McLaren loves new, young drivers. They take risks when deciding who gets those two precious seats. Lando Norris, McLaren's golden boy, has already taken one. Aurelia Wren, the rookie, shines in the other one.
A girl with a point to prove and a boy...
Lia was released from the hospital two days later, much of which she spent sleeping for several hours at a time. The remainder of the drivers had visited her before hopping back on the plane for their week off. Even some of the other team principles and the McLaren crew came to see her. She had only Lando and a few others stay with her. They all flew back to Monaco together.
Lando drove Lia to her home, where she was immediately engulfed in hugs by Allison and Theo. All of them cried together at her front steps. Her sister apologized for not being with her sooner but Lia paid no attention.
All of them moved to the living room where Lia hesitantly recapped what happened. Theo and Lando decided to leave the sisters alone while they spoke, instead staying in the kitchen and focusing on what to do for dinner.
"I'm just glad you're okay, Lia," her sister sighed. Allison scooted closer and rubbed the woman's arm gently, careful to avoid the bandages, "We already lost mom and dad in one crash; I couldn't imagine losing you in one too."
Lia nodded reassuringly and turned her head to the side, hiding her tears as best as she could. Allison let hers run freely.
Neither of them spoke for awhile after that. The eldest didn't want to pressure Lia into talking about what had happened. She could see it was already hard enough to recall the memories.
The day had passed by quickly. None of them let Lia get up and move around to do anything-much to her chagrin. They catered to her every need until it was time for them to head out. Max and Kelly had offered to babysit Luna while the two adults visited Lia, and it was time to pick her up before heading to the hotel they had booked.
Allison and Theo hugged her tightly and promised to come back as soon as they could in the morning. They took extra care to shower her with affection up until the doors of their car shut.
Lando shut the door gently and took a few steps towards Lia. He glanced down at her leg, which had a large brace firmly strapped against her muscles. The doctor said it would help with healing the damage from the debris laceration.
"You're staying right?" she asked quietly. Her eyes shone with fear that he might leave as well.
He nodded and kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes in relief and lightly wrapped her arms around his waist. His chin rested on top of her head whilst they embraced. She felt her chest get heavier with worry and guilt.
They remained there for a minute before Lia pulled away and stated that she wanted to take a bath. Lando nodded and helped her gently climb the stairs to her bedroom-one hand on her back and one holding her arm. He went ahead and ran the tub with warm water while she carefully stripped.
She undid the brace first, feeling the bend and stretch of her leg that simultaneously relieved and pained her.
The first bandage she peeled away made her pause. The skin was waxy, yet parts of it were entirely dry. It was an array of yellow and red enflamed patches. Edges of the burns were starting to turn white and become emaciated. The parts that weren't burnt were bruised from the impact.
Tears started to spring again as she took in her fully wrecked body for the first time. She knew that given the circumstances, this was a good outcome. But even then all she wanted was to be in prime shape.
Lando came out of the steaming bathroom and saw her crying on the edge of the bed. Her hands trembled as she peeled away the wraps. He softened at her state and slowly came to kneel in front of her.
"You're alive Wren."
It was the only positive he could bring out from the situation. The only reminder she typically needed to refocus.
Her eyes became dazed as Lando unwrapped the rest of the bandages for her. Eventually the burns had just become blurry splotches of color.
He helped her stand and led her to the tub, holding her hand as she stepped in. She winced as the water stung every piece of skin. She carefully sat down and laid her back against the edge of the tub. Lando came to a squat beside her, still holding her hand out of the water.
He helped her through the whole long process, gently splashing her with water to cleanse the skin that remained and to keep the damaged skin uninfected. He eventually moved behind her and started to wash her hair.
"Lando?"
He hummed in response as he massaged her head with shampoo.
"I don't think I like the color orange anymore."
Her eyes trailed down her legs, observing the marks. She felt his hands pause for a moment whilst tangled in her hair.
"Why?"
Her hands lightly traced along her stitches.
"It's the color of fire. I've seen too much of it now."
Lando stopped completely. He saw her hands begin to tremble, creating ripples of water amongst the bubbles.
"I can't even sleep without seeing it."
He sighed and leaned forward, his breath fanning against her cheek as he nuzzled close. He said nothing about the statement but rather pressed a trail of kisses from her cheek to the top of her shoulder. She winced when his lips touched an aching muscle.
Lia knew there was nothing he felt he could say or do to help. Her hand reached back to grasp his and she placed a kiss to the top of it. They remained there silently for quite some time-knowing that it was just them two against everything else.
When the night passed and Lia had woken up early, she found Lando still sleeping beside her. She felt a pang of guilt because his exhaustion was due to her, and he'd had no time to truly rest.
She got up quietly and carefully to grab food. When she passed the closet, there was a large box sitting outside the doors. It was labeled 'orange' and inside was every orange shirt both of them possessed within the house.
Lia glanced back at Lando and softly smiled.
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