This is one I wrote a while ago and now, I'm obviously posting it. I thought it might be an interesting concept. I hope you enjoy.

An Inconvenient Tooth

"Papà!" Fudge cried, sounding truly terrified.

Luigi was quick to rush over to his five-year-old daughter. He had just been in his office, writing a letter to his uncle while Fudge had been playing in the living room. "Fudgie! Are you hurt? What happened?"

"My tooth fell out!" the little girl exclaimed hysterically. She was on the verge of tears.

"What?!" Luigi asked in surprise.

"My tooth fell out!" she repeated. "Look!" She thrust something small and white at her father. Sure enough, it was a tooth and sure enough, there was a gaping black hole in her mouth where a tooth had once been.

"I did not know you had a loose tooth, Fudge", Luigi commented, speaking half to himself.

"Two of my teeth started hurting a little while ago!" a still hysterical Fudge babbled. "Mater said they were gonna come out, but I thought it was a joke! He always-"

"Fudgie!" Luigi cut her off gently. He had to smile, though. He knew Fudge picked up the habit of waffling on when she was panicking from him. "It is okay! You are losing your baby teeth! You will have grownup teeth soon! It means you are a big girl now!"

Fudge looked up at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Really."

"I didn't know they were baby teeth and grownup teeth", the five-year-old commented with wonder.

Luigi smiled. "Well, you do now." For a brief moment, he stopped to think why he had never explained it to her. Probably because he'd always just assumed he'd explain it to her when she had her first loose tooth, which he hadn't known about.

"Is it dinnertime, Papà?" Fudge questioned, pointing to the clock. She couldn't tell time yet.

"Not quite yet", he replied with a smile, "but I am sure everyone else will already be at Flo's." (That was because there was hardly anything to do with a lack of customers.) "Let's go and tell everyone your big news!"

"Okay!" Fudge grinned, showing off the new gap in her teeth.

"Keep your tooth safe!" Luigi instructed her. "You will have to keep it under your pillow tonight and in the morning, you will have a surprise."

"Surprise?" Fudge echoed, buzzing with curiosity. "What surprise?"

Luigi laughed softly. "If I tell you, it will not be a surprise, will it?" He gave her a kiss. "Okay, angel. Let's go over to Flo's."

"Look!" Fudge cried as she and Luigi pulled up to the café. She held up her tooth proudly.

"Fudgie has just lost her first tooth", Luigi explained. He knew the others wouldn't be able to see what she was holding from a distance and he knew Fudge would get frustrated if they said so. So, he tried to avoid that.

It was times like these when the residents of Radiator Springs were especially grateful to have a kid around. Life had gotten quite mundane without customers, but seeing little Fudge hit some childhood milestones like this one was awfully exciting. Immediately, the exclamations began flying.

"Fudge! That's fantastic!"

"Congratulations, man!"

"You're growing up, soldier."

"That's right. You're a big girl now, honey!"

The small child beamed at the attention she was getting. By the time everyone had stopped talking, she had found herself in Guido's arms.

"I have told her there is a surprise coming for her tonight", Luigi added with a little wink at his friends, who all gave him a knowing smile.

"Well, honey, I got your dinner ready for you", Flo announced. "Do you think you can still eat it without all your teeth?" she teased.

"Yes!" Fudge insisted, almost indignantly.

Flo laughed. "Go wash up, honey!"

So, the five-year-old scurried off.

Ramone watched her disappear. "So, the Tooth Fairy's comin' to Radiator Springs tonight, huh?" He was grinning from headlight to headlight.

Luigi was beaming too. "Yes. It is very exciting."

"I'll bet!" Ramone agreed. "I remember the first time the Tooth Fairy came to our house."

"Oh, yes!" Luigi recalled. "You gave Grace some money and a note congratulating her on losing her first tooth."

"Yeah, we all chipped in to give a little money", Sarge chimed in. Luigi hadn't mentioned that because he didn't want the others to think he was asking them to do that. Money was a lot tighter now than it was back then.

"Well, she should all do the same for Fudge then!" Fillmore decided.

"Are you sure?" Luigi asked in surprise.

"Sure we're sure", Flo assured him. "This is a very special occasion. Fudge is only going to lose her first tooth once."

Everyone else agreed.

"Well... Thank you!" Luigi was very grateful and he hoped it wouldn't show how relieved he was.

"And we can help you write a note", Sally offered. "What should it say?"

Before Luigi could answer, Fudge came racing back outside. "Is my dinner nearly ready?" she questioned eagerly. "I'm starving!"

