The next day, Stephanie felt bored staying inside Sir Topham Hatt's mansion doing nothing, despite having some crafts from Dowager Hatt to ease the boredom a little.

But after she finished the crafts, she went back to being bored out of her mind.

Sighing, Stephanie stood up from the chair she was sitting in, thinking of another way to get her mind off the boredom.

Stephanie felt like she wanted to tell Sir Topham Hatt that she was bored from staying inside her room for a while, but something inside her felt like she should not.

Soon, Alice entered her room with the laundry basket, noticing Stephanie thinking to herself.

"Is there something wrong?" Alice asked, noticing her expression.

Stephanie snapped out of her thoughts and glanced over at Alice, blushing slightly and stammered, "O-Oh, just thinking to myself, that's all."

Alice paused for a moment after Stephanie assured her, placing the basket down on her bed before asking, "Are you bored?"

A light blush appeared on Stephanie's cheeks after Alice asked, feeling sheepish about asking if she was bored.

"I… am." Stephanie slowly answered, her blush going another shade.

Alice paused after Stephanie answered her question, placing one hand on her shoulder as the other was still holding the laundry basket.

"It is okay if you are bored," Alice assured Stephanie, as Stephanie's blushing stopped. "Let me tell Reginald if someone or a locomotive will take you with them."

Stephanie smiled softly and nodded her head as Alice picked up the laundry basket she had in her hands and added the clothes before walking out of her room.

After Alice disappeared, Stephanie thinks about her idea of asking one of the engines if they are free to take her around to get her boredom out.

Stephanie felt like she was annoying towards everyone else she met and could cause a problem for someone.

So, being as cautious as she is, Stephanie brushed her long hair out before putting it up into a low ponytail.

Once Stephanie had her long brown hair up into a low ponytail, Reginald entered her room as Stephanie glanced over at him.

"Ms. Allen?" Reginald spoke as Stephanie stood up to her feet. "Charlie's driver wants to meet you."

''Charlie?'' Stephanie thought to herself with a slightly confused expression on her face but nodded her head and followed Reginald to the front door.

As soon as Stephanie and Reginald reached the front door, Reginald opened it and revealed it to be Charlie's driver, who has a dark green eye color.

"Ah, you must be Stephanie, right?" he asked, as Stephanie nodded her head. "Beautiful young girl."

A light blush appeared on Stephanie's cheeks when he mentioned her beauty, glancing down from his eyesight, feeling shy.

"I think you embarrassed her." Alice gently chuckled as Stephanie's blush deepened slightly.

Charlie's driver chuckled along with Alice for a moment before picking Stephanie up and holding her against his chest.

Out of all the times she kept being picked up by people, Stephanie did not mind being held, making her feel safe and sometimes loved.

"We'll be back at the time of lunch," Charlie's driver smiled, winking at Alice as she blushed. "Just let Sir Topham Hatt know."

Alice nodded her head, and Charlie's driver tipped his hat to her without dropping Stephanie and turned around, walking towards Charlie, who looked excited as there were small quick puffs of steam coming from his funnel.

"Calm down, Charlie!" his driver chuckled, noticing how excited he was as he came up to him. "You're going to bust your pistons!"

"I can't!" Charlie smirked. "I like Stephanie!"

A soft, surprised expression appeared on Stephanie's face as she was handed over to Charlie's fireman as Charlie's driver hopped inside his cab.

Once everyone was inside Charlie's cab, Stephanie was placed back down on the ground, and Charlie whistled his whistle, puffing off down the rails.

Stephanie was riding inside Charlie as he was heading to the docks, feeling bored as she leaned against the door of Charlie's cab, watching the fireman and driver work on him.

They turned the knobs to control the way of the steam, whistling a few times as they passed by houses that had the signalman inside.

Mostly towards other engines that are passing by Charlie as he continues puffing down the line.

The fireman continued shoveling the coal from the hopper behind Stephanie and into the fireplace, keeping the fire from dying.

This continued a few times before the fireman stopped for a moment.

He wiped the sweat and soot off his forehead with a handkerchief in his hand.

Mentally, she wanted to drive Charlie for the first time in her life!

