Stottlemeyer begins to come to terms with Monk's quirky behavior after the first few episodes, as demonstrated, for example, in "Mr. Monk and the Employee of the Month". In one scene, Stottlemeyer asks Monk if he is going to pop all the bubbles on a piece of bubble wrap. When Monk says yes, Stottlemeyer begins to help him, and also has two police officers assist him. When one of them asks whether there is any reason why they are doing this, Stottlemeyer tells them, "Nope, just keep popping."