The Tie That Binds

[The Count]

Huh? Oh Beth...

The dream... Wanda and Kermit hooking up... Nice little twisty trist, even if it's only a delirium dream.
Then, Wanda was there when Rowlf started waking up...

And the conversation with Kermit the night before, and then to be there when Rowlf fully woke up.

The calls to the MBH... Always enjoy a bit of Muppet banter.
Janice's line was great.

And everybody's happy because Rowlf and Moe will pull through...
But, this... Wanda was sitting alone by herself in the waiting room crying.
What's this? Oh Beth, what have you done to poor Wanda?

Please, post more so we can find out.
Want to give that calico a big hug.

 

[RedDragon]

Awww Why is she crying???

Need More!

 

[redBoobergurl]

Sorry if this chapter gets a little sappy for a minute or two.

Chapter Thirteen:

“Wanda? What’s wrong, did something change?” asked Kermit approaching her slowly.

“What? Oh no, it’s not that,” she sniffled.

“What’s wrong then?” asked Kermit.

“I’m just so happy that Rowlf is ok!” she exclaimed and proceeded to sob harder.

“Um, ok, I know people sometimes cry when they’re happy,” said Kermit feeling confused.

“I think I’ve discovered that I’m in love with Rowlf,” said Wanda.

“Well that’s great!” said Kermit.

“It scares me though. We had a great time together the other night and he promised things would be different when we get back to Hensonville, we’d start over. And he was so sick. When he woke up he was having a dream that I left him for you. At that moment I realized that I think I love him and I don’t think I’ll be able to take it if he didn’t mean it,” sobbed Wanda.

“Ok, ok, slow down. My friend Rowlf does not take these types of things lightly. If he promised you a relationship when this is all over then he means it. I’m pretty sure he’s crazy about you too,” said Kermit.

“You think so?” she asked.

“Well he did ask you to come all the way up here to be with him,” said Kermit.

“He called me his girlfriend the other day,” said Wanda calming down a little.

“Really? To who, the family?” asked Kermit.

“No, the doctor,” said Wanda.

“Well that’s still something,” said Kermit.

“I suppose you’re right,” said Wanda.

“Do yourself a favor, go tell him how you feel. I’m pretty sure he’d like to hear it,” said Kermit.

“All right, I will. Thanks Kermit,” said Wanda giving him a hug.

“Aww man, my dream is real!” came Rowlf’s voice from behind them.

“Rowlf! What are you doing out of bed?” asked Wanda.

“They wanted me to get up and walk around so they put the I.V. on a pole here,” said Rowlf.

“How are you feeling?” asked Kermit.

“Truth be told a little shaky. And very sore,” said Rowlf stumbling towards the couch. Wanda and Kermit caught him and helped lower him to the couch.

“Kermit was just leaving,” said Wanda looking at Kermit.

“Yeah, I need a snack. I’ll be back in a bit,” said Kermit smiling as he walked away.

“So, what did I just walk in on?” asked Rowlf in a teasing tone.

“Kermit was just offering some advice,” said Wanda.

“Yeah, he’s a good one for that. So what’s your problem?” asked Rowlf.

“Actually, for the first time in a long time I don’t feel like I have any problems,” said Wanda.

“That’s great!” said Rowlf.

“I have to tell you something,” said Wanda.

“You can see fleas can’t you? Man, I haven’t had a bath and,” started Rowlf.

“No, it’s not that. Um, ok, here goes. Rowlf, I love you,” said Wanda.

Rowlf didn’t say anything at first. Wanda started to feel uncomfortable. Maybe Kermit didn’t know as much as she thought.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said it, not now, not here,” said Wanda apologetically.

“No, I’m sorry. I just wanted to make sure this was real. You love me?” asked Rowlf.

“Yeah, I think I do,” said Wanda looking down. Rowlf reached over and pulled her chin back up.

“I love you too,” he said.

“Oh! That’s good,” said Wanda relieved. They embraced as well as they could with the I.V.

“I would love to talk more about this, but I kind of have other things to deal with. Have you seen my mom or my brothers? Can I go see Moe?” asked Rowlf.

