I'm back.
Sorry for the huge hiatus. I have no good excuse for letting you waiting this long, I know, but some health issues plus a unexpected new job unstructured my life rythm. Hope you still remember the plot of this story, and hope you keep on reading it. I promise I'll finish it soon.
I assure you I know how it ends. Just need to find quality time to focus on writing it.... :)
Thank you for your patience!

...and I do not own Monk, nor Natalie.

MR MONK MEETS THE REDEEMER

CH 25

The door didn't open.

"Mr Monk, I'm coming in." warned Natalie, holding the door knob.

After a few seconds of silence, Monk opened the door. He looked disconcerted and walked back to his bed, without talking to Natalie. He was wearing light beige canvas pants, a white tee-shirt and white tennis shoes.
He looked at Natalie with a face of dismay, "Now you know!" he said, and opened his arms showings clothes to her; he was standing in front of her like he was a criminal who had just been caught by the police.
Knowing Monk, Natalie deduced he was feeling like he was an offence to humanity being dressed like that.

"What?" trying to sound natural, but holding back a smile. On very few occasions had she seen Monk dressed causally like that. The clothes were becoming to him, making him look like he was ready to enjoy a nice walk at the beach.

"I can't go downstairs undressed like this." Monk complained.

"Why not? You look great, Mr. Monk. Very casual, and"

"Uneven." he cut Natalie off, "I do not feel comfortable wearing mismatched clothes." He sat up in bed, disappointed. "You see? Nothing matches. Two white pieces and one beige. That's an uneven outfit. I would rather stay here until they finish cleaning my clothes."

"Oh, I see. Well, how long will this take?" asked Natalie, just then entering the room.

"Just a couple of hours."

"U-huh." Natalie said, standing in front of Monk.

Monk looked up to her, "Maybe a bit more."

"I see." Natalie said, sitting up in the bed beside him. "Have you instructed the maids on how to clean your clothes?" she asked.

"Yeah." Monk answered looking ahead aimlessly, continuing nodding his head.

"Oh, I see." said Natalie, placing one elbow on a knee and resting her chin on her hand, looking aimlessly ahead too.

"Yeah." Monk kept nodding, looking around his room and fidgeting, drumming with his fingers on his knees.

Silence.

"Two hours you said?" asked Natalie, still laying her chin on her hand, but turning her face to Monk.

"Yeah ... or maybe a bit more," he stopped fidgeting, and started to mumble something, without stop nodding his head.

"Yeah, maybe a bit more," Natalie agreed. She sighed; straightening up and looking around the room, she asked him, "And if I tell you I had an interesting talk with Bianca just few minutes ago?"

Monk looked at Natalie, "What did you talk about?"

"I can tell you that she's trustworthy, at least that's how she appeared to be."

"And?" he looked at her, waiting for more information.

"I'll fill you in our way downstairs, Mr. Monk."

"I cannot leave the room dressed like this, Natalie, I already told you!"

"Okay, and how about like this?" Natalie put the cap she used on Monk's head. He twitched.

"Wait, wait, were did you get this from?" asked Monk, urgently taking out the cap and looking at it.

"I got it in the laundry, on my way up here. You see, it's beige, it matches your pants. So you're even now." And she got up, walking to the door, "Let's go!"

"Wait, wait. Has anybody used this before?" asked Monk carefully examining the cap.

"No, I just got it at the laundry, I already told you." Natalie was at the door, biting her lips to avoid exposing the lie. "It's brand new. Can we go now?"

Monk cocked his head, shrugged his shoulder and said "Yeah,". Standing up, he put on the cap.

Natalie smiled looking at Monk adjusting the cap. He seemed much younger in that outfit. Seldom had she seen Monk wearing different clothes, other than his 'classic' brown suits. He looked strangely attractive in those clothes; Natalie could see Monk as a regular man, and for a moment she wished that he wore normal clothes more frequently, because then it would be logically justifiable to have feelings for a common man wearing common clothes.

Well, at least she could deal with her feelings more easily then. Definitely, he looked very handsome in that outfit, with the cap a bit corked to the side. She thought he looked 'handsomely common'. She could get used to living with that Monk. But she was sure he could not stand living like that, and even more with a cap sideways on his head!
She wanted to leave it like that, because she enjoyed looking at a Monk that she had designed for her own delight. But she knew that what she was picturing was not real. And never would be.
At least inside her mind she could dress him the way she wanted, couldn't she?

What? What am I thinking? How could I even think about this? Go around dressing Mr. Monk as I wish.... Well, at least I am not thinking about undressing him. Oh, God, what was that? I got too much sun on my head at the beach...."What?" Monk asked Natalie when passing by, looking at her blushing face.

"No… nothing." She was afraid she might have verbalized her thoughts.

"What, Natalie?" asked Monk, a bit concerned about her worried expression.

"No... nothing. I was just wandering a bit...thinking...not saying anything...aloud...right? Just talking to myself, inside my mind. Thinking."

"Okay. Shall we go?" Monk indicated the way out.

"Yeah, okay," She sighed and tried to reach his cap to adjust it. Monk pulled away.

"Wait, it's just your cap. It's a bit crooked to the side."

"Which side?" Monk asked, walking out of the room, and away of Natalie's touch.

"To the left" said Natalie, closing the bedroom door.

"My left or your left?"

"Here, Mr. Monk," said Natalie, adjusting the cap for Monk.

He remained still and breathless, avoiding Natalie's eyes, even though she was only a few inches of him.
Even for a few seconds, her closeness bothered him. He could not understand what was happening, why staying close to Natalie had become a hard task, even a torture.
He had to fight an inexplicable desire to touch her, something that his obsessive compulsive side warned as dangerously unhealthy. He was afraid that being beside her, the inexplicable desire would overcome the obsessive compulsive rejection. Then he couldn't deal with that new perspective. And also, beyond the feelings there was the conventional barrier, the professional barrier. Above everything, Natalie was still his assistant.

"That's better" she finished adjusting his cap, patting him on the shoulder.

Monk grabbed the last thought as if it was his only escape from condemnation and death; he kept that thought vividly at the fore front of his mind, repeating it to make it sound like true. Like the only acceptable truth. Breathing again, Monk focused on what had become his primary issue in that country, "So, what did you talk to Bianca about?"

On their way to the swimming pool, Natalie gave him all the news.

Thank you, Kathy, for you great patience to share with me your accurate writing skills!