Emerson had stopped at Arlesburgh junction wearing the biggest grin any engine had ever seen. Rex was the first to notice the coastline express engine's overly-perky demeanor as he was reversing down the ramp with empty ballast cars. "What's got you so cheerful this mornin', Em?"

The big engine shook his boiler and tried to relax his face. "Just in a good mood is all."

"You're a horrible liar, Emerson." Bert chimed in after stopping at the platform with empty carriages. "Go on then. Spill. You've got a pep in your puff that I've not seen before."

"The sod's finally gotten laid." Mike huffed as he passed the group with loads of wool. "I'd know that stupid smile anwyhere."

Emerson's face ran as red as his paintwork. His passengers had begun to disembark, the children cooing excitedly as they saw the miniature engines while their parents worked to wrangle in their enthusiasm. The big engine could feel the mini-engines all staring at him, but he knew he couldn't regale them of the tales of his first lay with all the tiny humans around. He tossed them a fleeting grin and waited for the passengers to clear the station. "Is it that obvious?"

"It is for any engine with eyes." Mike said with a huff. "Who was it then?"

"Oh, uhh," Emerson knew he couldn't name Meredith. She was Gordon's partner and he was certain their tryst was a one-time thing. She was likely trying to boost his confidence and she certainly did that. The big engine shuddered on his axles at the thought of her gasping breaths. He wondered if perhaps she was playing it up to help his self-esteem. She gave a convincing performance if that was the case. Luckily for him, it wasn't.

"Oh! Let's have a guess." Bert pipped. "Hmm… Emily?"

"No, no," Mike said with a shake of his boiler. "Emily is too much of a do-right to partake. Rebecca perhaps?"

Rex laughed. "Rebecca is much too immature for that. Plus, she's a sweetheart and I don't see Emerson as the sort to try and corrupt such a pure engine. No. This engine has a reputation no doubt. Do we know her?"

Before Emerson could respond Brian pulled up under the ballast ramp to be coupled up to the now full cars of ballast stone. "Mornin' all." The black tank engine glanced around at the quiet engines. "Did I interrupt somethin'?"

"We're trying to guess the engine that Emerson-" Bert cleared his throat as his passenger carriages filled with people. "Bumped." Mike and Rex gave their fellow mini-engine a strange look and Bert shrugged nonchalantly. He was only trying to keep his language tame.

Brian nodded in understanding with a chuckle. "Get yourself a lovely lass, hm?"

"Or lad!" Bert added quickly.

Emerson's blushing intensified. He couldn't let them figure out it was Meredith now that Brian was a part of the conversation. "You wouldn't know them." He finally said. "They're from the mainland." All the engines seemed disappointed with his answer. All except Brian. Unfortunately for Emerson, the American engine was very perceptive. He could tell by the anxious puffs of steam that the express engine was lying. But why would he lie? What was he hiding? It was very unlike Emerson to be so furtive.

Emerson felt Brian's staring and he did his best to remain casual. He didn't like how the tank engine was watching him, however. It made him extremely uneasy. As if he knew something. Thankfully, the Emerson's guard signaled for their departure and Emerson started up rather quickly. His coaches bumped forward. "Oh! I'm sorry everyone." He said with a meek grin. He looked back to Brian and the small engines as he gave departing whistles. "I'll see you all later."

The mini engines all gave enthusiastic goodbyes, but Brian remained taciturn. He had a sneaking suspicion that whoever Emerson laid with was well known by him. Very well known.

Vicarstown station was more bustling than ever. Visitors from the mainland were ready to flock to the beaches as the weather had cooled off to a more tolerable level. Gordon sat at platform 1 resting his eyes while Rebecca gabbed incessantly beside him. He wasn't paying attention. He merely caught bits and pieces. Something about her accidentally getting her buffer caught on a car she shunted into too hard. The bright engine didn't even notice Gordon's complete lack of interest. She was simply happy to have someone to talk to, or at.

Gordon's mind had begun to drift off. Rebecca's jaunty voice faded into the background along with all the other noise around him. He drifted on to the day he had to help pry Meredith's mangled frame from Spencer's. He remembered her crushed boiler, her busted and bleeding face, the way her body rattled as she struggled to take one small breath. It was gruesome for any engine to witness. Almost as bad as witnessing the cutting down of another engine at the smelter's yard. Most smelter's at the very least sedated the engines before tearing them apart, but there were many that didn't. The cries of those engines could sometimes be heard for miles. Gordon nearly wished Meredith cried out like they did. It would've at least shown she had some fight left in her, but she was silent. That silence haunted him more than any desperate screams ever could.

