[Open on a view of downtown Everwood. But it's not the Everwood we know and love. It's Everwood in the year 1968. The train station is fully functioning. The Abbott family gets out of their car and start heading towards the train station. "Get Together" by The Youngbloods is playing in the background.]
NARRATOR: The whistle of a train is a mournful sound, as if the locomotive itself could grow tired of saying goodbye. It is a sound of wars and death...
[Cut to the interior of the train station. It's busy. A lot of people are saying their good-byes to loved ones going away to war. The Abbotts are among them; Edna is the one leaving.]
NARRATOR: (CONT'D) ...distances of time and space, of families ripped apart, love torn asunder, futures repealed.
YOUNG EDNA: All right, this is it. Who wants to hear the spiel first?
[Young Harold (about 12 years in age) raises his hand.]
YOUNG EDNA: All right, Harold, here you come.
[Young Edna and Young Harold go off to the side.]
YOUNG HAROLD: Mother, if I may, I’d like to take this opportunity to review my pros and cons list for your military tour.
YOUNG EDNA: I know this is hard on you. It’s gonna be even harder on your sister. I want you to take care of her, OK? You’re her superior. That puts her in your chain of command. That makes her well-being your responsibility. You got it?
[Young Harold nods, fighting back tears.]
YOUNG EDNA: You’re a good kid, Harold. Try not to take everything so seriously. Go get your sister.
[Young Linda (about 8 years in age) comes over excitedly.]
YOUNG LINDA: Mom, can I visit you in Vietnam?
YOUNG EDNA: Well, that might be a little bit tricky from a logistics standpoint, but I’ll see what I can do. Now, listen, Linda, I told your older brother to take care of you while I was gone, but we both know that’s a bunch of hooey.
[They both laugh.]
YOUNG EDNA: Truth is, I’m counting on you to take care of him. Understood?
YOUNG LINDA: Understood.
YOUNG EDNA: That’s my girl.
STATIONMASTER'S VOICE: All aboard for train 62 bound for Denver. All aboard.
YOUNG DR. ABBOTT SR.'S VOICE: Kids, I need a minute alone with your mother. Go watch from the window.
[While they talk, their children go off. Young Harold is still struggling to hold back tears.]
YOUNG HAROLD: I thought I made my findings clear. I don’t know why she’s still going.
YOUNG LINDA: She wants to see the world. I’m gonna see it one day too.
YOUNG HAROLD: You are not.
YOUNG LINDA: Am too.
YOUNG HAROLD: Are not.
YOUNG LINDA: Am too.
LYRICS: Come on people now / Smile on my brother / Everybody get together / Trying to love one another right now
[As we end the flashback of Young Linda looking out the window, a woman with a lot of baggage peers in the window. She soon enters Dr. Brown’s office and looks around. Dr. Brown enters shortly thereafter, looking at papers and then noticing the woman.]
DR. BROWN: I’m sorry. We’re closed for the night. Is this an emergency?
WOMAN: No, I... This used to be a train station.
DR. BROWN: You’re a couple of years too late. Did you need to go somewhere?
WOMAN: I already did that. Just got back.
[The woman sighs and takes her baggage off her back.]
WOMAN: Every time I come here, I feel like I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole into some other time and place.
DR. BROWN: I have similar thoughts every day.
WOMAN: At the same time, it’s so familiar, even now. I missed it this time.
DR. BROWN: I’m sorry, who did you say...
[Edna spots the woman and recognizes her.]
EDNA: Linda!
[Edna's laughing.]
EDNA: Oh, baby! Oh! [hugging the woman] Dr. Brown, I want you to meet my daughter, Linda.
[Edna and Dr. L. Abbott laugh.]
EDNA: Oh, sweetheart!
{END OF TEASER / OPENING CREDITS / COMMERCIAL BREAK}
{ACT ONE}
[Open on the Abbott home. Dr. L. Abbott joins her brother Dr. H. Abbott’s breakfast table. Dr. H. Abbott is off to the side.]
DR. L. ABBOTT: We were six miles from the Ghanaian border when the food aid arrived. And there was an armed attack, and we were too far from the camp to get back to the surgical theater, so we had to set up a tent before the shooting even stopped. Between rounds, I amputated a 6 year-old boy’s leg.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Of course you did.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I tried to save it, but he wouldn’t have survived.
EDNA: The things that go on in your day are more drama than the rest of us see in a decade.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Speak for yourself.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I don’t know if you have time, but I brought presents.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Oh, we have to get going now, I’m afraid. Perhaps later.
[Dr. L. Abbott gives her niece Amy her present wrapped in cloth.]
AMY: Ohhh. [finds the present to be a necklace of beads] Oh, wow.
DR. L. ABBOTT: It was a legend in this one tiny shantytown I visited that if you wore that around your neck, you would never drown.
AMY: Oh, it’s beautiful.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I was thinking of that fishing hole you used to love.
AMY: [up to hug her aunt] Thank you, Aunt Linda.
DR. L. ABBOTT: You’re welcome.
[The hug ends and Amy goes to show her mom the necklace.]
DR. L. ABBOTT: [to Bright] And for you, Lion. Grrr!
[Bright unravels the cloth to reveal a mask.]
BRIGHT: Sweet! Looks like you, Dad.
ROSE: These are lovely presents, Linda.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Yes, bribery of affection is fine. All right you two, time for school. Come on, let’s go.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I have something for you too, Harry.
[Rose ushers her two teenagers out.]
AMY: Bye, Dad.
DR. H. ABBOTT: [to his kids] Bye.
[Dr. H. Abbott starts to open his present from his sister.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: You shouldn’t have.
[He takes it out.]
DR. L. ABBOTT: It’s an instrument. They use it to call the flock home.
[Dr. L. Abbott plays the instrument.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Yes, well, that will be very useful when I’ve lost all my sheep.
DR. L. ABBOTT: Happy to see me, Harry?
