DISCLAIMER. As you must all know by now, I own nothing. Labyrinth belongs to Jim Henson.

AN: Here's a nice long chapter for you all! Don't forget to review! :D

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Chapter 9.

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It was cold, and it rained.

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All sorts of things were running through Sarah's head as she rushed around in her bedroom, and opened her closet. Why had she suddenly become so concerned about the Goblin King's well-being?

Because he's the only hope I've got of ever seeing Toby again, she thought.

And yet it was not just that, was it? True, she may not be on the best of terms with the man, but that did not mean she wished death upon him. And after the amount of times he had saved her life, she owed him one.

Sarah pulled out a pair of jeans and started to pull them onto her slender legs.

She only hoped that this was not a cruel trap to set her back in his Labyrinth. But deep in her heart she knew that was not the case. She had seen Jareth in his weakened state - surely he would never fake that. It would wound his ego too much. Not to mention, she herself had seen the blue light that flew out from his fingertips.

Sarah pulled an olive green shirt over her head and then grabbed a pair of brown boots. She rushed into her bathroom and brushed her teeth as it might be the last chance she had in a long time.

Oh, god, what have I gotten myself into? Sarah thought as she started brushing her long, dark hair. She pulled it up into a high ponytail before she walked back into her closet and pulled out a black leather jacket.

Sarah eyed herself over in the mirror quickly before she decided that she looked ok... Not that it mattered of course.

Sarah bit her lip and took a deep breath.

"Here I come, Toby," she said aloud.

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Jareth watched as Sarah walked back into the room. His breath caught in his throat. She looked beautiful, although he much preferred her hair down.

He rose from his seat on the windowsill and walked over to her slowly. He seemed to have gained some control over his emotions now, and his face had that arrogant, cold mask back on. He also seemed to have changed his white, blood-stained poets shirt. For now he wore a new black one.

Sarah frowned.

That means he's used some magic, she thought.

Her frown did not go unnoticed, and Jareth raised a brow. "Something troubles you?" he asked and strode towards her.

"Nothing. Well only...that is to say-"

"What? What is it?"

"Well, just that you have changed your shirt. I'm guessing you had to use magic to do that," she said, her words coming out more harsh then she had meant them to.

Jareth understood then what she must be thinking. The Goblin King cannot use magic to find her baby step-brother, but uses it easily enough to change his shirt.

"That is right, Sarah. I did use a little magic to change my shirt; I couldn't go on our journey with the one I was wearing, now could I? All ripped and stained."

He put both hands on his hips, looking down at her.

Sarah felt her hands turn into fists at her side. How dare he! What kind of sick game was he playing with her? Her eyes bore into his own, and she sneered up at him.

"Just what do you hope to gain from this, Goblin King?!"

Jareth seemed completely taken aback by her sudden outburst, and he actually staggered backwards as though the force of her words had thrown him off-guard.

"What are you talking about, Sarah?" he said, keeping his voice calm even though his real reaction would have been to raise his voice at her.

"What do you think?! Doesn't it seem a little bit strange that you are more than able to magically poof yourself a clean shirt, but when it comes to finding out where my little, hopeless, baby brother is, it takes too much magic?! You sick, twisted-"

Jareth cut her off before she could say another word. He placed his gloved finger over her lips.

"The magic I possess is very little, not enough for me to find out where your brother is, nor enough to transport myself anywhere. That was not a lie. My shirt was ripped and not warm enough to keep me alive outside in this weather, so I made a new one with a little of the magic that I still have. Although it does take magic to make myself a new shirt, it won't drain me as much as it would to find out where your step-brother is. However, it was selfish of me to do so, and for that I am more than sorry."

Sarah gazed into the blue eyes of the Goblin King. She was more than shocked at his calm words. She swallowed hard. He never once stopped looking into her eyes. Slowly his gloved finger moved from her lips.

"I promise we will find Toby, Sarah, and soon he will be back in the safety of his sister's arms. Even if I have to die trying," he said, pulling Sarah into his arms and hugging her tightly against him.

Sarah gasped at the sudden contact but did not push him away. She needed comfort, and in that moment, so did Jareth, for both of them had lost something special to them.

It felt like hours later when Jareth finally released her, but it had actually only been a couple of minutes.

"Do you have everything you need ready, Sarah? You may want to pack some food and blankets. I'm not certain how long this trip for us will be, but best pack enough for three nights," he said, his voice strong but kind.

Sarah opened her mouth to say something, but no words would leave her lips. So she nodded and quickly dashed out the room.

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Sarah packed as much to eat in the backpack as possible, as well as a couple of bottles of water, bandages, matches, a sharp knife, and two blankets. Sarah sighed as she realized she could not fit much more inside the bag she had found in her closet.

