Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to HiT Entertainment. The OCs Ellie and Jim belong to Speckless Nougat. All other OCs, including Elaine, belong to me.

I have to say a huge thank you to Speckless Nougat for willingly taking on the challenge of co-writing this story with me! We've had an amazing time figuring it all out, and we're both delighted with the final result, so we hope you are too. If you haven't yet read my story, New Mountain Engine, I strongly advise you to do so before reading this.

Shining Light

Elaine's POV

How can my life possibly get any worse than this? I wondered miserably as the lorry I was chained to bounced and lurched down the road. Clearly, this driver had never transported an engine before, let alone an injured one like me. I was in enough pain as it was, without being jolted by the potholes. I had no idea where I was, due largely to the fact that I couldn't see anything. My poor, beautiful hazel eyes were badly swollen and very sore. Even if I had been able to see, I still wouldn't have known where I was, because I am only five weeks old and not very familiar with the Island of Sodor yet. I've spent three of those first five weeks of my life working on the Culdee Fell Railway. The other two weeks I spent at the Works undergoing tests, which is where I was being taken now.

Earlier today, I'd been descending Culdee Fell with my lovely old coach, Margaret, when just beyond Skarloey Road station, we'd been caught up in a terrible rockside. One of the rocks had hit me between my eyes, and I don't really remember what happened after that. When I woke up, I wondered if it was night time, because all I could see was a wall of blackness. My driver then told me to just close my eyes and rest. I tried to, but I was really worried about Margaret. She wouldn't answer me at all!But I knew she was still there, because I could feel that her coupling was still attached to mine. My dear friend, Culdee, soon arrived with the rescue gang, and I asked him how Margaret was. He never answered my question, because he was more worried about me after I told him that I couldn't see.

I'm sure the men at the Works will be able to fix me and make me be able to see again. I mean, they built me, so I know they know what they're doing. I hope Thomas will still be there. I made friends with him while the men were testing me. He told me a lot of funny stories to keep me entertained while the men worked on us. One of the stories he told was about the time he went to breakfast. I love that story! Thomas was so silly then! I know I'd never do anything as silly as going without my crew.

Speaking of my crew, I'm so glad that none of them or my passengers were badly injured in the rockslide. I believe a few of the passengers were taken to a place called the hospital, which I understand is the human equivalent of the Works, so they should be okay.

I snapped out of my thoughts as I felt the lorry slow down and stop. Hearing some crickets chirping, I realised that it must be dark by now. Then, I heard a repetitive beeping sound as the lorry started to reverse. Sensing a change in the air temperature from cold to warm, I guessed that I'd arrived at the Works, and that I was now being taken inside.

"That's good! Hold it right there!" a man shouted from somewhere behind me. I listened closely to the sound of each voice, hoping to hear someone familiar. Another man was muttering nearby. I guessed that he was talking to his wife on one of those mobile phone things.

"I'm sorry, honey. I know how much you wanted to go out for dinner, but we have an emergency situation on our hands. One of the mountain engines has been in a serious accident, and we need to get her comfortable before I come home. I'll phone you when I'm really to leave. We might still be able to make it to the restaurant by eight. Love you."

The men were now unchaining me for the lorry. Overhead, I heard the familiar sound of the remote-controlled gantry crane being moved into position. That meant that I was about to be lifted into the air – again! I began hyperventilating as my panic levels escalated. Yes, I'm ashamed to admit that I'm a mountain engine who's afraid of heights. I don't know why I'm so afraid of them, but it has been causing me many problems already.

"Please, stop!" I begged the men desperately. "I don't want to be lifted into the air again!"

A door slammed nearby, and I gasped when I heard the foreman's familiar footsteps approaching. The Work's foreman's name is Jim. He was in charge of my build, so naturally I feel intimidated by him. I'm sure he doesn't mean to frighten me, but I'm just naturally frightened by a lot of things, including men in authority. I guess I'm just always afraid that I'll be scolded for innocently doing something wrong.

"What are you all standing around for?" Jim said firmly to the workers. "I know it's sad seeing Elaine so badly damaged after we put so much effort into building her, but the sooner we begin working on her, the sooner we can send her back."

