As Natalie had hoped, Cassandra was thrilled to be asked to be a bridesmaid. "I'd love to," she beamed.
"It won't cause a conflict of interest or anything like that with the Four Seasons, will it?" Natalie asked anxiously. "I wasn't sure if it'd be a problem."
"Oh, not at all," Cassandra said, dismissing her concern with a wave of her hand. "There's nothing in my contract that says I can't be in the wedding party of the weddings I coordinate."
"Good," Natalie said, relieved.
"So who gets to be my escort?" Cassandra asked, typing the information into her laptop.
"My brother, Jonathan Davenport."
"Older brother or younger brother?"
"Younger."
"Is he single?"
Natalie laughed. "As a matter of fact, he is."
Cassandra studied her expression. "Previous marriages?"
"Sort of."
"Sort of?" Cassandra repeated, raising her eyebrows.
Natalie gave a short version of the circumstances of Jonathan's disastrous wedding from several years ago. He'd petitioned for a civil annulment shortly thereafter, which had been granted, so technically he'd never been married at all in the eyes of the state — or as far as the Davenports were concerned.
"Poor guy," Cassandra said sympathetically. "That had to be awful for him."
"It kind of soured him on relationships," Natalie admitted. "I don't think he's had a serious girlfriend since."
"Hmmm." Cassandra made a note in her file, then gave Natalie a sidewise glance. "Is he cute?"
She smiled. "I'm biased because he's my baby brother, but I think so." She pulled up a picture on her phone that Jonathan had texted her recently, and showed it to Cassandra.
"Oh, he is cute." Cassandra winked at her. "Excellent news for me."
"We've also definitively decided on the best man," Natalie said. "Adrian's brother, Ambrose Monk."
"He's the one with… what is it, arachnophobia?"
"Agoraphobia," Natalie corrected, grinning. "But his father is coming with, so he thinks he can handle it. Which reminds me, we'll have to add Adrian's father to the guest list — Jack Monk, Sr., same address as Ambrose."
"Adrian's father?" Cassandra said, even as she updated the list. "I thought he was… out of the picture."
"Apparently, he's back in," Natalie said. "For now, anyway. But Adrian is going to ask Leland to be an emergency back-up for best man, just in case… something happens… and Ambrose can't manage."
"Good plan. Speaking of back-ups, any progress on an alternate wedding date?"
"July thirtieth, if that works."
Cassandra pulled up a calendar and studied it. "You're in luck — it's still free. I'll put it in as tentative for now."
"Very tentative," Natalie said determinedly.
"Absolutely," Cassandra agreed, hiding a smile.
Natalie felt extremely odd going back to the hospital on Friday, and odder still to be dressed in regular clothes — in this case, jeans and a blue button-down shirt — after three weeks in pajamas and nightgowns, save her trip home from the hospital.
Wearing a bra felt really strange.
She almost felt like an escapee from prison as she slid into the backseat of the car. "I think I can manage to buckle myself in," she told Adrian as he moved to help her.
He backed off, a little reluctantly. "All right," he said mildly, getting into the driver's seat.
Sharona gave her a slightly chiding look as she settled into the front passenger seat. He was just trying to help, Natalie could almost hear her say.
Natalie rolled her eyes as she fastened her seat belt. She was three weeks out from the accident, and her ribs were feeling much better. She'd obediently stayed in bed or on the couch, taken all her medication, done all of the prescribed breathing exercises to help strengthen her collapsed lung, and she hadn't complained… much. But she was beyond ready to be done with all of the fuss and worry. Okay, she still felt tired a lot, there were still twinges of pain in her ribs, and occasionally it was hard to breathe, but otherwise she felt fine.
She was sent directly to X-ray after they arrived, and once that ordeal was over the three of them waited in an exam room for Dr. Harmon. He came in after they'd been waiting about fifteen minutes. "Good morning, Natalie," he said, studying her from head to foot with a practiced eye. "You're looking much better."
Natalie smiled. "I'm feeling much better, too."
"Mr. Monk, Ms. Fleming," he said in greeting to Adrian and Sharona, who were both standing against the wall across from the exam bed. "Has she been behaving herself?"
"She's been a model patient," Sharona said with a smile.
"I'm happy to hear it." He looked back at Natalie. "How's the pain?"
"Not bad at all," she said. "I'm mostly using ibuprofen now."
He nodded and motioned to her. "Let's have a look, shall we?"
Natalie unbuttoned her shirt, hiked up her bra, and laid back on the bed. Adrian couldn't hold back a jolt and a wince. He hadn't seen her incision before — at her request — and he wasn't quite prepared for the sight of the long, livid red gash below her left breast. He knew that both her chest incision and her forehead wound had been stitched up using dissolvable sutures, so at least she hadn't needed to go through the ordeal of having stitches removed as her injuries healed.
Sharona squeezed his hand sympathetically. "It's actually looking really good," she whispered to him.
