As much fun as 'Drunk Monk' was for those around him, the time quickly came to where sleepy eyes forced him to bid farewell to those he entertained. Natalie was banking on the thought of him not remembering a thing and relished seeing him experience such a peaceful and contented sleep. Likewise, Leland and Randy were grateful to see their friend doing so well and took their leave of the couple later that evening to head back to the Stottlemeyer residence where Randy would be staying all week. Natalie began the evening with her head resting on his bed, but with a tap on her shoulder around one o'clock, climbed up next to him where he held her the rest of the night. And there they slept until Dr. Sebastian began his shift at around five o'clock in the morning.
Sebastian took no care in being quiet for the sleeping Monk and Natalie but burst into the room in his normally gruff manner, chastising the patient for pulling out his breathing tubes and immediately ordering a battery of tests. Natalie was going to protest, but she didn't get the opportunity for as quick as the doctor had come into the room and interrupted their rest he was gone again. Hospital workers quickly followed and immediately whisked the startled Monk away. He looked back towards Natalie who knew she couldn't go; and she assured him that she would be right there when he got back.
This would prove to be a good thing, because when Adrian returned from being tested, he was so exhausted and cranky from being poked and prodded that he was fussing at his nurses and complaining to Natalie that he just wanted to sleep. Natalie spoke soothing words to him and encouraged him to rest his eyes, while she sat next to him on the hospital bed and it seemed to calm him quite a bit. But then, around ten minutes later, an orderly came in and interfered with his sleep again. But, this time nobody complained. Sebastian had ordered Monk to be moved out of ICU to a private room and Natalie gathered his things.
Three hours later, Stottlemeyer and Disher came back to the hospital to see their friend and were happy to hear he had been moved. Going to the second floor, they stepped off of the elevator, greeting the cop outside his door, and then slipped quietly into his room. As they entered, they both took great pleasure in seeing Natalie curled up in Adrian's arms on his hospital bed, both sound asleep. Disher pulled out his cell phone and took a single picture before Leland forced him to put the phone away.
"It's for Sharona." He whispered. "She still doesn't believe me that they're engaged."
Leland didn't protest. "Yeah, it's going to take some getting used to seeing them together like this; but, it's about time to see him happy. This is great."
Natalie stirred herself awake which in turn woke Adrian. As Disher predicted, he remembered absolutely nothing about what had transpired just hours before.
"Hey, guys." Natalie said, sleepily.
"Hello you two." Leland replied. "Like the new digs."
Monk was groggy as well but was aware of where he was and how he'd gotten there.
"Dr. Sebastian moved me here this morning." He yawned, holding his hand over the stoma on his neck. "They did a few tests and my heart has very little damage. Said I'll probably be wiped out for a few weeks and will have to regain some strength. But, he thinks I'll recover fully."
"That's excellent news." Leland replied.
"Yeah, Monk. That's great." Randy replied. "Maybe you and Natalie can finally take a vacation."
"Maybe so." Adrian said as he looked contentedly at his fiancé and held her hand. "Any word on Albright?" he asked.
Leland shook his head. "None so far. Looks like he carjacked someone after landing the yacht. Found that car downtown. So, it's possible he's still in the area."
"You have to get him!" Natalie replied.
"Oh. We'll get him." Stottlemeyer answered. "Every cop in the state is out looking for him right now. So, I don't suspect he'll stay a fugitive for long."
"Military police want him too." Disher responded. "With what Monk uncovered, he's looking at Treason charges on top of several murder charges."
"Good!" Natalie said. "What about Nadia?"
"Still looking for her and then they are hoping for a plea bargain. With Albright's string of crimes and position, he is the bigger catch. She has no reason to protect him and every reason to cooperate." Leland replied.
Monk closed his eyes and raised a hand to his brow. "He has to be made to pay for what he did to Molly…and to Mitch." Natalie stroked his hand.
"Oh, trust me. He will. The authorities are loaded for bear." Leland responded.
Later that morning, Adrian ate some breakfast, something very soft, which he detested, and Natalie informed him that she would be heading back to the house for a shower and to pick up something to wear for when she stayed with him that night.
