AN: Yikes, I didn't realize it had been so long since I last updated
this story…but "Linda's Wish" is now updated…and if you haven't read
that story yet, stop right now and go read it so this story makes
more sense. LOL


Chapter 8: Face to Face

"J?" The king was being shaken slightly from someone holding his
shoulder, "Hey, Jareth, wake up."

Jareth opened his eyes, only to find he was laying on his stomach,
vision blurry with being right against the cushion. He rolled over
to see who was bothering him to find Joey's face very near. From the
amount of light in the room, he could see it was early morning. "Yes,
Joey."

"I was thinkin', Sarah was telling the truth…"

Jareth sat up, angered that the boy had changed his mind, "I told you
I don't remem…"

"I know, just hear me out." Joey took a step back, just incase the
king would be mad at what he had to say, "She knows you even if you
don't know her. If I could tell who you were with never meeting you
before, she's gonna know straight off you're still you. She'll be
mad, I know it, but you can't let her get to you."

"I didn't let you anger me," Jareth stretched out his neck, which
ached from laying on the couch. "I think I can handle myself with
her."

Joey laughed, "You don't know Sarah. You've got to show her like you
showed me you're a good guy."

Irene stepped into the room from upstairs, "Joey, leave him alone and
eat something before the bus gets here." She grabbed her son by the
shoulders off to the kitchen.

Joey looked intently to Jareth as he was forced away. "Tell her you
take kids because they're given to you. She'll understand then. You
have to stay who you are now and not who she remembers."

Roy came downstairs just as his son went to the kitchen, "Hey J.
Great. You're up. Go take a shower and then we have to get."

Jareth tried to push himself up off the couch, only to find the
muscles in his shoulders buckled under the pressure. He rolled his
shoulder as far as he could, wincing through the pain. Sleeping on
the couch had not been the best for his bruised back. He didn't
remember feeling this bad after leaving the couch the previous
morning. Perhaps his body didn't know how to heal itself without
magic and was regressing? Well, at least his wrist was functional
now for it wasn't what had hurt, only his back refused to move
properly. After a moment he forced himself to rise and dragged
himself to the shower upstairs.

Jareth's first experience with showering the previous day had been
quiet shocking. First of all the notion that one had to fully
unclothe in order to clean oneself was unheard of Underground; what
was magic for if not to keep you well groomed at all times.
Secondly, although Roy had shown him how to get hot water, he had a
session of trial and error before he actually received any. The
shock of the cold liquid made his body tense and he could especially
feel the bruise on the back of his shoulder then. But once the hot
water ran, all his muscles relaxed and he gratefully let the water
flow over him.

It was easier to find the hot water today. He put the sweet smelling
liquid called shampoo in his wet hair and scrubbed it in, then rinsed
it as Irene instructed him to. Then he lathered soap over his body,
all the while thinking how curious this ritual of bathing was. Once
done, he turned the water off and dried himself. He dressed into
the suit, watching as his fingers did every button. He was so unused
to seeing his bare hands, let alone actually feeling with them. He
had kept them covered most of his life because of how dangerous the
magic made his touch--what he had done to little Sarah proved that,
and he had never removed his gloves again after that, not even in
sleep as far as he remembered. He found it odd that he could
remember she was wished to him and yet didn't know if he had taken
any children after her.

Once he exited the still steamy bathroom, Irene was waiting outside
for him, "Back inside--I'm gonna make you look gorgeous for Sarah."

"Irene," Jareth frowned, "I do not need…"

She pushed him inside, "Yes, you do."

Jareth plopped down on the covered toilet reluctantly, "I do not see
the point in this."

"Okay, I'll fess up," She started pulling combs and gel from the
shelf behind him, "A prophecy's a prophecy. You and Sarah were meant
to be together. But I know she thinks poorly of you…"

"I've never met the…"

Irene looked him in the eyes, "You have, and I'm not just talking
about when she was three. Whatever feeling she has came from
somewhere…

"She hates me." Jareth breathed out, "So much so that she taught Joey
to wish."

"What's wrong with wishing?"

Jareth had to think on how to present what he perceived to be the
reason, "Fae live by magic. It comes borne in us, but it is
different with humans. Earth has no natural magic, but sometimes,
individual mortals can became attuned to the magic of my world
through mere belief. The magic is attracted to them and it and it
will do what they wish." He laughed uneasily, "Your son almost wished
me to oblivion last night because Sarah told him to do so if he ever
encountered me. If Sarah is truly…of the prophecy, magic may already
be with her." He didn't want to admit to anything regarding Sarah
being his intended bride, especially knowing what she had led Joey to
believe, "And Joey was given instructions by her, so his wish might
have succeeded had I not stopped him." Then he said lowly, almost to
himself, "She wants me dead."

