Chapter 15

Kahlan heard the moans and gasps as she passed John and Aeryn's room on the way to hers. The palace wasn't quite as sound proof in her wing as she'd like it to be. Richard had left the table earlier claiming he had things to take care of before bed.

She heard a particularly satisfied groan and she paused. Her feet wouldn't move as she listened to their fervent cries. She was so focused on what she was hearing that the hands that snuck around her waist made her jump.

"Are you eavesdropping on them having sex, Kahlan Amnell?" Richard's teasing voice was right next to her ear.

"Uh…" She didn't know what to say. She was listening in on them. She didn't know how long he'd been behind her so she couldn't bluff her way out of it.

"It's okay. It sounds like they are having a good time. But why don't we leave them to it and head to our room?"

"We can make our own noises then?" Kahlan shyly turned her head to look at his expression.

"Yes, we can. Lets go." He gabbed for her hand and tugged her along after him. He didn't want her to become mesmerized by them again.

She paused for just a second and followed Richard. Her fingers weaved through his and she gave him a slight squeeze. Their suite wasn't far, they'd put John and Aeryn where they could be close, if the couple needed anything. They also found that they enjoyed spending time with them. Everyone got along well and the group just seemed to mesh. It was nice to have friends that were also a couple. She'd be sad when they left.

"I want to get married."

Richard made a strange face at her, wondering if she'd been hit on the head. They were going to get married.

"We are…"

Kahlan sighed and giggled. Silly man.

"No, right now." She stopped him and turned him towards her. "I don't want to be just Kahlan Amnell, Mother Confessor for one minute longer. I want to be your wife. I want to be Mrs. Rahl, although I'll probably have to keep Amnell, since confessors never take on their mates name."

"Mate… I'm going to be your husband."

She released the hold on his hand and brought her hands up to hold his face.

"My husband." She let the term roll off her tongue. It felt good and made her giddy. "Don't you want it right now? No more being apart. We'll be one."

"Yes." He mirrored her pose and held his palms gently against her neck, his thumbs swiping back and forth against the skin in front of her ears. "But, Kahlan, people are planning to come to our wedding. Everything is set. You want to just forget about all the planning that Zedd and Cara did?"

"I want to be your wife. I don't care about any of the pomp and circumstance. I want to be yours and for you to be mine." Her mouth opened and she licked her lips.

His eyes caught the movement of her tongue as it wet her lips. He invaded her personal bubble more, his mouth aiming for hers. Slowly, closing the distance between them.

"I want that." He whispered the words right before capturing her mouth with his. The kiss was hot but brief. Tongues touching gently before retreating. He sucked on her upper lip and then pulled back. "Why the sudden immediacy?"

"Being here, in Aydindril. Taking you to my bed. It just feels a little wrong when we aren't wed. I know that it's not, I've just been lectured here more and the old teachings seem to be instilled in me. Every step we take closer to that room I feel my stomach flopping around."

"I should make you wait." She started to protest so he kissed her again, silencing her attempt to argue. "You ruined my plans to keep you pure until we got here. Now you want to hold me off until we're wed."

"Which is why I want to marry you tonight. I can't deny these feelings. But I'd like to soothe my conscious. I don't want to ever feel guilt for making love to you."

"Okay, lets get married." Richard went with the simplest course of action. He didn't want any negative feelings with their intimacy either. He'd be happy to skip the large wedding in lieu of a private ceremony. He wanted to make love to her tonight in her bed. "Where do we have to go?"

She just smirked at him and motioned for him to follow her.

They weaved through multiple passageways all the walls looked the same to Richard. It would take him some time to get used to living here. This was his home now. He'd have to return to D'Hara at some point, but not without Kahlan. It would never be his home though. There had to be thousands of rooms. He wondered if she even knew what they were all for. They climbed a winding set of stairs and came upon a hall which held a single door. Kahlan smiled at him then knocked.

A small, old man answered the door a few minutes later, in his night dress.

"Mother Confessor." He bowed slightly before continuing to address her. "What do I owe this honor of you at my door?"

"Father Gernu, We want to get married."

"Now, child?" He looked at them and then down at his own attire. It would be a good story to share with his grandchildren, marrying the Mother Confessor to her Seeker while in his sleeping clothes.

"Yes, Father." Richard spoke for the first time. "Now would be good. The quicker the better."

He'd been planning on performing their ceremony in two weeks time. They'd arrived home more quickly than anyone anticipated so everything was already rushed ahead of schedule. He wondered what changed their minds or caused a panicked rush that she felt the need to wake him.

"Are you with child, Kahlan?"

She turned pink with the query. Looking everywhere but at the two men. This wasn't what she was expecting. She assumed that she could just make the demands, no questions asked, unfortunately her rule didn't effect the man who'd known her since she was a small girl. He'd helped her through many things throughout her life. She knew she'd feel shame from the look he'd give when she answered.

"Yes." Her voice was shaky, small and unsure, but she couldn't lie to that man or to the one beside her. Why did he have to ask that?

"What?" Richard's mouth was hanging open and he turned her towards him. Why hadn't she told him?

"I'm pregnant."

"How… We only… once and it was only days ago…" Richard was baffled at the turn of events.

"It seemed like you understood the 'How' just fine the other night, but…" Kahlan blushed, this wasn't something she really wanted to be discussing in front of the man who was in charge of the palace's religion. She grabbed Richard's elbow and stepped them back from Father Gernu. She asked him to give them a moment and he respectfully nodded and stepped back into his room.

"Yes.. No.. I… I mean how do you know already?" It was almost too much at once. He wasn't upset, it made him happy, but he wasn't expressing it properly. He could see that she was concerned. Her brow was wrinkled and a little frown marred her face.

