Secret Santa
written by Michael White
It was getting close to Christmas!
Thomas smiled as he left the town hall with Annie and Clarabel, watching warmly as a gentleman presented a gift to his girlfriend by the Christmas tree on the platform.
It would be around this time of year that people would swap and exchange gifts with their family, friends and loved ones.
Gordon watched with interest as Dowager Hatt, having just stepped off the express, presented a gift to her son Sir Topham, before whistling and leaving Knapford in full steam.
It was an especially exciting time of year for engines and vehicles alike.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
"Good morning, Trevor!" Edward whistled to his good friend one day, as he dropped off some Christmas carolers by the Vicarage Orchard. "Happy holidays!"
"Happy holiday to you too, Edward!"
The traction engine watched as carolers exited the coach and started singing on the platform by the Orchard.
"My!" Trevor expressed. "These carolers are a wonderful sight!"
"Oh, I just dropped them off early for the Vicar's Christmas Market! That way, they can rehearse before the festivities start!"
"Indeed! Very thoughtful of you, Edward! Thank you!"
He proceeded to him along with the carolers' tunes.
Edward watched with interest, then chuckled.
"What's up?" he wondered. "Your mood's as bright as your smokebox!"
"Oh, I'm just practicing my high spirits! I'm due back at the RoadWorks for a special meeting once I'm done with my next job! I think it'll be something special and have to do with Christmas!"
At that moment, Jem Cole climbed aboard his cab.
"Come along, Trevor! After we're done with the preparations for the festival, we can head right back to the RoadWorks!"
"Sure thing, Jem!"
He set off, whistling goodbye to his friend.
"Bye, Edward! See you later!"
Edward whistled back at his friend, as he took off with his empty coach.
Everyone on Sodor was in high spirits; except for one, of course…
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
"GrrrAAAAHHH!" George groaned slightly, as flakes of snow blew into his direction from the icy track being picked up.
He spat it out angrily.
"Watch it, you twerps!" he grumbled to the workmen.
"Calm down, George!" Harvey soothed. "They didn't mean it!"
George the Steamroller was overlooking maintenance work being done on tracks that have been frozen due to the cold weather.
"Calm down, George," he reluctantly reminded himself. "Calm down…"
He settled for a few seconds, thinking, then winced.
"Doh! Who does that silly armcrane think he is telling me to…?"
He was caught off guard by the sound of Toby's bell.
"'Ey! 'Ey! Teapot! Who gave you the right of…grrrAHHH!"
His thoughts were further interrupted by the sound of Emily's whistle.
Both engines smiled as they crossed over the tracks with Henrietta and the coaches respectively, ignoring George as they were both given clearance by the workmen to proceed.
"Rail racquet! I'll show them to…"
"George!"
George looked over to see Harvey raise a firm eyebrow at him, then sigh with dismay.
"Honestly, George, please do contain yourself! You don't want to land yourself into trouble again, do you?"
George scoffed.
"What difference would it make?! I'm in trouble every day, even when the railway starts it all!"
"But it's Christmas time! It may be best that you keep in high spirits and get the work done! That way, you can get to the festive part of it all after!"
"Pah! Festive, my backblades! There's nothing to be merry about! Especially when I'm having to deal with the railway every day!"
"Oh, but there is, George!" his driver put in. "You'll see once we're done with this stretch of line! Afterwards, we're due back for a meeting at the RoadWorks right away!"
"Huh! That'll give me a well earned rest after having to work with the railway all morning and not getting so much as a reaction from those silly steamers!"
He yawned and waited a little while longer as the workmen picked at the frozen tracks, then gave him clearance to flatten the roads again that had been crumpled due to the ice being picked off from the snow.
"Silly soft stuff!" he remarked. "I'm glad it's gone!"
"Mmmm, me too!" Harvey halfheartedly agreed.
At last, the workmen were finished and Harvey was ready to take them away.
"Finally!" George sighed, gasping for breath with relief.
"Let's head back, George!" his driver encouraged. "You're gonna like this next bit! Manager hasn't told us what it is but he promised us that it would be something special!"
"Huh!" George scuffed, as he started off. "Getting to enjoy the railway all morning! What could be more special than that…GAHHH!"
His thoughts were disrupted as the sound of Henry's whistle as the green engine trundled along by.
"Puffball!" George remarked.
He rolled sturdily along the road, breathing out a sigh of exasperation.
Soon enough, George arrived back at the RoadWorks and was looking forward to what he thought would be a nice-needed rest.