"Can't you just get something from the gift shop or borrow some scrubs?" he asked. "I don't like the idea of you going home with him being out there."
"I'll be fine. Leland's going with me. Randy said he'll stay here with you." She replied.
Monk frowned. "I don't want you to go."
"Sweetheart, don't worry about me. I'm in good hands. I'll be gone about two hours and then I'm coming back and then the only time I'll be gone after that is to go pick up Julie from her friend's house around four. You'd like to see her, wouldn't you?"
Monk nodded. "Yes. Of course. Is Leland taking you there too?"
Stottlemeyer looked at Natalie. "I certainly can."
"Would that make you feel better?" she asked.
"Yes." Monk replied. "Until Albright is behind bars, I want you protected. I don't care if I have to hire private security. He's not getting to you."
She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "You take such good care of me."
He looked over at her. "It's my job from here on out, so get used to it."
"I love you." She smiled.
"Love you too." He replied, kissing her hand.
Natalie and Leland left the hospital around noon and true to her word she returned with an overnight bag in hand around 2:00 PM. As she entered the hospital hallway, she was surprised to see Randy sitting outside of Monk's room talking to the security guard.
"How's he doing?" she asked, inquisitively.
Disher looked evasive. "Okay. I guess."
"Uh, oh. What happened, Randy?" she asked, setting down her bag and peeking through the glass window in his door. Inside she could see that they had him up and out of bed and sitting in a chair looking out the window.
"Not much. He's just in a bit of a mood."
"He wasn't before I left. What did you do to him?" she asked.
"Nothing." Randy replied, then he looked shamefaced.
"Randy?"
He sighed. "Alright. I might have showed him the video from last night."
Natalie bowed her head then gestured with both of her hands. "You didn't. Oh, Randy!"
"I'm sorry. I thought he might think it was funny. You know, cheer him up."
"Oh, really? This is Adrian Monk we're talking about here, isn't it?"
"Yeah." He replied. "I suppose."
Natalie shook her head and picked up her overnight bag. "Well…I guess I will go in and assess the damage. I can't believe you did that."
"Yeah, well…sorry."
She put her hand on the door handle. "Wish me luck."
Walking quietly into Monk's room she noted that he moved ever so slightly when the sound of the door was heard shutting behind her.
"Sweetheart…" she said.
"Go away." He responded dowerly.
Natalie sighed. "Sorry. No can do. I'm staying right here."
"I don't want to see you. I don't want to see anyone." He replied. "Go home – but, take Leland or Randy. I want you to be safe.""
Rolling her eyes, she walked over by his chair. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going anywhere, at least until four. You have one 'send Natalie away' card to use in your lifetime and you already played that card."
"Playing cards? What are you talking about?" He grumbled.
She sat her bag down on the floor then wrapped her arms around his upper chest and kissed him behind the ear.
"It's a figure of speech, sweetheart and there's no need to be so snippy." She replied. "You want to tell me what you're upset over?"
He remained silent, clearly in a pout.
"Okay then" she said with a sigh, moving her face to the front of his. "I'll just have to kiss it out of you."
She leaned forward to kiss him but he turned his face away, refusing to look at her. She moved back a little bit and stood, putting her hand on her hip. "Oh, so now I don't get to get any kisses?"
"Don't." he said. "You shouldn't want to kiss me."
"And why not?" she said, pursing her lips.
"Because." He responded. "I'm an embarrassment."
"You're an embarrassment? And how are you an embarrassment?" she asked.
"Randy showed me the video." He replied. "I treated you disrespectfully – like some sort of deviant or something."
She smirked and bit her lip to keep from laughing, knowing that to him this was an extremely serious matter.
"You didn't disrespect me."
"Yes, I did. I acted foolishly." He pouted.
She shook her head. "No, you didn't. You acted happy."
"I was doped up, like on Mary Jane or something." He replied. "Make them mark my charts to give me no controlled substances. They leave me decidedly, uncontrolled."
