The Tie That Binds

[theprawncracker]

Ooh! Ooh! A Muppet phone call!! Loved it Beth!! And now Wanda and Rowlf are officially an item! Lovely!! (((HUGS))) for that Beth!

 

[redBoobergurl]

Ooh! Ooh! A Muppet phone call!! Loved it Beth!! And now Wanda and Rowlf are officially an item! Lovely!! (((HUGS))) for that Beth!

Well yes, they are an item, but don't expect things to be all rosy and perfect just yet....oops, I may have said too much.....another chapter will most likely be up on Monday.....

 

[redBoobergurl]

Chapter Ten:

Rowlf thought about where he could take Wanda for dinner, but one place came to mind that was special.

“Would you like to go to Jazzmine’s?” asked Rowlf.

“Oh that would be great! It will be nice to see everyone again!” exclaimed Wanda. Jazzmine’s was a jazz club/restaurant that Wanda had been working in when Rowlf came through on his quest to find his family.

After stopping back at Rowlf’s mom’s to clean up a little the duo headed over to Jazzmine’s.

“Wanda!” exclaimed the host as they came in.

“It’s good to see you too Alexander!” said Wanda giving her friend a hug.

“We’d like your best table,” said Rowlf.

“Anything for the best singer we ever had. Those Muppets treating you all right?” asked Alexander as he led them to a nice secluded table.

“Yeah, it’s going real well,” said Wanda smiling at Rowlf.

A waiter came and took their order and then they were left alone.

“Wanda, I want to apologize for the way I behaved when I first brought you home with me. I was scared of what we were becoming and I didn’t want to admit it,” said Rowlf.

“I know. I felt the same way,” said Wanda.

“I should have made you feel more at home though. I took you away from the only place you ever knew,” said Rowlf.

“You know what? It’s ok. It would have been difficult for me no matter what. But, I’m used to it now. It’s nice to be back here, but I like being with your friends. I like being with you,” said Wanda.

“I like being with you too. I promise you; as soon as we get home I’m making a fresh start with you. We’re going to do this right,” said Rowlf.

“That being said, I think we should still take our time,” said Wanda.

“Well of course, we’re still getting to know each other again,” said Rowlf.

Their dinner arrived and they ate by candlelight. After dinner was finished, Rowlf noticed no one was up on stage so he grabbed Wanda by the hand.

“Come on, let’s give them a little treat,” said Rowlf and sat down at the piano.

He began to play a tune she was quite familiar with.

“There’s a somebody I’m longing to see,
I hope that he,
turns out to be,
someone to watch over me,” sang Wanda.

“I'm a little lamb who's lost in the wood
I know I could always be good
To one who'll watch over me” Wanda continued to sing and sat down at the bench next to Rowlf.

“Although he may not be the man some
Girls think of as handsome,
To my heart he carries the key” she sang to him and put her head on his shoulder.

“Won't you tell him please to put on some speed,
follow my lead,
Oh, How I need
Someone one to watch over me” she finished singing. Then, her and Rowlf shared a brief, but sweet first kiss.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After they performed it was time for them to go home so Rowlf could get some rest. They walked slowly, holding hands and not saying much. They knew they had made progress in their relationship this evening and decided to just enjoy the silence of the evening.

The next morning they arrived at the hospital bright and early and Rowlf was prepped for surgery.

“I love you Rowlf. Thank you again for doing this for your brother,” said Felicia as Rowlf was rolled away. They rolled him past Moe’s room who would be prepped and brought in for his own surgery as soon as Rowlf was finished. Moe gave him a grateful wave.

Wanda was the last to speak to him before they brought him into the operating room.

“Thanks again for last night. I’ll see you when you wake up,” said Wanda.

Rowlf was feeling sleepy from some medication they gave him so he simply blew her a kiss.

The surgery was relatively short and it seemed in no time they were coming out to tell Felicia, Wanda, Rex and Charlie that Rowlf was out of surgery.

“Surgery went great, he’ll be waking up soon,” said the nurse.

“I’m going to go wish Moe good luck. Why don’t you go see Rowlf?” suggested Felicia to Wanda.

“Sounds good,” said Wanda.

“I’ll be up to see him in a little bit,” said Felicia.

Wanda went to Rowlf’s room.

