"My back hurts." Sarah groaned, lowering herself into a chair in the garden that Jareth supplied for her. The weather was blissful, hot and sunny with a pleasant breeze. Jareth was happy, and so the weather was pleasant as well. "And I'm enormous. You're going to have to roll me around soon, your magic won't be able to take me."

"You're not that big." Jareth said reassuringly, helping her down. Her bump was quite large, but it was neat and suited her. "You still have a few weeks to go, anyway. You're going to get bigger."

"I'll explode! How can I possibly get any bigger?" She moaned, and he sat beside her and rubbed her stomach fondly.

"You're only thirty one weeks, darling." He said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She smiled happily, and leaned her head up to kiss his lips.

"I love that." Sarah said, stretching her neck back and basking in the sunlight. She wiggled her bare feet and stretched her legs out. She was wearing Underground clothes, or some variation of them at least - a simple, floor length cream dress. There was no bodice to it (at her request) so it hung like a sack on her. It wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was comfortable.

"What?" Jareth asked in confusion; he hadn't done anything.

"That you know exactly how many weeks pregnant I am. It's sweet."

"Why wouldn't I know? I'm counting down the days." He shrugged, wrapping an arm around her. "When do you want to go Above?"

"Maybe next week? My mom's going to get worried if I don't turn up soon, nobody's going to believe we're still on honeymoon when I'm about to drop. I really should have gone to visit her but I just couldn't be bothered. Then we need to get a stroller and all of that, and see my midwife." Sarah had been having checkups with Magred instead of going Above.

Sarah had found that living Underground constantly meant that her magic had been growing in strength, and she was reluctant to interfere with that by returning Above as often as they had done in the past. She knew that once they got there, she would want to stay. She was expecting the babies to arrive at the earliest in around five weeks, but as everything could be done Above with a flick of Jareth's hand, there was no real rush to get back.

"Whenever you want precious. Everything is in place for me to go Above for a while, including enchantments to make it look like I'm still here."

"You can still come here every day like you used to." Sarah shrugged.

"Perhaps I want to take paternity leave." Jareth told her, running his fingers lazily over her stomach. "To get to know these two. What could be more important?"

"Uh, your Kingdom?"

"Never. Nothing is more important than you and them, Sarah. Nothing." He said surprisingly sharply, and Sarah nodded in astonishment.

"Okay, I believe you." She winced a little, and Jareth eyed her carefully.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I've just got a cramp or something. It's normal, I read it in a pamphlet. Something called Braxton-Hicks contractions, it's strengthening the womb for labour." She told him, gasping again in pain.

"Are you sure? Do you want me to fetch Magred? Or take you Above?" Jareth leapt from his seat and hovered over her awkwardly, and Sarah yanked him back down by his arm.

"Calm down honey. Yeah I'm sure. I've had them before, I just didn't tell you. They pass after a while."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He grumbled, resting a hand on her stomach. He could feel it harden and relax under his hand. "I can feel it."

"I know, you can see it too but I'm not getting naked out here to show you." She laughed. "I didn't tell you because you'd panic. Like you did just then."

"Can you blame me? I've never done this before, I don't think I've ever cared this much about anything before."

"Not even me?" She asked wryly, and he shook his head apologetically.

"You excluded. You know what I meant."

"I know. It's fine, everything will be fine. In a few weeks, we'll have our babies and whatever happens, we will love them. Deal?"

"Deal."

"We're still getting gifts for our wedding." Sarah said, sitting in front of her vanity and cleaning her face. "One of the goblins handed me this list of everything that's arrived. We now have thirty gold goblets. What are we going to do with thirty gold goblets?"

"We'll just have to have twenty eight children, then we'll have one each." Jareth told her earnestly, and she laughed.

"Great idea. Can't we just return them?"

"Returning them would be an insult. These are from the supposedly great and good of the Underground, Sarah, not Barney's." He said with a smile.

"True. The pixies sent a beautiful cradle, it's a pity we need two." She wiped a white ointment over her face and let it linger there for a few minutes.

"I'll just copy it." Jareth shrugged, unbuttoning his shirt. "Have you decided when you want to go Above yet? It's nearly been two weeks since you said 'next week', you know."

"I know." Sarah sighed. Her stomach had gotten even bigger, and she could hardly bend over, let alone see her feet. She was sitting far away from her vanity, yet her stomach touched the wood. "I just don't want to leave. Leaving is like admitting to myself that my babies won't have magic, y'know?"

