PEACE AND QUIET

Based upon the episode by Paul Larson and "Near Miss" by Christopher Awdry

Adapted by Zack Wanzer and Rachel Ravens

Emily was glad to be back on the main line again, but she wasn't so happy when she heard about what James had done.

"How could James spite poor Arthur like that?" she cried. "Didn't he fill in for him during the London trips? Unless I got him mixed up with Johnson…"

"No, it was Arthur who filled in for James, alright," said Diesel. "Johnson and the other Midis didn't even go on the trips."

"Arthur, do ye think ye can handle James' trains until further notice?" asked Harvey.

"I'll do my best," promised Arthur. "It'll be good to see the red coaches again. Oh, by the way, did you all find Dexter?"

Everyone, with the exception of Harvey, was stunned by the question.

"Oh," said Arthur, upon realization. "I'm sorry, I didn't know–"

"You've nothing to apologize for," assured Gordon, before turning cross. "That Bowler took poor Dexter to the scrapyards behind our backs!"

"I'll be glad if he never comes back after that," agreed Diesel.

"Now that you mention him," said Arthur, "I haven't heard much regarding Bowler lately."

"Nae since the 'Diesel 10 takeo'er' on the news a few years ago," added Harvey. "Whit do ye think happened tae him?"

"Well, if he's gone and vanished without a trace," said Henry, "that's good enough for me." He sighed. "I just wish I could have done something back then…"

"We can't change the past," said Arthur, "but we can change our future. We can continue to make Dexter proud, by getting our work done on time."

"You're right, Arthur," smiled Henry. "I'm glad you were brought back."

Arthur did his best with James' trains. Although James was one of the lighter engines on the main line, Arthur couldn't manage some of his heavier trains.

"Ugh…" puffed Arthur. "Phew… this is heavier than I thought…"

"Need some hulp, Arthur?" called Douglas.

"Oh, yes, thank you, Douglas," panted Arthur. The Scottish engine coupled up, and the two set off with the goods.

Arthur wasn't the only engine feeling the strain; Henry was feeling himself doing the work of two engines, and this had an effect on his sleeping patterns.

"Henry!" called Gordon.

"Ugh… five more minutes, Gordon…" A loud growl from Bear echoed through the shed. "Huh? What? Who? Where?!"

"Come on, Henry!" said Bear. "We have to go to our trains. Diesel and Harvey are getting them ready."

"Oh. Right!" said Henry. "Let's go!"

But as the engines made their way to Knapford, Henry didn't wait for the right points to switch.

"Henry!" cried Arthur. "That's my platform, not yours!"

"Oh dear… Sorry, Arthur!" Henry quickly backed up to allow Arthur to get his goods train.

"Maybe ye should go back tae sleep, Henry," suggested Harvey. "This cannae be good fer ye."

"No, Harvey," insisted Henry. "With James on punishment, we all must do our part." He went to get coupled to the Local.

"Ever stubborn," sighed Gordon as he backed onto the express.

"I don't think he'll manage like this," Bear agreed as he backed onto the Limited.

"Buffers crossed he'll make it to the end of James' punishment," said Emily as she collected her coaches.

That night, Henry was the last to return to Tidmouth sheds. There was only one spare berth, the one on the far right, so he backed into it after being spun around. He had closed his eyes before his driver stopped him just before the shed wall.

"Good night, Henry," his driver whispered as he and the stoker headed for home.

The firelighter came earlier than usual, and Henry was the first engine to be tended to. The big green engine was so deeply asleep that he hadn't felt the firelighter unwind the brake and open the regulator.

"Oh, what wouldn't I give to drive an engine for myself…" he said to himself. "I'm sure no one will notice. It'll only be for a bit."

But nothing happened.

"Ohhh…" the firelighter groaned in disappointment. "Ah well; I'd better prepare Gordon's fire." However, he'd forgotten about Henry's regulator…

"Hmm… that's nice," Gordon said to himself. "Huh?" The express engine opened an eye and glanced over when he heard a slow puffing noise. "Henry… is he off to take the Flying Kipper? Surely not…" Then Gordon blinked his eyes open to see that the doors in front of Henry were still closed.

"Henry! Look out!" he shouted, which awoke the other engines, except for Henry.

