A Sacrifice for Those You Love

Chapter 4: Awaken

Beep...beep...beep...beep...beep

Maria sighed softly as she lowered her scalpel knife onto the white tarp she sat on. It's been at least three months since she started to work on repairing Edward's face and he almost looked normal. The burns were still healing and still at a slight risk of infection, but isn't as horrendous as the day he arrived at the Steamworks. The only bandages on him were over and around his right eye. The rest of his skin has healed but was a very light grey color instead of its normal grey. The right side of his lips was repaired and didn't look like they were completely gone. Despite how bad his face was burned when he came in, his right eyebrow looked normal as well. The oxygen mask still rested over his nose and mouth, pumping oxygen into him as the sensors kept his heart rate in check. Rolling her neck, she hears a few cracks coming from her neck before looking at the set of tracks next to her. Fourteen brand new blue wheels with a silver trim were attached to a brand-new underframe. They had to scrap Edward's entire body for the damage was too great to be repaired and are waiting for his new body to arrive.

"You'll be repaired soon, Edward." Maria said softly as she gently pets his undamaged cheek.

Edward's face scrunched up in pain and fear in his comatose state. Maria narrowed her eyes a bit as she watched his lips move slightly like he's talking, but no words were said. The entire time she was working on his face, it was always the same. Something deep in his mind was affecting him, which also caused his heart to race at times.

Hearing a familiar 'peep peep' whistle, Maria smiled to herself. Almost every day this week, multiple engines, vehicles, and people visited the Steamworks, stopping and talking to Edward even though they had stayed on the other side of the curtain. She knew that if they all saw him like this, they would panic and become full of fear. Checking over Edward's face again, she stands up and walks out from behind the curtain.

"Morning, Thomas." Maria smiled as she watched the small tank engine slow to a stop close to the tarp.

"Morning, Maria." Thomas said softly, a small smile on his face. "H-How is Edward?"

"He still has a bit of way to go I'm afraid." Maria sighed a bit. "He still needs a lot of repairs done and we are just waiting for some...parts to come in." She smiled slightly as she gently pats his running plate.

"O-Oh..." Thomas said softly as he looked down. "Can...Can I see him now, at least?" He asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid he is still asleep, Thomas." Maria said softly as she looked up at him. "He still has a slight risk of infection and I don't want to risk bringing any foreign bacteria inside."

"I see..." Thomas sighed sadly, letting steam out slowly. "When he wakes up, can...can you let me know?"

Maria smiled warmly at the tank engine, enjoying seeing how much Thomas loves Edward. "You will be the first one to know." She smiled softly before walking back behind the tarp.

Thomas looked at the tarp sadly, feeling his boiler ache from knowing that Edward is behind it. For the past three months, he's been having a hard time doing his jobs. From having panic attacks to crying when he's alone. The memory of what Edward did to save him kept replaying in his mind. He was glad Sir Topham Hatt understood and gave him small, simple jobs, but felt bad that he isn't being as useful as the others. During these few months, he and Henry have gotten a bit closer, with Henry telling him things about Edward before he was brought to the island. Thomas knew that Henry was also suffering severely since the incident because he watched first hand what happened. It also didn't help since they are dating and seeing a loved one in so much pain. Taking one last look at the tarp, Thomas blew his whistle sadly before puffing out of the Steamworks.