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

Chapter 35 – Daydream Island

Rosellas at Springbrook, Gold Coast Hinterland – Monday, 25 May, 2015

Loud knocking woke Lightning and Sally late the following morning. Like most of their guests, they'd spent to night at the wedding venue, because the reception had gone on well past midnight.

"Who is it?" Lightning muttered groggily.

"Your mother," Elinor replied through the closed door. "I really hate to disturb you two lovebirds, but you're going to miss the train if you don't wake up and get a move on."

Lightning and Sally were immediately wide awake.

"What time is it?" Sally asked anxiously.

"Eleven. The train departs from the city at exactly three forty-five this afternoon. Come and have something to eat. Leyland and Harv want to have a word with the both of you."

Ten minutes later, after Lightning and Sally had showered, they entered the restaurant where they'd had their reception the night before. While most of the decorations were still up, the restaurant had been tidied up by the staff. Sally's special wedding-day lace paintwork had washed off in the shower (as it was supposed to do), so she was back to looking like her old self. Lightning's wedding paintwork had been applied using normal paint, so he still looked the same. He intended to keep it until after their honeymoon, because it would make it much harder for him to be recognised.

Leyland, Harv, Elinor, Aunt May, Aunt Susan, Rachel and Michael were all parked at a table near a window, talking quietly.

"Morning everyone," Sally said as they joined the group.

"Morning," Rachel replied, looking up. "My! You two look like you thoroughly enjoyed yourselves last night."

Lightning and Sally shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, well… It was our wedding night," Lightning mumbled. Everyone laughed.

"Sorry to spoil your first day of wedded bliss, Lightning," Harv said. "But we have some business to take care of."

"Naturally," Lightning said, rolling his eyes.

Harv cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I thought you should know that I've agreed to sell five of your wedding photos to V8 Supercars magazine here in Australia, and to R.S.N.'s magazine back home in America. Are you both okay with that?"

"I suppose," Sally sighed, looking at Lightning. "I knew what I was getting myself into when I fell in love with a race car."

"How much are you selling them for, Harv?" Lightning asked. "On second thoughts, I don't want to know."

"They're in the seven digit figure anyway," Harv muttered.

"What?" Rachel exclaimed. "Over a million dollars just for five little photographs? I'm in the wrong business!"

Everyone laughed again.

"More than half of that will go to Lightning and Sally, of course," Harv explained.

"Is that for both magazines, or are each one paying over a million?" Michael asked.

"Each," Harv replied simply.

Sally's jaw hit the floor. "You're kidding? Why on earth would anyone pay that much just for five photographs?"

"You get more when you give exclusive rights to just a couple of magazines," Harv explained. "If everyone was allowed to publish these photos, they wouldn't be worth anywhere near as much."

"I suppose that makes sense," Elinor agreed.

"Plus, they're photos of the Lightning McQueen on his wedding day. Everyone wants to see them!"

"I am so glad I decided to have our wedding here," Lightning said. "Sure, logistically, it was a bother getting all of the guests over here, but I think the media got the hint that I wanted the day to be kept as private as possible. Can we choose which photos we want to have printed?"

"Of course. I have some proofs here," Harv said, spreading them out on the table in front of Lightning and Sally. "They came from the photographer about an hour ago. You can choose which five photos you want to have published. The rest will be for your eyes only."

"Oh! I love this one!" Sally exclaimed, pointing to it with her tyre. It showed her and Lightning at the front of the outdoor chapel exchanging their vows. Sally's veil was draped elegantly on the ground behind her.

"I think this one should be framed and hung above our bed," Lightning said. He was looking at a picture taken at the moment when he'd first kissed Sally after they'd exchanged their vows. Sally's eyes were full of surprise.

"Which one?" Sally asked. As soon as she saw it, she blushed profusely. "Uh, yeah, I think that one should stay private."

Fifteen minutes later, Lightning and Sally had finally settled on which five photos they wanted to release to the media. They also selected a few more which they wanted to keep for themselves. They'd sort through the rest once they'd returned from their honeymoon.

With the business out of the way, Lightning and Sally ordered a late breakfast. While they waited for it to arrive, Leyland spoke up.

"I wanted to give you your wedding gift last night, like everyone else did, but after Mater accidentally knocked over the champagne tower, I decided to wait until things were less chaotic." And with that, he passed over an envelope.

Lightning took several sheets of paper out of the envelope. As soon as he'd read the first paper, he looked up at Leyland, stunned.

"A-are you serious?"

