Disclaimer: I do not own Thomas & Friends. All the characters who appear in this story belong to HiT. They are used for entertainment purposes only.
The OCs Gabriel Sand and Sophia belong to me.
CHAPTER I
THE GESTURE OF GIVING
"Gordon loves me... His love is the greatest gift for me..." -Caitlin
When it comes to expressing romantic feelings; Gordon is the most reserved of the engines.
Gordon had fallen in love with Caitlin a few months ago. He declared his love to her in a rainy summer night at Ulfstead Castle, and at dawn, he announced the good news to his friends. But after that, he returned to be Gordon; the great proud engine who enjoys seeing others as being inferior to him.
Although he truly loves Caitlin, he does not go out there by saying right and left that he is in love with her, because his pride is too big to allow him to 'show weakness' so easily. And he does not give her flowers like Edward, James and Thomas give to their partners; because he says that it makes no sense to give something that is destroyed the next day since love is eternal...
Caitlin knows all this and she accepts Gordon as he is. The fact that Gordon is very affectionate to her and he totally opens his heart when they are alone is all that she wants to. She treasures the memory of her first night with Gordon at their 'tunnel of love'; the night in which they started a new life. That night, Gordon had promised her that there would be another moments like that and both waited anxiously for Christmas.
Unfortunately, they could not spend Christmas together, because a heavy snowfall forced the closure of all the tracks. Since then, they have been waiting for Valentine's Day.
And the day finally arrived.
Today was Gordon and Caitlin's first Valentine's Day as a loving couple.
Gordon was at Knapford Station preparing to take the Express and already thinking about the night he would spend with Caitlin. He noticed that the roof of the station was decorated with paper hearts, and the walls showed the announcements of the "Great Valentine's Concert" which would take place at Tidmouth Town Square at tea time. Many passengers carried bouquets of flowers, chocolate boxes and love cards in their hands. Gordon was excited by this festive atmosphere, so much that he felt the desire to have something to gift Caitlin in addition to the kisses and caresses he would give her at night. When he woke up that morning he had seen Emily very happy with the red roses that James had gifted her, and on arriving at Knapford he saw Rosie showing proudly the lavender flower crown that Thomas' driver placed around her funnel. "Caitlin would look pretty with a bouquet of carnations held onto her handrail with a silk tie," he though. But he soon dismissed that idea, because he still believed that it makes no sense to give something that does not last long. "What can I give her? A card breaks easily; we engines do not eat chocolate and…" His thoughts were interrupted by something totally unusual; something that was not in his plans: Caitlin was arriving at the station... Gordon gasped.
Caitlin came up to him with a huge smile. "Happy Valentine's Day, my imposing gentleman!" she said sweetly.
"My love... what are you do-" Gordon could not continue. Caitlin had already closed the distance between them and she pressed her lips against his. Gordon closed his eyes and started kissing Caitlin back, hardly believing that she was there.
Some seconds after, Caitlin moved from Gordon's lips and looked at him in the eyes. "I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too, my smiling shooting star," replied Gordon as he nuzzled his nose on Caitlin's. "Happy Valentine's Day. But... what are you doing here?"
"My controller gave me permission to come, but I must return right away. I've something for you and I was eager to give it to you."
Gordon raised his eyebrows. "Something... for me?"
"Yes. Wait a minute." Caitlin reversed a little. Then her fireman approached Gordon and showed him a small metal plate. The plate was golden-coloured, and had a heart in relief along with the initials 'G&C'.
Gordon stayed open-mouthed. "Caitlin… sweetie… I… I don't know what to say… It… it's beautiful! Thank you."
"You're welcome, my love," smiled Caitlin. "It has a magnet on the back. Do you want to wear it?"
"Oh… Of course!" Gordon looked at Caitlin's fireman. "Please, place it on my buffer beam, for everyone to see." The fireman placed the plate between Gordon's coupling and left buffer. "So, what do you think?" asked Gordon smiling proudly.
"It looks great on you," responded Caitlin.
Gordon looked at her with affection. "Come close to me again," he said. Caitlin obeyed. "Thank you, my love," whispered Gordon. "It means a lot."
"You don't need to thank me. I'm happy that you liked it."
And they tenderly shared another kiss.
"Are you ready for our special night?" Gordon asked afterwards.
"Hee! Hee! What a question! I'm crazy by thinking about our night." Caitlin kissed Gordon's cheek. "Well, I must go. See you at the concert."
"See you, sweetie."
Caitlin reversed and quickly returned to the mainland.