Dr. Harmon seemed to agree. "Your incision is healing nicely, and the bruising is almost gone," he remarked. He gently felt along her rib cage, pressing slightly here and there. Natalie flinched a few times, but made no sound other than a sharp intake of breath once or twice.
"Let's listen to your lungs," he said, helping her sit up. He took out his stethoscope and had her breathe deeply, listening to first the front and then the back of her chest for several minutes.
When he was done, and Natalie had pulled her bra back down and re-buttoned her shirt, he examined the healing laceration on her forehead. When he was finished, he studied her chart for a long minute. "I'm glad to see you've gained back a good portion of the weight you lost in the hospital. Someone's been feeding you well." He winked at Adrian and Sharona.
"They get mad at me if I don't clean my plate," Natalie said, her mouth quirking.
Dr. Harmon chuckled. "Well, Natalie, your X-rays look good — the broken ribs appear to be mending properly, as are the cracked ribs. Your lung sounds back to normal, and I'm very satisfied with the healing of both your chest incision and your forehead wound."
He smiled, and said the words she'd been longing to hear. "You're officially off bed rest."
"Yes!" she cheered, pumping a fist in the air.
"But," he cautioned, "you're still on limited activity. Remember, you're recovering from fairly major surgery, and your ribs aren't fully healed yet. No driving, no lifting anything heavier than ten pounds, and no contact sports for the next six weeks. Light exercise is all right, and will even be beneficial, but be careful that you don't overdo it."
"Can I go back to work?"
Adrian frowned. "I don't think — "
Dr. Harmon held up a hand. "You help Mr. Monk investigate crime scenes, is that right?"
Natalie nodded.
"As long as you're careful, and let me stress that you need to be careful, I don't see why not, just as long as you keep any strenuous physical activity — running, jumping, and so on — to a minimum. Stay hydrated, get off your feet when you can, and don't skip any meals; I'd like to see you gain back at least five more pounds. Also remember that your immune system is somewhat compromised now that your spleen is gone, so you need to take that into account."
"Doctor, I live in the cleanest house in San Francisco," Natalie said, her expression solemn.
"I'm sure that's the case," Dr. Harmon said, glancing at Adrian, "but the rest of San Francisco isn't quite so clean, unfortunately."
Adrian nodded his agreement. From now on, he would make sure that both he and Natalie used his wipes.
"Can I shower now?" Natalie asked.
"You may shower or bathe," Dr. Harmon conceded. "Your incision is healed enough so that immersion in water shouldn't be an issue."
She nearly cried with relief at the prospect of no more sponge baths.
"What about sex?" she blurted.
Sharona disguised a gasp by pretending to cough while Adrian flushed crimson. "Natalie," he protested weakly, covering his face with his hand.
Dr. Harmon heroically tamped down his laughter. "As long as you're feeling up to it, it's fine — but be sensible. Nothing too… strenuous, if you get my meaning — at least not while you're on limited activity."
"I understand," she agreed, barely repressing a giggle when she saw the mortified expression on Adrian's face.
"Speaking of… Dr. Hector told me that wedding plans are underway," Dr. Harmon said, glancing at her engagement ring. "June fourth, I believe?"
"Tentatively," Natalie said. "But we're willing to push it back to July thirtieth if necessary."
"Keep making the progress you have and I don't think June will be a problem." He smiled broadly. "But I wouldn't recommend any mountain climbing or bungee jumping during the honeymoon."
"We hadn't planned on it," she said, elated by his words.
He shook her hand. "It was wonderful seeing you again, Natalie — and you as well, Mr. Monk, and Ms. Fleming. Keep up the excellent care."
The doctor had barely left the room when she all but launched herself at Adrian. "Did you hear that? No more bed rest!"
"I heard," he said, smiling at her exuberance as they hugged.
"We should celebrate," Natalie said, fairly radiating joy. "How about roller skating? Or ice hockey?"
Adrian rolled his eyes at her as she dissolved in giggles.
"How about lunch?" Sharona suggested, laughing at both of them.
"Lunch sounds fantastic," Natalie agreed.
"I have an idea," Adrian said, threading his arm through Natalie's and leading her out the door. "Let's go by the station and see if Randy's free to join us."
"That is a great idea," Sharona agreed, pleased he'd thought of it. He made considerate gestures like that far oftener than he used to, she'd noticed.
The squad room at the precinct was, as always, bustling and humming with activity as they arrived. Randy and Leland didn't appear to be terribly busy, however, as they were sitting casually around Randy's desk, chatting with a couple of the other detectives.
Leland caught sight of them as they came in the door. His face brightened with a pleased grin as he jumped to his feet. "Well, look who just showed up," he said, threading through the desks, with Randy close behind. He pulled Natalie into a hug. "Natalie Teeger, what the hell are you doing here?"
"I'm officially off bed rest," she announced.
"Really?" Leland said, looking at Sharona.
"So the doctor said this morning," Sharona confirmed. "But she's on limited activity for the next six weeks."
