Title: Touched

Author: digitaldesigner

Beta: hazel_eyes_86

Word Count: 171

Prompt: touch

Rating: PG

Spoilers: A spoiler-free zone.

Pairing/Characters: Cara

Summary: Cara's thoughts on pain.

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it doesn't belong to me. Otherwise, it's mine.

Author's Note: Written for the touch challenge at legendland.

For a long time she didn't like to be touched. Touching just reminded her of pain. Pain at the hands of Darken Rahl. She'd just wanted to be left alone, to be allowed to have just a few moments of peace, free from pain.

But somewhere along the way, all that changed. Now she craved touch on a daily basis. She wanted the assurance that she wasn't alone, that someone cared. She smiled at that thought, finding it almost hard to believe that someone would actually care about her. But they did. Richard, Kahlan, even Zedd. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they all cared about her.

"Cara?" Cara's head snapped up at the sound of her name. All three of them were looking at her, each with a different degree of concern on their face. "Are you okay?" Kahlan asked, a hand coming to touch her arm, comforting.

Cara smiled. "I am now." And she was. She had a family for the first time in her life.