I am absolutely proud of Chapter 13. I wanted a way for Albright to see Monk and Natalie in a position that could not be misinterpreted. So I invented the park routine. I thought it was a great blend of romance, uncontrolled desire tempered by their love, anger and resignation from Albright, and we got to see our favorite detective protect his lady! A lot of this is filler, but no Monk story in this timeline would be complete without Dr. Bell. Adrian's concerned about Natalie after the things Albright said, and then the rest of the gang has to find out, too.
Chapter 15: Telling the World
Friday morning found Dr. Neven Bell driving up to see Adrian Monk and Natalie Teeger waiting for him to open his office. These days, he usually only saw Adrian every couple of weeks. This happened without fail, but Adrian had cancelled his appointment two weeks ago. The psychiatrist was naturally curious about what was going on in the world of Adrian Monk- he sometimes deferred a session by a day or two, but he never cancelled and waited for the next scheduled session.
The scene was familiar, yet different. Their eyes never left each other's as they were talking as they waited. They were standing closer to each other than usual as well. Adrian Monk was wearing an expression Dr. Bell had never seen before...that of absolute bliss.
Dr. Bell opened his office door and Adrian looked at Natalie and smiled at her. "I won't be long."
Adrian took his usual seat and Dr. Bell picked up his letter pad.
"I haven't seen you in nearly a month, Adrian. I was surprised when you cancelled your last session without rescheduling."
Adrian steepled his fingers and said, "I've been busy, Dr. Bell. In fact, I'm not really here because of me. I'm here because of Natalie. Everything is because of Natalie." Adrian drew a deep breath. "Dr. Bell, Natalie and I are getting married."
At this, Dr. Bell dropped his pen. "Come again?"
Adrian smiled broadly. "Natalie and I are getting married."
"I know I heard you right, Adrian. I know why Natalie wants to marry you, but can you tell me why you want to marry her?"
Adrian's face dropped. "Did everyone except me know? I'm the guy they call when they want someone to see something that your average homicide detective can't see, and I never knew. Natalie's not even your patient."
"Yes, but reading people and analyzing them is my business. You had other things in your way. But why have you decided you wish to marry Natalie?"
"That's the easy part. I love her. I couldn't let her marry another man without telling her how I felt. I'm really here because of her. It was hard for her, breaking things off with Lieutenant Albright. She's been down on herself. He called her a name I can't even repeat, and I think part of her believes that's true. I don't want her to think of herself that way."
Dr. Bell tilted his head, and looked Adrian right in the eyes. "When he called her that name, how did that make you feel, Adrian?"
Enraged at the memory enough to be frank, "I threw my fist back and busted his lip. I might have done worse than that if Natalie weren't so upset."
Dr. Bell just smiled at Adrian, "I don't know what to say. Your concern for Natalie is remarkable, and finally remarrying is a huge step. Do you mind if I speak to her in private, Adrian?"
"Not at all. I'll get her and I'll wait outside," and he hurried out into the waiting room.
"Dr. Bell wants to see you, and speak to you in private."
Natalie's mouth fell open, "Me?"
Adrian knelt down and clasped her hands. "It's okay. Do it for me. I'll wait out here."
Natalie's initial apprehension started to melt away at the sight of Dr. Bell's welcoming smile.
"Adrian just told me the wonderful news. He's worried about you. He said that breaking things off with Lieutenant Albright had made you feel badly about yourself."
Natalie covered her face with her hands. "I feel awful. I dated him for over three years, and even agreed to marry him..."
"And all the while, you were in love with Adrian."
"Was I that obvious? Even Steven said he just ignored all the signs."
"You didn't want to be alone, Natalie. You thought your feelings were never going to be returned. You called things off before you married, Natalie. You aren't the first person to call off an engagement because going through with the wedding would be the wrong thing to do. In your case, it was unrequited love finally reciprocated. Which brings me to another subject, Natalie. Adrian has always been a private man. He has never really discussed the more personal aspects of his marriage to Trudy. Dr. Kroger's case file said he spent an entire session singing just to avoid the subject."
