Jareth was sick. His cough was awful. His throat was sore. And worst of all, he had lost his voice. The first thing Sarah did when Hoggle told her was to laugh. "It serves him right," she had said. After all, Jareth had oft used that voice to try to give her orders or to intimidate her just a few years ago. Soon, Toby, whom Sarah had told about her trip to the Labyrinth and had let meet her friends over the years, came in to investigate. "What’s goin’ on?" he asked. Then he saw the dwarf. "Hoggle!" he yelled, running over, hugging him. "It’s good to see you, too, Toby," Hoggle replied. "Sarah’s laughing because Jareth’s sick and has lost his voice. But it’s really not that funny. It’s actually quite serious, and he’s specifically requested your sister to help run his kingdom while he’s unable to give orders."

Toby nodded, understanding. Hoggle wondered how a four year old could understand the concept better than an eighteen year old, but then he also wondered how Sarah could keep hating Jareth when it was so obvious they loved each-other. This, he had decided, was the perfect excuse to get the two together again so they could figure out their feelings for each other.

"Now Sarah," Hoggle had said when the girl had calmed down. "I know he wasn’t the nicest of guys, but he needs your help. He’s asked specifically for you. He’s not in the best of moods as it is, mind you, and if you don’t come, God help the entire Underground. Do it for me and Ludo and Didymus, if not for Jareth." Sarah couldn’t turn down her friends. After all, they had helped her so much when she had had to rescue Toby. "Alright," she said at last. "I’ll help." "Thank you, Sarah," Hoggle replied, leading her to the castle.

As Sarah entered the Goblin King’s bedroom, she could plainly see he was not happy. He also wasn’t watching her. At least, not immediately. When he did turn to her, he tried to speak, then remembered he couldn’t. This sent the girl back to laughing, leaning against the wall to support herself. Jareth sighed, knowing very well what she found funny. Then he dropped onto his bed in another coughing fit. This concerned Sarah, who had never seen the Goblin King with a slight sniffle, let alone this ill. She went over to him, helping him to lie down and covering him up. He looked annoyed at this until Sarah sent him a rather nasty look. "You need to rest if you’re ever going to get your voice back," she said firmly, her arms crossed.

Before she knew it, Jareth had her down on the bed next to him. "I did not ask for you, Sarah, so I could rest," he told her, his whispering barely audible. "I asked for you because you are the only one who has ever defeated my labyrinth and therefore the best one I could think of to give my orders until my voice returns." With that, Sarah pulled away from him. "Fine," she said. "Just so long as you realize that I’m not here because I care about you. I’m here because I care about my friends." He didn’t answer, only handed her a crystal. "Use this," he told her. "With it, you can see anywhere in the labyrinth you want. It will help you." Sarah took it reluctantly in her hands, unsure if it was a trap or not. But it was too late to ask. The Goblin King was well asleep.

Later that day, Sarah slowly explored the castle. She had felt different when Jareth had pulled her close like that, earlier. It was like she was nervous, all of a sudden, and it surprised her. She had never been nervous in his presence like that since she had confronted him and won back Toby. And he had bugged her countless times since. Until now, though, she had just brushed him off, like he was no more than a fly. Now, though, he had left her feeling confused, in a daze. It was not a pleasant feeling.

Goblins were all over the place. The castle, especially the throne room, was mess. No wonder Jareth was sick! Any descent health department would have cited this place for every neatness violation in the book. She set the goblins to work cleaning everything up. It would, she decided, definitely help Jareth back on the road to wellness. The sooner, the better, thought Sarah. She enjoyed seeing her friends, but the longer she had to be around Jareth….

Great. The feeling was invading her if she even thought of him.

Meanwhile, Hoggle was trying to explain his plan to Toby in terms the child could understand, and he seemed to be getting most of it, so far. "So do you understand why I wanted to put those two together?" asked the dwarf. Toby nodded. "Sarah talks ‘bout him in her sleep," he said, giggling, knowing his sister didn’t know that fact. Hoggle laughed, as well. "But if Jareth ever finds out about that potion I put in his food," he said, "he’ll probably tip me head first in the Bog of Eternal Stench."

