When Sarah woke she was in a bed and alone. Her darkest secret was finally exposed and for the first time in a very long while she felt free. The past six years had been full of anger and hatred first at herself and then at Paul. She still blamed herself for his descent but she was not a fool. She did not deserve that amount of abuse no matter what she had done. Still, she hoped that whatever happened to her husband that he would be happy.

She flipped back the covers and sat up, taking in her surroundings. She was no longer in the infirmary and examining the mahogany furniture and the crimson and black fabric that accented the room, she had no questions where she was. She prayed it was a sign that he had forgiven her. She had lost consciousness before he could say one way or the other.

His last words echoed in her mind. I thought you were stronger, Sarah. She had to become weak in her quest to survive, to protect Ella. She was a mere ghost of who she had been. How could he still possible want her? She knew that he would never take Ella from her and that had to be enough.

A dress had been laid out for her and she awkwardly fumbled with the lacings until she was satisfied that she was at least presentable. After sliding her feet into the matching slippers she peeked outside of the room and was thankful to find the hall empty. She had no idea where she was in the castle, but she decided that a little more time alone with her thoughts would be helpful.

The rowdy voices of goblins floated towards her warning of the impending end to her solitude. Her wandering had led her to the throne room and she smiled as a terrified chicken raced in front of her followed closely by a goblin. She stood at the door and peaked in, the sight before her warming her heart more than she had ever imagined.

Jareth was sitting in his throne, a beaming Ella on his lap as he spoke to her. As she watched, the words turned into a song and Sarah leaned against the door frame to listen. He had sung to her once and the sound had never left her heart. Lost in her memories she hadn't noticed that he had seen her until he beckoned to her.

He finished the song as she approached the throne and she realized that Ella had fallen asleep in her father's arms. The pride she saw in his eyes as he looked down at the girl sent a fresh wave of guilt coursing through her. "Jareth-"

"Shh," he interrupted. "It does not need to be said, Precious. I understand now."

"I still need to say it, if not for you, for me." When she knew that he would not stop her she said, "I'm sorry for everything. I should have called you. I should have trusted you."

He reached out to grab her hand and she pulled it back instinctively. He frowned but did not say anything. Cursing herself she grabbed his hand before he could pull it back. "I'm so sorry. It's not you, it's just …"

"As much as it pains me, I understand." He gently shifted so that he could stand and gently placed Ella down. She immediately curled up in the space he had vacated. Jareth turned to her, a gloved hand reaching out slowly to caress her face. "I can't change what was done to you, not without endangering Ella, but I will do what I can to ensure that you forget it."

"Why would you care?" she asked cautiously. "I hid your daughter from you and I put her in danger because I was too weak to lose her. I am not the girl you knew, Jareth."

"You are not weak and you never have been," Jareth growled surprising her with his anger. "The choices you made were ill advised but you sacrificed yourself for Ella. There is nothing weak about loving your child. While it is true that had you wished her away, I would never have left without you, I understand why you could not do it."

She couldn't stop the tears forming. She had never thought of allowing Paul to hit her as strong, but she also could not deny the times that she had distracted him from Ella or provoked him purposefully to keep his attention on her. She had simply thought it the least she could do since she was not strong enough to call to Jareth.

He wiped away the tears that had trailed down her cheek. "I want you to forget the actions of that man because I need you to be happy and," he hesitated before admitting, "My pride forced that life upon you."

"Jareth, it takes two to create a life. I have no regrets about that."

"That is not what I mean," he sighed. "I know now what happened that night. The Labyrinth transported us both to the meadow and ensured that Ella resulted from our union. It recognized that you were meant to be queen and seized the opportunity."

She was silent for a long time desperate to absorb what he had just told her. He must have taken her silence as anger as he desperately explained, "My defeat and your rejection wounded my pride more than anything else ever had. I had allowed anger to cloud my mind and if it had persisted it would have blinded me towards my love for you. It was my own arrogance that forced the Labyrinth to bring you back too young."

She found little comfort in knowing that Jareth felt it was his actions that had led them to where they were today. What she did find comfort in was what he had said without realizing it. He loved her. It was silly but she had needed to hear the words. She closed the distance between them and kissed him.

What started as a shy, uncertain kiss was quickly fueled by the need they had for each other. She had never loved Paul no matter how hard she tried and locked in Jareth's embrace she knew why. Her heart had always belonged to him and she was desperate to show him that through the kiss. When she reluctantly pulled away it was only to confess, "I have never stopped loving you either, Jareth."

A brief flicker of surprise crossed his features and she knew that he had not realized what was said. He smiled at her and kissed her again. "I wish I had the power to correct my mistake," he sighed when he pulled away from her.

"Our mistakes, Jareth," she corrected refusing to allow him to absolve her of her choices.

"Our beginning may not have started the way it was meant to be but that will change," he promised. He looked towards the child sleeping on his throne and smiled. "I know that there are challenges that we must face, but I have no doubt in my mind that we will overcome them no matter how long it takes. We will have our happy ending."

The certainty in his voice gave her strength that she had not felt in years. "We only have forever," she teased.

"Not long at all," he finished for her. "Though not nearly long enough."