By the time I post this, it'll be after midnight where I live, so here's the first update for 2021!

This is an idea I wanted to do, so I have. Enjoy! :)

The Moment of Truth

"There is my beautiful angel!" Luigi exclaimed as his daughter stumbled into the kitchen, still half asleep. He kissed the top of her head. "Did you sleep well?"

Fudge nodded. "Yeah."

"You must have been very tired after your big day yesterday", the Fiat commented. "Did you have fun?"

His daughter smiled. The previous day had been her birthday. Her dads had organised a very fun day of games, laughter and delicious food. "Yes I did. Thank you so much for organising it."

Luigi returned the smile. "It was no trouble, Fudgie. You know Guido and I love you so much! More than you will ever know!"

"I know", she assured them. "You tell me all the time", she added with a small smile. "I love you guys more than you will ever know."

"I am so happy to hear you say that", Luigi informed her, sounding… almost relieved.

"Why?" Fudge wondered, puzzled. "I say it all the time."

"Don't worry about it."

Fudge shrugged, still confused, before opening the fridge.

"No, no, no, no!" Luigi stopped her. "Flo has your breakfast for you. There are still some leftover pancakes from yesterday."

Fudge lit up. She loved those chocolate chip pancakes. "Okay. Just let me get dressed and I-"

"No, that is okay", Luigi cut her off. "You can go over to Flo's in your pyjamas. It is fine."

The human girl narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Normally, the special treatment ended the second her birthday was over. "Is something going on?"

"No", her father replied.

That was one big lie. Something was going on. It just wasn't the right time to tell Fudge; that would come in the afternoon. As previously mentioned, the day before had been Fudge's birthday. What hasn't been mentioned is that she had turned twelve, so Guido and Luigi decided that she was old enough to handle the conversation about her adoption. Of course, they weren't sure how well she would handle it. This had always been an extremely sensitive topic for Fudge, Every time they'd talked about it, it had been simply horrible to watch…

"Do you... Do you know what that mean lady said to me?" five-year-old Fudge quizzed the others between sobs.

Luigi shook his hood. "No. What?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"She... she said that... she could understand why my mom didn't want me and... and why she left me, but... but... but not why she left me here!"

The RS gang looked at each other, all thinking the same thing. Oh, no! Fudge knew what a mother was (it was hard for her not to learn eventually from watching TV and hearing the others talk about their own mothers) and had always thought she just didn't have one. They'd decided that it was best to keep it that way till she was old enough to understand. Now, it seemed like they had no choice but to tell her.

"But that doesn't make sense!" Fudge insisted. "I don't have a mom!"

Luigi gave her another kiss. "Fudgie…"

"What?"

Everyone went quiet.

Doc moved closer to the girl and took her hand. "Fudge", he began gently, "everyone has a mom. Even you. Your mom was the one who gave birth to you. You came from a family of other humans."

"Well, then, where is she?!" Fudge demanded.

Another silence. The cars looked at each other again. They could lie, but wouldn't it just be quicker and easier to tell the truth? Besides, what lie could they tell that would make it easier on her? Without saying a word, they were unanimous in the decision to just tell Fudge the truth.

"Fudgie", Luigi whispered, looking straight into her eyes. "Your mother... She gave birth to you and then... she... left."

"Left me?!"

Luigi nodded, trying to hold back his tears.

"She didn't want me?!"

The townsfolk all felt their hearts break for the little girl. This was exactly why they'd originally planned to wait until she was twelve or thirteen to tell her this. She'd still be upset, but at least she would understand. At that moment, they couldn't bear to tell her that she was found in the trash. They'd tell her about that when she was older.

"Why?!" Fudge questioned as Luigi rocked her. "Why didn't she want me?!"

"I wish I could tell you, Fudgie", Luigi replied honestly, "but I don't know." That was true; nobody in town understood how the mother could have possibly done what she'd done, no matter what her reason was for not wanting a child. There were a million other options besides dumping your baby in the trash.

"Is it my fault?" Fudge whimpered. "Didn't she love me? Is that why that mean lady said she didn't want me?"

"Oh, no!" Luigi assured her. "No! It is not your fault! Fudge, you did not deserve to have this happen to you. You deserve to be loved."

"(Please don't blame yourself for that, Fudge)", Guido pleaded. "(Luigi is right. It is not your fault. Never ever believe that it is! I am sure your mother would've loved you.)" He wasn't sure, but sometimes, you have to lie to someone to make them feel better, particularly a child.

