The moment Toby blinked out of sight Jareth spun around in surprise. Oblivious to him, Sarah stepped away from behind the throne and raised her hand, forming a new crystal. From where he was he could only see vague forms flicking, but an enigmatic smile formed on Sarah's lips as she watched the movement within.

Jareth watched her admiringly, with the crystal poised in her hand she looked every inch the Queen she was.

With a sigh she vanished the crystal and walked towards the window, staring out at the twisting paths of the Labyrinth.

Silently Jareth joined her at the window. They stayed that way for a moment, not speaking, each lost in their own thoughts.

Finally he turned towards her, the tension evident in his posture, an unasked question on his lips.

Sighing, she held up a hand to stay his question, "Look, I'm not making any decisions tonight." Rubbing her face she turned away and glanced towards the handle that indicated her broom closet. "At the moment all I want to do is go back to my apartment, unplug my phone and go to bed." She tilted her head towards the knob, "I don't suppose you know why it malfunctioned earlier?"

Jareth approached and tried the knob, nothing happened, he frowned. "In wanting to prevent the goblins traversing unannounced it seems I inadvertently set the door to open only from the other side."

Her brow furrowed. "But… you said it still could be used as a closet, and I don't want just anyone finding the portal."

"Intent plays a role, as such your landlady should not have been able to activate it."

Scoffing Sarah pointed out. "Yeah, and I should have been able to use it from the throne room earlier so I wouldn't have had to call her in the first place."

Jareth did not quite manage to hide his smirk. "Why did you not transport yourself?"

Sarah's frayed nerves finally snapped. "Fine! Good night your Majesty!"

In a puff of glitter she disappeared.

A frown was etched on Jareth's face as he stared at the space where she had been. How could things have gone so awry? He had marvelled at seeing Sarah take on the mantle of power the Labyrinth had given her, she was learning quickly. Seeing her dressed as Goblin Queen for the first time had taken his breath away. And she had surprised even him when she formed the crystal to send Toby home.

She was proving herself his equal, she was a vision of everything he had ever dared dream.

But now she had become distant, wary.

She was the Queen of his dreams, but still somehow out of reach.

His heart clenched, this truly was going to hurt like hell.

…

Toby barely had time to register that he was in the kitchen before he was nearly bowled over by his parents, his mom threw her arms around him babbling, "You're okay? You're not hurt?" She pulled away and began inspecting him for any possible signs of injury. Once she seemed satisfied that he was still whole she hugged him again, tears in her eyes. "You are so grounded young man!"

Toby hugged them both, blinking back his tears. "Mom... I'm so sorry ... Dad!"

Robert just pulled him closer, trying to forget how scared he had been for him, for all of them.

After a moment Robert broke away from the hug, eyes scanning the room. "Where's Sarah?"

Toby paused, his last moments in the Labyrinth seemed a blurr. "Oh, um… I think she said she'd call tomorrow."

Robert frowned. "Is she coming back?"

Toby shrugged.

The frown turned into a scowl. "She's still with that-"

Karen squeezed her husband's shoulder in a gentle but firm warning. "Hush, it's been a very long day, let's get something to eat, okay?"

...

Sarah appeared in her apartment and sighed, it hadn't changed, but her whole world had.

She glanced around the kitchen, the tuna in Tiger's food bowl seemed untouched. Sarah began a thorough search of her apartment, checking under the bed, in both closets, under the couch, unplugging any phones as she went. No sign of Tiger anywhere. She checked the front and balcony doors, they were closed and locked. Could he have slipped out in the hallway while Mrs Henderson's back was turned? Wouldn't someone have seen him? She remembered the goblins traipsing into her apartment during her date night, had she seen Tiger since? Could he have slipped through the portal while they were occupied?

Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't had anything other than a few sips of coffee that morning. Opening the fridge she groaned, she had forgotten that the goblins had gotten into it during her date night. Fighting the urge to gag she closed the door. She did not want to know what was in that pickle jar, she would deal with the mess later.

Glancing towards the broom closet she sighed: her current situation was Jareth's and his subjects' fault. But she did not want to deal with him until she had time to think. And she did not feel like having to get changed to go out to eat.

Scrounging in the cupboard she found better luck, a few canned goods had escaped goblin notice. One was a can of vegetable soup. It was better than nothing, she put it on the stove and searched for crackers, no such luck.

After her meagre supper Sarah ran a bath. While she waited for it to be ready she inspected herself in the mirror, she was still in the red and black outfit from the end of Toby's run. Her hair was a bit more voluminous than usual and there were smudges of khol around her eyes. All together it put her in mind of a mix of biker chick and troubadour and the black leather clung to her in all the right places. It also didn't have any visible closures.

