What About Now

Is this better than the original (The Real World)?

[i]Here is the long-awaited sequel to The Real Word! Sorry about the wait. Had a bit of a change in plans. This was gonna be a crossover, but I decided not to have it be that. So I had to change the storyline.

This story does have a good amount of Lightning/Sally in it, but it focuses more on Doc/Marianne. Just to let you know.

I do not own Cars. Disney/Pixar does.

I do not own the song What About Now which this story is named after. Daughtry does.

I do own Marianne and all of the other OC’s that will appear and I just haven’t named yet. I also own the plot. Feel free to use any of my OC’s as long as credit goes to me.

Note: If you’re reading this story without reading The Real World first, you are going to be terribly confused! Id reccomend reading The Real World if you haven’t already.

I bet you’re tired of reading this loooonnnng intro. Well then, on to the story[/i]

---

Chapter 1: Come Round Soon

August 15, 2006

To believe it was only two days away. After two months of planning everything out, it was finally here. Lightning and Sally were to be getting married in under 48 hours.

Now, if you’ve ever been to a wedding, you know how chaotic it is to get it all arranged. The caterer was possibly the easiest part. Flo volunteered herself readily for the job. The place was also easy to pick. Lightning and Sally wanted to get married up by the Wheel Well. But other than that, things were hard to plan. Sometimes they couldn’t make up their minds on things. But in the edn, they got everything planned out. Now they just have to put those plans into action.

“Stickers, where’s my parents!?” Sally called out to Lightning over at their place. During the planning, Sally moved her stuff over to Lightning’s. “They should have arrived an hour ago!”

“Sally, dont’ panic. They may have gotten stuck in traffic. They’ll be here soon, okay?”

“Okay. When’s your mom coming?”

“She should be here by the end of the day. She didn’t say when though. She likes to surprise people. A lot.”

“Oh. Does your dad know when she’s coming?”

“Hey, he’s gonna be your dad too after we’re married.”

“That’s true. But still, does he know?”

“Let’s just say I like to help her out with those surprises sometimes.”

“Man, he’s gonna flip when he sees her.”

“Yeah, I wonder. . .” Lightning said with a devious grin on his face.

“I know that look!” Sally exclaimed. “What’re you thinking?”

“Nothing.”

“What?”

“Im telling you its nothing!”

“What!?”

“I said it’s nothing!”

“Come on, you can tell me!”

“Fine. I was thinking maybe I could get mom and dad back together.”

“Stickers, that’s a wonderful idea!”

“You really think so?”

“I know so.”

“Thanks, Sal.”

Just then, a sleek black Corvette pulled up into the driveway. “My parents!” Sally excitedly shouted.

“I told you they’d be here soon.”

“Thanks, Stickers.” Sally ran up to the door and opened it for her parents. “Mom! Dad! You guys are here!” she said, hugging them both.

“Yes, we sure are!” Sally’s dad said. When they stopped hugging, he said “Why don’t you show us inside?”

“Sure thing. Come on in! I only moved in not that long ago, so it’s still a bit more of Stickers’, I mean Lightning’s, taste than mine. We’re planning on redecorating once we get back from our honeymoon.”

“Yeah, it is a lot more of my taste than hers, but Sally’s able to live with it right now.” Lightning said, joining into the conversation. “Hi, I’m Lightning.” he said, sticking out his hand for Sally’s parents.

“I"m Miguel and this is my wife, Sharon.”

“Nice to meet you.” Miguel. I thought that the name Carrera sounded Spanish.

“You want me to get something to drink for you guys?” Sally asked. “I got some freshly made lemonade in the fridge.”

“I’d love some!” Sharon said.

“Me too.” Miguel added.

“Make that three, Sally!” Lightning called out.

“Got it!” Sally said from the kitchen.

Lightning sat down on the couch and ushered for Sally’s parents to sit down. “Please, sit down. Make yourselves comfortable.”

“Will do.” Sharon said. Both of Sally’s parents sat down on the couch also.

Before speaking again, Lightning took the time to look at Sally’s parents. Miguel had sleek, black hair, brown eyes, and a deep tan. He was a little bigger in size and about 6 foot. Sharon was almost like Sally. She had her blonde, wavy hair, her blue-green eyes, and her light skin. Only thing was she was a little bigger than Sally was and a little shorter.

“So, what do you guys do for a living?” Lightning asked them.

“Well, I’m a judge and Sharon’s a news reporter back in L.A.” Miguel said.

“Ah, a judge. Does that have anything to do with Sally being a lawyer?”

“A little. She did get inspired into getting a career in law after having to come with me to court one day when she was 12. Only I didn’t exactly force her to be a lawyer.”

“Of course not.”

“Did Sally ever happen to tell you why she left Los Angeles?”

“Well, during the first week I was here, she told me she left L.A. for she wasn’t happy living life in the fast lane. She then said she just drove looking for a way out, broke down here, and never went back.” Miguel and Sharon exchanged glances with each other. “What?” Lightning continued. “Did she leave something out?”

“I’m not sure if we should tell you this.” Sharon said.

“Tell me what?”

“Well. . .” Miguel started when Sally entered the room.

“Here’s those glasses of lemonade!” Sally chimed as she passed a glass out to each person, including one for herself.

“So, you ready for your big day, Sally?” Miguel asked, changing the subject.

“A little nervous, but I know there’s nothing to worry about. I can’t wait until I’m officialy Mrs. Sally McQueen.”

“That’s good. I can tell you’ve found yourself a great guy here, Sally and I know you’re gonna have a great marriage.” Sharon said to her.

“You guys want a tour of Radiator Springs?” Sally asked her parents.

“We’d love that.” Sharon responded.

Sally, Sharon, and Miguel all decided to get up and leave. Lightning stayed behind. “You coming, Stickers?”

“Nah, I’m just gonna stay here. In fact, I’m suposed to meet up with my dad for practice in about 20 minutes.”

“Oh. Okay. See you later, Stickers.”

“See you later, Sal.”

---

About 15 minutes later, Lightning decided to head over to his dad’s house to go with him to practice.

“Hey, Dad? You ready to get going to practice?”

“Sure am.” Doc said. Doc hopped off his seat by the computer and walked up towards his son.

“What were you doing on the computer?”

“Ah, just looking to see what music they’ve got on that iTunes. Been thinking on getting an iPod. Not that you’re music’s bad or anything, but I kinda get a little tired of listening to Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco all the time on the way to the races Like to be able to listen to stuff I like.”

“That’s true.”

The two started to head out of Doc’s place. “So, can you actually believe you and Sally are gonna be getting married in a matter of days?”

“No. Those two months seemed to fly right by. But all I can say is I’m definately ready for Sally to be my wife.”

Just then, Lightning and Doc overheard Flo. “Marianne! Haven’t seen you in so long! Can you believe Lightnin’s gettin’ married!”

Doc stopped right where he was at. He turned and came face to face with the love of his life. His beloved Marianne had returned to Radiator Springs after all these years.

---

[i]This story is for sure going to be a lot longer than The Real World. This story has a lot more to cover than just Lightning and Doc finding out they are related. There is the wedding, Sally’s real reason for leaving L.A., and Doc trying to win Marianne back. Oh, and Lightning and Sally’s honeymoon a bit too.

Just to let you know ahead of time, I apologize for anything that sounds a little too vague on the wedding details. It would help if I was writing this when my parents renew their wedding vows, but I’m not waiting until after my dad gets back from Iraq in August to write this. That would just be rediculous! Reviews are always welcome!

Come Round Soon belongs to Sara Bareilles.[/i]

[i]Here’s chapter two, guys! Man, I feel like a dork. I’m already creating up the profiles for Lightning and Sally’s kids when I’m not even that far into the series yet!!! Oh well, at least I’ll know them really well when I do get to the part where they come in.

Bit of a warning, by the end of this chapter, there are some things that aren’t meant for kids under 13. I’d reccomend not to read this chapter if you are 12 or under. Thank you.

Dangerous To Know belongs to Hilary Duff.[/i]

---

Chapter 2:

“Mom!” Lightning called out as he ran up to hug her.

“Brendon!” Marianne called back, as she held out her arms for him to hug.

“Mom, you can call me Lightning you know.” he said as he hugged her.

“I know, it’s just that I’ve missed you so much.” When they pulled apart, she said, “Look how much you’ve grown! The last I saw you you were about 16 and at your cousin’s house.”

“I know someone who’s dying to see you!” Lightning chanted.

“Who?”

Lightning grabbed his mom by the arm and dragged her over to Doc. “Someone I know you’re dying to see also.” Lightning said before they got there.

When Marianne was placed right in front of Doc, she couldn’t believe it. After all these years. . . “Hudson.” she said, almost as if seeing him again was a dream.

Doc couldn’t believe that Marianne had just said his name again. It seemed so surreal. Heck, he still couldn’t believe that after all those years, she still looked so good. Sure she had aged, but for her age, she looked pretty good. Her pale blonde hair was about shoulder length and her brown eyes had no need for glasses. She looked about a size 6 meaning she was keeping in shape somehow. “Marianne.”

“Can you believe that we are finally seeing each other again?”

“No.”

Lightning grinned about sucessfully completing the first step of his plan. Phase one complete. My work here is done. For now at least. Lightning walked off going over to Flo’s for he was hungry for something to eat.

“Hudson, look at you! You look as if you haven’t aged a bit!”

“Really?” Doc asked, surprised.

“Well, of course your hair’s more grey than when we divorced, but other than that, you look exactly the same.”

“Thanks. You’re still pretty good lookin’ yourself.”

“Oh, that’s a lie.”

“No.” Doc said holding her chin. “It’s the truth.”

Marianne couldn’t help but feel attraction for him again. But she quickly pulled away. No. Don’t let yourself fall head over heels for him again. Not now. Not with what I’m going through. “I’m gonna go catch up with Lightning. Did you see where he went?”

“I think he went over to Flo’s.” Doc said with a hint of rejection in his voice.

“Oh, thanks.” Marianne walked over to Flo’s.

Doc was left outside wondering what just happened. Why did she leave off like that? I though she still loves me.

---

While Lightning and Marianne were getting reaquainted at Flo’s, Sally and her parents returned from their tour around town. “Sally! My mom’s here!” Lightning called out to her.

“Cool! Mom, Dad, this is Lightning’s mother, Marianne.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Miguel, Sally’s father.”

“And I’m Sharon, her mother.”

“Nice to meet you both.” Marianne said.

“So, can you believe our kids are getting married in two days?” Sharon asked

“No! It seems so impossible. I mean, Lightning’s only 22.”

“22? I always though he was older.”

“Nope.”

“Dang. I mean, Sally’s 27.”

“27? I thought she was younger!”

“Nope.”

“While you two talk about our ages, me and Sally are gonna head out to the Wheel Well to check up on stuff up there.” Lightning said.

Lightning took Sally by the hand and walked her out of Flo’s.

---

“Stickers, why are we up here? We’ve got this place perfectly planned out and ready to go.” Sally said once they got to the Wheel Well."

“Ah, just an excuse to get us up here. You know how parents can be. You never told me you were five years older than me.”

“I didn’t? Must have forgot!”

“Sal, your parents were telling me there was more to the reason on why you left L.A.”

“What do you mean?”

“They had asked me wondering if I knew why you left and they were gonna tell me when you came in. They weren’t too sure if you were gonna mind if I knew or not.”

“I’m not too sure. It’s kinda risky. I mean, not that I don’t trust you, it’s that you’re so famous, one of the paparazzi might find out.”

“Sal, that’s not gonna happen. Notice any paparazzi around?”

“No. But they could be hiding anywhere. You should know that.”

“What paparazzi would be up here right now?”

“Ones that could have followed us! It’s not that I could get in jail if anyone found out, it’s just that there are some things that just need to stay hidden. I’m sorry, but I just can’t tell you. I hate keeping secrets from you with the fact that we are getting married in two days, but I don’t think I should tell you.”

“Sal. We don’t keep secrets from each other.”

“I’m sorry, Stickers. But I have to keep this a secret. No one but me and my parents know. And I’m gonna tell them not to tell you so don’t get any ideas in your head.”

“All right.”

“I know I’ve said this, but I’m sorry. I’ll tell you what, I’m gonna make it up to you. Tonight. You, me, maybe we could get a little personal.” Sally said, leaning closer to Lightning.

“You hinting at something?”

“Sure am. Got any guesses?”

“Sure do.”

---

When Lightning made it back home, he was still curious as to what Sally was hiding. I can’t ask her, can’t ask her parents, hmm. . .Maybe I could try searching up something on the internet. Lightning walked over to his computer, making sure Sally wasn’t in the room. He went on to Google and searched up the name Sally Carrera. Most of the things that popped up first were headlines about him and Sally. Not exactly what he was looking for. He kept on looking ahead for further headlines that were starting to get less and less current. He knew the farther back in time he went, the closer he would be to finding out the secret. Soon he saw something that said Sally Carrera, L.A. Attorney, Dissappeared From Los Angeles. He clicked on the headline. Up popped up the page that told him what the headline was about. The page read:

Miss Sally Carrera left Los Angeles with no clue on her whereabouts. While there are many rumors behind what could have caused this sudden dissappearance, this one seems the most accurate. It has been rumored that while seemingly innocent during the day, Miss Carrera was a performer for strip clubs in downtown L.A. under the name Skye Carson As the rumor says, one day, as she was exiting the club from backstage, some stranger came and raped her. The next day, he had called her and started to threaten her if she didn’t do what he said. She was agreed at first, but after about two weeks, she couldn’t take it any more. One night at her apartment, she was attacked by him, almost getting shot in the head. She didn’t get any major injuries from the attack. A week later, she was gone.

When Lightning was done reading, he couldn’t believe it. Sally was a stripper back in L.A. Explains why she probably has the tattoo. But not only that, but she was attacked by a stalker. If he ever found out who the stalker was, he swore he was gonna kill him. He didn’t want Sally to be hurt by him ever again. He decided to keep it a secret that he had figured it out. It seemed too risky. He didn’t need Sally being hurt again. But he did feel a little guilty though. He went behind his fiancee’s back and looked up something he wasn’t supposed to know. But hey, she wasn’t the only one with a dark past.

