Author's Note: Just a reminder that in my version of events, Mr. Monk and the End never happened (but everything up to and including Mr. Monk and the Badge did).
The hospital called Adrian the next morning, around nine, to tell him that Dr. Harmon had signed off on Natalie being moved from the ICU to a standard room slightly earlier than originally planned — they needed her room for another patient. She had been relocated to room 3007 in the main hospital building.
He called the Davenports and Julie to let them know, and decided to take a cab to the hospital instead of bothering Leland for another ride. He really needed to get a car, the sooner the better.
While in the cab, he frowned, realizing that there was probably insurance paperwork that would need to be done for Natalie's wrecked vehicle. Her insurance cards had been in her purse, which had been in the car with her during the crash, and God knew where it was now. Although maybe she had other copies at home, or at least a statement with insurance information on it. He would have to go by her house soon.
He frowned again. This was ridiculous. They needed have a home that was theirs, not his apartment and her house, especially now that she was going to be bedridden for several weeks. He made a mental note to talk to his landlord later. And he had to remember to call the staffing agency – the same one he'd used the last time he'd been looking for an assistant – so he could start interviewing home health nurses. His to-do list was growing by the second, but he put it out of his mind for the present, determined to focus solely on Natalie for the next few hours.
Once at the hospital, he stopped by the gift shop to buy Natalie some flowers before going up to her new room. He wanted something pretty for her to look at, and settled on multicolored zinnias in a green glass vase. They were bright and cheerful, which reminded him of her. As an added bonus, there were ten of them in the vase.
The minute he approached the front desk on Natalie's floor, the nurse on duty smiled at him. "You must be Mr. Monk," she said cheerfully. "I remember seeing your picture with Natalie in the Dispatch last month. It's almost like having a celebrity in the ward. She's such a dear."
He smiled politely, deciding to play nice in Natalie's best interest. "Thank you, Nurse, um, Kelley," he said, stealing a glance at her name badge. "How is she today?"
"She's doing very well. Bianca — Nurse Thomson — said she had a good night in the ICU. After she got here this morning, we took a short walk, so she's resting now."
"So soon?" he asked, surprised.
"Oh, yes. These days we try to get patients up and walking as soon as possible after surgery. Helps reduce blood clots, bed sores, that sort of thing. We took a nice stroll down the hall, and then I tucked her back into bed and gave her a strawberry protein shake." She glanced at the clock. "It's a few minutes before visiting hours officially begin, but why don't you go on in." She winked at him. "Down the hall, fifth door on the left."
"Thank you," he said, already walking in the direction she'd indicated.
When he found her room, he lightly tapped on the door, and then opened it. Natalie was propped up against several pillows, holding a plastic cup half-full of pink liquid and sipping from a straw. The nasal cannula was still in place, but her eyes were clear and alert, not groggy and confused as they'd been yesterday, when she turned her head toward the door.
"Hi," he said, closing the door behind him.
"Hi." Her voice was still weak, but much less scratchy than it had been the previous day. She eyed the flowers in his hand. "Is it Secretary's Day already?"
His heart gave a leap. Dry wit, sarcastic humor – his Natalie was back. "I tried to find some flowers as pretty as you, but they didn't have any that came close, so these will have to do."
She snorted softly. "I'm hardly looking my best at the moment."
That was true, aesthetically, he had to concede. In addition to the large bandage on her forehead, she had several cuts and scratches on her cheeks, as well as some bruising on her face. More scrapes and bruises mottled her arms and throat, and there were probably more hidden beneath the hospital gown and blankets. But she was alive, and conscious, and she was going to stay that way – and to him, that made her the most gorgeous woman in the world.
He carefully placed the flowers on a counter near her bed, taking time to center them neatly, and then leaned down to gingerly kiss her cheek. "I think you look beautiful."
"Liar," she said, but she was smiling. "They're very pretty. Thank you."
"How are you feeling?" he asked, pulling a chair to the side of her bed so he could sit down.
"I'm tired," she admitted. "I walked all the way down the hall earlier. But I'm not in pain, if that's what you're wondering. They have me on some really nice drugs." She took another sip of her protein shake.
"That's good to hear." Despite her claim that she wasn't in pain, Adrian noticed that she took care not to move any more than was absolutely necessary, and occasionally her fingers plucked restlessly at the blankets.
"Dr. Harmon said they'll take this thing off —" she touched the nasal cannula "— later this afternoon to see if I can manage without it."
"That's good, too." He took her hand. "Natalie, do you remember what happened?" he asked, very gently.
Her brow furrowed. "I remember driving away from your apartment, but I don't remember the crash."
This, he knew, wasn't uncommon. The memory might return, or it might not. "Do you remember why you left my apartment?"
She considered this while sipping her drink. "I seem to recall that you were being an asshole," she said at last, slanting her gaze in his direction.
