Bea woke up, and for once in her life she felt safe. Truly, at home.

The door was slightly ajar, the already risen sun peaking through, shining a golden pathway onto the wooden floor. Crisp and fresh were the two words that came to mind when she inhaled deeply; the air had an aroma of salt and the sea.

After Aris has left the room last night, Harriet had given her one last hug and a peck on the lips before leaving as well. She had then climbed into the bed, snuggling under the blanket. Plus, she would be lying if she said she didn't like the smell of Harriet on the pillow and sheets.

But now it was the morning; from the sun and her rumbling stomach, she had gathered it was around noon. Sighing, she pushed the blanket to the side, wobbling out of bed. Of course it wasn't too difficult to walk as it was her torso that was injured - not her legs - however it was still a tricky task.

She slipped on her jacket and shoes, before slowly walking towards the door. Creaking open, she was met with bundles of laughter and the most beautiful landscape she had seen in her life.

Woah.

The haven was built on the lower grassy part of a mountain range, going along the coast for what looked like miles. And then there was the beach - what a beauty that was. The silky yellow sand went forwards until it met the majestic, everlasting ocean.

"Bea! You're awake!"

She was met with a bright and bubbly Frypan, grinning from ear to ear. Laughing, she couldn't help but reciprocate the smile.

"Hey. Fry!"

"How are you feeling?" he asked, concerned, "You must be hungry. I made some food. Have you seen the kitchen? Well you probably haven't. But it's awesome!"

"Well, I would love to see it. And I am definitely hungry!" she sighed dramatically. The two stepped in line together, Fry walking slower so Bea wasn't far behind him. Bea could tell that the boy looked a lot happier, although a larger part of her thought it was a façade, trying to cover up about Newt's death.

"Here it is!" he gestured. It was held under one of the many canopies and what was under it was busy and bustling. He helped her weave in and out of the many people until they reached the counter "Come on, sit! I'll get you some food." Like a gentleman, he helped her onto one of the wooden stools by the counter before rushing to the other side of it.

"Okay, we have bacon sandwiches, pasta, some veg burgers-Ooh! I totally forgot that we also have-"

"Fry." the girl giggled, "I'm fine with any food, honestly. I'll try whatever you think is the best."

"Well in that case..." he trailed off. "The bacon sandwich it is!" Quickly, he got to work on making one for Bea. Chucking the bacon into a heated pan, the pieces of meat sizzled immediately. The sweet but savoury aroma was mouthwatering.

"Bacon sandwiches were a classic back in the Glade!" Fry gushed and Bea nodded at him to carry on. "This is what we would have most days for lunch. Winston would be in charge of slicing up the pig - disgusting work if you ask me but the boy loved it, I'm telling you."

Bea smiled sadly at Winston's name. Nobody had brought him up in a while, almost as if he was a hidden topic but in reality everybody was still mourning. She didn't know him long - a mere few days at most - but she still missed him.

"My bacon sandwiches were a real hit in the Glade," Frypan sighed, sandwiching the pieces of meat between the two slices of buttered bread, before handing it on a fresh plate to Bea.

"Thank you, Fry!" she grinned, holding it in her hands and taking a huge bite.

"My pleasure!" Frypan dismissed, waving his hand at her. Quietly, he hummed to himself as he began doing the dishes.

Bea had fulfilled her stomach's need for food and she was now feeling a lot better. And she agreed with Fry : the bacon sandwich was definitely a hit.

After finishing her last bite she exhaled with content, a smile present on her face. "Hey, Fry?" she asked.

He hummed in response.

"Do you know what time it is?" she asked politely.

Flicking his wrist upwards, he glanced at his watch. "1:30pm to be exact," he answered.

Wow. I was asleep for a long time then.

"So what do you think of the kitchen?" Fry asked excitedly, stacking away a few more dishes. "In my opinion it's way better than the Glade. Back there we only had a little shack."

"Well," Bea responded taking a look around. The kitchen side was pretty big with lots of shelving and storage and on the other side of the counter were wooden benches for people to sit and enjoy their food. "I love it," she said bluntly. "You're gonna have to help me learn how to cook a thing or two though."

Fry's face lit up at her request. "Of course! That would be fun we could make-"

"Hey, I've been looking all over for you!"

Bea's neck snapped to the side to see Harriet walking quickly towards her with a relieved look on her face.

