One Night Changes Everything
Twenty Years
Captain Stottlemeyer hadn�t been able to get in contact with Natalie�.yet! Having called her house several times, he was at a loss at where she could be.
He looked over at Monk and shook his head.
I better find out what happened before Monk loses it completely. He�s to good a man to end up like this.
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Twitching. He couldn�t stop twitching. Standing there at the scene of the crime, it seemed like everything around him was wrong.
Everyone could see how tired he was. A mess��that�s what Adrian Monk looked like�..a mess. Adrian Monk never looked like a mess��no even at his worse.
As he stared down at the female body that lay on the grass, he had the instinct to pull all of the leaves that had found their way into the woman�s hair�out.
Several times now he had tried to pluck them out��but every single time the Captain�s voice rang out��and he would stop himself��barely.
How could he have done what he did? On the couch that Trudy would hold him in. Had he no shame?! Why didn�t he stop himself??
Trudy�I�m so sorry. I love you. God I love you.
�MONK!! STOP GETTING YOUR TEARS ALL OVER MY CRIME SCENE!!� Stottlemeyer yelled. He never yelled at Monk!! But Monk was completely out of it. Crying openly in front of everyone.
But Monk could care less��he continued to relive last nights events.
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It had started with Natalie asking about the woman that he had had a crush on.
Of course he had tried to pretend that he hadn�t been hurt when he realized it would never work between them. How could it ever?!
Natalie had been trying to convince him that he had more than just a shot at the woman.
�Mr. Monk��how long has it been since you�ve been on a date?�
The question left him mumbling and looking away from Natalie. Unfortunately for him��she understood him.
�TWENTY YEARS!! Mr. Monk, I think it�s time you got out there again!�
�Nooo!� He had said trying to deny the idea all together. Shaking his head and trying to walk away from her he had wound up on the couch. But Natalie was not one to be brushed off. She had followed him.
�Mr. Monk��you�re a great catch��any woman would be lucky to get you�..but you need to make yourself more available. Things have changed in the last twenty years!�
�I can�t�.I can�t��I just�.(he had looked over at Trudy�s picture)�I can�t do that to her.� Natalie had followed his gaze to the picture. Closing her eyes as she too gazed at the photo, she slowly turned and sat on the coffee table in front of Mr. Monk.
The second she did Mr. Monk made motions not to sit there, but she knew sometimes it was better to ignore him.
�Mr. Monk��she would want you to move on. Trust me. She would want you to find happiness!�
He had looked down at his hands��trying to remember Trudy�s hands in his.
�I have an idea Mr. Monk! Why don�t you ask her out? Like a practice date.�
Natalie suggested as she picked at his shirt, as a small white piece of fuzz had collected on it, knowing that if Mr. Monk saw it he would change shirts so he could clean the one of lint.
�I�Natalie it�s been��a very long time(Monk said stressing the word very)�.she�s a model�I�m not even sure I want to start��
Before he had been able to finish his sentence Natalie asked the question that had led to his crumbling.
�Mr. Monk��when was the last time you kissed a woman��besides Trudy?�
The question had thrown him for a loop.
He got that blank look on his face�.like he didn�t want to answer, because the answer itself was embarrassing.
�Oh my God!� Natalie had said as she covered her mouth, realizing the answer.
�Mr. Monk��do you mean to tell me that the only woman you�ve ever kissed was Trudy?�
Monk began to stammer�.trying to cover himself. But Natalie put a stop to it before he could try.
�Almost�s doesn�t count�.�
But what he said next was the honest to God truth of how he felt.
�I can�t kiss anyone the way I kissed her.�
Natalie had been dumbfounded on that one. Because in all honesty��she knew exactly what he meant.
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That�s how it had started!
Her and her pushing ways. All she had wanted to do was get her friend on a date��and somehow...
�Oh God!� Again she covered her eyes as she realize how messed up everything had become.
He had felt that that Leyla, gorgeous model that she was, would never have gone out on a date with him.
�I�m an idiot!� Natalie said to herself.
Gripping the steering wheel once more she closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. Opening her eyes again she tried to figure out what to do now that she had gotten into her car. She really didn�t want to go over to Monk�s house. She couldn�t deal with it right now. Reaching into her purse she pulled out her cell phone to see if the captain had called with the juries verdict on their last case��but stopped short when she found her cell phone was dead.
�Great!� She muttered to herself.
Inserting the charger into the phone, she waited a few seconds before opening the phone up again.
Her eyes had gone from gazing to oversized shock with how many phone calls she had missed.
Twenty two calls from the Captain!! Did something happen??
This thought made her think of Monk��if something had happened to him because of her��
She didn�t even finish the thought, immediately starting the car and bringing the still charging cell phone up to her ear as she dialed the Captain�s number.
�Please be alright! Please be alright!�
She kept repeating it��hoping somehow��he would be.