“Hey, it’s all over. How are you feeling?” she asked softly.

“The carrot, it wanted me to take it over the mountain,” said Rowlf.

“What?” asked Wanda.

“Jump over the moon,” said Rowlf sounding extremely out of it.

“I don’t understand,” said Wanda.

A nurse walking by heard what was going on and decided to check Rowlf’s vital signs.

“Oh my goodness, he’s burning up with fever. He’s delirious! Something is not right,” said the nurse and called for a doctor.

Wanda stood by helplessly as another nurse and a doctor came in.

“It’s some sort of infection. He’s in shock,” said the doctor.

“You’re going to need to leave the room,” said the nurse to Wanda.

Wanda ran out in a panic. She found Rex and told him to tell the others what was going on. She had to do something else.

She found a payphone and dialed quickly.

“Kermit?” she choked into the phone.

 

[The Count]

Would you take offense if I called you a sly minx Beth?
Man... You hit both sides of the coin with that chapter.
First... The couple sharing a dinner ogether at Jazzmine's... Alexander, a human character? The song, good choice. And then they're both just walking in the silence of the evening night.

And then you go and hit us with the operation... Rowlf getting prepped for surgery, and now he's got a fever spouting delirious jibberish lines. Though they might not be jibberish, maybe some lines from an old sketch from the shows... Even Wanda's scared for him calling Kermit back at the MBH.
All I can say is... Oy! And post more... Soon... Please... Ish?

 

[redBoobergurl]

Would you take offense if I called you a sly minx Beth?

None taken at all. And as for more, it's slow at work today so chances are there will be more quite soon.

 

[redBoobergurl]

Chapter Eleven:

“What’s wrong?” asked Kermit when he picked up the phone. He knew right away something was not right.

“Rowlf’s got an infection, it’s bad, and he’s going into shock or something. Kermit, I’m scared. This was one of the risks that the doctor said could happen, but it wasn’t supposed to,” said Wanda in a panicked tone.

“I’m on my way,” said Kermit.

“Are you sure, I don’t want to take you away from anything,” said Wanda.

“I’m on my way,” said Kermit again and hung up the phone.

Wanda walked back over to the waiting area where Felicia, Rex and Charlie rushed toward her.

“What’s going on?” asked Felicia.

“Something isn’t right with Rowlf, he’s was talking all crazy and the nurse said he’s in shock,” said Wanda.

“Oh god, no!” whimpered Felicia as Rex and Charlie each took one of her paws.

Just then a nurse came up from behind.

“Are you Rowlf the Dog’s family?” she asked.

“Yes we are,” said Felicia.

“I’m Nurse Christy, come in here with me,” said Nurse Christy.

Nurse Christy motioned for them to sit down.

“Rowlf is stable. Unfortunately, what he’s experiencing is one of the unfortunate things that can happen, even if someone is perfectly healthy. He could’ve been catching a cold or another mild bug that we didn’t know about and that made him more susceptible to something like this. Basically his body is in shock. He does have an infection at the site where we took the bone marrow. We’ll be giving him intravenous medications but the next few hours could be touch and go if the infection is traveling through his body,” said Nurse Christy.

“Um, the bone marrow that you took, will my other son…” whispered Felicia barely audible at that point.

“Yes, we can still use Rowlf’s bone marrow for Moe. Moe’s surgery is currently going very well and everything is still on track,” said Nurse Christy.

“How did Rowlf get an infection so fast, I thought that type of thing could take a few days,” said Rex.

“Well, given the nature of what we were doing, it lowered his immune system and like I said, if he had a virus or cold bug of some sort that would just multiply it. And every person, or dog in this case, is different,” said Nurse Christy.

“Can we see him?” asked Wanda. She was unaware that Charlie had also grabbed on to her paw besides his mother’s. He gave it a squeeze.

“He’s resting now, the medication will make him sleep, but there’s no reason you can’t see him. However, you’ll need a mask to protect him from any other unnecessary germs,” said Nurse Christy.

Felicia turned to Wanda.

“Did you call Kermit,” she said a little shakily.

“Yeah, he’s coming out here,” said Wanda and started to cry. Rex, Charlie and Felicia reached out to her and the four of them embraced in a big hug.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Kermit started rushing around the Boarding House.

