There were two women moving around the room when he returned. The floor was being cleaned, easing his mind from focusing on the blood that had surrounded the floor. Hope was kneeling on the floor beside her mother, her eyes locked in wonder on the baby in her arms. The room was filled with her questions, her thirst for knowledge never taking a break. Kahlan closed her eyes for a moment, her body feeling every piece of pain it had experienced previously.

Coming to her side, the Seeker eased an arm around her shoulders and used himself to steady her as she looked at him. "Zedd's on his way."

"Why does mommy hurt?" Hope asked for the second time in the last few minutes.

"Your brother ripped his way out of her," Cara answered, announcing her presence in the door way.

"Cara-"

"But mommy's good, right daddy?"

"She'll be fine. She just needs to rest and regain her strength."

"Like when my magic releases?"

Kahlan turned her head toward her daughter and smiled. "Not quite. This is different. This feels... Do you remember when you fell a few months back and your leg was caught in some rocks?" The young Confessor nodded slowly, her hand sliding over her left leg in memory. "It feels like that."

"I'm sorry, mommy."

Kahlan smiled and shook her head. "I'm not. This moment, this makes it more than worth it." Looking to the door, the Mother Confessor grinned. "Are you coming?"

"No."

Hope jumped to her feet and ran to her friend, pulling her across the room to her parents and baby brother. "Look at him, Cara! Richlan- Daniel looks like daddy!"

"He's much better looking."

"Will he like Sandy?"

"I don't know," Richard answered as pulled his head back from his son's. "He may not like goats as much as you do."

"Will we get him a pet too?"

"If he wants one."

"He wants a pony!"

Laughing, Kahlan pushed down the pain. "He does? He must have heard you asking for one."

Lowering her eyes, she frowned. "One of us should have a pony."

"Hope," her father spoke in the voice that always caught her attention. "This isn't the time for that. We're celebrating the birth of your brother."

"I'm sorry, daddy."

"Kahlan, there's a large group of townspeople at the palace gates. They've requested to see you and our son." She remained quiet, but the hold she had on Daniel grew tighter as her mind wondered. "I don't think there's a reason to be afraid. He's three months old and they haven't tried to take him from us."

"We haven't left the palace, Richard. They haven't had a chance to get to him."

"There are many other ways they could get to our son, Kahlan. I understand your fear, I do, but I see the look on their faces and I'm no Confessor, but I see that they do not mean our family any harm."

"How can you have such faith in them?"

"Because you've taught me how."

"Alright. I'll get dressed and meet them in the square."

Richard grinned widely and began walking toward her. "Good, I've already asked them to wait for you."

"I better hurry then, shouldn't I?" Daniel was handed gently into his father's arms as be nodded. "Richard, I want to take Cara with me."

"Alright."

"Have you found anyone yet?"

"I'm not sure," he replied quietly, staring down at his son, who met his gaze with just as much intensity. "Every person I have sat down with has made it harder for me."

"Does no one meet the conditions in your mind?"

"I don't want to be betrayed again."

"Neither do I. We all trust you to make the right decisions. There's no need to rush through it."

"We have no council, Kahlan. We've been receiving letters and requests for months and we haven't gone through half of them. If we don't create a new council, we will fail our people."

Kahlan stopped her movements and turned to face him, her dress partly laced. "We will never fail our people."

"I might."

"You've already done more than anyone else and yet you continue on. Richard, look around us, look at this life we all have. Our people aren't starving, bowing before Darken Rahl or held in the Keeper's grasp. We will never fail our people because we won't stop trying."

"What do I do?"

"We trust your instincts, you should too."

"Gabriel. He's the only one I know for certain would be a perfect fit."

"And that bothers you, doesn't it? Putting him in a position like that."

"We both know the pressure it will place on him and when he marries Hannah, it's going to become much harder." Daniel turned his head and let out a soft cry, his tiny hands reaching for his mother. "She'll have you in her arms in just a minute, I promise."

"Skip the meetings and come with us. It will help clear your mind and it may even keep the smile on your face." Touching her right hand to his cheek briefly, she grinned. "It would be nice to see it longer than a few minutes."

"I smile more than Cara," he joked as he handed her their son.

"The trees smile more than she does."

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he held her close and led her to the door. "We should hurry, we don't want to disappoint our people."

Kahlan held her son close to her chest as she approached the townspeople. Her body tenses as they turned to look at her, their eyes dropping to the baby in her arms. He was awake and looking around, eager to meet those he saw. Daniel reached out for one of the women, half smiling as she lifted her hand and allowed him to take hold of her index finger.

"Mother Confessor, he's beautiful."

