Chapter 14. - Final Surgery Recovery -
"Wake up Rookie!" Doc barked making Lightning jump awake "Kori will be here in an hour. Here put this on."
Doc scooted a medical codpiece over to him.
"What are you talking about?" Lightning asked groggily "My interview isn't until tomorrow."
"Your interview is today. You slept for another day." Doc said "The camera crew will be here any minute now, you need to be awake."
"Are you fucking serious?" Lightning asked in a slight panic. "Why didn't you wake me before now?"
"Light relax, it's perfectly normal for you to sleep a lot." Doc said "Now when you're doing your interview, don't mention the black box."
"I promise I won't say a word." Lightning replied "Do I look all right?"
Doc nodded as someone knocked on the door. Doc opened it and several suburbans drove in. They were equipped with cameras.
"Hey, Doc." one of the suburbans said "Where do you want us to set up?"
"Over there." Doc said "Just be careful of his monitoring cables."
An hour later, the interview began.
"I'm Kori Turbowitz with RSN." She said, facing the camera "I'm live from Radiator Springs with Lightning McQueen. Lightning, how are you feeling?"
"Pretty good." Lightning said, smiling warmly "I want to thank everyone for the get well messages. It makes me feel good to know that I'm not forgotten."
"Our viewers would never forget about you." Kori said "Now Lightning, do you remember anything from the wreck?"
"Only a couple of things." Lightning said "I remember passing Chick on the outside and my tire blowing out. After that, it's all pretty hazy, except for getting hit a few times."
"What injuries did you sustain?" Kori asked "It look bad."
"Uh, let's see." Lightning said "My most serious injury was a crushed engine… I crushed the right half of my front axle, I got a severe concussion, multiple internal injuries, and because I had so many dents, I had to get an aluminum replacement. I just had my last surgery and soon I'll be back to normal."
"That's wonderful." Kori said "What was the most troublesome or painful injury you sustained?"
"Wow, that's a tough question." Lightning said "They obviously all have their downsides. I would say my most troublesome injury is my engine transplant. I'm not allowed to get out of bed for the next four days because my engine needs to get used to my body. I know that sounds weird, but that's how it was explained to me. My most painful injury was my dents. The aluminum replacement surgery was the most painful thing I have ever had done."
"Are you planning to return to racing?" Kori asked "If not, what are your plans?"
"I have no dought that I'll return to racing." Lightning replied "I'm going to have to train very slowly. My crushed axle is very weak right now, and if I train to hard, it will fracture. I'm hoping this week of bed rest will help it. All of my other injuries are healing well."
"I'm not alone when I say I'm glad you're healing and in good spirits." Kori said, she then turned to the camera. "We'll be back after a word from our sponsors."
Two minutes later, the interview was live once again.
"Welcome back. I'm Kori Turbowitz here with Lightning McQueen." Kori said into the cameras "Lightning, what were your reactions when you learned that Chick will be allowed to race?"
"I was shocked and angry." Lightning said "Chick deliberately slammed me into the wall, and for him to simply say, 'oh, I didn't see him' just doesn't cut it with me. I'm out for the season and the car who caused me to be sidelined gets to go right back to racing, acting as if he did nothing wrong."
"I can see where you're coming from." Kori said "Are you filing an appeal?"
"Yes. We're asking for a hearing." Lightning replied "It's next week, I think. Because of the surgery, I've lost track of time."
"Do you have the evidence to prove Chick deliberately slammed you into the wall?" Kori asked "And what is it?"
"Sorry Kori." Lightning said "Upon the advice of my attorney, I can't say anything about it."
The interview went on for another twenty-five minutes.
"Thanks Lightning." Kori said "That interview went very well. You look tired, my crew and I will clean up quickly so you can get some rest."
It was only ten minutes for Kori and her crew to pack up and leave. Lightning was left alone with Doc.
"Good interview." Doc said "How are you feeling?" "Hungry." Lightning said "And tired."
"I knew you would be hungry by the time you got done. Your lunch is on its way." Doc said "After you eat, I want you to take a nap then relax for rest of the day. I'll be back tomorrow morning to check on you."
It wasn't long until Lightning's food arrived. He gobbled it down before relaxing. Lightning closed his eyes and within minutes, he was fast asleep. Lightning woke up the next morning and saw Doc and Zoë preparing two different medicines.
"What are you doing?" Lightning asked "And do I want to know."
