The evening was supposed to be perfect and Julie was out of the apartment for the night, as per Adrian's request, and two hours before the Stottlemeyers and the Dishers were to arrive for dinner the only sounds heard in the Monk-Teeger apartment were Natalie's quiet voice and occasional giggles coming from Adrian's bedroom. Julie had left the apartment a few minutes before four o'clock and Natalie pretended not to see the money that had been exchanged between Adrian and her daughter. Likewise, Monk pretended not to know what on earth his fiancée was talking about when she asked him why he had done such a thing. It was a mutually-beneficial lie, but if the end result was the two of them getting some much-needed alone time before they were to announce their engagement to their friends, Natalie was happy to let Adrian keep his secret.

They needed alone time. In the two weeks since her status had been officially upgraded from being Adrian Monk's girlfriend to being his fiancée, it had been non-stop busyness, working late nights on the SoMa case and getting home late at night with just enough time to eat dinner as a family of three and go to bed. Still, although there hadn't been much time for privacy, Natalie was shocked and pleasantly surprised at how demonstrative her fiancé had become in terms of their physical relationship when it was just the two of them alone. Oh, he was still the same Adrian, with the same values and standards that he always had. There were still many rules which he insisted they abide by, regardless of the fact that they were engaged to be married and in terms of how far they would go, Natalie did her utmost to follow his lead. Adrian was beginning to open up and was relaxing more with Natalie and she knew that while she was naturally freer concerning these sorts of things, Monk was making an effort to step out of his comfort zone a little to be with her and branch out. He wanted to please her and to show her with more than words how much he loved her. And, in return she showed that she loved and respected him enough that she was willing to confine herself to whatever he felt comfortable with.

There weren't many public displays of affection, for instance, they didn't kiss at the station very often anymore (not since they had been caught by the captain and reprimanded by the commander for making out in the evidence room seven months earlier.) But when they did kiss, when they were home alone in his apartment on days like this one, Adrian tried to give her his full and complete attention, connecting with her in a physical manner that he wouldn't dare do in public. Usually, this amounted to 'necking', as he called it, on his couch or snuggling up together with her sitting on his lap in his chair while they watched a movie together or read – all of which was considered 'safe' territory – which is why Natalie was surprised at his behavior when they were alone in his bedroom that afternoon. But she for sure wasn't going to turn him down and waste the opportunity.

They had only just finished the last load of laundry and were in his room putting everything away, Natalie folding and putting on hangers all the clothes that were hers and Julie's, and Monk hanging those items in the closet or putting them into drawers. It was a process that took much longer than it should have, not only because Adrian so determined to keep Natalie and Julie's clothes separate that he put a hanger in the middle of the closet to create two separate sections, but because, for some reason, he couldn't keep his mind on his work. Seeing his bride-to-be standing there illuminated by the shimmer of light coming through his bedroom window just did something to him and the feeling that he felt inside drove him to a level of spontaneity that he hardly ever displayed. Sneaking up behind her, Monk wrapped his arms around her midsection from behind while she was busy organizing and began to nibble on her earlobe. Natalie startled at first then leaned back against him, turning her face to meet his in a tender kiss. As she turned around, however, she accidently dropped all of clothes she was trying to fold onto the floor. Monk broke the kiss and rolled his shoulder, doing his best not to scold her for the mess, and then he spent the next ten minutes meticulously helping her to re-fold and hang what she had just done. She used that time to secretly fold and put away her and Julie's undergarments and lady things while he wasn't looking. He would always scold her for putting the undergarments in the wrong drawers and she had to remind herself that sharing a bedroom with him when they got married would be a learning curve and an adjustment for them both.

No sooner had she put her undergarments away, that she turned back to help him and he had that certain look in his eyes again.

"Adrian Monk! What on earth has gotten into you today?" she blushed.

He smiled mischievously and moved over towards her, taking her by the hand and pulling her to him, planting another tender kiss on her lips. "Oh, just getting some practice in for when I make you my bride."

"Oh?" she said flirtatiously.

