A/N: This one's for WindGuardian87, who I am gravely worried about and whose sudden demise I would feel overly responsible for. I'm sorry it took me so long to update, but I had trouble finding this one. I have about fifteen pages of alternate versions of this chapter. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews, and I hope you like this one.
Disclaimer: The Labyrinth does, in fact, belong to me. I bought the rights last Wednesday. Ooops, I'm sorry, that's not accurate. I bought a mocha decaf latte last Wednesday. My mistake.
Jareth sighed. "Don't you leave me to face this alone." He whispered to Sarah, who was still hiding her face beneath the sheets. He felt, more than heard, her giggled reply. He straightened himself in the bed so that he was sitting up, sheets tucked firmly around him, realized that the sheets weren't quite thick enough, and covered himself with the bedspread as well. Then he turned his attention to Karen, who was still staring in wide eyed shock. "Why Karen!" he said, forcing a smile, "What a pleasant surprise!" He was trying desperately not to blush, knowing it was most unregal.
He felt Sarah giggle again, and pinched her gently beneath the sheets. She gave a startled yelp and guiltily uncovered her face. "Hi Karen!" she said, and waved. 'I told you to stop' she growled silently to Jareth.
'I wasn't thinking clearly,' he thought back to her. 'You should have tried harder.'
Karen had finally taken her hand from her mouth, but was still staring at the two of them. Her eyes were shimmering, and Jareth knew she would be crying soon. For the second time since she had come in the room, he was feeling very guilty. This is not how she should have found out that Sarah was alive; she deserved better.
When Karen finally spoke, her voice was tremulous, and her words halting. "Oh….Oh my God." she breathed in a voice that was almost a whisper. "Oh Sarah, is it really you baby?" Sarah was slightly taken aback by the term of endearment; she had expected shock and possibly anger, but this was completely unexpected. Karen took a few faltering steps away from the door and closer to Sarah. As she came closer she knelt down next to the bed where Sarah was sitting and took Sarah's hand in her own. Sarah was almost as stunned as Karen now, and didn't know quite what to say. Karen looked up at Sarah, her expression almost pleading, as though she were begging her to be real.
Sarah smiled and squeezed Karen's hand reassuringly. "It's really me, Karen." She said, finding her voice at last.
On hearing Sarah speak Karen cast off her trepidation. She stood and sat next to Sarah on the bed, gathering her stepdaughter in a warm embrace. She hugged her fiercely, crying softly into her neck and stroking her hair. It was a motherly embrace, one that told the unimaginable pain of losing a child, and unfathomable joy at her return. Sarah gratefully returned the embrace, her own tears flowing now. She had no idea Karen had been so affected by her death. Although she and Karen had stopped hating each other long ago, they still had never been close.
Jareth watched the reunion and smiled warmly. He knew the two of them had much to talk about, so he conjured himself some clothing and stood up to leave. Sarah pulled away from Karen and turned her attention to her husband. "Where are you going?" she asked. She and Karen were both looking at him expectantly.
"I thought I would have word sent to the rest of the kingdom that you have returned, darling. They'll all be anxious to meet their Queen, I'm sure." He answered and gestured to Karen. "The two of you have things to discuss, and since I'm sure some if it will concern me, perhaps it's best if I'm not present while you do so." He smiled wickedly and walked around to the other side of the bed. He bent to kiss his bride and as he did so thought to her 'We'll pick up where we left off later' and she blushed in response.
Both women watched the Goblin King as he left the room, and then Karen turned to face her once again. Sarah braced herself, thinking that surely now the lecture would come. Instead Karen smiled kindly. "When the children told me you were here, I thought surely they were mistaken." She said. "But they were so excited, so happy. To be honest, I was frightened."
Sarah looked at her curiously. "Frightened of what, Karen?"
Karen hesitated, thinking her words out carefully before she spoke. "I'm not sure, really. I just knew I had to come and see for myself. Even now I'm having trouble believing it. I won't bother to ask how this happened, I've had too many shocks to my system lately. I'm sure your handsome King had something to do with it. However it happened, I'm glad you're here, Sarah. I've never been gladder of anything in my life."
