We open at Bright's place of employment, where he is busy cheering himself on as he refills the salt shakers. A little brunette waitress sees this and comments that he's "shakin' it with the shakers." Ugh. Bright tells the girl to stop "gettin' sweet" with him, because he knows she's out for blood; waitress girl is apparently beating him in tips. Waitress says it doesn't count, because some guy left her a twenty on a coffee and pound cake. Bright says it's not fair that Waitress can just flash her dimples and get big tips, but it must get pretty old to be constantly hit on. Waitress denies that she gets hit on, except for right now with some cutie named Bright. Waitress suggests that they hang out during their breaks sometime. Bright asks her when her break is. Waitress says that, actually, she's on break right now.
Cut to "Mikey" standing outside the stockroom door. Unable to keep himself from investigating the giggling and smacking noises coming from inside, Mikey swings the door open to find Bright and Waitress undressed to the waist. Bright's all, "Uh, hey, Mikey. Just...uh...looking for napkins. There they are!" Hee. Mikey is not pleased, Bright makes his sheepish face, and we go to the credits.
When we come back, Treat is checking Amanda's husband for signs of life. Amanda tells Treat about the doctor they're seeing for the music therapy. She complains that "Dr. Bell" plays disco, and if she has to get on the Love Train one more time, she'll kill herself. Treat says he could try to find another therapist; Amanda says, actually, Dr. Bell has been great, and she could swear that John moved his eyes the other day. Treat detects the incredible sarcasm in Amanda's voice, and says that none of this will work unless she's completely honest with him. Amanda says it's not like she expected John to get up and do Fiddler on the Roof -- she just wishes there were more they could do. Treat says maybe there is, and mentions talking to a friend about new advances in alternative medicine. Amanda says she's been down that road, and unfortunately, John's chi is still blocked. Heh. Treat says that "Linda" (ooh! Rinda!) agreed that a more focused kind of music therapy works very well with the new treatment, which is a class of drugs called "acetylcholinesterase inhibitors." Not that you need to know that; I totally just wanted to see if I could spell that word by myself. Victory! Treat says the drugs work on the enzymes that destroy nerve transmissions in patients with cerebral infarcts. Amanda says she likes that word, but would love it if Treat could pretend she's not a neurosurgeon. Treat tells her that John's brain is like a library, and while the books are still there, the card catalog is broken. Amanda says she loves it when Treat breaks it all down for her with cute little stories. Treat asks her if she'd like to hear the one he has for incontinence. Hee. Amanda asks what she has to do. Treat says she should pick a song with great significance to both of them; they'll put John on the drug, play the song in an appropriate setting, and see what happens. Amanda agrees to the plan, and tells Treat that they did dance to Spandau Ballet at their wedding. Treat: "Yeah, that says a lot about you."
Treat gives Amanda the drugs, and she wheels John around, commenting on how much she likes Patch's tie on her way out. Treat grins at himself. Patch says things appear to be going well. Treat says it's called "hope." Patch wonders if a little caution may be in order -- "hope can be a dangerous thing, especially when it comes to stroke patients." Treat says hope is the one thing they shouldn't be cautious about; they should be practicing it like medicine. "And you know what? She's right. That IS a nice tie!"
Will's House. Darth Vader is playing a little ditty on the piano for Ephram. When he finishes, Ephram says it's amazing, and he can't believe he's never heard it before. Darth asks Ephram where he'd place it. Ephram mentions Brahms and Bill Evans. Darth asks him if he didn't detect a hint of Joplin. Ephram says yeah, in the bridge, but way, way, way better. Darth: "Watch that mumble. I can't see what stupid thing you're saying when you mumble." Will's gone stone deaf already, I see. Ephram repeats himself, and asks whose piece it is. Darth says, "Whose? Yours." Ephram is confused, and Darth says it was his, and now it's Ephram's, to play at his Juilliard audition. Ephram is stunned, and touched, and wants it real bad. He says it's perfect, and now he can show off everything they've been working on. He asks what it's called. Darth replies, "'Bella Rae.'" Ephram: "Who's she?" Darth laughs and tells him it's none of his damn business. Heh. Ephram sits down to play Miss Bella Rae, and we cut to...
The Abbott House. Bright wants to know what's for dinner, and Patch tells him that he and Rose are going out. Rose says she thought Bright would be at work, anyway. Bright lies that he quit, because he didn't really like the job anyway, and kept getting the bad section. Rose reminds him that he was Employee of the Month. Bright: "That was like a month ago, Mom." Rose asks what he's going to do now. Bright says he's ready to get a real job, and move on with getting serious about his life. Rose and Patch are pleased, and Rose immediately starts thinking of jobs she can find for him. Bright is like, "Yeah, thanks, awesome." His parents congratulate him and say how proud they are. Bright stands there and looks guilty. Because he IS. Commercials.
