The next day, Dowager Hatt, along with Topham, arrived at the hospital to check on the little girl's progress of regaining her strength back after being weak.
When they entered the hospital, Dowager Hatt asked one of the nurses about the little girl she had recently found.
"About Stephanie," the nurse said, gently chuckling as she held a clipboard in her hands. "I have found her sleeping by the window sill's bench as if she was looking out from it to look at the stars."
"Moving that quick already?" Topham asked as the tone of his voice had confusion, as Dowager Hatt remembered when she checked her the second time to see her move. "Wouldn't it take longer for her to restore her strength?"
"Actually," the nurse spoke, clearing her throat a little. "It only took Stephanie about two days to restore her strength, instead of a week."
Dowager Hatt and Topham glanced at each other after the nurse explained with surprised expressions on their faces before Dowager Hatt asked, "Oh, did you find her papers?"
"Yes, we did," the nurse nodded before looking at the clipboard in her hands. "From the looks of the information, Stephanie's line of family members goes back far."
"How far?" Sir Topham Hatt asked, shrugging his shoulders slightly.
"About until either the seventeenth or fifteenth century." the nurse responded. "But, unfortunately, none of her family relatives, including the ones that could be alive this year, are all deceased from an unknown cause that almost wiped out the entire family."
Dowager Hatt's expression fell to worry as Topham looked slightly surprised by the response the nurse gave before one of the doctors mumbled, "She is one of the last family members, hmm?"
"Yes, she is," the nurse sighed. "But, she has a foster-father as far as we know of."
That confused Dowager Hatt a little from the sudden foster-father, but shrugged it off her shoulders, thinking he wrote the papers and was going to pick her up.
Instead of being picked up by him, Stephanie was stolen from the orphanage and bought, which concerned Dowager Hatt more.
She did not express it, wanting to help Stephanie the best she could.
"Oh, good!" Dowager Hatt sighed in relief along with Topham. "Where could he be?"
"In America," the nurse answered, flipping a page of the information bio, as it had a baby picture of Stephanie.
Dowager Hatt and Topham softly winced after the nurse answered, as Topham mumbled, "Oh, dear."
"But not to worry," the nurse smiled. "We'll call the foster father's phone number, and maybe he could come over here to pick Stephanie up in a few months or more."
Dowager Hatt and Topham nodded their heads after the nurse explained, before Topham asked, "May we see Stephanie?"
"Of course," the nurse nodded as she turned down the hallway as the two older adults followed from behind her.
"She is also ready to get out of the hospital since she healed this fast, too." the nurse explained.
"That's wonderful," Dowager Hatt smiled. "She'll stay with Topham until her foster-father comes."
Topham jolted a little after Dowager Hatt smiled, looking surprised by what his mother stated.
"Me?!" Topham pointed at himself with his first finger. "Take care of a child?! Mother," he followed up to Dowager Hatt's side after stopping for a moment. "I can take care of Stephen and Bridget when they come over to visit, but with Stephanie staying at my mansion? I don't think I could take care of her since I work."
"You took special care of that wild animal once when you were a child, Topham," Dowager Hatt gently protested. "Even though I specifically told you, 'No wild animals in the house.'"
Blushing with embarrassment, Topham softly groaned as the nurse chuckled lightly, "Mother…"
They soon reached Stephanie's room, and the nurse opened the door, revealing Stephanie sitting on the bed, wearing her hospital gown.
The blankets were neatly folded, and the pillows on the window sill's bench were arranged perfectly and lined up.
The hanger for her drip bags is missing, and the needle in her arm was out too.
"Oh, hello, ma'am," Stephanie greeted after glancing over her shoulder.
She froze a little when she noticed Topham from behind Dowager Hatt, confusing him a little.
"Stephanie," Dowager Hatt spoke, placing her hand on Topham's shoulders and moving him forward. "This is my son, Stephen Topham Hatt."
"But I prefer to be called Sir Topham Hatt," Sir Topham Hatt said, taking off his top hat at Stephanie and then placing it back on his head. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
Stephanie stood up from the couch and stayed put on the spot she was at.
"Y-You too, Sir," Stephanie stammered, reaching up to her hair and started fumbling it, looking nervous as she stood in front of Sir Topham Hatt.
Some strands of hair came off from her long hair and got entangled into her fingers as she moved it away and looked at it, sighing softly.
Sir Topham Hatt looked thoughtful as he watched her pick the remaining hair strands off her fingers that were entangled before asking, "Would you like to go to a barber to get yourself a trim?"
Stephanie glanced over at her after Sir Topham Hatt asked, finishing getting the hairs off her fingers, "Excuse me, Sir?"
"Your hair," he mentioned to her long hair from behind her. "It's greasy and too long for you. Maybe if we could go to a barber first, we could get that tangled mess back to normal."
Stephanie looked thoughtful as she glanced down at her hair, grimacing a little at how dirty it was along with how tangled it was too.
"I would like that, please," Stephanie nodded, glancing back over at him. "I do smell a little funny."
"Maybe not getting a bath, too?" Sir Topham Hatt suggested, shrugging slightly.
Stephanie nodded her head as she blushed, feeling ashamed of her appearance in front of him.
Soon, the nurse came back into the room with a fresh pair of clothes in her arms.
She closed the door behind her back with her hip before walking over to Stephanie.
The nurse then said, looking sheepish as she blushed, "Sorry. I couldn't find any shoes for you. I didn't know your feet size."
"It's alright," Stephanie assured her as she took the clothes from her. "I can survive without shoes or socks."
The nurse looked confused after Stephanie assured her before allowing Stephanie to have the clothes she picked for her.
"Uh, we should step out and give her privacy." the nurse chuckled lightly before gently shooing the two adults outside with her.
Stephanie paused a little before she could untie the hospital gown from the sides, glancing over at the door as it closed tight.
But, as soon as the door was closed, she walked over to the window and closed the shades a little, sealing out the light from the other side.
Outside the hospital, Thomas was waiting for his passengers to board his coaches.
He glanced over at the window where the little girl he talked to earlier in the night, noticing that the curtains were shut more.
"Did you two have a nice quiet conversation?" Annie asked Thomas from behind.
"Well, it was super quiet, actually," Thomas spoke.
"Why on earth?" Clarabel asked with confusion. "Were people already outside?"
"No," Thomas answered, glancing away from the hospital window. "I think she's mute."
"'Mute?'" they both repeated.
"Yes, mute," Thomas nodded. "But, she can hear and see me perfectly."
The coaches sighed with gentle relief before Annie asked, "But, how would you talk to her? You barely understand sign language."
"You're right," Thomas nodded before hearing the conductor's whistle. "Maybe asking her when I get the chance would be nice."
The coaches nodded in agreement as Thomas whistled his whistle, puffing off to take the passengers to their stations.
Inside the hospital room, Stephanie finished getting into her new clothes and struggled a little to get her hair through the back of her shirt's collar.
The clothes the nurse brought to her were a long-sleeved dark blue shirt with black tights.
After the last of her hair was finally out of her shirt, Stephanie walked over to the door and gently knocked on it, saying, "I'm dressed, may I come out?"
"Of course," responded Sir Topham Hatt. "You're welcome to step out."
Stephanie smiled slightly and opened the door, revealing herself to the two adults.
"Wonderful," Dowager Hatt smiled before noticing her long hair. "Er, we have to do something about your hair."
"Mother," Sir Topham Hatt said as Dowager Hatt turned her attention to him. "Stephanie and I talked about that earlier."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Topham," Dowager Hatt apologized before turning her attention back to Stephanie. "Come with us, Stephanie. We'll take you to a barber."
Stephanie nodded and followed them, holding Dowager Hatt's handkerchief in her hand.
Halfway through the hallway, Stephanie tripped on her hair and yelped before being caught by one of Sir Topham Hatt's guards before hitting the ground from underneath her armpits.
"What happened?" Dowager Hatt turned around with Sir Topham Hatt after hearing Stephanie's yelp.
"She tripped over her hair, Sir," the guard responded, picking her up and holding her in his arms. "Would it be best if one of us hold her in case if she does not trip over it again?"
Sir Topham Hatt nodded his head in agreement before saying, "Just be careful with him, Jason."
Jason, the name of Sir Topham Hatt's guard, nodded his head and moved Stephanie into a correct position before following Sir Topham Hatt and Dowager Hatt with his friend by his side.
They soon came over to Sir Topham Hatt's car, and Stephanie stiffened a little as she hunched her shoulders a little.
Dowager Hatt stopped before entering the car, noticing Stephanie's stiffened body and a slightly fearful expression on her face.
"What on earth is the matter with her?" Jason asked. "She's stiff as a rock!"
"Er, let me talk to her," Dowager Hatt answered after placing her bag into the car.
Jason nodded and handed Stephanie over to Dowager Hatt.
When Stephanie was handed over to Dowager Hatt, she could feel Stephanie shaking from head to toe, struggling to keep it to a minimum.
"Are you afraid?" Stephanie flinched slightly after Dowager Hatt asked, responding as she stammered, "I-I'm… Yes, I am afraid."
She sighed with defeat as she pushed back into a messy and greasy strand of brown hair from her face.
"I'm sorry for being afraid." Stephanie apologized.
"Do not fret," Dowager Hatt assured. "If you want, you could have one of the guards in the backseat with you."
Stephanie perked a little from Dowager Hatt's words, glancing over at her with slight confusion on her face.
"Are you sure?" Stephanie asked.
"Of course," Dowager Hatt nodded before glancing over at Jason. "Just let me ask him."
