They've only Got One Another: A Muppet Christmas Story

Oh thank you count! I'd eat the treats but....my stomach hurts.....I have to finish that last chapter....>Voice from the other room<
"Locksley! Come spend time with us, it's Christmas eve!"
"But...I promised to finish this today...."
"Finish what?"
"Um..."
"We have Wassail!"
"OK, OK! I'm coming!!"
>Leaves unfinished treats and fan-fic<

YES! But if Kermit knew they were keeping their problems from him, he'd be mortified (which is exactly why they are doing so!) Poor Kermit and the awesome burden of command!

SUCH an interesting concept that makes me question whether it is only part of the Chef's act is that he doesn't cook real food anyway...

Flippersteps! *stab* Blame Lisa for that one. If you don't know what that stab was all about...FIND OUT. The word "Clumps" brings about similar pains.

My thoughts too, Gonzo. Could it work this time?

Well, Fozzie...If *I* had to work right up till Christmas Eve eve and then sleep for a few hours before driving south all day to get home for Christmas, it won't kill you to wait a few tables or sit at a checkout for a while...

GULP! Oh! IT'S KERMIT!

Scooter and Piggy in a shoe shop. I may die right now and be happy.

HAHAHAHAHAHAAH!!!!!!!

AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Note. I've always wondered what he said there. Note. I've not idea what or whom a Heifetz is or was.

How much I'd love to tell that to my own customers at Christmas parties at the hotel I work at (and live in!)

LIKE!!! Love the move from empty-handed to holding her hand!

I'm sorry THIS is what you are going to leave us with on Christmas Eve!!!

Well, I'll let you off as it IS Christmas after all. I love this story, and I love the fact that I've found my way back into reading Muppet fanfiction thanks to YOU Wiggoo prompting Lisa to start which prompted me to read which prompted me to have a look at yours and Figgie's too, and then Prawnie to get involved...Oh, how much better and happier and more exciting you all have made my Christmas! LOVE.

Bea{Just one hour till Santa arrives over here in the UK! I should get myself tucked up in bed quick!}regard (NOTE: No idea what's happened to the typeface here!????)

Ooch! That thing hurts! I swear I'm working on it right now....OK, so I was working and someone started chatting me on FB...and then I started reading that article someone posted about music...and then I started listening to the music they were talking about, and oh yeah! I have to call that person! Is coming soon, I promise!

*won't go until we get some *

I was about to come here and nag, but then I saw that nagging has already been done. So I will just stand here and look at WGU with big puppy eyes and say that I really do like this story and would really appreciate having more of it to read. And I may or may not conveniently mention that if you need some inspiration, since I seem to be good at that, there is a relatively new chapter of A Cup of Kindness you could look at.

But mostly, I'll just stick with the puppy eyes.

>smiles sadly< Unforeseen circumstances: My Dad has been forced out of town on a business trip, and i'm now at a friend's for a sleepover I didn't see coming. Good news! The last chappie is going to be long.....that's about all I got for now. Sorry The nagging works though! I appreciate it!!

So...to appease the angry mob that has swarmed this thread (As if I don't love and brag about that continuously) I decided to split up the aforementioned LONG last chapter into two reasonably sized chapters. Thereby breaking a promise, and ruining my seven chapter draft: somehow the idea of seven chapters just seemed right as opposed to eight. Cause' seriously, what story has eight chapters? I guess the count will be the judge of that. Really hoping this doesn't have any obvious plot holes/forgotten paragraphs/horrendous spelling errors, since I honestly don't have time to read it again. Anywhoo, forgive me dear ones...


