Author's Notes: This is a light-hearted chapter so we finally have a little escapism from the angst. The next couple of chapters are more a focus on the trains and their individual relationships with Luna before we get to the real nitty gritty stuff. As always, I hope you enjoy!
Three Years Later
"Is it too late to take early retirement?" Ashley groaned, reaching for a cigarette. "I'm getting way too old for this!"
Ashley and Buffy had stopped by the diner that afternoon for their usual gossip with Dinah. When they had arrived, Luna had been quietly playing with her toy ponies at a table in the far corner. But when Dinah had served the two coaches their drinks, she had also prepared a chocolate cookie milkshake for her and just fifteen minutes later, chaos had ensued in the form of a sugar rush. Luna had gone from quiet and content to really loud and bursting with energy, and it was driving the smoking car crazy.
Dinah laughed at the coach's comment, her blonde curls bouncing.
As Ashley pulled out her cigarette, however, Luna whipped her head around and caught her in the act. "Uh uh, Aunt Ashley!" the girl pouted, hands on her hips. "Those are bad!"
Buffy snorted loudly beside her. "That's you told, Ash!"
Unamused, Ashley rolled her eyes, removing the unlit cigarette from her mouth. "Alright, little miss sassy!" she retorted, tucking it away, making a mental note to have double later. Jeez, so not only was the kid annoying her, she was calling the shots too!
As the coaches resumed their conversation, the young girl eyed the bar stool next to Buffy. Feeling left out, she jumped up and down several times in a futile attempt to hoist herself up onto the seat. With no luck, Luna stomped her foot in frustration.
Dinah craned her head over the counter. "Now, Luna," she put a hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow. "You're gonna hurt yourself tryin' to get up there!"
But the girl was stubborn. Sticking her tongue out in concentration, Luna proceeded to climb the bar stool, every time sliding back to the floor.
"Do you want me to lift you up?" offered Buffy, who had been watching the girl's attempts from the corner of her eye.
But the girl shook her head furiously. "Nope! I can do it!" she insisted.
After two more attempts, she finally got a grip and triumphantly propped herself up, beaming with self-satisfaction. Dinah sighed and shook her head in disbelief.
"You know you don't get up there in case you fall."
But Luna didn't care. She had always wanted to sit up here, where all the trains sat. She felt very high up and important, like a princess on her throne. At last, she could be part of all the fuss up here! Sensing Dinah's concern, Buffy rested a protective hand across the back of the bar stool to keep it steady.
"Well, aren't you a big girl sitting up here?"
The girl giggled, enjoying the attention. She sat quietly as the coaches gossiped before Dinah clocked her eyeing up Buffy's milkshake.
"I know what you're up to, Luna!" she playfully tickled the girl across the counter. "You've already had a milkshake! You can get a treat later."
Plan foiled. Luna scrunched up her nose and decided she was now bored up on her perch. Without warning, she launched herself from the chair, landing in a sprawled heap on the linoleum tiled floor. All three coaches gasped, bracing themselves for the inevitable. But instead of howl, the girl let out a giggle, seemingly unhurt and unfazed, picking herself up and running to the back of the diner. Dinah breathed a sigh of relief.
The smoking car shook her head. "Dinah, she has way too much energy! Where does she get it from?"
Dinah shrugged, a look of amusement on her face. "Your guess is as good as mine, although I have a feeling that milkshake might have contributed to it…"
Just then, Rusty rolled in.
"Rustyrustyrusty!"
The steam train was tackled before he could even close the door. Rusty grinned and hoisted the girl into the air and onto his shoulders, which was received by a shriek of glee.
"Wow, someone's full of beans today!" he chuckled.
"I'll say," Ashley muttered.
"Just your usual, Rusty?" Dinah smiled, kicking the coffee machine into life.
"Of course!" the steam train nodded, approaching the bar.
"Care to save us from going prematurely grey and burn some of the little cherub's energy?" Ashley asked drily, resting her chin on her hand. "She's like a rabbit on speed."
"If I didn't know you better, Ash, I'd think you were getting old!" Rusty nudged her playfully. Ashley scowled in response.
He smiled at Dinah as she handed him his coffee. "I can take her out on one of my errands for a bit?" he offered.
"Yes! Thank the Starlight!" cried Ashley, hands in the air.
"Sorry, she's being highly dramatic today," grinned Buffy.
"I'm being driven demented by a toddler! This is NOT being dramatic!"
