Author's Note: Well folks, this ride is finally over. And as promised it has a double portion of Speed and Trixie fluff, both then and now. So with humble and sincere thanks for your patience to all readers and my wonderful reviewers, tune in again next time where there are more exciting adventures ahead on the next episode of Speed Racer!
LOVE AND WAR
The kitchen was silent as all the Racers contemplated the circumstance that was just told by Trixie and the twins were filled with a wonder of how much their parents had gone through before they married and before they, their children were born. Victori's cornflower blue eyes were brimming with tears as she watched Speed and Trixie in a whole new light, realizing that here were two people that no matter what, had stuck together. She could not help but think about some of her classmates whose parents were on their second and in some cases third marriages and considered herself to be blessed.
Cam too stared at his parents but all he could think of was how his father, who had always been his hero, had through this story shown Speed to be a human being with faults. And his mother, who he had always held up as an example of what he wanted in a wife one day, proved to be just a woman with her own flaws, not the perfect statue of womanhood he had thought. But both these revelations made him respect and love his parents even more.
"So what else happened," he asked in a low voice, deeply moved and eager to hear the rest. . . .
Speed was in the waiting area at the medical care center in Kalamazoo, pacing restlessly as he worried about Trixie's condition. They had airlifted her and Gary Lightening to the nearest medical facility designated to handle any mishaps from the race and they had rushed both into the emergency room, closing the door firmly. That was about twenty minutes ago but to Speed it seemed like hours as he anxiously waited to hear any news.
The door flew open and Pop and Inspector Detector raced over to the distraught young man. Pops grasped his son by the shoulders.
"Speed son, we came as soon as we heard. How's Trixie?"
Speed tossed his ebony head at the closed ER door. "I dunno. She's still in there and I haven't heard a thing yet." He sat on a chair with a heavy sigh. "It's drivin' me crazy."
Both men took seats flanking him as Speed stared blankly ahead, visions of Trixie dancing in his minds eye like an apparition as her lilting laughter echoed in his head like a song. Please, please be all right, Trixie. I don't know what I'll do without you.
Inspector Detector and Pops exchanged glances as the inspector cleared his throat. "Ahh Speed, I know it's not a good time to bring this up but I need to know. Have you heard anything about Gary Lightening's condition?"
Detector was a hardened police officer, a veteran of twenty years and he had seen everything, stood in the face of death numerous times. But as many axe murderers, or other ruthless criminals he had faced fearlessly, his blood ran cold as Speed turned slowly to glare at him, his cobalt eyes narrowed and darkened almost to black.
"If I ever see him again," he said in a low deadly calm voice. "You'd better have him in cast iron chains with several bodyguards because if you don't, I will kill him with my bare hands. Then you can put me in the slammer and throw away the key, for all I care."
Pops was aghast. "Speed, you're upset stop talking nonsense," he commanded weakly.
"Pops, I'm serious. I've never been more serious my entire life. If I see Lightening again, he's dead. And you can take that to the bank."
As if on cue, the ER door slid open and Gary Lightening walked slowly out, his arm in a sling and accompanied by a resident who was giving him discharge papers and directions. Speed raised his head slowly and he focused on the form of the man who was responsible for Trixies injuries, his eyes narrowing dangerously. He bolted from his chair before Pops or Inspector Detector could act or even knew.
"So if you'll just get that pain prescription filled, and rest a few days, the sprain will go down," the doctor said in a clipped professional tone.
"Will do, doc. And thanks," Lightening said as he turned and tried to walk past the waiting area. But he did not get far before he found himself grabbed by the throat by a livid Speed Racer.
"Lightening, you dirty son of a bitch, I'm gonna kill you!" Speed growled as he slammed his injured adversary into the nearest wall.
Gary, with a sprained arm was helpless against the sudden and savage attack. His violet eyes bugged out as he struggled for breath and Pops and Detector tried to free him from the enraged Speed but in his fury Speed's strength was intensified and his grip was like a steel vice. Detector motioned for two of his men, who were standing at the door and they hustled over to the two grappling in the waiting area.
"You no good bastard, you stole Pops engine and put it in your car to win. And put my girl in danger. If she dies, I'll tear you apart!" he snarled, his eyes like twin blue flames.
Pops, Detector and his men tried to wrestle the two men apart but it was a like trying to pry apart two stuck pieces of metal. Finally with a concentrated effort, they were able to break Speed's death grip on Lightening and separated the two men, Detector's officers holding Lightening as the inspector and Pops flanked Speed.
