The Price of Forgiveness
By: Ruse
Chapter One: Of Heavy Regret
**Warning**: This story is pure speculation on spoilers that have been floating around about the episode "Fear Itself". So, you know, you might get spoiled a teensy bit ;)
Summary: Irv and Andy go on a nature retreat/hiking trip, and drag Ephram along. The leaky boat from earlier in the season makes an appearance, and Ephram is stranded in the middle of lake with a sinking boat and heavy heart.
Disclaimer: I own *nothing* that has *anything* to do with Everwood, though I wish I did.
The evening sun shimmered off the crystal blue lake, a light wind shivering the mountains reflected in its glassy surface. By all accounts, it was the perfect ending to a gorgeous Colorado day. Yet, as his boat rocked gently in the serene water, Ephram Brown noticed none of this; rather, he was concerned with matters much more human and far less wonderful.
The fight had been stupid, and Ephram regretted it now. It started over something trivial, he couldn't remember what now, but it quickly escalated into something much bigger and uglier. All of his frustration with Amy and Colin, and all his bitterness toward his father that he thought had been bled out of his system, but apparently hadn't, came bubbling up. Ephram winced at the memory of all the harsh things he'd said, the hurt look on his father's face, Irv's vain attempts to look interested in something that wasn't the screaming pair in front of him...
No, that wasn't right. The screaming *boy* in front of him-Andy hadn't said a thing. He just stood there while Ephram tore him apart for all the failures he had tried to amend over the last few months, stayed silent while he was blamed over and over again for Julia's death and the pain he'd caused her while she was alive. Then he watched as his son dropped his pack and ran, not looking back at the devastation he left behind.
"Oh God," Ephram whispered, dropping his head into his hands. "What have I done?"
Snapping out of his reverie and momentarily pushing guilt to the back of his mind, Ephram looked around, taking stock of his surroundings. The shore of the wide lake was a mere point in the distance, wavering in the waning sun. Swearing, he noticed for the first time that his shoes and socks were soaked from the inches of freezing water that had slowly worked their way into the boat. He had jumped in the old vessel as soon as he reached it, wanting solitude, despite his father's earlier warnings that it had the tendency to spring leaks. As was often the case as of late, he should have listened.
Deciding that however painful the apology would be, facing his father had to be better than having to guide a sinking boat to shore and find the campsite in the pitch darkness. Ready to face reality, Ephram turned to the motor and started the engine. Or, at least tried.
The engine gave a weak whirr and quickly sputtered into silence.
"You have got to be kidding me." growled Ephram, smacking the motor and trying the cord again, this time with even less luck. "Talk about karma." Sighing, he roughly pulled a hand through his hair, searching for any sort of oar or flare that might have miraculously appeared there. No such luck. The only thing inside the boat besides water and anything he had on his person was a tattered lifejacket that had been serving as a seat cushion.
Ephram snorted humorlessly. "Like this is going to help me now." Nevertheless, he pulled the vest over his head and strapped it on, gazing out at the vast expanse of water that had now turned a midnight blue.
"Okay, what are my options?" Ephram said, feeling a little more than foolish not only for talking aloud to himself, but for creating the situation to begin with. "I could wait until the Candid Camera appears, and have a good laugh over hot chocolate and a warm blanket. Or, I could scream myself hoarse, hoping that someone can hear me, and then wait for hours while they get help, which, judging by the fact that half the lake is in my boat, I don't have."
Dipping his hand in the cold, inky water, he muttered resignedly, "Or, I could jump out, swim for shore, and try to find Irv and my dad."
Knowing that in either of the plausible scenarios he would end up in the lake, and reasoning that he had a better chance of making it shore now that there was still a spark of light and his limbs weren't completely frozen, Ephram climbed over the side of the boat and dropped into the water.
Gasping from the shock of the cold, he treaded water to warm up his arms and legs, trying to push worries of drowning or freezing to death from his mind. With no other choice in sight, Ephram turned to the shore and began to swim, leaving the abandoned boat bobbing in his wake.
