Disclaimer: The only thing I claim to own is the insane idea that formed this story. Everything else is borrowed.

A/N: I've already heard 'Blue Christmas' at least twenty times, by various artists, and yet Elvis is still the king! Well, anyway, this is what popped in my head so I thought I'd share. Have a Blue; Blue, Blue, Blue, Blue Christmas! Oh, and the song's not even mentioned in the fic - so go figure. I hope you enjoy!

BLUE CHRISTMAS

Sarah numbly hung up the phone, fighting all the emotions that swelled up within her. She wrapped one arm around herself, placing her other hand over her mouth to hold in the urge to cry.

She was supposed to fly out to Miami and spend the Holiday Season with her boyfriend of almost two years, only for him to call at the last minute and tell her that 'she just didn't fit into his schedule' and not to bother making the trip.

Giving in to her disappointment, she sunk gently to the floor and covered her face as the tears and sobs started.

Charlie had done the same thing during the summer, after Sarah had requested her vacation time at work. They were supposed to have taken a cruise to the Bahamas, and Sarah had been so excited, until he had told her that his plans had changed and the trip was canceled.

"Why me?" she cried, bending in half on the floor.

It wasn't always this way with Charlie, which is why it hurt so much when these things did happen. He usually doted on her lavishly, taking her out to dinner, buying her gifts or sending flowers for no reason except that he wanted to.

But her job at the ad agency kept her pinned behind a desk, whereas Charlie was the ads spokesperson and traveled wherever and whenever he was needed.

But her feelings of rejection didn't stop there. Her self remorse went deeper than she wanted to admit, only to rear its ugly head during times like this.

Sarah couldn't fathom what it was about her that just seemed to put people off. Generally, most people liked her enough to be pleasant and chat with her, tell jokes, or share stories. But she was, for the most part, a loner.

She'd worked at the ad agency for five years and not once had anyone invited her to their barbeques, or even to join them for lunch for that matter. They always politely asked what she had planned for weekends or holidays, but no matter what her response, their reply would be; 'oh, that's nice'.

She belonged to an art class where she basically received the same treatment, out of sight out of mind.

"Why does everyone hate me so much?" she whined through her tears, coughing sobs of hurt and loneliness.

It seemed silly for a woman of twenty-seven to think nobody loved her just because they didn't invite her to places. Just because they canceled preplanned trips with her. Just because the only people who called her, except for Charlie, were telemarketers.

She was rarely in touch with her own family anymore. Toby treated her like the distant aunt you only saw once a year, even though she tried to visit them at least once every month or so.

Her dad and Karen, still the socialites, were hardly ever home; hardly in the same state it seemed, and had often forgot she was going to visit, leaving her to show up at an empty house.

"I could die and nobody would care." She sobbed to herself.

"I would care."

The masculine voice had been so low, whispered from the other side of the room, that it took Sarah a moment to realize there had been another voice in the room to begin with.

When the realization finally hit she froze in her pathetic position, silencing her noisy sobs to listen. She was imagining things, she told herself, though refused to move. Refused to look around to confirm that she was indeed so bereft that she was now hearing voices.

Shaking her head she continued with her crying, wallowing in self pity.

Then the phone rang. Sarah jumped to her knees and answered it quickly with a hopeful tone of voice. Maybe it was Charlie!

"Hello?"

"You have been selected, as a valued card holder, to win a four day – three night all exclusive trip for two…"

Sarah hung up the phone. "I had an exclusive trip for two!" she cried at the phone. "Until he canceled on me!"

Hot tears streaked her face as she turned towards her bedroom to go lay down. What else was there for her to do except be alone and miserable for the holidays.

Her eyes caught a glimpse of the presents she'd bought for her family, sitting neatly in the arm chair. She hadn't bothered decorating or putting up a tree since she wasn't supposed to even be there.

Feeling numb, she shuffled her feet towards the hallway, and her room, when she noticed something… no, someone sitting on the floor near the doorway.

