A/N: Before I start this chapter, I want to thank you all for supporting and loving this story so much! It gives me confidence and really motivates me to write more for you all. If you guys want to add to the Cruz Chronicles (to make the story a little more fun), you can comment a special moment between Lightning and Cruz that you would want to see made into a chapter. They would serve as small intermissions if you will, so comment a moment and I'll try my best to make it happen! Thanks again! :)

Powers of Persuasion

Lightning

He was sure that this was a bad idea. He wanted to convince her not to go, but Sally was as stubborn as a mule! It was a quiet morning in Radiator Springs and everyone was on their way to have a nice breakfast at Wheel Well. Lightning was impatiently waiting for Sally to get ready. Come on Sal. It doesn't take a car that long! If she doesn't hurry up, we'll miss breakfast!

"Alright Stickers! I'm finally ready," she said as she made her way over to the front of the Cozy Cone.

"Yeah finally!" Lightning said as he rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on, I wasn't taking that long," she said as she nudged his side with her tire.

"Whatever you say Sal," he said with a chuckle.

They rode alongside each other, cruising on over to Wheel Well. The drive was peaceful and slow. The picturesque scenery blurred passed them as they drove near the crystal waters. Lightning still wanted to talk Sally out of visiting Cruz. He knew how blunt she could be and he knew that Cruz didn't take kindly to a harsh approach. Sally could see that he was thinking hard about something. She didn't know what, but she didn't hesitate to find out.

"What's got your gears turning?" she said to a disassociated Lightning.

"Huh? Oh nothing, just taking in the beautiful scenery," he said with a nervous laugh.

She raised the eyelashes on her windshield with complete confusion.

"Really."

"Yeah it's really nice!" Oh no, she suspects something. Is it that obvious? Keep cool Lightning.

"Yeah okay," she said in a passive tone.

He was very confused now.

"That's it?" he asked.

"What do you mean? If you don't want to tell me anything I'm not forcing you!" she said with a smile.

That girl and her reverse psychology. No wonder she's such a good lawyer.

"Fine. I just don't think you should-"

"Go to visit Cruz? I knew you would say that."

"So you won't?"

"No, I told you yesterday that I was going to visit her and that's a done deal."

"Come on Sal, you know how sensitive Cruz is."

"I'm starting to think that Cruz is not the only one who's sensitive," she said with a smirk.

"Are you calling me sensitive?"

"Hey if the shoe fits-"

"Come on Sal. I am not sensitive!" he huffed.

"Look at you getting all worked up for nothing."

"Sal, I'm not playing your mind games, alright? I'm not sensitive."

"Whatever you say Sensi- I mean, Stickers."

They both laughed as they made their way to the restaurant.

Cruz

A few hours later...

Bored. Bored, bored, bored, and bored some more. Let's see, I had some burnt toast, some under-cooked eggs, and orange juice with pulp in it! I HATE PULP! I hate it just as much as I hate being in this bed. I can't wait to get out of here! I hope Mr. McQueen convinces the doctor to let me go home today. Remember Cruzie girl, you have to be all smiles when Mr. McQueen gets here. If you go into drama queen mode, he'll definitely worry, and if he worries, you'll be stuck in this hospital forever!

The soft knock at the door caught her attention. She threw the diary to the side and put on the biggest smile she could muster up.

"Come in!" she said with a joyful shout.

"Hello Cruz, how are you feeling?" Sally said as she made her way over to Cruz's bed.

Her big smile faded a bit. Her engine began to speed up and her tires got sweaty. Oh boy my fender is fried now!

Cruz respected Sally simply because she was intimidated by her. She witnessed her put Lightning in his place on several occasions and she certainly knew that nobody could out sass her. Her focused eyes and deadly sarcasm could whip a broken jalopy into shape! The ladies never had a one on one conversation before. If they ever talked, Lightning was usually present. Cruz knew that this situation would go one of two ways: (1) Sally would brutally beat her headlights off and tell her to man up and get better or (2) It would be a pleasant conversation with an exchange of encouraging words. She finally swallowed that big lump in her throat and took a deep breath.

"Oh hey Miss Sally! I'm doing fine," Cruz said with a nervous laugh. "Is Mr. McQueen with you?" she asked, hoping that seeing her mentor's face would calm her nerves.

"Nope. It's just me," Sally said with a smile.

"Oh okay!" Cruz said as she gave a loud, nervous chuckle.

"It's alright Cruz, you don't need to be nervous. I knew that you weren't expecting me."

"Well when you put it that way-"

"I knew that you wanted Lightning to come so you could widen those big brown eyes and flash him with that sunshine smile, only to act like everything is okay. It might work on him, but its definitely not working on me."

Geez! How blunt can this woman be?

"Well I um-"

"Before you say anything else, I want you to know that this is a no nonsense zone. I want you to be honest with me. You can either tell me what's really bothering you or we can stay here all day long. I have time," Sally said with a cunning grin.

Cruz knew that she had to tell Sally the truth: that she felt like a failure in Lightning's eyes. She wanted to prove to him that she is worth his investment. She never meant to ruin his relationship with his girlfriend, get him mocked by the press, and make him worry about her health. All she wanted was a chance to make their relationship count. She longed to make Lightning proud. As she thought about these things she began to cry in front of Sally.

