Disclaimer: I don't own these people.

Jareth and Giles reappeared in the Summers' kitchen and Giles, whose inebriated system was apparently overwhelmed by the rigors of transdimensional transport, immediately stumbled sideways about five steps before catching himself on the counter. He smiled sheepishly and removed his glasses, cleaning them vigorously on the tale of his shirt.

Jareth might have laughed if he had noticed, but he had not. His eyes were locked with Sarah's, fully expecting another berating at any moment. He knew he deserved it, knew she had every right to be furious with him. She stepped closer to him and time seemed to stand still, even without his assistance. She raised her hand and he flinched slightly, his eyes closed, awaiting another well deserved slap to the face. Instead he felt her hand cup his cheek very gently, the feel of her soft skin like velvet against his. He opened his eyes in surprise as began to move her thumb in circles across his cheek.

"I'm sorry." She said, her eyes no longer on his but on his face, apparently looking for residual damage from her earlier outburst.

Jareth struggled to find his voice. "Sorry for what?" he asked her, knowing she must mean for slapping him earlier.

"For everything." She said. "For slapping you, for yelling at you, for not giving you a chance to explain, for taking you for granted." She looked up at him sadly, tears in her eyes. "For what happened to your family."

Jareth closed his eyes and placed his warm gloved hand over hers against his cheek. He squeezed it lovingly and sighed. "There is nothing to forgive, Sarah." He said. "I should apologize. I should not have taken such a drastic step so arrogantly."

"Why did you do it?" she asked, working to keep all residual traces of anger out of her voice.

Jareth laughed darkly. "Because I was a fool. I thought that once I offered you your dreams, there was no way you could refuse me. It never even occurred to me that you might see the transformation as anything other than the gift I intended it to be. I always was a dolt when it comes to the fairer sex."

He opened his eyes and looked into Sarah's. There was something shining there that he wouldn't dare try to put a name to. He observed her closely as her eyes darted across his face. Her hand began to travel tentatively, brushing his regal features, fingertips across lips, fingers through unruly blonde hair. "Sarah, what are you…?"

He started but she placed a finger over his lips to quiet him.

He was going to ask her what she was doing. The truth was she didn't quite know herself. She supposed she was stalling for time, gathering her thoughts before she decided what to do next. She had still been angry until she saw him there in front of her. How could she maintain her anger when she looked into his eyes and recognized the pain there? How could she have been such a fool to have missed it before? So many questions, so many feelings raging inside her, she hardly knew where to begin to deal with them all. Perhaps it was best to start with the basics.

"Do you really love me?" she asked him.

He stared at her blankly, shocked by her frank question. Finally he found his voice once more. "Is it really so hard to believe, Sarah?" he asked her. When she merely stared at him without reply he sighed. "Yes, I really do." He said simply.

Her head was spinning. She would never have thought him capable of love before, but now she couldn't seem to doubt him. She also couldn't deny the tingling she felt up and down her spine when he looked at her that way. It was comforting, but not unfamiliar. She realized she had felt that same feeling ever since she had left the Labyrinth every time she thought about its ruler. Do I love him? she asked herself. Before she could answer, Xander's reminded them that there were others in the room.

"This is all very sweet," he said. "But shouldn't we be rescuing Buffy's mom now?"

"Has something happened to Joyce?" Giles asked, sobering almost immediately as the threat of danger loomed over them once more.

"Bothis." Buffy explained. "He was here while you were away. He took Mom since he couldn't get to Sarah, and said if we wanted her back we had to bring him Jareth."

"Why couldn't he get to Sarah?" Jareth asked.

Buffy held up the picture that Sarah's subconscious mind had caused her to draw. "Because of this." She said. "He can't seem to get near even a picture of you without it causing him severe pain."

"Facinating." Giles said, and everyone looked at him expectantly. "Well, you see." He began, effortless gliding back into 'Watcher Mode', "Every demon has a weakness, some special thing that they are most vulnerable to. For Bothis, that weakness appears to be you."

"But why?" Jareth asked.

"I'm not sure really, but you were his greatest enemy in life. It stands to reason you would be the greatest threat to his new existence." Giles explained. "In any case, this is good news."

"Better news is that I don't think he knows we've figured it out." Buffy said. "So he won't be expecting us to use it against him."

"You sound like you have a plan." Giles stated.

"I do." Buffy said, pulling open one of the bottom drawers under the counter. She rifled through it momentarily before standing with her prize and smiling. "This is our first step." She told them, holding out a Polaroid camera.

"We're gonna flash him to death?" Xander asked.

Buffy ignored him. "Jareth, stand over there please." Jareth did as she asked, eyeing the contraption in her hand warily. She held the camera to her face. "Okay, say cheese" she said.

Jareth furled his brow in confusion. "Cheese?" he asked, as the camera began flashing. He winced as the blinding light pierced his eyes. The camera flashed seven times before Buffy finally put her terrible torture device down on the counter. "What the hell was that?" he demanded.

