Lessons of Love
Chapter 16 Changing Priorities
Standard disclaimer: I don't own Monk.
Notes: Apologies for such a long break. I haven't been writing, a family crisis has made things really rough. – So (*sigh*), this chapter's not up to snuff, but back to our story-
To recap: Mr. Monk solved Mike Philips' murder and then, to Natalie's surprise and approval, decided to change the wedding plans. Now it's time to reveal the plans to their family and friends.
Thanks to a, t& s for all your support. xoxo
"Natalie?" Lifting his wrist, Adrian made a show of checking his watch.
"Relax sweetie," Natalie reassured. Opening the door to her room, she turned and winked at Adrian, an enigmatic grin flashing across her lips.
Following her through the open door, Adrian muttered under his breath, "I'm relaxed."
But he wasn't.
Aware that their friends and family (and also, unknown to the bride and groom, two strangers invited by Peggy Davenport) were gathering for the wedding rehearsal in Sugar Pine Lodge's reception hall, this delay, this unexpected trip upstairs in search of Natalie's cell phone, had, in fact, stirred up some anxiety. They needed to be downstairs, sharing all the new wedding plans!
Shutting the door, Adrian once again checked his watch. They were now officially late.
A sudden quiver in his voice betrayed his agitation. "Natalie, we need to go, everyone's waiting."
"They can wait," Natalie purred, her eyes turning predatory.
With his gaze fixed ahead, the flustered bridegroom strode past Natalie to the bureau. Natalie came up behind him, but he didn't notice. Focused on finding Natalie's cellphone, he immediately started pawing through the bachelorette-party items strewn willy-nilly across the dresser top.
As his hands sank into the pink feather boa, shadowy visions from his bachelor party began scuttling around his brain. Adrian tried to shake away these thoughts but instead, these vague images were quickly replaced with explicit thoughts of Natalie engaged in, ahh, 'un-Natalie-like' activities.
His distress over their lateness waned, replaced by feelings of… well, he wasn't exactly sure how he felt. Rolling a shoulder, he unconsciously tugged at his shirt collar.
Natalie uttered his name, but he was too distracted to hear her voice.
Pushing aside the feather boa, Adrian uncovered the pink, faux-fur covered handcuffs. Suddenly a whole new mix of very conflicting ideas fought for his attention. These couldn't be real, could they? He picked up the restraints and discovered they were lightweight and insubstantial, nothing like his police-issue restraints. Having confirmed they were mere playthings, his thoughts turned. And slowly, ideas merged together. One particular vision suddenly crystalized and, shocked, he simultaneously paled and blushed. Fumbling the cuffs, he hastily set them aside.
Natalie lightly touched his back and playfully enunciated his name, "A-dri-an."
Alas, so distracted was he that, once again, her call for attention went unnoticed.
Consciously forcing away his daydreams, Adrian continued his search for the cellphone. He sifted through the plethora of silky undergarments that lay atop the dresser. With his hands immersed in the lingerie, and because of his gift (or curse) of noticing every detail, he couldn't help but observe that the garments were soft and delicate… and tiny …and transparent. Enthralled, he picked up a, a, hell he didn't even know what to call this cat's cradle of thread and miniscule scraps of fabric.
His breathing grew shallow at the realization that the actual name of this garment didn't matter. What mattered was-Natalie was going to wear this during their honeymoon. She was going to wear this for him…
"ADRIAN!" Natalie slid an arm around his waist and, grabbing a belt loop, spun him around.
In what has become an instinctive ballet between the lovers, Natalie's arms automatically traveled over his shoulders while Adrian's hands found their way around her waist. Not waiting for him to surface from his daydreams, or perhaps wanting to startle him out of his reverie, Natalie kissed him, forceful and searing.
While his fantasy merging with reality, Adrian returned her kiss with one of his own. Forgotten was the search for Natalie's cellphone. Gone was the thought that they were expected downstairs. And unnoticed, though still clutched in his left hand, was one slinky undergarment.
Lost under her spell, he needed to pull her even closer. While his left hand tightened around her waist, his right hand slid lower, to her backside- and stopped. It took him a moment to realize, and then identify, the small rectangular item in her back pocket.
