Not much point to this one, but I didn't want to get straight into the official adoption. So, this is just a filler. Unfortunately, I had very few ideas for it.
Chapter 2: Unexpected Joy (Part 2)
Within a few weeks, everyone in Radiator Springs felt like Fudge had always been with them in some ways. She fit into their little family that easily, but in other ways, she still felt new and exciting because that was exactly what she was. She had brought so much unexpected joy to her new foster family, who loved her more than life itself.
Of course, the happiest residents of the small town were Guido and Luigi. Every time they caught a glimpse of Fudge; held her or even had to change her diaper, they seemed completely euphoric. They really were proud new parents.
"I keep expecting I am going to wake up and find out she is all just a dream!" Luigi exclaimed repeatedly, mostly while he either held her or took photos of her. (He and Guido took a lot of photos of her doing just about everything she could do, which wasn't much at her age, and wearing every single outfit she owned) "I hope not; I do not know what I would do without her now! She is such an angel!"
Even though Luigi and Guido were this little girl's foster fathers and so, of course, they were the ones who did the most to take care of her, that didn't mean everyone else just sat back and watched. The other residents took whatever time they could get with their little angel, often relieving her parents of tasks such as feeding her or changing her. The only exception was Mater; while he did care for Fudge, the others were too afraid to let the clumsy, childish and loud-mouthed tow truck help out too much. Besides, he declared that changing diapers was gross and refused to do it.
For the most part, Guido and Luigi were naturals when it came to parenting. In fact, they made it look easy. One night, Red went over to Casa Della Tires to find Luigi looking very perky as he cooked dinner.
"I just bathed Fudge and put her to bed!" he announced happily. "And she is so cute when she is asleep! I better fix her a bottle in case she wakes up during the night. Oh!" he exclaimed as an afterthought. "Then I need to call Mamma to tell her about Fudge! She has been asking about her."
"And you're not tired?" Red asked incredulously.
"No", Luigi replied, surprised.
"Wow! You just seem to have a lot of energy for someone who has a two-week-old baby", the fire truck commented. "I don't know how you do it. Neither does anyone else."
Luigi smiled. "It is nice to have something to do for a change. And I just love her so much! Besides, she is very easy to look after."
That was true. Fudge was a very happy baby and according to Luigi and Guido, she slept well every night, making it extremely easy to look after her. She didn't even cry all that much. Most of the time, she only cried when Mater held her. The tow truck didn't understand why the baby didn't seem to like him very much.
Red smiled too. "Well, we're all happy you're happy."
Of course, even though both Italians were excellent parents and Fudge was easy to look after, that didn't mean they nailed everything right away. Parenting wasn't always easy.
Fudge was only about two weeks old when she was fast asleep in Guido's room, which he and his daughter now shared (because he was a lighter sleeper than Luigi; the Fiat could sleep through World War Three). Her dads had just left the room to talk quietly. They'd easily be able to hear her if she woke up. They didn't even remember what they were talking about, but they knew when the conversation ended and they tried to go back and check on Fudge, the door wouldn't open.
If cars could go pale, Luigi would have just then as his eyes widened. "Oh, no!" he gasped.
Guido tried with all his might to get the door open. "(It's jammed!)" he reported hysterically.
"What do we do?!" Luigi wailed. "Our two-week-old baby is stuck in there! We never should have closed the door! We have to get in there, Guido! Break the door down, if you have to!"
"(I don't want to hurt her or scare her!)" Guido countered, still trying to yank the door open.
Too late for that. All the noise had woken Fudge up and she launched into hysterical screaming and crying. Funny thing was she was just fine until her dads got hysterical.
"It is okay, Fudgie!" Luigi cried. "It is going to be okay! I think."
"(I will go and get Doc!)" Guido announced, speeding off. "(I think he has some tools to take the door off!)"
"Good idea!" Luigi replied. "And hurry!"
Doc was suspiciously calm when he came to Fudge's aid.
"Hurry, hurry!" Luigi shrieked.
"Luigi!" Doc understood that they wanted to get to their daughter, but... "Shoutin' at me ain't gonna make this go any faster!"
"Sorry", Luigi apologised contritely, trying and failing to calm down. "But what if she is hurt?"
Doc looked up at him suspiciously. "Hurt how?"
"I don't know..."
The Hudson Hornet gave him an unimpressed look. "Luigi. Fudge is two weeks old. She can't even hold up her own head yet. I highly doubt there's any way she could be hurt."
