Hello dears! Well, it's very mid-year to finish a Christmas' story, isn't it? But at least this time I didn't take two years to finish it like I did with my previous fic. XD

I've enjoyed writing this story. I treasure those moments from the series where Thomas and Gordon got along. Sadly, TAB and TGR only focused on Gordon's negative side and portrayed him as an unbearable, soulless character. Perhaps we could forgive TAB bearing in mind that its events take place before Thomas and Gordon became allies, but what TGR did is completely unjustifiable. It left a bad taste in my mouth. That's why I wanted to write a story focused on the good things Gordon has in his heart. I admit I've exaggerated a bit, but still, I think Gordon isn't so out of character.

Australian Guest: You're right, my friend, Caitlin made Gordon drastically change his tune. XD

Kannie: Percy and Rosie will be happy to hear that Thomas is alright. :)

Guest 4: Glad to hear that you watched the video. It made me love Gordon's character even more. :) He has really matured along the way, although he remained boastful and arrogant on the TV show.

Rosa: Don't worry, Thomas is alive. :)

Thanks again to everyone for supporting this story. I love you all! :)

"United we stand, together we fall. You help me and I'll help you." -Gordon (RWS Nº 8)

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"I'll help you, Thomas...I can help you with your very important job." -Gordon (*Snow Tracks* S13-E17)

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"Oh, you don't really have to call me 'sir', Thomas!" -Gordon (*Lost Property* S19-E3)

CHAPTER IV – Final

THE POWER OF ALLIANCE

"You wanted to help me…and Heaven granted you your good wish…" -Thomas

Thomas was impressed by my story. "Wooow," he said, "So, Percy wanted you to be sent far away from Sodor…I can see he was really angry with you."

"Yes…but he had reason enough to be so angry; he thought the devil granted me the bad wish I had for you…So, he blamed me for your accident."

Thomas raised his eyebrows. "My goodness…Tell me you didn't believe such nonsense."

"Actually, I did believe it...and I felt very bad about it. But Edward said to me not to think so, because in reality I didn't want anything bad to happen to you…I was only under the influence of anger, just like Percy."

Thomas' lips curved in a cute smile. "Did my daddy Edward comfort you?"

"Yes, he did."

"And he did it well...Oh Gordon…I can't wait to return home to meet with him…and with Percy; and Rosie…everybody…I remember I could hear their voices sometimes when I was unconscious…It's just that I don't quite remember what they said, because their voices seemed to sound far away, like in a dream…Please, Gordon, tell me about them."

"Okay."

I spent the following half an hour telling Thomas a lot of things about our friends, the things that we had lived during the last month. He loved to hear that his 'daddy' Edward was our emotional support in the saddest moments. "Thomas is not dead," Edward said one night, "he's just sleeping...We must have faith and keep praying for him to wake up...Unexpected miracles can happen at Christmas time..."

Another thing he loved was that we had invited his 'girlfriend' Rosie to spend the nights at Tidmouth Sheds, so that she could receive our comfort in her sadness. And he also loved that Emily has accompanied Percy every night while he delivered the mail.

Thomas was very happy and wanted to keep hearing more details of the things that had happened while he was unconscious. But soon he felt tired, and he thought it best to sleep to regain his strength. I agreed with him, because it was very late already and I also had to sleep.

"Will you stay with me until dawn?" he asked.

The anguish I saw in his eyes moved me. "Yes, my friend," I reassured him, "as I had said to Ellie; I'll spend the night here."

"So…could you come closer again...to give me a little warmth? It is very cold…"

"Sure." I moved forward until I touched his buffers with mine. For some reason, they were colder than before.

"Thank you," Thomas whispered, squinting.

"You're welcome," I responded, "You can sleep easy."

A light smile appeared on Thomas' lips, then he closed his eyes.

Thomas looked as fragile as a baby. He didn't seem to be the cheeky engine that used to bother and challenge me, but an anguished engine that needed my presence and my warmth to feel secure. I wouldn't have left him alone in such a circumstance for any reason. And, to give him more warmth, I used the rest of steam I had left to embrace him, just like I did with Percy the night before.

Even though I was sleepy, I didn't want to close my eyes. I was afraid to sleep only to wake up in the morning and see that Thomas had knocked unconscious again. I preferred to stay awake and watch over his sleep. But I couldn't remain so for long, because just a few minutes later, my eyelids dropped under their own weight...

