GORDON GETS THE GIGGLES

Based upon the episode by Becky Overton

Summer had come to an end, and now Sodor was in the grips of autumn. Farmers across the island were getting ready for a big harvest, loading their lorries with fresh fruit, vegetables, and even honey. And whatever they couldn't take by road, they would have delivered by rail.

James was one of those engines helping out with the harvest. Having recently come home again following his trip to India, it had taken him a bit of time to readjust to his regular schedule.

"New coaches and restored old coaches, new engines, sudden repaints, Addison invasion, renamed workshops… what else did I miss?!" he cried.

"Have you noticed something about Gordon lately?" asked Thomas.

"Er… yes," said James. "He was taking a goods train yesterday and let me take the express in his place! Not that I'm opposed to that, but… he did it willingly?"

"It's not just that," insisted Thomas. "Have you noticed something about Gordon whenever he's around Rebecca?"

James glanced over curiously. Gordon and Rebecca were over at the water column, chatting amiably. "Yes, Thomas… I see it too. Sort of like… Molly and I."

"I was curious if this was going to happen," smiled Thomas. "Sounds like Gordon's met his match."

"Let's not jump to conclusions, Thomas," Annie called. "Not all of these phases work out."

"But what if it does?" asked Belinda. "Ooh, Gordon and Becky are so sweet together!"

"We'll wait and see," insisted Clarabel. "In the meantime, these passengers won't deliver themselves."

"Right," said Thomas. "It's good to have you home, James."

"Thanks, Thomas," said James. "Oh, and, welcome to the railway, Belinda."

Meanwhile, with the alleged 'lovebirds'…

"Say, Gordon," said Rebecca, "have you ever heard of Taylor Swift?"

Gordon raised an eyebrow. "Er… not really. Who's that? Some kind of video game protagonist or something?"

Rebecca giggled. "She's a singer-songwriter from Pennsylvania," she explained. "She's put out two albums and has a third coming out very soon. Taylor's also a storyteller with her lyrics, almost as if you're listening to her read her diary with music."

"I never would have imagined someone could use music as a way of telling a story," said Gordon, rather amused. Rebecca was just about to say more when the guard blew her whistle.

"Oh, I best be off!" she exclaimed. "I'll talk to you later, Gordon."

As Rebecca set off, she didn't realize the points had accidentally been set to one of the sidings where a wagon of honey was waiting to be collected.

"Look out, Rebecca!" called Stanley. But it was too late.

CRASH!

"Ugh!" cried Rebecca. "Oh dear… yuck!" Honey started drizzling down from her boiler all the way to her cab.

"Are you okay, Rebecca?" asked Stanley.

"A little sticky," Rebecca insisted, "but no real harm done." As a drizzle of honey trickled down her nose, Rebecca curiously stuck her tongue out to catch it. "Huh… I can't taste anything."

Rebecca's crew shrugged. "I didn't know engines can't taste human food," said the driver.

"Well, engines don't exactly need to eat like we do," the stoker added.

Rebecca reversed away from the siding, but her troubles weren't over yet. This time, Stafford was coming in with some vegetable vans. However, Rebecca couldn't hear him coming.

"Look out, Rebecca!"

"What… oh, not again!"

CRASH!

"Sorry, Stafford!"

"That's quite alright, Rebecca," said Stafford. "I don't think the farmers will be pleased about some of their produce going to waste…"

"I'm starting to think there's a clumsy signalman messing around today…" muttered Stanley.

"…salad, anyone?" Rebecca asked meekly. Thanks to the honey, bits of vegetables stuck to her face like glue, making her look something like a vegetable clown. Stafford and Charlie couldn't help but laugh at what they saw, and Rebecca laughed along with them.

"Come on, comedians!" snapped Stanley. "We have to get Harvey to help clear this up!"

But then, they all heard someone else laughing even harder than the rest, causing them to stop.

"Was that Gordon?" asked Charlie.

"Never known him to laugh this hard," added Stafford. "He's usually more serious than that."

But indeed, it was Gordon! "Oh, th-that was hilarious!"

"Are you alright, Big G?" asked Rebecca.

"Oh, s-sorry, Rebecca," he said quickly. "I… you're not hurt, right?"

"More messy than anything," Rebecca admitted. "I never heard you laugh quite like that before."

"You… didn't like it?"

"Oh… it's not that!" Rebecca said quickly. "I'm just surprised. And… you may want to check the clock, Gordon."

"What do you… oh, shoot!" Upon hearing the guard's whistle, the big blue engine hastily steamed away. He didn't get very far from the other engines before he burst into another laughing fit.

