Thomas, Annie and Clarabel never stopped until they came to the station of Barrow-in-Furness where they first met Christopher. The soldiers all said "thank you" and took their leave into the waiting train on the next track. Christopher and Diana stepped out of Thomas' cab, taking in that air of déjà vu from one week ago. Everything seemed the same, with a heavy cloud cover above the skies, leaving Thomas' former paintwork as mostly the only shade of blue from his field of vision.

"Did you know that I first met Thomas here?" asked Christopher.

"No," said Diana matter-of-factly. "But I imagine so."

"Now's not the time for any reminiscing," reminded Thomas. "If we're going to look for your father, we might as well do it now."

The children climbed onto Annie's empty first compartment and Thomas started off. The track in front of him looked easy, considering it was a simple straight route, the same route he and Edward used when they came to Sodor the very first time 25 years ago. They reached the station of Dalton where a river was just ahead, along with a viaduct to cross over it. The Leven viaduct was narrow and made Thomas uncomfortable over the thought of falling into the river, but they arrived safely at Cart and Cartmell Station to take on water while the driver observed a map that was posted inside the building, they had a long way to go. As they passed the seaside vista of Grange-Over-Sands, with Thomas whistling to the boats and yachts in the water, Christopher was looking out of Annie's window at the changing scenery that he had missed on his way to Sodor when he left London. Diana sat opposite to him, looking out at the world away from her home. She turned to Christopher and said.

"So we're going to find your father, huh?"

Christopher continued his fixed position. After five seconds, Diana spoke again.

"Why not wait until the war ended? Or do you not care about that anymore."

The boy faced her.

"I do care, but what difference does it make? Dad said the only the place in the army for me was a messenger boy's post. And if I can't make him come home, then will this entire journey be for nothing?"

"Well, at least I'm getting a chance to see the world. I have lived on Sodor my whole life and I have never even seen it."

Diana's feelings turned solemn when she asked.

"What if you do convince your father to come home with you? Will this mean goodbye for the both of us?"

"I'll still come and visit you and Thomas," Christopher faltered.

"It's something else," Diana asked impulsively. "Do you love me or not?"

Christopher tried to think, this was the first time he had ever heard a girl around his age asking him if she loved him.

"Maybe."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"My answer is yes. You have comforted me when I needed it the most and you have stayed at my side for most of my visit."

Diana, smiling, leaned closer to Christopher.

"Then I have a special way of thanking you," she whispered.

In one moment, she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Christopher felt a little happier after that, maybe kissing a girl wasn't as unpleasant as all the other boys back in his school thought it was.

Thomas ploughed on through the day, passing Carnforth, Skipton, Keighley, Leeds…all the while with Annie and Clarabel singing cheerfully along the way as they passed other trains, cars and children who waved at them. After about five hours at the most they finally arrived in York Station at around 3:30 p.m. in the afternoon.

"We should be close to Strensall Barracks," said Christopher with hope in his voice.

"And when we see your father, you have to introduce me to him," added Diana.

"I think I'll go alone," uttered Christopher with a tease. "They probably don't bring, well, younger girls into the military."

Diana understood this.

The driver asked the stationmaster for directions and fortunately, the barracks were not too far away. Even though the line was close to the barracks, it could not be accessible by rail, so when they reached a vantage point where the barracks could be seen from a distance, Christopher had to walk. All he had to do was go down the hill, walk over the River Foss, and onto Strensall Road and there he would find the main entrance to the barracks. A man was standing, then marching back and forth when he got there. The man's back was turned to Christopher when he asked.

"Excuse me? Do you know where I can find a man named Wilbert Awd—Uncle George?"

The name turned, revealing the face of his uncle, who looked more surprised than happy.

"Christopher, I thought you'd be with the Dalbys. Did you run away?"

"Sort of. I just wanted to see you and Dad before you had a chance to leave again. I know it's important to stay where you need to be, but I still want you to come home, even if it seems like an impossible task for me."

"The impossibility of that task is correct. But you are in luck, dear nephew, Wilbert and I will be leaving overseas very soon."

"Already?" Christopher could not imagine leaving for the battlefield after a week of training.

"That's right," said his uncle. "Hitler's postponed his invasion plans indefinitely and we're going to help the RAF in Benghazi. I read it in the news. Then later on, or so I'm told, we're going back to Dunkirk to bomb the invasion barges."

"You mean you and Dad are going to fly in plane?"

"Well, he and I are going to man the anti-aircraft guns. They say the controls of a plane are too complex for us, seeing how you, me and him are all into trains and whatnot."

"And your post is supposed to be guard duty?" asked Christopher boldly, putting his hands on his hips as he did.

"Indeed it is," his uncle saluted. "And as per regulations I cannot let you in unless if you wish to join."

