Too early the following morning, while Monk was getting dressed, his telephone rang. He grabbed it, hoping the ringing hadn't woken Natalie.

"Hello?" he said into the handset.

"Monk?"

"Captain?"

"Where the hell… where are you?" Monk could envision the captain's frustrated expression just from the sound of his voice.

"I'm… uh... I'm home."

"No. No, you're not."

"Yes. Yes, I am."

"No, Monk, you most definitely are not. I am standing inside 2G on Pine Street. There is no furniture. No books. No cleaning supplies. No Monk."

"Oh, um..."

"I can't wait to hear this."

"Maybe you'd better come over."

"Over where?"

"544 Briarcliff Terrace."

"What are you talking about? That's your old house…yours and Trudy's!"

"Yes, I know. Just come." He said nothing else and hung up.

Adrian moved quickly to the door of his room and opened it carefully, peeking out to make sure Natalie wasn't in the hall in some state of undress since her bathroom wasn't in her room as he had the master suite. Then, assuring himself the coast was clear, he walked to her bedroom door and tapped lightly.

"Natalie?"

"I'm up. You can come in," she called. He opened the door warily. He found her sitting in bed, reading something on her cell phone.

"Morning. Leland just called. He was over at my old apartment and didn't find me there, so he called and now he's on his way over here."

"Great," she groaned and put a pillow over her head. "I guess it's showtime."

"Yes, I guess so. You get ready, I'll get breakfast and coffee going."

"Thank you."

"Of course." He slipped out before she got out of her bed. He opened the garage door, pulled in the garbage can from the early morning collection, and left the garage to air out. Then, he busied himself in the kitchen, making breakfast. Today was oatmeal and fresh fruit, his fruit on the side, of course, and coffee for Natalie and Leland. He set the table and had everything ready when he heard a car door slam in the driveway. Natalie hadn't appeared yet, but Monk went to open the front door as the doorbell rang. It sounded out of tune and kind of tinny, like a carnival. He made a mental note to add a new doorbell chime to the shopping list.

He opened the door to find a very confused Leland Stottlemeyer leaning on the newly painted trim of the doorway. "Monk, are you alright? We don't need to call Dr. Bell do we?"

"No. No, I'm perfectly fine. Come on in."

As the two men walked into the kitchen, Natalie came in through the other doorway, hair damp, no makeup, barefoot. Leland stopped short when he saw her. He'd never seen Natalie in her early-morning-before-work state. She and Adrian had shared many a late night that had precipitated a sleepover at one or the other of their homes. Hence, Adrian thought nothing of Natalie's early morning appearance. In truth, he thought it rather adorable.

Leland could only stare at the obviously freshly showered Natalie, who sat and took a sip of her coffee.

"This is perfect, Adrian. Thank you." She stalled.

"You're welcome." He stalled too.

"Okaaaay," Leland said in a way only he could. "What the hell's going on here? Did you two elope over the last couple of days and forget to tell anyone?"

Adrian chuckled, and Natalie laughed between spoonfuls of Adrian's excellent steel-cut oatmeal and blueberries.

"No, we just decided that economically and convenience-wise, it made sense for us to live together," she answered with their agreed-upon fabrication.

"What? How?" Leland Stottlemeyer was often at a loss for words, but he was dumbfounded. "Econom- convenient? You realize you'll be together like 24/7 from now on?"

"Yes, we discussed that," Adrian replied. "But we realized we're together 16 hours or more a day anyway. So what're 6 or 8 more hours? Most of which we'll be asleep. This is so much better than paying for two of everything. Think of how much extra money we will both have!"

"What about privacy? What about living? What about dating?" Leland directed these questions mainly to Natalie.

"We each have our own room and bathroom. Living we do mostly together anyway, we have no secrets."

Well, maybe one, Adrian thought.

"And dating?" Adrian scoffed, "Neither of us has really been on the market for a while. But we can figure that out when and if it happens."

"And neither of you thought to talk it over with me? What about with Dr. Bell?"

"We're adults, Leland," Adrian replied, a bit miffed. "We're making a practical decision that benefits us. Julie is off on her own in her apartment at college. Natalie was in that big old house alone, I was alone, yet we had two sets of bills… This place is newer, more economical, and closer to the station. It all just made sense when we were talking one day."

"No, no it really doesn't. But if you're both okay, if you're both happy, then who am I to judge?

"Exactly!" Natalie said happily but firmly. Indicating the conversation was over. "Do you want some coffee?"

"Uh, no thanks. I originally came over to give you this file." He handed Monk a copy of the file about the case they'd caught the night before. "I have other stuff waiting for me at the station. I'll see you later, around one?"

"Yep," Natalie said, and Monk nodded, already engrossed. Leland saw himself out and stood on the front steps, utterly befuddled at what he'd just witnessed. The captain of homicide didn't believe them for a single second, but something was going on that they couldn't or wouldn't share. Maybe they'd finally figured out their feelings, he marveled. That's when he noted what he hadn't when he drove up. The new Beemer parked in the open garage in front of his car. A 740i. Leland knew cars. This one went for around seventy thousand dollars. Oh yes, something was definitely going on, and he was going to use every resource he had to figure out what it was or turn in his badge.

𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ

Natalie and Adrian ate, cleaned up, and got ready to leave with some haste. They had an appointment with the pool contractor at 10am. Monk knew every inch of the property, including the dimensions, so the discussion with the contractor was easy. The pool, a hot tub, a new fence, a koi pond in a grotto with a gazebo, new pavers, new pavers on the front steps to match, a pathway around to the back from the front, an inner fence, and the works. The man was ecstatic. He began calling his subcontractors to see how quickly they could start the job after getting a rush on the permits. Gardeners, plumbers, brick masons, excavators, fence post setters, the outdoor kitchen expert, and more would descend later in the week. The pool contractor, Joe Davis, recommended by Natalie's mother, would go to the house for measurements and photographs later in the day. He knew this job would put his eldest through college. Natalie wrote him a deposit check for one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, and he nearly kissed her. She took the receipt and placed it in the folio she kept carefully to account for all their purchases. She'd pay him more once the work started.

When they left, they stopped for lunch at a cafe they liked and Natalie was giddy with excitement over the pool. Adrian thought he'd never seen her so "up" over anything material. She wasn't a particularly materialistic person. Even Julie's shows and acceptance to Berkeley hadn't made her this excited. It was fun to watch her get the things she deserved. Their next stop was the police station for their update meeting on the case, then the backyard furniture store.

The pair were pleasantly chatting when they walked into the bullpen and the noise and activity around them were normal until they stopped at Randy's desk. He looked at them like he'd never seen them before. Clearly, their news had spread at least this far. Fourteen feet outside Leland's office. Possibly further if the person on the other end of Randy's phone call was Sharona.

Natalie asked, "Hey Randy, is he ready for us?" In a normal tone, using words she'd used at least a thousand times before.

Randy covered the mouthpiece on the phone and stuttered, "Uh, yea-yeah. Yes. He is. I'll be right in."

Natalie and Adrian walked into Leland's office after a brief knock only to find him stuttering over the phone call he was on, "Yes, definitely. I will discuss this situation with you later. Take care." It was apparent to Natalie that he'd been talking to TK, no matter how he tried to make it sound neutral, and he was clearly still trying to wrap his head around this morning's new situation. Which was really not his business as long as it didn't affect Adrian's work, Natalie thought. Which I will make sure it does not.

Leland rose to greet them and invited them to sit on the couch where the case material was laid out on the coffee table. Randy walked in and, for once, had no snide commentary. Leland must have read him the riot act. For the next hour, they went over details and small leads that they were to split up to follow up on. Finally, they all rose to go on to their assigned destinations, and Randy spoke up at last.

"Uh, Monk, Natalie, I need your new address for the payroll department and the expense disbursement coordinator."

"Randy," Natalie said with exasperation, "that second one is you."

"Uh-huh. And both departments need your updated info. It will only take a minute."

Adrian put a hand on Natalie's arm, "Fine, Randy, let's do it now." His calm touch on her arm took the irritation and fight right out of her. Adrian was right. What was the big deal? Why was she getting so defensive?

"I guess congratulations are in order?" Randy asked as they moved to his desk to fill out the forms. "I mean, moving in together is a big step in a relationship."

Natalie wanted to punch him in his smug mouth. She often felt that way. Instead, she said, "Well, we practically lived together anyway. Now we're just making it official. It makes sense, don't you think. Economically it's advantageous for both of us, and as far as logistically, it's been amazing so far. He's just down the hall instead of a few miles away, and vice versa when we need to go somewhere. No wasted time, no extra effort. Plus we eat together all the time… it's ridiculous to have double everything in each house when we can just have one kitchen. Right?"

Randy stood there looking like a bear caught in a beekeeper's honeycombs, expecting either stings or a shotgun blast, was stunned into silence. Adrian smirked behind the folder he was holding because even he got how Natalie's rejoinder silenced the usually inappropriate Lieutenant. "Uh, right!" Randy stammered, hoping to cover his enthusiastic need to make them squirm and his embarrassment at Natalie's words.

"See you later, Randy," Natalie said over her shoulder, and she and Monk were out of the squad room before Randy could reply.

𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ𝕸ɳ

On the drive to Better Backyards and Posh Patios, Adrian said to Natalie, "That wasn't quite as awful as I imagined it would be."

"You do know that Randy was on the phone with Sharona, and Leland was on the phone with TK when we walked in, right?"

He hadn't realized. "Oh."

"Yes, I'm sure we can expect rounds two and three when one or both of them call or come over. And I'm a hundred percent positive that Randy isn't through. I just threw him off his game back there."

"And a fine job you did of that."

"Why, thank you, kind sir. But it won't be the last of this. They are like bloodhounds on a scent."

"I know, but we'll have to hold them off."

"I think we're up for the challenge. It's worth a literal fortune."

They spent a happy couple of hours choosing their new backyard furniture, which Adrian had no intention of ever using. Natalie, of course, had other ideas for Adrian's future use of the patio. This time, Adrian wrote the enormous check for the whole setup, they agreed on approximate delivery dates, knowing they could store the furniture, stand heaters, and the rest in the garage until the pool was finished, and they left feeling accomplished. They sat side by side in quiet contemplation as they drove home. If nothing else, at least they were making the house as lovely as its potential had suggested it could be when he and Trudy had purchased it. That gave him a type of satisfaction he hadn't felt in a long while and a sense of pride too. Adrian was also happy he was getting to do it with Natalie. If Trudy couldn't be there, there was no one aside from Natalie he could imagine sharing his life with, although he wasn't sure what that meant.