Already Home

You think you're lost but that's not true; you simply lived a dream or two

You travelled all this way to find you never left your home behind

We have to finish to begin; we have to lose before we win

And soon we'll see that it isn't far from where we were to where we are

Home is a place in your heart

Every journey leads you back to where you start

Close your eyes, it's very easy

You'll find that you're already home.

"And the Emmy goes to…Sarah Williams!"

Sarah looked up at the stage as the music swelled and the audience applauded. The actress onstage was gazing out at her, or at least it appeared as if she were looking at her. Sarah glanced behind her. Meryl Streep leaned forward and smiled and said, "Congratulations."

"Congratulations for what?" thought Sarah. She looked beside her at Will Smith who winked and said, "Get up there."

Sarah swallowed the lump in her throat. Had they really called her name? Had she won an Emmy? Or was this that dream where she got up and gave her acceptance speech only to realize that she was completely naked?

There was only one way to find out. She slowly rose from her seat and stepped out into the aisle. The crowd was still applauding as she walked down the aisle and up the steps to the stage. Sarah stopped at the top step and looked down at her dress. So far, so good. She was still wearing her champagne colored vintage Valentino gown. She walked toward the podium at the center of the stage where a young actress waited with a gold statuette.

Sarah's heart began to pound wildly. She was going to accept an Emmy! She had always dreamed of this moment! She had practiced her acceptance speeches in front of her vanity mirror as a girl.

Sarah beamed as she went through the mental list of people she wanted to thank:

My mother, the beautiful and talented Linda Williams…

In truth, she hadn't spoken to her mother in over four years, but she still felt she should include her. She was her mother, after all.

My father and step-mother, my amazing little brother, Toby, my agent, Stephanie, my publicist, my director…

Sarah was still going through the list in her head when the actress handed her the statuette and stepped away. Her hand wrapped around the statuette and she turned toward microphone and… her mind went completely blank.

"I…I'd like to thank…" she sputtered into the microphone. She searched frantically through her brain for names, but none came. Except one.

"Jareth," Sarah blurted. Her face flushed bright red. She hadn't even invited him to come with her. He had been surprisingly gracious about it, but she could still tell he was hurt. Why hadn't she invited him?

"He's a liability," said a very haughty voice inside her head. "The Goblin King would have no doubt caused some kind of havoc. Maybe stolen one of Brad and Anjelina's kids or something."

"He doesn't steal children," Sarah silently told the nasty voice.

"Well," said the voice, "You really don't need all the questions and speculations about your love life that having Mr. Smexy McTightpants around would entail, do you?"

"I don't know. Maybe…"

"Besides," the voice continued, "You know that arrogant git would have stolen the spotlight. This is supposed to be about you!"

"Right," thought Sarah. "About me. As usual."

She sighed and looked down at the golden statuette in her hand. Her dream. Jareth had offered her dreams to her before and she'd refused. Somehow her fifteen-year-old self had had a brief moment of selflessness. Sarah told herself that she'd grown up since then, and that she wasn't the same selfish little brat, but had she really changed? Jareth had done so much to help her. He had patiently waited as she kept him at arm's length in order to pursue her career. He hadn't pressured her to give up her dreams. In fact, he'd been more than encouraging and she hadn't even invited him to come with her and share in her big moment. She'd been afraid that he would embarrass her, or raise questions she couldn't yet answer, or worse, shift focus.

"Way to go, Williams," she angrily told herself. "You've become your mother."

Sarah shook her head. She had learned nothing. She was still a stupid little girl playing dress-up and guarding her turf and turning a blind eye to the things that truly mattered.

"It's all junk!" she heard the Past echo. Sarah wondered if the Junk Lady was now in possession of an Emmy. She smiled at the thought, set the statuette down on the podium with a thunk, and gazed out at the waiting crowd.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen," she began calmly. "This is truly and honor, and there are lots of people I would like to thank. However, the person I most want to thank is Jareth." Sarah paused and looked beyond the faces in the crowd. "Jareth, wherever you are, I'm sorry I didn't bring you with me tonight. You should be here. After all, you probably had more to do with my success than anyone. I've been pursuing my dreams and desires for so long, and for what? To get a silly little statue? Do you know what I really want? Do you know what I really dream about?"

She paused again, trying to keep her voice from breaking.

"I dream about you, Jareth. I want to be with you. I…I love you. In fact…" Sarah took a deep breath. "I wish the Goblin King would come and take me away, right now!"

