"Precious, you are aware that I can transport us to your parents house without the hassle of you driving while exhausted in inclement weather, yes?"

Sarah had just hung up the phone with her father and she turned towards the Goblin King, her lips twisting into a bit of a frown. "Yes, your majesty. I was aware of that. However, it will look really weird if we show up without a car and my parents will start asking a lot of questions I am not ready to answer."

She didn't bother reminding him that she wouldn't be tired if he hadn't been treating her as a beloved teddy bear all night. Her bed was a full, but she barely slept a wink with the king cuddled up next to her in it. She knew she shouldn't be trying to make a six hour long drive across state lines to her father's house, but she had no choice if they were going to get there on time.

She reached for the bags, but before she touched them, Jareth had them, and a frown on his face. "You're in no shape to drive, Sarah."

She knew that. "I'll be fine once we start driving. I can't fall asleep behind the wheel, regardless of sleep."

He was looking down at her, slightly, the frown pulling harder on his lips. He was pretending to be her boyfriend well enough that she was starting to feel every damn thing that chafed against her when she was in real relationships. "Even if you're certain that you can do it, I don't like it. Don't expect me to."

It took a moment to get herself to calm down. When she spoke, her tone was clipped and she knew they both heard it. "I don't, Jareth. I expect you to let me do it anyways. If you think I need to take a nap when we get there, I'll take one after lunch."

His eyes searched hers for a long moment and she thought she saw genuine, masculine pleasure in his eyes for a moment. When he leaned close, her knees almost went out. "I'll hold you to that, my dear."

She swallowed hard, meeting his gaze and his challenge without words. Then, she turned and picked up the box of presents she had for her family. "Then let's go."'

Tucked in that box was a present for Jareth that she'd managed to sneak out and get gift-wrapped when he was off at his kingdom doing king things. There were also presents for Toby and his wife, the littles, and her parents. But the one she got him was the reason she didn't want him carrying the box.

The trip down the stairs almost made her wish she'd taken him up on his transport option. It also made her relieved that she wasn't stuck handling the bags.

As soon as the door to her apartment opened, Jareth had settled on a glamor that hid what he was. It was the second time she'd seen him with one, and she realized that he had an excellent eye and awareness for modern fashion. That night, he'd worn an exquisitely tailored dark grey suit with a black shirt. No tie, and the top two buttons were undone. Today, he wore jeans that fit slim against his legs, a wine red sport coat with a graphic t-shirt beneath. Over those he had a wool long coat and scarf. His hair was pushed back from his face, hanging over one eye in a rakish sort of way. It was still weird, seeing him with a glamor to hide how he looked, but she knew he had only hidden the most obvious parts that showed he wasn't human.

When they reached her car, she unlocked the truck so they could unload their burdens and before she could even turn to go back and get the next load, the rest of the luggage just appeared in her trunk. She blinked and looked at the Goblin King who was now leaning against the passenger side of the car, looking at her over the hood. He looked smug and pleased with himself, a smirk curving his lips.

"Your paper is in there as well, not that I think you'll have time to work on it. And the door is locked, so we can go."

The look on his face drew a smile of her own out and she shook her head. A brief perusal to make sure everything was there, and she did find her messenger bag tucked between others. He'd really thought of everything, didn't he?

"Okay. That was cool"

His smirk broadened and he managed to look even more pleased. He opened the passenger door and climbed in, while she closed the trunk and made sure it was secure. She went to the driver's side of the car and climbed in, buckling her seatbelt. Then, she looked at him.

"You too, Jareth. I'm not getting a ticket because you're immortal."

"Not immortal, precious, just long-lived," he said, but he reached over his shoulder and pulled the harness over his chest, frowning at it in distaste. "I wonder what I should expect in return for dealing with this indignity."

She rolled her eyes, starting the car. She rubbed her hands together, setting them on the vinyl and wincing at the chill. "We can discuss that later."

"Oh, I count on it, my dear."

She glanced at him and saw he was leaning on his fist and looking at her with a raised eyebrow and that smirk on his lips. She gave a quiet cough and bit her lip as she pulled out of the parking space and headed towards the highway.