"Gordon? Gordon."

The Sodor express engine's eyes shot open and he noticed Rebecca watching him with great concern. "What?" He snapped.

"Is everything okay?"

"Of course it is." Gordon blinked. He could feel the weight of sleep still in his eyes. "I always sleep at the platform."

Rebecca bit her lip. "Yes, but you don't usually cry."

Gordon raised his brow. He hadn't yet noticed his face was wet with tears, but a sudden gust of wind brought his attention to the wetness on his face. "Oh, well, I was just having a bad dream is all."

"I have nightmares all the time." Rebecca's smile quickly returned and she started in about how she had a nightmare where she had run out of fuel in the middle of a tornado. Gordon once again wasn't listening. Instead he focused on a couple sitting on a bench at the platform. The woman had a small baby cradled in her arms while she watched her husband flip through his newspaper. Gordon looked at the little bundle in her arms. He noticed a set of pink fingers poke out through the swaddle coupled with a chorus of happy coos. Just then a teeny smile managed to break through the engine's hard stare.

Meredith was extremely annoyed. Her time with Emerson left her with a limp that she wasn't able to shake. Luckily Gordon hadn't seen her because she would've had a hard time making up a believable story. Victor was down on the floor of the steamworks with a group of engineers as they figured out the best way to repair Meredith who was currently up on the hoist, her undercarriage and all it's mangled glory visible to any curious eyes. She could tell Victor was rather tired of seeing her. She had been to the Steamworks a number of times that past week. Twice from when Flying Scotsman rearranged more than her insides. And there she was again with another injury due to her careless and unhinged sexual encounters. She knew better than to try and make excuses to the little narrow-gauge engine. He wasn't stupid. The role of stupid belonged to the little crane, Kevin, who was digging around the stores for parts.

"Any time this year?" Meredith had grown tired of listening to their hushed mumbles. She was ready to get back to work and ready to get back to Gordon so she could have more of her parts busted up merely out of spite.

"You know, Meredith," Victor started in with his usual patronizing tone. "Maybe you should consider coupling with engines closer to your size."

"Engine's my size can't handle me." Meredith said with a skeevy grin. "I like the feeling of being busted up by the big boys."

Victor and his men all sighed. Many of the men blushed from embarrassment. Meredith was not normally that crass, but she didn't like how Victor spoke to her like a child. "I'm serious, Meredith. You can't keep letting yourself be damaged like this. You and Gordon have been together for years and this is the most I've seen you in all that time. What's happened?"

Meredith;s face ran hot. Of course she wasn't going to admit that she had been coupling with more than just Gordon. "Nothing has happened. Just feeling a little extra frisky is all."

Victor raised an eyebrow in disbelief. He gestured with his boiler for her to be lowered so he could look her in the eye. "This wouldn't have anything to do with the fact the anniversary of your crash is in a few days, would it?"

Meredith clenched her jaw and looked away. "No, of course not."

Victor let out a long sigh. The work in the building had come to a pause as the workers stepped out back for their lunch break. "You can't lie to me, Mer. I can see it in your eyes."

"Yes, it's a soft spot." Meredith said flatly. "But it's not why I'm acting out."

"Then what is?" Victor pressed, but gently.

"I can't tell you." Meredith whispered. She still wouldn't look at him. She focused on the turntable just inches beneath her wheels. "It's complicated."

"I'm sure it is." Victor started back down his track and Meredith was raised up once more. "Regardless of your motivation, I really need you to take it easy for a little while. Let your body rest,okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

It was the middle of the night. Meredith had been quickly repaired and sent on her way and she had just puffed up to Tidmouth Sheds to find her partner snoring peacefully. She crossed the turntable and bumped him enough to wake him without disturbing the other engines around them. "Meredith?" Gordon yawned. "Where have you been?"

Meredith ignored her partner's question and instead stretched up to push her lips to his. Her kiss was angry, sad, lustful. Gordon didn't hesitate to push back. His boiler heated up quickly and he began to shove her onto the turntable without breaking their caress. He groaned deep in his boiler and followed his little engine to a lone goods shed not too far from the roundhouse. There was no hesitation from either engine as they interlocked with each other. Of course Meredith disregarded what Victor told her. She didn't want to be careful. Careful didn't make her shake and sigh in ecstasy. She wanted to be broken down, she wanted to feel Gordon's mouth on hers. Meredith couldn't care less about being careful. She was too busy taking in every bit of him. The way he tasted. The way he felt with every grind and every thrust. The way he smelled like a warm bath and cigarettes because he let Kenneth and Sean smoke in his cab. Gordon was the love of Meredith's life. She was just a very stupid and impulsive engine.

