I do not own Cars or any of its characters. PIXAR AND DISNEY
CLAIM THAT RIGHT.
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Rated M for language and sex.
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Chapter 11.-Media and Frustrations-
"You've gone tractor tipping with Mater?" Doc asked, giving him a sideways glance."Yeah, but it's a long story" Lightning said. Doc had heard rumors that Lightning had gone tractor tipping, but he never expected him to admit to it. Doc was obviously surprised. "It was a year ago, when I first arrived here, and Sheriff assigned Mater to 'watch me' when he needed a break" Lightning said. "I don't need the details, Kiddo" Doc said. Lightning laughed, but it sent a spasm of pain through his hood. "Ouch" he mumbled. "You okay?" Sally asked. "Yeah," Lightning said, smiling weakly. "Just a little tired and sore." "You'll be fatigued for a few days, I'll order for some mild painkillers, just strong enough to for you to be comfortable" Doc said. "Your engine has to work extremely hard for a week to get acclimated to your system, but after that, you'll be back to normal, or as close to normal as you get." Lightning remembered the court case against Chick. "Did you get my black box?" "Yeah," Doc said. It was right under your engine, where it was supposed to be. "Great," Lightning said "Did you listen to it?" Doc smiled and rolled over to a table. He got a small black box from it. He put the box in an appliance and turned it on. Doc fast forwarded through most of the race, but stopped it close to the end. "Kid, don't do it!" came Doc's voice, a little fuzzy. "I don't listen to your advice anymore" Lightning voice said angrily. The sound of an accelerating engine was heard. "No you don't, McQueen! This fucking race belongs to me," came the voice of none other than Chick Hicks. "Take this!" There was a sound of metal grinding against a concrete wall. Doc stopped the box and smiled. "We got him, Rookie" Doc said "Talk about a smoking gun" Lightning said. "When is court?" "In two and a half weeks," Doc said. "We had to schedule it when you are strong enough to testify." "When is my interview with Kori" "In two days" Doc said. "Wow," Lightning said "That was fast." "She wanted it as soon as possible, but I didn't know how well your surgery would go. Since your doing so well, I scheduled it sooner." "That sounds good." Lightning said, "I have to go give Sheriff a tune-up." Doc said, "I'll be back later to check on you."
Once Doc left, Sally snuggled up close to Lightning, giggling. "What is so funny" Lighting asked. "Your middle name is Fergus" Sally laughed "You know I'm half Irish and half Scottish. So laugh all you want" Lightning said, "I'm sorry Stickers, it's such an unusual name" Sally said "What does Fergus mean." Lightning told Sally the legend of Scotland's great bear king, and he considered it to be an honor to be named after him. "I know you miss racing" she said. "You know what I miss more than racing." Lightning said "No, what?" Sally asked "Making love to you" Lightning said. "I can't ever remember going this long with out getting laid." "I know it's hard for you, but your healing. It's been hard on me as well" Sally said. "But when you get back to training, it'll make you that much more of a great racecar and lover. Please Stud Muffin, take your time, it'll pay off in the end." "I hope so," Lightning said. He kissed Sally on the finder and yawned. "I know you" Sally said. "You're the most stubborn, pig hooded, individual I have ever met, and when you set your mind to doing something, there is no stopping you." "Thanks, I think" Lightning said. Sally smiled at Lightning. "Sorry, I meant it to be a compliment, but it came out a little wrong" Sally said. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Sally drove over to open it. Skye was waiting outside the door. "Hey, Mom," Lightning said. "Hi, Sweetie," Skye said. Her voice had a certain note in it that Lightning did not recognize. It showed concern, as thought she was going to cry. "How are you feeling?" "Great, but I'm kinda sore right now" Lightning said. "The surgery went well and I can start training again in a week." "That's great news Light" Skye said "I was so worried." "Mom, I'm fine," Lightning said "Really." "Okay," Skye said shakily. A tear slid down her pearly blue hood. "Mom, please don't start crying on me" Lightning said. "I'm getting better, not worse." Skye nodded weakly. "Well," she said. "I'm helping Luigi and Guido redecorate their shop. I'll come see you later. Get some rest." She drove over and gave him a kiss on the finder. "I will" Lightning said sleepily. He watched his mother drive from the room. "I have to go back to the hotel," Sally said. "But I'll come back later too." "Okay, but I'm going to miss you" Lightning said. He kissed Sally and watched her leave. Once he was alone, Lightning realized how tired he was. Before long, Lightning had drifted into a very deep sleep.
