Two weeks after Randy and Julie's first visits to their new home, Adrian and Natalie waited downstairs from Julie's apartment for her to return from her afternoon classes. They had to abandon the house for a while anyway; the contractors were ripping out the kitchen cabinets today. Neither of them wanted to be there for that dusty mess. Adrian had, of course, supervised the hanging of plastic sheeting to protect the other rooms from the dust. The contractor had been both obliging and amused.

They leaned against a gleaming red Jeep Cherokee that sported a giant white bow. Adrian was actually leaning awkwardly against a handkerchief placed between him and the jeep as Natalie hid a smirk, but he was still leaning. That was progress. Natalie was practically vibrating with excitement. Adrian could feel Natalie's elation as her arm brushed against his. Ever since the beginning, he'd found it easy to feel her emotions, but now that they'd begun living together, even just a few weeks had really amped up that ability. He tried to shake it off, but her mood always affected him, usually positively, and he was feeling rather joyous too.

Today was Julie's twentieth birthday, and they were there to surprise her in a big way. They had the explanation all ready, and they were a united front. Adrian felt reasonably confident he wouldn't mess it up. But just in case, he was allowing Natalie to take the lead. He was holding a bouquet of balloons. They saw Julie walking down the sidewalk towards them with her friends a few minutes later. When she saw them, she broke into a trot, trying to balance her backpack and the assortment of items in her hands, including an iced coffee. One of her roommates, Bex, came up beside her and grabbed the stuff Julie was trying to juggle, allowing Julie to freely embrace her mother and then Adrian.

"Happy birthday, sweetie!" Natalie exclaimed.

"Happy birthday, Julie!" Monk also declared as he handed her the balloons.

"Thank you!" Julie said excitedly. "What are you guys doing here? I thought we had plans for the weekend!"

"We do, but we have a surprise for you and thought you'd want it today!"

"Okay, cool! What is it?"

Natalie dangled the keys to the jeep in front of Julie and then stood back like a game show hostess, "A new car!"

Julie gasped and nearly lost her grasp on her balloons and her mind. "Oh. My. God. Is this a joke?" she whooped. She looked between them and the car. Adrian had a broad smile on his face, and her mother's grin could have lit the whole city.

"No joke," Adrian said. "Just a gift!"

"But how? Why?"

"Maybe because I love you and you really needed a new car, not another used, broken down…."

"Deathtrap!" Adrian finished. They all laughed. Meanwhile, Julie's other roommates, Trish and Tate, joined them, and they all oohed and aahed over the new Jeep. Then, after going over a few details and getting the keys to Julie's old junker, they turned to leave the girls to examine the new car and go for the inaugural ride.

"I'm over the moon about this, but I want to talk to you more about this later, Mom, Mr. Monk. I want to know more about how this is even possible," Julie said seriously from the driver's side doorway.

"Business is really great, Julie, don't you worry, "Adrian replied as he hugged her goodbye. "Just enjoy, be careful, and have a wonderful birthday."

"I will, Mr. Monk, don't you worry. Mom, I love you. I love you both. Thank you again. That doesn't even seem like enough…but I don't know what else to say."

"That's perfect, angel," Natalie smiled. "Happiest of birthdays!" She hugged her grown daughter and turned towards Adrian before Julie could see her tears. They got into Julie's old car and drove it straight to the used car lot where they sold it. They barely got enough money for the taxi home, but they felt accomplished and happy and had spent another hefty amount of money from the million they had to spend.

"That was fun!" Adrian declared.

"Yes, making people you love happy usually is fun," Natalie smiled.

"I guess I'd forgotten," he replied, sad for a moment. Then he brightened again and said, "Let's get something to eat. I'm starving. Do you feel like pizza?"

"Sure!"

Adrian went to the phone and ordered a pizza they would both like. Her half had mushrooms and mini meatballs. His, just pepperoni. He asked for it to be cut into ten slices, of course.

Then they went to the family room to wait for the doorbell to ring since the kitchen was sort of out of commission, and they had to eat in the dining room.

"Natalie, can you show me something on your computer?"

"Of course. What would you like to see?"

"I keep meaning to talk to you about ordering a new doorbell, and I want to hear the rings."

