DOUBLE TEETHING TROUBLES

Based upon the episode by Britt Allcroft, David Mitton and David Maidment

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

The summer rush didn't just affect those on the Ffarquhar branch line; the lorries had to help out all over the island. One of those locations was at the Sodor China Clay Company, as Bill and Ben found out when speaking to David.

"…and that's when Horace was sent off the island," David was saying.

"Bertie took a page from Oliver's books, did he?" laughed Ben.

"Wouldn't surprise me if that was true," chuckled Bill. "Hopefully that'll be the last we hear of Horrid Horace!"

David had to admit, it was a humorous way for the rude lorry to have gotten his name. "Well, that leaves more work for Jasmine, Alex and I. We may need Isobella down to help us if she's available."

"You're not the only ones who need help," sighed Ben. "We've got a lot of goods traffic coming through, even with you taking some of the china clay."

"Yeah, at this rate, I won't be able to tell whether or not I'm standing on my wheels!" agreed Bill.

"You both look the right way up to me," chuckled Jasmine as she drove up.

"That was a figure of speech," muttered Bill. David rolled his eyes too, but Ben felt amused by Jasmine's comment.

Later that day, Bill and Ben had arranged more trucks to take out. The weather was very warm today, and the twins were feeling naughty on top of being hot and bothered.

"Hey! That's my line of trucks!" snapped Bill.

"No, it's not!" retorted Ben. "It's mine! Yours is over there!"

"S'mine!"

"S'not!"

"S'mine!"

"S'not!"

They were still arguing with each other by the time BoCo had rolled into the clay pits with some workmen.

"Oh dear…" sighed BoCo. "You two had better stop quarreling, or else the only thing you'll have left to share is…"

CRASH!

"…trouble," the diesel finished lamely. Bill and Ben had run right into each other when racing to get the same line of trucks and had derailed as a result.

"Silly!" snapped Bill.

"Silly yourself!" grumbled Ben.

"Bill and Ben, if you don't behave yourselves, I shall send you to your shed!" scolded their manager. "It is also clear to me that we need another engine to help out with china clay deliveries. His name is Derek, and he's keen to make an impression."

BoCo pondered. "Derek… hmmm, I think I heard Bear mention that name before." He sighed, looking over at Bill and Ben. "I'll go get Judy and Jerome."

Meanwhile, the clay pits manager was speaking to Sir Topham Hatt about his decision.

"Oh yes, I've heard a few stories about Derek from Bear, I think," he said. "He's a, erm… Class 17, if I'm not mistaken."

"I just hope that Derek doesn't cause even more delays," said the manager. "From what I've heard about these 17s, he's bound to have teething troubles."

"We were able to mend BoCo and cure him of those problems for good," said Sir Topham Hatt. "I'm sure we can find a way to do the same for Derek."

Derek was very surprised when he got the message.

"Me? To Sodor?" He spoke with a slight lisp.

"Go for it, Derek," smiled Harriet. "It's a wonderful place. I made so many new friends there."

"Okay, thank you, Harriet," the diesel replied warmly. He purred away, having a smooth run over the Vicarstown bridge, when he saw a familiar looking diesel pulling building materials into the station.

"7101?!" Derek exclaimed. "I didn't know you were part of the North Western fleet."

"Oh, I go by Bear now," the blue diesel smiled. "It's good to see you again, Derek."

"The feeling is mutual, Bear," replied Derek. "Glad to hear you've finally gotten a name. Where's that train of building supplies going?"

"To the new Dieselworks," Bear explained. "Construction has been on and off due to the summer rush and other developments on the island."

"Sounds as though I've a lot to catch up on then," remarked Derek.

"I'm sure you'll learn it all, old friend," replied Bear. "Now, I heard you were brought in to help a few of my friends on the Wellsworth branch line. It's the first station after the big hill; we call it Gordon's hill. You can't miss it."

"Thank you, Bear," said Derek as he set off again. "Hope to see you again soon. Cheerio!"

Eventually, Derek arrived at Gordon's hill.

"Oh, my grease and oil!" he exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting this hill to be this steep!" Derek began to climb the hill, but he was barely halfway up when he felt a banging noise from within.

"Ohh! What's that?" he cried. His wheels spun helplessly, but thick, black smoke poured out of his exhausts, and Derek came to a halt.

