WARNING: Major sappy squee ahead

Meant To Be (Chapter 12)

Not even realizing what had hit him, Brey was immediately thrown backwards, crashing to the floor as Kahlan collapsed to her knees.

"KAHLAN!" Richard screamed in horror. His sword slipped from his hands, clanking loudly onto the stone floor as he ran for his fallen Confessor.

Cara immediately ran for the Bender, agiels more than ready to put him back down should he try to get up. She had failed the Mother Confessor and Lord Rahl once, she would not fail them again. Kneeling down beside him, the Mord'Sith found that Brey would not be getting up ever again.

Dropping to his knees, Richard gently enveloped Kahlan in his arms. "Kahlan, please don't die…" he cried, tears beginning to collect in his eyes.

Richard hands quickly found her face as he kept her from sinking further to the ground. He was startled to find Kahlan's skin so frigid beneath his touch. Brushing her hair from her face, Richard quickly pressed his lips to her icy forehead, tears trailing down his cheeks.

Kahlan's eyes were still closed despite her Seeker's pleas, her face pale and her breathing erratic. The ugly gash she'd had on her forehead prior to the accident was crusted with dried blood. Bruises marred her beautiful jaw and face as well as her broken arm.

The site of her so broken and beaten cut him to his core. She should never have had to endure such treatment. Richard wanted nothing more at that moment than to return to her suite at the palace and take care of her forever.

"Kahlan, please be alright," he softly pleaded, pressing his forehead against hers despite the chill of her flesh. His fingers began caressing her cheeks as if his touch could warm her or bring her back to him, could somehow erase what tragically had already been done.

Zedd and Cara watched with bated breath, hoping that Kahlan had survived confessing the Bender. Cara came to stand at Richard's side in case the breath of life was needed to bring her back from the Underworld.

"Richard?"

The sound of her voice, so weak and vulnerable, was like a sweet song to Richard's ears. "Kahlan," he murmured, his own voice broken with the tempest of his emotions. "Are you alright?"

"What happened?" she groggily asked as he pulled her protectively against his chest once more. Kahlan immediately wrapped an arm around him. She held him to her, feeling his body tremble from the anguish he'd been harboring deep inside his soul.

"You confessed Brey, but…"

"Brey! Where is he?" Kahlan tried to push away from Richard, frantic to know what had happened to Brey. She couldn't let him ruin her future with Richard. Her eyes anxiously searched the room until they came to settle on Brey's lifeless body lying on the floor. "Brey?" she faintly choked out, tears stinging her eyes.

"He's dead," Cara simply stated, her voice sounding every bit Mord'Sith, devoid of any and all emotion.

"I killed him? I was only trying to confess him…" she said in horror, her hand flying to cover her mouth. Tears fell from her eyes, guilt for having taken the life of her friend despite the fact that she knew she'd had no choice.

"Kahlan, you didn't know that your power would have an adverse reaction to his magic," he attempted to console her. "You did what you had to do."

Kahlan slowly nodded her head in understanding as she stared at the Bender, his cold lifeless eyes staring at nothing. She began to shake with the weight of her grief. Despite what he had done, Brey had still been her friend at one time.

"I…I'm so sorry I kissed him like that…I had to in order to confess him. I never meant to hurt you. I love you, Richard."

"I know, Kahlan, and I love you even more because of it. You were willing to confess your friend for me," he tenderly replied as he stared into her tear-filled blue eyes, brushing a strand of hair away from her face and securing it behind her ear. "I was so afraid that you had died," he murmured, tenderly cradling her face in his hands.

Kahlan stared into Richard's eyes, the pain still so very fresh and evident upon his face. He looked as if his whole world had just fallen apart. And only she could help him put it back together. "It's alright, my love…I'm right here…I won't leave you…" she whispered so reassuringly as she stroked his hair that it caused him to choke back a sob that was struggling for release.

"I thought I'd lost you forever…" he muttered again as he just stared at her, unable to believe that she was actually here with him, fearing she still might slip away from him at any moment. His heart couldn't bear going through that again.

"You can't go anywhere, Richard, that I'm not right here with you," she reminded him as she placed her hand over his heart. "I would never truly leave you."

The lovers sat like that on the floor for several moments just holding each other, comforting one another, rejoicing in the life that had been rescued, the love that had been reunited.

XXX

Kahlan awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed with the terror that still lingered in her soul. Panting for air, she immediately scanned the dimly lit room. The curtains were drawn tightly closed, but daylight still managed to slip in under the material, lighting the marble floor. She was surrounded by nothing but silence and the rush of blood pounding in her ears.

She remembered being in the crypt, Richard tearing off the bottom of his shirt and gently wrapping her wrist, creating a sling for it before they had left the Keep. Zedd had still been too weak from restoring the staff to help her. He wouldn't be able to heal any of her injuries until his powers were restored in the morning.

