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Winnie was over at Alfred's for coffee and snacks when the phone rang. There wasn't any special call he was expecting so he thought it nothing serious, and picked up the receiver while sipping his coffee.
"Are you Alfred J. Kwak?"
"Yes, who's there?"
"Your father has been in a car crash."
The coffee cup fell from Alfred's wing and tipped over on the table, and a line of brown started dripping off the table's edge and fall onto the wood planks. Alfred slumped on the floor next to the phone, back leaning on the wall. Winnie stood up on the other side of the table, not having heard anything but worried.
"Mr. Kwak?" the phone asked "Are you in there?"
Alfred raised a shaking wing on his beak, and Winnie thought he was about to faint.
"I... is... is he..?" Alfred was starting topanic, and didn't know if the caller could make out his words. Winnie had rushed around the coffee table and crawled up next to Alfred, trying to get some kind of a response from him and trying to hear what was said on the phone.
"He's alive, but needs to go straight into surgery. His left arm, upper cack, and few ribs have been badly hit."
"I... i'll come right away" Alfred managed to say, and the caller disconnected. Alfred remained on the floor limp with terror, while Winnie started rolling up the taxi company's number and stroked Alfred with her free wing.
"Henk... car crash.." Alfred whispered.
"He said Henk will survive" Winnie tried, but both of them knew nobody had promised that. The caller had only said that Henk was alive now, both of them had heard that. The damage could be worse than initially thought. Surgery could be dangerous for an animal that small. Winnie was afraidt too, but tried to remain calm because panicking wouldn't help Alfred.
Alfred started crying in the taxi, but when Winnie tried to reach out to confort him he turned away and curled up in himself.
When they got to the hospital, Henk was already in the surgery and they were told to wait in the hall. While they sat for over an hour, it seemed as if Alfred was running out of tears. However the panic didn't go anywhere, and he was still shaking. Winnie held her wing on his, but he didn't even appear to notice. Alfred raised his wings on his beak and in front of his eyes, and Winnie tried to stroke along the wing.
"Alfred. Alfred, i'm there."
He had told her about his family's death last fall, so she knew the events had much more weight than they would normally already have. This was the worst thing that could happen to Alfred. Suddendly the surgery room's door opened, and a brown bear noticed them.
"Mr. Kwak?"
Alfred slowly lowered his wings from his beak, and turned to the bear fearfully.
"The operation was succesful. Your father will recover, and you can see him after he wakes up from the anesthesia."
Alfred made a relieved noise, and the tears of relief started coming out. Winnie helped him stand up, and they followed the doctor who carted Henk to a room in a normal-sized bed. However they were still left outside, and another doctor told them about the crash. Henk had gone out for a drive with his vespa, and on the main street a construction truck running red lights had come from the side. Henk had mostly managed to dodge, but his left shoulder and side had hit the street badly. The doctor assured them he would recover.
The were eventually allowed into the room, where Henk was already sitting up.
"Alfred."
"Dad!" Alfred rushed to Henk's side, with the doctor yelling at him to not touch him. Alfred lifted his still shaking wing, and carefully touched Henk's healthy arm with his wingtips "Dad!"
"It's all right" Henk said, his voice still mumbling from the anesthesia, and petted Alfred's beak with his unbandaged paw "Everything's fine."
"They called ne" Alfred sniffled, his voice cracking "They said you were hit by a car."
"I'm not going to die" Henk assured him, already much more awake and also with tears in his eyes, which were visible without the sunglasses "Everything's fine, Alfred."
He lifted his healthy paw on the palm of Alfred's wing, and rubbed it gently "You're horribly pale. Get something to eat or drink, it'll help."
Alfred shook his head "I can't eat."
"Everything's okay now" Henk assured, but neither man seemed to think so. Winnie thought she was being a third wheel, and spoke for the first time after entering the room.
"Do you want to be alone for a bit?"
Henk nodded, and Winnie stood up from her chair.
"I'll be right outside" she said to Alfred while walking past, and lightly touched his shoulder with her wing. Closing the door, she glanced back and saw Alfred crying again, his beak buried in the bedsheet.