Chapter Two: The Baby's Fate

Later that afternoon, Rebecca arrived at her destination at Knapford Station as she parked slowly into the station platform to make sure she didn't wake up or startle the small infant. Luckily, she didn't spook the child as she parked safely.

Once she was parked, she looked at the office next to her with a small frown and frowned eyebrows in concern yet she wondered what was going on, "I sure hope that The Fat Controller would say yes."

As she waited, she saw the door open wide as a slightly overweight man with a suit and a top hat that covered his bald head exited from his office and he beamed, "Good afternoon, Rebecca. How are you?"

However, when he greeted her, he noticed that Rebecca looked a bit worried as he asked, "Is there something wrong?"

When he asked that question, Rebecca took a deep breath as she knew that she must answer his question honestly and replied, "Well… Sir. There's something that my driver and my fireman needed to tell you."

The Fat Controller was surprised to hear that, "Oh, I see, and what is it about?", he asked as he raised his eyebrow with curiosity.

With that, he saw Eugene and Liam hopped off from Rebecca's cab as Eugene was holding a basket with a note inside while Liam held the small infant. When The Fat Controller spotted them, he gasped in shock, "A baby? How did this happen?", he cried in shock as he wanted to know about the whole thing.

There, Eugene spoked, "It's a long story, Sir, but can I please talk to you in the office about this?"

The Fat Controller agreed to his request as he and Eugene walked into his office as Liam decided to stay with Rebecca so she could be with the baby. There, he climbed onto her running plate as he held the infant gently as the baby was now fast asleep from the ride.

As Rebecca watched the sleeping baby in awe and a gentle smile, she then looked at the office and could see the silhouette of The Fat Controller and Eugene as her driver explained the whole story and her interaction with the baby. This made her worried as she sighed sadly while she turned her attention back to the infant.

Liam saw that Rebecca looked a bit troubled as he tried to assure her by patting her, "Don't worry, Rebecca. I'm sure that The Fat Controller will say yes. Besides, I'll admit, while we headed to Knapford Station, I was thinking about something.", he explained as he gave her a gentle smile.

Rebecca looked at Liam with a curious look, "And what's that?", she asked kindly.

"Well, my wife and I can't have kids due to some issues, but I was thinking that if you get to keep him, I can provide him a shelter, feed him, give him clothes, and make sure he gets some essential need.", he replied, "But of course, if there's one thing that you can definitely provide, it's giving him all the love, affection, and protection. I think you would be a good mother."

"Do you really think so?", she gasped in surprise.

Liam nodded, "Of course, and I could see that the baby loves you very much.", he assured her.

This made Rebecca feel a bit better as Liam was more of a compassionate and a funny type of person while Eugene was more mature and a thinker type while he's still friendly. She admitted to herself that Liam was such a great fireman to her.

Meanwhile, inside the office, Eugene was finishing his story, "And Rebecca thought she could raise him as her own son. I'll admit, me and Liam thought about it, and we could see how maternal she was with him. Also, Liam did mention that he can provide the baby with some supplies that engines can't and give him a place to stay."

This made The Fat Controller intrigued on the bond between Rebecca and the baby, and he never thought an engine could raise a child. He has seen some engines befriending children or adults, but raising a child was something he didn't expect.

However, with all the information, he decided to observe the interaction between Rebecca and the baby as he was so curious to see it. There, he opened his window as he watched how the baby had just woken up from his nap as he started to coo at Rebecca. He then saw how Rebecca talked to him like a mother would to her child as the baby touched her cheek while Rebecca smiled at the small infant.

The Fat Controller was amazed by this as he could tell that Rebecca loved the child dearly, "I never seen such interaction like this. It seems like Rebecca is somehow natural at being a mother, despite never having children, let alone engines can't have children. It seems like the baby grew attached to her. I guess engines do have maternal instincts like humans do.", he said to himself as he watched the interaction with a small gentle smile with his eyes glistened in awe.

With that, he thought carefully on the decisions on if Rebecca could have the baby or not. He knew that she pulls the express or pulls the trucks, yet he knew that there are days that the engines do have a day off or have an easy day. What's more, Liam did mention that he can support the baby by providing things that engines can't.

After thinking for about a minute, he finally made his decision as he looked at Eugene with a gentle smile. When Eugene saw his facial expression, he knew it was a good sign as he knew that Rebecca would be thrilled to receive the news that she wanted to hear.

Outside of the office, Rebecca was still talking to the baby with pure love as Liam smiled. However, when the two noticed The Fat Controller and Eugene had exited from the office, Rebecca began to feel funny in her boiler as she bit her bottom lips. She hoped that she would get the answer that she wanted to get.