But before she could question the driver and fireman if she could have a turn, something in her mind told her to stop asking.

She even reminded herself that she is only eleven years old and too short.

Not only that, Stephanie feels like she does not belong in Sodor either, since she was born in America.

"Hey, Steph?" Charlie spoke, snapping Stephanie out of her state of being bored. "Want to hear a song?"

The word 'song' perked Stephanie's curiosity.

"What song?" Stephanie asked, standing up straight.

Charlie giggled and arrived at the docks underneath Cranky as he unloaded the ships and the barges Hercules had.

"Listen," he smiled.

Stephanie fell silent after Charlie stopped, listening to everything around Charlie and herself.

Aside from the soft swaying of the ocean water, Cranky's gentle creaking, and workmen calling out to others, she seemed everything was peaceful.

But she saw a diesel locomotive come around the bend while pulling a long line of trucks behind her.

The diesel locomotive is painted black with yellow hazard stripes on her front and rear.

She has her name 'Mavis' and "The Ffarquhar Quarry Co. Ltd." written in white on her cab and side plates, respectively.

'That's Mavis?' Stephanie thought to herself, trying to stand on her tiptoes to get a better look as she entered the docks.

Charlie's driver noticed she was having trouble getting to her tiptoes, so placing his hands underneath her armpit, he lifted Stephanie to the window and allowed her to have a look at the diesel locomotive.

She had a smile on her face as she drove along the docks, not even noticing Stephanie was inside with Charlie.

Then she started singing to Stephanie's surprise.

"🎵Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside~,🎵" Mavis sang, surprising Stephanie slightly. "🎵Oh! I do like to be beside the sea~!🎵"

The song sounds like a pirate song, as Salty added to the singing along with Mavis.

"🎵Oh! I do like to stroll along the Prom, Prom, Prom!🎵" The two diesels sang as Cranky watched them before adding to the singing as Carly and Big Mickey listened. "🎵Where the brass bands play, 'Tiddely-om-pom-pom!'🎵"

Then, another voice was added into the singing, but it was not from Big Mickey or Carly, but sounded like Thomas!

Stephanie perked more when she heard the voice singing, seeing him again as he pushed the line of trucks behind Mavis.

"🎵Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside~,🎵" Thomas sang, making Stephanie smile softly. "🎵Oh! I do like to be beside the sea~!🎵"

Porter then added to the singing with the others, making Stephanie feel like she was home again.

"🎵When I'm down beside the sea,🎵" they all sang, as Hercules added in the singing too, smiling softly. "🎵I'm beside myself with glee, beside the seaside! Beside the sea~!🎵"

After the song finished, Salty chuckled with happiness as Stephanie softly.

She wanted to be part of the crowd but mentally put herself down because of the subconscious doubt about her voice and appearance compared to the other children.

"Hello, Mavis!" Charlie greeted with a whistle from his whistle, snapping Stephanie out of her thoughts.

Mavis responded to Charlie with a honk of her horn, and Thomas did the same thing too with his whistles.

"Hello, Charlie!" They both simultaneously greeted Charlie.

Charlie smiled happily after they simultaneously greeted Charlie, not noticing Stephanie inside his cab.

"No time for jokes," Thomas spoke, knowing what he was going to say next. "We have to deliver these rocks over to the Ffarquhar Quarry."

Charlie understood what they said and nodded.

"Okay!" Charlie smiled. "I'll wait!"

Stephanie was about to wave to Thomas and Mavis when Charlie's driver placed Stephanie down on the ground as Charlie moved again.

'Oh, well,' Stephanie shrugged to herself. 'I could try again later.'

Charlie left the docks and hummed to himself gently about the song that Mavis, Thomas, Hercules, Cranky, Salty, and Porter were singing earlier.

Stephanie enjoyed the song back in the docks but wondered to herself about her singing.

Ever since Stephanie loved singing, she had sung for a long time, for as long as Stephanie can remember.

But she stopped after she was... 'adopted.'

A quiet shudder went down Stephanie's back, remembering her 'father' who adopted her.

Mentally, she wishes not to see him again and wants to stay far away from him.

