AUTHOR'S NOTE: We have come to the conclusion of our story, and I want to thank all of my readers from across the globe for following me on this adventure. A special word of thanks also goes out to all of you who have so faithfully reviewed this story. If you haven't done so, please check out the other installments of this series, Mr. Monk and the Miracle of Adoption, Mr. Monk and the Secret of the Old House, and Mr. Monk and the Tangled Web. Now, let's take a peek into the lives of our favorite couple as we leave them for now.

"Natalie, what am I doing here?" Adrian asked as he paced the small waiting room.

"You're here with me so we can see the doctor together," said his patient wife.

"I know, but this is a woman's doctor."

"Yes, but this is a woman's doctor who cares for pregnant women, and your wife is pregnant, so please come sit down and wait with me."

Adrian sighed and reluctantly sat next to Natalie. She reached for his hand, but before she could take it, he bent over and began to rearrange the magazines on the coffee table.

"What are you doing now?" she asked.

"I'm organizing them. See, first I'm going to put each type of magazine together, in alphabetical order, then they should be arranged by date, most recent on top."

"You're nervous, that's what you are."

"Some things just need order, Natalie."

"That's true, but you're nervous."

He finished his task and leaned back, finding imaginary lint to pick off his pants.

Finally, a nurse walked into the waiting room with a clipboard. "Natalie Monk," she called.

Adrian nearly jumped out of his seat. "Come on Natalie," he said. "That's you."

Natalie just shook her head as she followed him down the hall. After the nurse took her vital signs, she handed her a small, plastic cup. "I'll need to get a urine sample," she said.

"You need a what?" asked Adrian.

"A urine sample, Mr. Monk. It's standard for all maternity visits," said the nurse.

Natalie took the cup, but her husband looked like he was about to be sick, so she led him to a chair and helped him sit down. She bent over and found his eyes. "It's going to be ok, sweetheart. I know this is all new to you, but you'll get used to it. Now, stay here and I'll be right back."

The nurse followed Natalie out the door. "First-time father?" she asked.

"First time this way," said Natalie.

Natalie came back and was relieved to see her husband was still sitting in the chair, not stretched out on the examination table or the floor. After a few more minutes, they heard a knock on the door, and Dr. Sharon Lee, Natalie's OB/GYN joined them. "It's good to see you, Natalie," said the doctor. She looked over at Adrian. "And this must be your husband." She extended her hand.

"Adrian Monk," he said, barely lifting his head.

"Are you ok, Sir?" she asked.

"He's just nervous," Natalie said.

"Oh, that's perfectly understandable," said Dr. Lee. "Most first-time fathers are. Here, come sit with your wife," she said, patting the table.

Adrian remained seated. "Come on, please," said Natalie.

"I will if we can sit on the other side of the table," he said.

"And why is that?" asked Natalie.

"The…the posters," he said pointing to a poster on the wall that contained an illustration of a woman's reproductive system. Next to it, was a similar one illustrating the stages of pregnancy.

Natalie just shrugged. "He's very modest," she said.

They moved around to the other side of the examination table and Adrian came and sat next to Natalie, averting his eyes from the posters. She patted his leg, then took his hand in hers. He gave her a weak smile but felt better just sitting beside her. The doctor asked Natalie a few rather personal questions which made Adrian cringe, then she smiled at them. "Well, congratulations are in order Mr. and Mrs. Monk. You are definitely expecting, and everything seems to be going well. Now, how about we meet your little one and see how far along you are."

"Meet the baby? Here? Now?" asked Adrian.

Dr. Lee laughed. "Yes, on the ultrasound. We usually schedule the first one when the pregnancy is six to eight weeks along, but since we're not exactly sure how far along you are, we're going to go ahead and do one now, so we can take some measurements of the baby and determine that. It's also a good idea for women Natalie's age. This will be considered a high-risk pregnancy, so we will be monitoring her more closely."

"High risk?" asked Adrian. "Is…is everything ok?"

"Everything should be fine, Mr. Monk," said Dr. Lee. "It's just a precaution."

They were ushered down the hall and into another room. After a short wait, Dr. Lee came back, and Natalie was instructed to lay on the table. Adrian sat beside her, holding her hand, and they both looked at the monitor with great anticipation. Natalie lifted her shirt and the doctor rubbed a cool, clear jell on her abdomen, then she took a corded wand and set it just below her belly button. With slight pressure, she began to move the wand around. The first thing they all noticed was a swooshing sound filling the stillness.

"That's your baby's heartbeat," said Dr. Lee. "It sounds good and strong."

Natalie squeezed Adrian's hand, and he sucked in sharply as he listened to his child's heartbeat for the first time. Dr. Lee moved the wand a little more and a grey field appeared on the black screen. Then, in the middle of the grey field, a smaller black one appeared. Another circle of the wand and the doctor smiled. Then, with the click of a button, the image came into focus, and Adrian and Natalie gasped. There on the screen, was an image of a baby…their baby. The tiny head and body were clearly visible, and the arms and legs were moving around.

"Everything looks great," said Dr. Lee. Now, let's take some measurements. With a few more clicks of the keyboard, she punched in her numbers. "Ok, it looks like you're almost 9 weeks along, so that will make your due date…" She clicked another couple of buttons. "We're going to set your due date as January 23rd"

"Is…is it a boy or a girl?" asked Adrian.

Dr. Lee chuckled. "It's a little too soon to tell, Mr. Monk, but what I can tell you is you have a very healthy looking baby. Congratulations again."

