"He's gonna sue me, I just know it!"
A groan echoed from the backseat for what Doc was certain had to be the tenth time.
"Son, what did I tell you not even five minutes ago?"
"Not to think about it," Lightning muttered. "But I can't help it! It's not like I can just turn off my anxiety!"
"But you can tone it down. Try thinking about something else," Doc coaxed.
"Like what? Cows? Yeah, 'cause that's so interesting. Oh look, there goes another one. And there's another. Why are there even so many cows on this stupid route?"
For the record, Doc didn't roll his eyes. He simply shut them for a moment and sighed.
Ever since pulling out of San Antonio, he had put Lightning on a Harv detox, which meant answering calls and texts from said agent was completely off-limits.
And it was driving the kid insane.
"Try thinking about Radiator Springs," came Doc's next suggestion.
A suggestion that was quickly washed down the drain.
"Yeah, but whenever I do that, I just think about how I'm not even supposed to be going there. And like," Lightning pressed on, and through the rear view mirror, Doc watched him tug on his hair, "I have no idea where my lawyer is right now. Not like he could be my defense against a lawsuit because Harv is the one who hired him for me in the first place! Ugh! He's so gonna sue me…"
"All right," Doc sighed, shifting in the passenger seat so he could look at Lightning, "let's break this down. Worst case scenario, he sues you—for what, exactly, I still can't figure—so you let your lawyer handle it."
"Doc, I already told you, I have no clue where my lawyer is."
"Not that one. I meant Sally." At the sight of the kid's slightly furrowed brows, Doc couldn't help but smirk. "Or did you forget she passed the bar in California and Arizona?"
"I… I don't want to drag her into all this."
"Well, considering 'all this' consists of you just working yourself up over nothing so far, I think it's safe to say she wouldn't mind."
The kid didn't have much to say to that, letting his gaze drift to the window.
That's when his phone came to life. Though Doc had silenced the ringer long ago, that didn't stop the incessant buzzing.
Lightning jumped up in an instant, reaching for the device. "I really think I should get that…"
But Doc kept it just out of reach. Taking things one step further, he powered off the phone.
"Hey! Why'd you do that?"
Another sigh wracked Doc's frame as he studied the kid, trying to ignore the anxiety seeping through the cracks in his mask of irritation.
"Do you really want to talk to him right now? Sorry, I meant, do you really want him to talk at you?"
Lightning shook his head and slumped back against his seat. He might have agreed to do things Doc's way for now, but that didn't stop him from silently pouting about it.
"So," Doc began, turning to Mack when looking at the kid's sour expression grew dull, "Lightning tells me you write poetry."
"Oh, yeah," Mack replied a bit sheepishly, "I've written a couple things. Nothing read-worthy, that's for sure."
"Come on," the kid grumbled from the back, and Doc noticed he was slowly—reluctantly—being pulled into the conversation, "what are you talking about? They're great."
"I wouldn't say that, but they were fun to write. Makes the long hours on the road entertaining."
The kid was awful at trying to hide his smirk. "I thought I made those long hours entertaining."
"Not everything's about you, rookie," Doc said, even as he felt his own lips twist into a playful smirk. "Or didn't anyone ever tell you that before?"
This earned a glare from the kid and a laugh from Mack. As talk shifted from poetry to books to movie adaptations of said books, Doc could sense Lightning's anxiety beginning to dwindle.
We're not out of the woods yet.
There was still the issue of the elephant in the room—the large, looming one named Harv.
"Let the contract fizzle out," Doc had instructed. "You said it expires in a few days, right? Well, don't answer the phone until then."
Lightning had scoffed at this idea. "He'll never go for that."
"It's a start, and besides, it seems to me there's not much he can do while we're on the road."
They had left it at that, agreeing to concentrate on other things during the ride home—with the very minor exception of Lightning bringing up his impending lawsuit every five minutes…
It was an almost seventeen hour drive from San Antonio to Radiator Springs and Mack took them straight through, only stopping at the occasional rest stop for a quick break.
Something told Doc the trucker knew how much the kid wanted to get home.
