Flash of love

Chapter 14: Lewis

Toto sits in the garage, as the race reaches it's final laps; they are intense and he can barely keeps himself together, as he watches Lewis and Verstappen fight for the race win.

Meanwhile, you and Carmen reach the hospital: you are quickly admitted to the maternity ward and, after a few tests and checks, they confirm that you are in labor.

-

The race ends and Toto watches Lewis crossing the finishing line in P2; all the team know that it is a good result, but he is distracted the whole time, still incredibly worried about you and your baby.

However, his phone suddenly starts ringing and, seeing Carmen's name on the display, he quickly pick up. When he hears Carmen's voice, he immediately freezes in place; he was expecting you to go into labor soon, but it still hit him like a truck; his heart starts to race and he feels like he can hear it in his ears.

Toto quickly look around the garage: most of the guys already have left the to go to the podium celebration, but he doesn't have time for ceremonies; so he nods to some of them, telling that he's sorry that he won't join them, and walks walking towards the exit.

There he collides with Lewis, who was heading towards the podium; they make eye contact and the team principal feels reassured by the fact that the driver understood the situation without the urge to say anything.

He quickly gets in his car and turns on the engine. He can't help but think about you and your baby... He knows that he had to stay calm, but his mind is already racing with thoughts of all the things that can go wrong at the hospital. Toto can barely keep his thoughts together while he drives to the hospital; he is anxious and nervous about what is going to happen, but he tries to drive safely.

He finally reaches the hospital and quickly walk through the corridor, following the signs to the surgery room. He enters the room and sees you lying on the table: your face shows pain but also excitement at the same time. He walks up to you and instantly takes your hand in his, kissing it gently.

While he is holding your hand, being by your side, you do the final push and, a moment later, your baby is born and you can hear the little cry in the room; Toto looks at you and smile brightly, relief washing over him as he knows that both you and the baby are alright.

He releases your hand, to give the medics some space to clean your baby, and watches carefully as they take care of the little bundle, cleaning it up; after a few moments, they quickly put the baby on your chest and you feel the warmth and weight of your child on you.

"I told you that if the team did a good result you would receive a nice prize"

"Looks like Lewis made sure that we got a positive result then"

"I think that Lewis is a beautiful name for him"

"It really is, it's the best name for him"

"Lewis Valtteri Wolff... A beautiful name" you joke.

He rolls his eyes with a smile on his face for the fact that, even if you were exhausted, you were witty and funny as ever.

"You are unbelievable, you know that?"

You smile and propose the name Lewis Torger Wolff instead; he thinks about it for a few seconds, trying to imagine yelling it across the room to your son when he misbehaved, and a smile forms on his face.

"Lewis Torger Wolff sounds great" he says, smiling softly as he watches you hold your little baby close and gently caress his face; he was so incredibly tiny, and it made him feels a wave of emotions.

"You know, he looks so small when you hold him like that. Are you sure you're not gonna break him by the amount of love you're giving him?"

"Do you want to hold him?"

He nods and reaches out his arms, so that he can hold the little bundle of joy that is your baby.

"Of course, let me hold him for a moment"

Toto walks up and down the room, carefully holding your baby in his arms; he's so incredibly light and fragile and he gently cradles him with one hand while the other is supporting his neck and head, holding him closely to his chest kissing gently his forehead.

A tear fells from your eye while seeing that scene, so you have to tell a joke to try not to cry.

"I see a shop that sells a stroller customized like a formula 1 car, we absolutely have to buy it"

"Of course we have to get that! And once he is a little older, we can get him a go-kart for the backyard, then he can learn to drive from a young age and become a world champion in no time"

The newborn starts to cry and Toto, panicked, walks toward your bed, placing the baby on your chest; then he sits down next to you and, while you are caring about the baby, he start a soft conversation.

"So, how are you feeling? I know giving birth is not exactly a walk in the park..."

"He was fast like Max Verstappen, so it didn't hurt that bad" you joke.

He scoffs and gives you a glare, pretending to be offended.

"Did you really just compare our baby's birth to Max Verstappen's pace?" he says; he can't help but smiles slightly as he realizes that you are already making F1-related jokes just after giving birth.

"If he will still be that fast i think that he will be able to walking and karting at young age"

He laughs at your response, you were always so quick-witted and could always make a joke out of anything; even now when you just gave birth, you were talking about karting and it is truly incredible.

"You would probably push him as soon as it's not a health hazard anymore, right?"

"Don't talk about this now, we have to celebrate our son's birth!"

He nods in agreement and leans back, enjoying the moment.

You continue to talk about the future and your little baby: you speak about the life of being parents, how the world will change now that there is a little human depending on yours and how you will navigate all the obstacles that come with it, all while you still hold your son carefully cradling him and admiring his tiny, cute face.