It was Christmas Eve on Sodor. Only a few days ago was the Sodor Winter Party. Emily had tried to take the Winter Party Special, but had failed to find the Fat Controller's hat after it blew away. That same evening, Thomas and Emily had nearly kissed under mistletoe at the Steamworks.
This Christmas Eve, the sun was beginning to set and Rosie was looking for Thomas. She had finally decided not to compete against Emily anymore. She would have to find Thomas and ask him right then and there if he loved her or not. She had been dealing with this conflict ever since she met him and she wanted her questions to be answered once and for all.
Thomas was at the Steamworks being polished up for the Christmas Party being held at Knapford Station. He was to take passengers home after the party. He was excited. He wanted to show Emily how wonderful he was going to look. Even better, Emily was on her way to the Steamworks to be decorated for the party and she was to take passengers home from the party with him as well. Thomas couldn't wait to see her in her party-mode appearance. He was just finished being polished when he heard an engine coming towards him.
"Hello?" he called out. He was hoping it would be Emily, but instead, he saw Rosie. She slowed down and looked at Thomas. Thomas could tell she had something on her mind and had been looking for him. Rosie slowly came forward until she was a few feet away from Thomas. She looked very nervous and a little frightened.
"Rosie?" Thomas asked. "Are you alright?"
Rosie didn't speak for a few seconds. Then she spoke.
"Thomas…I've been holding back this question for too long…what are your feelings for me?"
Thomas was a little confused. "What do you mean? Are you talking of love?"
"Thomas…I've been looking for you…and…I need to know something…I have something to confess…and something to ask you…for years, since I first laid eyes on you, I have idolized you to the point that I wanted to be just like you…by copying whatever you did. I didn't want to annoy you through my imitation…I did so because I love you…Ever since I delivered the Funfair Special, I have been competing against Emily to have your heart. After you went missing on Misty Island, I lost a lot of confidence, and only a few nights ago, I saw what nearly happened between you and Emily…now I really must know…who do you love?"
Thomas was silent for some time as he thought…and Rosie waited. Thomas was beginning to finally realize something he didn't notice way back when. Rosie did have feelings for Thomas and Emily must have been afraid of losing him. That argument he overheard during the Funfair must have been over who would win him over. Although he liked Rosie as a friend, Emily was much more beautiful to him, and as such, despite not wanting to upset Rosie, he had to speak the truth.
"Hm. So you've been trying to outshine Emily for a few years, have you?" he said. "Well, even if I knew about your conflict from the start, my mind is already made up…I love Emily. I've known her for so long and we've been through so much together. I'm sorry, but I can't choose you over her…the most beautiful engine I've ever laid eyes on."
The words made Rosie's fire nearly go out and her boiler felt icy cold. Her fears had come true. The engine that had unknowingly held her heart had just shattered it into millions of pieces. He didn't love her as she loved him. She had been in serious doubts since Thomas floated to Misty Island, but by now after seeing what happened with the mistletoe, she couldn't help herself, she was so desperate.
Suddenly, just as Emily was arriving at the Steamworks, Rosie rushed forward…and she kissed Thomas! She desperately and forcefully pressed her lips against his. Thomas was shocked by this sudden action and only after four seconds, he reversed quickly and popped his lips off Rosie's. The sight staggered Emily. This was a nightmare that she had hoped against hope would never happen. But it was real. Rosie had just kissed Thomas on the lips. She nearly screamed with fury, but didn't want to startle Thomas.
"That little brat!" she thought. "Rosie, you little fool!"
Rosie was about to rush forward and jump back into kissing Thomas, but she took a second look…Thomas looked disgusted. He just stared and gaped. He looked like he was going to be sick.
It all became clear to Rosie…Thomas did not love her, he had no love to give to her. Thomas was truly in love with Emily and not her and she had invaded his personal space over what she did. Feelings of guilt, shame, silliness and disgrace started hitting her like a whirlwind and she rushed away by herself, heartbroken and embarrassed, both by not having Thomas as her love and over her lack of self-control.
Emily crossly looked over to Thomas. Now Thomas managed to react…
"AUGH!" He groaned. That was not how he expected his first kiss to be like. He coughed and spat for some time before finally pulling himself together. He wanted to just leave Rosie in shame over what she did, but he remembered, it was Christmas Eve. How could he leave someone to be feeling sad and terrible at such a special time of year? Thomas rushed out of the Steamworks in search for Rosie, while Emily came inside and got ready for the party. She was still shocked and affronted over what Rosie did, but seeing Thomas react as he did made her feel a little reassured.
