It had been snowing very heavily on the Island of Sodor. Many lines were blocked and the engines were finding it hard to do their work. Percy was struggling to clear away the heavy snow, but more snow kept coming. "This snow is making it very hard to deliver my mail," said Percy.
Henry was coming from the other direction and he was struggling with trying to grip the icy rails. "Slow and steady does it, Percy, woah! I don't like these slippery tracks."
"If the snow keeps falling, Henry, the Fat Controller may have to close the whole railway," shivered Percy. "Ohh," moaned Henry.
But although the snow was causing trouble for some of the engines, there was somebody who loved it. And that was Kevin, the little crane who worked at the Steamworks. "Woah, this is brilliant! All those snow flakes, oh, a thousand, a million, ah, ah...infinity."
A snowflake landed on Kevin's nose. "Ah, plus one!" laughed Kevin. "Kevin!" cried a voice, "Kevin! Where are you?!"
"Over here, boss!" shouted Kevin. "Get back inside right now!" said the stern voice of Victor. "Aw," moaned Kevin, he was very upset. He rolled over to where Victor was resting.
"Oh, boss, it looks so beautiful out there."
"It may look beautiful but snow's a big nuisance! It makes the tracks slippery and dangerous!" said Victor.
"Really?" asked Kevin.
"Really. Where I come from it's warm all year round and there's no snow."
"That's a shame," said Kevin. "I thought snow was supposed to be fun."
"Fun?! Ha, try telling that to poor Emily!"
Emily was hanging high in the air by a hoist, looking very bored and fed up. She had been listening to their conversation. "He's right you know. I've been waiting here three days for my new piston rods to arrive!"
"And do you know where those new piston rods are, Kevin?" asked Victor. Kevin stammered. "I'll tell you where they are," continued Victor, "on a truck that's stuck in the depot. It's stuck in the snow! Abandoned! Left in a siding."
"Why don't you just go to the depot and pick it up?" asked Kevin.
"Me?! Go out in the snow?!" exclaimed Victor. "Noooo, no, no, I'm not setting a wheel out there until every bit of snow has melted. I HATE snow!" he said firmly.
"Well I wish somebody would go, I'm fed up with hanging about up here," sighed Emily.
"I'll go, boss!" said Kevin eagerly. Victor scoffed, "Ridiculous! No one should be out in the weather, especially not a little crane like you." and he puffed away. Kevin didn't like being called little. "I'm not that little, and besides, I like the snow, it's fun!"
Emily wished she could be as enthusiastic as Kevin, but right now she was sick to death with hanging up in the air due to her needing to get new piston rods. But of course, predictably, every winter on Sodor was always plagued with heavy snowfalls, and now her new piston rods were stuck in the snow. Why no one had bothered to bring them to the Steamworks before the weather got worse was beyond her. If she had been in charge, she would have made sure that all engine parts were delivered properly. She would have done it all differently, properly...but instead she was hanging helplessly, hoping for someone to bring her new piston rods to her.
"...Thomas...where are you, my love?"
The worst thing about her predicament wasn't the fact she couldn't do anything, it was being separated from her beloved Tommy for so long. For the past three days she hadn't seen Thomas at all since she had to be brought to the Steamworks. He hadn't come to visit her or anything. She had been alone for three whole days, with only Victor and Kevin to talk to, which was better than nothing, but they weren't her Thomas. She hadn't been able to kiss him, hold him close to her, or even just say 'I love you'.
What upset her most of all was that Thomas hadn't come to visit her. He promised he would always be there for her and he promised he would try and visit her, but he hadn't for three days. Was it solely because of the snow, had he gotten stuck in it trying to clear it away or had he simply forgotten her. No that was stupid, there was no way Thomas would ever forget about her, not after she got left out of Tidmouth Sheds twice, he loved her more than anything and he wouldn't let snow stop him from seeing her...unless he went on another snowplough strike again. Emily prayed that wasn't the case.
Kevin didn't do as Victor said and went outside into the snow anyway, he was having a lovely time playing in the snow. "Wheee! Whooo! I didn't know snow could be this much fun!" cried Kevin.
But then there was trouble.
"Oh no!" Kevin jumped off a big pile of snow and was falling towards a patch of ice. He hit the ice with a crash, skidded into the wall of the Steamworks and got stuck in a pile of snow. "Oh dear!" spluttered Kevin, as he revved his motor to try and get out, but it was no use. "I'm stuck!" Then there was even more trouble. Snow from the roof of the Steamworks came loose and buried Kevin even more. "Now I'm really stuck!"