He had wild and unruly blonde hair, his clothes were predated to the fifteen hundreds at least, and he quietly looked at her with breath catching mismatched eyes. He regarded her silently with his knees drawn up, his elbows resting on his knees, and his back against the wall.

"Oh my god," she whispered with wide eyes. "I've finally lost it."

He tilted his head slightly to look up at her, quirking an elegantly arched eyebrow at her comment.

"No," she whispered within a breath, shaking her head and backing further away from him. "You're not real. I made you up."

Her eyes suddenly grew wider with realization. "I really have lost it," she told herself, placing a hand to her forehead. "I'm so fucking messed up that I'm seeing imaginary people!"

She began to pace around her room. "Oh that's just fucking great!" she spun on her heels to face him. "And what am I supposed to do with you now?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Hmm?" she prompted when he remained silent. "I don't have dreams anymore!" she stated, pointing at him. "I haven't dreamt of you for at least two years, so of course, NOW is when you show up!"

She chuckled sardonically, a half smirk on her lips. "Well too bad," she told him. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you. You are the most impossible dream person I've ever had in my life, and I'm just not up to it." she finalized with her arms crossed, shaking her head decisively.

"I'm here because you called me," he finally stated calmly, otherwise remaining unmoving.

"I didn't call you!" she argued heatedly. "I was busy feeling sorry for myself!"

Her eyes lit once more with realization. "Oh," she murmured. "That's always when I dreamed of you, isn't it? Whenever I felt so alone that I believed nobody would care if I lived or died."

"Yes, well," he replied, getting to his feet. "That's the only time you were accepting of my being anywhere near you."

He dusted himself off with precise, graceful movements, even though there was no dirt on his pristine clothes.

"So I'm dreaming," Sarah stated more than asked. She glanced towards the floor where she had been sitting earlier, half expecting to see her own body lying there in slumber. "I haven't dreamed like this since I was sixteen."

"You're not dreaming, and you were fifteen."

"Oh, right," she mocked, looking back at him. "Because you know so much. News flash, you're a dream, mister fantasy, nothing more!"

An inscrutable expression came over his face as he took a step towards her.

Sarah backed away from him reflexively. There was no way she could let him touch her, she never remembered much of anything when he touched her, dream or not.

But, maybe that's what she needed. He was her knight in shining armor after all, though he wasn't wearing his armor this time.

He was the one who loved her no matter what. No matter where. No matter how. He was always the only dream she had left when all others left her.

So what if he seemed a little too real, she'd often dreamed so lucidly that she wasn't sure if it had been real or not. So why should that matter now, when she really needed to feel wanted and loved?

"Are you going to give me a hard time, like you usually do?" she asked quietly, hugging herself.

"I'll give you whatever you want," he replied, walking across the room to stand before her. "Just as I've always given you whatever you wanted from me."

He seemed taller for some reason, and his eyes were so much more captivating. She found herself drawn to him, as she always had in her dreams, and leaned closer to breath in his scent that made her head swim.

"Just hold me," she whispered, stepping into his waiting embrace. She rested her head on his chest, just below his collar bone, and closed her eyes.

"You always manage to heal my broken heart," she stated quietly, relishing the feel of his arms around her, the sound of his heart beneath her ear.

"You've said that before," he replied, tightening his embrace around her.

"Sometimes, I wish you were real," she whispered longingly.

"You've said that before, too," he whispered back, his voice deep with emotion.

"We'd probably end up killing each other, though," she added rationally, and looked up into his face. "We always seem to piss each other off so easily."

"We're well matched, you and I," he commented, looking down at her.

"You've said that before," she grinned up at him.

Her amusement faded as she gazed up at him. Her heart pounded hurtfully in her chest. She ached so badly to be loved, and there it was, shining in his eyes as he looked at her.

"I wish you were real," she croaked sadly, lowering her head to his chest again. "I'm so tired of being alone," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his back to hold him tightly.

"Say it once more, Sarah," he whispered, resting his chin over her head. "And I will give you all of your dreams."