"Finally!" he expressed. "Home at last! And away from the railway too! What could be more than having to deal with them all day?"
"Wheeeeeee!"
George gasped as a sudden red force flashed past him.
"Faster, Ruth! Faster! Faster!"
He looked over in horror to see who it was who overtook him: Cleo the Road Engine!
"Oh, dear!" he groaned, entering the RoadWorks amongst the other vehicles. "Her again! Can never get an afternoon nap with her in my presence! Why, I oughta…"
"Isn't the snow just magical?!" Cleo the Road Engine expressed to the others. "Mile after mile, it's like a big, soft, white bundle of fun! Don't you think?"
"Oh, yes!" Trevor agreed.
"Lovely!" Amber put in.
George grit his teeth in frustration as Cleo went further on.
"Ruth says it should last a while! I do hope it sticks around for as long as she predicts!"
"Me too!" Amber expressed.
The other vehicles slightly muttered and smiled in agreement, except George, who glared at an ongoing Cleo!
"Why, only this morning when Ruth and I made our first trip into town, we were able to see it falling! It was all so wonderful and magical and…"
George shut his eyes, trying to hold his wrath when…
"Alright, road crew!"
He opened his eyes with surprise, as Ruth stepped to the podium, cutting off Cleo as the road engine joined the others in directing their attention to her.
"You're in for a treat!" Ruth went on. "Today is the day of Sodor's Secret Santa! One will be held here at the Roadworks this afternoon!"
The vehicles all mumbled about with wonder, except George, who just looked the other way.
"Huh!" he scoffed.
"Um…'scuse me, Ruth, but…what is…Secret Santa?" Cleo wondered.
Ruth chuckled.
"Oh, Cleo, Secret Santa is when you are assigned somebody to find and present a simple gift for! Now, each of you will be given a small parchment of paper on which you will see who you will be presenting a gift to!"
The vehicles watched as their drivers were all handled pieces of parchment, while George raised an eyebrow.
"B-but why couldn't this be merged with the railway?!" he demanded.
"Ah! Good question, George!" Ruth expressed. "Well, it seems that Sir Topham Hatt and Miss Jenny have plans with their own engines and vehicles. What we have arranged here is specially for the RoadWorks!"
"Grrrrr!" George quietly groaned. "It would have been nice to give the railway what's coming…"
"Shhhhh!" Elizabeth hissed.
George watched over at her bafflingly as Ruth went on.
"So," Ruth went on, "now that each of you have your Secret Santa, you have until the end of the afternoon to pick out a present and report back to the RoadWorks to present your gift to your "Secret Admirer"!"
The vehicles all honked and got ready to leave, as Ruth stepped down from the podium.
"Wow! Secret Santa!" Cleo expressed. "I love the idea of it!"
"Grrr!" George quietly growled, watching Cleo go on.
"It sounds even more exciting than snow! I'm pretty sure finding a gift for our secret admirer will be like…hmm…"
She thought slightly harder.
"…pulling sticks from the snow! Isn't it exciting, George?"
"Humbug…" George murmured quietly,
At last, Ruth hopped aboard Cleo's cab.
"Come on, Cleo! Much more to do before the day is out!"
"Yipeeee!" she cheered, soaring out from the Roadworks. "I can't wait to get at it!"
"Steady now!" Ruth warned. "Not too fast!"
Cleo laughed and cheered zanily as she turned up the hill, George watching after her with disbelief.
"Why, that bouncy, boisterous roadhog!" he expressed, as he exited the Roadworks. "And to think that the railways were all so bad, now I have to deal with imitation puffballs like her!"
His driver laughed, reading the parchment.
"Sounds like you will, old boy!" he remarked.
"Huh?"
George raised an eyebrow with confusion.
His driver smiled.
"Looks like you have Cleo for Secret Santa!" he informed him. "This should be fun!"
But it was too much for George!
"GrrrrrrAHHHHHHH!" he screamed. "Why?"
But his driver only chuckled.
"Never mind!" he soothed. "Perhaps it will be a good opportunity for you to put your differences with her aside and soften up a bit!"
"B-but she's…loud! She's utterly irritating! She's…"
"Wheeeeeee!"
He was suddenly cut off by the Road Engine racing by in the opposite direction.
"...present!" he finished feebly.
He sighed with dismay, glaring as he heard her laugh from a distance.
All throughout the day, George was in a foul mood about having to deal with Cleo for Secret Santa.
