I just thought I'd let you know now that I didn't have many ideas for their vacation when I originally wrote this story. So, it only appears briefly. Don't worry. There will be more details in COWTF? (Cars Origins: What the Fudge?)

In the meantime, however, here is one of the first scenes that began to form in my mind when I had the idea for this story. Of course, I had the basic idea first, but this was the first one I could fully imagine in terms of dialogue.

Chapter 22- Off on an Adventure

"It's just so unbelievable!" Fudge heard herself exclaim on the TV, shaking her head in amazement. "I was not expecting this at all! It's... It's just been awesome!"

"My goal here was to make Fudge happy and I think it worked!" Lightning's interview lit up the screen. "Nothing here has made me happier than seeing Fudge so happy because Chrysler knows she's deserved it after everything she's been through."

The entire RS gang was gathered in Fudge's hospital room, watching the news report on Fudge's birthday the following day where they would also go into a little more detail of Fudge's current condition. After all, the general public hadn't received one since the first race of the Piston Cup season.

This was what they'd been waiting for. After the more serious news, they were on! All of them were smiling excitedly to see the coverage on the big day.

"And although the karaoke was fun", the reporter commented, showing a clip of the karaoke portion of the evening, "the clear highlight of the night was the pizza!" It showed the arrival of the pizza and the delivery guys' dancing.

"Yeah!" Fudge cheered and everyone laughed.

"Best day of work ever!" Stuart proclaimed gleefully.

The report ended with the crowd yelling, "Happy birthday, Fudge!"

"Wow!" Lightning was the first one to speak once it was over. "They did a great job!"

"Yeah! So did you!" Fudge informed him with a grin as she picked up her new book from Sammy and started reading it again.

"Hello, Fudge!" Dr. Wilson called out, entering the room and preparing to examine the girl. "I just saw the news report about your day yesterday. It looks like you had a fun day. It looked fantastic."

Fudge nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I really did!"

Dr. Wilson turned to Lightning and smiled. "You must care about Fudge an awful lot to go to all that trouble for her."

He shrugged modestly, stroking Fudge's hair. "Yeah, well, she's the best little sister a guy could ask for."

"And you're the best brother a little sister could ask for", Fudge added, nuzzling him.

"Well", Dr. Wilson got down to business, "if you're ready, we need to get started. Are you ready?"

"Yeah!"

As if things weren't already going great enough, Fudge got back out of hospital a couple of days later and, as promised, the RS gang went on a cruise to the Caribbean.

"This place is beautiful!" Fudge commented, feeling the warm sunshine on her face and the clear blue water cooling her legs. "I'm glad we came here."

"Me too", Lightning agreed. "We left it up to fate and fate was kind to us."

"I guess it decided we needed a break."

"Yeah, I guess so." He smiled. Wasn't that the truth?

"Fudgie!" Luigi called out, rushing forward towards his daughter. He scooped her onto his hood. "Come and see this! There are lots of beautiful fish here! Come and see before Mater scares them all away!"

Fudge giggled. "Okay. Let me see!"

Luigi led Fudge away, leaving Lightning alone. He sighed, knowing that Luigi was just looking for an excuse to get Fudge away from him.

Sally had seen what had just happened and smiled at her boyfriend sympathetically. "I'm sure he just feels bad for not doing anything for Fudge's birthday. He just wants to make it up to her by spending more time with her."

Lightning sighed yet again. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

When the RS gang returned from their Caribbean vacation (by which point, it was the beginning of July), all of them felt relaxed, refreshed and just in general better. Fudge would be home for a couple of days before going back to the hospital, but she didn't mind (much!) after the week and bit she'd had.

Still, it was pretty clear that her mood had gone downhill a little as she returned to her quiet, boring, depressing routine from before her birthday.

"I'm so glad we went on that vacation!" Fudge remarked almost longingly on their second night back in Radiator Springs as Flo fed her her dinner.

"It was pretty wonderful, wasn't it, honey?" Flo agreed, spooning up some mashed potatoes for the girl.

"Yeah, and that doesn't mean the fun's over", Lightning piped up. "You and I've got a fun day planned for tomorrow before you go back to hospital."

"Why? What's going on tomorrow?"

