As consciousness approached, Flying Scotsman became more and more aware of gentle touches to his face. They tickled his cheeks and teased at his lips. He tried not to smile, though his lips defied him and turned up in a sleepy smirk, he kept his eyes shut as he soaked the feeling of her buttering him up. "I'm still cross with you." He whispered, his body heated, his mind said no, but everything else said yes.

"I know," Meredith replied gently. She dragged her nose across his cheek and kissed beneath his eye. "It doesn't make me want you any less… and I've missed you, and I want you." The way she sighed her last words, it hung in her throat, caressed his senses and stimulated his forced down arousal. He turned his head to her, stealing her mouth briefly before he propped her up on his fender with familiar ease. She giggled with excitement while they kissed again, open-mouthed and clumsy, the years seemed to melt away and they were back at Tidmouth, young and lustful, ready to shatter the wall between them.

Without breaking their passion above, Scotsman readily slipped himself inside her, but he gasped and pulled away briefly when that familiar yet painful pinch of her undercarriage was gone. He moved himself a few times to confirm he hadn't lost his mind then growled with carnal excitement. He slammed her into the stops before he started thrusting slow and long, enjoying the ease allowed his rod. He smiled, eyes closed, and groaned, though not too loudly, the thick whimpers coming from Meredith were too enticing to be overpowered by his own noise. He held the easy pace until it was too much for him to bear, he ramped it up so she was bashing repeatedly into the stops and her whimpers were replaced with all out cries. It was all Meredith could do to not lose her voice, she had been with males over twice Scotsman's size but something about the way he moved on her was inimitable. It consumed her mind, her senses— not just the sex, the way he breathed, his own gasps and moans, his deliciously earthy smell, she was absorbed in him totally until her first climax brought her back in a flurry of mental sparks, she gasped and moaned, her body shook. Once she came back down she worked to catch her breath and noticed Scot had paused to breathe himself, she didn't even feel him finish which disappointed her. She looked up at his face dripped in sweat, he was smiling still. "You're not done are you?" She pleaded, fighting to catch her breath.

"No, but I figured you needed a moment," he kissed her. "You've had some intense finishes but that one rattled me even." He removed himself from her for a moment to let his rod release pressure, he felt something drip on him. "Hm," he frowned and moved his tip over her slit, she shivered and wondered why his affect was so calculative.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you hurting at all?" The switch to concern was startling.

Meredith furrowed her brow. "No, I feel fine. A little achy along my back but…"

"You're leaking something," he inched back so he could look down at the liquid on his tip. Clear. "That's bizarre, it's water."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Yeah, we kinda run on it, and it's what helps lube me up." She bumped him and chuckled. "So are you gonna keep playing detective or are we gonna get it on, hm?" She leaned in to whisper. "See if you can make me come like that again, big boy."

He did, twice over, second time was more of an accident, but when he realized the angle he needed to take he did something that blew Meredith's sexual and physical mind. He rolled his rod up slightly so that it constantly rubbed the upper area of her valve which proved to be the most sensitive and took a slow gut-churning pace. It drove Meredith wild, every stroke seemed to make her vision go white, she could hardly focus on anything other than the ethereal pleasure and when that third orgasm struck it landed like a gunshot. Her voice threw, her body went numb and Scotsman finally figured out the source of that new leak— it was her orgasm. He felt when her valve sprayed him with searing water while she pulsed rapidly around him. When it happened he couldn't contain the mischievous laugh that tickled the back of his throat and Meredith finally peeled her eyelids apart to look up at him. Her gaze was wild, lips trembled with every breath. Oh how he loved this new turn of events. He kissed her sweaty cheek then gave it a gentle nibble. "It seems I've learned a new trick." He cooed while he ran the tip of his tongue beneath her chin before he shoved it back in her mouth.

