Author's Note: As far as fanfiction goes, I am pretty new at it. I have also been hanging out primarily in the Planes side of the Cars universe so when a plot bunny hit me hard and informed me that I was going to write this little piece I was rather surprised. That said, watching Sally's face while Lightning crashed left me with a writer's itch I needed to scratch and this three part project grew out of it. I hope that you will enjoy. Best wishes, C-130.

Disclaimer: I do not happen to own any part of the Car's Universe, and it just so happens that beta has not seen Cars 3 yet so this story is currently unbetaed. All mistakes are my own and feel free to tell me about any errors you spot so I can get them fixed.

The Language of Flags

Growing up, Sally had never been one of those cars that obsessed about racing. She had love fashion and politics but had never felt the need to watch other vehicles push their envelope of speed. All of that had, of course, changed when a certain hotheaded, hotrod had driven into her life and left her timing belt skipping.

From that point, she realized that she loved going to the track on race days. Not to watch the race in general, but to watch him fly across the asphalt like a red shooting comet. After Lightning proposed to her Sally had thrown herself into the rules of the track with the same intensity that she had given to passing the bar. That way, even though she didn't have the skills to support her man in the pits, she would have the knowledge to help keep him safe off the track.

Unfortunately, all the knowledge in the world wasn't couldn't keep her Lightning safe on the track itself. For the most part, McQueen was in complete control on the track, but when things went wrong, Sally couldn't prevent a bubble of panic from forming in her gas tank as she watched powerless to help. Most of the time Lightning would sail through the crashes and disaster without a single scratch or dent, but everyone's luck runs out eventually.

Lightning had had a couple of close calls over the years. Usually, they just resulted in a few dings and scratches, but there had been two accidents on the track that had involved some significant body work. Then there were the days that there was a major accident on the track. The ones where the red flag flew and every prayed that all the cars involved would survive. The fireballs, crumpled wrecks, and growing pools of oil were the source of her nightmares.

When those types of crashes occurred, Sally would often convince Mack to let her ride with Lightning back home to Radiator Springs, allowing the two of them some time to nestle up, bumper to bumper. They didn't talk during these rides; they didn't need to. Sally just needed to feel Lightning sleeping next her to try to chase away the fear that someday the red flag would fly for her McQueen.

Despite Sally's fears, after every crash Lightning was always there to lead the pack every time that the green flag flew…right up until the season that he didn't. The upset caused by the next generation of racers entering the sport was wearing hard on McQueen. Despite the race car's attempts to hide the negative effects of going from a leader to fighting to keep a place in the middle of the pack, he couldn't stop Sally from seeing the tell-tell lines signs of stress in his suspension, his exhaustion when came off the track, or how fitfully he was sleeping. It was getting bad enough that Sally was incredibly relieved that they had reached the end of the season because she didn't know how much more McQueen could take.

The race began the way that all of the others did. With the drop of the green flag. Lightning was placed in the middle of the pack, and as the cars lapped around the track, it was clear that he was fighting hard not to lose ground. As one of the only old generation cars left on the track, he was discovering that skill couldn't always win against speed. Still, McQueen was holding on. He was doing so by the skin of his teeth, but he still in the race.

As lap, after lap passed, Sally found herself relaxing into the rhythm of the sport. At this point, she knew that McQueen wouldn't take the cup this year, but Sally really didn't care. Each and every lap he completed brought him closer to the off-season, and the time they got to spend together. Sally couldn't help but daydream about all the catching up they had to do. As a result, she almost missed the moment that everything went wrong.

Sally saw the flash of the track's yellow caution flag go up in her peripheral vision, but her eyes were only focused on one thing…the body of Lightning McQueen was tumbling down the track. Even as the emergency crews screamed across the tarmac, Sally knew that this crash was different. The white flag was quickly switched to white flag with a cross, indicating that medical was on the track, and through it, all McQueen didn't even so much as quiver.

Then the worst case scenario, the red flag was flown, and Sally felt as though her engine had stopped. She felt like screaming loud enough to drown out the streak of the sirens, but her throat had tightened down in shock, and she was barely able to choke out a sob. Mater had to physically keep her from driving onto the track as the emergency crew loaded the crumpled mass of the broken racecar into a helicopter for transport to the hospital.

Just as quickly as the accident had occurred, it seemed that the track was clear once again. The green flag was dropped once again, as Sally was ushered out of the pits to get an update on McQueen's condition.

Sally never saw the checker flag fly. By then she was speeding to keep up with her police escort rushing to get to her boy's side.

End note- Well I hope that you enjoyed my first attempt at a Cars piece. I was a little more introspective that most of my work but it was fun to pound out in an afternoon. Again any feedback you have, whether positive or negative, would be greatly appreciated, and I hope that you will join me for the next installment.

Next Chapter- The Language of Doors- McQueen's recovery proves to become a waiting game for his friends, and no one is more frustrated with this than Mater.