Natalie flushed from her collarbone to her hairline. There was no way that she could ever tell anyone, even his own psychiatrist, about her fiancé's encompassing need to explore her intimately. "That hasn't changed, Dr. Bell. Adrian is still a very private man. I will only tell you this, from my perspective alone. After Mitch was killed, it was a long time before I started dating again. There were others, even before Steven. These past three weeks have been more than I ever dreamed they could possibly be. It's only made me wish I had done one thing, Dr. Bell."
"What would that be, Natalie?"
"The same thing Adrian did, Dr. Bell. Wait for the real thing and take a vow of celibacy until the real thing comes. As bad as I felt about the confrontation with Steven, a major question, one that you're probably wondering about, was answered. When Steven asked him what happened- what had changed things, Adrian said he woke up. He said, 'All I can see is Natalie.'"
Dr. Bell smiled at Natalie. "A real breakthrough. Be happy, Natalie. Don't believe things that were said to you in anger. Think of the big picture- you did the right thing. Now that you and Adrian are getting married, you're never going to find yourself in that situation again. Think about a wedding, think about a honeymoon, think about the life the two of you have been slowly building these past eight years. Adrian was consumed with Trudy's murder, but he recognized something within you when you came into his life. He's wanted you at his side ever since, even after he stopped needing someone to help him function. Don't look back."
Natalie found herself tearing up because it was true- they had been moving towards this, more slowly than she would have liked. But love had called twice, for both of them. "Thank you, Dr. Bell."
Out of respect for the new parents, Adrian and Natalie decided to go visit Leland and TK at their house to announce the happy news. After presenting gifts for their new godchild, Adrian stood up and held his hand out to Natalie. He looked like a kid at Christmas. "Natalie and I have something we want to tell you."
Natalie held her left hand up in the air. "I'd squeal, but I don't want to wake the baby...we're getting married!"
After hugs and well-wishes were exchanged, Natalie and TK slipped off to the nursery. In that way only mothers can, they cooed over the tiny sleeping girl.
"She is so precious, TK. How is the new dad holding up?"
TK smiled dreamily, "This one has Daddy wrapped around her tiny little finger. I never knew I could find so much happiness in being a mother, Natalie. I feel like our life is complete."
"There's nothing in the world like it," Natalie agreed. "Julie was my reason for living after Mitch died. I'll tell you a secret. Adrian and I are going to try to have a baby after we get married. I think about carrying his child, and my head starts to spin."
Three years ago, shortly after she and Adrian had recovered from being poisoned, Natalie had just buckled underneath everything that had happened. She had just wept brokenly while TK comforted her. "Steven is kind and handsome and...normal, but he isn't Mr. Monk. I'm going to go to my grave in love with him. When he was dying, I thought I was going to die too- even before I wound up poisoned myself. I stay with him because I just want to take what I can get. I'm his friend, his companion, and I help him solve cases. I can't give him up."
"I wonder when I'm ever going to stop underestimating you, Monk. I thought that guy was going to take you apart, but he said you almost dislocated his shoulder when he tried to hit you. He said you were going to kick his ass." Monk and Stottlemeyer sat out on the back porch, watching the inevitable fog to start to set in as night fell.
"He disrespected Natalie and my relationship with her. I wanted to beat the hell out of him. He called Natalie a slut." Adrian's mouth formed the word without making a sound. "After he said I was going to...you know...her brains out." Adrian twitched his head and rolled his shoulder.
Leland started laughing. "So you snapped. Albright said he deserved it. I got him a little lit. He looked like he could use a couple of drinks. So, when is the happy day?"
"If I have anything to say about it, the day after Julie comes home for the summer. Maybe something simple on the beach, like you and TK had."
"No fancy Davenport shindig?" Leland smiled, knowing the answer.
"You know Natalie- she doesn't care about that at all. I think I'd climb the walls being surrounded by 400 people they think they have to impress. I hope she agrees with me. I can't wait."
"You're probably right, buddy. I think all she cares about is marrying you, Monk."
That night, after Monk and Natalie left, Leland called Randy and Sharona.
"Randy? If Sharona's there, put her on speaker. I hope you guys can clear your schedules, because you're not gonna believe this..."