Author's Note: This chapter is 98% the same as a one-shot I had written called Good to See You Doc, which was honestly the inspiration for doing this story.

Doc looked up at his own face staring down at him from the faded sign. He seemed to have beat Lightning there. He knew Lightning couldn't be far away, so for the time being he decided to wait, assuming either he or Mack would see him. He also had to admit that part of him wanted to avoid going further into town until he had to. Doc didn't think he was ever going to set a tire here again, but after learning of Lightning's situation, drastic measures were called for. From what he could tell, Thomasville looked almost the same, except for being somewhat worn down.

"Good to see you, Doc!" A familiar voice called out.

Doc had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed Mack pulled over on the side of the road and Lightning heading across the road toward him. There was a yellow Sports Coupe with him whom Doc didn't know but thought he had seen in the footage from Thunder Hollow.

"Hey kiddo. You made good time"

"I made good time? How did you end up getting here first?" Lightning had to admit to himself, after days of getting the 'old man treatment', it was nice to hear someone still refer to him as a kid.

"I have my ways, son. So, are you going to introduce us or are we going to keep acting like we don't know each other?" Doc said, referring to the yellow Coupe.

Lightning gave a nervous laugh. "Oh! Yeah, sorry. Cruz, this is Doc Hudson, my crew chief. Doc, this is Cruz Ramirez, my trainer."

Cruz rolled forward. "It's an honor to meet you, Doctor Hudson. Mr. McQueen has told me a lot about you."

Doc almost had to laugh. He couldn't imagine someone referring to Lightning that formally. He smiled and said, "Call me Doc. So, you're the one who's been responsible for keeping Lightning in line?"

She looked a little sheepish. "Well, sir, I'm not entirely certain I've been the best one for the job."

"Oh, I'm sure you've been doing just fine. Trust me, this kid can be a headache sometimes." Doc said with a teasing grin on his face.

"Hey!" Lightning said indignantly.

Cruz relaxed and gave a laugh. "Yeah, I've started to notice that."

"Hey!" Lightning said again.

Doc turned his attention back to Lightning. "Alright hotrod, the reason I wanted you here is that there's someone you should meet who I think can help you out, so c'mon." Doc started to lead them down the road.

"Hold on a second Doc ", Lightning said as they passed the sign and what looked to be a run-down racetrack. "Wasn't this your home track?"

"Yeah" Doc replied nonchalantly.

"Well can we stop here for a minute?" Without even waiting for a reply Lightning was already heading toward the chained-up gates. The rusted-out chains easily broke when Lightning pushed against the gates with his hood.

"Mr. McQueen, are you sure we have time for this?" Cruz said from behind him.

"For this? Definitely." Lightning had a look of pure awe and delight on his face.

"You realize this could technically be seen as trespassing." Doc called, coming in behind them.

Lightning rolled his eyes. "C'mon, Doc, you don't think I could pass up an opportunity like this, do you?"

Nostalgia wasn't even close to describing what Doc felt as he looked around. He hadn't seen this track since the day he left Thomasville over 50 years ago. Smokey had mentioned in a letter that the track hadn't been used in decades, and it looked like no one had set a tire here since then. The stands were falling apart, the signs had faded, and the infield had become overgrown. The track was in rough shape, but not so much that it was unusable. Using the track certainly seemed to be Lightning's intent, as he and Cruz took positions on it.

"C'mon guys, let's take a lap!" Lightning called out.

Doc gave a sigh and drove over to them.

"Alright, if we're gonna do this, we're gonna do it my way." Doc said as he took a position in front of both of them.

"And your way means you get to be first? Well, age before beauty, right?" Lightning said, taking a teasing jab.

"I guess that means I must be the best looking one here!" Cruz called from the back. Doc had to laugh at that. Despite whatever she might think of her own abilities as Lightning's trainer, it seemed Cruz could hold her own with him. Doc could already tell there was something about her that he liked. He rubbed the dirt with his tire. He felt the same mix of anticipation and trepidation that he felt the day Lightning caught him racing around Willy's Butte. Well, time was wasting. Doc revved his engine and took off.

It was a surreal experience for him. The last thing Doc expected was to be back here racing on his home track. As he circled around, he could hear Lightning and Cruz on his tail laughing about something called 'The School Bus of Death', whatever that was. But what was going on behind him started to fade away as old memories started rushing back. He could still imagine the place as it was: the stands filled with cars, himself leaving the other racers in the dust, and Smokey there in the infield.

Wait a minute. He wasn't imagining things. Smokey really was there, just a short distance in front of him. Somewhat instinctively, Doc slowed down as Lightning blew past him with Cruz right behind. Clearly Lightning wasn't expecting anyone to be there either, as he had to screech to a halt to avoid slamming into Smokey. Doc knew having Smokey help Lightning was his purpose for bringing the kid here, and yet Doc hung back, still not ready to face him. It wasn't until a few years ago that Doc had decided to write to Smokey, his first communication with him in 50 years. Smokey, to his credit, actually wrote back. However, correspondence was a lot different from a meeting in person. Their letters never really went into how Doc left things or any of the more painful aspects of their shared past. Who knew how Smokey would react? He knew he couldn't delay this any further. Doc steeled himself and went over to where Smokey was talking to Lightning & Cruz. Smokey looked at him and although he couldn't quite tell what Smokey was thinking, Doc saw no animosity in his expression.

"How're ya doin, Smokey?" Doc asked, finding the courage to speak first.