A/N: My dear readers, Emily's story is back for all of you. This is an extended remake of *Emily's New Coaches*, with many details and extra scenes. Hope you like!

CHAPTER III

A FLOWER LOOKING FOR A GARDEN

"Why does no one greet me?... Don't they want me for I'm a female engine? Oh, no..." -Emily

"You'll have a maternal heart," Lady had said when Emily's soul was being created.

And indeed, Emily had it.

While waiting under the water tower for her tank to fill up, Emily remembered the engine she had just met. "What a sweet little engine," she thought with a smile on her lips. "Those playful child's eyes... those prominent cheekbones... and that lovely smile... I wonder if Sir Topham Hatt will allow me to work close to him... so I'll be able to see him often and be his friend."

Meeting Thomas made Emily very happy. Her maternal heart made her see the little tank engines as 'the kids of the railway', and Thomas was the first of those kids she knew in Sodor. So she was immediately delighted with him and wanted to see him again as soon as possible.

As her tank was filled, Emily felt the pats from her driver on her side and puffed up to the yard to collect her coaches. The only coaches that were there were Annie and Clarabel. "These aren't your sort of coaches," said her driver on seeing them, "but I suppose they'll do." And Emily was coupled up to them.

Annie and Clarabel felt insulted. "How dare he say we'll do!" whispered Clarabel. "He's very rude to us!" added Annie. In addition to feeling insulted, Annie and Clarabel thought that they would now be Emily's coaches and they felt even worse. It was not that they did not like the newcomer, but they did not want to be separated from Thomas. But they remained silent because they knew the law of Sir Topham Hatt that said 'Really useful engines don't argue', and that law was also valid for coaches and any other type of machines. So, if Sir Topham Hatt has decided that they would be for Emily, they had no choice but to accept. But anyway, they were very angry at the words of Emily's driver. "How dare he say we'll do!" they murmured as Emily was pulling them.

Emily puffed carefully along the track, concentrating on learning the route and knowing the stations and junctions. Pulling Annie and Clarabel was very important in this ride, as it helped Emily know how fast to go and from what distance to start slowing to arrive at the stations properly. Emily wanted to make a good first impression on her new controller and, of course, on the engines.

At one moment, when Emily was about to reach Maithwaite Station, she saw Thomas approaching in the opposite direction. "Oh! Here comes the lovely kid of the railway!" she thought happily and greeted him with a huge smile as she passed him. "Hello, Thomas!" But for some reason, Thomas looked at her angrily and did not respond to her greeting.

The reason for Thomas' anger was that Emily was pulling Annie and Clarabel. Thomas had seen her in the distance and prepared to greet her, but when he saw her with his coaches, his protective instinct spoke louder. "Those are my coaches!" he exclaimed. "Give them back!" Thomas did not tolerate that another engine was taking his coaches. He thought that no one else could care for Annie and Clarabel and love them as much as he did.

Emily had not heard Thomas' complaint and she went on her way a bit confused. "I don't understand," she said sadly, "he seemed to be angry with me… But… why?" She decided to ignore the incident for the time being and try to make friends with the other engines. Then, she approached a tunnel and noticed there was steam inside it. "I'm going to say hello to this engine," she thought.

The engine that was coming through the tunnel was Edward.

As soon as he got out of the tunnel, Edward saw Emily approaching and he got speechless. "Wow," he thought, "this has to be the new engine... the one of the giant wheels... But... that face looks feminine..." Edward's thoughts were interrupted by the engine's whistle and sweet smile. "Oh, dear… That face IS feminine!" Edward was so impressed that he did not respond, he simply looked at Emily with a neutral expression and went on his way. "I wonder if that exotic beauty was real or I'm having visions..."

As Edward went away, Emily got sad again. "Why didn't he greet me?" she said.