Over a dinner of chicken tenders and fries, little Fudge was still curious as to what her surprise could possibly be. She was so excited that she didn't even notice each member of her family slipping Luigi some money at different points throughout the meal.

By the time Fudge got into bed that night, everything was ready. They had all of the money everyone had chipped in in an envelope. The total came to ten dollars (they could afford a little more, but they didn't want to give her too much, especially since they wouldn't be able to afford it next time she lost a tooth). Also enclosed were glitter, stickers and a note from the Tooth Fairy, congratulating Fudge on losing her first tooth. Sally wrote that because, as unlikely as it was, Guido and Luigi didn't want to risk Fudge recognising their tyre writing.

"When is my surprise going to come?" the five-year-old had wanted to know once she'd snuggled down into bed.

"In the morning", Luigi promised her. He gave her a kiss. "You should get some sleep." Another kiss. "Good night, angel."

"Night-night, Papà."

Guido also gave her a hug and a kiss. "(Good night, Fudgie.)"

"(Good night, Babbo!)" Fudge responded.

So, the little girl closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. Her dads switched out the light. As they always did, they paused to see her face lit up by the glow-in-the-dark moon and star stickers and the nightlight. Smiling softly to themselves, they closed the bedroom door as quietly as they could and crept down the hallway.

"(I hope she falls asleep quickly)", Luigi whispered to Guido. "(I am afraid she will be so excited that she will not fall asleep.)"

"(She will)", Guido assured him. "(We have gotten her to fall asleep nearly every night since she was born. Even Christmas Eve and the night before her birthday. We are practically experts at it by now.)"

Luigi smiled. "(That is true)", he acknowledged.

Guido smiled too. "(All we can do is wait.)"

So, they did. It took a long time, but eventually, they decided to check up on Fudge, only to find that she was still wide awake.

"Papà? Babbo?" She looked and sounded surprised to see them. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking on you", Luigi answered. "We always check on you before we go to sleep." That wasn't a lie; they did do that every night.

"Oh."

"You are supposed to be asleep by now", Luigi reminded her.

"I know, but I can't sleep!" she cried. "I'm too excited!"

"Well, if you don't fall asleep, your surprise is never going to come", the Fiat reminded her with a smile.

"Like the Santas?" Fudge questioned.

Both of her dads smiled. "Yes. Like the Santas."

"Okay, but I can't sleep!" she insisted.

So, her dads stroked her hair and sang to her. Fifteen minutes later, she was fast asleep.

"Quickly!" Luigi whispered to Guido. "Now!"

The two of them raced out of Fudge's bedroom as quickly and quietly as they could, returning with the supplies they they needed. Luigi retrieved the tooth and replaced it with the envelope with the money, note and stickers inside while Guido sprinkled a little bit of glitter across Fudge's bed.

Luigi gave his daughter a kiss. "I love you so much, Fudgie. No matter what I tell you when you are awake, the only magic around here is you, my little angel."

Fudge stirred and made a soft, sleepy noise, but didn't wake up.

Guido smiled. "(I think that is our cure to leave)", he announced.

So, they left, excited to see what Fudge's reaction would be when she woke up...

"WILL YOU TURN THAT DISRESPECTFUL JUNK OFF?!" a voice yelled in the distance as the reveille collided with the electric guitar.

"Respect the classics, man!" Fillmore countered. "It's Hendrix!"

Fudge moaned sleepily, wishing for the umpteenth time that Sarge and Fillmore didn't wake her up every morning. While the other residents were both amused and irritated by this early morning routine, Fudge- only five and, therefore, unfamiliar with the concept of nostalgia- was just irritated...

But not for long! In a flash, Fudge remembered that she was supposed to receive a surprise that morning! She bolted upright in her bed to search for it, to find glitter all over the sheets.

"Papà! Babbo!" she cried. "Look!"

From the kitchen, the two Italians looked at each other and smiled.

"(I think Fudge is awake!)" Luigi stated the obvious with a smile.

Guido took one last sip of his coffee. "(Shall we go and see?)"

Less than a minute later, both her dads were in her room.

"(What is it, Fudgie?)" Luigi questioned, as if he didn't already know.

"(Look!)" the little girl repeated, gesturing to the glitter, to which both of her fathers feigned amazement very well.

"(Where did that come from?)" Guido asked.

"(Do you still have your tooth, Fudgie?)" Luigi quizzed his daughter, knowing full well that she didn't.

Fudge reached under her pillow and felt around for a couple of seconds. "(It's gone!)" she realised, pulling an envelope out. "(But this wasn't there last night!)"

Curious, she opened it and pulled things out slowly.

"(Oooh! Pretty stickers! Oh! Money!)" she exclaimed in delight. "(What's this?)" she wondered, unfolding a slip of paper.