Dinah laughed, tilting her head at the smoking car. "It might save Ashley from having a nervous breakdown…if that's ok with you?"
"Sure!" he lifted his head to look up at the youngster. "We'll maybe even have time to give Pearl a visit too!"
"Yay!" Luna clapped in response.
Luna worshiped the first class train, who entertained her natural girly love for all things pink and pretty. She was regularly an invited guest to Luna's tea parties and the first choice for a playmate to play dress up with her dolls. The steam train was also a firm favourite. He had really stepped up to help Dinah raise her when it became apparent Greaseball wasn't so forthcoming. He had taught Luna about being safe around the yard, given her a tour of the infamous racetrack and shown her the trophy cabinet.
"Now Luna, you be on your best behaviour with Rusty, you hear?" Dinah adopted her stern voice, one she only reserved for when she wanted the child to listen to something important.
The girl nodded vigorously before waving goodbye to the coaches, Ashley giving the most enthusiastic wave out of the trio as the door closed.
At the peace, Ashley slumped her head down on Dinah's bar in relief, the cool plexiglass soothing her thumping head. "How many more years do we have to deal with this?"
"You love it really," nudged Buffy, taking a sip of her milkshake and winking at Dinah.
After a moment, Ashley lifted her head. "But seriously Dinah, how do you do it?"
Dinah simply shrugged. Luna brought a great deal of light and happiness to her life and although, as days like today showed, she could be loud and slightly troublesome, it was simply her way of interacting with the world and learning new things. It was just unfortunate that the smoking car didn't share the same patience and understanding that she'd grown to adopt.
Ashley's eyes widened in realisation and she whipped out her cigarette once more, not hesitating to light it. With a couple of puffs, Dinah was relieved to see the coach's mood brighten as she began to relax. Ashley was predictable; if she missed a cigarette break she always got uptight and cranky.
"Hey, here's an idea Dinah," the smoking car pointed her cigarette at the blue coach, leaning back in her seat. "You should show the kid in all that sugar rush glory to the young coaches. Now that would really put them off kids for life!"
Dinah flicked her dishcloth in her direction. "She ain't that bad," she chuckled.
Ashley smiled as she took another drag. "You know I love that little cherub. Just sometimes she drives me up the wall…"
"She's only trying to help you break the habit, Ash!" Buffy tutted sarcastically, fidgeting with her now empty milkshake glass. "She's trying to do you a favour!"
"Well, if that's the case, maybe we should let her ransack your liquor cabinet and see how you fair!"
Buffy gasped at the suggestion and the three coaches burst into laughter.
Rusty took great pleasure in spending time with Luna and he was always grateful that Dinah felt he could entrust him with her, even just for an hour or two. After all that had happened when she was an infant, Dinah could have been forgiven for being overprotective and reluctant to share, but to his surprise, as the girl got older, the dining car had seemed more at ease to let her go and explore the yard with the other trains. Perhaps it was the realisation that she couldn't shelter the child from everything or that she would only hinder her development if she kept her cooped up all day, but Rusty admired her for it. He loved the girl's enthusiasm and curiosity, always yearning to learn and explore. She was daring and feisty; always wanting to try new things. It made him feel more sprightly and made him realise humans and trains weren't all that different.
"Hey Luna, come here!" beckoned Rusty, taking a detour and rolling towards his shed. The girl had got restless on his shoulders after a while and he had been happy to let her run ahead. "I was going to save this for another day, but seeing as you are here…"
He unlocked the shed door to reveal his latest project that he'd spent the last week on. The girl skipped into the shed and gasped as she saw Rusty push a small bike towards her.
"I found it on the scrapheap and thought I'd be perfect for you."
Rusty had spent hours painstakingly scrubbing the grime and dirt from the dumped bike, realising it was in good condition overall. He watched as the girl excitedly admired the shiny bike, with its pink aluminium frame and pink and silver streamers, complete with white training wheels.
"This is mine?" she asked, her blue eyes shining bright with glee.
"Sure is! Do you like it?"
"I love it! It's pink just like Pearl!" the girl squealed, pedaling the bike out of the shed without hesitation. "Can I go show her?"
Rusty swung the padlock back onto his shed and secured it with the key, a helmet under the crook of his arm.
"We sure can! But I think you are forgetting something."
He helped the girl secure the helmet onto her head.
"I'll give you a race?" he challenged.
