Sarah began to stir. She felt pain in her abdomen, then the memories began to flood back to what had happened, she placed a hand to her cheek and wondered if it had all been a dream as her cheek didn't hurt, nor did her arms from behind pinned. She began to sob.

Jareth heard, he didn't know whether to get up and go over to her to console her or stay where he was. He quietly put the book down on the table in front of him and watched, removing his reading glasses.

Sarah pulled the sheets from over her head and stopped crying, wondering where she was. She looked round with her eyes, scared to move her head from the pillow. Slowly she lifted her head to look around the room.

Her eyesight was a little hazy at first, she didn't recognise anything, she looked around and spotted Jareth and rubbed her eyes. She gasped. Sitting up and pulling the bed sheets up to her neck in fear.

Jareth stood and slowly approached the bed, "Sarah? Are….are you alright?" he asked. Tears began to fall down her cheeks. "I thought I'd dreamt you" her voice gravelled out, she cleared her throat. When Jareth reached the bed he leaned against one of the posts of the four poster bed, Sarah seemed apprehensive and became more anxious as he got closer, Jareth picked up on this so didn't move.

"I wish I could say it was all a dream Sarah, I really do" she heard the sincerity in his voice as he spoke. Sarah wiped her tears, they wouldn't stop falling and it pained Jareth to see Sarah so broken. She began to cry, covering her face with her hands.

Jareth sat on the bed next to her and put his arms round her to comfort her, but she jumped out the bed away from him and fell to the floor. Jareth stood up from the bed holding his hands up "Sarah it's ok, I won't hurt you. I promise" he had tears in his eyes but refused to let them fall. "Please, Jareth. Please just don't touch me" Sarah cried.

"I promise I won't do anything you don't want me to, ever. Please, get back into bed" he urged her, seeing the dirt marks along her arms and legs from her attack. It was only when he stepped backwards from the bed that she moved to climb back into the bed.

"I have some tea for you" Jareth told her, changing the subject he produced a pot of hot water and a tea cup, with tea strainer containing the herbs the healer had left with Jareth earlier.

He poured the water into the cup, over the herbs. "I don't want anything" she said looking out the corners of her eyes at him as he poured. "Sarah, this will help with the pain and help settle your mind. Stop you from having bad dreams about what's happened" he advised her. He handed her the cup on a saucer, she stared at it. "Sarah, please. I promise it will help" he pleaded.

Sarah cautiously took the cup and saucer, keeping her eyes on him as she lifted the cup to her mouth to take a sip. It tasted sweet, like mixed berries. Jareth sighed to himself, progress he hoped.

Jareth flicked his wrist producing a crystal in his hand. "Sarah I must see to some duties. I will be back in an hour or so. But if you need me, just call into this crystal, and I will come to your aide" he advised her, he held it out for her to take but she just looked at him as she sipped at her tea some more.

Jareth realised she didn't want to risk being touched at all, so he placed it on the nightstand for her. Sarah watched as he left the bed chamber, closing the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, she placed her cup and saucer on the nightstand, and began to weep.

Sarah had cried herself back to sleep, she was worn out. The next thing she knew, she could hear Jareth's voice gently calling to her "Sarah love", she turned onto her side where she heard his voice coming from, opened her eyes gently to see him stood a few feet to the side of the bed, remembering she needed space between them.

"Sarah, do you think you can stand?" he asked her gently, everything he did he needed to be gentle. Jareth quickly looked to the cup and saucer on the night stand and saw she had finished her herbal tea, he smiled to himself. "Why?" she asked cautiously, "I thought you might like a nice hot soothing bath, and a change of clothes" he offered.

Sarah looked at him, unsure whether to take up his offer, but she felt dirty, she wanted to wash the memory away as best she could, so she sat up and put her legs over the edge of the bed.

She looked down herself, seeing the mess her clothes were in, the dirt marks from the wall and ground after she fell in a heap on the floor all over her legs and pulled the bed sheet over her lap remembering she had no underwear beneath her skirt. Jareth produced a white fluffy bath robe in his hand and held it out to her, forgetting for a moment. Sarah just stared up at him, so he placed it beside her on the bed and walked away from the bed.

