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Chapter 7: Stressful Times

It was a pretty normal day on the train, Mr. Conductor would be dealing with conducting, while Nathan would watch him, there was a strange rhythm to how Mr. Conductor conducted, it was pretty fascinating to Nathan. So much so that he pretty much memorized Mr. Conductor's basic routine.

First, he'd go around sweeping up the train, then when they reached a stop, Mr. Conductor would always greet the passengers with a smile and a tip of his hat, in between each stop he'd focus on punching tickets and making sure that every passenger was comfortable. Nathan also noticed that once that was pretty much done, he'd then go off to make sure the dining-car was stocked up enough for the day, if they were low, they'd make a quick stop to gather more, once that was done he'd essentially patrol the train, keeping an eye out for anything to do. It blew Nathan's mind to be honest! He's ALWAYS working in some capacity, he's surprised Mr. Conductor hasn't passed out due to exhaustion yet!

I've never seen someone so... Passionate about their job...

Nathan was simply following Mr. Conductor around, watching him, as he had nothing better to do. The older troodon was humming to himself as he walked around the train, he looked over to Nathan and smiled. "Y'know, ya don't _have _to be with me every second of the day, you can do something else if you want!" He said.

"I know... But... I don't know what else to do..." Nathan replied, twiddling his thumbs around as he looked down.

"Hmm..." Mr. Conductor rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, I'm not sure how i can help ya there... I'm sure you'll figure something out, you're a smart kid."

_Ughhh... I was never good at this. _Nathan thought. He rubbed his head as he tried to figure something out. But alas, he couldn't.

Mr. Conductor could see the young troodon struggling to figure something out. It made him wonder just what Nathan would do. The only friends he had were the Pteranadon kids, but they weren't here. And there's only so much he could do on the train. He was about to ponder this further, but his pocket watch went off, he started shouting. "Time tunnel! Time tunnel approaching!" As the train entered a time tunnel. Mr. Conductor approached Nathan as they went through it. "Hey, Nathan? There's something I'd like to talk to you about." He said. Nathan turned his attention to him.

"What is it?"

"Well, i-it's, umm..." Mr. Conductor stuttered slightly, unsure how to phrase what he was about to say. "Nevermind, it's not too important..." He said. Nathan shrugged a little and went back to watching the lights in the time tunnel pass by. _M-Maybe I should still think about it... _He though

They eventually emerged from the tunnel, Mr. Conductor announced the stop and a few passengers began to leave while others boarded. Pretty soon they were off again. After greeting the passengers and punching their tickets, he walked over to Nathan, who was looking at the scenery, he sat in the seat beside him and started talking. "Nathan, i just wanted to let you know..." Nathan turned his attention to Mr. Conductor. "If you ever need me, I'll always-" He was cut off by a troodon worker approaching him.

"We're outta leaves, can we stop somewhere and restock?" He asked. Mr. Conductor held back a groan.

"Of course, next stop we'll go restock..." He said calmly. Inside however, he was a little frustrated. _Why didn't he say something earlier...? _He thought, however he quickly shoved this thought away. Why was he frustrated? He didn't have a reason to be... The worker soon left, Mr. Conductor turned his attention back to Nathan. "Anyways, as i was saying, if you-" Mr. Conductor's watch started going off again, he checked it quickly. _Next stop already?! _He thought. Sighing a little, he got up and began to announce. "Time tunnel! Time tunnel approaching!" As they once again entered the time tunnel. Once they emerged, they stopped and the troodon workers got off the train to quickly restock.

"Mr. Conductor? What were you saying?"

"R-Right!" He sat back down and looked at Nathan. "If you need anything, I'll always be here to talk!" He said it quickly to guarantee that no one interrupted him.

"Thanks Mr. Conductor, that's reassuring to know!"

"You're welcome..."

"Now, if there's anything you need, let me-" For the third time, he was interrupted. One of the workers exclaimed to Mr. Conductor that they were done restocking. Mr. Conductor took a deep breath and stood up. Then he announced. "All aboard!" As they started chugging off again. He once again went around, making sure everything was restocked, and that the passengers didn't need anything, then he sat back down with Nathan again.

"Mr. Conductor? Are you okay?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.

"I'm fine Nathan..." Mr. Conductor responded, letting out a slightly stressed sigh.

"You sure?"

"I said I'm fine!" He snapped a little, causing Nathan to jump in surprise, as he's never seen the older troodon like this. Mr. Conductor immediately looked guilty, he took a deep breath to calm himself down. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to snap at ya..." He apologized, frowning slightly.

"It's okay..."

"No, it's not... I don't know what's wrong with me today, I'm usually not like this..."

