Adult-FanFiction.org : Movies

Last Resort	By : jinx1764 Category: G through L > Labyrinth Views: 7045 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth, don't make any money, this is a work of fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
The second week of lessons passed quickly as Jareth spent every free moment instructing Sarah on the down and dirty lessons of magic wielding. Her crystal forming was still dependent on a spark of aggressive emotion so Jareth baited her whenever she got stuck. Tempers ran high between them; great for crystal forming but not so great for their relationship.

"Do you mind?" She snapped and waved his hand out of her face.

"You're not twisting your wrist properly. The spell will not be stable if you don't twist properly." Jareth insisted, his temper short. They had been at this particular lesson for at least three hours. He thrust his hand in her face again demonstrating. "Watch closely...This is vital to spell stability." As Jareth twisted his hand and wrist elegantly in her face in what she counted as at least the 300th time Sarah completely lost her temper.

She slapped his hand knocking the previously manifested crystal out of his hand sending it crashing across the room. He watched the crystal smash into the far wall leaving a divot in the sheetrock.

"What is wrong with you?" He bellowed. "This lesson is key to spell formation. You must master this, Sarah!"

"How the hell am I supposed to concentrate with your hand stuck in my face all day?" She pointed a finger in his face brushing his nose. "You like that? Huh?" Jareth grabbed her wrist and spun her 180 degrees until her arm entangled itself with his, her back caught against his chest. He whispered harshly into her ear.

"You're the one you wanted to learn magic wielding my dear Sarah. Are you so quick to give up when the lessons outstrip you?"

"Screw you, I'm no quitter!" She head butted him and heard a satisfying crunch as her skull hit his nose. Jareth released her, his hands immediately flying to his bloody nose as he stumbled backwards away from her.

"Argh!"

"Here's your damn twist!" Sarah twisted her right hand and wrist perfectly, creating a crystal which then shifted into an ice pack. Panting in anger she worked to regain her temper before she approached Jareth. He crouched several feet away on the floor holding his nose with both hands and tilting his head forward to allow the blood to flow clear of his airway. She watched as he shifted his nose back into place with a deep grunt of pain, creating another spurt of blood soaking the beige carpet of her living room. He looked up at her.

"Must you always be so violent?" His normally smooth baritone sounded muffled and stuffy.

"Sorry... I got carried away. This aggression thing really gets the better of me." She walked over and handed him the ice pack as a peace offering. "I really am sorry, Jareth. I just reacted. But the spell feels stable. I think the ice pack will be good for awhile." She crouched down to hold the pack to his nose for him.

"Uh...owww..."

"Sorry..." She grimaced. "There's got to be a better way to help me figure this out."

"Believe me, I wish there was. I don't know how much more damage I can take. Remember, Precious, I'm only human." Jareth grinned looking rather garishly horrid with the congealing blood on his face.

"Oh, ha, ha...Very funny. Trust me, you'll live."

JSJSJSJSJSJSJ

Lizzie sat on the floor of her bedroom rolling one of her mother's crystals back and forth between her hands. She loved coming home from school to see what cool new magic trick her mom had learned that day. Jareth was teaching her amazing things and Lizzie secretly hoped that someday she could learn magic, too.

"What are you doing, Honey?" Sarah asked from her doorway.

"Just playing with one of your crystals."

"One of the empty ones, right?"

"Uh-huh. These are so cool, Mom." Lizzie tilted her head upwards to look at her mom. "When can I learn how to do this?"

"Oh, I don't know about that, Lizzie. We still have to see about you going to the Labyrinth." She sat on the floor next to her daughter.

"When will that be?"

"I'm working on it. I'm hoping that when you get back from visiting with your dad next week that I'll be strong enough to fix that problem and it'll be safe for you to go with me."

"But what if you're not strong enough, what if you can't fix it and I can't go? Will you go without me?" Lizzie asked in a quivering voice. Sarah pulled her into her lap and hugged her tight.

"Elizabeth Morton, you listen to me. I will never leave you. You understand me? No matter what happens we're sticking together because I'm your mother and I love you more than anything else in the whole world."

"Okay, Mommy...I love you, too."

"And Lizzie, maybe we shouldn't tell your father about the crystals. I don't think he'd understand about magic and it would probably just upset him, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. I won't tell him about the magic crystals."

