Unbound Heart

Standard disclaimer: I don't own Monk.

Notes: This story begins the day after 'Life continues…' A lot of what happens will refer back, so if you haven't read it, please do. Otherwise, to offer a brief recap: Adrian and Natalie are now settling into a comfortable relationship, Sharona is visiting from Jersey and Randy is still in SF. ~Remember, in my world, 'The End' never happened. Also, referring back to the closing paragraph of 'Life Continues…', Natalie's condition is known only to you, dear reader- so, Ssh, don't tell anyone- she'll figure it out soon enough!

A pre-story warning- The initial intent for this story was to have Adrian solve Trudy's murder (though to be honest, I've always been more interested in Adrian's healing and not in closing Trudy's case). Anyway, other unplanned and unforeseen themes emerged instead. As a result, this story will be darker than expected, will deal with physiological issues, and will (egad!) have adventure and action (both good and bad, LOL)!

Grateful thanks to Alex 455 and SpaceCadet47 for the PMs.

A Special Thank You to Monkwriter for, you know …Everything! ;)


Chapter 1 Freedom

Patiently standing across from the wire-enclosed property clerk's counter, he quietly mumbled to himself, "Today is a beautiful day." However, his grim, brown eyes could not see outside and so was unaware of the clear sky and the warm sun that would soon greet him. No, the fair weather outside had nothing to do with his rejoicing. There could have been a barrage of hail-stones and mud-slides, followed by biblical fires and earthquakes and he still would have been overjoyed with what lay outside.

Understandably, it was the imminent change of scenery that inspired his happiness; from barbed-wire and grey concrete walls to unfettered freedom. He smirked as the guard had him sign for his possessions, carefully checking each item off the list: a belt, a watch, a handful of coins, his wallet and fifteen dollars cash. A truly paltry stash for someone who had owned homes all over the world and who once wielded an ungodly amount of power over hundreds of souls. Of course he still retained vast hidden resources; bank accounts hidden under various aliases, houses and businesses held in other names. He would just need a little time to access his assets. When the guard slid the cash across the counter, his eyes unexpectedly lit up. He offered the guard a benevolent smile and then he looked down and thoughtfully counted the fifteen dollars.

Fifteen; that was his original prison sentence handed down nearly three years ago. But thanks to California's inability to keep up with the rising crime rate, his 'minor' white-collar crime of fraud made the state consider him 'less dangerous' than a poor drug addict or petty thief. Thank God for the 'Three Strike' Rule. How ironic. Although he had hurt an untold number of people, he was given early parole to make room for an addict who only hurt himself. Now he was about to leave the penitentiary and reclaim his life and liberty. But most important, he would finally enact his revenge against the man who caused his downfall and robbed him of his family. It was truly a beautiful day.


Randy looked at the clock across the squad room, wanting to remember this moment forever. It was 8:05, Monday morning, and he was about to set into motion one of the biggest decision in his life. The lieutenant stood and strode over to the Captain's open office door. With a quick rap on the door jam, he waited.

"Come on in Randy." The Captain sorted several files on his desk and didn't bother to look up.

"Captain? Hey, can I talk to you?" He realized he was holding his breath and made himself release it.

Leland looked up briefly and beckoned Randy to take a seat. "Sure thing, Lieutenant. What's up?"

Randy could tell the Captain didn't have a clue as to what he was about to say and so tried to work up his nerve to broach the subject. He took a seat and tapped his fingers on the arms of the chair. "Hey, our triple date yesterday was pretty cool, wasn't it? Made me realized how cool it would be to live near New York and see things like Broadway shows. You know, to go into the City whenever?"

"Yes Randall, our triple date was cool, Broadway is cool, and New York is cool. Now, what did you want to talk about?" The Captain sighed and began to shuffle his papers again.

Randy cleared his throat and shifted in the chair. "Here's the thing. Last night Sharona and I were talking and I was thinking that, when she goes back to New Jersey, I, umh, I want to take my vacation and go with her."

"To New Jersey? You want to take your vacation there?" The Captain scoffed as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes sir. New Jersey is a great place! It's the 'Garden State', you know. They have beaches and mountains and a great music scene and everything!" Randy protested.

"Randy, they have oil refineries, the Jersey Devil, and, most troubling, the Gateway to Hell. The unofficial state slogan of Jersey is- 'Where the Weak are Killed and Eaten!'"

"Yeah, so what? That's only to scare away tourists. They don't like tourists. Anyway, I'm going." Randy adamantly insisted as he stood up. He turned and took a step towards the door but then quickly turned back to Leland. "Captain I want you to know that, when I'm out there, I'm going to be putting in some applications at some of the municipal police stations."

Leland looked up in shock as his hand crumpled the file he held. "Randy! Are you telling me you're quitting?"

