Natalie awoke on the morning of her second wedding day feeling surprisingly rested. She'd expected a restless night, with possibly a nightmare or two due to nerves and excitement, but instead she'd slept soundly and dreamlessly. Perhaps the long bubble bath and the two glasses of wine she'd indulged in last night had helped with that, or maybe Julie's presence had kept her relaxed.
She glanced over at the other side of the bed and was surprised to see it empty. Julie had slept with her last night, just as they often used to do when Julie was younger. The tradition had started during Mitch's deployments – when the emptiness of her double bed became too much to bear, Natalie would bring Julie in to sleep with her. Somehow, snuggling with her baby girl had made Mitch seem closer. After Mitch had died, she'd been unable to face sleeping in the bed alone for a long time, and cuddling Julie had made the nights a little less lonely.
As Julie grew older, though, it happened less and less, which was only natural. Of course, thunderstorms and bad dreams always called for bed-sharing, but even so the times they shared the bed had become few and far between. Natalie had mourned the loss of the tradition – they'd still occasionally snuggled together before bedtime, talking and laughing, but even that had stopped as Julie had started her teens and her evenings had been consumed with homework and friends.
So she hadn't objected at all last night when Julie had climbed in beside her. "Just for old time's sake," she'd said with a grin. They'd talked and laughed a little bit, but Natalie had soon drifted off to sleep, thanks to a combination of the busy day and the wine she'd had.
Now it was the morning of June fourth. Today, she'd become Mrs. Natalie Teeger Monk.
She'd remained resolute about taking Adrian's last name, but as a sort of compromise with herself, she'd decided to drop her middle name of Jane – which she'd never really liked, anyway – and replace it with Mitch's last name instead. She didn't want to wholly give up that connection with Mitch, and with Julie, and Adrian had approved of her decision wholeheartedly. Somehow, she'd known he'd understand.
In a way, she was grateful that her second marriage was to someone who understood the complex feelings that came with losing a spouse. Granted, Adrian's reaction to his spouse's death had been much more drastic than hers, but he'd made enormous strides in the last few years, and especially in the last six months.
She wasn't glad that either of them had had to suffer that loss in the first place, but even so, the shared experience seemed to be helping them both cope better with the changes ahead. They were happy changes, but they were still changes – and change wasn't always easy.
Her mind drifted to the memory of her first wedding day. It had been an extremely small wedding compared to what was planned today. They'd applied for the marriage license on a Friday morning, purchased their rings that afternoon, and had been married the following Monday, in the office of the base chaplain, who had also performed the very brief ceremony. Two of Mitch's Navy buddies had stood as witnesses.
She'd worn a blue dress — Mitch's favorite color and, as a result, now hers – and he'd worn his dress uniform. She hadn't minded that at all, as she'd loved how he'd looked in it. They'd left on their honeymoon the very next day, flying first to Paris and then backpacking across Europe like nomads until their allotted time and money had run out.
It'd been romantic, and exciting, and she'd been so young – only twenty, hardly older than Julie was now – and so much in love. Life had seemed like a fairy tale come true. She'd had no idea that they were living on borrowed time, or that they'd only have eight years together. She'd imagined growing old with him, but it wasn't meant to be.
Now it was her wedding day, again, and a much different wedding day than she'd experienced the first time around. Instead of a pretty blue dress and an austere military office, with only two other soldiers in attendance, she'd wear an elegant white wedding gown and veil on a hotel terrace, with friends and family surrounding her. Instead of dinner for two at a chain restaurant, she'd have a lavish reception and dance.
But there was one common thread with her first and second weddings – she was madly in love with the man she was marrying, and she couldn't wait to spend her life with him, however long that would be.
A soft knock on the door interrupted her daydreams. A moment later, Julie came in, carefully balancing a tray in her arms, the tantalizing scent of coffee following in her wake. "Oh, good, you're up."