Within the first hour of the drive, fat, fluffy snowflakes started falling and she was forced to slow down some so they wouldn't end up off the road, waiting for a tow truck. The trip was quiet, although Jareth seemed to take great enjoyment from flipping through her collection of discs and changing them out whenever it struck his fancy. There weren't many albums he let play through completely, though he seemed fond of her new agey stuff and her classic rock. She found that entertaining and started guiding his selections, eventually leading them to discussing her musical tastes.

When they stopped for gas, she took a toilet break and considered grabbing a coffee. She suspected she'd just find herself disappointed because she was starting to get used to Jareth's. Instead, she got herself a pop and a bag of chips and was considering what to get him when he appeared beside her, snagging a Little Debbie snack cake.

"No coffee, my dear?"

She gave him a baleful look. "I'm getting spoiled with yours. I don't think I can drink the stuff here unless I was really desperate. I'm not, right now."

"Are you saying that I'm spoiling you, Sarah? With coffee?" There was a pleased look on his face that was getting more and more familiar, and she turned, looking him in the eyes. As she watched, he got himself a small cup, and after giving it a sip, she watched him add sugar, cream and a pinch of salt to it, and when he sipped it again, he nodded in agreement. "It's not the worst I've had, but yes, mine is better."

She scoffed at him, and took their spoils to the register. She was fishing out her wallet when Jareth produced what looked like a gold card with the embossed name "Jareth King" on it. The payment was approved and she gave him a speculative look. She wanted to ask, but she didn't until they were both back in the car and on the road again. "Is that a real credit card?"

"After a fashion, yes. The transference of currency between realms is complicated since gold stopped being the preferred method of payment, so we developed ways to allow us to utilize our own currency while in your realm. Even we find an advantage of having a simple currency if we end up stranded in the Above and require it."

That explained how he was able to pay for their dinner the other night and raise no suspicions. She considered trying to wrap her mind around a currency exchange rate between here and the Underground and decided it wasn't worth the headache. Instead, she got her car back on the road and tried to concentrate on that, rather than esoteric things like Jareth having a genuine credit card.

They managed to stay on the front edge of the stormfront, so the drive down wasn't as bad as it could have been. When they pulled up to her childhood home, she looked up at it. It was always kind of frightening, introducing someone as her boyfriend to her immediate family. Whether this ended up exploding in her face, however, that wouldn't happen tonight, she thought. But she wasn't looking forward to going through whatever tonight ended up being.

Jareth's hand on her lower back startled her, even with all the touching she'd been getting used to over the last two days. "Sarah, are you alright?"

She couldn't explain all the complicated feelings going on inside of her right then. So she looked up at him, and forced herself to smile. "Yeah."

Jareth's hands framed her face, warming her chilled cheeks and she found herself looking up at him while his eyes searched hers. He looked like he knew she wasn't quite telling him the truth. Still, he simply gave her a soft kiss on the lips before he drew back.

"We'll discuss this later, too, I think. For now, my dear, I suggest we get those packages inside the house before the clouds really open up."

She nodded, and he gave her a grin that was all mischief as he snagged her car keys from her hand. She followed him around to the trunk, taking the box of presents out. Then, he shooed her off to the door while he continued pulling out the luggage. As if he understood that she'd need a private moment with her parents.

The consideration that implied made her heart twist in a painful sort of way. None of her real boyfriends had ever given her a fraction of that.

She rang the doorbell and the door flew open. Her father stood there, looking her over for a moment, and then pulled her into a tight hug.

"I saw the storm on the weather report and we were worried you wouldn't make it before it broke."

She hugged him back, closing her eyes, taking a moment to enjoy being a daughter before she set him away from her. "I said I would."

"And you always were one to keep your promises." He acknowledged with a smile. Then, he took the box from her and set it inside the front door. When he straightened, she noticed he was eyeing the porch behind her. Looking for Jareth. "So, where's that boyfriend of yours?"

She grinned. "He's unloading the trunk."

She watched as her father put on his heavy coat and headed out into the snow and mentally apologized to the Goblin King for siccing her father on him. Still, she headed inside, taking off her coat and scarf, accepting the hugs from her brother and his wife, and finally her stepmother. As she straightened, she heard a quiet, pleased gasp from Irene, and turned, finding Jareth following her father into the house. She glanced at them and found all three looking at him with surprise and interest.