"Everyone has a day like that sometimes... It's no biggie..."

Mr. Conductor sighed. "If you say so..."

"So, whatcha wanna do now?" Nathan asked. Mr. Conductor put on a smile.

"Well, I still got a job to do.", He said as he stood up and began to continue his job conducting, Nathan followed him closely.

The way he's acting... I'm getting serious deja vu... _Nathan thought to himself. While he was reluctant, he decided to dig into his memory to see what he remembers this from. He saw brief flashes of himself acting similarly, snapping at his friends or family, faking happiness, this behavior, Nathan started acting like that because he was stressed out too much... Does that mean...? _I...I don't want Mr. Conductor to be stressed... I have to help him! But... How?

He ran up in front of Mr. Conductor and looked up at him, he held his hands up towards Mr. Conductor. "Up?" He asked. Maybe carrying him might help Mr. Conductor feel better. He saw the older troodon perk up a bit as he lifted Nathan up and held him as he continued walking around, Nathan snuggled deeply into Mr. Conductor, causing him to chuckle and rub Nathan's head. Mr. Conductor started feeling all warm and fuzzy inside while holding Nathan, he enjoyed it to be honest... Nathan started thinking of other ways to make him feel better.

"Nathan?" Mr. Conductor called out. Nathan looked up at him and for some reason, instinctively answered with.

"Yeah daddy?" Almost immediately, Nathan's eyes widened, he stammered and blushed. "U-Umm! Erm... I mean, yes Mr. Conductor...?" He corrected himself. Mr. Conductor was very taken aback by what Nathan said.

_W-WHERE THE HECK DID THAT COME FROM?! _Nathan started freaking out, why did he call Mr. Conductor his... Father?! He's NOT his father! He didn't even decide on it! So why?! He didn't understand!

Similarly, Mr. Conductor was also freaking out on the inside. _W-Where in the mesozoic did THAT come from?! N-Nathan just called me his... N-No! Clearly I misheard! _Mr. Conductor couldn't stop freaking out. _But... I don't exactly hate that he called me that... _He thought. It was kind of nice to be honest. Though he pushed the thought away, he wasn't father material, he knew that... And he hasn't fully decided on what he wants to do yet...

"S...Sorry..." Nathan apologized meekly, looking down in embarrassment.

"It's alright Nathan, really..."

"Umm... What did you need...?" Nathan asked.

"Well, how'd you like to learn more about how the train works?" He asked, smiling softly at the young troodon. Nathan already knew how a steam engine worked, however he decided to let Mr. Conductor explain it, thinking it might help him feel better. So, Nathan let out a convincing fake gasp and nodded excitedly.

"Yeah! I'd love too!" This seemed to perk Mr. Conductor up more, he soon took Nathan to a seat in the passenger-car and set him down, then he pulled down a projection screen from the ceiling and it started showing detailed images of the Dinosaur Train. As Mr. Conductor explained how it worked, the images would change to show the insides of the trains. Nathan always found it fascinating how a train worked, but he never had it explained to him in this format before.

"Now, can you tell me what kind of fuel we use to run the train?" Mr. Conductor asked the young troodon. Nathan decided to act clueless here, thinking it might help Mr. Conductor feel even better. He tilted his head in confusion, causing Mr. Conductor to laugh at the reaction. "Lemme rephrase that, what do we use to make the train go?"

"I dunno..."

"We use a material called coal! Which we find in caves! Coal is mostly made up of carbon, with other various elements as well! Sulfer, hydrogen, nitrogen, even oxygen!" The projection changed to a picture of coal being shoveled into a furnace. "When we burn the coal, it helps create steam-" He went on this detailed explanation, though Nathan ended up getting confused about halfway for some odd reason... He didn't know why, but he kinda zoned out briefly, After about thirty seconds he tried paying attention again. "...With rotational force, which then makes the train move!" Mr. Conductor finished the explanation. He took one look at Nathan and saw his confused expression. "Uhh... Basically, the coal helps the train go." He gave a very simple and easy to understand explanation.

"Ooooooh!" Nathan exclaimed. "That's cool!"

Mr. Conductor laughed and retracted the projection screen. "It really is! This is why I love trains so much, there's just something fascinating about how they work..." Mr. Conductor seemed noticeably happier after the discussion, which was good.

_He... Doesn't seem stressed now... Maybe I should ask him... _Nathan thought to himself. "Hey Mr. Conductor?" He called out.

"What is it Nathan?" Mr. Conductor asked, looking at the young troodon in curiosity.

"Are you stressed?" He asked. Mr. Conductor sputtered in surprise.

