[Open at the Everwood mine, interior. Pan around a little as Irv's narration starts up. It's empty.]
NARRATOR: The town of Everwood was built around a silver mine opened in 1857. In 1929, like much of America, the mine closed and a lot of families learned what it meant to go without.
[Cut to the exterior. It's busy.]
NARRATOR: (CONT'D) It wasn't until another 10 years later that someone started...
[Cut to a white man, getting some stuff from his mailbox like a long box in the shape of cylinder. He looks at it. We later find out this man's name is Daniel Sullivan.]
NARRATOR: (CONT'D) ...snooping around another part of the mountain...
[Cut to another man. This man is African-American and is preparing something in his home for his dog who barks. We later find out this man's name is Will Cleveland.]
NARRATOR: (CONT'D) ...and found a kingdom's worth of coal waiting to be unraveled.
WILL: Alright, alright.
NARRATOR: The mines reopened and that many people didn't have to go hungry anymore.
[Will sets down his kit.]
[Cut to a butch woman setting down her kit in Dr. Brown's office. Dr. Brown is looking through the stuff on his messy desk, looking for a report. Pan over a little to show Chris Beels (the guidance counselor from "Extra Ordinary" and obviously the woman's husband) is there too.]
DR. BROWN: I, uh, I have the report for you.
WOMAN: People don't hedge on good news. [beat] It didn't work.
DR. BROWN: No. The pregnancy test came out negative. I'm sorry.
WOMAN: It's not your fault, doc.
DR. BROWN: We're not out of options, Ellie. This was our sixth cycle of injectables, which is usually when people start looking at the next level of assisted reproduction: in-vitro fertilization or IVF...
ELLIE: Well, you look. I'll go dig some coal.
[Ellie rises and takes her toolkit.]
CHRIS: That's great. Go back to the mines. It's because of the mines we're in this.
ELLIE: Don't start on that again. I'm not quitting.
CHRIS: Well, the doctor already said there's no organic reason that we're not pregnant. Except that you spend twelve hours a day underground, killing yourself, filling your lungs with coals so that you spend half the night coughing. [to Dr. Brown] Tell her.
[Dr. Brown would rather not get in the middle.]
DR. BROWN: It's a lot of physical stress and you are exposed to unusual amounts of carbon monoxide and methane underground.
ELLIE: Well, my job puts a hell of a lot more food on the table than a part-time guidance counselor's salary.
CHRIS: That's not fair. [beat] Look at it. Having kids was our dream. It was mine. It was yours too. [beat] Just tell me, do you want to do this with me or not?
ELLIE: Well, you make hard to want to do anything with you.
[The line lands hand and Chris gets up and leaves. Ellie tries to follow but Chris slams the door.]
DR. BROWN: You really mean that?
ELLIE: No. We argue sometimes, you know?
DR. BROWN: I fight mean too. I'm working on it.
ELLIE: He's got a point, doesn't he? I mean, the job's not exactly helping things along.
DR. BROWN: It could be a factor, yeah.
ELLIE: So I gotta quit?
DR. BROWN: I'm not here to tell you that.
ELLIE: Yeah, you are.
[She looks at Dr. Brown and realizes what she has to do. She goes to leave.]
[Cut to the Everwood coal mines. Ellie's in her gear and makes her way to the elevator. Other miners are milling about. In the elevator, when Ellie gets in, we see Will Cleveland and Daniel Sullivan as well.]
FEMALE VOICE: Loaders to storage area B. Loaders to storage area B.
ELLIE: Bitch. You were always a bastard, Will. [beat] OK.
[A buzzer goes off.]
WILL: Ow.
[The elevator starts going down.]
NARRATOR: From silver to coal, just like that. A good example of how something you never considered before can become your whole focus and blazing new relief all of a sudden.
[There's an explosion underground and some miners try to jump out of the way. It's a little hard for me to explain but I think something hits the elevator. Many things fall.]
{END OF TEASER / OPENING CREDITS / COMMERCIAL BREAK}
{ACT ONE}
[Open at the coal mine in Everwood. Rescue workers are in sight.]
WOMAN'S VOICE: Command, come in. To anyone in the northwest area, come in. Anyone in the northwest area.
[Car horn honks. Pan over to show the three town doctors pulling up at the mine in their vehicles. Dr. Brown gets out and the other doctors and Edna get out from vehicles too. We see their view as they take a look-see.]
DR. BROWN: Oh my God. [pointing somewhere to Dr. L. Abbott] Over there.
EDNA: What the hell happened?
DENVER: There was a low-level methane buildup. Something must have sparked it. The whole thing went up in...
DR. L. ABBOTT: Are you the foreman?
DENVER: Yeah.
DR. L. ABBOTT: What's your name?
DENVER: Denver.
DR. L. ABBOTT: Denver, I want to know if there's anybody else down there that we can help. Are there any survivors?
DENVER: Three that we know of. One just radioed up from the elevator. The landing protected them from the collapse. They sound pretty bad.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Where are the ambulances?
DENVER: There's a 4-alarm fire in Denver. Every rescue vehicle in the area's already there. They've sent ambulances, but they're three hours out.
DR. BROWN: Can we get down to them?
