For the reception, the couple chose the location that Adrian used when he proposed to Natalie, partly because it was familiar to everyone, partly because it was such a major part of their lives, and partly because of its view. They were blessed in that it didn't rain the evening of their December 22nd wedding, though the 55-degree temperatures made it a challenge to keep guests comfortable so high up in the air. With the help of a few rented portable smokeless firepits and plenty of candles, however, they were able to not only keep the area comfortable but provide for a romantic ambience that everyone enjoyed. Of course, Monk insisted that there be at least ten fire extinguishers placed throughout the area, which Julie was able to have some of her art friends camouflage with custom-painted designs that matched the décor. Overall, it was a surprisingly perfect venue for a wedding of less than thirty people and once the mayor's wife saw how it turned out, it was immediately placed on her list of proposed meeting places for when she and the LEO wives' auxiliary would have their quarterly meeting.
The guests filed into the area about twenty minutes before the wedding party and about forty minutes before the bride and groom.
The latter was finishing up with photographs at the chapel and dickering with the minister over the cost of his services – at least he was dickering.
Adrian thought $500.00 to rent the chapel and another $250.00 each for the minister and musicians was exorbitant and attempted to 'negotiate', after the fact, a more reasonable price. But the embarrassed Mrs. Monk simply reached into his pocket and retrieved his wallet, pulling out the crisp bills in order to pay their bill so that they could leave for the station. Half-serious and half-teasing, Adrian quipped, "Oh, I see. So, that's how it's going to be!" Natalie, in response, looked him dead in the eyes and replied "When you act like a cheapy-cheap with the minister, you're darn tootin' that's how it's going to be!"
Following her as she made her way to the back of the church to retrieve her purse, he tried to reason with her. "I thought ministers were supposed to take a vow of poverty."
"Your point?" she asked.
"Well, I was just trying to keep with the spirit of that sentiment." He replied.
Of course, she wasn't buying that little tale at all, though the back and forth of the conversation was amusing for them both so it couldn't really be classified as a fight. Nothing would spoil their moods this evening.
Back at the station house, the rest of their party had arrived and the couples had each fanned out and were in various areas on the roof. Sharona and Randy met up with one another and were standing in a corner of the reception room waiting for bride and groom to arrive. Over the weeks that they had been apart, a number of people had tried to play matchmaker and try to get them back together, making both of them a little uncomfortable. However, at this particular time, no one was around so Sharona felt safe enough to step forward and stand next to her husband, close enough to where she was almost touching him. Quietly, she turned to him to ask a question.
"Hey…is T.K. okay - as far as you know?"
Randy glanced over at her with a puzzled look and shrugged. He and the commander's wife weren't especially close and, as far as he knew, she wasn't particularly close to Sharona either – although that could have changed since he didn't know much about the ins and outs of his wife's personal life these days. Looking back out at the crowd he responded. "I don't know, I suppose so. Why do you ask?"
Sharona looked around again to make sure no one was there to overhear. "It's just…something seemed off with her today. I mean, she was there with me, Natalie and Julie in the bridesmaids' room, but it was like, I don't know…like she wasn't there."
"Like she wasn't there?"
"Yeah. She was kinda distracted and she was jumpy about the least little thing. I startled her by accident when I dropped the guest signature book on the floor and it made a loud bang and Leland's been watching her all night."
Randy grinned. "He's looking at his wife in a gorgeous dress - the same way I'm looking at you." His voice got soft. "If I haven't said it yet, you look beautiful, Sharona."
Sharona's lips curled up slightly, but immediately devolved into a frown. "Randy, I'm serious. She and Natalie went out of their way to talk to me and try and help me when I was having problems. I just want to return the favor."
Randy merely nodded, a little let down that his wife simply glossed over his compliment. He and Sharona had been getting along very well, but he was now thinking that perhaps the relationship counselor Dr. Bell recommended they visit for a couple of weeks might have been right when she cautioned them that going to a wedding of two good friends might not be the best idea for their first progress date.
"Leland seemed fine when we were with Monk, Sharona; and, if there was something that they thought we needed to know about, I'm sure they would have told us. Otherwise, I think we don't need to be too concerned with their personal lives. They aren't fighting again, if that's what you're worried about. In fact, she finally got him to take a few days off and they had a weekend away a few weeks ago."
Sharona didn't look any more convinced. "Randy, the entire reason all of us ending up arguing with each other about Julie is because we got way too personal and involved in each other's personal lives."
"My point exactly." He replied. "If they wanted us involved, they would tell us. Listen, let's just try to enjoy the evening and not worry about anything. Can we do that?"
