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Gordon was not an affable engine. Not at all. Everyone (except for Gordon himself, apparently) knew this. He was pompous, to say the least, and convinced that everyone else was beneath him just because he was the one who pulled the express. Which was a tough job, sure, but you'd think he was pulling the express up Mount Everest every day with the way he talked about it.
His fellow engines at Tidmouth Sheds were not spared from this kind of attitude either.
'Stay out of my way, Little Thomas! You're so small I might not see you until it's too late.'
'You might think you're 'splendid', James, but you'll never be as splendid as the engine who pulls the express!'
'Oh, Edward, you're so slow and… unreliable. It's only a matter of time before you're put on display.'
Unfortunately, that was just the kind of attitude you had to deal with when he was around. There was more to him than that, of course. He really did have a good heart - or whatever engines have for a 'heart' - underneath all of that. But oh boy, was that attitude a lot to deal with.
And Henry could've sworn that, other than maybe Thomas, he was the one to earn Gordon's nasty comments the most.
'Big strong Henry? PAH! No one on the island is as strong as me!'
'Of course. Only YOU could be so scared of those so-called 'Flatbeds of Fear' that you come to a halt on a main line!'
'Once an engine attached to a train, was scared of a few drops of rain!'
Henry wasn't sure what on Earth Gordon's problem was. Yes, he once stopped inside a tunnel for silly reasons and grew to become easily-spooked after so many frights and accidents, but he was just as capable as that express engine.
Though, Gordon's words had a habit of really getting to him…
He knew he was more sensitive to nasty comments than the others. Only a LITTLE, mind you. He still had a thick coat, necessary when you lived with the cattiest engines on Sodor, and often participated in the teasing himself. But Gordon's words definitely hurt him more than it hurt the others. He'd keep pushing on, remaining confident in his abilities to be really useful and get the job down. The others were willing to stand up for him when Gordon's remarks got particularly mean, Thomas and Emily especially.
But those words could still get to an engine.
'Another goods train, Henry? Sodor should be thankful that there's another big engine around to do the lowly jobs.'
That was the last thing Gordon had said to him before they both set off on their respective jobs for the day. Gordon's job, unsurprisingly, was to pull the express, with an extra stop at Brendam Docks to pick up some passengers from a ship. Typical stuff. Henry's job wasn't out of the ordinary either. It was a trip to the Docks as well, to pick up some cargo. A basic goods train run, which was fortunately to be done with flatbeds instead of trucks. Even though Henry was gentle enough with trucks to keep them in line, he still didn't like working with them.
Gordon's words were still hanging over his funnel when he pulled into the Docks, and not just because he referred to the very-much-important job of pulling goods trains - as in, the main way of delivering ANYTHING on this island - as 'lowly'. It was the obvious and very ugly implication that Henry was just as 'lowly' as the jobs he was doing.
He blew out some steam at the mere thought. So what if he was mostly pulling goods? He could pull passengers just fine. Sure, one time he backed into a coach a little too hard and broke all the things inside it, but that was just one time! He pulled the dang express himself a few times and was great at it!
But if Gordon was so insistent about it, then maybe…?
Henry tried to ignore that thought, but it wasn't easy. Gordon had a way of really getting to him, really making him doubt himself. More than a few times, Gordon had called Henry out for being 'too' sensitive, especially compared to how he used to be. Thinking about it and letting it get to him just proved that point, didn't it?
His already poor mood was dampened further when he pulled up by the boat and realised he had to wait for Cranky to unload everything onto him. Nothing he couldn't handle, as long as Cranky didn't take too long, but not exactly something you want to deal with when you're already unhappy.
He liked the docks, at least, though he much preferred them at night when he came to pull the Flying Kipper. The docks were a lot quieter then. A lot like his beloved forest.
'Now what interest would a proper engine have with the forest?'
Gordon's words weren't leaving him alone today. Henry knew he should've just ignored them and paid them no mind, but Gordon was - unfortunately - a very difficult engine to ignore. And waiting around for Cranky to load him up gave him plenty of time to think. Sometimes he wondered if Gordon even liked any of them. That big express engine certainly had his nicer moments, but they were rare.
