Happy New Year! How has 2020 been treating you all so far? Well, I guess you can't really answer that when it's still really early. 2020 has gotten off to a pretty good start for me, but 2019 ended with a miracle. My cat disappeared a week before Christmas and I didn't think she'd make it (she's old, has kidney problems and it's been really hot where I live lately). However, on New Year's Eve, through Facebook and phone calls, we managed to track her down at a nearby shelter and bring her home. So, I'm really happy!

Anyway, I haven't updated since last year *does a sarcastic laugh until I choke*. So, I decided to bring you an update, which I'm hoping will make your year a little bit better already.

Enjoy! :)

Chapter 29- Little Victories and Big Victories

"How did she go today?" Lightning wanted to know when Luigi, Guido and a sleeping Fudge arrived at Flo's one evening in late September.

Luigi made a face at him (even after eight months, he was still mad at him!) before lighting up and answering. "Fudgie did an excellent job today! She did not even cry today! She is so close to standing up on her own!"

"That's great!" everyone cheered. "Good for her!"

"I know it is hard on her", Luigi went on. "She wants to do this, she wants to start walking again, but it is very painful. And it is so hard to see her like that. That is why I hope she starts walking again."

"I'm sure she does too", Sarge agreed.

"But what if she can't?" Ramone wondered.

"Well, we'll help her as much as we can, right?" Lightning asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, sure we will, man", Ramone assured him hurriedly. "It's just... How will she take it?"

An uncomfortable silence followed.

"Well, right now, she is getting so close! She can nearly stand up on her own!" Luigi repeated. "Let's not worry about that just yet."

"Right." Sarge nodded. "Let's just take this one day at a time."

"And no matter what", Sally chimed in, "we're all very proud of her for how far she's come."

"Absolutely", every single one of the others agreed without even a nanosecond of hesitation.

"Still", Lightning went on, "I wish there was something we could do to make this a little easier for her."

"I know one thing you can do to make things easier for her", Luigi informed the race car.

"What?" he questioned, eager to help. "Anything!"

"You can go back in time and stop yourself from causing the accident!"

Everyone sighed.

"Luigi, this has gotta stop!" Sally insisted for the millionth time that year. "It was an accident! Stickers would never do something like this on purpose."

"That is not the point!" Luigi argued. "The point is, whether or not it was an accident, it still happened and it happened because of him!"

Everyone sighed again. They couldn't help wondering if Luigi would ever come around and forgive Lightning.

While nothing had really changed with Luigi and Lightning, things had improved for Fudge a lot lately. She did spend a lot of time in bed in her pyjamas, but she still got dressed regularly. She spoke to Sammy fairly often, both on the phone and in person. This, and how well she was going with her physical therapy improved her mood significantly. Then that improved the rest of her family's moods as well. It was fantastic, Fudge thought, to have so many wonderful people to have her support her with such a difficult challenge. Although sometimes, she did end up forgetting that; like the day before...

"Owww!" Fudge cried out in pain as she tried to stand up. "Ow, ow, owww!"

"It is okay, Fudgie!" Luigi assured her comfortingly. "It is okay!"

"You're doing fine", Dr. Cartwright, the woman in charge of her physical therapy, added.

"I can't do this, I can't do this!" she wailed.

"Yes you can", Dr. Cartwright insisted. "You can do it, Fudge."

"No, I can't, I can't!" she wept. After months of this same conversation over and over again, why wouldn't anybody else just accept that she couldn't do this?!

"Come on, Fudgie!" Luigi cried. "You were doing fine! Please just try again!"

"No!" She slumped down in her wheelchair as much as she could. "I'm not doing it again! I can't do it!"

No amount of effort would get Fudge out of her wheelchair again. She just sat there, bawling her eyes out for twenty minutes before Luigi and Guido took her home.

Lightning came by to see her while she was lying in bed with the radio on, listening to the night rain and she told him how the day went.

"I told them I can't do it!" she exclaimed, tears rushing down her face. She was obviously frustrated. "But they just kept saying, 'Yes you can, yes you can!'"

"You know why they did that?" Lightning quizzed her.

"Why?!" Fudge demanded.

"Because you can do it, Fudge!"

"No I can't, Lightning! That's what I'm saying!" She cried harder.

"Right", Lightning agreed comfortingly. "Now, listen to what I'm saying. You can do this. We all believe you can. Right now, the only thing that's stopping you is you. You're telling yourself you can't do it, so you don't do it."

