Hi! Sorry for the delay. I hope you haven't lost interest!
"Hey." He whispered slowly as he watched her open her eyes.
"Hi." She whispered back, her voice heavy with sleep. She had no idea how long she had slept or what time it was, the only thing she knew was that she hadn't felt so good in a long time.
"We didn't mean to wake you." He told her with a smile.
Looking down, she saw Cassie, her thumb in her mouth, clutching Richard's old shirt with one hand and holding her mother's hand with the other.
"It's alright." She said looking back at him. He was resting on his side with his elbow positioned on his pillow and his head drooped on his hand. The opening of his shirt allowed taking a look at his pendant and his muscular chest. He was perfect, his smile, his messy hair, his scruff, she wanted to throw herself on top of him and kiss him like there was no tomorrow.
She blushed and looked away from him.
"What?" He asked, the smile she saw on his face when she awoke not leaving his lips.
"Have you been watching me sleep?" She asked, quickly thinking about something to say.
"I might have, indeed." He replied thoughtfully.
"How did Cassie get in here?" She asked returning his smile, more than happy to have both of them close to her.
"She woke up and called for you, I went to get her and told her that we could all stay in bed if we didn't wake you." Richard explained.
"I can't believe you had her stay calm for so long." Kahlan said.
"Don't flatter me, she went back to sleep from time to time." He told her.
Cassie got up on the bed and started jumping on it, making her parents smile as they watched her. Now that her mother was awake, the little girl knew she could move freely. She threw herself on Kahlan who welcomed her daughter in her arms as she rolled on the bed to lie on her back.
"Hey there baby girl." She said, kissing her daughter's head and hugging her tightly.
"Mama!" The little girl squealed happily before leaving her mother's arms and jumping on the bed again. This time she threw herself in Richard's arms that caught her just in time and held her in the air above him. Cassie laughed loudly as he pretended to let her fall before catching her again.
Kahlan watched them with a smile on her face. She hoped she could wake up every morning with the sound of their laughter. This very moment was perfect, it was all she had ever wanted, all she had ever dared to wish. A daughter with a father who was not ordered to care, who was not confessed. It felt unreal, being told that it was something she could never have and finally having it.
"Sounds like someone's having fun." They heard Cara say as she opened the door.
Richard put Cassie on the bed and she jumped on it again.
"Cawa! Cawa!" The little girl said happily, clapping her hands, more than happy to see the Mord'Sith.
"Don't you know how to knock?" Richard asked abruptly.
Ignoring his remark, Cara walked to the bed and jumbled Cassie's hair and said: "Hello little Confessor Rahl."
"She has a name you know." Richard said, rather annoyed by Cara's interruption of his time with his family.
"I like little Confessor Rahl." Cara stated, shrugging her shoulders.
"Come on." The Mord'Sith said, picking up the little girl. "We can't have you stay here, starving and with an irritable father."
"Cara!" Richard called her as she turned to leave the room.
"Oh, don't thank me Lord Rahl." She said before closing the door behind her.
"I can't believe it!" Richard's exclaimed, shaking his head.
"You know how Cara is." Kahlan said softly, resting a hand on his forearm.
"It's about time I teach her some manners." He said angrily, taking his arm away from her hand.
"Richard what's going on?" She asked with a worried expression on her face.
"Nothing. I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get angry." He told her, taking a breath and trying his best to smile.
"It's not nothing if it makes you angry like that, especially at Cara." She said, crossing her arms over the blanket and over her chest.
"It's nothing, it's just silly." He said, nervously running a hand through his hair.
"Tell me." She said softly.
He let out a sigh and said: "Cassie… she… she never called me Dad…"
Looking away from her in embarrassment he added: "She knows Cara's name and yours and… Forget it. She doesn't really know me and Cara saved her life so…"
He got up from the bed, took his boots and sat on a chair nearby to put them on. Kahlan quickly followed him out of the bed, knelling in front of him and taking his hands in hers, preventing him to put his boots and leave.
"We love you." She stated with a smile. Her heart ached at the thought of what he just said. He was right, Cassie never got to call him Dad and it was her fault in some way.
"I know. I was just being stupid." He mumbled.
"Richard." She said with a sigh. "You are her father, she knows it and nothing can change that."
"How can she know it Kahlan?" He said shaking his head. "I wasn't here when you were with child, I never got the chance to talk to her when she was growing inside of you. I wasn't here when you gave birth, when she needed to be held, to be fed. I wasn't here when she cried in the middle of the night and wanted to be held. I wasn't here when she started to walk or to talk."
"The Cyphers weren't there when you were born, that doesn't made them your parents any less Richard." She told him sternly.
"They were my adoptive parents Kahlan… I shouldn't have to feel like I'm adopting her when I'm her biological father." He said, shaking his head.