Sharona still thought there was something wrong with her newest female friend, something TK or even Natalie wasn't telling her, but Randy was right. Today was about Adrian and Natalie. They just got married and they were who she needed to focus on. Just let it go she thought.
Sharona shook her head as if to literally clear her mind. "You're right." She responded, to which Randy stood up a little straighter. A slight smirk came over her face as she saw him perk up. "You know, you clean up nice," was what came out of her mouth next, an unexpected blush coming over her cheeks. "You always did look good in a suit."
Randy grinned and looked down, scuffing his shoe into the floor so she wouldn't see his immediate, bashful smile. Looking down at his feet, he couldn't help but notice that the pristine leather of his shoes had rubbed up against something and had been marred. Looking towards the doorway, he didn't see anyone coming so he raised his leg and tried to polish the shoe with his sleeve, to no avail.
"What are you doing?" Sharona asked, curiously.
Randy looked both ways. "Shoe is scuffed. And when he and Natalie get here…if he sees it…" he paused for a moment as he noticed that Sharona was about to laugh. Standing up straight he shrugged. "Oh well. Accidents happen." He said, looking straight ahead, then he reached over and took Sharona's hand. She shyly ducked her head, but he kept his composure still thinking about the shoe. Hopefully Monk would be so engulfed in post-wedding bliss that he wouldn't notice the scuff marks and Randy could avoid a lecture. After all, when Monk got going about stuff like that his lectures were worse than the commander's.
A few more moments of silence passed by, almost to the point of being awkward so simultaneously, the two of them tried to speak. After a little back and forth and apologies, Sharona insisted Randy go first.
He turned his head and looked her in the eyes. "I was just going to say, I'll have to take you out again soon so you have a reason to wear that dress again."
Sharona blushed an even deeper pink but Randy immediately turned serious. "I'm not following the rules, forget I said that, I'm sorry."
Both the relationship therapist and Dr. Bell had counseled them to just enjoy their friends' wedding and to not to think about advancing their own relationship or put pressure on themselves for this date to go well. Randy kicked himself for having forgotten – but no damage was done.
"No, it's...it's all right," Sharona said softly. "Natalie picked great bridesmaids' dresses, it'd be a shame to only wear it once."
Sharona's positive response emboldened Randy to say more. "Well..if I asked you out again, would you say yes?"
Sharona looked over at him and nodded. "Yes. Yes, I would." If Randy could be brave so could she. "I miss you. I miss you, Randy. I appreciate you." she said quietly, stepping close enough to him that if she breathed in, she could smell his cologne. "Home is lonely without you."
Her breath caught in her throat when he was quiet for a long time. He then cleared his throat. "There's a restaurant some miles out of town that I always wanted to take you to. Monk solved a case there once and…well, he can get me reservations any night I want. It might be nice to do that and start over."
Sharona stepped even closer to him and shook her head, quietly brushing her mouth against his cheek. She didn't want to start over, too much had happened for that, but starting from where they were right now sounded good to her. "Yeah, Randy," she murmured. "Someplace new sounds good to me."
A couple of minutes later, the happy couple arrived and were announced to cheers and clapping. Seeing the two of them together was an exceptionally happy moment but there were no smiles brighter in the entire city that night than those of Monk and his Natalie. Adrian in particular was so joyful that he felt like he could almost come out of his skin. Shaking hands with various guests without so much a thought of a wipe, he caused a concerned look to come on Dr. Bell's face when he reached out and gave his long-time shrink a bear hug. Even Natalie began to look at him a little strangely in that moment, concerned the stress might have caused him to start to dissociate.
"You okay?" she whispered and without letting go of her hand he quickly leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "If I were any better, I'd be twins!" he beamed.
Pursing her lips at him, she looked a little amused and a little unconvinced.
He sighed. "It's just an expression, sweetheart. It means that I can't possibly be any better than I am right now. I'm as good as I can be for one person. Not, literally make myself into two genetically identical people. That would be ridiculous!"
Natalie bit her lip and then burst out laughing.
Monk turned to her and grinned. "What? What did I do?"
She reached up and kissed him tenderly on the lips. "You made me the happiest woman in the world. Thank you, my handsome husband."
Monk leaned in and kissed her back. "No, sweet Natalie. I'm the happy one. Promise me it'll always be this way."
"I promise." She responded before turning and greeting some more guests.
The first dance came and went with no major catastrophes and the first slice of cake was cut and eaten without too much of a mess, something for which Monk was thankful, and the night was still young. Natalie was in the middle of what Adrian correctly deduced by the frazzled look on her face would be a long conversation about their parents with Jonathan, so he went looking for Leland to talk about something that had been on his mind for a while.
Because Monk was so insistent, Leland reluctantly left T.K.'s side and followed Adrian to the corner of the reception area, away from the music and most of the people.