Gordon closed his eyes. He focused on feeling the plate that was strongly adhered to his buffer beam. That little gift had enormous meaning for him; it was a demonstration of love from Caitlin. Now he understood why people get so happy on receiving something that "does not last long" from the person they love. He understood that no matter the size, nor the price, nor the durability of the object but the gesture of giving, for to love is nothing other than to give yourself to the one you love. "Caitlin gave me this...," he thought, "and I had nothing to give her!" So Gordon decided that he must find something to give Caitlin.
While he thought of a possible gift, Thomas approached him.
"That's beautiful, Gordon!" exclaimed Thomas on seeing the plate on his friend's buffer beam. "Is it for Caitlin?"
"N-no, not really, Thomas," replied Gordon, feeling a bit ashamed. "Caitlin was the one who gave it to me."
"Wow! Then you'll show it proudly to everyone. And I don't blame you. Look at my cheek; I'll show this proudly as well."
"I see you've a red spot there. It looks like... a kiss."
"It's a kiss indeed. James and Edward have it too. Our girlfriends kissed us with painted lips. Hee! Hee!"
"Oh," Gordon smiled. "There's no doubt that our girls are very creative."
Gordon feared that Thomas would ask him what he would give to Caitlin, but fortunately, the guard's whistle saved him from a possible embarrassing situation. So, Gordon said goodbye to his friend and left the station pulling the Express.
While Gordon puffed down the line, he did not stop thinking. "What can I give her? I want it to be something original. But... what can it be?" As he arrived at Maron Station, he looked up to the sky. "Could you give me an idea, Angel of the Engines?"
Gordon did not know how exactly an angel could give him an idea, but he kept staring at the sky in the hope of seeing some word written with golden dust or something like that. But soon his thoughts were interrupted by a voice.
"Hello, Gordon."
Much to Gordon's disappointment, the voice did not come from a cloud of golden dust, but from something... silver.
"Hello, Spencer. You came very early today."
"Yes. My owners will spend the day on their summer house. By the way, that plate is precious. Caitlin will love it."
Gordon wanted to take advantage of the situation to show off in front of his cousin. "Actually, Caitlin gave it to me. She has one more reason to come to Sodor in addition to bring passengers. She has the love of her life on the island."
Spencer rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. She boasts of being your girlfriend all day long. And what did you give her?"
"That's none of your business."
"Don't tell me you didn't give her anything..."
"I say that's none of your business."
"I've met with her a while ago and I didn't see any present. What a shame, Gordon! Your girlfriend gave you an expensive gift and you didn't even dedicate to her some romantic verses on the radio. You're blacking our family name."
Gordon got angry. "Keep your words to yourself, Spencer! For your information, I'll give her a present at the concert time!"
"Okay. But try not to pose in front of the cameras of the world with that sulky face. See you, Gordon." Spencer left the station, leaving Gordon very angry.
Gordon thought that this meeting with his cousin was the worst thing that could have happened to him in this day. He was now even more determined to give Caitlin something she can feel proud with. Then, two phrases said by Spencer sounded in his mind. "... dedicate to her some romantic verses..." "... in front of the cameras of the world..."
Gordon smiled from buffer to buffer. Only now he remembered that this year's Valentine's concert would be different from the previous ones, because this time, musical artists from several countries would participate, and the event would be filmed and broadcasted on many television lines across the globe. "That will be my present to Caitlin!" thought Gordon. "The entire world will know that I love her!" He looked up at the sky again. "Thank you, Angel of the Engines. You're amazing… You've used my cousin to give me inspiration! And I said to him to keep his words to himself… I'm sorry... I promise I'll apologise to him!"
Gordon felt very happy. Now he only wanted to finish his job to carry out his plan.
But far from there, someone was not as happy as him.
Caitlin was approaching the Vicarstown Station feeling a little sad. She did not expect Gordon to give her any material gift, but while she went back to the mainland she saw Emily and Molly showing off the flowers they received from their boyfriends and could not resist the temptation of wanting to also have something to show off. Emily seemed to be embracing her bouquet of red roses in front of her smoke-box, and Molly had her front handrail covered in sunflowers held by a blue ribbon. "I can't be sad," thought Caitlin, "Gordon loves me... His love is the greatest gift for me... I can't be sad!" But when she arrived at the station, sadness finally won. So, Caitlin quickly moved onto a siding and began to cry. "No! I've no reason to cry! Gordon loves me!"
Caitlin kept repeating to herself that Gordon loved her, until she stopped crying. Then she remembered that Connor could arrive from the mainland at any moment, and if he found her in that state he would demand explanations... So Caitlin asked her driver to dry her tears, and after that, she left the siding and went on her way towards the Vicarstown Bridge with a false smile on her face.