She moved towards him, taking one of the bags and turning back. "Everyone, this is Jareth. Jareth, this is my dad, Robert, my mother, Irene, and my brother and his wife, Toby and Mariah." A glance towards the man at her side found him looking Mariah over for a long moment, but the speculation in his eyes had little to do with interest and she got the impression that she saw the faintest disapproval aimed at her brother of all people. That surprised her, but she didn't ask.

Instead, she looked at Mariah, lifting a brow. "Matt and Emily down for naps?"

Mariah nodded, and Sarah noticed the dark circles under her eyes, and a look that wasn't quite joy. Her eyes narrowed a bit and she suspected she was going to have to talk to her brother about stepping up and helping the young mother out. And probably giving him the talk he should have gotten from Irene and Robert about using prophylactics.

Matthew was a little over a year, and Emily was two months old. Toby and Mariah had only been married for about two years, and the stress around her eyes shouldn't be there, already. Not if Toby was helping her.

Jareth nodded politely, offering his hand to them, giving each a firm handshake. His other hand remained low on her back. "It's a pleasure to meet you all, Sarah has told me much about you."

After introductions, everyone moved inside from the doorway, and Robert helped her and Jareth take the bags to her old room. She saw Toby taking the box of presents into the living room to put them under the tree, knowing the snoop would be shaking packages.

Her old room had been remodeled ages ago, which was a small blessing. Her old toys had been packed away in boxes as soon as she'd moved out to go to college. At least she wouldn't have to endure Jareth's teasing when he saw the figurines and toys laying around. Now the room was far more simple, had the sterile look of a room that wasn't lived in often. Once the bags were dropped off, Robert left them to get settled in, although he was still giving Jareth suspicious looks.

Once her father was out of the room, Jareth glanced towards her. "Nerves from visiting your family, my dear?"

She gave a bit of a shrug, sitting on the edge of the bed. "It's complicated."

"Isn't it always?" He gave her a pointed grin, and set the luggage aside. He waved a hand and a crystal formed on his fingers and he tossed it to the bed. When it landed, it burst like a bubble, and she saw her messenger bag sitting on the bed beside her. "Your father told me I should leave it in the car."

She set her hand on it and gave him a smile. "Well, thanks for making sure it made it in, anyways. Though I think you were right about me not having time to work on it. I'd kinda resigned myself to that a few days ago."

He leaned towards her, a smirk on his lips, and with a gesture, another crystal rested on his fingertips. "Oh? So certain of that, are you? Even knowing I could give you all the time you wished?"

The offer startled a laugh out of her, and Jareth looked very pleased by that. For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. She saw his eyes focus on her lips, and then lift to hers, that sharp smile still in place.

She saw a shadow shift in the hallway and she shook her head, gesturing towards the door behind him with her chin. Jareth glanced over, and flicked the crystal away with a fingertip and it vanished. Then, he moved towards the door and leaned against the frame. From where she sat, she could see him giving someone a charming sort of smile.

She heard Irene sputter a bit, and bit back a giggle. It was somewhat refreshing to see him happen to someone else, now and then. Then, she got to her feet, tucking her school bag away between the luggage so it wouldn't be easily noticed. There'd be time after Christmas for work.

"Sarah, your charming mother says that there's lunch ready downstairs."

Irene made a sound that was somewhere between surprised and pleased and Sarah rolled her eyes, following him out the bedroom door. Jareth offered them both an arm, and she found she rather liked watching her stepmother flush in embarrassment. They both accepted the escort, and when they reached the table, Jareth pulled out a seat for her.

She could feel her father watching them as Jareth took a seat beside her.

The lunch spread was modest, compared to what she knew dinner would be. Hearty sandwiches, cheese and fruits. Jareth spent much of the meal leaning over and teasing her about whatever came to his mind. It made her blush more than once while she was eating, and she knew that it was at least in part for her family's benefit. Still, he'd always been good at getting a rise out of her. More than once he'd earned a sharp elbow in his side.

