Hello everyone! This is the fourth fic of Gordon and Caitlin's saga, and I would like to say some things that I could not say at the end of the previous story because I was too hurried to release the last chapter. As I had stated in an Author's Note, I wanted to portray the life of the characters as close as possible to their real history. So, taken into account that no one of the EM-1s has been preserved, originally Austin and Nathaniel were going to be scrapped...
In real life, the end of the EM-1s was sad. The engine #659 (formerly #7609) built in 1944 and parked in Butler since her retirement; was in the roster to go to the museum along with the P7 #5300 "President Washington" and the USRA Mikado #4500, but she didn't go. They say that it was due to lack of funding, but another version; the best known among the B&O's fans, states that she was scrapped by error due to lack of communication between the museum and the dead storage yard. Whatever it's what has happened, the #659; the only EM-1 still alive, ended up disappearing under the scrapper's torch, while the P7 and the Mikado were donated to the museum. The unfortunate EM-1 was photographed for the last time at Butler's scrapping yard on May 28, 1961.
In the original plot of *A Place in Their Hearts*, Nathaniel was going to be that unfortunate engine, and he would be scrapped after sending the second video to Caitlin. He would start his speech like this: "My friends, when you see this video, I'll already be at the Railroad of the Clouds. But I'll go happy by knowing that I was forgiven and that I have a place in your hearts..." (I still can't believe I was about to write such a thing). But then I remembered that Connor and Caitlin's bases were also scrapped in real life, and still, they were preserved in fiction. So, why not preserve the EM-1s in fiction as well? And that's how the plot of *A Place in Their Hearts* was drastically modified, although maintaining its original name and summary. And it allowed the birth of this new fic, *Together at Christmas Eve*, the most spiritual of all my stories. Hope you like it! :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Thomas & Friends. All recognisable characters belong to HiT Entertainment. They are used for entertainment purposes only.
The OCs Nathaniel, Austin, Bernard, Washington, Jessica, Gabriel and Sophia Sand, the O'Mara Family and Joseph McAllen belong to me.
CHAPTER I
TIME IS RUNNING OUT
"How will I say to my smiling shooting star that her baby is about to be scrapped?" –Gordon
Cumberland-MD, USA.
She was undoubtedly determined to dazzle with her blue beauty all those who saw her.
There were enough places to land, but she preferred to keep herself in the air by flying from one place to another. Or maybe she was only confused, since landing on iron was not usual for her.
Be that as it may, she was giving Nathaniel a pleasant moment this summer morning. "Come here…" whispered the giant engine, "land on my pilot… so that I could see you better… please, butterfly… I've waited years for this moment…"
Nobody knows if the butterfly understood what Nathaniel said or if she was simply tired of flying. But the truth is that she landed on the photo frame the engine had behind his lamp. The wood of the photo frame was certainly fresher than iron.
"Wooow…" thought Nathaniel, smiling widely. He could not believe he was finally seeing a blue butterfly…
Nathaniel; the magnificent B&O's EM-1 #679, had been removed from service on April after a serious failure of his brake system due to lack of maintenance. He would had been immediately scrapped at Cumberland's dead storage yard were if not for the fact that his engineer; Mr. O'Mara, convinced the heads of the railroad to give him a period of time to wait for a possible buyer. Mr. O'Mara had asked them seven months, considering that his wife; who was pregnant, would give birth in November and Nathaniel wanted to see the baby before leaving. The day of his retirement, Nathaniel made peace with Bernard; a beautiful EMD F7A diesel with whom he did not get along well.
And now, he was in a shed at a shunting yard, waiting for his fate and watching something he always wanted to: a blue butterfly.
The butterfly began to flap her wings slowly, as if she really wanted Nathaniel to admire her. The centre of her wings was an intense blue colour, which was lightening up to reach the edges, where a black line gave the final touch to her beauty. She stayed on the photo frame for a few minutes, and then she started to fly again.
"Bye, beautiful," said Nathaniel; "and thanks for visiting me!" But much to his surprise, the butterfly landed on his nose. "Oh! Hee! Hee!" Nathaniel narrowed his eyes to be able to see her well. "Do you want me to be your friend, precious? Okay, I'm your new friend… But don't forget to visit me as much as you can, please?" The butterfly did not say anything, but in return, she completely opened her wings and touched Nathaniel's nose with them. "Mmm… you're so tender, little one… I like you too…"
The scene was tender indeed, and Nathaniel felt very happy. While feeling the insect's little wings against his skin, he remembered the moment he asked Caitlin if there were no butterflies of her colour…
After a while, the butterfly moved from the EM-1's nose and kept herself in the air in front of his eyes. "Be careful, precious," said Nathaniel sweetly, "a shunting yard isn't a good place for you… But thanks for visiting me… You made a dream of mine come true… I like you…"
The butterfly waited a few more seconds, and then she flew away.
