AN: Thank for all the kind words and reviews!

First line is from one of those "100 writing prompts" lists.


"Of course we're best friends. No one else would put up with our shenanigans."

"You got that right, Hot Rod." Doc eyed him with a new parental disappointment. That wasn't exactly what Lightning had in mind when he'd written that Father's Day letter a few months back but he supposed it came with the territory.

He sat patiently in the small examination room as Doc inspected his arm with gloved hands.

"How long have these cactus needles been in your arm?"

"Uh...I dunno...a few hours?"

He only received a look over silver framed glasses.

"Why are there cactus needles in your arm?"

"Well Mater and I- well you know-"

"No." Doc replied. "Enlighten me."

"We were uh-...smashing mailboxes?"

Doc nearly dropped the medical tweezers and eyed his patient with indignation. "Are you still antagonizing those cows?"

"No-no!" Lightning shook his head quickly and winced when he accidentally jerked his arm away. "I mean- I wasn't in the pasture- Frank got out though-..."

"That explains the Sheriff's mood this morning."

"I...uh...slid down a bank-"

"And ended up in the tulips."

"You and I see tulips very differently- ow-"

"If you'd sit still, this wouldn't hurt as much."

"How bad is it?"

With the last of the needles removed, Doc rotated his arm gently, making sure not to touch the injury. "Well it isn't infected, but I'm putting you on an antibiotic anyway."

Once applying an antiseptic and instructing Lightning how to bandage it, and how often to change those bandages, he tossed his gloves in the trash beside the door. He lead Lightning into the next room and handed him a small prescription bottle.

"One every eight hours until they're gone."

"Thanks, Doc."

"MmHmm, and Kiddo?"

Lightning paused in the doorway and looked back at him. "Yeah?"

"Don't wait that long for something like that."

He grinned and saluted casually with his good arm before leaving. "Got it."


"Shoot, Bud. I didn't know it was that bad."

"I'm fine, Mater. Really." He extended his arm at the elbow slowly and turned it this way and that. He kept getting the bandages too tight, Doc had done a much better job than he could.

"Still. If I'd known Frank was gunna just plow through the fence this time, I woulda never gone last night."

Lightning huffed and rolled his eyes slowly. "Well I think I'm done with midnight adventures for a while."

"Aw, c'mon. I was hoping we'd go looking for the Banshee."

"No."

"Ghost Light? "

"No- you know that was a joke right?"

"What about the Jackalope?"

"No." He blinked. "Wait, the what?"

"I'm kidding." He grinned. "Doc'd kill me if you had to go back to the clinic for anything else."

Lightning huffed in agreement before falling silent. Slouched in the beaten up lawn chair, he watched down the street in lazy contentment and just enjoyed the stillness of the evening. He caught himself doing that a lot lately. A thought struck him suddenly and he looked toward his friend, watching him a moment before speaking.

"Mater, how long've you been here?"

"Oh, 'bout as long as I can remember." He replied, making designs in the dirt beneath their feet with the heels of his work boots.

Lightning hummed faintly in response before falling silent again. Mater was the exact image of who he would not have spent any time with before coming to Radiator Springs. From the fishing hook on the bill of his tattered baseball cap, (when and where did he ever go fishing anyway?) to the old flannel shirts, torn jeans and Red Wing work boots. Mater was loud, a little more than insane at times and overly excitable. Sometimes it surprised Lightning that he'd never run into him at a race before.

That's when it hit him. Mater was the perfect example of a Piston Cup fan. Despite his silliness, Mater was the most genuine individual he'd ever met. Under the quirks and the 'hillbilly' appearance was a heart of gold. He'd give you the shirt off his back without question. Although a little naive at times, Mater truly cared for anyone he came across. Lightning realized as he watched his friend subtly, that the kindness that Mater radiated was the kind people easily took advantage of. Lightning knew first-hand how easy it was to exploit others and the last thing he wanted was to ever see someone do such a thing to his friend. A protectiveness welled up in his chest and he looked away, back towards the town, still lost in thought.

There was an intelligence to Mater that was easily overlooked, he couldn't count the amount of times Mater had supplied an offhand comment that suddenly made things clearer to him, or how he could read the engine of any car as if it were written up in english. Lightning knew cars of course, but definitely not the way Mater did. There were times he felt dazed after listening to one of Mater and Ramone's "car convos".

He looked back toward his friend finally. "Did you ever think of leaving?"

"Leaving what- here?" Mater's brow furrowed in thought as he popped open the can of coke he'd grabbed from the cooler. "Nah, never really wanted to."

"Never? I mean, there's the whole world out there."

"Yeah, but my whole world's right here. We got the beautiful country side, perfect little town." He nodded, confident in his answer. "And my family is here."

Lightning grinned, finding the answer simple, yet profound. Just like the one who'd said it. "You know, I wish more people were like you.

"Well that wouldn't be any fun."

"Why not?"

"Cause then you'd go cow tippin' with them other Maters and not me!"

Lightning couldn't help it, he chuckled slowly but failed in holding his laughter back as it fought it's way up from his chest. Before too long, his cheeks and his stomach began to ache as he tried to get control of himself. With his good hand covering his eyes, he regained his breath and spoke through the last of his laughter.

"I can't imagine cow tipping with anyone else Mater, I think you're safe."

He couldn't help but be amused in how Mater seemed to puff up at that.

"How long've you been doing that anyway."

Mater grinned, leaning over as if to share some big secret.

"Since I was a kid. Ol' Doc told me about it long time ago. Don't tell the Sheriff, though."

"Oohhh." Lightning shook his head, grinning widely. "It's not Sheriff I'll be talking to."