Woo! Two chapters in a night. Hopefully I will have time to get another chapter written, or at least started, tomorrow after school. Comments, critique, constructive criticism, and any reviews are welcome! Enjoooy! :)

Strip Weathers made sure he was at the Wheel Well before Sheriff, because Lynda would have a tractor if he didn't explain his plan quickly. He returned the stares of passing cars with smiles and friendly greetings like, "Afternoon!" By now, he was used to the glances he received and the excited whispers, which didn't faze him as much as they had in the past.

He pulled up to the Wheel Well, stopping short as a disgruntled Chick sped out from the restaurant. A frown crossed his grill slightly as he watched the car disappear around the bend that led into the shadows of the rock faces, before he simply shook his hood and drove in to meet Lynda. She was looking out the entrance, apparently after Chick, and when she spotted Strip, she sighed.

"Did somethin' happen?" Strip questioned, pulling up beside her.

"I think things are finally gettin' to him," Lynda replied, kissing her husband in greeting.

"After seven years, you'd think it would have happened sooner," King replied, his rust colored eyes concerned. His wife simply nodded, which he took as the cue to change the subject. "Well, he'll figure things out, I'm sure. Anyway." The Plymouth paused. How was he to go about breaking this to Lynda? He had to do it quickly. "So, you remember how we set up that little hunt for JR?"

"Mhmm."

Strip smiled at the waiter and sent him away without ordering anything, the momentary distraction eating away his time. "We're still waitin' for someone, thanks." He turned back to Lynda. "Well, I threw something in last minute, thinkin' it would make it a lil' more interesting."

Lynda looked at her husband cautiously. "Okay, go ahead."

"Now don't worry, JR's gonna make it up here in time for lunch, but-"

"Strip, what did you do?"

"What makes you think I did somethin'?"

"You're always doin' somethin'. I know you."

Strip sat back on his tires, hiding a slight smile as he quickly mustered up a brave expression. "I had the sheriff arrest JR as a kind of joke, so he's-"

"You did what?" Her voice went up a notch as she stared at him, completely unbelieving. "You didn't..."

"I did," he said quickly, trying to continue, "So she doesn't know the sheriff is bringing her up here, but it wasn't a real arrest or anythin', Lynda, so don't worry. Like I said, she's still gonna make it up here in time to have lunch with us."

Lynda inhaled and exhaled slowly, staring up at her husband with the look. Strip chuckled sheepishly, trying to deflect the look, but he knew he was going to be in trouble later. He looked past her, wishing that the sheriff would hurry up and pull into the Wheel Well. He cleared his windpipe, gazing back down at her, and she simply shook her hood.

"We're going to talk about this later, Strip Weathers," Lynda said sternly, casting her eyes to the entrance of the restaurant just in time to see the sheriff pulling up and dropping off Georgia. She looked a little shaken, but for the most part surprise tainted her expression. She paused outside, exchanging a few words with Sheriff, who had a smile on his grill. Neither of the Weathers couple could hear what they were saying, although they guessed at it when relief washed over their daughter's countenance.

Lynda shot her husband a glance that said, 'You're not squirming your way out of this one.' Then she drove over to meet Georgia, who was driving into the Wheel Well restaurant. "It's so good to see you, sugar," Lynda greeted, her smile stretching all the way across her grill. Her eyes softened as she looked at her daughter, who she couldn't believe was all grown up, right before her eyes. "It means a lot that you came out all this way to see us." She nuzzled her daughter affectionately.

Georgia's smile radiated as she parked in front of her mother. "It's great to see you, too, Mama." Mama. The word sounded so foreign, but it rolled off her tongue and felt right when she said it. It had been so long since she had spoken to her mother in person. Lynda looked a lot older now, yet one thing Georgia noticed was that her eyes hadn't lost their shine. They were still as youthful and as pretty as she remembered them from her childhood.

Lynda paused a moment to take it in, before reversing to let Georgia get past to see Strip. The baby blue Plymouth sat back on his tires, his smile slighter and less pronounced than his wife's, but his eyes said it all. Georgia drove up to him, a freight train of emotions running through her mind. How many times had she driven up to her father with excitement? With disappointment and disgrace? So many. She had lost count. She felt the fresh emotions stirring in her engine, the happiness, the excitement, the disappointment, and most of all, the fear that he would be disappointed in her.