While he was racing in the regional races, he was someone who would willingly have sex with any lady who he found attractive. Not only that, but he would smoke and drink sometimes. He was definately a darker person before the Piston Cup. And he was ashamed of those desicions. For one, he was seventeen when he started, so he was breaking the law. He was only old enough to drink until right before his first Piston Cup season. After meeting Mack, he changed his ways a bit. One, in the Piston Cup, you weren’t allowed to drink during the season (he was making sure he didn’t have any champange during his wedding by replacing it with sparkling grape juice), and two, he was starting to wise up a little and realized what he was doing was wrong. He would be ashamed of his past for the rest of his life, but he knew that at least he didn’t go down the wrong path. Which he was extremely grateful for being that he was abused most of his life. And when he wasn’t abused, Nathan would be in Pittsburgh at his company’s headquarters. Lightning couldn’t believe that Nathan was able to be the CEO of a company with the way he was. Always drinking and having sex with women. Which must have been where Lightning got his ways. But when Nathan was gone, Lightning would be left all alone, so he would always throw parties with alcohol and illegal drugs there. As if the street racing with the delinquents wasn’t enough. Lightning had been given detention more times than any other student in his school. And there was no one there to even care. He was even surprised that he ever got glasses from the school for his eyesight. Which he switched over to contacts when he got into racing. Lightning hated his past, and his was even worse than Sally’s. Sure a stripper wasn’t the best thing, but being a teenage delinquent? Even worse. He just hoped that none of his parents, Marianne or Doc, ever found out. It wouldn’t be good for any of them. Maybe me and Sally should just keep our pasts secret.

---

[i]Hope you liked! I wanted to give Lightning more of a darker past, and not just being abused all of the time. And keep in mind, he was ahead a grade from the summer teaching the doctors gave him, worried he was falling behind. So he was 17 when he graduated. Plus, Sally’s past gives a good reason as to why in Cars: My Point of View (if you’ve read that; it’s loosely connected with this) Sally protested that she wasn’t going back to L.A. The next chapter is gonna be the next day. If anyone can help me with what goes on during the rehersal dinner, that would really help being as that it would happen soon. Don’t know if it’s gonna be in chapter 3, but will take place during the next day. And also, the next chapter will expand more on Doc and Marianne. Please review!

Oh, and the whole Sally being 5 years older is something my friend told me was said on a website by Pixar. Must be true then, right?[/i]

[i]Okay, this chapter may be a little sucky. I want to get the day before Lightning and Sally’s wedding over with. I want to be able to tell about their honeymoon. From what I can tell you guys are loving this story even more than The Real World. I’m enjoying it a lot more too. I am happy I got the first one over with. It was mainly just to tell how Lightning and Doc find out they are related. It’s kinda more like a prequal to the series if you kinda think of it. But unlike series with prequals, The Real World is the name of the series. (The name sticks. It’s so clever; The Real World Series) This is where the real story happens. Besides, I can’t wait to have the McQueen kids when they are older. From what I’ve got, they all have diverse personalities. They do have their similarities, but they are different. Wow, I’m defianatly blabbing off-topic. Why don’t I just let you read the next chapter now?

Miss Independent belongs to Kelly Clarkson

Note: I’d reccomend that if you are under 13 just to not read the rest of this story. The mature themes that are to be presented from now on aren’t appropriate for younger kids. So from now on, my stories are 13+[/i]

---

Chapter 3: Miss Independent

The next day, Doc was still confused as to why Marianne was avoiding him. He thought that she still loved him. What did I do wrong? Maybe I should have kept my distance a little bit for a while. I mean, she might think I’m over her and be avoiding me to prevent her heart from being broken. Or she might just want to take this nice and slow. I’ll ask her sometime today.

Doc decided to head over to Flo’s for something to eat for breakfast. He was really hungry that morning for some reason. There he spotted Marianne all alone at a booth.

Marianne noticed Doc coming her way. Oh, no! He’s gonna try to win me over again! I just can’t go back with him. Not with what I’m dealing with! While her thoughts were screaming for him to leave, she acted calm, cool, and collected on the outside. “Oh. Hey, Hudson.”

“Just noticed you looked kinda lonely. I’m surprised you’re not sitting with any of your old friends. They miss you too. Especially those karaoke nights.”

“Hm. I remember those. They were a lot of fun.”

“I recall you were one of the best on the stage.”

“And I recall you being too chicken to put your butt up there.”

“I was, wasn’t I?”

“You had wonderful compositions. Too bad no one but me knew about them for you never sang them.”

“You know, you could have.”

“It wouldn’t have been the same.”

Doc was actually pretty happy. She wasn’t trying to run off. Maybe taking it slow is what I need to do. Then again after the wedding, she’s gone. That’s not good. “So, what was up with yesterday?”

“Hud, don’t change the subject.”

Doc couldn’t believe it. She called him by his nickname, something she used to always do. It made his spirits lifted. “I’m not! I truely want to know, why did you just leave like that? Was I coming on too soon? Were you afraid that I was over you?”

“Those have nothing to do with it! I’d just like to be friends. I just can’t let myself get attached to you again! Not with what I’m going through. I hope you understand.”

“I understand.” Doc said his voice filled with rejection. He drooped his head his eyes affixed on his lap.

“Look, I don’t want you to be upset, but letting me fall in love with you again would hurt us both. I’m not exactly ready to tell anyone why yet, but one day you will find out. You just have to get over me somehow. I’m sorry, but it’s for the best.” Marianne got up and threw out her leftovers and headed back to her cone at the Cozy Cone.

“Hey Doc!” Flo said in her cheery morning voice. She was what you could call the perfect example of a morning person. “What can I get you this mornin’?”

“Just a cup of coffee for me.”

“Okay, comin’ right up!”

How can Flo be so cheery when I’m so depressed?

---

The next day, Sally entered her parents’ cone ticked off. “How could you!?”

“Excuse me?” Sharon asked. She was the only one in the room. Miguel had decided to hang out with his future son-in-law.

“Lightning told me last night you were gonna tell him my past! Why did you have to go behind my back like that!?”

“We were debating whether or not to tell him. We weren’t sure.”

“But you admit you were thinking of doing that. Without my approval! I don’t want him to know and there was a chance that you were gonna tell him!”

“Honey, what is so wrong about it? Sure you got raped and were a stripper, but come on. It’s not as bad as some people’s pasts. I mean, some guys are pot heads and alcoholics.”

“Don’t forget sex addicts. God, I hate people like that. They’re the ones who have the screwed up lives that go nowhere. I mean, no life should be wasted, and people like that don’t give a care about it.”

“See, at least you aren’t one of them.”

“True. Maybe I should tell him. But only when I feel completely ready.”

---

Doc headed out of Flo’s still pretty depressed. And Lightning noticed something was wrong. “Dad? What’s got’cha down?”

“Marianne doesn’t want to get back together with me.”

“What!? How can that be!? Did you try using some of that “Hudson Hornet” charm of yours?”

“At first, but she pushed me aside. I tried to back off, but when I asked her what was up, she told me that we should just be friends.”

“That’s gotta stink. You have to try to win her back.”

“But how? She’s got that signature Taurus stubbornness. It’s hard to change her mind whenever it’s set on something.”

“I don’t know, but you’re smart, you’ll think of something.”

“What about some help from my son?”

“Sorry, Dad, but she’s your woman. Not much I can do about it. You’re on your own.” Lightning said while patting his dad on the shoulder then left off.

“You’re a lot of help!” Doc shouted back to him. I’m doomed.

---

Sally was in her room debating whether or not to tell Lightning. She was also flipping through the pamphlet that told what tourist attractions Hawaii had to offer. That’s where Lightning was taking her for their honeymoon. 5 whole days in Hawaii. Boy did she feel special. Not only that, but they had first-class tickets. She couldn’t wait until the honeymoon. . .

“Hey, Sal.” a voice said from across the room.

“Oh, hey, Stickers.”

“Can you believe it?” Lightning said, coming to sit down beside her on the bed.

“Believe what?”

“We’re getting married tomorrow.”

“I know, isn’t it great!”

“Very.”

“To believe when I first met you, I hated you. I thought you were some self-absorbed jerk. But then you became more kind and down-to-earth. You started to become so attractive to me and I couldn’t pull away. I never thought I needed any guy at all, but you showed me just how wonderful love could be.”

“Same with me. I never realized just how great love was until I met you.” He was gonna say about how foolish he was back in the day, but he decided to back off. He didn’t need her to know anything about it.

“I’m a little nervous about tomorrow though.”

“Me too. But there is absolutely nothing to worry about. We are gonna get through tomorrow and you will be my Mrs. Sally McQueen.”

“How is it that you’re always able to stay cool whenever I wanna flip out?”

“Being exposed to paparazzi everytime I arrive at a racetrack may have something to do with it.”

“True. Were you always so comfortable around the paparazzi?”

“At first I was a little shy. But then again, no one knew me then, so there were only a small amount. Little by little, that amount grew and so did my confidence around them.”

“Hm. . .I have it a little differently. All the paparazzi are gonna come to me at once.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. And the worst belong to L.A. and knowing that you have a bad past, according to what you did tell me, you don’t even have to go there.”

“Thanks. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

“Yeah. And I really don’t need to know your secret. It might ruin our relationship.”

“It probably wouldn’t, I’m just ashamed of my actions.”

“Yeah. I did some pretty shameful actions myself before I joined the Piston Cup.”

“What?”

“Just like you don’t want me to know your secret, I don’t want you to know mine.”

“Oh. How bad is it?”

“Probably worse than yours. One that might get me in trouble with the law.”

“Oh.” Sally was shocked. What could he have done? But unlike Lightning, she wasn’t gonna go behind his back to find out. She was gonna respect his privacy.

“Yeah. With you being a lawyer and all, it’s not the best thing.”

“That’s okay then. We’ll be even.”

“Yep. Even.”

Sally leaned onto Lightning. “Stickers, all I have to say is no matter how bad your past was, I’ll always love you.”

“Same with you.”

---

Doc decided to head over to Marianne’s cone. He wanted to at least apologize and tell her that he just wanted to be friends. He wanted her to be happy, and if this was the way to do it, he had no choice. Besides, if you love someone enough, you should let them go.

“Marianne! Open up!” he said knocking on the door. He could see she was in there through the window, but she wasn’t opening up.

“Go away!”

“Look, I’m sorry! If you just want us to be friends, I’m okay with that!”

Marianne slowly opened up the door just enough to poke her head through. “You are?”

“Yes. But just keep in mind I’m always gonna be attracted to you and I may never get over you and find someone else. I’m never gonna stop loving you, but it’s because I love you that I’m doing this.”

“Hud, you’re such a gentlemen.” Marianne said, opening the door all of the way.

“I try.” Doc said, putting his hand behind his head, a way of showing he felt a little shy at the moment.

Marianne just laughed. It was times like these when she missed being married to Doc. Too bad she couldn’t let herself fall for him again. For when the time came, both of their hearts would be broken.

---

Seems like a good place to stop. What’s so funny is that the title of this is based off of a Kelly Clarkson song and I’ve been listening to her the entire time I’ve written this. I have to get more than just her Thankful CD. I’ve been listening from MySpace. I need Breakaway, My December, and her newest All That I Ever Wanted. I seem to like her middle two better for they have some darker songs on them. I like that. One of Lightning and Sally’s kids fits Kelly’s songs big time. Well, I feel like a dork right now.

[i]Here is chapter 4. Lightning and Sally are finally getting married! The wedding is gonna sort of be a collaboration of all the Cars fanfics I’ve read with weddings. Plus my ideas. Which do expand more than just the wedding. You’ll see. Hope ya like. And I also hope I do this right.

Waiting All My Life belongs to Rascal Flatts[/i]

---

Chapter 4: Waiting All My Life

Lightning woke up from a good night’s sleep. He felt completely refreshed and ready to take on the day. He noticed that Sally must have gotten up already for she wasn’t in bed. He went to the bathroom and as he was brushing his teeth, it hit him. I’m getting married today. Panic soon filled his whole body and he had no idea why. Shouldn’t I be happy? I mean, come on! Sally’s gonna be my wife! But it didn’t help. Hopefully this will all go away soon.
It didn’t.

Lightning was finishing grooming up for the wedding. He was even more nervous than this morning. There were even times that he was shaking. Doc came over to check up on how his son was doing. He noticed just how nervous Lightning was. “You okay?”

“I think so.”

“Nervous?”

“Yeah!”

Doc chuckled a little. “So was I. But don’t you worry. It will just fly by. You will have said your ‘i do’s’ before you even know it!”

“You sure?”

“I’ve been married before, haven’t I?”

“That’s true. Dad, I don’t think I’d be able to go through this without you.”

“Just remember, in the end, Sally’s gonna be your wife. Keep that in mind, and you’ll be fine.”

“Dad, I’ve just got one thing to say about the tux you’re wearing.”

“What?”

“Mom’s gonna fall head over heels for you in that thing.”

Doc started laughing. “Ya think so?”

“Totally!”

“Too bad for me she just wants to be friends.”

“Oh come on, she’s probably just saying that for the time being!”

“No, she seemed pretty darn convincing when she told me she didn’t want to get into anything romantic.”

“She’s gonna change her mind though after one glimpse of that!” Lightning said pointing at his dad moving his hand up and down. “For someone who’s not exactly young anymore, you’ve still got it!”

“Thanks. And you’re not just saying that 'cause you’re my son, right?”

“No! What makes you think that!?”

“Just being sure.”

Lightning laughed. He was feeling a little less nervous now. I think I can do this.

---

Lightning was at the end of the aisle, waiting for when Sally would walk down it. He was taking deep breaths to calm himself down. “Ya okay, buddy?” Mater asked him.

“Yeah. Just a little nervous. Dad said it’s completely natural, and I trust him. He’s been through this before.”

“Ta balieve that ya and Miss Sally are gettin’ hitched!”

“I know. I’ve been waiting forever to find the perfect one for me. Then when I met Sally, I knew she was The One. And now, I’m getting married to her. It just seems so surreal.”

“Seems so wut?”

“Oh, I meant dreamlike. Untrue.”

“Ah! Okey-dokey!”

A few moments later and the wedding march was starting to play. Soon, Sally arrived at the end of the aisle with her father by her side. She’s so beautiful.Sally’s blonde hair was curled to perfection and her white dress shone beautifully in the natural light. A long train followed behind her. Her hands held a magnificent bouquet of red roses, ones that Lightning had picked especially for her. The rose itself represented love and the red color stood for him. When she made it up to where Lightning was, Miguel left over to where Sharon, Doc, and Marianne were, the mothers crying already.

“You’re so handsome.” Sally whispered to Lightning.

“You’re just as beautiful.” With that, Sally blushed.

The priest they had hired soon began the ceremony. “Dearly beloved, we are here today to join Brendon Ray McQueen and Sally Marie Carrera in holy matrimony.” Soon he turned to face Sally. “Please repeat after me. I, Sally Carrera. . .”

