It was a chilly Winters day on the Island of Sodor. It was only a few days before February 14th... Valentine's Day.

Almost every engine was looking forward to it, except for one Emerald Green Stirling Single.

Emily wanted to look forward to it, she really did, but she didn't think she had a shot with the one she wanted to spend it with.

Ever since she had first met Thomas all those years ago, she had thought the world of him. He was handsome, he was kind, and he was really useful. She probably would have a shot with him, if it hadn't been for her major change in attitude all those years ago.

Shortly after she had arrived, Emily had become very closed off and rude. She had bossed all of her friends around, but she had been the worst to Thomas. She only wanted to help him, but she knew now she had gone about it in the worst possible way.

Of course, all of that was behind them now, and Emily was once again herself. But... she knew if she asked Thomas to be her Valentine, or confessed her true feelings to him... those memories would resurface in his mind, and she knew he didn't want a bossy boiler for a girlfriend. He would most likely turn her down as nicely as he could, but even the mere thought of him doing so crushed Emily's heart.

"It will be fine, Emily. Just... avoid Thomas until Valentine's Day is past, and then everything will be back to normal." she told herself as she sat alone in Tidmouth Sheds. All of the other engine's had already been given assignments for the day, but she was still waiting for hers.

After a little while, Sir Topham Hatt's blue car came along, and stopped outside of her berth. He stepped out, and walked to Emily.

"Good morning Emily. I have something a little different for you to do today. I need you to cover for Thomas on his branch line. He's had a severe breakdown, and will be stuck at the Steam-works for about a week, I'm afraid. It's your job to make sure his passengers get to their destination while he's being repaired." he said. Emily gasped.

"But... he'll miss Valentine's Day!" she exclaimed. Sir Topham Hatt nodded.

"I am aware, Emily. Unfortunately, it's impossible to schedule when an engine breaks down. The Holiday is still a couple of days away, you never know. Maybe a miracle will happen, and he'll be able to spend it with someone. I know Victor will work his hardest, but it may not be enough. If you'd like to go and see him once your jobs are done, you may." Sir Topham Hatt said, climbing back into his car.

Emily bit her lip as she watched Sir Topham Hatt drive off. She wanted to go and see Thomas badly, but she also knew that she didn't have a chance with him, so why bother? She would only end up hurting herself if she saw him this close to Valentine's Day. She let out a sigh, unsure of what she should do.

She blew her whistle as she left her Berth, heading over to the coach-yard to fetch Annie and Clarabel.

. . .

"Good morning ladies." Emily greeted as she carefully coupled up to Thomas's coaches.

"Good morning, Emily." Annie said.

"What brings you here?" Clarabel asked. Emily explained about Thomas's breakdown.

"Oh dear! The poor engine!" Clarabel exclaimed.

"I do hope he's alright." Annie added.

"He is, Sir Topham Hatt just said that he'll be at the Steam-works for about a week. I'm sure Victor will have him fixed in no time." Emily assured the coaches.

As she pulled Annie and Clarabel to the first station on Thomas's branch-line, she saw James passing by.

"Good morning James!" she called. James did not answer, as he was in such a rush, he had passed before Emily had finished her greeting.

"How typical. James is always in such a rush, he hardly notices the other engine's half the time!" Clarabel said. And with that sentence, another thought sparked to life inside Emily.

Thomas certainly didn't pay all that much attention to her before she had turned bossy, and that was one reason she had changed. She wanted attention from him. And now that she was nice again, she was just another engine. There was nothing special about her, or the way she acted. At least when she had been bossy, she had been different from the others. Not in a good way, but different was different.

Perhaps... she should try to get Thomas's attention again, by acting out.

It was a bad idea, and Emily knew it, but it might be her only chance to get Thomas to think about her more. She decided she'd go and pay Thomas a visit once she was done with her work today, and test her idea.

. . .

When Emily finished covering Thomas's branch-line, she dropped Annie and Clarabel off at the coach-yard, and then headed over to the Steam-works at once. She was still convinced this was the best option for getting Thomas's attention.

When she arrived, no one else was around. Victor must have been out back with Kevin, as Thomas was alone inside. Emily cringed when she saw the extent of his damage. It wasn't pretty.

Thomas perked up slightly when he saw Emily pull into the building.

"Hello Emily. What brings you by?" he asked. Emily mentally prepared herself, and then let her old self out.