Stephanie even felt like she did not belong here and acted like a stranger distracting them from their work.

Absentmindedly, Stephanie rubbed the back of her left hand, feeling worried about her 'father' coming over to Sodor to pick her up.

Luckily, Charlie's driver or fireman did not notice she was rubbing the back of her hand nervously, feeling something underneath it.

Soon, Charlie came up across a derailed Henry, who looked slightly glum.

Instantly, Charlie stopped when he noticed the glum-looking Henry, as Stephanie peeked a little from inside his cab.

"Hey, what's wrong, Henry?" Charlie asked.

"I have been derailed from a stray rock on the line," Henry answered glumly. "I was waiting for someone to come and get me a crane to get me back on the rails."

Charlie smiled softly and said, "Don't worry, let me get a crane for you!"

Henry smiled a little before Charlie puffed off, leaving him alone for the moment.

Meanwhile, Charlie reached a section of Sodor, which Stephanie had never seen before during her adventure.

"What's this place, Charlie?" Stephanie asked while glancing around.

"This is the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre, Stephanie!" Charlie smiled. "This is where the trains come to get help if they are in trouble!"

Stephanie's curiosity grew as she stood on her tiptoes as she pulled herself up over Charlie's cab door, trying to get a better look at what was at the Rescue Centre.

From standing on her tiptoes, she could see a small group of vehicles talking to each other.

There was a steam train painted royal blue with red and gold lining and brass fittings.

She has the number "6120" painted in gold on her side tanks and a crest consisting of a flame, two dolphins, and a crown designed on her bunker sides.

Her water cannons and wheels are painted red, with the latter having blue rims.

A truck is painted red with yellow lining, with the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre emblem on its cab doors in white.

There is also a crane painted in brick-red with yellow hazard stripes on its sides and back.

There is another truck, except it was a pickup truck instead, and the front is painted yellow, and his trailer is painted navy blue, with "SODOR HEAVY RECOVERY UNIT" written on both sides in white.

He also has the logo of the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre on his cab doors.

There was a helicopter there, too, and it was painted white with a red lining.

The name 'Harold' is painted on his sides, near his tail, in red.

Lastly, there was a boat in the boathouse, and the cab was painted yellow, his sides were blue, and his hull was red.

He is lined in white paint and has a long, thin, yellow mast at the stern.

Stephanie looked surprised to see how many rescue engines until she jolted when the alarm went off.

"It looks like it's Rocky's turn!" the blue steam train smiled.

'Rocky?' Stephanie thought to herself as Charlie went backwards after the rail clicked. 'Who's Rocky?'

Stephanie glanced through Charlie's back window, wondering who Charlie is coupled up with.

She noticed he was getting the crane.

After he was coupled up to the crane, he whistled his whistle and puffed off, heading back to Henry.

During the ride, Stephanie glanced over at the crane, feeling curious about him.

Since she was smaller than any other normal eleven-year-old girl Stephanie had been around, she was easily unseen from inside Charlie's cab.

Charlie's driver and fireman were busy keeping Charlie going, so Stephanie decided to patiently wait for the right time to have a look at the crane.

Once they had arrived in the area where Henry was derailed, Charlie's driver picked Stephanie up from inside him and stepped outside.

"Wait right here for a moment, okay?" he asked. "We need some room inside to help him get Rocky into position."

Stephanie nodded her head, answering Charlie's driver's answer.

After Stephanie nodded her head, he went back inside with Charlie and drove him backwards carefully.

Stephanie patiently waited for them to finish as she watched the crane named Rocky.

The workmen placed hooks on Henry to let Rocky lift him from the ground as Henry waited for his wheels to be back on the rails.

Using his strength, Rocky miraculously lifted Henry from the siding and placed him back down on the rails.

He did the same thing to Henry's tender as they coupled it to him once it was on the rails with him.

"It's best if you go to the Steamworks, Henry," one of the workmen said to Henry.

"Why don't you take Stephanie with you, Henry?" Charlie peeped.

Henry looked confused and concerned about Stephanie.

"But it is your job to keep an eye on her, right, Charlie?" Henry asked.