Stephanie nodded her head as Dowager Hatt placed Stephanie in the car in the backseat as Stephanie got comfortable as she gently closed the door, gripping her hands together in fear.
"What on earth is the matter?" Sir Topham Hatt asked, glancing over at her. "Have you-?"
He paused while Jason sat next to her before Stephanie moved closer to him.
The second guard sat next to her on the other side, gently sandwiching her in the middle.
"Mother," Dowager Hatt sat next to Sir Topham Hatt in the driver's side as he looked confused. "What is going on?"
"I'll explain after getting to the barber, alright?" Dowager Hatt spoke, glancing over at Sir Topham Hatt.
"Yes, mother," Sir Topham Hatt nodded before starting the car.
Stephanie flinched after he had started the car, and Jason glanced over at her, noticing that she was shaking more.
She clenched her hands into balls in front of her as they were turning white from the strength.
"Oi, Branden," Jason spoke, catching his friend's attention. "She's shaking like a leaf."
"She is?" Branden used the back of his hand to feel her cheek, noticing she was trembling terribly. "Blimey, she is."
Stephanie continued shaking through the entire car ride but held onto Jason's hand during the time since she was hurting her own hands from her fear.
Jason and Branden were confused about her fears as Sir Topham Hatt's concern for her grew inside her.
As soon as they reached the barber's shop, Dowager Hatt signed her up for her appointment, and Stephanie sat down to wait for her turn.
Taking this time, Dowager Hatt explained to Sir Topham Hatt and his guards why Stephanie was acting strangely during the car ride.
She even explained to them what had happened to her family too.
Meanwhile, the barber came up to Stephanie and said, "May you come with me, young lady?"
She nodded and stood up before tripping a little on her hair and stumbling a little, but luckily had her balance and did not fall over.
"Oh, dear." He walked behind her, and being as careful as he could, he lifted Stephanie from the ground from underneath her armpits. "Is this okay?"
"Yes," Stephanie nodded her head. "Thank you, sir."
He smiled softly and walked over to one of the empty barber chairs and placed her down in it.
The barber then walked behind Stephanie, staring at her long, messy, and greasy hair Stephanie had.
He used a hand to gently brush one of the strands to check how bad it was, only to notice the tangles.
"Let me cut it first, so it'll be easier for me to wash it, okay?" he asked.
Stephanie nodded her head gently, and the barber placed a black trimming bib around her neck, just in case her hair got onto her body.
The barber then picked up a pair of scissors from the counter in front of Stephanie, glancing over at her as she stayed where she was.
"What length would you like?" the barber politely asked.
"The middle of my back, please," Stephanie answered calmly, her nervousness dying down a little, although feeling a little anxious.
The barber nodded his head and went to work, spraying water on her hair and snipping her thick hair to the exact length.
Stephanie stood perfectly still during the time, almost as if she had fallen asleep with her eyes open.
But she was only waiting patiently for the barber to finish cutting her hair to the exact length she wanted it to.
She wondered how Sir Topham Hatt and Dowager Hatt would react to seeing her with her hair down the length she wanted it to be.
As soon as the hair was at what she wanted to be, the barber then took Stephanie over to another chair, where he washed her hair from the grease it was in.
The tangles were untangled, and the smell from her died down a little but still lingers from her body.
Once Stephanie's haircut was finished and dried, the barber took off the large black bib from around her neck, and Stephanie turned towards the barber, asking, "Excuse me, may I ask a question?"
"Of course," the barber nodded, kneeling a little to her height. "What is it?"
"Uh, my hair," Stephanie pointed to the pile of greasy hair. "After washing it, may you donate it to hairless people?"
The barber looked surprised by the polite suggestion from Stephanie as she felt worried.
Did she insult someone or suggested something wrong?
Before she could suggest something else, the barber gently smiled and nodded his head.
"Of course," he smiled. "That is a wise and generous thing for you to do."
Stephanie blushed from the compliment the barber told her, glancing away from him as she rubbed her left arm with her right hand.
Sir Topham Hatt and Dowager Hatt, along with the guards, entered inside, noticing Stephanie and her long, messy hair had been cut to the middle of her back and untangled, including washed too.
"This young child is a wonderful customer!" the barber smiled as Stephanie's blush deepened from the compliment.
She felt like she was in the center of attention in front of the two and was embarrassed.
"She has pleasant manners and patience." the barber continued. "She even donated her hair! Who's the father or mother of the child?"
Stephanie's blush faded away a little after he asked as the adults glanced at each other.
The barber looked confused from the silence of the people.
"Is there something I said?" he asked, sounding a little worried.
"No," Sir Topham Hatt assured him. "Stephanie has a foster-father, but he's in America."
The barber nodded his head as Stephanie glanced away, looking slightly sad and nervous.
"Ah, I understand," he nodded as Stephanie walked over to the adults as Jason picked her up again from underneath her armpits. "Come again if you want your hair trimmed or cut."
"We will." Sir Topham Hatt and the others exited out of the barber's shop and entered Sir Topham Hatt's car, as Stephanie sat in the backseat with the guards side-by-side with her.
"Where to now, mother?" Sir Topham Hatt asked.
"To the stores," Dowager Hatt answered. "She doesn't need to continue wearing those clothes all the time or wearing no shoes or socks."
Stephanie blushed slightly again as she moved her legs up a little, feeling embarrassed to be barefoot.
The guards understood she was embarrassed to be barefoot, so Jason reassuringly placed his hand on her shoulder.
Once they had reached the store, Dowager Hatt and Sir Topham Hatt allowed her to buy clothes for her to wear instead of borrowing.
Stephanie picked out a long-sleeved, light blue shirt with a pair of blue jeans along with a moss-green belt to hold it up.
She even picked out a pair of pink shoes with light blue shoelaces in her size.
But before leaving the store, Stephanie asked for a cameo blue sweater, which they had in store, along with a pair of rectangular dark blue and black glasses since she could not read well.
They even got some jackets for different weather and other items of clothes, too.
Stephanie felt happy that she had picked out the items she wanted to wear, along with the shoes.
They walked out of the store after buying them, and Stephanie was feeling excited about wearing them.
But, at the same time, she felt a little ashamed of herself for using too much money.
She felt like she was being a nuisance to them, repeatedly asking them after seeing an item on the stock.
So she decided to be careful the next time she goes shopping.
When they went back over to Sir Topham Hatt's mansion, Stephanie stiffened a little as she was being carried inside but forced herself to calm down, even though she was afraid.
The door opened, and a gentleman appeared from inside the mansion.
He has short brown hair and light blue eye color and has a thin appearance but looks young.
"Good afternoon, Master Topham," he greeted before noticing Jason was carrying Stephanie. "I suppose this is the young girl Mistress Dowager was talking about?"
"Yes, Reginald, she is," Dowager Hatt nodded as she handed him her bag as he bowed slightly to her.
Stephanie smiled softly, trying to cover her skittish feelings from inside her.
She did not want to enter inside a mansion since the last one she had been inside terrified her.
But Stephanie did not want to make the people angry and disappointed in her, so she kept it to herself.
"Please lead Jason to her room to stay for the months," Dowager Hatt explained. "And take her to the bathroom to be washed too."
"As you wish," Reginald nodded as he placed her bag down before turning his attention to Jason while holding Stephanie in his arms. "Please follow me."
Jason nodded and followed Reginald, walking through the mansion.
Stephanie was slowly relaxing as she glanced around curiously, noticing the inside of the mansion was much different from the one she used to live inside before.
Her hair on her arms prickled slightly from the memories of the mansion she used to live inside, shaking in fear again.
Jason looked slightly confused by the shaking coming from Stephanie as he followed Reginald through the mansion.
He wonders why she was so afraid of being in someone else's home?
Stephanie nervously glanced around the surroundings as she rubbed her left arm.
There was a faint, feared look in her eyes as if she had witnessed being in a rich man's mansion.
Soon, Reginald reached a room and opened the door for Jason to step inside since his hands were full while carrying Stephanie.
"Thank you," Jason thanked Reginald as he entered the room.
Reginald bowed slightly in return for Stephanie's gratification, stepping inside to place the bags down on the ground.
"After Stephanie gets washed and dressed," Reginald spoke. "Let me know if there is something wrong, okay?"
The two guards nodded their heads after Reginald asked as he stepped out and gently closed the door behind their backs.
After the door was closed, Stephanie shakily sighed in relief to herself, placing a hand against her chest, feeling like her heart would explode any minute.
Her anxiety was kicking in again, and she felt like she wanted to escape the minute nighttime came.
She did not want to go through the same thing again she had been through before.
The guards glanced over at Stephanie, blushing slightly to themselves and whispering something to each other.
Meanwhile, Stephanie decided to look around in the room she recently placed inside, for now, thinking she would be tricked if nighttime came.
The room was much different from the hospital room she was inside two days ago.
It was bigger than the room she was inside before and had two or three windows inside, as the window revealed that there were locomotive tracks in the background, almost like the window sill bench she used to look through.
Luckily, there was a window sill bench at the far back window, and the cushions were more spacious and soft, too.
If she wanted, Stephanie could sleep on the bench during nighttime and stare out the window at the stars.
Some clothes dressers for her were not filled with anything inside.
A desk was next to it, with a mirror on the left-hand side of the room.
She was standing before a massive bed, which was much fluffier than the hospital bed she was on after arriving at Sodor.
At first, Stephanie felt like she did not deserve this since she had just arrived at Sodor and escaped from a 'horrible man.'
