A shaved and showered Adrian came downstairs with a whistle. Dressed in jeans and a pullover, he was ready to get back to the Saturday he had been looking forward to. Walking into his living room, he smiled when he saw a mass of dark curls over the edge of the back of their brown, leather couch. "Natalie, have you seen Sophia?" he called out.

"I think she's in…." Natalie stopped when she saw Adrian bring a finger to his lips, then point in the direction of the couch. She grinned at the familiar game her husband and daughter loved to play. "No, I haven't seen her. I wonder where she could be?"

"Boo!" shouted Sophia, popping up from her hiding place.

"I see you!" Adrian said.

Their game of peek-a-boo continued until Sophia decided a game of chase would be more fun, which Adrian indulged in, eventually picking her up and tickling her, peals of toddler laughter filling the air. Natalie took a step towards the living room to join them when their house phone rang. She stopped to answer it.

"Adrian, it's Molly," Natalie said a moment later.

After a brief conversation, he hung up but stood, looking at the phone.

Natalie walked up to him. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine."

"What did she have to say?"

Adrian picked up the newspaper and took a seat in his recliner. "Nothing really."

A moment later, he saw a hand at the top of his paper, then Natalie's face as she pulled the paper down.

"You, my husband are a terrible liar. Now, what's going on?"

Adrian scowled. "I can never keep anything from you, can I?"

"No, you can't."

He took his time folding the paper and smoothing its edges, hoping Natalie would give up and walk away, but his persistent wife didn't budge. "Okay!" he finally said. "Molly wants to take Luke to Trudy's grave because he's never been, and she wants me to join them."

"That's it?"

"Yes. I think so."

"And what's so difficult about that?"

"I…I just want to spend the day with you and the girls."

"I appreciate that, but you've never turned down an opportunity to spend time with Molly before. Why now?"

"I don't know. I just want to stay home."

"Is it Luke?"

"No! Luke is great."

"Is it because Molly is getting married?"

"No...yes...I don't know!"

"You don't want her to get married?"

"No. I didn't say that."

Natalie put her hand on her hip. "I don't understand. If you don't have a problem with her engagement, then why don't you want to see her?"

He looked at the floor.

"Adrian?"

He sighed and fell back into his chair. "It...it's Trudy."

"Trudy?"

"Every time I think about Molly getting married, I think of her. I try not to, Natalie, but I can't help it. I just keep thinking how unfair it is that she's not here and I am. She should be here for this."

Natalie dropped onto the arm of his chair, facing him. She lifted her hand to his cheek. "Oh, babe. I understand."

"You do?"

She nodded. "Whenever I watch Julie perform or listen to her sing, I wish Mitch could be here to see her. The intense missing is gone, but sometimes I just wish he could be here to see his daughter."

Adrian enfolded her hand in his. "I love you, Natalie. You are my life now, you and the girls. You are who I want to think about."

"Yes, we are your life now, but you had a life with Trudy too, and I don't want you to forget that for our sake. Knowing about her birth mother is also something that's been very important to Molly, and now that she is getting married, she wants to share that part of herself with her fiancé."

"I know, but…."

"Adrian," Natalie said, cupping his face in her hands. "I love you, and that love will never be diminished by Trudy's memory. Go spend time with Luke and Molly. Help Molly tell him about her mother. Julie and I have been wanting to do some shopping together, so we'll take Sophia and have a girls' day. We'll have our family day tomorrow."

Adrian pulled Natalie into his lap, capturing her lips with the love he couldn't express with words. He was once again dazzled by the remarkable woman in his arms. Time and space disappeared until they heard a giggle beside them. They looked over to find a grinning Sophia standing beside the recliner, watching them.

Adrian cleared his throat. "I guess we're going to need to be more careful where we…um…."

"Make out?" Natalie asked.

"Yes," he said, his cheeks turning pink.

Natalie laughed, then scooted back to the arm of the chair while Adrian picked up the still-giggling toddler.

"You think that's funny, do you?" he asked, nuzzling her cheek.

Then, she put her hands over her eyes for one more game of peek-a-boo before Adrian had to leave.

After arriving at the cemetery, it didn't take long for Adrian to find Luke and Molly.

"Thanks for coming," said Luke as Molly embraced her stepfather.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Adrian nodded and Molly took Luke's hand while they followed him down the tree-lined lane. The leaves rustled in the breeze, unveiling their first hints of red and orange hues in the golden, afternoon sunlight. A somber, but peaceful hush fell over the trio once they arrived at Trudy's gravesite. A mix of conflicting emotions invaded Adrian's thoughts as nearly fifteen years of memories marched through his mind. Looking around, he saw little had changed in the years since Trudy's death. The same grey and black headstones dotted the sea of green, a colorful burst of flowers adorning many. The landscape remained much the same, and yet, the transformation in himself was monumental, a fact he was both keenly aware of and thankful for. After a moment, Molly took the bouquet of flowers from Luke's hand and placed them by Trudy's black, granite marker. Then, she knelt beside it.

