A welcome surprise...

Sarah rushed blindly from her daughter's room rushing down the stairs into the living room, slamming into something solid. She didn't go sprawling backwards as she expected but was pulled forward by two strong hands. She let out a small yelp.

"Easy Sarah, it's me."

She gasped looking up into a pair of mismatched eyes on a pale face framed by long blond hair. Jareth grinned back at her, expecting her to embrace him. He was shocked when she slapped him hard across the face and backed away from him looking horrified.

"What did you go and hit me for?" He asked reaching for his cheek which stung from her blow.

"You bastard! Where have you been?" Her voice was cold and so angry. He had not seen her angry while he had stayed with her so this was a shock to him.

"I have been healing." He told her reaching for the sleeve of his shirt. He pushed it upwards and exposed his pale arm, completely healed. He pulled his sleeve back down and advanced toward her but she only backed further away. He stopped his advance looking completely confused. This was not what he expected when he returned. "Sarah..."

"Don't Sarah me!" She cried out at him. "You....you liar! You said that you would be back in a few days. It's been a week Jareth!"

"I realize that Sarah." He said calmly. "I didn't think that I would need so long to recover but Megmora would not let me leave until I was fully healed."

"Megmora??" Her voice was bitter and still so angry.

"My healer." He told her softly. What the hell had brought this on?

"You didn't even contact me!" Her eyes flashed hurt and raw anger.

"I couldn't contact you Sarah. Had I tried I would have had to start the healing process all over again. I could not use ANY magic until I was completely healed. It took longer then anticipated."

"Have you any idea how terrible this week has been and how it dragged by without you here?" There were tears in her eyes. She was beginning to break down. Her angry mask was falling away.

Jareth stepped toward her quickly, grabbing her hands and pulling them into his gloved ones. She tried to pull away but he wouldn't let her go. When she stopped struggling he leaned towards her, his voice a mere whisper. "I know exactly how agonizing it was, because I felt it as well."

"How could you have?"

Jareth blinked, a small amount of anger in his voice. "Sarah think about it, I spent a week away from you and Aryanna. Do you not believe that I felt that the time dragged by as well? And that my week was equally as awful as your own without you near me?" He leaned closer to her. He could feel her warm breath on his face. His voice was a whisper. "It was absolute agony not to be able see your beautiful face every morning....to see your smile." His grip on her hands lessened. The look on her face suddenly told him where her anger had come from...She was trying to hide her fear from him.

He sighed deeply. "You thought I wasn't coming back."

She exploded pulling back from him. "What did you want me to think when the days kept passing by and you didn't show up?!"

Jareth sighed again. "Oh Sarah...I told you I would return to you..."

"You told me you would return in a few days, not a week! How was I to know that your healing would take longer? The last man I loved left me alone and pregnant with his child. He never came back. Who was to say the next man I loved wouldn't leave me too?"

Jareth shook his head. "Sarah I would never leave you unless you wished it of me and..." Suddenly her words settled into his mind. "Did you just...Did I just hear...?" His breath caught in his throat. Had she just said that she...?

She stepped forward, her hand moving to touch his face softly. The anger that once burned in her eyes was long gone. She reached for his hair, brushing the stray strands that fell into his eyes back. Her eyes watched her own actions and then they locked with his eyes. He looked so vulnerable. She was afraid if she wasn't careful, her very words could cripple him.

"Yes Jareth...I love you..." Her voice was soft and calm.

The next few moments were of complete silence and Sarah panicked inside. She had just laid her heart and soul on the line and he had no reaction? A shuddering breath escaped the Goblin King's mouth along with a whimper. She had just...she really did...Was he dreaming? "Sarah...." Her name was another whimper that escaped him.

His breathing was unsteady and so was his balance. He rocked uneasily on his feet. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor with a crash, rattling everything in the room. Sarah stood watching him for a moment. His reaction had startled her. The Goblin King was on his hands and knees at her feet and he was trembling. Did her words have that much of an effect on him? Did he love her that much?

