First off, thank you to all of my reviewers on chapter 1 of this. I hope you share it with your friends as wel

Second, I don't own Cars, or a '51 Hudson Hornet (I sure wish I had one, though.)


- 2. She Came Upon A Midnight Clear -

For a minute, she just stared at him. Then her head caught up with her.

"Um...y-yeah. I-I mean yes, Officer. Uh..." What did she want first? A tow? A phone call? A jumpstart? Honestly, she didn't even know if she COULD be jumpstarted. And anyway, she didn't have any cables. "...where am I?"

"A long way from home," the police cruiser said, spying her Illinois plates, "You're in Carborator County, Arizona."

"Oh. Okay, next question. Is there any chance you could get someone out here to tow me to a service shop or a motel with a phone?" The cruiser nodded.

"It's not too far to town, I'll go get Mater and have him bring you in. I'm Sheriff, by the way." Without waiting for her to reply, Sheriff headed back he way he'd come and she was alone once more.

A few minutes later, he returned with the rustiest, most beat-up old tow truck she'd ever seen. He only had one headlight and she couldn't even tell what color he was. But he had a somewhat goofy grin that seemed to be permanently plastered on his face.

"Good evenin' miss. Mah name's Mater. Y'know, like 'tuh-mater'. But witout da 'tuh'." He had a very heavy accent.

"I'm Marina Stryder." Mater backed up and hooked her with his tow line.

"Take her into Doc's. And for the love of Chrysler, drive slow." Sheriff instructed. Marina smiled as he went on ahead and Mater towed her after him.

He brought her into a tiny little town that seemed to have less residents than half a floor of her old apartment building. As Mater drove, she saw a motel (the "Cozy Cone" according to its sign), a gas station, a tire store, and a number of other little shops. At the very end, before the road turned, she saw a courthouse flanked by a fire station on one side of the road and a police station on the other. She took note of a much newer-looking building, but she couldn't read its sign in the dark. Mater suddenly turned and brought her into a tiny medical clinic. He pulled her onto the lift and released her, without turning on the lights.

"Sheriff's gone to get Doc for ya. He'll fix ye right up, Miss M'rina." Mater said as he pulled out.

"Thank you." Marina called after him.

She didn't have to wait long before another car pulled in. The lights flicked on to reveal...

A cobalt blue copy of her.

He was the exact same make, model, and year as she was. Both were coupes, too, she noted.

"Good evening, Miss Stryder," the blue Hornet said, "I'm Doc Hudson. Sheriff told me you broke down just inside the county line." Doc Hudson. Why did that name seem familiar? Where had she heard it before?

"Mind if I take a look?" he asked.

"No, go ahead. And please, just call me Marina. I'm not nearly old enough to be a miss." Doc nodded as she popped her hood.

"You a racecar?" he asked.

"No. I mean, my make and model is, but I've never even been to a racetrack. I did kinda race outta Chicago, though." She laughed, "My parents were the race fans. Their favorite was always The Fabulous Hudson Hornet-" Her eyes widened as she remembered the news report where she'd heard his name, "Holy crow, that's you! You're THE Hudson Hornet! Wow, of all the places I could break down." Doc stared at her, amazed.

"How did you figure that out just from my name?" he asked.

"One of those late night talk shows. Some racecar was talking about you being his crew chief and he called you Doc Hudson. It clicked when you told me your name and asked if I was a racecar." she answered, "I didn't realize you were a doctor too." Doc nodded and got to work on her engine.

"I shouldn't be surprised by now that almost everyone who's anyone knows about that." Doc said.

"Well, it was at one of your races that my parents met, thanks to a ticket office screwup that ended up with their seats next to each other instead of the dates they'd originally gone with. It worked out, because they ended up together and so did their dates. You won that race too."

"I see. I asked because your engine is perfectly designed for racing. It happens sometimes when a child is born a racecar make and model." Doc explained.

"Well how 'bout that. This is the first time I actually drove at a racecar's speed. Can you fix it?" she asked.

"I did," Doc said, "but I'd like to keep you in town for a day, just to make sure nothing else is wrong."

"Keep me as long as you need to, Doctor. I didn't have any specific destination in mind when I left Chicago. Figured I'd just drive and drive and see where I ended up." Doc smiled at her.

"You sound a lot like someone else I know. Someone who did the exact same thing."

"Who?" Marina looked at the blue Hornet as he let her down from the lift.

"Me." he said.


He'd sent her to the local gas station, Flo's V8 Cafe, to get some fresh fuel and oil. Doc watched the black Hornet as she slowly pulled into the station. When the lights didn't hit her, she was nearly invisible. Just like him, and just like McQueen, she had appeared out of the shadow of night, right where she needed to be. He found himself wondering how long she would stay, and what kind of person she would turn out to be. After all, it had only taken a week for McQueen to do a complete 180 and turn his personality around. Sure, other racers at the tracks would ask Doc for hints and tips, but McQueen was the only one who actually appreciated what the old car taught him and put it to use in his own racing. And it was paying off. McQueen was leading in the points, with that no-good Chick Hicks far behind him in second.

He decided he'd have McQueen meet Marina tomorrow. Right now, he decided to do just what he knew the red racer was doing.

Sleeping.


Marina drove slowly into the station, where a turquoise show car greeted her.

"You must be Marina." the show car said, "I'm Flo. Doc called over and said you could use somethin' to drink."

"Yes, but I don't have a way to pay right now." Flo waved her off.

"It's doctor's orders, honey, so it's on the house. Come on in." Marina followed her into the circular building that served as the kitchen for the cafe. Flo quickly threw something together and pushed the can over to Marina, who took it gratefully.

"I don't know what this is, but it's delicious. Thank you." Marina said.

"Not a problem, hon." Flo smiled, "You got a place to stay?"

"Yeah, Doc wants me to stay at the clinic for the night. So he can keep an eye on me." Flo nodded.

"That sounds like ol' Doc. Always overprotective of his patients." The show car laughed to herself.

"He's a doctor. I like my doctors to be overprotective of their patients. It means they care more about me than their paycheck." Marina said.

"What paycheck? Doc won't take one. From anybody." Flo said. That surprised Marina. She'd never heard of anyone refusing to get paid for their job.

"Really? Why not?"

"He says he doesn't need it, that any service we provide him is his payment, be it my fuel or Luigi's tires or a paint job from Ramone. He says he does the job because it makes him happy." Flo said, "All we know is that he's stubborn as a Mule. Although Lightning McQueen sneaks money into his bank accounts behind his back." She snickered, then noticed Marina's blank stare. "Oh, I'm sorry. You don't know anyone I was just talking about. Don't worry, you'll meet them tomorrow. They all come here for breakfast around seven, before their stores open for the day. I'm sure Doc'll wake you up. Speaking of which, you're probably tired. I'll let you get back to Doc's and rest."

"Thanks Flo. Again, that was delicious. What was it?"

"A master cook never reveals her secrets." Flo said with a grin. Marina smiled and left the station. Doc had left the door open for her, and as she entered, she saw him asleep behind a desk. She moved onto the lift as quietly as she could, so as not to wake him, was was soon asleep herself.