"You can't expect us to go along with this!" Richard shouted as the council surrounded them.

Stepping forward, the small blond woman from earlier approached them both. "You do not have a choice. If you decide to keep this child, we will have no choice but to take the abomination from you."

He hadn't expected what came next. As Kahlan took a step forward, he saw her eyes darken. "You will do nothing of the sort." she snared, her tone sending the woman back in fear. "You have no authority over me or my family. We will raise this child."

"Have you lost your mind?" Another woman asked as she stepped forward, pushing the other back. "Mother Confessor, you know the dangers of a male Confessor. They are power hungry and uncontrollable they are."

"Maybe they're not supposed to be controlled, Margaret. Confessor's are not yours to play with."

"Of course they are. If Confessor's were allowed to run around as they pleased, we would all be in danger of confession."

"The only one in danger of confession is standing in front of me." Kahlan, reached for her, grabbing her throat, "You will not threaten the life of our child."

Richard grabbed her arm, sure she would have released her magic into the woman, causing the others to be more enraged. "Kahlan, let's go to bed." he whispered in her ear, "You don't have to answer to them."

"The Mother Confessor may rule the land, but she in under our control."

Richard pushed Kahlan back and stepped toe to toe to Margaret. "She in under no ones control. You can't treat her like this!"

"We can and if you cared about her, at all, you would have her rid herself of the child."

"You don't even know if it's a boy!" Richard shouted in anger, "You don't even know and you're asking a mother to murder her child! How can you be so cold? Have you any idea what you are asking of her? What if I told you that you had to murder your child?" He asked, pushing past her and looking to the other members of the council. "Or you, what if I asked each one of you to murder your child because I assumed that he or she would grow up to kill everyone in the city. Would you do it? No, could you do it?" he looked at each one of them, waiting for each to shake their heads. "No. I didn't think you could."

"What we would or could do is not important. Our children are not monsters."

"Our child would not be a monster." Kahlan said softly, grabbing her husband's hand. "We will not do it."

"If you do not, we will have no choice but to remove you of your title and have you arrested for treason."

"I'd like to see you try." Richard growled pushing Kahlan behind him, using his body as her shield. "You come near her and I'll remove your head." he threatened, pulling his sword, the blade glowing with his anger.

Margaret stepped back instantly, smoothing her hands over her dress as she stared at the sword, frightened. "You have no authority here, Seeker." she whispered. "You too, will be arrested for treason for standing against us." She smiled as Richard's grip on the sword loosened, suddenly unable to hold it. "Yes, when we saw another Prophet had sought you out, we knew you would protest our orders, so we took a small precaution."

Looking over her shoulder to a dark corner of the room, a man stepped out. "My son." she said softly, "You will be able to move again after we close the door of our dungeon." With a single look, the guards, once protecting The Mother Confessor, now dragged her and her husband from their palace and into the darkness of the dungeon.

The moment the dungeon door was clicked locked, Richard felt his body move. Turning around, he saw her laying on her side, facing away from him as she cried. Moving quickly, he grabbed her shoulder, gently turning her onto her back. Meeting his eyes, the tears stopped. "I'm sorry."

"For what? You have done nothing to be sorry for."

"I do. I am the only woman who can not give you a son."

He smiled a small smile, wanting to do what he could to comfort her in her fear. "You can give me everything."

A smile crossed her lips as she reached up to his face, lightly caressing his cheek. "I love you."

"And I love you. I'm going to protect you. Both of you."

Her smile widened, "I know. I'm not afraid. I'm just going to miss our bed." she laughed, "They're going to hold us in here until we change our minds or I give birth to our daughter."

"She's going to be beautiful." he smiled back at her as she sat up and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tightly against her.

"Even if she looks like Zedd?"

Laughing, he brushed his fingers through her hair. "Yes, even if she looks like Zedd." Moving back, he leaned then back against the wall. Waiting for whatever was to come next.

"I wish he was here. He would find a way to get us out of here."

"Cara would kill them all." Richard said with a small smile. "Maybe we shouldn't have let them leave."

Sitting beside the door, Kahlan watched Richard as he slept. She grabbed the plates as they were pushed through the small opening in the door. Everyday for the past eight months, she had woken early and watched him sleep as she waited for their breakfast to be pushed through the door. She wore a light shirt, thin, making the already cold dungeon freezing in the hopes that she would surrender. She would have if not for Richard holding onto her tightly throughout every night. Smiling widely each morning as her stomach grew with the child within her. She knew that he stayed up most of the night, thinking of a way to get them out of there and protect her, but he never said anything.

