Some time had passed since Meredith's eye-opening conversation with Rosie. She decided it was best to lay low in her affairs with Flying Scotsman, but she was faced with a rather infuriating comeuppance: Flying Scotsman appeared to have no problem with her sudden withdrawal from him. He had even outright rejected her on one occasion she felt particularly frisky which left the little engine speechless and confused. Of course she had no issues seducing Gordon. Her lover was never one to turn down a good bang sesh so her physical needs were more than met, but she couldn't shake the weird pang in her boiler when it came to Scotsman's newfound indifference.

It was the first day of fall and Meredith had hit a major lull in her shunting duties. Gordon was unfortunately too busy pulling goods trains back and forth across the island. Sir Topham Hatt surely held firm in his punishing of the engines despite several attempts by the larger engine to persuade him to release the express back to Gordon's charge. Granted Gordon's frustration at being barred from his express resulted in him banging Meredith up on several occasions and that fact certainly didn't do the great engine any favors. Meredith, however, didn't mind and wished her partner was available for an anger-fueled play. She noticed Flying Scotsman dozing at his platform at Vicarstown but feared she would once-again be rejected so she didn't even bother to make an attempt. Instead she trudged through the yard trying to find some way to distract herself from her throbbing libido. The little tank engine sighed. There was nothing to do. The summer traffic had waned and what few cars there were in the yard were organized and ready for their engines whenever they come. Meredith was painfully bored. "Ugh." She bit her lip and glanced around. She had to satisfy herself somehow, it was becoming unbearable. That was when she noticed Emerson. He was sitting quietly while a yard man filled his tender. The Pacific hadn't yet noticed Meredith and was too busy humming to himself to hear her chuff up beside him. "Hey there, Em." Meredith said slowly, but the big engine still jumped.

"Goodness, Meredith. You're going to cause me to blow a valve." Emerson said breathlessly. "What's up?"

"Oh nothing." Meredith said. She did her best to remain reserved. She didn't want to jump into anything. "Just moseying around with nothing to do."

Emerson glanced around the shunting yard. It was quiet. "Where's Rosie?"

"With Spencer." Meredith said with a scowl. "God knows what she's doing with that big silver buffoon."

"I can imagine." Emerson said. He shifted awkwardly on his wheels. His undercarriage had started to heat up and he grit his teeth. "Is Gordon working?"

Meredith nodded. "Yeah. I'm lucky if I get just a few minutes with him during the day. Sir Topham keeps him so damn busy. It's making me crazy."

Emerson's eyes darted around the yard. There was still not a breath of life other than an occasional gust of cool autumn wind. "Well… uhh… I'm not busy."

Meredith feigned hesitation despite her boiler bubbling. Emerson was incredibly sexy but also sincerely modest. It made his appeal that more intense. "Well…" Meredith dipped her eyes and she started backing down her track. "I'm committed to Gordon, as you may well know and just can't partake in anything physical." She was being very theatrical. "But if you'd like to come talk for a bit I'll be in the long goods shed at the other side of the yard. It's more suited for… talking." Emerson smirked and Meredith couldn't stop the intense tingle that ran through her axles. He looked like Scotsman with that wanton grin.

Up at the Vicarstown station, unbeknownst to both Meredith and Emerson, Flying Scotsman was awake. He watched them disappear into the shed and the big engine worked up a low growl in his boiler. He had been acting aloof towards Meredith in hopes of gaining more interest, but it seemed his little pet had no qualms with pursuing other pleasures.

Scotsman's defensive rumbling continued and began to vibrate his cab, startling his crew. Ian poked his head out the window to call out to his disgruntled engine. "Hey, what's up with you? You're rattling us like a beggar's can back here."

The LNER express exhaled his steam. "Nothing that concerns you. Just focus on your job." Ian rolled his eyes and glanced to Gavin who simply shrugged. They both decided that it was in their best interest to not pester the already irked engine.

Scotsman's attention returned to where he last saw Meredith and Emerson before they disappeared out of view. He felt his boiler pressure rise and his valves could hardly keep up with the buildup of steam. He decided he would have a little chat with that bastard engine next time they crossed paths. It was time to put that one-off engine in his place.

Meanwhile, Gordon was resting at Maron station. He had been kept rather busy hauling heavy construction equipment alongside Sam. The two engines got along brilliantly and Gordon was grateful to have another sensible big engine on the island. The two kept their talk mostly casual. Sam however opened up about his little crush on Rebecca. The American engine hadn't managed to get her alone yet, but he continued to persist. Gordon assured Sam that Rebecca was likely too nervous and needed a little bit of warming up. She was never an engine known to put out like some of her other peers. Back when Gordon and Meredith were separated, Gordon had attempted to seduce Rebecca simply to help stave off his loneliness. But he ended up not following through despite managing to convince the timid engine. He just couldn't imagine being with anyone other than Meredith.

"Hey, Gordon." Kenneth's inquiring tone grabbed Gordon's attention and the large engine peeked over to his driver standing before him on the station platform. "You alright?"

"Yes," the big engine replied quickly. "Just enjoying the peace and quiet is all."

"Yeah," Kenneth said while fiddling with a cigarette. Something was bothering Gordon's driver judging by the way he continually rocked back on his heels. The driver also kept looking at his engine with what one might describe as pity.

Gordon raised his brow. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." Kenneth waved his engine off as he took a long drag from his cigarette. All he could think about was what Alex and Hayden had told him and Sean about Meredith. The guilt of keeping such a secret from Gordon was causing the driver to lose sleep. Kenneth locked his gaze onto Gordon's cab where he saw Sean watching their exchange. He had that same guilty aura Kenneth did. "Gordon," the driver flicked his cigarette into a nearby bin before he ambled back over to his engine. "I need to tell you something about Meredith-"

"She's having an affair- I know." Gordon said plainly, taking his driver by complete surprise.