The workers promptly began securing me to the overheard gantry crane. I kept whimpering fearfully until I felt my wheels leave the lorry's tray. Then, before I could stop myself, I began to scream and cry at the same time.

Ellie's POV

As poor Elaine went to pieces before our eyes, Jim's team simply stood still and stared at her, which wasn't much help at all. I was surprised that she appeared to take no notice; had I been in her position, I'm sure I'd have felt very humiliated. I felt almost angry on her behalf, though I supposed I should cut the men some slack. They might have built her, but most of the workmen hadn't dealt with the behaviour of engines of such a tender age, and I'd certainly never met an engine this young before. Jim was the only member of the workmen who remained composed; shaking his head at the team because he'd told them five minutes ago to get moving, yet they were still, for the most part, just standing there. I tapped him on the shoulder, keeping my voice low, even though it was already drowned out by poor Elaine's sobs.

"Let me talk to her while I get her washed." I said quickly. I didn't know yet how to deal with this engine either, though I could plainly see that my usual banter and teasing - however gentle it was - was definitely not the right method. Jim, however, decided to place his entire trust in me just for that moment. He gave a curt nod. He signalled to his team, and they scarpered in two seconds flat. Jim was calmer and more tactful; he gave me a smile that I'd come to understand meant "do your best, but hurry it up". I'm sure he could have offered Elaine his own unique form of comfort; off the record, he's actually very good at it - but he's not always used to dealing with tears and what he sometimes (incorrectly) refers to as 'tantrums'.

Poor Elaine was quite clearly having a panic attack up there, attached to the crane, and judging from what I'd heard about her situation, she was completely entitled to it. I couldn't believe such a young engine had already had to suffer so much, and I thought that by giving her my attention and some well deserved tender loving care whilst I gave her a wash, I could maybe help this poor engine to calm down. I wasn't sure why she was so afraid, but I'd probably pester Jim about that later; in the meantime, something about Elaine struck a chord with me. I had been a very nervous child (believe it or not) and had suffered several panic attacks myself; though they weren't referred to as such when I was young - they'd been called 'being silly'. My father knew better; but then he always did. He could have done no wrong as far as I was concerned, and so I decided to try out some of his methods on Elaine – but first I had to wait for her to finish being transferred from the lorry to the rails. This wasn't helping her anxiety at all; but now the process was in motion, it was safer to wait for the transition to be completed and start from square one.

I waited until they'd finished with her; her sad sobs and panicked breathing reverberating round the open space of the works, tears flowing from her poor eyes. When they'd set her down and everything was in order, I waved a hand to dismiss the workmen silently. Finally alone, I walked up to the Works' newest engine; we'd all been so excited for her while she was being built. I shook my head to clear it of any negative thoughts and focused on the task in hand. I ran my hand very carefully along her front, remaining very gentle and not zealous, in case she didn't want to be touched. I didn't receive any objections, so I continued in this fashion for a moment before speaking, being very aware of the volume of my voice; I knew that being too loud or intimidating would be a mistake.

"It's alright," I soothed softly. "They've gone now."

Elaine opened her tear-filled eyes. They were red and swollen, though now I was closer to her face I could see that this wasn't just from crying as I'd initially thought. I needed to get a better look.

"Would you mind if I come a bit closer?"

"N-no." Elaine replied, and what worried me was that, when she replied, she wasn't looking at me. Her eyes were swollen half-closed, it was true, but what I could see of her gaze was focused straight ahead, as if I was standing in a slightly different position to where I actually was, though the large openness of the Works often made the sound travel and you never could be quite sure where someone was calling from if you couldn't see them. There was a feeling in my chest, like someone was pressing a fist into my heart. I moved a little nearer, taking slow and cautious steps. I didn't want to approach her too quickly. Finally, I was standing in front of her face. I stood there in silence for a moment, and then I very cautiously waved a hand in front of her eyes. I got no response. The fist in my chest gave my heart several punches for good measure as I realized my suspicions were true; it took me a moment to compose myself. I made sure there were no hints of trepidation or hesitation in my voice before speaking; any doubts I had, Elaine would most definitely pick up on. I would have to notify Jim of this development as soon as possible; but for now, I wanted to help poor Elaine relax, even if it was just a little.

