Life's Highway Chapter 70, a cars fanfic

Final Chapter!

Epilogue- part 3
Olivia.

Three weeks later, Eric was still in a sad mood. He missed Rose.
Sure he could always play with Chase, but...tackle. And Chase just wasn't Rose.
Besides that, Sally had been kinda short tempered lately. Like the day before.
He had walked into the new baby's room, just to look at it. Lightning and Sally had transformed his baby room into his room that he had now, and they made one of the guest rooms into the new baby room. They had finished it, but a few cans of paint were still out, and Lightning still had to put the baby crib in there. Eric was not supposed to go in there. He'd just wanted to see it though, and he'd crept inside. Sally thought that he was playing in his room, but apparently not. He'd slipped into the baby room just to look. He looked around in there to see that it was painted a light baby blue color, but had pinks and whites too.
"Eric!" He heard from behind him, causing him to jump in surprise.
He turned to see Sally standing there, an angry look on her face.
"Eric Robert, come here." She said in her 'you're in for a time out' voice.
He walked sulkily to her and she picked him up, carried him into the living room, then set him on the sofa.
"Why were you in there?" She demanded.
Eric looked away.
"Eric! You answer me."
He looked back up at her. "I jus wanted to see wha it looked like." He said quietly. "I-I sowwy."
Sally shook her head. "I told you no. Don't do that again." she scolded in an angry voice. Eric looked down.
"Momma?" He said quietly.
Sally sighed. "What is it, Eric?"
"When's daddy gonna be home?"
Lightning was gone for race season, but this was his last race before the new baby was born. He had been gone since the day of Eric's birthday.
"Probably sometime in an hour."