“Kermie, who was on the phone?” asked Piggy alarmed as Kermit was throwing random things in a bag.

“Um, I have to go away for a bit,” said Kermit. He really didn’t want to alarm anyone if it wasn’t necessary.

“Kermie?” asked Piggy again.

“All right,” said Kermit and then told her what was going on in a hushed tone.

“I’m going to tell Scooter what’s going on and that’s it. No one needs to know anything else right now. Please look after Robin,” said Kermit.

“All right, but what if people ask?” asked Piggy.

“Good question. I don’t want to lie,” said Kermit.

“What if you told them that Rowlfie asked you to come in support of his brother? That’s not a total lie,” said Piggy.

“That’s true,” said Kermit.

“I’ll handle it Boss. If you tell everyone they’ll just want to go with you,” said Scooter coming into the conversation.

“Scooter! Is anyone else around?” asked Kermit.

“No, I just heard my name as I was passing by so I stopped to hear why. Don’t worry; I’ll take care of everything. Piggy and I both will. You just go be there for Rowlf,” said Scooter.

“Thanks guys, you’re the best,” said Kermit grabbing his suitcase and running. He was lucky to be able to catch a flight to Minnesota leaving in 45 minutes. Sure it was a cargo jet, but that’s the beauty of being a frog. He could squash into any type of box.

Kermit was relieved that Scooter and Piggy understood so well and let him go without question. They knew that Rowlf was one of Kermit’s oldest friends. There were more things that connected them than possibly any of the other Muppets. The others loved and cared for Rowlf too, but it was most important for Kermit to be there.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A few more hours passed by at the hospital. Wanda, Felicia, Rex and Charlie each took a turn sitting with Rowlf. He seemed to at least be resting comfortably.

They received some good news around 3:00. Moe was out of surgery and so far was doing very well. He would also remain in isolation and could only have one visitor at a time, so soon the four of them took turns between Moe and Rowlf.

It was agreed that nothing would be mentioned to Moe about Rowlf until he was a little further out of recovery. Right now they felt it was too risky to upset him.

It was getting later and later and Wanda was starting to feel exhausted going from Rowlf’s room to Moe’s room to the waiting room. Soon she saw a familiar face coming down the hallway.

“Kermit! Oh thank goodness!” cried Wanda and ran to him.

“Where’s Rowlf? How’s he doing?” asked Kermit.

“He’s stable, but they’re still not sure how he’ll be when he wakes up,” said Wanda.

“Can I see him?” asked Kermit.

“Yeah, follow me,” said Wanda taking him to get a mask and to Rowlf’s room.

“How did you manage to get away?” she asked as they walked.

“Very quickly. Scooter and Piggy are going to cover for me,” said Kermit.

“I hope they can do that,” said Wanda.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

No one really noticed that Kermit was gone at first. When it came time for dinner and everyone was gathered, they noticed right away.

“Hey, where’s green stuff?”

“Where did Kermit go?”

“Did Uncle Kermit run away?”

“Was he abducted by chocolate covered giraffes doing the mambo on a Tuesday?”

“FROGGY?”

“Ok guys, I’ll tell you if you’ll all just quiet down!” yelled Scooter above the chatter.

Everyone looked at Janice who for once was not the last one talking.

“Like, I want to know where the green dude is too ok?” she said.

“All right. Here’s the thing. Kermit just went to offer a little support to Rowlf with the surgery and everything,” said Scooter.

“Is that all?” asked Fozzie.

“Couldn’t we have gone with for that?” asked Clifford.

“There’s something youse guys ain’t telling us. Look at the pig, she’s got somethin’ up her sleeve,” said Rizzo.

Piggy was sitting there anxiously twiddling her hair and looking all around as to not make eye contact with everyone.

“Piggy, what’s going on?” asked Fozzie.

“Piggy, we promised,” said Scooter.

“I’m sorry Scooter, they have a right to know. Rowlf is their friend too,” said Piggy.

“All right fine,” said Scooter. He then explained what was going on.

“Why aren’t we there with him too?” asked Robin.

“Well, it’s best right now for just one of us to be there. And your Uncle Kermit was the best choice to go. Right everyone?” said Piggy.

