What Fate has in store

Part 3

Rafe

   By the time I made it back to California I had a brand new outlook on life. No more waiting around. It only took one kiss while drunk off my ass to realize I couldn't do it though. I couldn't do meaningless when I had my one and only even if I have lost her.
   When Ruiz was discharged from the Marines he had married Dana and had adopted her daughter May. May had been living with her grandparents in a small town in Minnesota while her mom finished her tour of duty.

   When Dana and Ruiz got married they moved there to be with her. Dana went to work in the local hospital and Ruiz went into the police force. They were making a home for themselves and were begging me to join them when my time was finally up.
   They finally talked me into it just before I got out of the Marines. They needed more men in a near by city on their police force and since I had no where else to go, I joined the only friends I had who were more like family to me.
   "Uncle Monk" cried May as she jumped in my arms when I finally drove up to their cute house in the country.

   "Maybelle, my love how are you" I asked swinging her up onto my shoulders as she squeeled.
   "I'm good uncle Monk! Mommy! Mommy look uncle Monks here at last" cried the little eight year old girl from my shoulders.
   Dana came out of the house with a huge smile on her face. She looked great with her blonde hair Teal blue now and a big swollen pregnant belly leading the way.
   "Damn Monk you get better looking every damn time I see you." Dana said wrapping me in a hug.
   "You too pretty girl. How's my baby doing" I joked as I hugged her tight in a bear hug. Ruiz had joined us by then and growled over me calling his baby mine. I still loved to give him shit.
   "Laying on my bladder like usual. Come on in and get settled. We fixed up the inlaw apartment just for you to stay in. Your going to love it." Dana said dragging me behind her and May as I laughed with Ruiz.
   The inlaw apartment off the back of their barn was sweet! It had a bedroom, bathroom,  and a good size livingroom kitchen combo. It was perfect for me. They had it fully furnished for me and I couldn't thank them enough for all they were doing for me.
   "This is perfect. I'll be looking for a place as soon as I can to get out of your hair though. I'd hate to be a bother" I said. They were my best friends. My family. I'd hate to over stay my welcome.
   "You will do no such thing. You will stay here till you either buy your own place or get married and have little babies of your own" Dana said sternly.

    "Yay!" Cried May. We all looked at her excited smiling face and she smiled bigger saying "Mommy, Uncle Monk is a boy and cant have babies so that means he'll be with us forever!" She cried happily making us laugh.

     "I'll just have the baby in your mommy's tummy as my own" I joked to May.

    "Oh no Uncle Monk. That's my baby. You cant have him" she said seriously making us laugh.

    The rest of the day was settling in to my new digs then I took my friends out to dinner to thank them for everything they were doing for me. I started the police academy the next morning so I needed a good nights sleep.

    After supper out lastnight I stopped at a grocery store to pick up stuff for my new kitchen. It was a quant little store in the center of town and rather dead at that time on a Sunday night. In fact the only people in the place were a older tall blonde with two little kids at the ice cream counter.

    After getting everything I needed for my new kitchen like coffee and some food I stopped for my own double scoop. Listening to the kids made me smile. They were around Mays age and adorable.

    "So where are grandma and mommy tonight?" Asked the little girl. She was cute with thick curly dark hair, big blue/brown eyes just like mine and a Minnesota Twins baseball cap on her head with a curly ponytail pulled through the back.