Dun, dun, dun!! I hope you all are still enjoying it and I didn't give too many of you ulcers from all the suspense and angst. Thanks for following along!!

Reunion (Chapter 11)

The ground shook and trembled under their feet, making it difficult to keep their balance. It seemed as though the entire cavern was about to collapse around them, the abyss was attempting to swallow them whole.

Pulling on Kahlan's hand, Richard attempted to get her to safety, but she wouldn't move. She wouldn't leave her father behind.

"Jump!" she cried out to Phillip over the thundering of the rocks that were crashing down all around them.

"Kahlan, save yourself!" Phillip shouted back, clutching the jewel tightly against his chest.

"I'm not leaving you here!" she cried, yanking her hand from Richard's grasp.

"Kahlan, we have to get out of here! The whole place is going to come down on us at any moment!" Richard shouted, as he grabbed her arms to pull her away with him.

"I am not leaving him here to die!" Kahlan screamed at him, her pale face shrouded in sorrow. Jerking away from Richard's grasp, Kahlan spun around back towards her father. "Jump! You can make it!"

"Kahlan, go now! You can't save me!" Phillip cried. "Richard, get her out of here!"

"NO!!" Kahlan shrieked, rocks falling around her as Richard grabbed her around the waist from behind. "Richard, let me go!!"

Tears streaming down her face, Kahlan struggled to escape Richard's hold on her, but he was just too powerful. She stretched her hand out towards her father in a desperate unrealistic attempt to reach him.

"Kahlan, I love you. I'm sorry for the pain I caused you and Dennee," Phillip shouted, tears falling from his eyes as well. "Richard, take good care of my daughter."

With his last words, the ledge crumbled beneath his feet, dragging him down with the rubble to the void below.

"FATHER!!" Kahlan screamed as Richard dragged her back down the stone bridge.

The cavern was rapidly collapsing around them, growing darker by the minute as the glowing walls crumbled into the chasm below. Richard dodged falling debris, dragging a frantic Kahlan with him.

"Run!!" Cara shouted at them as she stood huddled under the entrance to the cavern to avoid the falling stones.

Safely reaching the other side, Richard finally put Kahlan down, but only long enough to clutch her hand in his. He was not about to let her go now that he finally had her back. Richard cast a quick glance at Kahlan as he took off behind Cara, leaving the cavern far behind. Seeing her so distraught, Richard felt as though his heart was being crushed. He just prayed that Kahlan would be able to forgive him someday.

XXX

After walking for over an hour, Richard felt they were far enough away from the unstable cavern to stop and rest for a while. The further they went, the more concerned he was growing about Kahlan. She had not spoken at all since leaving her father behind. Panic was beginning to swell as Richard worried the infection was taking over.

"I'm going to scout ahead a little further; make sure there are no more of those creatures waiting to jump us," Cara informed them, wondering if either of them had even heard her.

Richard could only nod his acknowledgement as his focus was solely on Kahlan who was rapidly deteriorating. Cara was beginning to wonder if they were even going to be able to get her out of the caverns in time to get her to Zedd. They were still several hours from even reaching the Wizard. Cara hoped for Richard's sake they would reach him in time.

The last few days had been miserable with Richard worrying himself sick over Kahlan. If she died…she shuddered at the thought. She decided if it came to that she would just have to put her Lord Rahl out of his misery once and for all.

Richard sat across the tunnel from Kahlan who was sleeping with her back against the wall. Her face flushed with fever, she had almost immediately fallen asleep as soon as they stopped to take a break. Searching through his bag, Richard found what he was looking for before slowly making his way over to his Confessor.

He hated to wake her, knowing that she needed to rest, but he had to do something about her infected wound before it grew any more serious. He also needed to know that she didn't hate him. Placing a hand to her cheek, Richard's concern for Kahlan was escalating as he felt her skin burning with fever beneath his touch. He had to get her out of here. He'd almost lost her once; he was not about to lose her again.

"Kahlan," he softly said, brushing her hair away from her face, hooking it behind her ear. "Kahlan, I need to check your wound."

"Richard?" she murmured incoherently, turning her face into his hand as he caressed her cheek. "Richard, my father…" Her eyes still closed, tears began to course down her cheeks.

"Kahlan," he softly said, "I'm so sorry about your father and I hope you can forgive me some day, but right now I need you to fight. Your wound is infected. If we don't get out of here soon and get you to Zedd…" he stopped abruptly, choking back the tears before continuing. "Kahlan, I can't lose you. I'm not strong enough."