She watched him as he ate, and her lips twitched. She had learned in the last few days that he ate for pleasure more than anything else, most of the time. He was putting on a good show for her family, and that's what mattered, she told herself. Still, towards the end of the midday meal, she found her energy failing her and every bite took considerable effort.

Jareth noticed and when he looked towards her, she saw the look in his eyes change from charmer to king. When he spoke, it wasn't a whisper, it was loud enough that her family could hear him.

"Sarah, my dear, you need a nap."

Robert and Irene looked at him in surprise, and then towards her as if expecting her to explode. She'd never been the napping type.

"Is everything alright, Sarah?" her father asked, concern clear in his eyes.

"I just haven't slept well in a few days," She admitted.

"Which is why she said, before we left, that if I thought she should take a nap after lunch, she would." Son of a bitch, he'd cornered her into it. She almost elbowed him in the ribs again, and he leaned over, speaking close to her ear. "You might as well tell them it's my fault that you haven't been sleeping well, my dear."

She flushed red, because even though he'd said that to her, he hadn't done much to lower his voice. A glance towards her father found his face reddened from temper, Mariah and Irene were blushing, and Toby was smothering a laugh. The prick would laugh.

Before anyone else said or did anything, Jareth got to his feet, offering her his hand. "Come along, my dear. I'll get you tucked in."

She got to her feet on her own, not taking his hand and using that to let him know he'd annoyed her. He looked unrepentant as usual.

"You're a bully, Jareth," she said, making sure the whole table heard her, too.

"And you're stubborn and willful, often to the point of personal harm," he smirked, setting a hand low on her back and escorting her towards the stairs. "Besides, remember? What's said is said."

Once they were in her room, he shut the door and she stood there, tired and worn from the drive, the repeated sleepless nights and from the nerves from coming home. She flopped down on the bed, still dressed from the road, and Jareth came over, crouching by her feet.

She blinked in surprise and shifted so she was looking down towards him and tried to ignore the way her libido slapped her at the sight of him on his knees like that. As she watched, he took her shoes off and set them aside, where they'd be easily found later. Once they were off, he looked up at her from beneath his brows, and got to his feet.

"The first act has gone well enough, my dear," he said, his voice quiet. "You're exhausted, and you need the rest." He pulled a throw blanket from the foot of the bed, and helped her shift so her head rested on the pillows, tucking the blanket around her. As he looked down at her, his hand came and brushed her hair back from her face, and she felt a wave of exhaustion settle over her.

She gave him a half-hearted glare, and he just smiled in answer. "You put a sleep spell on me. That's not fair."

"You say that so often. I wonder what your basis of comparison is," he teased, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her, a smile on his lips. His fingers stroked through her hair, the touch soft and soothing. "Just sleep, Sarah. You'll feel better for it."

Then, he leaned down and brushed a kiss against her lips. She gave a sigh, starting to drift off. She couldn't even manage a coherent response, right now. So when she woke up, she'd give him hell for this, then.

A familiar sounding squall broke through her sleep, startling Sarah awake. She bolted upright, looking around and freaking out. Then, her brain realized the sustained nature of the cry meant it was from a child, and a very unhappy one at that. She got to her feet, shaking off the last dredges of her exhaustion away and headed out of the room and down the stairs.

There, she found a very panicked Toby trying his best to calm down two infants crying their eyes out and very clearly unhappy with the situation. Mariah was nowhere to be found, so she hoped that her sister in law was laying down taking a nap, herself. She could see the indicators of stress in his expression, the confusion that caused the panic, and she heaved a sigh. Walking straight towards him, she reached out. "Give Matt to me."

Her brother gave a groan, and shifted, so she could take the older child. Scooping one hand under the child's bottom, she propped him against her shoulder and started walking him, giving him a gentle bounce as she did. As she walked, she saw Jareth come out of a side room that had a couch in it, and Irene followed him. Her father sat on the couch, pretending he didn't see Toby still struggling to quiet Emily as he read the newspaper.

She watched Toby struggle a bit longer, and shook her head, lips growing taught. She seriously considered going and getting Emily, too, especially since Matthew had started to calm for being propped against her chest.

