Who is she? {Newt||Maze runner fanfic}

29- Returning Hope

Newt POV
Sage has been slowly recovering. She suffered a lot of injuries and bruises that have been healing successfully.

We were lucky that the box sent up some new medicine that we never got before. It was hidden behind all the boxes but we managed to find it.

Jack, the newest greenie, who got the job as a helper in the kitchen has been helping as well. He is very skilled in making homemade medicine. Coincidentally he arrived right now.

Dan (the greenie before Jack), was now the newest runner in training, Minho training him while Sage recovers.

Another day of me sitting in the chair by Sage's side. The soft Sage's breathing was the only sound in the room.

I found myself thinking back to the day we found her, now being almost 2 months ago. How lifeless she seemed then, and the relief that washed over me then when she opened her eyes.

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows on the floor. I watched them move, my mind wandering to the days before Sage's return.

Jeff poked his head in around dinnertime, a tray of food in his hands. He nodded at me and placed it gently on the bedside table.

Hours passed. I must have dosed off at some point because I awoke to the sound of Sage's stirring. She blinked slowly, her eyes adjusting to the dim light.

For a moment confusion clouded her face, but then she saw me and her expression softened.

"Hey," I said quietly, leaning forward. "How are you feeling?

Sage took a deep breath, wincing slightly. "Like I've been run over by a herd of buffalo," she replied, her voice raspy but with a hint of her old humor.

I chuckled. "Well, you gave us quite a scare."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't be," I replied. "Just focus on getting better. Jeff said that you should be good enough to run in a week."

She nodded and glanced around the room. "How long have I been out?"

"Most of the day," I said. "Clint and Jeff are keeping things quiet so you can rest."

Sage's eyes softened. "I'm lucky to have you all."

"Yeah, well, we're not letting you go that easily," I said with a grin.

She chuckled at that.

"Do you want to go outside? to finally?" I asked her.

"It's been long enough, I really should." She said as she started standing up.

I helped her get up, even tho she didn't need any help. Honestly, she has healed almost completely, Jeff and Clint just wanted to monitor her for a while longer.

We walked slowly outside, all the way to the wall of names, where we crossed her name over when we thought she wasn't coming back.

Sage paused in front of the wall, her eyes scanning the names until they landed on her own, now with a bold line through it.

She reached out and traced the letters with her fingers, a mix of emotions on her face.

"I didn't think I'd ever see this place again," she said softly.

"We didn't either," my voice barely above a whisper. "But you're here now, and that's what matters."

She turned to me, her eyes glowing. "Thank you, Newt. For everything."

"You don't have to thank me," I said as I handed her the knife.

She took it from my hand and started carving her name, now next to mine.

As she finished we stood there, looking at all the names, names of people still here and gone. We looked at the rest of the glade, people doing their evening activities.

Runners returned from the maze, builders were wrapping up their work for the day, and the cooks were finishing up dinner. Life went on.

We started walking back, taking it slow. "How have you managed to come back?"

She looked at me, "It's called luck, and it's gonna run out."

We came to the bench and sat down, looking up at the night sky as slowly everyone joined us for dinner.

Sage leaned back, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "I missed this."

"We missed you," we said together. "Welcome back, Sage."

———————————————————————
AN: Sorry for not posting. Also thank you for 20k reads. <3