Izzy knocked on the tent door, hating Hawkeye for making her do this.
'Come in,' came the reply inside.
'It's me, Izzy,' Izzy said, going in.
'Ah, Izzy. I've heard a lot about you,' Sidney said.
'Really?' Izzy was surprised.
'Hawkeye and BJ have told me the story you gave them on how you got to Korea,' Sidney said.
'So you think I'm crazy?' Izzy asked.
'Maybe. What child would turn up in Korea with no memory of how she got there, then join the army, rather than be sent home?' Sidney said.
'You are calling me crazy,' Izzy accused.
'Your circumstances are interesting, I'm not saying you're crazy,' Sidney said to calm her down. 'Not yet, anyway. Please, tell me about your life back in Australia.'
'You have privacy laws, or whatever, right?' Izzy asked.
'Yes, what you tell me I won't tell another soul if you don't want me to,' Sidney said.
'So you won't tell Hawkeye?'
'No.'
'Or BJ?'
'No.'
'Or Colonel Potter?'
'Not one soul in this whole camp.'
'Good,' Izzy said. Sidney watched the girl interestedly. She seemed to be relieved that he promised he wouldn't tell anyone what she was going to tell him.
'Tell me about your life in general. I've been told you didn't finish school, and were kicked out of home at an early age,' he said.
'Three or four years ago, actually,' Izzy said.
'What did you do to survive?'
'Well, I lived with a friend for a while, and when her parents got annoyed with me, I went to another friend's house,' Izzy said.
'You can't have done that for long, unless you were friends with the whole of Sydney,' Sidney observed.
'Huh, I wish. Parent's of old friends refuse to even say hello to me after they heard I was kicked out of home. Thought I was a bad example for their own children,' Izzy said.
'So what did you do?'
'I stole things. Then sold them for money.' Izzy thought back to the days where she had managed to slip out of a store with a thousand dollars worth of goods, her mind trailing to when she had stolen the camera before being hit by that car.
'Tell me the last thing you remember before ending up in Korea,' Sidney said.
'You're humouring me with the whole "In Sydney one minute, Korea the next" thing, aren't you?' Izzy asked. Sidney smiled a little.
'Maybe,' he replied.
'I was halfway through a job. Had managed to grab a camera, but had to run, because I had been seen. I ran out onto the street and was hit by a car. I blacked out, and when I came to, I was just about to be put under again to be operated on,' Izzy said.
'Your mind must have blotted it out. Maybe you had suffered great trauma in between those two times,' Sidney said, writing something in his notebook.
'That's not all,' Izzy said, glancing around and moving forward towards Sidney.
'It's not?' Sidney asked.
'No. If I tell you this, you'll probably book me a room with soft white walls with a nice straight jacket to go with it, but I swear this is true, and I'm not crazy,' Izzy said. Sidney also leant forward, interested. The girl seemed determined to let him know she wasn't crazy. 'I'm not from this era,' Izzy whispered.
'I'm not sure I follow you,' Sidney said.
'I'm not from the 1950's. I'm from about fifty years into the future,' Izzy explained. Sidney laughed.
'You are, are you?' he said.
'I'm not. I won't be born until 1985, my parents wouldn't even been born yet,' Izzy said. 'It sounds impossible, and like I'm crazy, and maybe I am, but wouldn't you be if you were in my shoes?'
'I think maybe your mind has been playing tricks on you hallucinations, maybe, about your past,' Sidney said. 'It sounds like you've had a hard life in Sydney, and it would be understandable if your mind made changes to your memory to make it seem better.'
'Yeah, that makes sense,' Izzy said. And she meant it. It was absurd, being from the future. Her mind made the year 2003 up. A figment of her imagination. The 4077th was not a TV show, it was real. But something nagged in the back of her mind, making her realise this theory couldn't be right. How did she know everyone before she had even seen them? But, it was probably best to go along with Sidney's theory. It was better than getting stuck in the crazy house.
'Hawkeye's main reason for asking me to come was to see what was bothering you. Even I can tell you have something on your mind and I've only just met you,' Sidney said.
'I did something I feel bad about right now,' Izzy said. 'I swore I wouldn't tell anyone about it.' There was a long pause. 'I read a letter of his to Trapper,' Izzy said finally.
'And?' Sidney asked. Izzy looked up in surprise.
'I read a personal letter of Hawkeye's!' Izzy said. 'I'd be annoyed if he'd read a letter of mine.'
'Maybe he wanted you to find it,' Sidney suggested.
'I doubt it. It was hidden in a book,' Izzy said.
'And where was the book?'
'On his footlocker.'
'He knew if you were bored, you'd pick something up to look at,' Sidney said. 'Maybe he put it there, subconsciously hoping you'd find it. Either way, I suggest you admit you read it.'
'That's not a bad idea,' Izzy said quietly to herself. 'You don't think he'll mind?'
'You seem to have a close relationship with Hawkeye,' Sidney said.
'Yes, I do,' Izzy said.
'Well, why would he hold it against you? Yes, he'll be slightly annoyed, but he won't hold a grudge,' Sidney said. Izzy nodded in agreement.
'Even though you have this close relationship with Hawkeye, you didn't want me to tell him anything you've said right now. I thought maybe you'd have already told him about your life in Sydney,' Sidney said.
'I haven't. I haven't even thought of it,' Izzy said.
'Will you?'
'I think I might, but maybe after he's cooled down after I tell him I read his letter,' Izzy said. Suddenly, she remembered something. 'You aren't going to talk to me about my nightmares?'
'Only if you think we should talk about them,' Sidney replied. Izzy shook her head.
No, it's ok. They're only nightmares. Thank you, Dr Freedman. You've been very helpful.' Izzy smiled and she left the VIP tent.
