CONFUSION WITHOUT DELAY

Based upon the episode by Davey Moore

Late one September afternoon, Rosie was arranging some trucks at the yards of Vicarstown. She was just finishing when she noticed a large green engine racing by.

"Was that Henry?" Rosie wondered. Just then, Henry pulled in from the opposite direction.

"Wait, Henry?!" exclaimed Rosie. "Didn't you just come from the other direction?"

"That wasn't me," Henry insisted. "I thought it was the Flying Scotsman rushing past."

"It couldn't be," said Rosie. "The Flying Scotsman has two tenders, but I only saw one."

"Well, who could it have been then?"


Over at Knapford yard, Thomas, Emily, Nia and Percy had gathered for an announcement from Sir Topham Hatt.

"As you all know," he began, "before going to the Great Railway Show in Canada, I purchased another engine from the mainland to help out with work on the mainline."

Suddenly, Percy noticed something in the distance. "Uh, sir...?"

"Not now, Percy," Sir Topham Hatt scolded. "I'm trying to finish my announcement."

"But sir..." Percy protested.

"I'm slowing down!" a female voice cried. "I'm slowing doooowwn!" Suddenly, Percy found himself being bumped by an unfamiliar engine. She was a large green tender engine with black wheels and a streamlined appearance.

"I'm so sorry!" the engine apologized. "I miscalculated how long it would take me to slow down."

"I should say so," Sir Topham Hatt retorted. "I wasn't even expecting you to arrive until tomorrow."

"I know," the new engine insisted, "but I was afraid of being delayed on my way up so I decided to set off early just to be on the safe side."

"Hmm, I see." Sir Topham Hatt turned to the rest of his engines. "I would like you all to meet our newest recruit," he announced, referring to the new engine. "This is Rebecca."

Despite the bumpy arrival, Percy and the other engines gave Rebecca a warm welcome.

"Hello, everyone," Rebecca greeted cheerfully. "I've been looking forward to coming here for a long time. Where am I meant to stay?"

"You'll be staying at Tidmouth sheds," said Sir Topham Hatt.

"I can take you there," Percy offered.

"That's a lovely offer," smiled Rebecca. "Thank you very much."

As Rebecca followed Percy, she noticed a rather sulky Gordon passing by with a goods train. Rebecca wanted to know why the big blue engine was in such a bad mood, but decided to ask about it later.


That evening, Rebecca and the other engines (minus Gordon) were resting at Tidmouth Sheds, talking about the day they'd had.

"Tomorrow I begin my first day of work on Thomas's branch line," said Nia proudly.

"Congratulations, Nia," smiled Thomas. "You don't know how grateful we are to have more help on the branch line."

"It hasn't been the same since Daisy went to Harwick," Percy added.

"Percy," Rebecca spoke up, "who was that big tender engine we passed earlier?"

"That was Gordon," Percy insisted. A hush fell upon the sheds as soured faces formed on the engines at the mere mention of Gordon's name.

"Why don't you like Gordon?" asked Rebecca.

"Before you and Nia arrived," explained Thomas, "our friends Edward and Henry used to live here at Tidmouth with us. But after James crashed into the sheds, Edward temporarily transferred to the sheds at Wellsworth."

"And when the repairs were finished," James added, "Edward decided to stay at Wellsworth since it was part of his branch line."

"And lately," Emily contributed, "Henry had thought about transferring to Vicarstown so he could get better sleep after taking the Flying Kipper. But Gordon wasn't too happy with the changes being made, and had the audacity to blame Nia for it."

"And said some very hurtful things about me in the process," said Nia quietly. She was still pretty upset by what Gordon had said.

"That's terrible!" Rebecca gasped. "How could an engine be so mean as to blame another for something they weren't responsible for?"

"We've all behaved badly at one point or another," said Emily. "I once went through a phase where I was being bossy and rude to everyone else."

"Why would you do that?"

