Hi everyone. Thanks for all of my responses (eg. Angus the dork, boyfriend from hell ect…). Well, no use beating around the bush (kind of like my backyard), on to whatever comes next!

MyDeath- It's kind of hard to write erhem 'NOW NOW' when, where I am, it's three o'clock in the morning. You know, I love how you love this fic. Strangely- I HATE this one. It's my worst work (I wrote it coz my best friend was cranky coz I hadn't written any J/S stories. Sigh, SARAH SHOULD DIE! Sadly- not in my fics).

jumping-jo- I like my Jareth too. Some people (not naming names) make him way sappy.

Solea- I hope that the type-o (you wrote TABFFH) was meant to be TABFH. Yeah, I know it was a common device. Jareth gets so tired of coming to Sarah's rescue because the only reason he's calling her is so he can save her. He says he wants, just once, for her to call him and have nothing in it for her. Sigh

ItsACrystalNothingMore- I think everyone knew that Angus would do something- that's what he was created for- to be as arse and …stuff

Moonjava- The norm- thanks

Kitsune Karasu- Thankyou- I love the smiley face.

BOWIEgirl- Buddies? This from the girl who is jealous of my goblins? OK, I'm just joshing you- you are my friend- as long as you get a wriggle on on your own story! And I hope you realise that you are using the OVERUSED LINE! 'It's not fair' shudders Sarah's stupid friggin' line. And, no offence, but what does j/k mean?

Mord-Sith Rahl- Yes, I have always liked the name Angus- so I just HAD to torture him into a druggie (he is on drugs- but Sarah doesn't know it) I hate Mr. Perfects, especially when they make Jareth Mr Perfect.

HE IS THE FREAKING GOBLIN KING! HE IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE PERFECT! HE IS MESSED UP! AND HE NEEDS PEOPLE SKILLS!

And, yes, you did giggle. Why did you giggle?

RoschLupin-Black- I'm not sure about the 'kicking his arse' bit- but I'll see what I can do. And, yes- Angus was created to be a dickhead

spider girl5- Thankyou for your support (I need it with a crazy mob like this. KIDDING!).

Chapter Seven

Say Them

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Jareth stared out the throne room window, not really focusing on anything in particular, not his crumbling Labyrinth walls, not his leaking Bog of Eternal Stench, not his collapsing oubliettes- nothing.

He exhaled heavily and turned from the window to go to his chambers. He stepped around the pit in the middle of the room (clean for once as the goblins didn't want to be around him when he was upset, and besides they were too busy comforting their confused families) and made for the door when he heard, clear as a bell, a sweet voice whisper his name.

'Jareth'

Jareth's head snapped up and his eyes darted around the room anxiously, waiting, praying, hoping for the voice to come again.

When it didn't, Jareth bit his lip.

It's not a summons, he thought uneasily. But Sarah needs me.

Without pausing a second longer he transported himself Aboveground.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jareth appeared in Sarah's bedroom, having honed in on it from her connection. He looked around for her at his eye-level, not sure what to expect. He saw his crystal on her table, then, with aching slowness, his eyes travelled from the little ball to Sarah's dishevelled body.

'Sarah!' he exclaimed and he threw himself down beside her checking her pulse and patting down her hair. After finding her relatively strong heartbeat, Jareth held her head against his chest protectively.

'Sarah, wake up,' he murmured to her. 'Please wake up.' No response.

How could anyone ever do this to her? thought Jareth angrily. He touched her bruised face tenderly, then stood up, leaning Sarah against the wall.

Jareth's gaze lingered on the opposite wall where there was a spattering of blood. He sincerely hoped that it wasn't Sarah's.

Jareth looked around the apartment for any sign of what had happened to Sarah. He found none.

With no other option, Jareth summoned a crystal and set it to play out the events that happened before Sarah had called him, on mute of course, so that he wouldn't hear anything he wasn't supposed to. Sarah could tell him all about it in her own time.

Jareth sat down on Sarah's bed and played the crystal. His expression grew angrier and angrier the longer he watched until he finally blasted the crystal against the blood-spattered wall.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sarah woke up with a splitting headache. She hurt all over and she found it difficult to breathe. Then she remembered.

Angus! How could he? she thought miserably.

'So much for the man who loves you,' said a familiar voice.

Sarah opened her eyes and flinched. Her right eye was puffy and deep purple in colour.

Someone was crouching in front of her. Sarah blinked a few times and focused on the person. She cowered slightly towards the wall behind her. It was Jareth.

'Come, come now. You called me, and it was definitely not I who beat you into a bloody pulp. Here,' Jareth held a damp white facecloth out to her.

Sarah didn't move. She was frightened and confused and on the verge of tears. I won't bite. Here!' Jareth brandished the damp cloth.

Sarah bit her lip and decided to trust him. She reached for the facecloth, only to jerk her hand back with a gasp of pain.