[Dr. H. Abbott starts to get his stuff together for work.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Though I would have appreciated a call or an e-mail regarding your intention to visit. I didn’t even know until Mother told me yesterday.
EDNA: I wanted her all to myself. We went out drinking.
DR. L. ABBOTT: Why don’t you take the day off? I’ll write you a doctor’s note.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Oh yes, I’m sure that would be very persuasive to my ailing patients. No, I’m afraid some of us doctors do have borders and schedules. Now, if you don’t mind, I have an important consultation.
[Dr. H. Abbott exits as we stay on his mother and sister watching him go. Dr. L. Abbott looks kinda sad. Edna looks at her daughter.]
[Cut to the exterior of Mama Joy's. Then cut to the interior where Drs. Brown and H. Abbott are eating at the counter.]
DR. BROWN: I met your sister last night, Harold.
[Dr. Abbott coughs.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Well, that’s rich. My only sister has been away for three years. She doesn’t bother to tell me she’s coming, doesn’t bother to stop by when she arrives, but you, she’s gotta see.
DR. BROWN: Not that close, the two of you?
DR. H. ABBOTT: Well, as close as two siblings can be when one has faithfully upheld 110% of the family obligations while the other traipses around the globe like some kind of Baedeker-toting Dr. Quinn. Peace Corps, Doctors Without Borders, Medical Institute of Beijing. Meanwhile, I’m here cutting out Thurman Revere’s ingrown toenail in the same office as my father occupied for 40 years.
DR. BROWN: I know what you mean.
DR. H. ABBOTT: How would you know what I mean? Even you had your moment in the sun outside these pitiful environs.
DR. BROWN: You’re right. I don’t know what you mean. I was just trying to be nice. Brighten up, Harold.
[Dr. Brown pats Dr. H. Abbott on the back and exits the dinner. Dr. H. Abbott drinks some of his drink. Nina, who's working at the diner, sees Dr. Brown leaving.]
[Cut outside the diner. Dr. Brown is walking away and Nina comes out after him with a coffeepot in her right hand.]
DR. BROWN: [to a passerby] Morning.
PASSERBY: Morning.
NINA: Andy? Hey, how are you?
DR. BROWN: No offense, Nina, but that outfit really doesn’t work outside the diner walls.
NINA: I have a favor to ask.
DR. BROWN: Sure. What's up?
NINA: It’s my friend, Debbie. You've probably seen she works the late shift sometimes. Anyway, she’s a single mom, too.
DR. BROWN: Too?
NINA: I mean, she works long hours too. And her son Travis was caught stealing condoms from the pharmacy.
DR. BROWN: Well, always better to pay than risk the bust.
NINA: He’s 13, Andy.
DR. BROWN: Oh.
NINA: So she thought it was time to talk to him. You know, about sex. Because clearly he’s starting to get curious. But when she tried, he got really upset.
DR. BROWN: My heart goes out to her. Yeah, tell her I tried that once, I went to Plan B...I gave up.
NINA: Well, I kind of told her that you might not mind talking to him.
DR. BROWN: Actually, you know, I’m much more suited to a lecture setting – large groups, no eye contact, that sort of thing.
NINA: She really needs the help, or I wouldn’t ask.
DR. BROWN: OK, tell him to come out by my office after school.
NINA: Thanks, Andy. Thanks a lot.
DR. BROWN: Oh, don't mention it.
NINA: Great.
[Nina goes back into the diner and Dr. Brown starts walking away again.]
DR. BROWN: [to himself] I’m dead.
[Cut to the cafeteria at Peak County High. Ephram's already sitting at a table with some other kids. He's reading some manga while listening to a CD. Bright spots Ephram and comes up to him, taps him on the shoulder.]
BRIGHT: Mind if I sit here?
[Bright has startled Ephram.]
EPHRAM: Only if you stay.
[Ephram takes out his headphones.]
BRIGHT: Har-har.
[Bright sits down to eat his lunch and proceeds to do so.]
EPHRAM: What do you want?
BRIGHT: Nothing. Just to enjoy your company. [beat] Do you want my pudding?
EPHRAM: All right, what’s the favor, Bright?
BRIGHT: What are you talking about? What favor?
[Ephram gives Bright a look.]
BRIGHT: (CONT'D) OK, it’s about Amy.
EPHRAM: No.
BRIGHT: What? You don’t even know what I was going to ask.
EPHRAM: The answer is no.
BRIGHT: Why?
EPHRAM: Because whatever is going on with you and your sister is your business. Not mine. When I try to make it my business, she gets mad at me.
BRIGHT: No, this is different.
EPHRAM: I doubt it.
BRIGHT: Look, with everything that’s been going on lately, Amy has been a little bit out of it.
EPHRAM: That's normal.
BRIGHT: Well, no. I mean, I've seen Amy out of it before and this is really out of it. I’m a little worried about her. I'm just wondering if you could just keep an eye on her, let me know what she’s up to....
EPHRAM: Forget it.
BRIGHT: Look, not always. Just whenever you’re not busy... Being a loner geek with weird t-shirts.
EPHRAM: You want me to stalk your sister?
BRIGHT: You kind of already do.
EPHRAM: We’re friends. We hang out.
BRIGHT: Well, good. Now you can hang out, but report back to me.
EPHRAM: No, no. I already told you. Not my sister, not my problem.
[Ephram puts back on his headphones and goes back to reading his manga. Bright gets up and leaves but not before grabbing back his pudding. Ephram chuckles.]
LYRICS: I see your woman with flowers
[Cut to the Harper house. Edna brings over a teapot and teacups from the kitchen to her husband and daughter who are sitting around a coffee table.]
EDNA: More, more, more! You haven’t finished telling us about Sierra Leone.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I’ve yakked my head off for an hour. Why doesn’t somebody else talk? [accepting a cup of tea from her mother] Thank you.
[Dr. L. Abbott sets down the plate.]
