My father's tracks

by Maji

Sometimes the one person in life that you hate... Is the one person in life you turn out to be. In the wake of his father's death Chick Hicks is forced to put that life in perspective.

Disclaimer: Cars is property of Pixar. All the others are mine. But for Jake. I modeled him after my brother so I suppose he's property of himself.

Notes: Ask and you shall receive! Dedicated to those who wanted to hear more about Chick after the one shot that turned out to be not so one shot. This is also suppose to be a one shot... It is however set after Chance Encounters but set way outside of the Death's Lesson's series. Also note that this story gets a little dark in places. It has references to abuse and other dark things that many people don't like to think about. If this bothers you, please don't read it. Also my apologies for oddities... This one was amazingly difficult to get out the way I wanted it. Thanks and happy reading.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The sun beat down on a loan highway, the endless sea of black top stretching on like a mechanical river, some form of industrial society brought to the peace and otherwise silence of the Alabama summer. The little town of Claxton just outside of Montgomery.

A line of cars fell back as far as the eye could see, all traveling in the same direction, though none really knowing where the others where going. A strange thought that for some reason Chick Hicks couldn't get out of his mind as he watched the world go by from the safety of his trailer. As he watched cars roll by in the world outside he wondered idly where they where all going. Perhaps the minivan was going to visit family... That pick up truck might just be traveling home... Maybe he had a pet of some kind. A little scooter. He gave a slight chuckle, the image of that massive truck, keeping a little frilly pet causing some form of amusement from him.

It caused him to idly wonder if any of them didn't want to be out here, as much as he didn't want to be here. If any of them would like more than anything to be back in California and pretending that there was a big black mark of nonexistence where Alabama had once been. He avoided this state when he could... However at times it seemed that this state simply wanted him to come back. Now was one of those times.

Ralph Hicks has died. Come back to Alabama.

That was what the note had said... Nothing else. The one who had sent the e-mail to him had known that he would come. However if he had any other information than that he might not. Might decide it wasn't worth it. He wasn't entirely sure why he was here in the first place... It wasn't as if he had spoken to his father in... Well he couldn't remember the last time he spoke to his father. He was fairly certain it had been at a race... Though maybe not. Maybe it had been with family...

He didn't care...

That thought more than anything troubled him. He couldn't remember the last time he had spoken to his father... He didn't care... He knew it had been years... He didn't care... His father was dead... And he didn't care...

He thought he would have felt the loss. Felt the pain of losing a parent. Of losing someone who in some deranged way he owed his life to... He had cared when his mother died... Oh he had cared then. He had grieved then... He still missed his mother... It had felt like a part of him died with her.

He had cared when his grandfather died... The old car had been bitter but when it came to Chick the old stock car would at least offer a smile.

But now... To hear of his father's death he just didn't care... It wasn't relief... He knew that. He wasn't happy about it... He wasn't that cold. He just didn't care.

His driver, Pete, slowed down for a moment traffic backing up. Chick sighed quietly as the passing view of Alabama slowed to a crawl. The wind hitting his face from the upper vents was the only thing keeping him sane in such cramped traveling conditions, though even with the steady flow he was nervous in the trailer. He always was... As much time had passed, it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"Pete, what's up?" He questioned into the two way, Pete's face appearing on the monitor somewhat quickly.

"Sorry boss. Road construction. Should be out of it soon."

Chick only nodded, eyes closing as he let out a sigh. For all his tricks and fowl tempers he had always been decent to his crew... Maybe not social with them but decent. Pete was no exception. As many years as the massive rig had pulled him around the country the rig never complained. In time Chick had simply grown to trust the rig. Pete and his crew chief Max had become the only family he had.

It was a little over an hour before they started really moving again. Once more the road flowed by, like an industrial river.

"Hey Pete?"

"Yeah boss?" Pete's face filled the screen once more, pulling a frown from Chick as he carefully worded his question.

In the end he only sighed and gave a shake of his grill. Nope... He had nothing to say. Pete simply kept driving. He was use to oddities from his boss. Possibly he deserved this one. After all his father had just died.

He had a right to be troubled. Though oddities seemed to fall to silence, the two not saying another word as Pete drove on through the hot Alabama sun.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jasper Alabama 1969

"Damn it, you little brat!"

Chick yelped and skittered away from his father's wrath as a tire iron came flying his way, the sharp edge clipping his fender. The young stock car bolted so quickly out of the way he hit the side of the barn wall, tearing away a chunk of decaying wood. The door popped open, letting him out and away as his father yelled at him to come back and bring the damn tire iron with him.

Like hell that was happening... He wasn't that stupid. If he went back there now, he would regret it for as long as it took for the pain to go away... Oh sure he'd get it later... But he knew from experience that his father would probably forget why he was angry with him in the first place by then, only that he had been angry and that Chick did in fact deserve whatever he could come up with as punishment. Though it would be severe it wouldn't be quite as bad as an actively angry Ralph Hicks.

Chick tore around the side of the house, and quickly skidded wide avoiding tread marks to his favored hiding place. He ducked under the back porch, huddling down low under the ramp leading into the house. From the relative safety of his hiding place he watched as his father searched the yard, attempting to kick up his newest hide out...

Chick was forced to change where he was every month or so as his father discovered his hiding places. So far however he hadn't found the porch. It had been a haven of safety for several months now and so far... It worked. Ralph growled as he paused in the center of the yard, eyes narrowing and started for the porch. Chick froze for a moment afraid that he had been spotted, though relaxed a little as Ralph's weight brought a creek from the old ramp, the ageing stock car silently rolling into the house.

The storm garage door closed with a bang behind Ralph, the yelling picking up almost instantly. Chick could hear his brother and sister scatter to keep out of the way, the crash of a bottle breaking against the wall suggesting he was in the kitchen. The door banged again and the quick sound of tires on the porch cut through the air as his siblings apparently decided it was safer, outside than in.

His sister, a pretty little Ford Mustang took off across the back yard. She headed for the barn, the deep moo of the family's lone tractor suggesting she had found safety with her favorite pet. Hanna always had been more at ease with tractors than cars... It was as if she thought they could protect her at times. Now seemed to be one of those times.

Chick's older brother Jake appeared at his side, the black Mustang taking up the safety of the porch. "What did you do?" He whispered, gaining a slight shrug from Chick. This time he honestly didn't know... He had been working along side his father and the older car had suddenly blown up at him... He didn't have a clue...

"Better figure it out then." Jake advised, drawing a light nod from Chick. The older car was right... Better to figure it out...

A crash came from in the house, Ralph once more storming out of the small home the five of them shared... He crossed the yard, heading for the old shed, still checking around the perimeter of the yard... It was about twenty minutes before he finally seemed to give up, the stock car heading back in to the house without another word.