Henry could easily recall the time when Gordon sacrificed a chance at beating his record just to go back and help him… after hoarding the special Welsh coal that Henry had needed back then to run right. Sure, Gordon hadn't meant to receive his 'special coal', but he didn't exactly give it back. Not until after Henry had broken down into a wheezy mess. An accommodation that he needed somewhat desperately at the time had been taken away from him, all because a certain someone wanted to beat his record.
Yes, Gordon realised what he had done and had swiftly rectified his mistake all on his own accord, and Henry - even after losing his dependence on his 'special coal' - would never forget it. But still.
Did Gordon even really like him?
Or did he-?
Henry was ripped from his thoughts and his entire body jolted with surprise when a loud horn - not a whistle - blared from right next to him. A diesel horn. Not out of the ordinary, with Salty working at the docks, but that didn't sound like Salty's horn. It sounded more like…
Oh no.
'No need to be so jumpy, Henry! You almost hopped off the tracks with that one.'
The diesel on the track next to Henry was not the friendly seadog who everyone knew and loved. It was the Diesel. The first one ever on the island and easily the least nice of them all. Diesel seemed very proud of himself for making Henry jump like that. He laughed a rather obnoxious laugh at his own (frankly not very funny) joke.
Henry's already poor mood just got a whole lot worse. No one liked dealing with Diesel. Even the other diesels weren't the most keen.
'Diesel? What are you doing here?' Henry asked, not even trying to hide his apprehension.
'Salty's at the diesel works,' Diesel replied, grinning. 'Says he had a large crate fall on him.'
Both engines immediately glanced up at a certain crane.
'I keep telling you,' Cranky said. 'It wasn't my fault that the chains were flimsy!'
'So!' Diesel said. 'I was sent here to help out while Salty gets repaired. We might actually get the work done around here for once.'
He zipped away to go shunt some trucks and flatbeds for the other engines who were coming by the docks. Henry could've sworn he saw a particularly malicious grin on that face before he left. The sight of that scheming engine only made him feel worse. So much worse. He didn't think he'd find himself wishing that Gordon was there and insulting him indeed.
'I'm not happy about him being here either,' Cranky said. 'Three times now already, he's told me that I'm 'old' and 'creaky' and 'probably going to be replaced by a younger crane'. I know you engines don't have a lot of hobbies, but surely there's gotta be better things to do than insult everyone you meet.'
Of course, Cranky wasn't exactly a super nice guy either, but he was like Edward when compared to Diesel. Henry's pistons shuddered, just a little. This day was bad enough. Now he had to deal with Diesel on top of that?
'It won't be that bad,' He told himself quietly. 'I'm sure he'll be too busy to bother me.'
Even as he said it, though, he had a feeling that Diesel would not be too busy. In fact, he was certain that just saying those words out loud were enough to guarantee that his time waiting to be loaded would be absolutely miserable. Lo and behold, Diesel blew his horn as loudly as possible a second time. Henry jumped again. Hard enough to make his flatbeds rattle.
'Would you stop that?!' He demanded.
'If you want me to stop scaring you like that,' Diesel said. 'Then maybe you should try being less of a scaredy-engine. It's not my fault if my horn makes you jump.'
'It is your fault if you keep blaring it behind me without a warning!'
'Engines will blow their horns and whistles behind you all the time. An engine who trembles as much as you do couldn't possibly be really useful-'
'Alright, that's enough!' Cranky said. 'Don't you have work to do? Or are you just that bored?'
Diesel huffed at him - impressively so for someone who wasn't a steamie - and left to continue his actual work. Henry realised, much to his dismay, that Cranky was only half done with unloading the boat. This was going to be terrible. Especially when he had to deal with not just Gordon's words hanging over him, but Diesel's as well.
An engine who trembles as much as you do… He wasn't that cowardly. He was certain. Yes, several years' worth of accidents and spooks left him a lot more fearful than he used to be and now he was the most easily-frightened engine at Tidmouth Sheds. But that didn't mean he wasn't useful because of it. He could push past those fears and be just as brave as he was years ago, only in a different way.
Right?
He let off some steam. Gordon was the reason he couldn't stop thinking like this. Why Diesel's words were getting to him so much. If Gordon hadn't always said such things about him…
'You're so sensitive, Henry,' Diesel said. 'Even for a steamie.'
Ignoring Diesel was a tall order, but Henry tried his absolute best.