Thomas was coming out of Tidmouth Sheds when the Fat Controller walked over to him. "Ohh, dear. Oh, Thomas, this snow is causing all sorts of problems! I have tracks that are blocked, trucks that are stuck, and Emily's still out of action at the Steamworks."
"Anything I do to help, sir?" asked Thomas, hopefully.
"Yes! You can go the depot and rescue that truck with Emily's new piston rods on it, and take it to the Steamworks!" said the Fat Controller.
"No problem, sir! I can do that!" said Thomas, confidently. "Thank you Thomas," said the Fat Controller, "Go carefully! Brrr..."
The weather was getting worse and poor Thomas struggled through the swirling snow. But he wasn't going to let it stop him this time, he just couldn't. He had fulfill his promise to Emily. For the past three days, Thomas had tried his hardest to visit Emily while she waited for her new piston rods, but Sodor's cursed winter weather patterns stopped him every time. It was a well known fact to a lot of people and engines on the island that Thomas had quite a history with snow.
He hated it, mainly because it forced him to wear his infamous snowplough, he complained endlessly about how heavy and uncomfortable is was whenever he wore it and on a few occasions he refused to wear it. However when he refused to wear it, it always came back to bite him in the buffers as he would get stuck in the snow and have to be rescued, two of those occasions Emily had to save him. Only two years ago after hiding his snowplough and getting rescued by Emily did Thomas finally learn his lesson and accept his snowplough. He would still occasionally complain about it being uncomfortable, but he knew now that it was essential for his safety.
But the main reason why he hated snow was because how cold and troublesome it was. It was a shame because while it was beautiful to look at, it always caused nothing but problems, it made the tracks slippery, blocked the lines and slowed everything down. It was the main reason why Thomas hadn't been able to see his beloved emerald angel for days because it was too deep to clear away and he got stuck again, even with his snowplough this time, two days ago and wasn't out until he was found by Edward the next morning.
He missed Emily so much. Three days without her was torture, being unable to wake up next to her, give her kisses, or even just say 'I love you'. When he was stuck for ages under the snow, it was his thoughts about her that kept him warm under the freezing piles of white. But this time nothing was going to stop him seeing his beloved angel and get her back in business.
Back at the Steamworks, Victor was looking for Kevin. "Kevin! Kevin! Where are you? Emily, have you seen Kevin?" he asked.
Emily looked over the Steamworks. "I can't see him from up here. Maybe he's gone to the depot to collect my new piston rods!" she said excitedly.
"What?! You think he's gone out in the snow?! exclaimed Victor.
"He did seem very keen."
"Oh, Kevin, my brave little buddy!" said Victor, as he puffed over to the back entrance of the Steamworks. "He won't stand a chance in this blizzard, I have to go and find him!"
"But Victor you hate the snow!" protested Emily, but Victor ignored her. "Victor?"
"I do hate the snow, Emily, but poor Kevin is out there and he may need my help," replied Victor, as he was fitted with a snowplough. "Hang in there, Emily! I'll be right back!" and he puffed away to find Kevin, leaving Emily, who was still processing what had happened. "Victor?"
"My friend, I'm coming to save you!" whistled Victor. Kevin heard Victor's whistle. "Victor! Is that you? I'm over here!" But Victor didn't hear Kevin. "Oh..." Then more snow fell from the Steamworks roof, burring him even more. "Now they'll never find me."
Thomas picked up Emily's new piston rods at the depot, just as Victor was coming the other way. "Hang on little friend, I'm on my way!" He didn't see Thomas coming the other way as he went through one of the sheds. "At last," panted Thomas. "Now to get these spare parts to Steamworks." Thomas didn't see Victor either. "Kevin! Where are you?!" cried Victor. But there was no reply.
Finally, Thomas arrived at the Steamworks. Kevin heard him. "Hello? Who's that? Yoohoo, over here!" But Thomas didn't hear Kevin and stopped inside. "Hello! Victor?! I have a delivery for you! Victor? Kevin?"
Then he heard the greatest sound he had heard in days. "Hi, Thomas!" He looked up and saw his beautiful emerald angel hanging up on the hoist.
"Oh, Emily, you're up there! But, where's Victor?" he asked. Emily's smile turned into a frown. "He went off into the snow to find Kevin," she pouted.
