Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me.

Chapter 1

New Year's Eve - 1987

If there was one word to describe New York City on a New Year's Eve, that word would be 'crazy'. Cars were everywhere, and no matter which street you turned down, there was bound to be a traffic jam. Up in the high-rise apartment buildings, cars congregated out onto balconies, all vying for the best places to watch the fireworks that were soon to come.

But inside the penthouse apartment of the Daimler building, a very different celebration was taking place. It was a baby shower for Blaze and Elinor McQueen. The happy couple had been married for five years now, and almost nine months earlier they'd decided that it was time for them to have a baby. They would have been perfectly happy not to have one, as was the custom for most wealthy families in New York City, but the McQueens were very traditional when it came to the inheritance of the family business. It could only be inherited by a male heir, or it would be reclaimed by the bank. That was the agreement Blaze's great, great, great grandfather had set in place over a hundred years earlier. Blaze could still remember his grandfather trying to legally break the agreement, but it was simply impossible. The agreement could not be broken without the McQueens losing everything. And so, Blaze and Elinor had reluctantly decided to have a baby. What had helped influence their decision had been the marriage of Peter Piston to Elinor's sister, Susan, only a year earlier. Although Peter wasn't a McQueen, as the nearest male relative, he stood to inherit the entire McQueen Estate. The McQueen Estate was one of the largest real estate companies on the east coast, giving Blaze a personal fortune of over forty million dollars annually. Unfortunately, he could sometimes be a bit too generous when it came to spending it, but Elinor never complained. She no longer had to work, and she now had servants to wait on her every need, so why should she care how Blaze spent his excess fortune? As a shrewd business car, he'd never be foolish enough to lose it all in bad investments.

"Do you know if you want a boy or a girl?" one of Elinor's friends asked her as Elinor unwrapped yet another gift.

"We definitely want a boy," Elinor replied. She smiled when she saw the gift. It was a little toy rattle. "Thank you, Joanna."

"You're welcome," Joanna replied, looking up from the conversation she was having with two more of Elinor's many friends.

Another friend, Alice, parked beside Elinor in the spare space between the sofa arms. "I'm curious about one thing, Elinor. How do you go about having a baby?"

"Didn't your parents ever tell you?"

"No. They were too conservative."

"I see. Well, once you've made your decision to have a baby, you and your partner go along to the factory, where they interview you-."

"What questions do they ask?" another friend, Rose, asked, interrupting.

"Well… Uh, they asked us what our financial position was…"

Alice scoffed, making it sound like that was a ridiculous question for them to ask.

"They also asked us why we wanted to have a child of our own," Elinor continued. "They asked us all sorts of questions. Anyway, after that, they conducted a police check on us. That took a few days, and after we'd passed that, they put us on the waiting list. They said it takes on average nine months for them to get through the waiting list. So many couples want to have children, so there's always a huge backlog."

"So, what happens next?" Rose asked.

"We're still waiting to hear back from them. They'll just phone us, out of the blue, and then we'll only have two hours to get to the factory or we'll miss out. You need to be prepared to just drop everything and go when your turn comes around. If you miss it, you have to go through the whole process all over again."

"Wow!' Alice exclaimed. "That sounds intense! I'm so glad James and I have decided not to have any children. Where is James anyway?"

"He's watching the football in the den with the rest of our husbands," Susan said coming over. Sure enough, a large cheer erupted from the den, echoing throughout the whole penthouse. Susan shook her hood. "Men! One wonders if they ever really grow up." She parked in front of Elinor. "I just wish there was some way of ensuring you have a boy."

Elinor shook her hood. "I'm afraid not. The computer selects the gender completely at random. Eye colour, paint colour and body shape all come from our DNA."

"Hey, everyone! The ball is about to drop!" someone shouted.

The TV was immediately switched on, and the ladies all gathered around to watch. In the den, the men also switched channels to watch the ball in Times Square drop.

"Here we go!" Elinor grinned.

Everyone began shouting together, "Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!" They began cheering as the ball dropped.

"Happy New Year!" The echo rang throughout the penthouse. Some of the cars hurried out onto the balcony to watch the fireworks, while others exchanged toasts.

Elinor glanced around at all the baby gifts she'd received. Was she really ready to have a baby?

"Are you okay, sis?" Susan asked her gently.

"I just don't know if I'm ready to become a mother yet. I mean, I know we're getting a nanny to help, but I'll have to help look after it too, won't I?"

"I guess. But you're paying the nanny, so she should do most of the work. When is she arriving?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. We're expecting the call anytime between now and the end of the month."

"That's a long time to wait!"

"I've already been waiting for over eight months," Elinor reminded her.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be a fantastic mother.'

Elinor smiled wistfully. "Would you like to see the nursery?"

"Sure!"

Elinor led Susan down the hallway until they reached a large room, which they entered. Elinor closed the door to shut out the noise, and she switched on the light.

"Oh, Elinor! This is simply enchanting!" Susan exclaimed with delight. "Oh, I love this cradle! That lace is beautiful! You've used a lot of white."

"Well, since we don't yet know the gender of the child, we decided that white was the safest option."

"Good idea. Oh, Elinor! I'm so glad you're so happy! I just wish my marriage was as happy as yours."

"What do you mean? Has something happened between you and Peter?"

"Well, yes… But it's so silly…"

"Please, tell me."

"I first noticed it shortly after you and Blaze announced that you were going to have a baby. He became rather distant at first, but than he became aggressive, especially whenever I mentioned you or the baby. I can't understand it myself."

"I wouldn't worry about it. But if he become violent, then you need to tell me."

"Oh, he's never been violent! Not even after he's been drinking. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it. His work is very stressful, so maybe that's what's causing it. It's fine. I'll be okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Oh dear! We're missing the fireworks!"

Elinor and Susan drove over to the floor-to-ceiling window to watch the colourful fireworks light up the city.

1988, Elinor thought. I hope you're a good year to me. And our child.

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