A/N: I know it's been a while and I'm sorry. I hope to get updates out faster in the future, but of course no promises. Thanks for the reviews and your patience.

Previously:

"But now you can come through again," Sarah said eagerly, wiping her nose and eyes and rising up on her knees. "You can take me through, right?"

"So's ya can get yer babe back from the King? Of course I can!" Hoggle exclaimed, jumping up to his feet and tugging on her hand. "Whenever yer ready."

"Now, I'm ready now," Sarah replied. Hoggle took both her hands in his, clenched his eyes shut, and willed them both back to the Underground.

When he opened his eyes, however, he found himself in the Goblin King's gardens, alone.

"She comes when I bring her, Hogmush, not a second sooner," came Jareth's disembodied voice, echoing eerily through the cool night air.

Sarah nearly screamed in frustration when Hoggle vanished right in front of her, leaving her stuck on the wrong side of the damned mirror. Again. Part of her wanted to smash it to pieces, to stomp the pieces into fragments and scream and scream and scream until her throat was raw; the part of her that knew better, luckily, remained in control and she did none of those things. Instead, she walked very calmly to the low vanity, sat down in front of it, folded her hands in front of her, leaned forward and said, in a quiet, even voice: "I wish the Goblin King would come and take me away to be with my son."

There was no reaction to her words; the mirror's surface didn't ripple, Jareth's smirking face didn't appear, her reflection remained steady, but there was a listening quality to the very stillness in the room that Sarah found encouraging.

Fighting down her hope, she took a deep breath, pushed back her chair, stood up, and turned around.

He was there, in the room with her. No crash of lightning or dramatic winds heralded his entrance; he was simply standing by her bed, arms folded on his chest, expression blank as he waited for her to acknowledge his presence.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Sarah forced herself to move toward him, a single, hesitant step at a time. Neither his expression nor his posture changed until she stopped within arm's length of him, forcing herself to meet his cold gaze. After a moment he uncoiled one arm and held his hand out to her. She took it firmly, then waited for the world to shift around them.

As the world falls down…

Oh, so dizzy, she didn't remember being so dizzy the last time she'd entered the Goblin King's realm; unmindful of anything but the spinning of her head, she clutched the leather vest covering Jareth's chest, her head following her hand until she was leaning against him, his arm encircling her shaking body, breathing in the heady scent of leather and sweat and male and a crisp something she could never identify – but that was wholly, only, Jareth.

How you turn my world, you precious thing…

"Everything's dancing," she murmured, fragments of Jareth's songs echoing through her mind. She thought she'd dreamed him singing to her, about her, the way she thought she'd dreamed so much of what had happened between them, but, in his arms in the vortex between worlds, she wasn't so sure. Wasn't sure of anything, truth be told, except the confusing comfort she took being in his arms.

Oh, dangerous thoughts, isn't that what got you in trouble in the first place!

She gasped and pulled away from Jareth as she heard that purring taunt in her mind; eyes wide, she stared at him and stumbled back, releasing her death-grip on his vest, only belatedly wondering if she'd find herself tumbling away into darkness…but no. Her foot landed on solid earth; she looked down automatically and saw sandy-brown stone under her bare foot. A glance at her body showed her to be wearing exactly what she'd had on when Jareth had first appeared: baggy blue sweats and a shapeless gray t-shirt. She shivered as a sudden chill went over her that had nothing to do with the temperature surrounding her. "Are you – is this real?" she whispered, clutching her arms around herself in sudden terror that she would blink and find herself back in the institution, coming out of another vivid dream of her time in the Labyrinth.

Of course he didn't answer her, merely offered an enigmatic smile before turning and walking away from her. She was clearly expected to just follow him, but her old stubborn streak (especially where he was concerned) came roaring back, and she simply stood there, doing her best to shake off her terror (fear of this moment's unreality, not fear of him, of course).

