Yes I know I suck majorly for not updating sooner but unfortunately the real world intruded too much and I had no time or energy to write.

But summer's here now and my second year of uni is finished so I should be able to focus on finishing this story. I can't believe I started it almost a year ago.

Thank you's go out to all those who reveiwed and Please please do so again. Tell me what you think of the new chapter. Please tell me if it make sense and flows right, if it doesn't I'll take it down and fix it.

Also pray to my muse so she won't desert me again and that the plot bunnies don't attack me too much so I can finish this story soon and put our poor characters out of their misery.

Enjoy :)

Chapter 24

As expected on the other side of the door stood the Goblin King he was holding a single rose. It was an old English variety in a soft peach colour. When she tore her eyes from the rose and fully took in the Goblin Kings altered appearance she had to gasp.

His usually untamed blond mane of hair was pulled back neatly into a ponytail. His dangerously tight breeches were replaced with black slacks that, although looser than his usual trousers, still conspired to look tight. He wore a midnight blue silk shirt, unbuttoned to his mid-chest, his amulet gleaming against his pale skin, he had a black suit jacket slung over one shoulder. He was still wearing his traditional gloves. The biggest change was his face, the upswept eyebrows were gone replaced with regular looking elegantly arched ones, even if they were rather well groomed for a man's. His usual markings or make-up, she'd never figured out what it was, but somehow the lack these features made his mismatched eyes even more compelling.

Knowing that she'd probably been caught staring she managed to say, "Come in." stepping out of the way to let him past dropping her eyes to avoid his devouring gaze.

Jareth knew that Sarah had taken a taken a few moments more than necessary to invite him in but refrained from commenting. He'd gone to great lengths to satisfy her wish for him to appear ordinary, unfortunately a fae male would still look attractive wearing sackcloth and ashes. It stroked his ego to hear the slight hitch in her breathing when she saw him but felt a need to suppress his own. She looked delicious and her unique scent, spice and peaches, washed over him from the apartment, but he could see she hadn't fully recovered, her eyes were still not the bright defiant green of six weeks ago and the make-up she wore didn't quite fully hide the dark marks under them.

As he walked past her it took all of his self control not to just sweep Sarah into his arms and never let go, but he knew his mortal would not appreciate such an action. He knew she must have noticed the want in his eyes as she refused to meet them. If being away from Sarah for 9 years was intolerable and then being banished from her side for almost two months maddening, being in the same room as her but not allowed to touch or hold her was pure torture. However it was a punishment that he could never forgo, to be in Sarah's presence even under these circumstances gave him hope.

As Jareth came through the door all Sarah could think was "Come into my parlour, the fly said to the spider." Jareth was most definitely a predator and his presence always made Sarah feel like prey. The Goblin King paused uncertainly when he had crossed the threshold, waiting for an indication of where to go next. She led him into her living room.

"Make yourself at home." She said gesturing for him to take a seat. "Can I get you a drink?" She felt rather inane asking but Karen had forced Sarah to learn how to be a good hostess.

Jareth had taken a seat in one of the armchairs, somehow contriving to look very regal. He declined the drink.

"Umm," She cursed herself for that hesitation as she took a seat on the couch opposite him, "I've already had lunch and fed Jay, he's taking a nap at the moment. I was thinking that we could all go out for a walk in the park when he wakes up?" She asked uncertainly. "I've made dinner reservations for later and um your parents agreed to babysit for me, actually they insisted."

Jareth smiled and responded, "I would love to join you and your son for a walk."

"Your parents seem to enjoy watching Jay, more than Karen and Dad do even and they adore babysitting him."

"My Father and Step-Mother have been hassling me to marry and try for children for over a century. Now they've found they already have one to spoil and there's another on the way." He pulled an annoyed face. "In fact the day you returned to the Labyrinth that was why Titania was there to persuade me into taking a wife."

"I can't imaging anyone persuading the Goblin King to do anything against his will." Sarah replied laughter tingeing her voice. She was finally relaxing and it made Jareth feel a small amount of hope.

