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A quiet but clearly frustrated sigh came from the Muppet’s resident blue weirdo as he gazed around his hospital bed in boredom. An accident occurred at the previous show, leaving Gonzo with various injuries, most notably a casted leg and wrist and stitches on his neck.
His current condition left him stuck on bedrest while all his friends were putting on another show tonight, doing what they love and probably causing havoc.
Gonzo couldn't help but feel a bit envious of his friends, wishing he could be there with them and do another incredibly (stupid) daring stunt. But alas, he was pretty much useless in his current state, and that made the blue whatever very restless and anxious.
It didn't help that he was all by himself in this hospital room. Camilla and Rizzo stopped by for a little while to keep him company but had to leave for the show. So Gonzo was all alone, at least until late this evening when his girlfriend and roommate returned to bring him back home to the Muppet house.
Or at least, that's what Gonzo thought the plan was until the door to his room creaked open.
"Hey Gonzo, how are you feeling?" asked Kermit, having a slightly paler green complexion than usual.
"Kermit! I wasn't expecting you-" Gonzo said, excitedly, moving to sit up to greet his froggy friend.
Like a flash, Kermit was at the blue whatever's bedside and gently but firmly pushing Gonzo's good shoulder back down.
The blue whatever laid back down, without much protest, and cast a confused look at Kermit. The frog didn't say anything, but his face spoke volumes.
Kermit sat on the bedside, reached over, and pulled up Gonzo's blanket a bit. After finishing his task, Kermit let out a soft sigh and offered Gonzo a small smile.
"Uh, how are you feeling, Gonzo?" The green frog repeated his earlier question.
The blue whatever relaxed a bit, remembering Rizzo telling him earlier that Kermit had been especially high-strung lately and to take it with a grain of salt.
“Not too bad. It’s mainly just my leg and wrist that are really banged up. Oh, and the deep cut in my neck.” Gonzo said, almost too casually.
Kermit noticeably stiffened, but the blue whatever tried not to dwell on that.
“...Um, ok then,” Kermit began. “Is there anything else?”
The blue whatever said nothing, swallowing the lump in his throat.
Of course Kermit noticed immediately, "What's wrong? Do you need some meds? Does something hurt?"
Gonzo shook his head, smiling at his friend before he was reminded of his unfortunate situation.
"I just hate this,” Gonzo muttered, staring up at the ceiling. “Nothing feels worse than being stuck here. I wish I was already all good as new so I could be with you guys and do the show. Try to do the stunt again, and this time do it right.”
The green frog had been listening intently to Gonzo’s struggle, but his last sentence made the green frog wince.
"Y'know," Kermit sighed, deeply, "You got really lucky, Gonzo... That explosion could've..."
He stopped himself, but Gonzo could see where his friend's thoughts were.
Kermit took a moment to gather his thoughts.
"Could've..." The green frog couldn't bring himself to say it. "It could've done a lot more damage."
Gonzo hated seeing this side of Kermit.
Behind the sincere and brave heart of the leader of the Muppets was fear.
Kermit had an immense sense of responsibility and protectiveness for the other Muppets. The green frog saw his zany but lovable friends as his family and felt it was his job to keep all of them safe. Unfortunately, Kermit’s unmeasurable care for them all made him feel incredibly anxious and doubtful at times.
Feeling guilty for making Kermit feel that way, Gonzo tried to lighten the mood.
"Wow, I guess I even gave Miss Piggy a scare," Gonzo hummed. "Y'know, you'd think I’d be invincible-".
"But you’re not," Kermit cut him off with a tone so serious it even caught himself off guard. "Uh, I'm sorry, Gonzo, I-."
"Kermit... I'm okay, you were there. Nothing bad…well... if everyone didn't act as fast as they did, it could've been a whole lot worse," The blue whatever reassured, "That's why the Muppets are the best team in the universe. And you are the best leader ever! You're always there to keep me and the others safe and out of trouble. There's no need to doubt yourself, Kermit.”
Kermit nodded, getting a bit choked up at his friend’s kind words.
