Title: Hot Tea and Comfort

Author: VirKatJol

Rating: PG

Summary: The MC has her MC, it's not as weird as it sounds.

Disclaimer: Richard can help my pains anytime. Also I don't own them.

A/N: On the request of Pickgems I have written a cute little comfort during that "time" fic. So bb this is for you. Also thanks for Beta-ing your own fic, since both my Beta's of regular are gone at the moment. I also decided against naming this fic "Go with the Flow" as LULZY as I thought that was… LMAO

He heard the painful sounding groan before looking over at Kahlan. She was gripping her stomach and hunched over slightly. Richard jumped up from his place on the log and rushed over to her.

"What's wrong?" His hands were on her back rubbing as he awaited her reply.

"Nothing. I'm fine." She grimaced as the pain shot through her again.

"I can see that something is wrong." He moved his hands to grasp hers, pulling them away from her belly to see if anything looked amiss.

"You've never noticed before." She practically shouted at him. The hurt look that she saw cross his face made her regret her harshness. "Sorry, It's just…"

"You can tell me. Please, Kahlan." He didn't understand what she meant, never noticing before.

"It's my…" Kahlan blew out air as she clutched her stomach again. "My moon cycle."

The light of understanding flashed across his face. He hadn't ever been so in tune with her as he was now, or maybe she'd been better at hiding it from him before they'd been intimate. However now just the thought of her in pain made him want to fix it.

"What can I do?"

"Richard…" Kahlan smiled at him. She reached for his face and pulled him in for a kiss. "Thank you for your concern, but I just have to ride it out."

"There's nothing I can do to make you feel more comfortable?" Richard kissed her back and pulled her into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her back. "I once heard someone say that sex can help the cramping."

"Absolutely not." Kahlan pulled back to look at his face. "It's too messy and we're in the woods, nowhere to properly wash afterward."

"How about if I warm up some water to put in the skein, then we can put it on your belly?" He started pulling her back to their bedroll. They'd been sharing a bed for less than a month, but it had all fallen into place naturally. They couldn't sleep without being cuddled around each other anymore.

Kahlan lowered herself to the blankets and reclined, moaning as more cramps hit her. She watched Richard get the water going and saw him set the skein closer to the fire to heat up the exterior as well. She smiled at his thoughtfulness.

"I'll be right back, my father used to make a tea for my mother sometimes, and I know that I can get the ingredients." He hopped up and trotted into the forest to collect the herbs and roots that he needed to make the special brew.

While he was gone she laid back and shut her eyes, rolling to her side she tried to alleviate the cramping, but it just enveloped her lower back as well. She hissed and put a hand on her back, pressing her fingers into the muscle tissue, trying to get some relief.

She was concentrating so much on the pain in her back that she didn't hear him return, but she felt a wonderful warmth against her abdomen and she opened her eyes. Richard was stepping over her as he held the warmed water skein to her belly.

"Hold onto the hot pack, I'll rub your back while the tea steeps."

He was positioned behind her in no time and his fingers began to work her muscles. He enjoyed her moans of relief as he pushed the tightness from her body. He wondered if it was always so bad for her and how it'd escaped his notice until today.

"You're going to have to do this every month now, you realize?" Kahlan was feeling better already, he must have some magic to make the ache almost disappear so quickly.

"No, I won't." Richard saw her scowl and continued, "I'm planning to make sure that this doesn't happen again." The confusion he saw on her face made him chuckle. "I'm surprised you aren't pregnant already, the way we've been making love as often as we have."

"Oh…" She was surprised by his frankness, but not disappointed, she'd also been expecting to be with child already. Kahlan recovered her wits and replied, "I want that."

He paused his ministrations on her back to kneel over her and kiss her cheek.

"What other symptoms do you have?" He whispered in her ear, before returning to massaging her lower back.

"My breasts get really sensitive." Kahlan felt herself blushing, "I can't believe I'm telling you this."

"Why?" Richard reached in front of them to check the hot pad, noticing it was cooling he took it and stood up. "I want to know everything about you, even the stuff that might be awkward." He took the skein and dumped the water out then added fresh hot water to it. "If I know then I will know how to help you through it."

"I love you." She gazed at him across the campsite. Sometimes, she still couldn't believe how much he loved her. He loved her more than the power of her magic, something that was unheard of, and yet he'd figured it out. "You're a rare person, Richard."

He grabbed the mug of hot tea and the skein and returned to her side. He placed the mug in her hands then laid down behind her, spooning himself around her. He lowered the warm water to her stomach and held it there so she could use both hand to sip at the hot beverage.

"I love you too." He kissed along her neck and shoulder, encouraging her to relax into his body. "How's the tea?"

"It's good. I think it's already helping… or a combination of all that you've done is working. Now I just feel tired." Kahlan tried to stifle the yawn, but it didn't work and she heard Richard laughing.

He pulled the blanket over them so she could sleep easier.

"It's ok, go to sleep, I'll make sure that you're hot pack stays in place until the tea has a chance to work." He kissed her ear and hugged her tightly as he watched her drift off into dreamland.

He thought about how much he loved taking care of her, and the fact that she was letting him. Usually she was so strong, but she was entrusting him with her pain and letting him try to fix it. His new quest, making the Mother Confessor as happy as possible, was being fulfilled. He hadn't realized how much joy he'd find from this journey as well. He couldn't wait to find new ways to make her even happier. He'd search for another tomorrow, but for now he'd relax and listen to her peaceful breathing and he held her closely in his arms and soothed her aches with his hands.

the end