Disclaimer: the only thing I claim to own is the insane idea that formed this story. Everything else is borrowed.
Summary: Jareth is wounded and Sarah has to take care of him… no, wait, it's actually Toby who saves the king, Sarah invites him to dinner, and Karen is clueless. The title has nothing to do with the story. There's no sex, not even any innuendos! I have no idea where I was going with this, or if I'll ever add to it. So, for now, mark it as a cliffhanging oneshot. I hope you enjoy it though. *Please* leave a comment when you're done.
Feathers On My Pillow
"Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!" Toby yelled as he burst through the front door.
"Toby!" Karen yelled in a chastising tone. "No running in the house! And, for Pete's sake close the front door!" she added as she went down the hall to close the front door herself as Toby disappeared up the stairs.
Toby ignored his mother and continued running up the stairs in a panic. "Sarah! Sarah!" he yelled, bursting into her bedroom. "You have to come quick!"
"Toby, I have to finish this…"
"No! Now!" he insisted, pulling on her arm with the strength of a ten years old. "You have to help him!"
"Help who?" she asked, her brother's urgency finally registering as something important. He was dirty, sweaty, and completely out of breath. Something was definitely wrong.
"They're hurting him!" he insisted, pulling harder on her arm in an attempt to make her move. "In the park! You have to come, now!" he persisted, tugging and pulling on his sister.
"Help who, Toby?"
"The owl! He's bleeding and they're still hurting him! I couldn't make them stop! You have to…"
Sarah was off her bed and in the hallway before Toby could finish his rant. With years of practice she bulldozed down the steps, around the banister and was out the front door before her brother was even halfway down the stairs.
"Toby Williams!" Karen shouted angrily. "What in creation is going on?" She noticed the front door hanging wide open and waved a hand in exasperation. "That's just great. Now you got your sister involved." She once again marched down the hall to close the front door. "Get in there, and sit down," she ordered the little boy, pointing into the den.
"I have to go back to the park!" he insisted.
"Sit!"
"It's not fair!" he shouted at her, stomping down the remaining steps to sullenly trudge into the den. "I hate it here!" he grumbled, plopping onto the sofa with crossed arms and a sour expression.
Karen stared at her disgruntled son and took an exasperated breath. 'What's not fair is how I always have to be the evil parent while Robert gets all the praise.' With another exasperated sigh and a shake of her head, Karen headed back into the kitchen to finish preparing dinner. "Get back in that room this instant, mister!" she commanded from over her shoulder after counting out two minutes.
Toby froze just outside the den's doorway to look over his shoulder with wide eyes. 'How did she know I was sneaking out? She can't even see me!' "I hate you!" he yelled, then stomped back into the den.
Karen continued mixing the salad with tears at the back of her eyes.
XxXxX
Sarah had never gotten to the park as fast as she had that day. Her lungs burned from the slightly chilled September air as she sped through the park to the clearing. Pausing for half of a second on the bridge, she saw three boys bent over a fluff of white on the ground, one boy with a rock raised above his head.
"No!" Sarah screamed, pushing herself in motion once more as the rock started a downward decent. "I wish the goblins would come, right now!"
Sarah came to a jarring halt at the sound of the rock hitting the dirt. The last nit of air was choked from her lungs as she sank to the ground to her knees. 'I was too late,' she thought. Her heart constricted painfully in her chest, her eyes burned with salty tears as a deafening hush surrounded her.
"Where'd it go?"
Filling her lungs with a hopeful gasp of air, she sprang to her feet to close the short distance between herself and those boys when the skies suddenly darkened with gusts of wind blowing whirlwinds all around. She took a healthy, hesitant step backwards, not wanting to be anywhere near those boy at that moment, then shielded her eyes with her forearm as a white blinding light flashed before her. Lowering her arm, she tentatively looked back at where the boys 'used' to be standing, then scanned the empty clearing to see if they had run away. But, there was no sign of them, or the owl. Turning back towards the bridge, she took one last glance at the empty spot the boys had been standing in before heading home with a numb heart and muddled mind.
"Did you save him?" Toby called in a hopeful voice from the den as Sarah walked past on leaden feet.
"I'm not sure," she told him honestly. "I called the…"
"Sarah," Karen addressed with worried exasperation. "Where have you been? What is going on with the two of you?"
"I… I had to go to the park," she answered in a monotone voice.
