The air was sharp and cold. Winter had set in on the island of Sodor. Thomas was in the yard at Knapford with Philip and Diesel. The tank engine was driving towards the sidings where the express coaches were held when he was stopped by Philip who looked rather frightened. "Thomas! Don't. Move."

"What?" Thomas braked immediately which jostled his driver and fireman around in his cab.

Diesel hummed up with a sneer until he laid his eyes on Thomas' buffers. Then the diesel shunter froze on his track beside Philip. "I didn't think they could get that big."

"What are you two talking about? What're you looking a-" The color drained from Thomas' face when he glanced down to his front fender and spotted a giant spider laid up on top of his left buffer. "Help…" he squeaked.

Philip leaned to Diesel. "Go get a flatbed."

"Right." Diesel said and he sped away without another word.

Thomas began to shake on his axles as he watched the spider stretch out it's furry legs. The creature was easily as wide as the buffer it laid on, maybe even larger. Philip eyed it warily from a safe distance as he waited for Diesel to return with the flatbed. Behind Philip James had chuffed in to refill his coal and water. "What's everyone standing around fo- OH MY GOD." The red engine nearly lept from the tracks when he spotted Thomas' new friend and began to reverse away, but he didn't see Diesel coming up behind him with an empty flatbed and slammed right into it and in the process derailed Diesel.

"Diesel!" Philip called and started towards the two engines now engulfed in dust from the ballast.

Unfortunately, the noise of the crash had startled the spider and it hopped from Thomas' buffer and onto his nose. The tank engine let out a terrified shriek and took off at full steam without paying attention and bashed right into the express coaches. They buckled and toppled right off the tracks and Thomas found himself lost in a cloud of dirt and dust.

Over in the station, Gordon and Rebecca were sitting at platforms 1 and 2 waiting for their trains when they heard the commotion over in the yard. "What on earth was that?" Gordon raised his brow.

"I'm not sure." Rebecca said. "Maybe we should go check on them."

Gordon sighed. "I'm sure it's just those little engines being silly as usual." Just then Sir Topham Hatt popped out of his office with his guards and glanced over to his two big engines.

"What was that horrible crashing sound?" The fat controller asked sternly.

"We're not sure, sir." Rebecca said apologetically. "It came from over in the yard."

Sir Topham Hatt opened his mouth to say more then he stopped when he saw James pull into his platform. He was quivering. completely covered in dust, and whimpering. "James?"

"Yes, sir?" The red engine said shakily, tears were streaming down his face. He didn't like spiders one bit.

"What on earth happened?"

James swallowed and let a strangled breath out. "Spider…"

"A spider?" Sir Topham Hatt dropped his face in his hands. "Oh dear… I guess I should-"

"It's on me now!" Philip screeched and was seen zooming out of the yard with Diesel hot on his buffers.

Sir Topham Hatt groaned. He could already tell that day was going to be a long one. Gordon and Rebecca exchanged a confused glance before Gordon finally spoke up. "So… where are my coaches?"

Meredith was waiting at Harwick for her passengers to finish boarding when Donald and Douglas puffed up with a goods train for Brendam. "Mornin', Mer." Donald said.

"Morning, boys." Meredith replied cheerfully. "I see you're letting Douglas lead again."

"Yeah, the sod just couldn't stop complainin' so I let him have it." Donald huffed.

"Aye, I'm no sod." Douglas called from the front. "You're just a rail hog."

"Am not!" Donald protested.

"Whatever." Douglas rolled his eyes. He was still waking up and didn't feel like arguing for once.

Meredith shook her boiler. "Do you two ever get along?"

"I'll have to get back to ya on that one, Meredith." Donald whispered with a chuckle.

Meredith laughed then began to depart. "I'll see you two later, alright?"

"Bye!" The twins called in unison as Meredith pulled ahead down the line.

Meredith puffed quietly along the Mainline. She was on her way to Vicarstown and quite enjoyed the peace and quiet. She took a deep breath in, she could smell something warm and sweet wafting from a farm just off the line. She heard the birds as they called to each other over her loud pumping pistons. It wasn't often Meredith was able to take in her surroundings and appreciate them. She was able to look up into the pale blue sky at a few wispy clouds as they drifted slowly above her. She even appreciated the naked trees, the jagged twists and turns of their leafless branches as they jabbed up into the air.

