"Sarah, can I speak to you?"

Sarah looked away from the mirror she'd been using and waved to Ben to open the door.

Ben sighed, pulled his robe closer and opened the door with a decided growl. But since his brother-in-law was bouncing nervously outside the door and wringing his hands, he stepped back in resignation. "Come in," he said, "I was just leaving."

"In a bathrobe?" Toby asked, forgetting his panic to send a practised look up and down the tall figure.

Ben sniffed regally and sailed out, ignoring such a question as entirely beneath him.

"Well," Sarah commented, meeting Toby's eyes, "I think he's finally lost his mind."

"I've always said he never had any," Toby shrugged.

The woman wagged a finger at him. "I would not go there," Sarah warned, "Considering you married a man who steals little children!"

"He never stole me!"

"Stealing, granting wishes... it's all one and the same. Not saying he doesn't have a reason, but he does take far too much delight in it."

Toby opened his mouth to protest and then closed it with a snap. He stood there, patently uncomfortable in the centre of the room, clearly unsure of how to phrase what he was there to say.

Sarah watched him anxiously in the mirror, finally turning around with a slight frown. "Is there something wrong? You look a little funny."

Again the wide mouth opened, and shut a second later.

"Toby, you've eventually got to say it. What's happened?"

Blue eyes peeped out from behind a lock of bright gold hair. "Um, I think Jareth doesn't want a child?"

There was a soft thud as Sarah's legs gave out and she was obliged to sit very hurriedly on the floor. "You're not... with Jareth's child?" She caught herself up short and raised a hand. "I don't want to know the details."

"Oh good! Because you really believed I was going to describe my sex life to you? Did you know Jareth's back is really sensitive?" The boy stared in some vindictive satisfaction when his sister cowered with her hands over her ears. Ah yes! All those times he'd unexpectedly walked into the kitchen or living room only to see Sarah and her fiancé at it were finally revenged. But that wasn't the point. "Sarah, I'm done. You can stop trying to not listen to me 'cause I really need your help." He sat down on the floor beside her, taking care to shut the door in his mind so that Jareth wouldn't find out.

Sarah tucked her knees beneath her and folded her arms. "Well, it's quite normal," she allowed, "You and Jareth haven't even slept together yet. And you do need some time to adjust to living together before baby makes three."

"We, uh, had a Last Night," Toby informed her shortly, a rather peculiar expression on his face. "And everything seemed to be fine. He was perfectly normal with the sex. It was this morning that he went weird. I don't think he got any sleep last night. I asked him what was wrong and he wouldn't answer me. Just shook his head and said he needed to do some thinking."

"And what makes you think this has anything to do with children?"

"Sarah, I haven't done anything to him to make him like this. The only explanation I can find is just this feeling that he doesn't want kids. "

"But where does this feeling come from?" Sarah pressed.

"It's just a little ray of sunshine in my head," Toby snapped, sounding as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Sarah looked intently at him. Had this been a younger sister or something, it would be surreal enough, but Toby was very male. Though, logic reminded her, he was married. And Karen had always taught them that with marriage traditionally came children. And if he wasn't too young to get married- which apparently Jareth could veto anyway as the Goblin King- then it followed that he could very well have a child if he so wanted. But the problem was- was he having a child?

"Sarah?" Toby waved a hand in front of her face, wondering if he should slap her yet. He'd read somewhere that a well-timed slap could bring a person out of hysteria. But he didn't really like slapping his sister; she tended to model her next storybook villain on whoever did that. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. And you're sure- about this feeling?"

"Yes. He's even cut his mind off from me. He doesn't do that and he shouldn't, not so soon after it's just begun. I don't want to do something he'll hate because everything's just starting for us, but unless I tell him to stay away from me in bed... well, there's really nothing I can do about this."

"And you're sure it's not anything else?"

Toby grimaced. "To be honest, no. I'm not sure. Maybe it's me. Maybe I did something. Or didn't do something, because… but you don't want to know. Right. Sorry. Do you think it's me?"

