Disclaimer: I don't own Cars.

"Good, Kid," Doc said six weeks later.

"Thanks," Lightning said, catching his breath. "What was my time?"

"Twenty-six seconds," Doc said. "You're getting a lot better."

"Yeah," grinned Lightning. "Could I try one more time?"

"You're going to re-break your axle," Doc said frowning.

"No I won't," Lightning retorted. "Come on, it won't kill me!"

"Fine," Doc said, giving in. "Go line up on the track."

Lightning turned around and stopped on Willy's Butte.

"Go!" Doc yelled.

Lightning floored his engine. He shot off towards the sloped turn. Lightning grinned as he gained speed, shooting around the turn and going down the long side. He power slid around the non-banked turn and sped across the finish line.

"Seventeen seconds, Kiddo," Doc said, obviously thrilled.

"Awesome!" Lightning exclaimed. "That's my best yet!"

"Uh huh," Doc said. "You're done for today. Go get some electrolyte fuel from Flo's."

"Okay," Lightning said happily. He turned and drove up onto the road and down to Flo's diner. Lightning ordered his food and waited patiently for it.

While waiting for his fuel, Lightning's car phone started ringing.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hey, Hon," came Skye's voice through the receiver.

"Mom!" Lightning said. "It's been a while!"

"I know, Honey, I'm so sorry," Skye said. "But Dodger really did it this time, and I had to tend to some of his needs."

"What did he do?" Lightning asked, not sure if he really wanted to know.

"He robbed an auto parts store," Skye sighed.

"Is he in jail?" Lightning asked.

"Yes," Skye said. "And he will be for a while too so I'll be able to get back to Radiator Springs."

"That's great!" Lightning said. "We all miss you."

"I miss you guys too," Skye said. "How is your training going?"

"Really good," Lightning said. "I mean, a little slow for my liking, but you know me."

"Yeah," Skye laughed.

Flo brought Lightning's fuel out. He thanked her and kept talking to his mother.

"So when do you think you'll get back here?" Lightning asked.

"Within a week or so," Skye said.

"Great!" Lightning said happily.

"Yes, I know," Skye said. "But I have to go, Hon. What do you think of me bringing your dad this time?"

"Sounds good," Lightning said. He and his father had never had an incredibly close relationship, but then again he hadn't had a good relationship with his mother until a couple months previously.

"Okay then, bye," Skye said.

"Bye," Lightning said, closing his phone. He hung up his phone and finished his fuel. Lightning then drove down to the Cozy Cone.

"Hey," Sally said, looking up as Lightning drove in.

"Hey," Lightning said.

"How did your training go?" Sally asked.

"I sprinted around Willy's Butte in seventeen seconds," Lightning said proudly.

"That's great!" Sally said. She drove up to Lightning. "You're doing so well!"

"Yeah," Lightning agreed happily. "I'm definitely not complaining. Oh, and my mom called."

"Oh, good," Sally said. "What did she say?"

"She'll be here in a week or so," Lightning said. "And she's bringing my dad."

"Great!" Sally said.

"Yeah," Lightning said. "Anyway, I'm going to watch some racing videos at Doc's if you want to come."

"Okay," Sally said. "Just don't get depressed or anything. You always do whenever you watch racing videos."

"I'll try," Lightning said. "Come on over when you get the chance."

"Okay," Sally said.

Lightning drove down the main road to Doc's shed. He found the DVD of his wreck and plugged it into the player.

"Hey, Rookie," Doc said, coming in the door behind him.

"Hey, Doc," Lightning said absentmindedly. He was scrutinizing his wreck.

"Did you come from the Cozy Cone?" Doc asked.

"Yeah," Lightning replied, in the same absentminded tone he had used before.

"Have you thought about proposing to her?"

Lightning snapped to realization. "I-I-I've thought about it," he stammered. "I mean, we've only been going out eight months…"

"But you're pretty sure she's the one?" Doc asked nosily.

"Well, yeah," Lightning said. He avoided Doc's eyes. "I mean, I'm positive she is…but I don't know how soon…right now I'm focusing on my training…"

Doc laughed. "Relax, Kid. I didn't mean to scare you. Your mom called me to ask those questions. She didn't want to seem overbearing like she did in your last relationship, so she asked me to ask you those questions. Believe me; I'm not interested in that sort of thing."

"Oh," Lightning said. "It's just the last time I was rushed into something like that, it fell through. I just don't want to rush things like that."

'Okay, Kid," Doc said. "Sorry to scare you like that."

"No problem," Lightning said, restarting the DVD of his wreck.

"Don't keep watching that tape," Doc said. "You'll drive yourself crazy."

"I know," Lightning sighed. "But if I had just waited and taken the inside, I would have-"

"Don't live where you could have done something," Doc interrupted. "What happened happened and there's nothing we can do about it except to get back on the track and kick butt."