CHAPTER SEVEN

Typewriters clicked. “This is a Muppet news flash: the preforming troupe known as the Muppets were shocked when only a few moments ago, a fire broke out on one of the abandoned stages. The apparent cause was an explosion of the boiler that had been keeping the theater relatively warm. No one was injured, but it has left a large...” The newsman trailed off, sniffing as if the smell of cooking food had just hit him. “Hole in the theater wall.” Smoke was pouring out from behind him. “As of this time, there has been no word from boss Kermit the frog as to what the troupe's next move will be.” Flames crept up the back of his coat. “His only comment on the matter was, quote: 'I'm only glad no one was hurt.' In an amendment to this statement, he said 'Your back is on fire.'...” he stopped, looking shocked and somewhat offended, before finally letting out a yell and dropping into the snow.
Meanwhile, Miss Piggy held Robin as she watched the firemen spray water into the smoke. The chief walked up to them.
“Are you the owner?”
Rowlf shook his head. “No, but we rent it.”
“Well you'd better get him on the phone.”
“How bad is it?”
“It's not bad, but it'll need repairs before it can be used again.” He walked off to supervise the crew loading up.
Kermit flipped his cell-phone closed. “Robin, that was your father.” He said. “He's on his way up to get you.”
“But what about you, uncle Kermit?”
“I have to stay here and make sure everyone has a place to go.” He smiled at his nephew. “But I promise we'll be together tomorrow, and on Christmas.” He turned to Fozzie. “Any news from your mother?”
The bear shrugged. “She wants to buy me a ticket to come join her.” He said.
“Well?”
“I haven't told her anything yet.”
The frog smiled at his friend. “You should take the opportunity, she would probably want you there.”
“Sure. But I'd rather stay here.”
Scooter walked up, also holding his cell. “That was my uncle, he um...he wants...”
“You'd better go with him then.” Said Kermit. “Guys--” He motioned them all close. “Listen...I've talked a lot in the past few days about working together...and about staying together no matter what...” He paused a little, looking at all of their hopeful faces, waiting on him to say something profound that would make the whole situation better. “But, I guess sometimes it doesn't work out that way.” He swallowed, hard. “In this case...tonight, I mean, this Christmas: it doesn't look like it's gonna turn out that way. I wish I could change it but, that's just the way it goes. So I want each of you to find someone to stay with: family members, friends, whoever. If anyone has no where to go...I'm sure I can call Sesame Street and have them put you up. But they all have their own families over tonight, so ” He paused, worried. “Does everyone have somewhere to go?” Slow, thoughtful nods. Certainly they all had somewhere to be, but the idea of spending Christmas away from the Muppets...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Kermit wandered the snow. He felt very useless, the only feeling to penetrate his numbness. The Muppets had gathered their possessions into any bags they could find, and were now on phones—calling family members, arranging for tickets, wandering the way he was. But they all had somewhere to go. Whatever had made each of them independent in the first place, whatever had made them accept the Muppets as their family, whatever they had been an alternative too—they were forced to go back to it now. Kermit tried to imagine that this was a good thing in it's own right. He thought about how happy his own family would be to have him back for Christmas...he thought about why he hadn't planned on it in the first place. Because the Muppets was his life. Because ever since he had struck out on his own they had accepted that they were there no matter what happened, but his family and place was with the Muppets. He took a deep breathe. But it could be different. They would live. He watched their faces. Disappointed, confused. He wished it could be different. He wished that they could be throwing snowballs of fake snow, baking cookies, spreading good will to other people...
His thoughts were interrupted by Rowlf pressing a wad of bills into his hands. “Here Kermit.” He stared at the dog. “What's this for?”
“You. My sister's paying my way up to Chicago.”
“What about everyone else?”
“It's all arranged.”
He shook his head. “Thanks Rowlf, but I guess I'll be going back to the swamp with Robin.”
“I have a feeling you won't.” He patted the money into his hand, and walked away with a backpack of belongings.

They were all filtering out. To bus stations, phone booths, anywhere they could meet their families or friends. It was dark, and cold and quiet. Kermit waved goodbye to as many people as he could, making sure they were all on their way somewhere, but his heart wasn't in it. He didn't have words for them, and that hurt.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Alice stood on the sidewalk, watching the Muppet's go their separate ways. She had a nap-sack of clothes, racking her brain to think of which friend she could stay with who lived closest. She asked herself why she was standing there, as if she expected anyone to say goodbye to her. A lot of questions zipped through her mind, like where she was going to stay, who with, and where she was going to look for a job next....
Henry slipped his hand into hers, looking bashfully at his feet. He didn't have to tell her that he was feeling and thinking the same things.
Gonzo shuffled past with Fozzie. "Legal? What a ridiculous question. Who's gonna care?!"
"Gonzo...what about Camilla? Where's she gonna ride?"
"In the baggage container. She's sick, so I guess the top of the plane will be too much wind."
Fozzie turned to Henry and Alice. "What about you two?"
They looked at each other. "Um...what about us?"
"Do you two have some place to stay?"
Alice smiled. "Not quite yet but, I'm sure I'll figure something out."
"Me too." Said Henry.
"Well when you do, let me know where I can find ya, OK?"
"....Why?"
Scooter looked as if the question was a ridiculous one. "Cause' I'll need to get in touch when the show is back on!"
Henry and Alice looked at each other simultaneously. "OK." They said at the same time, grateful.

