Richard walked in quietly, being careful not to make a sound as he closed the door. Keeping is eyes on her, he pulled off his boots, laying them softly on the floor before tip-toeing to the bed, pulling his shirt over his head just as he reached the edge. She laid in the center of the bed, his pillow clutched to her chest as she slept. It had been nearly two months since he had seen her and the sight before him made his knees go weak. She was wearing one of his shirts and by the sight of one of her legs peeking out from the blankets, he was sure that was all she was wearing.

Carefully, he lifted up the blanket, making sure that it didn't lift from her as he laid down behind her. Snuggling closer to her, he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling himself closer to her. Almost instantly she reached for him, grabbing his arm and holding it against her for a moment before she rolled onto her back. With her eyes still closed, Kahlan turned her head towards the warmth of his breath, fighting back a smile as she pressed her lips against his.

"Mm, you're not due back until tomorrow." she whispered as she ran her hand over his chest, rolling onto her side to face him.

"I couldn't stand to be away from you for another moment."

Opening her eyes, she smiled widely. "I've missed you."

Trailing his hand up her arm, he let it come to rest on her cheek, pushing back a few strands of hair with his fingers. "I missed you too. So much." he whispered as she pulled herself against him. "I felt that I would go mad if I went another night without you in my arms."

His hand moved slowly, being sure to linger on the flesh of her neck for a moment longer before moving over her arm and under the blankets. Upon reaching the edge of his shirt, he lifted it up, sliding his hand over her skin. He had dreamed of it often, in the time he was gone, not a moment passed where he wasn't thinking about her. The taste of her lips, the feel of her skin against his and the sound of her moans as he explored her body. He watched as she closed her eyes to his touch, anticipating the thrilling pleasure it would provide her.

"I think it would be easier if I just took off your shirt." she breathed out as it bunched up around her breasts, keeping him from moving any farther.

"Mm, I don't know. I like you in it."

She smiled seductively, biting on her lower lip. "I'm sure you will like me just as much out of it."

"I have no doubt." he breathed out roughly as he slowly began to unbutton the cloth that covered her.

He kept his eyes locked on hers, watching as her eyes darkened with passion as he stoked her skin after each button was released. Her heart hammered against her chest, pounding against his hand as he pushed open the shirt. She watched as his eyes left hers, pausing on her lips for a moment, before rushing to her chest. Her breasts rose and fell quickly with her scattered breaths of anticipation. The hunger in his eyes thrilled her, making her even more eager for his touch. The anticipation was driving her insane, grabbing his hand she laid over her breast, aching her back upward, pushing herself into his palm.

The soft moan that escaped her lips was muffled by one of his own as he allowed his eyes to close for a moment and focus on the feel of her skin. It was intoxicating. Without a moment of hesitation, Richard sat up and moved over her, moving one knee to either side of her as he pulled the blanket from her. He looked over her slowly, taking in everything. It had been too long since he had seen her, he wanted to be sure he spared no detail. Slowly, his fingers traced over her chest to her stomach, following the freckles that covered her skin. She watched him as he leaned forward, pressing his lips lightly against her skin, savoring the moment before he began to kiss her frantically.

Instantly, her hands went to his head, holding him to her as he covered her chest and breasts with kisses. His passion poured into her, setting her on fire as she pushed herself up into his lips, silently begging for more. Snaking his tongue out, Richard slowly licked over her chest, finding it very difficult to take his time rediscovering her body. Now breathing heavily, Kahlan pulled at his hair, taking his lips from her chest and crashing hers against his. Her tongue eagerly pushed past his lips, colliding with his, fighting for dominance.

Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she held him to her, leaving no space between them. He now, as her legs wrapped around him, wished that he had removed his pants before he crawled into the bed. Running his hands over her thighs, he pulled away from her, giving her just enough room for her to slide her hands between them and unlace his pants. She made quick work of the laces and pushed the cloth from his waist with her legs. Moving off of her, he kicked the pants to the floor. He was only away from her for a second, but when he turned back to her, she had sat up and repositioned herself behind him.

Laying him back, she moved over him, holding herself up by a hand on his chest. Shaking his shirt from her shoulders, she moved her lips over his jaw, kissing him slowly as he had done to her. Messaging her fingers into his chest, Kahlan kissed her way over him, being sure to slow her motions as she slipped her tongue onto his skin. Her warm breath blowing over his moist skin sent shivers down his spine, making him reach up and hold her head to him, entangling his fingers into her thick hair. She began to grind herself against him, feeding off of her name leaving his lips.