Irene paused combing his hair a moment, and her green eyes smiled
slyly, "Maybe you shouldn't have stopped him then."

Jareth's heart dropped; was she being serious? Was she too starting
to believe the lies? "Irene, I…"

"Jareth, I was only teasing. Good lord, you are too tense." She
proceeded to finish fixing him up, "Magic is really that strong? It
could have killed you?"

Jareth nodded, "If a mortal blessed by the magic wished for anything
at all, just by saying the words `I wish,' they could get what they
asked for."

Roy knocked on the door that moment and peeked his head on, "Are you
done yet? It's almost 9:15…we gotta beat traffic."

Irene huffed impatiently, "Give us a minute, Roy. We're talking."

"Well, hurry it up." Roy said before leaving.

Jareth smiled curiously, "How is it you are married? You both seem
so…"

"Different? Yeah, well, you know…crazy things happen when you're
drunk." Irene shrugged, putting things back on the bathroom shelf, "I
love him, I do, but it took a while to get there."

Jareth raised his brow, but didn't push for her to explain the
hardships of her marriage, "I suppose love does take time."

"Yeah, well, we rushed in." She turned away from him, seemingly
ashamed of herself, "At least you know who you are meant to be
with."

Jareth shook his head, "No, I don't know. Sarah is repulsed by the
thought of me, if your son's words are true. How will I ever get
close to her? Then again, do I want risk facing my destruction seeing
her if that's what she intends?"

"So are you saying you won't go?" Irene turned back to him, "You have
to get a job. Really, you do. If it wasn't the holidays, we wouldn't
be pushing, but Roy is right, you have to help. There are other
people you can see at her place to get a job if you don't want to
face her, but you can't back out of this."

"I'm not saying I will. I just wish I knew what to expect." Jareth
stood up, "I have no way of protecting myself here."

"Neither do the rest of us," Irene said, "but what is life without
taking chances?"

* * *

"…but Dad, he won't get in trouble."

Sarah looked up from fixing the boy's lunches at her father and
brother as they entered the kitchen.

"You are not taking Merlin to school and that is final. He's too old
to be around so many kids." Robert said, taking a mug out of the
cabinet and pouring himself coffee Sarah had made. "Guys, I have got
to run."

"Just don't forget you are picking the boys up today." Sarah called
to her father's fleeting form.

"Sarah, can I take your scrapbook of Linda to school?" Toby asked,
pouring a bowl of Cheerio's.

"What do you want that for?" Sarah stopped making the sandwiches at
the strange request.

"Show and Tell. We're supposed to bring in neat things about our
family today. I thought Merlin would be way cool, but dad says I
can't. And Linda's really famous and…" the boy shrugged, "She's
kinda like my mom."

"No, she isn't," Sarah focused on putting the sandwiches in the
lunchboxes instead of any negative thoughts she could so easily
conjure about her mother. She said under her breath, "You wouldn't
want her as your mother."

"So I can't take it?" Toby sounded disappointed.

"Oh, you can, it's just…never mind. Do you know where it is?"

"Yep." Toby said, putting a spoonful of cereal in his mouth. "It's in
your closet, right?"

Sarah nodded, grabbing bags of potato chips to put in the lunchboxes
from on top of the fridge, "Unless someone else moved it."

"What's he wantin' mommy?" Brendon spoke up, having been sitting at
the kitchen table eating his breakfast.

"Grandma Linda's picture book." Sarah nearly jumped out of her shoes
at the crash of Toby's bowl in the sink. She couldn't believe he had
eaten that fast, but he bolted out of the kitchen and up to her room
to find the scrapbook. Sarah rolled her eyes, it wasn't that
important a book to rush for. Sarah turned to her son, whose bowl of
Kix was only half eaten, "Breni, you better hurry. We'll leave in
five minutes for school."

He hurriedly finished his cereal and left his bowl on the table,
rushing to the living room to put on his coat and grab his backpack.
Sarah shook her head and smiled to herself; she wished she still had
that much energy. Maybe someday, when things got slower.

