AN: My thanks to those who continue to review my story. I appreciate reading your thoughts and opinions.

Special thanks to my beta, Scattered Logic for her hard work.

Chapter 19: Uncomfortable feelings

She could feel the weight of his stare on her back as she got the feed ready for the horses. Almost immediately, there had been a tense silence between them as they met that morning.

She had descended the staircase, eyes lowered to the floor.

Jareth's smile had faded and he watched her curiously as she refused to look at him. He asked her several questions to which she replied to all with short sentences. And now in the barn, she had said nothing to him at all.

Jareth had finally had enough. "Is something wrong?" He appeared at Sarah's shoulder causing her to jump in surprise. She had not even heard him coming.

"N-no…" She glanced at him quickly, refusing eye contact and then looked away.

Jareth caught her chin with his gloved fingers and looked into her eyes. She still refused to look directly into his eyes. "And why don't I believe you? Why won't you look into my eyes? Have the Henrys said anything more about our deception? Have they said something unnerving and is that why you ignore me?"

"I'm not ignoring you." She finally looked into his eyes and she regretted it. His face was inches from hers; she felt his warm breath mingle with her own and it caused her to shiver.

"Yes, you are," he whispered softly.

She pulled away from him harshly and Jareth could only watch her go.

"Have I offended you somehow?" He was completely puzzled by her attitude.

"No," she told him, her back facing him.

"Sarah-"

"Please, just leave me alone." She turned to him, looking into his eyes for a brief moment before she brought her gaze to the ground, to the horses, anywhere but on him. "I…I need time to think. It's not just you…it's everyone and everything. I just need to think…alone."

Jareth frowned. "You don't wish to speak about it?"

"No! I just want to be left alone," she repeated firmly.

Jareth said nothing for a moment as he looked her over. She was rattled about something, but he had no idea what it was. He nodded slowly. "Very well, as you wish." He watched her a moment more, seeing her direct her attention quickly to what she was doing and ignoring his presence altogether. Without another word, he left the barn.

She heard him leave. Heard the barn door squeak as it closed behind him and left her in silence. The silence was maddening and she kicked a nearby tin bucket, getting little satisfaction in watching it crash into a stall just a few yards away. She pounded her fists on the wood of a stall door, scaring the poor horse inside half to death. She rested her back against the door and dropped her face into her hands.

"What is wrong with me? Why am I so tense? So explosive? It was just Jareth. Just Jareth…" she told herself, but it wasn't working. She slid along the door until her bottom hit the dirt floor and she sighed.

Her eyes clouded with tears as she thought about him. He had seemed genuinely concerned about her behavior and she had pushed him away. He didn't understand that he was the cause of her behavior. Hell, not even she understood it.

'He's so handsome….that wild hair, those eyes…I could drown in those eyes….Oh my god, get real! Listen to yourself! He's the Goblin King for pity's sake! He stole your brother and put you through 13 hours of hell to reach him. He's not some guy from school that I might have a halfway decent chance of dating…He will never really like me…He's using me…'

She sighed heavily. Where was all this coming from? She certainly couldn't like Jareth. He was going to hurt her and use her for his own selfish purposes.

'But what if he did like me?…just hypothetically speaking… He's still Fae, still, oh god, 500 years old! I'm an infant compared to him…what would he ever see in me? Nothing… Absolutely nothing!'

She began to cry then and she buried her face into her hands, the sobs loud and ugly. She recognized the truth of the dream. She was falling for him…For Jareth, The Goblin King.

* * *

Something touched her shoulder lightly and she jumped. She opened her eyes and everything was bright around her. She felt groggy and her limbs felt heavy. Soft leather brushed her cheek and it forced her to awaken completely. Everything was hazy, but slowly she could make out Jareth's face, close to her own. He was crouched down in front of her and eating an apple. He tilted his head and gazed at her curiously.

She turned away from him and looked around, realizing she was in the barn. She was slumped against one of the stall doors and was sitting in the dirt. She realized that she must have fallen asleep after she had cried.

Jareth didn't ask her if she was all right. He reached for one of her hands and roughly pulled her to her feet. "You will follow me," he ordered.

Sarah blinked.

When she didn't follow right away, he pulled her after him.

"Hey, let go! You're hurting me!" She tried to twist out of his grip, but he refused to release her.

"Don't make me carry you," he told her.