"What's your name?" I already knew the answer to this, but Elaine didn't know that, and you've got to start somewhere.

"I-I'm Elaine." Came the somewhat choked reply.

"Well, Elaine. Nice to meet you. My name's Ellie, I'm one of Jim's colleagues. Now, let's see what we can do to help you, shall we?"

Elaine's POV

I must say that I was rather surprised by Ellie's gentleness towards me. I was more used to men ordering me about, and making decisions for me. I hadn't had any real exposure to women yet. Thinking back, I couldn't remember having met Ellie before, but her name did sound somewhat familiar. I drew in a deep breath before letting it out slowly again. Driver had tried to teach me to do that whenever I was terrified about climbing Culdee Fell, but it never really worked. I guess some fears just can't be controlled.

"I don't remember you," I whispered.

"I was away on holidays when the men finished building you," Ellie replied. "I wish I hadn't been though, because I've always wanted to see a new engine wake up for the very first time. But it was the only time I could get off work before the summer holidays. Summer is the busiest time for us here at the Works, so we try to take our annual holidays at other times of the year."

I closed my eyes tiredly. Ellie's rambling was just making my headache worse. I figured that she was just trying to take my mind off things, but it wasn't really helping. Then I smiled a little. Now I remembered why her name sounded so familiar! During my testing period, Jim had often said things like, "We'll let Ellie deal with that when she gets back," and, "Put this file in Ellie's office please." Once, I'd even heard him say, "I wish Ellie was here. This place nearly falls to pieces without her around!"

"I'm just going to fetch my cleaning equipment, so I can wash all of that dust off you," Ellie explained.

I listened to her retreating footsteps. There were a few seconds of silence, but then I heard the familiar 'clang' of a metal bucket. More silence, followed by the sound of water running out of a tap. Then, Ellie returned to my side.

"Now, I'm afraid this might be a little bit cold…" Ellie began as she dipped her sponge into the water. I felt her gently run the soaked sponge over my damaged right-hand water tank. She was right. It was a little bit cold, but not intolerable.

"How does that feel?" Ellie asked me kindly.

"Wonderful, thank you…" Sighing, I settled down to sleep.

It wasn't easy though. I remembered how the narrow gauge inspection pit was close to the main workers' offices, and from the muffled sounds I could hear in the background, I was sure I was in exactly the same position. I'd just reached that blissful point when I was just about to fall fast asleep, when a phone rang inside one of the offices. The sudden noise jolted me awake. I grunted with annoyance.

"Ellie? Are you still there?"

"Yes." Her voice came from my other side this time."I've almost finished washing you. I hope I didn't wake you?"

"No…" I sighed. "Is Thomas here?"

"I'm afraid not," Ellie replied. "He went back to his branch line a couple of weeks ago."

I tried not to show my disappointment. "Oh. Are there any other engines here?"

"Only Boco, one of the mainline diesels. But he's down the back."

I sighed again. "Ellie?"

"Yes?"

"Um…I was just wondering…Why can't I see anything anymore? All I can see is black, like it's night time or something. Is there…" I paused nervously. "…something wrong with me?"

I could sense Ellie's hesitation. That was enough to tell me that she didn't know how to respond to my question. Another tired sigh escaped my lips. "Never mind," I mumbled as I closed my sore eyelids yet again. "I'm sure you'll be able to fix me."

Ellie's POV

I felt dreadful at not being able to answer Elaine's question. She might have been young, but she was sharp, and one day I expected she'd be able to outsmart the best of us. I ran the sponge along the last of the dirt on her paintwork, finishing it off with brief polish using a soft cloth. I heard Elaine sigh again, though I thought that this time it sounded more like one of tiredness rather than nervousness. I dropped the sponge back into the bucket and stood still for a moment; and then another, waiting until Elaine's breathing was soft and even, and I knew that she'd fallen asleep, exhausted from the day's rather unsettling events.

