Wait for the Dawn

Chapter One

AN-

Mmhmm getting distracted again XD.

This story is set in my native Cleveland and will probably traipse into the Underground sooner or later. It also features Jeremy, Sarah's mom's boyfriend in the novel (he appeared only in photos with her mother in the movie). If you read 'Thunderstorm Romance' you've seen him featured in my work before.

It had been a truly awful day.

One of those days that you want to get over with, but it drags on for ages. Sarah had been fighting with it since that morning three long mornings ago, and things didn't seem to show any sign of improving. Now she sat at the table, her elbows on the cool wood, her hands folded together, pressed against her forehead. Her eyes were closed, brow furrowed as she tried to relieve herself of a headache. The room was unsettlingly quiet and the air was heavy, a combination of the freezing cold from outside that the heat had not absorbed and the events of the week. Because death had frozen the little house over along with the chill of winter, and Sarah was starting to feel lost in the layers of frozen pain.

A click sounded loudly against the harsh silence and it was a welcome disturbance, but it disturbed her nonetheless. She opened her eyes, and without turning her head shifted her eyes to the source, her stepfather in the doorway lighting a hand-rolled cigarette. His whispy blonde hair was messy, from having just woken from his nap on the couch, and his eyes were fixed on a spot on the linoleum. She shut her eyes again and sighed, rolling her forehead against the comforting bumps of her knuckles, wondering if she should bother hollering at him for smoking in the house.

Ah, to hell with it!

"Morning," He droned, walking to the fridge to take the last of the orange juice. Sarah didn't care, she hadn't eaten much and she feared the citrus would give her heartburn. She could go for coffee. But Jeremy always had orange juice in the morning. She had bought the bottle with that thought before everything had happened, smiling at it in the store, hoping it would give her his stamina to take crap on a day to day basis.

"G'mornin'," She muttered, her head snapping up when the back door of the kitchen slammed shut and her mother entered with a tray of coffee cups. "Oh, thank God!" She gasped, slipping down off the stool she had been perched on to meet her halfway, taking the cup marked "S" from the tray to immediately steal a long, very hot sip.

Jeremy was laughing under his breath, making little clouds of smoke and Linda regarded him with a strange expression. She shook her head and set the tray on the kitchen counter, shrugging off her coat and hat and gloved before she popped her own cup open and went to take it to add her own mixture of sweeteners and such. Sarah was satisfied with the shop's use of milk and flavor syrup, and sat down to indulge in the caffeinated heaven.

"Is Toby awake?" Linda asked, receiving a shake in the negative from her husband. She sighed sadly. "Poor little guy."

"Well I'm glad he's sleeping," Sarah said softly. "He didn't at first."

"Have you?"

Sarah looked up at her parents with red eyes, and tried to blink away any appearance of her exhaustion. She was so childlike in that moment, to Linda, glancing between them like she had been caught in a lie, a lie she hadn't told yet. Clearing her throat Sarah nodded. "Uh, I mean, yeah. A little."

How was she going to raise a child when she was still so young herself?

They didn't nag her about it, and Linda made some French toast, which they all picked at. Toby got up around 9 and ate one slice, which clearly eased some of his sister's anxiety. But none of them really spoke to one another aside from small, off-hand comments. Sarah just watched him, studied the way he carried himself. He was a moppy blonde now, fighting the changes the pre-teen years were bound to bring at 11 years old. He had their father's eyes, and Irene's cheekbones. Sarah supposed they shared their father's nose, as much as she didn't want to believe it. Toby was like her, though, he was a tough kid. He hadn't shed a tear since the day of the funeral, and most of the time, he was checking on her.

Come afternoon, Sarah helped Jeremy and Linda pack, they were going home tomorrow. Home to Los Angeles where the weather was balmy and the people beautiful and they didn't have a care in the world. They offered to bring her and Toby, to look after them while Sarah pursued her dreams but on the heels of her other parents' deaths she had felt like she couldn't uproot Toby to go live with her famous mother. Even if it meant being stuck in snowy, gray Cleveland. Even if it meant finally giving up on her beloved dreams.

By the time dinner rolled around Sarah had ventured out into the snow for the first time since the funeral. Wrapped in a puffy coat, jeans and boots she had walked to the Subway around the corner and gotten them all sandwiches. Something healthy and lean that her mother would nibble on. In reality she had just wanted to go outside and feel the air on her face until she wanted to be curled up by one of the heating vents in the house. Her house.

Once the food was safely procured she stepped outside with the bag held in her gloved fist. She was startled by the presence of a person right outside the door but she smiled once she saw who it was. Lana, possibly her best friend in the whole entire world. The redhead was leaning back against the brick with her head uncovered and prone to the cold and lightly drifting snowflakes. She was the sort of beautiful that Sarah sometimes wished she was, fair with cool features, perfect skin and long lashes. She worked across the street at Marc's, the local discount chain that sold groceries and closeouts. And she had clearly just gotten off of work, her red uniform sticking out under her own coat.

