A/N This story's a sensitive idea for me, as I call it, so respect me, as it hurt to write this. Review, but no flames.
Thomas and his friends knew Sodor had a visitor from the Mainland, an engine from The Other Railway taking holidaymakers to the island. Jordan, as that was his name, turned out to be a mean engine.
Jordan saw Thomas and said, "Come with me, 105, to Eastleigh Works, where your last sibling's about to be scrapped."
Thomas was shaken up, as Jordan was coupled to him. The engines arrived at Eastleigh Works and Jordan stopped.
"Watch Robert being scrapped now, 105," Jordan said. "Just like John, William, Mary, George, Frederick, Albert, Elsie and Charles."
The workers at Eastleigh did their work with the cutter's torch and Robert was scrapped, leaving his older brother the last E2.
Thomas began to cry, wailing his broken heart out. He sniffled, long and loud, his face wet with tears. He wondered why Jordan wouldn't use his name, but named all his siblings. His words were lost.
Thomas's driver, hearing his engine's wailing sobs, went to comfort him. "There, there, Thomas. You've seen a dreadful thing. Let it all out", as he softly dried Thomas's tears with a cloth. Look at those big tears, he thought, as he rubbed his engine's cheeks and wiped his weeping eyes, trying to discern his engine's values of the moment and listening attentively to pick up on his cues.
"Cry-engine! Boo-hoo!" Jordan said as Thomas was sobbing his eyes out.
Thomas cried more, letting out another wailing sob as fresh tears filled his eyes. He sniffled again, hard, coughed as he choked on his sobs and hiccupped. He gasped and gulped, shaking as his eyes poured tears, not once stopping as his driver offered comfort.
He said, as he continued to wipe the tears away, "Go ahead and just cry. No judgment from me, only care and compassion, so feel how you feel. I'm here for you, just to dry your eyes. You've got the right to cry after seeing that.". He pressed the cloth to the tank engine's eyes and wiped all his tears away as best he could.
Thomas wept and wailed non-stop, as hard and loud as ever he could, until he had no more tears left to shed. His driver dried his last tears away, patting the huge water droplets from his face and dapping tears from his eyes until they were dry. He went back to the cab with the sodden cloth, then he and the fireman got Thomas shunted to the Bluebell Railway, where they gave him a drink.
Thomas and his crew traveled from the Bluebell Railway to Brighton Railway Station. Thomas burst into tears, seeing the factory where he was built. The best tank engines in the world were built here, he thought. But now, I'm the only one left and it breaks my heart.
Thomas's driver comforted him again, saying, "Whenever you've got to cry and I'm with you, I shall wipe your cheeks and eyes to dry your tears as needed. Emotions are part of life, so I follow my heart." He looked compassionately at Thomas. "I care about you, so I shall support you in this time. I want you to cry, so you can feel better. A good cry's nothing to be afraid or ashamed of. Like you, I feel deeply and use my emotions to connect with others." and dried his tears with a cloth. Poor Thomas, he thought, when his engine had no more tears to cry and he dried his last tears away.
Thomas was shunted to the nearest heritage railway and had another drink, then they set off for the bridge at Vicarstown that connected Sodor and the Mainland. The tank engine steamed sadly along the rails, making the saddest whistle sounds he could. When they got to Sodor, Thomas said, "Driver, can you dry my tears? I just want to go to my shed and cry.". He had tears in his eyes, ready to fall when he stopped.
Thomas's sorrow made his fireman sad, so when the tank engine gave a sad whistle and burst into wailing sobs, once stopped in the shed, he pulled his cloth hanky from his pocket and cried with him, dapping his tears away and blowing his nose loudly. He told the driver, through his own sobs, "I-I h-hurt i-in m-my h-heart. I'm very sad to see Thomas so broken-hearted,". He sobbed until he had a drippy wet handkerchief, soaked with his tears.
Thomas's driver comforted the tank engine until he wailed himself to sleep. Thomas, he thought, Your fireman's got a sopping wet handkerchief, just like you. He and the fireman left.
A/N Thomas's driver thinks of that cloth as Thomas's hanky, because he uses it for Thomas's tears only.