"You know you make me crazy…" he responded in a low husky tone as he planted light kisses all along her neck. "I just…can't… seem to stop…"

Natalie swallowed and grinned and allowed a few more kisses before pushing back a little when she began to feel a little flushed. "Adrian…sweetheart…I, uh…I think we need to finish doing what we're doing in here."

"Y'sure? We still have an hour and twenty-three minutes." He said, with a raise of the eyebrows and without even looking at the clock. Natalie peaked over at the alarm clock on the dresser and sure-enough, he was right. It was 4:37 PM.

Natalie pushed him gently away again and then stuck her fingers inside the bottom of his shirt, spreading the fabric apart. Monk took a step back, unsure of what she was doing. "What? What are you doing?" he asked, a nervous grin on his face.

"Yeah. Still human." She stated matter-of-factly as she glanced at his belly button and then reclosed the shirt. Patting him on the chest before he could respond, she said "As much as I love all of this, we need to stop now and finish putting up the laundry so we have time to get the rest of the apartment ready for our guests tonight."

Monk looked at her forlorn, pooching out his lower lip and wordlessly doing his best to put her on a guilt trip. She wasn't falling for it, but he looked so darn cute doing it that she decided to compromise.

"Okay, okay…I'll tell you what. Let's finish in here and I promise, I'll give you five minutes of uninterrupted kissing time in the living room when we get done."

Adrian nodded and immediately got back to work and Natalie had to giggle because in the entirety of the years she'd worked for Adrian Monk she didn't think she'd ever seen him hang up clothes as fast as he did after she said that.


After she had folded the last of Julie's shirts and tucked it away in the drawer, Natalie immediately felt Adrian's arms sweep around her waist and his lips were once again pressed against her, just behind her ear. Turning around she snaked her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Determined to take advantage of the privacy, Monk's hands crept down her side and he pulled her even closer. Natalie let out a whimper of surprise against his mouth when she felt one of his hands touch her back and slide underneath the edge of her blouse, gently touching her bare skin. It was the boldest action he'd taken with her since the night at her old house when he'd almost gone upstairs to her bedroom with her, and she forced herself not to react or scare him into stopping himself.

For the next ten minutes, they stood there, locked in each other's arms, holding each other whispering words of love and sharing tender feelings as they kissed, laughed and carefully explored the new boundaries of their status as an engaged-to-be-married couple. They would have stayed that way for much longer if Adrian hadn't brought her left hand to his mouth and pressed a tiny kiss to it. The bright sparkle of the diamond engagement ring that she wore on her third finger captured her attention and made Adrian smile.

"I - I like being able to see you wear the ring I gave you." he admitted.

Natalie took Adrian's face in her hands and kissed him, deeper and for longer than she would have ever dared to before when they were alone. And he was responding back with equal passion, so she finally had to be the one to pull back and to stop, letting out a little sigh and touching her forehead to his. "I love wearing it," she whispered. "I love wearing your ring and knowing that I'm yours for the rest of my life. But what I love the most, wonderful fiancé of mine, is that after tonight I won't have to take it off ever again because everyone that matters to us will know."

"Indeed." He smiled, kissing her again.

Natalie loved being able to wear her ring every chance she could get, but since they were waiting for the right moment to tell their friends, those chances were limited to when they were alone, or on errands or when they were some other place that they knew they wouldn't be seen by anyone that they knew. Still she was so happy and proud to be engaged to her wonderful man and to have him belong to her for the rest of her life that she was anxious to let the world know.

Of course, Julie was the first person that they told, and to say that Julie had reacted happily to the news of their engagement would be a massive understatement and discredit to how she truly reacted. They hadn't even had the chance to tell her properly the morning after the engagement when Julie had noticed the new jewelry on her mother's hand over breakfast. Julie gasped and stared for a moment, staying quiet for a long time as she looked back and forth from her mother to Adrian with misty eyes. Adrian began to become fearful and his heart had started to pound as he considered that maybe Julie didn't like him that much after all and wasn't ready for this. But any doubt was assuaged when he watched as the eighteen-year-old's face broke into a massive smile and she had jumped up from the table and threw her arms around him. It was a memory that would stay with Natalie for the rest of her life as a 'so-happy-he-might-have-burst' look on her fiancé's face appeared and he returned her embrace. Monk nearly cried when, Julie told him that from the time he came into their lives he had always been like a father to her and that she had even wished one time that it would be so. She thanked him, calling him "Dad", for making that wish come true and Natalie felt no shame at the tear that rolled down her cheek when she saw Adrian's eyes flood with tears as he held Julie close to him and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

Having someone in her life that would love and protect her daughter as much as she did was all Natalie Teeger had wanted for her life since Mitch died. Now, with Adrian, she had all of those things and more, and she wasn't about to give that up for anything.