DR. L. ABBOTT: (CONT'D) Like Irv?
[They have a tiny chuckle.]
DR. L. ABBOTT: (CONT'D) Tell me how you two met.
IRV: Well, believe it or not, we...
EDNA: Oh, church picnic, blah, blah. You don’t want to hear about us old fogies. Come on – I want to hear all about Africa before you start on Asia.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I don’t know, Mom. All the stories run into each other eventually.
EDNA: Well, I find them fascinating! You’re the world traveler I always wanted to be.
DR. L. ABBOTT: You were the original.
[Edna laughs.]
EDNA: That was just during the war. Now I’m an old biddy here with Irv. Come on – just one more story?
DR. L. ABBOTT: All right, one more. Um, I was in China coming home from university, and I was walking, and this little boy pedaled up beside me, wanting to see if I could keep up, so I started walking faster, and he started pedaling faster until, finally I gave up. When I saw the look of disappointment on his face, I had to laugh. It was Harry. It was exactly Harry, and I was home again. I bought my plane ticket that day. I just felt so far away from you.
EDNA: Oh well, sometimes you have to come back and recharge your batteries.
IRV: Is there a special man in your life, Linda?
DR. L. ABBOTT: No, not for a long time.
EDNA: Well, who has time for romance when you’re saving the world one starving orphan at a time. So what’s next? You talked about India. Any chance of that?
[Off Dr. L. Abbott not wanting to disappoint and Irv noticing.]
[Cut to Dr. Brown's office. He ushers in Travis, the son of Nina's co-worker Debbie.]
DR. BROWN: Come on in. Sit down.
[Travis sits down after looking around a bit. Dr. Brown walks around his desk and sits down as well.]
DR. BROWN: (CONT'D) So your mother was hoping that you and I could have a candid talk, man-to-man, about, um – regarding sexuality. That is your sexuality...your understanding of the rudimentary elements of sex. Now, we can structure this in a variety of ways – Q & A – or I could just talk extemporaneously with room for questions after. Do you have any preference at all?
TRAVIS: I know all the stuff. So can we just tell my mom we went through it?
DR. BROWN: Well, maybe we could start by talking about those condoms you took from the pharmacy.
TRAVIS: It was a joke.
DR. BROWN: Was it? Because either you were planning one of the biggest water balloon fights in history, or you’re beginning to feel curious, which is completely normal. You see, when you’re 13, you have all these hormones racing through your body, making you have different feelings and sensations that you’ve never had before. So it’s OK if you meet a girl, and you like her, and you want to hold her hand, or kiss her, or maybe even you wanna – Jeez. Oh, I’m sorry.
[Dr. Brown looks up just in time to see a tear fall from Travis' cheek.]
DR. BROWN: I-I-I made you uncomfortable. I’m so sorry. You know, uh, look, look...Travis, it’s not as though you have to do any of those things now. I mean, you can wait as long as you need. You can wait until after college.
TRAVIS: I’ve done all those things. I’ve done a lot more.
DR. BROWN: What are you talking about?
TRAVIS: I can’t tell you.
DR. BROWN: You do know that I can’t tell anyone what you tell me? It doesn’t leave this room.
[A long beat.]
TRAVIS: You can’t?
DR. BROWN: No, I can’t. It’s a doctor rule. I promise. Unless you’re a danger to yourself or someone else, I can’t tell anyone unless you give me permission. Now, when you say that you’ve done all those things, what exactly do you mean?
TRAVIS: It was just a few of us.
DR. BROWN: A few of who, Travis?
TRAVIS: Some kids I know. We were playing around at the ford behind Fuller’s Pond...and then some of them started kissing each other and doing stuff to each other. And then one of them said we should go all the way. I didn’t want to, but everybody was doing it.
DR. BROWN: And no one else knows about this?
TRAVIS: No one. [a long beat] You won’t tell, will you? You said you wouldn’t tell. You promised.
[A beat as we look on Dr. Brown's face and then fade to black.]
{END OF ACT ONE / COMMERCIAL BREAK}
{ACT TWO}
[Later at Dr. Brown's office. Debbie is clearly now aware of the situation and is upset.]
DR. BROWN: What I need from you, Travis, are the names of these kids so I can contact all the parents. This is a public health issue now. These kids are at risk for physical problems as well as psychological ones, not to mention unwanted pregnancy. I think I can help them, but not if I don’t know who they are.
DEBBIE: If he gives you all their names, will they know it’s coming from Travis?
TRAVIS: They’d be mad if they found out.
DR. BROWN: Well, I won’t tell them who told me.
DEBBIE: It’s hard enough being new at school. Travis has never made friends easy.
DR. BROWN: Well, I understand. My son went through the same thing last year, but there’s only one right choice here, and unfortunately it’s the hard one.
DEBBIE: Everything you told Dr. Brown is true, right, Trav? You didn’t leave anything out?
TRAVIS: Yeah.
DEBBIE: I think you should do what the doctor’s asking and give him the names of your friends.
[Travis sighs and takes a pen to begin writing.]
[Cut to Dr. H. Abbott's office. Dr. L. Abbott is there as well. He has just found a clock that his sister was apparently asking about.]
DR. L. ABBOTT: Oh, my god! I remember this clock so much bigger! Thanks for holding onto all this for me.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Well, I wasn’t about to throw Father’s things away just because you didn’t claim them.
DR. L. ABBOTT: Well, it’s not like I had any place to put it. I haven’t had a real home in six years.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Doctors without borders... or apartments.
[Dr. H. Abbott begins to exit as his sister begins her next line at which point he comes back.]
DR. L. ABBOTT: Is it your plan to throw barbs at me until I bludgeon you?
DR. H. ABBOTT: I’m not sure what you mean.
DR. L. ABBOTT: What is your problem? Should I not have come home?
DR. H. ABBOTT: No, my problem is that you should have come three years ago.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I told you then that I couldn’t make it home for Dad’s funeral. I was halfway across the world.
