Author's Note:

This story is a sequel to Mr. Monk and the Christmas Surprise, also published here. It's not strictly necessary to read that one first, but I think you'll enjoy this story a lot more if you do. Please note that Mr. Monk and the Christmas Surprise takes place shortly after Mr. Monk and the Badge, and this story starts about six weeks after "Christmas" concludes. Also, in my version of events, Mr. Monk and the End never happened. I like my ending better. :D

I started writing this sequel back in January. I'd intended to publish it on Valentine's Day - hence the title - but the story quickly took on a life of its own and I ended up writing much more than I'd originally planned. It totals forty chapters, which equates to ~107,000 words. The Word document is over 200 pages! Yes, this is my very own Monk novel. Haha. Eat your hearts out, Hy Conrad and Lee Goldberg. ;) And I'm even considering making this series a trilogy! (I think I'm an addict...)

I'll likely post a new chapter every few days... unless, of course, I get a ton of reviews begging and pleading for a more frequent posting schedule. *hint, hint*

So strap on your seat belts; here we go.

On the first day of February, Julie Teeger was studying for a math test when her dorm room phone rang.

"Hey, Julie?" said her friend Tony, who worked the dorm reception desk part-time. "There's a really weird guy down here asking for you."

Julie frowned. "What do you mean, 'really weird'?"

"Well… he's currently rearranging all the papers on the notice board so they're more symmetrical. He says we'll thank him later."

"That's just Mr. Monk," Julie said, laughing.

"Adrian Monk? The famous detective?" Tony's question caught her by surprise initially, but then she remembered he was a criminal justice major.

"Yes, that's him. Tell him I'll be down in a minute." She grabbed her coat, hat, gloves, and purse, just in case — she'd been thinking of running over to the cafeteria for a snack, anyway — and headed down the hall to the elevator.

When she arrived downstairs, she found Tony listening in rapt fascination as Mr. Monk described a case. "Here's what happened," she heard Mr. Monk say as she stepped off the elevator. "I realized that the jewels had never left the jewelry store; the first break-in had been staged. That's why there was a second break-in — the employee who stole them had hid them in the store, intending to get them out of their hiding place in a few days later, once the hubbub from the 'robbery' had died down. But he was fired unexpectedly the day after the fake break-in, so he tried to get them back with a real break-in. When that didn't work, he had his girlfriend pose as a customer, and she tried to get them out. But when I — oh, hi, Julie!"

"Hey, Mr. Monk," she said, glancing around the lobby area. "Where's Mom?"

"Uh… I'm actually here by myself," he said, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

That was a surprise. "How did you get here?"

"I took a cab."

That was an even bigger surprise. "You took a cab?"

He shrugged, rolling his shoulders. "I was hoping I could talk to you. Alone. Please?"

"Um, sure," Julie said, puzzled. "We can take a walk, if you want."

"Great," Monk said, shoulders sagging in relief.

"Wait!" Tony protested. "What about the case?"

Julie rolled her eyes. "Later, Tony," she said, taking Mr. Monk's arm and leading him out the door.

There is something different about him, she thought as they strolled toward the quad. Mr. Monk seemed… calmer. More at ease with the world. He didn't see the need avoid the cracks on the sidewalk, for one thing. For another, her hat was slightly crooked and he hadn't needed to adjust it.

He seemed to know exactly where they were going, so she just followed him.

"So, what's up?" she asked curiously, once he'd led them to a bench on the quad and they'd both sat down. She couldn't imagine why he would take a cab all the way to Berkeley — without her mom — just to talk to her.

He stared off into the distance for nearly a full minute before speaking. "I need your help," he said, slowly. "And your advice."

Julie's eyes narrowed. "Mr. Monk, look, I don't want to give any relationship advice when my mom is involved. That's a really awkward position to be in, and I won't — "

"No, no, nothing like that," he interrupted. "It's not relationship help, per se, it's… something else."

"Okay…" Julie said cautiously, waiting for him to continue. She grew concerned when he didn't. What was going on here? Maybe they'd split up and he was trying to figure out how to deliver the news.

She ventured, "Are you… breaking up with her?"

That got a reaction. "What? No!" he exclaimed. He turned to face her, a look of horror on his face. "No! Just the opposite."

Julie shook her head. "Mr. Monk, I don't understand. What — "

"I want to marry her," he said, meeting her eyes squarely.

"Oh." The enormity of what he'd just said struck her, and she stared at him in disbelief. "Oh! But… you…"

"What do you think?" he said, hesitantly. "I know it's been just you and your mom for a very long time, so I thought I should… well… ask your permission first, before asking her."

Julie was speechless for a moment. "Well — yeah. I mean, yes, it's fine with me, as long as it's what she wants. I'm just… surprised. I… I heard you say once that you'd always be Trudy's husband."

He nodded. "A part of me will always belong to her," he said simply. "But a part of me belongs to your mom, too, I've realized. I'll never love anyone the same way I loved Trudy, but… as it turns out, there are different ways of loving that are just as good."

Julie realized her mouth was still hanging open and shut it abruptly. "It's only been a month, hasn't it? Since you started… your relationship?"

"Officially, I suppose, but given our history together we know each other as well as any two people ever could," he shrugged. "And when you know… you know."

"How long had you been dating Trudy before you proposed?" she asked.

He smiled, awash in reminisces. "Two years. I asked her to marry me two years to the day after our first date." He looked down at the bench. "This is where we were sitting when I told her I loved her for the first time. And where I asked her to marry me."

"Oh, wow." Julie smoothed her glove reverently over the wooden seat.

"I wanted to ask Trudy to marry me right away after our first date, but I could tell she wasn't ready for that yet. So I waited until she was." He studied the bench, too, and then looked up at Julie. "But with your mom… it's different. I know it seems very fast, but I'm not a young man anymore, and I know now more than ever how precious time is. I don't want to waste a moment of it."

"When are you going to ask her? Tonight?"

He shook his head. "I was thinking Valentine's Day. I want to cook a fancy dinner for her. I used to do that for Trudy on special occasions, but I haven't really cooked for Natalie yet, so I thought I'd cook a nice dinner and then… afterwards, I'd ask her." He twisted his hands together. "What do you think?"

"I think she'll love it," Julie assured him. "Daddy couldn't really cook, but I remember he liked taking Mom and me out for fancy dinners whenever he was stateside."

For some reason, her statement made him look worried. "Julie, I hope you know I'm not trying to replace your father," he began. "I would never try to usurp his place in your heart, and I — "

She did something then that utterly shocked him. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

"Mr. Monk, you're very sweet," she said. "It's no wonder Mom is so crazy about you."

He blushed, but looked very pleased. And he didn't seem repulsed by her kiss, nor did he try to wipe it off.

"I was hoping you could help me with a few things," he said, shuffling his feet and shifting on the bench. "I'm having trouble deciding on a menu for the dinner, and I want to pick out a ring she'll like but there are so many choices, and I — "

"You want me to help choose her engagement ring?" Julie squealed. "When? Now? Can we go now? We can take my car."

He did something she'd rarely, if ever, heard him do — he laughed. Not just a chuckle, but a hearty, heartfelt laugh.

"If you have time, we can go now," he said, rising to his feet. Julie rose as well, and they began to walk back to the dorms, and the student lot where her car was parked. "There's actually a specific jewelry store I want to go to — I solved a murder/robbery there last week, and the owner was so grateful to get his stolen jewels back that he offered me a really good discount on any future purchases…"