90EPILOGUE
It would be hard to say which first brought the smile to Adrian Monk's face on that first morning back in his own bed after a four-month absence. Was it the contented feeling of his lovely bride's breath on his neck, cuddled up as close to him as she could be? Or, was it the sound of the pitter pat of little feet sneaking into the bedroom around seven in the morning? Either way, it was a morning that Adrian Monk could savor and be thankful for – one he wouldn't soon forget.
When he opened his eyes, there was no question that it was the sight of Lee and Abby standing by his side of the bed in blue surgical caps, adult face masks and oversized blue nitrile gloves that made him hoot loudly with laughter. Natalie immediately jumped to her knees, leaning over him, thinking something was wrong. When she looked up and saw what had struck him so funny, she relaxed back down onto her hip as he sat up and picked up the kids, pulling them into bed with them
Looking wide-eyed at Natalie, Monk said playfully. "Mommy! Did you let a couple of doctors in our house?"
Natalie looked seriously at them. "I don't know Daddy. I thought we checked the van thoroughly before we came home. Do you suppose two of them hid in your suitcases?"
Monk mock opened his mouth. "Wow…I don't know…but there's only one way to find out…" he said lifting his hands as if examining a crime scene. "Hmmm….Mrs. Monk, they look like doctors."
"Yes, they do." Natalie replied.
"They dress like doctors." He said, moving his hands a little closer. "I wonder if they giggle like doctors?"
Suddenly, Monk started tickling Abby's belly while Natalie did the same with Lee. Both children laughed with glee, kicking their feet and begging their parents to stop. Within a few seconds, Monk let up and Abby turned around looking at him with her beautiful blue-green eyes like her mother's.
"You stop that right this instant!" she said, the tip of her nose crinkling just over the mask like Natalie's.
Taking the mask down from her face her father playfully announced to Natalie "That's no doctor! That's our Abigail. Abbyyyyy!" he said as she giggled incessantly. "But…who…who is this?" he asked. Abby smiled broadly and reached over, grabbing Lee's mask from his face. "It's Lee Lee!" She said.
"Heyyyyy!" Lee said with a huge grin and ducking back his head.
"Lee Lee!' Natalie exclaimed. "Whoa! You two fooled us! Have you two been digging through Daddy's supply bag for when he has to go back and see his doctor?"
Abigail jumped up against Monk's chest, throwing her arms around his neck even as Lee crawled over and hugged his midsection.
"Daddy not go to doctor no more!" Lee said, pouting.
"No?" Adrian asked.
"No. You stay here! You nebber go anywhere again!"
Adrian flashed his dimples and winked at Natalie in the manner that always got him what he wanted out of her.
"Well I have to go sometimes." He replied. "But I won't stay. In fact, I'm supposed to go back to the hospital this Friday to have a few tests. Maybe you and Abigail can go with me and wait in the lobby with Mommy?"
Natalie nudged him. "Adrian, you know what they said about us getting around other people."
"Well, what were you going to do with them?" he asked.
"Drop them off with Ambrose and Heather. They don't get out either, so the risk of infection is minimal." She answered.
"I think they can come with us. We'll be careful. " he said, smiling softly as he watched them playing with their face masks together. When Natalie looked at him with skepticism, he shrugged his shoulders.
"What?!..."
"Adrian, do you know how many germs are in hospitals?"
"You worry too much." He replied.
"I worry too much? Me? About germs?! Did I bring home the right Monk brother or did Ambrose's transfusion change you into no longer being a germaphobe?"
He chuckled. "Nat-lie. They wipe down all surfaces every couple of hours and our children…they're…you know…clean."
"I'm not worried about the cleanliness of our children. I'm worried they will touch something and then touch their face or something like that and get the virus." She replied.
"It'll be okay. " he replied. "Hey. You gotta live a little."
"I've got to live a little?"
"Yeah. Don't be such a kill-joy." He responded, tongue in cheek, then turned back to the kids. "You want to go with Daddy to the doctors, don't you, Abby?"
Abigail stood up on the bed and began jumping up and down. "Yayyy! Abby go with Daddy to the doctors! Abby go with Daddy to the doctors!"
"See." Monk said, looking over at Natalie.
Looking over at Lee who was smoothing out a wrinkle in the bed sheets, he tapped him lightly with the back of his hand.
"How about you, Lee? Do you want to go with Daddy and Mommy to Daddy's doctor?"
Lee looked up at his father with soulful eyes, twisting his mouth to the side. "I will think about it." He said in a manner so proper and serious that both parents had to stifle laughs.
Adrian took his hand and tossled Lee's curls. "Well you let us know as soon as you can! Make sure you clear it with your secretary."
"Daddddy…I not have sec-wetary! I'm only three!" he replied.