"S-Stressed?! I never get stressed, especially when I'm on the dinosaur train!" He exclaimed, folding his arms. "Why do you ask?"

"Well... You did snap at me earlier... And you didn't seem as cheerful..."

"Nathan, I'm not stressed! Simple as that!" Mr. Conductor insisted. "Now if you'll excuse me, i have a train to run!" He started walking off.

_I may have made him a little peeved... But I'm already this far in, might as well keep pressing... _Nathan thought, before he followed after Mr. Conductor. "Are you sure you're not stressed?" He pressed the situation further. Mr. Conductor looked back at Nathan as they kept walking.

"Nathan... I'm perfectly fine, you don't have to worry..." Mr. Conductor said, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"But Mr. Conductor..."

"Nathan..." Mr. Conductor put a hand on his forehead as he shook his head. "Please drop it..."

"But-"

"Drop it!" Mr. Conductor snapped again, causing Nathan to jump back again.

"s...sorry..." Nathan muttered before he went off on his own, deciding to let Mr. Conductor be alone for a bit.

Mr. Conductor sighed and looked down. "Nice going..." He said to himself.

---

Nathan went over to the observation-car, deciding to talk to Laura for a bit. He went over and waved, gaining her attention. She squatted down and smiled. "Hello Nathan! How are you doing?" She asked happily. Though upon seeing the young troodon's expression, she started looking concerned. "Is something the matter? Usually I see you with Mr. Conductor, and you are never usually frowning..."

"It's... It's nothing..."

"Based on the look on your face, it isn't just nothing..." Laura said, easily noticing that Nathan was lying.

"Well... Mr. Conductor snapped at me today..." Nathan said. And this was a shock to Laura.

"What do you mean? Mr. Conductor is usually very patient, and kind to everyone he meets... He would never raise his voice unless he needed to..."

"I think Mr. Conductor is stressed. Something's on his mind, but he won't say what... And if he keeps going on like this, it might get worse..." Nathan explained, looking down at his feet. "I don't know what to do..." He sniffled a small bit.

"It's alright Nathan... Mr. Conductor may be a talented conductor, but much like anyone else, he has a limit. Let us look at it from a different angle... Mr. Conductor has to make sure every little thing on the train is ready and prepared, on top of that, he is constantly moving about, making sure every passenger is comfortable, and let us not forget that he also has to take care of you. He is taking on all these things at once without fail."

Nathan's rational side understood exactly what Laura meant... But for some reason he felt kind of hurt by what Laura said... "S...So it's my fault that Mr. Conductor is so stressed...?" Nathan said out of the blue, on the verge of tears.

"No! Not at all! I'm sure Mr. Conductor cares about you very much!" She quickly exclaimed. "It's just that he can only handle so much at once, even someone like Mr. Conductor deserves a break every once and awhile."

"But he already took a day off... Does he need more time off...?"

"I think that may be a good idea..."

"But... How will I convince him? Right now he seems kind of... Stubborn."

"I'm not sure... But I'm sure you'll figure something out."

Nathan smiled and nodded his head. "Thanks for talking to me Laura... I needed it..." He said.

"Of course Nathan! Anytime!"

With that, the young troodon left the observation-car, hoping to figure something out.

---

Nathan went to the dining-car, his stomach was begging for something to eat, and he couldn't think well on an empty stomach. He sat down at a booth and twiddled his thumbs, this was the first time he's actually been in the dining-car on his own, he felt a little nervous, he was gonna have to order for himself... Something he's not used that used to... He saw out of the corner of his eyes the troodon pushing the snack cart. Nathan looked back at the troodon, gaining his attention, he stopped at Nathan's table and looked at him.

"What'll ya have?" He asked.

"Umm..." Nathan pretended to think to hide his panicking, he tried his hardest to say something, but to no avail. Come on Nathan, you can say it... Just say 'Carrion on a stick' .. He thought to himself. After about 20 seconds of struggling, he was about to give up, but...

"Two carrion on a stick please." A voice called out, Nathan looked up and saw Mrs. Conductor sitting across from him, he felt a wave of relief upon seeing her. Once they both received their food, the troodon started walking away with the cart, leaving them alone at the booth.

"T-Thank you Mrs. Conductor..." Nathan said, Mrs. Conductor gave a caring smile and nodded.

"You're quite welcome." Nathan began to eat his food happily. "So... Somethin' on your mind? I don't typically see ya without Sonny boy..."

"Well... Mr. Conductor kind of snapped at me earlier... So I'm giving him some space..." Mrs. Conductor's expression was a mix of shock, and confusion.

"Why would he do that?" She asked.