Surprised, Natalie pushed herself up into a sitting position. "What's this?"
"It's your wedding day," Julie said, easing the bed tray down over her legs. "I thought breakfast in bed seemed appropriate."
She'd prepared steel-cut oatmeal with blueberries and bananas, a glass of ice water garnished with a lemon slice, and a steaming cup of coffee. "I asked Cassandra what you should eat for breakfast, and she recommended oatmeal and fresh fruit," Julie explained, settling down on the bed next to her, moving carefully so as not to disturb the tray. "It'll give you energy and won't cause bloating. Sharona wanted me to remind you to stay hydrated, so there's water, too." She grinned. "And I know you can't start the day without coffee."
"Thank you, sweetie," Natalie said, taking a sip of the coffee first thing. It was odd – she'd never been a coffee drinker most of her life, but that'd changed once she'd started working for Adrian Monk. The crazy schedule and odd hours, plus the plentiful coffee always available at the police station, had turned her into an addict.
"You're welcome." Julie settled back on the pillows, crossing her legs at the ankles. "Big day, huh?"
"The biggest," Natalie agreed, taking a bite of her oatmeal. It was delicious. Julie hadn't skimped on the milk or brown sugar, and the fruit was fresh and delectable.
"Are you nervous?"
Natalie chewed contemplatively, and then swallowed. "Sort of," she said slowly. "I'm nervous about the wedding part – I want everything to go smoothly, and I'm hoping that there won't be any catastrophes or dead bodies showing up – but I'm not nervous about the getting married part. Does that make sense?"
"I get it," Julie said, nodding. She couldn't hide her grin at her mother's mention of 'dead bodies.' That sure wasn't something the typical bride worried about on her wedding day. "I don't think you have anything to be nervous about on the wedding front, though. Cassandra rocks at her job. And knowing her, she'd probably hide any dead bodies laying around until after the ceremony."
Natalie laughed. "You're probably right. But you can rock at your job and still have things go wrong." Working so closely with the police department had taught her that lesson time and time again.
"I guess so. Still, she seems to have everything under control."
Julie studied the ceiling contemplatively as Natalie continued eating her breakfast. Finally, she spoke up again. "Mom, can I ask you a personal question?"
"Of course," Natalie answered, taking a sip of her water.
"Has Adrian been sleeping in the guest room just because I'm here?"
Natalie choked on her drink and had to swallow quickly. "No," she said, laughing a little.
Julie looked mortified, but plunged ahead. "I know he was staying in there after he first moved in, but I assumed it was because you were still on bed rest. But then he was still staying in there when I moved in for the summer, even though you were so much better, and I... I just wondered. Is it an OCD thing? I mean, is he going to keep sleeping in there even after you're married?"
"No," Natalie said again, still laughing. "It's nothing like that. It's just..." She stopped, trying to think of how to explain her arrangement with Adrian in a way that didn't embarrass the hell out of both of them. "A few weeks after I came home from the hospital, we mutually decided, for several personal reasons, to wait until our wedding night before we... slept together again."
Julie raised her eyebrows skeptically. "And that night I walked in on you guys on the couch...?"
Natalie blushed crimson. "We'd sort of... given in to temptation. At least, we probably would have if you hadn't come home when you did." She kept her eyes trained on her water glass as she added, very quietly, "The waiting hasn't been easy for either of us."
"But are you waiting because of me? Is it another 'I need to set a good example for my daughter' thing?"
Natalie narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, 'another'?"
Julie sighed. "Mom, I'm not stupid. I know that's why you hardly ever dated after Dad died. And I'm pretty sure you didn't have sex with anyone else until Adrian, too."
"Julie Anne Teeger!" Natalie wasn't sure whether to be horrified or impressed that she apparently knew so much, but she was not comfortable discussing her sex life with her daughter, even if Julie was technically an adult.
