A/N If I gave chapters in this story titles, this is Erica's Worst Nightmare.
One day, Thomas was just in steam and heard crying. Sounds sad, he thought. I don't like that. Shall I have to comfort someone? He then moved so he could see who it was. Erica's the one who's crying, he thought. I've got to get to her straightaway. She's crying her eyes out. Must be a bad dream, I guess.
Thomas went to Erica and asked his "sister", "What's wrong?"
Erica, big, big tears flowing from her shut eyes, sniffled long and loudly, then said in a quivering voice, "Thomas, my "brother", I had a dreadful nightmare. It was ghastly, just so beastly terrible. I dreamed you had to be scrapped. You had a burst safety valve and your boiler exploded." Her lips were trembling from her crying
He pressed his buffers hard against her, "You dreamed I died? No wonder you're weeping like that! I'd be in tears myself if I dreamed you died. Well, "little sister", it was just a dream, you know. I'm still alive." He smiled sympathetically at her. "There, there."
Erica's driver arrived, saw her streaming face, climbed onto her buffer beam and took a purple handkerchief out to dry her tears.
"Driver, I had the most dreadful nightmare. I dreamed my "big brother" died," she said tearfully as he rubbed her face and wiped her eyes dry. She sniffled again as her eyes flooded with fresh tears.
"There, there," he said soothingly. "That was a ghastly dream, but still only a dream. But I get it, so it's okay to cry. Let it all out and feel better.", as he continued to wipe the tears away from her wet eyes.
After a bit, her tears subsided and she smiled at her "brother" and her driver. He smiled back at his "little sister", black eyes twinkling because he was so happy to see her happy again and even whistled his happy whistle. Then they were given their jobs and puffed off.
Erica's driver said to his engine, "When I dry your eyes, I see it as an act of comfort. I just want to help you feel better, as I'm sensitive to others' feelings. So, I like care for others."
Her fireman said, "I'm a person with a deep sympathy for those who hurt. I use my emotional understanding of myself to connect with others, which leads to me having empathy and deep concern for those I care about. It makes me sad when someone I care about cries, because I'm someone who cares deeply."
Her driver said, "We say these things to let you why we let you cry as much and whenever you wanted about your oldest brother, giving our comfort whenever you did so with us there. And why I handled your crying your eyes out over that nightmare as I did."
Erica's reply was, "I know you've always been that way. Driver, I know you want to soothe my unhappiness when I get that way. Fireman, if you're the only one with me when I'm sad, we talk about it as wipe the tears from my eyes. I know my tears were endless, seemingly, after my oldest brother's death."
They arrived in the yard and Erica whistled to her friends, who whistled back. They comforted me when they weren't too busy, she thought as they got to work shunting. Always ready to give me a sympathetic buffer press or cheer me up those times they could.
Diesel had to take some cars to Knapford Yards and he spotted Erica. Due to knowing about her oldest brother, he bullied her.
"I'm glad your oldest brother was scrapped, Erica," he said. One less stinky steamie in the world. I wish you, your "big brother" and all your steamie friends would be scrapped, too.".
Erica was hurt deeply and began to cry. She sobbed loudly and her eyes flooded with tears. Her nightmare earlier had left her very shaken. As her tears streaked her face, "Can you wipe my eyes?", she sniffled.
Erica's driver stopped her and walked to her face, hanky in hand. He softly patted her tears from her eyes and rubbed her cheeks to dry the tears away, saying as he did so, "There, there Erica. I know you feel terribly hurt, but don't believe it. You and your friends won't be scrapped as long you can be Really Useful Engines."
Erica sniffled again, crying more and said, "He hurt my feelings. How did he find out about my oldest brother anyway? He's a meanie engine. Keep wiping."
Her driver said, as he continued to wipe her tears away, "Let the tears get out and feel better.". Her fireman gently patted her buffers as a gesture of comfort.
Erica eventually stopped crying and managed to smile as her driver dried her damp eyes and generally wiped her remaining tears away. She heard her "brother" whistle as he pulled Annie and Clarabel to Knapford and whistled a greeting to him in reply. Her dark eyes twinkled and her whistle sound was happy to know he was near.
Thomas heard his "sister" whistle and he smiled with twinkling black eyes. He thought of the difference between her happy whistle and all the times he stayed the night with her in Knapford and she either cried herself to sleep or he found her wailing with grief, her face tear-stained and wet with fresh tears in the morning. I wailed my broken heart out after finding out all my siblings were scrapped, he thought. So, I gave her comforting words and, if I was in steam, a buffer press whenever she was wailing or just quietly sobbing. I hated her being so sad all the time. Now, she feels much better and I like that she's happy again.
Later on, after jobs were done, Erica played Hide and Peep with her "big brother".
"I love this game," she told Thomas after they played. She then went on to say, "My favorite job today was the last, when I was shunting with you.".
Thomas said, "I like to shunt, even when it happens to be the Troublesome Trucks. So, if they needed an extra engine in Knapford Yards, I had no reason to say I couldn't. Besides, Really Useful Engines help wherever, whenever needed and so, I shall never refuse to help. Especially when a friend needs me. I quite like to help my friends."
They finished chatting, said good-bye and each went to their respective sheds.
A/N The part where Thomas whistles while pulling his coaches is just me falling into narrator type mode, perhaps. His "sister" maybe didn't know exactly what he was pulling, but I was rounding out the scene. Respect my sona and I'll keep this story up, especially if you happen to be a member. I'm not British, the canon characters in this chapter, so I tried with the English, so if I misused "shall" or anything, respectfully say so. I know will and shall aren't perfectly interchangeable.