'Between you and me, when the Fat Controller finally realises how much better this railway would be if he replaced you all with us revolutionary diesels-'
Henry butted in with a particularly frustrated. 'Nobody asked.'
Diesel just ignored him. 'I have a feeling that you would be the first to get scrapped.'
Scrap. That simple word was enough to make any engine - steamie, diesel, or even electric - shudder until their pistons popped. It was something that silently loomed over all of them. The Island of Sodor may have been a haven, where engines were never scrapped unless there was no other option, but the fear was embedded into every single one of them anyway.
That dirty diesel knew exactly how to get under an engine's coat.
Henry glared at him. 'I would never get scrapped.'
'Is that so? If you ask me-'
'Which no one did,' Cranky piped up, though he was swiftly ignored.
'It's a wonder you haven't been scrapped already. Your parts might work alright - for a steamie - but you don't.'
Henry really tried to ignore him now. Everyone knew that this was just one of Diesel's favourite tactics - make you think that you were in line to be scrapped. Even the Pride of the Line himself, Gordon, fell victim to the mind games and became convinced that his squeak and rattle were plenty reason enough that his time was over.
'Not only did you waste so much money with that 'special coal' problem you had a few years ago…'
Sweet sizzling cinders, Henry could not stand the guy. Not because he was a diesel, of course, but because he was just so… horrible. Not irredeemable, for sure, but close to it. Henry could hardly believe there was once a time that he liked Diesel, and seriously believed that Duck was the one to say those awful things about him and his friends. Thinking about his behaviour from way back when made him feel so ashamed.
'There was also that whole deal with the tunnel. Once an engine attached to a train, as they say!'
Henry tried as hard as he possibly could to ignore those words. But he couldn't. What if Diesel was right? The fact that this thought crossed his mind for even a moment was proof enough that Diesel was winning. And that was proof enough that Gordon was right.
'You've become such a scaredy-engine that you'll be the first one on the chopping block for sure!' Diesel declared, punctuating it with another obnoxious laugh.
'No I-' Henry tried to say, but Diesel interrupted him.
'You can tell me how brave you think you are, but it won't change the fact that not too long ago, you raced down the tracks backwards, stopping your passengers from getting where they wanted to and causing all sorts of confusion and delay… all because you were scared of catching chicken pox!'
Henry lost all of his words. His whole face turned a bright red. Oh dear engineer, the chicken pox incident. It was so humiliating that even the Tidmouth Shed engines didn't bring it up unless Henry was being especially haughty that day. He had been scared of chicken pox. To the point of almost causing an accident or two. Over a disease he couldn't even catch.
Maybe Diesel was right. Maybe Gordon was right. No wonder Gordon made so many nasty remarks at his expense. How could he be really useful if he made such silly mistakes like that?
Diesel grinned as he declared, 'I can't believe an engine like you is still working on the railway!'
Gordon was right.
Gordon was right.
Gordon was right.
Not too far away, however, was the big blue steamie himself. Further along Diesel's track. Normally, he'd be pulling the express through the docks to pick up passengers from the ship. Right now, however, a wheel on one of his coaches had gone rather wobbly, and they had to make a stop in order to fix it. You can never be too careful when dealing with passengers, after all.
Gordon, as you won't be surprised to hear, wasn't very happy about this. In the slightest. He huffed something about 'the indignity' of having to stop at the place that reeked of fish as workers came to check up on the wheel. He was an express engine! He was supposed to be racing across Sodor at speeds unmatched by any other engine on the island. Not dinking around the docks waiting for a repair to be finished.
But perhaps it was a good thing he had been stopped in such a place. It gave him a very good view of Henry, stationary by the ship and being loaded up. In no time at all, he realised that something was very wrong indeed. Henry looked very upset, his face scrunching up and turning red. At first, Gordon couldn't help rolling his eyes. Now what had that big green softie all upset? But then he saw Diesel. Heard Diesel.
'I can't believe an engine like you is still working on the railway!'
And just like that, Gordon's boiler began to bubble.
He let off enough steam to make the workmen cry out in fright.
His face turned a bold shade of red.
'Uncouple me from my coaches at once,' He boomed to the workmen.
'But why-?' One of them tried to ask.
'Uncouple me!'
