Chapter Text
Lando woke up on Monday morning knowing that something was wrong. He felt it as soon as he opened his eyes. His eyelids had been extra heavy, his head not really understanding that he wasn't asleep anymore. The symptoms didn't hit for real until he first sat up. The dizziness hit him like a bomb and his arm flew out to grab at the sheet to keep himself in an upwards position. The headache came a few seconds later, joined with the nausea. He tried to cough but his throat felt dry and sore. A thin layer of sweat covered his freezing body and the skin looked extra pale in the morning light.
If this had been 2019 or just any year that weren't going through a pandemic, Lando would've probably ignored these obvious signs of being sick. He would've gotten up and done his daily routines until either he was way too weak or Jon forced him back in bed. He hated being sick, being babied by everyone and all of the pitiful gazes on him. But this wasn't an ordinary year and he knew that he just couldn't ignore it.
Lando grabbed his phone from the nighstand and blinked a few times when the dizziness made hid eyes go all blurry. He sniffled as he pressed the contact listed as "JaHon". He thought about calling but realised that his throat wouldn't be able to keep a conversation going for more than a minute. He started typing a message, explaining his symptoms but downplaying them as much as possible. He ended up explaining that he felt a bit "under the weather" and should probably take a covid test and Jon probably shouldn't come over for the daily workout today.
It didn't take long for his trainer to answer. Questions filled with concerned filled up his screen and Lando tried to answer all of them as smart as he could. If he did have covid, he could let the feeling of overall misery overtake him, no one would be able to visit him anyway. And if he ended up not having covid he could still go to work and pretend he was alright. He couldn't feel less shitty than he did now anyway.
***
It wasn't covid. He had taken the test as fast as he could and the answer came back the next day, on tuesday around Lunch. Lando didn't know why he felt disappointed. He did hate being sick but he still felt just as awful as the fay before and now he knew that he had to travel and do press conferences and drive while feeling like that.
He quickly texted Jon that it wasn't covid and less than two hours later his trainer almost bursted through his door. Complaining about missing one day of workout.
"It's been a day," Lando sighed and rubbed his forehead. The headache had yet to go away and he felt uncomfortable sitting on the couch in just a hoodie and sweatpants with John standing in the doorway, dressed for hours of training.
"Well, a day is valuable time," Jon smirked but frowned when he saw his normally very energetic client, looking exhausted. "Are you sure it was just under the weather?" He walked towards him with his palm just about to press against the youngers forehead when Lando moved away, forcing a grin.
"Yeah yeah," he forced out a laugh. "I'm not in my top state but it's definitely nothing serious so no need to be worried," he knew Jon needed something more than Lando just telling him that he was fine. John eyed him up and down a few times and Lando tried to look as normal as he possibly could.
"Okay then," Jon finally said. "Get dressed and meet me in the backyard in five minutes!"
"Yes Ja-H-on," Lando giggled and started rushing upstairs with Jon swearing behind him. Landos smile immediately dropped once he was alone. He had laughed before and all he wanted to do now was to curl up on his bed and cry. This would be a long week.
***
It was Friday morning. The day of practice and Lando wasn't close to feeling better. Somehow the symptoms had worsened and he had no idea how he hadn't passed out on multiple occasions. His skull was slamming against his head, the uneasy feeling of nausea never leaving his stomach, he was always shaking from cold but also sweating more than usual. Jon had given him multiple glances and asked him if he was sure that he was okay but Lando kept on telling the older man that he was fine.
He didn't know if he could hide it anymore though. Pretending to be okay during the press conference and interviews were enough to make him feel incredibly exhausted. And now he was going to sit in the car for a few hours. The overall feeling of shit made him want to curl up in a ball and cry. He just wanted to go to bed. But there was too late now to admit how bad he actually felt. He just had to survive three days and then he could go back home and just sleep it away.
"Are you alright?" Lando almost screamed when someone suddenly asked him a question. He was standing outside the paddock, just breathing and having some alone time before he had to get ready for fp1. George stood in front of him with a frown covering his forehead.
"Ye...yeah I'm all good," Lando forced a smile but he knew it didn't reach his eyes. He was tired of pretending. George shook his head. "Nah mate, you're not fine," he took a step towards Lando and grabbed the shorter man's shoulders. Lando hadn't even noticed how much he was swaying.