"But it's hard!" the human girl insisted as the song "Bubbly" by Colbie Caillat came on the radio. She was crying so hard it took Lightning a second to figure out what she'd said.

"I know it's hard. I never said it wasn't. But just because it's hard, that doesn't mean it's impossible. Remember how scared you were in London? You were really scared to confront Axlerod and tell the Queen what he'd done. You still did it."

Fudge couldn't help smiling. "I did, didn't I", she sniffled.

Lightning returned the smile. "You sure did. And we're all so proud of you for that." He gave her a kiss.

Things were quiet for a moment while Lightning stared at her. She still looked fragile, just as she had done all year. Even so, he couldn't help himself. He reached out and gave her a hug. Fudge closed her eyes, smiled and returned the hug, listening to "Bubbly" and the comforting rain. After this long without one, getting a hug was the best feeling in the world.

"I love you", she murmured softly.

"I love you too, sweetie", he echoed just as softly. He stroked her hair and kissed her gently once again.

Later on that night, Fudge's watch started beeping. With a grin, she answered the call, knowing exactly who it was.

"Sammy!" she exclaimed as her sister's face appeared on the screen in front of her. She looked a little better than the last time Fudge saw her, but not by much.

"Hey, kiddo! How's it going?"

"Physical therapy's tough", the teen sighed. "How are things with you?"

"Still not great", Sammy admitted. "I'm startin' another round of chemo tomorrow. But I'm a little better. Just a little."

Fudge pondered over all the times she felt just a little better. "I guess that's still something."

"Damn right it is!" Sammy agreed. "I told you I've been inspired by how far you've come. Things suck for me right now, but I'm hopeful."

"Yeah." Fudge nodded, managing a small smile. "Me too. For both of us."

"Remember your promise? As long as you don't give up, I won't give up", Sammy reminded her.

"I never said I would give up."

"But all we've heard from her this afternoon is how it's too hard and she can't do it!" Lightning chimed in from behind her. He'd been getting out a change of clothes for Fudge to sleep in that night.

"Damn!" Fudge groaned. "I forgot you were here!"

All three of them laughed.

"Hey, Sammy!" Lightning added. "I heard you talking to Fudge. Just know Radiator Springs is thinking about you a lot."

"Thanks, McQueen. I really appreciate that. I think about Radiator Springs a lot too. I'm hoping to visit soon."

"You are?" Fudge asked in surprise.

"Yeah. The doctors said once I'm well enough, I can return to the States for my recovery. I wanna stay in Thomasville- or the closest hospital- so, I can be with my family. But I'll definitely try to visit Radiator Springs soon to see my other family."

"I hope that can be soon."

"I'm sure it will be", Sammy insisted. "Just remember: your physical therapy is tough, but you can do it. I've seen how brave and strong you can be."

"Yeah..." Fudge agreed, recalling the missions she'd helped out on. "And I've seen how brave and strong you can be too."

"Exactly! Keep that in mind and I'll be back in Radiator Springs before you know it!"

"Yeah, and we'll both be back to tractor tipping with Mater", Fudge muttered unenthusiastically.

Sammy cracked up. "How is Mater?"

The two talked about the latest happenings around Radiator Springs for about twenty minutes, but Fudge was pretty quiet as she got ready for bed that night. She was pondering over things Lightning and Sammy had told her. She made up her mind. She was just going to power through. She was going to be strong. She was going to walk again!

Two days later, that all fell apart.

"Fudge, you've accomplished so much this year", Dr. Cartwright pointed out when the girl started up with the tears again. "You've come a long way since you first arrived at this hospital. Come on, Fudge. You can do it."

Once again, the song that was playing on the radio seemed appropriate: "Keep On Movin'" by Five.

Slowly, Fudge used the wooden rods in front of her to attempt to pull herself up to her feet. Her back hurt, her hips hurt, her legs hurt. She was expecting herself to fall over as she did many times before, but she didn't. She was doing it. She was standing up!

"I'm doing it!" she exclaimed in disbelief, more to herself than anybody. "I can't believe I'm actually doing it!"

"Well, you are!" Dr. Cartwright stated the obvious brightly.

"You are doing a very good job, angel!" Luigi added proudly, kissing her cheek noisily.

"(Go, Fudge! You can do it!)" Guido cheered. He was filming the whole thing on his camera. Both he and Luigi felt it would be important to have a record of this.

"Can..." Fudge began. "Can I try taking a step?"

