I hope you're ready for this because this is where the big surprise comes in!

Chapter 8- Origins Revealed

This is another part that's not going to be easy to write. Things were really hard for me and I am just utterly ashamed of how I handled it.

There were so many things going wrong in my life at that point. First of all, I was so upset about the whole thing with Zara and Layla and the many others like them that I let fool me.

"Fudgie, please don't be upset!" Luigi begged me constantly. "I know it is hard for you, but they were not true friends."

"Exactly!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms in the air in frustration. "I always do this!"

Luigi was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I always trust people I shouldn't trust! There was Piper and Mackenzie, Zara and Layla and hundreds of other kids who only want to talk to me about Lightning McQueen! What's wrong with me?"

"There is nothing wrong with you, angel", Luigi assured me. "You are a very nice girl who just finds it hard to make friends." He gave me a kiss. "One day, you will find a true friend."

"No", I muttered. "No more trying to make friends. People just screw me over! I don't deserve friends."

"Fudgie!" Luigi gasped. "That is an awful thing to say!"

I shrugged. "It's true."

My father just sighed.

Unfortunately, my life was about to go downhill from there. A few days later, the phone rang.

I groaned, rolling over in bed. It was about two-thirty in the afternoon and I was just waking up from a nap. Groggily, I reached for the phone in my room and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Fudge?"

"RJ?" I was surprised. I hadn't heard from my half-brother in a while and I thought the line was bad because it sounded like he was crying.

"Listen. I... kinda got some bad news..." RJ informed me and that was when I realised that he really was crying.

"What?" I demanded in a panic.

"It's Sammy!" he exclaimed breathlessly. "She's back in the hospital! Her cancer's back!"

I went cold all over. "Oh, my God!"

"The doctors are giving her more chemo", RJ explained, taking a moment to catch his breath. "It's not looking good, but Sammy's tough."

"Yeah", I muttered halfheartedly. I was thinking about Doc; I'd always thought of him as tough too, but now he was no longer with us. It didn't matter how tough Doc or Sammy or anybody was; we all have to go sometime.

RJ must've been thinking the same thing I was because he added, "She ain't gonna go down without a fight."

"No. Of course not."

I spent the next week worrying about Sammy. I wanted to go and see her; I really did, but I couldn't because I had a hospital appointment coming up. I'd been in a lot of pain lately, so they wanted to check up on me. Had Siddeley been around, he probably could've gotten me to Thomasville and back in time for my appointment, but he was with Finn and Holley on a mission in Vanuatu. So, I was just left lying in bed, worrying about her. I did talk to her briefly, but neither one of us had much energy to talk for long; just long enough for Sammy to try to assure me that she was feeling terrible right now (well, she actually used a much stronger word!), but she was going to get better. I wasn't so sure.

My pain seemed to get worse every day. I don't know why, but all of the bones I broke in the accident started hurting like crazy. Some were even swelling. There were days where I couldn't even get out of bed and I just lay there, screaming in agony. My family were very sympathetic, but it was clear that they didn't know what to do about it.

The doctors were completely useless. They just told me to take my medication and get plenty of rest. I wanted to call my other relatives and ask them if they had any advice or opinions on how to make my pain go away. My grandmother, who raised Sammy and RJ, was a doctor, so they might know a thing or two. However, I decided not to because they were too worried about Sammy. That was the thing that kind of sucked in my life; if I ever had a problem, it felt like there was someone else who had a problem that was bigger than mine, which meant nobody cared about my problem. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that what I was going through was more important than Sammy's cancer. It did make me feel alone. I tried to think if there was anybody I could talk to.

My family in Radiator Springs? I knew what they'd say: "I know it is hard on you, sweetie, but it's going to get better."

Sammy? Normally, I would, but now did not seem like the right time at all.

Finn and Holley? They're always busy with their work. They probably didn't have time to listen to me.

I didn't really know any of Lightning's other racing buddies all that well either.

Dr. Manks? Yes! Dr. Kirsten Manks was the therapist I started seeing right after Doc died and I liked her a lot. So, I'm glad my parents insisted that I see a human therapist.

I always get nervous making a phone call and tend to put it off for as long as I can, but this time, as nervous as I was, I didn't hesitate.

The receptionist, June, answered the phone.