She could see the worry on his face, even as he slept and it pained her to know that she could stop it, but she knew he would never forgive her if she did. Each day, a single member of the council came to her while he slept, telling her that she alone could end their suffering. The further along in the pregnancy that she became, the angrier they got. To punish her, they would take Richard while he slept, making him awaken to jolt of some kind of magic.

After seeing the effects on him, that he was unable to move for hours after, they used it on her. Hoping that it would solve the problem. Somehow, she and the baby were unharmed. When asked about it, Kahlan could only shake her head and cover herself as someone hit and kicked her. The same offer was made each day, she was given an option that she never thought she should take more than now.

Willingly murder the child while he grew within her and stop all the pain they were causing and planning on causing the one man she loved. Her husband.

Laying their plates softly and quietly down beside him, she leaned back against the wall, taking a small pinch of bread from her plate and placing it into her mouth as she continued to think. With a small sigh, she closed her eyes and hoped that it would be over soon.

"Are you alright?" his voice was raspy as he opened his eyes, slowly tilting his head to look at her.

Nodding, she forced a smile. "Fine. I'm fine."

He smiled as he sat up, looking at the small pinch missing from his bread. "Hungry?" he asked picking it up and handing it to her.

"You should eat it. You haven't eaten much in days."

Leaning forward, he swung the the bread slowly in front of her face, keeping it close to her nose. "Are you sure?" he smiled, watching as her eyes followed the bread for a moment. "It looks delicious."

Rolling her eyes, she snatched it from his fingers, leaned forward and kissed him quickly before tearing off another piece of the bread and eating it. "Thank you."

Moving, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. "How long have you been up thinking about it?" She said nothing. Instead, she stuffed what was left of the bread into her mouth and mumbled. "I know that you have been thinking about it. It's practically written on your forehead."

"It could save you."

"But you won't do it." he whispered, tightening his arm around her. "If you were going to, you would have done it when Margaret came to you this morning." She looked at him, confused as to how he knew. He had been asleep when she had come. "I wake up when I hear you worrying about me."

"The I don't know how you get any sleep."

"Kahlan, we only I have a few weeks left-"

Shaking her head, she pulled back, away from him. "But you don't have to suffer through it. After what's already happened, Richard I-"

"No. You're not going to do it. I know that you think that it is the only way to protect me, but Kahlan, they haven't come for me in days. Me and you, Kahlan, we're in this together. This is our child. You're not going to kill our child."

"No, I'm not. You are."

Jumping up, he ran his fingers through his hair as he turned around to face her in horror. "What? How can you say that?"

She didn't move or show any emotion as he shouted at her. "Richard, you have to understand." She whispered, looking over to the door to see if anyone was watching. Noticing her action, Richard knelt down in front of her and waited for her to continue. "I'm going to have this baby, sooner than they thought."

Tilting his head, confused, Richard looked at her, trying to understand if she meant that she was in labor now. "Kahlan, are you-"

"No." she smiled, "Not yet, but you're going to help me."

He shook his head, "No! Kahlan, no. How can you think like that?"

"It's the only way, Richard. If I give birth now-"

"Kahlan, something could go wrong and I can't-"

"Something can always go wrong. Richard, we can end this if we do this. If they see that she is a girl, they will let us out."

"Will they?" he asked softly. "After what they've done to you, I think it's safe to say that they don't care about you getting out of here. They are determined to make you agree with them. To have you do their bidding."

"I know." she whispered. "But, I can't wait for them to figure it out."

With each moment, he grew more confused. "What? Figure what out?"

"What she is." His face grew more confused and she smiled. "She's not going to be only a Confessor, Richard. She has your blood running through her veins. She's also a wizard."

"Is that- I didn't think that was possible. I thought-"

"That she would only be a Confessor?" she asked as he moved to his knees before her, "She's part of both of us. Stronger." her eyes began to water as she spoke as more truths became known to her. "If they realize how powerful she will be, they will kill her."

"Not if we kill them first." he whispered.

They stared at each other for a minute, speaking without any words. Moving beside her, he pulled her into his arms and sighed. "How do you plan we do this?"

She leaned over and pulled something from the wall, moving a small piece of the brick that he had never seen her touch before. "Before we met with the first prophet, I hid this here. Just in case they- It will do what we need, but I don't want to do this without you."

"I'm not going to leave you. The door is locked. We've both tried already."

"That's not what I mean. If you don't want me to do this, if you don't want us to do this, we won't."

He leaned his head back against the stone wall, taking in a deep breath as he thought. "What happens when she's born?"

