TITLE: Salvation

AUTHOR: LOTSlove®

CHARACTERS: Richard / Kahlan

RATING: PG-16 / T

SPOILERS: Anything from Seasons 1 & 2

DISCLAIMER: I love them and love to write about them even though I don't own them or make a dime.

SUMMARY: Sequel to my fic Home, Richard and Kahlan have newborn daughters, but their happiness will have to be put on hold while Kahlan recovers from the attack by Sister Nicci and with Darken Rahl set to attack in order to take back his throne.

Chapter 1

With the moon shining brightly, the dark silhouette of a man could be seen standing on the edge of a steep cliff overlooking the People's Palace. The mysterious figure appeared to be oblivious to the chilly night air, the snow falling silently around him or the danger of being discovered so close to the Lord Rahl's home.

Stroking his chin, his eyes were fixed solely on the fortress that sat below, his mind consumed with nothing but what lay before him. Not even the sea of tents holding the Lord Rahl's army that spread out like a protective barrier outside of the Palace walls could deter him at this point.

The tents were at least twenty deep, running like a black moat all the way around the Palace, protecting the Lord Rahl and Mother Confessor as well as all those they held dear, including their twin daughters that had been rumored to have been born in the last few days.

A malicious smile broke across his face, his eyes beginning to gleam brightly in the darkness of the night as his thoughts settled on the Lord Rahl's twin daughters. The magic, the sheer power that flowed through the veins of those girls would be unimaginable.

There could be no greater power in creation than the combined blood of Lord Richard Rahl and the most powerful Mother Confessor to have lived in over a thousand years. If he could gain control over that power, the possibilities would be endless.

Destroying Richard Rahl, keeping the Mother Confessor for himself would be the ultimate prize. And if she refused to comply, Kahlan Amnell Rahl would find herself on the unpleasant end of the Mord'Sith's persuasive techniques. She would submit or die…and Richard would have the distasteful experience of watching it all unfold before him, unable to do anything to stop it from happening to her.

The distant, familiar flapping of gars' wings filtered through his mind, reminding him that he was not alone up here on this cliff. Predators and prey alike filled these mountains and he was all too happy to be considered the former.

His tongue darted out, gliding hungrily along his lips as his thoughts began to swarm around his future plans, his heart beating faster. If he had his way, he'd have his throne back now, but he knew he had to wait, wanted to make Richard squirm, making him wonder exactly what his brother was up to.

XXX

Shouting. Arguing. Anger.

The distorted sounds invaded her mind and tugged mightily at her senses. She squeezed her eyes tighter shut against the words that she heard but could not quite grasp hold of. She wanted so desperately to give into the grasp that was trying to drag her back into that blissful state of nothingness, but there was the sound of one voice that shot with deadly precision straight to her core, a voice that made her want to fight.

He always made her want to fight.

Richard.

He was yelling about something. He was very upset, almost enraged. She had to see him, make sure he was alright. He needed her.

Opening her eyes, Kahlan dazedly looked about the room, taking in her surroundings. She was in their suite, their bed. She was home.

Her hands instantly went to her belly, anxious to know about her babies. Her stomach was flat again just like it had been before she came to be with the twins. Where were her daughters now? She stifled a frantic sob at the thought of something happening to her girls, the sudden panic of not knowing where they were.

Richard.

She had to find him. He wouldn't let anything happen to their daughters. He would keep them safe at any cost.

Pulling back the covers, Kahlan groaned as she sat up on the edge of the bed. The room became a twister of colors and shapes before her eyes, spinning wildly. Steadying herself with one hand, she rubbed her eyes with the other, pulling a strand of hair behind her ear. Her head was pounding like a thousand drums beating in unison. There was a rushing like wind in her ears as bile rose up in the back of her throat.

Gathering her senses, Kahlan attempted to focus on the voices in their greeting room.

"…I don't care that they're demanding our surrender. I will never let them get their hands on Kahlan or my daughters…"

The rage in her husband's voice was unmistakable as he yelled at whoever was with him in the greeting room. Something more than just the demand to surrender had fueled his anger.

"…I will not leave, not with Kahlan like this. She's in no condition to be moved…"

Silence again filled the room as someone probably attempted to change Richard's stubborn mind. She knew that once his mind was set, there was nothing that could change it. Kahlan stood on shaky legs that were almost refusing to hold her up, gritting her teeth in order to force them to move. Slowly, first one step and then another, each step she took an immense victory in her mind.

The sound of Richard' angry voice filled her ears once more, causing her to stop abruptly in her tracks as she listened, hoping to understand exactly what was going on and what had happened to her.