"Hi... I- I'm Brittney Rossi-Topolino", I stammered. June always made me even more nervous. She was a navy blue forklift with greenish-grey eyes and thick glasses. The way she looked at people and spoke to them made her seem like she was never happy. "I've seen Dr. Manks a couple of times and I was wondering if I could make an appointment with her?"

"Well, Dr. Manks is booked out for the next three weeks", June informed me. "I can book you in for Thursday June twenty-fifth."

I sighed, disappointed. I wished it could've been a lot sooner, but I just had to take it. "Okay. What time?"

"Is one o'clock all right?"

"I'll check with my father." I had to make sure someone was able to go with me to the therapist's office. Last time, I went on my own, not long after the accident and Sammy's cancer diagnosis, I fell asleep on the train and missed my stop. By then, I'd missed my appointment and it took me nearly four hours to get home. Plus, I had to wait three weeks to make another one.

Luckily, it was fine with Luigi. He wasn't sure if he would be able to take me himself, but he was sure someone could. I was glad that I was able to get an appointment with my therapist, but I wasn't at all happy with the long wait. Anything could happen in three weeks and believe me, they did.

For one thing, my pain kept getting worse and worse. I didn't know what I was supposed to do about it and neither did anybody else (the doctors kept telling me to rest and take my medication, so they didn't know anything either).

For another thing, since I didn't have the energy to really do anything, I would often lie in bed and let my mind wander. I thought about a lot of things that worried me or made me curious. That led to me asking Luigi a question I ended up regretting for a very long time.

"Luigi?" I began as he entered my bedroom one night as I lay back, resting.

"Yes, Fudgie?"

"I have been doing a lot of thinking... and do you think maybe you could tell me more about my parents?"

Luigi stared at me blankly for a moment. "I don't know what else to tell you, angel."

I shook my head. "I think there's something nobody's telling me."

"What makes you say that?"

"Whenever I ask about my parents, everyone hesitates."

Of course, Luigi hesitated at that moment, which made me even more sure that there was a secret.

"Maybe you should ask your brother and sister", Luigi suggested gently. "Your father is their father."

Well, I thought that was a very good idea, but they were too busy worrying about Sammy.

RJ was worrying about Sammy, but when Siddeley returned from his mission with Finn and Holley and was able to take me to Georgia for a few hours, I got to talk to him.

"So, Fudge", he started as we waited in the hospital lounge while the doctors looked after Sammy, "Luigi said you have some questions about your family."

"Yeah! I... I wanna know more about my mother. I don't really know anything about her, except her name."

RJ flinched. "You know her name?"

I nodded. "Celeste Jones."

"Oh! Yes."

"How did she know our father?" I wondered. "Because I know I have a different mother to you and Sammy."

There was another pause. "Well... I don't really remember it. I mean, I was just a little kid when it happened. This is just what I've heard. I heard our dad and Sammy's and my mom, Annabelle, were having a lot of problems in their marriage for a while. Dad was hardly ever home because he was always on business trips." He shook his head. "He never stopped working; Grandma used to say he was born in a suit and tie."

I giggled a little.

"Apparently, whenever Dad was home, they would just argue about his never being there and he thought if they were just gonna fight, there was no point in coming home between trips. I think he should've thought of his kids.

"But then he met your mother, D- Celeste", RJ went on. "Celeste was staying with us because she'd recently lost her job and her home. She just loved him, no matter how much time he spent working. She would wait for him. Dad, he was just relieved that someone was interested in him and not just wanting to argue with him. One thing led to another and he cheated on Mom..."

My eyes widened. I guess I always kind of expected that I was an accident, but it was still a shock to hear it confirmed.

"Then what happened?" I wanted to know how I ended up in Radiator Springs.

As people often did when I asked about my biological family, my brother hesitated.

Before he could say anything, a nurse appeared.

"You can go back in and see Samantha now", she informed us.

"Thanks!" we chorused.

RJ turned to me. "Fudge, I just need to get a cup of coffee... Why don't you go ahead and see Sammy?"

I nodded. "Okay."

"Hey, Sammy!" I greeted my half-sister, trying to remain upbeat.

She was very weak, but she managed a small smile. "Hey, kiddo. How you doing?"

I shrugged. "Not great... I guess I can't complain to you about that, though."

"You don't have to complain; just tell me."

So, I told Sammy about the amount of pain I'd been in lately and she nodded sympathetically. "I've been in bed, resting a lot. I wish there was something else I could do, but the doctors don't seem to think there is."