Cursed with the inability to ignore, well, anything, Adrian reluctantly shied away from her lips. "Natalie, your 'missing' phone is in your pocket. Unless I'm wrong, and you know, I'm not, you already knew that. So why did you lure me to your room?"
"Okay, you busted me. I did, as you say, lure you up here. I have one-" A maddening smirk graced her face, "no make that two really good reasons."
His dark eyes held hers, intrigued, "Hmm, two good reasons? Let's hear them."
"Well, first, I wanted to get you alone and-" She snickered, "properly congratulate you for solving the case." She rose to her tiptoes and bestowed soft kisses as she said, "You're truly are a genius- so smart and clever and tenacious and-"
"That's enough." A blush crept up his neck but, in truth, he loved her praise.
"Mr. Monk," Her eyes shining,Natalie's voice was filled with awe and admiration, "you know you're amazing."
Heart filled with pride, Adrian chuckled, "Fine, I'm amazing. Now what's the second reason?"
Grin fading into seriousness, she toyed with a curl at the base of his neck. "Because you changed your mind about the wedding. Adrian Monk, you are impetuous and spontaneous and-" Her eyes wandered to his mouth for a second and her voice turned low and wanting, "irresistible."
Meeting her gaze, seeing her desire and longing, an unbidden growl rumbled in his chest. How easy it would be to pick her up and carry her to the bed, to hold her in his arms and get lost in her warmth, to listen to her sweet voice and surrender to her kisses.
And truly, after this week of a murder investigation and forced separation, they rightly deserved some time alone. Time that would let them forget the outside world and remember that love had brought them here.
Except…
Adrian ruefully said, "Nat, we need to get to the rehearsal."
Natalie wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his chest, grumbling, "Must you remember everything?" Adrian kissed her temple and tightened their embrace as an answer. After letting several moments pass, Natalie sighed softly and released her hold.
Prying her body from his, Natalie absentmindedly reached for his hands, startling when she touched something crumpled in his left hand. "What do you have there?" Untangling it from his clenched fingers, she burst into a fit of giggles. "What are you doing with my underwear?"
"I was-" Adrian drew a blank and stammered, "I, ahh…" His eyes finally fell onto the dresser and the answer miraculously appeared. "I was looking for your cellphone."
Shaking the wrinkles out the garment, Natalie teased, "Well you're not going to find it in here."
Adrian snorted a laugh, "Obviously not!"
"What does that mean, Mister?" Natalie cocked her head, eyeing him questioningly.
"Because they're, you know-" Adrian waved his hand around, flustered.
"They're what?" Natalie smirked. "Sheer?" She held the tiny garment across her hips, "They're pretty though, yes?"
Unable to neither speak nor suppress an idiotic grin, he blithely nodded.
Taking pity on him, Natalie tossed the garment onto the dresser and led him towards the door, "We'll get back to them later. Now let's get to our 'non-rehearsal' rehearsal."
~~~~~LOL~~~~~
Escorted his bride-to-be through the doorway, Adrian flinched when her fingers unexpectedly dug into his bicep. "Ouch!"
"Sorry, but-" Loosening her grip and rubbing his arm, Natalie heatedly murmured, "Crap! What's she up to now?"
Adrian's eyes immediately swept the room, registering everyone in attendance: Leland and TK, Sharona and Randy, Julie and Benji, Bobby and Jonathan Davenport, and lastly, Peggy Davenport, who was speaking with two individuals, a yet to be identified man, thin and elderly with curly white hair, and a woman, young and sturdy with a mass of flaming red hair .
Adrian didn't need to rely on his amazing detective skills to figure out the source of his bride's sudden agitation. Leading her toward the group, he whispered in her ear, "Easy Nat, I'm right here with you."
While smiling and greeting the group, Natalie shot a glance to Adrian, wordlessly thanking him for his support.
"Hey guys, you're late!" Leland bellowed.
Sharona looked from Adrian to Natalie, "I caught that look- what's going on?"