Meredith was released from Scotsman's grasp later that afternoon, allowing her to take a good lap around the private yard before she cruised steadily towards an open wash down just outside London. The cool spring breeze felt wonderful against her body still burning hot from her being handled by Scotsman. She drove the mainline with little worry of impeding traffic, mid-day most trains were stopped for the crews' lunch so she was able to mosey along the edge of the newly bloomed elm and poplar, breathing in the air crisp and cleaned by the fresh spring foliage. She reached the wash and parked outside of the barn. She wanted to be cleaned in the rare sunlight. A few of the men recognized her and gave her warm greetings as they prepped their equipment for a good deep clean. She took one more good breath in then shut her eyes for the powerwash spraying her down, relieving her of the build up of sweat and grime.

"So…"

Meredith jumped at the new voice beside her, her eyes shot open to be met by a hooded, snarky gaze.

"Sorry, lass, was I interrupting a good thought?" The blue A4 sneered.

Meredith blinked a few times, it wasn't Bittern, and it definitely wasn't Mallard, this male still had his head attached. "Aren't you Gannet?"

The young male seemed to perk up at the fact the famous Meredith knew his name, he made himself look tall and really began to smother on his charm. "That I am, and you must be the lovely Meredith I've heard so much juicy gossip about."

"Mm, I've heard some rather interesting tales spun about you," she then made a cheeky gesture to his undercarriage with her eyes. Gannet's ego shrank ten fold and he slouched again.

"Please tell me that's not all you heard."

She shrugged. "It's not, it was mostly just about how you were one of Heidi's many charity cases. Pity I didn't get to you first."

Again, Gannet perked up, though not as tall, he could tell Meredith was no-nonsense and feisty. "You may not have been first but that doesn't bother me," he winked. "I can still show you what she taught me."

Meredith puffed in disbelief. "If only you could comprehend what Scot just finished doing to me." She smirked. "You're out of your league coming onto me, cutie-pie."

Gannet's jaw about dislocated, he tried to find some sort of comeback, but none stuck. Instead he snorted smoke at her. "I'm sure you'd sound a lot nicer with a cock in your mouth."

"I do." She battled her eyes at the male and he flustered more. "Even better with one in my mouth and one between my axles."

Gannet's eyes widened, his face ran hot, his mind swam with all sorts of horrendously naughty images. While he only planned to engage in a bit of verbal foreplay with her, the fantasy of her in a threesome locked him up. He really wanted her. "I wish you didn't tell me that."

"But I did, and now you have to sit with it," Meredith teased, she paid little mind to the suds as they dripped around her face. "Better enjoy it quietly, don't need Scot finding out you're jacking off to my mental image." She glanced to the line of freight poised behind the engine. "You should probably get going, I imagine someone is missing their tweezers and bathroom tissue by now."

Gannet scowled and left cursing to himself, that conversation took many turns leaving him mildly disoriented. Meredith only laughed as she watched him go, she hated to admit he was cute, a massive buffoon, an angrier Spencer perhaps, but cute. He would probably have been fun to sneak off with, but she was keen to return to her den with Scot though it seemed her partner wasn't feeling all that patient. A strong head of smoke broke the smooth horizon and Meredith immediately recognized those demanding pistons as those of her lover and she grinned from ear-to-ear as he came over the hill towards her. "I thought you were going to wait for me?" She teased as he came to a steam-filled stop in front of her.

"I was," he said, lowering his voice to a heavy purr. "But I wanted to watch you bathe." He started to kiss her along her cheek and under her smokebox.

"You could use a wash yourself you sweaty beast," Meredith giggled.

"Mm, fine," he pulled away and made a curt gesture to some lounging workmen to start cleaning him off as well. They did, though a little more shakily than Meredith, the pair fought for a moment over who would initially spray the large engine down. Scotsman simply rolled his eyes. He took a deep breath in and immediately picked up the scent of another. "Was Gannet here?"

"He was, I scared him off," Meredith boasted with a sweet smile.

Scotsman raised his brow. "Oh did you? And how did you manage that?"

"I told him he was out of his league hitting on me." A worker stepped between them to carefully wipe out the corners of her eyes, she didn't mind but Scotsman wasn't too pleased by the interruption and growled. Meredith simply grumbled right back. "You're such a grump." She said. "They have to clean all of me, you know." She then smiled. "And all of you."