As his back was turned from her, she threw it around herself and stood up, tying the cord around her midsection. She took a few wobbly steps and found her balance.

Jareth heard her steps and turned to see her walking slowly towards him "This way Sarah love" he said soothingly, he walked towards an archway at the back of the room, a white curtain was all that separated the rooms.

As he walked towards it, the curtain parted itself to let him and Sarah pass through. She stepped through, looking around what appeared to be a bathroom. It had everything she recognised and some things she didn't.

Sinks, a walk in shower, a toilet and a large hole in the ground that looks more like a jacuzzi than a bath, but she figured thats what it must have been considering it was full of steaming water at that moment.

"Sarah, take as much time as you need. I have put some healing bath salts in the water, so your skin may tingle until it gets use to it, but do not fear, it will help sooth any remaining aches and pains you may be experiencing in your muscles" he explained, Sarah put her hands to her abdomen, "It won't heal wounds that deep Sarah love, that will take time, and the tea will help with that" he confirmed.

Sarah looked around the room nervously, Jareth continued to try to reassure her "Sarah, nobody will hurt you here. I swear on my life and sovereign. You have nothing to fear" he paused, "I will be just in the other room. If you need anything, anything at all, just call" his eye's soften before he left her in peace, the curtain parted to let him through and closed behind him.

Sarah watch at the curtain for a good few seconds after he disappeared. She felt uncomfortable that the only thing separating herself from him was a curtain, she couldn't see through it, which she was glad of, but it still worried her.

She looked around the room taking in the layout and architecture of her surroundings. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror above the two sinks, she walked towards it and leaned forward to observe her face.

She looked different, to herself anyway, she had bits of dirty on her face. As she stared into her own eyes, she felt the emotion bubbling over, and silent tears fell.

She removed her robe, placing it on the side of the sink and looked at how messed up her shirt and skirt were, removing them and dropping them to the floor beside her.

She looked at her naked body in the reflection, staring at her pubic area for a good minute. "Who's ever going to want me now?" she questioned to herself in her mind. She saw herself as damaged, tainted, black and broken.

She wiped at her tears. She thought about if she ever did manage to find someone, would they be willing to accept that their relationship would be sexless, as the last thing she ever wanted to do again was that. She couldn't imagine herself ever doing it after what she had been through.

She wondered what her family would have done if they had still been around, what they would have thought. She took a deep breath, grabbed her robe and approached to bath, she noticed a hook on the wall beside and hung her robe, next to a larger one which must have been Jareth's, before stepping into the water.

As the warmth wrapped itself around her body she sighed, it was perfect temperature and Jareth was right, her skin began to tingle, it felt strange but soothing and lasted only a couple of minutes. She felt her muscles begin to relax, dipping her hair back into the water for a moment. She bought her knees up to her chest and hugged her arms around them, resting her head on her knees.

Her abdomen ached, forcing the memories of what had happened, as much as she tried to think of something else, the more the memories would intensify.

"AAAGGHHH" she growled as she smashed her fist down on the waters surface, causing a splash. She moved her hand under the water to feel at her entrance, it was sore to the touch, she winced in pain, so immediately bought her hand back to wrap around her knees.

She thought about Jareth's words, something stuck out in her mind. He had told her just now she had nothing to fear, but just before she had left the Labyrinth the first time he had asked her to fear him. It didn't make sense and confused her. It scared her. She knew what Jareth could be like, the games he played, and she didn't need any of that right now.

However, so far, this time, he had not seemed like how she remembered, he seemed kind, almost sweet. Concerned and caring. Still, she would need to remain alert around him.

After what seemed half an hour in the bath, she decided to get out, she wrapped her bathrobe around herself and walked back over to the sinks.

She found a hairbrush and brushed through her hair, which seemed to dry it as she continued to brush. She gave a half smile. She found a toothbrush and toothpaste and cleaned her teeth, contemplating how basic needs were needed in the Underground as much as the Aboveground.