"Say, Thomas!" he overheard Bertie explaining, as the pair of friends waited for the level crossing to be repaired, "you'll never believe what I got Bulgy for Secret Santa!"
"Hmmmm…" the tank engine thought, a rather amused look on his face, then sighed, giving up. "What?"
"An old roadway sign we buses used to have back in the day!"
Thomas raised an eyebrow with confusion.
"Why would you give him that?"
"Mmmmm…" Bertie thought. "In hopes that it'll replace that old sign over his front and enable him to appreciate the railways once and for all!"
"Oh," Thomas wondered, rather understandingly, then laughed.
"I'm pretty sure I know what to get Percy! Driver and I are going to go fetch it after this last journey!"
James whistled as he stopped across from Thomas at the crossing.
"Huh!" George scoffed.
"Who do you have for Secret Santa, George?" Bertie asked.
George groaned.
"Do I have to say it?" he moaned, as Thomas and Bertie watched him with confusion. "Perhaps I should think about getting her a pair of rails! It would suit her and that way, she could refrain from bothering me!"
"Oh!" Thomas gazed, then chuckled.
Bertie smiled.
"It's Cleo, isn't it?"
George quietly grit his teeth.
"GrrrrAHHH…nope," he decided, "keeping my composure!"
James smirked at him.
"I'm getting Toby a new bucket of brown paint. Might wanna consider it yourself! If she brags about being the most splendid red road vehicle around, who knows? Other vehicles might sympathize with you!"
"Puh! That'd be a first!"
"Keep thinking, George!" Bertie encouraged, as he rolled over the level crossing. "You'll come up with something eventually!"
He observed Thomas and James laughing to each other as they made their way over the level crossing, then groaned as he trundled further on.
"Silly steamers!" he ranted. "And to think they don't know what I have to deal with!"
"We still need to find a gift before the day is out!" his driver reminded him.
"Oh, why can't we just get it over with so I can be done with it?"
"Now, you think hard on it! I want you to know precisely what to get Cleo as soon as we're done at Knapford!"
"Knapford!" George recalled. "Well now…if I think of how I can pay out all those steam engines that pass through there, then surely I can think of how I can outdo that silly chunk of rail…"
"Easy now, boy! Just think of something and quick!"
But when George arrived at Knapford, the first engine he met was Rebecca, an engine whom he seemed to be somewhat more cordial with.
"Hi, George!" she greeted. "How are things?"
"Meh!" George halfheartedly admitted.
"Are you all ready and excited for Christmas?!
"Humbug!"
"Oh," Rebecca thought, slightly taken aback, then smiled. "Anyways, you'll never believe what I'm getting Gordon for Secret Santa! It's sure to be the perfect gift and…"
She paused in thought, then smiled.
"Oh, nearly forgot. Who do you have for Secret Santa?"
"Cleo!"
"Oh…"
"You know, that clank of roadhog that runs on roads! And I tell you, Rebecca, I am not all that enthralled about it!"
"Why not?" Rebecca wondered, raising an eyebrow with surprise.
"Well, for one thing, she flies dangerously about the roads! At least you railway engines are careful in that regard. For another, she's loud and cheerful, even when there's nothing to be cheerful about!"
"Ooh, so give her a gift that she can be cheerful for then!" Rebecca suggested.
"Doh! Like that's going to make things better?"
"Surely it might make you feel better! I know I always feel better when others are happy!"
"Huh! Surely you do!"
"I think you should pay close attention to what other road vehicles are doing for Secret Santa, George! That way, you may very well get inspired!"
George spluttered.
"That sounds ridiculous!"
Before he could go on, the guard's whistle blew and Rebecca was ready to go.
"Trust me, George! You'll feel much better once you do, and you may feel that Cleo isn't so bad after all! I promise!"
Deep down, George realized that Rebecca, the only rail engine that he trusted, might be right!
George went about the road, observing how his peers went about their own "Secret Santa"!
"I say, Bulgy!" his driver insisted. "That's a real fine headlamp we found for Bertie, isn't it?"
"Huh!" the double-decker bus scoffed. "I still think the idea for the extra carriage would've been better! That way, we can both support putting the railways down!"
George got a good chuckle at this as he trundled by.
"An extra headlamp sounds promising!" his driver suggested. "Maybe something Cleo could make use with?"
George laughed out loud.
"I think finding something that will help put the railways down is a much more suiting idea! Cleo would be much less annoying tormenting the railways than she would bothering me!"
He went onto pass by Elizabeth speaking to Emily.
