Flying Scotsman was coming to a stop at King's Cross station in London. It was late and he was exhausted. He had more passengers than normal as people flocked from all over for The Great Railway Show which was set to begin the following morning just outside London. The big engine was watching his passengers disembark, his eyes heavy. Then he heard the peppy whistle of a little tank engine and perked up. "Meredith?" He looked all around but saw no signs of the sparkly engine. He sighed. "Great, now I'm hearing things."

"What're you hearing?" A luxurious tender engine pulled into the platform besides Scotsman. She boasted the crest of the royal family under her smoke box and was painted an expensive ivory shade.

"Nothing, Duchess." Scotsman said with a shake of his boiler. Duchess was one of the few engines on the Mainland Scotsman had no interest in seducing. That's not to say he didn't find her attractive -the freckles that dotted her fine features he found particularly adorable- it's just he never felt like rolling on the toes of the royal family. That and the engine is rather ditzy. She probably wouldn't have been able to notice his interest if he said it outright to her face.

Duchess pondered Scotsman for a moment. "Is something wrong? Perhaps I could help sort it."

"No offense, but this isn't something you could really help with." Flying Scotsman made sure to be as straightforward and gentle with Duchess as he could manage. She's known to be easy to frazzle.

"Oh," Duchess dropped her boiler in disappointment, but just as soon as she did, she perked back up. "Oh! Do you know where all these passengers are coming from? It's even busier than normal."

"The Great Railway Show," Scotsman said flatly. That was the fourth time she had asked him about all the crowds of people. "It starts tomorrow, remember?"

"Oh, yes, right." Duchess' cheeks grew hot. "I just can't seem to keep anything locked away."

"I know." Scotsman rolled his eyes. By now all his passengers had disembarked and he was clear to depart to his shed. He waited for Duchess to depart herself before he started up with a heavy groan.

The moon was high in the sky by the time Flying Scotsman made it back to his shed. He steamed towards the lonely structure with a sigh. He couldn't help but feel a little envious of Gordon. He shared a roundhouse with multiple engines with whom he could laugh and chatter with. Even if a good majority of those engines were small and annoying. Company is company.

Scotsman settled into his berth with a heavy exhale of steam. His driver was doing his end of day inspections and the big engine took little notice of his poking and prodding. Scotsman began to stare up at the moonlit buildings around him. By that time everyone was headed to bed and the lights in the windows clicked off one-by-one.

Flying Scotsman's driver finished his inspection, bid the engine goodnight, and closed the shed doors. The big engine sat quietly, his eyes darted around the berth. He typically slept with the light in the shed on, so he took the opportunity to peek at his driver's notebook that was left open on a tall table by the doors. Scotsman had enough steam left and he was able to inch closer to inspect the small object. He noticed a picture of his driver with whom Scotsman could only assume was his driver's wife. They looked happy. His arm was wrapped tightly around her waist; her perfect locks framed a big and kind smile. A kind smile that reminded Flying Scotsman of a certain little white tank engine. Scotsman huffed in frustration and backed away. He wanted nothing more than to be able to forget that silly little tank engine and move on, but he just couldn't.

Back on the island of Sodor. A lone express engine was rocketing down the Mainline. After being at the Steamworks for nearly a week due to delays and confrontations, Gordon was finally free, and he was on a mission. He had built up an impressive head of steam as he puffed his hardest down the track. He didn't care that it was the middle of the night. He was too excited. Sleep could wait. Gordon had a date.

Meredith was fast asleep in her shed next to Ryan. She had a long day and spent most of her time going between the shunting yards at Knapford and Vicarstown. Her axles were aching and her boiler was hot. She was more than happy to nestle into her shed that evening. Little did she know that a certain blue express engine was headed right for her with intentions that were less than holy.

Gordon rounded the bend towards the shed and slowed down substantially. He didn't want to wake the other two engines beside Meredith. He saw her sleeping peacefully and Gordon hesitated to wake her, but only for a moment. He inched forward and managed to toss his coupling chain onto Meredith's front hook. Gordon smiled and gave her a gentle yank and her eyes burst open. "Gordo-"

"Shhhhh." Gordon hovered his lips over Meredith's and kept his voice a low whisper. "Come with me, my love."

The next morning was an early one. All the engines were preparing for The Great Railway Show. Sir Topham Hatt had selected the engines to attend the competitions scheduled for the following days, and everyone was prepping to be short handed for that time. Meredith was called to the Steamworks. Sir Topham Hatt planned to have her repainted for the Parade of Decorated Engines.

When the little white tank engine rolled into the Steamworks she was looking rather sleepy with a wide, goofy grin. Her undercarriage twinged as she moved. Gordon gave her quite a ride the night before. Sir Topham Hatt found out Gordon had been paneled and immediately ordered it reversed. Of course, the big engine promised his controller he would not act on the reversal. It had to have been the most bold-faced lie Gordon had ever told.

