Chapter 7 - "Vroom"

It was a bright sunny day. Sally was at work at the Cozy Cone Motel and Lightning was inside of the Wheel Well with Jane on his hood. He rocked his body side to side, rocking Jane. She was smiling and cooing.

"Who's beautiful?" asked Lightning. Jane giggled and bounced.

"Chick Hicks arrived for today's Piston Cup qualifiers," said a static filled female radio voice. It was Kori Turbowitz. Chick's voice came into the sound waves, "Yes! So sad that Lightning couldn't be here. You know, taking care of his daughter and all."

Lightning rolled his eyes.

Kori continued, "I understand that you too are expecting a little someone soon?"

"What?" thought Lightning.

"Me? Expecting? No! My girlfriend is though," said Chick.

Kori responded with an obviously false laugh.

"Yes, I know. I'm funny."

Jane tried to mimic her father's eye rolling. She looked up then down really fast.

"Cutie," Lightning said. Chick continued talking about his racing techniques, but one line he said stuck to Lightning, "The fact that Lightning isn't racing this year? Think about it. Really, think about it. The King? Retired. Lightning? The baby. They're gone? I'm winning this bad boy!"

Lightning shut his eyes tight and clenched his teeth, "I need to race. I have to," he thought.

"A few laps at Willy's Butte won't hurt right, Jane?"

Jane just smiled without a care in the world.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Lightning put Jane in a steel box that was the perfect size for a baby car. It had a soft blanket on the bottom and an open top, which could be closed in the rain or if it were too cold. There was a chain attached to the box with a hook on the other end, and Lightning hooked it onto his bumper.

When they arrived, Lightning unhooked the baby trailer on the side of the road.

"This kind of driving is really fun, Jane!" Lightning exclaimed, "It's much more fun."

Jane brought her front tires up on the edge of the box and watched her father closely. He drove back onto the road and placed his tire into the dirt, then dragged it across the road to make a line. He drove behind the line and started his engine.

His engine's roar echoed into the canyons and across the desert.

Jane's eyes widened and she flashed her wide gummy smile.

Lightning slammed his gas pedal and his back tires spun in the dirt before flinging forward. He bolted down the road. Sand flew into the air and outlined his starting position. As she watched her father speeding away, Jane bounced with happiness. He turned hard right, swinging his body around and to the left, just like Doc taught him. He raced faster and faster, coming around the final turn a million times over while the moments passed.

When he finally decided enough was enough, he pulled over to Jane and panted, "How..was...that...Jane?" he gasped.

Jane cooed loudly, exclaiming gibberish over her drool.

"Come on now. Time to take you home, little star," Lightning hooked the box on his bumper and started to drive back to the Wheel Well.

When the returned, Lightning drove Jane to her room and put her in her crib.

"I'm gonna go take a car wash, Jane. I'll be out quick, okay?"

Jane clapped her front wheels, "Ah! Ah!"

Lightning drove to their bathroom and closed the door. In Jane's own space, she listened to the noises around her. She heard the water flowing and splattering against Lightning's metal body. It was almost like the same noise coming from outside of her window, but not quite. She looked to her left and saw water droplets sliding down the glass, and the sky was dark.

"Ooo..oo…," she leaned up, trying to see the water better. She pulled forward, getting closer to the window, when suddenly there was a loud bang that shook the floor. She felt it go all the way up her crib. Jane's pupils shrunk and she backed up against the crib's bars. A bright flash filled the room and disappeared in less than a second, while rain drops pelted the window even harder.

Jane screamed.

Sally was just driving in from work, soaking wet. She turned her windshield wipers off, decreasing the sound around her and making her able to hear Jane screaming. Sally gasped and sped to the baby's room.

"Jane!" Sally called out, as she turned in the doorway. The moment Jane saw her mother, she put her front tires up. Sally drove over to Jane and tilted her hood so she can roll Jane on it.

"Hello, sweetie," she said softly, "Why are you so sad, little star?"

Jane shivered, looking up at the distorted sight of her mother through her tears.

BOOM

Jane squealed and closed her eyes tightly. She huddled her tires under her body.

"Awww, baby it's okay," said Sally, "Shh...you know what that is?"

Jane began to calm down as she listened to her mother's voice.

"That's the sound of-"

"A pack of race cars fighting around the track," Lightning rolled inside of the room.

Sally rolled her eyes, "Oh, boy.."

"You should get used to that sound, while you're young."

"Lightning," Sally smirked, "Don't you go putting thoughts in her cabin this early."

"There's a storm outside," said Lightning. "You know what that means?"

Sally blushed, "Mmmhm.."

Lightning drove to Sally and pressed his lips against her fender. After a moment, he parted his lips just a touch, and Sally pulled away, "Lightning! Jane is on my hood!"