"I know darling. But we need to do what's best for them. Here they wouldn't survive for very long without magic." He said softly, pulling off his trousers and putting his nightwear on.

"But I was reading in 'Inter species relationships' that Fae babies need to be in a magical environment to strengthen their magic; if they are born above, they will be mortal. Maybe if we keep the babies here, their Fae genes will take over." Sarah babbled, convinced the dusty book she had been reading that afternoon held all the answers.

"Sarah," he said as gently as he could. "That book is thousands of years old, and has been dis proven. It's all propaganda and nonsense about interbreeding in there. I didn't know I even had copy of that in the library."

"Oh." She said sadly. "I thought I was on to something there."

"There are so many Fae who live above that get humans pregnant and still have Fae children that that can't possibly be true." Jareth told her reasonably, and she shrugged. She wiped off the goop she had on her face, and stood up.

"Oh, yeah. I didn't think of that." She tried to smile. "Worth a shot right? Let's go to bed, I'm tired. My stomach's hurting again."

"Are you sure you're alright? You haven't seen an Above doctor for nearly two months."

"Six weeks. I'm fine!" Sarah bit out as a particularly strong pain shot through her side. She grabbed onto the vanity to steady herself, sending several glass bottles crashing to the floor. "Ouch."

"Use your magic to heal yourself." Jareth instructed her, and she glared at him.

"I'm trying. It's not working." Sarah grunted. He stood behind her for a while, trying to use his magic to ease her pain. She leaned back against him, closing her eyes and breathing steadily. Suddenly, she doubled over, a scream unlike anything Jareth had heard from her echoing around the room. She was gripping the wooden table with such force that it began to splinter under her fingers. He moved her away from the table, and saw out of the corner of his eye that there was a puddle of blood on the floor where she had been standing, and when she turned around the back of her nightgown was stained red.

"Sarah!" He asked in a blind panic, unsure of what to do.

"Something's wrong." She bit out, looking up at him. Her face was contorted in pain, her forehead glistening with sweat. "We need to go Above, to the hospital."

"Okay, I'll-" He went to lift her, and he stopped. He could feel something; the familiar sense of Juturna - she truly had attached herself to the babies. He tried to focus on her life force, and felt sickened when he realized his sister was fading. "Oh no. Oh no! Those bastard Elves!"

"Jareth take me Above right now! What the hell are you talking about?!" Sarah shouted at him, grimacing as more pain shot through her. She felt a rushing sensation, and looked down in horror as her feet were covered in liquid. "My water just broke. Jareth! Take me Above now!"

He wasn't listening to her, his eyes closed and hands clamped over her belly. She hit him on the shoulder to get his attention, and he looked up. His eyes were panicked, his breathing hitched.

"You need to stay here. I'll get my mother and Magred, I'll be back in two seconds, alright? Stay calm, just breathe." He told her, and she looked at him in disbelief.

"What?! You're not going anywhere! My water's broken, that means the babies are coming." She screamed again as pain tore through her body. "Well just hurry up!"

Jareth vanished as quickly as he could, ending up outside his mother's bedchamber. He pounded on the door with his fist, and she opened the door in tired bemusement. As soon as she saw her son, his panic washed over her.

"What's happened?!" She asked him, and Jareth shook his head.

"You need to come with me, send a summons for Magred. Something's happened to Juturna, I know it, and Sarah isn't well. She's bleeding."

"Come." Arethusa vanished first, and Jareth followed suit.

When they returned to Sarah, she was lying on the bed rocking in pain and sobbing.

"Jareth! Take me Above right now!" She screamed at him.

"Sarah, you need to stay down here. This can't be explained to the mortals, alright? Now, my mother will stay with you until I get back. I've wasted too much time already."

"Where are you going?! You can't leave me!" She sobbed, as Arethusa helped her to the bed.

He was already gone. Sarah cried out in frustration, sobs shaking her already pain filled body. Arethusa tried to shush her, and Sarah felt the now familiar feeling of her mother in law's interference.

"Arethusa stop trying to make me calm! I'm not fucking calm alright!" She cried out, as another pain shot through her. "Where the hell is Magred anyway?"

"She'll be here soon dear." The older woman tried to sooth her, ignoring the profanity. "It will be alright."

"How can it be alright? Juturna's done something to them, it's too soon for them to be born and it hurts so much."

