Title: As She Always Did

Summary: Dr. Kroger tries a new technique to get Adrian to get over Trudy, and it works in a way nobody could have guessed. Well nobody but a Monk/Natalie fan. A One Shot but a Good Shot.

As She Always Did

Adrian Monk stared absolutely stunned at his physiatrist Dr. Kroger. "Natalie could you please join us for today's session," the doctor asked again his eyes on Adrian's blonde haired companion who looked just as stunned as Monk.

"Mr. Monk?" she asked rubbing his back gently, he shrugged and nodded standing. He watched Natalie gather her purse and the book she had brought to read during his session then the three of them entered the office together.

"Well Adrian, Natalie why don't you sit down," the doctor gestured to a couch that Monk sat in the exact center of brushing invisible lint off his pants. He felt the couch dip where Natalie took a seat beside him setting her purse and book between them. Adrian could feel the heat from the purse against his leg as she shifted a bit telling him she was just as uncomfortable as he was. "I can imagine you're both curious about the change in routine."

"Just a bit." Adrian shifted his neck feeling the itchy wool of the sweater Natalie had conned him into wearing in honor of Christmas against his neck.

"Well it's because of Trudy, Adrian." Monk's head shot up at the name of his deceased wife and he felt Natalie tense beside him. "I recently received a call from Captain Stottlemyer, he's worried about you this Christmas Adrian."

"I still don't understand what that has to do with me," Natalie's voice was tight as she looked to the good doctor that Monk was seriously considering replacing at the moment.

"Natalie you are a widow, you can help Adrian try to move on, you can tell him how you moved on… that is if your comfortable with that, if you are I've cleared the rest of my day."

Monk looked at Natalie who stared at Kroger stunned, she turned to Adrian and jumped to see him already looking at her. She shrugged one shoulder and he nodded once before turning to Kroger and nodding in acceptance of the idea. He watched Natalie kick off her shoes taking care to put them just the way he liked them before folding her legs under her in preparation for a long session.

"Natalie, can you tell me what you did after the death of your husband?" Kroger asked shifting in his seat.

"Well," she sighed softly and began playing with the hem of her shirt a nervous habit Monk found endlessly annoying. "For the first year I always slept in a pair of his pajama pants and his old college sweater. Even after the smell was gone, Julie used his favorite overcoat as a blanket for a while too."

"What about his other clothes what did you do with them?" Kroger asked zoning in on Natalie. Monk reached over and took her hand from her sweater placing it on her leg instead with a pointed look. She rolled her eyes and turned back to the doctor to answer his question.

"Most of them we donated, except the one's that meant a lot to him. Like that sweater is still in my pajama drawer but we gave most of them away."

"How long did it take you to do that?" Kroger questioned.

"About four months, I remember because Julie used to ask when he was coming home, and when I told her he wasn't she would ask me why all his clothes where still there. It made me realize-" Natalie stopped short looking over to Monk.

"Made you realize what Natalie?" Kroger pushed leaning forward slightly.

"That I was still waiting for him to come home," she replied softly as though if she said it soft it would loose its bite. Monk sucked in a breath and shifted again on the couch Natalie looked at him worriedly a guilty look in her eye.

"I know she's not coming home," Adrian spoke up looking at his shoes. "I know that."

"Then why do you keep all her things out?" Kroger questioned. "You keep her present, you've never opened it. You still have all of her make up laid out just how she left it, Adrian you don't understand that your wife is not coming home." Adrian's eyes where still glued to his shoes.

"That's not fair," his head jerked up at Natalie's angry tone as she addressed the doctor. "I still keep things that were my husbands. I still have his sweater, and all his old country tapes. I hate country but I keep them because I loved him. Adrian loved his wife and if that means he has to keep things to remember her then that's his choice. I remember one Christmas, Julie was only one but we didn't bring her shopping we left her with a babysitter at home. We couldn't afford it but my husband bought her a leather jacket. He said he got one when he got his first car and he wanted her to have one too. He gave it to me, made me promise to give it too her when she got her first car. That's still in the back of my closet."

"That is different Natalie," but it was too late she was already pulling her heels on.

"Let's go Adrian," she held out her hand and pulled him from the sofa. He stared at her stunned, she stood up to Dr. Kroger for him, called him Adrian touched him and he didn't need a wipe. He followed her like a meek puppy from the office out the door and into the car. The ride home was almost silent as Monk stared at the woman beside him absolutely amazed.

"Are you coming Mr. Monk?" Natalie asked once they parked in front of his building. He nodded and unbuckled his seat belt following her dutifully into his apartment. She used her key to unlock the door setting her purse and keys on the table beside the door slightly crooked as always, and as always Monk sighed and straightened it without saying a word.

"Do you really keep his present?" Monk asked watching her putter around his kitchen cutting the crust off his bread and putting it on he plate as she made them sandwiches for lunch.

"It meant a lot to him," she replied, she pulled a handful of chips from the bag and put them on her plate then poured some into a separate bowl for Monk stealing one from the bowl as she always did when she didn't think he was looking. She crunched on the chip as she poured him a glass of apple juice, she pulled a soda from his fridge and moved to the table expertly taking it all with her. Monk moved quickly down the hall to his room going into his closet and pulling out the small green box. He walked slowly toward the dining room holding the box aloft as if it was a crown about to be placed on the head of a king. He sat across from Natalie and placed the box between their plates. She pretended not to notice but he saw her hand disappear under the table and the telltale tightening and loosening around her shoulder told him she was picking at her shirt again. He sighed softly and reached a hand out for the bow.

"No," Natalie placed her hand over his. "Don't let what that doctor said to you make you do this."

"It was what you said," Monk looked at her smiling slightly to show he wasn't angry. "Trudy loved Christmas, it would have been important to her." He pulled the bow from the box and lifted the top. Inside was a piece of paper he read it and smiled broadly letting a small chuckle escape his lips. "It's a gift certificate for the pet store down the road, Trudy loved cats," he laughed out loud now, for some reason opening that gift released a weight from his shoulders and he smiled at Natalie who was laughing along with him.

"Merry Christmas Mr. Monk." Natalie smiled.

"Call me Adrian."

THREE YEARS LATER

Adrian Monk lay in his bed, it was past time for him to wake up but he just laid there looking over at his wife's vanity. Her makeup was placed neatly atop the piece of oak furniture a small tribute to him. He smiled softly and nearly jumped out of his skin as the door to the bedroom swung open. He sighed smiling when he saw who was at the door. "Trudy" he greeted, she hopped onto the bed and Monk stroked the fur of the short haired cat. The door opened again admitting a small boy with bright blue eyes and curly dark hair.

"Daddy?" the two year old rubbed his eyes staring up at Monk.

"Come on up," Adrian lifted the child into the bed looking up as the door admitted his wife of two and a half years with their two year old daughter on her hip.

"Julie has decided not to wake up," his wife informed him slipping under the covers beside him releasing their daughter to climb all over the pair.

"We do it?" his daughter Rachel bounced slightly in the space left between the bodies of Adrian and his wife.

"Go run, if you can get her up one present each before breakfast," the kids ran from the room cheering Trudy racing after them.

"Sometimes I swear she thinks she's a dog," his wife commented watching the cat chase her kids.

"Come here," Adrian opened his arms and his wife smiled slipping toward him and resting her head on his chest. She breathed deep he had asked her when they first began dating why she did that and she told him that she wanted to remember what he smelled like, he smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I love you Natalie," he said softly.

"I love you too Mr. Monk." she replied, she pressed a gentle kiss to his lips as she always did.