Disclaimer - Pixar owns all the chars used in this. I think Checks Yep, no original characters. Not a one! Wow! Anywho, if you happen to be reading this and are employed by Pixar, please don't sue me. I have no money. And you can't kick a dead horse and make him go. But read it anyway!
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"Doc!"
Doc gave a slight flinch as the sound of Lightning suddenly bursting into his office actually startled him badly enough that he dropped the tool that he had been putting away. It fell to the floor with a clatter, causing the aging car to whip around and glare at the younger racer, who at least had the decency to look sheepish.
"Sorry Doc... Didn't mean to scare ya..."
Doc gave a soft snort and nodded quietly. "It's alright Lightning. What did you want?"
"I was gonna ask you to help me practice... The start of the new season isn't that far away you know..."
Doc nodded slowly and glanced back at work space with a frown. Sheriff's appointment was several hours off yet. He had time.
"Alright Lightning. Very well. Lead the way and we'll go work on that turn you've been having so much trouble with."
Lightning grinned and nodded, pulling quickly out of the clinic and heading off down the street at a fast click. Doc shook his grill a bit, a soft chuckle leaving him as he quietly put the fallen tool away. Thus far Sheriff hadn't done anything to retaliate or cause either of them to miss the appointment that afternoon. However, that in no way meant that Doc was letting his guard down. Sheriff was a smart one and he had no doubt that the old cruiser had something up his drive shaft...
If that old cruiser thought Doc was convinced this little battle of wits was over, he had another thing coming...
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So far so good. He had to admit, Lightning made a damn good accomplice... He could be convincing. Though it also probably helped that Lightning really had wanted Doc to help him with that turn...
Sheriff smirked as he watched the two roll out of town from the safety of the station. Once the two had disappeared out towards the butte Sheriff moved in. Silently he slipped his way down the street, dodging the tricky task of actually having the speak to the others of town as he made his way down to the clinic.
He knocked lightly on the door, to make certain the clinic really was empty before pushing it open and creeping inside.
As he knew it wold be, the clinic was quiet and dark, just as Doc had left it. With a smirk he quickly moved in, getting to work. If all went according to plan... He should very well get one up on the old race car again...
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"Alright Lightning. Finish up that lap and pack it in." Doc called, attempting spot the young sports car through the cloud of dust that had nearly overtaken the surrounding area.
Lightning came around the final turn at a quick pace, putting on the breaks only after he had crossed the 'finish line' and turning so that he could approach Doc again.
"How was that Doc?"
"Good. Very good. You're getting better with those turns. Dirt turns are tricky, so if you can master those you'll be able to master most race tracks, no matter the conditions or the surface. You already noted how it came in handy at the Piston Cup."
Lightning smiled and nodded happily to that, as he rolled up alongside Doc.
"So Lightning, mind if I ask you something?"
Lightning looked a bit surprised as he cast his glance over to Doc and nodded.
"Just what is Sheriff offering for your services today?"
Lightning gave a hard swallow and forced an innocent looking smile. "Doc I don't know what you're talking about.
To that Doc simply chuckled and shrugged. "Very well Lightning. Don't tell me. I'll find out soon enough."
Lightning gave a nervous little nod as Doc headed off down the street towards the clinic. If all went well it wouldn't matter... He had more or less backed Sheriff into a wall. The old patrol car wouldn't have much he could do with what had been provided. Doc wouldn't let himself fall into the trap of being arrested again. Sheriff also wouldn't be able to do anything to public considering the guilt trip Doc had put him on. It seemed things were turning out. He felt he could take whatever it was Sheriff wanted to dish out.
As he pulled up to the clinic there was a surprise waiting for him in the form of Sheriff. The patrol car parked patiently infront of the clinic, a quick nod given as Doc pulled up. Something wasn't right here...
"Afternoon Doc."
"Sheriff... Fancy seeing you here. You're appointment isn't for another hour."
"Yeah, I wasn't busy this afternoon so I thought I might go ahead and get it over with if you have an opening." Sheriff offered with a shrug.
Doc frowned in suspicion but nodded slowly. "I'm free this afternoon but for your appointment so that sounds like a good idea." Doc offered nudging the door open with a tire. "After you."
Sheriff only smiled at that and gave a quick nod, quietly rolling his way into the clinic. "So how's your day been Doc?" He asked, making light conversation as he pulled into the clinic with Doc right behind him.
"It's been alright. Helped Lightning with a difficult turn. He's pretty much got it now." Doc mused softly, watching as Sheriff put himself into park.
"Alright... So lets start this..." Doc mused slowly, still watching Sheriff out of the corner of his eye as he went through the preliminary questions that built up to the exam. Any pain? Feeling any different? Anything you should be telling me about that you're not?