I hopped down from the ladder lightly (or I like to imagine that I did. It's more of a stagger these days, but don't rain on my parade) and folded it up as quietly as I could. Luckily I'd worked my previous ladder (which I've come to know affectionately as 'Old Squeaker') off on Jim's team, so I managed to execute the whole clearing up process in relative silence. I peered round at Elaine's face once I was finished, worried that I might have woken her up again – I glared across at the telephone, warning it to be quiet – but Elaine remained completely oblivious for the time being. I tip-toed across to the office and shut the door very carefully, then I made my way across to the other side of the Works, to Jim's office.

It had once been a very intimidating location, especially when I first started working here. Jim was my mentor, but at first I didn't think he was the type I could go rushing to in a crisis. But as I soon learned, I couldn't have been more wrong. Jim was exactly the person I needed in a crisis. He was calm, quiet, the voice of reason in any dispute – but you did not want to make him angry. It took a lot for him to lose his temper; and I could see why. You develop a certain patience after working for long periods with Sodor engines. If you couldn't stay calm and keep a cool head while they were all bickering about who was fastest, best, strongest, whatever, you'd have soon been institutionalized. But once you get used to it, you almost start developing a sort of affection towards it – the engines of Sodor just wouldn't be the same without those traits.

I knocked on the office door, very quietly. Too quietly, I think, because I didn't receive an answer. I knocked a teensy bit louder, glancing back over my shoulder at the still-sleeping Elaine. He heard that one, because he flung the door open with his usual authorative manner.

"Ah, Ellie." He boomed loud enough for the whole Works to practically hear. Elaine stirred a little.

"Shh! I've just managed to get her to sleep..."

Jim rubbed his temples, looking at me like I was one of those over-enthusiastic parents who was too keen to show off what their children could do.

"She's not a baby, Ellie..."

"Well, technically she is. She's only five weeks old..." I replied stoutly.

Jim gave me a half-smile. "Well I was in charge of her build, so technically that would mean she's actually my...look, never mind all that rubbish," Jim cut himself off gruffly. Before you assume anything, I kept my mouth shut. I know when to stop pushing my luck, thank you very much. "I want to discuss Elaine's condition with you." He placed her file on the desk. She might have been young, but since Elaine had been built from scratch here at the Works, she already had a file of considerable size.

Jim flipped through the pages, skimming them quickly.

"Now, everything was in order when she passed her final safety checks...the only problem we really encountered was that she has a fear of heights, and that's not a technical problem..."

I was surprised, to say the least.

"Elaine has aerophobia?"

Jim looked at me.

"Didn't I mention it? I thought you knew...I'm sorry, it must have slipped my mind."

I made a mental note of this. I felt so daft. Now I understood why poor Elaine had been so frightened when the crane had been lifting her up. It also reminded me of why I'd come here to see Jim in the first place. I'm not one to beat about the bush, and I know Jim likes things told to him straight, and not sugar-coated, though I knew this would break his heart. Mine felt like it was breaking for poor Elaine, so I knew that Jim would feel the same way; as the man in charge of her build, Jim felt a special connection to the new mountain engine – and in that moment, I hesitated.

Jim knows me well. Well enough to realize when something's wrong, even if he isn't looking at me. He knew it in that moment, too, because he put Elaine's file carefully back down on the desk, rested both hands on the back of his chair, and looked up at me.

"Alright. Something's up. What is it, Ellie?"

I opened my mouth, though nothing came out the first time. I tried again.

"I...when I was washing Elaine...I mean, I knew something was wrong, I was standing there and she was all like, you know, but then I waved my hands in front of her."

Jim gave me a look. I kicked myself mentally, because I knew none of that had made any sense. I was fighting between wanting to spare Jim this pain and my own sympathy for Elaine. Pulling myself together, I knew this wasn't helping anyone, so I came out with it. Coherently this time.

"I went up to Elaine to get a better look at her, before I gave her a wash. I hadn't been paying much attention to her sore eyes before; I just thought they were swollen where she'd been crying. But I had my suspicions...and when I got up there, I waved my hand in front of her eyes; she didn't respond to me. At all."

Jim shoved the chair out of the way with such force that it fell right over, landing on its back. He held me by the shoulders a bit too tightly; I could see the anguish in his face. To see a man who was normally so composed this upset was very unsettling.

"Ellie...are you trying to tell me that you think Elaine is...blind?"