A/N: Warning: this chapter contains disturbing images/themes that may unsettle some readers. Reader discretion is advised, and you are welcome to skip this chapter and go on to the next one.

John and Paula

"Come on, Paula. Just breathe."

"Mantenere la calma."

"Guido says to stay calm."

"YOU TRY PUSHING A BABY OUT AND THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT STAYING CALM!"

Luigi and Guido jumped, but Doc just rolled his eyes. "Luigi, why don't you wait outside with everyone else?" Doc suggested. "Guido can help me when the time comes."

"Okay!" Luigi hurried out before Paula could shout at him again. He found the rest of the townsfolk waiting outside the clinic, anxious for word on Paula's condition.

"Is she okay?" John demanded, his dark blue eyes settled into a glare.

"She is-a still in labor." Luigi said. "That is all I know."

John growled in frustration, running his fingers through his mop of mud-colored brown hair. "I still say we should've taken her to another clinic. A human doctor should be delivering my child."

"John, Doc is the only doctor within a hundred miles, maybe more." Sheriff reasoned. "The longer Paula went without medical attention, the harder this would've been. Jus' be patient." John sighed, but didn't say another word.

Paula panted heavily, sweat dotted across her forehead until Guido could come up and place a cool rag on her tanned skin. Her light brunette hair had been pulled into a ponytail, but wisps of her hair came loose and some of it hung in her face. Her pretty hazel eyes held a mix of pain and gratefulness as Guido patted her comfortingly on the shoulder. She felt another contraction, and she grunted in pain.

"Easy, Paula, easy." Doc said soothingly.

"Ford in heaven I'm never having another child." Paula groaned.

Doc smirked. "Ya can't have another until you get this one out. Now focus on your breathing and I'll tell you when to push."

Paula nodded, closing her eyes and forcing herself to breathe somewhat normally. "Is everything going all right?"

"Doesn't look like it'll be a C-Section, if that's what you mean." Doc chuckled.

Paula chuckled softly. "Shut up, Doc."

The labor ended up lasting for another hour before Doc gave the word, and a couple painful pushes later Guido placed a wailing little baby on Doc's hood. Guido cut the umbilical cord and hurriedly ran to get a towel and a blanket. Paula thought she would pass out, but she kept unconsciousness at bay as Doc came around with a little yellow bundle on his hood.

"Well done, Paula." Doc said, allowing the woman to take her child. "You got yourself a healthy little girl."

Paula cradled her child in her arms, happy tears welling up in her eyes as she stared at the baby. This was her baby. It was her little girl. "Oh Doc. She's so beautiful."

"She'll take after her mother, I'm sure." Doc said. He dismissed Guido and drove to the front door of the clinic. "John? Mr. and Mrs. Davidson? Care to come with me?" The three humans followed Doc into the clinic and back towards the delivery room. Paula's parents came to one side of the bed and cooed softly at the sight of their new granddaughter. John came to the other side of the bed and took a look at his daughter. The tiny baby slept peacefully, swaddled in her blanket and close to the warmth of her mother. John smiled softly, carefully reaching out and caressing the baby's tiny head in his own lager hand.

Doc watched the scene with a smile. But he paid careful attention to John's reaction. The genuine smile on John's face made Doc relax ever so slightly, but he knew this was just the calm before a series of storms. John often had conversations with Paula about moving away from Radiator Springs, and it was a wonder Paula's patience hadn't run out. With the arrival of their daughter, Doc knew John would get a renewed vigor to fight for them leaving.

Please, boy. Doc prayed. Please just don't do anything foolish.

If Paula thought she was rather spoiled as a child, she certainly felt like a queen with everyone in town taking care of her. She tried to walk as much as she could, but if she didn't do it discretely enough then one of the residents would hurry over with a chair and insist that she sit down. Her baby bump became more and more pronounced, and Doc was happy to report that the child seemed to be developing healthily. It greatly pleased the soon-to-be parents, who spent their days redecorating the guest room of their house for the baby and thinking about names.

