Lily placed a vase of get well flowers on the table in Walter's hospital room. She looked towards her boyfriend, he was still as he has been for the past few days. Motionless, and and at a steady breathing pace. His heart beat hadn't changed, but was stable.
Gary and Mary sat near his bed, making sure he was okay. As soon as they received the call from Kermit, they got to L.A. as fast as they could.
"I can't believe someone is doing this on purpose..." Gary said, looking at his brother. Mary rubbed her fiancé's arm, comforting him. Lily walked over and stood at the end of the bed.
"How are you guys holding up?" She asked, calmly. The initial shock of Walter's accident had dialled down a bit by now, so all of their grief was going at a slow pace.
"We're okay..." Mary said leaning her head into Gary's shoulder. "I mean not entirely, but we're pushing through..."
Lily shook her head, looking at her injured boyfriend. "I should have been with him." The engaged couple looked at her.
"Lily it's not your fault..." Mary assured her. Lily sighed, not taking her gaze off of Walter.
"I guess not..." She whispered. "I just hope he'll wake up, and be okay."
"He will be." Gary said, a little too abruptly. No one commented on his change in tone, though. Gary reached for his bag, and pulled out something.
"By the way, I found this." Gary said, handing a mini VCR tape to Lily. The girl took the tape, eyeing it.
"What's on here?" She asked.
"A video of you and Walter as kids." Gary said. "Thought it would help you handle everything that's going on right now."
Lily flipped the tape over, and saw some writing.
It read: Walter and Lily, 7 years old.
Lily held the tape close to her. "Thanks, Gary. But, I don't have a VCR. I don't think a lot of people do, anymore..."
Gay then motioned behind Lily. She turned, and saw that the hospital room's television had a VCR. Lily swallowed, and approached it. She popped open the tape case, and put it in. The door opened, as soon as the tape had started.
"Hey." Kermit said, as him, Gonzo, Fozzie, and Piggy entered. "Thought we'd-"
The frog stopped when he saw all three of them keeping their eyes glued on the screen. The four Muppets looked at what they were watching, and saw a little boy on the screen. They came to sit near the television, realizing what they were watching.
"Walter say hi!" A voice behind the camera on the screen said. The little boy wearing a red and white striped shirt, jeans, and a red base ball cap looked familiar. Except for the fact that he had freckles, and was a lot younger.
Walter. Kermit thought in his head, not wanting to disrupt the video.
"Dad, stop!" A little squeaky voice came out of the boy's mouth. All of them watched the screen, as little Walter hopped off the white picket fence he was sitting on and went walking across their childhood's house garden. Another kid came on screen, a little girl. She had short hazel hair, in miniature braided pig tails. She was wearing a yellow dress, and a matching clip in her hair.
"Looking good, little girl." Mary teased at Lily. Lily couldn't help but smile.
"I don't know what kind of fashion mind set I had as a six-year-old." She said, sort of cringing.
"What is this?" Fozzie asked.
"An old tape I found." Gary said, "of Walter and Lily as kids."
"What're you two doing?" Gary and Walter's father asked from behind the camera. The two little kids stood in front of it.
"Today, w-we're doing Walter and Lily's car wash." Little Walter's squeaky child voice said.
"And why is that?" He continued to ask. Little Walter played with his shirt, nervously. Gary couldn't help but smile at his little brother's behaviour as a kid. He reached out and touched his brother's shoulder, who still laid motionless in the bed.
"We're washing dad's car, cuz we split mud on the inside..." little Walter said.
"That's right." His father said, trying to hide his chuckling. "You guys got caught."
"Yeah..." little Lily's puny little girl voice, spoke. The sound coming from the little girl allowed everyone in the room to smile.
"You two were adorable." Piggy couldn't help say happily at Lily, despite the situation that has been happening.
Lily nodded in response. "It's funny, but I actually remember that day so clearly. And that was like seventeen years ago..."
As everyone went on watching and talking about Walter and Lily as kids, Kermit didn't say anything. He kept his eyes on the screen of little Walter and Lily. The two small children scrubbed Walter's father's car, laughing even though they were in trouble. So Walter has always been smily his whole life, after all. That's who he is.
