Gordon stared at his brother as he came to, the last forceful jolt seemed to finally stir the engine from his nightmare as he opened his eyes and looked around blindly.
"Brother?" He asked his younger brother as he came to.
The Flying Scotsman seemed to freeze at the sound of his voice and stare dumbfounded at him confusion in his eyes.
"Brother speak to me," he pleaded and the Flying Scotsman's lip quivered and he looked away, avoiding Gordon's gaze.
The Flying Scotsman refused to speak, refused to even look at Gordon but Gordon could see he was only trying not to cry in front of him.
'Putting on that brave face again,' Gordon thought with a frown.
"I won't think any less of you if you cry Scott," Gordon gently assured him. "This is what years of pretending everything's okay has done to you. I hate seeing you like this, I hate it when you block me out!"
Gordon found himself shouting angrily.
He winced as his voice rang around the quiet steamworks but he ultimately didn't care.
His brother mattered more right now.
"Please Scotty, talk to me," he implored gently to the green engine. "None of this pretending you're okay."
The Flying Scotsman stubbornly refused, still avoiding Gordon's gaze, now screwing his eyes tightly shut.
"Why won't you talk to me?" Gordon asked. "Did I do something wrong to upset you?"
At that the sad expression on the Scotsman's face turned angry and he opened his eyes to glare at him.
"I saw you last night," he rasped in a croaky voice tears flowing down his face as he choked out the words. "You abandoned me!"
"I- I-," Gordon stammered as he struggled to defend himself but he knew he couldn't even defend his actions.
"It's what I get for abandoning you at the Great Race I suppose, wasn't even worth it in the end," The Flying Scotsman spoke begrudgingly. "Why should you help your pathetic fraud of a younger brother anyway?"
"Scotsman," Gordon said carefully, "You are not a fraud. And I don't care about the Great Race anyway, it just hammered in how stupid and manic I was being."
"The others say I'm a fraud," The Scotsman said bitterly. "That Tornado was built to replace me."
"Tornado said that she isn't, I spoke to her today. I asked The Fat Controller too, he said that Tornado was built by enthusiasts who wanted to restore her class to the rails," Gordon reassured him.
The Flying Scotsman said nothing in response. He only stared at the ground, dejected and upset.
"These others, would they happen to be rumours spread by Mallard and Green Arrow?" Gordon asked but Scotsman didn't answer, confirming his suspicion.
"You know those idiots talk big, but Arrow's all flash and no substance while Mallard's a massive coward," Gordon said smiling at Scotsman. "I remember when they tried to start beef between you and Truro not realising you were close friends, it didn't end well for Mallard. Tornado also told me how you defended her from their bullying, she adores you Scott, I hope you know that."
Gordon gave a small chuckle to try and cheer his brother up but Scotsman still stared at the ground upset.
"I'm sorry," Gordon apologised to him. "It wasn't okay for me to abandon you in your time of need. I realise that you're the only original sibling I have left and no one could ever replace you. Not even Tornado, as sweet and kind as she maybe."
The Flying Scotsman didn't say anything, but Gordon could almost feel a weight lift off of the both of them. The Scotsman's mood had seemingly lifted, if only slightly but he was no longer looking as upset.
"Are you okay?" Gordon asked and the Scotsman gazed at him.
"No," he admitted and Gordon took it as his brother opening up finally, if only a little. It was still a start though.
"We should get some sleep," Gordon said with a yawn and a flash of panic raced across the Scotsman's face.
"Don't leave!" He suddenly begged with a desperate look in his eyes. "I don't think I can face another night of nightmares alone."
"Alright, but I have to leave early tomorrow morning to pull the express," Gordon warned.
"That's okay," the Scotsman said and gave a small weary smile. "Thank-you for staying this time Gordon."
"Thank-you for calling me Gordon, little brother," Gordon teased back and the Scotsman had to resist the urge to smile.
"It was good of you to speak with your brother Gordon," the Fat Controller informed him that evening as the express came in.
"Oh?" Gordon was surprised. He hadn't told anyone about his midnight trip to see his brother.
"Yes, he's handling the restoration much better today Victor informed me," he said swirling his tea curiously. "And since it's the weekend tomorrow, Tornado will be visiting with the Museum Director to check on Flying Scotsman. Victor predicts the Scotsman to be repaired by Sunday evening."
"Does this mean we'll get to meet this Tornado Thomas won't shut up about?" James asked and Thomas glared at him.
"Yes you will," The Fat Controller beamed but then frowned and pointed at Gordon. "I won't have this racing nonsense on my railway from either of you."
"Tornado is faster than Gordon anyway, she's faster than Flying Scotsman too," Thomas poked cheekily and Gordon wheeshed in response.
"Little tank engines should be seen and not heard," Gordon snapped at him.
"I dunno Gordon, 100mph seems a bit too fast for an old man like you," James jeered.
"You were built before me James," Gordon pointed out.
"Then you should respect me! As I'm older!" James said snootily.