"What is it buddy? This is your wedding and I'd think you'd want to be with your lovely bride over there. What's so important that it can't wait?"
Monk rolled his neck. "Well, Leland, it's just…I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings earlier and I need to apologize."
The commander stared at him for a long moment, completely confused. "Monk, this isn't the first time I've said this and I know good and well it won't be the last, but I have no earthly idea what you're talking about."
Monk twitched his shoulder. "Earlier today, you were trying to stop me from reading that newspaper article that Randy showed me." Monk said matter-of-factly. "I let it get to me and I said that I didn't have any friends - but that wasn't true. I have you and Natalie and Randy and T.K. and Sharona."
"Yes, Monk, you have all of us," Leland said slowly, waiting patiently, as was often the case, for Monk to get to whatever was really bothering him. Why he had to have this conversation at his wedding of all times and places, Leland had no idea, but he could tell there was still something on Monk's mind.
"Leland…there is no way that today would have been possible for me if it wasn't for you," Monk admitted. "You were my best man and you kept me focused on what was really important - marrying my Natalie. You helped me so much after Trudy died and got me through those horrible years. You introduced me to Natalie, and you were so patient with me, helping me to realize my feelings for her and encouraging me when I was ready to date her. And most importantly of all, Leland, you put your life and your career on the line for Julie and for us, just like you did for me with Sheriff Rollins, and I don't think that I ever fully thanked you. Natalie and I are very grateful that you did what you did to help us and I'm just thankful that you've stuck with me all these years."
Leland was quiet for a long time. "I never thought Julie was guilty, Monk," he said.
Monk nodded. "I knew that, and I think that intellectually Natalie knew that as well, but it was easier for her to be angry at you than it was to be scared about Julie."
Leland nodded in acknowledgement. "T.K. told me pretty much the same thing a few days after I got home from the hospital and Julie's charges were finally dropped. I won't say I'm happy about how Natalie treated me. But I do understand why she was so scared and I understand that I was the closest and safest target for her. It didn't feel good, but sometimes that's just life. Friends fight and problems happen and, well…what's really important now is that everything worked out in the end. Julie is free, her record is clean. Melody's in jail. That's the important thing."
Monk nodded "Again, thanks to you."
"Thanks to all of us, Monk. We make a good team."
Adrian smiled as the two men stood quietly, looking around the roof. Leland looked over and saw that T.K. seemed to be enjoying herself, being deep in conversation with Dr. Bell's date, so he decided to make small talk. "I was surprised to see Ambrose and your father here. Are they still around?" he asked.
The groom slowly nodded. "My father is still here - which is a surprise. I invited him, but I didn't expect him to come. Truthfully, I'm not sure what to do with him now that he's here." He sighed. "And, Ambrose…he is here somewhere, over there by the shrimp cocktail. He's talking to Julie now. He was talking to Jonathan for a while." Suddenly, Monk stopped and gave a little half-smile of wonderment.
"You're thinking of something." Stottlemeyer noted, wondering what was on his friend's mind.
"Yeah. I am. I was just thinking, look what happened today, Leland. I grew up with one brother that, through no fault of his own wasn't much of a brother to me and now…now, I have three!"
Leland raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. I guess you're right, although I didn't know you kept in touch with Jack Jr., much less considered him like a brother."
Monk didn't know why he felt compelled to talk about this today but Natalie was right as she usually was, weddings brought out funny things in people. "I'm not talking about my father's other son, Leland. I'm talking about you."
"Me?" Stottlemeyer said, with a raise of the brow.
"Yes. You are my brother, just like Ambrose and now I have Jonathan too. Never saw that one coming!"
Leland was saved from saying anything in return when Ambrose came up to them from talking with Julie. He appeared a little nervous, like his quota for mingling with the crowd had just reached its limit. Still, he tried to appear calm.
"It was a lovely wedding, Adrian, thank you for inviting me."
Monk smirked. "Not at all, Ambrose. I was just glad you could come. Dad too."
Ambrose raised an eyebrow. "Yes. He was excited to see you get married. Said he wished he had been there the first time and didn't want to miss it this time."
Monk shook his head. "Well…it was certainly a surprise. Where is he now?"
Ambrose looked around. "Uh…well, last time I saw him, I think that he was talking with one of the ladies from the catering service. In fact, I might need a ride home. Do either of you know anyone who lives near Tewksbury?"
Leland looked over at a nearby table and let Monk's brother know that a certain Sergeant lived just a couple of blocks away from where Adrian grew up, where Ambrose still lived, and he was certain the man would be happy to drive him home. Gratefully, Ambrose shook his head and thanked the commander.