Dr. Cartwright nodded. "If you feel ready for it."

Tentatively, Fudge lifted her foot. For a couple of seconds, she left it hovering in the air awkwardly. Then, slowly, carefully, she placed it back down in front of her.

"Ow!" she cried out, wincing.

For a moment, she felt like getting back in her wheelchair and staying there, but then she remembered what Lightning had said. If she could expose the Allinol scandal and save the world, then she could take a couple of measly steps.

That was followed by a recollection of her family from Radiator Springs, Sammy, RJ ,Finn and Holley. Who had all inspired her to never give up.

Then she remembered what Sammy- her wonderful, caring, strong half-sister, who was fighting breast cancer- had said to her so many times.

"I ain't gonna give up because you never did... Promise me you won't give up. As long as you don't give up, I won't either."

Fudge wasn't about to let Sammy- or herself- give up. Slowly, carefully, she lifted her other foot and put it down in front of her. Then she did it again. And again. And again.

"I'm doing it!" She had the biggest smile on her face. "I'm walking!"

"Yes, yes!" Luigi cheered.

"You're doing an amazing job, Fudge!" Dr. Cartwright chimed in.

Fudge didn't know it at the time, but the entire RS gang planned to surprise the thirteen-year-old by coming to see her in action. They had all agreed that she could do with all the support she could get.

"Are you sure you know where to go, Stickers?" Sally wanted to confirm.

"Sure I'm sure, Sally", he assured her. "I've been here before."

"That doesn't necessarily mean you know the way", she pointed out with a teasing smile.

"Yeah, man", Fillmore chimed in. "I know I've been to Carstock, but all I really remember about it is ending up in the county impound."

Everyone stared at him.

"What?" Fillmore asked innocently.

"Yeah, it's right in h-" Lightning stopped short and gasped. "Oh, my gosh!"

"What?!" everyone else demanded.

"Look!" McQueen pointed into the window and they all crowded around to look.

"No way!" Sally exclaimed.

"Dad-gum!" Mater breathed.

"Far out!" That was Fillmore.

"Oh, my God!" Flo added.

"Look at 'er go!" Ramone chimed in.

They opened the door and when Fudge glanced up to see her family come in, her already massive grin expanded. "Hi, guys!" she greeted them ecstatically.

"Hey, Fudge-O!" Lightning exclaimed. "Wow! Look at you!"

"I know!" Her face was as red as a tomato.

"Way to go, kiddo!" Sheriff congratulated her.

"We're all so proud of you, soldier!" Sarge put in.

"See, Fudge?" Lightning grinned at her. "I told you you could do it. We all did."

"Well, you were all smarter than me", the human girl admitted as she returned to her wheelchair. "I need to stop for a little bit now", she explained apologetically. "I'll be ready to try again in a sec."

"That's fine", Dr. Cartwright assured her. "You're just taking a break. You're not giving up."

Indeed she wasn't giving up. Two minutes later, she was up on her feet again, holding onto the wooden rods as she edged her way forward slowly. The cars cheered her on, Guido filmed and all of them had tears in their eyes, including Dr. Cartwright.

"I got even farther that time!" Fudge cheered once she was back in her wheelchair.

"That's fantastic, sweetie!" Sally proclaimed and everyone else echoed this.

"You keep going like this and you'll be walking normally a lot sooner than you think", Dr. Cartwright informed the girl seriously.

Fudge beamed. "Thanks."

Fudge continued to practise walking for another half hour on and off before it was time to go home. She slept all the way home and when she woke up, she was in her bed in her room. She hadn't even been awake for a full minute when her bedroom door was flung open loudly.

"Fudge!" Mater shouted breathlessly. "Ya gotta come over to the Wheel Well right now!"

"Okay..." Fudge reached for her glasses and put them on. She noticed something weird; Mater looked like he'd gone through the car wash for the first time in Chrysler knew how long. He still looked rusty and very Mater, but he looked a lot more presentable as well.

"Yer dinner's ready and it's gon' git cold!" the tow truck informed her as he helped her into her wheelchair. The first time Mater helped her get into the wheelchair and pushed her around, Fudge had been worried that, through no fault of his own, he'd be too rough and fast. However, he'd been surprisingly slow and careful.

"Mater!" Luigi laughed, coming into the room. He, too, looked like he'd been in the car wash and put car wax on. "We have some things to do before we take Fudge to the Wheel Well."

"Like what?" the tow truck wondered.

"She needs a bath and a change of clothes."