The chime on the clock brought Monk and Natalie both back down to earth and they realized it was five o'clock.

Natalie broke their kiss, taking her finger and wiping the edge of his mouth. "Well, Mr. Monk…as much as I love this, I think it's time for us to finish getting everything ready.

Adrian nodded, still holding her around her waist with one arm while he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before kissing her forehead softly. "I liked having you and this all to myself for two weeks," he said softly.

She smiled wistfully. "It's been beautiful. And just think, in a few months, we're going to be able to be like this for always." She took a step away from him and began to walk towards the hallway. Monk followed.

"You know, I've really been looking forward to this dinner all week." He said as they walked. "I promised Leland when I invited him and T.K. that I wouldn't punch him this time, but told him everyone needed to come for dinner and it was important." He stopped and looked at her for a moment, insecure for the briefest of moments for how the others would react. "Do you think they'll be happy for us?"

Natalie tilted her head then walked up to him and hugged him. "Oh, sweetheart. You know they will be. They love us and want us to be happy. Of course they will be happy, silly goose!"

Monk smiled "Oh, thank goodness! Because, that's important – particularly Leland."

"Leland will be very happy. Trust me." She said, walking into the kitchen.

Monk considered this a moment then nodded. "You know, I need to find a way to talk to him privately and get him to make sure that Randy, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES, performs anything at our wedding!"

Natalie laughed. "Adrian!"

"No. I'm serious. Remember at Leland's reception when he did that fifteen-minute song about Leland's life until he met T.K.?

"The one where he sang about his fights with Karen and his failures in the dating scene?"

"Yes! No way am I letting him do that to us!" he said. Leaning over the island he thought a moment. "Hey! I've got it!"

"What's that?"

"Security! I can put him in charge of security at the wedding so that he can keep unwanted people away like the press…and your parents!"

Natalie pursed her lips and looked at him. "Not a bad idea actually. I will talk to him about it while you're talking to Leland."

For the next hour, the two finished getting everything ready for their guests to arrive and as the time grew closer, each became more and more excited that the time was almost hear. Natalie imagined in her mind how everyone would react, hoping that they would be as happy for them as Julie was, particularly for Adrian's sake.


At 5:55 PM, Natalie had only just closed the door to the pizza delivery person when she opened it again to Leland and T.K. Adrian waved at his best friend and Leland's wife from the kitchen where he was organizing everything that needed to be organized on the kitchen island. The three pizza boxes, of course, were the same distance away from each other, and three pizza wheels at their sides (so as to not mix toppings). He would wait until Randy and Sharona arrived to ask them all what they wanted to drink so that only one trip would have to be made and aside from that everything was ready.

"Hey, Monk," Adrian heard Leland's surprised voice and looked over. "You ordered pizza?"

Adrian nodded proudly. "Yes! Natalie asked T.K. and she said you liked the one with all the different kinds of meat. Pepperoni and sausage and bacon and ham and..."

Leland stopped him before he went ahead and named every possible type of meat in the known universe. "It's fine, buddy, I'm just impressed that this pizza has cheese and sauce on it." Adrian walked past Leland to get to the counter next to the refrigerator for more napkins and heard Leland's voice get quieter as he leaned in closer to T.K. "Remind me when we get home and I'll tell you the whole story of my bachelor party."

Adrian opened his mouth to defend himself. "There was no possible way to know what kind of pizzas to get that you and all your friends would like, and this was part of the reason we ordered three separate pizzas for tonight, one for each couple so there would be no chance of different toppings touching each other." He reasoned, and he would have continued but the ring of the doorbell interrupted and he immediately scurried to the door.

