Author's Note: Ok I know what you're thinking… "weird title", right? Well to be honest it is a weird chapter title but give me a break…its late and I just wanna hury up and get this thing posted. So Chef Stottlemeyer if the only thing I could think of that would'nt give anything away. And its not totally random…they do mention Stottlemeyer cooking in this chapter. Ok I'm gonna shut up now and let you kind folks read the chapter. Ok, Bye.

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"Well…that wasn't exactly the reaction I was hoping for." Natalie said out loud on her drive home. "Well…ok the first half was…but then again…what was I expecting him to do? He is Monk after all. The kiss was completely random! …Not to mention wonderful! I would have never thought that a kiss like that could come from him. He had to have felt something…a kiss like that couldn't be empty…………could it?"

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Monk opened the bathroom door quietly and peeked out………yep…she was gone. He walked out of the bathroom and sat down at his desk. But instead of pulling out 'the file'…he simply put his elbows on the desk and rested his head in his hands. 'What was I thinking? I should have never agreed to this! Stottlemeyer was wrong…this isn't gonna work. I should have never kissed her…now she's going to leave me and she'll never talk to me again………what a time to be me.'

He planned on calling Stottlemeyer and calling the whole thing off, but before he reached

for the phone, Monk fell fast asleep on his desk.

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The next day Natalie came over to pick Monk up. There was little conversation on the ride to the precinct (which backed up Monk's assumption of her never wanting you talk to him again). Once they got there they went strait to Capt. Stottlemeyer's office where they continued the search for Natalie's daughter. At some point Natalie stepped away to the restroom, giving Leland the perfect opportunity to ask about last night.

"Soooo?" Stottlemeyer asked.

Monk looked up, "So what?"

"So……what happened last night between you and Natalie?"

Randy looked at Monk and smiled. This was the first he had heard of this news, and was now very interested. "What do you mean?"

"Monk and Natalie had a date last night." Stottlemeyer stated.

"Reeeealy?"

"It was not a date." Monk said standing up from his chair and rubbing his head.

"Then what was it?" Stottlemeyer asked with a smile.

"It was…………nothing…it was nothing." Adrian said (though he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince them or himself).

"Ok…so tell us what happened on this night of…nothing." Leland said as he leaned against his desk.

"Well…we…talked and had some tea."

"Tea? ……Maybe it was a night of nothing, Sir." Randy joked.

"Ok Monk lets skip to the good stuff…did you kiss her or not?"

Monk looked at Leland with his mouth open but no words coming out. "I-I-I-I"

"You what, Monk?"

"I-I-I…..shouldn't be talking to you about this."

"Why not?" Stottlemeyer and Randy said in unison.

"Because…its personal."

"Oh come on…did you kiss her?" Randy asked.

"I wont say."

Now it was Stottlemeyer's turn. "Did you kiss her!" he asked.

"I wont s-"

"DID YOU KISS HER?" Randy and Stottlemeyer yelled at Monk.

"YES! All right? Yes."

"Hot Dog!" Stottlemeyer said as he and Randy slapped hands.

"Where did'ja kiss her?" Randy asked excitedly.

"Mhhmm? Oh in the living room."

"No I mean where did you kiss her…on the hand? Mouth? What?"

"Hand…"

Leland and Randy looked disappointed till Adrian added, "…and Mouth."

"What happened next?"

"I uhh…I kissed her again."

"Then…?"

"Then I said I was sorry."

"You did WHAT?" Stottlemeyer asked.

"I…told her I was sorry?"

"Why? Why would you apologias for something like that?" Randy asked.

"I don't know…it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time."

"Well it wasn't! You never apologias for kissing a girl unless she slaps you! Don't you know that?" Randy yelled. "Wait………did she slap you?"

"No! She smiled." Monk stated.

Stottlemeyer and Randy looked at each other and smiled. "She smiled?" Stottlemeyer asked.

"Yeah. So?"

"So…that means she liked it." Randy said with a grin.

Adrian looked back and fourth between his two friends. "No," he said unbelievingly. "It's gotta mean something else…she didn't like it."

"Then what did it mean?" Randy asked.

Monk thought about it for about one minute before turning his head and saw Natalie stepping out of the restroom. Monk turned and whispered to his friends with a small smile, "…it means she liked it."

"Who liked what?" Natalie asked at she stepped into the room.

"Karen," Stottlemeyer quickly said. "I made her dinner last night."

"Really? I didn't know you cooked." Natalie said with a smile.

"Ohhhh yes. I'm an excellent chef."

"Yeah he is." Randy said, nodding his head and trying to back up the lie.

"Oh yes, quite the…cooker he is." Monk said as he tried to give Stottlemeyer a 'manly punch' on the arm (it turned out to be more of a 'sissy tap' on the arm, realy).

Natalie gave the three men a slow nod. "Ok," she said. "Where were we?"

They continued the search for Julie the best they could. Though it looked like a lost cause to most, Monk vowed to find Natalie's daughter before it was to late. He was unable to save his own child but maybe he could still save hers. It was that very thought that brought something very important to mind.

"Oh no." Monk said to himself in realization.

"What?" asked Randy.

"I know who kidnapped Julie."

"WHO?" Natalie asked with wide eyes.

"Well I don't know who b-but I know who."

Stottlemeyer's eyebrows scrunched together, "Monk, that made no since what so ever."

Monk took in a deep breath. "The man who called you on the phone told you to call off the case, right?"

"Yeah."

"And he said that if he saw on the news that you haven't called it off then he would…" At this point he turned and looked at Natalie sympathetically, "You know."

"Kill my kid!" Natalie finished.

"Yeah that." Monk said. "Am I correct one that?"

"That is correct." Stottlemeyer said nodding his head.

"Now how many other cases do you have going on other then Julie's?"

"Hundreds."

"How many of those cases would the press consider 'news worthy'?"

"About four."

"And which out of those four is the most recent?"

Stottlemeyer thought about it for two seconds before snapping his head up to meet Adrian's gaze. Monk and Stottlemeyer both said in unison "Trudy's"

"It makes perfect since. Whoever it was that murdered my family must have drifted back into the shadows for a while until…"

"Until you picked the case back up and started to get closer." Stottlemeyer finished.

"I don't get it. What does that have to do with Julie?" Natalie asked.

"They are trying to get to me through the people I'm closes to. Who is…"

"Me and Julie." Natalie finished with fear struck eyes.

Monk looked strait at her and sadly nodded his head. This was going to be one tough case to crack. But he swore that he would bring that girl home safely… even if it was the last thing he did.

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There, you've got it. I know it isn't that long of a chapter but hey…I'm the writer I get to choose the length of the chapters! …………Ok…so maybe I should have yelled…your still gonna review right?

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