"Are you sick mate?" George asked and his voice was filled with concern. "It's really hot outside and you're shaking," Lando was wearing both the mclaren hoodie and the team jacket while George only wore the blue Williams tshirt.
"No I just usually get cold y'know," Lando said and took a step back, shrugging George's hand off of him. He immediately missed the contact.
"Come on mate," George said. "You look like shit, let's tell Jon or someone," he regrabbed Lando's shoulder but Lando was too tired to be nice. He tore himself off George hand and took multiple steps back this time. "I told you I'm fine!" He snarled. He hadn't meant to sound that irritated and immediately felt bad. The damage had unfortunately been done.
"Fine," George mumbled back and turned away to walk towards his team. Lando felt tears well up in his eyes and he swallowed hard. He started walking back to the Mclaren paddock. He needed to get changed before jumping into the car.
***
He was shaking uncontrollably. He was sitting in the car that fortunately still hadn't left the pit lane. Sweat made his fireproofs stick to the pale skin and his vision went in and out of focus. He knew that this wasn't good, that he should get out of the car and grab the first person he could reach and tell them how shitty he actually felt. He had the chance before when Jon had given him one last question if he was okay or not. Lando had of course given him the same answer he gave to everyone. He was fine.
He wasn't fine. Not even close to it. He was just about to give in and get out of the car when he got the order to turn on the engine and drive out. Lando decided to drive as many laps as he needed to and then get out of the car and tell Jon everything. Just a few laps until it was over.
Luckily the autopilot part of his brain still functioned and he started driving out without facing any major issues.
"Radio check," Will's voice felt like needles in his ears. Lando took all energy he had to even answer.
"Yeah," he was slurring. "Radio check?" He started driving faster and faster. The speed making his already dizzy self even more disorientated. He had to blink repeatedly to see the track in front of him as sharp as possible. This was bad. The nauseous feeling only increased and his hands shook where there were gripping the steering wheel. He had completely zoned Will out, only focusing on driving. He didn't know if any other driver were also out on track at the moment, luckily he hadn't met anyone. Lando knew that he couldn't keep going like this. He had to box immediately.
But what he should have expected to happen, happened. He had just finished the second sector when everything just became too much and Lando felt himself black out for just a half a second. That half a second was enough for him to lose control. The back wheel of the car went outside of the track and into the gravel, spinning the rest of the car away from the road and towards the barriers. Lando used all the strength he had left to slam against the brakes and luckily that was enough. The left side of the car hit the barrier but just barely. It was a soft and slow collision that didn't damage anything.
All Lando could do was breathe. The world around him was spinning and more and more nausea was building up in his stomach. He leaned his head against the side of the car and closed his eyes. He felt like crying, the exhaustion know fully crashed onto him. It felt like hours before he suddenly realised that Will was almost screaming at him through the radio.
"Lando, are you okay?!"
Lando knew that he should get out of the car, but he was so tired. It felt like he was about to fall asleep. The sane part of his brain was though yelling at him to answer Will.
It felt like he was straining every muscle he had to just radio his engineer back.
"I'm okay," he mumbled. His voice was quiet and filled with exhaustion.
"What happened?" Will sounded calmer. "Why aren't you out of the car?" Lando swallowed. Tears started to fill his eyes and he knew that he had to tell Will why.
"I don't think I can," it was barely even a whisper and his voice cracked at the end. He zoned out after that, completely letting the fever overtake him. He had no idea if Will was still speaking to him but somehow the Marshalls seemed to understand that something was wrong. He saw with half lidded eyes as one of the Marshals leaned over him to disconnect the seatbelt and drag him out from the cockpit. His helmet was pulled away from his head and a hand pressed against his forehead. Somehow even the medical car had pulled up beside his car. How long had he been sitting in there? The last thing Lando remembered before finally succumbing to the darkness were the confused voices of the Marshalls.
***
He woke up in the medical centre. He was laying on one of the uncomfortable beds. Something cold and soft was covering his forehead, he guessed it was a small towel, and somehow he was only wearing his fireproofs. The material still clung to his sweaty body but he was shivering from the cold. He heard people talking outside of the room but when Lando sat up to join them, a new rush of dizziness overtook him and he once again was hit with the realisation that he was sick. He laid back down and groaned when he suddenly remembered. He had almost crashed. Everyone could see him being completely out of it in the car. He could only imagine what the internet were saying about him.
