I affirm that all of the characters in this story are based on the TV series "Monk"
and only the tale of how love finally blossoms between Monk and Natalie and unites their hearts is original.
Kawasakifan.
"US" - THE CONCLUSION
PART ONE
It was a Friday night, several months after Natalie had ended her relationship with the lieutenant.
It was one o'clock in the morning.
Natalie was alone in a house that was once alive with the laughter of her daughter Julie, now off to college and warmed by the comforting embrace of a now vanquished lover.
Sitting at the kitchen table, she quietly sips the cheap red wine she had bought at the local supermarket early that night and reflects on recent events hoping that the artificially inebriated high that will surely come with the last glass will help alleviate the painful loneliness surrounding her.
She stares at the cell phone on the table then, picking it up, starts to call her daughter but abruptly stops, "No this isn't a good idea, Julie will just find out that her mom is drinking again." So she redials, knowing that there is only one other person she can turn to. She speaks slowly to avoid slurring her words, "Hello, I need a cab to come and take me to the house of Mr. Adrian Monk. I live on...."
About 30 minutes later, Monk is suddenly awakened by the ringing of the telephone on the night stand by his bed.
Still half asleep, he gropes for the receiver wanting more to simply stop the annoying sound so he could go back to sleep rather than begin a conversation in the middle of the night but fully wakes up when he hears Natalie's voice,
"Mr. Monk, it's me Natalie. Are you awake?"
"Well, I am now, Natalie" Monk grumbles in reply. "What time is it? Are you OK?"
"Its almost 2 am. I am sorry to call at this hour but I am standing outside your door. Can you please let me in?"
"Since you're already here I guess I have no other choice…Wait a minute."
He puts on his bed robe and walks to the door.
Despite his initial displeasure over the nuisance of her unscheduled visit interrupting his sleep, he suddenly has a change of heart when he catches a glimpse of her through the window as she stands outside, realizing that in fact even at this hour her visit is not entirely unwelcome yet even though he sense something's happening, unaccustomed to experiencing such feelings, he doesn't fully understand their significance.
He unlocks the door and she quietly walks in, trying to put a smile.
Once inside, relieved to see that she is safe, he asks her in a worried voice, "Has something happened to Julie?"
Moved by his concern for her daughter's safety and aided by the sobering affects of the cold air, she becomes aware of how thoughtlessly inconsiderate her coming there is, so unable to look at her boss, she looks down at the floor to avoid what she thought must be a disapproving gaze and begins to explain,
"No, actually my reason for coming Mr. Monk is..."
but before she has time to finish, Monk detects the odor of alcohol on her breath and angrily interrupts her in a reprimanding tone,
"Natalie, you've been drinking, haven't you! My God, you didn't drive here in this condition, did you? You could have had an accident and been killed! Did you ever consider for a moment how Julie would have felt loosing her mother and...and...what about me, I would loose...."
Confronted openly with what she thought he really felt about her, despite what they had talked about that fateful Saturday morning, she becomes incensed and feeling betrayed, in anger cuts him off,
"You don't have to say it Mr. MONK! Let me do it for you," she says nearly in tears, "loose an assistant."
Startled by the harshness in her voice, in a conciliatory tone he replies,"Natalie, I wasn't going to say that. You are much more than an assistant to me. Didn't we already talk about this recently? I thought you understood that by now."
Feeling he was getting overwhelmed with newly found emotions he had long suppressed in his heart, he asks, "Well, if Julie isn't the reason why you have come, what is it then?"
A question that revealed he had still had much to learn about a woman's heart.
Regaining her composure, Natalie, in a subdued voice, says "Actually the reason is me. With Julie gone and…"
"The lieutenant gone also," Monk interjects as if seeking renewed confirmation.
"Yes, so now it is just me. Mr. Monk, I get so lonely sometimes, I guess I just wanted to be with a friend and on the way to emptying alone a bottle of wine, I decided to call a taxi to come and pick me up then bring me here. Mr. Monk, I know how much you value a good night rest so I won't keep you up any longer. If you can call me a taxi, I'll go back home now."
"You'll do no such thing. You can stay here tonight. But there is only one bed and that's taken so, you can sleep on the couch."
Natalie removes her coat, walks into the living room and collapses on the couch while her boss goes back to his bedroom to fetch her some bedding.
Returning with a blanket and a pillow, he stops when sees Natalie curled up on the couch with her head resting on one arm folded beneath. Touched by the sight of her laying there, an endearing smile slowly takes shape as he stares intently at the recumbent figure: a scene that ignites fleeting images of another woman who would also sometimes fall asleep on the same couch in the past.
He quietly walks over to the improvised bed, looks down at Natalie and finding himself admiring how lovely she is, he drapes the blanket over her small frame like he had done so many times before. Then, with a loving care that seemed to flow so naturally from somewhere deep within him, he tucks the edges around her exposed shoulders.
Suddenly as if he had been bewitched by the soft glow of the nearby lamp that lit up her face, he stoops down and kisses her cheek, whispering to himself "now we are even" and is startled to see that Natalie was wide awake, opened eyed, staring at him.
Confused and starting to blush, Monk quickly steps back and stutters, "I, I'm, I am sorry Natalie. I don't know what came over me. Please forgive me!"
Now sitting upright, Natalie, equally surprised and slightly dazed by what has just happened, smiles saying in a playful chuckle "I guess that was pay back!" little realizing that his kiss has also awaken within her as well, feelings towards her boss that she may have not fully understood.
Moved by his unexpected display of affection she feels the urge to stand up and run over and hug her boss but she suppresses them, wisely aware that to do so might ruin forever the wonder of this moment. So she says "Good night Mr. Monk, I'll see you tomorrow morning" and turns out the light.
Relieved that she also seemed to want to put this embarrassing moment behind them, Monk says good night and hurriedly retires to his bedroom.
After he leaves, Natalie raises her hand to her cheek and tenderly touches the spot where he had kissed her.
Though now resting in separate rooms, they are unable to sleep for both Monk and Natalie are lost in thought trying to come to terms with what has just happen, for they shared the same inexplicable feeling that something wonderful has taken place and has brought them closer, forever changing their relationship.