Once The Fat Controller and Eugene got close to Rebecca, the yellow engine didn't expect The Fat Controller to give her a warm smile as he finally spoke to her, "Well, I found out that you found the baby abandoned and that you wanted to adopt him. So, I have made my decision."

This got Rebecca's wheels wobbled, even though The Fat Controller still maintained his warm smile, "You can adopt him and I decided that on the weekends, you can spend time with him while on weekdays, you still continue to work on the railway, and when you're off from work, you can spend time with you adoptive son.", he replied happily, "I will also give you three days off so you can bond with him."

Rebecca was surprised about this as her eyes glistened with her mouth wide in pure joy, "Really, Sir?", she asked.

"Yes.", he replied, "And the good thing is that Liam can help you."

This made Rebecca so happy that she smiled widely and squealed, "Oh, thank you, Sir!", she exclaimed, "I promise to take good care of him!"

"And I sure hope so as it's not an easy task.", The Fat Controller chuckled as he had every faith in Rebecca.

With that, Rebecca looked at the baby with pure love and joy as the baby giggled and tried to reach to her nose again, which made her giggle. There, she suggested Eugene and Liam to introduce the new addition of the family to "The Steam Team".

They both agreed as they went inside Rebecca's cab as she headed her way to Tidmouth Sheds as she thanked The Fat Controller again. Once she was out of sight, The Fat Controller looked at the now long gone Rebecca with a smile as he said to himself, "I honestly never expected this to happen, but I know she can do it. She is Rebecca after all, and I have every faith in her."

Evening was slowly approached at Tidmouth Sheds as the seven engines talked about their day. Rebecca and Gordon were the only ones that weren't present as James and Thomas explained how they raced with their trucks and that James won. Many praised him, but Edward gave the splendid red engine and the blue tank engine a small frown, "You know that's dangerous to do that.", he warned them, "You were carrying some fragile statues and if you broke them, you would have got in deep trouble."

Thomas and James knew that the wise engine was right as they both sighed and apologised, "Sorry.", they both said it at the same time.

Edward smiled from the apology as he accepted it. However, before they all can hear Percy's story, they spotted Rebecca puffing slowly to the turntable with a gentle smile as she kept looking back. The engines were surprised that she didn't greet them right away.

Once Rebecca was on the turntable, she asked one of the workers politely to turn the table gently. The worker obeyed as he did his best to control the turntable. The engines were even more surprised at what she had done as they watched Rebecca reversing into her berth, which was next to Edward and Gordon's.

When she was inside her berth, she then finally greeted them all with a gentle smile, "Good evening everyone.", she spoke kindly and softly.

"Good evening, Rebecca!", Percy chirped.

All the engines asked how her day was, but she knew that her story would be a lot to take. However, when Henry asked, "Umm, Rebecca? I'm just curious? Why did you ask the worker to move the turntable slowly?"

"And why did you go so slow?", added Nia, "Is there something wrong?"

Rebecca giggled lightly as she replied, "I'm fine Nia, and the reason why I went slow might surprise you."

This got all the engines intrigued by it as Rebecca whispered to her driver and fireman to present the baby to them. There, they both exited from her cab as Liam still held the small infant. Once they came out, they presented the baby boy to them, "I found a baby.", she answered.

All the engines gasped in shock as they didn't expect this at all, "A baby?", James cried, "Where did you find it?"

"And where's the baby's parents?", Emily added.

There, James and Emily began to ask so many questions, even though James had the most questions to ask, and some engines also had some questions as well. However, before Rebecca would feel overwhelmed with all the questions thrown at her, Edward tried to calm the engines down, "Please. Calm down, and let Rebecca explain everything."

Rebecca was thankful for Edward to be so considerate as she thanked him. Once everyone settled down, Eugene and Liam went to climb on Rebecca's running plate as Liam showed the baby to Rebecca. Rebecca smiled as she took a deep breath and explained the tragedy of the baby's origin, "Well… you see… I was in Henry's Forest, enjoying the peacefulness when suddenly I heard a cry. So, me, my driver, and my fireman went to investigate and that's when we discovered him in the basket that could be used to carry fruits, and it turns out that he… he…"

She sighed sadly as she made a small frown before she continued, "He… was abandoned and that… his parents didn't want him."

"Sadly, it does happen when babies are abandoned.", Liam added as he looked at the baby with pity.

This caused all the engines to gasp in horror as some began to build tears in their eyes. They couldn't believe that a baby was abandoned and was left alone in the forest by his own parents. They thought that it wasn't fair for the baby, even though they are fully aware that they are bad humans out there, but for someone to leave a helpless infant alone was so low.

"The poor thing!", Percy cried.

"He didn't deserve that!", Thomas added.

