Today I am kinda glad to say I do not own Monk, nor NATALIE!
Enjoy!
and thank you for R/R!!
MR MONK MEETS THE REDEEMER
Ch 9
The shower that Monk wanted to be relaxing was distressing instead.
His shoulders screamed with pain on contact with the water. His shower was interspersed by contortion maneuvers to avoid the direct jet of water on his shoulders and his upper back.
At the end of the fastest shower of his life, Monk felt his muscles were in great pain, and his body even more tired than before.
His mind was also simmering with thoughts. He did not understand what had happened earlier; that certainly was not a typical hijacking. There was something wrong in the behavior of those vandals.
There was something wrong with the people of this city. No, there was something wrong in this city, for sure: he should not be in this city at all.
Monk got the new shirt that the maid had left on the hanger near the door, but as he raised his arms to put it on, he felt the skin of his back stretching and his shoulders burning as if on fire.
He put on only his trousers and gave up on the shirt for a while, leaving it carefully hung in the closet, to avoid wrinkling it.
Natalie would take a couple more hours to arrive and Monk had no intention of leaving his room before that. So he decided to lie on the bed wearing his trousers only, to relax a bit and try to make the heat of his skin lessen.
He spread out his bathrobe on the top of the bed, and laid himself on top of it, on his stomach. It was not a comfortable position; his neck was twisted to the side, head on the pillow and arms stretched along his body. But the warm breeze that sneaked through the partial closed windows caressed his back, and gently relieved the burning of the skin.
Monk did not understand why the young scoundrels had released him and Bianca so easily and quickly and why the head of the gang received specific orders to not hurt them. And what about Bianca's reaction? Was it genuine, was she was really scared, or was it only part of a great performance? What about his jacket and shirt - what was their interest in those clothes?
Trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together, Monk eventually surrendered his thoughts to an inviting sleep.
Two hours later, Monk suddenly woke up, feeling someone else's presence in the room. He turned his head to the other side and saw Bianca, leaning over the bed, watching him closely.
Monk immediately kneeled up in the bed, raising the bathrobe up, intending to hide his naked chest from her.
"What ... What are you doing?" he asked, frightened by her appearance.
Bianca laughed at Monk's reaction, and sitting on the bed beside him, said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Monk, but the maids came in to fix the next room for your assistant, and I decided to come along and check if everything was fine with you. As your room was very quiet, I opened the connecting door and saw you here, lying motionless."
"But how long were you here ... uh ... looking at me?" Monk managed to ask, still recovering from the fright and holding the robe up in front of him.
"Sorry, Mr. Monk. I did not want to scare you. I was not looking at you, so to speak, I was just examining the burns on your shoulders. Would you like me to bathe it with vinegar or some antiseptic lotion to relieve the pain?" asked Bianca, stretching his hands toward Monk's shoulder.
"No, no, no, no, no, not, I'm fine!" Monk was almost shouting, moving to the foot of bed on his knees, struggling to avoid lowering the bathrobe. He winced at the thought of vinegar being applied to his skin.
He was shrugging and shifting in extreme discomfort when he heard a familiar voice behind him,
"Oh. Uh ... Hello, Mr. Monk?" It was Natalie, who had just come through the connecting door.
Monk jumped from the bed, turning to her in surprise.
She was standing by the door, even more surprised than him. Monk was still holding the bathrobe in front of him.
"Natalie?" Monk caught Natalie's eyes, just as she was looking at the woman sitting on his bed.
Monk looked back to Bianca, who was rising from the bed. Putting his robe on, he introduced Bianca, "Natalie, this is Bianca, my interpreter, or better put, the owner of the hotel. Actually, the daughter of the owner of the hotel. She was..."
"Natalie, so you are Mr. Monk's assistant! I'm pleased to meet you!" said Bianca in a gentle tone, walking towards Natalie with her hand extended.
Natalie greeted Bianca with a polite smile, shook her hand and then looked at Monk, who was standing beside the bed, tying his bathrobe very tight.
"Well, I will leave you two alone to get updated on the news, Natalie. Was it Gilbert who brought you?" asked Bianca, turning at the door of Natalie's room.
"Yes, yes, he stayed down there, at your office." Natalie said, still looking at Monk stranded beside the bed.
"If Mr. Monk needs something for the sunburn, please, do not hesitate to call me, okay? And you too, Natalie. Anything. Just call me. He knows how to reach me," ended Bianca, opening the room's door.
"I am sure he does! Thank you, anyway," Natalie said clearly noticing Bianca's personal remark and feeling her face flush.
Once Bianca closed the door, Natalie began to walk towards Monk.
"I suppose you're not very happy to see me, right, Mr. Monk?" she teased him.
"No, No ... I mean, of course I am, Natalie, I was... I fell asleep and the next thing I remember is Bianca leaning over me, and..." Monk started to justify himself, waving his hands beside his head.
"And your shirt just disappeared like that, and then I just entered the room and caught you two ..." Natalie kept teasing him, with a smile on her face.
"Natalie, cut it out! It is ..."
"…not what I think it is, right, Mr. Monk?" She smiled widely and hugged him, unaware of his sunburns.
"Ouch!" Monk screamed, and he took her arms off his shoulders.
"Ouch?" asked Natalie, looking at Monk still holding her arms.
"Sorry, Natalie. I am happy to see you, I really am. But I've got some bad sunburn on my shoulders, and on my upper back." He said, dropping Natalie's arms and pointing to his back.
"Oh, then she was serious. Let me see it, Mr. Monk." Natalie said, standing on tiptoe, with her fingers pulling away Monk's bathrobe in an attempt to see the burns.
Monk moved away from Natalie and pulled his robe back into place, turning to the couch. "No need, Natalie. That's okay."
"Mr. Monk, I have seen naked men before, and I assure you, you're not naked. I already saw you with no shirt on, when I entered the room. And now this is not the case, that I am seeing you naked, Mr. Monk. You have a serious burn, it is aching, and I'll have a look at it, whether you like it or not." She paused, with her hands on her waist, looking firmly to Monk. "So, what do you say?" she asked.
Monk remained immobile for a few seconds. Then, he sighed and sat on the sofa, his back to Natalie. He lowered the bathrobe, leaving only his shoulders and back uncovered.
Natalie approached him and gave a good look at the burns.
"We will need an antiseptic, Mr. Monk. And I think I have one with me. Wait a bit while I check it, okay?" Natalie said, while walking towards her room.
Monk smiled. "Gosh, I missed you, Natalie," he thought.