The workmen had no idea why Gordon was making such a suggestion, especially when he still had an express to pull, but he sounded quite sure of himself. With a shrug, one of the workmen uncoupled him. Imagine everyone's surprise when Gordon began to move. Fast.
Henry was completely unaware of the approaching express engine. All he could do was sit there and hope Cranky would be done soon. Diesel's obnoxious laugh was going from annoying to intolerable in seconds. And the worst part was that Henry couldn't come up with a good response. Diesel had done what he wanted and succeeded with flying colours.
Gordon was right. Gordon knew it. Gordon-
'EXPRESS COMING THROUGH!'
-was thundering down the line at tremendous speeds. And Diesel was so distracted with insulting Henry that he didn't notice he was still on Gordon's line. Not until it was far too late.
'AAAHHHHH!'
He tried to back away in time. But it was no use. By the time his driver realised what was going on and applied the brakes, Gordon bashed into Diesel head-on with so much speed and force that Diesel was sent flying backwards along the track. The poor diesel yelled out in terror as he tried to stop himself, but he couldn't. A head-on collision from a(n almost) full-speed Gordon had more force than one could ever imagine.
Diesel went down the line so fast, in fact, that he ended up derailing around the bend. He managed to stay upright as he left the tracks, but only just.
'What was that for?!' He demanded, as if the answer wasn't obvious.
Henry watched the whole thing with his mouth agape. It had all happened so fast that he barely knew what had happened. One second, Gordon was racing down the track. The next, Diesel was on the other side of the docks.
'If I ever hear words like that come out of you ever again,' Gordon said, his voice even bigger and bolder than usual. 'I'll bash you so hard that the Fat Controller will have no choice but to send you to the scrapyard!'
The entire dock seemed to go quiet for a moment. Even Cranky stood perfectly still. Then, it continued as normal. As if nothing had happened. Except for Diesel being derailed, of course. Gordon backed up to get back to his express coaches, but he stopped for a moment. Right where Henry had the perfect view of his face. That rather angry looking face.
Henry, finally, got his words back. 'Gordon? Why did you-?'
'Don't you ever let anyone talk to you like that again,' Gordon snapped.
'Gordon, I-'
But Gordon backed away to where his coaches lay before Henry could finish his sentence, or start it for that matter. He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. Gordon had seemed mad at him for being so sensitive to Diesel's words, but…
'Uh, anyone?' Diesel cried out in the distance. 'Does someone want to help me get back onto the track? Anyone? HELLO! Derailed diesel in need of help here!'
Henry smiled. Just a little. He couldn't be certain, but he had a feeling he knew why Gordon did what he did.
Cranky chuckled, a rare sound indeed. 'When Salty hears about this, he's going to be sad that he missed it.'
While Henry got all of his jobs for the day done with no problem, he couldn't stop thinking about what happened that day. It was hard to ignore the sight of Gordon bashing into Diesel hard enough to derail him. Unsurprisingly, Sir Topham hadn't been especially happy with what happened.
'Gordon, mind explaining to me why Diesel is off the tracks? I've been told that you were uncoupled from your coaches so you could ram into him full speed!'
Gordon didn't take that without talking back.
'He was spouting things most unbecoming of any engine worthy of working on this railway.'
'Gordon, just because Diesel said some nasty things about you, that doesn't give you the right to-!'
'That is not what I meant, Sir.'
'Oh? Then what did you mean?'
'If you must know, then ask Henry. He knows exactly what kind of horrid things that diesel was saying.'
Gordon had too much pride to confess his motivations directly, but Sir Topham did seem a little more lenient on him after his 'explanation'. But Gordon was still relegated to pulling simple goods trains for the next week, a punishment he complained about at least twenty times that afternoon alone.
When Gordon finally arrived at Tidmouth Sheds a little later than usual, all the other engines were already there. And unfortunately, he had to deal with Thomas's laughter while he waited for the turntable to put him in the right spot. He expected to be teased to Misty Island and back for what he did today. As per the usual. But, as he was rolled backwards into his spot, he found out that Thomas was laughing for a very different reason.
'You sure showed that mean old diesel for what, Gordon!' He said. 'I can't believe you derailed him!'
'And it took a while before Harvey got there!' Percy said. 'He must've been waiting for help for hours!'
The other engines were quite delighted by the story too.