Jake gave Chick a good nudge and the stock car was on the move again. They knew this routine by now. Chick took off across the yard, heading for the creek behind their house. Jake set off fairly soon after him, the familiar sound of Hanna's engine not all that far away. Now they hid for a while...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Boss we're here." Pete's calm voice startled Chick from his thoughts, and drew him to take a look out the window of the trailer. Familiar fields rolled by as Pete moved his way down a winding dirt road.

A place he hadn't stepped tire on since he turned eighteen... Pete pulled to a slow stop, the trailer door swinging open as Chick hit the lever. Pete waited until his boss was out of the trailer before dropping it and slowly pulling off.

"Want me to stick around boss?" Pete questioned, the truck not entirely realizing the strangeness of this place. He did however know that his boss had just lost a parent...

"No Pete... Take a few days off. I'll contact ya on the link."

Pete offered a slow smile and nodded, the massive rig silently pulling away.

Chick supposed to the perspective of some the old house could have been seen as peaceful... It was an older house set on it's own on a quiet little farm... Some people he knew would kill to live in a place like this... However to Chick's own experience it wasn't exactly the Ritz. To most it would seem peaceful and quiet... He supposed that meant it wouldn't be a problem when it came time to sell it... People from the cities tended to flock to the Alabama country side like lemmings... Claimed they wanted a bit of peace and quiet from their day to day lives and found the country life quaint.

That thought was almost enough to make him laugh. He took a deep breath and quietly drove up the front porch, the old ramp creaking and groaning under his weight. Apparently Ralph had let it fall to ill repair before he died. It acted as if it wanted to give out...

He shrugged it off as he pushed his way in through the front door and glanced around the house for the first time in over twenty years... It still smelled like his family... That familiar scent he had grown up knowing... It was still there. The house hadn't changed. At all...

The house was almost exactly as he had left it the day he drove off for the last time... A heavy layer of dust covered almost every surface suggesting Ralph hadn't exactly been to intent on cleaning... Not that it mattered much... Chick would spend a day cleaning the place... And if neither of his siblings wanted anything from the house the house would be sold as is at an estate sale...

From there they could split the funding if they actually wanted anything from the old man. That he was questionable as well... They all had a sense of pride when it came to the old man. "Maybe we could donate it all to Alcoholic's Anonymous... It's not like he ever used it..." Chick muttered to himself...

"Now there's a thought." He jumped at the voice coming from the ramp leading to the upper level, a slight smirk crossing the grill of his brother.

"Thought I heard you coming in bro... You always talk to yourself or is that a city thing?"

"Actually it's a country thing. I don't do it in the city." Chick commented, drawing a snicker from his brother Jake. The two met at the foot of the ramp and offered a friendly nudge. It had been way to long since Chick had seen the part of the family that would speak to him.

"So... Back in town eh?" Jake questioned, turning and heading to the upper level, seeming to be fully expecting Chick to follow. Chick nodded a bit as he followed, a slight sense of been there done that coming on as he quietly studied the framed pictures lining the wall heading up.

"Yep... Unfortunately it seems. So what happened?"

Chick didn't have to clarify on that. Jake silently pulled into the old room that they had once shared setting back to things he had been going through. "Massive engine failure. Least that's what the doctor's are saying... They said he had been gone for several days when the neighbor found him."

"It's amazing that the neighbor found him at all." Chick mused, slight shrug given. "I figured the old man had become a bit of a hermit after a while..."

"Not as much as you might think... Think the old man found religion the last year or so of his life."

Chick nodded a bit, slight frown crossing his grill. "Still think hell gained a new occupant."

Jake cast Chick a thoughtful gaze, a deep frown crossing his grill. "You know, he was always harder on you. Never quite knew why..."

Chick sighed and gave a shrug. "So when's Hanna getting here?"

"She's not coming."

Now that surprised him. His sister had always been the more sensitive of the three. She wasn't coming to their father's funeral? Though he supposed he couldn't blame her. He didn't want to be here either...

"She's got a thing with her kids... But she says she still wants to see you. She says to call her once you get back to California. Maybe make a trip at Christmas time or something..."

Chick gave a light chuckle and nodded. Hanna had always been their father's favorite. They all knew that. None of them where particularly bothered by it. Jake was the oldest... He had taken after their mother, a pretty little crimson Ford Mustang. His hide was a wash of blood red, his sporty frame and coloring almost the mirror image of their mother.

Their sister had also taken after their mother. She was also a Ford Mustang though a deep hunter green in color. She had taken after her mother in shape and form, though her coloring was purely from her father. She also sported the more boxy shape of mustang that most held to a muscle car, inherited from her father's stock car shape. She had been her father's pride and joy until the day she came home from college with a pick up truck tagging along behind. Ralph Hicks had blown up. Had yelled at her and refused to permit his little girl, who was going to not just any school but law school to have anything to do with that truck. She had left the house in a rage and never come back... It had been years before Chick found her again... Well after he had started his racing career and left home himself. She had in fact married that truck. They had two kids, and couldn't be happier.

Chick was the youngest... And had unfortunately taken after his father. It wasn't the career choice that ever got to him... Though he had wondered once or twice if he really enjoyed racing... or if it was simply the only thing he knew how to do... No... He was the youngest. Which meant he had always been the target of his father's wrath... He was also the one his father had pushed to be the best. He couldn't really guide the others in their careers... But he could certainly guide Chick. Hell he could become a tyrant over his youngest.

There had also been other things to consider... According to Jake and Hanna the stock car had never truly been that... mean until the day Chick was born... That had also been when their mother's health started falling...

Chick sighed softly and left Jake still poking through old memories and boxes that had once been their life. He silently pulled down the hall, quietly studying old pictures that where so much like the image of his child hood.

He sighed and edged his way down the hall, moving into his parent's room. It was just the way he had last seen it. That was something, possibly a little disturbing... Medical equipment was pushed into the corner of the room, as it had been since the night his mother died. All of the machines that had kept her alive in her final years...

That thought was always something to bring on sorrow... He could almost hear his mother's voice at times.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Chick!"

It was only his mother's voice that brought him out of hiding and back into the house. For someone who was bound to spend the rest of her life parked in her room she could be heard right down the street and into the neighbor's house if she wanted. Chick always thought if she really yelled he could hear her down by the creek. But as it was he had been hiding beneath the kitchen window again. Still avoiding his father though not actively hiding anymore...

He silently got to his tires and headed up the porch ramp and through the kitchen. He slowed as he passed the living room, the soft sound of the tv suggesting his father was in there. Indeed he could see the silhouette of his father's form. Ralph's rear was towards him so he quietly crept down the hall past the living room and moved up the ramp to the second floor.

His father shifted briefly, suggesting that he had heard him though for the moment didn't feel like taking chase. For the moment off free he hurried down the hall to his parent's room slipping into the door before his father changed his mind though he already knew he was for the moment, safe. The old stock car never yelled at any of them in front of their mother. He didn't want to upset her...

