It was a grey but dry day, with only grey clouds in the sky, the ground seemed so barren in Korea at this time. Everything seemed the same dull color of yellow, brown, and grey combined.
Hawkeye was pacing around, he was so nervous he almost climbed up the poles of the tent, Chris's potential original family was coming today. The Dutch embassy seemed very sure about this.
And he was going nuts. His mind was going crazy, about the what-ifs.
What if they wanted Chris?
What if Chris also wanted them?
What if the hypnosis doesn't work?
What if the family hates me or Chris?
What if they are just horrible people?
He didn't know at which time they would arrive and he was a nervous wreck. He also knew he needed to stay calm for Chris who was very nervous as well. But he couldn't help himself.
Christopher even cried this morning at breakfast because he didn't want to go to the latrine alone.
It already started the day before, Chris got extremely clingy, after they got the confirming phone call. He didn't leave Hawkeye's side, and he didn't want to be alone. Hawkeye couldn't even get the boy to sleep unless he was sleeping as well. Even at the movie that evening, Chris wanted Hawkeye to go with him to the other side of the mess hall to get something to drink for him and then get back.
Hawkeye just went along with it, he didn't know if he needed to be strong or understanding. He just let Chris set the lead. They will find out more tomorrow.
And now tomorrow has arrived.
They would be here today, today they would find out everything and help Chris find a way to deal with his trauma. He couldn't wait for Chris to start talking but they still had a long and difficult road ahead of them, if, of course, he was allowed to adopt Chris.
After the hypnosis, things would get worse and it would take a lot of work for Hawkeye and Chris to make things better.
And of course the adoption, that fact alone gave Hawkeye grey hairs.
After almost 6 months of waiting, he had enough.
He wanted to tell Chris he was Dad, and that he would protect him and help him. That they would go to the states together and Hawkeye would make sure Chris could be a normal kid. He always told Chris about helping and protecting him, but he wanted Chris and himself to know it would be for a lifetime and not just for now.
As he passed circles through the tent for the fourth time in a row. Trapper decided he had enough.
"Will you stop doing that, you're making me crazy." He said throwing down the magazine, he was reading while lounging on his cot, angrily.
"You will leave circles in the ground!" He spat out.
"Can't you find anything else to do? Or can't you do that somewhere other than here"
"No, I'm completely off duty today and tomorrow, Henry made sure of that. He says Sidney requested it. Which only gives me more time to get crazy about it."
Hawkeye said but he stopped pacing around, Trapper was right of course, but he needed to do something!
At least Chris could pretend to be working on his books. The child has been stuck on the same page the whole day already. But at least he had something.
Chris was a ball of nerves himself. He desperately wanted to be able to talk again but he didn't know if he was brave enough to face the memories bringing him so much pain and sadness.
He almost wished Sidney didn't come over, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. Maybe he should hide somewhere, and just wait until they leave.
But he also didn't want to leave Hawkeye, just in case they took him away, and he was left alone again. That was Christopher's biggest fear at the moment, being left alone again.
So all Chris could do was wait and get his nerves under control and try to stop trembling.
Trapper suggested another game of poker, but Hawkeye refused. He got up and got himself a glass of homemade martini from the still. It was still early but one drink wouldn't hurt, right? He needed to calm down.
"Let's toast to nerves," He said, raising his glass to Trapper, who rolled his eyes, and Chris, who looked kinda queasy. He was so nervous he didn't hear the door of the tent but did notice his hand tremble a little before he gulped his drink away in one go quickly.
"Well, I don't have to be a psychiatrist to know that's an indication that you're nervous!"
Sidney announced, smiling gently, as he entered the Swamp, behind him walked a stranger. The new man had dark blond hair and slight beard growth.
Chris dropped his book and the color on his face vanished, making him pale as a ghost. He stood up and took a step backward in fear, eyes darting towards where the new man stood and where the door closed behind him.
"Sidney! How do you keep doing that? Walking in at a time I look like a boozer. Yes, of course, I'm nervous !" Hawkeye began shakily before he looked at Chris.