"It's meant to hurt dear. Perhaps it has nothing to do with Juturna at all. Jareth will go check on her, then he'll take you Above and everything will be alright, yes? Just think of your children, darling. You'll be holding them soon."

"Will I?" Sarah sobbed. "You promise?"

"Yes dear. I promise."

Jareth took himself to the entrance of the dungeon at the High Castle - the dungeons themselves were inaccessible using magic, for obvious reasons - there was salt in these walls, the simplest way to block magic. The guard recognized him and let him straight through, leading the way with a lit torch. Jareth was running, knowing that several minutes had passed since he first felt Juturna's presence.

When he reached Juturna's cell, he saw there was another figure in there with her - in the darkness he could see pointy ears,and he knew his instincts were correct; an Elf.

"Who are you?" Jareth demanded, and as the jailer moved the torch down, he could see that the floor was covered with blood. He charged in through the open door and pulled the elf backwards, and he saw that Juturna was lying lifeless on the floor.

"What have you done?!" Jareth roared in fury, as the Elf gave him a toothless smile.

"You was taking too long. Elves want justice, we take justice." The man said, his voice smug and insufferable. Jareth felt rage surge through him, the urge to rip this treacherous bastard's throat out overpowering him.

"You fool! I had an agreement with Aelfric's brothers!" Jareth spat, grabbing the man by the shirt. If he had killed her, Jareth's children were dead too.

"We don't care about no agreement. She killed our King, so we killed her." The man shrugged, standing defiantly before the Goblin King. He had no idea of the power that Jareth possessed, or how easily he could destroy him.

In anger, Jareth summoned a crystal and threw it at the man, knocking him out immediately. He bent down to examine his sister; she was badly hurt, a stab wound in her side, but breathing. Elves weren't the cleverest creatures; any fool knew that if you want to kill someone, go for the heart or an artery. Juturna had been chained to the wall, a sitting duck, and still this fool had managed to botch it, mercifully enough.

"Take him to a cell." Jareth said dismissively. He would deal with the assassin later. Right now, the only thing that mattered was keeping Juturna alive.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Jareth gingerly scooped Juturna into his arms. He staggered to the entrance of the dungeon with her, checking to make sure she was still breathing. He could feel blood drip through his fingers, and his sister made small whimpering noises as he moved her.

"You will not die. Do you hear me Jut? I will not let you die!" He told her sternly, though her eyes did not open.

Once he had reached the entrance to the dungeon, where magic was allowed again, he took himself and Juturna to his bedroom. Arethusa turned to him, and screamed when she saw the sight that awaited her. Sarah looked up to yell at him for leaving her again, and stopped when she saw who he was carrying, everything falling into place. Her face drained of colour, and she got up from the bed, staggering a little.

"Put her there." She told him, and Jareth laid her out on the bed. Juturna was losing blood quickly, her face death white underneath all the dirt. "We need a medic."

Sarah ripped Juturna's clothes, exposing the stab wound. She took a deep breath, and tried to summon her magic into her hands. Pain was weakening her body, but pure determination powered her magic, and it flowed through her fingertips with ease. She would heal this horrible woman if it killed her, knowing that her babies were counting on her.

"It isn't working!" She grasped her stomach again as pain gripped her. "Ah! Jareth, help me, I need your magic too or this won't work."

Jareth ran over and placed his hands on top of Sarah's. Their magic glowed together, and flowed into the wound. Juturna began to stir, coughing. There was blood staining her mouth, but Sarah just focused on what she was doing.

Arethusa was in the corner, weeping. The pain of being an Empath at his moment was overwhelming; she was experiencing Juturna's and Sarah's agony at the same time, and it was excruciating.

Juturna's eyes opened slowly, taking in her surroundings. Sarah stepped back in relief, exhausted, and Jareth didn't move a muscle.

"Where am I?" Juturna asked, her voice raspy and quiet. "Am I dead? Is this hell?"

"Not yet. You just survived an assassination attempt." Jareth said, helping Sarah to sit down. She was exhausted, her power drained. The pain had started to ease a little, but she still needed to see a midwife. Arethusa had sent a summons, but Magred still wasn't here.

"I did?" Jutunra asked weakly, looking confused. "Mother, what are you doing here?"

"I was here to see Sarah." Arethusa said, weeping. "I should have known. I blocked you out Juturna, I'm sorry. Jareth, if I hadn't blocked her I would have known something was wrong sooner and.."