Later, Emily arrived at Norramby Fishing Village and saw a small engine coming in the opposite direction. It was Percy. "Wow! What's this!" Emily thought as her heart pounded. "This one doesn't look like a kid of the railway... This is... a baby! A cute, chubby baby!" And Emily blew her whistle. But, just like Thomas, Percy looked at her angrily and did not respond. Emily was surprised. "What does this mean?" she wondered. "Another one who looks at me angrily..."

And the same thing happened with the other engines she found on her way. Everyone looked at her angrily and no one greeted her.

Now Emily was worried. "Why does no one greet me?" she thought. "Don't they like newcomers? Or... don't they want me for I'm a female engine? Oh, no... I must prove that I can also be really useful. Maybe that way they'll accept me."

Emily was sad.

The day which Emily opened her eyes at Doncaster Works, sir James Stirling had told her 'the world will be happy to see you' before taking her first ride. But at this moment, the world seemed to be rejecting her instead of being happy to see her.

As she continued on her way, Emily remembered that ride she took the day she was born...

The sun's rays caressed her welcoming her to life, and she blinked slowly over and over while her sensitive eyes became accustomed to natural light. Then she pumped her pistons and moved from the turntable, ready to see the world.

On her way she got applause, greetings and compliments, and she responded with her whistle and her pretty smile. People and engines were delighted to see a female steam engine for the first time.

Suddenly, a sweet aroma began to fill her boiler. "What smells so good?" she asked.

"The flowers," responded her driver. "It's spring and the gardens and fields are full of flowers."

"Oh! Can we stop to see a garden?"

"Sure. Soon we'll arrive at a square."

A little further ahead they reached the square and Emily stopped in a siding. The garden was dressed in various kinds of flowers. Emily's driver came out of her cab and taught her the names of each of them.

Emily was enchanted with all the flowers, especially with the red roses. "Those are the prettiest ones," she said. "I just love them! They have a delicious aroma and they look very good next to the green color of their leaves."

"I agree with you," replied the driver. "You know, people associate the red color to love and the green to life. Maybe that's why they look so good together. Love produces life and life holds up love. But at the same time, love also holds up life... They need each other."

"Wow... that sounds amazing." Emily stared at the red roses. "Love and life can't be separate from each other... Together they make a beautiful flower..."

The driver put a hand on Emily's buffer and looked into her eyes. "You're also a beautiful flower," he said affectionately.

Emily was confused. "Me?"

"Yes. We men usually compare women to flowers. And since you're a female engine, you're a flower too."

"Oh… I like that!"

The driver smiled at her. "Always be kind and compassionate to everyone, Emily, and you'll be the most beautiful flower in the garden of your friends."

Emily was happy. The thought of being a flower in the garden of her friends reached deep in her heart.

And she whished to have many friends to offer them the petals of her kindness and the perfume of her compassion.

Back in the present, Emily gave a deep sigh, remembering that distant beautiful day. "I wish someone wanted to be my friend," she thought. "So far no one greeted me... This way I'll never be a flower in their garden."

Soon, the sad emerald realized that she still had not spoken to the coaches she was pulling. So she decided to introduce herself in the hope of becoming a friend to them. "Excuse-me," she said, "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself yet. I'm Emily; Sir Topham Hatt's new engine. And you two are..."

"I'm Annie."

"And I'm Clarabel."

"Wow! Female coaches! Pleased to meet you Annie and Clarabel."

"Pleased to meet you too, Emily," said Annie.

"Tell me, are you two comfortable? Or should I go slower?"

"It's fine like this," replied Clarabel.

"It's nice to go on this ride with you," added Annie.

"Oh... Thanks!"

Emily noticed that Annie and Clarabel's voices showed no emotion. The two coaches seemed to be responding to her simply out of politeness, just because they could not get rid of her. The atmosphere was tense. Then, very disappointed, Emily decided to continue the ride in silence.