"Don't bother," Christopher sighed. "I'm not old enough, anyway."

Then the two of them heard marching and a lorry was driving up to the gate in the opposite direction, nearly catching Christopher off-guard. It was now apparent that the time to leave had come.

"That should be him," Uncle George said to Christopher.

The uniformed men marched to the beat of their own soles, and there were no less then twenty-five to thirty of them moving closer and closer to the anxious child and the guard who tried to look professional. They were known as the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry given their location and reputation. The general leading the men got onto the rear of the lorry first, followed by the men, Christopher kept his eyes sharp until he saw…

"Dad!"

Recognizing Wilbert, Christopher ran into his arms, startling his father who looked down at him. His face was just about as surprised as Uncle George's.

"Christopher…" he startled. "I don't know what to say other than why you're not with Hilary and Veronica."

"I couldn't find you when you left me at the station, so I got on another train." said Christopher as fast as he could so as not to test the army's patience. "Then I met Thomas, he's this tank engine, he took me to Sodor where there's talking trains and they said you might have been there. But the Nazis bombed it and with me missing you and everything and…I just wanted you to come home."

"Don't we all!" agreed one of the soldiers.

"I wish I could, son," Wilbert's full uniform spoke for itself. "But you know how bad this war is."

It was at that moment that Christopher had realized that arguing would not solve anything. His arms left his father's embrace and he took a step back.

"Then I came all this way to say one last goodbye," he said, his voice verging on the vapid. "But can I at least show you Thomas, the tank engine who brought me here? He talks, by the way."

Wilbert chuckled.

"I think you've been outdoors too long trying to find me."

"No," Christopher shook his head. "I will prove it to you."

Giving in almost immediately to his son's beliefs, Wilbert turned to his commanding officer and said.

"It won't be a moment longer."

They climbed back up the hill and through the river where Thomas was waiting. As they walked, Wilbert asked Christopher.

"Are you even sure he talks? Because I find that idea to be very…childish."

Sure enough, there was Thomas, all in black with the colors of his number muted and his shape loomed against the afternoon sky with the windows of his coaches shining light through the compartments. This engine looked very familiar to Wilbert, one that he had not seen since he was five years old. The bells of his memory began to ring and it all seemed to come back to him when he noticed the face that said back to him.

"Hullo, Wilbert."

Wilbert tried to smile as he lifted his right hand. The face was indeed familiar and when the bells of his memory began to intensify, everything that had slipped from the first ten years of his life had been restored. Waving before acknowledging his childhood friend, Wilbert faltered.

"Hullo again, Thomas. You look almost the same as when I left you 25 years ago."

"Same to you," Thomas replied. "I could never forget your face. Everything that I remember from that five year old boy is still there, the eyes, the hair, even your cheeks."

"My cheeks have thinned," Wilbert chuckled.

Then his face went to Christopher.

"I see you have met my son," he added. "How was he?"

"Almost the same as you when you came to live on Sodor with me for a short time."

Wilbert looked back at the lorry at the bottom of the hill.

"I should be going now. I don't want to keep them waiting too long."

"I'll tell you the whole story when's it's all over, right?" asked Christopher.

"I will listen to your every word."

In one long moment, the father and son gave a salute and said "goodbye" in unison. Christopher did not stop gazing until his father was far, far away from his view. A minute after, an impatient Diana walked out of the compartment and looked around. She had been asleep the whole time out of boredom and wanted to see Christopher's father. But it seemed that he was nowhere in sight, she asked.

"So what now? Do we go back?"

Christopher turned to her over his left shoulder and said.

"Yes, it's time I did something besides cry."

The children climbed back into Annie's compartment and without a second thought, Thomas puffed backwards to the station and went to find the nearest turntable to pull his coaches head on. After that was accomplished, he started back home. The children slept all the way to Barrow for it was nearly sunset when they crossed the Vicarstown Bridge. Tired, but triumphant, Thomas went all the way back to Tidmouth Sheds, where the five other engines had just about returned from a long day of worrying. They were both surprised and slightly agitated to see him back on the island.

"I was afraid you were lost," said Henry.

"Most of us were," confessed Edward.

"Where exactly were you?" asked Gordon indignantly.

And as soon as the Fat Director came to ask the same question, Thomas told him and the other engines the whole story right to the very end. When Christopher and Diana woke up, the Fat Director promised him a new home that would be officially his until the war had ended for good, just as it had been planned originally when he first came to Sodor. And that home of course, would be Diana's house.

When they returned to Ffarquhar, Thomas could finally rest his wheels after that long and courageous adventure. Before going to bed, Christopher looked out of the window to the beautiful night sky and whispered to the silent wind:

"Goodnight, Dad. Goodnight, Thomas."