DENVER: Yeah.
[Dr. Brown starts following Denver towards the mine.]
RESCUE WORKER: We vented the gas. The emergency ladders are clear.
DR. L. ABBOTT: What do you keep in the infirmary?
RESCUE WORKER: Basic surgical supplies, some anesthetics -- not much.
DR. L. ABBOTT: Any blood?
RESCUE WORKER: More saline than blood. A few pints.
DR. L. ABBOTT: Get it all down. Blood and saline first.
[Pan around outside a little more.]
[Cut to the doctors coming down the emergency ladder, entering the mine. We hear someone coughing.]
DR. BROWN: I got one. I got one. Still breathing. Let's get this thing off her. Come on. Help me out here. Come on. Very easy on her face.
DR. H. ABBOTT: This guy's pinned over here. He looks unconscious. Can you hear me? Can you move your left arm? Nothing!
[The guy Dr. H. Abbott is worried about is clearly Will Cleveland.]
DR. BROWN: Go up that way. I need alcohol and morphine right away.
[Dr. Brown recognizes the woman.]
DR. BROWN: (CONT'D) Hey, Ellie.
ELLIE: Hey.
DR. BROWN: Mind if I take a look?
[Dr. Brown looks around. There's a huge gash near her abdomen area.]
DR. BROWN: (CONT'D) Okay, listen, Ellie -- I can't move you right now. That thing coming out of ya, it's holding everything where it should be. I'm going to have to keep you here till the ambulance comes, then we'll cut you free. Does that sound good?
ELLIE: Uh-huh.
DR. BROWN: Alcohol. Needle. [starts pumping morphine into Ellie] Now, this morphine... should make the wait go by really fast. You're going to be okay. I promise. You haven't lost much blood. And I'll stay here with you the whole time.
ELLIE: Ah, the hell you will. Go help the other two.
[Dr. Brown hands some stuff to a person that I can't see because it's pretty dark but it's pretty likely that it's the Rescue Worker or Denver.]
DR. BROWN: Here you go. Tape her up.
[Dr. Brown walks over to Dr. L. Abbott who is looking at Daniel Sullivan.]
DR. L. ABBOTT: He's badly concussed. I'm guessing a skull fracture. Vitals are good. Might be a spinal injury. I'm going to pack him till we get him a collar.
DR. H. ABBOTT: I need some help here!
DR. L. ABBOTT: Go. I'm good.
[Dr. Brown goes to Dr. H. Abbott.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: He's out. His arm's bleeding badly under the beam. I can't find the source! I can't stop it!
DR. BROWN: Get me a unit of blood. Can you guys get this thing off of him?
DENVER: It'll take some time.
DR. BROWN: Well, do it now. His arm's crushed. Somebody better notify this guy's family. We're going to have to make some very hard decisions very quickly.
DENVER: I don't think he's got a family. Will mostly keeps to himself.
DR. BROWN: Doesn't anybody know this guy?
[Cut to Will Cleveland's house from the foyer. Someone knocks on the door. Will goes to answer it. It's Ephram at the door.]
WILL: Who the hell are you?
EPHRAM: Uh, hey, I-I just came by to say sorry. I sort of hit your car today. You see the scratch?
WILL: Oh, you're the genius. Nice note.
EPHRAM: Look, if there's anything you need from me, just let me know, OK?
WILL: What I need is your insurance information so I can charge your ass.
EPHRAM: You see, I was kind of hoping that my dad might not find out about this. I mean, I’m lucky if he even lets me drive at all. Do you think there's any way we could just sort of forget about that, I could maybe pay for the damages on my own?
WILL: You got $600 cash on you?
EPHRAM: No.
WILL: $650?
EPHRAM: Aren't you supposed to go the other way?
WILL: I think I'll need that insurance information.
EPHRAM: I didn't have to come here and fess up.
WILL: You'll know better next time.
EPHRAM: You don’t have my name yet. I could still make a run for it.
WILL: Now's your chance. You're young. I'd probably chase you for a couple of blocks. You'll have me beat.
[Will leaves. But Ephram doesn't, not wanting to give up. He enters the house, closing the door behind him. Ephram follows Will into the kitchen. There is a huge stack of records.]
EPHRAM: Isn't there something I can do around here to help you out? Maybe grab a pitchfork and help clean up some of this –
[Will's dog barks.]
WILL: Don't mind Oscar. He's a sniffer, not a biter.
EPHRAM: Well, I'm not a big fan of either, thanks.
WILL: No college degree means you're worth about 6 bucks an hour. 600 bucks. No, I don't think I really want you around here for 100 hours.
[Ephram takes a pen and a scrap sheet of paper, beginning to write down his information.]
WILL: How old are you?
EPHRAM: Sixteen.
WILL: Sixteen-year-olds, they know computers?
EPHRAM: Yeah. Yeah...yeah, sure we do.
WILL: Then follow.
[Will goes into another room. Ephram puts the pen and sheet of paper down. When he goes to follow, Oscar growls at him but Ephram continues to walk past him.]
[Cut to a den sort of area in Will's home. There are many instruments about the room and also many records. Ephram is amazed by the sight of it.]