"Have you been causing mischief again?"

Chick smiled a bit at his mother's soft voice, the young stock car moving to settle at his mother's side.

The two fell to a comfortable silence as they so often did. His mother, Elizabeth, had always been a safe haven. She couldn't protect him, he knew... She had been bound to this room since Chick could remember. The doctors claimed it was her engine. The result of a very difficult time centering around Chick's birth... Something that his father reminded him of every day.

That his mother would still be alright if it wasn't for him. At the young age of six... Chick believed every word of it.

"You know what I think?" His mother's voice startled him a bit, the young stock car, offering her his full attention to that.

"I think you're turning into a little race car." She mused, slight chuckle given. "One day I'll be sitting in this room and watching you race on the TV. Won't that be interesting?" She mused, drawing a slight smile from Chick.

XXXXXXXXXXX

That had always been their mother... The peace keeper... Chick fully believed she had pushed him to race to please Ralph. Maybe she hoped that Ralph would knock off his fowl temper when it came to their youngest son. The same fowl temper that after so long of being angry with the world began to seep over onto the other two children as well.

Chick believed Ralph truly had loved their mother... He also believed that was in part why Ralph had always seemed to hate him so much... Chick didn't really believe he had ever wanted children in the first place.

"Hey Chick." Jake's voice startled him from his thoughts, the stock car tearing his gaze away from the now silent room, to offer his sibling his full attention.

"The funeral home just called... Somebody needs to go pick out a casket. You wanna come?" Chick thought on that one for a long moment, then gave a quick shake of his grill.

"No... Think I'm going to stay here and clean up a bit."

Jake only nodded, disappearing from the room once more as the mustang made his way down the ramp and out the front door.

Chick was once more left to his thoughts, idly wondering down the hall and into each room of the house. It was a bit like driving through a tomb... The house had never been home. It had been a place he avoided when he could... In fact Chick couldn't really remember ever being anywhere that was home. His apartment in California was simply a place to stay in the off season... Hell his trailer was more a home than any other place.

He shuttered and silently tucked his tires up under him to settle onto the kitchen floor as soon as his tires touched the different texture of flooring. The place had never been home but there had always been noise before... From his father's yelling to the sounds of vehicles living in the house, there had always been sound... Now it was as silent as the grave.

He sighed heavily and went about the tasks of cleaning the kitchen, slight frown crossing his grill at the task. He always had hated cleaning... With a passion... The state of his trailer held evidence to that. Though weather or not he actually liked it, he did need to get it done...

He was just finishing, mopping the kitchen floor when he heard someone coming into the house and yelling out for anyone who was there.

Chick sighed, and headed out into the living room, a slight smile crossing his grill at the sight of their neighbor. The old truck had been a friend of the family for years. Since well before Chick himself could remember.

"Chick..." The truck commented, smile crossing his grill. "Ain't seen you in years boy. Where the hell you been hidin' yourself?"

"The racing world Hank. The racing world. How's it shakin'?"

"Well can't complain about life. Chick, I just want you to know, I'm so sorry about what happened. If there's anything I can do..."

Chick smiled and gave a slow shake of his grill. This was the point that Chick should have felt the pang of loss... He knew that... But it wasn't there. Still that was what Hank expected... He offered a pained expression, that seeming to satisfy the old truck.

"Need some help there son?" Hank questioned, gesturing to the mop Chick had been pushing around and Chick's dusty frame. Now that he was grateful for. He smiled and nodded, the old truck starting into a long and drawn out story about Ralph as the two of them set to cleaning the kitchen.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Damn it Chick you ain't worth the tires you drive on!"

His father's harsh voice cut through the morning air as Chick pulled up to where his father was parked.

"You ain't never gonna be a race car driving like that." He went on, Chick cowering quietly. There was nothing wrong with the way he drove... But it would never be good enough for Ralph.

"Oh, leave the boy alone Ralph. For ten the kid has talent." Ralph glared at his father, a rugged old stock car by the name of Ben. The old stock car was bitter, and even more savage of a racer than Ralph himself but he always had a soft spot for his youngest grandson.

"Don't give me that Dad. He might as well be a pedestrian the way he's drivin'. What makes you think he's gonna be worth anything on the track?"

"Just gotta teach him the trade Ralph. Listen up Chick. You wanna win your gonna have to not be afraid to swap a little paint. Run them off the road if their in your way, and don't be afraid to drive into the middle of a wreck. No fear."

Chick forced a slight smile and nodded to his grandfather...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

No fear... Possibly the only thing his grandfather and his father had both agreed on. He had never seen pride in his father's face... Until the day he had resorted to cheating to win a race...

His father had been thrilled about that... Hadn't lasted long though... Then his father had simply expected him to do better. To win every race. A second place wasn't good enough any more...

Must have killed him to watch Chick come in second behind The King every single race... Almost caused him to wonder how he had reacted the day he won the piston cup... Everyone else in the USA had run his name into the dirt... But he had a feeling his father had only nodded and stated he did good.

It was several hours before Hank finally left. In fact the old truck seemed to be intent on staying until Jake came back... Possibly thinking that the loss of a parent would be to much on Chick. Hell he was well into his forties, Chick figured he could handle this but apparently Hank didn't.

The evening hours found Chick and Jake quietly parked on the back porch, staring off across the back yard.

"You know it's weird..." Jake muttered, his voice cutting through the silence that had fallen over them.

"What's weird?" Was Chick's response, not bothering to look at his sibling.

"I keep expecting Dad to come out here and yell at us about something... It's weird not hearing his voice..."

Chick nodded his agreement, the two falling to a comfortable silence once more. It had been years since they had last sat on this porch... In the distance the old shed sat like a grim reminder to that... Jake was the oldest. Therefore he had left first... Before that he had protected his younger siblings as much as he could...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

This time he had absolutely no idea why Ralph had it out for him... The stock car had been in the shop... Then suddenly came looking for Chick.

It had something to do with a race... He knew that... Why he was suddenly blowing up at him now, two weeks after the second place loss he would never know. As usual he went wide around the house, hiding the tread marks his tires made as best he could and ducked under the back porch. At the age of ten he wasn't entirely sure why he still had to do this...

He silently watched from the safety of the space beneath the porch as his father searched the yard. After a while the older stock car quietly moved around the side of the house, drawing out a sigh of relief from Chick. He left the safety of the porch and silently moved to slip down to the creek as usual. Though this time, he wasn't getting very far.

"There you are you little brat!" Chick yelped and bolted, though his father cut him off, the older car always just a bit faster and stronger than his youngest son.

Chick whimpered though knew damn well taking off at this point wasn't such a good idea...

"Shed... Now Chick!" His father's voice was harsh as Chick only nodded, a terrified whimper given at the thought of the shed. Ralph had picked up punishments in there... The discovery of Chick's terror of closed in spaces was primarily what did it. No son of his would be afraid of anything... So the shed had become a frequent learning experience as well as a punishment.