The door slowly opened and Lando glanced to the side to see who had entered. Jon stood there. He looked both mad, disappointed and sad. Lando swallowed and looked back up at the white ceiling.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Jon's voice wasn't filled with anger, mostly just confusion. Lando felt tears well up in his eyes and he tried to blink them away. When he didn't answer Jon just sighed and sat down next to the younger man.
"You could've easily hurt yourself a lot more!" Lando knew that Jon tried to meet his gaze but he refused to look up at his trainer.
"What if you hit the wall harder?" Jon sounded more annoyed. "Or what if you crashed into another car? Don't you realise what could've happened?" He had raised his voice. Lando tried to blink away the wetness in his eyes but he knew it was over when one single tear made its way down his cheek. He knew he should've told someone. He knew how much he fucked up. The fact that he could've ended up dying or killing someone else.
"I'm sorry..." Lando whispered. "I'm sorry," another tear fell down. He could hear Jon sigh and then he was pulled up from his position. First he thought Jon was about to yell at him but then he was crushed into a hug.
"Don't be sorry," Jon said. "Don't you ever do that again though. There's nothing wrong with being sick," he stroked Lando's back. "Why couldn't you just tell me? Or George? Or Carlos? Or Max? Just anyone?"
Lando looked back up at his trainer. He guessed that he had been giving some kind of medication cause he didn't feel as shitty as before but his brain definitely was covered in a fog.
"I don't know..." he mumbled. "I just don't like the pity,"
"Come on Lando," Jon mumbled. "You're health is more important than anything else. And I'm saying that because I care about you, I don't pity you,"
Lando sniffled and smiled slightly. "Really?"
"Of course,"
"I feel so stupid..."
"Yeah you kinda were," Jon laughed. "But it ended up not being a much more tragic situation so it's okay," Lando let out a snort but cringed when he was reminded of the pain in his head.
"We're going to get back to the hotel, the other's are still racing so we have a few more minutes before the media people decide to hijack anyone," Jon said. He stood up and grinned at Lando. The younger boy smiled but the exhaustion started to sink in once again.
"I'm tired," Lando said and looked up at his trainer.
"That's okay," Jon said and helped him stand up. "Nothing's wrong with being sick, right?"
Lando smiled. "Right"
Chapter 2: Georgie POV
Summary:
George's point of view.
Notes:
This was supposed to be a one shot but I got inspired to write one more chapter.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
George was frustrated. Maybe more worried than frustrated to be honest. He wished Lando actually wanted to tell him what was wrong. The younger man looked horrible, he was pale, shivering and looked like he could pass out at any moment. George knew that Lando always had problems with admitting something was wrong. George and Alex had to force him back in bed on multiple occasions. If Lando just stopped being so stubborn.
George was sitting down in his car, waiting for fp1 to start and the more he was thinking the angrier he got. He had just been trying to be nice, to be a good friend but of course Lando had just ignored that. It was childish, really.
"Okay," George's engineer-James-started talking. "We're ready to leave the garage at any moment now. You will almost be all alone on track, Perez and Lando are the only two drivers out at the moment." George felt a little anxious when he heard that Lando was out. He could only hope that the younger man had looked worse than he'd actually felt.
"Where are they on track" George asked as the mechanics prepared the car to leave.
"Checo is just starting the third sector and Lando is on his first." George copied the message before turning on the engine and driving out. It was a chilly but sunny day. He had hopes of making it a good race that sunday. Now when he finally start to score some points for Williams he didnt want to stop. He knew that he was skilled enough to do so. lt had been a few weeks since their last race and he felt amazing sitting in the car again as it just drove faster and faster. He smiled under his helmet and let the rush of excitement embrace him. But the feeling didn't last long, he had barely been out for half a minute before a yellow flag was suddenly swayed in front of him.
"Yellow flag George, slow down a little!" James said on the radio, his voice not showing any distressed emotions which calmed George down. "What happened?"