Once they had returned to the Confessor's Palace, they had been greeted with hugs and kisses, an exuberant Edmond who ran to announce that the Mother Confessor was alive, and an overprotective Aggie who immediately whisked her and Richard up to her suite to be properly taken care of. Richard had reluctantly left Kahlan in Aggie's care while he had gone to tend to Zedd.

Kahlan had thought that a bath had never felt so good in her entire life. All warm and relaxed from the lavender and rose oils in her bath, Kahlan had tried her best to stay awake until Richard returned to their suite, but her eyes were so heavy and she was just so exhausted from her ordeal. She had almost immediately fallen asleep before he had returned.

"Richard!" she called, panic filling her voice. Why would he leave her all alone like this especially after everything that they'd been through? "Richard!" she frantically called again.

"Kahlan, it's alright. I'm right here," he quickly soothed as he sat up on the floor next to her bed.

After making sure his grandfather was alright and resting well, Richard had returned to Kahlan's suite to find her already asleep. He had sat by her bed for a long time just watching her as she slept, thanking the Spirits that they had seen fit to bring her back to him and that the nightmare was finally over.

Her face was pale and still colored with ugly shades of blues and purples but even that could not detract from her beauty. Aggie had cleaned the wound on her forehead and applied a small bandage until Zedd could tend to it properly. Her arm was wrapped with a clean bandage and held securely in a sling as it rested on top of the covers.

Knowing the pain that she'd endured, the torment that she had suffered was like a knife being driven into his heart over and over again. Images continued to assault his mind. Even though the nightmare was truly over, it still lingered in his heart and in his mind. After sitting with her for a while, though, he too had soon drifted off to sleep.

"Richard," she sighed with relief, her eyes filling with a sudden rush of tears as Richard carefully sat down on the edge of her bed. "Why are you on the floor?"

"I wanted to wait to share your bed with you until we make it ours," he gently replied as he brushed a strand of hair from her face, his hand coming to rest on the nape of her neck as his thumb lightly caressed her bruised jaw. "I thought I had lost you," he painfully whispered, still fearing she might disappear at any moment.

Her bottom lip began to tremble as she pressed her forehead to his, their eyes locked on each other's. Reaching up, she slowly ran her fingers along his cheek, following the curve of his face, savoring the feel of his skin beneath her touch, the prickling sensation of the stubble along his jaw. Her thumb brushed lightly across his slightly parted lips as her gaze focused on his mouth. His breath warmed her and at the same time caused the fine hairs to stand up on her arms and the back of her neck.

Kahlan was sure that Richard could hear her heart hammering in her chest as she watched as his tongue snuck out and seductively started licking her fingers before planting kisses on them. The strap of her satin nightdress slid off her bare shoulder, but Kahlan barely noticed as Richard drew one of her fingers into the wet hot cavern of his mouth and began softly sucking on it.

Finally gazing into his eyes once more, she found them darker then she had ever remembered seeing them before. His smoldering stare was creating the inferno of desire inside of her to rage wildly out of control.

She had been a ghost in the Keep and it had terrified her more than anyone could know. But what terrified her the most was the thought of never being able to touch him or experience the feel of his hands or lips on her body ever again. She involuntarily shuddered at the thought. A single tear slowly rolled down her cheek.

The subtle lines on Richard's face softened, but his gaze did not lose any of its intensity as he leaned in and erased the teardrop with his lips. The saltiness of her tear combined with the taste of her skin was like an aphrodisiac to his soul. It was pure rapture to be here with her, in her room; to be able to hold her, touch and kiss her, to begin the intimate dance of making love to the one who owned his heart. It made him feel weak in his knees and his desire to be one with her to burn hotly through his veins.

Kahlan's eyes slid closed as his mouth connected with her cheek again, her breathing quickening in response. Raising a hand, he cupped the side of her face while his other hand softly stroked her bare shoulder, further pushing the fallen strap down her arm.

His heart was a tempest of emotions, his mind racing with need despite the voice of reason that was telling him that Kahlan was still injured and in need of healing before he could take this any further. Richard knew he needed to stop this now before he couldn't, but the feel of her beneath his touch and his frantic need to connect with her after all the turmoil wouldn't allow him to pull back.

Kahlan's own heart demanded to feel Richard's touch, thrusting aside the throbbing ache that was a constant companion in her broken arm. Having been unable to touch him for so long, she was anxiously craving this connection, frantic to know him in an intimate way that only a lover could possibly know. He created within her an intense desire that she had never known before and was desperate to explore every bit of it with him.

A soft knock on the door caused Kahlan to pause and Richard to groan in frustration. They'd waited so long for this and Richard was irritated with the constant flow of interruptions in their lives. When would he be allowed to have Kahlan all to himself?

