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

Chapter 20 – Discussions

Leyland's penthouse apartment, Brisbane CBD - 4 April, 2015

Lightning sighed tiredly as he stared out over the city of Brisbane from the balcony of Leyland's penthouse. He'd only been released from hospital earlier that morning, and he hadn't had much sleep the night before. Now that the excitement of the fire had passed, he'd started to feel rather stressed. While he knew that Craig had offered him and Sally a temporary home, other things had started to worry him. Things like his future with Redbulldozer Racing and his upcoming wedding. And now, he couldn't even get through to his own mother to talk to her. He'd had to leave a message for her.

Inside the penthouse, Leyland, Dutto, Grant and Davo were gathered around a table, going through some data from Craig and Jamie's last training session. Sally was parked nearby, quietly reading an e-book on one of Leyland's spare computers. She glanced up to see Lightning pacing up and down on the balcony.

"Leyland?" she said softly during a pause in the conversation.

"Yes, Sally?"

Sally nodded towards the balcony. "I'm worried about Lightning. He's been very restless all morning. Normally, I only see him pacing when he's stressed."

"Being nearly burned alive in a house fire would be enough to unsettle anyone," Grant said.

Leyland sighed. "I'll talk to him later, okay, Sally?

At that moment, Dutto and Davo's phones both beeped, indicating that they'd received a new text message. Simultaneously, they looked at their phones.

"Mine's from Jamie," Davo announced.

"Same," Dutto said, then he chuckled. "Looks like you'll have to fork out for some new gym equipment for him, Leyland." He showed Leyland the picture Jamie had sent to him. Leyland's eyes widened in disbelief.

"How on earth did he manage to break that?"

"What did he break?" Sally wondered.

"His set of weights. The chain broke. It's rated for five tonnes! But he's not allowed to lift more than a tonne."

"Obviously the kid doesn't know his own strength," Dutto added. He put his phone aside. "Sally, have the police gotten back to you yet about what caused the fire?"

"Yes. They suspect that a spark from the fireplace set the rug alight. They're treating it as an accident though. The owner has decided to knock down what's left of the house and rebuild." A tear escaped from Sally's eyes. Seeing it, Leyland drove over to her.

"Sally? Is everything really okay?"

"No. I lost my wedding veil in the fire. I know I can have it replaced, but it won't be the same because it was a one-off that I had made up for me especially. It contained lace from my grandmother's wedding veil." And with that, Sally finally broke down.

Leyland froze, unsure of what to do. He wasn't used to dealing with women's emotional breakdowns, and he certainly didn't want to do anything that might upset Lightning. None of them realised that Lightning was watching and listening to them from the doorway. A tear also tumbled from his eyes. Sally was always so strong and brave, so it hurt Lightning to see that she was hurting. He wanted to do something to help her. But before he could go and try to comfort her, his phone rang. Seeing that it was his mother phoning, he quickly answered it.

"Mum?"

"Lightning! Thanks goodness you're safe! Sorry I didn't answer before. I was in the middle of treating a patient."

"That's okay. Mum, I was just wondering if you still have your wedding veil. The one from when you married dad, not Doc."

"I think I might still have it. It'll be at the penthouse if it hasn't been thrown out. Why do you want it?"

"Sally lost her wedding veil in the fire. I was wondering if she could borrow yours. Please?"

"If your aunt can find it, Sally's more than welcome to use it. I don't know if she'd want to use an old veil though. You can easily afford to buy her a new one."

"Sally's veil had some lace from her grandmother's veil in it. She values the sentimentality. Plus, she's chosen a vintage theme for our wedding, so your veil will be a perfect replacement. I know it won't be the same, but it'll be better than a brand new one."

"Oh, I see. Well, I can always phone your aunt…"

"It's okay, mum. I'll phone her. And thanks. I really appreciate this."

"Are you quite sure you're okay?"

"Yes, mum!"

"Lightning! Don't snap at me, young man!"

"Sorry mum. I'm just feeling really stressed right now. I'd better go before I say something I'll regret. Bye."

"Okay. Bye."

After he'd hung up, Lightning phoned his Aunt May in New York City. She answered rather quickly.

"Hello? I'm sorry I can't talk for long, I'm just on my way out."

"And who might you be meeting this time, Aunt May?" Lightning teased. "Do you finally have a mysterious boyfriend you're not telling me about?"

