"I Have Absolutely No Doubt We Will See A Woman Driving In Formula 1 One Day."

Only Us

daniel ricciardo x ofc

word count: 5222

thank you to the lovely @leclerc-stan for always being there and @strawberrysainz and @forteafy for convincing me to post this 🫶🏻 i haven’t posted any of my writing in a while but with some encouragement and support i have built up the courage again. i hope this is okay. 🤍

tw: nausea, vomiting, pregnancy tests

Sienna felt like shit.

Her hands trembled as she dragged her suitcase up the front path, trying to ignore the sweat beading on her hairline. As expected for the Australian summertime, it was as hot as hell, but she had been sweating and nauseous even in the depths of the air conditioned airport and the taxi.

Daniel had, of course, offered to come and collect her from the airport, but she refused, knowing that they were hosting his parents for lunch that afternoon. She wouldn’t deny Daniel the rare, quality time with his Mum and Dad for anything, no matter how much she wished he was there to give her a cuddle when she’d first got out of the airport.

As Sienna fished through her bag for her keys, her stomach knotted again, and she inhaled slowly through her nose, bracing the palm of her hand on the wood of the door. Mentally, she noted that there was a perfectly good hedge next to their front door that could be vomited into, if needed.

Eventually, the churning of her stomach eased a little, and Sienna managed to unlock the front door, pulling herself and her case into the entryway. She set her backpack and suitcase by the foot of the stairs before beginning the search through the house for her family.

Rounding the corner into the open-plan living space, she smiled at the sight of Daniel standing at the kitchen countertop, chopping salad and bopping along to the summery music of one of his many playlists. He was clad in a pair of navy shorts and a bright blue, noisily patterned shirt. His feet were bare. She was home.

Slowly, Sienna walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his narrow waist. She felt him tense for a moment and giggled when he swore under his breath, before he looked down at her hands, which curled over his tummy.

“Well, hey there, cutie,” he murmured.

Sienna sighed contentedly, turning her head to rest her cheek between his shoulder blades as his voice settled over her like smooth caramel, “hi, baby.”

Daniel took hold of her hands to loosen her grip on him enough that he could turn to face her. She rested her hands on his hips, as his came up to cup her face. His stubble had grown a little since she had left, and one unruly curl of hair was hanging over his forehead. She reached up to smooth it back into place, with little effect.

“I fucking missed you,” he admitted, his gorgeous brown eyes scanning her face as he spoke.

Sienna nodded and leant up on her tiptoes to kiss him, “I missed you too.”

He smiled against her mouth until she lowered back to the flat of her feet. The motion alone made her head spin and she let out a groan, leaning forward to rest her head against his chest.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his large hands running up and down her spine.

She shrugged, “I’ve felt awful for the whole journey home.”

“In what way?” Daniel probed, his concern growing.

“Nauseous, dizzy, hot even in the air conditioning. I haven’t managed to eat anything today,” Sienna listed.

“Still?” Daniel queried in confusion, “you were feeling sick before you left for Sydney too.”

“Must’ve just been the start of it. The nausea feels the same,” Sienna admitted, “although I feel like I’m running more of a temperature now.”

Daniel shook his head and lifted his hand to press the back of it to her forehead, “you don’t feel warm, you’re just a little…damp. With the sweat, y’know?”

Sienna snorted out a laugh at his choice of words, “probably because it’s hot as hell here, as usual. Who’s bright idea was it again to move out to a farm in The-Arse-End-of-Perth, Australia, again?”

“Oh I do wonder,” Daniel teased in return.

They knew full well that both he and Sienna had painstakingly searched for a house just like the one they were standing in for years, and were equally enthusiastic when the farm had come on the market. The day they had moved into the house, 4 years into their relationship, had been one of the happiest of Sienna’s life so far. It was their home, and any time that they had spare from Daniel’s hectic racing calendar in the year since they’d bought it was spent there.

Sienna tilted her head back to peer up at his handsome face, her fingertips gripping at the silkiness of his shirt, “are your mum and dad here yet?”

Part of her hoped he’d say no, so that they could cuddle, and she could nap, even though she was desperate to see Grace and Joe again too. She adored Daniel’s family.

Daniel nodded, “they’re outside. But if you’re not feeling well enough to come out now, you can go lay down for a bit. They’ll understand.”

“No way,” Sienna shook her head, even though she was dying to crawl into her own bed and just sleep, “I want to see them.”

The Ricciardos were out on the patio, looking as put together and gorgeous as ever. Grace was holding a glass of red wine, watching Joe heating the grill with a beer in hand. Daniel came out, holding the large bowl of salad he’d prepared in one hand, and leading Sienna out with the other.

“There’s our girl!” Joe cheered at the sight of her, abandoning the grill to rush over as Daniel let go of her to put down the food.

Sienna never had to force a smile around Daniel’s family. They were always so incredibly welcoming to her.

“Hey, Joe,” she greeted, as he engulfed her in a tight hug. Grace had also made her way over in that time, greeting Sienna with a hug and a kiss on the cheek once Joe let go of her.

“How was your journey, darling?” Grace queried softly, cupping her cheek.

Sienna managed a weak smile, “it was a little rough. I don’t feel all that well.”

“Oh, sweetie, go and rest if you need to!” Grace exclaimed, her hands resting on Sienna’s shoulders, “don’t mind us one bit.”

Sienna shook her head, “I’ll be okay. I think I just need some food and fresh air. I haven’t managed to eat yet today either, so that probably explains it.”

Grace still looked uncertain, but let it go, taking her seat back at the table with Sienna beside her as Daniel went to assist Joe with the food again. Grace and Sienna chatted about her work trip to Sydney and other current affairs, occasionally looking up to laugh at the banter between Daniel and his dad over the barbecue, or the ridiculous way Daniel was shaking his hips to the music. They talked about her and Daniel’s plans for the rest of the summer break, including their upcoming trip to Southern Italy.

Throughout, Grace knew that Sienna still wasn’t herself. She was awfully pale, and Grace noticed how Sienna’s hands were trembling a little whenever she went to take a tentative sip of water. She also noticed how Daniel would glance back over at Sienna regularly to check on her, the small crease between his eyebrows showing concern.

In the distance beyond the patio, Sienna spotted their flock of sheep migrating over the red-dirt hills towards their pen. She made a mental note to go down and visit them first thing in the morning, along with her horses. She had missed them so much in the four days that she was away. Having enough space to own animals had always been a dream of hers, and she felt blessed that she and Daniel were in a position to do so.

Suddenly, a slight breeze blew across the patio, carrying the scent of the cooking meat on the barbecue across the table. Sienna’s nose scrunched as the rich scent of steak and seasoned chicken engulfed her, and her stomach lurched. She slapped her hand ove no r her mouth and pushed out from the table as bile rose in her throat.

Daniel could only watch in confusion as Sienna raced back inside the house. He quickly handed the spatula back over to his dad and took off his apron, not wanting to risk anything that was making Sienna feel more sick getting close to her.

“Poor thing,” he heard his mum saying sympathetically as he followed Sienna inside, “she really isn’t well at all.”

The door to the downstairs bathroom was flung wide open, and Sienna hadn’t even bothered to turn the lights on before falling to her knees in front of the toilet. There was no relief that came with actually vomiting though, and now she had started she feared she wouldn’t be able to stop. Already, there was little more than stomach acid coming up, burning at her nose and throat and only making the nausea worse.

“Oh, Peach,” Daniel sighed, crouching down beside Sienna’s exhausted-looking form. He carded his fingers through her sweat-dampened hair, ensuring it was all pulled away from her face before he kissed the crown of her head.

“I’m here, baby,” he soothed as she continued to vomit.

One of her hands shakily reached for him to steady herself, her clammy palm gripping onto his thigh where his shorts had ridden up a little to expose the tanned and tattooed skin.

Sienna let out a tired little sigh once her stomach finally stopped heaving, and she turned her head to rest her rosy cheek on Daniel’s thigh. She felt completely drained, and didn’t even try to open her eyes.

“All done?” Daniel asked softly, not wanting to speak too loudly and make her feel worse.

Weakly, she nodded, and Daniel shifted her until they were both sitting on the floor. Sienna was cradled in his lap as he smoothed his hand over her hair.

After a few moments, Daniel spoke quietly, “I’m going to put you in bed for a little while. If you’re feeling better later, you can come sit out with me and mum and dad again, yeah?”

Sienna didn’t even have the energy to object or explain how embarrassed she felt about getting sick in front of Daniel’s parents, so instead she just nodded. Daniel gently slid Sienna off his lap and onto the floor, before getting to his feet and bending down to lift her. He hooked an arm beneath her knees and the other behind her back, encouraging Sienna to curl into his chest.

“I’ve gotcha sweetheart,” he murmured when she let out a quiet groan of discomfort. Even the slight movement of him starting to walk up the stairs was making her feel sick again.

By the time Daniel had reached their bedroom, Sienna was fast asleep against his chest. He pulled back the covers with one hand and lay her down on the mattress gently. He made sure the air conditioning was set just as she liked it, that she had her childhood Snuggle Cat close by and a cold glass of water on the bedside table. He took a moment to perch on the mattress next to her, noting the tension in her forehead and the little crease of her skin between her brows, even in her sleep. Something was definitely off.

Of course they’d seen each other sick in the last 6 years, even suffering through a rough bout of Covid-19 during the pandemic. Daniel couldn’t remember ever seeing Sienna so unwell before. Usually she would still manage to soldier through any symptoms, and simply curl up on the sofa under a blanket to watch trashy TV, but this time, she seemed completely drained.

Daniel gently kissed between Sienna’s brows, before smoothing over the spot with his thumb, encouraging her to relax, shushing her softly. She let out a little groan, arching into his touch before she snuggled further into the pillows.

Joe and Grace had finished off cooking the meat and veggies on the barbecue by the time Daniel wandered back out onto the patio. They’d even set the outside table and brought out the side dishes from the kitchen.

“How’s our girl?” Joe asked, as Daniel raked a hand through his hair, sinking into a chair opposite his mum and dad.

“Uh, she’s sleeping,” he said, reaching for the bowl of salad, “she’s totally wiped.”

“I could tell something wasn’t right as soon as she got back,” Grace admitted, spooning a few baby potatoes onto her plate, “we can save her some of the plainer food in case she’s hungry later, Bub.”

