Chapter VII: Knight in Worm Eaten Armor

The Almighty Disclaimer

Oh Moffat, Gatiss, and Thompson

Oh Henson and Doyle,

And Pika-la Cynique the generous,

To you belongs all the characters

And none so for me!

A/N: This story was inspired by "The Thin White Sleuth..." by Pika-la-Cynique of Girls Next Door fame.

The transcript is by Ariane DeVere aka Callie Sullivan.

&%&%&%

As Sarah walked out of 221b Baker Street, a woman in all black stumbled in front of Sarah. "Oh, are you all right?" Sarah asked.

The woman stood up. "Perfectly all right, Ms. Williams."

Sarah took a step back and made her hands into fists. She was about to act when she saw a black car pull up in front of the apartment. Sarah sighed. "You know, Mycroft could just phone me, if he didn't have this stupid power complex."

&%&%&%

Battersea Power Station was a ruin. Sarah realized as she followed the mystery woman that there was a latent magic in the place.

"Couldn't we just go to a café? Jareth doesn't follow me everywhere," Sarah said.

"Through there," the woman said, typing something into her phone.

Sarah walked into a long room with switches and control panels. "He's writing sad music; doesn't eat; barely talks. I would say he was heartbroken but, it's Jareth. He hated... her."

Irene Adler stepped out from the shadows. "Hello, Ms. Williams."

Sarah said in a voice far calmer than she expected, "Tell him you're alive."

Irene shook her head. "He'd come after me."

"I'll come after you if you don't," Sarah said.

"I believe you, my pet."

Sarah spoke louder now. "You were dead on a slab. It was definitely you. I know the mortician."

"DNA tests are only as good as the records you keep."

"And I bet you know the record-keeper."

"I know what he likes and I needed to disappear."

Sarah stomped her feet. "Then how come I can see you, and I don't even want to?"

Irene looked down for a moment before speaking. "Look, I made a mistake. I sent something to Jareth for safe-keeping and now I need it back, so I need your help."

"No."

"It's for his own safety," Irene said in a soft tone.

"So is this. Tell him you're alive."

"I can't."

Sarah began to walk away. "Fine. I'll tell him, and I still won't help you."

Irene called out, "What do I say?"

Sarah shouted, "What do you normally say? You've texted him a lot!"

"The same things we always talked about," Irene said. She pulled out a phone and began to read some texts aloud. "'Good morning'; 'I like your funny hat'; 'I'm sad tonight. Let's have dinner.'; 'I'm not hungry, let's have dinner'."

"Well... that was tamer than I expected. Still, flirting? After drugging him, you're flirting with him?"

"At him. He never replies."

"Jareth always replies to everything. He's Mr. Punchline. He will set the Cleaners on you. He will outlive God trying to have the last word."

"Does that make me special?"

"Yes," Sarah said sharply.

"Now, now, Sarah, jealous doesn't look good on you."

"Jealous? Jealous? JEALOUS? You think this is me jealous? This is me angry, Irene. You helped the man who tried to kill my brother. You have taunted my best friend. Belittled him. Lied to him. You have caused him physical harm. You think that the reason I am upset with you is that I am jealous of something that happened 200 years ago and a couple of flirty texts?"

Irene became quiet. She carefully typed something into her phone. She briefly showed the screen before hitting send. 'I'm not dead. Let's have dinner.' Satisfied?"

"You really wouldn't be able to do that for me."

"Jareth fulfilling those needs?"

"He wishes."

A very familiar, very annoying text alert went off nearby. The two women turned and saw a brief flash of blonde hair.

"Jareth!" Sarah said. She moved to follow him but Irene motioned for Sarah to stop.

"I don't think so, do you?" Irene said.

Sarah glared at Irene and ran after Jareth anyway. She caught up to him on the ground floor of the power plant. When she touched his arm, he jerked away.

"Jareth, I don't mind if you go to her," Sarah said.

Jareth growled, "I would strangle her."

Sarah tried to touch Jareth again, but he stepped away. "Jareth, I want to..."

"I am too angry to be near anyone, Sarah."