"Well, then, why would she leave me?"

"There could be many reasons, baby", Luigi explained. "Maybe your mother did not have the money to take care of you", he suggested, remembering how ratty her mother's clothes had been when he and Guido found her. "Maybe she did not believe she could raise you alone… Poor baby... Poor baby... My poor baby."

"It's not fair!" Fudge screamed. "IT'S NOT FAIR!"

"I know, I know", Luigi sobbed.

"Nobody wants me!" she wailed. "And I'm gonna be taken away from the people who do!" She cried harder.

When Luigi heard the muffled sounds coming from the other side of Fudge's bedroom door, he knew exactly what they were.

He knocked on the door lightly (he didn't normally knock, but he couldn't just barge in when she was in this state) and opened the door a crack. Fudge was sat on the floor, hugging her knees with her head down. And she was bawling her eyes out.

"Fudgie?" he ventured, only for his eight-year-old daughter to shuffle around, facing the other way.

"Go away!" she snapped.

The Fiat was slightly surprised. It wasn't like Fudge to push him away like that, especially not while she was upset. "Don't be like that", he began softly.

"You can just leave me!" Fudge shouted. "I know you want to!"

"No, I don't want to", he countered calmly, coming closer. By now, he had a suspicion as to what this was about. "I just want to help you."

"Leave or I'll scream!" Fudge threatened.

"Come here!" Luigi tried to pull her in for a hug, but she made good on her threat, screaming until she started coughing. At the same time, Fudge kicked and hit him, trying to force him away from her.

Still, Luigi fought just as hard to keep her close to him, shushing her soothingly. He was a little afraid and completely heartbroken. Fudge had had meltdowns in the past (they were common in children with autism), but never like this.

"Get away!" Fudge shrieked. "Don't touch me! I KNOW YOU DON'T LOVE ME!"

"Fudgie!" Luigi cried. He understood why she got like this, but still, he couldn't help feeling a little hurt, hearing this. "Of course I love you!"

"No you don't! I know you don't! Nobody could ever love me! M- My- My- moth- mother…" The poor girl trailed off, crying harder.

It was hard for Luigi to watch. For the next few minutes, Fudge was screaming and crying hysterically, banging her fists and feet on the floor. If he ever tried to comfort her, she would continue to scream and thrash, repeating the words, "GO AWAY! DON'T TOUCH ME! YOU DON'T LOVE ME!" The yellow car just didn't know what he was supposed to do. So, eventually, he started to cry too.

It took about five minutes for Fudge to notice. She stopped banging her fists and glanced up, still sobbing hard as tears flowed down her red cheeks. So, Luigi pulled her in for a big hug. She squirmed a little, but didn't fight too hard.

"Oh, Fudgie!" he sobbed. "I love you so much! I wish there was something I could do to make the pain go away!"

Despite having a huge meltdown moments earlier and still crying, Fudge seemed pretty calm as she responded with, "It would be a lot worse if it wasn't for you."

Luigi's eyes softened as he kissed her forehead and stroked her hair.

"Some kids were picking on me", Fudge snivelled. "And- and they said I h- have a- have a face… only a m- mother could love, bu- but… Not even my mother loves me!"

"Well, I do", Luigi insisted as he, too, tried to calm down. "And everyone in Radiator Springs does too. You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know", she admitted, wiping her eyes.

"I could never love anything or anyone more than I love you", her dad went on. "You are very special to me."

Fudge sniffled. "You don't have to love me."

"I know." He nodded, pulling her in closer. "But I want to, so I do."

Fudge ended up falling asleep in Luigi's embrace. Even so, the Fiat never left her side for the rest of the night. He carried the sleeping child over to Flo's; brought her home again and lay her down with him as he, too, fell asleep.

He was very happy to note that, at one point, he could see Fudge smile in her sleep. Even though she wasn't awake, at that same moment, the eight-year-old knew that she was very lucky; Luigi- and everyone else in Radiator Springs- didn't have to love her, but they chose to, anyway. She used to think being adopted made her unloved, but now, for this reason, she knew that being adopted meant that she was even more loved.

So, clearly, this wasn't going to be easy at all. That was why they were determined to get Fudge in the best possible mood. They were hoping to soften the blow a little bit. Of course, everyone was in on it, so Flo knew to make sure there were plenty of pancakes left for her.