Of course, with the baby coming, John found a new reason to argue his position of leaving Radiator Springs.

"I'm just worried about the kid growing up in a town like this." John said as he fixed lunch for himself and Paula. "The only interaction he/she will get is going to be with the people who live here. Will that be enough?"

"I am confident in it." Paula said assuredly. "Besides, the townsfolk keep telling me how they can't wait for the baby to get here to they can help take care of him/her."

"And you're not at all worried that the kid will be deprived at all?" John asked.

"Not with this family." Paula assured. "He or she will have everything they could want and more." John seemed to accept this, or at least let it go for now.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Radiator Springs residents met at Flo's café to talk about the soon-to-be parents. Paula's parents were with Paula and John, helping care for their pregnant daughter. But the rest of the townsfolk noticed something a bit disturbing about John's behavior.

"He's gotten so temperamental lately." Sarge noted. "It's like every little thing makes him angry."

"Paula could do better." Lizzie admitted.

"He's been talking to her about moving again." Flo pointed out. "I'm startin' to wonder why the boy moved here if he don't like small towns."

"He was in love with Paula." Fillmore said. "He's still in love with Paula. If anything, he might just be trying to make it work for her sake."

"I'm not so sure, man." Ramone said. "I'm getting worried for Paula. What if she's not safe with him?"

"Why wouldn't she-a be?" Luigi asked. "John may-a have a temper, but he would not-a hurt Paula, right?"

"I don' like John much." Mater admitted. "He ain't very nice."

"But we all know John would never lay a hand on Paula." Sheriff said firmly. "He knows what we'd all do to him if he did." The residents murmured in agreement. They made it clear to John a long time ago that, if he ever harmed Paula in even the smallest way, there would be hell to pay. He wouldn't hurt her knowing that.

Only Doc knew differently, not really paying attention to the conversation happening around him. He knew the real reason Paula became pregnant. He was a doctor, after all. Paula didn't need to tell him in order for the Hornet to know the truth. But Doc hadn't told anyone. As he deduced months ago when Paula announced her pregnancy, Doc knew nothing good could come from telling anyone. It would potentially cause further psychological damage to Paula, and she didn't need that when she was about to have a baby and start a family.

I would've done anything to protect you, Paula. Doc thought, leaving his drink untouched. I only wish I had known sooner so I could've stopped it.

John did everything he could to keep his past from catching up to him. He swore when he moved to Radiator Springs that he would leave behind who he used to be and become a better man. Yet, despite his best efforts, it seemed his temper kept flaring. To the townsfolk, John seemed to grow angrier and angrier with every passing month. But he never talked to any of them, so they could only speculate what caused him to be so frustrated. Maybe it was because he and Paula still couldn't conceive. Maybe it was because he was trying to find a job yet couldn't find anything within driving distance of town. The residents learned to just let John do his thing, since he often found ways to calm himself down.

But he actually started fighting with Paula. They would get into verbal arguments now and then, mostly revolved around leaving Radiator Springs to find a new, better place to live. Paula's devotion to her family would not waver.

"If you really want to leave, John, I won't stop you." Paula told him one night as they finished another round of arguing. "I wouldn't want to be the cause of your unhappiness. But if you leave, I won't be comin' with ya. My family, my home, is in Radiator Springs. If stayin' here makes you so angry and sad, then leave. I wouldn't be able to bear it if I caused someone I loved despair."

Those words hit John hard. Paula was willing to sacrifice their marriage, just to make him happy. It was so self-sacrificing, and suddenly he felt selfish. But he only wanted what was best for them.

