The Tie That Binds

[redBoobergurl]

I've got another chapter for you all!

Chapter Three:

“I suppose I should go talk to her, see what she wants to do,” said Rowlf.

“All right, just let me know. You know Piggy would be thrilled to sing that song by herself so if Wanda decides to go with you it’s just fine,” said Kermit.

“Thanks,” said Rowlf and went to find her. He found her with Piggy again and amazingly still getting along.

“Come on babe why don’t we paint the town and all that jazz,” sang Wanda.

“I’m going to rouge my knees and role my stockings down and all that jazz,” sang Piggy.

Rowlf hated to interrupt so he stood and watched. Wanda clearly was the better performer of the two, but it still made a nice duet.

“Hey Rowlf! What did you think?” asked Wanda when her and Piggy finished the big finale.

“You ladies sound great,” said Rowlf quietly.

“Well of course we do,” said Piggy.

“Is something wrong?” asked Wanda. She already knew Rowlf well enough to know when something wasn’t quite right.

“Yeah, we need to talk,” said Rowlf looking at Wanda. Piggy continued to stand there. Rowlf looked at her and went “ahem.”

“Oh, right. I’ll leave vous alone! Wanda dear, call moi when you’re ready to start again, I’ll be in my dressing room,” said Piggy and hurried off.

“What’s up?” asked Wanda.

“I just got a call from home. Moe’s in the hospital. They think he has cancer,” said Rowlf.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry Rowlf. I know how much your brothers mean to you,” said Wanda.

“Yeah, well Kermit said I could go up to Minnesota for awhile to be with them. The only question is do you want to go with or stay here?” asked Rowlf.

Wanda thought for a moment very carefully. If she went with Rowlf it would be a chance to spend time with him and his family, as she had no family left herself. But, given the way things were going she wasn’t really sure where she stood with Rowlf. Maybe some time apart would be good and she could continue to establish herself as a member of the Muppet cast.

“You know what Rowlf? I think I’d like to stay here. I’m just getting into a routine and as much as I’d love to see your family, I think it’s best if you just go,” said Wanda.

Rowlf was surprised and disappointed with her statement, but he didn’t argue with her either.

“Well, I’ll see how things are there, maybe I won’t have to stay long. If you’d like to stay here, I think that will be fine,” said Rowlf.

“I really am sorry about Moe,” said Wanda and came over to give Rowlf a half hug.

“Thanks again,” said Rowlf.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Later that day Kermit gathered the entire gang together after dinner. As usual they all began talking at once.

“What’s up Kermit?”

“Another meeting, we’re always having meetings.”

“Is this meeting to announce that we are finally changing the show so it will reflect the fine American standards I have been pushing for?”

“I think it’s something about Rowlf.”

“MEETING! MEETING!”

“Is something wrong Rowlf?”

“What’s wrong with Rowlf Kermit?”

“QUIET!” yelled Kermit to quiet everyone down.

“And I said look dude, I don’t care how much money you’ll give me, I will not dance in that type of show,” said Janice. All it took was one glare from Kermit and she stopped immediately.

“All right. As you all know, we’re like a family here. When one member of the family has some trouble, it’s up to the rest of the family to pull together and help that person out, whether it’s covering for them or whatever the case may be,” said Kermit.

Fozzie began to chew his fingers nervously. Gonzo put his arm around Camilla. Wanda twitched in her seat.

“So, with that in mind, Rowlf has something he needs to share with you all,” said Kermit.

“Thanks Kermit. Well, um, I received some bad news today. My brother Moe, he might have cancer. I’ve got to go to Minnesota to be with my family,” said Rowlf.

Normally all the Muppets would’ve burst out in discussion, but it was so silent in the room you could hear a pin drop.

“Do you need anything Rowlf?” Miss Piggy asked finally breaking the silence.

“No, thanks though. I just need you guys to cover for me like Kermit said,” said Rowlf.

It continued to be silent. No one dared ask the other question on their minds. Everyone had been more than aware of the situation with Rowlf and Wanda.

Finally someone decided to ask.

“Uncle Rowlf? Is Wanda going with you or staying here,” asked Robin.

“Oh, well, she’s decided to stay here with all of you if that’s all right. Continue working on the show and all,” said Rowlf.

“I thought that I could keep getting to know all of you,” said Wanda quietly as she looked sadly over at Rowlf. She had kind of wished he’d tried harder to convince her to go with him. But, since he didn’t she decided it was best she stayed behind.

