A/N: In response to Eliot Reader's review: Yes, Calumina does bear some facial resemblance to her brothers. Imagine the twins' identical face, but with softer and more feminine features (and yes, she does have eyelashes, but they're very light). Locomotive 828 does have a dark blue livery in real life, so I carried that over to Calumina. Her deceased brothers Fingal and Gregor used to have silver and maroon liveries respectively. I still haven't been able to decide on what Michaela's basis is, but the more I think about it, the more I wonder if she and the others of her kind (her siblings) should actually be in a new class of their own. I did add handrails that go on her smokebox, just like the ones that the Scottish siblings have on their smokeboxes.

In response to Shayne and Bailey's reviews: Concerning Douglas and Michaela's relationship... patience ;)

And to everyone else: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story!

Warning: Today's chapter might make you cry a little.

Michaela had been on the Island of Sodor for a month now, and she was enjoying it very much. So were her driver and fireman, and one day, Kennet had a surprise to prove it.

That evening, as Sam was cleaning out Michaela's firebox at the sheds, Kennet suddenly left them for a little while. When he returned a half hour later, somebody was with him.

"Michaela, Sam, I would like to introduce you to Mia. Mia, this is my engine Michaela, and Sam here is the fireman that I work with." Kennet spoke to the girl at his side with a gentle voice and a shy smile.

Mia was a pretty young woman with red hair and soft blue eyes, and she had a smile on her face as she approached Michaela with wonder. "Hello, there. I've never met an engine in person before… I've ridden many trains, but I've never actually been able to talk to the engines themselves."

Michaela smiled and tried her hardest to look her in the eyes so Mia wouldn't think she was rude, but she couldn't help asking, "Are you Kennet's girlfriend?"

Her driver looked down and shuffled his feet. "...Fiancée now, actually."

There was a brief silence between all of them, but Sam quickly broke it by rushing over to Kennet and Mia and shaking their hands. "Congratulations, you two!"

Michaela was puzzled. What on earth was a "fiancée"? As she stared at the three humans, she noticed that Mia was wearing a sparkly ring on one of her fingers.

Sam finally walked back to Michaela, grinning widely, and began to clean off some soot that was on her bufferbeam.

"What's happening?" she asked him. "What's a fiancée?"

He leaned closer. "It means that they're getting married."

Michaela gasped. "Really? But… haven't they only known each other for a month?"

Sam hesitated. "...Yeah. We should probably talk to Kennet about that."

So after Mia left some time later, Michaela and her fireman immediately began to question her driver.

*"Kennet, haven't you two only known each other for a month?" Sam asked him. "Are you really sure you're both ready for this kind of commitment?"

"Sure, I'm sure. If you think that that's crazy, my parents actually only knew each other for two weeks before they decided to get married, and their marriage turned out to be great."

"Doesn't mean that yours will," Sam bluntly replied.

"Wait a minute, Sam," said Michaela. "Kennet, you really love Mia, don't you?"

He didn't hesitate. "Of course I do."

"And she loves you too, right?"

"She reminds me that she does every time I see her."

"...Then everything should be fine, right?"

Sam glanced back at their engine. "It's not whether they love each other or not, Michaela. It's how fast they're jumping into this. Kennet, have you talked to anybody else about this?"

"Yeah." He looked down. "I called my parents, and while they were really excited, they also gave me a lot of advice. It took me an hour to write everything down while they took turns talking to me."

"Alright, good. That's a start," said Sam as he leaned against Michaela's bufferbeam, arms folded.

Kennet continued. "Mia told me that she talked to her parents too, and aside from giving her advice as well, they didn't seem opposed to it, either."

The fireman hesitated. "I guess that's good, then. It's just that I don't think you should be getting married this soon, but if you and Mia are really determined to make this work, then I'm not going to stop you."

Kennet nodded, then he gasped as a realization hit him. "Oh man… We've still got to plan the wedding! I still need to talk with Mia about the date…"

Sam smirked as he turned back to Michaela to finish cleaning her up. "You can't get married without a wedding, Kennet."

As her crew continued to chat while they prepared to leave her for the night, Michaela sighed dreamily and gazed up at the stars beginning to appear in the sky. "Kennet and Mia are getting married…" she murmured to herself. "What fun! I wonder what a wedding's like…"

Michaela found out sooner than she thought. Two weeks after Kennet and Mia announced their engagement, Sir Topham Hatt came to see Michaela and gave her a very important job that had to do with her driver's wedding, which was taking place later that day.

