A Heart of Gold

[redBoobergurl]

Another great chapter! Love that they try to cheer Cogswell up, still love the censor stuff with the camera and what not. And I loved the last line. It's a simple line that says SO MUCH.

 

[theprawncracker]

Whoopie! What a terrific update! I do so love the joking around the guys in the unit carry on with. Very, very good stuff. That moment with Holt at the end was fantastic... but the golden moment goes to Larsen's description of parents. AWESOME.

 

[Beauregard]

I don't really keep up with this one, but the best thing is that the title always gets a Lady Gaga song stuck in my head, so thanks for that...

Beagaga

 

[We Got Us]

Dear Lisa,
I just want you to know that it's all your fault. Yep, all yours. I used to be a very casual fan, and then one day two years ago I stayed up till 3:00 in the morning waiting for Robin to come out of his coma. He still hasn't. Now I'm waiting on this one to have a happy end....which it....will, right? No but seriously, I am a huge fan. You've got a gift girl, don't deprive us!

 

[Beauregard]

Dear Lisa,
I used to be a very casual fan, and then one day two years ago I stayed up till 3:00 in the morning waiting for Robin to come out of his coma.

*laughs*

Oh goodness...I think we ALL stayed up hoping for that!!! And we are still hoping! But if I know Lisa (and I think I do!) she's sure to put us through a few more wringers before she releases that poor young frog...

 

[Puckrox]

I'm going to have to reread all of this fic over the Xmas break. I have such a horrible memory. All I can remember is that this is positively my favorite Muppet fanfic out there. So I shall dedicate a day to doing nothing but reading it once Thursday of this week has come and gone!

 

[TogetherAgain]

Once Thursday of this week has come and gone... Well, with a bit of luck, there might be a new chapter or two. Amazing what a little nagging can do sometimes. Anyway, have your hankies ready, folks. (As if you don't automatically prepare the tissues when I'm updating this story... or doing ANY writing, for that matter...)

 

[TogetherAgain]

Chapter Seventy-Three

Kermit had sent a single-line e-mail to everyone in his address book: Please don’t let the kids see this one.

So for the first time since Kermit had gone overseas, Robin was tucked into bed when the show aired. He wasn’t happy about it, but the young frog was considerably outnumbered. The Muppets promised him that they would let him see some of the show the next day… if they didn’t catch him trying to sneak out and watch it tonight. So he reluctantly stayed where he was.

At first, the show didn’t seem so bad. The Muppets watched as Kermit laughed with his unit over the April Fool’s letters they had sent him, which was good to see. They applauded each other for the humor they had provided their leading frog. Then they watched as the Marines prepared for another fight in another town, which wasn’t easy, but it was getting to be routine.

And then everything changed.

They clenched their jaws and wrung their hands as they listened to Larsen’s voice translating the suicide bomber’s words. Kermit was grim and silent, letting the radio do the talking as he stood beside the window where the horrible scene unfolded beneath them.

“I don’t like this,” Fozzie whispered, breaking their unspoken rule of silence during the show.

“He’ll be okay,” Scooter said nervously. “He sent an e-mail.”

And the e-mail had said it would be bad.

They flinched at the sound of gunshots. Some of them screamed as Cogswell went down. But Kermit seemed calm—or at least, he wasn’t panicking—and that was calming for all of them. As Major D. rallied his troops on the radio, the Muppets even began to relax. Surely, the worst had to be over now. It was no wonder why Kermit hadn’t wanted any kids to see this…

But then Major D. said they needed a good shot, and Miss Piggy tensed. “No,” she whispered, and the Major looked at her fiancé. “No!” she whimpered, and she clutched the nearest arm, not caring whose it was.

The Muppets stared at the screen as they realized what was happening.

“No. You gotta be kiddin’ me,” Clifford muttered.

The other Muppets started screaming “No!” at the screen as their frog talked with the Major, but there was nothing they could do.

Alone in his room, Robin heard the shouts. He rolled over in his bed and pressed his cheek against his pillow.

The Muppets fell silent as Kermit picked up the radio to say that he would “take care of it.” They gripped each other’s hands and arms, none of them quite sure who was trying to give comfort and who was trying to receive it.

