"Walter! We're coming, buddy!" Fozzie yelled, running down the hall of the hospital. It was the day after Walter had just got out of his coma. Kermit informed the others, and decided to bring a few.

"Fozzie." Kermit said, as him, Scooter, Piggy, Rowlf, and Gonzo followed the screaming bear. "You don't need to yell."

"Sorry!" Fozzie called over his shoulder. "I just can't believe he woke up!"

"Yeah." Scooter agreed. "But, how? You were there Kermit, did anything unusual happen before he woke up?"

All other five Muppets looked at the frog. Kermit thought about the machine Bunsen had made, that Kermit had used to save Walter from his coma. Kermit thought it would be best for that to be a secret between him, and Dr. Bunsen himself.

"No, not really." Kermit finally responded.

As soon as the six of them reached the door to Walter's hospital room, Kermit peaked into the window. Gary, Mary, and Lily were already inside. As for Walter himself, he looked better. As in, fully awake. He no longer had the oxygen mask on, and was sitting up in bed and breathing on his own. He still had a bandage on his forehead and shoulder, but was no longer shirtless, and had a hospital gown on.

"Listen, guys." Kermit said, looking at the other five. "I want to talk to Walter alone for a second, then you guys can come in. Is that okay?"

"Sure, Kermit." Gonzo answered with the others nodding.

The frog sighed, and turned back to the door. It was so hard to be forced to leave the hospital yesterday, after Walter had just woke up. Kermit barely had time to see if he was okay.

"And guys?" Kermit said, before going in. They all looked at him. "When Walter's out of the hospital, I'm asking him to be my apprentice."

That being said, the amphibian walked into the room and closed the door behind him, leaving his friends by surprise. The four people in the room looked up at his entrance, and Lily was the first to speak up.

"Walter?" She said, her boyfriend looking towards her. "We're gonna go see your doctor, okay?"

Walter nodded, and watched as his brother, girlfriend, and soon to be sister-in-law left the room. It was suddenly awkward, with just Kermit and Walter. The boy wouldn't stand it, though.

"Listen, Kerm-"

Before Walter could finish, Kermit had tackled his younger friend into a hug. Walter still sat in his bed, staying stiff and uncomfortable in Kermit's surprise hug. His eyes were wide, and he didn't really know what to do.

"Kermit." Walter said, tensing up. "My shoulder..."

"Oh, sorry." The frog said, pulling back. Walter rubbed his shoulder, making sure the bandages were still in place.

"You gave us quite the scare there..." Kermit said, feeling more relieved.

Walter nodded, causing his brown locks to fall over the bandage on his forehead. The boy brushed them out of his face.

"I'm sorry...about what happened..." Walter said, his voice sort of hoarse. "I was overwhelmed, and-"

"No, I'm sorry." Kermit interrupted. "We got into a fight, and then this happened. I should have just kept things the same."

"It's okay." Walter responded. "I don't plan on protesting against anything, now. If I need to hide from the public and the studios, I will..."

"No." The frog said, taking Walter by shock. "I still want you around the studios. At most, you can still stay with Piggy and I."

Walter nodded, thankful that the frog wasn't trying to be too controlling as he was before Walter got into his accident.

"Or, maybe you can stay with Lily..." Kermit suggested, trying to be open. "As long as-"

Kermit was interrupted, when the door swung open. Fozzie, Scooter, Piggy, Rowlf, and Gonzo all came piling in. Fozzie was the first to run up to Walter.

"Walter!" The bear exclaimed, hugging him.

"Ah! Fozzie my shoulder!" Walter squeaked out through the pain. Gonzo and Rowlf quickly took Fozzie off, and Walter rubbed his shoulder.

"Sorry..." The bear said.

"It's okay." Walter responded, sort of smiling.

"Sorry we came in early, Kermie." Piggy said. "We couldn't wait."

"How you feeling, boy?" Rowlf asked Walter.

"I've been better." Walter shrugged. "I mean...someone purposely hit me with their car."

They all took Walter's comment by surprise.

"Wait, you know?" Scooter asked.

"Well, yeah." Walter responded. "I get a threat, and then a speeding car hits me the next day? Come on, they clearly hit me on purpose."

"My words exactly..." Kermit agreed.

"So, did they get arrested?" Walter asked.

"No..." Gonzo said, sadly. "They got away..."

"But we know who's behind all this." Kermit said. They all looked at him.