"They leave you adorable." She replied.
He huffed then folded his arms in front of him.
She moved to the front of him, sitting on the edge of his chair next to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Listen…I know you are embarrassed. I told Randy to stop filming you but he thought you'd find it funny."
Monk frowned.
"But…Adrian, that's not how I saw it at all." She said, running her hand across his cheek, then leaning forward. She placed her cheek next to his and whispered into his year. "I saw it as the man I love looking forward to our future together and being utterly unashamed to let others know how he felt." She kissed near his ear. "And, I thought it was really cute to hear you planning for when we have children…"
He pulled back. "Dextuplets?!"
She tilted her head and smiled at him with raised eyebrows. "Well, they're really small…"
Monk bowed his head, and Natalie took her finger and used it to caress her fiancé's chin. "And then when you were talking to Leland about how you get to kiss me…" she said, gently raising his chin, "All I wanted to do in that moment was do this…" she pressed her lips against his and he closed his eyes. "And this…" she kissed him again. "And this…" she kissed him even more passionately still.
Around that time, Leland came walking down the hallway and looked quizzically at Disher who was sitting on the floor next to the guard, texting his wife. He stopped. "Is something wrong?" Leland asked.
Randy shrugged, "Don't know. I'm kicked out of the room."
"What did you do now?"
"Nothing! Some people are just too sensitive, I guess."
Leland sighed and walked towards Monk's room preparing himself to have to deal with another meltdown. A few seconds later though, he backed out of the room without saying a word and shut the door with a grin on his face.
"What?" Randy asked. "What's going on?"
Leland leaned against the wall and smirked. "Well, whatever was wrong, it's not wrong now. She's in there sitting on his lap and they're kissing."
Randy looked excited and pulled out his phone. "Monk and Natalie are making out? I gotta get this on digital." Stottlemeyer grabbed the phone.
"No, you do not!" he scolded. "Leave them alone and just let them enjoy this time. If anyone deserves it, it's those two."
Outside the hospital, Alicia Prince sat in her squad car talking on the police radio about a potential sighting of Steven Albright down near Pier 12. Knowing that security was tight inside, she instructed the junior officer to keep watch and told him that she would be right there. As she was pulling out of the hospital parking lot, a hospital equipment service truck pulled up, nearly cutting her off. She honked her horn at the man but didn't stop for a citation because she was in a hurry. Instead, she let him pass, then turned left onto Baker Street, heading towards her destination.
The truck drove around to the back of the hospital and parked in one of the service parking spots as was the norm. What wasn't normal was what was going on inside the truck as the driver turned around with fear in his eyes.
"What now, Mister?" he asked, at which point a length of plastic tubing was lassoed around his neck and tightened. The man tried to fight, but the skilled assailant knew precisely where to apply pressure to immediately bring about unconsciousness. Albright drug the man's body into the back of the truck and tied him up. Then, he put on the uniform of the hospital service, grabbed some supplies and made his way through the service door at the back entrance.
It was four o'clock on the nose when Leland knocked on the door of Monk's hospital room and entered. The couple was laying in bed snuggled together half-watching a movie on channel 10. When they weren't watching it, they were stealing kisses from one another or Adrian would drift back to sleep. He was still quite weak, but so much better and Natalie looked forward to getting him well as soon as possible so that they could put this nightmare behind them.
As Leland opened the door, Natalie placed one finger up to her mouth so to warn him that Adrian was fast asleep. Leland tiptoed in and looked at his friend whose face registered such peace that he hated to tell Natalie it was time to go to pick up her daughter. But, he knew that the college student was anxious to see her mother and Adrian. So, he gently tapped on his watch to remind her of the time and she made a disappointed face.
Leaning over, she kissed the top of Adrian's head, gently brushing his face with her hand. He slowly opened his eyes and gave a half-smile.
"Did I do it again?" he asked.
She smiled. "Yeah. But it's okay. Sleep is healing. You need to rest."
"What did I miss?" he asked, turning his head towards the television screen which was suspended from the ceiling over and to the right of his hospital bed. As he turned he saw Stottlemeyer.
