GORDON & BEAR

One of the most important trains on the Fat Controller's railway is the Wild Nor Wester, Gordon's express. It travels from the big station to Vicarstown and back several times throughout the day, and it helps passengers get to the Mainland quickly. Gordon is very proud of the fact that he pulls this train, and he can occasionally get protective when other engines have to pull it. One evening, Gordon returned to Knapford with the last express of the day.

"No one can pull the express as well as I can!" He boasted to Philip as the little boxcab took his coaches away.

"Of course, big engine-I mean, Gordon! You're so strong, and fast!" Philip gushed. Gordon grinned smugly.

"I know." He whistled, and began to head back towards Tidmouth. However, as he left the station, he felt a sharp pain in his undercarriage.

"Ouch!" Gordon came to a stop. Philip gasped and bumped into Gordon's empty coaches.

"Gordon! Are you alright!" He asked with concern. Gordon swallowed the pain.

"I'm fine. Just fine." With considerably less confidence, Gordon began limping home to Tidmouth Sheds. Philip watched with concern.

Gordon came home to the sheds later than usual, and as a result went to sleep rather late. When he had to wake up to take his express the following morning, he was rather tired and limped solemnly to the station. When he arrived however, he was surprised to see Henry at the head of the express.

"Morning, Gordon!" Henry whistled cheerfully. Gordon was astonished!

"Henry, what are you doing with my express?" He demanded. At that moment, the Fat Controller arrived.

"Henry is going to be pulling your express today, Gordon." He explained.

"I can see that, sir." Gordon snapped, "But why is he pulling it?"

"I've been receiving reports that you've had a lot of wear and tear recently. And, with my plans to add faster, more frequent services to your schedule, I figured it was time for you to receive an overhaul." Gordon was fuming!

"Who will pull my express while I'm gallivanting off at the Steamworks? And, as much as I hate to admit it, there's only so fast I can go, sir! How am I supposed to manage more than I already have?" The Fat Controller held up his hand and Gordon quieted down.

"When you return Gordon, you will be sharing your express duties with...another engine." Gordon's jaw dropped.

"SHARING MY EXPRESS!?" He boomed, "Out of the question, sir! No one else is worthy enough to pull such a prestigious train as the Wild Nor Wester!" The Fat Controller silenced him again.

"I've found an engine who is rather worthy, I assure you. However, he is going to have some modifications installed to prepare him for express duties. Up until those are complete, I am putting you on stopping services while Henry pulls the express. Now no complaining, and be really useful!" Before Gordon could respond, the Fat Controller strode away. The guard's whistle blew and Henry began to leave.

"Bye, Gordon! Have fun with my local!" He chortled, leaving Gordon seething.

Over the next few days, Gordon grumbled furiously. His stopping services were easy enough, but the other engines made it hard for him to contain his anger.

"Stoppin' to smell the roses, Gordon?" Donald teased as he rumbled by with a goods train. Gordon gnashed his teeth.

"Stupid Henry, stupid Fat Controller..." He grumbled furiously. When he saw Douglas, he didn't make things any easier.

"Nice and easy, Gordon! Nae need to rush!" The other Caledonian chortled from the water tower as Gordon grumbled by. Finally, Gordon began to approach Vicarstown station.

"Finally." He muttered, but he saw a red signal and braked to a halt.

"Stupid signal." He began to doze off, but was started by a loud horn and a growling noise, and a blue blur sped across the junction. Dust flew everywhere as Gordon coughed, and the figure sped onwards. Gordon scowled before calling out.

"Mind the dust, Bear!" He shouted. The Rail Blue Hymek looked sheepish as he continued pulling his trucks into the station.

"Sorry, Gordon!" Bear called back. He was switched onto the line heading up to the Dieselworks, leaving Gordon to roll his eyes and grumble.

At the Dieselworks, Den and Dart were waiting for an important load of machine parts. They heard a loud growling noise and Bear rolled in with several flatbeds. The two diesels grinned.

"Excellent, Bear!" Den smiled.

"What 'e means is, thanks for fetching these parts for us! This'll really 'elp with the repairs we need to do!" Dart put in. Bear chuckled.

