AN: The end is near... Perhaps one of these days I will write a story that will need to be over ten chapters in length, but this is not one of them. Alas, our story must come to an end sometime. There will be one more chapter after this one-more of an epilogue really. I'm not planning on it being very long, but then again I have been surprised. This story was not meant to be as long as it turned out to be.
Chapter 9
Grey Mornings
What seemed like moments spent in the welcome blackness was actually days. Images drifted around me in that darkness, images of my father and mother fighting, Karen, Toby, Rebecca, Mark, the Labyrinth, and Jareth. Jareth most of all. The images began to fade, and were replaced with whispers that I couldn't understand, beeping noises, the muffled ring of a telephone, and the feeling of feathers against my cheek and hands. This new noisy world was a jarring difference from my comfortable dark one, and I fought to block out the noise and re-escape into my dream world. I had almost accomplished this when I heard someone calling out my name.
"Sarah"
No, I wouldn't open my eyes. All that waited for me was the terrible reality of what was going on around me.
"Sarah, love. Come back to me."
It was a male voice, but not the one that I feared so much. This one was soft and soothing, bringing comfort and security with it. It was the voice that I had subconsciously longed to hear most of my waking hours and heard so many times in my sleep. As I became more conscious of my surroundings, my brain began to register pain from all over my body. I struggled to get my eyes open, and when I finally did, I was met with possibly the most wonderful sight in the world.
There he sat. Not Mark, but Jareth.
His face was marked with concern, but he was the only thing that I wanted to see. A smile broke across his face as our eyes met.
"Welcome back. I thought that I might have lost you."
It was odd to see him in such a modern setting, surrounded by medical equipment that I could not even begin to name. He had taken on the appearance of a human, wearing ordinary clothes and had cast off his air of regality that followed him in his own world.
My eyelids grew heavy again, and I reached out to him regardless of the protests I was getting from my aching body.
"Jareth"
* * * * * * * *
The next few days passed in a blur. There were short periods of time when I was awake, and Jareth was always there beside the bed. A tall and thin doctor hovered over my bed on several occasions, sometimes accompanied by a nurse to whom he whispered to constantly. I didn't say much to the doctor, only yeses and no's when he asked questions. During one of my awake times, I had discovered my left arm in a cast, as well as a heavily bandaged right leg. I could only surmise what had happened to me that I was not aware of.
When I was asleep, I was looking for something. I was in my familiar mist shrouded surroundings, but Mark was no longer chasing me. I felt anxious and tense when I was dreaming, as though I was trying to hold on to something that was determined to be elusive. Every time, I gave up looking. It was too hard to try to find it.
Finally the day came that I woke without feeling groggy or drugged. Jareth was in his ever present seat beside the bed, covered with a blanket and hanging his head so that his chin touched his chest. My eyes drifted from his sleeping form to the window, out of which I could see a cloud covered sky and hear the rain drenching the outside of the glass. I sighed when I realized that I was finally on the road to recovery, and there would be no more escapes into my wonderful dark world that had brought so much comfort to me in the previous days.
My stirring must have woken Jareth, for he opened his eyes and let the blanket fall from his shoulders. Immediately, he looked over at me and leapt out of his seat when he saw me awake.
"Sarah! How long have you been awake? Why didn't you wake me?"
"Calm down. I've only been awake for a few minutes. I didn't want to wake you because you look so peaceful when you are asleep. One could almost forget that you are a king."
He immediately relaxed and smiled a bit, "Ahh..That's my girl. I knew it was only a matter of time before you were your old self again."
"Yes, well one can only be on medication for so long. However, I want to be out of here as soon as I can. Have they told you anything?"
Jareth suddenly found the table across the room very fascinating, as he kept his eyes locked on its surface, "Yes, as a matter of fact, they have. Everything is fine."
"Good, the sooner I get out, the sooner we can get home. Right?"
"Right." His smile was strained, almost rehearsed. I knew there was something that he wasn't telling me by the way that he avoided looking at me. From what I could see, his eyes were full of pain.
"What's wrong? Is there something that you want to say?"
"Perhaps you'd be better speaking to the doctor.."
"No I want to hear it from you. What is it?"
Jareth took my hand and brought his face directly in front of mine. "Sarah, never forget how much I love you right now."
"What do you mean?"
"Everything is not alright. They tried everything...it was too late...the fall was too much.." His voice broke and he hung his head so I would not see the tears that I knew were flowing down his cheeks. I knew what he could not say.
My baby
Our child, the one thing that had kept me going to past few weeks was gone, extinguished like the flame on a candle. I felt empty inside. I hated Mark for it. He hadn't even known, yet he still managed to attack were it would hurt me the most.
