Chapter Text
Gabi felt fine waking up this morning, he was pressed into Fernando chest, he was warm but not too warm, and safe. Even when moving felt like an impossible task when Nando tried to coax him out of bed he didn't feel as bad as he does now. But thats a low bar right now, he's sitting with Nico in their engineering meeting before the race and it's only the teeniest tiniest bit of dizziness, not even something really worth mentioning, he just needs more water. His hands feel a little shaky but it's not bad, pre race tremors is all. He needs to be focused, so he downs his glass and calls it good. Nico gives him a strange look but doesn't comment on it.
"Everybody out." Mattia says when they wrap up.
Gabi pushes himself up out of his chair, closing his eyes as things shake, taking a deep breath to right everything before quickly walking out. He just needs the littlest bit of regression time, something to calm his nerves, but his older headspace, the ones he got good at forcing.
Fernando packed his bag for him, and he reaches his hand inside, rubbing his beloved blanket between two finger. He can't pull it out, that would just invite the trouble of a real headspace, he just needs to know it's there so he can feel better.
He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knows he's being gently shaken awake.
"Gabi. Gabi we have to get ready." The voice of his teammate calls to him.
"Dad?" Gabi asks groggily.
"I should hope not." Nico chuckles.
Gabi deflates into the couch cushions, an odd nagging feeling making itself at home in his chest. Nico smiles sympathetically at him, patting his arm.
"Sorry, Gabriella." He says, hoping to put a smile on the youngers face.
It works, sort of, a small ever so faint smile tugs at his lips but it's there.
"Come on, Fernando will kill me if you are late." Nico says.
Gabi nods and gets up with a small groan, his legs feeling heavy as he swings them over the side of the couch. Nico smiles to him again, pats his shoulder then leaves him to get dressed. The mention of Fernando makes the nagging stronger, hold on to his chest tighter.
He does his best to make it all go away, even as a tiny breath catches on its way out. He's going to be fine, thats what he keeps telling himself as he gets dressed, as he heads to the garage, as he pulls his helmet on, and as he gets in the car. He's 100% totally, perfectly fine.
The plan as he lines up next to Yuki on the grid is to avoid Fernando who has qualified not far ahead of him. Shouldn't be too hard given that he's preoccupied talking to engineers and suiting himself up. All he needs is to stay close to his car and look busy, Fernando always knows when he needs to give Gabi his space. He catches the caregiver looking his way, asses what he needs, and a flash of brighter green disappearing up the pack, the same green he's wearing. Nico. Rat bastard narcing on him to his caregiver just because he willingly took a nap. So rude, whatever.
—
Waiting at the lights Gabi doesn't feel to too awful, he's been nursing some water out of his tank so that should hopefully make him feel better. As the lights start to illuminate he takes one final mouthful of water then hits the gas, pushing himself back in his seat as he accelerates forward, gaining two positions already.
"Nice work, keep pushing." His engineer gives subtle praise over the mic.
He feels that on a day such as today had it not been for adrenaline it would have dropped him. So thank goodness for race nerves, right? Oh this is not going to be fun.
"Thanks." Gabi radios back in, just an acknowledgment that he heard them.
Unfortunately though, as his race wears on things don't keep moving up for him, his driving gets a little sloppy, dragging his car all over the road. He tries to stop it but he's feeling so light headed right now and his vision is tunnelling.
"Umm, guys something is not right." Gabi radios down to the pit wall.
"Whats the problem, how are the tires holding?" His engineer asks.
"The tires are fine, I'm not feeling alright." Gabi says.
"How so?" Jose asks.
"I'm really light headed and my vision is a little wired." Gabi explains how he's feeling.
Then Mattia gets on the radio, not as friendly as his beloved engineer, Jose.
"Are you going to pass out?" He asks.
"I don't think so." Gabriel says, a little caught off guard.
"If you're not going to pass out then you're going to continue racing." The team boss says, leaving no room for argument.
"But I really don't—" Gabi tries to argue.
"You're fine, keep going." Mattia says, a little colder.
"Keep us posted." Jose says.