"Ah, good morning, Meredith!" Victor rolled up with Kevin as Meredith stopped at the turntable. "Are you ready for your new paint?"

"More than ready!" Meredith beamed. She hoped she wouldn't need to be lifted up because she was sure there would be notable damage. Gordon at least remembered to go easy on her buffers.

James and Edward were sitting quietly together in the shade at Knapford. They were both watching Thomas as he shunted and organized cars around the yard. They didn't know how to confront the little engine about his new revelations regarding their relationship. James spoke up first. "Should I threaten him?"

"What're you gonna do? Scratch his paint?" Edward sneered. James furrowed his brow at the little engine who sighed. "Sorry, I'm just stressed. I just don't want Sir Topham Hatt to find out."

"I don't either." James said. His eyes darted between the stray passengers that filled the platforms. None of them were paying attention to the engines' conversation. A couple of small children sat on the ground beside James and pushed around cast iron toys. The red engine couldn't help but smile as he watched them.

"You're such a softy." Edward said with a gentle bump to James' footplate.

"Shut up." James retorted half-heartedly. "What do you want to do about Thomas?"

"I say we just wait and see." Edward said. He moved forward a bit and watched as Thomas and Diesel got into an inaudible argument over empty cars meant for the quarry. "I don't think he would go to Sir Topham Hatt." Thomas noticed the two engines watching him and gave them a sly smirk. Edward exhaled slowly. "At least I hope not."

"Good afternoon, you!" Gordon slid into Vicarstown station smiling brightly. This caught Flying Scotsman off-guard. He hasn't seen his older brother so happy, well, ever.

"Are you alright, Gordon? Did you run over a small child or something?" Scotsman teased. His taunt didn't phase Gordon. He was ecstatic. He felt like his old self again, even better than that in fact.

"Of course I'm alright." Gordon said with extreme confidence. He gave his boiler a quick shake. Condensation had begun to build up from the high humidity. "Am I not allowed to be happy?"

"Well, that is quite odd for you." Scotsman prodded. He looked his brother up and down. He knew that this sudden uptick in Gordon's mood just had to do with Meredith. Even on his best days, that big blue goof was a bastard. Then Scotsman had an idea. "Where's Meredith? She's usually here by now?"

"Oh, she's at the Steamworks. She's being repainted for The Great Railway Show."

"I see." Scotsman said. Something must've happened between them. Gordon was in such a good mood he didn't even tell Scotsman off when he asked about Meredith. It felt so odd. "Well, will you be attending?"

Gordon laughed. "You know I will be. After all, I have to prove I'm faster than my slow baby brother."

Scotsman scowled. He didn't like being called 'baby brother', and he certainly didn't like being called slow. "I'll show you slow, old man."

Gordon chuckled. "Remember," he began to depart his platform before turning to face his brother as much as his suspension would allow. "I may be old, but I've got Meredith."

That little comment made Flying Scotsman seethe. Why did Gordon have to rub it in like that? Scotsman remained on his platform and for the first time in a while, he didn't feel so confident.

Meredith sat as still as she could as the artist worked carefully on her new designs. She dozed in and out of sleep a few times while he worked and Victor took notice of her exhausted state. "Did you get enough sleep last night, Meredith?"

"I did, but I'm still pretty worn out from yesterday- it was a busy day for me." Meredith did her best to keep from blushing. She didn't want Victor to know the real reason she was so tired. "I did a lot of back and forth from Knapford and Vicarstown running cars."

"I see." Victor looked over the grinning little tank engine. He had a funny feeling in his boiler that her story wasn't entirely accurate, but he didn't press for further.

Meredith watched the little narrow-gauge puff away and she breathed a sigh of relief. She could feel the artist's brush as it glided over her boiler. She quite liked the little tingles its bristles made as it touched her metal. She wondered what kinds of designs she was being painted with. Meredith did her best not to quiver with excitement, but she just couldn't wait to see what her paintwork looked like.

"Just a little longer and you'll be right as rain." The artist said cheerfully. He had stepped off Meredith for a moment to change out his brush. His hands and apron were covered in black paint. Meredith took the opportunity to turn a bit to look at the paints he was using. Black and gold. Meredith smiled. Brian was painted black and gold. It was a very smart combination.

Meredith turned her attention outside past the bay doors. The sun was beginning to set and the horizon was ablaze in brilliant oranges and purples. She could see clouds of steam billowing up from the mainline in the distance. She wondered what Gordon was doing. He had mentioned taking an early day to allow himself time to rest for The Great Race, but she wasn't sure if that workaholic actually followed through with the idea. More than likely he didn't.

The artist had climbed back up onto Meredith's boiler and began with his finishing touches. Meredith knew she needed to be as still as possible so she watched the sunset far in the distance before dozing back to sleep.

And there she is. Lol. I've not much to say this chapter. I'm in a bit of a hurry but if anyone has any comments or questions regarding this chapter or anything feel free to leave a review or even PM me. I hope y'all enjoyed and thank you for continuing to support my nonsense!

Much love;

Bumble