Of All The Places To Rest
by Life Is A Highway66


Cars © Disney/Pixar
Places To Rest © Garfunkel and Oates


Finn pressed his back against the wall, holding the handle of the gun with two hands, and pushed it against his chest; the bullets from the Russian agents ricocheted from the sides of the buildings. He looked to Holley, who was crouching down behind a torched truck. Poor girl, he could not help but think, only her second field mission and here she was, being shot at by those talented, experienced agents. Those so many talented, experienced agents. An amount of them that made even Finn shudder.

She was looking to the floor, holding tightly on to the gun. Her mouth was moving, but he was unable to tell what she was saying. Either way, as he stood and turned, the snow crunched beneath his feet. Holly looked up from the ground just in time to see the bullet go through Finn's abdomen, and his blood stained the snow. Holley screamed. The shooting ceased. "On mertv! Poĭdite!" One of the agents yelled. He is dead! Go! Soon enough, the sound of their retreating steps were made apparent by the crisp, fresh, white, frozen water. There was a nothingness that rang around the obscurity; a nothingness that haunted Holley. Even more so when she went to the motionless body of her co–worker.

"This is agent Holley Shiftwell," She said into a radio, "Finn McMissile and I are at the co–ordinates you sent us. He's been shot, and I believe he's in critical condition. Can I have some medics here as soon as possible?"

"Yes, Ms Shiftwell," said a voice on the other end, "Someone will be with you shortly." Then silence.

Holley put her index and middle finger on his neck, she sighed with relief as she felt a slight pulse; but a pulse nonetheless. She jumped slightly as she felt a hand gently caress her own. She lifted his shirt to reveal the gaping hole that marked where the bullet had hit him. From the pocket of her jacket, she pulled out a small bandage. She had brought it with her to Japan, Italy and England. Every time she would double check that it was there, the only thing Finn would say is: "You're just being paranoid. We'll be fine." Even she could appreciate the irony of the situation. She unwrapped it and placed it firmly on the wound. "Bloody Hell, Holley!" He grunted, his face a twisted distortion of pain. "You mind not pressing so hard?"

"Actually, yes. Yes I would." She said, watching the white material quickly becoming stained blood red, "I've got to do this to make sure you understand something. You're not as smooth and invincible as you think, Mr McMissile."

He laughed, but as soon as a shot of pain went from the bullet wound to the rest of his body, he soon regretted it. He snatched Holley's hand and held it tight. She took her hand away from the bandage, and pushed her black hair in front of her face, trying to hide the fact that her cheeks had become bright red from his touch; much like she had been every time they son much as even brushed hands. Her heart raced, "They'll be here in a little while."

Finn watched her momentarily, becoming captivated in her as their eyes met, but she quickly averted her gaze to the ground soon afterwards. He smirked, watching her cheeks burn bright red, he almost felt as through his heart could melt as he began to stroke her hand. He felt her fingers tense around his hand. He closed his eyes, trying to block out the pain from his middle as he began to tense his whole body. He knew that he had to tell her eventually, and a part of him always knew that he was going to do it while he had a bullet inside of him. "Holley," He began, "I think we need to talk..."

"No." She shook her head, letting go of the bandage and his hand, "Let's not talk, just sit and wait for the medics to get here."

He sighed, and winced as a wave of pain was sent through his body suddenly, "Ms Shiftwell. I think you're beautiful."

"What don't you understand about don't talk?" She snapped. However, despite her hostility, she still refused to make eye contact with the older man. "Besides," She continued, "I have a boyfriend. Whom I love. Very much."

He scoffed, "You think it's impossible to have feelings for more than one person at a time? There's a reason you're not looking at me right now. There's a reason why you only see either me or Mater at any one time."

"You don't know how I feel," She interrupted. Her voice was shaking and cracking. It seemed as though she was playing with the zip of her jacket non-stop as her colleague talked. She hated to admit, but he was right. There was a reason for everything that she did.

"I know how I feel," he said, smiling to the side of her face. Her burning face gave him reason to believe that she saw him – even ever so slightly – out of the corner of her eye. "I wish I could say what I want to say. But for some reason, you seem to be more interested in that tow truck driving buffoon."

"Finn. I get it." She groaned, "You're jealous, you know how to woo women into wanting to spend the rest of their lives with you. I'm happy with Mater–"

"Is he with you?" This stunned Holley into a minutes silence. "You cannot offer him a stable life. This is proof. Sometimes he might not be able to know where you are. You'll be putting your life in danger. You have no future with him. You'll never be home. With me, we work together. You'll know where I am. You'll be more likely to try and protect me. There's a reason you didn't go after those Russian agents. It's not because you were scared of them, was it?" There was another silence, Holley wanted to tell him to be quiet, however, she could not bring herself to do so. "You came running to me." She looked to the bullet wound, it had not stopped bleeding. His stomach and sides were covered with the dreadful red liquid. It stained the snow; and at the sight of this, she found it impossible to stop a waterfall of salty tears mixing with the crimson and melting the innocence of the snow beneath them.