“Your mom! We didn’t tell her you were awake yet!” panicked Wanda. “I’ll be right back!” she exclaimed and ran off to find Felicia, Charlie and Rex.

“All right, I guess I’ll go find Moe on my own,” said Rowlf and started wandering through the halls. He finally found a door that said “Moe the Dog” and also noticed it said “Isolation” so he put on the mask that was outside of the door and wheeled his I.V. in with him.

Moe was awake and sitting up.

“Rowlf! I was wondering when you were going to be able to come see me. What’s with the I.V.? I thought your procedure was simple,” said Moe.

“Um, don’t you know what happened?” asked Rowlf.

“No, I don’t,” said Moe.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Meanwhile Wanda came running back to the waiting room with Felicia, Charlie and Rex close behind. They had been down in the cafeteria having breakfast.

“Rowlf, your mom is so happy you’re ok!” called Wanda.

“Rowlf?” said Rex when they discovered that Rowlf wasn’t there.

Kermit came in whistling Together Again.

“Hey, where’s Rowlf?” he asked.

“He’s not with you?” asked Wanda.

“No, I left him with you,” said Kermit.

“MOE!” they all exclaimed at the same time and ran up to Moe’s room.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“You got sick because you were helping me?” asked Moe.

“No, it just happened. Believe me, it’s no one’s fault,” explained Rowlf when Wanda, Felicia, Rex, Charlie and Kermit pushed through the door all but forgetting the one person at a time rule.

“Rowlf! You’re ok!” said Felicia giving her son a hug.

“No thanks to me,” said Moe from the bed.

“Hey bro, it’s not your fault,” said Charlie.

“Relax, it could’ve happened to any of us,” said Rex.

“But it didn’t. It happened to Rowlf and it could’ve been a lot worse,” said Moe.

“But I’m fine, the doctors will spring me in another day or two,” said Rowlf.

“This is just horrible. I’ll never forgive myself,” said Moe turning over in bed away from everyone else.

“Moe, everything is fine, really, you should let it go,” said Felicia.

“Would you all please leave me alone now?” asked Moe.

“Moe, talk to us, everything is fine,” said Rex.

“OUT!” he yelled.

With that they all slowly left the room and went to find Dr. Whitmire.

 

[The Count]

Ooh... Some good stuff here...
Kermit whistling Together Again, reference to anyone we know?
The outpouring of emotion between Wanda and Rowlf... Gotten used to it by reading Catherine's stories, not all of them yet.
And then Moe took a turn for the worse when he kind of blamed Rowlf's sickness on himself... Then yelling for all to leave his room...
Oh, tension fills the air. Post more when you can, we need to make sure this doesn't go unresolved.

 

[Java]

Sorry it took me so long to catch up on this. This is really wonderful. Poor Moe, feeling like it's his fault.

More when you can, please.

Oh, and one mroe question - Do you have personal experience (you or someone you know) with sepsis? You really hit the nail on the head with how fast it can happen. It's heartbreaking to see it and it really happens that quickly.

Okay, out of my nurses hat now, got to prepare for night shift.

 

[redBoobergurl]

I have to be honest Java, I don't have much knowledge of sepis other than what I've read in a couple of books, so I kind of pulled that whole scene together just out of my head I guess. I'm relieved that I got it right! I wasn't sure the whole time, I just hoped it would help the plotline. So, to answer your question, I don't have personal experience with it, I've just read about it a little bit and I guess that small amount helped!

More coming soon, got busy at work today. Should have time tomorrow, Thursdays are always slow.

 

[TogetherAgain]

<Stares at the screen for a little while.>


Wow.

When every chapter throws its own kind of punch, it's a little overwhelming to read it all at once. So forgive me if my review comes a little slow.

Some of the smaller things that stand out to me- Kermit whistling Together Again... And how he just, immediately dropped everything to come... because "There were more things that connected them than possibly any of the other Muppets"... Oh, the many layers of that sentence... And just... Every time you have Kermit and Rowlf interacting, really... I guess I just really... Have a lot of my own emotions tied into their relationship...

Oh, and Kermit flying cargo, heh...

Rowlf and Wanda's relationship, well... Oh wow... What can I say, it's all hitting me at once!

And now poor Moe, blaming himself, and... oh...