She grabbed the boy's lunchboxes and her own purse from the kitchen
table, pulling out the keys from inside it without dropping
everything else. "Toby, Breni, let's go."

It took them five more minutes to actually get organized enough to
make it to the car. First of all, Toby couldn't find her scrapbook,
and when she went to her room to help him, she found he had strewn
everything apart and it took much strength not to get mad at him.
Then Breni tripped on the thin sheet of ice that had formed on the
driveway; she made sure he was okay, no scrapes or bruises, but he
still whimpered once he was buckled into the car. Sarah knew they
were going to be late, meaning she would also not make it to work on
time.

* * *

Sarah sat at her desk, going through a few files, trying to pick out
easy jobs for her uncle's incoming friend while trying to keep her
thoughts from matching his name to the face that plagued her mind. A
name is a name. She knew literally dozens of people with her first
name, who was to say only one person in existence could be named
Jareth? But her mind refused to calm. She became so nervous that
she spilled her coffee on her blouse when the buzz sounded from the
phone's intercom.

"Damn." She whispered to herself.

From the intercom came Donna's voice, "Sarah, Jareth Johnson's here."

"Great…" Sarah rolled her eyes and looked towards some divine being
in the ceiling, "Just please don't let it be him."

She didn't know if she could handle it, even if the guy looked
nothing like him. If his name would have to pass her lips--no, she
couldn't say it. She hadn't said that name in nearly seven years,
afraid that if she did so it would call him back. She was afraid
that if he did come back, he'd take their son and she'd never see
them again.

She noticed she had been fingering her scar when there was a knock on
her door and Donna cracked it open. Her black eyes showed a hint of
impatience as she cocked her head, "Sarah? Mr. Johnson. Did you not
hear me call three minutes ago?"

"Um, yeah. Send him in." She felt so embarrassed at letting her mind
wander and spilling the coffee on herself. She was a complete mess
but tried to compose herself for this interview.

Her uncle was the first to enter the office and she went to embrace
him. He actually had dressed up nicely himself. His balding brown
hair was slicked back and he was wearing a long sleeve Polo shirt and
Khaki's instead of dingy jeans. This friend of his must be having an
influence on him.

"Hey sweetie, thanks for letting us finally come in." Roy teased as
he opened his arms to hug her.

She squeezed her eyes shut, smiling at her uncle's humor. But the
second she opened them, her body tensed at seeing the man behind
him. He was tall, blonde, had one blue eye, one green, and had the
exact face that she didn't want to see. She buried her eyes into
Roy's shoulder and swallowed hard, thinking her eyes were only seeing
her fears--but he was still the same when she raised her head again.
Roy pulled away from her, to her horror, and indicated to his friend.

"Sarah, this is Jareth Johnson."

The man extended his hand, "Thank you for seeing me, Ms. Williams."

He even had his voice; rich and deep, but it did not sound scornful
or demanding. And he wasn't being domineering or trying to control
her. This man looked at her with hope in his eyes, not mockery. His
attire was a far cry from the black leather the Goblin King had
adorned himself with; this man had on a nice blue blazer and he wore
comfortable loafers, not boots. As she looked over him, her eyes
finally landed on his hand that was extended to her, bare and
waiting. She wasn't sure if she wanted to touch him and looked
directly into his calm and waiting eyes, which showed he wanted to
get to know her for the first time; this couldn't be the Goblin King.

Jareth couldn't determine what Sarah was thinking as he saw her eyes
glance over him. Seeing her in person, she was more beautiful than
the pictures had captured her. She didn't look mad, she didn't look
at him with hate…but she did recognize him, he could tell. Her lips
were slightly parted as she breathed and one brow strained with her
thoughts. She perhaps was too astonished to speak, for she didn't
attempt to say anything. But when her eyes finally rested on his,
she didn't seem to know who he was at all.

"Sarah…?" Roy started.

On instinct, her hand flew up to meet Mr. Johnson's, which was warm
and sweaty, something she was used to feeling from clients anxious to
find jobs, something human. His grip was strong though, and he
nodded in greeting.

"Please have a seat," She said, finally releasing his hand. She
returned to her chair and fumbled through the papers.

"Having a rough morning?" Roy asked, indicating to the coffee stain
on her blouse.

"That's an understatement." She grumbled under her breath.

"I didn't catch that," Roy teased.

"Oh, I'm fine." She continued to move papers around the desk, "I've
just had a few things on my mind."