Sally rode over to her bedside and began to console her: "It's alright, let it out," she said as she watched Cruz cry her eyes out.

After the tear fest, Cruz dried her eyes and was finally ready to talk.

"You know, I haven't had an anxiety attack like this since my parents split up. They always told me to dream small or not at all. Everyone in my family, especially my mom, would tell me that the smaller the dream, the safer I would be. Small dreams prevent you from having shattered expectations. When I first met Mr. McQueen, I knew that my dreams were finally coming true. When he became my crew chief, the moment was so surreal! Now it's, it's-" she choked on the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"It's what?" Sally asked, moving closer to Cruz.

Cruz took another deep breath as her tires began to shake. "Well, I think that my dreams are starting to... shatter."

"What makes you think that hun?"

"For one, my racing career is over."

Sally began to laugh uncontrollably. Did she just laugh at me?

"Are you seriously laughing?" Cruz said in a sharp tone.

Sally sighed a breath of relief and wiped the single tear that came from her laughter. "No Cruz, are you serious?"

"I don't get it."

"Cruz how old are you?"

"Like in my mid 20s, why?"

"And you think that your career is ending?!" Sally said as she chuckled again.

"Miss Sally this isn't funny."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh at you. I just think it's crazy that you believe your career is ending because of an accident you had no control over."

"Now you sound like Mr. McQueen," Cruz said as she rolled her eyes.

"Well, he's right! You have your whole life ahead of you. Your career is far from over."

"But I would still be racing right now if it wasn't for my stupid accident. I should've listened to Mr. McQueen. He told me not to race until I was 100% better, but I was so eager to show him that I could handle it. I ended up losing to Jackson Storm of all people! I'm so stupid! I don't know why I-"

"Yup. Keep it up you're doing great!" Sally exclaimed.

Cruz was stopped in her tracks. "Keep doing what?"

"Keep beating yourself up. You're very good at it. It's entertaining to watch actually."

Cruz rolled her eyes again. "I get it Miss Sally. I just don't want Mr. McQueen to be ashamed of me you know?"

"Who told you that?"

"No one had to tell me. The media says it all!"

"Really."

"Yes!"

"Well from what I heard, all your fans are wondering when you are coming back to race. I saw the news this morning and a huge crowd of your fans had a protest rally in front of Chick's studio. Turn on the TV, you'll see."

"What?!" Cruz said as she quickly grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

It was on the Racing Sports Network with Shannon Spokes in front of a massive modern building. There was a crowd of cars surrounding the building holding up multiple signs, some of which read: SHE'S NOT A DRAMA QUEEN! SHE'S THE RACING QUEEN!, LEAVE CRUZ ALONE!, ANXIETY IS A REAL ISSUE!, DON'T BOOST YOUR RATINGS BY DOING ALL YOUR HATING!, STOP CHICK'S PICKS! All of these signs and more danced over the crowds as the camera captured an aerial view of the scene. Fans kept chanting phrases like: LEAVE CRUZ ALONE! or STOP CHICK'S PICKS! The camera then cut to Shannon as she gave the report.

"This is Shannon Spokes, reporting to you live here at Chick's Picks Studios. As you can see and hear, a massive audience of cars are surrounding the building. A few days ago, Chick's Picks host, Chick Hicks made some rude comments about the Piston Cup Champion's anxiety attack. Fans are out here today protesting those remarks and demanding that the television network cancel the show immediately. This is not the only place where fans are holding these rallies. There have been reports of other fans and even some of her competitors filling various race tracks with get well cards and candles, hoping she would recover soon. Here is what one fan had to say:

"I hope Cruz gets better. She is my role model and I know she's gonna kick Jackson's tail light!" Maddy Mcgear said with a radiant smile.

Cruz started crying tears of joy after seeing her fans and colleagues wish her well. Although she appreciated the warm wishes, part of her still felt empty. Her face sunk after thinking about Lightning again. Is he as excited as my fans are, or is he worried about my future as a racer?

Soon enough, Sally caught wind of Cruz's grief stricken face.

"Wow. For a person who has a loving fan base, you don't look too happy," she said referring to Cruz's disappointed look.

"No I am. I appreciate the well wishes, its just that I don't know if Mr.-"

"Oh I get it. You're still worried about Lightning."

"Yes I am. I love my fans and all, but I think I'm afraid of losing Mr. McQueen if I don't recover."

"Cruz let me tell you something: Lightning really cares about you. He loves you as if you were his own daughter! In all my life, I've never seen a car more protective, more defensive, and more caring than he is toward you. He loves you just as much as he loves me, maybe even more."

"No Miss Sally. Mr. McQueen adores you," Cruz said, reassuring Sally.

"I know he does. I'm saying all this to let you know that Lightning is never going to abandon you. He's gonna stick to you like gorilla glue on a broken bumper. And I'm sure if you told him about how you feel, he would tell you the same thing."

"Really? Talk to Mr. McQueen about how much our relationship means to me?" Cruz said in confusion.

Sally chuckled. "Look, he may be a little rough around the edges so to speak, but under all that bravado, he is nothing but a tender little teddy bear."

Cruz laughed so hard she almost choked. "Mr. McQueen? A teddy bear? No way!"

"Oh yeah. Don't tell him that I told you that," Sally said as she winked at Cruz.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me!" Cruz said as she and Sally laughed the afternoon away.