Grabbing her thighs, he pulled her roughly against him, helping her get pressure where she needed it. She threw her head back, sitting up over him, her hair falling around her as she continued moving, using his motions to guide her onward. Her breathing was now pants as she raked her nails into his chest, clawing at him as she claimed higher and higher. Unable to keep from her warmth any longer, he lifted her from him and pushed her back as he sat forward, lining them up. They pressed their foreheads against each other, sharing breaths as she slid down onto him, each letting out a gasp at the contact. Richard held her tightly against him, her breasts flattened against his chest as they kissed passionately.

Laying against his chest, Kahlan slowly traced her fingers over the muscles of his chest, smiling as they flexed against her touch. "What did you find?" she asked.

"The temple was empty. We must have just missed them." He replied, tightening his hold on her. "There was no sign as to where they went, so I-"

"Came back to make sure he hadn't killed me?" she smiled, knowing that it was the truth. He wouldn't risk not getting to her in time.

"For a while, I was so afraid that I could be too late. I couldn't stand the thought, so I pushed on harder. I had to get to you before he did." He felt her nails dig into his chest for a moment at his words, before she realized and pulled her hand from him and sat up.

"We don't know if the rumors are even true. He may not-"

Leaning on his elbows, he closed his eyes for a moment, wishing that she hadn't asked him about this just yet. He wanted to hold her for as long as possible. "It's no longer a rumor. One of his soldiers survived. Kahlan, Darken Rahl revived Nicci and he has her working for him. Together, they're more powerful than anything we can imagine and they're coming after you."

"Us." she corrected him, needing him to understand that he too was in danger. "It's not just one of us that they want to kill." Grabbing a blanket, she wrapped herself in it and turned around to face him completely as he sat up. "And I know you. You're going to try to send me away, to protect me, but I won't go. I'm not going to run off and hide while you put yourself in danger."

"Kahlan, listen to me. I can't lose you. I won't. If that means that you're going to hide-"

"No." she shook her head, refusing to let him have a moment where he thought she would run away and hide. "I'm not going to hide. This is our life."

"I know, but you're too important to-"

"I'm too important?" she snapped as she thew her hands up into the air, releasing the blanket to fall to her waist. "What about you? I am no important to anyone than you are to me and I am not going to run away and hide when you're going to out there and put your life in more danger. You're too important to me- I love you too much to do it. I'm not going to leave your side."

He stared at her, finding himself falling impossibly more in love with her. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"If you make me leave, you will hurt me more than anything they could do to me." she whispered as he took her hands in his and gave them a gentle squeeze. "Please don't make me hide."

Finding himself speechless, Richard continued to stare at her while he searched for words. "Kahlan," he started, knowing that saying her name would make the rest come easier. "I'm sorry." the words flowed from his lips as he realized how she felt. "I didn't want to hurt you. I- Kahlan, I just don't want to lose you and I have this terrible fear that you're going to get hurt. If I lost you, I couldn't go on- I wouldn't want to. I would die on the spot."

A small smile crossed her lips as she reached a hand to his cheek, gently caressing it. "And I'd kill you for it. If something happens to me, you have to survive." Her voice was quiet, her eyes lowered for a moment, afraid that he would see. "You'll have to protect our child." she whispered as she met his eyes.

He tilted his head, afraid that he had heard her wrong. Afraid, even more now, that something would happen. His mind filled with thoughts, each screaming something different, but the one screaming the loudest told him to hide her. "How long have you known?"

The mix of fear and excitement in his eyes did not go unnoticed, but she said nothing of it. "I realized to days after you left."

He nodded quickly, a smile crossing his lips as he leaned forward and pulled her into his arms. "You're not leaving my side." he whispered as he leaned back, laying down, clutching her tightly in his arms. "We're going to have a baby." he said, happiness filling his voice as he allowed himself to imagine what their life would be like with their child. She smiled against his chest as he tightened his hold on her.

"Where's Kahlan?"

Richard turned around to his friends voice, surprised not only by her question, but to see her alone. "What are you talking about, she was with you." He rushed over to her, instantly grabbing her shoulders. "Where is she?"

"I don't know." she said calmly, "She said she was coming to see you."

Shaking his head, he pushed her towards the door. "When? Where?"

"We were in the courtyard not an hour ago." she answered as he pulled her through the hallway, making their way to the courtyard. "She's not going to be there, she left before I did."

