-Disclaimer: I do not own the labyrinth or any of its original characters. They belong to Jim Henson.
A/N: Another update for you guys, I hope you like this one, I struggled to write it. So I hope it's okay. Please let me know what you think, even if you hate it!
Chapter 23: The Birth
"I told you, you would never rid yourself of me. I am a part of you forever, you will never go a day without me on your mind. Give in to me Sarah, give me all the power of your mind, we can still be happy. Move forward, go past all the pain, together." He said.
"Oh God, not again, why are you still here? I can't do this anymore, I've told you! I don't want you!" She cried.
"You don't mean that. You do want this, you just can't see it." He replied.
" You're gone, you're dead, I killed you. I know I killed you." She said.
"I'm not dead until I'm out of your mind."
His hands are all over me, I can feel his sweaty palms on my shoulders, oh God he's moving them down my sides, his going to do this to me again, Sarah stop him, stop him, move your body away from him, run away!
"Get off of me! You're dead, you're dead! You're dead!" She shouted.
"Precious! Wake up! Wake up! You're dreaming!" Jareth shouted desperately pulling her terrified form into his chest.
Their bedroom was dark, the sun still hadn't even begun to rise, the fire was only just slightly still crackling but the room still felt relatively warm considering. After their reconciliation and intimate love session Jareth and Sarah had fallen asleep engulfed in each others embrace, Jareth had awoken abruptly to the sounds of her screams, he had tried repeatedly to wake her but his efforts seemed to fail, she appeared to be in a very deep sleep, it took a mixture of screaming frantically in her ear and shaking her fragile frame to wake her.
"It's okay precious, it was only a dream, you're home, your safe." He whispered consoling her in his arms.
They were both sat up in bed now, he pulled her into his lap and placed her head on his chest, attempting to calm her breathing, it had become rapid and his fear of their child becoming distressed became his number one priority.
"Can you make them stop?" She asked in a desperate cry, burrowing her face further into his chest.
"The dreams?" He replied back inquisitively.
"Yes, I just can't handle them anymore." She said in a pleading voice.
"I have a confession precious... I have already tried a few times before to rid you of your nightmares, from the very first night you had one, it seems your mind is immune to that particular spell." He answered.
"Try and sleep now, I will address it tomorrow, we will find a way." He said assuringly.
Sarah wrapped her body around Jareth as they began to fall back asleep. He could feel that her body was shivering so he rekindled the fire and wrapped his body around hers also. He laid awake for hours after her night terror, feeling angry and the annoying emotional feeling of being powerless.
The one person I want to be powerful for and I can't even rid her of her dreams. If only I had just kept her here, at our final confrontation, she may have hated me if I had kept her captive here, -but at least I would have been able to protect her that way... I can't change the past, I can move the stars and place the moon in her heart, but I can't change the past.
After hours of pondering how to make his queen happy, he slid out of the bed careful not to stir his sleeping bride's delicate form, he laid a gentle kiss on her lips and slipped out of the balcony in their room, turning to his owl form he fluttered his wings and was out into the cold dark night.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
When Sarah awakened in the morning, she was surprised to see that Jareth was no where to be seen, before she had wiped the sleep from her eyes she felt around the bed to feel his form. She pulled herself up from the bed and made her way over towards the bathroom, examining the room as she walked, looking for signs of a note or message. After she couldn't see anything she decided to quickly get herself dressed and go and find him. She threw on a much more elaborate gown than usual, it was sapphire blue and had white lace embroidery. She then went into her closet and sat down at her vanity where she brushed through her dark silky tresses, she considered putting it into an up do but decided that she didn't want to waste what would most likely be one of her last days baby free.
"God I'm starving." She said under her breath.
As she had made the comment a wicker basket appeared on the table of her vanity, filled with delightful juicy peaches.
"Funny. I guess you're around after all." She said sarcastically getting up to look and see if he was now in their room.
She struggled to get to the door, her walk was slowly diminishing into a slow waddle.
"Jareth?" she called out.
There was no answer, but a small knock on their bedroom door followed.
"You look every inch the Queen you are, your majesty."
"Hoggle! What are you doing here? What a great surprise!" Sarah said happily.
"His majesty sent me here to take you to a surprise. He's busy at the moment but he said that he would meet us in the castle gardens, are you ready?" Hoggle asked.
"Ah yeah, let's go." She said smiling, grabbing a peach from the basket for the road.
Surely he wouldn't drug me a second time.
With that plan in mind, they set out towards the castle gardens, as they approached the large French doors that lead out, Hoggle had asked Sarah to close her eyes and then lead her by the hand to a love seat situated in the middle of the gardens.
"Okay wait here a minute, I ain't going to be long." He said swiftly running off into the bushes.
