AN: Due to the length, my authors notes can be found at the end of the chapter.

Special thanks to my incredible beta, Scattered Logic. Not only does she have kick ass editing skills but she keeps me inspired! Also, thanks to The Hooded Crow and Lady Jamie for their comments and inspiration.

Chapter 16: Possession…

As quickly as the tears had come, they left and Jareth was rather surprised to feel two hands shove him back as Sarah moved away from him.

She wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her dress and composed herself. Sarah watched the Goblin King for a moment, noticing the odd expression on his face as he examined her in return. They stood regarding each other in an uncomfortable, tense silence.

Finally, Sarah just shook her head back and forth and for the first time in days, Jareth took notice of her appearance. He observed to his disappointment, that her beautiful dark hair was tied back in the unflattering style that the other women in this era wore. He studied her as she continued to shake her head.

"I can't go on like this," she told him.

"Like what?" he asked softly.

"Like this," she gestured to him, to herself and the room. "The nature of our relationship changes more than you changed your clothes the last time I was in the Labyrinth."

Jareth's brows rose. "Are you insulting my fashion sense?"

Sarah surprised him when she chuckled uncertainly. "I guess that I am. But see what I mean?" Her eyes bored into his. "The mood between us changes so rapidly from anger to teasing, from hatred to…concern." She sighed. "I can't do this anymore, Jareth."

He tilted his head and looked at her down his nose. "And what do you propose that we do?"

She sank onto the corner of the bed, suddenly looking very weary. "I…I don't know, just not this."

"The alliance-" he began.

"Didn't work," Sarah interrupted.

"Then what would you like to do, Sarah? You claim that my idea didn't work, well, let me hear yours." There was no mistaking the sarcasm and the challenge in his tone.

She bowed her head, far too afraid of being laughed at or who knew what else if she admitted her thoughts aloud to him.

"Well, I'm waiting." Jareth tapped his foot impatiently on the wooden floor.

"It's stupid, never mind," Sarah told him, looking away.

He surprised her by leaning down and catching her chin between his thumb and forefinger.

"Tell me," he ordered, though softly.

Her gaze hardened. "No," she told him firmly.

He tilted her chin up so that he could look directly into her eyes. "Sarah, tell me what you want to do."

She broke away from his gaze. His words and his close proximity made her shiver. "It's a stupid idea and it would never work."

"You don't know that until it's been tried," he told her honestly. He sat in a wooden chair that was not far from her bed and winced as he sat back too quickly, bumping his injured shoulder.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked him.

"You're evading the subject, but yes, it still hurts. Some days worse than others." Jareth watched Sarah. She looked very worn-out, but his curiosity was piqued and he wanted to know what was on her mind. "Why wouldn't it work?" he pushed.

"Because it requires trust that cannot easily be found." She looked deep into his eyes.

"Ah, trust which you don't believe you can place in me."

"Do you really expect me to trust you after what you just did to me?"

"You are quick to forget that were it not for me Evan would have had his way with you."

She tore her eyes away from him, lowered her head and took a deep breath before returning her gaze to him. "I try to forget…"

Jareth's brows rose.

"But it never quite works."

"The nightmares…" Jareth said softly.

Sarah nodded and tried hard to keep the tears from shining in her eyes.

Jareth leaned forward in his chair. "Is that what you dream about? What Evan almost got away with?"

"I don't-"

"Sarah…" His tone was uncharacteristically soft.

"I'm not talking about this again."

"Why won't you tell me? You were not even going to admit that you were having them, were you? Had it not been for Mrs. Henry and the sound of your cries at night, I would never have known."

"I didn't want you to know," she admitted softly.

"I am aware of that, but why?"

Sarah lifted her head and looked directly into his eyes. "Because every time I think I can begin to trust you, something happens and I realize that I can't. I might not ever be able to trust you."

Jareth sat back slowly in his chair, his hand resting on his chin as if in thought.

"I..I want to trust you," Sarah admitted softly when the silence became too much for her.

"Yet you still do not." Jareth didn't look at her as he spoke.

Sarah watched him warily. "Trust has to be earned and you haven't earned mine yet. You start to earn it and then you hurt me or betray me and we're back at the beginning."