It was all very standard. Check tire treads and paint wear, which as he already knew would be fine after that little feather and chicken fiasco... Sheriff's paint job had been entirely redone by Ramone. Therefore he really didn't expect to have to remind Sheriff to get his paint redone to avoid rust spots...
"There been any problems that you've noticed?" Doc questioned softly as he silently circled Sheriff, checking for rest and normal wear and tear to his frame.
"Nope. Everything's fine."
"That knock in your engine hasn't come back?" Doc questioned, still a little suspicious as he came around to face sheriff once more.
"Nah, you fixed it up just fine the last time Doc."
Again Doc nodded slowly. "What about that burning that happened at high speeds?"
"It hasn't come back. My coolant has been holdin' out to. Haven't overheated in a long time."
"Good, good..." Doc muttered and silently nodded towards the lift. "Alright Sheriff, get on the lift and lets take a look at ya..."
Sheriff nodded and much to Doc's surprise, quietly rolled forward. In all honesty he fully believed that the lift was the part Sheriff had a problem with. The part that most cars had a problem with as a matter of fact. No vehicle liked the feeling of being held up and so helpless while a doctor was poking around underneath them.
However, most simply dealt with it and didn't avoid exams like Sheriff almost seemed to take a joy in doing so where he was concerned...
However, at the moment he was entirely cooperative. That alone was a reason of concern where Doc was concerned...
Doc half expected Sheriff to pull something even once he was into place and he had switched the lever to slowly lift the car up. Sheriff shifted a bit in obvious discomfort as his wheels left the ground but otherwise didn't react... It was almost enough to lull the doctor into the security that his patient for once wasn't going to pull anything. Maybe he had actually managed to guilt trip the other car into behaving...
Doc gave a thoughtful little hum on that note and quietly made his way over to the cabinets where he stored most of his interments and other tools... So far it looked as if he was actually going to get through one more year. Difficult to even believe really.
"Alright Sheriff I'm just going to take a look at your undercarriage and run a few tests and then-" He froze mid-sentence and stared at the drawers where his tools were kept with a certain level of shock. That was just... Wrong...
Superglue.
Every single one of his tools had been superglued to the bottom of the drawers. It would take hours to pry them all up!
Slowly Doc's gaze swept around to the innocent looking patrol car.
"Is there a problem Doc?" Sheriff questioned with that wide eyed and innocent look Doc had over the years learned to hate... It meant he was up to something...
Doc remained silent for a moment as he attempted to pry one of his tools up. Nothing...
"It seems... Someone has broken into my clinic... And glued down all of my tools."
Sheriff went a little wide eyed and tilted as much as he could on his frame while up on the lift. "Well who in the world would do that?"
"I don't know..." Doc mused slowly, his eyes narrowed at Sheriff. Guilty until proven innocent as far as he was concerned.
"Doc that there just isn't right. I mean what if you really needed those tools... I can assure you this case will be my top priority. So just let me down and I'll get right on it." Sheriff offered, his voice dripping with that sincere tone he was so good at...
"Ah but what about your exam?" Doc pointed out flatly, not buying into it for a moment.
"Well you can't exactly continue it now can you? I mean all of your tools are glued down. So while you unglue them I'll find you a suspect."
Doc chuckled softly at that.
Sheriff gave the other car a somewhat weary look, tires twitching nervously from the lift. "You gonna let me down or what Doc? If ya can't finish the exam there's no reason for me to be up here..."
Doc shot the Sheriff a wide grin that honestly made the car more than a little nervous.
"Come on Doc, ya lettin' me down?"
Doc simply shook his grill to that. "After your exam Sheriff, and then you can bring me in a suspect."
"But Doc... You don't have the tools." Sheriff pointed out slowly.
Doc only grinned again and shook his grill. "Oh no Sheriff. You see I had a feeling pranksters might make their way into my clinic today. So before I left... I made sure I had a spare set hidden away." He chirped happily, quietly rolling into the other room. He was rather sorry he had been forced to turn away. He imagined Sheriff was looking rather pale at the moment.
"An extra set?" Sheriff blurted out, his tires twitching on the lift. "Where?"
"Where no one would look!" Doc called back from the other room, rummaging through a few things in his personal living apartment off the back of the clinic. After a moment he came back with a metal box which he sat down. Across the side was written in large print Christmas Decorations.
"You keep tools in there..." Sheriff mused slowly, going more and more pale by the moment.
"Mhmm... To detour delinquents from messing with them. Now. Back to your exam..."
In retrospect... He really should have thought of something like that... Sheriff had known Doc for years. He knew how he always thought ahead...
In retrospect he should have thought of the fact that a Doctor would never keep only one set of tools around his clinic.
In retrospect he was thinking the next time his yearly physical came around, he was going to make it a point to be way, way out of town...
Also in retrospect... He was buying Doc a heater. That car had tires like a yeti...
Fin