She was about to zip the bag up and then leave the room, but her eyes were drawn to a familiar cupboard to the left side of her kitchen. She hesitated but then rushed over and opened the door; she found a bottle of rum there. She quickly put the bottle into the backpack then quickly zipped it up then swung it over her shoulder.

It was heavy, but everything in the bag was necessary for their journey.

She walked into her bedroom again. Jareth stood at the far end of the room. His long cloak was now back on his shoulders.

"Um...I'm ready," she said nervously, even though she did not feel nervous at all.

Jareth held out a gloved hand to her. "Hold onto me. It might take a little longer than usual, but keep your eyes closed and don't let go of me and we should be alright," he said, his hand still held out to her.

Sarah sighed and took one last look around the room. This place was filled with memories. Bad memories. She would actually feel relieved to leave this place. Slowly she took the Goblin King's hand in her own.

He smiled and pulled her towards him.

"Don't let go," he whispered softly before he conjured a crystal. He winced in the pain that shattered through him but ignored it, and threw the crystal to the ground. Smoke and glitter surrounded them and Sarah felt a weird sensation overcome her. She closed her eyes tightly and hugged onto Jareth for dear life.

She felt dizzy and slightly nauseous, but she tried not to focus on it.

Just keep your eyes closed, Sarah, she told herself again. She kept her eyes shut even as she felt the ground under her feet.

His arms untied themselves from around her thin frame. It was only when Jareth chuckled that she realized that she was still holding onto him for dear life. Blushing and opening her eyes, she pulled away from him quickly.

"How do you feel?" he asked her gently, his face one of concern. No longer did he have that look of the proud Goblin King.

"Fine. A bit dizzy but I will survive," she said. "But are you okay?" she asked, noticing his tired expression.

"I'm alright," he said, his face turning once again back into the proud Goblin King.

Sarah knew this was not the case, but she did not question him any further. She sighed when she saw the Labyrinth before her eyes.

"Well...that's a sight I never expected to see again," she whispered.

Jareth looked out at the Labyrinth and sighed sadly. Soon this place would no longer be his land. His kingdom. He felt the pain in his chest and closed his eyes tightly.

Sarah stood with her back to him, her hair blowing softly in the wind as she looked out onto the twists and turns of the Maze before her.

His heart pounded hard in his chest at the sight. Sarah was back in the Labyrinth. Every night he dreamed of her return, but not on these terms. He wished and dreamed that she had returned to the Labyrinth to become his Queen. But sadly that was the only thing it would ever be.

A dream.

Sarah turned to look at him, and he swept his thoughts aside for a moment.

"Sarah, we go this way rather than through the Labyrinth. Once it feels your feet under its stone, it will know that we are here, and it will kill us both. We must watch where we tread and must be careful of what and whom we speak of," he said, his hands upon her shoulders. He looked her directly in the eyes to show her just how important this was.

Sarah nodded.

"Good," he said and began walking down the sandy hill they stood upon. "Follow me Sarah," Jareth called as he walked into the trees that surrounded the walls of the Labyrinth.

Sarah watched as Jareth strode off. She sighed and rubbed her arms to try and create warmth for her cold arms.

Well, what a day it had been. First Toby had gone missing, and then she found out that the man who played the childhood villain was in love with her.

Sarah watched him closely.

Did he really feel those things for her? Or was it all an act? She still did not know what to believe.

Sarah smiled as he tripped up on a branch and completely wounded his ego. He turned back to make sure she had not seen and actually turned five different shades of red when he caught her amused smirk.

Sarah smiled as he quickly walked on as if nothing had happened. She bit her lip as she realized that she was attracted to him. He was a handsome man, there was no denying that.

He stopped walking suddenly and turned to look back at her.

"Aren't you coming?" he called.

Sarah shook the previous thoughts from her mind and quickly ran after him, being careful not to drop any of the belongings she had brought with her.

"Sorry I was...thinking," she said, pulling the heavy backpack over her shoulder again.

Jareth smirked but said nothing, which made Sarah wonder for a moment if Jareth knew what she was thinking. She blushed at the thought.

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They walked for what felt like days, but in fact had only been about five hours. Sarah's back hurt, and she was beyond exhausted and cold. Jareth had said very little while they had walked, only speaking when spoken to. It was a little more than awkward.

When Sarah tripped up on a log for the third time that day, she decided it was time to break the silence.

"Jareth, please, can we have a rest now? My back is killing me," she said taking off her backpack. Jareth turned to face her.

"Of course Sarah, but not yet. We are not safe here. Let us find shelter, and then we shall rest for the night. We have been walking for over five hours now," he said, and he started to walk on again. His pale hair was blowing in the wind, and rain started to fall from the darkening sky.

Sarah zipped up her leather jacket, annoyed that she had not brought her warmer coat with her.

