AN: I'm trying out a new format. Hopefully it will help with reading the story. If you guys would let me know what you think, I appreciate it. Comments, suggestions, or any ideas are very welcome.
Chapter 8. - Doc's Past -
An hour later: Lightning backed off the table and parked beside Doc. On his hood, Doc had a box with eight small vials, and a syringe. He laid the box on Lightning's hood.
"This is your antibiotics. Starting tomorrow morning, take one vile in the morning and one in the evening for the next four days." Doc said "Make sure you take it with food or it will tear up your stomach."
"Okay." Lightning said "What's in the syringe?"
"It's also an antibiotic, you need something immediately. Dr. Underwood highly recommended it." Doc said as he administered the antibiotics "Now, head to your trailer and rest. I'll be by later to check on you."
"Thanks, Doc." Lightning said as his axle shook violently when he put weight on it "It doesn't hurt that bad… right now."
"No problem, Kid." Doc said "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I think so." Lightning said "I'll manage."
"Do you think you need a wheelchair?" Doc asked, a tiny bit of concern in his voice "It'll help you get around."
"I'm sure that it would, but I don't want one." Lightning said, taking a deep breath "All it would do is cause problems. Not to mention that the reporters would be bothering me about why I was in a wheelchair."
"I see your point." Doc said "I just want you to take it easy. Your axle is going to be extremely sore for the next few days."
Just then, Lightning hissed as a bolt of pain raced along his axle.
"I haven't been in this much discomfort since mom disowned me and kicked me out of the guest house." Lightning said painfully "If it wasn't for a high school friend, I would have been homeless… not really, I had money in the bank and would have found an apartment, or at least a hotel room."
"So, what did your Dad do when he found out you got kicked out?" Doc asked "Surely he did something."
"He was too busy running the studio to focus on what was going on at home." Lightning said "When he finally asked, mom told him I moved out on my own."
Lightning's cell phone began to ring.
"Hey Stud Muffin!" Sally's said after Lightning answered the phone "Are you in Philadelphia?"
"Yeah! Doc just looked at my axle." Lightning said "Are you home?"
"No, I'm not." Sally said "I flew to L.A. instead. I'm visiting my parents. I've made arrangements to see the place where we're getting married, I'm also making the final arrangements."
"Oh, okay." Lightning said "That sounds great. Well I have to go; I'll talk to you later."
"Okay." Sally said "Love you."
Lightning hung up and sighed.
"She's driving me crazy!" He said under his breath "I don't know what I'm going to do."
Lightning thought he said it quietly to himself, but unfortunately he forgot how good Doc's hearing was.
"How many times do I have to tell you I don't care about your stupid wedding!" Doc said furiously, thinking the statement was addressed to him "It'll fall through like the last time!"
Lightning's stomach lurched. He thought no matter how much Doc disliked the idea of him getting married, Lightning didn't think he would say anything like that.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." Doc said, seeing Lightning's reaction "I didn't mean to say that."
"Yes, you did." Lightning said quietly "I'm heading to my trailer."
Lightning hobbled out of the medical building, putting as much weight on his tire as his injury would allow and drove back to his trailer, not noticing the rain falling from the sky. Lightning slowly drove up the ramp and closed the door. Once he got settled, Lightning turned on his television and was surprised to see himself on the screen.
"…Lightning McQueen, is still the Piston Cup point leader. However, his wreck from last year has been taking its toll on him." the commentator said "His front right axle has been bothering him relentlessly and he has been receiving physical therapy to help with the pain. In last Sunday's race, Lightning drove over some debris and re-injured it. His axle has four staples in it."
"Six...now." Lightning corrected the television "And I'm taking antibiotics because it got infected."
"Lightning has been through a lot." Doc said, appearing on the TV screen "But he's tough. He'll make it through this..."
Annoyed, Lightning turned the television off. Only then did he hear someone banging on the trailer's door.
"Rookie, it's me." Doc called gruffly "Look, Kid, I'm sorry for what I said. *He then paused.* Please open the door; I need to talk to you."
Lightning lowered the ramp and hobbled out.
"You don't look too good." Doc said with a concerned expression on his face "How do you feel?"
"I'm fine." Lightning said coldly "Now what were you saying?"
"I have something to explain." Doc said lowly, as rain poured heavily from the sky "Just listen to me, okay?"
"I'll try." Lightning said in the same icy voice "I'm waiting…"
Doc looked at the ground.
"During my fifth season, I got engaged... I wasn't looking to get married, it just sort of happened." Doc said, then his voice started to shake "When I was at the Houston track, she called and said that she wanted to visit me. She also said that she had something she wanted to talk about. So I told her to come on down. On the way, my fiancé… got hit hood on by a drunk car driving down the wrong side of the road… she… she was killed instantly. There was some reports that another car was pushed into her lane, but it was a dark and rainy night so the police couldn't be sure that another car was involved. After her funeral, I threw myself into racing as a way to cope with the loss… I'm sorry, my grief has gotten in the way of your and Sally's happiness. I'd be more than happy to marry you and Sally."