"We let them know we have a daughter. They will all come to see her, to be sure that she is what we say. If I can, I'll confess one, she'll help us get out of here."

"That's not what I- Kahlan, I meant you. What happens to you when she is born?"

"I don't know." she said honestly, "I didn't think about that. I didn't want to think about it."

Turning her towards him, he pressed his head to hers for a quick moment before kissing her. "Alright. Let's do this."

"Richard, if I- if something happens to me-"

"Don't." he interrupted.

"I have to say it. If I don't-" She paused, unable to mention her death to him. "I love you."

Giving her a small smile, he pushed her hair from her face. "I love you too."

"Take her away from here. Take her home."

His head tilted downward in sadness, "There is no home without you."

Quickly, she grabbed his head and pulled him to her, kissing him passionately, the way she always had. Filled with a passion, he pulled at her shirt, ripping a few of the buttons off as she grabbed his pants. They had done this often. Made love in the solitude of their dungeon cell. Taking each moment with each other as though it was the last. He loved the way the rumble of her magic echoed through the walls, spitting in the faces of the council.

Smiling, she pulled him closer to her, arching into his body as she let out a soft moan. Pulling away from her, he pressed his lips against the swell of her belly, kissing all around it as his hands moved over her body, making her whisper his name as she pushed his head, trying to get him where she wanted. Where she needed him.

A light moan escaped both of their lips as he pushed into her, joining their bodies. He laid his head down in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent as though it would be the last time. He never wanted to let her go. The soft sound of her moans, drove him wild, he wanted so badly to keep her there, in that moment, forever.

Her magic rushed through him, running free in his heart as his release washed over him, sending him home. Her hold on him tightened as she tried to catch her breath, trying to collect all of his comfort. A light laugh escaped his lips as his stomach growled in hunger.

"I guess, I shouldn't have eaten your bread." she smiled, running his fingers through his hair. "No- Stay." she whispered as he tried to pull away from her, allowing the cold air to hit the once warm spot on her chest. "Just for a little longer. I don't want to let you go."

Closing his eyes, he started thinking, hoping for things to go well. "You won't have to. You never will."

After a few minutes, she released a sigh. "Richard, if we're going to do this, we have to do it soon."

"I know. I was hoping that I would find a different way. One that didn't risk your life."

"Did you think of one?"

"No." he whispered, turning his head into her chest. "I'm sorry."

Nodding, she closed her eyes. Slightly wishing that he had thought of something. "We should do this."

Sitting up, he he moved back, lifting her gently into his arms and hugging her. "I love you."

Cupping his cheek, she smiled, "I know. Spirits, I know." tears filled her eyes as she stared into his. "I love you." Looking away, Kahlan grabbed the shirt she was wearing and pulled it over her, smiling at the missing buttons. She had often had her handmaids to repair her clothes. Finding that when she and Richard made love, they didn't care about what they did to their clothes. With a smile, she looked up to him as he handed her the vile of blue liquid.

"Be careful." he said softly as she took it from his hand, their fingers brushing against each other. He dressed as she drank it, not wanting to see her do it. When he looked back to her, she was staring at the floor. "Kahlan?"

Breathing deeply, she looked up at him, eyes filled with pain. "It's working faster than I thought." she breathed out as he moved to her side, taking her hand in his.

"It's alright." he whispered, pressing his forehead to her head, his noes buried deep in her hair. "I'm right here." Biting her lip, she squeezed his hand, trying not to scream out in pain. "Shh." he whispered, wrapping his arm around her and holding her tightly.

Laying her back against the wall, he moved to kneel before her. "Richard." she breathed out, in tears, reaching for his hand.

"I'm right here. You're alright." he looked up instantly as her cry echoed through the dungeon. Reaching to her, he placed his hand over her mouth, muffling her screams. "Shh. Kahlan, I know it must hurt, but you have to be quiet."

Nodding, she banged her head back against the wall, hard, taking her mind off of the pain of the birth. When he reached out to stop her, he pulled back, to look at her. Blood dripping down her chin as she bit down to top her own cries. Moving his eyes down he reached between her legs, seeing the head of the baby. Their baby.

"You're almost there, Kahlan. Just keep pushing, I can see her head." Her nails dug into her the ground, breaking into the cold stone as he head fell backwards and her chest arched forward, sweat dripping from her body.

The sound of the baby's cries echoed through the dungeon, making it's way to the guard, who ran quickly to the council, eating lunch in The Confessor's Palace. Immediately, they stood and rushed down the halls.