"It's my fault." She told him, looking down at the floor.
"What?" He exclaimed. "No, no, Kahlan, don't say that."
"I never call you Dad in front of her. Ever since you got back, I've been treating you like a complete stranger. I was so scared and so angry that I let my own insecurities float on Cassie. I'm sorry." She explained, looking him straight in the eyes.
"You are her father and I'll make sure you both know that." She added before giving him a kiss on the forehead.
"Thank you." He whispered.
She stifled a yawn and he smiled at her.
"You should go back to bed and rest some more." He told her, noticing the goose bumps on her arms.
"Hold me?" She asked biting her lower lip somewhat afraid he would say no.
Getting up, he took her hand in his and entwined their fingers. He led her to the bed where she laid on her side with his chest pressed against her back. She stood silent for a long time, lost in her thoughts.
"There is something I need you to know but you have to promise me you won't get upset." She stated after a while.
"Alright." He said, adjusting his position behind her, wondering what was going through her mind.
"If one day you want to have another child with another woman, just know that I would accept him or her as my own because it would be a part of you." She told him.
"I'm not having another child with another woman." He told her quietly.
"I know… But if one day you feel the need to, I'll understand." She said.
"The lack of sleep makes you say silly things." He told her, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Maybe, but I want you to be happy and experience what it's like to be a father from the beginning." She explained.
"I don't need to experience anything as long as I am with you and Cassie." He reassured her.
She nodded slightly and he asked her: "Is it going to be enough for you? I know you wanted many daughters, we both wanted many daughters."
She smiled at him, confusing him and said explained: "It's more than I ever dreamt of Richard. I'd rather have only one child with you than ten with a mate. I'm sad I can't have more children but I've made my peace with it. Now I'm just scared that you want more than one and I can't give that to you. I'm scared I have failed you."
"You never failed me Kahlan and you never will. I love you." He said.
"I love you." She told him, titling her head back to look at him.
"Thank you." He replied.
She laughed slightly, surprised with his answer and said: "Thank you?"
"I mean it. Thank you for loving me, for giving us another chance. And also, thank you for naming Cassie after my mother. It means a lot." He said.
She rolled on her back and rested a hand on his cheek.
"I wanted her to have something from you. I didn't think you noticed when I told you her name when you came back." She explained.
"I did notice but we were so angry, it didn't seem that the kind of talk we were ready to have back then." He told her.
"I'm sorry about how I reacted when you came back." She said, sadness filling her eyes.
"You had every right to be furious." He said.
"I was lost, alone and sad. I wasn't really myself back then." She told him.
"I'm sorry I left." He said, apologizing for the hundredth time.
"You're back now. We have to let go of the past and focus on our future." She told him.
"Right here, right now, it's our new start." He told her, hoping she would agree.
She nodded her head slightly and gave him her special smile that made him bent down and kiss her passionately. He had to control his yearning to tear off her clothes and make love to her because he didn't want her to think that it was just need that united them. He broke the kiss too soon and brushed a strand of hair out of her face and let his hand rested in the crock of her neck.
She closed her eyes and sighed contently when his lips softly brushed her face. He inhaled her scent that he missed so much and felt her tears on his lips.
"Don't cry." He whispered softly in her ear.
"I'm sorry." She said, wiping her cheeks quickly.
"Stop apologizing." He whispered again, adjusting his position so he was almost on top of her.
"I'm sorry." She apologized again.
"Kahlan…" He warmed softly, not stopping to kiss her face.
"I just… never thought I would feel like that ever again." She whispered as she brought her hand to his neck, gently stroking his hair.
"Safe and loved." She added as fresh waves of tears hit her eyes.
He lightly pressed his lips against hers and said: "What got me through my quest was the hope of holding you in my arms again."
"Thank you for coming back to me." She whispered, lifting her head to kiss him.
"Always." He whispered back. She looked exhausted and yet in the same time relaxed. Her face look calm and serene, it was the first time he was seeing her like this since he came back.
He moved to lie on his side, his arms wrapping around her instantly. She turned her body to face him and pressed her head under his chin while one of her hand sneaked under his shirt to rest on his side. The feel of his hot skin under her palm was pure bliss.
"Cara better not be teaching Cassie how to kill things." He stated.
Kahlan laughed slightly and said: "She cares Richard."
"Mord'Sith have strange ways to care you know." He told her.
"Cassie will be perfectly safe with Cara and she won't teach her how to kill things. I promise." She said, snuggling closer to him.
"How do you know?" Richard asked.
"Because Cara is alone and she found someone to keep her connected to her humanity, someone she cares about, and that's our daughter."
She closed her eyes and she whispered: "I'm going to sleep now."
He kissed her head and said: "I'll watch over you."
"Thanks…" She mumbled, sleep already taking her.