Muppet FanFic: Not Far From Home

[Kristine73]

Hi everybody! This is my very first fan fiction I have ever posted anywhere about anything. So please be gentle. Like Fozzie I do not handle rejection well! It's a story dedicated to my favourite Muppeteer Jerry Nelson and inspired by a situation I found myself in earlier this year when I was trying to help a friend who was having a rough time and discovering a hug really did make a difference. The title is a nod to one of my favourite Muppet Show closings, the episode with Arlo Guthrie where they sang Sailing Down My Golden River. It just seemed to fit.

So here we go. If I think about it any more I will not post it. Please read and enjoy!

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Not Far From Home​

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Chapter 1.​

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“Are you sure you’re all right Ma?” asked Fozzie. “You don’t want me to come up and stay with you? It’s no trouble and I’m sure Kermit won’t mind.”

“No, no, son” replied Emily Bear. “I am quite alright. I have Doc here visiting with me at the moment, so I am not alone. You remember him don’t you? We all met at our family Christmas gathering. He brought that dog of his too, the one who is always going on about seeing Frackles. I’ll see you at Christmas son. Don’t forget to bring Kermit with you; he’s such a lovely lizard.”

“But Kermit’s……never mind Ma. As long as you’re sure. ‘She’s sure’ thought Fozzie “I’ll say goodbye now. I love you!”

“And I love you back!”

Fozzie hung up the telephone with a sigh. Earlier in the day on August 23 the Muppets had received the sad news that Jerry Nelson had died. He had been such an important part of his mother’s life that Fozzie’s first instinct was to drop everything and race up to the farm to be with her. Still she said she was alright and didn’t need him. ‘Emily Bear was one tough lady!’ thought Fozzie fondly.

Gazing around the Muppet Boarding House Fozzie noticed the rest of the Muppets had all broken into little groups, consoling the other Muppets who Jerry Nelson was responsible for. The atmosphere was extremely quiet and sad, not surprisingly under the circumstances but highly unusual for the rest of the year.

Gonzo was sitting on the lounge with Camilla huddled to him and a number of other chickens sitting around them. Statler and Waldorf were sitting in their usual armchairs. Waldorf was talking quietly to Statler who was very despondent. Jerry had taken over looking after him following Richard Hunt’s death 20 years earlier ’20 years, where have they gone’ reflected Fozzie. ‘Poor Statler, having to go through this twice’. And in the kitchen the Swedish Chef and Beauregard were consoling Pops.

“Fozzie?” asked Pepe the Prawn, who was holding a tray with three glasses of lemonade on it. ‘Would you be so good as to take this up to Kermit? He wants it for Robin, but doesn’t want to leave him at the moment”.
“Of course Pepe.” Said Fozzie taking the tray from him.

Climbing the stairs to the room Kermit and Robin shared he passed the rooms the Electric Mayhem used. Pausing to glance in he saw Janice hugging an absolutely devastated Floyd Pepper to her on the bed they shared. Doctor Teeth was gently patting Floyd’s shoulder, Scooter was next to Doctor Teeth and Animal was curled up at the base of the bed by Floyd’s feet. Fozzie shook his head sadly and continued on to Kermit’s room.

Walking in to the frog’s room Fozzie saw Kermit comforting a sobbing Robin. He was sitting in Sweetums’ lap while Kermit gently stroked his nephew’s head. It never ceased to amaze Fozzie how close the uncle and the nephew were, as did the strong friendship between one of the largest and the smallest Muppet.

“Kermit?” called Fozzie softly. Kermit looked around and saw Fozzie standing in the doorway with the tray of lemonade. “Ah Fozzie, thank you so much for bringing that up” said Kermit as he came over to take the tray. “Robin has not had anything to eat or drink since we heard the news and I am starting to get worried. Kermit returned to his nephew’s side. “Now Robin, Fozzie has just brought the three of us up a nice glass of lemonade and I want you to drink it. It’s your favourite!” coaxed Kermit. Robin looked up at his uncle and took the glass without a word. Kermit and Sweetums followed suit.

“Oh lemonade! My favourite too!” exclaimed Sweetums brightly as he took his glass. Kermit smiled down at Robin as he began to drink. Robin glanced up at Fozzie who was still standing in the room. “Fozzie? Aren’t you having any?” asked the young frog. Fozzie smiled at Robin and replied “Oh no Robin, I’ve already had a glass”. Robin nodded and continued to drink. When he finished he looked up at Fozzie again.

“Fozzie?”