"It's no problem, guys. I've nothing to do anyway." Upon finishing his last sentence, Bear sighed. He honked his horn and solemnly rolled into a shed to get refueled. Den and Dart shared a concerned glance before rolling over to Bear.

"You alright, erm, Bear?" Den asked. Bear sighed.

"Ever since the Fat Controller decided to keep me on, I've been doing nothing. I remember exactly how I felt too." And with that, Bear began to remember.

Several months ago, two diesels had come to Sodor on trial. They had no names, only numbers. One was numbered 199, and he was very full of himself. He boasted of diesel superiority from the night he arrived.

"It's time, 7101, that we took this railway over!" He boasted loudly. A red engine, a green engine, and a pannier tank, the only other engines in the sheds, shared an angry glance. 7101, the other diesel, was quiet, and didn't think of diesels as any better than steam engines. They were all just engines to him. He wanted to keep a low profile, and his companion wasn't helping.

"Quiet, 199! It's their railway after all!" He hushed. However, 199 kept on blabbing.

"Not for long! Steam engines spoil our image!" He insisted. The pannier tank snorted.

"Of course we do! We show what frauds you are! Call yourselves engines? If anything happens, you care nothing for your train! You just moan for a fitter! We bring it home, even if we're only on one cylinder!" He snapped. 199 snorted.

"Nothing ever happens to us! We are reliable!" The steam engines began to angrily whistle and shout at this.

"How rude!" 199 commented. However, a loud growling noise silenced the shed. 7101 glared at 199.

"You asked for it! Now shut up!" 199 quieted down, grumbling. 7101 gave an apologetic look to the steam engines, whose glares softened.

The following day, 7101 had to pull an important train called the "Limited". However, as he left the big station, he hit a bump in the line. He growled loudly, but managed to keep going. However, this had caused his ejector, a pump that draws air out of the brake pipe to keep the brakes off, to begin failing, and he didn't get very far before his coaches began to become heavier and heavier.

"Come on! Come on!" He growled loudly and furiously as he stormed past a signalbox. He hadn't noticed 199 and the green tender engine from the previous night on the other line waiting for him to go by! Finally, his brakes screwed on, and 7101 rolled to a stop, unable to start again.

"GRRRRRRRRR!" His engine growled in frustration, but he couldn't get the brakes off. His driver went back to tell the signalman. A few minutes later, the green tender engine arrived and buffered up behind the train.

"Hey, you at the front there!" The engine called, "I'm connecting to the brake pipe on this end, and that should keep the brakes off! Can you pull?"

"Should be able to!" 7101 called back. The tender engine grinned.

"Right then." He chuckled. Everything was set in motion. 7101 honked his horn.

"You ready?" 7101 called back.

"Yes, I am!" And with that, 7101 began to pull, with the green tender engine in the middle, and the long cavalcade set out towards the next big station.

When they arrived, a black Caledonian engine with the number "9" painted on his tender and a silver streamlined engine were waiting. 7101 saw the Fat Controller and looked sheepishly away. However, he was more angry at 199 than anything, and said several things 7101 didn't get to hear. The black engine hauled 199, kicking and screaming, away, and the green engine uncoupled 7101 from the train to take him to the Dieselworks. The silver streamlined engine backed down on the train and continued the journey, the passengers being quite impressed with him. On their way to the works, 7101 spoke up.

"I'm sorry about last night." He ventured. The big green engine chuckled.

"That's alright. You did try to shut 'Old Reliable' up!" 7101 sighed.

"And made a fool of myself today too..."

"Nonsense! A failed ejector might happen to anyone! I'd lost my regulator!" 7101's jaw dropped.

"You...failed!?" He exclaimed, "And yet...?" His voice trailed off in admiration.

"Trains must get through, you know!" The big engine said, "I'm Henry, by the way." Before 7101 could respond, his engine growled loudly. He cringed.

"Sorry, Henry. It does that sometimes. I don't have a name, just a number." Henry laughed.

"From the sound of your engine, I'd think you were a bear!" 7101 thought about it for a moment.

"Bear...I like that..."