"What in blazes?!" cried Bear. "Henry, wake up!"

"How is he moving at all?" asked Harvey. "Surely his driver and stoker wouldn't…"

Before anyone could say anything else, Henry plowed through shed doors with a crash; this finally woke him up.

"Wh… what's happened?" he cried. "How am I moving?!"

"I reckon it's the firelighter!" cried Diesel. "Did anyone see where he went?"

"If we did, it's not like we can do anything—" began Arthur.

CRASH!

"Henry!" the engines exclaimed.

"Ugh…" groaned the green engine; now he was smokebox first in the turntable well. "Oh no! You're all trapped."

"No thanks to that firelighter!" grunted Bear. "Where did he get to?!"

"We'll get Barbara Regaby on the case," said Gordon.

When Sir Topham Hatt got wind of the incident, he couldn't believe what he was hearing, and believed what he saw even less.

"This is going to cause a great deal of disruption to the timetables," he groaned, facepalming.

"I'm very sorry, sir," gasped Henry.

"The accident wasn't your fault, Henry," assured the controller comfortingly. "Judy and Jerome will take you to the Steamworks. Meanwhile, I shall see that firelighter in my office when I get the chance!"

"I found him, father," said Barbara Regaby, bringing him over in cuffs. "Found trying to escape to his car."

Sir Topham Hatt gave a cold hard stare at the firelighter, who flinched nervously.

Because of the incident at Tidmouth sheds, many of the branch line engines had now found themselves having to help out on the main line; sometimes, they could be found double or even triple heading just to deliver what they could.

"I hope that turntable's fixed soon," said Thomas; he had not just Annie and Clarabel, but Martha and Julian as well. "Curse that firelighter…"

"Maybe he was that cleaner's sibling," suggested Martha. "The one who caused you to crash, that is."

"Wouldn't surprise me," said Clarabel.

"And… there," said Julie. She was now tasked to shunt in the main yards. "Got your goods train, Douglas."

"Thanks," he smiled. "We're going tae need some hulp 'ere, big time…"

"Aye," agreed Donald. "If ainlie thare wis a stronger engine oan oor railway…"

"Donnie," said Douglas, "Ah think we ken wha kin hulp!"

Donald grinned at his brother. "Guid idea. Why didn't we think o'him afore?"

Julie just blinked in confusion. "What are you two talking about…" The answer came soon enough…

At the Steamworks, a large tender engine with smoke deflectors was being looked over.

"You're in good working condition," nodded the foreman. "All that's left is for you to receive a new coat of paint of your choice."

"Thank ye," replied the engine. "Ah think Ah'll go with–" Just then, another workman came up.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said, "but there's been an accident at Tidmouth with a careless firelighter. Henry's coming over here to be mended."

"Oh no!" gasped the engine. "Ah hope Henry's okay!" He left the Steamworks as quickly as he could. "Looks lak mah repaint will hae tae wait…"

It was early evening by the time the big engine arrived at Knapford.

"Murdoch!" gasped Percy; he and Duck were double heading a passenger train with Old Slow Coach.

"Welcome back," said Duck. "I don't believe it."

"So you're this Murdoch I've been hearing about," smiled Old Slow Coach. "It's an honor to meet you."

Murdoch blinked in surprise. "Er… Ye'r both double headin' this train?"

"Yes," said Duck. "We triple headed the express with Thomas once."

"It's quite a tale," said Percy. "It all started when Gordon–"

"Ah, Murdoch," said Sir Topham Hatt, walking over to the big engine. "I'm so glad you could come to help us out."

"Of course, sir," said Murdoch. "What do ye need me tae do?"

"There's a goods train that Henry was supposed to take," said Sir Topham Hatt. "If you could do that, that would allow BoCo to take the express."

"Sure, sir," said Murdoch, and he went off to go find it.

The big engine managed to locate a rather long goods train, and Julie arranging it.

"Murdoch?!" gasped Julie. "Welcome back! Oh, we missed you."

"Aye, good tae see ye again, Julie," greeted Murdoch.

"Donald and Douglas said they knew who to invite over to help us," said Julie. "They must have meant you!"