Her eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare! And you can't anyway with your shoulder!" she spat.

Jareth turned and looked at her, eyes narrowed, his gaze icy. "I can and I will if necessary. Who is acting like a child now?"

Sarah said nothing as he pulled her after him, his grip loosening only slightly. She followed him into the woods, her steps heavy and angry.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked irritably.

It was then that he released her and she looked at him in utter confusion. He stood there, hands on his hips, just staring at her.

His gaze was unnerving and she glanced away, noticing something she had not seen before. Just a short distance away was a pond. Sarah stepped toward it, noticing something else. A blanket was spread on the ground and a small basket placed in the center. She took in a breath and then glanced warily at Jareth.

"Wh-what is this all about?"

Jareth's expression was cool as he looked at her. "You have missed breakfast and lunch. You need to eat. You asked to be left alone and it has been arranged. No one will bother you here." He watched her for a moment and then started to walk away.

Sarah's jaw dropped as she watched him go. Her hand rose into the air and she took a few steps toward his retreating form. "Wait…"

He continued walking.

"Please, don't go!"

He turned then to face her and his expression was guarded.

She took a few unsteady steps toward him. "I don't want to be alone…not really…It makes me think and that's very bad."

His brows raised. "Thinking is bad?"

She nodded and didn't volunteer to explain any further. "I wasn't truthful with you before. I do want to talk…and I don't want to be alone."

Jareth looked at her cautiously. "You're certain?"

She nodded and watched him move toward her.

He stopped in front of her and his cool expression thawed as a sly grin tugged at his lips. "I was hoping you would ask me to stay."

"Were you?"

He nodded and Sarah felt her heart leap.

* * *

Things were fairly tense at first, as Sarah expected. Jareth had packed enough food for both of them and they ate in silence.

Sarah kept noticing things about him. The way his wild blonde hair fell around him in soft delicate wisps, the thin, cruel line of his lips, how soft they looked and how earth shattering it would be to feel them against her own.

Sarah blushed and looked away for having such a thought and images of her dream spilled into her mind. She shifted uncomfortably on the blanket and gazed at the pond for a moment to compose herself. Carefully, she returned her eyes to Jareth.

He was gazing out over the lake, lounging on the blanket, his back against a rock, one knee drawn to his chest. His mismatched eyes were beautiful when he wasn't angry or arrogant. One a cool, calm blue, while the other was a warm, inviting hazel.

His eyes abruptly met hers and he gave her an odd expression.

Sarah realized that she'd been caught checking him out and she cursed when she felt her cheeks warm with a blush.

Jareth was amused and pleased by her reaction, but he let it go without mention. She had looked at him in a way she never had before and he was unsure how to react.

"He apologized to me," Jareth said quietly, breaking the tense silence.

Sarah cleared her throat. "Um…Who did?"

Jareth sighed. "Jacob."

"Jacob apologized? For what?" She felt the apology was unexpected, though she did remember Jacob saying he wished to apologize to Jareth.

"For losing his temper," Jareth told her stretching his legs out in front of him on the blanket. "He was angry about our little deception and felt he had taken that anger out on me. He wished to set things straight between us."

Sarah nodded and the unease she felt fell away. "He's a good man."

Jareth watched her carefully. "He is." He watched as his words brought a smile to her face and he attempted to smile in return.

Sarah suddenly looked away again. "I'm sorry about this morning. I-"

He shook his head. "I've already forgotten it and you should as well." He told her. She smiled shyly and Jareth felt his breath catch in his throat.

The sun was lowering towards the horizon, the few clouds that remained appeared bright orange against the blue sky. The sky reflected in the lake, posing as the perfect image behind Sarah.

But Jareth didn't really notice the sky. All he could see was the woman in front of him. She had been wearing her hair down as he preferred. The long, dark, silky strands cascaded down her lean shoulders, spilling over her breasts, urging him to run his fingers through her hair. He felt his hand twitch where it rested by his side and swallowed hard looking up, his eyes meeting hers.

"It's getting dark. We should return to the house," he told her quietly.

She nodded. She sighed and looked away to gaze at the sunset for a moment before she helped him gather the basket and fold the blanket. "I still have to feed the animals," she reminded him.

"I'll do it. You go to the house, wash up and help Mrs. Henry."

Sarah hesitated. " But she's still angry," she started.

"I know she's still angry, but not so much that she wouldn't pack you a lunch," he told her arching a brow.

