Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to HIT Entertainment. The OCs Ellie and Jim belong to Speckless Nougat. All other OCs belong to me.

Elaine's Prognosis

"Ouch!" Elaine yelped when she attempted to open her eyes the following morning. Her poor eyes were still very badly swollen and sore. Groaning, she kept her eyes closed, while she listened to the sounds of the Works being opened for the day. Then, Elaine sighed contently when she felt the sun's warm rays touch her face. She gladly drifted off to sleep again, basking in the early morning sunlight.

A slamming door woke Elaine again sometime later. Seeing that Elaine was now awake, Ellie approached her. "Good morning, Elaine!"

The grumpy expression on Elaine's face told Ellie that Elaine did not particularly think that it was a 'good morning'. Ellie decided to change tact and try again. "How well did you sleep?"

"Okay, I guess," Elaine muttered. She brightened slightly. "So, when are the men going to start repairing me?"

Ellie kindly patted Elaine's smokebox. "Soon. They're just having a meeting to discuss your condition, and how best to repair you."

"Oh… So, uh…Ellie?"

"Yes?"

"Um… I was just wondering… Is it normal for engines to not be able to see anything after an accident?"

Ellie hesitated. She had to remember that Elaine was still only a baby, so she chose her words carefully. "I'm not the sort of person to beat around the bush, so I may as well just tell you exactly what is going on. At ten o'clock, a specialist eye doctor is coming here to examine you. He often comes in here to examine engines whenever they're here for their annual exam. He's very nice, and I'm sure he'll be able to tell us more once he's looked at you."

"That doesn't answer my question!" Elaine snapped. Then she gasped in realisation. "Ellie? Does that mean that this…blackness…isn't normal?"

Ellie tenderly stroked Elaine's soft cheek. "Yes," she replied in a choked whisper.

"And…" Elaine gulped. "Is it possible that I may never be able to see again?"

"I won't deny that that is a possible outcome for you. But Elaine…" Ellie paused while she sat herself down on a nearly stepladder. "This is going to be hard for all of us. Jim is extremely upset over the possibility that you could be permanently blind, so please try to be brave, for his sake as well as your own. He really cares about you a lot, you know. You're very special to him."

Elaine drew in a deep breath. "Okay. I-I'll try."

"That's a good engine. I'd better go and do some paperwork now, but I promise to be here when the specialist arrives."

…

Inside his office at Knapford Station, the Fat Controller had just sat down at his desk to begin working on the enormous stack of paperwork in front of him, when the phone rang.

"Bother!" he exclaimed as he picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Sir Topham Hatt? It's Mr Pearson here…"

"Mr Pearson. What can I do for you? I hope Boco's overhaul is advancing nicely?"

"Yes, it is, sir, but I've phoned to discuss a more pressing matter with you."

"Indeed?"

"It's about Elaine."

The Fat Controller frowned. He already knew about the terrible rockslide that had taken place the day before. In fact, he'd been the one to arrange the buses, crane and lorry for the rescue effort. He'd heard that Elaine had been unfortunate enough to get caught up in the accident, but he'd been led to believe that Elaine's injuries weren't too serious. "Go on…"

"Well, sir… I'm afraid I don't quite know how to say this…"

The Fat Controller sighed impatiently and he glanced at the untouched paperwork still sitting on his desk. "Mr Pearson…" he began, but then the Work's foreman managed to pull himself together.

"We have reason to believe that Elaine is blind, sir."

The stunned silence seemed to stretch on for an eternity while the Fat Controller tried to absorb this new development. Blind? Elaine is blind? How? I didn't even know it was possible for the engines to go blind! I guess it's just something I've never even considered… I know we have the engines' eyesight tested every year, but I've never thought much of it.

"What do you propose we do, Mr Pearson?" he asked softly.

"I've been thinking about it all night, sir," Jim replied sadly. "Given Elaine's aerophobia, I don't think she should be allowed to return to the Culdee Fell Railway. It was bad enough when she could see where she was going, but now I'm sure she'll be even more terrified. In short, I think she'd be much better off at the Skarloey Railway."

The Fat Controller exhaled deeply. "I see… I'll phone Mr Richards and Mr Sam, and we'll come and meet you at the Works to discuss your proposal further. Thank you for phoning."

After the Fat Controller had hung up the phone, he rested his head in his hands in dismay. Poor little Elaine! I wonder if she's knows what's going on? She must by now…

Going over to his office window, the Fat Controller looked out at the station. It was the busiest time of the morning, so all of his engines were hard at work. A lump rose up in his throat when he saw Thomas arrive at platform three with Annie and Clarabel. He'd been too busy lately to arrange for Thomas to visit Elaine, even though he'd promised it. Now, he felt terribly guilty for delaying. Sighing heavily, the Fat Controller collected his top hat from the hat stand as he left his office.

Thomas was just about to depart from the platform for a much-needed rest, when he heard a familiar voice nearby.

"Stay there for a moment, Thomas. I want a word with you."

Thomas tried to hide his annoyance, but the Fat Controller was as astute as always, and he noticed.

"I won't keep you long, Thomas. I know you want to go and rest."

Thomas let off steam. "You know me too well, sir…" he muttered.

The Fat Controller smiled. "And I have every right to. Now, I'm afraid I have some sad news for you… Do you remember the little mountain engine you met at the Works?"

"Of course I do, sir! She was named Elaine, wasn't she?"

"Yes… And I'm afraid, she was involved in an accident yesterday…"

Thomas, Annie and Clarabel gasped. "Was she injured, sir?" Thomas asked, worriedly.

"I'm afraid so… But the worst part is that, apparently, she's now blind."

"Oh, no!" Annie and Clarabel exclaimed in unison.

