Hanging by a moment
Disclaimer: I do not own Everwood or any of the characters, except for Jake, Abby, and the doctors, those are mine. But everything else, they are all property of the WB.
Rating: PG
Ephram could feel himself draining fast, like water being sucked out of a bathtub. He could hear Amy talking, but her words were just small whispers that he couldn't understand. He knew what was coming next. He could see the 'bright light' but there wasn't any tunnel.
It seemed to him that only seconds went by, but he knew otherwise when he felt an enormous shock hit his chest. That shock made it difficult for Ephram to breathe, until he realized he wasn't breathing.
Another shock hit him, and this time it did some good. Ephram was getting further and further away from that light. He could feel life flowing back into his body, but still he couldn't breathe. No matter how hard he tried, nothing was coming in or out of his lungs.
He tried one last time to take a deep breath, and it worked. Ephram sat up in bed gasping for air, coughing seemed to be the only thing coming though.
"Ephram, Ephram you're okay. You're fine, sit back down." Andy put his hand on his son's shoulder, trying to calm him down. It was working.
Ephram realized what was going on, and slumped back into the bed, "Dad, I was so scared." Ephram managed to say through small coughs.
"I bet you were. We nearly lost you there." A doctor cut into the conversation, "We need to run some tests and see how this happened, but I'm sure Ephram will be fine."
"No, I wasn't afraid of dying, I was afraid that I would never get to keep that promise I made to Delia." Talking came easier to Ephram now, he could breathe better, but something still felt weird.
"Well, I'm sure you will be able to watch a movie with her sometime tomorrow." The doctor said, not letting Andy speak.
"No, it can't be tomorrow, it has to be...Wait, what time is it?" Ephram had lost all track of time when he was on that mountain.
"It's nearly eleven pm. Why?" The doctor asked.
"Shoot," Ephram muttered, "I promised her I would watch a movie tonight. I have to watch a movie with her, now." Ephram was hoping there was someway he could keep his promise, but he knew it wouldn't happen.
"I'm sorry son..."
Ephram interrupted the doctor, "Don't call me son, you aren't my father."
The doctor looked at Andy, who was smiling, "Okay, well I'm sorry, but there isn't any way we can let you keep that promise, because we have to get you all checked out, you don't want to scare your little sis like you did Amy, do you?"
"Amy? Where is she?" Amy had completely slipped Ephram's mind. Although, most things had in the past few hours, "I have to see her, is she okay?" He started sitting up, but pressure was being put on his lungs, and he couldn't move any further. He winced in pain and slowly sat back down.
"Are you okay, Ephram?" Andy stood up and walked to the side of Ephram's bed.
"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine." Ephram didn't want to lie, but it sounded better than the truth at that point, "You didn't answer my question. Where is Amy?"
"Amy is in the waiting room. You freaked her out when your heart stopped, she told me she didn't want to come back in here just yet, but I'm sure she'll be in here soon." Dr. Brown realized who he sounded like, that annoying little nurse at the front desk.
"Oh, okay." Ephram looked at the door, hoping Amy would walk through at any minute, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. He looked over at the doctor, and saw that he was putting some kind of needle in his IV, "What are you doing?" Ephram hated needles.
"I'm giving you a tranquilizer so you will go to sleep." The doctor answered.
"I never would have guessed it did that." Ephram hated when people said dumb things like the doc just did, "Why are you giving it to me?"
"Like I said, we have to check you out. It will be much easier if you are asleep."
"Aren't you forgetting something? Isn't the patient supposed to go first? Why didn't you ask me? I don't want to go back to sleep. I'll dream I'm back on that mountain again." Ephram didn't want to sleep; he had done enough of that already. The tranquilizer worked faster than he thought it would, and he was asleep before he knew it.
******
Bright walked out of the room he had been taken into a few hours earlier a little drowsy, and really confused.
"Bright are you okay?" Dr Abbott helped his son sit down, "I thought she was just going to stitch you up, not knock you out."
"She did just stitch me up, but I squeaked...Freaked for some raisin...Uh, reason, and ran into a tray of medical surprise...Supplies...I meant supplies." Harold smiled at his son.
"Maybe we should get you home. I think everyone should go home, including you Amy." Dr. and Mrs. Abbott gathered everybody's things and headed for the door, "Amy, come on, let's go."
"No, I'm not leaving Ephram." Amy stayed in her seat next to Delia.
