Edward, Rebecca, and The Sleeppuffer Engine

It was a such typical Summer Day on the Island of Sodor. The sun shined so brightly that all the engines' livery looked dashing and splendid as the grass was greener than ever. Even though Summer has lots of wonderful offers to see, this meant that all the work would be more hectic as many tourists came from The Mainland as many items were sent to Brendam Docks or the items arrived there. Although this season had more work for the engines, they didn't mind as they wanted to be really useful for The North Western Railway.

…

On one Summer morning at Knapford Station, three engines were summoned by Sir Topham Hatt, who many like to call "The Fat Controller" to show respect and great care. As the three engines waited patiently for him until a slightly overweighted man with a top hat that covered his bald head and a suit exited from his office as he approached the engines with a warm smile, "Good morning, Edward, Henry, and Rebecca.", he greeted them as his hands were on his hips.

"Good morning, Sir.", the three engines chimed as they were all ready for the instruction.

The Fat Controller was pleased with the three engines' enthusiasm as he explained, "Now, it's been hectic for the past three weeks at Brendam Docks as we got all the crates delivered from The Mainland. So, I would like you three to work together for a week until everything is settled."

"Yes, Sir!", exclaimed a large yellow tender engine named Rebecca.

"Of course, Sir.", replied a medium blue tender engine named Edward and a large green tender engine named Henry, who they both spoke in a more mature tone.

"Excellent to hear!", The Fat Controller smiled, "There's a shed for you three to sleep for the week, so you don't have to travel too far."

Edward and Henry knew where the shed was located while Rebecca was still a bit new around in Sodor, "Now, I hope you don't cause confusion and delay.", The Fat Controller chuckled as he was about to head back to his office.

"Yes, Sir!", Rebecca beamed as she tooted her whistle merrily.

"Right away, Sir.", Henry added as he tooted his whistle as well.

There, the two large tender engines puffed down the tracks to Brendam Docks when The Fat Controller gasped as he remembered something. Edward knew what he was going to say as he waited with a smile, "Now, Edward. I would like you to teach Rebecca on where the trucks would go.", he instructed as he knew he could rely on such a wise, reliable engine.

"Of course, Sir.", Edward blinked his eyes as a way of saying "yes" as he tooted his whistle while heading his way to Brendam Docks.

…

Later that day, at Brendams Docks, where the ocean waves crashed the edge of docks, seagulls flew around with grace, and the smell of the sea was too difficult to resist, Edward was mentoring Rebecca on organising the trucks without causing any issue. Rebecca was obedient to the old engine as she shunted the trucks. Although she did make a few errors, which made her feel embarrassed or awful, Edward assured her that by the next couple of days, she would get the hang of it and would properly do better than Gordon, as Gordon was the type to believe that pulling trucks was an indignity role to have. Regardless, Rebecca enjoyed Edward's company as she would hum to a happy tune while Edward would keep an eye on her.

On the other hand, Henry didn't mind Edward helping Rebecca as he was used to be alone when he was given specific tasks that required him to be alone. However, Henry wasn't alone in this case as Salty the Jolly yet Chatty Diesel Engine, Porter the Resourceful Tank Engine and three cranes, Cranky, Carly, and Big Mickey, did keep him company. Although the day was full of hard work, all the engines worked very well as a team, and by the time dusk hit, the jobs were completed as the engines were pleased with the results. However, they all knew that more crates would be delivered by dawn, which meant more shunting to do.

…

That evening, Edward, Henry, and Rebecca parked inside the shed as they watched the full moon's luminance reflected the seawater as the stars danced, "Wow, it looks beautiful.", Rebecca gasped in awe, "I never seen this before."

Edward chuckled lightly along with Henry as the blue engine remembered taking a blue tank engine that he mentored in the past named Thomas here for the night and the cheeky tank engine reacted the same, "It is indeed, Rebecca.", Edward smiled, "I remembered taking Thomas here, and he had a similar reaction."

Rebecca was surprised to hear it, "Really?", she asked as she raised her eyebrow with an open mouth of curiosity.

Edward blinked to nod and replied, "Yes, and I'll admit, I enjoy seeing this."

As they watched the view, Henry looked at his blue engine and snickered, "Remember how we have a date here, and I was convinced that a siren would come and get us?"