"We make our stand right here. I will not run like a coward or leave D'Hara in the hands of Darken Rahl, not after everything Kahlan and I have accomplished so far."

Kahlan felt an abrupt surge of pride and love envelope her heart with her husband's fierce words. He was right. They couldn't run just to protect themselves, abandoning these people. They deserved better than that from them.

She felt a tear escape from the corner of her eye as a sudden wave of loneliness and longing swept over her. She missed Richard so desperately, just the sound of his voice awakening her need for him.

Spirits, how long had she been asleep?

Taking another step, she felt her legs begin to tremble again, ready to give out on her. Just at that moment, the door opened and the man who filled her heart suddenly filled the doorway, his face a mixture of surprise and relief.

"Kahlan," he whispered.

Watching her as she began to collapse before him, he raced to her side, catching her before she could hit the floor. He immediately swept her slender form up into his arms, holding her so tightly to him he feared he would break her.

"Spirits, Kahlan!" he exclaimed with worry. "What are you doing?"

Kahlan quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tightly before whispering in his ear. "I had to find you."

Her voice was a faint sigh compared to the strength it typically held, her need for him present in her tone as she pressed her forehead against his cheek, inhaling deeply the scent that grounded her and set her heart to pounding with desire.

"Kahlan…" he murmured again, her name a strangled sound on his tongue.

Feeling wetness trickling down her neck, she pulled back to see tears streaming down his face. "It's alright," Kahlan whispered, cupping his face as she brushed away his tears with her kisses. "I'm here, my love. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere."

"I thought I'd lost you," he choked out, gasping back another sob.

Before she could reply, his lips were suddenly colliding with hers, kissing her with all the pent up anguish he'd been harboring. The desperation in his kisses brought tears to her eyes knowing that she had been the one that had caused him this grief.

As he kissed his wife, neither noticed the relieved Mord'Sith standing in the doorway or the small smile that lit her face. Reaching for the handle, Cara quietly pulled the door closed, allowing them this time of reunion.

Carrying her to their bed, Richard gently laid her down, following her with his lips. Kneeling down at the side of the bed, tears fell anew as he brushed her hair from her face. Kahlan watched as tears dripped from his lips and chin as he gazed at her, relief imprinted in his handsome features.

Moving closer to the edge of the bed, she gently wiped his tears with her fingertips as he grasped the nape of her neck, his thumb caressing her cheek. Her fingers wandered down his jaw and neck to rest against his chest.

They just stayed like that for several moments, just reconnecting and drinking in each other's presence. Finally, slowly, Richard leaned in kissing her tenderly, his lips gently brushing against hers like a soft whisper compared to the storm of passion she knew was brewing inside of him at that moment. She knew because she could see it in his eyes, see it in his face, felt it in the way that his heart began to pound beneath her fingers.

Her mouth fell open, pleading with him to kiss her the way that she so anxiously needed him to. The heartache of their separation was still too raw, too fresh to be so self-controlled. She needed to feel him, her Richard, his passion, his love for her that was so alive within him.

Kahlan sighed contentedly as Richard immediately gave himself over to her, greedily accepting her invitation, his tongue filling her, stroking the roof of her mouth as he poured all of his love for his beloved into her.

Soon, tongues were warring for control as he leaned further over her, both hands finding her hair and holding her close, noses bumping against each other as their passion ignited.

Pulling back, Richard pressed his forehead against hers, his panting breath pulsing warmly against her face as he attempted to tamp down on his building want for her. Swallowing hard, Richard slowly opened his eyes as he pulled away from her. He was quickly stopped, however, by a hand on his arm.

"Richard please…don't stop," Kahlan panted, her eyes dark with longing. "I've missed you…so much. I thought I wouldn't make it at times when I was away from you. It was so hard to watch you in the past and not let you know that I was there, to hear your voice and not be able to talk to you, to see your pain and not hold you."

"I'm not going anywhere, Kahlan…I promise," he softly told her, kissing her again, more tenderly but with no less love. "You need to recover right now. You've been through so much, my love," he murmured as he hovered over her, gazing deeply into her eyes.

"What were you so upset about before you came in?" she softly asked, her forehead creased with worry, wanting to keep him near her.

"It's nothing you need to worry about right now," Richard attempted to brush off as nothing. "You only need to be concentrating on getting your strength back and nothing else. You're too important to me, Kahlan. I can't lose you."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Five days," he murmured, a look of horror ghosting across his face as his bottom lip began to quiver with the words.

"Why? Why so long?" Kahlan asked, confused by the length of her recovery.

