A/N: Woo. This is a long one. It is totally different from where I originally planned to go, but the idea kind of took over my pen.
Monk's eyes slowly opened, sensing light in the room. As he looked around this brightly lit room he realized he was in Natalie's bedroom. With someone lying on top him. A-A woman way lying on top him. As soon as his mind processed this fact, he began to freak out. Monk tried to push her off and get far, far away; until he saw her face. The mystery woman was Natalie. Somehow this made it all okay. A new question the popped into his mind.
'Why am I in Natalie's bedroom? More importantly, why am I lying in bed with on my bare chest?' He found himself remembering the events of the previous night. Now he was positive he had made the right decision. 'She seemed so vulnerable last night. Oh God, I hope I never have to see her like that again.' Adrian found himself studying Natalie's peaceful face and unconsciously running a hand down her face and through her hair.
'Why don't I feel like jumping away? I feel… safe. It's odd. I haven't felt like this since well, since Trudy.' He turned to look at the clock. 6:30 am. He could lie in bed for a little bit longer.
Adrian was just starting to enjoy the contented feeling of having Natalie asleep in his arms when fell back asleep.
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There was a funny feeling coming from his neck. It was an odd sensation, something he couldn't place, but it didn't feel bad. It felt good. Adrian opened his eyes, intent on discovering what was going on. He found himself staring at Natalie, who was running her hands along the back of his neck, playing with a curl of his hair. She didn't notice he was awake and was staring at him with a strange, unreadable look in her eyes.
'My God,' he breathed, 'She looks so beautiful. It's nice to finally be able to relax like this. It's almost as if she looking at me with love. Lovingly.' He felt his heart swell with admiration and love, yes love was the word for this wonderful woman.
As he was studying her, he noticed a smile break across her face. Apparently she had finally realized he was awake. He answered her smile with one of his own.
"Good morning," she said cheerfully, "I was wondering if I'd have to resort to drastic measures to wake you up. The Captain called. We're, well you're needed at a crime scene."
"Mmm. Tell the Captain he has to wait. It's too early to go anywhere." Monk said, realizing the room wasn't very bright. The curtains were drawn tightly. Natalie smiled again at Adrian's statement, never thinking she would see him say it was too early.
"Well, Mr. - Adrian, it's umm. Its 1 pm. Apparently Leland called around 10 and Julie answered. He's been calling us every half hour. I only just woke up about an hour ago and heard the phone. I'm surprised you didn't hear it ring."
The truth was, he had heard it ring, but didn't feel like answering it.
"What!" he exclaimed, sitting straight up in bed, causing Natalie to fall off of him.
"Ow! Mr. Monk!" she exclaimed, mainly in surprise.
"Sorry." came his reply.
"Why didn't you tell me it was that late? I wanted to re-organize my room. Now my whole day is ruined!"
"It would have been ruined anyways! Besides, I know for a fact you didn't sleep in Sparks. You looked too peaceful to wake up. I've never seen you sleep in past 6 am." she replied, sitting next to him on the bed.
'That's because I haven't slept in past six in at least a decade.'
"I have too! There was that one time! You know!" he said, obviously lying.
"Mr.-Mr.!" she exclaimed clutching her side in laughter, "You sleeping in! Now that's funny! If you're talking about when you were sick, or when you got drunk, they don't count. Name one other time, recently Mr. Monk." she said, smiling.
"Ha!" he replied, "Today, I slept in today!" he said proudly, looking to Natalie for approval.
'I know you did.' she thought.
"I meant besides today." But at the downcast look he gave her she quickly added, "But that's okay. Everything starts sometime. You just have to take the first step." Natalie said as she cautiously took Adrian's hand.
'She's right. Everything begins sometime.' he thought, smiling to himself.
Monk shook his head and then began, "So, Natalie where is this crime scene at?"
"Umm. I'm not sure. I wasn't exactly paying too much attention to the captain. He told me to call back when you woke up." she replied, watching him as he walked into her bathroom.
'Now there's something you don't see everyday. You don't see it ever, actually.'
Adrian stuck his head out of the door, "Well call him and tell him we'll be right over." At Natalie's glare he hurriedly added, "After you shower?"
"Thank you Mr. Monk!" she called back, picking up her phone.
20 minutes later, showered and dressed, they were on the way to the crime scene.
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"Mr. Monk, why do you think you slept in today?" Natalie asked, breaking the silence that had enveloped them since they entered the car. She had her ideas, but couldn't bear to be wrong.
" I, - I don't know? I guess I was just exhausted and needed extra sleep. It's been a while since I've felt safe in my own bed." he replied pensively.
'His bed? He just called my bed his bed?'
She raised her eyebrows questioningly and decided to leave that topic alone.
"Na-Natalie?" he asked, suddenly nervous, "You do know you can all me Adrian, right? I-I mean if want to. But you don't…."
Natalie turned to face him with a small smile on her face. 'He looks cute this way.' she thought to herself, immediately embarrassed by her thought.
"Do you want me to call you Adrian?"