"Okie Dokie, I'll just stay here and look pretty." She said giggling to herself.
As she sat on the bench anticipating what her surprise would be, a cold wet sensation began trickling on her folded hands. She abruptly opened her eyes to the most wonderful unexpected surprise.
"MERLIN?" She cried excitedly.
Tears began falling down her cheeks and for the first time in the longest time they were happy tears, tears of joy.
Jareth had been watching from a near by tree and was delighted by his queens reaction to his plan.
"I'm glad you're happy my love." He said walking towards her.
"Happy, is an understatement. Thank you so much, this means everything to me, he is the thing I miss the most from my old life...-him and Toby that is." She said softly.
"If you would like me to arrange for you to see your family Sarah, I can do that. I can even make your condition invisible to them or make them accepting of it... it really is no trouble at all." He said wiping her tears from her cheeks.
"No, I'm actually happier away from them, things are just easier this way." She replied back.
"But Gosh did I miss you!" She said embracing her family dog.
"Is he here to stay? Or is this just temporary?" She asked worriedly.
"Indefinitely, my love, I have taken care of it." He replied back lovingly.
"If your majesties with excus' me I gotta go now, fairies are getting outta control at the gates." Hoggle said.
"Yeah you should probably go then, those nasty little things bite. I thought they did nice things, like granting wishes." Sarah said bitterly.
"Well shows how much you know don't it." Hoggle replied back chuckling, he began walking swiftly towards the exit before the Goblin king scolded him for this sarcasm.
"You've really made me soft, you precious thing." He said smugly, reaching in to kiss her.
Sarah giggled out loud and participated in the kiss being offered. It abruptly ended, when a sharp pain came into her back, she winced at the abruptness of it.
"Are you all right pet?" Jareth asked worriedly, his eyebrows creasing at the thought of his wife in pain.
"Oh yeah I'm fine, she's just moving around a lot today, I think she's finally deciding she's running out of room." Sarah said forcing a smile.
"I don't like that Sarah, I'm calling Lidia." He said firmly.
"Okay, I suppose it wouldn't hurt." She agreed.
"I want to take you up to bed to rest, you really shouldn't be up and about." He said forcefully.
"Ugh do I have to?" She said.
"Yes, You do, for once just do what I say." He said rolling his eyes.
"Can we compromise? Can I walk there?" She asked smiling.
"I suppose." He replied.
"Come on feet." She said smiling up at him.
Jareth wasn't happy about the compromise but he knew that arguing with her was pretty much completely pointless, they began walking back into the castle but as they approached the second flight of stairs, Sarah stopped suddenly and turned as pale as a ghost.
"This is extremely embarrassing, but I think I have wet my pants... Erm... Dress." She said blushing.
"What?" Jareth asked shocked.
"Well look there's, a puddle here and it can't be my waters, there are suppose to be contractions and stuff before that happens." She said still extremely embarrassed.
Jareth's face followed her lead and also went pale, a very panicked goblin king scooped her up into his arms and materialised into their room, he then called for Echo to stay with her while he went to fetch Lidia.
"Oh yeah, this is starting to hurt now." She said slightly panicked.
"Fae pregnancy and birth are different from human ones my lady. They usually progress much faster." Echo informed.
"Quick is good, that means pain for a shorter amount of time." Sarah said trying to make herself feel better.
Echo smiled at her and helped her out of her dress, and into bed, she laid only in a shift and removed all of her other undergarments in the chance that she would suddenly give birth, which Sarah didn't think would happen given all the stories she had heard about, women being in labour for hours and hours sometimes even days.
By the time Jareth had rematerialized with Lidia, She was deep into her labour and wishing she had never let him touch her. Her hair was soaked with sweat and she began crying out and breathing frantically.
"I need this to be over now!" She shouted.
Lidia quickly made her way over to her to examine her progression.
"Your waters have broken, that's why this is progressing so quickly." She said informingly.
"Not time to push yet, but soon." She added.
Jareth had seen the panic in his wife's eyes and sat on the bed next to her. He stroked her wet hair away from her face... His face said, I wish I could take the pain for you.
"I know we haven't had a chance to discuss this before, but I have decided I am pro pain relief. Please give me drugs, anything, a spinal tap, morphine, chop the lower half of my body off. Please. Please take this pain away." She cried.
Jareth looked at his wife's helplessness and decided he couldn't just let her lay there and suffer, she was providing him with the gift of life and the least he could do would be to help with her suffering, he quickly formed a crystal in his hand and began to lay it on her contracting belly.
"You're majesty, it is important for a mother to feel the pain of childbirth, it helps her become a better mother." Lidia said judgementally.