"Well..." Emily began, her voice barely audible. "You remember us telling you that Sir Topham Hatt often saves engines from being scrapped? I was one of those engines. But... Douglas and Oliver took action to come here, while I... I was left alone on a siding, and I did nothing to save myself."

"That must have been horrible," gasped Rebecca. No one noticed it, but there was more to Rebecca's remark of sympathy than they were letting on.

"A fair number of us have lonely pasts like that," Percy commented. "But somehow, us all being here have made us become stronger in the long run."

"I'm glad to hear," said Rebecca. "Sometimes, bad things happen to let good things come later."

"That's true," said Thomas. "I was sent to Africa by mistake, but if it didn't happen, I wouldn't have met Nia and helped her here."

"Besides, I'm sure you'll do the Shunting Challenge next time," Emily smiled. "Percy's score would be tough to beat though."

"Oh well," Thomas chuckled. "It will be fun to do the challenge if I get the chance."


The following morning, the engines began setting out for work. Rebecca was still fast asleep.

"Wake up, sleepy boiler," Percy called.

Rebecca woke with a yawn. "What's the time?" she said groggily.

"It's seven o'clock." Rebecca wasn't so sleepy anymore.

"Oh no!" she cried. "My first day on Sodor, and I'm going to be late for my first job!" And she raced quickly out of the sheds.

"Hey, be careful!" called James as Rebecca raced onto the turntable. "You could've caused a derailment!"

"But Rebecca's not late," said Percy. "The express isn't due for another hour!"


Rebecca raced into Knapford station, braking to a sharp stop. The speed she had been going caused papers and hats from pedestals to blow about.

"Sorry!" Rebecca cried. "I'm not too late, am I?"

"What do you mean late?" Sir Topham Hatt asked, dusting himself off. "The express isn't due out until eight o'clock. You're almost an hour early."

Rebecca blushed with embarrassment. "Sorry, sir..."

Rebecca waited quite a while before her coaches were brought to the platform. It was Percy who had shunted them into place.

"Thank you, Percy," Rebecca smiled.

"My pleasure, Rebecca," Percy said. "I used to be a station pilot when I first came to Sodor."

"Well, you do it very well," Rebecca complimented. Percy blushed; he wasn't used to having bigger engines compliment him on odd jobs.

Eventually, the clock struck eight, the guard blew his whistle, and Rebecca steamed off.


Before long, Rebecca arrived at Vicarstown station. Unfortunately, she'd managed to get in the way again.

"Excuse me," Henry remarked. "But why are you on my line?"

"Your line?" asked Rebecca, not understanding the situation.

"These are my passengers you're picking up," explained Henry. "They're supposed to go on my train."

Rebecca sheepishly backed out of the way. "I'm so sorry about this... er..."

"Henry. My name's Henry. And I take it you're Rebecca?"

"Oh yes! How did-"

"I read your nameplate," the number three green engine explained. Just then, Rosie pulled in with some trucks. She quickly recognized Rebecca.

"Weren't you that engine who raced by yesterday?" she asked.

"Yes, that was me," Rebecca admitted. "I was afraid of being late."

Soon, Rebecca collected her proper passengers, and was ready to go.

"No more mistakes," Rebecca told herself as she steamed out of the station. "Have to make a good impression."


"All the engines on this railway are so fast and strong," Rebecca said to herself as she puffed along the line. "They've even taken part in competitions. I hope I won't be remembered as a slow coach." Then she had an idea. "If I were to leave my stations a little bit earlier, then I'll have a better chance of being on time. That should prove what a hard worker I am."

While it seemed like a good idea to her, it would only result in more trouble. Whenever Rebecca would stop at a station, she would leave at least five to ten minutes sooner than she was supposed to. Because of this, some of her passengers were left stranded. The passengers angrily shouted at Rebecca, but she thought they were cheering her on.


Before long, Rebecca pulled into Brendam docks. Sadly, she was once again in the way.

"Get out of my way!" grumbled Diesel.