“All right, it’s settled then. Rowlf will be leaving first thing in the morning. Electric Mayhem, you’ll be taking on more of the musical needs for the show for now,” said Kermit.

“Right on Frog Man,” said Dr. Teeth.

“Fozzie, you’ll take Rowlf’s spot in Veterinarian’s Hospital,” said Kermit.

“Sure thing Kermit,” said Fozzie.

“Everyone else, go about your business as normal,” said Kermit.

“Rowlf, will you call us and let us know how everything is going?” asked Scooter.

“Yeah, I sure will. Thanks guys,” said Rowlf. Kermit then declared the meeting adjourned.

Rowlf started to head up to his room. Wanda thought about going after him, and then thought better of it. She didn’t know what to do or think anymore. She decided to go talk to the one female in the house that she had gotten to know, even if she didn’t always like her. They were at least in a similar situation.

 

[christyb]

*lets out breath*

Whew! That was a lot of fab stuff to go through. First off the first story. Beth you had me on the edge of my seat and on the verge of tears. It was amazing. You also expressed some comments on writing jokes for Fozzie. Don't worry about it. In case you haven't noticed the jokes Fozzie writes are never all that hot. You hit him dead on. Now on to this story which I just got three wonderful chapters at once. Even though there is (so I'm told. I'm not caught up on all my fanfics yet) another one fic on cancer you handle it beautifully. That and I can see that this story is two fold (at least for me. correct me if I'm wrong). There's the tension of Wanda and Rowlf rediscovering each other and the issue of Moe's illness. All I can say is, "Wow this is only a brainstorm" I can't wait for more!

 

[theprawncracker]

Janice!!! Ah ha ha ha!! Love it!!

But aww, poor Rowlf, Wanda is staying...And he was so sad...*hugs dark blue teddy* Poor Rowlf...

More please...

 

[redBoobergurl]

Author's Note: I just wanted to correct my own inconsistancy. I just happened to be going over Where the Heart Is and I would like to correct that Rowlf's brothers names are Moe, Rex and CHARLIE, not SPOT. I'm not sure where I got Spot from, I could've sworn I had the names saved correctly. So, from here on out, that brother will now return to being called Charlie. My apologies for any confusion!

 

[theprawncracker]

It's quite alright Beth, just a little spot in the story, easily fixed.

Sorry, I've been taking lessons from the bear...

 

[The Count]

Mmm... Another great chapter Beth. Rowlf asking Wanda, then the meeting, and how the two of them don't kind of know where they stand with each other.

To me, that's the heart of this story, and it's what I'm rully liking as the story progresses.
Ooh... Wanda going to Piggy for man advice, well boy dog advice... Looking forward to more.
Maybe Rowlf'll pull a fast one like he did last time? Show Wanda he does care and sneak her out of the boarding house after she talks to the pig?
Just some speculation... Please post more when you can.

 

[Java]

“Is this meeting to announce that we are finally changing the show so it will reflect the fine American standards I have been pushing for?”

Love it! That line just had me laughing out loud.

Really liking this so far. It's not often Rowlf is explored. Can't wait to read more when you have it.

 

[redBoobergurl]

Chapter Four:

Wanda stopped outside of Piggy’s room. She hesitated before knocking on the door; she didn’t really want to bother her. She started to walk away when the door was yanked open.

“Oh Kermie? I have to talk to you about…oh, hi Wanda,” said Piggy when she saw Wanda standing there.

“Hi,” said Wanda.

“Is there something vous needs from moi?” asked Piggy.

“Um, well I was wondering if you had a minute to talk to me,” said Wanda.

“Sure,” said Piggy slowly and ushered Wanda into her room.

“Thanks,” said Wanda as she sat down on a chair and started twiddling her thumbs. Piggy sat on her bed.

“Such a shame about poor Rowlfie’s brother. I really hope everything is ok,” said Piggy noticing how uncomfortable Wanda felt.

“Yeah, that’s kind of what I’m hear to talk to you about,” said Wanda.

“Oh?” asked Piggy suddenly really interested. She loved gossip.

“I don’t know where I stand with Rowlf. He asked me to come live here with him. He’s so complementary of my singing and I’ve caught him looking at me a certain way, but we still haven’t really defined what we are,” said Wanda.

“Well, Rowlf has been alone a very long time. He’s had all of us, but he just found his family and then he found you. That’s a lot to get used to,” said Piggy.

“True, but I just don’t understand. He asked if I wanted to go with him now, but I thought I’d be more uncomfortable around his family. I haven’t seen them since they visited that short time after we got here. I figured if we hadn’t really defined ourselves it would be awkward for me to be there,” said Wanda.