Edward chuckled, "Yes, and it's all because you listened to Salty's tale."

Rebecca had never heard of a siren before, "What's a siren?", she asked.

"I would like to answer Rebecca, but we need to get some sleep. We got a lot of work to do tomorrow.", Edward yawned as he began to feel weary in his eyes.

With that, the three engines bid each other goodnight as one by one; all the engines allowed their eyes to close shut and fell asleep. They all knew that tomorrow would be hectic but properly busier as they were told by The Fat Controller that some of the items were special to be delivered. It doesn't matter how hectic it would be, as they knew that they could get the job done in no time with more engines and working as a team.

…

Midnight came at Brendam Docks as it was awfully quiet except for the sound of the calming sea. Everything seemed peaceful and fine until, at the shed, where the three engines resided, Henry began to mumble in his sleep as he snored, "Got to deliver The Flying Kipper. Gordon, stop boasting about the express."

As Henry talked in his sleep, he slowly began to reverse quietly while snoring. He didn't have his lamp on as he was in his slumber state and wasn't aware of his actions. Once Henry left the shed, Rebecca slowly opened her eyes as she swore that she heard someone next to her puffing backwards. When Rebecca's eyes were fully opened, she had her lamps on as she looked to her left. To her shock, Henry was out of sight as she gasped in horror, "Henry?", she cried in a whispered tone as she looked at Edward, who was snoring peacefully as she whispered, "Edward. Edward."

When she called his name twice, Edward stopped snoring altogether as he opened his tired eyes. There, he looked to his right and could see Rebecca with frowned eyebrows with wide eyes, "Henry is gone.", she explained in pure concern and fear.

However, what Rebecca didn't expect was Edward's reaction. She thought that he would be concerned or paranoid, but instead, he seemed calm as he sighed with a small smile, "Oh dear. It's been a while since he did this.", he whispered to himself yet audible enough for Rebecca to hear.

"A while?", Rebecca asked with a slight frown, "What do you mean? Is he pulling The Flying Kipper or something?"

"No, Rebecca.", the blue engine answered, "He's sleeppuffing."

This made Rebecca puzzled, "Sleeppuffing? What's that?"

"It means when an engine puffs down the track while still asleep.", Edward explained, "Many engines who do that don't recall on their actions and what they are doing can be dangerous."

This made Rebecca gasped in shock as she looked back, "How do you handle this?", she asked.

"I just find him and bring him back.", Edward answered calmly as he was used to Henry's sleeping habit, "Just stay here and get some sleep while I'll find Henry."

Rebecca responded with a frown as she didn't want Edward to do this alone, let alone doing something risky for both the sleeping engine and the engine that's trying to get them back, "But Edward, I want to help.", she replied, "You can't do this on your own."

Edward knew that Rebecca meant that it's tricky to do this alone as Henry could be anywhere, "Don't worry, engines that sleeppuff don't usually go that far.", Edward assured the yellow engine as he reversed back to find Henry.

As Rebecca looked at the long-gone Edward, she began to worry about Henry's safety as she wondered what Henry would be doing, and she never heard of sleeppuffing before. It was new for her to learn but getting all the information from Edward made her anxious as she didn't know where Henry could be or what he was up to while unaware of his action or behaviour. She wanted to help, yet Edward told her to stay and get some sleep. This only made Rebecca feel helpless, but the only thing she could do was to pray for Henry's safety and well-being.

After waiting and praying for what felt like hours, Henry puffed in next to Rebecca while snoring and talking in his sleep. Rebecca was surprised to hear this, "Will I get the chickenpox?", the green engine mumbled in his sleep.

Once Henry was placed where he was supposed to be, Edward puffed in as Rebecca looked at Edward with confusion, "Can engines talk in their sleep?", she whispered.

Edward chuckled a bit, "Yes, and so can humans. Well, at least everything is settled. Goodnight, Rebecca.", Edward yawned as he fell asleep.

Rebecca bid him goodnight back, but before she fell asleep, she looked at the large green tender engine, who was still talking while sleeping with massive concern as she kept thinking of worse scenario cases for Henry. What if he puffed into the sea? What if he crashed into another engine? What if he gets lost, or what if he disappears? All of those thoughts made her so worried that this made her feel exhausted. There, she assured herself before she fell asleep, "Don't worry. If Edward said that if he can handle this and that Henry will be alright, I shouldn't be worried."

