ALTERNATE ENDING . . .
A SURPRISE REUNION.

     Sage stares at her phone in disbelief for a second before bringing her phone back up to her ear, " I'm sorry, what? There's no fucking way. "

Sam's voice shakes from the other end of the line as Sage hears the machines beeping and doctors murmuring in the background, it being obvious that Sam was already at the hospital to see Josh, " He's. . Josh is alive! Sage, it's a miracle. Apparently, a couple of days after we were all released from the police station and hospital, they did one last final search in the mines and they found him. "

Sage slowly lowers herself down onto the bed behind her as she shakes her head in pure shock. How in the hell was he alive? She remembers it all too well when she had last saw Josh Washington breathing in the mines. He had been there one minute, apologizing and looking crazed out of his mind, and then Mike was pulling her under the water and helping her hide as a wendi- no, Hannah dragged her brother away as he was screaming and pleading.

" Sage? Are you there? " Sam whispers into her phone as she grips the arm of the waiting room chair tightly, waiting in anticipation for the brunette to respond to what Sam had just revealed. " I talked to Josh a little bit before some doctors came in to do tests. . He's been asking for you a lot, keeps saying he needs to apologize. "

She glances at the alarm clock on her side of the bed, 5:31 AM shining back at her in red, and laughs quietly as Sam's words repeat in her head. Josh had tortured all of his friends for a stupid prank that they had all played on Hannah Washington for a stupid crush on Emily's former boyfriend, Mike Munroe. The craziest thing to Sage though?

She wasn't even apart of it and it felt like she got put through the wringer for no reason.

Sage had supported Josh in the months of guilt, grief, and anger that had followed that fateful night that had changed everything for their group of friends. How did he repay her? Punching her in the face and trying to lock her away.

" Did you tell anybody else? " Sage instead questions, trying to best to defer from what Sam had just told her as she runs a hand through her hair - wincing as a sharp pain ran through her shoulder, another reminder of that fateful night.

" Emily said she needs more time before even attempting to be in the same room as Josh, " Sam tells her as she clutches her phone while glancing around the waiting room nervously, almost like she felt something was about to jump out at her, " Jess. . Jess instantly hung up on me as soon as I said Josh's name. I don't think she even wants to hear about him. I didn't even mention to her anything about seeing him before hanging up. I figured you could tell Mike, it'd be better coming from you. "

" Shit, " Sage chuckles before turning as she felt movement behind to her to see an unclothed Mike twisting around in his sleep, the blanket being the only thing giving him any cover, she smiles at the sight of him – the man being the only sense of peace she had since that night on the mountain. " I truly do not blame either of them. Ashley, Chris, and Matt all got murdered because of the bullshit that Josh put us through to get 'revenge'. I honestly don't understand why you're so zoned in on all of us going to see him and why you're forgiving him so easily. "

" He's sick, Sage, " Sam defends the last living Washington sibling quickly, standing up from her seat like she was arguing with Sage in person and ignoring the looks she got from hospital staff, " He hasn't been taking his meds since Hannah and Beth went missing and he needs people in his corner. His parents are all the way in Europe and won't be here for another week to see him! "

She feels Mike's hand ghost around the curve of her hip as he pulls himself up suddenly, making Sage turn to look at him to see him look at her curiously as he tried to wake up and comprehend why she was on the phone so early in the morning. She mouths Sam's name to him and holds a finger up, gesturing that she'd be off the phone in just a minute. Her anger was growing with Sam and knew if she was on the phone longer with the blonde, they'd be exchanging harsh words with each other.  

" I gotta go, Sam, " Sage cuts the blonde off as she continues to babble about Josh, " Mike just got up. I need to tell him the news. "

" What about coming to see him? " Sam questions immediately, " He's gonna be in the hospital for two more days, they're talking about having him admitted for a while till he's fully back on his meds. "

" I'll think about it, " Sage mutters as she hangs up on Sam before the blonde could badger her with more questions. She tosses the phone aimlessly behind her, hearing it clatter onto the floor loudly.

She turns towards Mike fully, the man already planting a kiss on her lips in the form of a greeting before pulling away and raising an eyebrow at her in question. He questions her as Sage closes her eyes, her mind trying to figure out how she was going to Mike the news, " What is Sam pissing you off with now? Another idea of going back onto the mountain? "

" No. . " Sage shakes her head with a frown as she peers up at him, " I don't. . I don't really know how to say this, but they found Josh. He was alive in the mines. "

Mike chuckles as he looks at Sage surprised, " That fucker has some of the best luck in the world. . . He tortures his friends and three of them die, but he gets to still end up alive? " He grips Sage's hip a little bit tighter as he continues to go on, " Chris, his best friend, doesn't get to see the light of day but that crazy motherfucker does. The world is fucking crazy. "

Sage bites her lips before she reveals what Sam had asked of her, " She asked me to come up to the hospital and see him either today or tomorrow. She's saying that he's going to get admitted till he gets back onto his meds fully. "

Mike shakes his head as he turns to fully look at Sage, " I don't want anything to do with that fucker, but if you want to see him, I will support you either way. I'm not uttering a word to him though. We went through too much because of that asshole. "

She closes her eyes and almost wants to cry in relief that Mike was still willing to support her if she did decide to see Josh. She feels him press a kiss against her temple and goes to lace their hands together, opening her eyes to just study his face and the scars that adorned it now. She brings his hand up and presses a kiss against before speaking, " I love you. "

" I love you too, Wolfe. " Mike smiles slightly as he pulls the girl into his side, the two relishing in the silence as Sage continued to think about the decision she had to make.

━━━━

" He's gonna be happy to see you, " Sam smiles at the brunette in front of her, whom has gripping Mike's hand tightly as he sat down in the waiting room chair – he was still adamant on not even seeing Josh, but wasn't going to let Sage come up here alone. " I told him that you were coming up here about a hour ago, he hasn't stopped talking about it yet. "

" Yay. " Sage lets out quietly, her mind telling to get out of here and run the other way but she knew this was going to be the best way for her to get closure from that night.

She lets Sam guide her down the hall to Josh's hospital room, before the two stopped and Sam turned to look at her expectantly. Sage peers into the window on the door and sees Josh looking out the window of his room.

" I'll let you guys have some alone time, " Sam awkwardly squeezes Sage's arm as a sign of comfort, before moving to pass the shorter brunette and going back to the waiting room, " Mike and I need to catch up anyways. "

She grabs the handle to his door and takes a deep breath as she sees Sam turn the corner and moves to open the door. Josh immediately snaps his head to the door and a smile blooms on his face at the sight of Sage.

Sage shuts the door quietly and turns to face him, tears brimming her eyes almost immediately as she sees her former best friend in front of her.

" Hi. " She whispers as Josh gestures for her to sit in the chair next to his bed.

authors note.

hi my lovely's!! i've been sitting on this since the until dawn remake release and here we are! mike and sage are officially dating and are slowly moving through the trauma of that night together <3