Both were panting as Detector spoke brusquely, "Knock it off you guys or I'll take you both in!"
Speed glared at the inspector as he retorted, "He's the one you should be busting. If not for him, Trixie'd be safe and well."
Lightening rubbed his abused throat and glowered at Speed as he croaked, "You got a hell of a nerve. If you didn't ditch her, she'd have been your navigator like always."
Even though he spoke the truth, Speed became enraged all over again. "Why you--," he began as he shot to his feet to rush Lightening but Inspector Detector stopped him.
"That's enough! You men take Mr. Lightening away, we need him for questioning." The officers flanked Gary as they escorted him out. He then turned to the fuming young racer. "As for you, Speed I'm gonna say this once as a friend, you'd better cool off or you'll end up in custody for assault. Lightening could press charges against you, you know."
Speed was glaring at the inspector while Pops was holding on to his irate son and he spoke to him, "He's right, get your head on straight or you'll end up in the slammer."
Speed took a deep breath to collect himself and closed his eyes as he answered, "Yeah, yeah, I get the picture. You can let go of me now I'm okay. I'll be a good boy, I promise."
Pops and Detector glanced at each other and deeming it safe, released the young racer. He leaned back in the chair as the ER room door opened and a doctor came out and approached the trio of men.
" Excuse me but are you gentlemen Trixie Shimura's family?"
All three jumped up as Pops said, "Yes, we are. How is she?"
The doctor replied, "Extremely lucky. She inhaled a lot of fumes but fortunately they did no damage to her lungs. The rest are minor cuts and bruises but we're keeping her overnight for observation. She's being transferred to a room now."
Speed said a silent prayer of thanks and asked anxiously, "Can I go see her?"
"Yes, but only for a few minutes. She's on oxygen and painkillers and that's made her very groggy. She's being moved to room 435, the elevator's around the corner." He turned and headed back into the ER.
Inspector Detector sighed as he said, "Well, I'll be taking off now to headquarters to question Lightening."
Pops demanded, "What about nailing Flatte? He was the mastermind behind the Dragonfire being swiped that caused all this."
Detector assured him, "Don't worry Pops. We'll get him after we get Lightening to tell us all he can." He turned to Speed and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry Speed, I'm sure Trixie will be fine."
Speed nodded and managed a half smile as Detector then turned to Pops. "I'll be in touch." He then turned and headed out.
Pops heaved a sigh and turned to Speed. "Well, I guess we'll go up to see how Trixie's—huh?" he started to say but saw he was alone, Speed had already left to head up to see his girlfriend. He shook his head and strode to the elevator to go up as well.
On the fourth floor, the elevator door slid open and Speed rushed out and to the nurse's station. "Excuse me, can you tell me where room 435 is?"
The nurse looked up and replied, "Down the hall and take a left, first door on the right. But you can't stay long she's heavily sedated and needs her rest."
"Okay, thanks." Speed said as he whirled to head where he was directed.
In the room, Trixie was reclined on the bed, a tube around her head that fed into her nose and led to a tank by her bed. There was a bandage on her right temple and a bruise on her cheek as she lay there, eyes half open.
A soft rap on the door sounded and Speed stepped into the room, his face filled with tender concern. "Hiya, Trix. How ya doin'?"
She managed a wan smile as she felt a gladness at seeing the man she loved. "Hi Speed. I'm okay, just tired."
He grabbed a chair and sat by the bed, taking her hand in his as he said softly, "I'm glad baby. I was so scared when I dragged you from that car and you just passed out, I never been so scared in my life."
Trixie reached and patted his hand. "I was overcome by the smoke. But the doctor says I'm fine and I'll be getting out of here tomorrow." She lowered her head as she said in shame, "I'm so, so sorry Speed for all the trouble I've caused, I never should have agreed to be Gary's navigator." A tear trickled down to her bruised cheek.
Speed gently wiped the tear away with a butterfly touch. "Don't cry, angel. It's all my fault, if I hadn't been a jealous fool, none of this would've happened. So don't blame yourself, okay?"
She nodded as he got a tissue from the box on her nightstand and gave it to her for her tears. A soft knock sounded on the door and Pops entered, his craggy features softened by his concern. "Trixie, how are you feeling, honey?"
She smiled again as she replied, "I'm okay, Pops." Her eyes clouded as she said, "I was just telling Speed how sorry I was to go an navigate for Gary. I'm so very sorry, please forgive me."
