27 A new beginning

Sarah woke up to find herself in Jareth's arms. For a second she could feel the beginning of a smile but it was wiped from her face instantly by Jareth screaming at her.

"What the hell was that?! You tell me to send you back and then next thing you're dying on me. You made your choice Sarah, you wanted to go back, I granted your wish and how do you repay me? By dying within three minutes of waking up. Do not think me a fool Sarah I will not stand by while you decide where you want to live! This time it's final, your bodies gone, you're no longer human, you're Fae, immortal. I don't know what you had planned back there but it's over! From this moment on you live here."

By this time he had propped Sarah up against a wall and begun pacing while he ranted. For a while Sarah just sat there watching him, wondering whether she'd done the right thing, she'd done what her heart had told her was right, but she'd been wrong in the past, what if she was wrong again. She suddenly felt a great hole open up inside her, she'd lost her brother, her father, everything she'd ever known in her life, given them up for the man she loved, and as she watched him pacing, she suddenly wasn't so sure he loved her back. At that point it all became too much, all the pain, all the grief, everything that had been building up over the years, everything that had happened since her attack, all she had gone through with Toby, it was all too much. Once more the tears began to flow down her face and it was only as she felt a pair of arms go around her shoulders she realised Jareth had stopped pacing. She looked up into his face as he pulled her towards him, and as she looking into his eyes, at the concern in them, as she felt his arms trembling as he held her, she realised she'd done the right thing. She loved him, he loved her, her father would get better and Toby would be fine. She felt a warmth fill her and taking a deep breath began to speak.

"Do you remember, long ago, the first time I was here, you told me you couldn't live within me? Well I can't live without you. When I told Hoggle I needed him, I needed all of the Underground, that included you too. Maybe even you most of all. But you never came, no matter how many times I called my friends, no matter how many times I thought about you, wished you were there with me, needed you so much it hurt, loved you… You never came, never." Sarah broke off as a tear ran down her cheek.

She looked at the ground, and then closed her eyes, afraid she would begin crying hysterically if she had to look into his eyes any longer. Instead she felt a soft-gloved finger move under her chin and lift her face to look at him. The concerned look on his face almost broke her heart, but it gave her the strength to continue.

"I wanted you to come so much, I missed you everyday. You never even spoke to me after I left, and I felt like an idiot, you never even hinted you liked me, you were nothing but evil to me when I was here. But when we were in the ballroom, and in the Escher room, there was something there, something other than hate. I love you, but you never came to me, and it killed me. I figured that if I stopped contacting my friends, if I immersed myself in the human world, maybe I'd forget you, maybe this pain would go away, but it never did. It got stronger. I love you Jareth, I love you and I don't think I can go on without you. You might not be able to live within me, but maybe you can just live with me…"

Silence filled the air, a silence filled with possibilities, with visions of the future, with happiness, with love and as Jareth leaned down to kiss her for the first time, she felt happy, truly happy. This was it, this was life, this was love, and they had all eternity to enjoy it. Together.

Author's note: Thank you so much for all the reviews you gave me. I hope you enjoyed the ending. Thank you once again for taking the time to read this.