"No sir, I'm not 'quitting', but Sharona and I are getting pretty serious and, if I can get a job in Jersey, well, I'm going to move East." Randy flashed a huge grin. "Actually we've been talking marriage."

"Damn, Randy, congratulations." The Captain stammered and stood as he offered his outstretched hand. "I'm sure going to miss you, son. I know it won't take too long before some town hires you. They'll be lucky to have you."

Randy shook Leland's hand, relieved to have finally revealed his plan to move on. "Thank you, sir. I've really loved working here and have learned a lot and will miss everybody."

The Captain laughed and swatted Randy with a case file. "Well Randy, you have a few more days working here so take this file and go do some policing."

Randy returned to his desk and, before he had had a chance to sit down, heard Leland bellow his name. He quickly returned to the open doorway. "Was there something else, Captain?"

"Yes, sorry to have yelled. Please give Monk a call. Something weird happened at the penitentiary and the warden called this morning, asking if Monk could go up there tomorrow." Leland leaned forward in his chair and laid his arms on his desk.

"What happened sir?" Randy leaned against the door jam.

"Well, last week an inmate named Spyder Rudner was killed. No big surprise there, I mean, he was a really bad guy. But what's weird is that yesterday an inmate came forward and told the warden that Rudner had wanted to contact Monk. Rudner supposedly had an important, life-or-death message for his former cell mate. You remember, they met about seven years ago when Adrian went undercover at the pen to solve another case. The library- lady case? Anyway, the correction officers had boxed Rudner's personal effects up last week and didn't find anything unusual. The warden wants Monk to talk with this other con and look at the effects in hopes of figuring out why Spyder Rudner was murdered."

"But the warden wants Monk up there tomorrow, not today?" Randy came into the office and laced his hands together.

"Right, there are no visitations allowed today. Why?" Leland sighed, expecting some weird 'Randy Theory' on who killed Spyder.

"Well, you said he needs to go tomorrow. I was thinking that it's only 8 am. I know Monk is usually up this early but after yesterday, he might not, you know, be awake or, umh, be home?" Randy furrowed his brow and shifted his shoulder in a very Monk-like way.

Leland smirked as he looked at Randy, his consideration for Monk obvious. "Your right Randy, the phone call can wait till later. There's no rush. The investigation into Rudner's death isn't priority and besides, Monk doesn't have to go to the penitentiary until tomorrow.


He strode across the barren parking lot, breathing the fresh air. As promised, a limousine sat idling outside the penitentiary, waiting to whisk him away. For some unknown reason, a mysterious stranger had recently contacted him and volunteered to help punish the man who ruined his life. Oh, it was a happy occurrence to find another person who also sought vengeance against the detective. A soul mate, if you will. Anxious to meet this new friend and compare plans, he chuckled as the phrase 'double the fun' came to mind. The chauffeur opened the door and waited, eyes averted. The smirk fell from the newly released ex-con's lips and his brown eyes hardened as he looked one last time at the grey fortress. Three years of his life had been taken from him. A stern look became etched on his face; he vowed to make his enemy pay dearly.


The bright morning light streamed through the sheer curtains, bringing his from his deep slumber. Adrian turned his face from the window and, after finding Natalie's side of the bed empty, groggily looked at the clock on the nightstand. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, because surely it couldn't be 9:45 in the morning. And yet it was. Miraculously, his internal alarm clock had been silenced and he had slept in. He gave a quiet chuckle, delighted at having this 'normal' experience. He then noticed a note next to the clock on the nightstand.

~Morning Sleepyhead!

You can find some clean clothes, toiletries and a bath towel on the chair by the

door. Meet me downstairs after you're all cleaned up! (But don't take all day!)

Love, Nat

Adrian rose from the bed and went and to collect all the supplies Natalie had thoughtfully gathered together, but froze when his hand touched the doorknob. There was no way he could walk across the hallway to the bathroom like he was, or rather, wasn't - dressed. Last night he had positively conquered his fear of Natalie being undressed, but he still was not completely comfortable in his own skin. He dropped everything and wrapped the towel around his waist. That was definitely better. Adrian opened the door a crack and peaked out. The coast was clear. He picked up his supplies and made a dash for the bathroom, determined to complete all necessary tasks in a reasonable amount of time.

In less than an hour, Adrian bound down the staircase barefoot, hair still damp and tee-shirt untucked. After yesterday's wondrous breakthrough of finally being able to appreciate Natalie's beautiful body, Adrian was determined follow Dr. Bell's council and completely test his limits. Today he planned to remain strong and not respond to uncomfortable situations, hence the 'quick' shower, untucked shirt and lack of shoes. He felt extremely distressed by his dishevelment but trusted his anxiety would subside, as Dr. Bell had promised.