"And, you couldn't even close the door on your way out? Not only that, but you had Toby all riled up, insisting that someone was being beaten to death or some such nonsense. Now, I would like an explanation."
Sarah lifted a blank gaze to meet that of her stepmother's anxious eyes. "Karen," Sarah stated evenly in a calm voice. "Sometimes there's just no explanation, and this is one of those times. Excuse me, but, I have to work on my essay."
"Sarah, please," the older woman pleaded, glancing into the den towards her son, who looked back at her with accusing eyes. "I just want to understand. Why is that so hard to believe?"
"You want something hard to believe?" Sarah asked, turning around on the stairs. "How about knowing that…" The doorbell rang suddenly at the front door, making Sarah pause her speech.
"Don't move," Karen stated firmly, pointing at Sarah directly. "And hold that thought!" She had no idea what was going to come out of her stepdaughter's mouth, but she had a good feeling that it would shed some light on a lot of things that seemed to happen in her and Toby's lives. The doorbell chimed again just as Karen placed her hand on the doorknob and opened the door.
"Pardon the intrusion." A baritone, masculine voice stated from the threshold. Sarah numbly stepped off the bottom step as Toby slowly made his way to the doorway of the den. "I'm here to see Sarah and Toby Williams, if you don't mind."
"And, you are?" Karen asked defensively. "What's this in regards to?"
"My name is Jareth, and this is in regards to them just saving my life in the park."
"Oh, my goodness," Karen floundered, suddenly flush in the face. "I had no idea… I thought he… and Sarah just… oh, please… please, come inside!"
Jareth stepped into the Williams' home and met Sarah's uncertain gaze immediately. Toby stepped into the hallway and cowered under his sister's protective arm, looking up at the tall man with wide, uncertain eyes.
"You're alive," Sarah stated, her tone somewhere between relieved and disbelief. The overwhelming urge to rush at him and wrap her arms around him was only subdued by her little brother tightly hugging her arm.
"Barely," he replied, bestowing her with a weak, half smile. "It was your quick thinking that I'm here at all, and I wanted to say thank you. I'm forever indebted to you both."
"What happened out there?" Karen asked, her voice full of concern, accepting Jareth's coat as he handed it to her. "Toby kept shouting that someone was being murdered in the park, and Sarah rushed out of here like her tail was on fire. How did they help?" Karen turned confused eyes towards Sarah. "Did you call the police?" then she looked back at Jareth. "Do you need an ambulance? Are you sure you're okay?"
"Oh, dear," Jareth murmured with sudden realization that he'd made himself known to a parent. He looked at Sarah anxiously. "I apologize. I am… solemnly sorry. I'm still feeling out of sorts, everything happened so fast that I…"
"It's okay," Sarah reassured him, stepping forward. She paused only to gesture for Toby to stay still, and then walked down the short hall. "Here, come this way and sit down," Sarah cajoled, offering her support as he took a hesitant step. "Karen, did you make enough to invite Jareth to stay for dinner?"
"Of course," Karen replied amicably. "I always make enough in case someone… drops by." She squeezed herself past Sarah and Jareth to hurry towards the kitchen. "I'll go check on everything while you show… uhm… Jareth, to the den."
"That was careless of me," Jareth stated softly as Sarah helped him to the sofa to sit down.
"It's okay," Sarah whispered, seating herself on the edge of the cushion next to him. "Just relax."
"Are you really him?" Toby asked from the doorway in an uncertain voice. "Are you really the…"
"Yes, Toby," Sarah answered before her brother could speak Jareth's title. "It's really him. Why don't you go to the kitchen and get him something to drink. Tell Karen to make some hot tea or something."
"Water would be sufficient, if you don't mind," Jareth stated politely. Toby nodded and ran off in the direction of the kitchen. Jareth took a deep ragged breath and let his head rest on the back of the sofa with closed eyes.
"What happened, Jareth?" Sarah asked in a whispered voice. "Are you really going to be okay?"
"Damn brats hit me with a stone as I was flying overhead." A smirk started to form at his mouth before a grimace of pain took over his expression. "You're timing, as expected, was impeccable."
"You sound as though you knew I'd be there," Sarah pointed out, suddenly having misgivings with him being in their house.
"I did," he answered tiredly, briefly meeting her gaze before closing his eyes again. "As soon as I realized that it was Toby trying to get me away from those boys, I knew he would summon you."
"Should I ask what happened to those boys?"
"Some questions should just remain unanswered, Sarah."
"Fair enough," she replied agreeably. "I really don't want to know anyway."
