THE DAISY AND THE ROSE

Based upon "Being Percy" by Rachel Dawson

Rosie is a lavender tank engine who sometimes helps out on Thomas' branch line. She's feisty, energetic, free-spirited and isn't afraid to get her buffers dirty, whether she's taking passengers or goods.

Recently, Rosie had come back from the Steamworks after going through some repairs and was now helping out on Thomas' branch line while he was away helping with the construction of the Search and Rescue Centre.

Rosie was chuffing down the line, excited at the thought of helping out on Thomas' branch line. At one station, Daisy the diesel railcar was allowing her passengers to depart.

"Hello, Daisy," Rosie greeted. "I see you're back in service again. But why did you go to the Steamworks for repairs rather than the Dieselworks at Vicarstown?"

"Their equipment was simply inadequate to fix me up," Daisy explained. "To use it to get me back in service would've been bad for my swerves."

"You think everything is bad for your swerves, whatever they are," said Rosie cheekily. "Whatever will you think of next being bad for your swerves? Flowers?"

Daisy scoffed at Rosie's cheek, but politely kept her behavior in check.

"As another thing," she mentioned, "I heard that Sir Topham Hatt is bringing some new diesels to help run the Dieselworks. Hopefully, doing so will bring the building up to standard."

"Oh, really?" Rosie asked teasingly. "And how do you think they should do so; planting hanging flowers in the windowsill? Serving diesel oil to the sound of classic violin music? No, wait! Will they enforce a 'no buffers, no wheels, no service' rule?"

Daisy scowled. "Well, aren't we the comedian," she remarked sarcastically. "For your information, I think that the most important quality of a railway is being prim and proper."

"Prim and proper?" Rosie asked. "Nobody cares if a railway looks nice. What matters when it comes to a good railway is how hard its engines work."

"Did you just say I was lazy?!" Daisy nearly shrieked furiously.

"Oh, no, no," Rosie remarked cheekily. "Just a slight implication that you were merely too afraid to do actual work. Why else would you tell so many lies about your fitter and your 'swerves' to get out of pulling trucks?"

"Why, I-I…" Daisy was so furious that she couldn't come up with an answer to justify her actions.

"Of course I'm not afraid of doing actual work!" Daisy said at last. "Just you wait, Rosie; I'll prove that I can be just as useful as the next engine!" With that, Daisy flounced crossly away.

"I'll give her by the end of the week," Rosie chuckled, not taking the diesel railcar seriously.

Meanwhile, Daisy was scouting around the branch line, looking for a chance to prove Rosie wrong.

"What's got your springs in a twist, Daisy?" asked Percy.

"It's that Rosie," Daisy scowled. "She had the absolute cheek to imply that I was afraid of doing actual work."

"Well, you have bent the truth to convince others to do the jobs you were originally supposed to do," Percy admitted. "Remember when you first came to Sodor? And when I ended up in an accident with the trucks Toby was meant to take because of your carelessness?"

"Don't remind me," Daisy muttered. "The point is, I want to prove that silly tank engine that I'm not afraid of hard work. So, are there any trains I could help with?"

"Well, there are those trucks over there," said Percy, referring to some vans on a siding. "They're full of fruit meant to go to market at Tidmouth Town Square."

"I'll take it there."

Percy looked at Daisy with a surprised expression, as if she had a face on both cabs.

"You?" Percy asked. "I thought you hated goods."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Daisy insisted, backing up to the trucks. "We'll see who's afraid now…"

With that, Daisy was coupled to the vans, and she purred away.

"Well, that was unexpected," said Percy.

Daisy trundled along the line with her trucks feeling rather pleased with herself. Everywhere she went, the other engines looked very surprised to see Daisy, of all engines, pulling a goods train.

"I can't believe I went out of my way to avoid work like this," Daisy mused. "This is easier than I thought."

James was coming down the line with a passenger train and almost braked in surprise at seeing Daisy pulling a train.

"Daisy?!" James gawked. "Are you actually pulling a train?!"

"Indeed I am, James," grinned Daisy. "It looks like I'm not as lazy as you all believed."

Before long, Daisy arrived at Tidmouth Town Square, and her trucks were unloaded.

"Maybe now Rosie will change her tune," Daisy beamed. Just then, Toby pulled in with his faithful coach, Henrietta. The tram engine was surprised with what he was seeing.

"I never thought I'd see the day where you, of all engines, would be pulling a train," Toby gasped.

"Well, here I am taking trucks of my own accord," remarked Daisy. "That'll show Rosie that I'm anything but lazy." She was uncoupled from the trucks and purred away before Toby or Henrietta had a chance to reply.

As Daisy stopped at the depot to fill up on fuel, the stationmaster came to see her.

"I've just received word from Anopha Quarry," he said. "Mavis and Rosie need extra help. Would you find Percy and tell him he is needed there right away?"

"Or I could go down myself and lend a buffer," Daisy suggested.

"Er, are you sure about that?" asked the stationmaster.

"Are you implying I can't do it?" Daisy asked.

"Well, it's just the fact that you say pulling is bad for your swerves," the stationmaster explained. "Whatever those are…"

"I'm more than capable of handling the work," Daisy insisted. With that, the diesel railcar purred away to the quarry.

Over at Anopha Quarry, Mavis and Rosie were keeping the trucks in as best behavior as possible. But they were getting tired.

"I hope Percy gets here soon," Mavis panted.

"Same here," said Rosie. "If only Thomas hadn't gone to work on that Search and Rescue Centre."

Just then, they heard a horn. Rosie and Mavis were both surprised to see Daisy roll into the quarry.

"Daisy?" Mavis gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I have come to give you two a hand with these trucks," explained Daisy. Rosie stared at Daisy for a moment or two before snorting with laughter.