"Wake up, Rookie!" Lightning jumped awake. He saw Doc in front of him, staring him in the eyes. "Your interviews in an hour here put this on" Doc handed him his codpiece. "The camera crew will be here any minute now, you need to be awake and dressed. "My interview isn't for another day," Lightning said groggily. "You slept for another day" Doc said. "Are you fucking serious?" Lightning asked in a slight panic. "Light, relax, It's perfectly normal for you do so" Doc said. "Now when you're doing your interview, don't mention the black box" "I promise I won't say a word" Lightning replied. "Just then, there was a knock at the door to the hospital room. Doc opened it and several suburbans drove in. They were equipped with cameras. "Hey, Doc" said one of the suburbans to Doc. "We're here to set up around Lightning" "Just be careful of his monitoring cables" Doc said gruffly.
An hour later, the interview began. "I'm Kori Turbowitz with the Racing Sports Network," Kori said, facing the camera. "I'm live from Radiator Springs with Lightning McQueen, the racing sensation that has been sidelined and will be out for the rest of the season." "Lightning, how are you feeling?" "Pretty good Kori, thanks" Lightning said, smiling warmly. "That's great news" Kori said. "Now Lightning, do you remember anything from the actual accident?" "Only a couple things," Lightning said. "I remember passing Chick on the outside and my tire blowing out. After that, it's all pretty hazy, except for getting hit a few times." Kori nodded sympathetically. "How long did it take you to regain consciousness after the wreck" Kori asked "Well supposedly I woke up while I was still on the track" Lightning said. "But I don't remember it. I gained full consciousness about a week after the accident" "Wow," Kori said, shaking her hood for a dramatic effect. "What injuries did you sustain?" "Uh," Lightning said. "I crushed my engine, I crushed the right half of my front axle, I broke my windows and my windshield, I got a severe concussion, multiple internal injuries, and I had to get an aluminum replacement from all the dents." "That's incredible." Kori said "Yeah," Lightning said. He then gave a small grin. "I wasn't ready to give up without a Piston Cup" Kori laughed. "Determined, aren't we," she said. "What is the most troublesome injury you sustained?" "Wow," Lightning said. "They obviously all have their downsides. I'm not allowed to get out of bed for a week because of my engine needs to get used to my body. I know that sounds weird, but that how it was explained to me. If I had to choose one over all of the others, it'd be all the dents because I had to get an aluminum replacement, and it was the most painful thing I could have imagined." Kori nodded sympathetically again. "Once you're recovered are you going to start your training?" "Yes" Lightning replied. "But I'm going to have to train very slowly. My crushed axle is very weak right now, and if I simply make a turn that is too sharp, it will fracture. I'm hoping this week of bed rest will help it, and my other injures, heal faster." Kori nodded, she then turned to the camera. "We'll be back live from Radiator Springs after a word from our sponsors."
