"Keep the Magic Alive"
Chapter 2
By Aiijuin
Disclaimer: All things "Labyrinth" belong to Henson Companies as well as many other wonderful contributors. I own nothing!
This story is has several dark themes, and is rated M+
Chapter 2: Reordered Time
Just as Sarah had feared, she was pregnant. After discussing their options together in Central Park, they decided to allow everything to progress to the next trimester. Unfortunately, this meant that they had to completely rearrange their lives in order to accommodate the new arrival. Sarah had told her boss that she needed to arrange maternity leave six weeks before the middle of summer the following year. Jareth had to tell the landlord that they would not be renewing their lease again in January.
Both ,Jareth and Sarah King, had to confront their daughters with the situation, just before Thanksgiving break. The twins protested, because they didn't want to move away from their friends in the middle of the school year. Sahara didn't comment either way, but just pressed her book closer to her face and ignored everybody.
The King family tried to find a larger apartment within the same school district, so the girls wouldn't have to be transferred, but everything was far too expensive, especially with another baby on the way. Karen and Robert Williams offered to find their daughter a place closer to them in the suburbs, but Sarah refused. She was happier living farther away from her stepmother, since the two didn't always get along on the best terms.
Finally, just after Christmas, the family found a split-level home in southern New Jersey, near the capital of Trenton. It was easier to afford then North Jersey and conveniently located near the train station that would take Sarah directly into New York City every morning and bring her home again in the evening. However, her travel time was increased by two hours as she had to wake-up at four-thirty, in order to catch the train by five in the morning.
Jareth, on the other hand, moved his management business into the neighboring city of Philadelphia. This was an easier career move for him, since he was essentially the owner anyway. The only thing he needed to do was become acquainted with the popular clubs within the City of Brotherly Love.
Unfortunately, for the entire King family, Sarah was hardly around anymore. She awoke before her family, and came home long after Jareth had gone to work in the evening and her daughters were in bed sleeping. This schedule continued until February, when Sarah began to feel ill.
After she started suffering terrible visual disturbances, headaches, and swollen-ankles that nearly prevented her from getting home one evening, she scheduled an appointment with her doctor. It was discovered that she had was experiencing preeclampsia toxemia, which was a rare form of high-blood pressure that some women develop during pregnancy. She was required to take an early maternity leave as a result and remain bedridden throughout most of the day. Jareth had to cut back his hours in order to attend to her, but this arrangement placed a strain on their finances, as well as their marriage.
The girls didn't make things any easier on the couple, as Sahara hid away in her room and spoke to no one, while Jennifer and Julia took turns getting suspended from school for fighting and smoking.
Jareth also began having the waking dreams again, and it didn't seem like the medications were working this time. He usually woke Sarah up three or four times throughout the night by sleepwalking and wandering about the house talking and singing. By the time baby Jaime was born in late April, Jareth and Sarah's marriage was completely on the rocks.
However, the hardest blow for Sarah and Jareth came, when the doctors had discovered that there was a problem with their tiny son. Months after he was born, Sarah noticed that something was wrong with his eyes. When she took him to the pediatrician, it was discovered that he had a rare cancer in his eyes called Retinoblastoma. After months of treatment and operations to remove the tumors from their child's eyes, Jaime was miraculously cleared of the life-threatening condition. However, he was rendered blind for the rest of his life.
Sarah blamed herself as the doctors assured her that it was neither she, nor her husband's fault in the end.
Despite his handicap, Jaime was a very good baby, but he required extra care because of his lack of vision, and Sarah and Jareth had to make a huge decision about who would stay home and raise their son. After weighing their options, Sarah returned to her job in the Big Apple, because she had full medical benefits and made better money, while Jareth decided to sell his business and stay home with his son.
It wasn't easy on the entire family, and they had to make incredible adjustments as they had during the move. Sahara finally snapped one evening and ran away from home, when she got tired of Jaime's crying while he was teething. Jareth had to ask Jennifer to watch Jaime while he drove around town in order to find his youngest daughter.
When he returned back home after retrieving Sahara, he noticed that his fifteen-year old twins had suddenly had an unexplainable attitude adjustment for the better. He didn't ask any questions, but they immediately started helping their father with the baby and their grades even improved in school.