Fudge was amazed to discover that a Tooth Fairy had sent her money and a note congratulating her and saying that she was a big girl now.

"I didn't know that there was such thing as the Tooth Fairy!" the little girl babbled excitedly. "I can't believe it! This is fantastico!"

Both of her dads laughed at her excitement and her use of the word fantastico.

"Can we go to Flo's now?" she requested eagerly. "I want to show everyone!"

"Of course!" Luigi scooped her up and carried her over to the café, not noticing or caring that she was still in her pyjamas.

"Look!" Fudge cried proudly, showing off her note, stickers and money, clearly seeing them as prizes.

"Wow! Lucky girl!" Sally exclaimed.

"Far out, man!" That was Fillmore.

"Dad-gum!" Mater breathed. "That is cool!"

"That's great, kiddo", Doc informed her sincerely.

The others chimed in with similar exclamations.

"Someone's very happy", Sheriff stated the obvious once Fudge had been sent off to wash up for breakfast.

Luigi smiled and nodded happily. "I know. And that makes me very happy!" He sighed out of pure happiness. "She is so beautiful, she makes me want to cry!" (Boy, did they know. It had actually happened more than once!)

So, Fudge was happy, Luigi was happy and everyone in Radiator Springs was happy. Unfortunately, the happiness turned out to be short-lived. Two days later, everything fell apart...

How exactly did everything fall apart, you ask? Well, that can be summed up with one word. One of the worst words in the adult language. Grownups dreaded that word the way children dreaded words like school, homework, vegetables and bedtime.

Bills.

It was the first of the month, so they came around once again. The residents of Radiator Springs dreaded them even more now that they had virtually no money.

Fortunately, this time around, the damage wasn't too substantial. Unfortunately, however, there was just one little problem...

"I'm short!" Sarge announced. He tracked his money very carefully. "I know I had an extra two dollars!" He glared at the hippie van next to him. "Did you take it? You did, didn't you?"

"Nah, man", Fillmore replied calmly. "I don't need your money. I got my own." He couldn't care less about money. In fact, he often lost his.

"I'm surprised you do", Sarge grumbled. "I don't know how you find anything in that-"

"You gave that to me, remember?" Luigi piped up, cutting Sarge off before he could go on one of his infamous long rants. "For... You know..." He nodded towards Fudge as discreetly as he could.

"That's right!" Sarge recalled. Reluctantly, he glanced over at Fillmore. "Sorry, hippie."

Laidback Fillmore grinned. "All good, man."

By dinnertime that evening, it came to light that Doc, Flo and Red all had the same problem.

"What are we going to do?" Red asked seriously.

Everyone fell silent. Without customers, there was no chance of getting more money anytime soon. There seemed to be only one solution. Although, nobody wanted to be the one to say it.

"I don't think we have a choice", Sarge ventured finally.

"There's always choices, man", Fillmore countered.

The Jeep shook his hood sadly. "Not this time."

Luigi shook his hood. "We can't."

"Yeah, how could we ask her to do that?" Flo agreed.

Fudge was in the bathroom at the time. So, she was completely oblivious to everything that was happening. She was also completely oblivious to all of the financial problems her town and its residents faced. Nobody ever told her. She was only five, after all. Not only did they want to keep her innocent for as long as possible, but even if they did try to tell her, she wouldn't understand.

"We'll just be have to be honest with her", Sarge murmured. He didn't like this any more than anybody else did, but they had to have some common sense. "Try as we might, we can't protect her forever."

"Yeah, but there's no way she'll understand", Ramone pointed out. "I mean, we can't exactly go, 'Hey, Fudge. You know that money you got from the Tooth Fairy? Well, we need you to give it to us.'"

"What?!"

Everyone turned around to find Fudge coming back outside and no longer quite so oblivious.

"You want my Tooth Fairy money?" she questioned incredulously.

"No. We need it", Sarge corrected her.

"But why?" Fudge wondered. "You all have a gazillion dollars!"

Luigi smiled ruefully. "I wish we did, angel, but we don't. And we need money for food and to keep a roof over your head."

Fudge's face fell like a ruined soufflé. "But... it's mine." It was clear that she was crushed. It was also clear that she didn't understand. As an innocent child, she'd always assumed that food, a home and the like were all just a given. If she knew what her mother had done to her, maybe she wouldn't think that.

The response she got surprised not just her, but everyone else too. Sarge uttered in a low voice, "I can't believe how selfish you are."

Fudge's eyes widened in a wounded look. "What?"

"Sarge!" the others shouted in disbelief, but he ignored them.

