There came a thunderous rush of water from the side, and Adrian suddenly felt a collission rock him. The rest of his body went into the tank, as did Louise herself. With an enraged roar, Riptide lunged straight at her, causing her to scramble away towards the far end of the tank in panic. Adrian hauled himself out and saw Applegate raising a spear, ready to hurl it at the whale. "No you don't!" the detective bellowed, charging at him and grabbing Applegate's arm as he started to throw. The spear limply tumbled into the tank nowhere near the still pursuing Riptide. Applegate pulled his gun on Adrian, but before he could squeeze the trigger, Riptide jumped out of the water in front of them and delivered a hard whack to the fishing magnate's face with his tail. Applegate tumbled backwards into the tank as well as dozens of cops came abruptly swarming in. "Nobody move!" Stottlemeyer bellowed to the suspects in the tank, "Louise Bentley, Larry Applegate, you're both charged with murder and attempted murder."
"It was all his idea, I swear!" Louise pointed hard at a livid Applegate.
"Save it for the judge, Louise, because I sure don't want to hear it," Stottlemeyer shook his head hard. He personally snapped the handcuffs on her, then walked back over to the side of the tank, where a strange sight awaited him. "So, you were able to save the whale after all," he remarked, amazed that Adrian was snuggling up with Riptide.
"More like he saved me, Captain," Adrian corrected him. He even dared to lay his head directly on top of Riptide's. "I'm sorry, pal, I really am," he told his friend, "I should have realized they'd been up to that from the beginning, and you wouldn't have been put through this whole nightmare. Can, can you forgive me?"
Riptide rolled over and gave Adrian a good hard lick on the face. "Well, I meant forgive me any way OTHER than that way," the detective whimpered, but that was soon replaced by a smile as he went back to embracing Riptide, his best friend. "You see, he forgives me," he told Dr. Kroger, who was squeezing his way in through the hoardes of exiting cops.
Dr. Kroger nodded in agreement. "Speaking of forgiveness, Adrian," he began, "Don't you think Natalie deserves some as well?"
"Why is it that everyone always takes her side automatically?" Adrian sighed.
"I'm not taking sides, Adrian," Dr. Kroger said calmly, "This situation has no right or wrong side. I do agree that certainly your opinion should have weight. In fact, I discussed this matter with Natalie when she came in, and she admitted on her own accord that sometimes she does push you a little too hard. She's willing to step back and not push as hard if you're willing to accept her apology for her actions. In fact she came to your apartment earlier to apologize. Now I think that whatever problems the two of you might have can be very easily sorted out by communication and compromise. What do you say, Adrian?"
He extended his cell phone towards the detective. Adrian looked back and forth between the phone and the psychiatrist. "Well, I'd probably turn into a living wreck without her anyway," he shrugged. He hesitantly dialed Natalie's number. "Um, Natalie, it's, um, me," he said slowly, "Uh, about you being fired...I, I think I got a little...um...overstressed there..."
"I can't thank you enough for everything you've done, Mr. Monk," Bonnie was commending him the next afternoon as they stood atop the deck of one of several boats surrounding a makeshift pen at the mouth of the bay.
"Any, anything for a friend like Riptide," Adrian nodded softly. It was a bittersweet time for him; while he was glad to know that the case was over, the spear had been successfully removed from inside Riptide by the aquarium doctors, and the villains were going to prison (even better, Lousie had agreed to cop a plea bargain where she'd not only testify against Applegate and reveal the location of Rachel Albertson's body, but she'd also give the authorities the names of the various international poaching syndicates Applegate had been doing business with), he was saddened knowing that in just a few minutes, his friend would leave him forever. Down in the pen, Riptide seemed to sense this as well, for he was now swimming very slowly in circles near the gate, looking depressed.
"He won't really be gone as long as you remember him, Mr. Monk," Natalie leaned over his shoulder.
"I, I know that," he said quietly, "Not least of all because you've said it at least ten times so far this morning." He took a deep breath. "I'd, I would like to say thank you, for letting me get to meet him. I, I just wish you hadn't been so unilaterally adamant about it..."
"Mr. Monk, I try and get you to do things like this because I worry about you," she looked deep into his eyes, "Not out of spite. I would never deliberately put you in harm's way for anything. And I have to admit, you are sort of right that sometimes I get a little carried away if it seems like easy money's at hand...although if my salary stays this low much longer..."
"Not that again," he rolled his eyes, "Just when this was starting to be a constructive conversation..."
"But the point is," she continued, "I don't want to see you alone and miserable all the time. I pick out things I think can really help you. And if you like new things in the end, you'll end up a little happier. And I think this turned out all right in the end, am I right?"
"I, I guess so," Adrian conceded, "Just, in the future, so you know, I'd like to warm to things on my own, without pressure. I, I am glad that you do worry about me, though. It's nice that somebody does."
Natalie cracked a small smile. There came the sounds of levers and pulleys being activated. "We're all ready!" came the cries of several crewman. Adrian took a hard gulp. "I guess it's time," he said slowly. The two of them strolled over to the bow, where Riptide was waiting for them. Natalie leaned down to the edge and stroked the whale's nose. "Thank you for helping Mr. Monk," she told him, looking like she would break down into tears as well, "Remember, your life isn't over yet; somewhere out there, there's another whale just waiting to meet you and help you get started again." She held up her phone, now set on camera, "Say goodbye to Julie; she would have come if it wasn't a school day, but she'll miss you too."
Riptide let out a low bleat that could easily have been a goodbye call. Natalie stepped back to let Adrian forward, then respectfully walked away so the two of them could be alone. Adrian could swear the whale was crying. With a low sob of his own, he hugged him one last time. "Just...just please don't forget me," he could barely manage the words, "I'll stop by the harbor once a month; just promise you'll be back sometime."
He didn't want to let go. But he knew he had to. With his shoulders sagging, he trudged towards the stern, and the lever that opened the gate to the pen. He grasped it, closed his eyes, and threw it as hard as he could. Loud cheers rang out from the crew, but Adrian couldn't bear to look. His head slumped forward to the railing. "Out of my life," he whimpered softly, "Just like everyone else I ever cared for."
A pair of sympathetic hands came to rest on his shoulders. "He won't forget," Bonnie reassured him, "Trust me."
"I guess you don't want a wipe this time, even though you touched him all over," Natalie added.
Adrian shook his head. He finally looked back up. The Bay looked calm and peaceful, with no signs of life visible. Who knew what would happen to Riptide from here, he wondered. Would he find another family? Or would he wander straight into another group of poachers? Or would his fate be something different entirely? He'd probably never know. And in a way, that probably was for the best.
For the longest time, the three of them stood staring out into the placid waters. Finally, Adrian had to look away. His gaze fell on Natalie's watch. "Well, the show starts in about four hours," he said quickly, "We, we might as well head on over to Ambrose's and get ready. Ac, Actually," he turned towards Bonnie, "You, you wouldn't mind, if you have the time...Ambrose does tend to like it when we bring company..."
"I'd love to come," she looked thrilled that he had invited her, "It's going to take a little while to get everything here packed up, but I should be there in time. Ten, right?"
"Nine," Natalie corrected her, "They want more viewers this year."
"Good thought," she agreed, "Care to help?"
"Anything for friends," Adrian nodded. As they started to pack up, he thought he heard a loud call from under the Golden Gate. He turned quickly enough to see a flash of black and white sinking into the water. "Don't, don't worry about me," he said out loud, "I'll be just fine. And don't worry. I certainly won't forget either."
THE END