"How can you be so sure it wasn't Darken Rahl? Who else would want you-"

"I have many enemies, Richard. We both do. Darken Rahl isn't the only person to try to kill us."

"No, but he's on the short list of people who would try. He knows how much you mean to me, to the world. Without you, he could make his way back to power."

"Not with you in D'Hara. He can't beat you, there would be no gain for him in my death."

They had been having this conversation for over an hour and neither showed signs of giving in. Richard was sure Darken Rahl was behind the attack on her, but she disagreed with her every breath. He didn't know what was more frustrating, thinking it was Darken Rahl or not being sure. He wanted to question the man, but he knew bringing him anywhere near them would be a mistake they may not survive.

They sat in the dining hall with their friends, who sat quietly and listened. Zedd had his mouth filled at all times, being sure to keep the food from going to waste. Cara, who sat across from Richard and beside Kahlan, ripped apart her bread roll and left it to soak in the soup as she watched the couple carefully.

With a roll of her eyes, the blonde sighed. "This could be solved quickly if you allowed us to fetch him. You have many Mord'Sith who are ready for a fight."

"I can't ask you to do that, Cara. We hardly know anything about him and with Nicci at his side-"

"Mord'Sith are the best. They will not survive if we wish them to die."

"I have no doubt in your abilities, Cara," Richard said. "I know you are capable of taking care of this without thought, but that is not what we need. If Darken Rahl is not the one who wanted Kahlan killed, we have someone else to worry about and if we learned that after you had left, we would be open to another one of their attacks."

Shoving the soaked bread into her mouth, Cara rolled her eyes and chewed quickly. "We should have killed him when we had the chance. Had we, he would not be-"

"He was no threat to us," Kahlan interrupted.

"He's a Rahl. It is only a matter of time before he tries to reclaim the throne of D'Hara and if he has Nicci, her magic is more powerful than anyone else's. If we kill him now, before he has time to gather men, we can sleep though it."

Unwilling to fight the smile that crossed her lips, Kahlan leaned back in her chair and looked to Richard. "She's right. We know Darken Rahl won't sit back and leave the throne to you. Nicci changes things. With her on his side..."

"Zedd said she is under a spell. If we remove it-"

"How do you know which he used?" Zedd piped in all of the sudden, his food now disappeared. "We would have to capture her and try them all, we would be dead before we had the chance."

"And if he has no interest in the throne?"

"He is a Rahl. He has no other reason for living," Cara stated faculty. "Without it, he has nothing."

"Not every Rahl wants the throne." They remained silent for a moment, all eyes on Richard as he pushed a small sliver of meat into his mouth. "He's had months to come after us. If he had shown up in the beginning, he may have had a chance, the people... If it wasn't Darken Rahl, I don't know who it would be."

"Maybe you're right," Kahlan offered quietly, bringing his eyes to hers. "He is the only person we know who would want to do this."

"Then why hasn't he contacted us? He would know you're alive, but he hasn't tried again."

Leaning forward, Kahlan pushed her spoon around the edge of her soup bowl. "I don't know what to say."

"If it's not Darken Rahl, it could be anybody." Looking across the table, Richard pushed his fingers through his hair. "How many Mord'Sith followed us here?"

She smiled, pleased that their actions hadn't gone past him. "Seven."

"Alright, I want you to bring them to me." She stood instantly, but paused as he lifted his hand. "You can finish your lunch first."

"I'm finished," she informed him before walking out of the hall.

Looking back to Kahlan, he reached over and laid his hand over hers. "You'll be safe with a few of them around you."

"I don't need them to protect me, Richard."

"You may need more than them."

******

Kahlan spent the rest of the day with three Mord'Sith. Cara, for once, didn't seem upset being told to watch over her friend and the other two, Dianne and Kyra, had the same attitude. If felt strange to have them following her around and searching a room before she was allowed to enter, but she knew that having them there meant that things had changed. Richard had changed the way they all lived and this was the proof.

Cara refused to keep watch on the other side of the door. Kneeling down, she handed her friend a small washcloth and sighed.

"He won't let us kill him."

The Confessor nearly laughed, having been waiting for this to be brought up. "He will if Darken Rahl admits he was the one who sent men after me."

"You don't think it was."

"No, but I do not have another in mind. It may be Darken Rahl, but he can't be the only person alive who wants me dead. It wasn't long ago, you would have been on that list."

"I may still be," the blonde said softly, gaining her friend's attention.

"This would be a great opportunity for you. I fell asleep and drowned in my bath..." She forced back a laugh, slashing a bit of water at the other woman. "It's not me, everyone should be worried about, Cara. If Darken Rahl was behind this, he knows I'm still alive and he knows Richard is here. That may have been what he wanted."

"There are four Mord'Sith at his side. No one will come close to him."

"It's Richard, Cara. The minute we were out of sight, he sent them after Darken Rahl and you already knew. He told you before sending you with me. That's why you were alright with staying by me, you knew something was being done." Leaning back, Kahlan closed her eyes. "I'm afraid he's going to do something he will regret."

"Does he regret killing your guards?"

Looking at the blonde, she shrugged. "I know he thought it needed to be done, but he- Cara, when I told him what happened; what I remembered, he was angry and I think he's worried that he acted too quickly."

"Did he?"

"I don't know," Kahlan replied honestly. "But I do know that if he continues to second guess his instincts, we are all in trouble."

***

Richard walked quietly into her bedroom, nodding to Cara and other Mord'Sith before closing the door. He had done this almost every night for the past four nights and the sight of her never failed to take his breath away. She looked peaceful, facing the door as she slept. He removed his boots before walking further into the room, not wanting to wake her with extra noise. Heating a pot of water over the fire, he pulled off the rest of his clothes and quietly began to wash the dirt off of his skin. His mind spun in circles, racing over everything that had happened, making him want to scream.

