I am a huge fan of the show Monk, and have always felt that Monk and Natalie were perfect for each other. So what I wanted to do was write a story (or maybe stories) about them sharing moments together, but make them plausible. No "Natalie, I suddenly love you and am cured of everything!" no "Adrian, you're the man of my dreams!" No offense to anyone with fics like that, of course. But I always thought their relationship would be more subtle, that it would sneak up on them. And, of course, there would be some difficulties to overcome. But, in the end, I think they would have come to realie just what they mean to each other.

Anyway, enough of my blathering, on to the fic!

(I do not own anything in this story. I wrote this fanfiction for my own enjoyment, and am getting no profit from it at all.)

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"Mr. Monk, it's late," Natalie said, trying her best to keep her patience. "Julie's staying over at a friend's house tonight, and I was hoping to have a little me-time."

"Here's the thing," Monk replied as he sat on the couch, sorting out a collection of video tapes on the table in front of him, "I'm trying to dust off and organize these tapes, and I could use some help."

Natalie sighed heavily. "Mr. Monk, you never want me to help you organize things. Or whenever I try you always redo it, anyway. Besides, can't you remember the order they were in before you brought them all out?"

Monk didn't answer at first. He just took another tape from the neat stack of undusted tapes, removed it from its box, ran a swiffer over each side of it--twice--and then dusted the box inside and out. He then placed the tape back in the box, making sure the label faced out, and was right-side up, before setting it on the neat stack of tapes he had already dusted. "It shouldn't take long, Natalie," he finally said, "I promise."

Natalie sighed again and set her purse down on the coffee table, then took a seat next to Monk. For some reason he had been exceptionally needy that day. She grabbed the second swiffer and a tape, and looked at the label. "Trudy's birthday," it said. She understood now why he had so many VHS tapes, and why he took such great care of them. They must have all been home movies of Trudy.

He really loved her, she thought to herself. No, not "loved." He still loves her now just as much as when she was alive. I know how hard it is to love someone who has gone from your life forever.

Pushing these thoughts aside, Natalie ran the swiffer over the front side of the tape, then the backside. Monk saw this and shook his head disapprovingly. "No, no, no," he said, "dust around the edges first, then the front and then the back. Then, dust the edges again, then dust the front again, then the back again."

"Mr. Monk, why should I dust it twice?"

Monk sighed and shook his head, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Because," he explained, as one would explain something to a child, "the first time you dust, particles could fly into the air and resettle. You have to get those settling dust particles, or else why bother dusting at all, Natalie?"

Natalie, as she had done many times before, just sighed, counted to ten, and nodded her head. "Alright, alright," she said, and she dusted exactly as Monk told her. Or, so she thought.

"Not too fast," he said, "or you'll just push the dust around."

Natalie rolled her eyes and tried again. Finally hearing no objections to her dusting technique, she moved on to dusting the box inside and out and carefully placed the tape back in it and set it on the "dusted" stack. Monk promptly noticed it was slightly off-kilter and adjusted it, making the stack perfect again.

Natalie quietly took another tape and dusted it as well, carefully heeding her employer's instructions. After about a half-hour--and several more objections from Monk on Natalie's dusting-technique--the tapes were finally dusted and ready to be put away. Monk carried half to the entertainment center, followed by Natalie who carried the rest, and he set them in a neat row, organized alphabetically, according to runtime on the tapes, and each box color coordinated.

Natalie watched as he did this, and could hardly believe how dedicated he could be to something. He didn't even seem to mind what most others would consider a tedious task. But still why had he insisted she stay and help? He'd barely let her do anything aside from dusting, and even then he re-dusted most of the tapes. Why was she even here? She dared a glance at the clock and groaned when she saw it was 11:46 p.m. "Mr. Monk, if you don't mind, I'd really like to get home now," she said. Monk didn't answer. "Mr. Monk?" She looked over at him and noticed he had stopped. He stood there with one of the tapes in his hands, just staring at the label. "Mr. Monk?" she said again, slightly concerned.

"I-I'm sorry Natalie," he finally said in a small voice. "You can go now. I-I'll see you tomorrow."

But Natalie didn't move. She was aware of how sad Monk had become, and she cautiously moved closer. Looking over his shoulder she could see the label on the tape. "Sixth Anniversary." There was also a date: August eighth, 1997.