EPHRAM: This place could be a country in Epcot. Charlie Parker, Oscar Peterson. You got a Les Paul guitar?
WILL: I've got Les Paul's guitar. You know jazz?
EPHRAM: I thought I did until about a minute ago.
WILL: Good. I've been reading about this Internet thing. Something called the E-Bay, where people put their grandmothers up for sale.
EPHRAM: Yeah, yeah. I've heard of it.
WILL: Can you use it to find me an Art Tatum record?
EPHRAM: Sure. Who's Art Tatum?
[Will proceeds to go to put a record on his record player and Ephram looks around a bit.]
WILL: What do you think, genius?
EPHRAM: Those guys are great.
WILL: Those guys -- one guy. Two hands sound like six.
EPHRAM: That's one guy?
WILL: 1955. Art Tatum recorded a series of live albums in Hollywood at the Crescendo. By the time I saved enough to buy them, I was 18, about your age. And I put them on and listened to them all the way through, all in a row. And when it was done, I turned off the record player and went downstairs and sold my piano. Wouldn't play again for a year. Art Tatum was sublime. He could drive any player good enough to understand him into the ground with humility and humiliation, and he did so to me. Got the courage to play again, but I never heard those records since. Now I want them. Originals -- none of this CD crap. If you find them, I'll tear this up.
[Will holds up Ephram's information.]
EPHRAM: He's got a whole theme going with his left hand.
WILL: Whole extra hand, whole extra melody. Witness the walking bass line. Do you play?
EPHRAM: Not like that.
WILL: Nobody plays like that. "Begin the beguine." Cole Porter did the essentials.
[Will begins playing the piano.]
WILL: And then Tatum came along and did the thing.
[Will plays something different on the piano]
EPHRAM: What are you doing in this town? You're too good to be cooped up here playing for no one.
WILL: I don't play for no one. I play for me.
[Will continues playing and Ephram watches.]
[Cut back to the mine, where Will is unconscious. Pan over to Daniel. All of the doctors are near him.]
DR. BROWN: He's 90 over 40. How's that beam coming?
DENVER: We're working on it!
DR. L. ABBOTT: He'll bleed to death by then. Let's get a bone saw.
DR. BROWN: Wait a minute! I think I can stop the bleeding.
DR. L. ABBOTT: The bone's trashed, nerves and tendons probably are, too. Even if you get the arm out, they might have to lose it at the hospital.
DR. BROWN: There's still time to find out.
DR. H. ABBOTT: [to his sister] Let him. If he thinks he can do it, let him.
DR. L. ABBOTT: The wound's completely obstructed. He can't even see where he's bleeding. How’s he going to know what he’s doing?
DR. H. ABBOTT: Linda, he'll know.
DR. BROWN: Wait a minute. I can feel the arm... the artery. Wait a minute. He's bleeding from more than one place. There. How's the pressure?
DR. H. ABBOTT: It's holding. Can you stay there?
DR. BROWN: No problem. Anybody know any good songs?
[Cut to Ephram knocking on Will's door. Will opens the door. Ephram holds up a record and walks in.]
EPHRAM: Second record came in.
WILL: I don't know how this Internet works, but I like it already.
[Ephram chuckles.]
WILL: Put it on.
EPHRAM: [to Oscar] Hey, guy. How you doing?
[Cut to the den area where the second record is playing while Ephram and Will listen.]
EPHRAM: This one's even better than the others.
WILL: Think you can play it out?
EPHRAM: I'll give it a shot.
[Cut to Ephram beginning to play while Will listens.]
WILL: You've been practicing, but you're still made of wood. Hey, it's Tatum. Don't be afraid to break some keys. It's pianoforte, not a chandelier. Pianoforte -- it means "soft, loud." Soft, LOUD.
[Ephram begins again. Will rubs his hands and tries to hide a smile.]
EPHRAM: I saw that. That's you liking something, isn't it? Oh, impossible. "I'm a mean, scary old man. I like nothing and no one."
WILL: If you're playing for compliments, get a guitar. You can't try to please me when you play. You can't try to please anybody. And relax your damn shoulders for once. Pretend that you think life is actually worth living.
EPHRAM: OK.
[Ephram chuckles and plays again until fade out.]
{END OF ACT ONE / COMMERCIAL BREAK}
{ACT TWO}
[Open in the mine with the town doctors. Edna speaks down via a radio.]
EDNA: (OS) We just got Will Cleveland up here. I'm running another unit of blood. I'm getting a pulse on his left arm. It's holding! I think they can save it.
DR. BROWN: That's good news. Send another gurney back down when you can.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Well?
DR. L. ABBOTT: His pressure's getting low. How's his breathing?
DR. H. ABBOTT: Let me check. Oh, God.
[Dr. H. Abbott recognizes the man.]
DR. L. ABBOTT: You know him?
DR. H. ABBOTT: Daniel Sullivan. How is he?
DR. L. ABBOTT: Heart rate's dropping, breathing's erratic. He's destabilizing.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Where the hell are the ambulances?!
RESCUE WORKER: They're still over an hour away.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Andy, now.
ELLIE: Go take care of him. I'm fine.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Daniel?