"Oh I think you could persuade me to do anything." He began in jest but the continued in a more serious tone, "You have to understand Sarah, the fae are not human, our world is not run the same way. It's several centuries behind this world in many ways. If the High King ordered me to wed I would have little choice." He said trying not to spoil the mood. "I am lucky that no amount inducement from him would get a woman to agree to such a marriage." and that my Father seems to like you. He continued in his own mind

"I'd have thought you would have girls queuing out the door for the chance to become a your Queen." There was a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach when she mentioned Jareth and other women and a blush when she realized how the words could be taken, how she'd emphasised the words 'your Queen' and felt she had to try and cover so she tried humour. " Unless you dropped all of them into oubliettes as well."

Jareth pretended not to notice the blush but was secretly gratified and adored the reaction and he smiled at her attempt to be funny. "Sarah my "social life" shall we call it, has never been affected by my title or my position." He wanted to stop, to avoid the explanation that would follow but these were things that had to be understood by the woman he wished to marry. "It is not a stigma in the High court to have been a lover of King Jareth, son of Oberon, but what self respecting woman would want to be Queen of the Goblins, with only her husband for Fae companionship, for she would not try to befriend any of my subjects." It was obviously a sore point that his kingdom was not respected. "No runner before you even tried."

"I liked your subjects,"

To Jareth it sounded like she was saying ,'What those other women think doesn't matter,' and he loved her all the more for it.

"When they weren't trying to get in my way or give me poisoned peaches on your orders, although even then they did have certain adorable qualities." She said. "Does that mean I'm not self respecting?" She said it with a huge smile on her face.

"Are you trying to tease me, Sarah?"

"I wouldn't dream of it, your Majesty."

Feeling it was safer to go back to a previous topic than continue the one they were on Jareth said, "As to why my Parents love babysitting, most of the Fae count having a child as a blessing because it is so hard now for us to have them. The penalty for immortality seems to be decreased fertility, a problem that has increased since our divergence from the human realm. So all children are cherished, it is one of the reasons that the Fae hate the human race, not only were we evicted from this realm by the iron you refine and the toxins you pump into the atmosphere, but the worst sin of the human race in our eyes is the way you treat your children."

Sarah didn't have anything to say to that and dropped her gaze ashamed for what she was, what she did to Toby, wishing him away.

The Goblin King realized he had gone too far and quickly moved over to sit by his love, close but not touching. "Sarah you are not accountable for that."

"Jareth I wished Toby away, how am I not accountable?" She looked into his eyes and behind his concern she could still see it in his eyes, the disgust from her defilement at his hands, and it didn't help at that moment.

"You won him back Sarah, you paid your debt for a childish wish many times over."

She was almost glad when she heard Jay stirring in the other room. "I'll go get Jay ready for our walk." She escaped the room and Jareth made no attempts to stop her.

Ten minutes later she reappeared shrugging into a warm coat, the weather outside was still rather cold. "So are you ready to go?" She asked with a brittle smile on her face, Jareth could tell he'd almost blown it, again.

"Of course." He agreed and promised himself that for the rest of the day he would be a less serious conversationalist as he conjured a heavier jacket.

The silence lasted until they had reached the park.

"What is it like Jareth?" Sarah asked suddenly.

"Hmm?" He almost purred at her use of his name.

"Your kingdom, what is it like when spoilt little girls aren't traipsing through it, causing havoc?"

"Dull, there has been nothing but many years of unutterable tedium before you arrived and after you left."

"Many years? Jareth how old are you?" She asked not sure if she wanted to know the answer but there was so much she didn't know about him and what he had said in her living room showed just how much she didn't know about the world he was apart of.

The sudden question took The Goblin King by surprise as they followed a winding path, Sarah pushing her son in his pram with Jareth at her elbow aching to slip one arm around her waist. "Older than you." He said, trying to joke.

Sarah turned to look at his face. "I know that already," She replied with a more genuine smile, "I was hoping that you might be a little more specific."

"A lot older than you?" The remark earned him a nudge in the ribs from her elbow. He sighed. "Time isn't really something we keep track of underground, I have been the Goblin King since the time of Shakespeare if that helps."

"If you don't want to tell me exactly how old you are you could just say so." For some reason his avoidance was funny to Sarah, even with the daunting prospect of his being centuries older than her, there was now a true smile on her face and a hint of laughter in her voice. "Or is it that you don't want to admit just how much of a dirty old man you are for trying to ensnare a fifteen year old girl."

"Hey not so much of the old, in fae terms I am still a young man." He teased.

"So you admit to the dirty bit?" She laughed, a blush creeping up her face.

