Surprise!
A.N. Please know that this will be my first TTTE fanfiction in engine form, so please bear with me ^^;
…
Friends, Gordon, Rosie, Edward, Emily, Henry, James, Hiro, Toby, Flora, Stanley, and Spencer were enjoying a very rare day off work. All jobs were done, all deliveries were made, repairs were done, etc.
And because of that, Sir Topham Hatt gave them all the green light to just relax for the rest of the day.
Which is exactly what they were doing.
They were all off in Great Waterton, just talking about- well, anything. Anything they could think of. The sky, clouds, stories, things that happened to them on the job, and many other things.
Sometimes, they even sang a bit, but through it all, they were all having fun.
"Ohhh…." Gordon moaned. "I will never forget the night I had to pull The Flying Kipper…"
James laughed. "Oh ho! Yes, you smelt like stinky fish when you came back! It was so funny!"
Gordon huffed, steam weeshing out from under his wheels. "It was not! I was miserable!"
"Well, it was your own fault." Edward said, who was next to Gordon on the other track besides him. "You didn't show up in time for your job, and then chose not to finish the jobs you were told to do by Sir Topham Hatt. Even if they were Henry's jobs." He peeped.
Gordon just groaned, while the other engines laughed and giggled.
"Oh come now, my friend," Hiro smiled. "It was only one time. I'm sure-"
But he was cut off by two high pitched whistles.
All the engines looked towards the noise at first in shock, but smiled, seeing both Thomas and Percy rush in.
They were whistling, and laughing. From what the other engines could tell, the two were playing Tag, and Percy was It.
"Ha ha! You can't catch me, Percy!" Thomas yelled, as he sped down the track.
Percy giggled, whistling a delightful tune. "Oh we'll see about that, Thomas!" He yelled back, as he chased his best friend down the track.
Edward chuckled. "Playing Tag, are we?" He whistled to the two young engines.
Thomas suddenly braked hard, causing Percy to bump into him, but not too hard.
Slowly, a big smile spread across Thomas' face. Then he sped forward suddenly, and yelled out a word that no engine has ever said to another engine…
"Father!" Thomas peeped in joy as he rushed to the older engine. He braked just in time before he collided with Edward. Instead, their buffers gently pressed against each other's, as the two smiled.
"Hello, my little one…" Edward said gently, as he smiled down at the smaller and younger engine in front of him.
"Wait- Father?" Emily asked in confusion, as she stared at the two.
Both Thomas and Edward back away from each other a bit, and blushed. Slowly, Percy chuffed forward, stopping next to Henry.
"What do you mean, Thomas?" Percy asked.
"Well," Thomas said. "Edward- he, well he's," Thomas stuttered, but was cut off by the engine in mention.
"I've adopted Thomas, as my son." Edward said proudly. "I've realised how much I care and worry for him, and one day, I was trapped within my thoughts." Edward retold the story. "I explained my feelings about Thomas to Lady Hatt, Sir Topham Hatt's wife, who happened to be taking a walk, and she told me that I've begun to care for Thomas, as a parent does for their child."
Thomas, and everyone else smiled as Edward told his journey of discovery.
"I was shocked that engines could form such a personal bond with other engines," Edward said. "But I decided to not question it. So, I came to Thomas, to tell him how I felt, and asked him if I could, well- care for him. Like a Father would care about his son."
"And I said yes!" Thomas whistled happily. "I never really knew Edward cared for me like that, but I'm glad he told me so I did know" he smiled.
"So uh… surprise!" Edward smiled.
"A surprise indeed." Flora smiled.
"But a good one. A very good one!" Toby smiled.
Everyone agreed. Then, Gordon, Percy, Rosie, Emily, Henry, James, Hiro, Toby, Flora, Stanley, and Spencer all whistled and jingled their bells in a tune.
They whistled in happiness for the newfound bond between the Number 1 and Number 2 engines.
While their friends were celebrating, Thomas and Edward slowly moved forwards once more, their buffers pressing together in gentle pressure.
The two closed their eyes in serenity, and smiled.
They were glad that the other engines were happy for them.
And like Flora and Toby said, it was a surprise. But nonetheless, a very good one.