"Aw right!" Mater agreed. "First stop, bathroom."

"All right, let's go!" Fudge cried.

Mater shot off with her.

Mater stayed with them the entire time Fudge was in the bath.

"I wanna see that big scratch on yer back", he explained.

Fudge couldn't help laughing from her spot in the tub. "You like the scar?"

"Yeah, it's kinda like my dents!"

She could understand why Mater saw it that way. He kept his dents as memories of good times, but this scar was a little different. First of all, there wasn't a memory there because she couldn't remember the accident at all, or even anything about the day of the accident. Second of all, there were definitely no good times involved. Nothing about being stuck in hospital pretty much all year and having countless surgeries had been fun. Third of all, he could still get his dents removed if he wanted to whereas Fudge was stuck with this big ugly scar whether she wanted it or not.

Now, Fudge knew something was going on when she noticed that both Luigi and Mater had gotten themselves cleaned up. So, she wasn't very surprised by Luigi's choice in clothes for her after her bath: sleek black jacket made from fake leather, a bright pink dress with a tan belt just above her waist, the star necklace from Lightning and her moon boots she'd received from the hospital. Both the jacket and the dress were brand new and she'd only ever worn them in the store, trying them on to make sure they fit.

"What happened to the dress ya wore when we was bein' knighted?" Mater wondered as he watched Luigi dress his daughter. "You looked so dad-gum purty in that."

"It doesn't fit me anymore", Fudge explained.

"Dad-gum!" Mater sounded disappointed.

"Oh, well", Luigi piped up, kissing his daughter. "You will still look beautiful tonight."

"How come we're all getting dressed up?" Fudge wondered suspiciously. She only ever had to get this dressed up on special occasions such as birthdays, holidays and going out to dinner in fancy restaurants. In fact, when she was little, the only thing she hated about Thanksgiving, Christmas and her family's birthdays was that she had to wear a dress.

Luigi grinned mischievously as he pinned a white rose into her hair like he had done for her knighthood ceremony. "You will see... Fudgie! Come and look in the mirror!" the Fiat instructed excitedly. "See how beautiful you look!"

She obliged and when the thirteen-year-old looked in the mirror, she just could not believe that the person staring back at her was really her.

"Is that really me?!" she asked Luigi.

The Fiat laughed. "Of course it is!"

"I don't believe you!"

"You look so beautiful!" Luigi exclaimed, tears forming in his eyes. "So grown-up! You are my little girl! And one day, you won't be!"

"I'll always be your little girl, Luigi..." Fudge mumbled, leaning up against him.

"Is we ready to go now?!" Mater questioned impatiently before Luigi could answer.

Luigi laughed. "Yes we are, Mater!" He started pushing Fudge's wheelchair off. "Okay, let's go!"

All the way up to the Wheel Well, Fudge was both excited and nervous. She knew something was going on, but she didn't know what. Her heart rate skyrocketed when they arrived at the Wheel Well. Random cars and a couple of humans were milling around at the front of the restaurant. She didn't recognise a single one of them. Where were the others?

"Okay..." Luigi pushed her inside. "I think this is where we need to be."

The inside of the restaurant was completely empty. There was nobody there and nothing set up. There was a large cloth that blocked off half the restaurant, but that didn't surprise Fudge; she knew that Ramone was doing some painting there.

"Where is everyone?" she wondered.

"Who said that anyone else was coming?" Luigi questioned with a teasing smile.

Fudge giggled. She could tell that Luigi was making a joke.

"Yeah!" Mater chimed in. "Everyone else is busy wit' their shops and-"

He was cut off by a loud bang and a yelp from Fudge. Glitter showered her from out of nowhere. It was another glitter cannon!

"Surprise!" a dozen voices cried as the cloth was dropped to reveal Guido, Lightning, Sally, Flo, Ramone, Fillmore, Sarge, Sheriff, Lizzie and Red. All of them looked like they had been through the car wash and most of them had had changes of tyres and hubcaps. Behind them was a table of all of Fudge's favourite foods: macaroni and cheese with cut up hot dog pieces; spaghetti and meatballs; a couple of other pasta dishes; little pizzas; sushi; mashed potato and gravy and potato salad. There was also a banner on the wall that read: CONGRATULATIONS, FUDGE! and balloons everywhere! The song "Something Beautiful" by Robbie Williams was playing too.

"Oh, my gosh!" she exclaimed, her face turning bright red.

