"This is just... incredible." Julie said. "How did this happen?"
Natalie lowered herself onto the edge of the bed. "I don't know..."
"What are we going to do?" Julie asked quietly.
Natalie looked at her daughter. "About what, Sweetheart?"
"I mean... we have to say thank you. Somehow."
Natalie smiled. "You're right, but how do we do that without..."
The door swung open and Julie looked up to see the Captain, Mr. Monk and Randy come in.
"Hey." She said softly.
"How are you feeling?" Leland asked.
"Oh... I'm..."
"You look upset, Julie. What's wrong?"
Natalie and Julie exchanged glances.
"I'm not upset, just..."
"What's going on?" Randy asked.
"Should we tell them?" Julie asked her mother.
"Tell us what?" Adrian wanted to know.
The room was eerily quiet.
"Look, you're scaring me." Leland said. "Is something wrong?"
Natalie swallowed. "We, um... found out who the donor is."
The men's eyes widened in surprise.
"Really? I thought those things were confidential." Randy said.
Natalie looked at Julie and then worriedly at the captain.
"Well they are, but... I'm sorry, Captain. I just had to know. I mean, this is such a huge thing. Without this blood transfusion, Julie might have died, and..."
"I understand." Leland said, covering her hand with his.
"So who is it?" Randy asked.
Natalie smiled uneasily.
"It's fine, Natalie." Leland said reassuringly.
"Well, okay... but this is pretty incredible." Julie said, unable to hide the smile on her face. "Tell them, Mom."
"It's Dr. Kroger."
Leland, Adrian and Randy stared at Natalie in amazement.
"I can't believe it." Leland said.
"Wow..." Randy said. "This is huge! But... How did he know?"
Natalie shrugged. "I have no idea, but it's wonderful, isn't it?"
"It sure is." Leland said.
Adrian sat perfectly still in disbelief, trying to let the news sink in.
"Mr. Monk, what's wrong?" Natalie asked. "I thought you'd be happy about this."
Adrian opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
"Monk?" Leland looked at Adrian with concern.
Feeling dejected, Adrian rose from his chair and turned to face the door.
"Where are you going, Mr. Monk?" Julie asked.
Quietly, Adrian slipped into the hallway and leaned against the wall with a sigh.
His one chance to do something for Julie and he'd blown it.
He looked up, surprised to see Dr. Kroger walking toward him. Suddenly he felt worse than ever.
"Adrian! What a nice surprise!" Dr. Kroger said with a smile. "How's Julie?"
"Oh, well... She's..."
Dr. Kroger's smile disappeared. "Oh no! Did something happen?"
"Um, no... but..."
"Excuse me, Adrian. I need to see her right away." Dr. Kroger said, pushing his way past his patient.
Adrian watched as his therapist entered the room. Through the tiny glass window, he could see Natalie smiling as she hugged Dr Kroger, Leland and Randy.
"I should just leave." Adrian said to the empty hallway. "I'm sure no one will even notice."
Just as he started down the hallway, he heard his name.
"Mr. Monk!"
He turned to find Natalie smiling at him.
"Where are you going? You should be in here celebrating with us."
"I don't think so." Adrian said.
"But why not?"
Adrian looked at his assistant sadly. "Because, Natalie... I broke my promise."
Natalie rubbed his arm in an effort to comfort him. "What promise?"
"I wanted to do something for Julie, but I..."
"You already have, Mr. Monk."
"What do you mean?"
"I hope you don't mind, but Dr. Kroger told me that you talked about Julie in your therapy session."
Adrian shrugged. "Well... yeah, but we've talked about her before."
"Mr. Monk, if you hadn't told Dr. Kroger about Julie needing the transfusion, he might never have known. He told me that he was so touched by your concern that he went to the doctor and got a blood test, found out that he was a perfect match, and donated his blood for the transfusion. He saved her life, Mr. Monk."
"But... I didn't do anything."
"Mr. Monk, you've done more than you'll ever know." Natalie's voice began to break.
"You gave Julie the greatest gift anyone can imagine, and I love you for it. We all do."
To his surprise, she kissed him on the cheek and held him close as though she'd forgotten all about his phobias.
Suddenly, as though remembering, she let go.
"Oh... I'm sorry. I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable. Let me get you a wipe."
Adrian couldn't help but smile. "I'm okay."
"Are you sure you don't want to come celebrate with us?" Natalie asked.
"No thanks. I should probably go home. I was supposed to straighten my silverware tray hours ago."
"You're going to walk? But Mr. Monk it's so far! I'll get the Captain to drive you. Or Randy, or Dr. Kroger."
"No. You stay and have a good time. It's all right. It's not that far."
"Well, okay. If you're sure. But call me if you need anything."
"I will."
When Natalie returned to Julie's room, Adrian walked down the hallway toward the familiar cherry wood door. Slowly he entered the chapel and walked down the narrow aisle, admiring the beautifully detailed stained glass windows.
He knelt down on the long velvet pillow, folded his hands and looked up at the ceiling.
"Thank you, Trudy."
THE END