'You did it, Gordon,' James said. 'You did what we've all been wanting to do for years now: biff Diesel straight off the tracks!'
'It's a shame you've been 'relegated' to goods trains for a week,' Edward said. 'But I'm sure you'll agree that it was worth it.'
Gordon huffed. This was the time when he'd normally drop an "oh the indignity" or rant about how it absolutely wasn't worth it because goods trains never were. But he couldn't this time. It was worth it. He'd known exactly what he was getting into and did it anyway. For once, he (albeit very begrudgingly) accepted his 'undignified' fate.
'So,' James said. 'Tell us everything. What'd he say to make you do something like that?'
'Diesel probably called him a smelly old steamie!' Thomas said.
Percy chuckled. 'I bet Diesel said that he wasn't worthy of pulling the express!'
'I think he must've said that he was going to scrapped,' Emily said. 'It had to be something big if Gordon was so willing to derail him!'
Edward smiled a knowing smile. 'I can't say for sure, but I have a feeling that I know precisely what made Gordon do something like that.'
While the smaller engines were all gossiping about the event, clearly unaware of the greater context, Gordon looked over at Henry. The big green engine was right next to him at the end of the sheds, so Gordon got a great look at that smile.
'What was it, Edward?' Percy asked. 'You have to tell us!'
'I would,' Edward said. 'But I think we should ask Henry what happened. He might know better than all of us.'
The unexpected request to tell the story caught Henry a little off guard. But, he saw a mighty opportunity and took it with glee.
'Well,' He said. 'Diesel actually hadn't said a thing to him at all.'
The smaller engines gasped. Edward chuckled, not just at their delightful surprise but also the look on Gordon's face. Gordon quickly realised exactly where this was going.
'Diesel was being mean all day while Cranky was unloading cargo onto me,' Henry said.
James groaned. 'What a surprise.'
'But when Diesel said that I'd be the first steamie to be scrapped and that he couldn't believe that I still work on the railway,' He couldn't help laughing just a tiny bit. 'Gordon was so mad with him that he bumped him off the track!'
The smaller engines gasped again, as if shocked that Gordon would ever do something like that for someone other than himself.
'Aw, Gordon!' Emily said. 'I always knew you were a big softie on the inside!'
'I was only teaching Diesel that his horrid words would not be tolerated on this railway!' Gordon said. 'It had nothing to do with Henry.'
'Riiight,' Thomas said, grinning. 'And I'm the King of Sodor!'
'I can't believe it,' Percy said. 'Gordon actually did something nice for someone else!'
'Stop that!' Gordon said. 'I demand that you stop this at once!'
The others didn't listen. They just teased him more for being unselfish and sweet for once in his life (an exaggeration, but not by much). It was lighthearted teasing, of course. But they were having way too much fun with this.
'If only we had a photographer here,' James said. 'Then we could take a picture!'
Gordon didn't approve of this and chose to pretend that he couldn't hear them. He would've been in a huffy mood all night long if it wasn't for the engine right next to him. Once he was done laughing, Henry looked at Gordon with a soft smile. That smile alone made everything worth it, but Gordon would never admit it out loud.
'Thank you, Gordon,' Henry said. 'Really.'
'I was only-' Gordon tried to insist.
'I know, I know, teaching Diesel that his words wouldn't be tolerated. But thank you.'
Gordon sighed. 'I meant what I said. Don't ever let anyone talk to you like that. Yes, it may be true that you aren't nearly as grand or as fast or as strong as I am, but… You're still a very useful engine who certainly shouldn't be scrapped.'
'Aw, Gordon!'
'Don't you start that too!'
Henry just laughed it off. For once, Gordon couldn't get too mad at him for it. Even though he really wanted to.
The engines went to sleep that night still teasing Gordon about being a big softie at 'heart'. And continued to tease him about it for the next few days, no matter how much he (unconvincingly) insisted that it had nothing to do with making Henry feel better.
Those nasty remarks from him didn't really change. Gordon still claimed that he was much faster and stronger, or made fun of Henry for being such a 'scaredy-engine'. But Henry didn't take the words to 'heart' anymore. Not after what he had seen.
And as for Diesel, well… He still says mean things to the steamies. That hasn't changed a bit and probably never would. But now, he makes sure that Gordon isn't anywhere nearby before he says anything.