Chapter 2. - Gathering Storm -
A day and a half later, Radiator Springs: Lightning drove down his trailer's ramp. Doc rolled out of his trailer and thanked Abby, before heading to his office at the hospital. The pit crew scattered as soon as they had everything unloaded.
"Thanks for the fabulous ride." Lightning said to Mack "As always, the trip was smooth as butter."
"No problem." Mack said "I need to go home and finish packing."
"Oh… That's right you guys are heading on vacation." Lightning replied "Where are you going again?"
"On a Alaskan cruise." Mack said "We're taking a train up to Portland Oregon, the ship leaves from there."
"It sounds like fun." Lightning said before turning towards Daniel "What are you going to be doing during your time off? You don't have to tell me, I'm just curious… Actually I'm stealing ideas. I might take Sally somewhere, that's if I can get her away from the hotel."
"I'm going to go visit my family in Minnesota." Daniel said "I know it's not as exciting as a cruise. My parents own a large ranch. So I'll have plenty of things to keep me busy."
"That sounds like fun too." Lightning said "I don't want to keep you so, I'll see you guys later."
The haulers waved as they drove away. Lightning drove stiffly and a little painfully to the Cozy Cone. He smiled warmly as he saw Sally sitting behind her desk, fender deep in paperwork.
"I'm home!" Lightning announced as he drove through the door "I thought you said your assistant manager was in charge of doing all the paperwork."
"She is, but today is her day off." Sally said as she drove around the desk and hugged him. "How's your side?"
"It feels a little better; Doc put ice on it before we left the track." Lightning replied "He said that he would fix the dent while I'm home."
"Chick shouldn't be able to do that!" Sally said as she saw the cut and dent "I can't believe the racing officials put up with his crap."
"Sally…" Lightning said, attempting to stop her. "It's just part…"
"…He's so self-centered!" Sally raged on "They need to do more than fine him… Chick needs to be suspended!"
"Sally!" Lightning attempted again "Really, it's okay."
"No it isn't!" Sally exclaimed "He's been getting worse every race and it's…"
Lightning rolled forward and kissed Sally. She stopped talking and closed her eyes as she leaned into the kiss.
"I knew you would enjoy that. Chick will get what's coming to him eventually." Lightning said backing up slowly "Could you please stop worrying about me?"
"Wow! You are such a great kisser." Sally said quietly "That went all the way down to my pus…"
She was cut off by Lightning kissing her deeply and passionately.
"Well hello you two!" Mater said happily, making Sally and Lightning jump in surprise "I knew I could fine ya all lip wrassling!"
"Hey, Mater!" Lightning said "I was just showing Sally how much I love her."
"I told you that you loved Miss Sally!" Mater said somewhat triumphantly "I'm expert in matchmaking."
"Thanks Mater." Lightning said "I would have never figured it out without you."
"Yup, that's what best friends is for." Mater said, still beaming "Anyways, Doc wanted me tuh come and tell ya that he goes and look at yur side any time youen' ready. He's in his orifice."
"Okay. Thanks Mater. It's called an office." Lightning said, Mater laughed playfully "Do you want to come with me? We need to stop by Ramone's first."
"Sure." Sally said "Doing paperwork is pretty boring."
Together: Lightning, Mater, and Sally made their way to the hospital. As soon as they were on the street, Mater got a call from Otis. He broke down again and needs a tow back to town.
"I'll see ya later. Otis needs me. This is his tenth tow this month, so that means it's on the house!" Mater said as Lightning looked at him "He's broken down more times than my cousin Betsy after she got left at the altar."
A few minutes later: Lightning and Sally stopped by Ramone's body shop. Luckily Ramone was in between customers when the couple rolled in.
"Ouch, that's got to hurt!" Ramone said as he examined the wound "You need a few more days of healing before I can repaint your side. Let's go check the appointment book."
"I'm going to be home for two weeks." Lightning said "So it's not that much of a rush job."
After making the appointment, roughly twenty minutes later:
"Okay, there it's all set." Ramone said "You have an appointment one week from today. I have your measurements on file, so it'll be a quick and easy job."
"Thanks Ramone." Lightning said "I appreciate it."
"No problem." Ramone said "I hope you feel better."
Lightning and Sally rolled outside.
"Why does everybody think I'm in pain?" Lightning asked "It's like it's written all over my face."
"Have you taken a close look at your side?" Sally asked "It looks extremely painful."