"So…what will happen to her now, sir?" Thomas wondered.

The Fat Controller exhaled heavily. "I'm not sure yet. But when I know, I'll let you know, since you're friends with her. I have to go to the Works now for a meeting about her future. I hope we can all make a sensible decision." And with that, the Fat Controller walked sadly away.

"Good luck, sir!" Thomas called after him.

"Do you think he'll have Elaine scrapped?" Annie asked fearfully.

"I hope not, Annie," Thomas replied sadly. "Elaine deserves to live a long, happy life, just like the rest of us."

"But… How can anyone be happy when they can't see?" Clarabel wondered.

Thomas sighed. "I don't know, Clarabel. Poor Elaine must be absolutely terrified though."

…

Back at the Works, some of the fitters were busily hammering out the worst of Elaine's dents. They stopped when they saw Jim, Ellie and Dr Harrison, the eye specialist, approaching.

"She's right over here, Doctor," Jim said. "I hope that you can do something for her."

"I'll do my best, but I'm not a miracle worker, Jim," the elderly Dr Harrison replied. Knowing that it was important to keep the engines calm in his presence, Dr Harrison tenderly stroked Elaine's water tank. "Well now, young lady," he soothed. "Let's see what we can do for you, eh?"

"Elaine, this is Doctor Harrison," Ellie explained.

Dr Harrison set his worn Gladstone bag down on a nearby bench. Everyone (except Elaine, of course), watched as Dr Harrison pulled out a small vial and an eye dropper.

"Right, Elaine. I'm just going to put some eye drops into your eyes," Dr Harrison said as he approached Elaine again. "This will help to flush out any specs of dust, and it will also help dilate your pupils."

"Open your eyes as wide as you can, Elaine," Jim instructed.

Elaine obeyed. Dr Harrison carefully placed a drop of liquid from the vial into Elaine's left eye.

"Ow!" Elaine exclaimed, and she instinctively shut her eyes.

Dr Harrison sighed. He was used to engines, and humans, reacting that way, so he ignored Elaine's protests.

"Open your other eye please, Elaine."

"No!" Elaine snapped.

Jim stepped forward, and he very carefully began to prise Elaine's enormous eyelid open with his hands. Moving deftly, Dr Harrison managed to get another drop into Elaine's right eye.

"Ow!" the mountain engine yelped again. Ellie kindly wiped the excess liquid away from Elaine's eyes with a soft cloth.

"I'm sorry, Elaine," Dr Harrison apologised as he returned to his bag. "I know it irritates, but you need that for what I'm about to do." He returned to Elaine, carrying a small torch. "I'm now going to take a look inside your eyes with a torch, so please look straight ahead for me."

Standing directly in front of Elaine, Dr Harrison shone the torch directly into the engine's right pupil. After a moment, he swapped to her left eye.

"Can you see anything, Elaine?" Dr Harrison asked her softly.

"No… Wait! I think I can see something…"

"What?" Ellie and Jim exclaimed excitedly in unison.

"What can you see?" Dr Harrison asked Elaine calmly, ignoring the others.

Elaine screwed her face up, as she tried hard to concentrate. "I can see some brown…or very dark red… It's hard to tell."

"I see. And can you see that better if I move the torch over here?" Dr Harrison tilted the torch about forty-five degrees to his right.

"No. Now I can't see it at all."

Dr Harrison flicked off the torch. "Right, everyone. I have some good and bad news. From what I can see, Elaine's eyes have been badly bruised internally. This kind of injury is usually caused by something solid hitting the eyelids. Considering she's just been involved in a rockslide, I'd say that a rock hit her. An impact like that can cause severe bruising anywhere. She was just very unlucky. The good news is that her optic nerves are completely undamaged. The fact that she could see a bit of light is an excellent sign. There is a possibility that she could one day see again."

"But you can't guarantee that, can you?" Jim asked.

"No, I'm afraid not. The best thing you can do for her while she's here is to apply ice packs to her eyes for twenty minutes every two hours. That will help reduce the swelling and the bruising. I know this sounds horrible, but this isn't the end of the line for her. She's young enough to be able to adapt to her condition easily. An older engine would struggle a lot with this kind of injury."

"How long do you think it will be before we know if she will ever see again?" Ellie asked softly.

Dr Harrison shook his head. "I can't put a time frame on that, I'm sorry. As I said, the bruising is severe, and even with the ice, it will still be months, maybe even years before we know for sure."

"Years?" Elaine breathed in disbelief. She began to hyperventilate. "No! I can't spend years all alone in here! Please! You can't do that to me!"

"Calm down, Elaine," Jim soothed, rubbing a hand affectionately on Elaine's smokebox. "I promise, nobody's going to keep you in here for years. We'll work something out soon. You'll be okay. I promise."

The group began to disperse. Jim was just escorting Dr Harrison out towards the carpark, when he saw the Fat Controller, Mr Richards and Mr Sam heading towards him.

"I can find my own way," Dr Harrison said, knowing just how unusual it was for the three railway controllers to show up at the Works at the same time.

"Thank you," Jim replied, trying to keep his composure. "We'll begin with the ice pack treatment right away." Turning, he saw Ellie still standing beside Elaine.

"Ellie! I need you in my office at once! Sir Topham Hatt, Mr Richards and Mr Sam have just arrived for a meeting about Elaine."

Wow! Thank you everyone for you lovely reviews! I'm sorry it took a while for me to see them, after FanFiction went nuts, but I have read them all now, and I have been very touched by the fact that you're all loving this story so much.

If you're keen to read more about Elaine's time at the Works, please read the special story that Speckless Nougat and I have co-written together, called 'Shining Light'. It's our first time co-writing a story, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated by both of us. Thank you!