"Isle of Lovers: Reader X Thomas and Friends Humanized Characters Fanfic"

New Year's Eve Feat

   After the accident, word had got out pretty fast. All the other drivers seemed concerned, especially about you. You reassured them. However, you felt worse for James, as you thought everyone would point fingers at him. You made it clear it was YOUR idea. All was well that ended well within a few days. Everything went back to normal. Or at least, that's what you thought.
It was New Year's Eve, and you had no plans really to stay up until midnight. Percy had asked if you wanted to, but you said you weren't sure.
Presently, Sir Topham Hatt had asked you to come over to his office. The snow crunched softly under your boots as you made your way over the station building. Thoughts raced through your head as to what it would be he'd be asking from you. You clicked remaining snow off your boots before heading inside. You knocked on the door.
"Sir?....", you said.
"Come in", you heard his voice say.
You did so and saw Sir Topham Hatt looking over a paper before him. He then lifted his head up and smiled.
"Y/n, there you are!", he said cheerfully.
You smiled back as you closed the door behind you.
"You said you wanted to see me", you said walking over to his desk.
"Yes, I did", he started. "I have a new job for you! Now with the new year just around the corner, I figured this would be the best time for a new change."
You beamed your brightest smile.
"Tha... thank you, Sir!", you said.
You suddenly got butterflies.
"What exactly... is it I'll be... doing, Sir?", you asked innocently.
He chuckled.
"Don't worry, Y/n!", he said sweetly. "It's nothing too intense. I figured since you get along so well with the other drivers, I have decided to promote you to assistant driver, whenever the case for assistance is needed."
This made you feel mixed about your feelings. On one hand, you'd be helping out. But on the other, this meant more conflict could happen between the other drivers regarding... you. Nevertheless, you smiled, as to not make your obvious concern obvious.
"Th... thank you, Sir. I'll do my best to help around this railway!", you said.
Sir Topham Hatt chuckled.
"I know you will, Y/n", he said. "Now-"
Just then the phone rang. Sir Topham Hatt looked at it.
"Oh, bother that telephone...", he grumbled. "Give me a moment."
You excused yourself out politely and paced about the hall. You wondered who you'd be paired up with. You thought, regardless, something would happen, since most of the drivers seemed to be..... invested in you, one way or another.
After a few more moments, Sir Topham Hatt called you back in. When you opened the door, you saw he looked upset. Your present smile disappeared.
"Is everything ok, Sir?", you asked.
He rubbed his head.
"It's about Henry. He..... he had a crash."
Your heart nearly stopped.
"Someone found his train toppled over along with the Flying Kipper he was pulling. They suspect snow and ice was the main cause factor. Thankfully, he survived. I am to go see him."
Sir Topham Hatt put on his hat and stood.
"Please Sir, can I... come with? I just... I need to..."
Sir Topham understood. He nodded his head. You both made your way to his blue car and got in.
Along the way, you felt your heart beating faster with every passing second. The car arrived at the scene of the crash. You could see Henry's engine in disrepair. It was completely totaled, along with the train he was pulling—the Flying Kipper. There were workmen about the area cleaning up. Sir Topham Hatt got out. You stayed in the car as he went over to talk to someone. Not long after, he returned and got back in the car.
"He's at the hospital. A chopper came and got him", Sir Topham Hatt said.
He started the car engine up and drove off.
The entire way there, you couldn't help but imagine how injured Henry could be. Maybe you weren't ready to see him. But you knew you just had to. The car pulled up at the hospital. You both exited and made your way over to the part of the hospital Henry resided. Sir Topham Hat checked in with the staff. A nurse then escorted you two over to his room. Sir Topham Hatt looked to you. You shook your head softly and gestured him to go in first. He nodded as the nurse lead him in, closing the door behind her. You found a seat in the lounge area and sat there. You bend forward, looking outside.
"......Henry.........", you thought.
Your gaze went to the floor.
Once a few more minutes passed by, Sir Topham Hatt came over to you. He sat down beside you with a face of disheartenment. You knew this was serious. The nurse then approached you.
"Would you like to see the patient?", she asked kindly.
