Author's Note: Thanks so much to Scarlett Crystal, who Beta-Read this for me! In this chapter alone, she found 3 mistakes and helped me correct them. If you're looking for a Beta-Reader, check her out - she's great! ^_^
Chapter One: Trudy's Favorite Name
"Surprise, Mr. Monk!" Natalie called excitedly as she burst through the front door of Adrian's house carrying a box, closely followed by a grinning Captain Stottlemeyer, Lieutenant Disher, and Natalie's teenage daughter, Julie.
"Doesn't anybody ever knock around here?" Adrian asked pathetically, although he actually enjoyed having his friends come over to keep him company.
Ignoring his question completely, Natalie rushed over to the kitchen table and set the cardboard box down. Terrifying scrabbling and scratching noises were coming from inside. "Well, go ahead, Mr. Monk! Don't you want to see what we got for you?"
Knowing the futility of arguing with Natalie when she was excited about doing something nice for him, Adrian gingerly approached the table. There was a slight thump and the box shifted a little, causing him to jump back a step and glare suspiciously at his still-grinning friends. Steeling himself for whatever the box might contain, he walked up to it and carefully opened the cardboard flaps at the top of the box. He peeked inside, hoping that whatever was in there wouldn't jump out and attach itself to his face.
"Meow," a bored grey tabby cat greeted him, staring at Adrian as though he were its servant.
"Isn't that cute, Monk?" Captain Stottlemeyer asked hopefully, looking at him. "Your very own pet cat to keep you company."
"No pets," Adrian protested feebly, knowing they had probably figured a way around that. "My lease says 'no pets.' You have to take it back."
"No, it's okay, Mr. Monk," Natalie assured him happily. "We talked to your psychiatrist, and he talked to your landlord. This is your new therapy animal!"
"Therapy animal?" Adrian echoed in disbelief. "I don't need a therapy animal, Natalie. I have you."
Natalie stared at Adrian for a moment, then after a brief hesitation decided not to make an issue of that. "I'm not here twenty-four hours a day for you, Mr. Monk," she said, lifting the unresisting cat out of the box as Adrian hastily backed into a corner of the kitchen, staring warily at the animal. "This cute little kitty is just the thing for you. Trust me."
Lieutenant Disher grinned widely at Adrian. "So, Monk. What're you gonna call it?"
Natalie stared reproachfully at him. "Him. What is Mr. Monk going to name him. It's a boy. They told us that at the shelter."
"You got it from a shelter?" Adrian questioned, feeling his throat closing off in panic. He started to feel like he was having trouble breathing. Maybe whatever shelter-germs this cat had brought with it were affecting him already...
"Don't panic, Monk!" Captain Stottlemeyer interjected quickly. "He's been quarantined, and had all his shots, and everything. We even took him to see a vet just before bringing him here, and he's just had a bath."
Adrian took a few slow breaths, starting to relax again a bit.
"So what are you gonna name him?" Julie asked in quiet curiosity.
Adrian stared at the cat in Natalie's arms, then accusingly at his friends. He looked back at the cat and paused as a sudden idea struck him. "Gregory," he replied simply, staring at the cat.
"Gregory? That's a cute name," Natalie said after thinking it over for a moment. "Why that name specifically?"
"It's Trudy's favorite name," Adrian said quietly, looking up from Gregory to meet her eyes.
Natalie looked at Adrian understandingly. "Gregory it is."