On moving day there was no need for moving trucks because most of Natalie and Julie's brand-new furniture was being delivered from the store and the Teeger women could easily carry their own clothing and personal items from Monk's apartment to their new apartment on the third floor. But it was all-hands-on-deck just the same. Leland was pulling double duty, supervising Randy as Randy instructed the movers where to put furniture and supervising Jared and Max, warning them for what seemed like the hundredth time to be careful unless they all wanted a lecture from Monk if he were to find even the smallest dent on Natalie or Julie's new furniture. Monk was there to oversee the arrangement of almost everything, to the point that the movers threatened to quit on the spot. It took only one instance of Leland threatening to take Monk downstairs to his own apartment and locking him inside, and Monk was better behaved for the remainder of the afternoon. It made the rest of moving day go by much quicker.
Natalie and Julie were in the bedroom overlooking Pine Street, the bedroom that was to be Julie's, organizing what needed to be organized, and once things were put away to the degree that at least Julie could make it around the room and sleep later that night, Natalie left the room and made the group the best attempt at a home-cooked dinner that she could as a reward for them all. Everything in the kitchen was easy to find, having been put away to Adrian's specifications, naturally - and Natalie found that after living with Monk for so long in both her old house and his apartment neither she nor Julie minded his organizing system.
For a few hours that evening everything was how it always was supposed to be with the Core Four team. Julie's arrest was behind them now, in the past where it belonged, and they could finally begin to move forward again; working together and solving cases, like they always did; being friends, like they always were – better friends, even.
If this experience had taught them all anything, it was that they weren't merely friends. They were family. And like she remembered her Grandmother Davenport saying all of her life, you are supposed to give family more chances than you give regular people. That was what family meant. Sometimes family was more than the people you shared DNA and blood with, it was the people that were there for you during the hard times.
Later that evening, Natalie and Julie were loading the dishwasher with the dishes and Randy was on his phone when Monk took the opportunity to pull Leland to the side.
"Hey, Leland. Um, your wife called Natalie the other day and wanted to speak with me. She asked me to pull something together for her. I spoke with Dr. Bell and the names are all ranked and color-coordinated for T.K.'s convenience."
"Names?" Leland questioned, taking the list.
"Yeah, for a therapist. I don't think it will be too difficult for her to find one that she feels comfortable with. It took me a few therapists after Dr. Kroger died to find Dr. Bell, but…" Monk shook his head as if literally shaking away the urge to ramble and get off topic. "She knows that you were going to see me today to help with all the moving and well…she gave her permission for me to give that to you."
Leland quietly opened the paper that Monk had given him and scanned it briefly then folded it back up and placed it in his jacket pocket. T.K. had mentioned to him about considering going back to therapy, but until she wanted to share more he wouldn't pry. He would give her the paper when he and Max got home and follow her lead. "Thank you for doing that for her, Monk," he said. "I'll make sure she gets it."
It had gotten late and everyone began to excuse themselves and head out the door to their respective cars to head home. Randy was the first to leave, muttering something about Sharona waiting for him and not being happy about something or another. Max slouched in the passenger seat of his father's car as Leland drove away, and Jared was outside with his key in hand standing next to the driver's side door of his own car.
Natalie and Adrian were emptying the now-clean dishes from the dishwasher when a sudden flash passed their eyes, heading towards the front door. Suddenly distracted, Monk started to turn his head, but Natalie's gentle touch on his arm stopped him in his tracks. She shook her head no and he nodded, returning to their work and barely resisting the compulsion to go through the living room to watch through the window as Julie quickly exited the building and made a beeline for Jared's car.
Quickly and quietly, she opened the passenger door of Jared's car and noiselessly slid into the seat, all before Jared unlocked his own door. She laughed in spite of herself at the astonished look on his face when he turned his head and saw her riding shotgun.
"I've got to tell you, Jared; for a cop's son, your observational skills aren't great." She joked.
Jared first looked in his rearview mirror to make sure his father and brother weren't still here, and seeing they were gone, he relaxed - aside from the shock of seeing her in his passenger's seat, of course. Still, he played it cool.
"From where I'm sitting, my observational skills are telling me there's a pretty girl sitting in my car and I'd like to know why." He held up a hand to ward off the comment he was sure Julie was about to make. "That wasn't flirting, I promise. You made it perfectly clear that you just want us to be friends and I respect that. Really, I do." He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "But you did wait until my dad was gone and until Mr. Monk was too busy doing the dishes with your mom to even notice that you left."
Julie rolled her eyes, silently admonishing herself for blushing to the point she was certain he'd be able to tell. Maybe his observational skills weren't so lacking after all.