"I just came by to see the big mess you got yourself into. Honestly Thomas, what were you doing that you so carelessly had such a bad accident!? You should know better than to let your mind wander while you're working, as it leads to nothing but trouble! Now, you won't be really useful, and I have more work to do, since I have to cover your branch-line as well! I hope you're happy!" she snapped.

Thomas's eyes widened at Emily's harsh words. He hadn't heard her talk to him like that since... since she acted like that towards everyone. But she had changed since then... hadn't she?

"E-Emily, I..." he started.

"I don't want to hear it! It's good you'll be in here for some time. It will give you a chance to think about your recklessness, and how to be a better engine!" she sniffed, before backing out of the Steam-works, leaving a stunned and baffled Thomas behind.

Once she was clear, she came to a stop, and let out a breath.

"I hope that wasn't too much. I would do anything to get him to notice me, but I don't want to push him away. When I acted like that before, he always tried to be nice back, so I'm sure he'll try again now." she said, turning around, and heading back to Tidmouth.

. . .

Thomas's mind had a million thoughts going through it. Was that really Emily who had just visited him? It couldn't have been. She had changed, and had been friendly for years. She hadn't acted like that in a very long time, so she surely wouldn't start again now... would she? Thomas refused to believe she would go back.

So... why did she say all of those mean things to him then a few minutes ago? She surely didn't even know the details of his accident, so who was she to accuse him of being at fault, or not paying attention!? The nerve she had!

Thomas felt himself become somewhat upset as he thought about her words. He thought Emily was his friend, one of his dearest at that. He was always there for her, and she was always there for him. But if she was going to start acting like this again, Thomas was going to have none of it. He would have to wait and see what she would say the next time he saw her. Perhaps she just had a bad day today, and was grumpy because she was tired.

Hopefully that's all it was.

. . .

The closer Emily got to Tidmouth Sheds, the more sure she was that she had done the right thing to garner Thomas's attention.

"If I can get myself on his mind, perhaps he'll start thinking about me more, and maybe even start thinking of me differently from the others. Thinking of me... closer to him than the others." she said to herself as she crossed the turn-table. She reversed into her berth once she was turned around, and looked to her right, to see Thomas's empty berth. She let out a quiet sigh, wishing that her number one engine was there with her.

But, if she played her cards right, he would be very soon.

. . .

The next morning, when Emily went to fetch Annie and Clarabel, she was trying to decide what she would say to Thomas today when she went to visit him. Should it be similar, more intense, or perhaps she should act like herself to throw him off, and make him think about her even more? There were far too many options. For now, she decided to follow the advice she had told Thomas yesterday, and kept her mind on her job. She didn't want to get into an accident herself, then her plan would fail!

She coupled up to Thomas's coach's, greeting them warmly.

"Good morning, you two!" she said.

"Good morning, Emily." Annie and Clarabel replied.

"How is Thomas doing?" Annie asked.

"He's fine. A bit banged up, but he was awake when I went to see him last night." Emily said.

"Is there... anything going on between you two?" Clarabel asked, causing Emily to hit her brakes as she started forward.

"W-What? O-Of course not!" she defended, her face turning red.

"Well, you seemed in such a hurry yesterday to get your jobs done so you could go and see him, we just assumed..."

"There's nothing going on!" Emily snapped, before letting out a sigh. "Well..."

"We knew it!" Annie and Clarabel exclaimed.

"There's really not... but I'm trying to change that. I have a plan in mind." she said. This gained the coach's attention.

"Ooooh, a plan! Do tell!" Clarabel encouraged as Emily started off again.

"Well... I'd rather not. It's not even really a plan, more of just an idea. Tell you what, I'll come back tonight after I see him and let you know how it's going. How's that?" she suggested. The coach's seemed satisfied, so they quieted down as Emily approached the first station.

Throughout the day, Emily ran Thomas's branch-line, still trying to hurry a little so she would have time to see Thomas. Normally, Annie and Clarabel would have complained about being rushed, but since Emily had explained, they stayed quiet. Valentine's Day was tomorrow, after all. Time was limited.

. . .

Once the run was finished, Emily put Annie and Clarabel back into their shed, she headed over to the Steamworks again. As the previous night, all was quiet, and all was dark. Emily slowly puffed inside, back over to Thomas, who yet again was still awake. He frowned when he saw Emily, but said nothing. So, Emily started her plan again.