“That makes sense,” said Piggy.

“Well, he didn’t really argue with me. I’ll admit, I kind of wanted him to push harder for me to go with and then he didn’t,” said Wanda.

“Oh honey. He’s a dog, but he’s also a man. You’ve got to be so direct with men. If you want something, you can’t just hint around, you’ve got to let them know exactly what you want,” said Piggy.

“Does that work for you and Kermit?” asked Wanda.

“Well….most of the time,” said Piggy blushing a little. Both her and Wanda knew that sometimes Piggy was more than direct with Kermit at times and even a little demanding.

“I don’t know, I just don’t know how to talk to Rowlf,” said Wanda.

“I’ve known Rowlf as long as I’ve known my Kermie. He’ll listen if you talk to him. Trust me,” said Piggy.

“Ok, maybe I will,” said Wanda and got up to go to the door.

“Oh Wanda?” called Piggy as Wanda was leaving.

“Yeah?” Wanda turned to face Piggy again.

“You can, um, you can come and talk about guys anytime you want with moi. It’s kind of nice to have someone else to talk to. I mean, there’s Janice and Camilla, but,” said Piggy.

“It’s ok Piggy, I understand,” said Wanda and smiled as she turned to leave again. Somehow her and Piggy had bonded and she knew she wouldn’t have any trouble with her anymore. Now they were friends.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rowlf went up to his room and began to pack his bag. He wondered if he should talk to Wanda again. She seemed so sad when she was talking about staying behind with everyone. He decided to go to her room.

He stopped when he heard voices coming from Piggy’s room. He went over to investigate and saw through the crack in the door that Wanda was talking to Piggy.

“It would be awkward for me to be there,” he heard Wanda say. He realized she was talking about why she didn’t want to go with him. He walked away and decided to leave her be. He’d just have to straighten out things with her when he got home. For now he couldn’t deal with it.

He walked back to his room and shut the door and got into bed. He was leaving bright and early on the first bus out of town so he needed as much sleep as he could get.

Wanda found him already fast asleep when she had left Piggy’s room.

“I guess I’ll talk to him in the morning,” she thought not realizing he was leaving at the crack of dawn. She did feel better after her chat with Piggy and went off to the room she shared with Camilla and fell fast asleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The only one who was up to see Rowlf off was Kermit.

“All right buddy, call when you get there and keep us posted ok?” said Kermit.

“You know I will. Hey Kermit? Do me a favor. Keep an eye on Wanda, make sure she’s doing all right,” said Rowlf.

“I will,” said Kermit more than well aware that this was a huge issue for his friend, but not as huge as the one he needed to go deal with.

“I’ll call,” said Rowlf and gave his old friend a hug.

“I’m sure he’ll be all right,” said Kermit and waved as Rowlf walked down the street to the bus station. He turned and went back inside

He got the coffee started and sat down to read the paper. He was so into an article he didn’t hear Wanda softly pad into the kitchen.

“Morning Kermit,” said Wanda.

“Ahhh!” screamed Kermit in surprise.

“Sorry,” said Wanda.

“It’s all right, I didn’t expect anyone else to be up this early,” said Kermit.

“Oh, well I got up to talk to Rowlf before he left,” said Wanda.

“Um, I’m sorry Wanda but it’s too late. His bus left 15 minutes ago,” said Kermit.

“Oh…that’s ok. I can talk to him later. Do you like French toast?” said Wanda covering her true disappointment.

“Sure, that would be great,” said Kermit softly. He felt bad for both Wanda and Rowlf, but he knew it was up to them to figure out what they wanted. In the meantime he’d keep his promise to Rowlf and make Wanda feel welcome and at home with the Muppet clan. He just hoped Rowlf wouldn’t have to be gone too long.

 

[The Count]

This was probably the one chapter I've liked the most.

Some girl bonding between Piggy and Wanda, gossipping about men, er, boyfriends.
Rowlf overhearing them, deciding that he has more pressing matters.
Kermit and Rowlf seeing each other off early in the morning.
Wanda tiptoeing quietly into the kitchen to talk to Rowlf, finding he's gone.

And even more, you sprinklie in these little things that make me feel she's becoming part of the clan.
Rooming with Camilla... Offering to make breakfast...
Yep, I'm rully loving Wanda, along with the rest of the story.

More please... Soon-ish?

 

[theprawncracker]

Wow Beth, you've rully got something here with Wanda, I love her! Fabuloso!! More please!