He saw Chris looking like an unbound mummy.
He went into doctor mode. Going over to the boy he ignored the men, he got on eye level with the boy and asked.
"Hey, are you okay kiddo?" Taking the small face between his hands gently. He didn't feel cold or too hot. He checked his vital signs and looked the boy in the eye.
Chris looked back at Hawkeye and shakily nodded. He was just terrified, nothing new! He could handle it.
When Hawkeye saw that Chris slowly started to feel better, he noticed his color returning as well, he turned back to the men.
Hawkeye saw the blond man look curiously at Chris.
"Ohh wow, Wouter, Ik heb je voor het laatst gezien toen je 6 jaar was. Je bent gegroeid." The blond man said with a slightly sad smile.
Chris gasped as he heard that. The language stirred up memories, which in turn brought the feeling of suffering and sorrow. He wanted to run and hide, looking for his escape.
Panic overtook his mind before getting into his body and he bolted from his bunk directly to the door to get out of the room.
Hawkeye was quicker though and got him in his arms before he even got two steps in the direction.
Chris was trembling and breathing rapidly.
He understood every word. And he even knows that name! He couldn't remember but it made him sad. He didn't want to hear it. It hurt too much to hear it.
Tears clung to his eyelashes. He didn't want to remember. He just wanted everyone besides Hawkeye to go away. He just needed Hawkeye.
"What did you say to him?" Hawkeye demanded more angrily than he should.
"I rarely get this reaction." This bolting happens rarely, and Hawkeye didn't like it at all.
"I'm sorry," The man said, looking with wide eyes at the scared little boy. Hawkeye noticed the man himself was still young as well, then he recalled this must be the 19-year-old uncle.
He even resembled Chris a little as well, his eyes and hair were darker and he had a slightly different face shape but they had the same eye form and kinda the same nose, but not exactly.
All doubt about this being Chris's family left him. They even looked related, it was pretty clear.
He hoped he didn't mess up his chance of adopting Chris by shouting at the young man. But he still wanted to know what the man said. He was irritated and very tired, his kid was a mesh as well, and he wanted answers now!
"Well!" Hawkeye pressed on, not being able to hide his irritation.
"I said that the last time I saw him, he was six years old. And I called him by his Dutch name!" He answered nervously, holding his hands up like he was standing in front of a wild animal and trying to show the beast he didn't mean any harm.
"I didn't mean to upset him, I didn't think he would react that way."
"Shouldn't I have done that?" He nervously asked Sidney.
"This reaction has nothing to do with what you said. But more with his repressed trauma must be. Which I believe will probably be the loss of his parents." Sidney explained calmly.
Chris looked up at that, he couldn't remember, but he wasn't stupid, he knew that the face, that sometimes popped up into his mind, must be from his real father. It was a terrible image and Chris didn't want to remember it. Hawkeye was his father now, why couldn't they just accept that.
"So anything which makes him want to remember them hurts and scares him. The Dutch itself could be a big enough trigger to get this reaction from him." Sidney declared.
"Wouter" Hawkeye mumbled. Chris looked up at that, he got a strange feeling hearing that. Like it scared him that Hawkeye knew that name. He didn't want Hawkeye to use it. It felt like the bad colliding with the good he had found.
Letting go of Chris who seemed calmer, Hawkeye noticed his color and breathing were back to normal but he got the scared wildlife look again.
It's been a while since the last time he looked like that. Hawkeye managed to get Chris to drop that look after a week. Still took him a whole week of jokes and reassuring words. He got that look back every time someone came into the room or made an unknown sound to the boy.
"Well I'm off for my shift" Trapper said while taking his leave.
"Good luck, you have the Swamp to yourselves for hours." and with a sympathetic look to Chris and Hawkeye left.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to scare him, I just didn't think about it." The teen said, holding out his hand to shake Hawkeye's.
"Let me introduce myself, I'm Frans. You must be Benjamin " he said with a nervous smile.
