One autumn day, Foxy was startled awake, yelping quietly. She looked around, her eyes wide, her tail puffed up and her ears back. Fillmore nudged her gently.
"Bless ya, Elizabeth."
"Thanks, I think..."
Fillmore chuckled and nudged her again. "Ya don't sound too good." With a whimper, Foxy realized that her throat hurt. A lot. She worked her way completely under the blanket, curled up and moaned quietly. She had to catch a cold on the most important day of the year, of course. The Piston Cup championship. Fillmore, meanwhile, was still confused. He lifted the blanket up with a tire and tilted his front end, trying to peek underneath. "Whatsa matter?"
"Today's the Piston Cup championship." She sighed, her head resting on her arms.
"Sure is. C'mon, let's get goin'." He gave her a smile, dropped the blanket, then backed up, sure that Foxy would tag along like a puppy. When he reached the beaded curtain and realized that she wasn't following along behind him, he turned back, now concerned as well as curious. He rolled back over to her side and nudged her gently. "There's somethin' botherin' ya. What is it?" He asked gently, pulling the blanket up with a tire and pulling her out with the other tire.
"I feel like two month old oil that was left out in the sun."
"Eww."
"Yeah, you're telling me."
"I guess ya can't go to the race then."
"Uh-huh." Foxy groaned reluctantly, and Fillmore placed her under the blanket. He headed towards the doorway, and Foxy watched him curiously. "Where you going?"
"Flo's gonna know what to do for sure, man."
Foxy gave him a half smile, then pulled her head in under the blanket again. She yawned and moaned miserably, curling up into a ball. Why did she have to catch a cold today, of all days? At the sound of two engines, she stuck her head out from underneath the blanket.
"Poor thing. Ya do look paler then usual." Flo nuzzled her gently.
Foxy stuck her tongue out and made a face. "Blegh."
"Stay with her, Fillmore, I'll go make some soup." With that, Flo was gone, and Foxy stuck her head back under the blanket. She curled up, making herself as small as possible, trying to warm herself up faster.
Flo brought the soup over shortly, and watched as Foxy ate it, then began dozing. She dimly felt a tire being draped across her side, and squirmed towards the source of heat, still completely covered in the blanket. She heard a chuckle, and felt the tire give her a gentle squeeze. The tire was removed, and the warmth was gone as suddenly as it had come. She shivered, then wiggled in the direction the warmth had gone.
With a startled yelp, she collided with someone's side. She was lifted off the ground, and snuggled against their side, hoping they wouldn't feel her shivering. Apparently they did, because they hugged her closer. The blanket was pulled down from over her head and she found that it was Lightning's side she was snuggled against. "When did you-" She cringed slightly as her throat screamed in agony, then continued. "-Come in?"
"A few seconds ago. So I guess you're gonna miss the race then, huh?" He looked down at the pale, bedraggled form that was Foxy, loosely wrapped up in a blanket. She nodded slowly, then pressed against his side, her shoulders moving closer together as she shivered. "Awww." Lightning hugged her more tightly, trying to warm her up. "Now you won't get to see me beat Chick by a landslide."
Foxy yawned widely, sniffled quietly, and snuggled deeper into the blankets. "Sorry. I'd go, but I don't think I'd be able to stay awake enough for it, much less get Doc's consent."
"Yeah, I guess not. I'll see you the day after tomorrow then, and hopefully you'll be feeling better."
"Yeah, hopefully."
"Should I take you over to stay with Sally and Thunder?" Without waiting for her answer, Lightning set her on his hood, told Fillmore that she was going to go stay in his cone with Thunder, and rolled out into the midmorning sun. Foxy moaned in protest at the sudden bright light, then rolled over, facing Lightning's hood, her rump in the air.
