Izzy took another glance at the watch she'd borrowed from Margaret.
'Why do you keep looking at it? Did you get word the camp is gonna be overrun by Chinese at a certain time and you're not telling me or something?' Klinger asked. Again, he and Izzy were on guard duty.
'No. But you keep doing the rounds, I'll be back in a second,' Izzy said.
'Where are you going?' Klinger asked.
'To see Hawkeye. It's been two hours since we started,' Izzy replied. Klinger smiled to himself as Izzy disappeared into the darkness around them. He shook his head. Izzy was a strange girl, though he didn't know the half of it.
The knock on the Swamp's door came as a surprise to Hawkeye, BJ and Frank. Izzy slipped inside, and they were even more surprised.
'What's wrong, Izzy?' Hawkeye asked.
'It's been two hours since I started guard duty,' Izzy explained. 'I came to see you.'
'Humph,' Frank grumbled from his cot, and he rolled over.
'You wanted to be treated like an adult,' BJ said.
'Yeah, you're not a kid any more,' Hawkeye added.
'I'm not a kid any more, but I'm a teenager,' Izzy replied. There was a pause. 'I still need looking after. You showed me that yesterday. General Russell would have sent me home if you hadn't stood up for me. Again.'
'I would have stood up for you if you were eight, eighteen or eighty. You know that,' Hawkeye said, blinking to try and keep the tears out of his eyes. Izzy nodded, then left quietly.
**~~*~~*~~*~~**
'Klinger,' Izzy said slowly when she finally got back.
'Yeah?' the man replied, bending down to fix the hem of his skirt.
'Does anyone know how I really got here?'
'What?' The question startled Klinger. 'No, no one knows how you got here. You don't remember.' Izzy shook her head.
'Never mind, then,' she said. So Radar had kept his word and hadn't told anyone about her crazy story of being from the year 2003.
'No, what?' Klinger asked, trying to get the girl to talk more.
'I know how I got here, sort of, but it's impossible. Completely, utterly impossible.'
'How?'
'You don't let up, do you?' Izzy said, smiling a little. Klinger shook his head. 'I was wondering if I should tell Hawkeye. If anyone, he has the most right to know.' Klinger nodded.
'It's your choice,' he said, clearly disappointed.
'It's strange, Hawkeye is the person who knows the least about me, but most people say he's the closest one to me,' Izzy said. Klinger nodded in agreement. He didn't know if Hawkeye knew less about Izzy than everyone else, but it was true that she was closest to him in the camp.
'Talk to him,' he suddenly said. 'Tell him about yourself. How you got here, your past life where you stole to live. He'll understand.' Izzy nodded.
'I will,' she replied. 'In the morning.'
**~~*~~*~~*~~**
Izzy was in the Swamp early, ages before any of the surgeons woke up. BJ was first to open his eyes, and he was a little worried when he saw Izzy pawing through Frank's bible. Without a sound, Izzy was lifting a few dollar notes from the pages, and she slipped it into her pocket. Next, she went to the helmet filled with cold water. BJ grinned, and threw a rolled up sock at Hawkeye's head, waking him. Quietly, he pointed to Izzy, who had crept back to Frank's cot. Suddenly, with one swift movement, she emptied the helmet's content's onto Frank's head. Hawkeye and BJ laughed loudly as Frank leapt up from his cot, his head soaking wet.
'You... juvenile!' he exclaimed before running outside, most probably to complain to whoever would listen. Izzy had jumped when she heard Hawkeye and BJ laughing at her joke, but went back to where they were, and she sat on BJ's footlocker.
'Guess I can't keep out of trouble around you guys,' she said, grinning.
'What are you doing here so early in the morning anyway,' BJ asked. Izzy looked less cheerful.
'I... wanted to talk to you. About my life in Australia,' Izzy said. Hawkeye frowned.
'Why?' he asked, getting up and pulling his pants on over his shorts.
'It's just something I need to do,' Izzy replied. She waited quietly until the two men were dressed, ready for the long day ahead. BJ fixed Hawkeye and himself their first martini's for the day, and they both sat and looked at Izzy.
'You... you know I come from Sydney,' Izzy started, realizing how hard this was going to be. Both men nodded. 'You know I lived outta trash cans and such. Had to steal from people.'
