Thomas and Emily are two special engines of Sodor. Thomas is the Fat Controller's No. 1 engine and Emily is the most beautiful engine Sodor has ever seen, but she's also Thomas' emerald angel and girlfriend. Being in love, both engines had a nickname for each other. Emily would call Thomas 'Tommy' and Thomas would call her 'Em'.
Ever since Thomas took Emily to Black Loch to see the seals, she had that nickname for him. Thomas didn't like it at first, mainly because he was afraid of being teased by the other engines. As time passed, he grew to like that name as it sounded cute to him. Emily was also careful not to say that name amongst the other engines as she understood Thomas' concern of being teased.
Just a few days ago, Henry had been pulling the express after Gordon ran late and was given goods trains instead. Thomas still found Gordon's predicament rather funny. Emily did too. She was proud of Henry taking the express, just like she and Henry did when Gordon was being repaired after his jam accident.
One morning, she and Thomas were idling at Knapford Station and waiting for their passengers to board. As usual, Thomas was looking at Emily in awe and wonder. She didn't mind though. She liked how he admired how beautiful she was.
"Do I look lovely this morning, Thomas?" she asked with her sweet smile.
"You're always looking lovely, Emily," answered Thomas. "Isn't she, Annie and Clarabel?"
"Of course, Thomas," the coaches replied. Just then, James came by with a goods train to gather more trucks. Thomas and Emily didn't notice as they kept talking.
"I'm happy we're taking passengers…together. I think passengers really like travelling with us," said Thomas.
"Because we're really useful, Tommy," Emily replied. Thomas' heart jumped with alarm. Normally he would have smiled at his nickname…but James was right there on the separate platform…and he had heard the name.
"Tommy? Tommy?" He exclaimed. "Is that your little engine's pet name for Thomas?" Before Thomas could retort, James spoke again. "Tommy! Tommy! It's Tommy the Tank Engine!"
Emily was so ashamed of slipping her secret, she didn't speak. Then she became very frightened. She looked at Thomas with peril and fear.
"Emily…he was…" Thomas began, sounding concerned. Then Emily's guard's whistle blew and she took off with a start.
"Emily!" whistled Thomas, but Emily kept going. She was very frightened if James would spread the word. Perhaps the engines wouldn't tease him. Edward certainly wouldn't and maybe Henry wouldn't. But James and Gordon would do so in a very rebellious manner. All she could do was pray that this wouldn't hurt her love with Thomas.
Thomas, meanwhile was huffing uneasily along his Branch Line. Annie and Clarabel asked why he was going so uneasily on his way.
"Emily slipped our secret at the wrong time," he muttered. "I don't know what to do now. I like my nickname, but Emily has never used it amongst anyone else…especially not James!"
Thomas then stopped at Elsbridge Station and heard a deep whistle. Gordon came by with a grin as if he was ready to laugh.
"Hello…Tommy," he said before laughing with quite a wheeze. "James told me the most peculiar thing…you've a pet name from Emily!"
Thomas hissed annoyingly without a word and puffed away while Gordon continued to laugh. "Keep on time, Tommy!" he teased.
"Oh...James!" he wheeshed. He would have been cross at Emily for slipping his nickname in front of James, but then again, he didn't notice James due to enjoying talking with her.
"I can't be angry at Emily," he said. "If I saw James first, I could have told her quietly."
Emily was still very scared of what Thomas would say to her when they next saw each other. She thought he'd be very mad and maybe want to stay away from her. Then she heard a laugh that made her boiler gurgle frightfully.
"Oh! Tommy! How could such a name possibly be dignified?" laughed Gordon as he flew past Emily.
"Quiet, you!" she snapped after him. "Oh no! James told him! He might tell the others!"
On his Branch Line, Thomas came across Percy with some milk tankers. When he saw Thomas, he tried not to laugh. "Hi, Tommy," he said.
"Tommy? What are you talking about?" asked Thomas.
"Tommy…that's your nickname. James said so…what a funny nickname!" giggled Percy.
"It's not funny!" snapped Thomas. "It's private!"
"Not quite," peeped Percy. "James told Gordon, me and Henry. He might tell Edward." And he puffed away laughing.
"What?! Cinders and ashes! Teasing galore!" groaned Thomas. "Why, Emily?! Why did this have to happen?!"
Emily met Percy and Henry later that day in the yards. "Hello, Emily. Where's Tommy at?" asked Henry.
"Oh no…did James tell you?!" gasped Emily.
"Yes. Tommy might hear something from Edward soon," said Henry.
"Yes he will," said Emily. "But Thomas will NOT be teased over this! I'm gonna help him, I won't let him be teased by YOU!" she said sternly, and she hurried away to find Edward, leaving Henry and Percy a little surprised.
Emily hurried along the Branch Line until she found Edward at his station. Edward saw Emily looking worried.
"Emily, what's the matter?" he asked.
"Thomas' privacy and kind treatment," she said. "Did James tell you about his nickname?"
"Tommy…yes," said Edward.