'Come in,' came the reply inside.
'It's me, Izzy,' Izzy said, going in.
'Ah, Izzy. I've heard a lot about you,' Sidney said.
'Really?' Izzy was surprised.
'Hawkeye and BJ have told me the story you gave them on how you got to Korea,' Sidney said.
'So you think I'm crazy?' Izzy asked.
'Maybe. What child would turn up in Korea with no memory of how she got there, then join the army, rather than be sent home?' Sidney said.
'You are calling me crazy,' Izzy accused.
'Your circumstances are interesting, I'm not saying you're crazy,' Sidney said to calm her down. 'Not yet, anyway. Please, tell me about your life back in Australia.'
'You have privacy laws, or whatever, right?' Izzy asked.
'Yes, what you tell me I won't tell another soul if you don't want me to,' Sidney said.
'So you won't tell Hawkeye?'
'No.'
'Or BJ?'
'No.'
'Or Colonel Potter?'
'Not one soul in this whole camp.'
'Good,' Izzy said. Sidney watched the girl interestedly. She seemed to be relieved that he promised he wouldn't tell anyone what she was going to tell him.
'Tell me about your life in general. I've been told you didn't finish school, and were kicked out of home at an early age,' he said.
'Three or four years ago, actually,' Izzy said.
'What did you do to survive?'
'Well, I lived with a friend for a while, and when her parents got annoyed with me, I went to another friend's house,' Izzy said.
'You can't have done that for long, unless you were friends with the whole of Sydney,' Sidney observed.
'Huh, I wish. Parent's of old friends refuse to even say hello to me after they heard I was kicked out of home. Thought I was a bad example for their own children,' Izzy said.
'So what did you do?'
'I stole things. Then sold them for money.' Izzy thought back to the days where she had managed to slip out of a store with a thousand dollars worth of goods, her mind trailing to when she had stolen the camera before being hit by that car.
'Tell me the last thing you remember before ending up in Korea,' Sidney said.
'You're humouring me with the whole "In Sydney one minute, Korea the next" thing, aren't you?' Izzy asked. Sidney smiled a little.
'Maybe,' he replied.
'I was halfway through a job. Had managed to grab a camera, but had to run, because I had been seen. I ran out onto the street and was hit by a car. I blacked out, and when I came to, I was just about to be put under again to be operated on,' Izzy said.
'Your mind must have blotted it out. Maybe you had suffered great trauma in between those two times,' Sidney said, writing something in his notebook.
'That's not all,' Izzy said, glancing around and moving forward towards Sidney.
'It's not?' Sidney asked.
'No. If I tell you this, you'll probably book me a room with soft white walls with a nice straight jacket to go with it, but I swear this is true, and I'm not crazy,' Izzy said. Sidney also leant forward, interested. The girl seemed determined to let him know she wasn't crazy. 'I'm not from this era,' Izzy whispered.
'I'm not sure I follow you,' Sidney said.
'I'm not from the 1950's. I'm from about fifty years into the future,' Izzy explained. Sidney laughed.
'You are, are you?' he said.
'I'm not. I won't be born until 1985, my parents wouldn't even been born yet,' Izzy said. 'It sounds impossible, and like I'm crazy, and maybe I am, but wouldn't you be if you were in my shoes?'
'I think maybe your mind has been playing tricks on you hallucinations, maybe, about your past,' Sidney said. 'It sounds like you've had a hard life in Sydney, and it would be understandable if your mind made changes to your memory to make it seem better.'
'Yeah, that makes sense,' Izzy said. And she meant it. It was absurd, being from the future. Her mind made the year 2003 up. A figment of her imagination. The 4077th was not a TV show, it was real. But something nagged in the back of her mind, making her realise this theory couldn't be right. How did she know everyone before she had even seen them? But, it was probably best to go along with Sidney's theory. It was better than getting stuck in the crazy house.
'Hawkeye's main reason for asking me to come was to see what was bothering you. Even I can tell you have something on your mind and I've only just met you,' Sidney said.
'I did something I feel bad about right now,' Izzy said. 'I swore I wouldn't tell anyone about it.' There was a long pause. 'I read a letter of his to Trapper,' Izzy said finally.
'And?' Sidney asked. Izzy looked up in surprise.
'I read a personal letter of Hawkeye's!' Izzy said. 'I'd be annoyed if he'd read a letter of mine.'
'Maybe he wanted you to find it,' Sidney suggested.
'I doubt it. It was hidden in a book,' Izzy said.
'And where was the book?'
'On his footlocker.'
'He knew if you were bored, you'd pick something up to look at,' Sidney said. 'Maybe he put it there, subconsciously hoping you'd find it. Either way, I suggest you admit you read it.'
'That's not a bad idea,' Izzy said quietly to herself. 'You don't think he'll mind?'
'You seem to have a close relationship with Hawkeye,' Sidney said.
'Yes, I do,' Izzy said.
'Well, why would he hold it against you? Yes, he'll be slightly annoyed, but he won't hold a grudge,' Sidney said. Izzy nodded in agreement.
'Even though you have this close relationship with Hawkeye, you didn't want me to tell him anything you've said right now. I thought maybe you'd have already told him about your life in Sydney,' Sidney said.
'I haven't. I haven't even thought of it,' Izzy said.
'Will you?'
'I think I might, but maybe after he's cooled down after I tell him I read his letter,' Izzy said. Suddenly, she remembered something. 'You aren't going to talk to me about my nightmares?'
'Only if you think we should talk about them,' Sidney replied. Izzy shook her head.
No, it's ok. They're only nightmares. Thank you, Dr Freedman. You've been very helpful.' Izzy smiled and she left the VIP tent.