She pulled her head back to look at him with sorrowful eyes. "You're the only dream I have left. You were the only one strong enough… I let the others die."

"Say it once more," he urged pleadingly. "Say the words, Sarah, and make me real."

'Say the words…' she repeated in thought.

She pulled her gaze away from his as though in a daze, leaning into him as flashes of memories came to her mind. Little bits of things that had been said before.

'Just fear me and love me,' his voice echoed in her mind from far away and long ago. 'Do as I say, and I will be your slave.'

The expression on his face had been so similar to the one he now showed her. His need, his want, his love for her.

"It wasn't a dream," Sarah whispered so low that he had to strain to hear her words. She lifted her gaze unseeingly towards the window.

'Look what I can offer you.' A glowing crystal had appeared in his hand. 'It will show you your dreams.'

She felt his muscles tense, his back became defensively rigid, his arms were like steel bands around her back.

"You are real," she whispered loud enough for him to hear her without strain. "All of it was real."

She tilted her head back to meet his eyes.

He regarded her with uncertainty and a hint of fear.

"You," she breathed with wonder. "You never gave up on me."

The expression in his eyes shifted, his fear was replaced with hope.

He was holding her so tight that she couldn't move, so she rose herself on her tip toes and tilted her head back invitingly. She didn't need to ask him for his kiss as he lowered his lips to hers, gently moving his mouth over hers seductively.

She pulled back by dropping flat on her feet, her breathing already uneven.

"You're the only dream I have left," she stated, meeting his gaze with her own. "So you'll have to show me yours so we can dream together."

Her eyes watered as she met his expectant gaze. "I wish you were real, Jareth."

His lips heatedly claimed her mouth, his tongue dueled with hers demandingly, controlling, everything that he was; everything that she loved about him.

She felt a cool breeze whip around her suddenly and pulled back from him. Taking in her new surroundings, she stared in awe at the crystal castle they stood in front of.

"This is beautiful," she stated, expressing her awe. "Where are we?"

"In one of my dreams," he informed her, smirking roguishly. "It's an ice castle. And I wish to see how long it will take us to melt it."

"Oh," she smirked back at him. "I like the sound of that dream." She turned back to look at the ice fixture. "I think we should start at the top and slide our way down as it melts," she grinned mischievously. "What do you think?"

"I think you'll give me a hard time," he retorted arrogantly. "Like you usually do, if I say anything different."

"Why can't you just say that you agree with me?"

"Why can't you just shut your mouth and kiss me?"

Smirking devilishly she wrapped her arms around his neck, weaving her fingers into his hair, and pulled his head down to kiss him with heated abandon.

They broke their kiss to come up for air, panting heavily while lying in the melted ice around them.

"For some reason I thought it would be a lot colder in here," Sarah remarked, trying to bring her breathing down to normal.

"The benefit of a dream," Jareth replied, dipping his head over her to capture a taught nipple in his teeth.

She arched her back and gasped with pleasure, grabbing a fistful of his hair as he sucked the sensitive nub.

"I think you're going to need a bigger castle," she stated breathlessly. "We've already melted both towers in this one."

"I've got plenty more dreams where this one came from," he informed her seductively, picking his head up to meet her aroused gaze. "And some of them actually require us to wear clothes."

"Oh, the horror," she grinned facetiously. "Do we get to argue too?"

"Absolutely," he replied, affronted that she should even ask such a thing, then tenderly kissed her lips. "I may even get a spark of fear from you once in awhile."

She maneuvered her body to roll him to his back, straddling his hips with her hands on his chest. "Of that, I'm sure. Just don't let me run too far," she said somberly. "I don't ever want to be alone again."

"Haven't I told you?" he question with feigned innocence. "You're mine, forever."

"I like the sound of that," she replied, smiling.

She leaned over him and placed her lips to his, his hands sliding up to rest on her hips.

Water splashed around them as another wall of ice melted away.

Neither of them noticed.