That's it. This is the final chapter/episode – it is rather long at the end. Thank you all readers, reviewers and especially the creators of Monk.

Closure (8.16)

(Monk lying in the hospital bed, sometime after the confrontation in the courtroom)

Monk's mind was still going through the confrontation with Ethan Rickover in the courtroom. He thought about all Rickover had said and how the Judge reacted to his revealing of Trudy's death. He found irony in Rickover's articulation about how the law should be applied and the so-called importance of context. For Monk, the context was perfect for making sure Rickover was dead or behind bars.

Natalie came into the room bearing some hot water. Ever since the incident in the courtroom, Monk's symptoms deteriorated until he had to be re-hospitalized. Despite the odds and the confessions, Monk agitated to get off the bed and pursue his revenge against Rickover. It was the only the good advice of the doctors that kept him there. They warned that his conditions would worsen if he tried to get up and walk outside, especially in the impending rain that night.

"Here, Adrian, have some hot water. It's good for you," Natalie reminded Monk as she laid the tray down on his bedside.

"Thank you Natalie. But I don't need hot water, or anything else. I just need that man Ethan Rickover to pay for what he did," Monk said defiantly.

"Adrian, I know how you feel about him and understand your anger. But you have to look after yourself as well. We still haven't found a cure yet. I don't want to lose you through this," Natalie consoled Monk as she pushed a tear away and cleared some papers off his counter. She noticed that he had been busy examining photos of the case.

"But Natalie, what about Trudy? I finally know who killed her and need to redeem this for her. This is for Trudy." Monk said that last part solemnly as he contemplated the importance of the task.

"Adrian, I'm sure you are right about Trudy and want to bring closure for her. But would she want you to be a killer? Think about the video and what she meant to say to you. She did not want her husband to end up a killer."

Monk contemplated what Natalie had said. He found himself having no choice and felt resigned to exacting revenge. Leland had come earlier but Monk saw in his eyes that Leland would not kill the Judge. It was up to him and him alone.

"Natalie, I don't know. I have to kill him. There is no other way."

"What about the law? Or the police? Couldn't they handle the matter? Give them the video tape," Natalie held back her sobs and tried to find an alternative.

"The law doesn't exist today. You remember how Rickover said how the law depends on context and that should be the way to determine outcomes. Well, I'm going to set the law because the police and others cannot do so. With Rickover, there is no such thing as law or justice. He had an affair with my wife and then he killed her. What kind of law is that?"

Seeing it was almost hopeless to caution Monk, Natalie went up and hugged him. She knew he would try to take the matter into his own hands. She still hoped that his just instincts would take over and stop him from murdering the man.

Natalie looked up at Monk, who was looking at her but thinking meanwhile. Natalie did not want to delve more into his mind and what was there. She just wanted to let him know that she would be here for him, regardless of what happens to Ethan Rickover. She leaned up to give him a kiss, perhaps for the final time.

Monk stopped her. He looked at her with worry and a warning, "Natalie, we can't. I might transmit my poison to you. You have Julie to take care of still, and she cannot afford to lose you."

Natalie agreed and began to sob. She knew that losing Adrian would throw Julie into sadness, just like when Julie lost her father. It was going to be a painful night, one that might take Adrian's life. Fearing that and what it might bring, Natalie prayed for morning.

(Christmas morning at Natalie's house)

Julie and Molly silently crept inside the house. They set their suitcases down in the foyer and realized the stillness in the house. It was still early on Christmas morning, and most likely Natalie was still asleep. Adrian, on the other hand, would normally be cleaning the house but on this day, he unusually was not. Julie and Molly exchanged a knowing glance at each other and Julie called out.

"Mom! I'm home. Mr. Monk, Molly's here too."

Nobody stirred. Curious, the two girls crept up the stairs to the guest bedroom and Natalie's. Finding the former empty but the door to the latter closed, they exchanged another knowing glance and silently counted to three. Flinging the door open, they found an interesting and unexpected sight.

Natalie and Adrian were still sleeping soundly in the bed, together. Their faces showed as if they were having enjoying peaceful sleep, or dreaming a good dream. Some space remained between their bodies, but both of them lay under one blanket. It was touching to watch and incredible too. Neither Julie nor Molly could have anticipated seeing them sleeping on the same bed.

"Wake up sleepyheads," Molly called them out after giving a slight cough.