Ephram's Studio. He's practicing Darth Vader's piece on his super-fancy million-dollar equipment, but suddenly stops, saying, "This is bad." Amy, studying on the couch, says nothing. He waits for a response, and Amy says she thought she was supposed to ignore him when he made frustrated noises. Ephram says he thinks he made a mistake. Amy: "God forbid. Where's my paddle?" Hee. Ephram says that parts of "Bella Rae" are genius, but other parts of it are just wrong, and he doesn't know what to do. ["I'm going to have suggest getting a haircut. Again. I mean MY GOD people." -- Sars] Amy says that what she knows about jazz consists of what he tries to tell her before her eyes start rolling back in her head and she falls asleep, but the audition is too important to risk with something he's not sure of. Ephram says it was a big deal for Darth to even show it to him, but maybe if he just made a couple of changes, it could work. He starts with the music blather, and Amy points to her face: "See? Eyes rolling." Ephram asks her if she thinks Will would mind if he fixed "Bella Rae." Amy says it would be like collaborating with his mentor, and old guys love that stuff. "My dad cries every time I beat him at tennis." Ephram wants to start working on it right away. Amy tells him that he's useless to her, and leaves him with a kiss and a "Work hard, genius." Aw.
And here is where the episode starts to go downhill. Treat and Amanda are walking in a picturesque section of snowy woods. Amanda's leading Treat, who is wheeling John, to one of John's favorite spots -- the spot where he proposed to her. Treat complains that it's cold. Amanda tells him that he lives in the mountains, so he better embrace it. When they get to the spot -- which is a bridge over troubled waters, no kidding -- Treat parks John safely away from the edge so he can go lean on the railing and totally hit on Amanda, who has started to cry. Treat asks her what's wrong, and Amanda says this wasn't supposed to be hard for her. Treat takes this opportunity to rub Amanda's shoulder lovingly, and get a little closer. Treat says they don't have to do this if it's too much for her. Amanda says no, this is good, and reminds Treat that this is where John proposed. Treat wisely removes his hand from Amanda's shoulder, before John gets up out of that wheelchair and kicks some neurosurgical ass.
Back at the Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Amanda puts on a song for John. Treat rolls his eyes, and Amanda says, "You said it had to be a song he'd remember. You didn't say it had to be good." Treat's all, "He was playing THIS when he proposed?" Amanda says John loved his country music -- he called it "three chords and the truth." Brilliant. Treat says something about Julia, and Amanda asks him how long it's been since she died. Treat says it's been about three years, which makes me realize that if Everwood were a baby, I'd be the proud mother of a toddler right now. They grow up so fast, don't they? Amanda says it's been five years, two months, and eleven days for her. Treat gives her a look, and she says it was Charlie's first day of kindergarten, and thus a little hard to forget. Amanda asks Treat if he thinks it's possible to grieve for someone when they're not dead. Treat says he doesn't know, maybe. Amanda says that's what it feels like. Their faces are awfully close together, and seem to be inching closer. Amanda says she remembers the first time Treat came to her house, and she said it'd be easier if John were just gone. "I felt guilty about it for a week, but the worst part is, it's still true." She says you never get used to not being able to be with someone physically. Treat gives her a meaningful look and stares at her lips. Amanda keeps on with the kissy-face talk, and says it's like she doesn't know what she's in love with anymore. Treat says it's the same for him. Amanda: "At least you can start over...like with LINDA." Hee. Treat gives her yet another look, and Amanda says she asked around. Treat says it was complicated, especially when he found out Rinda was sick. Amanda says that had to be hard, and more so after what happened with Colin. Treat: "How much asking around did you do?" Amanda says she knows the Harts, and was even at the memorial service. "I saw what it did to you. It was about the saddest thing I've ever seen, and believe me, I am a connoisseur in that department." Aw. They look back into each other's eyes for a minute, until Amanda looks over at John and freaks out. She can't believe what she's seeing, but it appears that John is crying. Well, obviously. Wouldn't you be crying, too, if some doctor were hitting on your wife right in front of you? Treat looks stricken, and we head to commercials.
Ephram's Room of Hotness. He and Amy are really looking good these days. Amy is apologizing about her terrible advice about "Bella Rae," saying she thought it was going to be this awesome man-love mentor-mentee thing. Ephram tells her it's not her fault. Amy asks if he can find a new teacher who is just as good. Ephram says he could, but it's not about that -- he liked playing with Will. Amy: "Really. Was it the constant barrage of insults?" Ephram says that, actually, he could do without, but Will exists in a place in his head where there's music and nothing else -- that's why Will didn't care about losing his hearing, because he can still have the music in his head anyway. Amy sits there and listens to Ephram talk about music for a while, as a good girlfriend should. Seen, but not heard, ladies! Just kidding.