Sarah's eyes widened and Jareth laughed.

"Who do you think packed the food?"

"I thought it was you," she told him.

"I would be wearing the living room floor down and you might still be sleeping in the barn were it not for Mrs. Henry. She realized that you had missed two meals and she handed me a basket of food to bring to you." He watched her nod, but noticed the disappointment in her eyes.

"However, the picnic was my idea," he added quickly, eyes sparkling.

She smiled shyly. "All right. I'll wash up and help Mrs. Henry. It would be wrong to avoid her. Will you be able to handle taking care of the animals on your own? I mean your shoulder..."

"I'm sure I can convince Thomas to help me." He grinned.

Sarah laughed.

* * *

As the next few days passed, the tension began to fade away. Jareth and Sarah continued to do chores together. For Sarah, things slowly returned to normal as her discomfort around Jareth lessened. She allowed herself to acknowledge that she did feel something for him and those feelings wouldn't go away any time soon.

Jareth noticed her ease around him and he, too, began to relax. He began to notice things about Sarah and he got satisfaction out of letting her know of those things. He would often go out of his way to make sure Sarah knew she looked beautiful and that she pleased him with something she'd done. He often would tell her how beautiful she looked in a dress even if she had just come in from the barn all dusty and covered in hay.

Mrs. Henry began to let her distrust fall away. The more she realized that Jareth and Sarah didn't mean to harm her family, the more she began to place her trust in them again.

The older woman noticed a level of comfort that settled over Jareth and Sarah and unlike anyone else in the house, she knew exactly what was happening. She saw the secret glances, the smiles one would try to hide from the other when they thought no one was watching.

Jacob had slowly worked his way back into Sarah's days, spending time with her when Jareth was busy with chores. Often, Jacob would offer to help the women in the house so he could be in Sarah's presence. Her pleasant mood lifted his spirits and he enjoyed being around her. Usually, his mother shooed him away and told him to go finish his own work. He knew she was trying to protect him, but there was no need for it. He was nearly 25 years old and could take care of himself. There was still a tension between Jacob and Jareth but that too was slowly diminishing as the two men began to trust each other.

Being blunt had not worked with Sarah in the past as she had evaded personal questions, so Mrs. Henry thought perhaps another tactic was in order. She watched Jareth go into the barn alone to do chores one afternoon and she sent Thomas to go help him.

Usually, Thomas didn't bother Jareth. The boy was pleasant enough and normally did not ask uncomfortable questions. But today he'd done nothing but ask them.

"So how did you meet Sarah again?" Thomas asked as he carried some hay to a stall.

Jareth groaned softly. How many questions about Sarah was this child going to ask today? "I never told you the first time and I don't feel like explaining it now." Jareth told him, trying to remain calm.

"Ok, ok, you don't have to be grouchy about it. I was just curious," Thomas told him. He dumped the hay in the stall and then went back for more.

"Why are you giving them hay?" Jareth asked, putting his hands on his hips. "I will give hay, you will carry buckets and give them water. You know that my shoulder is not yet healed and that I can not lift the buckets. You've helped me before, Thomas, what is different about today?" Jareth demanded.

Thomas just shrugged. "Why doesn't Sarah do this anymore? Elizabeth said it was her job to feed the animals and I remember seeing her do it alone. Why are you doing it?"

"Because your mother needs help in the house. Abigail is still not well and Sarah has taken over her chores in addition to her own. I'm attempting to lessen her load." Jareth pushed past the boy and made his way to the haystack, grabbing the pitchfork to loosen the hay.

Thomas nodded. "I hope that Abby doesn't die." He frowned.

Jareth stopped what he was doing and looked at the boy. "She isn't going to die. She's just not feeling well."

"Yes, but last time someone didn't feel well, they died."

Jareth frowned. "Who are you speaking about?"

"Grandpa. He got sick and he just died. I was only 5 when it happened. I miss him. Did you know that he built our house? Him and Papa and Uncle Joseph."

"I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather and I did not realize that you have an uncle or that they built the house."

"Had," Thomas corrected. "He died in the French and Indian war. Papa said he fought bravely. Papa was lucky to make it out alive. He could have died too, but he managed to escape. He still lost part of his leg though. Jacob was only a boy when it happened, but he remembers having to do all the work around the farm while Papa got better."

"I'm sorry to hear about the troubles your family has had and the losses you have suffered."