Finally she knelt in front of him on the floor and opened her arms to him. He fell forward toward her, burying his face into her hair and wrapping his arms around her. "My sweet Sarah." He whispered into her hair.

She gripped him tightly to her, tears stinging her eyes. "I missed you so much Jareth. I didn't think you would ever come back... "

He raised his head, holding her face in his hands. He kissed her forehead, her brow and then the tip of her nose. "I would never leave you Sarah...I love you."

Those 3 little words had more power in them then any weapon, modern or ancient. Had more power then technology, science or sorcery.

She looked into his eyes and saw such fierce love in them she nearly began to sob. How long had he been harboring such deep feelings for her? Had he loved her like this when she was merely a child? Or had this love grown from his time with her as an adult? She didn't know nor did she care. He loved her and that was all that mattered to her.

She leaned forward reaching eagerly for his lips and he gave into her, melting against her. Her hands buried themselves in his soft hair as she pulled him closer to her. He responded to her, placing open mouthed kisses on her lips. He was trembling, his hands shaking as he slid them down her sides to settle on her waist. The world was a blur around him. His love for her was overwhelming him. He was dizzy and he had to draw back from her, afraid he would hurt her with his bruising kisses and his long denied passion. He kissed her forehead and pulled her to him, embracing her within his arms and the folds of his dark cape.

His trembling subsided and he just held her, never wanting to let go. He stroked her hair and they sat in silence, reveling in the presence of each other. Suddenly something crossed his mind.

"Sarah, what are we going to tell Ary?"

Sarah sat up and faced him. Her eyes searched him for a moment still full of her love for him. "I don't want to tell her just yet." She told him softly.

"Why not?" He sounded offended.

"Because neither of us can be sure that this will even work. God knows that I want it to work Jareth." She reached for his face, tracing his cheek and his jaw. "But I will not bring my daughter into this until I am certain that it can. Ary loves you Jareth...like a father. I don't want her to be hopeful and then if things don't work out between us, she would be devastated." Her thoughts trailed to the crystal ball and Aryanna's dreams that swirled within it. She wouldn't tell Jareth what her daughter wished for just yet. She had to be certain they could make it together. She needed to be certain herself so that she too would not end up devastated.

"We can make this work Sarah..." He told her reaching for her face. The confidence in his voice mirrored the confidence and determination in his eyes.

"We can try to make it work, but we can't be certain. What will the future hold for us Jareth?"

"I want my future to hold you and Ary...I want you both in my life forever..." He inched closer to her. "I want to awaken every morning and the first thing I will see is your beautiful face. I want the last thing to see before sleep takes me for the night to be your face..."

"I want the same type of things...but we can't be certain that we'll have them."

"Where is all this doubt coming from?" He kissed her softly "Have faith in us."

"I have faith in us, it's the details that worry me. Where will we live Jareth? The Labyrinth, here? What-"

"Ssshhh. Stop all this. Let us live in the moment and talk things out later."

She knew that he was right and she collapsed against him, thankful for his return, his embrace and his love. She wanted this to work. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, to marry him and for him to be the father her little girl never had. But there were still many unknowns. She pushed the feelings of doubt, of reality out of her mind and let her love for him consume her.

"I want to court you Sarah...." He told her after a few silent moments.

She pulled back slightly. "You want to court me?"

"Yes..." he said breathlessly. "I want to take things slowly so that we make no mistakes. I've waited 20 years for this chance and I don't want to ruin it." She looked up at him. He was completely serious. He brushed a stray hair from her eyes. "Will you allow me to court you?"

She kissed him gently. "Yes..." She looked up at him and to her horror she saw that a red mark had formed where she had hit him. She reached up, tracing the outline with her fingers. "I'm sorry I hit you, I was so angry and you startled me..."

He silenced her with a soft kiss. "It's all right. I forgive you. Just don't do it again." She shook her head. "I'm glad I caught you alone. I was afraid that Ary would be up or that your brother would still be here."