"C'mon, she doesn't know," he spoke against her metal.

Jane made small kissing noises.

"You see? Now when Mater sees her doing that he's going to tease us."

Lightning chuckled, but just as the kissing noises stopped, he noticed Jane doing something weird.

"What's she doing?" he asked. Jane had her eyes closed and she was swaying. She had a small grin, but then she opened her eyes and put on a very determinedgame face.

Then she did something even stranger. She turned her tires to the right but leaned to the left.

"I think she's dancing," said Sally.

Jane pointed to her father.

"Me?" asked Lightning. Sally tilted her hood so that Jane rolled onto Lightning's hood.

After, she started to sway and turn her tires the opposite ways again.

"I don't get it."

"Hm..," Sally looked around the little girl's room, "Maybe..we should take all of this racing stuff down and put something else on the walls for her to see. Maybe the checkered flags aren't good for her young eyes?"

Lightning's eyes widened at her suggestion, "Wait! Sally!"

"Hm?" she glanced over at him.

"Jane...she's r-racing!"

"What?"

"Yeah! Look!"

Sally observed Jane. She was still swaying and turning her tires in the opposite direction of her leaning.

"I think you're..right," as Sally continued to watch, she eventually sighed, "Where did she learn that from?"

Lightning shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe she-"

"Lightning," Sally raised an eyelid.

"Okay, okay..I let her watch me race today."

"Stickers, you and I don't even know if-"

Suddenly, a clicking noise was heard coming from Jane. With each click, Jane's body twitched and jerked.

"Is she..?"

"Lightning, put her on the ground!"

Lightning tilted his hood and let Jane roll off of it. The clicking became more frequent and much louder until..

Vrr...Vrr..

Patter...Patter..

VrrrRRR...

Patter..

Vr...Vr...Vrrr..

And suddenly her engine cranked on.

"She started up!" Lightning smiled, punching the floor with his tire, "She turned on her engine!"

Sally drove into Jane and wrapped her axles around her, "My little star!" her engine purred and her eyes swelled with proud tears of joy.

"I-I have to tell everyone!" Lightning said excitedly, "I have to tell everyone!"

Lightning immediately sped outside, but the rain continued to fall violently from the sky. It didn't matter to him. He went to the edge of the view and at the top of his voice, he cried, "My daughter is going to drive!"

Sally laughed when she heard her ecstatic fiance yelling outside.

A big red tow truck was passing by. Lightning could hear the rolling sound of its tires.

"Hey, Bubba!" called Lightning. Bubba stopped and gave Lightning a puzzled look, "What do you want? Another punch?"

"Guess what!"

"What?"

Lightning propped his front tires on the Bubba's hood.

"Jane started her engine!" he shook Bubba's front end, "And that means she's gonna drive soon!"

Bubba reversed to get Lightning's tires off of him, "I don't care about you or your daughter. I'm just trying to get HOME. It's raining."

He sped away from Lightning toward Radiator Springs.

"Why is he going back in town?" thought Lightning, but he just stayed there idling with a smile on his face, "My baby turned on her engine," he whispered to himself.

"That's him!" yelled Bubba's voice in the distance. Lightning's eyes shifted and saw

Sheriff next to Bubba.

"Ugh...Lightnin', again?" Sheriff asked, as he drove in his direction, "Sorry I have to do this to ya.."

Bubba idled behind Sheriff with a glare.

"Do what?" asked Lightning.

"Boy, you're under arrest," he replied. He went to take Lightning's wheel.

"What in the..? No!" Lightning pulled his wheel away, "For what? What am I being booted for?"

"Want me 'ta take him? Mater is down in Radiator Springs and...oh so busy..after all the man did assault me," Bubba smirked.

"Are you serious!?" yelled Lightning, he looked at the wheel well and called out for his fiancee, "Sally!"

Sally was already in the kitchen making dinner and couldn't hear him. Jane heard Lightning though, since the window was next to her crib. Jane looked to her left and saw her father. She watched, wide eyed.

"Lightnin', if it gets one of you to stop bickering all of the time, then I have to do it," Sheriff reasoned, "I'm sick of y'all running to me every time there's a problem."

"This is ridiculous," Lightning growled.

Bubba hooked Lightning hard.

"OWW!"

"Come on, Lightning," Bubba snarled, "It don't hurt too bad."

"Sheriff! I-..Sheriff!"

Bubba started to drive away with Lightning, who grabbed at the ground and made dark tire skid marks.

Sheriff frowned, "I'm sorry."

"Jane is learning how to drive! I can't miss it!"

"We'll talk later."

"Quit pullin'! You're gonna make this take longer than it needs to!"