'What?' Hawkeye asked, sounding a little aghast.
'I stole things from shops, then sold them. For money,' Izzy said. Hawkeye stood up after a moment, put his martin glass down, and marched out of the Swamp.
'What happened?' Izzy asked, looking towards BJ.
'I don't know. Come on,' the man replied, getting up as well. They followed Hawkeye to the Post op tent, which was blissfully empty that day.
'Hawkeye, what's the matter with you?' BJ asked.
'She lied to us, BJ,' Hawkeye said, pointing at Izzy.
'What?' Izzy asked.
'You stole things in Sydney, then sold them for money,' Hawkeye said.
'I didn't have a choice!' Izzy said. She could see where this was heading. It was the same as all her friend's mothers turning on her after being kicked out of home, even the one's who she'd been really friendly with. BJ withdrew from the tent, realizing this was something Hawkeye and Izzy would have to work out for themselves.
'I didn't do anything wrong!' Izzy continued.
'Stealing isn't wrong?' Hawkeye asked sarcastically.
'What about when I stole that hydrocortisone from the medical base in Seoul? How is that any different from me stealing in Sydney?' Izzy demanded.
'That hydrocortisone saved fifteen men's lives!' Hawkeye said. 'That's how it was different!'
'The money I got from the things I stole saved my life,' Izzy said, tears springing to her eyes. 'How is it any different?' Hawkeye was quiet for a few minutes. 'I was telling you because I thought you would understand,' Izzy said to fill in the quiet.
'But you lied about it,' Hawkeye said.
'No, I didn't. I just didn't tell you about my past life. I didn't want you to think of me as a bad person, because I stole to keep myself alive. I figured you'd be sympathetic. I was wrong,' Izzy said.
'Izzy!' Hawkeye called as she turned and ran out of the tent, blinded by tears. Izzy headed towards her tent. There was a horn blast from a jeep to her right, and she turned, almost in slow motion, to see a jeep heading straight for her. It struck her hard, sending her flying into the ground. She hit her head on a rock embedded into the earth, and felt herself begin to black out. She heard Hawkeye call her name out again, then, there was nothing.
'Why do you keep looking at it? Did you get word the camp is gonna be overrun by Chinese at a certain time and you're not telling me or something?' Klinger asked. Again, he and Izzy were on guard duty.
'No. But you keep doing the rounds, I'll be back in a second,' Izzy said.
'Where are you going?' Klinger asked.
'To see Hawkeye. It's been two hours since we started,' Izzy replied. Klinger smiled to himself as Izzy disappeared into the darkness around them. He shook his head. Izzy was a strange girl, though he didn't know the half of it.
The knock on the Swamp's door came as a surprise to Hawkeye, BJ and Frank. Izzy slipped inside, and they were even more surprised.
'What's wrong, Izzy?' Hawkeye asked.
'It's been two hours since I started guard duty,' Izzy explained. 'I came to see you.'
'Humph,' Frank grumbled from his cot, and he rolled over.
'You wanted to be treated like an adult,' BJ said.
'Yeah, you're not a kid any more,' Hawkeye added.
'I'm not a kid any more, but I'm a teenager,' Izzy replied. There was a pause. 'I still need looking after. You showed me that yesterday. General Russell would have sent me home if you hadn't stood up for me. Again.'
'I would have stood up for you if you were eight, eighteen or eighty. You know that,' Hawkeye said, blinking to try and keep the tears out of his eyes. Izzy nodded, then left quietly.
**~~*~~*~~*~~**
'Klinger,' Izzy said slowly when she finally got back.
'Yeah?' the man replied, bending down to fix the hem of his skirt.
'Does anyone know how I really got here?'
'What?' The question startled Klinger. 'No, no one knows how you got here. You don't remember.' Izzy shook her head.
'Never mind, then,' she said. So Radar had kept his word and hadn't told anyone about her crazy story of being from the year 2003.
'No, what?' Klinger asked, trying to get the girl to talk more.
'I know how I got here, sort of, but it's impossible. Completely, utterly impossible.'
'How?'
'You don't let up, do you?' Izzy said, smiling a little. Klinger shook his head. 'I was wondering if I should tell Hawkeye. If anyone, he has the most right to know.' Klinger nodded.