Guido smiled and gave Fudge a playful tap on the nose. "(You will have to wait and see.)"

"For now", Lightning announced, "I gotta get ready for my date with Sally and another night of tractor tipping with Mater."

"Good luck", Fudge teased.

Lightning laughed, kissed his little sister and left.

Fudge couldn't stop thinking about this supposed fun day for the rest of the night. What fun could she possibly have while she was cooped up in bed? Sure, watching Friends was fun, but that wouldn't be that big of a deal. She and Lightning did that every day now. She thought about it when Sarge, Fillmore and Sheriff all showed up during her dinner to see her (they'd come by earlier, but she was asleep). She thought about it as she watched Luigi and Guido clean out the bucket after she had thrown up in it. She thought about it while she argued with Luigi and Guido over her going to sleep without letting them brush her teeth for her, which she eventually won. She thought about it for the rest of the night until sleep took over her.

"Fudge! Come on, Fudge-O! Time to wake up now."

Fudge, who had saliva dripping down her chin from drooling in her sleep, couldn't help smiling when she opened her eyes on that Friday morning to find Lightning there. "Hey..."

"How's the best little sister a guy could ask for doing today?" He wiped her chin casually with a tyre as if it wasn't something as gross as saliva he was wiping away.

"I'm okay... How was last night with Sally and Mater?"

"It was great!" He told her about the night he had, having a romantic dinner with Sally up at the Wheel Well and going tractor tipping with Mater.

When he finished, Fudge looked at him, concerned. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. Why?"

"You look tired. And you sound tired."

"Don't worry about it, sweetie", he responded casually. Fudge had noted that he seemed tired several times over the last few months and he always brushed it off this casually. "I just didn't sleep very well last night, that's all. I'm fine, all right?"

No way was Lightning telling Fudge why he hadn't slept very well the night before. He had yet another nightmare about the accident. As he often did, he woke up in tears, which woke Sally up. He stayed up, crying his eyes out and Sally stayed up to comfort him. However, Fudge was the last person he was going to talk to about that; she'd been feeling rather down lately and the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel worse.

"You keep saying you're tired", Fudge commented. She gave him a teasing smile. "Maybe you need to take naps like me."

"Maybe!" he chuckled.

In order to distract Fudge, McQueen brought forward a tray with a bowl of Frosted Flakes on it. "I brought you breakfast! Sorry. I'm not much of a cook like Flo, but I know you like these, so..." He started spooning up some cereal for her.

"Thanks... Just out of curiosity, where is Flo?"

"I told her I'd take care of your breakfast today 'cause you and I got a busy morning."

"Oh, yeah", Fudge recalled, swallowing. "You said we were gonna have a fun day."

Lightning nodded seriously. "We are. I'm gonna take you into town to see everyone."

Fudge's eyes lit up. "Really?!" This sounded exciting.

"Yeah. I mean, you're gonna have to stay in the wheelchair, but Guido and I were talking yesterday while you were taking your fiftieth nap of the day." He chuckled and Fudge did too. "We thought you might want a change of scenery."

"Yeah..." It did sound great. Ever since the accident, the only times she was allowed to leave her room was to go to the bathroom and the only times she ever left Casa Della Tires was to go to the hospital and the occasional visit to Flo's. She could definitely do with a change of scenery. Especially if said change of scenery was the rest of Radiator Springs.

"Okay", Lightning announced, setting the empty bowl aside once Fudge had finished eating, "but first, we're not going anywhere till you've been cleaned up a little bit, all right?" He grabbed the front of her shirt. "You can't wear a T-shirt with soup all down it. And milk. And orange juice. And... What's this?"

"Vomit", Fudge admitted quietly and kind of sheepishly. "I threw up last night."

Lightning sighed. "Fudge, this is exactly what I'm talking about!" He sighed again and continued in a much more sympathetic tone as he started pulling Fudge's arms out of the sleeves. "Come on, sweetie." He pulled the shirt over her head and dumped it on the floor. "I know you're not feeling very well and I'm really sorry about that..." Again, he was sorry in more ways than one. "But you still gotta let us take care of you, all right?"