DR. H. ABBOTT: So what? For family, you come home anyway. Even when you can’t.
DR. L. ABBOTT: There was a civil war going on. There were no flights.
DR. H. ABBOTT: I could have been trapped at the bottom of the ocean. I would have made it home. You come home. That’s what you do for family. All right, maybe not for the funeral, but the first second you could. It’s been three years, Linda. For crying out loud, we needed you here.
DR. L. ABBOTT: It’s not that simple. Besides, Mom seems OK.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Oh, well, Mother was fine. Hell, she was dancing at her second wedding before Dad’s wreath wilted. It wasn’t just her. Don’t you get it? [a beat] I needed you.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I’m here now, Harry.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Wonderful. So when do you leave?
[Dr. H. Abbott exits and we stay on Dr. L. Abbott wondering what she can do.]
[Cut to a hallway at Peak County High. A bell rings. A door opens and students come through it. Among the students are Amy Abbott and Ephram Brown.]
AMY: At least I come out of Mr. Frysinger’s class well rested.
EPHRAM: I was so bored I was counting his eyebrows, which is weird because there’s actually only one.
[They share a chuckle as they walk over to Laynie who is at her locker.]
AMY: Hey.
LAYNIE: Hey. You ready?
[Laynie gets her bookbag out of her locker and closes it.]
AMY: I’m ready.
EPHRAM: You guys sitting outside?
AMY: Actually we’re going to Laynie’s house.
EPHRAM: Oh. What’s the occasion?
LAYNIE: Only our vast selection of cereal, among other reasons.
[The girls do a little chuckle.]
EPHRAM: Like?
LAYNIE: Like let’s just say we have some stuff to do before tonight.
AMY: It’s no biggie. Just some party thing. At ECC.
EPHRAM: You guys are going? How?
LAYNIE: High school girls can always get into college parties. I mean, like, we’re practically the reason why they throw them. So if you’ll excuse us, we’re on the clock.
AMY: See you later.
EPHRAM: Uh, hold on. Can I come with you guys?
AMY: Oh...
LAYNIE: It’s kind of a girls’ thing, Ephram. We’re just gonna be trying on some clothes.
EPHRAM: I love clothes. I’m all about clothes. It’s cool, right, Amy?
AMY: Sure.
[Amy throws a look at Laynie.]
LAYNIE: Sure.
[Ephram walks behind the girls.]
[Cut to the Harper house. Irv walks in while Edna is cooking.]
IRV: This, uh, thing you’re doing with the stove...I’m not sure I understand.
EDNA: I’m cooking for my children. Get over yourself. And pass me the pepper.
IRV: But you don’t cook. Ever. You don’t even reheat.
EDNA: I admit I have been more of a drive-through gal recently, but I kept a family of four fed for the better part of two decades, and if I recall correctly, my daughter was a big fan of my chicken cacciatore. Every time I see that girl, she looks younger and more full of the stuff, you know? God, the things she’s seen. I keep telling her she ought to write a book. Then again, she’d have to sit still long enough to write it.
IRV: I don’t think she’d mind that so much.
EDNA: What do you mean?
IRV: It looked like she could use a breather.
EDNA: That’s how we all look when we stop in for a shower and a hot meal.
IRV: Don’t you think she seemed kind of lonely?
EDNA: My daughter? No way! I raised her better than that. Linda is strong.
IRV: So making a home is only for the weak. You did it.
EDNA: Well, I had her life, and I gave it up. Linda knows better than to make that mistake.
IRV: Is that what family is to you? A mistake?
EDNA: Don’t get all sensitive, Harper. You know what I mean.
IRV: No, I’m not sure I do.
EDNA: I wasn’t born in a time where a woman had much of an option but to tie herself down. Truth is... if I hadn’t had a family weighing me down, I don’t know what I’d have done. Just don’t assume she’s unhappy because she doesn’t have what we have. There’s no reason why a woman can’t be happy alone.
IRV: It’s never too late to find out.
[Irv walks out. Edna just shakes her head and keeps on going.]
[Cut to Dr. Brown's office. He's meeting with a dozen or so parents.]
DR. BROWN: I know this must all seem unreal. I was stunned myself, when I realized what was going on, which is why I brought you all in together. I thought that maybe we could help each other to understand.
ERIN'S DAD: Oh, I understand. I just want to know who said it. What kid is spreading these lies about our children?
DR. BROWN: I didn’t want to believe it, either, but this child is telling the truth.
ERIN'S DAD: I didn’t ask if you believe him. I said “Who is it?” I want to confront this kid. Talk to him myself.
SUSIE'S MOM: It was that Travis kid, wasn’t it?
DR. BROWN: Blame isn’t what we should focus on here. What’s important is that we get your kids healthy. Now I’d like to have you all schedule appointments with Edna as soon as possible for the kids to come in for blood tests.
ERIN'S DAD: Are you out of your mind? This kid spins this incredible yarn, and you buy it hook, line, and sinker, then you drag us down here and waste our time with this nonsense, and now you want us to drag our kids into this?
SUSIE'S MOM: You don’t realize this kid has a history of erratic behavior. My sister was a nurse at the last school he went to, and I know for a fact that he saw a counselor.
ERIN'S DAD: I think you owe everyone of us an apology!
DR. BROWN: I’m not going to apologize for showing genuine concern for your children’s welfare.
ERIN'S DAD: Fine, well I’ll tell you this – it’s the last time that we walk through that door.
[Parents leave.]
DEBBIE: I knew we shouldn’t have said anything. This is gonna be terrible for him.
DR. BROWN: Why didn’t you tell me that Travis had been in counseling?
DEBBIE: He saw a counselor after his father left. He was acting out, pushing other kids. Nothing like this.
DR. BROWN: Well, it did kind of put me in an awkward position here.