"Anyway, Adrian, as I was saying, it was a lovely wedding and Natalie was a lovely bride. I uh, I hope there are no hard feelings seeing that I dated her before you did."
Leland gaped.
After two plus decades on the police force it took a lot to render Leland Stottlemeyer speechless but this had done it.
"You did not date Natalie!"
Ambrose looked at him quite seriously. "I say what I mean and I mean what I say and I never lie. I went on one date with Natalie a long time ago."
Leland looked over at Monk who nodded an affirmation. "It was the Halloween case five or six years ago," he explained. "Remember when the neighbor at the end of Ambrose's street wanted to poison his wife? Ambrose ended up eating a piece of candy that we thought was poison but it was only eleven months expired." Adrian shared a look with Ambrose. "That case was the first time Natalie and Ambrose met."
Ambrose shook his head. "I remember that I took the trouble to take Adrian up to the attic and ask him if he and Natalie had any type of relationship and would it be inappropriate for me to ask her out on a date?" Ambrose tilted his head towards Adrian. "He was the ladies' man of the family you know."
Leland stared. "Forgive me, Ambrose, but I thought you never left your house. Where did you take Natalie on your date?"
Ambrose smiled proudly. "I took Natalie on a date to the living room. We sat on a bench I have next to the window and watched a motion picture on the television screen. It was very nice." He turned as if he were looking for someone. "If you don't mind now, I think I will go talk with that Sergeant. I would like to go home. Thank you again for inviting me, Adrian. I know you and Natalie will be very happy…oh, and Julie. I have a niece now. Very nice young lady." He looked, still amazed at the idea that now he had a niece.
Monk looked through the crowd. "Julie is very nice. By the way, where did she go? I haven't seen her for a while."
Ambrose nodded towards the area where everyone was dancing and pointed "She's over there with that nice young man she was talking to earlier tonight. You know, I may be wrong, but of course, I'm not…I think they may be smitten with one another."
Monk turned his head and looked over towards the dance floor and watched as Jared held Julie in his arms and slow danced with her as she laid her head on his shoulder. His happy expression suddenly became quite serious and once again he grabbed Leland by the arm and started dragging him someplace else.
"Monk, what in the blue blazes…?"
Adrian took Leland to the completely opposite side the roof and stood behind an artificial tree that they had set up to decorate the reception area.
"Shhhhh…." Monk replied, peering over towards the dance floor making sure that Julie didn't see him.
Leland furrowed his brow, half expecting Monk to announce he had spotted someone who didn't belong there, someone they would have to apprehend. He knew James would have no clue where they were so it must have been someone else.
"What is it, Monk. Is someone here?" he asked.
Adrian leaned over and looked at the young couple then shook his head, closing his eyes. "I knew it. I knew it."
"Knew what?" the commander replied.
Monk took a deep breath and steadied himself then looked at his friend solemnly. "Leland…I…I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but there is really something we have to discuss. It's very serious."
Leland saw the look on Monk's face and leaned in, placing one hand on his back. "What is it, buddy?" he asked, ready to tackle anything.
"It's them." Monk said, nodding towards the floor.
"Them? Them who? "
"The two of them. Your son. My daughter." Monk suddenly smiled. "Hey, Leland! I have a daughter!"
Leland grinned slightly, "Yes. That's true. You do. Now, what about them."
Monk took a deep breath and shook himself out of his sentimental state. "It's well…I…I've been watching them and, well, she said they were friends, but I was afraid something like this might be going on and well…"
"Okay?" Stottlemeyer replied, trying to encourage Adrian to get to the point.
"Leland, I had Randy run a background check."
The commander looked confused. "A background check? A background check on who?"
Monk turned and looked at him like it should be obvious. "On Jared, of course!"
"Jared?"
"Yes! And I'm afraid we have some issues…"
Stottlemeyer took a step back. "You mean to tell me that you had my lead captain run a background check on my son? Uh, yeah…I'd say we have issues!"
"I'm serious, Leland. The boy has a record!" Monk replied. "He received a parking ticket!"
Stottlemeyer rolled his eyes, "Parking ticket?!" he laughed. "Monk, he was sixteen! We were teaching him to drive!"
"No, no, no. I'm not talking about the one when he was sixteen. I saw that one too. I'm talking about the one where he was nineteen and he was in Seattle."
"Seattle?" Leland said, rubbing the back of his neck while looking up at his friend.
"Yes, Seattle. And you know what he was doing in Seattle, Leland?" Before Leland could answer, Monk got an indignant look on his face and nodded towards the dance floor. "Your son was visiting the Gum Wall!"
Leland looked over at Adrian as if he were observing an alien. "Gum Wall."
