Alright. Round three of my second set of 26 episodes. Today, sit back and relax as Henry and Rosie become...
Shedmates!
Moral: don't jump to conclusions/let others know you're appreciative
One evening, Rosie was having a rest in Vicarstown Station when Henry pulled in with the Flying Kipper.
"Good evening, Henry!" she greeted.
"Phew! Hello, Rosie," the big green engine quickly responded, as the men unloaded his wagons. "How are you?" "Fine. Fine. Just turning in from shunting all day before I head back to my shed."
Henry yawned, much to Rosie's surprise.
"That's nice," he murmured. "At least you have a shed that's close to you."
"What do you mean?" Rosie wondered, rather confused.
"Well, Vicarstown is my last stop, you see," Henry explained. "Than I take the empty wagons back to the Docks before I head to the sheds for a rest. It is quite a way to get from here to Brendam, and then Brendam to Tidmouth. By then it's already past midnight. Than I have to get up bright and early to pull my passenger train."
Henry let out a sigh of exasperation from having explained so much, though Rosie could understand how tired he was and thought hard what she could do to help him.
"I...think I have a solution for Henry."
"You do?" Henry wondered.
"Why, yes," Rosie responded, rather enthusiastically. "How about if I let you sleep the night with me at Vicarstown Sheds. Than I could take your empty wagons back in the morning while you collect your passenger train."
"That's...a very nice offer, Rosie, and rather thoughtful. But I wouldn't want to make you do that for me, especially if it happens more frequently." "Oh, I wouldn't mind, Henry. I surely wouldn't mind sharing a shed with you and helping you out if you need it."
"Really?" Henry was rather puzzled.
"Yes! Why don't you take the night to think about it, Henry? You're welcome to stay if you'd like. "Thank you, Rosie!" Henry whistled, as his guard's whistle. "I'll think about it."
And he rolled away with his empty wagons, Rosie watching after him with surprise.
"Huh," she wondered, and she rolled away back to the sheds.
By the time Henry returned to the sheds, it was very late indeed.
"Oh, dear," he sighed and locked at the clock, which read half past midnight.
"What's wrong?" a voice blurted out from the berth next to him.
Henry was startled, as he looked over to see that it was his good friend Percy.
"Oh, Percy," he sighed with relief. "Eh, you're still up?" Percy chuckled.
"Well, yes, I am, Henry. I just got back a while ago from pulling the mail train."
"Yes, it seems like you're always back before me," Henry pointed out, before explaining, "which gives you enough time to leave your mail trucks beside the shed.
Percy was rather confused, but nevertheless listened carefully as Henry continued talking.
"Me on the other hand, I always have to travel from my last stop in Vicarstown to Brendam, which is relatively here to Tidmouth, but nevertheless takes up a lot of time for me to get here." Percy thought hard.
"I'm guessing you don't have enough time to ease your axles then."
"No, Percy. And I have to get up bright and early to start work too." "We all do, Henry," Percy admitted. "It's just that you happen to return home later than everyone else. I wish there was a way that could change for you."
"Well,"' Henry wondered, remembering, "I did talk to Rosie about it at Vicarstown."
"Rosie?" Percy was rather confused, as Henry continued.
"And she suggested I sleep with her at Tidmouth Sheds so I can get up bright and early to start my work while she takes my empty wagons back to Brendam."
"Oh. That does sound really nice of Rosie."
"Yes," Henry sighed. "I do enjoy sleeping here at Tidmouth Sheds, but maybe this would be a good change for me. Do you think, perhaps, I should talk to the Fat Controller about it?
"I'd be sad to see you leave Tidmouth Sheds, Henry," Percy admitted. "But I would also encourage you to do what you feel is right. I mean, Edward transferred to Wellsworth Sheds because it was closer to his Branch Line and it seemed to have worked out for him."
"Hmm," Henry wondered. "Maybe you're right, Percy. Perhaps I'll talk to the Fat Controller in the morning. "But first," he yawned, "I must get a good night's rest. Good night, Percy" Then he settled down and went to sleep, Percy smiling slightly over at him.
