Well, here it is the penultimate chapter. I still don't own anything other than the plot, as far as I know. Oh – if you go to Neil Gaiman.com and read his journal, a couple of days ago he mentioned seeing a 3 hour rough cut of Labyrinth when he was researching for MirrorMask. Or something. It's interesting.

Thanks for the reviews. My ego loves being fed!

On and on they walked through the dark tunnels until Sarah began to long for something dramatic to happen just to break the monotony. "Maybe Jareth is trying to kill me with boredom," she remarked at one point. The others didn't bother to answer; they just kept trudging along.

"I think I may know where we are," Hoggle said after a few more uneventful minutes. "Can't be sure, but I think if we take the next left, we'll be close to the entrance to the whole Labyrinth."

"Great. I'll soon be home." Sarah said, but was surprised to find her heart wasn't exactly bursting with joy. She wanted to go home, to get back to her normal, uneventful life. Didn't she?

They found the left Hoggle predicted, and turned the corner to find themselves in a beautiful forest glen. Sarah thought she'd stop being startled by the sudden changes in scenery that the Labyrinth had, but she still had to catch her breath at the change from dark tunnel to sunny glen.

"Dr. Williams!" Sarah, more than a little surprised to hear herself addressed that way in this place, turned to see a young woman running lightly towards her, smiling happily. She looked vaguely like Sarah, the same dark hair and light eyes, and Sarah wondered if she was some sort of spirit or alternate personality or something. "Dr. Williams, I am so pleased you made it here," said the woman, coming to a graceful stop in front of Sarah and her friends.

"How do you know my name?" Sarah managed finally.

" My name is Danielle Samuels. My father is your colleague at the hospital." Noticing Sarah's confusion, Danielle laughed. "Let me explain. When I was six years old a car struck me, and I died a few days later. Fortunately, I was able to come here, to live out the life I was taken from Aboveground. Most children do, you know. Here we can become who we were meant to become before moving on, and we have the added bonus of being able to look in on our loved ones from time to time. This is how I know you. Oh, I've watched you with my father many times. You've made him happy, you know. I suppose it is the fact you look a bit like me, or rather, what he imagines I would have looked like." Danielle placed a friendly hand on Sarah's shoulder, "I wanted to meet you, to tell you how grateful I am that you brought some happiness into my father's life. I worry, you know, that he has never fully let go. He doesn't seem to allow himself the happiness he deserves.""

Sarah thought of Dr. Samuels, He was like a mentor to her when she started at the hospital, and always offered her his ear when she needed to talk, but she never asked him about his own life. She didn't want to pry. She felt saddened, now, that she never made the attempt to get to know him better than just a colleague and occasional confidant. "I don't think I did much for him," she said, "He did more for me that I ever did for him."

"That's what helped him," said Danielle. "He was able to step outside his own problems to help you with yours. You put him on the road to recovery. You've helped many people, you know. There are children here whose last Earthly memory is your kind care and attention. Several people were surprised to find themselves in the very Labyrinth you described in your bedtime tales."

"So the Labyrinth, it's like Heaven?"

"No. It's another level of existence. We can finish out the life we started Aboveground, and then we have the choice, to either be reborn Aboveground to try again, or perhaps move on to what you may know as heaven. We can also ask to stay here, but that decision resides with the Goblin King."

Hearing this, Sarah wondered once again what would have happened to Toby if she hadn't finished the Labyrinth in time. Hoggle already told her he wouldn't have been turned into a goblin. Would Toby have lived among the dead children until it was time for him to begin again? She sat down on the cool grass, heedless of Danielle and the others who were staring at her, waiting for her to say something. She had to think things through.

Jareth was more than just the king of goblins. He also offered refuge to people who needed it. He offered hope as well as dreams. Sarah sighed as she remembered her fifteen-year old self, scoffing at him when he told her he'd been generous to her, but it was true. His nature was mysterious and cruel at times, but he could also be kind. He could feel love. She'd seen it in his eyes. Jareth loved her.

And she loved him. The knowledge hit her like a tidal wave, and she felt almost overwhelmed by the force of it. She loved him. Since the first time she met him, offering her the dreams she thought she wanted, she loved him. She smiled to herself. He'd taken her heart at fifteen, no wonder she never felt she could give it to anyone else. She loved him, and he loved her. It was a staggering thought. She could just sit here, lose the contest and stay with him forever…but then he would own her, and she could never submit. She couldn't let him rule her, love or no. And yet there was something else here, something that had been trying to get her attention for awhile now. If she sat here long enough, that mystery might be answered, but no. She had to do it her own way. That was her nature. She stood up, brushing the grass from her legs. "Danielle, do you happen to know the way out of the Labyrinth?"

Danielle who had been watching Sarah hopefully, looked crestfallen at Sarah's question, but smiled as she answered her. "You are nearly there, Dr. Williams. Just through that grove of trees. If that is, indeed, where you want to go."

"Thank you, Danielle. You've given me much to think about. Come on Hoggle, Didymus, Ludo. Let's go. I don't think we have much time."

She didn't notice the looks of disappointment that her friends exchanged as they followed her reluctantly through the trees.