"Edward…you know that was meant to be my private nickname for Thomas…I didn't notice James at the station because Thomas and I were still talking together. I thought I'd make him happy by calling him Tommy, but now that James knows, he's told all of you and now, I'm so afraid he'll be angry at me! Please do not tease him, Edward!" begged Emily. "The other engines might be doing so badly enough!"
Edward looked at Emily with a serious look. "Emily, I am the voice of reason in the Steam Team. I look out for everybody. It is my responsibility to be friendly and helpful to engines. Would you like me to talk to him?"
"If it will help, thank you, Edward," said Emily, but her eyes began to water, she was so worried during the day. "I need to be alone…" As she left, Edward thought he heard her start to cry. He knew he had to find Thomas and reassure him a little bit.
He looked around the Branch Line, but couldn't find him. As he came back to Knapford Station, he heard some stressful whispering behind a signal box. Edward slowly approached the signal box and found Thomas looking very unhappy and glum.
Thomas looked and sarcastically said, "Go ahead. Tease me. I'm not Thomas. I'm Tommy, I get it."
"Thomas," Edward said. "I'm here to help you. Not to tease you." Thomas looked stressfully at Edward.
"Emily told me what happened this morning…You shouldn't be ashamed to have a nickname. Nicknames are something to be proud of. Charlie called me Eddie all the time and no one seemed to say much," said Edward. "Nicknames are compliments, praise, and a personal gift from a friend. Never mind what Gordon, James or anyone else says. To Emily and I, your nickname is perfect and we respect it. After all, your love gave it to you for a reason."
This gave Thomas a little bit of strength, but he still feared of being constantly teased by other engines.
"I don't want to be constantly teased about this, Edward," he said. "But if you or the Fat Controller could help me…thank you. Maybe the engines can learn something good from nicknames so they won't tease us."
"I'll see what I can do, Thomas," promised Edward. "Now you go along now and reassure Emily. She's very scared of what you'll say to her next."
"She is?" asked Thomas.
"Yes," said Edward. "You'd better help her feel better. I'll fetch the Fat Controller."
Thomas went unhappily back to Tidmouth Sheds, only to hear a sound that made him even more unhappy.
"Emily?" Thomas followed the sound to a closed berth. From inside, he could hear her crying and voicing her worst fears ever.
"I said it at the wrong time! They all teased him! Now he'll dump me! I'll never be loved again!" Then more sobs and wails followed.
"No, Emily," Thomas whispered. "I'll always love you." He moved forward and gently pushed the doors open. Inside was poor Emily, crying and sobbing her eyes out and heart out. Tears were dripping down her drenched face, off her running plate onto the track in front of her. She was crying so much, her tears had formed a large puddle beneath her front wheels.
"Emily…" Thomas whispered.
"Thomas! My precious, beloved engine!" sobbed Emily. "I'm so sorry! Everyone knows our secret now! I never wanted to slip it because I knew you were frightened of being teased! If only I saw James first, this wouldn't have happened. I just love you so much, Thomas! Please forgive me! Don't dump me, PLEASE!" Just saying those words made Emily cry even more. Then she began to sniffle and hiccup, making Thomas cry too. He buffered to Emily and kissed her, only to notice her cheek was soaking wet from all her crying. He could feel more of her warm tears drip on his lips into his mouth, making him sniffle too.
"E-Emily," he sobbed. "Don't EVER talk of me dumping you! I'll NEVER discard you. I love you so much!" But Emily continued to cry.
"I swear, Thomas, I'll NEVER embarrass you again! Not EVER in my life!" she sobbed through her closed eyes as her tears kept leaking out.
"Help her, Bob," Thomas whispered. His driver stepped down with more than one handkerchief, being given some by the fireman. Then, just as he did after Thomas returned from Misty Island, he climbed onto Emily's running plate. Emily felt something dry and fluffy gently patting on her face. She opened her eyes to see Thomas' driver gently drying her tears. And she saw Thomas gently touching her buffers. His driver stepped down while Thomas spoke up.
"Emily, I may be teased about it, but I will still always love the nickname you gave me. Nicknames are something to be proud of…Em," he said.
"R-really?" she whimpered. "You're not mad?"
"No, Emily, I'm not," smiled Thomas. "Besides, the engines already know of our names, emerald angel and cobalt star. Maybe knowing our nicknames isn't too terrible. Charlie always called Edward 'Eddie' and he didn't mind...Nicknames are a good thing to have. They give us a friendly approach and sometimes humorous qualities. Edward can help us."
"So…I can still call you Tommy?" Emily asked, smiling through her tears.
"Of course, Em." Thomas then gave Emily a kiss on her cheek again. From crying, Emily's face was more sensitive than usual. Thomas' kiss actually tickled her cheek.
"Tommy…He-he-he…your lips tickle," she giggled. And she kissed Thomas in return.
"Your lips tickle too, Emily," laughed Thomas. They spent a few minutes gently kissing each other's lips, giggling softly in between, when they heard a familiar whistle. Edward was outside, waiting for Thomas. Thomas backed out onto the turntable, turned round and backed into the berth next to Emily. Emily came out as well.