Ohh boy, he scared the teen a little too much, he must be nervous too. I hope he doesn't think I'm a maniac or something. Hawkeye thought.
"I'm sorry for snapping at you, I didn't expect that much of a reaction from Chris. And please, my friends call me Hawkeye!"
Hawkeye said, shaking the man's hand, with a hopefully normal smile "I get a bit protective over him sometimes."
"I get that and I'm very happy about that as well, I'm glad to know you really care." He looked with a fond expression at the boy.
"Last time I saw him, he was only 6 years old, he still looks so much like his mother, same nose and eyes, just as small as well. Not that his father was a big guy but still. He must be smart as well."
Frans said with a big grin. "He loves to read and write," Hawkeye said proudly.
"His dad loved that as well, his mother was a wildcat and his dad the calculated type."
Frans said with a fond expression.
He held out his hand to Chris. "I don't know if you want to shake on it, but I would like to, I missed you. We used to hang out together when I needed to babysit you"
Those words cut through Hawkeye like a knife. If he missed Chris he probably wanted him back as well. He pushed the feeling of unavoidable defeat down and tried to act normal.
Chris looked at Frans, he recognised him a little but it was vague. He wiped his nervous clammy hands off his t-shirt. It's respectful to shake hands in greeting, he learned that from Hawkeye. And from some of his books and stories he heard. He wanted to be polite and show this man he was a good kid, who deserved to stay with Hawkeye.
He was just so terrified of this situation, not just this man before him but all of this.
He shakily gave Frans a shake, but he couldn't control the scared wildlife look he was giving the late teen.
Frans's face fell and in a sad tone, he said.
"You look like I gonna eat you or something,"
Sidney put his hand on Frans's shoulder to silence him.
"This situation is a very stressful one, and Chris is probably very nervous, frightened and that handshake was very brave of him. A couple of weeks ago he would just ignore you completely. Be a bit understanding." Sidney said gently
"I'm doing it all wrong ain't I?" Frans said looking very apologetic.
"I'm nervous and I kinda lose any filter my brain has and I just blurt out stupid stuff."
"That's fine as well! Sidney explained gently.
"We need to remember that Christopher's triggers are his own emotion and his problem to deal with, we can only be understanding and try to help but we can't take away every stimulus. He needs to learn to handle his emotions better, he lacks almost two years of mental growth."
At the worried expressions of the men, Sidney quickly added
"Which isn't a problem. He will grow out of it, maybe he will need some extra time but he will recover. But as long as he's blocking out this dramatic event, he wouldn't be able to heal from it as well. And if he doesn't heal, he wouldn't be able to grow up mentally as a healthy adult.
At the shocked expression of the child, Sidney added.
"We shouldn't talk about this with Chris present, I suggest we do the bloodwork first and eat a little in the meanwhile."
Hawkeye could hit himself on the head, they just arrived and had a long trip behind them of course they were hungry, he forgot to offer anything because of the nerves.
"Of course, you guys are hungry! I'm sorry I don't think of it, let me introduce you to this army food. Chris seems to like it, even though it is terrible."
Putting his arm reassuringly around Chris, Hawkeye led the way to the mess hall.
Walking together over the compound, Hawkeye tried to give some comfort to Chris by rubbing his back slowly. The boy seemed a bit in shock at the moment. Or just very deep in thought, he couldn't tell. Chris seemed more closed off than normal.
"If you guys need to rest as well, we can meet again in a couple of hours,"
"That won't be necessary" Sidney stated "We need to do this as fast as possible, and Chris will need time to recover as well."
"Do you want to do the blood test first? We can eat while Henry investigates the blood." Hawkeye said, ready to know the answer if this was indeed Christophers' family, even though there wasn't much doubt. And if they were, he wanted to know if he could adopt right away, he waited long enough for an answer.
They used Radar's room to draw blood. Chris sat on Radar's bed with the man's teddy bear. Fondling with the bear's bowtie. He asked Radar every time he wanted to touch the bear, but Radar said he didn't have to ask as long as the bear stayed on the bed.