"I don't know, Toby. It just seems strange that you think he doesn't want kids. He just seemed unhappy that you could get pregnant."

"Yeah, but see, that's it! That's what bothering me! Everything would have been fine until this pregnancy thing came along. And then he got weird. I mean, he was weird before, but not like this. And then he gave me this speech about how he wouldn't ask me to do that and it's not like I've ever given him reason to think that I won't do what I have to do."

"You don't have to get pregnant."

"We're not even sure I can get pregnant," Toby shot back, "Jareth got worked up over nothing. It's a creepy thought but if it happens, it happens. Like I said, there's nothing I can do about it now. Not after the ceremony and everything. Or do you think they have the Pill? Do they? Or I could get it from Aboveground, couldn't I? But what if they don't and the Pill doesn't work. Do you think Jareth would… no, condoms are out."

Sarah grimaced. "You know, I read up some stuff and you really should use protection until you're sure you can't catch something. Nothing wrong with Jareth, but you don't know what diseases the Underground has."

"Jareth's clean. He said he got examined and there's nothing here that could really be fatal for me. A little itchy, maybe, but nothing that can't be cured."

Sarah held up her hands in resignation. "It's up to you."

"Sarah, would you ask Ben to wear condoms?"

"No. But we're happy to have children if that comes around," she pointed out.

Toby gave her a dirty look but ceded the point. He couldn't even explain why he felt the way he did but something was definitely wrong. Jareth wasn't allowing that link to stay open and that worried him; it was too early in their marriage to be bored with it. And after all the talk of keeping watch over Toby and making sure no one touched him, he didn't think Jareth would just shut himself away for no good reason. And the only thing Jareth could possibly be reacting to would be the possibility of children.

Toby didn't really want them either. But his mother had always brought him up to think that they were a traditional part of marriage and hey, if it happened, it happened! He couldn't help it! What was he supposed to do- say no? He didn't really want to, horrible as it sounded!

"Oh God!" he gasped, a thought occurring, "Do you think Jareth will make me get an abortion? Do they have them? I heard they were dangerous! I don't want an abortion."

Sarah pushed her dark braid off her shoulder and leaned forward, patting his shoulder calmingly. "Relax, Toby. Jareth won't ask you to do anything dangerous."

"Yes, but he's just a little insane right now. Can't you talk to him?"

"Me! I'm not talking to him for you. You married him; you talk to him. Isn't it easier with the sharing minds thing?"

"We are not currently sharing anything," Toby snapped, tapping his head, "Well, what do I do? Give me some advice here. I tried asking him but he wouldn't tell me. He won't let me into his head and frankly, I'd rather not pry because it hurts like all hell and I know what that's like."

"It could just clear up soon," Sarah suggested, "Wait a few days, I think. If you still feel like this then go ask Arienne about the Pill or something."

"I actually didn't want to ask Arienne because then Jareth might find out. I don't think it's something he talks about."

"Toby, is there some reason you think Jareth won't want the child?"

There were so many things he could say to that: he could say that Jareth didn't like children, which would be ironic considering his job description and the fact he had bonded with an infant. He could say that they didn't want to share their new life with someone else just yet, but that was just stupid. He could say that he thought Jareth had an issue in particular with His Child. "It's just a feeling," he answered restlessly.

"A feeling," Sarah echoed. Really, was nothing to go right for these two? She had never met a more complicated couple before. They'd end by choking each other on their issues! "And what feeling exactly."

"The one that tells me he might not be as happy as I would want."

He pulled absently on his fingers, tracing imaginary designs in the carpet with his eyes. A hand landed firmly on his, stilling it.

Looking up, he met a pair of very determined grey eyes. "Go talk to him again," Sarah advised, "You won't do any good sitting around here on the floor. You don't have to ask him outright; just hint at it. If he freaks out, you have your answer. If he doesn't, you're home free."

"Yes, mother," Toby smiled, "Can I have my hand back?"

"Gladly! Now run away."

Toby obligingly took to his heels and walked sedately from the room.