He looked into her eyes now. "That is why you don't believe that we can achieve friendship."

Sarah's eyes widened in momentary shock. Her mouth opened, snapped shut and then opened again to speak. "How…how did you…?" she stammered.

Jareth regarded her and grinned at her astounded expression. "Don't look too shaken, Sarah. There are only two directions that we can travel in. Away from each other or toward each other. The latter is the only one that requires trust. Is that not what you wanted? To become friends?" The last word was spoken in almost a seductive tone.

Sarah looked away, feeling her face flush bright red. It was such a stupid idea now that it had been said. Her friends with the Goblin King? What a silly notion!

"It could work…" Jareth began.

His words caused Sarah to look at him.

"If we stop trying to wound or outdo each other."

"I never-" Sarah started.

"Let it lie, dear girl. You can not deny the pattern found between us, whether things were intentional or not." He rose from the chair, one hand shoved into the pocket of the beige breeches that he wore, the other hand and arm pulled to his side to keep from aggravating his injury.

"It could work with some effort."

Sarah looked at him cautiously. "Are you admitting that you're willing to try because you genuinely want to be my friend or is this just part of continuing our deception?"

"Yes." Jareth answered simply.

"Yes, to which question?" Sarah asked a little annoyed.

Jareth merely grinned.

"You confuse the hell out of me," Sarah told him through narrowed eyes. "And what's worse is that you do it on purpose."

Jareth chuckled softly and his eyes danced with amusement. "And you don't believe that you confuse me?" He laughed. "I believe that we have talked enough of this for one evening. After all, kingdoms are not built overnight for a very good reason."

"Oh, and why is that?" Sarah put her hands on her hips as she watched Jareth walk slowly to the door.

"Things built too quickly fall apart easily." He tilted his head and gave her an intense, long look.

Sarah felt her cheeks warming. Why was he looking at her like that?

Jareth smirked as he opened the door. "Get some sleep. You look terrible." The door immediately closed to leave a dazed Sarah alone with her thoughts.

* * *

For the first time in a week, Sarah slept for the entire night. In fact, she overslept the next morning. Realizing this, she dressed quickly and rushed out her door to go feed the animals. Elizabeth was standing outside the door to Jareth's room and was tapping impatiently.

"Jareth, are you all right in there? I have breakfast prepared for you." She flashed a grin at Sarah as she went by to walk down the stairs.

Sarah shook her head. So much for a chance of a friendship with Jareth. Elizabeth would always be around him. She swallowed the jealousy and rushed outside to start her chores.

She was very surprised to find Jareth in the barn and alone, no less. How had he slipped past Elizabeth? And more importantly, what was he doing in the barn? Sarah slipped into the shadows of the doorway and watched him.

He was standing in front one of the horse stalls, one arm and hand stretched out. "You know that you want it…" he spoke softly.

The horse slowly reached its muzzle toward Jareth's hand. Cautiously, it took the carrot that rested in his palm. He patted the horse's neck.

"What happened to this horse, Sarah?"

Sarah stepped from the shadows. "How did you know that I was there?"

He turned to face her now, sporting that insolent grin of his. "I'm Fae, Sarah. I have acute hearing as well as sight. My heart beast is an owl after all. I knew you were coming when I heard the porch door close."

"Oh," Sarah said softly.

"You didn't answer my question. What happened to this horse?"

"He's a stray that Jacob and Thomas found out in the woods while riding one day."

"Why is he so thin? Haven't you been feeding him?"

"Of course I've been feeding him! He just doesn't want to eat. Jacob thought maybe he has an illness or that he just isn't adjusting. He plans on selling him and if no one wants him, he's going to shoot him and put an end to his suffering." Sarah looked at Jareth curiously. "You're the first person that he's accepted food from. I wonder why?"

Jareth looked insulted by her words. "He accepts food from me because he recognizes me. Don't you recognize him?"

Sarah moved to stand beside Jareth. She took a good look at the horse and shook her head. "He's just a bay gelding."

"Not just any bay gelding, but the one that I stole from the colonists' camp. This horse brought us to safety."

"You mean this is the horse you fell off of and the one that I tried to steer? The one who's saddle you took off so that you could…" she stopped mid sentence. Saving her from Evan had not been the only kindness that Jareth had shown her. He had unsaddled the horse so that she could have the blanket to stay warm. She had forgotten all about it.