"We do?" Fozzie said. Piggy nodded, and stepped in.

"Yes." Piggy agreed. "It's that stupid Russian frog."

"Constantine?" Walter asked.

"Not him exactly, but he is the planner behind it all." Kermit responded. "He's sending goons to go after you. I think they're the ones that hit you."

"But, why only me?"

"We don't know why, yet." Scooter shrugged.

"Actually, I do." Kermit said, swallowing nervously. "I...I got a call from Constantine."

"What!?" They all screamed in shock. Kermit nodded.

"That's impossible!" Walter stated. "He's in prison for life!"

"Yeah, but he get's a call to the outside world every three months." Kermit explained. "And he chose my office, for his first one."

"What did he say?" Rowlf asked.

Kermit looked towards Walter. "He's going after you, because he blames you for everything that happened in Europe."

"Everything that happened in Europe?" Fozzie asked. "But, he tried to replace you, Kermit."

"Yes Fozzie, but Walter was the one that figured his plans out." The frog sighed. "If he hadn't suspected all of it, Constantine would have gotten away with his plans. But instead, he's in the gulag."

"Oh my goodness..." Piggy said, putting her hand over her mouth.

"Did you tell the police, yet?" Scooter asked.

"Yeah, I called them last night." The frog reassured everyone. "They're looking all over the city for Russian fugitives, and also sending people over to the gulag in Russia to interrogate Constantine."

"Okay." Scooter nodded. "So until we have some more details on where they are, we'll make sure the paparazzi doesn't know. It's probably for the best."

"Too late..." Walter said. Everyone looked at him, and Walter pulled out a magazine.

"Mary said it was published this morning..." The boy said, handing the magazine to Kermit. The frog looked at the cover, and the others gathered around him.

It read:

Muppet Boy, Walter, hit by car outside their home studios. Young Muppet received a threat no more than 24 hours, before.

"Heh, Muppet Boy." Fozzie chuckled. "It has a nice ring to it, you think?"

"How did the press find out? We haven't told anybody about any of this!" Gonzo said, exasperated.

"It's Constantine, for sure." Walter said. They all looked at him. "It has to be part of his plan. He told his goons to leak the news to the press, and intimidate us."

"So, what do we do?" Rowlf asked.

"I guess..." Kermit sighed. "We be upfront. If they ask questions we answer. After all, at least people might keep an eye out for these guys. Especially any fans."

Walter nodded, and tried to brighten up the room a bit.

"How was the show at the Orpheum Theatre?" Walter asked.

"Pretty good!" Fozzie said, excitedly. "But, Gonzo did almost blow up Olivia Newton-John."

"I did not!" Gonzo defended himself. "A bull almost ran over her..."

Walter smiled, happy to be back. Being in a coma surprisingly took a lot out of you, but being with his Muppet family felt good.

"Sorry you had to miss it, buddy." Rowlf said to Walter.

"It's fine." The boy shrugged, not really upset. "I was in a coma, that's a pretty good excuse."

"When do you get out of the hospital?" Piggy asked.

"In a few days." Walter said. "I lost a lot of blood, and they need to get my tests back. It shouldn't be long, though."

They all nodded, happy that their young member of the Muppets was awake again. It had been a hard week with it all.

That was why, Kermit was ready. Before anything else happened. As soon as Walter was better, he was going to tell him that he wants to promote him as future head of the Muppets. It's what he wants.

And it's what Jim would want.

/~/~/~/

The next few days was a big weight lift off of all the Muppets. Now that Walter was undeniably going to be okay, they all felt relieved. However, not completely. Since the information was clear on who was doing this, they still felt as thought they had to look over their shoulders every once in a while.

Walter made a perfect recovery. His blood levels were back to normal, and his head felt better again. He left the hospital with a taped shoulder, as it turned out to be slightly fractured. But, it wasn't too much that he would need a full cast, or anything.

Unexpectedly, Walter was still in danger. It was important that he would stay with others, so he continued to stay with Kermit and Piggy. At first, he was going to stay with Lily, but the boy could sense that the idea was making Kermit nervous. Not that Kermit didn't trust Lily, but the fact that he just needed to keep an eye on his family when in drastic situations. But after their fight that had happened before Walter's accident, Kermit was willing to back off a bit when it came to Walter spending some quality time with his girlfriend. Even in hard times, they needed their space. And as Piggy had lectured to Kermit, young love was unmanageable.

