Lando Norris | Formula 1

Chapter Forty-Eight

My back hurt like hell from sitting up all night. Lando was slowly waking up and were confused and startled.

"It's okay" I mutter as I rub my eyes and Lando sits up and sees our position. "How are you feeling?" I ask him.

"Still not good" Lando says and tears up I scoot over to him.

"Don't cry, baby. I got you an appointment for a doctor in town" I say and he smiles at me.

"Did you sit up all night, holding me?" Lando asks with a frown and sadness creeps back.

"Yeah, of course" I say and caress his cheek.

"But, your back—""—Is fine. Let's focus on you. Can you stand?" I ask him and I stand up and try to support him as we walk out of the bathroom.

I help him put on his jacket and then I support him the whole way down to the lobby and then I get in his McLaren.

"Here's a bag if you need to hurl" I say and hand him a plastic bag as he sits in the passenger seat.

"Not funny" Lando says, I turn to him with a blank face. "Am I laughing?" I ask and raise an eyebrow.

I rev the engine and take off and I get Lando inside. He's checked from head to toe and ends up having an accident at the office.

Lando keeps apologising and teared up in embarrassment. Both the doctor and I kept trying to tell him it was okay.

"Take this medicine, if it's not better by sunday, come back" He says and we nod. "But is there anything I can take or do to hurry up the process?" Lando asks in pain.

"No, in cases like yours they're normally hospitalized. You're lucky you're an Formula 1 driver. Otherwise you would be in the hospital right now" The doctor says and Lando looks at me with horror showing in his eyes.

"Calm down, babe" I whisper to him and take his hand.

Lando started to get pale again and I raised an eyebrow, his hands started shaking and I grab the trash can and hand it to him in last second before he throws up again.

"Quick reflexes" The doctor says impressed. "Retired driver" I say and joke a little and he laughs as Lando hurls whatever he had left in his system.

"You can leave when you're ready" The doctor says and I nod. When Lando is comfortable enough to leave, we do. I help him to the car. Both of us hiding in our big hoodies to not get caught by fans or the media.

I get Lando back to the hotel and I succeed in putting him to bed rest. He takes the medicine and I set a timer for the next pill and let him sleep.

I put a bucket next to our bed and sat in the living room to work while he got to rest.

My phone started buzzing and I saw it was Zak.

"Hey Zak" I say with a tired sigh.

"Hey kid, how are you two doing?" He asks kindly.

"Well, he's sleeping right now, he got some medicine he needs to take every two hours. But there's no way to tell if he's ready for tomorrow" I say and Zak sighs.

"I have to bring in Nyck then" Zak says disappointed and I sigh.

"Not, Nyck De Vries?" I ask in disbelief.

"Yes, I'm sorry but—""—You know he won't get near the results Lando gets you" I say in Lando's defense.

"I know, but we need a reserve driver, so unless you want to step in, I see no other solution" Zak says and jokes about the me driving part.

"Lando is going to lose it, you know he is" I warn him.

"I know. But Nathalie, I see no other way" Zak says and I sigh.

"There's no other reserve drivers?" I ask in disbelief.

"No, not this weekend. Keep me updated I will let him be on standby in case a miracle happens tonight" Zak says and I nod and bid him goodbye.

"Fuck!" I curse loudly and throw my head back in the couch. I close my eyes and get up in frustration.

"Fucking hell" I curse and call Max.

"Hey sister" Max says as he answers.

"Hey, do you have a spare reserve driver available tomorrow?" I ask.

"You do realise that McLaren is one of my biggest rivals, right?" Max asks while laughing.

"Max, they might send in Nyck De Vries" I say and cringe.

"What?" I hear from a weak Lando behind me.

I turn around and see Lando supporting himself on the couch and looks at me in panic and disappointment.

"Nat? is it that bad?" I hear Max ask and I curse under my breath.

"I'll call you back later" I say and hang up.

"Is it true?" Lando asks wincing in pain. I walk up to him and take his face in my hands. "Yes, they're bringing in Nyck to drive for you" I say and swallow the lump in my throat.

Lando gets quiet and looks down. At this point, I couldn't tell what hurt him the most, Nyck taking his spot and relying on his results this close to the last race in Abu Dhabi or the food poisoning wandering in his body.

Lando looks up and lock eyes with mine. I raise an eyebrow as I see a new expression in his eyes. Determination.

"No, they're not" Lando says and I open my mouth to argue, but he shuts me up.

"I'll race. Tell Zak" Lando says still holding the couch for support.

"Lando...I can't" I say in sorrow, I can't possibly support him to go race in this condition.

"If you won't help me, I'll do it myself" Lando says and I sigh. "Are you sure? Lando they need to know how sure you are" I say unsure of the whole situation.

"I'm sure. Tell Zak I'll race tomorrow" Lando says with a nod.

"I hope you understand what you're making me do here, Lando" I say and Lando's face softens. "I will be taking the blame if anything happens" Lando assures me.

I sigh and take a step back. "Go back to bed and rest" I tell him and he smiles tiredly and walks back in the bedroom.

I curse and shake my head at him. Why did he have to be so stubborn?

"Hey, Zak. It's me. I have some news" I say as Zak picks up.

• • • •

I stand on the track and watch the drivers race, I cross my arms and push my sunglasses higher. I wore a cap and sunglasses to hide my tired face.

"Come on, babe" I whisper as I see Lando doing great in Quali, so far. I just hoped he could keep it up.

"He's determined, your boyfriend" Christian says as he walks up behind me.

"Yeah, I hate it" I comment and he laughs. "That's just typical Formula 1 drivers" Christian says and I nod at his words.

"I just hope he makes it" I say and truly feel the pain in my lower back. After watching the qualifying races, I lay down in Max' private room.

I try to straighten out my back and stretch as I groan in pain. "Fucking fuck!" I shout and stop stretching and just lay there.

I look at my watch and I widen my eyes at the date. "Fuck" I curse and pull my phone out. I check the dates and start to panic.

Not good. Not good. Not good.

I'm 2 weeks late.