Thomas kicked at a large piece of hay on the ground. "It's ok."

Jareth felt sorry for the boy. While the Henry family seemed to be a happy, close family, it was now obvious that they'd had their share of hardships as well.

"Mr. Charles, can I ask you something?"

"I've asked you not to call me that. My name is Jareth."

"Oh yeah, sorry. Jareth, are you in love with Sarah?"

The sound of a pin dropping could have been heard in the silence, but a pitchfork hitting the ground was heard instead. Jareth looked down to stare at the tool for a moment in surprise, not even realizing that it had slipped from his hand.

He bent to retrieve it and watched his hand shake as he lowered it toward the handle of the pitchfork.

Thomas continued to speak as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "Papa says that a man knows he in love with a woman if she's the first thing he thinks of when he awakens in the morning and the last thing before he goes to sleep."

Jareth gave a shaky laugh. "While I appreciate the advice of an eight year old, it's not necessary to give it. I'm not in love with Sarah." He turned away abruptly, using the pitchfork to stab the hay before loading it into a small wooden wagon.

Thomas continued his speech as if Jareth had not said a thing. "Papa says that you get weak in the knees when you see her and your heart races in your chest…and…and you get clumsy, too."

Jareth spun at the boy. "Thomas, would you like to eat dinner sometime this evening?" he threatened.

Thomas nodded eagerly.

"Then finish feeding the animals," Jareth ordered through gritted teeth.

"Ok," Thomas told him and he went to gather the feed.

* * *

Jareth tried to ignore the feelings stirring within the pit of his stomach. The turkey on his plate didn't look appetizing in the least and he pushed it away. He sat staring at the full plate. He couldn't bring himself to look at Sarah. Each time he did she would smile at him sweetly and the uncomfortable feelings would intensify.

He finally forced himself to take a few bites of turkey so that no one would notice his lack of an appetite and ask him what was wrong. But good old Mrs. Henry had the eyes of a hawk.

"Oh, don't tell me that you don't like turkey?" She seemed offended.

"It's delicious," he smiled, lifting a forkful to his mouth. Jareth knew his little act didn't fool her, but Mrs. Henry, thankfully, decided to let it drop. She turned her attention to Sarah and Jacob who were laughing about something. She frowned as she watched them and then went back to eating.

Jareth stole a glance at Sarah. She was busy laughing with Jacob about one of the horses that had leapt over the paddock fence, planning to escape, only to find that he had leapt into a paddock with a higher fence that he couldn't jump. The gray stallion had done it several times and Jacob had had to chase after him and recapture him each instance. He was a valuable stallion with good bloodlines and they couldn't afford to let him get away.

Jareth nearly jumped straight out of his chair when he felt a hand lightly brush his thigh. He quickly gazed at Sarah, realizing that it had been an accident on her part. She was still laughing with Jacob and in her laughter, her hand had brushed against Jareth. Jareth watched them for a moment and feeling a heavy gaze, looked up.

Mrs. Henry raised her brows at him as she stood and began gathering dinner plates. Her stare made him uneasy. This woman was clever and nothing got past her unnoticed.

Jareth couldn't believe how he was feeling. Nervous and jumpy like some frightened mortal child he'd taken into his Labyrinth. But any attempt on his part to make the feelings disappear only made them grow stronger.

He excused himself after dinner, claiming that it had been a long day and he was exhausted. He went upstairs quickly and Sarah bounded after him, concern all over her face.

"Are you all right? You didn't say very much at dinner. Are you in pain? Is it your shoulder? Are you ill?" she blurted.

The concerned look on her face pained him, but Jareth shook his head. "It has been a long day. I'm exhausted and I need rest. I will be fine in the morning." He looked at her quickly before pushing his door open and slipping inside.

Sarah frowned, but let him go. He did look tired and she would take his word on it that he would be all right in the morning. She glanced at the door before she went downstairs to help Mrs. Henry and Elizabeth clean up.

Jareth tossed and turned. No matter what position he moved into, he couldn't get comfortable and he couldn't fall asleep. All he could think about was Sarah and it was driving him mad. He heard her laughter, saw her long hair flowing freely around her.

He glanced around the room, trying to block out her image, but everything reminded him of her.

