A/N: I think this story begs some kind of continuance beyond what I have here, I'm just not sure what that will be yet and/or whether or not I'll continue it. I thought I'd post it first and see what kind of reception it gets (hopefully this is the right place to do that). This takes the beginning premise of 'Calm Down Caitlin' and reworks it so that Percy has already left with the mail train and another engine is left to figure out how to entertain her. Keep in mind, my knowledge of intricate railway/engine function is a bit lacking in comparison to probably a lot of you so there will most likely be some errors. I'd love to be corrected if there are, just with the prior acknowledgement that I'm still learning. In any case, here's the story. Feedback is most appreciated!
Spending the night on Sodor- the whole night! Was there anything more exciting?
Caitlin couldn't believe her luck as she charged down the mainline, the cool wind of the evening rushing past her as she took in the seemingly endless expanse of nightfall on the island. The mainland was different, to be sure; always busy, always bustling with night trains and the like. Not as such with quiet Sodor. It was amazing how free she felt to go as fast she wanted, the railway was practically hers! Or…she could pretend as such, anyway.
She had asked for permission to sleep at Tidmouth Sheds but she knew she wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight (Connor had called her easily excitable before and she supposed this was evidence to the fact). She chuffed onward to them anyway, having never really seen them before and knowing that it was home to the Sodor steamies she had befriended.
"Hey everyone!" Caitlin greeted with a sort of 8 am enthusiasm, despite the fact it was 10 pm and all of the engines had fallen asleep. "Wow, a turntable! That looks like fun!"
There were turntables to be had at the mainland, of course, but Caitlin didn't often have the opportunity to use them. She couldn't help but to move on to the platform and experience the clockwise spinning for herself.
"Wee! It is fun!" she declared, much to her personal amusement. How fortunate these Sodor engines were to have so many wonderful things!
When the turntable had positioned her towards the empty shed she caught sight of one engine that had apparently not gone to sleep. All the better for her- for as much as she was enjoying the solitude of the night she would have really liked some company.
"Hello, Gordon! You're awake!"
Gordon, on the other hand, was on the opposite end of the enthusiasm spectrum. Having been woken from a peaceful slumber by her exclamations, he was none too happy to see chipper Caitlin greeting him from the turntable.
"Well, I am now," he grumbled. "What are you doing here, Caitlin?"
Caitlin remained oblivious to his irritation.
"Vicarstown Bridge is closed for maintenance! Sir Topham Hatt said I could stay here!"
Gordon sighed, seeing there was no alternative; if Caitlin was stranded on the island with nowhere else to go then he supposed there was nothing for it but to share shelter. It wasn't that he minded her being there in theory (he'd choose Caitlin to take shed beside him over Spencer any day, the latter of whom was there far more often than the former) but he also needed sleep and Caitlin, being streamlined, didn't seem need it at all!
"Well, if you are going to stay here, you need to calm down and be quiet. Try…letting off a little of steam and shutting your eyes…mmmm…"
Gordon was effectively coaxed back to a doze with his own efforts. It did nothing for Caitlin, however.
"Oh, but Gordon!" she argued. "It's so exciting! All the tracks were clear…there were no other engines around. I could go really fast!"
It was something of a subtle effort to convince Gordon to join her, the only engine at Tidmouth Sheds Caitlin was confident could even begin to keep up. She knew sleep was necessary, but how could anyone waste such a beautiful evening in the shed? Oh, he had to see what the island was like at this time of night, he just had to!
"Wake up, Gordon!" she tooted, upon realizing he had fallen back asleep. He jarred awake with a startled gasp.
"Am I to get any sleep tonight, Caitlin? This is absurd!"
Now, Gordon was getting a bit cross and his patience for her was reaching its end. He was already contemplating the idea of shunting off her back on the railway to enjoy her night and let the rest of them sleep.
"Really, Gordon, you mustn't waste such a beautiful night in the shed. Have you ever been about the island at this hour? It's completely empty, it's wonderful! Come with me, we can race under the stars if you like! It feels like flying!"
Gordon rolled his eyes. "I'm in no mood to race! If I don't get any sleep I will surely-"
Henry, without opening a single eye, muttered out a sleepy suggestion that Gordon rethink his answer.
"Come on, Gordon- just for as long as it takes me to pick up the Flying Kipper?"
"Yes, please," James added. "She'll keep us up all night if she stays here much longer!"
Gordon did not normally take a selfless approach to his decision-making, particularly where sleep was concerned. He wondered if any of the other engines would do the same for him in a similar situation (deciding James definitely wouldn't). In truth, however, Caitlin's claim of empty tracks caught his interest; he did wonder what it would be like to go as fast as he pleased, with no concern for the slow coaches milling about the place or jostling express passengers. Sleep would always be a far more attractive option…but Caitlin didn't seem keen to leave without him, which would mean no sleep for him and no sleep for anyone else otherwise.