Meredith's moment of silence didn't last however. The tracks beneath her began to rumble as Rebecca and Gordon thundered up to her. They each pulled a set of red passenger coaches instead of the usual express coaches. Meredith didn't even get a chance to say hello to Gordon or ask about the coaches; he was too busy laughing it up with Rebecca to notice Meredith as the two big engines steamed along down the line ahead without even a whistle of acknowledgement to the little white tank engine.

Meredith continued slowly along, her eyes locked onto the tracks where she saw the express engines pass. Her boiler rumbled angrily. Gordon had been spending a lot more time with Rebecca. He claimed to be showing her the ropes, but by then the new engine should have had everything down pat. Ever since Gordon discovered he had been paneled he seemed to distance himself from Meredith. He hardly spoke to her, let alone kiss or cuddle with her anytime they were alone together. Meredith had tried to remain patient and understanding with him, but she was getting frustrated. She wanted her partner back. And the addition of Rebecca into the mix didn't help matters at all. Not only was she lovely, but she was a large tender engine at that. Meredith knew that Gordon favored large engines over small ones, and she began to worry that maybe Gordon had developed feelings for Rebecca. The idea made Meredith feel sick. She swallowed hard and forced herself to maintain her speed as she kept on towards Vicarstown.

At Vicarstown, Flying Scotsman was resting on his platform until he heard Meredith pull in beside her. He turned to look at the little engine but his smirk disappeared when he noticed her glassy eyes. "Meredith…?"

"Please don't." Meredith's voice cracked. She was struggling to fight back the tears. "I really can't deal with you today."

Scotsman's eyes remained on Meredith. He gave her a moment to gather herself before trying again. "What's wrong?"

"Seriously?" Meredith snapped. She wouldn't look at the big engine, she just glared ahead. "Why can't you just take a hint?"

"I'm stubborn. I figured you would've learned this by now." Scotsman teased with a small smile.

Meredith couldn't help but laugh a little, then she sighed and relented. "I think Gordon has feelings for another engine…"

"Who?"

"That new big engine, Rebecca." Meredith started, her face grew hot. "He's with her nearly every second and I get it, she's nice and pretty and strong and fast and… ugh."

Scotsman furrowed his brow. He couldn't believe that his brother would just drop Meredith like that. Not after the lengths he'd gone to keep her. "That doesn't sound right. Gordon's obsessed with you… obnoxiously so."

"I don't know." Meredith said and she finally looked at Flying Scotsman for the first time in months. She still felt those annoying flutters in her boiler, but she did her best to ignore them. "I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the paneling or-"

"Wait, wait." Scotsman interrupted. "Paneling? What do you mean?"

Meredith suddenly caught her little slip-up and winced. "Uhh… nothing."

"No, you mentioned paneling. Was Gordon paneled?" Scotsman watched Meredith carefully. He could see she had tensed up on her wheels.

Meredith bit her lip. "Why assume it was Gordon? I could've been referring to myself."

Scotsman stared at her incredulously. "Meredith, you can't lie to me." Meredith simply gave an awkward grin. She thought if she didn't actually say yes that if Gordon found out his brother knew she could say Flying Scotsman figured it out on his own.

Scotsman remained silent. It all made sense. Gordon's withdrawn attitude as well as his more aggressive behavior towards him over Meredith. He had been paneled and he didn't want Scotsman to know. The big green engine knew he himself hadn't been paneled as he recently indulged in a sneaky tryst with a charming little engine on the Mainland. What was unusual was the intense guilt he felt afterwards. All he could think about the entire time was Meredith, but he wasn't going to let her know that. Finally he reverted his gaze back to Meredith who was watching him closely. "Does it bother you?"

"The paneling? No, not really." Meredith said quietly. "The physical stuff is fun and all, but it's not what I care about. I mean… I wish we could bu- you know, I don't think I should be discussing this with you at all."

"Hmm…" Scotsman hummed. He had to fight to keep a straight face. He couldn't help but feel a little superior at the idea that he could give Meredith something that Gordon no longer had. "I mean you could always go elsewhere for your… needs." Scotsman winked. The smug engine simply couldn't help himself.

