The Price of Forgiveness
By: Ruse
For Summary and Disclaimer, see Chapter 1 (
********************
Chapter 4: Paternal Instinct
They say that parents have a special connection with their children, a sort of ESP that allows a mother to hear her sick son rasp her name in the middle of the night, or a father to know that his daughter just skinned her knee on the front walk.
Later, Andy would wonder if that was how he heard Ephram's cry for help.
Either that or he had exceptionally sensitive hearing.
He had never been so afraid in his entire life. Even when Julia died, there had been definition, a sense of finality that lent itself to hopelessness, not helplessness. From the second he realized what Ephram had done, a wave of panic clutched his heart. His son, his only son, could be in danger. Night had fallen, and, with the air void of the thrumming sound of a working motorboat, it was impossible to tell whether Ephram had merely pulled the boat ashore elsewhere, or perhaps was just sitting in the middle of the lake, deep in thought. Or something worse.
Andy was in the process of going mad with these thoughts, tearing through the underbrush with the passion of someone who knows they're useless but is determined not to accept it, when he a weak noise caught his attention. He halted instantly, trying to quiet his heavy breathing in order to hear.
There it was again; soft, desperate, and, to Andy's ears, unmistakably Ephram. He took off in the direction of the sound, praying that he wasn't too late, that his son was all right. The cries died away, so Andy took up the cause instead, bellowing his son's name in hopes that, whatever situation he was in, Ephram would hold on for a bit longer.
Paying no attention to his footing, Andy tripped over a log, sending him sprawling onto the wet, soft sand of the bank. Swearing softly, he looked up from his prone position at the lake a few feet away. His heart froze at the sight that met his eyes.
Bobbing in the water, pale and unconscious, was Ephram.
Not wasting a second, Andy scrambled up from the damp ground and splashed into the water, ignoring the icy temperature. Grabbing the back of the life jacket, he hauled his son out of the water, trying not to notice his deathly pallor.
He checked Ephram's breathing and pulse, relieved to find that the boy did, in fact, have both, though they were dangerously slow. There seemed to be no apparent injuries, but his skin was cold to the touch, and his fingers were taking on a bluish hue.
"Hypothermia," Andy muttered as he stripped off his son's life jacket and drenched shirt, replacing them with his own thick, if not slightly damp, coat. He pulled his cell phone out and dialed the number for Denver Memorial Hospital, praying that reception was still good out in the woods.
"Hello? This is Doctor Andrew Brown, and I have an emergency. I'm at Valley Lake, north of Everwood, and I have a 15 year-old male suffering from acute hypothermia. He's unresponsive, pulse 45. Honestly, I don't think I can find my way to a road so-"
Pausing, Andy looked around for an answer to the dispatcher's question.
"Yes, I think there might be a clearing a little farther in, but it's hard to see. I really don't remember...All right, yes, thank you." Sighing in relief, Andy pocketed his cell and turned his attention back to his son.
"Come on Ephram, you have to wake up now. They're sending a chopper to fly us to Denver...always one for the drama, aren't you?" Andy smiled sadly, gently rubbing the boy's hands to warm them up. "I remember a mobile that you had over your crib as a baby. It had little helicopters and airplanes on it. You were always reaching up to grab it. Your mom said you were going to be a pilot someday--"
Hoarse coughing brought Andy back to reality.
"Ephram? Come on, buddy, open your eyes." He anxiously leaned over the shaking boy.
Andy was rewarded with his son's gray, unfocused gaze. "Dad?"
"Yeah, it's me. It's going to be all right."
"But I...what's...I thought Mom was..." Ephram's words were disjointed and mildly slurred, prompting Andy's concern.
"You have to calm down, Ephram. Things might not make sense just now, but everything will be just fine." Inwardly he was panicking, realizing just how serious the situation was. The boy was shivering uncontrollably, obviously disoriented, and quite possibly going into shock. But out in the wilderness, there was hardly a thing he could do for him.
"Now, I'm going to elevate your legs. I need you to stay awake for me, okay? Talk to me about something...see to any pretty girls lately?" He pulled over the log that had tripped him earlier, using it to prop up his son's feet.
Ephram's answer was too soft to understand, so Andy asked again.
"Amy."
"Oh yeah? Tell me about Amy." Finished, Andy shifted back up to his son's head and resumed warming his hands.
"You know Amy, Dad." The boy muttered drowsily, his eyelids flickering.
"Sure, but I want to hear about her from you. What do you like about her? Her hair? Her teeth? Her clothes?" Andy prompted, trying to keep the boy awake and talking until help arrived.
"Her smile."
"Really?" Andy paused at the answer, surprised.
