Stephanie was feeling unsure of herself being at the docks since the last time she was with Sunshine.
Because Captain Bluenose took her away from him because of a 'rule' and traumatized her!
A shudder went down her spine at the thought of meeting that Navy tugboat again, seeing him getting angry at her for no reason and taking her away.
But as soon as Thomas reached the docks, Stephanie was lifted from his cab by his fireman.
After Stephanie was picked up from inside Thomas's cab, she was placed down onto the docks outside.
"Just be careful," Thomas' driver warned her before leaving. "As you know, not all tugs or any water-related machines are friendly. And keep an eye out for Bluenose."
Stephanie nodded her head after Thomas's driver gave her the warning, watching Thomas puff off to work before noticing that Ten Cents was coming.
"Hi, Ten Cents!" Stephanie greeted, waving her hand, trying to change the mood in her mind.
Ten Cents glanced over, and noticed Stephanie, smiled, and whistled his whistle.
"Hello, Steph!" Ten Cents smiled before looking slightly confused. "What are you doin' here?"
"Sir Topham Hatt allowed me to have a look around the bay," Stephanie answered, waiting patiently to board him. "He said I have only seen half of it since the incident with Bluenose."
Ten Cents nodded in agreement and said, glancing around, "It's sometimes peaceful around here, but Murdoch sometimes minds it."
He was angry at Captain Bluenose for the incident but was relieved when Sherri placed Stephanie into Glynn's trucks by accident.
Soon, Stephanie was placed onto his deck, and she walked over to Ten Cents' side for safety.
She sat down comfortably and watched as Ten Cent's barge was being emptied, and he whistled his whistle, heading away from the docks.
Big Mickey asked Ten Cents to be careful with Stephanie, and he assured Big Mickey, along with the other cranes, that Stephanie was going to be safe this time.
Although Ten Cents was not confident that he could be right, he was sure that Stephanie would be at this time.
Stephanie watched the scenery while thinking to herself, feeling relieved and relaxed.
But there were times when Stephanie would glance around if Captain Bluenose came, getting ready to hide from him when he appeared.
"Hey," Stephanie's thoughts were snapped when Ten Cents spoke, causing her to glance over her shoulder at him. "Whatcha thinkin' of?"
Stephanie glanced up at him and answered, "I was thinking of how peaceful this place is."
Ten Cents nodded with agreement and said, glancing around, "It's sometimes peaceful around here, but Murdoch sometimes minds it."
A slightly confused expression appeared on Stephanie's face when Ten Cents mentioned 'Murdoch.'
"Who's 'Murdoch?'" Stephanie curiously asked.
"Murdoch is a steam locomotive who comes to Brendam Docks to deliver goods." Ten Cents explained. "Even though he hates comin' here because of the noises, he still is provin' himself useful."
Stephanie's curiosity grew more every time Ten Cents explained something to her.
Soon, they reached an unfamiliar dock that Stephanie had never seen before.
There were unfamiliar engines Stephanie had never seen before, and most of them looked busier than Brendan Docks.
Most never paid attention to noticing Stephanie on his deck either.
"Welcome to the Crotoonia Docks, Steph!" Ten Cents mentioned, perking Stephanie's attention.
"I have never been here before, Ten Cents," Stephanie remarked, before flinching when a horn went off. "It's a little noisier here than Brendam Docks."
Ten Cents chuckled as he went underneath a crane and said, "Sure, it is noisy here, but that means that everyone around here is working as hard as they could."
Stephanie perked from Ten Cents' words before noticing a small engine trying to push a flatbed twice its size to a siding.
The engine pushing the flatbed looked like a Pioneer, a 4-2-0 locomotive for the Chicago and North Western Railway.
The little engine's boiler, cab, and drive wheels are painted blue, while her leading wheels are painted red, and she is trimmed in gold.
"Who is that little engine, Ten Cents?" Stephanie asked, walking across his deck and pointed to the struggling engine.
"Who?" Ten Cents glanced over at whom Stephanie was mentioning and noticed the little engine. "Oh, that's Tracy! Oi, Tracy!"
