Chapter 15: A Trip
The Next Day
"And what do ya know, Pops was just around the corner ready to save John's tailgates with a grenade launcher!" Fillmore shook his hood at his veteran companion and Harley giggled.
"I bet the enemy wasn't expecting that!" she said and Sarge gave a hardy scoff.
"Ha! They sure weren't!"
"You know man, saving a brother by risking your life says a lot about your character." Harley again giggled as Sarge rolled his eyes at the mushy comment.
"I think so too, Fillmore!" Harley said, making the Volkswagen bus smile warmly.
It was about midday. Harley had already eaten lunch, Doc, Sheriff and Judge Stafford had been gone to their meeting, but the other cars that were there for the hearing had left already. The town returned to its normal slow pace and Harley, Sarge and Fillmore had been at the edge of Flo's café talking the afternoon away.
"Harley!" Harley pulled forward to see past Fillmore and jumped up as she saw Doc followed by Sheriff and Judge Stafford.
"Doc!" she said and she sped over to meet him.
"Slow down!" Sheriff shouted, and she did, but not by much. Judge Stafford surprisingly chuckled and began to drive past the other two men.
"Best of luck, Mr. Hudson, Jordan will come in about two or three weeks and hopefully," he glanced at Harley who was now at his side, "you won't have to see me again." he said with a kind smile that made him look so much more inviting than at the hearing or when he first arrived. Harley was still intimidated by him and slightly scared, but nevertheless, she smiled shyly up at him and he chuckled.
"Thank you, Judge Stafford, have a nice trip back home." Doc said and he looked back up at him with a nod.
"Thank you. You have a nice trip as well." Harley watched Judge Stafford head off for a few seconds then looked up at Doc confused.
"You're taking a trip?" she asked.
"Yes. Remember? I'm having to meet up with-"
"Oh! Oh yeah, I remember now." she said then looked sad. "So when are you leaving?" Doc sighed.
"You won't like it, but if I want to meet up with them at the time we decided, I'm going to have to leave this evening." Harley back slightly away in disbelief.
"What!? No!" she whined and Doc shook his hood.
"It's okay, I'll only be gone a few days. I'll be back before you know it." Harley stamped her little tire on the ground.
"A few days! That's a long time…" Doc then nudged her and gestured to Sheriff. "It's okay, Sheriff here will watch after you while I'm gone." Harley looked at Sheriff who shot her a half smile and she signed.
"Okay…" she said in a low tone that made Sheriff's smile fade slightly.
"Good; now I'm going to start getting ready for my trip. You can help me if you want." Doc said and Harley nodded.
"Okay!" she said and they started to drive off to the clinic. "Bye guys!" she called out to the Doc substitutes she had just been with. "I wanna hear the rest of that story later, Sarge!" she said and Sarge chuckled.
"Alright, soldier!" he called back. Doc slightly rolled his eyes as Harley sped up to catch him.
"So what do you need to pack?" she asked and Doc shrugged.
"Well, some extra gas and oil, in case of emergencies." They were now at the clinic and Harley sped off inside.
"I know where that stuff is!" she shouted as she eagerly went off to find the containers he needed.
"Careful!" Doc called out and laughed as he shook his hood. He hadn't stopped smiling since the hearing was over, and he certainly wasn't going to stop anytime soon. He felt more relaxed since the verdict was given and it was obvious to just about everyone in town. He started to get together the paperwork from the hearing just as Harley came in pushing a small assortment of containers.
"I didn't know which one you wanted, so I got a bunch!" Doc looked at all of them and pushed one away.
"That would be a paint can. I wonder how that got in the mix?" he raised his eyelids at Harley and she slightly blushed and gave a nervous giggle.
"Heh, I don't know." she shrugged. Doc opened his trunk.