"Joulie!" Luna cried, pedaling faster towards the dynamite truck, eager to show off her new toy.
Rusty had raced her to the component sheds and was relieved to have the opportunity to take a breather. Boy, did he need to get back into shape for the races!
"Oh hey, Luna! What's that you got there?"
The dynamite truck had grown fond of the child despite Electra's clear discontent.
"It's a bike! Rusty found it!" she proudly paraded around her.
"Wow! It's very flash! I bet you could be faster than Greaseball on that!"
"Don't give her any ideas," Rusty groaned, panting as he still tried to catch his breath.
Joule cocked an eyebrow as she let out a laugh of bemusement. "Did she have you running a marathon or something?"
"Nope," Rusty puffed, nursing a stitch in his side. "Just…out of shape, that's all!"
He watched as Luna continued cycling along on her bike. Ashley was right, she seemed to have an endless energy that he suddenly envied.
Joule flicked a stray lock of hair back from her face. "So where are you headed on this fancy bike of yours?"
"I'm gonna show it to Pearl!"
"Well, I'm sure she'll love it,"
Joule turned and noticed the electric train watching from the sidelines, his eyes narrowed. She quickly turned her attention back to the girl before either Rusty or Luna could notice his presence.
"Well, I best be letting you get on," Rusty noted the slight waver in her voice. She gave him a knowing glare and cocked her head to encourage him to move on. She gave Luna a smile.
"See you later you two."
"Pearl! Pearl! Look what I got!"
The first-class coach spun around at the little girl's voice. Luna was always a pleasure to see. She watched as she furiously pedaled towards her, Rusty lagging behind.
"Oh, isn't it fabulous?" Pearl crouched down to the child's level. "I love how pink it is!"
"Joule says I could be faster than Greaseball!" Luna exclaimed, skidding to a halt. "I bet I could be a good racer!"
Rusty gave an exasperated sigh, joining her side. The girl was never going to keep quiet about it now.
"You're certainly very fast on it!"
Pearl stood up, and as she did, Rusty laced his arms around her waist and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
"Did Dinah get busy at the diner?" the pink coach asked, all the while observing Luna as she showed off her bike.
"Nope, I was just saving Aunt Ashley from losing her marbles," he chuckled.
"She only got mad 'cos I told her off for smoking," the girl piped up, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly.
The pair couldn't help but laugh at the child. She was clearly picking up on some of the smoking car's dramatic traits.
"Shall we see if Rusty is up for a race back to the diner?"
At his partner's suggestion, Rusty stood aghast.
"Come on, Rusty!" Pearl elbowed the steam ride teasingly, racing ahead. "It'll give you good practice!"
"Greaseball! Race. With. Me!" the girl whined, pushing herself along on her bike, digging her feet into the ground with every word. She was evidently tired from her outing with Rusty yet she was adamant to have one last race.
"I've already said, not tonight!"
Greaseball and Dinah were walking home with her from the diner and Luna was fast grinding on his nerves.
When the girl fell silent, trundling along beside them, he'd thought he'd hammered his point home.
"Please?"
Greaseball stopped in his tracks, clenching his jaw. Why did the child have to be so persistent? Dinah quickly stood in front of him, her eyes silently begging him not to lose his temper at the girl. He took a deep breath. Despite his disapproval of her choice to keep Luna, which had subsequently worsened as she'd got older, he was still a sucker for those pretty blue eyes.
"Maybe another time," he simply responded, before storming ahead to the depot.
By the time Dinah and Luna arrived home, he had already isolated himself to the bedroom, the door closed.
"Why won't Greaseball race me?" questioned Luna, as she snuggled up in bed.
Dinah, with the help of Pearl, had transformed the spare room of the depot into Luna's bedroom and had adorned the walls in pastel pinks and purples.
Dinah sighed, perched on the edge of the bed. "He's just tired. He's had a busy day."
Dinah had desperately wanted Greaseball to be involved with raising Luna but instead he had grown distant. He still visited the diner throughout the day and would always walk her home if he wasn't training, but she could sense that things had changed between them. They were no longer connected; just two separate entities going through the motions.
She watched as the girl's lips formed into a cheeky grin. "Do you think he's scared he'll lose?"
"Maybe," Dinah grinned. "You are pretty quick on that bike!"
"I bet he thinks I can't race! But one day, I'll show him!"
Dinah smiled, planting a kiss on the girl's forehead.
"I've no doubt about that."
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