I don't know how long it had been when I was awoken by a little 'tremor' in my buffers. I opened my eyes and saw that Thomas was trembling, while an expression of discomfort covered his face.

"Thomas…" I called him, "what's wrong?"

"Call…the workers…" he could barely speak, "call them…I-I can't…breathe."

"Oh my Gosh…" I got scared. Thomas' face was turning whiter than snow. My boiler froze on seeing how he struggled to breathe. It was obvious that whatever was behind his throat had gotten worse. I opened my mouth to yell for help from the workers, but I couldn't do it…Fear had left me mute! So, I wanted to blow my whistle but I no longer had steam… "Why did this have to happen just now, my Lord?" I thought, "Thomas is getting choked! I must call the workers!"

Then, Thomas fainted before my eyes. "NO!" I screamed in my mind. I thought he had really died this time.

And something quite strange happened next. As if obeying an order from a mysterious voice, I sucked in air as much as I could and, with all my strength, I blew in the direction of Thomas' mouth...and repeated the same operation again and again until...he started coughing! Yes, he had not died! And I could see a slight cloud of golden dust in the air…I have no doubt that the mysterious voice that had guided me was from Lady! I remembered of Edward's words; "Unexpected miracles can happen at Christmas time…"

Suddenly, Thomas stopped coughing. He opened his eyes widely and looked at me in surprise. "What have you done, you blue beast?!" he exclaimed, "The annoying thing that was blocking my throat…disappeared!"

I almost collapsed before such words. I stared at Thomas with my eyes wide-open. "I-I don't know," I said. At last I regained my voice! "I only gave you some air...Has that thing really disappeared?"

"Yes! I can breathe and speak with no problem now."

I still couldn't believe it. "But...I don't understand. Was a little air all you needed? How did Ellie not come up with trying something like that? This is just...ridiculous!"

"Ridiculous?" Thomas smiled. "Gordon, you wanted to help me…and Heaven granted you your good wish…Is this ridiculous for you? Shouldn't you be happy?"

"I AM happy! It's just that...well...this is too good to be true!"

Thomas and I laughed. This was very exciting! Heaven granted me my good wish! I would have never expected it. It was so comforting to hear my ally laugh and see his face return to normal colour. It was no longer necessary to call the workers, because he was feeling stupendously fine. I couldn't wait to give the good news to our friends. After a month of sadness about Thomas; they would feel like Heaven to know that our little friend had awoken and would spend Christmas with us. Undoubtedly, this was the best Christmas present we could have hoped for this year.

"Thank you for having come, Gordon," said Thomas, "perhaps I would be unconscious until who knows when if you hadn't visited me tonight. Heaven healed me through you."

"Oh Thomas, I am the one who feels grateful to Heaven for having brought me here and worked this miracle. Now I'm eager to see you back home and spend a wonderful Christmas with our friends. Your presence will be our best present, especially to Percy, Edward and...Rosie."

The smile Thomas gave me was worthy of a poem. It was one of those sweet smiles of him that make you forgive all his sins, the smile that reveals the goodness in his heart... I could not help but smile to him as well, and I felt proud to be living this moment with him.

"I don't know how to explain how blessed I feel," said Thomas, shivering with emotion, "I'm so happy that I would like to keep talking about a lot of things with you now that I can already speak without suffering...but I know you need to sleep and be at Knapford Station early in the morning...So, I promise I'll remain silent while you sleep."

I giggled. "I need to sleep indeed. After all, we'll have a lot of time to talk during the holidays."

"You're right. Well, goodnight Gordon."

"Wait a minute. I won't sleep without being sure the thing that was blocking your throat is really gone."

"Oh, I feel like new. You can sleep easy."

"Take a long, deep breath."

"Haha! Ok!"

Thomas closed his eyes and did as I asked. He took a long, deep breath and waited a few seconds to let the air out. Then, he opened his eyes again. "So? What do you say, doctor?"

I chuckled. "I can see your breathing is completely normal. Now I'm going to sleep easy."

"Glad to hear that. Sweet dreams, Gordon."

"Thank you, Thomas, good night. Oh, and wake me up at dawn, please?"

"I will. Don't worry."

I looked at my ally fondly and clung to his buffers even more to keep giving him warmth. Then, I closed my eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.

The following thing I remember is that I awoke by Thomas' call and Ellie's gentle patting on my pilot.

"Wake up, lazybones," said Thomas, friendly. This time I giggled instead of getting angry.