She realised she hadn't got any clothes, other than the ones she was wearing on her back when she arrived, now in a heap on the floor. She couldn't bear to look at them, and refused to put them back on.

She sighed and closed her eyes, tilting her head to the ceiling, when she looked back down, there on the side, next to the sink, were some nice neatly folded clothes. Some black leggings and a white tunic top, with underwear and some soft slippers.

She looked quickly towards the curtain, it was closed, Jareth was nowhere to be seen. She looked confused for a moment, but proceeded to dress herself.

Once dressed she hung the bathrobe on a hook next to the bath again and walked towards the archway, picking up her dirty clothes out of the bathroom. It parted to let her through, and Jareth put his book down and stood as he saw her walk through "Are you alright my dear?" he asked looking at her concerned, she walked towards him, but stood in front of the fireplace, looking into the fire.

He walked towards her, but kept a short distance between them. He noticed she was holding her old clothes, screwed up in her hands. "Sarah love?" he asked her, trying to break her of her trail of thought. She kept staring into the fire for a few moments, then threw her dirty tainted clothes into the fire. Jareth watched in silence. Sarah watched the clothes as they burned, hoping it would help burn away the memory.

After a few minutes, once the clothes were no longer visible on the fire, Jareth spoke "Are you hungry Sarah?", "No" she sharply replied.

"I've organised to have some food sent to the room, you should eat love" he pushed, she slowly turned to look at him "I'm not hungry" she confirmed, her eyes cold and piercing.

She walked away and headed towards the bed and climbed in. Signalling she wanted to be left alone. Jareth followed her "Well at least have your tea Sarah, it will help", Sarah sighed loudly, she just wanted to be left alone.

Jareth poured her another tea with her herbs, and handed the cup and saucer to her. She looked at Jareth without moving her head through the corner of her eyes, he held it out in front of her waiting for Sarah to take it. She huffed a little before taking it.

"Thank you Sarah" he said once she took it. She sipped at the cup. He walked back over to his reading chair and sat down, picking up his book. Sarah eyed him carefully. Staring at him while he read. He never once looked up from his book, she expected him to, felt like she wanted him to, but never did.

Jareth was reading his book unseeing, not actually reading, thinking more about Sarah and what she was going through. He deliberately didn't look over to her, he didn't want her to feel more uncomfortable than what he knew she already did with everything.

Moments later there was a knock at the door "Enter" called Jareth, a goblin appeared with a trolly of food. "Ah thank you Hobart" Jareth thanked his servant as he wheeled the trolley next to Jareth, Hobart bowed "My pleasure Your Majesty" then left.

Jareth picked up a plate from where he sat and placed it on the coffee table in front of him, lifting the cloche to reveal a delicious meal with heavenly smells that caused his stomach to rumble in hunger.

"Mmmm" he sighed "This smells gorgeous, are you sure you don't want any Sarah love" he called out before turning towards her direction to find she was asleep. He smiled when he saw and stood up, walked over to her and studied her beautiful face. "Oh Sarah my love, how I wish things weren't so" he sighed.

He pulled the folded back bedsheets over her and tucked her in gently so not to rouse her. She turned her head slightly in his direction as she snuggled into the bed. He looked at her cup to see she had drunk all the tea again "Good" he thought to himself. Hopefully he could get her to eat a little something tomorrow.

He warily bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, noticing the scar from the car accident a few years prior. "You've been through so much my love, I wish I could take it all away and show you how blissful life can be" he whispered as he straightened himself back up. He smiled at her sleeping soundly then went and ate his food.

"Sarah" a familiar voice called to her, "Sarah" it said again, she knew who it was, she turned and saw Jareth stood behind her. He was wearing a dark, almost electric blue jacket, which white ruffle shirt beneath. They were at the dream ball again. He took her right hand in his left, placed his right hand on her hip, she put her left hand on his shoulder to dance. He began to sing to her..

"As the pain sweeps through,

Makes no sense for you.

Every thrill is gone,

Wasn't so much fun at all.

But I'll be there for you-ou-ou

As the world falls down"

Tears began to fall from her eyes and he caught them on her cheeks.

"Falling.

Falling down.

Falling in…"