Fozzie peered through his fingers. He didn’t see the steady green hands preparing a gun, but he did see his best friend trembling.

None of them spoke. More than a few of them forgot to breathe, except for one fraction of a second when their frog said he knew his explosives. They stared at the screen in silence, some of them trembling, some with tears trickling down their cheeks. All they could do now was watch and wait.

They flinched, some of them whimpering, with every shot their frog fired, and they clung to each other as they watched him try to recover from his own actions.

None of them spoke until the commercial break, and even then, it took several moments before any of them found their voices.

“That was awful,” Scooter whispered, letting his head sink into his hands.

Rowlf stood up, maybe to get their attention, or maybe out of restlessness. “We know it’s… not the first time he’s had to shoot at someone,” he said quietly, his voice perhaps a little gruffer than usual. “And we’ve seen the gun on his back ever since he went back over there.”

“But this is different,” Gonzo said miserably.

“They promised he wouldn’t have to shoot at all!” Fozzie wailed.

“I don’t believe it,” Scooter said, still cradling his head in his hands. “I’ve seen it, and I still don’t… I can’t… imagine Kermit with… I mean, holding a…”

Miss Piggy stood up and marched over to pull Scooter to his feet and directly into a tight hug. “Listen, everyone,” she said firmly. “He had to do that. We all saw what happened.”

“It didn’t have to be Kermit,” Floyd objected. “Someone else could have done it.”

“No. It… it had to be Kermie,” Miss Piggy reluctantly sighed. “Do you remember, the first time—when Bob and Craig came here, and thanked him for saving their lives? I talked to them, when they were leaving. They said… they said—Kermie was… the best shot, and the biggest heart, in the whole unit. Because he… When he had to fight, he would—he would shoot at the hands, so they couldn’t hurt anyone…” She whimpered softly, hugged Scooter a little tighter, and took a deep breath. “And that’s just what he did here. And he saved lives—who knows how many lives. Can anyone here deny that?”

No one spoke at first. Then Rowlf shook his head. “He did the best thing he could have done,” he said. “None of us are questioning Kermit. It’s the situation that we don’t like.”

Fozzie miserably shook his head. “But they promised him…”

“They didn’t know this would happen,” Rowlf said sadly. “They tried, Fozzie… but it wasn’t something they could guarantee. Kermit…” He took a deep breath. “Kermit must have known that.”

Gonzo patted Fozzie on the shoulder. Both of them looked more than a little upset… but then, who wasn’t upset?

“He needs our help,” Miss Piggy said quietly, rubbing Scooter’s back. “More than ever, now… He needs us to support him.”

“We will,” Scooter said firmly, almost desperately, as he straightened up to wipe his eyes. “We always will. He’s Kermit!”

“Of course he’s Kermit,” Fozzie said quietly. “We’ll always be there for him.” He wiped his noes on his tie. “Maybe we should send him some letters. He might… He might need to remember that.”

Rowlf nodded grimly. “He might need to be reminded of that.”

The show came back on, and their eyes strayed towards the television, where a very quiet Kermit sat with his fellow Marines.

“They’ll take care of him, too,” Miss Piggy said softly.

“Yeah… Semper Fi,” Floyd said.

“And his siblings will, too,” Rowlf said.

With this comforting thought in mind, they returned to their seats and settled in to watch the rest of the show.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~​

The day after that episode aired, Maggie the Frog was in a sour, angry mood as she made her way back to the swamp for dinner. The night before, when they had seen the show, there had been tears, lots of tears, from lots of family members… None of them were upset at her big brother or what he had done, but Maggie was angry at the rest of the world—or at least, the rest of the country…

She sighed up at the sky, which was still full of heavy, dark smoke from the attacks on so many oil refineries—some not so very far away from the swamp—earlier in the year. There was no escaping from that fact. And no, those attacks probably wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t been in the war, and yes, those attacks were hurting the environment, in addition to all the economic repercussions… But it was past time for America to find some more efficient forms of energy anyway, and withdrawing from the war wouldn’t undo anything that had happened.