"Hi Mom, it's me, Molly, and Adrian is here too. This is Luke Christensen, my fiancé. I wish you were here to meet him. I think you would like him. He's a writer, just like you and me, but I'm sure you know all about him already." She paused as a light breeze blew through her long, blonde hair. "I'm thankful for Adrian, though. Having him here makes me feel like you are here too."

Adrian swallowed hard as he listened to the tremor in her voice. He knew how important Molly was to him, but he hadn't really known how much he meant to her. He brushed away an escaped tear as all at once, he was grateful Natalie had encouraged him to come. She always seemed to know what was best for him. It was she, after all, who had pushed him to reach out to Molly in the first place. He was, by nature, drawn to what was comfortable and familiar, famously one who rejected change, but he was finding it was often outside of his comfort zone and inside of change, where he found the greatest joy.

As they walked back to the parking lot, Molly came alongside Adrian and slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. "Adrian, I have a favor I'd like to ask of you."

"Sure, what is it, Molly?"

She looked up at her stepfather. "Would you walk me down the aisle...at my wedding?"

Adrian stopped at the edge of the parking lot and turned to face her. "Me? What about your father? He...he should be the one to do that, not me."

Molly smiled. "Oh, he'll be walking me down too."

"I don't think I understand," said Adrian, furrowing his brow.

"I want him on one side and you on the other. That way both my families can be represented."

"Molly, I don't know if..."

"Please, Adrian!"

He looked at the ground, then back up. "If it will make you happy."

"Yes! she said with a grin. Then she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "It will make me very happy."

By the time they joined Luke, who was waiting by his SUV, it was nearly 3:00 in the afternoon. Adrian's stomach rumbled enough to be heard. He had not eaten since the pancake breakfast at his father's house that morning. He looked across the street to the local café. He knew Natalie and the girls would be out shopping until late, so he invited Luke and Molly to join him for a bite to eat. They crossed the street to the mid-century style eatery and looked for a quiet booth, the collective hum of the other diners filling the air. A gum-chewing waitress took their orders, returning quickly with their sandwiches and drinks. While they ate, Adrian helped Molly tell Luke about Trudy. Molly had told him as much as she could about her birth mother and her own unusual beginnings over the months they had dated, but there was much she knew Adrian could tell better.

Luke had been relatively quiet, listening to their stories. He finished his sandwich and laid his napkin on his plate. He took a sip of his Coke, then looked up. "Mr. Monk, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," and please, call me Adrian.

"Um okay," said Luke, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "What I wanted to ask you is, how did you move forward after your wife's death? What kept you going?"

Adrian leaned back against the vinyl high-backed seat and laced his fingers in front of himself, taking a moment to consider his answer. "Well, I remember asking Marcia Ellison, Trudy's mother the same thing once. She said she felt buried alive at first, but eventually, she decided to give the world a second chance. I think buried alive is a perfect description of how I felt too."

"But you eventually decided to give the world a second chance?" asked Luke.

Adrian sat up straighter and tugged his jacket. "Yes, but not for a very long time."

"You seem happy now."

The waitress returned to gather their plates and leave the check.

Adrian was glad for a moment to gather his thoughts. "I am happy now, but I wasn't for a long time. Oh, I had moments of happiness, but I grieved for thirteen years."

Molly leaned forward. "Don't you think part of that was because you couldn't solve Trudy's murder and blamed yourself for it?"

"That was part of it, and part of it was because I didn't know how to cope well. There were people…people along the way who were instrumental in my recovery. If it weren't for Leland and Sharona, I may have never gotten out of bed again. For a long time, I wished I had died with Trudy. They got me working again. Work was very therapeutic." He stopped and squinted at Luke. "You played baseball. Do you know Scott Gregorio?"

"Yes, Scott is one of my heroes."

"Well, I once told him that I kept doing detective work because that's who Trudy knew me to be. I just kept being the man she knew I was."

"Wait," said Luke, "you talked to Scott Gregorio?"

"Of course I did. I solved his girlfriend's murder."

Luke looked at Molly, his mouth agape, but his fiancée just shrugged.

Dr. Kroger, my first psychiatrist helped a lot too, but I shut most people out. Finding Trudy's killer is what drove me most of that time."

"Until you met Natalie," said Molly, smiling.