Meanwhile, in a tree not too far from the Castle, Jareth was currently ensconced on a branch and staring out to his Labyrinth.

"Jareth, are you coming down?" Archer. Wasn't his cousin supposed to have left already?

The Goblin King stayed silent beyond a flick of his eyes down to the dark-haired figure at the base of his tree. Looking away, he gave himself back up to morbid memories.

"Jareth, sitting in a tree will not help you," Archer called softly, "Come down, my dear. Talk to me."

"Archer, leave me be. It's none of your concern." It was a hateful thing to say, and Jareth hated himself for saying it. Archer was the one who had always had to put up his traumas. Why was nothing ever easy? Oh, he had a fairly good idea why, his parents being what they were, the world being what it was, and now what if something happened?

"Jareth, please?"

A hand outstretched and he took it, leaping down to land in a noiseless crouch at his cousin's feet. He straightened only to find himself captured securely in a warm embrace.

"Were you thinking of him?"

Jareth shut his eyes. He shouldn't be thinking these things. He wasn't his father; or his mother, thank the Gods, though she had never hurt him like that. But then she had almost been as bad, had she not? Hadn't she?

Sighing softly, the half-goblin nodded. "His voice, Archer. The way he looked. Everything's come back."

"Are you getting nightmares again?"

"No. I refused to sleep. And I couldn't risk Toby seeing them." Jareth took a deep breath. "It should be a whole lot easier, don't you think?"

Hands gently massaged the slender back, easing the tension from tired muscles and forcing Jareth to relax against the larger body holding him up. "You should tell him," the Fairy Lord advised, "No, do not stare as if I had grown another head. He is your mate; he deserves to know."

"No one deserves to know anything," Jareth growled, pulling away and stalking back towards the Castle, "This is my secret! It is my shame and I bear it alone."

"You bear it with me."

"Because you saw! I never said a word, Archer. You know it. He told my mother in strictest privacy. She told the cousin I had never met and so you came looking for me. You pitied me!" The suppressed violence in the voice would have struck fear in any goblin or fairy who happened to pass. But Archer was not a renowned warrior just for having a handy way with a sword. And he carried his sword by his side. Jareth wouldn't touch him in any case, no matter what was said.

"I pitied a thirteen year old child," Archer soothed, "I do not pity you now."

"Why? When I am so much more deserving of it?"

Toby stopped as the hysterical shout rang through the forest. Cogwheel had told him where to find the Goblin King and he had followed, hoping to catch him before he took off to wherever it was he was going next. He had not expected to hear him raving like a lunatic! And whom the bloody hell was he shouting at?

Holding his breath, the human moved carefully through the forest, drawn by the voices and the sound of snapping twigs as two people acted out an argument amongst the trees. No birds sang and no creatures ever came here. There was nothing here but deathly quiet, the ground interspersed with the unmarked graves of the long-dead monarchs of the goblins. Jareth himself would lie here one day, when his time came. But not now, that Toby was set on, not now.

"...I cannot keep doing this! I cannot keep this memory."

"Then let it go." Archer's voice? What was Archer still doing in the Goblin Kingdom? He had said his goodbyes this morning. "Why do you cling to it? Those who aided it are dead too, you saw to that when you took the throne. That Bog of yours is the only physical memory of what happened."

"I was too young." Toby bit his tongue and crept forward. He had never heard his husband sound so helpless. So close to him and he could feel the agony emanate from him even through the shut connection. "What if it happens again?"

"It won't. I don't understand why you imagine it would."

"It will. I can feel it."

"Jareth…"

"I can see it!"

"It has been over four hundred years and you still remember?"

"How could I forget? I remember all of it. The bastard shall not... he won't! Not any more."

"Calm down!"

"Let me go!"

The sounds of a struggle and then a quiet tingle of magic in the air as Jareth simply disappeared out from Archer's hold. The fairy remained half-kneeling on the ground, the red flush of exertion on his white skin. Unlike Jareth's colouring, Archer's skin looked healthy and not bloodless. The blue of veins ran faintly over his hands. With Jareth, some wondered if the Goblin King had any blood in him at all.

