The ambulance arrived within minutes. Bushroot watched it from his greenhouse, being careful to stay out of sight despite the darkness. They splinted Eric's broken arm and put some IV's into him. Then they carefully loaded him into the ambulance and left, siren and lights going full blast. With nothing more to see, Reginald went back to bed, but full of thoughts.

The following morning, there was more activity. The police came and inspected the entire area of the crash, and took photographs. But they didn't come near the greenhouse to ask questions. My reputation proceeds me, Bushroot thought with regret. Later, a tow truck hauled away Eric's wrecked car. It was beyond repair, but at least the tree wasn't. Reginald proceeded to undo the damage the accident had done.

But throughout the day, he couldn't stop thinking about what he had done. He knew he had saved a man's life. The nagging thought came back to him...this was no typical person. There was something about him. Reginald knew he couldn't let it rest at that.

Eric lay in the hospital bed, an IV in his left arm, his right heavily bandaged. There were also bandages around his head and chest. He was hooked up to a EKG and an EEG. He was still unconcious.

Darkness slowly started to brighten. Gradually feeling returned to a numb body. Unfortunately, that included pain. Sounds began to be heard. Then a woman's voice..."Doctor, he's waking up."

Now figures could be seen moving around in front of him. Eric blinked his eyes, and they became clearer. A tall man in a white coat....a doctor. And a shorter woman, a nurse. A thought drifted into Eric's head. I'm alive. I'm alive...

The doctor leaned close. "Mr. Smith...can you hear me?"

Eric could. Hardly aware of what he was doing, he nodded.

"Do you remember what happened?"

Eric tried to think. "The animal...couldn't steer....the tree...it..."

"You had an accident." said the doctor. "Your car ran into a tree just outside of town. You're lucky to be alive."

"How bad am I?" asked Eric, finally able to think reasonably clearly.

"We don't have to discuss it now." said the doctor. "You just woke up."

"Please." said Eric. "Tell me."

The doctor nodded. "Your left arm was broken. You have two broken ribs. Your head hit the windshield and you received a mild concussion. You have a number of minor cuts and bruises. And your right arm was severely cut."

Eric looked at his bandaged arm. "It couldn't have bled too much. If it had...there was no one around."

The doctor looked at him. "But someone was there. They compressed the cut and stopped the bleeding until the paramedics arrived. In all likelihood, they saved your life. That, and the fact you were wearing a seatbelt. It's going to take a while, Mr. Smith, but you're going to be all right."

Then the tension and relief were too much, and Eric began to cry. The doctor put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. You're going to be okay." He turned and walked towards the door. "You need to rest now. I'll come back later. And we'll inform your family what happened."

"I..." Eric found it hard to speak. "I'm not from here....I moved here from Canada a month ago."

The doctor smiled. "I know. We found your wallet. We'll get in touch with them." He left the room, and Eric slowly calmed down. Then he fell into a deep sleep, utterly exhausted.

The figure moved furtively down the hospital corridors, watching for any sign of recognition from anyone. But everything was quiet at this time of night. He had told the nurse at the desk that he was a friend of Eric's, and she had let him go, after warning him that visiting hours would be over soon.

Bushroot soon found the room he wanted, and carefully snuck in. Even though he was fully disguised, he didn't want to take any chances on Eric seeing him and noticing something unusual.

He stared at Eric lying in bed, asleep. Although he was bandaged in several places, and had tubes coming out of him, he certainly looked better than he had at Bushroot's first sight of him. He simply stood there and looked at the man he had saved, not knowing what to do.

And then Eric opened his eyes.

Eric had a feeling someone else was in the room as he slowly stirred. He assumed it was the doctor or a nurse. He slowly opened his eyes and found out the truth.

A tall, slender duck was standing just inside the door. He was wearing a trenchcoat, a huge hat, track pants, gloves, and boots. It was almost impossible to see his features, but Eric could swear he looked almost green in color. It must have been the light.

Bushroot jumped in surprise when Eric saw him. He hastily grabbed his hat and pulled it down. He backed up against the wall, staring at Eric, who stared back, partly in surprise, partly in curiosity.