"Congratulations, Fudge!" everyone chorused excitedly.

"What's going on?"

"What do you think?" Lightning quizzed her. "We're celebrating! You've just started walking again and that's great!"

"You didn't have to do this!" Even so, she couldn't help but feel glad that they had.

"Sure we did", Sally insisted. "This is a big deal." She paused and added, "You look beautiful!"

"Wow!" Lightning exclaimed, coming forward. "You really do!"

"You really think so?" Fudge blushed even more.

"Absolutely", Lightning insisted.

When Fudge got settled at the table, she noticed that they were using the good china and crystal wineglasses, both of which were extremely fancy and ridiculously expensive. It contrasted greatly with the completely informal food on the table.

"We don't care about what we're eating!" Flo informed her when she'd pointed that out with a laugh. "This is a special occasion and we wanna act like it."

And, boy, did they! It was no secret that they had really pulled out all the stops for tonight. They lit a bunch of candles on the table (away from Fudge, who was scared of fire). Luigi had gotten another bottle of the expensive Italian wine that he and Guido liked and was busily filling everyone's glasses with it. Even Lightning got some this time! Everyone did, except for Fudge, who got cherry Coke.

"Yum!" She grinned.

Luigi pushed his glass forward. "I would like to propose a toast", he announced. "To Fudge! You have worked very hard to get to where you are now and I know it has been very hard on you, but it has finally paid off. We are all so proud of you, angel! To Fudge!"

"To Fudge!" everyone else, except Fudge, echoed. They clinked their glasses.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without all you guys! Thank you so much!" She raised her glass. "To you guys!"

"To us!" everyone cried, clinking their glasses once more.

"And Sammy, who I wish a speedy recovery!"

"To Sammy!"

"And RJ!"

"To RJ!"

"And Doc, who's always watching over us!"

"To Doc!"

This went on for quite a while until Flo suggested, "Now, why don't we eat up before it all gets cold?" and they all agreed.

"Besides", Sheriff added, "I think we're gettin' off topic. Tonight is supposed to be about Fudge."

Despite how formal the atmosphere was, dinner turned out to be very casual. They talked (mostly about how proud they were of Fudge) and laughed and passed food around, with the exception of Fillmore, who had his own vegan food. It just felt wonderful. Not only that, but it was rather impressive that every last bite of food disappeared.

"All right, Fudge, you better get started on the dishes!" Sarge joked once dinner was over.

Everyone laughed.

"Well, actually, we got one more surprise for you, honey!" Flo announced. "Just wait here and I'll go and get it!"

"Okay..." Again, Fudge became excited and nervous. "Should I be worried?"

Sally laughed along with everyone else. "Of course not!"

Indeed, she didn't. Flo returned a minute later with a gorgeous-looking cake with CONGRATULATIONS, FUDGE written on it in blue frosting.

"You didn't have to do this!" an overwhelmed Fudge exclaimed, laughing.

"Of course we did, sweet pea!" Flo repeated as she began slicing the cake. "We told you, this is a special occasion."

"Thank you guys so much!" Fudge couldn't stop giggling. By that point, every last crumb of the cake had vanished as well. "I really appreciate it! This was really fun and everything was delicious! How the hell did you organise all of this?"

"Magicians never reveal their secrets, honey", Flo replied.

"Yeah." Lightning nodded. "Just know you deserved this. You've been through such a hard time lately. And I'm sorry about that-"

"Don't say another word!" Luigi interjected.

The entire group turned to Luigi. He'd been awfully quiet during dinner, which they'd assumed was due to the talk Guido had had with him before.

"(Be nice to McQueen tonight! This is not about you!)" the forklift had reminded his best friend. "(This is about Fudge!)"

Lightning glared at him. "Excuse me? Just because you won't talk to me, it doesn't mean I can't apologise to-"

"I said don't say another word!" Luigi cut him off again. The Fiat took a deep breath and nobody expected the next words to come out of his mouth to do so. Yet he admitted softly, "I am the one who is sorry."

Nobody was more surprised than Lightning. "You? Why?" He knew why; he just wanted to hear Luigi say it.

"It is just that..." Luigi sighed. "You know I love Fudgie so much and because I was very upset about her accident, I just felt like I needed someone to blame. And so, I blamed you."

"Yeah. Yeah, you did", Lightning agreed.

"It was an accident", Luigi informed him. "I know that. I am very sorry. I have not been very fair to you. I know you would never do something like that on purpose. I know you have felt very bad about this."