"It would be… nice, yes. Only, only if you want to."
Natalie smiled at him again and patted him lightly on the arm, letting her hand linger there.
"Of course I don't mind, Adrian. But you're still my boss and I still respect you so I might sometimes say Mr. Monk."
"Just call me Adrian. I know you respect me, so there is no need to call me Mr. Monk just because of that." he replied, giving her a rare smile.
'You're so much more than my assistant, I know it and so does everyone else. You haven't been just my assistant in a long time.' he thought.
Monk felt Natalie put her hand back on the steering wheel and felt an unexpected albescence. He found himself wishing she would touch his arm again. He tilted his head to the left a little, glancing at Natalie. She caught his eye and gave him a small smile.
Suddenly, there were blinding lights to the right of Monk. He turned just in time to see himself staring into the headlights of an oncoming car.
"Natalie!" he exclaimed, panicking.
At his panicked voice, Natalie turned completely, turning the car with her. The last thing they heard was the sound of metal on metal and glass breaking. Then nothing. Silence.
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Monk heard voices talking. They sounded far away, almost as if he was separated from them by a curtain or thin wall. His nose registered the smell of disinfectant and latex, signs of a hospital. He tried to open his eyes. They felt heavy. Monk slowly opened one eye, then the other and quickly closed them again.
'This can't be right. I'm in a hospital? There's no way I'm in a hospital.' he thought. His senses, however told him he was indeed in the hospital. 'How did I get here' He searched his memory for something, anything that could tell him why he was there. The last thing he remembered was being in a car with Natalie, a smile, and then bright lights. A car! He had been involved in a car accident! It suddenly came back to him.
He and Natalie were turning, when out of nowhere a car came speeding towards them. Natalie swerved and the car crashed straight into them.
'Natalie! I need to find Natalie!' he frantically thought.
"Natalie!" he croaked, his throat scratchy, "Where's Natalie?" he rasped, sitting up in the bed. He felt his head throbbing as he struggled to stay upright.
"He's awake!" a familiar voice called, stepping into his line of vision. Captain Stottlemeyer.
"Leland, where's Natalie?" he asked again, more forcefully.
Stottlemeyer's face dropped. He looked conflicted, as if wonder weather or not to tell him.
"Well Captain?" he demanded.
"Monk, she's in surgery. Came out a helluva lot worse than you did. She's got a couple busted ribs, a broken arm and internal injuries."
Monk felt his heart drop. She was injured, badly. He needed to go see her. He had to get to Natalie. He hadn't felt this helpless in almost 10 years.
Just as he swung his legs over the side of the bad a nurse came in and stopped him.
"Just where do you think you're going? You can't be walking just yet." she scolded him, as if he was a small child.
"I have to see Natalie!" he said, wincing as he tried to stand on his own.
Now, the Captain interceded. "Oh no you don't, Monk. You're staying here until they say you can go." He gently pushed Monk back onto the bed.
"You don't understand! I have to see Natalie! I just, I have to!" He breathed frustrated.
"Monk! She's in surgery! You couldn't go see her anyways! You'll see her when you get released."
"That's not soon enough! I have to see her! I-I-I need to make sure she' okay." he said, finally breaking down and beginning to sob.
Stottlemeyer turned to the nurse.
"Can you put Ms. Teeger in this room after surgery? It'll be much easier if you do."
"I'm sorry sir, they aren't married. I can't legally put them in the same room without permission from next of kin."
"You'll do it on the orders of the SFPD. Trust me, she won't mind. Nor will her family." he replied, staring seriously at the nurse.
"I'll see what I can do." she said as she left the room, leaving Monk and the captain alone.
"Captain, where's Julie?" Monk asked feeling worried. If he wasn't handling this news about Natalie well, he couldn't imagine Julie's reaction.
"She's outside. I'll bring her in. Poor kid, she's almost lost the two closest people to her in one day." he replied, giving Monk a sad smile.
A few seconds later, a disheveled looking Julie stepped through the door.
"Mr. Monk!" she exclaimed, "You're awake!"
"Hello Julie." he replied, motioning for her to come over to him. As Julie approached his bed he noticed she grew more worried. She sat on the edge of the bed and simply stared at him.
"I'm sorry about you're mom. She'll be all right. I'm sure. She's strong." he said awkwardly.
"Mr. Monk, it wasn't your fault. The guy ran a red light." she replied.
Monk could sense she needed some comfort. He was always terrible at that sort of thing, but this was Julie. She was practically his daughter. This was special. Hell, Julie was as good as his daughter. He hesitantly reached out and gave her a one-armed hug.
"She'll be okay Julie, she has to be." he said, needing to believe it just as much as Julie did.
"Thanks dad-Mr. Monk." she said, hugging him back. Julie knew he needed her reassurance as well. She mentally shook her head. She'd almost called him dad. Sometimes Julie felt as if he was her dad. Not a replacement for her real father, but he was pretty darn close to him.