Once Lightning had cleaned her up and dressed her in a clean plain blue T-shirt, a pair of white shorts and her Ugg boots and fed her a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch, she was ready to go! Lightning started wheeling an excited Fudge downstairs. The only time she felt down was when she could hear Luigi and Guido arguing in Italian in the store room. They'd been arguing a lot lately.

"(...trust him with our daughter!)" Fudge heard Luigi shout.

"(He is just taking her to visit our friends! He is not going to do anything to her!)" Guido shot back. "(Fudge will be fine!)"

"(Well, that is what he said on the day of the accident!)"

"(Yes! And that is exactly what it was! An accident! He said he was sorry so many times! And in case you have not noticed, he has been with Fudge every single day, taking care of her ever since she came home from the hospital!)"

"(Guido! I do not understand why you are not more upset about what has happened to our daughter!)"

"(I am upset!)" Guido insisted. "(I am very upset that this has happened to her! Don't you ever doubt that for even a second! But it is no one's fault! It was just an accident! These things happen! Besides, what does this have to do with Fudge visiting our friends?!)"

"(The fact that the car taking her to see our friends is the one who caused her accident!)"

"Uh... hey!" Lightning called out uncomfortably. He hadn't understood what the two had been talking about, but he knew that they were arguing and could easily guess that it was about him.

The two Italians turned around to find Lightning and Fudge there and Fudge looked upset. Unlike Lightning, she had understood her fathers and she hated it whenever they fought, especially when they put her in the middle, which they occasionally did.

"Ciao, Fudgie!" they greeted her in unison, kissing her gently.

"Ciao, McQueen!" Guido added. "You... take Fudge now?"

"Yeah... Is that okay?"

"Si", Guido replied hurriedly before Luigi could say anything. He gave Fudge another kiss. "(Have fun, Fudge!)"

"I will!" she responded with a huge grin, returning the kiss.

"All right! Let's go!" Lightning was quick to get her out of there before Luigi stopped them.

"So, we're gonna visit everyone in town?" Fudge asked.

"That's right... Now, where do you wanna start?"

Fudge thought about that. "Flo's seems like a good place to start", she decided finally. "Then we can go up to Ramone's and the firehouse and then we can come back down, going to Lizzie's, Sarge's, Fillmore's... and so on."

"Good idea... Let's go!"

It felt weird being back at Flo's. Fudge would start going occasionally for meals upon her return from the hospital. However, most of the time Flo would serve her her meals in bed. So, it was fun to be back. In fact, she hadn't been anywhere in town since January. This was gonna be fun.

"Hey, boss!" Mack, who was over at Flo's, called out when he saw them coming. "Hey, Fudge!"

"Hey, Mack!" the pair chorused.

"You must be gettin' better if you're goin' out, Fudge", the big truck commented.

"Well, I'm still feeling kind of sick and tired", the girl admitted, "but even so, I'm excited to be getting out."

"I'm sure you are", Mack responded. "You must get bored stayin' in bed all the time."

"Yeah..." He was telling her.

"Well, we're goin' to see everyone in town", Lightning announced, "starting with Flo's."

"All right. Have fun."

"See ya, Mack!" Fudge and Lightning called out in unison, moving towards the doors to the café entrance.

"Hello!" Lightning hollered as he opened the doors and wheeled Fudge in.

Flo, who was busy in the kitchen, glanced up and her eyes widened. "Heyyy, honey!" she gasped, rushing over to Fudge, clearly both happy and surprised to see her. "How you doin'? It's so good to see you out and about! Oh! I could just kiss you all over and I'm gonna!" So, she did, making Fudge smile.

"We're off on an adventure!" she declared with a smile.

"Yep", Lightning confirmed. "We're visiting everyone in town."

"Sounds fun", Flo commented.

"So, what are you doing?" Fudge wanted to know.

"I'm bakin' brownies!" the former show car replied. "I was gonna do them for your dinner tonight with some pizza."

Fudge lit up. "Anything I can do to help?"

"I'm not sure, honey. You're still tired and you can't move that much..." She thought about it. "D'you feel up to cracking some eggs?"

The thirteen-year-old smiled. "Yeah!"

"All right..." Flo pushed the girl closer to the bench where the brownie mix rested in a bowl and handed her a shiny, smooth egg.