"Lando has spun off the track," his engineer answered" Don't worry though, the car is fine and he should be as well" George immediately felt a pang of anxiety in his chest. He had a feeling something was more wrong than it seemed. Especially since Lando had looked really ill a few minutes before.
"Is he out of the car? George asked, his worry clearly showing.
"Uh no not yet" James answered" I haven't heard him saying anything over the radio as well," he trailed off. Thats all George needed to know that something was seriously wrong with his friend" We should get the medical car to him."
"Wha-"
"I think something is really wrong, red flag the session or something, just get him out from his car!" George had raised his voice without realising it," He didn't care what his race engineer said anymore. He started driving through the second sector at the exact moment the red flag came out.
"Okay George, you were right," James said" Lando is not out yet and they have gotten a radio message saying that he can’t get out of the car" The message made George feel like someone had punched him in the guts. He should have done something more and maybe this wouldn't have happened.
"Get your detta positive and straight into the pits,okay?" James continued. George gave him a short response before only focusing on the track. He was about to pass Lando's car. The McLaren stood against the barrier, completely whole, just scratched from the gravel. He saw Lando in there, the bright helmet resting against the wall, of the cockpit. A few marshals were running towards him and George let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Help were on its way.
* * * *
"The practice will start again in five minutes!" Someone in the garage yelled out. George stood outside of his car, still feeling worried for his friend. He had watched the replay multiple times. Lando had just kept going forward instead of turning which had lead him to spin off as the back tyres hit the gravel. Ater the car stopped Lando had just been sitting still. It had taken him too long until he finally answered Will. When the marshal had finally pulled him out he'd been unconscious.
"Do you know what happened? "Nicholas suddenly stood besides George.
"No idea," George said bitterly." I know that they took him to the medical centre but that's it."
"I bet his fine, don't worry! Nicholas smiled and pat his teammate on his shoulder before walking off to his own part of the garage.
***
George didn't do his best as he started driving again. His mind was occupied with questions about Lando and if he was okay. He drove two more laps before pitting and taking a small break. He chatted a little about the track with his engineer and about the strategy for qualifying but a part of his brain was only thinking about Lando. He left the pitlane to have a little time on his own and thats when he saw him. Lando had changed to a hoodie and jeans. He was still pale and shivering and Jon had an arm around the younger man’s waist to keep him standing.
They were talking to Zak. Or more like Jon was talking to Zak as Lando seemed to be somewhere completely else. George watched Zak as the older man walked away. He realised that this could be his only chance to talk to Lando during this weekend so before Jon was able to drag Lando away-George ran towards them.
"Wait!" he called out and the two men in front of him stopped and turned around.
"George?" Lando whispered.
"Aren't you supposed to be at practice?" Jon asked. Something in his voice mad George feel like he should just leave Lando alone, but he knew he couldn't.
"What happened" George asked Lando, ignoring Jon's question.
Lando looked at his friend with big eyes, tears were slowly filling them" I'm sorry," he choked out" I'm sorry I snapped at you before,"
"What" George had forgotten about but that for a second" No don't be sorry, Lando." I was just so worried abut you during the race,”
"I'm sick," Lando whimpered, shame making his cheeks turn red.
"Yeah I got that" George smiled slightly." But please tell someone if you do feel sick because there's nothing wrong with it"
Lando smiled back.
"I have to get back to practice but after i'll go to your hotel and we can watch a movie or something, does that sound good" George wiped a tear that had spilled down Lando's check.
"Yeah" the shorter man nodded. George smiled even bigger and looked up at Jon who couldn't have looked more grateful.
"Thank you, George," Lando said and blushed again.
"Don't worry," George laughed." I'll see you in a few hours; Lando nodded and he and Jon started walking back to the parking lot.
George felt happy when he sat down in the car once again. Lando were just sick. And after all, there really isn't anything wrong with being sick.
Notes:
What’s the name of this story again?
Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. If you see an error I made please let me now so I can correct it.
I always appreciate kudos and comments, they keep me motivated. I hope you liked it.
:)
gukoclock on Chapter 1 Sun 07 Nov 2021 12:02AM UTC
Comment Actions
Oracle_Venus on Chapter 1 Sun 07 Nov 2021 03:19AM UTC
Comment Actions
gbrosa on Chapter 1 Sun 07 Nov 2021 01:18PM UTC
Comment Actions