Chick always thought he could handle it right up until the point he was pushed in... This time was no different. He moved willingly to the shed, but the second the door opened he panicked...

"Dad no!"

Ralph wasn't exactly up for his son's pleas today... He never was. Ralph moved to open the shed door, but it was stopped by Jake's tire... Jake glared at his father, a quick shake of his grill given. "Enough Dad. You know damn well it upsets him." Ralph narrowed his gaze, slight smirk crossing his grill.

"Then he had best learn to deal with it." Chick was pushed into the shed without another word, the heavy bolt lock clicking into place. Chick whimpered, the dark shed as always a bit more than he could handle... He couldn't breath... The walls themselves seemed to be closing in.

He closed his eyes tightly and huddled down into the far corner of the shed, attempting to make himself smaller... Tears trailed across his hood, as always wishing he was anywhere but here...

What had he done to deserve this?

Outside the shed he could hear Jake and Ralph yelling at each other. This argument... The current treatment of Chick... Jake had turned eighteen last month... He graduated high school in a week and Jake seemed to think that meant he could better defend his siblings.

"Chick?"

Chick smiled slowly, Hanna's soft voice cutting through the night.

"I'll sit with you..." She whispered softly, her quiet voice offering a bit of comfort through the night... She parked beside the shed singing softly, well into the night hours.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

That night had changed things... Ralph forgot about him... Around one in the morning he had wondered where the kids had gotten off to and came out to let Chick out of the shed... Chick supposed he felt sorry for him... Normally a trip out of the shed ended with a good smack across the fender, but this time it was a simple "Go to bed."

It wasn't until the next morning that he learned what happened. Jake and Ralph had gotten into a huge fight about how he treated the three of them... In the late hours of the evening Jake finally gave up the fight. He had packed a few things he would need in a box and left... It was nearly three years before Chick heard from him again... He heard his brother had once attempted to gain custody of Chick and his sister... But beyond that, he didn't know... His brother would rarely talk about it now...

"I think we need to tear down that shed..." Chick muttered, catching Jake's attention.

Jake was silent for a long moment, but as Chick got to his tires and left the back porch he followed. In the late hours of the night the two brothers, tore down the old decaying shed, board by board.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The morning light, proved dim and cut through a misty day that promised to be hot and humid later, but now, simply... dank... A typical morning in Alabama...

It had been two days since Chick had come to Alabama... He stood in line with several other people of the town... An array of headlights in the dim light hours, a sign of mourning as the casket was lowered into the ground... The fact that this didn't bother him had troubled Chick as the priest talked about his father. The priest had asked Chick to get up and speak...

Chick could only nod and spoke of his father's career and family... Nothing else... It could have been as impersonal as if he was speaking to a reporter wanting an interview...

Jake was next... His sibling had at least been a bit more personal. Speaking of a rocky relationship and wishing that things had been different. That he had gotten to know his father a bit better. That the two hadn't held a grudge...

Chick could understand that he supposed.

It was starting to rain when they lowered the casket into the grave. The box that contained the stock car that had been their father was quickly covered, attempting to speed the funeral along to bypass the oncoming storm...

Not to many vehicles where there... That didn't really come as a surprise... But still... A few people Ralph had once worked with... The neighbors... A few other townsfolk that felt they had to come... Everyone knew what kind of car Ralph had been. No one wanted to say anything but they knew...

No one even bothered to ask why Hanna wasn't there. Everyone knew why Chick was so distant, and everyone knew why Jake preferred to keep quiet.

"Hell gained a new occupant..." Jake's voice. Whispered so soft that the surrounding people couldn't hear.

It was only when they where covering the grave did the first choke of pain hit Chick... That lump that made it difficult to swallow... Not for his father strangely enough...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

She died at five in the morning... That's what the doctors said. That's also what Ralph had told him. She died in the early morning. Had choked in her sleep and died...

Chick Hicks parked silently at his father's side as they lowered his mother's casket into the ground. Beside him Hanna wept softly, her pretty features marred by pain. Across the grave sight, Jake was parked. He offered Chick and Hanna a comforting smile every now and again, but otherwise remained silent. He wasn't welcome here and he knew it... Ralph had already made that clear...

This was the first Chick or Hanna had seen their brother since he left... Any other time both of them would have moved quickly to greet him, but today... To much pain.

"Dad?" Chick whispered, attempting to catch his father's attention.

"Shut up." Was the only response as Ralph watched silently as they lowered his wife into the ground.

Chick whimpered, tears quietly touching his hood. His mother was gone... They had lost his grandfather the summer before... Engine failure... Now his mother. He felt like an orphan.

"Stop that." The sharp hiss from his father, brought a choking cough. No son of Ralph Hicks cried. He had learned that the hard way.

The three remained silent as their mother was lowered into the ground. That night proved for more silence... Jake stayed away... Possibly the smart thing to do... Hanna eventually wandered off to bed, leaving Chick alone with his father.

Any other time she wouldn't have... But she had lost her mother as well. She hadn't been thinking clearly...

"So Chick... You never really knew Elizabeth did you?" Ralph's voice caught Chick off guard, but when he thought on it, he hadn't. His mother had been sick as long as he could remember. Now as a teenager he had never known the car she had once been.

"No..."

"Wasn't always like that. She was so full of life... Before you where born..." Ralph was in pain... Chick got that. Ralph had honestly loved their mother... She had been his life... He also understood that in some deranged way Ralph blamed him for her death...

"Congratulation kid... You killed your own mother..." Those words stuck in his mind... Long after his father had left him for the night...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Chick was parked in his parent's room again. There was nothing of this house that he wanted... A few pictures maybe. Other than that nothing.

"So, what do we do with it?"

That had been the question since they came home from the funeral. What was to become of the house?

"There's still some of Mom's stuff here... Hanna will probably want that. She has kids. You know, family air looms and stuff..." Chick reasoned, drawing a nod from Jake.

Jake had never settled down himself. Claimed he wasn't the marrying type... That made two of them. So Hanna was probably the only one who would ever really want to pass anything along.

"Suppose we're selling the rest then?" Jake questioned, drawing a nod from Chick.

"I know of a museum that might want the racing stuff... Otherwise sell it..."

"Hanna's kids could use a college fund." Jake offered, another nod pulled from Chick. Once again, it didn't sound to bad. Chick himself didn't need the money and Jake... Well he never was to sure about Jake. A few well placed stock purchases had made sure that Jake would never have to work again. The car had more business sense in one lug nut than most cars had in their whole bodies. But Jake's chosen profession was, and always would be a bum.

The two offered an idle shrug to each other, setting off to cleaning once more... The house would have to be cleaned out. Whatever they wanted to take with them sorted from the junk that would be tossed in with the house auction...