Well now that my heart is thoroughly torn to shreds.

MORE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, and one other thing I thought I might mention- when Rowlf and Wanda went to Jazzmine's, um, a few things. One, them going on stage was awesome. Two, I actually happened to think of Jazzmine's a couple times on my trip, and I wanted to tell you that. Three, the waiter, Alexander, made me laugh, but I can't really tell you why... kind of an inside joke I have, I guess, but I wanted you to know that he made me laugh. And the story is awesome! And, um, should I feel guilty that when I first read the word "cancer," I actually got excited? It's just that I knew it would mean lots of ups and downs and twists and turns and I just couldn't wait to read it! And I'm so glad because I was right, there's lots of ups and downs and twists and turns and...

MORE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh wait, I already said that...

 

[redBoobergurl]

Originally posted by Lisa the world traveler
"There were more things that connected them than possibly any of the other Muppets"... Oh, the many layers of that sentence... And just... Every time you have Kermit and Rowlf interacting, really... I guess I just really... Have a lot of my own emotions tied into their relationship...

Yep, I know exactly how you feel, that's why I keep writing alot of Rowlf and Kermit stuff, because...yeah....they've just got this connection.....

Originally posted by Recently returned to Chicago
And, um, should I feel guilty that when I first read the word "cancer," I actually got excited? It's just that I knew it would mean lots of ups and downs and twists and turns and I just couldn't wait to read it! And I'm so glad because I was right, there's lots of ups and downs and twists and turns and...

Nope! Don't feel guilty at all! It's fiction right? If it was real I'd have to tar and feather you or something, but it's just fiction and like you said, it makes for lots of ups and downs which simply translate to a great story!

 

[redBoobergurl]

Chapter Fourteen:

Dr. Whitmire came in and examined Moe and found nothing wrong with him physically. He met Rowlf’s family in the waiting room to talk with them about the situation.

“We have to be careful though, the next few days are crucial to whether or not his body is going to accept Rowlf’s bone marrow. It’s important his attitude stays up. I’ll send one of our psychiatrists in to talk with him,” said Dr. Whitmire.

“I shouldn’t have talked to him, I had no idea he didn’t know,” said Rowlf.

“No, he should know. He may have been angrier if he found out later and that could’ve caused more problems. What this is forcing him to do is finally confront all the feelings he has trapped inside, not just about what happened to you, but what’s happening to him. It’s normal; a lot of patients like Moe end up needing some counseling. He’ll be all right,” said Dr. Whitmire and got up to leave.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself dear,” said Felicia to Rowlf.

“In fact, you should be resting, get back to bed,” said Charlie.

Kermit and Wanda helped Rowlf back to his room.

“I can leave the two of you alone,” said Kermit.

“You don’t have to go, it’s all right,” said Rowlf.

“No, actually, I think I might head back to Hensonville. I can probably catch a train or a bus or something,” said Kermit.

“Are you sure you have to go?” asked Wanda.

“Well it appears my good friend here is out of the woods and I think you can take it from here,” said Kermit smiling at Wanda.

“I’m sorry I drug you away from everything,” said Rowlf.

“Don’t even apologize. I know you’d have done the same thing if it were me. I didn’t even give it a second thought,” said Kermit.

“I’m not sure when we’ll be back yet,” said Rowlf.

“Again, don’t worry about it. First, you get completely healed up. Then you make sure everything’s all right with Moe and then you can come back. We’ll cover until then,” said Kermit.

“Thanks again Kermit. I don’t know what I’d do without you,” said Rowlf.

“Right back atcha,” said Kermit and then gave Rowlf a half embrace since Rowlf was lying back in bed again.

“Thank you Kermit, for everything,” said Wanda also giving him a hug.

“Don’t mention it,” said Kermit and walked out the door.

“I feel like we owe him a lot,” said Wanda.

“Yeah, he’s a pretty great guy,” said Rowlf sounding sleepy. Wanda sat and stroked his arm until he fell asleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Several days passed and Rowlf’s strength improved and before he knew it he was being released from the hospital. His hip was still just a little sore, but other than that he was in great shape.

Moe was still doing pretty well physically, but wasn’t making much progress with the psychiatrist.