He rolled onto his stomach and buried his face under his pillow. Several hours later, he fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

Jareth felt her presence before she had even stepped into the room. He turned, his eyes wide as he watched her descend the staircase, her eyes scanning the room, looking for him. Her dark hair cascaded down her shoulders and back in long curls. Her midnight blue dress, that matched his coat, clung to the feminine shape of her body.

And then their eyes met and for a moment everyone else in the room disappeared. She carefully made her way to him, a sweet, shy smile on her face. He could hardly contain himself. He kissed her cheek.

"You look so beautiful," he told her.

She smiled shyly and gave him a look over. "You don't look half bad yourself.

He smiled warmly and took her into his arms, holding her close to him.

His eyes slipped closed as he lowered his lips to hers. Her lips were soft and inviting, the warmth of her body, the smell of the perfume she wore, flooded his senses. He shuddered as her tongue traced his lips and she pushed her body closer to him. One of his gloved hands buried itself into her hair, while the other moved along her waist, his thumb stroking the silky fabric of her dress.

A deep laugh caused Jareth to pull his mouth from hers prematurely and he immediately put a protective arm around Sarah.

"Well, well, well. Isn't this just charming?" A man wearing all black and a mask depicting the twisted face of a goblin stepped forward from the crowd. He scoffed at Jareth and the woman in his arms.

"You're not welcome here," Jareth told the man immediately. His grip on Sarah tightened.

"I would have believed that a man with your impeccable good looks and," he sneered, "stature could have found a more suitable woman than a mortal."

"Whom I choose to court is no one's business but my own. Leave my kingdom. You are not welcome here."

"There's no reason to be harsh, Jareth. Certainly not to family." The man untied his mask at the back of his head and slowly moved it away from his face, revealing mismatched eyes nearly identical to Jareth's.

"Certainly not to your father," the man smiled.

Jareth tensed and he knew that Sarah had taken notice. "I don't have a father. He abandoned me some time ago," Jareth replied sternly.

The man grinned. "Every child has a father and they should do well to listen to him. You'll be throwing your life away for a mere mortal. Don't be foolish enough to make the same mistakes made by another."

"I'm not throwing my life away." Jareth took Sarah's hand into his and began to pull her away. "I won't ask you to leave my kingdom again." He started to move away.

"You always were a bitter disappointment. It seems you are still to this day. Such a pity."

Jareth turned away from his father, carefully reining his anger and continued to walk. Sarah was rushing to keep up with him. Suddenly, he could no longer feel her hand in his. He heard her call for him and spun to see that she was getting swallowed up by the crowd. His father was moving straight for her.

"No! Sarah!" He rushed toward her only to be shoved back by the crowd. They were keeping him from her. He had to reach her. His father was almost upon her. "Sarah!"

Something hit him hard on the back of his head and Jareth slowly slumped toward the ground. Sarah was the last thing he saw before blackness overtook him.

"Sarah!" he cried softly. With a jolt, Jareth awakened. Sweat lined his brows and his breathing was labored as he sat up. "A dream," he whispered as he recognized his surroundings. "Thank the gods."

He fell back against the bed with a shuddering sigh and traced his fingers along the pillow cover as imagery lingered in his mind.

He had not dreamt of his father in such a long time. He hated to admit it, even to himself, but he was still afraid of his father. More importantly, afraid of what his father could do.

He sighed heavily. Sarah had been in his dream and he had kissed her, had held her close to him as if she were his beloved. His brows furrowed in confusion.

He sat up and swung his legs over the bed trying to force the unnerving images away. The sun had already risen and he would need to hurry to feed the animals in time. He dressed quickly and rushed from the house, ignoring the strange looks given to him by Mrs. Henry, Elizabeth and Ellie.

He rushed into the barn to find Sarah dumping water into the buckets. The animals were already munching on their food. She turned when she heard him enter and Jareth felt his heart pound in his chest. He was reminded of his dream…how she had looked descending the stairs.

Sarah had been ready to start yelling at him the moment he'd entered the barn for leaving her to do this alone, but the look on his face halted her.

"Jareth, are you okay?" The way he was looking at her was unnerving. He seemed to find his composure a few moments later.

"I am well," he told her. Though his tone wasn't very convincing.

"You don't look well. You look pale." She put the bucket filled with water down and walked to him. She raised her hand in an attempt to see if he was feverish, but he pulled away. She frowned. "Jareth, what's wrong with you?"

"You have my apologies for oversleeping. What is there left to be done?"