After what felt like a lifetime, Doc managed to remove the door from its hinges. Guido moved the door out of the way carefully and the three of them rushed in there.
"See?" Doc gestured to the crying baby. "Fine."
"Then why is she crying?" Luigi countered, rocking the infant.
"Noise probably scared her", Doc explained.
Luigi was only half listening. He just kept rocking his daughter, exclaiming, "Oh, Fudgie! I am so sorry! I am so, so sorry! We should never have closed the door! My poor baby! You must have been so scared!"
Doc fought the urge to roll his eyes. Yes, he understood why they were worried, but this was a little ridiculous. "Don't beat yourselves up over this! These things happen! And she's hardly scarred for life! She ain't even gonna remember this!"
Luigi sighed. "I suppose you are right", he realised. "Papà was just so worried about his little angel! Yes, yes!" He smothered her tiny forehead in kisses.
Doc just sighed and took that as his cue to leave.
One night, when Fudge was about three weeks old, Guido and Luigi had just put her down for the night in her crib and made themselves comfortable in the living room.
"(Do you want to watch some TV?)" Luigi asked Guido. There wasn't really anything to do while Fudge was asleep. If she cried as much as other babies, then they probably would've had their work cut out for them, but since she slept through most of the night, they didn't.
"Okay", Guido agreed.
So, they switched on the TV, only they'd left it on a racing channel where they liked to watch their Ferrari races. Unfortunately, someone left the TV on full volume and the sound of a loud VROOOOM made them jump. Even worse was that they weren't the only ones.
"Wahhh!" came the wails from Guido's room.
"(I got it!)" Guido announced.
The forklift thought it would be easy. He'd just rock her, whisper to her soothingly. Normally, she would calm down almost immediately. However, on this particular evening, Fudge decided to be cranky and wouldn't calm down.
"(It is okay!)" Guido repeated in his most soothing voice as he bounced the baby up and down. "(Everything is okay! Go back to sleep!)"
Yet, she didn't. She just kept screaming and crying hysterically.
"(Are you hungry?)" Guido quizzed his foster daughter, offering her the bottle.
She refused the bottle, still crying loudly.
"(What? What can I do for you, angel?)" Guido wondered out loud, as if Fudge could answer.
She'd been crying for about fifteen minutes when Luigi came in, looking frazzled. "She will not calm down?"
"(You tell me!)" Guido replied.
"(It was just a question!)" Luigi couldn't help snapping.
"(Sorry)", Guido apologised. "(I just don't know what to do.)"
"(Let me take her for a while.)"
Guido handed her over.
Luigi tried everything Guido had tried: rocking her, whispering comfortingly to her and trying to feed her. Nothing worked for him either.
The Fiat sighed. "(Now, what are we going to do?)"
"(I will get the book!)" Guido announced, speeding off. Doc had gotten hold of some parenting books for them. One in particular that they found helpful was one Doc had recommended about vehicles raising humans. It was written by a well-respected human psychologist Dr. Kathleen Gonzalez.
"(You couldn't have thought of that earlier?)" Luigi called out after him.
"(You didn't think of it either!)" his best friend couldn't resist retorting.
Unfortunately, just about everything they tried in the book ended in failure as well. By that point, Fudge had not stopped crying for about two hours.
"(Why don't we put the TV on again?)" Guido suggested finally. "(Maybe something will calm her down.)"
"(The TV was what made her start crying in the first place)", Luigi reminded him.
"(Do you have a better idea?)" Guido deadpanned.
He did not. So, he let his best friend carry Fudge downstairs into the living room and switch on the TV again. The racing channel was on still, but Fudge wasn't scared this time now that she could see what was making the noise. In fact, she appeared to be completely engrossed in the race cars on the screen.
Guido smiled smugly as if to say, I told you so.
The Fiat didn't even notice; he was too busy staring back and forth between the TV and his daughter. "Do you like the Ferraris, Fudgie? I am so happy you do! Luigi loves Ferraris too, but, of course, not as much as Luigi loves you." He kissed the girl on her forehead.
"(Perhaps she will love racing as much as we do)", Guido commented with a smile.
That was a thought that made them very happy indeed.
Of course, there were a lot of beautiful moments in Fudge's babyhood, a lot more than bad moments. One afternoon, when Fudge was about four months old, Guido just held her while they were all just parked around at Flo's.
"(I think she is bored)", the forklift remarked.
Luigi translated.
"(Maybe I should try something...)" Guido smiled as he began tossing Fudge in the air gently. "(Do you like that, Fudgie?)" He started spinning around as he tossed Fudge repeatedly.