Tracy, the little engine, stopped after hearing her name, glancing over to the side, and noticed Ten Cents with his barge being unloaded by a crane.
"Oh, hi, Ten Cents!" she greeted. "I didn't see you there!"
"Tracy, you know better not to overdo yourself." Ten Cents softly spoke. "You might burst a screw loose or pop one of your wheels."
Stephanie shuddered after Ten Cents warned Tracy of pushing herself.
She imagined that would happen to her if she was an engine like Tracy.
"I know," Tracy sighed as a workman uncoupled her and allowed her to back away. "You're acting like the Tower."
Ten Cents chuckled and said, "That's because she taught me to be careful. Sometimes, bein' small can mean little things but can take big opportunities."
Stephanie blinked with a slightly surprised expression on her face before glancing away, thinking to herself about the words Ten Cents said.
"Hey, Ten Cents? Who's the little girl on your deck?" Stephanie snapped out of her thoughts and glanced over, noticing that Tracy now saw her.
Ten Cents glanced over at Stephanie and answered, "She's a visitor. Sir Topham Hatt allowed her to follow me to have a look around the Docks."
Tracy glanced over at Stephanie with a slightly confused expression on her face.
Shyly, Stephanie waved hello to her while blushing slightly.
"Tracy?" a voice asked, catching her attention. "Where are you? There are some smaller trucks for you to push."
Tracy flinched after a voice called to her, glancing away from Stephanie on Ten Cents' deck.
"Oh, coming!" she called before speeding off.
Stephanie watched with curiosity as she sped off before Ten Cents went off again after his barge was emptied by the crane.
"That's Tracy, Stephanie." Ten Cents smiled as he glanced down at her. "She may seem to be smaller than the other engines, but she is pretty brave."
"I think she is amazing!" Stephanie beamed. "Someday, I would like to meet her in person!"
Ten Cents chuckled and said, as Stephanie watched the work on the docks, "If Sir Topham Hatt allows you to come here to Crotoonia Docks."
Stephanie slightly blushed as she glanced away from Ten Cents, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.
"Or don't get into items that could get me here." Stephanie sheepishly spoke as Ten Cents chuckled again.
"Learned your lesson?" Ten Cents lightly teased.
Stephanie did not look up at Ten Cents as she continued to watch the work from the docks.
She was a little too embarrassed to continue talking to Ten Cents.
As Stephanie looked out to the side, she could see many engines from different bases were out of Sir Topham Hatt's father's book.
Despite staying on Ten Cents' deck under his watch, Stephanie does not seem like this was boring.
Preferably, she thought it was adventuresome and liked to thoughtfully describe what the type of engines are and what fuel they run on.
Ten Cents was surprised that Stephanie was distracted by looking out on his side rather than complaining about how bored she was.
He was expecting Stephanie to be impatient and always wanting to go somewhere instead of where Ten Cents was heading.
But, this was different from what he suspected.
A horn took Ten Cents' attention away from Stephanie as he was startled by the noise, glancing around for those who made the noise when he noticed it was Hank.
Stephanie even flinched from the horn honking and jumped a few inches off the crate, almost falling off but getting her balance back.
"Hank!" Ten Cents sighed. "Don't do that again! You might scare someone to death!"
"Sorry!" Hank chuckled. "But, I got you good, didn't I?"
Ten Cents nodded in agreement as Stephanie listened to the conversation between the two as Ten Cents went along the side, entering another part of the Crotoonia Docks.
Stephanie was surprised at how immersive the second part of the Crotoonia Docks was, watching engines of all kinds getting different trucks, moving flatbeds around, and being as busy as a bee.
She wants to be as busy as they are but knows that she is only eleven years old, short, and does not look healthy.
Her spirits fell a little after remembering the appearance of her body, feeling like a walking skeleton.
Stephanie watched as Warrior passed by Ten Cents, whistling his whistle as Ten Cents did the same thing.
From the back of her head, Stephanie wonders what she would look like if she got her whistle like them?
She reaches up to her neck and thoughtfully thought to herself about having a whistle of her own.