"Since then, I've been doing nothing but hanging around the Dieselworks waiting for work. I'm glad to have a second chance and all, but I wish I could have some excitement!" However, at that moment, Bear, Den, and Dart heard a horn.

"That's Winston and the Fat Controller!" Dart remarked. Sure enough, the little inspection car and the railway's controller rolled into the Dieselworks, and came to a stop nearby the trio.

"Bear! I have very good news for you!" The Fat Controller announced as he stepped out of Winston. Bear raised an eyebrow.

"What is it, sir?" He asked. The Fat Controller grinned.

"I have found a job for you!" Bear's eyes nearly popped out in surprise!

"You have, sir? What is it? When can I get started?" The Fat Controller held his hand and Bear quieted down.

"That's a surprise. First, however, you are going to be repainted for these new duties." He handed the workmen a set of papers with various color labelers. Bear was impressed, but still confused.

"What job could I need a new livery for, sir?" However, the Fat Controller climbed aboard Winston and was leaving. Den chuckled.

"Don't worry, Bear. I'm sure, uhm, well, what I mean is-"

"What he means is, the Fat Controller is sure to have a plan. He always does. Now come on!" Bear rolled out of his small shed into the bigger main one, and everyone got to work. As the Fat Controller and Winston left the Dieselworks, the little inspection car looked up.

"I don't think Gordon's going to be very happy when he finds out who his second express engine is, sir." He remarked.

"I know, Winston. But he'll have to learn to be." The Fat Controller replied.

The following day, Gordon rolled into Knapford as usual to pick up Henry's stopping service when, to his surprise, there was no one at the head of the express.

"What the..." He muttered, but he saw the Fat Controller on the platform and quieted himself. The Fat Controller saw Gordon and smiled.

"Ah, Gordon! Your second express engine should be here any moment!" He said. Gordon scowled. However, a loud whistle sounded out and Spencer rolled into Knapford. Gordon gasped.

"Spencer! No!" He shouted.

"I was expecting a warmer welcome!" Spencer mused. The Fat Controller chuckled.

"Not Spencer, Gordon! Your second express engine isn't here yet!" Gordon let out a sigh of relief.

"Why are you here then, Spencer?" He asked. Spencer scoffed.

"The Duke and Duchess have an important meeting to attend at Vicarstown, and forget to call so I could have a path. So they are traveling on your express." He grumbled.

"So they finally realized which engine knows when to take on water?" Gordon chortled. Before Spencer could respond, a loud horn sounded out that interrupted them both.

"Here he comes now!" The Fat Controller announced. Gordon's jaw dropped in astonishment.

"No way..." Rolling in front of Gordon's coaches was a diesel he didn't recognize. He had dark green paint, with a narrow band of lime around the bottom. He had cream window surrounds, yellow warning panels, and his number written in white. Once Gordon read the number, he was astonished!

"D7101...BEAR!?" Sure enough, it was Bear, in brand new livery, sitting at the front of the express coaches. The Fat Controller walked over to Bear.

"Bear, your new job is going to be sharing express duties with Gordon." Both Bear and Gordon were shocked, but for very different reasons.

"A diesel! Pulling my express!" Gordon fumed quietly. Spencer heard him and smirked. Bear, however, was overjoyed.

"You trust me that much, sir?" He asked.

"Henry put in a great word for you. Plus, you did a fine job with the 'Limited' even if your ejector failed. Just don't let me down today, eh?" Bear grinned determinedly.

"I won't, sir!" His engine growled with excitement. The Fat Controller, Gordon, Spencer, a nearby Philip, and all the passengers in the station cringed from the loud noise. Bear blushed.

"Sorry, everyone!" He called. The Fat Controller straightened his tie and continued speaking.

"You will be double-heading a few services with Gordon today to give you an idea of the route before Gordon heads off for his overhaul." He explained. Gordon glared.

"Yes, sir!" Bear grinned excitedly. The Fat Controller then climbed aboard one of the coaches, and the Duke and Duchess boarded the train as well. Gordon backed down onto the coaches, and Bear backed down onto Gordon. Spencer called out from his side of the station.

"Show the Duke and Duchess a good time, you two! If you two mess it up, they may never ride a public train again!" This warning gave Gordon an idea. He smirked with a sinister air.