"This wreath I got for Trevor might go well with the lad's smart green coat!"
"How fascinating!" the emerald engine replied. "Just wait till you see what I found for Nia!"
"Bah, humbug!" George quietly remarked, as he passed.
"Could be something she could wear!" his driver thought.
"Puh! Only if it made her ridiculous!"
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
At the Vicarage Orchard, George flattened out tarmac on the roads by the field and watched Jem Cole show Trevor two ornaments he picke out out from the station decorations.
"Oh, I think those ornaments would be delightful for seeing through Elizabeth's cab!"
"Maybe something she could keep inside her cab?" George's driver suggested.
"Next!" George remarked.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
At the Rescue Center, George watched Butch's driver present a battery before him.
"This old battery you thought of will work wonders for Amber's siren, Butch!"
Butch smiled.
"Just glad I thought of it!" he admitted.
George glared and made a beeline away from the Rescue Center.
"Hey, George!" Amber honked at him. "Wanna see what I found for Butch's magnet?"
George scoffed.
"Will it make him look more foolish and out-of-date and he already is?"
"Behave yourself, George!" his driver warned.
"Humbug!"
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
No matter how hard George tried, he couldn't be inspired much of anything else to give Cleo!
"It's hopeless!" he moaned. "I thought of many different ways but they don't click!"
"Think harder, George!" his driver encouraged. "I know you have it in you! And besides, think of what we witnessed at the Rescue Center! Can you think of something you've had in the past that you think Cleo might benefit from?"
"Humility?" George wondered.
Then he had a bright idea.
"That's it! Something that will humiliate her! But how?"
"Wheeeeeee!"
George rolled his eyes around with shock as Cleo rolled by, laughing aloud.
"That was magnificent!" she expressed. "Wooohoooo! Faster! Faster! Faster!"
George grit his teeth.
"GrrrrrrrAHHHHHH! How annoying, overbearing, irritating she is! If I'm going to pay her out, it'll be very, very…"
"Out of the way!"
"Coming through!"
"GAHHHHHHH"
George was suddenly caught off-guard by Max and Monty racing past him on both sides.
"Wheeeeeee! This way!" Monty called, skidding over the road.
"No! No! This way!" Max shouted, racing over the other side.
George raised an eyebrow, unaware of the icy crossmarks they had left.
"What are those two playing aaaatttt?!"
He wailed as he suddenly skidded over the pavement the twins marked.
His driver jumped clear.
"Woahhhh!" George wailed.
His front blades came tumbling off the road and caused him to downhill. He shut his eyes.
"Oof!" George winced, slowly opening one eye.
He opened the other eye fairly quickly and looked ahead at the snowdrift he landed in. He angrily spit the snow from his mouth.
"Why, those two reckless hunks of worn-out fumes! I'll show them to…"
He paused for a moment, thinking, then smiled.
"Oh," he thought. "This is gold! I'm pretty sure I know what to do now!"
The incident gave George an idea of what to give Cleo for Secret Santa!
As George arrived back at the Roadworks, he had a delightful plan in mind.
"Now," he thought, "let's just wait for the coast to be clear!"
He watched as the other vehicles headed back inside, grinning cleverly.
"Phew!" he sighed with relief. "Now, to formulate the plan all on my own!"
He traveled slowly along, then stopped, having a sudden thought.
"But how?"
He spotted the entrance long and hard, remembering how Max and Monty's icy pavement made him slip!
"It shouldn't be too difficult!" he decided. "I'll just start by smoothing out to the pavement!"
George brushed some snow over from the entrance from the bottom of the hill over towards the top.
He chuckled quietly as he finished flattening out the pavement.
"Boy, is Cleo in for a big surprise!"
He went on to notice a hose nearby the entrance.
"Hmm…" he thought, "and now top it off!"
He watched to make sure none of the workmen were looking, before sneaking over towards the hose. He stopped for a moment, then took a deep breath before charging it.
SWISH!
Next thing George heard was a hoard of voices running towards the entrance. He sniggered as he backed away.
"They'll never shut it off in time!" he smirked.
He watched as the water sloshed down towards the snow on the pavement and dissolved into a frozen, icy section of road.
"That'll give her the slip!" he chuckled.
He listened as the men shut the water off, then whistled a tune as he went back about his business.
George waited eagerly for Cleo to return as he went about pacing the outside yard at the Roadworks.
"She should be back any time now," he thought to himself. "Don't suppose the gift exchange starts till she does!"