"I wish there was money for you guys to join me and Ma in Honolulu." Fozzie noted.
"Why do you pretend that you have to pay to fly?! The wings of the plane are NEVER taken!!"
"Gonzo, that's not legal....or safe!"
"You have no imagination!"
Beauregard wandered up to Henry. "Merry Christmas!" He said to them both. "We'll have lots of work to do soon!"
Henry smiled at him as he walked off, before looking into Alice's eyes. "Like I was saying, they're good people."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Finally it seemed like they had left. All of them. Kermit walked back through the old theater, holding Robin who was falling asleep on his shoulder wrapped in a warm blanket. Nothing had been harmed, but smoke was still streaming through from where snow had fallen on the charred wood in the boiler room. A second of a glance backwards and Uncle Deadly was standing in front of him.
“Merry Christmas eve.” He said solemnly.
“I hadn't realized it had passed twelve.” Said Kermit, making a face.“I suppose your mad about the theater.”
The ghost shrugged. “It's not the first time. I had assumed you would be upset about the boiler.” “No hard feelings here.” Said Kermit simply. “Merry Christmas Uncle Deadly.”
The ghost reached for his beady eye as if there was something stinging it. He nodded towards Robin. “Does he need another blanket?”
Kermit smiled. “I think he's fine. Watch the theater while we're gone?”
“....Yes.”
“Thanks.” He turned to leave, making it through the door before Uncle Deadly's voice reached him.
“And Merry Christmas to you too, frog.”

P.S. Good gravy! Most certainly not the end!

Sadly, this review will not be as detailed as you deserve, because I seem to have caught the same nasty bug my dad's been fighting, and spending eleven hours in bed does not change the fact that I feel LOUSY and my brain function is minimal... but anyway.

Poor, poor Muppets!

The Newsman bit was lovely. And I just adore that Piggy was the one holding Robin while Kermit was on the phone.

Ah, but everybody separating... that hurts. At least they all have somewhere else to go... I LOVE Gonzo flying on airplane wings.

Also... you referenced my story. And I probably wouldn't have noticed it if the snowballs hadn't been fake. But anyway... Thank you.

And Rowlf, suspecting that Kermit won't be going back to the swamp. I suspect he's right.

And the Uncle Deadly scene was WONDERFUL.

And I want a nap. But I would settle for more story instead.

Count! I fall at your feet again for reviewing (and liking!) and I have two questions for you that I figure being one of the oldies around here you might be able to answer: 1. What exactly is Hensonville (is like Famrville? ) 2. Would you (or any other ambitious fan-fic readers know of a story in which Miss Piggy's background was explored a little? That's not a dead give-away for anything just an idea I was tossing around, but it seems like what would be a fairly common one. Since I've already started an idea and then found out someone had done the same thing already, I wanna make sure that if it ever materialized I wouldn't be stealing anything from anyone. So yeah, that would be helpful .

Ooooooh!!!! Oh Wigitus! you've made my day complete!!! Glad to see our dear friend newsie has made his appearence with a bang! Sorry, bad pun. And then Henry and me! I've never had a guy's hand in mine before, squeeeeeee!! Uncle deadly appears to be more creepy than before, but I like it so! There should be an uncle deadly sticker smiley... I just realize we don't have one. I hope everything works out for this lovely Muppet family... Oh! and I'm working on an epilogue and your story with Scooter!!

Glad you like! Wonderful girl you.

There was a whole thread of proposed smilies that got kinda shut down because the guy who made said they had to draw the line somewhere. Oh well, we can hope for the future. Meanwhile, allow me to say: E.P.I.L.O.G.U.E.!!!!!!!!

Hey Wiggoo (aka. the girl with a dozen nicknames), regarding Hensonville, it has a few meanings. I think it started out as a fictional location where the boardinghouse, theatre, etc could be located near each other without specifically locating them in LA or New York. However, it also refers to the universe in which a number of different fanfics on the MC board take place -- i.e. the universe in which Scooter is going out with a character named Sara (Sarah? I forget), where Rowlf is dating a lady cat named Wanda, and similar Fanfic only established events have taken place and are regarded as fanfic cannon (so to speak). Ed would certainly be the one to give you a more detailed description of how that world works.

I prefer to set my own fanfics either in their own (personal) established cannon (i.e. all my Alternate Universe stories connect together) while some others I just create a new world for (such as the half finished Sam and Janice romance). However, certain events often happen within all the universes...i.e. Cifford will probably be fixing a light at some point in almost all Fanfics here at MC.