"Amy," Nina got out of her seat and kneeled in front of Amy, "I think it would be best if you go home with your parents. You've had a long day. You need some rest."
"But," Amy started crying a little, "I can't leave him. He promised me he would be okay, and I still have to tell him what happened to Bright because he didn't hear me the first time." She couldn't contain herself, the tears kept coming.
"Amy, I know you are worried about Ephram, but I'm worried about you. You need to come home." Dr. Abbott grabbed her jacket from beside her as she stood from her chair, reluctantly, "I know it's hard, honey, but Nina will let you know if anything happens, right?"
Nina looked at Amy, "Uh, yeah, of course. Now go and get some sleep."
"Thanks Nina." Amy wiped a few tears away, and walked out the door being embraced by her mother.
"Okay God," Nina sat back down, "You can start using your miraculous powers at any time now, and I'm not going stopping you." She sat there watching Delia sleep, until, eventually, she fell asleep herself.
******
It had been a few hours, and was being wheeled back into his room where his dad was waiting, "How is he?" Andy stood up and met Dr. Taylor in the middle of the room.
"He'll be fine. Apparently we missed the fact that he had a few broken ribs, one so badly broken that it punctured a lung, but he's fine now." Dr. Taylor hated admitting that he had mad a major mistake, but Andy seemed to take it well.
"How could you miss that, are you blind? My son was on a mountain for nine hours, and you didn't think to check and see if he had any broken ribs!?! I thought you were a doctor? You're supposed to check these things!" .....I said Andy took it well, not great, "I would like to spend time alone with my son if you don't mind." Andy walked back to his chair and sat down again.
"Uh, yeah sure, no problem, he might not wake up for awhile, but you can stay here. I'm sure that's fine." Dr. Taylor walked out of the room, with the nurses he had walked in with following.
"How come everyone is so sure about everything, and yet nobody is sure if Ephram is going to come out of this okay?" Andy sat thinking to himself as he watched Ephram sleep. He could remember so many times in his life, when he wasn't a famous neurosurgeon, when he was alone with Ephram, and his son would get into so many things.
Like one time Ephram was playing in his room when he was three. He always liked to be alone, but Andy wouldn't allow it. He sat and watched Ephram play with his big Lego's and cars and trucks. He was so easily entertained by those things. He would ask his dad to play with him, and Andy would. They would laugh and play, and even have contests to see who could build the biggest towers, or whose car was the fastest.
Andy missed those days. Soon Ephram would be driving real cars, and he wouldn't need his fathers help to get around anymore, not that he would need it in Everwood, since the town was so small.
Andy wondered what had happened to that little boy with the toy cars. He had missed so many years of his life. Ephram was four and a half when Andy got really busy. He wanted all of those years back. He wanted to watch his son grow up, but it was too late for that now.
Andy had missed the most important years of Ephram's life, his childhood. And it was all because he cared more about his patients than he did his own children.
It was at that point that Andy knew Ephram had been right about a lot of things. Ephram had told him he cared more about patients, and he had been right. That was only one of many things Ephram had been right about, but Andy didn't have time to think about those, because Ephram was beginning to wake up.
******
Amy had been asleep for seven hours already, and she didn't show any signs of waking any time soon. Bright let her sleep; he knew she had to be tired after yesterday.
It was about eight when the phone rang, and that was when Amy woke up. She ran to her desk, but her phone wasn't there. She remembered taking downstairs the night before when she told everyone about Ephram. She darted down the hall and then down the steps into the living room.
The phone had already been answered by her father. He smiled at Amy when she walked into the room, "Come here sweetheart, there is someone here who wants to talk to you." Dr. Abbott handed her the phone.
"Hello?" Amy put the phone up to her ear.
"Hey Aims." A weak voice came from the other end. Amy immediately knew it was Ephram. She smiled from ear to ear.
"Hey stranger, how are you?" Amy wanted him to be the way he was before they went hiking. No bruises or anything.
"I've been better. Listen, I can't talk for long, doctor's orders, but I was just calling to tell you that I'm alright, and I would love it if you would come to the hospital later today." There was a small pause, "You don't have to come if you don't want to." Ephram said with a laugh.
"Oh, no, I'll be there as soon as I can." Amy and Ephram said there goodbyes, and she was halfway up the steps before Dr. Abbott could say a single word.