"Well? Have you had time to think about what you did? You're lucky Victor is capable of fixing you! Some engine's only get one wreck, and that's it for them. How many wrecks have you caused over the years Thomas? One? Ten? Twenty? One hun..."

"Shut up, Emily!" Thomas snapped. Emily stopped talking, shock on her face. "I really thought you had changed, Emily. I really did. It's been so long since you were last like this, we all thought you had gotten better. I dismissed your attitude last night, thinking perhaps you just had a rough day, but here you come yet again! I don't need this on top of what I'm already dealing with, and I don't need you! I liked you Emily. More than I like the other engine's. But if this is how you're going to be, then I'll force those feelings away. I don't want an engine who can't even have sympathy towards me in my life, so just... go away!" Thomas hissed.

Emily was shell-shocked. She wanted to say something to him, anything... but she couldn't find the words. Thomas continued to glare at her in anger, and Emily slowly reversed out of the Steam-works in silence. Once she was outside, alone, she finally realized what had happened.

Her plan had failed. No, not only had it failed, it had backfired completely! Thomas hated her, and didn't want to be around her anymore! And... he had said he had feelings for her, but now he was forcing them away... because of how she had acted!

"H-How could I have been s-so stupid..." Emily whispered as tears began to run down her cheeks. In her effort to gain the attention of the one she loved... she had lost him. Possibly for good. The very thought made her break down completely, as she sobbed in the siding, with no one around to comfort her.

It seemed Emily would spend another Valentine's Day alone, but this time it was worse, because she now knew there was no chance that would ever change.

She slowly chuffed out of the siding, and headed back to the coach-yard, still crying. She had promised Annie and Clarabel she would tell them what she had done, although she was sure that the coach's would hate her too for how she had treated their engine.

When the two coach's saw her, they perked up, excited to hear Emily's plan with Thomas. But once Emily chuffed under a light, and Annie and Clarabel could see her tear stained face, they gasped.

"Good gracious! Emily, what happened? What's wrong?!" Clarabel asked. Emily sniffed as she came to a stop.

"It's all my fault..." she whispered, her voice strained due to her previous sobbing. "My plan didn't work. I was such a stupid engine to think that it would..."

"Emily, what happened? Why are you crying?" Clarabel repeated. Emily took a shaky breath.

"M-My plan to get T-Thomas to notice me didn't work. He... he hates me now. And it's all my fault!" Emily said, starting to cry again. Thomas's coaches wished there was something they could do, but they still didn't know what had happened. Why would Thomas hate Emily? They both knew that Thomas had admired Emily for years, but they wouldn't tell anyone. It was a secret Thomas had trusted them with. But now... it seemed pertinent that they should tell her.

"Emily, I find it hard to believe that Thomas could hate you. He... he likes you. A lot." Annie said in a soothing voice.

"I... I know. That's what he said..." Emily cried. Now the coaches were more confused. So... Thomas had said he had feelings for her, and then he hated her?

"Ugh, Emily, start from the beginning. I'm afraid we don't understand what's going on." Clarabel said.

"I always spend my Valentine's Days alone! I wanted Thomas to be my Valentine this year, but there's so many other engine's he could be with. Rosie likes him, and I'm sure others still do as well. I wanted to stand out, and make him think about me over the others, so maybe he'd ask me... but my whole plan on how to get him to think about me more was an awful idea... I see that now." Emily exclaimed.

"Rosie? Emily, Rosie stopped having an interest in Thomas a long time ago. She finally realized he'll never see her as anything more than a friend, and decided to take what she can get. They're friends, nothing more. They never will be." Annie said. Emily's eyes widened, as that was news to her.

"What was your plan to get him to think about you more, and stand out from the others?" Clarabel asked. Emily sighed, and told Thomas's coaches what she had done, and the things she had said.

"Oh dear..." Clarabel muttered, knowing full well how much Thomas hated her attitude from all those years ago.

"Now we understand..." Annie said. The coaches thought for a minute.

"Normally, we would try and stay out of engine's relationships, but now..." Annie started.

"Perhaps it might be best if you just tell Thomas how you feel, and explain why you did what you did. Show him that wasn't really you. Show him you're still the engine his feelings have grown for. I think he will understand." Clarabel finished. Emily bit her lip.

Telling Thomas how she felt would be hard... but now, it might be the only possible way to get him back. If he would still accept her.

"I... suppose you're right. I... I'll tell him tomorrow, once my work with you two is done. It will give me time to think of what to say, and hopefully for him to calm down. If I show up now, he'll just yell at me until I leave..." she said. She looked back to the coaches.