After her breakfast, Fudge got dressed and headed off when Lightning asked her to help out with his training. That was a good thing because it bought her dads some time. Needless to say, neither one of them was looking forward to this at all.

"Guido!" Luigi exclaimed. "How do we start this conversation? What do we say to her?"

Guido thought about that. "(I have no idea)", he answered finally.

They'd had a plan in place for years: When Fudge was twelve or thirteen, they would sit down with her and talk about her adoption. They would wait for the right moment and do it together... Unfortunately, that was as far as their planning had gone.

"Do we really have to do this now?" Luigi wondered. "Maybe we should wait a few more years, until we are sure she is ready."

"Luigi", Guido began sadly and quietly. "(I don't want to do this either, but there is always going to be a reason not to do this. Our daughter deserves to know the truth. She deserves to know where she came from.)"

"You are right", Luigi admitted reluctantly. "You are right." Both Guido and Luigi had agreed that they wanted to be as open with Fudge about her adoption as possible. Still, there were parts they wished she didn't have to know.

"(I think we are just going to have to sit her down)", Guido began, "(take it slow and just say whatever comes to us.)"

Luigi nodded slowly. "I don't have a better idea, so I think that is just what we are going to have to do."

Within half an hour, the coffee table in the living room was set up with some refreshments; three glasses; a balloon stick Fudge liked to twiddle with (she could never stay still, so she liked to fidget with that balloon stick); Fudge's adoption papers; a box of tissues and a photo of Luigi, Guido and Fudge, taken the day she was officially adopted.

"(I hope this goes okay)", Guido commented nervously.

"Me too", Luigi agreed.

"I'm home!" a cheerful voice called out a few minutes later.

"Ah!" Luigi exclaimed. "There you are, angel!"

"Hi!"

The Fiat kissed his daughter before Guido did the same. This was it. It broke their hearts to know that in a few minutes, that beautiful smile would disappear from her face. Who knew how long it would be before it came back?

"Did you have fun at Willy's Butte with McQueen?" Luigi wanted to know.

Fudge nodded. "I think he's gonna win his next race. And I got to go for a couple of laps too. I can't wait till I'm old enough to join the Piston Cup."

Her dads just smiled.

"That is wonderful, Fudge", Luigi managed to utter finally.

"Is something wrong?" Fudge wondered curiously. She knew her dads were acting a little strange; she just couldn't figure out why. She'd grown suspicious that she hadn't gotten reminded to use her indoor voice when she came in. Moreover, Luigi hadn't gotten on her case to take a shower as soon as she came in. (Although he'd tried to be a little more easygoing when his daughter came along, the Fiat was still pretty uptight about mess and Fudge tended to get covered in dust and dirt down by Willy's Butte.) Something was definitely up.

Guido and Luigi looked at each other before the latter sighed. They better not put it off any longer.

"Fudgie", Luigi began slowly, "we need to talk to you."

"Am I in trouble?" the twelve-year-old questioned fearfully.

"No, no, no; it is nothing like that, angel."

"(Why don't we go into the living room?)" Guido suggested.

"Okay…" Fudge followed her fathers into the living room; she had no idea what this was about, but she had a very bad feeling about it. Unfortunately, that bad feeling was valid.

In the living room, Guido and Luigi had laid out some chocolate and the soda Fudge liked.

"I thought I wasn't allowed candy until after dinner", Fudge pointed out when she was offered some. That was normally the rule.

"Well, things are a little bit different today", Luigi informed her.

"So, what is this about?" the twelve-year-old wanted to know as she made herself comfy on the couch.

Luigi took a deep breath. "Okay. This is a conversation Guido and I have been meaning to have with you for a while and now, we think you are ready. You are twelve now, so I think you are old enough."

"This isn't the one about where babies come from, is it?" Fudge asked, half-jokingly. "'Cause we had that one when I was ten."

Guido laughed softly. "(Not that conversation, Fudgie. This is about your adoption.)"

Well, that explained a lot. Fudge knew that photo on the coffee table was taken on the day of her official adoption because her dads broke it out every Fudge Day (the anniversary of her official adoption). Plus, she knew her adoption papers were in that manila envelope because Luigi had told her. She'd taken a look at it once when she was seven, but didn't really understand it since there were a lot of complicated words in there. The only part that really made sense was both her fathers' signatures all over the place.