Nathaniel followed her with his gaze until she disappeared, and then he looked at the engine that was right in front of him. "Wow! That was impressive, wasn't it Bernard?" His friend did not answer. For some reason, the diesel had his lips pressed and his cheeks inflated. "Bernard?! Ha! Ha! Ha! What are you doing? Breathe, you clown!"
"PHEEEEEEEEEEEW!"
"HA! HA! HA!"
"Don't laugh! I made the sacrifice of stopping breathing so as not to bother that butterfly!"
"Ah! Sorry then!"
The two engines laughed out loud.
"Tell me, Nat; why did you want to see a blue butterfly after all?"
"Well, I just know I've wanted it from the day I was born. Maybe because blue was the first color I saw."
"Oh… it makes sense." Bernard sighed. "I would like you to be free like that butterfly, Nat. It's already four months since your retirement and no buyer has appeared yet…"
Nathaniel looked tenderly at the diesel. "There's still three months until November, my friend… Many things can happen during that time… Besides, I already got all what I wanted. So, if I must go, I'll go happy."
Bernard smiled sadly. "I'll miss you a lot… but at least I'll be able to remember you with joy by knowing that you left happy."
"Glad to hear that. I don't want you to stay sad… By the way, your train will be ready at any time. How about you finish telling me the funny news you had brought?"
"Oh… you're right. Um… where was I exactly?"
Nathaniel chuckled. "Right there where you're now…"
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Oh, Nat!"
Island of Sodor, one month later.
Gordon and Caitlin were side by side at Knapford Harbour, watching the first autumn sunset.
As has already happened on other occasions, Spencer offered to take Caitlin's passengers to the mainland so that she could spend the evening with Gordon. So, the two engines in love were now enjoying the moment.
Gordon saw that Caitlin was smiling with her eyes closed. "What are you thinking about, sweetie?" he asked.
"Oh, my love… I'm thinking about Christmas… I'm excited with the news you gave me about the party at Vicarstown Station… It's just three months until it! I only hope the snow doesn't force the closure of the tracks this year."
Gordon smiled. "I also hope so… I really want to be with you… It'll be our first Christmas together."
"Yes… our first Christmas together… Aww… that will be so romantic..."
Gordon looked at Caitlin with tenderness. He still wondered what he did to deserve such a sweet girlfriend. And even more, he still wondered how Caitlin had not fallen in love with Connor or… Nathaniel. "I'll make sure it'll be very romantic," said Gordon. Then he added in a whisper; "After the party... I'll kiss you until dawn."
"Oh!" Caitlin giggled. "I can't wait for that…"
"Me neither…" Gordon winked at his beloved.
Gordon was also excited by thinking about the Christmas party at Vicarstown Station. Although the official announcement was not given yet, Gordon got the news from Gabriel Sand. There would be a carol concert by the children's choir, followed by a ceremony to turn on the lights of a big Christmas tree located at the entrance to the station. And, of course, there would be the fireworks show as a final touch.
While watching the sunset, Gordon was soon intrigued by something. "Oh, dear…" he thought, "and what am I going to do to surprise Caitlin this time? I've dedicated a love song to her on our first Valentine's Day… What other thing can I do now? I want to show her that I'll always do anything to make her happy…"
Gordon continued enjoying the sunset with Caitlin and thinking about what he could do to surprise her on Christmas.
He did not imagine what he would end up doing. He would surprise Caitlin with something for which he would have to fight to get.
Meanwhile, in Wellsworth, a young man was watching a photo on the wall of Gabriel and Sophia's house while drinking a cup of tea.
This young man's name was Joseph McAllen. He was a pianist and had been Gabriel's schoolmate. He and Gabriel were part of the choir of the school, and besides singing, they also played their instruments; the piano and the harp. He did not only share the passion for the music with his friend, but also the passion for the railway. In fact, Joseph was training to be a driver under the guidance of the experienced driver Charlie Sand.
And at this moment, while savouring the tea with his two friends, he could not take his eyes off the photo he was watching. There was an engine there, who seemed to be smiling at him. Joseph was so hypnotized by the image that he did not realize that Sophia had just placed a tray of cupcakes on the table.
"Are you there, Joseph?" asked Gabriel.
"The cupcakes are done," added Sophia.