"We're preparing a medicine for you." Doc said "I'm going to put you to sleep for a few days."
"Umm, ok… why?" Lightning asked "I'm getting better arnt' I?"
"Yes, the anesthesia has completely worn off and you're going to be awake now." Doc said "You'll get bored and try getting out of bed. That's going to put more stress on your engine. You need to stay as quiet as possible."
"I understand." Lightning said "But can I see Sally one last time?"
"I figured you would ask." Doc said "She's waiting outside... Come on in, Sally."
Doc and Zoë left the room to give Sally and Lightning some privacy.
"Hey!" Lightning said happily as Sally entered the room. "You're looking more gorgeous than normal."
"Hey yourself." Sally said "I'm going to miss you."
"It's just for a few days." Lightning said "You won't miss me that much."
"Yes I will." Sally said "I saw your interview."
"Doc said I did fine." Lightning said "What do you think? Did I look okay?"
"You looked hot and sexy." Sally said kissing him "Doc said I could only have a few minutes. Besides, I have to get back to the hotel."
"Don't go!" Lightning cried, slightly distressed "I need you!"
"Light, I have a hotel to run." Sally said "Do you want me to stay here for the entire time?"
"That'd be nice!" Lightning said, laughing slightly "You can play with my manhood!"
"I don't think that the hospital will allow that… I promise, I'll visit you every day." Sally said "I have to go... The hotel is expanding; we're getting eight new cozy cones delivered."
"Oh that's right! I've been so wrapped up in my problems, I forgot about that." Lightning said "I guess I'll talk to you later."
After Sally left the room, Doc and Zoë rolled back in.
"You ready?" Doc asked "I have other patients to see today."
"Is my mom still here?" Lightning asked "I'm surprised that she's not slobbering all over me."
"No." Doc said "Something big came up, so she had to go home. Bella said that she'll be back in a month or so."
"Oh, that's fine." Lightning said "I'm ready, do your worst."
Doc and Zoë hooked Lightning up to the I.V. machine and an EKG so they could monitor his vitals. Doc attached an I.V. to Lightning's stomach to maintain his nutrition. Zoë started the medication that would put him to sleep.
"You'll feel the effects almost immediately." She said "Don't fight it. Just close your eyes and go to sleep."
Four days later… middle of the morning: Lightning slowly opened his eyes. Sunlight poured through the windows around him, causing Lightning to blink several times. All the I.V.s and the urinary tube was removed.
In front of him was a note scrawled out in Doc's tire writing. Hey Rookie- When you wake up, you're free to go. Your axles look great. I know that you're starving. Find me at Flo's. –Doc.
Lightning grinned and started his engine, which purred to life. His axles were stiff and a little sore, but Lightning ignored it. He climbed out of bed and noticed his nakedness. Looking around, Lightning saw his underwear and codpiece lying on the table beside the bed. He put them on and cruised smoothly over to Flo's, where he saw Doc chatting with tourists.
"Hey Doc!" Lightning said happily "I'm awake!"
"I can see that." Doc said as Lightning pulled up alongside "How are you feeling?"
"Hungry, but great!" he said enthusiastically as a waiter stopped in front of him "I'll have the morning special… *the waiter wrote down the order and then drove into the café.* When can I start training?"
"A little later." Doc responded as the waiter brought out Lightning's food "You just woke up and I'm still eating… Eat your breakfast, then we'll talk about training."
About ten minutes later:
Lightning was finishing his breakfast, but Doc was barely half way through his.
"Oh would you come on! I've seen you eat faster than that!" Lightning exclaimed around a mouth full of food "I need to train!"
"Don't talk with your fucking mouth full, you'll choke. I'm not in the mood to do the Heimlich maneuver on you." Doc growled "If you want something to do, go find your girlfriend. She's been very lonely… and try to keep your dick in your codpiece for a change."
"Very funny!" Lightning said finishing his breakfast "I'm horny, but I'm not that horny…yet."
Lightning revved his engine and sped down the street to the Cozy Cone's office. On his way, Lightning noticed the new cozy cones; three of them were double occupancy.
"Hey Sally!" Lightning said happily, cruising into the office "I'm here!"
"Light!" Sally exclaimed "Doc said you wouldn't be awake until this afternoon."
She quickly drove around her desk and threw herself on him.
"Wow!" Lightning laughed, giving Sally a huge kiss "I take it you missed me?"