McQueen nodded, tears forming in his eyes. "I really have."

"And I forgive you", the Fiat informed him. "Do you forgive me?"

"Of course I do! I understand why you were so upset! I love Fudge and care about her a lot too! I wouldn't feel so bad if I didn't!"

Luigi came forward with tears in his eyes as well and gave Lightning a hug. Both of them were sniffling and thinking that it was good to be friends again.

"I love you guys!" Fudge piped up with wet eyes of her own. She wheeled herself forward to them. The two guys smiled and folded her into their hug wordlessly.

Guido and Sally smiled too and joined the hug. Then they were followed by Mater and then he was followed by every last one of the others.

All thirteen of them were enveloped in a massive group hug. Nobody said anything. The only sound was the sound of thirteen people sobbing and sniffling. Not a single one of them was dry-eyed. They were all crying out of both sadness and happiness because they had all been through so much over the year and things were now finally starting to go their way. Fudge was walking again, Luigi had finally forgiven Lightning and this was an incredible, beautiful moment. They were all there, together.

Nobody knew how long they stayed like that. However, when they broke apart, Lightning turned to look at Luigi and Fudge, which got him thinking. If Fudge could learn to walk again and Luigi could forgive him, then maybe it was time to do something he hadn't done in a long time too...

"Okay", he murmured to himself softly as he visualised the race in his mind. "Here we go. Focus. Speed. I am speed. One winner, forty-two losers. I eat losers for breakfast."

Lightning opened his eyes for a brief moment and caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of the windows. He saw himself with his racing decals back on. Oh, how he missed seeing that big, glorious 95 on his sides! For the first time in months, he looked like himself again. He felt like himself again. It was the first Saturday of October and two weeks since the dinner to celebrate Fudge walking again. When the others had woken up the next morning, the stock car had announced that he was ready to get back into training, so he could race again. Of course, everyone was over the moon to hear that. Although he had missed that weekend's race and didn't think he would be quite back in the game for the next one, he had shown up to the speedway and the qualifying for the one after that. There were times when he would fear that he wasn't ready for it and freak out during the middle of the race. Still, for the most part, he felt like he had never been more ready for anything in his life.

Bang, bang, bang!

"Hey, Lightnin'!" Mack called out. "You ready?!"

Lightning broke out into a huge grin and gave a rev of his engine as he rolled out of the trailer. "Oh, yeah! Lightning's ready!" He'd even missed the tradition of Mack having to get him out of the trailer before every race.

The first thing he saw when he exited the trailer was the flood of reporters, snapping his photo and calling out question after question.

"McQueen! What have you been doing during your time away from racing?"

"Do you think you are prepared for this race?"

"How come you've decided to return now with only a few races left in the season?"

"How is your cheerleader?"

Lightning answered the questions as best as he could, explaining how Fudge was getting better and that made him feel like he was ready to return to racing.

"I know it seems like there's no point in coming back to the season now", he explained, "but I was quite eager to get back. So, here I am."

When he finally arrived at his pits, he found Fudge- in her Rust-Eze racing jacket, 95 T-shirt, red shorts and her moon boots- surrounded by Cal, Brick, Bobby, Tex, Mack, Rusty, Dusty and The King. Moments ago, she'd been surrounded by the press herself.

"Fudge, how is your recovery from your accident going?" Kori Turbowitz wanted to know.

"How do you think McQueen's gonna go in this race?" Shannon Spokes asked.

"Since you can't do your usual cheerleading, what are you going to do at this race?" a third reporter questioned.

"Okay!" Luigi shouted over the reporters' questions. "I think that is enough! Please leave my daughter alone! She is not answering any questions."

"Luigi, it's okay", Fudge assured him. She didn't mind answering the press's questions and so, she did.

"It's so good to see you back here!" Lightning heard Cal inform the girl.

"I'm glad to be back!" she answered.

"Yeah, we've sure missed you and your team around here", Brick added.

"Thanks!" Fudge blushed.

"Have you told them your big news?" Luigi prompted his daughter.

"No I haven't!"

"What big news?" Tex wondered.

Fudge couldn't stop giggling. It was hard for her to get the words out. "Well, I just started walking again! I'm not very good yet, but I have started."

"Well, that's great!" Bobby exclaimed.

"Good for you!" Rusty and Dusty cheered in unison.

"Hey, guys!" Lightning called out, getting everyone's attention.

"MCQUEEN!" Cal shouted, rushing forward and giving him a big hug.

