Time to Heal

That evening, Selene was still staring off into nothingness. She had been examined by a psychiatrist, who also spoke to Ben to get information on her background. Based on this, the psychiatrist reassured Ben that she would get better on her own. He indicated that Selene was using disassociation to deal with the trauma she witnessed. Given her history of trauma, it was the brain's way of protecting her. He told Ben to just keep reassuring her that she was safe and that what happened was not her fault.

After talking to the psychiatrist, Ben entered Selene's room. He waited by the door for Anie's father to get up and walk toward him. They hugged silently for a long time and then Adam left the room. The doctor had said only one person could visit at a time so as not to aggravate Selene's condition. Peter and Lucy had already had their turns visiting.

Ben sat by Selene's bed, held her hand and did as the doctor had indicated. He didn't tell her that Maria had died, but just said that what happened to her wasn't Selene's fault. Stroking her face, he told her over and over that she was safe."

"Baby, none of this was your fault," Ben said quietly. "You protected our baby and Maria protected you. Everyone did what they were supposed to." He leaned in and kissed her forehead. Suddenly, he felt Selene's hand reach up and caress his face.

Ben looked at her and then put his forehead to hers.

"I'm so sorry," Selene said in a voice that was barely audible.

Ben shook his head as he looked deep in her eyes, "You didn't do anything to be sorry for. This wasn't your fault."

Selene began crying and nothing Ben did would soothe her. He just held her, let her cry, and gave her tissues from the bedside table when she needed them. After a long time, she stopped. Still, he held her.

Eventually, she moved away and started wiping the tears from her face. Ben gave her more tissues and she said, "Thanks."

Taking a few deep breaths and letting them out slowly, Selene asked, "How is Maria? Is she on this floor? Can I visit her?"

Ben was quiet for a heartbeat and then replied, "Let's not talk about this right now. You're still recovering. Let's get you healthy first."

Selene could read his face no matter how hard he tried to hide his grief. She started crying again, "She's dead, isn't she? Oh my God, she's dead. She died protecting me."

Ben held her gently, but told her firmly, "This was not your fault. Maria did her job. She knew this could happen but she wanted to protect you. You can't blame yourself. We have to blame the person responsible."

His last words seemed to trigger the flash of a picture inside her mind. She looked down and then shook her head as if trying to shake the impossible off like water from her hair.

"What's wrong?," Ben asked with new concern.

Selene looked at him with an expression he'd never seen on her before. "It can't be, but I thought I saw Victor's face on the person in the car," she said in a hushed voice.

Ben didn't say anything, but his own expression spoke volumes.

"How is this possible? He was killed. There was a funeral," she cried. As if a spark ignited another thought, she whispered, "It was me, wasn't it? He was trying to kill me. It *was* my fault that Maria died." Selene's breaths came faster, and Ben was afraid that she was going to hyperventilate. He stroked her hair to calm her and told her with an even tone that it wasn't her fault and that she needed to settle down not just for herself but also the baby. That seemed to penetrate Selene's mind and she started to compose herself.

Still, her tears continued to fall. "Just tell me everything," she said. "I might as well know what happened all at once."

Ben sighed. "After the…shooting…um. Let's just say that there was no way Drakos could escape. Between our people and the police, he was apprehended before he could get to the second car they had planned to use to escape. That's all I know right now. Johnny will be here soon with an update."

Unfortunately, there was too much to do, and Johnny wasn't able to arrive until the next morning. By that time, Selene was to be discharged from the ward with orders to admit her for in-patient treatment at another facility. She was diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

As a result, they decided to hold off on telling her what Johnny had learned. When Selene asked for more information, Ben just told her that they would tell her everything after she completed treatment. They felt it was for the best that she concentrated on healing herself, rather than focusing on the details of what happened. This was what the doctor had suggested, and Selene agreed.

Selene spent just over six weeks in the treatment facility. Visits with her loved ones were kept to the weekend so as not to interfere with her recovery. On one such visit by Peter early on in the process, the friends talked about wedding plans. Selene lamented that her planning had to be delayed. Hearing this, Peter looked at her intently and said, "What do you think about a double wedding?"