"Mhmmm." Sally cooed happily "You have no idea." Lightning and Sally's hug seemed to last forever. Finally, the lovers broke apart.
"The new cones look great." Lightning said "Let's go for a drive."
"Hey! That's my line!" Sally said before pausing "Are you up to it?"
"Am I up to it?" Lightning scoffed playfully "Is that the type of question you ask Lightning McQueen?"
"I guess not." Sally said laughing "I've been trying to think of a way to get out of the office today."
Lightning laughed as they headed for the door.
Together, Lightning and Sally made their way down Radiator Spring's main road. They were turning onto Route Sixty-Six when Doc saw them.
"Hey!" he shouted, getting their attention "Where are you two off to?"
"Just a drive." Lightning said "And give this new engine a work out."
"I don't think so young man." Doc said sternly "You're nowhere close to one hundred percent."
"I'm sorry, daddy said I can't play with you today." Lightning said turning to Sally "I'll come by later tonight… we can enjoy each other's company."
Sally giggled as she caught on to what he was hinting at.
"I would like that." Sally said playfully, before turning serious "We need to have a meeting on the hearing, it's coming up soon."
"Oh yeah." Lightning said "I forgot about that. I want to do some training too."
"Well which do you want to do first?" Sally asked "The meeting or the training?"
"The meeting." Doc said as he caught Lightning's annoyed look "Sorry Kid. If you're going to be driving all the way up to Wheel Well today, training will have to wait until tomorrow. You're not strong enough to do both."
"He's right." Sally said "You don't need to re-injure yourself."
"I guess." Lightning said begrudgingly "If you say so."
"Good." Doc said "Now I'll meet you two up there in thirty minutes."
Doc headed back to his office to get his paperwork.
"Now let's go, race me to your headquarters." Sally called out "But we're not going over sixty."
"Really Sally!" Lightning protested "I haven't driven fast in months!"
"Exactly." Sally said "You need to gain strength slowly."
"How about ninety?" Lightning asked hopefully "Please?"
"Maybe." Sally said as she laughed and raced away.
"No you don't!" Lightning exclaimed "You're not getting away that easy."
He revved his engine and tore after Sally. She laughed when Lightning pull up beside her.
"You still have it!" Sally exclaimed "I'm impressed."
"Well I could have told you that much!" Lightning said "Speed, I am speed."
He easily pulled away from her and raced up the mountain.
Five minutes later: Lightning arrived at Wheel Well. Sally arrived several minutes later. His endurance had suffered greatly from his months of being stationary. Lightning was fully winded when he stopped at the spot that overlooked the valley.
"You went way over ninety." Sally scolded when she saw him breathing deeply "I figured you would do something like that. Are you okay?"
"I'm short of breath, but I feel fine… did you actually think I was going to go less than one hundred?" Lightning asked "I'm Lightning McQueen."
"No." Sally admitted "But you have to promise me that you won't do anything stupid. It's going to take some time getting back into shape."
"I promise… I won't do anything stupid, unless I'm with Mater." Lightning said, still trying to catch his breath "But you have to admit that was pretty awesome!"
"It was." Sally said reluctantly "Did it feel good?" "You have no idea." Lightning sighed "It was amazing!"
Together, Lightning and Sally drove into Wheel Well. They drove down the long hallway to the conference room. They were making out when Doc arrived.
"Hey!" Doc said when he saw what they were doing "Cut that out!"
"But Doc!" Lightning whined "We were just making out, we wasn't going to go all the way!"
"I don't want to know what your plans are." Doc said "You're not healed enough for that activity… I doubt that you can get it hard."
Lightning had to admit Doc was right, his manhood was throbbing, but not from sexual excitement.
"Look I know it's frustrating." Doc said "But you have to wait a while longer."
"I understand but look at her." Lightning said pointing at Sally "Sally is the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen; how do you not want to make love to her?"
Doc cleared his throat.
"Sally's a gorgeous woman, but… she's way too young for my tastes." Doc said nervously "Besides I have a girlfriend."
Even at his older age, Doc still was still very attractive. Sally grinned and decided she was going to have some fun at Doc's expense.
"You're not too old for me." Sally said as she rubbed his side: close to his rear tires "I prefer experience over youth any time."
The look of shock on Doc's face was priceless. It made Sally and Lightning laugh until their sides were sore.
"Stop it!" Doc barked "I'm not a sexual plaything."
"That's not what Sophia says." Sally giggled "She admitted at Flo's 'girls only' party… you always leave her satisfied and wanting more."
