Ever since she accidentally took Annie and Clarabel, Emily had been going to great lengths to avoid Thomas out of shame and fear of being yelled at. Whenever she had to take a train near one of the stations on his branch line, she would pretend to feel ill and convince another engine to do it for her. Edward had begun to notice this pattern and decided to put an end to it. One morning, Edward was at Wellsworth taking on water when Emily pulled in with her passenger train.

"Morning, Emily," Edward called. "How are things today?"

"I'm doing okay, Edward," said Emily. "Henry's back in service so Gordon's happy to have his express back."

"I could tell," chuckled Edward. Then he had a thought. "I just remembered that Sir Topham Hatt needed an engine to help around Ffarquhar for a while. And I told him you could do it, and he said that it would be a splendid idea."

"Er, me?" asked Emily. "Er… I have so much to do on the main line."

"Nonsense," objected Edward, clearly seeing right through Emily's excuses. "You're just making another excuse to avoid Thomas. Hasn't this gone on for long enough?"

"I just… I can't see Thomas!" cried Emily. "I took his coaches, the two figures that mean more to him than anyone in the world, without his permission!"

"But at least you didn't do it on purpose," insisted Edward. "You need to face what has happened and just tell Thomas you're sorry. Simply avoiding him won't make the problem go away."

"But what if he never forgives me?" worried Emily.

"You'll never know for sure if you're too afraid to try."

Emily sighed. "…alright. But who'll do my jobs on the main line?"

"I'll be more than happy to cover for you," Edward insisted.

"And what about your jobs on the branch line?" asked Emily.

"Oh, BoCo and Derek can take turns," said Edward. "Not the first time they've done it."

So, with that said and done, Emily went to the Ffarquhar branch line. Daisy was taking some passengers down to Dryaw station.

"Hello, my dear," said Daisy in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Edward said I was to come lend you engines a hand," Emily explained. "Sir Topham Hatt's orders."

"That's a bit odd," said Daisy. "I'm doing okay with the passengers right now. Maybe Percy needs some help with the goods traffic."

"Has, er, Thomas been by?" Emily asked.

"He's taking some trucks down by the harbor," explained Daisy. "He should be back any time now." With that, she purred away.

"Oh my," sighed Emily. "Okay, maybe I should go and see Percy to try and calm down a bit."

The Stirling single continued down the line. She didn't find Percy, but she did find Toby at Hackenbeck with Henrietta.

"Hello, you two," said Emily; she felt a bit awkward from hearing Toby's outburst on her first day.

"Oh, hello, Emily," greeted Toby politely, much to Emily's surprise and relief. "What brings you here?"

"Sir Topham Hatt said that you all needed help on the branch line for today, so I was sent down here," Emily explained. Toby and Henrietta were both puzzled by this.

"I don't remember hearing about that," said Toby. "Do you, Henrietta?"

"I'm afraid not," replied the tram coach. "Maybe there's been a mix-up."

The guard's whistle blew and Toby and Henrietta were away.

"A mix-up?" asked Emily. "I haven't known Sir Topham Hatt for long. I'll ask him about it when I get the chance."

Down at Ffarquhar, Emily caught sight of both Mavis and Percy.

"…and that was when Archie jumped onto my bufferbeam," giggled Mavis to Percy.

"He must have been adorable," smiled Percy. "I think you have a way with animals."

"Oh, I don't think I'd go that far, but- oh!" Mavis then caught sight of Emily and Percy glanced over too.

"Oh, hello, Emily," said Percy, "What brings you down here?"

"I've been told I was to help out on the branch line," said Emily, "but I think there must have been a mix-up in the schedule."

"I think you're right, Emily," said Mavis. "We Ffarquhar engines are doing just fine at the moment."

"Indeed," agreed Percy. "I don't think we need another engine on the branch line for a good while yet."

I think this was set up by Edward, Emily thought to herself, annoyed. Not exactly the best plan I've ever seen.

"I'm so sorry about the mix-up, you two," said Emily. "I'd better head back to the main line."

The single started to head back towards Elsbridge. Up until that point, she hadn't even seen Thomas once, much less made eye contact with him.

"Some plan, Edward," she muttered. "All I was doing was running into dead ends and potentially holding up trains here and on the main line. And you've probably done the same for your own branch line."

She sighed. "Maybe I've been going in the wrong direction. I should have checked by the harbor."