Daniel nodded in agreement, “thanks mum. She’s not been feeling well for a while, even before she left for Sydney. It might just be a bit of a nasty virus or something.”

Grace set down the dish she was holding and stared at her son, “she left on Tuesday?”

Daniel, still not looking up from where he was loading food onto his plate, nodded again, “yeah, she was away for 4 days.”

“Might even be worth seeing the doctor if she’s still not feeling great after 4 days,” Joe suggested, pushing his chair out from the table, “I’m gonna grab a beer. Want one, Dan?”

Daniel shook his head, “nah, thanks. I’d better not in case Sienna needs me later.”

Joe nodded, grabbing his son’s shoulder on his way past him back into the house. Once Joe was fully out of earshot, Grace leant across the table towards Daniel.

“Danny…I think you need to go and buy a pregnancy test,” She said.

Daniel’s brow furrowed, “what? For Sienna?”

“No. For you,” Grace joked, before she shook her head, “obviously for Sienna.”

He felt his stomach clench a little at the suggestion, “you think…?”

“It all adds up, Bubs. I was so sick when I was pregnant with you that I was convinced I had stomach flu for two weeks. I was just like Sienna is now - couldn’t stand the smell of any food, I was vomiting, I had nausea and headaches,” Grace explained, ticking off the symptoms on her fingers.

Daniel let out a little laugh of disbelief, “holy shit.”

Grace shook her head quickly, seeing Daniel’s excitement at the prospect growing, “it might not be, but she’s got the symptoms. Might just be worth checking.”

“She should have had her period by now,” Daniel noted.

He couldn’t remember the last time Sienna had put sanitary products into their basket while shopping, curled up with a hot water bottle pressed to her belly or taken one of her ‘magical’ Epsom salt baths for her cramping.

It had been a while.

Grace nodded slowly, giving her son time to process his thoughts, “why don’t you run to the store now while she’s asleep? Your dad and I can stay here with her. I won’t say anything to Dad.”

Daniel’s eyes flitted to his mum, who gave him a reassuring smile. He nervously raked a hand through his hair, at which his mum leant forward, offering her hand to him across the table.

He took it and she gave it a squeeze.

“It’s gonna be okay, Dan. You don’t need to be scared,” she whispered.

Daniel stood, staring blankly at the shelves in the tiny convenience store. He didn’t think it was possible to have so many different variations of the same product. Surely they all just did the same thing, right?

He snapped a photo of the shelves and sent it to his mum, followed by one word. ‘Help.’

While he waited for her response, he started at one end of the small aisle, eyes scanning across the various boxes to see if any of the tests stood out to him. There were early result ones, ‘dip’ ones - whatever the fuck that meant - and a plethora of digital ones. They boasted the highest accuracy percentage, and Daniel trusted statistics, so he began picking a digital test from each brand off the shelf and dropping them into the basket at his feet.

His phone pinged, and Grace had replied; ‘digital is better. ClearBlue is what Mich used.’

Daniel nodded and slipped his phone back into his pocket, continuing his journey down the aisle. His mind kept drifting back to Sienna, who was laying in bed back at their house, unbelievably sick and potentially pregnant with their child. The thought of her carrying their baby was almost too exciting for Daniel to bear. He knew he had to get home to her quickly.

A dip in the mattress made Sienna stir from her deep sleep. She yawned and stretched, accidently shoving Snuggle Cat onto the floor before she opened her eyes.

Daniel was perched beside her, his large hand settled on the curve of her hip beneath the comforter, “hey, Peach. How are you feeling?”

Sienna smiled sleepily at the nickname, which made Daniel relax a little. She finally seemed a bit more like herself.

“Um, not as sick, I think?” Sienna answered tentatively, scrunching her nose as she gauged whether she was at an immediate risk of throwing up on Daniel. After a second, she decided that they’d be safe for the moment.

Daniel nodded, “good. That’s…good.”

Sienna then noticed the plastic grocery store bag in his lap, “what have you got, Dan?”

He looked down at his lap, and then back at her, “I went to the store while you were asleep. Mum suggested it.”

“Oh?” Sienna asked, rubbing at her eyes with a closed fist, not caring if she was smudging her already ruined mascara even more.

Daniel reached into the bag and pulled out one of the boxes, setting it on top of the quilt between them. It took Sienna a moment to register what she was looking at, but as soon as she did, she felt her mouth go dry.

“What-?”

“Mum said it might be worth taking a test,” Daniel said softly, hoping he hadn’t overstepped the mark, “that she was so sick when she was first pregnant with me, just like you have been, and I just thought-”

Sienna just blinked at him, her hand coming up to rest on her pale cheek, “I-I could be. I just don’t know.”

“You don’t have to,” Daniel insisted, reaching forward to take hold of her hand, “I know I’ve just sprung this on you which is pretty shitty of me considering how unwell you’re feeling. I’m sorry.”

Sienna shook her head, looking up at him from beneath her lashes, “do you want me to take one?”

Daniel didn’t really know how to answer. Of course he wanted to know if they were going to be parents, but for her, he’d wait to make sure she was comfortable. After all, she hadn’t had much time to process the idea.

“Only if you want to,” Daniel said softly.

Sienna took a shuddering breath, “I’m scared.”

“It’s okay,” Daniel replied, “I’ll be here the whole time.

True to his word, Daniel accompanied Sienna to the bathroom, leaning back against the countertop as she peed on as many of the tests as she could manage. After each one, she’d pass them over to Daniel, who dutifully lay them out in a neat line across the counter.

“Jesus, Si, keep ‘em coming,” he teased, quite impressed by the amount of pee she was managing to produce.

“Shut up, Dan,” she grumbled, her cheeks flushing a bit at his words as she clicked the cap onto the 6th and final test and stretched her hand out towards him. He smiled at her and took it, turning his back only to allow her the privacy to clean up and flush.

“How long do we wait?” he asked, as Sienna perused one of the many test boxes stacked up on the countertop after washing her hands.

“They take around 2 minutes apparently,” She sighed, wrapping her arms around herself.

Daniel was staring down at the line of tests intently, as if his gaze alone was enough to give them a result. She knew he was trying to stay composed for her, but she could spot his excitement a mile off. In that moment, she knew exactly what she wanted, and the real fear came from not being able to give Daniel that either.

“Danny,” she croaked, her eyes brimming with tears.

He turned to look at her and crossed the short distance to where she stood. As soon as he got to her, she crumbled, her arms wrapping around his neck and her face nuzzling into his shoulder to dampen his shirt.

“Hey,” he whispered, his hands running up and down her back, “it’s going to be okay, baby. Talk to me.”

She shook her head against him, and he gently squeezed her hips enough to hoist her up so she was sat on the counter. His hands cradled her face gently, those big brown eyes peering into hers.

“I love you,” he said quietly.

Sienna's eyes brimmed with tears again, “I love you.”

“What’s going on?” He probed, his thumbs stroking the fresh tears from her cheeks. The way she was trembling and crying was breaking his heart.

“I’m scared that you’ll be disappointed,” Sienna admitted, the words alone causing more tears to fall from her eyes.

“Disappointed?” Daniel’s eyebrows furrowed, “how could I be disappointed, sweetheart? If those tests are positive, I’ll be absolutely elated, and if they’re not, sure it’ll sting, but I know that one day when we do get a positive, it’ll be the best day of my life.”

Sienna felt her heart burst with love for the man standing in front of her, and she leant forward to allow their foreheads to meet. Daniel pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose.

“Do you want them to be positive?” he asked against her skin.

Sienna closed her eyes, and without a second thought, nodded emphatically, chewing at her bottom lip, “more than anything.”

Daniel let out a sigh, finally understanding why she was so anxious, “listen, if they aren’t positive, and you do have some shitty virus, then as soon as you’re feeling better, we’ll get on board the baby-making train.”

Sienna peered up at him, “really?”

“Really,” Daniel said decisively.

Suddenly she let out a giggle and rolled her eyes, “I can’t believe you just called it ‘the baby making train’.”

“Is that not what everyone calls it?” Daniel teased, laughing at his own joke as always. Sienna adored him for it.

“I don’t think so, honey,” she sniffled, bringing her arms to loop behind his neck so that she could run her fingertips through the soft curls on the back of his head.

“I think this might be the longest two minutes of my life,” Daniel admitted, turning his head to look at the row of tests again.

Just as he did, the first test began to beep quietly, the small light on the front flashing as if anyone who had taken one of those tests wouldn’t already be watching it like a hawk.

Sienna looked at him, letting a slow breath fall from between her lips. Daniel turned back to her and kissed her softly, silently reassuring as his hands gently took hold of her waist to ease her off the counter.

“I don’t know if I can look,” Sienna admitted quietly, her hands starting to tremble as the second timer beeped too.

Daniel’s hands ran up and down her ribs, “tell me what you want me to do.”

Sienna peered up at him, her vision blurring through her tears again as she saw the excited little smile playing on Daniel’s lips. She knew how much this moment meant to him, so she let him have it.

“Go look,” she urged.

Daniel kissed the top of her head before padding the short distance to the other side of the sink, where the tests were all lined up and waiting. For a moment, Daniel was frozen, his hands pressed to the counter on either side of the tests and his head bowed as he surveyed each of them carefully. It was the quietest Sienna had ever heard him be and the stillest she’d ever seen him.

After a few seconds of just listening to his steady breathing, Sienna mustered the courage to stand alongside him, staring at the side of his handsome face to try and gauge his reaction.

“Dan…what do they say?” Her voice was shaking, and she gripped onto the fabric of his shirt like a lifeline, too petrified to look down at the tests.

Daniel exhaled, turning round to face her, and it was then that she saw the tears on his cheeks. Only once he had her in his arms, did he nod, and let a beaming smile spread across his face. His hands came up to cradle her face, and he looked at her, grinning like a fool.

“Daniel…” Sienna warned shakily, as he continued to stay silent, “what-?”

“You’re pregnant.”

Immediately, Sienna buried her face into his chest and began to sob, as his hands wrapped around her tightly, one curling against the back of her head to hold her against him as she cried. He gently pulled back, pressing kisses all over her face even as she giggled and cried, completely overwhelmed.