"I can't believe that…that…uh, ENGINE kissed him! How dare she!" she thought to herself. "But then again…Thomas did look disgusted…Don't worry, Thomas. Whenever the time comes…you will get the kisses of your life…"
Meanwhile, Thomas was still looking around on the mainline for Rosie. Despite his frustration over what Rosie suddenly did, he wondered if maybe he didn't explain a certain thing. He began to wonder about the good things she did for him. If she hadn't seen 'Arry and Bert taking him to Smelters to be melted down as an act of revenge for damaging them, then no one would have been able to save him from sharing the same fate as his siblings. His class would have been extinct if Rosie hadn't alerted Emily and the Fat Controller in order to save him. He had her to thank for being able to carry out his late sisters final request. As he looked back to some of his happier memories with her, he got an idea.
Rosie was at Edward's Station, crying quietly and telling Edward about Thomas and how silly she felt.
"I couldn't help it, Edward. He just told me he couldn't love me, and I just had to do it. It was now or never," Rosie whimpered.
"Thomas is a special engine," sympathized Edward. "I can see why you love him, Rosie…I'm sure he still wants to be a friend."
"I don't think he'll want to now," sniffled Rosie. "I went overboard and he looked so disgraced…oh no, here he comes." Thomas came up to Rosie, slowly and carefully. Edward decided he would leave Thomas to talk with Rosie. He left Rosie's side and looked at Thomas in silence before heading off for Knapford. Thomas knew what Edward was trying to tell him. He had to write the wrong he had made. He had broken Rosie's heart and he had to try and fix it as well as he could.
Rosie started to slowly back away from Thomas, still crying softly. Thomas didn't want her to feel sad at Christmas.
"Rosie, wait," he called. Rosie stopped and looked at Thomas. "Yes?" she asked sadly. Thomas came up to Rosie and touched his buffers to hers.
"Thomas, you don't have to touch my buffers, or anything," sobbed Rosie. "I don't deserve your friendship…I went overboard and invaded your space right after you told me the truth…I'll stay away from you if you want."
"Rosie, please listen," Thomas said with a small sense of urgency. "I came to make you happy again."
"How? You love Emily…and all I did was annoy you with my imitation of you," said Rosie. Thomas smiled slightly.
"Rosie…while I was looking for you, I suddenly realized something...I think I knew ever since you first came here…I'm very sorry I can't love you like I love Emily…I fell in love with her from the moment I first laid my eyes on her...but I do love you as something else…"
Rosie stopped crying, but she looked puzzled. "How? What do you mean?" she asked.
"I love you as a little sister," Thomas explained. "You know the truth, I only got to meet Emma once and I only saw her for just over an hour before she was taken from me forever, you were there to witness it. As such, I never got to live with her…but you were able to give me the experience of what siblings get to do. You have been like the little sister I never had. You gave me a lot of things Emma wasn't able to. Brothers and sisters help each other, work together and play together. Had it not been for you, I wouldn't have got Alice's Birthday mail to her, and I wouldn't have thought of our game, Splish-Splash-Splosh. I don't want you to feel the same pain you felt when I blamed you for my brothers being scraped and I don't want to nearly force you off the island, I would never be able to forgive myself if I did that to you again. I am glad I met you and I'm glad you came to Sodor. I wouldn't be alive right now if you hadn't helped save me from being melted down. I will always love Emily with my romantic heart, but as a little sister, I do love you, Rosie."
Rosie was still a little disappointed that he didn't love her as a girlfriend, but she felt very happy to be the little sister he never had.
"Do you really mean that, Thomas? Am I like a sister to you?" She asked happily.
"I mean every word, cutie," said Thomas. "I want you to have a Merry Christmas, Rosie. Christmas is a time of love and being with your family."
Rosie felt much better. Being Thomas' sister was the next best thing to love. "Thank you…big brother," she smiled.
"You go ahead and attend the party, Rosie. I must collect Annie and Clarabel." And Thomas set off on his own, while Rosie went on her way with a smile and a happy whistle.