Natalie and Adrian began to stir. Adrian, facing the door, thought he was imagining seeing Julie and Molly in front of him. He was worried that he was dreaming again or having another dissociative episode. Realizing that they were real and that all three of them were in Natalie's bedroom, he jumped up and came to his senses.

"It's not what you are thinking. We didn't do anything. It's not what's going on. I promise," Adrian tried to deny it all and wave his hands to the bemusement of Julie and Molly.

Natalie, still groggy but awake, tried to ask him, "What's going on? We aren't doing what?"

The four of them stared at one another in bemusement. Julie and Molly just smiled and exchanged an occasional giggle. Natalie was smiling, perhaps at seeing her daughter home or just seeing Adrian being uncomfortable. Adrian, on the other hand, was confused.

Julie finally declared, "We're going downstairs and making breakfast. See you guys soon."

She and Molly left the room and closed the door. Natalie knew they did not suspect anything about them. Nothing happened last night except that she had a dream, a good one involving Mitch and Trudy, and called Adrian over to talk in the middle of the night. He was sleeping in the guest bedroom, but counting sheep again. He agreed to stay and chat with her about her dream until both of them seemed to have inadvertently fallen asleep next to each other on her bed. Adrian was not ready to do anything beyond that yet, and she respected that. Natalie was sure that Julie and Molly understood. Now, to convince Adrian…

Later, the four of them exchanged stories while enjoying a hearty breakfast. Julie and Molly chatted about their lives, especially their friendship. Since meeting each other, they became close friends and always met up whenever Molly's job took her to the Berkley area. Molly had decided that she should spend her Christmas with Adrian, her new dad. Adrian was very happy to hear that and was almost moved to tears.

Natalie and Adrian also told them about their lives. After solving Trudy's murder, it seemed as if an albatross was lifted off Adrian's back and he became a new man, although most of his phobias still remained. He did decide to move out of his apartment and move in with Natalie, especially since living apart seemed not worth the trouble for them. Adrian was still consulting for the SFPD and Natalie was still assisting him. When quizzed about their relationship, both of them just smiled and tried to avoid the issue in front of the girls. That did not go unnoticed but Julie and Molly decided to get more out of them later.

After the breakfast and when Adrian cleaned out the dishes – he told the girls to relax but it was obvious he still relished doing the cleaning – Natalie announced that there was a special gift opening party for Adrian. He was caught with surprise, especially since he never thought anyone would bring him gifts. The four of them gathered in the living room area and listened to Natalie, who sat next to Adrian and began to speak.

"This year, in recognition of you and your service to the SFPD, Captain Stottlemeyer and I decided to go through all the cases that you have solved. We contacted some of the people who were your clients and those victims that you helped. We wanted to honor you with gifts of thanks. Some of them decided to give you gifts for helping them out. Of course, we didn't solicit anything from anyone or force them to give you gifts but many of them have given us gifts for you. They are all in appreciation for what you have done. Would you like to open them?"

Adrian was quite surprised with the idea. He found it sweet and loved Natalie more for organizing the gifts. For a long while, he served others and closed case after case without any thought of remuneration. Today, he found some satisfaction that he was doing service to others. Of course, the gifts were not why he became a police consultant and was loath that someone would go poor just to bear him gifts. Admittedly shy about them, Adrian nodded his head.

Julie and Molly smiled and laughed that Adrian was agreeing with the idea. They went over by the Christmas tree and gathered the pile of boxes arranged in order and in size just like Adrian would like it. Molly took out a list and asked him, "We organized them in chronological order. Is that ok?"

Adrian smiled and expressed agreement, "Of course. Why should it be anything else?"

Julie handed Adrian the first box, a small one with generic wrapping paper. Opening it, Adrian saw that it was from St. Clair, the politician whose election campaign he saved a long ago. Inside was a booklet of political quotes. On the front cover was "Republican Party, Democratic Party, Tea Party, or No Party, Vote St. Clair."

Adrian held it up and laughed, "Ha! I get it" although he did not understand it at all.

Natalie placed the booklet to the side and said, "Politicians. How typical. He's running for election again and just wants your vote."

Julie interrupted, "But mom, you ran for office too. Remember, the school board?"

"Honey, that was for the school. It was important because I care about you and your education. It was different." Natalie went over and excited to see Julie after one semester away at college, hugged her again.

