A/N: This is my first Monk fanfiction, so I hope to do a good job on it. I LOVE Monk and this is just a little something I thought of when I went to DC a while ago. There is a small murder, but that's not really the main reason why Monk is in D.C. You'll find out why they go later on. Enjoy! P.S. Sorry for any typos!

Disclaimer: I own nothing...:(

Chapter 1: Happy Birthday Mr. Monk

The shrill ring of Adrian Monk's alarm clock woke him up with a start at exactly 8 a.m.

He reached over sleepily and hit the "snooze" button.

"Good morning,' he whispered, caressing the face of the beautiful woman beside him. Monk sighed at the thought of talking to a picture. It had been almost a decade since he had actually heard the voice of the beautiful woman in the frame, but he remembered it like it was yesterday.

Monk sighed as he put on his slippers and robe and shuffled into the kitchen. There, he was surprised to find his assistant, Natalie Teeger, making breakfast.

What is she doing here? he thought. More importantly, what is she doing in my kitchen.

Natalie turned around and saw Monk standing in the doorway with a confused look on his face. His hair was a mess and his bathrobe was tied in a sloppy knot. Not to mention, he had on two different slippers. He must have had a bad night, she thought. But, she couldn't help but giggle at how "disheveled" he looked, compared to his normal attire.

"Good Morning Sunshine!" she said, all too cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?"

Monk didn't answer right away because he felt that there was something wrong with the scene before him.

Am I missing something here? He asked himself.

Natalie had never been what you call an early riser; or much of a cook for that matter. And she NEVER came to work this early.

"N-Natalie?" Monk stuttered, with his hand on his forehead.

"Hmmmm?" she replied, not looking up from her scrambled eggs.

"Why are you, of all people, cooking in my kitchen at 8 a.m.?"

"Oh, no reason," she said playfully. "I just thought I'd come over and make you breakfast, it being your special day and all."

Monk just stared at her with a thoughtful look on his face.

"He-Hello? Earth to Monk? HELLO?" Natalie said, waving her hand in front of Monk's face.

Getting no response, Natalie dipped her finger into a bowl of syrup and gently swiped it across Monk's nose.

Oh yes, she definitely got a reaction out of him this time.

"Hey! What was that for?" Monk asked, as his hand shot up to his nose.

As he frantically ran around the kitchen looking for a wipe, a teenage girl bounded into the kitchen and hugged Monk tightly. "Happy Birthday Mr. Monk!" she exclaimed.

Monk awkwardly returned Julie's hug and looked up at Natalie with pleading eyes.

Sensing that he was uncomfortable, Natalie pried her daughter's arms from around Monk's waist.

"Oh my God." he said, sitting down slowly. "I can't believe I forgot my birthday. I was so preoccupied with the Huntington case that I didn't even think about it."

"Well that's okay Mr. Monk," said Natalie, patting him on the back, with an arm still around her daughter. "At least you have us here to remind you."

"Right!" said Julie, with a big grin on her face.

"Come on guys, lets eat." said Natalie.

Monk, Natalie and Julie sat down to a delicious breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, toast and coffee.

Natalie had thoughtfully, and carefully laid out Monk's breakfast onto separate plates which consisted of 2 of everything.

"Natalie," Monk said, reaching for his silverware, "You really didn't have to set all this out just for me."

"Sure I did, your birthday only comes once a year. Plus, I think you would do the same for me."

"Yeah, I would." he replied with a small grin.

She smiled back and began to eat.

Natalie knew exactly how Monk took his coffee, even thought he didn't drink it that often.

That was the one thing she had always remembered about him because it was the exactly same way she took hers.

"Dark, not black with two creamers and four packets of sugar. It has to be Folders, that was what Trudy used to drink." She remembered Monk saying to her about two years ago.

On Monk and Trudy's anniversary a few years ago, Natalie had taken Monk to his usual anniversary weekend retreat. While on this vacation, Monk had run into yet another homicide. It was a long story, but somehow, Monk had ended up totally hammered. Natalie had stayed with him the night they got home, just in case something went wrong. Boy did he have some hangover! This had been exactly how he said he wanted his (cold) coffee, to help revive him of course.

Now, halfway through the meal, Natalie noticed that Monk hadn't been eating much and he had his head buried in his hands. "Are you okay Mr. Monk?' she asked concernedly.

Monk looked up at her with glassy eyes and the biggest fake smile he could manage. But Natalie saw right through him and leaned over to rub his back. Monk looked at Natalie and mouthed 'Thank You' to her.

"You're welcome." she whispered into his ear.

At that moment, Natalie was beckoned by the sound of her cell phone ringing.

"Hello? Oh-hi Captain."

Monk quickly looked up when he heard who it was.

"Natalie, can you and Monk come down to the station? I have a surprise for the two of you." Captain Stottlemeyer whispered into the phone.

"Okay, we'll be there as soon as we're done with breakfast. Thanks Captain, bye."

Natalie turned to Monk and relayed the conversation to him. "The Captain wants us at the station as soon as possible. So, Julie, if you'll clear the table, Mr. Monk, you got get ready and I'll load the dishwasher. Let's aim to be out of here by at least eleven."

Surprisingly, no one protested at Natalie's orders.

While in the bathroom, Monk went to his medicine cabinet and pulled out a little white pill bottle.

He stared at it for a long time before he finally decided what he needed to.

You're not doing it for attention Monk, you're doing it because you deserve it, he told himself. I think…

The thought of a chemical being in his body freaked him out, but not as much as it used to .

Quickly and quietly, he popped two little pills in his mouth and swallowed them down with a cup of water.

After half an hour, Monk walked into the room. Right away, Natalie noticed that something was different. She and Julie both looked him up and down several times, trying to figure out what it was.

Their eyes fell upon his shirt.

Oh my God, thought Natalie. The buttons on his shirt are undone! And his sleeves, they're rolled up! What made up do all this? He's GOT to be going crazy.

Julie was the first to break the awkward silence while Natalie stood there in shock.

"Lookin' good Mr. Monk!" she exclaimed.

Yeah, really, thought Natalie. Just goes to show what a little change can do for someone.

However, Natalie had a small feeling that something strange was going on. Monk never liked change, no matter what day of the year it was. What made him want to change now?

"Thank you Julie. I decided to let loose a little. After all, I think I owe it to myself."

Getting her thoughts back together, Natalie quickly urged Monk and Julie out the door. "Come on guys, we better get going.

On the way out, Natalie nudged Monk with her elbow and winked at him.

To her complete and utter amazement, he smiled and winked right back at her.

So how am I doing so far? By the way, here's a snippet of the next chapter...

"Are you okay?" she said in a serious, yet concerned tone. She pulled her hand back and started to put it towards Monk's forehead to see if he had a fever. As she did, she heard something rattle when she bumped Monk's pocket.

"What's that?" she asked.

"What's what?" Monk said, as if he didn't hear anything.

Natalie reached into his pocket and pulled out the bottle of pills. "Oh my God! You're on something? What is this?"

"Washington D.C.??" Monk and Natalie said in unison.

"Yep," said Stottlemeyer with a smirk on his face.

"What's in D.C.?" asked Monk, a little more calmly.

"The Whitehouse. You and Natalie are going to be staying at the Whitehouse with the President."

"Why?" Natalie asked impatiently, waiting for the Captain to explain himself.