Jareth hated being sick. Worse was the fact that Sarah was trying to play mother to him. He was starting to get tired of being in bed and drinking tea. She kept telling him it would help sooth his throat and his vocal cords, bringing his voice back faster. Not that he believed her. It had been a week, and he still hadn't gotten his voice back. He had to write everything down, which took time. Jareth felt it was a waste, and hated being on what Sarah called vocal rest.

Jareth could sense Sarah coming with more tea. He picked up his note pad and quickly scribbled a note to show her when she got to his side with the tray. When it came to that one liquid, he couldn't take it anymore! He wanted something different, like ice cream.

Sarah was starting to wonder if herbal tea didn't work for Fae. She knew her voice certainly hadn't been gone this long when she had been sick at age 12. After vocal rest and plenty of the tea, she had been talking again in a couple of days. So, she had decided upon a different approach to sooth the Goblin King's vocal cords. As she placed this new food on the tray, she smiled. The way Jareth acted like a little boy really was cute.

Sarah shook her head. What was she thinking? The Goblin King? Cute? This was Jareth, not some little kid like Toby. This man had kidnapped Toby, for crying out loud! How could she think of Jareth as cute, let alone attractive, which was something else she had been seeing him as. It just wasn't right, and she mentally scolded herself for letting her mind wander in that particular direction.

As Sarah walked into Jareth's room with the tray, she had to stifle a laugh as she saw him already holding up a note. She laughed out loud when she got close enough to read what he had written. "Don't worry," she told him. "It's not tea, this time." Sarah laughed again as Jareth gave her a look of relief. Then she handed him the tray. It held vanilla ice cream.

Ice cream! Jareth's eyes lit up like that of a small child, and he wrote something else for her to read. She laughed at what he had written-'Ice cream! You read my mind!'-as Jareth started eating. For once, he didn't seem so evil to her. In fact, he even seemed friendly, innocent. Then Sarah realized it. She was falling in love with him.

The ice cream regimen seemed to be working, and fortunatly, there were plenty of interesting flavors in the castle to keep Jareth from getting too bored. Even better was that his voice was coming back. After a week of ice cream instead of tea, Jareth's voice was hoarse, but there. So, Sarah had let him out of bed for a bit. They were currently walking together in one of the gardens, a comfortable silence between them.

It was Sarah who finally spoke. "I'm glad you're getting your voice back," she told him. He raised an eyebrow at her, then smirked. "Getting tired of taking care of me, Sarah?" he asked. The girl stopped walking and looked at him. "I need to get home, back to my normal life," she answered. "Such a pity, Sarah." It was Sarah's turn to look confused. "How is that a pity?" The Goblin king looked into her eyes. "It's a pity that you have to get back to your boring life where all you do is take orders from your parents and care for your half-brother."

Sarah's eyes flashed. "I happen to love Toby!" she told him. "And my life is none of your business! I'm only here taking care of you because Hoggle told me that you specifically asked for me, and because you aren't exactly pleasant when your well so my friends might get hurt due to your grumpiness while ill!" Jareth hissed between his teeth. "I assure you, Sarah, that I would never harm any creature living in the Underground, not even that cowardly dwarf."

How dare this man, this Fae, say these things to her? And she had thought she was falling in love with him! "You are rude, arrogant, self-centered, and absolutly awful!" she snapped. Then she spun on her heel, heading back towards the castle. However, before she could take a step in that particular direction, Jareth's hand reached out, grabbing her, holding her in place, and spinning her around to face him again.

"And you, Sarah," the Goblin King responded, "are still as childish as you were before going through the labyrinth to save Toby. I thought you had learned your lesson, but I guess I was wrong," he growled. The hoarseness of his voice somehow made him sound even more dangerous than usual, and Sarah had to fight hard to muster up the courage for a retort. Before she could, however, Jareth surprised them both. He leaned down and kissed her.

Damn damn damn. That's what Jareth was thinking an hour later. Sarah had slapped him and run back into the castle, to her room, and hadn't come out since. Jareth just didn't understand what he had done to make her run from him. True, he had insulted her friend, but he doubted that was it. Whatever it was, he had to correct it. They had been getting along so well until now, and he wanted that friendship to keep growing. After all. He loved her, and he wanted her to love him in return.

