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Chapter Text

A Life well lived

June 1956

The warmth of the sun washed over Sir Topham Derek Hatt as he sat contentedly on his front porch. The aching chill in his bones slowly soothed as he took in the wonderful morning. Birds sang from the trees, children laughed in the nearby park, and a street over one of the Wellsworth trams rang out a good morning from their bell. From inside the house he could smell the breakfast Jane was cooking, the smell of bacon, sausage, and eggs wafting in under his nose. In the distance he heard Edward start off with his morning train with a cheery whistle and determined puffs. Yes all in all, a most perfect morning. 

He leaned back in his chair as Jane came out the door with two plates and set them on the table between them. He was enjoying his toast when he noticed the tear running down his wife's face. He resolutely set his breakfast down and reached over, wiping the tear away.

"Come now," he said softly, "its too lovely a morning and you too beautiful a Lady to be wasting tears on old me."

He smiled as Jane huffed a little laugh.

"Im sorry dear but I can't get the doctor's news off my mind."

He sat up and grab her hands in his, "My dear, you are worrying for nothing."

"But Doctor Stephen thinks..."

"Exactly my dear, he thinks, not knows. Stephen may be one of the best doctors around, but he is just a man, not God. He does not decide how much time I have left, he can only guess. We may have many more mornings together, my dear."

Jane looked down at her lap, "And if he's right?"

Derek gently reached out and lifted her chin so their eyes met. "Then I would have your last memories of me be happy ones, not ones of grief. Do not mourn me yet My Dear, there will be plenty of time for that when I'm gone."

She sighed as he pulled back, " Very well Derek, I'll do my best to put it out of my mind."

"Thank you my dear, " he then smirked and said," besides it won't be long before you find a younger man and forget all about old me."

She smacked his arm with an angry huff, causing him to chuckle. "You're forgetting I'm older than Edward, dear. No young man would be interested in me."

"And yet you're as beautiful as the day I married you." he said.

She snorted at this, but leaned in when he pulled her close for a gentle kiss.

When the kiss ended, neither pulled back, instead taking comfort in each others closeness.

"Younger they may be, but none of them could ever measure up to my husband," she said firmly.

"Your cooking would soon fix that my dear," he chuckled.

He expected her to laugh but instead she gave him a searching look. "Are you truly ok Derek? This news would be a weight to anyone, but you seem almost unbothered by it."

He was quiet for a moment then sighed, " I can't say I was surprised by this my dear…"

She laid her hand on top of his as he continued. 

"While I've never been in the best shape, it has been harder to catch my breath the last few years. The last few months it became even worse with aches and pains to match. I'm old my dear. I was an established engineer before Edward was even built."

He was quiet for a moment, taking her hand between his. " Doctor Stephen merely confirmed what I already knew.  That I've lived a long full life and its finally catching up with me."

They sat there quietly for a long moment, letting the warm of the morning sun and each others presence sooth the ache.

The sound of a familiar but unexpected whistle, echoing from Edward's yard interrupted them. Derek turned and frowned towards the station as Edward's whistle rang out in happy reply.

"I had no idea Thomas was coming to Wellsworth." He said bemusedly, "Charles would normally have told me..."

Jane gave him a knowing smile, "Would you like to go see him after breakfast, dear?"

He chuckled," You know me all too well."

The familiar whistle sounded again, closer this time.

Derek raised an eyebrow, "If I didn't know better I'd say he was on the tram line."

A bell rang out as one of the trams started up the roadway into the city.

Derek rose from his chair. "The next tram isn't due for a while yet."

Jane joined him as the tram rounded the corner. Rather than its normal coaches, it pulled two North Western coaches. The pairs normal engine was being towed behind them like a strange guard's van. 

"Morning Jupiter, Annie, Clarabel." Derek said as hed opened the gate, striding towards the engine at the back.

"Morning Sir!" They chorused back. 

"Thomas, I see you've decided to try your hand at tram work?"