"I'd… better get Harvey to clear up that broken van," said Charlie, quickly puffing away.

Out on the main line, Gordon was now trying his best to regain a dignified posture, but the image of Rebecca covered in honey and vegetables kept appearing in his mind when he didn't want it to.

"Ohhhh… Pull yourself together, Gordon!" he scolded himself. "You're supposed to be one of the most professional engines on the island! Sure, I can laugh at the odd joke here and there but… why did I have to laugh at Rebecca of all engines?!"

By the time Gordon reached the next station, he was still trying to confront his case of the giggles.

"Gordon? Is everything alright with you?" Thomas was standing on the other platform, he and the coaches looking utterly baffled at Gordon's strange behavior.

"Is… everything alright with me?" Gordon repeated, trying to stay as calm and serious as he could. Thomas suddenly looked nervous, afraid Gordon would snap angrily without warning.

"I've… never been better, Thomas," said Gordon, trying to suppress another laugh. "Thank you for asking."

Thomas, Annie and Clarabel each raised an eyebrow, while Belinda blinked in confusion.

"Is he always like this?" she whispered.

"Not usually," Annie explained. Suddenly, some leaves blew onto Thomas' face. He spat some out that had gotten into his mouth, but the leaves that stayed almost resembled a fake mustache and exaggerated eyebrows.

"Little help here, please?" he asked. Just as his crew were about to remove the remaining leaves, Thomas heard laughter coming from…

"Gordon?!"

Yes, Gordon had once again broken out into a laughing fit.

"Oh dear…" sighed Clarabel. "He must find your accidental costume funny, Thomas."

"Well, I do look rather goofy," Thomas admitted, looking at his reflection in a nearby mirror. "Still, if Gordon keeps this up, he may accidentally delay his passengers…"

"That won't just affect him, but the main line as a whole!" gasped Belinda. "We can't have that nonsense!"

"I know what I have to do to snap him out of it," sighed Thomas, "and I don't like that I'm about to do it…" He took a deep breath, blew his whistle loudly and shouted at the top of his voice, "Snap out of it, Gordon!"

As expected, Gordon stopped laughing, but several passengers also covered their ears from the sudden noise, and Thomas' coaches all shut their eyes and winced. There was an awkward silence for a moment or two.

"I-I-I'm sorry, Thomas," stammered Gordon. "I-I don't know what came over me. I… must be having an off day today. Y-yes, that's probably it!"

"Maybe you need to get checked over at Crovan's Gate Works," suggested Thomas. It feels so strange, not calling it the Steamworks anymore, he thought to himself.

"Er… I'll consider it, Thomas," said Gordon. "But I don't think any of my parts are out of place." Just then, Gordon's guard blew the whistle. "I'll see you four later."

Gordon steamed out of the station, and Thomas and the coaches were left deep in thought.

"I hope Gordon's okay," said Clarabel. "Do you think maybe his crush on Rebecca has something to do with it?"

"Hmm… maybe," said Thomas. "But I can't say for sure…"

"Ohhh, what is wrong with me today?!" groaned Gordon. "First Rebecca, and now Thomas! For Gresley's sake, Gordon, get! It! Together!"

"Oh, hello again, Gordon!"

Gordon looked back to see Rebecca puffing up alongside him. The vegetables had been mostly cleared away, although some honey was still stuck to her.

"Heh heh, sorry about earlier," she giggled sheepishly. "I… maybe I didn't get enough sleep last night?"

"Oh no, I'm one who should be apologizing for laughing at you for your accident," Gordon insisted.

"It's okay, Gordon," giggled Rebecca. "Besides, it was harmless. And I'm clean again, see?"

"That's good, Rebecca," smiled Gordon. Suddenly, he saw a red signal ahead, and he had to stop. "What could the problem be?"

"I don't know," said his driver, "but I'm sure the signalman will tell us."

"My signal's green, so I'll see if I can get answers at the next station," said Rebecca. "Just sit tight, Big G!" She hadn't noticed that a piece of lettuce was still stuck to her side, but Gordon did, and watched it fall onto the ground. The big blue engine couldn't help but erupt into another fit of laughter.

"Huh…?" Rebecca blinked and glanced back. "What's gotten into him this time? I still haven't got any honey on my face, have I?"

"No, we've cleaned it off as best as we could before we left," said her driver.

When Rebecca was out of sight, Gordon heard Connor coming on the other line. His loud whistle made him snap out of it.

