"Wow" Rick said as Kate opened the door of her apartment.

"I take it you like it?" Kate laughed, turning on herself to give him a a full view.

"You look like a Princess Mommy." Alexis said, a huge smile on her face.

She had taken to calling Kate mommy after Meredith had barged in the loft when they were celebrating the end of the custody case. Kate had never said anything about not wanting to be called that so Alexis just continued. And she saw the sparkle in her eyes every time she said it, always accompanied with a small smile.

"Thank you Sweetie. Are you ready for your girls night with Lanie?" Kate asked as she moved from the doorway to let the two Castles in.

Before the little gril could answer, Lanie appeared in the living room.

"Hey girlfriend, are you ready for pizza and a Disney marathon?" she asked Alexis.

"Yes!" Alexis answered enthusiastically, running to the couch to get her backpack off her shoulders.

"We should get going," Rick said. "The car is waiting downstairs."

"Ok. Alexis, can I have a kiss before I go and you watch some princess movie?" Kate asked.

The little girl ran back to her and hugged and kissed her. "You look like a real princess" she said into Kate's ear.

"Thank you Sweetie." Kate said, smiling as Alexis went back to the couch.

"Hey! I don't get a kiss? I am your father young lady, don't I deserve at least one small kiss?" Rick asked.

The little girl got down from the couch once more, kissed her father's cheek and went back to her seat.

"The next person who wants a kiss comes on the couch." she declared, making the adults laugh.

"We should really get going." Rick said to Kate, handing her her jacket.

"Goodnight girls." Kate called, only to be answered with two small waves from the top of the couch.

"It's good to know we will be missed." Rick laughed, placing his hand on the small of Kate's back and leading her out of the apartment.

Kate was nervous, he could tell. She kept glancing out the window as the approached the hotel where the charity held the gala.

"You ok? We don't have to go if you don't want to." Rick said, placing one hand on her bouncing knee.

"No, it's fine. It's just … I'm not used to these events. But I'll be fine, don't worry." she said, kissing him.

"You know, there'll certainly be photographs outside the hotel."

"And?"

"And … you should be prepared to see your face on the Internet and in the paper tomorrow."

"I don't care. This is a part of your life Rick, so it's a part of my life too. I will get used to it. And I prefer being in the newspaper than seeing you with some bimbo on your arm in the newspaper."

"Well, from now on, if I am on a photo for events like that, either I will be alone or you'll be with me. No one else." Rick said, squeezing her hand as the car came to a stop. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Kate said as someone opened the door on Rick's side.

Rick got out of the car and helped her out. As soon as she appeared out, she was blinded by flashes.

"Don't mind them, just walk with me." Rick said in her ear.

She followed him, smiled as she walked by his side, even if she didn't really see where she was going.

"Ok, we're in." Rick said, as if he had crossed the enemy's line

"Yeah we are. Can you describe the place to me because I can't see anything but black spots at the moment. I may never see again." Kate laughed, closing and opening her eyes until her vision came back to normal.

She let Rick lead her into the main room. It had been decorated for the charity with colorful ballons and drawings on the tables but the general atmosphere was still classy. It certainly had to do with the people dressed in formal evening clothes. All the men were wearing black tuxedos but the women's dresses were more diversified, in color but also in length, Kate noticed.

"Don't worry, you're the most beautiful one." Rick said, kissing her hair as they walked in the main room.

"I just don't undertand why some women confuse T-shirts with dresses, that's all." Kate said, making Rick laugh.

"Well yeah … I'm happy you're not one of them. As much as I like seeing your endless legs, I absolutely don't want to share this view with anyone else. And I'm happy that you came with me because it seems that Gina is one of the confused ones." he said, seeing his agent walk up to them. "Hello Gina." he said politely.

"Hello. You must be Kate. I'm Gina Cowell, Rick's agent." Gina said, shaking hands with Kate.

"Nice to finally put a face on the name." Kate said, smiling back at her.

They talked politely for a few minutes, everyone hoping that someone would come up to them and break this awkward moment. It happened when the mayor waved Rick over to the small group which had gathered around him. This was not the situation that Kate was hoping for. Being alone with Gina was not something she had anticipated at all.

"So … you're the girlfriend then. For how long?" Gina asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"How do you think you two will last? One week? Two at the most?" she asked, laughing in her glassof champagne.

"Not that it's any of your business but we were planning on a lifetime." Kate said seriously.

"Yeah well, you can plan if you want, I know Rick. He's not for settling. And if you want my advice, you don't want to settle with him. His daughter is just … uh. She looks like an angel but she's just a brat really. Always wanting the attention of everyone, never letting anyone close to Rick. Come on she's just a kid, give her to a babysitter and let the man live you know?"

Kate got closer to her and talked calmly but clearly.

"If you talk about them like that, it's obvious that you don't know them. Rick is a very dedicated man. Deal with the fact that you can't have him and let us live, ok? And if I hear you call Alexis a brat one more time, you will have to deal with me. Got it? Good. Now, if you don't plan on apologizing anytime soon, don't bother asking anything from Rick. I will personally make sure that you don't get what you want. Now, if you'll excuse me, I certainly have more interesting people to talk to."

With that, she left Gina dumfounded, alone in the middle of the room. She stopped in front of a window and looked outside. She could see the city lights reflecting on the river. She tried to calm herself before going back and trying to find Rick. She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt someone tugging on her dress. She looked down and saw two little girls looking up at her with a smile on their faces.

"Well hello there." Kate said, smiling at them.

"We drew a picture for you." the oldest girl said, handing Kate a piece of paper.

"Wow, is that me?" Kate asked, looking at the drawing and squatting as best as she could with her dress to be at the same height as the girls.

"Yes," the youngest girl said. "Because you have beautiful hair and your dress is so beautiful you look like a princess."

"Oh, you're so nice." Kate said, smiling at the two of them.

"We should go," the oldest said, taking the other girl's hand. "We're not supposed to talk to the guests."

"Why?" Kate asked, surprised. "This evening is about you guys, why shouldn't you talk to the guests?"

"Mrs Lily said we don't have the rights to disturb the guests so they want to give money for the hospital." the youngest said.

"Well, you're not bothering me. You can stay with me if you want." Kate said, smiling at them.

"You're pretty AND you're nice. You really are a princess." the oldest said.

"Hey look, it seems like my prince is coming to join us." Kate said, seeing Rick walk to them with a tray in his hand. He must have seen them before because there were also two glasses of juice with the champagne he got from them.

"Am I invited to the princesses' party?" he asked, smiling at the three of them.