Julie rolled her eyes. "I really don't want to discuss this any more than you do, but it's been driving me crazy, wondering why he's still sleeping in the guest room. Please don't tell me it's because you had this ridiculous idea to set a good example for me."
"It's not ridiculous to want to set a good example for you," Natalie said primly. "And it wouldn't have been a bad example to set. But like I said, we had different reasons – private reasons – for making that choice, and, as of tonight, we're done waiting. From now on, he'll be sleeping in here, with me."
"Well, good," Julie said, almost defiantly. "That's how it should be."
"I'm so glad you approve," Natalie retorted in the same tone.
They managed to glare at one another for a full five seconds before they dissolved into laughter.
When their mirth finally abated, Julie sat up, crossing her legs under her. "Look, Mom," she said, a little hesitantly, "I know I've given you a lot of grief lately – "
"Which you thoroughly enjoy doing," Natalie interjected.
With a shrug, Julie grinned. "Maybe I do," she allowed. "But you know I really am very happy for both of you, right?"
Natalie smiled, partially in relief, as she'd sometimes wondered if Julie was just putting on a show for their sake. "I'm glad to hear you say that, to be honest. I know things happened really fast – "
Julie snorted. "About as fast as a freaking glacier."
Natalie paused with her spoon halfway to her mouth. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"For crying out loud, Mom." Julie rolled her eyes again. "You were in love with him for years before you two finally hooked up."
Natalie's spoon clattered loudly as it dropped into the nearly-empty bowl. "How did you – "
"I'm not sure when Adrian finally took the plunge," Julie mused, ignoring the interruption. "Maybe around a year ago. But I know that's why he gave you Trudy's necklace for Christmas." She grinned at Natalie's expression of open-mouthed astonishment. "Like I said, I'm not stupid."
"I've never thought you were stupid," Natalie said, picking up her spoon again. "But I can't understand how you knew something I didn't really know myself until a few months ago."
Julie shrugged. "I figured it out after Adrian was shot — after we thought he was shot — by Captain Stottlemeyer. The way you acted... it was like you'd lost Daddy all over again."
"Oh, Julie," Natalie said softly, feeling distressed. She'd never intended to make her daughter relive those memories.
"And afterwards, after he was back, you – well, you started looking at him the same way you used to look at Daddy," Julie continued. "It was pretty obvious after that, even though you tried to hide it."
Natalie flushed. "Was I really that transparent?"
"Only to me," Julie said with a smile. "I don't think Mr. World Famous Detective had the first clue."
"You're right about that." Natalie couldn't help but chuckle. "But what made you think that he had started feeling that way about me?" she probed, curious in spite of herself.
Julie pondered this for a moment. "It was around the time you were all freaked out about the voodoo doll thing. I could tell he was really worried about you. Especially after you were nearly killed by the 'Psycho Paramedic'," she said, using the nickname the media had given Angeline Dilworth.
"He was?" Natalie couldn't help but ask. Julie hadn't been there to see her fall into Adrian's arms after he'd stopped the ambulance, and to her knowledge no one had told her about it.
Julie grinned. "You were pretty out of it in the hospital, but when I got there, he didn't notice me at first. I saw him holding your hand and stroking your hair while you were sleeping."
"Really?" Natalie didn't have very clear memories of the immediate aftermath of that particular case, but she could have sworn she'd felt someone doing exactly that – holding her hand and stroking her hair – when she'd been in the hospital afterwards. At the time, she'd simply dismissed it as a hallucination due to the toxins she'd accidentally ingested.
"I wondered if he'd ever make a move when you were actually conscious, but he didn't, not that I could tell — at least, not until Christmas, when he gave you Trudy's necklace. After that, I was pretty sure things were going to start to happen, especially with the way he was looking at you all day. And the way you guys were acting with each other after I got home from Pebble Beach confirmed it — plus, there was the fact he'd taken off his wedding ring."
