Henry stayed in the sheds for the rest of the day after he ran over the signalman. The guilt proved to be too much, so much so that he fell ill that very night, when he and Thomas were alone. The men worked hard, but couldn't make him feel better. By morning, his condition hadn't improved.
Thomas was deep in thought. Henry usually pulled the first passenger train of the day and it would be up to the E2 to fetch them.
"If poor Henry is ill," he thought, "perhaps I'll get to pull his train."
Thomas left the sheds to find the coaches.
"Come along, come along!" he puffed, as he buffered up to a rake.
"There's plenty of time, there's plenty of time," said the coaches. Thomas took them into the platform and was eager to run round to the front at once, but Conan didn't let him.
"Don't be impatient, Thomas," he said. So Thomas waited and waited. The people got in, the guard and stationmaster walked up and down, the porters banged the doors, and still Henry didn't come. The minutes ticked by and Thomas got more and more excited.
The Fat Director came out of his office to see what was the matter, and was immediately informed by the guard and stationmaster about Henry.
"Nothing else for it," said the Fat Director. "Find another engine."
"There's only Thomas, sir," said the stationmaster, pointing to the rear of the train. "All the other engines are busy with their own work."
"You'll have to do it then, Thomas. Be quick now!"
"Yes sir, right away!" Thomas called out. The E2 ran round to the front of the coaches, and backed up to them with a bump!
"Whoa, Thomas!" called Conan. "Don't be impatient: wait until everything is ready. I don't want to screw this up."
But Thomas was far too excited to listen to what his partner said.
As he waited to be coupled, Thomas thought he heard the whistle of the guard. Without checking to make sure it was the guard, the E2 took off, leaving his coaches behind! People shouted and waved at him, but he didn't stop.
"They're waving because I'm such a splendid engine," he thought importantly. "Everyone says it's hard to pull trains, but I think it's easy."
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" he puffed, pretending to be like Gordon. As he approached the first signal box, he saw the men leaning out waving and shouting.
"They're pleased to see me," he thought. "They've never seen me pulling a train before - it's nice of them to wave." And he whistled, "Peep peep! Thank you!" and hurried on.
Conan was quick to notice that the signal ahead was at danger.
"Whoa, Thomas, whoa!" he shouted, and he put the brakes hard on. "Signal's up!"
"Bother!" huffed Thomas, as he braked to a halt. "I must stop. And I was going so nicely too. What a nuisance signals are!" And he blew an angry, "Peep peep!" on his whistle.
Noah ran up to Thomas.
"Hullo Thomas," he said. "Err… What are you doing here?"
"I'm pulling my first passenger train in years," answered Thomas. "Can't you see?"
"Really? Well, where are your coaches?"
"What are you talking about? They're…" The E2 looked back and gasped! "Why bless me, I've left them behind!"
"Yes," said Noah. "You'd better go back quickly and fetch them."
Poor Thomas was so sad he nearly cried.
"Cheer up!" said Conan. "We didn't get far. We can return and give it another shot." deep down, he was cursing a blue streak
At the station, all the passengers were talking at once, telling the stationmaster and the Fat Director what a bad railway it was.
"Please, everybody, calm down!" said the Fat Director. "We'll find another engine as soon as we…"
A single peep interrupted him as the E2 backed down onto the train.
"I'm sorry everybody," he said, tears on his face. When they saw how sad Thomas was, they couldn't be cross. They simply boarded the train again, while the fireman coupled him on. Then the guard blew his whistle.
"Is that us? Are we ready to leave?" asked Thomas.
"Yes, we are," answered Conan, looking back and seeing the guard wave his green flag. He opened the regulator, and this time, Thomas REALLY pulled the train. He struggled and strained as he did, and he now knew the other engines were right: pulling trains WAS hard work.
"This is harder…than I remembered," he said.
With Thomas busy on the mainline, the Fat Director needed to find an engine to cover for him in Vicarstown Yard. Timmy was called to handle the task, while Barbara looked after the Lasigar Line.