That was when it happened. Just as Guido caught his foster daughter once again, he heard the most beautiful sound he had ever heard in his entire life.
"(Did you hear that?)" he quizzed the others in amazement.
"Hear what?" Luigi wondered.
Nobody else seemed to have heard anything. So, Guido tossed her in the air again and there was that noise again.
Luigi gasped. "Oh, Fudgie! You are laughing! Oh, you beautiful girl!" He kissed the little girl on her forehead.
The following night, the residents of Radiator Springs insisted that Luigi and Guido had a quiet dinner at Flo's. Without Fudge. Of course, the two of them seemed shocked at this suggestion. They had never left Fudge for longer than it took them to go to the bathroom. It stressed them out greatly to just let any of the others hold her or change her.
"Who is going to look after Fudgie?!" they demanded.
"You got a whole army of babysitters right here", Doc pointed out, waving a tyre towards the townsfolk.
"I think it would be good for you to spend some time away from Fudge", Flo insisted. "You've barely let her out of your sight since she was born. I remember it was hard to leave Grace for the first time, but it was better in the end." Grace was Flo and Ramone's oldest daughter.
Luigi sighed. "Maybe you are right", he admitted reluctantly.
So, the next night, Fillmore offered to watch Fudge while her dads were over at Flo's.
"Okay!" Luigi babbled, launching into his long list of instructions. "She has a bottle in the fridge. You know where the rest of the formula is and you know where the diapers are, don't you?" (Fillmore shuddered at the thought of disposable diapers.) "She should fall asleep in a few minutes. If she can't sleep or if she cries, you know she likes to watch the racing channel. Guido and I will be over at Flo's; please call us if there are any problems- anything at all! Oh! And here is a photo of me! If she looks a bit upset, please show her-"
"Luigi!" the hippie van cut him off. "It's not as if you're goin' to China, man. You're just havin' dinner at Flo's. Fudge'll be fine. I've taken care of kids before."
"You are right", the Fiat conceded. He trusted Fillmore; he would've trusted anybody because he knew everyone in town was wonderful with kids, but that didn't make the process any easier. "I know she will be fine; Papà just worries about his little angel, doesn't he?" He kissed the top of her head.
"That's what makes you a good father, man", Fillmore reasoned, "but don't forget to have fun every once in a while."
Luigi nodded. "Okay. I will be back in a few hours, Fudgie." He gave her another kiss on the forehead. "Be good for Fillmore. Papà loves you so much."
"(So does Babbo!)" Guido added as he, too, smothered his foster daughter's face in kisses.
Unfortunately, the second they handed her over to Fillmore and started to drive off, Fudge started with the wails. Both Italian vehicles hesitated, turning around.
"Just go!" Fillmore instructed them. "I'll take care of it."
Every part of their parent side wanted to race back over to her and comfort her, insisting that they were staying with her. However, they knew that their friends were right; as hard as it was, it would be healthy in the long run for all of them to get some separation. After all, they still had no idea how long Fudge was going to be staying with them. For all they knew, they could get a call any minute now, telling them that they'd found her mother and she was picking her up tomorrow. So, they left.
Fillmore smiled softly at the four-month-old he was holding. "Now, why'd you have to start that, man? You know your dads are just gonna get upset. And that you're in safe tyres with me." Fudge continued to cry. "All right. You wanna watch your racin', man? Just for a little while, though. Don't want that television to eat away at your brain." Even Luigi and Guido didn't want Fudge to want too much television or spend much time in her playpen. They believed she should be spending her time with her foster family.
So, he switched on the TV and instantly, the little baby seemed to calm down and be completely enthralled by the race cars on TV.
"See?" Fillmore announced, satisfied. "Everything's okay."
"Hey! You made it!" Ramone exclaimed, sounding happy to see the two Italians. Although, he wasn't happy to hand twenty dollars over to Sarge.
They did make it. However, they both looked like they wanted to bolt back home.
"Got some nice cold oil here for ya, honey!" Flo dropped off the cans of oil.
"Grazie." They each took a sip, but they barely felt like they could enjoy it.
In fact, Luigi had only taken two tiny sips before announcing, "I better call and check in on Fudge."
"Come on, Luigi!" Ramone shouted, almost begging. "Don't worry about it."
"Baby steps", Flo reminded him. "He's here, isn't he?"
Anyway, Luigi was already on the phone.
Fillmore had just gotten Fudge to sleep when the phone rang. He was quick to answer it, so it didn't wake her up. "Hey, Luigi."
