Chapter 9: Benign

"Master, forgive me. I tried calling her several times yesterday and today. She either has not been at home or is not answering her phone."

"I want results, Todd. You have a week until you feel my displeasure. Sarah Williams is the key to our success. I don't care how you do it anymore, just get me the information I need by the end of seven days hence!"

Todd bowed low before the mirror that showed not a reflection, but the image of his enraged Master. "Yes, Master, it shall be as you say."

He glanced back up to see the mirror shimmer and return to its normal self. Letting out a sigh of relief, he rose and covered the mirror with a black satin sheet once again then left the room. It was true that Sarah Williams was the key to their success, but what was he suppose to do when she didn't answer her phone, barge in and demand she go on a second date with him? Todd shook his head in disgust and moved into his apartment's small kitchen.

If there was one thing he had to praise the mortals for, it was their ingenious ways of getting things done without magic, like plumbing. He drew himself a glass of water from the tap, but halfway through drinking it, he stopped. The glass slowly came back down and his eyes were glazed over. Why couldn't he approach her at her own home? He knew where she lived; perhaps she was simply busy and didn't want to answer her phone? He grinned and continued drinking his water, his mind made up to visit Sarah on the morrow.

o O o O o O o

Sarah awoke to a dull throb in her head. She grimaced and tried to roll over to bury her face in the pillow, but found she couldn't because of another body lying quite close to her. Her eyes popped open to see Jareth, still asleep. He was lying on his side, one arm draped over her abdomen, the other propping his head. He looked so peaceful.

It took Sarah a moment to figure out why he was in her bed until she realized that she wasn't in her bed either. She looked around at the hospital room, the previous day's events rushing back to her. Although the latter half of the day was a bit blurry, she did remember Jareth helping her into a cab and giving the man directions to go to the hospital.

She grimaced as her head throbbed again and she put a hand to it, moaning slightly at the pressure. "Sarah?" a voice like velvet asked beside her. She glanced over to see Jareth, awake and looking at her with concern. "Did you want me to call a healer?"

Sarah managed to nod, and he rose to poke his head out of the door. A minute later, a nurse in a turquoise set of scrubs bustled in the door a cup with pills in one hand and a cup of water in the other. She pulled over a table on wheels and set the two cups on it. "Here you go, dear. I imagine that bump on your head must hurt a bit," she said.

Sarah nodded and threw back both pills in the cup then swallowed them both with a gulp of water. "Thanks," she mumbled as she set the cup back down and leaned back on the pillow again.

The nurse smiled and nodded. "I'll just go get Dr. Goetz. He's in early today and wanted to know when you woke up," she said before exiting.

"What time is it?" Sarah's voice cracked as she asked.

Jareth glanced at the clock on the other side of the room, "About eight a.m… Sarah, I am so sorry about what happened last night."

"Jareth, don't start that again. It was my own fault, nobody else's."

"It's just…"

"Shh! I don't want to hear it."

He quirked an eyebrow. "For your will is as strong as mine," he quoted.

Sarah grinned, "That's right."

A moment later, the doctor walked in, white coat swirling around him. "Good morning. I'm Dr. Goetz, Sarah's attending physician," he reached out a hand to shake Jareth's. Jareth looked at it for a moment before hesitantly grasping it. The doctor looked at the clipboard in his hand. "I see that we took a bit of a fall yesterday. How are you feeling, Sarah?"

"My head still hurts, but the pills the nurse gave me seem to be helping."

Dr. Goetz nodded. "Good, good… now, I have your CAT scan results here," he pulled a folder out from under the clipboard and flipped it open. "Have you been having any headaches of late, Sarah?"

"Some, but I figured it was just stress."

"Hmm, yes it is often mistaken for it," the doctor nodded and pulled a sheet that looked like an x-ray result from the folder and handed it to Sarah. "Do you see this spot right here?" he pointed out a darker area in the top back half of her head. "This is a tumor. Before you ask, it's benign and small enough that there isn't much to worry about. However, I'd like to set up appointments for you to come back in so we can monitor it. In fact, it might be a good idea to remove it."

