Thomas was at the coaling plant watching Edward and James leave with their coal trucks. It had been an eventful day for him, as not only did he have to arrange the trucks himself while the two were doing other work, but he also had an interesting first encounter with a large truck named Hector, whom up until now was given the nickname "Hector the Horrid" by the other trucks. Hector's nickname came from the aggressive and uncooperative behaviour he displayed towards anyone who tried to shunt him or fill him with coal, and Thomas had gotten to witness this in all its clarity. When Thomas first laid eyes on him, he was bumping Bill and Ben quite hard in an attempt to stop them from taking him anywhere near the coal hopper. Then, when Thomas first tried to move him, Hector fended himself off by roaring "KEEP AWAY!" at him. And to top it all off, when Rosie came along to help Thomas with moving Hector, Hector drove her away and frightened her to no end by saying the exact same thing as before. That was the last straw for Thomas, so in retaliation for it all, he got firm with Hector and gave him two hard bumps, the second of which resulted in Hector derailing. After this, Thomas learned that Hector had been acting uncooperative because he was actually scared of being filled up with coal; it had never happened to him before and was nervous about what his first experience with it would be like. However, once Hector had been put back on the rails by Rocky and some workmen, Thomas was able to convince him that filling up with coal wasn't so bad after all, and as a result of this, Hector reformed and ended up forming a good friendship with the blue tank engine.
Thomas was glad to have helped Hector get over his fear of being filled with coal, but now there was one thing on his mind. He himself had gotten over the number of times Hector had roared at him, and he was certain that Bill and Ben would have easily recovered from the bumps they had been given, but poor little Rosie was absolutely petrified after Hector had roared at her, and Thomas was certain that right now she would be hiding somewhere all alone, letting her fear play itself out. He felt very sad and worried for her; while he found it annoying whenever she would copy him or go nuts over him, he would not tolerate anyone bullying or saying bad things about her. She was still a young engine and could be emotionally vulnerable at times, and Thomas couldn't bear to see her in such low spirits.
For a few minutes, Thomas sat on the line and thought about how he could convince Rosie that she had nothing to fear anymore. He knew that he would have to give her all the comfort and reassurance possible, which was just as easily said as it was done, but he also knew that in order for Rosie to truly get over her fear of Hector, he would have to show her that he had reformed, as merely telling her that this was the case wouldn't get either of them very far. So after building up some steam, Thomas set off out of the yard to look for Rosie, going all around the island, whistling and calling out her name as he went.
Rosie was sitting in a siding hidden by a row of bushes, still shivering and trembling over her experience with Hector. Out of all her times on Sodor, she couldn't think of a single moment that she found to be as frightening as that. She had felt nervous about the time when she left the mainland for Sodor and had continuously worried about what her new life would be like, but to her, that did not even compare to having an encounter with what seemed to be an intimidating, aggressive brute. At the same time, she felt very silly for not going along with what she was called over to the coaling plant for in the first place. Had she not let her emotions get the better of her and run away to leave Thomas to do all the work on his own, then the job likely would have taken much less time. She knew that really useful engines always got on with their work in whatever the circumstances, and because of the whole incident, she didn't feel really useful at all. She also couldn't help but worry about what Thomas would say to her once they next saw each other, fearing that he would scold her for running off. Soon, she gave an abashed sigh, looked down at the tracks and shut her eyes.
She had been idling there, losing herself in her grief and shame for several minutes, when presently, she heard a whistle she knew all too well. "Rosie? Rosie?" came a voice from somewhere in the distance.
Rosie's eyes popped open again in surprise. She knew that the voice was coming from Thomas. Despite her nervousness over what he would say to her, she knew that she would have to face him sooner or later. "Thomas! I'm over here!" she called, giving a few peeps from her whistle.
It took Thomas a few moments to figure out where Rosie's location was, but once she came into his sight, he slowly approached her and stopped with both of their buffers a few inches from each other. He looked into Rosie's eyes and could see that there was still fear in them.
"Are you alright, Rosie?" asked Thomas. "You're still scared over the incident with Hector, are you?"
"Oh, Thomas ... yes, I am!" Rosie whimpered. "H-h-he was so ... s-s-s-scary! All I w-w-wanted was to h-h-h-help you with moving him, and ... he roared at me! Why did he have to be so mean to us about being shunted?"
"I know," said Thomas gently. "It was quite nerve-racking for both of us back there."