ONE HOUR LATER

Sarah groaned in annoyance as rain began to pour down from the sky even harder than before. She was drenched, tired, hungry, and sad. She missed Toby more than words could describe, and the worry she felt for him was making her miserable.

Jareth turned to look at her. She had taken a seat upon an old tree trunk, her hands over her eyes, the heavy backpack resting upon the floor. Jareth walked over to her.

"Sarah, we don't have time to rest right now. We at least need to find a little shelter before we do rest," he said.

When Sarah did not move, Jareth knew something was wrong. So he moved closer to her. He sensed something was wrong. "Sarah? Are you alright?"

Sarah sighed and removed her hands from her face. "I'm just wondering what I have ever done to deserve this," she said, looking up at him.

Jareth's brows furrowed in confusion.

Sarah knew he did not understand, so she continued, "I mean...what did I do that was so wrong that I lost all my family?"

Jareth understood then what she meant then and he sighed. "You did nothing wrong, Sarah. It is simply fate that has brought you here at this time. Everything will be alright soon," he told her softly.

Sarah looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears threatening to spill over. But no. She would not cry.

Jareth placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a loving look. "Come on, Precious, let's keep going. We will rest soon," he said softly before he picked up her heavy bag and continued to walk.

Sarah stood and followed after him quickly. She did not fancy getting left behind in the pouring rain with nothing but the shirt on her back.

"Whereabouts are we?" she asked as she looked around the strange forest. Each tree was twisted and had a fine sprinkling of glitter on them, as well as cobwebs. One thing was sure, this was definitely the Underground.

"One can't be sure, but I imagine we are on the outer skirts of the Labyrinth by now," he said rather breathlessly.

Sarah looked at him slightly concerned. "You need to rest, Jareth. Can't we stop here?" she asked again, knowing that he was more exhausted then he would ever admit. She hated the way she cared.

Jareth turned to face her. His normally wild blond hair was so wet that it looked dark brown, and flat, not like its normal poofy self. At any other time, Sarah would have laughed at the sight of how very un-goblin kingly he looked. But with how white his face was, and how his eyes looked so dark and tired, she could never laugh.

"Come Sarah, there is a cave about two miles away from us now. I remember it from when I was a boy," he said, turning away from her and walking on.

Sarah rushed after him quickly. "Hey, just wait a second, please."

Jareth stopped walking and looked at her. He was too tired to keep stopping; he just wanted to walk on and get to the cave so that they might get out of this goddamn rain.

"Let me take the bags...you-you need to keep your strength up. I will take them, and you lead the way," she told him softly.

Jareth smiled, and his heart was warmed by her words. He traced his leather-gloved hand over her cheek, and she jerked back slightly.

"My sweet, unselfish Sarah." His smile broadened at her confused expression.

"That is why I love you. Because of your unselfish nature, your desire to help others around you, even when you yourself are in turmoil. That is why I love you, Sarah-mine." He removed his hand from her face and walked on, her bag still over his shoulder.

Sarah tried to ignore the way her heart jumped in her chest. Nobody had ever said anything like that to her. She felt her eyes become glassy with tears as she watched him walk on. She had definitely misjudged him.

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Sarah wanted to cry from relief when she saw the cave ahead in the distance. Finally she could rest her aching body.

Jareth walked into it slowly, as it was too dark inside to see anything. He conjured a crystal, and blue light filled the cave. He hissed in pain but recovered quickly and walked further into the cave.

"Yes. We may rest here tonight," he said as Sarah entered the cave.

Jareth placed the heavy bags onto the dirt cover floor.

Sarah started gathering some of the twigs from the ground and started to put them into a pile.

Jareth watched her for a moment before he joined her in gathering a couple of twigs.

"Are you sure we'll be safe in here?" she asked as she looked around the cave. It was not very big, but big enough for her and Jareth to stay in for the night. The thought of her and Jareth staying together for the night seemed a little more than weird.

Jareth put his twigs down next to the ones that Sarah had collected. He grabbed two flints from the floor and started to rub them together, trying to create a fire.

"Yes Sarah, we are more than safe in here. Not to mention it is shelter from the rain."

Sarah walked over to her bag and got out the box of matches she had packed earlier that day.

"Here... probably easier than using those rocks," she said, kneeling down onto the floor next to him. She tried not to smile at his perplexed expression.

"What is that?" he asked looking at the box of matches she held in her shaking hands.

Sarah laughed.

Jareth kept his confused expression on his face.

"Jareth, it's a box of matches. Surely you've seen matches before?" she said, not bothering to hide the amusement in her voice.

"No Sarah, here in the Underground, we use magic to get fire," he said, taking the box from her and opening it to examine the contents.

"But now that I see them, I have seen the Dwarf use one of these before," he said throwing a match into the twigs they had both set out.