"It's just a cut and dent." Lightning said "It doesn't hurt that much."
"I keep forgetting that you're a racecar." Sally said "You guys have a high tolerance for pain. If I had that on my side, I would be screaming bloody murder."
Just then a commotion was heard over at Flo's. Sheriff and one of his deputies were attempting to arrest a drunk car.
"Hey! That's Lightning McQueen!" The car said as he staggered over to Lightning. "Do you know how fast you can go?... I love you man. You're the greatest!"
Lightning almost gagged from the overwhelming smell of alcohol coming from the car.
"I think you have had to much to drink." Lightning said "Maybe you need to go with Sheriff Duncan and dry out."
"Nah… I've only had fifteen beers… I'm not drunk yet." The car said as Duncan attached a parking boot to one of his rear tires "Hey! What are you doing?" The car tried to move but with the boot on he couldn't.
"Thanks for the distraction." Duncan said "I'm glad you came along when you did."
"What's the meaning of this?" The car protested "I'm going to sue!"
"Mater, get him out of here." Duncan said as the old tow truck pulled up beside him. "Take him to jail. I'll follow you."
Mater nodded and hooked the car up.
"Seea' later Bud!" He said "I can't talk, I'm be a workn'."
Lightning giggled as Mater and Duncan drove away with the car.
"That reminds me." Lightning said as they headed to the hospital "Did you hear about the drunk car who drove into a bar with a set of jumper cables?"
"No I haven't." Sally said "Is this one of your corny jokes?"
"Yes, but you'll love the punch line." Lightning said, Sally made a motion with her tire for him to continue "*snicker*…The bartender said that the car could stay, but he better not try to start something!"
Lightning laughed at his own joke, but Sally just rolled her eyes.
"Light, where do you hear all these jokes?" Sally asked "You send one to me every day!"
"The internet." Lightning said "I get bored and I just start surfing' the web."
Fifteen minutes later: Lightning was on Doc's examining table. Sally was sitting next to him. There was a knock at the door; it was Jackie, Doc's personal nurse. She was a bright yellow GTO. (AN: the same GTO seen in "Rescue Squad Mater.")
"Doc wants me to prep you." She said as she rolled into the room "Your injury looks really good and it's healing well. However I'm going to recommend that you wait a few days before you get a touch up."
"Ramone said the same thing." Lightning commented "I have an appointment with him in exactly a week."
"I'll put that in your file." Jackie commented "I'm going to put the suction device over your dent, then I'm going to go get Doc."
She then put something that looked like a large suction cup over the entire dent. Once she was satisfied with the placement, Jackie informed Doc that they were ready for him. Moments later:
"All right Rookie, let's get that dent out." Doc said as he rolled into the room "I want you to take a deep breath. You're going to feel the metal on your side stretching. It should only hurt for a few seconds."
"I remember the last time you pulled a dent." Lightning said "It hurt so bad I almost cried."
"That's because you wouldn't sit still." Doc said as he flipped a switch on the suction machine "If you don't sit still this time, I'm going to hogtie you."
Sally giggled at Doc's comment.
"It's not funny Sal." Lightning snapped "Just wait until you have to have a dent pulled out."
"Don't call me Sal." Sally said, eyes flashing in anger "An old boyfriend called me Sal all the time and I hated every minute of it."
Lightning was going to make a comment but he bared his teeth in pain.
"Just breathe." Doc said "It should be over in a couple of seconds." Lightning shut his eyes as he felt his side stretch then pop out.
"Whew! I'm glad that's over." He said as Jackie took the device off "How does my side look?"
"Fantastic. You can't tell that you had a dent." Doc said as he carefully examined Lightning's side "The procedure has made your cut bleed. But I was expecting that. I'll have Jackie bandage that for you. You'll going to be sore, so we'll skip training for the next week."
"But Doc!" Lightning protested "I need… "
"Rookie." Doc said firmly "Your side needs time to heal."
"Okay!" Lightning said "Thanks Doc."
"Uh huh." Doc said "Take it easy Kid. I'll see you next week."
Doc knew that Lightning would not follow his instructions completely. Without another word, he turned towards the computer and made some notes in Lightning's file before leaving the room. Jackie bandaged the wound then sent him on his way.
"Are you really okay?" Sally asked once she and Lightning were outside "That looked like it hurt!"
"It was nothing I couldn't handle." Lightning said smoothly "Do you want to go for a drive?"