"I'm sorry!" Rebecca apologized, backing towards a junction so she could get out of Diesel's path. "Oh, and I'm Rebecca, by the way."

"Well, Rebecca-by-the-way," Diesel snorted. "You need to show more respect to the modern engines."

"It's my first day here," Rebecca explained. "Say, I don't really know what to call you."

"I'm Diesel, I think you'll find," the small black engine retorted.

"Sorry, Diesel-I-think-you'll-find," retorted Rebecca. "I'll be out of your way soon." With that, Rebecca steamed away.


At long last, Rebecca finally returned to Vicarstown station, tired but triumphant.

"Phew!" she sighed. "What a day." Suddenly, the doors of her coaches burst open, and a mob of angry passengers stormed out. They told everyone what a bad railway it was.

"Oh dear!" Rebecca gasped. "I'm so sorry, everyone. I didn't mean to be late."

"You're not late," came a voice. Pulling up to the platform next to Rebecca was Gordon with some coaches of his own. "You're early," he continued.

"Again," added a third voice. Rebecca looked over to see Sir Topham Hatt looking cross.

"You have caused confusion and dela..." The controller of the railway stopped, remembering what delay actually meant. "Oh, uh, confusion and um... Well, uh... a great deal of confusion!"

"I don't understand, sir," Rebecca insisted. "I made extra sure not to be late."

"You have been getting everywhere too early," explained Sir Topham Hatt. "And because of that, several passengers ended up missing the train. So I had to send Gordon to collect the passengers you left behind. How can I run a railway if engines don't stick to the timetables?"

Rebecca felt very foolish indeed.

"I'm so sorry, sir," she said. "I didn't realize how early I'd been. It's just that all the engines on your railway are so fast, strong, and admirable. I didn't want to be known as a slow coach."

"It's not a race or a contest," Sir Topham Hatt insisted. "You just need to stick to the timetable. You'll soon get the hang of it, Rebecca. We all make mistakes every now and then."

While Sir Topham Hatt went to settle the passengers down, Rebecca saw this as a chance to have a word with Gordon about his behavior.

"Excuse me, Gordon?" she asked.

"What is it?" the big engine asked.

"I heard from the other engines about what you said to Nia," said Rebecca. "I can't believe you would go out of your way to make a new engine feel so unwelcome."

"I was hurt at the idea of Henry wanting to leave Tidmouth," Gordon explained. "I was so upset that yet another close friend had seemingly turned their back on me that I lashed out, saying things I didn't really mean."

"I see," Rebecca spoke softly. "It must hurt having a friend leave you."

"It really does," Gordon admitted. "Edward, Henry and I were among the first engines on this railway. We lived in those sheds together for years. Now with them leaving, it's as if our whole friendship is going with them."

"Perhaps you should explain this to the others," Rebecca suggested. "They may somewhat understand."

"What makes you think they're going to believe me?" asked Gordon. "I only drove them away from me because of my stubbornness."

"True friends never stay angry forever," insisted Rebecca. "What can anybody hope to gain by holding onto a grudge? Come on. Let's go home."

As the two engines set off, Gordon hoped Rebecca was right. Would his friends be willing to forgive him, or would he be an outcast forever? The answer may come soon, but that's another story.


Author's Comments

While Forever and Ever changed a lot from the original episode, Confusion Without Delay more or less stayed similar, but with notable differences due to being affected by the former. Among them being Rebecca given a pre-Sodor livery, much like Nia, and her friendship with Gordon slowly building once she realizes why he acted without thinking. Another addition was why Emily acted the way she did in seasons 8-12. While Douglas and Oliver fought to survive, Emily just sat there in a siding before Sir Topham Hatt saved her, and for a while, she hated herself for not trying to escape from scrap while she had the chance and took it out on the other engines. I know some have the idea of her being bullied by Gordon and James, but I wanted to try something different.

Next time, we'll see if we can keep Counting on Nia!