Besides, he couldn't bear to leave his wife. He was devoted to her from Day One. He loved her with all his heart, and there were so many things to love about her. That's why he married her, after all. Right? Still, what John couldn't see was how unhealthy the relationship became on his side of the spectrum. He didn't see that his devotion was becoming an obsession. He relied on his wife so much that he probably wouldn't be able to leave her even if he wanted to. John clung to Paula like a lifeline, and nothing he could do would force him away from her, even if it meant he had to stay in the "dying town" of Radiator Springs.

Paula and John didn't fight anymore, which came as a relief. Life went on. John and Paula talked about resuming their attempts for a child, but Doc had told them that it was possible Paula would never conceive if she couldn't by now.

That all changed in a single night.

Paula returned to her and John's home weary from the long day. Everyone came together to do a cleanup of their stores, which went well up until Mater's bout of tractor tipping brought in a stampede of tractors. Paula's parents were already home and John went home early to watch the football game, so everyone else worked together to gather up the animals so Mater could herd them home. Soon after, everyone went home. Paula wanted nothing more than to go right to bed, but after locking the front door and dropping off her coat on the hook, she passed the living room and noticed something. Walking into the living room, she noticed the TV still on and showing another football game. Next to the Mason jar John was fixing with some duct tape, a bottle of whisky rested on the coffee table. A little more than half the bottle was already gone. Paula rolled her eyes a little.

He drank during the game again. Paula guessed. John liked to have beers now and then, especially when watching the football game. But whenever he pulled out the big guns (i.e. the whisky), it usually resulted in him getting quite drunk. Paula couldn't remember if this was a new bottle or one already opened, but she could only hope John was already passed out upstairs or else she would have to camp out on the couch to avoid his morning alcohol breath.

As Paula turned around, she jumped when she saw someone right behind her. But she calmed down when she saw it was only John. "You scared me, sweetheart." John didn't answer, his bangs hanging in front of his eyes as he kept his head down. But Paula could tell he was tense. Her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Honey? You all right?"

John was not all right. He had hoped watching the game would take his mind off things, but when that didn't work he became forced to pull out the whisky and just start drinking it straight from the bottle. He was angry. He was angry at everything. Nothing in his life seemed to be going right anymore. He felt disconnected from the rest of the townsfolk; couldn't leave town because Paula wouldn't go; became forced to live in a pathetic excuse of a town where he didn't belong. He couldn't even get Paula to conceive, for Chrysler's sake. Something had to go right in John's life or he would go mad.

Something had to go right.

Paula gasped when John suddenly grabbed her roughly by the front of her dress, shoving her backwards and pushing her onto the couch. He immediately leaped on top of her, sitting on her legs and grabbing the front of her dress. He pulled, tearing off the buttons and ripping open the dress down to the skirt. Paula immediately started screaming for John to stop, but he simply grabbed the duct tape from nearby and slapped a strip of it over her mouth. Keeping her arms pinned and away from her face, John proceeded to tear the rest of the skirt of Paula's dress, roughly forcing her out of her underwear and bra. Then he dropped his own trousers and boxers and threw himself on top of her. Paula screamed, the sound muffled from the duct tape as John began to rape her. The rough, forced sex felt so unnatural as John switched between pinning her limbs down and caressing her body. He kissed every part of her neck and chest, clawing a bit at her flesh.

In a desperate move, Paula pushed up with her hips. It hurt like hell, but it also threw John off-balance and made him topple over to the floor. Paula wanted to rip the tape off her mouth, but she was too concerned with getting out of there and away from her severely drunk husband. She scrambled off the couch, her dress sleeves still hooked onto her arms to make her torn dress fly behind her like a cape. But as she made it around the coffee table, John full-on tackled her to the ground and dragged her back, ripping her dress off and tossing it aside. He flipped her over to her back and threw himself on her again, keeping his poor wife pinned to the carpet as he resumed his act. Tears streamed down Paula's cheeks as she desperately tried to force him off her. She blinked a few times to clear her eyes, and she spied the whisky bottle on the table. Thinking quickly, or maybe not even thinking all through the pain, she grabbed the bottle and smashed it against John's head. John grunted in pain and fell to one side, unconscious before he even hit the ground.

