Halie expected her father to give her the same answer that he always told her, but all she saw was surprise in his eyes.

"I know you said that she died in an accident, but I feel there is more than that! I just want to know." She let her eyes drop to the ground.

Doc gave out a sigh. "Well, I guess your old enough to know now." He said.

Halie gave a start. "I am?"

Doc nodded. "Yes. You see Halie, your mother left. She didn't die."

Halie only flinched. If her mother was still alive where was she?

Doc just nuzzled her gently. "You really don't want to know what happened to her."

"Did she leave because of me? Or Harvey?" Halie cried out, tears forming in her eyes.

Doc laughed a bit and then shook his head. "No, of course not! She loved you both more than anything!"

Halie seemed confused. "Then why did she leave?"

Doc looked at her with regret and sighed. "Well it's a very long story."

Halie sat down immediately and looked at her father, her blue eyes wide and open. "So what happened?"

Doc chuckled. "You really want to know?" When Halie nodded, he sat down next to her and began to speak.

"You see, a long time ago, when I was just starting to train for the Piston Cup; I met your mother at a racetrack. Boy, could that girl go fast." Doc said, for a moment seemingly lost in his own memories.

Halie nudged him gently. "Um, and?"

Doc shook himself and continued. "Well, we both had a love for racing and were rookies in the game, so we were almost perfect for each other."

"Almost?" Halie asked.

Doc looked at her and nodded. "Almost. It wasn't until I had been with her for some time I realized what her family had done to her."

Halie flinched. "What…what did they do?"

Doc shook his head. "They gave her an arranged marriage."

Halie looked at her father with confusion. "What is that?"

"An arranged marriage is when your family chooses who you marry."

Halie seemed shocked. "Why?"

Doc sighed. "For many reasons. But she didn't want to marry some car like that. She told me and I felt sorry for her."

Halie's eyes blazed with anger. "I wouldn't even exist if she had married that…that arranged marriage car!"

Doc narrowed his eyes sympathetically and rubbed her hood. It was like a way of comforting her. The anger and worry in Halie's eyes vanished and she looked up at her father, tears in her eyes now.

"What did she do after that?"

"Well, by that time, racing was over for me, so we ran away together." Doc explained.

Halie lifted one windshield. "Oh really?"

Doc looked at her and nodded. "Yes. And we had two lovely children awhile later."

Halie looked at the ground and gulped. "But…?"

"Her parents found out somehow and were looking all over the country for her. She felt it wasn't safe to stay with me anymore, and she didn't want any of the blame to be on me, so she left."

Halie seemed horrified. "Just like that?"

Doc nodded sadly. "And she took you and Harvey with her."

"She did? Why?"

Doc shrugged. "Maybe she though you were safer with her, but not long after Lightning came to stay at our town, I found you guys by the Ornament Valley Gas Station."

"Oh yeah! I remember that." Halie recalled.

"I haven't seen her ever since she left." Doc said sadly.

Halie let her eyes fall to the floor, before pushing herself gently against her father's side, feeling protected for a moment.

Doc nuzzled her back before Halie opened her eyes and asked a question Doc could never answer.

"Will she come back?"