“Oh my god,” she whimpered, leaning round Daniel enough to pick up the first test off the counter.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, but she just needed to see it for herself. Sure enough, the little display screen showed a plus sign, followed by the word ‘pregnant’.

The next 5 tests each said the same.

Sienna clutched them all in her hands, Daniel laughing joyously at the sight of her holding them all with a look of pure amazement on her face.

“Holy shit,” she breathed, “Danny…”

“I know,” he laughed again, raking his fingers through his curls, “I can’t believe this.”

“Me neither,” Sienna admitted, setting the tests down on the counter gently, “we’re going to have a baby.”

Daniel laughed, more tears falling down his cheeks as he reached for her. She stepped into his grasp again, her arms resting easily around his waist as her chin dropped to settle on his sternum, allowing her to stare up at him.

“I love you,” she said softly, as his shoulders heaved with another sob.

“I love you too,” he whispered, leaning down enough to press a gentle kiss to her lips.

The pair stood like that for what felt like an eternity, sharing kisses and tears in each other’s arms. Suddenly, Daniel pushed away from her gently, enough to drop his gaze down between their bodies.

“What are you doing?” Sienna laughed, as his hand came down to rest on her flat tummy.

He continued to stare at her body intently, brows furrowed, “just trying to imagine what it’ll be like when you can’t see your toes anymore.”

Sienna snorted and shook her head, “well for me, it’ll be ridiculously uncomfortable. For you, it’ll be like standing beside a beached whale.

Daniel shook his head adamantly, lifting his head again to look at her, “no way. You’re going to be the cutest pregnant woman of all time.”

“Oh really?” Sienna asked, as his hand stroked across her belly. He nodded and kissed her forehead in confirmation, completely overwhelmed at the thought of watching Sienna’s body change and grow over the coming months.

He couldn’t wait to experience it all with her: the scans, deciding on decoration for the nursery, helping her tie her laces when she couldn’t bend down anymore, feeling their baby kicking for the first time. It was all so exciting.

“Really,” Daniel affirmed, leaning his forehead against hers, “I think this is the happiest moment of my life.”

Sienna’s eyes watered at his words, “oh Dan…”

“I’ve always wanted this with you Si,” Daniel continued softly, “we’re going to have the cutest babies.”

Sienna sniffled and laughed, nodding, “we are.”

Daniel grinned, each of his pearly teeth on show as a hand drifted to stroke across her flat tummy, “do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”

“I have no idea,” Sienna laughed, shaking her head, “what do you think? Do you mind?”

“I don’t mind,” Daniel shrugged, “I mean my parents had one of each, your parents had one of each, you can’t get more statistically even than that right?”

“I guess so,” Sienna smiled, leaning forward to nudge the tip of her nose against his.

Daniel lifted his gaze to look at her, and she pressed her lips against his. They kissed for a moment, soft and sweet and gentle, before parting. Sienna whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Daniel murmured, pecking her lips twice more before his eyes lit up, “how do you feel about telling my parents they’re going to be grandparents again?”

Sienna giggled and nodded, as Daniel grabbed one of the many positive tests from the countertop, “let’s do it.”

Daniel grasped her hand, and gave her a little tug to follow him out of the bathroom. Sienna followed, one hand interlaced with his while the other grasped at his tattooed forearm. Just as he turned the corner and reached for their closed bedroom door, Sienna squeezed him, squeaking out an urgent, “wait.”

He stopped in his tracks as suddenly as she had, turning to eye her up questioningly, his eyebrow quirking worriedly, “you’re not gonna puke again are ya?”

Sienna bit her lip and shook her head, tears welling in her eyes again, “Danny, I…”

He let go of the handle and turned to face her, giving her hand a comforting squeeze, “yeah?”

“This is our last moment of only us knowing about the baby,” she whispered, tears threatening to fall more with every passing second.

The more she imagined the tiny little life growing inside her, the more her stomach churned with nerves and excitement.

Daniel nodded and took another step closer, “do you want to wait to tell them? We can wait if you’re not ready, although I’ll have to come up with something to tell Ma.”

“No,” Sienna insisted, shaking her head before giving him a shy smile, “I just want a minute longer to really remember this feeling, before it’s not only us anymore.

With that, she looked him up and down, taking in his luscious dark curls, his warm honey-toned gaze and gorgeous nose. She admired the way his boisterous party shirt hung off his frame and the glimpse of his thigh tattoo peeking from beneath the hem of his almost-too-short shorts.

When her eyes met his again, he was beaming from ear to ear, each of his pearly white teeth showing in the way that made her heart flutter unconditionally. She knew she’d remember him in that moment, and the way he looked at her knowing she was carrying their first child, for the rest of her life.

“I fucking love you,” she hiccuped, trying to compose herself, even as tears fell down her flushed cheeks.

Daniel snorted a laugh and pulled her close, pressing his lips against hers firmly, “I fucking love you too, darling.”

Sienna pecked his lips twice more, before pulling back to look at him, her gaze still soft and watery, “I think I’m ready.”

Daniel smirked and nodded, “then let’s do this.”

Clark: 0

Robin: 1

Dear Spa

Synopsis: The Belgian Grand Prix haunts the grid once again

young fem mercedes driver reader x F1 2023 grid

(george is on williams with alex, logan is the reserve driver)

We can’t remember “before you”

“Hi!” You grinned into the microphone when an interviewer called you over, to stand beside your teammate, Lewis. “Hi Y/n” He pulled you into a side hug. “Y/n, Mercedes have been looking fast so far, what can we expect from you two today?”

“Well, we hope to get onto the podium, and if not that, then just into the top 5 would be nice”

“And Lewis, what are your expectations for the cars today?”

“I mean, as Y/n said, we’re looking for the car to be in the top 5 at least. We’ve all been working hard in the garage and at the factory and we can only hope it pays off”

“Okay, thank you two, good luck today” The interview said as you two walked away and into the paddock.

2023 was your first year driving for Mercedes, although your third year in Formula 1. Toto Wolff had recruited you from Alpine in the middle of 2022 and had signed you for four years to drive alongside Lewis Hamilton. Seeing as you were much younger than him, you had developed a mentor-mentee relationship with the British man, and he became one of your closest friends on the grid. He gives you advice whenever he can and defends you when the racing world becomes too critical of you.

Right as you were walking through the paddock, you feel two arms wrap around your shoulders. “Hola” “Bonjour” Two accented voices say. “Hey guys, you ready for the race?” You grin at Charles and Carlos as you throw your arms around their shoulders.

“Yes, I can’t wait to be ran off the track again” Charles teases.

Two weeks ago, you ran his Ferrari off the track without even realizing it when he was trying to overtake you. He’s not mad since he ended that race in P3, but he still doesn’t miss an opportunity to tease you about it.

“That was two weeks ago, Chuck. Forgive and forget” You reply

“Don’t worry Y/n, I’ll just wave when I pass you” The Spainard says.

“And are you going to impede me if you do?”

“If I feel like it” He smiles. You laugh “I’ll see you guys later, good luck” You call as they walk towards the Ferrari garage.

You see George, Alex, and Lando together next. “Hey guys” You smiled as you brought each of them into a side hug. “Y/n, so, you remember how we asked you to come golfing with us on Tuesday and you said no?” George asked.

You furrowed your eyebrows. “Yes?”

“Well, we asked Lily and Carmen to come along, so you won’t be bored when you join” He smiles as if he came up with the smartest idea possibly.

“Oh, seriously you guys?” You threw your head back as the trio smirked.

“Alright, I’ll come with you. I’m not golfing though”

“Aw thanks, Y/n, you always know how to make us feel loved” Lando said sarcastically.

“We’ll see you after the race, Y/n, good luck” Alex called over his shoulder as the three friends walked away.

“Good luck”

“Alright Y/n, you ready?” Lewis asked you as you stood across from each other in the Mercedes garage. You two were about to start your formation lap, but not without seeing the other off first.

“Of course. We’re going to do great, good luck” You smiled, then you remember you were wearing your helmets, so you hoped he could tell by your eyes that weren't yet covered by the visor. He removed the hands that were on your shoulders.

“Good luck”

There was during you...

You sat in your car as the thirty-second warning came on. Your car rested at the P6 position, Lewis in front of you and Checo Perez behind you. It was supposed to be a good race, the skies were clear, the stands were full, and all ten teams were optimistic.

“Alright everybody, as the red lights come one, everybody clears the track” The voice of Ted Crofty becomes audible.

You take a deep breath, tighten your grip on the wheel, and focus your gaze on the lights above you.

1...

2...

3..

4..

5..

“And its light’s out and away we go in Spa! Max Verstappen gets away with no trouble, Charles Leclerc following after him into Turn 1. Fernando Alonso isn’t as lucky, scrambling to get away from Carlos Sainz’ Ferrari behind him. Lewis Hamilton manages just fine, as does his teammate behind him, Y/n L/n, pulling away from Checo Perez easily”

There’s a lot you probably should be worried about, but you’re glad you're not. You navigate through the race pretty easily, both Mercedes staying in their respective places until Lap 17. Carlos overtook Fernando, and now your teammate is attempting to do the same.

“Alonso, about to lose two places as Lewis Hamilton closes in on him in Sector. 3 He’s going for it. Hamilton down the outside...can he pull it off? Yes he can! Lewis Hamilton P4 and the show isn’t over for Fernando here. Y/n L/n wants a bit of action too, she’s going for it, their nearing Turn 3...”

DRS is on and you’re not giving up. You go down the inside of the Aston Martin, you’re Parrell to him, you’re going wheel to wheel...

“They touch! Contact between Alonso and L/n! L/n gets turned around and- oh no! Sergio Perez hits into the side of her car! Oh my...that looked...” For the first time in a while, Ted Crofty is speechless.

Suddenly there is debris everywhere. It’s an immediate red flag and the reflexes of the drivers behind Perez are tested as they try to avoid the collision in the middle of the track. The crash caused Sergio’s car to slow down, but it also set your car forward again which allows his to accelerate again. The Red Bull pauses, waiting for the cars behind him to clear before moving forward and stopping his car at the limits of the track.

“What happened?”

“Who was that?”

“That..that looked bad. Who was it?”

“That was Y/n? Is she okay?”

It all happened too fast. As a Formula 1 driver, you needed to have the fastest reflexes possible, but this time, if you blinked, you’ve already missed half of it. You knew your car had been sprawled sideways across the track, you just didn’t know Checo Perez a second and a half behind you.

