Title: Forgetting You
Summary: After an accident, Lightning loses his memories as he and Doc are beginning a romantic relationship. How will Lightning's life be different in Radiator Springs, and how will Lightning change because of what happened? And will he and Doc be able to rekindle their relationship despite the bumps in the road?
Rated: T (for now, rating may change later)
Genre(s): Romance, Friendship, Suspense, Drama, Angst
Pairing(s): past Lightning/Sally, past Doc/The King, Lightning/Doc
Warning(s): Cross-generational relationship, intense kissing, some angst
Lightning's PoV:
Lightning and Doc sat side by side, watching the sunset. They'd both been having the best evening of their lives, as they were on their first date. Lightning turned to smile at Doc, and anyone with eyes could see that they were in love.
"Race you back to the garage?" Lightning offered.
"You're on, Rookie." Doc smirked and took off, Lighting quickly following behind him. I really want to kiss you, Lightning thought, watching Doc speed towards the garage. Well, there would be plenty of time for that later-
BAM!
Doc's PoV:
Doc turned around when he heard a crash, gasping when he saw Lightning run straight into a cactus. "Rookie!" he yelled across the road, driving over to him as fast as possible. Lightning was unconscious, cactus needles stuck in his hood. "Oh my god...Rookie...Someone help!"
"Lightning!" Mater rushed over, quickly followed by the whole gang. They helped Doc take him to his office and lay him down on a hospital bed.
Doc managed to hold in his tears long enough to say, "Thank you all. Please wait outside until I can figure out what's wrong with him - it may take a while."
Everyone obliged, and he ran tests on the car he loved, tears streaming down his cheeks all the while. "Please wake up," Doc begged. "Please."
As if on cue, Lightning's eyes fluttered open. "What...what happened?"
"Rookie!" Doc exclaimed, and then did something very impulsive and out of character for him. He leaned over the hospital bed and kissed Lightning. He hadn't known what to expect, but he certainly didn't expect Lightning to pull away so quickly.
"I'm sorry, but…who are you?" Lightning asked him, and Doc felt his heart sink.
Lightning's PoV:
The first thing Lightning could remember when he woke up was a pair of soft, warm lips against his own. For some reason, he felt his heart flutter, but he pulled back anyway, startled by the kiss. "I'm sorry, but...who are you?" he asked the blue car who had kissed him. He was quite attractive, Lighting couldn't help thinking.
"You don't remember me?" the car asked. "Anything at all? Do you remember everyone else?"
"Who?" Lightning asked, lost.
The car's eyes widened. "I'm going to need to run more tests on you," he said. "It...it appears as though you have amnesia, which can be very tricky. Sometimes it can be temporary and your memories will start to come back, but...other times…" He didn't finish the sentence, and turned away to start up a computer.
"What's going on?" Lightning was beginning to panic now. "What's your name?"
"Doc," the car informed him. "Doc Hudson. You really don't remember me?"
"No," Lightning said, feeling bad that the car seemed to be so distressed that Lightning couldn't remember him. Were they related somehow? How well had Lightning known him? Doc had kissed him, so he was quite surprised that he had no memories of the other car. "Am I supposed to know you?"
The other car winced. "We went on our first date earlier," Doc said. "You ran into a cactus on our way back to my garage. You must have gotten a severe concussion and lost...part of your memory."
"We...we're dating?" Lightning said in surprise, his heart speeding up. "So that's why you kissed me earlier."
Doc blushed, and turned to pull something up on his computer. "We haven't been for long...like I said, this was our first date. We actually used to hate each other, back when you first came to Radiator Springs."
So at least Lightning knew where he was now, even if he hadn't explored the town yet. "How can I get my memories back? I want to remember you," he said.
Doc smiled. "We're going to slowly introduce you to everyone and show you around town, and hopefully with time, your memories will start to come back. Certain things can trigger them, anything - a location, a car, certain dialogue. It all depends on the car. But I don't want you to be overwhelmed, Rookie."
Lightning wondered about the nickname. The curiosity eventually gave way to sadness, and he felt a lump form in his throat. "I'm sorry," he said.
Doc turned to him in surprise. "For what?"
"For not remembering you, or anything else," Lightning said. "We must have had something special, if that kiss says anything, and I can't imagine how you must feel."
"It's all right, Rookie. The main thing I want you to focus on is rest and regaining your memories if possible. I can also explain to you everything that I know about you and that has happened since you came here."
"Or maybe we could try kissing again and see if that works," Lightning said, flashing Doc a flirtatious grin.
Doc's eyes widened. "I can't believe I'm being hit on by a car who doesn't even know me," he groaned, shaking his head at Lightning. "Just lay back on the bed and let me conduct my tests."
"Or you could join me up here," Lightning flirted, patting the bed with his tire and posing dramatically.
"In your dreams, Rookie." Lightning went redder than usual as Doc proceeded to take his vitals, face also burning.
"Ah, playing hard to get, I see." Lightning smirked. "I won you over once, I'll win you over again."
"We'll see," Doc smiled. "For now, I have to run more tests on you."
Doc's PoV:
They spent a few hours talking while Doc caught Lightning up on recent events as well as not-so-recent history. Lightning knew the world's events and things of that nature, he just couldn't remember anything about his personal life. Doc informed him of his racing career, and how he was the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, and that their relationship was spreading around the media like wildfire, especially in the racing community. Doc Hudson had made a comeback, and the media was all over Doc getting a boyfriend after so long of not being in a relationship.
Doc didn't tell him about his relationship with The King, the older car that Lightning had raced and helped finish his own race when he'd crashed. That was the moment that Doc had initially fallen in love with Lightning, though he hadn't realized it yet. Over the next year, he'd come to accept his feelings, but never thought that Lightning would return them.
And now, this.
"You should rest," Doc said after finishing telling Lightning about his best friend Mater and everyone else in Radiator Springs. He hadn't told Lightning about his old relationship with Sally before he and Doc fell in love.
"Wait - Doc, can you stay with me tonight?" Lightning asked, fear in his eyes. Doc felt a pang. "I...I don't want to be alone."
"Sure, Rookie." Doc went to grab the spare mattress out of a closet, and he set it beside Lightning's bed and went to grab some blankets. "Don't worry too much yet, okay? I know it's scary, but there are things we can do to help trigger your memories and I want you to know that you are safe with me."
"Thanks, Doc." Lightning smiled down at him, and after saying goodnight, turned around the other way. Doc rolled over too, wondering how they were going to rebuild their relationship. The circumstances were unfortunate, and Doc suddenly felt selfish thinking about their relationship, of all things. Lightning couldn't remember anything about his life and Doc was feeling sorry for himself. They could rebuild their relationship with time, perhaps. For some reason, Lightning still seemed interested in him.
But he probably wouldn't be after Doc told him more about their relationship.
AN: Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! I've had this story idea for a while but I needed time to flush out my ideas and I see a general plot in my head. Let me know what you thought and updates soon!