DR. BROWN: She's hurt badly, and we finished out the painkillers. I am all out of tricks.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I'm not. Hey... I'm going to try to do something for your pain. Have you ever had acupuncture before?
ELLIE: First time for everything.
[Dr. L. Abbott begins putting in needles on Ellie's head.]
DR. L. ABBOTT: How's that feel?
ELLIE: It's warm.
DR. L. ABBOTT: Good. That's good.
DR. H. ABBOTT: His right pupil's blown. He's got a subdural hematoma.
DR. BROWN: There's nothing we can do about that down here.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Well, there's nothing I can do.
DR. BROWN: I don't have the equipment for that.
DR. H. ABBOTT: You just stopped bleeding under an "I" beam. This is a cakewalk. There's blood pooling inside his skull, pressing against his brain. We can't risk moving him. The more we wait, the more he shuts down for good. You can do this.
DR. BROWN: I can't even be sure where the pool is.
DR. H. ABBOTT: You will look, and you will be sure, and you will be right because that is what you do. That is why you are so irritating. It's not Colin. Don't think -- just do it.
[Beat.]
DR. BROWN: Denver? Find me a drill.
[Dr. H. Abbott walks to a telephone.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Mother, find a toolbox. I need a drill bit 1/4 inch. Sterilize it and get it down here.
EDNA: (OS) Roger that.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Let's go. Let's get him ready.
DR. BROWN: Tell me -- tell me something about him.
DR. H. ABBOTT: He's my neighbor. He's married. Only man in town who happens to be crazier than you.
DR. BROWN: What'd you say his name was?
[Cut to a flashback of lumber loading off a truck.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Daniel?
DANIEL: [to people taking the wood] There you go.
[Dr. H. Abbott's on Daniel's porch.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Mr. Sullivan? Daniel?
DANIEL: How do, Doc?
DR. H. ABBOTT: Poorly. What is going on here and at this hour? This hour is eight, and hour for coffee and newspapers, and tweeting birds' silence.
DANIEL: Sorry. There shouldn't be much more racket.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Yes, well, I should hope not.
[Dr. H. Abbott gives an odd look but then leaves.]
DANIEL: Neighborly, isn't he?
[Cut to another day. Dr. H. Abbott's watering some of his plants with a hose. He hears a beep. A cement truck goes by. Dr. H. Abbott stands by Daniel's porch.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Hello, there.
DANIEL: Mornin'.
DR. H. ABBOTT: So how goes the, uh, project?
DANIEL: Right on schedule.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Yeah, yeah. You about ready to pour the foundation?
DANIEL: Just about.
DR. H. ABBOTT: You know, most people don't dig a foundation for a ...gazebo.
DANIEL: I'm not building a gazebo.
DR. H. ABBOTT: No, no, of course not. No, an aboveground pool's a fine thing, too. You can tell me what it is. I'm famously trustworthy -- a vault of secrets.
DANIEL: Really?
DR. H. ABBOTT: Faithful as a malamute. It would be like you told me in my office -- purely confidential. Squash court? Tool shed? Steam lodge?
[Horn honks.]
DANIEL: That'd be my concrete. Excuse me.
[Millie, Daniel's wife, comes out, carrying a pitcher of lemonade.]
MILLIE: Some lemonade, doctor? Just squeezed a fresh batch.
[Dr. H. Abbott chuckles and tries to figure out what his neighbor is building.]
[Cut to after dinner one night. We're in the Abbott kitchen where Dr. H. Abbott obsesses to his wife as he does the dishes.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Oh, and he's locked up his gates, you know, so no one can see what it is he's building all night. I mean, what do you think it could be? Extra garage? They only have the one car. Greenhouse? A jacuzzi.
ROSE: Maybe you could just wait till he's done and find out.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Yeah, has to be a jacuzzi. Man works in the mines all day -- backbreaking labor. He must get sore. But then why all the lumber?
ROSE: Why indeed?
DR. H. ABBOTT: What I do know is the man is creating some kind of public menace, and it's up to us to do something about it, if not for ourselves then for the sake of the children.
ROSE: Our children?
DR. H. ABBOTT: All children, Rose.
ROSE: I hardly think Daniel Sullivan needs to be feared or restrained. He's probably just building a new trellis for Millie's roses.
DR. H. ABBOTT: You did not see this monstrosity. It was -- well, it's monstrous. The man is non compos mentis, Rose. Behind that beatific smile lurks nothing more than a lobotomy. You are mayor here, Rose. Can't you get an injunction?
ROSE: I can, and I will not. I am certainly not going to start a feud over some hammering.
DR. H. ABBOTT: He could be putting in a crystal-meth lab for all we know.
[Rose gives her husband a shocked look.]
[Cut to Daniel working on his project. Dr. H. Abbott sneaks in to see the plans by climbing over the fence. He isn't very subtle in landing and Daniel turns to see the ruckus. Dr. H. Abbott walks toward Daniel.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Ohh! Gotcha! Now I know what you're up to. You're...
[We see the plans as he does.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: (CONT'D) You're building a... lighthouse?
[Dr. H. Abbott holds up the plans.]
DANIEL: Yep.
DR. H. ABBOTT: As in for boats and ships who've lost their way?
