Lightning finally reached forward and turned the GPS off. He could only take so many comments of 'redirecting' from the voice he'd dubbed as Lola.

"She doesn't like your driving." He commented as they waited at a stop light.

"She can get over it."

Lightning smirked, biting his lip to keep from laughing as he looked out the window. Sitting up straighter, he took in their surroundings.

"Are we there?"

"This is it."

It was the exact image of an old southern town, mom-and-pop shops lined the streets, enormous hanging baskets hung from the cast iron street lights, Lightning had never seen a real barber shop before but there stood the red, white, and blue barber poles in the storefront. The courthouse stood across from the bank and a library took up nearly the entire block at the end of the street.

He'd decided he wanted to meet Smokey before they checked in at the hotel, to which Doc had silently relented. Lightning watched from the passenger seat with interest as he tightened his knee brace again, and once through the proper town, wasn't that surprised to see that the country roads had never even seen gravel.

Excitement and a little bit of apprehension began to bubble up within his chest as a large white farm house came into view, they were a long way from home, and he hoped this trip wasn't going to get cut short.

The Escalade pulled up just below the steps to the front porch.

"You're just going to park in the road?"

Doc put the car in park and undid the seat belt. "No one drives back this way, Kiddo."

Lightning wanted to argue that it may have changed in the last few decades but feared for his health if he did so.

Looking up toward the house as he opened the car door, Lightning swayed between a genuine smile and his press smile as who he could only figure was Smokey came out to the porch to meet them.

"We don't see those new cars 'round here much."

Lightning hesitated, looking back at the Cadillac and Doc's straight face as he finally joined him at the bottom of the steps.

"Uh-"

"If you were going for inconspicuous, that ain't it."

Lightning looked toward his crew chief for help, but Doc only watched him in silence. His jaw was set though, and not in the way he tended to be when upset, Lightning could tell he was holding back a smirk.

"I like to make my presence known." He finally answered, realizing his sarcasm wouldn't offend.

"How's the leg?" Smokey redirected with a glance down at the brace.

"Great." Lightning grinned. "Doc says I should be able to go without the brace within a month."

Smokey's expression shifted ever so subtly, the name Doc taking a moment to register. He wasn't sure how he felt about it.

With a raised brow he finally addressed his brother. "How was the flight?"

"Loud."

"That's my fault..." Lightning grinned confidently, and Smokey forced back the memory of another certain hot shot driver who enjoyed tormenting his crew chief.

He turned back toward the house, bringing up the conversation he'd had with Lightning before they'd even agreed to make the trip to Thomasville. Knowing that a good portion of the trip was based on Lightning's curiosity of the beginning of the sport, and more importantly, himself and Jesse, he'd taken the liberty to dig out all his old photo albums and shoe boxes of newspaper clippings. The kid would have more material than he knew what to do with.

Smokey trailed off, realizing he was standing at the door alone. He looked toward Doc questioningly who stood at the top of the steps.

"Just waiting on Gimpy, here."

"Hey..." Lightning's voice came from halfway up the steps.

Smokey joined his brother and they watched as Lightning made slow progress, unable to fully bend his left knee to make a step.

"It's some kind of rite of passage, kid." He commented. "Only the best drivers end up injured."

"Haha ha...ha..."


He gave Lightning a brief tour of the house, and when the kid had looked questioningly at Doc he'd motioned for him to go on.

"I grew up here, why would I need a tour."

"Oh...right..."

They'd left the upstairs alone, though, no one had the patience for him to travel up and down thirteen stairs.

Smokey thought it might as well have been Christmas when they wandered to the back porch and he pointed out the old table stacked with his photo albums. All he knew of Lightning McQueen was what he'd seen on television and what Jesse had shared in letters. He knew the kid was incredible on the track and that he'd toned down that obnoxious ego he'd had his first season of racing. What he wasn't expecting was the innocent charm, sincere interest, and utterly likable personality he was already seeing within their first hour of meeting. Lightning parked himself in a chair tucked in the corner, behind the table where he could lean against the railing. Setting the soda he'd brought with him to the side, he grabbed the closest album and started flipping through.

