Disclaimer: I don't own Monk or any of her sister characters.

It was snowing in California. She felt her heart pounding in her chest. Something wasn't right. Someone was chasing her maybe. All she knew was that something was moving her to her car. She got in the car and tried to start the engine, but it wouldn't turn over.

"Come on. Come on. Come on. Come on," she mumbled softly.

BOOM!

Natalie woke up trembling. This was the fifth night in a row she had this nightmare. Was it a nightmare or a memory?

She couldn't remember anything about before the incident so maybe it was more than a dream. She sighed and glanced at the clock on her wall. It was 12:08 AM. Natalie knew it was late, but she decided to call Mr. Monk.

"Natalie?"

Mr. Monk sounded groggy and concerned.

"Mr. Monk," Natalie said, "Can I come over?"

"Of course," Mr. Monk said, "Is something wrong or do you just need to talk?"

"I had a nightmare. At least, I think it was a nightmare. It may have been a memory. I have had this dream every night for five nights in a row."

"You sound like you're shaking," Mr. Monk said, "Why don't I come over to you?"

"Thank you," Natalie said.

"I'll be there in ten minutes," Mr. Monk told her.

Natalie set out some snacks and drinks for the two of them. She got dressed and put her shoes on. Then she waited for him to arrive. He showed up exactly ten minutes later.

"Thank you for coming here Mr. Monk," Natalie said.

"Of course," Mr. Monk replied, "I'll always be there for you Natalie."

"I know," Natalie told him, "You're an amazing friend."

"So," he said as she led him inside, "Tell me what's going on?"

"Well, I've been having little flashes of memories from before the incident," she said, "and about five nights ago I started dreaming about the incident."

"Tell me about the dream," he asked her gently as he sat down across from her.

"I was in a car," Natalie began, "I'm not sure where but it either crashed or exploded… or maybe both. I remember in my dream someone was chasing me… or something was moving me to my car. I remember after the incident I was in a coma for almost a year."

Natalie got up and started pacing. Mr. Monk also rose from his seat and gently put his hand on her arm.

"That must have been so scary for you," he said.

She stopped pacing and nodded.

"Do you have any other memories from before the incident? Do you remember anything from your childhood or high school? Can you remember your parents?"

"The only thing I remember about my parents is that they loved me. I do have little flashes of my childhood. I remember Christmas trees. I remember I had two dogs. I also remember Moral Bears."

"Trudy wrote the first episode of Moral Bears," Mr. Monk said, "and starred in it. She was six when it began and eight when it ended."

Natalie nodded and sat down again. Mr. Monk sat next to her.

"What about high school," he asked, "Do you have any memories of that?"

"I was the editor of the school newspaper," Natalie replied, "I also was on the swim team."

"Any other sports?" Mr. Monk asked.

"I filled in for my friend on the cheer team once," Natalie said, "I wasn't very good though. I broke my ankle falling from the top of the pyramid. I was in a cast for 4 months."

"OUCH!"

Natalie laughed.

"You can say that again," she said.

"I could but I won't," Mr. Monk said jokingly.

"I remember being in a lot of pain after the incident. My whole face had been burnt off and had to be reconstructed."

Mr. Monk looked up.

"My ID was all burned up," she added, "So they just reconstructed my face the best they could. I still have no idea who I am. I'm not even sure that Natalie is my real name."

"How many surgeries did you have?"

"Ten," Natalie replied.

"Perfect number," Mr. Monk smiled.

Natalie laughed.

"You really like the number 10 don't you," she asked him.

"I do. One time Leland and I were discussing the timing of something, and I said we should make it 10:10 PM. He looked at me and asked why. I said, "double 10's… it's perfect!" and he rolled his eyes and said, "why don't we just make it, 'whenever' while we're at it. I said, "That's too uncertain."

That caused Natalie to laugh hard. She could absolutely see that conversation taking place between Leland and Mr. Monk.

"I also remember I was wearing a lime green sweater," Natalie said, "I think it was my favorite sweater."

"You mean when the incident happened?"

Natalie nodded.

"It was burned up in the explosion," she said.

Mr. Monk opened his wallet and took out a photo of Trudy.

"Was this the sweater," he asked.

"That was exactly what my sweater looked like," Natalie said, "How did you know?"

"Do you have a scar on your left shoulder," Mr. Monk asked instead of answering her question.

Was it possible? Nobody could have survived that bombing. The car was destroyed. It made no sense.

Natalie nodded.

"It's in the shape of a leaf," she said.

She pulled the top of her sleeve just enough to reveal the scar. Mr. Monk could feel his heart beating faster. Natalie could see him looking at her as if he hadn't seen her in years.

"It can't be," he whispered, but at the same time love was shining in his eyes.

"Mr. Monk? Are you okay?"

"I'm more than okay," Mr. Monk said, "I'm fantastic. You're her! You're alive! You're Trudy!"

"I am," Nat… Trudy asked, "How can you be so sure?"

"Trudy had the scar on her shoulder," he told her, "And that lime green sweater was one I had custom made for her as a birthday gift."

"I guess I must be," Trudy exclaimed, breathing deeply, "but there's so much I don't remember."

"That's okay," Adrian said gently, "None of that matters. I have you back. That's what's important."

Trudy smiled genuinely. Her entire face lit up.

"I love you," he told her.

"And I love you," she replied.

Her eyes filled with tears of joy. She finally had her identity back. She knew it would take a long time before things were back to normal. She knew things would be complicated at best. She also knew that in the course of ½ an hour she and Adrian went from being Natalie and Mr. Monk to being Trudy and Adrian. The love was still there. That would never change.

A lot had changed. Trudy was 24 at the time of the explosion. She was 34 now. She lost ten years with her family. She'd lost five years with Adrian. She'd come to work for him five years ago. She had no idea she was his wife. Still, in the course of those five years Adrian Monk had become her best friend.

"I'm not going to lose you again," Adrian said, "Not even for a second."

"I don't plan on going anywhere," Trudy replied firmly.

Adrian stared into Trudy's eyes for a moment. They both moved forward at the same time. Then their lips met for the first time in ten years. It was like magic.