A few weeks later, the offices of Up Late with Miss Piggy was operating as usual, everyone going about, trying to get ready for the show to occur later that night.
Dr. Teeth entered the office, grinning, while looking at a small blue box in his hands. The ring he ordered for Zoot had just come in earlier that morning, later than he had estimated. Dr. Teeth had made plans to propose to his boyfriend later that evening in the park, where they would hopefully be alone so nobody could spy on them.
Unless Zoot was too tired to walk around town that night; the saxophonist had been getting tired pretty easily nowadays. It was normal for Zoot to take naps during the day, but lately, he was just got sleepy easily. Sometimes, he'd be too fatigued to play saxophone!
Janice said Zoot's aura looked normal and as far as Dr. Teeth was concerned, Zoot has been getting between 8 and 10 hours of sleep, so it wasn't from lack of sleep at night. In all honesty, the keyboardist was starting to worry about the saxophonist.
At that moment, Scooter walked by Dr. Teeth and saw the ring box in his hand, where the young Muppet stopped and gasped, "Is that what I think it is?"
Dr. Teeth nodded and said, "Yep, it came in this morning. I had to be very careful opening it, since some Muppets I live with can be a bit nosy."
"Can I see it?" Scooter asked, curious how the ring looked.
"Sure, but let's isolate ourselves first. I don't want anyone to become suspicious as to why I got a new ring that I'm NOT wearing on my hand for once," Dr. Teeth said.
Dr. Teeth and Scooter went into an empty hallway, where the former opened the small box and showed it to the orange Muppet, who gasped. As Dr. Teeth had described a few weeks ago, it had a silver band and a sapphire in it, but he had left out so many details! The band was very sleek looking and had small music notes printed on it, and in the crest area keeping the blue jewel in place, was two saxophone shapes connected by the mouthpiece and base of the saxophone, forming somewhat of a heart shape around the gem, which was also heart-shaped.
"Wow! That's very impressive! I'm sure Zoot will love it! But out of curiousity...exactly how much did that ring cost. It looks expensive," Scooter asked.
"$600," Dr. Teeth answered flatly, but then he lit up and exclaimed "But it'll be worth it to see the happy look on Zoot's face once I propose to him with it!"
"Well, like I said, I'm sure he'll be pleased," Scooter said, as Clifford came down the hall.
"Who'll be pleased?" the purple Muppet asked, joining the conversation.
"Oh, er," Scooter stammered when Clifford saw the ring, "Hey! That's a sweet ring! Who's it for?"
"Um...my partner," Dr. Teeth replied, tugging at his shirt.
"Really? Wow, Doc, I didn't know you were dating anyone," Clifford said. "With a ring like that, I doubt the love of your life will say no. But if they do, they just lost the chance at having a groovy husband."
"Yeah, I hope they'll say yes," Dr. Teeth said. "But can you do me a favor and keep this ring secret. I don't want it slipping out among the crew, because it'll eventually make it's way to my love and the surprise will be ruined."
"Alright, I can do that," Clifford said. "Good luck proposing, Doc." And with that, the Rastafarian was gone.
"Whew! That was close! Good thing Clifford can keep a secret. So when are you going to pop the question to Zoot?" Scooter asked.
"Tonight, at the park," Dr. Teeth stated. "That is, if Zoot isn't too tired to go for a night walk."
"Well, I'll wish you the best of luck," Scooter said, walking back into the office.
"Thanks, I think I'll need it," Dr. Teeth said, closing the ring box and clutching it, his hand shaking a bit. "Dear Jim, I hope I'll get to do it."
Meanwhile, Zoot was lying down on the sofa in the band's hangout, trying to catch some sleep, but he couldn't. His stomach was bothering him a bit. He remembered that after he ate breakfast, he felt fine; on the ride to work, he felt fine; before lunch, he felt fine; but after lunch, he felt a bit nauseous. He wasn't sure if it was because Swedish Chef did something weird with some of the food or if he ate too fast, but he felt a little sick. He clutched his stomach and groaned softly, hoping the weird feeling would pass.