"Yes, this is the same horse. I'm sure of it." Jareth watched as Sarah moved away from him. She seemed unnerved. He watched her every movement as she began feeding the animals.

The bucket of food for the goats was particularly heavy this morning. As she began to lift it, she called out, "How did you manage to get by Elizabeth this morning?"

"I left the room before she awakened to plague me." The voice made Sarah jump and she realized that Jareth was suddenly right by her shoulder. The bucket suddenly didn't seem as heavy as it had been and Sarah realized that he was helping her lift it with his good arm. Together, they dumped the food into the goat trough.

Sarah turned to thank him as soon as they had finished, but he was already walking away. She watched as he stood in the sunlight that filtered into the barn. For just a moment, he seemed to forget that she was there with him as he looked outside. Sarah took the time to study him carefully.

In the morning light, his hair was white blond. Despite where they were, he had been wearing his hair down she realized, the way that she preferred it. He had dressed in one of Jacob's white shirts and his own vest which had been washed of the blood from his injury and mended from the hole the bullet had caused. He wore a pair of Jacob's tan breeches which were a bit looser than he was probably accustomed to, as well as his own black knee high boots. All in all the outfit was not much different from the style of clothing that he seemed to enjoy wearing, and Sarah had to admit that he wore the clothes well.

"Like what you see?"

Sarah's eyes widened at the words and then she shrugged, looking past him. "I do. It's a beautiful day." She turned from him and smiled as she caught his annoyed expression.

She was pleasantly surprised when Jareth wandered over to her some time later as she was still feeding the other animals and offered to help.

"I don't need help. I do this every morning," she told him and brushed past him to continue giving the horses hay. "Besides, you need to rest that shoulder of yours. You shouldn't be lifting anything."

"I do have another arm, Sarah. But I am touched by your concern."

"If you aren't careful, you'll hurt your good arm," Sarah continued trying to ignore what he had said. "You're still not fully recovered. I appreciate that you want to help, but if you hurt yourself I'll have to drop some of my chores to take care of you."

He leaned closer to her, grinning and revealing sharp teeth. "And that's a bad thing?"

"Sarah?"

Sarah jerked at the sound of her name and when she saw Jacob enter the barn, she suddenly realized how close she and Jareth were standing. She could feel Jareth's warm breath on her face.

Jacob looked uncertain for a minute and looked from Jareth to Sarah, but then he smiled. "I was worried when I didn't see the animals fed this morning. But Mama said that you slept in." He smiled warmly. "That's wonderful."

"Isn't it?" Jareth answered sharply before Sarah could answer.

Jacob's brows furrowed.

Sarah sensed the tension and she moved from between the two men. "Jacob, I have to show you something."

Jacob glared at Jareth for a moment before following Sarah who had made her way to one of the horse stalls.

"I don't believe it," Jacob said as he neared the stall. "He's eating."

Sarah nodded happily. "I didn't even realize it and it wasn't until Ja-Father told me. This is our horse that you found. Father fed him a carrot and now he's eating."

Jacob smiled broadly. "This is wonderful. I really didn't want to put him down. He's such a beautiful animal." Jacob turned to Jareth who had come to stand on the other side of Sarah. Jacob noticed a strange and very different tension in the air. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. "I'm sure that you will wish to have your horse back."

Jareth nodded. "I would like him back, but I do not have the money to give you for his food. As soon as I am physically able, I wish to help around the farm in exchange for his food and for helping my daughter and myself."

Jacob's brows rose and Sarah's jaw dropped. Jareth, the Goblin King was offering to do physical labor? Was he still ill?

What surprised Sarah even more was the way that Jareth unexpectedly moved closer to her and put his arm around her waist. It was an extremely possessive gesture more than it was parental and Jacob seemed to notice that.

Jacob cleared his throat. "I was sent to tell you that breakfast is ready. Shall I help you finish the chores?"

"No, it's all right. I'm nearly finished. We'll be in shortly," Sarah told him.

Jacob nodded and left without another word. It was only after he had disappeared from the barn that Jareth removed his arm from around Sarah.

"Dannarra," he said simply.