Fudge had never been so excited and nervous at the same time. She had always known that she was adopted. Even before she even understood what adopted meant, she always knew subconsciously that she didn't exactly have a typical family. Plus, they'd always explained to her that she was very special because she came to them at just the right time. So, of course, she knew her dads tried to be open about it, but at that moment, she got the feeling that she was receiving some kind of forbidden knowledge.

On one hand, she was pretty excited to be getting some answers. Despite happily accepting that the oddball residents of Radiator Springs were her family, being adopted meant that she always had this uncomfortable feeling about it, like she didn't even know who she was. (Maybe that was why she never felt comfortable saying the words, "I'm adopted." Well, there was possibly that, plus the fact that she rarely had to say those words. Normally, people just took one look at her and her dads and it was obvious.) Maybe whatever Guido and Luigi told her now would make those feelings go away.

On the other hand, they hadn't told her whatever it was they were about to tell her earlier. It sounded as if they didn't think she could handle it. And they'd told her when she was five that her mother had abandoned her... What could be worse than that?

Ready or not, she was about to find out.

"Why don't you let us start?" Luigi suggested. "We will tell you everything we can and then, when we are done, if you have any questions, you can ask them. Okay?"

Fudge nodded, laughing nervously. "Okay." She wished she didn't laugh in situations like this; it was just a coping mechanism for when she didn't know how to react to the situation. Her dads were used to it by now, so they didn't bat an eye at her laughter.

"Twelve years ago", Luigi began, pouring oil into two of the glasses and soda into the third, "Guido and I decided to get some groceries in Ashgrove. On our way back, we found a pickup truck and a young human woman by the side of the road."

My mother! Fudge realised. She knew so little about her or her father and had always wondered what they were like. Did she have her mother's eyes? Or her father's nose? Maybe now, she would finally get answers to those questions.

She hadn't known that her dads had seen her mother at all. All Fudge really knew was that her mother had abandoned her; she just assumed she was found outside their home, like babies who were abandoned in movies. She was beginning to suspect that that wasn't the case.

Luigi slid the glass of soda towards her as he kept talking, but, as thirsty as she was, Fudge dared not pick it up. Her hands were shaking out of nervousness and she was clumsy at the best of times. She didn't want to break the glass and spill soda everywhere now, of all times.

"Babbo and I saw that she was in labour, so we decided to help her", Luigi was explaining at this point. "It would have been easier if Doc had been around to help us, but he was in Ohio, visiting his sister, I think, and would not be back until the next day."

Both Guido and Luigi smiled, thinking back to that fateful day. They remembered it like it was yesterday.

"(Papà and I did everything we could to help this woman and her baby)", Guido explained. "(And it took a while, but eventually at exactly 4:17 in the afternoon, she gave birth to the most beautiful little girl we had ever seen in our lives.)"

Fudge couldn't help smiling at that.

"You look nothing like your mother, Fudgie", Luigi informed her. "She had brown hair, but much lighter than yours, And she had green eyes, not blue like your eyes."

"(You must look more like your father)", Guido added.

Luigi nodded. "Although, your mother was very short", he pointed out. "And I think we were told that your father is quite tall, so maybe you did inherit something from your mother."

Now, the human girl couldn't help pouting a little bit. She hated the fact that she was so short (on the bright side, being short was much a must for human riders in racing!), but decided not to say anything. Both Guido and Luigi were rather small as well and they didn't like having it pointed out either. (However, despite their size, the two Italians could be pretty intimidating when they wanted to be; their daughter was not blessed with such a gift.)

"So... how did I end up outside your door?"

"What do you mean?" Luigi wondered, his features scrunched up in confusion.

"Well, you said my mom abandoned me, right?" Fudge questioned. "So, she would've just left me, like, outside your door?"

There was a moment of awkward silence.

Fudge felt her stomach do a flip. "What?"

The two Italians exchanged one of those parent looks. You know, the one where they seem to be silently asking each other how to handle some kind of problem with their child.

Finally, Guido gave Luigi a nod that clearly meant, I'll handle this one. Luigi sighed with relief. Neither of them wanted to do it, but Guido had always been the calm one in the Rossi-Topolino household. Both Luigi and Fudge were very sensitive, emotional and excitable. The Fiat wasn't sure if he could get through it without bursting into tears himself.