"Aye, we used tae work t'gither in Scotland," said Murdoch. "Wis that supposed tae be Henry's train?"

"Yes," said Julie. "You're welcome to take it for him. We need all the help we can get. It's so hard without the main line engines and shunters here…"

Murdoch buffered up to the train. It was nice to be back on Sodor, but sometimes, the engines could get a bit too chatty…

As Murdoch headed down the main line, there was still the bustle of some of the evening trains. Other engines were pleased to see him again and Fred and Salty (the dockyard diesel had been working as a banker at Wellsworth) welcomed him with open buffers.

"It's nae quite so bad at night," Murdoch said to himself. "Sodor looks like it's been thriving wi' some new faces. So long as they don't keep me awake wi' chatting…"

When Murdoch returned home, as Tidmouth sheds were still blocked, he managed to find another place to sleep.

"Knapford sheds…" he said to himself. "Guess it's better than nothing. Wonder why no one sleeps here…"

"It needs a few repairs," commented his driver. "We'll have to report to Sir Topham Hatt."

"Ah well," Murdoch said quietly. "Ah'll see ye tomorrow. Night, driver and fireman."

The following morning, the turntable was finally fixed, and the engines could now get in and out of the sheds once more.

"That's better," said Emily. "Glad to finally be out… oh! Welcome, newcomer. I'm Emily."

"And Ah'm Harvey," said the crane engine. "Nice tae meet ye."

"Oh, er… hello?" Murdoch said nervously.

"Murdoch's back?!" cried Bear. "Oh, I didn't know you were coming!"

"This is great," said Gordon. "It's so good to see you."

"Welcome back," smiled Arthur.

"Sounds like the gang's getting back together," said Diesel. "Who's coming next, I wonder?"

"One at a time, please!" cried Murdoch. "Ye'r all gettin' too chatty."

The engines jumped, surprised at Murdoch's outburst.

"Hey, calm down, Murdoch," said Bear. "We were just being friendly."

"Ah juist remembered," said Murdoch. "Ah hae tae take mah next train." He rushed off to get it.

"What's gotten into him?" asked Emily.

"He didn't act this way when we first came here," remarked Arthur.

"Well… Donald and Douglas have known him longer than we have," said Diesel. "Maybe they know something."

As Murdoch puffed down the line, he tried hard to focus on his work.

"Hello, Murdoch!" whistled Thomas and Percy; both of them were at Elsbridge.

"How have you been?" asked Annie.

"We're glad to have you back!" added Clarabel.

But Murdoch tried to block it out by whistling louder than the two tank engines.

"What's up with Murdoch?" asked Percy. "We only whistled hello."

"I don't know, Percy," said Thomas. "A bad day, maybe?"

Edward was at Wellsworth with a passenger train when he saw Murdoch coming into view.

"Good day, Murdoch," called the old engine; unlike the tank engines, Edward didn't whistle. Murdoch gave a smile of acknowledgement before carrying on his way.

"He probably won't need any help up the hill," Edward noted. "The trucks haven't given him any trouble thus far."

And indeed they didn't. Murdoch pulled the whole goods train over Gordon's hill with absolute ease. "This is the life," he hummed to himself. "Just me, mah crew and a goods train."

"He's strong, he is," the trucks muttered amongst themselves. "Best not to upset him. Who knows what he'll do to us?"

Murdoch became even happier when they started approaching the countryside. Green fields were scattered with blooming flowers in all colors of the rainbow, and blossoms were covering several trees.

"Ah could get used tae livin' here," he said. "So long as the engines dinnae bombard me with questions… huh?!"

Murdoch's driver slowed him down as the big engine got a closer look as to what was blocking the line in front of him. There, scattered across the main line, was a whole flock of sheep, "baa"-ing noisily.

"Where did they all come from?" gasped Murdoch.

"They must've broken through that fence," said the driver. "We'll see if we can herd them away to safety."

But that proved to be easier said than done; the driver, fireman and guard tried to move the sheep this way and that, but no matter what they did, the sheep stayed put.

"It's no use," said the fireman. "Sorry, Murdoch, but we'd better phone for help."

"Ohhh…" moaned Murdoch. "These sheep are worse than the chatterbox engines!"

"Baa!"

