AN ENDLESS SMILE// DANIEL RICCIARDO

TWELVE

TWELVE

"Josie, why don't you come and watch Valtteri and I race in my garage?"

Lewis Hamilton questioned gently, seeing the woman in front of him timid and shaking slightly. He knew that she was still struggling to be at a race track, and that it must have been overwhelming for her to have to deal with so many emotions at the same time, and he wanted to do his very best to comfort her and make her as comfortable as possible.

Josephine Rankin nodded her head up and down a couple of times in quick succession, hands violently shaking from nerves and the nauseous feeling that was becoming increasingly more prominent in her stomach.

Her feet stumbled in to the garage of the world Champion, her sneakers helping to keep her on her feet, making her feel grateful that she had not decided to wear one of the many pairs of high heeled shoes that she owned.

A gentle hand was placed on the middle of her back to keep her steady whilst also offering her comfort, making the brunette lift her head to meet the eyes of the Mercedes team principal, who gave her a reassuring smile, with the man helping her to safely get near the trailer of the Hamilton man.

Lewis gently took a hold of the woman's shaking hands, helping her up the steps that were outside of his trailer, helping her inside so that she could comfortably sit down.

As soon as she was seated, the Hamilton man moved to make her a nice and warm cup of coffee, adding in some milk, which was soya milk, and a little bit of sugar before handing it to her, the woman gratefully accepting it and taking a sip of the liquid.

He stood slightly away from her, as to make sure that he didn't spook her or make her uncomfortable, and watched as she held the mug of coffee close to her lips whilst also trying to take deep breaths of oxygen in to her lungs.

"Sorry I freaked out Lewis."

Josephine muttered quietly, the sound barely being heard by his ears, and it wouldn't have been heard if he hadn't been watching her closely and seen her lips move.

"Don't apologise, Josie. You've got nothing to apologise for." Lewis gave her a gentle smile, seeing her trying to return one though it didn't quite seem to be able to stay on her face for any more than a second.

"I heard somebody mention Marussia." The Rankin woman revealed, a pain in her chest forming as the name of his old team slipped off her tongue, making her squeeze her eyes shut for a short moment.

The eyes of the Hamilton man widened slightly as she spoke to him, explaining what had suddenly caused her to freak out whilst she had been in the paddock, talking with Valtteri, Toto, Angela and himself, which made him rush in front of her, crouching so that she could look him in the eye even if her head was lowered.

"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to explain it to me, you know. As long as I know that you're okay, that's all that matters." Lewis gave her a reassuring smile.

"Thank you, Lewis."

"Don't mention it, and hey, this way it means that now you kinda have to watch the race from my garage. Daniel can't steal you away." Lewis lightly nudged her arm with his, a slight teasing smile on his face which finally made a smile appear on her lips.