"Yes," said Adrian with a smile of his own. "Natalie is unlike anyone I have ever met. She is not only quite possibly the most understanding and most patient woman on the planet, but she helped me see myself and others in a way I never had. Before I knew it, I had a reason to pull back the covers and put my feet on the floor every morning. Despite myself, I wanted to live again. I had someone to live for even though I didn't recognize what I was feeling at first. Then, Trudy's murder was solved, I met Molly, and before I knew it, I was getting married and adopting a baby. Yes, now, I'm glad I gave the world a second chance, but it took a long time to get here." He looked across at the young man. "I don't know if I answered your question."

Luke stirred the leftover ice from his drink while he stared into the empty glass. After a moment, he lifted his eyes. "You did. Thank you. I think it was love that got you through it. You had some special people in your life who kept pushing you until you could stand on your own feet. Then, you found love again and with it, a reason to keep living."

"I suppose so," said Adrian, rubbing his eyebrow. "I never thought of it that way."

Luke was quiet again, and Adrian noticed the concerned look on Molly's face as she looked at him. "Luke, why did you ask me about that?"

Luke looked at Molly with sadness in his eyes, then back at Adrian. "I haven't…I haven't told anyone this yet, not even Molly." He looked at her again in silent apology. She nodded. "It…It's my mother, Mr. Mo…Adrian. She was just diagnosed with colon cancer for the second time. It's not…it's not looking good. They are only giving her six months."

Scooting closer to Luke, Molly wrapped her arms around him. She held him close and allowed him to weep against her shoulder. Once the tears stopped flowing, Molly reached into her purse for tissues, handing one to Luke and using one herself.

Adrian adjusted his neck but resisted the urge to remove the used tissues from the table after Molly placed them there. "I'm…I'm sorry, Luke. If there's anything I can do…."

Luke took a deep breath. "Thank you. I am trusting God through this. We are praying for a miracle, but we're trusting Him." He turned to Molly. "And, He's given me a ray of sunshine when the world seems dark." He looked down, then took her hand. "I know I should have talked to you privately, but since your family is going to need to agree…."

"It's okay, Luke," said Molly. "What is it?"

"I'd like to have the wedding sooner if that's okay. I don't want to take a chance on my mother missing out."

Molly squeezed his hand. "Of course, Luke. I'm ready whenever you are. We can get married tomorrow if you want to."

Luke gave her a weak smile. "As much as I would love that, I also want you to have the wedding of your dreams, so how about three months from now. December? Is that enough time?"

Molly looked at Adrian. "Well, Adrian and Natalie did it in nine weeks, so I suppose so."

Adrian chuckled. "That's because we had Peggy Davenport on our side. She's a force to be reckoned with."

"Then, December it is," Luke said, kissing Molly's temple.

"I have something that might help," said Adrian, reaching into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a small, velvet box. "These were mine and Trudy's. If you've already picked out rings, it's okay, but I thought you should have them if you want them." He opened the box to reveal the wedding band he had worn for so many years, along with a smaller, matching one. "The diamond ring was damaged too badly in the…blast, but I was able to salvage her band."

Luke and Molly's mouths dropped open as they looked at the box in front of them. "Adrian, we…we can't take these," said Molly.

He set the opened box on the table. "If you want them, they are yours. Trudy would want that too."

Molly hesitated, but then picked it up. She looked to Luke, who smiled and nodded. Taking her mother's band, she held it next to the diamond ring on her finger. "Look how well they match," she said, tears springing to her eyes.

"Go ahead," said Adrian. "Try it on."

Molly slid the ring on her finger. "It's a perfect fit."

"I knew it would be," said Adrian, fighting his own tears.

"I…I don't know what to say," said Molly.

"I was going to have the ring buried with her, but at the last minute, I decided to keep it. I didn't understand why since we had no children to pass it on to, but something told me to. Now I know why. We did have someone to pass it on to. I just didn't know it at the time."

Freshly showered and wearing her favorite pajamas, Natalie climbed into bed. She looked at Adrian, who was lost in the pages of What to Expect When You're Expecting, and snuggled down beside him, laying her head against his shoulder.

"Are you learning anything new?" she asked.

"It's fascinating. Did you know the baby is the size of a banana right now?"

"Is that so?"

"Yes, the baby can also suck his thumb, yawn, and stretch. It's amazing!"

"Mmm Hmm. By the time, this baby is born, you could have a degree in pregnancy," she said, pointing to the tall stack of pregnancy-related books on his nightstand.

Hearing the sleepiness in her voice, he closed his book and turned out the light. He adjusted his pillow and laid down, inviting her to lay her head in its usual spot on his chest.