DANIEL: Yep.
DR. H. ABBOTT: So I don't suppose it matters to you that we live in Colorado, landlocked by a thousand miles in any direction?
DANIEL: Not really.
DR. H. ABBOTT: But that's insane. Have -- have you gone mad, man? Really, you could tell me.
DANIEL: I don't think so. But then I'm not an impartial opinion.
DR. H. ABBOTT: But you'll never even finish it.
DANIEL: I'll get there.
[Daniel walks off, whistling.]
[Cut to Mama Joy's where a council meeting of the local government is taking place. Indistinct conversations until Rose bangs on gavel. Edna Harper, Irv Harper, Martha Thompson, and Dr. H. Abbott are among those present.]
ROSE: The motion against the Clover Street Lighthouse is on the floor. If you will permit the arguments to complete themselves first. You may proceed, Doctor.
DR. H. ABBOTT: [to the two people wheeling out a cart] Carefully. [to his wife] Thank you, Ms. Mayor. [clears his throat] Citizens, witness the future, as told by Daniel Sullivan.
[Dr. H. Abbott unveils a model of the lighthouse.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: (CONT'D) His plans call for a three-story, turreted maritime structure to be built -- noisily, one can only imagine -- over the course of several years. It is simply absurd.
IRV: This town has tolerated things more bracing than a monument to absurdity. A lighthouse out here is poetic.
MARTHA: I've read that towns that have lighthouses have a lot fewer accidents.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Well, on sea, you half-wit. For the love of Mike, this isn't Babel. There's a reason why we're not zoned for a lighthouse here in Colorado. Because we happen to be 1,500 miles away from the nearest port. Now, if we had an epidemic of lost schooners plaguing our shores, I'd be the first one up there with a fresh light bulb, but as it stands, this is grand-scale dementia. And if we allow this, this indulgence, what do we do next? Do we permit Milt Cobblestone's backyard slaughterhouse that he's been gunning for or…or…or Leo Kang's heliport by the school? This lighthouse is the beginning of neighborhood anarchy. Now, I have a relief map as well.
[Rose gets a worried look on her face during her husband's speech. Dr. H. Abbott holds up the relief map which is rolled up.]
ROSE: [cutting her husband off] Oh, no. Thank you. I think that's plenty. Are there any voices in favor of the structure?
[No one speaks up.]
ROSE: (CONT'D) Then the council will call for the vote. All those in favor of immediate termination of construction –
[Dr. H. Abbott raises his hand almost immediately. Door opens and in walks Daniel Sullivan.]
DANIEL: Have you already voted, Mayor?
ROSE: Not yet.
DANIEL: May I say something before you do?
ROSE: Well, yes, of course, Daniel. Please.
DANIEL: Thank you.
[Daniel walks up.]
DANIEL: [re: the lighthouse model] Nice. [beat] I'm not much for talking. I've always loved living in this town... just as much as I've loved going under it every day, working the mines. I don't know why, but I do. My wife, Millie -- some of you may know her. She's -- she's always had bigger ideas. She's always wanted to see the world. And most of all, she's wanted to live on a shore, on a coast -- "somewhere where I can walk outside and fly a kite on the beach after dinner, somewhere on a salt sea with ducks and, uh... a lighthouse off in the distance telling us we're home. Take me there." [chuckles] She said that the night she let me marry her, and I said, "OK." The only -- the only problem is... I never did. And she didn't make me... 'cause she knows what I love. So I never took Millie to live in a seaside town with a beach for a backyard and a lighthouse off in the distance. But if she stayed with me for 15 years here in Everwood, the least I can do is bring some of that life back here... to her. Uh... well, I guess I got some, uh, floorwork to finish, and, uh...
[Daniel exits. Door closes.]
ROSE: All those in favor of changing the zoning to permit the building of the Clover Street lighthouse say "aye."
TOWNSPEOPLE: Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.
[Rose looks to her husband and reluctantly, he raises his band. Rose bangs the gavel. Indistinct conversations roam as the townspeople get up to leave.]
[Cut to the mine again with Daniel not doing too great. There's some drilling.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: You're doing fine.
DR. BROWN: You're making me nervous.
[The male doctors do some stuff as Dr. L. Abbott just looks on.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Does the blood look coagulated?
DR. BROWN: No. It's coming out clean. It hasn't been in there long.
DR. H. ABBOTT: You have it?
DR. BROWN: Yeah. 25 cc. That's about it.
DR. H. ABBOTT: His breathing is evening out. It's working.
[Dr. Brown breathes heavily and sighs.]
DR. BROWN: Thank you, Harold.
DR. H. ABBOTT: All it took was some predictably effective inflating of your ego.
DR. BROWN: I'll dress the wound.
DR. H. ABBOTT: No, let me. I'll stay with him.
[Dr. Brown gets up and goes to Dr. L. Abbott who shakes her head.]
DR. L. ABBOTT: I never knew you were such a cowboy.
DR. BROWN: I don't always wear the hat.
DR. L. ABBOTT: When we get out of here, I'm going to buy you a big drink.
DR. BROWN: I'm going to buy you a bar.
DENVER: Ambulances are just outside of town. E.T.A. 20 minutes.