“I, Sally Carrera.”

“Take Brendon McQueen to be my husband.”

“Take Brendon McQueen to be my husband.” Sally repeated.

“To have and to hold you from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness, and in health. I further promise to love you and cherish you, and be faithful to you for as long as we both shall live.”

“To have and to hold you from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness, and in health.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “I further promise to love you and cherish you, and be faithful to you as long as we both shall live.”

The priest nodded in her direction then turned his attention to Lightning. He silently gulped knowing it was now his turn. Sally was so cool and collected. He hoped he could be the same. “Repeat after me. I, Brendon McQueen. . .”

“I, Brendon McQueen.” Lightning said nervously.

“Take Sally Carrera to be my wife.”

“Take Sally Carrera to be my wife.” With those words, he started to get tears in his eyes. My wife.

“To have and to hold you from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness, and in health. I further promise to love you and cherish you, and be faithful to you for as long as we both shall live.”

“To have and to hold you from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness, and in health. I further promise to love you and cherish you, and be faithful to you for as long as we both shall live.” Lightning said, choking up by the time he got to the end. He soon had tears freely falling down his face.

The priest turned back towards Sally. “Do you, Sally Marie Carrera, take this man to become your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.” she said, tears now starting to form in her eyes.

Then the priest turned right back to Lightning. “Do you, Brendon Ray McQueen, take this woman to become your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do.”

“I know pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

Lightning leaned in and passionately gave Sally a kiss. It was their first kiss with them being married. He wanted it to be memorable. When he pulled away he whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Sally whispered back.

---

At the dinner, the parents came and immediatly hugged their kids. “I can’t believe that you guys are married!” Sharon cried.

“Our little Sally’s all grown up.” Miguel continued.

“Lightning, it’s hard to believe that you’re married.” Doc said.

“I know!” Marianne started crying again.

“Mom! Please, you’re kinda embarassing me.”

“We’re parents. It’s our job.” Doc said.

When it came time to cut the cake, they did it together, each one had one hand on the knife. They wanted to do it together to show that they were united as one.

“Flo out did herself with this cake. Even if it isn’t chocolate with chocolate icing.” Lightning said with his mouth full.

Sally started laughing. “You and your chocolate.”

“It’s my weakness.”

“That, and cacti.” Doc responded, coming to sit by them when he got his cake.

“Dad!”

“What? It’s true, isn’t it?”

“Ha, ha, very funny.”

From a distance, Marianne noticed Doc. She couldn’t believe just how amazing he looked in that tux. Wow. He’s just so handsome. Ugh, what am I thinking!? You know you can’t become attached! You’re not gonna be around long enough for you to be. But it was too hard to not to be attracted when Doc looked like that.

Doc decided to make a toast for his son and new daughter-in-law. “I’d like to make a toast to the newlyweds. I know for a fact that you two are perfect for each other and are gonna be together forever. Here’s to a long, wonderful marriage.”

When it was time for their dance, they danced to the song that they together had requested, Waiting All My Life by Rascal Flatts. It was their song, and they hoped that it would still be their favorite for as long as their marrage lasts.

---

[i]Whew! That took forever! I haven’t written too many weddings and of when I did, they weren’t like this. If it was a little cheesy, please understand I don’t have much experience in writing weddings. I hope I did do good though. I wanted Lightning to be the nervous one. He is the younger one after all! Please review!

Oh, and I made the song be Waiting All My Life for it is less sterotypical than Bless the Broken Road. I can’t count how many times it’s been used![/i]

[i]Sorry about the long wait, guys! I had this awesome idea for a Sailor Moon fanfic, and then I remembered “Hey, I have to finish What About Now first!” That’s the problem with us Gemini’s. We can’t stick to one thing for too long, always shifting back and forth. The only thing I can stick with is an obsession. And that would be Cars. So if I don’t put up a chapter for a while, know it’s because I’m brainstorming a new project. But I’d never abandon the one I’m working on now. No sir, for I am finally getting my ideas the way I’ve always wanted them. I used to just think up of new ideas for the whole Lightning and Doc are related thing, changing out that part of the story. Now I’m actually expanding on to a better idea. One that I may never revise. Wow, didn’t I go off topic there! Another problem with Gemini’s. We talk and talk and talk. . .

I had a bit of a dilemma also. I wanted to do a honeymoon for Lightning and Sally, but then I realized it has nothing to do with the main plot of my story nor did I have enough ideas to wrap a full chapter around. So I’m gonna skip ahead a week, when Lightning and Sally get back. Enjoy!

Dirty Little Secret belongs to All-American Rejects[/i]

---

Chapter 5: Dirty Little Secret

“Stickers, I could have never asked for a more perfect honeymoon. You really out-did yourself.”

“Well, I just wanted to make this week the best I could for my wife.”

“You know, Hawaii was amazing and all, but I’m happy to be back home.”

“Yeah. Me too. You just can’t beat a place like Radiator Springs. Why do you think I stayed?”

“True. Remember the surfing?”

“Yeah. I kept falling off and into the ocean while you were surfing like a pro.”

“California does that to you.”

“But it didn’t matter if I sucked on ice and if you outshined me by far, both of which are true, all that mattered to me was that we were together having fun and just loving each other’s company.”

“How did I ever get someone like you?”

“You said yes.”

Sally couldn’t help but smile. In her opinion, she was married to the kindest, most romantic, caring person on Earth. Lightning being rich and hot were bonuses.

“Hey guys! They’re back from their hon-ay-moooon!” Mater called out when he saw Lightning and Sally. He ran up to his best bud and started asking questions. “How was Hawaii? Did ya go surfin’? Did ya see the hula dancers? Did ya two spend yur nights having s-”

“Mater!? Why ask a question like that!?” Lightning freaked out. “God! That’s private!”

“Sorry.” Mater said, hangning his head low.

“Mater, don’t take it personally. It’s just that you don’t ask that kind of question in public.”

“A’ight.”

“So, how’d it go?” Doc came up and asked his son.

“It was awesome. Sure I embarrassed myself when surfing, but I had a great time, and Sally did too.”

“That’s good. Missed ya, that’s for sure.”

“Kinda figured that. It’s the first time you and I have been apart since I moved here. You would have loved it there.”

“Then why didn’t ya invite me?”

The two just burst out laughing at that. Of course Doc was just kidding.

“So, since I’m back, you wanna race, Dad?” Lightning asked.

“Heck yeah! I haven’t raced with anyone for the past week, so I’m dying to right now.” Doc replied.

“Hey, I figured you might have liked it a little.”

“Why?”

“A whole week without me kicking your butt!”

“Hey, just because you were gone doesn’t mean I didn’t practice. I may just kick your butt this time.”

“I thought you said you didn’t race in the past week.”

“I said I didn’t race with anyone I didn’t say I didn’t race by myself.”

“You got me there! But let’s just see if you’ve truely been practicing or not.”

“Deal. Meet ya out there in-”

“Lightning, you’re back!” a female voice called out. One Lightning was shocked to hear.

“Mom!? What are you still doing here!?”

“I needed a vacation, so I decided to stay here. Besides, I missed all my old friends.”

Lightning couldn’t believe his mom was still here. There has to be more to it than that. Maybe she still loves Dad. Hm. . .

---

After the race, in which Lightning won, he decided to head back to his house and talk to Sally about his idea. “I mean, there’s no way that Mom could just not love Dad anymore, right? I mean, she’s still got to feel some attraction!”

“I know, but she said that she just wants to be friends with him. Maybe she still feels uncomfortable about the whole divorce. Or maybe she’s just too shy to start up again so quickly.”

“Think about it Sal. Dad has his shy moments, but yet he would prefer just to plunge right back into their relationhsip. I know he’s struggling not to show he’s still madly in love with Mom. I just wish that I could make her realized that they should get back together.”

“Stickers, I wouldn’t even dare.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re gonna try to get them back together when you could be making a big mistake! Your mom probably has her reasons for not wanting to restart.”

“Sally, I know my mom has to still love him. And I’m gonna try to fix this.”

“Don’t make me say ‘I told you so’ when you make things worse for them.”

“I’m not gonna make things worse.”

“Sure you’re not.”

---

Doc was just coming home after having lunch at Flo’s when he noticed a note on his door. “What’s this?”

You have a secret admirer who’d love to show herself to you. You can meet her out in Tailfin Pass tonight around 6:00. She’ll be out near the old Wheel Well. Don’t be late!

“A secret admirer? Well, since Marianne just wants to be friends, there’s no harm in going on this little blind date.”

Little did Doc know that Marianne got a similar note that told her to meet her secret admirer at the same place and time. Lightning had set them up.

---

At about 5:30, Doc was fixing himself up for this “secret admirer.” It’s been so long since I’ve actually been on a date with someone that wasn’t Marianne. I hope I do okay. I don’t wanna come off inexperienced, but yet, I don’t wanna look like I flirt with every good-looking girl that walks down the street. Just be yourself, and you’ll be fine, Hud.

At about the same time, Marianne was fixing herself up. Only she wasn’t as worried as Doc was. Marianne, you are a wonderful woman. Sure you’re shocked for you don’t know why anyone would be admiring you, but you’ll be fine.

Doc was the first one to arrive at the Wheel Well. When he didn’t see anyone there, he was shocked. She said at 6:00. Where is she? Then he heard a car approaching. Doc looked to see if it was his admirer or not. Out of the car appeared Marianne.

“Hudson!? I thought you said that you weren’t gonna try to get back together with me! How could you!?”

“I didn’t send you up here! Besides, I was sent up here also!”

“Uh huh. Sure you were. You probably had the whole thing planned out.”

“I sware I didn’t! I was sent here also! Look!” Doc had the note with him and handed it to Marianne.

“I guess you were sent here also. We were set up! Who would do that!?”

“I’ve just got one guess. Lightning. I kinda told him to look for a way to get us back together, but that was before I found out you just wanna be friends. He probably didn’t realize not to. He’s still young.”

“Yeah. I guess so.”

“But still, why?”

“Why what?”

“Why don’t you want to get back together with me!? I mean, I’m still deeply in love with you. I always have been since the day I met you. How could you just throw me away like that!? Treat me as if I was history!”

“Hudson-”

“I’ve been waiting for the day you and I could get back together. But now that you don’t want me anymore, it just hurts me in so many ways that you couldn’t even imagine-”

“Hud, there’s a reason I can’t get back together with you. I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t mean to make you relive 1955 all over again to feel as if you’re history. I still love you too, it’s just that I don’t want to have this be more painful than it already is.”

“Then what is it!? What is holding you back!?”

“I’m not ready to tell anyone here yet. Escpecially not you. It’s gonna hurt all of you. I wanted to be here just so I could see them again before. . .”

“Before what!? I need to know!”

“I’m just not ready! I need to be able to be a little stronger about this before I tell you!”

“Marianne, I thought we promised each other that we wouldn’t keep things from each other!”

“We also promised to be together for the rest of our lives, but that didn’t happen!”

“Sure we broke that, but it was so that I wouldn’t get hurt, remember?”

“And I’m breaking this one for the same reason. Only instead of physical pain it would be emotional.”

“Marianne, just please tell me!”

Marianne was silent for a moment before she said the two words that would forever change Doc’s life. “I’m dying.”

Now you know!!! That was the whole reason Marianne wouldn’t let herself be with Doc! This chapter was worth the wait, wasn’t it! I’ll try to have chapter 6 up soon. Hopefully I don’t get distracted again. Besides, after that, you’re gonna want to read more.

[i]I’m happy that no one has come after me after what I did last chapter. That was possibly the first good cliffhanger I’ve ever done. I’ve done cliffhangers before, but this one was the best.

This chapter is gonna tell you what’s wrong with Marianne and about how Doc and Marianne’s relationship formed. The song I chose for this chapter’s title is one that whenever I listen to it, I can just see them young and in love.

I also looked up the official accents for the places mentioned. So keep in mind, the way I write things it the official accent there. Like in Detroit, they slur and cut off the hard consanants so that city sounds like cidy.

Here is chapter 6. I know you’re all worried about Marianne, so let’s get going!

Fast Cars and Freedom belongs to Rascal Flatts.[/i]

---

Chapter 6: Fast Cars and Freedom

“You’re dying!?” Doc asked, tears forming in his eyes. “How!?”

“I found out whenever I was in the hospital after Nathan had attacked me. The doctors were checking up on me when they found out that I had cancer.”

“Cancer? What kind?”

“Breast cancer.”

“Well, there is treatment, but why didn’t you get it sooner?”

“I don’t know. The doctors back in Oklahoma said I didn’t need the treatment until later. Being that during all your years as a doctor out here I didn’t see you have a patient with cancer, I agreed with them. I didn’t want to get back together with you knowing I might not survive the cancer. That’s also why I decided to stay 'round longer. So that I could spend my last month with them.”

“Last month?”

“The doctor told me at the time that I only had about half a year left before I start to get the major symptoms. That was back in February. It’s August now, so they could happen at anytime.”

Doc couldn’t believe it. He was losing his beloved Marianne. He had loved her for so long and missed her all those years. Now that he had her back, could lose her forever. He could still vividly remember the day they first met back in Detroit.

---

It was Doc’s senior year at 8th St. High. He had felt confident that school year. He had the feeling it was gonna be the best year he ever had. As he walked through the double doors, he caught sight of a girl he had never seen before. Which was unusual for him for he knew just about everyone at his school. Including the freshmen that had just started high school. He was that popular there. The second he saw her, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She had long, wavy, pale blonde hair in two braids and her brown eyes sparkled magnificantly. Sure she was a little short for a high-schooler, but height never mattered to him. While he was staring at the stranger’s beauty, he noticed two of the guys on the football team with him were picking on her. They seemed to be making fun of her. “Well, well, well. Look ad whad we got. Did you ged. dropped off by a rusded ol’ pickup’truck!?” the brunette one said.

“Why don’t you just go back home do the farm!?” the redhead teased also.

“Please. Stop makin’ fun of me!” the stranger answered with a Kentucky accent. An accent that Doc used to hear all of the time back when he lived in Kentucky. He moved up here when he was 13, so his Kentucky accent blended with the Detroit accent, giving him his mixture of southern and northeastern accents.

“Guys! Cut it out!” Doc yelled at them, coming over to the stanger’s side.

“Why should’we?” the redhead responded.

“I recognize that accent anywhere. Straight from Kentucky, where I grew up when I was younger. I know ya guys don’t make fun of me, so don’t make fun of her.”

“Fine.” The two left off, knowing that they’re fun was over.