Thomas couldn't go as fast as Henry, and needed to stay at the stations longer for water, but the passengers didn't seem to mind. Conan, however, was feeling frustrated: it seemed Thomas was becoming more and more selfish and irresponsible since Henry had stalled inside the tunnel. He'd conveniently forgotten he was just as ill-tempered and irresponsible. Every screw up made Conan more of an outcast among the workforce, especially because Thomas was his friend, and not only an instrument.
This became apparent at Killdane when Thomas spent time catching up with Edward, who was happy to see his friend out on the line again. So long did they talk the E2 failed to hear when the guard blew his whistle.
"Thomas, we got to get going!" shouted Conan.
"Not now, I'm having a conversation!" snapped Thomas.
"This isn't the time for conversation, you idiot! Did you not hear the guard?!"
The guard whistled again.
"Oh, right! Sorry!" he called. He set off with quite a jerk.
"OOF!" screamed the coaches. "Be careful! Be careful!"
As soon as they departed, the signal went red. They had to stop again. Gordon soon raced past.
"Express coming through!"
And with that, the A0 was gone.
"Arsehole," snorted Thomas. "How dare he overtake me."
"You know full well expresses get priority over all other trains," said Conan. "And look: the signal's down, we can go."
Thomas snorted off, but it was rough going for the rest of the journey. The E2 hurried to Cronk to make up for lost time, but arrived a minute late. The stationmaster had no sympathy, much to Thomas' annoyance.
"Wasn't my fault Gordon held me up with his express," he huffed.
"You shouldn't have spent so much time talking to Edward," Conan pointed out.
"Oh, give me a break, it's been months since we last saw each other!" snapped Thomas.
"Not my problem," said the stationmaster. The guard blew his whistle before Thomas could retort, so the E2 just left.
Thomas reached his top speed after crossing the viaduct as he approached Maron. So much so he nearly overshot the platform! It was lucky he didn't, but the passengers complained about the rough stop. As the E2 set off, he forgot to apply his brakes and went down Gordon's Hill at a dangerous pace.
"WHEEEEEE!" he shouted. Conan managed to get Thomas under control, right beyond the platform at Wellsworth.
One of the passengers, a seven year old girl, had spilled tea on herself, getting severe burns. Her father was, understandably, furious, and spent around half an hour screaming at Conan.
For Conan, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. No matter how justified, that kind of people were assured to sour his day, but this wasn't any other day
"Sir, piss off," he snarled.
"What did you say to me, you little runt? Do you know who I am?"
"Yes I do: an annoying bitch who's about to get a whopping! Now piss off before I make you!"
The man gave him the middle finger and took a cab to the hospital.
Afterwards, Thomas noted his partner's rage.
"Everything ok, Conan?" he asked.
"No, nothing is okay! All day long you've done nothing but mess up! For once, can you just not screw something up?! I'm going to get sued for your recklessness one day!"
Thomas felt both angry and sad. He was too proud to admit that he screwed up, so he decided to fight back.
"Nobody told me…"
"ENOUGH! I'm sick of you refusing to take responsibility! If you want to pull trains more, you need to stop putting the blame on others! That's why the Fat Director doesn't trust you: you never take responsibility for anything, you rejected prototype!"
"How hypocritical of you! If I don't take responsibility for anything, same goes for you! I wasn't the one who went after that psycho, was I?! Or how about that time you broke that window while cleaning a coach? And not to mention, you used my cab for a date with your…"
"Stow it! Don't you dare talk ill about my Jewelie! She's more important to me than you would ever be!"
"Without me, you wouldn't even be with her!" Thomas snapped. "You'd spend the rest of your life fending off that rich girl!"
"You've no right to talk like that you ungrateful bunch of scrap!"
Thomas was hurt. Conan expected another insult, but instead, Thomas began to cry.
"How could you?! It's only because of your bond with me that you could get work at the railway! What right have you to call me scrap?! I thought we were friends!"
Conan said nothing, further breaking Thomas's heart.