But she quietly assured herself this was just how Sir Topham Hatt would give guests when they came over to visit or stay over.
Absentmindedly, she reached up to her chest with her right hand and felt something underneath her sweater and shirt, looking slightly sad a little.
"Uh, Stephanie?" Stephanie perked her head up after hearing Jason speak, glancing up at him. "We will ask one of the maids if they would like to help you wash your body. Is that okay with you?"
Stephanie's heart skipped a beat after he had mentioned that, but she kept it to herself and said, "I'm fine with that."
They both nodded and exited out of the room, closing the door behind her.
After they had left, Stephanie was left to think to herself, still feeling worried and afraid of what will happen next if she disobeys their orders.
She shuddered softly to herself at the thought of being stuck in the basement for a long time, closing her eyes and holding her hands together to keep herself together.
A knock on the door somehow snapped Stephanie out of her thoughts, perking up and glancing over at the door.
"Excuse me?" a voice asked from behind the door. "Are you Stephanie Allen?"
Stephanie froze for a moment after hearing the question from the female voice behind the door before answering, "Y-Yes, that is my name."
A sigh came from the other side of the door, and the voice asked again, "May I come inside? Jason and Branden told me you needed some help washing your body."
Stephanie paused a little after she asked before answering, "Yes, you may come in."
After Stephanie responded to her question, the door opened and revealed her to be a maid, which made the hairs on Stephanie's arm stick up in fear.
She has long, beautiful dark brown hair, as it was up in a high ponytail by a white bow, but has some strands of hair from over her ears.
The maid also has fair skin and beautiful light blue eye color, and short nails.
She even wears a long black dress with a white apron on the front, as she has it tied around her waist in a bow fashion like her hair.
Around her neck, she also wears lace tied in a bow too.
She did not look like the previous maid Stephanie painfully met a long time ago.
But Stephanie did not calm down after noticing her, still scared of her as she stood there.
"Hello, miss," she greeted Stephanie warmly. "My name is Alice, and I'll help you wash your body."
Stephanie paused for a moment after she had greeted herself to Stephanie before shakily sighing to herself softly, responding, "Th-Thank you, Alice. Can you g-guide me to the bathroom?"
She nodded her head and held her hand out as Stephanie shakily took it into hers, following her as she walked behind her.
Alice felt confused when she felt her shaking, glancing over at her slightly from her shoulder, looking at Stephanie.
"Is there something the matter?" she softly asked. "You're shaking like a leaf."
"J-Just a little nervous," Stephanie smiled nervously, lying slightly to the maid. "I've never been in-inside a mansion before."
Alice smiled reassuringly and moved Stephanie in front of her, placing her other hand on hers.
"There's no reason to be nervous," Alice softly assured, confusing Stephanie. "As long as you have someone by your side, you can learn more than what you see."
Stephanie's eyes lit up slightly after Alice assured her, before nodding her head and thanked, "Thank you, Alice."
Alice softly smiled after Stephanie understood her feelings before gently taking her hand and leading her to the bathroom.
"Let's take you to your bath, little one." Alice smiled before continuing to lead Stephanie through the mansion.
Once they had reached the bathroom, Stephanie felt nervous at first but relaxed as they entered, and Alice closed the door behind her back.
The bath lasted for a few minutes until the door opened again, revealing Alice carrying Stephanie in her arms, with a long towel wrapped around her, as another one was wrapped around her head to dry her hair.
Stephanie was relaxing in Alice's arms as she walked through the mansion to her room, her eyes closed as she felt a little safer with her.
When Alice entered her room again, she was placed down on the ground, and Stephanie still had the towel wrapped around her body to keep the warmth to herself.
"I'll go downstairs to let Dowager Hatt and Sir Topham Hatt know you are clean," Alice smiled.
Stephanie nodded her head once and said, smiling softly, "Thank you, Ms. Alice."
Alice blushed from the gratitude Stephanie said to her and smiled softly before hugging her.
Stephanie felt confused when Alice hugged her, almost dropping the towel around her as she stood there, not knowing what to do next.
Instead, she accepted the hug and hugged Alice back, a little too much around her neck.
"Er, Ms. Allen?" Alice softly asked. "Can I have my neck back? I need to tell Sir Topham Hatt and Dowager Hatt."
Remembering, Stephanie chuckled sheepishly softly and released her neck, wrapping the towel around her body again, and said, "Sorry."
"No, it's fine," Alice assured her as she stood back up to her height. "There is no need to apologize, though."
Stephanie paused after Alice told her, watching her exit out of the room, closing the door behind her back, and letting Stephanie have privacy to change into her extra clothes.
After Alice exited the room, Stephanie glanced away from the door for a moment, thinking to herself.
Her fingers rubbed something on her body from underneath the towel wrapped around her.
She continued thinking to herself for a moment before sighing softly and turning around, getting ready to change into her extra clothes.
Meanwhile, in Knapford, Thomas could not help himself but continue talking endlessly about the new person he had met from the hospital.
He was excited to see her again, wondering if Dowager Hatt or Sir Topham Hatt would show her to him in person.
Err, maybe in engine?
Thomas lightly shrugged to himself about the thought of encountering her, as Annie and Clarabel behind him said, simultaneously, "Calm down, Thomas. You'll see her, eventually."
Chuckling softly, Thomas heard the conductor's whistle and whistled back before puffing off to continue with his work on his branch line.
Back at the Hatt Mansion, Stephanie had finished getting dressed in the clothes she had picked, pushing back some strands of freshly washed and dried hair from her face.
She was still anxious inside the mansion, but she was slowly easing up as she continued looking around.
But Stephanie still had her guard up if the hospitality changed or had signs of what she had encountered.
Stephanie placed something around her neck after putting her shirt on before taking her oversized cameo blue sweater out of her bag and looking at it in her hands.
It was the hugest sweater she had seen before, but Stephanie loved it already, hugging it with her hands as she softly smiled.
"Stephanie!" Dowager Hatt's voice called to her from the main entrance, snapping her back to reality as her expression changed, moving her hand down from her chest. "It's almost time to go!"
Stephanie hesitated for a moment before calling Dowager Hatt, "Okay!" and glanced around at her new room for a second time.
She then placed her sweater on her body, zipping it up and exiting her room.
After exiting her room, Stephanie went downstairs, meeting up with Dowager Hatt and Sir Topham Hatt, who were at the door.
"Come now, Stephanie." Dowager Hatt smiled. "We are going to show you around Sodor for you to be familiar with it."
Stephanie was about to ask Dowager Hatt why she wanted to show her around Sodor but remembered something.
So, she stopped herself and only nodded her head, going along with the ride quietly.
Sir Topham Hatt's guards were with him to the stores and were sitting side-by-side with Stephanie, making her feel a little more comfortable during the ride.
She was still shaking like a leaf, but holding one of the guards' hands made her calm down slightly.
Somehow, Dowager Hatt noticed she was holding her tongue before she could ask a question after they got into Sir Topham Hatt's car with him at the wheel.
"You may ask questions, Stephanie." Dowager Hatt assured. "We won't judge you for that, though."
Stephanie was a little surprised by the assurance from Dowager Hatt but smiled slightly.
"Th-Thank you, ma'am." Stephanie softly thanked, stammering a little in her words.
Even though Dowager Hatt was kind enough to take her to the hospital to heal herself from the lack of vitamins in her body, she did not fully trust her or Sir Topham Hatt.
Dowager Hatt nodded her head in response to Stephanie's grant and turned back around to Sir Topham Hatt, allowing Stephanie to take this chance to think to herself about the kindness they have.
The first place they stopped at was the docks where Stephanie first appeared and where Dowager Hatt could introduce her to Gordon properly at Knapford station.
Despite the time she met Thomas last night, she was not too confident in herself to encounter another anthropomorphic steam engine.
It gives her the creeps about the appearance but calms herself down by assuring herself they are like Thomas.
But with different personalities, facial changes, and basis.
There, Sir Topham Hatt allowed his driver to take his car back to the mansion since he was the owner, showing Stephanie around along with Dowager Hatt.
They patiently waited for the express locomotive to appear along with the crowd of people, as Stephanie was nervously fussing with her fingers, still worried about what the other anthropomorphic locomotives like Thomas, who she saw last night, think of her on Sodor.
But her mind wandered off when she noticed there were two engines on the docks, pushing flatbeds around with their buffers, not paying any attention to the crowd of people.
The first engine was a dockyard diesel shunting engine painted crimson with scarlet warning stripes along its body, yellow and black hazard stripes on its front and rear, and yellow buffer beams with some rust.
At the top of his forehead, he has the brim of a skipper's hat.
The name 'Salty' is painted on his rear section, in black, along with the number two thousand nine hundred ninety-one on his cab sides.
The second dockyard engine was steam-powered and was painted in viridian with yellow stripes and lining, brass fittings, and gold nameplates in black lettering with the name 'Porter.'
He has a gold star on each side of his lamp and red window frames.
Stephanie was curious about who they were, wanting to go over to them and greet them, but she instead forced the thought out of her mind and stayed by Dowager Hatt's side.
After waiting for a minute on the docks while watching the cranes picking and dropping crates off onto other locomotives, whistling their whistles, and moving off to deliver them, the express locomotive finally came.
Stephanie was amazed to see the express locomotive appear to pick up the passengers before feeling excited to board it until a feeling was inside her heart that made her remember something tragic.
Instead of showing it publicly and refusing to get on the coaches, Stephanie repressed her memory deep into her mind, forcing herself to board the express locomotive without holding Dowager Hatt's hand.
