"yeah but Mater can't race." he mumbled. Doc snorted and looked at Lightning.

"give me your arm kid." Doc said. Lightning looked confused and held out his arm. "your other arm." Doc said. Lightning seemed more hesitant.

"no." he muttered.

"let me see your arm kid." Doc murmured.

"no Doc." Lightning said. Doc sighed at him and pulled off his shirt, turning his back to him.

"look kid, your scars aren't going to bother me. I just want to see." Doc said. Lightning looked over Docs scar covered back. he looked away.

"yeah but mine are fresh." Lightning mumbled.

"don't start that kid." Doc said, motioning to a scar on the back of the left side of his neck that went all the way across his back to his right hip. Lightning had never fully seen that scar, but knew from what Doc had said that it didn't stop at his hip, it wrapped around his right thigh, and ended just above his knee cap. it hadn't faded like the others, it had stayed like it was fresh, looking like Lightnings. Lightning looked at him quietly as he turned back around. "just let me see your arm." Doc said softly. Lightning sighed and held his arm out, looking away from Doc. Doc gently grabbed his arm, looking it over. it was obvious metal had gone straight through his arm. Doc knew from the x-rays the youngers arm had been broken in three places. he ran his fingers gently over the scars.

"do you have to do that?" Lightning ask.

"do they hurt?" Doc ask.

"those don't." Lightning mumbled.

"which ones do?" Doc ask.

"doesn't matter. I don't want you to see." Lightning said. Doc frowned and grabbed his chin gently.

"hey kid, look at me." Doc murmured. Lightning looked at him. "I just want to help. I know you know that my bad one hurts. I don't want yours hurting like mine." Doc said softly.

"well I don't want anyone seeing them." Lightning snapped. Doc nodded, he remember never wanting anyone to see his scars. he never wanted anyone to see them and he kept that, until that day Lightning found his old Piston cups. Lightning had been the first person in 20 years to see them, but he'd give Lightning time to heal.

"okay. I went about 20 years without ever letting anyone see mine." Doc said, holding him gently. "theres no problem taking time to heal Lightning, but I want you to tell me if one or two still hurt months after the wreck, like my bad one does, I have things that can help with that." Doc assured. Lightning nodded slightly and cuddled to him. "come on that pizza is probably a little cold, but we can warm it up." Doc said. Lightning nodded and stepped away from him.

"yeah. okay." Lightning muttered. Doc headed to warm up the pizza, watching the younger sit on the couch.

"think Cal would come down for a race with you, before you join the season?" Doc ask.

"maybe, but it wouldn't be fair. he can't dirt race." Lightning said. Doc nodded. "besides I thought I owed you a rematch?" Lightning ask. Doc chuckled sitting down on the couch with the pizza again. he offered a slice to the younger. Lightning took it.

"yeah you do." Doc murmured. Lightning cuddled to his side and nibbled on his pizza. Doc ruffled his hair and kissed his head, then paused. "why do you dye your hair?" Doc ask curiously.

"same reason I hide my name." Lightning frowned. "my dad was a shitty person, found out I was bi and promised to hunt me down. my mom died when I was like 12 and I took off when I was 14. shaved the sides of my head, changed my name back to my moms, and dropped Montgomery. took off half way across the country." Lightning mumbled. "met Mack at a truck stop, down on his luck and living in his semi. I managed to snatch about $2,000 from my dad, so after Mack saved my ass from a bunch of bigger dudes, I bought both of us some dinner. I went to leave, I was just hitch hiking back then, Mack offered to let me stay with him. I figured I'd either end up dead or have a new friend so I agreed. I managed to get a shot as a rookie a few years, after I turned 18, and boom, I think it was like two years later I met you. now here I am at 22 and you and Sally are the only people on the planet who know my name..." Lightning shrugged. Doc frowned slightly.

"so Montgomery McQueen isn't your name?" Doc ask. Lightning shrugged a little.

"I mean thats my first name, but I took up my moms last name. they kinda fit a little better than Montgomery Fallen." Lightning muttered.

"what the hell did Mack call you all those years?" Doc ask.

"he ask me for my name, but I told him I was hiding for my safety and he either called me McQueen, kid, or boss." Lightning shrugged slightly. "though I'm honestly not sure if he remembers hearing my name or not. managed to get recognized once and Mack put the guy in the hospital when he grabbed me. never saw him again." Lightning shrugged.

"if he does, he's smart enough to keep it to himself." Doc murmured.

