i do not own the maze runner or any of its characters

ada
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I'm not sure how I became the Glen's therapist.

Nora liked to tell me that I had a 'listening face,' whatever that was. My friend said many things that I don't understand, so I just added it to the pile.

Maybe it all started when Juliet came into the Kitchen one day, sitting at the table with a weird expression on her face.

"Hey, Juliet."

I've seen her around but never really talked to her much. She was one of Lauren's Runners, so I only saw her at mealtime, and we'd made polite conversation. But that was the extent of our friendship.

"What brings you here?" I finished loading the dishwasher and joined her at the table.

"Can I," She stopped as if trying to figure out what she was going to say. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure, let me check that everyone's left."

My Cooks knew I liked to load the dishwasher at the end of the day and were pretty good about clearing out once dinner was done. That part of my day was always something Nora found really odd, but I found it therapeutic.

After making sure that we were alone, I came back to the table.

"It's just us here."

"Thanks. Nora told me you were a really good listener, and well, I can't really take this to anyone else just yet." The Runner shifted around in her seat, looking anywhere and everywhere.

"Hm." I mused, waiting to see if she would add on.

"It's, well, I don't want to be a Runner anymore."

That explains why she couldn't tell anyone.

"And, I guess I'm good at it because she said so when I was training, but I'm just tired. I have to make split-second decisions at every turn, and I've noticed that I keep coming back later every time. I want to be able to wake up each day, not wondering if it's going to be my last. Running takes a toll on you if you're not strong enough to handle the pressure. I feel like I'm beginning to crack. I'd love to do something else like maybe work in the Gardens!" Juliet's eyes lit up. "And I'd really appreciate it if you don't tell anyone, because, well," She looked at me.

"Lauren can get scary." I finished the sentence.

"You said it, not me."

I laughed. "You have my word."

The room went silent, and I noticed Juliet kept looking at me as if waiting for something.

"Did Nora tell you something else?"

"I didn't want to pressure you, but she also kinda bragged that you had solutions to every problem."

I thought for a moment. "Was this at last night's Bonfire, perhaps? The one where Nora almost finished our entire supply of Beth's drink?"

She went quiet. "It might have been, I dunno."

"It's alright. I might have a solution, but I really don't want to overstep."

"Oh, really?! That would be amazing; please tell me anything you have, Ada." Juliet grabbed my hands, pleading.

"I, personally, think that you should tell Lauren your feelings. She might be kinda scary, but she's also really compassionate and would understand where you're coming from. You remember when we were all here in the beginning?"

"And she went around comforting the younger ones, yeah, I remember."

"Exactly. And besides, if you're worried about not finding a Runner to replace you, I think the latest Blondie's really dead-set on being out in the Maze."

"She did track Lauren down as soon as she heard Lauren's Keeper of the Runners." Juliet laughed. "Thank you, Ada. This really helped."

She let go of my hands and stood up to leave.

"Of course, come back anytime." I smiled.

Nora was right outside the door, a package in her hands, waiting to come in.

"Hi, Juliet." She nodded as the Runner left.

"Please tell me you didn't hear any of that."

"Don't worry. I didn't."

"Come in; I still have to get ready for tomorrow. Is that my supply of bacon?" I questioned.

"Almost traumatized Emme, she came in questioning where her pigs went." She set the package on the counter and started unwrapping it.

I closed the fridge. "You didn't ask her?"

Nora shrugged. "You know Emme, she'd spend the entire day saying goodbye to each and every one of them, and you wouldn't have bacon for tomorrow."

She had a point. Emme was our Tender and got really close to every animal in her care. She and Nora had a long-standing, how to say it, grudge with one another, as Nora never asked permission to slaughter her animals.

"Still, you need to go apologize."

"She should be happy I didn't take the cows at the same time."

"Nora!"

✧♡✧

Emme came in for breakfast the next day, Terra in tow. The two were our resident vegetarians and always came in a little earlier for every meal.

"Your cinnamon rolls are in the oven. They should be done soon." I turned back to the bacon in front of me.

"Thanks, Ada!" Terra was always a morning person.

Emme didn't say anything, just nodded. By association with Nora, she had a grudge against me too. I had finally given up trying to talk to her and just treated her with civility.

"I tried to talk to Nora again, Emme. I figured you should know." It wouldn't hurt to try and create a friendship again.

Terra sat down at the table, watching the two of us.

"But, you should know that Nora's a, well,"

"Don't try to make excuses for her; we all know Nora's a bit of a stick."

Terra gasped. One of my Cooks dropped a spatula. "That's very rude, Emme."

"We were all thinking it." She shrugged.

"Angela, rinse it off, don't try to pick it up and reuse it," I told her. "And Emme, don't talk about my friend like that."

I finished the last of the bacon and turned to my second-in-command. "Flo, are you okay to handle the rest of this?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Great. Terra, your cinnamon rolls are ready."

As I left the room, I heard Terra wonder how I knew they were done.

"There wasn't a timer?" She asked.

"Ada never uses a timer. We've stopped questioning her methods awhile ago." Flo answered.

✧♡✧

Juliet came back that night, a big smile on her face.

"Thank you!" She gave me a big hug, even while my hands were all soaped up.

"I, you're welcome!" I gingerly patted her back.

"Oh, sorry. But thank you! I was able to talk to Lauren, and hopefully, I'll be able to retire once the Blondie's done training. All the Runners think that she'll be one of us. Even Blondie thinks it!"

Hearing Juliet refer to the Newbie only as Blondie made me wonder. "Has she not remembered her name yet?"

"Yeah, Cleo's started calling her Deedee, which drives her absolutely crazy."

"Oh dear, let's hope it doesn't stick."

"It probably will; Cleo's always one for nicknames." Juliet hopped on the counter.

"I'll be forever glad that Harriett shut down 'Dayda.' " We chuckled at that horrendous nickname.

"How did she even come up with that?" Juliet was still laughing.

"It's her special talent. The world may never know." I closed the dishwasher and started my nightly routine of closing down the Kitchen.

"Do you need some help?"

"No, I have to start locking down things because I'll come back in the morning with the fridge empty. I have some suspicions."

"You should ask Lauren; she's really good at knowing when people lie." Juliet shut the door behind us.

"I would, but she's one of my suspects."

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I?? Actually?? Got this done??

I wanted to get this out in honor of Valentine's Day, and I'm thrilled I got it!

If any of you were wondering:
(in order of appearance)

Ada- Ada Lovelace
Nora- Eleanor Roosevelt
Juliet- Shakespeare's Play, Romeo and Juliet
Emme- Emmeline Pankhurst
Terra- Latin for Earth
Angela- Angela Burdett-Coutts
Flo- Florence Nightingale

(P.S., you should really look up these ladies, they're really awesome!)

It really wasn't much of anything, but you got to meet everyone! Hopefully, I can get another chapter up soon, but don't bank on it :/