Thomas was back at the Steamworks that night, watching over Percy, who'd woken up about a minute ago. He was happy, but very weak. Little work had been done on him, as new parts had to be shipped in from the Mainland.
"How's...work...on...the...island...
treating...you?" Percy asked, quietly.
Thomas smiled gently.
"Good. We've had so many passengers lately. I've been running up and down my branch line like crazy."
"I'll...bet..."
Percy suddenly let out a small cry of pain, and shut his eyes tightly.
"Percy?!" Thomas cried frantically. "Are you okay?!"
Percy breathed deeply, groaning in pain.
"I'm...I'm...fine..."
"No..." Thomas protested, giving him a gentle nudge, "you're not...just...relax, okay?"
Percy relaxed his eyes, and exhaled deeply.
"Okay..."
Thomas watched as his best friend slowly fell back into slumber. Thomas pulled up as close to his side as possible, and Percy, ever so slowly, leaned into him. Thomas allowed Percy to lean on him, to put all his weight on him. Thomas closed his own eyes,
and leaned back into Percy, too. He fell asleep, keeping Percy close the entire night.
"Well, isn't that cute?"
"Be quiet. You'll wake them up."
"Boy, I wish I had a camera right now."
"Shh! Let them sleep! They've both had it rough."
"Everybody just stop talking!"
Thomas opened his eyes, but barely. He saw Rosie, Stanley, Victor, and Luke in front of him.
"Now look what you did!" Rosie said, staring at the other three engines. "You woke them up!"
"You're blaming us?" Stanley spluttered. "You're the one who was saying how cute they both looked for the past half hour!"
"Shut up, Stanley!"
"Both of you," Luke said, bringing the peace. "Be quiet. Let's leave them alone for now."
The three engines, that were both Thomas's and Percy's friends, left the Steamworks.
"Good engine, that Luke," Victor smiled. "Always keeping things calm and quiet. He works in a quarry, though. Isn't that ironic?"
"Loud place, quiet personality?" Thomas almost laughed. "Yes...I suppose."
Victor smiled.
"The Fat Controller has given you the day off, Thomas. Oliver offered to take over your duties as a thank you gift."
Thank you gift? Thomas thought. For what?
"He looked exhausted," Victor suddenly said. "He came in here earlier to tell me that he would be taking over for you on his behalf, and he looked very tired."
"Oh...that's too bad," was all Thomas could say. "I hope he'll be okay."
"He'll be fine," Victor said. "But weak for a few hours. Like you two, he needs rest."
Thomas smiled fondly at Percy, who was still leaning on him. The little blue engine didn't move.
"Do you know why Oliver was so tired?" Thomas asked.
"No, he wouldn't say," Victor replied. "But, he seemed to be in a hurry."
Oh.
"I see," Thomas said. "Well...uh...I'm sure he'll have a good time on my branch line. What time is it?"
"It's almost three," Victor said. "You slept very late, my friend. That's good."
Yeah. Now I'll be able to spend more time with Percy since I won't be tired.
"Yeah," Thomas agreed with a smile. "It's amazing."
Oliver was glad he got the opportunity to take over for Thomas today. Right now, he was pulling Annie and Clarabel down the branch line. He was a little early, but that was always good. He didn't know how he was early, though, with how worn out he was.
Duck's dream had taken a turn for the worse, and he still refused to talk about it. The pannier tank had woken up screaming, and his eyes had been full of tears. Not only did that scare Oliver, but it tore him up on the inside, too. Oliver had then
whispered words of comfort to him, Duck had leaned into his side, and had fallen asleep. Oliver stayed up most of the night, humming some soft tunes and keeping a watchful eye on his best friend. But, as said before, he was happy to take over for
Thomas. Some fresh air and a stroll was just what he needed. He had a lot to think about.
"Um, excuse me, sir?" Annie called.
Oliver smiled.
"Just call me Oliver, please."
"Well, Oliver..." Annie began, "thank you for pulling us today. We really appreciate you being so kind to Thomas."
"My pleasure," Oliver replied. "He's done a lot for me. He's a good engine. And a good friend."
"The best," Clarabel said.
"Aren't you one of those Great Western engines?" Annie asked.
Oliver nodded.
"I am. Why?"
"Just curious, I suppose. That voice and paint of yours gives it away. The letters, too. You must work on the Little Western,then."
"I do, and I'm proud of it."
The girls smiled.
"We figured," they said, together.
Oliver laughed. He liked Thomas'coaches.
Duck and Iused to pull coaches on The Great Western Railway. We used to love todo that.
Oliver smiled as he thought of his home. Even though he loved Sodor, the Great Western Railway was where he came from, and he knew it was where his heart would always be.
We had some good times back there.
The conversation between the engine and coaches stopped after that. Mostly because Oliver had a lot on his mind, but also because he was tired. Annie and Clarabel took notice and decided to leave him be. Oliver smiled as the next station came into view.
Almost done.
Back at the Steamworks, Percy was still fast asleep. About three hours had gone by, and neither Thomas or Percy had moved. Thomas exhaled deeply and pushed more into Percy's side, holding him as close as possible. He sighed happily. He liked this. There
was a great bang from the back of the works suddenly, and Victor flinched.
"Kevin!" He hissed. "Be quiet!"
The little yellow crane smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry, boss. Just a slip of the hook."
Victor rolled his eyes, and Thomas sighed. He just leaned back into Percy and shut his eyes again. Percy moaned in his unconscious state, and his face twisted in pain.
"Shhh..." Thomas soothed. "It's okay..."
Percy quieted down after that. Victor was amazed.
"My friend...how do you do that?"
Thomas shrugged.
"I honestly don't know...I guess he just knows it's me."
Oliver puffed into the Steamworks then, a small smile on his face.
"I'm officially all done being you for a day," he said.
Thomas laughed lightly.
"Good job. Now, go get some sleep. You look awful."
Oliver nodded.
"Yes...I know...oh, and Thomas?"
"Yes?"
"Good luck."
"Good luck? With what?"
Oliver smiled.
"You know what."
The Great Western engine then left the Steamworks, leaving Thomas shocked.
Did Hiro...
"What was he talking about, Thomas?" Victor asked.
"Oh...uh...nothing."
Victor was doubtful, but didn't question him any further. Night was quickly falling once more, and the Cuban engine prepared himself for stopping work for the night.
"Don't be up all night watching him, understand?" He said sternly to Thomas.
"Yes," came the soft reply.
"...That's exactly what you're going to do, isn't it?"
"...Yes."