Leyland nodded, but he couldn't hide the glee in his eyes.

"What is it?" Sally asked, snatching the papers from Lightning. Her eyes widened when she also read the first page. "This is a title deed," she said, stating the obvious.

Leyland nodded again. "Congratulations, Mr and Mrs McQueen. You're now the proud owners of a fifty acre property in the suburb of Rochdale. That's on the south-side of Brisbane, in case you don't know. And, it's about a twenty minute drive from our team headquarters."

Sally looked at the second piece of paper, which showed photos of the property. "But… Leyland! This is a mansion!"

Leyland couldn't helped smiling. "Eight bedrooms, six bathrooms, a huge media room, extensive kitchen and butler's pantry, pool room, tennis courts, gym, a spa and a swimming pool… I've forgotten what else it has. I know it's rather flamboyant, but I figured that you both needed a decent start to your new life together. Especially after you lost everything in that terrible fire. This property came up on the market at exactly the right time. It was going to be auctioned, but I offered the previous owners a fair price. It's all been paid for, and you can move in as soon as you return from your honeymoon."

Tears pricked Lightning's eyes. Unable to hold them back, he drove over to a nearby window, so he could cry without anyone seeing him. Realising that Lightning wanted to be alone for a moment, nobody followed him.

"Leyland…" Sally began. "I…we… Thank you. I don't know what else to say! This is…far beyond anything we ever expected."

"I understand," Leyland said.

"We're going to need servants just to run the place!" Sally protested.

"That's all been taken care of," Aunt May told her. "My lifestyle these days is far less extravagant than it was when my brother was alive, so I'm downsizing. And before you ask, no I'm not selling the family apartment. Well, not yet, anyway. Lightning will eventually inherit it, and then he can decide what to do with the place. I realise that he'll probably decide to sell it, considering he was there when his father was… Well, anyway, I've decided to downsize the domestic staff. Mr Hood has asked if he could work for you both as butler, and Gracie would like to become your housekeeper. She'd like a change from working with children, but if you both decide to have a family…well, let's just say that she's ready for that task too. If you do decide to employ them, that is. We've already sorted out the paperwork, and they're here on work visas, so you only have to say yes."

Having managed to get control of his tears, Lightning returned to the table. "You've figured everything out, haven't you, aunt?"

"We all have," Elinor told him.

"Leyland told us his plan months ago," Michael added. "We all contributed in whatever way we could."

Sally stared at her parents. "You mean…?"

"Oh, goodness! Just look at the time!" Rachel exclaimed. "Ah, good! Here's your breakfast. Hurry up and eat that, and then we'll escort you to Brisbane. You don't want to miss your train."

…

Three hours later, Lightning and Sally arrived at Roma Street Railway Station, along with most of their family and friends. After bidding everyone a fond farewell, Lightning and Sally boarded the train's first class carriage.

"Welcome aboard the Spirit of Queensland, Mr and Mrs McQueen," the stewardess, a mini coupe, said as she checked their tickets. "If you'd like to follow me, I'll show you to your cabin."

Minutes later, Lightning and Sally were getting settled inside their roomy cabin. The stewardess poured them a couple of glasses of champagne.

"We're scheduled to arrive in Proserpine shortly before six a.m.," the stewardess explained. "I'll give you a wake-up call at five, if that suits you?"

"That'll be fine, thank you," Lightning replied, smiling.

"I'll leave you now. Dinner is served between six and nine. There's no need for you to rush to get there early. We have a table reserved for you. The train will depart in about fifteen minutes, so please do not leave the carriage. If there's anything else you need, just press that buzzer on the floor beside the door, and I'll be with you as soon as I can."

"Thank you," Lightning and Sally replied in unison as the stewardess left.

"Now, where were we before we fell asleep last night?" Lightning asked, teasingly. "Oh! Now I remember…" And with that, Lightning tickled Sally behind her front fender, making her giggle.

"Stickers! Stop that! You'll make me knock over my champagne!"

"Sorry. You're just too cute to resist." And Lightning began kissing Sally passionately.

A few minutes later, they were interrupted by the sound of a blaring horn outside.

"All aboard!" someone shouted in the distance.

Reluctantly, Lightning and Sally went into the carriage aisle, and they opened a window. On the platform, they could see everyone gathered together in a group behind a barrier.

"Mum! Dad!" Sally shouted. "We're over here!"

The guard sounded his whistle. Seconds later, the diesel locomotive began hauling the heavy train out of the station platform.

"Bye!" Mater shouted above everyone else.

