Chapter 2 - "Be a Man"

"Lightning? You feeling alright?" asked a light blue blob in front of his face. Lightning's eyes opened slowly, fighting gravity. It sounded like Sally.

"How ya feelin', son? I fixed you up. You're dent and scratch free," said a dark blue blob. That blob sounded like Doc.

"Ugh..," Lightning groaned. Slowly, everything started to sharpen up and Lightning was able to see everything clearly once again, "What happened? I just remember me and Sally talking and...now I'm just here."

"You were here before, remember?" asked Doc. Lightning thought for a moment, "Oh..yeah."

"You fainted," said Doc, "Do you remember why?

"Sally...Sally she..little car."

"You're going to be a daddy!" Sally said.

"Yep," answered Doc, "That's right."

Lightning started to think about it.

"Okay, little one," said Lightning, "Time to show you how to turn!"

"Dad! I already know how to turn!" said a male toddler.

"Not on dirt you don't!" said Lightning, "See, basically, if you're going hard enough left, you'll find yourself turning right. You're going to be racing, so you'll need to learn how to turn on everything at a fast speed. Even dirt. Even though most of the time you'll be racing on asphalt."

"But I don't want to speed around in circles! I don't want to race!"

Those last five words stuck in Lightning's mind, "Our son doesn't want to race."

Sally raised a lid and laughed, "We didn't even have our baby yet."

"Do you think we're ready?" he asked. Doc stared at Lightning and exhaled, "Sally?" he asked, "Do you think you can leave me and Lightning alone for a minute?"

"Sure," she said. Sally drove out of the examination room and waited outside in the waiting room.

Doc inhaled deeply, "Hotshot, I still don't think you know how much Sally loves you. I don't think you know what her plans are."

"What you mean..?"

"What was the last thing she said to you before I kicked you out of here?"

Lightning thought back.

"You should go..," said Sally, reversing from the race car.

"I know but-", said Lightning.

"Good luck in California," Sally said. She stopped and looked the racer right in the eye.

Lightning couldn't help but pull forward. Why was she turning away?

"I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Don't you know what she meant?" asked Doc.

"I thought I did."

"She wants to have a family, you know?"

"But she has that now."

"When you left that night, she drove down the street and had to stop herself. She was about to chase you. She didn't. Why? Because she thought about what I said. It was best for everyone."

"What are you trying to say, Doc?" asked Lightning, "That I'm not good enough? You know, I think I've changed a lot since then."

"You absolutely did. I'm saying, with the way you were raised, maybe you need to think about this a little more."

Lightning swallowed hard. His eyes, windows to his now angry soul, "H-How I was raised? Where were you when-?"

"You think I don't know? As if I wasn't a race car too? You think I don't know why they feel the need to have thousands of people screaming their name?"

Lightning listened and after a few moments, he stared helplessly, "You don't think I can raise a car."

"But if you know you're going to do things differently-"

Lightning turned around and drove out of the room, looking down at his hood, and drove all the way out of the building. Sally was still in the waiting room. She saw Lightning just leave and quickly followed him.

"Lightning?" asked Sally. Lightning looked up at her. She saw the pain in his expression.

"What happened in there, Stickers? Are you alright?"

"I'm going to be a father..how could I not be okay?"

Sally's worry turned into relief.

"Sally," he brought his tire over one of hers, "I love you."

She pressed her hood underneath his chin, nuzzling him, "And we-," her eyes motioned to her doors, "-love you too."