DEBBIE: Look, my kid has had his share of problems. His dad left us when he was 8. He’s not a liar. I kind of wish he was.
[Cut to the Hart home. Laynie, Amy, and Ephram come in and drop their stuff off on the floor. "Doctor" by Lizzie West is playing in the background.]
LAYNIE: I’ll go get the stuff.
AMY: Cool.
EPHRAM: You guys do this often?
[Amy clears the table.]
AMY: It’s just for this party tonight.
LAYNIE: [shaking a bottle of vodka] Amy needs a test run before we put her out in the field.
EPHRAM: I usually do 2% with my cornflakes.
LAYNIE: So college guys tend to favor the plastic handle special, but my dad’s stock of good stuff will have to do. [to Ephram] Are you in?
EPHRAM: Uh, I try not to drink before fifth period. Besides, isn’t everybody going to smell it on you guys?
LAYNIE: Not vodka...and not if you eat peanut butter afterwards. An old boarding school trick.
[Laynie winks at Ephram.]
AMY: OK, so what should I expect here?
LAYNIE: Kind of like a burning medicine.
[Laynie pours Amy some vodka and mixes in with orange juice.]
LAYNIE: (CONT'D) Real smooth. Cheers.
[Amy takes a sip and coughs. She makes a face as well.]
AMY: Oh my God. That tastes like orange juice in a gas can.
LAYNIE: And don’t make that face afterwards. Remember, this is about technique.
[Amy takes another sip and controls the face-making a little.]
LAYNIE: Nice.
EPHRAM: We’re all so proud.
LAYNIE: Come on.
EPHRAM: Well, I hate to miss the fashion portion of the evening, but I gotta get going. You gonna be all right?
AMY: Oh, yeah, I’m fine. We’re just screwing around, Ephram. Don’t tell anyone, OK?
[Ephram gives Amy a look.]
AMY: (CONT'D) We’re fine.
[Cut to the Harper home where Rose, Dr. H. Abbott, Edna, Irv, and Dr. L. Abbott are eating at the dining room table. Everyone is silent until Rose takes some more of a dish.]
ROSE: This rice pilaf is excellent, Edna.
EDNA: Thank you. [to Irv] Would you please pass the –
IRV: Shove it.
ROSE: I’ve never seen you cook so elaborately – so many courses.
DR. H. ABBOTT: She pulls out all the stops for Indiana Jones.
DR. L. ABBOTT: Any chance on a closed-mouth chewing?
DR. H. ABBOTT: Don’t you have a plane ticket to buy?
IRV: You know, Edna considers domesticity a sign of weakness.
EDNA: I consider not clocking you on your ass a sign of charity.
IRV: Bring it on, pumpkin-butt.
EDNA: All right, that’s enough.
DR. L. ABBOTT: Before you spill any blood –
DR. H. ABBOTT: Oh, do you have an opinion on this, too? Oh, wait, everyone. Stop what you’re doing. The one who is here 5 minutes out of every decade has something to say. I’m sure it’s just chock-full of ancient tribal wisdom.
DR. L. ABBOTT: You want me to leave that badly?
DR. H. ABBOTT: You always do.
EDNA: Oh, Junior, put a sock in it. You’re jealous because she’s the only one around here who’s got a life.
DR. H. ABBOTT: A life? No, she’s got a rucksack.
EDNA: Well, that rucksack is a source of pride to me. Don’t talk down her accomplishments. If it weren’t for her –
IRV: You’d what? Die of boredom?
EDNA: Harper, why are you even talking?
DR. H. ABBOTT: If it weren’t for her, what?
[Everyone starts talking over each other except for Dr. L. Abbott who tries to break it up.]
DR. L. ABBOTT: Stop for a second! Wait, hello? What I’m trying to tell you is that I’m not going anywhere. I came back to stay.
EDNA: Where?
DR. L. ABBOTT: Here – Everwood. I want to move back home and join the practice.
DR. H. ABBOTT: My practice?
DR. L. ABBOTT: Our practice.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Our practice.
DR. L. ABBOTT: Well, the family practice. I came back because I want to be a part of this family again, Harry.
EDNA: You wanna give up your freedom for this flyspeck on a roadmap? What do you want to do that for? That’s not who you are.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I’m tired of who I am, Mom. I’m tired of living my life out of a backpack. I’ve seen everything I need to see. What I haven’t seen is family. It’s Bright growing up and Amy becoming a teenager, becoming interested in boys, you and Irv making a life for yourselves, and Rose and Harry growing older together, and I’ve just been without roots for too long. What I ...really need is a home. I just need to come home. What do you say, Harry?
DR. H. ABBOTT: You want to be a part of our family. You don’t want to miss out. Well, you already did. Bright grew up. Amy got interested in boys a long time ago. So, we’ve all made new lives and gotten older. You've missed the whole damn thing. And now you want to cash in without having earned it? Over my dead body. You left us. We left you. Go find your center somewhere else. Thank you, Mother, for a lovely, wonderful meal.
[Dr. H. Abbott grabs his jacket and walks out as we see Edna and Rose look on in shock.]
{END OF ACT TWO / COMMERCIAL BREAK}
{ACT THREE}
[Open in Ephram's room where he's reading Black Jack. There's a knock on his bedroom door.]
EPHRAM: Come in.
[Dr. Brown enters.]
EPHRAM: (CONT'D) You know, you’re getting better at that.
DR. BROWN: Well, you know, I practice when you’re not home.
[Ephram laughs.]
DR. BROWN: I’m taking Delia to Nina’s.
EPHRAM: A playdate?
DR. BROWN: Actually, I’ve got this case. Nina knows the patient, and there’s a confidentiality issue. So...
EPHRAM: Well, issues like, you want to tell somebody?
DR. BROWN: Yeah, sort of.
EPHRAM: Have you ever done that before? Broken confidentiality?
DR. BROWN: Never without good reason.
EPHRAM: But maybe if the person was in danger?