"When she smiles, everything's okay." Ephram slurred, obviously struggling against exhaustion.
"That's the same way it was with your mom. Her smile could just light up a room."
"And her laugh. I...I just..."
"I know." Andy pushed the boy's wet bangs away from his forehead, wincing at the touch of his cold skin.
"When she died, all I could think about was her laugh." Ephram's cloudy mind jumped thoughts, momentarily throwing the older man off guard.
"Your mom?" It was more of an answer than a question.
"I miss her."
"Me too."
"I want to hear her laugh again." Ephram choked out, dissolving into a coughing fit.
Andy blinked back tears and strained his eyes for a sign of the helicopter.
"You will, son, someday. But not today."
********************************
Author's Note: All right, so there seemed to be more demand than previously expected! Thanks for inspiring me to write more. I do hope this was worth it for all of you! Tell me what you think. I am *not* a doctor, and have *no* medical training *whatsoever*, so please, cut me some slack. An online medical encyclopedia is my only source of knowledge regarding hypothermia, so blame that if I'm wrong ;) So, what will happen to Ephram? Will the helicopter make it in time? It looks like my idea is a bit off from next Monday's episode, but whatever! I'll try to get the next part out soon, but I have quite a bit to do for school right now, so this really isn't top priority (
Thanks to all my reviewers!
Rofro05: Are you eternally grateful now? Lol. I really appreciate your comments, and I hope this satisfies your want for more Ephram (
KlownKid_131: Thanks. I tried to make this one longer, to make up for the terribly short one last time ;) Hope you enjoyed it!
Snoopy: Wow, gotta love the enthusiasm...I should ask for wild demand more often, lol. Hope you liked ths part.
bflyangel2002: Thanks for the compliments, they really mean a lot!
Luvcarter: Heh, where's the wild demand again? J/k, thanks for the encouragement!
Shaniatwainrox74: I agree, Amy *is* a fool for leaving our poor Ephram hanging. I might try to stick her in to a later chapter, depending on where I go with this. Hope you enjoyed it (
Sarah: Soon enough for you? LoL. Your review was oh-so-nice, thanks a million! I'm glad you didn't think the other part was rushed, but I did try to slow this one down a bit, just in case (
Sorry I didn't do this for previous chapters, and sorry if I missed anyone! I'll be formatting it this way from now on.
By: Ruse
For Summary and Disclaimer, see Chapter 1 (
********************
Chapter 4: Paternal Instinct
They say that parents have a special connection with their children, a sort of ESP that allows a mother to hear her sick son rasp her name in the middle of the night, or a father to know that his daughter just skinned her knee on the front walk.
Later, Andy would wonder if that was how he heard Ephram's cry for help.
Either that or he had exceptionally sensitive hearing.
He had never been so afraid in his entire life. Even when Julia died, there had been definition, a sense of finality that lent itself to hopelessness, not helplessness. From the second he realized what Ephram had done, a wave of panic clutched his heart. His son, his only son, could be in danger. Night had fallen, and, with the air void of the thrumming sound of a working motorboat, it was impossible to tell whether Ephram had merely pulled the boat ashore elsewhere, or perhaps was just sitting in the middle of the lake, deep in thought. Or something worse.
Andy was in the process of going mad with these thoughts, tearing through the underbrush with the passion of someone who knows they're useless but is determined not to accept it, when he a weak noise caught his attention. He halted instantly, trying to quiet his heavy breathing in order to hear.
There it was again; soft, desperate, and, to Andy's ears, unmistakably Ephram. He took off in the direction of the sound, praying that he wasn't too late, that his son was all right. The cries died away, so Andy took up the cause instead, bellowing his son's name in hopes that, whatever situation he was in, Ephram would hold on for a bit longer.
Paying no attention to his footing, Andy tripped over a log, sending him sprawling onto the wet, soft sand of the bank. Swearing softly, he looked up from his prone position at the lake a few feet away. His heart froze at the sight that met his eyes.
Bobbing in the water, pale and unconscious, was Ephram.
Not wasting a second, Andy scrambled up from the damp ground and splashed into the water, ignoring the icy temperature. Grabbing the back of the life jacket, he hauled his son out of the water, trying not to notice his deathly pallor.
He checked Ephram's breathing and pulse, relieved to find that the boy did, in fact, have both, though they were dangerously slow. There seemed to be no apparent injuries, but his skin was cold to the touch, and his fingers were taking on a bluish hue.
"Hypothermia," Andy muttered as he stripped off his son's life jacket and drenched shirt, replacing them with his own thick, if not slightly damp, coat. He pulled his cell phone out and dialed the number for Denver Memorial Hospital, praying that reception was still good out in the woods.
