Trackside

Sagebrush

Lightning takes Cruz to see Doc in an AU where Doc is still alive after the events of Cars 3. (How do the events of Cars 3 unfold as they do if Doc is still in the picture? Here's a possibility.)

_

"Where is he?" Lightning asks Sheriff quietly.

"He's out there where he usually is, hasn't moved all day." Sheriff replies, gesturing out past Flo and Ramone's house. "Hasn't said a word."

Lightning nods. The usual.

"Come on, Cruz, I wanna show you something." He calls to her, pulling her away from the small crowd that's amassed at Flo's in her presence.

"Mr. McQueen?" She asks as they drive out of town towards Willys Butte. "The track? We've been out here before."

"It's a little more than that today," he says.

He's hoping, anyway. The last seven or eight years had slowly gave way to the present. To the imminent end. The last twelve months alone were... painful. Each daybreak came with the same question - is today the day? Selfishly, Lightning always hoped the answer would be 'no' even though the more merciful outcome would be, by and large, 'yes'.

They drive down and across the few rolls in the land before coming to the track. He's there, alright, shiny navy blue against the yellow-orange desert dust. From that far, one would never know there's something missing. He's just an old racecar gazing down at his home track.

Cruz gasps when she sees him. She's only got the faintest memories of watching the races where Mr. McQueen actually had a crew chief. It's been so long since... well, no one talked about it anymore.

"Mr. McQueen!" Cruz exclaims in a hushed breath. "Are you sure? Isn't he - ?"

"He likes it out here," Lightning tells her.

He doesn't do much to hide the numbness in his voice. He doesn't actually know if Doc likes sitting out here by himself, he just knows that whenever the townsfolk lose track of him, they always find him out here, in the same spot, on the little bench in the land above the start-finish line.

They approach Doc with quiet caution, as though they'd startle him otherwise.

"Hey, Doc," Lightning cracks half a smile that showcases his level of enthusiasm. "Brought you someone new to meet."

Doc's eyes are motionless, staring out across the distant desert toward the valley walls. Alive, yes, but never present.

"This is Cruz, she's the greatest racer of her generation! And the new face of Dinoco."

Lightning looks to Cruz and waves her closer. She's uncomfortably tense, but rolls forward as told. The worry in her eyes reflects the hole Lightning feels in his soul.

"Um, hi, Mister.... Hornet?" She hesitates for a few seconds. "Happy to meet you."

There's silence, no movement at all. Just a quiet breeze rustling the brush around them. Lightning thought that, for the quickest moment, he saw a slight shift in his mentor's gaze. Wishful thinking, that's all.

"Uh, Mr. McQueen..." Cruz isn't sure what to do - is she to keep talking to him? Are they going to sit there in silence?

"Take a lap, Cruz." Lightning nods towards the track. "Give him your best lap around this place."

"Uh, okay."

Lightning repositions and parks himself parallel to Doc, as the only two spectators at this exhibition race. They've got front row seats.

Cruz glides down to the start-finish line and stops. She glances up at Lightning and waits for his command.

"You're not gonna believe this, Doc, she nailed turning right to go left in one race - one! Took me how long? She's a natural, watch."

Lightning nods to Cruz. Off she goes. It's a little haunting, Lightning thinks. Usually he's the one ripping around the track. The delayed echo of Cruz's exhaust plays a two-note song as it bounces off the distant canyon walls and comes back to him. It's beautiful, disjointed, lonely.

Cruz approaches turn three and swings wide to knock her rear tires loose in the dirt. She's completely sideways through three and four, in perfect form, never wavering from her arc through the center of the track. Perfect entry, apex, exit, Lightning sees it all in slow motion.

"Float like a Cadillac, eh Doc?" He comments absent-mindedly as Cruz comes to a halt on the other side of the finish line.

"Heh."

Lightning jumps a little in surprise. Did he imagine that? He looks over to Doc to see his mentor's eyes focused on the track.

"Cruz, come here!" Lightning hollers at her.

She's there in seconds.

"What?" she asks hurriedly.

Doc takes a short breath and barely parts his lips. Lightning blinks several times to make sure he's not seeing things. The heat in the desert, you know, sometimes it'll get to you.

"Lou?" Doc asks quietly.

He's not looking directly at Cruz, rather in her general direction. Cruz bites her lip and tries to hide a grin. She looks at Lightning, he's baffled.

"Heh, I always knew you were somethin' else, Lou," Doc says. "Good to see you again."

"Happy to see you - Hud," Cruz replies with confidence.

A slight smile spreads across Doc's lips as his eyes drift back across the track and settle in the distance.

Lightning and Cruz lock eyes in excitement. A moment passes and it's silent again, just the wind and the underbrush. Somewhere in the distance, a hawk cries out.

The tone of the day is different now.

"Thank you, Cruz - I haven't heard - I mean, I didn't think - "

Cruz shrugs. "I didn't do anything. I'm just glad I got to meet him - the Fabulous Hudson Hornet!"

She says it with enough flair, the Thomasville folks would be proud. Lightning grins and nods.

The sun's starting to set in the west, over and behind the peaks of Cadillac Range. Golden hour in Radiator Springs is something to see in and of itself. It's a showcase for the area's natural beauty before the night comes and the town comes to life, electric under the neon lights.

Lightning knows that Doc's proverbial golden hour is here, too. And for the first time in several years, he's not scared of what news tomorrow might bring.