Everyone laughed.

"Hey, Cal!"

"It's so good to see you guys again! We've all really missed you!"

"We've missed you too, Cal", Lightning assured him.

"Yeah, welcome back", Brick, Bobby, The King, Tex, Rusty and Dusty chorused.

"But does this still mean you won't race for Team Dinoco?" Tex kidded.

"Nope", McQueen responded.

"Well, that's too bad. With how Cal's goin', we could really use you."

"You know I can hear you, right? I'm right here!" Cal reminded his sponsor.

"Now", Lightning grinned at his friends, "are you ready to lose?"

"No! You're ready to lose, McQueen!"

The King grinned at the others, mainly Fudge and Lightning. "Should we all say it together?"

Lightning returned the grin. "One... two... three!"

"Good comeback, Cal!" everyone there- including Cal himself- shouted in unison, laughing hysterically.

"I've missed this!" Fudge added.

"Yeah, me too!" Lightning agreed.

Pretty soon, the racers were lining up at the starting line.

"Oh, my God! This is so exciting!" RJ exclaimed ecstatically. "I've never actually been to a race before!"

That's right. Fudge and Lightning had invited RJ to the race with them. After all, Fudge wanted to be as close to family as possible with everything that had happened. So, they invited RJ to this race. Of course, he'd accepted and so, he was there with Lightning, Fudge, Sally, Mater, Luigi, Guido, Sarge and Fillmore.

Lightning had come in eleventh during qualifying, which surprised and impressed the RS gang, the other racers and the fans.

"Well, this sure is a surprise!" Bob Cutlass announced from the booth. "We weren't expecting Lightning McQueen to return at all this season. Yet, here he is."

"With the incredible burden he's been carrying all year, I wasn't sure if he would be comin' back to racin' at all", Darrell Cartrip added.

"Even so", Natalie Certain chimed in, "his probability of winning is at an all time low." She spat out a lot of statistics that the RS gang paid no attention to.

"Can you hear me, Fudge-O?" Lightning wanted to know.

"Loud and clear!" she responded into the headset.

McQueen had insisted that it would help him if he could hear Fudge's voice constantly through the radio. That way, he knew that she was okay and wasn't lying crumpled and unmoving on the track or in a hospital bed, hooked up to a billion machines with needles going into her.

"Good luck, McQueen!" Luigi added. "I know you are going to do great out there today because you are an amazing racer and an amazing friend!"

The others laughed and shook their hoods. This kind of behaviour was the norm for Luigi lately. Ever since he'd made amends with Lightning, the Fiat was making an extra effort to be friendly to the stock car. Sometimes, a little too friendly. Nobody knew what to do about it, but at least it was better than constant fighting. A lot better.

"Boogity, boogity, boogity!" Darrell Cartrip yelled. "Let's go racin', boys!"

Off they went. All forty-three race cars were flying around the track.

"GO, LIGHTNING!" Fudge shrieked as loud as she could.

"Come on, McQueen!" RJ added.

A couple of times, as he tried to make a turn, Lightning kind of froze up a little. He slowed down and seemed to want to turn back.

"I'm here, Lightning", Fudge reminded him comfortingly whenever that happened. "I'm right here."

If he could, Lightning would turn to the pits to look at Fudge and smile. Then he would pick up his speed again and keep going.

Even though she hadn't been asked to, Fudge didn't feel capable of stopping herself from calling out tips to Lightning just like a crew chief would.

"Thanks!" he'd respond, laughing a little bit. "Wow! You're getting pretty good, Fudge-O!"

The human girl beamed with pride. A couple of the other crew chiefs, including The King, looked over at her and smiled. Even they could see that she had talent.

"All right, I'm gonna pit now!" Lightning informed his crew. "You ready, Guido?"

The forklift lit up. "Peet stop!"

"You ready, Fillmore?"

"Got your fuel right here, man!"

The 95 racer came into the pits and both Guido and Fillmore got to work. The latter filled up Lightning's tank while the former zipped off his tyres at lightning speed.

"Peet stop!" he repeated.

In a matter of seconds, Lightning was out of there!

"It's just like old times!" he declared happily into his radio.

"It sure is!" Fudge agreed with a big smile. Even though it had been a long time since the cars and human from Radiator Springs had been into this routine and had really missed it, they got back into it like second nature.

The race continued for a lot of laps. Finally, it got to the last lap.

"You ready to give it all you've got?!" Bobby teased Lightning good-naturedly.