"Is that so? Is that what you really think of me? Fine then. Get your pay daily, work me to death. But don't you ever dare call me a friend."
The train next stopped at Crosby, neither engine nor driver spoke to each other. Selena was on the opposite platform, and noticed Thomas looking heartbroken.
"Is everything ok, Thomas?" she asked. "I thought you wanted to get out of the yard again."
"Yes… Everything will be perfect soon… I'm going back to Brighton first thing tomorrow morning."
Selena couldn't believe what she heard!
"Back to Brighton?! Why back to where you were bullied?!"
"I actually have friends there, Ivy and Lawson. They treat me better than Conan ever did," answered Thomas. "He's a fake friend. He used me to get a wife, and a better life. He doesn't care for me at all."
Selena didn't know what to say. She couldn't say anything, as her guard blew his whistle.
At Tidmouth, the Fat Director was doing his best to run the railway without the board. That was no easy task, but what Thomas told him was enough to get his full attention.
"You want to return to Brighton?! Whatever for?"
"I want to leave this island. I'm going home. And please fire Conan, sir."
"No need for that! I quit!"
"What on Earth is going on?!" asked the Fat Director.
"Ask your engine. I don't work for you anymore," said Conan, and he walked away, leaving the Fat Director stunned.
"Explain, Thomas. What on earth is happening?" he asked.
Thomas could hardly speak through his tears. When he finally told everything, his voice failed.
"Thomas. You can't go back to Brighton. To put it simply, they don't want you there: I inquired about buying you completely back in 1919, and I found that they had written you off as being lost on war service. Also, the LBSC is now part of the Southern and I don't see them having any use for you."
"You mean I'm stranded here? I can't go home?"
"I'm afraid so, Thomas. Now please, don't think about leaving: you're needed here more than you realise." And with that, the Fat Director walked away.
That night, Thomas went sadly into the sheds, ignoring the other engines, especially Henry and Gordon, laughing at him.
"Look, there's Thomas! He wanted to pull a train, but forgot about the coaches!"
Henry and Gordon were the only ones who kept laughing: the others stopped when they saw how upset Thomas was. The E2 didn't say anything: he simply closed his eyes and went into an unhappy sleep.
Conan wasn't any better off. He'd tried surprising Jewelie, but she'd heard of the fallout between him and Thomas, and was angry.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
She gave him a really hard punch, enough to blacken an eye.
"Jewels, why?"
"What right have you to call your bonded partner a head of scrap? Seriously, you know how young he is!"
"Okay, that may have been out of hand, but…"
"No buts! Honestly, Conan, you shouldn't have been so harsh with him. And also, why the fuck did you quit?! Just because you don't want to drive Thomas anymore doesn't mean you need to quit: there are other engines on the railway for crying out loud! Also, I'm sick of this new attitude you're getting, you're almost becoming like Samy Fernby! And yes, I'm comparing you to Samy Fernby, if you have a problem with that, sleep on the couch you craphead!"
Conan was hurt.
"Jewelie…" He tried reaching out to her, but got his hand slapped.
"I'm sick of you making excuses: Thomas doesn't need to be yelled at, he needs guidance! Like I said, I'm sick of this new attitude! Shape up and give your engine an apology!"
And with that, she stormed upstairs. Conan sighed and went onto the couch. Perhaps Jewelie was right, he realised: Thomas was only young, he needed guidance, and yelling wouldn't get him anywhere. Sighing, Conan went to sleep.
Unbeknownst to him, Thomas, in his dream, was seeing even more of Conan's past. The only memory he had of his mother. Conan was probably 5 or 6, Thomas couldn't tell, but he watched them playing happily: it was another third-person dream.
Eventually, the young Conan asked, "Mummy, why are you going away?" Thomas couldn't help but tear up at this question.
"My dear Conan," said his mother, "I wouldn't exactly say I'm going away."
"But the doctor…he said you have…MUMMY, DON'T LEAVE ME!" he cried. "I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU!"
