She entered before the goblin and he winced slightly as he passed the door, but didn't otherwise react. He paused at the arch of the bathroom.
"The magic isn't settling," he sounded bemused. "You spoke well, but something is keeping it from him."
He examined the air then inspected Jareth himself.
"Perhaps there is some charm on his person to prevent it," he mused. Let us get the worst of his wounds seen to. That side looks bad, as does his arm." He spoke aloud to himself as he lightly examined Jareth's arms, much as Howl had earlier, checking for internal injuries. He worked down his body with swift efficiency and removed his boots with a brisk tug. He then checked his head and hissed.
"A head wound, you did not say! That is not good!" He fussed around, lightly poking and prodding, all the while murmuring to himself.
"His scull seems whole, but if he's that unconscious, it could be very bad. In goblins, head wounds can take your wit and verve and leave you an empty shell."
"Ugh," Sarah half sobbed as she sat down. "Is there any way to get him Aboveground, I'll take him to hospital there!"
"It is my understanding they use iron in their implements."
"Oh, yeah, oops."
The doctor gazed at her.
"You are not unintelligent, you simply do not think wholly for him, which you must learn to do. He cannot protect you always, though he will always try."
"What can you tell me about his kind of fae people? I know absolutely nothing about him."
"They exist half in magic, half in the physical realm. That he is this badly out of it means he squandered the majority of his magic. What happened?"
The little goblin doctor set about untying the messy bandages they had wound on earlier. Sarah shuffled around and sat picking out the knots for him while he cleaned and bound the wounds as he found them.
"We had a nice evening. He met my parents. My brother was so excited," she sighed. "I had a fight with my stepmother, and my magic went all out of control. Only he called it into a small space and I enclosed it in a crystal. After dinner, I met up with Howl and your King to work out how to diffuse the magic in the crystal. Only it exploded on us all. It went haywire and we were flung all over. Howl through a fence, Jareth across the concrete foundations and me across the lawn. He got up and did something to the flair just before Howl could. Only he then grabbed us and dumped us in an Oubliette. He then passed out. We negotiated passage across the Labyrinth, which reminds me I owe Aggsy my watch for his aid. He said something about the wards failing back Aboveground. I don't know how that affected things."
"So it was you who harmed him."
Sarah gaped at the goblin in horror.
"No! I honestly didn't mean to. You have to believe me! I'd never intentionally hurt him."
"Yet you do," the doctor tied off the bandage and started on the next wound. He spent a while picking glass out of the wound and Sarah flinched.
"By rights I should have blown my hand off with what happened," she marvelled at her right hand that wasn't injured in the slightest. "How did he get crystal shards into him?"
"He will always protect you," the goblin said quietly. "You are learning to protect him, I suppose. You brought him here and the room wards must have sensed your desperation as they allowed you sanctuary without you requesting it."
"Then why aren't they allowing the magic to heal him!"
"It may not only be crystal shards forced into the skin. There is iron above ground."
"The foundations are a construction site. Ugh! How did he land? Has he got any nails or iron filings in him?"
With the goblins help she peeled him out of the ragged mess his elaborate evening clothes were, down to a plain pair of drawstring shorts he wore as underwear.
"Turn your back miss, better still go and fetch fresh water!" He ordered.
She did as he asked, and when she returned, she found Jareth lolling uncomfortably on his side propped up by several rolled towels. The goblin had replaced the shorts.
"This!" The goblin had a wooden box filled with several scrapings of dull metal. "This is not good. If he were a goblin, he'd be out for days with iron poisoning. His Majesty, I've not heard him take ill of it, but as poorly as he is, it would account for much."
Sarah knelt beside him and helped to pick grit out of his back and side and wash the wounds.
.
She was seeing double by the time they had washed and bandaged his head. The goblin trickled several sips of water and various medicines down his throat, then sent Sarah out for Howl. The bandaged Wizard was lying against the wall near the fire, his head on a folded towel and a rug wrapped around him. She roused him and Howl groggily sat up.
"I'd just fallen asleep," he hissed over his pain.
"We've got to move the king to his bed."
Howl groaned and trailed after her, still only clad in his boxers. Bandages covered his chest, arm and head.
"The both of you are so skinny!" Sarah remarked. "I'll let Sophie know to feed you more."
"I'm neatly trim, I'll have you know!" Howl said, offended.
"Are those ribs I can see?" She poked them and Howl grumbled as they approached the bathroom where the goblin sat gently drying the King's hair.
"I shall take my leave, are you going to sit watch over him?"
Sarah and Howl blinked tiredly at each other.