"You don't have to quit reading," said Natalie through her yawn. "I'm just tired. We walked and shopped and walked some more."

"It's okay, sweetheart. Did you have fun?"

"We did," she said, smiling. "The girls helped me pick out some clothes for the baby. Of course, it's a little harder not knowing if I need pink or blue, but we found some cute things."

Adrian couldn't help but smile, too at the thought of their little one in cuddly, soft baby clothes.

"Did you have a good time with Luke and Molly?" she asked as she played with a button on his pajama shirt.

"Yes, thank you for pushing me to go. I think I needed to be there."

"I know it was important to Molly."

"I gave them my old wedding band, and Trudy's."

Natalie lifted her head to look at him. "You did?"

"Yes, I did. It felt like the right thing to do."

Natalie leaned down and kissed him. "I'm very proud of you. I know that wasn't easy."

"Much easier than I would have thought, actually. They are moving their wedding up. It will be in December."

She propped herself on her elbow and rested her head on her hand. "Oh really? Why? I didn't think it was going to be until sometime next spring."

Adrian's smile faded, and Natalie saw sadness cloud his eyes. "It's Luke's mother. She has cancer, and they don't think she will live that long."

Natalie sat up. "Oh, Adrian! That's…that's terrible. How is Luke doing?"

He turned on his side, facing her. "He's doing surprisingly well. He asked me how I kept going after Trudy, but he has a faith I didn't have then."

Natalie laid her head back on his chest, and he held her tight.

"I don't know what I would do without you," he whispered into the darkness. "I don't know if I could go on if anything happened to you."

Natalie squeezed him tighter. "You would, babe if you had to, but you don't need to worry. I'm not going anywhere."

She yawned again and was soon asleep, but sleep was foreign to Adrian for a long time. His mind replayed a continuous loop of Trudy and her untimely death, then of Luke and his tears as he told him about his mother's cancer, and finally, his mind would turn to Natalie. He loved her more than life itself, but he was again fighting the fear that told him it was all about to end, that what he loved most would again be gone. Natalie rolled to her other side, so Adrian rolled over too, spooning against her and placing his arm around her with his hand resting over her and the baby within as if by sheer will, he could protect them both.

Bob Sander's family came together to grieve and hold his funeral. When it was over, his daughter went back home to Colorado, and his son, a San Francisco resident, was tasked with the unpleasant chore of cleaning out his father's home. Jack Monk found Derek Sanders, a younger, red-haired version of his father, on the front porch when he walked by with Hero.

Jack climbed the well-worn porch steps, acutely aware of the loss he was feeling. He and Bob had formed a close friendship in the few months they knew each other. He had climbed those same steps nearly every day for three months to take walks and spend time with his friend. He now tried to force a smile on his tired face, knowing his friend's son must need more support than even he.

"Good evening," Jack said in greeting.

Derek looked up after setting a box on an old, wooden rocking chair. "Good evening. Mr. Monk, is it?"

"Yes, Jack Monk," he said, shaking the younger man's hand.

Derek leaned down to scratch the dog's head. "And this must be Hero."

"Yes. How is Peaches doing?"

"Oh, I know she misses my dad as much as the rest of us, but she's settling in well."

"We all miss your dad. He was a good man."

Derek removed his ball cap and ran his hand through his hair. "Thank you, Mr. Monk. That means a lot."

"So, how's it going in there?" asked Jack, looking through the open doorway.

"There's a lot to go through. My dad was born here and lived here most of his life, so it's his whole life saved up in one house, really."

"Have you decided what you're going to do with the house?"

"Well," said Derek moving across the creaky porch. "I would like to move in after I do some repairs and updates. I grew up here and it's always been home. I would love to raise my kids here, but my wife is trying to talk me out of it. She loves our current house and neighborhood, and we've been offered a good bit of money for this place."

Jack, who had been looking around, turned his head to look at Derek. "Did you say you've been offered some money for this house?"

"Yeah, over a million. Can you believe it? I know people love these historic homes, but this place needs a lot of work. My wife is mad at me for not jumping on it, but I don't know if I can."

"Who wants to buy it?"

"Umm, his name is Brian…Brian something." He pulled out his wallet. "I think I've got his card in here."

"Brian Hamilton!?"

Derek lifted his head at Jack's exclamation. "Yeah, that's it. Why?"

"I don't trust that guy. He tried to get your father to sell too."

Derek put his hands on his hips. "He's the same guy? My dad told me about him, and I think my wife met him."

"Yep, same guy," said Jack, tugging on Hero's leash. "Just be careful with him."

Derek extended his hand to shake Jack's. "I will. Thank you, Mr. Monk."