Adrian smiled. "That's right! You two just turned three! I promised you a party!"
Natalie shook her head. "No parties until this Summer. You know what the doctor said."
"Oh, doctor-schmockter." He replied.
"Adrian!" she scoulded.
"Natalie." he replied, leaning forward and kissing her on the lips.
"Ewwwwwe" Lee replied while Abby covered her eyes causing both parents to laugh.
Later that week, Monk did return to the hospital for a checkup and in order to have some blood drawn.
As they entered the hospital a couple of the Monks' favorite hospital workers, Kelsey Gifford and David Ramos, walked out of the gift shop having purchased some snacks to give them energy for what they expected to be a long shift that day.
While Kelsey gulped an energy drink and ate a Snickers bar, she and David rushed over with smiles on their face.
"Well, if it isn't Mr. and Mrs. Monk!" he said. "Couldn't get enough of us?"
"Just here for an exam, David." Adrian replied.
"Late lunch? " Natalie asked to which Adrian added, "Better not be. I'd think they'd serve healthier fare in a hospital. That stuff'll kill you."
"Sugar drop." Kelsey said, embarrassed by her obvious breech in healthy eating.
"David and Kelsey, these are our twins Abigail and Lee." Adrian said, introducing the two little ones who both shyly buried their heads in their mother's legs.
Kelsey leaned down towards the twins, placing her face mask on and staying an appropriate distance apart, and smiled. "So happy to meet you! Your daddy told us so much about you!"
Abby smiled, but Lee remained unsure.
"So, you say you're here for labs?" David asked.
"Yes. That and a physical exam. They did some blood work the day I was released. You know, as a baseline. We're going to see how that went and get a little progress check today."
"Cool!" Kelsey said. "That's where we're heading now. I'll maybe see you up there."
"Sounds good." Natalie replied.
Because of his continued aversion to needles, Adrian's doctor, Dr. Zola Ianovsky made an exception by allowing both Natalie and the children into the room during the examination. The hope was that with his children present, Monk would somehow find the strength to power through the fear that the said bloodwork would normally entail; and, in all truth, he did a little better than normal, requiring only four staffers, instead of the usual eight, to hold him down while Nurse Frehley placed the needle in his vein and drew blood.
Abby whispered to her mommy, loud enough for all in the room to hear "Is daddy going to get a lollipop for being a good boy? I think him needs one."
Lee just stood quietly holding and stroking Monk's hand and telling him "Almost done, Daddy. You be okay."
Natalie was touched and proud of her two little ones and amazed. They were still children, something that both parents were adamant that they were to be allowed to remain; but, they had inherited their father's genius and although she was with them nearly all of the time, they still amazed her daily with the things they would come up with.
When the last vial was completed, the nurse logged the withdrawal onto a chart then ordered one of the staffers to take the vials down to the lab where they would be thoroughly tested for signs of remaining bacteria, infection, or complications. Meanwhile, after the nurse and staffers left, Dr. Ianovsky came in with a group of three interns in order to talk about his previous physical exam and blood work, each maintaining an appropriate distance from the patient.
"Class, this is Adrian Monk." He stated. "Mr. Monk came in here in January with acute sepsis due to a severe multi-bacterial infection. I didn't tell Mr. Monk at the time, of course he was so sick, but in any other case I would have not expected the patient to be alive for more than forty-eight hours; yet, Mr. Monk's body fought the infection as long as it could until Dr. Neal ordered a Stem-Cell transplant from Adrian's own brother, Ambrose, to restore immune functionality."
"They can do that?" an intern named Cole Anderson asked.
"It is done. Not always successfully and not without potential complications; but, it's what was done here and I must say in my thirty years of practice I've never been so pleasantly surprised by a patient's progress. Mr. Monk, for a sixty-year-old man whose been through what you've been through, you're amazing. According to the blood we drew before your release, your T-Cell levels, Neutrophils…really, just everything… are at or heading to where I suspect they were prior to your taking ill. In terms of fighting off disease, you're at a level I wouldn't have expected you to be for another eight or nine months. They will be writing about your recovery in journals for years to come."
"Really? That's good!" Monk responded as Natalie rubbed his back. "Does that mean I don't have to come in anymore?"
The doctor chuckled. "No…I wish that were the case. We're still going to monitor you for a while. Rejection and other complications could still technically show up down the road; but, from what I'm seeing, you're well on the way to making a full recovery. Congratulations!"
"Thank you." Adrian replied.
"Yes." Natalie said. "Please thank all of the hospital staff who helped Adrian throughout this time. Dr. Neal was great and Jake really helped us through some tough times."
"I'll be sure to give them your regards." The doctor stated. "Now…with that said, I suppose I should let you go now. You can expect your lab results back in by around Tuesday. I'm hopeful that the few stragglers in terms of your blood levels will normalize by that point as well."