“Yes Robin?”

“How is Miss Emily?” Fozzie looked puzzled. “Your mother.” Robin clarified quietly. “Didn’t Jerry look after her too?”

Fozzie was taken completely by surprise by this question and momentarily did not know how to answer. “You’ve got a good memory Robin, remembering that Jerry was her Muppeteer”. He paused again and looked over to Kermit. He wanted to be honest with Robin but did not want to upset him any further. “Well, I spoke to her on the telephone a little while ago”, continued Fozzie. “Of course she is very sad, just like you. But she said she is fine and is looking forward to seeing you at the farm in Christmas!” Fozzie finished brightly. Robin listened carefully and then looked down, not saying a word.

“Robin, you OK little buddy?” asked Sweetums kindly. Robin did not answer. Instead he leant back onto Sweetums’ chest and started to cry again. Sweetums gently wrapped his hand round Robin and held him close as his uncle rushed over to comfort him.

“I miss him so much Uncle Kermit! I miss Jerry!” Robin cried. Kermit just held onto him again and answered “I know you do. I know exactly how you feel.” and kissed Robin on his head.

“And so do I little buddy.” said Sweetums. “I wanted Richard back so bad when he died and I miss him so much. But we’re all here and we will look after you”.

Fozzie watched the scene sadly, feeling his own eyes welling up. He decided the best thing to do was back out the room quietly and leave Kermit and Sweetums to look after Robin. ‘Come to think of it, I might go for a walk. With that, Fozzie headed down stairs to the kitchen, returned the tray and empty glasses to Pepe and said “I’m just headed out for a stroll if anyone’s looking for me. I have my phone on me. Oh, I nearly forgot Pepe. Kermit said thank you for the lemonade”. Pepe nodded. “How is the poor little frog?” he asked. Fozzie simply looked down at his feet. “Foolish question.” Sighed Pepe and headed over to the sink. Fozzie watched him for a moment and then headed to the front door and left.

 

[Kristine73]

Chapter 2.


Pausing on the front porch for a moment Fozzie noticed Scooter sitting on the steps checking emails on his iPad. He looked up as Fozzie came down.
“Hi Fozzie” he said quietly.

“Hi Scooter” he replied joining him on the steps.

“Sad day.”

“That it is. Uh, how’s Floyd?” Fozzie ventured cautiously. Fozzie knew that Floyd had always had a soft spot for Scooter.

Scooter smiled sadly “About exactly how I was 20 years ago” he replied. “I decided to leave Janice and Doctor Teeth to it; they know exactly what it feels like. Loosing their Muppeteer that is. Floyd’s in good hands. I decided to come out here and check my emails. There are a lot of kind messages from people who knew Jerry as well as former Muppet Show guests” he said.

Fozzie nodded “That’s nice. It’s always nice when people are there to comfort you and let you know they’re thinking about you when you have received bad news.” Fozzie pushed himself up from the steps. “I’m just going for a walk. You know, get some exercise. Work off all that honey ice cream!” he smiled with a joy he was not feeling. Luckily Scooter just nodded. “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye Fozzie” called Scooter.

As he headed towards the gate a thought suddenly came to Fozzie. ‘You know, there was something wrong when I looked in on the Electric Mayhem earlier, but I haven’t the foggiest idea what it was. I’m sure it will come to me later’. With that Fozzie shut the gate behind him and headed in the direction of the local park.

Walking along Fozzie was alone with his thoughts which inevitably centered on the various Muppeteers who had worked with them over the years and the ones who were sadly no longer with them. He remembered the shocking news they received one May morning in 1990, the news that Jim Henson who had taken ill only a few days earlier had died of his illness. His death was so sudden, especially because only weeks earlier they were all enjoying themselves at Disneyworld. He remembered hearing about Richard Hunt’s passing nearly 2 years later. Of course the Muppets had known Richard had been ill for some time but his death was still unexpected. If Fozzie was perfectly honest with himself if he could forget those two years between May 1990 and January 1992 he would so gladly.

Perhaps it was because of these deaths that the remaining Muppeteers began training and introducing new people in to take their place, so that no Muppet would be left unable to speak, sing, perform. That was certainly what had happened with Jerry. Like Richard, Jerry had been suffering from chronic health problems and had arranged for Matt Vogel to come in and take over for him. Luckily all the Muppets who Jerry was Muppeteer for had accepted this, perhaps because of what had happened to Jim and Richard’s characters, perhaps because of their desire to continuing performing. ‘Who knows?’ But what Fozzie did know was that it worked well. Just as well as before, and that was all that really mattered.