After a few moments more of her trying to pull things together, Roy
tried to break the silence, "How's Breni?"

Sarah slammed the folder she held down, "Do we really have to talk
about him right now?"

Both men were taken aback by her outburst, especially Jareth. From
all he'd heard of her, the generosity she showed to strangers, the
sacrifices she'd made for her family, the love she gave her son--he
did not expect her to show any sense of hatred at the mention of her
own child. He knew she hated him and had prepared himself to be
attacked by her, but for her to respond so vilely was quite
unexpected.

"He's your son," Jareth stated sternly, "Parents talk about their
children."

The way he said it reminded her so much of the Goblin King who
plagued her mind that she didn't even realize she yelled, "You're one
to talk."

Jareth looked at her confusedly, then indicated to Roy, "Your uncle
told me of your son."

Sarah was still lost, tears starting to well up in her eyes, "He
shouldn't have had to tell you."

"Sarah, calm down," Roy said, "Just find J a job and we'll get out of
your hair."

Sarah blinked the tears from her eyes and looked at Mr. Johnson
again. This wasn't the Jareth she knew; this man didn't know who she
was and her reaction was uncalled for. He was only a human who
happened to share the Goblin Kings features and name; a trick of the
Fates, nothing more. She still refused to look directly at him.

"I'm sorry." She cleared her throat and picked up the last file she
had been examining, "Mr. Johnson, what types of jobs have you had
before?"

"Acting, mostly," Jareth did his best to sound convincing, but he
knew there was something he was forgetting. When he remembered, he
quickly added, "And I was a librarian for a short time."

"Are you good at keeping track of records then?"

"I'm sure I could manage it."

"Alright then," She gave him a fake smile, looking at him but
avoiding his eyes, "I have an accounting firm who is needing a part-
time secretary to do filing. Think you can handle it?"

"I'll try."

"Fine." She pushed the file across the desk to him, "Donna will help
you fill out the paperwork. Just show her your ID. Bye."

So that was it? Jareth wondered. This might be the only time he had
with this girl, the only time to ask her if she still had the book,
the only time to find out why she hated him so much. And there she
was, dismissing him, expecting never to see him again.

She notice him frown at her curtness, exactly the way the Goblin King
had. Maybe this was him. Maybe he had come back and was testing
her. But if he had, how had he come up with facts of a real mans
life? He even had the papers to prove…ID, that was it! She'd be
able to tell if they were forged and then give the Goblin King HELL
for leaving her, "On second thought, I'll do it right here. Your
identification please."

They were perfect. Jareth Johnson, age 32, had worked in a University
library the past two years and had an extensive acting resume with a
company even her mother had once performed with. There was no reason
for her to not believe anything she read. Professionally, she
couldn't not give him the job. So she pulled out the forms for him
to fill out and watched as he wrote fluidly each word and letter.
When he was finished he looked relieved. He was kind and patient and
unlike anything of the Fae who's person he resembled.

Jareth was only relieved because he thought he might be discovered.
He certainly was against lying and was no good in trying to speak
untruths. Luckily, these papers spoke for him and she believed them.

"Since it's Friday, they'll be expecting you there at 8:45 Monday
morning." Sarah stood after the last form was filled.

She noticed as Mr. Johnson rose with her and again extended his
hand, "Thank you."

She shook it shortly before uncomfortably placing her hand back at
her side.

Roy got up, "Well, glad you could help him. We still on for tonight?"

"What? Oh, dinner," Sarah swallowed, knowing her uncle would probably
bring this man along. "Yeah, I bought everything for it last night,
so can't let it all go to waste."

"Need Iri to make anything?"

"Um, I love her sweet potatoes." Sarah smiled faintly.

"Will do. You get some rest before then. Kay?"

She nodded and didn't watch them leave.

*

Jareth walked numbly to the car. The second he shut the car door, he
slammed his fist on the dash board, "She HATES me. What the hell did
I DO?"

Roy started the engine, "What ever it is, we'll find out tonight."

"What is tonight?" Jareth asked.

"Dinner, at Sarah's." Roy answered while shrugging, "I guess you
don't have to go."

"I have to. If she has the book, I need it."

"We must have really fixed you up good. I thought maybe Sarah
recognized you when she first started yelling at you." Roy
laughed, "Must have been PMS."

"PMS?"

Roy shook his head, "There is NO WAY I am explaining that to you."