"WHAT THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW?, I FEEL LIKE MY INSIDES ARE ABOUT TO FALL OUT OF MY BUTT." Sarah shouted out angrily.
"I did not ask for your opinion regarding pain relief, I would say she has suffered enough, wouldn't you? A father becomes a father by supporting the mother of his child and that is what I intend to do, you worry about delivering our child I will worry about the comfort and support of my queen." He said in a warning tone.
"Yes you your majesty." Lidia replied with an annoyed tone.
Jareth continued to apply the crystal to Sarah's belly, after a few moments the pain slowly began to diminish.
"I love you so much. Thank you." She said thankfully.
" I love you too. And there is no thanks needed. I've told you before you deserve everything, for this gift." He replied back.
Sarah laboured peacefully for a few hours in bed, the relief Jareth's crystal had provided even allowed her to manage a nap. As the crystals powers began to wean off, Jareth laid next to her, secretly worried about the ordeal that his wife was about to experience.
He was distracted from his thoughts when she suddenly woke up in an excruciating amount of pain.
"HOLY MOLY, I NEED TO PUSH." She cried out desperately.
"How do you know." He asked frantically.
"I JUST DO, WHERE'S LIDIA." She asked almost angrily.
Lidia heard Sarah's desperations and came barrelling into the room, she came pushing in a trolley full of instruments, towel, cloths and a steaming bowl of hot water.
Sarah had already began her pushing, her legs were well and truly spread and she was in a traditional birthing stance. Lidia checked her dilation and was shocked to see the baby's head was already crowing.
"Oh yes, that baby is well and truly ready for it's throne, isn't it." She said chuckling, Jareth instinctively smiled at her comment.
"Okay Your majesty, next time you feel that pressure, you push as hard as you can." She instructed.
As the baby began to further crown, Lidia placed warm wash clothes around Sarah's folds, to help prevent the burning sensation created from the stretching, it also helped prevent tearing and ripping. Sarah stopped pushing as a small head with faintly fair hair peered out.
"I can't. I can't do it." She said exhausted.
"Yes you can, you are so strong." Jareth said placing his hands on her face.
She looked into his mismatched eyes, they nearly appeared matching at the severe dilation of his normally blue one.
"I just can't. I have nothing left." She said faintly.
Lidia rolled her eyes and grunted at the queens defeat.
"Come on, up on all fours, let's get this baby out and then you can rest." She said sharply.
She hoisted Sarah up by her arms, She looked over to the King whom looked sceptically angry at her brash fullness, but he quickly remembered he had asked her to safely deliver his child and she would not risk his wrath, if anything was to happen to either of them during her care.
Sarah was now propped up on all fours, Jareth sat in front of her at the base of the bed and Lidia sat behind her ready to capture their baby, she rolled her body back and forth trying to push their child out, the sounds that came from within her, sounded unhuman, they surprised Jareth but they made him appreciate and respect his wife all the more. Jareth held his wife's hair in a ball in his palms, her face pressed up against his chest, after what seemed like hours of crying and pushing, Sarah collapsed into his arms with an exhausted thud.
Music to Jareth's ears was the delicate sound of the most purest cry.
A baby. His baby. Their baby.
Lidia quickly wrapped their infant in a beautiful wool shall and asked Jareth to lay the Queen back onto the bed so that she could hold her newborn.
"Is there suppose to be so much blood?" He asked shocked.
"She'll be fine, this was quite a traumatic birth, too be honest I haven't delivered a baby in centuries so I am a tad rusty." She said quietly.
Jareth laid his wife comfortably onto her back and held her hands in his.
"Sarah, open you eyes, please, let me see that you're okay." He said kissing her hands in his.
"I'm okay, I want my baby, let me hold my baby." She said with us much strength as she could muster.
Jareth smiled at her, he couldn't find any words, he was completely speechless by what he had just witness and been apart of.
Lidia walked over to the pair and gently placed, the tiny bundle between the two of them.
Sarah looked down at the beautiful baby before them, tiny fae like features, small blonde upturned eye brows, one eye green just like hers, and one eye black just like his. She then looked to Jareth and smiled, tears poured down her face and she was surprised to see that Jareth's eyes too looked to be wet with tears, but he held them in place, careful not to let them escape.
"Is this real?" She said softly.
"I don't know." He replied in a whisper.
Lidia, stood back marvelling at the scene before, a scene so rare in the underground, a child born with Fae blood, royalty and two parents who's love was overwhelming.
"What will you call this little prince?" She asked.
"I told you." He smiled.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, for any of you that have ever given birth of witness a birth, you will know how hard it is to write. I really struggled with it, it is the most painful rewarding thing that you can ever go through or witness. Please let me know what you think.
pixiedust xx