"Doc said to take it easy." Sally scolded "You have two weeks off. We have plenty of time to do that."
"I'm not going to overdo it." Lightning said "It's that, I've really missed you and..."
"You want some personal time with me?" Sally said playfully "Let me close up the office so we can go on that drive."
"Where should we go?" Lightning asked once Sally had returned.
"Wheel Well." She replied "I love the view from up there."
Together, the racecar and the Porsche drove up to Wheel Well Hotel. It was an old deserted hotel that Lightning turned into his racing headquarters. They were parked where the view was the best.
"I can see why you like coming up here." Lightning said staring out over the valley "Can you tell me which road leads to your heart?"
"If you're the one driving… all of them." Sally said after a few seconds "Lightning listen to me… I fell for the real you, I want you to be the same car you always have been."
"Seriously Sally." Lightning said insecurely "I want to be perfect for you."
"I'm being serious." Sally said "I love you. Promise me that you'll never change."
"I love you too." Lightning said, making Sally smile "Besides, I can go from zero to sexy in three point five seconds!... How about you and I partake in a little fender bender?"
"I thought you would never ask." Sally said as she rubbed his codpiece, making Lightning groan with delight "It sounds like you enjoyed that as much as I did."
"Are you a speeding ticket?" Lightning said lustfully "Because you have 'fine' written all over you."
"That's what I love about you, your corny pickup lines… Do you want to do it in your office?" Sally playfully asked "It's after five, everybody should have gone home by now."
"It wouldn't be the first time we did it in there." Lightning said lustfully "It would be easier than the trailer."
"We are never having sex in the trailer again; I hated it." Sally said, making Lightning laugh "However, I enj…"
"Hey, Rookie!" Doc barked making Lightning jump backwards "I need to talk to you! NOW!"
"Well, there goes those plans, I'll see you later." Sally said "I'll be in the cone's office if you need me."
Sally kissed him one last time before she drove away.
"Damn it Doc!" Lightning said, both embarrassed and annoyed "Couldn't this have waited? I was about to see some action."
"No. Mainly because what you were doing is what I need to talk to you about." Doc said harshly "I'm surprised that you're coherent enough to talk, with all your oil going to your dick rather than your brain."
"What do you mean? Why do you want to talk to me about my relationship?" Lightning asked "Just because you're not getting laid on a regular basis doesn't mean I have to be celibate. If you had somebody to screw now and then, maybe you wouldn't be so angry all the time."
"My personal life is none of your fucking business." Doc said angrily "It's a bad idea to be dating Sally, not to mention fucking her."
"What do you mean?" Lightning asked his tone a bit colder "Sally and I aren't around each other that much. I'm a grown car, I don't need your permission to have sex."
"You don't need to be distracted." Doc said "Not right now. You're doing too well."
"I can't race well if I don't get a little pleasure now and then." Lightning said angerly "Besides, Sally is the best lover I've ever had. She does things that no other woman has…"
"See, she's distracting you." Doc said coldly "I'm surprised you didn't jump on top of her the second you came home."
"Doc, I respect your racing judgment, but… our relationship is more than just sex. I love Sally's personality, I love the way she laughs and can make me laugh, I love the quirky way she says lug nut, and I even loved the way she yelled at me for dumping the pan of oatmeal all over the kitchen floor. Don't ask… long story. When we have sex, it's like… like… frosting on a cake. It makes our relationship that much sweeter. The bottom line is I love Sally. Nothing you say or do is going to change my mind." Lightning said defensively "I'm willing to quit racing if I had to choose between it and her."
Doc glared at Lightning.
"And I thought you were a racecar." he said colder than ever "You need to make a decision… or I'll make it for you!"
Exasperated, Lightning returned the glare, spun his tires, and tore away from Doc. Lightning ignored the pain behind his front right wheel. He raced along the dusty road to Radiator Springs. He sprinted through the town, then into his own Cozy Cone. Lightning slammed the door behind him. Realizing the pain behind his tire, Lightning winced. He leaned so most of the weight was off that side. Roughly half an hour later:
"Light, are you all right?" Sally asked as she knocked on the door "Because of the way you came home, I'm assuming you and Doc had a fight?"
"Yes." Lightning said "I'm sorry Sally, I need to be alone right now."
"I understand. You know I'm here if you want to talk about it." Sally said gently "Is there anything I can get you?"