Pops approached the other side of her bed and took the other hand. "Now you listen to me. You just concentrate on getting better, we need you back on the Go Team and don't you worry about a thing." He leaned in and planted a fatherly kiss on her cheek that caused more tears to fall.
Speed reached for another tissue and wiped them away as Pops cleared his throat and said gruffly to him, "I'll wait outside for you, son. Get some rest, Trixie." He headed out and closed the door, leaving the couple alone.
Trixie sniffled as she said, "You're both so sweet to be here after all I did. I don't deserve it."
Speed got up from his chair and perched on the side of the bed. He took hold of her slim shoulders and looked directly into her watery sea green orbs. "Listen to me. You have nothing, you hear me nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one that sent you away and for that I should've had my head examined. I should know that you would never two-time me, you've been nothing but loyal and supportive of me from the day we met. So please stop punishing yourself, sweetheart."
"But Speed, I--," she began but he placed a finger on her lips.
"Hush, baby, hush. Just get some rest, and I'll be back tomorrow, okay?' He leaned in to gently kiss her, his mouth softly caressing hers as his hands cradled her face like a delicate, priceless piece as her arms snaked around him and drew her into his strong circle. The kiss deepened as the fires of passion kindled between them.
The door opened prompting Speed and Trixie to pull abruptly apart as a nurse barged in and ordered. "Time to go, she needs her rest."
Speed shrugged sheepishly as he rose and then leaned in to give Trixie a little peck on the cheek and said, "I'll call you later, baby. Get some rest now."
The next day, Speed arrived at 1:00 PM to pick up Trixie, who was getting discharged from the care center. He was pushing her in a wheelchair out to the Mach 5 ignoring her as she was protesting.
"Speed this is ridiculous. I can walk, I feel fine, really."
Speed pushed the chair to the passenger side of the Mach 5 and stopped it so he could open the door. He scooped her up amid her continued protests.
"Was this really necessary?" Trixie demanded as her attentive boyfriend wordlessly made sure she was comfortable then closed the door and made his way to leap into the driver's seat. She sighed as he started the car and shifted gears, as the Mach 5 roared off. They headed to the highway and the ride home.
"Are you going to say anything?" she asked peevishly. "Or have you taken a vow of silence?"
Speed replied evenly, "I just didn't want you to get upset. I wasn't about to let you over exert yourself, you just came from the hospital. So whether you like it or not, you're going to get pampered, so deal with it."
Trixie humphed, "You're so stubborn."
"Yeah, well so are you so I guess that means we're made for each other." He grinned at her, his cobalt eyes twinkling.
Trixie's pretty face broke into a reluctant grin to match Speed's. It was impossible to stay mad at him when he flashed those incredible eyes of his. She decided to give up and changed the subject.
"So what happened with the Dragonfire? Did Inspector Detector ever find out who took it?"
Speed's grin faded as he said flatly, "Yeah he did. Flatte had it stolen and put it into the Silver Streak." He frowned darkly as he remembered the car burning and Trixie's unconscious body in the front seat, so close to perishing in the fiery crash. His right hand reached and grabbed her left hand tightly.
Trixie's eyes got as big as saucers. "But why would it cause the car to catch fire?"
Speed released her hand and said nothing but spotting a scenic rest area, abruptly pulled into the lot and drove to a secluded space near a large tree. He cut the motor and turned to face his girlfriend.
"Okay, here's the story. Pops built the Dragonfire to install in the Mach 5 for the race but the IRC rejected it and told him we couldn't use it. Pops was upset but with a second look he realized that he had made a mistake in designing the electrical system. It and the generator had a tendency to overload and so he planned to scrap it and build a new motor when Flatte had the thing swiped. He installed it in the Silver Streak and that's why it caught fire, the generator overloaded and caused it to burn up."
Trixie was shocked as she sat there, staring incredulously at Speed. "That's incredible."
Speed nodded as he sighed and said, "It is but it isn't really. Pops was about to pull the thing apart when it got lifted by Flywheel Flatte. And you know as well as I do that he and Pops have had this thing. Flatte would stoop to anything to beat him."
Trixie shook her head as she absorbed it all. "He didn't have any idea about the flaw in the engine, did he?"
Speed shrugged as he said sardonically, "He didn't but who cares. He broke into the factory and stole it so that makes him not only a crook but stupid as well." He scowled darkly as he added, "The thing blowing up was justice served if you ask me."
Trixie stared ahead as she thought about the incident and the fact that she, the temporary navigator and Gary Lightening, Flatte's driver were no more than expendable commodities in his quest for the championship. It gave her a cold chill and she shivered, drawing Speed's immediate attention.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, reaching for Trixie to draw her to him.