The One Bar in Everwood. Scooter finds Treat at the bar drinking a Bud, and says he had always pegged him as a scotch man. Willie's in the background singing about Pancho and Lefty, and someone at this show must love me, because my krazy devotion to Mr. Nelson is known far and wide. Treat greets Scooter, and offers to buy him a drink. "So what are you L.A. guys into these days? Citrus vodka? Cosmos?" Mmm, citrus vodka. Mmm, cosmos. Scooter says he'll have a beer. The bartender asks Treat if he wants another beer, and says it's on the house because of his miracle work with John. Scooter congratulates Treat on his genius. Treat tells Scooter a story about how he misses the subway, because no matter what he did at work that day, he was just another guy on the train. Scooter says it's the same in L.A., except you're in your car with your cell phone and a gun. Heh. Treat says everyone wants John Hayes to be a miracle, but the truth is, there are a lot of possibilities for those tears -- a cold, allergies, even a gust of wind. Scooter tells Treat that he needs to look into that. Treat says he will, but Amanda was so happy he didn't want to ruin it for her. Scooter reminds Treat that Amanda isn't the patient; her husband is. Treat tacitly agrees. Scooter sips his beer and says he still can't get used to the country music. Treat tells Scooter he'll get used to it -- it's just three chords and the truth. Amen, Dr. Brown. Willie sings us out of the scene, "All the Federales say / they could have had him any day / they only let him go so long / out of kindness I suppose." Symbolic!
Abbott House. Rose is on the phone setting up an interview for Bright. Patch overhears the end of the conversation, and starts up with his foolishness again. He tells Rose that helping Bright get a job is no way to teach him the responsibility he so badly needs, and then he blah blah blahs some more. I refuse to recap it, because I hate this Patch. Rose, who needs to tell Patch to shove it up his ass, tells her husband that he's overreacting. Patch continues to overreact, and ends the scene by telling Rose that if she goes ahead with helping Bright, she does so without his "consent" or "approval." Oh, Patch. Please shove it up your ass. Commercials.
When we come back, Treat has just arrived at Amanda's big happy celebration-of-tears party. Of course, Treat just thought he'd pop over and ruin everyone's good time, and tells Amanda that he needs to speak to her alone. Amanda, who is wearing a very cute apron, asks Treat what's up. Treat admits that he doesn't think John's tears meant anything at all, other than their being an unfortunate side effect of the meds he's taking. Amanda has some tears of her own, and says, "Damn it." Treat says he's sorry, and he understands if she doesn't want to pursue this any further. Amanda says that, on the contrary, she does, even though she wasn't expecting anything to happen anyway. Treat asks what she means. Amanda says it's been five years, and she's learned not to get her own hopes up, but she does it for "them" -- and points towards the other room, where John's parents and Charlie are partying it up. She adds, "And, a little, for you." Treat's all, "Me? Huh?" Amanda tells Treat that he's a wonderful doctor, and he needs to hear that. "You're so damn enthusiastic, it just rubs off. I see this light in your eyes every time you work with John. It's like...you can see his future, a future that I don't even see for him anymore." Treat says he does see that. Amanda says it's more than that, though, it's that she wants him to feel success again. Aw. Treat: "So we keep at this?" Amanda: "If that's okay with you." Treat smiles, and we all know that it is just fine, if only so he can spend more time with his little Mandy-wandy. Amanda asks Treat if there's any chance the tears were real. Treat says maybe one percent. Amanda says that's good, then they don't need to know. She heads into the other room with a bottle of wine, but turns and smiles back at Treat as she does. Treat feels all funny inside, and returns the grin.
Abbott House. Bright walks in all dressed up in his pants and tie, and announces to his mother that he got the job. Rose is all happy. Bright says it turns out the guy who hired him was a big fan of his work at County, so they talked football the whole time. Rose hugs Bright, and they talk excitedly until Patch walks into the room, carrying his dark cloud with him. Rose gives him a "go to hell, bastard, straight to hell!" look. Bright tells his parents that he knows he's been a total screw-up lately, but he is totally going to make them proud on this. "I needed somebody to believe in me, and you guys did, so thank you." Patch growls, "You can thank your mother. I had nothing to do with it." And then he walks out in a huff, because somebody wrote my sweet Patch all wrong this week.
Ephram is in his studio, playing with all his fancy equipment. He stops when Darth Vader walks in the door and says, "Surprise." Ephram's like, "I'll say." Darth says he thought he'd stop by and see where all the magic happened. He checks out Ephram's setup, where everything he plays is transformed magically into the notes on a monitor. Darth says that changes everything, and asks if he has Bella on there, with Ephram's changes. Ephram says he does, and Darth says he wants to hear it. Ephram starts to play it. Darth turns the volume down, and tells him to play it like that, so he can "see" it. Ephram does. Darth gives some quick instructions, and tells Ephram he's getting it. Ephram plays with no music for a while, until Darth asks him how he came up with one new part. Ephram says he just felt it. Gag. Darth asks if it's all better now. Ephram says yeah, he thinks it's better. Darth: "Then you gotta do what you gotta do." Ephram says he's got to do something else too, which is to find a new teacher. Darth pulls a card out of his pocket and says he was wondering how long it was going to take him to ask. He tells Ephram, "You start tomorrow. He's hard-core classical and bitch-mean. He'll round you out where I let you slide." Awesome. Ephram tells Darth that he's sorry about the changes and the way he told him about it. Darth says he wouldn't have minded if Ephram had made it worse -- but he didn't. Ephram asks if they can still play together. Darth tells Ephram he's on a path, with a long walk ahead, and he can't let things like sentiment get in the way. "'Bella Rae' was a going-away present. I've seen your future, and it ain't here. Now shut up and play me out, genius." Sniff. Ephram begins to play, sweet Will Cleveland walks out, and we fade to black.