I'm in love but you don't care
Turn your anger into lust
I'm still here, but you don't trust at all
And I'll be waiting

'Big Machine' by Goo Goo Dolls

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME SEXUAL SITUATIONS

The first thing I did when I got into my apartment was take in the unique smell of my home, letting it fill my being with warmth and comfort. There really was no place like home.

The next thing that I wanted to do, however, was not quite so simple.

In a small, unsure voice, I called out, "Jareth?"

I honestly didn't know what to expect. Would we literally tackle each other with affection? Would I receive a cold shoulder? Or would we argue for hours on end over the fact that I wouldn't allow him to intervene?

Thus far, it looked like it was door number two.

I sighed, shutting the door behind me and trudging in reluctantly, still barefoot. My feet were, honestly, a little sore after my adventure. I sullenly began to make my way back to my room when something caught my eye.

A small envelope sat innocently on my dining table.

My brow furrowing, I wandered over and picked it up. Squinting slightly, I read the writing on the manila cover with a bit of difficulty.

Sarah Williams

Open this right now.

Curious, I did as it instructed, pulling out a purple piece of construction paper with more words scrawled upon it. A sense of foreboding washed over me as I began to read.

Roses are red

Blood is too

Guess what?

I can see you!

"FUCK!" I exclaimed, instinctively scuttling back and dropping the letter. Stringing together a few more choice words, I stooped down to pick the paper back up and cautiously continued reading.

I like purple

I also like green

Don't bother running away

Or I'll do something mean.

Turn on the tube in ten minutes!

XOXO,

J

Dammit! How could he see me in my own house? What fucking story? He better not touch a hair on Toby's head! Why the hell does he want me to turn on the television in ten minutes?

CAN'T I GET A SECOND OF PEACE FROM THIS PSYCHOPATHIC MANIAC?!

DAMMIT!!

I glanced over at the microwave clock, which read exactly ten fifteen. Ten minutes… until what?

"Having any regrets, my dearest Sarah?" A pleasant voice crooned from behind me.

I dropped the letter again.

"Maybe… maybe a little." I admitted softly after getting over my first initial wave of shock, slowly turning around to face the majestic Goblin King.

"Such a pity you declined my assistance in the first place." He smirked then, his arms folded across his chest. I noted that he was in his elaborate Goblin King outfit, the one that he had worn the first time we met.

Damn, it was still pretty intimidating too. And I was, like, an adult now!

I frowned, annoyance coming back into my system. "Don't give me that crap. If I had agreed, you probably would've dragged me away to your castle that very second."

"'Dragged' is such a harsh word." He began to step closer, his hands on his hips now. "I prefer 'whisked away' or 'seduced into complying'."

I took a few small steps backwards, hating the feeling of being stalked by such a perfect predator. "Same difference, really." My back hit the wall and I internally swore as Jareth swooped in, firmly placing his hands on either side of my head and caging me in his with body. Jareth's intoxicating scent messed with my brain after being away from it for so long, and I had to forcefully continue to remind myself what my name was.

"I beg to differ."He positively purred, leaning in closer with a smug smile on his face.

I blinked repeatedly. "Wait, wait! What are you doing? He can see us!" I blabbered, having a hard time finding my voice.

He pulled back slightly, looking a bit annoyed. "Of course he can't, Sarah." He chastised, sounding as if he was talking to a very small child. "Do you really doubt my abilities that much?"

"No, no, it's not that." I said, bumbling now. "I mean… um, well, how could he see me?"

"He has several small devices around and in your house to spy on you with." He shrugged in a superior, kingly way. "However, they have all been mysteriously disconnected, and are no longer working. But, I could really care less about that now." He tilted his head slightly and exhaled lightly into my face, hitting me with his smell all over again. "I'm not very happy with you at the moment, precious Sarah."

"Hmm?" I mumbled, distracted and unable to completely think straight.

"I think you should let me take care of your situation." He cooed, nuzzling his nose into the crook of my neck.

"I… I don't know…" I hesitated, trying to remember why I didn't trust him to do as he suggested.