"Why not?" Jareth asked in anger, "You told me you would…"

"It is just not something a guy talks about." Roy side glanced at
Jareth, finally giving in at the kings harsh glare, "Alright, I'll
tell you what I know. We all got hormones…um, chemicals in our
bodies that change things. Women got `em bad. They have mood swings
up the wazoo when it come that time of month."

"I don't understand."

"Well, that's all I can tell you. You want more on it, ask Irene."
He chuckled, "And I'm sure she won't tell you about it neither.

Roy drove Jareth back to the apartment, only to drop him off, "I've
got a meeting with a bud whose got some job lined up for me next
week. Just stay with Irene."

Jareth entered the living room, only to find a woman he'd never seen
before sitting on the couch, small white pieces of cloth and foil
wrapped into her blonde hair. There was also a green slime covering
all of her face and her feet, which were resting on the coffee table,
had spongy dividers between each toe. She noticed him and gasped,
trying to stand up quickly to confront him but having a hard time
with all the junk she had on.

"Who are you? Huh? Roy isn't here." She nearly shrieked.

"I am Jareth, and I could ask the same about you. Where is Irene?"

"IRENE!!" The woman shouted.

"Candy, if you have moved, it's not gonna…." Irene came from
upstairs, carrying a pillow in her hands, "Oh, hey J. Candy, this is
Jareth. He's been staying here a few days."

"Oh," Candy said, sitting back down and making herself comfortable on
the couch. Irene handed her the pillow, which the woman placed behind
her back.

"Where's Roy?" Irene asked.

Jareth turned to her, "He didn't mention where he was going."

"Typical." Irene rolled her eyes, "Well, did you see Sarah?" Jareth
nodded absently, prompting her to probe, "And did you get a job?"

"I start Monday morning…that is three days from now?"

"Yes." Irene said as if he should know, then she gasped, "Oh, lord,
we haven't told you…" Then she looked at her friend, "Maybe we
shouldn't talk here." She tossed Candy the TV remote, "Watch
something."

Jareth followed her into the kitchen and sat at the table. She didn't
sit but stood, holding a calendar in her hand that she had pulled off
the kitchen wall.

"Okay, we live by days, sunrise to sunrise, which is around 24
hours. Then, we divide our days into a week, 7 days, S M T W Th F
S. Got that?"

Jareth nodded, "Much like our own calendar."

"Good. Okay, there are 4 weeks in a month, and 12 months to a year.
This month we are in now is December, the last one of the year."

"Is that why I have noticed such festive decorations, preparing to
bring in a new year, or is that normal for all year round?" Jareth
asked.

"Nope, you're right…mostly. Really right now we aren't celebrating
the new year but some main stream religious figure…" Irene shook her
head to herself, "I know so much but to tell it to you." She then
looked at him, an idea forming behind her eyes, "Have you ever been
to a library?"

Jareth grinned, "I have supposedly worked at one, why?"

"That's where you are going today." Then she second-guessed
herself, "Wait, you do know how to read, right?"

"Strangely enough, I do," Jareth wasn't sure even how he knew.
Logically, with him being from another world he shouldn't have known;
perhaps he knew because the humans he had encountered in his world
taught him their language; he just couldn't remember.

"Great." Irene said, standing up and going back to the living
room, "Candy, can I barrow your car?"

The other woman looked suspicious, "Where are you going?"

"Just to the library. I'll drop him off. I won't be more than ten
minutes."

When the woman gave her consent, Irene moved to the closet to grab
her coat but when she looked at Jareth, still dressed in his suit,
she said, "You better go up and change first. I think you'll want to
be comfortable."

So Jareth changed into a pair of jeans and a green fleece sweatshirt
and five minutes later, they were on the road. He liked Candy's car
a bit more than the Carlson's. For one, it was had four doors and
didn't have a sign of rust, and another, it smelled fresh.

"So, now that you've seen Sarah in person, did you remember
anything?" Irene asked.

Jareth thought the question to be sudden, "Um…no, nothing."

"Did she know you?"

Jareth shook his head, "She seemed conflicted, unsure, but she never
said she knew me."

Irene just hummed in response. He wondered if he should mention how
Sarah reacted at first, but thought he would hold off on that.

Jareth cleared his throat, "Irene, Roy refused to tell me something,
and I was wondering if you would be willing to enlighten me."

"Sure, shoot."

"What is PMS?"

It was very fortunate that they were already in the Library's parking
lot, for at the question, Irene slammed on the breaks.