"Very well," he said finally, doing his best to show no eagerness whatsoever even if that aforementioned part of him was excited to chuff without reserve. "But only for an hour, and only with the promise that you'll let us sleep afterwards."
Caitlin didn't answer with a definitive yes or no, just an excited toot of her whistle and another squeal of delight as the turntable took her back around. Gordon followed her with another sigh, out into the clear expanse of the evening. At first, all he could think of was how drowsy he would be the next day, how his passengers would no doubt complain of an inefficient express. It would be absolutely shameful.
But as they continued onward down the mainline all practical thoughts left his mind. It wasn't often that Gordon went out at this hour and it was the first time in a long time he was seeing the blanket of stars above them wheel past at such a dazzling speed. Caitlin was right; going this fast, with nothing to slow them down, the night sky all around them and no clear destination other than to chuff onward, it did feel a bit like flying.
"Isn't this fun?" Caitlin called back, as she had managed to succeed him when he got distracted by the stars. "I told you it would be! But if we were racing you wouldn't be doing so well!"
Gordon remembered himself and shook the distraction, then built up steam and chuffed up alongside Caitlin in demonstration of how fast he could go.
"Are we racing then?" he asked, a bit of a competitive smirk on his face despite himself.
"Oh, I do hope so! I never get to race anyone other than Connor- everyone is too intimidated by my streamlining, I think. Not that I'm complaining, mind, but a bit of a change now and then is nice."
What might have been an egotistical brag from anyone else came off as somber from Caitlin, as if she regretted being as fast as she was, as if there was a bit of loneliness in being so gifted. Gordon didn't do well with offering assurances, even when he felt sympathetic for the other. As such, he answered in the only way he knew how.
"I am not intimidated by your streamlining," he boasted. "I am fastest and best and pull the express! If any Sodor engine stands a chance of besting your speed, it is I!"
This seemed to be the right thing to say. Caitlin grinned, announced, "You're on!" and the two of them were off, flying down the mainline.
How different the island looked at night. Gordon wondered if Henry or Percy had ever taken similar notice, or if they were so accustom to the sight now that the beauty meant nothing more than, say…a signal or a station in the daytime did to him. They were lucky to have such jobs, he thought (for the first and last time- he would remember the virtues of sleep when he returned to the sheds); they were fortunate to see this version of Sodor every night, to know the freedom that came with completely empty rails.
Even if they were racing there was no urgency on his part to win. Unlike his dealings with Spencer, this was not a matter of pride but rather…dare he say, an exercise in allowing himself some amount of leisure.
They continued on like this for a time, keeping one another's speed consistently. Because of this, Gordon suspected his 'opponent' wasn't going at her full potential.
"I do hope you're not compromising on my behalf," he said with a raise of an eyebrow as she chuffed along beside him. The blush on her cheeks answered his question.
"No offense, Gordon, but I fear I'd lose you down the line if I went as fast as I could."
Gordon scoffed.
"Don't be ridiculous, this isn't my full speed. You don't really think anyone would ride an express this slow, do you? Go on, do your worst."
Caitlin giggled and sped onward, finally gaining some amount of distance from him. It was then that he realized she was right; she could easily lose him...and without her beside him, he began to understand why she wanted company in the first place. The empty expanse of island was wondrous when he had a friend beside him, lonely and a bit intimidating otherwise.
"Caitlin!" he called ahead. "I think you've won, no need to continue!"
There was no immediate answer so Gordon chuffed on, faster this time out of nervousness for why she couldn't seem to hear him. They were nearing forested territory and the trees had begun to close in, giving him a sense of foreboding. He might have chortled at his own Henry-like nervousness if he were more detached from the increasingly scary situation.
"Caitlin!" he attempted again. "Caitlin, really now, where are you?"
He had to quickly throw on his brakes when he saw she had stopped. With an aggravating screech of his wheels stopping his impossible speed, he just barely arrived alongside her.
"Oh dear," Gordon groaned. "Someone will have heard that for sure…"
Caitlin paid his concerns no mind, distracted as she was by something beside her.
"Gordon…! Look!"
Gordon chuffed forward slowly to do so, now seeing just ahead of them a diversion of track leading into the woods. He was startled at the sight, beyond that fact that he had never seen it before in all his time on the island. The path itself glowed from lamps that had been hung on the trees, lamps that were unmistakably the kind used on engines.
"How beautiful!" Caitlin marveled. "You all are so lucky to have such lovely railway lines here. What is it? Some sort of short cut?"
"N-no, I-…I don't know! I've…never seen it before."
Undeterred by this revelation, Caitlin suggested they go down it. Gordon was flabbergasted. Was there anything more dangerous than disappearing down some odd bit of track into the woods? An engine could be derailed and left to rot!