"Yes!" Monk said, rolling his shoulders. "Do you realize how germ-infested that place is?!"
By this point, Stottlemeyer was becoming irritated. "I imagine its not the nicest place…"
"It's filthy, Leland! If this is the kind of place that he's going to be taking our Julie…"
Leland finally began to become amused at the situation. "Monk, If Jared and Julie are dating, I can just about guarantee that he won't be taking her to any Gum Wall on any of their dates."
Adrian reached into his pocket for his wallet and then pulled out a small piece of paper which had been folded up into ten perfectly precise squares. "I thought you would say that. I need you to sign." He said, as he reached into his pocket for a pen.
"Sign? Sign what?" Leland asked, reaching into his pocket for his reading glasses to read what Monk handed him.
Adrian handed him the pen. "This is a legally binding contract that says you guarantee that Jared will not take Julie to the Gum Wall on any dates."
For the second time that evening, Stottlemeyer's mouth gaped. "A legally binding what? Are you crazy?!"
"Leland, you know better than to say such things!"
"Monk, Jared and Julie are adults. What if they do want to go to Seattle and visit some stupid wall? How am I supposed to stop them?"
"Now see! I knew you weren't appreciating the gravity of this situation! How can you guarantee anything with that sort of apathetic attitude? Nope. That does it. You're going to have to tell them they need to break up. It just won't work."
"I'm going to? Monk."
"I'm serious, Leland. Do you know there is an LHF epidemic right now in Uganda?"
Leland shook his head. "LHF? What the hell is that?"
"Lassa Hemorrhagic Fever, Leland. It's epidemic - and it starts with rodents."
Leland paused wondering how that was relevant. "Okay?"
"And you know what just happens to be attracting rodents, Leland?"
Stottlemeyer put his hands on his hips then bowed his head. "The Gum Wall?"
"Yes, Leland. The Gum Wall! -Symptoms include fever, weakness, headaches, muscle pains and vomiting, Leland! There's vomiting!"
Looking towards the sky, Leland laughed incredulously. "Oh, the humanity!"
"Exactly! I thought you raised him better than that, but if he is that reckless so as to play Russian roulette by going to such a place – you're just going to have to tell him that dating Julie is out of the question. You're just…"
Leland shook his head and smiled, then began walking way.
"Wait! Leland! Where are you going?!"
"Monk, you tell him. I'm not telling him anything." The commander said as he went to rejoin his wife.
"Leland!" Adrian said, quickly catching up with him and dragging him back to the corner. "This is no laughing matter! This is serious!"
Monk looked at him so earnestly and so pleadingly that Leland knew he had to somehow address his concerns. He also knew that since it was in a drawer at the office, beaming him in the side of the head with his yoyo was out of the question.
"Monk! I'll tell you what buddy. If Jared takes Julie to the gum wall, I'll disinherit him."
"Really?"
"Yes! I promise."
"Okay. That could work. But you have to tell him..."
"Alright."
"Alright?" Adrian said hopefully.
"Because it's your wedding, I'll tell him. Happy marriage!"
Adrian smiled proudly. "Wonderful! And you have to sign right here and say you'll do it." He said, holding out the 'contract' for him to sign once again.
"What?"
"Sign right here and guarantee that you will disinherit Jared if he takes Julie to the Gum Wall on a date."
"Monk!"
"You promised."
"And my word is my guarantee."
"But I need you to sign."
Leland took a deep breath and pushed past his friend, again looking to reunite with T.K.
"Leland! Get back over here! I need you to sign!"
"I'm not signing anything. Go find your wife." He replied, laughing as he found his wife.
Monk let out a frustrated sigh and mumbled under his breath. "Fine. Be that way. But if our grandchildren get dengue fever…don't come complaining to me!"
Adrian looked down and grumbled but hadn't taken but two steps before he felt two dainty arms wrap around him from behind.
"There's my gorgeous husband. I've been looking for you." Natalie said, kissing his shoulder.
Monk stopped and a grin appeared on his face. He slowly turned until he was facing her. "I was here all the time, talking to Leland."
"Talking to Leland? What about?"
"Oh…nothing important…just, you know, dad stuff."
She grinned. "Oh, I see. Guess you saw Jared and Julie, huh?"
Monk twisted his mouth to the side, "Yeah. She's too young for him, you know."
"I was her age when I started dating Mitch." She reasoned.
Monk frowned. "You're not helping my concern here, sweetheart."
Natalie smirked. "Yeah. Well, maybe not. But, I will tell you, and you know this. Julie's got a good head on her shoulders. She's not going to go jumping into anything without being really, really sure."
Monk nodded. "Yeah. I suppose your right."
