Pushing through the door in tears, Kahlan slammed it shut, pressed her back against it and fell down to the floor. Covering her face with her hands, she let out a soft cry as she leaned forward. She jumped at the knock at the door, but didn't move. She knew who it was and she couldn't open the door. She looked up and sighed, she hadn't locked it.

"Kahlan, let me in." His voice sent a wave of pain through her body and she wished that she could make herself disappear. "Kahlan-"

"Please, just go," she pleaded through the door. "I can't do this right now."

"I'm not leaving. I am going to sit out here until you open this door. You shouldn't be alone."

Standing up, she almost opened it, almost let him in, but she didn't. She didn't want him to see her like this. She pulled loose her dress and allowed it to fall to the floor just before she crawled into bed, naked. Pulling the blankets up tightly around her, she let loose and cried. The sounds of her crying echoed through the room, coming through the door to the man sitting on the other side.

He jumped up and entered the room, surprised that she hadn't locked it. "I'm so sorry, Kahlan," he whispered as he crawled into the bed. The moment she felt his arms around her, she turned into his embrace and allowed him to hold her. "I'm so sorry."

"You have to go, he will be here soon."

"I won't leave you. Kahlan, you do not have to do this."

Digging her fingers into his back, she let out a soft cry. "Yes I do. If I don't, they will remove the only thing holding me back. They will kill you."

"No," he was shaking his head, trying to make her believe that she didn't have to go through this, that she didn't have to do this for him. "Take me, Kahlan, right now, take me."

Horrified at the thought, she pushed him away from her, hard, sending him off of the bed and onto his back to the floor. "No! How can you ask me to do that?"

"Because I want you to! I don't want anyone else to touch you!" he sighed, moving to his knees beside the bed. "I don't want anyone to give you what I- I want you to be mine, not someone else's."

"I can't be yours."

"Yes you can," he insisted softly, nodding his head as he moved onto the bed. "Right now, Kahlan, we can be together." He pulled at his shirt, lifting it over his head; the thought of her being with anyone else tearing him apart. "Right now, I can be yours. We can be together."

She stared at him, tears streaming down her face at the thought of losing him, at the thought of being with anyone else. "No!" she cried, pushing him backward, she couldn't stand to have him so close to her, not like this. Not when she was naked and the desire to have him was so strong. Anything he did could suddenly destroy her strength. "You have to go. Please Richard, just go."

"No." He crawled back onto the bed and inched closer to her, watching as she clutched the blanket to her chest. "I'm not going to leave you. I'm not going to give up on us."

"There can never be an us, Richard. I'm a Confessor. There is only me and my mate."

"Then take me." His face was creased in a frown; he couldn't stop himself from imagining her with another man. It made him sick. "Take me. Kahlan, we've defeated Darken Rahl, there is no other use for me."

"I need you!" she half shouted, "I need you to be you! I can't live with someone else, I can't- I can't destroy you!"

"Yes you can," he said tenderly, taking her face in his hands and inching closer, being sure to move slowly so that she wouldn't feel cornered and push him away again. "You can, Kahlan, I am right here. I am here and I'm asking you to, I am begging you to take me. Please, please don't let me sit by while you are with someone else. Take me."

She swallowed hard, considering his words as though for a moment she would do it. "Richard, I can't." Her tears dripped onto his hands, breaking his heart further. "If I- Touched you with my magic, if I did what you're asking me to- if I," she licked her lips, taking the moment to think, to find a way to say what she needed to, "destroyed you, I- I couldn't bear it. I love you too much."

He could barely hear the last of her words, her voice failing her as she looked away from him. "Kahlan, I- I'm right here. I'm not going to leave and let you- Not with someone who doesn't care about you."

Pushing him back, she nearly screamed. "I'm a Confessor! Any man I am with will care for me!"

"Not without be forced to." He understood her anger, felt it flowing from her, screaming in its own way. The hatred she felt for herself at that moment was more than clear. "I care for you, I love you and not because you've confessed me. I can't stand by and watch the woman I love be with a man who spent the night before praying to the spirits for some other punishment when I spend every night praying that I get you."

She moved over to him, suddenly forgetting that she was naked as she wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed him to pull her against him. She rested her head against his shoulder, she cried. At last she let herself go, she let him see her as she was; scared and afraid, hurt and lost. Her hands gripped tightly at him, pulling herself closer to him.