"What law did she break to make you hate her so much?" Sarah blurted out.

Jareth glared at Sarah but answered anyway. "She seduced a Runner. We are not supposed to touch a Runner, those of us who are in power, I mean. It is an automatic forfeit of the child. The child of the Runner was killed shortly afterwards by his Father. I was saving that child, Sarah, and Irene killed him."

Sarah closed her eyes for a moment. The grief Jareth had was so strong she could almost think he was an empath. She opened her eyes and said, "I'm sorry, Jareth. It must have hurt especially after you broke the Laws of the Labyrinth yourself and..."

"I AM NOTHING LIKE HER!"

Sarah took a deep breath before answering Jareth. "You are both selfish to the point that you do not even begin to comprehend it. You view yourselves as above everything. You don't see your connections unless they can serve you. Irene hasn't bothered contacting Kate. You don't think about how you hurt others with your actions and words. You two are more similar to each other than you think you are. You two probably are more alike than you and Moriarty."

Jareth did not speak for several moments. Sarah zipped her coat up completely, feeling unbearably cold.

"Sarah, you are a silly girl who knows nothing of the world. Do not speak to me in such a way again. You have no right to do such. Leave me be."

He left. Sarah leaned against a wall and focused on not vomiting.

&%&%&%

Sarah did not remember getting into the car but she did vaguely remember Irene speaking to her about something. The car left her at 221 Baker Street. As she went to the apartment, she stopped to read a note with Jareth's handwriting attached underneath the knocker. "CRIME IN PROGRESS. PLEASE DISTURB." She ran to her apartment.

"What's going on?" Sarah said as she ran through the open door to 221b.

Jareth was sitting next to a beaten-up Mrs. Hudson who was sitting on the sofa. The consulting detective was holding a gun in the direction of the fireplace. Sarah turned and saw the leader of the CIA force they met in Adler's home a few months before. He was duct taped to a chair. His nose was broken and he was barely conscious.

"What the hell is happening?" Sarah asked.

"Mrs. Hudson's been attacked by an American. I am putting this into a proper order," Jareth said.

Sarah went over to Mrs. Hudson and began examining the elderly lady's hurts. "Oh, Mrs. Hudson, are you all right? What have they done to you?"

"Oh, I'm just being so silly," Mrs. Hudson said, beginning to cry.

Sarah hugged her landlady. "No, no. You were hurt."

"Downstairs. Take her downstairs and look after her," Jareth said as he dialed a number on his phone.

Sarah helped Mrs. Hudson to her feet. "It's all right. I'll have a look at that."

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Mrs. Hudson said, moving on her own down the stairs. Jareth stood up.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Sarah asked.

"I expect so. Now go," Jareth said.

Sarah moved quickly down the stairs and found Mrs. Hudson putting on a pot of tea. "Oh good grief. Is that the instinctive reaction of the British or something?" Sarah asked.

Mrs. Hudson sniffled. "I thought you might like a bit of tea. You look shaken, dearie."

Sarah gave a gentle hug to Mrs. Hudson. "You are such a sweet woman, Mrs. Hudson. I don't understand why you would ever put up with all our problems."

In a few moments, Sarah was applying antiseptic to the cut on Mrs. Hudson's face.

"Oh, it stings," Mrs. Hudson said with a flinch.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Sarah said.

A figure passed the window and smashed on top of the garbage cans, startling Sarah.

"Oh. That was right on my bins," Mrs. Hudson said.

"And then you say something like that and I remember why the goblins like you," Sarah said with mild horror.

There was an agonized groan from outside. Jareth came down the stairs.

"Have to deal with the rubbish," Jareth said.

Sarah stepped in front of the door leading outside. "Jareth, I think you have made your point. I would rather not have to explain to Lestrade another dead body."

Jareth leaned close to Sarah. "I am not in the mood to be generous, Sarah."

Sarah stood up straight and glared at her flatmate. "Neither am I. Make sure he won't run away but then do not touch him again."

"Why?" Jareth hissed.

"Because I still believe you are not cruel... most of the time," Sarah said.