The year Trudy was killed, Natalie realized. She also remember that today was the eighth of August. No wonder he's been acting this way, and no wonder he doesn't want to be alone.

Monk stared at the tape a moment longer, then he slowly took it out of its box and put it in the VCR and pressed "play." He sat down on the couch, never taking his eyes off the television, as the video started to play.

There was Trudy, still alive and well, smiling brightly for the camera as she unwrapped a gift. "I hope you'll like it," Monks voice was heard to say. He was out of the camera's view at the moment.

"You know I will, Adrian," Trudy replied. She finally removed the wrapping paper--careful not to rip it, for her husband's sake--and saw a black jewelry box. When she opened it, she gasped out loud and took out the gold necklace inside. "Adrian, it's beautiful," she said, and she held it up to admire it in the light. It was a gold chain, with a diamond set into a golden star hanging in the center. "Oh, I can't believe how beautiful it is. Thank you so much, Darling!"

Finally, Monk moved into the camera's view, as he sat next to Trudy on the couch. She put her arms around him and kissed him lovingly.

Natalie stood there watching the tape, and turned to Monk, who stared blankly at the screen. She looked sympathetically at the man she considered one of her best friends, if not the best friend she had, and sat down next to him. She cautiously moved her arm behind Monk and rubbed his back gently. He never moved, and kept staring at the screen.

Now the video showed Monk and Trudy at a party. They were surrounded by friends and family, only a few of which Natalie recognized. There was Captain Stottlemeyer, Trudy's parents (Natalie had met Mr. and Mrs. Ellison once when they visited Monk) and Monk's brother Ambrose, who was mostly keeping to himself. It was then she noticed they were all in Ambrose' house. A big banner was hung up that read "Happy 6th Anniversary Adrian and Trudy."

Monk and Trudy both smiled and laughed as the party progressed, talking and joking with their friends and family. Natalie had never seen Mr. Monk so happy before. And then, when she saw him dancing with Trudy, smiling and holding her close while looking deep in her eyes, she couldn't suppress a smile. She wished he could be that happy again. But her smile faded when she turned to Monk and saw tears pouring down his cheeks.

"Every year, I think I'll finally go the day without watching this," he whispered so quietly that Natalie almost didn't hear it, "but I always do… I always do…"

Natalie could feel tears coming to her own eyes as well, and she scooted closer to Monk and hugged him, resting her head against his. Monk didn't object, he had been hugged by Natalie enough times to where he could tolerate it. Oh sure, he would normally tense up, but right now he just didn't care one way or the other. He just sat there, staring at the screen, and the tears continued to flow.

Finally, the tape ended, but neither Monk nor Natalie got up to turn it off. They both stayed there on the couch.

After a moment, Natalie finally lifted her head to look at Monk, and he turned to look at her as well. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Monk," she said softly.

"For what?" Monk asked. "You weren't responsible for Trudy's death… I was."

"No, you weren't," Natalie said firmly. "It was not your fault, Mr. Monk. Okay?" Monk didn't answer. He just turned away again. Natalie sighed and gently kissed him on the forehead, then grabbed a wipe from her purse and handed it to him. He took it and wiped off his forehead, muttering a small "thank you." Natalie nodded and hugged him again, resting her head on his shoulder.

They slipped into silence again, until Monk finally said, "I haven't watched that tape with another person since that day." He looked down at her with as much of a smile as he could muster. "It… helps. Almost… not very much, but…"

Natalie just smiled, understanding perfectly what he was trying to say. "You're welcome," she said.

Monk nodded and leaned back into the couch a little. "You don't have to stay anymore," he said. "You can have your you-time. I'm sorry I kept you here."

Natalie shook her head. "There'll be other nights for me-time," she said. "I think I'll stick around a bit longer."

Monk nodded again, and tried again to smile. He didn't quite succeed. But then Natalie was surprised to feel him put his arm around her. "I… I'm glad…" he said, "that you were here."

Natalie smiled warmly at him. "I'll always be here for you if you need me, Mr. Monk."

Monk finally managed a smile, and he looked down to see Natalie drifting off to sleep on his shoulder. He raised a hand to stroke a strand of hair away from her face, paused, and thought better of it. He looked at the clock and saw that it was now 12:51 a.m. He had survived another August eighth without Trudy. But this time… he hadn't done it alone.

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Well, there you have it. I may leave it as a one-shot, but let me know if you enjoyed it, and maybe I'll write more!