Kahlan's exhaustion had grown since their discovery of her pregnancy, a week and half ago. Cara and Zedd were getting anxious to finally get to the forest, now only a few days away. Richard was praying to the spirits that the whole situation could be avoided.

Kahlan rode her horse at a slow pace and became tired quickly. She constantly felt naseous and couldn't eat anything except a few slices of fruit at a time. Zedd had come to the conclusion that she was pregnant for almost a month before she fell off her horse, stating that Kahlan wouldn't have known for another week or two, until her moon blood didn't come. Each day that passed made Richard more excited - it was one day closer to holding their child in his arms. However, he felt miserable for Kahlan, knowing how carrying the child was already taking a toll on her. He just wanted this to be over so she could be back in his bed again, him tentatively taking care of her.

Kahlan was becoming tempermental and Zedd shrugged it off, claiming it was her hormones. Richard knew better. Zedd had taken to coddling her, slowing the pace more or turning in for camp earlier. Kahlan resented it. Although Richard wanted to do the same, he never voiced his opinion about it. He didn't want Kahlan to feel helpless - she was anything but. He could tell how frustrated she'd get when Zedd would suggest she lay down when she insisted she wasn't tired. Kahlan's dominance was slowly being stripped away from her. At times, Richard wanted nothing more than to gather her in his arms and take them to some secluded place where he could keep her safe. At other times, he would become infurirated with himself for even thinking of such a notion and denouncing Kahlan's strength.

Cara and Kahlan had started becoming close since she was no longer a threat to Richard.

Physically.

Cara still held her doubts, but was quicker to engage in conversation with Kahlan. Cara became quickly annoyed with Zedd's antics, constantly scolding the old man for treating the Mother Confessor like a child. The scolding effectively took Zedd's attention away from Kahlan and redirected it onto her, and Richard was positive she was doing it deliberately. Everytime she spoke up to him, Richard was silently thank her by a single nod of his head. Kahlan never awknowledged the action, but Richard was certian there was an unspoken bond between the two.

Richard now took more time to observe Kahlan's body, eager to watch it grow. She was still slender, the product of his seed still small in her womb. His eyes would light up every time he would watch her move, and his mind would instantly drift to think of her holding their child - them being a family.

Kahlan was lifting up small pieces of wood to place in the fire, receiving a patronizing glare from Zedd.

"Don't." The singular word was sharp, warning the old man not to rebuttle. He did anyway.

"Dear one, let us do all the physical work while your body works to create a child." He gestured his hands in her direction. She turned and glared at him.

"I am not helpless." She snapped, dropping the wood to the the ground as she placed her hands on her hips. "Stop treating me like a child who needs to be constantly supervised. I am the Mother Confessor. When my stomach grows too big for me to walk around comfortably, then you can make comments." Her eyes narrowed at him. "That is, if you have no sense of self preservation."

Zedd stared up at her, rolling a twig between his fingers. Cara laughed. Richard was too busy imagining her being as big as she described. He smiled.

"Is something humurous, Seeker?" She looked down at him, and he realized he was grinning like a fool. He couldn't stop.

"It's just .." He sighed as he scratched the back of his neck, right at his hairline. "I'm now imagining you growing large with our child." He looked up at her. "It makes me smile."

Her lips pursed as she leaned down to pick up the wood she had previously dropped, closing the distance and tossing it into the fire. She nestled down next to Richard, who put an arm around her waist to pull her in closer. Her right hand went routinely to his pendent, tugging slightly.

"Wizard, how will you know when we come across this forest?" Cara questioned, throwing a scrap of wood into the fire before sitting down next to Zedd - but a considerable distance away from him.

"Do not worry, child. We will know soon enough."

Cara's eyebrow shot up. "Are you saying you don't even know where exactly this forest is?" Annoyance laced her voice.

"Cara, I know where it is."

"Then where?"

"That is not for the ungifted to know."

"We'll know soon enough!"

"That you will." Zedd was smiling at the Mord'Sith, who had become flushed in the face and was having trouble controlling her breathing. She muttered something under her breath before standing and announcing she was taking first watch. Richard glanced at his grandfather.

"Must you do that?"

"Do what?" Zedd asked innocently, smile wide on his face. Richard gestured in the direction Cara had left.

"Rile her up."

"He loves riling women up." Kahlan muttered under her breath, just loud enough for Richard to catch it. He gave a gentle squeeze to her side.

Zedd tossed the twig to the side as he moved to his back, quickly dozing off into sleep.

Richard held Kahlan a little more tightly to him, noticing how her stomach was slightly firmer than before. He smiled into her hair.

"Tired?" He asked.

"No, but I'm sure you'll make me lie down." She scoffed, her body tensing. He shook his head against her hair.

"Not if you don't wish to." He placed a kiss at her part, his hand finding it's way to her stomach, tracing light circles over the cloth that resided there.

"My figure is already starting to change." She looked down, pressing a hand against his, applying light pressure. Richard nodded.

"Your stomach's firmer than before." She sighed as she returned the nod.

"Soon I will be very fat." Richard couldn't help but laugh, causing Kahlan to look up at him with shock. She batted at his shoulder.

"Richard Cypher! This isn't funny!" He could see the look of insecurity in her eyes. She had never been insecure about anything. Even when she questioned him as to whether or not she satisfied him. Richard moved his head back, taking the hand resting on her stomach and cupping her cheek.

"Kahlan, what's wrong?" Kahlan scoffed and looked down at her stomach.

"Soon I will be very fat," she looked up at him to see if he would have another outburst. "And then you will no longer want to touch me."

He started laughing.

Kahlan hit him in the chest as she moved away from him, her knees drawing up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them - taking refuge in the fact that she could still manage a simple position as that. Soon enough she wouldn't be able to do it at all.

Richard's laughing subsided to a chuckle as he moved to her, positioning himself in front of her and using his hand to lift her cheek. She looked extremely aggravated.

"I will always want to touch you, Kahlan Amnell." Her aggravation didn't seem to lessen. His chuckle started to come back, Richard finding it hard to stifle when Kahlan glared at him.

"Not when I'm fat." Kahlan's eyebrows scrunched together. She removed a hand from her leg as she used her finger to jab into his chest. "With your child." Her strength behind each touch was stronger with each word. He wrapped his arms around her, pushing her to the ground. The position forced her to retract her legs from her stomach, and they were now on either side of his legs. He was hovering over her, leaning down to kiss her.

"Even when you're fat." He murmured into her lips. Her demeanor finally seemed to lighten as she smiled at him.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him down for a deeper kiss. He started chuckling in her mouth when her body started to shift under him. He broke the kiss and moved his head to her neck, placing light kisses on the flesh before returning to her eyes.

"Zedd is not more than a few feet away." His voice was husky and her eyes held a tint of mischief.

"So?" She asked, tugging on his pendent to draw him closer. When their noses touched she opened her mouth again. "You promised me you'd do anything I'd ask and would always want to touch me. The two coincide." He laughed as he closed the distance, his lips meeting her soft ones.

They heard a crash in the distance.