"Oh, we will." Gordon chuckled, "We will indeed." The guard's whistle blew and the cavalcade began to leave the station.

"I refuse to let a diesel pull my express if it's the last thing I do...I'll make the Fat Controller regret even considering replacing me..." He muttered.

"You say something, Gordon?" Bear asked. Gordon cleared his throat.

"No, Bear, I didn't. Come on, we can't be late!" The train then began to roll off towards the main line.

Bear loved speeding along the line with the express. The wind whipped across his frames, and he loved watching the countryside fly by. He passed Sidney working with the maintenance crew and honked cheerfully.

"Hey Sidney! Lovely day, isn't it?" He called cheerfully. Sidney looked at him.

"Oh, hi, Boar!" He honked cheerfully, as the express flew by. However, he was rather confused.

"I could have sworn he was blue..." He muttered. Gordon, however, was focusing on keeping pace in preparation for his plan.

"Come on, come on, come on!" He chanted. However, he was beginning to go so fast that some of his parts were rattling. They approached their first stop: Wellsworth. They braked to a halt, and a whistle sounded out.

"H-hey, B-bear!" Molly peeped as she rolled over towards them after stopping her shunting, "I h-hardly rec-cognized you with that new p-paintwork!" Bear chuckled. Gordon scowled.

"Thanks, Molly." Bear smiled.

"D-do you t-two want a p-p-push up the h-hill?" Molly asked. Before Bear could respond, Gordon cleared his throat.

"No thank you, Molly. Two engines should be more than enough." He said sharply. Bear was surprised.

"You sure, Gordon? Even with the Duke and Duchess on board?" He whispered. Gordon smirked, although Bear couldn't see it.

"Yes, Bear. I'm positive." He whistled, "Now come on." The guard's whistle blew, and Gordon, and a very nervous Bear, started off towards the hill.

As the duo began to climb the hill, Gordon put his plan into action. He slowly began to ease off steam, and Bear felt the coaches getting heavier and heavier.

"What's happening back there?" He panted. Gordon smirked.

"I have no idea!" He called forward with a wide smile. Bear's wheels began to slip at the increased weight, but he wasn't nearly getting the brunt of it. Unbeknownst to Gordon, the bolts in his rear coupling hook had rattled loose after constant abuse, and it was currently bearing the weight of the entire train. Bear growled loudly, his wheels spinning and spinning.

"Come on!" He cried. However, a loud "SNAP" sounded out and the entire load got lighter. Both Bear and Gordon knew what that meant. Gordon gasped in horror upon realizing what he had done, and Bear cried out.

"Oh no!" The long express began to roll gently down the hill, picking up speed. However, several passengers pulled the emergency cables in their coaches, and combined with the guard applying the brakes, the train rolled to a stop. The front coupling of the first coach hung down onto the line, with Gordon's coupling hook sitting in the ballast. Bear and Gordon reversed back down to the coaches. Bear growled in anguish.

"Of all the things that could happen! How'd that happen?" Gordon remained silent. He was regretting his choice to sabotage the train...

Both crews managed to lift the heavy coupling hook up, and placed it in Gordon's cab. Carefully, the two engines pushed the coaches back to the Wellsworth, where Molly was surprised to see them.

"Is everything alr-r-right?" She asked. Bear sighed.

"The coaches pulled Gordon's rear coupling hook off." He said. However, the Fat Controller walked down the platform.

"More like Gordon pulled his own coupling hook off." He put in, glaring sharply at the ashamed Gordon, "I thought you were beyond sabotage, Gordon." Gordon looked ashamed.

"Sabotage?" Bear said, shocked. Gordon sighed.

"Yes, sabotage. I didn't want you to pull a successful express." He forced out.

"But why?" Bear asked.

"Ever since I arrived, pulling the express has been my job. It just doesn't feel right to have another engine pulling it as often as I do." The Fat Controller cleared his throat.

"I guess what he's saying is that he feels that his job defines him, Bear. And I think Gordon needs to learn that it is not our duties that define us. It is how we go about doing them." He looked at Gordon.

"Yes, that, sir." Suddenly, however, the Duke of Boxford came running down the platform, with his wife calmly walking behind.