"He did what?! The snows getting worse out there. Kevin and Victor could be anywhere."
Meanwhile, Kevin was desperately trying to get out of the snow, but to no avail. "Nobody can see me, and they can't hear me either. Kevin, you have to do something!" So Kevin revved as hard as he could, until finally his crane-arm emerged from the snow. "I did it, I did it! Ha, ha, ha!" Kevin started banging his crane-arm against the window.
"Maybe we should-" Thomas was cut off by the banging sound. "What's that?" asked Emily.
Thomas ran outside to see what was making the noise. As he got closer he could see something hitting the window. "Kevin? Is that you?" he asked. "Over here!" cried Kevin. "Wait there, I'm coming!" said Thomas. Kevin just sighed in relief and drifted out of consciousness.
Thomas soon freed Kevin from the snow and he was brought back into the Steamworks and placed in front of the fire to warm him up. "Is he OK?" asked Emily.
"I think so," replied Thomas. "He must have been there for a long time if he passed out from the cold."
"Poor little thing. He was so excited about the snow, he must have snuck off when no one was looking. He just wanted to have fun in the snow, and this was what he got for disobeying Victor's orders," said Emily.
"You wouldn't be thinking it was fun if you were out there now," chuckled Thomas. "You wouldn't be saying that if you were stuck up here for three days," retorted Emily. "You would think that someone would have made it their priority to deliver my piston rods here straight away instead of leaving them to sit in the snow for three days!"
Thomas realized that she was in a foul mood because of this, so he knew he had to calm her down. "Em, everything is going to be OK. I've brought you your new piston rods from the depot."
"Really?! Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, Tommy!" exclaimed Emily, happily. "And it only took you...three days to finally get here!" she shouted. "I thought you had forgotten about me, Thomas!"
Thomas was surprised by her statement. "Of course I didn't forget about you, Emily, you know I would never do that." He started to have bad memories of when he forgot about her the night before they became official, forcing her to sleep alone. He didn't want to imagine what it was like to sleep on her own for three nights without him, but he assumed it was just as bad as how he felt without her.
"Then why didn't you come sooner?" she moaned.
"I tried to, Emily, I really did, but the snow kept stopping me and I got stuck for a whole night," he replied. "I would have thought a few piles of snow wouldn't be enough to stop you from coming to see me," complained Emily. "Says the one who couldn't clear the lines to the Mainland last Christmas Eve because the snow was too deep," Thomas fired back, though he instantly regretted it afterwards. Emily's expression changed from angry to upset. She now felt bad for getting moody with him and looked away.
"I'm sorry, Thomas," she said. "I'm just sick of being useless up here, and I just missed you so much." She looked like she was about to cry.
"I'm the one who should be sorry, Emily. I'm sorry I took so long to get here, I missed you more than anything as well and I wanted to be here with you everyday. When I was stuck in the snowdrift all night, thinking about you was the only thing keeping me warm," confessed Thomas.
Tears formed in Emily's eyes. "Oh, Thomas..." she murmured.
"I'm here for you now, my emerald angel. I never forgot my promise to you, and I wouldn't stop until I got your new parts and brought them to you. And I promise you now that you'll finally be back in action by the end of today. I promise, my love."
It was those last two words that made Emily let her tears flow down her face. After three days of sheer boredom and sadness, she was finally happy and with Thomas again. "Oh, Tommy, I love you so much," she weeped happily. Thomas nearly started crying as well when he heard her say that. "I love you too, Emily."
The moment was interrupted when they heard Kevin groaning softly. "I think he's waking up," whispered Thomas. When Kevin opened his eyes, he was greeted by the warm, toasty fire. "It was lucky that I found you before it started to get dark, Kevin," said Thomas.
"Thanks, Thomas!" said Kevin, gratefully. "You saved me! But, where's Victor?"
"He went off into the snow to rescue you!" explained Thomas.
Kevin was shocked. "Victor?! But Victor hates snow!" he exclaimed. "Someone must go and find him before he gets into trouble!"
Without any hesitation, Thomas made a decision. "I'll go out there!" he said bravely. "Thomas, no! The blizzard is getting worse out there, and it's getting dark, if you go out there you could be putting yourself in danger!" protested Emily.
"Well, we can't just sit here and wait for the blizzard to stop, Victor could be in danger as we speak, if he's in trouble then there's no way we can get you back in order, we have to take action! I'm going in!" said Thomas, with great determination he set out into the raging snow storm.