Emily had not seen Annie and Clarabel that morning in Knapford because they were behind Thomas, and Emily had been the first one to leave the station. If Emily had seen them, she would have known that they were Thomas' coaches and she would not be now enduring the consequences of having taken them without his permission.

And speaking of Thomas; he was still angry.

Thomas was at Maithwaite Station receiving an order from his controller. "I want you to go to the Docks to pick up new coaches," said Sir Topham Hatt.

"New coaches? But, sir-"

"Really useful engines don't argue!"

Thomas knew he could not argue. He clenched his teeth and left the station even angrier than before. "Damn!" he thought. "Sir Topham Hatt took my coaches away and gave them to Emily! That girl brought me bad luck! And I was so happy to meet her!"

Thomas did not want new coaches; he wanted Annie and Clarabel back.

As Thomas puffed toward the docks, Emily had completed her ride and was back at Knapford Yards. As she reversed to leave Annie and Clarabel in their shed, Emily heard a voice.

"Those are Thomas' coaches!"

It was Oliver, who was at the next door track. Emily looked at him and immediately realized the mistake she had made. "So that's why he looked cross!" she exclaimed. "I'll go and apologise." And Emily came out of the yard at full steam.

Oliver stayed open-mouthed. "That voice...," he said, "it's... it's a feminine voice... I can't believe... It's a female steam engine! Oh, dear... and I was rude to her... I didn't even introduce myself and I already scolded her! What a shame..." Oliver was very embarrassed by his behavior and promised to apologise to the newcomer.

Meanwhile, Emily was puffing down the line in search of Thomas. "I must find him. I must clear things up with him!" But she came to a junction and had to stop at the red signal. Then she heard an engine approaching. "Could it be Thomas? I hope so."

The engine in question stopped at her side. Emily saw him and could not contain her emotion. "Thomas!" she exclaimed. But then she blushed. "Oh... you're not Thomas... I-I'm sorry... It's just that... you looked like him at first glance... I'm Emily, by the way."

The engine did not respond. He just looked at Emily in surprise, and then, he slid his gaze over her funnel; her boiler; her wheels...

Emily thought she recognised this engine. Apparently it was the same one she had seen coming out of a tunnel during her ride. "Umm... sorry for interrupt you," said Emily. "But, could you tell me your name?"

The engine's eyes met Emily's again. "Oh… sorry," he said. "I... I'm Edward. Pleased to meet you… Emily."

Emily smiled in relief. For a moment she had thought the engine was mute. "Pleased to meet you too, Edward. I hope we can be friends."

Edward smiled sweetly. He could not believe that, indeed, the new engine was a lady. "Of course we can be friends," he replied kindly. "I'm sorry I didn't greet you this morning. You're the first female steam engine I see and I was so impressed that I got speechless. I even thought you're not real and that I was just having a vision..."

"A vision?! Hee! Hee! That's funny!"

"I'm… very sorry."

Emily looked at Edward with affection. "It's all alright, Edward," she replied. "Thank you for accepting to be my friend. I'm sorry I mistook you with Thomas. I'm looking for him in order to apologise for having taken his coaches without his permission. He was angry with me for that reason."

"Oh... Thomas is very jealous of his coaches. He doesn't want anyone to take them. But don't you worry, he'll not be angry with you for long."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am. I know my child very well."

Emily raised her eyebrows. "Your child? You mean Thomas is your… son?"

"Erm... well... yes and no. I mean... I love him like a son. Nothing else."

"Wow... that's wonderful..." Emily was delighted with Edward. An engine that feels fatherly love is undoubtedly someone friendly and protective. In fact, Edward's sweet look and the gentle tone of his voice already revealed what was in his heart. "I wonder if you would accept me as your daughter," said Emily without thinking twice.

Edward swallowed. "My daughter?" he thought. What he was feeling for Emily was not precisely fatherly love. It was another thing. Maybe brotherly love or something like that. Edward still did not understand what was happening in his heart at that moment. But he was sure of something: it was not fatherly love. "Actually...," he responded, "I want you to be my... my sister... If you don't mind…"

"Okay." Emily smiled. "I love that. Consider me as your sister."