Meredith scoffed and began to depart her platform. "You're unbelievable."

"You love me though." Scotsman's infamous smirk made its return and Meredith began to fume.

"Not even close."

Back at Knapford, Judy and Jerome were hard at work lifting the express coaches that needed to be repaired onto flatbeds to be taken to the Steamworks. Edward was waiting patiently for the cranes to finish their work when he saw James puff over from the station with his own coaches. His paintwork was perfectly pristine after he had an extra deep wash down. "Are you okay now, James?"

"My boiler is still crawling, Edward." James scrunched his nose as his coaches were uncoupled by a yardsman. "It was absolutely horrid. I've never seen a spider so beastly and so… furry."

Edward tried his hardest to not laugh at his partner's silly behavior, but a little chuckle slipped through which made James blush. "I'm sorry. I'm just imagining you running scared like a little child. I didn't realize you were so squeamish."

"I just don't like creepy-crawly things." James said and stuck out his tongue in disgust. "No animal should have that many legs… or eyes for that matter."

Edward laughed again. "You're adorable."

"No I'm not." James' face was as red as his paintwork. "Puppies are adorable and I'm no puppy."

"Yeah, you're right." Edward was given the all clear to depart with the coaches and he started forward towards James. "You're more of a ravenous dog." The blue engine winked.

James grinned mischievously. "I'll show you ravenous."

"You know where my shed is." Edward teased as he steamed down his line and left James to brood in the yard.

Meredith was stopped at Wellsworth later in the evening when Gordon pulled up with the standard coaches. "Hello, my love."

"Oh, now you acknowledge me." Meredith hissed.

"What do you mean?" Gordon raised his brow. He wasn't expecting the hostility.

"I mean you've been ignoring me." Meredith did her best to keep her voice low as she didn't want to upset her passengers by being angry. "You're spending all your time with Rebecca and it's starting to really piss me off."

Gordon's expression hardened. "We're friends, Meredith. And she's the only other engine like me on the island."

"You're friends until you're not." Meredith spat. She wanted so badly to yell.

The sun was setting but Gordon could clearly see how angry Meredith was, but he could also see she was genuinely hurt. "Mer, I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, and I'm sorry for ignoring you. I just got caught up in having someone to relate to… that's all."

"You can't relate to me?"

Gordon arched his brow. "When it comes to work I can't. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you, we're just capable of different things."

Meredith sighed and turned to look at Gordon. "I just don't like how much time you spend with her."

"How am I supposed to fix that? Our jobs overlap quite a bit." Gordon was trying to be patient, but he was annoyed that Meredith had the audacity to not trust him. He was amazed how the irony of it was completely lost on her.

Meredith shrugged. "Figure it out."

Gordon clenched his jaw. "I guess you're just scared I'll do to you what you did to me, hm? Is that it?"

Meredith stared at Gordon. She felt her eyes glass over and she blinked several times to stop herself from crying. She couldn't lash out, and she couldn't yell at him. He was right, but it crushed her nonetheless to hear him say it. It was the first time Gordon had fully acknowledged that he knew what happened between her and his brother. Meredith could see the pain on his face and she turned away. Thankfully, her guard had just blown his whistle and she started up. "I'll see you later, Gordon."

Gordon watched Meredith leave and he wondered if maybe he had crossed the line in saying what he did. The big engine took a deep breath. He wanted to follow Meredith, but decided it best to let her cool off on her own.

This chapter was fun. Had a little bit of everything for everyone. Lol. This fic honestly took such a serious turn that I had not planned when I originally started it. Though, I'm actually very happy with the way it's going. I'm having a great time and I hope y'all are eating the drama up like I am. Lmao.

Scotsman just can't stop being a horny bastard and that's how I imagine him for real. And we love a little added tension between our lovers. Makes for a nice turn because I can't stand love stories that just follow the happy track. It's not my vibe. I need anger and sadness and revenge and everything in between because real love is exactly that. Chaotic. Beautiful. Imperfect.

Anyway, I've not much to say in this post script so I'll just say a whole-hearted thank you to those reading and reviewing! Y'all are the best.

Much love;

Bumble