"Good one," she chortled. "Now why are you really here?"

"I'm serious," Daisy insisted. "I'm here to prove that I'm not afraid of hard work. Now which trucks shall I collect?"

"There's a load on that siding meant for the harbor," said Mavis, motioning towards a line of trucks. "But you may need some help with them."

"I can manage," Daisy insisted huffily. With that said, she reversed onto the trucks and was coupled up. But the trucks were comfortable, and didn't want to move. They also realized they had a different engine.

"Daisy never pulls us!" one of them told the others. "She says it's bad for her swerves!"

"Just what is a swerve, anyway?" asked another truck.

"Beats me," said a third. "Must be an engine thing."

"More like a diesel railcar thing!" a fourth replied cheekily. Daisy took no notice and tried to start up, but the train was a bit heavier than she realized.

"Come along! Come along!" Daisy groaned.

"Alright, don't fuss! Alright, don't fuss!" grumbled the trucks.

"She's asking for trouble," Mavis murmured. Rosie could only agree. The lavender tank engine was now beginning to wish she hadn't teased Daisy.

Daisy rolled along the line with the trucks clattering behind her.

"That'll show Rosie what real work is," Daisy grinned to herself. Unfortunately, she became so overconfident that she didn't realize what was going on. Daisy didn't realize that earlier, some crates of fish had broken on the line. And the workmen had forgotten to make sure the rails were properly cleaned from the scales and fish oil. As Daisy approached the harbor, her driver tried to stop to pin down the brakes.

"Nearly finished," smiled Daisy, feeling very pleased with herself. "One in the headlamp for Rosie." But she wasn't smiling anymore once her wheels began sliding on the rails.

"What in the world?! Driver!" she called out. "You're supposed to apply my brakes!"

"I'm trying!" replied her driver. "But we're not slowing down!" The trucks, meanwhile, saw this as a chance for fun.

"On! On! On!" they laughed.

"Stop! Stop!" wailed Daisy. There was more trouble up ahead for her; the points were set towards a siding with more vans of fish! The diesel railcar hit the vans with a loud crash! Fish flew all over the harbor, the trucks and Daisy herself, with a foul stench emanating all around.

"Ugh!" Daisy groaned with disgust. "What a pong! Now I see why James despises taking the Flying Kipper…"

Fortunately, no serious damage had been done. It wasn't long before Rosie arrived with Judy and Jerome. Sir Topham Hatt was on board.

"Daisy, you are not to blame for the rails not being cleaned properly," he told the diesel railcar, "but I am not a fan of fish that taste like oil!"

"I know, sir," sighed Daisy, still cringing at the smell. "I'm sorry, sir. I only wanted to prove Rosie wrong after she teased me about being afraid of doing actual work."

Sir Topham Hatt then turned to the lavender engine with a raised eyebrow. "Is this true, Rosie?" he asked calmly, yet still firmly.

"Y-yes, sir," Rosie shamefully admitted. "I didn't think that she'd go this far. I'm really sorry." Sir Topham Hatt shook his head in disbelief.

"Engines these days…" he sighed. "Do you like it when engines tease you about your paintwork, Rosie?"

"No, sir," Rosie admitted.

"Then why do you feel it necessary to tease others for their own faults?" Rosie realized that Sir Topham Hatt had a point, and looked down at her buffers shamefully.

While the workmen cleared away the mess, Rosie took Daisy to the works.

"I'm sorry I teased you, Daisy," said Rosie.

"And I'm sorry for acting so stuck up," Daisy faltered. "I guess I do act too prissy for my own good sometimes. And I supposed this lesson helped knock a little sense into me."

"Does this mean you're going to start helping out more often?" asked Rosie.

"Just as long as I never have to see fish again," Daisy joked. The two friends just laughed. Rosie and Daisy are on much better terms these days. Rosie doesn't tease Daisy as much for acting so posh, and Daisy has promised to be more helpful around the line every once in a while.

When Daisy returned from her repairs, the other engines were waiting for her at the sheds.

"Welcome back, Daisy," Mavis greeted. "We rather missed you while you were gone."

"It's great to be back, dearies," agreed Daisy. "Hopefully nothing else will go wrong from here on out."

Suddenly, Percy sniffed at the air.

"There's a funny smell going around here," he said. "Can any of you smell it?"

"Oh, ha-ha," huffed Daisy, unamused. It would seem as though Percy was teasing her about her "fishy" incident.

"What do you smell, Percy?" asked Mavis.

"The smell of fresh air!" laughed Percy.

"Oh, of course," Daisy sighed with relief, and she laughed along with the other engines.

THE END

Author's Comments

Here's the rewrite to Being Percy, one of the better episodes out of series 14. Writing for Daisy was a lot of fun, especially with her trying to prove that she isn't afraid of pulling goods trains, only to have an accident. Rosie has always been a character in the show that's tricky to nail; at best, she's pretty generic. At worst, mostly in her debut story, she's a borderline stalker. For this story, she's basically a female Thomas, though she does understand when she's gone too far, even if her joking is harmless. Unlike Thomas, however, Rosie doesn't mind taking fish despite the smell, and is fine with any job she's given. This story once again is part of the Search and Rescue Centre story arc, but aside from a few references, it is largely self-contained and works well as a standalone story. This story also hints at an upcoming rewrite of Day of the Diesels, which is regarded by many to be one of the worst Thomas specials out there.

Upcoming rewrites:

- Victor Says Yes - Victor

- Surprise, Surprise - Oliver, Toad and Captain

- Thomas' Crazy Day - Donald, Douglas and Paxton

- Stuck on You - Butch and Dennis

- Stop That Bus! - Bertie and Flynn