"Maybe some ice." Lightning said after a moment's pause "My side really hurts."
"You sit tight." Sally said "I'll be right back."
A week later:
"I'm here." Lightning said as he pulled into Ramone's body shop. "My side is all better."
"Wonderful, I have everything ready for you." Ramone called from the office "Head to paint booth two, I'll be there in a minute."
A few hours later:
"WOW!" Lightning said, admiring the new paint job. "You can't tell were my injury was."
"It was an easy fix." Ramone said "You're going to be sore though. I suggest you take it easy for rest of the morning. If you have any issues, my door is always open."
"Thanks Ramone." Lightning said "What would I do if I didn't have you and Doc?"
"Freak out." Ramone said making Lightning laugh "If you're hungry Flo just finished making her special of the day. *he sniffs the air.* Mmmmm, Meatloaf!"
"I was wondering what that wonderful smell was." Lightning said "I'll see if Sally wants to go to lunch. *his stomach growls.* The smell alone is making me hungry."
Lightning drove back over to the Cozy Cone with his stomach growling angerly. He saw Sally helping a few of her guests, so he waited patiently until she was done with them.
"Hey!" Sally said, coming from cone number eight. "Let me see your side."
Lightning turned his right side to Sally.
"Ramone is a master." He said happily "You can't tell were my injury was."
"Can you?" Sally asked seriously "Just because you think you have recovered; doesn't mean you have. What does Doc think?"
"Sally I'm fine." Lightning insisted "I wouldn't lie to you. Besides, getting banged up is just part of the game. As for Doc, I don't know what he thinks. I haven't seen him since we had that fight at my headquarters. Can you join me for lunch? I'm starving!"
"Sure, I'm getting hungry too." Sally said "My next guest isn't supposed to be here until later this afternoon."
COMMENTS:
Guest 2
I've been good. - That's wonderful! Other than battling a chronic foot problem and migraines, I'm feeling good too. I'm waiting for spring, I'm tired of being cold.
Some other stories I've read lately just don't add up to Lightning and Sally. Such as one's involving where they've cheated on each other. That'll never happen as of what they've done to make each other's motors purr. - I agree. I don't bother reading those types of stories no matter how "good" they clame to be.
Take your time updating and upgrading the action. Can't wait for the hot sessions between Lightning and Sally - There's not going to many "hot sessions" between Lightning and Sally in this story. But there are a few, it's going to be a while. As you read, they were going to but got interrupted by Doc.
Chick's behaviour is getting dirtier. Mind you though Lightning needs to watch his attitude in terms of profanity otherwise he'll be in the shit - Lightning is a nice guy, but he isn't above swearing if he has too. Don't forget that he is a racecar. Swearing is almost a second langue for them. In the MythBuster episode "No Pain, No Gain, they tested the myth that swearing helps with pain. They proved it does, so I figured that swearing helps Lightning with the pain.
I know it's a long time before you reach it but maybe add some parts where Lightning stands up to Doc in a way. - As you read, Lightning has no issues tell what he wants. Although it makes Doc mad, he respects Lightning for standing up to him.
Lightning is the main boss of the team here. As for Chelsea maybe make her jealous when she sees Lightning and Sally happy together - Chelsea gets put into place a little later in the story.
I've read many stories lately while you've been away. Some I've commented or not commented at all. Like u said if I don't like certain stories I don't comment. The way some of them have been written in terms of the main characters such as Lightning and Sally they stink. Out of line and not like them. You probably get where I'm coming from- I agree. I haven't had a lot of time to read, but I have liked some of them. Others however, I don't get through the first paragraph before I don't like it.
I seem to be the only one responding to your story here. Where have all the others gone. - It's early in the story, so I'm not worried about it. If you are the only one who comments, then I'm fine with it. I like talking to you. And you have to remember this is a rewrite, I've noticed that rewrites don't get as many comments as the original story. I'm still going to post chapters, even if I don't get any comments besides yours.
I'm not sure if you're open to ideas for this new story. I have some but I thought I'd ask first. Plus I don't wanna sound like I'm writing it- On suggestions, it depends. I'm going to be a little more picky about what I'm going to allow. You always have good ideas, so if you want to send me some, that's fine. I can't say if I'll use them or not.
I do not own Cars or any of its characters. PIXAR AND DISNEY CLAIM THAT RIGHT. READING ENJOYMENT ONLY
Please read and review! I need criticism and encouragements! Rated M for language and sex