Papers had to be gone through... Their father, as far as any of them knew didn't have a will. Probably figured he flat out didn't care what happened to it all. Everything went to the oldest child, who happened to be Jake. Jake didn't care. Didn't want it, and had no need for it. Therefore as far as he was concerned it was Chick's problem. Chick was in the same boat. Didn't want it, nor had a need for it. Therefore his answer was sell it all.

It wasn't as if either of them wanted anything from their father... A few pictures would do of other family.

Three hours into the dark of night found Chick quietly parked in his father's study. This... Hadn't been the most wanted job. It had been a game of high card that had landed Chick with this particular job... Going through their father's old bills and making sure they where all paid wasn't exactly the highlight of his day...

The thought also occurred to him, of weather or not his father ever actually cleaned out the thrice damned desk...

"Got a word for ya, that'll change yer life Dad..." Chick muttered to himself as he threw away yet another old bank statement that was now worthless. The entire bag would have to be taken to a shredder or burned... Some of the statements where from the eighties... "Trash can... Should have tried using it occasional-"

He cut himself off mid sentence, a folder setting propped against the back of the desk catching his attention. His name was written across the front in his father's chicken scratch penmanship. Two others where behind it, one with Hanna's name and the other with Jake's...

Curious he silently flipped his folder open, a few papers and documents present, along with an article or two. Among the stack was a copy of his will... Apparently there was a lot more in finances than he ever thought... He never noticed the small slip of paper stuck in-between documents.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Familiar... That was something that was very much welcomed after the events of the past two weeks. Chick Hicks roared around the track of the Atlanta Motor Speed Way, the well known feel of the track beneath his tires seeming to ease away all of his troubles.

Out here there wasn't anything he questioned. He knew what he had to do, and what he had to do to get it done. He knew from years of racing every twist and curve in the tracks... Occasionally it occurred to him on these tracks... During a race that this was the only place he was home. Alabama wasn't home... Neither was California... However, every track from the east coast to the west coast was. Even with forty some odd cars racing along beside him he felt safe... If he crashed, he crashed. It was racing. If he had to nudge someone out of the way to win, that was their problem. It was racing. There was no room in this sport for hurt feelings.

As he moved into the tenth lap he wondered how he had become so cold... Though he knew damn well... His first race he had wanted to prove something. Prove to his father that he wasn't worthless. That he could stop yelling at him. That he could stop sending him to the shed to make him stronger... That first race he hadn't won. He had come in second because of a stupid mistake and it earned him a dented fender and a cracked axil.

His first time out on the track again he had pushed himself harder than he thought possible... Again... He hadn't been able to come out of it. His father had been furious... He still had a small scar across his door panel from that little encounter. Back then it had simply been life.

Finally he had managed to win... He came out on top in a small race near their home town. His father's response had been a simple grunt and a nod. All the praise Chick supposed he could ever get from him.

The day he turned eighteen was his last day in Alabama. He left town... Got out of there as fast as he could. He wanted to see more of the country and racing was the way to do it... He also wanted to get as far away from Alabama as he could. He had gotten as far as Tennessee before figuring out that life was difficult for a rookie racer that didn't know anything else... He had lived on the streets for six months, competing in street races and small time country races just hoping for someone to take note.

It was well into the summer when he first met Max. That summer Chick cracked his back axil, just enough to be painful though not enough to really restrict movement... The young stock car hadn't been able to afford medical help... Therefore his only option was to enter a race and hope he won enough to get it fixed.

The aging truck had watched Chick whip around a few laps on a cracked axil, not so much as a pit crew to somewhat help him through it... What had impressed the truck was Chick's refusal to give up. Chick had come in dead last... The cracked axil, had broken entirely halfway through the race... However Chick had never in his life not finished a race. He wasn't about to start then. It was a good hour after every other car had left when Chick finally crossed the finish line for the last time. The young stock car hadn't been able to drive much further after that. He had simply collapsed on the track, panting through the suffering he had just put himself through.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well, I'll admit kid, you're dedicated." Max commented, silently looking the young stock car over. The truck circled him, studying Chick from every angle from where the stock car lay on the hot pavement.

"Go away..." Chick muttered, in to much misery to care about some crazy truck. Why the hell was he still here anyway? Everyone else was gone from the track. Just one crazy truck... Probably drunk or stoned...

"Well now I took up quite a chunk of my day watching you race kid. What makes you think I'm gonna drive off so fast without so much as a howdy do?"

Chick glanced up at the truck parked above him, soft grunt given. He wasn't entirely interested in the truck's oddities... More determined to get out of there than ever Chick forced himself to his tires. A sharp pain shot through his back axil and straight to his engine causing Chick to yelp and slump to the ground again.

"Broken axil? Need to get that seen." Max muttered, drawing a grunt from Chick.

"Oh really? Hadn't noticed..." Chick muttered, a heavy sigh given.

"Where's your family kid?" Max prodded, slight frown crossing his grill.

"Don't have any family." Chick muttered, gaze narrowing at the truck.

"Alright... Then I suppose I'll take you to your home myself, then get you a doctor." Max announced, drawing a growl from Chick.

"I can't go to a doctor, and this is home... So put your charity work off on someone else." Chick snapped, once again forcing himself to his tires. Pain shot through him worse than before... But still he forced himself to stay up this time.

"A track ain't a home boy. It's a profession. Where do you live?" Max insisted, refusing to leave the young stock car alone. Chick flinched and shot him a slight glare, putting his full attention into attempting to drive off of the track.

"Anywhere I can find. Now leave me alone."

Max seemed to consider that, his frustration fading off to a quiet understanding. "What's your name son?" He questioned, drawing another sigh from Chick.

"You're not going to go away are you..." Chick asked him, pulling a smile from the truck.

"Ain't nobody ever told ya? Trucks are stubborn as hell."

That brought a soft chuckle from Chick. "I believe it... My name is Chick. Chick Hicks."

Max nodded a bit, and offered a smile. "Max Connors."

Chick smiled a bit and nodded, finally accepting Max's help enough to lean on him a bit when he offered.

"So, got a place to stay kid?" Max questioned, getting right back to the point he had been at earlier.

"No..."

"Ah, been there I'm afraid." Max commented, moving off at a slow crawl so that Chick could keep up with him on a bad axil.

"Where are we going?" Chick questioned after a moment of Max guiding him off of the track and through the stands.

"Well, I can't leave you out on the street now can I? Talented racer like you? I'm gonna get you to a doctor then get a roof over your head. I have a spare room." Max commented, seeming to be set on this...

Chick gave a rather surprised look to that, but he wasn't about to argue. Smile crossed his grill as he gave a slight chuckle. He liked this truck, and not simply because it seemed he was taking him in for a while. Something about the truck reminded him almost of Jake.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey kid, you with us?"

