CONTENT WARNING: THIS FIC CONTAINS ADULT THEMES, CRUDE LANGUAGE, EXPLICIT CONTENT, SEX, AND VIOLENCE.

:READER DISCRETION ADVISED:

Engines steam and diesel alike had all bunkered down for the evening. It was still uncomfortably hot across the island despite the sun having gone down. Tidmouth Sheds was still alive with quiet chatter as it's occupants discussed the day's events, well, one event in particular.

"But why would Sir Topham just sell her off like that? It makes no sense. He never sells engines." James, the brilliant red engine at the middle of the roundhouse said with a crooked frown.

"She has been caught up in a lot of trouble, but nothing recent." Nia, a colorfully decorated orange Kenyan tank engine added from beside James. "But despite her behavior she's still a very hard-working and useful engine."

"Gordon?" Thomas the number 1 blue tank engine directed his attention to a large, brooding express engine at the end of the roundhouse. All the other engines shifted their gazes towards him as well. "We all know how close you are to Meredith. Do you know what happened?"

Gordon lifted his tired eyes with a sigh. "I'm assuming it's to punish me."

"Oh, Gordon, I'm so sorry. Is there anything we can do to help?" This time it was Rebecca, a young and chirpy express engine who spoke up. She's well known for being unusually kind, so of course she was concerned about her friend's state.

Gordon groaned and backed further into his shed with a whoosh of hot steam. "You can help me by not talking about it." His voice was angry but carried with it the subtle choke of sadness. He was heartbroken and all the other engines had not a clue how to help. So they did as he requested and dropped the subject. They decided instead to listen to another one of James' famous ghost tales while Gordon shed quiet tears at the back of his berth. He wondered if Meredith was okay and worried whether his brother had already grabbed hold of her.

Luckily for Gordon, Meredith was nowhere near Flying Scotsman. She was inside the mainland Steamworks near Doncaster waiting for her fresh paintwork to dry. Her new controller decided to keep her shimmery white livery and instead the edges of her black piping were lined with the iconic Green Apple paint found on most of the railway's engines -Flying Scotsman included. Her water tanks read 'LNER' in crisp black and green lettering and she was given a polished onyx nameplate for her boiler. The little engine caught a glimpse of herself in a nearby window and she frowned. Though little of her appearance had changed, she still hardly recognized herself. She closed her eyes and she was back on Sodor in the truck shed beside Gordon. It was a bittersweet happiness she felt. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since she last saw him, but it might as well have been twenty-four years. She wanted to bust out, power down the line at full steam back to her love, but this Steamworks was much busier than the one on Sodor. There were workmen swarming the multitude of repair bays along with engines sleeping soundly in private berths behind her. There was no way for her to slip out without being noticed. Then she noticed another tank engine had zipped in from the darkness outside. It was a six-coupled-switcher like Thomas, but much bigger than the Sudrian tank engine and had three domes atop its boiler. It paraded in shiny black livery with red piping and gentle facial features that held just enough masculinity to keep the engine unmistakably male. Meredith watched as he shunted parts and tools around the Steamworks with incredible ease. He navigated the winding tracks gracefully as if he was floating. She liked the looks of this engine. She had met other LNER locomotives before and they were anything but pleasant; this engine, however, showed promise of being decent. Meredith hoped anyway.

The new LNER engine continued to watch the other engine scurry about until he came close enough for her to grab his attention. "Um, hello there."

The engine screeched to a sudden halt at the sound of Meredith's quiet voice. He quickly switched his tracks so he could get a better look at the little engine. "Hello, who are you?" His voice was surprisingly mature with a very understated German ring.

"I'm Meredith." She said, her confidence grew quickly. This engine lacked the scrutinizing glare most mainland engines liked to wear. "Who are you?"

"Dirk," the engine said quickly. His eyes darted all over Meredith. "Where did you come from?"

"Sodor," the little engine said. "Where did you come from? You don't sound like most mainland engines."

"Oh, I come from Eastern Germany."

"You're German? That's where my fireman is from!"

"Isn't that something!" Dirk offered a wide and genuine smile. Meredith didn't hesitate to return it. She liked this engine already. He was very friendly. "Well, I hope you're made to feel at home quickly, Meredith. I would love to stay and chat, but there's quite a lot to do. Another time perhaps?"

"I'd love that." Meredith beamed and Dirk gave a slight bow before shooting off to pick up another flatbed of parts at the front of the building.