Adrian scooted off of the exam table and reached out his arm while Natalie put his jacket on him.
"So, I'll see you again in a week?" he asked.
"Yes." The doctor replied. "Class, I'm going to go visit another patient. Why don't you all go to the nurse's lounge. I'll meet you there in a few minutes."
As the class dispersed, Dr. Ianovsky finished up with the Monks. "It really is good to see you doing well, Adrian. I thought for sure you were a goner when Neal called me. If you want to set up an appointment with my receptionist for next Friday, we can go over your latest results from today." He said, walking Monk through the door and into the hall.
"That sounds great, Dr. Ianovsky." Monk replied, shaking the doctor's hand and walking to the counter, imperceptibly sticking his hand down with a snap for Natalie to hand him a wipe.
The receptionist looked up at him and smiled. "Hi, Mr. Monk. You're the talk of the ward." She stated. "Amazing recovery. And, Natalie, you are really filling out!"
Natalie bowed her head with self-consciousness and, to his credit, Monk immediately picked up on the signal, putting his arm around her and kissing her on the head.
"Thanks, Pam. Isn't she gorgeous?" he asked.
"Yes. Just beautiful." Pam replied. Natalie looked up and smiled.
"Now," the receptionist continued, "If I could just get you to sign out…"
Monk looked over towards Natalie who fished through her purse for an ink pen for him to use even as Adrian impatiently looked around the area as he waited for her to find it. His eyes focused on a red box with a biohazard sticker on the outside of it near the trash can. The box read "Sharps Container."
"Should that be left out in the open?" he asked, nodding towards the container.
Pam looked over and gasped. "Oh my goodness! Now, how did that get there?!" she exclaimed. "Good catch. I'll make sure it gets disposed of properly."
Monk nodded and turned back to Natalie who was still digging. "What's the matter? Did you forget it?" he asked. "You know I shouldn't be using public ink pens."
"No. It's right here." She replied.
"Are you sure? I saw you fishing for the garage door opener before we left. Maybe it dropped out. You carry so much stuff."
"Half of this stuff is for my husband." She replied. "And besides, I know I saw it after that. It's….here…some-where… Ah! Here were go!" she said, pulling the pen out of her purse with a look of triumph and handing it to him.
Monk sighed and grabbed the pen while Natalie and Pam exchanged an amused look.
While Monk signed the paperwork, a commotion could be heard from down the hall. In a moment's time David came running down to the receptionist.
"Where's the doctor?" he said, frantically.
The receptionist looked up. "I think he went back to exam room C. Did you need something?"
"It's Kelsey. She's lying on the floor in the hemotology lab. I don't think she's breathing!" he replied.
Pam excused herself immediately and ran to the exam room to get Dr. Ianovsky, while Monk asked Natalie to stay with the kids and shield them from the disturbing scene. He made his way down to the lab where Kelsey's body lay sprawled out on the floor. Nurse Frehley reached Kelsey first and was taking her vitals just as Dr. Ianovsky arrived.
"She's got no pulse." She said with urgency, lookup up at Ianovsky as he entered the room.
The doctor quickly sprang into action ordering a defibrillator to be brought to the scene and commenced with CPR. After several long minutes, the call was made.
David paced the hallway, almost in tears as a hospital worker, taking notes, asked Ianovsky, "Time of death?"
"Two forty-eight." The doctor declared, standing up and removing his stethoscope and walking out of the room. In a daze, he added, "Tell the coroner that I want a thorough autopsy of her to determine cause of death." He said to another staffer.
"Yes sir." The staffer said walking away.
David turned to the doctor. "How? I don't understand! I was just with her."
Monk listened as the conversation unfolded even as his eyes looked around the room. Something didn't feel right.
"I don't know, David. A young, healthy girl like Kelsey – maybe a hidden heart problem?"
Adrian raised his hands, looking around the corpse and spotted something on her arm. Bending down he examined her more closely then immediately scoured the room. His eyes stopped by the counter.
"David, didn't Kelsey say she was having a sugar drop earlier today?" he asked.
David looked at Monk with concern on his face. "Yes. She gets them from time to time. She's- she was, hypoglycemic."
Monk stood and walked over towards the counter. "Then why is there a puncture wound in her arm and a bottle of insulin on the counter?" he asked. Ianovsky walked to the counter and began to pick up the bottle.
"Don't touch it!" Monk warned. "Wait for the police. Gentlemen, I think that Kelsey has been murdered."
Author's Note: Thank you all once again for your support in reading and reviewing this story.
I very much enjoyed writing it and look forward to the next installment in the Monk Not Junk series.
Coming soon- Season 10-2 - Mr. Monk and the Monster Maker.