“Sorry 'bout them. They just think it’s fun to make fun of southerners sometimes. They think the accent means they are dumb, when it’s really them who are.” Doc said as he turned to look at the girl. She had faint little freckles below her eyes and her smile was perfectly right. She was wearing a cute little green dress with saddle shoes. She looked like a southerner just trying to fit it. “My name’s Hudson. And yur’s is. . .?”

“Marianne. Ya said ya were from Kentucky, right?”

“Yeah. May not sound a lot like it for I’ve been in Detroit so long my accent’s blended.”

“Ah. What grade are ya in?”

“I’m a senior.”

“I’m a junior.”

“Think we might see each other 'round here more often?”

“We might. Why ya ask?”

“I’ve never seen anyone as handsome as you before.”

Doc blushed, letting that introvert personality show through. He may have been popular, but it was mainly for the fact that he was a star athlete at the school. If he wasn’t, he’d probably be one of the nerds due to his stellar grades. He looked down at his shuffling feet. “Thanks.” is all he managed to mutter out. He had to admit, he was kinda good-looking. He was well built for a senior and his bright blue eyes and dark brown hair made a lot of girls swoon over him. “So, um, want me to help ya around the school for the first week or so?”

“Sure.”

The rest of the day, he met Marianne after all of her classes. He escorted her around the school, taking the time to get to know her better. Turns out, she was an ace at home ec. and also at science while he exceled at all subjects. Including the ones that were her worst. So he decided not only to help her around the school, but to tutor her also. Besides, it was a great excuse just to see her for another hour of the day. By the end of the week, they had started going out.

At first the boys on the team who made fun of her were freaked out about his decision. But then they went on with their own business.

Doc couldn’t have been happier at the time. Just like he had predicted, his senior year was going to be his best year.

---

Once next September came along, it was hard for him. He was going off to Michigan State while Marianne had to stay at the high school. “Ya gonna be okay?” She asked him, her voice becoming a little more accustomed to Detroit, but still having the Kentucky accent strongly show through.

“I think so. I’m just gonna miss you, that’s all. I have to live at the campus, I just can’t keep driving back and forth an hour and a half just to get back home. I know it’s sad, but you’ll just have to trust that I won’t see anyone. My heart belongs to you.”

“Oh, Hudson. I love you so much.”

“I love you two.”

That year, he also started racing regionally in his new Hudson Hornet (he laughed at the fact that it was a car that had his name) so he could earn a little cash. He found out he was good at it after racing some friends at a local dirt track when he was 16. It was a popular hot spot for him and all of his friends to hang out at. There was also a hamburger place right across the street where they’d always stop to get milk shakes when they were thirsty. They could spend a whole Saturday there and not believe how fast the time had flown by. He developed a passion for racing and knew he was good at it. So he started to form a career out of it. That March, at age 18, he was asked to race in the Piston Cup the next season. When he met up with Marianne during spring break, he was ecstatic. “Can you believe it!? I’m gonna be in the Piston Cup!”

“I know yu’re happy, but I thought ya were gonna do somethin’ else with yur life.”

“I know that, but I’ve found a passion in racing. I love the feeling of it. Sure it may not be the most practical career, but I love to race.”

“Look, I’m not gonna get in the way of yur dreams, but if ya wanna be a racer, I’m not coming with ya to every race.”

“What do ya mean?”

“I mean that I’m going to college and I can’t be there as a part of yur team. I’m sorry, but if ya had me in yur visions, it’s not gonna happen.”

“Oh. Okay then.” Doc said with a hint of depression in his voice.

The next season had came around before he knew it. At age 19, he was the youngest racer to race in the Piston Cup. Which he still holds that title to this day. His first Piston Cup, he got second place in, a good sign that he was probably gonna be the next racing legend. No other rookie had been that close to winning it before. The second Piston Cup, he won it for the first time, getting lots of buzz. He won in his sophomore season, which hadn’t been done before either. People were already considering him to be greater than anyone ever imagined. His third season was his second win in a row, and his 27 season wins, another record under his belt. The fourth season brought a third win, another two records. At the time, the greatest number of Piston Cups won was 2. And the fact that they were all in a row was big. Sure The King had won 7 Piston Cups later on, but he never won more than 2 in a row. By that season, people were calling him “The Champion For All Time.”

Marianne that whole time watched her ex-boyfriend with regret. She didn’t mean to dump him like that. She just couldn’t be there for him. Even during his fifth season when she graduated college. By then she had moved to a nice little southwestern town and didn’t want to leave.

The fifth season was turning out to be the best one for The Fabulous Hudson Hornet, a nickname given to him by his crew chief, Dean. He was doing great on the track, about to beat the records for most Piston Cup wins, wins in a row, and number of wins in a season again when a single crash durning the final lap of the final race ruined that chance.

“The Fabulous Hudson Hornet heads into his final lap. The kid’s gonna do it again!” the announcer said excitedly. Just then, there was a huge crash. “Oh no! There’s a four-car pile up on the track! The Fabulous Hudson Hornet swerves to advoid it. . . But Speedy Summers slams into him! The Fabulous Hudson Hornet is out of control! He has hit the wall, hard! Folks, the race is over for The Fabulous Hudson Hornet. And maybe even his career.”

When Doc had came to, ambulances and reporters quickly surrounded him. “Kid, talk to me.” Dean said.

Trying to keep the mood light, Doc joked, “Did I win?”

---

Once next February came around, Doc was completely fixed up and as good as new. But when he met up with his sponsors, he got the cold shoulder. “Sorry kid, but you’re history.”

He had gotten replaced by a new hotshot rookie. How could they have done that to me!? I have so much left in me! They just threw me away like last week’s leftovers! They never gave me a second chance. Marianne was right. I should have done something more practical. He also noticed that his friends, his pit crew, had worked for the new rookie. Later that day, he watched over the tape of the race that had ended his career. He noticed Nathan McQueen had purposely started the wreck that caused him to wreck. He was pissed off and swore he’d hold a grudge on Nathan for the rest of his life. Racing was everything to Doc and Nathan just took it all away.

Not knowing what to do, he decided to head back to Detroit in hopes of finding Marianne again. That, and in hopes that he could blend in. But no matter how hard he tried, people kept on bugging him. He was tired of being reminded of his racing career. Even when he wore a disguise he was discovered. Hoping to get away from the bustle of the city, he decided to travel down Route 66. He felt better than he had since the wreck. It was there when he noticed a peculiar set of bulletin boards shouting out to him, pointing him in the direction of a medical school. It was a sign of what he should do with his life. He worked hard and graduated the top of his class. When he was done, he decided to travel down more of the old mother road. When he got to a little town calle Radiator Springs, he noticed someone there he was beginning to think he’d never see again. Marianne.

They had reconnected and started going out again. Doc also made Marianne swear not to tell anyone about his past, and she agreed. By the end of the year, they were getting married.

They had stayed a strong and loving couple until the divorce, even then, they had always loved each other.

---

Looking back on the past made Doc think of how much he had missed and loved Marianne all through the years. “I can’t believe after all these years, you could leave me forever.” Doc finally managed to say after a whole fifteen minutes of reminising.

“I know.”

“When are we gonna tell Lightning? He has a right to know.”

“I was thinking tomorrow at breakfast.”

“Okay then. I’ll try to see if I can do anything about it. You need treatment immeadiately and I’m gonna try to keep you alive.”

“Thank you, Hudson.”

Marianne had gotten up to leave and drove off. Doc decided to stay at the Wheel Well for a while. It was then when Lightning had came up to see what had happened. “So, you and mom get back together?”

“No.”

“Why not!?”

Doc looked at Lightning with a sad look on his face. “Me and your mom will tell you in the morning.”

“Oh. Okay then.”

Lightning decided to get up and leave. He had nothing else better to do. Doc decided to look out at the Sun which was now barely a sliver over the horizon. He thought of the Sun like a clock. It told about how much time there was left for Marianne. Which wasn’t much at all.

---

Dang, that was a long chapter! The whole idea of Doc’s wreck and how he became a doctor comes straight from the World of Cars book which I mentioned back in The Real World. The Nathan McQueen thing though is my personal spin on it though. Heck even the dialouge (not Doc’s thoughts though) was from the book! Which I do not own the World of Cars by the way. Only the rest of the background like the high school stuff. I always though Doc was more southern, but he does have a bit of a northeastern accent in there (thanks to Paul Newman who grew up in a suburb of Cleveland). Also, Detroit is where they said he came from in the book. So I morphed Detriot and somewhere in Kentucky for his two hometowns. If something about the past sounds a little off, give me some slack. I’m ready for bed now as I right this.

Wow you have really been writing.

Sorry i haven;t been able to rate your stuff yet…i have found myself busier and busier every week. I promise i will review this entire story sometime this week…if not then the next.

Keep it up…you post faster then i do.

[i]Here’s chapter 7. I only realized today just how much I abuse Marianne. First she’s beaten, and now she has cancer. What’s next!? I dunno!

If Today Was Your Last Day belongs to Nickelback[/i]

---

Chapter 7: If Today Was Your Last Day

The next morning, Lightning woke up early for a change. He knew when Doc told him “I’ll tell you at breakfast,” that he didn’t mean “I’ll wait until you wake up at 1:00.” He really wanted to know what was going on between his parents. What was holding his mom back? It was too much for him to handle. He had to know. He just had to.

He approached Flo’s not knowing about the sad news he was about to hear. “Hey, Dad!” Lightning called out.

“You actually sound cheery for getting up early.” Doc replied back.

“Yeah, well I’m just in a good mood right now.” Lightning said, sitting across from both his parents at the booth they were sitting at. Too bad he had no idea what he was gonna be told.

Doc and Marianne exchanged glances. They really hated to do this.

“Mom? Dad? Is something wrong?”

“Ya want me to tell him?” Marianne asked Doc.

“If that’s what ya wanna do, then go on ahead.”

“Tell me what? Is it bad?”

Marianne took a deep sigh before reluctantly telling her son the news. “Back when I was in the hospital after Nathan’s attack on me, the doctors back in Oklahoma told me I have breast cancer.”

“What!? How!?”

“I don’t know.”

“Shouldn’t you have gotten treatment!? I mean, I spent half of my life in the hospital due to Nathan. I should know one or two things. And I know that cancer should be treated immeadiately!”

“The doctors back at home said I didn’t need the treatments yet.”

“They’re idiots.” Lightning mumbled under his breath.

“I don’t know for sure or not if it’s too late for the treatments. It better not be though. I couldn’t be albe to stand losing your mother again.” Doc told his son.

“Why is it when life is perfect for me, something bad always happens!?” Lightning ran out of Flo’s tears streaming down his face.

“Lightning, wait!” Marianne said trying to leave when Doc grabbed her wrist.

“Leave him be. He’ll want to be alone. We found that out after you were put in the hospital. He should be fine soon.”

---

Lightning burst through the doors of his house and found Sally sitting in the living room. “Stickers? What’s wrong?”

“I found out why Mom won’t get back together with Dad.”

“What is it?”

“She’s dying.”

“She’s what!? Oh, Stickers.” She reached out and hugged her husband, allowing him to cry on her shoulder. She couldn’t believe that this was happening. At least this time he wasn’t shutting everyone out like he did the last time. But still, Lightning was going through too much and it needed to be stopped. She just couldn’t stand to see her husband like this. Just knowing he was upset made her cry too.

---

By the end of the day, the whole town had gotten the news of Marianne’s sickness. “Oh, honey. How could this be happenin’ to someone like yurself?” Flo asked her.

“I dunno. It just did.”

“I just can’t believe a fine lady like yourself would end up getting cancer. Just goes to show you that the world is cruel sometimes.” Sarge said.

“For once, I agree with him.” Filmore said. “I’t just not possible.”

“I just hope that Hudson’s able to treat me. I don’t want to think about the other possibility.” Marianne said.

“Neither do I, Miss Marianne.” Mater said.

“Hun, I know Doc will treat you. He’s one of the best there is. I’m surprised after you left that he didn’t leave off for a better opportunity. You were the reason he even moved to here in the first place.” Flo said.

“Yeah. Let’s just hope it’s not too late.”

---

Knowing there was a chance that she may not make it, though it was a slim chance, Flo decided that tonight, she’d hold a tradition that Marianne always enjoyed. Karaoke night. Every Saturday, Marianne would get up on the make-shift stage and sing her heart out. She had a voice that was so beautiful, so strong, so unique; each person who watched her sing were surprised that she didn’t have a record deal. That’s just how great she was.

“You guys, you don’t have to do this for me!”

“We want to. We know you love karaoke, and I thought since you never know what’s gonna happen, we’d bring out the stage and the juke box. We even added a lot of newer stuff to attract the younger ones.”

“Karaoke? I didn’t know you guys did that around here.” Lightning said, feeling better after crying his heart out.

“Yeah. It was an old tradition. We stopped it due to a request from Doc though after she left. It hurt him to much.”

“I’d understand. What stuff do you got in that juke box?”

“Anything from the classic 50’s hits all the way up to the current ones.”

While Lightning scrolled through all of the choices, Doc had just came up. “Ah, karaoke night.” Then Doc leaned over and whispered in Marianne’s ear, “Don’t let Mater get up on stage.”

She then leaned into Doc’s side and whispered, “Agreed.” Then she leaned back out and said aloud, “But only if you do.”

“What!?” Doc jumped at that statement. “Me!? Why!? I suck worse than he does!”

“How would ya even know. Ya never get yur butt up on stage.”

“I’ve sung to myself, and it sucks. Bad.”

“Ya know, yur voice sounds different to others than it does to yurself. Ya probably sound good and ya don’t even realize it.”

“Trust me. No one wants to hear me sing.”

“Ah man! No Fall Out Boy! This juke box needs help!” Lightning exclaimed.

Doc chuckled and rolled his eyes. “That kid never ceases to amuse me.”

“Ya can say that again.” Marianne agreed.

“Dad, can you believe that like none of my favorite bands are on that thing! I mean, it’s supposed to have current hits. And I know Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down is only a year old. That’s pretty dang current compared to some of the songs on there.”

“I’ve got an idea. Why don’t ya just mute the voice on yur CD’s. Or you could play the guitar yurself, if ya know how that is.”

“Only a little bit. But it’s only accoustic stuff. I’ll do the CD thing. Or I’ll go check. Maybe there’s something on there that ain’t that bad.” Lightning went back to scroll through again.

“Hud, would you please sing for me tonight? It would make me the happiest woman in the world if you did.”

“All right. But if I stink, keep in mind it was yur idea.”