Toby shifted, meaning to leave, not wanting to be caught there when Jareth returned. But the dry leaves rustled beneath the soft leather boots he wore and Archer's head snapped up, eyes ripping through the shadows for the intruder.

Toby stepped forward into his sight- "It's just me."

"I do not think you need to spy, Master Elf," Archer sighed, "If you would but ask, I am sure Jareth would tell you when he could what was troubling him."

"Archer, what was that? What did he mean?"

"Nothing, child. A fear from a long time ago."

"What was it?"

The fairy got to his feet and dusted himself off, picking up a coiled whip from where he had dropped it. Carefully attaching it to his belt, the fairy continued to direct a strong stare at the mortal, waiting to see how deeply he desired to know, waiting to see if it would be wise to tell him.

"If you don't tell me, I'll ask Jareth," Toby said, implacable and quiet, "But I know he won't want me to ask him so I'm asking you."

"And what makes you think I would tell you?"

"The love you have for him." It stuck in Toby's throat to admit it, but Archer was in love with Jareth. And no matter what he might wish, Jareth was not about to give Archer up either. "The fact that you want his happiness. Well, if you tell me what's going on, I can help him. To forget or work through it, it doesn't matter which."

"He does not want to forget," Archer snapped, "If you heard any part of our conversation you would know that. You see this whip?" He held it up slightly, waiting for Toby to nod before dropping it back. "Jareth has developed a taste for the whip. Not a real whip, no, but his own shame, or thoughts, or self-lacerations. He needs it. As you crave darkness, he has an excess of it. He craves someone to find the light, and that is what you are. This bond- it has nothing to do with the way you feel for each other. It never had! If you want to help him, do not bring up the subject."

Toby seemed to take a step back. "But what am I do for him?"

"Love him," Archer shrugged, "He will scream and rage and rampage for a few days. Do not hold it against him for he expresses himself that way. He is his mother's son."

His parents. Toby had only just realized that Jareth had never told him about his family. "And his father?"

Archer thought about that, leaning back against a tree and feeling it hum a soothing dirge of death behind him. "His father was a wise and good King," he said finally, "Except where my cousin was concerned. Jareth has never forgiven him for it."

"What did he do?"

"That, no one but Jareth can tell you. It is forbidden by law to speak of it. Even if it were not, no one will dare. When Jareth ascended to the throne after his father's death, he waited only until the mourning period was over before summoning all those who aided his father in his, uh, tragic lapse of judgement and killed them. In cold blood. The mutilated bodies were thrown into the Bog of Eternal Stench, for which the threat of the Bog is no laughing matter in this Kingdom."

"Archer, this thing with his parents- what if we have kids?"

"I would say have as many as you can. Force Jareth. It will be the better for him," Archer called, already on his way out of the forest, "I find the only cure to a malady is to burn the sickness out; do you not think so?"

Toby was suitably confused. Burn the sickness out? He'd rather take antibiotics and go to bed. Thinking deeply he went back to the Castle, walking through the enormous double doors at the entrance with a cheerful smile to the guards that almost made him gag.

Jareth was waiting for him in their bedroom, wild-eyed and a little terrifying. But the first touch of his hands made the desire flare until a matching wildness lit his blood too.

Toby let himself be slammed against a wall and kissed ruthlessly, welcoming the authority his husband claimed over him. A knee slid between his legs and he remembered that feast a long time ago when a song had been sung and he had almost been seduced.

There were no words for this. It was simply hard, fast and laced with anger. They didn't even make it to the bed, ending up with Toby bent over the chest at the foot of the bed. It ended with a howl and a prayer and when it was over, Toby turned and kissed his lover fiercely, demandingly.

When the kiss broke, Jareth gently found his way back into Toby's mind, easing the worry he found there. They stayed still, content to shamelessly enjoy the other's touch, whispering careful words of encouragement.

Maybe Archer was right. All Jareth needed was a little encouragement. Besides, Toby eventually decided that the kids would come when they came and there was no need to keep worrying about it.