Just after Sir Topham Hatt and Dowager Hatt had boarded the coaches, Stephanie was just about to get onto the coaches from behind them until she felt a hand roughly push her away from the coaches with one sweep.
That push caused her to be flung backwards from the coaches and landed bottom first on the concrete ground.
She scraped her hands against the concrete when she was flung backwards from that sudden push against her chest.
It did not hurt her as she looked confused and startled from the sudden push from one of the passengers, but her palms were numb, with no feeling of pain on her hands.
Bits of blood dripped from her palms, but she paid no attention to it as the doors closed in front of her.
She tried scrambling up to her feet to catch up to the express locomotive before it left, but it was too late as she finally reached up to her feet.
The express locomotive had already left and left her on the docks all by herself!
Stephanie quickly stood up to her feet and glanced around at her surroundings, whining a little to herself in worry.
No one else on the docks noticed she was left behind by a rude passenger who had pushed her.
Soon, she felt some stinging sensation against the palms of her hands and glanced down, noticing she had scraped them against the concrete after she was pushed.
They were bleeding a little, but it was not too much to make it painful or bleed out too much.
She closed her hands after she had looked at them and continued glancing around with a slightly worried expression on her face.
Stephanie waited for anyone to notice her or ask her what she was doing on the docks.
Soon, she started crying to herself, feeling scared and alone again.
She curled herself slightly, feeling scared and nervous about what would happen next.
Somehow, her crying attracted someone from their work, glancing around for the source before glancing down at the ground.
And that figure was not a human being, but a crane that was picking up and dropping off the crates!
The crane is painted in an olive color with black and brown pulleys among its mechanisms.
He also has two nameplates on his sides that display his name 'Cranky' in yellow lettering.
He watched Stephanie cry for a little while before nervously biting the bottom of his lip.
The crane glanced around for any adults besides the workers.
But no adults were waiting for the express locomotive to come again.
The engines that were working on the docks were being too noisy to notice she was even there.
So, he glanced over to the second crane beside him after dropping a crate off onto one of the steam engines that were there for a package.
The other crane on the other side of him is painted bright yellow and has dark blue railings and stairs.
Her name 'Carly' is written in dark blue on each side of her cab.
She also has a dark blue section above her face and has black hazard stripes on her superstructure and base.
"Hey, Carly?" the crane spoke, getting her attention as she glanced over at him. "Take a look down there."
Carly, the yellow crane's name, glanced down at the ground and noticed the little girl crying near where she was.
A worried and surprised expression appeared on her face as she glanced back over at the olive crane.
"What is she doin' here?" Carly asked. "And where are her parents?"
Her accent in her voice had British slang in it, but she speaks English very well.
"I don't know." the olive crane responded, grumbling a little before turning to one of the ships behind him. "Ask Big Mickey."
So, she moved her body to the other side, heading over to the third and last crane.
The crane is painted in a warm gray, and there were no names decorated on his body.
"Hey, Big Mickey," Carly spoke, getting his attention as he glanced over at Carly, responding with a "Hmm?"
"Look down at the ground." She nodded her head down towards Stephanie gently, with a slightly worried expression on her face.
Big Mickey, the gray crane's name, raised an eyebrow after Carly mentioned before glancing down at what she was referring to.
He had a confused expression on his face as he looked at what Carly was looking at.
He noticed the crying little girl sitting there, holding her hands against her chest and sobbing.
A worried expression appeared on his face that replaced his confusion before glancing over at Carly and the olive crane.
"Where did she come from?" he softly asked as Carly moved back over to the olive crane.
"I don't know!" the olive crane snapped before slightly groaning as he glanced back over at the crying little girl.
Carly nervously bit her lip in thought as the little girl continued crying before she got an idea.
Carefully, she moved her hook down behind the crying little girl as she slowly stopped sobbing, using the back of her hands with the sleeves of her oversized sweater to wipe her tears away, even underneath the pair of glasses she was wearing.
Using her talents, she gently scooped the little girl up from the ground and lifted her into the air as she looked slightly surprised.
"What are you doing, Carly?" the olive crane asked. "You can't load people on ships with your hook, remember?"
"I'm not gonna load her on a ship, Cranky," Carly smiled, lifting her to her face as her hook turned the little girl around automatically. "I'm just goin' to calm her down from her cryin'."
"But how?" Big Mickey asked, sounding more worried. "You're bigger than her! You might accidentally hurt her or drop her in the ocean!"
Stephanie listened to the conversation between the two cranes, calming down a little as her arms were wrapped around Carly's hook.
She did not know that her semi-blood-covered hands were staining Carly's hook slightly.
"True," Carly nodded. "But, I might as well try."
"But hey," Big Mickey spoke, sighing with a slight relief tone in his voice. "At least you calmed her down from her crying."
"About time, too!" snapped Cranky, the name of the olive crane.
Stephanie flinched slightly, tightening her arms around Carly's hook slightly.
"Careful, Cranky!" Carly spoke, scolding Cranky a little. "You might make her cry again."
"I know, I know," Cranky grumbled. "But what are you going to do with her now? Ships might be coming at any minute, and it could cause confusion and delay while you are holding her in your hook!"
Carly sighed and glanced around, wondering when another locomotive was going to come at any moment.
On the other hand, Stephanie felt sad about being unable to board the coaches, still crying slightly.
She felt ashamed she was causing more trouble for the cranes to handle, wanting to go back to Sir Topham Hatt and Dowager Hatt instead of the crane.
Carly noticed she was still crying, feeling worried about her.
"Aw, cheer up!" she beamed, lifting her up a little to her eyesight. "Is there somethin' I could do?"
Stephanie said nothing to her but glanced away, looking shy and scared in front of Carly.
Since an anthropomorphic crane picked her up from the ground, she felt a little uncomfortable around her.
But she repressed her feelings about being around her, trying to be polite to her.
Cranky glanced around for any locomotives coming for the second time, still noticing none of them had arrived.
"I don't see any tank engines coming here yet," Cranky mumbled to himself, but enough for Carly and Big Mickey to hear. "So, what are we going to do with her?"
Carly thought to herself for a moment before smiling softly when an idea came to her.
Using her hook, she gently moved her back down towards the ground but only stopped halfway.
Stephanie looked slightly confused about the sudden decision to place her down before something started happening when Stephanie gripped her hook again.
Carly started moving her around carefully like a swing, almost like the ones at the playground.
She was using her body like a merry-go-round, gently spinning her around without accidentally going into other cranes or other crates.
Stephanie was scared at first as she was spun around while on Carly's hook but started to like it, and instead of panicking whimpers, it came out in laughter.
"Carly, careful!" Big Mickey exclaimed, watching with worry as Carly swung Stephanie around. "What are you trying to do? Toss her in the ocean?!"
Carly did not respond to Big Mickey's questions as she continued spinning around, hearing Stephanie cheering and laughing.
She was having fun on Carly's hook, feeling like she was on an amusement ride.
Cranky slightly groaned again as he rolled his eyes but had a hidden worried expression on his face as he watched what Carly was doing.
The workers finally stopped their work when they heard laughter, glancing over at Carly and noticing the little girl on her hook, beginning to panic.
The two dockyard engines were not there because they were going off to help someone else struggling with a heavy load.
Carly stopped after becoming dizzy from spinning around for a few minutes, laughing too.
But after she had stopped, she already got too dizzy while moving towards Cranky.
Then there was trouble!
"Watch out, Carly!" Cranky warned as her hook with Stephanie moved around, bumping into a few things as Stephanie was now panicking slightly.
Carly's hook missed some machines coming over to see what was going on, bumping into a few crates without hurting Stephanie, until her line wrapped around Cranky and Carly herself.
Stephanie got dizzier as she went on a wild ride, holding on for dear life while panicking slightly.
She did not seem like this was fun anymore as she was getting dizzier.
Then, to make matters worse, Stephanie was suddenly launched from Carly's hook with a big jolt as the hook slipped from her sweaty and semi-bloody grip.
Carly and Cranky did not see what had happened, except for Big Mickey, who watched with worry.
Instead of landing in the ocean, she landed on something wooden with her back but did not notice it was moving.
Big Mickey slightly winced after she landed on something wooden before sighing in relief but still had a nervous expression on his face.
"What happened, Big Mickey?" Carly asked as her hook landed next to her, without the little girl on it.
"And where's the girl?!" exclaimed Cranky, trying to turn his body but was stuck from Carly's line.
Luckily, the load he lifted out of the previous cargo ship was on his hook but was entangled with Carly.
"Uh, she's fine. She didn't land in the ocean." Big Mickey responded.
Both Carly and Cranky sighed in relief.
"But, she landed on Ten Cents." Big Mickey added after they had sighed.
Immediately, their relieved faces turned into surprised and worried expressions.
"Where is Ten Cents headin' to?" Carly asked, trying to turn her body to see what was happening next.
"He's heading for the Mainland docks to drop off some supplies there." one of the workers answered, holding a clipboard in his hand.
"Oh," all cranes spoke simultaneously. "Dowager Hatt and Sir Topham Hatt are not going to like this…"
Meanwhile, with Stephanie, she was dizzy as she blinked a few times, watching as the world around her spun around like a top.
She was lying back-first on the wooden ground, her backbone hurting a little from the impact after being flung off of Carly's hook.
A few hours passed as she lay there on the wooden floor, staring up at the sky like an owl that had collided with a window.