---

It was about 8:00. Doc couldn’t believe it was gonna happen, but he was to sing in front of all the residents, plus some tonight. But it was all for Marianne. Which meant it wasn’t so bad, right?

“I finally found a song I’m gonna sing! And it only took me 8 hours!” Lightning exclaimed to his dad.

“Ya really had yur heart set on Fall Out Boy, didn’t ya?”

“Yeah. But ya gotta admit, they are awesome!”

“Uh-huh.” Doc said sarcastically.

“Dads. They don’t know what’s good.”

“Hey!”

“Just kidding!”

“Ya better be!”

The first one up on the stage was none other than Marianne. After all, this was her night. She decided to sing the song Some Hearts by Carrie Underwood.

“Wow! Mom can definately sing!” Lightning exclaimed.

“Yeah. One of the things she was always good at.” Doc replied. She knew when she sang the song, she was singing to him. It was what he loved the most about karaoke night. She would sing love songs that were directed at him. It was also what pained him the most whenever Marianne left. Knowing that she wouldn’t be singing to him.

By the end of the song, everyone there was cheering and clapping for the Radiator Springs’ Karaoke Night legend.

After his mom was done, Lightning immeadately hopped on stage. Doc couldn’t believe his eyes. Probably the one thing he inherited from his mom. “This is a song I wrote myself called Like I Am, and I’d like to dedicate it to my wife, Sally.” Lightning pulled out his accoustic guitar and started to sing.

"Lying here with you, I watch you while you sleep
The dawn is closing in, with every breath you breathe
I can feel the change, the change you made in me
But will I ever see, all the things you see in me

When you say that I’m one of a kind
Baby I don’t see it but you believe that
I’m so strong and true
I promise you
I’ll try to be that kind of man
Because you love me like I am

When it comes to love, I may not know the rules
But there’s one thing I know, my heart belongs to you
Just to you

When you say that I’m one of a kind
Baby I don’t see it but you believe that
I’m so strong and true
I promise you
I’ll try to be that kind of man
Because you love me like I am

You showed me
You love me
With a fire, that burns deep inside

When you say that I’m one of a kind
Baby I don’t see it but you believe that
I’m so strong and true
I promise you
I’ll try to be that kind of man
Because you love me like I am

You love me just like I am

I’m so strong and true
I promise you
I’ll try to me that kind of man
Because you love me like I am

Like I am
I’ll never understand
I don’t think I’ll ever understand why you love me
Why you love me just like I am"

Sally couldn’t help but smile at just how romantic Lightning’s song was. “Oh, Stickers. You wrote that all on your own!”

“I sure did. It’s because I love you so much.”

Next up was Sally’s turn, and she decided to sing the song When You Kiss Me by Shania Twain.

“I know what you mean by how great it is to have your wife sing to you now, Dad.”

“Yeah, it’s a feeling you’ll never forget.” Doc replied.

“When are you up?”

“Next.” Doc gulped nervously.

“Don’t worry, you’ll do fine.”

When Sally was done, Doc nervously made his way up onto the stage. He wasn’t so sure he would be able to do it. He looked out and saw Sally, Marianne, and Lightning giving him encoragement. Slowly, he started to sing a song he wrote himself called If Today Was Your Last Day. He was inspired to write it after hearing about Marianne’s cancer.

“My best friend gave me, the best advice
He said each day’s a gift, and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take, is the longest stride”

At first, Doc started out timid. He held the microphone close to his face. To his surprise, the crowd didn’t seem to think that he sounded that bad.

“If today was your last day
If tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday
Would you live each moment like your last
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you had
If today was your last day”

Doc slowly started to build confidence. He loosend up and held the microphone a little bit farther away from his face.

"Against the grain should be a way of life
What’s worth the prize is always worth the fight
Every second counts cause ther’es no second try
So live it like you’ll never live it twice
Don’t take the free ride in your own life

If today was your last day
If tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday
Would you live each moment like your last
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you had
Would you call old friends you never see
Reminisce old memories
Would you forgive your enemies
Would you find that one you’re dreamin of
Swear up and down to God above
That you’d finally fall in love
If today was your last day

If today was your last day

Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart
You know it’s never too late
To shoot for the stars regardless of who you are
So do whatever it takes
Cause you can’t rewind a moment in this life
Let nothing stand in your way
Cause the hands of time are never on your side

If today was your last day
If tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday
Would you live each moment like your last
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you had
Would you call old friends you never see
Reminisce old memories
Would you forgive your enemies
Would you find that one you’re dreamin of
Swear up and down to God above
That you’d finally fall in love
If today was your last day"

By the end everyone cheered and clapped.

“Holy cow! Dad, you are amazing! I didn’t know you could sing like that!” Lightning exclaimed.

“Didn’t know you could either.” Doc said.

“Oh, Hudson! You did that all for me! It makes me happier than I’ve been in a long time.” Marianne said, coming up to him on stage.

“Anything for you, Marianne.”

Soon, she started feeling weak and fainted right into Doc’s arms. The townsfolk were shocked. Escpecially Doc. “Marianne!?”

---

Dang, another long chapter! Then again, the two songs written out do make up a lot of it. That’s why I didn’t write the girls’ songs out. Maybe longer chapters may become the norm. I hope so. Why? It always makes my stories longer and more like full out novels. If I’m gonna become a professional author someday, better work on longer titles, right? I also don’t own any of the songs that were sung during the karaoke night.

[i]Okay, I’ve been having a bit of writer’s block, so this chapter may not be that great. Lately, I’ve been thinking of ideas for stories, but I don’t know if I should use them. Too musical. Trust me. Even though I don’t mind musical things, it’s just that I know a musical with Cars doesn’t work out super duper great. Sure the musical story I wrote is my second most popular (Cars: My Point of View being the most popular) but I got stuck on it and couldn’t build onto it more. If you want a more musical type story, let me know in a review or PM. I’ll sure do that. Also, I’ve gotten better at writing since then, so I’d probably be able to complete it.

Man, I’ve realized just how much I abuse poor Marianne. First she’s assulted, now she has breast cancer. If only I could just heal her right away. But that would make for a really boring ending! Gotta put her through the pain. -_-

I don’t know a whole lot about the medical procedures for cancer, so please forgive me if it’s not correct. I looked up some stuff, so at least I tried!

You’ll notice a lot of chapter names in this story are Rascal Flatts songs. A lot of their songs work with the whole break up idea. Plus, I have more songs of them than any other band (even more my fave, Fall Out Boy).

Forever belongs to Rascal Flatts.[/i]

---

Chapter 8: Forever

“Marianne!?” He knew that his love had fainted due to weakness from her cancer. And it wasn’t a good sign. Even if it was brief, for a moment, Doc had forgotten what he was to do. He had never had to tend for Marianne being sick. She had always been healthy when they were together. Panic had swept over his body, his emotions getting all worked up. But he knew he had to keep his cool if he was to help Marianne. “Lightning! Could you help me carry her!?” he called out to his son.

“Coming, Dad!” Lightning jumped up onto the stage and helped Doc carry Marianne. “What’s gonna happen to Mom?”

“She’ll wake up from this. It’s just a fainting from weakness, but she still needs to be sent to my office. She’ll need to stay there until I treat the cancer. Which according to the fact she’s getting weak now, will have to be soon.”

“You better make sure Mom get’s treated. I don’t want to lose her.”

“Neither do I, son. Neither do I.”

---

Doc had gotten Marianne hooked up to the medical equipment needed to make sure she stayed healthy while she was passed out. He just hoped she wouldn’t fall into a coma. It would make his chances of saving her drop dramatically. She’d have less time to be treated. When he was all done, he looked at the love of his life. If she died, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. He would have failed her, and he never had failed anyone. To fail Marianne would be the worse thing to happen to him.

“Dad, when do you suppose she’ll wake up?” Lightning asked. He was still at the office even after Doc was done needing his help.

“I’m not sure. Hopefully soon. I need to be able to treat the cancer as soon as possible to ensure that she survives.”

“How are you going to treat it?”

“Well, considering the type of breast cancer it is, I’m most likely going to be a lumpectomy plus a radiation therapy.”

“English please?”

Doc chuckled a little before explaining, “A lumpectompy is a type of surgery that removes the lump of cancerous cells while radiation therapy is x-rays that is helpful in shrinking the tumor before the surgery.”

“Thanks. I didn’t go to medical school like you did, Dad. And I doubt I ever want to.”

“Yeah, it was tough.”

“Is radiaton therapy like chemotherapy?”

“Sort of. It doesn’t affect the whole body like chemo though. Only the cancerous area.”

“Okay. My brain hurts a little.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

“You think the treatment will work?”

“It better. If not, I’ll have to try chemotherapy.”

“I just can’t believe that Mom has cancer.”

“Still upset about it?”

“Yeah. I’m trying to keep myself focused on other things, but this is just too much. I’m gonna have to miss another race I guess.”

“That’d be like what, your third one this season?”

“Yeah. May not be the season to beat your record, but I’m still gonna win the Piston Cup.”

“What makes you think you’ll beat my record?”

“I’m your son. Remember?”

Doc couldn’t help but smile.

Lightning yawned a little and said, “I’m beat! I’m off to bed. Night, Dad.”

“Night, son. Love ya.”

“I love ya too.”

Doc watched as Lightning left off for his place. Then he turned his attention back to Marianne. “You better wake up soon. I need to be able to treat that cancer right away.”

---

Lightning was welcomed home with open arms. “How’s she doing?” Sally asked her husband.

“She’s still out of it. Dad’s gonna try some radiation thing and try to remove the cancer through surgery.”

“It bettter work. I’d just hate to see him lose her. In all the years I’ve known him, he’s always missed her and wished she’d return. Now she’s back, and she might leave forever.”

“I know.” Lightning said with disappointment in his voice. “Let’s just hope that Mom gets better. Okay?”

“Uh-huh.”

Sally left off for the bathroom before she went to sleep. During that time, Lightning decided to pray for his mother. Lord, I am still ever so grateful for you blessing me with such a wonderful family, but now my mother’s in trouble. I only ask of you one thing and it is to spare Mom’s life like you did Dad’s. Please. I can’t lose her, and neither can anyone else here.

When Lightning stopped he heard the sound of throwing up coming from the bathroom. “Sally? You okay?”

“Just feel a little sick to my stomach. It’s probably nothing.” Sally said, holding her stomach kneeling in front of the toilet. “Besides, why go see your dad when he’s busy with Marianne?”

“Okay then. Night Sal. Hope ya get to feelin’ better.”

Sally didn’t understand just how come she was feeling sick all of a sudden. mean, I know I didn’t eat anything that could’ve made me sick. I also didn’t over eat. Then it hit her. He didn’t wear a condom over vacation, did he?

---

The next day, Doc woke up in hopes of Marianne being awake. She wasn’t. Doc just sighed when he noticed no change. He just couldn’t operate on her now. He had to wait until she woke up. Which he hoped was very soon.

Doc decided to head over to Flo’s for some breakfast. To his surprise, Lightning was awake. Now why would that be? “Hey, Dad.” Lightning called over. It wasn’t in his usual cheery voice though. It sounded as if he was a little depressed. And tired.

“What’s wrong?” Doc asked as he sat down by his son.

“I couldn’t any sleep last night. I was way too worried about Mom. Still am.”

“I’m worried too. She hasn’t woken up yet.”

“Any way to speed it up?”

“Nope. Just gonna have to wait.”

“Dang. She better get outta this.”

“Yeah.”

“Stickers! I need to talk to you real quick!” Sally said, bursting through the doors of the cafe.

“What is it?”

“I need to talk to you in private.”

“Okay then.” Lightning followed Sally outside. “What do ya wanna talk to me about?”

“It’s about our honeymoon.”

“What about it?”

“Remember when we had-” Sally dropped her voice real low when she continued with, “sex?”

“Yeah. I remember.”

“Any chance you forgot to wear a condom?”

“What are you getting at?”

“I think I may be pregnant.”

“Pr-pre-pregnant?”

Sally nodded her head up and down. “I’m pretty sure. I haven’t had my period yet when it was due about two days after we did it, or three days before we left Hawaii. It could also explain why I was throwing up last night.”

“You need to check. Now!”

“Okay. Just don’t tell anyone until after your mom’s procedure.”

“Why?”

“I don’t think now is the best time with everyone’s spirits down for their old friend.”

“Wouldn’t this help cheer them up?”

“Just keep your mouth shut.”

“Okay then.”

“I’m gonna go do a pregnancy test to check.”

“Wait, then wouldn’t Dad know? And he should focus all his energy on-”

“It’s not something you need to see a doctor for. You do it at home. Ever seen them on TV before when people talk about getting pregnant?”

“Um. . .Let’s just say that I don’t watch too much TV.”

“Then why do we have that gigantic plasma screen in the living room?”

“One, I’m moving that to the game room and getting a smaller one for in there for when you wanna watch something. Two, that’s for games.”

“Whatever.” Sally said rolling her eyes. Boys will be boys.

---

Doc decided to head back to his office. He knew that Marianne could waken at any moment, and it would be good if he was there for when she did wake up. He decided to turn on his iPod that he recently got himself and put it on shuffle. The first song that played was Forever by Rascal Flatts. The slow, mesmerizing tune began to fill all the silent spaces in the room.

[i]I miss you so much
Your light, your smile, your way
And everything about us
Though you’re gone, you’re still here
In my heart, in my tears
Yeah, you sure left your mark
We were just getting started

It wasn’t long enough
It wasn’t long enough
Together
But it was long enough
Yeah it was long enough
To last forever[/i]

The song so far didn’t seem to help any thing. In fact, it just made things worse for Doc. But for some reason, he couldn’t stop listening to it.

[i]Sometimes I get so mad
I scream, I swear at this
'Cause this isn’t how we planned it
I sit here, in a cold room
Praying, waiting on you
To run back through that door
To the way it was before you left

It wasn’t long enough
It wasn’t long enough
Together
But it was long enough
Yeah it was long enough
To last forever

I feel cheated
And defeated
I can’t believe that you would go
Oh, it was wrong
It wasn’t long enough
It wasn’t long enough
It wasn’t long enough

No, it wasn’t long enough
It wasn’t long enough
Together
But it was long enough
Yeah it was long enough
To last, to last, to last forever

No, it wasn’t long enough
It wasn’t long enough[/i]

By the time the song was over, Doc had let out a few tears. He wasn’t usually one to get emotional like this over a song. But it was extremely personal and hit too close to home. Oh, Marianne. Wake up soon. You need to if I want to do the treatment.

