Author's Note – As with all the other writers here at fanfiction.net, I do not own the rights to Everwood or its characters. Not yet anyway.
ONE WEEK
SATURDAY
Ephram woke up to the obnoxious ringing of his alarm clock. Saturday morning…thank god. Slowly pulling himself into a sitting position, Ephram lifted his sheets and quickly inspected them. No dreams about Amy last night. Another miracle. Getting out of his bed, Ephram trudged awkwardly downstairs to the kitchen.
"Morning, sleepy-head. Good to know you've decided to get up before the weekend is over," Andy grinned, his head perched just above copy of the Denver Post he was reading.
A slight grin formed on Ephram's face as he grabbed a bowl and the box of Kellogg's Pops on the counter. "Is Delia up?"
"'Was up an hour ago. She grabbed a pop tart and ran to the den to watch cartoons," Andy answered, his eyes returning to the newspaper. "So what do you have planned today?"
"Colin invited me to go fly-fishing with him and Bright this afternoon," Ephram answered through mouthfuls of cereal.
"I didn't know Colin fly-fished."
"Neither did he. He doesn't remember a thing about it. He didn't want to be the only inexperienced fly fisher there, so he invited me to go with them."
"Is that Abott girl gonna be there?" A smirk flashed on Andy's face.
Ephram laughed. "Doubt it. Not like it matters now anyway."
Andy set the newspaper down on the counter and looked at Ephram with one of his 'knowing' looks. "Look, I know things between you and Amy have probably been strained a little what with Colin back and all, but I'm sure she could still use a friend like you."
"Heh. I might've thought so too. But she and I had a talk about it a few nights ago. She doesn't need my friendship. She doesn't want anything to do with me anymore," Ephram answered, setting his bowl in the sink. "I'm gonna go read a couple comics."
Andy stared as his son left the kitchen. Your son is hurting, Great Dr. Brown. You're a healer, aren't you? Well you're going to have to find a way to heal your son's pains.
****
"I've got a gift for you," Amy chirped, a wide grin on her face. "It's downstairs. I'll be right back."
Colin nodded and continued to look around Amy's room. His eyes scanned past the Grover doll, old photos of the two of them, but nothing seemed to bring back memories. Walking over to her CD collection, Colin reached for one of them - a band he had no recollection of. He didn't remember any of these bands. His hands met with the fifth CD case in the collection. Lifting it up, he slowly looked at it, slightly confused.
"Amy," he read on the cover, the bright neon letters arrayed diagonally across the jewel case.
Footsteps sounded and Amy clamored into the room. "Did you say something?"
"Uh…yeah. This CD... is there a new pop singer named Amy or did you make this?" Colin innocently asked, holding up the CD with his good hand.
Pain mixed with fear shot through Amy's eyes.
"I…um…a friend…made it for me," Amy muttered, slurring the last few words together. She was utterly terrified of telling him the truth.
"Cool," Colin nodded. "Mind if I…?" Colin asked, pointing to the mini-stereo with the CD still clutched in his hand.
"Uh…no, go ahead…" Amy answered, afraid of what Colin would say if she didn't let him.
Colin popped the CD into the stereo and returned his attention back to Amy.
Trying to get his attention away from the music, Amy held up the gift with both hands. "I got old photos from everyone at school and put them together in this album. I thought it might help you remember."
"Wow. Thanks Grover," Colin smiled, taking a seat on her bed.
Amy shivered for a quick second, having not heard that name in a while. "You're welcome." She sat down next to him and flipped open the album.
"When was that?" Colin asked, pointing to the first picture.
"That was your birthday party last year. See? There you are with the adorable paper birthday hat Bright strapped to your head." Amy giggled. "And that's the cake frosting you smeared on my face when I mentioned you that you only cut one slice – the one you were eating."
Colin laughed at the thought, but couldn't remember a thing about it. A glimpse of the music rang in his ears. But love heals everything…we're no exception…you mean everything to me…
Colin gave Amy a confused look. He new that his former self wasn't that computer savvy, so he couldn't have made the CD. "Who made this for you?"
Amy glanced down for a second before looking back at Colin, still unsure what she was going to tell him.
****
Bright dumped the rods and equipment by a large rock near the river. "I'm gonna go to the fishing store and get some bait," Bright mumbled, pointing to the little wooden shop their truck was parked by.
As Bright left, Ephram started fidgeting with his rod. "So how's life going with you?"
Colin looked up from the copy of Fly-Fishing for Dummies he was reading. "Okay I guess. Still don't remember a thing though. The docs say the chances of me remembering are slim but possible. At least they're optimistic." Colin shut the book and glanced at Ephram. "How about you? How's life for the great Ephram Brown?"
"Me? Still getting adjusted to the hundreds of people at school that suddenly call me "E" after ignoring me for months upon months. Other than that I'm good," Ephram answered, whisking his rod back and forth.
"Then we're both adjusting to the crowds of people. They all expect me to be who I was before. Only problem is, I still don't know who that is."
Ephram set down his rod and felt sorrow for Colin.
"You know what the worst part is? I feel like a newborn hermit crab." Colin got out the photo album from and opened it up, scanning across the pictures of so many unfamiliar faces.
A quizzical look flashed across Ephram's face. "A hermit crab…" he repeated to himself, still not sure what Colin was trying to tell him.
"See, everyone's in love with the past me – my shell. Only problem is, the past me inside that shell decided to go out for a joyride and left the shell, never to return. Here I am – the new occupant inside the shell. Only problem is, everyone still sees the shell – the ghost of the past me. They don't see me," Colin explained painfully as he continued to look over the old photo album of lost memories.
Ephram laughed, trying to make the best of the situation. "Oh come on. You've woken up after four months from an endless coma. As you rediscover your world you find yourself surrounded by hundreds of people that love you. You've got your best friend Bright serving at your very whim, and the prettiest girl in town completely devoted to you." Ephram tried to hide is own anger. "I'd say things are as great as ever for you."
Colin turned to face him, a serious and saddened expression on his face. "Amy's not in love with me. She's in love with him." Colin pointed to the happy picture of Colin smiling broadly at his birthday. "She just can't admit it yet."
Ephram just stared at Colin for what seemed like several minutes, unsure what to say to him.
****
Preview of Sunday
"A few months ago we were on a field trip to the silver mines. He asked me if we would become strangers once Colin came back. I promised him that would never happen. I broke that promise," Amy confessed.
"Well then I think the best thing you can do is apologize and make things right again, because the only thing I know is that you seemed happier when before Colin woke up, before you knew about his amnesia, before you learned that the man you loved isn't there. And if your relationship with this new guy was the source of all that now-lost happiness, then you have got to get that friendship back," Edna soothingly replied, doing anything she could to comfort her granddaughter.
"I doubt I'll be able to do that. After how I've treated him lately and what I've said to him, I wouldn't be surprised if he never spoke to me again. How can I apologize to him now?"
"Well you could start by talking to him. He's sitting right there, Grover." Edna pointed to the lone guy seated at the counter sipping lemonade with the stack of comic books as his only companion.