"Lightning!" Aunt May squealed excitedly. "I was just on my way to dinner with some of my friends, but they can wait. How are you? I heard about the fire."

"I'm okay. I was released from hospital a couple of hours ago. Listen, I need you to do something for me, please?"

"Anything for my favourite nephew."

"I'm you're only nephew," Lightning chuckled. He then told her his plan to offer Sally his mother's wedding veil for the wedding.

"Aww! That's so sweet of you, Lightning. I'll be sure to have a good look for it. I'll let you know if I find it, but I haven't seen it since your parents' wedding, so I'd advise you to arrange another veil for Sally, just in case."

"Okay, thanks. I will. And, I promise you that we're both okay."

"You sound a bit upset."

"Yeah, I had a bit of a fight with mum. She was nagging me. Again…"

"All mothers do that to their children. Cut her a bit of slack. She's just worried about you. And she has good reason to worry!"

"Yeah. Thanks Aunt May. I'd better let you go so you won't be late."

"Thanks. Talk to you again soon. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye."

Once Lightning had hung up, he entered the apartment. "When's lunch?"

Everyone looked up at him in amazement.

"It's only ten o'clock!" Sally exclaimed, putting everyone's thoughts into words. "And you had breakfast before you left the hospital."

"Well, I'm hungry again," Lightning said, pouting pitifully.

Leyland nodded towards the kitchen. "Help yourself. But don't you dare touch my chocolate!" he added as Lightning drove into the kitchen. He turned back to the others. "He'll be bouncing off the walls if he has any sugar now. I don't mind my racers having sugar after a race to help them recover, but they're certainly not allowed to have any when they haven't been in training for several weeks."

"At least he's feeling hungry," Dutto said. "I'd be worried if he didn't have an appetite after everything he's been through lately."

"You should see the way Jamie eats," Davo chuckled. "I often wonder where he puts it all."

"Yeah," Leyland agreed. "Race cars have huge appetites. Must be something to do with the size of their tanks. I'd rather not discourage it though. They need as much energy as they can get to win races for us."

Leyland's phone rang then. With a frustrated sigh, he answered it. "Hello? Oh, hi Craig. Okay. Oh. I'm sorry about that. You know we'll all be here for you if you need it. Okay. I'll tell them. Yes. See you soon. Bye."

"What's up?" Dutto asked.

"Craig's just finished meeting with his lawyer. He's decided that the best thing for him to do is to carry out his wife's wishes and agree to a divorce. I do feel sorry for him."

"We all do," Grant said.

Lightning returned from the kitchen with a can of fuel. "What'd I miss?"

"Craig's finished meeting with his lawyer, and he's on his way home," Leyland told him. "So you and Sally can join him whenever you're ready."

"Do you think I'll be okay to drive all that way?" Lightning asked doubtfully.

"The doctor said you were okay to drive, just as long as you stick to the speed limit," Sally gently reminded him. "We'll take it slowly, okay?"

"Okay," Lightning agreed. "How did Craig's meeting go?"

"He's decided to go through with a divorce once the separation period has been completed," Leyland explained. "I'd appreciate it if you could do your best to support him, but try not to say or do anything to upset him. He's being very generous to you and Sally, so you owe him that."

"Yeah. Thanks for letting me know. I guess we'd better get going then. Thanks for everything, Leyland. We really appreciate it."

"Just take good care of yourself, you hear? I want you to rest from now on, understood?"

"Yes, Leyland. I understand."

"Good. I'll let you know when I've made arrangements for you to be assessed by the CAMS doctor."

"Okay. Thanks. Let's go, Sal."

Sally followed Lightning over to the lift. She parked behind him while they waited for the lift to arrive. Lightning glanced at her in his rear-view mirror.

"What are you looking at, Sal?"

"What? Nothing!"

"Admit it. You were admitting my rear bumper, weren't you?" And he wiggled it.

Sally blushed profusely. "Well, what if I was?"

The lift arrived, and Lightning drove inside it. Sally followed him. They began kissing each other passionately as the lift doors closed behind them.

Thank you so much for the reviews guys! Please, keep them coming. They help keep me motivated. I'm trying to include some romantic moments between Lightning and Sally, but it isn't easy since I'm not much of a romantic writer. I hope I'm doing okay. I'm trying to keep it 'clean' though.