DR. L. ABBOTT: Do you hear that, Ellie? Just a little bit longer.
[A beat and then Dr. L. Abbott puts her ear near Ellie.]
DR. L. ABBOTT: (CONT'D) Andy, she's not breathing.
DR. BROWN: Breathing tube.
{END OF ACT TWO / COMMERCIAL BREAK}
{ACT THREE}
[Open in the mine. Dr. L. Abbott is doing CPR on Ellie. Dr. Brown is watching Ellie too.]
DR. BROWN: Careful with the compressions. Okay, I got a pulse. She's breathing, but I don't know for how long.
DR. L. ABBOTT: There's no blood on the floor. What's happening to her?
DR. BROWN: She's swelling. She must be bleeding into her abdomen. She's been bleeding the whole time. Get another unit.
DR. L. ABBOTT: That was the last of it.
DR. BROWN: Is anybody down here a type "A" or "O" negative?
DR. H. ABBOTT: Wait. Linda's "A" negative. Go ahead. I'll cover for you.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I can't. I'm not. I'm "B" negative. You're, uh, thinking of Dad.
DR. BROWN: Her pressure's getting worse. Give me a needle. I'm going to tap her.
DR. H. ABBOTT: What?
DR. BROWN: I'm on it. Autotransfusion. She bled into her abdomen. We're going push it back into her until some damn help comes.
DR. H. ABBOTT: You think it'll work?
DR. BROWN: If we can get her on antibiotics, it might buy us some time. I don't know. Has anybody called her husband?
DENVER: Not yet.
DR. BROWN: He's at County High. Chris Beels. Somebody better call him and tell him what happened.
[Cut to Chris in the teachers' lounge at County. He picks up a pot of coffee.]
CHRIS: Nice, people. Whatever happened to "if you finish it, make a fresh pot"? We're supposed to be adults here.
[Chris goes to make a new pot but water splashes over him. He attempts to wipe it up.]
[Cut to the hallway. Amy tentatively peeks out to see if anyone's in the hallway. Looks like the coast is clear. She starts racing down the hall before anyone comes. But it's too late. Chris exits the lounge and spots Amy, though she avoids his face.]
CHRIS: You're supposed to be in social studies, Amy.
AMY: I-I'm not cutting. Um, we're all meeting at Nikki Keller's house. Her mom's, like, an assistant something at the State Senate and said that we could interview her... about the environment? Yeah, OK, I'll go to class.
CHRIS: This is the third time. I'm supposed to call a parent when a student gets caught cutting for the third time.
AMY: No, no, please don't. I cannot take this with my parents right now.
CHRIS: I'm sorry.
AMY: Well, I'm already going to class. I'm only, like, three minutes late. Come on.
CHRIS: It's a rule. I got to call you in.
AMY: [sarcastic] Wow, that's incredibly cool of you.
CHRIS: You’re the one cutting class. Why does that make me the bad guy?
AMY: Because you just are.
[Cut to Chris Beels talking to County High Principal Ackerman outside of the school. Chris is carrying a briefcase and they are walking towards the school.]
PRINCIPAL ACKERMAN: I hate to disappoint you, Chris, but we can't afford to make you full-time.
CHRIS: Why? I finished my probationary period. I handled an entire case load by myself. I want to be instated with benefits. Normally, I wouldn't push it, but my wife and I, we're trying to have kids. If I had benefits, she could quit the mines.
PRINCIPAL ACKERMAN: The entire state has cutbacks. There's no money. Maybe after New Year's, huh?
[Principal Ackerman walks off. Chris sighs. He enters the school. He spots Bright in the hall.]
CHRIS: Hey, we had a meeting...an hour ago.
BRIGHT: Oh, I forgot.
CHRIS: Applications are due at the end of the month. Do you want my help or not?
[Bright looks to a bunch of girls and then back to Chris.]
BRIGHT: Do you have time now?
CHRIS: Let's go.
BRIGHT: [re: the spill on Chris's shirt] Dude, someone needs a sippy cup.
[Cut to the guidance office. Chris is trying to help Bright with his application but Bright is busy, occupied with looking at CDs.]
BRIGHT: Air Supply? Is that, like, a band or something?
CHRIS: If you could have dinner with one person living or dead, who would it be and why? We went over this. We talked about what you were going to write. You were gonna go with JFK.
BRIGHT: Yeah, I switched it. I figure with all the essays they read, they'd probably be glad to get a fun one.
CHRIS: Neo from "The Matrix"? He's not living or dead. He's fictional. Look, I took time out of my schedule to help you with this application. I've got things to do.
BRIGHT: Well, maybe I could do those things, and you could write my essay.
CHRIS: That's very cute, Bright. That's very charming. Isn't that how you got kicked off the football team? Trying to charm your way through school? Do you plan on charming your way into college?
BRIGHT: I've been studying nonstop. I already got every single one of my grades up.
CHRIS: Yeah, after three years of straight C's. Look, your essay has to show that you're at least trying, that you want to do better.
BRIGHT: You said it was just a first draft.
CHRIS: Yeah, but that doesn't mean that you can turn in a cave drawing. This is garbage. This is terrible. This looks like something that you scribbled in five minutes.