Sitting idly in his shed outside the London goods yard was Flying Scotsman. The large locomotive couldn't sleep. He was too excited. His little Meredith was back on his railway and this time it was for good. His valves pushed out intense steam as he ran through ways he could seduce her. He knew he should take things slow with her given the circumstances, but his undercarriage radiated heat. He wanted her more than he wanted any other engine. The big engine hadn't a good lay in months and he knew Meredith would more than satisfy his thirst after such a long dry spell. He shuddered on his axles with a quiet groan. He couldn't wait to fuck that pretty little engine senseless.

After fighting sleep for a few more hours, Flying Scotsman finally gave in to the exhaustion. He woke up to the creaking of his shed doors as his driver and fireman opened them to let in the fresh morning sunlight. He blinked several times to help his eyes adjust and gave his body a rough shake, knocking his driver off the steps to his cab unintentionally. "Easy, big guy." Ian said. He brushed the dirt off his uniform before attempting to climb into his engine's cab once again. Unlike his engine, Ian was a proper Scotsman and was as gruff and uncouth as they come. He had to be in order to keep up with his engine's troublesome antics and he knew with the arrival of Meredith the anti would certainly be upped. "You look tired. Did you sleep at all?"

"Only a little." Scotsman's voice was raspy and lacked any sort of energy until he realized that he would likely see Meredith. His boiler bubbled with anticipation as his fireman, Gavin, brought his firebox up to temp. Then he rolled from his shed with another powerful shake of his body.

The outside air was already sticky with humidity and the surrounding townships were alive with car horns and distant chatter. People waking up in nearby houses waved at the large engine as he steamed past on his way to the station. He acknowledged them with only a curt nod or two. A small child hung out of a balcony and pumped his arm for Scotsman to whistle. The big engine wanted to ignore the juvenile request but he was in a good mood and decided to humor the little creature with a few hearty blows and he continued down the track.

At the station Flying Scotsman met Mallard looking discontented as always. The blue streamlined A4 had already received his coaches and was waiting for the morning commuters to finish boarding when he noticed Scotsman groan to a stop beside him. "I assume that stupid smile is because of that little tank engine?"

"How'd you guess?" Scotsman brushed off his cousin's unpleasant attitude. He was quite used to it.

"I've seen her already. She's the engine who shunted me my coaches."

"How is she?"

"Quiet. She's been repainted and badged. No number, however."

"That's hardly surprising. It'll take some time before she earns that. Assuming she ever will." Scotsman's smile dropped. He didn't like thinking of his little Meredith remaining numberless. Having a number is very important on the railway. It showed an engine was important enough to have a unique identifier for traffic logging. Most shunting engines would never be numbered.

Mallard took note of the A3's stern countenance. "You're worried?"

"Hardly," Flying Scotsman scoffed. "Meredith is a headstrong little titter. I see her earning a number in no time at all."

Mallard couldn't help but chuckle, which earned him an inquiring glance from Scotsman. "She must be a good lay if she has you so smitten."

Scotsman glowered at his snickering cousin but before he could speak he felt the gentle bump of his tenders being knocked by his coaches. He took a deep breath in. His nose quickly flooded with a supple and sweet scent. One that he knew quite well. "Meredith." He heard her valves pushing out steam and he wanted to call her forward, but he held silent. He wasn't going to rush anything. So the big engine sat still and he listened to the chuff of her pistons disappear into the background behind him until all he could hear was the bustling of the station.

It was mid-afternoon by the time Meredith made it back to London from York. The little engine wasn't used to such long journeys. She was barely making it between fuel stops and her face and boiler were sparkly with sweat. She didn't recall working that hard the few weeks she had previously spent working on the mainland railway. She figured the controller was taking it easy on her due to the fact he didn't own her at the time. She wobbled over to a water tower. The heat combined with the rigorous labor was a perfect formula for hefty thirst. She could feel Hayden climb atop her tanks and once the water started flowing she immediately felt relief.

"How you holdin' up new titter?"

Meredith nearly lept out of her metal plating when she was approached by the B17 twins, Allan and Arik. She whipped her gaze to their sneering faces and snarled. "Don't call me that."

They both chuckled. "You're a tough little lass, I'll give ya that." Arik said with a grin. His bright green livery was near blinding in the direct sunlight.

"Yes, very fiesty. I see why Flying Scotsman gives you so much favor." Allan agreed with a bounce. Meredith had nearly forgotten how expressive the big engine was. As lively as his yellow paintwork. It certainly mended well with his buoyant accent that was much more noticeable than his brother's.

Meredith cut her eyes. She was surprised the aforementioned express engine didn't try to butter her up when she shunted his coaches to him that morning. She didn't mind. She simply didn't have the mental stamina to handle any advances from him. She knew she would crack like glass under his seductive pressure, so she tried to think of Gordon every time her mind wandered in the wrong direction. Regardless of if the two were on separate railways, she would do her best to stay loyal to her partner until she found a way back to him.