"Here's some water," Toby announced, coming to stand next to Sarah with a dripping, half filled glass in his hands.
"You ran, didn't you?" Sarah lightly accused in a kindly manner, taking the glass from her brother. Toby pouted his lower lip while nodding reluctantly. Sarah wiped the bottom of the glass on her jeans, and then handed it to Jareth. "Here, I hope this helps."
"It will, thank you." Jareth took the glass and sipped at the chilled liquid before resting the glass on his knee. "You'll have to forgive me," he stated after a moment's silence. "My head simply hurts too much to think straight."
"No, that's fine," Sarah comforted. "After what you've just been through, I can't imagine how you even got here." Sarah paused briefly as a thought came to her. "How did you get here? You can barely stand let alone use magic."
"Oh, that would be your wish."
"What do you mean, my wish?" Sarah asked guardedly.
"You're wish was vague enough to not bind you, yet precise enough to enable my escape. I was able to return to you as soon as I disposed of those who attacked me."
"What does disposed mean?" Toby asked. "Does that mean that you…"
"Excuse me," Karen interrupted from the doorway, with perfect timing as far as Sarah was concerned. "But, dinner is ready if Jareth is able to come to the table."
"Thank you," Jareth replied with more bravado than he felt. "Dinner sounds delightful."
"Are you sure you're okay? I can bring a plate in here for you if you like," Sarah offered while lending a supportive hand to help him stand up.
"I'll be fine," Jareth replied with a small grunt, looking at Sarah directly once he stood at his full height. "I heal a lot faster than you do," he whispered only for Sarah to hear.
"Oh, well then, the dining room is this way."
"Are you sure you don't need medical attention?" Karen asked with concern, watching how much their guest leaned on Sarah's arm for support as they entered the dining room.
"I'm receiving all the attention I need at the moment, thank you," Jareth answered airily, causing Sarah to stare at him astounded while Karen looked on with a curious expression.
"Jareth, my dad sits there," Sarah whispered as he reached out towards the chair at the head of the table.
"It's alright, Sarah," Karen stated, seating herself at the other end. "Your father called earlier, he'll be home late, again." Karen put a polite smile upon her face as she met Jareth's gaze directly. "Please, be our guest and sit wherever you like."
Jareth nodded mutely and seated himself at the head of the table, which he was going to do anyway, and bestowed Sarah with a cheshire grin.
"So, Jareth," Karen started saying as serving bowls were being passed around the table for everyone to help themselves. "How do you know my children?"
"Oh," he sounded with a grin. "I think I'll let Sarah explain it," he replied, glancing at Sarah. "I'm sure she would tell our first meeting in a much more interesting way than I ever could."
"Ha," Sarah sounded, busying herself with pouring gravy over her mashed potatoes. 'I'm going to kill him.' "Well, uhm…" she stalled, placing the gravy boat back to the table before looking at her stepmother. "Jareth… uhm… was a substitute teacher when I was in high school," she began, her mind working overtime to come up with something feasible. "And, although he only taught one lesson, it was a lesson I'll never forget."
"Oh," Karen voiced intrigued. "What was the lesson about?"
"About?" Sarah stammered. "Oh, uhm… cultural sciences." She glanced over at Jareth, surprised at the pleasant expression on his face. She'd expected him to be gloating, smirking at her knowingly as she fumbled for answers, but he was simply looking at her, listening to the answer she came up with.
"Interesting," Jareth stated in a sincere tone. "How a teacher never realizes the impression he leaves upon his pupils. That was very enlightening, Sarah."
"I see him in the park a lot," Toby voiced, not wanting to be left out.
"You must've been very young when you started teaching," Karen observed. "You don't look old enough to have been teaching when Sarah attended high school. I mean, it's been, what, seven years since you've graduated?"
"Yea, about that," Sarah answered uncomfortably.
"I was barely older than the students themselves in comparison," Jareth stated with a charming smile.
"Do you still teach?"
"Only when called upon," Jareth replied, pausing to glance at Sarah who suddenly started cough/choking on her food. "Are you alright?"
"Fine," she wheezed, taking a healthy drink from her glass of iced tea.
"You're being very quiet tonight," Karen addressed towards Toby. "Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm okay," he answered quietly, glancing shyly down the table towards Jareth.
"That was a very brave thing you did for me today, Toby. I meant what I said about being in your debt." He shifted his gaze to Sarah. "Yours as well."
