Friday: We are family
I'm an only child with a Doberman named Phoenix.
My father is Robert and an air traffic controller.
My mother is Elizabeth and, to simply explain, a sales manager.
My mother was an only child, and my father had one brother, giving me an uncle.
Uncle Marcus, Aunt Carrie, and cousins: Alexander, Rachel, and Bethany
My father's parents died in a house fire the year I was born. My mother's father disappeared when she was a little girl. (Think James Bond or Mission Impossible where they warn you that if anything should happen, knowledge of you does not exist. At least, that's the story I'm told.) That left me with only one grandparent - Grandma Sarah. Gram married a rancher, Herbert, who taught me all about horses, and is probably responsible for my love of their beauty and strength. Herb died when I graduated from the FBI academy. Gram died a couple years ago.
(recent status) Significant other - Mike
I haven't met Mike's family, who live in Colorado, but I know he has two brothers and a sister. His dad is Joseph, retired from the Marines and currently works as a mountain ranger (I think that's what Mike called him).
His mom, Holly, is an attorney.
Their children: Matthew, Michael, Micah, and Megan. I think Matthew and Megan are married, but I don't know their spouses' names nor do I know what any of them does for a living. Mike and Micah are eleven months apart so I'm told they might as well be twins. Both take after their father and love the military. Mike is a former Marine and would have been career had the FBI not come calling in need of his sniper skills. There's more to his reason for choosing stateside versus the overseas traveling he enjoyed but that involves an ex-wife, who we shall not discuss.
Micah couldn't wait to be a Marine but the Navy recruiter got to him first. His goal is to make Admiral one day.
My family lives in and around North Carolina, and it's not uncommon in my field for my teammates to be closer to me and know more about me than my kin. Maybe it's the long hours we put in resolving crises and hostage situations or maybe it's because we are usually separated from our blood families by hundreds if not thousands of miles. So, the FBI is my second family and I spend more holidays with them than Mom and Dad.
FBI family in Dallas:
Derek, Chloe, Ray, Peter (my partner).
Peter's girlfriend/fiancée - Laura (Dallas detective)
FBI family in Chicago:
Ken, Greg, and Richard
Ken's fiancée Lucinda (paramedic)
My SAC in Dallas is not only my boss but also takes on the role of a father figure. To a point. His children are my age, so his advice comes naturally.
Maybe, one day, if things go well between Mike and me, we'll have a family of our own. I don't know what kind of a mother I'll make and the thought honestly terrifies me, but I'm a nurturing person. And while I'm thinking about, Mike would make a terrific father.