"Hey, Stephanie?" Stephanie's mind snapped back into reality after hearing Ten Cent's voice, glancing over at him. "I might need to let my crew members work on some things from a barge, so I have to drop you off at a dock."
Stephanie's worry came as she looked worried, but then Ten Cents added, "But I promise to come back after working on it, okay?"
Stephanie paused a little after Ten Cents assured her after explaining before nodding her head.
Half of her wanted to stay with Ten Cents because of her fear of meeting Captain Bluenose, but the other half wanted to follow Ten Cent's rule and promise, believing in him to come back to pick her up again.
So, once Ten Cents stopped at the dock that had some people there, Stephanie was dropped off, and being polite, she sat down on a crate to wait for him to come back.
"Wait here, okay?" Ten Cents asked before whistling his whistle and went off. "I'll be back soon!"
"Okay!" Stephanie called him before he left. "Take care, Ten Cents!"
Ten Cents whistled again after Stephanie called him, before shakily sighing as she sat back down on the crate, feeling more nervous.
She did not want to see, hear, or encounter Captain Bluenose.
As minutes passed, Stephanie continued sitting where she was, fidgeting with her fingers, mostly rubbing them and scratching her left or right arm with her nails.
As much as they were cut, Stephanie kept scratching at her arms, applying some pressure on it a little to get her mind off her paranoia.
Stephanie stopped scratching a little when she noticed that she would open a scratch wound on her arm and bleed before glancing away.
Until her eyes noticed something on the side of the docks where no one else was standing.
It was a large crate filled with forearm-lengthed logs and a small box that was halfway open.
Stephanie's curiosity grew when she noticed the crate and the small box inside, wanting to know what was inside that box.
She hesitated a little at the thought of someone getting angry at her for messing with something that belongs to them, but eventually, her curiosity got the best of her.
Stephanie stood up from the crate she was sitting on and walked over to the bin, peering inside to see that there were many logs inside, as some of them had their bark scraped off a little.
Picking up the bin from the ground, Stephanie walked back to where she was sitting and sat back down, taking the box out from inside.
She opened it and saw that there were carving tools inside, covered in some dust, and looked new.
'Maybe no one was interested in this?' Stephanie thought to herself, taking out one of the knives and looking at it. 'There is no hint that anyone has been using it.'
She placed the knife back into the box and thought to herself more, tapping her fingers against her chin.
Stephanie remembered Sir Topham Hatt's map with the engines, seeing that each one only stopped from one to seven, which popped an idea into her mind.
Seeing a box filled with paint, Stephanie took that box over to where she was sitting, along with a bucket filled with water, and started to work.
Picking one of the logs out of the bin, Stephanie took out a handheld bark spud from the inside of the box.
Once she had taken the bark spud out, Stephanie started to scrape the bark off the log in her hand.
Luckily, Stephanie also took an empty pail she had seen with her eyes, scraping the bark into it.
Once she had scraped the bark off the log in her hand, Stephanie placed the bark spud back into the box and took out a pencil.
Stephanie went to sketch a shape onto the log's surface, adding some details to it too as she sat there on the crate.
Once the shape was finished, Stephanie placed the pencil back into the box and took out a chip carving knife from inside.
Stephanie carved the log in her hand to make a sculpture she had sketched out, pushing her glasses into place once in a while with a single finger.
At times, she would also poke at her fingers with small splinters but stop a few times to get the shavings out and go back to work.
Once she had gotten the shape out of the log after an hour had passed, Stephanie then took out a carpenter's chisel, along with a small hammer, and started to carefully chisel out from spots that were supposed to be hallowed.
Having to kneel in front of the crate she was sitting in, Stephanie continued working on the project she had started, spending the time she had from having to wait for Ten Cents to come.
After the project was finished being carved, chiseled, and scrubbed with a scrubby, Stephanie placed the hammer, chisel, and scrubby away, wiping some sweat off her forehead.
The project in her hand was a small steam locomotive with the same basis as Thomas.
But it looked realistic and did not have a face on it either.
