"Soon" came three days later. Natalie was nearly beside herself with impatience on the morning of her discharge. It felt blessedly normal to be wearing real clothes again – Julie had brought them to the hospital for her – despite the fact that she'd had to make do with a nurse-assisted sponge bath instead of an actual bath or shower, and even though she'd needed help getting dressed as though she were a toddler again.

As she'd expected, Dr. Harmon visited her that morning and laid down the law. She had to stay as still and quiet as possible over the next several weeks in order for her ribs to heal satisfactorily. If she tried to do too much too soon, she could potentially re-crack one of her already-healing ribs, or, worse, re-break her fractured ribs – which could be disastrous, as it could cause more internal bleeding or another collapsed lung. And she needed to be very careful not to rip open the incision from her surgery.

"I've already gone over your medication requirements with Ms. Fleming," he said. "In addition to the antibiotics, I'm writing you a prescription for Percocet. If the pain is significant, you can take ibuprofen in conjunction with it. Ice packs might also help relieve any discomfort. Time is the best healer there is at this point, and it's going to be painful for the next several weeks, even with the medication. Excruciating pain, however, isn't normal, so if you experience anything like that, I need to be notified right away." He glanced at her over his reading glasses. "I'll see you again in two weeks so I can gauge your progress, and I'll know if you've been overdoing it. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Doctor," she said obediently.

He smiled then. "I have a feeling that both Mr. Monk and Ms. Fleming will be watching you like hawks, so perhaps my admonitions are unnecessary." He laughed at the droll expression on her face.

There was a knock at the door, and the nurse came in with a wheelchair. Julie was behind her. "Ah, time to go, I see," Dr. Harmon said. He shook Natalie's hand. "Despite the circumstances, it's been a pleasure, Natalie. I'll see you in two weeks." He nodded to Julie as he left the room.

"Ready to bust out of here?" Julie said cheerfully. She had already loaded all of Natalie's flowers into Adrian's car.

"More than ready," Natalie said emphatically.

"I've already signed all your paperwork, so you're good to go," Julie said, helping her into a light jacket. "Adrian's waiting at the front."

With the nurse's assistance, she was settled into the wheelchair and wheeled to the elevator, then down and out the front doors. It was a beautiful, if slightly cool, spring day, and Natalie took a deep breath of the fresh air, even though it hurt her ribs to do so.

True to Julie's word, Adrian was waiting outside, standing in front of a sleek silver sedan. He looked nervous, but brightened when he saw her. "There you are," he said, opening the rear driver's side door. "Your chariot awaits."

"Some chariot," she said, impressed. Taking the nurse's arm, and assisted by Julie, she carefully eased inside. The interior was upholstered in dark gray. It was, of course, spotlessly clean, and still had a new-car smell. Adrian leaned inside and buckled her seat belt for her. She winced slightly at the feeling of constriction against her chest.

"You okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah," she said, trying to smile through the pain. "Let's go home."

Julie went around to the passenger side as Adrian slid into the driver's seat. She noticed his hands were trembling slightly and bit her lip, wondering inwardly if it might not be better to let Julie take the wheel. But after he buckled his seat belt, and made sure Julie was also buckled in, he vised his hands on the steering wheel, cautiously checked for oncoming traffic, turned on his blinker, put the car into drive and slowly pulled away from the curb.

He was an exceedingly careful driver, never letting his speedometer go above the posted speed limit for an instant, always using his blinker, and refusing to enter an intersection if the traffic light was yellow. But in due course, they pulled into her driveway, and Adrian heaved a sigh of relief as he turned off the car. Although he was getting more and more used to it, driving was still a nerve-wracking experience for him.

Sharona, dressed in a pair of candy-pink scrubs, came out of the house when she heard the car pull in. She smiled when Adrian stepped out of the driver's side. "Everything go okay?" she asked, and he knew he was talking about more than Natalie's discharge.

"Just fine," he answered.

Together, they eased Natalie out of the car and helped her into the house. Sharona had already prepared the couch with blankets and pillows, correctly guessing that her patient wouldn't want to go straight to bed after arriving home.