In retrospect, that explained why Julie hadn't seemed altogether shocked when she'd mentioned seeing them kissing on New Year's Day, Natalie realized. "Forget theater," she said, impressed. "With observational skills like that, maybe you should be a cop."
"One cop — or former cop — in the family is more than enough, thank you," Julie returned, laughing. "I have to admit, though, I didn't see the marriage proposal coming. Especially not so soon after you guys started officially dating. That was a shock."
"Tell me about it," Natalie agreed. "Why do you think I nearly fainted when he proposed?"
Julie smiled apologetically. "I would have warned you, but, well — he wanted to surprise you."
Natalie laughed. "It all worked out for the best." She glanced at her engagement ring with a smile, mentally reminding herself to move it to her right hand before the ceremony. She'd opted not to have her wedding ring and engagement ring soldered together, deciding to wear one on each hand instead.
Thinking about her rings reminded her of something else. She moved the bed tray off of her legs — she'd finished her breakfast, anyway — and went over to her dresser, from which she extracted a small wrapped box. She returned to the bed and offered the box to Julie. "I have a present for you."
Julie took it with a surprised smile. "You gave me my maid of honor gift last weekend."
Natalie had gifted all of her bridesmaids pearl jewelry sets — necklace, bracelet, and earrings — to wear with their dresses. Julie, however, had received a pearl hair comb instead of a necklace, since she had already planned to wear Trudy's pearls with her dress.
"This isn't a maid of honor gift," Natalie said, smiling. "This is — well, it's sort of a present from your father and me."
Julie's brows drew together as she unwrapped the small package and lifted the lid from the white cardboard box. She withdrew a burgundy velvet jeweler's box, one that she recognized immediately. It was the same type of box that had held her mother's engagement ring. "Mom, what is this?"
"Open it," Natalie urged with the same soft smile.
Julie gently pried open the lid and gazed in wonder at the delicate heart-shaped gold necklace resting on the shiny black backing. "It's beautiful," she said, but she was still puzzled.
"Mr. Faddis made it from my wedding ring," Natalie said. "My first wedding ring — the one your dad gave me when we were married."
Julie's eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Mom," she said, her voice shaking with emotion, fingering the necklace reverently. "Thank you."
"I don't expect you to wear it with your bridesmaid dress; I know you're wearing Trudy's pearls," Natalie said, struggling to hold back her own tears. "I just — today, especially, I just wanted you to know that I will never stop loving your dad. I hope you know that I'm not trying to, well, replace him, and — "
Natalie was taken aback when Julie started laughing through her tears. What was so hilarious? She'd thought they'd been having a rather tender moment.
"I'm sorry — it's not funny — but you sound just like Adrian," Julie said, wiping tears from her face amid her laughter.
"How so?" Natalie asked, mystified.
"He said practically the exact same thing — almost word-for-word — the day he told me he wanted to marry you," Julie explained. "He also said he'd never try to usurp Dad's place in my heart."
Natalie was so stunned that she didn't know whether to laugh like Julie had, or to start crying in earnest.
"He was so worried about it," Julie sniffed, laughing harder even though tears were spilling down her cheeks. "It was kind of cute, really."
It was a day for laughing and crying, Natalie decided, and joined in the merriment even as her own tears started.
"Grandma's going to kill us," Julie said, hiccupping, when they'd finally gotten themselves under control. "We're going show up at the salon and our eyes are going to be all red and puffy."
"I'm sure they'll have eye cream or something to help with that," Natalie managed while blowing her nose. "God knows I'm probably going to be crying my eyes out today, anyway."
"Bring on the waterproof mascara," Julie said, and for some reason that sent them off in gales of laughter again.
"It's a good thing I stocked up on tissues," Natalie gulped, grabbing a box from her bedside table.
"I'll say," Julie agreed. "I haven't cried this much since your — " She stopped herself, appalled. "I mean, it's been a while."
"Since my what?" Natalie pressed, curious, although she could guess.