Stephanie pushed her glasses into place after almost finishing her project but noticed that something was missing from it.
So, she picked the small train up from the crate and sat back down, seeing that the colors were missing from it.
Stephanie placed the train in her lap after seeing the problem and pushed her sleeves up a little.
But after pushing her sleeves up, it was revealed that there were some scars on her wrists.
Stephanie took a paintbrush out of the paint bin and painted the train bright blue, as some parts of the locomotive were in black with silver colors.
Once the paint has dried, Stephanie switched paintbrushes with a thinner one, using red for the lining.
Then, she painted the outside of the windows and some parts of the train in yellow too.
She even painted the number one on the sides of the tanks, making the number one perfect.
Later, Stephanie stopped and looked at her creation that she had made, which was a tiny model of what looked to be Thomas!
She nodded to herself after seeing that there was no mistake on her project before placing it away and started cleaning a little.
Stephanie even emptied the bucket filled with shavings into a siting where there was not enough mulch for the plants.
Once she had finished cleaning the brushes and the water, Stephanie went to work on another project with another log.
As more hours passed, Stephanie soon finished other locomotives based on the engines she had met, including the steamboats.
After Stephanie finished one of them, she smiled with pride at her work before glancing up at the sky to see that it was past five o'clock.
'Oh, crap!' Stephanie exclaimed, instantly standing up to her feet. 'It's past five! Where's Ten Cents?!'
Stephanie quickly cleaned the spot she was sitting in to get ready for Ten Cents to come, deciding to take the bins, crates, and box with her to show Sir Topham Hatt what she had found, along with the projects she made, too.
After her last project was in the crate, Stephanie glanced around from where she was, wondering to herself where Ten Cents was.
'Did he forget about me?' Stephanie thought to herself with worry, tapping her fingers against her cheek.
Stephanie softly whined to herself at the thought of why Ten Cents had not come yet, until she heard something zooming down the road behind her, causing her to be confused, and glanced over her shoulder.
A blur of yellow with white zoomed down the road past Stephanie's eyes, causing her to look confused about who or what that could be.
After seeing the blur, a screech went through the air, causing Stephanie to be confused by the sudden noise.
Then, a car-shaped object backed up after screeching to a halt, which revealed itself to be Ace!
"Stephanie?" Ace spoke, turning around from the road, and drove up to her. "Wat ahah ya doin' here?"
"Well," Stephanie spoke, blushing sheepishly. "Ten Cents said that he needed his crew to be working on a barge that meant to be on his deck, so he dropped me off here until it is done."
She mentioned the bin was filled with carved locomotives inside and with leftover logs inside too.
"I found this while waiting for him to come back," Stephanie smiled as she picked one of the carved locomotives out of it to show. "And made models from Thomas, his crew, Salty, and all the engines I know of in this bin."
"Is theah one in theah that looked liyyke me?" Ace asked, beaming slightly with pride.
"I'm sorry, Ace." Stephanie blushed. "I started with the locomotives first."
"Oh," Ace sighed as he glanced away. "That's okay."
Then he remembered why he was here and glanced back over at Stephanie, asking, "Did Ten Cents come here?"
"That's what I'm worried about." Stephanie softly winced as she placed the wooden locomotive away. "Ten Cents haven't arrived here after," she paused as she counted with her fingers, which were covered in tiny red dots and smears of paint. "Eight or seven hours passed."
"That long?!" Ace exclaimed. "Ya even made those wile waitin' fawr him?"
"Yes," Stephanie nodded. "But I'm more worried about Sir Topham Hatt. He'll lose his cap if he notices that I have not returned home in time! Even past lunchtime too."
She chewed on the back of her first finger in worry as Ace's car door from his driver's side opened, revealing to be his driver.
"Don't wawrry about that, kiddo!" Ace smiled. "We can take ya theah in a jiffy!"
Something seemed to set Stephanie's panic off a little, causing her to take a step backwards as her face paled slightly.
"Wh-What?" Stephanie stammered, shaking like a leaf, and scratched at her left arm, forgetting about her sleeves pushed up a little. "No, no, th-thank you. I'm fine, I ca-"
Before she could continue with her sentence, Ace's driver picked her up from the ground, causing her to yelp out of startlement.
