In the morning, she woke up with a yawn. As she blinked her eyes open, she looked over at the little truck in confusion. Where had Nikki gone? In his place was a truck who looked like Grave Digger, but without the size and height.

Nikki blinked his eyes open, only to find Foxy looking at him curiously. "Hi, Foxy." He replied, nuzzling into her stomach more, trying to get warm.

"Oh, Nikki! You had me confused for a second." She replied with a giggle, then a tight hug.

Nikki giggled and returned the hug, then squirmed. "Let's go!" He bounced out of the chair, then sank to the ground. "I think I had too much candy last night..." He whimpered, and Foxy smiled.

She picked him up, then carried him outside.

"Morning, everyone." The two greeted at the same time, making the others laugh.

"You two are too much alike."

"Thanks, Sheriff." They replied at the same time, then looked at each other. "Heyy..." They both replied, once more at the same time. "Stop that..." They told each other, and Foxy laid her ears back.

The others laughed, and Foxy set Nikki down. The two went silent, and Flo brought over a coffee for Foxy. "Thanks, Flo."

Flo gave her a smile, and rubbed Nikki's roof before going to deliver other orders.

"What're you planning to do today, little man?" Foxy asked, looking down at him.

He shrugged, then looked around for Sara. "Where's the orange car?"

"Which one? There's four."

"The girl."

"Sara! She's probably still sleeping."

"Ohh." He replied, then climbed into her lap, laying down afterwards.

She smiled and rubbed his roof gently, her tail wagging behind her.

About half an hour later, three mini Barracudas exploded from one of the houses towards the fire/court house, giggling and squealing loudly. Behind them was a larger Barracuda, yawning and blinking sleepily.

"Now can I go play with her?"

"Go ahead. See if she wants to."

He nodded, and scrambled off Foxy's lap. He rolled over to her shyly, and Foxy smiled as she watched. After a few minutes of him talking, the two drove off towards the Butte, not surprisingly, her two brothers following behind.

"Where are they going?" Mariana asked, looking to where the other four were giggling.

"Probably to go play tag. Why don't you go with? I think Nikki's a little shy around other kids yet."

Mariana nudged the Mini at her side with a tire, and the two followed after the group.

Foxy sighed as she watched them go, then took another sip of her coffee. "Looks like I found out a way to entertain him without physically being with him."

The others chuckled, watching as Foxy grinned. "I never realized how quiet it is around here without children present." She continued, and Doc chuckled.

"There's still one more that didn't leave." He replied, looking over her way.

"Who?"

"Ha ha, very funny, Doc."

Foxy blinked in surprise as Lightning's sarcasm rang through the café. "How do you know he was talking about you, Light?"

"He always does!" "Because I am."

"Oh. Then yeah, it was pretty funny, Doc!" Foxy replied, grinning wickedly in Lightning's direction.

"Oh, come on! You're the immature one here, not me!"

"Really? 'Cause I'm not the one trying to start an argument here..."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I think you just want an excuse to try and tackle me, like you always do." She replied, and he rolled his eyes.

"Foxy, why would you even think that? I'm completely mature, and that's something I would COMPLETELY DO!" With that, he leaped at her, then began chasing her around Flo's, much to the entertainment and amusement of the others.

"Lightning, you five year old, STOP!"

He just tackled her, sending the two into a barrel roll across the street, where they finally stopped in front of the billboard, a cloud of dust obscuring the view of the two. "LIGHTNING, NO! DON'T MAKE ME GET MEAN!"

Lightning's laughter rang out from the dust cloud, then a snarling noise, and a red shape came whizzing through the cloud.

"Now knock it off! I've already got to deal with one child, I don't need another in the form of an adult racer!" She snapped when she walked out of the cloud, her ears flattened and her tail puffed up.

"Jeez, I'm sorry!" He replied, seeing that Foxy was now royally angry.

"No, you're not. You're just gonna do it all over again tomorrow!"

"All right you two, that's enough. Foxy, go back to your coffee."

"As for you, leave her be."

"But Doc, I-"

"No buts about it. Ya leave her go, otherwise I'll throw ya in the impound."

"Fine..." Lightning grumbled, returning to his spot at Sally's side.

Foxy was still angry as she sipped her coffee with a bit more force then was necessary. She let her bangs fall in front of her eyes, knowing that if she didn't she'd soon be casting an angry glare at every car she looked at. She sat at Fillmore's side stiffly, her ears back, her tail rigid and fluffed up.

Fillmore knew better then to pet her hair or ruffle her ears, she'd refuse and get even angrier, then, instead of taking it out on him or the others, she'd begin taking it out on herself, oftentimes refusing food and coffee for weeks.

Finally, her ears and tail drooped limply, and Fillmore took a chance. He began petting her hair gently, and she inched closer to his side, finally snuggling against it. He chuckled quietly, and continued petting her.

"I'll be down at the Butte, if anyone needs me." She spoke up quietly, and the others let her go.

"Nothin' better then a group of kids ta make her feel better." Ramone commented, chuckling.

Foxy was trudging along, her tail drooping down, nearly touching the ground. Her ears were drooping to the sides, and her head was down, using her long hair as a curtain to hide her downcast expression.

"Hey, look! It's Foxy!"

"FOXY!"

The group of kids stopped chasing each other, and instead darted over to her, giggling and exclaiming her name.

Harry realized it first, and slid to a stop. "Foxy, what's wrong?" He looked up at her worriedly, and the others seemed to realize that something was the matter at that point.

They stopped in their tracks also, asking her the same question.