Lightning was completely shocked by what Doc said.
"I'm so sorry, Doc." He said, not knowing what to say "I'm sorry I've complained so much about my wedding in front of you. That must have brought back horrible memories. Of course you can still marry us, I love you and I don't have to tell you that Sally does too."
"I love you too. I think of you and Sally as the kids I never had." Doc said with tears in his eyes "I figured you should know the reason I've been so rude lately."
"It's fine." Lightning said smiling brightly "What was her name?"
"Julie." Doc replied "That's why I was in South Carolina. That's where she is buried."
"I'm sorry." Lightning said, feeling like a broken record "Was she pretty?"
"Oh yeah, very pretty!" Doc said, laughing a bit as a tear ran down his hood "She looked a lot like Sally… to tell you the truth, pretty close to the same paint color."
He pulled out an old worn out photo of her and showed it to Lightning.
"Did she go crazy with the wedding plans?" Lightning asked "Sally's driving me crazy."
"I don't know." Doc said "I was busy with racing, so I let her do all the planning."
"I'm sorry, Doc." Lightning said feeling like he said it a million times already "I should have known it was something like that."
"It's okay." Doc said "I'm the one who should be apologizing."
"Is that why you and Sophia haven't married?" Lightning asked "I know she's been hinting at it."
"Yeah, it's just too hard for me. I… I'm not… I… mean, I don't want…" Doc stuttered "It's just… I'm scared; I don't want to lose Sophia the way I lost Julie."
"Doc, what's the odds of that happening again?" Lightning asked, Doc just stared at the pavement "Does Sophia know about Julie?"
"No." Doc said "You're the first person I've ever told."
"Don't take this the wrong way, but don't you think you should tell her?" Lightning asked "It might smooth things over with her."
"I'll think about it. Thanks Kid, it has been weighing heavily on me. Do you want to go get something to eat at the track restaurant?" Doc asked "I don't want you driving around too much."
"I can get to the restaurant." Lightning said in a mock protest "It's only a two-minute drive!"
"In your current condition, it'll be a ten-minute drive." Doc growled "And I'm starving."
"I'm okay, really." Lightning said, rolling on three wheels next to Doc "See, I can do it."
"You look like a fucking idiot." Doc said "But I guess you've perfected that."
"Actually I got it from you." Lightning said playfully "It's from watching those really old films of you racing."
Two days later: Lightning begged Doc to let him train. The antibiotics has the infection under control and his axle was starting to feel better. However, his stomach was killing him. Lightning didn't take Doc's warning seriously and took the antibiotics without eating something first.
"Please Doc!" Lightning begged "Just a few laps… please!"
"No!" Doc snapped "Wait 'till tomorrow, you need time to heal."
"Fine, whatever!" Lightning huffed, half-jokingly "Then I'm heading to my trailer and watch pornos… wanna come?"
"Nah." Doc said "I don't want to watch you jacking off… It ruins my appetite."
There was a short pause before Lightning and Doc started laughing hysterically. Lightning was very happy that Doc is back to being his old cantankerous self.
"What am I supposed to do if I can't train?" Lightning asked, once they stopped laughing "Besides talk to reporters."
Doc shrugged.
"I don't know." He said "What have you been doing?"
"Nothing!" Lightning complained "That's the problem! I'm going crazy with boredom!"
"I'm sorry, Kiddo." Doc laughed "You can train on Friday and Saturday."
"Okay." Lightning responded "But what if I don't get back into shape and I lose the race?"
"You won't lose. Taking a few days off isn't going to affect your conditioning." Doc said "You might even race better than you think, since your body has had some time to rest. *Doc's phone started ringing.* Hello… yes, it is… yes, I did… we can do that… We'll be there shortly. *Doc hung up.* Well Kid you can't complain about having nothing to do. That was Dr. Bull Riddell. He wants to meet with us in an hour and he wants to see the metal shards that I took out of your axle."
"That's great!" Lightning said "Do I need to go get the nurse?"
"No, Dr. Riddell has already contacted her." Doc said "She'll be there."
One hour later: Lightning, Harper, and Doc arrived at the administrative building. A yellow Porsche was there to meet them.
"Doc, Lightning, Harper welcome, I've been expecting you. This way please." Dr. Riddell said as he headed to his plush office "Please have a seat. I'll be with you in a moment. *Bull turns to face his secretary.* Sandra, I'm going to be in a meeting. Hold all my calls." Sandra nodded in understanding. Bull closed the door before settling behind his desk.
"Now, you all know why you are here." Bull said "Lightning, tell me exactly what happened."
Lightning explained everything.
Roughly half an hour later:
"I didn't know about the injury until Lightning got here." Doc said "As you know, cuts like this get infected no matter how well you clean them. When Lightning explained the amount of pain he was in, I took him to the clinic so I could examine it. I expected some infection, but I was shocked when I saw the condition of his axle. I got Nurse Harper and cleaned out the wound. That's when I found the metal fragments. Nurse Harper and I took pictures as we worked."