"Don't worry, Conan," soothed his mother, giving him a hug. She began to cough, but she still smiled. "These five months will be the best we ever have. And no matter what happens, just remember: I'll always be with you, even if you can't see or feel me, I'll be with you in your heart."
Thomas felt his eyes water up all the way and he began crying as the memory faded.
The next thing he saw was a man, who likely was Conan's father, contemplating a pistol.
"No, don't!" shouted Thomas, finding his voice. "Your son still needs you!" But it was no good: he pointed the pistol at his head, and pulled the trigger. There was a sound of thunder! The next thing Thomas saw, the father was lying on the ground, his head bleeding out. Thomas began crying even more: how could his father choose taking his own life over staying to look after his son?!
"Thomas, Thomas! Wake up!"
The E2 opened his eyes to find Edward next to him.
"You were having a nightmare," said Edward. "I heard you shouting. Is everything ok?"
"It wasn't a nightmare," said Thomas sadly. "It was memories of Conan and his parents. I saw his dying mother comforting him, then his father…he killed himself!"
"How awful!" exclaimed Edward.
"And I was so horrible to Conan earlier! Now he's quit and…and…" Thomas started crying.
"It's ok Thomas," said Edward. "He probably won't actually quit: he's just angry. Now, take a deep breath and tell me: how were you horrid?"
Thomas did so and explained everything, from his impatience to what he and Conan called each other. Edward listened intently as he did. Eventually, Thomas stopped talking.
"Well, Thomas," said Edward, "I will agree you shouldn't be so impatient, however, I also disagree with what Conan said to you. That said, I can see both sides, I don't think either of you was right. I mean, you did cause injury to that little girl, but Conan went overboard in calling you scrap. That said, you two are best friends, aren't you?"
"Yes, we are," said Thomas.
"Then I think it's best if you two apologise to each other," said Edward. "And I think maybe both of you need a change from shunting in Vicarstown."
"You mean…Conan's bored too?!" asked Thomas in shock.
"Most likely so," confirmed Edward. "And your attitude is probably frustrating him. I think he just forgot about how young you are. Try to be more understanding with him, tell him you can't see how you were at fault and ask him to explain."
"Thank you Edward!" said Thomas. "I'll do that when I next see him."
When Conan surprisingly came over the next day, Thomas' apology was very genuine: he wanted his best friend back.
"Conan," he said, "I'm sorry for what I said to you: I'll admit, I was wrong to cut off my friendship with you. I just…don't see how I'm at fault. Can you please tell me?"
Conan sighed.
"You're not the only one," he admitted. "I'm sorry: I shouldn't have yelled at you. As for how you were at fault, well, that girl… Law prevents the parent from suing you. And that whistle, did you actually check to see if it was the guard? You could've asked somebody if it was our guard or another."
Thomas realised Conan was right: he HAD forgotten to check which train had received that whistle from the guard.
"No, I didn't," he said.
"I'll admit," said Conan, "I didn't check either, so I'm also to blame. And I shouldn't be mad at you for losing track of time while talking to Edward: we all get distracted when having fun."
As they talked, Thomas began to slowly realise nearly everything that had happened to him had indeed been his fault. Conan also took responsibility, and for the first time, Thomas blurted out, "You're right, it is my fault. I'm sorry for not accepting responsibility."
Everyone nearby was surprised, having never thought they'd hear Thomas say that.
"And I'm sorry for yelling at you," said Conan. "I shouldn't have lost my temper like that, I have no excuse."
The two smiled, happy to be friends once more.
"I'll tell you what: I'm due to take a fast goods train up to Tidmouth, with a stop at Wellsworth, and afterwards, I'll be picking up the overhead wires from Tidmouth to install on the Peel Godred," Edward put in. "Now that you're friends again, I'll let you take that train instead of me and do your shunting. How does that sound?"
"If Conan agrees," said Thomas. Conan nodded and spoke to his wife. He had to take his resignation back. The Fat Director was magnanimous when he had telephoned that morning doing so, but as it turned out, he never actually resigned, having never given a letter of resignation.
The next, however, is another story.