"Sarah, it's not very hard. Just say, 'Go ahead, Jareth', and everything will be perfect again." He started to place small butterfly kisses on my shoulders, and my knees promptly turned to gelatin.

"There's, um, a reason I don't want to…" I trailed off, biting my lip. "But I… I can't think."

"My presence often does that to the fair sex." Jareth's smug reply and teasing bite to my earlobe snapped me back into reality.

I recoiled like I had been bitten by a snake, pushing myself harder against the wall. "Don't do this to me, Jareth." I growled lowly. "Let me go."

He pulled back again, an eyebrow elegantly arched. "Why would I do that, precious thing?" He cocked his head. "You would just run away again."

"Maybe with good –" I started angrily, but was abruptly cut off by the cool press of lips to mine. My eyes widened before slowly drifting closed, submissively allowing the kiss.

His arms slowly wrapped themselves around my body, one hand burying itself in my hair and the other pulling me closer to him by the small of my back. With a small groan, I entangled my hands into his hair and hungrily yanked his mouth down harder onto mine.

He broke the kiss off suddenly, his lips caressing my jaw line and going up to my ear. I gasped, my head tilting up to receive more of his attentions. "I missed you." I admitted breathlessly. He made a pleasured noise in the back of his throat at my words. I don't understand how Jareth does it, but he always manages to make me forget my anger with him by covering it up with the raw desire neither of us could deny for each other.

At least, until he goes and screws it up.

"Where did he touch you? Hmm, precious?" His hot breath landed softly in my ear before his lips trailed down the side of my neck. I stiffened instantly at his words, wondering where he was going with this. A hand swept up my back and then down to my bottom, resulting in another gasp from me, this time from surprise. "Did he touch you here?" His husky voice asked as he cupped my rear intimately. "Did you like it?"

With a curse, I placed my hands on Jareth's chest and shoved, striving to get away. Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. He pulled me tighter against his chest, chuckling softly to himself. "I don't think so." He reprimanded lightly, coming down in for another kiss. I twisted my head away, denying him that pleasure.

A thought popping to mind, I struggled until I could look over Jareth's shoulder and at the microwave clock. Ten twenty-four. I only had one minute left! "Jareth! Please! I have to go turn on the TV! He's… he's got Toby, Jareth!" I pleaded desperately.

It was like I turned off a switch.

He stopped immediately with a low growl. "What?" He asked harshly, allowing me to slip out of his grasp and over to the living room to grab the remote.

"You didn't know?" I asked, puzzled, turning my head to briefly meet his furious gaze. "I assumed you'd been watching me."

He set his jaw stubbornly. "Yes." He nodded curtly, like this was an absolutely obvious fact.

I frowned. "But… that night? The night he got Toby, you weren't watching?"

He raised his brow as he swept over closer to me, pulling us both down onto the couch. "I do sleep occasionally, Sarah. I don't watch you every second of the day." He sighed. "Though maybe I should now…"

I clicked on the television quickly before tensely settling my head onto Jareth's shoulder as he wrapped an arm around me. I couldn't help but feel loved and comfortable in his arms. We were both quiet as the TV flared alive, revealing the anchorman, Harry Wilkins.

"… take caution while viewing." He said, clearly uttering just a fragment of a sentence. The screen shifted suddenly to the Joker, of course, with my baby brother on his lap.

I straightened, my attention instantly snared.

The Joker had on a hideous purple Santa Clause outfit, the sloppily-made hat covering his green tinged hair. He was sitting on a giant chair, with a tied bag at his feet. He grinned his crazy, confident smile, his scars stretching out and making him look like a very deranged Saint Nicholas.

Toby, on the other hand, seemed perfectly at ease sitting on the Joker's knee. He actually looked bored, rather than horribly frightened, with the situation. His intelligent gaze was focused directly at the camera, and it was like he was staring straight at me. I bit my lip.

"What do you want for Christmas, Toby?" His sinister voice made my skin crawl all over again. It felt like it had been months, not a mere hour or so, since last we met. The Joker blinked repeatedly, like he was really interested in what Toby had to say.