He anxiously waited a little while longer till at long last, he heard a familiar cheer for joy!
"Woohoooooo! Fantastic! Faster, Ruth! Faster!"
"Easy now, Cleo! We're almost at the entrance! Pin down your brakes now!"
Cleo sighed, with slight dismay.
"Fine!" she decided.
She gradually slowed as she approached the entrance.
"I'm just very accustomed to racing about, especially in this weather! I know I'll feel better once I show George…woahhhhh!"
"Cleo!" Ruth shouted. "What's going on?"
"I don't know!"
She skidded over the ice rink that George prepared and went flying on down the hill leading to the entrance of the RoadWorks.
"WooooooooAHHHHHHH!" she wailed all the way.
"Watch out, Cleo!" Ruth called.
She jumped clear as Ruth continued to fly along the road.
George watched with interest and edged a little closer. He smiled as he watched skid into sight.
"Geooorge!" she wailed. "I can't stop!"
"Uh oh," George feigned.
The other vehicles rushed out from the building in time to see everything else.
"HELLLLLLLP!" Cleo wailed, pinning her brakes down hard as she swerved from the road.
She gasped, shutting her eyes as she spotted a snowdrift ahead of her.
CRASH!
"Woahhhhhh!" she wailed aloud, then slowly opened her eyes, looking all around.
"Wow!" she gasped, filled with awe and wonder.
"Cleo!"
Ruth ran over before and sighed as he looked at her.
"Cleo! Are you alright?"
Cleo chuckled aloud.
"Never better, Ruth! I'm a Snow Road Engine now!"
George stopped beside her, raising an eyebrow.
"Huh?"
The Road Engine, now dressed as a Snow Road Engine looked to the steamroller.
"This must have been your idea, wasn't it, George?!" she beamed.
George was almost lost for words.
"Well, I…erm…you see, I didn't mean to, erm…"
George went red in the face as he thought hard of what to say.
Cleo just smiled.
"You don't have to explain anything, George! It was absolutely amazing! I love it! And the ice-skating rink was a fantastic way to lead up to it!"
She laughed out loud, causing George to wince with frustration.
George took no notice of the other vehicles happily exchanging their gifts with one another, as he was too busy enduring Cleo's excitement about being a Snow Road Engine!
"Woohoo! I love it, Ruth! It's phenomonal!"
Ruth smiled.
"I'm glad you like it, Cleo!"
She turned to Geroge.
"Well done, George! You thought of the perfect gift for Secret Santa and made Cleo very happy!"
"Huh!" George thought, somewhat baffled.
"Oh, yes, yes!" Cleo softly agreed.
"And in return," Ruth went on, pulling out her bag, "Cleo and I have something we'd like to give to you!"
"Oh, oh, I thought of it!" Cleo chimed. "But Ruth made it of course!"
George watched as Ruth pulled out an unfamiliar object and presented it before him. It shined and glittered, and a shape that looked strikingly familiar.
"Huh?"
George's present had a shape of himself carved over it.
"It's a bracelet with an ice sculpture around it!" Ruth explained.
"Yes, yes!" Cleo added. "It's my gift from me to you, George! Woohooooo! And this Snow Road Engine gift is just amazing!"
George groaned and shut his eyes tight as he listened to Cleo laugh and cheer. He opened them with surprise as Ruth placed the ice sculpture bracelet over him!
"Merry Christmas, George!" Cleo called.
George frowned uncomfortably as the sculpture hung over him.
Although he hadn't intended to, George the Steamroller gave Cleo the Road Engine the perfect gift for Secret Santa!
"Bah, humbug!" he remarked.
I know, kinda late for a Christmas story, but with as much as I had going on, I was pretty relieved to get this out there before New Year's! But yeah, a Christmas episode that's road-focused and the Secret Santa concept is front and center! George is one of my favorite characters to write for and Cleo is one of the most interesting, genuine characters to be debut in the BWBA era so having her and George pair up here was fun. Also had a little fun with playing off of George and Rebecca's "friendship", given that she's one of the only rail engines he's friendly towards, and sprinkling around what other engines and vehicles were doing for their own "Secret Santa" so as to get George inspired. I enjoy karmic endings where George tries to stir up trouble but doesn't get his way, and here he got that in the way of attempting to pay Cleo out for being a nuisance but ending up making her very happy. Merry Christmas and be sure to let me know what you think of this story. The next themed story may up late as well, but we'll see. Till then, stay tuned and come back next time to watch as Splodge attempt to...
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