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Chapter 3a. Finders Keepers.



"SARAH!"

He didn't know how, but he was with her. Her dying body in his arms. He should never have left her. She wouldn't have then, she /shouldn't/ have! It was all his fault, his beautiful Sarah...

"Sarah," he murmured gently. He summoned all the magic at his disposal and tried to slow the waterfall of blood. Crimson, it was the only colour in the naught room, ruby deep on Jareths pale skin. He ignored it's cooling and worked his magic. When he had done all that he could he summoned his healers and placed her form gently in his bed. She was so small in the mass of violent, clashing silk.

Leaving her to the cluster of healers that swarmed around the bed he mechanically rinsed the blood off his body and dressed to go and hover over her. Politics and parents to the Bog! He had to have /something/. Even if she only lived.

The sun struggled to rise behind the perpetual drizzle of the sky.

***

Sarah prized her eyes open. They where gunked together, and she could barely see her surroundings. It wasn't her room. The sharp, insistent continuous ache in her wrist made her remember.

*I tried to kill myself.* No emotion surfaced. Still as Lake Placid, someone disturbed the surface. /someone was /in/ her bed!/ she painfully rolled her head towards the warmth and was ashamed of her own whimper. *You got yourself into this girl.* she still couldn't' believe it, it was Jareth. She /heard/ his eyes snap open.

"Sarah?" he leaned over her. Once he had assured himself she wasn't going to die he exploded. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WHERE DONG! YOU NEARLY DIED!"

To Sarah's surprise and vast relief a woman's voice cut him off in mid speech. "Shut up the poor girls obviously scared! Go till you've got control of yourself. Honestly, and men say we're emotional." To further Sarah's surprise Jareth silently left, shutting the door so gently behind him. Outside she could hear him attacking the wall with crystals and words.

Her vision cleared and she looked into walnuts. Brown, earthy eyes surrounded by kindly crinkles, "you'll feel sick from blood loss. We'd better get some liquids into you." To Sarah's humiliation she was supported while water was dribbled into her mouth and down her chin. To her chagrin she puked over her sheets.

"Not to worry," the woman said. Sarah was lifted out and sponged off while various maids manually changed the sheets. She really should have protested more as the clean, smooth sheets where pulled around her and 'her' cotton nightie. But it felt so good not to have to do anything.

***

On her second awakening Jareth was leaning over her, immaculately dressed. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes with her good hand she decided she wanted to hide. The expression on Jareths face froze the blazing fire.

"What," he ground out with terrible icy calm, " do you think you where doing?"

Sarah decided on stupidity, *blond wig, here I come.* "I don't know, the knife was just /there/ when I was feeling depressed." The silence was deathly. She fell into the trap and tried to fill it. "What do you care?" Still no response. "Well, send me back! I've got to go to work!"

Jareth raised his eyebrows mockingly; "You're to ill to be moved." He said, as if to a child, "hense the reason you're sleeping in my bed."

"Then where are you sleeping?" Sarah struggled briefly with a memory of waking next to warmth... but lost it with his reply.

"In my bed." She didn't want to go there, especially with her hair in sweaty rats' tails and being ill. The waves of nausea and dizziness hit her. The kind, walnut lady was back, ushering the irate Goblin King out. She had one more try.

"Send. Me. Back!"

He whipped around and was right in her face, forcing her aching eyes to focus to sharply. "NO!" he growled at her, " you wished your life away. Finders keepers. You are /mine/." A dismayed healer practically chucked him out of the room. Sarah's mind swam with his eyes.

***

She couldn't do /anything/. He was always there, and he was always threatening. She was so afraid of him. He wasn't like her dream at all. In the end she took a deep breath and confronted him.

"Jareth." She said. It must have been the tone of her voice, for he stopped and looked at her. Perhaps he would listen.

"Well?"

"What is your dream?"

Jareths' face closed and he sneered at her. "I hardly think that is any of your concern."

"Then why did you save me?"

"Why not. Why not make you live in this misery that you have created us?"

Sarah was baffled. "are you still on about when I beat you, when I wished Toby away?"

"YES! Now get out of my sight!"

Sarah looked at him deeper. She seemed to have struck a nerve. "I'm sorry." She mumbled and fled as fast as her healing body would allow.

On reflection it would probably be better if he hadn't have heard her. She sat on her, no /his/ bed and cried, for no reason, and every reason. For nothing and everything. It was such a state to be in.

***

There are many endings to this side of time too. One is they sort their differences out, and they live as happily as any married couple can. Perhaps there will be children. Perhaps there's divorce, adultery or maybe another suicide. Perhaps the suicider will succeed. Perhaps they won't.

Perhaps they just live out their life screaming and yelling at each and then crying behind closed doors. Perhaps he'll grow frustrated and rape her. Perhaps she'll suicide again. Perhaps she'll grow stronger than that.

Perhaps.

Dreams are such a fickle mistresses to follow. They change as you change. They change as the seasons turn and the world spins and they never leave you any peace.

Perhaps that is why they are all some people will ever have until, in turn, life kills these dreams as well until there is nothing left. Just a rotting corpse living in a grave.

Perhaps.

***

"And I think that's your lot. Please, leave a contribution in the little box." Maybe if you ask nicely I'll do one of the perhapses. Perhaps.

*Shakes self.* okay, this is the she lives version. I hope you like. I hope you review. And thank you to all my reviewers before hand! :)