Before I start the next chapter, I want to address a question about how Kerri seemed to recover from the psychological trauma of rape so quickly. I don't want anyone to think that I take the subject lightly. I had a situation happened to me 12 years ago that, while it didn't escalate to rape, it was labeled assault. It was traumatizing to say the least. I was diagnosed with PTSD. I shut down, I couldn't leave my house, I couldn't function. It took me over a year to begin to feel like myself again. But I bounced back.
My goal with my character was to show her as strong and resilient. She's a soldier and has seen horrible things happen in this war with the Decepticons. Not to say that she still isn't dealing with the trauma. She is, every day. But she's surrounded by people who love and care about her. She's fighting back from it and choosing to not let it define the rest of her life. I just want people to understand that.
Anyhoo, working on the next chapter, figuring about how I'm going to wrap this up pretty soon. Thank you all for the awesome support! This was my first fanfic, but it certainly won't be the last, although I'm pretty sure the next one will probably be light-natured. The angst in this one is killing me! Lol