Chapter Four: Gonna Be Okay
Eventually, Lightning did manage to make it back and got a ration of gas, and this time Mater made sure to hook him up before removing the parking boot. The townsfolk went back to their business, finding some entertainment in watching Lightning pave over the new road. Sheriff joined Fillmore and Sarge at Flo's for a can of oil. Red watered some flowers outside of Luigi and Guido's store, the two Italian cars debating over placement of their tires for sale. Lizzie found great entertainment in watching the "sexy hot rod" work. Mater and Harley hung out with Lightning, mostly to keep an eye on him as he worked. Harley knew Doc wouldn't like it if she stayed so close to him, but she figured he couldn't exactly do much when he's hooked up to Bessie. She tried to engage him in a conversation about his racing skills and career, but Lightning seemed less than interested in talking with "an annoying little kid."
Mater tried talking to Lightning, but Lightning clearly wasn't listening, too focused on pulling Bessie along to lay down the asphalt. Harley skated around him, careful to avoid the hot and wet asphalt behind him while jumping over the large cracks in the road, and he could only glare at her in irritation when she got too close. He paused, hearing a strange noise coming from Bessie right before a tar bubble popped and splattered onto his fender. "Aw man, that's just great!"
"What's wrong?" Mater asked as he and Harley rolled up to see what happened.
"My lucky sticker's all dirty." Lightning complained.
"Ah, that ain't nothin'. I'll clean it fer ya." Mater offered, beginning to snort and hack.
"Ew, Mater! That's so gross!" Harley squealed in disgust.
"No, no, no!" Lightning snapped, stopping Mater's attempts to "help." He caught sight of Red nearby. "Hey, you in the red! I could use a little hose down."
Red stared almost fearfully at Lightning for a moment before he grabbed his flowers and quickly reversed away.
"Where's he goin'?" Lightning asked.
"Oh, he's just a little bit shy, and he hates you fer killin' his flowers." Mater explained.
"This is ridiculous!" Lightning groaned. "I'm a precision instrument of speed and aerodynamics."
"You're a what?" Harley asked.
"I'm a very famous racecar!" Lightning snapped.
"You are a real racecar?" Luigi asked as he and Guido came from around the corner.
"Yes, I'm a real racecar!" Lightning confirmed.
Luigi and Guido stared, wide-eyed. "I-a have followed racing my entire life!" Luigi said excitedly.
"Then you know who I am! I'm Lightning McQueen!" Lightning said happily.
"Lightning McQueen?!" Luigi nearly squeaked.
"Yes!" Lightning nodded.
Luigi looked like he would pass out from pure bliss, Guido beginning to bounce on his wheels. "Do you know many Ferraris?"
"No, no, no, they race on the European Circuit." Lightning said. "I'm in the Piston Cup!" He noticed Luigi's and Guido's faces fall to frowns. "What?"
"Luigi follow only the Ferraris." Luigi said, returning to his store with Guido close behind.
Harley giggled. "Don't be too hard on them. They're Italian." She noticed something out of the corner of her eye and saw a liquid dripping from under Bessie. "Hey, take a break for a while. Bessie's leaking somethin' and I gotta fix it. You stay here." She skated off towards the firehouse, where she liked to keep her toolbox. She heard Sally call out "Customers, everyone!" and the brunette giggled. "Oh boy, it starts." She found her way into the firehouse, searching for where she left her toolbox. Customers certainly didn't come through Radiator Springs very often, so it was no wonder everyone was so excited. Harley could never tell why. She only guessed that seeing new people was kind of like hearing Guido speak English; certainly didn't happen enough. Still, Harley tended to stay out of sight whenever potential customers came through town for the sake of staying out of everyone's way. Harley kept searching through the firehouse before Red appeared, cradling his flowers.
"Hey Red." Harley greeted. Red smiled at her. "Hey, have you seen my toolbox anywhere?"
Red looked around before pushing a red, metal toolbox out from behind a stack of spare tires.