"Already daydreaming about the big bastard, huh?" Arik's jeering brought Meredith back to reality and she glared.

"I'm thinking about my own partner back on Sodor, as a matter of fact." The little tank engine said with a huff. Hayden had finished filling her tanks at this point and she started to roll forward. "The one that's not a huge man-whore."

The twins both laugh. "Oh, we like you, Meredith." Allan said with a wide smile. "You're right fun." A diesel shunter had driven by and blew off a cloud of exhaust in annoyance. The three engines' mingling was taking up space in the yard.

Meredith cracked a small smile. "Thanks… I guess."

"You'll do alright if you continue to be this stubborn-willed. LNER has no room for wimpy boilers." Arik added pointedly.

Meredith sighed and said nothing more. She simply whistled her goodbyes to the twins and crossed the yard to collect another goods train. She coupled to the train and Hayden was handed a clipboard detailing the contents of the delivery and their destination. "Looks like we're going back to Doncaster. This one's for the steamworks." Meredith perked up. That meant she would see Dirk again so Meredith took off with her train in an excited cloud of steam.

After finally arriving to the Steamworks Meredith was uncoupled from her train and while Hayden was filing the paperwork with the Steamworks manager she slipped inside the work area. It was loud and hot. Workers scrambled between machines and engines and Meredith quickly spotted the little German engine as he was being directed by a supervisor. Meredith eagerly puffed over to Dirk and the black engine started. "Oh! Meredith! What're you doing here?"

"I was making a delivery." She said with a bounce. "I just wanted to say hello."

"Oh, uhh- hello." Dirk suddenly felt shy. He wasn't used to engines seeking him out. "Are you enjoying your first day?"

Meredith made a gesture with her body that could be considered similar to a human waving their hand in a so-so manner. "It's alright. Very busy-" she stopped to dodge a stray sledgehammer that slipped from a workman's grip. "And the journeys are much longer than what I'm used to."

"Yes," Dirk said with an awkward smile. He grabbed an empty flatbed and began to shunt it to an adjacent bay where another A4 hung from a hoist. Meredith followed him. "The LNER lines are very long and very busy. But you're a young engine and seem very insistent. I'm sure you'll build up your endurance as you gain experience."

"Dirk!" The big A4 hollered from his hoist. Meredith glanced up to this new engine. Another one of Spencer's siblings, no doubt. He boasted the same green paintwork as Flying Scotsman. This one looked as surly and unpleasant as Mallard, but also just as handsome. His nameplate read 'Kestrel'. "Dirk! How long am I to hang here like a slaughtered pig?"

"I'm sorry," Dirk called back as he and Meredith scooted below. "We're very backed up. The heat has blown many boilers."

"To hell with the rest of them. I have an express to pull!" Kestrel's tone was haughty and gravely. The baritone of it sent shivers down Meredith's boiler. She wanted to slap herself. There was something about crass and crude engines that just sent her spiraling.

Dirk sighed. "I'll see about having your work pushed to top priority. But I can't make any promises."

The big green A4 groaned. "Fine." He then caught notice of Meredith. "And who are you sparkly snowflake?"

Meredith froze. Great. She suddenly began to wonder if she should have herself repainted black. "I'm Meredith."

"When did you start working here?"

"I don't. I was just making a delivery and wanted to say hello to Dirk… is all." The swallowed. Kestrel's gaze was sharp enough to cut through her smokestack.

"But you work on the railway, yes?" The big engine raised his brow. He was quite curious of this new engine. He liked how she looked. Her scent was lovely too. Young and barely broken in.

Meredith hesitated. "Yes…"

Kestrel smirked. "Isn't that wonderful."

Meredith's expression flattened. The last thing she wanted was yet another sleazy locomotive chasing her tail and she could tell by the new engine's hungry gaze that he was already plotting to seduce her. "Don't even think about it." She said after a moment. She noticed Hayden had finished the paperwork and was climbing back into her cab. "I'm spoken for." She said with a snooty whistle as she started towards the exit with Dirk at her side.

Kestrel chuckled. "I'm always up for a good competition."

Hello, all! Welcome to the third installment of my 'Engines' Saga and AU! For those not familiar with the story or the AU I highly suggest perusing 'Engines' and 'Engines: A Song of Steam' to help straighten any confusion of the story and relationships out before continuing on with this fic.

I've not much for this A/N other than a quick hello and a strong encouragement to favorite and review! Also a thank you and hello to those who have been faithfully following this mess!

I'll see ya in the next chapter.

Much love;

Bumble