You nodded and stood up. She smiled briefly before turning and lead you off. You glanced behind yourself to see Sir Topham Hatt placing his face in his hands. You arrived at the room. The nurse opened the door. Your heart almost beat out. You stepped in, shaking nervously. In the corner of the room near a window was Henry. He was hooked up to an IV machine. His monitor was beating normally. He had white bandages wrapped around his head, arms, waist and legs. Bruises and scars populated his face. Some patches of dried blood resided on the bandages.
"Take your time", the nurse said before stepping out, closing the door.
You turned back to Henry. You walked over to him. You couldn't help but observe his condition. You felt a lump form in your throat. You fought it back as best as you could. You neared by his bed.
"Hen... Henry...", you said lowly.
His eyes, though swollen, twitched before slowly opening. They turned to you.
"Y..... Y/n?", he said.
You smiled sweetly.
"Yeah. It's... it's me. I bet you weren't expecting to see me, huh?", you said fighting back tears. He nodded gently.
"Guess so..."
Your gaze went down before going to the clock. It was 3:15 pm.
"Hen... Henry. You did jump before the crash, right?", you asked.
He was silent.
"Henry, you did jump?"
Still nothing.
"Henry, why didn't you jump?", you felt pain coming up inside of you.
Henry was silent once more.
"It... it would've...", he started. 
You looked over to him.
"It would've what?"
He met your eyes.
"It would've ended things quicker", he said.
Your eyes widened before being enflamed with emotions. 
"Henry, why.... why would you try to kill yourself?"
Henry looked off.
"All I do is suffer. No one cares about me", he said.
"Henry, that's.... that's not remotely true. Sir Topham Hatt cares about you. He came to see you. Why, Percy and Thomas care about you too. Could you imagine how Pery would react if he found out you actually killed yourself? He.... he would be devastated. All of them would be, losing not only one of their own members but friend."
"Maybe. But at least I wouldn't be in their way all the time", Henry said dryly.
You looked away, feeling ashamed of yourself. You felt you let Henry down. You were there for him before, but when he needed you the most, you were nowhere to be seen.
Sir Topham Hatt had arrived back in and was talking to Henry about his train. He was about to leave with you when a thought came to mind.
"Please Sir, can I stay with Henry? I just... don't want him to be alone...."
You both stopped in the hallway. 
"But, what of your training for your new job position?", Sir Topham Hatt protested.
"......I promise I'll make up for it when I come back. I just.... need to spend time with Henry for.... for a bit."
He could tell how much you were concerned about Henry, so he let you. You returned to Henry's room after Sir Topham Hatt left. The time you spent with Henry was mostly silent. He didn't want to talk much as he was in pain, physically and emotional. So, you ended up not talking much yourself. But even if you did, you knew you'd be in tears of regret.
-------------------------------------------------------
   Night had arrived with the sound of silence, except for Henry's heart monitor that rhythmed up with the wall clock. You were sitting in a chair. You heard creaking and grunting behind you. You quickly turned to see Henry sitting up.
"Henry?...", you said, swiftly standing up and walking to him.
"I'm... I'm ok, Y/n", he said with a weak sounding voice.
He placed his upper body on the bedhead. He looked up to you.
"I'm...... I'm glad you've been here the whole time", he said with a weak smile.
"Well, why wouldn't I? I..... I care about you, Henry. Alot..."
Henry's face and expression lit up. He shyly looked away. The sound of distant fireworks was heard. You looked over to the clock. 
"It's not even midnight yet", you thought.
"Y/n?", Henry said, bringing you out of that thought.
"Yeah, Henry?"
"I know this might be early but, 'Happy New Year'", he said with a smile.
Seeing Henry smile made you smile.
"'Happy New Year' to you too, Henry", you said.
It went silent for a bit.
"Say", you started, breaking the silence. "Do you have any 'New Year's Resolutions'?"
"Well, no not really. I didn't. Not until I met..... you..."
You and Henry looked at each other shyly before taking your gazes elsewhere.
The clock struck midnight and the air became populated with fireworks and cheers. You and Henry watched from the window. You weren't sure why, but you felt at ease. As long as Henry was happy, you were happy yourself. You couldn't help but feel that he wanted to change his ways but really didn't have someone in his life worthy of making that change for.

That is until you came along.