"Let's see what the damage is." His driver climbed down to take a look. "Ah, just as I thought. It's your cooling system."

"Oh, bother," Derek sighed. "I was doing well until that hill."

His driver set down detonators on the line and went to phone for help.

It wasn't long before Derek heard an unfamiliar horn and purring of another diesel. It was BoCo, having come in with a workman's coach.

"Terribly sorry about this," said Derek. "I'm all hot and bothered. I've got teething troubles, you know."

"You too, huh?" BoCo said quietly. "My siblings were notorious for having faulty engines."

"R-really?" gasped Derek. "You didn't seem to have any problems getting up the hill to help me out."

"You should have seen my first day on the island," BoCo went on. "I leaked oil at Brendam docks, and I ran out on this very hill while taking a goods train. Henry had to help me over the top to Crovan's Gate, and Gordon had to take my train on to Vicarstown."

"Bust my radiator," gasped Derek. "That would have been eventful for you."

"It was indeed," agreed BoCo. "I had a few other breakdowns afterwards, but Crovan's Gate takes great care of the engines. I was overhauled shortly after Edward was mended, and though I still break down, it's more or less the average of other engines."

"You're really lucky," sighed Derek. "I'm not sure if I'll ever get that kind of luck."

"You never know," smiled BoCo. "Sir Topham Hatt never gives up on any engine. Oh, where are my manners? My name is BoCo, and you're most likely this Derek that I've heard about."

"I guess Bear's mentioned me to you," replied Derek. "I'm very glad to hear he's been bought by the North Western Railway. Bowler never disclosed what happened to him after he left for the island." He sighed. "Most likely he wanted me to assume the worst."

"Thank goodness that Bowler never became part of the railway," sighed BoCo. "I don't think he's ever going to change."

"Indeed, pigs will fly before Bowler changes his ways," chuckled Derek.

The word spread around the island.

"Th' poor lad," sighed Douglas to Donald and Henry. "Tis nae his fault he haes teething troubles."

"Having design flaws is never fun," agreed Henry. "Sounds like he needs a rebuild at Crovan's Gate once the summer rush dwindles a bit."

Donald was about to reply, but his guard's whistle blew and he had to take a train down the Wellsworth branch line.

"See ye baith later," called Donald as he left.

Later, he arrived at Brendam docks where Bill and Ben were shunting trucks.

"Hae ye twa heard?" called Donald as he headed for the coal tower. "This new diesel Derek's git a toothache. Guid luck!"

"Why would Donald want to wish us good luck?" asked Bill.

"Because he knows we'll need it," said Ben. "A diesel with a toothache sounds like the last diesel I'd want to work with!"

"Do engines have dentists, I wonder?" said Bill. "Sounds like he needs one."

However, the tank engine twins couldn't speculate for very long, for they heard a familiar whistle come into the docks.

"Hello, you two," said Edward. "You look rather glum."

"It's Derek, the new diesel," explained Ben. "He's got a toothache!"

"Toothache?" said Edward, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Derek's not got a toothache! He suffers from teething troubles. His cooling system sometimes fails on him which causes problems."

"Oh!" Ben realized. "Then why would Donald tell us otherwise?"

"Ah wis juist joking," laughed Donald. "Ah think ye'r familiar wi' that."

Bill and Ben couldn't help but feel amused.

The next morning, the twins were back at the china clay pits when they heard an unfamiliar tooting noise.

"Hello," greeted Derek as he pulled up alongside. "Bill and Ben, right?"

"That's us," Ben confirmed. "And you're Derek?"

"That's right," the Class 17 replied. "I'll soon sort this train out. You take the front, and I'll push from behind. Ha ha! Oh, what fun."

"Well, let's see how this goes," said Bill. "This is a very long one, and BoCo's busy with the Dieselworks' construction."

It wasn't long before Bill and Ben were coupled up to the front of the train, and once Derek had shunted a brake van from behind, the train was ready.

"Okay," called Lily as she blew her whistle and waved her green flag. "Let's go."

The three engines headed off.

"She seems a pleasant sort," said Derek. "Has she been a guard for very long?"

"She's just started this year," said Bill. "Her name is Lily, and she likes travelling on different branch lines and the main line every week."