---

“What’s it say? What’s it say!? What’s it say!?!” Lightning asked Sally, who was getting more and more excited by the second.

“You wanna be a dad, huh?”

“So much!”

Sally chuckled a little saying, “Calm down a bit. You know it could read negative.”

“But you said it was a high chance! It just has to be that you’re pregnant, Sal!”

Sally looked down at her watch. The problem with these things was that you had to wait for a certain amount of time. The watch read 10:23. “Have to wait another minute.”

“Another minute!?”

“Jeez, it’s just a minute! How impatient is the baby news making you!?”

“Very!”

Once the minute had passed, Sally said, “Okay, it’s time to check to see what it says.”

The two exchanged glances as the read what the pregnancy test had read. And they couldn’t believe it.

It was positive.

---

[i]Sally’s pregant! Yay! Had to add some good news to the sad time. Why? I hate writing things in which everything is sad and depressing. There has to be some good. Even though I don’t mind reading all depressing things. But reading and writing are different.

Sorry 'bout the looooonnnnng wait. Had major writer’s block. It stinks I’m telling ya![/i]

[i]I am sooooooo sorry I haven’t updated in so long!!! It’s just that I’ve been having so much homework and the fact that it’s finally nice out where I live, (today it was up to 86 degrees!) I want to be outside most of the time now too. It makes me so happy that you were all patient enough to wait for chapter 9. Don’t be surprised if until the end of the school year (which is I think June 5) there are some delayed chapters for my story. After that, they should be put up every night so that you can read them in the morning. So just be patient for the next month about the chapters. Okay?

Also, I’ve decided to stop naming the chapters. It’s just that a lot of the stuff from now on (including my next story) has some harder to name chapters. I’ll only name a chapter when I have a good name for it.[/i]

---

Chapter 9:

“I can’t believe this!!” Lightning started to shout the second he saw the results of the pregnancy test. “I’m gonna be a dad! This is so amazing!” He started to jump on the bed in their bedroom out of excitement.

Sally started to laugh at the scene. “You’re crazy, Stickers.”

“Yeah, but I’m just so happy!” he said, still jumping on the bed like a 5 year old. That was one of the more amuzing things about him; he acted at times like he was still a kid. Which was one thing that would come in handy when playing with his future son/daughter. Realizing he had no clue what gender the kid was gonna be, he asked Sally, still jumping on the bed, “What do you think the baby’s gonna be?”

“I don’t know. I’m pretty sure you want it to be a boy.”

“What makes you think that?”

“So that he can grow up to be a racer like you.”

“True. But having a daughter would be nice too.”

“Yeah. Would you please stop jumping on the bed!? You’re gonna get hurt!”

Lightning stopped, letting his back land on the bed, still bouncing him a little until the bed stopped springing him upward. “Look at you already acting like a mother!”

“I just don’t need you giving something else for your dad to look after. He’s already got your poor mother.”

Lightning’s happy mood quickly disappeared when Sally said that. “Oh yeah. All this excitement almost had me forget about her cancer. Hopefully she’s awake now so Dad can perform the surgery on her.”

“And remember, until it’s over, we can’t tell anyone about the baby.”

“But-”

“It’s just not the right time.”

“Fine.” Lightning said, going into his signature pout.

“It’s not gonna work, Stickers.”

---

The next day, Doc woke up from his place hoping that everything was going okay with Marianne. He didn’t need her systems going out of control. Especially now. But what he saw made him so happy. She had awakened.

“W-what happened?” she faintly said, slowly making out the image of someone. She really couldn’t tell who it was for her sight was still a little blurry.

“You fainted right after the karaoke. Remember?” Doc told her, trying not to cry at the fact she was okay. At least for this moment.

“Hudson? Is that you?” she asked, recognizing the familar voice.

“Yes. It’s me.”

“How long have I been out?”

“For about a day and a half. When did you wake up?”

“About an hour ago. I think. There’s no clock to tell the time.”

“That’s a relief. I was afraid you wouldn’t wake up.”

“Why?”

“With the cancer and everything, it was hard to tell what could’ve happened while you were passed out. I was even debating last night to sacrifice a night’s sleep to keep an eye on you.”

“Oh, Hudson. You’re so sweet. Just like I remember you from 22 years ago.”

“Marianne?”

“Hm?”

“Do you still love me like you did back when we were together?”

“Why would you ask such a silly question like that? Of course I do.”

“Look, I may not have a ring on me, but if you make it out of this, will you marry me?”

“Yes, Hudson! I will!”

Doc started to lose composure, and started to let a few tears out. He had waited too long just to see her again, and now that there was a chance they could remarry, it made him the happiest man on Earth. It made him even more determined to successfully remove that tumor.

---

“You might what!?” Lightning exclaimed. Him and Doc were at Flo’s, and they were talking about what happened after Marianne woke up.

“Yes. We might be able to remarry.”

“Dad, this is just amazing! I can bet you’re so happy right now!”

“I sure am.”

“When are you gonna do the procedure?”

“Hopefully I’ll have everything ready so that I can do it by tonight. If not, sometime tomorrow.”

“Yes!” Lightning whispered under his breath. The sooner the surgery was over, the sooner he could tell about the baby. “That’s good.” he immediately said, masking his excitement.

“So, what have you been up to? I know I’m not usually the one to ask you that for I know what you do a lot of the time, but I’ve just been too worried about Marianne.”

Uh-oh “Um, I was being a dork a little bit ago and jumping on my bed.”

Doc chuckled a little, which would have been the first time in a while. “I needed that. So, what’d you really do.”

“I did!”

“You didn’t.”

“Yes, I did!”

“Why?”

“Um. . .” Wow, I really should’ve thought that one out better.
“You have no idea why, do you?”

“Nope.”

Doc laughed a little. “You do realize what’s going on now, right?”

“I know. I just was bored, and maybe thought it would be a way to cheer me up. And it did work. Until Sally told me to stop. Party-pooper.”

Doc just smiled at his son. “How is it that you’re always finding a way to be happy when I can’t?”

Lightning just shrugged. “I don’t know. Besides, you’re the one who has to perform the surgery on Mom. I’d probably have a harder way to stay happy if her life was in my hands. Which if it was, she’d be doomed. Sure I spent half my life in a hospital, but I really didn’t learn too much during my time there.”

“Yeah. If her life was in your hands, I’d be even more worried. Not to say I can’t trust you, but you’d have no idea what to do!”

“I know what you mean.”

“Anything else you did?”

“Not much.”

“Well, I better get headed back over to the office so I can prepare.”

“Okay. See ya later, Dad.”

“See ya later too, son.”

---

“Sally! You’ll never guess what Dad just told me!” Lightning said, running back to his place after Doc had left.

“What?”

“If Mom survives, they’re gonna get remarried!”

“Stickers, this is great!” Sally said, jumping up off her seat.

“I know!”

“Who else knows?”

“I actually don’t know. I think I might have been the first person he told.”

“This is gonna be so good for him! You should’ve seen your dad before you came here.”

“What do you mean?” Lightning asked with concern in his voice.

“Well, when I first came here, he was a bit of a loner, you know? He rarely ever came out of his place. He only came out to eat at Flo’s. I was told it was even worse for a long time after Marianne left. Only about two months before you showed up, he started being a little more open. But he was still pretty lonely.”

“I don’t believe it. And when I came, I changed all that?”

“Yeah. At first, I really couldn’t believe it. I mean, I knew having to be your crew chief would make him be out a lot more and even travel out of the town a lot, which he never did, but I never thought I’d actually see him completely loosen up. But after we found out about you two, it all just seemed to make sense.”

“Yeah. I do realize this will be good for him. I just didn’t know.”

“Who’s blaming you? You weren’t even here.”

“That’s true. But still, don’t you think I had a bit of a right to know?”

“Well, it’s all over now, and just look at how happy your dad is. Why worry about something that happened in the past?”

“Yeah. . .” Lightning said trailing off, knowing that he was guilty of that. He would sometimes lay in bed before he went to sleep and regret the choices he made as a teenager. But he would just have to learn to get over them. It was only in the past. Besides, they didn’t end up ruining his life, which they could have. One thing he was lucky about.

“So, when will the procedure be?”

“Dad said either tonight or tomorrow.”

“Well, there you go! You don’t have to wait forever to tell everyone the good news!”

“Yeah. I’m thankful for that. I almost slipped up.”

“Well, just try harder. Okay? I know you are excited, but we are doing this just so that we don’t get everyone excited then have to deal with what might happen.”

“Yeah, but why did Dad tell me the engagement news now, hm? He wanted to cheer me up a little. Maybe if we just tell them, it will cheer them up.”

“Stickers-”

“Sal, I don’t want to have to argue with you, but just please! It’s killing me! I’m not good with keeping secrets. You should know that! Remember the first week I was here?”

“Yeah. No one believed you.”

“I gotta admit, that wasn’t one of my proudest moments.”

“But it did make for some good laughter. Did you hear what Mater said?”

“Actually, no. All I know is no one believed me.”

"You said something like ‘He won three Piston Cups’ and Mater did a spit take and said, “He did what in his cup!?'”

“What!? Mater thinks I said he pissed in his cup!?” Lightning started breaking down into a fit of laughter.

“Stickers,” Sally said after he stopped laughing, “Look, if you wanna tell them, go on right ahead.”

“You mean it?”

“Yeah. I mean, why hide our baby? Don’t you think it’s kinda mean?”

“True. Hey, just wait. We’ll look back on that, and we’ll just laugh.”

“How do you know?”

“Just seems like something to laugh at. Wait, Dad went over to his place to get ready. We’ll have to make two announcements. I wanna stop there first. I mean, both my parents are there, and they seem like the first ones that need to know.”

“I agree with you. It will really brighten their day.”

“As if the proposal hasn’t done enough already!”

---

Both Lightning and Sally had made it over to Doc’s. They knew something as big as this required both of them. “Dad?” Lightning asked.

“Lightning?” Doc asked, surprised. “What are you doing here? You do realize that I’m getting ready for the surgery?” Doc said, politely.

“Dad, me and Sally have something we’d like to say.” Lightning glanced in Sally’s direction telling her to make the announcement.

Sally took a deep breath before stating, “I’m pregnant.”

Doc’s eyes went wide as he took in what Sally had said. “You’re actually-” Doc couldn’t even finish the sentence. The two future parents shook their heads in unison, reasuring what Doc had heard was true. Doc ran up and hugged the two. “I can’t believe this. You’re actually going to be parents.” Tears started filling up in Doc’s eyes for what could’ve been the hundredth time this week. He didn’t even notice it since he’d been crying so much. Which was unusual for him to do.

When Doc let go, Lightning said, “Look at you. You’re gonna be a grandpa. Woo, you’re gettin’ old!”

“Hey! Did you just say I’m old?” Doc chuckled.

“Maybe. . .” Lightning said with a devious grin.

“Sure, I’m getting up there, but still. You’re gonna be a father. I’m just so happy for you, son.”

“Thanks, Dad. You’re the first person other than Sally and me who knows.”

“Well, I’m honored. Want me to tell Marianne for you?”

“Sure. Besides, we still gotta tell the rest of the town and I’m sure Sally will want to call her parents back in L.A. and tell them.”

“All right then. I’m sure Marinane will be so thrilled to hear the news.”

“As will everyone else.” Lighthing added. Oh yeah, it was worth telling them now.

---

Finally, there you have chapter 9. I’ll tell you the rest of the town’s reactions in the next chapter. Oh, and wasn’t the proposal unexpected!? Had to do that to make up for not updating. Well, hopefully school won’t drown me again and I’ll have chapter 10 up soon. Just don’t expect tomorrow night. I’ll be watching a movie that’s on, so I’ll be too into that to type.

[i]Okay, I would have updated last weekend, but lately people have been spreading rumors and making fun of me for no reason, and I really didn’t feel like writing that weekend. I was too depressed. Especially after ending the week finding out one of my friends, whom shall remain nameless, is making fun of me too.

But in good news, I found a Hudson Hornet!!! Yes, it was an actual Hudson Hornet. I was on the bus on Monday thinking, “I don’t wanna go back to school!” when I saw a group of classic cars at a dealership. (Why they were being sold, I have no idea.) So I deside to count them. “One classic car, two classic cars,” I get to the last one, “thre cla- Is that a Hudson Hornet!!!” From what I could see before the bus drove too far for me to look at it anymore, it was black. It looked a little different from Doc though, so I thought I was just thinking it was one. When I got home, (my bus ride home doesn’t go past that road since we have to go on a different road in the afternoon) I told my mom and she said when she went to pick up my little siblings from the elementary school, I could come and we’d go that way so that I could see it. And my observations were confirmed. It was indeed a Hudson Hornet. I looked up pictures of them online and it turns out it was a 1954 Hudson Hornet. Doc is a 1951 model for those of you who don’t know that. I’m hoping to go there again and take a picture of it. Just thought I’d share my fabulous experience with you! [/i]

---

Chapter 10:

Lightning and Sally decided to walk down to Flo’s to tell everyone else about the baby. Sally would call her parents when she got home. When they made it there, everyone was busy talking to someone else. Only Mater decided to get up to greet his friends. “Hey dere ya two luv birds!”

“Hey, Mater.” Lightning said. “Say, do you mind if you could help me get everyone’s attention?”

“No problem dere, buddy! Wait, why?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Okey-dokey then!” Mater turned to face everyone. “Guys! McQueen would like ta say somethin’!”

Everyone in the cafe looked at Lightning and Sally. Lightning had no clue how to approach this. “Um. . . You know how we went on our honeymoon in Hawaii?”

Everyone nodded their heads or said “Uh-huh.”

“Well,” Lightning continued, “As it turns out, Sally ended up getting pregnant while we were away. So we’re gonna be having a baby.”

Each person at Flo’s either clapped, cheered, or came up to say how happy they were for them. “Yu’re havin’ a baby!? Way ta go, buddy!” Mater said, giving Lightning a friendly slug in the arm.

“Oh, Sally! I never thought this day would come!” Flo said. “You are pregnant! We’ll have to give you a baby shower sometime!”

“Yep, I’m gonna have to have one.” Sally said.

Lightning and Sally kept on recieving tons of congratulations from each member of the town minus Marianne and Doc since they weren’t there at the moment. They still couldn’t believe that Sally was pregnant. They were the happiest people in the world right now.

---

“Marianne, you’ll never believe what Lightning and Sally just told me.” Doc said, coming into the room Marianne was at.

“What?”

“Sally’s pregnant.”

“She is!? Oh, Hudson! This is great! Lightning’s gonna be a father!” Tears started to build up in her eyes she was so happy for her son. “And we’re gonna be grandparents!”

