Standard Disclaimer.

"Okay, Sarah," she spoke out loud to keep herself from screaming in frustration and fear. "You're in the oubliette. You got out before." Because Hoggle came to get her, she remembered. "Just so happens I know a way out of the whole Labyrinth from here," he'd told her then. "Well, considering this time that is the goal, I don't think that is going to be my escape now." She looked around again, her eyes straining in the near total darkness of the prison. It occurred to her that Jareth sent her here purposely, it would be easy enough to make her waste the rest of her 13 hours in this pit, putting her completely in his power, but something told her that Jareth would never chose the easy way, otherwise, why not have left her here the first time? Why send Hoggle to lead her back into the Labyrinth, giving her another chance at winning? She wondered at that, now that she had cause to think of it again. Why did he free her? And more importantly, would he free her now?

"Hoggle?" she tried, listening expectantly for some sound other than her own breathing and the steady drip, drip of moisture off the prison's walls. Nothing. She waited a few more minutes, then, "Jareth?"

"Yes, Sarah?" In a swirl of glitter he was there before her, handsome as ever, smiling at her in his enigmatic way.

"I…" she hadn't really expected him to show up. "Are you…you're not here to help me, are you?"

"I'm here because you called me."

The small room was glowing with some kind of magical light that seemed to radiate from the Goblin King. Sarah looked at him, really looked at him, and the memories of their other encounters came rushing back. "You cowered before me, I was frightening," he'd said to her once, and now, standing before him, she wasn't cowering, and he wasn't frightening. He looked friendly, almost; and amused. Another memory rose up in her mind, one that made her feel weak, and excited and ashamed all at once. She remembered searching for him in that mysterious ballroom in that ridiculous dress, and the thrill she got when he finally took her in his arms and whirled her around the dance floor. He made her forget her quest, and her brother, and she should, by rights, still be angry about that part of her adventure. Looking at it with an adult's eye, it was nothing short of seduction, but she could still remember, with startling clarity, how wonderful it felt to be in his arms. It was an uncomfortable thought, and Sarah hastily reminded herself she was not some star struck fifteen year old girl, but a grown woman of experience.

"What would have happened if I didn't escape from that ballroom?" she asked suddenly, and was momentarily gratified to see a look of surprise flit across his face.

"You would have forgotten all about your quest and your brother would have remained here with me."

Sarah ignored the stab of pain brought on by the mention of Toby. It wasn't time to think of that now. "And what of me?"

"What of you?"

"Yes. You…we were dancing together. Is that where I'd be now, still dancing with you? If I hadn't left you in that ballroom, what would have happened next?"

"It was your dream, Sarah, why don't you tell me?"

"My dream…" She laughed bitterly. "I can't even tell you what I dreamed of then."

"Why not?"

"Because I grew up, that's why. That's the lesson I took from here; that eventually you have to let your dreams go."

"But you didn't have to let your dreams die." Jareth's face changed, his clothing got ragged, and he looked the way he did at their final encounter, when she told him he had no power over her, tired, worn, and infinitely sad. "I rule a world of dreams Sarah, it pains me when anyone lets a dream die."

It occurred to her for the first time how her defeat of him may have wounded him. She'd thought at the time his appearance was just a trick, but looking at him now, she understood a bit more what she took from him when she freed herself from his power. "I'm sorry," she said, meaning it, "if I hurt you when I left."

"I was defeated, fairly." He smiled faintly at the word, "But you didn't lose all your dreams, not then."

Sarah turned away from him. This new Jareth; this understanding and gentle Jareth was unnerving her more than the scary Jareth ever did. "Look. I didn't save Toby. I may have taken him from you, but I still lost him. Being here…I don't know why you brought me here, but if you're trying to give me my dreams back, it's too late. When Toby died…the last of my dreams died too."

She felt him behind her, could feel his breath as he brushed his lips across her ear, the warmth of his hand as he placed it gently on her shoulder. "Oh, my dearest Sarah," he whispered, "you are in danger of being lost to your dreams forever, and they are more important than you think." He kissed her then, a surprising and gentle kiss on the top of her head.

She turned to face him, but he was gone, and standing in his place was a slightly confused looking Hoggle.