"My father," she cried not appearing to hear his words; disoriented from the fever she finally fell into the comforting arms of unconsciousness.

Richard closed his eyes against the heat of tears that were seeking release. Her pain was eating at his soul. Not knowing if she could still love him after what happened with her father shook him to his core. She had to know that he was only trying to save her life, that he loved her too much to let her die in a hopeless attempt to save her father.

Reaching behind her, Richard carefully turned her so he could set to work on her wound as Cara reappeared. Sitting down in front of the Mother Confessor, Cara grasped her shoulders, holding her upright so Richard could clean her wound.

"She will forgive you," Cara finally said as she looked past Kahlan at her Lord Rahl.

"I don't know, Cara. Even after all the horrific things that man did to her, he was still her father," Richard quietly said, anguish evident in his voice.

"Deep down, she knows you were right in what you did; you saved her life. Your love for each other is strong and will withstand even this."

"Pretty romantic notion coming from someone who thinks that love is foolish," Richard chuckled softly as he pulled Kahlan's dress off of her shoulder, exposing the ghastly wound. He appreciated Cara's words and her attempt at comforting him, but he would not be at peace until he heard it from Kahlan.

He wished she would open her eyes, tell him that she still loved him, that she knew that he was only protecting her. He wanted to take her in his arms, hold and comfort her, be her lover again. But right now, he would even settle for her waking up and yelling at him…as long as it meant she was going to be alright.

XXX

The sunlight softly filtered through the sheer curtains that hung over the window above the bed. The curtains gracefully swayed with the gentle breeze that invaded the bedroom.

Slowly opening her eyes, Kahlan glanced around the room, taking in her unfamiliar surroundings. Attempting to sit up, she found a hand on her shoulder pushing her back down in the bed.

"Oh, no; you're not going anywhere. If I let you out of that bed, Lord Rahl will have my head," Cara scolded the Mother Confessor, leaning forward in the chair that sat beside Kahlan's bed.

"Where are we?" Kahlan murmured, attempting to connect her thoughts and put the pieces of the last few days together.

"Winslow," Cara replied.

"How long have we been here?"

"Three days. We brought you here after getting out of the Tabethia Caverns. You were almost dead by the time we got you to Zedd. We were staying here until you were completely healed."

"Where's Richard?" Kahlan anxiously asked as she scanned the room, attempting to sit up in bed again.

"He's fine; Zedd finally dragged him away from you long enough to get something to eat. He's been in here taking care of you ever since we got here. I had to promise on my life to stay at your side no matter what in order for him to leave. Now, if he comes in here and finds you trying to get out of bed, he's going to kill me so stay put."

The reality of the last several days came crashing down on the Mother Confessor, overwhelming her with sorrow over what she had found and lost. Settling back down in the bed at the Mord'Sith's insistence, Kahlan turned to gaze out the window.

"My father is really dead, isn't he?" Kahlan whispered. Everything was a haze, reality and the fever-induced confusion all blending together. Nothing seemed real and yet everything was more than a bad dream.

"Yes, he is dead," the Mord'Sith simply answered, never one to sugarcoat anything.

Tears pooled once more in her sapphire eyes at the fresh wounds that not even Zedd could heal. "I'd like to be alone right now please."

"Lord Rahl…"

"Cara, please," Kahlan begged without turning to look at her.

Cara slowly rose from her chair, knowing that Kahlan needed some time to sort through the events of recent days. She would sit outside of her room lest Lord Rahl have a heart attack. Closing the door behind her, Cara saw Richard and Zedd coming up the stairs.

"Cara, what's wrong? Is Kahlan alright?" Richard asked, panic gripping his voice, his face tense with apprehension.

"She's awake now. She asked where you were," Cara told him, watching her Lord Rahl's face light up with relief. As he stepped towards her door, Cara caught his arm. "She asked about her father; I told her he was dead and she asked to be alone for a little while."

Richard's heart sunk with Cara's last words. Did that mean she didn't even want to see him? Seeing the despondent look upon the Seeker's face, Zedd placed a hand on Richard's shoulder.

"Just give her a little time, Richard. She's been through a traumatic ordeal. It's going to take a little while to sort through it all. She loves you and needs you. She'll come to you when she's ready," Zedd said, giving him a comforting smile while giving his shoulder a loving squeeze.

"I hope you're right…" Richard murmured with a dejected sigh…