And she was sick of having everyone blame everything on her brother, and disgusted by all the people calling him a murderer, and repulsed by all the people who just refused to listen…

“MAGGIE! What HAPPENED to you?” Amy demanded as she emerged from the swamp and stared at her sister. “Oh, not again…”

“I defended him, Amy,” Maggie said bitterly. She glanced down at her bruises—mostly on her arms, one on her stomach, one on each knee… And if she was honest with herself, she knew that her cheek was swelling up, too.

Amy put her hands on her hips. “You mean, you took a train to Jacksonville and started arguing with protesters, again,” she said. “Maggie, look at yourself! Oh, gosh. Come on, let’s get you into the swamp. Your cheek—does it hurt?”

“I’m fine,” Maggie said coolly.

“The heck you are!” Amy grabbed her sister’s hand and pulled her through the marsh grasses. “MOM! MOM, COME HERE!”

“Amy, don’t!” Maggie pleaded. “She’ll just get upset—“

“She should be upset! You should be upset!” Amy snapped. “You can’t keep doing this, Maggie. If Kermit knew—“

“If Kermit knew what, Amy? How much they hate him out there?” Maggie yelled, pointing out of the swamp. “Yes, if he knew that, it WOULD upset him. It DOES upset me and it SHOULD upset YOU!”

“I AM UPSET!” Amy shouted. “We’re ALL upset, Maggie, and you’re not helping anything!”

“I’M TRYING TO DEFEND HIM!”

“Margaret.”

The soft, weary voice was like a punch to the gut. Maggie turned and found her mother standing there, staring at her… along with about half of her siblings, which didn’t really surprise her. Word traveled fast in the swamp. “Mom, I…”

Her voice faded as Mom the Frog stepped forward and lightly touched her un-bruised cheek, her eyes taking in the damage. “Why, Margaret?” she asked, her face full of pain. “Why do you do this?”

Maggie shook her head. “Mom, I—I can’t take it!” she said, hugging herself tight. “I won’t let them talk about Mit like that. I won’t! I can’t stand it!”

“So you put yourself in danger?” her mother said softly, sadly.

Maggie took a deep breath. No one ever wanted to argue with Mom the Frog. “If that’s what it takes, then yes!” She pointed out of the swamp again. “Something has to change out there, Mom! Someone has to make them listen!”

“It doesn’t have to be you,” Mom said quietly.

“Yes it does!” Maggie yelled. “He’s my BROTHER!”

“And he’s MY SON.” Mom tightly gripped her daughter’s arms, her face twisted with anguish. “How many of my children do I have to risk in this war, Margaret? How many?”

It hit her harder than any slap. Tears popped into Maggie’s eyes as she dropped her head. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Mom,” she sobbed, hugging her mother. “I’m so sorry… I just… I…”

Mom the Frog held her daughter tight. “Do you think I like it, Margaret?” she asked, tears trickling down her own cheeks now. “Do you think I like hearing what they say about my son? My son…” She set her head on Maggie’s shoulder, trembling. “All we can do is support him,” she whispered. “Support him as best we can… And if we have to be the ones to make his side heard, then… there has to be another way…”

The two of them cried together. Other pairs of arms wrapped around them, desperately trying to give the comfort that everyone in the swamp longed to have. Then more frogs came and wrapped their arms around those frogs, and more frogs came and held those frogs, too, until Maggie and Mom the Frog were in the middle of the biggest, tightest clump of frogs the swamp had ever seen.

 

[redBoobergurl]

Oh hurray for an update! I have missed your writing - heartwrenching as it is - I have really missed it. This was a difficult chapter, but I actually really liked the scene with Maggie and Mom - it would be just like Maggie to want to defend her brother and it is just like Mom to bring her back down to earth and remind her that they need to do it in a peaceful manner. And the last line - about the large clump, makes me think of the "clumps" you described in Flippersteps. Great chapter. Bring on some more!

 

[The Count]

Thank you dearest Toga for finally bumping your long-awaited fic. Don't think there's more that can be said regarding presenting two scenes of Frog's family coming together.
More please? *Leaves double-chocolate 5 cookie for the girl of triple minds.