Slowly, Fudge tapped it up against the bowl. Slowly, she inserted her thumb into the crack she'd made. Slowly, she used her fingers to pull the two pieces of egg apart, allowing the yolk to fall into the bowl. She repeated this process with the second egg just as slowly, if not, slower. It seemed as though the simple task had wiped all of the energy out of her. It just didn't seem like Fudge. She was normally so bubbly and full of energy.

"Are you all right?" Lightning questioned.

"Yeah!" she answered, panting as she slumped back in her wheelchair.

"That sap the energy out of you?"

"Yeah..."

Both Flo and Lightning laughed.

"Okay. Well, thanks for your help, honey."

After talking and laughing with Flo for a little while, the two moved on to Ramone's.

"Didn't you tell Flo I was coming?" Fudge asked Lightning.

"No. Only Luigi and Guido know you're out here. We thought it would be fun to surprise everyone."

"Oh!" She grinned. "This is gonna be fun!"

"Hi, Ramone!" the human girl giggled as she was wheeled into the Lowrider's store.

Ramone was busy in the middle of painting a car, but he looked up and broke out into a huge grin. "Hey, chica!"

The thirteen-year-old smiled as she watched Ramone paint. He was a magician with paint and so, it was incredible to watch.

When he was done, Ramone turned to Fudge. "So, what brings you here, Fudge? Bein' stuck in bed drivin' you crazy?"

Fudge grinned. "Something like that."

"Aw!" Ramone looked at her sympathetically. "Do I need to pick you up?"

"I'd like it", Fudge admitted, giggling, "but I'm not sure that's the best idea."

"Come on!" Ramone picked Fudge up out of her wheelchair and placed her on his hood. He started bouncing her up and down on his hydraulics a little bit, making Fudge laugh.

"Just be careful with her, Ramone", Lightning cautioned. "She's still pretty fragile and even breaking some eggs over at Flo's sapped up all of her energy."

Ramone laughed as he lowered Fudge back down to the ground. "I can't believe it wasn't that long ago you spent hours on end dancin' to 'Gangnam Style!' Now, you get exhausted from crackin' eggs!"

"Yeah…"

After visiting Ramone, Fudge and McQueen went up to the firehouse and the courthouse to see Red ("And Stanley!" Fudge pointed out with a grin) followed by going to see Lizzie and Sally, who were all overjoyed to see her (Fudge pointed out that Sally looked tired too, but she didn't give a reason why either). Then, by the time they arrived at Sarge's Surplus Hut, word had spread.

The Jeep smiled broadly when the race car and the human girl entered the store. "Hey, soldier! I saw you out the window, goin' to see Sally and I was wonderin' if you were gonna come and see me."

"Yeah, we're seeing everyone!" Lightning assured him.

"We're not leaving anybody out", Fudge confirmed. "We've already seen Flo, Ramone, Red, Lizzie and Sally. So, you're our next victim."

Sarge chuckled.

Once they were done in there, Fudge and Lightning decided it was time to move on to Fillmore's. So, they called goodbye to Sarge and off they went. When they left ten minutes later with some fruit juice the hippie van had made himself for Fudge, they were greeted by a rusty, dented tow truck.

"Hey there, buddy!" he called out happily, approaching them. "Tractor tippin' last night was really fun, wasn't it?"

"It sure was."

"Hi, Mater!" the human girl giggled.

"Howdy, Fudge! What is you doin' out here?"

"We're going to visit everyone in town!" she explained. "And we're up to you!"

"Well, dad-gum!" Mater sounded very happy. "So, what do y'all wanna do? Wanna go tractor tippin'?"

"I don't think that's a good idea", Fudge answered.

"All right. So, what did you wanna do?"

"Well, after you, we were gonna go and see Sheriff and then to the waterfall", Lightning informed Mater. "Wanna come with us?"

"Yes, siree!"

"Fudge!" Sheriff called out when he saw the thirteen-year-old coming down the road.

"Hi, Sheriff!"

"I almost didn't recognise you, now that you're clean!" he chuckled.

Fudge giggled. Mater and Lightning laughed too.

"Yeah, well, I took good care of her to make her good as new", Lightning informed Sheriff.