Guido came closer to Fudge and took her hand. "Fudgie", he began slowly and gently, "(it is true your mother abandoned you, but it wasn't on our doorstep like in movies. Your mother was... not the friendliest person we have ever met. After she gave birth to you, we invited her back to town, so she could get something to eat and drink from Flo's and get some rest, but she was not interested in talking to us. Eventually, she fell asleep and so, Papà and I took her- and you- back here for the night.)"

"Okay...?" The twelve-year-old still couldn't figure out where this was going.

"(The next morning, when we woke up, your mother and you were gone)", the forklift continued. "(I just assumed she had left with you and I went over to Flo's. Papà woke up a little while later and when he left, he heard some strange noises coming from the garbage can.)"

Okay, now Fudge could see where this was going. Her eyes filled with tears. "No!" she gasped, putting her hands over her ears.

"Oh, Fudgie!" Luigi exclaimed sympathetically as Guido pried Fudge's hands away from her ears as gently as he could.

"My mother left me in the garbage?!" Fudge cried incredulously as she drew in a shaky breath and tears streamed down her face. Ever since she first found out her mother had abandoned her, she'd always tried (tried, but didn't always succeed) to hold onto the hope that her mother really was a good person. Maybe she really did love her daughter. Maybe she just couldn't take care of her daughter and left her in Radiator Springs, so that she could still have a good life. At least she would've still cared. Now, Guido's words had made those hopes vanish into thin air.

Tears pooled in Luigi's eyes too. "I am so sorry!" He held out his tyres for a hug.

Well, that just confirmed the little girl's worst nightmare. She felt sick in the stomach and weak in the knees. Plus, the thought of being left in the garbage made her skin crawl. She hadn't exactly been expecting a happy story (after all, what kind of happy story could have possibly happened that meant that she had to be adopted?) and she hadn't been entirely sure exactly what to expect, but this was much worse than anything she could have possibly imagined.

"I think I'm gonna throw up!" Fudge declared in a tight voice as the first sobs escaped from her throat. With those final words, she leapt up off the couch and fled in the direction of the bathroom in tears.

Luigi tried to go after her, but Guido stopped him.

"(Just leave her for a while)", the forklift instructed. "(I think she needs some time alone.)"

However, that was when the two fathers heard a series of bangs bounce off the walls. It sounded like they were coming from the bathroom.

"(On second thoughts, maybe we should go and check that out)", Guido changed his mind.

So, the two of them followed their daughter to the bathroom where toiletries; Band-Aids; creams and medications had been strewn about everywhere. When Fudge was angry, she wanted to throw something, so she'd gone for the shampoo and conditioner; body wash; car wax and the items in the first aid box. The human girl had stripped off her clothes and was kicking at them like there was some kind of deadly animal in the pile. Then she made a dash for the shower and began scrubbing herself as fiercely as she could until the skin of her arm was red. The whole time, she was screaming and crying. Her dads could only watch in horror. This was probably the worst meltdown Fudge had ever had.

"Fudge, stop!" Luigi cried finally, fearing that she was going to hurt herself.

But she didn't stop. She carried on like her dads weren't even there. Now, her other arm was red too.

"Fudgie!"

This time, Luigi rushed forward to grab hold of his daughter. Only Fudge kept squirming and she squeezed the bar of soap in her hand so tight, that it slipped straight out of her hand and went flying. It hit Guido in the windshield with a THONK! The forklift let out a yelp of pain as the soap went into his eyes. He reversed backwards, bumping into the sink. Everything that was lined up beside the sink tumbled to the ground.

In the meantime, Fudge was still trying to reach for another bar of soap, but Luigi kept a tight grip on her, trying to prevent her from hurting herself. Despite that, Fudge kept fighting. However, she ended up losing her balance and fell over, smacking her head on Luigi's hood.

"Fudgie!" Luigi cried, grabbing hold of her.

All of a sudden, everything became quiet. Fudge stared at Guido, who had red eyes, and up at Luigi who was soaking wet and staring at her with those gentle caramel brown eyes.

Fudge didn't really know what to do, so finally, she settled for sobbing into Luigi's fender.

Two hours later, calm had returned to Casa Della Tires. Fudge had spent half an hour crying her eyes out as Luigi held her and shushed her gently. Then, when she stopped, the two Italians got their daughter and the bathroom cleaned up and dressed in her pyjamas. Guido also washed the soap out of his eyes, but they were still bit red.

