for Richard

[mother_confessor]

Dr. Zimmerman had scheduled her to come in this week for something she called an ultrasound. It would, among other things, show Richard and Kahlan the child growing within them and they might be able to tell if she were carrying a boy or girl. Kahlan had been impossibly nervous about this; if it were a boy, would she rather know and dread it all along or would she rather be blissfully ignorant? She couldn't say.

Dr. Zimmerman seemed to understand this nervousness, even if she didn't know the cause, and had been happy to let Richard stay in the room while the procedure was completed. It was like magic, in a way, getting to see deep within her to something she shouldn't be able to see until the child was born. She wasn't fully formed, of course, but she was a girl. That much was absolutely clear, according to Dr. Zimmerman, and Kahlan couldn't help but be elated at the prospect.

Once she was given the clean bill of health and instructions for the next few months as to what to eat and what signs needed to bring her back to the clinic for more than just a regular appointment, she and Richard were allowed to take their leave. Once they were on the path back home, hand in hand, Kahlan turned to him with a wide grin on her face.

"A girl. I knew it."

Comments

[truenamedseeker]

"To help others?" Richard laid his hand over Kahlan's, rubbing back and forth gently. He hadn't felt the baby move yet, much to his chagrin. He was looking forward to that, and doing his best not to annoy Kahlan unnecessarily with his enthusiasm. "That goes without saying! She'll be as brilliant and kind as her mother."

[mother_confessor]

"And as giving as her father. We hope, anyway. I think most of it is in how the child is reared more than anything that happens right now."

She hoped so, at any rate.

[truenamedseeker]

"It'll be interesting to see." Richard remarked, grinning even wider, if such a thing were possible. "What she's going to look like, the bits of personality she'll get from you and from me...though you're right, how we raise her will have the most to do with that."

Richard didn't believe such things were in the blood; Richard was who he was because he'd been raised by George and Mary Cypher, but because he had the same blood in him as Darken and Panis Rahl.

[mother_confessor]

"I want her in school as early as they will take her," Kahlan said emphatically. "I want her to have all the knowledge that this island offers and then some, if at all possible. I think the opportunity should not be squandered."

She had been well-educated at Aydindril, certainly, but well-educated in the Midlands was still far behind the island's standard.

[truenamedseeker]

"You'll let her have a little fun, though right?" Richard laughed; he knew full well that Kahlan wouldn't be a taskmaster, though he was sure she'd be focused much, much more on education than Richard would. It would make for a good balance, he thought.

[mother_confessor]

"I heard from a very wise man once that an important part of child rearing is letting them play in the dirt and catch worms," Kahlan said, unable to hide the smile in her voice even if the expression on her face was an attempt at being stern.

"So I guess she'll be doing plenty of that, won't she?"

[truenamedseeker]

"I hope so," Richard laughed. "Unless worms make her squeal. If they do, I'll do the catching, and the baiting of the hooks. She can just catch the fish."

[mother_confessor]

"I would hope that a child of a Seeker and Confessor wouldn't be squeamish about something so commonplace as worms and dirt," Kahlan said, laughing at the mere thought of it. Of course, if she was, she had no doubt that Richard would ease those fears for her.

"I think this will be a grand adventure for both of us, having a daughter. I'm ready."

[truenamedseeker]

"I admit that I chased many an eight year old girl with earthworms in my wild days of youth," Richard snickered. "It was actually kinda fun when they squealed. Of course now I think if a boy did that to my daughter I'd have to have a nice long talk with him."

He grinned again, that big happy, somewhat dopey grin. "The best adventure of all, having a family. Probably the most dangerous, too."

[mother_confessor]

"Probably. I just want to be sure that she's safe and sound no matter what," Kahlan said softly, a little more serious than before. "I want her to know that she can depend on us for anything, no matter how big or small, and that we'll be there. I didn't have that when I was growing up."

[truenamedseeker]

"I had it, but sometimes I worry that I took if for granted," Richard admitted. "But maybe that's how it should be. A safe and happy kid is supposed to take it for granted that their parents will always be there for them."

[mother_confessor]

"I am glad that you did," Kahlan said quietly. "Just as I know your parents were glad for the chance to raise you and for all the years they spent with you. From what you've said, they're the most loving and generous people who could possibly have ever been entrusted with a child. I know that my purpose in life was very different but I cannot help but be envious of that upbringing."

[truenamedseeker]

"They were the best," Richard sighed. The grief had passed, but he would never really stop missing his parents. "I wish you could've met them. They would've loved you, Kahlan."

[mother_confessor]

"We will just have to tell Cara about them instead," Kahlan decided, tugging Richard's hand down to the slight swell of her belly. "So she can learn about where she came from."

[truenamedseeker]

"They'd have loved her too," Richard sighed, giving Kahlan's belly a rub and bending down to kiss the little bump. "They'd have just been beside themselves, deliriously happy."