Toby blinked, not even looking at the clown. "I want my sister, Sarah Williams, to be safe." His voice rang out, clearly a rehearsed line. My eyes watered against my will, my heart aching. 'Toby, you have no idea how much I want the same thing for you.'

"And where is she safest?" The Joker asked slowly, obviously anticipating whatever was to come.

"With you." Toby's answer seemed confident and sure, but I believed and hoped it was just the good acting gene that ran in the family.

"And why is that?" The Joker turned his attention to the camera too, licking his lips in a predatory gesture.

"Because you'll protect her from the Batman."

I choked on air, making an odd noise like a mix between a gasp and a squeak. Jareth gave me a concerned, fearing-for-my-sanity look, his arm tightening around me.

"That's right, Toby." The Joker suddenly shoved my not-surprised brother off his lap and onto the ground, twisting around in the chair so that he comfortable took up the entire space. My teeth clenched as the camera zoomed in so that you could only see his upper half. "Closer." He hissed lowly, and then the screen was filled with nothing but his scarred face. He smiled pleasantly, or as pleasantly as you can get for him. "It is true that I snatched Gotham's neighborhood sweetheart right out from under your noses, but it was for her own good. It's not me who's been bothering sweet, innocent Sarah. Rather, it's someone who all of you think you can trust. As you can see from this picture…" He quickly pulled up a photograph right next to his face. I couldn't believe it – it showed me screaming at Batman for him to put me down right after he had swung me over his shoulder, only minutes ago. The Joker chuckled. "Well, you can see that I'm right."

I let out a strangled wail and buried my head into Jareth's chest, whose arms immediately wrapped around me. Unfortunately, that didn't save me from the Joker's raspy, happy voice.

"Since Batsy has been terrorizing our precious Sarah, I think it's only fair that he pay for his misdeeds, don't you agree, Gotham? So, Batbrain, I challenge you to a little game I've set up. If you win, you get to take teensy Toby here home as your prize! If you lose, you turn yourself into Gotham's police as the man behind the mask. Hmm? Well, you don't really have a choice." He let out his infamous laugh, and I held back the impulse to childishly cover my ears.

"At exactly six PM tonight, every single one of the inmates of Gotham's prisons and Arkham Asylum will mysteriously be released from their current predicament and onto the city streets. Their goal? To cause as much chaos as they can, of course!

Two minutes later, I will personally be escorting Miss Williams back to my humble abode. Unfortunately for you, Gotham, I will admit that I am the jealous type of guy. You see, the thing is that if I get her back, I'm not going to be letting her go again. That means no more plays, no more parties, and no… more… Sarah.

Five minutes following, Gotham Airport and every bridge connecting us to other cities will suddenly explode!" The Joker abruptly let out a whooping laugh. "Phones will go down! Computers won't work! Gotham will have no outside communication with any other city!" He paused to chuckle again.

"It's terrible, terrible, Batman! Oh no, the city's in danger! Help us, help us!" His voice sharply turned higher and more off-key, if that was possible. "So forth, et cetera. But I think you're only going to have time to stop one thing from happening, Batty. So, what's it going to be? Madman mania? The damsel in distress? Or connection crisis? If you save just one, you lose…

But, if it just so happens that you manage to stop two from happening, we'll be at what you might call an impasse. You don't have to follow up on your deal, and vica versa.

If you miraculously save all three, yippee! You just won 'Who can you save?' and get to take home your prize! Woohoo!

I have my doubts, Batsy, but then again… you always exceed my wildest expectations!

Oh, and Sarah sweet? I'd take heed of my words and not run away… you are the queen on the chess board today!" He giggled at his rhyme.

"This is going to be so much fun!"

These chapters just get tougher and tougher to get out, man...

So, not enough peeps for me to reveal the poll so far, sorry guys!! But, regardless to how many people ask for it, I'll post it with the next chapter, since it's lucky number thirteen!! Woot!!

Also, the person who submits the 100th review will get a special prize from me... heh heh...

So that should compell you all to click on that button and leave a review!! I love reviews, remember?

Hugs to all!!

Disclaimer: I'm running out of snappy, lame comments to reiterate the fact that I own nothing. -sigh-