"No comment." Was all he could say. He knew she was teasing him but after what he had done to her he couldn't laugh at the remark.

After another few minutes of silence Sarah asked, "What's you sister like?"

"My sister? How ever did you know I have a sister?" The Goblin King was taken slightly of guard by the comment, apparently Sarah's thoughts followed impossible tangents.

"Titania told me about Eric and Diana. I've already met Eric and could quite happily spend the rest of my life avoiding him but I wonder what Diana is like."

"She is very kind and caring. When Father brought me to Avalon she adored me right away, the perfect older sister, she was the equivalent of sixteen human years at the time."

"How old were you?"

After a moments calculation he replied, "If I were human, ten perhaps, still very young. I know Titania wasn't happy with Father but she treated me like family even if she gave Oberon the cold shoulder, Eric was less pleased than even she was, he must have been, he was suddenly the younger son."

"What happened to your mother? If you don't mind me asking?"

"No I don't really mind, I was so young at the time I don't really remember, I was told she died suddenly."

"How is that possible if she was..."

"The fae don't age but we aren't invulnerable."

Maybe it was time for Sarah to ask the dreaded question, "Jareth what am I now? Humans don't have magic but I don't feel any different and I don't suddenly look like you or as ethereal as your folks so I'm not fae."

"I don't honestly know exactly what your receiving these powers has made you and forgive me if the thought of harming you to test your species is abhorrent to me." He tried to make it a joke but it went down like a lead balloon so he continued with. "You are still everything you were before."

Sarah stayed silent,

Jareth spent the next five minutes searching for the right change of topic. "So you became an actress?"

"Yes." she replied still feeling awkward. "I've managed to make a name for myself."

"And do you still enjoy it? I recall you were always at peace when acting in the park." Had she managed to find some happiness in his absence?

"It's hard to make-believe when you've seen the fantastic and lived to tell the tale, so to speak, the real world intrudes too much, but acting is close enough to magic to stave off despair. That's partly why I adopted Jay, he made it easier to be..." she trailed off unable to finish the sentence with, "away from you."

"You were waiting for me all that time in a world trying to stamp out magic." He sounded proud

"Well I wouldn't have had to wait so long if you'd felt like turning up."

"Forgive me Sarah but I nursed a grudge against you. The mere mention of your name in my presence was an offence. You were going to be my Queen, the consolation prize for failing my Labyrinth."

"What would have happened? I was so young Jareth I didn't know how the world worked back then, and you offered it on a platter." she said, half knowing what the response would be.

"Had you lost I would have done anything you asked. I would have sent Toby home to his parents, perhaps even you, had you wished to continue your education."

"Not likely, I hated High School." Sarah interrupted.

Jareth smiled briefly. "I won't lie, I would have married you at the first available opportunity, just so no one would ever be able to take you away from me." He paused, trying to think back to his plans and machinations. "Once you were my wife in name I would have sent you to Avalon, to learn from my parents until you were old enough to truly be my wife."

Sarah had to snort at that idea.

"Oh? Do you have some objection to that plan?"

"I remember the way you looked at me in the tunnels, in the ballroom, even in the Escher room and remember that you got me pregnant within a day of seeing me for the first time in nine years. Perhaps you would have dragged me in front of the first available priest to get a stain of legality on the whole thing but you would have thrown me over your shoulder and rushed me to somewhere private so you could ravish me ASAP. And being the hormone driven fifteen year old I was I probably would have let you."

Jareth was trying to keep a straight face and an even skin tone. No matter what benevolent scheme he had tried to justify his actions with he knew that Sarah's scenario was just as, if not more than, likely the path he would have chosen and now that she'd mentioned it the image were too pleasant to banish from his mind that hastily.

They carried on in silence for some time after that.

"I'm sorry for not approaching you correctly back then or six weeks ago. The one relationship that counts and I can't seem to get it right." He said.

"I get the feeling that the Fae are a spoilt race. Magic can get you anything you could ever want so you never have to truly work towards a goal." She started. "You aren't used to compromise and I'm never going to simply submit to you Jareth you have to accept that. I won't give in or give up or just fall at your feet."

"We can make this work Sarah," Jareth replied gently taking her hand in his own and pressing it desperately to his lips, "please say we can make this work. I may have once said I can't live within you, but now having had you so close to me I refuse to live without you."