 

[Kristine73]

Chapter 3.

Reaching the park Fozzie decided to head to his favourite part. It was located near the river which runs through the park. There were plenty of trees and a picnic area where the Muppets would sometimes have supper and the Electric Mayhem would hold jam sessions. And on arriving in their favourite place Fozzie discovered there was someone else there. Sitting on the bench which looked over the river the person had their hat pulled down over their face. Fozzie stopped and took a double take. ‘I think I know who that is’ thought Fozzie as he approached the figure. On reaching the bench Fozzie realized he was right.

“Zoot?” It suddenly dawned on Fozzie ‘That’s what was wrong! Zoot was not with the rest of the Mayhem comforting Floyd!’

Zoot, who had been dozing on the bench, looked up with a start. “Hey Foz” he sighed, adjusting his hat back on top of his head. “How’s your Ma? I heard you talking to her on the phone.”

“Oh, she’s alright. At least she says she is.” Replied Fozzie as he sat down next to Zoot. He looked over at the Muppet’s saxophonist. ‘He is such a difficult fellow to read at the best of times’ thought Fozzie ‘and this is not the best of times!’ Still, while not as good friends to him as Kermit and Gonzo, Fozzie had always been on excellent terms with the whole of the Electric Mayhem. ‘Here’s hoping I don’t ruin it!’ “Can I ask you something?”

“What am I doing out here? Asked Zoot. “Why aren’t I with Floyd?” Fozzie could not answer. He just nodded his head. Zoot just gave him a rueful smile. “It’s OK man. I’ve been asking myself the same question ever since I got here. Truthfully Foz, I don’t know either. What I do know is that I am feeling ashamed of myself for not being there for my best friend!” he finished angrily turning his head away from Fozzie.

“Oh Zoot!” gasped Fozzie, reaching out for his hand and taking it in his paw. “It’s alright. Everyone is upset today and we all have to deal with it. Don’t be ashamed of yourself!”

“It’s not that so much Foz” Zoot continued “It’s more………I’m scared. Scared to be around Floyd in case I say the wrong thing!”

Fozzie chuckled. “And that’s nothing to be ashamed of or scared of either! We all worry about what we can say to our friends when someone close to them dies, what they must be feeling.”

“Yeah, you’re right, but………….”

“But?”

“But I don’t know what he is going through, do I!” Zoot exclaimed “Janice does and so does Doctor Teeth. Their Muppeteers died. And Animal. Frank Oz had to leave him. Admittedly he arranged for Eric Jacobson to come in for him but it still caused him a lot of grief. He cried himself to sleep for weeks! So he knows what it’s like to loose a Muppeteer. But me? I still have David. And that’s why I’m scared Fozzie. What can I possibly say or do that will help Floyd?”

Fozzie was silent for a few minutes, gathering his thoughts. ‘Everything Zoot says is true! I didn’t even stop to think of it that way!’ mentally kicking himself. It was true he had lost Frank, professionally at any rate which was a devastating blow so he knew something of the grief that his mother and Robin were feeling. But David Goelz, the last of the original Muppet Show Muppeteers was still working and Zoot, like Gonzo and Beauregard, was yet to experience that particular heartache ‘Lucky Muppet!’ thought Fozzie, who then gave himself two more mental kicks! Bringing himself back to the present he thought of something his mother told him years ago when he related Jim Henson’s death to her and wondered how he was going to help his best friend.

“Well………..you could always give him a hug!”

“What!?!”

“Yes!” said Fozzie “Zoot, when Jim died and I did not know what to say to Kermit I asked Ma for her advice. She said that it being there is just as important as knowing what to say. Let the person know that it is okay to feel what their feeling by hugging them. And she was right.” He finished.

Zoot shook his head “I don’t know Fozzie” he said with a small laugh “Floyd seems to save his hugs for Janice!”

Fozzie smiled and checked the time on his telephone. “Ooh it’s getting late. I think we had better head back home Zoot.”

“You’re right. I think I had better go and at least try facing Floyd!” Zoot said standing up. “Hey Foz” he called touching Fozzie on the shoulder.
“Yes Zoot?”

“Thanks for listening man. I really appreciate it”. Fozzie smiled again and put his arms around Zoot’s shoulders. “Anytime!” and with that they headed back to the boarding house.

 

[misspiggy5260]

This is one of the best fanfic's I have ever read! More please!!!