"Thanks, Red." Harley said gratefully. She patted the fire truck's front fender, and the large truck gave her a loving nuzzle. Harley looked to the door when she heard Lightning exclaiming in panic. "Oh what's Speed Racer screaming about now?" Harley rolled her eyes, skating out to investigate. She jumped when a minivan nearly ran her over, and she ended up tripping over one of Red's flower tires and hitting the ground.
"Oh my!" a female, lavender-colored van cried, driving closer to Harley. "Van, you almost hit the poor thing! Are you okay, dear?"
"I'm good." Harley nodded, standing up and brushing her shorts off. "I haven't seen you two around. New in town?"
"Just passing through." The green minivan, Van, said albeit hurriedly.
"Well, tell your friends: we're here." Harley said with a small giggle. She began to skate away.
"Dear!" The female minivan called, causing Harley to stop and turn to face her. "Do you live here?"
"Born and raised." Harley nodded.
The two minivans stared at Harley, blinking in surprise. "Geez, no wonder these people are desperate." Van muttered to his wife.
"Van!" The purple minivan scolded. "Well, we best be off. Bye-bye now!"
"Have a pleasant drive!" Harley waved as the two cars turned and drove off.
"I'm just saying, it's a miracle the kid's not in the foster system already." Van said as they drove off.
"Van!" The purple minivan snapped.
Harley stared after them, blinking in confusion. But she only shrugged and returned to Lightning. "All right, hold still and I'll get this leak fixed." Lightning didn't answer, not that Harley really minded. She found only a minor leak in one of Bessie's lines and patched it up easily, moving out from underneath her and skating around to give Lightning the OK. But she blinked in surprise to find his eyes wide and almost panicked. "Hey, you all right?"
Lightning didn't really acknowledge her presence, looking to Mater as the tow truck came up. "Mater, let me get this straight: I can go when this road is done, right?"
"That's what dey done did said." Mater confirmed.
"Okay." Lightning settled down on his axles like a cat ready to pounce. He stared at the orange signs that labeled the end of the construction zone. "Outta my way. I got a road to finish." Lightning began gunning it, hauling Bessie down the road much faster than before. It couldn't have been more than a couple miles an hour, but Mater and Harley still couldn't stop staring in shock.
Doc stared at the x-rays on the wall, taking careful notes of Harley's injuries. While she didn't have anything more serious than bruising, Doc knew it never hurt to double-check. Especially since he took the x-rays in a hurry last night. Harley hadn't stopped sighing, constantly telling her adoptive father she felt fine. But Doc knew better; he knew Harley's healing abilities helped her develop a higher pain tolerance. In fact, her psyche human powers also helped her become a much faster healer for her personal injuries. If she really had broken anything last night, no doubt it would've been half-fixed by now. Even the bruises didn't look too bad. Doc gave a soft chuckle, realizing he may have overreacted. Boy does that girl give a run for my money. He thought. Good thing she's cute. Cute, strong, kind, with a hint of sass. Harley was born a human, but growing up around the townsfolk allowed her to inherit a personality trait from each and every vehicle in Radiator Springs. It relieved Doc to no end how well the residents cared for Harley as much as he did. I've kept my end of the deal. That ain't gonna change as long as I'm still kickin'.
Mater burst through the doors of Doc's clinic, Harley right beside him. "He's done!" the tow truck announced.
Doc had been mostly lost in his thoughts when Mater made the announcement. He blinked in surprise. "Done? After an hour?"
"We use the term 'done' loosely here." Harley warned. Doc finally turned and stared at the pair. Harley sighed and jerked a thumb towards the main road. "You gotta come see for yourself."
Doc followed Mater and Harley outside, and his jaw nearly dropped. Lightning pulling Bessie at full throttle left a bumpy, uneven finish of asphalt several inches thick, looking like someone dumped splotches of black paint across the road.
"Dibs on the first drive on the new road!" Mater cheered. He immediately began driving on it, the uneven surface causing him to almost vibrate and send various pieces of metal on him flying off. Harley, who was once holding onto Mater's tow hook, suddenly tripped for the second time that day. She ended up doing a front flip before landing right on her butt, groaning in pain and irritation. She caught sight of the look on Doc's face, and she felt a pang of sympathy.