Reggie finally found his voice. "Sorry." he said. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Eric thought his voice was surprisingly deep for someone with a relatively slender build. "It's okay." he replied. "I'm glad someone came by, even if I don't know you."

Bushroot reached out his hand, nervously. "I'm Dr. Bushroot."

Eric reached out with his right arm, although it ached slightly. "Eric Smith." They shook hands. Eric was surprised at how loose Bushroot's grip was. "Do you work here?"

"No." said Bushroot. "I'm not a medical doctor. I'm a botanist."

Eric nodded. "Interesting. What made you want to visit me?"

Bushroot swallowed hard. "I...I had to see you again."

Eric was puzzled. "But I've never met you before."

Reginald spoke in a quiet voice. "Yes, you have, although you didn't know it. I found you after your accident."

Eric felt like he was going to fall through the floor. "B-but there wasn't a soul around there! No houses...nothing."

"The tree you hit was on my land. Didn't you see my greenhouse?"

The large building. Memory came flooding back. "So you must have called the ambulance."

"Yes." said Reginald. "And....and I stopped the bleeding in your arm."

Eric just stared at Bushroot. Here was the person he owed his life to. If this person hadn't happened to be living in an otherwise deserted area...if he hadn't heard the crash...if he hadn't known first aid...

He was weeping then, overwhelmed by relief and happiness and gratefulness. "Thank you." he sobbed, grabbing Bushroot's hand. "You s-saved my life...thank you...."

Reginald's own eyes were stinging. "Don't mention it. Anybody would have done it."

"But anybody didn't do it." replied Eric. "You did it. I owe my life to you, Dr. Bushroot." He gripped Bushroot's hand harder, not even noticing that he couldn't feel fingers under the glove. They stood like that for several moments, as a friendship was born.

Reginald left a few minutes later, but not before promising to return the next day when they could talk for a longer period. Eric lay awake for some time, thinking what a huge difference 24 hours could make. Looking at the clock by his bed, he noticed that it was just a few hours short of a full day since the crash. In that space of time, he had nearly been killed, his life had been saved, and he had met the person who had saved it and made friends with him. It was tiring just to think about.

The doctor walked in a bit later. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, considering." replied Eric.

"We contacted your parents in New Brunswick. They were upset to hear that you were injured, but we assured them you're okay."

Eric felt sad. He hated to think of how worried his parents must have been when they had heard the news. Who knows what they were thinking until the doctor said he'd be okay?

"But they know I'm okay, right?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes. They can't come down right now, but they said they'd phone you."

Eric thought for a moment. "The guy who saved my life came in earlier. His name is Bushroot."

An expression of surprise crossed the doctor's face. "Bushroot? That's..." He looked puzzled.

"What is it?" asked Eric. "Do you know him? He said he wasn't an MD."

"No, I meant to say it's good that he visited you." The doctor regained his composure quickly. "He's practically a hero."

"He is a hero." replied Eric firmly. "He's also my friend."

The doctor looked at him for a second, then said "Do you need anything else?"

"No." replied Eric. "Thanks." The doctor nodded and left, leaving Eric wondering about his strange reaction to hearing Bushroot's name.

In the greenhouse, Reginald's thoughts were no less turbulent. But one kept coming up above all the others. A friend. He finally had a real friend. After years of loneliness, after months where his only companions were those who took advantage of or abused him, here was someone who really appreciated him. A friend is someone who's always there for you...that thought ran over and over in Bushroot's head. He meant something to someone else, and he was determined not to spoil it.

He vowed that he would visit Eric the next day, and never mind the risks of going out in public. It occurred to him that eventually Eric might learn the truth about him. If they became close friends, it was inevitable. Oh, well. He'd cross that bridge when he came to it. He went to bed.

The next day, Bushroot went to visit Eric shortly after suppertime. Again, he looked nervously at every face he met, but they were all preoccupied with thier own work. He entered Eric's room, and this time found him awake and waiting. There was a table and chairs in a corner, and he took one and sat by Eric's bed.

Eric smiled. "I'm glad you came."

"I said I would." replied Reginald. "I'd like to talk more than we did last night."

There was a moment of silence. "Do you wear that stuff all the time?" asked Eric.

"Only when I go out." replied Reginald. He was well aware that his secret couldn't stay a secret for long.