"That is a very foolish idea, Caitlin," Gordon said, now stern again. "There are all sorts of old track running through the forests. If we get stranded there will be no one to rescue us!"
But Caitlin didn't listen, already coasting off on to the side split onto the glowing, mysterious track into the woods. Gordon tried to call after her again, to no avail. So it was, with every bit of apprehension in him, that he followed her. Perhaps a wiser, better slept Gordon would've realized it was much smarter to go back to Tidmouth and let someone know what had happened to her…but for now, all he could remember was the loneliness he felt chuffing along on his own and found that he didn't want Caitlin to feel the same way.
They were silent for a while as they went along, navigating this strange track much slower than they had the mainline. Gordon noticed that the track was dual gauge, fit for both standard and narrow. It didn't look old, either, but brand-new and gleaming as if it had been laid that afternoon. Surely this couldn't be a new branch line, there would have been publicity and construction underway for months before such a thing was debuted. He would have heard!
Fog began to roll in around them, so thick that even the lamps lighting the pathway could do very little to illuminate what lay ahead.
"I think we'd be better off turning back…" Gordon suggested, unaware of how obvious his fear was in the tone of his voice.
Caitlin, however, couldn't possibly turn back now. She had never seen anything like this! What wonderful secrets Sodor had to offer!
"This is not natural…" she heard Gordon mutter, insisting again, "We must go back."
"It's magic, for sure. We mustn't go back, Gordon! There is nothing more foolish than to turn one's back on magic. We were lead to this route, don't you see?"
She didn't suppose it would convince Gordon, but as long as he continued to keep up behind her it didn't really matter either.
No sooner had she said this than the sound of a high pitched engine whistle could be heard from somewhere down the line. The sound alone could have been blamed on another engine taking a nighttime delivery- had it not been somehow playing an odd, haunting melody. Caitlin stopped a moment to hear it without the sound of pistons pumping; Gordon stopped suddenly with a loud creak of his breaks.
"I've had quite enough of this!" he announced, his voice quivering even as he tried to sound firm.
"Don't be scared, Gordon! You're not alone!"
But Caitlin's words of comfort were not enough to assuage him. Gordon had already tolerated far more of this ill-begotten venture than he ever would have before.
"I'm very sorry, Caitlin, but I've had my fill. Neither of us should've ever taken this track in the first place!"
Now a bit angry, born from her frustration of how close she knew they had to be the source of all this, Caitlin snapped back,
"You're just going to leave me, then?"
Gordon was indignant that she would even suggest such a thing.
"No," he said, his voice low with anger of his own as his driver got out and coupled him up to Caitlin's coal car. "I am taking you with me, whether you wish to go or not. This is not a safe place for any engine to be!"
Caitlin gasped, far too taken back to escape before she could be coupled up. Gordon began chuffing back down the line immediately, fast enough that Caitlin couldn't get any traction to try to go the opposite direction. She tried to yell at him in protest but it was then that a strong, harsh wind began to blow and the constant glow from the end of the trail flickered. She was alone in seeing the shape of an engine far off down the line, the bearer of the flickering light, watching them as they reversed back.
"Oh my-…who is that?" she asked to no one in particular, a question that went unanswered for as long as it took them to move backwards, back on to the mainline. Gordon even went so far as to shunt them forward, just out of reach of the split of track.
Caitlin was livid and offended beyond all reckoning that Gordon would force her direction in that way.
"How dare you!" she exclaimed as they were uncoupled. "What right do you have to take control of me?"
Gordon wouldn't tell her that he immediately regretted his decision, his pride not allowing him to do so.
"You were being foolish," he argued. "Something strange was afoot on that bit of track. Who knows what might have happened if I hadn't elected to take us out!"
"You could have left if you wanted, if you really are so cowardly. You had no right to take me as well!"
"And be held responsible for what might have happened to you afterwards? I think not!"
That did nothing to charm her further. If Gordon only cared for her to the extent of his own self interest then this was a very poor friendship indeed.
"I might have known," she scowled. "You really are just a pompous, big-headed chunk of metal, just as Spencer said. If I was foolish it was only because I let myself think otherwise."
Caitlin reversed back towards the split of track and Gordon, who had thoughtlessly diverted on to the track beside her, gaped at all that had just been said to him. Spencer? Pompous? Chunk of metal…? Her words cut him in a place so he deep, he hadn't been aware of it until now. Still, Gordon was who he was, and for however hurt he might have been it came so much easier to default to the same self-righteous anger he was being lambasted for.
"And you are annoying and impetuous! I only accompanied you so that the other engines might get a wink of sleep and not have to contend with your endless chatter!"
The fact that the trail had now disappeared completely, as if it had never been there to begin with, was of little concern to Caitlin in light of Gordon's harsh words. She stared disbelieving at him for only a moment before chuffing off in tears, faster than he would have had any chance to catch up to even if he had tried.