"But I thought you said it was benign?" Sarah asked still staring at the dark spot on her brain.

"It is, but because it's causing headaches, it might be better to remove it before it grows anymore."

Sarah nodded, her mind curiously blank. She would have to have brain surgery… her gut seemed to clench at the thought. "When – when would this happen?" she stuttered.

"Within the next couple of months would be best. I'd like you to come in again in a couple of weeks then we'll see if it's changed at all and decide from there how soon it should come out." Sarah nodded and handed the sheet back to him. "You're free to check out anytime you want, but your head is probably going to hurt for another week or so at best. A couple of Tylenol should do the trick."

"Thank you," Sarah answered in a flat voice.

"Just stop by the receptionist's desk to make that appointment," Dr. Goetz said before leaving.

Silence filled the room for a moment until Jareth broke it. "Sarah? What does he mean? What's wrong?"

Sarah continued to stare ahead as though in a trance, but she answered, "I have a growth in my head… here," she pointed at the back of her head. "It isn't cancerous, but they want to remove it before it has a chance to grow or become more."

"This is good isn't it?" Jareth asked cautiously, moving closer to her.

"Yeah, but… Jareth I'm scared," she turned to look at him, tears starting to well up in her eyes. He swiftly closed the distance between them and sat on the bed, pulling her closer to him. "This is brain surgery, Jareth. There's always a risk… of…"

"Shh… don't think about it," he whispered to her.

"But…"

"Sarah, I promise you everything will be fine."

"How can you say that? They're gonna cut my skull open then cut out a freakin' tumor from my brain!" she was working herself up into hysterics.

"Sarah, I won't let anything like that happen! I have a healer back in my kingdom who may be able to help, no cutting involved."

Sarah's sobs slowed, "What?"

"We have twelve more days until my trial. If the council deems me fit to rule again, I can take you back with me and have my healer attend you."

"And if the council doesn't deem you fit to rule?"

"We'll deal with that if it should happen, but I promise you I will do everything within my power to make the council rule in my favor," he continued to hold her close, rocking gently.

"Thank you," the words were small and said quietly, but he heard them and smiled.

"You're welcome, Sarah. Now, shall we get you out of this ridiculous gown and back to your apartment?"

Sarah giggled a little and nodded.

o O o O o O o

After checking out and making an appointment to return two weeks hence (if Jareth lost his trial) Jareth and Sarah returned to her apartment via taxicab. He insisted on helping her every step of the way and when they were finally in her apartment, he sat her down on the couch and told her to stay put. She reluctantly agreed and was pleasantly surprised when he came back out of the kitchen five minutes later with two mugs of steeping tea. "Thank you!" she said earnestly accepting her mug from him.

He sat next to her, tossing the blanket from the back of the couch over both of them. Sarah grabbed up the remote to the television and clicked it on, flipping through the channels until she found a movie that she liked. She settled back and sipped at her tea. Jareth watched the TV with curiosity; the tiny characters moving around inside of it with their dramas and unbelievable lines intrigued him to no end. After two hours, the movie ended and Jareth turned to Sarah to ask what she'd like to watch next only to find her fast asleep. He fell silent, figuring it was better for her to rest now.

Instead, he picked up the remote and flipped through a couple of channels until he found a show that interested him. It seemed to have more intense drama than any normal human life could possibly hold. It seemed that the father to Nicole's unborn child was missing in a place called Iraq and a man named Heath was trying to convince her that the father wasn't coming back and that Nicole should allow him to court her. When the episode ended with the cliffhanger of Nicole receiving a call supposedly from her baby's father, Jareth's mouth nearly dropped. However he was placated when the story continued in the next episode. The commercial in between indicated that there would be six more hours of the show in what was referred to as a marathon. He settled back further into the couch and was slightly startled when Sarah's head tipped over to rest on his shoulder. He smiled and continued watching the drama unfold before him inside the small box.

