A/N: Just a question (and you'll probably see this in new chapters of all my stories): If this were on the show, would you watch it? And tell me why or why not. I'm just curious as to what people are looking for. Thanks.

Chapter 5: The Last Step

"Alright, I'll wait for you in the living room," Monk replied.

Sharona let out the breath she was holding and quickly stood up, grabbed the first thing she saw and put it on. She smoothed her skirt out and studied her reflection in the mirror. "It's not Gucci, but it'll do." With that, she flung open her bedroom door and prepared to face Adrian.

It was finally time. Time for Step 4. This talk was finally going to happen.

Sharona walked into the living room and spotted Monk sitting in the armchair (maybe she could prod him to the loveseat), rearranging her magazines, just as she figured he would be.

"You doing it by size or title?" she asked, scaring him.

"Uh," he said, picking up the scattered magazines, "both." He turned to face her, taking in her appearance. "You look nice."

Sharona looked surprised. "Thank you. I just grabbed the first thing I saw. So, should we get started?"

Monk nodded quickly. He felt like he was at his psychiatrist's. Maybe he should move over to the loveseat. Sharona was sitting on one side, so it would be balanced if he sat there. The way it was, half the sofa was going unoccupied, so it would only make sense for him to join her.

"Can I – can I sit by you?" he asked timidly, like he was afraid she'd say no.

Sharona blinked, surprised yet again. "Yeah, sure." She scooted over a little, and turned to face him. "I just wanted to tell you that I feel so much better now that you've agreed to this talk."

"Me too," he responded, trying to avoid looking into her eyes. The last time he did that...he almost committed an unthinkable act. He couldn't kiss Sharona! He couldn't kiss anybody...but especially not Sharona. She had kissed so many men...well, maybe not that many, but...

"Adrian?" Sharona asked, touching his arm. He looked down at her hand, her perfectly manicured, but obviously fake, nails. Slowly, he reached up and took her hand in his, lightly moving his thumb across her fingers, taking note of every line on her ivory skin.

Sharona watched his act with interest, then averted her gaze to his face. He looked so intense, so focused on studying her hand like it was the prep book for the SAT's. She didn't want to ruin the moment, but she knew he was just trying to avoid talking to her.

She gently squeezed his hand, startling him at first, but then causing him to look up and into her eyes.

That was a mistake, he told himself. Now he wasn't going to be able to concentrate on anything. He could read her like those cheap tabloid newspapers she was always reading. When he looked in her eyes, he could see it all. All her thoughts were scrawled on the chalkboard expanse of her mind. He saw the familiar scribbles of her handwriting, letting him know that she didn't really want to talk, either. But she wasn't avoiding the talk. No, she didn't want to talk, but she wanted to tell him in a different way.

He closed his eyes, then let them drift open to focus on Sharona's beautiful little befuddled expression. He couldn't help but smile. Trudy was right. Everything happens for a reason. God just wants us to be happy.

He lifted his hand to her face, brushing an errant curl away from her cheek. "I just want to be happy," he found himself whispering. All rational thoughts were betrayed as pure emotion kicked in and he leaned towards her.

Sharona began to breathe erratically. Funny, she was thinking, he's the one with the disorder and I'm the one having a panic attack. Her eyes fluttered shut as she prepared for the most interesting kiss of her life.

Monk quickly pressed his lips to hers before his sane mind could get back, and discovered that the act itself wasn't really that horrible. Not as much fun as vacuuming, but not an entirely terrible sensation.

Sharona moved her hand to his back. She was secretly hoping he wouldn't remember why he shouldn't be kissing her, but she knew he would think of it eventually.

A shrill ring suddenly startled both of them. They jumped guiltily away from each other, like they got caught smoking by the principal. Sharona looked at Monk, who was looking down at his hands. She realized she couldn't talk to him right then and ran to answer the phone.

"Sharona Fleming," she said into the phone. Back on the loveseat, Monk was in a daze. He actually did it. He kissed Sharona. And he didn't entirely hate it. And she didn't seem to, either. That was a good sign.

Sharona walked back into the living room, and from where she was standing, with the dining room light shining over her shoulder, she looked like an angel.

"That was Captain Stottlemeyer. Apparently there's been a bit of a disaster at the police ball. He wants us back there."

He looked dismayed. Not because they had to leave, not because the captain would surely be asking them questions, but because Sharona appeared to have forgotten entirely about the kiss.

She hadn't, of course. It was just that she was trying to put on a professional façade if they were going on a ca- aw, who am I kidding? She was still thinking about it. What did this mean for them? Maybe it was just like he said – he got caught up in the moment. It could happen to anyone, right?

Not to him. She had said it earlier, and she still believed it. But she couldn't deal with it right then. They had a case to deal with, and that was ultimately more important than her love life.

But it didn't feel like it to her.

She turned to Monk. "We can...talk once we're done at the ball. I know we're not done here."

"Oh, okay," Monk agreed, a little relieved that she didn't totally forget the fact that he kissed her.

"You ready to go?" she asked him, causing him to look up at her. He nodded slightly and rose, following Sharona out the door and, after thinking about it for a minute, placing his hand on the small of her back.

Sharona was startled at first, but then looked over at him with a pleased look on her face.

Oh, yeah, there was definitely going to be something going on when they got back to her house.