It felt like the entire right side of your body had bowling balls thrown at it. You tried overtaking Fernando on a straight, so the Red Bull crashed into you with full power. Your hip felt the most force, but your legs were crushed under the dented medal of your car. You couldn’t even feel your right arm and it’s better that you didn’t. The crash knocked your head straight into the left side of your headrest and even with that bulky helmet, you were seconds away from unconsciousness.

For reasons you couldn’t figure out and didn’t have the time to, the words said in your last conversation swam in your head.

“Good luck”

“Good luck”

“Good luck”

If this is good luck, then what is bad luck?

You thought as your eyes closed. You didn’t have to find out, because the luck that was your life, runs out.

Eighteen cars are back in the pitlane, but Sergio Perez’s Red Bull remains out on the track. He turns off his car no problem, but his shaky hands cannot seem to unbuckle the harness that keeps him in his seat. He’s been in Formula 1 a long time, and he can’t thoroughly describe it, only as a terrible, terrible feeling, one you have all over your body. He’s only felt it once and he never wanted to feel it again. His body is in déjà vu, thinking of the terrible day in Japan, in denial of this day in Spa.

He pulls himself out of the car and sprints towards you. “Y/n!” He screams as loud as he possibly can. “Y/n!” He’s muttering curses and pleadings. “Y/n please” He lifts your visor to reveal your closed eyes. The Mexican swears again and looks around frantically for the medical team. He weaves his arms through the halo and starts shaking your shoulders. Segio doesn’t know what it’ll do but he doesn’t know what else he can do.

He unbuckles your harness as well before removing your helmet and balaclava whilst his brain is trying to remember the safety procedures he was taught. The man places two fingers underneath your chin where your pulse point is supposed to be. Except it isn’t, and Sergio Perez begins to panic. He tries to be still for a moment, watch your nose and your mouth and your chest for any signs of breathing, and places his hands over his own helmet covered face. His voice breaks. “Y/n”

Flashes of red lights dance across your reflective visor and the sound of sirens becomes audible. He keeps his head rested on the side of your car and his hands clasped together in a prayer, hoping that the crash could be undone. There are wheels squeaking against the track and footsteps rushing around and he feels a hand placed on his shoulder.

“Sergio, are you okay? Come over here, you need a checkup...” A marshal drones on but Checo’s mind is on you. That terrible feeling is drowning him, forcing him to remember how it felt when he learned Jules Bianchi died and how he promised to never let a friend die. Sergio Perez has been in Formula 1 a long time; he should know not to make promises you can’t keep.

But we never thought there’d be an “after you”

The Mercedes garage knows first. The message comes from a radio and Lewis thinks that no message that important should be given by a radio.

He’s angry first. The British man is not known for his rage, but it escapes him before he can control it. He’s been out of his car for almost 10 minutes by now, Toto telling him to come out when 20 minutes passed, and they hadn’t been given an update. Lewis was listening to the station the medical team uses, and he, like everyone else in the room, was still.

“We’ve completed the examination, there is no pulse. Y/n L/n is dead”

A calm, before the storm.

He grabs the radio before anyone can react and is shouting without even realizing it. “No you haven’t. You check and you check again and again until she walks back here, okay?” Lewis’s voice breaks and his heart knows it even though his brain is denying it.

“I’m sorry but she’s-”

“No, no, she isn’t anything. She is fine and you bring her back here right now. You tell her I need to talk to her, you tell her I need her right now” A sob slips from his mouth and he’s buried his head in his hands as if taking his eyes off the world would bring her back into it.

The normally stoic Toto Wolff has tears shining in his eyes and Susie is crying next to him. The engineers in the room don’t know what to do, only that they want to go home and miss you and try to convince themselves they’ll see you later, walking out of the hotel with a smile on your face, rushing to catch your flight.

The FIA knows your relationship with the rest of the drivers well enough that none of them will have the heart and mind to finish the race. They radio each of the team’s garage’s one at a time, breaking the news and informing them of their decision.

Ted Crofty and Martin Brundle know next, and they are graced with the gift of telling almost 400 thousand people that one of their drivers have died. Tec Crofty and Martin Brundle are well into their age and have seen a lot but seeing a young woman killed doing what she loved in a freak accident? No, that’s too much.

A heavy silence fills Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and the fans are stunned into the silence of reality.

The drivers are questioning themselves for the first time since 2019. Charles Leclerc breaks down into tears and he’s not sure how many more loved ones he can lose before he crumbles completely. Pierre Gasly sobs at the thought of having to lay another bouquet of flowers at this track and this time, without you by his side.

Esteban Ocon is spiraling into déjà vu and Yuki Tsunoda is torn between comforting himself, Daniel Ricciardo, or making the trip to Alpine to see his best friend. In that moment, the Australian is sure he will never smile again because you aren’t here it mirror it or cause it. Carlos Sainz hopes he never loses one of his sisters but if he does, he knows it will feel like this. The Spainard only wished to protect you and keep you happy and is left crying with his wishes falling just like his tears.

Fernando Alonso knows this is something that will be engraved in his mind for every second of every day for the rest of his life. People assure him, it’s not your fault, it was a freak accident, but it doesn’t feel like it. He knows how to defend, especially without making contact, so how do you explain this? The man is advised not to let the grief consume him, but he welcomes it, lives with it until November, when he announces his retirement and knows that it’s permanent this time.

Lando Norris, George Russel, and Alex Albon are in states of disbelief.

We were talking, not even two hours ago... she was supposed to go with us...

You were supposed to go golfing with the three, yes, but you were also meant to go through Formula 1 with them. Be there for every podium, every win, every World Championship the four of you always dreamed of winning. Now they just dream of getting one more minute with you.

Dear Spa, stop killing our friends

Cherry tomato?

Pairing : Charles Leclerc x reader

Theme : Fluff

In which you did a Tiktok prank on your boyfriend and he nearly fainted.

You were sprawling on the couch, giggling and chuckling at your phone. You had been watching Tiktok and there was this trend going on where you told your dad or significant other about a $100 for a premium air so you wanted to try it on Charles.

Charles didn’t reply and you didn’t expect him to. He had a meeting with a brand so he had told you earlier that he won’t be able to reply to you immediately but you told him it won’t be a problem as you wouldn’t be going anywhere.

“Hi, baby.” Charles came home and placed his watch on the dining table before giving you a peck on your cheek.

“Oh, hi!”

“Where did you go today? I thought you said you had no plan?”

“Ah, I went to get these!” You popped a slice of cherry tomato into your mouth and offered one to him. Charles then went to your side and leaned over so you could feed him. “It was crazy expensive, wasn’t it?”

He was already walking to the fridge to get himself a drink while still chewing on the cherry tomato. “Sorry?”

“I can’t believe it was that expensive!” You threw in another cherry tomato into your mouth.

“The cherry tomatoes?”

“No, the air!”

Charles frowned before closing the fridge and ambled his way back to where he was by your side. He was clearly confused, it looked like he had question marks all over his head and you had to control your laughter. “What air are you talking about, baby?”

“The tire pressure! I never knew they charge you £50 per tire!”

“What? Who told you that?” Charles tilted his head to catch on your gaze.

“The guy at the tire shop! He was like you have to pay £50 for this.” You mimicked the way the guy supposedly talk.

“Was he trying to tell you a joke?”

“No, he wasn’t! I was supposed to pay £200 for all four tires because he told me all of them were under-inflated but he gave me a discount so I only had to pay £100 which was a good deal because that meant I paid what…like £25 per tires.”

“Wait, wait. Slow down. I’m confused.” Charles shook his head as if he was trying to shake off those question marks and pushed the bowl of cherry tomatoes away so you could stop munching on them and pay attention to him. “So, you are saying that you paid £100 for the air?”

“I paid £100 instead of £200, yeah.” You shrugged and pulled the bowl closer to take another cherry tomato.

“Baby, stop.” He held you wrist before you could touch the them.

“Why?”

“You paid £100 for air?”

“Yes, mon beau. It was a good discount I know. He probably gave the discount because I looked pretty today.” You retracted you arm away from his grip to go back to the cherry tomatoes.

“Stop, stop.”

“Charles!” You scowled at him and crossed your arms.

“They didn’t give you a discount, they scammed you!”

“What? Why?” You could get an Oscar for the facial expression alone.

“You were supposed to pay 50 cents for it. No one paid that much! Are you crazy?” He gasped in horror and looked like he could faint any moment.

“It wasn’t me! It was the guy!”

“I’m gonna give them a call.” He heaved a sigh and was about to walk away to get his phone before you casually reply, giving him another heart attack.

“He said it was a premium air.” You tried making it sound like a mumble but it was clear, clear enough to make his ears red as he turned back to look at his girlfriend who looked so nonchalant that he wished he could knock some sense into her head.

“What did you say?”

“It was premium air. He said it was more crisp than the normal one.”

“Baby, my blood pressure has reached my head and I’m getting goosebumps. Please tell me this is a joke.”

“I’m not joking! I paid them cash.”

“You paid them cash? Why would you pay them cash? Now we can’t even file a complain because we have no proof.”

“They said they only accept cash. Do you want another cherry tomato?”

“Oh my god, baby.” Charles had no other words to continue this conversation so he just heaved a sigh again and leaned his forehead against your shoulder.

“I’m just kidding! It was a prank.” You giggled and stroked on his back.

“What?”

“It was a prank!”

He stood up straight and pinched on the middle of his brows. “Please don’t do that again. You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“You should have seen your face! It was so cute!” You chuckled and pinched on his nose.

“No more cherry tomatoes for you. Give me that.”

“Wait, no!”

The Batkids doing that "Suspect" tiktok trend where they take turns filming each other running and say increasingly personal and deranged shit to make each other laugh.

Spoiler, recording Red Robin: *in a confused voice* Suspect listens to Green Day and Enya, like my guy pick a struggle

Nightwing, recording Red Hood: Suspect died once and made it his entire personality

Red Hood, recording Robin: Suspect has a superiority complex that is way too big for someone his size

Robin, recording Nightwing: Suspect has been engaged at least twice and married never

Red Robin, recording Spoiler: Suspect thinks assaulting people with bricks is a legitimate flirting strategy (Spoiler: It worked on you!)

