Ok guys, Here is, in my mind, a SUPER long chapter. And because of this chapters length, I expect that the next shall probably be a bit shorter.

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Monk followed Natalie as she stepped into the room that held her daughter. Adrian slightly twitched as he stepped into the room. It was ugly and pail. Everything was cold and all together…not very welcoming. He let his eyes peel away from the pail wallpaper and look at Natalie as she walked towards the bed in the middle of the room and hugged her daughter.

Julie was in a hospital robe with a bandage around her head. She had to have forty-six stitches all together, thirty-two on her stomach and fourteen in her head. Natalie was well aware of this cause she and Monk had been informed of Julie's conditions in the lobby by a nurse.

"Oh, sweetie." Natalie exclaimed as she released her daughter. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Julie answered with a shrug of the shoulders.

"We're gonna get you out of here really soon, ok?" Natalie reassured.

"Ok." Julie smiled. Then she looked over at Monk who was barely though the doorway. "Thank you again, Mr. Monk."

"You're welcome, Julie" Monk said as he came closer to the bed.

"I don't know how to thank you enough for what you did."

"Its ok, Julie," replied Monk; "Your mom already thanked me enough."

Natalie smiled.

"Really?" asked Julie. "How?"

"Are you thirsty kiddo?" Natalie quickly changed the subject. She grabbed the small water bottle that the hospital had already provided and began poring it into a small cup.

Monk smiled at Natalie's obvious discomfort when it came to talking about the recent kiss between she and Monk. But he respected Natalie and silently agreed to stay clear of that subject for a while. He knew that if he had a child, he probably wouldn't talk openly about kissing Natalie in front of it.

"We're gonna try to get you home pretty soon." Natalie reassured as she handed the drink to Julie.

"I'm glad. I'm ready for all of this to be over and for everything to be back to normal." The girl said as she took a sip and tilted her head back and closed her eyes.

Then there was a small knock on the door and two familiar faces appeared in the doorway. Natalie turned her head towards the door to see who it was. "Oh! Come on in Captain, Randy."

The two men entered the room, greeted Julie, and then asked to speak with Monk and Natalie outside for a moment. They agreed and all walked out side of the room for a brief discussion. The word 'brief' is the perfect word to describe the conversation because the four of them soon appeared through the door again and all took a seat.

"Julie," Stottlemeyer began, "your mother has agreed to let us ask you a few questions."

"If you're feeling up to it." Natalie quickly finished.

"Well, I'm a little tired. But I guess I could answer a couple questions"

"Julie, do you know how many people were living in the house?" Asked Disher as he pulled out his note pad and panicle.

"Only Bob." Julie answered.

"Bob? Who was Bob?" Asked Stottlemeyer with confusion.

"He was the guy who kidnapped me."

Randy and Stottlemeyer looked at each other. Randy then said, "We looked through the house. We found letters, computer files, a name-tag from his job, they all said that his name was Ryan Walters."

Julie thought about it, "I guess that would make sense." She said. "He just said that was what I could call him. He never really said that was his name. He looked like he could be a Ryan." Julie said thoughtfully.

"So you got a good look at him?" Stottlemeyer asked.

"Oh, yeah. I saw the guy three to four times a day."

"Could you identify him if you ever saw him again?" Adrian asked.

"Yep."

"Julie, could you please describe him so we can have an idea what to be looking for?" Asked Leland.

"He was tall, with brown hair and bright blue eyes. His nose was really flat and he had a freckle right here." Julie said as she pointed to a spot on her left cheek.

"Did he have any strange aspects or tendencies that may stand him out in a crowed?" Monk asked.

Julie didn't understand. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Did he have a scare? Or did he have an accent of any kind? What was unique about him?" Adrian explained.

"He didn't have an accent, he was from here I think. But he did have a funky hand, though."

"Funky in what way?" Stottlemeyer asked.

"He had to many fingers."

Monk's eyes locked with Julie's. Could this really be the same man that killed his family? He had to know. "He had six fingers on his right hand." Even though Monk intended for this to be a question, it came out more of a statement.

"Yeah that's right." Julie said. "How did you know?"

Adrian looked over at Leland, "Captain," he said with every inch of his emotion shooting out of his eyes.

"I know, Monk." Stottlemeyer reassured. He tried his best to say it calmly. Frankly, he too was made anxious with this bit of information. "Julie, now that we know who we are looking for, we need to know where to look. Did he say anything about where he might be headed?"

Julie thought…then remembered; "He said something about going to a gas station or something to get some more beer."

"Gas station. Go!" Monk said quickly.

Immediately, Stottlemeyer and Randy rose from their seats and headed for the door. Within no time, they were gone.

After this point, Mr. Monk was very quiet; he appeared to be deep in thought. Natalie and Julie left him to his thoughts and started a conversation. Every once in a while Natalie would turn her head and see that there was the tiniest sign of a tear forming in his eye. She immediately knew what it was that he was thinking about. He was clearly deep in thought, thoughts of his late wife Trudy and the child that he never had. The thought of finally knowing who it was that killed them, and coming this close to knowing where he is, even sent chills up HER spine. At that moment Natalie realized how much of a burden he was carrying and how close he had finally come to ridding himself of it. Now it was more then her family that was involved; now it was also her best friend's (maybe even more then just a friend's) family that was being effected by this monster of a man.

"Mom?"

Natalie's attention once again turned to her daughter. "Yes, honey?"