At Knapford Station, the party was about to begin. Most of the engines were already there. Even Flynn and Belle from the Search and Rescue Centre were there. They didn't often get to attend parties or special times on Sodor as they were mostly on duty in case of any emergency.
Emily was also there, waiting for Thomas. She had been polished and was given some Christmas tree branches to wear along her running boards and a large red ribbon on her funnel. She felt like she was slightly in her dream world as she remembered that dream she and Thomas had after the Winter Party Special. She heard a high whistle and deduced it was Rosie. When Rosie came into view and saw Emily, she looked apologetic and a little timid.
"Emily, I've something to tell you…you've won the Battle for Love. I'm through with competition of any kind. Thomas is all yours. I promise I will never follow you around again."
"Even after what you did at the Steamworks?" Emily asked, still a little irritated.
Rosie was a little shocked, but she knew being honest was the right thing. "Y-yes. I feel mortified over that and I just want to pretend I never did that. I wish you all the luck on Sodor that you'll get to kiss him as much as you wish," said Rosie. "And Merry Christmas, Emily!"
By now, Emily felt better. Knowing all this made one of her dreams come true…she did want to be a friend of Rosie's and now she had that chance.
"Merry Christmas to you, Rosie," she smiled. Rosie whistled cheerfully and went to find a place to watch the party. Eventually, Thomas arrived with Annie and Clarabel. Although he was not decorated with anything, he gasped as he saw Emily.
"Oh…Emily! You…you look spectacular!" he wheeshed. Emily blushed. "Thank you, sweetie," she giggled. "And you look cute with your polish."
Thomas blushed too. "Uh…thank you, dear," he murmured nervously. Then, as the Knapford clock struck 9:00 p.m., the party began. The large Christmas tree on the middle platform was covered with lights and ornaments with a golden star on top. Children laughed and cheered for the holidays and the engines whistled in union.
The gossip of Rosie's sudden kiss with Thomas had spread over the island quickly, but everyone was very supportive of Rosie. They all knew of her crush on Thomas and were sorry to hear that such a sweet little engine had her heart broken when he declined her. They all wished her the best and hoped she would recover from this heartbreak soon. Though no one knew that Thomas declined Rosie because of Emily. Rosie had kept her lips sealed about Thomas and Emily's mutual love for one another, which was what she should have done before she kissed him.
"He is much better off with Emily," she thought to herself, remembering what Emily said to her when Thomas was on Misty Island...
"He saved me from my terrible ways and helped me to become happy and kind again...I need him to stay happy and kind! Without him, I might be thrown back to suffering! I don't want to reopen the terrible things I never wanted to do!"
It was then that Rosie realized why Thomas loved Emily so much.
"Emily may be strong and beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, she's weak, her heart and spirit are fragile from all the suffering she was forced to endure...She needs someone to protect her, someone who can give her strength, confidence, happiness and love...That's why they both love each other...Thomas wants to protect her from her suffering and give her love and compassion, it was why he risked having his branch line taken away from him after attacking 'Arry and Bert at the quarry, even though they deserved it after what they said about Emily. He wants her to be happy, and he's wiling to anything to ensure she is happy. And, she loves him because he gives her all the love and affection she wanted during those terrible days...she wouldn't be who she truly is again if Thomas didn't love her as much as he did, even when she was being bossy...he loves her no matter what she did in the past, he loves her more than I could ever love him, and she loves him for all his kindness and faith in her...They really are the perfect engines for each other...the perfect couple...true love..."
She finished her thoughts and looked back at Thomas and Emily. All Thomas could do was look at Emily while the party continued. Just like their recent dream, she looked unbelievable. The Christmas tree branches on her running boards matched her emerald paint perfectly and just like the Winter Party Special, the red ribbon on her funnel made her look more beautiful than ever.
Thomas was looking at a flower, a princess, a queen, a goddess and most beautiful of all, an angel. He loved Christmas whenever it came round, but with Emily on Sodor, Christmas was a whole lot better for him. She was the most beautiful decoration and the sweetest, kindest engine he could imagine. For nearly an hour, he just watched the party, daydreaming about Emily…until her voice got his attention.
"That's funny, Belle and Flynn were there a few minutes ago, now they've gone." Emily was right. Flynn and Belle were nowhere to be seen. They came for the party, now they had disappeared.