It was several hours later when Jareth was woken by the sound of someone knocking on the door. He looked around, realizing that he'd fallen asleep while watching the TV. Glancing over at Sarah, he found her to still be asleep, followed by another sudden knock on the door. Jareth was tempted to ignore it until he heard Jackie's voice from the hallway. "Sarah?" her muffled voice called out.

Jareth carefully extricated himself from the blankets and helped Sarah to lay down on the couch before answering the door. Jackie's surprised face greeted him. "Jareth! I wasn't expecting you to answer the door."

"Yes well, Sarah is sleeping at the moment," he replied looking towards the couch.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" she whispered. "I came to talk to both of you about the date, but I guess you can give me some of the nitty gritty."

He stepped aside for her to enter. Jackie slipped off her coat and hung it on a peg near the door before tiptoeing over to peek over the back of the couch at Sarah's slumbering form. She spotted the nasty bruise on her head and turned to Jareth mouthing the words, 'What the hell happened?'

He gestured for her to follow him, and led her up to the loft. "Well?" she asked.

"There was an accident when we went ice skating."

"I can tell, what'd you do, hit her over the head with a puck?"

One of Jareth's eyebrows rose, he was not amused. "I would never do anything to harm Sarah."

"Of course not, Jareth, I was just joking. What really happened?"

He related the story to her and she let out a low whistle. "Huh… last time I get to pick what happens on the date."

"It isn't your fault, Jackie."

"No… I know that, but I still feel somewhat responsible."

"There's something else you should know, but I feel that it's Sarah's place to tell you, not me."

Jackie gave Jareth a concerned look. He was clearly uncomfortable and wanted to tell her something, but unsure about it. "Jareth, if it helps, Sarah's confided in me in pretty much everything that's gone on in her life."

Jareth nodded, remembering that Sarah had said she'd told Jackie about the whole situation with Karen and Berkley Institute. "When we were at the hospital today, the doctor came in to show us Sarah's CAT scan results and revealed that she had a tumor."

Jackie covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh my god! Is it malignant? Where is it?"

"It's in her brain towards the top in the back, and he said it was benign."

"Oh thank God for that! So what are they going to do about it?"

"He requested that she come back in a couple of weeks and they would examine it further then decide how soon it should be removed."

"Oh she must be terrified! I know how much she hates hospitals."

"She was, until I told her of a healer in my kingdom that might be able to heal her without having to cut into her head."

Jackie's eyes widened. "Is it true?"

He nodded, "Yes, I just have to win my trial when the council comes to deem whether I am suitable to rule my kingdom." Jackie put a hand to her head. "Are you okay?" Jareth asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. This is just a lot to take in at once."

Jareth chuckled, "Yes, I suppose it is."

Jackie breathed in a couple of deep breaths before speaking again. "I suppose I'll come back tomorrow when Sarah is awake then."

"I think that would be best," Jareth agreed and led her back down the stairs and to the entryway. Jackie tugged on her coat, but before leaving she turned and whispered to Jareth, "You had better win that trial, Goblin King."

He gave her a reassuring nod before ushering her out the door, leaving him alone with Sarah. As silence crept over the apartment, he approached the couch to find her still in the same position as he'd left her. Carefully he reached out and brushed back a strand of hair from her peaceful face, glared at the large livid bruise on her forehead and sighed. He'd said he'd be there to catch her should she fall, and he'd failed. A grim kind of determination entered his eyes and he vowed that he would do everything he could to make sure nothing like this would happen to her again.

o O o O o O o

The next morning arrived to find Sarah still asleep on the couch, her head resting on a pillow in Jareth's lap. Jareth was sitting upright, his head leaning back on the couch in what looked to be a very uncomfortable position. Sarah was first to wake up; she was surprised she didn't wake sooner from the loud grumbles her stomach was making. To her memory, neither she nor Jareth had eaten anything yesterday except for a mug of tea.