Lightning had gotten home and Eric had run to him, wanting to go upstairs and play cars with him.
"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" He exclaimed happily, running around Lightning as he brought his suitcase into the house. He reached down and gently moved Eric out of the way. "Not now, buddy. Sally! Can you come here, Babe?"
Eric, sad at being brushed off like that, turned and walked up to his room. Once upstairs, he flopped onto his bed. He knew that any day he would be going to stay with Aunt Maria and Uncle Chick. He was nervous. He had never been without Lightning and Sally. Sometimes one of them was gone, but they'd never both left at the same time, except one day when they'd let him stay with Justin and Rose.
Back to today:
Today, he sat on the sofa before bedtime. Dinner had been cleared away, and the dishes had been done. Sally sat on one of the sofas, and Lightning's arm was around her. Eric sat in one of the chairs. He was sad tonight. A tear fell from his eyes.
"Eric?" Sally said softly. "What's the matter, baby?"
He looked up at her. "I miss Rose and Justin. And you an daddy never have time for me anymore...An I don't want you to go to the hospital. I don't want to stay with Aunt Maria." Eric began to cry.
Lightning walked to him and picked him up, then sat back down next to Sally. Lightning and Sally each put an arm around him. He continued crying.
"Shhh." Sally comforted. "It's okay, Eric."
He looked up at her. "No it's not. I don't want to stay with aunt Maria! I want to stay with you! I'll miss you!"
After ten more minutes of trying to comfort him, his sobs finally quieted into sniffles.
"Eric, look at me." Lightning said. "Your mommy and I have to go to the hospital so your mommy and the new baby can be safe. You have to stay with your aunt Maria, so that she can keep an eye on you."
Eric looked at Sally. "I'll come wif you. I'll be quiet. I promise, mommy!"
Sally shook her head. "I'm sorry, Eric. But you can't come. Besides, it'll be boring. But you're going to get to go play with Chase and Aunt Maria."
He hugged her. "I wanna stay with you."
Sally leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Not this time, Baby."
He wrapped his arms around her more tightly. "But...sometimes when you go to da hospital, I got to stay wif you. And miss Alice let me play in her office."
Sally shook her head. "Not this time, baby."
Eric sighed.
Sally ruffled his hair. "What do you want to name the baby?" She asked, trying to change the subject.
"Vivia." Eric replied. "It'll be a girl, an I wanna name her Vivia."
Sally looked confused. "Do you mean Vivian?"
Eric shook his head. "No. Vivia."
Lightning smiled. "Olivia?"
Eric nodded. "Vivia."
Lightning looked at Sally, who smiled. "I think Olivia is a beautiful name." She said.
They sat there another few minutes, and then Eric began to yawn. He moved onto Lightning's lap and fell asleep.
After about twenty minutes, Lightning carried him upstairs, then he and Sally went to bed.
At two in the morning, Sally awoke to a dull pain in her left side. She brushed it aside and moved to a different position. Her eyes closed and she was almost back asleep, when suddenly a sharp pain shot through her entire stomach. She cried out in pain, waking Lightning up.
"What's wrong, Sal?" He asked, then took in the situation.
"It's time." Sally said through gritted teeth.
Lightning helped her stand up and he helped her to the car, then he put their suitcases in it. After that, he went upstairs to wake Eric.
"Eric." He said, gently shaking Eric's shoulder. "Come on, buddy. It's time to go to aunt Maria's house."
Eric looked up. "Carry me?" He asked.
Lightning lifted him up and carefully walked down to the car. He put him in the car seat and buckled him up.
Lightning climbed into the driver's seat and placed a hand on Sally's shoulder.
"How are you doin, babe?"
She looked at him with an expression of pain on her face. "We need to hurry."
Lightning nodded and began to drive to Chick and Maria's house. It was a ten minute drive, but for Sally, the minutes were like eternity.
Five minutes down the road, Sally groaned and bent over.
"Momma?" Eric asked. He was scared. "Are you ok?"
Sally nodded and tried to smile. "I'm fine, Eric." she managed through gritted teeth.
Lightning reached over and rubbed her shoulder.
"Light, this baby is coming fast." Sally said through a moan. "The contractions are about five minutes apart."
"Breathe, Sal." He reminded her. "Just in and out."
They reached Chick and Maria's house. Lightning had called on the way to let them know they were coming. He picked up Eric and walked to Sally's side of the car.
"Tell mommy bye, okay?" Lightning said. Eric leaned over and hugged Sally. "I wuv you, momma."
Sally kissed his head. "I love you too. Be good for your aunt Maria."
Eric nodded. "I will."
Lightning carried him inside, where Maria stood waiting.
"Here." Lightning said, handing Eric to her. He set the suitcase in the hallway and then told Eric bye. Then, he walked back out to the car.
"Come on, Eric." Maria said, carrying him up the stairs. Let's go back to bed."

Back at the car, Sally was going through another contraction. They were still twenty minutes till the hospital.
"Light, I'm really not in the mood to have this baby in the car." Sally said after a particularly painful contraction. "Not to mention the price of carpet cleaners these days."
Lightning drove the speed limit all the way. By the time they arrived, Sally had almost had to start pushing, she was so close to having it. She had tears from the pain.
Lightning rushed her inside, and they quickly were given a room. Twenty minutes later, Sally was crushing Lightning's hand, trying to bring their baby into the world.
"Almost there, Sweetheart." Lightning encouraged.
Sally managed a smile.
"Come on, honey." Alice said. "It's almost here."
Sally gave one last push and cried out in pain. A few seconds later, she heard the cry of a newborn.
"It's a girl!" Alice announced, holding up the slippery, crying baby. They quickly got her cleaned and dried off and swaddled her. Alice gently placed her in Sally's arms.
"She looks like you, Stickers." Sally said softly. It was true. The little baby had fluffy red hair, and bright blue eyes. Lightning leaned down and kissed Sally.
The baby yawned.
"Aww." Lightning said. He gently stroked her fluffy, red hair. "She's beautiful, Sally."
Sally smiled. "Did you expect her not to be?"
Lightning kissed Sally again, then gently took the baby from her arms. He began to slowly rock back and forth, until the baby's eyes closed and she fell asleep. Lightning looked up to see Sally smiling.
"How do you do that?" She asked.
He grinned. "I get it from my dad."
Alice returned a few minutes later to take the baby back for some testing.
All the test results were good. She was a completely healthy baby, born 3:41 am on July fifteenth. Six pounds, eight ounces, 18 inches long.
Olivia Angela Constance Renée McQueen.

