Adrian Monk woke up every morning at the same time. On each morning he would shower, dress, and further tidy and cleanse himself in exactly the same manner, order, and (for the most part) amount of time. However, on this particular morning something was different. His alarm hadn't gone off, the sun was definitely further up than it should be, and he couldn't move to his right. This is the moment he looks down, opens his eyes, and then immediately closes them again.

Sharona was lying next to him. No, that wasn't even the worst part. Sharona was lying next to him clothed only in one of his white undershirts. Actually, it was the undershirt he happened to not be wearing at the moment because Sharona currently was.

Monk, who was now past the eye-closing this-is-not-real stage and quickly transferring into the oh-no-what-did-I-do stage, slid his arm off from her midsection (which he hadn't realised it had been until just this moment) and tried to slip out of the bed silently and gracefully enough to not wake her. This, of course, did not happen because that would be too easy.

Just as he stood up off the bed, the rumpled-looking Sharona in his bed woke, turned towards him, and smiled.

"Adrian?" She asked; the smile turning into a frown as her confusion grew.

"Uh- I uh… need to get a- uh, drink." He said nervously, turning to walk towards the door, and as he did so he realised that he was without any clothing, even underwear. Adrian blushed profusely and quickly searched the room for his misplaced boxers, finally finding them at the foot of the bed, wrapped around a bedpost. He glanced over at Sharona, noticing her playful smile as she watched him. It was then that he remembered how exactly they ended up in this situation.

Sharona had been upset. Something about a pay cheque, that much was certain. Adrian wasn't paying much attention to the words she was speaking, mostly because of the small stain located on the left sleeve of her almost-too-small-for-her t-shirt, and partly because he had had an odd urge lately to sweep her into his arms and kiss her senseless that he desperately needed to quell.

"Adrian, you have to pay me. Benjy has a class trip to the zoo, I need money for that!" She was almost turning red now.

"I'm sorry, Sharona," Monk said, quickly displacing his concentration from that pesky brown spot (and his admiration for her better physical attributes) to look her in the eyes, "Uh- how about I take you out… you know- to dinner. To make up for- uh…forgetting to pay you."

'What are you saying?' He thought suddenly, 'This is Sharona! And what about Trudy?' he asked himself, realising what his body was trying to make him do.

"Uh- that would be…great. Thank you, Adrian," Sharona smiled happily.

He had been picked up at 5:30 exactly, which was surprising to Monk because he knew that Sharona had to drop Benjy off at a friends for the night and it always took him a long time to carefully pack what he was bringing with him. God, he loved that kid sometimes. 'And his mom,' his subconscious said knowingly to him. Monk mentally shook off his thoughts when he opened the door to Sharona who looked absolutely stunning in a knee-length black dress. If that didn't throw his mind off-balance then dinner certainly had. Between the long stares she was giving him and how nice she looked in the dim lighting of the small (but very clean) Italian restaurant they had chosen, he could hardly concentrate on the single lock of misplaced hair on her head that needed to be fixed and the slight build-up of dust on the light bulb of the lamp at their table.

By the time they had arrived back at Monk's house he had already had multiple fights with himself about loving his late wife and the object of his current affections.

"Adrian," Sharona smiled up at him, "I had a very nice time, thank you."

It was then that Monk had realised he was sitting on his couch in the living room. Sharona placed her hand on Monk's shoulder and patted it gently. The look on her face was uncertain and Monk wasn't quite sure what it meant. What could she be uncertain about? Then he realised that she was moving her hand from his shoulder down his arm; finally she stopped at his wrist, almost visibly wondering what he would do if she tried to hold his hand.

"Uh, Sharona…" Monk started, but didn't finish as she made her decision and slid her hand into his.

He studied her face now; her eyebrows were furrowed in worry and confusion, her lips were turned up in a slight smile, and her eyes telling him everything she was thinking. Monk gasped, realising exactly what it was she was doing, saying, and thinking.

"Adrian, can I…" Sharona started to say, but was quickly cut off by Monk sliding his hand to the back of her neck, pulling her closer, and placing his lips lightly on hers.

Sharona inhaled sharply in shock, but allowed herself to relax into the kiss. They both remained completely still for a few seconds, until Monk pulled back just enough to look Sharona in the eyes. He leaned in for another kiss, but Sharona stopped him.

"Adrian, I have to tell you something," she said carefully.

"W-what?' Monk looked nervously at her, afraid of rejection. Of course she wouldn't like him like that, what was he thinking?

"I…I don't know how to say this, so I'll just say it," she paused, "Adrian, I- I think I'm in l-l-love with you."

There, she said it. Right there on his couch, just after kissing him, and she wasn't sure what that made her feel. Maybe relieved, but also a little scared. After all, she wasn't sure what Adrian thought about all this. He could have thought she wasn't even real when he kissed her for all she knew.

Sharona watched as Monk's eyes grew wide in shock, and then a small smile appeared on his face, "You mean it?" he asked, gripping her hand.

"Of course, Adrian," she smiled as Monk leaned in for another quick kiss.

"I love you, too," he said as they parted, "I have for awhile."

They both smiled broadly and Monk put a hand on Sharona's un-sleeved shoulder. She looked at the hand quickly, and then looked back into Monk's eyes. He glanced at her lips, then back into her eyes, and finally leaned in to kiss her thoroughly and passionately.

Monk smiled as he remembered what Sharona's lips felt like on his, it was so pleasant. So he decided to see what it felt like again. He walked over to the bed and kissed her lightly on the forehead, then with a little more pressure on her lips.

"I thought you were getting a drink," Sharona said as he pulled away.

"I changed my mind," Monk smiled and sat down on the side of the bed. They lay there for another hour before Sharona's cell phone rang.

She opened it quickly, "Hello?" pause, "Yes, Captain, we'll be there in an hour. Okay, bye."

"Do we have a case?" Monk asked while stroking Sharona's hair.

"Yes, at an orphanage downtown. We should probably shower and get cleaned up."

All Adrian Monk heard was one word. Clean.