The camera suburbans turned their cameras off. "Good job, You're a natural" Kori said, "Thanks, Lightning said. "I'm pretty used to cameras, but you do it every day." "Yeah," Kori agreed. "Sometimes it's great and sometimes its not." "I can imagine," Lightning said. Two minutes later, the interview was on air once again. "Welcome back. I'm Kori Turbowitz here with Lightning McQueen" the reporter said facing the camera. "Lightning, what were your emotions when you heard Chick was allowed to race again?" "I was shocked" Lightning said, he was starting to get tired. "Chick purposefully slammed me into the wall, and for him to simply say, 'oh, I didn't see him' just didn't cut it with me. Here I am, out for the season, and the car who caused me to be sidelined gets to go right back to doing what I should be doing, acting as if he did nothing wrong" Kori smiled sympathetically. "Are you filing for an appeal?" "Yes," Lightning replied. "It's already been scheduled." "Have you gathered the evidence to prove Chick purposefully slammed you into the wall?" Kori asked, "Yes" Lightning said, "What is the evidence?" Kori asked eagerly. "Upon the advice of my attorney, I can't say anything about it" Lightning said. "I'll take your word on it." Kori said, smiling. Twenty-five minutes later, the interview was over. "Thanks Lightning" Kori said "That interview went very well, that's the best one I have had in years. You look tired, my crew and I will clean up quickly so you can get some rest. It was only ten minutes for Kori and her crew to pack up and leave. Lightning was left alone with Doc in his hospital room. "Good interview, Kiddo," Doc said. "How are you feeling?" "Very tired" Lightning said groggily. "Get some rest," Doc said. "I'll see you in the morning" Lightning closed his eyes and within minutes, he was fast asleep.
Lightning woke up the next morning and saw Doc and Zoë preparing two different I.V.s. "What are you doing?" Lightning asked. "Mixing sleep medicine for you," Doc said. "Zoë is preparing the I.V.s "I'm going to put you to sleep for a week." "Umm, ok why?" Lightning asked. "You're going to be much more awake now," Doc said. "You'll get bored and try getting out of bed. That's going to put more stress on your engine, you need to stay as quiet as possible" "Okay," Lightning said. "But could I at least see Sally first?" "I figured you would ask that," Doc said. "She's waiting outside. Come on in, Sally" he called. Doc and Zoë left the room to give Sally and Lightning some privacy. "Hey," Lightning said happily, as he saw Sally enter the room. "Hey yourself," Sally said. "I'm going to miss you." "It's just for a week," Lightning said. "That's a long time," Sally said. "It'll fly by," Lightning said. "I promise." "I hope so," Sally said. "I saw your interview." "Did I look okay?" Lightning asked jokingly. "No, you looked hot and sexy" Sally said. She pulled up closer to Lightning and kissed him. "I have to get back to the hotel." "Don't go," Lightning said, slightly distressed. "Do you want me to stay here for the whole week?" Sally joked. "That'd be nice, yeah," Lightning said, laughing slightly. "I'll spend a lot of time here," Sally said. "But I have to go now. The hotel is expanding; we're getting six new cozy cones delivered today." "Oh, cool," Lightning, said. "I guess I'll talk to you later then." "Bye," Sally said. "I love you." "I love you too," Lightning said, watching Sally leave the room.
After Sally left the room, Doc and Zoë rolled, back in. "You ready, Kid?" Doc asked. "Is my mom still here?" Lightning asked. "No, she had to go back to Revelry Hills," Doc said. "She said that she'll be back in a month or so. Something big came up or something, so she had to go back." "Oh, that's fine" Lightning said. He had wanted to talk to his mother before she left, but if she would be back, he was okay with it. "You ready now, Kid?" Doc asked. "Yeah, I guess so, do your worst." Lightning said. Doc and Zoë hooked Lightning up to the I.V. machine and an EKG so they could monitor his vitals closely. Zoë had attached an I.V. to Lightning maintain his nutrition, since Lightning wouldn't be able to take anything by mouth. "Kid, I know that this is not going to be very pleasant, just bear with me," Doc said as he inserted a urinary tube into Lightning's penis, as he would need to pee during the week that he will be out. "Ouch, Doc! That 'thing' is still really sore" Lightning complained. "I'm Sorry, Kiddo, but it's absolutely necessary that I need to do this" "I know" said Lightning. "It still hurts" "I understand, Kid" Doc said. "I know how you feel, I've had it done to me many times too. This should be the last time I have to do this, but on a good note, most of the swelling and bruising has gone away." "That's good to hear" Lightning said. Zoë started the medication that would put Lightning to sleep. "Ok, Lightning, You'll start feeling the effects almost immediately," she said. He then felt a wave of fatigue crash down upon him. "See ya in a week Rookie" Doc said before Lightning drifted into a dark nothingness.