"What?"

"The horse needs a name, does he not? It shall be Dannarra. Dan for short." He smiled, looking very proud of himself.

Sarah dumped the food for the cows into a large tin bucket and then looked at Jareth. "What does it mean?"

"Stubborn. Perfect for the horse that would not move when we needed him to escape. The horse who would not eat." Jareth walked to the bay horse and watched as he slowly ate his hay.

Sarah smiled. "I think it's perfect. Stubborn, just like his owner."

* * *

Jacob made his way into the house to find his mother alone in the kitchen gathering the last few platters of food for breakfast. "Do you need some help, Mama?"

"If you could carry the platter of bacon and sausage that would be wonderful."

Jacob nodded and walked to the small, old wooden table in the kitchen, but his mother came to stand in front of him.

"Is something wrong, Jacob?"

Jacob frowned. He could never hide anything from his mother. "Just something that happened between Sarah and her father in the barn."

"Oh no, are they fighting again?" she asked.

Jacob shook his head. "No, quite the opposite. Something strange was in the air. I'm just not certain if I was seeing things."

"What sort of things did you think you were seeing?" She balanced the platter of biscuits on her arm and regarded her son carefully.

Jacob opened his mouth to speak, but the back door opened and Sarah and Jareth walked in.

Mrs. Henry smiled when she saw Sarah. "Well, good morning, dear. We were getting worried when we didn't see the animals fed."

"No need to worry. I just overslept. I'm sorry." She smiled sweetly and Jacob, finding her smile contagious, smiled in return. That was all it took for Jareth to step closer to her, one hand falling upon her shoulder.

"Ah, so you slept the night, did you?" Mrs. Henry continued.

Sarah nodded.

"Well, you must be hungry. Go on and sit at the table in the dining room."

Sarah smiled her thanks and she and Jareth left the room.

Mrs. Henry and Jacob looked at each other after they had gone.

Jareth nearly groaned when he saw Elizabeth setting the table. As soon as she saw him, she stopped what she was doing and smiled sweetly. Then she stood by a chair, just waiting for Jareth to pull it out for her so that she could sit.

"Good morning, Jareth," she purred.

Jareth felt Sarah tense beneath his hand.

"Elizabeth." He nodded in greeting. Then with his good arm and hand, he pulled out a chair for Sarah. She smiled hesitantly at him as she sat. He used his hip to push the chair in a bit for her. Then he sat himself directly beside Sarah. He noticed Thomas sitting at the table and gave the child a nod.

Elizabeth frowned, not afraid to show that she was very displeased. Jareth had sat himself at the corner of the table and had sat Sarah to his right. Elizabeth's father always sat at the head of the table, which meant that Elizabeth couldn't possibly sit by Jareth. And Thomas was already sitting across from Jareth on the opposite side of the table.

"Won't you sit beside me, Jareth?" She pouted and then gave an expression as if she was deeply hurt.

"I would like to sit beside my daughter," he told her. He took the white cloth napkin from the table and placed it over his lap, in his mind believing that the discussion was over.

Elizabeth had other ideas.

"What are we to do today? It's a beautiful spring morning. Are you feeling well enough to go for a walk?"

"Sarah and I are going for a walk after breakfast."

Sarah's brows rose slightly as this was news to her, but she went along with it.

"Well, you won't mind my company then. We could all go together, like one big happy family." Elizabeth smiled.

Sarah froze at the words. The idea of walking with Jareth and Elizabeth was a terrible one. She knew that Elizabeth would probably have her hands all over Jareth and what would Jareth do? Would she be able to stomach watching Jareth put his hands all over Elizabeth? Sarah didn't know if he honestly liked the girl or if Elizabeth had really been part of his plan to upset her.

"I have no family," Jareth practically snarled. "Other than my daughter. While I enjoyed our time together, it has now ended. I've neglected my daughter for too long because I wasted precious time with her to spend it with you."

Elizabeth's jaw lowered in shock. "I…I thought that you, that we…I thought that you liked me."

Jareth tilted his head, his expression one of pure insolence. "You thought wrong."

Elizabeth looked genuinely upset by his words as she sank into a chair across from Sarah. Sarah almost felt sorry for her. Jareth had used her. How was Sarah to know that he wouldn't do the same to her as well?