"What did happen?" Karen stressed. "I'm still confused as to how my children were able to help you."
"I was accosted by three young men," Jareth stated informatively, meeting Karen's gaze directly. "Toby saw what was happening and tried to stop them from hurting me. After they simply shoved him away, he obviously came home to get his big sister."
"Oh, heaven have mercy," Karen murmured. "Toby, you could've been seriously hurt. We've always told you to call for help if you're in danger."
"I know," he stated demurely, then lifted his chin from his chest. "But, he 'was' calling for help! And, I was the only one around."
Karen's eyes filled with tears of pride for her son, although him putting himself in danger sorely grated her motherly instincts to protect him. She shifted her gaze towards Sarah, her heart nearly bursting with emotion. "And, I suppose you charged into the whole mess with both fists flying, as usual?"
Sarah's eyes hardened as she met Karen's misty gaze. Even during a moment of praise Karen had that hard edge to her tone whenever she spoke to Sarah.
"Actually," Jareth interjected, pausing to wipe his mouth with his napkin. "It seems as though Sarah has a way with words." He looked pointedly at her as he continued. "They simply disappeared as she came running down the hill, shouting to the high heavens."
"Well, I can't argue with that," Karen stated pointedly. "She always did have a way of getting what she wanted, no matter what it was." Karen paused thoughtfully, and then looked back at Sarah again. "But, why would you leave Jareth in the park if he was hurt? Why didn't you…"
"She ran after them, of course," Jareth interrupted once more, chuckling fondly. "I took the opportunity to rush home, clean myself up a bit, before coming over to show my gratitude."
"Oh, I didn't realize you lived nearby."
"Closer than you think," he replied with a smirk.
"I said I see him in the park a lot," Toby reiterated. "You never listen to nuffin I say!"
"Anything," Karen corrected. "I never listen to anything you say."
"I know! I just said that!" he shouted, getting all upset. "Oh my god! Sarah, how come you're the only one who hears me!"
"I hear you, Toby," Jareth stated matter of factly as he forked more meat from his plate. "More frequently than you'd ever imagine."
"You're kidding," Sarah questioned deadpan, pinpointing Jareth in her gaze. "After all this time you still…" Suddenly, she realized that Karen was hanging on their every word with bated breath. "Never mind," she withdrew, focusing her attention on her napkin as an excuse to not look at anyone at the moment.
"I can imagine a lot!" Toby beamed proudly. "Even Sarah says so."
Jareth chuckled good humoredly. "Yes, I know."
"How long have you lived nearby, Jareth?" Karen asked curiously. "I don't remember seeing you before."
"You would have no reason to remember seeing me, Karen," Jareth replied in a suggestive tone. "I'm usually deemed as nothing more than a child's imaginary friend."
"Not likely," Sarah all but snorted, gaining everyone's attention.
"Then why bother rushing to my aid?" Jareth asked. "Why would you become so upset when you weren't sure if I survived the attack or not, if you don't deem me as 'friend'?"
"You're no friend of mine," Sarah stated evenly. "But, that doesn't mean that I want you hurt. You weren't in your own kin… home, and it was three against one. That's not fair odds no matter who you are."
"I thought he was one of your teachers?" Karen asked, confused.
"It was four against one, if I remember correctly, when you came after me, Sarah," he stated flippantly. "I even recall you throwing rocks."
"Sarah?" Karen questioned.
"I wasn't throwing them at you directly, Jareth, and you know it."
"Sarah was being shot at by cannons!" Toby announced informatively.
"Cannons?" Karen repeated, raising a brow suspiciously at the three others at the table.
"You think you know the story, do you?" Jareth asked Toby. The boy nodded mutely. "Well," Jareth smiled brilliantly as he turned his attention back to Sarah. "That does change things, now doesn't it?"
"How?" Sarah asked warily. "How does Toby knowing the story change things?"
"I knew it," Karen breathed impatiently, sitting back in her chair. "We can never have a normal conversation in this house, not even with a guest."
"Because of what no one knew, dear girl," Jareth smiled at her wickedly.
Sarah shook her head and briefly wrinkled her expression in denial. "What does that have to do with anything? I told him that version of the story the night I… and you…"
"Sarah…" Karen addressed cautiously, straightening her back in her chair. "What are you hinting at? Are you suggesting that the two of you…"
"Toby," Jareth addressed, interrupting Karen. "Do you know what no one knew?"
