Chapter 5: Learning

Days passed, one after the other. Shaina grew bolder, watching the engines work and listening to them converse with each other. Sometimes she'd be joined by her brother, but she mostly came alone. The engines and crews noticed, seeing how she came and wrote things down in a small pink notebook.

The engines were curious about this as well, as Shaina would sit near them and ask them questions about the past and their various duties in the present. She'd jot them down in her notebook and thank them gently before hurrying off. Some nights, as they settled to sleep, they'd see a light on in the upper story of the strange house. They would also see a shadow passing back and forth as Shaina studied what she'd learned and consulted her maps and books and websites and memory. She learned so much over those last few days, gaining a better picture of the engines and what they'd experienced.

Some of the engines were a bit nervous at this idea, but, out of all of the engines, no one was more nervous about this than Henry. To put things simply, he hadn't had the best of pasts. Many of the engines knew this. Aside from the occasional jab about one incident in particular, they simply did not speak of such things.

Well, they didn't until one night when Shaina arrived at the shed with her little pink notebook. The engines eyed her carefully as she spoke with Dan and Ray in hushed whispers. The two men looked concerned but slowly nodded their heads.

Henry watched nervously as Shaina snaked her way around to his front and watched him for a moment.

"Can I climb up?"

At this, the other engines looked over. This strange woman had never asked to climb up onto an engine before now. Henry eyed her carefully.

"... Okay."

Shaina smiled up at him. She set her notebook on his buffer beam and carefully climbed up with the assistance of Dan and Ray. Once up, she shuffled around until she was sitting comfortably in a position where she could see his face, one leg bent in front of her and the other hanging off of his front.

"Henry," Shaina began carefully, her notebook open. "Would it be alright if I asked you some questions?"

"... Okay."

"Are you just going to answer 'okay' to everything?"

"... No?"

Shaina chuckled, reaching down to pat one of his buffers.

"Easy there, Big Green. I don't want to scare you too much, okay?"

Henry said nothing, so Shaina assumed she could continue.

"Henry, could you tell me a bit about where you worked before you came to Sodor?"

"Nowhere, I guess."

"... Nowhere?"

Henry bit his lip nervously as he continued. "I was built in some dusty old warehouse on the coast of the Mainland. It's been so long ago, I don't remember where it was. I didn't really do any work until I was brought here."

"What was it like, may I ask?"

Here Henry hesitated, seemingly unsure whether to speak up or not. But, before Shaina could move on to a different question, he finally answered.

"When I woke up for the first time, it… wasn't pleasant. Apparently, I was supposed to be a Gresley A1 Pacific, like Gordon. One of Gresley's biggest rivals had hired someone to steal the plans, but they took an earlier draft instead, which took what became the A1 and mixed it with elements from the small boiler Ivatt C1 Atlantic, among others, into the worst possible combination that could still technically run."

"Do you remember who it was? Gresley's rival?"

Henry thought a moment, then sighed. "I've forgotten the name a long time ago."

"It's alright. If you're comfortable with it, could you tell me what it was like for you between when you first woke up and when you were purchased?"

Henry sighed again. "Not much. Shortly after I woke up, I was moved from the warehouse where I was built to an even smaller warehouse to be locked away. Some of the workmen came to visit me and tried to teach me what sorts of things I would need to expect if I was ever taken away, but none of us were really sure. My owner sometimes came in to shout at me. He said that if nobody bought me within a year, he'd send me to the scrapyards."

"You were obviously purchased, though. What was Sir Topham Hatt's reaction when he first met you?"

Henry winced at this. "He was… very angry. Not at me! But I remember him inspecting me, then turning to my owner and shouting at him that he was promised a Robinson Atlantic. They argued for a while, but I was already purchased and my old owner refused to give back the money. The Fat Controller apologized to me as we were heading to Sodor and told me that he was eager for any help I could give."

Dan and Ray gave each other looks out of Henry's sight as Shaina paused to think of how to word her next question.

"What was it like… when you were bricked up in the tunnel?"

The engine looked away in shame and here, Shaina noted, Henry's face showed every single one of his 101 years. "It… it was horrible. I was still fairly new, since it wasn't long after Gordon arrived. At first, I wasn't too concerned, because I told myself that the Fat Controller needed me and he'd let me out within the week and put me back to work. After a month of telling myself that… I… just waited to rust away."

Shaina paused a moment. "Henry, how long were you in the tunnel?"

"...Nearly 3 months, I think. Maybe more," Henry answered quietly.