Meanwhile, down at the harbor, Thomas was going through some conflicts of his own.

"If Emily won't even try to apologize, why should I bother with her at all?" he muttered. "Maybe Tasha should have stayed here instead; at least Duck would be happy." Unfortunately for Thomas, he had no idea as to what went on with the pannier tank engine at Knapford yards.

"Come on, ol' boy," said his driver. "Let's get these empty trucks back to the quarry."

"Right, driver," said Thomas. The blue tank engine puffed away, but his crew heard a faint rattling sound.

"Hmm," said Thomas' fireman to the driver. "Do you hear that?"

"Maybe a bolt's loose," said Thomas' driver. "We'll tighten it when we get to the next stop."

But his crew never got the chance to do so. When Thomas was puffing towards Elsbridge, he felt his wheels go over the points.

"What the-?! We shouldn't be turning here!" cried Thomas. Then there was more trouble; one of Thomas' wheels was loose and rattled off due to the sudden turn with the points.

"Ohh-oh-oh! Cinders and ashes!" cried Thomas. "Guard, go back and warn approaching trains!"

Quickly, Thomas' guard jumped down from the brake van and set off to alert oncoming trains while his driver and fireman inspected the damage.

"You'll have to be sent to the Steamworks now, Thomas," said his driver.

"Bother," muttered the tank engine. "Tasha just had to go under a week ago. And Henry had just come back from the Steamworks too. At least things can't be any worse."

But of course, they would; there was a loud whistle coming from the distance. Thomas' eyes widened as he recognized it.

"That's Gordon!" he cried in horror. "And I'm right on his track!"

Meanwhile, Emily was wondering just what to say to Edward about the wild goose chase he'd put her in, when she heard Thomas' cry of shock.

"Thomas!" she cried. "Hold on!" Immediately, she buffered up to the brakevan and was coupled up.

Up ahead, Gordon was speeding down the main line with the express in tow. As he drew closer to Elsbridge, he could see Thomas stuck in his way.

"Thomas!" he cried in horror. "Move!"

"I can't!" wailed Thomas. "I broke down!"

But much to Thomas' surprise, he felt himself moving backwards, albeit shakily.

"I got you!" called Emily, still pulling back. "Don't worry, Thomas!"

With a huge effort, Emily managed to pull Thomas away from the main line, just before Gordon passed the station at a reduced speed. The signalman had changed the points just in time so Gordon could pass without problems.

"Oh, thank the Great Railway!" gasped Emily. "Are you alright, Thomas?"

"Just… b-badly shaken," stammered Thomas.

"Come on," said Emily gently. "Let's get you to the Steamworks."

Thomas was loaded onto a flatbed and taken over to the Steamworks.

"Emily," said Thomas, "th-thank you for saving me. I'm just surprised that you did that after constantly avoiding me for the past week."

"That's because I… I felt… too ashamed to talk to you," Emily said at last. "It was my first day back in service and I completely blew everything by taking your coaches. I'm… I'm so sorry I took Annie and Clarabel without your permission. I only met them once, yet I forgot they were your coaches, and I didn't know they meant the world to you…"

"That is true that Annie and Clarabel mean that much to me, and I wouldn't know what I'd do without them," said Thomas. "But I just wanted to hear you apologize for your mistake. When you didn't, I got the impression you weren't a very genuine engine."

"Oh," Emily said, abashed by Thomas' explanation. "I should have apologized from the beginning. I'm also sorry I didn't do that first."

"That's alright," said Thomas. "No engine is perfect, after all."

After Thomas was taken to the Steamworks, Emily managed to find Edward at Knapford. Gordon and Toby were also there.

"There you are!" cried Emily to the old blue engine. "Mind telling me what that wild goose chase was all about?"

"Wait, you sent Emily down the branch line?" asked Toby in surprise.

"How does that explain me almost crashing into Thomas?" added Gordon.

"Wait, what?!" Edward exclaimed in shock; Toby was even more flabbergasted than before.

"One at a time!" cried a familiar voice. The engines turned to see Sir Topham Hatt standing beside them. "Edward, as you seem to be the culprit behind this, shockingly enough, you start."

"Well, sir," said Edward, "I noticed that every time Emily had been assigned to be anywhere near Thomas' branch line, she seemed to give her jobs to other engines. I figured the best way for her to talk to Thomas head on was that if… if you insisted on her going down the Ffarquhar branch."