"Mother, don't blame yourself. Everything is alright. I'll take Sarah Above to the hospital, it will all be fine." He turned to his sister with a hard stare. "Juturna, give my children their magic back now. They almost died with you. Cut the ties that bind you to them." Jareth begged, willing to give her anything just to stop her.

"I refuse." Juturna bit out. Sarah cried out in anguish, her hands on her stomach protectively.

"I will spare your life!" Jareth begged, his hands on her shoulders. Through her delirium, she fixed her eyes on his, and smiled.

"I don't care about my life. My life is over."

"Juturna, please! Stop taunting your brother, let him have some happiness." Arethusa begged. "Let him know the joy of being a parent."

"There will be other children." Juturna whispered. She began coughing heavily, more blood coming from her mouth. "Let him suffer."

"No!" Sarah screamed, unable to keep silent anymore. "These are my children too and I will not have you discuss them like they are nothing! Give them their powers back, don't let them be mortal."

"It is too late. They are mortal. Cutting the ties would only mean they don't die when I die." Juturna hissed.

"Then do it! That will be enough!" Sarah begged her, grabbing at her hands. Juturna looked hesitantly at her.

"I have no magic." She said weakly.

"I can't give you your magic back, you'll escape." Jareth interrupted her. "You're as predictable as the alphabet."

"Where would I go?"

"I don't know, that's the point." Jareth said irritably. "Cut the ties!"

Arethusa said nothing, but Sarah felt the atmosphere in the room change. Juturna's face twisted into what looked like a genuine smile.

"I will cut the ties."

"What?" Jareth asked in disbelief. "What did you say?"

"I will cut the ties."

Jareth looked at Sarah, unsure if this was yet another trick. He took a deep breath and removed his amulet, something Sarah had never seen him do before. He placed it on Juturna's chest, and muttered some words under his breath.

Golden light began to spread through Juturna, lighting a trial as it went. Sarah watched in wonder, amazed once again at her husband's skill and power.

"You have enough to reverse the spell. Do it now." Jareth urged her.

Juturna closed her eyes and raised a hand. She placed it over her own heart, and drew her hand up as though pulling a piece of string. Sarah watched in awe as she saw a tiny golden line form between her chest and her finger. Juturna wound her hand in a small circle, winding the invisible thread around her finger. Jareth pulled Sarah to him, and took the thread from Juturna. He touched Sarah's stomach once, and the thread disappeared.

Juturna repeated the action, and Sarah began to cry in relief as the second thread was pressed against her stomach.

"Thank you." She cried, and Jareth hugged her fiercely, cradling her stomach. "Thank you."

"Mother, you changed my emotions." Juturna bit out, wincing with pain. Sarah could no longer feel the sharp pain, and the bleeding she had felt as though it had stopped; now there was just a dull throbbing sensation. "I didn't want to do that."

"Yes you did. Inside, you did." Arethusa sat on the bed besides her daughter, and stroked her hair from her face. Her voice was soft, and she looked down at her eldest child. "Juju, you're dying sweetheart. I can feel it. You've done a good thing."

"I'm dying?" Juturna asked fearfully, and she began coughing again, turning into the pillow. More blood stained the linen, and Sarah looked on in horror. Jareth tried to move her away, conscious of the fact her water had broken and she was in labour, but Sarah shook her head.

"Yes, darling. You're getting weaker, I can feel you moving further away from me."

"I don't want to die Mummy." Juturna said in a quiet voice, clutching her mother's hand. and Sarah felt tears prick her eyes. She may have been an evil bitch, but Juturna was still Arethusa's child. "I'm scared."

"I know darling. It will be alright. Just close your eyes darling, it will all be alright, I promise." Arethusa said soothingly, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Don't leave me, Mummy. Please don't leave me alone." Juturna begged; she was a child again, any coldness gone from her. Everyone feared Death when he came to claim them. "Stay with me."

"Until the end." Arethusa told her sincerely, and Juturna smiled serenely. Her eyes closed, and her breathing grew ragged. Jareth could feel the connection they shared, the strongest it had been since they were children, begin to fade to nothing. She really was dying.

The only sound in the room was Juturna's laboured breathing, and suddenly - there was silence. She was gone.

Arethusa sobbed, and Sarah and Jareth looked at each other, unable to believe how much had just happened.

On Juturna's motionless chest, Jareth's amulet began to glow.

A/N: Okay, I cried a little bit..Please review!