Some more filler, but I wanted to have a little time with Randy and Sharona before the wedding chapter.
Chapter 18: On Fire
The days passed by in a flurry of planning, and yet time felt as though it were dragging for Adrian and Natalie. Adrian had started to pack up his apartment- they had decided that he would move in with Natalie, and then as soon as they returned from their honeymoon, they would begin house hunting. Peggy fussed with her daughter during the day over small details, but she had managed to remain true to her word. Natalie was touched at the effort that her mother was making to give her the wedding that she wanted. Her mother had forced herself into a different mindset, that of elegance, yet simplicity, beyond what she would normally consider.
Two days before the wedding, Randy and Sharona Disher had made their flight into San Francisco. Adrian and Natalie were coming to pick them up from the airport. Randy was a bit irritable as he went through the general annoyance of dealing with the luggage check. "I'm not scared of flying," he muttered to his wife, "but it's a big enough pain in the ass that I have a better understanding of why Monk hates it so much."
"For God's sake, Randy, it was just from Newark to San Francisco! We haven't seen our friends in over three years."
"You're right. Besides, I wouldn't miss this for all...my God, Sharona! Is that Adrian Monk?"
"Oh my God, Randy! Look at him!" Sharona clapped her hands.
For he was walking towards them, with Natalie Teeger's hand intertwined with his own. She knew that Monk had changed since solving Trudy's murder, but this went beyond anything she ever expected. It wasn't just the color and cut of his clothing...it was in the set of his shoulders, the confidence in his stride, a suntan that heightened his naturally swarthy complexion. Then Sharona saw the glint in Adrian's eyes as he glanced at his fiancée. and Natalie beamed at him in return. Her former boss was...really sexy!
Sharona started to quickly walk over to them, leaving Randy to trail behind her. "Adrian! Look at you!" She hugged him fondly.
Randy caught up with them, "It's great to see both of you! I've never been so happy to lose a bet in my life."
Adrian shook his head as they walked away together. "Natalie, I'm never going to live down being the last person to figure it out."
Leland had finally cajoled TK into hiring a sitter as the three couples sat in an elegant restaurant, celebrating Adrian and Natalie's upcoming wedding. The proud parents passed around their phones, showing off pictures of their new little angel.
Sharona swiped through all the pictures, admiring all of them. "Leland, I have a feeling she's going to have Daddy wrapped around her little finger."
"Going to be?" TK Stottlemeyer smiled affectionately at her husband. "Sometimes he wanders around the living room with Amanda in his arms, dancing to a tune only he can hear."
When Sharona had visited four years ago, she and Natalie had butted heads, but once the dust settled, the streetwise Sharona knew that Natalie harbored tender feelings for Adrian Monk. After Trudy's murder was solved and Randy left San Francisco, the two of them had had a running bet that Monk would eventually come to his senses. Randy thought Natalie was wild about the Navy doctor, but Sharona knew better. You didn't stay with a man like Adrian Monk all those years without being affected by him. Either you came to love him like a family member, or in Natalie's case, you fell in love with him. His rampant OCD and phobias made it impossible for one to put up with him otherwise.
As she was looking at all the pictures, she came across one that absolutely arrested her attention. It was Natalie holding little Amanda with Adrian standing over her shoulder. But Adrian wasn't looking down at Amanda. He was looking at Natalie. Natalie beamed as she looked down at their new goddaughter, but Adrian's gaze was locked on Natalie. He looked as though he was ready to bury his face in Natalie's hair. It was a faint, but deeply intimate, almost sensual smile and it just took Sharona's breath away. "This one is beautiful, Randy. Look at Natalie and Adrian with the baby!"
Natalie piped up, "Let me see! I know there were pictures, but I haven't seen them yet."
Sharona handed Leland's phone over to Natalie and when she saw the picture, she felt her heart stop. "I want this one sent to me, Leland," she breathed. She looked over at Adrian, who by this time had glanced at the picture and melted as he saw the expression on Natalie's face. He blushed slightly, though. It was just such an unguarded expression of love and passion.
His eyes drifted to Natalie's and her breath caught before she could stop herself. Their connection was almost telepathic, as she felt that surge of attraction to him.
Adrian shook himself out of his reverie and smiled at TK and Leland. "I didn't know you had taken pictures of us with the baby."
"God, Adrian," Sharona rolled her eyes. "TK's a brand new mom- all you do is take pictures of your first born."
The three women laughed because Randy and Adrian were fairly clueless of this universal fact.
"Well, I know Natalie's going to find this annoying," interjected Randy. "But I, for one, am looking forward to seeing the famed Davenport Estate."
"Same old Randy. Don't get too excited. It's going to be a very small, simple wedding. I have marveled at the self-control my mother has shown in keeping it within our comfort zone and not doing things the Peggy Davenport way."
"I'm sure the grounds are beautiful," smiled Sharona. "So it's going to make for a beautiful setting for your wedding. Although..." She smiled slyly at Monk. "I think Adrian would marry you in a landfill." Sharona started to laugh when Monk cringed.
Natalie looked over at Adrian lovingly, and she surreptitiously slid her hand along his knee underneath the table. "One of the times he saved my life was when he got out of his sickbed and came to the garbage dump in his pajamas and bathrobe because he knew that I was in danger."
Monk swiveled his neck, in that all-too familiar way of his. "Of all of the adventures I've had with these two ladies, can we leave out the ones involving garbage trucks, garbage strikes, landfills, and for the love of all that's holy, Sharona, don't bring up the sewer!"
Natalie and Sharona's eyes met across the table and they started laughing merrily. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.
"Well, my personal favorite is the one where you chased down the airplane, Monk," chimed in Randy.
Natalie kissed Adrian softly on the cheek. "That's Julie's favorite, too. She told me recently that when she got married, she wanted a man who wasn't afraid to stand in front of the airplane. Now I finally have the man who actually did." Adrian leaned softly against her forehead.
Hidden under the table, Natalie took her finger and traced it on the top of Adrian's knee. After a few seconds, his head perked up and he looked at her. He realized that she had sent him a message. "TAKE ME HOME."
All of the entreaties from Randy and Sharona couldn't keep them there. "One minute they're here, and the next they're in a hurry to leave. You would've thought Adrian had forgotten to turn off the stove."
"That's not it, Sharona," replied Leland.
"What do you think it was?"
"I'm not Monk, but I know what it was. Julie's coming home tomorrow, and then Natalie and Julie are driving to the Davenport's to spend the night. I don't think they've been separated for more than a few hours in the last six weeks, and well...they'll be sleeping apart the night before the wedding."
Randy's jaw dropped. "You mean they've been living together?"
"Pretty much, Randy. Natalie's been staying at his place since the day before Amanda was born."
Sharona shook her head in disbelief, and then relented with a smile. "It does explain a lot. The way Adrian was looking at her in that picture with the baby, and just all of the changes in him, even the way he walks. You said Adrian told her he loved her, Leland. They're not in love...they're on fire. He's happy at last."
Leland raised his glass, "I'll drink to that!"