"Not when you act like a child most of the time I won't," Gordon said with a snide grin to which James gave a pouty face too. "Only children pout James, it's unbecoming."
Thomas gave a snort of laughter but the Fat Controller was more than annoyed
"Enough!" He yelled. "I expect all engines to be washed down for the Director's visit tomorrow morning. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir," the Engines chorused and moved off.
"Oh and Gordon?"
"Yes sir?"
"The Director requests that the Tornado and yourself will double head Flying Scotsman's Express while the Flying Scotsman will pull yours," the Fat Controller said and Gordon was surprised.
"His express sir? The one to London?" Gordon was suddenly nervous. The last time he'd been to London he had gotten so confused and lost. And a lot of the big mainland engines weren't exactly nice. He understood why Tornado had been so anxious.
"But why sir?"
"The Wild Nor' Wester is a shorter and less taxing express line compared to the Scotsman's own and the Director wishes to check his repairs," the Fat Controller said matter of factly.
"But sir he doesn't know the route-"
"James has run the express before and will be assisting him. Henry is too busy pulling goods trains to Barrow that day," the Fat Controller said.
He looked to Gordon who was still confused.
"You may be required to cover express lines on the mainland in future Gordon," he explained. "They have a lack of big steam locomotives at their disposal to cover for the Flying Scotsman when he is on rail tours for half the year. To remedy this they are requesting Gordon as he is very similar to Scotsman. So this trip with Tornado will be important."
"A mainland express engine?" Gordon said bewildered. "Me?"
"Oh no he's going to end up even snootier now!" Henry groaned and Gordon glared at him.
"Shut up Henry!"
"Can you believe it? I get to double head with the Flying Scotsman!" James boasted proudly at the sheds.
All the engines except for Gordon, who was with his brother, had returned to Tidmouth Sheds for the night and were excited talking about the upcoming events.
"I'd be careful if I were you," Edward warned. "Thomas learnt the hard way that being pulled along with the express wasn't exactly good."
Thomas' face turned bright red as he remembered Gordon's very harsh lesson for constantly waking him up.
"Thomas is a little engine," James turned his nose up and grinned proudly. "He's not a big tender engine like me. The Flying Scotsman won't drag me, I'll keep up."
"Flying Scotsman is still bigger than you James," Henry warned. "If Gordon tells him about your teasing you might regret it."
"Nonsense! I can handle whatever the Flying Scotsman can throw at me!"
"The Museum Director is going to be testing his repairs," Edward noted. "He might try to max him out as much as he can and I don't think you can handle 100mph James."
"Well, at least you'll be fast as Gordon for once," Percy cut in. "You always dream of being fast as him."
"How are the nightmares?" Gordon asked Flying Scotsman as he gradually awoke the next morning.
"Better," Scotsman said with a faint smile. "Thank-you. I don't know what I'm going to do when I return home though."
Gordon was thoughtful for a second.
"You should tell Tornado about them," he said after a long while. "I think she could help you, once you start confiding in her."
The Flying Scotsman looked ready to protest but instead bit back his pride when Gordon spoke up again.
"If you don't I'll steal your second tender and have it painted blue."
"Okay, I'll try," Scotsman said with an annoyed glare before suddenly noticing the Fat Controller walking towards them.
"Good morning sir," Gordon greeted him.
"Hello Sir Topham Hatt, it's nice to see you again, I remember your father invited me last time," the Flying Scotsman said looking down at him. "You've grown up since then."
"Ah yes, Flying Scotsman it's been a long time since you were on my railway for a proper visit wasn't it?" The Fat Controller remarked.
"I've been travelling the world sir," he smiled at him. "Breaking records, you know, the usual."
Gordon rolled his eyes but the Fat Controller only laughed.
"An impressively long run in Australia last I heard, how was it?"
"Oh Australian Engines are lots of fun, so much less uptight than the engines on the mainland. They're laid back and friendly," The Flying Scotsman grinned. "So much open space for miles upon miles, wonderful landscapes and weird creatures."
Gordon rolled his eyes again. It was a common thing, his brother always talking about his adventures and trips. It always made him feel left out when the two were together and everyone focused on his brother.
"The Director wants you to take Gordon's Express on Monday when you're fully repaired for a test run," the Fat Controller explained and Scotsman was surprised. "Gordon will be taking yours with Tornado the same day."
"Really sir?"
"You'll have another one of my engines to double head in case you run into trouble and assist on the route," the Fat Controller said. "His name is James."
"He's too big for his wheels," Gordon scoffed, still upset about last night. "Fancy saying 100mph is too fast for me! What cheek!"
The Flying Scotsman felt ideas forming in his head. He did always like to teach the arrogant engines lessons and he knew Gordon was the same. He'd heard stories about Gordon being a petty engine himself.
"Don't worry sir," The Flying Scotsman said with a bright smile on his face with a glance at Gordon. "I'll be sure to look after James. It'll be an express run he'll never forget."
Gordon suddenly gave a wide grin knowing that his brother was planning something special for James.