Molly then picked up the second package. Opening it, Adrian found a music box from Monica Waters. It contained several old tunes that Adrian enjoyed. He also saw Monica's brief greeting, "Happy holidays Adrian. Thank you so much for helping me find love – Monica and Derek."

Molly interrupted Adrian's thoughts and asked, "Who's Monica?"

Natalie answered for her, "It's one of your dad's old flings."

Adrian tried to dispel that thought, "No, it wasn't a fling. I don't fling."

Molly realized that her dad's love life was richer than she had thought. She was determined to ask about it later.

The next gift was a clarinet maintenance kit from Willie Nelson. Adrian remembered sharing a song with Willie at Trudy's gift. It was still pleasant to be reminded of meeting one of his heroes and sharing a moment with him.

The following gift was a signed baseball bat from Scott Gregorio, a baseball player whose hero was Adrian Monk. Scott hadn't managed to break the home run record, but he carried his team to two division titles, which was what mattered most.

Julie then carried out the next gift, in a holiday gift bag instead of a box. "Mom had to keep in a fridge so that it wouldn't spoil."

Adrian was worried for a moment about something spoiling. It was never good to have anything spoil. Spoiling was the worst of all worlds, since it combined a bad result – food becoming contaminated and unhealthy – with a bad means – something changing, since spoiling is change. He cringed a bit at seeing the gift, but opened it anyway for a peek.

It was a pie, wrapped carefully in a plastic bag, which Julie Barlow baked. She quitted law school after having her granny back and opened up her own bakery. The signed on the bag said, "Custom baked – just for you Mr. Monk."

Adrian then asked, "Are we going to eat this?"

Natalie took a look at the pie and said, "Yes, we can cut it up and share it tomorrow morning."

"But it's custom baked. That means trouble."

"Don't worry Adrian. I'm sure it's done well and in a sanitary condition."

Leaving the pie aside, Adrian picked up the next gift, a dating how-to book from Michelle Rivas. Adrian didn't know how to react: on one hand, it was a dating book and anything to do with dating still scared him; on the other hand, Michelle remembered him, perhaps for those uneven roses he left behind.

Seeing Molly inquisitive again, Natalie anticipated her question, "Michelle is another of Adrian's old flings."

Molly was surprised at seeing this new, undiscovered side of her dad. "Dad, you sure are a ladies man. How many flings did you have?"

Adrian replied back and took note, "For the record, I do not have flings. I don't do flings. What's with you people?"

Natalie moved next to him and kissed him, "It's ok. We're just teasing you Adrian. How about putting the book to good use?"

"Should I really be reading this book? We're dating and doing fine. Is it wrong to take another woman's advice on dating?"

"It doesn't hurt to learn. Plus, you can always surprise me," Natalie gave Adrian another kiss and winked her eyes daring him.

Julie turned her head a bit and cried out, "Mom! You're embarrassing me."

Julie handed over the next gift, from Dwight and Martha Elison. Adrian opened it slowly, as it was likely Trudy's and something he needed to handle with care. He had got over Trudy's death but she remained a part of his life, even if he had Natalie now. He would still treasure her in his heart. He cautiously tore open the wrapping paper.

"It's her diary from school. Wow, it's unopened."

Adrian took a look at the diary and wondered what was inside. He knew that Dwight and Martha would want him to keep and read about Trudy's life. It was truly a gift for him.

Natalie saw Adrian clutching the diary in his hand. She knew how important Trudy was in his life. She knew that Adrian now loved her but she did not want him to forget about Trudy, just as she did not want to forget about Mitch. More than anything, Adrian's heart led was what attracted her to him.

Molly looked up and saw the diary. She then asked quietly, "Is that mom's?"

Adrian nodded and handed the diary to Molly. She too wondered what her real mom was like. She knew that she had inherited much from her mother and was only beginning to find her roots.

After a long while, Julie handed Adrian the next gift. She smiled because she knew what it contained. Adrian opened it and found a framed photo of Tommy, the young kid over whom he had custody for a while. He remembered raising Tommy as his own son and wept at seeing the now-seven-year-old doing well with his foster parents.

The next present was from the Davenports: Peggy, Bobby and Jonathan. The elder Davenports had taken to Adrian after getting past his quirks and approved of his relationship with Natalie. Jonathan was more thrilled and vowed to check out potential brides more carefully. The present was a vacation getaway for two at Hawaii. Natalie, who still did not feel comfortable spending her parents' money, was more than happy to have a vacation with Adrian in Hawaii, if only he could get past his flight fright again.