“I know!”

“Can you believe how much Lightning’s grown up?”

“No. Then again, I wasn’t there for any of it. Makes me wish I was.”

“I know. I wish that we had never taken that trip to Vegas for our honeymoon. Then we could have avoided that whole mess with Nathan.”

“I agree with ya. There are nights that I dream about what it would have been like if we had never divorced and that Lightning had been under our care. I wish you could see those dreams. Life is so perfect in them.”

“I wish I could see those dreams too. Maybe ya could describe one of the dreams to me.”

“I’m not sure. I’ve gotta get ready so I can perform the operation on you.”

“Are ya sure ya wanna do this?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve heard of doctors having trouble performing on patients when they are emotionally attached to them. They usually do something to mess up the surgery, and I don’t want you to do that.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

“I do. But I know that at times, ya can get emotional. I don’t want yur emotions getting the better of ya.”

“But you should also know that I can easily put my emotions off to the side. I know how to stay strong when needed to. I won’t break down when trying to save you.”

“I trust ya, Hudson. Just please don’t let yur emotions get to ya.”

“They won’t. You can trust me.”

---

Lightning was in his room listening to Sally’s responses to what she was telling her parents on the phone while watching Sports Center on ESPN. He wasn’t only a racing fan, but a fan of just about any sporting event. But sometimes, he missed certain games, so he’d watch to catch up on what he missed, or to just watch the highlights of a game again.

Sally hung up the phone with excitement. “Oh, my parents are so happy!”

“I’m sure they are.” Lightning said, taking a break from watching his show.

“Now, let’s talk about something coming up real soon.”

“What?”

“Your mom.”

“Oh yeah.”

“Tell me again, when did Doc say he was gonna-”

“Tonight or tomorrow.” Lightning interrupted.

“Thanks. Just needed to know that.”

“I don’t know why this happened to Mom.”

“Maybe it’s a test of your parent’s relationship now that they can get back together.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, maybe it’s something to have your dad prove he loves your mom enough, and for her to prove she trusts him enough. Things like this happen, and it’s got to have a reason behind it. Maybe it’s just a test of love.”

“It does make sense. Well, a little. It sounds a little crazy in some ways.”

“Maybe it does, but fate works in crazy ways.”

“I just hope Mom makes it out of this. I can’t stand to see her go. And it would really break Dad’s heart. We all know how much he’s missed her all these years. Why couldn’t their time apart be test enough!?”

“Stickers, before you get upset, just remember, she’s gonna make it through this. Your dad is one of the best doctors there is. You should most likely know that.”

“Yeah. None of the doctors at the hospital I went to were as good as Dad. Then again, none of them were my dad. So, I guess I’m a little biased.”

“But even before that, he’s one of the best. Your mom is not gonna die as long as Doc is taking care of her.”

---

Lightning had gone over to Flo’s for supper and his dad joined him. “I can’t believe she wants me to do this.” Doc muttered to himself.

“Do what?” Lightning asked.

“Your mom wants me to have her surgery done by another doctor because she thinks my emotions will get the better of me and I’ll mess it up.”

“What!? How can she think that!? I’ve known you for a long time, okay not that long, but you know what I mean. You are good at hiding back those emotions when you want to. You’ve been training for this your whole life.”

“I know, but she insists on this, and I don’t wanna make her upset.”

“How can she not trust you!? I trust you with my life! And I’m stuck with you! Which don’t take that the wrong way, but we can’t choose our parents. We can choose our partners. And to believe that she chose you, but can’t trust you enough.”

“I know. What do you think this could mean?”

“I’m not all that sure. But it may not be good.”

“What do you think I should do?”

“Wait, you’re asking me for advice!? Okay, you really must not know what to do for usually it’s the other way around.” Lightning paused a while before saying, “This is something you have to decide on. I can’t choose for you. You’ve gotta listen to what your heart’s saying.”

“Thanks. That helps a little bit. If I do end up performing on her, it’s gonna be tomorrow. I don’t think I’m gonna be able to decide before tonight.”

“Okay. Whatever works for you. Just remember, you’ve gotta do it soon.”

---

Doc headed back to his place, comtemplating whether or not to take Marianne to another doctor for the surgery. I’m a great doctor. All my patients have told me so. What’s not to trust me about? I’ve been holding back my emotions for years. Decades even! I think I’m able to hide them once more for her well-being. But she asked for another doctor. Besides, I’m not sure how I’d be albe to deal with myself if she died because of me. But if she had another doctor and died, I would beat myself up wondering what I could have done differently to keep her alive. Ugh! This is so hard! I’ll just sleep on it. Hopefully it will come to me in my dreams.

---

I’m gonna stop right there. I think that’s a good place to end. So now Doc has a choice to make. I wanted to include this element in all the sudden for in someone else’s fanfic, they said when a doctor works on a loved one, their emotions can get in the way. It sounded reasonable, and I realized there may have been a flaw in that sense. So I added it in. Also, I want this story to be a deal longer than The Real World. It was basically a shorter story to introduce the concept of Lightning and Doc being related and to have readers meet Marianne and understand who Nathan is. All the rest of the stories in this series should be longer. I know I’m gonna try to tackle a project that tells Doc (and Marianne to some extent) and his past. I only briefly introduced you to it in chapter 6. That’s gonna be the longest one I’ve ever written. It’s gonna tackle Doc’s senior year (when Marianne comes into his life) all the way to right before Lightning comes in. (I’ve already done Doc’s perspective of the movie, so why do it again!?) But I’ve got a list of stories I wanna finish (this one and one I’m prewriting out) first. But keep an eye out for that one sometime in summer. By then, updates will be regular again.

Wow…i just read the entire thing over and i can honestly say that your writing has inproved greatly since the first Cars fanfic i read long ago. You are great at emotions, storyline, and writing although your description and storysubstance could use a little work. it feels mostly like a comic book which is the same way i do my stories, Great job with McQueen and Sally getting married and going to be parents, and Doc and Marianne getting remarried (hate divorces )

Great job with the story…hopefully all your other stories will be as good as this one was.

4/5 or 8/10

I know that I’m not updating as often as I used to be, but boy does this project of mine require a lot out of you! My teacher, Ms. Hart, is making us create a children’s book. Right now, I am in the illustrating stage. I have to do about 24 more illustrations for it by Tuesday and I am a slow drawer. Ugh!!! Before that, I had to do a science PowerPoint presentation on Neptune and I still have to present a speech with a PowerPoint in English. My chorus concert is the 20 and my band concert is the 28 (my birthday). Just be thankful I’m not athletic or I’d probably have sports to tie into this. Oh, and finals are coming up for me (including one on my birthday also). So don’t expect too many more updates between now and the end of school. But don’t worry, after June 5, I should be back to updating every day.

Okay, so this chapter was actually an idea I had pop into my brain one day when I woke up, and I originally wasn’t gonna do this in my story (for I didn’t have the idea yet). But I’ve decided I’m gonnna. It’s a really amazing idea and I cannot believe I didn’t think of it sooner. Oh, and it is almost like a huge flashback, so keep in mind Lightning’s real name is Brendon and he used to wear glasses (now wears contacts) and was a brunette (he died his hair blonde).

---

Chapter 11:

Doc had decided to go to sleep that night at about 9:30. He knew he had a decision to make in the morning and he had to make it quick. So he decided to get to bed earlier than usual. The sooner to bed, the sooner tomorrow comes. He easily fell into a good night’s sleep, with a dream that would make him smiling all night long.

---

The date on the calendar was November 18, 1990. It was Brendon’s 6th birthday and Doc knew his son would be excited. Brendon had been counting down the days for it for the past month, and it had finally arrived. Heck, Doc had trouble getting his son into bed he was so excited! It was around 7:30 when Brendon woke up and jumped out of bed. He had completely forgotten about his glasses which his parents had to get him two months ago. Doc was in the living room sitting on his dark green couch reading the newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee when Brendon came running through the hall. “It’s my birthday!!!” he shouted in his little voice loud enough for the whole town to hear.

“It sure is. Hey, where are your glasses, son?”

“Oops! I forgot!” Brendon ran back into his room to get them. Doc chuckled at his son. He never failed to put a smile on his face. When Brendon came back, glasses on, he asked, “Where are my presents!?”

“Hold on, Brendon. I’ve still gotta go get them.”

“What do you mean?” Brendon said disappointedly.

“I mean I have to get them out of my hiding spot.”

“Oooohhhh!”

Doc went to get the presents out from his garage. No one, not even his own son, was allowed in there. Marianne was the exception. She was the only one who knew of his secret. For two seconds. “You kept the presents in here!?” Brendon complained. “No fair! This is an off-limits place! You can only hide in places I can go!!”

Doc smiled as he heard his son try to make up rules on where he’s allowed to hide the presents and not to hide them. But then he realized just where they were. “Yes, and off-limits means off-limits. That means you’re not supposed to be in here!”

But since Brendon had entered, he ran further into the garage and there was nothing Doc could do to stop him.

The first thing that caught Brendon’s atttention was a gold trophy that had lost it’s shine due to years of dust. It had the name Hudson Hornet on it. Brendon easily recognized it as his dad’s name. “When did you get this?” Brendon asked, jumping up to try to reach the trophy on the high shelf.

Since Doc had no choice, he had to tell Brendon. “Son, I won this back when I was a racecar driver.”

“You were a racecar driver!?” Brendon asked with wide eyes.

“A long time ago.”

“Woah! This is so cool!”

“I figured you’d say that.” Even though it wasn’t something Doc majorly enjoyed, Brendon loved to watch the races every Sunday on the TV in the living room. Doc knew his son got it from him.

“I can’t wait to tell everyone!!” Brendon made a run for the door.

“Wait! Don’t you want your presents!?”

Brendon suddenly stopped and made a 180 degree turn. "Oh yeah!’

“But one condition.”

“What?”

“You can’t tell anyone that I was a racer, got it?”

“Why not?”

“Just don’t, okay? That’s why I never let anyone into my garage.”

“Oh. All right. Just gimme my presents!”

Doc smiled and headed out into the living room. Brendon followed his dad.

When they got into the living room, Marianne came out of the kitchen. She was busy making Brendon’s birthday cake. As he requested, it was going to be a cake shaped like a racecar. It was gonna be chocolate flavored too. The racecar had to have Dinoco blue icing since he was a big fan of the King. She just smiled at the two on the floor. “What?” Doc asked her.

“Ya two look so much alike.”

It was true. Both of them had bright blue eyes, framed with glasses on their faces, the same hair color, though Doc’s was greying, and more similarities. Some wouldn’t be figured out until Brendon got older, but he was the spitting image of his father. They think it would have been more appropriate to have named him after Doc, but Brendon fit him just fine.

“Well, he has to get his good looks from somewhere. If not me, then it must be you.”

“Oh.” Marianne said blushing.

Brendon tore the wrapping paper off of his first present and a mini blizzard of it formed behind him. “A toy racecar!”

“Not just any toy racecar.” Doc told him. “There’s a remote control that drives the car for you.”

“Awesome!” Brendon said, his eyes going wide.

Brendon put the box that held the car off to the side while Doc opened it. It was a method they tried last Christmas: open the toy while the presents were being opened. It made it all go by quicker for them, and for Brendon for he loved to start playing when he was all done opening the presents.

“Woah! A pack of one, two, three, four, five, six. . . Six toy cars!” Brendon counted. “I didn’t know they had this many in a pack!”

“Yep. They do. It’s just really expensive so don’t ask for another of that kind when I go to get you something next time.” Doc said, almost done opening the RC racecar.

Brendon moved the box with the cars to the side and Marianne started to open that one while her husband searched for batteries for the RC.

Brendon opened up the remainder of his presents and when he was done, immediately ran towards the RC car. “Hey, why don’t we take this outside?” Doc asked him.

“Yeah!”

Doc took his son outside to the driveway and showed Brendon how to use the controls. “Okay, the switch on the left goes up and down. Push it up to go forward and down to go backwards. The switch on the right goes left and right. Switch the direction of the arrow while holding the other switch up or down to turn the car. Why don’t you try it?”

“Okay!” Brendon took the control from his dad’s hands and tried it out. He pushed the left switch up and the car went forward. “Cool!”

Doc smiled at his son. He knew he picked out the right toy. “Don’t forget, you can turn it.”

Brendon used the other switch and it turned to the right. He knew that Brendon was a fast learner. Something he got from Doc, who too was a fast learner.

“Hey there, little buddy!” Mater called out. Even though Mater was 23 years older than Brendon, the two were great friends. Mater even considered Brendon as his little brother.

“Hey, Mater! Look at this neato car! It moves on its own!”

“Dad-gun! That is spiffy!”

“Dad got it for me since it’s my birthday today!”

“It is!? I almost furgot! Happy Birthday then, buddy!”

“Thanks, Mater.”

---

Later that day, they all had the cake that Marianne had made. She was an expert chef when it came to desserts. That’s why she made all the desserts at Flo’s. It wasn’t that Flo couldn’t make desserts, it’s just that Marianne’s were better. Marianne brought the cake over to Flo’s so that everyone could eat it. They all gathered around the table that Brendon and Doc were sitting at so they could sing Happy Birthday.

“Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday, Dear Brendon
Happy Birthday to you!”

“Make a wish then blow out your candles, son.” Doc told him.

Brendon shut his eyes and silently made a wish and blew out all six candles. Everyone cheered when they were all blown out. Then, Marianne cut the cake. She gave the first piece to the birthday boy himself. He excitedly took a bite of it. “Mmmmm. . .This is good, Mom!”

“Glad ya like it, sweetie.” Marianne replied.

---

All of the sudden, the date of the dream changed. But in a dream, it never seems sudden or unnatural. It seemed to flow perfectly together. It was now January 26, 1991. Doc’s birthday.

Doc wasn’t one to celebrate his birthday with a big celebration like Brendon. In fact, the date was one to haunt him. It was the exact day his sponsor told him he was history. So to remind himself of better times, he snuck out to his car, thinking no one was watching. But somehow, Brendon was following him. “Where ya going, Dad?”

“Uh. . .I was headed, um. . .”

“Where?”

Doc sighed. He knew he wouldn’t be able to shake Brendon off his tail. Whenever Doc went somewhere, Brendon had to follow him. “I was headed down to the racetrack at Willy’s Butte.”

Brendon inhaled deeply before shouting what he always says when Doc wanted to leave somewhere. “Can I come!!?”

“Shhh! Just don’t tell your mother.” Doc whispered.

“Why?” Brendon also whispered.