"Thanks, Gonzo, I'm glad you think so highly of me. I guess I haven't been thinking that way lately." The green frog mumbled sadly.
Kermit shook his head and abruptly switched gears.
"Don't worry about me, Gonzo. I came to take you home early, so let's get going!" The green frog said in forced cheerfulness.
Luckily, Gonzo was too thrilled to be heading home to notice.
"Oh, thanks, Kermit! I was itching to get out of here. Hey, can we swing by the theatre to watch the others finish the show?"
Kermit chuckled fondly at his friend's enthusiasm and went to help him out of the hospital bed.
"Heheh, if you promise to stay in your wheelchair and out of trouble, we can."
"A wheelchair? Aw, c'mon, Kermit, I'll be fine on crutches, I-"
"No!" Kermit said almost a bit too forcefully, causing Gonzo to pause and look at him, confused.
"Just try the chair for a little while, please. If it turns out you feel better fast, you can use crutches instead."
Gonzo hummed, considering his friend's words. The blue whatever stubbornly wanted to use crutches, they would allow him to move around more freely and get him back to his stunts faster so he could still be "The Great Gonzo."
But Gonzo could concede on this occasion. Clearly he needed to prove to Kermit he was still able to perform and be useful to the Muppets.
"Well, alright," The blue whatever said, "I trust your judgment, Kermit. After all, you're the boss!"
Kermit swallowed a lump in his throat and helped Gonzo into his wheelchair, being extra careful of his injuries. The green frog started to wheel Gonzo out of the hospital, listening to his blue friend talk about Camilla's new song towards the end of the show. Kermit couldn't help but stare at the large, stitched-up cut in Gonzo's neck and feel the pit in his stomach deepen.
"Trust my judgment, huh?" Kermit whispered to himself, feeling incredibly guilty despite what Gonzo said to him earlier about what happened a few days ago.
—
A few days ago:
This particular Muppet show had gotten more out of hand than usual. Due to some last-minute changes, mostly due to Fozzie getting sick from trying a dish made by Swedish Chef that unfortunately used expired ingredients to make it, the show was down an act towards the end of the show.
Kermit and Scooter were trying to figure out what acts they could do instead, but Fozzie getting sick wasn't the only problem they had.
After a small mishap from Bunsen and Beaker's scientific experiment working with static electricity, which thankfully happened after the curtain closed on their act, Miss Piggy walked by at the wrong moment, and her perfectly curled long hair turned into a perfectly frizzy afro. Needless to say, the porky diva was furious and refused to go on until her hair matched her outfit again.
On top of all that, most of the Electric Mayhem had left the theatre for a separate gig, which Kermit gave them permission to do right before Swedish Chef's act, much to the green frog's regret. Zoot was still here sleeping, but obviously he didn't have a solo act to do at the moment.
Camilla and Rowlf's musical number was wrapping up, and Kermit was starting to panic. He needed to come up with something fast.
The green frog looked over as his friends were helping Rowlf move his piano off the stage and noticed Gonzo hugging Camilla.
Kermit recalled all week Gonzo had been begging the green frog to let him do a more dangerous stunt than usual. Kermit had rejected the stunt all week, much to Gonzo's dismay.
The green frog always encouraged his friends to expand on their creativity in their acts, except for Gonzo. The blue whatever was kept on what some (Rizzo and Pepe) would call a tight leash.
However, Kermit learned through trial and error that's what Gonzo needed. As much as the blue whatever pushed and pleaded for daring stunts, he knew to listen to the green frog for the well-being of himself and all the other Muppets.
That's why Gonzo was so shocked when Kermit called him over to tell him,
"Gonzo, you can put on the act you were telling me about."
"Really, Kermit? I thought you thought the juggling swords part of it to be too much?" Gonzo was elated but a bit hesitant. It wasn't like Kermit to go back on his word.
Kermit was distractedly telling Scooter to go introduce Gonzo before quickly addressing the blue whatever over his shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah, it's fine. Just be very careful and only juggle three swords, Gonzo."
