The ambulance's siren wailed as a bloody and malformed body was quickly hoisted up and onto the hastily deployed gurney. Wrapped up and prodded and strapped into the contraption, the bundle was folded back into the vehicle as it made a mad dash for the nearest hospital.

The body wanted to curl into itself. It was instinct, strapped to the portable bed. Lights, sounds, voices- it could focus on none of it. What was its name? Is there next of kin the emergency workers could contact? Please lay still so they can check your vital signs….

Sarah.

The badly damaged body's eyes flicked open. It was like being in a crowded room, hearing nothing but the noise, but when that one person calls your name from the other end, every word they speak is crystal clear.

He sat there, demure, at the end of the ambulance bench. Her eyes met his at the sound of her name, yes, she, Sarah, so, so badly broken in this accident….

His expression was blank as he gazed at her. She was unrecognizable, but there was no way for her to know that. The emergency medical staff took advantage of what they perceived was awakening and understanding of her situation and the harried questions began again. Can she see them? Can she speak? Does she know what's happened tonight? Each and every word from their mouths was like a merry-go-round, spinning in a thick haze. Her mind was swimming, her head was physically buzzing, and then her hearing began to dampen. He still sat there, motionless, as the emergency workers merely seemed to work around him as he did nothing but stare like a statue at their critically deteriorating patient. He was as clear as a voice calling her name from across that proverbial crowded room, and her bloodied fingers struggled to reach out to him in spite of the immoveable restraints.

"Ja….reth."

The emergency workers stopped. "Jared?" one asked. "Is that a relative? Boyfriend?" They struggled for clues. She relaxed suddenly and exhaled, eyes falling shut as she convulsed. The ambulance staff were scrambling again. "She's out! Going into shock! Quick- 5mg of ativan! Now! Stay with us, sweetheart. We're almost there. Stay with us….."

〜≠〜

Sarah awoke to the gentle electronic beeping of her own heart on the EKG meter. Only her eyelids moved, and even then the light seemed to drill itself into her eyes as she tried to move her head. It was impossible. Her neck had been encased in a brace. As she raised her arm to feel at the brace, she was thwarted once again, this time by a cast. Her entire body was encased. Only, she found, her lips could move, but even that was painful. Her bottom lip was swollen and tasted of copper. It was a nightmare. She began to moan but it turned into a scream, and soon a swarm of nurses were in her room, pumping her full of more pain killers and ativan.

"You have to stay still, dear. You were in a very bad accident. Do you remember any of it?"

The nurse didn't give her a chance to reply.

"Most of you is in very bad shape, dear. I know this is hard to understand right now, but you have to stay still. We're trying to contact your family. Your name is Sarah, right? Sarah Williams?"

Sarah let out a sharp breath as the medicine began to kick in. "Yes. Want….to sit up," she croaked.

The nurse shook her head and sighed. "I'm afraid not, dear. The doctors are still taking a look at your injuries so we can't have you sitting upright just yet. Can you understand?"

Sarah let out a whimper in her restrained state as her eyes began to water. The rest of the nurses, seeing the patient back within safe levels, filed out of the room while the one who had been talking stayed behind. She took a tissue from the night stand right next to Sarah's bed, the one so close she still could not reach, and delicately dabbed Sarah's eyes, absorbing the liquid.

"I know it's difficult, dear, but you're stable for now. Try not to worry or cry too much. The salt from your tears will only aggravate the small cuts on your face and you won't be able to wipe them away like this. Will you be alright?"

The nurse put the tissue into the trash and began straightening up Sarah's covers, not waiting for her to answer. She took down a small button on a wire and placed it just at Sarah's fingertips.

"You just push that if you need anything. No false alarms, though, ok? I'll be just out here at the nurse's station."

The nurse turned and slid open the door to leave, closing it again behind her.

Sarah was in a haze. The drugs were definitely beginning to work. Her panic was slowly being forced to subside by the cocktail as she stared at the ceiling and sighed repeatedly. It was silent, save for the bleed-through of the bustle going on in the ER outside of her door. What was seconds in reality felt like handfuls of minutes in her drug induced stupor. She tried to fight it, reconstruct what had happened. She saw herself getting into the car. It was late. Where was she going? She didn't remember. But she drove, and that truck….

Sarah let out a whimper. She wouldn't, couldn't, remember any further. Against her will her eyes once again filled with water and threatened to overflow down her scraped and sliced face. She felt something, a barely something, dabbing gently at the corner of her eye, absorbing the liquid before it could cause her further harm. She tried to turn her head before being reminded once again that she could not when his face swam into view without any effort.

"Sarah," he said aloud.

Her eyes locked on to him as he seemed to float around in front of her due to the medication. "You…"

"Sarah, look at you," he continued, reaching his hand carefully over to the other side of her face to absorb the salty tears from her other eye before they fell. "You're a mess. How could you let this happen?"

He frowned slightly down at her before pulling his arm back. She merely stared blankly up at him. "It wasn't me," she replied hoarsely. "It wasn't me, a-a-a truck, it…." Sarah sucked in another gasp of air again before feeling the drugs stem the tide of panic.

"Trucks do not cut up attractive young ladies and turn them into their own brand of hobgoblin. You, my dear Sarah, are a mess."

He stood up from his seat at her bedside and began to slowly pace. Sarah watched him intently, every movement he made reeling her mind under the sheen of all the drugs as if she were drunk before he stopped and turned at the foot of her bed.

"The question is, however….what are you going to do about it?" He stared her in the eye for a long while as he fell into silence. His eyes began to wander over the cuts and massive bruising covering her tortured flesh that wasn't already encased in cast or brace and his face grew serious with the distraction.

"Jareth," she whispered. His eyes snapped back to hers.

"What will you do?" he repeated.

The door to her room opened and Sarah's eyes flicked to the nurse from before leading her shock-ridden father into her hospital room. "Visitors, dear. Your father's here to see you."

The nurse pulled out a nearby chair for her father to sit in before leaving and closing the door behind her. "Sweetheart…"

"Daddy."

Her eyes glanced back to the foot of her bed, but the Goblin King was gone.

Thanks for reading! A short introductory sort of chapter. Please leave a review and let me know what you think! ~Thanks