 

[Kristine73]

Chapter 4.

On their arrival back at the boarding house Kermit met them at the door.

“Kermit?” asked Fozzie “How’s Robin?”

“He’s asleep thank goodness.” Sighed Kermit. “Listen, the Chef hasn’t prepared anything for supper so we are all going out for pizza and then take Robin for an ice cream. Zoot, could you let the Mayhem know what’s happening and tell them they are welcome to come along?”

“Sure Kermit” and with that Zoot headed back upstairs. Kermit and Fozzie watched him for a moment and then Kermit turned to Fozzie and said “Little odd, don’t you think, that Zoot was not upstairs with the Electric Mayhem looking after Floyd?”

“A little bit odd, but not quite.” Replied Fozzie who then headed upstairs himself. Kermit watched Fozzie leave, shook his head and went into the living room.

On reaching the landing Zoot stopped short. Floyd was coming from the opposite direction heading back to their rooms. He looked at the floor, not watching where he was going and did not register Zoot standing in front of him. “Floyd?” he asked. Floyd looked up with surprise. “Didn’t see you there man!” he replied. Zoot took a deep breath and asked the feared question. “Floyd, are you alright?” Floyd nodded his head and answered “Yeah……………..no!” Floyd started to shake all over. Zoot reached forward and pulled him towards himself. Floyd flung his arms around his friend and began sobbing into his shoulder. Zoot simply wrapped his arms tighter around him and rubbed his back. “It’s alright. I’m here” he whispered as Floyd continued to convulse with sobs.

Doctor Teeth had been waiting for Floyd to come back when he heard the commotion outside. He rushed to the door with Janice and Animal in hot pursuit. On reaching the door Doctor Teeth took one look and held out his long arms to halt the stampede. “Whoa! Whoa there! Whoa!” he stopped them. “What’s happening?” demanded Janice and then looked outside herself and smiled at the scene. “Come on, let’s leave them to it” smiled Doctor Teeth. “He’s in good hands with Saxobeat”.

~~~~~​

The night sky that evening was beautiful. No clouds, no real pollution and the stars were glorious. Gonzo gazed at the stars. “Its nights like tonight that I wish I had those balloons I bought at the fair for Camilla” he said looking over to his companion.

Zoot said nothing but smiled at Gonzo. Earlier that night after everyone had returned from their ice cream the Muppets climbed onto the roof to discuss their happy memories of Jerry. One by one they headed downstairs to bed. Now only Gonzo and Zoot remained. Once everyone else had gone they had discussed the fact that they still had their original Muppeteer.

“Hey guys?” Kermit’s head popped through the attic window.

“Yes Kermit?” asked Gonzo.

“Listen it is 2.30am and Pepe wants to lock up. You’d better both come back in!”
“Okay Kermit. We’ll be right there.” Said Gonzo. Turning back to Zoot as Kermit climbed back down he said “You know something Zoot?” Gonzo asked.

“What’s that?

“You, me, Beauregard………we are all so lucky we still have David in our lives”.

“True.” Replied Zoot. “And do you know what else makes us lucky Gonzo?” he asked as he prepared to climb through the window.

“What’s that Zoot?”

“That when anything does happen to David that he is unable to continue, we have friends here who can give us a hug.”

Gonzo smiled and looked back up at the stars and then back to Zoot. “That we do Zoot” he answered “That we do.”

A hug is worth a thousand words. ~Author Unknown

 

[Kristine73]

Well that's that! My first story. If anyone likes it please let me know. I have some others in the pipeline and I may put them up too.

 

[Kristine73]

This is one of the best fanfic's I have ever read! More please!!!

Thank you so much.!

 

[misspiggy5260]

Your welcome! Welcome to the fanfiction world!

 

[LipsGF4Life]

This is a very groovy story!

 

[Twisted Tails]

Hi Kristine! I love your fanfic and you did great with everyone into character. There's Fozzie, Robin, Kermit, Scooter, Floyd Pepper, Janice, Emily Bear... there are just too many to figure out what my favorite Muppet turns out to be.

I laughed at the part where Ma Bear said, "Frackles" instead of "Fraggles." Reminds me of while watching, "A Muppet Family Christmas", she calls Kermit a lizard.

"Frackles" designed or drawn by Jim Henson are the monsters and the henchmen from "The Great Santa Claus Switch" a henson Christmas special. Fraggles, however, (designed by Michael Frith and Jim Henson) are more of a specie type that love to have fun and swim; plus they are vegetarians.