"Luigi says it gives you a lot of time to think. Like about your parents."

It was my turn to flinch. Exactly how many people had Luigi told? "Yeah, I was just talking to RJ-"

"Listen to me, Fudge", Sammy cut me off. "'Cause I'm only gonna say this once and I ain't sure if I should be sayin' this at all. I ain't sure how much longer I got left. And I wanna make sure someone tells you!"

My heart pounded. Was I finally going to find out what nobody was telling me? Plus, Sammy's words and last comment made the moment seem much more dramatic, like something out of a movie.

"First thing you should know", Sammy began. "Celeste Jones ain't your mother's name."

"But I-" I started to protest, hurt that my family had lied to me.

"Listen to me!" Sammy repeated. "Her name ain't Celeste Jones; it's Dawn Hathaway."

That name sounded vaguely familiar to me. I knew as soon as someone told me where I'd heard that name before, it'd be so obvious, but I couldn't think about names at that point.

"I couldn't stand the woman", my sister went on. "Couldn't stand her at all. I didn't like the way she was invading in our lives, acting like she was part of our family when she wasn't... RJ told you about how she was stayin' with us, right?"

I couldn't form words, so I just nodded.

"How she stayed with us because she lost her job and home because she wound up in jail for assaulting a police officer?"

I felt my still pounding heart sink into my stomach.

"Well, Dawn was obsessed with our dad. She wouldn't stop talking about him. 'Oh, when's River gonna be back from Vienna?' 'Did River call? He said he'd call when he got to Paris!' This went on for a while and then, she went on a trip for some reason. I didn't find out till later, she went to Japan to see Dad. But then, almost out of nowhere, Dawn was pregnant."

I started shaking. I lifted my hands to jam my fists into my eyes and prevent the tears that threatened to spill out, but I couldn't keep my hands steady.

"Fudge, I know this is hard, but you gotta listen to me, all right? I might not get the chance to tell you this."

I nodded again and tried to keep it together.

"They must've conceived you in Japan. I don't know why I was so surprised that Dad was the father of the baby, but I was. And Mom found out. One night, she confronted Dawn and it... it didn't go well..."

I managed to find my voice to ask a question. "What... What do you mean?"

"This ain't easy for me to say... You know, I... I saw it happen. Your mom and my mom had a huge fight and it ended with... your mom stabbing my mom."

That did it. My tears started. I remembered Sammy had once told me that she had witnessed her mother being stabbed to death, but I never knew it was my mother who did it. I couldn't believe it! My mother was nothing but a cold-hearted, cold-blooded killer! And all because she got pregnant with me.

"Fudge, it's okay!" Sammy assured me gently.

I shook my head. "I... I can't believe my mom did that! I'm so sorry!"

"It's not your fault", Sammy informed me.

"Why did nobody tell me this?" I demanded.

"I guess they were afraid you'd react like this."

Well, that made sense. Still, it was a huge shock to me. I fled out of the room.

"Fudge?" Sammy ventured.

"I need some air!"

However, as soon as I left the room, I smacked right into a tall, frazzled-looking man I'd never seen before. He had messy dark brown hair, which was starting to turn grey, and round glasses. The fact that he looked frazzled made him seem older than I thought he really was.

"I... Is this Samantha Rose's room?" he asked me.

I couldn't speak. So, I just nodded. The man just stood there silently, making no sign of entering the room.

"Do you know Sammy?"

He nodded. "Yes. I- I'm River Rose. I'm her father."

Oh, my God! This was too much! This man standing in front of me was my biological father! All my life I'd wanted to know him, but in this moment, I was just too overwhelmed.

"Are you a friend of Samantha's?" he asked me.

"Yeah", I lied, barely able to find the words. "A- A friend." No way could I tell him who I really was. He'd freak out!

"I haven't seen her in so long", he murmured softly, talking more to himself than to me. "God, I never thought my little girl would get cancer of all things!"

"I know. It's horrible", I agreed, stammering a little. "Excuse me", I added, squeezing past him.

I fled down the hallway and met up with Siddeley not too far away, so he could take me home.

Originally, I was going to continue this in one chapter, but it got too long. Besides, I am that mean to leave it on a cliffhanger! XD

Please review! I wish I could see your reactions. Instead, I'll have to settle for reading them.