Similarly, the fact that someone else may have examined Miss Piggy's backstory does not for a moment mean that you cannot post your own thoughts about what could have happened in her past to bring her to the point that she is at right now. I can't tell you how many Piggy/Kermit weddings and engagements I have read...and each one adds something to the way I see the characters...but I don't see any of them as stealing from one another.

On ANOTHER note, I have read your latest update and really enjoyed it (enjoy may be too strong a word since it was really sad at its core!) My main concern was for Beauregard, because as far as I know he has very little in the way of family or friends, so I was pleased to see that he was happily saying Merry Christmas to the others. I guess he may get to the end of the road and totally forget where he was going, but that's okay; he spent years cleaning a broken theatre according to the new movie and was still happy at the end of it! He's easy.

I liked the detail of Fozzie joining his ma in Honalulu. But I hate that they all have to spend Christmas apart!

I laughed out-loud at Newsman's shirt being alight, and also paused to note: "How fantastic, a joke and twist that could only work in written word, very good!"

EDIT: Regarding Jimmy and Leaper!!! I am so used to seeing them these days that I totally forget that they came from original stories! You are ALWAYS welcome to them.

If Beau or another person would review, but I'm tempted to brake that promise....

Meh...not sure I'm interested anymore. No, not really, I'll look into it. Sam dated Janice?! My whole universe just fell apart. What is the name of that fic?!

Haha. Yes, well, I based that fanfic on a dream (yes, a dream about Sam and Janice. it's good to be in my head) but I know for sure that I didn't finish the story. It was about Janice going through a midlife crisis at the same time as Sam was also going through a midlife crisis and how they helped each other back onto the right path. That the same story that had Sam Eagle room sharing with Scooter I think. It will have been named after a line from Rainbow Connection, but I can't recall which at present. Stay tuned

I found it. But I cannot vouch for it, because I wrote it so long ago (yes, now I feel old). http://www.muppetcentral.com/forum/threads/wished-on-a-morning-star-a-sam-and-janice-story.26048/

Well hold on now. I need to get up on my soapbox while my nose is still functional (thanks to the steam from a lovely hot shower).

Just because one fanfic writer puts an idea out there doesn't mean every other fanfic writer has to abide by that, or can't explore it in a different way. Heck, the same fanfic writer doesn't even have to abide by their own ideas from previous stories! In tales not posted on MC, I've had Piggy growing up on a farm with a mother she doesn't like and her father having passed away when she was young. In other stories, I have her discover that her father wasn't really dead after all--nor was he quite the wonderful person she'd always remembered. I've written stories in which Skeeter exists, and stories in which she does not. I've had stories in which Scooter was being raised by his uncle, and then ran away from home because his uncle was going to send him to a military boarding school. I've had stories in which Robin has lots of siblings and his parents, Jimmy and Leaper, are divorced. I've had stories in which Robin was an only child and his parents had passed away.

I don't know of any stories on MC exploring Piggy's past, incidentally. I know Leyla (a member who hasn't been around in AGES, unfortunately) had plans for an intricate story looking into all of that... but even if that story had been posted, that wouldn't prevent anyone else from looking at Piggy's past in a different way. I know there's a story somewhere looking into Fozzie's past, but that wouldn't stop me if I someday decided to actually write and post the idea I once had for Fozzie and Kermit to start on a road trip in search of Fozzie's dad. ReneeLouvier has a whole series exploring Scooter's past and establishing him with a particular love interest, but that's not to say someone else can't create other characters for him to date or give him a different back story--in fact, several people have, and I have plans to do so as well (someday, maybe).

The bottom line is, write what you want to write, regardless of what others have written before you. Personally, I love seeing different ideas about the Muppets' families, and how they got to where they are, and why this and why that and why the other thing... Heck, part of the reason I abandoned my old Flippersteps series is that I kept coming up with other ways I could have done it (which is why I have documents with titles like "re-flipperstep" and "re-re-flipperstep" and "re-flip," not to mention all the other stories I have of "how the Muppets got together" and/or "the previous love interest Kermit had that keeps him from committing to Piggy").

And if you want to borrow ideas from other fanfic writers on MC, that's generally okay, too. It's nice if you ask permission first, but as a whole, most of us don't mind, with or without permission. (I certainly don't mind you using Jimmy and Leaper, and I'm pretty sure Beau would agree.)

And now I'm getting congested again, and I think I've made my point anyway... So I'm going to put my soapbox away now and get myself some hot tea.

Edit: Ziffled several times over! But I was right--Beau doesn't mind other people using Jimmy and Leaper.