Molly tossed Adrian the next gift. This package was soft, as if filled with clothes. It happened to be a new shirt inspected by Maria Ortiz, Inspector 8. She attached a letter from her and Pablo, her son, thanking him again for rescuing Pablo. Adrian was happy to see Pablo writing part of the letter, evidence that he had learned to write English.

Natalie, seeing Adrian admire the shirt, asked Julie, "Remember this was when you wanted to be a model?"

Molly turned and asked Julie with interest, "Really, you wanted to be a model?"

Julie smiled and admitted, "It was a one-time thing. The guy who ran the business was a creep and murderer. I'm glad to do theatre arts, which is more my thing."

Molly replied, "I agree. By the way, guys, Julie's first performance will be in May, during alumni weekend. You guys should come. It'll be at Berkeley. I'll be there, and Adrian, you should come too."

Adrian, driven out of admiring the perfectly inspected shirt, agreed. He was looking forward to seeing Julie on stage again, and revisiting his alma mater. He remembered the old theatre at Berkeley and heard it was rebuilt; he hoped the bathrooms there were as nice as the one in the community theatre.

Molly handed Adrian the next gift, which turned out to be a medallion from the San Francisco Sanitation Union. It was inscribed with "World's Greatest Sanitation Man, Adrian Monk."

"Wow!" Adrian could only exclaim.

Natalie laughed at Adrian's delight and spoke out, "Remember that garbage strike four years ago? Adrian helped some sanitation workers solve a case about their boss and pension funds."

Molly added, "I remembered watching the news then. I heard about some crazy man trying to clean the streets himself and dump everything into the bay."

Adrian heard that and raised his hand, "That was me."

Everyone had a laugh at Adrian and his surprising enthusiasm for garbage.

The next gift was a CD from Murderess, which frightened Adrian with its ominous cover and some of the song titles. He still remembered Murderess and his rap speak, which freaked him out and threw his mental faculties askew. That gift, nonetheless, paled in comparison to the next one, Chance Singer's "The Naturalists' Guide to Living: Why Clothes Do Not Make the Man".

Adrian dropped the book and tried to cry out for help. He would do anything to avoid going into the social nudity thing. Even though Chance Singer turned out to be innocent, Adrian still wanted to charge him for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress – a full hug by a nudist certainly counted for both.

Julie tried to console Adrian, "Why are you so afraid of nudity? It's a part of life."

Adrian shook his head and replied, "You don't want to know. Nudity is another universe altogether. Let's not get into that. I should incinerate that book."

Natalie extended her hand to stop Adrian from hurting the book anymore. She knew that he was trying hard to overcome his phobias, but nudity remained high on the list and something difficult for him to overcome. She wondered how he would react seeing her nude, if and when they become intimate.

Julie felt the next gift box, a very plain one, and handed it to Adrian. Adrian, too, was feeling it and took caution opening it. He almost dropped it but fortunately realized it was liquid. The gift was from the three homeless persons whom he helped two years ago. They had given him another season's worth of gravy. On the note was a scratched and badly misspelled, "Tank ye Mr Monkk. Wee ou ye four Willie. Best, the Professor."

Molly found Adrian's face more curious, "Who is that? The Professor – that sounds like an interesting name."

Adrian again shook his head and made a face, "It's not a name. Well, it is but it isn't really one. You don't want to know."

Natalie slapped Adrian lightly and jumped in, "They are the three homeless persons we helped two Christmases ago. Adrian was very kind and helpful. We were looking at the death of their companion and discovered a larger scam going on. It was a miraculous season."

Julie agreed, "It's a miracle."

Adrian then smiled as his thoughts turned to the fountain and Leland, "It's a miracle."

Julie handed Adrian the next gift box, which was thin and contained a set of tickets to the Condors game next season against their archrival, the Wildcats. It was from the team itself, thanking Adrian Monk for saving the day. Once again, Bob Costas will be there.

"Wow, that's so cool. Can we go too?" Julie exclaimed.

Adrian looked at the tickets and said, "Sure. We have four tickets. I'm sure that's not a problem. I want to talk Bob about his Siamese cats again."