BRIGHT: Well, then I'll just write it over. God, just chill out.
[Bright gets up but doesn't leave. Chris takes off his glasses. This is the last straw for him.]
CHRIS: I will not chill out! I am trying! I show up on time. I do my job. I try and make a difference. It's not getting me anywhere. Why should I help you? Look, you came to me. You had a list of colleges that you wanted to get into, and I said I would help you if you promised to be serious.
BRIGHT: I was serious. I am serious.
CHRIS: It doesn't look like it to me. It doesn't look like you're getting in anywhere, not with this. You want to know where this gets you? [takes the essay and tosses it onto the floor] There -- early acceptance. Now get out of here. Go play with your friends. Call me if you need a letter of rec for the gas and go.
[Bright leaves.]
CHRIS: Damn it!
[Cut to a car outside Peak County. There's a coffee cup on the top. We realize it's Chris's car. Bright walks up.]
BRIGHT: Relax. It's a spill-proof top.
[Chris takes the cup.]
BRIGHT: (CONT'D) Coach Austin used to tear me a new one all the time. When I screwed up on the field, he'd go nuts, but it always felt like he was kidding, you know? Like we were all in on this big joke. I've never been yelled at for anything real before.
CHRIS: I shouldn't have. Not like that. I was…yelling at my crummy day, and you were just in it and I'm sorry.
BRIGHT: I can do this... if you'll help me. If there's any chance you're still available for help.
CHRIS: If you'll tell me the one person you'd like to have dinner with and why.
BRIGHT: I don't know.
CHRIS: Think about it. Who's somebody you have questions for? Who do you talk to in your head?
BRIGHT: I... I talk to Colin sometimes.
CHRIS: What do you say?
BRIGHT: I just -- I tell him how much more fun things were when he was here. I tell him I'm a mess, and I've pretty much screwed up all the plans that we ever had. And I wonder what he would do if he was me, 'cause, man, he could handle anything. He was, like, fearless. I – I’d tell him I miss him.
CHRIS: Good. That's your essay.
BRIGHT: When do we start writing?
[Chris's cell starts ringing.]
CHRIS: That's my wife calling from work. Let me get this, we'll go find a place to sit, and then we'll get to work, OK?
BRIGHT: OK.
[Bright walks off as Chris takes his call.]
CHRIS: Hello? [beat] What?
{END OF ACT THREE / COMMERCIAL BREAK}
{ACT FOUR}
[Open at the mine. An ambulance drives off. Dr. H. Abbott is the first doctor to exit.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Oh, dear God, Millie.
[Dr. H. Abbott walks over to a crew of people including Millie Sullivan and Chris Beels.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Well, we kept them best we could till help arrived. Didn't look like it for a while, but they're all stable now.
MILLIE: Daniel's alive?
DR. H. ABBOTT: Yes. You have that man to thank for it.
[Dr. H. Abbott is, of course, referring to Dr. Brown who is just now coming out of the mine and goes up to Chris.]
CHRIS: What is it? Whatever it is, just tell me now. Is she really OK?
DR. BROWN: She's going to be OK, yes. She's a strong woman. We got lucky. But Ellie had a chunk of metal lodged in her gut. It missed her vitals, but her uterus was damaged badly. They're going have to remove it. I'm sorry. Do you understand what that means, Chris?
[Chris does but he doesn't care about that now.]
CHRIS: But she's all right?
DR. BROWN: Yes. She's going be fine.
CHRIS: I want to see her.
[Dr. H. Abbott and Millie share an umbrella as they walk off. Dr. Brown and Chris also share an umbrella. Finally, we see Edna and Dr. L. Abbott share an umbrella.]
[Cut to the Abbott home, interior. It's a shot from the living room with a view to the front door through which the two Drs. Abbott enter. They drop their stuff at the door, just wanting to lay down on the sofas.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Oh, my back hurts, my feet hurt, my clothes hurt. Starting tomorrow, I'm giving up fossil fuels.
DR. L. ABBOTT: Ohh! That was some pretty strong work today, Harry.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Oh, thanks. Didn't do so bad yourself, using your hoodoo powers of suggestion to bamboozle that poor woman out of her pain.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I am way too tired to take that as anything but a compliment.
[Beat.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: So you want to tell me why you lied today?
DR. L. ABBOTT: About what?
DR. H. ABBOTT: Your blood type. You're "A" negative - don't think I don't remember. You always used to tease me 'cause I'm "B" positive, and you would say that you did a half letter grade better on the blood test.
DR. L. ABBOTT: Um... well, you know, I spent over two years in sub-Saharan Africa, and hepatitis is epidemic there. You can take all the precautions that you want, but there's only so much you can do in the field. I suspect that I might be a carrier, so I didn't want to, you know, plug into her not knowing.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Well, it's not something that you should sit on. Your patients have a right to know if you're at risk. You need to get tested.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I will. I will.
[Rose enters the living room.]
ROSE: The doctors Abbott. I should take a picture. The whole town is buzzing with how absolutely wonderful you were. No anesthetics, no supplies. I saw you on the news. Everyone's saying you two should have a reality program of your own, the way you saved all those miners up there.