He looked so miserable, Hawkeye thought, stroking the boy's hair, before raising the t-shirt sleeve.
He sterilized the skin and quickly drew blood, Chris didn't react at all, which got him a weird look from Frans.
Hawkeye knew his kid had been through more pain than just a needle, this was nothing for the boy. He was very glad though, that Chris trusted him completely at this and didn't make a fuss.
After getting Frans his blood as well, Hawkeye gave the vails to Henry, who agreed to do the test as a doctor and a neutral party.
"So!" Sidney said breaking the tension, he put his hand on Hawkeye's shoulder reassuring him. "Let's go eat"
They entered the mess hall, and Chris noticed it was nearly empty, he sighed with relief. He liked the people in this unit, but he was so nervous right now that he didn't want people coming up to him and starting chatting. He wouldn't be able to deal with that and probably end up crying. And he was tired of crying.
"Do you want anything? You know that you just can't get what you want." Hawkeye said to Chris.
Chris nodded, he knew. He got himself a glass and filled it with powdered army orange juice. He felt terrified about all of this, maybe he should just run and hide somewhere. Wait till it was all over. Maybe Sidney would leave after a while, and things would return to normal.
When they all got what they wanted to eat, they sat down at an empty table.
Frans eagerly took a bit of the food and his enthusiasm faded as he tasted it. He made a disgusted face.
Hawkeye barked out a laugh.
" That's the normal reaction, you get used to it."
" That's a depressing thought" Frans expressed looking at his food in disappointment.
Hawkeye liked the young man, but he hated the fact he still didn't know more about being able to adopt Chris. Maybe he could steer this convention towards that.
"Christopher was very skinny when he first got here, he seems to love the food here, and he gained some weight but it's not very nutritious. He's probably not used to better food. He will get better food if I can get him to the states." Hawkeye explained.
" If, of course, you will let me!" Hawkeye asked eager to hear the answer. He couldn't help himself, he needed to ask.
Sidney gave him a knowing smirk, which got him an irritated look back from Hawkeye.
Between bites, Frans answered.
"Well that's also one of the reasons why I'm here. We'll agree to the adoption if that is in the child's best interest. We know he's traumatized, so it seems better that way. But we care about Chris and we don't know you, and I'm here to determine if you really care about him and if you are indeed the best for Chris. But also to find out what he wants."
"He would be welcome with us, it's just me and Elsy, my grandmother. But the reports said he wanted to stay with you, and I want to be sure that's what he wants and needs."
Chris nodded his head rapidly. Yes, he wanted to stay! He looked at Frans. He needed to let the man know he needed to stay. Desperately needed this man to understand!
Hawkeye felt a rush of affection at the eager nodding from Chris. At least the kid liked him and wanted to stay. And hearing the motive settled a lot of concern in Hawkeye, they had Christophers' best interest in mind, and not personal gain. So that's very good to hear, if Chris got the deciding vote, he would be the one Chris wanted to stay with. He felt immense relief.
"So basically Chris would be the one deciding?"
Hawkeye said while he couldn't keep the stupid grin off his face.
Sidney smiled knowingly.
Frans smiled at him. "Yes and I think Wouter seems sure about it."
At the name, Chris felt his insides swirl and the familiar flash of sadness emerged. He tried to push the feeling down, and focus on his juice.
Hawkeye saw the color drain from the child's face before he saw the intense sadness in those eyes. It hurt him so much to see that. He instantly put his hand on Chris's head to comfort him.
Chris felt Hawkeye brush his hair, the man must've noticed his discomfort. Chris sighed relieved, he loved the man for that, he always seemed to be able to calm him down. He took a calm breath before he took a sip from his juice.
"Thank you so much for your trust in me," Hawkeye said.
He was feeling overwhelmed, and they agreed to the adoption. He felt lighter than he did in a long time.
Frans looked him straight in the eyes and replied.
"Thank you! for finding him and caring about him. We were looking for years already, but the search ended as the war started. That's also the reason it took so long to find us, they went missing a little more than a year before the war started and the embassy thought Chris his situation was because of the war. So they first started looking for missing people reports from when the war started till you found Chris.
