Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me, and I have nothing whatsoever to do with the V8 Supercars, although I have altered some of the driver's names to make them fit into the Cars world. The altered names also belong to me.

Chapter 21

Lightning moaned. Everything hurt! He'd never felt this bad after a race before. He could hear several hushed conversations going on around him, but he couldn't make out what anyone was saying. Moaning louder, he slowly blinked open his eyes.

He was inside the Redbulldozer Racing pit shed. It was dusk, and the race was well and truly over. His hood was open, and he could see that he was on an oil protein drip. Several industrial-sized fans were trained on him, keeping him cool.

Seeing that Lightning had come around, Dutto drove over to him. "Congratulations, Speedster! How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Lightning sighed. "Why did you congratulate me?"

"Because you won the Bathurst one-thousand! We had to go ahead with the trophy presentation without you. Craig's got it."

"Oh. Did I really win?"

Dutto looked concerned. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I'm not sure. After I crashed with Lee, it's all just a haze."

"I see…" Dutto said thoughtfully. "Well, you were badly dehydrated from the amount of oil you bleed, which is why you're on the drip. You're not going to like this, but I think you should be hospitalised overnight, so you can be kept under observation."

"I don't care, just as long as I can get plenty of sleep." And Lightning closed his eyes.

Within an hour, Lightning found himself at the Bathurst hospital being examined by several doctors. They all drew the same conclusion.

"Mr McQueen does have a very mild form of concussion," one of the brain specialists reported to Lightning, Leyland, Dutto, JJ, Sally and Mater. "Normally, we wouldn't worry about it, but after his exertions today, I think it will be best to keep him here overnight for observation."

Lightning moaned, making everyone look at him. He was terribly pale, and his tank churned uncomfortably.

"I think I'm going to be sick," he whimpered.

A nurse quickly drew a curtain around Lightning, and she placed a tray in front of him. His friends grimaced when they heard him retching.

"He will be okay though, won't he?" Sally asked the doctor anxiously.

"He should be. Concussion can be complicated though. We'll let you know at once if he takes a change for the worse. Now, if you'll excuse me, we need to get him settled in his room. If you want to wait in the waiting room, you can see him again in about fifteen minutes."

Leyland, Dutto, JJ, Sally and Mater reluctantly returned to the waiting room.

"Cheer up, Miss Carrera," Leyland said, trying to sound positive. "You too, Mater. I've seen this a lot in racers. They push themselves beyond their limits to win, but despite all their training and preparation, their bodies just can't handle it. It's just the body's way of saying that it's had enough."

JJ shook his head sadly. "I shouldn't have pushed him so hard."

"You wanted him to win," Dutto reminded him. "We all want our racers to win. As their engineers, it's our job to push them past what they believe they're capable of. Most of the time it pays off, but sometimes… You can't blame yourself for this, JJ. Remember, it's ingrained in a racer's DNA to win. And they will do it, not matter what it costs them. I've seen many racers struggling to finish a race even after they've been so badly damaged, any normal car would be in absolute agony!"

"Dutto's right," Leyland agreed. "Racer's just seem to be completely immune to things like pain and exhaustion until after they finish a race. I remember seeing a racer break his front axle on the final lap of a race. He limped pathetically over the finish line, winning the race, only to collapse in absolute agony once the adrenalin left his system."

Sally and Mater nodded slowly. They'd seen similar incidents in the Piston Cup. A nurse drove over to them.

"Only family may see Mr McQueen for the time being."

"He doesn't have any family here," Sally explained. "But I'm his girlfriend."

"I guess that's close enough. Please, follow me."

Sally glanced back at the other. Mater looked very disappointed at being left behind. Sally wanted to tell him that he'd be able to see Lightning again soon, but the nurse was already leaving the waiting room. Sally had to hurry after her.

A few minutes later, Sally entered Lightning's private room. Lightning was connected up to several monitoring machines, which beeped softly. He was still awake, but he was obviously very tired.

"Hey," Sally said, parking in front of him.

"Hi. Hey, could you phone mum for me, please, and let her know that I'll be okay? I don't want her to worry if she hears about this."

"Okay. You did great today, Stickers."

"Really? Because it sure doesn't feel like it."

"What do you mean?"

"I got no enjoyment out of winning. I used to get this feeling whenever I won. It was a feeling of complete satisfaction. I didn't get that today."

"You passed out, that's why."

"Maybe. Sal… I…I'm seriously thinking about retiring from racing."

Sally blinked once. "Why?"

"Well, if I don't enjoy it anymore…"

"You're depressed. You've had a very long day and you're exhausted. Think about it very seriously before you make your final decision, because once you drive away from it, you'll never return. Comebacks are almost never successful." And saying that, Sally drove out of the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Returning to the waiting room, she found the others waiting for her. Stopping in front of them, she let out a long sigh.

"He's seriously considering retirement," she announced.

"Noooo!" Mater wailed.

"Did he say why?" Leyland asked.

"He said he doesn't enjoy racing anymore."

Everyone fell silent for several minutes while they absorbed the news. Finally, Leyland spoke up.

"I think I know what to do. Dutto? JJ? As soon as Lighting's released from here, I'm going to give the entire team a week off in Sydney."

"But, we need to get the racers ready for the Gold Coast six hundred," Dutto protested. "It's only two weeks away."

"There'll be plenty of time for that," Leyland assured him. "But the racers are exhausted, both mentally and physically. They need some time to regather and chill out. Let them go wild for a change; but not too wild. Keep it within reason."

"Yes, sir. I take it that that means that King's Cross* is out of bounds then?"

"Definitely! Now, let's go and tell Craig, Jamie and Paul. I just hope they haven't been drinking too much..."

Leyland's phone rang. He promptly answered it. He listened for a moment, before groaning in disbelief.

"Okay, I'll be there shortly." He hung up the phone.

"What's wrong?" Sally asked.

"Uh… Apparently the pit crew boys have been celebrating a bit too much. I think a round of strong black coffees are in order, Dutto."

Groaning, Dutto followed Leyland out of the hospital. JJ, Sally and Mater followed them.

*King's Cross is an infamous nightclub zone in Sydney.