"YIPPEE!" Gonzo cheered and hurried over to his equipment to get ready for his act. The blue whatever was a bit unsure of all this, but he quickly shook any doubtful thought out of his head.
If Kermit thought it was fine, it must be.
Soon the curtain opened on Gonzo's act, and it began as normally as any act could for the blue whatever.
Camilla was clucking worriedly at Kermit before the curtain even opened, as she was actively shutting Gonzo down on this act too. The chicken was very surprised Kermit told him to perform the stunt, as was Rizzo, who noticed after the act had already started.
"Yer letting him do it?! Are ya nuts?!" The little rat shrieked at Kermit, who looked up from the show schedule.
"Well, yes, Rizzo. We really needed to fill this spot in the schedule."
"And that's so important to ya that ya would let Gonzo do something even more stupidly life-threatening than usual?!" Rizzo snapped at the green frog, Camilla angrily clucking in agreement.
Now that got Kermit's attention, finally making him drop what he was doing. The green frog very briefly spared a glance at Gonzo through the theatre wings before turning his attention back to Rizzo and Camilla.
Just when he was about to defend himself, Kermit felt the words leave his mind when he heard the extremely loud explosion noise that he was unfortunately used to.
Except something was different about this one.
It was louder than usual, shook the ground more than usual, and, most importantly, no laughter or heckles were heard from the audience.
And Gonzo's scream sounded so much worse than usual.
Immediately Kermit regretted his decision.
The green frog could see Rizzo and Camilla's faces drop in almost slow motion.
It was all happening too fast.
Before Kermit could even turn around, he felt a strong sensation of a forceful push of air from the explosion. It nearly blew Rizzo and Camilla away.
The green frog didn't need to turn around after all, as seconds after that, Gonzo was launched into the side of the theatre from the main stage at lightning speed. The blue whatever hit the wall so hard, he knocked bricks and rubble loose from the wall, falling onto his wrist and leg.
But it wasn't over.
Kermit barely heard over his racing heartbeat in his ears at the sight of his good friend crumbled, and broken on the ground, that Scooter yelled out to him.
"WATCH OUT, CHIEF!"
The green frog didn't even think, acted on pure instinct. He darted forward, tackling Rizzo and Camilla to the ground, protecting them from a flying sword that Gonzo was juggling. He only managed to juggle one before it all went wrong.
The sword rapidly flew over where Kermit's head would have been and embedded itself half in the wall.
And half in Gonzo's neck.
The green frog was frozen at the terrifying sight.
He barely registered the screams and gasps of the Muppets around him.
Barely registered Scooter yelling to drop the curtain.
Barely registered Rizzo and Camilla pushing him off them and rushing over to Gonzo.
Barely registered Bunsen and Beaker moving rumble off Gonzo's body.
Barely registered Sam Eagle calling an ambulance.
All Kermit could focus on was the slight dripping red liquid on his good friend's blue fur.
Everything else happened in a blur. The paramedics arriving, helping patch Gonzo up, putting him on a stretcher and into an ambulance, Camilla and Rizzo not leaving his side, Scooter talking to the paramedics and helping Sam, Beauregard, and the others clean up the mess.
Miss Piggy, with her hair half curled and half frizzed out, went out in front of the audience and announced that the show was closing early due to an emergency accident.
And Kermit stayed in the same spot, listening to the sirens fade in the distance, the boos in the audience, and frantic voices from the other Muppets around him.
All as the guilt and fear consumed him.
—
A week later:
Ever since then, Kermit had been acting weird.
He'd been extra anxious, taking extra precautions at the theatre. At first his friends didn't mind, some welcoming the new safety changes at the theatre because they had been a long time coming. But all the Muppets drew the line at their froggy leader taking extra precautions in the Muppet house, and it was starting to drive everyone crazy. Kermit was rejecting acts that his friends were coming up with, unwilling to take any risks or anything even remotely challenging.
They were the Muppets, after all. They were all experts in physical comedy and definitely were not made of glass.