The next gift was a traditional flute from Samuel, sent far away from Africa. He attached a picture of his late wife and a note thanking Adrian again for solving the murder. He also wrote that the instrument was entirely new, which soothed Adrian's worries. The gift afterwards came from, of all persons, Harold Krenshaw.

Natalie was surprised, "Wow, Harold sent you a gift."

Adrian nodded, "We're best friends now. We schmooze a lot." Adrian did an imaginary hug as if he and Harold were that close. Julie and Molly only looked at each other, amused at his childlike knowledge of social relationships.

The gift itself was a personal planner, which was detailed and included sections for appointments. That was important for Adrian, as he needed to keep track of his sessions with Dr. Bell. Under the front cover, Adrian read Harold's writing, "My therapist is still better than yours."

Molly wondered who this Harold was. She did remember hearing about him on the City Council some while ago.

Adrian explained, "Oh, we used to hate each other's guts. Now we are good pals."

The last gift came from Brian. It was a framed picture of Brian and his father fishing together. He wrote a special message that meant much for Adrian, "Thank you for teaching me to be a good son. I know you'll be a good dad as well – Love Brian."

Adrian's eyes almost welled at the comment. Natalie came over and saw the message. She hugged Adrian and gave him a kiss. She hoped that one day, she and Adrian could see the message to fruition. Blushing at that comment and chiding herself for thinking too far ahead, Natalie resumed comforting Adrian and showing her love for him.

Molly and Julie came over and saw the message too. Julie had long considered Adrian her dad, the one who filled the void after her real dad died. It's the same person who gave her "the talk" and told her to wait for Trudy. Meanwhile, Molly saw before her the dad she never known until months ago. Even though her foster parents raised her well, she felt that she was missing someone still. Adrian, the last link to her biological mother, was still there with her.

Adrian finally spoke up and faced all three of them while holding back some tears in his eyes, "Thank you for this. I really appreciate having these gifts. It means so much for me."

Natalie smiled and rubbed his shoulders. She said, "You earned it Adrian. It's your gift to all of us that you solved these cases and put things right. The Captain is proud of you and put in a lot of effort to get you in touch with them. We all care about you and love you."

Hearing Natalie, Julie and Molly let go of Adrian and looked at the couple on the sofa. They decided to pop the question.

"So, how about you two? What's going on with the two of you?"

Molly was inquisitive, and having a critic's gene in her, she was determined to get answers. As much as she wanted to learn about her real mother, she knew that her dad Adrian had been too stuck on Trudy. It was time for him to let go, and Natalie was the one for that.

Adrian and Natalie looked at each other with unease. Their relationship, although almost a year old, was still developing. Only few others knew about their relationship: Julie, Stottlemeyer and TK, Dr. Bell and the Davenports. Even Randy Disher, the so-called relationship "expert" did not know, although it wasn't due to their lack of trying to tell him – he was too caught up in dreamland about a certain someone in New Jersey. They figured that it was time to let the girls know everything.

Seeing Adrian still afraid to address the issue, Natalie spoke up, "Molly, your dad and I have been dating for nine months now. We both love each other very much. Thus far, we are living together. That doesn't mean other things are happening – we are taking this slowly and seeing where it goes."

Julie, knowing most of the details about them, asked, "What about the future? Will you two get married?"

Adrian was perked up and gave his answer, "It might be a possibility. You'll just have to see."

Natalie was surprised by his quick answer. It seemed that he had given the matter some thought. She was excited about their future and could not wait to see what comes next. For now, she could take joy in the wild trajectory of her life. She had rebelled against her parents, eloped with Mitch and had Julie. Since losing Mitch, an event that still saddened her but not as much as in the past, she reunited with her parents, raised Julie to college and worked in a stable job as a detective's assistant. Only later did she know that she would fall in love with him.

Adrian, meanwhile, was thinking the same. He remembered his early tragic history from childhood to college. Trudy proved to be a welcome respite, someone who shined light in the darkness around him. Her loss paralyzed him, almost forever, until his old friend Leland kept faith in him and had him consulting again for the SFPD, and then Sharona came into his life. He still missed her, but now had Natalie, who was his assistant, confidant, friend and maybe in the future, his wife. His phobias remained a part of him, and Trudy dwelt in him forever, but finally, after twelve long years in the wilderness, Adrian Monk took heart in finding closure.