"yup. after he recognized me, I shaved the sides again, grew the top out, dyed my hair blond, bulked up a little. changed everything about myself until I couldn't change anymore. believe it or not I was the whitest kid, until I started hanging out in the sun and working out. tanned out grew 6 inches, thank god, and boom. no one knows who I am." Lightning shrugged. he snatched another slice of pizza, curling up beside Doc.

"pretty famous for a kid whose supposed to be hiding." Doc said.

"well, I mean, I'm 22. the only thing he can do at this point is hunt me down and beat my ass. he can't make me go back with him." Lightning shrugged a little. Doc nodded slightly, pulling the younger closer.

"right." Doc murmurs, holding him gently. Lightning dropped his head against Docs chest, careful not to get his pizza on the older.

"how long do you think it'll be until the 95 is fixed?" Lightning ask.

"a few weeks. the crew is working on it. like I said, Mater gave us a junk car to work with." Doc assured. "why you getting the urge to go racing again?" Doc teased.

"kinda." Lightning mumbled. "actually." Lightning muttered. Doc raised an eye brow and looked outside, feeling something well up in his chest.

"still light out. lets go get that car from Mater." Doc murmured, getting up.

"you serious?" Lightning ask. Doc nodded.

"yeah." Doc shrugged. Lightning nodded and sat his slice of pizza down before taking off his boot.

"okay. lets go." Lightning said getting up and heading for the door. he missed the smile on Docs face as he did so. he was proud of the younger for wanting to get back out there and keep going. "you coming?" Lightning ask, turning to Doc.

"yeah." Doc said, grabbing his keys. he followed Lightning. it was getting dark, but that would be okay.

"its gonna be dark soon." Lightning murmured.

"we should have enough light for a few laps." Doc said. Lightning nodded.

"does this car Mater is going to let us borrow, actually run?" Lightning ask. Doc nodded.

"yup." Doc said. they headed for the junk yard. Mater was dancing around to some old country song, moving things around. "Mater." Doc said. he jumped and turned, knocking over whatever he'd been messing with. .

"hey Doc, hey McQueen." Mater smiled.

"you got that car ready for us to use?" Doc ask. Mater nodded, tossing Doc a set of keys.

"sure do Doc." Mater grinned, leading them into the junk yard. "nah I godit up n'runnin fer ya. don' know how fast it'll get, but it'll run." Mater said, leading them over to an old gray and rusty 1960 Plymouth Roadrunner, that had probably looked like Strips car back in the day. Doc nodded looking at the car.

"it'll do." Doc said, walking over and tried starting it up. it sputtered and clicked. Doc looked over at Mater, who rubbed the back of his neck.

"well, it worked this mornin'." Mater muttered. Doc sighed and tried again to start the car. after a few more tries, it sputtered to life.

"thanks Mater, we'll bring it back later." Lightning assured. Mater nodded.

"yup, good luck buddy." Mater grinned. Lightning nodded. Doc shut the car back off, tossing the keys into the seat.

"tow it to the track." Doc said.

"you got it Doc." Mater said, heading for his tow truck.

"come on, lets go get the hornet, we'll meet Mater at the track." Doc said.

"sounds good." Lightning said, following him.

"sure you can do this kid?" Doc ask, getting into the Hornet. Lightning got in the car and frowned slightly.

"I think so." Lightning said.

"we won't start out racing. I want you to just drive around the track once or twice, not sure how much that old thing will take." Doc frowned. Lightning nodded as they drove over to the Butte. Mater had already left the car on the track and took off. Doc pulled the Hornet off to the side and parked it. they both got out and looked at the rusted Plymouth. "ready for this kid?" Doc ask. Lightning looked at the car and nodded slightly.

"yeah." Lightning said walking over to it. Doc followed him over and climbed into the passenger seat. Lightning got into the drivers seat. Doc held the keys out to him. he looked over at the keys, suddenly feeling less sure now, and took them. Doc settled into the seat, looking out the window. Lightning started up the car after a couple of tries. Doc watched him, he was managing to keep a calm demeanor on the outside, but Doc could see the panic in his eyes. he was debating reaching out towards the younger, but paused when he reached to put the car in gear. Doc smiled slightly watching him.

"you okay kid?" Doc ask.

"I'm fine. just struggling with this car." Lightning said. Doc snorted and watched him put the car into gear.