She shook her head as she said in a numb manner, "I tried to get Gary to listen to me, that something was wrong but he was so spaced out by the power, he was just like you in the GRX." She gave a brittle laugh as she said, "I just can't believe that my life is so meaningless to someone that winning a race would come first."
Now it was Speed's turn to be incredulous as he heard the toneless voice that indicated her sense of betrayal. He pulled her to him, determined to assure her of her worth.
"Oh Trixie." Speed crushed her to his broad shoulder. "Don't you ever say that, don't even think it. Your life is precious to me, more than anything in the world." He took hold of her chin to look deep into her beautiful eyes. "When that car caught fire and I knew you were in there, my heart dropped to my feet and I was terrified. I was desperate to get to you, didn't you see me use the autojack to stop the car? When the Silver Streak finally stopped I ran over to it with only one thing on my mind, to get you out of there before it blew. After I got you out of there I thanked God when you came to for a few minutes, it meant you were alive and I hadn't lost you." He hugged her tight as she felt his emotion shuddering through his body.
His declaration was like a catharsis and the dam of her emotions burst, from everything going back to the fateful night of her birthday party. Trixie's body shook with deep sobs as she let everything she had been carrying out as Speed held her close and murmured words of comfort and endearment.
"It's okay, baby. It's all over and you're safe here with me where you belong and I'm never gonna let you go." He cupped her face in his hands as he wiped her tears away gently with his thumbs, caressing her soft ivory cheeks. His warm cobalt orbs radiated his love as he drew her mouth to his and kissed the remaining tears away, her lips soft and salty with the warm rivulets that landed there. They remained entwined like that as the highway traffic whizzed by and savored the comfort of being reunited.
"And that is the end of the story," Trixie finished as the twins sat with looks that were a mixture of amazement and enlightenment. Speed grinned at his wife as he watched the looks on their children's faces.
"Wow," Victori spoke first. "That was some story, Mom and Dad. I had no idea you both had almost lost each other. Over a misunderstanding too."
"That's usually the way it happens, sweetie," Trixie said. "But your father and me were totally devoted to each other and deep down we knew that we would always be together."
Cam then spoke, "So what happened to Lightening and Flatte?"
Speed replied, "Inspector Detector questioned Lightening and promised to go easy on him so he sang like a canary, implicating Flatte as the brains behind everything. He even confessed to cutting your mother's phone lines to drive a wedge between us. Like any rat, when it came down to it, his loyalties lay with saving his own skin. He was tried and acquitted then took off, never to be seen again. Flatte was indicted on charges of grand theft and racketeering and he was tried and convicted. He's serving a life sentence at the state pen."
"So you never got a chance to waste him, huh?" Cam asked his father. "Too bad."
Speed chuckled as Trixie admonished her son. "Your father was and is a law abiding citizen, son. He may have wanted to hurt Gary but he let the law take care of him."
Speed added, "Don't make me out to be such a goody two shoes. If he hadn't been in police custody, I'd have torn him limb from limb. After the way he put you in danger, believe me, baby I wanted to."
Cam grinned at his father while Trixie said crisply, "Okay, the morning's over and we need to get going." She hustled the twins out as they protested and as she made to follow, felt herself grabbed and pulled into the muscular arms of her very attentive and amorous husband.
Speed enfolded his wife as he whispered in her ear, "That brought back memories for me, some good, some bad." He nuzzled her neck as he said softly, "I almost lost you."
"Uh-huh," Trixie murmured. "And I was so stubborn but I thought that you didn't want me to be around anymore. So I was taken in by Gary Lightening and he had me completely fooled."
"Yeah, he was pretty persistent," her husband agreed. Then he added with a sober expression, "But I owe him a vote of thanks, he woke me up to the very real possibility of someone taking you away from me. I admit prior to that I did take it for granted that you were always there for me. I forgot that all's fair and for that I'm sorry, Trixie." Speed lowered his coal head in remorse.
Trixie took Speed's face in her hands as she reassured him, "That's all water under the bridge, love. We're together and have had a wonderful life together, a life I wouldn't have changed for all the world." She placed her lips on his for a slow, lingering kiss, which he reciprocated. His fingers gently lifted the gold locket resting on his wife's collarbone and it flipped over to the engraved words, as true and sincere as they were when he gave the necklace to his girlfriend twenty years ago:
Forever My Girl
Love, Speed
END