He winced, but he had to admit the description was apt. "Of epic proportions," he agreed. "I was trying to call you so I could apologize when Leland came and told me about the accident."
"Adrian – " she began, but he cut her off gently.
"I was an idiot, and I treated you horribly," he said. "You were right, about all of it – and I'm not just saying that because you've been hurt. I'd already come to the conclusion that you were right before I even knew there'd been an accident. But I wanted to tell you how incredibly sorry I am for what I said and how I behaved just as soon as I could."
She squeezed his hand. "You were grieving for Trudy, and that's why you lashed out at me," she said simply. "I should have realized that and dropped the subject, or gone out for a walk or something instead of driving off." She hesitated for a moment. "Adrian, did I… was it my fault?"
He looked puzzled. "The fight? Absolutely not, I – "
"Not the fight," she interrupted. "The… the crash."
"What? No!" he exclaimed, genuinely shocked. Belatedly, he realized that no one had told her the details of the accident yet, only that there had been one. "Sweetheart, you were hit by a drunk driver. He ran a stop sign and plowed into you at an intersection."
"Oh." She looked disturbed, yet relieved. "I thought… I remember being really upset and crying while I was driving away from your place, so I didn't know if – "
"It wasn't your fault," he said firmly, feeling wretchedly guilty that she'd been in such a state when she'd left. "The driver of the truck that hit you blew a blood alcohol level of .18 at the scene. He's in jail now, and he's going to stay there for a long time."
"He wasn't hurt?"
Adrian shook his head. "Just cuts and bruises, according to Leland." He decided to omit the other information about Jerry Horn's crimes for now – he didn't want to overwhelm her with too many details at once.
Deciding to change the subject, he asked, "So, do you forgive me for being an epic asshole?"
She smiled. "Of course I do."
Relief coursed through him as he kissed her lips, very gently, careful not to disturb the nasal cannula. "Still want to marry me?"
"Absolutely." Her smile faded, then, and she glanced down at her unadorned left hand. "Did my ring get lost?"
"Oh!" He dug in his pocket. He'd been carrying her ring with him like a good-luck charm ever since that night in the ER. "Dr. Hector took it off of you in the emergency room. She wanted to make sure nothing happened to it."
He showed her the little plastic bag that held her engagement ring, and her smile bloomed again. "That was nice of her." She looked wistfully at her hand again. "I probably shouldn't wear it while I'm in here."
"Probably not. Why don't I keep it for you until you get home?" he suggested, and, at her nod, put it safely back into his pocket.
"Have you talked to Cassandra?" she asked.
He nodded. "She came by my apartment yesterday morning."
"We had an appointment," Natalie remembered. "About the invitations."
"I had her take all of your wedding stuff with her, for now. Just for safekeeping." He patted her hand.
"I suppose we'll have to reschedule everything," she said, looking close to tears.
He thought so, too, but he couldn't bear seeing her so disappointed. "She's postponing the printing date for the invitations, but we're leaving all the other reservations in place for the time being."
Hope flashed in her eyes. "Do you think we – "
"I think it's still too soon to make any decisions," he said, gently. "Let's wait until you're home and we have a better idea of how things will be long-term, all right?"
She nodded reluctantly.
There was a light tap on the door; it opened to reveal Julie, carrying a vase of flowers, followed by Bobby and Peggy. "Hey, is this is a private party or can anyone join in?" Julie asked.
"The more, the merrier," Natalie said, smiling at her daughter.
Julie laughed as she spied the zinnias, and put her bouquet of pink roses next to it. "Great minds think alike, I see." She kissed her mother hello, and glanced around the room. It was bigger and cheerier than the ICU room had been, with sunny yellow walls and a framed painting of a sailboat across from the bed. "I like your new digs."
"It's a step up," Natalie agreed.
"You're looking much better this morning," Bobby said, also kissing her hello.
"I feel better," she said, setting her empty cup aside. Adrian disposed of it for her. "Not as groggy, anyway. And they let me get up and walk earlier."
"That's wonderful," Peggy said. She smiled at Adrian and bussed his cheek. "Good morning, Adrian. Have you been here long?"
"Hi, Peggy," he returned warmly. "I just got here myself about twenty minutes ago."
Natalie gaped at them in disbelief, and then flicked at her IV bag. "What kind of drugs are in this thing?"
They all laughed. "We've called a truce," Peggy told her. "Actually, it's more that I apologized to him for my atrocious behavior, and he very graciously accepted. And I owe you an apology too, darling."
"Are you apologizing just because you feel sorry for me?" Natalie asked frankly.
"No, I'm apologizing because I was wrong, and because I promised Adrian that I would," Peggy said. "But I will admit that I was motivated to apologize by the fact that I thought you were dying."
Natalie laughed at this. "Surely it wasn't that bad." But no one else was laughing, and her humor faded. "Was it?"