Dan and Ray seethed. 3 months bricked up alone?! No wonder Henry never liked to talk about it! Of course, there was no one to complain to. The first Fat Controller had passed a long time ago. But that didn't make it any more right.

"That's probably why I had so much trouble steaming after I came out," Henry continued. "I had some trouble before, but it eventually got a lot worse after the tunnel."

"I've heard stories about that. How long was it before you got the Welsh coal?"

"A few years, I think. Nearly every part that could be replaced without me having to spend a lot of time in the Works was replaced, but nearly nothing helped for long. The Welsh coal, though…" Henry paused and smiled. "That was probably the first time I felt like a proper engine."

Shaina took another deep breath. "And… how long was it between when you got the Welsh coal and… your Kipper wreck?"

"About 4 months," Henry sighed. "It was awful, just lying in the snow waiting to be rescued. It hurt too, a lot. Everything felt twisted and broken. I really wasn't sure that Crewe would be able to fix me, but they did. Mr. Stainer decided to fix me up like one of his engines, a Black 5. One of them was there undergoing repairs. I think her name was… Sovereign? Yes, Sovereign. I think she's still running, actually." Henry paused again. "I don't think I could ever really thank Mr. Stainer properly. If he didn't owe the Fat Controller a favor, I think I would have finally been scrapped after that wreck…"

Shaina nodded respectfully and closed her notebook. She had heard more than enough.

The crews were quick to notice the somewhat somber mood circulating around the shed. Unsurprisingly, Ben was the first to try and cheer everyone up.

"Hey, Shaina! You're a singer, right?"

Shaina looked around to see the fireman. "Yeah… Why?"

"I propose… A sing-off!"

There was a groan from the crews and James.

"Please, no!" cried the red engine. "Ben, you're horrible at singing!"

"James, I'm appalled! I'm great at it! I could sing solo!"

"Yeah," called Alice. "So low we can't hear you!"

An uproar of laughter followed, leaving Ben sulking.

"Maybe some other time," Shaina replied, smirking at Ben. "I'm not sure my ears are ready for a reprise of Scuttle's Solo."

This sent the crews into an even greater fit of laughter and, after a quick explanation, the engines joined in. Ben just rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine. Some other time." He sounded grumpy, but one look in his mischievously sparkling eyes told another story.

The crews and engines continued to gently tease each other until Henry was smiling and seemed to be in a better mood. Once they were sure the green engine would be alright, the crews started packing up their supplies and trickled out. Chris and Jack, however, wandered up to Shaina and whispered something to her. She slowly nodded and followed them back to Thomas, climbing up into the cab and out of sight.

The engines carefully watched, unsure of what to think. Most of them had crews in the past who would do unsavory things in an engine's cab when the people thought the engine wouldn't be listening. But there weren't any sounds to indicate that was happening and Thomas didn't look upset or disgusted. Instead, he stared back to his cab in wonder, hardly daring to breathe. After a few minutes, he let out the softest of gasps.

"I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?"

"Nonono, Miss! You didn't!" Thomas quickly corrected.

There was a chuckle that sounded like it may have come from Jack before silence fell over the shed again. The other engines watched, still unsure of exactly what was happening. Thomas all but held his breath in anticipation.

After another few minutes, Shaina, Jack, and Chris climbed down and left the sheds, with Shaina smiling broadly and thanking Thomas' crew profusely. The engines watched Thomas for a moment.

"Thomas?" Edward finally asked after they were sure the humans were gone. "What happened?"

Thomas's eyes turned to the blue tender engine. "My crew… They were teaching her my controls."

A/N: Thank you guys SO MUCH for all your support! Thank you especially to everyone who sent in reviews, like Lorna and Sage! Reviews really encourage me to write. I don't mind answering questions either, though I can't always promise a straight answer. ;)

Speaking of which, Lorna is the first to address the million-dollar question: Who is D? I can't tell you right now, but I'll give you a helpful hint. D is not an engine. You're welcome.

Anyways, so Shaina learns more about Henry's past in this chapter. Henry's one of my favorite characters in the whole TTTE franchise and, to be honest, he probably has one of the more interesting backstories compared to most engines. Henry went through so much before he even turned 20. It's hard to not feel a bit sorry for him.

And, yes, Shaina's getting the chance to work with the engines! Now, I'm not too familiar with how to work steam engines, so apologies to those who do. I'm gonna try to keep those descriptions to a minimum, so you can use your imaginations.

What's next, you may ask? Well, Shaina starts to find out what a typical day on the North Western Railway is like...