"Sky's Eclipse"
Chapter 40
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 40: Valentine Evenings

It was late in the afternoon, as Robert and Karen had to return home and make sure Toby was alright. Gavin opted to remain at the hospital and stay with Sarah. The neonatal wing was different and less gloomy than the other departments of the hospital.

Goofy fathers lined up at display windows and made faces at their newborn children in the main hallway. Grandparents squealed at the sight of their new grandchildren. The walls were painted in warm colors of sienna browns and bright yellows. There were balloons scattered everywhere, and even the nurses looked happier than in the other wings. People blocked the hallways embracing each other in joy, and Gavin had to squeeze through them several times just to get to Sarah's room. Hers was a little farther down the hall and more isolated from the other rooms. Gavin walked up to a room that was labeled as 13-A Neonatal ICU.

He walked in after tapping lightly on the frame of the entryway. There weren't any doors for privacy, because it was intensive care, but a curtain was drawn, so Sarah couldn't be seen.

Two female voices answered, "Yes?"

Drats, Gavin thought, they've placed her in a room with another person.

Gavin walked in and Sarah was finishing her conversation with the other woman. She looked like she had been crying. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen and her nose was beet red. She had a box of tissues on her lap and there were several crumpled ones in the palm of her hand. Her roommate was smiling as she finished, "Don't worry, hon. This is my third, and although things are going rough for me, I know you're going to be just fine."

"I hope so," Sarah whispered, then she recalled that someone was eyeing her from a distance. She jumped slightly as she caught sight of Gavin.

"Oh!" She exclaimed in a trembling voice, "I'm so sorry, Gavin. I didn't see you come in."

The roommate sensed that Sarah needed some privacy, so she drew the curtain across between the two of them. Sarah looked down, feeling sheepish and embarrassed. There was a fetal monitor hooked up to her abdomen, and she tried her best to hide it under the sheets. She did the best she could to smooth her hair without a mirror, and hoped she didn't look as bad as she felt.

Gavin pulled up a seat and could see the discomfort on Sarah's face. He was content to remain silent until she spoke. Unfortunately, his silence unnerved her even more. She finally broke down and exclaimed in a raspy voice, "Please, say something, before I go crazy. Please, anything… I don't care how ridiculous!"

Gavin jumped a bit and stammered, "Um…well, let's see. Your mother and father were here, but they returned home to make sure Toby is okay. Even though you probably can't tell from looking out the window, it's a very muggy day today. I think jacket weather is officially over…. Is this okay? Are these the words you want to hear, Sarah?"

Sarah exhaled with a loud sigh and smiled between tears, "Yes. Yes, it's perfect! I'm so sorry, Mr. King. I'm just not myself today. I wish I knew where I was mentally, but since I'm in here...in this place, I guess you understand… or not… I mean, how could you understand really, but I'm not- I'm not that kind of woman, you know? I'm a good girl, mostly…"

Gavin laughed and it was enough to relax Sarah a bit. He said jovially, "Well, I believe you're a 'good girl' mostly, when your not destroying Goblin Kingdoms and Troll Kingdoms."

Sarah stiffened up again. She touched Gavin on the arm, "My god, Gavin, what am I going to do? I can't remember how I got into this situation! I mean, I have an idea… but I swore both instances were just dreams. Or was it three times… Argh! I can't remember!"

Gavin squeezed her hand and asked, "Which instances, my Dear?"

Sarah looked around and dropped her voice to a whisper, "I can't remember what happened in the Troll Kingdom with Torok towards the very end. Did he… you know… did he 'get' me?"

Gavin shook his head and answered, "No, Sarah. I don't believe he ever touched you, at least not in that way. I never left you alone with him at anytime."

Sarah nodded and then her tears lessened. Gavin asked, "You mentioned three instances, Sarah. If your fear of Torok was the first, then what were the other two, Darling?"

"It's too far-fetched, and you'll think I'm insane," Sarah tightened her face in disappointment at herself.

Gavin touched her on the shoulder, "Now, now! I would think no such thing, Sarah. You should know me better than that by now."

Sarah gazed into his eyes with her beautiful green eyes. They were utterly luminous when they were dampened with tears. Gavin drew closer to her face, entranced by her beauty. "Well," Sarah struggled to say the words, "I think I was with… with him. You know….. Jareth?"

Gavin nodded, as Jareth he knew exactly what she was referring to. Sarah wiped her nose with the tissue in her hands, and continued, "After my memory blacks out in the land of the Troll King, I spent most of my time in a dream with Jareth. It happened twice. Toby woke us up at the carnival and I figured the first time was a really just a dream. Then, I made a wish as I was driving home from the carnival. I guess, I was just upset at your bitter attitude and feeling cold and wet, and… I don't know why, but I just wanted to return to that dream again."

Gavin continued to nod, as he hung on every word that fell from her lips. He recalled that he believed it to be a dream as well, until he found her sleeping in his bed and entangled in his bedspread the morning after. It had been the most invigorating and delightful 'dream' that he had ever partaken in.

Ballrooms and white gowns be dammed, thought Jareth with a smirk. Outwardly, Gavin just asked, "So what did you do next, my Dear? I did wonder how I got home that evening."

"I made an illicit wish," Sarah answered guiltily. "I swore, I swore – it had just been a dream... oh, but what a dream!"

Sarah lowered her eyes again when she realized that her last words sounded lusty and desperate. Gavin chuckled and tilted his head to the side, "I guess you ought to have been more careful what you wished for. Still, it sounds like you had a marvelous time."

Jareth thought back to the evening that he and Sarah wrestled in satin sheets within his master bedroom at the Henkies Mansion. Their two bodies were mixed in a shiny, black sea of limbs and lips under the soft, dark, rain-filled night. He could still recall the taste of her skin as it mingled with his. He could feel their hands and fingers locked together as they rocked each other in a soft rhythm throughout the night. They had laughed and sighed together as one, but there were very few words spoken between the two of them for the duration of that time. She didn't break any mirrors or burst any bubbles while the they 'danced' together, and Jareth remembered that it was his bruised ego that made him send her back to her parents' home without telling her the entire ordeal was not a dream and had really occured.

He cupped his hand under Sarah's chin and whispered, "Sarah, I…"

Just then a nurse walked into the room and checked Sarah's monitor and chart. She used a pen and checked off several items on the clipboard, then after scrubbing her hands in a nearby sink, she began to change Sarah's IV line. She looked at Sarah, and then at Gavin and asked, "Are you her husband, Sir?"

"Um, no," Gavin answered honestly.

The nurse didn't wait for any further explanations and said, "Well, I'm sorry, Sir, but visiting hours are over. Ms. Williams needs her rest, as I'm sure you do as well. You can come back at ten o'clock tomorrow morning, when visiting hours begin again."

Gavin rose from the chair and Sarah grabbed his hand to pull him close. She kissed him tenderly on the cheek as she whispered into his ear, "Since, I'm damned anyway, I might as well make the most of it. Goodnight, Gavin and 'Thank You' for listening."

Gavin smiled and replied, "You'll never be damned Sarah, of that I promise. I'll protect you until the very end."

The nurse pulled the privacy curtain back into place as Gavin walked out of the room. Gavin looked about the hallways and saw that the lights had been dimmed for the patients. When the three nurses in the hallway were busy maneuvering an incubator for a premature baby, he vanished in a cloud of glitter and reappeared back in the study at Henkies Estate.

He sat down at the desk with his head in his hands wondering how he had ever gotten into this mess and how he was ever going to explain things to Sarah. After a few seconds Jareth heard a familiar voice.

"Oui, mon Frère! You look like I feel."