CB quietly ducked into a corner. He listened, as the group of enraged trains dashed past. He turned, to go deeper into the darkness of the space between the two buildings, but found himself blocked by three forms, all of them familiar.

Poppa, Belle, and Dinah stared quietly. The caboose stared back, and tears formed in his eyes. The sadness and disappointment in the eyes of his "parents" caused him to be unable to meet their eyes. Dinah was worse. He'd promised her he'd always be there. Always. And he couldn't bear breaking a promise to her. The eighteen-year-old caboose collapsed to his knees. He started sobbing, as Dinah knelt next to him, and wrapped him in a hug.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Voices. Darkness. Couldn't stop, Dinah. Couldn't stop."

"CB. You have to calm down. Poppa, Belle, and I, we're going to get you out of here. We'll get you someplace safe, until everything dies down."

"No. I deserve to be scrapped. I don't deserve to live."

"Don't you dare say that, to me. To us! We're going to get you out of this mess. You'll be all right."

"No, I won't."

Rusty peered around the corner, looking worried.

"Come on, people, let's get this over with!"

Unbeknownst to CB, Rusty was his ride to safety. Poppa sighed, as Dinah and Belle explained this to the frantic caboose. The two steamers peered around the corner, then Rusty dashed off, with CB in tow. Pearl joined the three being left behind, various worries silently making themselves known, in her eyes.

"Do you think they'll be all right, Belle?"

"Of course, they will, dear. Rusty's smart, he knows where to go."

"I hope so."

Three days later, CB awakened, in the care of a repair truck. He'd passed out, just after Rusty and he had arrived, and there was no explanation for it happening. He'd been in and out of consciousness, since that time. He'd relived what had happened, over and over, in his mind.

The races, Electra leaving in a huff, he trying to pry himself off of Greaseball (the dirty piece of junk that had hurt Dinah's feelings, in front of him, and caused him to lose control.), his promise to Dinah, fleeing, everything, over and over again. He awakened screaming.

"Hey. Hey! Calm down!"

CB looked up, into the most beautiful pair of eyes he'd ever seen. His eyes traveled over the face above him. He gasped, realizing it was a female caboose. He looked down at his bare chest, having gotten the sheets tangled, and quickly pulled the covers over himself. The caboose laughed.

"Well, you're a shy one, aren't you, CB?"

The red caboose looked down, not saying a word. He pulled the sheets tighter around himself, and curled into a tight ball of fear. The brick- colored caboose placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to be comforting, but only making CB curl into an even tighter ball.

"I understand. I know someone's hurt you, I've been hurt, too. I ended up the same way you are now. I killed, too."

CB flashed back to what had happened, between himself and Chris, and began retching. The other caboose called out, rushing to the door, and the repair truck came in, rushing to find out what was making the caboose try to vomit.

"Carolina, what happened?"

"I'm not sure, really, Micki. I told him I'd done some of the same things he has, and."

"I see. I understand, now. Don't do that, again. He'll talk about it, when he's ready. He'll talk, period, when he's ready."

"But why'd he-"

"The memories must be too much for him to handle. Be careful what you talk about."

"Right."

CB stared, as the repair truck left. His eyes rested on his companion. Her name was Carolina. He liked that, a lot. He liked her, a lot. She was small, clever. She had the same look he did, the look of someone trying to be good, but having to fight down something horrible, to do so. The look was far less noticeable, on her, though. She'd nearly conquered her demons.

"So, CB. You can hear me talking, right?"

CB gave a slight nod.

"If you're not going to talk back, I need to find a way to have you communicate with me. The steamer. Rusty, is it? Right. He said you might feel more comfortable, with me around. Will you try and find a way to help me out, here? I mean, here we are, having a really one-sided conversation."

CB reached up, and placed a finger over her lips. He gestured to his bare chest, and gave her a pleading look. She giggled, and went to get his outer clothing, then leaving him to get dressed.

He shakily rolled out into the hallway, afterward, and found her, near a window. She looked out, seeming to be deep in thought. She was actually sorting through her past, trying to find a way to get through the walls CB was putting up around himself.

CB tapped her on the shoulder, making her jump a bit. She smiled, and motioned to a nearby chair.

"Care to sit down?"

CB motioned for her to take the chair closest to her, and sat in one about ten feet from it.

"Oh, come on, now, I won't bite you."

