This chapter will contain mostly thoughts – the conversations stand for themselves in the main show.

Looking Good (6.12)

(Natalie first sees Monk wearing a uniform)

Natalie walked into the bank hoping to see how Monk was doing. Never had she thought about what he was wearing. When she saw him in the grey police uniform, her heart stopped and started beating rapidly. He was dressed up, spic and span of course, but as a real police officer. The uniform fit him perfectly, without an inch too much. His gun gave him a rugged look – as far rugged and macho Adrian Monk could be. Altogether, Adrian Monk was highly pleasing on the eye, and Natalie had the impulse to hug and smother him with kisses.

Her thoughts held her back. She knew that if she hugged him, he would probably panic and send everyone else in the bank into frenzy. Nonetheless, she could not stop thinking how attractive her boss, no friend, looked. He reminded her of Mitch with his navy uniform, and stood as tall and proud. Instead of hugging and kissing him, Natalie settled for touches, which she hoped he would not mind. Even though he had a gun and a litany of compulsions, he would not shoot her; she hoped that was the case.

(Monk gets complimented in the car)

Monk was thinking about Natalie's recent bantering. Starting in the bank, when she first saw him in uniform, she began acting strange around him, as if she were a kid. He told her to shut up, but ended regretting telling her that. Actually, Monk was a bit flattered with her bantering. She complimented him on his uniform and overall appearance, which few people, including Trudy or Leland, did. All the hugs, pinches, and touching were probably too much – no, they were way too much – but he did not mind. Monk was used to Natalie by now.

Monk noticed Natalie peeking at him behind the coffee cup. She tried to hide it, but he used everything, including the reflective surfaces, to his advantage. She was looking at his arms again with that unknown look. Monk did not know what to do, but he decided to play along. It felt so strange for him, but he hoped for the best. When she was glancing, Monk flexed his arms and extended himself to give her a good look. Meanwhile, to hide his efforts, he absentmindedly filed through the tool box. On the side mirror, he saw Natalie continuing to look at him and smirking. Felt empowered and well-versed in the bantering game, Monk waited a bit longer before deciding to investigate Peter Crawley's car. He had a more immediate "investigation" to finish.

(Monk receiving Trudy's bracelet in the vault)

Leland carefully handed Trudy's bracelet to Monk. Monk took the bracelet and looked at it. In his hands, it looked pure and true, but alone. He then placed it on Natalie's wrist. There, the bracelet looked alive and beautiful, even more so than he had remembered. When Natalie called the bracelet beautiful, he was thinking the same, except describing how it looked on her wrist. He took it off to examine the bracelet. Seeing it alone, whether in his hands or in a safe or drawer, just did not feel right. He wasn't sure what Trudy wanted, but she probably wished it were worn. Anyway, with the four of them stuck in the vault, the matter was moot. But if he had to die, though, he resolved that it be worn rather than torn or shed. Something that belonged to Trudy should not be left neglected.

(After getting the bracelet fixed)

Monk joined Natalie and Julie for dinner. Julie finally came back from camp, and fortunately, missed the whole incident when they were trapped in the vault. Natalie hadn't told Julie about it, although she probably read about how Disher painted himself silver. That same day, while Monk gave Natalie the afternoon off to pick up Julie, he got the bracelet repaired by one of San Francisco's finest jewelers. Monk chose him because he picked up and delivered the bracelet, and had a 10.0 service rating, something very important.

The three of them gathered for dinner. Natalie insisted on cooking, because Julie was likely starving and Monk would take forever preparing one dish. Mother and daughter had much to talk about, and Julie was showing Monk some camp pictures. He had to cringe away when she showed a picture of her diving into mud with other campers.

As the conversation lulled, Natalie spoke up and asked Monk, "Adrian, is there something wrong? You are quite quiet tonight, and haven't eaten much."

Monk shook his head four times, just to be even. He still twitched and looked away at his food and Julie, which convinced Natalie that he was hiding something.

"I know you're hiding something. What's wrong? Is it the new toaster?"

Monk replied, "No, it's not that. The new toaster is fine, thank you very much, although it makes a sound that's 0.2 decibels higher than my old one."

Julie jumped in and commented, "You know, Mr. Monk, if you don't like it, you can toast bread on fire. We did it at camp. We put our bread on a stick, and used campfire to toast it. It tasted really good."

"What! You toasted your bread, on a stick, over fire? Are you crazy? You made bread in nature? We've got to get you to a hospital…"

Natalie batted him away and gave him a glare to sit down. "You're avoiding the question Adrian. The toaster's fine, and so is Julie. But something is bothering you. I can tell."

Monk looked at Natalie and Julie, and seemed to take forever deciding what to do. Both of them looked at him with curious faces. Feeling at ease, Monk beckoned them to the living room. When they were there, Monk picked up a small box and held it out. "Are you ready? It's a surprise."

Natalie said eagerly, "What is it? It better be good, because you pulled us away from dinner. And I know you hate surprises."

Monk gave a "are you kidding?" look. He then slowly opened the box. Inside was Trudy's bracelet, fully restored and cleaned. One could not see any trace of its use in breaking the lock in the vault. It was brand new, enough for Adrian Monk to approve.

"Wow, Mr. Monk, is that what I think it is? It's so pretty!" Julie exclaimed.

"It really is beautiful. I'm so surprised, and elated. How did you get it fixed?" Natalie asked.

"Well, I had a jeweler do it. He did a fantastic job. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Ok, here's the thing. You remember how I told you I had to skip your pay for last week, and defer to this week? I used it to pay the jeweler."

Natalie gave him a glare, not too angry, nor too mild. She knew he was up to something. She'll have to settle that later, and maybe charge him extra for everything else she had to do for him the past few weeks, including being locked in a vault.

Monk surprised her by placing and clasping the bracelet on her wrist. He took the time to make sure it was fastened. Then, with a slight smile, he ambled toward the kitchen and proceeded to finish his dinner.

Natalie and Julie stood there stunned. Did Adrian Monk just give Trudy's bracelet to her? She could neither think nor move for a moment. Julie looked at her with a smile. Natalie then proceeded to the table, and sat down for dinner.

"Thank you, Adrian. But I thought you wanted to keep it in a safe or another bank?"

Monk looked up and met her eyes. "No, Natalie, something so beautiful should be kept beautiful. It belongs where it should be."

Natalie felt tears of joy swelling in her eyes. She wanted to hug and kiss him for that. She would even forgive him if he defaulted on last week's pay. With that simple gesture, Adrian Monk showed the affectionate man that he was, and won her heart.