Now Michaela was sitting at the washdown, drying off in the sun after her bath, and Sam and some workmen were decorating her in white ribbons and bows.

Someone is speaking to me with words right now, but I can't hear it, she thought to herself. Michaela was so focused on Kennet and Mia's wedding that she could only hear Sam's voice as muffled background noise.

When it finally occurred to Michaela that he was talking to her, she quickly pretended that she had been listening the entire time and did her best to look like she knew what he was talking about, but she really had no idea.

Sam looked down at his engine's face as he tied a white ribbon to the handrail that ran along the side of her boiler and came up onto her smokebox. "So, what do you think of that, Michaela?"

The iridescent engine's face turned pink as she wished that she'd realized he was talking to her a little sooner. "What do I think about what?"

He sighed. "You weren't listening to me, were you?"

"No, no, I was." Michaela paused. "But just in case… tell me the whole thing again. I wasn't listening."

Sam groaned. "Well this is certainly going to be a problem…" he mumbled to himself.

"What's that?"

"Uh, n-nothing." He finished tying the ribbon and climbed down. "I was just saying, since Kennet is going to be busy getting married, I'll be the one to drive you instead."

Michaela suddenly felt a little nervous. Only Kennet had ever driven her before, and she wasn't sure if Sam would be able to understand her the way Kennet did. "But… who's going to be my fireman, then?"

Sam casually patted the back of another man standing next to him. **"Norman here will be the relief fireman who takes my place while Kennet's gone."

Michaela jumped (as much as an engine could, anyways), and a brief tremble ran through her body that accidentally shook off the workmen that had been climbing on her and tying on bows and ribbons. "Gone?"

"At his wedding." Sam didn't bother telling Michaela that Kennet would be gone for much longer after the ceremony.

"She doesnae stop lookin' at ye," Donald said to Oliver.

The Great Western tank engine's face turned even more red. "You're just saying that. Be quiet."

"Ah'm serious!" Donald glanced back at Calumina, who was talking with Duck while she waited for Michaela. "...Ah think," he whispered to his twin.

Oliver didn't look so sure about what Donald had said, but the Scottish twins could tell that he secretly hoped it was true. So did they—for the sake of Oliver's sensitive soul.

Douglas quietly pulled forward next to Oliver. "Say hi," he whispered, startling the green tank engine.

Just then, an iridescent tender engine covered in beautiful white ribbons with some coaches in tow steamed into view, and it was Douglas's turn to blush and try not to stare as Michaela joined the group.

"Ah told ye," Calumina was saying to Duck, "ah cannae tell any yin person whit's in here until th' wedding ceremony ends." She glanced back at the unusually white truck she was coupled up to with a knowing smile on her face.

"Right, but we're not going to be there. You and Michaela will be, but the rest of us still have work to do."

Calumina's eyes brightened when she saw her friend coming up alongside them. "Och aye, well then she kin just tell ye when she gets back from th' wedding. Ah dinnae want th' surprise tae be ruined."

"Why would I ruin your surprise…" Duck muttered.

"Where are ye goin' all dressed up like tha'?" Donald asked Michaela as he, Douglas, and Oliver puffed over.

"Didn't I tell you? My driver's getting married. I'm going to be taking the 'bridle' and her—"

"Bride," Sam corrected Michaela from inside her cab.

She blushed. "Oh, yeah… I'm taking the bride and her… bridesmaids to the church where they're getting married, and then I'll bring them to the reception after that." She scrunched up her button nose. "There's one more stop, but I can't remember where…"

"Never mind that," said Sam. "We'd better get going now, or else we'll be late."

Calumina began to move. "Och, that's right. Follow me, lassie!"

As the girls puffed away to go pick up Mia and her bridesmaids, the sun reflected off of Michaela's livery and into all of the boys' eyes. Donald, Oliver, and Duck immediately closed their eyes and tried to shield them from the light, but Douglas just looked down and blushed even harder.

***His driver noticed this and leaned out of his cab. "Whitever's th' matter, Douglas?"

"Och, nothin'..." The Scottish engine's voice lowered. "Michaela's jist too bonnie fer me tae look at her."