Edward smiled at her, trying to dissimulate his nervousness in front of his 'sister'. He was afraid Emily would ask why his face had turned red. But fortunately, Emily's signal changed to green.

"I'd like to keep talking with you, Edward," said the beautiful emerald, "but I must find Thomas. See you."

"See you, Emily."

Edward watched while Emily left and he sighed deeply. "My goodness...," he thought, "our dream came true... She's the gift we asked to Heaven! And she's so sweet... and beautiful... How could Thomas get angry with her? I think I'll have to talk with my child about his obsession for his coaches."

Far from there, Thomas puffed throught Edward's branch line, pulling the coaches he had picked up at the Docks. "Don't want new coaches! Don't want new coaches!" he complained. "Now my journeys will be boring, for these coaches are inanimate! That Emily really brought me bad luck!" Thomas kept complaining until he got to Wellsworth Yards. There he left the coaches, took a heavy goods train and went out again.

Meanwhile, Emily continued her search throught the main line. She did not stop thinking about Edward. "He's so kind... and so handsome... I've never seen some eyes that radiate as much sweetness as his..." Emily sighed happily. "I finally have a friend in Sodor!"

Soon, Emily stopped at another junction. Then she saw two big engines approaching.

The engines were Gordon and Henry. Gordon still believed that Henry was only hallucinating the night before because of his sneezing.

"I told you, Henry. That mysterious engine doesn't exist."

"I'm sick of repeating that he was real."

"But we've been looking for him all morning and-"

"Gordon..."

"-we didn't see a single giant wheel-"

"Gordon!"

"What!"

"Look... over there at the junction... It seems to be him... Yes! It's him! I told you he was real! Let's go see him."

Gordon gulped.

As soon as they reached the junction, the mysterious engine was the first one to speak.

"Henry!" exclaimed Emily on recognising the green engine. "It's good to see you! I've been worried about you. Are you okay? I heard you sneeze a lot last night and... Oh... I forgot to introduce myself again... I'm Emily."

Gordon and Henry stared at each other open-mouthed. Only now they noticed that the mysterious engine was a lady, and a strange sensation seized their hearts. After a few seconds, they looked back at Emily.

"H-hello, Emily," said Henry. "I-I'm fine, thanks… But… h-how do you know my n-name?"

"Sir Topham Hatt told me about you."

"Oh... well... thanks for caring about me. I went to the Steamworks and they cleaned my boiler. Now I feel very good."

"I'm glad to hear that, Henry." Then Emily looked at Gordon. "And who are you?"

"I'm... Gordon, the... f-fastest train on Sodor."

"Hello, Gordon," said Emily smiling. "I see you're a great express engine. No doubt you're the fastest on Sodor."

The Nº 4 engine felt very proud and his lips curved into a big smile. But Emily's next words made him shiver...

"You know, I'm an express engine too."

Gordon swallowed hard. "Really?"

"Yes. Well... I was it before I became a living engine. Now I only take goods trucks and some local trains. But I wish I could take an express train again, at least once." Emily had an idea and her face brightened. "You can count on my help, Gordon!" she said enthusiastically. "I could take your Express in case you need it."

"Thanks, but I don't need anyone's help. I'm the fastest and best. And I never break down."

"Oh... o-okay."

Henry frowned. "Gordon! Don't be rude to the lady!"

"Rude? Don't exaggerate, Henry, I just said the truth. And now I must go." Gordon pumped his pistons. "Bye, Emily."

"Bye, Gordon ..."

And Gordon puffed away, not without having glanced quickly at Emily's wheels. "She has only a couple of driving wheels," he thought. "It's no threat to me." Actually Gordon wanted to stay there longer admiring Emily's beauty, but he did not want her or Henry to hear his heartbeats that had become uncontrollable.

