#ttte oc simon

[duskstargazer]

[2014]

Stepney finished his delivery, and made his way back to the sheds. There was only just room for him - not that he minded. He’d rather be surrounded by several enthusiastic engines than be alone, especially right now.

A pair of shunters were bickering as he backed in.

“This is absurd!” Dennis complained. “All this shunting, all these coaches…! I can hardly tell whether I’m coming or going!”

“Come off it.” Norman snapped. “You’re not ‘going’ anywhere, we both know that.”

“Would it kill you to show a bit of sympathy?”

“Would it kill you to show some responsibility? And no, doing half of what the foreman asked - and an hour after the fact - doesn’t count.”

“You aren’t known for punctuality either.” Murdoch interjected, hoping to shut the both up. Of course, it had the exact opposite effect.

“The difference is that I do the very best I can for you all. He just sits on his ass, and lets things happen around him.”

“I know how to pace myself, unlike a certain someone!”

“I’d be grateful for having so much to do.” Stepney said it quietly, but the whole shed fell silent at his remark.

“Now- don’t get me wrong,” he added, quickly, “I’m grateful for everything my railway’s done for me, and everyone they can… but…”

“I’ve heard the preservation scene isn’t all it’s made out to be…” Molly added, barely above a whisper.

“You don’t know the half.” Stepney sighed. “Fenchurch was withdrawn three years ago for repairs, and we’ve not heard anything on the schedule for him, Cromford’s been in need of an overhaul for the past seven years - I don’t even know when the last time Normandy ran was.” The terrier took a breath. “Stowe hasn’t run since the early ‘90’s, and Primrose…”

“…”

“Don’t even get me started on Primrose.”

“Don’t they have a workshop on your line?” Norman asked.

“We do, but it’s not nearly as big as the one you’ve got here. We haven’t got the resources to repair everyone - nor the miles and work to necessitate everyone being in service at once.”

A long, painful silence filled the shed. Even Murdoch looked uncomfortable with it.

“I’ll sort out the first train tomorrow, Norman.” Dennis whispered.

[duskstargazer]

[1946]

“Don’t worry, my friend.” Victor affixed Simon with the gentle, calming tone of voice he regularly used. “We'll have the damage repaired and you back at work by next Thursday.”

“…It's Friday.” Simon sighed, quietly.

“After the storm the other day, we have lots of trucks and engines in need of repair.” The small red tank engine explained. “We are working as quickly as we can to get you all back in working order.”

“Hmph. For such big engines, it doesn’t seem to take much to take you down.” Sir Handel sneered. He was nearly finished being repainted for his new railway.

“I was caught up in a rockslide!” Simon protested.

“Oh, please,” the little saddle tank continued, loftily, “if a heap of rocks came my way, I’d plow right through them without so much as a scratch. Why, back on my old railway, we had a stretch of line called ‘The Mountain Road’. That area saw plenty of loose rocks fall on the tracks, and I never had any trouble.”

Of course, Sir Handel was flat-out lying, but Simon had no way of knowing this.

“Have you ever heard the story of the Falcon’s Leap?” Emily asked, darkly.

Sir Handel balked. “Um… w-yes, of course! He was one of the engines I worked with! Stupid young engine wasn’t keeping a good look-out, and fell off the mountainside. Those were the sorts of dangers I faced, and I came out of it just fine!”

Emily and Simon exchanged doubtful expressions. Victor smiled, but it wasn’t his usual smile - it almost looked as though he knew more than he let on, but was deliberately keeping quiet.

[duskstargazer]

[2006]

“So, there we were…” Azalea eulogized. “An enormous rake of twelve-wheeled coaches running behind us.”

“They were livestock vans carrying I'd guess sheep.”

“Hundreds of them, all pushing against us!”

“There were at most fifteen.”

“We fought hard, barely maintaining our hold on the wet rails!”

“It was mildly cloudy and the rails were dry. We were probably doing maybe two over the speed restrictions.”

“We came tearing down the hill and, finally regaining control, glided into the station in spectacular fashion. We were deemed heroes by everyone that was there, had special nameplates casted, and were given residence in the National Railway Museum!”

River sighed. “She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now.”

Had he the capability, River would likely be massaging one of his temples by now.

Almond and Simon shared a look. A look that asked “how the hell do we respond to this?”