'It's your choice,' he said, clearly disappointed.
'It's strange, Hawkeye is the person who knows the least about me, but most people say he's the closest one to me,' Izzy said. Klinger nodded in agreement. He didn't know if Hawkeye knew less about Izzy than everyone else, but it was true that she was closest to him in the camp.
'Talk to him,' he suddenly said. 'Tell him about yourself. How you got here, your past life where you stole to live. He'll understand.' Izzy nodded.
'I will,' she replied. 'In the morning.'
**~~*~~*~~*~~**
Izzy was in the Swamp early, ages before any of the surgeons woke up. BJ was first to open his eyes, and he was a little worried when he saw Izzy pawing through Frank's bible. Without a sound, Izzy was lifting a few dollar notes from the pages, and she slipped it into her pocket. Next, she went to the helmet filled with cold water. BJ grinned, and threw a rolled up sock at Hawkeye's head, waking him. Quietly, he pointed to Izzy, who had crept back to Frank's cot. Suddenly, with one swift movement, she emptied the helmet's content's onto Frank's head. Hawkeye and BJ laughed loudly as Frank leapt up from his cot, his head soaking wet.
'You... juvenile!' he exclaimed before running outside, most probably to complain to whoever would listen. Izzy had jumped when she heard Hawkeye and BJ laughing at her joke, but went back to where they were, and she sat on BJ's footlocker.
'Guess I can't keep out of trouble around you guys,' she said, grinning.
'What are you doing here so early in the morning anyway,' BJ asked. Izzy looked less cheerful.
'I... wanted to talk to you. About my life in Australia,' Izzy said. Hawkeye frowned.
'Why?' he asked, getting up and pulling his pants on over his shorts.
'It's just something I need to do,' Izzy replied. She waited quietly until the two men were dressed, ready for the long day ahead. BJ fixed Hawkeye and himself their first martini's for the day, and they both sat and looked at Izzy.
'You... you know I come from Sydney,' Izzy started, realizing how hard this was going to be. Both men nodded. 'You know I lived outta trash cans and such. Had to steal from people.'
'What?' Hawkeye asked, sounding a little aghast.
'I stole things from shops, then sold them. For money,' Izzy said. Hawkeye stood up after a moment, put his martin glass down, and marched out of the Swamp.
'What happened?' Izzy asked, looking towards BJ.
'I don't know. Come on,' the man replied, getting up as well. They followed Hawkeye to the Post op tent, which was blissfully empty that day.
'Hawkeye, what's the matter with you?' BJ asked.
'She lied to us, BJ,' Hawkeye said, pointing at Izzy.
'What?' Izzy asked.
'You stole things in Sydney, then sold them for money,' Hawkeye said.
'I didn't have a choice!' Izzy said. She could see where this was heading. It was the same as all her friend's mothers turning on her after being kicked out of home, even the one's who she'd been really friendly with. BJ withdrew from the tent, realizing this was something Hawkeye and Izzy would have to work out for themselves.
'I didn't do anything wrong!' Izzy continued.
'Stealing isn't wrong?' Hawkeye asked sarcastically.
'What about when I stole that hydrocortisone from the medical base in Seoul? How is that any different from me stealing in Sydney?' Izzy demanded.
'That hydrocortisone saved fifteen men's lives!' Hawkeye said. 'That's how it was different!'
'The money I got from the things I stole saved my life,' Izzy said, tears springing to her eyes. 'How is it any different?' Hawkeye was quiet for a few minutes. 'I was telling you because I thought you would understand,' Izzy said to fill in the quiet.
'But you lied about it,' Hawkeye said.
'No, I didn't. I just didn't tell you about my past life. I didn't want you to think of me as a bad person, because I stole to keep myself alive. I figured you'd be sympathetic. I was wrong,' Izzy said.
'Izzy!' Hawkeye called as she turned and ran out of the tent, blinded by tears. Izzy headed towards her tent. There was a horn blast from a jeep to her right, and she turned, almost in slow motion, to see a jeep heading straight for her. It struck her hard, sending her flying into the ground. She hit her head on a rock embedded into the earth, and felt herself begin to black out. She heard Hawkeye call her name out again, then, there was nothing.