"Doc—" Sally started, thinking about what had just happened.
"Did you find McQueen?" Doc asked anxiously, cutting her off.
She fidgeted for a second, trying to think of what to say. "Um, can I—Can I talk to you for a second?
"Sure." Doc replied, surprised. "About what? And where's--?"
"He's in his trailer… And something's not right." Sally interrupted.
Doc gave her a questioning look, remaining silent.
"Something's bothering him, and he doesn't want to talk about it." Sally continued, looking worried. "I don't know what's wrong, but I think it's serious."
"Well, what exactly was he doing?" Doc asked, concerned.
Sally looked at the ground, thinking. "He didn't want me to come in, for one thing."
"He didn't? Well, that's odd. He's crazy about you." Doc replied, smiling coyly.
Sally offered a small smile, her face reddening. "What? Why do you say that?"
Doc continued to grin. "You're all he ever talks about."
Sally looked to the ground, her face growing even redder. "But that's not the weird part," She continued, trying to recover herself. "He was crying when he talked to me."
Doc gave her a skeptical look. "Well that's defiantly not like him. I wonder what was wrong."
Sally shook her front, wondering the same thing. "He asked if we could just go home."
"Go home?" Doc repeated exasperatedly. "Does he know how many points he could lose?"
"I don't really think he cares right now… He's really shaken up over something."
Doc stared at her for a moment, thinking it over. "Well, I guess we should… I don't want him driving upset. Remember what happened last time?"
"What?" Sally asked questioningly.
"Oh, right. I forgot that you weren't there to see the beginning… At the last race, he was screwing everything up." Doc said, slightly chuckling.
"He was? Why?" Sally asked, raising a windshield.
"He was just a little off. I'm guessing that he was thinking of everything that was just taken away from him. Radiator Springs, the scenery, his new friends… and you." Doc said, smiling warmly.
Sally felt her face growing hot, and couldn't help but smile.
Doc's smile faded, and he suddenly became stern. "Ok, well I guess we better get him home, and see what's bugging him."
Sally nodded, and lowering her gaze to the ground, smiling to herself.
o----------------------------------------------------------------------o
The drive home was an excruciatingly long one. To Sally it seemed longer than the ride up there. She again let her mind drift to Lightning, and she had to admit, she was pretty worried about him. She couldn't stop thinking about what Doc had said earlier.
Had he really been thinking about her? Was he crying that night he left because he didn't want to leave her? Did he return for her? She smiled as she thought about this, not even noticing when Flo came up beside her.
"Hey, hun. You ok?" She asked in a motherly tone.
Sally sighed, smiling softly. "Yea, I was just thinking about Stickers…"
"Aaaaaaa." Flo said in a knowing tone. "You two sure are getting close."
"Yeah, I was just thinking about—Well, if he… loves me." She said embarrassedly.
Flo smiled. "Of course he does. Hasn't he ever told you?"
"Well, not exactly. I told him that I loved him and that if he loved me he would let me help… And he did. Does that count?"
Flo thought for a moment. "Well, technically, I guess. But hasn't he ever just said that he loves you?"
"No. But when he first showed up, I overheard him and Mater talking about me." Sally said, watching her tires crunching on the asphalt beneath them.
"Well, what did he say?"
Sally smiled, reminiscing in that wonderful night. "Well, he was just telling Mater how I was letting him stay at the motel, and Mater started picking on him… He tried convincing Mater that he didn't like me, and—" Sally cut off, laughing as she remembered what Lightning did next.
"Well, what happened?" Flo asked anxiously, smiling herself.
"Mater tricked him, by saying 'Hey, there's Miss Sally!' And he raced forward, looking all around him before realizing what Mater did."
Flo laughed, smiling warmly at the younger Porsche. "So he must really like you."
"Yeah…" Sally said awkwardly. "Hey, Flo? Can I ask you something, sort of… personal?"
"Sure sweetheart, I don't mind." Flo replied, still smiling.
"When was the first time you and Ramone—kissed?"
Flo looked over surprisingly, quickly softening. "Oh, I don't honestly remember… Probably a few weeks after we started dating."
"Oh." Sally said, looking a little down.
"Why sweetheart? Have you and Lightning…?" Flo asked, drifting off.
Sally watched as a couple drove past them, driving close to one another. "Not yet." She replied, still watching the couple ahead of them.
Flo looked over at her, not hiding her surprise. "You haven't? But you two have been together for at least a few months!"
"Well, sure, maybe a peck on the fender, but we haven't actually made lip contact yet!" Sally said, with a small laugh.
Flo shook her front, laughing. "Well, do you want to?"
Sally looked down awkwardly. "Sort of… I was waiting for him to make the first move."
"Well, maybe he's too shy."
Sally looked up, smirking. "Oh, yea, he's been in front of millions of cars… He's definitely a shy one."
Flo laughed at her sarcastic remark, shaking her front again. "No, I meant around you. Most guys are shy around the girls they like."
Sally thought for a moment. "Really? That would make sense… He never really liked me to kiss him in public…"
Flo and Sally continued to talk about Lightning until they finally made it back to Radiator Springs. They didn't even realize it, until Doc stopped everyone just outside of Flo's.
"Ok, we're home. Let's all get to bed, I'm sure that we could all use some rest." Doc said, driving around to the back of Lightning's trailer.
He knocked on it a few times, not getting an answer. "Hey Mack! Can you open his trailer for us?"
"Okey-dokey, hold on a minute." Mack replied, driving back up front.
The door slowly lowered, to reveal Lightning fidgeting in his sleep. He kept mumbling something, his tires moving back and forth.
"Is he having a bad dream or something?" Sheriff asked from beside Doc.
"I don't know…" Doc replied, suddenly turning to Mater. "Hey Mater, will you tow him to his cone for me?"
Mater drove forward excitedly, beaming. "Well, shore Doc! I'll do it!"
Mater slipped his tow cable under his best friend's bumper, and started to gently drag him out of the trailer. Lightning kept fidgeting his front tires, and murmuring something under his breath. He took a sharp intake of breath, suddenly revving his engine loudly.
Mater let out a startled cry, before being dragged backwards by Lightning.
"Stickers! Stickers, stop!" Sally cried.
"Hot-rod, cut it out! Somebody go wake him up!" Doc shouted over Mater's squeals of excitement.
Hearing all the commotion, Red suddenly came out from his firehouse. Wondering what was going on, he drove in front of the sleeping Lightning. He honked his horn loudly, waking him up.
Lightning slammed on his brakes, sending Mater skidding to a stop beside him. "Woooweee! That was fu-un!" Mater exclaimed.
Lightning looked around confusedly, his eyes resting on Sally. "What just happened?"
"You were asleep, so we decided to tow you to your cone, but you went berserk and started dragging Mater around town." Doc said heatedly, a drop of concern in his voice. "Are you ok?"
Lightning took a deep breath, aware that everyone's eyes were on him. "I- I… It was just a bad dream." He stammered.
Sally drove forward, nuzzling his fender. She felt how hot it was, knowing that he was probably embarrassed. "It's ok, Stickers. How about you just go get some sleep?"
Lightning nodded, reversing, and driving toward his cone without another word. Sally just watched him go, a worried expression on her face.
o----------------------------------------------------------------------------o
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