It wasn't just Murdoch who was being held up; Douglas was coming up with a train from the opposite direction.

"Losh sakes, Murdoch!" he cried. "Urr ye a'richt?"

"No," groaned Murdoch. "It's these rotten sheep spoiling mah peace and quiet!"

"Ah ken," soothed Douglas. "It kin be frustrating fur ye. Juist tak' a few deep breaths. Hulp wull come."

Murdoch obeyed, and let off steam. "Animals… they're so unpredictable and noisy… Ah dinnae like it."

"'N' engines ur noisy tae," said Douglas. "That's juist how we ur."

"Ah know…" sighed Murdoch. "Ah juist wish everyone dinnae hae tae talk all at once."

"So that's what the issue is," Toad piped up from behind. "Everyone was bombarding you with words."

"Donnie 'n' Ah wull hulp explain th' situation," smiled Douglas. "That is… if yi'll waant us tae, Murdoch."

"Aye, that sounds good," said Murdoch. "Thank ye, Douglas, and tae Donald as well."

Just then, there was the sound of a bell ringing, followed by the arrival of…

"Toby and Henrietta?!" exclaimed Murdoch. "Whit brings ye all the way up here?"

"I heard that an expert was needed to help lead the sheep away," the tram engine said.

"When it comes to livestock, don't question my Toby," smiled Henrietta. Farmer Collett and his two sheepdogs, who had come on board Henrietta, got to work in leading the sheep away from the line.

"Thank goodness," smiled Murdoch once they'd finished. "And thank ye, everyone. See ye all later." And he set off once more to finish his journey.

That evening, Murdoch returned to Tidmouth sheds. The engines fell silent upon his arrival, not wanting to upset him. To their surprise, he spoke up first.

"Ah'm sorry if Ah came across as rude this morning," he said. "Wi' everyone talking tae me all at once, Ah… Ah got overwhelmed."

"Donald and Douglas told us about that," said Gordon. "We're sorry for talking all at once."

"We were just happy that you were back," added Bear. "And Henry would be too, I'm sure. You did fill in for him and me during the London trips."

"And Harvey and I are honored to have you here," said Emily. "The others spoke highly of you and Arthur."

"Ye can join us in the sheds if ye want," said Harvey.

"Er… one problem, everyone," said Bear. "When Henry gets back, there's eight of us and seven berths."

"Well… Ah did find some sheds at Knapford Ah rested in," said Murdoch. "They weren't in the best condition, though."

"Sounds like they could be useful," said Arthur. "Except… they will need to be mended first."

"Actually, it's not as bad as you think, Arthur," said Diesel. "Harvey and I could share a berth until those sheds are rebuilt. Then we'll work something else out."

"Ah guess that could work," smiled Harvey. "Say, Murdoch… Ah dinnae suppose ye hae some stories tae tell us about yer life back in Scotland?"

"Aye," said Murdoch. "There is a story regarding me youngest sister, Evening Star…" The engines all sat in their berths quietly as Murdoch began to tell his tale. Unlike the sheep, the engines knew how to be respectful, and Murdoch was glad that they were starting to really understand each other.

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Comments

Following the previous story, and much like Arthur, Murdoch has also joined the North Western Railway family! This has never been stated until now, but Murdoch is another character in the SeventyVerse that is autistic. Similarly to Duck and Annabelle in previous stories, autistic traits in Murdoch can be made clear once you recognize them; he's one of the biggest engines on the main line, yet he's also one of the North Western Railway's most gentle souls. It's a shame he barely had much to work with after Series 7 and disappeared once the show switched to full CGI. I do think that a lot can be done with Murdoch if given the right touch. His sole leading role, Peace and Quiet, is an excellent showcase of the potential that's just bursting to come out, and another personal favorite of mine from that season. Rachel and I didn't really plan on adapting elements of the annual story Near Miss at first, but it made sense to further emphasize just how hectic things were on the main line, what with James being temporarily transferred to the Norramby branch line. Note that this isn't the last time in this four-part saga that an episode is mashed up with another outside story...

Upcoming rewrites:

- Something Fishy

- Oliversaurus

- Elizabeth the Vintage Lorry

- Kelly's Windy Day

- The Monster of the Lake (Bad Day at Castle Loch)