"We'll tell you in a minute Sharona. Pardon me." Natalie stepped toward Peggy, "Mom, what's going on?"
"Natalie, Adrian, may I introduce Kevin Nicki, the West Coast's premier wedding planner and Annabelle Ginger, the renowned, award-winning photographer." Peggy continued, "I know you both said you wanted a simple service, and that's wonderful. But I thought I'd lend a hand and enlist these professionals to do some last minute work, to help make your day a little more special."
From the corner of his eye, Adrian saw Natalie bristle. He placed his hand on the small of her back and immediately addressed Peggy, "We do appreciate the thought Peggy but, unfortunately, we won't be able to utilize their services."
Peggy's face tightened, "Why not? They're the best of the best."
Ignoring her mother's question, Natalie addressed the two professionals, "Mr. Nicki, Ms. Ginger, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. As my fiancée just stated, we won't be needing your services." She motioned toward the door, "Please send my mother a bill for your time and services. Thank you."
The room turned quiet and Natalie waited until the wedding planner and photographer departed before addressing her mother, "Mom, you had no right to interfere!"
Peggy crossly retorted, "I was just trying to enhance-"
Natalie cut her off, "No, you wanted to make things extravagant and showy." She turned to Adrian in frustration, "She just wants 'nice' pictures that'll impress her country club friends."
"That wasn't my intent. I simply wanted you to have the best possible wedding." Peggy huffed. She turned to her future son-in-law, "I even arraigned to bring your brother here."
"And that wasn't right either." Natalie shot back.
Before things escalated into a battle, Adrian knew he had to redirect the conversation. He gripped Natalie's shoulder and calmly stated, "Peggy, I'm thankful you thought of my brother – you were right, Ambrose should be included. Natalie and I talked about it and we've… changed a few things." His eyes wandered from face to face as he searched for the right words.
In that moment of silence, Natalie, eager to have the details known, excitedly interjected, "We decided to postpone the wedding until Sunday and get married back in San Francisco!"
As the room came alive with gasps and questions, Adrian turned to his bride, teasing, "Thanks for gently breaking the news, Nat."
"Quiet everyone!" Leland's voice rose above the din, "Let them speak."
With all eyes fixed on the couple, Adrian motioned for Natalie to continue but she shook her head and impishly insisted, "Go ahead, 'Mr. Diplomacy'."
Adrian unconsciously shifted a shoulder, "As I said before, I am thankful Peggy thought to include Ambrose, but," he addressed Peggy, "It's not practical to think he could come here. Even though he's been making some progress, he still has, you know, issues. It would be, ahh, you know, cruel to have a driver basically kidnap him. And even though Jack suddenly appeared and could accompany him, Ambrose was still upset about making the trip. So I, we, decided to bring the ceremony to him… to home."
While the wedding party looked at one another and buzzed about Jack's unexpected return and the new wedding plans, Bobby, as nicely as possible, whispered to Peggy, "I told you so."
Adrian meanwhile redirected his attention to Sharona. "I know you and Randy and Benji were going to go to San Francisco and visit for a few days before heading back to New Jersey. Would you mind coming to Ambrose's?"
"That'd be great!" Her face lighting up, Sharona laughed, "And I bet Gail would love to come too!"
Randy chimed in, "Yeah, and I could invite my mom. She always asks about you, Monk, since you saved her from that," Randy unconsciously sneered, "that Dalton Padron." Taking a small breath, his sunny disposition quickly returned and he asked, "Hey, Mom's still dating Sherriff Mathis- is it okay if she brings him?"
"Sure Randy, everyone's welcome." Natalie interjected.
Adrian turned to his best man, "Leland, are not going back to work until Monday, correct? You'll come to Ambrose's? Oh, and TK too?"
"You know it buddy." The Captain smirked, "One of the perks of being the boss is making the schedule."
"We'll be there with bells on." TK laughed. She then squeezed her husband's arm, "Hey, I bet some of the guys from the precinct would like to come."
"Like Joe Christie," Leland suggested.