Tears began to form in Rosie's eyes as she went on. "Thomas ... I'm so sorry I ran away! I didn't mean for this to happen! I truly did want to help you with preparing Hector for the goods train, but I ... I lost my nerve and couldn't go anywhere near him again! Please, don't be cross with me! Please, Thomas! I'm really, really sorry!" And with that, she started to cry. Thomas gently rolled forward and buffered up to her, seeing how sincere she was being. He looked at her with the utmost sympathy and concern he could ever give her.
"Shh ... Rosie ... it's alright," he whispered soothingly. "Everyone gets scared sometimes. You don't need to be sorry."
"I'm such a silly engine," sobbed Rosie. "I can't do anything right ... all I'm good at is following you around and copying you ... I'm not really useful ..."
"Rosie, no!" said Thomas sharply. "Don't say such things about yourself! You're not silly, you just have a tendency to be sensitive as a lot of us do. I know you well enough to know that you are very useful and good at doing so much more than just following me around and imitate my every move. I've seen you shunt trucks very well before, many times, in fact, and you were very diligent to get help when I got stuck in that avalanche while trying to deliver the birthday mail to Alice at High Farm. You're much better than you're giving yourself credit for, and being hard on yourself like this won't do anything to lift your spirits. You're an asset to the railway and a great friend."
Rosie felt some level of reassurance in those words, but continued to cry. She buffered up to him closer and kept sobbing, while Thomas kept her in a gentle hold and let her spend all her sadness and guilt, remaining silent as she did so.
After a while, Rosie had let her sadness play itself out and felt calm enough not to keep crying. She looked up at Thomas for a moment or two, and then finally spoke up. "What happened between you and Hector after I ran away?" she asked.
Thomas smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It took a while, but I actually managed to convince Hector to get filled with coal."
Rosie was surprised. "How? He seemed like someone who is not easily convinced to cooperate with anyone."
"After you ran away," Thomas explained, "I got cross with Hector for scaring you, as well as for bumping Bill and Ben and shouting at me, so I tried to give him what for by talking some sense into him. I first gave him a mighty biff, to which he responded with yet another 'KEEP AWAY!', and then I reprimanded him for causing so much trouble. I bumped him again, this time sending him crashing through the buffers. I never really meant for that to happen, and I felt very sorry for doing it once I saw how sad Hector looked afterwards. I asked him why didn't want to be filled up with coal, and do you want to know what his reason was?"
"What?" asked Rosie.
"He was scared!" Thomas replied. "He's quite new to the island and had never actually been filled up with coal before, so him fending himself off from others was just a way to hide his inner fear. After he was moved back onto the track with the help of Rocky, I showed him that being filled up with coal is nothing to be scared of - all that happens is coal falling out of the chute and into the bunker, tender or truck. When Edward and James came to collect him later, he wasn't rough with them at all. He's now a much tamer and more outwardly friendly truck than he initially seemed."
Rosie was awestruck at what she had heard. She had always idolised Thomas for all his positive qualities, but she never thought he would go as far as causing a bully to reform. And what made her most happy of all is the fact that he had stood up for her after she had run away; it showed that no matter how often she would get on his nerves, he still cared about her and didn't like seeing her feeling unhappy or scared.
"Oh, Thomas, you really are a hero!" she cried.
"Oh, well, it's nothing, really," said Thomas modestly. "It's what I like to do with newcomers. And remember, there is always a reason behind bullying; no one ever does it just because they feel like it. And it's an engine's instinct to stick by their friends if they're being harmed or intimidated," he added.
Rosie mused happily over what she had heard all about for a bit, before another thought struck her. She had remembered how big Hector was, as well as the ominous-looking frown on his face when she had first seen him, and felt a bit worried that it would be the expression he'd have the next time they saw each other. "But Thomas," she asked nervously, "What if Hector will still put up that intimidating facade towards anyone has to deal with him again in the future? What if he tells them to keep away again?"
"No, he won't do that, I promise you," reassured Thomas. "I can take you to see him tomorrow and you'll see. I'll be right with you the whole way."
Rosie let out a sigh of relief, feeling thankful that Thomas would stay by her side for that next meeting. "Thank you ... brother," she replied.
Thomas was astonished at what he had just heard. "What did you just call me?" he exclaimed.
"I called you 'brother', Thomas," replied Rosie. "You're an inspiration and a role model to me. I strive to keep building on who I am thanks to you and the admirable qualities you display. You're so selfless, altruistic, brave and noble, and I can't think of any other fellow tank engine I would rather look up to. Even though my imitations of you can annoy you sometimes, which I understand, you still stand up for me whenever someone is treating me unfairly. And for that, I think you're just like a supportive brother to me."
