Following Flying Scotsman and Gordon's brawl on the mainland, Gordon and Meredith were promptly returned to Sodor where Gordon was repaired and reprimanded by Sir Topham Hatt. The Sodor express engine along with his brother were punished in the only way their controllers saw fit: they were paneled. Gordon handled the modification better than his younger brother who took his sexual frustrations out on every poor sod who was unlucky enough to cross his warpath. Spencer and Mallard caught the brunt of Scotsman's anger. The A4 brothers found themselves in the repair ward the most. Flying Scotsman was proper bitter about the whole ordeal. He was bested and embarrassed by a shotty one-off engine and had his lady stolen away yet again by his stick-in-the-mud brother. Scotsman's only solace was found in the fact Gordon wouldn't be able to please her, but that did him little good considering he too was unable to perform.

The A3 brothers weren't the only ones to catch the heat from their rivalry. Poor Meredith was under 24/7 watch. Hayden was forced to keep a daily log of all her movements and interactions, turning it into Sir Topham at the end of every day. At night she was locked in her shed. She wouldn't have minded being locked away but she spent practically every night alone; Emerson was almost never there. He and Ryan were attached at the footplate and there were times she had to just sit and pretend like she was sleeping while listening to their intimate grinding. The little engine only just managed to avoid being paneled herself, but it didn't matter, she wasn't allowed to be alone with another engine. If only she could have a moment alone with someone. Just one moment. Maybe she would be able to release the tension that continued to build up in her axles. She hadn't even kissed Gordon since before she left for the mainland and by that point it had been months since. Winter had come and gone. Spring was just round the bend.

Meredith emerged from her shed one foggy morning. Emerson had an early train to pull so he was already gone, naturally. The little tank engine was looking dingy. Her typically pristine and sparkly paintwork was dusty and starting to chip away. She cared very little of her maintenance anymore. She couldn't see Gordon and she saw little of any other engine. Her eyes were sunken and sad. Her once chipper and outgoing air was gone. She truly felt like just a clanky, old machine as she trudged down the tracks.

Meredith passed by Brian on his way up to Ulfstead Castle. He gave his sister a friendly peep on his whistle and she stopped. "Hey." He said.

"Hi," Meredith sighed. At least she could talk to her brother, though he wasn't the company she so desperately craved.

"You look rough." Brian studied his sister's droopy stance. "Are you okay?"

"Nope." Meredith popped her lips. She was certainly not okay and was beyond trying to hide it. She felt as muggy and gray as the sky above her. "I just want to get the day over with so I can be caged up again."

Brian bit his lip. He wanted to cheer up his sister, but he wasn't exactly sure how until he glanced back at his line of coaches. "Would you like to take my Ulfstead run?"

"I'm not allowed to run passengers."

"Come on now. I'm not gonna snitch." Brian grinned. He could see the hope begin to brighten Meredith's face once more. "Do it. I want you to."

"Mer, no, we have to collect the coal from Brendam Docks." Hayden called from his engine's cab. He had already jotted down that she stopped to talk with Brian and Sir Topham would be cross enough without her taking a passenger train that wasn't hers.

Meredith growled. "I'd love to, Brian."

"Great!"

The two engines swapped duties. Meredith had never pulled Brian's coaches. They were much like hers, but they were heavier and instead of only having two to pull, she had four. It took the little engine some time to build up a good speed and maintaining that speed up the steep hill towards the castle was even more taxing. Hayden tapped on Meredith's regulator controls and eyed his log-sheet nervously. He knew Sir Topham would likely find out about their little detour and if he discovered Hayden didn't log it the driver could face termination. But what if there was a chance the controller remained ignorant to the swap? He didn't want to get Meredith into more trouble.

Hayden pressed over every possible way he or Meredith could find themselves in the shit until his engine stopped at the station at Ulfstead. Meredith had a bright, happy smile on her face as the passengers disembarked. Then Stephen rolled in with a chuckle. "Well hello there, Meredith. I wasn't expecting to see you here today."

"Oh, Brian let me take his passengers. I hope you don't mind." Meredith's face ran hot. She felt nervous around an experienced engine such as Stephen.

Stephen laughed again. "Of course I don't mind." He winked and Meredith giggled. She couldn't help but think about what a shame it was he was so old. He's a handsome engine.

Meredith watched the passengers all take turns having their pictures taken beside Stephen. The classic engine ate up every bit of attention. He didn't even notice Spencer roll in with his private coaches. Meredith did notice, however, and the ache in her undercarriage amped up to a nearly unbearable level. Her eyes slid over his streamlined boiler and footboards. God he was a pest and a right pillock at that, but there was no denying the A4's delicious appearance. The little engine couldn't help but wonder if her advice she had given him months prior truly stuck. She recalled Rosie's rather dramatic release in the yard, but she was still skeptical. Even after their hot makeout on the mainland there was a high level of apprehension from the tank engine. Any idiot could be a good kisser with a little effort.

Spencer hummed to himself as the Duke and Duchess joined the Earl on the platform beside him. He watched them carry on about some pompous nonsense as they all sauntered towards the castle. The big engine suddenly felt like he was being watched. He reversed a little down the track and caught glimpse of Meredith giving him a major side-eye. The poor thing looked terribly worn down, but there was an electricity in her stare that warmed his boiler and caused a great deal of pressure to build in his undercarriage.