The palms of Kennet's hands were sweating as he anxiously waited inside the church while guests were arriving. He could see his parents and other family members smiling and chatting excitedly in hushed tones, and he wished very much that he could relax and enjoy himself as much as they were. And he was very happy; there was no doubt about that. He just felt very nervous.

"Kinda strange to have your best man show up at the same time as the bride, only a few minutes before the ceremony starts."

Kennet quickly turned around. "Geez, Sam, I'm already scared enough as it is without you sneaking up on me like that."

Sam adjusted Kennet's tie. "Anxious?"

"No… I'm terrified."

His best man grinned. "Awesome." Sam looked out at the small crowd settling down in the pews. "Everything's going to be fine. You'll see."

Kennet paused. "...You know how you once asked me if Mia and I were ready for this kind of commitment?"

Sam nodded.

"Well, when the two of us were planning our wedding—with some help, of course—both of us were getting stressed and frustrated, sometimes even with each other. Mia's a bit of a perfectionist, and I'm not very good at planning things out… I'm more of a spontaneous person.

"But believe it or not… these past two weeks have actually made us stronger, and I've only found myself wanting to be with her more than ever. I know that if the both of us consciously work at it, Mia and I will be able to make it together."

Sam stared at Kennet with a neutral face, but the groom could tell that he had reached him because of the awestruck look in Sam's eyes.

Just then, the organist began to play, and everybody stood up and turned to see Mia standing in a glimmering white dress, her red hair tied up in an elegant bun and blue eyes shining with joy.

Kennet's own eyes met hers as she took her father's arm and began to walk down the aisle, and the love he felt for Mia had never been stronger than in that very moment.

"So, what's really in the truck?" Michaela asked Calumina as they waited outside the church.

The Scottish engine closed her eyes. "Ye'll find out when everybody comes outside agin."

A few minutes later, the people did just that. Everybody lined up outside the church doors as they came out and began to cheer when the newlyweds, Kennet and Mia, exited the building. Then they started throwing something white on them.

"What on earth are they doing?" Michaela asked.

Calumina laughed. "They're throwin' rice onto th' newly married couple. 'Tis an old tradition tha' represents th' best o' luck an' good wishes."

Suddenly, a flock of white birds flew into the air, and everybody gasped and cheered excitedly. Michaela looked over to see Calumina's driver holding open the door of the white truck that she was coupled up to. Birds were soaring out of it, cooing happily as they took to the skies.

"You had birds in there?" Michaela asked.

"Doves," Calumina replied with a chuckle.

Sam approached Michaela and climbed into her cab, tuxedo and all. "Ready to go? We're headed to Wellsworth next for the reception."

"Yeah, I'm ready…" Her voice trailed off as she spotted a familiar face in the crowd who was busy congratulating Kennet and Mia. "Hey look, Sam! Sir Hefty Hatt is here at my driver's wedding!"

Sam immediately snorted with laughter.

Michaela tightly closed her eyes. "...I got it wrong again, didn't I?"

He wiped his eyes and watched as the couple and their families began to board the coaches. "It's fine, Michaela, really…"

An hour later, Michaela and Calumina watched as everybody celebrated Kennet and Mia's wedding at the reception in Wellsworth.

When everybody was getting food at one point, Michaela noticed that before Mia ate, she pulled out a small device and pricked her finger with a small black object, then held her finger to the device.

"Having fun, Michaela?"

The iridescent engine smiled down at her driver as he came up to her with a plate of food in one hand. "Kennet, I'm so glad that you could marry Mia. She's so nice to everybody that she meets."

He glanced back at his wife with a shy smile. "She definitely is." Kennet looked back at his engine. "Just like you."

Michaela blushed, then asked after a pause, "Kennet? What is Mia doing to her finger?"

"She's testing her blood sugar before she eats. Mia has something called 'type 1 diabetes'. When she was a little girl, almost five, her pancreas stopped producing insulin, a certain hormone that keeps her blood sugar levels regulated. If Mia's blood sugar gets too high or low, she might pass out."

Michaela was shocked. "So how is she still alive?"

Kennet smiled a little. "She tests her blood sugar to see what it's at, and if her blood sugar is too high or she's about to eat, then she gives herself an insulin shot. Sometimes Mia's blood sugar gets low, and then she has to eat or drink something that will raise her blood sugar back to where it needs to be—no insulin needed when that happens."