"Oh, Thomas! Please be careful!" cried Emily. "Don't worry, Emily, I WILL come back to you with Victor, I promise!" called Thomas. Emily could only watch her beloved star heading fearlessly into the harsh frozen tundra, and she couldn't help but worry about his safety, but also admire him for his incredible bravery and selflessness that she loved so much.
Thomas raced through the snow, in search of Victor. Victor was still going, desperately looking for Kevin, but the snow was getting worse and worse, and Victor was struggling to to keep pushing forward. "Kevin!" called Victor. "Oh dear, it's even worse now, and still no sign of my little-"
"Victor!" cried a voice from behind him. He heard a familiar whistle. "Victor, stop!" shouted Thomas, "Come back!"
"No, Thomas! I can not do that! I have to find Kevin!"
"Kevin's safe, Victor, he's back at the Steamworks!" said Thomas.
"What?!" exclaimed Victor, happily, "You found Kevin!"
"He was there all along, stuck in the snow!" said Thomas, and he explained everything about Kevin wandering outside and getting stuck in a drift, where Thomas had found him. Victor was overjoyed.
"Oh, thank goodness! My little friend is safe and sound! Thank you, Thomas, my friend! Thank you!" cheered Victor.
"You're welcome, Victor. Now, let's go home, everyone is waiting for you to come back," said Thomas. "Yes...home. That's the best idea I've heard all day," sighed Victor.
Thomas and Victor made their way safely back to the warm shelter of the Steamworks, where Emily and Kevin were eagerly anticipating their safe return. Emily had given Kevin a very stern scolding for wandering out into the snow against Victor's wishes and putting both of them in danger. Needless to say Kevin discovered something new he was afraid of. Angry Emily. But all that fear and anger was replaced by joy and relief when they heard Thomas and Victor's whistles, signaling that they were safely home.
Thomas and Victor rested close to the toasty, roaring hot fire to warm up after their journey through the freezing blizzard, they were both very relieved to be back in the nice, warm Steamworks.
"I can't believe you went out there in that horrible blizzard just for me boss!" said Kevin. "That's what friends are for, Kevin," replied Victor, "and you are my best friend!"
"I am? Wow!" said Kevin, in amazement. He had no idea Victor held him with such high regards.
"Ahem, excuse me!" shouted Emily, still on the hoist. "Huh?!" exclaimed Thomas, Victor and Kevin, all at once. "Any chance of getting my new piston rods now? I'd really like to be useful again!"
"I'll go boss!" said Kevin, eagerly.
"NO!" said Thomas, Emily and Victor together. Then all together, they started to laugh, all seeing the funny side of it all. When they eventually stopped, Victor said, "Of course you can have your new piston rods now, my friend, and I am terribly sorry for the huge delay."
Emily was delighted. "Oh thank you, Victor!"
Thomas smiled. "See, I promised you'd get them before the end of the day."
While Emily had her new piston rods fitted, Thomas decided to ask Victor to do a favor for him. "Victor...I was wondering if you could do something for me..." He whispered it to Victor. Victor grinned. "Of course, my friend. After everything you've done for us all today, it's the least I can do to thank you. You deserve this." So Victor ordered some workmen to remove Thomas' snowplough, so he could carry out his plan. Finally, Emily's new piston rods were fitted and she could finally be put back on the ground. "At last!"
Thomas rolled up in front of her and stopped with his buffers pressed against hers. "When did you remove your-," before she could finish her sentence, she was shut up by Thomas pressing his lips against hers, locking them in a sweet kiss. Emily shut her eyes and moaned in delight as she started kissing him back as well with great passion. It felt like it had been an eternity since they last did this and they savored every second of it.
While they were kissing, Victor smirked to himself, Kevin meanwhile didn't really know what to make of it. "Come on, Kevin, these two need some time to themselves."
"Er...OK, boss," replied Kevin, as he still kept his eyes on the kissing engines while he trundled away.
When they stopped the kiss, they stared into the others eyes. "Let's do this somewhere else," Thomas said after a while. He started pulling her backwards. Emily felt her wheels in pain as they moved.
"Stiff are you?" he asked.
"What do you think?" she replied sarcastically. Having not moved in three days, she felt very stiff indeed. So Thomas moved Emily slowly and gently over to where her tender was resting under a shed, where a few years ago they nearly shared their first kiss under some mistletoe. But before they could taste their soft lips for the first time, they were interrupted by Kevin's usual clumsiness. Once her tender was coupled up to her again, Thomas kissed her so delicately on the lips again.