Toby nodded his head vigorously. "That the king fell in love with the girl!" he answered enthusiastically. "and gave her certain gifts!"
Jareth turned his gaze back toward Sarah. "Not much of a secret, now, is it?"
"It still doesn't mean anything," Sarah insisted, sitting back to fold her arms across her chest. "It doesn't change the fact that you have no power over me."
"I'll go get dessert," Karen announced, standing up. "This conversation is beyond me completely."
"Are you certain about that?" Jareth asked Sarah with a gleam in his mismatched eyes, a cheshire grin upon his lips. "Your power…" he paused, just long enough to make Sarah have doubt show in her eyes. "… was that no one knew."
"It doesn't mean anything," she argued defiantly, then leaned closer to the table while Karen was in the kitchen. "I must've said those words to Toby a hundred times before you actually showed up that night!"
"He wasn't old enough to understand much of anything back then," Jareth waved dismissively, then leaned closer to the table himself, bringing him and Sarah into a very close proximity. "You've openly spoken secret words that should've only been shared if you wanted them to have power." Jareth leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smirk. "In short, you want me to love you, or you never would've said so."
"You're kidding me, right?" Sarah asked with humor bubbling up from within. "I'd rather kiss a toad than want anything from you, Jareth."
"Yes, well, you've come close enough to that as I recall," he answered in a sour tone. "Didn't that end with the lot of you in the bog?"
Sarah's eyes grew wide with realization and she opened her mouth to refute him when Karen returned with dessert. "I hope you don't mind," Karen stated entering the room with a large plate. "But, the cheesecake I took out of the freezer isn't thawed enough yet, so we can have the chocolate chip cookies that Toby and I made earlier today."
"I didn't make any cookies," Toby grumbled, slumping in his chair with a pouty lip. "She wouldn't let me do nuffin."
"Anything," Karen corrected. "I wouldn't let you do anything."
"I just said that! Aughhh! I hate you!" Toby exclaimed heatedly, jumping from the chair. "I wish nobody could hear YOU talk, and see how you like it!"
"Toby Williams!" Karen shouted after her son as he ran from the room. "Excuse me," she mumbled hurriedly before giving chase. "Toby! Get back here this instant!"
Sarah slowly turned her head to look over at the King, raising a brow questioningly at the thoughtful expression upon his features. "You're not seriously considering it, are you?"
"Actually," he mused, taking a bite from a cookie, and chewed thoughtfully. "I am." He swallowed the morsel in his mouth before continuing. "She is rather deaf to those around her, isn't she?"
"You're barking up the wrong tree by asking 'me' that question!" Sarah responded. "Most of my problems with Karen are that she never listens to what I say, but only hears what she wants."
"Hrm…"
"Seriously, you… can't."
"I can."
"You shouldn't."
"Why not?" he asked, and met her gaze directly. Sarah opened her mouth to answer him but no reasons would come to her mind. She closed her mouth, but that felt wrong, too. So, she opened it again hoping something feasible would formulate into words. "Can't think of anything, can you?"
She grimaced and looked away from him. "It's just not right."
"Not good enough."
"Whatever." Sarah shrugged, and then felt sort of guilty for actually meaning her indifference. She was actually encouraging the Goblin King to make Karen mute, and liked the idea! She looked over at him, astounded at herself. "I'm not a cruel person, Jareth. I'm not."
He saw the plea for understanding in her eyes, beseeching him to agree with her, for him to tell her that she wasn't bad, evil, or indifferent as he was. "Sometimes, cruelty is the best kindness."
"Hey, Sarah!" Toby yelled bounding into the room. "Check this out!" He jumped onto the chair next to his sister as Karen entered the room. Her face was all flushed, her brows furrowed angrily as she flailed her hand pointedly, her mouth shouting silent words.
"She has no idea that we can't hear her," Sarah stated softly in amazement as they all watched the pan mime.
"He gave me a wish, didn't he?" Toby whispered to Sarah, snuggling up against her side.
"Yeah," she answered in awe, looking over at the king, who was busy shoving cookies into his mouth faster than he could eat them. "He gave us both a wish."
Jareth froze to stare at Sarah. Not because of her words, per se, but because of the tone she said them with.
"Toby, get a glass of milk for Jareth. He'll never be able to swallow all those cookies without it."
"He ate 'em all!" Toby exclaimed, noticing the empty plate on the table.
"Yeah," Sarah answered with a fond, sly smile. "He is king of the goblins, you know."