Work Text:
Flashback start
Sally 5 year
“Mommy I can’t reach it,”
"Well, then take a chair," Valerie Carrera said annoyed at her daughter
Sally 10 year
"it's your own fault for falling in the water,"
"but mom,"
"We're staying sally, that can teach you a lesson not to be a big clutz,"
Sally 16 year
” You really starting to look chubby sally, so I think it’s time we skip you breakfast and dinner,”
Flashback end
Sally was in her office at the courthouse. It’s wired, her office had a bay window, which is unusually for an office in a courthouse. But she wasn’t complaining because today, that was the perfect place to hide from most of the radiator springs people. Lightning knew he weren’t supposed to interrupt her, when she’s at the courthouse, so no chance that he was gonna come in.
“Phone call from mom,” came Siri’s voice
Sally exhaled “Here we go,”
“Hey mother,”
“Hello Sadie,”
`still not my name’
“Are you still living in that dead town,”
“Yea, mother,”
“Honestly sally, you could have become a big attorney and have a wealthy life with a wealthy man. I found a man for you. You were together for a long time, and he could have given you a successful life. But instead, you ran away to a town in nowhere Arizona,"
“Mother, I’m happy here,”
“Happiness isn’t everything sally, money is,”
“Mother I’m hap-“
“Sally if you’re not home by tomorrow, I don’t want you to show your face ever again, understood,”
“Yes mother,”
1am
Sally was packing up her car, `why’ she didn’t know, she could finally break free from her mother’s chains, but still, she just wanted her mother’s approval.
`She shouldn’t want her mother’s approval so much, but it is her mother’
She’s trying not to think about the letter, the letter she must leave for Lightning. The one she really doesn’t want to leave, the letter she knew would break his heart.
Her heart broke too. She LOVES Lightning, and she knows that he is the one, if her mother would just give him AND this town a chance.
She shut the trunk silently and went to the cozy cone front door and put a “Closed for the time being” sign, she lingered for a minute before going to Lightning’s cozy cone.
Lightning had gone around and helped the whole town today, so she knew he wouldn’t wake up by her coming in, he is usually a light sleeper, but he can sleep for hours if he’s worked his butt of. And today, she’s lucky that,
1. He worked so much, and 2. That he sleeps in the cozy cone and not at Doc’s tonight.
Sally unlocked the door and went inside. The motel rooms weren’t very big, one bathroom and the room you come in through the front door, it has a bed, a kitchenette, a 2-person table and a nightstand. Lightning was fast asleep in the bed; she set the letter on the nightstand and look over at him. She kissed his temple and whispered, “I’m sorry, Love,”, she went to the door and before leaving she looked back at her sleeping friend.
She wishes she shouldn’t have to do it in a letter, she wishes shouldn’t have to do it at all. But what could she do, if she talked to him face to face, he would stop her.
Looking in her rearview mirror she looked at her motel, she has put a lot of work into this. It wasn’t fair, why can’t her mother just see that she’s happy out here. Tears was rolling down her cheeks when she started the car and drove down route 66. She’s didn’t even have time to visit wheel well a last time.
She just passed the billboard of radiator springs when her vision became blurry, she couldn’t see the road and drove to close to the roadside, before she knew it, she was in the ditch. She saw sheriff’s car pull up.
Sally rolled her window down and waited for Sheriff.
“I need to see your driver’s license and id- Sally? Hey are you okay?”
Sally just shrugged her shoulder, trying to hold her tears back
“Okay… roll your window up and get out of the car, I’m gonna drive you to the clinic and then call Mater to come get your car”.
Sally stumbled out of the car, so sheriff carried her bridal style to his car and sat her in the passenger seat.
Sally knew sheriff could she the tears, and she was very thankful he didn’t say anything.
Knock knock knock
The door opened
“Sorry to disturb you this late Doc, but Sally was out driving, and she came a little of the road. She currently sitting in my car. Something is wrong, she’s not full out crying, but she is upset about something”
“Has she said anything? Did you talk to her?”
“No I think it was best to let her get stuck with you in the clinic so she didn’t have a chance to push the questions aside,”
“Good thinking,”
“Did you see any bruises or anything?”
“No, her legs gave out though, but I think that was an aftershock,”
“Yeah…. Maybe,”
Both looked in the direction of the police car, Sally was sitting, trying hard to push her tears away.
“Well, I best get a look at her,” Doc went to passenger door and opened it, he knelt, and looked at Sally who tried to avoid Doc gaze.
“Hey, wanna come in?”
“No, I have to go,”
“Go where?”
“I just have to go,”
“Well, that’s tough kiddo, cause I’m not letting you leave before I have looked you over,”
“Well, you have looked at me for quite a while now, so I would say, that’s enough,”
“OH, so you have a doctor degree now”
“Well, with how much Lightning keeps getting in trouble, I might as well have”
Doc could hear that Sally’s replies wasn’t wholehearted.
He stood up, stepped to the side and nodded to his house/the clinic “Common Sally,”
Though she was a little like Bambi on ice when she stepped out, she wasn’t falling or stumbling.
“Thanks for driving me Sheriff,” She didn’t hear his reply, she was already halfway to Doc’s house
________________________________________
Sally was sitting on the examines table.
“Well, you got lucky. You only got a sprained wrist,”
Coming over and sitting in front of her, he started wrapping the wrist
“So what’s going on,”
“Nothing,”
“Sally,”
“Nothing, nothing is wrong Doc,”
“Well, something is bothering you. I haven’t seen you look this lost since you came to town. Did someone contact you?”
Tears started rolling down Sally’s cheeks
“Did your mother call you?”
“She’s just… she never understands. I’m never gonna be good enough for her. I try and try, but in the end, I’m not good enough. She said if I’m not home by tomorrow, I shouldn’t ever show my face again. Why can’t she understand that I’m happy here. I’m happy with Lightning,”
Doc pulled sally in and embraced her, while she cried her heart out. She didn’t have to tell him. He already knew.
It was some weeks after sally had shown up in town. Flo had given Sally her guestroom. She called him one evening and told him she couldn’t find sally, and her car wasn’t there. He found Sally later that evening up at Wheel well, standing by the railing, a bottle of bailey in her hand. She was drunk. Doc took her with him home that night and carried her to his guestroom. That was a restless night, he had to make sure that this girl that he barely knew, didn’t die of alcohol poison.
But he knew that lost look in her eyes, he had seen it before in other people he had met through his residency both as a student in doctor degree and as a bachelor's student.
They got a long talk the day after.
________________________________________
“Sally, can I ask you why you were you were ready to throw your life here, away?” He was still hugging her to his chest, chin on her head
“I just want her to love me,” Sally whispered
“She told me if I marry the man, she has found for me, she would be proud,”
“But weren’t you dating someone that she choose before, and didn’t you work where she wanted you to,”
“Yes,” Sally sniffled
“And was she proud then?”
“No,” Sally choked
“Then why should she change her mind, if you did what she is saying now,”
Sally pushed her face more into Doc’s chest
“Sally, you’re the strongest woman I know. You had already decided that you wanted to stay 1 week after your car broke down here, and 3 weeks after you came, you decided to buy the motel and you stood for all the renovations, even the harsh work you did by yourself,”
“What should I do?” Sally whispered
“I can’t tell you what to do, but Sally you are a strong woman that has accomplished so much. You don’t need anyone’s approval,”
Sally went out of the embrace and exhaled.
“Well, it’s late, you can borrow my guestroom for the night and then call your mother tomorrow,”
“But…,”
“Sally, you need to face her, but I’m gonna be by your side when you call her. So don’t worry, you’re not alone,”