"Good night, Henry," he yawned, and fell asleep as well.
Next morning, the sun shone bright as the engines at Tidmouth were up and about, ready for the day's work to come.
A flock of birds flew off the roof of Tidmouth Sheds, and Henry was the first one to leave as he whistled and chuffed onto the turntable.
"Good morning, everybody!" Nia called.
"Good morning, Nia!" Thomas whistled.
"Morning, Nia!" Percy whistled.
"Isn't it a beautiful day?" Nia beamed.
"Yes, it is!" Henry happily replied. "I'm gonna go speak to The Fat Controller right away!" And he chuffed happily off of the turntable, as Gordon rolled slowly on.
Henry had finally made up his mind about how he was going to handle his dilemma with getting home so late.
At Knapford Station, The Fat Controller was busy figuring out plans of his own.
"Hmm," he thought, pacing up and down the platform with a clipboard in hand. "I'm sure this new engine will manage the new passenger service all by herself, especially with Rosie as the station pilot…"
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of Henry's whistle, as he pulled into the platform.
"Good morning, sir!"
"Good morning, Henry," he responded, not making much eye contact as he was deep in his thoughts.
Henry was rather confused.
"Is everything alright, sir?" he asked.
"Eh, everything's fine, Henry," The Fat Controller replied, finally making eye contact with the big green engine. "I was just thinking of arrangements for this new passenger service running from Vicarstown to Knapford…"
"Oh," Henry thought, rather intrigued as he listened with an idea in mind.
"...so residents of Vicarstown can make it to their destinations sooner rather than having to wait for the service running from Knapford to there and back," the Fat Controller continued, and then finished, "and I'm thinking of bringing in a new engine to run that service."
"Hmm," Henry wondered, the Fat Controller looking at him hard with slight confusion. "Well, I have somewhat of a request with your regards to this service, sir."
"Oh," pondered the Fat Controller, taken slightly aback, but listening carefully regardless. "What if I ran that service in Vicarstown, sir, while the new engine took my place here at Knapford?" "You, Henry?" "Yes, sir! It's easier for me to sleep in Vicarstown after pulling the Kipper. Rosie suggested it to me and she's happy to take my empty fish wagons back to the docks." He gulped nervously as the Fat Controller looked at him carefully, pressing his pen down against the notepad. "With...my graditude towards Rosie, of course, sir." He chuckled nervously.
"Hmm…" the Fat Controller pondered.
Gordon was taking on coal at the hopper, when Henry whistled and pulled up behind him.
"Oh, did you ask him, Henry?" Percy asked.
"Oh, oh," Philip honked excitedly, as he pulled up beside Percy. "What did he say?" "He said yes!" Henry happily responded. "He thinks it's a good idea!"
"Enough of this chitter chattering!" Gordon hastily interrupted. "Aren't you one of you 'little engines' supposed to bring me my coaches?" Then he whistled and rolled slowly away, Percy and Philip chuckling quietly.
"Congratulations, Henry!" Philip blurted out.
"Thank you, Philip!" the green engine responded, then looked over at his good friend Percy.
"I thought I might get the word out before you asked him, Henry," Percy admitted. "I'm just really happy for you." Then his expression saddened. "Though...we are going to miss you at Tidmouth Sheds."
"Thank you, Percy! I, for one, will miss you all at Tidmouth as well. Though I'm glad to have been fitted into a more suitable timetable, and I'm sure whichever engine takes my place will manage just fine."
And he chuffed slowly towards the hopper to take on coal, Percy beaming after him.
Later that night, Henry had just made his last stop at Vicarstown Station, and left the empty in a siding for the night before going to settle down for the night.
"Good evening, Rosie!" he whistled, as he pulled into the berth beside Rosie. Rosie beamed back at him.
"It's good to have your company, Henry," Rosie admitted. "It gets awfully lonely here at Tidmouth Sheds with no other engines to talk to. I hope your new shed."