Lips, who was sitting in a chair near him, looked up from a book he was reading and asked, "You okay, Zoot? You've been like that for the last couple of minutes."
"I'm fine," Zoot lied. "I think lunch is disagreeing with me."
Lips nodded, "Hmm, maybe Chef did something with the food. I'll have to ask him what it was later."
"Yeah, that might be it," Zoot agreed, flipping over to his side to look at the trumpeter.
"You mentioned you had a doctor's appointment today. Why?" Lips asked, curious about Zoot's appointment.
"Yeah, I just need to meet with a doctor of some sort to double check on some things and then I'll be free...unless I break an arm or if someone else in the band gets hurt and I have to tag along," Zoot explained.
Lips frowned and said, "When we asked if everything was good with you after you got out of the hospital, you said everything was cool and failed to mention the second visit to the hospital."
"Trust me, Lips, I'm fi-," Zoot started saying, when the sick feeling in his abdomen suddenly worsened. He immediately sat up and groaned, clutching his stomach.
Lips stared at the saxophonist and said, "I'm starting to think it wasn't the food."
Zoot covered his mouth as nausea started to spread throughout his body and suddenly, he bolted out of the room, causing Lips to jump.
Zoot ran down the hall, going by Bunsen and Beaker, causing the two scientists to jump and prompting Bunsen to ask, "Zoot! What is the matter? Why are you in such a rush to get somewhere?"
Zoot didn't answer because he had just entered the bathroom, went into the nearest stall, locked the door, and threw up into the toilet. Bunsen, Beaker and Lips all entered the room to hear the sound of the blue Muppet vomiting, prompting Lips to bang on the door, asking, "Zoot! You okay in there?"
"I just threw up, Lips, what do you thi-!" Zoot started shouting but he was cut off due to upchucking again.
"Oh dear, this doesn't look good," Bunsen said, Beaker nodding in agreement.
At that moment, Clifford, Gonzo, and Swedish Chef all entered the bathroom.
"We saw Zoot run in here. Is he alright?" Clifford asked.
Zoot threw up into the toilet again, grossing out the three Muppets. Clifford shook his head and said, "Guess that answers my question."
"What happened?" Gonzo asked.
"I don't know! Zoot was fine all morning, but after lunch, he began to feel really sick," Lips explained. He looked at Swedish Chef and asked, "Did you do anything different with the food today that could've caused Zoot to get sick?"
Swedish Chef shook his head and waved his hands no, "Nej , gjorde jag mat som jag brukar gjorde det." [No, I made the food as I usually made it.]
Lips sighed and said, "Maybe it's a bug going around."
"Oh, I doubt it. If there was a stomach flu going around, we all would've had it at some point," Bunsen stated. "Lips, you go to Dr. Teeth and tell him what happened; Gonzo, you tell Kermit the same message; Clifford and Swedish Chef, you just go somewhere far away from the bathroom. Beaker and I would like to converse with Zoot alone."
Lips and Gonzo nodded, running out of the room to find their bosses; Swedish Chef quickly left to go to the kitchen to check if any of the food had expired to see if that was why Zoot was sick;
Clifford slowly left the bathroom and took one last look at Zoot's stall before the door slammed shut.
"Now since we're alone, Zoot, can you answer some questions for me," Bunsen asked the saxophonist.
Zoot took a few deep breaths, checking to see if the sickness was gone, and when his stomach wasn't bothering him anymore, he replied, "Yeah, I think I'm fine for now. Hopefully long enough to answer your questions."
"Oh good, now, for starters; you have another appointment with the hospital today, right?" Bunsen asked.
"Yeah. I'm meeting with some specialist to discuss my ovaries situation," Zoot explained.
"So you are, but Zoot, while you're there, you might want to inform your doctor of this occurrence," Bunsen stated.
"I'm sure it's a bug, like Lips said," Zoot said.
"While that might be a probable cause, I'm thinking otherwise. Now another question, and this is kind of personal," Bunsen said.
Zoot froze and asked, "How personal?"
"Sex life personal," Bunsen answered.
Zoot slammed the back of his head against the stall wall and groaned, "What do you need to know?"
"Did you have sex recently? Like around a month or less ago?" Bunsen asked.