"You heard me! Whenever you need anything, we all drop everything for you. We ask you for one little favour and you say no! That's why you're selfish, Fudge!"

Fudge glared at him with pure hatred, but was too afraid of Sarge to answer. She just stormed off inside the café. (She wanted to go home, but wasn't allowed to cross the street by herself.)

"That was a bit harsh, don't you think?" Red began once she was gone. He didn't say it accusingly or as if he were scolding Sarge, but more like he was being sympathetic towards Fudge (which he was).

Sarge shrugged. "Everything I said was the truth."

"Maybe", Sheriff acknowledged, "but you didn't have to talk to her like that."

"Yeah, she's not selfish. She's only five", Ramone reminded him.

"She doesn't understand", Lizzie chimed in. "She had no idea we're barely getting by."

Luigi sighed. "I feel horrible. I can't even give my own daughter a little bit of money." His eyes filled with tears.

"Don't cry, Luigi", Doc told him, fearing that would make the already unpleasant situation even worse.

The Fiat took a deep breath and calmed down. "I am going to talk to her." He went inside.

To his surprise, Fudge wasn't crying. She was just sat in one of the booths sullenly. She was more angry than upset.

"Fudgie-" Luigi began gently.

"Is Uncle Sarge right?" she demanded, interrupting him.

"He could have been nicer when he was saying it, but yes", Luigi admitted with a heavy sigh. "Come here, Fudgie. I want to explain."

The five-year-old climbed onto her father's hood and he sighed again.

"Here in Radiator Springs, we are all a family. You know that, yes?" He really hoped she did; it would make it an awful lot easier when the time came to tell her about her mother.

"Yeah, I know", Fudge assured him.

Luigi beamed. "I am glad you do. And when you are part of a family, we help each other when we need it."

"Does that mean I have to give you my money?" she questioned sadly.

Luigi thought for a moment, trying to come up with the best response. "Sometimes, family members do borrow money from each other, but when that happen, we always pay each other back when we can."

"You promise?"

"I promise. I don't know when, but you will get your money back."

That was good enough for Fudge. Papà had never broken a promise. She reached into the pocket of her shorts and pulled out the money. She handed it over, albeit reluctantly and unhappily.

"Grazie." Luigi got tears in his eyes again. He felt sad that he had to do this, but he was very proud of Fudge.

Fudge threw her arms around him as far as they would go. "I love you, Papà!"

Luigi smiled softly and hugged her back. "I love you too, angel."

Maybe he couldn't give his daughter much, but he gave her the most important thing of all: unconditional love. And he was overjoyed that Fudge gave back almost as much love as he gave her. (Of course, she could never love him as much as he loved her. That was quite impossible.)

That night, after dinner, Flo whipped up Fudge's favourite dessert (chocolate fudge brownies with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream) as both a reward and a way to cheer her up. Even though she'd forked over the money, it was obvious that she was still unhappy about it, but that was to be expected. To her credit, though, she did very little complaining. (She did do some whining at first, but again, that was to be expected.)

Later on that night, after she'd had her bath; gotten into her pyjamas and had her hair and teeth brushed, her dads tucked her into bed.

"I am so proud of you, Fudgie", Luigi whispered one more time. "I know that was not an easy thing for you to do." He gave her a kiss. "Sweet dreams, angel. I love you so much!"

Fudge smiled softly, snuggling into the sheets. "Love you too, Papà."

Guido also kissed Fudge, said good night and told her that he loved her before they switched the light out and left.

Several hours later, once Fudge was fast asleep, her dads had checked on her and they, too, were fast asleep, Casa Della Tires had a surprise visitor. As usual, Fudge's bedroom window had been left open just a crack. Just wide enough for a figure that looked like a human with curly blonde hair and blue eyes, but with wings and the size of a Smurf, to fly in!

Reaching under Fudge's pillow, the tooth was long gone, but that made sense, considering that she was two days late. (It had been a very busy few days for her and even magic had its limits!) So, she slipped ten dollars under her pillow, made her way back over to the window, climbed out and disappeared into the night.

Since I made Santa Car and the Easter Buggy real in my fics, I figured that the Tooth Fairy should be too. I also decided to make her resemble a human still, since I have humans and vehicles co-existing.

I also thought you should know that the top secret story I mentioned will be published on August eighth, my seven-year anniversary of joining FFN. Between now and then, I will also be publishing Tales from Radiator Springs: Holiday Edition. So, I hope you're excited for those.

The other thing I will be doing between now and then is each time I update, I will reveal a new little bit of information about this fic. I don't want to give too much away, though.

In the meantime, please review.