"Oh, hi." He said.
"Hey, buddy. I'm here to pick up your missus-to-be to go pick up Julie."
Monk closed his eyes. "Oh. That's right. I like that. Missus-to-be. Four already?"
"Yes." Natalie replied. "I'm afraid so." She scooted herself from next him and sat up. "I won't be gone long. If you want, we can swing by your apartment and pick up some of your pajamas and a robe or two. Would that make you more comfortable?"
Monk nodded and closed his eyes. "Yes, please. Air conditioning's nice, but not always."
Natalie grinned and looked over at Leland who winked.
"Okay, buddy. Well get some more sleep. Natalie and I'll probably be back before you wake back up."
"With Julie?" he asked, sleepily.
"Yes." Natalie replied. "She really wants to see you."
Monk replied in a slurred voice. "Be nice to see her too." And he drifted off again.
Leland and Natalie walked out of the room and into the hallway.
"Where's Randy?" she asked.
"Ah…he went to go visit his mother. She is back in town from one of her trips with her new husband."
"She got married again?" Natalie asked.
"Yes. Met a man in Mendocino." He said. "Hey, Monk told you about when he and Sharona had to pretend they were married with that case involving Randy's mother, didn't he?"
"Oh yeah. He said they had to kiss, and it was like kissing his sister, if he had a sister. Said it felt really weird."
"Probably. She and Monk had a different kind of relationship, that's for sure. He needed her to kick his butt now and then."
"He needs all of us to." She replied.
"Very true." Leland said as they walked down the hallway and got onto the elevator. "So…you still haven't told Julie about the engagement?"
"Not yet. Figure we can tell once he is out of the hospit…" she replied as the elevator doors shut.
Across the hall from the elevator, Steven Albright, now dressed in hospital scrubs slipped out of a file room and used his cell phone to call the nurse's station. A moment later, the nurse on duty called out the name of the officer guarding Monk's room over the intercom, telling him that Captain Stottlemeyer was on the phone. The officer stood, walking down the hall and past Steven, leaving his post and walking to the phone.
"Yes, Captain?" he asked. The phone was silent. "Hello? Hello, Captain?...Huh…must have lost his signal." He shrugged and handed back the phone. "See if you can take a message if he calls back."
"Okay." the nurse replied, as she looked over at a blinking light on the counter then exhaled. "Mrs. Giada is ringing me again…a Nurse's job is never done." She stood and pushed past the cop then walked down the hallway.
The officer picked up a newspaper off of the counter and began to walk back towards Monk's room. About twelve feet from the room, he heard a voice calling from inside a supply closet.
"Help me…I've fallen."
Stepping into the closet, the officer had no idea what hit him when Albright brought a fire extinguisher down upon his head. He was out in an instant.
Dragging the officer's unconscious body to the side, Steven knew he needed to make quick work of what he had planned and he slipped quickly out of the supply room, grabbed a medical cart and made his way down to Adrian's room. Looking both ways down the hallway, he slipped quietly into the room unobserved while Monk slept.
Natalie and Leland were discussing Monk's home care while walking to the Captain's car.
"I think I may need to set him up at my house, maybe for a few weeks." She said. "I have that bedroom downstairs that we use for storage. Was thinking maybe we could bring Julie's bed downstairs since she isn't using it and set him up down there. I know you're busy and Randy will probably be back in New Jersey, so, do you think maybe you could get Jared or someone to help me set things up? I'd pay him to move it."
"You'll pay no one, young lady." Leland replied. "Jared and Max would both be happy to help. They and Monk have a pretty good relationship going back many years. They hated to hear about what happened to him. I'm sure they will take great pleasure in doing anything you need." He said, as the two got into his car.
She smiled as she buckled her safety belt. "We raised some good kids." She replied.
Leland looked in his rearview mirror and backed out of his spot. "That we did." He said as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street.