"I do. I'm really glad you suggested this to me. The Fat Controller made arrangements with the Vicarstown yard manager as soon as I brought it up to him."
"I know. The manager informed me."
There was a slight silence as the two friends beamed at each other. As Henry began to yawn, he was suddenly startled by the burst of Rosie's voice.
"Say, Henry," she wondered. "I don't believe I've ever told you the story of how I first ended up here at Vicarstown."
Henry raised an eyebrow with surprise and wonder.
"No, Rosie. I don't believe you have."
"Well," Rosie began, "as you probably know, I've spent the first portion of my time here on Sodor shunting trucks and coaches in the Shunting Yards. Engines came in and out and I would never waste time in having their trains ready for them." Henry listened, somewhat puzzled, as Rosie finally got to the point. "Then one day, the Fat Controller came to me and told me he thought I was in need of a change."
"Oh," Henry wondered. "What happened then?" "He informed me that he was making arrangements for his new passenger service starting at Vicarstown, and he needed a volunteer to work as a station pilot. I accepted the offer, and he immediately made arrangements for my repaint before recruiting me here."
"Wow!" Henry listened, rather amazed, but soon winked a sleepy eye and began yawning.
"I do enjoy my position very much, but I'm even more happy to have the company of someone whom I can share it with." She then looked over at Henry, taken slightly by surprise at his yawning.
"That's nice, Rosie," Henry yawned, then regained composure as he spoke. "But I do have a big day tomorrow and we both need our rest."
Then he yawned as he backed slowly farther into his berth and fell asleep. Rosie smiled, as she backed down beside him then yawned and fell asleep as well.
PEEP-PEEP!
Rosie awoke, startled, as he pulled slowly out of his berth and onto the turntable.
"Oh," she gasped, then moved quickly forward and whistled, "good morning, Henry!"
But Henry was too quick to hear Rosie as he went on his way.
"Oh," she murmured, the expression on her face saddening a bit.
Rosie wasted no time in having Henry's coaches at the platform. She was really excited. People were walking all around to find which coach their seats were assigned to. The station was rather crowded, and Rosie had never seen anything like it.
"Is it...always this busy at Knapford Station, Henry?" she wondered.
"Always," Henry whistled, as he backed down on his train. "We engines enjoy the hustle and bustle of every station, just so we know our trains are running smoothly and on time." Then he joked, "well...with the exception of Gordon since he only stops at all the important stations."
Rosie just had to laugh, as she backed down from the coaches. The guard's whistle blew, and Henry whistled as he was on his way.
"Oh, goodbye, Henry!" Rosie whistled excitedly. But Henry had already left and was too far away to hear.
"Oh," Rosie sighed sadly, then thought, "I wonder why he didn't thank me for bringing him his coaches." She stood back, slightly surprised, than sighed and decided, "ah, well. No need to make a big fuss about it. I have wagons to collect." Then she whistled and set off to find the empty Kipper wagons.
In no time at all, Rosie collected the Kipper wagons from the siding and brought them over to Brendam Docks.
"Good morning, everyone!" she whistled.
"'i, chuck!" Carly greeted.
"Good morning!" Porter whistled back. "Ahoy, matey!" Salty honked.
Cranky turned around and looked down at Rosie in slight surprise to see what she was pulling.
"Are those...the Kipper wagons?" he asked.
"Why, yes, Cranky. They are," Rosie greeted.
"But...why didn't Henry bring them back last night?"
"Oh, that's simple," Rosie chuckled, then explained. "We're shedmates now! Henry's volunteered to run the new passenger service from Vicarstown and I've agreed to take his fish wagons back for him so he can get enough rest after taking the Kipper."
"Hmm," Cranky wondered. "I still understand. If Henry…"
"Ha-her, matey!" Salty honked, as he pulled up beside her. "That was a very honorable thing to share a shed with him and take his Kipper wagons back."
"Oh, I try to be the nicest engine I can, Salty," Rosie admitted. "Henry works just as hard as any other engine, so I thought he could use a bit of a change."