Jareth and Sarah stared at each other for a long time before Mrs. Hudson mumbled, "Should have left up the mistletoe."

Jareth broke eye contact and glanced over at Mrs. Hudson, "I think Loki would have been offended, Mrs. Hudson. Fine, Sarah."

"Do make him hurt when you tie him up though," Sarah said.

"With pleasure, precious," Jareth said.

&%&%&%

Lestrade tried to enter 221A but Jareth suddenly pulled him back. "Wipe your feet on the mat," Jareth said.

Lestrade raised an eyebrow but did it anyway. "You're a peculiar Fae."

"I am not a Fae, Inspector," Jareth said. He carefully wiped his feet on the mat before making his way over to the fridge.

"We can post some officers nearby if it would make you feel more comfortable, Mrs. Hudson," Lestrade said.

"I'm fine," Mrs. Hudson said, "I've got my knight in worm eaten armor and my nurse. I couldn't be safer."

As Jareth turned around, his face was turning pink and he avoided eye contact with everyone in the room. Sarah almost laughed, but she was able to catch herself. She did not want Jareth to never show affection to Mrs. Hudson ever again.

"If you say so, Mrs. Hudson. Good night," Lestrade said.

A small amount of pleasantries were exchanged among the humans. Jareth took a bite out of a mince pie he had found in the fridge instead of saying good-bye.

Sarah said, "She'll have to sleep upstairs in our flat tonight. We need to look after her.

"No," Mrs. Hudson said, shaking her head.

"She's fine," Jareth said.

"No, she's not. Look at her. She's got to take some time away from Baker Street. She can go and stay with her sister," Sarah said.

"Don't be absurd," Jareth said. He took another bite of his pie.

"She's in shock, for God's sake, and all over some stupid camera phone. Where is it, anyway?" Sarah said.

"Safest place I know," Jareth said. He wiped some crumbs from his mouth.

Mrs. Hudson pulled the phone out from her bra. "You left it in the pocket of your second-best jacket, you clot. I managed to sneak it out when they thought I was having a cry," Mrs. Hudson laughed at the last part.

"I really need to remember that things are not always as they seem," Sarah said.

Jareth tossed the phone in the air before putting it in his coat pocket. "Thank you, Mrs. Hudson. Shame on you, Sarah Williams."

Sarah looked at Jareth in shock. "Shame on me?"

"Mrs. Hudson leave Baker Street? England would fall," Jareth said. He popped the last bit of pie in his mouth before giving Mrs. Hudson a side hug. Sarah smiled at the content goblin and his landlady who was not his housekeeper.

&%&%&%

Sarah made two cups of hot chocolate. Jareth was at the piano playing scales mindlessly. She put the mug on top of a stack of music for Jareth to have later.

"Where is it now?" Sarah asked.

"Where no one will look," Jareth said.

"Whatever is on that phone is more than just pictures," Sarah said.

"You are correct. What it is, I do not know," Jareth said.

Jareth played a bit of "Scarborough Fair".

"So, she's alive then. How are you feeling about that?" Sarah asked.

Bells chimed outside. "Happy New Year, Sarah." Jareth began playing "Auld Lang Sayne" on the piano.

On impulse, Sarah kissed Jareth on his right cheek, causing him to stumble over a few notes. "Happy New Year, Jareth." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and quietly sang in the New Year with him.

&%&%&%

Several months later, Sarah returned from work with some groceries. "Jareth, I got the milk. You need to get it sometimes too."

Jareth was standing outside his room, very still.

"Jareth? What's wrong?" Sarah asked.

"We have a client," Jareth said.

Sarah walked cautiously behind Jareth. "In your bedroom? Oh."

A worn out, dirty Irene Adler was asleep on Jareth's bead. Feeling shallow, Sarah noted that Irene was wearing clothes that were obviously cheap. Sarah turned and walked back to the kitchen. "I am getting a shower before her and you're putting up the groceries, Jareth."

&%&%&%

A/N: Pretty much the only person not shipping Jareth/Sarah at this point is Sarah.