"I was born ready!" Lightning revved his engine.

"Not so fast, McQueen!" Bobby shot forward.

"Oh, yes I am!" Lightning gunned forward too.

"Come on, Lightning! Show him what you're made of!" Fudge cheered him on.

Radiator Springs' star racer was neck and neck with Bobby, Cal and Brick, all four of them jockeying for the lead.

"Bet you're used to this view, huh, Cal?" Lightning called to guess who, who was right behind him.

"Hey, you're used to this view!" Cal retorted.

"Good comeback, Cal!" McQueen responded, sailing further into the lead where he caught up to Bobby. "Hey, Bobby! Blinker's on!"

"I'm not falling for that, McQueen!" Bobby insisted. "I'm not Cal!"

All of a sudden, a wild Cal appeared. "You know I can hear you, right? I'm right here!"

Brick pretended to look around. "Did you guys hear something?"

"Nope", Bobby replied.

"Oh, well." Lightning shrugged. "Back to racing."

The four racing buddies took off once more.

Right before they reached the fourth and final turn, all four of them were so close together. However, that was a turn that got Lightning shaken up. His speed decreased.

"Lightning, it's all right; I'm here", Fudge assured him gently.

He took a deep breath. "Yeah. Yeah, I know that." He picked up his speed, but not by much. The others were all so far ahead of him.

"Think you can stay in fourth?" Fudge quizzed him through the radio.

"Yeah."

"Okay. Then go for fourth. We'll still be proud of you."

"Right!" McQueen gunned forward.

That was exactly what happened. Bobby won the race, Brick was second, Cal came in third and they were followed by Lightning in fourth. Like Fudge said, everyone was still very proud of him.

"Way to go, buddy!" Mater hollered as he made his way back to the pits.

"That was a good race!" Bobby proclaimed.

"Yeah, it was fun to race with you again!" Cal chimed in.

"Way to go, champ!" Rusty cheered.

"Fourth place ain't nothin' to sneeze at!" Dusty added. "Especially with what you've been goin' through this year."

"That was so cool!" RJ commented.

"That's my Stickers!" That was Sally.

"I told you you would be great! Like I said, you are an amazing racer and an amazing friend!" Guess who that was.

Lightning grinned at their kind words and flashed his signature lightning bolt. It had been months since he'd said it, but he let out a very big and very gleeful, "KA-CHOW!"

Only Fudge remained quiet. She just gave Lightning a warm smile and a hug, both of which he returned, not saying a word either.

"And well done to you too, Fudge!" The King added. "You seemed to be doin' a great job as crew chief."

Fudge blushed.

"I saw you too, Fudge", Tex added. "You should really consider doin' the crew chief thing for a livin' one day. We'd have a place for you here at Dinoco if you did."

"So, Tex, you trying to get everyone in Radiator Springs to come and work for you?" Lightning teased.

"Yeah, pretty soon, Tex is gonna buy the entire town of Radiator Springs!" Fudge joked.

Nobody could stop laughing.

"Hey, guys!" Cal Weathers called out to the RS gang and Rust-Eze cars once they'd dealt with the press. "We got a party going on at the Dinoco tent! You guys wanna come?"

"Sure!" they all agreed in unison.

"Oh, man! This is gonna be so much fun!" RJ shouted as they headed off. "Partying with the best racers in the country!"

Lightning stayed behind for a moment to think. If there was one thing he could take away from this difficult year he'd had, it was that they'd had big victories and little victories and the small ones were just as worth celebrating. He was proud of himself just for racing at all. He was proud of Fudge for taking her first steps. He was even proud of Luigi for forgiving him. It had been a rough year, but there were some small victories that he could drag from it. So, he was going to celebrate that, he decided as he joined the others at the party.

Yay! Fudge is walking again! I like how the others go down to surprise her and they're the ones who end up being surprised. :)

Yay! Lightning and Luigi are friends again! I know what you're thinking: "Took them long enough!" Well, yeah, but this seemed like the best point in the narrative to make it happen.

Yay! Lightning's racing again! I figured it would probably still be difficult for him to get back into racing because while I don't know much about PTSD, I can imagine it's not something you just... get over. So, I've tried to reflect that here.

By the way, I saw this thing on Tumblr that listed all of the years Lightning McQueen won the Piston Cup and 2013 was not one of them. Now, you know why... (Or, at least, in my timeline!)

Next chapter's the last one, so I hope you're excited for that. Please review.