Signal, who came out at night solely for this, recording Red Robin: Suspect can't come up with an original name and keeps stealing everyone else's

Red Hood, recording Nightwing: Suspect is actually a huge asshole but hides it behind that cheerful demeanor so everyone thinks I'm lying about it

Robin, recording Red Hood: I'm going to let the Suspect keep running because he needs the exercise

Signal, recording Red Hood: Suspect acts tough but has read every Jane Austen novel at least six times

Loved this fic. One of my favourites. ❤

What do you think about a wolff reader being engaged to Charles. And a "Who did this to you" trope, so.etjing bad happened to the reader, or she was mugged or harrased a hurt. We also get protective Charles, Toto and Lewis

All That Matters || CL 16

Warnings: 18+ only, violence, blood, reader injuries, medical procedures WC: 5.7k

F1 Masterlist

The line to the ladies room was longer than you expected when you told your step-mother that you would catch up. Susie had given you a quick wave, not wanting to miss out on the qualifying races, and departed without you. While you waited, you had pulled out your phone and busied yourself with a few replies of well-wishes from friends before going on Instagram and liking all the photos of Charles that you had missed earlier. 

One particular photo brought a smile to your face as you knew exactly who he was looking at off camera. You were wearing Mercedes merch for quali and planning to wear Ferrari for race day, so his team had avoided taking photos of the two of you until tomorrow. That didn’t mean your own camera roll wasn’t bursting with pictures of the contrasting black and red team colours. You were so consumed in the pictures of your fiancé that you didn’t hear the door open behind you. 

A shoulder bumped into you and your phone clattered to the ground before a heel quickly stomped on it, shattering the screen. What you had thought was an accident suddenly turned into an attack and the other women waiting in line screamed at the man and pushed each other away to reach the door. 

You couldn’t comprehend what was happening as you were thrown to the ground, pain lacerating your stomach from the kick you received as you went down. You tried to crawl away but a boot planted down on your back pinning you in place as you screamed for help despite the pain it caused. 

You reached out, your fingers clawing the dirty floor as you tried to grab your phone before the man stood on your wrist. His joyous laugh sent a wave of nausea through you and he bent down to grab your hand that you fisted tightly.

“No, no, please don’t,” you begged as he pried your fingers open. “I’ll give you anything, I have money, please.”

You screamed as your engagement ring was torn from your finger and you raked his arms with your nails trying to get it back before he closed his fist and sent stars exploding across your vision. Blood smeared across the linoleum floor as you tried to drag yourself after him, the pain of the door closing on your fingers no longer registering in your senseless state. No amount of money could replace what the ring meant to you and you couldn’t just let it go. You were a Wolff, and Wolff’s never give up - your father had instilled the value into you since you were a child.

Pulling yourself up the door, you gasped at the pain in your ribs and clutched the aching bones as you chased after the stranger running through the paddock. The determination was there in your heart and your mind, but it was your body that was failing you as your vision faded and the distance grew. The man was going to get away with taking your prized possession and there was nothing you could do as you crumpled to the concrete and let the darkness take you.

Toto gave his wife a distracted wave as he listened to the engineers discussing the weather with his drivers and he leaned back looking for you behind her. 

“She’s on her way,” Susie said, knowing her husband well as she reached him and massaged his tense shoulders. 

The qualifying round soon ended and Toto laid his headset down with a smile at the decent result. “Where is she?” he asked when he looked around the garage and noticed you still hadn’t arrived.

“She probably stopped in to see Charles, he could do with some cheering up.”

Toto shook his head feeling sorry for the man who would soon be his son-in-law before standing up and stretching his legs while Lewis and George finished the warm down lap and returned to the garage. “Maybe he’ll finally be ready to leave them if they keep ignoring his wise opinion.”

“Hello Toto, Susie,” Charles greeted politely as he walked through the garage, his bright red racing suit standing out among the black and white uniforms. He stopped to shake Toto’s hand and kiss Susie’s cheeks before looking around. “Have you seen Y/N? She’s not answering her phone.”

“I thought she was with you,” your father frowned, pulling his phone out to call you. “Voicemail. Hi sweetheart, give me a call when you get this.”

“Toto, it’s the stewards,” his engineer interrupted with a frown as he held Toto’s headset up for him.

“What do they want?” he growled as he took them and pulled them over his ears. 

“I don’t know, they only mentioned your daughter.”

Charles grabbed the spare headset that Susie usually wore and caught the end of the news. His stomach dropped and his heart beat so loud he could only hear pieces of information. Assault. Unconscious. Hospital. Hurry. He couldn’t stop hearing the words as he tore the headset off and saw the horror and fear reflected in Toto’s eyes. While Toto’s fear stemmed from the love of a father, Charles was that of a soulmate, the one person above all else in the world who he entrusted his heart to. 

“Go,” Toto ordered, knowing Charles was the faster man with youth on his side. “Run!”

Charles broke into a sprint, weaving through the crowds as they left. Stunned fans watched the man who usually stopped to sign autographs and take photos push his way to the exit with tears in his eyes. 

He didn’t stop, not when his breath was raspy or his legs turned weak. He pushed on, fear driving him to run as fast as he could through the city he called home. 

Every slap of his shoes on the pavement jolted through his body and he didn’t even have to think about the route to the hospital as his feet carried him along the familiar streets. He was in a world of his own, trapped in his mind thinking through his afternoon. 

He had sat in his car while it was wheeled into the garage, taking a few minutes to calm himself down after the shit show he had endured. He had bit his tongue and listened to the excuses his engineer waffled on with, preparing his own argument in silence in the meeting room. He wondered if those precious moments of waiting had cost him everything. If only he had got out of the car, if only he had been more assertive, he could’ve found you first.

“Monsieur Leclerc!” a nurse called out the moment he stepped foot in the hospital. For once he was glad almost everyone in the city knew who he was as he was quickly ushered into the emergency room where he heard your soft whimper. 

Harsh lights welcome you back to the land of consciousness and you tried to shade your eyes but the movement caused a bolt of pain to streak up your arm. Your head spun with stars dotting your periphery as you rolled your head to the side weakly to see your wrist hanging limply, the angle making your stomach turn as a whimper passed your lips.

“Mon amour.”

The voice of an angel, that’s what you heard before the privacy curtain was brushed aside and Charles froze as he saw the state of you. You had no idea how bad you looked, everywhere ached, you could taste blood in your mouth and the same red liquid seeped through the gauze that wrapped your hand that was naked of the engagement ring that had split your skin as it was stolen. 

The memory brought tears to your eyes and your lips trembled with a sob that spurred him into action, crossing the room and gingerly taking your right hand. He pressed his lips to your knuckles and the tears he had been holding back broke away, streaking their way down his cheeks.

“Who did this to you?” Anguish tortured his voice, emotion choking his throat as he dropped his head and clutched your hand to his lips like a prayer. “They won’t get away with this, I swear.”

You nodded but the pounding in your head was only exacerbated and you fell back to the pillow with a groan as the nurse finally returned with a team of doctors. You understood why everything hurt as they clipped x-rays to the lightboard and even from the bed you could see bones snapped like twigs. Charles' hand clamped over his mouth with a choked sound and he looked at your stomach as if he could see the broken ribs hidden beneath the bruised skin. 

You were grateful the nurse was there, promising to make you feel better with pain relief, but she took your hand from Charles’ and you missed the warmth of his touch as she prepared the site for an IV. A cool rush ran up your arm as she flushed the line before the dose of morphine left you feeling weightless and you could finally relax as the pain retreated. 

“He stole my ring,” you slurred like you did after too many drinks. “I tried to stop him but he was too strong. I really did, Charles, you have to believe me.”

“I know you did, mon amour, and I’ll get you another one,” he promised as he gently wiped your tears away. “All that matters is you. You are my everything and I love you with or without that ring.”

You smiled as he cupped your face tenderly and gave you the softest of kisses before you whispered against his lips, “I love you too.”

The doctors circled your bed as Charles took a seat beside your head, his fingers softly brushing your cheek as they spoke, but their jargon went in one ear and out the other as you stared at your fiancé. The fluorescent light caught the rarely seen dark red undertones in his hair and the shadows made his jaw even more defined. He really was your angel and when he looked back at you, you got lost in his beautiful eyes.

“Please, do whatever you need to,” he said, but you couldn’t remember what it was about.

You felt like you did when you went scuba diving with Charles in St Tropez, like you were underwater and your body was growing heavier with each passing second as the pressure squeezed your head. The more you tried to focus, the worse you felt and you barely heard Charles call out to the doctors as he saw your eyes starting to close and your jaw falling slack as you slipped out of consciousness again. 

–

Charles hadn’t moved from where he had been told to wait. His elbows had left dents in his knees where he sat forward, ready to spring to his feet at the first sign of news coming from the surgical rooms. The hot sweat from running across the city had long turned cold but he didn’t feel the damp chill from his fireproofs he still wore, all he could feel was the suffocating hopelessness of waiting.

“Where is my daughter?”

Charles jumped at your father’s voice breaking the oppressive silence and he jogged to the administration area at the end of the hall just as the receptionist pointed him to the waiting room. There was nothing Charles could say to ease the suffering in Toto’s eyes as they walked towards each other so the older man just wrapped his arms around him and held him for a moment. 

“Thank you,” Toto said as he pulled back and squeezed Charles' shoulders. “We got here as fast as we could but with the roads closed…any update?”

Charles shook his head. “Not since she went in.”

Charles had called Toto in a panic after you had passed out and the doctors noticed the trickle of blood running down the diamond earrings he had given you for your anniversary. The nurse had escorted him from the room and he had been forced to watch as you were wheeled away from him. He had feared he would never see your smile or hear you tell him you loved him ever again. 

He still feared that.

“They took her for a CT scan before surgery but that’s all they said.” Charles brushed a hand through his hair as more voices filled the hall and he saw Susie arriving with Jack, Lewis, Enzo and Arthur behind her. “Please tell me they found the bastard who did this.”

Toto’s jaw clenched as he shook his head. “Not yet, but there’s a million CCTV cameras - it’s only a matter of time. We’ll get him, son.”

Jack had run along the corridor after seeing his dad and Toto scooped the boy up and closed his eyes as he held him close. Leaving the father and son, Charles met his brothers and accepted the hugs they offered, following Toto’s lead and holding them tighter after being reminded how precious and uncertain each moment was. 