Ignoring the knock, Richard blazed a trail of kisses along her throat. The thrill of being so close to her, of tasting her, the sweet anticipation of discovering every inch of her was driving him mad with a fierce desperation that he could no longer control, that he didn't want to control any longer.

"Richard…" Kahlan softly moaned his name, a sultry sound that caused Richard to flush with want.

Richard wasn't sure if it was because of the trauma of losing her, the anguish of what she'd endured, or the expectation of finally consummating their love, but he had to be with her, connect with her now. His heart and body needed her like his lungs needed air.

The things that Richard was doing to her already were making her head spin, her thoughts incoherent, and her body flutter with need. Her mouth suddenly went dry at the thought of the sheer ecstasy that was to come once she was completely joined with him in body as well as soul. At this rate, she wouldn't be able to remember her own name.

The knock at the door came again, more persistently this time, causing Richard to growl in aggravation. The vibration it caused against Kahlan's throat caused her to moan again, to press herself against him.

"Richard, we…Spirits! We should…get that…" she murmured, the ability to connect her thoughts rapidly declining. As desperately as she wanted to ignore the intrusion, she knew they should answer it. Something could be wrong.

"Fine, but then I'm locking the door and making mad passionate love to my future wife for hours and hours. No more intrusions," he firmly declared as he pulled back to look at her.

His eyes were simmering with a need so intense it almost stole her breath away. "I want that more than anything," she replied, brushing her nose against his.

Reluctantly releasing his hold on her, Richard stood up. Offering her a hand, he helped her out of bed.

"Kahlan? Richard?" Zedd called from the other side of the door. "Are you alright?"

Wrapping her robe around her shoulders, Richard tied it securely closed in front. "As soon as we get rid of Zedd, I'm going to tear this off of you," he promised her, using the satin ribbon ties of her robe to pull her to him. He quickly captured her lips in a heated kiss that left them both panting for more.

"We had better let Zedd in before he breaks the door down," she told him, giving Richard the smile that was promised to no one but him.

"Coming, Zedd," Richard called out in irritation, his gaze never leaving Kahlan's. It was taking every bit of restraint he had not to throw her on the bed and ravage her right there.

Walking over to the door, Richard opened it, allowing Zedd entrance. "Well, it's about time! I was beginning to think you both were going to sleep the day away," he said with a knowing grin. "Just came by to check on my two favorite people. My future granddaughter has some injuries I need to tend to."

"Are you sure you're up to it, Zedd?" Richard was still concerned about his grandfather. It had taken a great deal of his strength to repair the Ta'all Ruk'tan.

"Bags, my boy! I'm a Wizard of the First Order. A little thing like a magical staff can't keep me down for long. Besides, I had a good night's sleep and Aggie's famous breakfast. I'm as good as new," Zedd grinned from ear to ear.

"It's morning already?" Kahlan questioned with a puzzled look. She hadn't realized that she'd slept so late.

"Yes, in fact, it's almost time for lunch," Zedd smacked his lips together at the thought. "Now, let's get those wounds taken care of so I don't miss Aggie's lunch. It's better than her breakfast if that's even possible. So my dear, come sit here in this chair so I can take a look at you."

Kahlan obediently took the offered chair, Richard sitting down in the chair next to her. Sitting forward, Richard anxiously watched as Zedd healed her forehead and broken wrist. He stared in wonderment as the bruises were slowly healed on her face, erasing all the hideous reminders of Brey's assault on her.

Finished, Zedd suddenly stood to his feet, placing a comforting hand on the Confessor's knee and giving it a loving squeeze. "I'm so glad you're safely back with us, dear one. You gave us all quite a scare, but not as much as this one," he informed her with a nod at Richard. "He was the only one who never gave up hope of finding you again, never believed that you were truly gone."

"I know…I'm the luckiest woman in the world," she softly told him, her eyes shining with the love that permeated every fiber of her being.

"I'm the one who is lucky," Richard firmly replied, his eyes never leaving Kahlan's.

"Well, I have to get downstairs before I miss out on lunch," Zedd announced, knowing he'd more than worn out his welcome with the two young lovers.

Richard walked Zedd to the door, grasping his grandfather by the arm and stopping him in the hallway. "I'll never be able to thank you enough for rescuing Kahlan," he quietly told him.

"It wasn't me, my boy; I just repaired the staff. It was you; it was your love that saved her," Zedd informed him, giving him a hug. "Now, go be with your future wife."

Standing in the hall as he watched his grandfather leave, Richard swallowed back the storm of emotions building once again in his heart. They had survived so much anguish and pain. Now, they had been given another chance. Another chance at the love they had fought so long and so hard for…