"I see…" Sir Topham Hatt wasn't happy with Edward lying, but he knew there was more to this. "Emily?"

"I headed down the branch line, but of course, that involved me asking the signalman to change the points before I could proceed," Emily explained. "I think that's how Thomas got onto the main line in the first place; the signalman forgot to change them back."

"Right, I'll need to have a chat with the signalman later," sighed Sir Topham Hatt. "Toby?"

"I don't know much about the near collision sir," said Toby, "but I do know that Emily was asking Percy, Daisy, Mavis and I if we needed help on the branch line. Well, looks like we do need help now."

"Indeed," said Sir Topham Hatt. "Gordon?"

"I'm afraid all I know about the incident until this conversation was that Thomas broke down on the main line and I almost collided with him," Gordon admitted, shuddering at the thought. "Thank goodness that Emily saved the both of us from a longer visit to the Steamworks."

"Indeed," said Sir Topham Hatt. "You did very well, Emily."

"You were incredibly brave," said Toby. "And… I'm sorry I was abrasive with you on your first day."

"As am I," sighed Gordon. "And I'll make sure to get James to apologize as soon as I find him."

"That's alright," said Emily. "Everyone makes mistakes."

"And Emily," said Sir Topham Hatt, "I was going to have Martha and Julian around as main line coaches, but would you like them for your own?"

"Oh, yes please, sir!" smiled Emily.

"Consider it your reward for saving Thomas and Gordon," smiled Sir Topham Hatt. Emily happily went off to find her new coaches, while Gordon and Toby headed back to work.

"As for you, Edward," scolded Sir Topham Hatt, "I am not at all pleased with you lying and nearly getting Thomas and Gordon badly hurt, not to mention a great deal of confusion with the whole timetable."

"I'm terribly sorry, sir," sighed Edward. "And I'll apologize to Gordon and Thomas when I next see both of them."

"I should think so too," said Sir Topham Hatt sternly. "I expect much better from you, Edward. You are to work on Thomas' branch line until he comes back from the Steamworks as punishment."

"Yes, sir," sighed Edward as he headed off to the Ffarquhar branch line.

"That does leave us with an engine down," said Sir Topham Hatt. "Hmm… I wonder…"

The next day, the engines were discussing the previous day's events.

"Really, Edward?" grunted James. "Lying about Sir Topham Hatt's orders?"

"Okay, okay, not the best of ideas," sighed Edward.

"His heart was in the right place, James," said BoCo. "And Gordon's fine too. Thomas' time in the Steamworks won't be for too long, so everything will be fine. And he and Emily are at peace now."

Just then, the group all heard a whistle.

"That can't be…" gasped Duck.

"Hello, everyone." A familiar-looking engine painted a reddish-purple rolled up to Tidmouth sheds and stopped on the turntable.

"Lady!" cried Duck excitedly. "Oh, you're visiting us again so soon?!"

"Yes," smiled Tasha. "Apparently, a certain tender engine thought it would be a good idea to make up a story about someone being needed on the Ffarquhar branch, so I'm helping on the Brendam branch for a few days." Edward looked sheepishly away.

"But seriously, I probably would have shown up anyway on account of Thomas' broken wheel," Tasha went on. "I hope he'll be okay."

"Oh, he'll be fine," said Gordon. "It's good to see you, Tasha."

The other engines all greeted her in kind, including Edward, who managed to smile despite the situation he caused.

Down at Knapford, Duck had a surprise for Tasha.

"They just hatched yesterday," he said. Sure enough, Dilly, Dallas and four fluffy heads popped out of his cab.

"Aww!" gasped Tasha as the ducklings hopped onto her bufferbeam. "How adorable are they?"

"Very much so," said Duck. "I wish you were here to see them hatch, but I'm glad you get to see them now."

"And I'm glad I got to see them while they were still small and fluffy," giggled Tasha. "But there is one other thing I was glad I came back to Sodor for."

"What would that be?" asked Duck.

"Well… it's kind of complicated," said Tasha. "You see, when we first met, I thought I was just being grateful to have been found, put into service and then saved from that heavy metal monster. But the more we spent time together, especially over Christmas last year, I found myself… enjoying your company a lot. And at times, I wished I were staying on Sodor instead of Emily. But I knew that would be unfair towards her, not the Great Western way at all." Tasha closed her eyes for a second to pluck up courage. "I guess, what I'm trying to say, Monty, is that… I love you."

