Ok. Here it is. The Lost Chapter. It's been missing for about a year. I finally found it. Now PLEASE. STOP WHINING TO ME ABOUT IT. I've had a bad day.

I Need You

Romance/Drama/Fantasy

Rating: M

Pairing: J/S all the way.

Summary: Sarah has left the Labyrinth. But has it left her? Major incidents lead her to believe someone is still watching her.

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Chapter Two

Mrs Flanders had appeared moments later, assuming it was Sarah forgetting something, but had let out a muffled shriek when she saw Sarah on the back stoop, unconscious and bleeding.

The police had come and arrested the dazed man, who had immediately begun screaming that it was his rights that were being infringed upon. That he had been wrongfully attacked. That Sarah had wanted it.

Sarah, on the other hand, had been taken to the Hospital for observation. She lay in the gurney, staring out the window at the dull gray sky, hoping for a miracle.

"It's the stress." her stepmother kept saying, patting her hand soothingly.

It was odd. When Sarah's father and stepmother had arrived home after Sarah had been in the Labyrinth, she had seen her evil stepmother in a brand new light. Karen was now the closest thing she had had to a mother in a very long time. Sarah shared everything with her. Well, almost everything…

"Sarah honey," Karen said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. I'm fine." Sarah replied more curtly than she had intended.

"Alright. Well if you need to talk…"

"I know mom. I'm sorry I'm so snappish. I just…"

"It's ok honey. I understand."

Karen smiled in a very motherly way and leant over Sarah, kissing her forehead.

"I'm glad you're alright." she said.

Sarah nodded and closed her eyes. She just wanted to sleep. To go back to a world where the scariest thing she had to deal with was a smelly old bog. To go back to a world that had been turned upside-down, all for her. She wanted her friends; Ludo, Didymus, and Hoggle…

And remember fair maiden, should you need us…

Her eyes snapped open, searching the room for any sign of them. When she couldn't see anyone, those same eyes filled to the brim with tears.

"I need you…" she murmured as tears slipped down over her cheeks. "All of you…"

She turned onto her side and tried to get to sleep.

Remember…

I do Jareth. I do…

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It was weeks later. Sarah had been released from the hospital and her father had decided it would be a good idea to take a family trip to the beach. The weather was warm, perfect swimming weather, though Sarah knew the water would be icy all the same.

Through a DNA sample, the courts had decided that the man who had assaulted Sarah was the rapist that had been wreaking havoc in the city for months. Sarah had had to testify, but the case was pretty much open-and-shut. They had sent the man away for a very long time.

And now she was in the car with her family, speeding along to the beach. She was happy…

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Toby tugged her along by the hand, eager to get to the beach and play.

"Come on Sarah! Come on! Look at the water!" he bounced up and down, just as any other kid his age would.

"I'm a-coming! I'm a-coming!" she laughed, hauling her day bag along on her shoulder.

Toby was first into the water, despite Karen's protestations.

"Toby! Come back! I have to put sunscreen on you!" she called to the boy, already splashing around in the shallows.

Toby let out a shriek as Sarah dove in after him, grabbing him and tickling him mercilessly.

"Ah! That tickles! AHHHH!" he squealed.

Karen sighed, defeated, mumbling something about aloe vera and lobster people.

Hours passed and Sarah and Toby still played in the shallows of the Atlantic. Her mother and father watched over them, waving at them occasionally and laughing at Toby's small triumphs over his big sister. Sarah splashed water back to her brother, making him laugh and shriek delightedly. The waves began crashing harder against the shore, dragging back sand and shells. Toby was pushed into the shore by a particularly strong wave. He came up sputtering and swearing, and was nearly pulled back out, but for Karen grabbing him and carrying him back to their seats under the umbrella.

It happened very suddenly. With no warning at all a wave hit her with a bruising force, dragging her under. One huge wave after another hit her, forcing salty water into her mouth.. She tried to scream but only succeeded in swallowing more ocean water. A wall of water dragged her deeper and further out, pulling her down, down into the undertow. Sarah struggled, but couldn't break free. Slimy tendrils of seaweed were wrapping themselves tightly around her legs and arms. They twined around her torso and neck with a life of their own. The watery world around her was darkening, her chest was bursting with the need for air. She was just about to succumb to the welcoming dark when she felt something grab her. Lips met her own and forced air into her lungs. Someone had found her! The man, for that's what it felt like, forced more air into her as she let out the previous breath in a cloud of bubbles.

Hold your breath…

The voice sounded in her mind as clearly as if it had been spoken. She obediently held it and felt herself being pulled up, up to the surface. As her mouth broke the surface she gulped clean, icy cold Maine air. The arms around her had suddenly disappeared and she was floating on her own, about one hundred yards from the shore. She dove under, searching for her rescuer, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Sarah!" her mother and father were on the shore called to her.

She began kicking her legs and swimming in to shore. Once her feet hit sand, she stood up and hauled herself onto dry land.

"Sarah! Oh my god! Are you alright!?" her stepmother asked.

"Ya. I'm fine."

"Sarah dear." her father said softly. "I think someone might have it in for you."

Sarah nodded, panting from the exertion.

"What happened?!"

"I got… caught in the undertow. It pulled me down."

"Well then how'd you get free?" her father asked.

"I-someone.. Someone saved me." she murmured.

They all stared at her; her mother, father, Toby, and the small crowd who had gathered around them.

"Sarah dear, no one went in after you."

"But-" she protested.

"Look at her arm!" someone from the crowd spoke up.

Sarah held her arm up to be inspected. A large red handprint was beginning to bruise her arm. The place her guardian angel had grabbed her to pull her out of the seaweed. Someone had been out there.

"Daddy?" she asked softly, almost childlike. "I'd like to go home now."

Remember.

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