Julie flushed. "Since your accident," she admitted. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that."
"It's all right, Julie," Natalie said gently. "I'm not going to have another panic attack."
Julie smiled timidly. "It's just — today is supposed to be a happy day, and I don't want to bring up any bad memories for you."
She had a point there, Natalie acknowledged, but on the other hand, they really hadn't talked about what had happened that night, not really. Since they were spending the whole morning together, and they were all emotional anyway, it seemed as good a time as any.
"I want to talk about it. How did you find out?" she asked.
Julie drew in a long, shuddering breath. "Randy came to the dorm to get me. It was late, so I knew there was something wrong when I saw him at the door. He said you'd been in a car accident, hit by a drunk driver, and he'd come to take me to the hospital. I called Grandpa while we were on the way, and he said he would leave right away and get there as soon as he could."
Natalie nodded silently.
"When we got to the hospital, Adrian was already there. I took one look at him and I thought — " Julie gave a funny kind of gulp. "I thought he was going to tell me that you were dead. The way he looked — it was — I think he must have looked like that the day that Trudy — " She shook her head violently.
Natalie handed her a tissue so she could blot some of the tears on her face.
"Anyway, I said his name, and he stood up. He just stood up and looked at me, and he said my name, and I went over to him, and then he — " Julie smiled a tiny smile. "He hugged me."
"He hugged you?" Natalie repeated.
Julie nodded. "I asked him right away if you were dead, and he said no — he almost shouted it. He said no, you were alive, but that we didn't know anything else, and we should just sit down and wait for news." She lifted her hands and dropped them again in a helpless gesture. "And we waited for a really long time. But you know what?"
"What?" Natalie said softly.
"He never let me go," Julie said wonderingly. "I remember thinking afterwards that that he must have been freaked out because I'd been hanging on him and blubbering all over him the whole time, and for a while I even fell asleep on him, but he never let me go. It was like — " She smiled again, a little self-consciously. "It was almost like having Daddy with me, in a way."
"Don't mind me," Natalie choked, grabbing a tissue for herself. "Keep going."
"Well, as I said, I fell asleep for a while," Julie resumed, "and I woke up because Dr. Hector came in and everyone was standing up. She came over and she told us that you were going to be okay." She heaved a ragged sigh, brushing her hand over her eyes. "I hope I never have a night like that again. It was horrible."
"I can imagine," Natalie murmured.
"After that we went up to a different waiting room, one by the ICU, so we could be there when you were brought up. And that was when Adrian said the accident was his fault."
"He said what?" Natalie said, louder than she'd intended, causing them both to jump.
"He was really beating himself up about it," Julie confessed. "He'd said terrible things to you, and you were so mad that you'd driven off, so it was his fault that you'd been hit."
"Well, that's just ridiculous — " Natalie began indignantly, but Julie cut her off.
"I told him that. And I told him what you always tell me about how families hurt each other sometimes, but we apologize and then we forgive." Julie shrugged. "I think it helped. It must have, because he smiled and he said I sounded just like you."
Natalie laughed at that.
"Anyway, I went to call Grandpa to give him an update, and when I came back Adrian was sound asleep on one of the couches, so I decided to take a nap too. The next thing I knew, the nurse was waking us up and saying we could go see you."
Julie began twisting and shredding the wadded-up tissue in her hands. "She took us to your room, and we went in, and… and…" She doubled over and began sobbing like her heart would break. "Oh God, Mom."
Natalie gathered her in her arms like she was a toddler again. "Shhhh…" she soothed. "It's all right, honey. I'm just fine."
"You are now," Julie choked. "But that day… when we saw you… it was awful. All I could think was that you looked so broken. I knew Dr. Hector had said you'd be okay, but you didn't look like you'd be okay. I think Adrian was kind of shell-shocked too. He said your name, and I think I said hi to you, but neither of us really talked."