"Huh? Oh… sorry. I was miles away… Mmm! These cupcakes smell delicious, Sophie!"
"Thank you, Joseph. By the way, I saw you were looking at that photo…"
"Yes. Who are they? The engine seems to be from the USA."
"He is, indeed. He's an EM-1 from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. His name is Nathaniel, and the man on his pilot is my second cousin Brian O'Mara. Brian was his driver during fifteen years."
"Wow… But, what happened to Nathaniel?"
"He is parked in a shed at Cumberland's shunting yard," explained Gabriel. "The poor thing is waiting for someone to buy him. If no one saves him; he'll be scrapped in November."
"What?! How do they dare to scrap such a beautiful engine?"
"Well, the railroad is totally dieselized. Besides, Nathaniel has the disadvantage that one of his brothers was already saved."
"That's shouldn't be an excuse. What's the problem to save two engines of the same class? Poor Nathaniel… Look at his angelic smile… I bet that he's a sweet soul in addition to being a beautiful machine."
"In fact, my cousin loves him as a son," said Sophia. "There's a strong fond between them."
"Oh, no… I don't even want to imagine how sad he'll feel on having to say goodbye to his beloved engine."
"That's the hard part of being a driver, Joseph," said Gabriel. "Even in our case; although the engines of Sodor are never sold nor scrapped, we must be prepared to say goodbye to them as well. An accident could leave an engine unable to work for the rest of his/her life, not to mention that one day we'll reach the age of retirement."
"I know… Every rose has its thorns… But I would have liked that Nathaniel could be saved…"
Joseph looked at the photo once again. Nathaniel's smile had stolen his heart. He even imagined himself in the cab of such a beautiful machine…
One month later, back in Cumberland, it was the cold morning of the last Sunday in October.
Mr. O'Mara was sitting on the top level of Nathaniel's pilot, with his gaze lost to the horizon. He would have liked to have good news for his engine in addition to the fact that his little sibling would be born within the following days, but he did not have it.
No buyer had appeared yet. And most likely; no one would no longer appear before the deadline.
Actually, two businessmen have been interested in buying Nathaniel. But, as they did not find any nearby railroad that gives them authorization to use its tracks, they desisted from the purchase.
But Mr. O'Mara did not give Nathaniel this terrible news. He did not want the heart of his engine to be broken.
"Sir…" called Nathaniel in one point, looking fondly at his engineer, "it's all right… We had already considered this possibility… this big possibility, by the way… Don't worry about me… I'll be fine… I just need Austin to accompany me…"
Mr. O'Mara slowly moved his gaze towards him and smiled sadly. "I admire you, boy."
"Why, sir?"
"Because you're admirable."
Nathaniel giggled. "Please, don't be sad, sir… You don't owe me anything."
Mr. O'Mara closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He tried not to burst into tears in front of his engine. "I want to tell you something, Nat…" he said afterward.
"Go ahead, sir."
"You already knew that Austin's engineer will only work until the end of December."
"Yes. He reached the age of retirement."
"Exactly. Well, Austin still doesn't know this I'm going to say, but… yesterday his owner proposed me to be his new engineer in case you go, and I accepted…"
Nathaniel opened his eyes widely. "Wow! This is wonderful news, sir!"
"Do you like it?"
"Of course yes! And Austin will love it too. Oh, sir… I'm so happy that my brother will stay with you… Now I'll go even more calmed. You know; sir, when I was left at the dead storage yard the day of my retirement, I wondered if you would be happy by operating a diesel for the rest of your working life…"
"O-oh…" Mr. O'Mara smiled. "Operating a diesel is certainly not complicated at all, and we can even drink a cup of tea in the cab without bouncing. But still, nothing can be compared with the emotion of operating a steam engine… The pleasure of seeing that column of steam that rises up to mingle with the clouds after having suffered to obtain it; is something that diesels will never give us."
Nathaniel raised his eyebrows. "Did I make you suffer, sir?"
Mr. O'Mara looked deeply into his engine's eyes. "I can say I had to endure extreme heat or cold on some occasions. But you only gave me happiness and satisfaction, Nat... Believe it or not, we humans like challenges. We always enjoy more of those things for which we had to fight to get them."
"R-really?"
"Yes. For example; when the soccer players receive their champion trophy after having won a hard-fought match against their opponent, they enjoy much more than if they had won by simply taking penalty kicks or because their opponent scored some own goals."
"Ohhh… I understand now. So, you'll be satisfied to see Austin's steam mingling with the clouds, sir."
"That's right. Besides, Austin was the engine with whom I trained to be able to operate you... He's also a piece of my heart."