"We think that it had something to do with you giving birth in the past, especially with having to deliver twins. It was a lot of stress on you," he explained, his hand brushing away a lock of hair that had fallen across her forehead. "You've been unconscious ever since giving birth. I brought you back here to the Palace to recover."

"My girls?"

"They're fine, Kahlan…" he soothed, his fingers lightly stroking along the side of her face.

"But what about Darken Rahl? I heard you say something about him and an ultimatum?"

"You let me worry about my brother. You have one job and one job only and that is to get better. I don't want you to have a relapse. You've already frightened the life out of me as it is. I don't want to go through anything like that again."

"I'm so sorry I caused you such worry, Richard," she murmured, seeing the fear still lingering in his eyes. "What about Sister Nicci?"

"She's here," he murmured, leaning down and placing a kiss on her forehead. "But I don't want you worrying about anything, Kahlan."

Winding her fingers through his hair, she pulled him closer to her, kissing him with all of the love that she held inside for him, attempting to overpower his will with her kisses. At first, he tried to refuse returning her kisses, but quickly lost the battle. She smiled inwardly as she heard him groan, her other hand snaking up into his hair to keep him right where she wanted him.

Kahlan could feel the battle that was warring so fiercely inside of him, his need for her evident in his kiss while his hands were tentative in their touch. His lips and tongue were devouring her, his hands brushing against her at times only to finally fall to the bed, clutching at the sheets instead of her body.

"Kahlan, we can't," he panted softly as he pulled away, shaking his head, regret filling his voice as well as his eyes. "I want to…so badly…more than you possibly know, but…"

Kahlan heard the quivering in his voice and she knew that he was right, but it did nothing to lessen her desire for him. She'd been through too much since Nicci's reappearance in their life and what she needed at that moment was him.

"Richard, I'm fine," she gently told him, her fingers tracing over his cheek before cupping the side of his face. "Better than fine."

Richard immediately leaned into her touch, his eyes falling closed with the intense warmth and love of her caress. The site of his response to her touch brought a small smile to her lips as she stared at him.

"Kahlan, I want nothing more than to make passionate love to you, to prove to you just how deep my love runs for you, but it's too soon. You're too weak yet. Your legs could barely hold you up when I came in."

The sweet, gentle sound of his voice soothed the hurt of his rejection of her, knowing deep down that he was right. He was always right and it irked her at times.

Her eyes suddenly felt so very heavy as she fought to stay awake, refusing to give into sleep's pull on her. She'd been away from Richard for far too long. She didn't want to spend any more time away from him, even in sleep.

They had too much to talk about, too much that she wanted to say to him. She wanted to tell him how sorry she was for even thinking that he had been unfaithful to her with Nicci. As much as it would hurt, Kahlan needed to know that he forgave her for ever thinking that he would do something like that to her.

But sleep was quickly overpowering her, dragging her down and away from him again.

Richard caught her hand as it began to slip from his face, bringing it to his lips. The brush of his mouth against the back of her hand caused a faint smile to ghost over her face. How she wished those lips were on hers instead of her hand.

"My girls?" she murmured again, her forehead suddenly creasing with renewed concern.

She'd already forgotten what he had said about their daughters. She felt like such a horrible mother. She hadn't even been able to hold or feed her own babies, hadn't even seen her youngest daughter yet.

"They are fine and perfect and as beautiful as their mother," he told her, smiling against the back of her hand, lips caressing her skin. "Don't worry; Cara is taking care of them for us. You sleep now. When you wake, I promise I'll bring them to you."

"You had better Richard Rahl," she threateningly whispered, her eyes fluttering closed as the draw of sleep became too powerful for her to withstand any longer. "Hold me…please?"

"Always, my love," he smiled softly at the hushed sound of his name on her lips. Even as she drifted off to sleep, her voice had still held a warning note to it. He lovingly pressed his lips against her forehead. "Always," he repeated, whispering kisses along her nose and lips.

Kahlan fought to stay awake as Richard removed his clothes before climbing into bed beside her, curling up behind her. Pulling her close against his chest, she relished the feel of her husband's arms wrapped protectively around her again, the firmness of his body, the warmth of his breath on her neck, the beating of his heart.

Tears stung her eyes as sleep quickly began to envelope her, relief washing through her like a summer's rain. She was finally home with Richard and their babies.

The joy of her return, however, did little to lessen the fear that still had a strangle-hold on her soul. There was so much turmoil swarming around them with Darken Rahl ready to attack and Sister Nicci still here inside the Palace, not to mention whatever else was wrong that Richard was so obviously refusing to tell her about.

Those worries would have to wait as sleep became too powerful to fight any longer. Nestling further back into her husband's comforting embrace, Kahlan knew that as long as she had Richard, they could survive anything…