Behind the Most Cherished Smile is the Saddest Frown Ch. 9

…

Thomas groaned as he sat up in his bed, the sunlight hitting his skin and wrapping him in a warm embrace.

He had been at the orphanage for a little over three years. He was ten now, but even after all those years at his new 'home', Thomas never healed physically from his wounds. The pain from the wounds was long gone, but the scars, cuts, and bruises were still there, looking brand new, as though he received them just the day before.

But he hadn't. It's been three years, and none of them had ever healed. Ashima and Gina had no clue why Thomas' wounds weren't healing and fading away, neither did he, or the other children at the orphanage.

They figured he'd be physically scarred for the rest of his life. But, Thomas could care less. At least he was in no pain, and he has had less and less nightmares and flashbacks.

But Thomas noticed something as he sat up in his bed. It was quiet- too quiet in his opinion. He finished rubbing his eyes, and looked around.

All the children were staring at him in shock.

"What's wrong?" Thomas asked slowly.

A young boy, at the age of eleven, with black hair and blue eyes, walked up to him, holding a mirror. Thomas was confused- but the boy was persistent, so, Thomas shrugged, and looked into the smooth, reflective surface.

And his eyes widened.

It was as if though time had reversed- Thomas' skin was suddenly smooth. No scars, no cuts, no bruises. His eyes were bright blue once more, no longer dull and near lifeless- every scar on him was gone. His hair seemed so light and fluffy as well.

After all those years at the orphanage, Thomas thought he would never heal. But then, he wakes up, and suddenly, he looks as good as new...

He no longer looked like a broken and scared boy. He looked like nothing had ever touched him. He looked-

"Precious."

Thomas looked up at who spoke- a girl with grey eyes and blonde hair.

"What did you say?" Thomas asked as he looked at her.

The girl smiled. "I said: precious. You look, so precious."

Thomas smiled, and blushed a bit, the red contrasting beautifully against his pale skin.

"Thank you…" He smiled.

Then the door opened and Gina stepped in. "Alright children, time to get-" But she stopped when she saw Thomas. "-up…"

Thomas smiled. "Oh Gina!" He said happily as he jumped out of bed and ran to her. "Look! Look! I'm all healed!" He cheered as he twirled around.

Gina covered her mouth as she laughed. "Yes, yes, I see that." She smiled. "Oh, you look so lovely." She praised. "Ashima!" She called to her best friend. "You must see this!"

The woman in mention then ran into the room. "What is it? Is something wrong?" She questioned frantically.

Gina shook her head, while smiling, and moved, so Ashima could see Thomas.

Ashima gasped. "Thomas…"

Thomas laughed. "I know! Don't I look splendid?" He smiled.

Ashima nodded and smiled. "Most definitely." She said.

Thomas beamed, happy that he had no more scars.

…

…Only now, they came back, resurfacing, reeling their ugly forms once more, and tarnishing Thomas' snowy skin.

But Thomas didn't care. All that he cared about was that his friends and family were safe.

Besides, he had other more pressing matters on his mind at the moment. Like, the fact that the women from his childhood were standing right in front of him.

Thomas tried his best to muffle the sobs that were quietly coming from his mouth, but no avail as he finally gave up, and started to freely sob in front of everyone.

Annie, Clarabel, Ashima and Gina smiled in adoration at the crying boy in front of them, before walking up to him. Annie and Clarabel sat on either side of his bed, while Ashima and Gina sat on the edges of the bed.

Slowly, Thomas did his best to sit up as he looked at the four. "I can't believe you girls are actually here…" He said breathlessly.

"We tried our best to find you, Thomas." Ashima smiled.

"But eventually, Annie and Clarabel came back, claiming they found you." Gina said.

Thomas looked confused. "What?"

Annie smiled. "The entire reason we came to the orphanage in the first place was to seek directions to Sodor, Thomas. So we could find jobs." She said.

"Both of us now manage coaches down at the yard." Clarabel said. "We're like- flight attendants but, for coaches." She explained.

"So… you've been on Sodor for a while now?" Thomas asked.

Clarabel nodded. "That's right."

Thomas looked down, then back up at them with curious eyes. "Then why didn't you come to me sooner?"

Annie sighed. "Thomas, we only found out that you were on the island about a week ago."

"That's when we went back to London, to find Ashima and Gina- so they could know." Clarabel said. "Then we went to Edward- to explain who we were."

"Oh…" Thomas said, after learning the new information.

Ashima then leaned forward, and hugged him. "To me, Thomas." She said. "It doesn't matter how long it took for us to find you."

Gina then moved so she could gently pull Thomas into her lap, but was still careful of his wounds.

"What does matter, is that we found you, Thomas." She smiled, as she gently hugged the fifteen year old.

Thomas smiled back, and quietly relaxed in the Italian's hold.

All the while, Edward, Rosie, Gordon, the rest of the Steam Team, and their siblings watched quietly, with smiles on their faces.

…

"Well?" A doctor asked a nurse. "How is he?"

The nurse quickly flipped through some papers on her clipboard, before smiling a bit. "The good news is, is that he will live." She said. "The bad news is, is that he hasn't woken up." She said. "I wouldn't classify it as a coma, however. Just, not responding to anything yet." She said.

"What does strike me as odd however- is his name." She mumbled. "Diesel 10…"

The doctor shook his head. "Nevermind his name. It's just a relief that he will live."

The nurse blushed in embarrassment, as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Yes, of course. How mindless of me."

The doctor smiled a bit. "Nevermind that. We should go, let him recover. We'll come back and check on him in a while."

The nurse nodded. "Yes, doctor." Then she left, following the doctor, quietly closing the door behind her.

In the bed, Diesel 10 groaned, as he tried to break out of his stupor, mumbling a single word in the process.

"Thomas…"