"I see," Cranky remarked, somewhat understanding the situation.
"Well," sighed Rosie. "Best off now! Got trains to get ready and an entire day worth of shunting to do it. Bye, everyone!"
And she whistled as she left the docks, Salty and Porter honking and whistling after her.
Rosie spent the entirety of her day shunting trucks and coaches about for engines coming in and out of Vicarstown.
"Thank ye, lassie!" Donald whistled, as he pulled away with his goods train.
"You're welcome, Donald!" she called after him.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
"Thanks, Rosie!" Sidney said to her, after she had his coaches ready.
"No problem, Sidney!" she replied.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Then she had some trucks ready for Nia's train.
"Thank you, Rosie!" Nia called, as she pulled away.
"Any time, Nia!" Rosie called after her, before reversing back towards the yard.
Meanwhile, Henry was adjusting well to his new timetable as he pulled his coaches sturdily along. The passengers were enjoying themselves too, and managed to get on and off at all the right stops.
"This is just like working at Knapford," Henry wondered happily to himself, as he pulled out of Wellsworth Station.
It wasn't long before Henry's train reached the end of its half stretch at Knapford. The Fat Controller was on the platform.
"Ah, Henry," he greeted. "Right on schedule. First day for it too."
"Yes, sir!" Henry happily responded. "I think I'll get used to this new schedule, sir."
"That's good, Henry. I think you'll be happy to know that I've just made arrangements with the new engine to come take your place at Tidmouth and do all of your usual jobs."
"Oh" Henry wondered. "Well, that's good, sir. I'm just glad to have found a schedule that suited me better."
"Indeed, Henry." Then he cleared his throat slightly, and turned back towards his office. "Well, best be off now. Much paperwork to fill out. Goodbye, Henry!"
"Goodbye, sir!" Henry called back. Than his guard's whistle blew and he left the station.
Later that night, Henry made good time with the Kipper as he stopped at all the right stations on his route.
"Is this your last stop for tonight, Henry?" "Almost, sir. My last stop is really in Vicarstown before I go and settle for a rest in the Sheds nearby. It's all part of my new timetable."
"Good for you, Henry!" the stationmaster responded, as the last van door was shut, and Henry was on his way again. Henry made his last stop well and on time to Vicarstown as the men unloaded the last of his trucks.
The unloading process didn't take too much time, as Henry yawned, and sighed "now it's off to the Sheds for a rest."
The last door banged shut and Henry pulled out of the station before leaving his wagons in a siding, and heading off to the Sheds.
Rosie had been up all night waiting for Henry to come back and soon enough saw him approaching the turntable.
Henry, somewhat half-asleep, rolled onto the turntable, as it turned him round, then he backed slowly into his berth beside Rosie.
"Oh, good evening, Henry!" she blurted out, not noticing him yawning so quietly. "You'll never believe the day I've had today." Then she thought. "Well, for starters, why don't you tell me about yours? I'm sure you've had a great time on your first day and…"
She was abruptly cut off by the sound of Henry's loud snoring, as he remained sound asleep in his berth. She expressed a rather uneasy smile, which turned to a rather gloomy expression. "Good night, Henry," she sighed disappointedly, and shut her eyes as well.
Next morning, after bringing Henry his coaches, Rosie proceeded to bring the empty fish wagons back to the docks.
"Good mornin', Rosie!" Carly called, as she passed her.
But to her surprise, Rosie didn't respond.
"Hmm…" she thought, as Cranky looked down at her with concern.
Rosie waited as the wagons were uncoupled from her, and then she set slowly off, but not before Salty came into sight.
"Good mornin', matie!" he honked.
But Rosie didn't pay attention to him, as she went on her way.
"Huh," Salty wondered. Rosie backed onto a siding where she was certain no one would notice her, and sat around to think for a moment. Just then, Diesel rolled by.
Diesel expressed a slight grin as he watched Rosie all alone on the siding, letting out a sigh. Quickly, he rolled up beside her.