Nathaniel smiled sweetly. "Sir, I'm really happy that you'll be his engineer."
Mr. O'Mara smiled back. "Thank you, Nat… By the way, I've asked his owner not to tell him about this yet, because he might think that we already lost hope that you'll be saved."
"Oh... but, I would prefer him to know this already, sir... It's better that we accept that time is running out..."
"Well… if you prefer so, then I'll tell him soon."
"Thank you, sir. Austin will be also grateful to know it already. Oh, and I would like to ask you another favour, sir..."
"Just tell me what you want."
"Well, I would like you to let Caitlin know about my situation. We had promised to keep her up to date with the news about me, and I want to send her a farewell message…"
"Okay, son, I'll let her know it."
Mr. O'Mara was impressed by the attitude of his engine. Nathaniel was supposed to be the one being comforted at this time, but the exact opposite was happening; Nathaniel was the one who was comforting his engineer thanks to his serenity on accepting the reality.
Mr. O'Mara stayed with his engine until near midday, and then he left for home.
Nathaniel sighed deeply while seeing the photo he had behind his lamp, the photo that showed Caitlin between Gordon and Connor…
Nathaniel had communicated with the three express engines through some homemade videos during the last months, and besides the videos, they also send many photos to each other. One of these photos was now in a frame on Nathaniel's pilot.
"These three smiles will accompany me until my last breath," thought the EM-1, "and Austin's smile too… Oh, dear… I'm not feeling that good now… I just hope I won't get sad again… I must be calm… I already got all what I wanted…"
Nathaniel was going through the "little moment of anguish" Lady had prophesied. The cloud of sadness threatened to cover the sun over him. But, as Lady had promised, she was beside him at this time for him not to lose his spiritual strength.
Lady would not let sadness get into Nathaniel's heart again.
The next day, on the Island of Sodor, Gordon was at Knapford Yard taking a nap during the midday break when Gabriel woke him up.
"Sorry for bothering you, Gordon," said Gabriel, "but I've received a call from Mr. O'Mara."
"It's all right, Gabriel. What did he said?"
"It's not good news about Nathaniel at all… No buyer has appeared so far, and Mrs. O'Mara will give birth in the next few days."
Gordon opened his eyes widely. "Does it mean Nathaniel will be… scrapped?"
"Most likely, yes. And he wants Caitlin to know that he'll think of her and her two Guardian Angels until his last breath and that he thanks her once again for having been his mommy."
"Oh, no… That will break Caitlin's heart!"
"That's why I wanted to talk with you in the first place. I think you'll know how to give the news to your girlfriend..."
"Thanks for considering that, Gabriel. First I'll talk with Connor, and then he and I will give the news to Caitlin."
"That's a good idea. But you must hurry, because time is running out and maybe Caitlin will want to send him a last message."
Gordon gasped. "When exactly will Mrs. O'Mara give birth?"
"It's not possible to know it exactly, Gordon. The probable date for the birth of a baby is just that; a probable date. The baby can be born before or after that date. Everything depends on nature."
"Oh, dear… I must hurry then. Thanks for telling me about that, Gabriel."
"You're welcome, boy. But let me know as soon as Caitlin had been notified. Mr. O'Mara will be waiting for a response."
"Okay."
Gordon stayed looking at nothing as Gabriel left the yard. "How will I say to my smiling shooting star that her baby is about to be scrapped?" he thought. "She'll feel very sad… and I don't want to see her cry of sadness… Oh, if only Nathaniel had not been so big and heavy for British railways, I would have implored Sir Topham Hatt to buy him…"
As soon as Gordon thought of that, he remembered what Nathaniel had asked him and Connor through his last video: "Make sure that all her tears are just of happiness." Gordon felt a pain in his heart while Nathaniel's words kept rolling around his mind. "I don't want Caitlin to feel sad," he thought, "but I can't hide this news from her either… What can I do? And what if Nathaniel is saved after all? While there's life, there's hope... Wait… and what if he's not that large for British railways? I assume he might not be heavier than the mile-long trains pulled by Hiro and Henry…"
Gordon smiled at that possibility, and his heartbeats approved his assumption. Now he was determined to do something to save Nathaniel and keep Caitlin from being sad. He called out to a worker who was nearby and asked him to call Sir Topham Hatt.
Poor Sir Topham Hatt came running to Gordon while wiping his lips with a napkin. He had just swallowed the last mouthful of his lunch. "What's the matter, Gordon?" he asked. "I heard your scream from my office..."
