Disclaimer: I give James Dashner full credit for the Maze Runner Trilogy. The only character I own is Kelley.

I didn't know where I was. There was only whiteness. Nothing to indicate a place or time. Then, almost against all logic, the place grew brighter. I wanted to go towards the light. It seemed peaceful. It seemed like a place I could finally rest. I heard people singing. It was lovely. They were also calling for me, but it wasn't my name. They were calling for someone named Emily. I was confused, but I reached out anyway.

Then my surroundings started turning dark. Someone was pulling me away. I wanted to retaliate. I wanted to see where the light would take me. A woman's voice spoke to me.

"It isn't your time. I love you, Emily."

Her voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once. It was strangely familiar. I wanted to see her. I wanted to ask her so many questions. Who was Emily? Why can't I stay? Why can't I speak? Why must I go back to the maze when this place would make me happy?

New voices started filling in around me. There was yelling, and I thought I heard someone crying.

At first, the pain was very faint. Then I felt a liquid being poured on my leg and it all came rushing back to me. The maze. The griever. The gaping hole in my leg. I was lying face down on a bed. I screamed and everything went silent.

"WHAT THE SHUCK ARE YOU DOING TO MY LEG?!?!"

The conversations resumed and two people ran to my side.

"Hold my hand," It was Newt.

I grabbed onto his hand and squeezed. The pain was unbearable. I felt tears run down my face. I wanted to go back to that place of peace. I wanted to meet the woman who had spoken to me. I wanted to see her face and find out who Emily was. There had been people waiting for me there. Why couldn't I have at least met them before coming back to this hell?

I felt another hand on my arm. I looked up and it was Minho. He looked more worried than I thought possible for him. He hadn't seemed like the kind of guy to show he cared.

I was about to say something to him, but my leg burned. I winced at the pain. I could have sworn that I was on fire, but when I looked back I didn't see any flames. What I saw surprised me. They had found the missing chunk of my leg and were reattaching it. Clint and Jeff were working hard and covered in my blood. Alby was helping them with something. I couldn't focus enough to tell what it was.

Newt placed his hand on my face and turned it towards him, "It's better not to look, love."

I looked at him. His eyes were red and I noticed that there were tear trails down his cheeks. He had been the one I heard crying.

"Newt...are you okay?"

He smiled and brushed his hand along my face, "You're asking me if I'm okay?"

I started crying for a whole new reason. I was so happy to see him.

"Newt...I'm so sorry. I didn't mean any of what I said-"

"Shhh, I should be the one apologizing." A few tears fell down his cheeks, "I was such a slinthead."

My leg seared again with new pain. What were they doing back there? Sawing my leg off? I cried out and Newt snapped his head towards the Med-jacks.

"Clint, be shucking careful. You could bloody kill her all over again."

"That wasn't my fault, Newt. Now slim it you shuck-face. We're all worried." Clint said.

I looked at Newt and Minho, "What do you mean all over again?"

Minho looked at me sadly and rubbed my arm, "We'll tell you about it later. Just hold on for now."

I nodded and continued holding onto Newt's hand. I was worried I would hurt him by squeezing too hard, but he was good at making it look like it didn't bother him.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed. Newt had me drink some juice. I think it was orange. They kept talking to each other and I probably should have paid attention, but I was too tired. I was in too much pain to stay focused on anything else. Everything was hurting. I soon found out that my arms and stomach had been wrapped in bandages. It took me a while to remember that it was because I had been dragged across the maze floor.

I didn't want to be here. It seemed so much easier to just give up and be done with all of this pain. That white place was nice. I wanted to go back so badly. Why hadn't I been able to leave? Why did I still have to be here? Surely, there was nothing more I could offer to the Glade.

I started drifting off. I needed sleep. It was the only way I knew I could temporarily escape the torture of having my leg put back together again like Humpty Dumpty. I closed my eyes.

"Kelley, stay with me," Newt said. There was panic in his voice.

I moaned, "I'm just tired, Newt. Calm the shuck down, you pile of klunk."

I heard Minho chuckle, "I think she'll be fine, Newt."

I closed my eyes again and let myself fall asleep, silently hoping I'd find that white place again.

**************

When I woke up, I was sore beyond belief. They had turned me over in my sleep so that I was lying on my back now. My leg was propped up on a pillow. It had been bandaged and wrapped between two boards. A splint. Was my leg broken?

I looked around and I saw Newt and Minho sitting in chairs. Newt had fallen asleep, still holding tight to my hand. Minho was staring out the window, leaning so far back I thought he was going to fall over.