**Warning**: This story is pure speculation on spoilers that have been floating around about the episode "Fear Itself". So, you know, you might get spoiled a teensy bit ;)
Summary: Irv and Andy go on a nature retreat/hiking trip, and drag Ephram along. The leaky boat from earlier in the season makes an appearance, and Ephram is stranded in the middle of lake with a sinking boat and heavy heart.
Disclaimer: I own *nothing* that has *anything* to do with Everwood, though I wish I did.
The evening sun shimmered off the crystal blue lake, a light wind shivering the mountains reflected in its glassy surface. By all accounts, it was the perfect ending to a gorgeous Colorado day. Yet, as his boat rocked gently in the serene water, Ephram Brown noticed none of this; rather, he was concerned with matters much more human and far less wonderful.
The fight had been stupid, and Ephram regretted it now. It started over something trivial, he couldn't remember what now, but it quickly escalated into something much bigger and uglier. All of his frustration with Amy and Colin, and all his bitterness toward his father that he thought had been bled out of his system, but apparently hadn't, came bubbling up. Ephram winced at the memory of all the harsh things he'd said, the hurt look on his father's face, Irv's vain attempts to look interested in something that wasn't the screaming pair in front of him...
No, that wasn't right. The screaming *boy* in front of him-Andy hadn't said a thing. He just stood there while Ephram tore him apart for all the failures he had tried to amend over the last few months, stayed silent while he was blamed over and over again for Julia's death and the pain he'd caused her while she was alive. Then he watched as his son dropped his pack and ran, not looking back at the devastation he left behind.
"Oh God," Ephram whispered, dropping his head into his hands. "What have I done?"
Snapping out of his reverie and momentarily pushing guilt to the back of his mind, Ephram looked around, taking stock of his surroundings. The shore of the wide lake was a mere point in the distance, wavering in the waning sun. Swearing, he noticed for the first time that his shoes and socks were soaked from the inches of freezing water that had slowly worked their way into the boat. He had jumped in the old vessel as soon as he reached it, wanting solitude, despite his father's earlier warnings that it had the tendency to spring leaks. As was often the case as of late, he should have listened.
Deciding that however painful the apology would be, facing his father had to be better than having to guide a sinking boat to shore and find the campsite in the pitch darkness. Ready to face reality, Ephram turned to the motor and started the engine. Or, at least tried.
The engine gave a weak whirr and quickly sputtered into silence.
"You have got to be kidding me." growled Ephram, smacking the motor and trying the cord again, this time with even less luck. "Talk about karma." Sighing, he roughly pulled a hand through his hair, searching for any sort of oar or flare that might have miraculously appeared there. No such luck. The only thing inside the boat besides water and anything he had on his person was a tattered lifejacket that had been serving as a seat cushion.
Ephram snorted humorlessly. "Like this is going to help me now." Nevertheless, he pulled the vest over his head and strapped it on, gazing out at the vast expanse of water that had now turned a midnight blue.
"Okay, what are my options?" Ephram said, feeling a little more than foolish not only for talking aloud to himself, but for creating the situation to begin with. "I could wait until the Candid Camera appears, and have a good laugh over hot chocolate and a warm blanket. Or, I could scream myself hoarse, hoping that someone can hear me, and then wait for hours while they get help, which, judging by the fact that half the lake is in my boat, I don't have."
Dipping his hand in the cold, inky water, he muttered resignedly, "Or, I could jump out, swim for shore, and try to find Irv and my dad."
Knowing that in either of the plausible scenarios he would end up in the lake, and reasoning that he had a better chance of making it shore now that there was still a spark of light and his limbs weren't completely frozen, Ephram climbed over the side of the boat and dropped into the water.
Gasping from the shock of the cold, he treaded water to warm up his arms and legs, trying to push worries of drowning or freezing to death from his mind. With no other choice in sight, Ephram turned to the shore and began to swim, leaving the abandoned boat bobbing in his wake.