"Oh, wait." Lightning braked suddenly, and reversed. He picked something up and set it on his hood next to her, then continued towards his cone. When he finally stopped, Foxy felt herself being lifted off his hood. She clung to his hood desperately, wanting the warmth that came from his rumbling engine. "Foxy, I know you're cold, but you've got to let go." She hesitated, then let go reluctantly. She felt the familiar sensation of being gently squeezed, then she was set down gently.
"What's the matter?" There was a female voice, worried. She was too cold and tired to tell whose it was.
"Foxy caught a cold."
"Awww."
The blanket was pulled away from her head again, and she cringed at the sudden light, blinking. Sally took notice at once how pale she was, and looked back up at Lightning. His expression let her know of his worry, and she nuzzled his fender gently.
"She can stay with me, Stickers. You'd better get going, otherwise you'll never get there on time."
"Right. Bye, Sal. Thanks. Bye Foxy."
Another gentle squeeze, then she was set down again and he was gone. At her side was her rasta-colored bag. She looked around for a spot to sleep, but everywhere was too bright, unless-there. She curled up, pulled the blanket up over her head, and drifted off to sleep.
"Oh, Foxy." Sally sighed, seeing that Foxy had chosen to sleep under her desk. She shook her hood, then continued doing paperwork, occasionally petting the lumpy form underneath the desk.
The next thing Foxy knew, she was being gently nudged awake. Through a haze of sleep, her eyes half open she looked up at Sally, who was saying something about food.
"Do you want any food from Flo's, Foxy?" Sally repeated patiently, knowing that Foxy was more then half asleep.
At a faint, sleepy shake of Foxy's head 'no', Sally tried again.
"Anything to drink?"
Another 'no', but a pause. A nod.
"Yes?"
"Please?" Foxy replied in a raspy, sleepy voice.
Sally smiled. "What do you want? Coffee?"
"Water."
"I'll be back soon." With that, Sally pulled away from the desk, threw another smile in Foxy's direction, then pulled out of her lobby. Foxy yawned and began stretching, but at a sudden blast of cold air whimpered and curled up again, shaking. She hadn't realized that Sally had the air conditioner on. She snuggled deeper into the makeshift sleeping bag-slash-nest she had made herself, trying to warm up. She could feel the cold linoleum floor through the blanket, and this only made her shiver more.
Sally returned, but Foxy could hear another, more powerful engine following her towards the desk. "She's probably asleep again. She was out for nearly six hours." There was Sally's voice, then her and the other engine's owner rounded the corner of the desk. Foxy raised her head, looking sleepily up at the two vehicles.
Strip chuckled softly, the sight of Foxy curled up and in a position nearly identical to a canine's amusing. Sally nudged a Styrofoam cup towards Foxy, who picked it up and yawned.
"Thanks, Sally." Just as she was about to take a sip, she made an odd face, coupled with a squeak, her tongue just barely poking out. Her head was buried in the blanket quickly in an effort to stifle her sneezes. Sally and Strip blinked in surprise as Foxy dissolved into a sneezing fit, barely having enough time to breathe.
"Okay, you're done." Sally ordered after Foxy's fifteenth sneeze.
Foxy inhaled sharply, seeming like she was going to sneeze again.
"Don't start sneezin' again, Foxy." Strip sighed, ready for the worst.
Instead of a deafening sneeze, Foxy yawned widely, then snuggled back into her makeshift nest. Strip and Sally both sighed, then Sally replied, "Bless you, Foxy." Strip chuckled, and watched as Foxy took a sip of the water Sally had brought.
"Thanks again, Sally. I'm notorious for that back home." Foxy replied after she was finished taking a drink. "What time is it?"
"Twelve in the afternoon." Strip answered, rolling towards the desk to nudge her comfortingly.
"Thanks, Strip. Bleghh, I feel like crap with a capital 'S'."
"Crap with a capital... That's pretty clever." Strip chuckled, then left the motel lobby, saying that he didn't want to disturb either Sally or Foxy anymore.