******
Ephram had gone to sleep after getting off the phone with Amy. He wanted her to get there soon, and that was the only way he knew that could happen. Delia still hadn't seen him, and she wanted to see him, really badly.
"He's asleep right now, Delia. You'll be able to see him after he talks to Amy." Andy knew that would upset her, but he also knew Ephram and Amy needed to talk.
"But I don't want to wait that long, daddy! Ephram is okay now, and everyone knows it, so why does he have to talk to her before I get to see him? Ephram is MY brother!" Delia stormed off with her arms crossed.
"I'll go talk to her." Nina looked at Andy with an apologetic smile, even though she hadn't done anything. She ran after Delia as fast as she could.
"Today should be a fun day." Andy knew how many people actually cared about Ephram, so that meant not too many people would be coming, but at there would be enough to start trouble.
The rule was Ephram could have only one person in the room at a time. So that meant it would be Amy, and then Delia...But he didn't know how many people would show up after that. If too many people came, Andy would have to ask some of them to leave, and visit whenever Ephram gets home, which wouldn't be too far in the future. That's when Andy wondered how many friends Ephram had at school these days.
******
Amy got out of the car before it even stopped. She ran into the hospital and didn't stop until she saw Dr. Brown, "How is he?" She asked breathlessly.
"He's fine. It appears he had a few broken ribs, and one punctured a lung. That's what caused his heart to stop last night, it was because he wasn't getting enough oxygen. He's asleep now, but he said you could wake him up whenever you got here." Andy walked Amy the rest of the way to Ephram's room. He opened the door for her, and right after she walked in, closed it back again.
******
Amy turned around when she heard the door close, she had thought Dr. Brown was coming in with her, but apparently she was wrong. After turning back around, she slowly walked towards Ephram's bed. She looked at his eyes, which were closed, and then searched around the room for a chair.
She found one and pulled it next to the bed. She just sat there for a few minutes, not wanting to wake Ephram up. He looked so peaceful, which Amy hadn't seen that expression on his face for the past twenty-four hours. She was glad he was happy, but she wanted to him to be awake at the same time.
She stood up and put her arm on his right shoulder. She shook it a little to try to get him to move. He all of a sudden grabbed her arm and yelled, "BOO!" Amy jumped back with a scream, nearly falling over the chair.
"Ephram Brown, I ought to have your head for that!" That little prank did scare her, but she was glad he was well enough to do that, "How are you feeling?"
"I thought I already answered that question over the phone." Ephram smiled at Amy's forgetfulness, inside he knew he was really smiling at her, but he wouldn't tell her that.
"Oh yeah, I knew that. I was..."
"Just testing me? Yeah, that never works, so don't try it." Ephram interrupted her, knowing she wouldn't mind, "You know what? I'm kind of disappointed in you Amy Abbott."
Amy didn't know what he was talking about, so she had to ask, "What are you talking about? I didn't do anything."
"That's just it, you didn't do anything." Amy was more than confused, and Ephram could tell, "You didn't bring me a present or flowers or anything." Ephram smiled as he said the last sentence, he couldn't keep it in any longer.
"You are such a dork!" Amy lightly punched him in his right arm.
"Last I checked I was a guy." Ephram grabbed Amy's hand before she could punch him again, "I've got you this time. You can't escape."
"Do you wanna bet?" Amy pulled away as hard as she could, successfully getting away from Ephram, "I knew you weren't strong enough for me."
"Gee, I wonder why?" Ephram was being sarcastic.
"Oh, yeah, I'm really so..."
"Don't start this again, Amy. I told you it wasn't your fault, and I was serious. Now if you keep saying things like, it is, I'll have to take drastic measures." Ephram didn't know what that drastic measure would be, but he had a pretty good idea.
"Oh yeah, and what's that?" She wasn't supposed to ask that question yet.
"Uh, the reason I asked you to come here is because I wanted to ask you something." Ephram didn't want to tell her this now, but there was no time like the present.
"What are you talking about? What do you want to ask me?"
"Amy, when I hanging by that rope, and you sang that stupid song, I actually listened to it. I listened to one part especially, I think it was probably the chorus," Ephram didn't sing it, he only spoke the words to the song, "I'm falling even more in love with you, letting go of all I've held onto, I'm standing here until you make me move, I'm hanging by a moment here with you."
"What about it?" Amy asked after Ephram stopped talking.