"What'cha doing?" I asked.

He was slightly startled and almost toppled over. I tried not to laugh so I wouldn't wake up Newt.

"You scared me." He sat in the chair normally. "How are you feeling?"

"Like the world's biggest pile of klunk," He chuckled at me a little. I remembered what I had wanted to ask him earlier. "So...what happened?"

Minho's face dropped, "Do you want the whole story?"

I thought about it for a while, then looked over at Newt who was still asleep.

I nodded, "Yeah. Don't sugarcoat anything."

"What was the last thing you remember?"

I thought for a second, "You were begging like a dog for me to stay alive."

The corner of his mouth twitched, "I wasn't begging like a shucking dog."

I smiled, "It's what it sounded like to me."

"Whatever, Greenie. Anyway, I got to the Glade and you fell unconscious from all the blood you had lost. Newt was the first one to notice us and he nearly fell off his rocker seeing you like that. We rushed you into the Homestead and Clint and Jeff started working right away. Halfway through patching you up, Alby noticed you weren't breathing."

He paused for a long while, staring at the wall. "They checked your pulse and your heart had stopped. Clint did CPR and for a couple of minutes. It wasn't working. We were going to give up, but Newt here wouldn't let us."

He paused again and looked at Newt. "I had never seen him so desperate before. I knew that if you weren't going to make it, Newt wouldn't have either."

I looked at Newt and remembered how I had seen him crying. I felt bad that I had gotten hurt. It had caused him more pain that I would have expected. I rubbed my thumb over Newt's hand.

Minho sighed, "Luckily, you started breathing again, but you wouldn't wake up. They got back to work on your leg and that's when you started screaming at everyone like a shuck banshee."

"So what's the consensus on my leg? Is it broken?"

Minho sat forward, "Not exactly. By some miracle, you hadn't been stung, but they said the griever's arm had chipped a little of the bone away and that if you were to put weight on it before it healed properly it would break like a twig. Not to mention that your ankle is sprained all over again. They put in a request in the Box for a wheelchair."

I looked at my leg. I wanted to scold it for getting hurt so much. I had just gotten better, and now it had to go screw me over again by getting worse.

"So until it comes, I'm confined to this bed, aren't I?"

Minho nodded.

I sighed, "Well, at least I've got you guys to keep me company."

Minho shrugged, "I'm only here for today. I won't be visiting much, so don't count on my gorgeous face to grace your presence often."

I laughed at him, "Oh dear, whatever shall I do without you?"

He smirked, "Is that sarcasm, Greenie?"

I smirked back, "No, I would never dare use that around you."

A smile slowly crept on his face, and then Newt started shifting in his seat. His eyes opened and he stretched a bit. Minho's face dropped a little and he stood up.

"I'll leave you two alone for a while." He left and closed the door behind him.

Newt looked confused but didn't seem too bothered by it. He looked at me.

"How long was I out?"

"I just woke up a few minutes ago so I guess not too long."

He nodded and yawned, "What did I miss?"

"Well, Minho told me what happened..."

Newt looked at me. He seemed so worn out and exhausted from the emotional run I had given him. It was still hard for me to grasp the fact that I had died. Then again, it made sense. The white place, the singing, the peace. I still had no idea who the woman was and why I was being called Emily. Maybe they thought I was someone else.

"Are you okay?" Newt asked.

I smiled a bit, "Yeah, but I'm more worried about you. Minho told me you were scared out of your mind. I'm so sorry you had to see me like this."

"No, stop apologizing. It wasn't your fault that a griever attacked you. It wasn't your fault that you had died. I just...I didn't..." He seemed to be having trouble with what he wanted to say. "I felt absolutely horrible that I had let you go out into the maze. You could have stayed dead and the last thing we would have done was fight." He sighed.

"I was stupid and a real shuck-face to leave you yesterday. You were scared. You needed me and I wasn't there to help you."

"Newt, you don't have to get so worked up. I was a jerk too, and I forgive you-"

"No, that's not it. I...I wasn't mad because of you. I was mad because of myself. I haven't been totally honest in telling you everything about me. I don't know why I kept it to myself. It was bloody foolish of me."

I didn't know what was going on. He had been keeping something from me? Why? What was it?

"Newt, it's okay. You can tell me anything."

He smiled sadly, "I know, and I wish I would have realized that sooner." He took a deep breath. "You know how I have a limp?"

Oh. I had honestly forgotten about that. It was something that was kind of there and I just never questioned it.

"Yeah?"

"Well, a long time ago, I was a Runner."

I was surprised. My jaw had dropped. "Really?"