"Good girl, thanks." She gave her a big kiss and another hug.

"How 'bout we go find Jareth and get some dinner, huh?"

"Hmm-uh." Lizzie picked the crystal up and tucked it under her pillow for safe keeping and followed her mother out of her room.

JSJSJSJSJSJSJSJ

The rest of the week continued in this pattern. While Lizzie spend the day in school, Sarah and Jareth spend every minute they could stand perfecting her magic wielding, then they both would meet Lizzie at the bus stop, get dinner and have a pleasant evening before Lizzie's bedtime. Afterwards, magic lessons continued late into the night until one of three things occurred; exhaustion, irritation, or attraction. At that point they ceased the lessons for the day, went to bed, and started over in the morning. Sarah wanted to be certain of her control before she tried working on the Bond for her daughter.

The morning of the sixteenth day before the deadline was the Saturday that started Eric's full week of visitation with Lizzie. The morning dawned clear and crisp and Sarah had Lizzie packed the night before so she was ready to go when her father knocked on the door. Lizzie performed her usual routine of excitement to see her father; running and hopping around the apartment.

"Lizzie, calm down." Sarah brushed her daughter's head as she walked to the door. She insisted that Jareth remained out of sight this time while Eric picked his daughter up. She really didn't want Lizzie to see the two men get into another fight. He complained about being hidden away but agreed that Lizzie's welfare trumped his desire to confront Eric again.

"Sarah." Eric greeted her blandly.

"Eric." She noticed that he didn't stand so close to her this time and his eyes darted warily inside her apartment. Eric tried to look around Sarah as she blocked his view of her apartment; was that dried blood on her living room carpet?

"Hey, Daddy!" Lizzie greeted him cheerfully and he looked down at his daughter.

"Lizzie, I've missed you, Sweetie!" He leaned down and picked her up with her backpack already on her.

"I've missed you, too, Daddy!" They gave each other sloppy kisses. Sarah leaned over to Lizzie and gave her a kiss as well and rubbed her back.

"You take care, Honey and have a good week with your dad."

"Okay, Mom. I will!"

"Sarah, where's your friend?" Eric finally asked the question she knew he'd wanted to ask.

"He's busy right now, Eric. Please don't do this now."

"Sarah, I'm worried about you." He pointed to her wrist that Jareth had grabbed the other day; it had a deep bruise circling it. "Is he hurting you?"

"Don't be silly! I accidently did that to myself carrying too many heavy groceries in one of those stupid plastic bags. Jareth isn't hurting me."

"Sarah."

"Just don't worry about it. Now you'd better get going and you two have a good week. I'll see you guys next weekend." She kissed Lizzie one last time and gave Eric a gentle shove.

"Bye, Mom! Tell Jareth bye and don't go you know where without me!"

Sarah laughed half-heartedly, "Lizzie, of course not. See you soon, love you!"

JSJSJSJSJSJSJSJ

The phone rang a second time and Sarah made herself take another calming breath as she waited. This call was important but she hadn't spoken to him in a couple of years and she was nervous. The other end picked up and the line was open.

"Yo!" Her younger brother's voice cheerfully answered from across the country. He opted to attend college in San Francisco at Berkley once he turned eighteen. Growing up in the Williams' household made life difficult for Toby due to Sarah's illness and while things improved during his adolescence the emotional strain left scars. Toby chose to start his young adult life at as great a distance as possible from his family and he and Sarah unfortunately were never able to form a close sibling relationship.

"Toby, hey! It's Sarah."

"Sarah? Hey, wow...Man, I haven't heard from you in awhile. Everything okay?" He sounded curious, concerned but still cheerful.

"Everything's fine. I know we haven't talked in a long time and I'm sorry about that." She added contritely.

"It's all good, sis. I don't call much either." Toby said. He hated how apologetic she sounded. He knew it wasn't her responsibility to make all the calls and yet he never quite picked up the phone either.

"Anyhow, I just wanted to hear your voice and tell you..." Toby thought he heard a sniffing sound over the phone. Was Sarah crying? Oh, geez, what was going on with her? Anxiety filled him as he heard her still talking. "...Well it's just that I don't see you very often and I just wanted you to know how much I care about you. You know, kiddo, you're my brother and I love you."