“Your mother wasn’t so approving of me racing. She thinks it’s super dangerous. She wouldn’t let you ever come with me, but I’m gonna let you. Besides, you need to know what it’s like first-hand if you’re gonna be a racecar driver like me when you grow up.”

“Yeah!” Brendon shouted. Doc put his finger up to his lips telling Brendon to be quiet. “Oh, yeah!” Brendon whisper screamed.

Doc chuckled a bit before getting Brendon situated into his Hudson Hornet. He had Brendon sit up front. “Where’s the seat belt?” Brendon asked.

“My car was made before seat belts had to be in cars, so only the front seat has a belt. It had to have one there since I raced in this.”

“This is your racecar!? Woah! Where’s the number and sponsors?”

“I took those off. Why have them on when I don’t race anymore?”

Doc drove down to Willy’s Butte and got to the finish line. “Okay, Brendon, hop up here on my lap so you can see firsthand what it’s like to drive a racecar.”

“Hudson Ray Hornet!!!” a female voice called out.

“Busted.” Doc said to himself. “Marianne!” he said, putting on an innocent smile.

“Oh, don’t act all sweet when you were about to put our son in danger in that thing! You know I hate you racing! Remember what happened in '54!? You almost got killed! I’m not gonna let that happen again! Plus, you got Brendon dragged into this! You know he’s too little to be going those speeds!”

“I wasn’t gonna go over 160!”

“160!? That’s still way too fast! Don’t you even care for our son!?”

“I do! And I’m just trying to help him live out his dream! You should’ve heard him the other day. He said he wants to be a racer just like me the other day. He said ‘I wanna be just like you, Dad!’ How can you not let me help him follow in my footsteps!?”

“Maybe because it’s too dangerous!”

Little Brendon was shaking from all the yelling going on around him. “Brendon? Are you all right?” Doc asked his son. All Brendon could do was shake his head up and down. He got it loud and clear. His mom never wanted him to race.

---

The dream jumped ahead 10 years later. Brendon was 16 and with a liscence. In those 10 years, Brendon grew up so fast. He excelled in school. In fact, his grades were so good, he skipped a grade. His school was out in Ornament Valley a ways away. He had to have his dad drop him off at school. He didn’t mind. It was cool to have his dad drop him off in a racecar, even though he couldn’t tell anyone. He did tell the townsfolk once when he was 7, but no one believed him. At school, he was in the chorus there as a tenor. He could reach the bass notes, but there was a shortage of tenors in his group, so he voulunteered to be one. He also played the trumpet in the school band. He was also a star football, basketball, and baseball player for his school. He was the quarterback for football and Brendon led them to states. Also, he was the pointguard on and captian of his basketball team, and he led them to three championships. For baseball, he was the pitcher and the best hitter, and led them to two state championships.

All of this just seemed to blow Doc away, but what really did was how much Brendon ended up looking like him. As he grew, Brendon became about the same height as Doc. He also had the same build as him, just a little more muscular due to the sports. The only things that really set the two apart were Doc’s grey hair and Brendon’s crooked nose due to breaking it 13 times, mostly from football. Whenever Doc would go to the open house at the high school, all the teachers said the same thing, “I see where Brendon gets his looks from.”

And Doc would reply with, “And his personality.”

Now Brendon was driving home after his driver’s test. When he pulled into the driveway, he was shouting, “I got my liscence!! I got my liscence!!”

Doc ran out, extremely happy for his son. Marianne was worried. Now that Brendon could drive, she knew that it would be near impossible to prevent him from racing.

“You did it!” Doc shouted as he hugged his son.

“Hey, wanna head down to the track to celebrate?”

“Of course!”

Lightning jumped back into the red Corvette his dad had bought him, disregarding Marianne’s pleas not to give Brendon a fast car, and Doc hopped into his blue Hudson Hornet. They headed over to Willy’s Butte. They just had to be sure no one noticed. When they got there, Doc asked. “You remember what to do at the second turn?”

“Yep. Turn right to go left.”

“That’s my boy. You wanna do the honors?”

“Yep. Gentlemen, start you’re engines!” The two revved up their already started engines. “On your mark, get set, go!” The two shot down Willy’s Butte, Doc trying not to go too hard on his son, but not let him beat him. When they got to that dreaded turn, Brendon didn’t mess up. Of course it could use some work, but it was good for a first shot. They raced across the track for ten laps before calling it off.

“You did pretty good out there, son. You’d make a great racer in the Piston Cup from what I can tell.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

---

Back in reality, Doc’s alarm clock went off. He woke up grogily from his dream. “Oh, it was only a dream.” He said brokenheartedly. He wished it wasn’t so. He would have loved to have Lightning be there the whole entire time. If only he could turn back time. . .

Even though the dream was the best dream he’d ever had, it sure didn’t help his desicion out any.

---

I just had to include this in. Weren’t the scenes when Lightning was a little kid so adorable!? I thought so. We also got to see Marianne’s overprotectiveness. And more of a reason why she wasn’t so approving of Doc himself racing in the first place (if you remember chapter 6). Is it just me, or are all the chapters that happen in the past seem to be my longest? Ah well.

wow…so Lightning is really called Brendon?

I liked the scenes with McQueen as a youngster…i think this was your best chapter yet…it seemed to have a well written feel to it that let me read it without hinderance or problems.

Great job…take you time to update if you hvae finals coming up…grades before chapters.

[i]Look, I’ve been having major problems with What About Now. No, it isn’t that I don’t know where I’m headed, it’s that I’m having trouble focusing on the rest of my story. The fact that I can’t write this every day like I used to is making my brain wander to other stories. Heck, even new series! So if I sound likeI’m just trying to move the story along, it’s because I want really do just want to get it over with! I can’t stick with one idea forever! And I’ve reached my limit. So hopefully the remainder of the story will keep you all entertained and give me a way to get it over with.

Oh, and when this is over, I most likely will stray away from this series. I’ve found out some background info on some of the characters, and I feel like I need to adapt them into my stories, no matter how much it pains me to put an idea I love to rest. If I do start a new series, you’ll for sure notice the change.[/i]

–o0o–

Chapter 12:

Doc decided to walk into his clinic for the morning to check up on Marianne. Thankfully, she was still alright. Well, alright for having breast cancer that is. “You doing okay?”

“I’m fine. For now. So, are ya gonna take me to another doctor, or do I just have to trust ya?”

Doc thought a little more. He knew Marianne always had wise desicions. She had known all along that racing would hurt him. If only he had listened, he wouldn’t have gotten into that wreck. She knew that Nathan would try to hurt or even kill him if he knew their baby was his, or even just the fact she was married to him. Listening to her say they had to divorce was heartbreaking, but possibly life-saving. Marianne always knew the right thing, and he was certain she knew it again this time. “I’ll bring another doctor over.”

“Ya will?”

“Yeah. I mean, you’re the one with the cancer! You should be the one who decides who treats her.”

“Thank you, Hudson! And trust me, ya won’t regret this desicion!”

Hopefully she’s right. I wouldn’t want her to be wrong for once. For instead of me being hurt or dead, it will be her that’s dead. And that’s worse.

–o0o–

Doc called in another doctor from Phoenix to come in. When asked why she had to come there for him, he replied with, “It was my wife’s request for another doctor.”

Lightning couldn’t believe his dad had caved in. He was usually one to remain solid about his desicions. The only person he knew that could change him was Sally. If she couldn’t, Lightning wouldn’t have ever gotten community service, so he wouldn’t have grown to love the town, nor ever find out Doc was his dad. Well, maybe that last part still would’ve happened. . .

“Why didn’t you decide to do it yourself?” he asked his dad.

Doc replied with, “Son, I love your mother, and that means pleasing her. And if this is how I have to, then I will.”

Lightning opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it and walked away knowing there was no point changing Doc’s newfound desicion. Doc just chuckled as he watched his son give up the fight like that.

He decided to show the doctor where Marianne was at. The doctor was a medium sized woman with thick, brunette hair with bangs that touched her shoulders. Her eyes were golden brown and her complexion was clear. She looked about 30 years old. He asked, “When do you think you can start the treatment?”

“Well, what kind of treatment does she need?”

“She needs radiation therapy and-”

“I can do it around 2:00.” she interrupted, knowing the other part of the procedure. She was specially trained in cancer.

“Sure thing, doctor.”

“Oh, and my name’s Meg.”

“Got it.”

Doc walked out of his clinic for some fresh air. He was still completely in shock with the fact that Marianne has cancer. It seemed so surreal. It seemed like it was only yesterday when the two would go for long walks toghether, stop at the waterfall, and picnic on the grass that was rare in the desert area. They’d hold hands and talk, and just enjoy each other’s company. There were even times that they’d go there at night, the small pond at the end of the waterfall reflecting the night sky, lie down, and watch the stars. He had counted that they had seen 12 shooting stars from that very spot. He regretted not taking one last walk with her up there. It was their favorite place in the world, like how the Wheel Well was Lightning and Sally’s.

Doc decided to walk back into his clinic to help Meg out in preparing for the treatment. He wanted Marianne to be better as soon as possible.

–o0o–

It was now 1:30. Meg had gotten completely prepared for the operation a half hour earlier than expected. “Okay, I’m gonna give her some medicene to put her to sleep before the operation.”

“Of course. It’s standard to do so.”

Meg gave Marianne the medicene and she quickly fell asleep. Doc watched as Meg treated Marianne. Soon, he almost found it too hard to bear. He had to exit from the clinic. A few tears formed in his eyes. Marianne was right. I would’ve caved into my emotions. Oh please, you have to survive. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you again. Only this time, it’d be permanent.

–o0o–

Meg came outside once the operation was over to find Doc sitting along the side of the building, face tear-stained. He looked up and asked the one question he’d been wondering ever since he found out about Marianne’s cancer. “Will she make it?”

Meg answered with a simple, “Yes.”

Doc stood up and for the first time in a while, he had a big smile on his face. He started to cry for what was gonna be one of the final times this week. He hugged the doctor and through his sobs, he said, “Thank you!” He wasn’t gonna lose Marianne ever again.

–o0o–

When Marianne woke up, she found Doc smiling over top of her. That smile that made her swoon, and still did, all those years. “You’re gonna make it!”

“I-I am?”

“Yes!”

She reached up and hugged Doc tightly, knowing that she’d be able to be with him again after all those years. Both of them allowed themselves to cry tears of happiness. They were going to be reunited after all those years. And nothing would ever stand in their way again.

–o0o–

The next day, Marianne was able to be realised from her bed. Doc thanked Meg once again for what she had done.

“You’re welcome.” she replied. This was why she loved her job. She loved to see people so happy.

The first place Marianne wanted to go was to Flo’s. “I am so hungry!” she told Doc.

He chuckled before saying, “I think I’d be hungry if I were you, too.”

When they got there, Lightning ran up to hug Marianne saying, “Mom! You’re alive!”

Marianne laughed as she hugged her son close. To believe she missed out on Lightning’s life herself. She was only with him for eight years. It just wasn’t enough.

“It’s good to know ya made it, honey.” Flo said. “No one here could’ve handled it if ya didn’t make it. We missed ya all too much.”

“I agree with her, homie.” Ramone said. Marianne smiled. It was normal for Ramone to always try to act so hip even though he was in his 50’s. Flo and Ramone sure made one heck of a pair.

After they ate, Marianne said, “Ya wanna walk up to the waterfall?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“So that means no practice today, right?” Lightning randomly asked.

“What!?” Doc said laughing. “Why would you wanna know that!?”

“Sally’s sick again and needs me to fill in at the Cozy Cone.”

“We aren’t gonna have practice. Besides, me and your mother are probably gonna be up there for a long time.”

The two of them walked out of Flo’s, holding each other’s hands. “Wait. I have an idea!” Doc said. He ran out of his place and grabbed his bike. He got on and motioned her to sit on the handlebars. “Remember when we did this back up in Detroit?”

“Oh yeah. We did do this, didn’t we?” She hopped onto the handlebars. “Ya still remember what to do?”

“I should. Now hold on.” Doc started pedling and Marianne shrieked a little before giggling like a little girl. It felt so foreign to her, but at the same time, so familiar. Doc started to sing a little to an old 50’s tune.

Everyone in Flo’s noticed what the two lovebirds were doing. Lightning started to laugh. “What are they doing!?” By the time they had gone out of his sight, he exclaimed, “That looks like fun!”

Doc and Marianne were riding on that old bike all the way up to the waterfall, taking in all the sights in front of them. For a moment, it almost felt like they were still in their twenties. Young and in love without a care in the world. A light breeze blew on their faces and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was a day the two of them would treasure forever.

When they finally made it to the waterfall, Doc leaned the bike up against a tree nearby. It didn’t have a kickstand. Well, not anymore at least. He would do some crazy bike stunts like sit on it backwards and ride a lot when he was younger. Let’s just say one trick that didn’t work out caused his kickstand to break. Break as in, that’s impossible to put back on. He chuckled a little remembering some of the crazy things he’d do just to impress Marianne.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, already lying down on the grass.

“Just thinking of the stupid things I did when I was younger.”

“They weren’t stupid. I enjoyed them.”

Doc lied down by Marianne and said, “Well, maybe they weren’t stupid, but just crazy I suppose.”

“Like what we just did?”

“Kinda like that.”

“So, when’s the date?”

“Huh?”

“Our wedding date?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Let’s make it two months from today.”

“Okay then. October 26.”

Marianne rested her head on Doc’s left shoulder. “I will always love you.”

“I’ll always love you two.”

She took her head off his shoulder and they turned their heads to face each other. They slowly leaned in closer, and they kissed for the first time in 23 years. They were truely happy once again, and nothing in the world could ruin this moment for them. Because for once, everything was they way it should be.

–o0o–

[i]Well, there you have it. That’s the end of What About Now. I tried not to rush it. If it seems rushed, I apologize. But I really have a short-attention span, so I had to get this out of the way.

The bike idea was from the Paul Newman movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Now before you ask, “How does a 14 year old girl know about that movie?” let’s just say I’ve done my research on Doc’s voice actor (or should I say old voice actor) and thank the miracle of YouTube for the scene. XD In the scene, Butch takes his girl on a bike ride and she sits on his handlebars. They go to this old barn and she hops up, climbing up to the top level to look out the window as she watches Butch do some bicycle tricks. He crashes into a fence with one, and a cow starts chasing him and the two gotta make a speedy getaway. You should look for it. It’s pretty funny. I just had to include that into here. I thought it would work.

Well, look for me sometime soon (hopefully). If you don’t see a sequel to this, don’t be alarmed.[/i]