Great, I'm hurt again and it's that racer's poor job that did it. Harley groaned, skating after Doc as he and Mater made their way towards Lightning and the rest of the town. That racecar's gonna get tossed through a chop shop if he ain't careful.
"Doc said when I finish, I could go. That was the deal." Lightning's voice said.
"The deal was you fix the road, not make it worse." Doc growled, turning to face Lightning. "Now scrape it off! Start over again."
Lightning smirked. "Hey, look, grandpa, I'm not a bulldozer. I'm a racecar."
Doc feigned impressed, giving a smirk of his own. "Oh-ho-ho-ho, is that right? Then why don't we just have a little race? Me and you." Needless to say, the entire town was shocked by Doc's suggestion. Even Harley was a bit surprised.
Lightning chuckled. "Is that a joke?"
"If you win, you go and I fix the road." Doc proposed. "If I win, you do the road my way."
"I don't mean to be rude here, Doc, but you probably go zero to sixty in, like, what? Three-point-five years?" Lightning scoffed.
"That's actually quite rude." Harley said.
"Well then I reckon you ain't got nothin' to worry about." Doc told Lightning.
Lightning smirked. "You know what, old-timer? That's a wonderful idea. Let's race."
Harley bit back a smirk. Boy, you have no idea what you just got yourself into.
Soon, everyone was parked out at Willie's Butte for the impromptu race between Doc Hudson and Lightning McQueen. The competitors sat at a rope strung loosely between two tires, their makeshift starting line, while the residents rested on the hill next to them to watch. Most of the residents were interested to see what happened, but worried about the bet Doc made. Not that he couldn't fix the road himself, but why would he make such a foolish gamble? Unless of course he could actually be faster than the racecar. Harley sat on the ground closer to the starting line, a little bouncy with excitement. After all, it wasn't everyday she got to see Doc show his stuff. Luigi and Guido had Ferrari flags and decorations, giddy with excitement.
This is gonna be great! Harley could barely hold in her excitement. Doc's gonna leave this guy in the dust!
"Gentlemen!" Sheriff called. "Start your engines!"
Doc clicked his engine up, sputtering a bit before it revved to life. Lightning rolled his eyes as he revved his engine furiously, nearly making Harley deaf. The rest of the residents stared in surprise, clearly impressed by such a powerful engine in the racecar.
"Luigi?" Sheriff called, driving over and parking between Harley and Mater.
Luigi stood out in the middle of the track, leaving space on either side of him for the racers to go. "On your mark, get set, uno for the money, due for the show, tre to get ready, and quattro to….I can't believe it." Luigi could barely finish, he was so excited.
Lightning cast a look towards Doc, briefly wondering what he got himself into, but at the sight of Doc's determined glare aimed at the track, he got focused again.
"Go!" Luigi waved the flag he held.
Lightning took off, leaving a large dust cloud behind him as he sped down the dirt track. The Radiator Springs' residents cheered, impressed, but Sheriff and Harley noticed something seemed to be off. The cheers quieted when the dust settled and they realized what happened: Doc hadn't even moved from the starting line.
"Doc, the flag means go." Luigi said, confused.
"Uh, Doc?" Ramone piped up. "What're you doing, man?"
"Oh dear." Doc sighed. "It would seem I'm off to a poor start. Well, better late than never. Come on, Mater! Might need a little help."
"Uh…..okay." Mater said, driving up to follow Doc.
"You can come too, Harley, if you'd like." Doc added.
Harley blinked. "Uh…..sure….." She stood and skated after them, moving between Doc and Mater.
"You got your tow cable?" Doc asked Mater.
"Well yeah, I always got mah tow cable, why?" Mater asked.
"Oh just in case." Doc said, a sneaky smirk on his lips.
Harley looked to see Lightning coming up on the final turn. "Doc, he's gonna be halfway to California by the time we get to the finish line."
"Just watch." Doc said simply. Harley blinked in surprise, but stared ahead as Lightning shot towards the last turn. But, to her and everyone else's surprise, Lightning's tires skidded across the dirt when he tried to turn and he ended up going right over the edge of the hill and into a small ravine full of cacti. Most of them winced in sympathy, but couldn't help chuckling a bit. Doc, Mater, and Harley rolled up to the edge of the small cliff and stared down at Lightning, who revved his engine hard but couldn't do anything to get him back up to the track again.