She frowned at how he evaded her question, but replied. "Just a few water buckets left to fill but-" she started and stopped as Jareth dragged the bucket away from her to fill the empty buckets lining the aisle.

"Jareth, your shoulder-"

He ignored her words and picked up the bucket. He cried out as the weight of the bucket caused pain to tear through his shoulder and arm. He dropped it and the bucket fell to the ground, splashing water everywhere. Frustrated, he kicked it and watched the bucket sail across the barn aisle to land with a crash near the door.

"Bloody injury! Will it never heal!?" he cried out. Breathing heavily, his eyes focused upon Sarah.

She looked at him for a moment before walking to the door to pick up the bucket. She rolled it in her hands, and grimacing showed it to Jareth.

He sighed looking at the large dent he had created in the metal. "Sarah, I'm sorry, my temper…"

"Your temper is going to get us kicked out of here and so are your childish antics. What the hell is the matter with you?"

"I am frustrated. This injury will not heal," he offered lamely.

"It is healing, but not as fast as you want it to. Jareth, it was a serious injury. You nearly died." She sighed heavily and looked upset. "Just…go into the house and get something to eat. I'll finish giving the animals water. You've helped enough for one day."

Jareth sighed and lowered his head. Sometimes he forgot how frustrating this all was. Being in the mortal world, Sarah as his only companion, getting captured, being shot. Healing was taking much longer than he was used to. And now the uncomfortable feelings he felt around Sarah only added to his misery and confusion.

Some part of him wanted to protect Sarah. She was a woman, alone in a land probably almost as foreign to her as it was to him. She needed protection, even when she did not wish to acknowledge it. One part of him wanted to abandon her and hurt her. She had destroyed his kingdom and himself and she should pay for her actions. And now different feelings were added to the mix. The incredible nervousness he felt in her presence, the fear that something might happen to her that he couldn't control and confusion as he had never known it before.

It wasn't bad enough that his kingdom was in ruin, he was trapped in the mortal world with his enemy, that he'd been captured and shot. No. Now he had to start feeling something that was new, unexpected and frightening. Something that threw his world into chaos and he had no idea how to fix it.

He glanced at Sarah cautiously before leaving the barn.

* * *

Jareth didn't see Sarah again until dinnertime. He spent the day doing his best to help Jacob do little odds and ends. By dinner, Jareth was both anxious and nervous about seeing Sarah. His feelings were still warring against each other and neither side had yet to win the upper hand. So he spent his day going back and forth between wanting to go to Sarah and apologize, to wanting to argue with her about their situation.

He sat at the dinner table while Jacob added more wood to the fireplace on the other side of the room. Thomas smiled at Jareth from across the table and, sighing, Jareth gave a nod to the boy.

"Hey..."

Jareth turned to see that Sarah had appeared by his side. She carried a tray of silverware and plates to set the table with.

"I haven't seen you all day," she told him.

"I was helping Jacob." He looked away from her for a moment before cautiously looking into her face.

Sarah placed the tray down on the table and began to set the plates and silverware out. She smiled. "How did that go?"

"Fine. We repaired the north gate, checked on the goats due to give birth and a few other things."

"Sounds like you were busy."

He nodded. "I was. What did you do today?"

She continued arranging the plates as she spoke. "I dusted and mopped the floors, helped wash the laundry and made the beds. I peeled vegetables for dinner and helped cook. The usual."

He gave her a slight smile. "You were busy, too."

She nodded. "Well, I have to help Mrs. Henry bring out the food."

"All right," he told her and she began to walk away.

"Sarah?" he called softly.

She turned to face him, the wooden tray, tucked under her arm.

He glanced at Jacob to make sure that he was far enough away that he couldn't hear what was about to be said. But Jacob was still adding wood to the fire and was talking to his father who sat in a chair in the same room.

"Sarah, you…that is…"

She stepped closer to him. "Yes?"

"You look lovely today." He whispered. He felt the uncomfortable feelings in his stomach again as she smiled sweetly.

"You don't look half bad yourself," she told him and left the room.

He smiled to himself for a moment at her words and then froze.

'You look so beautiful,'

'You don't look half bad yourself.'

His eyes widened and he inhaled sharply. The dream…

He felt his stomach turn as the food was brought out and Mrs. Henry called everyone to dinner. Thomas said grace, something that Jareth was still getting accustomed to. As Sarah reached to hold his hand and the entire table joined hands, he felt himself tremble.