"Sarah...Geez, thanks...I mean I love you, too. You sure you're okay?" Anxiety really flared now. Toby couldn't remember the last time Sarah told him that she loved him. He knew that she did they just didn't talk about it or say it and they didn't make random surprise phone calls with one person crying over it.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, Lizzie's fine...It's just...Well...Oh, Toby, I might not get to see you for awhile and I really wanted you to know that. And you know how much Lizzie loves you. She loves her Uncle Tobes!" Toby heard that sniffing again and was that her trying to blow her nose quietly?

"Tell Lizzie I love her, too. She there?"

"No, no, she 's with her father this week."

"Okay then, well you sure everything's good?" Another big sniff.

"Perfect. Take care of yourself, Toby. Love you, bye."

"You, too sis, love you, see ya."

Her hand shook so that the hand set rattled as she reseated it. Grateful to be done with the most painful phone call ever Sarah finally allowed the tears she'd been holding back fall. Jareth held her as she cried for the brother she barely knew and would likely never know.

JSJSJSJSJSJSJSJ

Toby stared at his phone after the odd call from his sister. The weird anxiety lingered and he decided to act on it. He dialed another number.

"Hey Dad, you'll never believe what just happened."

JSJSJSJSJSJSJSJ

Sarah never liked it when Lizzie when away for the week visit with her father. She trusted Eric, he was a wonderful father but she missed Lizzie and even a phone call or two didn't alleviate the emptiness. However, she knew it was only fair that Eric and Lizzie spent as much time together as possible which is why she had suggested the joint custody agreement when she filed for divorce. Taking a child away from a parent was a terrible thing; a concept Sarah still wrestled with considering her potential upcoming actions.

The first weekend passed since Lizzie left with her father and Sarah felt her loss acutely. Jareth found her Monday morning hunched over her morning coffee stirring it despondently.

"Sarah?" He touched her shoulder softly.

"Hey, Jareth." She didn't look up. He squeezed the crook at the base of her neck leaning down to add a gentle reassuring kiss on the crown of her head.

"You miss Lizzie don't you?"

"Is it that obvious?" She said, sarcastically, still staring at the cooling, brown liquid in her mug.

"I miss her, too, and I've only known her a short time." He sat at the table opposite of her and waited until she raised her eyes to his. Sarah nearly cried at the deep emotion in his gaze.

"What if it doesn't work? What if I can't create a Bond for her?" Her voice quavered. He reached across taking one of her hands in both of his.

"Don't do this, Precious. There's still time for you to perfect the methods necessary to succeed. I know you miss her but with Lizzie away we can redouble our efforts this week and I'm quite positive when she returns you'll be able to create the Labyrinth bond with time to spare." He smiled and squeezed her hand. "So...Chin up."

"Chin up? Seriously...Who says that?" She quipped earning a blank look from Jareth until the corner of her mouth curled up and he returned her smile shaking his head.

"Well, if someone's mood has improved than I suppose you're ready to start working, hmm?"

"Slave driver�" She good-naturedly accused.

JSJSJSJSJSJSJSJ

Lizzie loved missing school; especially when she wasn't sick and could enjoy her day of freedom. So this Wednesday with her father she found particularly enjoyable because he unexpectedly announced that they were both playing hookie. First they went to the park to feed the ducks stale bread, than off to get hot dogs and ice cream, and later they wandered around sightseeing the City. Her father let her ride on his shoulders so she could get a better view over the crowds in Time Square; something she hadn't done in years. Later in the afternoon he brought her to an important looking building she'd never seen before and they rode the elevator up several floors.

"What's this place, Daddy?" Lizzie asked, looking up at her father, hand clasped in his.

"It's an office building, Lizzie. People work here."

"Oh. Why are we here?"

"There's someone we need to see today. Someone important." He said gravely.

"Really? Who?" Her curiosity burned brightly.

"It's a surprise. He helps people and he wants to talk to us."

"So that we can help someone?"

"Yes, exactly! You're so smart, Lizzie! Would you promise me that you'll talk to him so he can help someone?" Eric asked his daughter smoothly.

