A/N The next chapters, along with this, will be Jessica's recovery, so she's now showing happier moments, which I read can happen even in the midst of depression, probably milder depression, like hers.
Jessica woke up in tears, crying and wailing loudly from a nightmare of the dreadful abuse she once suffered. Her crew were notified to come comfort her. Huge water droplets poured from her eyes and she sniffled long and loud. When her crew came, her face was tear-stained and wet with thick tears. Thomas pressed his buffers tight against hers, once he was in steam.
One of the mean engines said, "Jessica, you woke me up with that howling! Cry-engine, bawling your eyes out. Why don't you just take yourself to the Smelter's Yard, you useless, outdated old kettle! You're just a worthless waste of steam!"
Jessica's fireman thought, My poor Jessica. Maybe she can't hear him over her wailing and crying. I wish she could find a rainbow in all this rain coming out of her eyes. He arrived first, just in time to hear the mean words. "There, there, Jessica," he said, pulling out a soft cotton rag to dry her tears. "Let it all out. Those tears are the hurt in your heart it can't hold. I'm here for you to wipe your pain away, so let the rain come.". I wish she could find a rainbow in all this rain. She's just so overwhelmed with emotion, he thought. He rubbed her sodden cheeks and wiped her tear-wet eyes, listening attentively and aiming to be present as he imagined how much she must hurt.
Jessica let out another wailing sob, fresh tears welling up. She sniffled again, hard, coughed as she choked on her wailing sobs and hiccupped. She gasped and gulped, shaking as her tears poured from her eyes, not once stopping and let her fireman offer his comfort.
He said, as he continued to wipe her tears away, "Jessica, I know you're an extremely sensitive soul, just like me and cry when overwhelmed with your deep feelings. You've got me to wipe your eyes, because I care. I use my emotions to connect with others, I haven't known you very long, but I want to be close to you and am not scared or uncomfortable due to your emotion. I just want to dry your eyes when you need to let your emotions leak out. Feel how you feel, given your experience." He thought of context and any possible inspiration. After a while, he needed his other cotton rag, as her weeping drenched the first. He held it to her eyes and wiped all her tears away as best he could, as he had with the other one.
Jessica's driver came and took over comforting her, at the fireman's request. The driver took his place, as the fireman went back to the cab with his wet with tears rags, and said, "There, there, Jessica. I wish I could wipe your sadness, so I shall wipe your eyes.", pulling out a cloth from his pocket. "Just let it all out. I've got your cotton waffle hanky." and comforted her in his way.
Jessica's tears went on until she had no more left to shed. Her driver dried her last tears away, wiping them from cheeks and eyes until they were dry. He went back to the cab with the tear-soaked cloth. Though her face was red and her eyes were flame-red and puffy, Jessica smiled for the first time in years as her fireman shared the inspiration he thought of. Her crew gave her a drink and she pulled the Express.
Jessica's smile quickly faded as her sadness returned. Later on, she was on a siding in Knapford and Thomas joined her right after pulling a train, because he saw how sad she was wanted to press his buffers against hers in an engine hug.
A bigger, mean engine came and said, "Thomas, you should be scrapped, just like your siblings and all steam friends not on display, including your loves. You're a useless little tank engine and a worthless waste of steam, you outdated kettle!".
Thomas froze up and then began to cry, wailing with stirred-up grief. Jessica joined in, wailing her heart out, due to her friend's sorrow overwhelming her.
"Dr-Driver, c-can y-you dr-dry m-my t-tears?" Thomas sniffled, his voice shaky and filled with his wailing sobs. His face was wet with tears.
Thomas's driver climbed out of the cab to comfort the tank engine. "There, there, Thomas," he said, pulling out a cloth from his pocket to softly dry his engine's tears. "Let it all out. Crying's comfort, so just go ahead and sob. I'm here for you, so just cry.". He listened attentively, to pick up on his engine's values and cues, as he gently rubbed his cheeks and wiped his teary eyes.
Thomas cried more, saying through his tears, "I-I h-hurt b-because o-of th-that m-mean e-engine. H-He r-reminded m-me I-I'm o-one o-of th-the l-last o-of a d-dying br-breed." He sniffled again hard, coughed as he choked on his tears and hiccupped. He gasped and gulped, shaking as he wept non-stop and let his driver comfort him.
He said, as he continued to wipe the tears away, "No judgment from me, just care and compassion. Feel how you feel. I love to wipe your eyes, so go ahead and cry and I shall dry your eyes.". He pressed the cloth to his engine's eyes and wiped all his tears away as best he could.
Someone came and found Jessica sad. "I'm Hannah and I've been a passenger of yours. Want me to dry your tears, you poor depressed engine?" Hannah thought, I once asked why you were so sad and your driver told me you were depressed. "There, there, Jessica," she said. "Let it all out. Whatever's got you depressed, it's your right to cry, so I shall wipe the tears from your eyes." She climbed on Jessica's buffer beam and pulled out her handkerchief, then rubbed Jessica's sodden cheeks and wiped her wet eyes.
Jessica let more tears pour from her eyes. She was sniffling hard, coughing, choking on her tears and hiccupping. She gasped and gulped, shaking as her tears streamed, not once stopping and let Hannah comfort her.
She said, as she continued to wipe the tears away, "I know you're hurting bad, Jessica, but I'm here for you, to dry your eyes and comfort you until you feel better.". She held her hanky to Jessica's eyes, letting her cry into it and wiped all her tears away as best she could.
Thomas and Jessica each cried until they could cry no more. Their respective comforters dried their last tears away, then Thomas's driver went back to the cab with the sodden cloth and Hannah put her drippy wet hanky in her bag. Thomas smiled, feeling better after a good cry. Jessica's face was all red and her sore and swollen eyes were flame-red, but she also smiled, feeling better after crying. Thomas's crew gave him a drink from a mobile water tank and he then shunted Jessica to the water column once her crew came back.
Jessica had her therapy with Dr. Tom later, in her shed.
"How's everything with you?' he asked Jessica.
"I can now smile after a cry, instead of just feeling calmer and thinking more clearly, but only briefly. Then, I'm dreadfully sad again. I just hurt so from my horrible abuse. Can you dry my tears, Driver?" she said. She kept her face relaxed, looked down, took huge deep breaths, keep her mouth open, ignored her surroundings, let her mind drift off, took more huge breaths and exhaled with a long loud ahhhhh sound, then began to cry and wail, sniffling long and loud.
Dr. Tom said, "Let the sadness fall from your eyes. I love how you cry so deeply. The sadness falling from your eyes comes from your heart, so let the tears out."
Jessica's driver said, pulling out a cloth to dry her tears,"There, there, Jessica. I wish I could wipe your sadness, so I shall wipe your eyes. Let it all out. I've got your cotton waffle hanky.". He rubbed her sodden cheeks and wiped her tear-filled eyes.
Jessica went on weeping and wailing until she had no more tears left. Her driver dried her last tears away, wiping her cheeks and eyes dry of tears. Her face bright red and her sore and swollen eyes were flame-red as he went back to the cab with the sodden cloth. Then her session went on.
Jessica went on with her day after her therapy. At the end of the day, she wailed herself to sleep with her driver's comfort and Thomas pressing his buffers tight against hers until she went to sleep.
A/N Jessica's an empath, for new readers, which is why she cries with Thomas when he's had his feelings hurt by another engine being horrible to him.