The conversation ended when Mrs. Henry and Jacob entered the room with the last of the plates of food. "Edgar, the food is ready. Come sit at the table." Mrs. Henry called.

Mr. Henry who had been in his study could be heard hobbling toward the dining room using his cane. He sat slowly at the head of the table, right beside Jareth. "Good morning, Mr. Charles and Sarah. Sarah, you look rested this morning," he smiled warmly.

"I am, thank you."

"Mr. Charles, you look much better as well."

"Thank you."

"Boy, this food smells good. Must be the cook. She's a mighty fine one at that, " Mr. Henry called out to his wife. She only waved her hand at him and shook her head.

"Does that mean we can eat it now?" Thomas asked. "Because I'm starving, Papa. I've been sitting here since 6 o'clock."

Sarah laughed. "I'm afraid that was probably my fault that we are now eating at 8. I overslept."

"It's okay, Miss Charles. You were tired." Thomas told her with a toothy grin. "You're forgiven this time, but next time we're going to eat without you!"

Everyone at the table laughed.

Jacob sat beside Sarah, much to Jareth's annoyance. The young man fussed over her, constantly offering food and drink and it irritated Jareth to no end.

Elizabeth didn't say much more than a word as she pushed her food around her plate. But every so often she would glare viciously at Sarah.

"Oh, father, there is something that I should tell you," Jacob said halfway through breakfast.

Mr. Henry looked up and raised his brows as he munched on a biscuit.

"The bay gelding in the barn, the one that's grown thin?"

Mr. Henry nodded.

'Well, he's started to eat and it's all thanks to Mr. Charles."

Mr. Henry swallowed his food. "How so?" He turned his attention to Jareth. "Did you know something about this horse that we did not?"

Jareth lowered his fork to the table and swallowed the piece of bacon that he had been chewing. "Dannarra seems to be rather stubborn, I'm afraid. Once he recognized me, he began to eat."

"Well, praise be the lord. I wasn't looking forward to having him put down. He's a beautiful animal. He reminds me of Doc. Hiller's stock. Strong build, but yet an elegant look to him at the same time."

Jareth only nodded.

"Mr. Charles wishes to have him back," Jacob continued.

'Well, of course! He belongs to him. We have enough of our own, anyway. Hopefully, you can finish breaking some of the 2 year olds so we can sell them at the end of the season, Jacob."

Jacob nodded. "Yes, I only have 3 more to train."

"We'll have to discuss payment for your horse's food, Mr. Charles. We had a bad hay season last year and weren't able to cut as much hay as we usually do. The grass is too rich right now to put the horses out on it. They'll founder so we have to keep with hay, which we have to buy."

"That is what I wanted to mention, father. Mr. Charles offered to help around the farm when he is physically able."

"Whatever needs to be done," Jareth interrupted. "This family has been very generous and kind in taking in two strangers. While my daughter has been doing her part, I would like to do mine."

"Well, I don't see a problem there. We can always use another man around the house. I'm afraid that I can't do much," Mr. Henry said, tapping the empty spot where his leg and foot should have been with his cane. "And we don't have the money to hire help this year. We need someone to come out hunting with us. Thomas can do the horse stalls so that Mr. Charles could chop wood and help you, Jacob, with the repairs to the house and barn. All right. You have a deal there, Mr. Charles."

Jareth nodded.

* * *

Jacob walked over to Sarah while Jareth did his best to help Mrs. Henry carry dirty dishes back to the kitchen. Jareth had been relieved when Elizabeth excused herself to go work on a dress that she was making.

"Are you all right, Sarah? You didn't say very much at breakfast and you didn't eat much," Jacob asked her. She was over by one of the bookshelves looking at some of the pieces of The Henry family history.

"I wasn't very hungry and I had things on my mind," she told him. It wasn't a lie. She had not been very hungry. She was still too busy trying to figure out if Jareth was going to use her or not.

Jacob leaned against the bookshelf behind him. "What kind of things? Anything I could help you with? I'm always around to listen. You know that, don't you?"

Sarah lowered her head. "Yes, I know that. Thank you," she whispered. She felt warm fingers touch her chin and Jacob gently lifted it to look into her eyes.