"I'm gonna call Varla Davis!" Sharona cut in.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Peggy interrupted all the happy banter, "What about all the plans you made for here - the minister and flowers and cake? And what about Jonathan?" She turned to her son, "Are you going to be able to attend? I thought you couldn't get away."
"No, Sam Phillips gave me the weekend off." Jonathan tipped his head towards Adrian, "He'd do anything for his new friend."
Adrian smiled and nodded, "Sam is being very generous. He's arraigned to have a team of caterers deliver our flowers and food to Tewksbury and prepare the house. As for who will officiate, I called around and Judge Hackman said he'd gladly perform the ceremony."
"And what about the honeymoon? Are you guys going to come back here?" TK wondered aloud.
"What'd be the point? It's not like they're gonna leave their room." Sharona snickered.
Adrian squirmed uncomfortably while Natalie barked a fake laugh, "Ha ha, very funny. But actually, Sam is letting us use his vacation house in Big Sur."
"But there is one drawback. The house, unfortunately," Adrian gave a small shudder, "is right on the beach."
Julie happily cried, "A beach house?"
Bobby Davenport arched an eyebrow at his wife, "That sounds ideal, doesn't it?"
"Big Sur is quiet lovely," Peggy conceded, offering Natalie approving nod.
As the group continued to discuss the new details of the wedding ceremony, Julie shared a conspiratorial look with Natalie. Getting a nod of consent, Julie loudly questioned, "Hey, was there anything else you guys needed to share?"
This was it, the moment they would share their miracle, the joyous surprise that had already captured their hearts. Adrian looked to Natalie, his unguarded emotions swimming in tears.
The wedding party fell silent, the air thick with anticipation.
Looping one arm through Adrian's, Natalie placed her free hand on her still-flat belly and smiled, "This isn't exactly 'wedding related', but-"
~~~~~LOL~~~~~
"Even though tonight was fun," Natalie snickered as she pushed open the door to her room, "I'm so glad it's over."
Closing the door behind him, savoring the stillness, Adrian leaned against the wall and murmured, "Finally some quiet."
The silence was welcome. After having revealed Natalie's pregnancy, they had been surrounded, besieged, and overwhelmed. Both Natalie and Adrian endured tearful congratulations and wise words of advice, too many kisses (Thank God Adrian had some emergency wipes), rough pats on the back and heartfelt embraces, and, thanks to Randy Disher, one disturbingly affectionate bear-hug/kiss combination.
When that commotion finally calmed, the wedding party moved from the rehearsal hall to the lodge's restaurant, where the questions and advice and well wishes continued anew over dinner. With a multiple course meal and after dinner drinks, coffee and desserts, the night seemed endless. It wasn't till now, almost eleven o'clock, that the group said their final goodnights and let the happy couple slip away.
Enjoying the silence, Adrian remained in the room's small entranceway, mentally clearing away the day's events.
Natalie meanwhile slipped into the bathroom. She left the door open and called out to Adrian, "I'll just be a second." Gathering her toiletries together, she emerged promptly and joined him by the door, "Okay, let's go."
Adrian gave her a puzzled look and Natalie announced, "I'm spending the night with you...If that's okay."
"Of course, but-" He smiled, his eyes darting towards the bed, "but don't forget you pajamas."
With her fingers sliding over the days' worth of stubble that roughened his chin, Natalie grew serious, "I won't be needing them."
"Nat, do you …?" Adrian's eyes widened, "I mean, why?"
"Because," Natalie took his hand and, lacing her fingers with his, stated simply, "You're not the only one who can change their mind."
~~~~~LOL~~~~~
Later, after their breathing slowed and heartbeats calmed, Adrian spooned around Natalie, sated and sleepy. While his beloved quickly dropped off into a bottomless sleep, Adrian hovered on the edge, not ready to let go of this day, cherishing the perfection of this moment. This was how it was meant to be.
Sliding his hand to Natalie's belly, Adrian's thoughts drifted. As images of the future filled his heart, he happily gave into sleep, knowing- This is how it would be, forevermore.
A/N: Don't know when they'll be posted, but Chapter 17 brings us back to San Francisco and Chapter 18, finally, the wedding.