"...Wow."

The two sat in silence for a minute, then Kennet left Michaela for a little while. When he returned, an older, kind-looking couple was with him.

"Michaela, these are my parents. Remember when I told you about my dad during our first day together?"

"Yeah, I remember." She gazed down at the couple with curiosity. Kennet looked very much like his mother, but he had his father's wise blue eyes.

"So, you're the engine that our son has been working with? It's a pleasure to finally meet you," said Mr. Woodhouse.

Mrs. Woodhouse was an energetic woman who clearly loved her son a lot. "Our darling Kenny has been telling us all about you whenever he calls home. We're so proud of our little boy, working hard so far away from our home, aren't we, dear?"

She directed that last question to her husband, but before he could answer, Mrs. Woodhouse's eyes began to tear up. "And to think that he's married now, and… w-who knows how much longer until we get grandbabies…"

Mr. Woodhouse took his wife by the shoulders and pulled her into a hug as she began to cry. "We'll be right back, Kennet," he said to his son as he gently led Mrs. Woodhouse away.

Kennet was blushing with embarrassment over his mother's reaction, but then he quickly recomposed himself and turned back to Michaela. "Well, those are my parents for you."

She giggled. "They're wonderful."

Kennet smiled, then he patted Michaela's buffer and went to go find Mia.

"Why are we all going to Brendam Docks again?" Michaela asked Sam as they followed Calumina down Edward's Branch Line.

Sam suddenly wondered if keeping their reasons for going there a secret from Michaela was such a good idea. "...It's for part of their wedding celebration."

And it was… in a way.

When they all arrived at the docks, there was a big ship there that was headed for Scotland. Michaela watched as Kennet and Mia's family members all hugged them and said goodbye. At first, she wondered if Kennet's family all lived in Scotland.

But when they all started to board another ship that was headed for England, Michaela knew that something was wrong. Especially when her driver's packed bags were about to go with him and Mia on the ship heading for Scotland.

"Wait, Kennet! W-what's going on?" she called out to him when he came near her.

Kennet froze, then he covered his face with one hand. "Oh my gosh, I completely forgot… How could I have forgotten to take care of the one thing that needs the most attention while I'm gone?" He sounded really upset with himself.

"Kennet, what's going on?" Michaela demanded. "Where are you going?"

He carefully placed one hand on her buffer, but the iridescent engine flinched at her driver's touch. "I'm so sorry… I thought I… I-I meant to tell you…"

"Tell me what?!" Her voice was thick with fear and emotion.

"...That I'll be gone for a week on my honeymoon."

When the full impact of his words finally hit her, Michaela burst into tears. "B-but… I need you here! Who's going to drive me? Who's going to calm me down if I have a panic attack? Who's going to keep me company when I'm feeling lonely or scared?"

For an agonizing moment, Kennet looked like he might cry, too. He finally took a deep breath and looked away from Michaela's distraught face. "Sam's going to do all of that while I'm gone. But… I'll be back before you know it. Just one week, Michaela. Then we'll be together again."

Michaela's uncontrollable sobbing made nearly all of Brendam Docks go quiet, and although people were staring, she didn't care. She just wanted Kennet to stay with her, to be there for her no matter what…

After a minute had passed, Kennet lifted his head and climbed into Michaela's cab, emerging again with a rag in his hands. He climbed up onto her bufferbeam and gently wiped away her tears. When Michaela's crying finally slowed down and she opened her eyes again, Kennet pressed his forehead against hers, and the two sat in complete silence for another minute.

Kennet eventually leaned back and ran a hand over Michaela's cheek, then he climbed down and handed the rag to Sam. "Please take good care of her while I'm away. She needs all the love and patience in the world."

He looked back at Michaela one last time. "Everything's going to be okay," Kennet said to her in a soothing voice. "I'll be back soon."

"O-okay," she whispered back with a sniffle.

A few minutes later, Michaela watched as her driver and his wife, Mia, waved goodbye from the deck of the departing ship to Scotland. She started to cry again when Kennet blew a kiss to her, not as hard as before, but still enough to make Calumina give her a sympathetic buffer press and remain there until Michaela had almost cried her tank empty.