"I hate you." She said suddenly, only just managing to keep her bottom lip from quivering as the stream of tears fell more frequently. "Don't you think I know all of this already? You didn't think I realise ev'rything that you've said? And you know what I really hate about you? It's the fact that despite the fact that I love – or in fact – adore my boyfriend, you've still managed to make me fall for you!" The silence took hold once again. The two stared at each other, before Finn relaxed and rested his head against the white ground.

"I've still got it," he muttered, just loud enough for her to hear. He looked over to her, she was wiping her eyes with her sleeve, and there were now two lines stained upon her red face. How he longed to hold her tight at that moment. To run his hand through her black hair. To rock her back and forth in his warm, comforting her that the bullet wound would heal; as would he. But as he felt it harder to keep his eyes open, he found these dreams being pulled away silently by that metallic lover that goes by so many names. His lips slowly curled into a smile as he muttered somewhat weakly, "C'mere."

Holley looked him over, somewhat skeptically, before moving closer. She smirked as he noticed him writhing; trying to will himself the strength to lean forward. Catching a glimpse at her knowing expression, it was his turn to become red with embarrassment. She smiled, leaning forward and closed her eyes softly as their faces neared one another.

Her heart paused to leap into her throat as their lips gently brushed over one another's. As she pressed hers against his, she allowed her hands to travel freely to his face. Although she knew his age, and everyone agreed that he looked it, she was surprised as to how soft his skin was to touch. Before she could debate, she found her hands on the back of his head, fingers intertwining themselves with his thin, greying hair. She smiled slightly, and pulled away; her lips still tingling with the feel of his. However, when she observed his expressions, they were not the same as hers. Instead of smiling a dreamy smile, he was looking down, and frowning.

"What's that?"

She followed his gaze, and gasped, clutching the necklace and held it close to her chest. How could she have forgotten, and, more importantly, why had she not told him? She tucked the chain under her shirt and jacket, putting the ring that hung from the chain onto her fourth finger for a split second before returning her gaze to Finn. Through the silence that hung between them, she heard the rumble of a helicopter a short while away. "I'm so sorry," She muttered, "Mater... He... Proposed. Right before we left." She watched him. His breathing slowed. His chest heaving heavily. Behind her, she heard the noise of crunching snow as the medics ran to the two and pushed her aside.

She stood a foot or so away, covering her face as the tears fell freely. "I love you, Finn," She whispered, watching as they carried his body away, she repeated it again, louder, in a desperate, and futile, attempt for him to hear her, "I really do, Finn. I love you."


Flo and Sally marvelled at the sight of the woman in white before them. The corset inspired top half of the dress brought out every detail of her hourglass figure. A small point at the bottom of this part in the middle of her waist lead to the skirt of the dress that hung wide. Her black hair fell against her naked shoulders, and she held a bouquet of flowers close to her chest.

While the other two women in the room fussed over her appearance, and how excited she must be for her big day, she looked out of the window, and to the beautiful views that the Wheel Well had to offer. She sighed, trying not think of the day in Russia. Life... It had become more difficult since that day. She tried to avert her mind from it as much as she possibly could. However, wherever she turned she was haunted by the image of Finn's bloody body being carried away.

Again, she sighed deeply; she now had no one to walk her down the aisle to the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Instead, she had her bridesmaids behind her, and no Maid of Honour. Many would agree that her life, although adventurous and full of excitement, was somewhat lonely. But with the recent news that she had resigned from the secret service, it was almost too obvious as to what her intentions were; despite the age of her new husband, she wished to start a family. That empty void in her life that she wished to be filled with close friends would be filled with just that; and children.

The doors opened, and all eyes turned to her. Nothing was said. No face without a smile. She took a deep breath and stepped forward toward her future husband. She looked to all the citizens of Radiator Springs, to all of those from the secret service whom she knew. However, out of all of these guests one stood out from all the others. Mater. His usual bucktooth grin had been replaced by a painfully forced smile. His green eyes sparkled in a way in which they usually did, however, Holley realised that there was something different about the way they did so. All to harshly, it hit her. They did not contain the usual innocent and childish happiness that they usually contained, but instead, they were full of tears. She smiled. She smiled a sympathetic smile and continued forward to become Mrs Holley McMissile.

As the two stood, hand in hand, caught in their own reverie of happiness, exchanging their vows, Mater left. He walked to the side of Wheel Well, and as he did so, could feel the eyes of his best friend, Lightning McQueen, burning on his back. He wanted to turn and ask his friend to help him through this, but how could he? McQueen had never been through anything like this, and would never be able to hope him cope with what was going on. He leant against the wall, and from around the corner of the building, he heard the music. He heard the cheering. He heard Finn taking away his first, and only, true love.

Tonight, of all the places to rest
I like your arms the best
And I know when we're through,
I'm really gonna miss you.


Authors' Note

Hey! I just wanted to get used to writing Cars 2 characters in ready for my epic novel length story of epicness, coming out sometime :) Inspired by the song at the top, which I think you all should go read right now, and the fact my good friend drew (drawed? And to think, next year I'm going to university for a BA in English...) me a picture of Holley and Finn, and on my wall they look like they're looking at each other all lovey.

Of all the places to rest, I like your reviews the best, so why don't you be awesome and gimme one? :) Thanks for reading! :D