"I just need help packing this stuff. If you could get Guido-"
"I can do it!" Harley exclaimed and rushed around the room looking for a big tray. Once she spotted one, she bit it and drove back to her pile. She then scooped everything onto the tray -some of the containers falling over, but not spilling in the process- then rushed to Doc's opened trunk. She then lifted herself high on her axles to reach. "I almost… got it!" she said through gritted teeth. A container slid and hit her bumper. "Ow…" she nuttered. After a few more seconds, she success fully dumped the contained in and rushed back to the front of Doc. She spit out the tray and smiled proudly. "Did it!" she said and Doc smiled and nodded.
"You sure did." he said. "Do you think you can do again with the rest of my stuff?" Harley's smiled didn't seem like it could be any brighter, but regardless, after Doc's offer, it brightened even more.
"Yeah!" Harley was really enjoying running around the clinic with a tray in her mouth. She scooped something, carefully went around and dumped it in Doc's truck, then repeated the process. This went on for a while until Doc stopped her.
"Alright, I think I'm good." he said and Harley's smile faded.
"Oh… okay…" she said and put the tray back. Doc then realized why she had been so eager to do this game for the rest of the afternoon.
"Harley…. I'll be back soon." he said as she slowly came back to him.
"I know…." she said then softly smiled. "I'll miss you though." she said and Doc softly and kindly chuckled.
"I'll miss you too." Harley nuzzled his side and Doc nuzzled back. "Alright, I need to get going. I'll be calling Sheriff when I get there, okay?" he said and Harley nodded.
"Okay." she said and Doc began to head for the door.
"Sheriff will stay here at the clinic with you while I'm gone, okay?"
"Okay."
"And make sure you listen to him, you know he doesn't like rule breakers."
"Okay." Harley giggled at all the instructions he was giving, "Now you're the one who's stalling!" she said and Doc seemed shocked as he caught himself.
"I guess I am…" he said and smiled at Harley. "I love you, Har. Talk to you soon, okay?" Harley smiled warmly.
"Okay…" she said sweetly and Doc left. As soon as he was gone, Harley felt lonely. She knew Sheriff would come soon and that he would tell her to to to bed on time, so she went ahead and drove herself to her room, turned off the lights and closed her eyes. As if on cue, Sheriff was knocking on the door.
"Harley, are you in there?" he asked.
"Yeah." she said loudly so that he could hear her through the door.
"Are you going to sleep? Doc told me your bed time is 9:00." Harley sighed and glanced at a digital clock Mater had found in his junkyard for her and that Ramone and Doc fixed. It read 8:30.
"Yeah, I'm sleeping." she said and Sheriff gave one last remark.
"Good! Following the rules, I like it. Good night Harley!" Sheriff said and began to head off to the front room of the clinic where the front door was.
"Good night Sheriff!" she called out and quickly fell asleep.
The next morning, just as promised, Doc made a phone call to Radiator Springs. Sheriff went to go pick it up in his office at the courthouse, but Harley sped to it first.
"Harley!" Sheriff called out, but she only laughed. Sheriff couldn't stay mad at her, so he shook his hood and chuckled as he sped up to catch her. "Harley, I'm going to have to put a boot on you, aren't I?" she cocked her hood.
"What's a boot?" she asked and Sheriff again shook his hood.
"Nevermind, don't worry about it. Just know it's something you should never get!" Harley nodded and headed for the phone.
"Doc?" she asked and on the other side, she heard a the rough laughter of an older car.
"Hey Harley," Doc replied, "Did you beat Sheriff to the phone?"
"Uh-huh!" she said and Sheriff came over.
"She's been in the most worst of behavior since you left." Sheriff lied and the two men laughed.
"What? No I haven't!" Harley defended herself, but Sheriff nudged her gently.
"I'm just messing with you, calm down. She's been great, Doc, but the town's a little dull without-chya." he said and Harley nodded.
"Yeah. I've been bored. Sheriff doesn't let me do anything fun." She whined and Sheriff frowned at her.
"What do ya mean, watching the county line is fun, Harley." He claimed, but Harley scrunched up her facial features.
"Mm, no... no it's not." Doc could be heard chuckling on the other side of the line.
"Well, you mind your manners, Harley." He said and sighed. "Anyway, I just called to let you all know that I've made it to Bakersfield. Would you believe this is the halfway point? Between Auburn and Radiator Springs."