He can't turn on dirt. Harley realized. That's why Doc challenged him.
"Hey!" Doc shouted down to Lightning. "Was that floatin' like a Cadillac, or was that stingin' like a Beemer? I'm confused." Mater chuckled and Harley giggled, amused. Doc frowned. "You drive like you fix roads: lousy! Have fun fishin', Mater." Doc drove off, casually making his way over the finish line before leading the cruise back to town. Harley giggled again, watching Mater swing his tow cable around and throw it to hook under Lightning's back axle.
Mater chuckled again. "I'm startin' ta think he knowed you was gonna crash!"
"Thank you, Mater." Lightning droned. "Thank you."
It took Lightning hours to scrape off the pavement. In fact, he was still scraping it off as dusk began to fall over the town. He muttered bitterly, his frustration seeming to give him extra strength as he continued scraping. Ramone, Sarge, Fillmore, Flo, Mater, and Harley watched from Flo's café, seeming amused by the car's work.
"Hey, ése! You need a new paint job, man!" Ramone called.
"No, thank you." Lightning called back.
"How 'bout some organic fuel?" Fillmore offered.
"That freak juice?" Sarge scoffed.
"Pass." Lightning said.
"Whew. Watchin' him work is makin' me thirsty." Flo said with a smile. "Anybody else want somethin' to drink?"
"Nah, not me, Flo. I'm on one of dem dere special diets." Mater said, almost teasingly. "I'm a precisional instrument of speed and aero-matics."
Harley shook her head, watching Lightning work and listening to him mimic her surrogate father. She laughed lightly before standing and skating off to the tool shed behind the clinic. Grabbing a square-bladed shovel, she glided back out to the main road and pulled up beside Lightning. She stabbed her shovel into the pavement, pushing up the pieces of asphalt.
"What the heck are you doing?" Lightning demanded.
"I'm helping you." Harley shrugged. "You know, because you wanna get out of here as fast as possible. Well, the sooner you get this layer scraped off, the sooner you can get back to fixing the road right. So I'll help you with the first step."
"No, just back off." Lightning snapped.
"Oh come on, I don't mind a little hard work." Harley shrugged, pushing up more asphalt.
"I said no, now get away." Lighting demanded, giving Harley a small shove with his tire. "I don't need the help of some stupid little kid."
Harley frowned, glaring at Lightning. "Uh oh. Now he's done it." Sarge murmured, his companions and neighbors nodding in agreement. Harley didn't usually lose her temper, but push her buttons enough and it'll set the girl off quicker than one could blink. Amazingly enough, she usually managed to calm down after a while. But nobody liked her when she was angry.
Then, much to their surprise, Harley suddenly lifted the shovel and slammed the flat of the blade against Lightning's roof. The racecar yelped in pain, glaring at Harley and opening his mouth to shout at her. But the furious look in her eyes silenced him. "I just thought I'd help since I feel sorry for you!" Harley shouted.
"W-what?" Lightning stuttered, dumbfounded by the girl's bout of anger.
"I'm trying to be nice because I know you wanna get out of here." Harley snapped. "I'm sorry; I'm sorry that you have to fix this road that you destroyed in the first place. I just thought I could show a little hospitality since I was raised to be kind to others. I already forgive you for almost killing me your first night here." Lightning opened his mouth to protest that last comment, but Harley held up the shovel threateningly. "And don't even think about denying that. The fact of the matter is you could've seriously hurt someone, someone besides me. I don't hold it against you because you were so freaked out when it happened, but the least you could do is stop acting like a complete and total jackwagon!" With that, Harley stopped a foot and skated off, disappearing around the corner. Lightning stared after her, momentarily stunned before shaking his hood and resuming his work.
That night, Doc and Harley finally made their way home to turn in. As Doc backed up into the clinic and his home, he paused and looked down the road where Lightning still worked under the watchful eye of the Sheriff. Bessie let out another splatter of tar onto Lightning, who immediately began complaining about how much he hated the situation he was in.