Sheriff chuckled some more. "So now, you've escaped Casa Della Tires?" he asked Fudge.

"Yeah! I'm free!" she cheered.

"And you thought it would be a good idea to tell an officer of the law that?" he teased.

Fudge just giggled.

"Wow! It's been ages since I've been here!" Fudge declared excitedly.

Where was here? The waterfall. It was one of Fudge's favourite places to go for both fresh air and quiet solitude. Sometimes, she'd just sit there and read or write or do her home-school assignments or even simply think. Sometimes, she'd swim in the water. Sometimes, she would even swing across a tree branch to land in the water.

"Yeah, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Lightning agreed. That wasn't just because of the accident, but the waterfall wasn't always the ideal place to go in the winter, which was the season in which Fudge's accident occurred.

However, this time while they were there, Fudge just sat on a rock with her bare feet dipped in the water, talking to Mater and Lightning. A couple of times, she'd reach out and splash them playfully, for which they'd splash her back. Pretty soon, all three of them were laughing. At one point, Lightning looked at Fudge to see her with a huge grin on her face and she was laughing hysterically. With how sick, tired and in pain she'd been lately, it was good to see her so happy.

However, it didn't last long. By the time the sun started going down, so were Fudge's eyelids and she was yawning loudly.

"Wanna go home and take a nap?" Lightning questioned.

Fudge nodded slightly and let out another yawn.

Lightning picked her up and returned her to her wheelchair, putting her Ugg boots back on. "All right... I'm sure Flo's gonna be ready with your dinner in about an hour. So, we gotta hurry back if you want a nap. Come on, Mater!" he added.

"Okey-dokey!" The tow truck followed.

"Okay..." Fudge agreed as the race car started wheeling her back. "I kinda wanted to go up to the Wheel Well too, but we can save that for another time."

"Sure can."

"When do you think I'll next be allowed to go out?"

"I don't know, sweetie", Lightning answered honestly. "You're still not really feeling that well, are you?"

"No", she admitted quietly.

"But hey! Tomorrow, I'll come over again and we'll watch some more Friends, all right?"

Fudge lit up. "Yeah! Joey just proposed to Rachel! Sort of. We gotta find out what happens next!"

Lightning chuckled. "Yeah, we do."

"Hey, Lightning?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for taking me out today. I've really had fun."

"No problem, Fudge-O!" he assured the girl. "I'm glad you've had fun."

When the trio returned to Casa Della Tires, Guido was outside, stacking some tyres.

"Fudgie!" he exclaimed, rushing forward to kiss her. "(You are home! Did you have fun?)"

"Si", Fudge replied. "(I am tired, but I've had fun!)"

"(Well, that is good.)" Guido kissed her again. Then he turned around and called, "(Luigi! Guess who is back!)"

Luigi came out of the store and also tore forward to give his daughter a kiss. "Are you okay, Fudge? You are not hurt?"

Lightning rolled his eyes.

"No. I'm fine. Lightning looked after me."

"Well, he does not always look after you." He gave her another kiss.

"I'm really tired!" Fudge changed the subject hurriedly, knowing exactly what Luigi meant. "Can I get back up to my room now, please? I need a nap before Flo gets here."

"Of course." Luigi started wheeling her back inside, but not without giving Lightning a look that clearly said, And don't you follow.

When they were gone, Lightning sighed. He couldn't believe it. I've been looking after his daughter for several months and I take her out for the afternoon and make her happy and this is the thanks I get! he thought angrily.

Guido noticed how hurt he looked and gave him a smile and a comforting pat. "Grazie. I know... Fudge have fun."

Lightning returned the smile. "Thanks."

"Hey, buddy!" Mater piped up excitedly. "I got some new movies for us to watch! Wanna come over?!"

Lightning turned to him with a smile. "Sure, Mater. Let's go."

McQueen went off with Mater with mixed feelings. He was happy and proud because Fudge had had another good day. He was hurt and angry because of Luigi's treatment. He was happy and relieved that he was going to relax with his best friend. Finally, he was exhausted because he'd had a long day and he hadn't slept well the night before.

Warning: The next chapter is another sad one. I hope you can handle it.

In the meantime, please review.