The Fiat's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know it was me?"
Fillmore just smiled and explained, "I had a feeling."
"Well, how-"
"Fudge is fine", the hippie van assured him. "She just fell asleep about a minute ago."
"So, she is okay?" Luigi wanted to confirm.
"Of course she is."
"Grazie."
Another five minutes passed. Luigi and Guido wracked their brains for something to say.
"So..." Luigi thought for another moment. "Fudge did the cutest thing last night."
"Yeah?" was the response he got.
Luigi recounted the whole story about what Fudge did while he was giving her a bath. The others listened politely and while they loved hearing cute stories about Fudge, they kind of wished they could talk about something else like they did before Fudge was born.
Although, there was once again an awkward silence as they all tried to think of something to say.
"So... Did you see that news report on those sick kids in hospitals?" Ramone asked.
"Oh!" Luigi exclaimed. "That reminds me! Doc, Fudge needs another vaccination!"
"We'll do that next Thursday", Doc promised.
"Okay", Luigi agreed. Then he gasped. "I better check that Fudge is okay." He drove off to the phone again.
"Fudge is fine, Luigi", Fillmore assured him. "Still asleep."
"Grazie."
They hung up.
Fillmore turned back to Fudge, who was still fast asleep. He was having a pretty easy night. He just hoped that the phone wouldn't wake her up. Luigi and Guido better relax soon.
"Should I call again?" Luigi quizzed Guido about half an hour later for the tenth time.
"Si", Guido replied.
"NO!" everyone else hollered.
"You heard Fillmore; Fudge is fine!" Sarge informed them. "I know he talks a lotta" (insert inappropriate word here) "but I'm sure he's right about this."
Everyone else nodded in agreement.
"All callin's gonna do is wake her up and then she won't be fine", Doc reasoned.
"Honey, I know it's hard", Flo sympathised, "but some day, you'll see this is a good thing."
"Yeah, we kin have some fun here!" Mater shouted.
"We all love Fudge", Ramone told them, "but every once in a while, we wanna have some fun without her hanging around. Like we used to."
Luigi sighed. "But you know things are different now."
"We do", Flo assured him, "but that doesn't make it selfish of you to spend one night away from Fudge."
"It is not just that we are away from her for one night!" Luigi blurted out. "ACAFCA could call any moment now and tell her she has to go back to her... her..." He just couldn't bring himself to say the word family. They were her family, no matter what anybody said or did. "I know we were not supposed to get too attached, but we really have!"
"That ain't such a terrible thing", Doc assured them. "You love her."
"I know, but she could leave any day now and it is going to break my heart!" Luigi wept.
"(Our hearts!)" Guido cut in.
"Our hearts", Luigi corrected himself and translated Guido's Italian simultaneously.
"Oh, honey!" Flo exclaimed sympathetically. She gave him a hug. "I know it can be hard! When you're a parent, you never know what's gonna happen! But that's why every moment is so precious!"
"You are right!" Luigi exclaimed. "That is why I have to get home now!" He raced off and Guido was quick to follow him.
"Well, they're gone", Ramone stated the obvious.
"Maybe", Flo acknowledged, "but you're forgettin' somethin' important."
"And what's that?" Sarge wondered.
"They've done it now", Flo pointed out. "It'll be easier from here. Like I said: baby steps."
"We are back!" Luigi announced as loudly as he dared, which wasn't very loud when his precious angel was fast asleep.
Fillmore smiled. "You weren't s'posed to be back for another hour", he commented, "so I was expectin' you an hour ago."
"How is Fudge?" the Fiat quizzed him.
"The same as when you called two minutes ago", Fillmore responded.
"Well, thank you for taking care of her!" Luigi called, already heading for Guido's room. "You can go back to Flo's if you want."
And, of course, there she was, fast asleep.
"Oh! My angel!" Luigi exclaimed, reaching out to stroke her face. " Papà missed you so much! And he was only gone for two hours! Papà hopes you never have to leave! Never, never, never, never!"
He kept talking, but it was just the word never over and over again. He just wondered whether or not Fudge would be taken away from him.
Unfortunately, that was a question that couldn't be answered... yet.
Yeah... I feel like I could've done more with that, but like I said, I had no ideas.
I made Luigi and Guido snap at each other a little bit because I can only imagine how stressful it is to have a child and who hasn't snapped at someone like that when they're stressed? (I think that's Lightning's biggest flaw throughout the trilogy.) And, of course, they're great parents, but they still have things to figure out.
And you can see that Fudge's love of racing started at a very young age! XD