"So you see, much like stories of the Goblin King, that poor witch and her sister have been feared and maligned for years."

Jareth shot Sarah a look when she began giggling, but she couldn't help it. He had been regaling her for the last hour and a half about the horrors of Oz, tales of mismanagement and political espionage. She still found it hard to imagine Munchkins as the devious lot Jareth made them out to be, but then again she reminded herself that she'd never actually been there. It was bizarre to think that such a place existed, but she supposed it was no more bizarre than a Labyrinth.

"Oh yeah," she said through her laughter, "your poor, maligned reputation."

When he rolled his eyes at her she continued, "Don't give me that. You love it and you know it. You totally play up to your audience."

"Sarah, I don't have the first idea what you're talking about." He looked almost upset as he said it, but his hand didn't release hers.

"Right, then the whole bursting through the window, the glitter, the black leather, the snake, none of that was intended to intimidate."

"Of course not," he answered, but his gaze had drifted out his window as he said it.

"Sarah," she intoned in her best British accent, "Don't defy me! What the hell was that about, hmmm?"

"What can I say, my dear?" he asked, running his thumb over hers, "You drive me to distraction. I can hardly be responsible for the things I say when you're being so…impertinent."

"If that's your round-about way of saying I'm right then I'll accept that." she smirked at him.

"Is it always going to be a challenge to get you to take a compliment?" he countered.

She sat and pretended to think for a moment before answering, "I guess time will tell, won't it?"

Jareth found himself holding his breath, waiting for her to retract or somehow alter her statement. When nothing else was forthcoming he asked, "Will it?" his eyes staring straight ahead.

Because he was intentionally avoiding eye contact he missed the lovely shade of rose she was blushing as the full realization of her statement hit her. Rather than answer directly, she brushed it off. "I thought we agreed to discuss this later."

"That's rather difficult when you keep bringing it up," he pointed out.

Sarah sighed, but she wasn't quite ready to give in. "I'm sorry. It's like you said, you drive me to distraction. But I can't be distracted right now, I have to focus on getting Toby back."

"Fair enough," he said. "But Sarah, after we get Toby back, no excuses. Agreed?"

"Agreed." The small knot of nervous tension didn't go away entirely, but she felt some relief at having put it off another day.

* * *

"We are almost there," the man told Toby as he pulled off the highway. There had only been one exit sign for the small town, and after the Exxon station at the corner of the off-ramp there was nothing but fields for miles. The sky was growing steadily grayer but it didn't smell like rain. It was as if the whole world was carrying a sense of foreboding. Toby was trying to get his thoughts in order. The man had explained on the first day that he was taking Toby someplace special where he would set him free. When Toby had asked if he could call Sarah and tell her, the man had explained that Sarah would be hurt. Toby didn't want to hurt his sister anymore and so he had traveled with the man, doing as he was told. But now he was wondering if perhaps he should have tried to make a break for it. After all, even after he was set free, how would he get home again? And why did the man need to take him all the way to Kansas just to set him free? He was confused and beginning to think he had misunderstood something very important.

They drove another half hour, out past a small town of wooden store fronts and dilapidated trailers. Eventually the man turned down a dirt road, red dust clouds billowing behind the Taurus' back wheels. Toby could see the remains of a church, the wooden cross at the top the only indication of what it had once been used for. Even from a distance he could see that chunks of the roof had long ago caved in; the whole building looked as if it were ready to fall in on itself, like a compressed lung waiting to breath again.

* * *

As Richard left the highway he pulled into the Exxon station and called Sarah. He noted that with the lack of anything else on the road, he wouldn't lose the Taurus, but he was also much more likely to be noticed. Shrugging, he called the cell phone, knowing the chase was nearly over anyway.

Back on the road, he slowed down to 45 mph, watching the Taurus pull onto the dirt road. The dust clouds from its wake had already settled by the time he reached the road, and the small incline insured that he wouldn't be noticed for a little longer. He hoped it would be long enough.

* * *

It didn't take long for Sarah to reach the exit Richard had told her. She had apparently been much closer than she thought. Driving down the deserted highway, she could feel something pulling at her, something stronger than the adrenaline she had grown used to over the last few days. She pulled her hand from Jareth's, placing it back on the steering wheel. He didn't complain, merely reached his hand over to place it above her knee. Chaste and yet, somehow not. Shaking her head to clear the errant thought, she refocused her energies on the road before her.

When she saw the dirt road she turned onto it without conscious thought. Jareth quirked an eyebrow but said nothing. Her instinct was rewarded when she caught the last trail of Richard's dust clouds. When she saw the church ahead, she knew she was right. It was a short-lived victory, though. The muscles around her heart seemed to contract at once and she knew that her worst fears were about to be realized.