Adrian's eyes were a bit hazy as he awakened to what seemed like a dark and towering shadow standing over his bed. Though startled at first, in his mind, it was just one of seemingly dozens of hospital personnel that he had met since admission in there to check his IV fluids. He thought nothing of it, that was until he spotted a small anchor tattoo on doctor's bicep.
His eyes grew wide and darted upward towards the man. Steven stepped back so Monk could see him better.
"Ah…you're awake!" he smiled. "Good to see you again, Monk. I was afraid when you took your little swim that you just might not make it."
Adrian took one look at Steven and immediately reached his hand towards his neck wound to provide the necessary support to call for help. But, before he could get there, Albright grabbed his wrist forcefully then bent it back causing Monk to wince in pain.
"Now, Adrian. You know you're not supposed to be messing around with that neck of yours." He said with a maniacal smile. He jerked Adrian's arm over to the side of the bed and tied it to the railing with some sort of restraint. Adrian reached forth his left hand to try loose himself but Steven angrily back-handed him in the neck. The pain from the strike nearly made Adrian black out.
"Stop resisting or I'll do it again." He sneered. Quickly, he gathered the other arm and restrained it too.
"What are you going to do?" Monk rasped through aching vocal cords.
Steven smirked. "What do you think I'm going to do, Adrian? I'm a doctor. I'm going treat my patient as he should be treated." He reached forward his hand and held Monk by the forehead against his pillow, then ripped the gauze from overtop of Monk's healing stoma. Adrian tried to bite him but got smacked in the neck again, this time hard enough that it brought tears and a little blood.
"Really?" Albright responded, arrogantly. "How do you expect to find relief if you're going to be an uncooperative patient? Trust me Adrian. I can make this very unpleasant or we can make it quick and relatively painless. The choice is up to you."
Terror filled Adrian's mind and he began to hyperventilate. Still, Albright continued his act.
"Awe, gee. Now see what you've done?" the doctor said. "You've got it bleeding. I will have to take care of that." He said as he turned to the medical cart and picked up a hemostat. "You know they used to call me 'Cougar' in my early days in the Navy. Want to know how I got that name?"
Monk was silent, watching as the metal instrument in Albright's hand that looked like blunted scissors made their way across his chest and towards his neck.
"Cougars have an affinity for going for the throat." He said. "That's our preferred method of killing our prey. Our…modus operandi, you might say." He stuck the instrument down into the open hole in Adrian's throat making Monk too afraid to move, but he didn't expand it at all – merely used it to push at his flesh a little to where he could look into the cavity that was starting to heal. Great beads of sweat formed on Adrian's brow and he tried to will himself to calm down lest he have another cardiac event. Albright shined a flashlight into Monk's throat and then pulled the hemostat back out. "Looks like you have a small bleed there, Adrian. I'll fix you right up." He said, returning to the cart.
Adrian tried to get control of his breathing even as he watched his adversary arranging things on the cart with his back turned to him. Where was his guard? Surely, there had to be someone out there who could hear him. He looked around for something with which to make some noise, but with his arms tied down, he could do nothing. So, he wiggled his wrists the best he could and finally felt the band around his right wrist loosen some, but at that point Albright turned back around with some sort of bottle in his right hand and gauze in his left. If he would just turn around again, Monk could at least press the button at the side of his bed to call the nurse. If he would only turn.
Steven walked over to the Adrian's side and continued his tale. "I think that's what attracted me to Svetlana. She and I were the same. She was a trained killer. She took care of Teeger. Wonder what went through Mitch's mind as he felt the hot lead go through his neck?" he set gauze next to Monk's stoma then squirted some sort of substance at the edge of the wound that made his whole throat feel as if it were on fire. He cried out in pain, but his voice wouldn't carry, and he began to weep openly, begging his tormentor to stop.
"It'll only hurt for a little while." Albright said. "Not much longer now. I promise."
Leland and Natalie were sitting at a red light about a block away from the hospital where she was digging frantically through her purse.
"Forget something?" he asked.
She paused a minute and sighed. "Yeah. I think I left my keys in Adrian's room. I don't see them anywhere."
