad everyone else is having their hearts torn to shreds. <evily rubs hands together> ...<ahem> <shifty eyes>

Will post the next chapter as soon as it's ready, of course... Sitting down to work on it as we speak. (Type? ...Meh, it's a figure of speech, anyway.)

Also, wondering when I started omitting the subject of my sentences. Hm... Well, so long as it doesn't carry over to the story... Is no sweat! I write good!