Max's voice startled Chick back into reality and back into the race. He was falling behind because of his little daydreaming session. Twenty some odd years later and Max still called him kid. Never mind the fact that Max was only ten years older than Chick himself.

"Yeah, sorry Max." He called out over the radio. He threw himself back into the race, slight frown crossing his grill as he began coming up behind a familiar red spoiler. "Just thinking."

Normally Max's comeback would have been for him to think about the race but this time, only a sigh of understanding though for entirely different reasons than where accurate.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea... It's fairly soon and no one would blame you for-"

"Don't say if Max. I'm fine." Chick cut in, not wanting to hear any nonsense of him dropping out of the race because of his father. That wasn't going to happen. He always finished his races. Besides... The thought of his father was a heavy weight now. He just wanted to spend a few minutes on the track where it wasn't there...

He surged on forward, coming up on Lightning's bright red flank. The young stock car frowned and surged onward. Chick charged on, determined to pass him up. He clipped in fast, nicking Lightning's back fender and sent the young car fish tailing across the track. Lightning managed to pull it together but Chick had pulled out ahead of him.

Aggression was the only way Chick really knew how to race... That had been red dirt racing. True now it was looked at as tabu but Chick wasn't about to give it up. It was only a lap later that Lightning began edging up on him again.

"I don't think so kid." Chick growled, immediately swerving in front of the young stock car and blocking him.

Lightning swerved to the inside just as quickly, shooting ahead until he was at Chick's side. Chick growled in annoyance and swerved in close, slamming against Lightning's side. He was rewarded for his effort by the loud sound of a tire exploding and a glare from Lightning. However it was short lived as the rim that was once Lightning's tire bounced back, the sudden lack of rubber making it sharp enough to slash through Chick's tire as well. Chick growled in frustration a yellow flag waved as rubber flew everywhere both cars forced to take a pit stop.

"You know, the officials are gonna throw the book at the both of you if ya don't knock it off." Max commented as Chick rolled into pit road behind Lightning. Lightning took his spot with the radiator springs group, Guido as usual flying through the pit stop. Chick took a few more seconds but he was off just as quickly as soon as his tires touched pavement again.

"What's his problem today anyway? He normally can't get out of a race without cheating but this is ridiculous." Flo mused, gaining a somewhat sour look from Max.

"Death in the family. Grief does strange things to people. Cut him some slack." Max commented, gaining a slight glare from Doc.

"No excuse for that kind of behavior. Slack stops when he winds up hurting another racer. Especially one of our own."

Max didn't have a response to that, choosing instead to turn his attention back to the race. It was progressing in full tilt, the pace car having let them go again. Chick and Lightning once more tore around the track at full tilt, half a lap ahead of the rest of the pack. Chick was ahead, but Lightning was right at his flank. Every time he tried to edge ahead a bit, Chick countered by blocking. Chick couldn't seem to best Lightning in flat speed, but he was quick on his tires when it came to blocking.

Three more laps to go and it was much the same. Lightning flat out couldn't pass. They where edging on the last lap when Lightning attempted to bolt for the finish. Chick swerved hard, clipping the young racer's back fender sending him spinning. Lightning quickly recovered but he had lost a lot of ground. Entering the final turn he was a car's length behind Chick.

It was Chick who crossed the finish line first. Lightning's grill just even with his front tire. The race had been close, but in the end Chick was aggressive enough this time around to come out on top. Somehow though... The victory was strangely hollow.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

After race parties... Normally held in the closest bar but this time it was held in the garage of the track. It wasn't an official thing. Simply something that the racers did. After a race, most racers where still rearing to drive a few more laps, adrenaline still running high in their fuel systems.

These things where a way to calm down. To un stress a bit. It also set into motion a point. On track they where competitors. On track they where enemies and no one cared what the hell happened out there. On track if there was a way to win the others would take it and run. Off track... They could be drinking buddies for all anyone cared. Off track was a separate world than the race. Sharing a few laughs after the race was a way to enforce that...

Chick rarely came to these things... After all the track was his entire life. He didn't really know where Chick Hicks the racer and Chick Hicks the car where divided. Max had told him once that most cars wore a mask on the track... Chick wasn't sure how to take his off anymore...

He couldn't look in the eye a car he had just hours before pushed into a wall... Cheating to gain a victory. Likewise on the rare occasions he did come, few cars spoke to him. Both for his behavior on track and the fact that he didn't exactly have anything to say to them either...

Why he had chosen to come to this one, he would never know... But somehow he had felt he needed to.

"Chick?" Lightning's voice cut through the air, drawing a heavy sigh from Chick. That was all he needed. A ranting session from Lightning. The stock car glanced up at the younger car and frowned. Chick offered a smile and silently parked beside him. "I'm sorry to hear about your father."

Now that was surprising... How in the hell did he know?

"There was a tribute to a Ralph Hicks in the racing program this morning. Leakless told me you where related." Lightning explained, drawing a grunt from Chick.

The two sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments, Chick silently nursing the oil he had picked up. He remembered another conversation with Lightning... He had been stuck in an elevator with him not long after the piston cup... That time wasn't as uncomfortable as this one he didn't think...

"You don't normally come to these things either do you kid?"

Lightning shook his grill and offered that self confident smirk he was so well known for. "Doc's idea. He thinks I need to gain the perspective of a separate life on and off track."

"Not a bad idea actually." Chick mused, drawing an odd look from Lightning.

"You mean you actually are agreeing with something Doc says?"

Chick gave Lightning an amused look and shrugged. "Kid, your crew chief is a smart car. Listen to him and you'll go far. Doesn't mean I have to like him though. After all, competition and all that."

"But you just said-"

"Do as I say, kid. Not as I do." Chick advised, a slight shrug given.

Lightning offered another odd look, drawing a heavy sigh from Chick.

"Look Kid. You put your grill to racing and nothing but racing and one day you'll wind up being something you hate. A grumpy old stock car who flat out doesn't care about life and who's only sense of home is a race track. You'll find yourself in a cemetery one day staring at the grave of someone your suppose to care for and not caring, even though you should be grieving." He snapped and suddenly threw himself into drive pulling away and leaving a stunned Lightning behind.

"What was that all about?" Doc's voice startled Lightning though he didn't turn around, a slight shrug on his shocks given. "I flat out don't know..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Praise his father? He had been asked to give a speech on his father's accomplishments... What the hell was he suppose to say?

Chick was parked in a small museum just outside of Radiator Springs, the opening of a new exhibit about to commence. Lightning had insisted that they put up the wing of legends... Chick had donated the old box of his father's racing things to the small museum for the wing in the hopes that it would get Max off his back about the whole 'You need to calm down on track and separate yourself from the racing life' speech he normally had planned...

