Huang closed the door behind him, leaving Ben alone at the small table. He shrugged. "Sorry, Detective." He stood next to me and looked through the window at Ben, who was staring at the table. "I'm going to call Liz Olivet, see if she'd be willing to talk to him. With what he's seen, I think it's best if she were to handle treatment as she specializes in children. Is anytime good for you?"
"Just about, yeah. Listen, thanks Doc, for trying."
He looked at me and I was reminded just how strange the little man was. "He's going to need therapy, quite a bit of it, as far as I can tell, so that he doesn't develop any serious psychiatric problems. For his nightmares, all you can do is reassure him. Make sure he feels safe, but at the same time, don't be overprotective. Continue trying to talk to him. Be patient. It's going to take time for him to heal. Although he doesn't have any physical injuries, what's going on mentally is different story. There will be times, months and years from now, when he'll wake up with a nightmare, or he'll think back on what he witnessed and be unable to cope with it suddenly. Become angry, or depressed. But most importantly, right now, is to deal with the present. Try to prevent major problems in the future, but mostly to think about now. What he needs now."
I looked away and through the glass at Ben, was still staring at the table. "What about the fact that he's been..." I searched for the right word, "numb."
"He doesn't want to get hurt again. Hence ensuring him that he's safe, both with you and other people, mainly the rest of the squad, as he seems to be around them nearly as much as with you. The fact that he will go back to school in a couple weeks is also something to think about. He'll be back with kids his own age, yet he'll be much different than he was around his friends last year. And it's a completely new school, with new people. It's something that will be of more concern as the date approaches."
"How is he supposed to be normal again?" How am I supposed to be normal again?
"He won't be. There's no way he possibly can be. He may appear over time to return to normal, but this will always linger on his mind. There may be times when he pushes it from his mind, but it will come back later. He'll never return to his old self. Whatever he becomes will be the new normal. You'll both have to adjust."
"Thanks, Doc," I said again.
He nodded, "I'll call you with the time Liz Olivet can meet with you," and left after one last look through the glass. Looking through the glass, I realized that things really wouldn't be normal ever again. They would never be like they once were. I would never again go visit my nephew and my brother. Ben would never again see his parents. He would never again know life without the sight of his parents' dead bodies lingering in his mind.
I mean after all, what was normal?