For the next few hours, Smokey and Doc traded off answering any question Lightning would pose, which every picture seemed to add to his queue. Smokey had finally opted to sit beside the kid while Doc leaned against the porch rail.

Lightning regarded a photo with lowered brows, asking sarcastically, "Were you always so happy after a race?"

The photo was candid, Smokey's arm a blur as he must have been removing his hat and Doc looking past the camera, arms crossed, both of them looking miserable.

"What's it say on the back?" Smokey asked.

Lightning fished the black and white photo from the cellophane page and flipped it over. "It just says '52'..."

"That was a rough summer." Doc commented.

Smokey hummed in agreement. "Wasn't the race that made us miserable, just the heat."

When Lightning seemed to become engrossed once more, Smokey stood and pushed his chair back in with his foot.

"If it's alright with you, kid, I'm gunna steal your crew chief for a bit. Want to show him what's changed here at the homestead."

"Huh-...oh, sure." Lightning glanced up at them briefly.

He'd glanced back down at the photo album but as the two left the porch he watched them walking an old beaten path to the barn. Smokey was maybe an inch taller than Doc if he was lucky, but there was no denying their relation. Lightning also wasn't naive enough to think they were just looking over renovations either.

Doc knew that wasn't the purpose of their walk at all. The only change evident was the fact that it appeared that the old barn-turned-garage looked like it had been whitewashed sometime in the last five years, and maybe the fact that there were different flowers in the flower beds.

As they rounded the back of the barn he took a deep breath. "Henry, I-"

"No." Smokey turned to face him. "No, you're going to keep your mouth shut because I am only going to say this once. You've been silent for decades, you can handle another ten minutes."

He steeled himself, looking his younger brother over. His back to the barn wall, arms crossed and defenses up. Smokey knew better than anyone that Jesse could block an opening, on and off the track. Even the stupid sunglasses protected him. As the afternoon sun bore down on them, the last however many years seemed to fade like the shadows and he was facing a twenty-two year old kid with an ego the size of Georgia.

"After a day, I was concerned. A week, we filed a police report. A few months and I was afraid to look at the paper for fear that there'd be some article saying your car had been found with no trace of you. I moved back into this house because there was no one here to take care of it. I got tired of everyone asking if I'd heard from you, what had happened and did I know when you'd be back. Then no one ever mentioned you at all! You became some kind of ghost story to scare the kids and it was some kind of test of courage to say your name around me."

He never once raised the volume of his voice, only speaking in a sharper tone.

"I know how much racing meant to you, but it meant just as much to me. Just because I wasn't driving didn't mean I didn't love arriving early to the track. Just because it wasn't my name on those trophies didn't mean I wasn't proud of them. I was invested just as much as you were and it hurt just as much to see you come so far after the wreck to find out they had ousted you. You weren't the only one they gave the boot."

He took a deep breath, nearly shaking, and could tell Jesse was uncomfortable.

"I had come to terms with your death years ago, and then suddenly you're national news? Watching that kid was hard enough as it is and then you come out of hiding, do you have any idea how that felt?"

Smokey knew he wasn't about to answer.

"I always knew you were a smart kid, and apparently you've proven me right with your degrees and whatever else it is you have, which I shouldn't have had to learn about in a magazine by the way, but you can also be the most selfish person I've ever known."

He could tell that one stung. Doc took half a step back as if it were a physical front, he remained silent, though.

Smokey sighed, taking his hat off and wiping his brow with his forearm before returning it. Having said what he needed to, Doc knew he wouldn't bring it up again. The ball was in his court now, and Smokey's mood turned on a dime.

"Now. How long you two staying?"

"Week. We need to get checked in."

Smokey nodded, already starting back toward the house. "Coming back out this evening?"

"Maybe." Maybe once he'd recovered.