DR. BROWN: Exactly. If the person was in danger to themselves or to others.
EPHRAM: Is that the only time? I mean, what if something bad could happen to somebody if you don’t say anything, but you don’t know for sure. Well, if...if it’s just a hunch.
DR. BROWN: Is there any chance you want to tell what this question is really about, and whose trust you might be breaking?
EPHRAM: Not really.
[Dr. Brown clears his throat.]
DR. BROWN: OK. Bottom line – if you’re not a doctor, and the confidentiality is really just an understanding, and you think you have some information that might help someone if you reveal it, then I think you have an obligation to do that.
EPHRAM: That’s what I figured.
DR. BROWN: That was fatherly advice. How was it?
EPHRAM: Not bad.
DR. BROWN: See? I really am getting better.
EPHRAM: Hey Dad, one more thing. Can I go to a frat party tonight?
DR. BROWN: A frat party?
EPHRAM: Yes. There’s going to be drinking, drugs, unprotected sex. I’ll probably be the youngest person there. Besides, I don’t want to go. I have to.
DR. BROWN: Why?
EPHRAM: Because, you just said if I know something I have to do something about it.
DR. BROWN: And so, having said that, I’m all but forced to let you go to a party that I never would have agreed to prior. Maybe you’re getting better at this.
[Ephram smiles and we pan back over to Dr. Brown where he's smiling too.]
[Cut to the front door of the Abbott residence. Ephram knocks on it. Bright answers.]
BRIGHT: What, do we have a date tonight or something?
EPHRAM: I told you I wouldn’t watch your sister, but I did anyways. She’s at this ECC “Bite the Bone” party with Laynie tonight.
BRIGHT: My sister is at the most twisted college party of the year – where they hand out vouchers to freshman kids to trade in for date-rape pills? My sister doesn’t drink.
EPHRAM: Well, she does now. Grab your keys.
[Bright goes to get them.]
[Cut to Dr. Brown talking with Nina as she fixes a bike.]
DR. BROWN: These parents must know this kid is telling the truth. They have to. But they just flat-out denied it. They called him a liar, which gives me no recourse whatsoever. I can’t get these kids tested against their will if their parents are saying no. And I can’t talk to them about protection or counseling because the parents say there’s no need. I mean, they couldn’t bury this fast enough. A bunch of cowards. [beat] Any thoughts?
[Nina just continues working on the bike.]
DR. BROWN: Did you – did you hear me, or are you too deep into wrenches and spokes?
NINA: No, I heard you.
DR. BROWN: And?
NINA: Well, I guess I understand why parents would want to hide a secret like that. Even though you’re ethically bound not to tell anyone, they know that somehow it’ll get out, and their lives and their kids’ lives will be changed.
DR. BROWN: Changed how? No one’s going to be calling the Enquirer.
NINA: See, where you come from, anonymity exists, but not here. Everything comes out in the wash, and people will talk. And if I was their parent, no way I’d tell.
DR. BROWN: Well, I gotta admit, I’m kind of surprised that you’re taking their side in this.
NINA: Well, given the last few months, I’m a little surprised you’re not. Just thinking about it and really putting myself in their shoes, it’s what I think I would do.
DR. BROWN: And what are they teaching those kids?
NINA: I guess they’re teaching them how to survive in a small town.
DEBBIE: Hello? Nina, are you home? Nina?
NINA: What is it?
[We pan over and see that Travis looks really bad.]
NINA: (CONT'D) Oh, no.
[We pan over to see Dr. Brown's reaction.]
[Cut to a bar. Edna gets a drink. Dr. Abbott walks up to his mother.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Mother, as if that fiasco of a dinner wasn’t torture enough, why do I now find myself in this sinkhole in the middle of the night?
EDNA: Because we’ve got something we’ve gotta talk about.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Oh, and what are you, Deep Throat? [to bartender] Milk, 2%.
EDNA: [to bartender] Get him a Jim Beam, straight up. [to her son] That was quite a pyrotechnics display you put on tonight.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Of course. It was my fault. God forbid anything should ever be Linda’s fault or your fault. Didn’t see you in there waving the white flag for peace.
EDNA: The fact of the matter is you and your sister have fought like cats and dogs for years, and it’s gone too far...
DR. H. ABBOTT: Now I am not going to stay here...
EDNA: Because it’s not your fault, Harold. And it’s not Linda’s. It’s mine. Don’t make your sister the villain in all of this. All she did was follow in my footsteps. I’m the one who left you two when you were kids. It shaped both of you. She’s an adventurer – always will be, just like you’re the guy who will always stay. Out of fear. Out of obligation.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Mother, the hour is late. I am in no mood for, nor do I have the patience to tolerate your dime-store analysis.
EDNA: Well, can you tolerate an apology? Because I am sorry, Junior. You see, I had – have – certain limitations. You might say motherhood did not come real natural to me. Your father knew that when he married me. He understood.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Yeah, well, he wasn’t your child. You know, I can forgive all of the burned cheese sandwiches, the forgotten school holidays, the bad Halloween costumes. Hell, you know, I can even forgive the birthday that you forgot last year. But why did you leave? I still remember that moment – tears streaming down my face. If I could have, I would have run after that train. Oh, and then the three years you were absent. Those were pleasant. I got to raise a little sister while you hid out in a foreign country under the guise of patriotic duty. You know, that isn’t a limitation, Mother. That is abandonment.
EDNA: I didn’t know any better. By the time I did, it was too late. Don’t let Linda make the same mistake. Your sister wants to come home. Please...let her.
[Dr. H. Abbott thinks about it.]
[Cut to Nina's house. Dr. Brown is fixing up Travis while Debbie and Nina look on.]
DEBBIE: One of the other boys asked him to come over. He promised Travis they weren’t mad, and then they did this to him.
TRAVIS: Because I lied. Everything I said was a lie. None of it happened. I was just making up a story.