Moving to the bed, he eased beneath the blankets and closed his eyes. She rolled over instantly, pulling herself into his arms. She was naked, telling him that she had expected his return much earlier. Tracing his fingers over her back, he grinned, his body fighting the urge to roll onto her. She was breathing deeply, her breath warming his chest and fueling his desire. Having her back in his arms was a pleasure all in its own.

"You're up late," she said quietly, shifting her body beside him.

"I wanted to make sure you were safe."

Lifting her head, she touched her hand to his cheek. "Mmhmm. Then you should have come sooner. I'm safest right here..."

They were a breath a part, their lips nearly touching. "I'm sorry, I didn't know I was needed."

Pulling back, Kahlan rolled out of his arms and onto her back. "You were waiting for word from the other Mord'Sith."

Coming to his side, he propped himself up on his elbow and laid his left hand on her stomach. "They haven't found any sign of Darken Rahl in the city."

"They wouldn't," she replied through a whisper, her eyes closing. "He wouldn't want to be somewhere he could be recognized, not after what happened."

"Kahlan, I- What did I do?"

Opening her eyes, she turned her head and smiled a small smile. "Nothing."

"Your mouth says no, but your eyes..."

Turning on her side, she pulled herself into his arms and flattened her chest against his, connecting their lips for a moment. "You should sleep, you look exhausted."

"Whatever I did, I'm sorry. Kahlan, I-"

"You didn't do anything. I just let my mind wander for too long."

Tightening his arms around her, Richard rested his chin on the top of her head. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Yes, you do."

Nudging her nose against his throat, Kahlan tried to move closer. "I shouldn't."

"Why?"

Returning to her back, she stared up at the ceiling and took in a deep breath. "You're a Rahl." The words left her lips so clearly, a cup being tipped over and letting the liquid go free. "You once told me, when you were with other women that you... You used to imagine what your sons would look like."

Realization flooded his gentle features as he inched closer. "I did."

"I can't give you a son. I can't give you an heir to D'Hara."

"I don't need a son, Kahlan and who's to say that one of our daughters can't take the throne?"

"You say that now, but it's something you've imagined for years."

"I imagined having sons because I could never see myself with the woman I was with. When I thought about my sons, I didn't have to think about the women, they would look like me. But Kahlan, our daughters... I've been thinking about them a lot and sometimes I see them in my dreams almost as clearly as I see you right now. We're going to have a family together and we will have many, many daughters." Trailing the fingers of his left hand down her stomach, he tried to understand what was going on in her mind. "Why would you be thinking about this now?"

"I woke up this morning and thought I was pregnant. It was only a moment, but-"

"The first thing you thought of was what happens when I realize I won't have a son?"

"You should have a son, Richard."

"I want a family. I want you and this entire palace filled with daughters, our daughters. You and me, Kahlan, this is what I want. Everything with you is beyond what I could ever dream of."

"How many sons did you want?"

"I don't know," he answered her quietly, moving away from her. "It's been a while since the thought crossed my mind." He was lying on his back, his head turned toward her so she could see the truth of his words. "I haven't wanted anything more than a family with you and I am looking forward to having a home full of daughters."

"Why?"

Grinning, Richard rolled over, settling above her. "Because I have you. I can't have a life without you Kahlan. I want you and our family."

"But you already have me."

"I know and now we're going to start our family."

******

"They found Darken Rahl." Kahlan looked up instantly, their eyes meeting as he closed the door to her office. "They're bringing him back; I need you to tell me what to do."

"I can't tell you what to do, Richard."

"Yes, you can. Kahlan right now, if I see him, I'm going to kill him. I going to run my sword through his heart and then remove his head to be sure he can't come back to hurt anyone- to hurt you."

Standing, Kahlan made her way across the room, reaching him as he slid his back down the door. "He's not going to be hurting anyone ever again and not because you killed him." Releasing a soft laugh, she knelt down. "When do they arrive?"

"Four days."

"Alright, that gives you time to think about what you want to do."

"I don't know what to do, Kahlan. If I don't kill him, I'm letting him believe that what he did doesn't matter and all of those people he killed meant nothing."

"You know that's not true."

"If it's not, why does it seem so easy to kill him and solve it all?"

"What's easy isn't always what's right. I know how you're feeling, Richard. I'm angry with him too, I- I understand wanting to end his life, I do. I've dreamt of the moment his life came to an end and I- I know how you feel."

"I know you do. Kahlan, I know that what you've seen is far greater than anything I have and we have every right to want him dead, but we..." He smiled, nodding his head as her lips curled upward. "You're good."

"I knew that you would make up your own mind, if I played along long enough."

"Saying I won't kill him, doesn't mean I want him to be forgiven for everything he's done."

"I know."

Shifting his position, he outstretched his legs and pulled her onto them, lifting her dress to make it easier for her to straddle his thighs. "How do you know me so well?"

"You let me."

Rubbing his hands up and down her thighs, he leaned forward and nudged his nose against hers. "Mmm... How are you feeling today?"

"That's not the question you want to ask me."

He smiled, pulling back to look into the deep sky eyes he adored. "No, it's not... But I'm not sure I should ask."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm afraid of the answer."

Laying the palms of her hands against his cheeks, she kissed him quickly and reached down to the top of his pants. "It doesn't mean we can't keep trying."

"Don't you have to get back to work?"

Pulling the laces of his pants loose, she grinned. "As Mother Confessor, it is my duty to give everyone my attention."

"Mother Confessor, I must ask you for your full attention."

Pushing open the top of his pants, she reached inside and watched his eyes slide closed. "I can assure you Lord Rahl, you have my full attention."