Paula didn't give it another thought. She jumped to her feet and half-ran, half-stumbled up the stairs and to her bedroom. She slammed the door shut and locked it, leaning against the wood and sliding to the floor. With shaking hands, she pulled the duct tape off her mouth so she could let out her sobs. She curled in a ball and hugged her legs, just realizing she still didn't have any clothes on. Shaking from the shock, Paula forced herself to crawl to her bed and climb into it, cocooning herself in the safety of the comforter. She sobbed into the pillow, trying to convince herself that what just happened was only a bad dream.

Even when, deep down, she knew it wasn't.

The next morning, Paula took a shower and scrubbed herself thrice through. Even after doing that and dressing in jeans, a sweater, and her hiking boots, she felt very much violated. Not to mention her nether region still hurt. But she brushed her hair and put on a brave face, ready to pretend nothing happened. She walked downstairs but didn't see John anywhere. The broken remains of the whiskey bottle seemed to have been cleaned up already. So Paula made her way out the door and towards the café to join everyone for breakfast.

It's my own fault. Paula decided as she journeyed down the road. I made him angry. We were trying so hard for another child. He just wanted to try one last time. Although drunk sex probably wasn't the best way to go.

"Mornin' honey!" Flo greeted Paula as she came up.

"We were wondering when you were going to get here." John said, dressed in a fresh shirt and pair of jeans. He had a warm smile on his face, like last night never happened. Paula forced a smile and sat at the same table as her husband, careful to subtly take the chair across from him.

"You sure you don't want coffee or anything?" Flo asked John.

"I told you, Flo." John laughed. "Coffee actually doesn't help with hangovers."

Paula perked up a bit. "Hangover?"

"You're babe there apparently got so drunk he can't remember who won the game last night!" Ramone laughed.

John laughed too. "Well it must've been a good game if I drank so much I passed out!"

"John, one of these days yer gunna wake up with alcohol poisonin' if ya ain't careful." Sheriff sighed.

"I know, I know, Sheriff." John chuckled. "I'll be more careful next time."

Paula analyzed John's tone of voice and body language. He didn't look anything like how he did when he raped her last night. He even combed his hair. It was clear he apparently got so drunk that he didn't remember a thing from last night, not even raping his own wife.

It's for the best. Paula decided as she sipped her coffee. No one else needs to know. We can move on.

Or so she thought. Because a couple weeks after the marital rape, Paula began feeling unwell. She got cramps and stomachaches that often forced her to throw up whatever she ate. There was a strange, painful tingling in her chest. At the urging of her concerned parents, she went to Doc to get checked out.

Paula waited patiently on the cot for Doc to return from taking his tests. When he did, his expression was unreadable. Paula felt her heart rate spike, and fear crept in. "What is it? Is there a problem?"

"I'm afraid so." Doc nodded.

"Can you fix it?" Paula asked worriedly.

"I think so." Doc said. "If my calculations are correct, the problem will be fixed after about nine months."

Paula felt a mix of relief and confusion. Then, something clicked in her head. Nine months…..

Doc smiled broadly. "Congratulations, Paula. But, in all seriousness, I do have some important things for you to start doing, including the addition of some vitamins to your diet. I'll do everything I can to make sure you keep this one, all right?"

Paula could only nod, still in shock as she put her hand over her lower stomach.

She was pregnant.

It took a long time for John to adjust to living in a tiny town. He was from the city, after all. He found it odd that he could stand at one end of the main road and not have to strain to see the other end. But he made up for it with the welcoming atmosphere of the townsfolk and his marriage with his loving wife.

Then, everything changed when the Interstate was constructed.

Several businesses closed, including the place where John had his job. His employer offered for John to come with him to another city so he could keep his job, and John hurried to the home he shared with Paula to tell her. They had the chance to still live a normal life, away from a dying town.

To his surprise, Paula refused.