DR. BROWN: Look, I’m sorry, Travis. I’m sorry they did this to you, but I know that you weren’t lying to me, and this only proves it.
TRAVIS: I don’t know those people. They aren’t my friends.
DR. BROWN: Look, I understand. Those kids beat you up, and you’re afraid they’ll do it again. I’m sorry that you've had to go through all of this. I feel responsible. But it doesn’t change the fact that you have to tell the truth.
TRAVIS: Why?
DR. BROWN: Because what happened in those woods never should have happened. And although they may not seem it, those kids are as scared as you about it. You were very brave to tell me the truth. But I need you to keep on telling it so I can help them.
TRAVIS: I don’t want to be brave.
DR. BROWN: I know, but I need you to be.
[We pan over to Nina who sighs.]
[Cut to a frat house at Everwood Community College. The party's going on in full swing. A guy brings in a big barrel, likely with beer. We see Ephram and Bright coming in together. Ephram spots Amy and Laynie who were just given cups by a guy who I'll call Chris.]
EPHRAM: Look...
BRIGHT: Aw, what the hell?
[Bright walks over to the girls and takes the cup away from his sister. Ephram's not far behind.]
LAYNIE: Um, hello? Manners.
AMY: What are you doing here?
BRIGHT: What the hell are you doing here?
AMY: Um, I was having a good time up until you arrived. What are you, like, following me or something?
[Laynie spots Ephram.]
LAYNIE: I think somebody else is following you.
[Amy now sees Ephram.]
AMY: [to Ephram] Oh, I guess I know what your promises are worth now.
EPHRAM: I was worried about you.
AMY: I don’t need you to worry about me, Ephram.
BRIGHT: He didn’t want to tell me.
AMY: They why did he?
BRIGHT: He was afraid you’d do something stupid. Which, by the way, you are. You should thank him, because if Dad found out...
AMY: Shut up...
BRIGHT: ...you’d be, like, grounded forever.
AMY: Thanks, but I’ve got it under control, so you can leave because nobody wants you here.
DAN: What’s going on here? These guys hassling you?
BRIGHT: Let’s go, Amy.
AMY: Bright.
CHRIS: Hey, bro, I think the lady wants you to leave.
EPHRAM: Hey, bro, I think the lady’s like 15.
[Chris laughs.]
CHRIS: All right, all right.
BRIGHT: I can’t believe you, Amy. You’re pretending to be in college to impress some frat dicks? Do you think Colin would want to see you like this? Huh? Being a total drunk slut at some party?
AMY: At least I wasn’t drinking and driving.
BRIGHT: What is that supposed to mean?
AMY: You know what that is supposed to mean. Colin would still be here if it weren’t for you.
BRIGHT: Maybe he’d still be here if it weren’t for you. If you wouldn’t have lied about him, he might have been able to get some help, but since you covered for him till he was practically dead –
AMY: That’s not true.
BRIGHT: All I know, is that I’m not going to lie like that for you. If you don’t come with us now, I’m telling Dad exactly where you were tonight. I’m not covering for you.
{END OF ACT THREE / COMMERCIAL BREAK}
{ACT FOUR)
[Open in Dr. Brown's office. The parents have gathered in his office once again.]
ERIN'S DAD: I don’t appreciate being threatened, Dr. Brown.
DR. BROWN: I had no intention of threatening you, Joe.
ERIN'S DAD: Yeah, well, the message I got was clear.
DR. BROWN: The message was simple – if you don’t cooperate, I will be forced to contact the Health Department.
ERIN'S DAD: You son of a bitch. You can’t make us do this!
DR. BROWN: No, I can’t. But the Health Department can, and they will.
SUSIE'S MOM: This is outrageous. Our kids were not involved in any sex club.
DR. BROWN: Annie, your kids are having sex. Travis told the truth about it and they beat him up for it. Either you’re refusing to see that, or you’re lying about it, too. Either way, it is happening.
ELISA'S MOM: I believe him. My daughter stopped going to her soccer games. She won’t tell me why. She always tells me things. I want her to be tested. But if we do this thing, if we admit to ourselves and to you that this nightmare really happened, it can never leave this room. Can you promise me that, Doctor?
[Cut to the Harper home. Irv's doing dishes in the kitchen.]
EDNA: Been up long?
IRV: Awhile.
EDNA: You didn’t need to do that, you know.
IRV: It’s OK. I don’t mind.
EDNA: Listen, last night, I may have said some things I didn’t quite think through.
IRV: I don’t think so. I think you said what you meant. You just didn’t think too much about me hearing them.
EDNA: I was just trying to be honest. I guess a little of that goes a long way.
IRV: You know, Edna, I had dreams, too. I didn’t come here for my health. I was just passing through, working on that essay on the railroads for the summer. I had a million stories to tell, and nothing tying me down, and then one weekend at this church picnic, somewhere in between the pie-eating contest and the sack races, I heard this laugh. This incredible no-holds-barred laugh like gravel on sandpaper. I had no intention to settle down, but it hit me in that moment that that voice could be opening the door to an adventure as profound as any I could ever have alone. And I chose it. And so did you. And now if you want to pretend that you were forced into it, well, it’s hurtful to me, and it denigrates the life we’ve built together. Do you understand?
[Edna takes in what her husband just told her.]
[Cut to the porch outside Nina's house at night. Dr. Brown's working on the bike, probably the same one Nina was working on earlier.]
DR. BROWN: So the deal I made with them was that as long as they’d have the kids tested, I wouldn’t say anything to anyone about the whole incident, and just like that it’s dead and buried. You know, they’re crazy if they don’t think these kids are going to take a major psychological hit from this. If they had been able to come out in the open with it, and just say once to someone that this actually happened, I think they’d have a real shot at healing.
NINA: So you would have wanted to make the whole thing public?
DR. BROWN: Well, if those kids would have a chance of getting better, sure. I mean, so much of their life is going to be defined by this now – by the things they couldn’t talk about.
