Chapter 22- Our Last Night

Fillmore's POV

Dear Sheriff, Red and Lizzie,

I don't really know why I'm bothering to write this postcard. Tonight's our last night. We fly home tomorrow night and I'll see you all soon.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that tonight was pretty groovy. It was the kind of night you wish could last forever. Well, by the time you get this postcard, you'll probably know all about it anyway.

See you soon.

Fillmore.

I always thought vacations were all about relaxing and slowing down. That may be true, but things really sped up for a while on our last couple of days in the Freewheeler Islands. We were determined to make the most of those last few days and soak up every last drop of such a beautiful country. And we especially wanted to do it together, while we were no longer mad at each other.

The day after Luigi and Fudge made up, Fudge wanted to go to Action World one last time. Somehow, we all ended up getting dragged there. (I smartly avoided the rides. Normally, I hate places as artificial as theme parks, but after how upset she'd been, I was glad to see Fudge smiling.) Then today, we spent some time swimming and building sandcastles before heading to the tennis courts.

"I'm going to teach you to play real tennis!" Sarge informed Fudge. "Not that Wii crap!"

For the evening, we headed to Coconut Island where there was a bonfire going on with traditional Freewheeler Islands music and food. The Blumenthal-Dunns were there. So were a few of the friends Fudge had made. To add to the chaos, a cruise ship had docked off Coconut Island and hundreds- maybe even thousands- of passengers had taken over the island.

Now, normally, I don't like chaos. I like peace. I like a slow pace, but this time, the chaos made everything exciting. There was lots of colours, lots of people having a good time and lots of excitement.

Even though I wanted to spend as much time with my friends as possible, I also wanted to say goodbye to my new friends. I joined the Blumenthal-Dunns (who were leaving early the next morning) in some dancing. It was good to hear the kids laughing.

"We're going to miss you, Fillmore!" Astrid declared sadly.

"Ja!" Wolfgang agreed. "Would you ever visit us in Germany?"

"Maybe", I replied with a smile. "You never know, man. You never know."

"Maybe we could visit you too!" Astrid suggested, her blue eyes lighting up. "Wolfgang and I have never been to the United States before! Well, we did a little bit to come here, but we only saw the airport, so that doesn't count."

"Ja!" Wolfgang exclaimed excitedly. He turned to Karl and Sheila. "Could we do that?! Please please please!"

Karl and Sheila laughed. "We wouldn't very much like that too", the former assured them, "but we cannot make any promises."

"Well, you'd be most welcome in Radiator Springs anytime", Sarge piped up with a smile.

"We'll definitely have to do that sometime!" Andy declared. "You know, I'm really going to miss you, Sarge. Thanks for talking to me."

"It was my pleasure, soldier", Sarge assured her. "Good luck in Germany."

Abruptly, Andy gave him a big hug. My best friend looked a little startled for a moment, but he hugged her back.

"You old softie!" I teased.

Sarge scoffed. "Shut up, hippie!"

At some point, me and my friends took a break from the traditional dancing going on and got something to eat and drink. Most of us had Zithat's Island Special (which was just as good as McQueen and Sally promised). Mater, who doesn't drink, had a non-alcoholic version and Fudge had a Coke. I was glad to see that Fudge was no longer hiding her legs. She had been wearing shorts the past couple of days and now, like a lot of human women, she was wearing a traditional colourful Freewheeler Island skirt. I was proud of her. She had learned to be proud of her scars and it wasn't very often that we saw Fudge in a skirt. She looked beautiful.

"Can you believe it's our last night already?!" Flo exclaimed.

"I know!" I agreed. "I feel like we just got here."

"I don't really want to leave, but at the same time I am looking forward to going home and seeing Uncle Red, Uncle Sheriff and Lizzie again", Fudge voiced her opinion.

"And Jennyfur?" Ramone added with a teasing smile.

"Of course!" Fudge laughed. "I know Uncle Red and Uncle Sheriff been taking good care of her, but I hope she hasn't forgotten who her mommy is."

"I doubt it", Flo assured her with a smile. "That cat knows you love her, honey, and she loves you too."

"I hope so."

There was a brief silence.

Finally, I cleared my throat and asked a question I felt like I should, even though I wasn't sure if I'd like the answer. "So... Do the rest of you regret comin' here?"

Everyone gave me odd looks.

"Why do you ask that?" Flo questioned, confused.

"It's just... I- I know we spent a lot of time on this vacation mad at each other, so I was just wondering..." I trailed off awkwardly.

There was another long silence. Finally...

"I had a great time!" Fudge offered.

"Really?" Luigi asked in surprise. "Even after the way I treated you?"

"Well, that wasn't my favourite part", she admitted, "but apart from that, this has been an awesome vacation."

"I agree", Sally spoke up.

"Yeah", McQueen agreed. "I wish we could've gotten along a bit better, but I've loved it here. How about the next time we come here, we promise not to fight so much?"

"Next time?" Sarge echoed incredulously.

"Well, yeah", McQueen replied uncertainly. "I mean, we're coming back, right?"

Ramone nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Flo and I were actually talkin' about it last night. We decided, if the rest of you were interested, we'd use the money I earned from sellin' my photos for a return trip one day."

"Yeah!" Fudge exclaimed excitedly.

"I would love that", Luigi put in and after Guido spoke in Italian, he added, "And so would Guido."

"I'm up for that." McQueen smiled and nodded.

Sally also smiled and nodded. "Me too."

"Dad-gum!" Mater exclaimed. "I wanna come back! I wanna go Parasailin' again!"

Luigi smiled weakly. "Not for me. Thank you."

I smiled and nodded too. "Count me in, man!" Then I was quick to add, "I mean, comin' back, not Parasailing."

Everyone looked at Sarge.

He sighed. "You know, about two weeks ago, I would've said no way. I swore to myself that this was the last time I'd ever travel with you clowns."

"Now, you realise we're not a bunch of clowns after all?" I guessed.

Sarge tried to look stern, but he was smiling. "Oh, you're all a bunch of clowns, all right, but I suppose you're my clowns."

"Aw! That's the nicest thing you've ever said to us!" Ramone exclaimed, pretending to get emotional.

That made all of us laugh.

Sarge raised an eye frame. "Don't get used to it."

"So... When we come back, you coming?" I pressed.

"All right. I'll come", Sarge grumbled, but again, he was smiling.

"I guess it's unanimous", Flo declared with a smile.

"We're headin' back to the Freewheeler Islands, baby!" Ramone shouted excitedly.

We all laughed again. For the most part, I was very happy, man. I was glad that we'd had such an awesome time on our vacation. I was happy that me and my friends were all together. And I was happy that we had all agreed to come back some day. Still, a little part of me was sad.

Our vacation was over.

This is the last official chapter, but there will be a short epilogue soon, so stay tuned for that.

I also wrote a bonus scene (the chapters 'An Apology, Surprise Guests and a Cake' and 'What Happened After Dinner' from Fudge's POV). Would you be interested in reading that?

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.