"Which way did she go?" He rushed quickly in the direction that Cara pointed, not waiting for her to keep up. "Kahlan?" he shouted through the open, empty hallway as he looked around, being sure to look through every opening. His heart stopped at the blood on the ground and he had to push himself on as he followed the blood drops that grew with each step. He was afraid to think who it belonged to.

They didn't follow the trail long before it ended and the sight made Richard collapsed to his knees in agony. Part of the white dress of The Mother Confessor, his Confessor, laid before him, covered in blood and dirt, from where it had been drug from. Kahlan wouldn't have gotten far from Cara when she was attacked and the way the room looked, he knew there had to have been a loud struggle. The vases that were previously seated on the short pillars around the pond had been brought to the ground and shattered and the once clear pound was now a dark red from the blood of the man laying face first in it.

"Didn't you hear any of this?" he asked coldly as he struggled to find his own breath. "You had to have heard this. She wouldn't be taken away quietly and by the look of this blood- all this blood, she had to have cried out in pain."

Cara didn't reply, she didn't know what to say. Instead, she stepped to the pond and turned the man over, looking upon his face. "She must have killed him with one of the vases. There's a piece in his neck. She may have gotten away."

"No." he shook his head, tears filling his eyes as he stood up and walked to the edge of the area, looking out into the trees. "They would have sent more for her. She wouldn't have stood a chance after loosing all of that blood. Spirits, our child." he whispered, drawing the Mord'Sith's attention. Anger filled up within him as he had only known while holding the sword and though he didn't have it with him, he could feel it raging on within him as he turned around to Cara. "You've failed her. You've failed me." he said coldly, before pushing past her and running through halls. He needed his sword if he was going to murder everyone who could have done this to the woman he loved.

Pushing open their bedroom door, he raced inside and jerked his sword and scabbard from the back of the chair that sat next to the bed. His eyes lingered on the ruffled sheets, reminding him of the night before, the night he returned and made love to her, the night she had told him of their child. His heart pounded, desperately trying to free itself from the confinement of his chest, needing to be set free to find her. Shaking the thoughts from his mind, he turned around, eager to leave the room and be on his way. Instantly, he turned around, drawing his sword as someone entered the room behind him.

"Easy boy," Zedd said as he stepped back from his grandson. "It's just me. Where's Kahlan? The council was expecting her." The fury and pain on Richard's face suddenly registered with the wizard, filling him with worry. "What's wrong?"

"Someone has taken my wife." he sneered through gritted teeth, clutching the sword in his hands, feeding off of the anger it provided him. "I'm going to kill them for what they've done to her. And if they've harmed our child... They will regret ever hearing our names."

Zedd pushed back the urge to ask about the child, knowing that if he didn't stop Richard now, he would likely walk into his grave, destroying any chance of saving Kahlan and the rest of the world. "Calm down," he whispered, reaching for the sword.

"No!" he shouted, tightening his hold on the weapon. "I will not calm down, until I have pushed this sword through every man, woman and child that helped them take her from me. I will not rest until their blood dries on my hands and I have my wife in my arms. I tell you now, if you try to stop me, I will kill you."

The wizard stepped back instantly, seeing the truth of his words in the eyes of the young man standing angrily before him. "Very well, but Cara and I will come with you. You shouldn't do this on your own."

Richard shook his head, the anger continuing to build within him. "No. She betrayed me. She allowed them to take her, to harm her! She should have protected her!" It was then that he released the tears that filled his eyes, letting them go to stream like a waterfall down his cheeks. "She should have protected her."

"It's not her fault, Richard." Zedd said softly, watching as the Sword of Truth glowed brighter in his anger. "She could not have known-"

"She knew! I told her they were coming for her- for us and she had only o protect her. She should have died before letting them harm her!" He shouted back, his voice echoing loudly throughout the room and down the hall.

Shaking his head, Zedd took in a deep breath, wishing that he could say something that would calm the steaming man before him, the man drowning in his own anger. "We're going to get her back." He knew that those words would be the only ones that would be accepted.

Giving only a nod, Richard pushed past the older man and ran down the hall, nearly knocking down the guard that turned the corner. "Seeker," he breathed out as he stepped back. "The Mord'Sith- your Mord'Sith, she has gone. She asked me to inform you. She seemed rather determined to find blood. I fear for anyone standing between her and The Mother Confessor."

Staring at the man, Richard gave a small growl. "You need only to fear for those who stand in my way."

His tone filled the man with fear, sending him back another few steps. "Sir." he replied, unable to say anything else with the anger flowing from Richard's eyes piercing through him.

Running past him, Richard rushed to catch Cara, not wanting her to get near Kahlan before he had the chance to.