Though much of the townsfolk decided to leave to find work elsewhere, the original residents (and the ones Paula knew best) were staying out of loyalty to their home, their town. So Paula declared to them and to her parents that she would stay as well.

John wasn't expecting this reaction, and he tried to convince his beloved wife that they needed to take the second option. "If I lose this job, how will I provide for us and our future family?"

Paula smiled and gently caressed his cheek soothingly. "Honey, you don't need to put that responsibility on your shoulders. I can still work at the café, and we don't really have a future family yet anyway."

John shifted a bit, still nervous. "But I—"

"Oh please don't tell me you're one of those traditional men." Paula laughed softly. "John, we'll be fine."

John finally smiled a little. "I'll try and remember that. I just worry."

"You always do." Paula sighed, the two of them sharing a warm embrace. "But this is where we belong. We have a home here, and people who care about us."

John sighed. "I guess that's all we really need, huh?"

So John told his boss he would be staying in Radiator Springs. Soon, only a handful of residents remained. But John was happy as long as he was with Paula. Besides, now they could put a little more time into planning for the next chapter of their lives: having a child. They both decided after they were married that they wanted a little boy or girl of their very own, but after several years of failed attempts and a miscarriage, it was starting to seem like they were destined to never have a child.

Paula encouraged John to never give up, making him promise to keep his chin up.

Paula knew she was a pretty girl.

Of course, that's what her daddy always told her. But she would always either say "Thank you!" in a cute way or blush madly and say "Daddy, stop it!" She never realized that, as she got older, other people would start recognizing her prettiness. She worked as a waitress in the human dining area of Flo's café, taking orders and bringing them to customers. Oftentimes, she would get wolf whistles and cat calls from some of the more boorish and vulgar men who came to the café. But Paula paid them no heed; Flo taught her to be sassy, and her parents taught her to be respectable. Any man who tried to touch something they shouldn't often earned a smack.

Either from Paula's hand or from the tray she carried.

Now, Paula had met many a kind of customer in Flo's café, but the young man she met today seemed very different. He wore ratty jeans and sneakers, a worn-out black shirt, and a black faux leather jacket. He seemed like a biker, but the way he stared at everything around him curiously showed he was more like a boy in a man's body. He sat at the stools and bar-like area near the kitchen, fiddling with a flower in a vase near him.

"Hey there, shugah." Paula greeted the man as she poured him some water. "My name's Paula and I'll be your server today."

The man nodded in greeting. "Name's John." He took a look around. "And it seems like you're the only server today."

Paula smirked. "Oh, someone's got a sense of humor. For your information, my mother is currently in the kitchen." She flipped open her notebook. "Can I start you off with something to drink?"

"Just the water is fine." John shrugged. "I'll need another minute to look at the menu."

"Can do." Paula nodded, walking off to check on the other customers.

"Hey Davidson!" one of the other men called from across the café. "How about some more water for me an' the boys, huh?" He and his buddies laughed, as though they just heard a good joke. Paula rolled her eyes, reluctantly coming over with the water pitcher. The men she served all wore jeans and T-shirts with the logo of a delivery company on the front. These men often stopped in Radiator Springs on their way to El Paso for pit stops, but Paula secretly wished they would find someplace else or at least stop treating her like a piece of meat to fight over.

"Have you decided what you want to order?" Paula asked.

"That depends. You on the menu?" the same man from before asked. His friends chuckled.

Paula rolled her eyes again. "I'll give you a little more time." She turned to walk off, but suddenly the man stood and grabbed the skirt of her work dress, pulling her back.

"Come on, sweetheart." The man snickered. "I could show you a good time."

"Get off me." Paula ordered, loud enough for her mother to hear in the kitchen. Paula's mother poked her head out and saw the man with his hairy arm around Paula's waist, his other hand reaching for her skirt. Paula reached over to the table nearby and grabbed a fork, ready to plunge it into the man's arm.