"Don't wawrry about it, kiddo!" Ace assured her again as his driver opened his back car doors, placing her down. "If ya ahah wawrried about bein' a little too fast, I can slow down a little fawr ya."
'That's not what I am worried about.' Stephanie winced softly to herself as Ace's driver placed her bin filled with items down beside her, which she had luckily screwed the paint bottles' lids on.
Stephanie placed her arm over her bin to keep it from sliding off the seat and crashing her projects, usually to keep her nerves down a little.
Ace's driver sat back down in the seat and started driving, causing Stephanie to hiss softly in fear, curling her toes and clenching her hand tightly.
True to his word, Ace was a little slower than his usual speed but was still fast, unlike Sir Topham Hatt's car.
Stephanie felt her entire body pushed against the cushions behind her back as Ace continued zooming down the road as fast as he could.
He passed by Bertie the bus as he honked his horn, as Bertie scowled at him as he passed by him at a fast rate, not even waiting for him to move out of the way.
Half of her wanted to shout out to stop Ace from driving too fast, worried that he might crash into people, cars, or anything that was blocking his way.
But she did not want Sir Topham Hatt to panic and got into a fret to search for her, so Stephanie instead went silent and went along with the ride.
They soon reached Knapford station, and Ace stopped as Stephanie shakily sighed, pushing back a strand of wild hair from her face.
"We'ah here, kiddo!" Ace smiled as his driver opened the door and stepped out.
Stephanie nervously smiled after Ace smiled, allowing herself to be picked up by Ace's driver and placed down on the ground.
Her legs were like jellos, so she collapsed on the ground, startling Ace's driver as he reached down for her to pick her up again.
"You alright?" Ace asked, noticing that she collapsed after being placed down.
"Y-Yeah," Stephanie stammered as she stood back up to her feet, leaning against Ace's driver for support in case she collapses on the ground again. "I'm just a little shaken up."
"Oh," Ace smiled as she shakily walked over to him. "Ya've nevah been in a race cahr liyyke me?"
A sheepish blush appeared on Stephanie's cheeks after he asked, nodding her head as she placed a hand on her cheek, embarrassed at her lack of experience.
"That's fine, kiddo!" Ace smiled. "Maybe I was bein' a little too fast fawr ya. Remind me next time ta be at Bertie's speed."
Stephanie nodded her head after Ace told her to remind him if they meet again, as Ace's driver handed her the bin filled with the items inside.
Once Stephanie was handed her bin, Ace honked his horn, which startled some passengers waiting for the train.
They flinched from Ace's horn and glancing over at him with a scowl.
"Excuse me?" Ace called. "Is Sir Topham 'att here?"
The door to the office opened after Ace honked his horn, revealing to be a confused Sir Topham Hatt and Dowager Hatt.
"Who called my name?" Sir Topham Hatt asked, glancing around for the person.
"Ovah here, Sir," Ace called, as Sir Topham Hatt and Dowager Hatt glanced over, seeing Ace with a nervous Stephanie.
"Hello, Sir Topham Hatt and Mrs. Hatt." Stephanie gulped, moving her head down a little in shame.
Without warning, Dowager Hatt came over to Stephanie and hugged her, causing Stephanie to yelp in startlement after being embraced, luckily not dropping her bin to the ground.
"There you are, Stephanie!" Sir Topham Hatt sighed. "We were worried about you!"
"I found hah ovah at the Anchawrage 'ahrbawr." Ace nodded, mentioning over to Stephanie. "She said that Ten Cents left hah theah ta wawrk on a bahrge that needed ta be on his deck. But he didn't come back afder some hours 'ad passed."
Ace paused a little before adding, "I think he did fawrget about hah."
Stephanie blushed more from Ace's explanation of his side of the story of Ten Cents' accident as Dowager Hatt released her before noticing her hands.
"Goodness, Stephanie," Dowager Hatt said as Stephanie placed the bin down and showed Dowager Hatt her hands. "What on Earth happened to your hands?"