"Don't call your doctor that, Thomas!" exclaimed Ellie, and we three laughed.

Ellie had arrived very early this particular morning to find out how Thomas had spent the night. Not that she did not care about him the days before, but the problem was that this time I was there at the workshop, and Ellie had not been so convinced that I would behave like a nurse to Thomas...

"Oh, Gordon," said Ellie, "I can't believe that all Thomas needed to make a full recovery was the air from your 'lungs'! It's the first time that something like that happens in this workshop. Sir Topham Hatt was already notified that Thomas had awakened last night, but this news is even more exiting! Tell him that Thomas will have a final check-up and could be back home this very day."

"I will, ma'am! I'll go faster than the speed of sound to tell the good news to everyone."

"Hahaha! Good one, boy!"

As my boiler bubbled, I smiled to my 'patient'. "Well, I have to go now, Thomas. See you tonight at Tidmouth."

"See you, Gordon, and thank you again."

"You're welcome, my friend."

I began to reverse and slowly separated from Thomas' buffers. This separation marked the end of the blessed night that Heaven gave us...the night of the miracle...I would have liked to stay there longer.

As I arrived at Knapford, I told the good news to everyone. Rosie and Percy smiled tearfully, Edward was speechless and Sir Topham Hatt was very happy to know that his No. 1 engine had 'resurrected'. We all wanted the hours to fly by in order to see Thomas come home.

And at evening, what all the people and machines on Sodor had been waiting for finally happened; Thomas left the Steamworks, and under his own steam! All along the way home, Thomas received applause and screaming of congratulations as displays of affection from the citizens of the island.

As he arrived at Tidmouth Sheds, we welcomed him by blowing our whistles louder than ever. A welcome sign crossed the building from end to end. And since Thomas loves Christmas ornaments, Sir Topham Hatt had ordered to mount a giant Christmas tree near the turntable. It was the least we could do to show our little friend how much we love him.

Three days after, we had an unforgettable Christmas, by singing carols, surrounded by multi-coloured lights and watching the fireworks. If Thomas had still been unconscious at the Steamworks, I would had spent Christmas hiding in some shed on the other side of the island, because somehow I felt guilty of his accident. But fortunately, the miracle happened and Thomas was here at home with us.

And now, as I watch Thomas sleeping next to me on this cold December 26th night, I can finally assimilate all what has happened these last few days. I'm still wondering why Heaven chose me to help Thomas recovery. I thought his 'daddy' Edward was a better choice than me. But then I remember that I was the one who wished Thomas to get mute, and also, I wanted to give him some part of my machine to help him wake up. And Heaven gave me the opportunity to redeem myself. I can only feel peace in my heart at this moment.

I know that Thomas and I will have other arguments in the future. I know he will challenge and bother me again, and I know I will tease him just to laugh at his reaction. But come on! Thomas himself had said that if we always got along; our friendship would have been boring instead of magical. And I agree with him. Friends that never argue; never feel the heavenly happiness of making peace...am I right? Besides, Thomas can be as proud as I am. Really. He gets angry and wants to punish the one who bothers him...just like me! He is the opposite to Edward who just looks down and leaves by puffing sadly when being teased.

Perhaps those moments in which Thomas and I had helped each other as real friends were few in numbers, but they were enough to show that the power of our alliance is much above our differences. One of those moments I'll never forget is when Thomas helped me endure the indignity the day I had to take the Express wearing a yellow and black striped diesel buffer…How not to feel happy to have him as my ally?

I can't help but smile on thinking about all this while enjoying this moment. The cold snow falls outside, and I can see it slowly sliding through the windows' pane, but here inside the sheds, with the doors closed, a comfortable warmth enfolds us. And as if that wasn't enough, I feel the slight steam coming from Thomas' cylinders on my side...What more can I ask for?

Sleep takes hold of me and my eyelids feel heavy. So I look at my ally once more to be sure he is sleeping peacefully...Have sweet dreams, you cheeky little engine, I whisper to him fondly as I close my eyes.

And while I hear Thomas' soft breathing as a lullaby, I remember the day he bet me that he was also strong enough to take the Express...But the train turned out to be so heavy for him that he decided to get rid of his important passengers all along the way, until he reached Knapford Station with the coaches empty and having Dowager Hatt as his only passenger...

I press my lips so as not to laugh.

That's my Thomas.

That's my ally.

And I like him!

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THE END

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