"Those lines echoed through my head the whole time I was up there, and you weren't with me. Every part of that chorus was true to my life, I AM falling in love with you. And, I didn't think it was possible, but I'm falling even MORE in love with you every time I'm with you." Ephram looked into her eyes, without looking, he could tell she was smiling a little, "Amy, I have let go of everything I have ever known to be right in my life. When I felt horrible about my mother dying, you got me past that. That time that I hated my father for never being there for me or Delia, you told me to try and forgive him, and I did. I will stand with you as long as you will let me, Amy. I will be with you until you make me move."
The smile on Amy's face grew bigger and bigger the more Ephram spoke.
"And, for every second I am with you, I am hanging by a moment. Those words were more than true when I was dangling from that rope, but you never left, you never gave up. You had faith that I would make it through, and it is because of you that I'm still alive. It is because of you that I get to see my friends and family again. And, because of you, I get to tell all of this to you. I get to express what I have felt for you, since the first day I met you." Ephram looked down at the covers and started playing with one of the corners, "But you probably don't even care." He said quietly, not quite in a whisper.
Amy stood closer to him and put her hand on his shoulder, "Yes, I do Ephram. Do you see my face? Do you see this smile? I have never been so happy in my entire life. I wanted to tell you the same things, but I didn't have the courage." Amy turned his head towards her, "Ephram, it's because of you I get out of bed each morning. Knowing that I have someone like you to see everyday lights up my life. I never want to miss a second when I'm with you, but sometimes I do, and that's okay too."
"What are you talking about?"
"I want to be with you, Ephram. And if I miss a minute of my life with you, so be it, I'll get it back someday. If you are saying what I think you are, I feel the same way." Amy didn't know what was going to happen when she said that, but when she did, Ephram's face said it all.
"Amy..." Ephram could barely get the words out, he smiled and laughed a little, "Amy Abbott...Will you be my girlfriend?"
Amy's smile got so big she thought her face would stay in that position forever, "Of course I will...Ephram Brown." She looked at him, and with bright eyes said, "You know what we have to do now, right?"
"Seal it with a kiss." Amy nodded and leaned in closer. There lips touched slightly, and before either of them knew it, the kiss was over.
Disclaimer: I do not own Everwood or any of the characters, except for Jake, Abby, and the doctors, those are mine. But everything else, they are all property of the WB.
Rating: PG
Ephram could feel himself draining fast, like water being sucked out of a bathtub. He could hear Amy talking, but her words were just small whispers that he couldn't understand. He knew what was coming next. He could see the 'bright light' but there wasn't any tunnel.
It seemed to him that only seconds went by, but he knew otherwise when he felt an enormous shock hit his chest. That shock made it difficult for Ephram to breathe, until he realized he wasn't breathing.
Another shock hit him, and this time it did some good. Ephram was getting further and further away from that light. He could feel life flowing back into his body, but still he couldn't breathe. No matter how hard he tried, nothing was coming in or out of his lungs.
He tried one last time to take a deep breath, and it worked. Ephram sat up in bed gasping for air, coughing seemed to be the only thing coming though.
"Ephram, Ephram you're okay. You're fine, sit back down." Andy put his hand on his son's shoulder, trying to calm him down. It was working.
Ephram realized what was going on, and slumped back into the bed, "Dad, I was so scared." Ephram managed to say through small coughs.
"I bet you were. We nearly lost you there." A doctor cut into the conversation, "We need to run some tests and see how this happened, but I'm sure Ephram will be fine."
"No, I wasn't afraid of dying, I was afraid that I would never get to keep that promise I made to Delia." Talking came easier to Ephram now, he could breathe better, but something still felt weird.
"Well, I'm sure you will be able to watch a movie with her sometime tomorrow." The doctor said, not letting Andy speak.
"No, it can't be tomorrow, it has to be...Wait, what time is it?" Ephram had lost all track of time when he was on that mountain.
"It's nearly eleven pm. Why?" The doctor asked.
"Shoot," Ephram muttered, "I promised her I would watch a movie tonight. I have to watch a movie with her, now." Ephram was hoping there was someway he could keep his promise, but he knew it wouldn't happen.
"I'm sorry son..."
Ephram interrupted the doctor, "Don't call me son, you aren't my father."