She tugged at it but groaned in frustration at the lack of fastenings. Finally she paused, closing her eyes she imagined the clothes on the floor. When she opened her eyes that's where they were.

The bath was ready, she slipped into the warm water and sighed. She had a lot of thinking to do.

She was immensely relieved that Toby had won, but it terrified her that her family had come so close to being trapped Underground.

And after her win she had become tied to the Underground, what would happen to Toby now?

Jareth had claimed that she was bound, but not trapped. Still, it meant that she would have to spend the majority of her time in the Underground, she would become a visitor to her own world.

But if she chose to stay in the Above? She loved the Labyrinth and its zany creatures. If she were to leave and never come back? Her stomach lurched at the idea.

And what about Jareth? She didn't even know what to think anymore. Could she trust anything he said?

Could she stay and be Queen, tied to a King she didn't trust? Could they exist as allies? Would Jareth even accept such an arrangement?

The bath water got cold and she wasn't any closer to knowing what to do.

She got out and got ready for bed, hoping that the morning would bring some clarity.

…

Robert and Karen made sure that Toby was safe in his bed before heading to their own room.

As they began to prepare for bed, Robert picked up the phone, Karen gently covered the buttons to block the call. "She said she'd call in the morning. Let her sleep."

He growled, Karen cleared her throat to speak but he cut her off. "You can't be serious! My daughter is in league with a madman that just put us all in danger and you expect me to just roll over?"

"Robert-"

"No! I-"

"Robert! You are a lawyer dammit! You know that if Toby had been caught shop-lifting or vandalizing something he would have had to face consequences, and you would have cooperated. Rules must be followed even if he is our son, to use your position to interfere would be nepotism and would put your own job at risk."

"Yes but-"

"No buts! As ruler of her own kingdom our daughter had to follow the rules and laws of said kingdom."

"But she almost trapped us in that crazy world!"

"Stop blaming her! Don't you think she's been through enough in the last few hours?"

"But we could have lost everything!"

She shook her head as she grasped his hands and gently pulled him closer. "No, we could have lost access to our world, but we still would have each other. That to me is everything."

Robert sighed, pulling his wife to him and resting his chin on her head. "I'm sorry honey, I just...

"I know…"

…

The next morning Sarah tossed and turned in her bed, her dilemma had dispelled any hope of restful sleep plus she was worried about Tiger and missed his presence in her bed. She was just managing to drift off again when a knocking startled her awake, grumbling she pulled the pillow over her head, hoping whoever it was would go away.

The knocking resumed, three short raps.

Begrudgingly got up and peeked through the peephole.

Jareth was there, but in a human glamour. He was just turning to leave.

She swung the door open, he turned at the sound and inclined his head, surely taking in her disheveled state. "Good morning Sarah, I apologize if I have disturbed you, I was reminded that my goblins had ransacked your kitchen and that we were interrupted before I could fully rectify the situation." He paused and cleared his throat, raising a small plastic bag that she hadn't noticed he was holding. "I bought you some groceries."

She pursed her lips. Had he spied on her last night? Or had he truly remembered on his own?

Either way, she was hungry, she accepted the bag and he once again turned to leave. "Wait-" he paused awaiting her response. She bit her lip, "Thank you… Would you like to join me for breakfast? We do need to talk."

He nodded and she stepped aside to let him in. His hair was short and he was dressed in a finely made grey shirt in a modern cut, and black slacks, he looked impossibly impeccable. She looked down at her own ratty Mickey Mouse pyjamas and rolled her eyes.

Sarah began emptying the contents of the bag onto the counter. A can of coffee, carton of milk, a loaf of bread, butter, jam and eggs, a small bag of cat food. All of it with Aboveground labels.

She began to put the things away. When she opened the fridge Jareth got a view of the mess… and the pickle jar, he frowned.

Sarah shrugged, "Yeah, we missed the fridge when we did our cleanup the other day."

Forming a crystal he tossed it inside the fridge, in an instant it was spotless. Dubious pickle jar and goblin ale gone.

"Thanks!... I was dreading cleaning that up." She glanced towards her broom closet. "I don't suppose you also have a fix-it for the portal?"

Another crystal appeared on his fingertips, he held it out to her. "If you place this on the handle it will give you exclusive access, no matter which direction."

Sarah accepted the crystal and held it to the handle, the crystal absorbed into the door, causing it to glow for a moment. Once it faded Jareth grasped the handle and pulled, revealing only the broom closet. Closing the door he indicated for her to try.