"I missed this so much..." he whispered and held her as closely as he possibly could and started kissing her cheek, making her blush softly.
"As did I, honey...please don't stop..."
Thomas removed his lips from her cheek and gently pressed them against her lips again, this time for longer. Carefully, Emily decided to kiss him more passionately, taking him by surprise for a brief moment, but then he started kissing her more passionately as well. The two were becoming oblivious to anything else in the world, their energies and focus upon each other only. There was nothing else but them, lost in their love for each other. Nothing could tear them apart now, no snow, no nothing. Everything was perfect.
They broke off briefly, before Emily whispered, "Oh...Tommy...you've been so brave going out in that harsh, cold snowstorm, for me, Victor and Kevin...now let me help you warm up..." She started kissing his cheek gently with restrained passion. She didn't want to move too quickly just yet, she would save it for later, right now this was Thomas' reward and she wanted him to feel every kiss she gave him. Thomas let out quiet moans as he felt Emily kiss his cheek again and again, eventually realizing that she was starting to dot his cheek with her tongue as she worked her magic.
"…Emily…" he breathed. "…oh…Emily…"
She then carefully moved to his other cheek, brushing past Thomas' lips and kissed his other cheek the same way that she had done before, loving how soft his cheeks were and making sure he felt and enjoyed each kiss. Her efforts were certainly paying off, as Thomas was now a brilliant shade of red and loving every second of it.
Emily eventually stopped and let him kiss her cheek delicately, the same way she kissed him. Thomas gently dotted his tongue against her cheek, being rewarded by her soft and gentle moans of passion, as she blushed a deep shade of red like him.
"…mmm…T-Tommy...mmm…Tommy...more..." Emily whimpered in between the small, sweet kisses Thomas was now placing upon her other cheek as well. He kissed every inch of her cheek, making sure he left nothing unattended. Her blissful moans of pleasure made every kiss worthwhile, the sheer softness and smoothness of her face was simply addictive to Thomas.
Emily's breathing became heavier, as Thomas continued kissing her face. She was growing desperate to feel his lips against hers. Soon Thomas left her cheeks and looked into her gorgeous eyes again, the true depths of her love for him reflecting into his own. He could see the passion within her, he could see her desire to move on.
She was his angel and no one could match her beauty. She wanted nothing more than to love him. He wanted nothing more than to love her.
"I love you, my beautiful emerald angel..."
"I love you too, my handsome cobalt star..."
They kissed upon their lips. With growing passion, Emily carefully ran her tongue across Thomas' mouth, seeking passage. Thomas kissed her more powerfully than before, wrapping his tongue around hers and joining them completely.
"…mmm…E-Emily…mmm…"
"…Thomas…oh…T-Thomas…"
As their tongues collided in a synchronized dance, they started moaning tenderly into their mouths, their passion and intensity growing stronger with each passing second. They would only stop to regain their breath, then they would immediately rejoin and resume their intimacy. Their passion carried on late into the night.
From elsewhere in the Steamworks, Victor smiled as he saw them kissing. "This whole ordeal separated them from each other and now they have been reunited at last," he said to himself. He looked to his left and saw that Kevin had fallen asleep. He smiled as he gazed at he best friend, and looked back at Thomas. "Thank you once again, Thomas..."
Eventually, both Thomas and Emily broke apart, gazing at each other as the snow continued to fall outside in the frozen tundra. They felt content and at peace, having finally been reunited after three days. They found themselves struggling to remain awake, both were tired after the stressful day.
"I'm so happy we're together again, Tommy," said Emily, softly.
"So am I, my love. I love you more than anything, Em..." whispered Thomas.
"I love too, Thomas, so much..."
They shared one last kiss before they slowly fell asleep, completely happy and content in their lovers hold.
What's up guys! My extended version of *Snow Place Like Home*, such a great episode that makes me want the rest of Season 19 to air even more, come on Channel 5, what's the hold up?! Also wanted to let you guys know that i have another Christmas story in the works called *Christmas Angel*, so look forward to that by Christmas, I was going to hold this off until December but since it's already winter, I thought it would OK to release it now. Also I may write a story on *Diesel's Ghostly Christmas* as well but we'll see.
And finally I have decided to end the poll on what couples you would like me to write about. And the winner was Luke x Millie with half of the total votes. So someday in the future I will write that story, but until then leave a review. Peace!