"Oh! Great idea. Let's see. Come sit here, she patted the seat next to her on the couch, and he made himself comfortable. She pulled her computer from the charger on the lower shelf on the end table and opened it on her lap. She navigated to a site for the hardware store downtown and to the section on doorbells. They laughed and giggled like children for a half hour as they tested dozens of chimes that would make it sound like they either lived in Westminster Abbey or in Snoopy's dog house. Finally, they settled on one that was called Starry Night. It was cheerful and delicate. Natalie ordered it; they smiled with satisfaction at each other, and just as they finished, the old doorbell chimed its warped and tinny "ding dong," and they broke into peals of laughter again.

Adrian answered the door while Natalie put the computer away and set the dining room table with placemats, disposable plates, and utensils. She heard the delivery guy say, "Hey, thanks, man!" in an excited, happy tone.

Adrian brought the pizza to the table and opened the box, delighted with the ten evenly cut slices.

"How much did you tip the delivery guy?"

"Ten dollars."

"Adrian!"

"What? Not enough?"

"A little too much."

"Really? I figure we have it; we should spread it around a little."

She tilted her head and smiled. "You are so right!"

They ate in companionable silence, happy with what they'd accomplished that day. Although the case was no closer to being solved, their life together was coming together very nicely.

"Good thing they did the rip out today, and the install is tomorrow. I'm not sure how long we could live like this."

"We lucked out that they could get the cabinets, countertops, and backsplash so quickly. However, it's still going to take a few days for them to complete it, including the floor and the wallpaper."

"I know, but it still seems like we're on a runaway train lately!"

"We kinda are," Natalie agreed, "but what we're getting in return is amazing!" Natalie was so excited about the curtains, the cushions for the chairs, and the wallpaper she'd chosen with Adrian's approval. He'd wanted cabinets similar to the type he'd had in his apartment, and she agreed.

It was barely eight o'clock, and they were trying to decide on a movie to watch when the phone rang.

"Monk?" It was Leland.

"Yes, Captain?"

"We have another body. It looks like we have a serial killer."

"Okay, give me the address. We'll be right there."

Natalie was already putting on her shoes. "What is it?"

"Another bizarre display. Leland said something about someone named Heather and a red plaid jacket and knee socks?"

"Oh, another movie you've never seen. Heathers. A character was poisoned with drain cleaner, and it was made to look like a suicide, but it was a murder."

"Thank goodness you know these things."

"That's why you keep me around, right?"

"Not the only reason," he said with a smile and a deep, gravelly sound. Something she'd never heard in his voice before. Something she wanted to hear in another time and another context when they had more time alone.

They got into Natalie's car and drove to the scene. What met them was odd. To say the least. It wasn't gruesome like the last one. It was more unusual than other crime scenes. It was clearly staged. Adrian did his level best, but all he found was a very old used movie ticket stub for Seven in the victim's pocket which couldn't have been hers; just based on cursory observation, she couldn't have been born when the movie played in theaters. Just part of the staging, a pack of Doublemint gum under the body, and one last item. The head of a Barbie doll. He wasn't sure what to make of that, where it fit into the case, but he knew it meant something. Dejected, he trudged to Natalie's car and sat silently on the ride home. Natalie let him brood. After so many years, she knew when to cajole him into a better mood and when to let sleeping dogs lie. This was a time to allow him to stew. It might help him to put the pieces together. She tried not to think about the crime scene. It helped her get through the day, and sometimes thinking about other things led her intuition to make leaps her conscious mind never would.

Meanwhile, she thought about her bathroom, a happier topic. She and Adrian had discussed the following projects after the kitchen was complete would be the bathrooms. One at a time, of course. She wanted to create a spa-like retreat in the generous bathroom space she was using. It was a shared bathroom for the office and her bedroom. Really meant, she supposed, for the kids of the family that lived there. Adrian's bathroom in the master bedroom was also spacious, and she had ideas for that one as well, but of course, she would need his approval and input.

They pulled into their driveway, and she looked at the house. She knew they would put flowers in the window boxes this weekend, and a flag would soon fly from the new holder on the column by the front door. They'd wait for the construction to be over to fly their flag and plant their flowers, but they would. And they'd tend them and watch them grow. Together.