Kermit knew that too, so his new behavior was especially confusing to everyone.
Except for Gonzo.
Gonzo had honestly made a miraculous recovery. The blue whatever was now on crutches, despite Kermit's attempts to encourage him to stay in his wheelchair, but Gonzo couldn't sit still on a regular chair anyways.
But the blue whatever was very used to his acts and stunts getting rejected, so he was taking the green frog's overbearingness a lot better than the other Muppets.
However, even Gonzo was starting to get a bit fed up with it.
Kermit would hover over Gonzo especially, even when they were home, and seemed to constantly be trying to keep him out of the show, encouraging him instead to be an assistant to the green frog himself and Scooter until he was fully recovered.
The blue whatever was pretty certain he was completely healed already. Sure, Gonzo still had a broken leg, sprained wrist, and sensitive cut on his neck, but it’s not like they’re the worst injuries he’s ever had. (Kermit flinched when Gonzo said that.)
However, it all came to a head on a relatively simple act request. In Gonzo's opinion, at least.
Kermit and Gonzo have always had an understanding. Gonzo would push for dangerous, daring stunts, and Kermit would shut most of them down but let him put on the ones he deemed least risky. It’s a system that has always worked for the two of them. The blue whatever recalled Rizzo asking him about it one day.
"What's with ya n' letting Kermit tell ya, what ya can and can not do?"
But that was a long time ago. The little rat has firsthand witnessed many Great Gonzo performances since then and now rapidly encourages Kermit to turn down more of Gonzo's crazy ideas.
The blue whatever didn't feel like his friends thought he was incapable (most of the time), Gonzo had proved over the years that he was a competent, creative, and courageous asset to the Muppets. Despite everything they've been through, Kermit still trusted him to perform and did always encourage his artistic vision, even if he didn't allow all of them.
Or at least he thought he did.
Which is why all this new, overbearing behavior was becoming more infuriating and disheartening.
Today was just a rehearsal, and it was nearing the end of the day. Everyone else had already gone back to the Muppet house, except for Kermit and Gonzo.
Scooter and Miss Piggy had just left, both more stressed than they would normally be. All of the new precautions and protocols have been running Scooter ragged, and the porky diva herself had been very annoyed with Kermit's behavior lately.
The sharp glare she sent to Gonzo as she left said very clearly, "You better fix this!"
The blue whatever gulped but knew Miss Piggy did have a point. It was his stunt that caused Kermit to give in to his fears and doubts.
Gonzo had to fix this.
Kermit was reading the final draft of the schedule for tomorrow’s show and noticed they had a brief spot to fill.
Unfortunately for the frog, Gonzo was looking over his shoulder just in time to notice. That was a perfect chance.
“Kermit, I can do a short act during that spot! It’s a perfect time for me to use my unicycle and—“
“Oh, that’s okay, Gonzo. I’ll just send Fozzie on for that spot.” Kermit interrupted quickly.
“But Kermit, Fozzie already has two comedy performances that show. Usually two heckles are all he can take. Let me go on. My artistic visions need to be seen.” Gonzo protested.
“Well, I’m sure Fozzie will be fine. And how about you introduce him, Gonzo? Just be careful with your crutches on stage.” Kermit said, trying to be gentle about the matter.
“Kermit, please, at least let me be an understudy. You know how Fozzie gets after too much bad reception to his jokes.” Gonzo insisted.
“Gonzo-“ Kermit sighed.
“Forget the unicycle. I can do a different act. Like the one where I bowl a cannonball into 10 knives-“
“No!” Kermit snapped, perhaps too sharply, before regaining his cool. “You are not doing an act tomorrow, and that’s final, okay, Gonzo?”
That was definitely the wrong thing to say, and Kermit knew it too.
The regret on the green frog’s face shows up as soon as he saw Gonzo flinch back at Kermit’s firm tone.
But the blue whatever quickly recovered and puffed up in defense.
“C’mon, Kermit! I can do this. You know I can. What’s been going on with you lately?!”