He also refused to see Rowlf.

“I wish he’d just let me in so I can let him see that I’m fine and he doesn’t have to worry anymore!” exclaimed Rowlf.

“The doctors don’t want to upset him. Maybe you should just go back home,” said Felicia.

“No,” Rowlf wouldn’t back down. “I’ll wait until he’ll let me see him. I can be stubborn too,” he said.

Felicia sighed. She wished she understood what was going on inside Moe’s head.

Rowlf and Wanda retreated back to the waiting room again.

“You know, it might be good for you to leave here for awhile and get some fresh air,” said Wanda.

“Nope, I’m not giving up. Besides, I’ve got a plan,” said Rowlf smirking a little bit.

“What do you have in mind?” asked Wanda.

“He said he didn’t want to see me. What about you?” said Rowlf.

“Oh no, don’t even get me involved in this,” said Wanda.

“Oh all right,” said Rowlf and frowned. Then he suddenly had another idea.

“I’ve got it!” he said and ran off.

“Rowlf?” asked Wanda running after him. What did he possibly have in mind?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rowlf chuckled to himself as he tied on his disguise. If this didn’t work, nothing would.

He burst into Moe’s room.

“Dr. Bob at your service!” he exclaimed.

“Dr. Bob? I thought my doc was Dr. Whitmire,” said Moe scowling.

“Well, I’m here to check another part of you that Dr. Whitmire can’t,” said Rowlf.

“What’s that?” asked Moe hardly interested.

“Your funny bone!” burst out Rowlf and sprayed Moe with silly string.

“What in the world? Rowlf? Is that you?” asked Moe.

“Yeah. I’m sorry, I’ll go,” said Rowlf.

To Rowlf’s surprise Moe actually laughed a little.

“That was pretty clever. I knew it was you the whole time,” said Moe.

“You did?” asked Rowlf.

“Well I have seen your Veterinarian’s Hospital routine before,” said Moe.

“Ah. Well, can I stay for a minute?” asked Rowlf.

“Sure,” said Moe.

“Why didn’t you want to see me?” asked Rowlf.

“I was upset that you got sick from helping me. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if you didn’t make it and I did. You should hear the way Mom goes on and on about you now that we’ve found you again,” said Moe.

“Oh,” said Rowlf.

“No it’s a good thing. But I would’ve lived with such guilt for taking that away from her,” said Moe.

“It’s not your fault man,” said Rowlf.

“I’m beginning to understand that. The other reason I didn’t want to see you is that it reminds me that I was and am sick. I don’t think the reality of it ever hit me. I was diagnosed, you came out here, you were a match, and I had surgery. I didn’t take the time to deal with it,” said Moe.

“It’s a lot to take in,” said Rowlf.

“I’m going to continue seeing the psychiatrist for awhile when I leave the hospital. The good news is so far, the transplant seems to be working and I’m cancer free,” said Moe.

“That’s great!” said Rowlf.

“I owe a lot to you. I promise to do my best to show you how much this means to me,” said Moe.

“You’re my brother. I wouldn’t have had it any other way,” said Rowlf.

“Now I want you to do me a favor. Take the pretty kitty, pack your bags and get back to Hensonville! I’m getting out of isolation later today and out of the hospital in a couple of weeks,” said Moe.

“Are you sure? I can stick around,” said Rowlf.

“No, you’ve done so much already. I’m so happy you were here, but you’ve got a life to go live. Thanks to you, so do I,” said Moe.

Rowlf didn’t say anything else, but went to his brother and embraced him.

“I’m going to be in touch a lot,” said Rowlf.

“You’d better,” said Moe smiling.

With that Rowlf left the room and went to find Wanda to let her know what was going on.

AN: The next chapter will be the last one. However, I can tell you that I have a third story already in the works that follows this one in what's becoming a series of "Rowlf Stories" so never fear, though the end is near, there is more coming!

 

[TogetherAgain]

HAHA! Dr. Bob! Oh that is so awesome! I'm glad Moe and Rowlf talked. And I love how Moe insisted on Rowlf and "the pretty kitty" going back to the theater! And so awesome to know that there's more coming, oh you shouldn't have told me that, now I'm all excited and YAY-ish! MORE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!