"Hey, Gordon, hold it together!" called Connor. "Are you doing okay?"

"Oh, I've never been better," replied Gordon. "I… ugh… actually, I've been having a strange day. I just randomly start bursting into laughter… more than what I would normally."

"Hmm," said Connor. "Maybe you have something in your funnel? That happened to me a few years back, remember?"

"That could be it, Connor," Gordon considered. "My funnel has felt… off, since this morning. I can't put my buffer on it."

"It's not bad coal, do you think?"

"It can't be; the coal was just fine this morning."

"We'll sort it out when your boiler's cooled off, Gordon," said his driver. "Right now, we have to wait for the signal to change–"

CLUNK!

"Huh… what do you know," said Gordon. "That's my cue to carry on. Goodbye, Connor."

"See you later, Gordon!"

Later on, Gordon was resting in a siding. Merlin had been called in to take the express in his place.

"Hmm… let's see what's up with you, Gordon," said his driver. He and the fireman climbed up to look down his funnel. "Aha! There's the culprit."

"What is?" asked Gordon.

"A piece of coal got stuck in your funnel," the fireman explained.

Gordon gasped in bewilderment. "How did we not notice it earlier?!"

"I don't know," admitted the driver. "But we can easily get it out. We just need to find something to lodge it loose…"

However, they had no need to do that, for Gordon suddenly felt his nose twitch. "Er… D-driver, fireman… g-get down, quickly!"

"Er… okay!" Both of them scrambled down their ladders. They did so just in time, for without warning, Gordon suddenly let out a great big sneeze! His sneeze caused the piece of coal to fly out of his funnel and into who knows where.

"Gee golly, bless you, Gordon!" exclaimed Lexi. "Are you okay, buddy?"

"I am now, Lexi," sighed Gordon. "All this time I'd been giggling uncontrollably, I was actually suppressing a sneeze."

"Hmm, I think Henry mentioned somethin' similar before," said Lexi.

"Yes, well… his was more… planned than mine, let's say that," Gordon said quietly.

Later, Gordon was back at Knapford, talking to Thomas and Rebecca. "…and so, I apologize for acting so strangely earlier today."

"It's not your fault, Gordon," said Thomas. "It was just random bad luck. At least you didn't get coal on your coaches…"

"Oh, I remember that…" scoffed Annie.

"We were not very comfortable," grunted Clarabel.

"Wait, really?" gasped Belinda, giggling. "Oh, Thomas, that's so silly!"

Rebecca giggled too. "Last I checked, coaches don't need coal!"

"No indeed," Annie and Clarabel chimed together.

"Speaking of coaches and passenger trains, my passengers were not impressed with the signal delay," grunted Gordon.

"Signal delay?" Thomas and his coaches looked up curiously.

"That's very odd," said Annie. "Why would the express be delayed?"

"I tried to have my crew find out," said Rebecca, "but the signalman said he was on a lunch break… Maybe he forgot to have someone fill in for his shift?"

"And what about the faulty points?" added Gordon. "Was there something suspicious about them too?"

"We investigated that too," called Stanley. "But the signalman said he had a late night at the pub and wasn't properly focused."

"A bump in the track, a felled tree branch cut on purpose, a signal going red all of a sudden, and faulty points…" Thomas trailed. "Hmm… I don't know about you all, but I think we all need to keep our eyes out for trouble."

"You don't think Addison Darnell is still out there exacting revenge, is she?" asked Rebecca.

"Why would she be doing that to us steam engines?" asked Stanley. "I mean… Stafford did get caught up in the crossfire once, but the other times, it was steam engines."

"Plus, she's been arrested the last time she invaded," added Thomas. "How could she do that while behind bars?"

"It is peculiar," said Gordon. "But I think we'd better warn the smaller railways too, just to be on the safe side."

The engines and coaches agreed. Word spread around the island about these small incidents, but some of them assumed it was just a coincidence. No one had been seriously hurt because of them… all apart from the tree branch. Was there really something afoot? Or was it just all in their minds…?

Author's Comments

Here's the third story to Rebecca the Yellow Engine, being adapted from Gordon Gets the Giggles. I actually find that episode to be entertaining, mostly due to the voice acting in it; for the American dub at least, Kerry Shale sounds like he's having a blast. And since the last story was pretty heavy, I figure that some light-heartedness was needed. Still, the phantom saboteur strikes again, but no one knows who it could be. Also, yes, Rebecca is a Swiftie.

Next time, it's the book's final story, but will we end up seeing Rebecca Rebuilt?