They all exchanged uncomfortable glances. "We really didn't know anything at first, not for hours," Adrian said, finally. "All we knew was that the wreck was bad and you were in surgery."
"It was a really long night," Julie added. "And even once we knew you were going to be okay, the way you looked, with that ventilator thing…" She trailed off.
"We're just very happy that you're going to be fine," Bobby said stoutly.
"Well," Natalie said after a short pause, "even though I'm not dying, Mom, I accept your apology."
Peggy beamed. "Thank you, dear."
They spent the next hour chatting lightly, avoiding any other sensitive topics. At one point, while Julie was chattering away to Natalie and Peggy about one of her college classes, Bobby pulled Adrian aside. "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of starting the ball rolling with Natalie's car insurance company," he said. "We went by the house earlier, and I found the necessary papers."
"Thank you," Adrian said, relieved. "I was just thinking about that this morning."
"I told them to contact Captain Stottlemeyer for copies of the police report and so on," Bobby said. "He glanced at Natalie, careful to keep his voice low. "I also called the hospital billing department and told them to send all medical bills not covered by insurance directly to me. I don't want you two having to worry about the expense of her care with everything else going on. She probably won't like it, but…"
"I appreciate it, very much," Adrian said, sincerely. "It's very generous. Thank you."
Bobby smiled. "What's the point of having money if you don't spend it on those you love?"
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. The same nurse Adrian had spoken to earlier came in with a covered tray. "Lunchtime!" she announced. "I have some broth and Jell-O for you, dear."
"Yum," Natalie said, without enthusiasm. "I'd rather have a cheeseburger."
The nurse's eyes twinkled. "Let's see how you do with this, first, and then we'll discuss trying something more ambitious."
Natalie managed the broth and most of the Jell-O, but it was clear to all of them that her energy had flagged by the end of the meal. "Get some rest," Adrian told her as he carefully tucked her blankets more securely around her. "I'll be back later to see you, okay?" He kissed her cheek.
"Okay," she mumbled, already half-asleep.
They quietly exited the room, and ran into Randy Disher at the front desk.
"Hey, Monk, how's she doing?" Randy asked.
"Sleeping now," Adrian told him. "She had a good morning, but it tired her out."
"We'll have to come back some other time, then."
"Is Leland here too?" he asked.
"Uh, no." Randy gestured toward a small lobby area near the door, where a woman was standing – a very familiar woman with a riot of brown curls and kind blue eyes.
Adrian couldn't believe what – who – he was seeing. "Sharona!" He crossed over to her, arms extended.
"Hi, Adrian," she greeted, hugging him tightly. "How're you holding up?"
"I'm hanging in there," he told her, and she could see it was true. She'd expected him to be a complete wreck, but he certainly didn't look it.
"What are you doing here?" Adrian asked her once the flurry of introductions and greetings between Randy, Sharona, Julie, and the Davenports had died down. "Did you fly in just to see Natalie?"
"Not exactly," she said, exchanging a glance with Randy. "The fact is, Adrian… I've moved back here."
"You have?" He broke into a wide smile. "That's great!"
She smiled too. "Benjy decided to transfer to Berkeley next semester, and I didn't see the point of living so far away from him and Randy. Plus my landlord decided to sell my house instead of renewing my lease, so I needed to find a new place to live anyway. I gave notice at my job, put some of my things in storage, and… here I am! We decided to keep things quiet and surprise all of you." She beamed at Randy. "I'm living with Randy now, so all I have to do is find a new job. We'll fly to Jersey and drive a U-Haul here with Benjy once he's done with school for the year."
"What is it that you do?" Bobby asked.
"I'm a nurse," she answered. "I might stop by the HR Department as long as we're here and drop off an application."
Bobby's eyes lit up. "I might have a temporary job for you, if you're interested."
Adrian caught on to his plan immediately. "That's a great idea."
"What is?" Sharona asked, mystified.
"Natalie's doctor recommended hiring a home health nurse for her after she's released from the hospital sometime next week," Bobby explained. "She's going to be on bed rest for at least two weeks, and restricted to limited activity for a while after that."
"And you just happen to be a nurse," Adrian said, grinning. "An unemployed nurse – and better yet, someone Natalie knows and likes."
Sharona looked uncertain. "No offense, Adrian, but I wasn't exactly planning on working for you again."
"You wouldn't be working for him, you'd be working for me," Bobby interjected before Adrian could respond. "I'll be the one paying your salary, and believe me, I can afford it."
"It'd only be for about a month, two at the most," Adrian told her. "Just until Natalie's back on her feet. And in the meantime you can look for a more permanent job."
Sharona looked at Randy, who shrugged. "It's your decision," he said.
"All right," Sharona said, shaking Bobby's hand. "I accept."
"It's settled, then," Bobby said, looking very pleased. "We'll meet later this week and work out the details."