"Well, what's wrong?"

Jareth walked into the room to find Jacob with his hand on Sarah's face and he turned white with anger. The plate in his hand dropped to the floor and shattered sending white porcelain in all directions.

The loud noise startled both Sarah and Jacob who turned to look and see what had happened.

"Mr. Charles, are you all right?" Mrs. Henry asked. She rushed into the room to find him looking at the shattered plate at his feet.

"I'm fine…it slipped from my hand." He looked apologetically at her. He had not meant to drop the plate, but he had also not expected to see Jacob touching Sarah.

"Perhaps you are pushing yourself too soon. We'll wait a bit before you help out," she told him. "Sarah, dear, would you mind fetching the broom and bucket so that we can clean this?"

"Not at all. I'll get it." Sarah disappeared from the room as did Mrs. Henry who balanced a few more dishes on her arms and headed back into the kitchen as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Jacob scratched his head with a sigh and then walked to Jareth. "You didn't cut yourself, did you?" he asked with genuine concern.

Jareth's eyes narrowed and he stepped closer to the young man, not caring that he was crunching the pieces of the plate beneath his boots. He stood his full height and looked Jacob directly in the eyes.

"While I understand you only want to help Sarah, it's unnecessary." His tone was cold. "She and I have resolved our differences and I alone will comfort her. Understood?"

Jacob's brows furrowed.

"You should do well to remember that she is mine." Jareth turned and went looking for Sarah leaving Jacob alone with a dumbfounded expression.

* * *

Mrs. Henry found Jacob looking out the back door. She knew that he was looking out at Sarah and her father. She had heard the two go outside after Sarah had cleaned up the remains of the plate.

"Are you all right, Jacob? I always know there is something wrong when you've gone quiet."

Jacob lowered his head. "Just something that Mr. Charles said that…" His voice trailed off to silence.

"What was it that he said to you? It was obviously something if it made you this upset." She abandoned the dishes for a moment and turned her full attention to her oldest child.

Jacob sighed. "He told me that he knew that I wanted to help Sarah, but that it wasn't necessary. He told me that the two of them had resolved their differences and that he alone would comfort her. That wasn't so odd. I mean he is her father, after all. He wants to comfort and protect her. But it was his next words that threw me off a bit."

"What did he say?"

Jacob turned to face her. A look of confusion and anguish appeared on his face. "He told me that I 'should do well to remember that she is his.' "

"Well, of course she is his. She's his daughter. He's obviously interested in protecting her and he hasn't learned to trust you yet." Mrs. Henry gave him a smile. "You've show interest in the girl and I'm sure that makes him uncomfortable. She is his only child, and the only thing he has left of his wife. Letting her go, I imagine, will not be easy for him."

"But the way he said it, Mama. He was acting as if she was his possession…" He looked his mother in the eyes. "Almost as if she was his woman." As if he was in love with her…

Mrs. Henry frowned. "What are you saying, Jacob?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. I could be very wrong about it all and I probably am. I enjoy her company and I think I am just trying to see things that are not there. Never mind, I realize that it's not Mr. Charles. It's me. I have a few chores to finish up. I'll be back for a sandwich in the afternoon." He cast a quick look at his mother and left the kitchen.

Mrs. Henry frowned and then walked to the back door to watch Sarah and Jareth walk away into the surrounding woods. Twice now Jacob had felt that something was wrong. She let out a deep sigh…Perhaps something was.

AN: I plan to try and answer questions and comments (if possible without giving things away!) every chapter. I used to do this with my other stories and ran out of time. If I forget anyone, please know that it was not intentional!

From my guest book over at the UC page (http://www.geocities.com/Jareth_sarah/uc/unexpected.html)

Winter: I'm glad that the plot twists have been unexpected. I hate being predictable! As for the discovery of Jareth and Sarah, I'm afraid that you'll have to wait and see! ;)

Flyaway: YES! Lol they are very jealous of each other's companions. You didn't see that coming, did you? Well, that's good! I like to surprise people. And unfortunately for our boy Jareth, the jealousy factor is not over for him yet.