"Hi," Bea greeted softly as Harriet reached her, slinging an arm around her shoulder.

"Hey," Harriet repeated in the same tone, leaning forwards and pecking her on the lips before resuming the conversation. "I checked our room but you weren't in it. So, I asked Minho and he said he hadn't seen you. So then I asked Jorge and Brenda but they hadn't seen you either-"

As Harriet rambled on about her quest to find her, Bea was frozen in shock. Yes, they had kissed, but not in front of other people. Her eyes flitted to the right to see Fry looking at them with an amused look on his face - he didn't seem surprised at all.

"-And then, after not being able to find Fry, I realised he was probably with you. And it wouldn't be Fry if he wasn't in the kitchen. It's like..." she trailed off, "It's like Thomas without his stupidity."

Bea scoffed, she wasn't wrong about that. Speaking of her brother, where was he.

"Anyway, is Tom still asleep?" she asked.

The black haired girl nodded her head. "Yeah, he's dead asleep still. But he's perfectly fine. Well...as fine as he can be with a gunshot wound. I had a word with the doctor looking over him so you have nothing to worry about."

Bea nodded slowly but then her eyes dramatically widened, realising what Harriet had said. "Wait he got shot?"

"Yeah...you didn't know?" Harriet frowned, walking to the other side of her and pulling out another stool to sit on.

Bea shook her head profusely. "I was too busy almost dying and getting stitches," she scoffed.

Fry snorted, having still been listening to the conversation. "Doing your stitches was a....difficult task to put it lightly."

"Oh! That reminds me," Harriet blurted out, cutting in, "I spoke with one of the doctors about your stitches and she wants to give you a quick check up today."

"Harri, it's fine-"

"Shush. You're getting them later. End of." She sat with her eyes narrowed at the brunette girl, her arms folded across her chest.

Bea sighed, rolling her eyes before grumbling, "Fine."

---

"Minho-"

"No."

"Minho just let me-"

"No."

"Please, Minho! Let me hel-"

"What do you not understand? No, end of!" the boy concluded scowling at the girl. "The doctor said to stay off your feet for a few days so that's what I'm telling you to do!"

"But-" Bea tried to argue.

"But nothing!" Minho snapped "Now sit on that chair and look pretty."

Bea grumbled to herself, waddling backwards to sit on one of the plastic chairs that had been dolled up with a plush cushion for her. Grumpily, she folded her arms across her chest, glaring at Minho who was setting up one of the canopies.

"I'm bored-"

"Shut up!" Minho groaned, "Or do I need to drag Harriet here to put you in your place?" He then mumbled under his breath, "In multiple ways."

Bea gasped, getting ready to stand up and lunge forwards to give him a needed slap to the face. "Minho!" she half shrieked.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" Minho rushed out, sniggering at the brunette. Sighing dramatically, Bea returned to her previous comfortable position, soaking up the sunlight.

"You're annoying," she muttered bitterly.

"And that's why you love me so much!" the black haired boy grinned. Bea scoffed, sticking her tongue out in response. Minho chuckled, rolling his eyes while tying the rope of the canopy onto a wooden pole.

"Hermana! How are you feeling?"

Bea grinned at the voice belonging to a certain old Spanish man, snapping her head to the right.

"Not too bad, Jorge, not too bad," she replied as he perched down on a wooden long next to her. A few seconds later Minho joined them, sitting on the other side of Jorge with some tools in his hands.

The two began carving on small wooden logs which would end up being pegs for other shelters. "Can I at least help with this?" she frowned.

"No," Minho responded immediately.

"But I'm sitting down! Not on my feet and-"

"Dude, do you want Jorge to repeat it in Spanish for you?" he spoke, turning his head towards the older man.

"No!" Jorge repeated with a smile on his face. Bea flashed a fake smile at their attempt at a joke.

To be honest, she felt guilty for not being able to help; the safe haven was a community where everybody did their part. And here she was...not doing her part. She wanted there to be at least one thing she could do but she knew with Minho and Harriet being around, there was no chance in hell that they would let her do anything.

"Have you seen anybody else today, Hermana?" Jorge asked, making conversation.

Bea nodded, "I saw Fry this morning along with Harriet. And I also saw Sonya, Aris after I ate. I haven't seen Brenda and Vince yet because they're probably working but I'm sure I'll see them later."

"In fact," Bea added, "I saw Aris last night when we got back."

