To Cesar848: The girl most definitely needs a hug. Unfortunately, traumatic experiences rarely go away just because the event ended.

To Butterfly: Thanks!

To yellow 14: Thanks. Writing this story was a different type of difficult.

To StarDaPanda225: I don't think guilt and self-blame are uncommon for a victim of any trauma – it's part of the process. But it's important to recognize that my actions don't cause someone else's actions.


"Are you sure about this?" Sabrina asked, her face taking on a look of panic. Her small group was supposed to begin in just a matter of minutes, but on the way there she had pulled Emilie into one of the unused rooms a few doors down from where they were waiting for her to join them. "I don't know if I'm really equipped to help Aisha and Bri together. It was challenging enough with Bri, but we both felt how intense Aisha's emotions were yesterday evening. Her trauma was so intense–"

"It was severe," Emilie agreed with a sympathetic nod, holding up a hand to forestall her objections. "But I have full confidence in your ability to work with her. Remember, we're not trying to solve all their problems; we're just trying to help them process their emotions a little better and start to heal together."

Sabrina frowned and sighed heavily. "I don't know if I can do that for her," she admitted, her shoulders slumping.

"I need you for this," Emilie told her simply. Sabrina felt the stress coming off of her and looked up in surprise. "I can't do both of these small groups by myself, and I think it would be a mistake to ask you to counsel your best friend – it will be enough of a challenge for me as it is." Sabrina nodded in acknowledgement but still gave her a doubtful look. Emilie squeezed her shoulder gently. Some of Emilie's stress dissipated, replaced by confidence. "You won't be on your own in there. If Nooroo senses that you are struggling, he can come and find me for an assist."

Nooroo rose out of her pocket and came to rest on her shoulder, his wings fluttering against her neck. "I know you can do this, Mistress," he assured her. "With how well you have helped Chloe, you can help these two, also."

Sabrina cupped her hand around Nooroo and closed her eyes, drawing in a calming breath. Nooroo was going to be there with her, and he had far more experience than either her or Emilie at this. Finally she exhaled slowly, opened her eyes, and nodded in resignation. Emilie gave her an encouraging smile, and Sabrina stepped out of the room and back into the hallway.

"Don't try to fix everything all at once," Emilie reminded her. "And don't try to do too much; it's okay to let them guide the conversation. All you have to do is facilitate it."

Sabrina could feel Emilie's nervous excitement, matching her own anxiety and that of the two counselees waiting for her in the counseling room. She could handle this – Emilie and Nooroo both thought so. Slowly she allowed herself to fall into the mindset she would need before opening the door and stepping inside. Inside Bri and Aisha sat at two corners of the triangle of chairs in the middle of the room. Aisha was looking at the wall, studying a picture; Bri appeared to be reading something on the screen of one of her bracelets.

"How are you two doing?" Sabrina asked, taking the empty chair facing them. Nooroo flitted off of Sabrina's shoulder and landed on the small end table next to her.

"Considering the reason we're here…" Bri muttered sullenly, looking up from her bracelet with a frown. Her eyes drifted to Aisha, and Sabrina felt Bri's nervousness spike.

"It is difficult to open up in front of someone, especially on something as personal as this," Sabrina acknowledged with a nod. "But the benefit of this exercise is the opportunity for you to see that you aren't alone. You have friends who care about and support you, and that can also include the others in this group. The two of you had very different experiences, but I think you can still learn from each other. Both of you can survive this trauma and grow from it."

Aisha looked over at Bri and shook her head, shame sneaking into her emotions. "I–I can't imagine someone as strong as you letting anyone do what happened to me to you."

Sabrina felt a surge of surprise from Bri that turned to guilt, and quickly commented, "Strength doesn't have anything to do with it. The strongest person can experience a moment of weakness or loss of control. And experiencing something like you went through doesn't make you weak."

Aisha frowned and stared down at her hands. "But I am weak. I can't do anything like the rest of you can. I couldn't even protect myself."

"You're ashamed of yourself because you were helpless," Sabrina observed, nodding sympathetically. "A trauma like you went through often brings with it a feeling of helplessness, a loss of control. I imagine that before what happened to you, you both had some measure of control over your lives, even if you didn't think about it in those terms. But then in a moment you lost control over not only your life but even your body."

Bri nodded, her emotions shifting to frustration. "I'm a superhero," she agreed, a hard set to her mouth. "I built a mechanized suit that I can use to fly. If the Ripper had attacked me in my suit, I would have punched his head off – or at least that was what I thought. But then in that moment, when I really needed it, I didn't have it. My bracelets failed me. I couldn't do anything to save myself. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think – everything was just him."

Aisha gasped. "That's exactly what I felt! Life in our village wasn't perfect – we worked hard, and even so we still sometimes were hungry – but it was what I understood. Mother and Father gave us what she could, even though it wasn't much. I didn't have too many choices or much freedom, but I was still my own person. And then when Popo and his men arrived, I didn't have any choices. He chose me. He took me. He made the decisions. And there was nothing I could do about it."