They had gone over to Flo's for some oil and food for Fudge, but, understandably, Fudge wasn't in the best of moods.

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry", she muttered when Flo gave her some mac and cheese with cut-up hot dog pieces, a favourite of Fudge's.

"You have to eat something, Fudge", Luigi insisted, being gentle, but firm with her. "And Flo made that just for you."

The twelve-year-old shrugged. "So what if it ends up in the garbage? I did!"

Everyone just looked at her sympathetically.

Finally, when Fudge had eaten enough to satisfy her family, her dads took her home and even though it was still very early, they put her straight to bed.

Luigi took a deep breath. "Fudgie", he started slowly, "we never got to finish talking earlier."

"Oh, there's more?" Fudge asked. "Well, I can't wait to hear it!" (Isn't it obvious that her voice was dripping in sarcasm?)

Luigi ignored her and kept talking, taking her hand. "Is there nothing more you want to learn about your mother? Or your father?"

"No", Fudge muttered, not wanting to admit that she was dying of curiosity. She was pretty badly bruised by what she'd learned already and didn't know if she could take anymore.

"Are you sure?" her papà pressed; he could read her like a book.

"I guess I wanna know where my parents are now, but you probably don't know-"

"Actually, we do", Luigi informed her. "When the social workers came to town, they told us where your parents are."

Fudge's heart pounded.

"Your mother passed away about a year after you were born", Luigi explained. "She died from a drug overdose."

Well, Fudge wasn't exactly sorry to hear that. Although, that did mean that the heartless monster would never even know how much she hurt her own flesh and blood. Then again, based on everything she'd heard, Fudge suspected that she wouldn't have even cared anyway.

The human girl shook her head, not wanting to think about her mother anymore. "What about my dad?" It sounded so weird to say that. She'd never used that word, unless she was talking about Guido and/or Luigi, obviously.

"He is... in prison", Luigi answered as gently as he could.

Oh, God! Fudge felt her heart sink. So, that was it. She had no decent parents. What if she became like them? At twelve, she was vaguely aware of the whole nature versus nurture thing (it had come up in regards to her adoption). She had no idea exactly what she had inherited from her biological parents.

"What did he do?" Fudge wanted to know. Well, she thought she did, anyway.

The Fiat sighed. "You find it very hard to make friends, Fudgie, no? And to talk to people?"

"Yeah?" his daughter replied, wondering what the hell that had to do with anything.

"Well, your father is like that too", Luigi explained gently. "Maybe he is autistic too, but we are not sure." (Fudge's autism was something else they'd had a lot of conversations about. Both of her dads had explained repeatedly that she was different, but not less and that being autistic was nothing to be ashamed of.) "He went to prison years ago, before you were born, for embezzlement-"

"What's that?" Fudge interjected.

"I will explain another time", her dad assured her. "Anyway, after he was released from prison, your father became worse. So, he did not want to be out of prison. He felt much more comfortable being in prison after that, so he keeps committing crimes to go back."

Fudge could understand that. She had her comfort zones and didn't respond well to changes; her dad's comfort zone was just prison. She just nodded slowly as tears sprang to her eyes once again. None of this was exactly pleasant to her, but at least it wasn't as bad as the garbage.

"Fudgie?" Guido ventured, noticing that his daughter was about to cry.

She looked up. "Si?" Her voice was surprisingly steady.

"(How are you feeling?)"

"I don't know... I guess I'm still in shock."

Both Italians nodded sympathetically.

"We know this is a lot", Luigi sympathised. "We are so proud of you."

"For what?" the human girl questioned, puzzled.

"For how well you are handling it."

"I don't think I've handled it very well", Fudge confessed, a little embarrassed. "We need to get some more shampoo and conditioner."

Both Luigi and Guido laughed softly.

"Well, then we can get some more while you are at your appointment tomorrow", the former replied, stroking her hair.

Fudge blinked. "Appointment?"

"We had planned for weeks to tell you today. We were afraid you were not going to take it well, so we made an appointment with Dr. Snow. It is okay if you do not want to go; we will cancel."

"No, no; that's okay. I'll go." Dr. Kirsten Snow was a therapist Guido and Luigi had found for her after Doc died. At that point in her life, it became apparent that she really struggled with the fact that she was abandoned by her own mother. So, while still encouraging her to talk to them about any of her difficulties, they also looked into sending her to a therapist and preferably a human one, simply because Fudge didn't exactly have any close relationships with her own kind. All three of them were glad they found Dr. Snow; the entire Rossi-Topolino family liked her a lot.