She stood now and began to pace. Sarah waited to hear what she had to say, not even trying to guess anymore. Karen had been nothing but surprises so far, and Sarah patiently waited for the next one. Finally Karen spoke again. "There are so many things I've wanted to say to you." She began. "After you were…after your confrontation with your father, things changed for me so quickly. My whole life was turned upside down." Sarah nodded; she supposed it had been. It couldn't have been easy for her, learning her husband was a pedophile, coming to the Underground. She was sure Jareth must have been a complete shock. As if hearing this last thought, Karen continued. "Jareth was very kind to us. He took us in as though we were part of his family, and he explained everything that had been happening over the last few years. It was hard for me to come to grips with, but the worst thing was that when I finally had, there was so much I needed to tell you, and you were gone."
Sarah squeezed Karen's hand reassuringly. "I'm here now, Karen, and I'm not going anywhere."
Karen smiled again, tears shining in her eyes. "Sarah, I'm so sorry, honey." Sarah opened her mouth to protest but Karen waved it away and continued. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you when your father and I got married. I felt threatened by you, but that was no excuse. I was being childish. But most of all, I'm sorry for not realizing what was happening to you. I wish that you could have come to me and told me, but I'm sure I never made that easy for you. You were going through hell, and I only made it worse. I'll never forgive myself. You should have had someone to stand by you through it all."
"I did." Sarah said simply, looking longingly towards the door through which Jareth had just left. Hearing Karen's words had made her realize once again just how much Jareth had done for her, without her even knowing it. She felt a wave of love for him, stronger than any before it. Then she turned her attention back to Karen. "I'm sorry too." She began. "I'll never forgive myself for letting my guard down. I should have been watching out for Maya better, but I got distracted, and she paid for it."
Karen shook her head. "No, Sarah. You gave your life for Maya. You have nothing to be sorry for. Besides, I don't think she remembers any of it. This place seems to have reversed any damage that was done. She hasn't even mentioned her father since we've been here."
This aroused Sarah's curiosity. "This is the first time I've thought about him, come to think of it." She said. "I wonder where he is."
Karen only shrugged. "I don't know, I've never asked Jareth what happened to him. To be honest, I don't care. So…" Karen changed the subject quickly, "Maya tells me that you and Jareth are married now?"
Sarah beamed, happy to be thinking of something more pleasant. "Apparently we are." She said, pointing to the crown that had been carelessly tossed in a chair at some point during the night.
Karen grinned. "And was this a condition of your miraculous, um…, homecoming, or merely a side effect?"
"A little of both I suppose." Sarah's eyes clouded over a bit as she remembered the events of the previous night, and she sighed happily. Her growling stomach brought her back to the real world. "I want to tell you the whole story, Karen, but right now I really need some food. The last thing I remember eating was airplane peanuts."
Karen laughed. "Of course! I'll get out of here so you can get dressed. We can talk more later." She gave Sarah one more hug and then left the room. Sarah got up and began sorting through the piles of clothing that were on the floor. She separated Jareth's clothes from her own, but found nothing that was suitable. She would have to conjure something. She thought about what kind of dress would be appropriate for the occasion and closed her eyes. When she opened them she was wearing a long red gown of silk with sleeves that came to a point at the wrist and a neckline that plunged just far enough to show the top of her bosom. Her hair was tied back in a loose pony tail with matching red silk ribbon, and she wore comfortable flat shoes of a similar color. She looked in the mirror at herself and smiled. This would do nicely. She headed for the door but then though better of it. Was there a protocol for this sort of thing? She really didn't know. She called out for Jareth in her mind, 'Can you hear me?'
'I can hear you, love, is something wrong?' he answered almost immediately. She smiled happily, and wondered if this link had any range on it, or if they could talk to each other anywhere. 'I'm ready to come down,' she thought, 'Should I come alone, or should you escort me?' "I would be honored to escort my wife to breakfast" he said, and she whirled around to find him standing behind her. He paused, taking in every inch of her. "And might I add, you look stunning this morning, my Queen." He said, holding out his arm to her. "Why thank you, Your Majesty." She answered, sliding her hand through the crook of his elbow.
Sarah knew that she had never been so happy in her life. So why was it that as she walked through the doorway and down the hall arm in arm with the man she loved, all she could think about was her father?
