Hello there, fellow Monk fans! I'm obsessedwithstabler, and this is my very first Monk story. Since I mainly write for Law And Order CI, SVU, House, Walker, Texas Ranger, and Tru Calling, this may be a little OOC. But here goes nothing! This is a drabble in Natalie's POV about our favorite obsessive compulsive detective! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: They ain't mine. At least, that's what the men in white lab coats with needles keep saying...

This little drabble is dedicated for those of you who decided to read it. Thanks!

I watch him as he works his way around the crime scene, then backtracks his steps with his hands in the air. Suddenly I know that he has it, and a moment later, he announces his correct theory.

Over these past three years, I've gotten to know Adrian Monk, and in that time, something has happened. When I first began working for him, I was absolutely certain that he was a freak.

But it didn't take long at all for me to realize that, under his obsessive cleanliness and delight for reorganizing things in a complete stranger's house, he really is a good man. A man who had lost his wife, but had come back from it with a new perspective on life.

And as I'm watching him move gracefully around the house, I'm reminded of two other occasions where I nearly lost him. The first had been terrifying. For too long, I hadn't known where he was, and when I finally found him, he didn't even remember who I was. But thankfully, he eventually regained his memory, and along with it, all his strange and amusing quirks.

Then he had been kidnapped and buried alive. I'm not sure if he, or even myself, have ever completely recovered from that. When we had opened the box, and he was lying there so still, I was certain that I had lost him. The only other times I had been so terrified was when Julie had been born, and they couldn't get her to breathe right away. Then my husband had died, and I was terrified of being alone forever, being a single mom forever.

And now, thinking back over those times, a revelation hits me. If I had lost him, I don't know what I would have done. He is… Monk. He's the first and last thoughts on my mind during the day, and, as much as he'd try to deny it, he's a part of me. He's just as much a part of me as Julie is, just not in the same way. She's my daughter, and he's… well, he's everything else.

"Natalie?"

I look up, and the object of my thoughts is looking at me questiongly. He's ready to go, so I hand him a wipe and head out to the car so we can head back to work.

He slides gingerly into the passenger's seat, and I mentally laugh.

I'll tell him, one day.

The End...

A/N: So, there ya have it. I hope ya'll enjoyed it, and I'll be back with another Monk story soon! Thanks again for reading!