"Do you have the pictures with you?" Bull asked "I would like to see them."
"I sure do." Doc said as he passed the pictures over "I made copies, so you can keep them if you want."
Dr. Riddell looked through the pictures, stopping often to ask a question. Lightning answered when he could, but Harper and Doc answered most of the questions. During a lengthy and technical question, curiosity got to Lightning. He started looking at the pictures. It was the first time he saw his injury. Feeling lightheaded, Lightning quickly looked away.
"Lightning, are you okay?" Harper asked "You look like you're going to pass out."
"I think I'm okay." Lightning said nervously "I can't stand seeing oil. I'm all right… I'll just look out the window until you're done."
It was another ten minutes until the doctors were finished going through the pictures.
"I'm assuming you have the shards too." Bull said "I would like to see them."
Doc rolled the bottle over to him. Bull asked Harper and Doc a series of questions, then he handed the bottle back to Doc.
"It appears that something went wrong at the Huston track." Bull said "I need to talk to Dr. Cannae and get his side of the story before I make any decisions. I will contact you in a few weeks when I have made my ruling."
"Thank you, Dr. Riddell." Lightning said as Dr. Riddell escorted them out of the office "We'll be waiting to hear from you."
Sunday, midday: Lightning opened his trailer's door and rolled out to a roaring crowd. He waved to his fans and drove over to Doc.
"You ready, Rookie?" Doc asked "It's time."
"I think I am. Lightning said "As much as I'm going to be."
Lightning nervously headed to the track. His training had gone well. Friday was somewhat of a disastrous training session, but Saturday more than made up for it.
"Racecars! Line up on the track!" The loudspeaker blared "Final call, Racecars! Make your way to the track immediately!"
"You ready to lose again, McQueen?" Chick asked cackling "This is my race to win!"
"In your dreams Thunder." Lightning said, taking his spot on the starting grid "I may not be at my best, but it's more than enough to beat you… assho..."
"Rookie! It's too hot to be picking fights. Besides, you don't want to be fined." Doc said through Lightning's intercom system "Remember, float like a Cadillac."
"And sting like a beamer." Lightning said, as he revved his engine "I can't tell you how I love that saying!"
Lightning watched for the green flag to be dropped. Once it was, all the racecars shot onto the track.
COMMENTS:
Guest 2- Very peckish Lightning was there. You'd think he wouldn't eat a lot for a car like a semi but then he had the munchies.- Light can't help himself. Being a racecar, it's hard to keep him full. Besides he's like me, we eat when we're stressed.
When your lived ones flirts with other guys it does hit some nerves but it's good Mack doesn't take things personally. It's just a matter of humour.- I also wanted to show even truck and cars share the road, they have their own culture.
So much pain Lightning's enduring. Poor Lightning. Good the crew have his back.- Doc will always have Lightning's back and Lightning will always have Doc's back.
Fan girls. What can you do? Mia and Tia love Lightning. Gets them buzzy that they even slept with him. Need to stay on track with security. God!- I wanted to so that some people/cars never grow up, despite how old they are.
All those shards of metal Lightning and the assistant doctor pulled out. Shows how incompetent and ignorant some doctors can be with patients. Hope this prick gets fined and suspended for misconduct on a patient.- We'll find out in a few chapters.
Haha! Doc and Lightning's banter is just something. At the moment I'm your only reader but then don't be put off writing. I'm always here- Thanks my friend, I can count on you!
Loved ones and Doc pulled out I meant. Aah this is a typo. Gets on your nerves- That and the stupid auto spellchecker.
IrishScottDragonGirl? I don't know how well you know Fast And Furious but here goes. So far it's a nine film saga. The first film started off with street racing, modified cars and criminals being watched by an undercover officer. Most of the story was on track til it hit the 6th film where they got tied up in British and American espionage to fight for their freedom. The story went out of line. So bad you can't really call it Fast And Furious anymore.- I don't know a lot about them, but I've heard that the story is "getting tired." A few of my friends say that they aren't going to see any more movies from this franchise. I think there is another movie coming out soon… talk about beating a dead horse.
I bring this up coz some stories I've read lately don't really live up to their titles much. I just stop reviewing when that happens. Not like this one you're writing where it's based on Lightning healing and fighting to keep his career on track as well as balancing it with his soon to be married life. Of course add the odd dramas and all but we wanna keep the story based on it's title. Keep Lightning strong- That I'll do my friend.
When that happens you lose interest. As good as the new film Fast And Furious Hobbs and Shaw film is I wouldn't buy it- I'm not into kind of thing… My latest obsession is diamond painting. If you don't know what that is, Google it.
IrishScottDragonGirl where have you gone? I know Christmas has taken over everyone but please don't disappear. I love your stories- I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. With holiday season, I knew I wouldn't have time to write. That's why I let everyone know I was taking a break, I didn't want to disappear with no reason. Now that the holiday season is over, things should get back to normal(or as close to normal as I can get.) LOL!
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.