Pulling into town took away a bit of the tension in the kid's shoulders, and the unexpected (but definitely expected) welcome home party thrown for Lightning by his new friends took away a little more.
But not as much as Doc would've liked.
It was only later that evening when the kid joined Doc in the kitchen that all the tension slipped away entirely. That, Doc assumed, was only because the kid looked completely worn out and probably didn't have the energy to keep any of his stress intact.
"All unpacked?" Doc asked, filling his coffee cup as Lightning slumped down at the table.
"Mostly. And by mostly, I mean I took out my cord to charge my phone and left the other stuff for later." The kid worked up a tired smirk. "That's future me's problem."
"I think future you is going to have a nice-sized grudge to hold against past you for that."
"Yeah, well present me doesn't care enough to do anything about that, so..."
Doc couldn't help but chuckle, joining the kid at the table. "I would offer you coffee, but I seem to remember it doesn't do anything for you."
Now it was Lightning's turn to laugh, a soft yet heart-warming sound Doc was sure he would never get tired of hearing.
The kid's worming his way into your heart.
Better watch out—
Doc shoved the thoughts away. In the words of the kid, those were the kind of thoughts past Doc would have.
Present Doc was learning to see things a little differently.
When Lightning heaved a sigh, Doc knew the time for levity had come to an end.
"Do you think it'll really be that easy?" the kid asked, crossing his arms atop the table. "Just letting my contract fizzle out? You think that'll really be the end of it?"
As much as he wanted to reassure the kid, to tell him that yes, it would definitely be that easy. That he shouldn't stress about it and let's go watch a movie or something, Doc swallowed a sigh and turned the question back on Lightning. "Do you?"
"No," came the dismal reply.
Taking a seat next to the kid, Doc folded his hands, "In all honesty, son, from what I've seen of your agent so far, something tells me he won't be the kind to just let you go without a fight."
"Yeah…" Lightning blew out a breath and pressed a hand against his forehead. "I don't think so either. I just… Ugh! You know, when I signed with him, I never expected any of this to happen. I never expected it to be this hard to leave…"
"How old were you when you signed?" Doc gently probed.
"Nineteen, I think. Maybe eighteen, I don't know." He washed another hand over his face. "It all seems so long ago. Almost like another lifetime, you know?"
Doc nodded, but the kid wasn't done yet. "I needed… Well, I was working so hard to get my career started, and I needed… I wanted someone who would look out for me. Harv kinda seemed like that person, so I just went with it. He believed in me, or at least, he said he did, so I didn't ask questions…" He blew out another sigh. "I just wish he would make a move already or something. I mean, if he's gonna sue me, I wish he'd just do it already. I hate all this waiting around. It's like I can't relax until I know what he's gonna do and how much it's gonna hurt."
After a few moments of thought—and a few sips of his steaming coffee—Doc gave the table a small slap before standing and motioning for the kid to join him.
Lightning remained glued to the seat, brows furrowed in confusion. "What?"
"Come on," Doc reiterated.
"Where? Where are we going?" But this time, Lightning got up and followed Doc out the side door.
When they came to the garage, Doc slid into the driver's seat of the Hornet, gesturing for the kid to climb into the other side.
Again, Lightning reamined rooted in place. This time, it seemed, for a different reason. Instead of confusion, awe and apprehension dotted his face.
"Well, rookie," Doc said at last, "you want to come or not?"
"Sorry…" Lightning shook his head, cautiously circling the vehicle and ever-so-slowly sliding into the passenger seat. "I just… I'm actually sitting in the Fabulous Hudson Hornet…"
"Kid, I'm the Fabulous Hudson Hornet," Doc said with a smirk as he started the vehicle. "This is just an old car."
"Just an old amazing car," Lightning shot back, running a hand over the dash. "It gets me every time. First I got to ride in it after that last race, and now this. You know this is, like, a dream come true, right?"
Doc just smiled and backed onto the street.
"So, where are we going?"
"Oh, just this place I know." He glanced at the kid, who still looked liked he was using whatever was left of his self-control to keep from totally freaking out.
"It's so comfy, too," Lightning added after a moment.