"Uncouple me." Meredith whispered to Hayden.

"Mer, no, seriously!" Hayden protested. "How have you not learned your lesson?"

"Uncouple me or I'll break the chains." Meredith hissed. She didn't care to be lectured at. She had quite enough of being told no over the past months.

Her driver huffed in frustration but gave in. He climbed onto the platform and lifted the heavy coupling chain from her hook. Hayden had begun to mentally compile a list of possible jobs he could find once Sir Topham Hatt threw him out on his ass.

Meredith started back towards the gate with an inviting tilt of her boiler towards Spencer. The big engine wanted to leap from his track, but he too waited to be uncoupled before he could be turned around to follow the little engine down to an abandoned siding that was shrouded by thick brush and trees. She backed up, halting just before the buffer stops and watched Spencer glide towards her with an obnoxious grin. He began to make some snarky comment but was cut off by Meredith throwing herself into a deep kiss with the big engine. He faltered, but only for a moment before he pushed into her and slammed her against the buffers. The little engine gasped as he connected with her and Spencer snickered. "You do make some lovely sounds."

"And you talk too much." Meredith retorted though her voice was weak. Guilt tried to creep it's way into her firebox, but it was quickly warded off as Spencer laid into her with a fury that he had not possessed at their first encounter. She let out a series of raspy moans and satisfied giggles. She felt giddy. She missed the feeling of being pinned by another engine. Of course, Spencer was no Gordon or Flying Scotsman, but he managed to impress the little engine with his new, intense movements. She reached her climax with ease and it rattled her side plates. Meredith felt Spencer begin to pull out and she pushed against him with a hungry smile. "Where do you think you're going?"

Spencer paused, his pressure had lowered, but seeing the fire in Meredith's eyes brought it right up again and he pushed back against her with a sultry whisper. "Right here, baby."

On the mainland, Flying Scotsman was doing some slamming of his own, but not into the buffers of a lovely little engine. The big A3 had managed to locate an old, unused track just outside Newcastle where a loose rail jutted up from the line. He had been repeatedly trying to knock his panel cover off by driving over the sharp piece of metal. The big engine was in a lot of pain and his undercarriage was bleeding oil, but he was determined to get the damn thing off.

Ian and Gavin stood in Scotsman's cab as the unwitting passengers of the extremely bumpy ride provided by their engine. The crew knew better than to try and talk sense into Scotsman. The engine was quite literally a ticking time bomb of pent up sexual energy and they weren't exactly against him managing to free himself of his forced chastity.

Scotsman rolled back down the line, his undercarriage was dripping oil as well as a small bit of water. His eyes watered from the painful pulling of the rivets that held his panel in place. Scotsman then took a deep breath before charging towards the loose tie as fast as his pistons could pump. The rail managed to lodge itself into the edge of the panel, the metal bent and folded back with a creak and a pop and Scotsman let out an agonizing cry. "Fuck! Shit- ugh!" He backed up again, giving his boiler a furious shake. One more good hit and the cover would be gone. Tears flowed freely down Flying Scotsman's face. He clenched his teeth and rocketed forward. Just one more hit.

Down at Knapford back on Sodor, Gordon was stopped with the express. He stared ahead with stoic contempt as his coaches filled with people. He could see the light of an engine coming down the track through the fog and was shocked to see Meredith pull up with Brian's coaches. The little tank engine had completely lost track of time after roughing it up with Spencer and she had no choice but to deliver the passengers to Knapford herself. She was visibly anxious as she stopped at the platform though she managed a sweet smile to her lover. A smile Gordon returned with enthusiasm. He hardly noticed her poor state, but as soon as he focused on it, his smile faded.

Meredith hadn't been stopped for five minutes before she started to grow antsy. She didn't want to linger too long in the station. The longer she sat, the longer she risked being seen by Sir Topham. She began to bounce nervously on her suspension while she waited for the passengers to clear the platform. She didn't know, but Gordon was watching the fat controller's office. The big engine noticed movement and the second he did he gave Meredith's rear coach a bump. "Go! Quickly!"

The little white tank engine heard Gordon's warning and started up with a jolt. She accidentally knocked Hayden into her firebox and Alex took a moment to make sure the driver was okay before he burst into uncontrollable laughter. Hayden was fine, but he gave his fireman a good shove before he dusted himself off and took to the controls. He hadn't made a single note in his log since they arrived at Ulfstead earlier that morning.

So y'all know how I said last chapter I wasn't gonna have Spencer and Meredith go there again? Yeah- I lied. Whoops. Heh heh. I couldn't stop myself. Meredith is so hilariously stupid. Poor girl. But I digress. I'll admit, it's a guilty pleasure of mine to make her so dumb. Dumb is fun. Obviously.

Ole Scotty-boy is such a sex addict he's willing to mutilate himself to be able to get some again. Gotta appreciate his ferocity tho.

Anyhow, I'm tired. I'll see you lovely people in the next chapter! Thank you for the love and reviews!

Much love;

Bumble