In this AU world, assume that Rick and Kate are meeting at the same time in their lives that they meet on the series, except that it is 2015 instead of 2009. So Alexis would be 14 like she was when the series started. It's late spring/early summer and the Ashley Tisdale case never happened, or hasn't happened yet. When I started this I had recently watched a marathon of Naked and Afraid (on the Discovery Channel) and immediately thought how fun it would be to put Rick and Kate into this kind of situation. For reference, I'm loosely following the episode Blood in the Water from season 3. I've borrowed the location and some of the events from the episode, but it's long gone from my DVR and I haven't written the entire story yet so it won't follow exactly. And here we go…

One man and one woman, both experienced survivalists are taking on the most punishing adventure of their lives. They have no water, no food and no clothes. Their task is to survive on the barren island of Andros in the West Indies for twenty-one days, Naked and Afraid.

Rick and Kate were dropped off along the western edge of the Bermuda Triangle, in the pine forest of Andros Island. With the third largest barrier reef in the world, it's a breeding ground for venomous sting rays and the menacing ten foot Caribbean Reef Shark known for its sudden, terrifying acceleration. Rick and Kate will have to navigate along a harsh terrain of razor sharp limestone rock and dense vegetation that contains toxic poisonwood trees, conceals dangerous wild boar and the Bahamian Boa which can reach lengths of up to eight feet. With limited sources of fresh water on the island, trekking northeast will give the survivalists an ample supply at one of the iconic blue holes of Andros.

Rick stripped off his last layers of clothing and stood naked in the sparse forest wearing nothing but a necklace with a small decorative bead that housed a tiny microphone. Through the trees he could make out the silhouette of the woman that would be his partner for the next three weeks. He was able to deduce that she had long brown hair and a thin, athletic figure. His new partner was making her way towards him through the haze of branches and bushes. He didn't know how to stand or what to do with his hands. Was he supposed to cover up his junk or just walk with confidence? Choosing the latter he started walking towards the woman that was quickly coming into view. Well, here goes nothing!

ONE WEEK EARLIER…

"Richard, what are you thinking? You know nothing about primitive survival and you can't hunt. Just last week you screamed like a girl over a little spider."

"Mother, that spider was not little, it was huge!"

"Exactly my point, dear. What are you going to do when something bigger than your pinky nail comes flying at you from out of the jungle?"

"First of all, it's not the jungle. They told me it was an island in the Bahamas. Second, the producers know that I don't have any real hands on survival skills. They promised to pair me with someone who knows what they are doing. Besides, I've read at least ten books on primitive survival skills, hunting and plant identification. How hard could it be to put into use everything that I've learned?" Aside from book research, Rick had purchased several different kinds of fire starters and practiced building fires in his living room (in the fireplace, of course). He also had skyped with two of the shows previous contestants and received some great tips.

"Remind me again why the research you've already done isn't enough?" Martha inquired.

"If I'm going to have Derek Storm marooned on a deserted island, I need it to be authentic. Why settle for second hand accounts when I can experience it for myself and really know how it feels to be fighting for survival?"

"So why not go on one of those survivalist adventures? Why does it have to be a nationally syndicated TV show?"

"That's the best part, mother. Paula thinks it's great publicity for the next book. Guaranteed to sell millions of copies!" The producers of the show were skeptical at first. They liked the idea of having a celebrity as a contestant, but they were nervous about his lack of practical survival skills. In the end they were satisfied with his extensive knowledge and research and decided to give him a chance.

"You're already a best-selling author, Richard. I hardly think this is necessary." Rick found his mother's concern touching. He reached for her hand and pulled her in for a hug.

"Don't worry, mother, I'll be fine. I'll have a small crew with me, and a medical unit on standby just in case. Plus I've been preparing my body. They won't let anything happen to me. I promise." Rick had been laying naked in the sun on his private balcony fairly regularly for the past month. He wanted to make sure that he had a nice, even all-over tan. There was this one episode of Naked and Afraid where the man had burned every square inch of his body, including his man bits, and Rick did not want that to happen to him. He also practiced walking around Central Park with no shoes on, one hour every day, making sure to walk on rocks and other uneven surfaces to thicken the skin on the bottom of his feet. He had also been hitting the gym to build up strength and improve muscle tone. If he was going to be naked on TV, in front of a strange woman, he wanted to make sure he looked his best.