[Dr. L. Abbott smiles.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: Please, Rose, we don't know for certain what their conditions are yet.
ROSE: Oh yes, yes we do. I just talked to Millie on the telephone. Daniel has regained consciousness, and he's going to be all right.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Oh, god. Really. That's so strange how close he came. If that beam had hit him an inch in either direction or if we had waited another minute before beginning the operation... ...what would Millie do? They're a world of two. Without him... uh, Rose, are we, uh -- are we still at the top of that snow-day phone tree?
ROSE: Oh…yeah.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Night.
[Dr. H. Abbott exits. Rose looks to her sister-in-law, wondering what he's up to.]
[Cut to Ephram playing one of the jazz pieces on the piano. Dr. Brown enters.]
DR. BROWN: That's slick.
[Ephram stops.]
EPHRAM: Oh, I'm still learning it. You just get in?
DR. BROWN: Yeah. You shouldn't have waited up.
EPHRAM: I heard what you did. It's all anybody's been talking about.
DR. BROWN: Some people died.
EPHRAM: Not as many as could have. How's Will Cleveland doing?
DR. BROWN: You know him?
EPHRAM: I met him a couple weeks ago. He's the one who's been teaching me all this jazz stuff. He's, like, the most incredible musician I've ever met. From what I hear, he still will be.
DR. BROWN: Well, the nerves are still intact. The surgeons were able to repair the tendons. He's got some cast time and rehab ahead of him, but, yeah, he'll play again. [re: the dog] Who's this?
EPHRAM: Ah, he's Will's. Careful. He doesn't like to be disturbed. Now all we have to do is figure out what to do with all these pies.
DR. BROWN: Pies?
EPHRAM: Everwood's version of a hero's welcome. We already got two blueberries and one apple.
DR. BROWN: I, I don't know if I'm pie-worthy. I'm not feeling like much of a hero.
EPHRAM: Why? You saved, like, three people.
DR. BROWN: Well, there was that.
[Dr. Brown smiles. Ephram chuckles.]
EPHRAM: Then what happened?
DR. BROWN: Basically, I was terrified. I couldn't even move at first.
EPHRAM: Well, I think that still qualifies as heroic. And I know what I'm talking about. I've read a lot of comic books.
DR. BROWN: Hmm. What if I slip up again? I was a hero in this town once before, and that didn't work out so great.
EPHRAM: Well, I think you ought to just keep doing what you're good at, not worry about who's watching or what they think. You don't play for an audience. Will taught me that. At least he's trying to.
DR. BROWN: He sounds like a nice guy.
EPHRAM: Not even close. You should get some sleep. I'll keep a pie warm for you.
[Ephram exits. Dr. Brown smiles.]
[Cut to Daniel's backyard where Dr. H. Abbott is speaking into a blow horn. The town is trying to make the lighthouse that Daniel was making for his wife before the incident at the coal mine.]
DR. H. ABBOTT: That alcove is not part of the specs, ladies. Please save the creativity for your cake recipes. We have a lighthouse to finish here. Let's move it, people. Remember people, if you don’t have time to do it right, you have time to do it over.
[Dr. Brown arrives with his two kids and shouts up to Dr. H. Abbott.]
DR. BROWN: Putting the Amish to shame there, Harold.
DR. H. ABBOTT: Well, we could be done sheet-rocking by nightfall [into blow horn] if we had less joking and more construction. [end of speaking into blow horn] And if you don't mind, there's a parapet that needs balustrating.
DR. BROWN: Point me to a hammer.
DR. H. ABBOTT: There's a hammer. [into blow horn] Let's pick up the pace, shingle folk.
DELIA: All the kids are painting. Can I help?
DR. BROWN: Sure, honey.
DELIA: I want to do the red stripe around it.
EPHRAM: It's a lighthouse, Delia. You're thinking candy cane.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I don't think those hands were made for hammering.
DR. BROWN: Well, maybe I should be soaking them in buttermilk.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I think I owe you a thank you.
DR. BROWN: Why?
DR. L. ABBOTT: Oh, a reminder. Where I practiced in Africa, medicine was different. It was, um, crueler. You were glad if your patient lived another day. Lose a leg, save the kid, and you're still the village hero. But what you did in the mine -- sticking with saving his arm when I was pushing you –
DR. BROWN: I was just lucky. You were right to challenge me.
DR. L. ABBOTT: No! I wasn't, and it was a reminder to me that there are softer places in the world, and I needed to see that. Did that make any sense?
DR. BROWN: Not really, but "you're welcome" seems like a safe response, so I'll just go with that.
DR. L. ABBOTT: I guess what I was trying to say is that if I were still away and I read about what happened in the mine, about what you did, I would have been…sorry that I missed it.
DR. BROWN: So would I.
DR. L. ABBOTT: But you wouldn't even have known me.
DR. BROWN: Exactly.
[Dr. Brown goes up to work on the lighthouse.]
NARRATOR: When it's going right, life changes minute to minute. On a random Tuesday in 1939, coal unexpectedly became important to the entire town of Everwood. On another day some 75 years later, it was a lighthouse suddenly on everyone's mind.
[Fade to show the lighthouse completed and its light shining all over Everwood.]