Kermit turned his head to look at Walter in his hospital bed. His comatose body stayed the same as it had been since he got there. Kermit quickly turned his head back to the screen, and started to feel himself get heavy. A shaky feeling he'd been pushing aside for the better started to rise up in his chest, and he had no control over it. His heart tightened slightly, and that's when he felt it.
A single tear ran down the side of the frog's face.
Without thinking twice, Kermit quickly wiped it off his face. That got Piggy's attention.
"Kermie, are you alright?" Her gentle voice asked, allowing everyone else to look at him.
"Y-yes, excuse me." Kermit responded, politely yet nervously. He scrambled to his feet, and went out the door.
As soon as Kermit was out of the room, he pushed himself out of view from the window in the door. He leaned against the wall, and tried to get a hold of himself.
"Stop it." The frog said, feeling more tears run down his face. He wiped them away. "Stop, this isn't about you. You're suppose to be everyone's rock."
Kermit took a few breaths, and continued to think. His mind flashed from Walter lying in that hospital bed, to the little boy he once was that was happily washing a car with his current girlfriend as kids. He then thought of the Walter that had came and found Kermit and the Muppets. The one that helped save the studios, and their family. The one that brought them back together.
The one he wanted to be the future of the Muppets. The one that was family.
Emotion overtook the amphibian, and he slid down against the wall. He wiped his eyes for the third time, but it didn't stop his flowing tears.
"I should have stopped him." Kermit said. "I should have saved him..."
Later that day, the four Muppets that had visited Walter in the hospital went back to the studios. As much as they always wanted to stay by his side until he was better, they couldn't take a break from their lives. There was stuff to do.
But, the atmosphere wasn't the same. Even after all the years the Muppets had spent without Walter, all of a sudden not having him around felt weird. Like a part of them was missing. The thought alone of Walter being in the hospital was heartbreaking, and it was hurting everyone. Like Gonzo had said, the boy didn't deserve this. Not after everything he had done for them.
After his emotional break down in the hospital, Kermit spent most of the day in his office. He told everyone he had a lot of paper work to fill out, but they knew that wasn't the reason. Kermit was always one to put on the brave face, but they all knew this was killing him. Especially after Piggy, Gonzo, and Fozzie told some of the others the frog had a moment.
Kermit did in fact have a lot of work, but didn't have the energy or right mind space to do it. Instead, he just sat at his desk, staring down at the contract. He made a mini promise to himself. As soon as Walter was better and back at work, he was going to ask him to be his apprentice.
If, he got better.
Kermit saw a wet spot appear drop on the paper, as tears began to form again. Instead of being sad, he was annoyed. The frog shook his head, and put the contract in his drawer. He wiped his away his tears just in time for someone to knock.
"Who is it?" Kermit called to the door.
"It's Bunsen, Mr. Kermit." The scientist's voice said from the other side.
"Oh, come in." The amphibian said. The door opened, and Bunsen entered. The scientist secretly carried something behind his back.
"How can I help you, Bunsen?" Kermit asked, putting on a fake smile.
"I'd like to talk about Walter." Bunsen said. Kermit swallowed.
"Can this wait until another time, possibly?" The frog asked, trying to avoid the subject.
"Actually you'll want to see this now." Bunsen said. "I've been working on this for a quite a while, and decided to upgrade after what had happened to our young friend..."
"Bunsen, this isn't another one of your crazy inventions, is it?" Kermit asked, already knowing the answer.
"I'm glad you asked, yes it is!" Bunsen said, putting a yellow, box shaped machine with wires on the desk.
"Bunsen, I-"
"I call it, the Memory-Mind Searcher." Bunsen said, all excited. "And I want you to take it."
"Why?"
"I've been perfecting it for years, and now it finally has a good usage. If you hook these wire pads on the temples of Walter's forehead, and follow the instructions properly, you can enter his mind."
Kermit tilted his head, and gave Bunsen a weird look. "Enter his mind?"
"Yes, I know. It sounds humanely and physically impossible, but I've done it. Using this, it will send you to a distant memory in Walter's past, and then allow you to a mind flick on him."
"Mind flick?"