…

For the next couple of days, everything was fine as usual. Rebecca dealt with Henry's bizarre sleeping habit. Although Rebecca kept hearing Henry talking in his sleep, she didn't want to ask him about it as she didn't want to upset him or confuse him. Still, she knew that Edward could handle the situation as she began to worry less until the sixth night when things escalated for Henry's sleeppuffing situation.

…

It was quiet as usual at Brendam Docks at midnight as everything seemed normal and settled. However, at the shed, Edward and Rebecca were sleeping contently when suddenly they were awoken by a loud, frantic, familiar honking noise, "Argh! Maties! Henry is not here at Brendam Docks! He's sleeppuffing far away!", he cried.

"Henry is gone, Salty?", Rebecca gasped in wide eyes.

Hearing this made Edward's boiler sank as he went pale as a ghost, "Oh no.", he gasped to himself as it was very rare for Henry to travel far away while sleeping, "I must find him."

However, before Edward could reverse back, Rebecca cried, "I'm coming with you! You'll need my help!"

Edward knew that Rebecca was the type that wanted to help, no matter the circumstances, yet he didn't want her to feel paranoid of Henry's safety as he knew how to take care of him, "No, Rebecca. You stay here. If it's that serious, someone will let you know.", he tried to assure her with a soothing yet a shaken voice.

Rebecca didn't like that answer as she didn't want to take "no" for an answer, "But Edward. We don't know where he went, and if we go in different directions, one of us will find him in no time, and we can work together.", she explained while trying to maintain her anxiety attack.

With Rebecca's reasonable explanation, Edward knew there was no other way to convince her to stay. However, he felt grateful for Rebecca's kind offer as he sighed to himself as he spoke firmly yet kindly, "Alright, you go to Vicarstown while I'll look at Kirk Ronan. If we don't find him, we will meet at Cronk Station, okay?"

"Okay.", Rebecca replied with a blink as a yes as they both wasted no time to find The Sleeppuffer Engine.

…

Meanwhile, Henry was puffing at full speed down the track at Maron Station while he snored with his eyes shut. Henry was unaware of the situation or his action as he just kept going without stopping. As he was sleeppuffing, a familiar low-pitched whistle blew nearby as a large blue tender engine named Gordon was pulling the midnight express as he puffed at the right speed with a slight frown. However, when Gordon spotted Henry was heading towards him without his lamp on, his mouth agape in horror and shock as Henry didn't stop.

Luckily, the signalman switched the track as Gordon changed the track just in time while Henry went past him, "Henry!", Gordon growled, "Watch where you're going!"

However, the only response he got was, "James and Thomas, sitting in the sheds, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

As Gordon was furious with Henry's reckless behaviour, he heard a high-pitched whistle. Gordon was surprised as he spotted his yellow tender engine, "Rebecca? What's going on?", he asked as he was getting closer to her.

"Have you seen Henry?", she cried frantically, "He's sleeppuffing!"

This made Gordon realised Henry's action as he began to worry. There, he explained to her, "He just went past me, but I don't know where he's heading!"

Just getting the information on what happened to Henry was enough for Rebecca as she toothed her whistle as a thank you gesture, "Thank you, Gordon!", she thanked him as she puffed down the track to catch up with Henry.

Gordon whistled back as he wished her luck while pulling the express. Once Gordon was out of sight, Rebecca narrowed her eyes in determination as she hoped to find Henry as fast as she could. As she was puffing, Edward was next to her as he was heading to Ulfstead. Rebecca gasped, "Edward! Gordon told me that Henry just went past!", she cried.

Edward was relieved to get the answer as he tried to ease Rebecca's anxiety, "Don't worry, if he went past, he shouldn't be too far. We will go together."

Rebecca did feel somewhat better as she knew that Edward had dealt with this problem before, and with him being so caring, she knew that if they worked together, they would get Henry in no time before he would get into serious trouble. With that, they both blew their whistles with their eyes narrowed in determination as they knew it was now or never to find Henry before danger would strike him.

…

At Vicarstown, Henry arrived at the turntable as he spoke in his sleep, "Is it Tuesday?"

