Dr. Stevenson’s Medical Office:
Raven looked at Dr. Steveson as she sat across from him on the sofa. She knew she couldn’t battle the PTSD trauma alone, and it was best that she talked to someone about the nightmares and uneasiness she was feeling. She was paying for the counseling out of her own pocket.

“How have you been doing lately, Raven?” Dr. Steveson looked at Raven as she sat across from him on the sofa. He noticed she was wearing a blouse and dress pants today, instead of her normal leather.

“The nightmares aren’t coming as often as they used to, but when they do show up, they seem so real. It takes me falling out of my bed for me to wake up and realize that I’m not back on that mountain.” Raven rubs her arm where her unit's tattoo was.

Dr. Steveson has noticed that when Raven does that, it is one of her nervous habits. He had observed several nervous tics she had during some of their sessions.

“Has anything changed in your life recently?” Dr. Stevenson has dealt with ex-service members.

He knew Raven was unique in the fact that she had undergone gender reassignment surgery after she was discharged from the service. They had talked about that when she first came to see him.

“Yes, but I can’t go into details about it.” Raven wanted to tell Dr. Stevenson about what was going on right now in her life, but she knew she couldn’t.

“Okay, has anything new happened that you can talk about, or what might be triggering your nightmares?”

“You could say that, Doctor.” Raven starts talking about her twin sisters.

The session with Dr. Stevenson lasted for an hour. Raven was emotionally drained by the time their session was done. She makes an appointment for next month before she leaves.

Dr. Steveson has renewed her prescriptions for her PTSD. She doesn’t like taking medication, but since she has to take estrogen for the rest of
her life. She can make an exception for the medication her doctor prescribed her.

Today, instead of traveling on her motorcycle, like she normally does. She borrowed her uncle Hammer’s beat-up, rusty old pickup truck. The truck might look ugly with its different-colored body parts, but it ran like a dream. She once asked her uncle why he did that, and asked her if she would steal something like his Frankenstein truck?

She carefully backs the big truck out of the parking spot and starts heading towards Fry's Food Store. She could do some shopping while waiting for her prescriptions to be filled. It doesn’t take her long to arrive at the store, as she parks the big, ugly pickup truck.

Most women carry a purse, but she doesn’t like having her hands occupied. She likes to keep her hands free so she can defend herself. She carries a leather wallet instead. She knows it isn’t ladylike, but she didn’t care. She would rather be safe than sorry.

She puts a quarter in the change device to unlock the shopping cart. Once she has the cart, she walks into the store and heads to the pharmacy to drop off her prescriptions for filling. Once that was done, she started her shopping. Since the guys have been coming over to protect her and her sister. She was going to stock up on beer and maybe some hard liquor. She also planned to cook on the grill, since it was easier to make big meals there. She goes up and down the aisles selecting ingredients for side dishes and other items she’ll need.

Her sister was doing better and was busy going over the forensic reports and photos from the site. It turned out some of the men who got shot might survive. Not all of them had been murdered, but if they do survive, they are going to be disabled for life.

When Raven hears her last name being announced over the store speaker, she heads to the pharmacy to pick up her prescriptions. When she paid for them, she couldn’t believe how much they cost. She finishes up her shopping and checks out. She bought more food than she planned on buying.

Raven stops by the ABC store and picks up a couple of bottles of booze and mixers. She needed to replenish what had been drunk at her father’s place. She knew that when members of the MC came by the house, they expected booze. Her father was famous for having a fully stocked bar and several jars of moonshine.

She knew her father didn’t make the moonshine, but he bought it from a supplier. She knew the supplier’s number and had placed orders for her father before. She sends a coded text to the supplier and places an order for ten gallons of moonshine.

As Raven is driving home, her cellphone beeps. She is given the price and where she can pick up the order. She acknowledges the text and receives the delivery time for the order.

She heads home after picking Amber up at her father’s place. She was sporting a black eye.

“What happened to you?” Raven watches as Amber gets into the truck.

“A snitch I knew, and got into it. The bastard thought he could extort more money from me. He even pulled a gun on me.” Amber couldn’t believe Eddie was so stupid as to extort her for more money.

“Let me guess, you gave him a beating he won’t ever forget?” Raven drives towards her father’s place.

“Let’s just say he isn’t going to be speaking any time soon. I broke his freaking jaw with one punch.” Amber rubs her knuckles on her right hand.

“You always did have a mean right cross,” Raven remembers the two of them playing around and Amber punching her.

The ride from Hammer’s house to her father’s house didn’t take long. She went the back way to the house. Only a few people knew it. Raven backs the truck up into the driveway so it will be easier to unload. She remembers doing the same thing with her mother when they went shopping.

The side door opens, and Eddie comes walking outside. She was wearing a sundress her sister had in her closet.

“What did you bring back, sis?” Eddie looked like she could use some sun.

“This one.” Amber points towards Raven.

A smirk appears on Eddie’s face, “She is like a bad penny you can’t get rid of.”

“If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be working around right now.” Raven looks towards her little sister.

“Maybe, but I am glad you were here when I broke in.” Amber grabs two bags and carries them into the house.

The three of them managed to unload the truck and put everything away. Eddie spotted her favorite ice cream among the groceries, along with fudge brownie mixes.

“Oh, this should be fun. Brownies and ice cream.” Eddie loved brownies with ice cream on top, especially when the brownies were still warm.

After all the groceries are put away, and what beer can be stored inside the house refrigerator. It is taken out to the garage and placed in there. Normally, Eddie and Raven’s father kept beer out in the garage. When he and other members of the MC were working, they would have something cold to drink.

Eddie looks at Raven, “I need to go by the hotel I was staying at and get my things.”

“No problem, sis. We can stop at El Taco Loco and pick up some tacos.” Amber liked the tacos from that place.

“Sounds good to me.” Raven grabs the keys to the truck, and all three ladies head out to the truck.

Raven was scanning the road, making sure there was no danger, and she noticed Amber doing the same thing. Eddie was between the two of them. The three of them got into the truck, with Eddie in the back seat.

The first place they stop is El Taco Loco, where they order a twelve-pack of tacos, chips, and two different types of dip. When they went into the restaurant, they took a corner table. They wanted to protect their backs and see everyone coming and going.

The three ladies enjoyed their lunch and made small talk. Raven contributed to the conversation every so often, but listened to her sisters.