"I couldn't imagine leaving my baby alone if I had one.", Emily commented as many agreed with her.

Despite them all pitied the baby, he remained happy as he kept cooing at Rebecca as he then began to suck his thumb, "So, what are you going to do about it?", asked Nia in curiosity.

This made Rebecca quiet for a moment as she wasn't so sure of their reactions as she hoped that they would accept him as part of the family. However, she knew that even if they disagree with her decision, that doesn't stop her from raising him. There, she took a deep breath and gave a small smile, "I'm going to raise him.", she answered.

When they all received the answer, many gasped in surprise. Was Rebecca willing to look after and raise the child as her own? Some liked the idea and encouraged Rebecca, even Edward believed he had every faith in her, and he's willing to help her when she doesn't know or struggles to support the child. James and Emily on the other hand, were concerned about the idea, but when Rebecca assured her that Liam can help her, this made them feel better as they all started to focus and adore the baby.

Rebecca was happy that all the engines started to warm up and even love the baby as she knew that "The Steam Team '' are like a family, and she knew that the baby will have a fulfilling life that he deserved. She watched with all the engines talking cutesy to the infant as he giggled and smiled.

Despite Rebecca being thrilled about this, something came across her mind that made her worried, "Oh… what would Gordon think about this? I've been with him for nearly two years now, and we are happy together, but would he be okay if I raised him? Would he be involved and be the father figure or would he not be okay with this?", she thought to herself as her smile turned into a small frown with her eyebrows frowning as well, "I'm honestly not sure about Gordon's reaction."

Just as that thought took over her, she spotted a familiar big blue tender engine as he puffed with dignity yet he looked quite tired and stern as he had a big frown and narrowed eyes. He was exhausted from pulling the express.

However, as he puffed to the turntable, he noticed that all the engines were looking at Rebecca in awe, and this got him confused. He wondered what made the engines react to Rebecca. Did she have exciting news or did she get repainted?

Once he was set in the turntable, the worker turned the turntable until Gordon was ready to reverse into his berth. When it was set in place, he slowly reversed into his berth as he wanted to know what was going on. At this point, the engines, Rebecca's driver and fireman noticed the blue tender engine as Thomas greeted with a tease, "Good evening, lazybones. How's the express?"

Gordon rolled his eyes as he groaned until he focused on his yellow tender engine. He did give her a gentle yet tired smile until he noticed something small and alive. There, he saw that Liam was holding a baby that was wrapped in a blue blanket as the baby cooed. This got Gordon's mouth wide in shock with his eyes widened, "Rebecca? Is that a baby you got there?", he asked in pure horror and confusion.

Rebecca knew what Gordon was like with changes as she did her best to introduce her adoptive son to him, "It is indeed.", she smiled as she batted her eyes at him, "And I'm going to raise him."

This made Gordon's mouth drop as the others knew that Gordon would be upset about this and even his driver, Graham, and his fireman, Troy, knew that Gordon would not like this. Once Gordon was done being stunned by Rebecca's words, he looked at Rebecca with a small frown as he tried to explain nicely yet he sounded quite harsh, "Rebecca, raising a child is not an engine's job, and it's an indignity thing to do so."

Rebecca knew he was going to say it as she gave him sad eyes with a small frown, "But Gordon… this baby doesn't have a family, and… he needs me.", she explained as she looked at her baby boy.

When Gordon heard that the baby doesn't have a family, it made his firebox dimmed as he began to feel sorry for the baby. He once heard of a case of a baby being abandoned, but he didn't expect it to happen in his lifetime as he worked in Sodor for many years.

However, as he narrowed his eyes a bit while examining the baby's behaviour, his eyes went wide immediately when he saw how the baby was touching Rebecca's right cheek while giggling as Rebecca acted like a mother to him. This made his firebox lit as he thought it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. He loved Rebecca dearly, and he admired her kindness and compassion.

Slowly but surely, his stern belief faded away as he started to adore the baby himself. However, what surprised him was that when the baby spotted him, he reached his tiny arms at him as he giggled. His mouth went wide in surprise from the baby's reaction until he finally gave in as he smiled gently at the baby.

When Rebecca saw his facial expression, she batted her eyes at him again as he looked at her with a smile before the two looked back at the infant. Everyone awed with this interaction as Henry commented, "It looks like he likes you too, Gordon."

Gordon blushed a bit from embarrassment but he didn't care as he kept looking at the baby with pure love and awe. There, he sighed as she looked at Rebecca with a warm smile, "I guess it's not that bad to have him. In fact, I wanted to help you, Rebecca."

This made Rebecca gasp in pure joy as her eyes beamed. She was delighted that her partner had accepted her adoptive son and was willing to help her as she knew he can be a father figure to him. There, she blushed and closed her eyes before looking at Gordon, "Oh, Gordon. I'm so glad that you accepted him."

