The Scorch Trials - completely different version :)

Epilogue

A/N: I know from the books and movies that the Glader's parents wouldn't have survived but this is a fanfiction! Anyway, hope you enjoy the final chapter of; The Scorch Trials- completely different version :) 

Thomas' POV

I could see the light above me before I even opened my eyes. 

I looked around the room I was in, it looked like a hospital room. I was lying in a small, uncomfortable bed, the artificial lights making me squint as I try to look past the open door. People were milling around, adults mostly. Pacing the large room as if they were panicked by something. 

My eyes locked on a middle-aged man, maybe in his early forties, he had scruffy brown hair and deep green eyes. He sat on one of the metal chairs, leaning forward as he watched his ex-wife pacing in front of him, she was a beautiful woman with auburn hair, honey brown eyes and light freckles. 

I looked at them both, somehow I remembered, more than I have ever remembered anything else from my past life. Since the day I turned 1 to the day Wicked took me from them- I hardly ever saw them together, and when I did, they were always fighting. Yet, here they are, together because of their son, because their son has been found. 

Before I could call for them, a doctor strolls into my room, closing the door behind them. The doctor had charcoal hair, pulled back into a ponytail. She looked over at me and smiled and everything seemed to fall apart. 

She looked a little like her, the same dark hair and intelligent eyes. 

I shut my eyes tight and counted to 10. The only way I could concentrate was focusing solely on the numbers: 8...9...10.

I opened my eyes again and took a shaky breath, I clenched my hands together and blinked through tears. The doctor frowns sympathetically. 

"The others told me about what happened, I'm very sorry for your loss," she spoke with a French accent, not what I expected. I nodded to be polite but inside I couldn't comprehend her words, it seemed impossible that what happened was true. She couldn't have died because I wouldn't have let that happen.

"Would you like to see your friends, Thomas?" she asked me. I nodded, I wanted nothing more than to see the others. I wanted to see them more than I wanted to see my parents. She came over and pulled off the covers and helped me stand. I knew none of my bones had broke but the shock made it difficult to stand. 

"Your friends were only just let out 5 minutes ago so you shouldn't feel too left out," she said smiling. I saw no reason to smile. I walked outside into the room and saw a room full of families.

A girl I didn't recognise, probably from another glade, ran past me and towards two men, who had their arms around each other, crying. She embraced them both in a group hug and I couldn't help smiling at the reunion. 

I saw Minho, hugging an older woman who I guessed was his gran, she had dark grey hair and circular glasses on. Then he hugged his mum and dad in turn before picking up a little girl- about 5 years old- who I guessed was his new sister. I looked over at my own parents, who stood shoulder to shoulder, watching me, unsure whether or not I would approach. 

I looked around me at all the other families, everyone seemed to be happy, embracing their families- until I saw a young man... 

  He looked in his late thirties, with raven black hair and icy blue eyes, he was standing alone, looking through the crowd for someone. My breath caught, I felt like my chest had been punctured with a knife. I owed it to him. I walked past my mother and father, I wasn't ready to talk to them yet, as I was passing my Dad stepped forward, his eyebrows creased but my mother put her arm out to stop him. 

"Let him see his friends first," she whispered. I looked across the room. Newt was hugging Sonja, his mum and dad in the background, crying with happiness. They all seemed to fit so perfectly. 

I looked back at Teresa's Dad, he was shaking, his arms at his sides. His eyes were full of worry and despair, I could see he already knew, he knew his daughter wasn't coming. 

It stung how much she resembled him, the same nose, eyes and hair. He saw me approach and I guess he read my face because his eyes welled up as he staggered back into his chair. I choked back a cry and sat next to him. 

"Don't tell me..." the man cried, "don't tell me how...it happened," he sobbed. I looked down at my hands, I knew this wasn't good for either of us, but he deserved to know that his daughter saved us, saved me. 

"What was her real name?" I asked him. He looked up at me and he seemed to strengthen as if the thought of her gave him power. 

"Deedee," he replied. I smiled at the name as if I was somehow closer to her by knowing a little bit more about her. Who she really was. 

"Believe me, Sir, I know this is hard. Your daughter was the stronger person I have ever had the privilege knowing, you need to know that. I was there with her when she fought through the maze, I followed her when she saved us from Wicked, and I loved her the rest of the way, and I still do," I choked out, pulling down the sleeves of my shirt.

"You would have been so proud of her," I finished, standing up. I breathed out as if I'd been holding my breath that whole time. I turned away from him and tried not to cry. I saw my mother run to me, my Dad close behind her. This should have made me so happy, but all I felt was guilt, sorrow and emptiness. How could we all be happy meeting our parents when our friends had sacrificed themselves to get us to this moment? Our parents have just waited for us, they never did anything to help. 

Our parents were meant to be our heroes, right? Well, ours aren't. 

Atohi was.

Kevin was. 

Teresa was. 

They were the ones who got us here, they are the reason I can face my family and tell them where they went wrong. I took one last look at the friends I still had, hugging their families and crying; despite them looking happy, I could still see the sadness in their eyes at the loss of our friends, everyone who died to get us here, right from Alby and Chuck. 

I looked back at Teresa's Dad, alone. Distraught that his child wasn't coming home, and it broke my heart and will continue to break my heart every day, for the rest of my life. 

I'll never forget her. Never. I turn to my mother and father, they run into me, pushing me back into a powerful hug. 

"You're safe now, Stephen, we're taking you home,"