Formula one sickfics/oneshots

Lando - Heatstroke

People: Lando, Daniel

Ages: Lando (22), Daniel (32)

- POV Lando -

My eyes were focused on the road in front of me and the car felt very good, but still, something felt off after my first lap in FP1. I didn't know what it could be, so I decided to ignore it for now. During the second half of practice, I knew something was wrong. I was sweating profusely and I was very thirsty, no matter how much I drank. When I had reached lap 6, my vision started getting blurry and black spots started to appear. I tried to blink them away, but that only made it worse. I realised I wasn't going to be able to finish the session and opened my radio. "I need to box. I'm-", My vision turned black and I gave in to the darkness engulfing me, hearing muffled voices ask me to finish my message, but I couldn't. I didn't have the strength.

- POV Daniel -

I was driving in first practice when Lando, who had been in front of me for the last couple laps, suddenly slowed down drastically. Not having any time to react, I completely rear-ended him. "What the fuck was that. He just ruined the session for both of us", I grumbled as I hit the wall, Lando's car ending up a few feet away from mine. I turned off the engine, knowing my car was totally wrecked. I got out and started walking away, but something made me stop in my tracks. Lando hadn't turned off his engine yet and the car was leaking fuel. "Lando, are you absolutely crazy?! Turn off your engine. It's going to explode!", I yelled, but Lando didn't react at all. I walked over to him, thinking he hadn't heard me, but as I came closer, I noticed he laid motionless in his seat. All my anger disappeared and all I could feel right now was the worry in the pit of my stomach. Something was very wrong!

I ran up to him, turning the engine off to prevent an explosion. I pulled off lando's helmet and balaclava and tried calling his name, not getting any reaction from him. In a split-second decision, I lifted the younger driver out of his car. I sat down on the gravel and placed Lando's head on my lap. Adrenaline was rushing through me, not knowing whether my friend had had a black-out or if he was dying in my arms. I placed two fingers on his throat, feeling for a heartbeat. I let out a sigh of relief when I found out Lando was still alive, but his fast pulse was definitely worrisome. It's obvious Lando isn't doing okay and needs medical attention. "Where the fuck is that damned medical car!?", I cursed, feeling beyond frustrated with the time it took for help to arrive. I kept talking to Lando, hoping he could hear me.

- POV Lando -

The heat was the first thing that hit me. Why was it so hot out here? The second thing I noticed put me more at ease; I felt myself laying against someone's chest. Feeling safe in their embrace, I slowly started to take everything in. I smelled a slight scent of aftershave and perfume. That was when I realized the person was talking to me. I recognized the familiar Australian accent and felt at ease in my teammates hold. I was finally able to open my eyes and was met by Daniel's very worried gaze. He smiled when I opened my eyes and I gave him a half-smile back. "Hey buddy", he said, combing his fingers through my curls. I closed my eyes, but was stopped by Daniel's voice. "Stay awake for me, Lando", he begged. "I'm awake, just tired", I mumbled.

I heard the sound of a car on the gravel and protected my head with my hands, afraid another car was going to be crashing into us. "Lan, it's okay. It's just the medics", Daniel reassured me. I opened my eyes and realized he was right. 3 people were running towards us, kneeling down next to me. "What happened?", one of them asked, but no matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn't seem to remember how I ended up in this situation. "I don't know", I confessed. "All I know is that his car started to slow down and I rear-ended him. After the impact, I found him unconscious behind the wheel. He woke up about 5 minutes ago". "5 minutes ago? The crash was only 1 minute ago", one of the medics said. "What?! It felt so much longer", Daniel let out, surprised.

"Get the stretcher here", another medic commanded. "I don't need that. I can walk there", I told them. I started to get up, but I was gently pulled back down by Daniel, my weak body not being able to fight against his grip. "Don't try to stand up yet. I don't want you to pass out again", he instructed. I was lifted onto the stretcher and wheeled into the ambulance. My hands were shaking and I was breathing rapidly. "I n-n-need Daniel", I choked out. "I'm right here. Take a breath. In, and out, just like that". Daniel's presence put me more at ease and I managed to calm down relatively quickly.