Leland just looked at Natalie and shook his head and the two shared a knowing grin.

Randy was on the other side of the door and squeezed his way past Monk when Adrian opened the door. "Hey, Monk," he said easily, nodding a hello at Natalie and the Stottlemeyers. "Sharona had to cover someone's shift at the hospital last minute, so she's coming from work. She'll be here soon."

Randy went to hang his jacket on the back of the nearest chair, but Monk intercepted him and went to hang it up properly on a hanger in the closet. He twitched his neck as we walked, recalling how Randy never hung up his clothes up right, and it wasn't until he returned from what he was doing that Adrian looked at Randy in satisfaction and welcomed him to the apartment.

While Leland and T.K. were making small talk with Randy, Adrian slipped quietly over to Natalie's side. He carefully took Natalie's left hand in his so none of their friends would see her ring before they had a chance to tell them and led his fiancée to the island then called the others over. With great fanfare, he started to explain the rules of the three separate pizzas. Each had a clearly defined name tag in front of it to show which pizza was meant for whom.

Monk went down the line of the kitchen island and motioned to each pizza as he spoke. Natalie, for her part, pretended not to notice the looks Leland and Randy exchanged, but nonetheless T.K. and the two men listened politely. "See, it's really very simple and it makes less of a mess this way. This pizza on the left, the meat one, that is for Leland and T.K. This one in the middle with pepperoni, that is for Natalie and myself. It's square so you shouldn't get confused. Randy, the one on the right is for you and Sharona. You - you can explain this to her when she gets here." He looked at the group proudly. "It's really easy, but if you need help, just check the label in front." He said, reaching out his hand and straightening one of the labels as the others grinned.

The doorbell rang once more and Adrian implored Natalie to give them the 'low-down' on the order in which they would go and get their pizza while he went to answer the door. Turning the handle, he was immediately greeted by Sharona who took the chance to hug him as soon as she came inside. Adrian wasn't sure who was more surprised, Sharona or himself, when he promptly hugged her back and offered to take her coat. Natalie's constant talk about manners was rubbing off on him, he guessed, and Sharona was looking at him like she didn't know who he was.

"Sorry I'm late, Adrian," Sharona said quickly, hanging up her coat in the closet. She wasn't wearing hospital scrubs or hospital wear like he figured she would be, but regular jeans and a t-shirt. "We were just about to leave when I remembered I had to go to the bank and it couldn't wait, so I told Randy to just come first without me and I'd come here as soon as I was done. You all haven't started have you?"

"N - no," he stammered, looking back towards the kitchen where his friends and Natalie were for help. Randy had said that Sharona was coming from work and Sharona said she had been at the bank, so one of them had to be lying. He didn't like lying and he especially didn't like it when his friends lied to him. "The pizza just got here, don't worry. It's still warm. Randy can explain the rules to you, but your pizza is to the right. Tell Natalie what you and Randy would like to drink."

Sharona smiled indulgently at her former employer. "I can get a soda myself, Adrian, don't worry about it." She went to the cabinet to get herself a glass, ignoring Monk's twitchiness at her touching the glasses that he hadn't specifically set out for drinking.

Natalie and T.K. exchanged a serious glance at the way Sharona and Randy spoke to each other when they said hello, but by mutual unspoken agreement they decided to talk about it later and not bring it up in front of Adrian or Leland. They would worry about their friends later.

Adrian was just finishing explaining the rules of pizza to his former assistant and nurse when Sharona came back from the kitchen and set her drink on the table. Leland murmured quietly to T.K that the same way he had told her to just go with Randy's out-of-the-box theories and ideas, sometimes they just had to go with Monk's weird rules about food and other things. It was the only way to get anything done. Even so, before Adrian and Natalie sat down at the table, Sharona and T.K. traded slices of pizza and Randy took the corner square of Monk and Natalie's pizza for himself.