"Thank you, both. For listening, and... for not hating me for how I treated your engine." she said.

"Of course, dear." Clarabel said.

"We understand." Annie added.

As Emily slowly reversed out of the yard, and headed back to her Berth, worry filled her mind.

"You two may understand... but will he?"

. . .

The next morning when Emily woke up, it was Valentine's Day. All of the engine's were happy, and looking forward to the events that the Holiday would bring. Tourists would come in to ride the special passenger service's, and then they would all have time to spend with each other. Gordon and Caitlin would likely spend the day together, as would Henry and Rebecca.

The only two engine's that weren't looking forward to the day were Emily and Thomas. Thomas of course because he would be going nowhere, Emily because she was afraid of what she was going to have to do.

Sir Topham Hatt had informed her that Thomas's Branch-line wouldn't be running today, so she had no jobs at all. Normally, having a day off is nice for an engine, but today, it just meant she'd have to face Thomas all the sooner. She knew it best to go off to the Steamworks at once, so she'd be able to get if over with, and find out of Thomas would forgive her or not, so that's what she did.

On the way, she passed by the coach-yard, and saw Annie and Clarabel sitting there. The coaches noticed her, and gave her a wink and an encouraging smile, which helped Emily feel a little better. At least someone believed in her, because she certainly didn't. She wouldn't blame Thomas at all if he didn't forgive her, but she hoped he would.

When she arrived, the Steamworks seemed larger and more menacing than usual, and she was hesitant to go in. All was still quiet, as it seemed no other engine's were having any issue's, and they couldn't work on Thomas until his new parts arrived. Emily took a deep breath, and forced herself inside the building. To her surprise, Thomas was not hanging from the hoist. He was sitting on one of the siding tracks, looking down at the ground in boredom. When he heard Emily getting closer, he looked up, and scowled when he saw it was her. He opened his mouth, but Emily cut him off.

"W-Wait! Please Thomas! Just... let me speak. I promise, if you never want to see me again after that, then... then I'll go and never come back..." Emily said, stopping before him. Thomas closed his mouth, his face showing signs of distrust, but he let Emily speak regardless.

"Thomas... I haven't gone back to my old ways, really I haven't! I just... every Valentine's Day, I spend alone. A lot of the engine's haven't really become friends with me, even though I left my old ways behind so long ago. I'm friends with the Steam Team, sure, but outside of them... not many like me. And s-since everyone on the Team already has someone... I don't have anyone to spend it with. Gordon has Caitlin, Rebecca has Henry, James has Molly, Nia has Edward, Percy has Rosie, apparently, and you... well, I always thought you weren't interested in me. And that's why I acted like I did. I wanted... I wanted to stick out from the other engine's, so you'd maybe think about me a little more." Emily paused as she began to cry.

"And... I know now there's n-no way you'd ever want to be with me, I get that, I really do. B-but I'll j-just go ahead and say it anyway..." she took a shaky breath. "I love you, Thomas. I really, really love you! You've been kinder to me all these years, more than any other engine. You put up with my crap when you had to stay with me in my shed all those years ago, and then you went and got me a place in Tidmouth Sheds! You forgave me when I acted so badly for so long, and you always help me when I'm having trouble with a job. S-So I understand, if you don't want to look my way now... after I repay your kindness with more evil... b-but all I ask is that you know how I really feel. I love you Thomas. I know you had feelings for me at one point, but now... I'm sure you don't, and I don't blame you." she said. Emily closed her eyes tightly, tears still trickling out of them, waiting for Thomas to say how he didn't care, and still didn't want to see her again.

But only silence met her ears. After a moment, she opened her eyes again, and saw that Thomas was looking at the ground again, a light blush on his face. Perhaps he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of telling her how he really felt. Perhaps his silence was his answer. He didn't even find her worthy of talking to.

Emily sniffed, taking his silence as her answer. She slowly began to reverse out of the Steam-works, but a voice stopped her.

"Emily?"

She stopped, gasping lightly at the sound of her name. She looked back to Thomas, who met her gaze with his own.

"I... I'm sorry." Thomas said quietly.

"H-Huh?" Emily asked. Why would Thomas apologize to her? What had he done?

"I... I'm sorry, Emily, for not telling you sooner. I'm sorry that you've felt this way for so long, and I'm sorry I yelled at you. I always knew how I felt about you, but I had no idea you felt this way about me. If I had just told you... you wouldn't have had to act out." he said, looking up to meet Emily's gaze.