After the world around her had finally stopped spinning around, she gingerly sat up from the wooden ground, looking at her new surroundings at where she is now.
But she only noticed the new scenery around her looked almost different from the Sodor docks she was familiar with.
Glancing down at what she was on top of, she realized she was on top of a ship.
That was heading somewhere other than the docks, and there was no one else on the ship with her.
She was alone again and heading for somewhere that she does not know of!
Soon, she started crying again for the second time, crying in fear of being alone.
Suddenly, the ship she was on stopped at a sudden stop, causing her to be flung to the side, landing with a thud!
She yelped out in pain after she had landed on her side, sniffing a little.
"Hello?" a voice spoke, startling her as she flinched. "Who's there?"
The voice's accent sounds different from the crane that picked her up from the ground.
But the voice is also a male's instead of a female's.
Stephanie stayed put where she was in fear, worried that she might make the person who was calling for someone angry.
But her soft crying was giving her away.
"I don't want to be mean, but show yourself now!" the voice snapped, causing her to flinch, reminding her of who she escaped from.
In a panic, she crawled away from the spot she was hiding behind on her hands and knees.
She wanted to get off the ship before being caught by the cranky person.
But she tripped over her knees and collapsed on the floor of the ship again.
Instead of yelling, she heard nothing but the sounds of a machine running gently.
Slowly, Stephanie glanced around for the figure who angrily called out to her but found no one.
"Uh," the voice spoke again, sounding a bit confused and worried at the same time. "Look to the right."
To the voice's command, she turned to the right before glancing up, noticing the ship she landed on had a face too, like the cranes and the locomotives!
The ship she landed on has a black hull, a yellow superstructure, a white mast, and an American flag-styled red, white, and blue smokestack.
The number one was painted on his smokestack, just like Thomas.
On top of his head, he wears a blue cap, seeming a little strange to Stephanie.
There was a light on it with a small statue of a bird behind it.
Immediately, she froze in fear, unable to move at all or think of any way to tell him she was accidentally launched on him by a crane who was trying to cheer her up.
Instead, the ship spoke to her without yelling at her to make her feel overwhelmed.
He said, "Hello, who are you and how didja get onto my deck?"
"I, uh, I," Stephanie stammered, shaking like a leaf in front of him, before starting to cry. "I…"
"Ah, d-don't cry!" exclaimed the ship when he noticed she was about to. "I'm not mad at you. I was just a bit startled. Sometimes the kids would toss some things onto my deck for fun whenever I pass underneath the bridge."
Stephanie sighed slightly in relief after he had assured her, using her long sleeves to wipe her tears away from her cheeks as she sniffed.
"But, I didn't expect them to toss a little girl onto my deck," he murmured to himself as he frowned slightly. "Were they bullies?"
Stephanie was still silent as he softly mumbled to himself, still shaking like a leaf and crying silently.
"Maybe the others might know where ya came from!" he smiled as he continued on his adventure. "I'm Ten Cents, by the way."
"S-Stephanie," Stephanie stammered, finally speaking to him. "Stephanie Nova Rose Allen is my name, Mr. Ten Cents."
He gently chuckled as he turned around a corner down the canal.
"Please, don't call me 'Mr. Ten Cents,'" he chuckled. "Just call me Ten Cents, okay?"
Stephanie giggled slightly and pushed back a strand of wild brown hair from her face.
"Alright, Ten Cents." she smiled before using her sleeves to wipe her tears away as she sniffed.
As he continued down the way, he asked, "By the way, what were ya doin' down at the docks? Didn't ya board Gordon's coaches?"
Stephanie sadly glanced away from him and shook her head.
"No, I couldn't board the coaches." Stephanie softly answered.
"Why not?" Ten Cents asked, sounding slightly confused.
"Because a passenger pushed me away from the coaches before I could step inside," Stephanie answered, explaining what happened. "Mrs. Dowager Hatt and Sir Topham Hatt did not notice I did not board the coaches, and Gordon had already left."
"That was rude of him!" exclaimed Ten Cents angrily. "When I see that guy, I'm goin' to report him to Captain Star!"
At first, Stephanie was surprised at the irritated tone in his voice about that man who rudely pushed her away from the coaches, absent-mindedly noticing the slight puffs of angry steam clouds of his smokestack.
She smiled softly at the determination Ten Cents showed.
"Thank you, Ten Cents." Stephanie thanked him.
"What else, though?" Ten Cents asked. "Did the workmen, Salty, or Porter see ya get pushed or that guy?"
"No," Stephanie sighed. "They were too busy with work, but the cranes did hear me crying."
Ten Cents reached a large village as he turned the corner, glancing up for a moment to watch where he was going, so he would not bump into someone.
After looking up before bumping into someone, he glanced back down at Stephanie to listen to her story.
"The yellow crane picked me up from the ground and spun me around to cheer me up a little." Stephanie continued to finish up her story of what had happened.
She smiled slightly at the memory of being swung around like a merry-go-round.
"She got a little dizzy from spinning around and accidentally got entangled with the other crane who painted in a… olive green color?" She paused slightly to think of the crane's name.
"You mean Cranky?" Ten Cents asked.
"Yeah," Stephanie nodded before looking confused about the name. "That's his name?"
"Sure is, that's his name!" chuckled Ten Cents. "He's just named like that because he is not only cranky, but he is a crane!"
Stephanie chuckled softly along with him from the name of the crane she had met at the docks.
"What a wonderful name for a crane!" Stephanie smiled softly.
Ten Cents smiled gently and glanced forward again before glancing back over to her.
"And I'm guessin' that Carly tossed you from behind on accident, and Big Mickey saw you land on my deck?" Ten Cents asked.
Stephanie nodded her head before glancing over to the left, seeing another crane who turned around to see Ten Cents.
The crane is painted sky blue with magenta, yellow lining, and white hazard stripes.
His back was facing them as he was moving items around, mostly putting them onto another locomotive.
"Whoa," Stephanie smiled, feeling slightly braver to see more anthropomorphic machines. "Who's this crane?"
Ten Cents glances up at the crane before responding, answering Stephanie's question, "That's Beresford. He's a crane too."
Beresford, the dark blue crane, heard Ten Cents say his name and glanced down at him after turning around towards him.
"Something about me?" he asked before noticing Stephanie on his deck staring up at him with curiosity. "Who's she?"
"Her name is Stephanie," Ten Cents said as she stood on her tippy-toes to get a better look at him. "She was accidentally tossed onto me when she was stuck on the docks after some jerk pushed her away before boardin' Gordon's passenger coaches."
Beresford grunted slightly in irritation about the rude passenger before curiously asking, "May I have a close look at her?"
Ten Cents had a slightly glaring look at Beresford, as Stephanie, on the other hand, looked somewhat doubtful of herself.
"Are you sure 'bout that?" Ten Cents asked.
"I'm sure!" Beresford sighed. "You have known me for two years!"
"I have known Big Mickey for thirty-one years, Beresford!" Ten Cents called out to him. "So, you're only twenty years younger than him!"
Beresford opened his mouth to counter Ten Cents' objective before closing it when he realized he had a point.
"Touché," Beresford nodded. "I have only been here for two years since I was removed from the Mainland, and you came here just in 2000."
Stephanie softly giggled at the slight rivalry between a crane and a boat before speaking to Ten Cents, "It's okay, Ten Cents. I have been picked up by a crane before!"
Ten Cents first had the same unsure look on his face about Stephanie's naïve trust towards Beresford before sighing.
"Oh, alright," sighed Ten Cents before warning Beresford before he placed his hook down on his deck. "Just don't drop her into the ocean, okay?"
Beresford nodded and placed his hook down for Stephanie to climb on, as she hesitated for a moment before climbing on excitedly.
After she climbed onto his hook excitedly while holding onto it with both of her hands, she patiently waited for him to crank her up into the sky.
Once she was seated on his hook, Beresford carefully lifted her into the sky from Ten Cent's deck.
She had a hold on the side of his hook after sitting down as she went up to his face.
Ten Cents watched from below as Stephanie went up to Beresford's face as he inspected Stephanie.
Instead of being scared or shy in front of him, Stephanie relaxed as Beresford inspected her.
From the back of her mind, Stephanie felt terrible about her reaction towards Carly at Brandom Docks.
So, Stephanie made a sticky note to remind herself to apologize to Carly for her reaction.
"You look like you were someone's daughter." Beresford softly spoke after inspecting her for a while.
"Uh, actually," Stephanie spoke, sounding slightly ashamed and sheepish. "I'm not anyone's daughter. I am Mrs.-"
Before she could finish her sentence, she heard a loud bump noise coming from her belongings before glancing down at what could have bumped into Ten Cents.
Beresford did the same thing when he heard the noise, too.
To her surprise, it was another tugboat, except in a black color than the colors like Ten Cents.
The tugboat wears a flat black hat with a white stripe around it and has a mustache.
"Oi!" exclaimed Ten Cents as the other tugboat behind him giggled. "What where yer're goin', Zorran!"
"How about you since you were in the way!" snapped Zorran, the name of the black tugboat behind him.
Beresford sighed as they both got into an argument, snapping at each other a few times.
Stephanie shuddered softly to herself about the argument, wanting to cover her ears from hearing it, but her arms were wrapped around Beresford's hook.
He turned his body around and accidentally set Stephanie down in another tugboat, assuming the boat was asleep.
He turned back around to the two arguing tugboats before snapping louder than them, "That's enough, you two!"
Stephanie flinched in startlement after Beresford snapped at them before pointing his hook over at Zorran.