He already knew the answer, there was no way the kid was going to want to sit in the hotel all night. "I'll see you later."


Lightning looked up in surprise at the wildflowers that were put on the table beside him, then glanced to the side as Smokey walked into the house.

"Umm...thank you?"

Doc huffed in response, and Lightning could tell he was in no laughing mood. "They're not for you."

Lightning struggled to get up, a little concerned by Doc's stiff movements, arrow straight back, and set jaw.

"Where're we going?"

Doc had taken the flowers and was already down the back porch steps.

"To pay our respects."

He'd walked around the house and waited for Lightning in the rental. After fifty years, he already needed an hour or so away from his brother.

Lightning closed the door, getting situated and his seat belt secure even as Doc was pulling away from the house.

"Are-...is everything ok?"

"Fine."

"Sure doesn't seem like it..."

He was half afraid they were turning right back around for the airport and sat in uncomfortable silence, maybe this had been a bad idea.

Coming back into Thomasville, though, he realized they weren't taking the right roads to get to the highway. He'd grabbed the wildflowers, afraid they were going to fall off the dash and counted the petals of a daisy to keep himself occupied in the oppressive silence. He felt the car come to a stop and looked up to find they'd stopped near a small cemetery. Looking in all directions, he realized there were no buildings nearby other than a little white Baptist church.

Thomasville was incredibly small, one turn off main street and you were back in the middle of nowhere.

He stared out the windshield. "What...are we doing?"

"What did I say we were doing?"

Lightning held the flowers out, still confused as Doc took them and closed the driver's side door.

He followed hesitantly, feeling like he wasn't supposed to be there, or that he should've stayed in the car. Looking around Doc's shoulder he read over the headstone.

Ruth Hudson.

"Who was she?"

"My sister."

Lightning blinked, they'd been there less than eight hours and he was overwhelmed with information. This wasn't exactly what he'd been anticipating.

"Is she the one in most of the pictures?"

"Most likely."

Lightning watched him in silence, afraid to speak out of turn while Doc brushed dried leaves away from the marker and set the flowers down.

"How many siblings do you have?"

"Just the two." He paused and grinned faintly. "She was the smartest out of the three of us. Wouldn't be such a mess if she were here."

Lightning had noticed the stone was worn, it had been there a while. "When...?"

" '53..."

He wasn't sure how to react to that, he'd never lost anyone. He'd only ever had his mother, had never met his father so it wasn't the same thing. Until coming to Radiator Springs, Lightning had never had to fear that kind of personal loss.

"You were close?"

"Very."

"Is Smokey the oldest?"

Doc only hummed in affirmation. "I'm the youngest, well-" He shrugged. "By a few minutes, but she never let me live it down."

"Wait, you-"

"We were twins." He straightened from where he'd knelt and smirked at the kid.


They'd only stayed a few moments before going back into town. Lightning was surprised that such a small place could have such a large hotel. Then again, Radiator Springs had The Wheel Well. The turn of the century decor made him feel like he was back in the 1800's.

He'd made reservations for a suite, and while he'd been picturing the kind found in Miami during their entire trip, he much preferred this style. It was quaint, comfortable and he didn't feel like he could possibly break something just by looking at it.

"I'm gunna call Sal." He commented as he left the main sitting area for the room he'd chosen.

Doc didn't reply, once Lightning had left the room he'd sunk into the chair near the window and stared vacantly at one of the street lights below them, Smokey's frustrated tone fresh in his mind. He'd had his reasons, and he'd been ready to fire back his own rebuttal but his brother's reserved anger had kept him quiet. You don't understand was a cop-out, and he wasn't going to use it.

He should have written before, or called, visited, but he hadn't. Smokey was right, he'd been hiding.

Doc pinched the bridge of his nose, sinking lower into the chair as he remembered a similar conversation.

You've been here how long and your friends don't even know who you are? Who's caring about only himself?


AN: Well...that escalated quickly