Disclaimer: (one-time only) Of course I don't own it; if time equates to $$$, I'm actually spending money on it…
A/N: From this point on, A/Ns will appear at the end of a chapter. If any Betas are interested, please pm; I'm sure I need one .
Warning for fans of fluffy-bunny, sunshine-love Jareth – he won't be making an appearance. The other Jareth will. Let the games begin….
"Toby, wait!" urged Sarah, as she made her way down the aisle of the dining car, balancing herself against the motion of the train. Toby had bounded to the door and pushed the release before she could stop him, darting through the connector to the next car. "Dammit," she whispered under her breath, trying to keep from offending other diners. When she finally got to Karen and Toby's "bedroom" roomette, Toby was already lying on the fold-down bed, listening to music through his earbuds. She pointed at him and grimaced. The blond, curly-headed boy grinned at her, made an "L" shape with this right hand, and brought it up to his forehead.
Sarah just shook her head and laughed under her breath She would get him back….when he least expected it. She mused at how cheeky he'd become since he'd turned twelve. The tiresome, whiny little boy had become more independent and much less….irritating. Well, at least sometimes. Their newest game was to try to "one-up" each other in nearly everything. Sarah usually thought it hysterical, except when the games endangered his safety or he chose to "one-up" her at an inappropriate moment. She was positive that boys his age did not consider any moment "inappropriate" when it came to embarrassing someone else. A particularly unsavory incident involving a noodle came to mind.
Karen was sitting at the window, engrossed in a book. "Did you guys have a good lunch?" she asked, not looking up from her reading. "It was train food," replied Sarah. "Toby had a burger. I had a salad."
"That's nice," replied Karen, eyes-down in the story.
Sarah had agreed to spend her break with the family in the Keys. She only had a week and a half off from her Master's studies and internship, and figured that she'd probably not be able to afford to go on any type of vacation for a few years anyway. Of course, she knew why her father and Karen had invited her – it's why she was always invited, to be the unofficial babysitter. It wasn't as bad now that Toby was older; sometimes, it was actually kind of fun when he wasn't being a dweeby, brooding teenager. They had even paid for her to have a tiny roomette on the train so she could actually sleep in peace and have a little privacy. Of course, Karen and Toby had an actual bedroom with a chair and bathroom. Her father was flying down to meet them the day after they arrived.
Sarah had never understood why Karen didn't just suck it up and take a Xanax or something to deal with her fear of flying. All she would have to do is sleep, relax, and Sarah could take care of the details….and be out on the ocean diving instead of wasting a day on the train. Oh well, it's paid for. "I'm going back to my room to relax for about an hour, and then Toby and I can hang out for a while," she announced, tousling his hair as she turned towards the door of the small compartment. Karen just nodded as Sarah left. She had to admit that the motion of the train was quite calming. She was actually looking forward to sleeping on one again, remembering how the predictable, rocking motion helped her to drift off.
Sarah plopped down into the small seat in her roomette, slid the door shut, and pulled the curtain, glad for a few moments of peace. She sat on the side facing forward to get as far away as possible from the small toilet that was built into the side wall, already planning to sleep in the top berth to get even farther from it. At least she had her own toilet. She pried off her shoes and threw her feet onto the seat facing her, reaching into her travel bag for the single-serving wine she'd brought. After all, it was the beginning of her well-deserved break, even if it was as a glorified babysitter. Sarah set the small bottle in the cup holder against the window, as she twisted her hair into make-do ponytail, and sank back into the seat, watching the eastern half of the country go by. She had recognized D.C. while they were in the dining car, especially as they left it behind, passing over the river.
Small towns, fields, and forests continued to pass by as she sank into a relaxed state and decompressed from the past few months. Defending her research on bloodborne pathogens had been grueling – she'd spent countless hours in the lab, on the subscription databases in the library, emailing and calling experts and professionals around the world. And now, she would just have to wait until they posted the results. She turned up the bottle. And then, publishing.. She broke into a self-satisfied smile as she placed the bottle back into the cup holder. It was almost worth the blood, sweat, and tears she'd poured into the past three years; along with the social life she'd sacrificed, and the most serious relationship she'd ever been in.
Outside the train window, a picturesque forest scene was passing by, a lake shining off in the distance. It reminded her of the lake at the park where she would play when she was younger. She remembered that she could just see the glint of the sun off of the lake from her bedroom window on winter days….which of course, led to memories of wishing away a certain stepbrother….. She laughed softly to herself, closing her eyes for a moment and basking in the late afternoon sun beaming warmly through the windows.
From the vantage point of a twenty-five year-old, the whole ordeal in the Labyrinth seemed like an impossible adolescent drama and hormone-fueled dream, though she knew it hadn't been. It had been the most amazing adventure of her life. It, or he, had also been the reason she'd lost interest in following her mother into an acting career, and had decided to pursue the sciences. Science was something she could touch, feel, explain, and manipulate. Her memories of the Goblin King were somewhat fuzzy, but the details she did remember caused her only slight nervousness, and more than a little fascination…though she seemed to remember that his wardrobe bordered on the shameless side of ridiculous, and his pants were tight…very tight. "From the sublime to the ridiculous is but a …..step," she recited, quietly laughing at the irony of Napoleon's words.
Sarah opened her eyes and half-closed the window curtain, suddenly feeling the full of heat of the sun through the window. Childish things….and probably a figment of my overactive imagination and perceived martyr complex at the time. She leaned back in the seat again and pointed her toes as she stretched her legs. "I'm free," she thought, green eyes sparkling in the filtered sunlight, pink lips curving into a euphoric smile. At least for a week anyway… Between the wine and the sun, she began to feel slightly drowsy, nodding off as she watched the world go by and daydreamed about scuba diving the reefs off Key Largo.
One of the last things Sarah remembered before descending into silent darkness was hearing a loud explosion, and being flung violently against the train by an unseen force. The very last thing she remembered from that moment was reaching out with the only arm she could move and feeling intense heat on her face as she grasped at nothing and screamed in hopeless horror, "Toby!"