Duck was so happy he could barely speak; he had a tear of joy in his eye.

"Oh, Lady," he said softly. "That's so sweet of you to say all that. I was thinking more or less along the same lines as you. I thought you were beautiful when we first met, and I thought it was going to amount to a crush that went nowhere. Then we escaped that clawed monster together and we slowed down and worked on my branch line. It was Christmas when I really started to feel the connection with you. Saving me from the snowdrift, watching the carols, spending time with Dilly and Dallas, it was all great fun. I also wanted you to be on Sodor so we could spend all our time together. But despite the fact you'll live miles away on the mainland… Lady, I love you too."

At that, the two looked very deeply into each other's eyes, almost like nothing else mattered in that moment.

A few days later, Thomas' wheel was repaired and he came back just in time for Tasha to leave.

"Goodbye, everyone," called Tasha. "I hope to come back again to visit."

"Don't forget to get your crew to write," called Duck.

"I promise, Monty," she called back as she left Knapford station.

"What happened while I was being repaired?" asked Thomas.

"Where do I start?" chuckled Emily. "Well, I guess I could tell you about Martha and Julian, my new coaches."

"New coaches?" Thomas repeated with surprise. "Well, it looks as though you're now a part of the club, Emily."

"I guess I am," she grinned. "Say, we should take out our coaches for a run together one of these days."

"I think I'd like that, Emily," he replied. "Come on, let's go get them."

Emily went to get Martha and Julian and Thomas went to get Annie and Clarabel, but he looked around in surprise.

"Er, okay, who took Annie and Clarabel now? Oh, maybe it was Percy or Toby; they do this all the time when I'm unavailable."

However, another whistle told a very different story.

"Hello, Thomas," greeted Edward, and coupled up behind him were Annie and Clarabel.

"Edward?!" gasped Thomas. "What in the Great Railway's name is going on? You don't usually work on my branch line."

"Er, yes, Thomas," said Edward sheepishly. "That's a long story…"

Thankfully, after the ordeal with Emily, the engines always remembered to ask Thomas about using Annie and Clarabel first when he wasn't available, or Sir Topham Hatt would inform Thomas about who was doing it, whichever came first. Emily, meanwhile, had settled in much better with her new home now that the misfortunes had been put behind her. She loves working with her new coaches, Martha and Julian, as well as helping out a fellow engine in need. Thanks to her modifications, she was able to pull both coaches and trucks rather easily. Aside from working on the main line, Emily was allowed to come visit the other branch lines from time to time, though her favorite visits were to the Ffarquhar branch. These visits would be a rather special treat for the local passengers who admired seeing such an amazing engine. Emily loves these visits mainly because she gets to spend much more time with her special new friend, Thomas. If you heard the other engines talking, you could expect that there may be something special in store for the two in the future.

But I guess we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?

THE END

Author's Comments

Here's the final chapter to Emily the Stirling Single, taking heavy inspiration from the third act of Emily's New Coaches. And Gordon nearly being involved in a crash inspired rather loosely from Emily to the Rescue. If you thought Toby being abrasive towards Emily at first was a bit shocking, then Edward's plan nearly getting Thomas and Gordon wrecked is something else altogether. It shows that Edward's greatest strength can also be his Achilles' axle box. It's not dissimilar to how he also got into trouble for letting Thomas take his train in The Adventure Begins, only in that instance, Thomas was more naïve and ignored Edward's warnings about the trucks, getting him into trouble. I think that incident would've hurt Thomas personally, given that Edward was not only his first friend on Sodor, but also because he views him as an older brother figure. But on the plus side of things, we got a resolution to the Duck/Tasha subplot, and now she'll be able to visit Sodor whenever she can.

And so another story comes to an end. I must say, I'm rather disappointed by the lack of a response this story received as it was being posted here. I don't know what it is; I got two reviews posted and that was it. Meanwhile, on DeviantArt, it got a lot more attention. The point of reviews is to let the author know what they've done right or wrong in their stories, and the reviews I did receive here said nothing about what I've done well. It's honestly very discouraging and makes me feel less inclined to post here. If this keeps up, then I may not publish stories here anymore as I don't want to be met with complete indifference at worst. Sorry about the little rant there, but I had to get it off my chest.