Suddenly, someone came up and planted their fist into the man's face, forcing him to let go and sending him crashing into the table. Paula gasped softly, discovering John standing protectively in front of her.

"If the woman tells you to do something, you do it ya bastard!" John shouted.

"Hey, hey!" Everyone turned to the speaker: a police Mercury who poked his front through the door of the café. He glared at the scene. "Somethin' goin' on here?"

"It's nothing, Sheriff." Paula assured. "These nice men were just leavin'." The men looked like they wanted to retort, but between John's furious glare and Sheriff's stern frown, they knew it would be best not to. So they stood and exited the café, Sheriff following to make sure they truly left. Paula nodded to her mother, assuring her the situation was handled. Then she looked to John.

Her hazel eyes locked onto his dark blue ones. John seemed to just notice Paula's hazel eyes that sparkled like topaz gems, her long, light brunette hair the color of the desert sand, and her skin tanned from years of living in the desert environment. She was pretty. In fact, she was beautiful.

John cleared his throat. "Sorry you had to see that."

Paula shrugged. "That's all right. You just went a little easy on him. I was gonna stick a fork into him."

John laughed. He full-on laughed, something he hadn't done in a long time. At that moment, he knew he wanted to do what he could to stay in the company of this woman.

He stayed in the Cozy Cone Motel for a while before he finally found a house to live in. It wasn't much, but it gave him a roof over his head, kitchen appliances to cook and keep food, and a bed to sleep on; and he could live in Radiator Springs and keep seeing Paula. He got a job in one of the shops, giving him the money he needed for rent and his daily lunch at the café. Paula enjoyed John's visits, the two of them talking whenever they both had time to do it. Paula introduced her family: the entire town of Radiator Springs, who all seemed to like John. In turn, John revealed how he was in jail for a couple years because of multiple accounts of petty theft. But there was no judgement from Paula, who knew John truly did want to start over and make a better life for himself. Hearing her say that, knowing that this woman accepted John for who he was and not what his past labeled him as, made all the difference.

A year of dating later, they decided to get married.

"Hey buddy! We're almost there!"

John Jacobs looked up. "Thanks." He leaned out the side of the flatbed he rested in, the truck giving him a ride heading straight for a small town just ahead. John's dark blue eyes squinted a bit from the kicked up dust, his mud-colored brown hair in a crisp, clean buzz cut. He finally saw the town of Radiator Springs coming up, with a giant mesa behind it. Cars drove in and out of the town, greeting each other happily. The truck John rode in parked at Flo's café, and John thanked him once more before hopping out and stepping towards the edge of the sidewalk.

He looked up and down the road. A tire shop, a clothing store, a doctor's office, a motel, a café, and much more, all packed neatly together in a short stretch of road. There seemed to be very few houses around, and John guessed that only so many people actually lived in the town. All in all, it was just a tiny town.

But it could be the best place for John to start a new life. A better life.

John shrugged a bit. "What do I got to lose?"

John held up the detonator, hovering his thumb over the button.

Sheriff tensed up, panic momentarily sweeping over him. Paula took a step back. Sheriff kept his body prepared to move but still calm. "John, don't do this. Please."

John shook his head, his mud-colored hair hanging in his eyes. "You're gonna die here, Sheriff. See you in hell."

Paula turned and threw the comforter she held to one side.

John pressed the button.

Sheriff reversed and ducked behind a corner a split-second before—

BOOM!

Outside the house, the Radiator Springs residents flinched from the loud explosion and their eyes widened at the sight of the flames that engulfed the house. Mater's eyes widened so much they seemed to almost pop out of his windshield, remembering that someone he cared about very much was still in there.

"SHERIFF!"

A/N: In case it was confusing, this story was in reverse chronological order (with the exception of the last part with John blowing up the house).

Yeah, so that's John and Paula's story. Kinda sad, huh? And yet, from tragedy came their beautiful, strong daughter.