"Lily wants to make a good connection with everyone," added Ben. "She can't do that if she's stuck on one part of the island, after all."

"So I see," mused Derek.

Edward's branch line ran on a downward slope to Brendam, and as Bill, Ben and Derek were heading towards Wellsworth, they soon began to climb the slope. But Derek felt himself beginning to slow down.

"Come on! Come on!" called Ben. "Push harder, you silly diesel!"

"I'm… trying!" panted Derek, his face red with exhaustion. "Oh no… I'm overheating again!" Once again, black smoke billowed from the Class 17's exhausts.

"Derek?" gasped Lily as she hopped down from the brake van once the train stopped. "Oh dear. We'll need to get you to Crovan's Gate as soon as possible."

"I don't think we can switch him out for another engine," called Bill. "Edward's on the other side of the branch line, and BoCo's probably at Vicarstown by now."

"Do you two think you can manage both Derek and this train?" asked Lily.

"We can try," said Ben. "Come on, Bill. Let's give it everything we got."

Lily blew her whistle and waved her green flag as she hopped back in the brake van. It was hard work for the twins, but they wouldn't give up until they made it to Wellsworth without further problems.

"W-well done," smiled Alex as he drove in with some china clay. "I'm sure E-Edward and BoCo w-would be proud of you."

"Thank you… Alex," panted Bill. Just then, Henry arrived to take the train on.

"Hello, everyone… Oh my," gasped Henry. "What's happened here?"

Bill and Ben quickly explained about Derek's breakdown and how they managed the rest of the trip by themselves.

"Well done, both of you," smiled Henry. "And Derek, after I take the train, I'm sure you'll be mended at the Steamworks. They do a great job on fixing engines. Just ask Edward and BoCo."

"Yes, BoCo said he was overhauled there," Derek replied. "And what about Edward?"

"He had steaming troubles, like I did myself, actually," Henry explained. "I would have been overhauled there, but the railway board was a bit… err… stubborn at the time, so I was overhauled at Crewe following a major accident." He smiled. "Sir Topham Hatt never gives up on an engine if he can help it."

This made Derek feel a bit better, and it wasn't too long before Bill and Ben took Derek to the Steamworks.

"I'm very proud of you, Bill and Ben," smiled Sir Topham Hatt. "Even if you two aren't my engines, you've both proven to be really useful. With Derek needing repairs again, do you think you two can manage alone?"

"Yes, sir," both twins smiled, and they puffed away.

"As for you, Derek," said Sir Topham Hatt, "the twins' manager and I have been talking it over, and we've decided to have you rebuilt so you won't be breaking down like this again."

"Y-you… you mean it, sir?" gasped Derek.

"Indeed," smiled the controller. "After showing such kindness to my other engines and the engines owned by private companies, I couldn't let you slip through the cracks."

"Oh, thank you, sir!" cried Derek happily.

That evening, BoCo, Edward, Bill and Ben were at the sheds.

"BoCo," said Bill, "we're sorry we were cheeky to you."

"Indeed," agreed Ben. "And Derek was really friendly too. He's getting rebuilt at the Steamworks like you did."

"That's good news indeed," smiled BoCo.

"And you know what friends do?" said Edward.

"What's that?" asked the twins.

"They always say 'good night' to each other."

"But, we're not… sleepy…" yawned Bill.

"Can we… stay up a bit longer?" asked Ben, trying to hide his own yawn.

"Come on, you two," chuckled Edward. "You can't fool us."

"Alright," sighed the twins. "Good night."

"Good night, Bill and Ben," said BoCo. "Night Edward."

"Good night, you three," smiled Edward. I wouldn't have this any other way, he thought to himself.

THE END

Author's Comments

Here's episode nine of Series 5 Redux, based upon one of the more Railway Series-esque stories from said season, Double Teething Troubles. Apart from a few character swaps like Edward taking Duck's place (y'know, since it's on the blue engine's branch line), not a whole lot has changed from the official episode saved from expanding upon the length. Expect Derek to show up in a few further stories for this redux.

Upcoming stories:

- A Better View for Gordon

- The Old Warrior

- Lady Hatt's Birthday Party

- Gordon and the Gremlin

- Don't Fear the Scrapper