"Sky's Eclipse"
Chapter 39
By Aiijuin

*Disclaimer: I don't own anything Jim Henson or Labyrinth. Gröeg was originally designed by Brian Froud and catalogued by Terry Jones in Brian Froud's "The Goblins of the Labyrinth". This fanfiction is rated M for some harsh language and adult situations. Gavin King is Jareth, the Goblin King, for those who have jumped into the middle of the story. Jeremy Eden is from the original Henson script of "Labyrinth" as the man who wrote the "Labyrinth" playbook that Sarah was reading from, in the beginning of the 1986 movie.
Be warned! Although this is a Sarah/Jareth romance story, it is also a profoundly dark fairytale!
**NOTE: Story numbering is behind by 1 chapter, because there is a prelude, which is not considered a chapter. Fanfiction . net automatically assigns numbers to the chapters by default, which I have not control over. Thank you!

Chapter 39: EEG, OMG!

Gavin had quickly recovered from his injuries and was released from the hospital in a day or so. Sarah however, was treated for exhaustion and completely unrelated complications that should have ensued from a gunshot wound to the head.

When Gavin had told his part of the story, the doctors looked at him strangely. Of course, he left out the part about the monster under the bridge and the ravens eating the man alive and such…

He kept it simple. Five men wanted to rob him in the park, and shot Sarah in the head during the struggle. The doctors couldn't find any gun wound, nor did Sarah have any sign of being manhandled by the thieves in any way. There wasn't even a bruise where the gun had been pressed against her face!

Sarah was being moved into another wing, and her family was nearby in a waiting area. A neurological specialist came in with an intern close behind him. The intern was holding a clipboard with test results from Sarah. Toby wasn't present, because he had to go to school.

Robert stepped forward and asked solemnly, "If there's nothing wrong with my daughter, then why are you keeping her in here?"

The doctor answered, "I'm sorry if the hospital has misinformed you of your daughter's situation, but after running thorough tests on her for the possible lodging of a foreign object, namely a bullet, in her cranium, and testing to make sure there wasn't any brain damage that could have ensued from her possibly being hit on the head by a blunt object…"

Gavin interrupted, "But nothing hit her on the head…"

The doctor held up a finger to show that he wasn't finished speaking. When Gavin silenced, the specialist said, "Mr. King, you may not be aware, but when we are treating victims of assault and battery, we are mandated to complete a full spectrum of tests that may be related or unrelated to what may have occurred. Most of Sarah's tests came out very good, and some even perfect. She had high levels of exhaustion and her endorphins were very elevated, but that is normal for someone who has been through such a mentally stressful event."

Karen tapped her foot impatiently, "So, why are you here, and why is Sarah still here if everything is okay?"

"I was getting to that Mrs. Williams," the neurological specialist answered. "Sarah has a very unusual brain wave pattern that we retrieved from the EEG. It's like nothing I've ever seen in a conscious and fully functioning person. Her Delta brain waves are off the chart and moving much too fast, while her Alpha and Beta waves are extremely slow and low."

Gavin raised his eyebrows and said, "Yes, but what does that mean exactly?"

"It's like this Mr. King," the specialist explained. "The human brain has four levels of waves. There are the Alpha Waves, which are common for a relaxed state of wakefulness, and then there are Beta Waves, which occur when we are mentally alert or concentrating on a problem or other such visual stimuli. There are the Theta Waves, which are indicative only in small children, but extremely abnormal in adults. Sarah's Theta Waves were normal for her age. Finally, there are the Delta Waves, which are only seen during deep sleep or during anesthesia when the reticular system is slowed."

Karen shrugged, "I'm sorry, but I don't understand any of this! What are you trying to tell us?"

The intern stepped from behind the doctor and answered, "Delta Waves seen in an awake adults indicates brain damage, Mrs. Williams. Technically, at the brainwave levels that your daughter's mind is processing, she should either be comatose, sleeping, or tranquilized. However after speaking with her, she seems very alert and mentally sharp."

The specialist stepped back into the conversation by saying, "Technically it's like this, Miss Williams is wide-awake while dreaming. Do you understand?"

Robert shook his head, while Karen and Gavin nodded. Both the specialist and the intern could tell from the blank looks on their faces that none of them really understood.

Gavin finally prodded, "So, you're keeping her here because she's apparently coherently sleepwalking?"

"No, Mr. King," The specialist answered. "We would like Sarah to schedule a catscan with a local medical center and have several nodes hooked up to her for further follow-up testing, but otherwise, even though her brain condition is unusual we've cleared her papers, and she's free to go from our department."

Robert folded his arms as Karen balked, "Then, where are you moving her? Is she a science experiment now? Why can't she just go home?"

The intern stepped into the conversation again, and answered, "I have the hospital charts right here, Ma'am. Williams, Sarah… Ah, here it is! Yes, I'm sorry for the confusion. Our discussion about Miss William's brainwaves, and where the hospital is moving her are two separate subjects. It seems Sarah is being moved into the neonatal wing of the hospital."

Karen and Robert's faces dropped in shock. Gavin just shook his head. Everyone seemed to speaking a foreign language to him. That is until Karen finally blurted out, "Wait a minute! Are you telling me that Sarah is pregnant?"

The intern nodded, smiled, and said, "Don't worry, Mrs. Williams. I'm sure your daughter's baby is absolutely fine. We just don't take any chances that something could have happened, and that department is simply going to monitor the fetus and the mother for a day or so, especially since Sarah's physical exhaustion was so extreme. The baby's vital signs are looking great on the charts, and the amniotic fluid levels were normal for the baby's development. We have a few ultrasound pictures, but Sarah's still very early in her pregnancy, so we don't have a gender yet for the fetus."

Gavin was still overcoming the shock of the news that he had heard, and didn't realize that Robert and Karen were staring directly at him. The intern and the specialist walked out of the room, and if they had said anything else, then neither Robert nor his wife, nor Gavin had heard a word they said.