"Are you upset?" She tried to draw in deep, calming breaths. She thought that he wanted children. What if he was angry at her for getting with child… Her eyes were welling with tears and she tried to blink them away.

"No, Kahlan, I'm not. I'm just confused. I'm sorry, love." He opened his arms to hold her and she fell into his embrace. "I want her. Are you happy?"

"Yes. Yes I want to have babies with you." His hands stroked her back as she wiped her tears on his chest.

"How do you already know?" Richard didn't know anyone could tell they were pregnant so quickly.

"Confessors just know. The next morning when we woke up I could feel the soft flutter in my belly. I knew that we'd made a child."

"Why didn't you…"

"Say anything?" She stood back from him then. He just nodded. His hand covering his mouth. "I didn't want to frighten you…"

"Kahlan…"

"I know, I know! I can tell you anything. But it was so new and… and I wasn't really sure. I've never been pregnant before. I had to be sure before I told you…"

They just looked at each other for a few beats. Her eyes told him that she was still afraid. Still worried that he wouldn't approve. She saw when his brown eyes began to light up and the smile touched his lips.

"We're having a baby?" He closed the distance between them as she nodded. "We're having a baby!"

She let herself smile. The tears were wet on her face as they fell. His thumbs wiped away every tear that streaked her face. His mouth began kissing the hurt away starting with each eyelid and working his way towards her mouth. The salty flavor of her tears made him thirsty for her. Finally her lips were right there. The velvety plumpness of her mouth called to him and he pressed his lips to hers.

She opened for him and took his lower lip in between hers. They kissed and kissed, their lips couldn't get enough of the others. Suddenly she found her back against the wall and his body pressing into hers. She moaned at the contrast of the cold stone on her back with his hot body against her front. She raised her leg and wrapped it around his hip pulling him closer to her. She could feel the beginnings of his arousal as her hips bucked up and her knee opened and closed around him.

The clearing of the pastor's throat was what broke them out of their passionate trance. If he hadn't poked his head back out his door when he heard the crashing he was sure they would have made love right outside his room. Clearly, they'd solved any problems that they'd had mere minutes ago.

"You two have a room." Kahlan hid her face in Richard's neck, embarrassed that she'd been caught. "You've also assaulted that plant that was minding it's own business beside the window."

Both of them looked to the floor next to them seeing the broken pot and soil spilled across the floor. Neither of them had heard the sound of it shattering.

"How did we miss that?" Richard asked Kahlan and she just looked from the plant to him to Father Gernu and shrugged her shoulders.

"You seem to have worked things out. Are my services still needed?" He'd changed into his service robes while they were talking in the hallway.

"Yes. We need to be married with all haste." Richard was the one insisting now. He'd have no one questioning the legitimacy of their daughter. Not that anyone would ever dare.

"You'll need a couple witnesses…" He watched them look at each other trying to figure out who to grab. "I'll meet you two in the chapel in a few minutes."

With that he headed back down the stairs to ready the little chapel in the Confessor Palace.

"Zedd and Cara?"

Kahlan smiled and nodded. Then she removed her leg from around his hip, but not before grinding her pelvis into his one last time.

"Lets get them so we can start our honeymoon." They rushed out of the hallway and took the servants route to the section of the palace that the wizard and the mord'sith were living in. It was much shorter to go that way instead of traversing all the halls and staircases of the wings.

Zedd and Cara were in the chapel when Richard and Kahlan finally arrived. They'd gone to tell them and then they went back to their suite to get ready. Richard had offered to help Kahlan with her dress but she'd refused knowing that if he took it off of her she'd never get the clean one on. Not in a timely manner, anyway.

He'd watched her primp and preen to his own detriment. He was already hard from the encounter in the hallway and the sight of her getting herself ready to become his wife didn't cool his ardor.

Kahlan smiled at him in the mirror, knowing that she wasn't helping him. But she was selfish and enjoyed making him wild with desire for her. She finished quickly at his urging and then they locked hands and walked to the chapel.

"Took you guys long enough…" Cara rolled her eyes as they entered the small room. There were a few rows of pews and a place for Father Gernu to give his sermon. "You disturb us from out night time duties and then make us wait."

"Oh Cara, they'll only be getting married once." Zedd stood up for them, proud that they were going to become one in the eyes of the Spirits.

"We talked about that and we still want to go through with the official wedding. It's a good reason for diplomats to come to the city and for everyone to celebrate." Kahlan looked at Richard and he grinned and nodded is agreement. "We just wanted it to be legally official for other reasons."

"She's got to be breeding…" Cara smirked and tilted her chin. Kahlan and Richard had the where with all to blush. Breeding indeed. "Oh, she is. Nice job, The Lord Rahl is quite powerful after all…"

"Cara. Enough." Richard's voice raised to scold her. "Can we do this?"

Everyone seemed in accord to beginning the impromptu ceremony. Richard and Kahlan walked up to the dais and Father Gernu began to read the invocations. They said their vows and Zedd handed them the rings. As she slipped his on his finger she began to tear up. Never in her life had Kahlan ever expected to be this happy. Now he was hers and she was his. Together. Forever.

The three witnesses applauded and the newlyweds kissed to seal the pronouncement that they were husband and wife. Everything was falling into place.

"Thank you, everyone, for being here. Now I'm going to take my wife to bed." Richard heard Cara hoot with laughter, saw Zedd have the decency to turn red and Father Gernu just shook his head, glad that they weren't going to consummate the marriage outside his room.

"Come, husband, lets turn in for the night." Kahlan led the way out as the Mother Confessor was used to doing in her palace. She was someone's wife now.