A/N: So this is Part Two, set between Cars and Cars 2. These chapters will be labeled "PC2" in the chapter list (as in Pre-Cars 2). Summary: Things have been going pretty well for Harley since Lightning McQueen moved into Radiator Springs and her life. But nightmares have plagued her dreams lately, all of them forcing her to relive the trauma of the fire that took her house and parents. Although she long since came to terms with their deaths, she yearns for answers on the details of that night. Changes happen, and Harley will need to learn the true power of family to hold onto her happiness.

A Racer, A Father, An Angel

Chapter One: Nightmares

The roar of engines, the feeling of the asphalt beneath his tires, and wind in his face were sensations he would never get tired of. Even as a child, he loved to tear around the cul-de-sac where he used to live. Only now, he was finally settled into a racing career that felt like a dream come true. Ten times better than his time as a rookie. He could only attribute this to the personal journey he took when he arrived in Radiator Springs.

The whole "arrested for destruction of property" thing aside.

"Atta boy!" Doc said into his radio. "You're goin' great, kid. Just keep it up!"

"Ten-four, Doc!" Lightning nodded, picking up speed as he raced around the track.

"You go, Speed Racer!" Harley's excited voice cheered over the radio. Lightning chuckled at the sound of his nickname the young brunette gave him. He glanced over to his pit crew and smiled warmly at the sight of Doc, Harley, Fillmore, Guido, Luigi, and Mack right where they usually stood. Several humans stood by to help. He had considered trying to hire a new pit crew, but not many wanted to work with him despite his change in character. He found Fillmore was knowledgeable about fuel, even if it wasn't his organic stuff; Guido could still change all four of his tires in four seconds flat, with Luigi translating for him; Mack was ever-present, mostly for moral support; Doc proved to be the best crew chief Lightning ever had. As for Harley, the now-fourteen-year-old acted as a personal cheerleader and co-coach under Doc's guidance. Harley never considered herself a typical small-town girl; she never exactly found a reason to leave Radiator Springs, but she had to admit she greatly enjoyed traveling to Lightning's races.

Like today's race, being held in Phoenix, Arizona. Lightning's win today would grant him placement into the Dinoco 400 for the Piston Cup, the third one the stock car could potentially win. Lightning didn't have a problem placing first in this race, but it didn't make the win feel any less amazing. The stock car went straight from the winner's podium to his team, soaking in their cheers and supportive smiles. Harley hugged him, like she usually did, and the two shared warm grins. It seemed hard to believe the two of them didn't get along at first since he almost ran her over. The fourteen-year-old hardly changed her sense of style in terms of clothing, but she began allowing her blue-streaked brunette hair to grow out a bit more so it hung a little past her shoulders. She usually kept it back in a ponytail, like she did today.

"Not bad, Speed Racer." Harley complimented. "Could use some work on your weaving."

"No need to weave when you're always in first place." Lightning countered, making Harley roll her eyes.

"Keep up the confidence, but not the cockiness." Doc said wisely. "We're gonna be increasing the training regime to keep you in shape for the Dinoco race in two weeks."

Lightning sighed. Amazing coach and crew chief he may be, but Doc didn't mess around when it came to racing. Especially training for races. "Yes, Doc. Can we at least go home for the training?"

"Of course." Doc nodded with a smile. "But if I recall correctly, you said you had a party you wanted to go to."

Lightning perked up. "I can go?"

"Behave yourself, but yes." Doc nodded. He barely got out the last word before Lightning said "Thanks Doc!" and sped off. Doc rolled his eyes, chuckling. "We better go wait at the hotel for him. We'll leave tomorrow morning." The rest of the crew agreed, driving off to turn in for the evening. Harley stayed beside her surrogate father, keeping an eye on him. The old Hornet seemed to be doing all right, but lately Harley had been noticing he got tired an awful lot. He brushed it off as losing sleep because of the stress from racing season, promising he would get more sleep when they returned to Radiator Springs. Harley didn't argue with him, noticing he definitely seemed to get better when they returned home from races. She found that lately she couldn't focus on anything really anymore.

"Harley?"

The brunette jumped, realizing Fillmore was calling for her. "Yeah?"

"I was askin' if you wanted me to grab you some tea while I was in the lounge." Fillmore asked.

"I'm good. Thanks." Harley said, as though just realizing they had arrived at the hotel.

Fillmore stared at Harley worriedly, but smiled and drove off. Guido and Luigi joined him as they approached the lounge and found a drinks station. They gave their orders to the young human man behind the counter and waited patiently.