Thomas thought about what she had just said. He eventually considered all the interactions that he and Rosie had with each other over time, and came to the realisation that they did in many ways have a brother-and-sister type of relationship, with him being the older brother who sometimes would get irritated by the antics of Rosie, the younger sister, but would always support her no matter what. He had never really thought about it that way before, but thanks to what Rosie said, he could now look at their friendship in a whole new way.
"Wow, Rosie," he pondered. "I guess you're right ... we have had a lot of times when we were like siblings. You've opened my eyes and allowed me to see a light shedding on our relationship that I never saw before ... but in any case, I'm proud to be your brother."
Rosie shook with excitement, leaned in and gave Thomas' face a little nuzzle, and let out a small happy squeak.
Thomas soon had an idea. "Would you like to stay with me in the sheds at Ffarquhar tonight?" he asked Rosie.
"Oh, I'd love to!" answered Rosie enthusiastically. "But aren't there only three berths in the sheds?"
"There used to be just three, yes, but now more are being added in so that whenever there is a large number of engines in the yard, they can also rest there," Thomas explained. "Percy and Toby will be there, and I know they'll be glad to see you; they surely will enjoy the company of a female steam engine. Daisy and Mavis stay there on occasions, too, but as you know, both of them are diesels, so having a female steamie in the yard will be a nice change."
"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go!" Rosie piped.
"Just follow me, little sister," smiled Thomas, and they both puffed out of the siding and headed along Thomas' branch line towards Ffarquhar Sheds.
At Ffarquhar, Percy and Toby were sitting in their berths, conversing with each other about the day and enjoying the sunset. Percy had been dealing with some trucks himself at the quarry for most of the day, while Toby had been taking some tourists around the island. They were both looking forward to a good night's rest. Presently, they looked into the distance and saw Thomas and Rosie coming into the yard.
"Hello, you two!" called Toby.
"Hello, Toby! Hello, Percy!" Thomas called back. He came to a halt just outside the sheds, and went to a nearby turntable so that he could back into a berth. As he did so, Rosie backed into the berth beside Percy.
"Have you come to sleep with us tonight, Rosie?" asked Percy.
"Yes I am, Percy," Rosie replied. "Thomas is currently helping me to get through a bit of a rough time."
"Whatever happened?" asked Toby.
Thomas backed into the berth at the far end of the sheds and explained to them what had happened. "We had a bit of an incident at the coaling plant ... I had to prepare a big truck named Hector for a special train that Edward and James had to deliver, but he didn't want anyone to go near him. When Rosie came along to help me, he got aggressive with us and she ran away in fear. I'm currently trying to help her conquer that fear - we're meeting Hector again tomorrow so she can see that he's now a reformed truck."
"How did you get Hector to stop being troublesome, Thomas?" asked Percy.
"He told me he had never been filled with coal before and was scared of it, so I showed him that it was nothing to worry about," Thomas replied.
"Oh, Rosie, you poor thing," said Toby sympathetically. "It's very kind of you to look out and stand up for her like that, Thomas," he added.
"I know," Rosie put in. "Thomas is like a big brother to me."
"Ooh, Big Brother Thomas ... I like the sound of that!" cooed Percy.
"Yep, and we're going to stay by each others' side until her fear is conquered. Aren't we, little sister?" said Thomas. Rosie gave another enthusiastic squirm.
"Well, we should probably hit the hay," announced Toby. "Good luck with helping Rosie with Hector tomorrow, Thomas. Goodnight, everyone."
They all said their goodnights and were soon asleep. Rosie still felt slightly nervous about the following day and what her next encounter with Hector would be like, but she felt great knowing that her brother figure Thomas would be with her every step of the way to help her get through it all. Simultaneously, Thomas felt rather confident that Rosie would quickly get over her fear of Hector once they next met face-to-face, but didn't think too much about it; he had already helped her get through one stage of conquering her fear, and felt that he shouldn't need to worry about the next phase until tomorrow, when the plan would be put into action. He eventually put the thought aside and dozed off with the others, feeling peaceful and contented.
So that's it for the first chapter of this fic, guys. Stay tuned because the second one will hopefully come very soon; I don't have much going on right now, so it could easily come in seven days max. Be prepared, because the next chapter has Rosie finally witnessing the new Hector and befriending him. Until then, don't forget to let me know what you think of this chapter by leaving a rate and review.