"Remind me again why you have to be naked?"

"It's the ultimate test of survival. Clothing is a kind of shelter and this show is about stripping you of everything, so to speak, and testing your ability to survive the elements." Just then, the door to the loft opened and Alexis appeared with a package that she held out to her dad.

"Looks like it's from the show, Dad. What is it?" Rick opened the package with the enthusiasm of a five year old on Christmas morning.

"Oh cool, it's my diary cam! I'll be using this to take my own videos on the island." Rick turned it around in his hand, opening and closing parts of it while looking into the box for more stuff. The only other thing in the box was a brief letter explaining that he should shoot some footage before he leaves and share his last minute thoughts while he's packing. Alexis sat down next to her father and took the video camera. She turned it on, aimed it at her father and pressed record.

"So, Dad, are you really ready for this adventure?"

"I was born ready." Rick flashed the camera one of his most charming smiles.

"What are you looking forward to the most?"

"I want to prove to myself that I can do this. I'm used to creating perilous situations for the characters in my books. I put them in life or death situations and imagine how they would get themselves out alive. It's time to make fiction reality and I'm not afraid to test my survival skills." Alexis raised an eyebrow. "OK I won't lie, I'm a little afraid, but I'm looking forward to starting this adventure."

Kate Beckett did not want to be on television. She especially didn't want to be on television completely naked. The first time the producers of Naked and Afraid approached her, she turned them away within 5 minutes.

"So let's get this straight. I'm naked, in the wilderness, with absolutely no food, no shelter and I'm there for three weeks with a strange naked man? And no prize money for completing the entire twenty-one days? Hell no." She even called up a few of her friends to see if she was being set up on some kind of prank TV show. Once she established that the show was legit, she set her DVR to record the show so she could see what it was all about. They were two seasons in and looking to start casting for the third season.

By the second episode, Kate was hooked. The show focused on primitive survival skills. The nakedness wasn't some lame attempt at a trashy dating show. Many of the contestants were married or in serious relationships. It was pure survival, which was something that Kate was very into. After her mother died she got into extreme sports. Her mother was gone, her father had become a depressed alcoholic and Kate became reckless. She would go rock climbing, bungee jumping, skydiving, surfing, hang gliding… it was a different sport every weekend and she was often with a different guy during each new adventure. Sometimes she even went riding on her Harley without a helmet.

Kate realized that thrill seeking, however fun it was, was not filling the hole in her life. She made the decision to switch gears and enter the police academy after completing her undergraduate degree, instead of going to law school. She wanted to become a homicide detective, reopen her mother's cold case and find the bastard that killed Johanna Beckett. Random gang violence my ass. She knew there was more to that story. Now, ten years later, she realized that riding without a helmet was just plain stupid. She still enjoyed the occasional thrill of extreme sports, but she made sure to strictly follow all of the safety precautions.

Katherine Beckett made headlines at the police academy. She graduated at the top of her class and performed better than any woman in the history of the academy. Her fitness scores rivaled that of the highest scoring men. The New York Times had featured her in a story about powerful women in Manhattan. The story also went into her love of extreme sports and her background as an amateur survivalist in college. She had also grown up spending time at her parents' cabin in upstate New York, hunting and fishing with her dad. The producers of Naked and Afraid had found this article when they were searching for qualified contestants. Even though the article was a good six years old, further research showed that Katherine Becket was the youngest woman to make detective in the NYPD's history. She was exactly what the show was looking for.

The second time the producers called, Kate was more prepared and she had done her research. After several phone calls and one in person meeting with one of the show's producers, Kate agreed to be on the show. Her competitive side won out after she binge watched the entire second season over one weekend. She laughed when contestants tapped out before their twenty-one days were over and yelled at the TV how pathetic they were. She could do this. It was going to be awesome.

The night before she left, Kate took out the video camera that the producers sent her and pressed record. "I'm not scared to go play in the woods. I want to know if I can push myself to the point where I honestly think I'm going to die, and get past that. I'm pretty confident that I can."

AN: I already have roughly 3 chapters written and I'm hoping to stay ahead of things so that I don't fall behind. My last (my first!) story took an embarrassingly long time to complete and I don't want to repeat that. I'm hoping to update at least once a week.