CB only shrugged, and shook his head. He wasn't going to sit any closer.

"So. Rusty never told us what your real name was. Only called you CB."

Her companion narrowed his eyes, suspicion showing through them, and she changed the subject.

"So, you haven't had any food in quite a while. Would you like something to eat?"

CB nodded, and Carolina led the way to the kitchen. He stared around it. The kitchen hadn't been as big, back at Poppa and Belle's home. Come to think of it, everything had been small. It was a small yard, the buildings were small, and so was everything inside them.

"Pick something out. I'll cook it, you're not allowed by the stoves."

CB fumed, and kicked a chair.

"Don't you start that, I'll have Micki in here, with restraints, in ten seconds."

Carolina was surprised, when a look of question crossed CB's face.

"Does the word straitjacket mean anything to you?"

CB backed away, a surge of panic causing him to lose control of his emotions. Just what kind of a place was this? Straitjackets? What were they going to do to him? He'd kill them, before they did anything to him! He turned, and barreled back the way he'd come, finding the room he'd awakened in, and slammed the door on Carolina's wrist. The other caboose let out a shriek, and CB dashed into a corner, quaking with fear. Had he hurt her? There were panicky shouts, and he heard a click. He heard Carolina's panicky sobbing, and rushed to the door.

He pounded on it, finding it locked. He heard Carolina start sobbing even more, and begging Micki not to put him in restraints. He went back to the corner, and curled up into a ball, eyes scanning the room for something he could use to hurt himself, the way he'd hurt Carolina. There was nothing. He put his head in his arms, and cried for two hours, until he heard his door opening.

He tried to crawl farther into the corner, as Carolina came back into the room, followed by a large diesel locomotive. The locomotive stood in a corner, crossing his arms. Carolina's wrist was badly bruised, and her hand was slightly swollen. It was held still with a splint and a sling. CB's eyes flicked between both, panic surging through him, again.

"It's all right, CB." Carolina whispered. "This is Garrett, he's Micki's engine. He won't hurt you, he just wants to make sure you're not going to hurt me."

CB launched himself at the female caboose, wrapping his arms around her, and sobbing. She stiffened, for a moment, then hesitantly returned the embrace.

"It's okay, CB. I promise. You'll be fine. I won't let anything happen."

Carolina nodded to Garrett, and he left, leaving her to handle the problem on his own. He pointed to an alarm button on the wall, glaring at her, for emphasis.

Carolina moved toward the edge of the bed, CB still clinging to her. She sat on the edge of the bed, and pulled him down next to her. He leaned his head on her shoulder, just as he'd done so often with Belle, when she'd come to comfort him, when he was a young child. His companion rubbed his back, letting him get his feelings out. He eventually loosened his hold on her, and pulled away, wiping at his eyes. He gave her an apologetic look.

"Hey, now, you don't have a thing to be sorry for."

CB sighed, and let his companion pull off his hat, and stare into his eyes. He averted his eyes, after a moment. Micki looked in the door. She smiled, seeing all was going well.

Several days passed, and CB came out of his shell a bit more, each day. He grew to like Carolina, growing more trusting of her, every day, though he still tried his best to avoid Micki and Garrett like the plague. One day, Micki looked in on the two, while they held yet another one-sided conversation.

"Letter for you, CB. Carolina, you have a package from your parents."

CB gave Carolina a bit of a jealous look. Carolina took the mail, and handed CB his letter. He opened it, and scanned it. It was from Dinah. He began reading, eager to hear news of the yard, from her.

Dear CB, Just wrote to see how you are. I miss you a lot, so do Poppa and Belle. They send their love, and said to tell you they hope to have you back, soon. So do I. Dustin and Rusty are the heroes of the yard. Even Greaseball is starting to come around, and he's congratulating them, whenever he sees them. I'm glad you're in a place where they can help you. It's best, this way. You'll come back to us, and everything will be okay, again. There are some pictures, here. Everyone wanted to send you some to cheer you up. We all love and miss you. Love, Dinah PS: Greaseball asked if he could become my engine, yesterday! I mean permanently, not just during working time. I told him yes. I'm so happy!

Carolina looked up from the package, as his hands tightened on the letter, wrinkling it, and making a crackling noise.

"CB?"