"Of course, Daddy. I like to help people!" Lizzie smiled up at him.

"You're such a good girl, Lizzie!" He squeezed her hand and led her off the elevator when it dinged at their floor. They walked to the right down an elegant hallway paneled in dark wood and marble and entered a well appointed waiting room. Eric approached the receptionist's desk and was greeted by an attractive, young Asian woman with a pleasant demeanor.

"My I help you, sir?" She smiled broadly, nodding to him and Lizzie.

"Yes, we have an appointment with Dr. Jonathan Garcia; Eric and Elizabeth Morton."

The receptionist nodded and checked the schedule book on her desk. "Here you are, you're right on time. I'll tell him you're here." She picked up her phone, pressed a button, and after waiting a few seconds spoke into the handset. "You can go right in; through that door and to the left and you'll see his office marked in the hallway."

"Thanks." Eric steered Lizzie through the indicated door behind her desk and they walked a bit farther until he found the door with Dr. Garcia's plaque. He knocked discreetly as there were several offices located in this long hallway and he preferred not to disturb anyone. He heard a deep, male voice instruct him to enter so he did as bid with Lizzie walking in behind him.

Never before had Eric met Dr. Jonathan Garcia. Robert Williams scheduled this emergency appointment with Sarah's childhood psychiatrist first thing Monday morning after Eric's continued disturbing conversations with Lizzie and the anxious phone call from Toby regarding Sarah's odd behavior. Over the weekend Lizzie told her father about the Goblin King and going to the Labyrinth with her mother. To Eric, Lizzie sounded truly convinced of its reality and he had a difficult time attributing it primarily to her childish imagination.

Robert grew more concerned with this news and decided that professional intervention was in order. He was quite upset that his granddaughter might be drawn into his daughter's delusions and being a lawyer decided that the discovery of more evidence was the next option. Hence he called upon Dr. Garcia, the psychiatrist that helped them diagnose Sarah's illness so many years ago. If Sarah was currently under the care of any other physician Robert was unaware of whom; but he knew she had not seen Dr. Garcia since she discharged herself from the hospital almost fifteen years ago.

An older, gentleman of Hispanic descent stood greeting Eric with a handshake and an agreeable smile. "Mr. Morton? Pleasure to meet you, I'm Dr. Jonathan Garcia." Eric returned the handshake then presented his daughter to the doctor.

"This is my daughter, Elizabeth." Lizzie studied Dr. Garcia with an inquisitiveness that he relished. He knelt to her level and offered his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you, too, Elizabeth." She barely placed her tiny hand in his larger one and answered bravely as he gently shook her hand.

"Everybody calls me Lizzie."

"Then I'm happy to be included, Lizzie." He gifted her with a smile which brought forth one from her. Standing Dr. Garcia directed them to the comfortable, dark, leather couch located far from his desk and he situated himself in a matching wingchair directly across from them.

"Mr. Morton, when I spoke with your father-in-law he explained the concerns the both of you have and what you hope to discover. Since you were not present for your wife's previous medical history I know things may be confusing for you. I want you to understand that psychiatry is often a subjective science and even after extensive assessments and testing the diagnosis may be unclear or difficult. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, let's talk for bit then." The doctor chatted casually with father and daughter for awhile helping them relax and gain their confidence. Gradually he began asking specific questions as he narrowed his focus and eventually the conversation existed only between Lizzie and himself. Dr. Garcia coaxed her to share detailed information regarding everything her mother ever told her about the Labyrinth and its King. Unfortunately for Lizzie she was all too happy to talk about the Labyrinth but she remembered her promise to her mother and said nothing about the magic crystals.

Dumbfounded by the detail that Lizzie relayed, Eric sat silently next her as the doctor continued to pull more information from his little girl about her mother's delusions. He couldn't believe how much Sarah told Lizzie. Sarah never told him a quarter the details that Lizzie knew, even in all the years he'd known her. How much else did she hide from him? Sudden fear thrilled down his spine. Dr. Garcia's voice brought his attention back.

"Mr. Morton, I'd like to speak with you alone. Would it be alright if Lizzie waited with our receptionist? There are a few children's' books if you're interested, Lizzie."

"What?" Eric blurted out. "Yes, I suppose so. Lizzie do you remember the way?"