"I can't let Toby have all the fun," Thomas replied cheekily.

Derek chuckled, "Indeed not. Is there a reason you came to visit?"

Thomas smile faded. "I heard the news, Sir. There's something I need to show you."

"Oh?" 

The tank engine nodded, "I wanted to wait a little longer just to be safe but..."

"Of course." Sir Topham Hatt smiled. "May I bring Jane, or is it a secret?"

"I would never ask you to keep secrets from her, sir."

Derek turned, only to find Jane had already grabbed her bag and was climbing into Annie. "Come along dear, you're taking me to the cafe in  Elsbridge, and I want to beat the rush."

"Of course, my dear."

He patted Thomas's buffer fondly and walked to join his wife.

Chapter Text

A Life Well Lived

Ch.2 Living

The Elsbridge Cafe had been excellent as always. Jane had been concerned they would arrive during the lunchtime rush, but once Thomas had been uncoupled from the tram in the Wellsworth Yard, they had made good time. Thomas had quickly proven why his express service from Tidmouth was known to locals as the Ffarquhar Flash. He had even overtaken James's local commuter, much to the red engine's ire.  

Derek had deeply enjoyed himself, as Controller it had been rare that he had been able to sit down and have a meal with his crews. Eating a meal with his wife and Thomas's crew had been a treat. Robert and Jonathan had been with the railway as long as Thomas had been, so they were old friends. The tank engine himself had been delighted with the warm bread roll the Derek had snuck out for him, quickly sharing it with Annie and Clarabel.

"You're spoiling him," Jane had dryly observed.

"That," Derek said with a smirk, "is Charle's problem now."

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Leaving Elsbridge, they had made good time up towards Ffarquhar, before stopping seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Jonathon had hopped down, and flipped a switch that was almost invisible in the undergrowth along the line. Thomas pulled forward onto old tracks hidden by weeds and Jonathon set the points back before climbing back aboard.

Thomas rolled carefully along old abandoned metals, the foliage around them almost brushing the windows of the coaches. He moved slowly but confidently through the woods.

Eventually they reached a clearing and Thomas rolled to a stop. Robert opened the door and Derek slowly climbed out. They were at an abandoned mine, old rails  lburrowed through the grass, forgotten machinery lay rusting under the afternoon sun, and before them an old engine shed lay closed.

Derek walked carefully up alongside Thomas, whose gaze was locked on the doors to the shed. Behind him he heard Jane follow.

"I'm sorry." Thomas said suddenly.

"Whatever for?" Derek asked in confusion.

Thomas refused to meet his eyes, "I wanted to tell you...but I couldn't risk them."

Derek glanced at the shed, then back at the number one. He still wouldn't meet his eyes.

 Derek slowly walked forward and pulled the doors. Despite their age, they opened easily, if creakily. It took a second for his eyes to adjust then...

"Derek!" Jane cried as his knees gave out from under him. She reached for him, but he was already scrambling up and into the shed.

 His hand met a face, and large eyes blinked slowly open. The small engine blinked owlishly, "Tad? What are you doing here?"

"Elsbridge." He cried with relief, tears running down his face. "I thought you'd been scrapped."

Jane stepped forward, a hand over her mouth and tears brimming at the sight of the coffee pot.

Elsbridge blinked, clearly not fully awake yet. "No. Tom saved us."

"Us? But..." Derek trailed off as he noticed she wasn't alone in the shed. Three other small engines were parked behind her. A tender engine sat beside them, but his eyes were only for the waking coffee pots.

"Tad? Mam?" Toryreck asked sleepily.

In the back Callan and Glynn struggled awake.

"You're here." Derek breathed, "you're all here!" He lunged forward, hugging Elsbridge tightly.

Large hot tears splashed onto his suit, but he ignored them in favor of the feeling of his oldest against his chest, alive .

"I'm glad to see you too, Tad."

 Jane was in a similar position with Tory, happily ignoring the tears falling into her hair.

Derek finally pulled back, but kept his hand on her cheek. "I'm so so sorry. I..."

