forward dated to august 19

[mother_confessor]

Having a baby, it seemed, was long and thankless work. Kahlan hadn't exactly been prepared for the pain of labor but having endured other pain in her life, she endured that with as much grace as she could manage. Besides, in the end, she was rewarded with a beautiful daughter with dark hair and what looked to be big, dark eyes.

Richard had been there the entire time, even though Kahlan was certain she'd said some unspeakable things during the worst part of it, and she was finally feeling well enough to have visitors come in to see both her and the newborn.

"Well, little Cara, are you ready to receive an audience? Everyone's been waiting to see you."

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[mother_confessor]

"Stephanie, you shouldn't have!" Kahlan insisted. She was grateful for the present, of course, but the idea that someone would bring something especially for her and Cara was more than a little overwhelming.

"I didn't expect anything at all."

[teambatgirl]

"Baby girl's got to have a little gift on her very first birthday," Steph says with a happy smile as she unwraps the little bundle. "Besides the gift of life from her mama and papa, anyway."

Inside are a few simple homemade baby dresses with little baby newborn caps to match. It had been like making doll clothes. "In case she's feeling like wearing something pretty," Steph tells Kahlan. "You know, to feel fancy before puking on them."

[mother_confessor]

"These are perfect," Kahlan said, utterly touched by the gift. "It must have taken so much time for you to have made these. I will cherish them long after Cara has outgrown them."

[teambatgirl]

"Well, I will be happy to make her just anything in the world." For a moment, Steph just looks at Kahlan with her little girl in her arms, and something wells up in her, this mix of happiness and loss for what she never had. Bittersweet. She's so happy and it still hurts, but Steph smiles through it. "How are you feeling? Everything went alright during the delivery?"

[mother_confessor]

"Sore and tired but it's nothing I can't handle," she promised.

"I think the pain was worth it, in the end, because she's happy and healthy. That's all I was worried about."

[teambatgirl]

"Well, you definitely have that new mother glow right now." Steph smiles a little, but it's not really a happy smile. "I had serious complications, had to deliver eight weeks early. But you definitely have a happy baby right there."