Thomas was excited at the fact that he had a brother; a fellow survivor of the E2 class! He was so giddy with euphoria over his discovery that he couldn't think of much else.
Victor, however, had the common sense to bring the little tank engine back to earth. "Thomas, my friend, I do hate to spoil your reunion; but you do have passenger trains on your Branchline this morning." He said gently.
Thomas gasped. "You're right, Victor! Annie and Clarabel will be waiting for me at my Branchline! Oh, I mustn't be late for my passengers!" He wheeshed loudly and backed out of the Steamworks. "Thank you, Victor!" he called, as he started to chuff away.
"Don't mention it, Thomas!" Victor called back, before returning his attention to Matthew, who just looked bewildered at his brother's antics.
"Not to worry, Matthew, I'll explain," he assured, and Matthew allowed himself to relax.
….
Thomas raced down the Mainline, still over the moon about meeting Matthew for the first time ever.
"Gosh, I can't wait to tell my friends about this!" He puffed to himself happily. "A fellow E2 survivor- it's not every day you meet one!"
"Thomas, slow down, will you?" His driver asked, trying to regain control of his engine, but failing miserably.
But the little tank engine never heard his driver, and continued racing along the line.
….
Annie and Clarabel were tittering with both anxiety (Clarabel) and anger (Annie) that Thomas still hadn't arrived yet.
Having finished his train early, Percy had kindly shunted his best friend's coaches into place to save Thomas time when he arrived; but was not pleased that Thomas hadn't shown up. Yet, he couldn't help but be worried as well.
"I just hope he's okay," He said to Clarabel.
"I bet he's just late!" Said Annie. "I've told him before about being tardy! He never listens!"
"Well, that's Thomas," Replied Clarabel. "But what if something has happened to him?"
Inside Annie and Clarabel, the passengers grumbled like angry bees, waiting for Thomas to arrive.
"Where is he, anyway?" Annie added, sternly.
Percy had a vague idea where his best friend had been. He also had a vague feeling that Thomas was dashing here with a (hopefully) half decent excuse. Boy, if Thomas was late for some trivial reason, Percy was going to have stern words with him later about worrying his coaches and annoying the passengers.
Suddenly, a loud and familiar whistle pierced the air, causing everyone to look in one direction.
Thomas raced into the station, red faced and panting, but looking happy and triumphant.
"You stupid engine!" Roared the stationmaster rudely. "What time do you call this?! I was going to have Percy pull your passengers if you hadn't shown up just now! Where the blazes have you been?"
"Steamworks," Thomas replied, in one breath. He was too exhausted to explain further, so he was let off the hook for the time being.
But Percy and the coaches were not so dismissive of their friend's tardiness.
"Thomas, where on Earth have you been?" Asked Annie, sternly. "You know we have passengers to take!"
"I'm sorry," Replied Thomas, sincerely. As excited as he was about his discovery, he was still remorseful for making his beloved coaches wait and worry unnecessarily. "But I have some wonderful news to tell you!" He added.
But before Thomas could elucidate further, the stationmaster blew his whistle, and waved his green flag. Thomas rolled his eyes, but regardless, he started off on his journey. "Goodbye, Percy!" He peeped. "And thanks for shunting Annie and Clarabel for me!"
"You're welcome!" Percy peeped back. He was just relieved that Thomas was alright… though he was still annoyed at him for making poor Annie and Clarabel fret…