"Yes but I'd appreciate it if they kept from my face," he snapped his teeth at a young man attempting to wipe down his nose.

"You don't want your face all grimy and I certainly will not be kissing on a dirty old man!"

"I am not old!" Scotsman snarled.

"No, but you're stubborn like you are! If you want anywhere near me again let them wash you!"

Flying Scotsman pouted but relented, while he held a sharp glare the entire time they were scrubbing his front he didn't protest, he stared at Meredith who watched him with a sweet smile he could hardly stay mad at. "So… you told Gannet you were out of his league? How did he take that?"

Meredith shrugged. "Almost seemed like a challenge to him, but I think he's smart enough to know not to touch me lest he wants to face your fury."

"Do you want to?"

"Want to what?"

"Fuck him?"

The female let out a hearty laugh. "He's cute, but I've got everything I need," she buffered up to Scotsman and rubbed her nose to his.

"Mm," he paused a moment longer to appreciate her gesture. "And how about Gordon, how was he?"

Meredith groaned. "Oh gods, don't start."

"I'm just… curious."

"I don't want to fight."

"And why would we?"

"Because you're going to get defensive and considering your track record I wouldn't be surprised if you tried to go to the Steamworks on Sodor and take him out!"

"Just answer my question, Meredith!"

The little tank engine huffed. "He's much more confident than I remember. He took me to the abandoned mine on the island because he wanted my moans to echo and he even managed to turn me around on the track himself."

"Turn you around?"

"Yeah, so he could go in from—"

"Yes yes, I understand why he would," Scotsman interrupted, trying to avoid details which would make him snap. "But I'm trying to figure out how."

Meredith shrugged. "Brute strength I guess. There was this… other male," she did well to avoid certain details of said male. "In America, he was able to do that— among other things." She looked to the side, scared to see her lover's face.

"What did he do?" She still didn't look at him, but she knew he was warding off anger.

Meredith swallowed and trained her eyes on a couple of sudsy men figuring out a kink in the powerwash. "Well… he did this thing—" she cleared her throat, she was getting hot just thinking about it. "Where he would balance me by my rear on his fender and… lick me…"

"Lick you? You mean… he'd lick your—"

"Yes." She was so embarrassed to even hear it out loud, her face burned and she wanted to retreat back into the barn, out of his sight to collect herself. Suddenly she was yanked back by the male, forced to look him in the eye, they were solid black and his steam rolled from every valve and the corners of his mouth.

"Tell me how he did this," he pulled her even closer, his nose pressed between her eyes as he exhaled spark-filled smoke at her mouth. "You've no idea how long I've dreamt of having every bit of you under my tongue."

"You never told me Meredith was a cunt!" Gannet howled. He had just delivered his freight to Boston and was headed back to London when he spotted Bittern stopped at Peterborough's recently remodeled terminal. He hissed to a halt beside his elder brother continuing his rant. "Fuck she's gorgeous but that mouth!"

"I warned you she was a pistol," Bittern tried his best to not smile, but he wasn't expecting such a visceral reaction from his brother's first meeting with the little engine. "She tried to knock me off the tracks first time I met her, granted she thought I was Mallard but nevertheless, she's got fire."

"I don't understand how she has such an iron hold on Scotsman," Gannet observed a young lad crossing the catwalk above to the next platform then looked back down. "She's not at all nice."

Bittern released a low chuckle. "She can be, if you deserve it."

Gannet snorted again. "What a bitch."

"Don't let Scot hear you talking about her like that, otherwise you'll no longer have a mouth to spew your childish nonsense with."

"I'd love to see him try something with me, I'll cave his old ass in."

Bittern didn't acknowledge the comment and shook his head. "I'm guessing you tried to come onto her and she shot you down."

"Like a skeet disc," Gannet grumbled. "I thought everyone said she was easy."

"She was easy, but she loves Scot and hasn't seen him in over a year, I'm sure all she's concerned with is making up the time lost with him," Bittern shook his boiler off after an awkward breeze resulted in an itch along his seam. "Once she's had her fix you may have a chance yet. She gets into moods, one second she's only fucking Scot, the next she's being pounded out on a siding with whatever male tickles her fancy. It's an ongoing cycle." Bittern smirked again. "She's even laid with Dirk."