"How is-a our piccolo?" Luigi asked.

Fillmore sighed. "I dunno, man. Doc says she won't talk to anybody about what's goin' on. I'm gettin' worried."

Guido nodded in agreement, murmuring in Italian. "You are right, Guido." Luigi nodded. "She-a needs to talk to someone. But if Doc cannot get her to talk, who can?" It soon became clear they weren't going to get an answer anytime soon, so the three vehicles only sighed and waited patiently for their drinks.

"Harley! Harley, wake up! Harley!"

The brunette gasped deeply as she bolted upright in her bed. Her breathing became labored and erratic, her eyes wild. Doc's gravelly yet soothing tone soon began to calm her down, and she realized she was still in the hotel room. The clock on the nightstand read 1:23 a.m., and she winced a bit before looking sheepishly to Doc resting beside her.

"Sorry." Harley said. "I woke you up again, didn't I?"

"I'm glad you did." Doc assured, despite his lingering exhaustion. "You were thrashin' so much I thought you might hurt yourself."

Harley winced again. Great. Just great.

"You ready to tell me what's going on?" Doc asked, narrowing his eyes a bit at his daughter.

Harley stared at her comforter for a moment before laying down and turning her back to Doc. The Hudson Hornet sighed and returned to his bed, settling down to sleep again. Harley rubbed the sheets of her bed, feeling guilt gnaw at her stomach. She thought back to her nightmare, but remembering the sight of the flames and the sound of those screams made her shiver. How many times had she witnessed this same nightmare or one similar in this past week alone? How long had they been going on, anyway? A couple weeks? A couple months? It was nowhere near the anniversary of the fire that killed her parents, but Harley found she couldn't stop thinking about what happened. She was only four at the time, and mostly asleep during the entire ordeal. She understood her parents were dead and she had accepted that because Doc took her in and the townsfolk made sure she was happy.

Yet, knowing all this, a single question burned in Harley's mind: why did the fire happen?

Harley gave no indication she had a nightmare the night before as everyone prepared to drive back home to Radiator Springs. Lightning had arranged for an area in his trailer to be redesigned for Harley to stay in, complete with a bed for longer trips and a seat with a seatbelt. The stock car kept a close eye on the girl as Mack drove them home. Harley had thought she was doing an all right job hiding her nightmares from the town, but she never knew Doc had told everyone about them. Lightning even witnessed Harley tossing and turning in her sleep during a trip to a race, but could only watch in confusion and fear until Harley woke up on her own. In a panic, Lightning had pretended to be asleep to give Harley the belief she hadn't woken him.

Lightning glanced at the girl as Mack traveled on. The brunette rested on her bed, reading contently. Lightning bit his lower lip and cautiously approached Harley. "Hey, kid."

Harley looked up from her book. "Yeah?"

"How are you doing?" Lightning asked, wanting to be slow and gentle.

"Good." Harley shrugged, going back to her book.

Well this isn't getting me anywhere. Lightning decided to bite the bullet. "Any nightmares lately?"

Harley tensed up, and she sighed as she shut her book. "Don't tell anyone."

"Harley, we're all worried about you." Lightning protested. "No fourteen-soon-to-be-fifteen-year-old should have to go through what you are."

"It's nothing." Harley shrugged. "Just…a bad memory."

"Of what?" Lightning asked. "If I can ask, I mean."

Harley stared at Lightning for a while. Out of all the residents of Radiator Springs, Lightning wasn't exactly her first choice to talk about her feelings. She turned to face away from him, not speaking for the rest of the trip back to Radiator Springs. Lightning was worried at first, but his concerns were somewhat alleviated when Mater appeared and Harley's face broke into smiles. The two instantly began chatting happily, Mater inviting Harley to hang out. The girl quickly agreed, waving goodbye to everyone as she and the tow truck took off. Lightning watched them go, still looking worried.

"You've noticed it too, huh?" Doc said as he rolled up beside the stock car.

Lightning sighed. "She's pretty good at hiding her feelings, but I think this is just getting too much for her."

Doc stared after his daughter. "Because she needs closure."

Lightning blinked in surprise. "For what?"

Doc shook his hood. "Nothing. Just talkin' to myself. I'll give ya the day off today and tomorrow, but then we get right back to trainin', you hear?"