Jareth cocked his head. He dropped the cloth and took Sarah's wrist in his hands. He inspected it closely.

'Your wrist is broken. You must have used it to deflect a blow,' said Jareth. He mentally kicked himself as he said those words. You're not supposed to say that! She's not supposed to know that I know! He scolded himself.

Jareth picked up the cool cloth and wrapped it loosely around Sarah's wrist.

The relief was instantaneous. Sarah exhaled as the cloth cooled her burning wrist.

Jareth smiled, the only true smile he had worn for years. Not a lot had changed in his appearance since farewelling Sarah in her room: He wore the same clothes he always did (though he was thankfully not in huis black outfit today), same thin mouth, same hair. But his eyes were different. They seemed to be deeper, sunken in and hollow- showing his pain and the pain of his kingdom.

Though Sarah wasn't really in a position to notice this.

Jareth produced another cloth and began to sponge the congealed blood off Sarah's face, showing all of her little cuts from where the skin had torn. Sarah watched him do this in a kind of awed and shocked silence. No-one had ever touched her like that before.

Sarah flinched when Jareth touched the bruising around her eye.

'That must have hurt,' said Jareth softly.

Sarah nodded. 'Yeah,' she looked away from Jareth's gaze, ashamed slightly of what had happened to her. 'I can't believe he hit me…' she sniffled and began to cry.

Jareth looked at her cautiously. He had no idea what to do in this sort of situation; whether he should casually walk away and let Sarah have her moment, or (and this was his preferred choice) if he should throw his arm around her and hold her tenderly until her tears stopped, then sweep her up and whisk her away to his castle.

In the end, he did neither and offered her his clean handkerchief instead (no, it was not lacy).

Sarah took it without looking at him. 'Thanks,' she said in a choked voice.

Jareth took Sarah's wrist again. 'I'm going to set it. This may hurt; but it will feel better after a while.' He cracked the wrist and cringed at Sarah's scream.

Sarah's tears redoubled as Jareth plucked a bandage out of thin air and splint and bandaged her wrist. She looked at him carefully. 'Why are you helping me?'

Jareth looked up from his work. 'You called me.'

'Yes, but why are you helping me? I'm horrible; I wished my brother away to the goblins and then made out that you were the bad-guy.' Sarah sucked on her bottom lip. She caught Jareth's hand and he looked her straight in the eye in his surprise at her intimate movement.

'I…I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said to you, you know, before… When I found the crystal.' Fat tears were rolling down her face and it was all Jareth could do not to wipe them off and kiss her worries away. He registered numbly that she was apologising for practically everything that she had ever said to him, but really didn't care: he didn't appreciate it as much as he imagined he would; it was causing Sarah too much pain for him to properly enjoy the moment.

But she still wasn't finished.

'And…and I'm sorry I chose Angus. I'm sorry I was scared of you before. You never hurt me,' Sarah hung her head looked into her lap, her hand tightly clasping Jareth's own.

Jareth sat down next to Sarah. He tucked a strand of her chestnut hair behind her hair. 'We all make mistakes,' said he. 'I don't have any grudges against you.' Jareth paused, teetering on edge of doing something that he might regret forever- dos and don'ts crowding his mind.

He reached over and put his arm around her, pulling her into his chest.

Sarah accepted the comfort willingly. She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent: musk and lemongrass and… something else, something Sarah couldn't identify.

Magic, she decided.

Jareth freed his hand from her grasp and stroked her hair again.

He whispered so quietly that he thought for a moment that Sarah hadn't heard him, 'Come back with me.'

Sarah froze. She weighed up her choices. Angus would be back soon. He obviously didn't care about her, neither did her stepmother, who, in turn, had the control over her father who couldn't do anything without his evil wife's approval.

She took a deep breath and, just when Jareth was about to ask her again, she looked up at him. 'I…I…'

Jareth waited with bated breath.

'Will. I will go back with you, Goblin King…'

Jareth's brow creased somewhat at her using his title.

Sarah hesitated. 'Jareth.'

Jareth smiled and savoured the moment; the moment when Sarah said his name in front of him for the first time. He committed it all to memory.

Sarah smiled too and snuggled further into his embrace, much to Jareth intense delight.

What could possibly make this better? he thought. Well, maybe if Sarah wasn't covered in bruises… 'Would you like to go now, or later?'

'Now, I think. Before Angus comes back.'

'Say them, then,' said Jareth in a low voice. 'Say the words.'

Sarah visibly hesitated.

Jareth saw her falter. 'Do you trust me?' he murmured.

Sarah nodded. 'Yes. I…I wish the Goblin King would take me away right now.'

Jareth smiled and reached over to the bedside table. He took down Sarah's crystal and offered it to her.

Sarah took the ball and Jareth transported them both in a flurry of silver dust motes to his home.

To the Underground.