Disclaimer: Labyrinth and all characters from said film belong to Jim Henson and George Lucas, those geniuses. I own nothing (nothing, nothing, tra la la) but Ilie and the plot.

A/N: Yup, another chapter fixed up all nice. I just hope I'm not making more stupid mistakes in my efforts to fix my stupid mistakes...

Wishes In The Night
By: Moonlit Seductress
Chapter 5

The days following that awful set of events were marginally better. There were no more outbursts, Jareth was being almost kind, and Sarah had successfully avoided bursting into tears. She was still quiet and wary of him, her eyes downcast for most of their time together.

This particular morning, however, Sarah was exceptionally somber. Her pretty green eyes bore purplish marks beneath them, she did not eat, merely picking at her food, and she generally moped all through breakfast until Jareth could no longer stand it.

"Is something bothering you?" he asked mildly, disguising his concern. Though he may not have crushed her lively spirit, he had certainly broken it a little, and it hurt him to see her so depressed. He longed to see those green eyes flash dangerously at him, watch those perfectly shaped lips speak fiery, strong-willed words. Hell, he would have settled for the insolent Sarah of ten years prior, her face defiant and calm as she insulted both the Labyrinth and its master.

"It's a piece of cake."

Turning his attention back to the unhappy woman who sat across from him, he frowned as a sigh escaped her lips.

"It's Toby's birthday," she answered quietly, twisting and untwisting her fingers. "He's eleven today. I haven't ever missed his birthday."

Jareth's frown deepened. He hated to separate her from her family on such an occasion, but he was worried – no, scared. Scared to lose her to the familiarity of the Aboveground. His worst fear was that she would refuse to come back with him. He was powerless to bring her back unless she wished herself away. The chances of that happening a third time were slim.

He pushed back his chair, and she looked up. The desperate hope shining in her eyes made him want to run, run far away. But he was a King, not a coward, and he squared his shoulders and gathered his wits about him.

"I am deeply sorry, Sarah, but you must have known that it would be impossible for you to return to the Aboveground."

He had been expecting the usual tirade of, "You jerk! Let me go home!" and possibly even the hated, "It's not fair!" of long ago. The response he got paled in comparison, and it was painful to behold.

Sarah dropped her eyes again, staring at her turquoise silk clothed lap. "I understand," she replied, rising to her feet and bobbing a quick curtsy. "Excuse me, please." She hurried from the room, her shoes clicking on the stone floors.

Jareth remained where he was, his mind swirling with dark thoughts.

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you…"

The cheerful tune sounded faraway, and Sarah strained her ears, trying to hear. But the words were elusive, and the swirling mists that obscured her vision were relentless.

"…Happy Birthday, dear Toby, Happy Birthday to you."

The voices slipped in and out of her mind, sounding ghostly and hollow, like the echoes of times long past. As Sarah ran forward in search of the source of song, the mist suddenly cleared.

Karen and her father sat on either side of a beaming Toby, who excitedly blew out the eleven candles decorating the cake. "What did you wish for, honey?" Karen asked her son. Toby smiled – the same wide, bright smile that had charmed his family and amused a Goblin King ten years ago.

"I can't tell you, Mom, it won't come true," the boy replied. "I do wish Sarah was here though," he commented, looking at the only empty chair. His grin faded. "She's never missed my birthday before."

"I'm sure Sarah has a really good reason, Toby," Karen soothed, shooting a worried glance at her husband. It had been two weeks since they had heard from Sarah – a rarity, since she had always called every two days, from the time she first moved out. "Here, why don't we open your presents?"

"Yes!" Jumping up, Toby raced towards the living room. But even as Sarah watched, unable to touch the only people in the world she ever wanted to be with, her brother's face turned ashen grey, and he collapsed.

The mists started to swirl again, blocking Sarah's view of the scene. She reached out a desperate hand, watching her stepmother and father run to Toby's side. But the mists closed in, and all Sarah knew was darkness.

She woke, drenched in sweat, her heart pounding violently and one hand still outstretched. "Toby!" she croaked, her voice hoarse.

Leaping from the bed, she dashed out of the room, sprinting the short way down the hall to Jareth's room. Not pausing to knock, she wrenched the door open, rushing towards the large bed.