NINA: Andy.
DR. BROWN: Hmm?
NINA: I haven’t been particularly brave myself lately. There’s something I haven’t told you. I haven’t told anyone. [beat] Carl’s not just on a business trip this time. He left me.
DR. BROWN: He left you?
NINA: He was having an affair.
DR. BROWN: Well, are you sure that it’s – I mean, marriages can sometimes survive these things.
NINA: Yeah, some marriages can, but I don’t think this particular one will. He wasn’t just having an affair. He was having an affair with a man.
DR. BROWN: Oh. Wow.
NINA: Yeah, I had a slightly more pronounced reaction.
DR. BROWN: Yeah, I can imagine. How did you find out?
NINA: He called here. The man that he was with. And after that, I told Carl to leave, and he did, and he never came back. That was five months ago. And he sends a check every month with a note for Sam, but we haven’t spoken.
DR. BROWN: Why didn’t you tell me about this? I wish you would have. I mean, instead of keeping it to yourself all this time.
NINA: Well, you haven’t had the easiest summer yourself. Besides, I think I had this idea that if no one else knew, it would be like the whole thing never happened. But when I think about the whole town knowing about something like this – about Sam finding out, and other kids knowing, and his teacher...
DR. BROWN: You don’t have to tell the whole town about this.
NINA: Now who’s counseling keeping secrets?
DR. BROWN: You told me...and it’s real. You’ll tell people when you’re ready – when this doesn’t hurt so much anymore.
NINA: And when will that be?
[Dr. Brown takes Nina in and comforts her as she slowly begins to cry.]
[Cut to outside Peak County High. Ephram looks around. Amy and Laynie start walking away from school grounds. Ephram spots them and goes up to them.]
EPHRAM: You guys going to lunch?
LAYNIE: We’re going to Sal’s if you want to follow us. Come on, Amy.
AMY: See you later, Ephram.
EPHRAM: Yeah, I’ll see you in fifth?
AMY: Yeah.
[Ephram watches the girls walk off. Bright comes up to Ephram.]
BRIGHT: Hey, man.
[Ephram turns around.]
BRIGHT: (CONT'D) Those guys going off-campus?
EPHRAM: Yeah.
BRIGHT: Probably cutting again.
EPHRAM: Probably.
BRIGHT: Listen, last night, uh...that was, uh, cool. The way you, uh – how you, uh –
EPHRAM: Eloquence. It’s not your thing.
BRIGHT: You know what I mean, right? Did you see those guys?
EPHRAM: They were pretty big.
BRIGHT: Yeah, but you were pretty chill, man. You were like Vin Diesel chill.
EPHRAM: I was just imagining what Tetsuo would do.
[Bright has no idea who's Ephram's talking about.]
BRIGHT: Right.
EPHRAM: He’s a manga hero.
BRIGHT: Isn’t that that comic book that people who don’t get sex read?
EPHRAM: Basically, yeah.
BRIGHT: So you wanna get lunch?
EPHRAM: Sure. Yeah.
[Bright and Ephram start walking back to school grounds.]
BRIGHT: So, you know what I was thinking? If there’s all these college guys hitting on high school girls, then there’s probably a surplus of neglected college girls that wanna hit on high school guys.
EPHRAM: I don’t think it quite works like that.
[Cut to Dr. H. Abbott's office where he is finishing up with a patient.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: ...not to take that on an empty stomach, and I will see you in six weeks.
[Dr. H. Abbott walks past an office and then backtracks. Dr. L. Abbott is unpacking a box.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Excuse me, what are you...
DR. L. ABBOTT: I’m unpacking, Harry.
DR. H. ABBOTT: You’re unpacking...in my office?
DR. L. ABBOTT: Our office.
DR. H. ABBOTT: So essentially you heard nothing of what I was trying to communicate to you last night.
DR. L. ABBOTT: Oh, I heard it.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Yet you seem not to have truly assimilated it, as your large third-world tchotchke is currently is currently taking up conspicuous room on my spare desk.
[Dr. L. Abbott laughs.]
DR. L. ABBOTT: You can throw me out of this office, Harry, but you can’t throw me out of town. I’m staying. And I’m staying in large part because of you. I want us to be a family again. Not the kind of family that you see every two years to exchange bad gifts, but the kind of family where you call up to borrow a screwdriver. That’s what I want, and I’m staying right here in Everwood until I get it.
[Dr. Abbott laughs.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: I suppose the spare income wouldn’t hurt. We would have to go over some ground rules first.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I expected nothing less.
DR. H. ABBOTT: For example...tongue depressors – they’re ordered bimonthly to avoid a sudden shortage. Keep a tab with Louise.
DR. L. ABBOTT: Keep abreast of tongue depressor needs.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Furthermore, a cotton ball is not free. It has a cost like any other office supply despite its diminutive mass...
[Cut to Main Street in 1968 Everwood. Young Harold and Young Linda are walking along. Young Linda's excited, Young Harold not as much. "Get Together" by The Youngbloods is playing in the background again.]
YOUNG LINDA: The train’s coming, Harry. Do you wanna go watch it?
YOUNG HAROLD: No.
YOUNG LINDA: If we jump on that train right now, we could go anywhere in world.
YOUNG HAROLD: No, we couldn’t. That train’s bound for Denver, and after Denver it can only travel the continental U.S.
YOUNG LINDA: Unh-unh, there’s trains to other places.
YOUNG HAROLD: You can’t get to the other places ‘cause you’d have to cross the water.
YOUNG LINDA: You could fly.
YOUNG HAROLD: But not on a train.
YOUNG LINDA: Uhh. Come on!
[Young Linda drags her brother toward the train station.]
Linda Abbott, qui fait partie de la grande famille Abbott, est de retour à Everwood à la grande surprise de la communauté. En effet, elle revient d'un long voyage de trois ans où elle a pu parcourir les quatre coins du monde. 