Natalie gingerly eased down onto the couch, wanting to breathe deeply but knowing it would be painful to do so. The short walk from the car into the house was the most strenuous exercise she'd had since the accident, and she was feeling winded by it. The doctor had warned she'd be dealing with shortness of breath while her injured lung healed.

Sharona expertly took her pulse as both Adrian and Julie hovered anxiously. Then she pulled out a stethoscope and listened to her lungs.

"How's the pain?" Sharona asked briskly, removing the prongs of the stethoscope from her ears.

"Not too bad," Natalie said, but her cheeks were pale and her face strained beneath the fading scrapes and bruises. The healing laceration on her forehead stood out in vivid contrast.

"Adrian, could you get me a cold pack from the freezer?" Sharona asked casually. "And Julie, why don't you fix your mom some ice water?"

They rushed to do her bidding, and in due course Natalie felt much more comfortable. The cold pack helped ease the stinging in her ribs, and the ice water felt wonderful to her dry throat.

After helping Adrian carry in all the flowers they'd transported from the hospital, Julie reluctantly left, as she had a two o'clock class that Natalie insisted she attend. After seeing her off, Adrian came and perched carefully on the edge of the couch, his hip nearly touching hers.

"I have something for you," he told Natalie. He reached into his pocket and drew out the bag containing her engagement ring.

"Finally," she said with a relieved smile.

"Let's put this back where it belongs, shall we?" he said, and slid the ring onto her finger, much as he had the night he'd proposed.

He leaned forward and kissed her, then, and although he meant it to be gentle, it deepened into the first truly intimate kiss they'd shared since before the accident, with their eyes closed and their tongues meeting eagerly.

A loud cough interrupted them a few minutes later, and they reluctantly separated. Sharona stood in the kitchen doorway, looking equal parts amused and embarrassed. "Excuse me for interrupting, but it's time for her medication."

"Sorry," Adrian said, but he didn't look it. In fact, he looked rather pleased. "Listen, I was thinking of going to the apartment to do some packing," he told Natalie, knowing that her pain pills would make her sleepy for the next several hours. "Your parents get back tomorrow and I want to clear some things out. But I'll stay if you want me here."

"Go ahead. I'll be fine," she said, and he kissed her cheek before leaving.

Sharona took his place, handing Natalie a small Dixie cup with several pills in it along with a fresh glass of water. "Your antibiotics and your painkillers," she said.

Natalie took the pills and drank the water. When she was finished, Sharona lifted her left hand so she could admire her ring. "The pictures didn't do it justice," she said. "It's really lovely."

"Adrian can tell Randy where to buy one just like it," Natalie teased gently.

Sharona rolled her eyes. "We're happy with the way things are for the moment," she said, but she was smiling as she dropped Natalie's hand. Then, unexpectedly, she giggled. "Okay, I'm sorry, but I have to say it. I never thought I'd witness Adrian Monk sticking his tongue in someone else's mouth."

"To be honest, neither did I," Natalie confessed, giggling too. "It took me a little while to get used to it." She blushed, remembering the first time it'd happened, on the terrace of the Four Seasons. She wasn't sure which one of them had been more surprised, but Adrian had quickly realized that he thoroughly enjoyed it… and so had she.

"So," Sharona said, carefully avoiding Natalie's gaze, and busying herself with straightening the blankets, "I take it that there haven't been any issues with… um… his ability to be intimate?"

Natalie considered how to reply. She wasn't surprised that Sharona had asked, given how Natalie had confided her — happily unfounded — worries about that issue to her and T.K. the night of the Gala. But she also didn't want to betray Adrian's confidence by discussing private details of their sex life with anyone else.

"Let's just say," she said finally, "that Trudy Monk was a very lucky woman… and so am I." She smiled, a little smugly.

Sharona slanted her a look that was slightly chastising. "Be careful that you don't get carried away. You need a doctor's clearance before any… strenuous physical activity."

"Considering it hurts to breathe, let alone move, I think I can restrain myself," Natalie said dryly.

"See that you do," Sharona said, her mouth quirking. "Now get some rest. Nurse's orders."