When Michaela finally came back to Tidmouth Hault Sheds later that night, all of the boys were asleep except for one of the Scottish twins.

It had taken her a long time, but Michaela was beginning to understand both of them without any help from her driver or fireman. She was also learning to tell the difference between the two, aside from their numbers and nameplates.

Donald was the more outgoing and upbeat twin, while Douglas was more cautious and to himself. Their voices were also a little different, since Douglas's was softer than Donald's, and their whistles were at different pitches as well.

Douglas was still awake, and he watched as Michaela backed into her berth, and Sam and Norman, the relief fireman, climbed out of her cab and began to take the white ribbons and bows off of her.

"So…" he asked after a few minutes had passed in silence, "how did it go?"

Michaela looked up at his buffers in surprise, then she looked back down. "...My driver left me. He's going away to Scotland for his 'moneymoon'."

Sam peeked over her boiler. "It's pronounced 'honeymoon'."

Michaela didn't reply, closing her eyes and sighing sadly instead.

Douglas gazed at her with concern. "Ye okay, lass?"

She slowly opened her eyes again, and they were watering a little. "I don't think I will be until Kennet gets back," she whispered in a heartbroken voice.

The Scottish engine felt sorry for her and was quiet for a moment. "...Do ye wan' tae tell me about it?"

Just hearing that he was okay with her spilling out her feelings was enough for Michaela to start crying all over again. When she could finally speak again she tearfully told Douglas, "Change is so hard f-f-for me… I miss Kennet so much, a-and it feels like I'm never going to be happy again…"

She sobbed for a few more seconds, then drew in a shuddering breath and continued. "I know he's only g-going to be gone for a week, but he means so much to me, and I'm not sure I'll be able to be a Really Useful Engine w-without him…"

Douglas wished more than ever that he could have the mobility to move by himself and give her the engines' form of a hug, but all he could do was comfort her with his words. "But Michaela, ye are a Really Useful Engine. Aye, change is difficult, but remember tha' this one will only be fer a week. When he comes back, everythin' will go back tae normal."

Michaela's sobs grew quieter, and she tried hard to remember everything that he was saying to her.

Douglas's voice softened as he kept talking. "Ah ken how hard it is tae be parted from someone tha' means a lot tae me, an' it's no' easy. Ye'd be surprised how much ah miss Donnie after we've been apart fer only a day. But we always get back together agin, and ah'm so glad tha' we do.

"Ah ken that ye'll see yer driver soon, and tha' ye'll be happy agin. And remember… we're all here fer ye." He blushed a little. "...Ah'm here fer ye, Michaela."

The iridescent engine's tears stopped flowing, and she opened her eyes again. But Michaela did something rather unusual when she looked over at Douglas.

Her eyes locked onto his, and they maintained eye contact for five long seconds, before she eventually looked away.

It took the Scottish engine a few minutes to realize that that had been Michaela's way of saying, "Thank you."

Meanwhile, Sam was walking home and pondering what he had overheard Michaela saying to Douglas. He recalled Kennet's words, asking him to take good care of her, and wondered if he really had what it took to be loving and patient with Michaela, just like Kennet was with her.

Sam looked out at the moon's reflection on the ocean and sighed. He didn't feel like he could ever measure up to those standards. He rarely ever felt like he actually measured up to anything. Nevertheless, he would try—for Michaela's sake.

A/N: I don't know if anybody spotted this, but Calumina's name actually means "dove" (which was really why I gave her the job of transporting them in the first place). The latter half of this chapter was partially inspired by the magazine stories, The Wedding Engine! and Thomas and the Wedding. And you might be wondering why Kennet and Mia went to Scotland of all places for their honeymoon. I have no idea why I chose it in the first place, but it's a beautiful country, so... yeah.

*This whole conversation was basically me just trying to justify (pretty weakly) why this chapter came so early in the timeline... Yes, I do have a timeline for Iridescence, down to the very month and day(s) that each chapter takes place in. I don't know if it entirely fits in with the canon timeline of the show, but since this is my partially rewritten version of it, I'm pretty sure it fits in.

**The name of Michaela's relief fireman is another Fireman Sam reference, this time to the character Norman Price.

***Douglas's driver is Scottish during the model era of the show, but I don't know if that's still the case in the CGI series. I decided for him to still be Scottish here anyways.