There was a chorus of yes and yeahs. Then Fozzie asked a question.

“What are we supposed to do though?” He asked.

“Wait,” said Scooter. With that everyone turned to stare at the phone, dinner forgotten.

 

[The Count]

Another great chapter!

Everybody worried about Rowlf, and Moe of course... Felicia quietly asking about Moe.
Nurse Christy! Yaey for MC members.
Kermit was able to get a cargo flight out to Minnesota 45 minutes after leaving the MBH... TGMC reference there?
And then when he got there, he brightened up the hospital's halls.

Also liked the Muppet banter come dinner time.
Piggy broke down and told them, but it was a good sort of non-weepy break down.
And now all that's left for us to do is wait... Foreshadowing... How long till another chapter.

Mmm, got ideas buzzing in my head, but not for my own story's next... Maybe a little chat's in order. Or guess I'll wait for the Queen's return tomorrow or past and see if she can council this author. Though I'd like to have two more chapters up before then...
Great chapter, talk to you soon.

 

[redBoobergurl]

Originally posted by Ed
Kermit was able to get a cargo flight out to Minnesota 45 minutes after leaving the MBH... TGMC reference there?

Yep, I've had a few of those throughout this story. I think I've just got TGMC on the brain cause I want to watch it again. Anyway, glad you're enjoying it. I know my other regular readers are both away right now (Ryan and Christy) but they'll just have to catch up when they can!

 

[The Count]

Well... Not sure if this'll make you happy...
But a certain Chicagoan's just logged on here at the forums. If you happen to see her, give her a mondo hug.

 

[redBoobergurl]

Chapter Twelve:

Kermit entered Rowlf’s room and sat down by his bed.

“Hi Rowlf. It’s me. You’re giving us quite a scare here so I’d really appreciate it if you’d just cut it out. Even Gonzo doesn’t require this much attention,” said Kermit.

The monitor soared a little bit as Kermit talked to Rowlf. It was as if Rowlf could tell his friend was there, but he still didn’t wake up.

“You’ve got a good thing going with Wanda. I can tell things are improving for you guys and that’s great. Hold on to her Rowlf. Wake up and come back to her,” said Kermit.

The monitor soared a little again at the mention of Wanda’s name, but Rowlf still did not wake up. Kermit decided to go and wait out in the waiting room.

“Hang in there buddy,” said Kermit and left the room. He debated whether or not to call the boarding house. It was getting late and he certainly didn’t want to alert everyone to what was going on. Still, he knew Piggy would worry and he wanted to check on Robin.

He headed for the payphone.

“Calling home?” asked Wanda when she saw what he was doing.

“Yeah, I should at least let Piggy or Scooter know how things are,” said Kermit.

Kermit dialed the Boarding House and was surprised when Scooter answered after one ring.

“Muppet Boarding House, Scooter speaking,” said Scooter.

“Hey, it’s me,” said Kermit.

“Kermit! Great!” exclaimed Scooter. Suddenly there was a flurry of noise in the background.

“How’s Rowlf?”

“DOGGIE?”

“Tell us what’s going on?”

“How’s the main dog doing?”

Kermit sighed when he heard everyone.

“Scooter?” he asked.

“Sorry Boss. Piggy convinced me to tell them the truth. He’s their friend too you know,” said Scooter.

“You’re right. I’m sorry I tried to keep it from everyone. Put them on speakerphone,” said Kermit.

“All right Boss you’re on speakerphone,” said Scooter and amazingly everyone quieted down.

“Ok guys, the good news is that he seems to be stable, but it’s still kind of touch and go. He’s being heavily medicated and that’s keeping him asleep. We’ll probably know more in the morning,” said Kermit.

“How’s his brother?” asked Fozzie.

“From what I understand the surgery went well and he’s resting comfortably,” said Kermit.

“How is Wanda?” asked Piggy.

“Why don’t you ask her yourself?” said Kermit and handed Wanda the phone.

“Hi everyone,” said Wanda.

“Hi Wanda!” chorused the group.

“How is vous holding up?” asked Piggy.

“I’m tired. I’m really glad Kermit’s here,” said Wanda.

They exchanged some more pleasantries then Wanda and Kermit said goodbye, promising to call in the morning with more news, if there was more news to report.