"Do you want to hold her, Eric?" Sally asked from the rocking chair she was sitting in. Eric nodded and ran to her from where he'd been sitting in Lightning's lap.
It was three days after the baby had been born, and Sally and Lightning had gotten home two hours before. Maria and Chick had brought Eric home to them, and Eric had run to Lightning and Sally the minute they'd brought him in the door.
Lightning pulled up a chair and set Eric in it, then Sally gently put the baby in Eric's arms and helped him support her head.
Eric looked down in wonder at the tiny bundle wrapped in a pink and red race car blanket.
"She's so small." Eric said softly. The baby opened her eyes and looked up at him. "She has eyes like you, daddy."
Lightning lifted the digital camera and snapped a picture.
Eric looked back up at Lightning and Sally. "She's pwetty." He said with a smile. "I like her."

That night, after laying Olivia in her crib, and putting Eric to bed, Sally and Lightning stood outside on the front porch, holding hands. The night was cool, and the fireflies floated around, lighting up the night sky.
"I can't believe how fast these four years have gone by." Lightning mused, putting an arm around Sally.
She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "I know what you mean. So much has happened in so short a time."
They thought back to all that they had been through since the day that Lightning had come into town and shredded the road. And since Sally ran from California and had her car break down five miles away. They had both transformed into better people. They had become boyfriend and girlfriend, gotten engaged, gotten married, and became parent's. They had a strong love. One that would be near impossible to break. No, one that couldn't be broken.
"I love you." Lightning whispered to Sally. "So much."
She leaned up and kissed him on the lips. "I love you too. More than you'll ever know." Standing there in that July night, on the front porch in each other's arms, they had no idea of what life might have in store for them. But they did know that though the road may be bumpy, they would take the journey together as they traveled down life's highway.

The End.

Well, life's like a road that you travel on
There's one day here and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind

There's a world outside every darkened door
Where Blues won't haunt you anymore
For the brave are free and lovers soar
Come ride with me to the distant shore

We won't hesitate
To break down the guarding gate
There's not much time left today, yeay

Life is a highway, I wanna ride it
All night long
If you're going my way, I wanna drive it
All night long

Through all these cities and all these towns
It's in my blood and it's all around
I love now like I loved you then
This is the road and these are the hands
From Mozambique to those Memphis nights
The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights

They knock me down
And back up again
You're in my blood
I'm not a lonely man
There's no load I can't hold
The road's so rough this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors

Life is a highway, I wanna ride it
All night long
If your going my way, I wanna drive it
All night long

There was a distance between you and I
A misunderstanding once
But now, we look it in the eye

There ain't no load that I can't hold
The road's so rough this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Just tell 'em we're survivors

Life is a highway, I wanna ride it
All night long
If your going my way, I wanna drive it
All night long

Life is a highway, I wanna ride it
All night long
If your going my way, I wanna drive it
All night long...

I'd like to thank every single person who sent a review for this story!
You're all awesome, and you were what motivated me to keep going!
You all can have some of Sally's celebratory cheesecake.

I'd like to send a special thank you to Nals, for all her help, tips, and advice at the beginning.
I'd like to thank Pancake3298 for all your reviews, and especially for being my voice over on FFN. Big hugs!
I'd also like to thank LatinMagicWriterIsOnFire for all her helpful ideas and reviews.

Big hugs to everyone!

Is anyone wondering what happens Sally and Lightning's children? Everyone else's children?
Find out in a few weeks!
On The Road Again, by MereMcQueen314.
Sequel to Life's Highway.

Until we meet again...
Ka-Chow!