"Hello? This is Doctor Andrew Brown, and I have an emergency. I'm at Valley Lake, north of Everwood, and I have a 15 year-old male suffering from acute hypothermia. He's unresponsive, pulse 45. Honestly, I don't think I can find my way to a road so-"
Pausing, Andy looked around for an answer to the dispatcher's question.
"Yes, I think there might be a clearing a little farther in, but it's hard to see. I really don't remember...All right, yes, thank you." Sighing in relief, Andy pocketed his cell and turned his attention back to his son.
"Come on Ephram, you have to wake up now. They're sending a chopper to fly us to Denver...always one for the drama, aren't you?" Andy smiled sadly, gently rubbing the boy's hands to warm them up. "I remember a mobile that you had over your crib as a baby. It had little helicopters and airplanes on it. You were always reaching up to grab it. Your mom said you were going to be a pilot someday--"
Hoarse coughing brought Andy back to reality.
"Ephram? Come on, buddy, open your eyes." He anxiously leaned over the shaking boy.
Andy was rewarded with his son's gray, unfocused gaze. "Dad?"
"Yeah, it's me. It's going to be all right."
"But I...what's...I thought Mom was..." Ephram's words were disjointed and mildly slurred, prompting Andy's concern.
"You have to calm down, Ephram. Things might not make sense just now, but everything will be just fine." Inwardly he was panicking, realizing just how serious the situation was. The boy was shivering uncontrollably, obviously disoriented, and quite possibly going into shock. But out in the wilderness, there was hardly a thing he could do for him.
"Now, I'm going to elevate your legs. I need you to stay awake for me, okay? Talk to me about something...see to any pretty girls lately?" He pulled over the log that had tripped him earlier, using it to prop up his son's feet.
Ephram's answer was too soft to understand, so Andy asked again.
"Amy."
"Oh yeah? Tell me about Amy." Finished, Andy shifted back up to his son's head and resumed warming his hands.
"You know Amy, Dad." The boy muttered drowsily, his eyelids flickering.
"Sure, but I want to hear about her from you. What do you like about her? Her hair? Her teeth? Her clothes?" Andy prompted, trying to keep the boy awake and talking until help arrived.
"Her smile."
"Really?" Andy paused at the answer, surprised.
"When she smiles, everything's okay." Ephram slurred, obviously struggling against exhaustion.
"That's the same way it was with your mom. Her smile could just light up a room."
"And her laugh. I...I just..."
"I know." Andy pushed the boy's wet bangs away from his forehead, wincing at the touch of his cold skin.
"When she died, all I could think about was her laugh." Ephram's cloudy mind jumped thoughts, momentarily throwing the older man off guard.
"Your mom?" It was more of an answer than a question.
"I miss her."
"Me too."
"I want to hear her laugh again." Ephram choked out, dissolving into a coughing fit.
Andy blinked back tears and strained his eyes for a sign of the helicopter.
"You will, son, someday. But not today."
********************************
Author's Note: All right, so there seemed to be more demand than previously expected! Thanks for inspiring me to write more. I do hope this was worth it for all of you! Tell me what you think. I am *not* a doctor, and have *no* medical training *whatsoever*, so please, cut me some slack. An online medical encyclopedia is my only source of knowledge regarding hypothermia, so blame that if I'm wrong ;) So, what will happen to Ephram? Will the helicopter make it in time? It looks like my idea is a bit off from next Monday's episode, but whatever! I'll try to get the next part out soon, but I have quite a bit to do for school right now, so this really isn't top priority (
Thanks to all my reviewers!
Rofro05: Are you eternally grateful now? Lol. I really appreciate your comments, and I hope this satisfies your want for more Ephram (
KlownKid_131: Thanks. I tried to make this one longer, to make up for the terribly short one last time ;) Hope you enjoyed it!
Snoopy: Wow, gotta love the enthusiasm...I should ask for wild demand more often, lol. Hope you liked ths part.
bflyangel2002: Thanks for the compliments, they really mean a lot!
Luvcarter: Heh, where's the wild demand again? J/k, thanks for the encouragement!
Shaniatwainrox74: I agree, Amy *is* a fool for leaving our poor Ephram hanging. I might try to stick her in to a later chapter, depending on where I go with this. Hope you enjoyed it (
Sarah: Soon enough for you? LoL. Your review was oh-so-nice, thanks a million! I'm glad you didn't think the other part was rushed, but I did try to slow this one down a bit, just in case (
Sorry I didn't do this for previous chapters, and sorry if I missed anyone! I'll be formatting it this way from now on.