Before Monk could say anything, Natalie immediately brought him back to the corner of the kitchen and kissed him. "I'm yours," she whispered, slipping her left hand into his hand for a moment so he could feel her engagement ring against his hand. It was now tangible proof of how much they loved each other, how they had promised themselves to each other for the rest of their lives, and she didn't know about him but she couldn't wait until she could look down and see a wedding band next to her engagement ring. "That's what tonight is about, sharing our happiness with our friends. I'll make sure none of the other toppings touch your pizza, so please don't worry. Let everyone have what pizza they want."

Adrian nodded, trying to fight back the urge to make everything the way he wanted it to be, which of course, in his mind, was the way that was right. He'd do it for her, he thought, his longsuffering fiancée whom he loved so much. Smiling hesitantly, he reached over to pick up a napkin and straighten one of the boxes then realized the inconceivable had happened. His eyes went from his pizza box to the table. He then he looked at Randy's plate. "Natalie..." he said urgently. "Natalie, Randy took one of my square pieces. He took the corner."

Natalie glanced over at the table and winced. Adrian was, of course, right. She considered how to cover. After a few seconds she patted then rubbed on his back. "I know, honey," she said soothingly. "But he took a bite out of it already so you don't want it back, trust me. I haven't had one yet so there are eight pieces in the box instead of nine. You like that better anyway, don't you?"

"But if I take one there will be seven."

Natalie grinned and led him to the box of pizza and handed him a plate. She picked up one of the pieces to put on his plate and took another piece for hers. "I took one too, so there's six. Even number."

Adrian looked at the six evenly-spaced squares of pizza in the box and smiled in satisfaction. As long as he and Natalie each got only one piece at the same time and Randy didn't come to steal his pizza again, it would all remain even and everything would work. He kissed Natalie on the mouth. "This is why I'm marrying you," he whispered happily, making sure to hold Natalie's left hand all the way to the table until she was able to sit down and slide her hand under the table to conceal her ring. "You know exactly what is needed to make my world right."


Dinner went smoothly for the most part, except for Randy constantly stealing the pizza from Leland and T.K.'s box. Leland, thankfully, didn't seem to mind, and his wife was mostly eating from Randy and Sharona's pizza anyway. Adrian tried very much not to think about how close Randy's plate was to the edge of the table, but thankfully Sharona seemed to notice and pushed her husband's plate forward. Adrian smiled gratefully and she nodded.

"Gotta say, Monk, this dinner is going so much better than the last time we were all together," Randy said. "No one's punched anyone yet."

Sharona rolled her eyes and hissed at her husband to shut up and keep his mouth shut unless he wanted Monk to punch him this time. Natalie glanced at T.K. with worry when they heard the edge in Sharona's voice. This was more than teasing banter.

Leland looked across the table at Monk and then at Randy. "Randy, shut up," he said, irritably. "Do I need to talk to you again about behaving yourself in someone's home?"

"I was just making small talk." Randy said, defensively.

Sharona looked over at him. "Oh yeah. Randy is well practiced at making 'small talk'." She scowled. He rolled his eyes.

Before the situation could begin to disintegrate, Natalie took a breath and set down her napkin, leaning in close to Adrian to whisper something in his ear. Adrian nodded and kissed her cheek, glancing at each one of their friends in turn, and Natalie quietly told everyone to please stop eating and listen to them for a moment. There was a reason for having this dinner and Adrian had something he wanted to say.

Adrian looked at her in surprise and she made a little motion with her right hand for him to go ahead, this was his home and his moment. He was the one out of the two of them that was the most worried about how their friends would ultimately react to the news, she wanted him to be the one to say it out loud. It would be big for him to say that he was engaged to be married to a woman that wasn't Trudy, she knew, and she knew that was the reason he needed to be the one to actually say the words out loud.

Natalie brought her left hand from her lap and slipped her hand into Adrian's, so the engagement ring was clearly visible if anyone happened to be looking at that moment. Adrian looked at her with trusting eyes, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek, and lifted Natalie's hand a few inches in the air. "Leland...everyone...the four of you are the only friends I have and you deserve to be the first to know. Other than Julie, of course. She is happy for us and - and we are hoping you will be happy for us as well." Adrian lifted Natalie's hand a few inches higher. "I asked my Natalie to marry me and she said yes."

