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Thank you everyone who reviewed so far!
Geneva had managed to stop crying by the time she reached the precinct of the Special Victims Unit. Her brother, Dayle, noticed her as soon as she entered the squad room.
"Geneva! What's wrong?" he asked her quietly.
She ignored the question. "You know how you keep telling me I should talk to Dr. Huang?"
"And you keep saying you won't? Did you change your mind?"
She nodded. "I can't tell him what happened, I know that, but I just want to talk to him."
"He's actually here tight now consulting with Olivia and Elliot on a case, but he should be done soon."
"Sure, I'll wait."
"What happened, Geneva?"
"I just- I was questioning a witness, in court. One of Shearbee's victims. I just- broke down. Started sobbing hysterically."
Just then Dr. Huang came into the room with Detectives Benson and Stabler, two of Dayle's coworkers. Dayle went over to him.
"Huang, remember I mentioned that I wanted my sister to talk to you? She finally agreed, do you have some time?"
"Sure. I'll ask Cragen if I could use his office."
Apparently the captain agreed, because Huang led Geneva into his office and shut the door. "Your brother said you wanted to talk to me," Huang told Geneva as they sat down at Cragen's desk.
"Yes. I- Look, I can't really tell you, um, I'm not sure how to say this. What happened, I'm not allowed to tell anyone- could I talk hypothetically?"
"If it makes you more comfortable."
"Say something happens to someone, something… traumatic- is it normal, if they- hear someone else talk about something similar, to start having… flashbacks, I guess."
"That depends on the circumstances, but yes, flashbacks are a common symptom of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder."
"What can be done to help with it?" Geneva asked, still struggling for the right words.
"Therapy or a support group can be helpful. Even talking about it to friends or family-"
"But if you can't talk about it with anyone! That's the hardest part, not being able to talk about it. Everyone keeps asking me what's wrong and I can't tell them. I hate keeping secrets." Although Geneva did not even noticed that she had lapsed into first person, Huang did.
"Maybe you could go to a therapist and have confidentiality."
"I asked them that, they said I can't tell anyone, even a therapist or a doctor or a lawyer or my brother."
Huang did not ask who "they" were, he knew she wouldn't, or couldn't, tell him. "But your brother knows, doesn't he?"
Geneva's face grew fearful at the question. "I didn't tell him anything! Anything he knows he figured out on his own, I haven't told anyone, really!"
"That must be hard."
Geneva nodded. "It is. Not being able to tell anyone is almost as bad as the- as what happened."
"Why can't you tell anyone?"
"I don't think I can even tell you that. I guess you could say there are legal reasons."
"I think that talking to someone would really help you, but if you can't do that, other things that can help you cope are things that help make you feel in control of your life. Even something simple like establishing routines can help you regain control of your life. And give yourself time."
Geneva nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Huang," she said as she got up and left Cragen's office.
"I could be much more specific if I had more information. I know I wasn't much help."
That was true, Geneva thought, although at least now she realized that she was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Which she would have thought of before, had she not avoided thinking about the subject of her mental health.
As Geneva left the squad-room, Huang approached her brother. "Your sister really needs help. The way she's going now she's heading for a mental breakdown. You might want to encourage her to seek therapy."
Dayle replied, "Thank you, I'll keep that in mind," but it was clear that he would not follow Huang's advice.
Geneva was just leaving when she ran into Casey Novak, the prosecutor for SVU.
"Geneva, I heard about you getting hysterical in the middle of your trial, what happened?"
"Nothing, I'm fine," Geneva lied, trying to push past Casey.
"Branch is looking for you, something happened with one of your witnesses. You might want to get down there fast."
TBC
This chapter went a little differntly than I was planning it to because I sort-of mixed the order of things around from what I was planning, but anyway, please review.