"You need to stop bumping into things!" he snapped at him. "That includes bumping into the Star Tugs like Ten Cents here!"
While the three were snapping at each other about Zorran's rudeness of purposely bumping into Ten Cents, the tugboat that Beresford assumed to be asleep started moving again, causing Stephanie to look slightly confused about the sudden movements.
Stephanie did not call out to Beresford because she was too scared to be snapped at, remembering a memory that haunted her.
After Beresford snapped at Zorran, Zorran grumbled and went off as Ten Cents blew a raspberry at him behind his back.
"Now," Beresford spoke, turning around to see where Stephanie was. "Where were we talking ab-"
He was cut off when he noticed that the 'sleeping' tugboat was not there, along with Stephanie.
Ten Cents noticed the pause in Beresford's voice, looking suspicious and worried.
"What happened?" Ten Cents asked.
Beresford did not answer Ten Cents' question at first, wincing slightly before turning towards him, "Uh, ahem, she's… I lost her, Ten Cents."
Ten Cents' face changed from confused and slightly worried to a complete and utter shocked expression.
"YOU DID WHAT?!" exclaimed Ten Cents, as a puff of steam burst out of his smokestack.
"I didn't mean to lose her!" panicked Beresford. "I just placed her down on a tugboat next to the docks and went back over to snap at you and Zorran that you were arguing with, and the next thing I knew, when I turned back around, she and the tugboat were gone!"
Ten Cents groaned as he glanced around for the tugboat that Beresford had accidentally placed her on.
But he could not see where the tugboat was!
"Who was the tugboat you placed her on, and what does this tugboat look like?" Ten Cents quickly asked.
Beresford blinked for a moment before trying to remember what that tugboat looked like before noticing the design on Ten Cents' smokestack.
"I remember the tugboat had that same design on your smokestack!" he mentioned.
"But, which one?!" Ten Cents panicked, snapping slightly at Beresford. "There's only seven of us!"
Beresford continued trying to remember which one was near him when he placed Stephanie down but groaned after getting only blanks.
"I don't know," Beresford groaned. "The tugboat wasn't facing the other way when I placed her down on them."
Ten Cents moaned with slight worry and irritation before moving away, on the move to search for Stephanie.
"Hey!" Beresford called out to him. "What about the crates you left behind?"
"Don't worry 'bout it, Beresford!" Ten Cents called him. "I'll come back to help you with 'em after findin' Stephanie!"
Beresford groaned slightly and mumbled to himself about accidentally losing Stephanie on a tugboat after splitting the two of them apart that were arguing.
He went to work to unload the barge as Ten Cents went to find Stephanie as fast as he could.
"Stephanie?" Ten Cents called out. "Stephanie! Where are ya?!"
Meanwhile, Stephanie was about to talk to 'Ten Cents,' thinking Beresford put her back on his deck when she noticed she instead boarded the wrong boat.
The tugboat is painted in the same corporate livery as Ten Cents, whom she met earlier.
It consists of a black hull, a yellow superstructure, a white mast, and an American flag-styled red, white, and blue smokestack.
He has the number four on his smokestack and wears a black vintage top hat along with a monocle.
Stephanie bit the bottom of her lip when she noticed she was on top of the wrong boat, feeling worried about saying anything to him, but gathered courage and said, "Excuse me?"
He was slightly startled when she pardoned herself, stopping for a moment before looking down and noticing Stephanie on his deck, looking confused and scared.
"How on earth did you get on my deck?" he asked, looking slightly confused. "I thought Beresford placed my crate on the barge behind me."
"N-No," Stephanie stammered before explaining what happened. "Not really. I was on top of Ten Cents' deck when Beresford picked me up from him to get a closer look at me. At that same moment, another tugboat rudely bumped into Ten Cents from behind."
"And who is this other tug?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I can't remember the name," Stephanie sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "But I remember the tugboat wore a black, flat hat with a white band around it."
"Then that must've been one of the Z-Stacks tugboats that had pushed him." the tugboat sighed. "Please continue with your story."
Stephanie nodded her head and continued with her story to the tugboat, "Well, after that tugboat bumped into Ten Cents from behind, they both started arguing, and Beresford got annoyed about it. He placed me on the back of your deck, thinking you were asleep."
"Which I was not," the tugboat scoffed. "I was merely waiting for my shipping to come, so I could take it to Captain Star."
Stephanie nodded her head and awkwardly rubbed her left arm as she had a nervous expression on her face.
"Are you angry about having an unexpected guest on you?" she asked, sounding a little worried as she rubbed her left arm.
"A little," sighed the tugboat. "But, since you were only placed onto me by accident, I'm only crossed at Beresford."
Stephanie sighed in relief slightly before asking, "What is your name?"
"My name is Top Hat." answered the tugboat. "What about you?"
"Stephanie," answered Stephanie. "Stephanie Nova Rose Allen."
A slightly surprised look appeared on Top Hat's face before he asked, "Do you know someone by the name of Mrs. Dowager Hatt?"
Stephanie nodded her head before looking worried about Dowager Hatt's reaction to finally finding Stephanie and will be angry at her for 'not entering inside the coaches.'
"Do not worry, Stephanie," Top Hat spoke before continuing on his way. "I'll just go to Captain Star to let him know you accidentally came here and needed to be taken back to…?"
He paused as he drifted away, thinking of where she came from.
"I came from the docks where Cranky is, if you are wondering," Stephanie spoke, helping him remember.
"Ah, yes! Brendam Docks!" he nodded. "Thank you, Stephanie. You are such a nice and cooperative little girl."
A light blush appeared on Stephanie's cheeks from the compliment Top Hat said to her as he turned around the corner.
"Don't mind me asking," he spoke, as Stephanie glanced up at him with slight curiosity. "Why did you not board Gordon's coaches?"
"Well," Stephanie responded, rubbing the back of her neck. "A rude passenger pushed me away from the coaches before I could come aboard, and Gordon had already left."
An irritated expression came to Top Hat's face as he growled, "That was rude of him."
"Are you going to report him to Captain Star with Ten Cents?" Stephanie curiously asked.
He nodded his head in response after Stephanie asked before entering the dock where Ten Cents was, as he looked slightly worried and panicked.
To Stephanie's surprise, there were more tugboats in the docks too.
The first tugboat has the same corporate livery, a black hull, a yellow superstructure, a white mast, and an American flag-styled red, white and blue smokestack.
His name 'Big Mac' is painted on the sides of his bow in white, and he has the number two on his smokestack.
He wears a navy blue cap on top of his head.
The third was not a tugboat but also had the same livery, a black hull, and a yellow superstructure.
Instead, he has a brown mast and white paddle-wheel housings, including an American flag-styled red, white, and blue smokestack.
He has the name 'O.J.' is painted on the sides of his bow in white and the number three on his smokestack.
He wore a light brown boater hat with a red band on it, along with a pair of glasses.
The fourth tugboat is painted in the same livery, a black hull, a yellow superstructure, a white mast, and an American flag-styled red, white, and blue smokestack.
He has the name 'Warrior' is painted on the sides of his bow in white and the number five on his smokestack.
He wears a blue cap on top of his head, with some bits of hair from underneath.
The fifth was the hugest tugboat that Stephanie had ever seen before and is painted in the same livery as the rest.
Which is a black hull, a yellow superstructure, a white mast, and an American flag-styled red, white, and blue smokestack.
He has the name 'Hercules' is painted on the sides of his bow in white and the number six on his smokestack.
He wears round yellow-tinted glasses and a blue and white sailor's cap.
There were sideburns on the sides of his face and some jet-black hair underneath his cap.
The last tugboat was smaller than Ten Cents and painted in the same livery as the rest.
Which is a black hull with a yellow superstructure, a white mast, and an American flag-styled red, white, and blue smokestack.
He has the name 'Sunshine' is painted on the sides of his bow in white, and on the sides of his smokestack, he has the number seven painted.
He wears a red cap on top of his head and has a single tooth from his lower jaw when he talks.
They were listening to Ten Cents, who looked worried.
"Are you all sure that neither of you didn't see her?" Ten Cents asked.
"We are sure, Ten Cents!" the number three boat nodded. "We did not see this, 'Stephanie Allen,' you speak of."
"Well, about her," Top Hat spoke, as his head rose a little, which made Stephanie look slightly impressed and startled.
Before he could continue, though, Ten Cents interrupted him with many questions about Stephanie.
"What about her?!" he exclaimed, panicking slightly. "Did you see her, Top Hat?! Did one of the Z-Stacks kidnap her?! Did-"
"Calm down first, for goodness' sake!" he lightly snapped, interrupting Ten Cents. "Stephanie is with me. I came here to see what all the commotion was in the first place."
Stephanie stepped off Top Hat's deck after he had stopped by the docks, showing nothing had happened to her.
Ten Cents sighed in relief after she stepped off of Top Hat's deck with the help of one of the workmen.
"Thank you, Top Hat." he thanked before glancing back over at Stephanie. "Are you alright?"
"Besides having a lovely conversation with Top Hat," Stephanie smiled. "I'm fine."
She lied a little to them, not showing her palms to them to make them worry that Top Hat, Ten Cents, or Beresford hurt her because of how scratched they were from the pavement.
In the background, Top Hat blushed slightly from the compliment as some tugs noticed, giving some smiles at his reaction.
He cleared his throat a little with bashfulness, blushing a little more when noticing the smiles.
A white and blue megaphone popped out from the window of the building in front of the tugs.