"Ah, I thought that was you going in," She stood up straight and they high-fived one another. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Sarah lied. "You just get outta work?"

"Yeah, Randy's cutting my hours this week," She rolled her pretty blue eyes and linked her arm in Sarah's. They lived next door to one another, so it was an easy walk to share. "Toby okay?"

"You know Toby. He's acting like it doesn't phase him." They exchanged a brief glance and Lana lit a cigarette and took a deep drag on it. Sarah watched her a moment before she sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

"It'll be okay. Right now it just isn't," Her friend offered simply, flicking the butt to shake off some ash, blowing a cloud of smoke into the frigid air.

Their feet crunched in the snow and Sarah wondered why she was denying herself the warm comfort of California. Jeremy and Linda had all but offered them the world and she was still dragging her feet. It just didn't feel right. Aside from her parents they didn't know anyone out there, and Toby would be heartsick for his school and friends. Besides, they had both grown up on the opposite side of the country. Even if they avoided freezing, they might hate it.

The houses came into view and Lana tossed her smoke, watching it disappear in mounds of white. "Well I gotta make sure the babysitter didn't burn the house down. If you guys need anything…"

"Thank you,"

They watched each other, both unsure of what to say for a moment and then they each made their way up their respective driveways. Before she even reached the screen door on the side of the house, it popped open and Jeremy smiled at her, and she at him. He took the bag from her and held the door open as she climbed inside and shook the cold off, removing boots and jacket, then hat and gloves before turning to help Linda get the table ready for dinner.

They ate in the same silence that they had that morning, and Toby said goodnight and gave her a kiss before he trudged up to bed again. Sarah watched the stairs a moment before she too went up them to her room and went to lay in bed. She didn't sleep right away, despite the exhaustion of staying up the whole night before, and she heard Jeremy and Linda go to bed before she let sleep tug at her eyes. Finally consumed by her need for rest and for a break from the mundane pain of day to day life.

Sarah's dreams were never spectacular. She never dreamed of any sort of fame or great love, really, she never dreamed of any happy circumstance. She just dreamed of bleakness. Tonight, she dreamed of the broken glass and of the red and blue lights flashing around the railing. She dreamed of looking over the edge and seeing the divers cracking through the ice to search the water. She even saw when the crane lifted the mangled wreck from the depths of that river, and as she stood there staring at the empty car, she realized she was not alone.

Turning she saw the Goblin King watching with a somber expression, only he was different. He was dressed in a modern white dress shirt and black vest and pants, and his hair was shorter, and slicked elegantly. He reminded her of Jeremy, except he was much more handsome. She knew it was him by the sparkle of his eyes and the odd way his face was sculpted. When he saw she had noticed him he approached, hands in the pockets of his slacks. "Sarah," That voice, the depth of it and the English lilt. "I never wanted this life for you."

She studied him a moment and nodded, wiping her face of tears she had not noticed before. "I know," She told him. "I know you didn't."

"Your dreams are so splendorous," He told her, watching the way her face reacted to the painful scene before her. "I would still give them to you, if you allowed me." She nodded to show she understood but she did not look at him again. "Why will you not let me?"

She was quiet, pondered his question for a long time, even as they rolled the stretchers, with the black bags zipped up on them past her. "Because I have Toby to think of now, your majesty. I need to put him before me." She finally looked at him, emerald eyes filled with warm tears. "I can't get caught up in my girlhood dreams when I'm responsible for his life now."

She began to walk away, off of the bridge, away from her parents' lifeless bodies loading into the ambulance, with it's lights shut off and it's alarm silent now. At first, Jareth did not follow. She had a point, he had no right to meddle if she denied him of it. But there was still a part of him…. "Sarah!" She stopped midstep but did not turn around. "You don't have to suffer through your responsibility. You don't have to struggle. I made you an offer once, and I am willing to extend it to you again. Come back with me. Come back with Toby and I and you both will never want for anything, you will never work another day. Just fear me…"

Oh God.

"Love me, do as I say and I will be your slave." She finally turned and he was offering her a crystal, shining with the promise of a new life far away from the harsh winters of Cleveland and the agony of a dead end job and bills that would never by paid by it. Sarah was broken enough to believe she might actually honor that agreement, and over the years as she had grown into a woman she had considered what she would say if he ever asked her again.

After all, Sarah was no stranger to Jareth invading her painful dreams. It had started shortly after her victory, and if nothing else, their friendship in the bleak, wet streets of the Cleveland in her mind was something she had to look forward to when she slept. She had not wanted to see him in the days since the accident, had not wanted his comfort and his offers. But tonight she was truly broken. She was alone, she was struggling for air. But she was not sure, even with the warmth of the Underground so close, that she was ready to give up all her friends and Linda and Jeremy. Not just yet.