Lightning smirked. "Okay." He drove off towards the Cozy Cone, Sally coming out to meet him. Doc looked to them for a moment before staring in the direction Harley left. He sighed heavily, tiredly rolling back home. He drove into his room, pulling a scrapbook from a small bookshelf in the corner. Flipping through, he stopped at a picture of three humans smiling warmly at the camera: a man with a somewhat forced smile, a woman with a warm grin, and a little baby in the woman's arms giggling madly.

John, Paula, and little Harley.

Doc sighed. It had been over ten years since that fateful night, but the fire seemed to burn itself in Doc's memory, down to the last detail. He could almost feel four-year-old Harley's tiny arms wrapped around his tire as she clung to him.

If it wasn't for that foolish….. Doc growled a bit. Why? Why did he have to do it? Why throw it all away and then try and drag more people into it? What's worse, he's never going to understand how much he scarred his own child, he own flesh and blood. Doc sighed now. Harley…

"Doc! I'm home!" Harley's voice called as she came in the front door.

Doc quickly put the scrapbook away and drove out to find his daughter in the kitchen, scrounging for something to eat in the fridge. Doc smiled. "Hey sweetheart. What're ya after?"

"I agreed I'd have dinner with Mater tonight." Harley explained. "I could've sworn we had a Tupperware thing of spaghetti in here."

"We finished that the night before we left for the race." Doc reminded her. Harley tensed up, not taking her head out of the refrigerator. Doc narrowed his eyes in concern, and he rolled a little closer to the girl. "Harley?"

Harley sighed, her breathing ragged, and she moved out to stare at Doc. Her eyes were red and puffy, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. "Daddy….."

"Oh, Harley." Doc sighed, the girl hurrying over to him and hugging his hood. She cried silently, clinging to the old Hornet for comfort. Doc shushed her gently, nuzzling against her. "What's goin' on?"

"They're getting worse." Harley said between sniffles. "It seems like every time I close my eyes all I can see is that stupid fire. I fall asleep for even a few minutes and I hear screaming." She stared at Doc, tears dripping down to his hood. "I can't make them stop."

Doc shushed her. "It's all right, Harley. They're just dreams; they can't hurt you."

"Then why do I feel like I can't breathe?" Harley protested.

Doc chuckled softly. "Because you won't stop crying." Though she was getting a bit big for it, Doc scooped the girl up so she could lay across his hood, and he bounced her a bit.

"Doc," Harley whined a bit. "I'm not a baby."

"Not in size, but you'll always be my baby girl." Doc said, smiling warmly. Harley huffed, sliding off Doc and plopping down on the floor. Doc raised an eye frame. "Oh, so that's how you're gonna be, huh?"

Harley only gave her deepest of frowns. But she yelped when Doc suddenly began nuzzling her stomach, making her laugh. "No, stop! Doc, come on! Daddy!" She protested between giggles. "Come on, this is torture!"

"You know what they say: kill with kindness!" Doc laughed, finally moving back and allowing Harley to catch her breath. She was smiling broadly now, and Doc sighed. "Now that's what I like to see. A nice, big Harley Smile."

Harley tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, readjusting her glasses. "Come on, my smile isn't that great."

"You kiddin'?" Doc scoffed. "Your smile shines brighter than any of the neon lights in town. When you laugh, it makes everyone in town feel like they need to smile too." He nuzzled Harley lovingly. "Sally's right; you are the gem of Radiator Springs. And you sparkle brightest when you smile like that."

Harley couldn't help but blush. "Thanks, Doc." She hugged him again, still smiling. But when she pulled away, she frowned a bit. "But you know, I am getting older. And…I think I'm old enough…and smart enough to know….." She trailed off a bit.

Doc sighed. "You wanna know about the fire."

"I want to know why." Harley clarified. "I want to know why that fire happened. Maybe if I know, the nightmares will go away."

"You don't know that." Doc said. "I can give you something to help you sleep better if you want."

Harley stared almost pleadingly at Doc. "Dad…..please…I gotta know."

Doc stared back at Harley. He finally sighed. "Harley….it's hard to explain. But I promise, you will get an answer."

"When?" Harley asked.

Doc thought for a moment, glancing at the calendar on the wall. "I promise to tell you by the time you turn fifteen."

Harley frowned a bit. Her fifteenth birthday wasn't for another few months. "Really?"

"If I haven't found a way to tell you by then, you can force it out of me." Doc promised. "Deal?"

Harley didn't like it. Not one bit. But, then again, this is the closest she'd ever gotten to getting an answer. And now she had a deadline. "Deal."

A/N: What do you think? Good start for the second part? Next chapter coming soon!