Sarah was furious. How dare he kiss her after insulting her friend like that? After all, Hoggle had been more than kind in fulfilling Jareth's request by coming to get her. Then she stopped fuming, which she had been doing for the past hour. Hoggle had told her he had been sick for a week before he had come and got her, and that the physician had done nothing to stop Jareth from losing his voice. And why hadn't Jareth simply used his magic to bring his voice back? The peices of the puzzel no longer fit so neatly together.

She sat on her bed, thinking. Just who had been taking care of Jareth before she arived? She suspected Hoggle, but wasn't sure. She left her room, going to Jareth's.

Jareth looked up, surprised to see the object of his thoughts barge into his room before knocking. "And you called me rude," he said, a smirk on his face. "I need to talk to you, Jareth," the girl answered, not even bothering to appologize. "Who was it that was taking care of you before Hoggle brought asked me to come here?" she asked. Jareth frowned. "Come to think of it," he said, "it was Hoggle. Why do you ask?" Sarah nodded.

"I thought so," she said. "Now, mind telling me why you didn't just use your magic to get your voice back?" "I see what you're getting at, Sarah. You think Hoggle put something in my food to make me lose my voice? But why would he do that?" Sarah shrugged. "I don't know. Why don't we ask him? Though if I'm right, you'll have to admit that he has more bravery than you give him credit for." Jareth nodded. "I agree," he told her.

"HOGGLE!" they yelled, at the same time. The dwarf heard their call and knew he was in trouble, but he also knew he had to go to them. The rules of the Underground, after all, were the rules, and a promise, after all, was a promise. And Hoggle had promised Sarah he'd come whenever she called. Now, however, he was starting to regret it.

Hoggle slowly stepped into the room, looking every bit the coward Jareth had called him. "Yes, yer Majisty?" he asked. Jareth stooped down to the dwarf's eye-level. "Hoggle," he asked, "did you put something in my tea to make me lose my voice?" Hoggle nodded slowly. "I admit it. I put dragon's root in there. I ain't ashamed of nothin' I did. But before you tip me in the Bog, I did it to get you two together. You two belongs together."

Jareth stood, arching an eyebrow at Sarah. "What do you think? Do we tip him head first into the Bog of Eternal Stench?" he asked. Sarah barely hid the smile that was trying to sneak onto her face from the way Hoggle flinched at the mention of the Bog. "I don't know," she said. "I've always been told to let the punishment fit the crime." Jareth nodded with approval. "Very well, then. Hoggle loses his voice for two weeks." Hoggle tried to protest that it wasn't fair, but it was too late. His voice was already gone.

Sarah couldn't stop it, now. Her laughter came pouring out, as did Jareth's. Then the Goblin King pulled her into his arms. As the laughter died down, Jareth looked deep into Sarah's eyes. "Hoggle is right," he said. "We do belong together. I love you, Sarah." The girl smiled. "I love you, too, Jareth." With that, they kissed, Hoggle looked satisfied, having accomplished his goal despite the consequence of losing his voice.

After Hoggle got his voice back, he was sent to tell Toby, along with Toby and Sarah's parents, about the upcoming nuptuals. They were startled, at first, at the appearance of a dwarf and then that Sarah intended to wed a Goblin King, but when Toby and Hoggle assured them that it was alright and they needn't worry, they approved. Even Karen was glad Sarah was happy. Since Sarah's origional journy through the labyrinth, the two had grown much closer.

Meanwhile, Sarah and Jareth were busy making their preperations. They had decided upon a small, simple wedding, with only family and close friends helping them celebrate. Even Sarah's dress was simple. It was white, of course, with a full skirt, and shots of silver thread through the material. With her hair in a braided bun circled by white flowers, she was beautiful and elegant despite the lack of fuss.

As Jareth danced with his new wife that night at the reception, he leaned over. "You know," he whispered, "when you first came here, I was thinking that of all the things I'd lost, I'd missed my voice the most." Sarah laughed softly. "And why would that be?" she asked. Jareth grinned. "Because without my voice, I couldn't tell you how much I love you." He then looked deep into her eyes for a moment before kissing her.

Finis