Part 1: When James Met Emily

A.N. Some, actually a lot, of you may have noticed that I ship James with Emily and Edward with Molly. This story was written to explain how these relationships came to be. Well, at least in my fandom for this show. Hope you enjoy.

One day on the Island of Sodor, James was on his way back to the yard with some empty cars.

"Boy, it sure feels good to have a job done." he said proudly. "Not gonna lie, I would rather pull coaches all day instead of freight cars, but, you gotta do what you gotta do, even if it's something you don't like doing."

Soon, James arrived at the yard, where he shunted his cars into their proper places, then, as he was done with work for the day at that point, he went to the washdown to have a good cleanup, and he saw Edward there. Edward looked a little annoyed.

"Ed?" James called. "You okay, bud?"

"Oh. Hi, James." Edward greeted coldly.

James was immediately concerned. Edward had never greeted him like that.

"Something on your mind?" James then asked.

"There's a new engine on Sodor." replied Edward.

James laughed.

"What's so bad about a new engine?" he chuckled.

"Nothing." Edward denied. "It's just that the new engine was stealing Annie and Clarabel."

James was surprised.

"You mean Thomas' two coaches that used to be mine?" he asked.

"Yup." Edward nodded. "And the new engine stole them."

James couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had never heard Edward judge somebody like this.

"What makes you think this new engine stole them?" he asked.

"I saw her pulling them as I was taking my goods train." Edward answered. "I've never seen any other engine besides Thomas, Percy, Toby, Duck, or even you pull them, so that's what brought me to that conclusion."

"Oh, so the new engine is a girl?" James queried.

"That's right." replied Edward.

"Well, I might just have to find this engine myself and see if I can find out what's really going on." James decided. "What does she look like?"

"She's dark green with yellow lining and a tall funnel." explained Edward.

"Got it." James nodded. "What's her name?"

"I'm not sure." Edward replied. "Sorry."

"That's okay." said James. "I'll find out for myself."

And so, James set off in search of the new engine. He eventually saw Thomas at a water tower topping off. Two dark green and cream coaches were coupled up behind him.

"Hey, Thomas." James greeted. "New coaches?"

"What's it to you?" Thomas snapped.

"Whoa, hey, hey, no need to be so touchy." James gasped.

Thomas sighed.

"I'm sorry, James." he said. "I'm just mad, that's all."

"Why?" James asked. "Did you get up on the wrong side of the shed today?"

"Well, no." Thomas replied. "My day was just as good as any other day. I'm just mad because Emily stole Annie and Clarabel, and I want them back!"

James was amazed.

"Emily?" he asked. "Is she a dark green engine with yellow lining and a tall funnel?"

"Um, yes." Thomas answered. "Why did you ask?"

"Because I'm looking for her." the Number 5 engine answered.

"Well, good luck with that." said Thomas. "She could be anywhere."

"Thanks." said James as he set off again.

James spent all afternoon looking for Emily, but couldn't find her anywhere.

"Dang, where is that engine?" James wondered out loud.

Just then, he saw Oliver, who was on his way home after a trip to the works to be mended.

"Hey, Ollie!" James called. "Have you seen a dark green engine named Emily at all today?"

"Why, yes, I have." Oliver said with a smile. "She actually rescued me earlier from having an accident with Thomas."

Oliver then told James the story.

"Wow." gasped James. "That was so brave of her. Say, do you know where she might be now?"

"Last time I saw her was at Wellsworth Yards." said Oliver.

"Got it." James nodded.

And so, James set off for Wellsworth Yards, hoping to find Emily there. But when he arrived, there was no sign of her at all.

"Well, this sure complicates things." he said out loud to himself. "I could've sworn she'd be here. Oliver said so."

"It's no use, James." said his driver. "It'll be sundown soon, so we should probably head back home."

"You're right, Jerry." said James.

With that, James set off back to Tidmouth Sheds. There, he couldn't believe what he saw. There, right in front of him, was Emily, with Thomas right next to her! James' jaw dropped when he saw her.

"Hi there." Emily greeted. "You must be James."

James was even more dumbfounded than before.

"How do you know my name?" he asked.

"Thomas told me about you." said Emily.

"Fair enough." shrugged James.

Once James was turned around on the turntable, he backed into the berth next to Emily.

"You know, Emily, you're really beautiful." said James.

Emily blushed deeply.

"Stop it!" she giggled.

"I'm not kidding, your paintwork is so shiny I can almost see my reflection in it." James added.

It didn't take too long for Thomas to figure out what was going on.

"You like her, don't ya, James?" he asked with a smirk.

James' face blushed very deeply.

"Um...uh..." he began.

"It's okay if you do, James." Emily giggled. "I like you too. In fact, I'm kind of a sucker for red engines."

"You are?" James asked.

"Oh, yeah." Emily nodded. "I think your color goes well with mine."

James felt flattered by this.

"Aw, shucks." he blushed.

"What's wrong with blue?" Thomas asked, although he was only joking.

"I like blue, too." Emily giggled.

Just then, James had an idea.

"Say, Emily, do you wanna do something together?" he asked.

"Sure." Emily replied. "What did you have in mind? I'll take anything, really."

"Do you like movies?" James then asked. "Because there's a lot at the outdoor cinema for us engines."

"A movie sounds good to me." agreed Emily.

"Great." grinned James. "When do you wanna go?"

"How about tomorrow evening?" Emily asked.

"Sure." said James. "Popcorn's on me, okay?"

Emily agreed, and it was settled. Just then, Edward and Percy arrived. Both looked guilty.

"What's wrong with you guys?" asked Thomas.

"Sir Topham Hatt told us what happened at the crossing." said Edward.

"Yeah, he told us about Emily rescuing Oliver." added Percy.

The two engines then looked at Emily.

"Emily, I am so sorry I was unfriendly to you." sighed Edward. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"So am I." agreed Percy.

Emily smiled.

"Apology accepted." she said.

This made Edward and Percy feel better, and they were then properly introduced to Emily and vice versa, and James then told them about his upcoming date with Emily.

"Man, I'm jealous already." Edward joked. "But I'm happy for you at the same time."

Everyone shared a laugh, and the following evening, after James and Emily had finished work for the day, they went to the outdoor cinema, which was playing The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run. They soon had their popcorn, snacks, and drinks and the movie began. After the movie, they went down to Arlesburgh Harbor to watch the sunset.

"Look at that sunset." said James. "It's beautiful. But not as beautiful as you."

Emily giggled.

"You're a shameless flatterer, James." she said.

"And proud of it." laughed James in agreement.

Soon, it was beginning to get dark, so the two engines decided that it was time to go back to Tidmouth, which they did. Soon, they were fast asleep in their berths. Both felt very happy to have had a good time out together and that each had found their match.

End of Part 1