“I brought you some clothes,” Enzo said as opened the bag slung over his back. “Thought you might want to look half decent for her when she wakes up.”

Charles nodded his gratitude and took the bag to the bathroom, locking the door behind him before taking a moment to centre himself like he did at the end of a bad race; inhale, hold, exhale. 

It was as if his body recognised that he wasn’t alone, that his brothers were there when he needed them most and he didn’t have to pretend to be strong anymore. He didn’t even realise tears were freely falling down his cheeks until he saw his reflection in the mirror, eyes red and hair a mess. He was falling apart and he needed you to put him back together.

One minute. Sixty seconds. That was all he allowed himself to cry before he turned the tap to cold and washed away the sweat and tears. Dressed in a pair of jeans and t-shirt with a clean face, he returned to the waiting room and found Joris had also arrived. 

“I don’t understand how this happened, man,” Lewis sighed, his tattooed hand cupping his chin as he stared at a poster on the wall while deep in thought. “It was inside the paddock. She should have been safe. Where was the security? Was it random or did someone target her?”

No one had the answers but they hoped time would tell.

The hours ticked away and Jack eventually fell asleep on Toto’s lap. Other groups of families came and went, Charles’ hopes being dashed each time the doors opened only to find the news wasn’t for them. 

“Maman’s on her way,” Arthur whispered, though there wasn’t a sign to keep quiet, it only seemed appropriate. “Is there anything you need?” Charles looked at his brother, giving him a glimpse into his broken soul that needed good news. “Besides that.”

“Maybe coffee and food?” 

Arthur nodded and went to reply but the doors suddenly opened and there was no other group in the waiting room. 

Jack startled awake as Toto rose to his feet, passing the boy over to Susie before clapping Charles back and leading him forward to meet the doctor half way. 

“Family of Miss Wolff?”

Toto nodded and cleared his throat after hours of tortured silence. “How is she?”

“She’s not out of the woods but she’s strong. The next 24 hours will be critical in her recovery,” the doctor said as everyone gathered around. “We repaired her broken wrist with pins and screws but a broken rib punctured her lung causing it to collapse so she has a chest drain that will remain in place for the next few days. It would appear the same blunt force trauma that broke her ribs also ruptured her spleen so we removed it to stop any further internal bleeding.”

Enzo curled his arm around Charles to stabilise him as he swayed on his feet with the news. But still the doctor wasn’t finished and his already sombre mood turned morose.

“What we are most concerned about is the bleed in her brain and the swelling. We released the pressure but will monitor her closely in the ICU. Miss Wolff is on her way to the ward now so you can see her shortly.” 

“Thank you,” Charles managed to choke out but it was a miracle the nausea he felt didn’t spill all over the doctors shoes. “You have our gratitude.”

He pursed his lips together and nodded with a sad smile. “I‘ll come by in a few hours to check up on her, just head up to the ICU when you’re ready.”

Visiting hours were wrapping up as the group took the elevator to the next floor in silence, they were all consumed by their own thoughts. Their hearts fluttered with hope while prudence choked it back and no one dared to say a word as they entered the quiet ward. Even Jack, the chatterbox, didn’t make a peep as they entered your room.

“Oh, my darling girl,” Toto broke the silence as he fell into the seat beside you and his hand trembled when he couldn’t immediately find a way to hold you. 

Charles could clearly remember the shock of seeing you but this was somehow both better and worse. Though you had been cleaned up and were no longer in blood stained clothes that had been cut away from your body, now thick bandages covered your head and you were littered with wires and tubes connected to beeping machines. 

“Papa’s here,” Toto murmured as he settled his hand on your elbow to miss the cast below and the blood pressure cuff above. 

Charles swallowed down the lump in his throat and took Jack’s hand, leading him quietly out of the room as Susie placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder that shook with silent sobs. He could feel the looks of pity he received as he leaned against the corridor wall and slipped down to the floor with an exhausted sigh.

“She’s gonna pull through, mate,” Lewis said as he took a seat beside him. “She’s a Wolff and they are fighters.”

“For now,” Charles corrected. “She’s only a Wolff for now.”

Lewis huffed a short laugh. “Leclerc’s are pretty good fighters too, I guess. She won’t lose that when she loses the name.”

The room was silent except for the reassuring beeps of the monitors showing your steady heartbeat. 

Everyone had reluctantly left throughout the evening until only Charles and Toto remained. Neither man was willing to close their eyes for a moment, no matter how exhausted they were. The coffee Pascale had brought initially helped but now it was a matter of surviving on the packets of instant coffee and long-life milk from the refreshment station down the hall.

Toto cleared his hoarse throat and broke the silence as he stared at your face that still held the same resemblance to that baby faced girl he had raised and was thinking of. “When she was five, there was this boy at school who tried to take her doll. He was a few years older, and at least a foot taller, but she was so determined to stop him that the toy broke in half. She was so mad, she threw it at his head and the Headmaster called me because she refused to apologise to the boy.”

“What happened?” Charles asked curiously as he heard the story for the first time.

“I took her out for a hot chocolate, bought her a new doll and told her how proud I was. We don’t let people bully us, and we don’t give up on what matters.” Toto’s eyes were full of guilt as he looked at the man he already considered to be a part of his family. “What if this is my fault?”

Your father hung his head in shame as he remembered the information the police had managed to gather from the witnesses. They had all said the same thing; you had fought back and refused to give him your engagement ring.

“He was younger than me, and shorter,” you rasped as you blinked your dry eyes and let them adjust to the dimly lit room.

“Y/N,” Charles breathed a sigh of relief that ended in a sob and you squeezed his hand that held yours before it slipped away to hit the call button.

“He always gets the story wrong.” You smiled at Charles as he placed his hand back in yours before seeing your father’s red eyes and well up with tears. “It’s not your fault, papa.”

Toto nodded but you could see it was only for your benefit. “I’m just glad you’re awake, meine liebe Tochter."

“It must be bad,” you huffed a laugh but it froze as your ribs burned at the sudden expansion. “You haven’t called me that since I was a child.”

“Doesn’t matter how old you get, you’ll always be my little girl. How are you feeling?”

“Got a killer headache,” you admitted as you tried to reach for it but Charles tightened his hold and shook his head.

“Careful, mon amour, you’ve been through so much. They had to…” he choked on his words and you wondered what had happened before you woke but the doors opened and the doctors arrived.

You had been moved out of ICU after the doctors were happy with the results of the CT scan and the chest drain was removed, but it would be a few more days before you were able to return home. In the meantime, they had found you a quiet room that overlooked the city and you could see all the way to the Nouvelle Chicane where labourers were working hard to dismantle the track and grandstands so Monte-Carlo could return to normality.

Normality. No one knew what that would mean for you. 

Though you could remember your anniversary and Charles' phone number by heart, you would suddenly find yourself struggling to recall the name for what colour the sky was. It was frustrating to know exactly what you meant but you just couldn’t seem to articulate it. 

When it wasn’t your brain causing you grief, it was any movement from the neck down. The pain relief could only do so much without leaving you in a drug haze and you would rather be in pain and lucid when Charles returned. 

“Good news, I get to break you out of here for an hour,” he said as he arrived in a fresh pair of clothes, pushing a wheelchair to the side of your bed. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Your eyes drifted back to the window you had spent three days staring out of. “It’s almost gone.”

“What?” He gingerly took a seat on the edge of the bed and tried to see what you saw. “The track?”

“You could’ve won, Charles. You should’ve won.”

“Maybe, maybe not. But if I had to choose between you and a race, I will always pick you.” He leaned back and draped his arm over the back of your pillow, careful not to touch the stitches on your head. “I could be content never racing again as long as I have you by my side. You are all that matters to me. That’s why I can’t wait to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Even if I can’t even remember how to sign my name?”

“Then we’ll make a new one, it is going to be changing soon anyway. Y/N Leclerc,” he mused as he pulled a marker pen out of his pocket that he always carried around. “We can start practising after you’ve had some fresh air.”

Your teeth clenched as you swallowed the pained groan down but it quickly passed once you were settled into the wheelchair. “I’m sorry,” he apologised as he saw your brows pinched and he eased his arms out after carrying you to the chair.

“I’m okay, babe,” you reassured him as he gently pushed you down the hall to the elevator. “It doesn’t hurt as much today.”

It was a lie but you weren’t going to tell him that you had been declining the pain relief offered every few hours.

“Where are we going? Do you have a getaway car ready?”

“Not quite,” he chuckled as the elevator doors closed and he bent down to give you a quick kiss. “I thought you might be sick of hospital food.”

If Charles noticed your reservations he didn’t mention it, filling the silence along the corridors with updates and gossip for you instead. It was amazing that he found the time to catch up on news when he spent almost every minute by your side, only leaving to get fresh clothes and even then he tried to wait until you had another visitor so you were never alone.

He had tried to get you to talk about the nightmares that haunted your sleep but you weren’t ready to face that demon yet. The sleepless nights didn’t just affect you and you could see the dark circles around Charles’ eyes from staying up with you, holding your hand and wiping away the tears that regularly found their way down your cheeks.

“I love you.”

He paused the story he had been recalling and put the brake on the wheelchair as he pointed it to a bench at the front of the busy hospital. Sitting down in front of you, he took your hand. “I love you too.”

“I want you to go home.”

“Just a few more days and we’ll go home,” he said with a sigh, looking down the road as if he could see your apartment on the waterfront. “I know it’s hard, but please be patient a little longer, mon amour.”

You squeezed his hand and your eyes closed as flashes of light danced across your vision, the migraines a recurrence thanks to the concussion. “No, I want you to go home. Go rest and sleep in a proper bed, see your friends, your team. I don’t want you missing out on anymore because of me.”

“You stubborn woman, beautiful, stubborn woman.” Charles leaned closer and tucked some of your hair behind your ear, your hair that was missing a patch at the back where it had been shaved for surgery. “What is it going to take for you to get it? I’m not missing out on anything. I’m right where I am meant to be, with you.”

You opened your eyes to see the sincerity on his face and your argument faded away with his kiss.

“I’m sorry for being stubborn,” you murmured against his lips. “I guess you could say I have a thick skull.”

“Ma chérie,” he groaned and pulled back to laugh softly. “That’s not funny.”