"Is...something wrong, Rosie?" he asked.
Rosie gasped, rather surprised by Diesel's presence, and stammered, "oh, n-no. N-n-nothing wrong, D-d-diesel." She chuckled nervously, before snapping out of it. "Eh, why would something be wrong?" "Oh, I don't know," Diesel wondered. "Just saw you all alone here on the siding and I just wanted to see that you were okay."
Rosie sighed and took a deep breath, deciding to tell Diesel how she was feeling.
"Truth be told, Diesel. I am experiencing difficulty bonding with Henry as a shedmate."
"Oh?" Diesel's eyebrows widened with wonder. "How so?
"Well, he just moved into my shed at Vicarstown, you see, to adjust to a new timetable and get some more rest before taking his morning train. We had a nice conversation the first night he came, but I haven't necessarily spoken to him since." Diesel listened to Rosie, as an idea came into mind to instigate trouble into the situation. "Usually, the only times I've ever seen him since, he either goes straight to sleep without even bothering to say good night, or he just leaves the station without thanking me for bringing me his coaches...or even for bothering to take his Kipper wagons back." Then she sighed sadly. "I only wish he could talk to me more. That's all." Diesel thought for a moment, a devious idea in mind.
"It sounds to me, Rosie, like Henry is just taking you for granted,"' Diesel calmly suggested.
"What?" Rosie was taken aback by surprise.
"Think about it," Diesel bluntly elaborated. "He's sleeping in your shed for his benefit and nothing more!"
"B-b-but, I never meant to put it that way. He is my friend, you see…"
"If Henry was really your friend, don't you think he would acknowledge a simple act of your kindness?!" Diesel cut off, emphasizing his words immensely. "Think about it, Rosie. If Henry really cared about you, he would at least make the effort to talk to you. But instead, he goes straight to sleep without even saying good night to you and then waits around and expects you to bring him his coaches."
Diesel's words caught Rosie off-guard and she couldn't think of anything more to say.
"Mm, but…" Diesel finished, "...don't take it from me entirely. I'm only suggesting what the more likely probability would be if this behavior from Henry keeps up." Then he honked and lurked slowly away, leaving Rosie to her thoughts.
"It can't be," she assured herself worriedly, as she made her way out of the siding and repeated to herself, "it can't be. It can't be."
Rosie didn't want to believe Diesel, but later that night, she found that Henry was in no more of a mood than he was the night before.
Rosie waited at the sheds, and heard Henry's whistle from afar.
"Ah! Hi, Henry!" she whistled, as he turned around the turntable and backed slowly into his berth.
Henry yawned and went straight to sleep, Rosie sighing as she decided to do the same.
Over the next couple days, Rosie experienced the same pattern with Henry over and over again.
Rosie yawned, as he opened her eyes to observe the early morning sky. Henry whistled as he suddenly passed her, much to her surprise.
"Good morning, Henry!"' she whistled.
But Henry seemed to be in an awful hurry as the table turned him round, and he hurried off. "Oh," Rosie sighed sadly.
She soon had his coaches ready at the station and whistled a greeting to him, as the passengers quickly got on board. She whistled a greeting to him but his guard's whistle blew and he was off in a huff, leaving Rosie disappointed.
Rosie waited for Henry again that night, then whistled and smiled over at him as he backed down in the berth beside him, falling asleep as Rosie looked sadly the other way.
"Good morning, Henry!" Rosie whistled next morning, as the big green engine soar right past her.
PEEP-PEEP!
Rosie sighed sadly but had his coaches ready regardless.
"Goodbye, Henry!" she whistled, as his guard's whistle blew, but Henry was off in a huff and didn't respond.
"Hi, Henry!" Rosie whistled later that night, as he backed in beside her. "How was your day?!" But Henry fell right asleep, and Rosie looked the other way, feeling rather uneasy.
PEEP-PEEP!
"Good morning, Henry!" Rosie whistled next morning, as Henry made his way past her.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
"Have a nice day, Henry!" she whistled, as Henry left the station.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
She whistled at him later on that night as he came back, but he went right to sleep and Rosie sighed and looked away, her expression somewhat dull.