He had done it mostly to appease Max. The 'see I can be social and nice' move. Max had smiled at him and nodded, apparently that exactly the right thing to do. He had wanted to put it in the mail from an anonymous supplier but Max pointed out they would know who it was from anyway, all of the things being from Ralph Hicks... He also pointed out it would be nice if he brought it to Radiator Springs himself... The disapproving look Max gave at the refusal spired had Chick driving to Radiator Springs that night...

Now a month later they where ready to open the new exhibit, on a wing dedicated to racers that had come and gone...

A week before it was scheduled to open Doc called him at his apartment in California... Invited him to come and talk about his father... Invited him to come and dedicate the exhibit to his lost parent... Chick had wanted to refuse but a look from Max told him otherwise... His crew chief was the only vehicle in this world who could order him around... But after years of Max becoming the father that he had never had... He found he flat out couldn't disappoint him. Max had taken him in when he had nothing... Therefore Chick would have jumped through hoops of fire for him.

So because of that here he sat... He had no idea what he was going to say... He had attempted to write some kind of speech... But how did you talk about someone in a good way that you didn't have a nice thing to say about them?

He had finally settled for simply laying out his career. The highs and lows... Leave family out of it and it would be alright.

He had called Jake and Hanna and told them of this little dedication... Both of them had protested... It had taken a lot of coaxing but he had managed to get Jake and Hanna out there... Both of them now where parked beside him as solemn as if at a funeral... A little ironic that Hanna hadn't even attended the last funeral...

Hanna and Jake had gained many odd looks when introduced as Chick's brother and sister... Though thus far no one had commented.

The wing was fairly new... Chick's dedication to his father was stuck in between several others... Junior being one of them... Strip Weathers was there, running the thing... Another car that Chick couldn't bring himself to look in the eye... For all his bravado on track it was draining with the thought of what he was going to have to do...

Finally Strip gestured for Chick to come forward. Strip having known most of the vehicles being dedicated had been chosen to more or less host. He offered Chick a surprised look as the green stock car made his way to the stand, set up.

As he passed him, Strip quietly stopped his old competitor a light nod given. "I'm sorry for your loss Chick." Was all he stated before moving to park next to his wife... Another loss possibly... When Chick first started out in the racing business he had met up with the racer that hadn't been at it that many years himself. Somewhat of a friendship had grown... But after so many years of running each other over it had ended and turned into pure rivalry. Chick only nodded and silently moved to where he was suppose to be.

Chick never had been a public speaker... Talking to a camera was one thing. But people staring at him with the expectation of him to say something... Never had sat well with him. A little amusing but he supposed he truly was a different person on track... Someone who wasn't afraid of day to day life... Who didn't mind rubbing fenders... Who talked in front of millions of cars... A little strange to finally find that out but at the same time... Comforting... In some ways he was the car he wanted to be and in others... He was his father. At that thought he shuddered and turned to his task.

He launched off into talking about Ralph Hicks as he had decided to do... His career... It had been a good one. Several piston cups under his tires... More wins than Chick could count... He had followed in his father's tread marks... A car that Chick would have to see if he could scrounge up the records on later.

He paused at the end of what facts he could give, considering ending it there. Though oddly enough it was Hanna who quietly shook her grill and gestured for him to go on. She wanted him to talk about the Ralph they knew...

"Ralph Hicks... My father... Was a good car on track..." Chick offered, starting again with a slight sigh. "Cars loved him... They where his friends... Coworkers... Everyone got along with Ralph Hicks... Everyone liked him and considered him a likeable car..." He offered, another hard swallow given. Hanna smiled and once more gestured for him to go on.

"But that was because they didn't really know him." Chick offered softly. That drew a somewhat stunned silence from those gathered, and a look of triumph from Hanna and Jake.

"No one ever saw the Ralph Hicks that came home to his family. No one ever saw the monster he could be. The temper that he possessed. No one ever saw how afraid his children where of him, or how hard he pushed them. They never saw the arguments that normally ended in a few dented fenders. To them he was a good car. To us... He was a tyrant."

"No one knew the Ralph Hicks who threw his oldest son out into the street because he attempted to defend his younger siblings. No one knew the Ralph Hicks who turned his daughter out because she fell for a somewhat goofy truck who I might add is a great guy."

Chick fell quiet for a moment, the stunned silence for a moment almost to much. But damn it they wanted to hear about Ralph they where gonna hear it. "Though that's possibly not a fair statement... I didn't know Ralph Hicks either. I knew a grumpy old racer who blamed his kids for his problems. I never knew the race car who fell for my mother. Who was suppose to be such a great car. I didn't know that Ralph. I'm sorry I didn't. He's gone now, and I can't ask him why he did what I guess he felt he had to do."

He paused once more, the silence almost oppressing. Hanna offered an encouraging smile, but that was about all Chick could take for the moment.

"Weather a good one or a bad one I can't answer that... But either way Ralph Hicks was a legend. To us he was a legend of a tyrant... Who at the end of his life may or may not have been sorry for what he did. I can't answer that. Only Ralph Hicks can. But no one will be here to remember a tyrant... People will be here to remember him for what he was... One hell of a racer. Thank you." He offered, quickly ducking out of there as fast as he could, driving off of the platform to park near his siblings. Hanna smiled and gave her brother a light nudge as Chick silently attempted to ignore the stares he was getting.

After a moment Strip Weathers got back to his tires and moved back to the stand, clearing his throat and attempting to set the dedications back on track. He went onto another racer as Chick silently stared straight ahead, that weight once more there.

It was a little over an hour before Chick managed to escape the museum. He left Jake and Hanna to the fuel and oil supplied by Flo's café and headed for the desert, deep in thought. No one had been to willing to approach him after the dedication... Just as well. Max had only give him that sad look that said they would discuss it later... Not that he really wanted to. What he really wanted right about now was simply to go back to California.

He sighed heavily moving out to park by Willie's Butte, slight chuckle given as he looked out across the landscape. Seemed someone had set up a make shift race track.

"You know I knew your father." The voice behind him made him jump forward, almost sliding down the slope onto the 'track'. He turned to glare at Doc, though a heavy sigh escaped the stock car.

"He was loud, over confident and had a harsh temper." Doc mused, studying Chick carefully. "On track I see a lot of him in you."

"Don't start old man." Chick commented, slight snort given. "I'm not my father."

"Oh? If I recall your father didn't mind rubbing fenders either. Neither did your grandfather if I recall correctly. Though true... That's red dirt racing. I've rubbed fenders with a few racers myself in my day."

Chick tipped to the side for a moment seeming to think that over. "Right... I remember that... Got into a wreck with my Dad once didn't ya?"

"Yes... Ended my career."

Chick winced, slight sigh given. Great... "Sorry..."

"Not your fault. Wasn't you." Doc offered, slight shrug given.

"So why are you telling me all this anyway?" Chick questioned, drawing another shrug from Doc.

"Your speech. You said you wanted to know what he was like."