"I... I've had feelings for you Emily, for a very long time. I started feeling them after you started acting like your true self again. W-When you came in here and started acting like you used to... I just didn't know how to respond. I've been upset, because I thought I would be spending MY Valentine's Day here, alone. And then when you came in and started insulting me..." he trailed off. Emily chuffed closer, until she was a few feet from Thomas.

"Oh Thomas, I'm sorry I acted like that. I don't know why I thought that was a good idea. I wanted to make you think about me more, but not think about me poorly. I'm such a foolish engine." she mumbled. Thomas cracked a smile.

"Well... if you really feel about me as I feel about you... then would you be my foolish engine?" he asked, blushing slightly. Emily gasped as she realized what he was asking.

"D-Do you mean that?" she asked, staring at Thomas with wide eyes. He smiled.

"I do. I don't want to spend another Valentine's Day alone, and I know you don't either... so how about we spend it together, and make every day from now on special?" he said. Emily moved forward, pressing her buffers into Thomas.

"Oh Thomas, I love you!" she blurted, as joy filled tears began falling down her face. Thomas smiled warmly as Emily poured her heart out in front of him.

"I love you too, Emily. I've been holding that sentence back for far too long. But now, I can say it." he said, nuzzling Emily's cheek. Emily shuddered at his touch, warmth from her number one engine spreading across her entire body.

The two engine's simply sat in silence for a little while, enjoying their time alone, until Emily backed away slightly.

"You know... today is Valentine's Day, and I haven't asked you officially yet." she cleared her throat, "Thomas, will you be my Valentine... and my number one engine?" she asked. Although she was sure Thomas would say yes, she was still nervously anticipating his response.

"Yes, Emily. I will be your Valentine, as long as you'll be my Emerald Angel." he replied. Emily's cheeks reddened at his words.

"Yes Thomas, I will. Forever and ever..." she whispered, nuzzling him again. A cloud of steam hung in the air around them, giving them both the feeling of being on a cloud in a dream.

"This isn't a dream, right? I'm really here, with you? I've spent such a long time dreaming about this, I want to make sure it's real..." Emily whispered. Thomas smirked.

"Well, it is Valentine's Day, and that means all of the couples are doing special things together. Tell me Emily, what special thing have you always wanted to do with me?" Thomas asked. Emily bit her lip as she blushed harder, but Thomas's gentle gaze gave her the courage to speak.

"I've... always wanted to... to kiss you..." she said nervously. "To... feel your lips on my own... knowing that we would be together forever." she said, slowly closing the gap between her and Thomas.

"Let's make that dream a reality then..." Thomas said, closing the remaining gap between him and Emily. Their lips met gently, just barely brushing against each other at first, both engine's unused to the feeling. But after a moment, Emily pushed harder, forcing her lips onto Thomas's as she gave in to her feelings. Thomas responded by pushing harder against Emily, as the two of them deepened their first kiss.

Both engine's felt as if they were floating, miles above Sodor, where no one else could find them. They were completely alone together, free to do what they like. It was wonderful.

Thomas gently nibbled on Emily's bottom lip, causing the Stirling Single to shiver as he did so. Emily gently prodded her tongue against Thomas's lips, and he let her in, meeting her tongue with his own. The gently fought each other's tongue's in a battle of love, both engine's gently moaning and squeaking in pleasure for many minutes. Thomas finally had to back down, as it was clear he was no match for Emily's love fueled kisses. They had to part for air, leaving both of them breathing heavily, red in the face. Emily's boiler felt as if it would explode, and her wheels felt like they were going to give out from underneath her any moment. Her fire felt hotter than it had ever felt before as she gazed at Thomas.

"Well, that was..." Thomas started.

"Unforgettable." Emily finished, sighing contently as she nuzzled Thomas's cheek with her own. Thomas gently kissed Emily's cheek as they cuddled, and Emily closed her eyes.

Today was their first day together, and neither engine wanted to do anything more than spend it together, alone. Just enjoying the feeling of each other's presence.

So that's just what they did.

And there it is, Thomas and Emily together forever! Confessing to someone you love is never easy, but there are right ways and wrong ways of doing it, as Emily learned here. But it all worked out in the end. Happy Valentine's Day!

Coverart by JoshuatheFunnyGuy over on deviantART.