"You know I am." She smiled, standing on her tiptoes and kissing him on the lips. "Say…what do you say that you and I go and tell all these wonderful people, goodnight?"
Monk stopped and looked towards her, concerned. "Goodnight? It's not even nine o'clock. Are you feeling alright?"
She smiled seductively. "Oh, yes, Mr. Monk. I am feeling quiet fine."
"Oh?"
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yes. As a matter of fact…" she raised her brows, "I think maybe I'd like to take off from here and, um…head out to the car and go wherever it is we're going tonight. I have a little something I purchased in the backseat to slip into so that when we're in a, you know, more private setting…we can catch up on some long overdue snogging."
Monk blushed even as a grin began to grow upon his face. "Um…okay." he said shyly. "Are you sure we shouldn't stay here and help them clean up?"
Natalie pursed her lips and leaned in closely, whispering in his year.
"Oh, I'm sure they can clean up on their own."
Monk swallowed then brought a single finger up and unbuttoned his top button, shaking his head. "Oh. Okay. As…as long as you think it'll be okay."
Taking him by the hand she led him towards their guest. "I'm sure they can take care of it just fine. Let's go tell them goodbye and hit the road. What do you say?"
Monk nodded, mesmerized by her gaze. "I say…anything you want. I'll just go tell Leland that we're taking off."
"Okay. Don't doddle."
"Yes, ma'am…I mean…yes, Mrs. Monk. Your wish is my command."
"I'll have to remember that." She winked then nearly burst out laughing she watched how quickly her husband moved through the crowd and said his goodbyes, returning to her in a flash. And then, they were gone.
Natalie sat in the passenger's seat of Adrian's car as they exited the station parking lot and set out for the road to begin their honeymoon. He hadn't given her any clues as to where they were going, only told her to bring both casual and dressy clothes as well as a warm jacket. Leaning back in her seat, she watched as the San Francisco skyline twinkled in the night and contentedly observed as they travelled North back over the Golden Gate Bridge towards Marin county.
After a few miles, she took his hand, once he was out of busy traffic.
"Don't you think it's time you tell me where we're going?" she asked. "A wife needs to know these things."
Monk smiled. "No. I'm going to let it be a surprise."
She looked over at him admiringly, curious as to what exactly he had up his sleeve. "Well, at least tell me this…are we going to be driving for a while? Because if we are, I'll just kick back and stop bugging you about it."
He glanced over at her and smiled, but did not respond. Instead, taking the exit ramp off the right-hand side heading towards Sausalito. Looking around at their surroundings, she became even more confused. She glanced at the gas gauge and found that the tank was on full, so it wasn't to fuel up that he had pulled off at this exit. Raising an eyebrow, she sat back and studied him to the degree that it became obvious that she was doing so. He took a peek at her and grinned, his dimples flashing in the manner that always got her attention.
"Where are we going?!" she insisted, but he just chuckled quietly, telling her that she would soon see.
Five minutes later and a few winding roads, he reached over and pressed a button on the console which began to lower her seatback. Natalie jumped and then looked at him uncomfortably.
"What's going on? Why are you flattening out my seat?"
"So that you can lay down." He replied.
"So that I can…?"
"Lay down." He repeated. "And don't sit up until I tell you."
She grinned and complied. "Is this some sort of game or something?"
"Something." He smiled. "I'll tell you when you can sit up."
Two more turns and she felt the car pull off of the main road onto a steeper and slightly bumpier road before it came to a stop. Monk engaged the emergency brake and looked over at her with pleasure.
"Now, close your eyes."
"Adrian!" she protested.
"No. Just close your eyes. I will get out of the car and come get you."
Natalie was obedient, laying there as she heard him pull their luggage out of the back of his car and waiting patiently until he returned. Finally, after about three or four minutes, she heard her passenger's side door open and then felt Monk's warm hands reach out for her own.
"Okay. Take my hand. Keep your eyes closed and follow me."
"You want me to keep my eyes closed." She chuckled.
"Yes. Just for a few seconds more."
Smirking she took his hand and walked with him as he kept his arm around her waist, keeping her from losing her balance as she first walked across the paved driveway and then across a patch of grass. A few steps longer and they stopped.
"Alright," he said. "You can open your eyes now."
Natalie opened her eyes and was taken aback when immediately before her was an old gingerbread style house almost identical to her and Julie's old house that was destroyed in Sea Cliff. Seeing it she gasped.
"Adrian!" she said, as excitedly he took her by the hand and led her up the steps. "What on earth…?"
Reaching the front door, Monk let go of her hand and unlocked the door, slipping the keys back into his pocket and then throwing up one finger for her to wait. Before she knew it, he had wrapped his arms around her and swooped her off of the ground, carrying her over the threshold.