Then Kermit and Wanda got ready for what promised to be a long night sleeping in the waiting room and checking on Rowlf.

Fortunately, Moe was continuing to recover quite nicely, but they still were waiting to say anything about Rowlf to him.

Felicia, Rex and Charlie settled in with Kermit and Wanda for the night.

Felicia and Kermit had a chance to talk a little while Wanda was in with Rowlf. They had a nice conversation with Felicia thanking Kermit for being so good to Rowlf all those years he was away from his family.

While they waited, Rowlf continued to sleep. Sleep and dream.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rowlf was returning home to the Boarding House after his ordeal. But, he was alone.

“This is odd, I thought Wanda was with me,” he thought as he walked in the door.

“Hey Rowlf!” exclaimed Gonzo.

“Welcome home!” said Fozzie.

“How’s it going dog man?” asked Dr. Teeth.

“It’s great to see you guys, but where’s Wanda?” asked Rowlf.

“Well…” started Fozzie.

“It’s hard to say,” said Gonzo.

Just then Piggy entered the room.

“YOU! This is your fault! Moi will never forgive you!” she shrieked and ran from the room.

“What did I do, I just got home,” said Rowlf.

Just then Wanda entered the room with her arm linked through Kermit’s.

“Wait a minute, what’s going on here?” asked Rowlf.

“Well, um, Wanda got tired of waiting for you to wake up so her and I kind of hooked up,” said Kermit.

“Sorry Rowlf,” said Wanda.

“How could you? You’re my oldest friend!” exclaimed Rowlf.

“I guess the heart wants what it wants,” said Kermit.

“NO! I won’t except this! No! No!” exclaimed Rowlf.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Noooo,” Rowlf started moaning in his sleep slowly starting to wake up from his dream.

“Hey, Rowlf, shh, it’s ok,” said Wanda who happened to be in the room at that point.

“Wanda?” whispered Rowlf as he struggled to open his eyes.

“Yeah, it’s me, I’m right here,” she said taking his paw in her paw and smoothing his fur.

“I thought you’d left me for Kermit,” said Rowlf.

Wanda looked at him nervously and wondered if he was still delirious.

“It must have been a dream,” he said.

“Oh! Maybe it was. Speaking of Kermit though, I’ll be right back,” said Wanda leaving the room. Moments later Kermit walked in the door.

“Kermit? What are you doing here?” asked Rowlf.

“Well my friend, you’re actually really sick. They weren’t sure if you were going to be ok, but I’m thinking it’s a good sign that you’re at least up and talking. Wanda’s going to find the doctor,” said Kermit.

Suddenly Rowlf remembered everything.

“Moe?” he asked in a panicked tone.

“Don’t worry, they still could use your bone marrow. Moe’s doing great,” said Kermit.

“Thank goodness,” Rowlf breathed a sigh of relief.

The doctor came in then so Kermit left the room.

It was determined that Rowlf did indeed develop a nasty infection almost immediately after surgery, but the worst of it was over now. He’d stay in the hospital another day or two on medication and then would be able to leave.

Kermit took this opportunity to call the Boarding House again since it was now morning.

Everyone had basically fallen asleep together at the kitchen table after Kermit had hung up the phone with them the night before. They started talking about Rowlf and all the good times they’d had with him and before they knew it they were sleeping. The phone rang and startled them awake.

“The phone!” exclaimed Robin.

“Like, oh no, what if it’s like bad news or something?” asked Janice. Floyd squeezed her hand.

“You mean that Rowlf’s had a full body transplant with a headless ostrich?” asked Gonzo.

“Gonzo, come on, that couldn’t really happen,” said Fozzie.

“Would someone just answer the phone?” yelled Piggy.

“I’ve got it!” exclaimed Scooter. “Muppet Boarding House, Scooter speaking,” he said.

“Hey it’s Kermit. I know everyone’s right there so go ahead and put it on speakerphone again,” said Kermit.

Scooter did as he was told and Kermit gave them the good news.

A happy chorus of cheering was then heard over the phone and Kermit just smiled. He tried to tell them he’d be hanging up, but no one could hear him.

After he hung up the phone he went searching for Wanda. He hadn’t seen her since Rowlf woke up.

He found her sitting alone in the waiting room. She was crying.