"Um," Stephanie gulped softly. "I found a bin that has carving tools in it with logs."
She reached into the bin and took out a carved Thomas the Tank Engine toy from inside, showing it to an impressed Dowager Hatt and Sir Topham Hatt.
"Earlier, while in Sir Topham Hatt's office," Stephanie explained, perking a little. "I noticed that there were not enough engines to represent most of the Steam Team or any other engines, so I made these to represent them."
Her blush reached the tips of her ears, biting the bottom of her lip with her front teeth nervously.
"I think these are creative!" Dowager Hatt smiled. "I've been meaning to get something to help upgrade Sir Topham Hatt's office a little, but I think these are suitable!"
"Mother." Sir Topham Hatt blushed as Ace chuckled.
"I'm glad that everything's fine," Ace nodded as his driver sat back down in the driver's seat. "But I gotta go. See ya, kiddo!"
Stephanie waved her hand at Ace as he left with a honk of his horn, as Dowager Hatt noticed the scars on Stephanie's wrists of both of her arms, along with tiny red scratches.
"Er, Stephanie?" Dowager Hatt spoke, mentioning her arm as Sir Topham Hatt looked at the other carved projects she had made. "Are those scars on your arms?"
Stephanie flinched when she mentioned her arms, glancing down at them and, to Dowager Hatt's confusion, moved her sleeves down over them.
"Uh, y-yes, they are." Stephanie stammered. "They are sometimes from sharp twigs and thorns I went through from my backyard forest when I was younger as an adventurer."
There was a feeling in Dowager Hatt after Stephanie pulled her sleeves over her wrists, thinking there was something else about Stephanie's family or her foster-father that she did not know of.
Rather than pushing her into telling her or inquiring her again, Dowager Hatt instead kept it to herself.
Sir Topham Hatt then took Stephanie into his office to stay for the rest of the day without being left behind by accident.
Meanwhile, Ten Cents did forget about Stephanie and entered the Star Tugs' port, meeting with the rest of the Star Tugs.
"Ah, hello, Ten Cents!" Captain Star greeted him.
"Afternoon, Captain!" Ten Cents nodded.
While everyone was talking, Warrior noticed something off about Ten Cents, feeling like something was missing from his desk.
"Hey, Ten Cents?" Warrior spoke, interrupting the conversation of the group.
"Oh, what is it now, Warrior?" Top Hat griped, glancing over to Warrior.
"Where's Stephanie?" Instantly, silence fell through the Star Tugs' port as Ten Cents' face paled, pursing his lips in worry and realization.
"Oh, crap." Ten Cents muttered.
"YOU LOST STEPHANIE?!"Captain Star exclaimed through the megaphone, almost dropping it from the window.
"You gave me a job, Captain!" Ten Cents panicked. "I didn't want her to get lost while inside or get hurt! I stopped at a dock to drop her off!"
"Which dock?!" Sunshine exclaimed. "There is a lot of docks 'round here!"
A long pause came from Ten Cents after Sunshine pointed out the obvious, saying, "I don't remember."
If the Star Tugs had arms, they would do a facepalm at this moment.
Behind them, Hercules was coming into the dock after hearing the exclamation from Captain Star, asking, "What's goin' on here, m'dears?"
"Ten Cents here forgot where he dropped Stephanie off with a job Captain Star gave him." Big Mac gruffly explained as Ten Cents blushed.
"Ah, I see." Hercules nodded. "I've received a call from Sir Topham Hatt to let me know that Stephanie was found by someone."
"Who is it?" Captain Star asked, sounding a little concerned.
"Ace," Hercules answered. "He took her back to Knapford after Ten Cents forgot about her and was a lucky girl."
He chuckled as he came over to the side and continued, "Next time, Ten Cents, give Stephanie to someone you can trust after gettin' a job from Captain Star."
Ten Cents blushed more after Hercules warned him as large puffs of steam came out of his smokestack.
It almost did cause a panic for the team, but, true to Hercules' words, Stephanie was a lucky girl.