Gordon smiled back as the two embraced with each other's presence until Edward began to speak, "If you're going to raise him, Rebecca, I can help too as I know what humans are like."

Rebecca thanked Edward's kind offer as everyone wanted to be part of the baby's life as they wanted him to be the happiest boy in Sodor, or more properly, the happiest boy in the world. They all looked at the baby in awe as he cooed more.

However, as they watched the baby, Eugene realised something, "Rebecca, this baby would need a name. What should you call him?"

This made Rebecca blink her eyes in realisation and she blushed in embarrassment, "Oh yes, I almost forgot to name him.", she chuckled weakly as she looked at him.

There, she thought carefully on what to name her adoptive son as some of the engines threw out some name suggestions. James suggested to name him "James", which made some of the engines groan while some laughed.

However, when Rebecca remembered a baby name she heard a baby name a while ago that was quite uncommon for a baby boy, and this made her gasp as she declared her son's name, "I shall call him Eli!"

"Eli? That's a nice name.", Nia complimented.

"I agree, and it's quite a unique name, Rebecca." Percy chimed.

"I think that name suits him best.", said Edward kindly as all the engines agreed with him.

After that, Rebecca looked at her adoptive son and spoke in a motherly tone, "Welcome to the family, Eli."

With that, Eli was now part of the family as Rebecca vowed to take care of him very well, and Gordon decided to be part of Eli's life along with the other engines, and Liam was ready to help Rebecca along with Eugene.

Ten years flew by and Eli grew up to be a happy, playful, and cheeky boy with a heart of gold like his adoptive mother. He was adored by the engines, the drivers, the firemen, The Fat Controller, and mainly, his adoptive mother.

He loved to play with the kites, act like a teacher as he would try to teach the engines, liked to read books, watch the clouds or the stars, and loved to sing, act, and dance. However, if there's one thing he enjoyed the most was collecting bugs as he finds them very fascinating.

During those years, Rebecca matured as she became so maternal to Eli that she would do anything to protect him, and make him feel happy and safe. Despite becoming more mature, she maintained her cheerful, optimistic, and caring personality as she always liked to make others feel good about themselves.

There were times that Rebecca doubted herself of her role as a mother to Eli, but with the support of Edward, her partner Gordon, Eugene, Liam, and the others, she slowly gained her confidence and she knew that she's not a perfect mother, but she's a good mother.

However, what she did notice herself was that whenever Eli was bullied or was in danger, she wouldn't tolerate it and would stand up for her adoptive son as she would tell them off with an angry tone. Usually Rebecca doesn't stand up for others unless it's serious as she didn't like confrontation.

When she explained to The Fat Controller about this, he replied that her "maternal instinct" had kicked in. She didn't understand what he meant as she wanted to know what "maternal instinct" meant, but The Fat Controller assured her that she would understand someday.

Slowly but surely, she began to understand about "maternal instinct" when she observed mothers' behaviour towards their children. She knew that she wanted to protect Eli and let him know that he was wanted and loved by many, including her.

With that, Rebecca became not only a useful engine on the railway, but became a wonderful mother to Eli as she did her very best to make sure he was happy and safe. What touched her heart, if she had a heart, was that Eli told her that when he gets older, he wants to be a driver so he can be useful and be with his mother. There, everyone agreed that Rebecca had a heart of gold to raise a child and she's now matured. With that, nothing can break the bond between Rebecca and her son.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wasn't originally going to release this, but seeing how much you liked "What You Truly See" of a friendship between James and Cara, I felt confident enough to share this. I know some might say I copied from someone else or that someone will say, "Engines can't raise humans", but I believe it's possible, and I got this idea from a dream.

I was initially going to have it as an AU and not make Eli canon to my universe, but after I grew fond of him, I thought I'll make him canon like Cara. Now, if you're wondering how old Cara was, Cara was 12 when Eli was found as a baby. I don't want to dive too deep on Eli just yet, but I will do more on Cara as she's my favourite OC and other TTTE Characters.

At least Eli has a chance, and I liked the idea of Rebecca playing the mother to help her mature and learn from many experiences.

Also, I would like to thank a friend of mine from Tumblr named Project Animations for drawing this illustration! She's such a fantastic artist and a wonderful friend! Thank you so much, and bless you! I would also like to credit Express Collector for the title idea, and please don't get confused with the episode "Heart of Gold"!

By the way, please STOP asking requests as it makes me feel stressed, upset, or even frustrated as I worked so hard on my fanfictions. Plus, I'm busy in real life, so please understand that all writers and artists have lives too! Thanks for listening.

Anyways... I hope you guys enjoyed it!