One evening, Emily retuned to Tidmouth Sheds in a very tired, exhausted mood. Her wheels were weary, she was out of breath and her eyes were heavy. As she reversed slowly into her berth and tried to relax by herself, but all she could think about was such a hard day she had…
It all started that very same morning, before the sunrise. The Flying Kipper run got delayed and Henry was also late to collect another goods train from the mainland, which he was meant to collect from Barrow-in-Furness after delivering the last of the fish. There were no other engines available, so the Fat Controller sent Emily to collect the train from the mainland and bring it to Brendam Docks.
"I'm sorry, Emily, but you're the only engine available at the moment. You'll have to collect the goods train," the Fat Controller said.
Emily was so frustrated not being able to get as much sleep as she would have liked, but she felt even worse that she had to cross Vicarstown Bridge, the border between Sodor and the Mainland. She knew Thomas would be in an uneasy mode if he heard about this and didn't want him to be frightened, but she wanted to be really useful so she did what she was told.
"I may be late, sir, but I'll do my very best," she promised before she set off, feeling uneasy. Thomas had heard everything in his sleep and was too late to say goodbye. As he prepared for his branch line run, he got a very jumpy, jittery feeling inside him. When would she be back?
Crossing Vicarstown Bridge made a few tears escape Emily's eyes. Sodor was her real home and Thomas, her saviour and true love lived there. When she collected the heavy goods train, the trucks were up to their tricks. When she started to move, the trucks were holding back as much as they could, making the train seem even heavier to Emily. Every time she managed to gain speed, that's when the trucks pulled back, slowing her down and draining her energy further.
"Hold back, Hold back!" they cried.
"Come on!" hissed Emily, but the trucks just kept laughing and playing their tricks.
"I never thought I'd say this but, please help me, Bradford!" complained Emily. As strict and delaying as Bradford was, Emily still had to admit he did an excellent job at keeping trucks in line. At least he would have made sure she didn't get tired.
When she finally got back to Sodor and got the train to the docks, the sun was now up and Emily was so overly tired, she couldn't speak. Despite all her hard efforts with the trucks, she still had to do her work.
"You're late, Emily," Cranky cranked.
"Blame it on the trucks!" retorted Emily. "Now stop cranking about and let me get on with my work!" Emily was happy to be back on Sodor, but with a late goods train, she didn't have any time to rest or catch her breath, and even worse, her trains all ran late. She just went along with her work and apologized to each stationmaster for her lateness.
After all her work was finished, she was slowly huffing back through Knapford Station and saw the Fat Controller. He could see how tired and frustrated she looked.
"I've heard how hard you worked today, Emily," said the Fat Controller. "You still got all your work done in the end, and that's what really matters."
Emily smiled as the Fat Controller left, but by now, her patience was wavering. Edward had seen this and went to tell Thomas while Emily huffed crankily back to the sheds…
Back in her berth, Emily remembered the Fat Controller's words of praise and just wanted to settle in the back of the sheds, put all her troubles that day behind her and just fall asleep, just like she wanted to after she did Thomas' work to help him rest. But because of all her trouble that day, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't relax and sleep. She was so tired, she simply couldn't sleep. This irritated her further.
"Ohh," she groaned. "Why did this happen to me?! Leaving Sodor…MY home! And those blasted trucks! This has been so humiliating!" She let off steam with annoyance, just as she heard a familiar whistle. She looked and saw Thomas coming to the turntable. One look from her told him she had a very frustrating day.
"Look, Thomas," Emily snapped in irritation. "I've had enough rubbish thrown at me today! I don't need anyone peppering me to do their work anymore!" Then she sighed and closed her eyes, feeling bad that she snapped at Thomas first thing.
But Thomas wasn't angry. He had heard from Edward what happened to Emily and he fully understood she was just tired and she really didn't mean what she said. He could also see she couldn't fall asleep…then he got an idea.
Thomas buffered up and gently kissed her soft lips. Emily was slightly surprised by this, but feeling Thomas kiss her made her feel much better. Then she heard something even more soothing to her mind. She heard Thomas humming very softly. He was using his gentle voice to lull her to sleep. His voice and tune made her feel much more relaxed and comfortable. Now, she felt more peaceful as her eyelids started to flicker and feel heavy.
"Thomas…" she tried to apologize. "I'm so sorry, I was just so tired. I didn't mean to…"
"Shh…" whispered Thomas. "I understand. Just relax…Sleep, my angel…" and he continued to hum to her. Emily felt herself getting weaker, her tiredness was finally beginning to take effect. She remembered being hummed to sleep at the washdown by Thomas and just thinking about that lovely time they shared a wash together made her feel even happier and ready to sleep. Between Thomas' humming, Emily began to yawn, bringing a little rush of joy to Thomas, hearing such a cute sound.
Soon, Thomas finished humming and touched his nose to Emily's.
"Tommy…I…love…" Emily tried to say, but Thomas kissed her lips ever-so gently, helping the last of her barriers to fall. When he released, he saw that Emily had finally fallen into a deep sleep.
"I know…you love me so much," he whispered. Thomas watched her stir lightly and get comfortable in her sleep. Her closed eyes looked relaxed and peaceful, she put on a happy, comfortable smile and once again, Thomas remained absolutely silent so he could listen to her gentle, steady breathing. She wasn't panting in any stress. It was just steady breathing at a calm, peaceful pace. That told him she was in a perfectly comfortable sleep. She stirred very slightly and rubbed her nose against his. Her sleeping form looked just as beautiful as ever. Thomas thought, maybe she looked even more beautiful. He kissed her cheek very softly so he wouldn't wake her up.
"Sweet dreams, Emily. See you in the morning," he whispered. "I love you."
"I love you too, Tommy," Emily murmured in her deep sleep, dreaming happily of Thomas already. Thomas smiled and fell asleep too, keeping Emily warm and comfy in his loving hold.
Another story up? I am on a roll. So this maybe similar in someways to "Such a Tease!" but the roles are reversed. This time, Emily is the tired and worn-out one and Thomas is the one to calm the other one down. The next story, "Peaceful Endearments" will be a short little sequel to this story, after that, we're taking some time off to begin writing our four Christmas stories. So please leave a review, tell us what you thought about this one and we'll see you real soon.