Before she could, Jareth scooped the other child out of Toby's arms without asking. He held the child against his chest with practiced ease and Sarah felt her heart skip a beat. Toby groaned out a relieved 'thank you', and disappeared into the side-room she suspected Mariah was napping in.

If her ovaries were capable of exploding, they would have. A glance at Irene saw that her stepmother must be having similar issues, her eyes wide as she watched him.

Jareth walked the floor, softly crooning to the little girl, who seemed to have found his hair fascinating, clasping fists trying to grab it. His hand supported the girl's neck, and he had her fussing calmed in moments. The dirty cheat seemed unaware of their scrutiny, all of his focus on the child in his arms. She wondered, for only a moment if he was like that with all the children he ended up taking when they were wished away.

Irene caught her eye and gestured towards the kitchen with her head. Sarah nodded, understanding the silent request to join her, and started walking that way, bouncing her nephew as she walked.

"What are you fussing for, little man? Huh? You got some complaints?" she asked the baby who had settled down to mild whimpers. Once she was in the kitchen, she paced it, waiting for Irene to join her.

She took a deep breath as the other woman walked in, readying herself to get grilled by the woman regarding Jareth.

At first, all the woman did was walk to the sink and get a glass of water, drinking it in one go. When she set the cup down, she fanned her face a little bit. "Oh, my."

Sarah felt her lips twist in amusement, biting her lower lip to keep from laughing at the reaction.

When Irene got herself under control, she looked at Sarah, her expression telling Sarah how deep in thought she was. By now, Matthew had quieted and was chewing his fist in earnest. "How long have you known him?"

She leaned against the counter, stroking her hand over the child's back. How the hell to answer that. "A little while. Why?"

"He seems…" She looked like she wasn't even certain what she wanted to ask. "He decided Mariah needed a nap, too. Got her settled in the side room, while Toby took the kids. He tucked her in and she was asleep before we left the room."

That sounded like him. Dirty cheat probably used a sleeping spell on her sister in law, too. "He can be pushy to a fault, but he's good at making what he's pushing you to do seem like a good idea. Probably had her hypnotised with words before she realized it."

"He isn't like the boys I remember you bringing home while you were in High School."

That was for damn sure. He was confident to a fault, had the good looks and charm to back it up, and he was vehement about her taking care of herself. None of her other boyfriends had even put in half the effort. That Jareth did for a fake relationship was going to make quick work out of her if she let her guard down. She looked at Irene and nodded in agreement. "Is that bad?"

"More like a relief, to be honest. Your father won't admit this, he's too proud, but he's glad that you found someone who seems keen on taking care of you." Irene gave a quiet sigh and then shook her head. "Is he always like this? Or is this just because you're visiting family?"

She blinked, thinking about the last few days and a smile curved her lips. She watched her step mother check the turkey and the pies, all the sides, making sure everything was ready for the family dinner.

"Always, since I've known him. He's bossy to a fault, and if he doesn't think I'm eating enough, he'll just stick food in front of me."

"He seems keen on when to step in, that's for certain. I've never seen a man so at ease holding a child that young for the first time. Toby has spent so much time on his schoolwork that he isn't used to holding the children, yet. I was going to get Emily, but he beat me to it. I don't think any of your previous boyfriends would have stepped in like that."

"They wouldn't have," she agreed, thinking of how to spin the answer to the unspoken question. "Jareth's siblings have young children, too."

It was a fib she'd have to fill him in on, soon. Just to be safe.

"Why did you call him a bully?"

She blinked, then remembering calling Jareth that at lunch. "Oh, he just...steamrolls over me, sometimes. I told him I don't eat that much, he told me in no uncertain terms that wasn't acceptable, and made me a peanut butter sandwich. And you saw how he was about the nap."

Irene turned towards her, wearing an expression of surprise. Then, her lips curved into a soft smile. She didn't say anything else regarding Jareth, just started on getting everything onto serving platters. "Could you get started on the coffee?"

Sarah thought about it for a moment, and a grin spread across her face. "I'll ask Jareth - you'll thank me, later."