Without even being asked, Leland turned the car back around and headed back to the hospital. She gave an embarrassed smile and took a look at her watch. Julie would be waiting, so she needed to make this trip a quick one.
Tears of fear and pain streamed down Adrian's face as Steven once again turned back towards the cart.
"Yes, I know…I know. But I had to sterilize the surface you know. Wouldn't want you to get infected. You like things clean." He said. "Where's your appreciation?"
Monk felt sick to his stomach as he weakly turned his head and saw that Albright had pulled out a needle that he was about to fill with some sort of substance. He slipped his hand out of the restraint and felt along the side of the bed for the nurse's call button, patting the sheets with his hand and stretching his arm to feel for the plastic. Finally, he felt something. His fingers danced along the edge of the device until he grabbed hold of it and managed to press the button even as Steven turned around.
The television set immediately turned on, its sound effectively masking any sounds that Monk was making. He closed his eyes.
Steven jumped at the sound of the screen but then looked down and saw Adrian's hand on the remote and realized what he was trying to do. He laughed.
"Ah…you should have asked for help." He said, sarcastically. "I could have turned on the TV for you. What do you like, channel 10?" Taking the remote from Monk's hand, he set it on the end table along with the nurse call button. "We won't be needing that either. Just the two of us together, settling a score, mano-a-mano."
Leland Stottlemeyer sat out in his sedan waiting for Natalie to return. Surveying the landscape, he suddenly realized that his chief Lieutenant's car was nowhere to be seen. Checking his watch, he timed in his head how long it should take Natalie to go upstairs, retrieve the keys, and come back down – then, deciding he had enough time, he pulled out of his spot and took a spin around the parking lot to see where Prince might have gone.
Reaching the end of the lot, he became concerned that she had left her post. He turned on his police radio in order to ask her location.
"Adam305 to Delta248 . What's your 20? "
The radio beeped and in a few seconds Alicia's voice sounded from the other end.
"This is Delta248. I'm heading back to base. Received a call that Suspect was spotted down at the pier."
"And?" he asked.
"False Alarm..
"Well, I need you 10-88 ASAP. Victim is not to be left unguarded. Do you copy?"
"Sir, I thought with security detail…"
"Do you copy?"
"10-4 sir. I'm on my way." She radioed.
Walking off the elevator, Natalie turned towards Monk's room and immediately stopped in her tracks. There was no one stationed outside of his room. Before taking another step, she reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone calling the Captain. Leland answered right away.
"Hey Natalie…what's up?" he asked.
"Leland, I just got to the second floor. Officer Scott isn't sitting outside Adrian's room." She said anxiously as she kept walking. "Is that right?"
Stottlemeyer took a deep breath and shook his head. Had everyone taken leave of their senses that afternoon?
"No, ma'am. That's not right. Stay where you're at. I'll be right there." He said, turning off the ignition and getting out of the car.
"I'm going to go check on Adrian." she replied.
He walked through the hospital entrance. "Natalie, I'd really prefer you wait. Things are probably fine but with Albright out there…"
Just then, Natalie walked by the darkened supply closet and heard something move. Reaching for the handle, she pushed the door open and saw Officer Scott laying on the floor rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh, Leland!" she said. "Scott is down. Looks like he's been knocked out."
"What?" Leland asked with alarm.
She leaned over the officer. "Adrian's unprotected. I'm taking Scott's gun and going in."
"Natalie!" he blurted. "Stay right there! I'm coming up the stairs."
"I can't! He's in trouble." She stated, grabbing Scott's service revolver from out of its holster and hanging up the phone.
"Natalie?!" Leland yelled through the phone. "Awe, hell!" He pulled his communications radio from his belt clip and radioed Prince. "Delta 248, we have a 406 on the second floor by victim's room. Officer injured. Civilian girlfriend of victim has officer's gun. Request backup."
"Roger that!" Prince replied. "I just pulled into the parking lot. I'll be right there."
Adrian shook violently as Albright's menacing figure walked towards him with a pair of surgical scissors in his hand. "Your stoma appears to be healing pretty well, except I'm afraid that this one section may leave an ugly scar. I think I can fix that for you." He stated.