"I'll bring my blanket, we can take shifts," Howl said, clearly beyond tired.
Sarah pulled the blankets back then they both picked him up and carried him to the bed. Howl settled him into a recovery position and to their alarm, he groaned.
Sarah crouched down beside the bed and poked him.
"Hey, Jareth?"
He didn't respond.
"I'll be by in the morning," the goblin declared and headed off.
Howl settled his towel pillow and curled up on the mat beside the bed. Sarah pulled the crochet blanket around her shoulders, it was hers after all, and leaned against the bed. Howl was asleep within moments. Sarah kept nodding off and took to pacing around the room to stay awake. She stood by the window and watched the waterfall, then checked on Jareth. He slept soundly. That worried her. Wasn't she supposed to wake someone with a concussion? She sat down on the mat and leaned on the edge of his bed and before she knew it, she was asleep.
.
She felt something tickle her nose. She wrinkled it and shifted her head. It tickled her nose again.
"Toby!" she complained.
The tickling didn't subside and she turned and buried her head in her blanket, only to find that it had fallen off in the night. She reached for it and groggily realised she had fallen asleep upright, sitting, was she at her desk? She raised her head and stared at a mismatched pair of blue eyes. She smiled. What a perfectly lovely dream. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. He then lifted the end of a lock of hair and twitched it across her nose.
"Stop it, you," she mumbled and then realised she was awake. She sat up.
"You're awake!"
He hissed at the noise and clenched his eyes shut.
"Sorry," she whispered.
"Mmh, wazzit?" Howl put his head out of his blanket.
"Jareth's awake!" she hissed quietly.
Howl sat up at that and cracked a yawn.
"It must be four in the morning. If you're awake, do you need help getting to the lavatory, 'cause if not, I'm headed to the outer room to catch some sleep away from chirping love birds."
Jareth blinked then grimaced.
"I've not felt so unwell since I last fought a campaign," he grumbled. "I'll take your assistance."
With him leaning against Howl, they hobbled off, Sarah wished she could show Sophie the moment; she would have a good laugh at skinny legs and wrapped up heads and arms. She then realised Calcifer must be doing his head in worrying about Howl. The men trooped back out of the bathroom and Jareth simply burrowed under his blankets and lay there watching her. Howl grabbed his rug and briskly trotted out.
"How did you get in here?" he whispered, "and to this room?"
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked. "I opened the door and this room was here."
Jareth smiled a silly happy smile at that.
"You must have been very worried."
"Damn it, Jareth. You passed out at the bottom of an oubliette. We had to lug your heavy ass up and down ladders, through streams, across the Labyrinth through that Escher room of yours and convince the goblin healer that you needed his services."
"No, you must have loved me and been very concerned for my comfort," he murmured.
"Well yes! The state you were in! The doctor found iron in the grit you picked up. Says it makes you ill."
"It does, but not for long," he said and smiled at her. "It can't be comfortable on the floor. Want to join me in bed? I'm not up for anything, just sleep, but you look like you could use the rest."
Sarah stood then realised she was still in her clothes from the night before and filthy.
"Do you have a shirt I could borrow?"
He gave a luxurious smile.
"The wardrobe," he pointed.
She found one that seemed long enough, and hurried off into the bathroom. She stripped off her clothes and hissed at her graze on her arm. She washed her hands and face from the pitcher of water left from treating Jareth then dried them on her jeans. She left her clothes in a pile at the edge of the bath then padded out. He gingerly shifted to the side and she slipped in beside him. They both lay carefully, trying to avoid the pressure on their wounds, but he caught her fingers in his and she settled her cold feet against his warm leg, making him hiss.
In retaliation, he trapped them.
"I'm glad you're awake," she whispered. "Everyone says I'm the only one who can harm you!"
He blinked sleepily at that.
"Yet you're the one who worked so hard to help me."
"Don't dismiss it, I'm sorry. I really am."
"I'm not. You're young, growing into your powers. I did worse in my youth; I landed one tutor in a sick bed for a month. I have no power over you, but I can counter what you throw my way."
"But you're so hurt!"
"So are you, and by the looks of things, Howl saw a healer and you did not! Some master he is, neglecting his apprentice."
"Mmh," she complained and sighed. "Thank you for not being angry."
"I have you in my bed, couldn't be angry if I tried."
She gave an inelegant snort at that. They lay there sleepily watching each other blink off sleep and mostly fail.
"It's exactly like I thought," she whispered and his eyes flickered open. "Your sheets, they have that gorgeous scent, I could sleep here every night."
"Please do," he murmured.