The auditorium fell completely silent. All eyes were on the green-eyed girl on stage. Suddenly, a breeze began to blow through the auditorium, ruffling teased hair and fluttering silk ties. Sarah smiled as the crowd began chattering and looking about for the source of the wind. She felt Jareth's presence behind her even before he spoke.

"Are you certain you don't want to stick around and collect a few more of those lovely little statuettes? They'd look quite nice over the fireplace," he said.

Sarah turned and looked at him. He was leaned casually against one of the decorative pillars on the stage. He wore an elegant long black tuxedo jacket with a ruffled silk shirt beneath it and sleek black pants. His wild mane of blonde hair was pulled back and tied with a black silk band. He raised an arched eyebrow at her, still awaiting an answer. Sarah squared her shoulders and looked him right in the eye.

"Take me home and make me a queen," she told him.

"You're already a queen, Precious," Jareth answered as he pushed off the pillar and stalked over to where she stood. He gathered her in his arms and kissed her fiercely.

The crowd in the auditorium watched in awkward silence for a moment before slowly breaking into applause. Jareth released Sarah and gave an elegant bow to the crowd who applauded even louder. Sarah just shook her head.

"Can we go to the after-party?" Jareth asked, turning back to her.

"No," Sarah answered. She noticed his little pout and leaned in close to his ear. "We'll throw our own."

Jareth grinned wickedly and offered her his arm.

"Then by all means," he purred. He waved his hand and they disappeared in a shower of glitter.


When asked, the producers of the Emmy Awards Show claimed that the disappearing act had been done with special effects and that what happened had all been "part of the show." However, no one could explain away the fact that Sarah Williams never returned to Hollywood. Occasionally, a young woman who resembled her was seen at a park with a blonde boy named Toby, but Sarah Williams the actress was never heard from again.


Meanwhile Underground…

"That was…interesting," Sarah said as she leaned against the Goblin King.

They were sitting on the throne, or rather reclining on it. Jareth had his legs thrown over one side and Sarah rested between them with her head against his chest.

"I hope your step-mother recovers soon," Jareth told her with a note of sarcasm.

Sarah giggled. "She'll be fine. She's a little high-strung anyway. Of course, after seeing goblins jumping out of the wedding cake, she'll probably have to double up on her meds."

It had been quite the scene. The step-mother of the bride had been given the honor of serving the cake to the guests, but just before Karen had stuck the knife in to cut the first piece, a goblin named Squib had jumped out and yelled "Happy birthday!" Karen had shrieked and nearly fainted and Sarah's father had had to take her out to the garden to collect herself.

"We probably shouldn't count on too many visits from your parents, should we?" asked Jareth.

"No, I don't think so," Sarah answered.

"What a pity," Jareth replied with a chuckle.

Sarah swatted him playfully on the arm. "Don't be mean," she said. "Besides, I'm pretty sure my brother will be a fixture here."

"That's fine by me, Precious," said Jareth. "You know I've always been fond of the boy."

Sarah sat up and turned around to face the Goblin King. "You're not still thinking of making him your heir, are you?" she asked.

Jareth gave her a wicked smile. "No," he replied. "I'd much rather make our own."

"You know I'm not ready for that," Sarah told him seriously.

Jareth reached up and caressed her cheek. "Of course, Precious," he purred. "But there's no reason we shouldn't practice."

"You are absolutely insufferable," Sarah told him, grinning.

"And you love me," he answered with a smirk.

"More than anything," said Sarah as she bent down to kiss him.

Jareth waved his hand and he and Sarah disappeared from the throne room, leaving a cloud of glitter and a pile of clothes behind. Squib sauntered into the throne room nibbling a large piece of wedding cake. He spotted Sarah's fluffy white gown in a heap on the throne and jumped up on it.

"Ooh, soft!" he sighed, running a grubby goblin hand over the ivory satin. He finished his piece of cake and licked his fingers and then nestled down into the dress and yawned.

"Happy birthday…" he mumbled as he drifted off to sleep.

The End


A/N:

Ok, so I totally lied about ending this with the previous chapter. However, this came to me in a twilight dream and I knew I had to add it.

If you're wondering about the musical the song lyrics are from, it's Andrew Lloyd Webber's production of The Wizard of Oz. "Already Home" was added by Sir Andy to close the show, and if you get a chance you should look it up and give it a listen. It's actually very nice.

Thanks to everyone who has liked and commented! I managed to find a few bits of wedding cake that hadn't been licked by the goblins and I've set them aside just for you!

Fanny