Walter encouraged Gary and Mary to go back to Smalltown. Even with everything as bad as it may have been, Walter knew that the engaged couple had a lot of planning to do. Not only were there wedding preparations to still set up, but Gary needed to begin preparing for his new career, and Mary's job was in need of her too. After countless debates, Walter had convinced them that he had a big enough support system in L.A. from his Muppet family, and would call if there was anything.

"The wedding is only in a few months." Walter said, talking on the phone with his brother. He sat on the bed in the guest room at Kermit and Piggy's house. "You nervous?"

"To be honest, no. Well, at least not yet." Gary said from the other end. "Got any best man advice?"

Walter smiled, glad to be his brother's best man. "Not really. But seriously, I'm here if there's something that needs to be done."

"Right back at you." Gary said, reffering to the Constantine situation. "Call me if something is up."

"Will do."

As for Kermit, he still had something else to do.

The day Walter came back to work, was the day when Kermit was ready to tell the youngster his offer.

"Guys." Kermit said to Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie, Rowlf, and Scooter. "The time is now."

"Anything to say before breaking the news to Walter, and ending the JHC committee?" Rowlf asked. Kermit nodded.

"Yes." The frog began. "Thank you all for helping me with this, I couldn't have done it without your support. And I know that now is the time when I ask Walter to be my apprentice, but there's one more thing I need from you guys."

"What is it, Kermit?" Fozzie asked.

"Scooter, bring Walter to my office so I can tell him. The rest of you, start spreading the word about this to the other Muppets when I talk to Walter. It's about time everyone knows our intentions, and who will be the potential future leader of our family."

"For sure, chief." Scooter said, going off to find Walter. The others began to spread around the studio, and Kermit started to make his way to his office.

"Now's the time." Kermit said to himself. "What'll I even say?"

Scooter went to the auditorium of the theatre, in search for the young Muppet Boy. That name was really starting to catch on. The stage manager went into the seating area, and saw Walter sitting and texting. Probably chatting with Lily.

"Muppet Boy-uh...I mean Walter?" Scooter asked. Walter looked up.

"Aw man, that name is starting to catch on, isn't it?" Walter said, reffering to the article nickname.

"Yeah, sorry that might stick around." Scooter said, trying to hide his laughter. "Uh, Kermit wants to see you in his office."

"Oh, okay." Walter said, not really suspecting anything surprising. After everything he'd been through, nothing really came at him with a surprise. But unaware to him, that would break within a few moments.

When they reached Kermit's office, Scooter stopped.

"He's right in there." Scooter said, with a slightly too big of a smile. Walter arched a brow.

"Uh, okay?" The boy said, about to go in.

"And Walter?" Scooter said, before leaving. The boy looked towards him. "Please take it into huge consideration."

The stage manager quickly left before Walter could ask what the heck that was suppose to mean. Walter shook his head.

"Geez, you hang around the hospital for a while and people act totally different." Walter said to himself, turning the handle of the office door. When he entered, Kermit sat at his desk, looking at two different documents. From a far, Walter didn't really know what they were, but assumed they were important by the look on Kermit's face.

The frog looked up, and saw Walter.

"You wanted to see me?" The boy asked.

"Yep." Kermit said, a little too quickly. He seemed nervous. "Sit down."

Walter went and sat on the chair in front of Kermit's desk. The frog seemed nervous, but not in a totally bad way. Maybe, he had good news.

"Uh." Walter began, a bit freaked out by the nervous behaviour. "Did the police find something?"

"Unfortunately, no. That's not what this is about." Kermit said.

"Did I do something wrong?" Walter asked.

"No." Kermit said, shaking his head. "Actually, the complete opposite."

"I did something good?" Walter asked.

"Well, I'm pretty sure getting the Muppets back together, saving our studios, and stopping Constantine from destroying us is pretty good of you to do." The frog said, smiling. Walter couldn't help but feel his heart pound a bit. That compliment came flying out of no where.

"Okay." Walter said, accepting the commendation. "So, what's going on?"

Kermit leaned forward a bit on his desk. He looked down at the contract made for Walter agreeing to be Kermit's apprentice and future of the Muppets. The frog looked back up at the young man sitting in front of him.

"Walter," he began. "Did I ever tell you what Jim told me before he passed...?"

Cliffhanger. Make sure to come back, when Kermit breaks the news to Walter!