"It's okay." Elsbridge interrupted, "We know.  We never thought you would order us scrapped. Tom told us what actually happened as soon as he knew."

"I should have known better than to leave you without protection."

Torywreck shook their head. "You had no idea they'd go behind your back like that." They smiled, "We never blamed you Tad. They grabbed us from our shed in the middle of the night and took us to the yard in Barrow. When we arrived, Tom was already waiting. The engine sent to get us had managed to warn him that morning. We were swapped out for trucks of parts from the works so the scrapyard would assume we had been taken apart at the works. We were in this shed by morning, and have been here ever since." 

To Derek's confusion, Jane looked angry rather than relieved at this explanation. She turned to face Thomas.

"You've let us think they were scrapped this whole time, knowing they were alive?" She asked, her voice shaking with anger.

"Yes," Thomas confirmed firmly but solemnly.

Chapter Text

Ch.3 Caomhnóir

"Why?" Derek asked, unable to keep the hurt from his voice.

"To keep them safe."

Jane went to interrupt, but Thomas pressed on, "Please let me explain. You have every right to be mad at me, but it was never out of malice."

"Go on." Jane's tone was flat.

Thomas went to speak then hesitated, turning to Derek, "You probably know these are not the only engines I've hid from scrap."

Derek nodded slowly. "You couldn't have stolen all of the engines that have disappeared on the mainland, or even most... But Caomhnóir means Guardian. You watch over them."

Thomas nodded. "Shortly after I arrived on the island, the old engines came to me for help hiding an engine that management wanted to scrap."

"Olivia." Derek remembered, "They could never figure out how she disappeared during the war," He paused. "That was you?"

The tank engine smirked, "They were so focused on watching the older engines, I was able to move her without anyone noticing. I hid her in an old branch line shed until it was safe, then put her where she would be found in the old Wellsworth yard. After that it just... kept happening. I knew all the abandoned lines from working with the way crews, and I was light enough to run on them. When I got my branchline I was suddenly out of sight from the rest of the railway. The others would sneak engines in from the mainland and I would hide them."

He paused, collecting his thoughts, "I became Caomhnóir sometime in the late 20s. I thought I'd dreamed seeing the Lady until the other engines began calling me that in private. Throughout it all, these four covered for me. " he smiled at the small engines.

"Then suddenly, the other railway tried to have them scrapped." He grimaced, "I was a right prat to Toby at first, because suddenly my four oldest friends were in hiding from scrap, and I was having to hide them from the engine that took their job. All while saving others on my own."

"I had wondered about that," Topham admitted. "You were unusually cold towards Toby when he arrived, then suddenly you acted like old friends."

"He covered for me one night when I almost got caught.," Thomas admitted. "He had no idea what I'd been doing, but still covered for me without hesitation. I was only going to tell him about the coffepots being scrapped but...I broke. I confessed everything. I had been able to bear it with them helping, but alone? It was just too much."

Thomas snorted, "Thankfully, Toby just called me an idiot for trying to do it alone and took up their part. A few days later, when I had gotten my head back right I almost told you."

"Why didn't you?" Jane asked, "We would have helped you." 

"Because you were being watched,"Thomas said, "British Rails was, and is, keeping a close eye on the North Western. Even then they suspected engines were being hidden on Sodor. If they caught you hiding engines..."

"They could have replaced me." Derek said in realization. He remembered the stress those first few years had brought as his railway fought for control.

"You were the only one holding them at bay. It was too much to risk. Even if you managed to explain the coffeepots, it would be the excuse they needed to search the island for others. I couldn't risk you being replaced."

He turned to Jane, "I then considered telling you, but it wouldn't have been fair to ask to you to keep that from him."

Jane nodded reluctantly, "I would have told him. I could never have hid that from him."

"I hated it," Thomas admitted, "but when I weighed the safety of the railway and the hidden engines..."

"My feelings were always going to lose." Derek interrupted grimly.