"I-I'm sorry, sir... I-I didn't mean to scare you... I just wanted to tell you something."
"Well, tell me."
"Thank you, sir. Um… do you remember Nathaniel, the engine from the USA?"
"Yes, that friend of Caitlin you had told me about. What happened to him? Did he get a buyer?"
"No, sir… Gabriel has just told me that no buyer has appeared yet, and the period of time they gave Nathaniel to wait for one is running out, because his little sibling will be born in the next days. So-"
"His little sib-? Ah… the child of his driver."
"Yes, sir. So, before giving this heart-breaking news to Caitlin, I…" Gordon swallowed, "I-I wanted to ask you… to save Nathaniel… if possible…"
"Oh…" Sir Topham Hatt felt compassion for Gordon. "I don't want to disappoint you, Gordon, but... he's too large to work on British railways. Perhaps he could pass the curves without difficulties, since he's an articulated engine, but even so, he's pretty heavy for our tracks."
"I know that, sir… But I was thinking; he might not be heavier than the long trains pulled by Hiro and Henry."
"Maybe not, but don't forget that the weight of those trains is distributed among the trucks, however, Nathaniel himself weighs more than 450 tons. If you want to make a comparison; you weigh less than 100 tons..."
Gordon felt very sad. "So… it's not possible..."
"No… and don't think that it's being easy for me to deny you this request… I know that you feel affection for Nathaniel, not to mention that Caitlin loves him as her baby… but I can't do anything."
"Okay, sir… Sorry for bothering you."
"No, Gordon," Sir Topham Hatt put a hand on his engine's running plate, "you didn't bother me. I really mean it."
Gordon smiled sadly. "Just one thing else, sir… I would like you to give me permission to meet up with Caitlin tomorrow midday at Vicarstown to talk with her."
"No problem."
"Thank you, sir."
Sir Topham Hatt gave Gordon some pats on his running plate, and then he left.
Gordon closed his eyes and sighed. "At least I tried…" he thought. "I must talk with Connor this afternoon…" So, in the afternoon, he waited for Connor at the junction for the Ulfstead Branch Line.
When Connor arrived at the junction, he greeted happily as he usually did. "Hello, Gordon!"
"Hello, Connor…" Gordon did not look that happy.
"Um… is it all right, my friend?"
"Actually not… I was waiting for you because I need your help to tell Caitlin the bad news about Nathaniel…"
Connor raised his eyebrows. "What about Nathaniel?"
"Gabriel told me that no buyer has appeared yet, and Mrs. O'Mara will give birth in the next days… Nathaniel wanted Caitlin to know it…"
"Oh, no… Poor Nathaniel… and poor Caitlin! She'll feel so sad…"
"That's why I want you to be with me to give her the news, so we could both comfort her. I've asked Sir Topham Hatt to buy Nathaniel, but he insisted on he's too large for British railways."
Connor gasped. "Did you… really do that, Gordon?"
"Yes… Something inside me asked me to do that, but I was not successful… At least Sir Topham Hatt gave me permission to meet up with Caitlin tomorrow midday at Vicarstown. Could you take her to the shunting yard at that time?"
"Of course… I'll take her there and we'll both talk with her."
"Thank you, Connor. Caitlin really will need our comfort. I don't want to imagine how sad she will feel…"
"But she will also be glad to know that you've tried to save her baby… I thank you very much for doing that, Gordon… I know you've done it for Caitlin."
"I've also done it for Nathaniel, Connor… He's our friend…"
Connor looked tenderly at his brother-in-law. "Yes… he's our friend…" he said. He was still impressed by how Gordon accepted the EM-1 as a friend. "Well, I must go now. See you, Gordon."
"See you."
Gordon and Connor spent the rest of the day sad. Although they still believed that Nathaniel could be saved, they knew that they should not hide the news from Caitlin.
Gordon did not want to talk with his friends at Tidmouth Sheds that night. So, he arrived early at the sheds and pretended to sleep so no one would question him about his sadness.
As for Connor, he did not even want to go to the sheds he shared with Caitlin. He went straight to the works to spend the night with the excuse that he had heard "some strange noises" from his boiler and he wanted them to check him early in the morning. Luckily, Caitlin believed it.
The next day, Connor tried to avoid Caitlin during the entire morning. But when it was about midday, he knew that he had to meet up with her and invent any reason to take her to Vicarstown. So, he went to Barrow Station to wait for her.
But while waiting on his platform; Connor heard a conversation from his controller's office.
And the topic of discussion left him open-mouthed.
What Connor heard was something that would further break Caitlin's sweet heart the moment she learns of it...