A rough chuckle from the doorway drew her attention and she found Jareth standing there, wearing that amused smirk of his that turned the wall around her heart to jello. "First you accuse me of spoiling you, now you're telling your mother that I should make the coffee here, too?"

"Your coffee is better than mine." She smiled and offered him an unrepentant shrug.

"Very well, my dear. I'll make the coffee." He gave a rough chuckle, and moved towards her and kissed her on the forehead. Emily was asleep in his arms, now, sucking on her thumb as she rested on his shoulder.

Irene watched them, a smile on her lips. "The coffee is over the coffee maker, Jareth."

He nodded to her, and without passing the child over, he started working on setting up the coffee pot, working with one arm as competently as most did with two. Sarah noticed her stepmother give his ass an appraising look, and coughed, noting the approval in the woman's eyes.

"We should get the food on the table, soon. It's getting late." Sarah noted the time, and frowned a bit, looking towards Irene. "Is Mariah alright? I noticed she seemed really tired when I got here."

"She and Toby think she's pregnant again, so she's getting tired very easily." Irene sighed and shook her head. She pulled down the dinnerware, setting it on the counter. "I can relate, I was the same way with Toby."

Sarah took the stack of plates, pursing her lips. She only had Toby, though. Mariah already had two children, and a third on the way was too many, too fast. She kept those thoughts to herself, however, and stepped out of the kitchen, finding her father near the door, eavesdropping. She set the plates in his arms. "Dad, since your hands are free, could you help us set the table?"

She kept her tone sweet, letting him know with a look that she knew exactly what he was doing. He gave a guilty look, and headed to go put the plates on the table, and she went to find her brother. Toby was watching Mariah sleep in the side-room, and she brought Matthew in, setting the boy in his crib with care. "Dinner's ready, you and Mariah should join us."

"Emily?"

"Is quite content and napping on Jareth. I'm sure he'll make sure she's tucked in before he sits down," she said, using a more tart tone with her brother, making her displeasure with him clear. He looked at her through wide-eyes, as if uncertain what he'd done to piss her off. "Wake up your wife and join us. There will be coffee soon."

When she left the room, she saw Jareth heading her way. He checked his stride.

"I was going to put her down."

She shook her head. "Give them a minute, Toby is waking her up, and I'm sure she won't want too many people seeing her with sleep still in her eyes."

"She doesn't seem like the vain type."

"It's not about vanity, Jareth. It's about vulnerability."

He inclined his head, and gave a bit of a nod in understanding. "Fair enough."

She remembered her conversation with Irene in the kitchen and she reached over, caressing one of Emily's curls. "I had to make up something on the fly to explain why you're so good with children when you don't have any."

"Oh, do tell?" He looked at her, his expression one of interest.

"I told Irene you have siblings and several young nieces and nephews of your own."

He gave a quiet chuckle and leaned towards her, his breath stirring the hair at her temple when he spoke. "Easier than telling them that I essentially kidnap children for a living. Good to see you still think on your toes."

"I thought you noticed that at the Yule Ball," she quipped, and then bit back her words when Mariah and Toby left the room together. Jareth, on the other hand, gave a quiet chuckle, his lips brushing against her hairline.

"Fair enough, my dear."

Once Emily was tucked in as well, they joined her family at the table. Her parents had always insisted on saying grace during dinner, and Jareth played along, although she thought she saw him snort a few times during it. When dinner officially started, the conversation turned more lively. She endured the ribbing from her brother, used to it. Her father seemed to watch them very close, especially Jareth.

As she'd feared, the conversation eventually turned towards how she and Jareth had met. Considering they'd worked on the story on the fly, Jareth had no problem telling her parents that he'd met her at a coffee shop near her campus, and they'd been discussing her dissertation, and the work involved.

"Isn't dating while she's in school difficult?" Her father asked, his eyes flicking towards her and she ground her teeth, staring at her plate.

Jareth just laughed. "Neither Sarah, nor I, are children. Adults have responsibilities that sometimes take precedence over dates. We work around our schedules as we're able to. Besides, I'm in competition with a document she's spent the last two years putting in groundwork with. I haven't had the time to put in the same, so it's only fair that I allow her the time required to finish it."