We arrived at the medical centre and soon enough, a doctor came to check on me. Sadly, Daniel wasn't allowed to stay in the room. The doctor took my temperature and looked at me with worry. "You seem to have a fever. Do you feel sick at all?", she asked. "No, just dizzy and a bit lightheaded". After some more tests she concluded that I had a heatstroke and ordered me to take rest and drink lots of water. I thanked her and left the centre, being greeted by a least 8 camera's pointed at me. I directed my gaze to the ground and tried not to listen to the questions fired at me. "Please leave me alone", I begged, my voice coming out very quiet, making me sound more vulnerable than I had intended. Much to my dismay, the interviewers completely ignored my request.

"He told you to leave him alone!", I heard an all to familiar person shout. Daniel ran up to me and swung his arm around me protectively, guiding me through the crowd. He took me into the McLaren garage and led me straight to my room. It was nice to be away from the obnoxiously loud interviewers for a while. The Australian instructed me to sit down on the couch in the room, while he got some water for me. "So, what did the doctor say?", he asked as soon as he got back. "She told me I have a heatstroke and to take it easy. She also told me-", I stopped myself as a question popped up in my head. "Wait, does that mean I can't do the race?". I was afraid of the answer. Racing was my heart and soul and I had looked forward to this track so much. Bahrain was the first race on the calendar and after months of waiting, I couldn't wait to get in my car and race again.

"I'm afraid so, yeah", Daniel said, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. He knew how much I had looked forward to getting back to racing again. I had been talking about it for days now. "Don't worry. You'll get to race here another time, and it will be the best race you've ever driven", he reassured me sweetly. "Thank you so much Dan". Just then, my mind came up with another question. "Why did you stop at the crash site though? You could've just driven past instead of ruining your laps". I could see Daniel was reluctant in answering that question. "Well, your sudden stop kind of made me rear-end you, so it wasn't like I could just drive away", Daniel said.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Are you injured? Are you okay?", I apologised. "Don't be sorry, you-". I immediately cut him off. "No Daniel. I ruined your practice and I'm really, truly sorry for that". "Lando. Look at me", Daniel said, sounding very strict. I obeyed and looked him in his eyes. "This was not your fault, okay. It wasn't anybody's fault. You were passed out, so you couldn't have done anything about it". I wanted to say something against it. "But Dan", "Stop it Lando, stop blaming yourself. I'm fine and the car will be good as new before qualifying". I knew I couldn't convince him otherwise, so I decided not to argue with him about it anymore. It would just be a waste of our time.

Suddenly, my phone rang in my pocket. I didn't look at the caller-ID, I just picked up. "Lando, darling. Are you okay? You scared me so much!", I heard the worried voice of my mom. "Don't worry mom, I'm okay now. I had heatstroke and passed out". "Flo wants to speak to you", my mother said and I heard ruffling from the other end of the call. "Lando, are you okay?!", I explained the situation to my sister, whom I could hear was still very in shock from the accident. "Will you be able to do the race?" "Sadly not. I need to take it easy for a couple of days", I sighed in disappointment. "You'll be okay. Just focus on the next race on the calendar". After talking to my mom and sister for a while, my mother asked whether Daniel was around. I passed the phone to Daniel, only picking up the conversation from his end, but knowing very well what was being said on the other end of the phone.

"Yeah, it's me" "You really don't have to thank me. I was just doing what anyone else would have done" "It was absolutely no problem". He passed the phone back to me and shortly after, I hung up, not having the energy to talk anymore. "Let's go back to the hotel, shall we?", Daniel suggested, probably realizing how tired I was. I just nodded and Daniel, Charlotte and I walked quickly through the paddock, trying to avoid any confrontation with the press. We somehow managed to get to the hotel without any major issues and I happily laid down in bed the moment I was alone again. I didn't bother changing out of my jeans and t-shirt and soon fell into a peaceful slumber after making sure I had set an alarm so that I didn't miss Daniel's qualifying session tomorrow. Watching his qualifying was the least I could do in return. I mean, he did save my life after all.