Her hand slipped into his and she smiled at him as everyone else bowed their heads in prayer.

He did his best to smile in return and act as if everything was just fine, but inside he was trembling beyond control.

She released his hand and he realized that grace was over. Everyone was beginning to pass the food around. He piled some meat onto his plate and then found a white porcelain gravy boat and a pair of delicate hands coming into view.

Sarah held the gravy boat just over his plate. "Do you want gravy?"

"Yes, please." Jareth took the porcelain gravy boat from her and nodded his thanks.

As he went to pour the liquid over the meat on his plate, he lost his grip on the handle. He winced painfully as the gravy boat fell onto his plate spilling hot gravy directly onto his lap.

"Jareth, are you all right?" Mrs. Henry asked in concern.

Everyone at the table stopped what they were doing and turned to stare.

"My apologies," Jareth told her, his face beginning to turn red from embarrassment and pain.

"There's nothing to be sorry for. It was an accident. Why don't you go clean up in the kitchen?" she suggested.

Jareth nodded and left the table quickly, a trail of gravy dripping behind him on the wood floor.

Sarah got up from the table immediately and followed him into the kitchen.

"Jareth, are you all right?" She found him pacing the length of the kitchen.

"Other than burning and embarrassing myself, I'm just fine," he told her sarcastically, through gritted teeth.

"Don't be embarrassed, it was an accident," she soothed gently.

"Yes, an accident that everyone witnessed." He stopped pacing and ran one gloved hand through his hair. "I don't know what's the matter with me."

She frowned as she took a dry cloth from its shelf by the wash pan. "Are you sure something isn't wrong? You've been acting a little strange and that wasn't like you to be so clumsy."

Sarah continued to talk to him, while she dipped the cloth in the water, but Jareth didn't hear another word she said.

'Papa says that a man knows he in love with a woman if she's the first thing he thinks of when he awakens in the morning and the last thing before he goes to sleep.'

He had thought of Sarah before bed the previous night and he'd awakened with her name on his lips that morning. As he thought about it, Jareth realized that for the past several days, Sarah had constantly been on his mind before bed at night and at other times during the course of a day.

'Papa says that you get weak in the knees when you see her and your heart races in your chest…'

That morning his heart had been racing when he'd seen her as he remembered his dream. His brows furrowed.

'And you get clumsy too.'

How many times had he dropped the hammer while helping Jacob that afternoon? Jacob had brushed it off as he was still healing, but what if that wasn't the case? And what had he just done at the dinner table? He had dropped the gravy boat on his plate, had spilled hot gravy all over himself.

He shook his head in denial, and he suddenly felt weak. His heart was thundering loudly in his chest. The uncomfortable feelings over the last several days were in full force… his constant thoughts of Sarah…he'd been noticing how beautiful she was more often...

Breathing harshly, he staggered backwards.

Sarah sighed. "Jareth, you have to stand still." She chuckled uncertainly. She was nervous enough as it was to be touching him beneath the waist of his pants. In fact, she was trying not to reveal to him how badly she was trembling.

"The gravy will stain your pants if you don't stand still so I can clean some of it." She moved the cloth forward and pressed it against his outer thigh, dabbing at the dark liquid.

Jareth gripped Sarah's shoulders and pushed her away from him severely. "Stop fussing over me! I'm not a child!" he cried angrily.

Sarah's eyes widened. "I never said you were…I'm only trying to help."

"I don't want your help!" He continued to back away, shaking his head form side to side as he did so.

"Jareth, what the hell is the matter with you? Why are you acting like this?" Sarah was suddenly frightened.

He shook his head, backing to the door, his hand reaching blindly for the doorknob.

"Jareth?" she tried one last time.

"No! I won't let it happen! You're mortal!" he spat. He turned the knob and opened the door, rushing from the house as quickly as he could, out into the night.

Sarah stood motionless, except for the pounding of her heart and her long hair drifting across her face in the breeze from the open door.

'Sarah? Jareth?" Jacob was at her side in an instant. Having heard the commotion, he rushed into the kitchen. "Sarah, what happened?" Concern was all over his face. "Sarah?" he asked again.

Sarah continued to stare straight forward, not looking at Jacob. "I don't know," she whispered, barely audible. A tear streamed down her face as she gazed out the door and into the darkening night.