Jareth was sound asleep, his breathing rhythmic and gentle. He looked deceptively innocent in sleep, his face devoid of any smirk or such, and she was suddenly struck with the realization of how beautiful he really was.

It nearly killed her to disturb him, but the dream, still so fresh and vivid in her mind, forced her to stretch out a hand, gently shaking Jareth's bare shoulder.

Mismatched eyes fluttered open, hazy at first. They cleared as he recognized her, and a lecherous smile overtook his fine features. "What, Sarah, coming to my bed again?" he asked cheekily. The expression dropped as he took in her stricken face and wild eyes. "What's wrong?" he demanded, sitting up and dragging her down to his level.

"It's Toby," she burst out, her hands clutching his. "I was dreaming…I guess it was a dream – but it was so real, it was like I was right there, and he collapsed. I don't know what happened – I've got to know that he's okay!" She turned frantic eyes on him, pleading. "Jareth – you have to let me go!"

His face twisted. It was immeasurably selfish to keep her here while her brother could be suffering, but that nagging possessiveness tugged at his soul. "I can't."

"You have to!"

"Sarah, I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to leave."

"I have to see Toby!" she said wildly, dropping to her knees before him. "I have to know that he's okay – I have to know that he's still alive!" She stared up at him, her eyes desperate.

The raw pain shining in those emerald orbs tore at his soul, but the insistent fear screamed in his mind. He hardened his heart and set his jaw.

"Sarah, I cannot – "

"You have to! I've got to – "

"I will not lose you again!"

His words were vehement, fraught with passion. Sarah gasped, and he caught her face between his gloved hands. "I will not lose you again," he repeated, softer this time, but no less intense. Silence settled over the room, broken only by the harsh breathing of the occupants. Sarah covered Jareth's hands with her own.

"If you let me see Toby, I promise that I'll never leave the Underground again!" she vowed. Jareth narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"If you let me see Toby – just this once – I will stay here forever."

Jareth stared a while longer, before twisting a hand free and making a familiar gesture. "Swear it," he said, offering a crystal towards her. "Swear it."

Sarah reached hesitantly in the direction of the crystal, her hand faltering slightly as the reality of such a promise hit her. But the sight of her fallen brother swam before her eyes, and she firmly touched the crystal. "If you let me see Toby one last time, I swear that I will never leave the Underground again!"

The crystal exploded in a flash of white light, and Sarah screwed her eyes shut as the world spun around her. When she opened them, she recognized the waiting room of a hospital. Jareth was nowhere to be seen, but she could feel his presence, and hear his voice in her mind.

'Sarah, be quick. I am bending many rules to achieve this, and we do not have much time.'

Running towards the rooms, Sarah intercepted a young nurse. "Toby Williams?" she demanded. The girl nodded, turning and pointing to a room just down the hall. "You a relative?"

"I'm his stepsister," Sarah snapped back, already sprinting to the room. She burst through the door, emerging in a typical hospital ward. Toby lay on the white bed, covered with tubes and such, his normally grinning face pale and haggard. His parents sat on either side of him, looking up sharply as Sarah dashed up to the bed.

"Sarah!" Karen exclaimed. Sarah touched her brother's face. "What happened?" she asked. Her father shook his head grimly. "He had a stroke."

Sarah whirled to face her father. "A stroke?" she repeated. "He's eleven, how can he have had a stroke?"

"It's extremely rare, but not impossible," her father answered. "But Sarah – where have you been? We've been trying to get a hold of you for days now, and – "

Sarah cut her father off with a wave of her hand. "I can't stay. I don't have time." She turned back to Toby, taking his hand. 'Jareth?'

'Time is short, Sarah.'

'Can you make him hear me?'

Pain exploded behind her eyes, and she felt inexplicably weary. Jareth's touch on her mind diminished, and it hit her how hard this must be for him. "Toby?"

The boy only moaned, but Sarah had no doubt that he had heard her. "Listen, Toby. I've got to go away – I won't be able to see you again. Just remember that I love you so much, and I'll miss you. I love you." Her voice caught in her throat as tears rose to her eyes.

