Authors note: I don't own any of the characters, they all belong to HIT Entertainment. And please excuse my poor english, I'm norwegian and didn't pay too much attention in my english class...

My Sweet Sentinel

Chapter 4: Sleepover

Dart was alone in the shed this night. He had no idea where Den was, Sir Topham Hatt had been at the dieselworks earlier to get him, but he didn't say what it was about, only that Den would be away for a couple of days. And Den had left with the chubby man, leaving Dart alone at the workshop.

It was a quiet day anyway, but Dart didn't like that. It left him with too much time to think… Think about the drive he had with Mavis and Den a few days ago. Even though the two other diesels hadn't been flirting or anything, he had felt like the third wheel…

Den had been in a disgustingly good mood after that trip, which made himself feel even worse. Was it the fresh air or Mavis that caused Den's high spirit?

"Alone tonight, Dart?"

Dart looked up, he hadn't noticed Diesel backing in beside him. The black shunter grinned deviously.

"Why aren't you in your own shed, Diesel?" Dart muttered, sounding just as unfriendly as he intended.

"Diesel 10 took it. His shed doors were jammed and couldn't be opened." Diesel shrugged. "So I figured I would keep you company."

"How thoughtful of you…" Dart snorted.

Diesel chuckled. "But I need to ask you a favor though…"

Dart glanced at him sideways. "What?"

"Please don't abuse my coupling chain or buffers while I am sleeping." The black shunter blinked deviously at him, pushing all his buttons, triggering every negative emotion in him.

"Get the hell out of here!" Dart barked. How did Diesel know about his nightly habit when Den was sleeping?!

"Or else…?" Diesel chortled. "Are you going to drag me out of here?"

Dart felt utterly humiliated, he had always felt bad because of his size. He was very aware that he was small and probably wouldn't stand a chance if he were to drag Diesel out of this place.

He squeezed his lips shut. How many knew about his feelings for Den?! Everyone except Den himself? Or maybe even Den knew, but didn't say anything?

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone." Diesel mumbled beside him, showing one of his rare soft sides. He felt bad when he saw how hurt the smaller diesel was by his words. He often took delight in teasing others, but this was more serious than he had thought…

"Who told you?!" Dart tried to sound stern and unaffected, but the tears was filling up his eyes already. He looked away, not wanting Diesel to see it.

"Nobody. I couldn't sleep one night and took a drive to get some fresh air, and I saw you sneaking over to Den and couple to his chain, touching his buffers." Diesel said low, so only Dart could hear it.

Dart sniffled, trying to blink his tears away before they escaped his eyes.

"I didn't know it was this serious, Dart, or I would never have joked about it." Diesel whispered. "I'm sorry for that. Does Den know?"

"No…" Dart sniffled, now giving up on holding his tears back, he just let them run free, watching them drip down on the tracks.

"You should tell him before it's too late." Diesel said firmly. "Or else Mavis might snatch him right before your eyes."

"How come everyone thinks Mavis wants to date Den? They're just friends…" Dart choked out.

Diesel raised an eyebrow, getting an expression Dart wasn't able to read.

"Ok. If you say so…" the black diesel mumbled, closing his eyes to sleep. "Good night, Dart."

"Good night, Diesel."

Dart wasn't able to sleep as his thoughts kept tumbling around Diesel's words. Mavis and Den… it couldn't be, could it?

He felt restless, not knowing where Den was spending the night, he decided to take a drive around the works.

"Yo, Dart!"

Oh, joy… of all engines, he had to run into Arry and Bert. The two iron-diesels came smoothly purring through the main gates, smirking evil to him.

He lifted his front a bit to look bigger and tougher than he felt. The two annoyed him more than they scared him, though he knew they were not to be played with.

"Arry. Bert. Late shift as usual?" he greeted as polite as he was able to.

"Not as late as usual." Bert smirked.

Dart looked up at the moon's position, he was right, they were earlier than usual.

"Ok?" he shrugged and was about to continued his round.

"Someone came to take over…" Arry grinned, his eyes sparkled spiteful.

"Good for you. Then you can go to sleep early for once." Dart didn't like the turn of the conversation.

"Den is spending the night at the quarry." Bert added.

"Wonder why… he said he had been working at the docks with Salty since Porter is at the steamworks for a couple of days. Would have been easier to spend the night in Salty's shed then, don't you agree?" Arry sniggered enjoying to watch how Dart's expression changed.

"But I am sure Mavis enjoys his visit in her shed… a lot." Bert chortled.

"I don't have time for this bullshit!" Dart snorted and rattled past them, hearing their raw laughter behind him.

He trundled away from the dieselworks, not sure where to go, but he just had to get away from those hazard-striped menaces. His tears were streaming, he didn't even bother trying to stop crying.

He cursed himself for taking the track leading to the quarry. He didn't want to be that guy… the jealous, creepy stalker. But he just couldn't help it. He HAD to know.

The quarry was quiet now at night, all machinery had stopped. No engines were running; no workers were rushing around. It was complete silence.

He snuck over to Mavis' shed, trying to listen for voices, laughter or other noises. But he didn't hear a thing. He peeked in, the door was only half-way closed.

He jerked backwards as he met Mavis' surprised stare in the darkness.

"Dart?!" She choked out, obviously startled herself. "What are you doing here this late?"

Dart flushed red, looking down. "I was just…"

"..looking for Den?" she smiled. "I understand you miss your best friend, but he is not here. He worked at the docks with Salty. I think they spend the night at the Blue Mountain quarry because a freight train ran into Salty's shed. It has to be rebuilt, so Salty and Porter stays at the quarry for the time being. I'm sure you'll find Den up there."

Dart swallowed hard. He was relieved. He smiled to Mavis.

"As long as I know he is alright…" he whispered. "Thanks, Mavis. Sorry I startled you. Good night."

"Good night, Dart." She smiled back.

Dart's wheels felt a bit lighter when he drove back to the dieselworks. He should have known better than to believe what Arry and Bert said.

"Oh, well… Den IS spending the night at a quarry though." Dart chuckled to himself. "Those jerks just left out WHICH quarry…"

The iron-diesels had just taken advantage of his fucked up feelings to play a trick on him. He felt stupid for falling for it.

"I hate you guys…" he snarled as he drove past the main shed, glaring at the doors of their sheds. "I hope your shed doors gets jammed too… with you inside!"

Silently he backed in beside Diesel. The black shunter was fast asleep.

Dart looked up at the night sky, feeling more at peace. He would be able to sleep well now.

To be continued…