Smiling, she held up the first of pictures. A ghostly image of the Goblin King was already beginning to form on its milky surface. "When we fight vampires, we take crosses. To fight Bothis, we'll need these." She said.

"Of course!" Giles said, sifting through the pictures that were spread across the counter. "Bloody brilliant!" In one of the pictures, probably the second of the series, Jareth's eyes were wide and he wore a look of horror and confusion. Giles picked it up. "This one's mine." He said, tucking it neatly into his coat pocket.

Immediately the rest of the group crowded around, sifting through the pictures, as Jareth protested that he hadn't been properly warned and that they should take new ones now that he knew what to expect. "Sorry, Goblinboy." Xander said, picking up an image of Jareth cowering against the refrigerator, one hand shielding his eyes. "There's not enough film to take more."

Sarah walked to the counter and looked down at the pictures. She picked up the first one, in which Jareth had not yet reacted to the flash. He was merely smirking in the familiar way that haunted her dreams. She stared at it silently, and then looked up to find the man it represented. She found him watching her curiously. She smiled sheepishly and put the picture in the back pocket of her jeans. She saw a strange look cross his face, and realized that her choice of storage for the photo had probably caused at least ten wickedly seductive thoughts to cross his mind. To his credit, he kept them to himself.

Once everyone had found a picture of the Goblin King to arm themselves with, Buffy explained the next part of her plan. "Okay. We know he's taken Mom back to the clearing near the cemetery. He doesn't know that we've caught on to him, so he thinks we'll all just come back there intent on trading Jareth for Mom, and he'll use our distraction to take Sarah instead. So we're gonna let him think he has us." Jareth opened his mouth to protest, but Buffy silenced him. "While he's got his guard down, Giles and Willow will break his barrier spell. If you can get close enough to him, I think he'll be helpless."

"I'm not so sure about this." Jareth said. "We seem to be putting a lot of faith in assumptions."

"Do you have a better idea?" Buffy said.

"I could just give myself to him, relinquish my magic and let him have me." Jareth said.

Sarah grabbed his arm, spinning him to face her. "Absolutely not!" she said with more emotion than she intended. "That is NOT going to happen." Did she love the Goblin King? She had just answered her own question.

"Sarah." He said sadly. "It may be the only way to save Joyce…to save you." He added softy.

"No." Sarah said. "We'll find some other way. You can't do this."

"Sarah's right." Buffy said. "I won't let you sacrifice yourself."

Jareth lifted his eyes from Sarah to the Slayer. He marveled at her strength. She knew what Bothvar was capable of, knew that he held her mother hostage at this very moment, yet she was so calm. He was amazed by her. Then he looked back down at Sarah, whose eyes were shimmering with fierce determination. "There may be another way." He said. "In fact, I'm sure it's the only other way. But it would be very dangerous for you, Sarah, possibly more dangerous than I'm willing to accept."

"What is it?" she asked.

"I didn't just turn you into a goblin, Sarah." Jareth explained, stroking her cheek gently with a gloved finger. "I made you a Goblin Queen. In a sense, you're an extension of me. The magic you have comes from me. Bothvar knows that, it's what attracted him to you in the first place."

"How does that help us then?" Giles asked.

"Because her magic is dormant. It needs to be awakened, and once it is, the same magic that I control will be hers as well. We would wield it together. If I awakened the magic inside her after he took her, it would be the same as if I was standing there in front of him."

"Why hasn't he already thought of that?" Willow asked. "I mean, he must know you can do it, won't he be expecting it?"

"I'm sure it's the last thing he expects." Jareth said.

"Why?" Sarah asked softly.

"Because it would make you as powerful as I am. Not many Goblin Kings ever awaken the power in their Queens." He answered truthfully, searching her eyes. "Of course, I could only do it if you were willing to be my Queen. Eventually."

Sarah was aware of seven pairs of eyes gazing at her expectantly. So the fate of the plan rested on her willingness to marry Jareth? She eyed him warily, wondering if this was just another game, but his face was soft and full of hope. She did love him, there was no doubt in her now. She smiled. "This isn't exactly the way I always dreamt of being proposed to." She said.

To her exquisite shock, Jareth got down on one knee and took her hand in his own. "Sarah Williams, love of my life, will you accept my suit and rule the Labyrinth by my side? Will you be my Queen?"

Sarah pulled him back up to her feet, as tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. She tried to speak, but could find no words. Silently she nodded, and threw her arms around him.

"Is that a yes?" he asked.

"Yes." She croaked through the lump in her throat. "Yes, yes, yes yes, yes!"
He lifted her up off the floor and crushed her in a passionate kiss, only stopping when he heard Buffy's voice.

"This is awesome, and we all want to come to the wedding." She said. "Can we go rescue my Mom now?"

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update, I've been busy with my other little story and neglecting this one a bit. I hope the chapter makes up for it, though.

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