PEEP-PEEP!
"Good morning!" she whistled, this time a little more demanding, but to no avail.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
"Have a nice day!" she called out, as he hurriedly left the station.
Her mood was a bit better later that night.
"Hi, Henry! Tell me 'bout your day! Mine was great and…"
But Henry was already fast asleep, as she noticed from his snoring and she glared right over at him, seething slightly with impatience.
PEEP-PEEP!
"Good morning, Henry!" she whistled, but still got no response. Rosie shot him a dirty look as he left, and she was expected no better as she brought his coaches sternly into the station.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
"Have a nice day!" she called out loud, which was cut off by the loud sound of the guard's whistle and Henry was off, Rosie glaring after him.
While Rosie was out taking Henry's Kipper wagons to the Docks, she was left to her own thoughts.
"That Henry! Who does he think he is? Barging in and out of my sheds without even talking to me? Huh!"
She thought a little harder about what could be done about it.
"Alright," she decided. "This morning shall be the last I ever think of going out of my way to help him. It simply isn't worth it.
She left the wagons at Brendam, as Salty honked and rolled in.
"Good mornin', matey!" he greeted.
But Rosie rolled away, too upset to respond.
Later that night, Rosie didn't even bother to stay up til Henry got back, and went straight to sleep.
Rosie yawned as her buffers gently the bar at the back of the sheds, and went right to sleep. A little while, Henry came back from pulling the Kipper.
"Good evening, Rosie!" he whistled, as he backed slowly into his berth, but rather surprised, found her asleep at the end of her berth. "Ah, well," he yawned and went right to sleep.
The early morning sun shone brightly over Vicarstown Sheds, as Henry yawned and opened his eyes to the sight of it. He quickly looked to the right side of him.
"Good morning, Rosie!" he greeted cheerily.
But he was taken by surprise when Rosie whistled loudly at him as he passed by, looking the other way with a sour expression on her face, and chuffed onto the turntable as it turned her round.
"Hmm…" Henry thought, rather confused, as he watched her leave.
Rosie had Henry's coaches ready in no time, and left in a huff as the people got in and Henry backed down on the train. His guard's whistle blew, and he was ready to go.
"Thank you, Rosie!" he whistled, as he left the station.
But Rosie was too far away to hear Henry.
"Huh," Henry wondered. "Rosie does seem to be acting rather strange this morning. I wonder if she is cross with me for some reason."
Henry wasn't so sure but decided it was best to rather carry on with his passengers as he made his way along the line.
Later that night, he arrived at Brendam Docks but found that the Kipper wagons weren't in sight.
"Cranky," he wondered, "shouldn't the Kipper be loaded by now?"
"Search me, Henry," the crane bluntly responded. "The men have been waiting to unload this ship for quite some time now."
"Aye!" Salty responded as he rolled into view, looking rather serious. "Porter has been sent to pick up them fish wagons from Vicarstown. He should be back any time now."
Cranky thought a little harder.
"I thought...Rosie said she usually took your Kipper wagons back, but this morning she never showed up."
"Yes," Henry wondered, rather puzzled. "She has been acting different from usual this morning, but I never thought she would have forgotten to take my wagons back."
"Mm… yes," Cranky thought, as he watched the men chatter as they waited for the Kipper wagons to arrive.
At long last, Porter whistled, as he brought the empty wagons into the docks.
"Found the Kipper wagons!" he cheerfully announced. "Sorry if they're a bit late."
"All in good time, matey," Salty chuckled.
Soon enough, the men loaded the wagons and the Flying Kipper was ready to go.
Henry whistled as he left with the Docks with the Kipper and made his way quickly along the line.
Henry tried his best to make up for lost time, but it seemed as though every stop he made along his usual route, he was very late indeed.
At Kellsthorpe, Henry looked rather nervous as the stationmaster pointed dully to his watch whilst the wagons were being unloaded. Then the guard's whistle blew and he was on his way again.