Monk swallowed. "Th-th-that's oh-okay." he replied. "I'll pass."
"Don't be silly, Adrian. You know you can't pass. That would spoil all of the fun." Steven sneered.
Just then, the door to Monk's hospital room came swinging open and Natalie burst into the room with Scott's gun pointed towards her former fiancé.
"Step away from him, Steven! And, put the scissors down." she demanded, her hands shaking so badly that the gun was bobbing up and down
Albright raised his hands slightly but didn't lay down the scissors, nor did he step away from Adrian. He turned to face her instead then smiled at her with a mocking grin. Adrian, seeing the gun in her hands, immediately scooted away. He reached for his left hand with his right and began to unbind the restraint.
"Natalie…my sweetest! What a surprise to see you here. I wasn't aware that you liked to watch this sort of thing…you know, medical stuff…blood, gore."
She walked further into the room. "Put the scissors down or I'll shoot."
"You'll shoot?" Albright laughed. "Seriously, babe. You don't believe that and neither do I. You simply don't have it in you."
"The hell I don't." she stated, her arm becoming more steady the longer she spoke. At this point, Leland entered the room.
"Natalie, hand me the gun." He stated calmly. "I can take it from here."
Alicia Prince entered the room behind Leland seconds later and watched as the scene unfolded. She drew her gun.
Natalie considered handing Leland the firearm, but when she saw Adrian's condition and how pale he was and a handprint across his neck from where he had been hit, she became enraged. "No Leland. This is between me and him. He hurt Adrian. I'm not letting him get by with that."
Stottlemeyer edged towards her, "Now, Natalie. You don't want to do this. You could go to prison."
Adrian looked towards her pathetically and whispered the same warning that she had given him, "Sweetheart, don't do it…he's not worth it."
"No. He isn't." she stated. "But, you are." She moved closer, keeping the firearm trained on Albright. "I'm going to tell you one more time Steven, get away from him and lay down the scissors."
Steven looked between Natalie and the unarmed Stottlemeyer and the armed Prince. He could see that Natalie was in line of fire and that Prince would never shoot him in that situation. His lips curled into an evil grin. "Go to Hell." He snarled, then he raised the scissors in his hand above his head and readied himself to plunge them like a knife into Adrian's chest.
Leland yelled "Stop!" and Monk tried to take cover best he could. Alicia Prince pushed Stottlemeyer to the side and tried to get a shot; however, it wasn't needed. Natalie pulled the trigger and a flash exited from Scott's revolver. The bullet sped across the room. Time seemed to stand still in that moment as the room's occupants turned towards the sound. There was another immediate flash and then shimmering sparks showered down like fireworks as the bullet hit the television screen and the bracket securing it to the ceiling, causing it to release and come crashing from its perch and smashing onto the top of Steven Albright's head, knocking the doctor to the ground.
Leland looked at Monk's assailant with amazement and Alicia lowered her gun. Monk peered over the edge of his bed at the bleeding Lieutenant who was lying flat on the floor, semi-conscious.
"Guess that works too." Leland mused.
Monk sighed and Leland quickly walked to Natalie, retrieving the weapon while Prince rushed towards Albright, kicking the scissors under the bed and ordering him to stand and put his hands on his head. The doctor was wobbly, but he complied.
Once he was cuffed, Prince manhandled him to the door and Albright turned back to the couple who were now embracing. "We're not done." he growled, then Prince shoved him out the door.
"Are you okay?" Natalie asked, holding Monk closely to her.
He panted heavily against her neck. "I...I'm fine...he...he could have..."
"I know, my love." she said. "But, he didn't. And he's not going to."
"You've got that right." Leland said. "You guys okay?"
Both of them nodded.
"Alright. I'm going to head downstairs and join Prince. Time to introduce that piece of filth to a little U.S. American Justice. Multiple murder charges, treason, attempted murder - yep...he's done."
Monk sighed. "It's over?"
"Yes, my love." Natalie replied, holding him. "It's finally over. Steven will hurt us no more."