When he was a few yards away, Jareth finally spoke. "You wished yourself here for a reason, Sarah. If you don't actually want to see Liam, then I can send you right back where you came from."

His words were a spur, a goad and worked as he clearly expected them to; Sarah rushed forward, racing to join him, her heart pounding in mingled fear and joy. It had been two years after all; her son would be a toddler…or older? Hadn't Hoggle said something about it being four years since they'd seen the Goblin King? She knew time worked differently in the Underground; the last time, she and Toby had been gone from home less than two hours while twelve had passed here.

So if four years had passed…her heart sank as she realized the golden haired toddler she'd been envisioning was likely to be older than Toby now! "When will I get to see him?" she demanded breathlessly as she reached the Goblin King's side. "My son – our son, Liam – will he know me when he sees me?" She needed to know before she saw him so she could prepare herself; had Jareth told him horror stories of the mother who'd abandoned him, or told him nothing at all? Would she be treated as a stranger or the monster who'd wished her away?

"Patience," was all Jareth said. Sarah thought she might scream but managed to keep it choked down. As if sensing her restraint, he slanted her a sideways glance and curled his lips in a knowing grin.

Sarah was bursting with questions but kept them to herself since he clearly wasn't going to answer any of them. Still, she couldn't help muttering "It's not fair" under her breath, fists clenching as she immediately heard the Goblin King's mocking laughter.

After that, it would have taken a pry bar to open her lips, she clamped them shut so tightly. Instead she focused on her son; her arms literally ached to hold him, why was Jareth making them walk to wherever he was rather than simply materializing them next to him?

The answer to that came as they approached a small cottage tucked away in the woods next to a babbling brook, the entire area surrounded by a shimmering curtain of golden light that could only be magical in nature. With a gesture, Jareth made it vanish, finally turning to face her as they came to a stop in front of the bridge that arched over the water. "He's inside here, where he's been ever since you wished him away, Sarah." She flinched at the accusation in his tone, but could hardly deny it since it was essentially what she'd done when she'd given her baby up for adoption. "Kept safe from the whims and caprices of the Labyrinth and any who might wish him harm – and most importantly, from Time itself," he added with heavy emphasis.

Sarah's eyes widened as she took in his meaning. "You-you mean he's still…still a newborn?" she whispered disbelievingly. "He's still – he's the same age as when you took him?"

"He's the same age as when you wished him away," Jareth corrected her with a glower. Sarah was too overwhelmed to feel anything but excitement; after two long, frustrating, terrible years, she was finally going to get to see her baby. To hold him in her arms. To kiss him and tell him she loved him.

Taking a deep breath, she set one foot on the bridge, the first step on the way towards a long-awaited reunion.

oOo

Jareth watched as Sarah rushed over the bridge and hurried to the cottage where their son had lain in a dreamless sleep for two mortal years. His emotions were in turmoil, something he was neither used to nor fond of. He was the one in control, so why did he feel so conflicted? Seeing Sarah again, no longer the woman-child yet still so human, so vulnerable…the way she'd clung to him when he brought them to the Underground, the feel of her soft curves in his arms evoking bittersweet memories of their time together, her obvious fear that none of this was real, her palpable joy at the idea of holding Liam in her arms…he could banish none of those memories no matter how hard her tried. He hated her for giving their son away, didn't he? For rejecting him, for (temporarily) destroying his kingdom, for bringing so much pain and chaos (far more than even a Goblin King who normally rejoiced in chaos could handle!) in her wake…but most disconcerting of all was the fact that all he wanted to do right now was join her. To see the joy in her eyes (and the tears, for of course she would cry) as she reunited with their son.

But no. That wasn't his role today; he wasn't fated to be doting father and lover. Sarah would reject him as she had once before, and so he steeled his heart and schooled his features into cold indifference as he forced himself to keep to a casual stroll as he made his way to the cottage.

Even though she'd broken his heart as surely as he'd broken hers, he would never let her know.