Sodor's New Worker (Semi-Hiatus Due to an AO3 rewrite)

Will You, Won't You?

   Maddy had returned to the sheds alongside James immensely suffering, as the sun was harsh all day and she didn't have the chance to apply more sunscreen to herself, thanks to the three keeping her busy and off the sand.

"Ooooooooow.."

"Oh, my heavens." Edward exclaimed. "What happened!?"

"We...kind of forgot Maddy needs sunscreen." Emily sheepishly replied. "Now she's fried."

"My skiiiiin.." she groaned, peeling herself off of James. "You bastards, I'm white as a sheet of paper. Don't you know anything about human skin?"

"Considering we're not considered human, no, Honey Bee." James chuckled. "Sorry!"

"I'm sure you'll be fine." Thomas hummed, making the mistake of patting her on the shoulder. "Right, Em-"

   Once again, Thomas was sent down to the ground like a bag of wet sand for his crimes. This time, though, he wasn't quite sure what he did wrong.

"Maddy!" Emily gasped. "What was that for!?"

"My sunburn hurts! You don't slap someone whose skin is bright red like this..! It hurts..!"

"But did you have to knock him in the stomach?" Henry asked. "Did he really deserve that?"

"Yes. He tried to take my floatie away while we were there, too."

"Why's that bad?" Gordon hummed.

"I can't swim."

   Maddy's frown only got bigger when she heard a couple of her friends try to contain their giggles.

"How is it that those three can swim and yet you can't?" questioned Percy. "What's up with that?"

"I was kept in containment for thirteen years. They never taught me how to swim." Maddy retorted. "So I'm sorry I didn't want to drown."

   She then made her way to the back of the sheds where she could switch out her swimsuit for something less painful.

"C'mon, Bee, I'm sure it isn't....woah." James' eyed widened once he caught a peek at the aggressive difference between the burn and her actual skin-tone. "Noooow I see why you socked Thomas. That looks painful.."

"It only gets worse." she grumbled. "I've never been able to tan, even as a child. I'm stuck being as white as the snow."

"Oh, poor darling.." he frowned. "Anything I can do?"

"You can help me rub aloe on myself."

"Aloe?" he hummed, tilting his head.

"It's this gel stuff that comes from a plant. It helps soothe sunburns."

"Aaaand..you trust me enough to touch you?"

"I've got no choice. I'm not as flexible as you think I am. You try and tickle me I'm gonna kick you." Maddy answered, laying down on her stomach, her arms, legs and back exposed to the outside. "It's in my drawer, next to the dust. Pending Edward didn't rearrange my things again."

"Well." Edward pouted. "You're not very organized, young lady. I'm doing you a favor..!"

"It's not a favor if I don't know where anything is..!" Maddy giggled. "I have a system..! It might be messy but at least I know where everything is..usually-"

   Shrugging, James searched through her drawer, finding a small squeezy tube of the gel-like substance.

"Oh, and make sure to give me a heads up, it's-" she began, but tensed up and squealed as she felt a glob of the stuff make contact with her back. "C O L D-"