The woman's words surprised the mother, but she hid it well. The others were looking upon them in wonder and as she searched their faces and their eyes, she saw none of the things she had been afraid of. They smiled, moving closer for a better look and with each one, the instinct to reach for a weapon faded. Richard stood beside her with a wide smile, showing most of his teeth as he told them all the story of the first time he held his son. Before anyone could ask any questions, he continued on, giving them the story of Hope trying to sleep in her brother's bed so he wouldn't be scared during the storm that had come through a few days before. The crowd laughed with him, enjoying the tales as he offered them.

After another few minutes, one of the people, a man, older than the rest, turned to Kahlan and met her eyes. "You do not fear the growth of the child?"

"No." It was a simple answer, one that didn't need to be explained, but she continued. "I am excited to see him grow, to see all he can become."

"And if he turns?"

"We will protect our people," Kahlan stated without pause. "I will not kill our son, but if it comes to it, I will stop him."

"Thank you, Mother Confessor. We appreciate your honesty with us and we will help you in any way that we can."

Smiling almost as widely as the man beside her, Kahlan nodded in gratitude of her own. "Thank you, Phillip." The man seemed surprised that she knew his name, but it left his features quickly, replaced with a knowing look that floated to each of their faces.

Instantly, Richard outstretched his arms and began laughing. "She pulled the cloth from the table and began running across the room!" Wrapping an arm around her, he stepped closed and tried to suppress his booming laugh. "It took us three hours to clean all of the food off of the floor!" Looking to his son, he chuckled. "I can't imagine he will make any less of a mess."

"We know that you are busy and we're sorry for interrupting your day, but we wanted to put our minds to ease."

"Have you?" the Seeker asked.

The group of people exchanged looks and nodded. "Yes, my lord and if it is alright, we would like to spread the news."

"Please!" he replied excitedly, clapping his right hand on the older man's shoulder. "If anyone wishes to talk to us, we're here."

"Thank you, both of you. We- We weren't sure about what to do. We've never known a male- Thank you."

Kahlan smiled, "We understand."

"We will leave you two with your work. Thank you for seeing us."

"Thank you for coming. I know how differently this could have gone."

"There are many who had suggested it would go that way, but after everything, how could we not try for the best?"

"Thank you."

They walked back into the palace slowly, Kahlan taking a few extra moments to bathe in the sunlight. "Zedd wants to take Hope with him."

"What?" Richard asked in surprise.

"He wants to help her to learn to use the rest of her magic."

"She's not going to like that." He smiled at her, knowing she would understand. "She wants to be you, the next Mother Confessor, if she leaves this palace, she's going to feel like we're taking the option away from her."

"She can be so much more, Richard."

"I know. She can be you."

"That's not what I meant. If she goes, she can learn how to use it; how to help people."

"She's already helping people, Kahlan. I think there are more coming to see her than there are going to the healer. Look at what she's becoming, the woman she is growing into. Do we want to push her into something else?"

"I'm afraid that if we don't, she'll settle for the life she thinks she has to have being a Confessor and not the one she deserves." Coming to a stop, she sighed. "I can't stop wondering how much better her life could be if she was to get away from this place. When I was a young girl, I always wondered what else was out there and what kind of life I could have if I wasn't... If this is the life she wants, she should have it, but I don't want her to feel like it's the only one available to her."

Stepping closer, the Seeker wrapped an arm around her waist and urged her onward. "Maybe we shouldn't make this decision on our own. We need to talk to her about it and help her to understand and make the choice that is best for her."

"Cara will have her home before dinner. We should probably bring it up during dessert."

"She won't realize what we're up to until it's too late," he said with a chuckle. "She'll surprise us, Kahlan. She always does."

"How long do you think it will be before she grows tired of his jokes?"

The couple stood at the city gates, watching as their daughter rode off with the wizard, waving as she turned back to look at them. She had agreed to go for a few months to try and understand more about her. It was much easier than they had imagined getting her to try, but as Richard had said, she was always surprising them. She thought differently than most children, her decisions coming after a moment of thought and consideration.

"A few hours after he's eaten the last of their food."

Richard laughed, shaking Daniel in his arms. "I have an extra pack of food and asked her not to let him know."

Meeting his grin, she pushed down her own laugh. "So did I."

"We're wonderful parents. She's lucky to have us."

"I couldn't agree more. Our children are very fortunate to have us."

Giving her a sly grin, he raised an eyebrow. "Would the Mother Confessor accompany me to our bedroom? I believe we are long overdue for-"

"Daniel will need to be fed, first. That is, if you want more than a few minutes alone with me."

The seduction echoed in his ears, making his body shake in weakness. "I will require more time."

"Then we'd better hurry. Who knows when we'll be called away again?"

******The End******