Christina: I'm glad that you enjoyed chapter 15. I hope that 16 was just as good and worth the wait. J

Andrea: Yes, that is me singing the song "All I know" I wrote and composed the music for it. Music is one of my many hobbies. I've never done it professionally or anything even close to that. It's just something that I enjoy doing and I really wanted to go all out with this story so besides pictures, I wrote some music. If I can find the web space, I'll put the instrumental songs online. Thanks so much for your kind words!

From Fanfic.net

Penance: Yes, they sort of like each other. It's rather complicated for them both, but they are starting to realize that they care about each other. Thanks for the review!

General Mevneriel : Thanks so much! I hope you enjoyed 16 as well!

Terrie: Yes, some healing. Finally, right? It feels like the two of them have been at odds forever. They're not out of hot water just yet, but things are steadily getting better.

Purely Wicked: Thanks so much. I know, poor Sarah. I feel bad for what I've done to her…poor kid.

Crystalqueen: Jareth hates being stuck in bed, but as you can see by this chapter, he's now moving around. He can't do very much because he's still weak and can't use one arm, but being out of bed will surely lift his mood.

Draegon_fire: I wanted to thank you so much for making my day. You left me such a wonderful review and it made me smile. I really wanted to e-mail you to thank you, but you've not left your addy. Unfortunately, at this stage of the game, Jareth doesn't see anything wrong with playing games with Sarah. It is his nature, being Fae and all and he doesn't think anything of it. Jealousy does strange things to people and it's definitely making Jareth act odd. He really doesn't know what to do or how to feel. He hates Sarah and cares about her at the same time and he is very confused about those conflicted emotions. I'm afraid that you'll have to wait and see what happens to Elizabeth as well as Mrs. H. J

Sara Beth: Here's more!!!

Jouchan13: You're welcome, you're welcome, you're welcome! And I'm so glad that I didn't let you down! It's important for me not to do that to my readers! Thanks for your review!

Pussycat: With the demons that Jareth is fighting within himself right now, kissing Sarah is the farthest thing for his mind. That of course, could change ;)

Melenin: Thank you!

Jester: I think there will always be tension in this story! Isn't that how it is in real life anyhow? Thanks for the review!

Skyfire: Thank you so much for telling me that. I am always so afraid that I am making things predictable and I really try not to make it that way. I like to surprise everyone so they don't know what to expect and would like to come back to read more. I'm so glad that you are enjoying the story!

Drama-Queen: Thank you! I'm glad that the drama I've added is pleasing! Sometimes I feel as if I'm adding too much angst, but is there really such a thing as too much???

EBS: Oh thank you so much! You're so sweet! And I inspired you, that's one of the nicest things to tell an author. I'd love to read your story! Please post it here or if you're interested at my e-mail list for J/S fics. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jsfanfiction/ I hope chapter 16 proved to be just as good as 15.

Squeezystan: Thanks! It's difficult to write this time period so I am constantly doing research. I do enjoy writing about this time period though as it's much a part of the history of where I live. (Massachusetts)

Iden's Garden: Thank you!

Anne-Marie: Thank you! I like this time period myself. I thought it would be a great setting to put Jareth and Sarah in.

Insane Dragoness: Thanks! Was this soon enough?

Anyastazya: Of course I mentioned you! I love all my readers! They inspire me to write and to continue writing! Oh, you're welcome for the story. Thank you for the support.

From my JSFanfiction mailing list.

Little Magpie: Oh yeah. Jareth's jealousy and confusion are clouding his judgment. Well, as you can see from ch 16, Jareth let Elizabeth know that he was done with her. Of course, that won't sit well with Elizabeth and poor Sarah isn't sure what to believe herself. Thanks for the e-mail! *hugs*

Aisuru: I think chapter 16 may have answered some of the questions you were asking. The Henry's wouldn't just kick Sarah and Jareth out. They're too kind for that and in all honesty, they need the help because they can't afford to hire it. With Sarah and Jareth, they have Sarah to feed the animals and help with chores inside and when Jareth is well, he can chop wood, help harvest when it's time, repair things, go hunting, etc. So the Henry's don't want them to go just yet. It's obvious to everyone in the house, that Sarah and Jareth don't have any money. Because they would have had more clothes and such and Jareth has admitted in this chapter that he has no money. They were very lucky to be found by the Henrys.