"Sure, Daddy." She sprung up from the couch and left Dr. Garcia's office with a friendly wave which the doctor reciprocated. Once Lizzie shut the door behind her and safely out of ear shot, Dr. Garcia turned with a serious look to Eric.

"Mr. Morton, as I'm sure you're aware by now I'm very worried about Sarah and your daughter. From just this one visit with your delightful daughter I can tell that she knows entirely too much about Sarah's delusions." Dr. Garcia leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees with his hands clasps in front of him. Eric read it as the international physician-to-family lecture position.

"I don't understand. Sarah always talks about her paintings which are of this Labyrinth place, isn't that the same thing?"

"I'm afraid not. Lizzie described not only visual aspects but smells, sounds, tactile sensations, and all the emotive responses attached to those senses. I remember very clearly Sarah's descriptions of her hallucinations while she was my patient. The detail is exact. This is indicative of a full blown delusional state with all manner of hallucinations of which intensities are sure to grow in time until Sarah is until to differentiate our reality from her internal false reality."

Nausea roiled in his stomach as the implications hit Eric. The schizophrenia threatened to relapse and tear Sarah's mind apart with their daughter as unwitting victim. Eric scrubbed his face with his hands as if to remove the truth. The doctor spoke again.

"It's my understanding from Mr. Williams that Sarah has been non-compliant with her medications for several years. Is this true, Mr. Morton?" Eric nodded before he answered.

"Yes, she stopped taking them while she was pregnant with Lizzie. She did so well off them that she decided not to start again but she's been fine until now." He defended his wife's choice.

"It's not uncommon for patients with mental disorders to go off their medications once they feel "cured" and often they function very well for months, occasionally years at a time, depending upon the person and the disease. But, as you know, schizophrenia is incurable and without proper treatment a relapse is inevitable. My secondary worry is for Lizzie. She's obviously very attached to her mother."

"Yes, they're very close."

Dr. Garcia smiled thinly, nodding. "Again, not uncommon, children are naturally imaginative and during their early years they're often very attached to their mentally ill parents and believe wholeheartedly in the delusion. Because of their emotional immaturity they are unable to understand that what the parent hallucinates is false and may believe so fiercely in their parent that they eventually believe in the delusion as well."

"My God, Doctor are you saying that Lizzie will become ill, too?" Eric said, alarmed.

"Not clinically diagnosed but she could exhibit pseudo-symptoms for many years causing her a great deal of distress and confusion."

Eric tried to understand but Dr. Garcia sounded so clinical, so neutral as if this was more interesting to him as a medical case then a personal concern. Eric addressed his other fears. "Could Sarah become violent? Could Lizzie get hurt?"

Dr. Garcia eyes narrowed. "Well, Sarah was never violent in the past but her symptoms could escalate during a relapse. Do you have any reason to suspect violent behavior?"

"Well, when I picked up Lizzie this weekend I noticed that Sarah had a deep circular bruise around her wrist and I saw a lot of dried blood on her living room carpet. Usually she lets me in her apartment but she wouldn't let me past her door this time and she gave me some lame story about the grocery bag bruising her; but I've never seen her wrist bruised like that before. And Lizzie told me that she and her new friend argue a lot when they think she can't hear. Dr. Garcia, I'm worried that something will happen to Lizzie and I won't be able to protect her."

"I agree, Mr. Morton. There is sufficient cause for legitimate concern regarding a relapse in Sarah's condition."

"What can we do about it?"

"We have a few options. Allow me to make some arrangements and speak with her father again and I'll get back to you by the end of the week. Alright?"

"Thank you, Dr. Garcia. I really appreciate you helping us out. If anything ever happened to Sarah or Lizzie I just don't know what I do."

"We'll take of it, Mr. Morton. Sarah was always a special patient of mine. An unusual case that defied all of my expectations, I'm glad to be of assistance." They stood, shook hands again and Dr. Garcia escorted Eric to the waiting room where Eric collected an immensely bored Lizzie and they said their farewells.

"He was nice, Daddy. Did I help?"

"Yes, Lizzie. You helped a lot. Thank you." Lizzie smiled completely unaware of the deeper implications of her innocent assistance.
- 13
- 14
- 15
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Last Resort