"Auburn?" Sheriff asked and glanced down at Harley, who didn't seem to react to the mention of her hometown.
"Yes, they moved back." Doc explained. "I'm staying in a motel and I'm meeting up with them at the courthouse in an hour."
"Wow, you got there just in time!" Sheriff said and chuckled. "Best of luck, Doc. I hope it all goes smoothly."
"I'm hoping so too." Doc said. "I got to go now, bye Sheriff. Bye Harley. Talk to you guys soon."
"Bye Doc!" Harley cheerfully said and they hung up. Doc was sitting in his motel room and looked around. Everything seemed so dull and quiet without Harley there. He sighed and glanced at the clock.
"Well, I guess I should start getting ready…" Doc muttered to himself. He had already gotten out some papers and was now reading through them. He was really focusing on the agreements of visitations. He grimaced at the line that read "Jeremy Miler and Joan Miler will be able to visit Harley Stockrim once a month if they choose." Doc scoffed. "Jeremy sure as hell won't." he shook his hood. "Not if I can help it at least."
Harley was driving down the road with Sheriff and she sighed. She was bored and knew she was going to be bored for the next hour or so. Sheriff nudged her as they made their way to the county sign.
"What's wrong?" Sheriff asked and Harley glanced up at him.
"Nothing… just bored…" Sheriff seemed disappointed.
"We get to watch for scoundrels! What's boring about that?" Harley scoffed.
"All of it." Again, Sheriff seemed to slump on his wheels.
"Harley, why not give she sheriffing a try." Sheriff offered and she shrugged.
"Um… I don't know." she looked up and saw that they were nearing the billboard. "Seems boring." Sheriff was getting annoyed now.
"Okay, it's not. It's fun!" he said and parked himself behind the wooden billboard. Harley parked beside him and stared at the road.
"But… you just sit here." she said and Sheriff opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it.
"Well… um… something will happen." he said and gave up. Harley shifted her tires and watched the road. Her eyelids soon got heavy and she drifted off. She was suddenly on a dark road when her eyes opened. She could hear a familiar engine coming towards her slowly. A smiling Hudson Hornet was driving towards her with a familiar black and white car beside him.
"You're home." Doc said, but it wasn't in his voice. This voice was smoother, darker. It made Harley shudder.
"D-doc?" she asked.
"Who's Doc?" Sheriff said in the same strange voice. Before she could get a proper explanation, she heard a car speed past her and her eyes shot open to the late evening of Radiator Springs.
"What in blue blazes!" Sheriff shouted as he too woke with a start and then switched on his siren.
"Are we chasing him!?" Harley asked in excitement. Sheriff was about to make her stay put, but then saw how excited she was.
"Yes, Harley, we are." he said and Harley revved her engine.
"Yes!" she shouted and darted off after the speedster.
"Harley, wait!" Sheriff shouted and chased after her, but he was not able to get as fast as her. "Gah, I can't be driving this fast without Doc being here." he muttered, but Sheriff tried to speed up regardless. Harley meanwhile was gunning it up to the bright blue car.
"Stop!" she called out at him, but he only scoffed at her.
"Stop? Can't kid. I'm headed for a race!" he laughed and picked up speed. Harley seemed shocked that he wouldn't listen.
"Well, uh, the Sheriff is coming after you!" she said and he rolled his eyes as he looked at her with his mirrors.
"Aw, the Sheriff? I can hear him, but I don't see him! So I'm just going to be on my way!" The hot rod wasn't paying attention to the road. He then glanced up, but it was too late. There was a turn that he didn't see on the dusty road, so when he saw it, his eyes opened wide as he tried to take the turn, but instead, skidded and spun off the road and into the dust. There was a pothole and his back tire was now stuck. Harley stopped in front of him and laughed.
"Haha! Now you're stuck! Ain't going nowhere now!" Harley grinned at him and he scoffed.
"Stuck, nah, I'll be out of here in a sec. I just need to…." he revved his engine and drove foward. when that didn't work, he tried reversing. His tires kicked up dust, but he didn't budge. Instead, he go dirt all over himself and Harley. She coughed at the dust and by then, Sheriff had caught up. His siren was off, but the red light was still flashing.