"She did not see Victor before, hasn't she?" Charlie pressed. "Besides, I might have some work to do, too!"

Henry paused again, understanding what Charlie meant, and nodded.

"Okay," he sighed before glancing over at Stephanie. "Climb aboard, Stephanie."

Stephanie nodded her head and stepped over to Henry's cab before his driver picked her up from underneath the armpits and placed her down inside.

With a whistle of Henry's whistle, Henry puffed off to the Steamworks, with Stephanie inside his cab.

Rocky noticed Stephanie after she had stepped out from Charlie's cab and was patiently waiting for him to place Henry down on the tracks.

He looked slightly confused after Henry had left, as Charlie switched tracks and started heading back to the Rescue Centre.

"Who was that, Charlie?" Rocky asked. "Is she your driver's daughter?"

Charlie giggled after Rocky asked as he puffed away.

"No," he chuckled. "My driver does not have one. She has a foster-father, instead!"

"Oh," Rocky then looked confused again. "Then, where is he?"

"He's far away in America!" Charlie continued. "Someday soon, he will come here and pick Stephanie up. I hope it is a wonderful moment."

Meanwhile, Stephanie heard the conversation, her face changing to a slightly sad expression about what Charlie said about her foster-father, leaning against the door of Henry's cab.

"Be careful, Stephanie." Henry worriedly spoke as he glanced over from the corner of his eyes. "You might lean in a little too much on my door and fall out."

Stephanie perked a little after Henry warned her and moved away from his door, standing where she is and thinking to herself.

The ride to the Steamworks was long, but it was quiet too.

Except for the puffing, the wheels turning, the coal shoveling, and the fire burning from the firebox.

Including the noises of steam moving around through pipes and the turning of the knobs from Henry's driver as his fireman continued shoveling coal.

Once Henry entered the Steamworks after he whistled his whistle, he stopped on a turntable and patiently waited for someone to come.

Henry's driver opened his cab door and picked Stephanie up from underneath her armpits.

He stepped out from inside and placed Stephanie down as his fireman followed behind.

Soon a steam train appeared after Henry whistled, seeing him.

He is painted dark red with yellow lining and black and yellow hazard stripes on his front buffer beam.

The black and yellow hazard stripes on the rear of his cab are above his rear buffer beam.

The sides of his cab have the Sodor Steamworks logo painted on them.

"Ah, good to see you, Henry," he greeted him. "What can I do for you?"

"Well," Henry spoke, glancing to the side, before looking back at him. "I have been derailed earlier and was wondering if you could check if something is off, Victor?"

Victor, the name of the red steam train, nodded after Henry asked.

"Anything for a friend," he smiled as Henry moved more into Steamworks.

Once Henry was out of Stephanie's way, Victor looked surprised to see Stephanie standing there, looking sheepish.

"Uh, Henry?" Victor spoke, glancing over to Henry, but sighed when he had already left.

Stephanie sheepishly rubbed her left arm with her hand, asking, "Is there something wrong?"

Victor glanced back over at Stephanie and responded, "No, there's nothing wrong. It's just why are you here?"

Stephanie was about to answer Victor's question when something clunked against the ground loudly in the distance.

It caused Stephanie to jump from the sound as Victor winced.

"Kevin!" Victor groaned after the noise died down.

Stephanie glanced over at who Victor groaned at, seeing a mobile crane with wheels.

He is painted in a yellow livery with black and light yellow warning stripes on his front.

His hook and brake are painted red.

He has the Sodor Steamworks logo painted on his cab door.

"Sorry, boss!" he called over to Victor as the workmen helped him get the parts he dropped back up.

"Forgive him," Victor sighed, glancing over at Stephanie as he blushed slightly in embarrassment. "Slippy hook."

"It's okay," Stephanie assured him. "I have seen clumsy people before, and it does not bother me."

She winced again as another cluttering noise went through the air before adding, "But he is cute, though."

Victor chuckled after Stephanie assured and remarked about Kevin, the mobile crane, as he came over to Stephanie, noticing her.

"Who's she, boss?" Kevin asked.

Victor remembered what he asked earlier and said, "Right about that."