Gannet wasn't too impressed by that. "Yeah well so has about everyone on this damn railway. Lad's a low-down whore."

"You're right," Bittern yawned, his coaches were about full and it was nearing his departure time. "Even Mallard got it on with him a time or two, way back before he developed his notion it was unnatural for males to couple with males."

"I miss Mallard," Gannet sighed then quickly corrected himself after catching Bittern's cold stare. "I miss the old Mallard. He was fun."

"He was, but he's gone, old and new, if we're going to relish his memory be it what he was and not what he became."

Gannet couldn't help but let out a breath of a laugh. "You've been spending too much time with Quicksilver, you sound all philosophical."

"Yeah," Bittern made an exaggerated face of disgust and stuck his tongue out. "Sometimes I miss being a dumb cunt."

"You still are— a cunt at least." Gannet bumped his brother's fenders and they both shared in a somber laugh. Then the guard's whistle blew. "Go easy."

"You as well," Bittern's own whistle sang loud, his pistons did their work and soon he was off and out of Gannet's sight.

Evening snuck up on the LNER, the day was so busy for every engine nobody realized it was quitting time until they'd return to station with no dispatches waiting for their crews. It didn't take long for all the terminals to yet again become dimly lit ghost-towns barely visible in the foggy night. Save for Victoria where sat Meredith yet again trying to recover from the rough rounds of sex with her love. Her paintwork shimmered subtly in the yellow light, she was oddly still other than when she would need to take a breath and stared down the line that led to the edge of the railway and to Vicarstown.

"Hey there, stranger."

Meredith started then smiled when she saw who it was joining her side. "Hey there, yourself." She studied Emerson's new-old paintwork. "I see you brought back that handsome maroon. I'm glad, it suits you better."

"I agree," Emerson smiled, though it was cautious, it had been so long since he spoke with Meredith he was afraid to say the wrong thing and scare her off. "How was your trip?"

"It was alright," Meredith always did well to downplay her American experience. There was no need to be too graphic. "Met a lot of really nice engines, and a lot of really big engines."

"So I've heard," Emerson worked out what he wanted to say next, but he wasn't sure where to begin. An apology would maybe be the best start. "Mer, I'm sorry fo—"

"Don't worry about it," she interrupted him before his voice became too shaky. She didn't want to see him cry. "We all go through bad spells. I'm just happy you're talking to me again. I've missed you."

He forced a smile and held back his tears, he then leaned towards her and rubbed his head against hers. "I've missed you too."

Meredith savored the cuddle before she decided to turn around and put herself on his track so she could look her friend in his eyes. "It's easier to embrace this way. If you want to…"

Emerson grabbed Meredith and pulled her close until their cheeks pressed firmly together. They each had their eyes closed and simply absorbed the closest thing to a hug they could manage. After a moment Meredith moved her head to put her forehead to his, she opened her eyes and found him looking at her longingly. He sighed. "I wish I could have you…"

"You don't want me," Meredith whispered, she tried to make it sound like a joke but deep down she was serious. A male like Emerson doesn't want her, and she doesn't deserve him.

He exhaled slowly and shut his eyes once more. "I'm glad you're home, maybe things will be better with Mallard gone."

"I hope so."

"Me too."

As if to taunt Emerson's wish, another entity snuck into the station, interrupting their reunion. Emerson noticed him first and tensed up. "What do you want?"

"Just passing through," Sam observed their proximity and grinned. "Getting a little chummy, aren't ya?"

Meredith backed off Emerson and turned to face the young male. She wasn't made aware of his change in livery and frowned. "Trying a new look?"

"I am, you like it, mama?" He winked and Meredith's boiler seemed to run cold. Was her own son flirting with her?

"It's certainly eye-catching," is all she could say. In a way it reminded her of Dirk's own black and red, but something about the way he wore it seemed… corrupt.

Emerson could feel Meredith's unease. "Why don't you move on now? I'm sure you'll have a chance to catch up with her another time."