Gordon shivered with a heavy breath out. He paused only for a moment before he started back up harder than before. Meredith bit her lip and shifted herself on the tracks and in doing so he started hitting a particularly sensitive spot and Meredith cried out. "Oh- shit." She whispered.

Hearing Meredith's pleasurable cursing made Gordon chuckle and that only served to arouse Meredith more. His deep voice shook her to her bearings. If she could make love with just his voice she would. "What's so funny?" She asked breathlessly. Gordon didn't slow up despite her talking.

"Oh just you," Gordon said. He knew she loved hearing him talk so he kept his tone a low, seductive purr. "I know I'm doing something right when you start swearing." Meredith opened her eyes because he had suddenly stopped moving and she nearly melted when she saw his sexy, mischievous smirk. How was it possible for an engine to be so devilishly handsome? Even in the poor lighting he was the epitome of perfection.

"What're you do- OH!" Before Meredith could finish Gordon had slammed her into the buffers directly behind her. "Fuck." She groaned at his unexpected force.

"Say my name." He whispered.

Meredith shivered and happily obliged. "Gordon…" She breathed.

Gordon gave his boiler a quick shake before going back in on his partner. Meredith couldn't help but laugh quietly as she heard her fenders bend and crack with each of Gordon's powerful thrusts. She wondered just how mad Victor was going to be when she rolled into the Steamworks the next day.

Pretty Katydid; I'm diving right on in with my response to you because I realize you have many questions which is *fair*. First of all, the whole drama with the accident is being worked out. I've alluded to something in this chapter and I'm sure an individual as perceptive as you likely picked up on it. If you don't I'll have to reevaluate my writing skills because -yikes.

Secondly- I knew I would have to address this one eventually-; the sex. Oh god. I'll have to say yes and no to your suggestions. Obviously there is already a hint of biomechanics at play here with their faces so I'm going off that. But it's also not along the lines of if you peeked under you would see weird fleshy bits either. (That was painful to type, btw) Like I'm imagining a type of silicone texture for the *parts*. Similar to what I believe their faces are made of. Male/Female action is much either for obvious reasons but their parts blend in well when not in use. Like if you peeked under Meredith you wouldn't even know she had any of that business going on. But also I take into account that they are made of metal so they're pretty limited on what they can do as far as movement is concerned. There's no weird stretching or anything like that in my mind. Just a lot of clever contortion and fitting the pieces together sort of like Tetris. But their *parts* are positioned more towards the front for easier access unless there's two male engines (James and Edward) then they gotta get clever. They don't have anything that is meant to be -probed- so it's more a matter of 'where can I wedge this and not break something' type situation. (Unless you're Meredith then you don't give a F if something is broken) As far as two female engines I really don't know. They'd probably just make-out. *shrugs*

And about Gordon being touched, yes, they would use a lengthy brushes and sponges to wash his face. I'm not just saying that either. I just picture it in my mind that Gordon despises being touched by people. I can't exactly explain why. It's not that he hates people, just that he prefers to not be fiddled with. I want to play on that idea more, but I'm still working it out so it would make sense and not seem so far-fetched. (As if the rest of this whole storyline isn't already) The children situation would be handled by Kenneth who would have to shoo them away before they got too close. That's what Emerson is for anyway. You know he just loves letting the kiddies play on his fenders.

To add to his behavior; I imagine the engines - especially the larger ones- more as heavy-duty work horses. Of course they have personalities and languages and blah blah blah, but they have a bit of an animalistic nature to them. It's why they tend to be so in-tuned to their driver's emotions and why they sometimes have moments where they fly off the handle. It's also why I sometimes throw in more 'animal-like' behaviors such as when they shake their boilers either to express discomfort or perhaps something just touched them that they didn't like. Or when they let out a loud sigh like dogs sometimes do when they're relaxed. It shows up more in Gordon when he watches Kenneth like a hawk anytime he's out of the cab. Kind of like a guard dog, kind of like a wild horse that has yet to be broken. The smaller engines are more like puppies. They're hyperactive, a little dumb, and a lot of attitude. Therefore the bigger engines have to kind of wrangle the little guys in. I hope that makes sense.

Anyway, anymore questions you or anyone may have I'll be more than happy to answer! Thank you for the support and love and I'll see ya'll in the next one!

Much love;

Bumble