"That's... The same car I remember." Chick offered, gaining a nod from Doc.

"There ya go."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"You still walk the straight and narrow
And you don't know where you are
Use the needle of your compass
To sew up your broken heart
Ask directions from a genie
In a bottle of Jim Beam
And she lies to You
That's when you learn the truth

If you're going through hell
Keep on going, Don't slow down
If you're scared, don't show it
You might get out
Before the devil even knows you're there"

Chick quietly sat in his apartment, sorting through old papers and bills. He hummed softly with the song on the radio, an upbeat tempo that was more than a little catchy... Chick actually liked the song.

He chuckled a bit as it faded from the air waves and another song began to play. This one much slower and not particularly one Chick liked so the radio was clicked off, leaving Chick to sort through his bills in silence.

From the stack of bills, a somewhat battered folder caught his attention... The folder from his father's desk. He sighed and idly flipped through it attempting to see if there was anything he needed to keep or if he could sort through it to throw away. From the pages, a slip of paper fell to the table... A small letter written in his father's chicken scratch scrawl. Chick frowned, silently reading it, stunned silence filling the room.

Chick,

By the time you ever read this note, I'll probably be long dead. I've burned any bridge that ever existed between us. I've never been much of a father to you. Jake raised you more than I did at times. I know that now... I wish I could explain why I was the way I was. I wish I could say I was bitter or angry... I was I suppose. No excuse for years of hardships. I'm an old car now... And I don't have to be a genius to know I haven't lived a good life. I wish things where different. Call it an old car's dying insanity but I'm sorry. I want you to know, despite what you think I wanted what was best for you. Above all I want you to know, that I'm proud of you.

Dad

For a long while Chick flat out didn't know what to make of it... If it wasn't on his father's desk in his father's scrawling he wouldn't have believed it possible. Those where not the words of his father... Those almost sounded like a desperate attempt to make amends for a very harsh life... Still... He wanted to believe them.

He gave a ragged sigh and closed his eyes, silently laying the note down. A little more rummaging produced news paper clippings... His father had followed his career... He quickly got up, silently moving into his kitchen and pacing back and forth across the empty room. He couldn't sit still... Within' minutes a vase and a potted plant where gone to his temper... They had died for a good cause he thought...

He couldn't take it any more... He left the apartment, a quick note written out for Max who he knew would probably stop by in the morning and took off. He needed to drive.. Needed to clear his mind...

The early morning dawn found him still driving. He found it amusing but eventually his trip had briefly taken him through Radiator Springs... He blew through there with the Sheriff following for a time... Though after a while the car had been forced to give up...

He was in was several states over before he finally pulled along side the road and snarled at some poor bush. It received a swift strike at having the indecency not to say anything...

"Damn it..." Chick muttered, flopping to the ground, and silently staring down the road as far as he could. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" He now yelled, startling a few critters from the bushes.

It was several hours before he got moving again... He only stopped when he had to... Otherwise he was perfectly happy to curse whatever came close...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Three days... Three days he had been gone... Max was gonna have his engine on a stake. Right about now though, he didn't care... He was home again... Parked in his kitchen... Not in California but in Alabama... The house he had grown up in. It had been one hell of a trip... And now he was exhausted... But he was back in the house...

The house hadn't sold yet. It was still his. Jake had decided it was better to put it through a realty company. Claimed it made better business sense... Strong words for someone who had never actually held a job. But still, Jake was the business one.

A harsh snarl and a crash, rang through the house as Chick promptly put a bumper through the wall... Though with the folding of the wall, he wasn't so angry anymore... Simply... Empty...

He sighed heavily and flopped down on the kitchen floor. Now what...

"Bout time you got here." Chick jumped, eyes widening a bit at the familiar voice of Max... How...

"Alright... I give... Did I get into bad fuel?" He questioned as he turned to face his old friend.

"Nope. Found your note in the kitchen. Found the 'other' note in the office... Hopped a flight out here, figured this was where you would come. Your brother gave me the address and the neighbor let me in. That answer all your questions?"

Chick sighed a bit and nodded. He should have thought Max would have pulled something like this...

Max sighed heavily and silently settled down on the floor beside Chick, frown crossing his grill. "I should have come to the funeral with you... You never mentioned a father. Should have figured something was up. And I damn sure shouldn't have pressured you to do that dedication thing. That was my mistake."

"Eh, not your fault." Chick commented, drawing a shrug from Max.

"Maybe not kid. But you shouldn't have had to of done that."

Chick shrugged a bit, heavy sigh muttered.

"Look Kid, ya can't change the past. But ya can figure out what to do different. Look at your own life. Ya know what ya don't want to be... Fix it." Max suggested, drawing a slow nod from Chick.

"Can't see where it was all wrong. Hell yer a damn good racer and ya know that." Chick gave a slight snort, eyeing Max for a moment.

"Don't look at me like that Chick. Cheating is part of the game of racing. After all... You don't cheat you look like a fool. You cheat and don't get caught you look like a hero.. You cheat and get caught... Well then the press runs your name into the ground. There's a fine line between cheating and racing and you need to figure out that line."

Chick nodded slowly, seeming to consider that. His grandfather had told him that once...

"So you gonna stay on this floor and feel sorry for yourself or what?" Max prodded, drawing a slight chuckle from Chick.

"No..."

"Great. So... This is Alabama eh?"

Chick smirked a bit and nodded. "Started one hit band and more songs than I can count."

Max smirked quietly, a slight chuckle given. "So... Sweet home Alabama?"

Chick laughed and shook his grill. "Please, Max my hood already hurts, not that.

"Where the skies are so blue." Max sang on, regardless of Chick's protests.

"Max" Chick complained though a laugh, slight smirk crossing his grill.

"Sweet home Alabama, Lord I'm coming home to you." Max sang on, a smirk given as he chuckled. "So, any more boxes yet to go through in this house?"

"Think there's a few boxes up a level yet." Chick offered with a laugh, silently heading up the ramp.

Max shook his grill and quietly followed, light shrug given.

Chick chuckled quietly, silently moving up to the attic, a place that neither he nor Jake had been to thrilled with attempting. Therefore it remained cluttered. They figured the next people that lived there could deal with it. Now however it seemed alright.

He had a racing career... Friends however few of them... His father had been proud of him... He didn't know much more than that but it was alright... For the first time in a long while, it was alright... Life was going to keep right on spinning. Chick chuckled a bit and silently settled down with a box, rummaging through it as Max poked through old books still singing that damn song... He wasn't his father. He refused to be that car. Maybe the next time he was coming up on the rookie's flank... He just might try to win it off of pure talent and not aggression.

Or not... Rome after all wasn't built in a day.

With that in mind Chick only chuckled, setting back to his work humming softly the tune of Sweet Home Alabama... A song that after only a verse or two, Max was singing as loud as he could.

Fin

(Finally)