"Disgraceful!" said Gordon.

"Disgusting!" said James.

"Despicable!" said Henry.

"You have to admit, Thomas. A child driver doesn't seem very proper," Edward carefully piped in as the five engines huddled near Knapford junction.

"Never mind Proper! You haven't even seen him drive! He's a natural!" Thomas obstinately protested.

"That is true, guys. If Christopher really is that good…." Edward said to the other three.

"Sure, at pulling coal carts and such, but professionally, he doesn't stand a chance," Henry retorted.

"I suppose it wouldn't be very safe, Thomas," Edward said.

"Then he can learn on the job!"

"He has a point, you three. You can't chug until you've learned how to creep."

"Nor can you crash an entire train full of people," James said.

"Well, I can't argue with that, Thomas, accidents CAN happen."

"Not when he's around!"

"What is all this commotion?" asked Christopher as he approached the bickering engines, in his new engineer uniform. Since there were no other drivers his size, there had to be a special one made for him.

"Oh, God," Gordon rolled his eyes seeing the boy in clothes he thought were far from suited for him.

"These amateurs don't think you have what it takes, Christopher,"

"I do…." Said Edward sheepishly, facing the glares from the others.

"What's say we prove them wrong, huh?" Thomas answered excitedly. "Annie and Clarabel aren't gonna pull themselves."

"I couldn't agree more," the lad replied as he climbed into Thomas's cab.

"Well, at least you have the distinction to be the first driver who'll need a booster seat" Henry quipped, causing his two mates to laugh.

Over the next few weeks, Thomas and Christopher hit it off tremendously. There was no train that proved to much of a challenge to the boy due to his encyclopedic knowledge of the engine's workings and although the loads could be somewhat of a challenge, it was exactly the kind of thing that motivated him to push himself further and further. They could even find other ways to stay useful like bring an escapee cow get back to its yard, or bringing Sir Brown his medicine.

Even off duty, the two loved spending time together, whether it was beating Bertie the Bus at their little races, due to Christopher looking up quicker railways, or simply training for work, where they would test Thomas's strength and speed with a stop watch, Christopher proved to be the perfect coach as their new record had gotten beaten over and over again.

Indeed, there were even nights where Thomas could feel someone climb into his cab in the shed as the others slept. He would then smile and start his smokebox up just so his guest could stay warm.

The two remained the best of friends throughout the season. Eventually on a crisp evening in the middle of November, the two found themselves at the harbor, (Thomas's favorite spot on the whole island) dropping off an entire tank of milk while Toby was bringing in his coach, Henrietta, when they just couldn't the sunset over the horizon. Before they returned to the shed, they figured they might as well enjoy the view to cap off another productive day.

While taking in the scenery, Christopher couldn't help but notice Sir Brown and Jane sitting on a bench 50 feet away from them. After given them a reciprocated wave, he asked "what are they doing here?"

"Oh, that's right. it's the anniversary of our, well Jane's mother's funeral…" Thomas answered sadly. He clearly still wasn't over Jane not seeing herself as his sister, despite all the years of her as his driver.

Over the past few weeks, Jane had allowed her hair to grow out, and was dressed in more conservative attire with a skirt and buttoned-down blouse. Ever since Christopher took over her duties as Thomas's driver, she had been writing practically non-stop and was sharing her latest poem with her father, who was reading it.

"For even as the sun fades, all other lights shine brighter in its absence, preserving its memory throughout the darkness," he read with tears running down his face. "You write just like her. I'm so sorry to keep you from doing this all these years."

"Thank you, father. And it's alright", said his daughter gently patting his shoulder.

He looked out in the distance at his side as Christopher and Thomas sat.

"Thomas would have loved her so much."

"Yes, yes he would. The real Thomas…." said Jane somewhat sternly.

Sir Brown was about to protest but immediately stopped himself from doing so. He shared Thomas's sadness.

"What WAS your mother like, Thomas?" Christopher asked the engine.

"Dunno, she died years before I was born."

"Oh…I'm so sorry…..at least I got to know my father….." the boy responded sadly. Thomas came to a realization.

"…..You know. I guess...if there is one thing about never dying, it's that you have to watch everyone around you die…..soon, I'll have to say goodbye to Sir Brown and Jane and…."

"….me?"

…..yeah…"

The two stood there in silence as Toby was listening close by, hoping that this could be another chance to lighten things up.

"But...you'll still have Percy, an-and James and Edward and…"

"…even Gordon?" Thomas laughed.

"Even Gordon." Christopher laughed along. "And again, you can all be useful forever. Unlike us humans, remember?"

"Yeah, but that's another thing. We have all the time in the world to be useful. You humans only have a few years. I guess you just really to make the most of it…"

Toby was just about to creep in to give his famous advice when suddenly…

"Hold on…that gives me an idea," Thomas said excitedly much to Christopher's intrigue.

"Hey! Sir Brown!"