Jorge laughed raising an eyebrow. "Que pasa?"

"He burst into my room and had a go at me," she retold the story, Jorge listening intently so neither of the two noticing Minho getting up, "But after a bit he calmed down. He was so happy to see me, it's honestly adorable."

A grin had subconsciously made it's way onto her face; it always seemed to happen when she was speaking about the boy. Her eyes mindlessly trailed to the right to see Minho had walked away because Thomas was awake and up.

Bea's eyes widened. "Tom," she murmured. This caught Jorge's attention, him immediately putting down his tools. Slowly, Bea stood to her feet and with a little help from the Spanish man they slowly walked over to Minho and Thomas, who were now surrounded by the rest of their friends.

Minho engulfed Thomas in a tight hug, the brunette boy looking teary-eyed. Bea knew she would never understand what they were going through, loosing a brother, not a single ounce. The two boys leaned away from each other a pained look in their eyes.

Brenda sidled over to Jorge and Bea, smiling excitedly at the other girl. "Hi!" she greeted, "How are you feeling."

"Alright, thankyou!" Bea responded, giving her a thumbs up. The two definitely needed to have a longer chat later.

Thomas smiled politely at the group of friends holding sympathetic looks, that had crowded around him, until his eyes landed on Bea. In an instantly, he quickly walked over, a tear or two betraying him and trickling down his tanned cheeks.

Bea edged forwards, slightly in front of Jorge before Thomas enveloped her in a warm hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist, not overly tight due to his gunshot wound. Thomas' body gently shook against hers as he rested his chin upon her head.

"I'm so sorry Bea," he croaked out. "I'm-I'm sorry for leaving you after what happened. Y-You were bleeding out and I just left. I'm a terrible brother. I'm so so sorry."

"Nonsense!" Bea demanded, leaning back and narrowing her eyes at him, "You're a great brother. The best I could have asked for. You did what you had to do, you don't need to apologise for that. "

The boy nodded solemnly. "Still, I'm so-"

"Learn to stop talking Tom," she muttered, leaning her head back against his chest, staying in his grasp a little while longer.

Her words were truer than true; Thomas was a great brother to her and in all honesty, she didn't know what she would do without him.

---

"We have come a long way together," Vince began his speech, strolling back and forth round the bonfire with a warm mug of coffee in her hands. They were currently sat in the stands of an area surrounding a bonfire, the flames warm and bright, glowing up their new home. Bea was sat in the stands, Brenda on one side of her and Harriet on the other. Somewhere along their row, Thomas was sat with the rest of the Glader's while Sonya and Aris sat a few rows in front, hand in hand.

They are an adorable couple.

"So many have sacrificed so much to make this place possible. You're friends. And your family. So here's to the ones who couldn't be here-"

He lifted his mug up towards the crowd, the people lifting their cups too.

"-here's to the friends we lost. This place is for you, this place is for all of us. But this-"

He pointed around the camp with his finger, Bea's eyes trailing over the place which was the new home.

"This is for them. So in your own time, in your own way, come make your peace."

He walked his way over to a short, stone wall, stabbing a chisel into it. His idea was that people can carve in the names of the loved ones they had lost, so in some way, they would still be here, still be a part of them. Bea thought the idea was beautiful.

"And...Welcome to the Safe Haven!"

People cheered loudly at Vince's words, hollers and hoots filling the air while they clinked their drinks with their friends. Smiling, the brunette girl clinked her metal mug with Brenda and Harriet before taking a sip of her hot chocolate. Content, she sighed, turning her head to Harriet who gave her a quick peck on the lips.

Chatter grew amongst the ground as they dived into laughter and conversations. She was almost certain she heard Fry yell if anybody wanted some food. A feeling of warmth slowly spread in her stomach, through here limbs all the way to the hairs on head and to the tips of her toes. The only way to describe the feeling was: home.

She eyed Minho getting up from the stands, making his way over to the rock immediately. Although she wanted to, they hadn't had a proper conversation yet. She didn't want to force him to tell her everything he was feeling but there always has to be a start.

Letting the boy do his thing, she waited a few minutes before standing up from her seat. "I'll be back in a few minutes. I'm just going over to Minho," she explained giving her a quick kiss before slowly making her way down the stands.