"Yeah? Well, wait till you have to drive more than a few hours in this thing. I guarantee you'll be singing a different tune."
"Does that mean we're going on a roadtrip?"
"Well, Montana's got to happen sometime," came Doc's noncommittal reply.
The kid just smiled.
It didn't take as long as it usually did to climb the old dirt road up to the top of his favorite plateau. Maybe that was due to the company.
Until that night, every trek he'd made to the spot had been made alone…
"Leave the door open," Doc instructed as the kid climbed out. After switching on the radio and maxing the volume, he followed suit, joining Lightning by the hood of the Hornet as Dobie Gray's "Drift Away" filled the air.
Without a cloud a sight, the stars were free to cast their heavenly glow down upon the pair as racer and crew chief leaned against the car, enjoying the silence.
Enjoying the peace.
"It's beautiful up here," Lightning said, voice soft. "You can see the whole town and everything."
Doc nodded. "I found this place shortly after I settled in town for good. With a past like mine—like ours—I needed somewhere to go. A place that would let me distance myself from everything. From my thoughts, from the memories, and sometimes, from my worries."
"So, what?" Lightning jerked a thumb at the radio. "You just come up here and get lost in rock and roll?"
"Or whatever's on." A ghost of a smile brushed Doc's lips. "But this is the preferred station. More than that, though, I come up here because it puts things in perspective. The landscape is so vast, and as far as we can see… All that's just one small part of Arizona, which is just one small part of the entire world. Sitting up here like this, it reminds me that my problems are just one small part of the grand scheme of life. That there isn't anything I could possibly worry about that I couldn't find a solution to somewhere out there."
The kid was nodding, arms hugging his thin frame.
"You…" He began, clearing the emotion caught in his throat, though not before Doc was able to pick up on it, "You really think it's gonna turn out okay? This whole thing with Harv, I mean."
"Son, I think you're stronger than you give yourself credit for, and I've seen first-hand that you're more than capable of standing up for yourself. There's a solution to all this out there somewhere and I know you're going to find it. Believe me, it's all going to turn out just fine."
Then, he slipped an arm around the kid's shoulders.
And Lightning melted into the embrace.
For a brief moment, Doc wondered how many people had hugged the kid in the last few years. This thought was quickly shooed away the second he felt it begin to crack his heart.
"So, you have this place just like Sally has the view from the Wheel Well?"
Doc took a breath, savoring the crisp clear air. "Every tormented soul needs one, I suppose."
The kid gave a light snort at this. "Sally does not have a tormented soul. She's too perfect."
"She did once. After all, she's here, isn't she? I don't know if you've noticed, but you have to have some sort of torment raging in your soul to stick around in a town like that." Doc nodded down at the neon speck in the distance.
"Well, that seems right… I don't know how, but it does. Except Mater, I guess."
"Oh, I'm sure he has his own sort of inner struggle."
"Yeah? It must be buried pretty deep down there," the kid said with a fond grin, "because he sure doesn't show it. Like, at all. I'm going to restore it, you know."
I swear this kid switches tracks faster than a speeding train.
"What? The town?"
"I mean, yeah, that too, but I'm talking about the Wheel Well. I have no clue how to do it or where to start, but I'm going to. Then she can stay in it like she's always wanted."
Warmth buzzed in Doc's chest at the idea and he wrapped his arm tighter around the kid's shoulders.
"I think that's a brilliant idea."
"Really? You think Sally'll like it?"
"Like it?" Doc let out a chuckle. "Kid, she'll be so excited, she might just die right there on the spot."
This got a laugh out of the kid and Doc's smile grew.
"Thanks." Doc almost missed the word, it was so soft. That, and the fact he hadn't been expecting it at all.
"For what, rookie?"
"For just… just being there. You know, until now, Mack's really been the only one who's just been there for me. Everyone else always wants something or whatever, but you're just… Well, you've done so much for me and you're always there when I need you. And I haven't even been around town that long…"
Before Doc could even begin to dissect that statement, to finally admit to himself that he had grown way to attached to this lonely kid for his own good. Before he could address the warmth in his chest or the urge to protect the kid that only increased tenfold with each passing second, Lightning bit out a soft curse.