He smiled a bit, "Is it that hard to believe?"

I shook my head, "No, no. It's just...Why didn't you said anything?"

He frowned a little, "Because you would have asked why I wasn't one anymore."

"Oh, yeah I guess I would have. But that doesn't matter to me."

He smiled again, "You've always been so understanding."

He stared at me for a while and then shook his head, "Well, it was about two years ago when I first came out of the Box. I was just like all the other guys, didn't know where I was, didn't know who I was, you know?"

He paused and everything got really somber. My heart started beating a little quicker, worried about where this was going.

"And even though all my memories were gone, I could still feel...that something was missing... I felt empty...and I...I just, I couldn't hack that...I couldn't take it... So one morning, I got up early...and I snuck out into the maze. No one ever suspected anything since I was a Runner..." He looked down at the ground, still holding my hand.

"I went out, and I found the tallest wall I could...and I climbed up there...and...I jumped off it."

My heart broke. I felt tears starting to swell up in my eyes.

"Of course I got completely tangled up in all the ivy." He laughed sadly, "Snapped my leg in three different places, like a proper shank. I landed hard on the floor... I thought that was it... and then Alby found me...somehow... He picked me up and took me back to the Glade...and we never told anyone the truth about what had happened."

Tears streamed from my eyes, "Newt...why wouldn't you tell me this? If I would have known...I never, I never would have said those things to you. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have-"

He smiled and wiped my tears away, "I know you didn't mean what you said. I've said things out of anger too. They just happen, so don't worry about it."

My chest was shaking with my sobs, "Why didn't you tell me?"

His smile faded, "Remember that rule that Alby had come up with when you first arrived?"

"Yeah, that I'm not allowed to date anyone."

"Well, yesterday morning, he had pulled me aside. He told me about how he was having you being sent into the maze with Minho and I knew it would torture you. I tried to make Alby change his mind, but I guess I was too obvious about how much I cared about you." He sighed.

"Then he pointed out how I was violating his rule... I hadn't realized until then just how much time I was spending with you. He warned me that I'd be forced into the slammer for the next month if I didn't get ahold of myself. I had gotten so angry at him for it cause...cause I didn't want to stop being with you."

I felt my cheeks start to turn pink.

"I finally agreed to let you go into the maze to prove to Alby that I could handle myself and that I wasn't disobeying the rule. He wouldn't believe me and then sent me off. I tried to act like nothing was wrong when I was with you, but then when you started asking me why I was letting you go into the maze...seeing how hurt you looked. I wanted to tell you that I didn't want you to go out there, that I understood what it was like out in the maze, that I had had my own traumatic experiences. But I knew that if I did...I'd get too attached to you, I'd never be able to let go. I knew that I'd be tossing Alby's order aside. I got so mad at myself... I had to leave you...so I did." His eyes started to get watery.

"Then when Minho came back with you in his arms, nearly dead, looking like you could barely breathe..." A tear fell down his face, "And when you died...I just...I lost it... I was ready to give up everything I had to bring you back. I knew that you were more important to me than any of Alby's rules."

He wiped away the tear and sighed, "I know things are going a little fast between us, but... You'll probably think I'm crazy for saying this, but I just can't shake this feeling that I knew you before... and that you meant the world to me."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My heart was soaring. He had felt the same way the entire time. It wasn't just me. I wasn't crazy.

"Ever since I met you, I've felt whole. That piece inside of me that was missing ever since I got here had been filled. It took me a while to realize this, to realize why I was drawn to you, but I eventually figured it out."

He held my face in one hand and held my hand in the other, "You were the part of me that was missing, and now that I've found you I'm never letting go."

I couldn't stop smiling. Nothing in the world could ruin this moment, ruin the way I felt. Even my leg seemed to stop hurting completely.

"I feel the same way too. Ever since I met you, there was this strange connection. I didn't understand it either, but there's no questioning it now."

He smiled and then kissed me. At first, I was surprised, but it quickly wore off and I kissed back. Sparks seemed to fly. We fit perfectly together. I knew that nothing had felt more right to me than being with Newt. I knew that this was why I was still here and I was grateful for that woman who had sent me back.

I wasn't sure how long we would have kissed, and I guess we'll never know because that beautiful and perfect moment was interrupted by a knock on the door. We reluctantly pulled away from each other.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Clint, I have some dinner for you."

I smiled at Newt. He was obviously ticked off by the interruption.

"Come in," I said.

Clint walked in and set down a tray of food down on the bedside table.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

I tried not to smile too big, "I'm feeling pretty shucking great right now."

Newt laughed. Clint looked confused.