Just a little piece of minty fresh fluff for everyone to enjoy!
Disclaimer: Not mine!
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"She's not coming back."
Leland Stottlemyer sighed and set his pen down at the utterance. "Monk." He looked at his longtime friend. "She's coming back. Calm down."
Monk absently touched the lamp on the captain's desk and shook his head. "You're wrong," he mumbled. "She's never coming back."
An hour ago Stottlemyer had agreed, no, practically insisted that Natalie drop Monk off at the station so she wouldn't be late to her appointment. "Just an hour or two," she had promised repeatedly as she backed out of the office. "Then I'll be back to pick him up."
He was beginning to think it had all been a rouse, and that she really wasn't coming back.
"She's coming back." He was almost surprised that Monk hadn't just gone with her, but then he remembered who he was talking about. "Just watch. She'll be back before you know it."
Monk looked up at the clock on the wall. "She said she'd be here at one." He looked down at his watch. "It's now... two minutes after one." He was starting to look frantic. "She's not coming."
Stottlemyer sighed and opened his mouth, but was interrupted when the door opened, and a blond head appeared. Thank God... "Look, Monk. Natalie's here."
Monk immediately spun around, and his relief was obvious to both the captain and Natalie.
Natalie looked apologetic. "I'm sorry I'm late, Mr. Monk. Are you ready to go?"
He looked at her hand as she took his arm. "You're late," he complained.
She nodded. "I'm sorry. I got stuck in traffic."
"You're late."
She gently led him toward the door. "You could have gone with me," she reminded him, and the expression on his face was priceless.
"Gone... with you? There?" He twitched. "No."
Stottlemyer grinned and followed them out of his office.
Natalie turned and gave him a smile. "Thanks for keeping an eye on him, Captain."
"No problem, Natalie," he assured her.
Monk absently rubbed the back of her hand where it rested on his arm. "You were late."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine, Mr. Monk. Next time, you can just come with me to the dentist."
His eyes widened in shock. "No!"
Stottlemyer laughed at the argument that ensued as they left the squadroom.
Next time, he would just help Natalie find a babysitter for Monk so she could get her teeth cleaned.
The End.
A/N: Cute, huh? I'd like to take a second and thank all of the reviewers of How Big Is The Spider? You guys are really awesome, and while I'm still finding my voice in the Monk world, I feel really comfortable here. And I know that many of you are asking for a multi chapter fic. Well, I don't know how fast that will be. I seem to have found my way with Stottlemyer and Natalie, but Monk is a bit trickier. I'd really like to do a longer story, but I want to wait until I really have my footing. Because the idea I have for it is really, really big. Thanks again for reading, and please remember to review!
