Author's Note: Happy 2019! Hope this year treats you well. This is one of the chapters with mild swearing. I feel like Doc generally wouldn't, but if frustrated he probably would throw in a swear word or two.
Once Lightning had been cleared to leave and returned to Radiator Springs, Doc felt it would be best to have Lightning stay with him, so he could better monitor Lightning's recovery. As the weeks went by, Lightning's physical recovery was going well. While a lot Lightning's parts had been replaced or rebuilt, Doc still had him go through various exercises to get used to moving around again. Lightning did what was asked of him, but no more. What did make Doc concerned was the kid's mental and emotional state. He knew Lightning wouldn't necessarily bounce right back, but there wasn't a hint of his normal energetic personality. Outside of the exercises Doc put him through, Lightning rarely left Doc's garage. He spent a lot of his time watching filmstrips of Doc's old races. Doc mostly left him alone, wanting to give Lightning some space to process everything that happened in his own way. Usually when Lightning had a problem, he came to Doc eventually, so Doc assumed it would be no different this time. Although when Doc declared him fit to start training to race again, he expected Lighting to be happy about it. Instead all he got was an unenthusiastic "That's great. Really, really great."
Soon it was February. Lightning needed to start training now if he wanted to be at all ready for the start of the next season. There was speculation all over the media about whether Lighting would even return, since he had yet to make an official statement about it. Yet, Lightning's attitude still had not improved. Doc knew the time had come for him to intervene.
As Doc entered his garage, he saw Lightning quickly switch off the film projector, but not quickly enough. Doc knew what he had been watching. It wasn't the first time Doc had caught the kid watching the filmstrip of his crash. He wondered if he should have gotten rid of it a long time ago.
"Alright Lightning, what's the problem? I've tried to give you space to let you work this out on your own, but the time has come for you to make a decision. Are you going to start racing again or are you going to keep sitting in my garage?" That may have sounded a bit harsh, but Doc figured some tough love wouldn't hurt.
"I don't know, Doc." Lightning replied, "I, I guess I think, what's the point? I'll never get as fast as Storm with the kind of training I do. He's got a whole facility, with state-of-the-art equipment and a racing simulator. That doesn't really compare to, well, a dirt track."
"Seems to me that 'dirt track' was always good enough for you before." Doc said. "Having all that fancy equipment isn't necessarily going to make you faster than Storm y'know. Plus, you also have something Jackson Storm doesn't. Us. You know we all back you up 100%."
Lightning sighed. The King had once told him something similar. "And I appreciate it, really, but it's also going to take more than moral support if I'm gonna beat Storm. I mean, if I start the season the same way I ended it, Rusty & Dusty could change their minds and then I'll end up just like-" He stopped and cringed. He knew how insensitive he just sounded.
"Just like me you mean?" Doc responded. He wasn't angry, but it still touched a nerve. "Even though I managed to have a respectable 50-year career that I happen to be damn good at?" It was true. Doc had excelled in medical school with the same determination that once helped him excel on the track. "I don't know if you realize how lucky you are that those Rust-eze boys are still willing to take you back." Doc looked regretful. "Look kid, I'm sorry we're not able to give you the same things Jackson Storm has. I have to admit, you probably would benefit from some of it." With that, Doc left the garage, leaving Lightning again with his thoughts.
Doc drove off to Willy's Butte, which he sometimes did when he simply wanted to think. He knew Lightning didn't mean to sound insensitive. The kid had that tendency when he was feeling frustrated. Part of him even felt silly for letting Lightning's remark get to him. What was really bothering Doc though was that for the first time since becoming Lightning's crew chief, he was totally unsure what to do. Doc spent decades haunted by his past and now it was threatening to do the same thing to Lightning. Well he wasn't about to stand by and let that happen. Doc thought about contacting Smokey, but then dismissed it as a last resort. There was still one car around here who was not only close to Lightning but had made a career out of arguing her point. Feeling more hopeful, he drove over to the Cozy Cone.