By the time Henry reached Vicarstown, he was exhausted and it was very late indeed.
"Ahem!" the stationmaster coughed, as to get his attention, then shook his head at him.
"Sorry, sir," Henry sighed.
At long last, the last of his wagons were unloaded, and Henry was ready to turn in for the night.
Henry whistled as he slowly left the station with his empty wagons, the stationmaster watching after him.
He left the empty wagons in the usual siding, and then made his way home to the sheds.
Henry made his way onto the turntable and it turned him round. Then he backed slowly into his berth beside Rosie.
By the time he got there, Rosie was already fast asleep.
Henry looked rather anxious, as he saw that Rosie had already gone to sleep, and he decided to yawn and fall asleep himself. As he did so, Rosie opened a sleepy eye and looked over at him before falling back asleep again.
The next morning, the Fat Controller arrived at the sheds, and he did not look happy.
"Henry," he demanded, "whatever happened last night? I have received many complaints last night about deliveries being late, and it seems as if you made it to none of the stations on time."
"I'm sorry, sir," Henry responded. "I tried my hardest to make up for lost time. It's just that the Kipper wagons were left here in Vicarstown, sir, so Porter had to go back and fetch them." Rosie looked away in guilt. She knew the incident was her fault.
"B-b-but...I don't understand…" the Fat Controller stammered.
"It's my fault, sir," Rosie sighed, Henry looking over at her in surprise.
"You, Rosie?" the Fat Controller wondered, confused.
"Yes," Rosie explained. "When Henry moved into the sheds, I agreed to take his Kipper wagons back to the docks while he went to collect his morning train." The Fat Controller shook his head, listening carefully, as Rosie continued. "However, sir, I didn't make the time to take the wagons back to Brendam yesterday and it's because…"
The Fat Controller raised to cut her off, and then spoke.
"It seems then, Rosie, like you were somewhat responsible for the delay given the promise you made to Henry," the Fat Controller figured, Rosie looking ashamed as he continued sternly, "and to make up for it, I highly suggest you return the wagons to Brendam at once."
"Y-y-yes, Sir. Right away, sir."
"I'll fetch my own coaches, Rosie,"' Henry whistled as he passed her. "You go on ahead." Rosie watched in surprise as the turntable turned him round and he took off in the distance.
"Ahem!"
The Fat Controller shot her a stern look and raised an eyebrow at her, so she whistled and quickly left.
Rosie was rather surprised. She wasn't expecting Henry being so kind to her, but returned his Kipper wagons to Brendan nevertheless. Thomas was there, picking up rock salt for the quarry.
"Hello, Rosie!" he greeted, as he watched his friend pull in.
"Hi, Thomas," she quietly responded, smiling a bit from seeing her old friend.
"How are things?" Thomas asked. "Are you and Henry getting on well as shedmates?" Rosie sighed and decided to speak to Thomas about it. "Well, Thomas. "I'm really not sure."
Thomas was surprised.
"What do you mean?" "I just don't know what to think anymore," Rosie admitted. "We were getting on fine the first night and it seemed like Henry was an engine I could truly engage in conversation with. But lately he's only been popping in and out of the sheds and going off with his passengers without even saying a single word to me. It's like I don't even matter."
Thomas listened hard, trying his best to make sense of the situation.
"Then," Rosie continued, "this morning when I was of course obligated to bring back his fish wagons as usual, he goes through the efforts of fetching his own coaches so as to save me time."
Rosie sighed, exasperated, as Thomas thought hard.
"Hmm…" he wondered. "That isn't usually like Henry. I'm sure he never meant to hurt you, Rosie."
"You really think so?" Rosie asked, slightly surprised.
"Of course," Thomas chuckled. "Henry's really nice once you get to know him, and he's a really easy engine to get along with."
"Huh," Rosie thought.
Thomas' guard's whistle blew, and he whistled as he was ready to go.
"Why don't start over with Henry with a clean slate?" Thomas suggested. "Who knows? Maybe it'll work out."