"I'm really tired now. Can I get some sleep?" Julie said with a yawn.

Natalie smiled and gently stroked her daughter's cheek. "Ok," she simply said.

Monk was drawn away from his thoughts at the sight of Natalie rising from her chair. He did the same and followed her out of the room. Soon, they were back in the lobby. Natalie gave a small sigh and then turned to look at Monk. "Adrian, are you gonna be ok?" She asked as she gently put a hand on his shoulder.

Monk looked at her, "Natalie," he said. "I've…I've never gotten this close before. I've never had an eyewitness. I think…I think I just might…catch him now."

Natalie smiled and placed an arm around him. "Yeah," she said, "you just might."

Adrian tilted his head to the side and rubbed his hands together.

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Natalie asked, concerned about his expression.

"Of course!" He said as he and Natalie began walking out of the building.

"Then what's the problem?"

"It's just that…I've dedicated my whole life to solving this crime. What am I supposed to do once I've caught him? How am I going to spend my time?"

"You're gonna spend your time freely. You will for once get to spend your life the way you were meant to. You will finally learn what it feels like to walk with out the feeling that the world is on your shoulders. You will be free to act what ever way you want, to say what ever you want……to love who ever you want."

Monk's eyes quickly shot in Natalie's direction, but she refused to make eye contact with him. Instead, she merely quickened her pace and remained silent.

Once in the car, they spoke the few words that needed to be said. Mostly they had to decide where to go to pass the time. Natalie suggested playing a round of put-put golf, but declined her suggestion after realizing and explaining that that couldn't be a good idea cause she couldn't see Monk as being much of a put-put sort of guy. He said that perhaps they could go to the store and get some more wipes. Natalie quickly shot down that idea; "no-no-no-no…I will not buy anymore wipes until I see last weeks pay check." Eventually, they decided to go and get something to eat.

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"Hello," Stottlemeyer took a quick look at the boy at the counter's nametag, "Ronny. My name is Leland Stottlemeyer of the SFPD. We have reason to believe that a suspect might have stopped by this gas station."

"We think he may have bought some beer." Randy finished.

The scared 17-year-old boy quickly explained how there were a lot of guys coming through here and buying beer. Stottlemeyer asked if they could see the security tapes. Ronny, not wanting to get in any trouble with the police, showed the two of them to a small room where security was controlled.

Now Disher and Stottlemeyer were in the back room looking over the tapes of the parking lot.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! Back that up!" Leland called.

Disher leaned forward and squinted at the buttons and knobs before him. The room was poorly lit so he had a hard time determining which button to push. He eventually got it however and the tape soon backed up.

"There! Pause!" Stottlemeyer shouted as Randy did so. "How many fingers, Randy?"

Disher looked closely at the screen. "Looks like six, sir" he sated.

"Plates?"

Randy changed camera views and looked hard at the license plate of the car that the six-fingered man was stepping out of. "Looks like…ARO SMTH FAN. Sweet, he likes Arrow Smith."

"No, not sweet Randy! That man killed Trudy!" Stottlemeyer said with a huff as he exited the small room. "And he killed my best friend, too." He added softer.

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Natalie looked across the table at Monk who was, subconsciously, straitening various objects on the table. He brought his eyes away from what he was doing long enough to glance up at Natalie. He could see worry in her eyes. He reached across the table and opened his fingers. She understood the gesture and placed her hand in his. "She's gonna be fine, Natalie. Just a couple of scrapes and browses, that's all."

She smiled at his kindness. "I know…thanks Adrian."

He returned the smile and slowly began to rub the back of her hand with his thumb. The action gave her goose bumps. "Adrian?"

"mhmm?"

"What are we here?"

Monk looked puzzled, "I don't think I understand."

"I mean…first we kissed, then we kissed again…now we're holding hands. What are we? Are we strictly friends? Cause if we are, then I need to know so I can withdraw all the flirting."

Monk swallowed hard and blushed. "S-so what's the question?" he asked timidly.

"Are we more then…just friends?" Natalie looked at his face. She needed so badly to know the answer but she feared what it might be.

Monk twitched his head to the left and loosened his grip on Natalie's hand. But just as he was trying to let go, she held on even tighter. Monk looked at their now better grip and them back up to Natalie's eyes. " No," he said.

Natalie's face dropped and now it was her turn to pull away, but this time Monk held the grasp. "That is, unless you want to be." He added.

She looked at him and smiled. "Is that your way of asking me?"

Monk lifted their joined hands to his mouth and gave hers a slow kiss. "I guess so."

"Then I except." Natalie smiled.

Monk was overjoyed! He had a girl friend! Even at forty-seven years of age, he still felt like a giddy little schoolboy when he, not only heard her reply, but also saw that gorgeous smile that followed. Perhaps he had found the key to those chains after all.

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Monker Note #1: The name 'Ryan Walters' was taken from a boy that I used to know who was named 'Ryan Waters' (without the L). I always liked his name and decided to put it in this story. Plus it sounded like a good "Bad Guy" name. So, Ryan, if you're out there now…reading this…don't take any offence to it. I merely liked your name.

Monker Note #2: I'm not really sure if 17 is an appropriate age for a gas station clerk. I just randomly picked an age. So I'm sorry if you don't find that believable.

Monker Note #3: I was planning on having this chapter be longer but I realized how long it was running already and decided that I could save some of it for the next chapter.

Monker Note #4: The Arrow Smith comment was a shout out to by brother. He loves them.

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