"Thank you, Top Hat." a man's voice spoke through it. "I'm glad you kept Mrs. Dowager Hatt's visitor safe from any harm."
Stephanie blushed slightly as the tugboats looked surprised as they glanced over at her.
"So, you are Dowager Hatt's visitor?" the number five tugboat asked.
Stephanie nodded her head before nervously rubbing her left arm and turning towards the megaphone.
"Sorry for causing any problems." she apologized. "It seems like I am a walking troublemaker to anyone."
"It is fine, Stephanie." the man behind the megaphone called. "You're not as much of a troublemaker as anyone else except for the Z-Stacks who are troublemakers."
Stephanie nodded her head gently, remembering the encounter with one of them who rudely bumped into Ten Cents.
"Now," the man behind the megaphone spoke. "Why don't we properly introduce ourselves to you, Stephanie? My name is Captain Star, the leader of the Star Tugs."
Stephanie nodded her head, smiling softly.
Since he had already heard about her, Stephanie does not have to introduce herself to him again.
Captain Star cleared his throat, "The number one boat is Ten Cents, who you have met before."
Stephanie waved to Ten Cents in response as he whistled his whistle.
"The number two tugboat is Big Mac," Captain Star continued, introducing the others.
Stephanie waved to Big Mac as he whistled his whistle.
"The number three tugboat is Old Jones, but we call him O.J.," Captain Star introduced, as Stephanie glanced over at him.
He whistled his whistle at Stephanie after she had waved to him.
"The number four tugboat is Top Hat, whom you have met before too," Captain Star introduced, as Stephanie turned towards him.
Stephanie waved her hand towards him as he whistled his whistle at her.
It was loud and caused Stephanie to flinch a little, but not too much to make him feel bad about it.
"The number five tugboat is Warrior," Captain Star continued.
Stephanie waved her hand towards him as he whistled his whistle at her in response.
"The number six tugboat is Hercules," Captain Star introduced the next boat.
Hercules whistled his whistle in response to Stephanie after she waved her hand at him.
"And the number seven tugboat is Sunshine." Captain Star finished.
Sunshine whistled his whistle in response to Stephanie waving her hand towards him.
"Don't forget about me!" exclaimed a voice, causing Stephanie to glance down at the water to see a gray submarine wearing goggles surface from underwater.
"Oh, sorry about that, Grampus." Captain Star apologized.
"It is alright," Grampus, the name of the gray submarine, nodded before noticing Stephanie. "Who's this?"
"Grampus," Ten Cents spoke. "This is Stephanie," he glanced over at Stephanie. "Stephanie, this is the Star Fleet."
"Pleased to meet you all," Stephanie spoke, bowing slightly to them.
"Pleased to meet you too, Stephanie," nodded Sunshine.
"Yes, pleased to meet you, too." nodded O.J.
Stephanie beamed a little as she blushed until Captain Star said through the megaphone, "Alright, one of you tugboats need to take Stephanie back to the docks where Gordon's branch line goes, so Mrs. Dowager Hatt can see her again."
"Ooh, ooh!" Sunshine spoke, moving forward a little. "Could I take her back?"
"I think the first tugboat who found her would take her back," O.J. suggested.
"I think that's a good idea, O.J!" agreed Captain Star, as Sunshine moved back slightly with a bit of a pouting face. "But, if she accidentally gets lost again, Sunshine, you'll get to take her back next time."
Sunshine smiled slightly as Ten Cents moved forward, allowing Stephanie to carefully climb onto his deck.
One of the workers picked Stephanie up from underneath her armpits and handed her over to one of Ten Cents' crew members.
Once she was placed back onto the solid wooden ground, Stephanie moved over to where his face was and sat beside him on a crate.
"Alright, off you go, Ten Cents!" Captain Star nodded as Ten Cents whistled his whistle and moved out of the docks backwards as Stephanie waved her hand at him.
Somehow, Stephanie could see a hand waving back to her from behind the window, but Ten Cents did not notice it.
"Hey, Ten Cents?" Stephanie curiously asked after a minute of silence.
"Yeah?" answered Ten Cents.
"Have you seen Captain Star in person?" she asked.
"No, not really." Ten Cents answered, sighing slightly. "He's usually behind that window all the time, and me or the others barely see him."
Stephanie thought to herself as she glanced away, thinking to herself more.
"Who else?" Stephanie asked, glancing up at him.
Ten Cents thought to himself for a moment as he glanced away, thinking of who else he had never seen before.
"Well," he began before stopping as a Z-Stack boat passed by him. "There are many people who I have never seen before in person, but you and the others back at the Sodor docks are about the people I usually see."
Stephanie glanced away again to think to herself before noticing Beresford as Ten Cents passed by him.
He was acting like a wife who broke a bowl around Ten Cents while blushing slightly.
"Don't worry!" Stephanie called up to him. "It was an accident! I didn't get hurt either, which was lucky!"
Beresford paused for a moment as he glanced away before glancing over at Stephanie, nodding in response to her assuring.
Ten Cents had a slight grudge expression on his face as he exited, entering the spacious ocean, and headed back to Sodor's docks.
Meanwhile, Cranky, Carly, and Big Mickey were unloading the cargo ships that appeared by the docks.
They still had a worried expression on their faces as they turned back and forth, unloading and loading the ships with crates onto two engines that were on the docks.
Carly and Cranky's entangled mess from earlier in the day was already fixed, and they were back at work.
"Oh, if only I slowed down," Carly softly complained as she lifted a flatbed from inside the ship.
"Don't worry," Cranky assured her, confusing her a little. "It was an accident! Besides, I think Ten Cents will bring her back!"
"If Captain Bluenose doesn't get to her first," Big Mickey spoke worriedly.
The two engines, who were listening to the conversation, glanced at each other with slight confusion.
They did not know who they were talking about.
Then, a tugboat's whistle whistled in the distance, causing them to stop slightly.
"Hey, is that?" Carly spoke before Big Mickey finished for her, "Ten Cents!"
Ten Cents appeared beside the docks, with a slight cocky smile on his face as he called them after the ship left, "Did you forgot somethin' while goofin' off?"
"Hey!" exclaimed Cranky as he blushed slightly, along with Carly, who was not looking at Ten Cents eye-to-eye. "We weren't goofing around! It's just there is a little girl named Stephanie who-"
"Accidentally boarded on me by Carly, am I right?" Ten Cents interrupted.
All three cranes looked confused as they glanced at each other.
"How did you know, Ten Cents?" asked Big Mickey.
"'n who be this 'Stephanie' they be natterin' about?" the dockyard diesel asked with confusion.
"Well," Ten Cents spoke, glancing down for a moment, before back up at them. "Watch."
Slowly, Stephanie stood up from Ten Cents' deck, and with the help of the workmen, she was back on the docks with no scratches or bruises all over her body.
All three cranes sighed in relief as the two engines were surprised to see her.
"Thank you, Ten Cents!" Carly sighed. "We were worried you might take her somewhere else!"
"Why should I?" Ten Cents asked as he moved forward before turning around and heading back to the Mainland. "She's only eleven years old! Besides, it was her crying that got my attention."
A slight blush appeared on Stephanie's cheeks after Ten Cents mentioned her crying, looking sheepish.
He whistled his whistle and disappeared in the distance as Stephanie waved her hand to him happily, her blush fading away.
"Thank you!" She called him as he whistled his whistle again.
After Ten Cents disappeared, she glanced over at the workers who helped her off him.
"Wait here, okay?" the worker asked as Stephanie nodded her head. "I'll call Sir Topham Hatt to let him know you are brought back here."
Stephanie nodded her head and stood where she was as the worker walked off, heading over to the telephone in the distance.
While he was busy flicking the dial to the numbers, Stephanie was worried about the angry scolding she would receive if Sir Topham Hatt and Dowager Hatt came to the docks to see her, as her hands clenched her oversized sweater.
A horn startled her as she jolted before landing on her bottom after tripping over her own feet.
"Oops, sorry about that!" the dockyard diesel blushed, coming over to her. "I guess ye don't like that much noise, hmm?"
Stephanie nodded her head shyly and stood back up to her feet, stammering, "S-Sorry for being scared about your horn. I was a little startled."
He chuckled and honked his horn, startling a few seagulls as they flew away, except one.
"Aye, 'tis true that me horn be loud, but it can warn others or let them know that I be comin'." He softly smiled. "But every engine ain't complete without a horn."
"Or a whistle," added the steam engine after pushing a flatbed and whistling his whistle.
Stephanie smiled softly about their kindness and said, "Well, I like your whistle and horn. They sound perfect for you two!"
Both engines blushed after Stephanie remarked as she smiled softly.
They moved out of the way when a crate almost went past their fronts.
"Hey!" the dockside steam engine exclaimed, glancing up at Cranky.
"Watch where ye're goin', Cranky!" the dockyard diesel glared slightly.
"I don't mean to be rude," Cranky sighed. "But we have work to do!"
"Aye, I know!" the dockyard diesel scowled as he went off, along with the steam engine, who looked slightly irritated. "Don't get yer wrenches in a knot!"
Cranky huffed and went back to work as Carly rolled her eyes slightly.
Stephanie mumbled something to herself in quiet German, pushing back a strand of brown hair.
The dockyard diesel came back again after Cranky was a little focused on picking the crates up, as he whispered to Stephanie, "Me name be Salty."
Stephanie smiled softly and said, whispering back, "My name is Stephanie, Stephanie Nova Rose Allen."
Salty softly smiled as he moved back, allowing the dockyard steam engine to come over with a flatbed.
