A/N: I just wanted to mention that I've read a lot of stories that used Karen and Richard as Sarah's parents' names, and since I'm not sure what their names really were in the movie, I'm guessing those names are as good as any. I just don't want anyone to feel like I stole their character! It's completely innocent, I swear!

Ch 26

Toby and Jareth were caught up in their video game, which Jareth was surprisingly good at. Sarah was enjoying watching them from the couch. She laughed quietly at how intently Jareth was focusing on the game. They were all so caught up in what they were doing that for a moment, no one noticed Sarah's parents standing in the doorway.

When Sarah glanced up and saw them, she hissed, "Toby-Jareth, turn it off, mom and dad are awake!" Toby quickly shut off the game as Jareth stood up and went to stand next to Sarah. She stayed quiet, unsure if she should start talking or let her parents make the first move.

No one spoke for a long moment. Finally, Sarah asked, "Dad? Karen? Are you…okay?"

"I don't know," her father replied with a dazed look on his face. "I don't understand what's going on here. Well, I do," he said quickly, afraid of Jareth throwing another crystal at him. "But I think you have some major explaining to do."

Sarah bit her lip. "I know. I know this is hard to believe, let's just sit down and discuss this like adults." Her father looked warily at Jareth. "No throwing weird hallucinogenic glass balls?"

Jareth laughed. "I promise. I apologize for that, but I was afraid that without experiencing it for yourself, you would never accept Sarah's story."

Her parents sat down on the couch. "Well, to be honest, I'm not sure if I accept anything," her dad said. "You're right, if I hadn't seen that, I would never in a million years even be willing to talk about this."

Karen was staring at Jareth and Sarah. "Before anything else, I just want you two to promise me something."

"What?" Sarah asked nervously.

"Please, just swear to me that you'll tell us the truth. Was everything I saw actually real? Did that really happen, or is this some kind of sick joke? Just promise me that you aren't lying."

Sarah looked Karen in the eyes. "Karen, I love you and dad very much, and I swear to you, I would never joke about something like this. I know it's hard to believe, but everything you saw really, truly happened, and I hope you guys can try to accept it, because I have a lot more to tell you."

Karen let out a breath. "I had a feeling this was all real, but I just wanted to hear it from you. You've never lied to us before, and I have no reason not to trust you."

Sarah smiled at her, saying, "Thanks, Karen." The smile left her face as she looked at her dad. The poor man looked shell-shocked.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay," he said. "So let's say I believe all this Labyrinth stuff. If all that is true, then what the hell are you doing here, with my daughter?" he asked, looking at Jareth through narrowed eyes.

Jareth didn't like that he automatically assumed he was a villain, but he let it go for now.

"Mr. Williams," Jareth began, but he was cut off. "You can just call me Richard, I think we're past formalities here," Richard said.

"Okay, Richard then." Jareth continued. "Think back about Sarah's experience in the Labyrinth. Remember what you saw. I know it seemed that I was the villain, but I had only been doing what she asked of me. Throughout her entire journey, I did everything she expected me to do. I even offered her all of her dreams, although I can admit now that it was rather selfish on my part since I wanted nothing more than to have her stay with me. I knew she had begun to love me, but in the end, Sarah chose to leave me and sacrifice her happiness to save Toby."

Richard couldn't accept this at face value. "How could my daughter have fallen in love with you? Did you trick her, or throw one of those crazy balls at her, or-" Sarah stopped him.

"Stop it Dad, he didn't trick me at all, it wasn't like that. Please don't judge him. He's a wonderful, loyal, caring person, who would do anything to make me happy. That's why I fell in love with him!" By the time Sarah had finished, she had grabbed Jareth's hand and was holding it tightly, waiting for her father's reaction.

Richard just stared at them. "Give me a minute, this is too much to take in all at once," he groaned as he leaned back into the couch. Inwardly, Sarah smiled. She knew exactly how he felt; it was still almost too much for even her to take in!

Karen, who had been quietly absorbing all of this, finally spoke up. "I believe you, Jareth. I could tell from watching you that you cared for Sarah then, and I can see that you love her now." She grinned suddenly. "Maybe I'm crazy, for not believing that all of this is crazy. But I don't think so. I'm glad you two found each other, no matter what circumstances it was under." Karen had meant what she said earlier; she trusted Sarah, and if being with a goblin king made her happy, then Karen was happy for her.

Sarah was startled. She had been hoping her parents would be okay with this, but Karen's reaction was too good to be true. Sarah wrapped her stepmother in a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Karen," she whispered.

Sarah's father had been observing them with wide-eyed disbelief. "What? Karen, you mean you-you just accept all this? And you give them your blessing? My god, am I the only one around here who's still sane?" He was furious.

Karen sat back down next to him and patted his knee. "Honey, listen to me. You saw it with your own eyes. Call us crazy all you want, but deep down, you know you can't deny that this is true. How in the world could they have made up a story like this? Why would Sarah do something like that? She wouldn't, and you know it. Now, I'm begging you, take a minute to think through everything that's just happened. You'll see the truth if you just look for it. Once you've calmed down, we can discuss this like rational adults."

Richard wanted to scream. How could he be expected to act like a rational adult when he'd just found out his daughter was in love with a goblin king? It was absurd! But he took a deep breath, and fought to stay calm. The scary thing was he did believe what Sarah and Jareth were telling him. And the fact that he believed it was what really scared him. How could he believe something as outrageous as this? But in his heart, he knew he did.

He sighed. "Come here, honey," he said, holding out his arms to her. She gratefully accepted his hug, hoping this meant everything was okay. "Daddy, I know it's a lot to take in, believe me, I know. But just please try to understand."

Richard rubbed his daughter's back. "I'll try, sweetie, I promise."

Sarah pulled away and looked at her father with tears shining in her eyes. "Thanks daddy."

"It's okay," he told her. "This isn't so bad. I'm only stretching, if not breaking, the limits of my belief systems. Nothing I can't handle." He chuckled. "I mean, it's not as if you're getting married or anything!"