Bri frowned, guilt rising in her. "I did have a choice – I could have gone home sooner. I could have called Anne or let Felix walk partway with me. I didn't have to be out walking at night without anyone else, knowing that a rapist was out. I had the choice, but I made the wrong one. And that one mistake was when I screwed up."

"You feel guilty because your choice put you in that position," Sabrina responded. Bri nodded. "Remember, whatever choice you made didn't cause him to attack you. His actions are his fault, not yours. But what about for you, Aisha? Do you feel the same guilt as Bri? Do you feel like your own choice contributed in some way to what happened to you?"

Aisha shook her head. "I didn't have any choice when it came to Popo," she answered. "I didn't choose for him to appear, I didn't choose for him to touch me, I didn't choose for him to…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Shame almost overwhelmed her; she cringed in her chair.

"Breathe," Sabrina told her softly. "You aren't there. You're safe."

Aisha forced herself to inhale and exhale slowly before opening her eyes. Her lower lip trembled; she grabbed her arm and squeezed. Nooroo sprang off the table and alit on Aisha's knee, his wings fluttering. She looked down at him in surprise, her lips cracking into a smile, and rubbed his head with one finger. "You're so cute! Do you know Growll? Or Minii?"

"It has been millennia since I saw either of them!" replied Nooroo, leaning into her hand. "Since the fall of Atlantis, in fact."

Bri stared at Aisha in shock. "That–that's almost exactly what happened to me the second time I saw the Ripper: even though I had my suit, even though my partner was there, even though my best friend needed me… I–I froze."

"You froze?" Aisha looked up at her, eyes widening in surprise. "But you're a superhero!"

Bri looked away, her cheeks flushed in shame. "I'm not proud of it. If I'd been on my own, there's no way I could have fought him."

"Superheroes can still make mistakes and doubt themselves," Sabrina pointed out. "With the Heroes of Paris, I couldn't begin to list the number of times I've sensed the other heroes starting to panic or freeze up because of an overwhelming situation. How did you come through it?" she asked Bri.

"I wasn't alone," Bri answered. "When we fought the Ripper, Felix helped me through it. Even just knowing that he was there made a huge impact."

Aisha frowned. "I know I wasn't by myself in the camp. Abdi was there, too – my brother. But I was so upset with him for agreeing to work for Popo that I barely spoke to him for the first four months. But I would talk to Growll, his Kwami. He didn't visit me often, but some nights the only way I could sleep was because he was there."

Bri hummed. "There have been a few times in the last month that the only reason I could function was because of my partner's Kwami, Barkk."

From his position on Aisha's knee, Nooroo perked up. "The canine Kwamis are especially good for encouraging their 'pack'," he informed them.

Sabrina smiled. "It's not just them," she told him, giggling. Turning to the other two, she continued, "You were both fortunate enough to not be alone. Do you want to go into that a little more?"

"Even though I was upset with him, I still needed Abdi," Aisha began. "And since we moved into the temple I've had so much support from everyone else there. At the–at the–" She swallowed. Nooroo flitted up to nuzzle against her cheek. "At the camp I didn't feel like I could trust anyone; at the temple I know I can trust everyone."

"Whenever I feel alone, all I need to do is call Felix or Anne," Bri agreed. "It's a reminder that I'm not alone, that the Ripper didn't take that away from me. Every time I remember what he tried to do to me it's like the wound is reopened. But then I remember Felix arriving afterward and how much he cared. And how he and Anne both were there for me after it happened. Every time I'm having trouble sleeping or find myself thinking about what happened, I call Felix or Anne."

"Your friends have encouraged you and helped you to heal," Sabrina reflected, smiling. "What else has helped for you?"

"Trying to find purpose or meaning in it," Bri responded. "I know it can't make what happened to me just go away, but if I can stop another woman from ever going through this…"

"You're finding meaning in your own trauma by giving others the ability to fight back if they're in that situation." Sabrina nodded. "Have you been able to find meaning in what happened to you?" she asked Aisha.

Aisha's emotions were all in a jumble – Sabrina tensed – Nooroo shook his head the slightest bit at Sabrina, giving her an encouraging smile. Finally Aisha nodded hesitantly. "A little. It was only because of what happened to me that I'm now at the Somali Temple – which has been amazing. And who knows what would have happened with… with Popo… if Abdi hadn't helped Chloe and the others to fight him? At least now that–that–that monster can't hurt anyone else."

"That was probably the best thing for my recovery," agreed Bri, nodding. "The Ripper is dead and will never hurt anyone ever again, and I was even there to help finish him off."

"I couldn't fight Popo at all," whispered Aisha sadly. "He was so much stronger than me. I tried to fight him the first time, but it just made him angry. And the angrier he got, the more he hurt me. In the end all I could do was close my eyes and pray for it to end. Abdi helped kill him, but I couldn't do a thing for myself."

"I'm sorry." Bri put a hand on Aisha's hand. "I wish there were something I could do."

"Not every victim is able to fight," Sabrina told her. "Sometimes all that's possible is just to survive. Simply surviving the trauma and not allowing it to define you is what makes you strong."