It's not a Castle Monday, but good news, folks, next week IS. In the mean time, there were a few story alerts for this, so I decided to give it a second chapter. I struggled for a while with it, trying to make it something that was worth your time to read. I think I JUST succeeded. I hope you agree.

Once they had established that Kate would be going undercover, she'd quickly realized that her outfit would not likely be ideal for concealing a weapon or other paraphernalia. Before they'd parted company at Charlie's office, she'd removed her holster, carefully folded the cuff case and badge folder into it, and handed the whole bundle to her partner. The long look she shared with him communicated the importance of trusting him with her primary means of defense. He had nodded solemnly, removed his jacket and draped it over his arm so that what he was carrying would not be seen.

After Castle left the office to begin his part of the investigation, Beckett spoke with Charlie Turner about the best way to get her access to the right people. As intelligent as she was, there was still no time to go through training, so a number of positions were out. He was about to make her a hostess, until she grudgingly pointed out that she needed to be able to talk to the other dancers, which could only mean becoming one herself. Her natural physical ability made her a quick study for choreography, and she kept her fingers crossed that she would gather the necessary information before having to take the stage.

Kate plastered on her best smile as she strode through the casino. She was a little annoyed at being told to parade around the gaming floor, but evidently that was how interest was attracted to the shows, and as the 'newbie' she'd been told she *had* to. When she saw Rick coming toward her, her grin was more genuine, especially when she saw him beaming at her in return. As he neared she had to remind herself to treat him like a stranger. Something was off about his smile, though... It was familiar, but it had been years since he'd had the nerve to appraise her that openly. Granted, she didn't normally dress like this. Still…oh. She recognized it; his charmer smile, the one he used at the book signings. So it wasn't actually for *her*, it was for the 'woman' approaching him. She kinda wanted to kill him but she had to remind herself that A) she had no real claim on him, and B) it would be disastrous for their investigation. She watched, with faint amusement at first, as recognition dawned and his smile, and step, faltered. But then she worried that his reaction would give her away, and she loaded warning into her gaze. She breathed a sigh of relief when he passed without incident.

As the detective took a second to catch her breath, she could feel a bead of sweat roll down her neck before being absorbed by the flesh tone body suit that made the costumes look more risqué than they really were. The rehearsal she'd just completed had been more physically demanding than some of her police training.

"Not bad for your first rehearsal." She looked up and was surprised to find that the words had been uttered by the same concierge that had been with Castle earlier. She glanced at the gold tone nametag.

"Thanks…Morgan."

"No problem. I actually started out doing this myself. It's tough. I should probably be grateful for the sprained ankle that put me out of the rotation."

"Yeah, well I'm grateful for this gig, so I'm not about to complain. Damned landlord raised the rent on me."

There was a flash of calculation before Morgan's look turned sympathetic. Looking around surreptitiously, she stepped in closer. "I know of a way you could make extra cash. One of the guys I took into the tournament, he really liked your looks. I could set up a…one woman show…"

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass." She didn't want to appear too eager.

Gratefully she accepted the bottle of water that Morgan offered, and drank deeply, while the concierge continued to point out the merits of her idea. Beckett tried, hard, to process what the woman was saying, but then she started feeling woozy, unsteady on her feet. Morgan looked at her with concern. "Let me have Sam walk you down to the first aid room." She produced a phone from her pocket and spoke a few words. In moments a beefy security guard appeared in the doorway of the dressing room. He stepped forward and braced an arm around Kate's waist.

By the time she realized they were in an elevator and headed up to the guest floors, she was too disoriented to do much about it, not that she thought much of her chances against a guy that big in such close quarters. She was relieved to be delivered into the arms of a man she trusted with her life. She clung to Rick, always her safe harbor. The two men seemed to be talking about her but she couldn't quite figure out the subject, just that Rick's tone was stressed. When they were finally alone, she heard herself saying things she really should be embarrassed about, if only her filter were working. Eventually she was just too tired to make sense of anything, and surrendered to the comforting embrace of fluffy pillows and silky sheets.

She woke with a start. Looking around didn't offer up any clues to her location, but the pitcher of water on the nightstand could have been filled with diamonds and it wouldn't have thrilled her as much as the water that slaked her thirst. She made her way to the door, and was faintly shocked to see Rick dozing in an armchair. Wasn't he supposed to be investigating? Come to think of it, wasn't she?

He jumped when she called his name, but was quickly alert enough to fill her in on the events of the evening. The more information he spelled out, the more she wished a hole would open in the floor and swallow her. Based on the heat radiating from her face, Kate was pretty sure she was blushing all the way to the roots of her hair. She ducked her head shyly, letting her tresses fall like a curtain, shielding her face from his view. She further stalled by busying herself with examining her belongings in the duffle bag. Castle's hands appeared in her field of vision, offering her gun, badge, and cuffs. She accepted them with a nod. Reviewing the events of the last 12 hours, she was grateful that she'd given them to him to lock up in the safe in his room.

Kate breathed a sigh of relief when she was back in her street clothes. She went out into the common area where Rick waited. "Listen, Castle, thanks for everything tonight. When I think how close I came to ending up like Lisa, or God knows how many other women…"she shuddered.

His reply of 'Always' gave her a warm feeling, and she could tell by the way he offered the compliment about her legs that he had done it intentionally to put her at ease by getting things back to 'normal'.

Once she was on the Garden State Parkway headed back to New York, she glanced over to where he was fiddling with his phone. "That's interesting," he muttered.

"What?"

"The money is back in my account," he replied.

"What money?" At his look of discomfort, realization dawned. "Oh, you mean for the…for…me? How much? HOW MUCH?" she repeated, when he balked.

"Ten thousand dollars." Her gasp made him hold up a hand. "Kate. I would have paid that a hundred times over, and more, to keep you from…to keep you safe."

'Well, so much for normal' she thought. A driver cutting into her lane pulled her attention back to the road. When it was safe to split her focus, her thoughts turned back to what he'd said. 'Thanks' just didn't seem an appropriate response. She smiled broadly as she thought of a way to repay him, using only the words he treasured.

"So…I suppose you'll be adding this to your tally. What's this, 10 times now, that you've saved me? You think there's some sort of scouting badge for that?"

The way he merely grinned in response told her she'd been successful, that acknowledging his claim, giving it validity, was the best gift at her disposal.

So that's it. Please take a moment to review, let me know if it was worth your time (and mine, to write)

Happy New Year