“I beg to diff-” your words froze as the doors up ahead opened and you panic contracted your chest.

“Y/N?” Charles asked, his hand cupping your cheek as your lips parted with rapid breaths before he followed your fixed gaze. “What is it?”

Charles saw you staring at a newcomer in reception. He was asking to see a doctor as he held his arm that was streaked with angry red and weeping cuts that were clearly infected and in need of antibiotics.

Charles’ head snapped back to you and saw the fear written on your face along with the cold sweat that broke on your forehead. You were terrified of the stranger, terrified he would recognise you like you had recognised him.

The man glanced over his shoulder and you looked down at your hands. It was as if you could still feel the skin that you had raked your nails down and feel the blood that had coated them.

“Charles,” you stammered as your hands began to tremble. “It’s him. He did this to me.”

Charles was on his feet in an instant and crossing the room, his shoulders back so he stood at his full height when he faced the person who assaulted you. Your sweet, gentle fiancé was gone and the man who stood in his place was one you didn’t recognise. There was no warmth in those green eyes, no smile on those lips. You had seen him furious after races ended badly but nothing came close to the rage that simmered close to the surface. 

“You,” Charles growled as he stepped toe to toe with the man who blanched back in realisation. “Don’t even think about it.”

Your fingers dug into the vinyl padding along the armrest as you watched the man turn and try to flee, but Charles was faster. You were too stunned to do or say anything when the receptionist screamed for security and Charles tackled the man around the waist, taking him to the floor with a heavy thud.

Sanity returned as quick as it left when Charles’ fist connected with the man’s jaw and security burst into the building. “Shit, Charles!” you screamed as thick arms curled under him and dragged him away. 

“I promise you,” Charles growled angrily, his eyes wild as they narrowed on the man cradling his jaw. “You’re gonna pay for what you did.”

He shook the arms off him and brushed a hand through his hair before pointing to the man. “Will someone call the fucking police? This bastard assaulted my wife!”

You should have been focused on what was unfolding but your heart fluttered at the words that rolled so naturally off his tongue and a small smile tipped your lips up. 

Your attack had been widely publicised by the major news outlets, and there were plenty of grainy CCTV images of his face, so when Charles pointed his finger at the man responsible the security guards quickly turned their attention to him.

“Charles,” you called softly, his hair bouncing as he rushed back to your side. “Are you alright?”

You took his hand, gently unfurling his trembling fist as you saw the reddening skin across his knuckles. He slipped his hand out of your grasp and shook it out with a wince.

“Hurt more than I thought it would,” he admitted as he stared at the hand that had struck violence before dropping to the bench seat and hanging his head in shame. “I didn’t mean to scare you, mon amour.”

“You didn’t scare me, Charles. You could never scare me,” you assured him as you lifted his head so you could see the eyes you had fallen in love with. “I’ve never seen you like that before.”

“I’ve never felt anything like that before,” he admitted. “Something just flipped and I was so angry I couldn’t control it.”

You saw his eyes start to drift away but you brought him back with a soft kiss. “You called me your wife.”

“I did, didn’t I?” His eyes widened before crinkling with a smile. “You’re already my everything, mi alma, ma cœur, mia amata. Marry me.”

“That’s the plan.”

“No, now, as soon as we can. Marry me, please.”

The thought of waiting six months suddenly felt like a lifetime and you were already nodding your head, the doors crashing open as police swarmed the reception. “Okay, yes, of course,” you said with a beaming smile as cuffs were slapped on the strangers wrists.

“Yeah?” Charles seemed shocked you actually agreed but when your smile widened and you nodded he blessed you with a smile you hadn’t seen since you saw him before the qualifiers, the one that defined his dimples. “I’ll call your father now. I, ah, should probably update him about that too.”

You looked over to see the man receiving some treatment and heard the police officer remind the doctor to keep it to ‘just the basics’ so he could be transported to the station.

You nodded numbly, in a state of shock, as he pulled his phone out. The last ten minutes had been a roller coaster of emotions and you ran a hand down your face to find your cheeks wet once more. This time they were tears of joy and relief.

“I’m getting married,” you whispered to yourself before a surprise giggle bubbled in your chest. Despite the terror and pain you had survived, your dreams were about to come true and if anyone could manage to organise last minute nuptials in Monte-Carlo it was Charles. The man has connections everywhere.

“Your father is on his way,” Charles said as he returned, tapping his phone against his thigh in his nervous habit. “I hope that bastard is taken away before he gets here or it might be Toto that ends up behind bars.”

“He’s all bark, no bite. I think he’s safe.”

“Don’t underestimate what a father would do for his child,” Charles said softly. “If we had children I know there is nothing I wouldn’t do for them.”

You swallowed at the sincerity in his voice and placed your hand on his. “You’ll make a great father, Charles.”

He leaned forward and captured your lips in a searing kiss before resting his forehead on yours. “But first I have to be a great husband, and to do that I have some favours to call in.”

“Who?”

Charles just smiled but you saw the name on the screen before he hit the call button. Prince Albert of Monaco.

“You’re hoping to use your favour with the Prince on this!”

“I can’t think of a better use,” he said with a wink as the line trilled. “All that matters is by the end of the day you are mine and I am yours in every sense. Ah, hi, hello, it’s Charles Leclerc, I was hoping to speak with the Prince…”

You watched Charles pace as he spoke, his free hand fidgeting with his rings and his hair until it dropped to his side and his jaw fell slack. You feared the Prince wasn’t going to be able to help with fast tracking the legal side of the marriage but then Charles fist punched the air and his laugh reached you. “Thank you, your highness, thank you.”

He ended the call and smiled brighter than the times he had stood on the centre podium. “We’re getting married!”

Palestinian culture since people are trying to destroy it ♥

Palestinian movies

the 10 best Palestinian movies - IMDb

15 Palestinian Films you should watch (gqmiddleeast.com)

10 Award-Winning Palestinian Films Everyone Should Watch | MILLE (milleworld.com)

10 great Palestinian films to watch right now (for free) | Esquire Middle East – The Region’s Best Men’s Magazine (esquireme.com)

Artists

Alaa Albaba (@albaba.alaa) • Instagram photos and videos

halima aziz (@palestinianartist) • Instagram photos and videos

Malak Mattar (@malakmattarart) • Instagram photos and videos

Sliman Mansour (@sliman.mansour) • Instagram photos and videos

Palestinian Authors

Adaina Shibli

Susan Abul Hawa

Mourid Barghouti

Mohammed El-Kurd

Hala Alyan

Music

Mohammed Assaf

11 Palestinian independent musicians you need to listen to right now: from The Synaptik to 47Soul (thenationalnews.com)

Culture

Culture of Palestine - Fanack.com

Palestinian Social Customs and Traditions | IMEU

Palestinian Culture (gopalestine.org)

FOOD

Palestinian Food: Top 13 Dishes - TasteAtlas

Palestinian Food: 12 Must-Try Dishes of Palestine | Travel Food Atlas

Food of Palestine - Welcome To Palestine

chapter four: school’s out

Sebastian Vettel x Fem!Reader

Warnings: seb centric chapter, the girls have seb wrapped around their finger, seb is sooooo cute and in dad mode, a few thoughts verging on nsfw but nothing too graphic, a little closer look into seb and reader’s feeling towards each other, alcohol and the consumption of, lance cameo. - quickly edited, forgive my mistakes <3

Word Count: 4.2k

Author’s Note: now does this gif have anything to do with this chapter? not at all but ferrari seb my beloved. sorry for the million week wait on this one, I’ve been busy :) 

sugar and spice; all things nice masterlist

–

“Are you serious?” You groaned, an arm over your face as you listened to the person on the other end of the line ramble on. 

You had the day off, you and Olivia were gonna do some shopping, rearrange her room and yet, they called you into work. You sat up, rubbing the sleep from your eyes, “you’re certain there’s no one else that can come in?” You asked. 

The woman replies, “I’m sorry, but you’re the lead architect, they need you.” 

“Fine, give me an hour.” 

It was barely 9am but you figured your usual babysitter, Emily, would be awake. You called and texted, but no answer. The phone was left on the nightstand as you took a shower and when you returned, you see there’s a reply from here. 

From Emily: Hi y/n! I’m so sorry but I won’t be able to watch Olivia today as I’m not in the country. I had mentioned that I was going to Mexico with my boyfriend this week. 

That’s right, she did tell you. With all the rushing, you seem to have forgotten. 

To Emily: yes of course. It slipped my mind, that’s no problem. You two have fun! 

You walk over to Olivia’s room, sitting on the girl’s bed as you rubbed her side. “Love, you gotta wake up.” 

She groaned, rolling over and turning her face into her pillow. “I’m sleeping mama,” she tells you, pulling the blue blanket over her head. You sighed, feeling a little bad that you might have to take her into work with you but what can you do? 

As you get up to pack some of her stuff into her bag, the photo on her nightstand catches your eye; her and Milly.  Okay, so there is one more person you can call before you have to take her for the day. You dial the number, stepping out of her room and your fingers crossed, hoping that he’d pick up. 

“Hello?” You can still hear the sleep in his voice. “Seb, gosh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” 

“It’s fine,” he mumbles, there’s shuffling coming from his end. “Is everything okay?” 

“Yeah, I mean, no. I have to ask you for a big favour.  I have a work emergency and they don’t have anyone else they can call to fix it so I have to go in, and my babysitter is outta town. So I was wondering if I could bring Olivia over ?” 

Seb laughs, “yeah, of course. When you said you had a big favour to ask me so early in the day, I thought you were gonna ask me to help to bury a body or jail you outta jail or something like that.” 

Continua a leggere

The Elevator

Synopsis: A Member of the Ferrari hospitality team gets stuck in the lift with the drivers who gave us the amazing moment of being stuck there, But shes not alone.

Pairing: Grid X Staff!reader

Warning; Panic attack, Single mother, claustrophobic, Unedited part

Word Count: 2.3K

Your day had already been as hectic as it could get,

First the sitter for your daughter, Lexi called in sick, leaving you with no alternative, and taking your daughter to work on a race week was never a good idea, her high energy and hyper personality were great, but not when it was busy and you had no way to keep an eye on her.

Her father had left when he found out about you being pregnant, but being the determined person you were, you refused to give up on your daughter. Which had been the best decision you had ever made in your life, despite your current predicament.