The workers nearby were confused by Henry's odd behaviour, but they were oblivious to his situation as they wasted no time turning the turntable. Once the turntable was rotated, Henry was now heading back to where he was before. With that, Henry puffed down at full speed as the workers looked at each other with confusion. However, they brushed it off as they had their midnight snack.

…

Meanwhile, at Crovan's Gate, Edward and Rebecca called out Henry's name while looking around when suddenly, the two engines were greeted by the green engine as he snored, "Express coming through!"

The two engines gasped in shock as Rebecca tooted her whistle multiple times, "Henry! Henry! Wake up!", she screamed at the top of her lungs, if the engine had lungs.

Rebecca's attempt to wake Henry up was proven in vain as Henry was heading straight towards Edward. Luckily, Rebecca spotted a signalman, who was taking a snooze as she shouted, "Switch the point, quickly! Henry is about to crash!" this made Edward's eyes wide as he knew that Henry was stronger than him because of his strength. He knew he was heading for a nasty crash.

This startled the signalman as he woke up immediately and saw the situation. This made him panted as he tried quickly to pull the lever to switch the tracks for Henry. Unfortunately, it was too late as Henry and Edward crashed into each other, causing Edward to derail off the tracks as Rebecca cried, "Oh no!"

It was a massive impact as Edward's front buffers were severely damaged as Edward groaned in agony. However, Henry stopped at his track as crashing into Edward woke his sleeppuffing state up as he looked around in confusion, "W-what? What happened?", he yawned.

However, before Rebecca could answer his question, he spotted the derailed Edward as he gasped, "Edward! Bust my buffers! What happened?", he cried in horror as he looked at his blue engine with pure concern in his eyes.

"You were sleeppuffing.", Edward groaned in agony as he tried to calm Henry down, "But don't worry, it's not that bad."

This didn't make Henry feel any better, "But this is all my fault.", he sobbed as he felt terrible as he couldn't help his sleeppuffing habit.

"But Henry, if it wasn't for Rebecca to know where you were in the first place, things could have been worse.", Edward explained as he looked at the yellow engine with a soft smile.

This got Rebecca stunned for a moment as she didn't expect to be credited. There, Henry looked at Rebecca with a blush in a slight fine shade of pink as he spoke sheepishly, "T-thank you, Rebecca."

Rebecca didn't know what to say at first until she slowly but surely smiled back, "Y-you're welcome.", she stuttered a bit.

However, before anyone could say anything, Thomas arrived at the scene with The Fat Controller as Gordon reported about the situation. There, The Fat Controller hopped out of Thomas's cab and rushed to Edward, "Are you alright, Edward?", he asked.

Edward replied that he was alright as he explained everything and about Rebecca's actions. The Fat Controller was impressed with Rebecca's being helpful, quick, and reliable as Henry even agreed with Edward while apologising for his sleeppuffing action. The Fat Controller accepted his apology as he headed to Rebecca, "Rebecca, I'm very proud of you,"

Rebecca was surprised about this, "But Sir, all I did was explaining Gordon about Henry's situation, helping Edward, and try to get the signalman to switch the point.", she sighed sadly, "It's not that much, really."

"Nonsense.", The Fat Controller smiled, "That's something to be proud of. Now, I would like you and Henry to fetch Rocky so Edward can be repaired in no time."

This made Rebecca felt super pleased with herself, "Yes, Sir!", she replied in joy as she and Henry tooted their whistle as they went their way to fetch rocky from The Search and Rescue Centre.

…

Since that day, Rebecca began to gain more confidence as Edward recovered and went back to work on the railway. Henry was forever thankful for Rebecca's help. Although Henry still had his sleeppuffing habit, it wasn't as bad as the night where he crashed into Edward. With that, the three engines became good friends, and Rebecca proved to herself that not only she was a really useful engine, but a hero.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey everyone! I'm super happy to write this fanfiction as it was one of those fanfictions that I have planned for so long, and now I finished it! I thought it would be an excellent concept to see Edward and Rebecca working together! Also, I believe that engines can sleepwalk, or should I say sleeppuff, and in my AU, a few have that habit, one of which is Henry!

I would also like to note that I will NOT take any requests, especially inappropriate ones, as I feel uncomfortable with them. Please do understand and respect that. Also, in one of my fanfictions, many requested Chapter 2, but I explained that it's how it ends. Bless you all!

Anyways… I hope you guys enjoyed it!