A few weeks later, nobody had heard from Zoot and for a time, it seemed like he'd never call. Dr. Teeth mostly remained in the boarding house just in case Zoot did call so he'd be the first to answer. In fact, the only time Dr. Teeth did leave the house was to rehearse for the Muppet Show when he was needed that week.
This had started to become a bit of an obsessive habit, so some of the other Muppets have started trying to figure out ways to get him away from the house and the telephone. After a few failed attempts, Clifford and Floyd finally got him to a local coffeehouse for a chat.
"Listen Doc, we all know you're worried about Zoot, but staying at home and waiting for him to call isn't going to do anything," Floyd told his friend.
"Yeah man, I'm sure that Zoot doesn't want you stressing yourself out like this," Clifford added. "Besides, what's going on with him right now might not even be a big deal."
"Zoot's bringing two family members back to the boarding house with him in a little more than a month. I'm pretty sure that's a big deal," Dr. Teeth stated.
"Yeah, but I don't think Zoot wants the rest of us to worry about him like this," Clifford said. "We're all a little concerned but not to your level, man. It's not healthy."
Dr. Teeth nodded, "Yeah, you do have a point, but I haven't spoken to him in so long. I just need to hear his voice or something so that I know for sure that he's okay."
"Yeah, we get that," Floyd agreed. "But for now; just be chill."
Meanwhile, back at the Muppet Boarding House, Kermit and all the other Muppets were going about their business when Lips was about to take Animal for a walk, since Floyd wasn't at home to do so.
He opened the door, took one look outside, and quickly slammed it! He dropped Animal's chain and ran to the bottom of the stairs, where he hollered, "Kermit! Look outside!"
Kermit, who was in his bedroom, heard the trumpeter's shouts and looked out of his window. He nearly fainted. There were at least a dozen reporters standing on their front lawn, gripping cameras, notepads, and microphones.
"What are they all doing here? Piggy didn't make up another story that we're married again did she?" Kermit thought to himself.
Then he noticed Scooter weaving through the crowd, gripping a newspaper in his hand. The orange Muppet made it to the front porch, where Kermit heard the door open and slam again.
"Guys! You might want to see this!" Kermit heard Scooter yell.
Kermit ran out of his bedroom and down the stairs to the dining area where Scooter was. Lips, Animal, Fozzie, Gonzo, Rowlf, and Miss Piggy eventually joined them.
"What is it, Scooter? Does it have to do with why all those reporters are crowding our front yard?" Kermit asked.
"Yep! Look at this!" Scooter said, unrolling the newspaper for everyone to see.
Kermit saw the front page headlines: It featured a picture of Zoot and he appeared to be sitting on an examination table in doctor's office, but that wasn't what stood out in the image: What stuck out was the fact that Zoot's abdomen was swollen to the size of a large melon!
The following images were of Zoot with his shirt rolled up and getting an ultrasound it seemed, and a picture of the ultrasound itself, which featured two nearly fully-grown fetuses!
"No way!" Gonzo gasped.
"Zoot's pregnant?!" Miss Piggy exclaimed.
"And with twins!" Rowlf added.
"How did that happen?!" Lips asked.
"Who knows, but it's happened!" Fozzie shouted.
"BABIES! BABIES!" Animal hollered.
"So THAT'S why he was being so secretive," Kermit said, reading the article. Apparently the reporter that got this information was given a tip from an outside source, but it didn't say who.
Zoot DID say that the two people he would be bringing home next month would be family, and they would be small for a while, and well, those babies would fit the description easily!
"Do you think Dr. Teeth has seen this?" Lips asked his friends.
Kermit froze, remember that Dr. Teeth, Floyd and Clifford were out in the city at the moment. They were probably being swarmed by paparazzi by now! Dr. Teeth obviously didn't know about this, otherwise he would've definitely mentioned it to someone. Kermit could only imagine his reaction once he found out about this.
Then, as if one cue, Dr. Teeth, Floyd and Clifford rushed into the house and locked the door.
"Dang! What's their deal with you?!" Clifford asked the keyboardist.
"Haven't the slightest idea! I couldn't tell what they were asking me because they were all talking at once," Dr. Teeth answered.
"You won't believe what just happened!" Floyd exclaimed at the others. "One minute, all three of us were just chilling in a coffeehouse, talking, when out of nowhere, those creeps flooded into the building and started harassing us! We had to slip out through the back and had to use the alleys in the city to navigate back here!"
"There's perks to being friends with a rat; they know where all the easy getaways from paparazzi in the city are," Clifford stated. "Man, I got to thank Rizzo later, and apologize to him for taking his advice for granted."
"Well, they were swarmed by reporters," Kermit thought to himself. "But it doesn't seem like they've heard about Zoot."
Lips stepped up to Dr. Teeth and said, "Doc."
"What is it, Lips?" the keyboardist asked the trumpeter.
Lips pointed at the newspaper laid out on the table, "You might want to see this. It'll explain why those reporters were after you today."
Dr. Teeth walked over and looked at the newspaper article, where his eyes widened and his jaw dropped, "No way...this can't be real...is this some sort of messed up joke?"
Scooter shook his head, "No, those photos are real. I know when images have been edited and these have not been tampered with in any way."
Dr. Teeth sat down in a nearby chair and muttered, "So that's why he's been avoiding me." After a few minutes of stunned silence, he got up and made his way upstairs. "I...need to think about this for a while."
"Take all the time you need," Rowlf replied as his friend entered the band's bedroom.
Floyd and Clifford looked over the article, just as astonished about the news as everyone else was.
"So, that's what the big secret was," Clifford said. "How did it happen?"
"Stranger things have happened with us, but now that leaves me wondering one thing," Floyd said.
"What's that, Floyd?" Fozzie asked.
Floyd looked serious for a few moments before smirking, "Do you think they'll let me be the godparent?"
"Floyd!" everyone else groaned.
Well, looks like the cat's out of the bag, or should I say two kittens?
How does Dr. Teeth feel about the news of Zoot being pregnant?
Who was the outside source that gave the tabloids the info about Zoot?
How does Zoot feel about all this right now?
Will Floyd be the godparent of the two babies? (I added that last bit as a bit of humor since this chapter got a little too serious)
Find out in the next chapter of Little Surprises!
Please Follow, Favorite, and/or Review!