Sam once again locked his eyes to Meredith, she froze. "I'll be sure we do."

Meredith and Emerson sat completely still as Sam then departed without another word nor a peep on his whistle, Emerson's boiler began to rumble and he returned his attention to Meredith. "I'll take you back to Scot, I suddenly don't trust you going out there alone."

"Fine with me."

The pair chatted quietly on the way over to Flying Scotsman's yard, though Emerson's eyes were everywhere. Any shadow, any tiny breath of wind caused him to tense up for a fight. Meredith was aware of his heightened state of alertness, but she tried to ignore it, afraid to learn the answer of why he was behaving that way.

They pulled through the gates of Scotsman's yard to find its resident waiting outside the shed, looking none to pleased by who was with his girl. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Escorting Meredith," Emerson stated very plainly. He was in no mood for a fight. "I didn't feel comfortable allowing her to travel in the dark alone."

"I didn't realize you cared." Scotsman jabbed, quick to pull Meredith away from the younger A3. "But I suppose thanks are in order so… thank you."

"You're welcome," Emerson offered a curt bow to Scotsman then a more steady one for Meredith. "Stay safe, I'm here if you need anything."

"Thank you, Em!" Meredith called, while Scotsman pulled her even tighter to him.

Emerson left quickly and once he did, Scotsman, of course, had questions.

"What were you doing with him?"

"Making amends… as friends, nothing more." Meredith assured, Scotsman had to believe her, there was no evidence of anything unholy occurring between them, she smelled warm, and most importantly, she still smelled like him. He then decided to drop the subject, he didn't want to work himself up for the wrong reasons. He nuzzled her cheek and kissed her light on the lips. "How about we try that trick again, hm?"

"You sure you won't drop me this time?" Meredith jeered, stealing another peck as she went to back into the shed.

"I'll try not to," he said, trying to not be too embarrassed over their last attempt. He almost had her, but her rear wheels slipped on his fender before he could pull her fully up on him. Her landing was rather hard, but no physical damage was dealt. Meredith laughed it off like the good sport she was but Scotsman's pride was marginally wounded, he hated to think there was something another male could do to her that he couldn't manage. Needless to say their last session ended after that and Meredith left Scot alone to mend his wounded ego in peace.

"Okay," Scot exhaled long, shook the nerves off, and readied himself to lift Meredith up once more. "I'm getting it right this time." He pulled her up to the usual position on his fenders and held her gaze. "You ready?" She nodded excitedly, but deep down she was afraid for another fall. Scot took another solid breath in, mustered every ounce of reserve strength he had, locked his buffers behind her leading axel, and hoisted her up. That time he used the buffer stops as leverage, wedging it beneath her coal bunker and pushing her all the way up until she was set comfortably against his smokebox. Meredith's body tingled with excitement as she stared down his back and while the view wasn't as tremendous as Cameron's it was just as enticing. Scot had to push her closer to him with the stops and the sudden movement caused her to yelp. She stared up at the ceiling to the iron chandelier that hung directly above, she had no idea it was even there until that moment.

Scotsman could feel his fenders screaming to break under Meredith's weight, she was little, but still a steam engine made of solid iron and steel, she was heavy, but he fought through the strain, motivated by what laid mere inches from his face. He licked his lips, catching the salty tang of new sweat on his tongue before he reached it out to finally taste her. He moved easy, taking in the buttery texture, but he could only reach so much with his tongue. He pushed forward more on the stops until his nose and mouth were near flushed with her valve then he dove in like he was partaking in a passionate and deep kiss. Meredith was pleasantly surprised at how immediate he was, no hesitation and no build-up, his tongue worked her valve inside and out like it was his hundredth time doing so, his lips wet and plush, she whimpered for more and at one point a breathless 'thank you' slipped from her lips, taking Scotsman by complete surprise. He stopped his kissing to drop her back onto the tracks, though kept her propped up on his fender. They held each other's feral gaze in silence until Scotsman latched his mouth to Meredith's, the pair melted into an embrace so intense not even the soundproof insulation of the shed could keep their lustful cries contained and the surrounding neighborhood would not know sleep that night.