Everything went blurry for Natalie as her tears began to flow. She barely noticed Adrian's tight squeeze on her hand until she felt a drop of wetness on her arm. She turned and saw that he was crying too. He wiped his eyes, then took her hand and brought it to his lips. "That's our baby," he said quietly. Dr. Lee helped Natalie clean off her belly, then she left to give the couple a moment alone. Adrian laid his head on Natalie's shoulder and placed his hand over her womb and his child within.

"I love you so much," said Natalie, placing her hand over his and interlacing their fingers. "Thank you for saying yes to this."

"Natalie," he said, just barely finding his voice again. "How is it possible that I love that little bean so much already?"

"Because he's part of you and a part of me. He's a part of us."

"It's a miracle," he said, lifting his head to kiss her forehead.

Two days later, Julie helped Natalie prepare dinner while Adrian played with Sophia. Julie couldn't help but notice that her parents seemed unusually anxious about something. "So, why is Molly coming over tonight?" she asked.

"I told you it's a surprise," said Natalie as she tasted the pasta sauce she was cooking.

"Yes, but is the surprise for Molly or for me?" asked Julie, filling a pitcher with iced tea.

Natalie dumped the cooked pasta into the colander in the sink. "It's a surprise for both of you."

"Hmm, I see," said Julie as she set the salad and bread on the table. She was still dying to know what was going on, but she decided she would just wait and see, as hard as that was.

Adrian was just strapping Sophia into her high chair when the doorbell rang. Julie ran to answer it, and to her relief, it was Molly, right on time. They all exchanged hugs and sat down to eat. After a time of eating and catching up, Adrian cleared his throat. "I guess you girls are wondering why we wanted you both here tonight."

"Yes, what's going on?" asked Molly. "You had me a little worried."

"Oh no, there's nothing to worry about," said Natalie, taking Sophia out of the high chair. "Why don't we go into the living room and you'll find out."

Adrian and the girls took their seats while Natalie went upstairs. She came back with three gift bags, one smaller than the other two. She handed Molly and Julie each one of the bigger bags but kept the smaller one with her. "Ok," she said, pulling out her phone so she could video the moment. "Go ahead and open the bags."

Molly and Julie pulled out the tissue paper at the top of the bags and reached in. They simultaneously pulled out matching pink t-shirts. Molly saw that Julie's said, "Big Sister". She unfolded hers and saw that it said the same thing. "Um, these are cute," said Julie.

Then, Natalie gave the smaller bag to Sophia, who was sitting on the couch between them. "Ok Julie," she said. "Help Sophia open her bag."

Julie did and pulled out an identical pink t-shirt, just smaller. She looked at Molly and their eyes widened as she excitedly unfolded it. She held it up next to the toddler and they saw that it also said, "Big Sister."

"Does this mean what I think it means?" asked Julie.

"Are you having a baby?" asked Molly.

Adrian and Natalie answered yes to both questions, and the next thing they knew, they heard shrieks. Then, they were smothered in hugs and kisses and peppered with questions. Julie picked up Sophia and twirled her around. "You're going to be a big sister," she sang to her. Sophia didn't understand what all the excitement was about, but she clapped and laughed along with the older girls. Then, they sat together and looked at the ultrasound pictures of their tiny sibling.

Later that evening, Adrian sat on the couch with Sophia. He was flipping through a photo album, pointing to the pictures and telling her about each one. She laid her head against his chest as she listened to him talk. When she began to suck her thumb, it was a sure sign she was getting tired. Natalie walked up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. She leaned over and nuzzled his hair, then kissed his cheek. "I think it's time for this little girl to go to bed," she said.

"I'm telling her a bedtime story," he said.

"That's a photo album, not a story," she laughed.

"It's a story, sweetheart. It's our story."

"Alright, babe. I'm going to bed because this little one is making me tired," she said with her hand on her stomach. Be up soon?"

"Yes, I'll be up soon," he said, kissing her.

Adrian turned his attention back to his little girl and the photo album. He bent and kissed her forehead, then stroked her dark curls as he talked. "Once upon a time, there lived a very lonely, very sad man. Well, one day, the sad man met a kind, beautiful princess, and the princess had a little girl named Julie. The princess went to work for the man, and for a reason he will never understand, the princess fell in love with him, even though he didn't appreciate her, and he wasn't always as kind as he should have been. In time, the sad man became a little less sad and realized how special the princess was. With a little help from his friends, he even admitted that he loved her very much. He also loved her daughter. Well, by this time, the princess had taken in another little girl named Sophia, and the man fell in love with her too. Soon after, the princess and the man were married, and the sad man was no longer sad. Then, the little girl named Sophia was allowed to live with them forevermore. Well, now the man, the princess, and the two girls are living very happily, but that's not the end of their story." He turned to the last page and pointed to the brand new ultrasound photo they had placed there. "See, now a new baby will be welcomed into their happy family next year. We don't know if it will be a boy or a girl yet, but we know the baby will be very special and well-loved. So what do you think Sophia? Do you want another sister or a brother?"

Adrian looked down and realized his little girl had fallen asleep, so he closed the photo album. He stood and she laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his neck. He climbed the stairs and laid her in her crib. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, taking just a moment to soak in her sweetness. "I love you," he whispered. Then, he joined his wife, who had also fallen asleep. He crawled into bed and put his arm protectively around her and the new life within her. As he closed his eyes, he knew he had been blessed beyond anything he could have imagined.