And after they didn't get a result, they started looking at earlier reports. There were not a lot of missing Dutch people before this war.
So we don't disagree about the adoption, but if you turn out to be a terrible person or if Linda, I mean if Chris's mother is still alive we would take Chris ourselves. But you seem like a nice guy, and after almost two years I don't believe Chris's parents are still alive. I at least grieve for them and even though it still hurts, I believe they are gone. They would have found Chris themselves if they were still alive. His mother was a force to be reckoned with."
Between bites, Frans added.
"Can I tell you two a bit more about Chris's parents? I brought pictures, even Christopher's baby pictures."
"I don't believe that's a good idea." Sidney interrupted Hawkeye, who very much liked to see the pictures. And almost jumped at the opportunity. Now that he had a bit more security about keeping Chris, he started to get curious.
Before Sidney could explain more, Henry emerged next to their table.
"I got the test results" He handed them over to Hawkeye.
"It's a clear match. No doubt about it, those two are definitely related."
Frans seemed a bit relieved, even though he didn't have any doubts after seeing Chris. It still was good to hear it officially.
Hawkeye looked over the test, it was clear, no doubt. He passed the test to the other man. "There wasn't much doubt, but it's good to know for sure." He said.
He looked at a nervous Chris. "Do you understand? Or do you want an explanation?" Chris shook his head, he understood, but what happens now? He knew Sidney was going to hypnotize him again.
But it scared him and he rather they just didn't. Why couldn't things stay as they are?
He let out a shaky breath. Now we get to the hard part.
Frans handed the test to Sidney, who was the one dealing with the Dutch embassy about the adoption, so he could include it in his file about Chris.
Putting the files away, Sidney sat up straight and folded his hand together, he looked at Chris with gentle eyes. The man had a feeling this would be more difficult than their first time. Chris now felt a bit safer here and therefore dared to act out more. It was really a good thing but could prove to be difficult in this case.
"I think we should go back to the Swamp, I want to give Chris as much privacy as I can, so I want the tent closed and covered," Sidney said, meaning the flaps of the tent, so nobody could see through it.
The tent wasn't soundproof at all, and the whole camp will hear him crying but they couldn't change the location they were in. It will have to do, this was wartime.
The adults stood up, but Chris remained seated. He didn't want to go, he was scared but also felt irritated. Why couldn't the things stay as they were? He gave Hawkeye his best puppy eyes.
Hawkeye grinned. His kid looked adorable like this.
"Not gonna work kiddo, this is important and necessary."
He motioned to Chris to get up.
Chris did nothing.
Sighing Hawkeye sat down again and placed his hand gently on the back of Chris's neck. He looked the boy in the eyes.
" I know this is scary, but promise we won't hurt you. And this needs to happen. I will be there for you all the way, Okay. I Promise." Hawkeye said, stroking the boy's neck and back.
Chris looked at him with puppy eyes, he didn't want to do this.
Hawkeye sighed and got up. "Are you ready?"
Chris shook his head. No, he was not and he was not going to be!
"Christopher" Hawkeye's voice turned serious.
"I know you are scared, but this has to happen. Now come on!"
Chris shook his head, he couldn't look Hawkeye in the eyes, he directly disobeyed, he never thought he would ever do that. Normally he would be too scared to disobey, but he felt like avoiding hypnosis and letting down Hawkeye was still a better option than letting things change by doing what they said was needed. He stayed seated and stubbornly kept looking at the tabletop.
"Well, that's new!" Sidney said looking with an amused expression at a puzzled-looking Hawkeye. He enjoyed the man's shocked expression. This was a good sign, Chris felt safe enough to be naughty.
That never happened before! Hawkeye was a bit dumbfounded. He quickly recovered from the shock, his kid just refused!
Hawkeye was an easy-going guy, but you could get on his nerves real fast by refusing to do as you're told. That was outright disrespectful. If he told you to do something, you needed to do it. He just didn't do direct disobeying. Folding his arms he added in a strict, low voice.