Doc chuckled. "Music to the ears."
Harley laughed. "You really are evil." She continued laughing as she joined Doc inside.
Half an hour later, Harley was in her pajamas reading a book on the couch. She glanced out the window now and then, lost in thought. Doc came into the living room several minutes later, announcing it was time for bed.
"Brush your teeth?" Doc asked. Harley breathed on his grill, and he nodded in satisfaction.
"Brush your teeth?" Harley asked. Doc blew air into her face, and she giggled. "Hey, you actually remembered."
"I ain't losin' my teeth anytime soon." Doc assured. He nuzzled Harley lovingly, lightly kissing her head before pressing the button to loft her bed up. "Goodnight, Harley. Love you."
"'Night, Doc." Harley said, snuggling under her blanket. Doc began driving out, but Harley suddenly spoke up. "Hey Doc?"
The cobalt Hudson Hornet paused and turned back towards the girl. "Yeah?"
Harley stared at the ground before locking her crystal blue eyes onto Doc's. "We're gonna be okay, right?"
Doc blinked in surprise, driving closer to the side of Harley's bed. "What do you mean?"
"Us. And the town. Are we gonna be okay?" Harley repeated.
"Of course we are." Doc assured. "What brought this up?"
Harley looked down again. "We had a couple customers drive through town today. I ran into them as they were leaving. I heard them say they were surprised that I wasn't in the foster system already."
"Is that so?" Doc said with a small growl in his tone. How can people be so insensitive? And to say something like that while she was still in earshot.
"Doc, what's a foster system?" Harley asked.
Doc was jolted from his thoughts, and he smiled at Harley. "It's nothing to worry about. You don't belong there."
Harley nodded aimlessly. "So, we're gonna be okay? The town's not in trouble because nobody comes through anymore? I mean, that's what it's always been like, right?"
Doc faltered a bit, but forced a small chuckle. "Harley, you don't need to worry about it. It's grown-up stuff that's so boring you'll be put to sleep if we try and talk about it." Harley giggled, but Doc felt his gut twist into knots. Harley was still only a little girl. She was innocent to the problems of the town; after all, she grew up in an empty town. Doc and the rest of the town agreed to do everything they could to keep Harley happy and innocent. She was just too young to worry about such things.
The cobalt Hornet suddenly noticed Harley was rubbing her blanket nervously. He nudged her bed, getting her attention, and the girl sighed. "Doc, I'm scared. I don't wanna leave Radiator Springs or anyone here. You're my family."
"And nothing is going to change that." Doc assured.
"But Sally said the road being broken would make everyone leave town." Harley said.
"Yeah, but it's getting fixed." Doc reasoned. "Nobody's going anywhere, especially not you."
"You sure?" Harley asked.
"Positive." Doc nodded. "Remember what I promised you? I'll always take care of you, Harley. And you know everyone here cares about you so much they'll never let anything happen to you."
Harley smiled softly. "Thanks, Daddy."
Doc smiled back, sighing. "You know, I like it when you call me that."
"Call you what?" Harley asked.
"When you call me 'Dad' or 'Daddy' instead of 'Doc.'" Doc explained. "I don't particularly mind which one you choose, but whenever you call me 'Dad,' it reminds me of the decision I made so many years ago: the decision to take you in as my daughter. It's a choice that's changed my life for the better, and if I had the chance to do it over again I wouldn't change a thing."
Harley's smile grew, her spirits renewed. She pulled herself to the edge of the bed and wrapped her arms across Doc's hood, sighing happily as the older vehicle nuzzled her lovingly. Harley kissed the Hornet's hood. "I love you, Daddy."
"Love you too, sweetheart." Doc said gently. "Now get some sleep."
Harley nodded, crawling back under her covers. She sighed tiredly, but still smiled as she closed her eyes. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Doc said, shutting off the lights and driving from the room. His face fell a little as he drove to his own room, thinking back to Harley's words. But he shook it off. After all, the town survived for quite a few decades now as they were, so how could things get worse? Doc's promise to Harley was an easy one to keep, simply because the townsfolk would always stick together no matter what happened.