DREAM - Daniel Ricciardo

-24- Turn me on

My poor heart, it's been so dark
Since you've been gone
After all, you're the one who turns me off
But you're the only one who can turn me back on – Norah Jones

The weekend was around the corner, on Thursday Isa had lunch with Daniels parents while Daniel had media day. In the evening, the four had dinner together, and after a short stroll along the harbor, both couples went their own way as Daniel had to be up early, while his parents went for a drink. Friday was chaos, many drivers had a meeting with the walls of the narrow track of Monaco. Isa had some light contractions on Friday evening but they were so far apart that she hadn't even told Daniel. Saturday was a good day for Daniel, he qualified third and couldn't be more happy with the result. When Isa woke up on Sunday morning, she had the feeling that today was the day. Daniel left early and Daniels parents would be there to pick up In about an hour. They would take a short walk to the paddock and would watch the race from the garage. The crew got Isa a chair and she gladly sat down on it. Daniel came into the garage, he just drove his car to the grid and was back in the garage one last time to check on Isa and greet his parents 'How are the contractions?' Daniel kneeled in front of Isa moving his hand over her stomach. 'I get one or two every hour so we have a while before I can go to the hospital' Daniel nodded at Isa. 'You know if anything happens or you go into labor you need to tell one of the mechanics and they will let me know alright?' Isa kissed Daniel and put her hands on his shoulders, 'This baby will be In the same position after the race, so you go out and kick some ass, we.. need.. daddy.. to .. win' Isa said in between kisses. Daniel smiled, one last kiss was placed on her lips and Daniel walked out to the grid. Grace grabbed Isa's hand, because she was nervous for the race start and so Isa could squeeze her hand when she had a contraction. Halfway through the race, Daniel was in first position. His tires looked great, he had already made a pit stop so he was on a winning course. Isa was restless, she was pacing in the back of the garage as her contractions were more frequently, every fifteen minutes. She couldn't wait for the race to be over because she had the feeling like she needed to keep the contractions in so Daniel wouldn't miss the birth. As the last ten laps of the race started Isa's contractions were five minutes apart. It was time to call the hospital to tell them they were on their way, but Isa didn't want to leave yet, Daniel was winning and she needed to be here as he would be there for her in about three laps. 'Iz, I will tell Daniel that you are on your way to the hospital as soon as he crosses that line bit I think it is time for you to..' Michael tried to tell Isa but she wouldn't have any of it. 'MICHAEL YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU BUT YOU NEED TO SHUT UP, I AM SO CLOSE TO HAVING MY BABY AND I NEED DANIEL HERE SO SHUT UP AN LET ME SQUEEZE YOU DAMN HAND!' Isa screamed as she had another contraction. The garage erupted in screams and yells as Daniel crossed the finish line in first place, everyone stayed in the garage as they knew there would be no podium ceremony for Daniel. As soon as Daniel crossed the line his race engineer spoke on his radio 'Congrats Dan that is P1, we would like to celebrate but you have somethings else to celebrate, you need to take Isa to the hospital right now, it is happening. I repeat this is happening. Come straight to the garage, we will handle everything else.' Daniel didn't know what to do so he screamed, as he wasn't talking on the radio, no one would hear him anyway. The adrenaline was rushing through his veins, he had just won the Monaco GP and his baby was on its way to make an entrance into the world. He parked his car in the designated spot and jumped out, he didn't give anyone the time of day as he ran over to the weighing point, they were ready weigh him and let him go to the garage, Michael was standing there with a towel, he patted him on the back before leading him to the entrance of the track were Isa was seated in a car with his parents. Daniel stepped into the car, still in his race suit but he didn't care, all he cared about right now was Isa. As soon as they saw each other they smiled. Isa grabbed his neck and pulled him in to kiss him 'I'm so proud of you baby, you did so well even though I might have missed half the race because I was trying to keep this baby inside of me' Isa joked, which made Daniel and his parents laugh as well. Isa squeezed Daniels hand and he wanted to yell at her that she hurt him but when he looked at his mother she gave him a warning look. As soon as they arrived at the hospital, Isa was taken into a room. They hooked her onto various machines so they could monitor Isa and the baby. Once Isa got the epidural, she calmed down a bit. She was dilated to nine centimeters so she was almost able to push, this gave Daniel time to take a very quick shower and change his clothes, because when he came out of the bathroom, it was time for Isa to start pushing. She had heard stories of women were they would be in labor for 30 hours, but Isa was grateful for her quick labor. Isa was pushing as hard as she could, sweat dripping down her forehead, Joe and Grace on her left side and Daniel on her right side. Daniel held her hand and dapped her forehead with a cold wash cloth. He kissed the side of her head, his lips lingering above her ear, 'You can do it baby, you are so strong, in a few moments we will see our baby' Daniel whispered in her ear, It made Isa tear up and push harder. She so badly wanted to hold and see her baby. 'Just one more push Isa, I can see the head' the doctor encouraged Isa to keep pushing. All of a sudden time seemed to stop, there was a cry a beautiful cry. 'IT'S A BOY' the doctor yelled as Isa gave a last push. Daniel kissed Isa, cutting the umbilical cord as the baby was wrapped up in a blanket and handed to Isa. She was exhausted but oh so happy when the baby was placed on her chest. It didn't matter that the baby was covered in mucus because he just came out of her, he was already the most beautiful baby on the planet. Daniels parents stood in the corner of the room, they kissed each other and were embracing each other as they looked at the beautiful new family, their second grandchild was born. 'Have you decided on a name yet?' One of the nurses asked the new parents. 'We want to name him Joey, after his grandpa' Daniel said and they looked at Joe for confirmation, this made him tear up a little bit but he tried to play it cool. Finally the room became quiet, everyone but Daniels parents left. Isa was taking a long time in the shower so Daniel went into the bathroom to take a look, 'Can you guys look after Joey for a while, I think I need to be with Isa right now' Daniels parents nodded, cooing over their newborn grandson. As Daniel walks into the bathroom he sees her standing in the shower, her head against the tiled wall, Daniel heard her soft whimpers, indicating that she was crying. Daniel undressed himself, stepping into the shower. He put his arms on her shoulders, kissing her head before going down her neck and shoulders. Isa craned her neck so Daniel had more access, 'What's wrong baby?' Daniel mumbled against Isa's skin. 'I don't know, I'm just emotional I guess. It is just that it hit me that my mom isn't here right now and this is a moment that I really need her. I mean I have a baby, and I had a baby before but that.. that.' Daniel turned Isa around, holding her face in his hands, 'We are blessed with our little boy right now, and I know you're hurting because you lost Ella and I know I can't do anything to make you feel better, but know that we are here if you just want to cry or talk'. The two of them stepped out of the shower and got into some clean clothes, once they walked into the room, Daniels parents were almost asleep on the small couch, Isa walked over to them, kneeling down 'Grace, Joe, why don't you two go home? It has been a long day'. They put on their jackets and went to the hotel to get some sleep and give the new family a bit of privacy.