Eric nodded. "So you're a botanist? Who do you work for?"

"I used to work for St. Canard University. I'm pretty much self-employed now."

"You live in that greenhouse?"

Bushroot nodded. "Yes."

"Luckily for me." said Eric. "There's nothing else out that way."

"Luckily for both of us. I'm really glad I met you."

"When I get out of here, I'd like to see it. Even though I only got a glimpse of it, it was huge. You must really be into plants."

Reggie shifted nervously in his seat. As much as he'd like to finally be able to share his love of plants with someone, Eric would find out the truth, if for no other reason that he'd see Spike and certainly be curious at best, afraid at worst. "Yes." he finally replied. "Do you like plants at all?"

"Well, I don't mind them." replied Eric. "I have a cactus at home that I can't do anything with. Watches are my thing. I have a whole collection at home. People at home think it's strange, how I like them. But I do."

"I know how you feel. They thought I was weird, too." Bushroot felt relieved. They had some common ground.

"Who cares what they think." said Eric. "We're individuals. We don't follow the beaten path. I'm glad to run into a guy who feels that way."

They shook hands again, and kept talking until visiting hours ended.

Time passed. Eric spoke to his parents on the phone, and was visited daily by Bushroot. Every time they spoke, it amazed Bushroot how much they had in common. It was almost as if that accident was meant to be, to give each one of them what they badly needed-a friend who understood them.

Slowly, the cuts and bruises healed, the bandages came off, and only a pale scar under his feathers remained of the cut that might have killed Eric. Three weeks after the accident, Eric was released from the hospital, his arm in a cast. He phoned Bushroot immediately upon getting home.

"I'd like to pay you back properly, Reg." he said. "I want you to come over and watch the hockey game."

"Hockey? I've never seen a hockey game." replied Bushroot.

"Then it's time you saw one." said Eric. "Come on over. I'm ordering pizza."

Reginald felt his stomach growl. He was hungry, and it would be nice to visit Eric in more comfortable surroundings than the hospital. "Okay." he agreed. "I'll be over at 7."

They had a great time. The game was exciting, and Bushroot took to it almost immediately, after Eric explained it to him. The teams were St. Louis and Detroit, and the Blues won in overtime. Reginald was so excited, he declared St. Louis to be his favorite team.

Eric laughed. "Then watch out." he said. "I'm a Bruins fan." They laughed as they walked out to the kitchen. Bushroot had never felt better.

He spied the cactus on the window shelf and picked it up. "Wow..." he said. "It needs water."

"It probably does." replied Eric. He turned towards the fridge. "I never know when to water them."

While Eric's back was turned, Bushroot touched the tiny cactus. Slowly, the dark spots on it faded, the brown areas reverted back to white. Then Bushroot concentrated on the top, and a small flower suddenly appeared.

"How did you do that?"

Reginald whirled around. Eric was staring in amazement at the cactus. "How did you make that flower come up?" He looked back and forth from the cactus to Bushroot. Reggie knew the moment of truth had come. Eric had just seen him demonstrating his plant-control abilities.

"Reggie..." Eric looked Bushroot square in the eye. "You're my good friend. We have so much in common already, we agree on so much, that I think you could be the best friend I ever had. But it seems that if two people want to be friends, they need to be up front with each other. Can you be up front with me...because I know there's more to you than meets the eye. I just saw it."

Bushroot lowered his head. Eric was right. He had been nice enough to invite Bushroot to his house. The least Reggie could do was be honest about himself.

"Okay." he began. "You know I'm a botanist. I was working on an experiment that I never got to finish at the university. So...I had to...experiment on myself." Slowly, Bushroot pulled his arms out of the trenchcoat. He shook the gloves off, and removed the hat. He stood there, his plant-like body and purple foilage growing from his head in plain view. He was saying a silent prayer.

Eric stared for a moment. His eyebrows raised slightly. Bushroot was very nervous. What was he going to do?

A small smile came across Eric's beak. He said one word: "Cool."

Reginald had never heard a more beautiful word.

Reginald Bushroot and Spike are the property of Disney. Eric Smith is my property. This story was written for pleasure, not profit. (C) 2000 Eric Smith.

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