In the silence that followed, hot tears rolled down my cheeks. I felt lost, not knowing where to turn or what to say. I wanted to curl up and disappear, to just lay in bed and not move, to do anything but have to face my terrible reality. I knew I had to say something eventually, but what could I to say to someone who had given me something so precious that had been so cruelly taken away?
"Jareth, I'm sorry."
"What for? There was nothing that could be done. You certainly were not in any position to do anything about it. I should have tried harder to take you with me. I could have stopped it....I should have...done something."
"What do you mean?"
"I tried, God knows I tried to take you with me. I just couldn't, not that I didn't want to. I knew that you would be better off with me than here. I just wasn't strong enough."
"Is that why you disappeared?"
"Yes. I was pulled back to the Underground. I had no control over it. It is the reason that I am here to watch over you now instead of laying in the next room, pretending to be injured."
"Pretending?"
"You forget, Sarah, that I am immortal. I cannot be killed by any mortal weapon. I can be hurt, but my wounds will eventually heal themselves. In this case, I needed to return to the Underground in order to recover faster. I wish that I had not left you. If I had known what would happen..."
He fell silent, leaving both of us to think to ourselves what was too painful to say. Several minutes passed before he bent and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, burying his head in my hair.
"I'm so sorry."
* * * * * * * *
Days passed, each one getting a little easier to bear. The physical pain dulled, along with the emotional roller coaster that I found myself on. I became depressed at the drop of a hat, even if I had been rolling with laughter only minutes before. In time, this too began to lessen, until I stoically passed my days in the quietness of my hospital room. Jareth was always there, never making me wonder where he was. We talked as we had when sitting by the fire in the castle, about anything and everything that came into our heads. It was during one of these conversations that I saw a genuine smile come across his face since that horrible night.
As much as I was relieved by the thought of never being bothered by Mark again, there was still a nagging at the back of my mind that something was not right. My fears were brought forth when I saw a man in a suit approach the nurse's desk and motion to my door. I was looking forward to checking out of the hospital later that day, so I tensed when I saw the nurse come around the desk, walk to my door and open it.
"Miss Williams? There is a detective outside who wants to speak with you. Are you feeling up to it?"
I sighed with resignation, "I suppose so. I knew this was coming sooner or later."
The nurse stepped back and motioned for the man to enter. As soon as he stepped into my room, I knew that he did not bring bad news.
"Hello Miss Williams. I hope that you are feeling better?"
"Yes, I am thank you. Please, sit and make yourself comfortable."
"Thank you. It's been a long couple of days. You may not recall the first time we met. You were pretty heavily sedated at the time, so I'll introduce myself. I'm Agent Daniels from the FBI."
"FBI? what has happened that I don't know about?"
"Nothing, really. Just the positive identification of Michael Peterson's body. He's wanted in four state for the deaths of former girlfriends."
"Who?"
"I'm sorry. I guess in this case it would be Mark Andrews, your former boyfriend. An assumed name, of course, but still the same man. Yu did quite a number on him, I must say."
I blinked and stared at the man opposite me, not quite sure that I had heard him right. "I'm sorry, I guess I am still a little groggy. Are you sure it is the same person?"
"Oh very sure. Your fiancé was quite helpful in giving us a detailed account of every incident between you and Mr. Peter..ah.. Andrews. It follows exactly what happened with the others, except that he didn't succeed with you. We've been watching him for quite some time, suspecting that it was him. I'm happy to say that we were right."
"Oh."
"Just in case you were wondering, no charges against you will be made. You did us all a favor, but at a very high price. I'm sorry for your loss."
I nodded and looked away.
"Well, I will let you get back to your rest. You won't be hearing from us again, so don't worry about a thing. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a mountain of paperwork waiting at my desk."
"Yes, or course. Thank you again."
Agent Daniels stood and opened the door, nearly walking into Jareth coming in.
"Oh, Mr. King. So nice to see you again. Forgive me if I don't stop. I have a lot to do."
"Of course. It was good to see you as well." He let the door swing shut silently behind him.
I stifled a giggle, "Mr. King? Couldn't you think of anything else?"
"You try coming up with a name on the spot. It isn't that easy. So, are you ready to be out of this retched place?" He stood with his hands on his hips, eyebrows arched and lips curled into a smile.
"I've never felt more ready about leaving anyplace than I do right now."
"Even about leaving everything for me?"
"Well, I will have to leave my family and of course I don't like to think of that."
"Sarah, listen to me. Let me love you and protect you forever. All you need do is say yes. Leave this cruel world and come where you belong. You know you don't belong among such ordinary people living their lives in this crowded and unfeeling world. Come Sarah. Let's go home."
"Can I see my family whenever I want?"
"You know you need never ask."
"Then yes, let's go home."