"Well... First i asked him if he was fine... I asked him a few times and the last time i asked he snapped... He did apologize though... But the second time... I asked him if he was stressed, he told me no, but i kept pressing him on the subject... Then he got peeved and snapped at me again... That's when I gave him some space..."

Mrs. Conductor sighed and muttered. "I didn't think he'd ever be like that again..." Nathan tilted his head in response. "Nathan, this isn't the first time he's acted like that... When he started conducting on his own for the first time, he felt a lot of pressure to do things right, so much so that it made him stressed out... He would end up lashing out from time to time, especially if someone asked if he was okay... It wasn't until I started helping him again that he started to ease up, eventually he was able to handle everything without help. But it still took him awhile."

"Mrs. Conductor? Am...Am I the reason he's so stressed out?" Nathan asked. Mrs. Conductor's eyes widened.

"W-Well... I wouldn't say you're the reason... But the extra responsibility of taking care of you and the train might be getting to him..." She said. But almost immediately she regretted wording it like that. The young troodon looked devastated.

"S-So in a way... I-It IS my fault..." He said. Mrs. Conductor panicked and frantically shook her hesd

"N-No! Of course not! Sonny boy just-" She was cut off.

"You don't have to say anything else..." Nathan said sadly, he slowly got out from the booth and went on his own, sniffling to himself slightly.

Mrs. Conductor narrowed her eyss at the sight. The young one was really hurting... There was only one thing she could do at this point... Slowly, she got up and went in the direction of the passenger-car, there was someone she needed to talk to...

---

"Next stop, Rexville station!" Mr. Conductor exclaimed as the train came to a stop. As passengers were leaving and boarding, he felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump, he turned and saw his mother standing behind him. "M-Mother? What is it?" He asked, taken aback by her entrance, usually she wasn't this serious unless she needed to be...

"Sonny boy, we need to talk..." She said.

"Yes mother...?"

"You need to stay calm, alright? You're getting stressed from everything, you just need to take a deep breath and calm down..."

M-Mother, i appreciate the concern, but I'm not stressed..." He said. Mrs. Conductor wasn't having it though, she folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't act like you aren't... I'm worried, Nathan's worried! He thinks it's his fault that you're stressed!" Mr. Conductor's eyes widened in response.

"B-But it isn't his fault!" He exclaimed.

"So you don't deny that you're stressed?" She asked. Mr. Conductor realized he was basically backed into a corner and sighed.

"Maybe I'm... Just the TINIEST bit stressed... But it's nothing to worry about..."

"Stress aside, you owe Nathan an apology for snapping at him..."

"So you know about that..." Mr. Conductor rubbed the back of his neck and sighed again. "Although, I feel Nathan is just as much at fault here... He kept asking about something I didn't wanna talk about." He tried to justify his actions at least a little, though he did feel really bad about saying that.

"And I'll speak to him about that when the time comes, but now's not the time... You're usually so kind and gentle when it comes to kids, the fact you raised your voice at Nathan shows that you NEED to take some time and relax..."

"But mother, I need to stay on the-" Mrs. Conductor cut him off.

"I can always handle the train while you're resting."

"But you already handled it when I took a day off, I can't ask ya to do it again for my sake!"

"You aren't asking me though, I'm going to be conducting while you're resting up."

"But mother, I-" He was cut off again. Mrs. Conductor ended up doing something she hadn't done in years... She put on a stern expression and started talking in a very stern tone. Essentially going full mom on him.

"I'm doing this for your own good and I won't take no for an answer Sonny boy! Not addressing your stress is unhealthy! Now I want you to sit down while I go get Nathan, when I come back with him, I expect you to apologize to him for snapping, and then we will stop by Troodon Town to drop you two off." She said. Mr. Conductor complied and sat down in a booth as Mrs. Conductor walked away.

_I-I haven't seen her like that since I was a young conductor... _He thought to himself. He waited several minutes before Mrs. Conductor came back in a panic.

"Nathan's not on the train!" She exclaimed, Mr. Conductor shot out of the booth in shock.

"W-What?!" He exclaimed in shock. "W-What do you mean he's not on the train?!"

"I looked everywhere and couldn't find him! He must've gotten off while we weren't paying attention!"

Mr. Conductor immediately booked it out of the train, he wasn't concerned about his job, the schedule, or anything at this point...

He was just concerned about Nathan's safety...

---

And chapter 7 is done! It's kinda shorter than the previous chapters, but I thought that this was a pretty good place to end on.

Hope you guys enjoyed! And let me know your favorite parts!

I'd also like to know what you guys thought about this chapter!

That's pretty much it! This is Robert! Signing off!~