The knock at the door, made her heart stop. "You have to go."

"Kahlan-"

"Please," she whispered, pressing her forehead against his shoulder. "I need you to go."

"All right, but I'm not leaving. I'm going to sit outside the door. If you need me-"

Shaking her head, she pulled the blanket up to cover herself. "No. I can't- Not with you sitting out there. Please, just go find Zedd."

"But if you need me- Kahlan, I mean it, if you need me-"

"I know," she forced the words out of her mouth as she looked over his shoulder to the door.

Taking her face in his hands, he pulled her to him and kissed her passionately, needing to remind her how it felt to be kissed by someone who loved her. She kissed him back, letting herself get lost in the feel of his lips, knowing that the feeling would be gone within moments. "Kahlan, I love you."

She could only nod, her heart pounding in her ears, drowning out all other sounds. Forcing a smile, she fought back the tears as she watched him pulling his shirt back on as he walked toward the door. Richard took one last look at her, sitting on the bed, naked, her hair draped around her face, making her eyes stand out. He never thought he would feel anything more painful. He was wrong. Opening the door, he saw the man; the man who would soon be hers and he nearly lost his mind.

The thunder of her magic ripping through the air broke his heart. Laying back his head, he closed his eyes and let out the breath he had been holding for some time. He was laying in his bed, naked, hoping that it would somehow bring her closer to him. Everything within him wanted to run from the room, wanted to run to her and pull her into his arms and never let her go. He wondered what was happening, what she was feeling and how he would be able to comfort her if she needed him to. In this moment, he needed her to comfort him.

He hated himself for leaving her, for walking out of the room and leaving her alone with some other man. He couldn't stand for her to be with someone who didn't love her, who couldn't possibly give her what he could, who could love her in the way she deserved. Shaking the images from his mind, he rolled onto his side and sighed, the view of the door was almost too much. Pushing back his pain, Richard stared at the door and for the first time noticed the detail carved into it. It was beautiful, something he had always imagined that she would have been surrounded by.

He nearly jumped out of his skin as the door opened and his heart stopped at the sight of her. She was drained, her face was pale, her eyes both red and dark as she stared at him from the doorway. She was clutching her robe to her, holding herself together with the tight grip on the fabric. Breathing heavily, she closed her eyes for a moment and licked her lips, taking the moment to gather the strength to speak. "I couldn't do it," she whispered in shame. "I couldn't do it."

Taking a single step into his room, she pushed the door closed and dropped her hands, letting the robe fall to the floor. His eyes moved over her, stunned by her breathtaking beauty. Walking toward him, she tried to find the courage to say something, to tell him why she was there. "Richard, I-" she started softly and then cleared her throat, forcing herself to speak. "I've released my magic, I can't-"

He crawled out of the bed and pulled her into his arms, connecting their lips as he held her to him tightly, knowing what she was about to say. She had already released her magic, she couldn't hurt him. He walked backward to the bed, moving quickly as her hands moved over him. His skin was softer than she had imagined, his touch gentle and passionate and the way he held her to him, she never thought it was possible to feel this way. Laying her onto the bed, his lips left hers and began kissing over her neck, finding their way to her chest.

She grabbed his hair, pushing his face closer to her as she pushed up into him. His hands moved over her smoothly, followed slowly by his lips. The taste of her skin was something he would never tire of tasting. He kissed slowly, taking his time as he sucked in her skin, heating at the sound of her moans. Cupping one of her breasts in his hand, he pushed down against her while he covered the other with his mouth. His name left her lips as she pulled at his hair, needing him closer.

Wrapping her legs around him, she pulled his face back to hers, and kissed him. She flipped them over, sitting on top of him as she ran her hands over his chest. Her head fell back as his hands moved around hers; touching her anywhere he was able. He couldn't take it any longer, sitting forward; he reached between them and for an instant, ran his fingers over her, bringing out a loud moan from deep within her before he pushed himself into her. He held her to him, both still as they savored the feeling, their connection.

His forehead was pressed against her chest as he struggled to remain still. "I love you, Kahlan," he said softly, tightening his arms around her waist.

Running her fingers through his hair, she smiled. "I know," she breathed out as she shifted her hips over him. "I love you too." Her words came out in a soft moan, making him smile against her.