Christmas was coming close to Sodor. For Thomas and Emily, and James and Molly, this was a merry time indeed. James and Molly had their chance to enjoy the first snowfall that year and Thomas got a chance to help Emily out the snow himself for a change. Now this year would be notable for Rosie and Stanley. It would be their first Christmas together as a couple.
Stanley was working in Knapford Yards by himself, pondering this very fact. He wanted to do something lovely for Rosie to celebrate their first Christmas together. He wanted to give her a surprise present, but didn't know what. He had helped her along in her life ever since she moved in with him, and even after she was transferred to Vicarstown.
While he was working that morning, he thought of giving her flowers, but only a moment or two later, he realized it wouldn't work. No flowers grew in winter anyway…or so he thought.
Once he had arranged all the trucks in the yard, he waited at the Station platform to depart for Great Waterton and bring his passengers for Flora to take along the Sodor Tramways. While waiting for the guards whistle to blow, his eye suddenly fell upon a man who had a bouquet of white flowers. Flowers that Stanley had never seen before. They looked like wild roses, but they had white pedals, edged in pink. Thoughts of Rosie flared in his mind and he spoke up.
"Excuse me, sir," said Stanley. The man looked up and saw Stanley. "What kind of flowers are those? I've never seen anything like them."
"These?" said the man. "They are called 'helleborus nigers.' That means 'Christmas roses.' They are a popular holiday plant throughout Europe. They are the only flowers that bloom in the middle of winter through the European Mountains. Truly, they aren't actually roses. They really belong to the buttercup family. This bouquet is a present for my wife."
"Well, those Christmas roses are very nice, sir," said Stanley. "I'm sure your wife would absolutely love them…but how can they grow in this winter weather?"
"Well," said the man. "There is a legend that may explain some of that. Old European legend has it, that when Christ the Lord was born, the Christmas rose was discovered by a shepherdess named Madelon. It was cold, icy night, and Madelon watched the Wise Men and shepherds pass her by, carrying the gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh for the baby Jesus. Madelon was saddened that she had no gift to offer and fell into tears. Suddenly, an angel appeared before her and brushed away the snow, revealing the Christmas rose beneath. And so, Madelon gathered the roses so she could present them as her gift unto Christ the Lord."
Stanley had listened to everything and was speechless. This story had inspired him immensely and he immediately wanted to find these roses himself. If they really did grow in winter, this was his chance. His guards whistle blew and he set off for Great Waterton.
On his way, Stanley kept an eye out for any flowers within and among the snow, but everywhere he went, he didn't see any. When he arrived at Great Waterton, he found Flora ready and waiting for his passengers.
"Hello there, Stanley," she greeted pleasantly. "How do you do?"
"Hello, Flora," Stanley replied. "I'm well, but I'm trying to find Christmas roses for Rosie as an early Christmas gift…have you seen any along your tramway?"
"Hmm…sorry, Stanley. No," said Flora. "But I do hope you find them for Rosie. She'd be very touched."
As Flora left the station, Stanley was a little disappointed. He had not found any Christmas roses yet and Flora hadn't seen any either. But his thoughts were interrupted when the stationmaster cam by with a job to hand out.
"Stanley? There are some empty trucks waiting for you," he said. "Please take them to the Blue Mountain Quarry to be loaded with stone. Then deliver the stone to Vicarstown Goods yard."
"Yes, sir," said Stanley.
Stanley took the trucks to Blue Mountain Quarry and arrived at the stone hopper to have them loaded. While he waited, he remembered what the man at Knapford said about the roses growing in the mountains. He suddenly thought that maybe they could be found near the Skarloey Railway. He saw Skarloey and Rheneas on the line beside him and spoke up.
"Skarloey? Rheneas?" he spoke.
"Yes, Stanley, what is it?" asked Skarloey.
"Do either of you know of any places where Christmas roses grow? I thought of giving some to Rosie as a gift."
"Ahh, yes, I know a thing or two about Christmas roses," said Rheneas. "I can show you where I have seen them if you like."
"Ohh, I'll certainly come, Rheneas! Thank you!" smiled Stanley.
As soon as the trucks were loaded, Stanley set off with Rheneas and they traveled together up to Green Hills Junction where the legendary "Man in the Hills," once stood.
"This is the place, Stanley," said Rheneas. "Where the Christmas rose grows."
Stanley looked all around, but to his surprise and disappointment, he couldn't see any flowers.
"Aww," he said. "Are you sure this is the right place. There is not a flower or bud to be seen. I don't want Rosie to miss my love for her…and our first Christmas together at that."
"I assure you, Stanley, this is the place. I've seen them here myself in the past," said Rheneas. "In the meantime, you still have a job to do. After you drop your trucks at Vicarstown, you can come back and find what you're looking for."
"That's right, Stanley," said his driver. "We'd best get these trucks to Rosie."
"Alright," Stanley sighted. He set off again, feeling rather doubtful now.
When he arrived at Vicarstown Goods yards, he felt better when he saw Rosie waiting for him and smiling from buffer to buffer to see her love again.
"Hello, Stanley," Rosie peeped sweetly.
"Hello, my dear Rosie," Stanley chimed back.
But underneath his smile, he suddenly became even more concerned about finding any Christmas roses for her, but he didn't say anything about his plan. He still wanted to surprise her. His smile slowly lowered as he thought more and more about what he wanted to do for her. Rosie could see this and decided to please him a little. She buffered to him and kissed him gently on the lips. Stanley was a little surprised by this but felt very happy when he looked and saw his rose kissing him and giggling softly against his lips. He started kissing her in turn, making her giggle more and deepen their kiss before they let go and gave a soft smile to each other. They had let go of each other's lips just in time too.