Henry sighed. "I'm sorry about Gordon," he said. "He's not that friendly, but he's not that bad either when you know him well."

"I see," said Emily sadly.

"Hey... don't feel sad," soothed Henry. "I do want to be your friend... I'll be delighted to count on your help, and you can count on mine."

Emily smiled. "Oh, thank you, Henry! You're very kind." At that moment, the signal changed to green. "By the way, have you seen Thomas?" Emily asked as she pumped her pistons. "I need to talk with him."

"I'm sorry to say I've not seen him. But I suggest you to stay on the main line, so probably other engines will be able to tell you if they saw him on some branch line. He usually takes a goods train at this hour."

"Okay. I'll stay on the main line. Thanks again, Henry."

"You're welcome, Emily."

Emily said good-bye to Henry and went away puffing happily. "I've now two friends!" she thought. "Edward and Henry are very kind!"

Later, a signalman flagged Emily down. "What's the matter?" asked Emily's driver. "Oliver hasn't cleared his signal box," responded the signalman. "Please go and see what's wrong."

"Excuse-me, sir," Emily said to the signalman, "could you tell me what Oliver looks like? I'm new and still don't know everyone..."

"Of course. He's a green tank engine with the number 11 on his side. His handrail crosses over his smoke box."

The description sounded familiar to Emily. Soon she recalled the engine she had seen at Knapford Yards as she took Annie and Clarabel back to their shed. "I already know who he is!" she exclaimed. "I'll look for him."

And Emily puffed as fast as she could. Like every time someone was in danger, her maternal protective instinct made her fly. After a while, she saw a green engine stuck at the intersection. "This has to be Oliver," she thought as she stopped. Then, Emily heard a high-pitched whistle. She looked over to where the sound came from and got scared on seeing Thomas coming at full speed with a goods train. "Oh, dear!" she exclaimed.

Thomas could see Oliver and he knew he could never stop in time. His trucks were too heavy and they pushed him.

"HEEELP!" cried Oliver.

Emily knew that if she didn't do something there would be a serious accident. So she charged towards Oliver.

Thomas saw Emily trying to push Oliver. "Cinders and ashes!" he screamed. "She'll not be able to push him along with the trucks that are in front of him!" Then he blew his whistle, although he knew it would not solve anything.

Soon Emily managed to move Oliver a little, but now she was the one in danger of being run over.

Thomas panicked. His vision blurred and all he saw in front of him was a large emerald-green spot. He reproached himself for having got so angry with Emily, and now perhaps he would no longer have the opportunity to apologise to her. "I'll never forgive myself! I'll never forgive myself!" And Thomas closed his eyes. "Goodbye, Emily..."

The world stopped for Thomas at that moment, and panic made him lose consciousness.

Fortunately, Emily had managed to push Oliver out of the intersection just in time. She trembled as Thomas' heavy train passed behind her with a deafening noise. A few seconds later, silence reigned. "Thanks!" said Oliver afterwards. But Emily was very frightened and did not listen. "We did it...," she whispered to herself.

As there was no answer, Oliver spoke again. "Excuse-me… Who are you?"

"I… I'm Emily."

Oliver recognised that voice and he felt his firebox blazed. "Thanks for saving me, Emily! You're a very brave engine! I'm Oliver, by the way."

"You're welcome... Oliver."

"Sorry for having been rude to you this morning. I hope we'll be friends."

"It's all… alright."

"Umm... are you okay, Emily?"

"Yes... I just need... to catch my breath... I got frightened a little."

"Oh... I understand. Breathe deeply."

While some workers were examining Oliver, Emily remained in place in case it was necessary to take him to the Steamworks. Fortunately, the problem was not serious and the workers could fix it up right there. Then Emily said goodbye to her new friend and puffed away. "Now I've to look for Thomas again," she sighed.