Adrian barely had a chance to slide his chair out of the way as T.K. leaped up from her chair and all but flew across the table. Natalie laughed out loud when T.K. hugged her and immediately reached for her hand to look at the ring. "Oh, Natalie, I'm so happy for you!"

In turn, Sharona began to tear up as she walked over and gave her former employer a hug as the men watched with smiles on their faces.

T.K. cried. "Adrian, congratulations to you, too, this is so great for you two! Tell us the story, Natalie. When did he ask, where, what did he do?!"

Natalie laughed again. "He made a scavenger hunt for me which ended up on the roof of the station and he..."

"Adrian Monk!" Sharona's surprised voice responded, her eyes brimming with proud and happy tears. "You set up something on a roof to propose to Natalie?!"

Adrian twitched his shoulder in embarrassment, but he would tolerate being the center of attention for the rest of the night if only because his Natalie was so happy and, in her element, accepting well-wishes from their friends. "We - we were in the middle of the roof, not...not at the edge. I had to do something she wouldn't expect, and what better place to ask her to marry me than the place that brought us together?"

Natalie's own eyes became misty and she leaned over and kissed her fiancé straight on the mouth, right in front of all of their friends. Sharona clasped her hands in excitement, and T.K. actually squealed and hugged Natalie again.

Randy looked back and forth from Leland and the engaged couple before narrowing his eyes at the police commander. "Was that the night you and I went up to the roof because we got a call someone was up there? And you made me be quiet and told me to go back downstairs but you got to stay?!"

Leland barked out a single laugh. "I wasn't going to let you mess up their date, Randy."

T.K. looked over at her husband in surprise. "Leland Francis Stottlemeyer, you knew about Adrian proposing to Natalie and you didn't tell me?!"

Leland set down his drink and held up his hands in a preemptive time-out gesture as Adrian ducked his head and smiled. It had only been a brief encounter on the day following the proposal, but he knew what Leland was about to say. "I promised Monk I wouldn't tell anyone and I wanted Natalie to know that I keep my promises."

Natalie laughed through her tears and impulsively got up from her chair to go across the table to hug him. Things were so much better between the two of them since their group therapy session and they were all working hard to get back to the way they were before Julie was arrested. The fact that Leland had somehow known about the proposal but kept it to himself to the extent that he didn't even tell his wife, that meant the world to her. "Thank you," she murmured, quickly kissing him on the cheek. "I don't know how it was that you knew about it, but thank you for not telling anyone until we were ready."

Leland hugged her back. "Well, it was about time," he said as Natalie laughed and returned to Monk's side, tucking her head into Adrian's shoulder. "Monk, Natalie, I'm thrilled for both of you. Congratulations."

T.K. quickly followed his lead and picked up her glass of soda, and Randy and Sharona followed suit. The six of them clinked glasses or beer bottles - Adrian making sure that his glass didn't touch anyone else's but Natalie's, of course - as they toasted to Monk and Natalie and the upcoming Monk-Teeger wedding, whenever that would be.

The rest of the night was full of laughter and happiness, as would be expected, and at around seven-thirty it was clear everyone was finished. Leland looked at Randy and Randy reluctantly followed his mentor's lead to the kitchen where they started to put away the leftover pizza. In the dining room the women were well-occupied with talk of the wedding.

As soon as Leland and Randy began to return to the table, Adrian stood before the commander had an opportunity to retake his seat. "Leland, um, Natalie has brought it to my attention that I am running low in Summit Creek water. I suppose in the excitement and anticipation of tonight's dinner I forgot to replenish my supply. Will you - will you go with me to the store?"

Randy peered into the kitchen. "Monk, I can see from here you have plenty of Summit Creek. You're a horrible liar," he laughed, then paused. "I suppose that works out in Natalie's favor, actually."

"Just like someone else I know." Sharona said with a roll of the eyes.

Adrian rolled his neck. "Randy is right, I'm not good at lying. I - I am trying to talk to Leland privately, w - without the rest of you around."