"One more thing", Luigi announced.

"Yeah?" Not surprisingly, Fudge was nervous.

The Fiat took a deep breath. "None of what happened is your fault, Fudgie. Okay? You did nothingwrong."

"I guess not." What Luigi was saying made sense in her head. After all, a baby couldn't have done anything wrong. Still, in her heart, that wasn't what Fudge believed at all.

"Don't you ever be ashamed", Luigi continued. "These people are not your parents. You have a family in Radiator Springs who love you very much and will always be there for you."

"Yeah, I know."

"(Besides)", Guido piped up, patting his daughter's hand, "(what matters is not what you are, but who you are. And you are such a kind, smart, beautiful child. Never, ever forget that, my angel. You are going to be amazing. In fact, you already are amazing, but you will do great things in your life. I just know it.)"

"We are so proud of everything you are!" Luigi continued.

Tears came to Fudge's eyes again, but this time, for a different reason. She had the feeling that these were all things Uncle Topolino had told them in the past (she had met her wise great-uncle several times and liked him a lot, despite being a little intimidated by him), but they were just what she needed to hear. She only hoped that in time, she could find out that at least some of it was true.

Luigi sighed. "Okay", he announced, "I think it is time for you to get some sleep."

It was still extremely early. In fact, it was still light outside. Normally, Fudge would complain, but she didn't. She was exhausted; not physically, but emotionally. Although, she wasn't going to sleep until she could be sure of one thing.

"Will you guys stay here with me?" she requested, staring up at them with imploring blue eyes. She looked like a lost three-year-old. "Please? I just don't think I can be alone right now."

"Of course", Luigi and Guido assured her in English and Italian respectively. Sometimes, if Fudge had a nightmare, she would still sleep with them. They didn't care if anybody said she was "too old" for that. That was their little girl and they would never let her suffer alone.

"You will never be alone", Luigi added. "We are always going to be there for you."

Fudge had had her doubts about that in the past. Her abandonment had left her with trust issues and always feared that everyone around her- even her own family- just wanted to hurt her. Whenever her dads left her with one of the others, she used to have meltdowns because she feared that they wouldn't come back (they always did, of course). However, right then and there, those doubts were gone. She knew they'd be back for sure, but for now, she knew her entire family in Radiator Springs would always be there for her. Even Doc was there for her, nearly two years after he died. She could feel his presence nearby every now and then.

Babbo and Papà are never going to abandon me, Fudge told herself. It's like what you learned when Doc died: The ones we love never really leave us.

Fudge was afraid to close her eyes that night, fearing that she would have a nightmare, but you know what? They never came. She knew her dads were there and that they would take care of her.

Her dads smiled softly at their sleeping daughter, each kissing her gently. She'd survived day one of knowing the truth, but weren't exactly sure where things were going to go from here. They had no idea that around the corner were more frequent nightmares and red skin from where Fudge had scrubbed herself vigourously in the shower, feeling disgusting because she'd been left in the garbage.

All they knew was that no matter where things went from here, they would take care of her, just like they'd always done.

I wasn't exactly sure how to end it; I didn't want it to just be a matter of Fudge is automatically okay because, of course, real life is not that simple. Like I've said before, I've never really had a big meltdown like that, but I figured it would make sense for Fudge to have them.

Fun Fact #1: I'm sure you'll recognise one of the flashbacks from Life Could Be a Dream. The other one was something I wrote when this story was going to be a oneshot instead of a collection of oneshots. I figured that using it as a flashback would be a good excuse to include it, so I did.

Fun Fact #2: The balloon stick mentioned is something I do like to fiddle with. I included it with Fudge because she's a self-insert. If she's not doing anything at races, she'll fiddle with it or when she first meets the Legends, I imagine she's fiddling with it then. I guess it just seemed irrelevant, so I've never mentioned it before.

Fun Fact #3: I think Fudge's father is autistic, but if he is, he hasn't been officially diagnosed.

Fun Fact #4: Fudge's therapist is named Kirsten after a wellbeing coordinator I saw at school, whom I liked a lot. I'll try to include Dr. Snow at some point in a story, if I can figure out how that would go.

Please review and happy new year. Good riddance, 2020!