"Young man, I'm trying to be patient with you, but waiting is not going to make this easier for you, OR is it gonna help you! We already waited with this for over 5 months and that didn't help as well. So I'm not telling you again, don't make me drag you over there, because I will! "
Chris got a stubborn expression and shook his head no.
"That's a new one for me as well," Hawkeye said
"Not for me, Chris used to be very stubborn at times, this is his, I refuse, look," Frans said with a smirk, not helping in calming Hawkeye at all.
"Christopher! you come here now, or I will get over there and if I have to get to you, I will smack your bottom! Lift you over my shoulder and carry you back. Understood?" His voice was low and threatening, and he made a show of stepping closer and pointing to the floor in front of him.
Chris felt himself blush, why did he have to say that. Out loud at that! People heard, he didn't want them to know he got smacked sometimes.
Normally he would have listened to Hawkeye when the man uses that tone and voice. Adding the facial expression and the threat, he must be crazy to ignore the man.
But he did just that. He refused, he didn't want things to change, they needed to stay as they are. We would rather run, looking at Hawkeye's expression he decides he should run and he quickly plans his escape route in his head.
Sitting still and staring at the tabletop, Chris caught movement at the corner of his eye and jumped up just in time to dodge the now very angry doctor. He quickly walked away from the man, shaking his head. No, he didn't want to go! He needed to hide.
Keeping an eye on Hawkeye, who appeared highly irritated, Chris slowly walked around the table so he could make a run for it. The moment Hawkeye opened his mouth to tell him No, Chris bolted out the hall, he made it two steps outside the mess hall before running into Francis.
Chris felt himself collide with the gentle chaplain, he almost made the man fall but he grabbed the man to steady him and he was a bit surprised that it worked. He forgot for a second what he was doing before it all came back when he felt two hands around his waist that turned him around.
Chris looked at the disappointment in Hawkeye's eyes before the man ducked and Chris felt himself get hoisted over the man's shoulder. He gasped and he tried to kick his legs, his arms useless, at Hawkeye's back.
"Stop that" Hawkeye gave a firm tap on the small bottom.
Chris let his body go limp after that and he buried his head between his arms and started sobbing softly.
The sound of it broke Hawkeye's heart but this needed to be done and he couldn't let Chris get away with running away from him.
"Thank you, Father, I needed to catch my naughty kid. So your help is appreciated." Hawkeye said.
"Oh my, I hope you are not too hard on him Hawkeye, he seems sorry for whatever he did." The priest said, straightening his glasses.
Hawkeye gave the man a look, he liked the man, but he was not in the mood right now to do this. He was tired and irritated and they had a long day ahead of them.
"We'll be fine, thank you, Francis," Sidney said, reassuring the other man. "Chris is just a bit nervous, he will be alright."
Entering the Swamp Hawkeye put down Chris and in no time turned him to the side and smacked the boy's bottom hard.
Chris jumped up at the swat and let out a squeaky yelp. Tears sprung to his eyes. Ow, that hurt! He knew he had it coming but, why did he have to hit so hard! He felt his face burn, this was humiliating! He sniffled and rubbed his tears away.
His dad turned him to face him again and he looked into Hawkeye's eyes. He looked so disappointed. Chris started to cry a bit harder. He thought he could get away to hide, but now he was in trouble and they were going through with this hypnosis.
"Oh no, young man! You earned that smack, I don't make empty threats, you know that! When I tell you to do something, you should do it! Normally you would have gotten two or three for running away as well, but because today is different, I will let it go with a warning, understood?"
He got a quick shaky nod from the crying boy.
Hawkeye sighed and put his arms around Chris. Mumbling endearments to the boy. He hates to hear the boy cry, it tore him apart. But Chris is a child and he needs to learn to listen to me. He was the adult and he knew what was better for Chris.
With Christopher crying in his embrace Hawkeye turned to the other men. "Please make yourself at home, the bar is self-serve"
When he felt Chris calm down a little, he guided him to his cot. He sat the boy down and took a seat on his rack next to him.