"That doesn't surprise me one bit." Doc said before turning to Lightning "You made it up here fast."
"Eh…" Lightning said, shrugging "I'm a little out of breath, but overall I feel good."
"No going over seventy." Doc said sternly "Your axles are weak, if they snap; you'll be sidelined for another three fucking months… and you'll miss the first part of the racing season."
"Okay." Lightning said, not making eye contact "But how will I train?"
"I have my methods." Doc said "But right now we need to go over our evidence."
Sally honed her lawyer skills and laid out a flawless lawsuit.
"I don't know anything about this legal stuff! I might have the looks in this relationship but you've got the brains!" Lightning complained daringly, Sally shot him a 'you-better-finish-that-sentence' look "Okay, okay! You got brains and beauty! Won't they get enough information from the black box?"
"Probably." Doc said "But you'll have to testify about what happened."
"I don't remember anything after Chick slammed me into the wall." Lightning said "One moment I was on the track and the next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital."
"Then just say that." Sally said "The committee should believe you. Unlike Chick, you're not known for lying."
"She's right." Doc said "There is one thing that may hurt us. Lightning was being hot-hooded and that caused him to try that risky move."
"True." Sally said "But Chick could have blocked him. He didn't have to slam him into the wall… Chick would have heard Lightning say that he didn't listen to your advice anymore. Chick is a talented racecar and there's no way he can say he didn't know Lightning was there."
"Is Chick and his lawyer going to be there?" Lightning asked "I don't want to see him."
"He has to be." Doc said "If he's guilty, he'll be sentenced immediately."
"Then we have this thing in the bag." Lightning said "I won't worry about it."
"It won't be as easy as you think." Doc said "Chick has the right to defend himself."
"I don't care about that." Lightning said "We have all the evidence!"
"This is Chick Hicks we're talking about." Sally said darkly "We know he can talk his way out of any trouble he's in. Not to mention, the slimy attorney he's hired."
"She has a good point." Doc said "But I'll give you this: it's going to be hard to counter our evidence."
"Good." Lightning said, a competitive edge in his voice "I hope he likes surprises."
"Do you think he'll guess we're using Lightning's black box as our primary evidence?" Sally asked "I have a backup plan if he does."
"I doubt it, even with all my years of racing experience, I didn't think of it." Doc said "The judicial officer is coming here in an hour."
"The what?" Lightning asked "Is coming here in an hour?"
"The judge that is assigned to our hearing is coming to look over the evidence." Sally said "You can be so dense sometimes."
"Oh… I knew that." Lightning said "I was just checking if you did.
"I'm an attorney… remember?" Sally said, Lightning shot a dorky smile at her "Do we need to stay here until they get here?"
"You two don't." Doc said "Since I'm the one filing the complaint, I have to stay and sign the papers and do whatever else he or she wants me to do saying I haven't tampered with the evidence. Go on… go goof off. Don't even think about going to Willy's Butte! And no going over seventy!"
Lightning and Sally headed to the door.
COMMENTS:
Guest 2
Going through surgeries and all does have that effect on your memory but then once you readjust it all comes back.- Coming back from an injury us always hard. With doc's help and Sally's support, Lightning will get better.
Sweet moments between Lightning and Sally. Hahahaaaa! Classy over Lightning's manhood. Bella's having a little mother drama but it's natural.- Bella is a bit of a drama queen herself, so it's natural she overhypes everything. Hopefully she'll settle down once Lightning is better.
Bella and Sally really are warming up.- Bella is figuring out that Lightning and Sally really love each other. It's not one of those fake relationships that she's used to.
Shame Chelsea has to go hitting bon every male just to get laid. Fucking whore!- I work with someone like that. I don't even what to sit close to her, because I don't know what I might catch.
Just focus on Sidelined A New Beginning for now. That way you won't get stressed.- Mom is getting better. Hopefully after next week, I can get back to my regular posting schedule.
It's nice that Sally and Bella are standing by Lightning before and after his surgery. Bella seems to be readjusting things with her son despite the history.- Bella realizes that she has made a mistake and she is doing her best to make up for it.
I can't wait for the trial to begin over Chick's criminal behavior- We have one more chapter before the trial starts.
Please involve a moment where Lightning's parents tell him they still love him despite the history and his racing career.- I think I can do that.
I've had my moments where I've done things people don't like but not enough to lose their love.- Me too.
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.