"Edward? What's going on?" asked Emily. From Edward's cab, the Fat Controller leaned out.
"Hello, Thomas," he said kindly. "Edward told me everything, and I know how you must feel. Edward and I are here to set things right."
Thomas looked at Edward, who smiled heartfeltly at him and Emily. He came into the berth beside Thomas and waited for the other engines to return. Sometime later, Henry, Gordon, James and Percy came by, still chuckling to each other, talking about Tommy…but seeing the Fat Controller beside Edward made them go quiet and they all became a little concerned.
Then the Fat Controller spoke up. "I've been told by Edward about something that happened this morning. Something about a secret of Thomas and Emily's that got slipped unintentionally by Emily herself." The four engines looked slightly ashamed.
"Apparently, Thomas does have a nickname…Tommy," continued the Fat Controller. "Of course, it's nice to keep our own little secrets and we don't want to say everything, but neither Thomas nor Emily noticed they were alone." He turned to Thomas. "Edward is right, Thomas. You shouldn't be ashamed of your nickname. Remember it doesn't matter what others say. I like your nickname too actually."
Thomas smiled at the Fat Controller before he turned back to the other engines. "Now, you may all know Thomas' nickname, but teasing him isn't the smartest gesture. If you want to greet him by that name, go ahead, but I will not stand for teasing. Maybe you all have nicknames of your own, and you should be proud of them too. Let us appreciate Thomas and Emily's former secret and treat it with respect and dignity."
After the Fat Controller left, the other engines settled into their berths, looking apologetic.
"We're so sorry, Thomas," said Henry. "We didn't want to tease you…or at least most of us didn't." and he sneered at Gordon and James.
"Truly, Thomas, we didn't mean any offense," peeped Percy.
"It's OK, Percy. As long as my nickname is appreciated like the Fat Controller said to, I'm proud to share it…or we're proud to share it," said Thomas as he winked at Emily. She winked back with a smile. Some time passed before Thomas suddenly asked.
"Uh, the rest of you…My nickname is Tommy…do any of you really have a nickname from someone else?"
"Mine is Eddie," said Edward.
"Mine is Em," said Emily.
"What about you, James?" asked Thomas. James wanted to speak up. He heard that nickname in his head being spoken by a familiar voice. "Jimmy," it said. But he wasn't ready to share his secret. "Uh…no, I don't," he said.
"Percy?"
"I don't have a nickname, Thomas," replied Percy.
After a few moments, Thomas said, "How does Pip sound, Percy?"
"Pip? Sounds like pipsqueak to me," laughed James.
"James!" scolded Emily. "Ignore him, Percy. You may be small, but you handle any job the same way as any big engine would," she reassured.
"Hmm...OK, sounds good to me," said Percy.
"Henry, how about you?" asked Thomas.
Henry thought for a moment, then spoke. "No one gave me a nickname…but I would like a nickname as a compliment of friendship."
Thomas thought. "How about…Hudson?" he asked. "As in Connor's engine class? You're big and strong like him."
"Hudson…I like that," smiled Henry.
"Gordon? Would you like one?" asked Thomas.
"Not if it's indignant. Choose carefully," grunted Gordon.
"Geoffrey?" asked Thomas. "I promise I won't bluff about it anymore."
Gordon thought about that. "Hmm…very well. But don't use it too much. I actually believed the word that was spread about Geoffrey."
"For the sake of friendship, I will only use it sometimes," promised Thomas.
"Good, that's settled," agreed Gordon. After most of the engines fell asleep, Thomas looked back at Emily. He was happy to see her smiling.
"Well, Emily…we don't have to be ashamed about nicknames. We should be proud."
"You're right, Tommy," Emily said, happy that she didn't have to be frightened about saying that name amongst others. "Nicknames are very cute…just like you. Would you like a little nighttime gift?" she asked sweetly.
Thomas winked and turned round on the turntable to Emily's berth. Neither engine was being seductive. Rather, they were looking at each other with gentle, happy love.
"I love you, Thomas," Emily whispered.
"I love you too, Emily," Thomas whispered as they kissed each other gently and softly for a little while, giggling quietly and happily. Thomas eventually released Emily's lips and kissed her cheek goodnight. Emily kissed his cheek too.
"Sweet dreams, Emily, I love you," yawned Thomas.
"Sweet dreams, Tommy. I love you too," whispered Emily. Then they both fell asleep in each other's loving bond.
OK, I have an important announcement to make. Starting next week I am beginning to take a one year art course in a local college near where I live. It's four days a week, six or seven hours a day, however Wednesdays are half days so I finish earlier on those days. The gist of it is I'm going to be really busy for the next six or seven months, so there's a possibility you may be seeing new stories less frequently, I have stories scheduled for Christmas, so should things get really busy around, then those stories, ESPECIALLY "Thomas' Christmas Tree" will be the main focus. That's how things may go down.
And for the record the beginning does feature a reference to "Henry Gets the Express" (amazing episode!) and James' "Jimmy" nickname is something from "A Cracked Ruby." So in your reviews tell us what you thought of this story. For now, goodbye.