He looked Chris in the eyes, letting him know he is serious.
"We will do this together, Okay! I'm here, and I will help you through this" he didn't wait for an answer and kissed him on his forehead. And turned him facing Sidney.
He looked around the Swamp, All the tent flaps were down, and it was dark inside except for a lamp hanging from the middle pole. Sidney and Frans sat each on a chair around Chris and Hawkeye. The whole tent felt tense.
Hawkeye was a bit afraid that Frans wouldn't approve of him smacking Chris on the bottom, he didn't want to mess up this adoption.
But looking at the young man, he didn't seem to be upset. At this moment the late teen was choking on his first sip of homemade gin.
Hawkeye couldn't avoid the grin spreading to his face. That broke the tension at least.
"It's strong stuff, you should take it slow, we need you to have a clear head. You only get one, till we finish, after that, we all need a drink or several."
The slightly choking Frans nodded and gave him the thumbs up.
After Frans recovered and put his drink down, Sidney spoke up.
"I reckon everyone is ready to start?" he got a yes and a nod. Looking at Chris he saw the boy shake his head.
"You'll never be ready for this, Angel. But we need to do this, normally I would talk about your fears and worries but as you can't tell me more than yes and no, it wouldn't help anything."
The big sad puppy eyes were the only answer he got.
Sidney got from his bag a piece of paper and a pen, and he also took out the watch.
"We need to write down only the basics, this will be very personal and this information will not leave this room, Chris is the only one who can tell his own story, we are just passengers and we keep this to ourselves."
Looking at Frans he added " You of course can tell some to your grandmother, but mostly the basics as well. I would rather give Chris the reins over his past."
Frans looked at the men and agreed. He understood.
"Hawkeye," Sidney said, getting the doctor's attention.
"Chris will be reliving his trauma and he will get very upset. You can't reassure him during this, it will only oppose what we are trying to do. He needs to tell us how it went, we can't change the past and he needs to relive it. So I need you to remember that. After I get him out of the hypnosis he's yours to comfort. Because he will need you after this. "
Chris made a soft nervous sound.
Hawkeye sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. " I promise, but it's not gonna be easy."
"Nothing about this is," Sidney replied
"I will ask the questions, If he doesn't understand I need you, Frans, to relay them to Chris in Dutch. He will likely only speak Dutch, so you need to relay everything back to us as well." Sidney said
Frans agreed but looked grim, he was ready to start.
Chris sniffed softly, and Sidney turned his attention to him. And gently said.
" And you, Angel. You just have to listen to my voice, we are not going to hurt you, Okay. Just like the first time, you just have to answer me. You were great the first time, you can do this."
Chris didn't look convinced but nodded, he didn't have a choice anyway.
"Good boy" Sidney squeezed the boy's shoulder reassuringly.
He held out the watch and just like the first time, let the watch rotate on its chain.
"Chris I need you to focus on the watch, do you see the shimmering of it? "
He didn't want to do it but the light-stinging feeling still existing on his buttocks was a reminder of what would happen if he tried to run. And Hawkeye was sitting on his rack between Chris and the door. He glanced at the door. Before he admitted defeat and sighed tiredly. He put his focus on the watch.
The watch kept rotating, and the shimmer of it flickered in the light of the lamp. Chris felt his mind go a bit numb.
He started to soothe into a peaceful state of mind.
"You're starting to relax, your mind is empty."
Chris heard the words, he liked Sidney's voice, it was calming and soothing. He felt the background disappear as only the watch remained in his vision.
"You will be completely in a trance after I count to three. " Sidney's voice came through the fog in his mind.
Chris just looked at the watch with big hazy eyes.
"One.. Two.. and three," Sidney said he looked at the child intensely, he needed to be sure that Chris was completely under.
"Can you please raise your right hand for me?" Sidney asked
With no expression at all Chris obeyed at once.
"Perfect, thank you, Angel, you can put your hand down now."
Chris obeyed.
Sidney looked around at the men in the tent.
"He's ready!"