"And I'm Porter," Porter smiled.
"Pleased to meet you," Stephanie smiled back as she patiently continued waiting at the spot where she was.
She continued to wait at the spot where the worker told her to stay as she watched both Salty and Porter working on the docks, pushing flatbeds around and sorting crates here and there.
Suddenly, she heard something puffed in front of her, which caused her to look up, amazed to see another big steam engine, except painted apple-green instead of blue.
The steam locomotive is painted apple-green with a red and yellow lining.
The number three is painted on the sides of his tender in yellow with a red-lining.
The lining around his cab windows is yellow.
At first, Stephanie was startled to see the green steam locomotive, but then the locomotive softly spoke, "Ah, don't be afraid of me. I'm not that dangerous."
Stephanie stopped for a moment before sighing, saying, "Forgive me, I was just a little startled to see a big and grand steam locomotive."
The number three steam locomotive blushed from the compliment Stephanie gave, stuttering a little as he glanced around.
Stephanie smiled softly and said, "Well, you can't be afraid of me either because I'm not like the other kids who liked to climb on engines."
He stopped stuttering and smiled softly towards her before noticing something.
"Are you a passenger?" he softly asked.
Stephanie nodded her head in response to his question.
"Why didn't you get into Gordon's coaches?" he asked again.
"Well," Stephanie spoke before explaining the story again to him.
She began at how she was pushed by a rude passenger, missed the locomotive because of him, and was cheered up by Carly, who accidentally tossed her onto Ten Cents' dock.
Carly slightly blushed as she listened to the story Stephanie repeating to the big green steam locomotive as Cranky rolled his eyes.
He felt sorry for the little girl, so he thought to himself for a moment before getting an idea.
"Why don't I get a friend of mine to get you?" he asked.
"Who?" Stephanie asked, glancing up as Carly placed the last crate down onto his flatbed.
"You'll see," he answered before whistling his whistle and puffed off, leaving Stephanie in slight confusion.
So, she waited to see what the apple-green locomotive said.
During the wait, Stephanie wonders to herself about who is his 'friend' that he is bringing with him?
Then, she heard two steam locomotive whistles blow into the air after an hour or two passed, causing her to perk up a little out of curiosity.
To her surprise, two black steam locomotives appeared in front of Stephanie, with red-and-white lining on their tenders, as the first one that is close to her had the number nine, and the second one had the number ten.
"A heard thon we are supposit tae pick up a wee bairn wi' long brown hair?" the number nine steam locomotive spoke, his accent thick with Scottish slang.
Stephanie hesitated for a moment, feeling unsure if she said she was the one the apple-green locomotive said until she gathered courage and said, "That would be me."
They glanced around to see who said that until they made eye-contact with Stephanie, who looked a little shy in front of him.
"Are ye the wee bairn we are supposit tae pick up?" the number ten steam locomotive asked, who also has the same accent as the twin.
Stephanie nodded her head and said, "Stephanie, Stephanie Nova Rose Allen, is my name."
"Pleasit tae meet ye, Stephanie." the number nine steam locomotive spoke. "I'm Donald."
He whistled his whistle after he had introduced himself.
"An' A'm Douglas." smiled at the number ten steam locomotive before whistling his whistle in return.
They both sounded the same at first, but one of them seemed to be a little higher than the other.
Stephanie nodded her head slightly as Donald's cab door opened, as his driver gently beckoned her to come inside.
Accepting the invitation, Stephanie climbed into his cab as his driver closed the door behind her back.
"Alricht," Donald spoke before whistling his whistle again after she boarded inside his cab. "Hold on as we tak ye tae the station."
Stephanie nodded her head gently and waited in the back, feeling ashamed of herself for being on an adventure without Dowager Hatt and feeling like she was in big trouble with her.
She was also a little nervous about being inside a steam engine since she knows how fast they could be in races.
She wrapped her arms around the driver's legs to keep herself safe as he glanced down at her once before back up at what he was doing.
Donald and Douglas noticed the silence from Stephanie as they puffed towards the station, as Douglas asked, "Oi, whit's wrong?"
Stephanie glanced up slightly and tried to peek out the window, but she was short and could not reach it, even if she used her tippy-toes.
Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands gently grab her from underneath her armpits and lift her from the floor.
Confused, she glanced over her shoulder to see who had picked her up.
It was from Donald's fireman, as he paused a little after shoveling many shovelfuls of coal into Donald's firebox before helping her.
Outside of Donald's cabin's window revealed Douglas near Donald's cab, looking slightly confused and concerned for her.
"I'm a little worried about Mrs. Dowager Hatt," Stephanie answered. "Am I going to be in trouble with her since I had been on an adventure without her?"
"Ach, na, ye're no' i' trouble wi' her," Donald spoke, assuring her along with his twin brother.
"We'll juist explain tae her whit happenit, an' she will understand." Douglas nodded, smiling softly towards Stephanie.
Stephanie paused for a moment about his assuring before nodding her head.
Donald's fireman placed Stephanie back down on the ground after Stephanie finished talking to Douglas, as she thought to herself about their assuring as she wrapped her arms around the driver's legs.
She trusted them with their assuring, as she sighed, but did not use too much of her strength around his driver's legs.
Once they had both reached Knapford station, they could both see a worried Dowager Hatt and Sir Topham Hatt, as they were both glancing around.
"Excuse us!" called Donald. "Is thare a problem?"
Dowager Hatt nodded her head as Sir Topham Hatt answered, "Yes, we are missing a little girl with long brown hair and steel-blue eyes. Have you seen her?"
Donald and Douglas grinned as Donald's cab door opened, revealing the little girl, looking worried and anxious, rubbing her left arm.
"Ta-da?" Stephanie nervously spoke as she stepped onto the platform.
Instead of yelling, the two hugged her unexpectedly as she looked slightly confused.
"Oh, thank goodness you're safe!" Sir Topham Hatt sighed before glancing up at Donald and Douglas. "Thank you for bringing her back!"
"Aw, it wis na problem!" smiled Donald as they both blushed at the same time.
"It wis Henry, hou found her first!" Douglas exclaimed.
'Who's 'Henry?'' Stephanie thought to herself in confusion after Sir Topham Hatt and Dowager Hatt released their hug around her.
Suddenly, a steam locomotive's whistle whistled that caused Stephanie to perk from the sudden noise as a long apple-green with red stripes steam locomotive appeared in the station.
It was the same steam locomotive that found her in the first place!
"Did someone say my name?" he asked curiously after hearing someone say his name.
"Yes, we did, Henry." nodded Sir Topham Hatt. "For your gratitude for finding Stephanie, you get to have the rest of the day off for now."
"But, but," stammered Gordon, who pulled up beside Donald and Douglas. "Who's going to pull the Flying Kipper at night?"
"A dinnae know," chuckled Donald, as he was giving a sly smirk on his face to Gordon. "Maybe Sir Topham Hatt wad give ye the job tae pull the Flyin' Kipper."
Gordon's expression on his face was shocked as Donald, Douglas, and Henry giggled slightly.
"Well," Dowager Hatt spoke, sounding thoughtful. "Since Henry has pulled the Flying Kipper for a long time, I think a little change would do!"
"Oh, the indignity…" Gordon grumbled as he puffed away after the sound of the conductor's whistle blew.
Donald, Douglas, and Henry, the big apple-green locomotive, laughed as Gordon puffed away, as Stephanie still looked ashamed.
"A-Are you both angry at me for having an adventure without you two?" she asked worriedly as her right hand gripped her sweater nervously.
They both glanced over at her and gently shook their heads no, placing each hand on her shoulders.
"No, Stephanie," Sir Topham Hatt softly spoke. "We are not cross. We went to the docks after you were on Ten Cents. Big Mickey filled us in with what had happened to you. But, if you do it on purpose, we will be a little cross at you."
Stephanie smiled a little as she stopped gripping her sweater in her hand, feeling relieved they were not angry at her for her mistake.
"But," she spoke, rubbing the back of her neck instead of her left arm. "What about that rude passenger?"
Sir Topham Hatt and Dowager Hatt glanced at each other for a moment before responding, "The rude passenger got away before the conductors found him, but we will make sure he will remember not to push people away."
Stephanie nodded her head in response as they gently took her from the station, deciding that her adventure around Sodor's docks was enough.
Once they entered Sir Topham Hatt's office, Sir Topham Hatt noticed something red was slightly stained on the fabric of the right-hand side of her hip on her sweater.
"What's that?" He asked, mentioning over to the stain.
Confused, Stephanie glanced over to it and noticed that it was faint blood.
Then, she glanced down at her hands and opened them, seeing that she was bleeding slightly from the scratches she had.
"Ah, I must've scratched my hands when I fell onto my bottom," Stephanie spoke, as one of the men by Sir Topham Hatt took out some bandages.
As the men were mending her hand, Dowager Hatt curiously asked, "But, shouldn't the scratches be hurting by now?"
Stephanie went silent after Dowager Hatt asked, mumbling, "I've dealt with this before…"
Immediately, the man who was mending her hand stopped after she had mumbled, looking slightly confused.
Recognizing she must have mumbled something, Stephanie explained, "I meant that since I was an adventurous child, I sometimes come home in mud or scratches."
They understood what she meant, and the man continued bandaging, but Dowager Hatt, on the other hand, seemed to be a bit confused.
Instead of asking, she kept the thought to herself instead.
But Stephanie mentally thought there might be more to the island, so she decided to look around more tomorrow.