The doctor looked at Andy, who was smiling, "Okay, well I'm sorry, but there isn't any way we can let you keep that promise, because we have to get you all checked out, you don't want to scare your little sis like you did Amy, do you?"
"Amy? Where is she?" Amy had completely slipped Ephram's mind. Although, most things had in the past few hours, "I have to see her, is she okay?" He started sitting up, but pressure was being put on his lungs, and he couldn't move any further. He winced in pain and slowly sat back down.
"Are you okay, Ephram?" Andy stood up and walked to the side of Ephram's bed.
"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine." Ephram didn't want to lie, but it sounded better than the truth at that point, "You didn't answer my question. Where is Amy?"
"Amy is in the waiting room. You freaked her out when your heart stopped, she told me she didn't want to come back in here just yet, but I'm sure she'll be in here soon." Dr. Brown realized who he sounded like, that annoying little nurse at the front desk.
"Oh, okay." Ephram looked at the door, hoping Amy would walk through at any minute, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. He looked over at the doctor, and saw that he was putting some kind of needle in his IV, "What are you doing?" Ephram hated needles.
"I'm giving you a tranquilizer so you will go to sleep." The doctor answered.
"I never would have guessed it did that." Ephram hated when people said dumb things like the doc just did, "Why are you giving it to me?"
"Like I said, we have to check you out. It will be much easier if you are asleep."
"Aren't you forgetting something? Isn't the patient supposed to go first? Why didn't you ask me? I don't want to go back to sleep. I'll dream I'm back on that mountain again." Ephram didn't want to sleep; he had done enough of that already. The tranquilizer worked faster than he thought it would, and he was asleep before he knew it.
******
Bright walked out of the room he had been taken into a few hours earlier a little drowsy, and really confused.
"Bright are you okay?" Dr Abbott helped his son sit down, "I thought she was just going to stitch you up, not knock you out."
"She did just stitch me up, but I squeaked...Freaked for some raisin...Uh, reason, and ran into a tray of medical surprise...Supplies...I meant supplies." Harold smiled at his son.
"Maybe we should get you home. I think everyone should go home, including you Amy." Dr. and Mrs. Abbott gathered everybody's things and headed for the door, "Amy, come on, let's go."
"No, I'm not leaving Ephram." Amy stayed in her seat next to Delia.
"Amy," Nina got out of her seat and kneeled in front of Amy, "I think it would be best if you go home with your parents. You've had a long day. You need some rest."
"But," Amy started crying a little, "I can't leave him. He promised me he would be okay, and I still have to tell him what happened to Bright because he didn't hear me the first time." She couldn't contain herself, the tears kept coming.
"Amy, I know you are worried about Ephram, but I'm worried about you. You need to come home." Dr. Abbott grabbed her jacket from beside her as she stood from her chair, reluctantly, "I know it's hard, honey, but Nina will let you know if anything happens, right?"
Nina looked at Amy, "Uh, yeah, of course. Now go and get some sleep."
"Thanks Nina." Amy wiped a few tears away, and walked out the door being embraced by her mother.
"Okay God," Nina sat back down, "You can start using your miraculous powers at any time now, and I'm not going stopping you." She sat there watching Delia sleep, until, eventually, she fell asleep herself.
******
It had been a few hours, and was being wheeled back into his room where his dad was waiting, "How is he?" Andy stood up and met Dr. Taylor in the middle of the room.
"He'll be fine. Apparently we missed the fact that he had a few broken ribs, one so badly broken that it punctured a lung, but he's fine now." Dr. Taylor hated admitting that he had mad a major mistake, but Andy seemed to take it well.
"How could you miss that, are you blind? My son was on a mountain for nine hours, and you didn't think to check and see if he had any broken ribs!?! I thought you were a doctor? You're supposed to check these things!" .....I said Andy took it well, not great, "I would like to spend time alone with my son if you don't mind." Andy walked back to his chair and sat down again.
"Uh, yeah sure, no problem, he might not wake up for awhile, but you can stay here. I'm sure that's fine." Dr. Taylor walked out of the room, with the nurses he had walked in with following.
"How come everyone is so sure about everything, and yet nobody is sure if Ephram is going to come out of this okay?" Andy sat thinking to himself as he watched Ephram sleep. He could remember so many times in his life, when he wasn't a famous neurosurgeon, when he was alone with Ephram, and his son would get into so many things.