Foxy just sank down to the dirt, her hair still hiding her face. She nearly sat on her tail, and only thought to move it slightly at the last minute.

Nikki rolled forwards, hesitantly, and nudged her gently with his hood. "Foxy? Are you okay?"

There was a long pause as the children waited for her answer, then she finally spoke up. "No, Nikki. I did something pretty mean."

"What was it?" He asked, climbing into the crook between her stomach and her legs, which she had curled up in front of her. From there, he was able to nudge underneath her hair and look up at her properly.

Her eyes were downcast, and she looked extremely gloomy. "...It was nothing, Nikki. I'm all right. Go ahead and play."

He shook his hood, then placed his front tires on her chest, propping himself up so he could look up at her. "What's the matter, Foxy? For real. You can tell me anything, just like I can tell you anything."

She gave the faintest of smiles, then sighed. "All right. I yelled at Lightning, then I snapped at him."

"Why?"

"He was annoying me."

"That wasn't very nice of him." Nikki replied, snuggling into her stomach, his engine purring quietly.

Harry saw his chance, and joined Nikki in her lap, nuzzling into her stomach also. "It's not your fault Lightning was being mean, Foxy."

"Yeah, you just wanted him to leave you alone."

"And he didn't listen."

"So you shouldn't be upset that you yelled at him."

"Or that you snapped at him."

At this time, all six of the children were attempting to fit in her lap and snuggle with her to try and make her feel better. As Foxy looked down at their innocent expressions, she couldn't help but begin to smile.

As soon as they saw her smiling, they cheered and began nudging her excitedly.

Nikki crawled along her arm until he reached her shoulder, then he draped himself around the back of her neck and hugged her, his engine purring like a kitten.

"Carpile on Foxy!" Harry exclaimed, and the others cheered, swarming Foxy. Soon, the group was clinging to her arms, her legs, her shoulders, and Harry was in the pocket of her sweatshirt, giggling wildly as she staggered about, the combined weight of the children too heavy for her to carry all at once. The children began begging her to play tag and hide-and-seek and truck-truck-minivan with them.

"Okay, I guess I'll play. But you've all got to get down first." She relented at last, her gloomy mood forgotten about.

The children once more cheered, then they began scrambling down from everywhere. Nikki was the last one to get down, after giving her cheek a gentle nuzzle and hugging her neck.

"You're so sweet." She gave him a smile, and he gave her a bashful smile, a light blush creeping up his hood.

Foxy giggled, then asked what game they would play first.

"We haven't played truck-truck-minivan yet, so can we play that?"

"Sure."

The group gathered around in a circle, volunteering Foxy to go first. She began tapping hoods lightly as she went, muttering, "Truck. Truck. Truck. Truck.. Truck. Truck. MINIVAN!" She exclaimed, tagging Mariana before running around the circle.

Mariana was gaining on her, so she went into a slide, desperate to win the spot.

At the last second, Mariana tagged her, giggling. "You're it again, Foxy."

"Of course I am." She sighed, getting to her feet and seeing the dirt smudge along her jeans. She began again, and this time tagged Paul. Big mistake.

Before she had even managed to start running, he had lunged at her, and tagged her, sending her flying through the dirt. "I lose again, Paul."

He just giggled and returned to his spot, and she started again. This time, she tapped Nikki's hood, and without waiting for him, she took off.

He took off in the opposite direction, catching her off guard.

She slid to a stop, staring down Nikki nervously. He grinned and charged for her, making her squeal and run away, back the other way. He abruptly changed directions, and headed back the way the others had gone, stopping her just before she got to his vacant spot. "I got you, Foxy!" He exclaimed, giggling.

She tried to dodge, but was tagged by Nikki. "I don't think I'm too good at this..."

The children giggled at her statement, then she continued the game.

This time, she tapped Harry's hood, and he took off after her.

Finally, she landed a spot, but only because he lost his grip on the dirt and stopped in a panic. Now it was Harry's turn, and he picked her. She bolted after him, giggling like a schoolgirl.

Unbeknownst to the group, Doc and Lightning were watching them goof off, chuckling at Foxy scooping up Harry and laughing with him. "Toldya she'd be fine." Doc turned to the racer, arching an eyelid.

"All the more reason for me to go tease her!"

"No!" Doc exclaimed, and Lightning grinned.

"I'm just kidding." He replied hastily.

"'Just kidding', my bumper. Ya said that she snapped at ya, do ya want it to happen again?"

Lightning quickly fell silent at this, and Doc nodded firmly.

"That's what I thought. Shoulda gave up my position as a racer, and become a track official, what with all your fights I break up." Doc muttered, shaking his hood with a sigh before rolling back up towards town.

"Hey! She starts them..."

"No, you know darn well that you start 'em. I can see it. Just leave her be for once. Let her come to you, and if she decides to goof off, then go ahead." Doc replied, looking back at Lightning before continuing on his way.

Lightning tilted his hood in thought, staring out into space across the track. 'Let her come to me...?'

I love the ending, it's my favorite part of the entire chapter. It's like he's speaking a foreign language. xD Honestly, there's nothing that can get it through that thick hood of his to leave her alone.

I just realized, Doc sounds a lot like my mother when my brother and I fight... xD

I absolutely love when the children are trying to cheer her up. It's so cute. :3

Harry saw his chance, and joined Nikki in her lap, nuzzling into her stomach also. "It's not your fault Lightning was being mean, Foxy."

"Yeah, you just wanted him to leave you alone."

"And he didn't listen."

"So you shouldn't be upset that you yelled at him."

"Or that you snapped at him."

*Squee*I love it how they complete the sentence together, it's something kids would do. xD