"Yeah." Thomas sighed, "I kept looking for a way to tell you, but things kept getting worse. The other railway grew stronger every year. When you announced your retirement I was ecstatic, finally it would be safe to tell you."

"But I stayed around to help Charles." 

"It was the right choice," Thomas assured him. "It made the transition far smoother and gave them far less chance to butt in. What was a few more months after all these years?...Then they announced the Modernization Plan."

Thomas seemed to struggle to speak, "I've been saving engines for years, decades even, but only ever classes. Small groups of non-standards, and even then I could only save so many. But now..."

"It's all of you," Jane said quietly.

"I didn't tell you in the last year because I couldn't . Suddenly everyone needs saving, and it's not enough ." He looked lost, completely overwhelmed by the magnitude of the threat. "I don't even know if anything I do matters. If they win...it'll all be for naught."

Derek laid a hand on Thomas's buffer, "I don't like that you kept this from me... But I do understand why. Nonetheless, you can't manage this alone anymore. We're telling Charles." He held up a hand to stop the engine's protests. "Not where they are, but what you're doing. This is too big to do on your own now, but you don't have to. We have your back, as long as you let us. Your job will be far easier if he knows to watch your back."

Thomas stared for a long moment. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

 "Ok."

Chapter Text

A Life Well Lived

September 1956

The cool September air was a welcome feeling on Topham's skin as he leaned against Edward. He had walked over to speak with his old friend while waiting for his train. Edward was telling him about some of the antics the others had gotten into since he retired, but he just couldn't seem to focus. He was so tired... Oh .

"Edward?" He interrupted.

"Yes sir?"

"Could you call Lady Jane over here?"

As Edward whistled for her, Topham lowered himself on to a crate that had been left in front of the engine.

"Sir, are you alright?" Edward asked with worry.

"I'm sorry Edward, but I don't think I'll be getting back up from here."

Edward looked confused for a moment before he understood. "Sir..."

Edward sounded smaller than he had in years.

"It's quite alright, Edward," Topham reassured him, placing a hand on the nearest buffer. "I've known this was coming."

His wife rounded the corner of Edward only to stop cold, "Oh...Derek..." She whispered.

"I'm afraid we'll be late to the picnic my dear." 

 "You'll make it up to me, you always do," she said, brushing away tears.

"I'll be waiting for you with the basket ready my dear."

"You had better be." she said with a broken laugh.

Topham chuckled weakly only for it to break into a coughing fit. When it stopped he turned back to Edward.

"If I may ask one last thing of you, Edward?"

"Anything Sir."

"I've been advising Charles as best I could, but he will need someone else he can trust to advise him as controller now. Will you help him for me?"

"Always. I promise Sir, I won't let you down." Edward said, tears finally hitting his footplate.

Topham smiled, "You never have old friend."

The station porters ran up with a stretcher. "Don't worry Sir, well have you to the hospital in no time."

"Its too late for that I'm afraid."

"Sir?"

"Its alright boys, I've got him from here." A man with white peppered hair and white coat strode up.

"Doctor Stephens. I knew I should have had an apple this morning." His laugh quickly turned into a shaking cough.

The Doctor pulled out his briefcase. When he laid his stethoscope against Topham's chest he sighed deeply.

"You had to be right one last time, Derek."

He looked up towards Jane, "I'm sorry Jane, but it would be best just to take him home.  He'll be more comfortable there, and theres nothing I could do at the hospital that I cant do there."

Derek reached up and grabbed Jane's hand. "Thank you, Doctor."

Dr. Stephen closed his brief case, "I only wish I could do more old friend."

He helped the porters lay Derek on the stretcher, and the group began walking towards a tram waiting to take Derek home.

Edward watched the tram until it was long out of sight, tears coating his running board.

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Sir Topham Derek Hatt passed away at his home in Wellsworth on September 5th, 1956, surrounded by his family. Moments later, whistles and horns began sounding out across the Island. One last farewell, to the Fat Controller, and a life well lived.