"I'm Mrs. Dowager Hatt's 'special visitor.'" Stephanie answered Victor's question. "I'm traveling around Sodor to make myself feel comfortable since I am a long way from home."

Kevin and Victor looked confused.

"Aren't you from the Mainland?" Kevin asked.

Stephanie shook her head no.

"I'm from America," Stephanie answered. "I never came here before. No offense, I've never talked to steam engines or any engines before."

Victor glanced over at Kevin before looking back at Stephanie.

"Err, Kevin," Victor spoke, glancing over at Kevin. "Why don't you have a check on Henry while I have a private conversation with…"

He drifted off as he glanced over at Stephanie, looking slightly confused about what her name was.

"Stephanie," Stephanie answered.

"Stephanie, gracias," Victor thanked in Spanish.

Kevin smiled and said, "Sure thing, boss!"

With that, he went backwards to Henry before bumping into some barrels, which swayed a little, but luckily one of the workmen caught the barrel before it fell over.

"Oops!" he exclaimed as Victor sighed and rolled his eyes. "Sorry!"

He went forward again and turned around, heading towards where Henry puffed into.

Victor remembered that he said 'thank you' in Spanish and glanced back over to Stephanie.

"Forgive me," he apologized. "I said-"

"No, no, está bien," Stephanie responded, assuring him in Spanish. "Aprendí español de mi… amigo del padre adoptivo."

Victor was surprised to hear Stephanie respond to him in his language!

"¿Solías vivir en México o Cuba cuando eras mucho más joven?" Victor curiously asked.

"No, en realidad soy mitad español del lado de la familia de mi madre relacionada con la sangre," Stephanie explained to him in Spanish, before pushing back a strand of hair from her face. "Nunca aprendí español de ella ya que tenía solo cuatro años antes de que ocurriera el accidente y fui adoptado de él y aprendí español."

After Stephanie explained to him in Spanish, Victor looked thoughtful for a moment before asking, this time in English, "What happened in the accident?"

Stephanie hesitated for a good minute, rubbing her left arm as she glanced away from him, looking sad about the accident.

"I-I don't want to talk about that, please." Stephanie softly spoke, her head dipping down slightly towards the ground.

Victor understood that she looked uncomfortable explaining what had happened in the accident, feeling sorry for her.

"I understand." Victor sighed. "When you feel comfortable, you may talk about it in your own time."

Stephanie hesitated for a moment after Victor understood her discomfort about explaining something that had happened in her life and quietly nodded her head.

Victor glanced away for a moment, thinking to himself to cheer Stephanie up from being a little sad.

Then, he remembered one of the rules of the Steamworks that Stephanie did not know.

"Oh, there is something I forgot to say. It is about your hair," Victor spoke gently. "You can't be in here with it down. You might get it caught on fire from one of the workmen."

Stephanie gasped slightly and immediately reached up with her hands, pushing her hair up into a low ponytail.

With one hand, Stephanie reached into the pocket of her blue jeans and took out a light blue rubber band she took with her.

Once she moved her long hair up into a low ponytail, Stephanie glanced over at Victor and chuckled nervously.

"Sorry, I did not know," she apologized, looking slightly sheepish.

"No, it is alright," Victor assured, as Henry came over to the two, looking better than before. "I did not notice you."

A shy blush appeared on Stephanie's cheeks as she rubbed the back of her neck, looking sheepish for being short.

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Stephanie," Victor said as Henry's driver stepped out of him. "But, I might be busy with other things that Sir Topham Hatt wants me to work on. Some other day I could talk to you."

Stephanie nodded her head and lifted her arms slightly for his driver to pick her up.

His driver placed his hands underneath her armpits and lifted Stephanie up, carrying her into Henry's cab.

Once she was placed back down inside his cab, Henry whistled his whistle and continued on his way.

Victor whistled his whistle in response to Henry.

When they reached Knapford Station, Henry's driver dropped Stephanie off at the station.

"Thank you, Henry!" Stephanie smiled, waving to him.

Henry responded with a whistle from his whistle, puffing off to collect other shipments.