Big crowd.

High stress.

A Toddler. What could possible go wrong?

Lexi held tightly to your hand as you walked around, your other arm aching from the cases of water bottles you carried. You worked for the Ferrari Hospitality team, so basically spend most of your day running around to make sure people had access to food and water,

You were proud to work for them, and besides. Lexi's favourite color was red, and when asked she got rater upset when you suggesting moving to another team.

"Mummy, we go track now?"

"No baby, I need to work right now, but you can get my phone to watch later okay"

She loved to watch the races, which she usually did with the sitter, you had only about ten minute to get back down to the hospitality, which with a five year old and a hefty packet of wate bottles, would be a tight widow.

Her tiny feet pattered against the floor as you turned down the hallway to the stairs, you halted, there was at least a couple flights of them and when you arm began to shake under the weight of the water you knew you were never going to get down them intime.

Gritting your teeth you turned in the other direction, towards the elevator. You had never really liked them, the tight fit of being inside one made you nervous.

But it was only going to be for a few minutes, and Lexi would probably distract you, you would be alright.

Trying your hardest to drag your daughter towards the lift, when you could see it fast approaching in the numbers above the door, you managed to press the button as it slowed.

You quickly readjusted the packet in your arm, as Lexi began to sing lightly to a cartoon song, which you couldn't quite pick the name of.

The door slide open slightly and you can already feel the shake in your hands, making it more difficult for you to keep grip of the bottles.

When the doors open however, you were equally as shocked to spot what could have been half the starting grid inside the small vertically moving box.

Lexi went to skip inside, completely unfazed by the group of adult men all who craned their heads down to watch the singing girl,

You were quick to readjust the water once more, reaching for your daughter you almost dropped it,

"No lex, Let them go first well catch it next time"

There was a slight shuffle i the group as the driver in red spun to try and look at you over the shoulders of the others, probably recognising your voice,

Lexi wandered back to you as an accented voice spoke from the group, and several hands extended out to stop the door from shutting on your daughter.

"Please. We can move over, there's space" Carlos spoke quickly, you had met a couple of them before when handing bottles around the paddock on extremely hot days, and watching them on replay with Lexi, you could easily recognise those with thicker accent.

You didn't know what made you think that getting into an already crowded elevator, after hating the boxes in the first place.

You took Lexi's hand and shuffled into the space the drivers made for you and your daughter. The water made it equally as awkward as you tried not to bump into any of them,

The silence that settled over the elevator, allowed you to try and settle your thoughts, until the silence was interrupted by a soft voice, as she began singing once more, you were not the only one to cast you gaze down to her as she stared at her own feet, head bopping away to the tune she mumbled, not really knowing the words.

There was a couple of giggles shared amongst the drivers, you felt your cheeks bloom in heat as Daniel caught your eyes as you awkwardly looked around for something to look at that wasn't one of the drivers,

"She adorable" he gestured to Lexi, who continued to sing along, her little hand now patting your thigh in an offbeat rhythm to her singing.

"Yeah she i—" your word got cut abruptly short as the elevator jerked to a sudden stop.

There was a moment where everyone inside took a second to realise what had just happened, and it was apparent, that yes. The elevator had in-fact. Stopped.

Not even a second passed before you could already feel the rising panic creep up your spine. Lexi finally took a second to look around, little eyes wide as she stared at the man beside her, Charles waved at your daughter, Lando follow his lead when Lexi began giggling.

But you couldn't focus on your daughter, you tried, but the air began to constrict in your chest.

You could briefly hear the noise of a recording button being pressed and the noise of the drivers muttering amongst themselves.

The camera was switched off and the men around you shuffled to get comfortable as they settled into waiting, one of them already had pressed the emergency help button by the door.

The walls felt like the were getting closer to you, and your grip on the bottle became slick, until you were fumbling to keep them against you. At last they slipped out and thumped against the floor of the elevator,

The metal box shook slightly and when the drivers on either side of you, reached down to help you pick them up, the boxed moved once more, the room around you shook, which only seemed to make the walls close in faster,

You couldn't help it anymore, emitting a small whimper, as tears began to streak down your cheeks.

The elevator fell silent as all the drivers took in the sounds as you began crying,

"She cries" Lexi said simply, as though it wasn't obvious to the men that you were doing so,

As your knee began to shake slightly when more panic sets in, You stumble but don fall as you feel a couple sets of hands grab your body, holding you up. There was not enough space to sit yourself down, which only made your breathing turn more ragged.

"Whats wrong?" George whispered from behind her, he sounded close enough to be one of the drivers currently holding her up, but with this metal tin can, they were all too close and that was the problem.

"She custrabobic" Lexi said, patting Pierre on the leg lightly,

The french driver pulled a face, and looked to the English speaking drivers for aid, not entirely understanding what exactly the small girl was attempting to tell him,

Lando cast a quick look at you, being closer to Lexi then George and Danny he leaned down slightly she peered up at him,

"What is she?" he asked trying to get the little girl to repeat herself,

"Custrabobic" Lexi spoke, happy with herself she smiled at Lando, her smile beaming as she looked around the elevator.

You rasped slightly, squeezing your eyes shut tighter, leaning int the closest body to your own, which ever driver it was wrapped his arms further around you, seeming to take the majority of your weight.

Lando nodded at your daughter before shooting a pleading look to George, who looked in thought over the toddlers words, as he watched you.

Lando moved aside as Romain squeezed past him, leaning down to grab one of the bottles you had previously been holding, twisting the cap open he passed to Valtteri who brought it in front of you.

You tried to reach for it, but as your hands shook, you let a frustrated sigh leave you, Lexi had somehow gotten to the other side of the elevator and in her haste to get back to her mum she crawled along the floor, Romain and Charles had to widen their stance as the little girl crawled under them giggle as she got closer to you.

She was too young to understand that you weren't exactly in the right state to answer her as she began to ask about the track once more.

"Claustrophobic!" Carlos yelled suddenly, hand raising in happiness as he somehow managed to puzzle out your daughters words, Lexi turned to the man now. She jumped in excitement, nodding wildly at him,

"Yea , yeh!" She flailed her little arms around, and when you whimpered softly at the movement, Carlos was quick to settle your child, distracting her with something on his phone.

The air was no longer getting into your lungs any more, despite the rattling of people outside the door, working to pry the elevator doors open.

With your eyes widening in panic you fumbled to grab the hand of the driver which still had you hugged into his chest, when the men shuffled around to let Charles past them, he knelt slightly at your front,

"You're Y/n, Right?", eyes scanning the familiar red crew uniform you wore.

He gently took the bottle from your grasp, looking back at George who held you in place against him.

The surroundings of your vison began to grow fuzzy and dark, blinking rapidly to try and clear it away, you could just see Charles as he realised just how unsettled the crowd had made you,

Unsure whether to touch you or not, he awkwardly held his hands around you, looking to the other riders who all looked equally as lost on what to do,

With your mind in a flurry, you couln't really pay much mind to what was going on around you, as the room spun, you squeezed both eyes shut tightly, despretly hoping to block out the feeling of a bubble around your body. Wraping you up and squeezing the air from you.

Weakly could feel the hands tighten on your body, holding you up, until you were passed into the hands of another, and finally sat onto the ground.

The ground was cooler beneath your palm when you placed them flat onto the surface,

"Y/n?"

The voice sounded like a speaker underwater, the words lost on you,

"Y/n?"

When the corners of your sight began to come back into focus, you could just see two bodies in front of you, One extended a bottle to you,

You took it gratefully, trying to still the shake that gripped you,

The two drivers, Charles and Pierre sat with you as they patiently waited for you to come back to reality. You watched on as a couple of the other drivers continued to watch your daughter,

She had been picked up by Daniel who bounced her on his hip, while Lando hid behind the Australian's shoulder, before 'jumping' out from behind him to scare Lexi.

Her giggle filled the air, people were milling about working to close of the elevator.

"Mummy" She squealed out loudly, as Daniel placed her back on the ground, she took off in your direction at a run, stumbling a little over her shoes, which fashioned Lightening McQueen on the side, with red flashing lights on their base.

She stopped to observe the drivers that still sat with you, taking in their faces now they were her head height,

"You drive big red" her happiness was palpable as she pointed to Charles's red shirt, her small hand pressing against the rearing horse at his chest.

"Why, Yes." he smiled lightly at her, chuckling softly,

It was then that you finally checked the time on your watch, you were at least five minutes late, pushing up off the ground quickly you reached for what bottles had been recollected,

"Hold on-"

"Wait a minute"

There was a couple more voices of protest from the drivers as you rose up, ignoring their stares you began to balance the bottles back in your arms,

"Lex, come on" You said quickly to your daughter,

"We go track now?"

"No baby, we can watch them later, say bye now"

Your daughter, whose bottom lip was now jutted out slightly turned to wave to the drivers, She got closer to your side, placing her little hand in yours,

There was a shuffle behind you as Charles quickly got up,

"We could watch her" he offered, You turned to meet his stare, "Take her down into the paddock, Let you make sure your okay, and I will bring her back around to the hospitality after."

Without even looking at Lexi, you could already feel her excited vibrating off her in waves. Charles wasn't the only one that looked on in hope,

You were still feeling a light fuzz in your head, and with how hot it was, perhaps having someone to watch your daughter for a while wasn't such a bad idea.

"We promise to return her in one piece" Daniel smiled softly at you, despite the amusement in his tone, perhaps in an attempt to persuade you.

Lexi tugged at your hand, you looked down, she was twirling and tapping her feet lightly, causing them to light up.

"Alright ..."

Lexi has already taken off before you could finish talking. Pierre, swiftly took off his hat and plopped it onto your daughter's head. The two of them speaking in whispered voices.

You turn your stare to Charles. " Please if anything happens come find me"

He nodded quickly before turning to take Lexi's hand.

Even as they walked away you could hear the excited giggles from the grown men as your daughter told them all she knew about formula 1 and how one day she was going to be just like them.

You didn't doubt it, and as you turn to move across towards the Ferrari Hospitality, now two hands clutching the bottles, you couldn't help but be thankful for the time free to settle your nerves.

Even if your daughter's babysitter was a bunch of men who enjoyed driving really fast.

lance stroll high-fiving lil laura magnussen ❤️

source.