"Yes, a mind flick. The point in his memory in which you must intrigue his mind to wake up from his coma, and I assure you it will work."
Kermit studied the machine, looking at the papered instructions Bunsen had hand written.
"I don't know, Bunsen." Kermit said. "Even if it does work, you know your experiments can be...dangerous."
"Don't worry, Mr. Kermit." Bunsen said, not shaking his confidence. "I've tested it enough times on Beaker to know. It is one-hundred percent safe."
Kermit hesitated, he didn't trust this weird machine. Even from someone who has a Phd.
"Bunsen..."
"Mr. Kermit." Bunsen said, looking at the frog. "This will work. If I knew it couldn't, I wouldn't be asking you to use this on Walter..."
The sudden seriousness in the scientist's tone was all the Muppet leader needed to feel assured. True, Bunsen's experiments have definitely failed miserably in the past. But he had never heard such determination and seriousness in the scientist's voice.
"Okay." Kermit said. "As long as it doesn't hurt him, I'll try it..."
Bunsen nodded, feeling excited again. "You'll be very happy with the results. This machine will get Walter out if his coma."
When Bunsen left, Kermit just continued to stare at the machine. A million thoughts raced through his head. This could get Walter out of his coma. According to Bunsen, it WILL get Walter out of his coma. But knowing Bunsen, his experiments always took a turn on Beaker. What were the chances of it happening to Walter?
Kermit picked up the instructions Bunsen had written. Besides the few steps that were there, there was also a little message.
It will work. Have faith.
Kermit put the instructions down. Who was he kidding? If this was a chance to save Walter, he had to do it. His instincts were telling him to, but were also fearful. His best approach would be not to tell anyone. They would want to come along, and Kermit needed to keep this on a down-low.
The frog's thoughts were then interrupted, as soon as his office phone rang. Kermit picked it up.
"Hi-ho, Kermit the frog here..." He said, a little less chirpier than usual.
"Hello, Kermit." A familiar, yet sickly voice spoke. Kermit's throat dried up, again. The last time he spoke with a weird contact, is when he got that threat against Walter. But this time, Kermit knew exactly who he was talking to.
"Constantine." Kermit said, without any doubt.
"Glad to hear from me, old friend?" The evil frog asked. Kermit didn't respond, and instead played things smart. As he held the office phone up, he picked up his cell phone and pressed record, holding it near by. He needed evidence for the police.
"I hope you've been enjoying my little show..." Constantine continued. Kermit felt his heart fall heavy, but wouldn't give in. He couldn't let Constantine know that his act of sending people after Walter was hurting all of them.
"How, you fiend. How are you able to contact me?" Kermit said, trying to intimidate the opposing frog.
"For your information, Mr. Muppet. The Gulag allows me one phone call to the outside world every three months. It's the best I can get out of a life time in prison. You should feel special that I'm wasting it on you..."
Kermit shifted in his chair, uncomfortably.
"So, I assume Walter has come in contact with my little friends?"
Kermit swallowed. "Yes. Now tell me what you want with him. Because whatever it is, you're not getting it."
The Muppet leader heard Constantine laugh at the other end. "Oh, Kermit. It's not that I want anything from him, but want to get rid of him."
"Why?"
"Is it not obvious? If Walter was never there, you would still be in the gulag. He's the one who dared to figure out I was not the real Kermit. He foiled my plans, and now he will pay the price. He will die..."
"You're goons aren't getting anywhere near him, anymore." Kermit snapped back, leaning forward on his desk. "Not as long as I'm here."
"Ha." Constantine snarled. "Enjoy your little friend while he's around, because it won't be for long. See you in another world, Kermit..."
And with that, the phone call ended. In fury, Kermit slammed the phone onto it's stand and stopped recording with his cell phone. He wanted to waste not time in calling the police to show the recording.
He picked up the phone once again, ready to dial the cops. However, he stayed frozen in place when he looked at Bunsen's machine. Maybe, he shouldn't call right away. Kermit carefully put the phone down, and studied the machine.
He sighed, and pulled out a black backpack, putting the machine in.
"I can't believe I'm doing this..." He said to himself, as he left the office. If this machine could really get Walter out of his coma, the frog would try.