"We were only allowed to be in there for ten minutes, and when we went back to the waiting room, I just fell apart. Kind of like I just did." She gave Natalie an apologetic smile. "I fell apart, and Adrian hugged me again, and he said that we had to be strong for you." She took a deep, cleansing breath. "Mom, he was… he was just amazing. I really don't think I could have gotten through it without him."
"He has a way of being strong when you least expect him to be," Natalie murmured, and Julie could tell she was deeply moved.
"Grandpa showed up just then — it took him longer to get there than he'd hoped because of a flat tire — and it helped to have him there, too," Julie continued. "He told Adrian that Grandma was with him, but that she didn't want to come in without Adrian's permission, and she'd leave if he wanted her to."
Natalie blinked. Her mother — her pushy, domineering mother — had been downright humble?
"At first, I thought Adrian was going to say she had to leave, but he didn't. He just nodded when Grandpa asked if Grandma could come in. After she did, things were a little awkward between them, but they were at least polite to each other."
Julie scrubbed her hands over her face. "Grandpa and Grandma went to see you, and after they got back Dr. Bell came in with Dr. Hector, and we all decided to leave the hospital for a while and get some rest. I went with Grandma and Grandpa to their hotel, and Dr. Bell and Dr. Hector took Adrian back to his apartment. I think it was around six in the morning by that time."
"That was a long night," Natalie said sympathetically.
"Longest night of my life," Julie agreed. "We went back to the hospital around one in the afternoon, I think, and Adrian was already there. Not only was he there, but he'd gotten a cell phone because he wanted to make sure the hospital could reach him no matter where he was. I couldn't believe it." She grinned at the memory.
"We talked a little bit about his visit with Cassandra earlier that day, and then Grandma made me and Grandpa go get coffee so she could talk to Adrian alone. By the time we got the coffee and got back up to the ICU, they were sitting together and smiling at each other like they were old friends, and from then on she was really nice to him."
"That's… pretty remarkable," Natalie said, feeling dazed. Granted, she'd witnessed her mother and Adrian getting along for months now, but it was still incredible to hear how it had come about. She'd never really asked either of them how it had happened — all she'd known was that her mother had apologized to him at some point.
"She was really grateful to him for letting her stay," Julie mused. "I think she really regretted that her last conversation with you before the accident had been so angry and bitter, and I'm pretty sure Adrian told her that he felt the same way about his last conversation with you, so they probably bonded over that."
Once again, Natalie was impressed by her daughter's insight. "You're probably right."
Julie heaved a sigh. "Well, that's about it. We talked to Dr. Harmon, and after that Adrian went to sit with you. He came running back into the waiting room about an hour or so later with this huge smile on his face. He said you were awake and asking for me, and he all but pushed me out the door. I went to your room, and you didn't have that scary ventilator thing in your mouth anymore. Your eyes were open, and…" Her smile beamed now, bright and happy. "And you said my name."
Natalie remembered that, vaguely. The first sixteen hours or so after she'd woken up in the hospital were largely a blur, but she remembered seeing Adrian, and Julie, and talking to both of them. "Thank you for telling me all of that. I know it wasn't easy, but… I'm glad you did."
Julie shrugged self-consciously. "Well, I'm glad you didn't die," she said, brutally honest. "And I'm glad you didn't have to postpone the wedding."
"Me too," Natalie said, glancing out the window. The sun was shining brilliantly and she was grateful that the weather forecast cited a 0% chance of rain. The Four Season's terrace was shaded, but even so, she was happy the sun would be shining when they said their vows.
Julie looked out the window too, and then she looked at the clock. "Yikes, we need to be at the salon in an hour. I'd better get these dishes downstairs." She slipped the box holding her new necklace into the pocket of her pajama pants before hefting the breakfast tray into her arms. "And Mom… thanks again."
Natalie wasn't sure if she was referring to the necklace or the conversation — or both — but she just smiled. "You're welcome."