He stared at the letter, upset clearly written on his face. Carolina gently pried it out of his hands, and scanned it, trying to figure out what was upsetting him. Her eyes went wide, and she shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I know how it feels, to have someone you care for say something like that, to you. I was asked to have someone be my engine, once. I though he loved me, but. When I came here. Well, he found someone else, pretty quick."

CB shook his head. This wasn't like that, at all. Dinah was his best friend, not his lover. But he still couldn't shake the feelings of heartbreak and loss. He took a few deep breaths, and calmed down, barely managing to fight back the wave of anger and darkness that surged up within him. He picked up the pictures, and started looking through them, showing them to Carolina.

"It would be a lot nicer, if you could tell me who they are, CB."

CB tapped the back of the picture she held. The names were written on the back. Carolina sighed. Another opportunity to get him to talk wasted. CB stared at the final picture. It was a snapshot of Poppa, Belle, Rusty, and himself. Carolina managed to get a glimpse of it, just before he placed it against his chest, and smiled a bit.

"Is that your family?"

CB waved his hand in a "sort of yes, sort of no" gesture.

"Sort of.? Were you adopted?"

CB nodded.

"What happened to your real parents?"

CB looked away, a slight groan escaping his lips.

"Dead?"

He nodded, his eyes closing to keep the sadness and anger in them from showing through.

"Well, what happened to them?"

CB pointed to himself. Carolina nodded, knowing a bit about what had happened, through Rusty, and knowing it was not the fault of her companion. She hugged him, and held out a picture of her own.

"This is my family. The blue caboose is my father, the gray one is my mother, and the green ones are my twin brothers. And, of course, the brownish-red one is me."

CB smiled. He opened his mouth, struggled with his fears, for a moment, and spoke to her, for the first time.

"You. You look." he struggled, his voice hoarse from disuse. "You look like your mother."

Carolina stared, taken aback, then smiled.

"Flatterer."

A few hours later, Carolina rolled into Micki's office, all smiles. The repair truck looked at her oddly. The caboose in front of her was much happier than usual, even happier than when, two weeks ago, Micki had allowed her to make the choice as to whether she wanted to stay, or to go back to her family.

"He's talking, Micki!"

"Good."

"Good? That's all you can say?"

"It's only the first step, you know."

"I know. I've gotten his trust, what next?"

"You have to get him to talk about his past."

Carolina nodded. This wasn't going to be easy, at all. She had to try, though. It wasn't as if she was doing this for nothing.

"I'll do my best, Micki."

The caboose stood, but the repair truck stopped her.

"Sit down, we need to talk."

Carolina obeyed.

"You've been spending an awful lot of time with CB."

"So?"

"I've seen the way you two look at each other, when you think the other is looking away, and nobody else is watching."

"Oh, come on, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Carolina, if you like him, that's all well and good. If you don't though, I don't want you to keep dragging him on. Now, go on back to your room, or wherever you're going."

"Fine."

Carolina rolled back to her room, fear and confusion clouding her mind. She was going through absolute hell, trying to sort out her feelings. She'd only wanted to help CB recover. She was angry with Micki for accusing her of not taking the other caboose seriously. She wanted nothing more than to acknowledge her feelings for CB.

Her head said that they didn't belong together. Her heart said that she needed to stay with him, and yet, she longed to go back to her family. Maybe she could take CB with her, for a few days, if she could convince Micki. She turned back, and rolled purposefully back into Micki's office.

"Micki, we have to talk."

A few hours later, Micki rolled into CB's room, carrying one of Carolina's extra duffel bags. She tossed it on CB's bed. The male caboose looked up from his book, as Carolina peered around the door, Garrett's hand on her shoulder.

"What's going on, Micki?"

CB had stood, and backed up a bit, still nervous around the repair truck and her engine. He looked at the duffel bag. Surely they weren't putting him out on the rails! They couldn't be!

"You're going with Carolina, for a few days, to visit her family. Garrett's going to take you there."

"I'm going to. I can't!"

"You can, and you will. You need to face up to being part of a family. They've agreed to help you with anything you can't handle."

CB looked over at Carolina.

"Please come, CB." she mouthed, silently. "I'll be right next to you, the whole time. I promise."

"Fine. If you all want me to go, I will."

And that settled it. CB packed his things. The three set out at dawn, the next morning. CB didn't know it, yet, but meeting Carolina's family would be the best thing to happen to him.