Zoot thought hard, trying to think, when he had brief flashbacks of his drunkenly romantic night with Dr. Teeth a few weeks ago. "Yeah, a few weeks ago. What does this have to do with anything?"
"A few weeks ago, huh? Zoot, have you had any other symptoms earlier? Like fatigue, frequent urination?" Bunsen asked.
"Yeah, I've very tired lately. More so than I usually am," Zoot answered. "What are these symptoms for?"
"They're the early symptoms of pregnancy," Bunsen stated.
Zoot froze again, processing the scientist's words, before standing up in the stall, flushing the toilet, and walking out, his skin a lighter shade of blue. "No...no, no, doc, don't joke about stuff like that. You're really freaking me out."
"I'm not joking, Zoot. I think you may have gotten yourself pregnant," Bunsen told the Muppet.
Zoot shook his head slowly, mumbling "no" to himself several times, gradually going faster and louder by the second, where he eventually began shouting, "NO! NO! NO! THERE'S NO WAY! NO WAY NO HOW YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT THAT! I CAN'T BE!"
"Zoot! Calm down! You'll attract attention this way, and I'm sure you don't want anyone to overhear this. Especially with that "mole" still possibly around here," Bunsen informed the saxophonist.
Zoot was still shaking his head and leaned against a wall, slumping down to the floor, sobbing, "Dear god, if the others find out, they'll...oh man, I don't even know."
Bunsen and Beaker were pretty taken aback by Zoot's emotional state, having never seen the saxophonist cry before. Beaker tapped on the side of his head for a few seconds before meeping, "Mee-mi meep me-mo meep-meep."
"What'd he say?" Zoot asked, not understanding Beaker's odd language.
"Beaker says that we're just 'assuming' you're expecting. That doesn't mean you actually are," Bunsen translated. "Listen, when you see the doctor today, get them to test you for pregnancy. Then, you'll know for sure. Don't rely on my theory."
Zoot took a deep breath and said, "I'll do that when I see the specialist. They'll probably be the one to figure it out." The saxophonist stood up and added, "If you're right, I'll let you know first. As for everyone else, I'm not sure."
"I highly advise you to tell your partner after me. After all, it is their offspring. Then, you two can decide what to do about the baby together," Bunsen suggested.
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Zoot said, leaving the bathroom.
To the blue Muppet's surprise, he saw Zondra walking away, gripping a glass cup.
"Uh, Zondra?" Zoot said, getting the Goth Muppet's attention.
She turned around and asked, "Yes Zoot?"
"Um, if you don't mind me asking," Zoot started, staring at the glass cup in her hand. "What are you doing with that cup?"
Zondra looked at the glass and said, "Oh! I found it lying on the ground outside the bathroom door, so I thought someone dropped it...actually I heard someone drop it and quickly exit this hall before I showed up. Almost like they didn't want to get caught."
Zoot froze yet again, knowing that when someone wants to listen in to a conversation going on in another room, they used a glass cup to listen in. Could it be possible someone was eavesdropping on him and Bunsen?
Lips, Gonzo, Swedish Chef and Clifford were the last known Muppets near the bathroom. Lips and Gonzo obviously left to find Dr. Teeth and Kermit, and Chef seemed to be in a hurry somewhere, possibly to the kitchen, but Clifford...he was a little slow walking out, as if he was hesitant to leave. Could he...no, Clifford's not the type to do that...or is he?
Before Zoot could think longer, his phone's alarm went off, indicating that it was time for him to head to his doctor's appointment. Looks like he'll have to think on this later.
Well, Dr. Teeth is getting ready to propose to Zoot, and Zoot is showing early symptoms of pregnancy!
Is Zoot really pregnant or is it a flu like Lips thinks?
If he is expecting, how will Dr. Teeth and his friends react once he tells them?
Will he say yes when Dr. Teeth asks him to marry him?
Who was listening in on Zoot and Bunsen's conversation in the bathroom?
Was it the "mole" Bunsen mentioned that leaked private info about the Muppets a few weeks back? Who is it?
Find out the answers to most of these questions in the next chapter!
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