Sarah rolled her eyes and took the box from him. "Yes, I remember Hoggle lighting one when I was in the oubliette," she said as she took a match out the box. She ran the match over the stone wall of the cave, and it lit.

Jareth watched her in awe.

Sarah watched his innocent expression. He was so intrigued, almost like a child when seeing something for the first time. He seemed truly amazed at what she had done.

Sarah threw the match into the twigs and then placed a bigger bit of wood onto the fire. She sighed happily as the fire caught light and started to warm the cave a little. She smiled to herself.

She was proud of herself for bringing matches.

Jareth watched her as she warmed her hands on the little fire, and his heart somersaulted in his chest. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. She was clever and kind and-

Sarah felt eyes upon her, and she tilted her head up to look at him nervously.

He smirked at her expression. She was nervous. After everything they had gone through today, she was still nervous around him. He tried not to feel the hurt that built up inside him.

"Um... you want something to eat?" she asked, trying to be less awkward.

Jareth nodded.

Sarah pulled the bag closer to her and unzipped it. She was greeted by the bottle of rum she had packed. She ignored the way it invited her to drink from it, to drown away the stresses of today. Sarah quickly shook her head and rummaged through the bag. Eventually she pulled out a flask of soup which to Sarah's delight, was still warm. She poured some of the soup into two plastic bowls she had packed with her.

"Here. Eat it while it's still a little warm," she said handing him the bowl.

Jareth smiled his thanks and took it from her.

Sarah pulled out some bread from the bag and handed some to him, which he also took.

He began to eat quickly. He had not realized how hungry he had been until the smell of fresh, warm soup hit his nostrils.

Sarah watched him eat. Although he was eating it very quickly, he was so graceful. She looked away and began eating her own food.

Five minutes passed quietly as they both ate their food and only when the man next to her sighed contentedly did she look at him.

He had finished his soup and bread, and now he was sated with his back against a large rock, his gloved hands over his flat stomach. His eyes closed as he laid his head back against the rock. For the first time today, he looked rested.

Sarah pulled a blanket out from her bag and handed it to him.

"Here," she whispered.

Jareth smiled and took it from her. "I thank you, Sarah-mine," he said, watching as she pulled her own blanket from her bag and placed it over herself.

He put his blanket over his legs and watched as Sarah hugged her knees, her blanket over her shoulders. He noticed she was shaking, and before he could stop himself, he was sitting beside her.

Sarah felt a twinge of uneasiness work through her, but did not say anything. Instead she lay down on the floor and pulled her thin blanket over herself, right up to her chin. She shivered bitterly. The stone on the floor was making her colder, and being wet was not exactly helping the situation.

Sarah jumped out of her skin when she felt an arm wrap around her waist.

"W-what are you d-doing?" she asked, startled.

"You are shivering, Sarah. You need body heat," he said, pulling her closer to his lean body.

She was surprised at how much heat radiated off him, and she relaxed slightly against him.

He sighed, his warm breath against her ear made her whole body shiver.

"Why are you so warm?" she asked quietly.

"The magic that is leaving me is making my body heat up. Almost like a temperature when you are unwell," he said his voice sounding silky smooth against her neck.

Sarah thought for a moment. Was she actually going to let Jareth hug her? Or was she going to kick her ass into gear and move the hell away from him? After a minute she decided that it was a better idea to stay in his arms. He was warm, and she was too cold to move away from him.

Slowly she placed her hand upon his own gloved one that rested upon her waist.

"Thank you."

Her voice was so quiet he was almost unsure that she had said it at all. But when the warmth of her hand fell upon his, he knew his ears had not deceived him.

He held back a moan as pleasure ran through his body at being touched by the woman he loved.

"You're welcome, Precious," he said before he took a deep breath.

In that moment, he had never felt so content in all his life. True, he was a little wet, powerless, and in a cave, but none of that seemed to matter as he held Sarah in his arms.

The woman who had haunted his dreams every night for six and a half years was lying sleepily in his arms. Her scent radiated off her, and he closed his eyes to take in the moment.

Her body was pressed tightly against his; her hand rested upon his own. It was almost too much for him. He smiled against her head and nuzzled his face into her hair.

Her breathing evened out, and he knew she had fallen asleep.

His heart skipped a beat in his chest as she squeezed his hand in her sleep. Even though he knew Sarah did not care for him in the way that he did for her, he was sure that she was grateful for all he had done for her, and that meant just as much to him. He loved her, and if she did not love him, then it did not matter too much. As long as they could be friends, he did not care. Just as long as she remained by his side, he would be happy.

He shifted just slightly closer to her, and slowly he placed a gentle kiss against her soft cheek. He lingered for a moment before he whispered softly against her cheek.

"Goodnight, my love."

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Well? what do you all think? ;) promise I will get a another chapter out soon! don't forget to review.

Thank you to tmwillson on DA for editing this for me :)