"Sweetheart! Be careful! Your back!" she said, as he grinned, telling her not to worry. He'd been working out for the past several months just so he could do that. He set her down and flipped on the light revealing to her an interior that was almost exactly like that of her old home, sans the furnishings. Her eyes grew big as she walked into the living room, stunned.
"What…what is this?" she asked.
Monk smiled as he rushed back to pick up their luggage from off the front porch.
"This, my love, is our home." He replied.
"Our…home?" she asked.
Monk nodded as he continued to arrange things. "I know how much you loved that old house and I know how much it hurt for you to lose it so when you accepted my proposal, I asked a real estate historian to investigate the area to see if there might be any other houses like that one that might be for sale. She came up with this one. It was made by the same builder and while we don't have all of your old things, Julie helped me to pick out some of the new furniture and we will be transporting our other things from the apartments to here when we return from our honeymoon, which…by the way is going to be at a mountain resort where I booked us a nice cozy cabin. Pictures looked beautiful and it came highly recommended and I… um…"
Monk looked over at his bride only to see tears streaming down her face. Immediately, his heart sunk and he stopped speaking. Walking over to her, he took her hand. "What is the matter, Natalie? Was this the wrong thing to do? Does it not please you?"
At that Natalie simply threw her arms around her husband, kissing his neck and the side of his face before laugh-crying and kissing him multiple times on the mouth. "Oh…Adrian! I think this is the singular, most-sweetest thing that anyone has ever done for me. I mean it. I…I'm just blown away! I don't know what to say!"
Monk breathed a sigh of relief then smiled. "Then you do like it?" he asked.
She smiled. "Oh, my wonderful, wonderful man – I love it! I can't believe it! This is ours?"
Monk nodded. "Yes, at least it ultimately will be. We have a mortgage. But I figure with the amount of work we're getting these days we should be able to pay that down pretty quickly. No more rent for either one of us."
Natalie was excited. "This is amazing. You are amazing! Show me around."
Monk walked her through the mostly empty house and much of it was very much like Casa Teeger used to be. One notable difference was the upstairs had three bedrooms whereas the old house only had two, and the room that Natalie used as a guest room downstairs had been clearly set up as an office, including built in bookcases.
Reaching the end of the tour, she again wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. "I love you so very much. And I love what you did here."
"It's my wedding gift to you." He replied.
"You're my gift." She smiled, hugging him tightly. "I am surprised about one thing though."
"What's that?"
"That they managed to throw in another bedroom upstairs. We expecting company to have so many bedrooms?" she chuckled.
Once again, Monk's dimpled cheek flashed her a grin. "Well, I figured one bedroom would be used for Julie when she comes over to visit. Or we could use them for guests…or other people that might show up someday to stay…"
She smirked. "Other people?" she asked moving towards him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "What sort of…other people?" she kissed him.
Monk rolled his neck even though he was enjoying the play. "Um…you know other…people…small…little people."
Natalie chuckled, "We're being visited by dwarfs?"
Adrian stood rail straight and huffed. "No, Nat-lee! We're not being visited by dwarfs! Don't be silly!"
"Then who?" she asked as she began to kiss along his Adam's apple and throat. Monk closed his eyes, finding himself suddenly becoming quite warm and his heartrate speeding up. Rather than answer her directly, he drew her to himself and hungrily pressed his lips against hers, allowing his hand to roam along her back and sides, giving himself the freedom to enjoy that touch that he had denied himself for a decade and a half. So passionate was the embrace that Natalie forgot all about the little people that might visit them some day and nearly melted in his arms.
Breaking away, she breathlessly looked in his eyes. "I…I think maybe I should go change out of my wedding dress into something more comfortable, don't you?"
Monk looked at her wolfishly. "If you must." He said causing Natalie's heart to skip a beat.
"I…I'll be right back!" she said, moving quickly towards her suitcase and taking it upstairs to what would be their master bedroom.
Adrian grinned triumphantly as he reached up and removed his tie and then took off his tuxedo jacket in order to go change into something more comfortable. Looking around the house he smiled as he considered, he was finally home. So many years of wandering aimlessly, simply existing, not knowing love, not knowing joy, not knowing peace – those years were now over. And so much of those things which evil had taken away, things he never thought he would ever get back again, were being restored, in some cases in greater abundance than he had ever known before. He had been gifted with love and a desire to live, a wife who knew him in some ways better than he knew himself, a beautiful daughter who as an adult was also a friend, and a renewal of the man he once was, the man he knew himself to be. His heart was so very full. All was as it should be at last.