Like one time Ephram was playing in his room when he was three. He always liked to be alone, but Andy wouldn't allow it. He sat and watched Ephram play with his big Lego's and cars and trucks. He was so easily entertained by those things. He would ask his dad to play with him, and Andy would. They would laugh and play, and even have contests to see who could build the biggest towers, or whose car was the fastest.
Andy missed those days. Soon Ephram would be driving real cars, and he wouldn't need his fathers help to get around anymore, not that he would need it in Everwood, since the town was so small.
Andy wondered what had happened to that little boy with the toy cars. He had missed so many years of his life. Ephram was four and a half when Andy got really busy. He wanted all of those years back. He wanted to watch his son grow up, but it was too late for that now.
Andy had missed the most important years of Ephram's life, his childhood. And it was all because he cared more about his patients than he did his own children.
It was at that point that Andy knew Ephram had been right about a lot of things. Ephram had told him he cared more about patients, and he had been right. That was only one of many things Ephram had been right about, but Andy didn't have time to think about those, because Ephram was beginning to wake up.
******
Amy had been asleep for seven hours already, and she didn't show any signs of waking any time soon. Bright let her sleep; he knew she had to be tired after yesterday.
It was about eight when the phone rang, and that was when Amy woke up. She ran to her desk, but her phone wasn't there. She remembered taking downstairs the night before when she told everyone about Ephram. She darted down the hall and then down the steps into the living room.
The phone had already been answered by her father. He smiled at Amy when she walked into the room, "Come here sweetheart, there is someone here who wants to talk to you." Dr. Abbott handed her the phone.
"Hello?" Amy put the phone up to her ear.
"Hey Aims." A weak voice came from the other end. Amy immediately knew it was Ephram. She smiled from ear to ear.
"Hey stranger, how are you?" Amy wanted him to be the way he was before they went hiking. No bruises or anything.
"I've been better. Listen, I can't talk for long, doctor's orders, but I was just calling to tell you that I'm alright, and I would love it if you would come to the hospital later today." There was a small pause, "You don't have to come if you don't want to." Ephram said with a laugh.
"Oh, no, I'll be there as soon as I can." Amy and Ephram said there goodbyes, and she was halfway up the steps before Dr. Abbott could say a single word.
******
Ephram had gone to sleep after getting off the phone with Amy. He wanted her to get there soon, and that was the only way he knew that could happen. Delia still hadn't seen him, and she wanted to see him, really badly.
"He's asleep right now, Delia. You'll be able to see him after he talks to Amy." Andy knew that would upset her, but he also knew Ephram and Amy needed to talk.
"But I don't want to wait that long, daddy! Ephram is okay now, and everyone knows it, so why does he have to talk to her before I get to see him? Ephram is MY brother!" Delia stormed off with her arms crossed.
"I'll go talk to her." Nina looked at Andy with an apologetic smile, even though she hadn't done anything. She ran after Delia as fast as she could.
"Today should be a fun day." Andy knew how many people actually cared about Ephram, so that meant not too many people would be coming, but at there would be enough to start trouble.
The rule was Ephram could have only one person in the room at a time. So that meant it would be Amy, and then Delia...But he didn't know how many people would show up after that. If too many people came, Andy would have to ask some of them to leave, and visit whenever Ephram gets home, which wouldn't be too far in the future. That's when Andy wondered how many friends Ephram had at school these days.
******
Amy got out of the car before it even stopped. She ran into the hospital and didn't stop until she saw Dr. Brown, "How is he?" She asked breathlessly.
"He's fine. It appears he had a few broken ribs, and one punctured a lung. That's what caused his heart to stop last night, it was because he wasn't getting enough oxygen. He's asleep now, but he said you could wake him up whenever you got here." Andy walked Amy the rest of the way to Ephram's room. He opened the door for her, and right after she walked in, closed it back again.
******
Amy turned around when she heard the door close, she had thought Dr. Brown was coming in with her, but apparently she was wrong. After turning back around, she slowly walked towards Ephram's bed. She looked at his eyes, which were closed, and then searched around the room for a chair.
She found one and pulled it next to the bed. She just sat there for a few minutes, not wanting to wake Ephram up. He looked so peaceful, which Amy hadn't seen that expression on his face for the past twenty-four hours. She was glad he was happy, but she wanted to him to be awake at the same time.
She stood up and put her arm on his right shoulder. She shook it a little to try to get him to move. He all of a sudden grabbed her arm and yelled, "BOO!" Amy jumped back with a scream, nearly falling over the chair.