That had always been her biggest fear, even into adulthood. And it had been so, so long since she had seen him last, that she couldn't keep from wondering if he was proud of her. After all, she thought, things hadn't exactly gone as planned. Her dreams had burned out a long time ago, and she had resigned herself to the same routine, the same life she had lived throughout.

Her thoughts flashed behind her eyes, the worrisome feelings taking hold, despite her hardest attempts to shoo them away. What's wrong with me? I'm not a child anymore; it's silly to think that my own father won't be proud of me... But something inside her quivered like a child, and she thought, What's he got to be proud of? Georgia brushed the thoughts aside, like she always had, and smiled.

Strip saw something hiding in the rusty tones of his daughter's eyes, although he held his tongue. He didn't know what to say to her anyway - she was so much older now, and she had changed so much. He was left speechless, his engine melted at the sight of his little girl all grown up. It reminded him that he was getting old, too, but his years were different than hers.

Georgia parked in front of Strip and stopped, her voice caught for a second. Suddenly the fear was gone, and all she felt was a massive sense of calm, as if her fears really were silly and made no sense. Her smile widened, became sincere, and her eyes softened as she looked up at her father. "Papa," she greeted, feeling a lot like a child. She was taken aback when an adult's voice filled the air - her voice - and not the voice she had spoken with as a young girl.

Strip chuckled, shaking his hood. "There's one thing that hasn't changed, JR," he remarked, his own smile widening.

Lynda sighed, driving up to park beside her husband, happy to see her little family reunited.

The three had a nice lunch, which they spent catching up. Georgia told them about the house, which was beginning to show how many years of life had been put into it. The walls were sturdy, but the panels on the outside were faded, and the windows were sun-kissed to the point that they had a film of golden tainting the shade of the glass. Nothing had lost value - it had all grown older. The sun still poured soft, buttery rays down on the house every morning, and gray clouds still complemented the neighborhood and the trees in autumn.

She told them about her job, which was work that consisted of helping manage the local race track. She had grown up around and inside the racing world, so it was natural for her to be involved in it all still. It kept her engaged and took care of everything she needed, so it was good.

Her parents talked about retirement, living in Radiator Springs, and how every day was different and there was never a dull moment. Georgia was happy that they were happy; it eased her mind to know that they were safe and sound in Radiator Springs. Strip reminisced on his career and living in the town allowed him to be up close to the racing world without having to take time away from the family and friends.

"I saw Chick Hicks' trailer earlier," Georgia remarked, looking between her parents as they were finishing up. "His HQ isn't here, is it?"

"Nah," Strip said, shaking his hood. "Who knows why he's out here? Probably to scout out McQueen's moves. He's done it before."

"Wouldn't surprise you?" she questioned, an eyelid rising. She couldn't keep the feeling of curiosity down - curiosity about Chick.

"Nope."

"Huh. I ran into him earlier. He was a little disgruntled."

King settled on his tires, his countenance calm. "Somethin's come down in Chick, like he's strugglin' to make his peace."

This struck Georgia. To make his peace? Maybe he feels bad about the wreck... But he doesn't have to be rude to everyone. He doesn't have to act the way he does. She frowned, casting her eyes to the floor thoughtfully. He must be all alone. That must be awful. Chrysler, that must be awful. She shook her hood, sighing slightly. "Tex told me that Chick could have been the new face of Dinoco had he not screwed himself up the way he did."

Strip nodded vehemently, his voice alone agreeing with the statement. "Chick was good at what he did. I remember that boy's first race - he came in second place, and everybody - and I mean everybody - was talkin' about him. Cars had me scared silly. That boy gave me some great competition, and I sure wanted him to come talk to me after my last race. I hated leavin' things the way they were left."

Lynda nodded. "Somethin's got that boy down, sugar. And there ain't anybody there to help him up."

Georgia's engine twisted under her hood. "You think he'll get through it?"

"I think so," Strip said after a while. "Everybody has ups and downs. Sometimes there are cars who have more than their fair share of downs. Think about hills and valleys, JR. Remember what I told you when you were a lil' girl?"

"Yes. Hills are the ups and valleys are the downs, and sometimes some cars spend more time in the valley than they do on top of the hill," Georgia replied, nodding. "You think he's spent more time in the valley?" The thought rang in her ears, and she paused, looking down again.

"I think so," Lynda confirmed. "But I think he's deep in the valley now."