"You know Mr. Monk, I think today was the longest I've seen you or mom sleep in a long time." she said, smiling at the memory of the two lying together, completely relaxed.
"Yeah, it was the first time I've slept in a long…. Wait, how did you know I slept in?" he asked, mortified that Julie had seen him almost topless.
"I came home at like 10 am. No one was up, so I looked around the house and found the two of you. I took a few pictures. You can see them if you want to, though. Only you and mom can see them."
"Umm Julie, earlier, what did you say before you called me Mr. Monk?" he asked, genuinely curious as to weather he had imagined it or not.
"I, I called, well almost, I did call you dad. I mean you've kind of been there for me all these years. Almost like a dad. It's not like you're just mom's boss. It's been a while since you've seemed like simply mom's boss." she said, slightly scared of what his reaction would be.
"Julie, I don't ever want you to replace your real dad with me. I'm not your real dad. He was a great, kind, loving man. Just so you know you're not just Natalie's kid. You almost seem like, my-my daughter. You know, if you, if you want to you can call me dad." he replied, hoping Julie would call him dad.
"Thanks, dad." she replied proudly, tightening her hug around him.
Monk's heart swelled as he heard Julie call him dad. For a moment, the accident faded and was replaced by him and his, daughter sitting together. He felt a wave of exhaustion roll over him. Slowly the world faded to black as he fell asleep.
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The electronic beeping of a heart monitor woke Adrian up. 'That's odd; I don't remember having a heart monitor in my room.' He opened his eyes and looked around. He was still in the hospital, in the bed next to the window with Julie lying next to him, asleep. Something had changed. There was another bed in the room.
This patient was bandaged just about everywhere but her face. Her left arm was in a giant cast, suspended from what looked like a wire. There were wires everywhere monitoring her breathing, pulse, and oxygen levels. The short blonde hair looked extremely familiar to Monk.
"Natalie?" he called out, surprised to see her in the room.
At the sound of his voice she opened her eyes and turned to face him.
"Thank God you're okay. I was worried sick. So was Julie."
"Julie," he whispered, "Your mom is awake."
Julie groggily sat up and looked to her mom who was lying in the bed next to Monk's. She immediately sat up and went to sit by her mom. Adrian struggled to get out of the bed, but with the help of Julie he managed to make his way to see Natalie.
As the trio sat together he couldn't help but feel exceptionally proud. He was with his little family.
"Natalie," he said, his voice filled with emotion, "I'll take care of you. Don't you worry. You'll be back to normal in no time with a little help from Nurse Adrian."
He reached for her good arm and gave her hand a tiny, but reassuring squeeze.
"Adrian, you don't have to do this if you don't want to. I know much you dislike sick people."
"Natalie," he gave her a pitying look, "I want to. You aren't some random sick person, you're Natalie! I can't let some random stranger just come into the house and try to take care of you. What if they forget to check on you, or, or don't change your bandages-"
"Mr. Monk!"
"Or what if they accidentally give you the wrong medicine? Who is going to take Julie to school-?"
"Mr. Monk! Mr. Monk! DAD! You worry too much. I'm sure mom'll be fine. Especially because you'll be taking care of her. I wouldn't want some random person to take care of her either. It would be a nurse. But of course you're right." Julie said, finally cutting through his objections. She gently rubbed his arm to calm him. Julie turned and gave her mom a kiss on the cheek and decided to leave for the night so she could get some sleep at home.
"I'll be back as soon as I get up tomorrow, I promise."
"Night mom, dad." she called as she walked out of the hospital room leaving Adrian stranded on Natalie's bed.
Natalie looked questioningly at Adrian for a few moments before laying her head on his chest and squeezing his hand. She inhaled deeply and hugged him as best as she could with one arm.
"Dad, huh? When did this happen?" she asked, grinning into his chest.
"That." he replied, still reeling from Julie's use of the name, "She almost called me dad while we were waiting for you to get out surgery. We had a talk. She considers me a good substitute for Mitch, and she's practically my daughter anyways. If I had a daughter I think Julie would be just like her. I felt like a father then, at least I think I did." he said quietly, looking at Natalie.
"Adrian," she said tenderly, "I don't think she realized until tonight, but you really are like her dad. You've been there when it really counted and you've been there constantly for her since I started to work for you. This, by the way has been some of the best times since Mitch died. I really think you'd make an excellent father." she replied sleepily.
Adrian could tell that Natalie was tired and need her rest. However, with Julie gone, there was no way to get back to his bed. He had to stay here until someone came to see them in the morning. Hopefully it would be Julie. He didn't think the Captain would be so understanding. He'd probably tease them relentlessly, as he already thought there was something going on between them.
"Natalie, can you scoot over? I can't get back to my bed. I think I might have to spend the night with you again." he asked softly as he stroked her hair.
In response she scooted over and patted the void for him to get into.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Sweet dreams Natalie."
A/N: So, that's it for now folks. Hope you like it. Any reviews would be helpful. The evil plot bunnies have decided to run away with story. They turned it into something totally different. We'll see where they take us next.