She pretended the cranberry sauce on her plate was interesting, trying to not blush as she smeared some of it onto a bite of turkey and eating it to give her something to do besides glare at her father.

Toby piped up and she heard the tone that said this was going to turn into a 'thing'. "She's still writing that paper? How long is it, now, Sare?"

She looked at Toby, feeling the frown pulling at her lips. "It's two hundred fifty pages. I need to trim it down and consolidate a few parts before it's finished, but I'm nearly done."

Toby laughed. "Christ, no wonder you can't keep a boyfriend!"

Jareth's eyes snapped towards Toby and Sarah glanced towards him, finding coolness in his gaze. "Seeing as you're her brother, shouldn't you be more supportive of the dreams she's working hard towards, as opposed to verbally jabbing her about them over a holiday supper?"

His voice was a whip crack, sharp as it was cold. She lifted her eyes, looking up at him in surprise.

Jareth glanced towards her, then back at her brother. "She's working hard on something that matters to her. Those that love her should give her the support and encouragement and time that she needs to finish that, shouldn't they?"

"Well spoken," Irene said, her tone cross when she addressed her son. "Toby, you're half-way through your Bachelor's degree. If you ever decide to move towards a master's, you'll have to write a thesis, which is a drop in the pond compared to what your sister is doing. A doctorate is nothing to scoff at."

Mariah didn't look at Toby, not jumping to his defense, enough proof that she didn't approve of what he'd said.

Robert just gave his son a stern look. "What do you have to say to your sister?"

Toby winced, looking over the turkey and into her eyes. "Sorry, Sarah."

She swallowed hard to keep the tears she felt itching at her eyes from the support from actually filling her eyes. It took some effort to force words from her lips. "Apology accepted. Now, rather than snipping at each other, how about I go get one of those pies and we get started on dessert?" Sarah got to her feet and her fingers brushed Jareth's shoulder before she headed to the kitchen. When she was hidden from the table, she braced her hands on the counter, trying to keep herself from crying.

It was the first time her parents had come that close to giving her that sort of verbal approval. It took her a moment to get her emotions under control.

"I apologize if I spoiled your mood."

She turned, finding Jareth leaning against the archway, his hands in his pockets.

Smiling, she shook her head. "No, Toby likes to tease me about my dating history. I can almost understand. I'm a thirty three year old woman, and I'm not married. Until Irene spoke up, I thought that she had the same opinion about my degree. Toby's nineteen, has a smart mouth, a wife and two children already. It's not surprising that he ribs me about it. Thank you, for what you said."

She would have turned away, but he moved towards her, his hand touching her arm, and sliding down until his fingers laced through hers. "Your dreams never need to be in sync with their dreams for you. Their pleasure shouldn't matter as much as your satisfaction with your own life."

She looked up at him through wide-eyes, her breath stuttering in her chest. Movement near the archway caught her attention and she started to turn towards it. Before she could, Jareth's free hand caught her face, preventing her from looking away from him. She felt her heart twist in that painful way it had been doing more and more often and then he leaned down, kissing her in her stepmother's kitchen, in clear view of the doorway.

It wasn't the same sort of soft kiss he'd been giving her. His lips sealed over hers, and when she gave a quiet gasp, that seemed to be all the permission he seemed to slip his tongue between her lips. The hand on her cheek shifted, and his arm went around her waist, pulling her against him and she reacted through sheer instinct, her hands lacing behind the base of his neck.

He gave a sound that sounded like she'd stroked him in just the right way, and lifted her almost off her feet towards him, his other hand finding her hair, holding her there as she held him, not letting her go too far away. The wet slide of his lips against hers wreaked havoc on her libido and her brain, one jump-starting and the other shutting down completely.

A quiet "oh" from the doorway broke through the passion of the kiss, and she jumped back as if burned. Her head whipped towards the archway, and she found Irene and Mariah standing there with wide-eyes, watching her with some interest.

She felt the heat in her cheeks, and coughed, swatting Jareth on the arm and when she spoke, she tried to tell herself the breathless tone of her voice was feigned.

"I said warn me, first."

Jareth gave her a grin, looking as unrepentant as usual. "I'll take that into consideration, my dear."