A half hour later, Natalie came down the stairs dressed in a beautiful rose-colored silk and French lace nightgown with a matching silk and lace robe. Walking into the living room she saw her husband, now in his familiar brown pajamas, resting on the couch, one of the few pieces of furniture that adorned the room. In the background, channel 10 news was just going off the air. Moving towards him, it appeared he had dozed off so she quietly slid in next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Immediately, she felt his cheek muscles move as his lips curved into a smile.
"Well good evening, Mrs. Monk." He said, softly, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and drawing her closer to his side.
Natalie laid her hand on his chest and looked up at him. "I thought you fell asleep."
"Just resting my eyes." He stated, leaning over and kissing the top of her head. Looking down at her, he noticed what she had changed into and that she had redone her makeup and hair a little, opting for a softer more natural look than that which she wore for the wedding. He sniffed the air and noted that she was wearing his favorite perfume as well and he grinned. "You look…no, you are so beautiful, Mrs. Monk." He said, his fingertips caressing her arm in a most tender way.
"Thank you!" she replied, with a smile. "I thought it was pretty and got it just for you."
"I was referring to my wife; but, yes, I like what you're wearing too." He stated. "It's elegant."
"Really? I'm glad." She giggled, again laying her head on his shoulder. "Thank you."
For a few seconds more they sat there, quietly enjoying the peace of the evening and each other's presence. "So, what do you want to do?" she asked, biting her lip.
Monk looked over at her through the side of his eye. "Oh, I don't know. Figured maybe we could watch some television."
Natalie frowned in disappointment, just out of his vision. She really didn't want to watch TV, but she didn't let on. "Oh. Okay. That would be okay." she responded.
Monk smirked, letting her stew for a few seconds before responding. "You know, it's just about time for those late-night talk shows that we used to watch while on your couch in Sea Cliff. Remember?"
Her mind immediately flashed back to the days where he was recovering from his injuries in the jewelry store explosion so many months before. They would spend hours cuddling and making out while the television played in the background. She ducked her head and blushed. "Oh yes, Mr. Monk. I remember…" she smiled.
Immediately, Monk shifted, turning towards her and abruptly pulling her up and into his arms, her lower body draped across his lap. Kissing her fervently on the lips he began to kiss along her jawline, throat and collarbone and she closed her eyes allowing her lips to part as he lavished love and passionate affections upon her to her delight. Raising up, she captured him in a kiss, deepening it and causing the intensity of the moment to rachet up even more. After just a few minutes of this, Monk broke away, scooting her off of his lap and standing up.
Startled, she asked breathlessly, "Is something wrong. What's wrong? What are you doing?"
Instead of immediately answering, he bent over and lifted her up in his arms and began to carry her petite frame over towards the stairs. "What I wanted to do months ago, but couldn't."
Natalie had already mentally prepared herself that her modest Mr. Monk would probably be a bit shy when it came to taking their relationship to the next level and though she had seen he was capable of feeling passionate, had half convinced herself that they might do nothing more than cuddle; so, his initiative took her by surprise. A few feet away from the stairwell he stopped, looking hesitantly up the flight of steps and considering whether actually carrying her that far would be a bit too ambitious. Perhaps they should walk instead.
Misreading that cue, she brushed her hand against his cheek. "You know, honey, there's no pressure. I mean, we have a lifetime to be together. We don't have to, tonight, if you're feeling uncomfortable."
Monk darkened eyes looked over at her, the love within so apparent it caused her heart to accelerate. "Natalie Jane, months ago I made you a promise. I told you that even though we had to wait, this night would come and when it did, I would give all of myself to you and it would be for a lifetime and that it would be a night we would never forget. Do you remember that?"
Natalie swallowed and nodded. She remembered every beautiful word of that confession.
"Well, sweetheart, our wait is over and I'm going to make good on that promise. I love you with every fiber of my being and tonight…well, I want to show you in every way just what that means." Then he paused. "As long as, you know…you want to…" he said, towards the end suddenly considering that perhaps she meant she wanted to take it slow since she had said 'no pressure.'
If there was any doubt as to his wife's intentions they were quickly dispelled, as Natalie immediately embraced him, stopping any further discussion with a fiery kiss and then grabbed him by the hand, pulling him towards the stairs. Again, Monk froze in place as he reached the foot of the steps.
Natalie stopped and turned to look at him expectantly and his eyes met her gaze.
He nodded once, and proclaimed "I can do this!" then swooped her up in his arms carrying her up the stairs and over the threshold of their bedroom, kicking the door shut with his foot even though they were the only ones that were there. That evening, Monk and Natalie enjoyed fully the union of their hearts, souls and bodies and just as he had promised, it was something neither one of them would ever forget. They were together at last.