"alright, just relax don't just zip into it." Doc said. Lightning nodded and started making his way around the track. Doc kept a good eye on him and the speedometer. Lightning was taking it easy and had barely reached 45 miles an hour when they finished the first lap. he had a small smirk on his face and was trying to kick it up into a higher speed when the car gave a loud grinding noise and died. he frowned, gripping the steering wheel slightly tighter.

"shit." Lightning hissed, hitting the breaks. they slid across the dirt a little before coming to a stop, leaving a cloud of dust behind them. Doc blinked in surprise.

"you alright?" Doc ask.

"yeah I'm fine. the car just died." Lightning said, putting the car into park.

"I realize that." Doc muttered. Lightning tried to start it back up, getting nothing more than a few clicking sounds. "give it a break kid. it's not coming back on." Doc muttered. Lightning huffed slightly and took the keys out.

"guess it wasn't as ready to run as Mater thought." Lightning muttered.

"well it made it one lap no where near racing speed but at least you can drive it." Doc said. "plus, who knows how long this junk was sitting in the junk yard. lucky Mater even got it to crank." Doc added. Lightning nodded.

"thats true." Lightning said sitting back in the seat. "how do we get it back to town?" Lightning ask.

"just leave it. I'll get Mater out here to take a look at it tomorrow and we'll try again." Doc said. Lightning nodded. he smiled slightly to himself.

"I managed to drive without a panic attack." Lightning said. Doc smiled at him.

"I'm proud of you kid." Doc said, patting his leg. "you didn't even panic when we slid." Doc added. Lightning shrugged a little.

"I mean, its nothing to get excited over really." Lightning muttered. "just happy with myself." Lightning said. Doc shook his head.

"celebrate the little things kid, all things considered, this is the biggest mile stone you've made it past so far." Doc said, getting out of the car. Lightning got out with him.

"yeah but I've always been able to drive." Lightning said.

"always? kid it's been almost a year since you last drove." Doc said.

"well, I drove the other day." Lightning said.

"you passed out behind the wheel and wrecked." Doc corrected. Lightning frowned slightly. Doc grabbed his shoulders gently, shaking him carefully. "kid, you did great today. you sat behind the wheel of the Hornet and managed to stay relaxed. you drove yourself around Willie's Butte while keeping yourself calm. you did great, just celebrate that." Doc murmured. Lightning nodded slightly, smiling at him slightly.

"thanks Doc. couldn't do it without your help." Lightning said. Doc chuckled and hugged the younger tightly.

"it doesn't seem like much to you, but I am proud of you. I honestly didn't think you were going to get back out there Lightning. I thought for sure you were done, but I'm glad you're letting me work with you. I'm not quite ready to retire as your crew chief just yet." Doc murmured. Lightning chuckled and hugged him just as tight.

"what can I say? you were right. things get better when I let you help." Lightning mumbles, face buried in Docs neck. Doc kissed his neck gently, holding him. Lightning didn't understand how proud he was that the younger was getting himself back out there as fast as he could. he lead the younger towards the Hornet, it was getting late out and the sun had set not long ago.

"you should be ready by next season." Doc smiled. Lightning looked over.

"really? you think so? I feel like I haven't really made any progress." Lightning mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck.

"kid just a few weeks ago, you couldn't do anything. talk, walk, could barely sit up. now not only are you doing that stuff on your own, you're putting yourself back behind the wheel of a race car." Doc said, throwing an arm around his shoulders. "you're not panicking sitting in the Hornet, you're not losing your mind and passing out just driving. you're doing great." Doc assured. Lightning nodded getting into the Hornet with him.

"speaking of." Lightning muttered, buckling in. he reached over and smacked Docs arm.

"ow! hey!" Doc glared.

"don't you ever make me sit behind the wheel of your Hornet ever again." Lightning glared. Doc snorted and headed back to his house.

"you'll get over it kid." Doc said. "don't fall asleep on me in here again. I'm not going to wake you up or carry you. I'll just let you stay in the Hornet over night." Doc warned. they pulled up to the house and got out. they headed inside and Doc climbed into the shower. Lightning changed his clothes and curled up in bed. Doc joined him after a few minutes, dripping wet and only in a pair of lounge pants. he rolled onto his side, wrapping his arms around the younger and pulling him flush against his chest, before pulling the blanket up over them.

"can I fall asleep on you now?" Lightning mumbled sarcastically, half asleep. Doc smiled slightly, pulling him closer.

"please do. I can't sleep if you're going to squirm all night." Doc murmured softly.