But she loved Jareth. She loved him in a way she had never expected to. Jareth had been her escape from all the hard parts of growing up, and he had loved her dearly, she knew that. She smiled at him, with tears in her eyes and shook her head. "You know this isn't how we do it where I come from." It was all she could say as she contemplated the magnitude of what he was asking.

Jareth played along, understand at this point how her mind worked. "I apologize," He dropped to one of his knees, the crystal held up like a little black box in a fancy French restaurant. "Sarah, you are the most stubborn creature I have ever stumbled across and yet you captivate me in a way no other woman has. Stop fighting me and be my Queen."

She laughed, not in a rude way but a soft little flutter of noise that came from her adoration of him. She walked over and kneeled on the asphalt, her knees oddly pain free. She touched his face and then his shorter hair, her thumb tracing the thick of his cheekbone. "I know you've been so patient with me," Ten years of showing up in her dreams just to spend eight measily hours with her. "And you know I love you dearly, Jareth." His face was pretty much neutral except for an edge of curiosity. His lips parted slightly, his eyes narrowed. She could practically hear his thudding heart. "Jareth I want to accept, I just want…to change things."

His lips close and puckered in thought and he looked for sincerity in her face, which he found. "I suppose I am open to negotiations." He said it carefully, and did not move.

Sarah's own heart thudded lightly at the thought. She knew exactly what she wanted suddenly. "I want to stay Above for a while. Six months maybe to get mine and Toby's affairs in order. I don't want to leave debt behind, if I can help it. I want to say goodbye to some people and…I want to be able to offer to bring a few."

Jareth blinked at that. "Sarah, we cannot re-populate the Underground with people from Above…"

She shook her head. "That's not what I'm asking for. I want to bring my mom and Stepdad and my best friend…or create a way for them to visit any time." She wasn't finished, so she continued. "And beyond that before I agree to be your Queen, I want you to come Above for those six months. I want you to get to know my family. I want you to try to date me before I have to worry about getting married."

Jareth looked like he was literally chewing it all over, swishing his tongue against his cheeks. His eyes were not on her anymore and he really looked like he was giving it serious thought. Ultimately he looked up, his hand holding the crystal toward her once again. "I am willing to accept your turns, but you must agree to accept all of mine."

It was huge, it was earth shattering. And then it got even bigger.

"Furthermore after you take the crystal, I have one last condition." She nodded for him to continue and he smiled wickedly. "I want to seal this agreement with a kiss."

Her heart pounded viciously now and she licked her lips, nodding. Her hand trembled as she reached across the space between them to take it, and she made sure she had a firm grasp on it before she drew her hand towards her to look into it. But she was quickly distracted when Jareth immediately stood and took one step closer, closing the distance between them. She barely even had time to register it, he cupped the back of her head in his hand and dipped to press his mouth against hers, and his kiss was the closest to heaven that she had ever experienced in her dreams. His body, his lips, everything about him was warm and pliant as opposed to the cold, wet concrete surrounding them. And there was tenderness in his kiss that Sarah had never experienced during one when she was awake. She kissed him back as best as she felt she could, and she awoke to the screaming throb of her alarm clock, with her pillow in her hands and her mouth slobbering all over it.

She reached with numb blindness to smack the SNOOZE button and collapsed into the bed, her belly tingling warm at the memory of his mouth. She must have made it up, this time. Must have just needed the comfort in her sleep, and she was sure it hadn't really happened until she realized one part of her pillow hadn't smoothed out. Reaching under, she drew out Jareth's crystal, which was shining in the sunlight that was peeping through her blinds, the image of them standing near the Cuyahoga at night showing inside of it. They were sealed in a passionate kiss.

Sarah nearly fell out of the bed. She set the crystal between the pillows and heard Jeremy hauling his and Linda's suitcases down the stairs. She remembered the deal, she remembered what she had asked and she hurried out of her room in her clothes from the day before, skidding to a stop at the top of the stairs as Linda opened the door. "WAIT!" They turned to look at her with surprise. "Wait, don't go. Don't go back to L.A!"

"Are you all right honey?" Linda hurried up the stairs and touched her daughter's face. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

Sarah touched her mother's hand and smiled. "I haven't been totally honest with you…there's somebody in my life and.." She laughed incredulously. "We talked last night and I'm getting married. In six months. And I really want you guys to get to know him before I do."

Jeremy and his wife exchanged shocked glances, both at the happiness in her face and at the news and Linda gathered her daughter into her arms, cradling her as she sobbed softly, grateful that Sarah had seemingly snapped out of her living-coma just in time to ask her to have a part in her wedding. "Oh, God, Sarah. You know we'll do anything for you. Anything."

Hope you're enjoying so far! Reviews are appreciated!

A quick note on Jareth's appearance, I was picturing Bowie's Thin White Duke era minus the red hair. I think in this story he'll play with his appearance a bit just for giggles, but this will be his main Aboveground appearance, just because, mmmm.