“Look, Gonzo, I-“, Kermit tried, but the blue whatever would not allow himself to be interrupted again.
“I know I messed up my stunt last week, but that doesn’t mean I’m not capable of doing them anymore! Honestly, why do you even waste your time with me if you don’t let me do the one thing I’m good at?!” Gonzo hated how his voice started to shake.
“Gonzo.” Kermit felt his heart break at his friend’s words.
Was that really how he’d made Gonzo feel?
“You keep doing this! Trying to keep me out of the show! Covering it up by telling me to rest, do Scooter's job, and other pointless stuff! What are you trying to do?!” Gonzo was losing control of his words at that point. The blue whatever tried to storm away on his crutches, but Kermit grabbed onto his good wrist.
“Gonzo please-,” The blue whatever tried to pull away. Kermit’s grip isn’t painful, but it’s firm.
“What more do you need me to do for you to trust me again?! I know I let you down, Kermit, but I can do this! I can-,”
“Gonzo, listen!” The forceful, desperate tone is what got the blue whatever to stop pulling and look at Kermit.
The green frog's face is the most serious Gonzo's ever seen it, and his heart skips in fear, his thoughts racing frantically, he messed everything up, he’s going to get fired, he’ll never be with the Muppets again, he won't have a family anymore, he'll be alone again, before Kermit speaks up.
“Gonzo, please just listen,” The green frog said, softly and so very pained, “Gonzo, you are resourceful, inspiring, incredibly brave, and I don’t doubt your capability. You’ve proven that more times than I can count. You are exceptional at so many things, and you are absolutely not a waste of my time. You did not let me down with your stunt; if anything, I let you down."
Gonzo stared shocked at his friend's words, too moved to even respond.
"Rizzo was right. I put the show above your well-being and safety, and that's the biggest mistake of my life. And I almost paid for it with the cost of your..."
The green frog couldn't bring himself to say it, paused briefly to let go of Gonzo’s wrist, and placed a flipper on his shoulder.
“Gonzo.” Kermit said again, quiet but incredibly sincere.
“I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you.”
And honestly, that was just silly. After all, Gonzo’s been blown up, burned, bruised, and beaten too many times to count. He’s used to it by now. Built up a tolerance. Kermit should have too.
But still, Gonzo stiffened, feeling tears well up in his eyes at the tender words and caring tone.
The blue whatever reflected on his past week of recovery.
Remembered Camilla's tearful clucks as she clung to him when he woke up in the hospital.
Remembered Rizzo's nightmares the past week, waking up to hearing his roommate call his name in his restless sleep.
Remembered Miss Piggy tenderly adjusting his collar on his first day using his crutches.
Remembered Fozzie and Pepe telling him terrible jokes to lift his spirits at home.
Remembered Kermit fussing over him in the hospital room to take him home early.
Clearly everyone did not have a tolerance. Perhaps he shouldn't either.
Even though Gonzo was currently bound to crutches, the little blue whatever in his heart who so desperately wanted people to care about him jumped for joy.
Gonzo was trembling, and he’s blinking tears away rapidly.
"Heh... To think I actually thought you finally gave up on me..." The blue whatever attempted to joke before his tone broke on a sob.
Kermit did not hesitate this time and pulled Gonzo gently into his arms.
"Never, Gonzo. I never will. I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I was just so scared of losing you..."
Gonzo felt Kermit start to tremble against him.
"Please don't blame yourself, Kermit. I never did."
Gonzo heard and felt the green frog's shaky exhale at those words.
The two friends stayed in the hug for a long while, but for them it felt all too short when they pulled back.
Gonzo gave Kermit a wobbly smile as he wiped away tears from his blue cheeks. Kermit shook his head fondly and gave him a wobbly smile right back.
"Alright. Let's come up with an act you can do in tomorrow's show."
Gonzo's wobbly smile grew as he gasped in excitement.
"But no knives." Kermit said firmly, despite his own wobbly smile growing at his friend's enthusiasm.
Gonzo chuckled, "Fair enough."
They were going to be all right.