Adrian stopped at the kitchen doorway when he spied Natalie at the table, her back to him, reading the paper. Unintentionally silent, he approached her and she startled when Adrian wrapped his arms around her. After apologizing for the scare, he kissed her cheek and murmured, "Natalie, why didn't you wake me?"

She snuggled her cheek against his freshly shaved face and inhaled deeply, enjoying his clean scent. Natalie placed her hand on his arm a lightly squeezed, "Mmm, you looked so peaceful I didn't have the heart to wake you." Natalie let out a small cough and released her hold, "I had a sneezing fit earlier, that's why I left you alone and came downstairs."

Adrian kneeled on one knee next to her chair and instinctively put his hand on her forehead, concern in his voice. "How do you feel?" Adrian then sucked in a breath when it registered what he was touching –not Natalie, he was fine touching Natalie; they had shared lots of germs lately, but possibly contagious germs, and plenty of them. Not a phobia he had planned on confronting today, but here it was anyway. Adrian gritted his teeth and managed to keep his hand on her forehead. He softly asked, "Are you sick, Natalie?"

"No, not sick at all, just a little allergy attack." Natalie happily removed his hand and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

Adrian gasped for a breath when Natalie finally released her hold on him. "What was that for?"

"For not freaking out and asking for a wipe just now when you thought I was contaminated with germs," she smirked. "Now, can I get you something for breakfast? Or maybe I should say lunch since it's almost 11 am? What do you want?"

The distressful thought of germs had been obliterated by Natalie's fiery kiss and replaced with a much more pleasant idea. "What do I want?" A suggestive smile came to Adrian's lips as he recalled the previous night. His eyes glinted and he remained kneeling next to her chair, hoping she shared his thought.

"Really?" Natalie snickered and she cupped her hand under his chin, "Come on, I have to feed you."

"I'm not hungry." Adrian slyly grinned, leaning in to steal a kiss from her germ-free lips.

"I know you didn't have lunch or dinner yesterday. You must be starving." Natalie insisted as she ran a hand through his tousled hair.

"Not at all," he quietly asserted. Much to his chagrin, his empty stomach then chose to let out a growl of protest. Natalie laughed and playfully tugged one of his curls and Adrian amended his answer. "Well, maybe a bit."

She stood and pulled him from his knee onto her chair. "Here, you sit while I get you a hearty, calorie-filled breakfast." When he looked up and met her gaze, Natalie winked, "You're going to need lots of energy today."

~~MN~~

While Natalie and Adrian finished washing and drying the dishes, the phone rang. An unexpected intrusion, it sounded unnaturally loud and shrill in the cozy kitchen. Their eyes met and they sighed in unison, hoping against hope it wasn't the Captain or Randy. Natalie flashed a half-hearted smile and together they went to the phone.

He looked at her apologetically after seeing the number on the caller-id.

She leaned up against Adrian's body and hit the answer button. "Yes Randy?"

"Hey Nat, sorry to bother you guys. It's not an emergency, but I just needed to tell you that Monk needs to go to the penitentiary tomorrow. A con named Spyder Rudner was killed last week and the warden has requested that Adrian investigate, if that's okay with you guys?"

Natalie relayed the message to Adrian and secured his approval before telling Randy "We'll be there tomorrow, no problem."

"Thanks so much." Randy urgently mumbled something to a fellow officer and so quickly offered a goodbye to Natalie, "I gotta go, see you guys later."

Natalie placed the phone back in its cradle and hugged Adrian. "I'm sorry about Spyder."

"Thanks Nat but you know, he did kill four people." Adrian sighed, torn by the news of Spyder's murder. Although Rudner probably deserved his fate, Adrian had witnessed a good side to the man. "I guess that's one of the hazards of being incarcerated. So, until tomorrow, let's not think about his death or our trip to the penitentiary."

She loosened her embrace and met his eyes. "Okay, so what do you want to do today?"

Adrian gently brushed a stray hair from Natalie's face and then thoughtfully caressed her cheek; a shy smile crept across his face and the glint returned to his eye. "Maybe we could, you know, practice some of the things you taught me last night?"

"Practice makes perfect, hmm?" Natalie chuckled and took Adrian's hand, ready to follow him upstairs. But before leaving the kitchen, Natalie paused and touched a button on the phone. With all calls sent directly to voice-mail, their afternoon would be undisturbed.


End Notes: Please know I am not (through Leland's statements) badmouthing the Garden State. I'm from New Jersey and I love New Jersey! It's a beautiful, strange place. I haven't seen theDevil (yet), but I have been to the Gates of Hell (among other oddities), don't especially care for Shoobies (if you don't know what they are, LOL, you're probably one!) and yes, one of our unofficial slogans is- 'Where the Weak are Killed and Eaten'! – Don't worry about Randy though, Sharona will protect him! ;)