"Bye everyone!" Lightning shouted, waving his tyre. "See you all in two weeks!"

"Love you all!" Sally added.

Minutes later, with the station out of sight, Lightning and Sally returned to their cabin, to be alone with each other.

…

At five o'clock the following morning, the stewardess knocked on the door of Lightning and Sally's cabin. "Wake up call, Mr and Mrs McQueen. Your breakfast will arrive in fifteen minutes."

Groaning sleepily, Lightning and Sally reluctantly woke up. Sally drew back the curtain to reveal the pre-dawn sky. Lightning stretched out his axles.

"I'm going to take a quick shower. Let me know when our breakfast arrives."

"Don't be too long. I want to shower next," Sally replied.

Lightning was very quick, as was Sally. She'd just got out of the shower, when the stewardess returned with their breakfast. Lightning was parked at the window, watching the sunrise.

"I still can't get over just how amazingly beautiful Australia is!" he said as Sally joined him. Sally passed him a can of warm oil.

"Mmm… I love seeing all the different types of trees. I think they're something more…I don't know…interesting about the appearance of gumtrees over pine trees. The fact that none of them are the same reminds me of us, I guess. No two cars are the same."

"Even after they've fallen in love with each other," Lightning added, moving in for another kiss.

Just as Lightning and Sally's lips touched, the sun's rays burst out from over the horizon, enveloping the happy couple in a shower of glorious beams of sunlight.

…

By seven o'clock, Lightning and Sally were safely aboard the boat that was taking them, and other guests, over to Daydream Island in the Whitsundays. Lightning found that he couldn't keep his eyes off Sally as the crisp, ocean breezes whipped around them.

"This is so beautiful!" Sally exclaimed, looking around at the small islands that the boat was taking them past. "Just look at how white that sand is! I couldn't believe it when I saw the pictures online, but now I do believe it. I've never seen anything more beautiful."

"Oh, I have," Lightning said with a grin, and he moved in for another kiss.

"You sneaky little…" Sally began, but then Lightning placed his lips over hers.

"Look! A submarine!" someone suddenly shouted. Within seconds, Lightning and Sally's romantic place at the bow of the boat was invaded by other excited tourists.

"Well, that's one way to kill the romance," Sally muttered as they reluctantly broke off the kiss.

"We'll finish that later," Lightning promised.

Looking over the railing, they saw a pod of submarines darting around just beneath the crystal clear water. One of the submarines jumped out of the water, squealing excitedly as it rode the bow wave.

"I've heard that submarines can be just as smart as cars, and other land-based vehicles," Sally remarked. "What do you think, Stickers?"

"I've heard that too, so it must be true."

"Aww! There's a baby one! Look!"

"I can see it."

"That reminds me. We need to start thinking about when we're going to start a family."

Seeing the bemused look on the faces of the cars beside them, Lightning quickly whispered to Sally, "Don't mention that here! There's kids around."

Sally just laughed heartily.

Finally, the boat arrived at their destination – Daydream Island. A small group of staff members were gathered on the jetty to welcome their latest visitors to the resort island. A smartly-painted blue forklift drove over to Lightning and Sally as they disembarked from the boat.

"Mr and Mrs McQueen?"

"That's us," Sally replied.

"Welcome to Daydream Island. My name is Simon, and I'll be your butler during your stay here. We have your honeymoon suite all ready for you, so please feel free to follow me when you're ready."

Nodding, Lightning and Sally followed him over to a series of lowset apartments overlooking the swimming pools on one side, and the ocean on the other. Simon showed them to their room.

"I hope you'll be quite comfortable during your stay here. I understand that you've booked in for the Great Barrier Reef tour on Thursday?"

"Yes, that's right," Lightning replied.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy it," Simon said as he poured them a couple of glasses of champagne that was part of the honeymoon suite package. "It is one of our most popular activities. The evening submarine feeding is also very popular, but if you're feeling more adventurous, the water-skiing is another activity that many of our guests enjoy. Please, let me know if you're interested in participating in any of the activities on offer, and I'll arrange it all for you."

"Thank you, Simon," Sally said gratefully.

Simon nodded. "I shall leave you to get settled. I hope you enjoy your stay."

Lightning exhaled deeply as soon as the door closed behind Simon. "I thought he'd never leave!"

"Me too! So, shall we finish off that kiss? Or call our parents to let them know that we've arri-"

Sally never got to finish her sentence. Lightning's lips had answered the question.

Thank you so much for your reviews! They were really encouraging, considering I don't write romance very often. I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much.