Opening it just a crack she peeked in, she could see the throne room, strewn with half asleep goblins. She closed it before any of the goblins could notice her. "Thank you."

As she finished putting the things away she found a receipt at the bottom of the bag from the market down the street. It occurred to her that he was making an effort to regain her trust by not insisting on Underground food.

Despite her bid to talk, neither spoke as Sarah put on a pot of coffee, scrambled some eggs and popped two slices of bread in the toaster.

As she placed a plate in front of him she noted the tension in his posture. Sitting down she finally breached the silence, "Is there anything else I need to know for tomorrow."

A mix of surprise and hope flashed across his face. "You still plan to accompany me?"

She shrugged, "Well, I am not willing to give up my life Above at the moment. And I am not willing to just abandon the Underground and my friends either." She pulled the pendant out of her shirt. "So I think I should get to know the dynamics of the kingdom relations."

He cleared his throat. "And, dare I ask, what of our relationship dynamic?"

"I think that… for now… we settle in as allies."

His disappointment was evident but he gave a slight nod of acknowledgement.

Relieved that he wasn't arguing the issue she continued. "However... and… I know this is a lot to ask at the moment but, regardless of our relationship status I believe it would be best to face the council as a couple. To break up after such a short time does not give a good impression of the solidity of our relationship, and by extension, our kingdom."

A ghost of a smirk teased his lips. "You are already learning the importance of appearances, your Majesty."

She blushed at his praise but shook her head. "I also think it might be a good idea to keep this latest run under wraps. And at least for the moment not reveal the extent of my bond with the Labyrinth."

He nodded, "Wise decisions."

"Next week I'll have to speak to Carla about reducing my hours, it will give me more time to study about what my responsibilities here would entail."

"As you wish, my library is at your disposal."

"Thank you."

"Shall I prepare a room for you as well?"

She shook her head. "Since I already have a portal from my apartment to your throne room, I can keep my apartment for now and travel back and forth."

"You understand that as queen there is an entire suite of rooms at your disposition. Doing so would minimize strain and energy loss, you need to spend at least a few hours every day in the Underground."

"I know... I just… for now I just need to keep some sense of normalcy." She added in her head "And some distance to think."

She continued, "After the council meeting I would like to spend the rest of my time off getting to better know the Underground."

"Of course, will Toby still be accompanying you?"

Sarah hesitated, "I… don't know, I haven't spoken with my parents yet. Which reminds me, after my run I became tied here, what happens to Toby now? Is he tied to the Labyrinth too?"

"While I still am not certain of the mechanics of how you came to be bound, you were the first, there is no reason to believe it would reoccur."

"But during his run you called Toby your heir-"

Jareth shook his head, "I was merely showing my vote of confidence in him."

Sarah frowned, "Jareth, you taught me that words have power, you called him your heir, doesn't that risk having the Labyrinth accept him as such?"

Jareth shook his head and made a placating gesture. "At most, Toby could be considered heir presumptive, since currently neither you nor I have a direct heir. His winning against the Labyrinth has solidified his claim but he has the right to refuse, he is not tied here."

"You also called me your Queen in front of Hoggle, but on our date you said that you saw me as the Queen, but not yet your Queen."

"While it is true that you are not my Queen in the possessive sense, as Keeper of the Labyrinth you wield the same power and responsibilities as myself. You are an intrinsic part of the realm that I have vowed to protect. As such, you are my Queen."

"Your logic is a bit twisted."

He smirked. "As well as the fact that referring to you as such ruffled Hogwit to no end."

She rolled her eyes. "You know, it's no wonder Hoggle grumbles at you so much."

"It has been a habit for over three hundred years."

"You are incorri-"

A knock on the broom closet door interrupted, Sarah opened the door and a small, worried looking goblin shuffled in, he had a torn tunic that was dusted with a few tufts of orangey hair. "Um… Kingy… kitty still here."

Sarah frowned in confusion, "Are there no cats in the Underground?"

"There are a few, but none that color, nor so large."

"Didn't you say that only ruling monarchs can alter the Labyrinth permanently?" Her eyes narrowed "If Toby isn't ruling, why didn't all the creatures revert to their original form?"

…

Author's Note

As I wrote the line "Are there no cats in the Underground?" I got the song "There are no cats in America" stuck in my head.

Thank you to all those who took the time to leave a review, Alleyoop1234567 (who was my 100th review on this story!) mae-E, and Guest 2022 and RMBiehl. And thanks to everyone else who faved or followed.

I still don't own Labyrinth or its characters.