Lightning grinned. "That's true," he said. "I'm going to keep watching though. I need to keep watching though so I can see if I can find anything I can fix when I get on the track."

"Not being a hot-rod would fix everything," Doc said. "But I can't say I didn't do the same thing when I had my wreck. I'll see you later, Kiddo."

"Okay," Lightning said, once again in an absentminded tone. "Bye, Doc."

"Bye, Rookie."

Lightning studied his wreck for ten more minutes and then put in the video of his first race. On the screen, he saw himself acing cocky and attracting attention to himself from the media.

All of a sudden, a wave of fatigue Lightning. He fell asleep just as the race started.

"Lightning?"

Lightning opened his eyes slowly. He saw the fuzzy outline of Sally in front of him.

"Hey," he said hoarsely, giving Sally room to scoot in beside him.

"You okay?" Sally asked.

"Yeah," Lightning replied. "Just tired."

"Good," Sally said. "It's time for dinner. What do you want from Flo's?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm not hungry," Lightning said.

"You sure?" Sally asked. "That doesn't sound like you.""Yeah, I'm sure," Lightning said. "I think I'm just going to go to bed."

"Okay," Sally said.

Lightning drove towards the door. "I guess I'll see you later then."

"Bye," Sally said. Lightning drove down the street to his cozy cone and within minutes he was fast asleep.

Doc woke Lightning up at five-thirty the next morning.

"Why did you wake me up so early?" Lightning asked groggily.

"You need a check-up," Doc said. "Come on."

Lightning groaned and stiffly drove out of his cozy cone, stretching his wheel axles.

"Have you been sore anywhere?" Doc asked, glancing over to Lightning.

"My wheel axles are stiff when I wake up in the mornings," Lightning yawned. "But they're not sore."

"Good," Doc said. "Sally's worried about you. She said you've been sleeping a lot lately."

"I've been tired," Lightning said. "No big deal."

"You've been training hard," Doc said. "That's probably why you've been sleeping so much."

"Yeah," Lightning agreed.

"She also says you haven't had much of an appetite," Doc said.

Lightning shrugged. "I just haven't been that hungry lately."

"I need to check your engine," Doc said, entering his office. "It could be why you haven't been eating and why you've been so tired."

"I don't think so, Doc," Lightning said. "I just go through eating phases like this and I've been training hard."

"And I think that's the case," Doc said. "But I just want to know for sure."

"Okay," Lightning said. "I understand."

"Good," Doc said. "We're going to train first and then do the procedure."

"Procedure?" Lightning asked.

"I'm going to thread a wire through your engine so I can detect any glitches."

"Okay," Lightning said.

"And I'll need to check your wheel axles first," Doc said.

Lightning drove up onto Doc's table.

"They look great," Doc said. "I mean they're really scarred up, but they look close as they're going to get to one hundred percent."

"Good," Lightning said, very satisfied. "How am I supposed to be able to train on asphalt again before I race?"

"I'll arrange something,' Doc said.

"Okay," Lightning said.

"I was thinking about going to L.A. for a week with you and train on their track in a month or so," Doc said. "You're strengthening your axles by working on dirt because of all the bumps in it."

"Okay," Lightning said. "When we go to L.A., can Sally come?"

"I figured you'd ask," Doc said, smiling. "She's already coming."

"Good," Lightning said.

"C'mon," Doc said, heading out of the door. "Let's get started."

"Coming," Lightning said. He drove off of the table and pulled up beside Doc. "What am I working on today?"

"We're going to start seeing how many laps you can do at top speed," Doc said. "Don't count on being able to do more than thirty laps at first.""Okay," Lightning said.

Thirty minutes later, Lightning had finished his thirty-sixth lap and turned into his thirty-seventh. He was going well over one hundred and fifty miles per hour and power slid, only to get a searing pain from under his hood. Lightning slammed on his brakes, but the pain continued, increasing. Lightning groaned and shut his eyes. He cried out for Doc as the pain escalated.

"What is it, Kid?" Doc asked, sprinting up to him.

"My hood," Lightning groaned. "Doc, help!"

"Okay, Kid," Doc said, obviously panicking. "I'll be right back, don't fade out on me!"

"Hurry!" Lightning cried. The pain was increasing by the second.

Within a minute, Lightning made out a lavender blur streaking towards him.

"Lightning!" Sally exclaimed. "Stay with me, Stickers!"

Lightning was past being able to speak. He gazed at Sally through dazed eyes as the pain kept increasing. Smoke was beginning to come out of his hood.

"Stay we me!" Sally repeated. "Mater and Doc will be here any second."

Lightning simply gazed at Sally. Tears slid down his hood. He saw Doc and Mater speeding down the main road, and then, Lightning lost all consciousness.