"Sir Topham, we must get going! I cannot miss my important meeting!" The Duke said, tapping his watch frantically. His wife began massaging his shoulders.

"Easy does it, dear. We'll get there in time." At this, Bear growled determinedly, startling everyone on the platform.

"Yes, we will." He looked back to Gordon, "Gordon, I know that you don't think I deserve the pull your express. Let me prove you wrong." Gordon's face assumed a serious expression, and he whistled in affirmation. He moved out of the way, and Bear backed down onto the coaches. He was coupled up and the passengers climbed aboard. He looked to Molly.

"Can I have a push, Molly?" He asked. The yellow engine whistled.

"Um, sure, B-bear." She stuttered, and rolled around the train. They soon enough started off, leaving Gordon to pensively watch.

Bear and Molly approached the hill and began to climb it. Bear's wheels gripped furiously, and his engine growled loudly. With Molly's help, he finally managed to roll over the hill, and he began speeding up to try and make up for lost time. Molly watched as he sped down the hill.

"G-good l-luck!" She called. Bear didn't need telling twice. His engine growled furiously as he sped down the line, desperately trying to make up for lost time.

"Come on! Come on! GRRRRR!" He sped through Maron, now only eight minutes behind rather than fifteen. At the other platform, he saw Henry. The green engine grinned encouragingly at him, and winked.

"Good luck!" He whistled. Bear honked back, and they continued on. Bear continued rolling along the main line, honking at every engine he saw. Finally, he saw Vicarstown, and rolled into the station right on schedule. His passengers disembarked, and the Duchess of Boxford walked over to him.

"Thank you." She simply said, and Bear smiled as she strode away.

Bear ran services back and forth alone for the rest of the day, while Gordon limped solemnly to the Steamworks to have his coupling hook repaired and begin his overhaul. He had thought a lot about what the Fat Controller had said, and wanted to apologize to Bear. When the final express service was completed, Gordon was surprised to see Bear rolling into the Steamworks.

"Bear? What are you doing here?" He asked from the lift. Bear looked up at him.

"Just wanted to check on you and make sure you were alright. Sorry that you're kind of stuck with me in terms of express duties..." He said. Gordon smirked.

"Bear, if there's anything today has taught me, it's that there is no more worthy engine to pull my express alongside me than you. Sorry for trying to sabotage the train. I guess I let my pride get the better of me. When my overhaul's done, I can't wait to manage services with you. Now don't let me down, alright?" Bear grinned at Gordon.

"Don't worry, I won't!" However, his engine growled loudly, and Victor and Kevin jolted awake. Bear cringed.

"Sorry!" He whispered.

"Goodnight, Bear." Gordon chuckled.

"Goodnight, Gordon." And with that, Bear left the Steamworks. Gordon watched him go, as the Fat Controller's words buzzed in his head.

"It is not our duties that define us. It is how we go about doing them." A small tear fell from Gordon's eye as he smiled.

THE END

And that was the first season of my original episodes. Hard to believe we've come this far, huh? As some more avid readers may have noticed, as of this story, every character rendered in CGI up to this point (minus The Logging Locos, for obvious reasons, and Jerome & Judy, as the story I want to write about them has not been set up yet) has spoken in these episodes, plus even more. I think Bear (as well as fellow new RWS character for this season, Frank) should be top priority for the team to reintroduce right now, as they both could have really cool personalities. Bear is an engine who wants to keep a low profile, but his growling and the crowd he falls in with prevent him from really achieving that. However, his duties as a fellow express engine are sure to make him blossom a bit. I don't use Spencer that often, so I think that using him to set up the Duke & Duchess in this story was a good role for him and provided some decent Gordon banter. Don't worry though, Spencer fans, as Spencer has a lead role planned for next season!...as the season finale. Speaking of next season, it is pretty much planned out, but I'd like to hear your ideas! (and yes, tate310, the flour story is among them) This season will premiere most likely when I'm not burnt out from writing the monster of a project Rampage of the Rail Bandits is turning out to be. Speaking of Rampage of the Rail Bandits, come back tomorrow for a special surprise concerning it!