"Stanley? There you are," said the yard manager. "There is a load of coal waiting here for you. I need you to take it to the Transfer Yards."
Stanley suddenly became hopeful again. This would allow him to head straight back to Green Hills Junction, so he could look again for any Christmas roses.
"Yes, sir!" Stanley agreed eagerly. He quickly found his coal trucks and was just about to set off, when Rosie called to him.
"Stanley! I've been thinking…once you work today is finished…could you spend the night with me?" And to persuade him a little, she smooched her lips at him and swooned sweetly. "Ooh…"
Stanley couldn't say no. He would not miss any chance to be with her, flowers or not. "I promise, my love. I'll come by tonight."
Rosie giggled even more with excitement as Stanley went on his way. But Stanley was now much more worried about finding the roses. With an invitation by his red rose, he did not want to fail her. He hurried all the way to the Transfer Yards and delivered the coal much sooner than he expected. After that, he dashed off, back to Green Hills Junction.
This time, he looked slowly and more carefully everywhere he could go. He checked every hill, spied every little clearing, but everywhere he went, there were still no flowers. Just snow as far as the eye could see. At this point, he was almost about to admit defeat. It all seemed rather unfair for him and for Rosie…until he suddenly remembered what the old legend said: to find the roses, the snow had to be cleared away.
Stanley looked back and spoke to his crew. "Please clear away some of the snow. Let's see if the legend is true…"
His driver and fireman stepped down and walked around, brushing snow away down to the ground, looking for any signs of Christmas roses. It didn't take long for Stanley to suddenly strike lucky.
"Stanley!" called his driver. "We've got a flowerbed's worth over here!" He picked the flowers and brought them back to Stanley. The silver engine suddenly whistled with immense joy. They were indeed Christmas roses in full bloom. Now he could truly have his first Christmas with Rosie as his love. He was now very excited and very anxious for the night to come.
Later that night, Rosie was in Vicarstown Sheds, waiting for Stanley to arrive. Although she had no idea of his surprise, she had been planning her own little surprise for him. She had been excited herself that she'd spend her first Christmas with Stanley as her love. She knew that she would now get to share love with someone the right way after the unfortunate first attempt with Thomas all those years ago.
Eventually, Rosie heard Stanley's whistle, and in he came to join his beloved. He came in facing her and touched her buffers ever-so gently, making her smile and blush lightly.
"Hello, Stanley," said Rosie.
"Hello, my pretty Rosie," Stanley smiled.
"So…are you ready for me tonight?" Rosie asked.
"Yes, I am," said Stanley. "But…before we do anything…I have something here for you…an early Christmas present."
Rosie gasped. "Oh, Stanley! Do you? Really?"
Stanley kissed her cheek, making her blush deeper. "I do, my love," he said. His driver stepped down, then showed Rosie all the Christmas roses he found at Green Hill Junction. Rosie stared right at them, adoring the white pedals and pink edges through and through.
"They're for you, my beautiful rose," said Stanley. "Christmas roses. The only flowers that grow in winter."
Rosie was overjoyed with this surprise gift. She suddenly squealed delightfully when Stanley's driver placed the flowers gently on her buffer beam. When she calmed down, she suddenly looked coyly at Stanley.
"I love these flowers SO much, Stanley," she bubbled. "This comes at the perfect time for me to show you my gift for you."
"What's that, my dear?" asked Stanley.
"Look up," said Rosie. Stanley did so. There, above them both was a curl of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling. Stanley felt his heart jumping inside him. When he looked down again, Rosie softly buffered closer then closed her lips around his and began kissing him slowly and gently, making him return the favor with equal passion. They both felt a wave of warmth sweep through them as they felt a strong sense of Christmas spirit together. Stanley opened his eyes and saw Rosie's beautiful face as she kept kissing him. Her little freckles were so adorable on her blushing cheeks and as her lips moved very slightly, he could feel them rub his lips lovingly until she let go to breathe.
"I love you, Stanley," she whispered.
"I love you too, Rosie," Stanley whispered back.
Just a moment later, they resumed kissing each other, on the lips, cheeks and nose. This went on for a few hours as Rosie and Stanley continued to bask in their love under the mistletoe. It was an absolutely wonderful and happy night for them both and the perfect way to spend Christmas together in love.
After a few hours, Rosie stopped kissing Stanley. He looked up, and she fell asleep, snoring cutely and as she whistled quietly, the flower pedals drifted lightly back and forth. Stanley puckered his lips, and as she whistled out again, he took hold of her lips and kissed her once more, earning a little giggle.
"Goodnight, my Christmas Rose," Stanley whispered. "I love you so much…and Merry Christmas."
"Goodnight, Stanley," Rosie whispered in her sleep. "I love you too. Merry Christmas…"
Later than I honestly would have liked, but not much we can do about that since it's here now. Yes, the legend of the Christmas rose is an actual legend, and I thought why include it? So that's how this story came to be, thanks to that legend. And yes, I'm well aware this is my first Rosie and Stanley story in well over half a year, believe me that these two are surprisingly difficult to think of stories for. As for you, David Brennan, the reason I can't directly respond to you personally is because you only ever review as a guest, and unless you log into your proper account then I can't directly reply to you privately, hence why I only respond to your reviews at the end of stories and in reviews of those stories, which if you actually paid any bloody attention to those parts I quite plainly and clearly responded to your questions, so don't give me any of that BS about you not knowing because they were blatantly obvious to everybody, cause frankly I'm sick of your obliviousness.
Sorry about that rant for everyone else, next time we're finally gonna see Percy and Gina be reunited, so please stay tuned because the hype train is in full steam! Leave your reviews and tell us what you thought of this one, and we'll see you next time.