Kenneth stammered and looked to Sean who was just as shocked as he was. "You- you know? How?"

Gordon let out a heavy sigh. "I know my Meredith. I can feel the guilt radiating off her every time we're intimate. Like she's trying to negate what she's done. Plus, I can smell it on her. The musk of the other engine is strong and near impossible to miss."

"So why are you still with her?" Kenneth stepped closer to his engine which made Gordon tense up. "Why not just toss her to the wind?"

"That's what I would do." Sean added from his spot in Gordon's cab.

Gordon ignored his fireman's comment and held stern. "Meredith is the love of my life. She's been through more than any engine should and I know this is just her poor way of coping. I may have kept loyal but I've made my fair share of poor choices as well."

"Are you even going to confront her about it?"

"To be frank, no. I can live with her merely looking for sex. But so long as she comes back to me I'll stand by her until she's ready to handle her issues properly."

Kenneth crossed his arms. "Do you know who it is?"

This question caused Gordon to tense even more. His valves pushed out steam and he clenched his teeth. "I have a hunch." He said slowly. The engine was doing his best to not lash out. "But if you know for sure, I'd prefer you not tell me."

"Why?"

"Because I cannot guarantee I will react in an appropriate manner should my suspicions be confirmed." Gordon said as he locked his gaze with Kenneth's. "Honestly, the only thing holding me together is the small glimmer of hope that my hunch is wrong." Gordon clenched his jaw. He blinked a few times and his eyes glassed over. "Please-" his voice was weak as he held back tears. "Please don't tell me."

"Okay." The driver said quietly. He stepped closer to his engine's face and against his better judgement placed a gentle hand on Gordon's smokebox. The engine closed his eyes and held still. He knew his driver was just trying to comfort him, but all it made him want to do was cry.

Emerson was sitting at his platform at Vicarstown later that afternoon. His undercarriage still throbbed from his encounter with Meredith and he couldn't stop reliving the moment she cried out his name in unhinged ecstasy. Emerson did feel a tinge of guilt for once again laying Gordon's partner, but he as well felt no regrets.

Emerson's daydreaming was cut short by the sound of pistons pumping towards him and the big engine looked up from the platform. "Oh, hello, Scotsman."

"Hello, Emerson." Flying Scotsman stopped just short of Emerson's buffers. The LNER locomotive had a casual grin painted across his face. "I don't suppose I could steal you away for a bit of private conversation?"

"Uhh, sure," Emerson had some time before he had to return to Harwick for his final express run. He was uncoupled from his coaches and followed Flying Scotsman down towards a long shed. The maroon Pacific had a bad feeling in the pit of his boiler. He wasn't sure what Scotsman wanted but he backed into the shed and watched Scotsman come in after him. His expression was dead. "So, uhh, what's the about?" Emerson asked finally after a few more moments of tense silence. He noticed Scotsman's crew slip out of the shed.

"Tell your crew to wait outside." Scotsman stated.

"Okay?" Emerson gave his cab a shake and his crew reluctantly left their engine to mingle with Ian and Gavin just outside the shed.

The door had shut behind the men and as Emerson went to speak Scotsman slammed against him and glowered into his eyes with a malicious grimace. "Now I need you to listen closely you sorry pile of scrap." Scotsman's voice was full of hate and venom and Emerson was shaken by the engine's sudden attitude shift. "If you care about your well-being at all you will stop speaking to Meredith. You won't acknowledge her, look at her, or even think about her. Understood?"

"I- I- but why?" Emerson stammered. He was terrified. Scotsman was dangerously close. He could feel the LNER engine's angry breath against his face, his axles trembled.

"Don't you play coy with me." Scotsman growled. "I know you've been sticking your cock in my girl."

"You- your girl?" Emerson began to push back. "What about Gordon?"

Scotsman felt Emerson's resistance and used his built up steam to pin the young engine back against the buffers. "Gordon is merely a roadblock. I'll take care of him in due time. But you- you I'm simply doing a courtesy by providing you with this warning: stay out of my way."

Emerson grit his teeth and did his best to push against Scotsman's weight. "Or what?" His voice was strained and his words were barely audible.

By then Flying Scotsman's force was causing Emerson's buffers to bend and buckle and the large LNER express growled. "Or I'll tear you apart. Rivet by rivet, leaving you to bleed out on an overgrown siding where no one can hear your cries."

Emerson swallowed hard. He hadn't known of Flying Scotsman to be such a brute, but he did know of Gordon's history. It must run in the family.

Emerson finally looked Scotsman in the eye. He could see the hate beaming in the engine's gaze. Emerson could tell Scotsman wasn't bluffing. "Okay…" the Sodor engine nodded.

Flying Scotsman backed up with a satisfactory grin. "Good. Now, take a moment to collect yourself. Don't need you picking your passengers up looking all a mess." And with that, Flying Scotsman exited the shed leaving Emerson behind to process what had just happened.

So Pretty Katydid; I once again stole your idea. The concept of Gordon knowing of Meredith's little meet-ups was too irresistible and I had to latch onto it. Lol.

I seriously love writing Flying Scotsman mad. It's so delicious just thinking of that voice grumbling angrily in a threatening whisper. *shudders* anyway, before I get too gross I'll keep this post-script short. I hope you all have enjoyed! I continue to love and appreciate all the support!

Much love;

Bumble