"Maybe they got called for an emergency?" said Thomas, optimistically.
"I don't think so. Surely if there is an emergency, we would've all been alerted about it," said Emily, worryingly.
"I'm sure there's nothing wrong with them. Belle and Flynn are well-trained firefighters, they know how to take care of themselves. Everything's perfectly fine tonight," Thomas said with a warm, reassuring smile. Seeing that made Emily blush and almost made her boiler melt. How he could possibly look so handsome with little to no effort was something Emily could never be able to understand, yet at the same time she didn't want to know his mysterious secret, if he ever had one.
"Alright..." she said at last.
Finally, as the clock struck 12:00 a.m., the party ended. Everyone boarded their trains and went home.
"Goodnight, Rosie…and Merry Christmas," called Thomas.
"Merry Christmas to both of you," Rosie whistled.
Thomas and Emily's trains were boarded and they went side-by-side along the line to take their passengers home. It began to snow. At every station Thomas and Emily stopped at, Thomas looked at her, overpowered by her sheer beauty but would look away whenever Emily glimpsed him. Secretly, Emily blushed, feeling very flattered that Thomas liked her appearance that much. After their passengers were all delivered, Thomas and Emily left their coaches in the yards and returned to Tidmouth Sheds and backed into their berths, next to each other.
"Tomorrow is Christmas, Emily," whispered Thomas. "Are you happy?"
"I'm very happy, Thomas," whispered Emily. "Merry Christmas."
"Sweet dreams, Emily, and Merry Christmas," Thomas whispered as they both fell asleep under a Christmas night sky.
Meanwhile, Rosie had left the party, looking for a shed to sleep in. The party had made her feel the Christmas spirit like Thomas hoped and now she was ready to sleep too. As she neared Tidmouth Station and was approaching the old branch line sheds, she heard a friendly voice.
"Hello? Rosie?" She looked and saw Stanley.
"Oh, hello, Stanley. I'm looking for a shed for the night," said Rosie.
"Why don't you sleep here where I can keep you company?" asked Stanley. Rosie felt flattered. "OK, Stanley." She puffed onto the small turntable outside the sheds, turned herself round and backed into the sheds beside Stanley. As Stanley looked at her, he was interested. She looked very cute and sweet to him and wondered if he could have a chance with her. She looked the right size to him and he thought they could be a good duo. But, considering everything that happened to her that evening, he decided that thinking about that wasn't the best thing to do right now.
"Rosie, I'm sorry about what happened between you and Thomas earlier this evening. Are you sure you're going to be alright with not being his girlfriend?" Stanley asked with concern.
"Yes..." replied Rosie. "I may not have Thomas' love in the way I wanted to, but at least I have his love as his little sister now."
"Rosie…it must be a great hassle for you trying to find a different shed to sleep in every night...would you like to sleep here from now on? I get lonely here by myself and I would love someone to keep me company."
Rosie thought for a moment and looked at Stanley. "He's very friendly," she thought. "And strong-looking. I can get used to this."
"Thank you, Stanley. I'd love that," she smiled. Stanley smiled too. "Goodnight, Rosie. And Happy Christmas."
Rosie yawned softly. "Merry Christmas, Stanley. Goodnight." And Rosie closed her eyes and fell asleep beside her new shed mate. She may have loved Thomas for a long time, but now, being his little sister was enough for her and she now had a new friend to have a chance with. She smiled in her sleep under the Christmas sky.
And thus, the battle of love has finally concluded. Jesus Christ, this has been a really long time coming hasn't it? The most anticipated chapter in this entire story and this is how the rivalry between Emily and Rosie ends, though to be fair, Emily won by a landslide the moment the battle begun. So yeah, this is why I introduced Emma in this story, specifically for this moment.
And yes, the end is suppose to foreshadow the eventual RosiexStanley story, coming God knows when, but you're probably wondering what the deal was with mentioning Belle and Flynn in this chapter. Well, a LOT of stuff takes during the events of this chapter, Belle and Flynn's absence is just one of the events occurring off-screen in this chapter. What those events are you will learn in the future, but for now, please leave your reviews and tell me what you think about the conclusion of the rivalry between Emily and Rosie and your thoughts on this chapter as a whole. Until next time, take care everyone and I will see you all with the next chapter, adapted from the magazine story, "Place to Play." See ya then!