She snuggled close to him. "We missed you at dinner. Although it was chicken so you probably would not have cared for it. Ary and I have missed you every night. Nothing has been the same since you left. Ary's been so strong about it all. I know that she misses you terribly yet she hasn't complained once."

He kissed her lightly again. "I will surprise her in the morning when she awakens."

"Like you surprised me?"

"You walked into me or ran into me. What was wrong?"

"Nothing..."

"It didn't look like nothing. You looked startled."

She dodged the comment and touched his skin, letting her fingers run down his neck to his collarbone. He closed his eyes as she gently ran her fingers down the smooth skin of his chest. He pulled her hand away gently placing a few soft kisses on her palm.

"Do you have to work tomorrow?" his voice was throaty.

"It's Monday of course I do. I need to have a good day tomorrow. I need a good week. I messed up so much this past week. I'm lucky I didn't get fired."

"Because of me?"

"No, it was my own fault for not paying attention and for being foolish enough to worry about you returning. It's just...the days started piling up and when you didn't show up...I panicked. Toby knew, he tried to calm me down."

"What did your brother have to say about my absence?"

Sarah paused for a moment, unsure how to proceed. "Jareth he didn't...He..."

Jareth sighed. "He wanted you to forget me didn't he?" She nodded shamefully. "I told him that I couldn't. I love you too much to just forget you like that. And I know Ary would not be able to forget you either."

"I should have expected him to try and turn you away from me."

"What's going on between you two?" She leaned against his shoulder and reached up twirling his long blonde hair on her fingers.

"I have a feeling that he dislikes me."

"What did he say to you at Eddy's last weekend when we went to play pinball?"

"Nothing...important."

"Don't lie to me Jareth. You've never lied to me before, don't start doing it now. What did he say?"

"The little...He threatened me. Told me that if I hurt you or your daughter he would hurt me. As if he could do such a thing. He obviously does not know that if you and Ary hurt that I hurt as well."

Sarah sighed and played with the leather tie of the necklace that dangled over his chest. "I don't think Toby understands our relationship. He knows that we met a long time ago and that you were the villain then. I honestly believe that he thinks that you are still the villain. Just as I at first did not believe that you had changed, Toby doesn't believe it. And furthermore Toby is incredibly protective of me. He was there for me when Adam left. He saw what it did to me. You are the first man that I've shown a serious interest in, in 8 years. He's trying to protect me from getting hurt again."

"He sees me as you and Ary see me and he doesn't approve of me. I see it in his eyes. He does not believe that I am worthy."

"Toby doesn't believe that anyone is worthy. So don't take it personal. No one will ever be exactly what he wants for me. We'll both have to give Toby time to warm up to you, just as we both need time to try and make this all work out."

He stroked her hair gently. "We will succeed Sarah. I will not let us fail. I failed you once 20 years ago and I suffered terribly because of it. I will not fail again." She opened her mouth to speak and he silenced her with a finger to her lips. "It's late and you should sleep. You look like you haven't slept in several nights and I fear I have been the cause."

"You can remedy the situation by staying with me tonight." She smiled innocently.

He hated to dash the hope in her voice. "As wonderful as that sounds it is very unwise. It's too early for that Sarah. I want to get to know as much as I can about you before anything serious happens between us. I do not wish for regrets this time around."

"You have regrets about last time?"

"Of course I do. I regret that I didn't try harder to keep you in my life." He kissed her forehead. "Now no more talking. Time for bed." She smiled at his already protective nature and they walked up the stairs together. He walked her to her bedroom door.

"Good night, my Sarah. Sleep well."

She stood on her tip toes and kissed him softly. "Now that I know you're back...I will. G'night." She turned from him slowly and before she closed the door said. "I love you." She watched him grin like a shy teenager and then closed the door. Jareth stood looking at the closed door with a grin he couldn't wipe off his face. Finally he walked into his own room. Sleep would come easy for him tonight as well and he no longer would feel guilty about dreaming of Sarah...His Sarah...