"Sarah?" Karen asked. Sarah released Toby, pressing a kiss against his forehead, and turned to face her parents. She kissed her father's forehead, touched Karen's cheek, and ran from the room.

'Sarah?' Jareth's voice was faint and weak. "Let's go," Sarah said out loud. She felt a tug in the furthest corners of her mind, and the hospital melted away.

Jareth's lavish bedroom cleared before her eyes, and Sarah stumbled slightly, disoriented. She glanced beside her, barely catching Jareth as he fell. His face was deathly white, dark bruises already forming under his eyes. She dragged him over to the bed, carefully laying him down.

"Jareth?"

Mismatched eyes opened slowly, and he tried to focus on her wavering image. "To think I've finally got you in my bed, and I am in no condition to entertain you," he joked faintly. Sarah burst into laughter – a hysterical, frenzied sound that was on the borderline of sobs. She threw herself against his chest, pressing her face against smooth bare skin.

"Thank you so much," she whispered. She felt a feather light touch on her hair, gently stroking. "Sleep, Sarah," came his weak voice. "Sleep."

As she slowly obeyed his command, Jareth closed his eyes, one last triumphant thought rising in his mind before he succumbed to his exhaustion.

'She's mine.'

Morning found Sarah lying against something wonderfully warm, something that smelled delicious. She pressed closer to whatever it was, not caring that she could not identify the thing, only concerned with how comfortable she was.

The feeling of a leather encased hand stroked across her hipbone, trailing down to the waistband of her pajama bottoms. As the hand slipped beneath the elastic, smoothing over her inner thigh, Sarah's eyes snapped open.

She looked up to find blue and green eyes watching her reaction. They still bore remnants of dark smudges, but the impudent emotion in them, as well as the hand that was slowly traveling up her leg, told that their owner was clearly feeling better

"Hey!" Sarah shrieked, jerking out of Jareth's lazy embrace, straightening the waistband of her pants. "What kind of alarm clock are you?"

Jareth grinned. "The best kind," he purred, his voice making Sarah glad she was sitting, as her knees turned to water.

"You're a pervert," she informed her bedmate, cautiously climbing to her feet. She did not entirely trust her body – what with its reaction to Jareth's caress. The cause of her unsteady stance and rapid pulse laughed. "I know," he replied, 'But you love it." He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, standing quickly and nearly falling. Only Sarah's quick grasp on his shoulder prevented him from pitching headlong into his wardrobe.

"You're still not feeling well," she accused him, helping him stand straight. He fought her off. "I am fine," he argued. "I merely stood too quickly." He turned imperious eyes on her, but her worried expression caught him off guard.

"That was really hard on you, wasn't it?" she asked quietly. "Last night, I mean."

He shrugged fractionally. "It was nothing I would like to repeat any time soon," he answered. "But it was also nothing that I cannot handle."

She did not look up, twisting her hands in the hem of her shirt. "Still…I know it was hard on you, and I can't give you anything in return." The touch of fingers on her chin forced her to meet his eyes, which sparkled with some emotion she could not identify.

"You have given me yourself, Sarah," he said, trailing his hand from her chin, across her jaw, to twine in her hair, pulling her closer. "What more could I ask for?" His lips quirked into a smile. "Besides a kiss, of course," he joked.

Her lips upon his own caused his eyes to widen before he responded. The kiss grew more intense, but Sarah soon pulled away.

"I propose we go for a walk in the gardens," she said. "I would like to see the place I'll be spending the rest of my life." Her words were not angry or accusing, but rather cheerful, and she smiled at him

"I trust you will allow me to clothe myself with a little bit more class," he commented, gesturing to the black pants that made up his clothing. Sarah giggled, nodding. "Yes, of course. I'll go get dressed, and I'll meet you in your throne room in twenty minutes."

She turned to leave, but Jareth caught her hand, raising it to his lips. The kiss he brushed over her knuckles made her shiver.

"'Til then, fair lady," he breathed, his eyes threatening to melt her into a puddle.

Sarah hurried from the room before she gave into her sudden urge to throw him back on the bed and ravage him right then and there.

A/N: Please review!