Once Henry puffed away, Stephanie sighed and rubbed the back of her neck with her hand, wondering what else she could do.

But then she remembered the enormous library in Sir Topham Hatt's home when she was wandering around.

It was filled with multiple books on tall shelves, and there were books of different sizes and thicknesses.

Deciding to look at the books, Stephanie walked back to Sir Topham Hatt's mansion and entered the library.

Respectfully, Stephanie was quiet as she took out the thickest book off the shelf it was on and walked over to the table.

Once she had placed it down on the table, she looked at the cover, and it reads, "The History of Trains. Written by Sir Topham Hatt Ⅱ."

This perked Stephanie's attention and made her beam a little.

Before Stephanie could flip over to the first page of the book she had picked, she suddenly heard distant singing outside her window.

It caused her attention to perk a little from the sudden song.

So, she placed the book back to where she had found it before and went to find out what was making that noise.

Walking over to the window, she opened it and peered out, noticing Diesel pulling a long line of trucks behind him, while Diesel 10 was behind, pushing them.

He was singing a song that made Stephanie smile slightly with amusement.

"🎵I'm full of surprises,🎵" Diesel sang as he slowly drove along the rails. "🎵They ought to say of me.🎵"

Stephanie smiled as she continued listening to Diesel's song, impressed at how remarkable his singing voice is.

"🎵I bring some razzle-dazzle to the yard,🎵" Diesel continued singing as there were some trucks behind him, looking slightly irritated as they listened to his singing. "🎵I'm full of surprises.🎵"

Before he could sing another line, a screeching voice started singing the same song that Diesel was singing as he winced.

Diesel 10 winced too from the sudden shrieking-like singing as Pinchy bolted up from laying on top of him, moving around like a dog's head.

That voice was really not good and sounded like nails against a chalkboard, and it was coming from one of the trucks they were pulling and pushing.

Irritated, Diesel moved back at a fast pace and bumped the trucks, silencing the noise.

"Will you stop that!" he hissed. "It is hurting someone's ears!"

The trucks instantly stopped 'singing' after Diesel 10 commanded, as Stephanie nodded in agreement and gently rubbed her left ear as Diesel 10's pincher shook its head.

"I know, Pinchy." Diesel 10 spoke gently. "The sooner we finish this job, the better we can have peace and quiet without them!"

Stephanie cocked her head to the side slightly before deciding to sing to them for a moment to cheer them up a little.

Standing up straight, Stephanie cleared her throat to herself for a moment after silence went through the air before starting to sing for them.

"🎵You said that we would always be,🎵" Stephanie began singing, as her voice sounded beautiful like an angel's voice. "🎵Without you, I feel lost at sea.🎵"

Diesel and Diesel 10 looked surprised to hear Stephanie's voice from Sir Topham Hatt's library window as they glanced around for the source of it.

Even the trucks glanced around too when they heard Stephanie's voice and did not interrupt either.

"🎵Through the darkness, you'd hide with me,🎵" Stephanie continued signing, patiently waiting for them to look over at where she was. "🎵Like the wind, we'd be wild and free.🎵"

Finally, they glanced over at where Stephanie was, seeing her peeking out of her window towards them as she stopped singing for a moment.

A suspicious expression appeared on their faces as they stopped for a moment, as the trucks looked confused.

A slight mischievous smile appeared on Stephanie's face as she sang Diesel's song that he was singing, except changing the lyrics a little.

"🎵He's full of surprises,🎵" Stephanie sang, surprising Diesel 10 and the trucks, while Diesel, on the other wheel, blushed. "🎵Just like he'll always be.🎵"

Stephanie softly smiled as she continued singing Diesel's song as he glanced away from her, feeling a little sheepish.

"🎵He brings some razzle-dazzle to the yard,🎵" Stephanie continued as they started driving away from where they stopped. "🎵He's not that bad.🎵"

She stopped after the two diesels disappeared and chuckled to herself, and finished singing the song Diesel was singing before, "🎵Well, maybe just a tad.🎵"

After Stephanie had finished the song, she chuckled for a moment to herself and closed the window, feeling happy she had cheered the two diesels up a little.