Doc followed the kid's gaze down a tiny speck of headlights sailing down the stretch leading into town.
"That's him." Another curse as the kid ran a hand through his hair. "I knew it! He's coming to sue me. Or-Or to make me sign a new contract, or—"
"Now, that could be anyone. I wouldn't get all riled up until you know for sure…"
"Who else would come to Radiator Springs this late at night?" Pulling away, Lightning pointed a finger at the offending vehicle. "See that? See his headlights? One's broken and he refuses to get it fixed for some stupid reason. It drives me nuts."
"Mater's truck has a busted headlight," Doc reasoned. "Like I said, it could be anyone."
But something about the kid's resolve told him it wasn't.
"Yeah, sure, but Harv's flickers. That's why he never gets pulled over. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and luck always seems to be on his side."
And sure enough, Doc noticed the way the distant light grew brighter, just for a few seconds, before dimming again.
The voice of the Eagles filled the air as "Take It Easy" took over the speakers. While the kid continued to get himself all worked up, never taking his eyes off the small glow in the distance, Doc eased himself onto the ground.
Leaning against the front bumper, he put his fingers up to his lips and whistled. The shrill sound caught the kid's attention faster than any words or coaxing could and Doc patted the empty spot beside him.
Lightning furrowed his brows. "But… Don't we need to get down there? I bet if we start now, we can beat him there and then he won't have to wait at all. In case you haven't noticed, having to wait just makes Harv more irritated."
"Let the town handle it for awhile. After all, we just got here. I'm sure Flo will serve him something nice at the diner while he waits."
"It's already so late though. If we stay here any longer, by the time we get back, we won't be finished hearing about that stupid contract until after midnight. And he'll ruin everyone's quiet evening, and he'll probably insult someone, or talk over them, or, like, diss Flo's cooking and make her cry, or—"
"Lightning." Doc's kept his voice calm, yet firm. "In case you haven't noticed, the townsfolk down there are tough. They can handle anything that man throws their way. Besides, when the sheriff sees all the lights off back at the house, he'll know where we went. He'll make sure we're not disturbed until we want to be. Now, come on and sit down. This is a good song."
With no small amount of reluctance and hesitation, Lightning slumped to the ground.
"Should've known he'd come out here sooner or later." Blowing out a sigh, he shook his head. "This was the last untouched piece of paradise and now he's gonna ruin it."
"He's not going to ruin anything." I won't let him, kid. "Or did you forget who's Judge around here? And this is your lawyer's hometown, too," he added with a wink. "Not to mention, I think the sheriff has a soft spot for you."
"But…" Lightning clearly wanted to protest, to go through another round of Russian Roulette, where the gun was his mind and the bullets were his infinite what-if scenarios.
Doc quickly nipped that in the bud with a reassuring smile. "You've got an entire town on your side, and out here, Harv's got no one."
"But… He can call lawyers and all that… right?"
"Well now, that's the funny thing about little towns in the middle of nowhere. You've probably already realized that the cell service and wifi isn't exactly up to standard, especially if Red—somehow and for some reason—forgets to fix the breaker that activates the small signal boost tower…"
This brought a grin to the kid's face, albeit a small, gradual one.
"Which means, right now, we don't have to do anything but sit back and relax."
Lightning heaved a quiet sigh. "I hope Mater talks his ear off or something."
Doc chuckled. "Maybe then he'll know how it feels, huh?"
"Exactly."
As the silence stretched on into a comfortable sort of peacefulness, Doc checked his watch only to find the hands had stopped somewhere around eleven o'clock.
Battery.
That was just as well.
They weren't in a hurry, if the way the kid's breathing that bordered more on soft snoring was any indication.
While Lightning rested lightly against Doc's shoulder, the latter found himself gazing down at his town for what seemed like the millionth time in his life.
I won't let him ruin it for you, kid.
The sudden vow struck him by surprise, but with each passing second, Doc clung to it all the more.
I promise. He won't ruin your paradise.
I won't let him.