"Shut up and let me do this before I lose my nerve." And with that said, she leaned over across the center console, put her hand on Jared's cheek, said a quick internal prayer for courage, and kissed him.
She realized that sometime in between her kissing him and when they had to pull apart from each other for breath, he had reached for her hand.
"I thought…" he started, shaking his head and clearing his throat. "Julie, it wasn't my intention to pressure you with what I said to you that day or to force you into dating me."
Julie smirked and leaned back against the seat of Jared's car. "I would say that it wasn't my intention to kiss you but that would be a lie." She bit down on her lower lip. "I only have a few minutes before Mom and Adrian'll know I'm gone and you probably only have a few minutes before Max starts blowing up your phone. He was watching you and me all night."
Jared sighed. "I'm sorry, Julie, I'll talk to him. He, uh, he knows that I like you."
"It must have been nice to grow up with a little brother or sister," Julie mused quietly. "I wonder if Mom and Adrian will…" She shook her head quickly when Jared looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Never mind. But, um, you know how my mom and Adrian are getting married?"
Jared laughed. "It would be hard not to know with the number of times it was mentioned tonight." He glanced sideways at Julie when it seemed like she wanted to say more. "What about it?"
"Well, you know how your dad's going to be Adrian's best man? And your stepmom is going to be one of my mom's bridesmaids?"
"Neither of those things surprise me," he said slowly. "But you didn't come all the way out here to get in my car and tell me about wedding positions, did you?" Jared grinned when Julie smirked at him. "Positions – you know, who's going to be best man and maid of honor and groomsmen and bridesmaids. Whatever."
Julie good-naturedly rolled her eyes. So, it wasn't an age thing, it was a universal man thing that they didn't care about the finer points of wedding details. Monk was already showing similar signs – although with his particularness, she was sure that would change.
"Your dad and your stepmom are going to be at the wedding, obviously, and that means that you and Max are going to be there too. Mom and Adrian want the wedding to be small but I'm pretty sure Benjy's going to be there too. Benjy, Sharona's son."
Jared laughed. "Yeah, I know who Benjy is, our teams played baseball against each other a few times when we were kids."
Julie wrung her hands together. "So, um, since I'm going to be there, obviously, and you're going to be there. Our parents…" she paused and smiled as she thought about officially having a family of three again, but then continued. "our parents will be so busy with the wedding and making sure everything is perfect enough for an Adrian Monk wedding and I'm sure that will take all four of them plus Captain Disher and Benjy's mom…"
"Julie," he interrupted quietly. "Take a breath."
She stopped, looking him earnestly in the eyes. "…I was wondering if you could save a dance for me at the reception?"
Jared caught his breath in his throat before he overplayed his hand and messed everything up.
"As friends?"
Julie leaned across the console and kissed him again, before slowly pulling away and biting her lip. "That, Jared Stottlemeyer, is up to you."
Before he could say anything in response she had climbed out of his car and scurried up the steps to her new apartment.
Around eleven o'clock that evening, with Natalie and Julie settled safely into their new apartment and everything organized the way it was supposed to be - Adrian hugged Julie and then kissed Natalie goodnight.
His homecoming gift for his Natalie was a light purple razor. Natalie had been confused by the gift but it made sense. Light purple was still in the family of girl colors and purple was a combination of blue and red and red was a darker shade of pink. It was a combination of male colors and female colors and it was his way of showing Natalie that when she moved into his bedroom as his wife that he was going to try very hard to accept all of her lady things in the bathroom. He'd explained all of this to her patiently and he didn't think she fully understood, but she'd kissed him and thanked him and that was good enough for him.
Now, as the evening came to a close, Adrian sighed and started the lonely trek downstairs. After living with Natalie in her house and his apartment for the better part of twelve months thanks to her house being bombed and his own recovery from the store explosion, he wasn't happy about going home to an empty apartment. But he told himself that he would still see his girls every day and that this wouldn't be for forever.
He had too much to be thankful for to be glum. Soon, they would be married and find a proper home for the three of them. And even now, he didn't have anything to be upset about. He had Natalie and Julie upstairs. Natalie had agreed to be his bride. Julie was free and her record was clean again. He had his best friend Leland back. Leland and Natalie were friends again. And for once in his life, he had hope. As bleak as everything looked six months ago, things were falling into place. Everything was good again.
Adrian walked into his lonely apartment and closed the door. Compulsively straightening one of the umbrellas on the wall, he then walked down his hallway and set his keys on the counter, then made his way through the apartment to the bathroom, turning every light off along the way. As quickly as he could, he brushed his teeth the requisite number of times, flossed, gargled and then put on a set of clean pajamas before heading to his bedroom to go to bed.