"Boy…." he said trying to catch his breath. "Do you know how fast you were going?"
"Nope, and I don't care. There's a dirt race in a town about an hour from here, and I'm not missing it. So if you could just help get me out of this, I'd be much obliged to leave this place and all of you alone." Sheriff scowled at him.
"What's your name, boy?" he asked.
"Name's Storm. Charles Storm." he said and Sheriff scoffed.
"Storm, huh? Well, Mr. Storm, I'm gonna let you go, but I'm leaving you with a ticket. I'll send it to you, and you'll need to pay it through the mail." Sheriff ordered and Charles sighed.
"Fine… could you help me out of this?" He asked, giving in.
"I'll get a tow truck. Harley, go and find Mater and bring him over here." Harley looked excited and jumped up at Sheriff request.
"Yeah! I'll go!" she began to speed off until Sheriff yelled at her.
"Harley! You're speeding!" Charles laughed and Harley slowed down. She was headed straight to Mater's junkyard but then saw him at Flo's cafe. She braked hard and sped up the small hill and over to Mater and Flo.
"Mater!" she yelled and he had a big smile.
"Hey Harley! How's it goin?" he asked.
"We got that car speeding through town! He's stuck and needs a tow." she explained and Mater jumped up on his anxles.
"A tow! Well I'll be, dat's what I'm here fo! Where is he?" Mater wagged his tow cable slightly and Harley giggled.
"Follow me!" she went off closely followed by Mater and met back up with Sheriff who was keeping a close eye on the law breaker.
"Well, is this the feller dat needs the tow?" Charles grimaced at the rusty truck.
"This is your tow truck?" he asked. He sighed.
"Yes, this is our awesome tow truck! And yes Mater, this guy is the one that's stuck!" Harley authoritative said. "Go to work!"
"Haha! Alright Miss Stockrim!" Mater get his hook under Charles' chassis and began towing him out of the ditch.
"Stockrim?" Charles asked.
"Yeah." Harley smiled.
"Like, David Stockrim?" Harley's smile was soon gone.
"Um… yeah…" she refrained from stuttering as she spoke.
"Ha, what a shame. To share the last name of the most ridiculous racers." Harley reversed away from him.
"Wh-what do you mean?" she timidly asked, sinking onto her tires.
"He was going to be the greatest rookie in history!" Mater unlatched his hook once Charles was out. "Then he gave it all up. Gave it up like a coward." Charles turned to face Harley. "I'd hate it if my last name was his." Harley backed away.
"Do I need to charge you for ver le hostility towards a child?" Sheriff strictly asked.
"Verbal what! No. I'm just- ah whatever. Send the ticket to my lawyer. I'm outa here." kicking up dust, Charles turned and drove off, leaving Harley scared and confused.
"Hey, don't you worry about him. Look on the bright side!" Sheriff gave Harley a nudge with his tire. "You help me stop a criminal of the law." Harley's small smile returned to her features.
"Yeah… yeah, I did!" she laughed and Mater laughed with her. "Maybe sheriffing isn't so boring after all!"
"Maybe one day you can be the next Sheriff of Radiator Springs!" Mater chimed in and Harley smiled big.
"Yeah! Hunting down hotrodders and dishing out justice!" Sheriff smiled warmly.
"Yeah. Maybe you will." he said and began driving back into town. "Come one, it's getting late. We can go and call Doc soon, see how he's doing." Harley raced to his side and slowed once she was there.
"Yeah! Maybe he'll be on his way home by now…" Harley said and Mater pulled up beside her.
"Yeah! Then this'll be yer home for good!" Mater said and Harley giggled with a nod.
"Yeah… for good!" she agreed.
A/N: Hey guys! Again, sorry for the delay! I've been in a slight writers block and I've been super busy trying to keep up with school work and such. Anyways, there's a poll up in my bio, y'all should go and vote on it! It has to deal with this story! Okay, thanks!
