Chapter Three:
Fozzie, Gonzo, Piggy and even Rowlf collapsed around Kermit in a giant heap and let him sob for as long as he needed. They too were quite upset but were trying to hold it together and be strong for their leader. He gave so much to them, it was time for them to give back to him.
He finally quieted down to mostly sniffles when his cell phone rang. Two officers were at the ready in case it was important, but it was Jimmy calling Kermit back.
Kermit was quite composed for the call, but just hearing his end of the conversation was enough to finally break Piggy down and she had to leave the room. She would not let her frog see her completely fall apart; he didn’t need that right now. Fozzie went with her and held her while she cried in the kitchen for a few minutes.
By some miracle Jimmy and Leaper would be on a small airplane within the hour. Though Kermit’s parents desperately wanted to come and lend their support, it was decided it was best that only Jimmy and Leaper come.
Around 12:00 am Willie and Teddy and their parents were escorted home each with their own officer who would remain with them just to be on the safe side, though they were still certain that Robin was the only target.
At 2:00 in the morning the Amber Alert was broadcast and would continue to be into the daytime so people who had been sleeping would see it.
And naturally, by 2:30 in the morning the media calls started. And of course everyone jumped every time the phone rang.
“We’ll have to have a statement given at some point here and we need to tell the press to stop calling, we need to keep the lines open,” said Officer Caruthers.
“What am I supposed to say? If I say what I’m thinking right now…” started Kermit trailing off.
“I could type something up for you to read Boss. It could just be a simple statement,” said Scooter.
“Ok, let’s hold a press conference. The family knows, the Amber Alert is public, I need to speak out to our fans,” said Kermit.
“Kermie, do you want moi to stand up in front of the press with you?” asked Piggy and not for her usual reasons of wanting the media to fawn all over her. She wanted to be there by Kermit’s side supporting him as much as he needed.
“No, its ok Piggy, I can do it. I appreciate you offering though,” said Kermit touched by her offer. He knew when she was being completely genuine and caring and he loved her for it right now. Still, this was something he needed to face on his own and he would do it for Robin’s sake. It was something he could physically actually do to help bring Robin home.
“Let’s have the press conference at 8:00 am, first thing in the morning. Let’s get something written Scooter,” continued Kermit momentarily stepping back into his take charge roll. It felt a little better to at least trying to be the leader. He knew if he wasn’t allowed to stop and think for very long it would somehow be easier.
“Yes sir,” said Scooter getting out the laptop. Before he had a chance to start typing anything though, two figures breezed into the room quickly.
“Kermit,” said one of them shakily.
“Jimmy, Leaper,” said Kermit getting up to approach his brother and former sister-in-law.
“Hello Kermit,” Leaper said quietly. Both Jimmy and Leaper’s eyes were red rimmed. And in spite of their own issues, they were holding hands.
“I am so sorry,” croaked Kermit before dissolving into tears once again. Strangely Jimmy, Robin’s own father, was the one comforting Kermit now as he took his brother into his arms and let him cry into his shoulders.
“It’s ok, it’s ok,” said Jimmy softly.
“How can you say that? I let your son out of my site and he’s gone! I failed you! They think this could be because of our celebrity status. It’s my fault,” said Kermit softly through his sniffles.
“Kermit, you have been the most amazing guardian for my son. He has done so well in this environment. All of you are responsible for that, even the craziest of you! You had no reason to believe anything bad would ever happen here, this place is much like the swamp, it's always been safe. You couldn’t have ever predicted that some nut job out there would do something like this to hurt you. It’s not your fault,” said Jimmy holding Kermit back at arm’s length so he was looking at him in the eye.
“I just feel so helpless,” said Kermit after a moment.
“We all do dear, but Jimmy’s right, you could’ve never predicted this would happen,” said Leaper now reaching out to give Kermit a hug.
“So, I understand they have the Amber Alert out and that the men in blue are doing what they do best to get my son back. So what can we do?” asked Jimmy in a similar take charge type fashion to his brother.
“Well, we’re holding a press conference at 8:00 to alert our fans as to what’s going on and besides that we wait,” said Kermit.
“I want to be part of this press deal with you and I’m not taking no for an answer,” said Jimmy.
“Are you sure? Scooter and I were going to write something up real quick that we thought would answer any questions,” said Kermit.
“Yes I am sure. If that sick son of a you know what is out there watching I want him to see that he’s not just hurting you. I want him to see my face and know that he has MY son and I will stop at nothing to get him back,” said Jimmy.
Kermit realized Jimmy wasn’t necessarily more composed than he was at this point; he was just channeling his feelings into a different route. Instead of falling apart and getting emotional, he was angry. But he felt like anger could be more easily fueled into something. So it was time to get angry.
“All right Jimmy. Let’s go tell this turkey that he doesn’t mess with the Frog family OR the Muppets and get away with it,” said Kermit linking arms with his brother and going over to Scooter’s computer.
They’d have this wack job shaking in his shoes.
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