"He said I could go back to work, too," Natalie declared.
"Just as long as you're careful," Adrian added, shooting a warning glance at Leland.
"We'll try to avoid inviting you to any hazardous crime scenes in the near future," Leland said cheerfully.
"We were hoping to steal Randy for a celebratory lunch, if you can spare him," Sharona said, winking at Randy.
"I'll do you one better," Leland said. "I was going to meet T.K. for lunch today. Why don't we all go?"
"We'd love to," Natalie said happily.
"Let me give her a call right now. While I'm doing that, you should go greet some of your adoring public over there," Leland said, giving Natalie a gentle push toward the throng of detectives and officers who had gathered nearby, excited by her reappearance in the squad room.
Adrian hung back slightly as Natalie laughed and chatted with the members of the Homicide division who had crowded around her. He saw that the note she'd written to the squad to thank them for the flower arrangement they'd sent to her in the hospital held a place of honor on the bulletin board.
"They really love her," Sharona murmured to him.
"Yeah," he said, as Natalie cracked up at something Detective Carlsen said to her. "They do."
"Did they like me that much?" she wondered.
He grinned. "Yeah, they did." He glanced over at Randy, who was quickly finishing up some paperwork at his desk. "As it turns out, one of them really, really liked you."
She smiled, laughing quietly. "Too bad it took me so long to figure out that I really liked him, too."
"It all worked out for the best," he said philosophically. "If you hadn't moved away, I might never have met Natalie."
Sharona considered this. "You might still have been hired to help solve her case."
He nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe. But I don't think our association would have progressed much beyond that, if I hadn't needed a new assistant. I was still so… broken."
"Then you're right," she said lightly. "It did all work out for the best." They grinned at one another.
Leland came out of his office, smiling broadly. "We're all set. T.K. will meet us at the Park Tavern in twenty minutes." It was a popular, if slightly more upscale, lunch destination near the station house.
"My treat," Adrian announced.
Both Sharona and Leland gaped at him. "Am I hearing things, or did Adrian Monk, cheapskate extraordinaire, just say 'my treat'?" Sharona wondered aloud.
He shrugged, his ears reddening. "We're celebrating."
Adrian managed — barely — to extract Natalie from her crowd of admirers so they could leave for lunch.
"Did anyone ask for your autograph?" he asked, wryly, as they walked to his car.
"No, but Detective Carlsen asked if he could see my scar," she said cheerfully.
He stopped walking so abruptly that Natalie, who was holding his hand, nearly tripped. "Did you show it to him?" he sputtered.
She smacked his arm. "You were standing right there the whole time, you dope. Did it look like I showed him my scar?"
"Well, I was talking to Sharona half the time, so I didn't see — "
She smacked him again.
"Okay, okay," he relented, pretending to cower from her blows. "I'm sorry."
She grinned at him and rose up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "I'll be more than happy to show you my scar once we're alone," she whispered flirtatiously into his ear.
Adrian felt a queer mixture of excitement and dread, but only squeezed her hand in reply. He knew that tonight they'd have to have the conversation he'd been putting off.
The six friends had a wonderful lunch. Natalie, Sharona, and T.K. were heavily involved in a discussion about when to start shopping for Natalie's wedding dress, as well as the bridesmaid dresses, now that Natalie could leave the house.
Natalie was gung-ho about going the next day, but a quick call to Julie and Cassandra nixed those plans — Cassandra had a wedding to work, and Julie already had plans with friends. They decided on a week from Sunday instead.
True to his word, Adrian grabbed the check when they were finished. Sharona had to step out momentarily to take a phone call, and she was beaming with excitement when she returned to the table. "I have a job interview on Tuesday," she announced.
"That's great! Where?" Randy asked.
"San Francisco General, in the Emergency Department. Apparently, someone put in a good word for me with Dr. Hector," Sharona said, slanting a glance Adrian's way. He grinned bashfully but didn't deny it.
"What time?" Natalie asked.
"Ten a.m., so looks like I'll be coming in late that day," Sharona said cheerfully.
"Well…" Natalie pretended to consider this. "I don't know if your current employer will let you have the time off."
Sharon's eyes danced with laughter. "What are you going to do, fire me?"
Natalie's eyes laughed back. "I hope so!"
"You're still on the payroll for at least another week," Adrian cut in. "Limited activity," he reminded Natalie when she started to object.
"Spoilsport," she muttered.
"He's right," Sharona said. "You need to get back in the swing of things gradually. Trying to do too much too soon won't help you any."
Natalie appealed to Leland and T.K. "I don't suppose either of you will take my side."
Leland shook his head firmly.
"Three weeks ago you were in intensive care," T.K. said sympathetically. "Don't push it."
"Mother hens," Natalie said, grumpily relenting.
"Cluck, cluck," Adrian said, sliding his credit card back in his wallet.
"Don't worry, I'll be out of your hair soon enough," Sharona promised.