Natalie winked at the other two women. T.K. stood up, balancing her plate with one hand and Leland's with the other, and said the others would move to the living room while Adrian and Leland talked. Natalie stood up and got her and Adrian's plates, dropping them off in the kitchen and telling T.K. they would clean up in a few minutes to just leave them there. Randy stood only after Sharona elbowed him in the ribs and he instinctively reached for Sharona's plate.

"I'll do it myself." She said, harshly, grabbing her plate and Randy's before following T.K. to the kitchen then retreating to the living room. Randy threw up his hands and grabbed both of their drinks and went to living room himself.


Adrian looked for the last time into the living room as Natalie was distributing the coasters for people to place their glasses on, and, confident as always that his Natalie had everything under control, he motioned for Leland to follow him

"Monk, we're not actually going to go to the store, right?"

Adrian only opened the door to his apartment and indicated for Leland to come with him into the hallway. Leland sighed and followed him. Adrian looked at him seriously as soon as Leland shut the door. The two walked down the stairs and Monk motioned for him to take a seat on the front steps alongside him. Leland waited patiently for Monk to say something and when five minutes passed and nothing was said, Leland looked at his friend.

"Are you breaking up with me?" the commander asked solemnly.

Adrian looked very confused and cocked his head. "I - I don't understand what you mean."

Leland leaned against the wall. "When Dr. Bell said in that therapy session that you and I had a bromance. And you brought me out here wanting to talk to me just the two of us, and you look so serious and uncomfortable, even for you." Adrian merely stared in confusion and Leland sighed. "It was a dumb joke, Monk, forget it."

"I thought you were going to stop saying stupid things."

Leland chuckled. "More power to you if you could get that to happen, my wife would be eternally grateful." He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "What's going on, Monk? Shouldn't we be in there celebrating?"

Adrian looked seriously at his oldest and dearest friend, wringing his hands together nervously. "Natalie and I have talked a little about what we want for our wedding. It - it was an easy choice for her to choose Julie to be her maid of honor, and she doesn't mean offense to T.K. or Sharona, it's just that Julie is her daughter so when you think about it, it makes sense that Natalie would want..."

"Monk, I get it," Leland interrupted. "I know T.K. won't be offended if that is what you or Natalie is worried about."

Monk stared straight ahead at the opposite wall for a moment, and then looked at Leland. "Leland, I wouldn't have met Natalie if it wasn't for you. You sent her to me when you and Randy were called to her house after she killed that intruder. I - I wouldn't have ever been ready to date her if it wasn't for you listening to me and pushing me forward and telling me what to do." He stopped, took a breath, and started again. His late wife's death wouldn't ever be easy for him to talk about but since he'd solved her case it was slowly becoming easier. "You - you kept me alive after Trudy died. I don't know if you know that, but you did.

You found Sharona for me and you made sure I had some form of my old life to come back to when I was ready. I know what you did to make sure I still had a job consulting for the SFPD and I'll always be grateful for everything you did for me. You - you saved my life and you were there for me when no one else was." Adrian smiled a small smile and shifted so he was facing him. "I guess, what I'm trying to say is it was easy for Natalie to pick Julie as her maid of honor, because she was the logical choice. But it was just as easy for me to decide who I wanted standing up there with me as my best man. Leland, you've...you've always been more of a brother to me than even Ambrose, and it wouldn't be right if Natalie and I got married and you weren't standing there with us, with me."

Leland was silent for a good minute or two and looked at Monk. "Have you run this by Natalie?"

Adrian nodded. "Natalie says that you can't choose the family you were born into but you can choose the friends you want to be your family." He twitched his shoulder. Talk about these kinds of emotions still made him uncomfortable. "Leland, you are my brother, just like Dr. Bell said. The six of us are all family. And Natalie says that you give family more leeway than you do other people."

Leland grinned and stayed silent for a few minutes as he thought that through. Things had come full circle and the breech had been repaired. Turning towards Monk, he reached out his hand to touch Monk's shoulder. Adrian didn't flinch away. "I'd be honored to be your best man, Monk." His voice got lower. "Fourteen years is a long time for you to put your life on hold like you did, buddy. I'm glad Natalie's brought you back."