As he entered the room, he stopped then looked up and saw his favorite picture of Trudy. He walked directly to the picture and picked it up, looking at his late wife, forever young and beautiful, and he smiled. For the first time in years he could think about Trudy and not feel sad or guilty for moving on, and Natalie was a big reason for that. She understood because she'd been there, with Mitch. Trudy and Mitch would be so happy for them, he thought, and he imagined them looking down and smiling, knowing that the two of them had found one another, were finally happy again, and were moving on, together.
Setting the photo down, he walked over to the window and looked out once more at the city skyline before closing the blinds. He felt so incredibly happy and content that it felt foreign to him, but he wasn't complaining. Turning around, he looked over at his bed - the bed he hadn't slept in for several months - inviting him to its warmth. He stopped for a moment and chuckled to himself and in a moment of spontaneity, he literally ran over to the bed, intending to jump on it. But, he skidded to a stop, his sense of propriety taking over. Smoothing his hand over the comforter, he stopped and smiled then gently peeled back the covers and enveloped himself within. Closing his eyes, he thought about the future and his heart soared. So much to look forward to, but for now, he was happy with things the way they were. He did love sleeping in his own bedroom and having his own bathroom back. That he couldn't deny. But he also loved the thought that soon he'd have to scoot over and make room for Natalie - for the rest of their lives. He would sleep well that night.
Unfortunately, that didn't turn out to be the case, because no sooner had Monk closed his eyes, letting sleep grab ahold of him, when he heard a knock on his door. Opening his eyes, he looked over at the clock and saw it was half past midnight and became concerned. Did Natalie or Julie need him? Was there a fire or some reason that they hadn't been able to call him? What could it be?
He pulled on his robe and put on his slippers and quickly made it down the hallway and to the front door. Unlocking the door, he wasn't prepared for what happened next.
"Oh great! So glad you're up!" a relieved Randy Disher said, pushing his way out of the foyer with suitcases in hand and into Monk's home. As a stunned Adrian turned and watched, he continued. "You would not BELIEVE the evening I've had. Minute I got home...Sharona started." Monk raised a hand in protest when Randy set his suitcase on Monk's dining room table, but the captain seemed oblivious. "Came home, and you know how sweaty and tired I was after all the moving, and Sharona starts yelling at me. Tells me that I'm never home and that I don't make her a priority. Actually, asks me if I'm seeing that Jessica girl. Practically accused me of having an affair! Can you believe it? Like I'd even have the energy...and well, long story short...she kicked me out."
Monk was shocked but words wouldn't come.
"I know. I know. I know what you're thinking, and don't worry. I won't stay long. Probably only a night or two or a week, tops. But, I...I really appreciate you letting me stay. I'd be cold and homeless without you doing this. You're a great guy and a great friend, and don't let anyone else tell you differently."
Monk finally found his voice and looked at Randy in shock. "Do...do you want me to maybe call Sharona for you or something?"
"No! No way. Not tonight. Best advice is just keep your head down and let it pass. I do it all the time. She did this twice in New Jersey." he replied. "Say, it really is getting late, and we both need to be at the precinct early in the morning. Sounds like they have a witness to that murder in the Tenderloin a couple of weeks ago. We will see what she has to say."
Monk nodded a confused nod not knowing what to say or do. Finally, he asked, as Randy began to unfold the hide-a-bed, "Do you...do you need a pillow? I have some blankets in my bedroom closet." He offered.
"No. I've got you covered. Grabbed some sheets from the closet before I left, see!" he said, reaching into his other suitcase which he had placed on the bed. He pulled out a colorful sheet with printed characters on it. "Ironman!"
Monk's mouth dropped open.
"You know. Tony Stark." Randy explained, to no reaction. He shrugged. "Nevermind. You wouldn't get it. Hey, I Hhpe you don't mind that I brought my sound machine and my motivational tapes." Randy continued, pulling the items out of his bag. "They really help me sleep, especially when I'm not…you know…sleeping with Sharona."
Monk made a face and twitched, but Randy was off on another task. "That reminds me, I need a nice hot shower. Where's your bathroom? Oh yeah, back of the apartment, that's right. Sorry, I'm not over here much these days." he said, walking toward the bathroom. "I couldn't find my robe before Sharona made me leave so I'll just borrow yours tonight. But don't worry, I'll wash it real good before I give it back to you. Thanks again, Monk, see you in the morning!"
Randy shut the door behind him and immediately turned on the faucet, leaving a bewildered Monk standing motionless in the middle of his hallway with his mouth agape wondering what on earth had just entered his world.