She rose slowly from her spot. Once she noticed where she'd been laying, her cheeks flushed a bright red, but she smiled. He'd stayed with her yet again, even though she hadn't asked it of him. A dull thudding pain in her head just then made her grimace and she reached up to console it, only to hiss in pain as her fingers came into contact with the angry bruise. "Sarah?" Jareth's groggy voice questioned. Her hissing must have woken him. "Are you okay?"

"Not really, but I will be after I take some Tylenol," she answered rising from the couch to make her way to the bathroom.

Jareth followed, "Maybe we should wrap up your head so you don't accidentally bump it?"

"I'll be fine."

He frowned and an eyebrow rose, "Really, I think I might have to insist, Sarah."

"And if I refuse?" she asked before popping two pills in her mouth followed by a swig of tap water.

"Don't defy me, Sarah. You're no match for me," he said, quoting his words from the past.

She glanced over to see he was absolutely serious. Scoffing, she relented and sat down on the closed lid of the toilet. "Bandages are in the cupboard behind the mirror."

Jareth smirked a triumphant smile then moved to pull out a square of gauze, a roll of dressing to keep it in place, and some medical tape. He carefully placed the square on her bruise, but Sarah still grimaced in pain. "Hold this here for me please," he requested. She did as bid and he started wrapping her head to keep it in place. When he was satisfied, he placed a piece of medical tape on the end to hold it together. "There, that should do it."

He stood back and she rose to view herself in the mirror. "I look like some kind of escaped hospital patient," she commented.

"Yes, but at least your bruise won't pain you as much," he replied before leading the way out of the bathroom. She followed, shaking her head in exasperation; she'd keep the bandaging if it made him happy. "Are you hungry?" he asked making his way towards the kitchen. Sarah's stomach answered for her in a loud growl, which caused Jareth to laugh. "I'll take that as a yes. You sit, I'll cook."

"I'm not a complete invalid," she commented sulkily.

"No, but I'm insisting," he replied pulling out one of the kitchen chairs for her.

Sarah sat and watched as he moved about the kitchen preparing eggs, English muffins, and sausage. Once again, she was surprised with the ease with which he moved about the kitchen. He'd never struck her as the cooking type, but his claim to be good at cooking eggs was proven true when she was presented with Eggs Benedict. "I didn't know I had Hollandaise sauce," she commented before taking her first exquisite bite. "Mmm… you get to cook breakfast from now on!" she declared.

Jareth grinned, but merely took a bite of his own breakfast. They ate in silence for the most part until Sarah finished her last bite and set down her fork. "So, you seem intent on keeping tabs on me. What are we going to do today?"

"Well, Jackie will be coming over later."

"How do you know?"

"She stopped by last night while you were asleep. I told her about the visit to the hospital and what the doctor said," he said quietly as though afraid to bring the subject up. "I pray you can forgive me if you didn't want her to know."

"No, it's fine. She would have found out sooner or later," Sarah responded looking away.

Jareth frowned, he didn't want to bring the subject up, but he'd had to tell her. Suddenly a smirk came to his face. "I found something the other day in the loft I was hoping we could try."

Sarah looked back up, "Oh?"

"A game of some sort called Chinese Checkers?"

A smile crept across her face and she rose to retrieve the game. After setting it up on the kitchen table and explaining the rules to Jareth, they attempted their first game. Jareth proved to be quite the strategist and proved his mettle by winning three of the six games. "Okay, tie breaker," Sarah said after they'd reset the board again.

However a knock came at the door just then. Both looked toward it. "That must be Jackie," Sarah commented rising to answer.

However upon pulling the door open, she wasn't met with the dark brown eyes of her best friend, but the pale blue ice chips of Todd. "Todd!" she exclaimed.

o O o O o O o

A/N: And thank you for reading yet another chapter of The Reference. Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I gotta keep you coming back somehow! Anyway, this story is about to get very interesting. *wink*

Labyrinth (c) Henson & Co.

P.S.

Sorry if my medical stuff isn't that good. I'm not sure if you can tell if a tumor is benign just by looking at it on a CAT scan result.