Doing her weird walk - that she unfortunately will be doing for a while - she got closer and closer to the rock. She hovered over his shoulder, slightly to the left. He felt a prescence next to him and he instantly knew it was her. With a chisel in one hand and the knife in the other, he carved an 'N' into the wall, finishing a name reading 'Ben'.

"Who was he?" she asked quietly.

"My best friend."

He cleared his throat slightly, swallowing the lump in his throat. "We were runners together back in the maze. We used to run it everyday. But in the Glade we were always close too. He arrived a month after I did and from the moment I gave him the tour we clicked. He was like a brother to me. I miss him."

"You would like him too, although he's more annoying than I am," he laughed, trying to lightern the mood.

Bea smiled, the cool breeze causing her to wrap her jacket tighter around herself. "Well, that's quite a difficult task, considering you're the most annoying person I know. And that's very annoying."

"Oh shut up," Minho scoffed rolling his eyes.

There was a beat of silence as the two stared at the wall. There were a few other names including Newt's on there.

"I'm sure I would have loved him too," she concluded, nodding her head. She shuffled forwards, linking her arm with his while resting her head on his arm.

"I miss Newt."

Bea angled her head upwards so she could look at Minho, whose bottom lip was quivering.

"He's only been gone a day - less actually - and I already miss him so shucking much."

"That's understandable," the girl soothed rubbing his arm.

"But I somehow still feel like it's my fault. Like I should have taken the serum or-or"

"Screw that, Minho!" she breathed out in disbelief. "This is not your fault at all."

"I still feel guilty though," he mumbled in response.

Sighing, Bea unhooked her arm, turning so she was directly facing the boy with her hands on his shoulders. "I will remind you every day if I have to because it is not your fault. Got it?"

"Got it," Minho murmured. His eyes trailed downwards slowly, his blinking becoming more frequent.

Bea frowned at him. "Hey, how much sleep did you get last night."

"Uh-um...couple hours - Wait! It was quite a few maybe uh-" he stammered, trying his best to come up with a lie but Bea could see right through it.

"Bullshit. Tell me how much you actually got."

He mumbled something under his breath, too quiet for Bea to pick up.

"Repeat that for me.'

"I got no sleep last night, okay!" Minho blurted out hastily. "It-It's fine! I'm fine."

The brunette scoffed loudly. "That is definitely not fine." Her tone switched to something more softer. "Your eyes are red and you're barely awake. You keep going on about my keeping safe and staying off my feet but you need to take care yourself too."

"Yeah..." Minho sighed, genuinely agreeing with her. He licked his lips before continuing. "It-uh...it's just a bit difficult. Every time a close my eyes I'm back there again, being drained for the cure and-and all the mind simulations. The nightmares shucking suck."

Mind simulations? What the fuck did WCKD do to them?

"Well, you're not there," Bea stated, "You're in safe haven and ironically, you are safe here."

Minho smiled, nodding his head. "Yeah. I mean they will go away at some point won't they?"

"Oh, of course!" Bea nodded her head feverishly, "100% yes."

"Then it will be fine," Minho concluded, before adding, "At some point, anyway."

"That's the spirit!" Bea laughed, patting his shoulder. "Now I'm going to join the others and you are going to go straight to bed, before you fall asleep standing up."

Minho gave her a mock military salute, pulling a funny face causing them to both burst out laughing. "Yes ma'am"

"Say goodnight to everyone for me please."

"I will," Bea smiled warmly. "Goodnight Minho."

"Goodnight Bea."

Her lips curved upwards again as she smiled at him, the boy leaving the bonfire to head over to where the beds and hammocks were.

And at that momet she was at the perfect angle to see everything. All the good things; people laughing, cracking jokes, not having a single care in the world, a true taste of freedom.

Janson once told her she would regret it; that she would regret siding with the Gladers, regret helping them escape, regret staying with them, regret every single thing she did if she had left the WCKD building. But, oh boy was he wrong.

She didn't regret a single thing.

authors note:

AHHHH WTFFFF last official chapter. I actually really enjoyed writing this and originally I hadn't really planned out anything for it but now im happy with the stuff I added especially Fry because I feel like he needed more love in this story.

epilogue will be out soon hopefully and im hoping it is one you will enjoy! originally I wasn't gonna do an epilogue, but it was kind of a spontaneous idea to round the fic off and im quite looking forward to it.

as always don't forget to vote and comment (I love reading ppls comments and interacting with them so pls do!)