"Ephram Brown, I ought to have your head for that!" That little prank did scare her, but she was glad he was well enough to do that, "How are you feeling?"
"I thought I already answered that question over the phone." Ephram smiled at Amy's forgetfulness, inside he knew he was really smiling at her, but he wouldn't tell her that.
"Oh yeah, I knew that. I was..."
"Just testing me? Yeah, that never works, so don't try it." Ephram interrupted her, knowing she wouldn't mind, "You know what? I'm kind of disappointed in you Amy Abbott."
Amy didn't know what he was talking about, so she had to ask, "What are you talking about? I didn't do anything."
"That's just it, you didn't do anything." Amy was more than confused, and Ephram could tell, "You didn't bring me a present or flowers or anything." Ephram smiled as he said the last sentence, he couldn't keep it in any longer.
"You are such a dork!" Amy lightly punched him in his right arm.
"Last I checked I was a guy." Ephram grabbed Amy's hand before she could punch him again, "I've got you this time. You can't escape."
"Do you wanna bet?" Amy pulled away as hard as she could, successfully getting away from Ephram, "I knew you weren't strong enough for me."
"Gee, I wonder why?" Ephram was being sarcastic.
"Oh, yeah, I'm really so..."
"Don't start this again, Amy. I told you it wasn't your fault, and I was serious. Now if you keep saying things like, it is, I'll have to take drastic measures." Ephram didn't know what that drastic measure would be, but he had a pretty good idea.
"Oh yeah, and what's that?" She wasn't supposed to ask that question yet.
"Uh, the reason I asked you to come here is because I wanted to ask you something." Ephram didn't want to tell her this now, but there was no time like the present.
"What are you talking about? What do you want to ask me?"
"Amy, when I hanging by that rope, and you sang that stupid song, I actually listened to it. I listened to one part especially, I think it was probably the chorus," Ephram didn't sing it, he only spoke the words to the song, "I'm falling even more in love with you, letting go of all I've held onto, I'm standing here until you make me move, I'm hanging by a moment here with you."
"What about it?" Amy asked after Ephram stopped talking.
"Those lines echoed through my head the whole time I was up there, and you weren't with me. Every part of that chorus was true to my life, I AM falling in love with you. And, I didn't think it was possible, but I'm falling even MORE in love with you every time I'm with you." Ephram looked into her eyes, without looking, he could tell she was smiling a little, "Amy, I have let go of everything I have ever known to be right in my life. When I felt horrible about my mother dying, you got me past that. That time that I hated my father for never being there for me or Delia, you told me to try and forgive him, and I did. I will stand with you as long as you will let me, Amy. I will be with you until you make me move."
The smile on Amy's face grew bigger and bigger the more Ephram spoke.
"And, for every second I am with you, I am hanging by a moment. Those words were more than true when I was dangling from that rope, but you never left, you never gave up. You had faith that I would make it through, and it is because of you that I'm still alive. It is because of you that I get to see my friends and family again. And, because of you, I get to tell all of this to you. I get to express what I have felt for you, since the first day I met you." Ephram looked down at the covers and started playing with one of the corners, "But you probably don't even care." He said quietly, not quite in a whisper.
Amy stood closer to him and put her hand on his shoulder, "Yes, I do Ephram. Do you see my face? Do you see this smile? I have never been so happy in my entire life. I wanted to tell you the same things, but I didn't have the courage." Amy turned his head towards her, "Ephram, it's because of you I get out of bed each morning. Knowing that I have someone like you to see everyday lights up my life. I never want to miss a second when I'm with you, but sometimes I do, and that's okay too."
"What are you talking about?"
"I want to be with you, Ephram. And if I miss a minute of my life with you, so be it, I'll get it back someday. If you are saying what I think you are, I feel the same way." Amy didn't know what was going to happen when she said that, but when she did, Ephram's face said it all.
"Amy..." Ephram could barely get the words out, he smiled and laughed a little, "Amy Abbott...Will you be my girlfriend?"
Amy's smile got so big she thought her face would stay in that position forever, "Of course I will...Ephram Brown." She looked at him, and with bright eyes said, "You know what we have to do now, right?"
"Seal it with a kiss." Amy nodded and leaned in closer. There lips touched slightly, and before either of them knew it, the kiss was over.