"Where do you want to sleep tonight? In Lightning's cone or in here? I'll be up pretty late, and I don't want to disturb you, but I still wanna be able to keep an eye on you." Sally asked Foxy, who tilted her head, thinking hard.
"Where's Thunder?"
"Probably over in Lightning's cone."
"I'll stay here a little while longer, then go over."
"Which is polite terms for 'I'd like to go over now.' Come on, I'll take you now." Sally smiled, gesturing with her hood for Foxy to come out from under the desk. Foxy crawled out from under the desk, bringing the blanket along, scooped up her bag, then staggered upright, yawning. Her and Sally went over to Lightning's cone, and Sally opened the door. The sounds of a running creature could be heard, and Sally called, "Thunder, stay." The sounds stopped, and Sally gave Foxy a smile. "It's safe to go in now."
"Thanks, Sally."
"Of course."
Foxy entered the cone, and closed it. Her feet were dragging as she entered the living room, and she dropped her bag off by the couch. She sank onto the couch, pulled her blanket over her form, then drifted off to sleep again. She didn't hear Thunder come into the room and jump onto the couch at her feet.
When she woke up next, she was being shaken awake gently. With a feeble whimper, she rolled over to face whoever it was, hauled herself into a sitting position, and blinked her eyes open sleepily. Parked there was Strip, and once he saw she was awake, he gave her a smile. She gazed at him listlessly for a moment, more then half asleep, then she flopped back onto the couch. She heard him sigh, then she felt herself being lifted up.
"Noo..." She whimpered quietly, wanting the warmth of the couch. She encased herself in the blanket and shivered.
"You're gonna come stay with me, Foxy. That way ya aren't all alone."
Foxy didn't have anything to say to this, and just snuggled deeper into the blanket.
Strip brought her into his cone, then set her down on the couch. Her haze of sleep deepened, until she was sleeping soundly, facing the back of the sofa, curled up in a ball under the blanket.
She didn't wake at all, not even when the sun shone through the window and directly onto her in the morning. Strip, who had woken up at about eight, was parked at the couch, petting her gently.
At last, she whimpered quietly and rolled over, blinking sleepily. Strip gave her a smile, and in reply, the tip of her tail wagged feebly from the bottom of the blanket. The blanket itself was wrapped around her entire body, and as she rolled over, she couldn't stop and rolled straight off the couch and onto the floor.
"Ohh, friggin' rights."
Strip couldn't help but chuckle at her response, and grabbed an end of the blanket. "Here ya go, Foxy." He pulled the blanket, and watched as she was sent spinning away.
She swayed dizzily, and shook her head. "Thanks for the wake up." She yawned, and Strip chuckled. He wrapped the blanket around her shoulders as she began shivering slightly, and nudged her back onto the couch. "Thanks." She gave him a half smile, and snuggled into the cushions.
"Sure thing, Foxy. I'll go tell Ms. Carrera that yer gonna be stayin' with me." With that, he patted her gently, then departed the room. She heard the garage door open, then close, and sighed.
When the garage door opened again, she heard first one engine come in, then another. This struck her as odd, and she blinked her eyes open, yawning sleepily.
"Hey, you feeling any better?"
She focused on the red blob until it became Lightning, then shook her head gently. "How'd you get back here so fast?" She croaked.
"I told Mack that you had a cold and he nearly flew back here." Lightning gave her a grin, and she managed a small smile. He picked her up, blanket and all, and set her on his hood.
She shivered from the sudden warmth that was radiating from his hood and snuggled against it eagerly.
"Thanks for taking care of her, Strip."
"Ain't a problem, kid."
"Bye, Strip." Foxy replied, already half asleep.
"Bye Foxy. Feel better mighty soon."
"I hope I will." She replied, and curled up.
Strip ruffled her hair gently, and Lightning departed.
"The others are all back, so if you want to see any of them, you can." Lightning told her, and when he got no response, he glanced down at her.
New story, trying to fill the void between the two major ones. :) ~Liz