Rosie watched his friend set off, then sighed as she was left to her own thoughts.
"Hmm…" she wondered. "A clean slate."
Later that evening, Rosie waited as Henry came back from pulling the Kipper and decided she would open up to Henry about her thoughts. "Good evening, Henry," she greeted, as he backed in beside her.
"Oh, Rosie," Henry thought, rather surprised. "You're, mm...still up."
"Mmhm. Still am."
She chuckled nervously, as Henry shot a somewhat funny smile over at her.
"Eh…,"
"Um…,"
The two engines seemed to start at once, somewhat surprised at one another. Henry smiled.
"You go first," he said kindly.
Rosie sighed and took a deep breath.
"Okay," she said to herself, and then spoke to Henry. "I'll admit it, Henry. I have gotten the impression you were intentionally ignoring me this past week and not going through an effort at all to be my friend."
"Oh," Henry thought, listening hard whilst thinking hard about the actions she was describing to him.
"I'm very sorry I made that sort of assumption, Henry. I only try to be the nicest engine I can. I'm wondering if maybe we can still be friends."
Henry chuckled.
"Oh, Rosie," he smiled. "Sure we can be friends."
"Really?" Rosie beamed.
"Yes," Henry continued. "I'm sorry if our lack of interaction made it seem like I was taking you for granted. Surely I never meant for it to be that way. I've just been so busy with the new timetable I've been given and the change has been a lot for me to adjust to. Though I am happy to have gotten used to it by now and I can't thank you enough for helping me get through it and taking care of my empty Kipper wagons. I surely am grateful to have you as a shedmate."
Rosie smiled.
"You really mean that?" "Of course I do," Henry beamed.
"Thanks, Henry! I'm glad to have you as a shedmate too."
The two friends smiled at each other.
"Now," Henry suggested. "Tell me about your day."
"Oh," Rosie decided, chuckling slightly. "You first!"
Henry chuckled.
"Well," he began, "it all started after I pulled my own coaches into the platform. The porter waved his big green handkerchief and I thought it was the guard's flag, so I thought I'd rather go."
Rosie chuckled, as Henry told her the story.
As the stars came out over the evening sky, the two shedmates, happy to have each other company, proceeded to tell each other all about their days experiences.
Well, here we have it! Given all the changes made to the show, I thought I'd explore the direction Henry's character could possibly go in now that Nia and Rebecca are part of the main fleet, and I had fun with this one too. Building the beginning of Forever And Ever up to the inner core of the story was fun to do, and I enjoyed taking a stroll at Henry and Rosie's dynamic. Diesel and Thomas' roles I created were meant to serve the lesson Rosie learns within in the story of not assuming Henry is taking her for granted, and I used Donald as one of the one-liners Rosie interacts with in Vicarstown solely because Douglas appears in an Awdry adaptation further down the line this set, but I'll probably have the twins appear together somewhere else. I really hope you all enjoy this story as I have had loads of fun writing it, and giving Henry's future in the show more meaning than the current series has by sadly glossing over his purpose for leaving the Team. Till then, keep on the lookout for...
Hurricane Takes Charge - Hurricane is left in charge of the SteelWorks after Frankie is sent to Sodor for an important job. He is quite confident that he can manage being in charge but his easygoing nature doesn't work out as well as he thinks, as the experimental engines are up to their usual shenanigans!
The Way To Get Things Done (based on Delivery At The Docks from Really Useful Stories) - Frankie is excited about helping with an important job at Brendam Docks, however her tendency to get things done the way they are at the SteelWorks makes it hard for her to fit in!
Job-Swap Day - After Gordon and James have a fall-out, Nia devises a plan with the Fat Controller to get the two engines to become friends again by giving them a job-swap day.
Frank To The Rescue (based on We Need Another Engine by Christopher Awdry) - Frank the Diesel engine feels under appreciated at having been missed out of the Thin Clergyman's book and grumbles dreadfully about it, but feels more like a hero after coming to Rex's rescue.