Gabi whimpers and agrees, trying his best to keep driving but it's hard. He feels so light headed now, the world is spinning in his helmet and cars morph into each other making it impossible to be able to tell where overtake would be available. Then the nausea starts to set in. So radios in again.
"Guys it's getting worse." Gabi pleads.
"Are you passing out?" Mattia asks again, that same stupid question that shouldn't hold so much weight.
"Not yet." Gabi responds.
"Keep going, you're in the points." Mattia says then it's silent.
He goes another few laps before his chest gets tight, painfully tight, and his breathing becomes wheezy, making the lightheaded feeling worse.
"Guys I can hardly see, I need a doctor, now please." Gabi begs, he would get on his knees now if he could.
"Are you passing out?" Mattia sounds irritated.
"I might be!" Gabi exclaims.
"Thats not a yes. There are six laps left, finish the race." He's instructs.
"Please, I need a doctor." Gabi wheezes out.
"Five laps." Mattia says then cuts his radio.
Gabi wasn't even aware that was doable, to cut him off from the pit wall, but as he tries to radio back in it becomes increasingly more apparent that he will have no communication until the race is over.
He hardly makes it to the checkered flag, dipping in and out of the gravel, barely keeping a tire on track over the chicane, all around it's messy. That flag is the best thing he's seen all day, P10 to end. He pulls up and parks where he's told, his radio coming back on and he collapses back in his car.
His breathing is atrocious, gasps and wheezes the best he can get, and it hurts so bad.
"Jose... can I... have... the doctor now..?" Gabi pants.
"Yes, oh my god, I'll come get you and we'll go together." His engineer says.
Gabi tries to breathe while he waits, fiddling with the buckles holding him in the car until he sees his engineer running towards him, followed by Nico.
"Jesus, ok. We're going to get you out of there, don't worry." Jose says, already reaching in to unbuckle him.
"Nico go get Fernando." The engineer says.
The German nods and runs in the direction of the media pen while Jose pulls Gabi out go the car. His breathing is laboured, and when he tries to set the little on his feet his knees buckle.
"Holy shit, ok. Come on, you need help." Jose helps Gabi into the garage right to the medbay.
The doctor they have is new, a kind woman with greying hair. She looks up from her laptop, takes a very quick scan of Gabi and gets up.
"Come, come, he does not look good." She gestures.
Jose helps Gabi over, lying him down on the bed as he gasps for air again. The doctor whose name both men are blanking on grabs an inhaler to start so Gabi can breathe.
"Ok, ready, breathe in." She instructs.
Gabi listens, taking the air into his lungs, feeling a little better.
"Good job, again. Breathe in." And again Gabi listens.
They repeat until he's breathing normally on his own, completely collapsed into the bed.
The doctor starts to poke when they hear the angry sounds of people not far away in the garage. It takes Gabi a second, regressing fast and trying to push hands away from his body as any little does, but he recognizes that voice. That is the very, very angry voice of his daddy yelling at someone.
"Daddy." Gabi calls out pitifully.
"He'll be here soon bud, just hold my hand, ok?" Jose says.
Gabi weakly squeezes his hand while he's looked at.
"You're being very brave. I'm almost done." The doctor says.
Just as she finishes up the door opens and Fernando walks in.
"Daddy." Gabi reaches for Fernando.
"Oh, my love. Are you ok?" Fernando asks.
Gabi whimpers and tucks himself up and away in his caregivers chest, so he turns his attention to the doctor.
"It sounds like a mild infection and maybe a 24 hour bug of some sort mixing together. He shouldn't have waited so long to come in." She says.
"That won't be an issue anymore. But what can we do about this?" Fernando asks.
"I can prescribe antibiotics that should clear his lungs and as for the rest of it, give in time and it will flush itself out." She explains.
Fernando nods and returns his focus to his little who has started to cry.
"Hey, hey, whats the trouble?" Fernando asks softly.
"T-tried daddy. Didn't want to keep going." Gabi cries softly.
"I know baby, daddy knows. You're not in trouble at all." Fernando promises, wiping his eyes.
"'M sorry." Gabi cries though, hiding away again.
"I think you're not feeling well, and you're tired, and we should get you to bed. No one is mad, snuggle bug, we just want you to feel better." Fernando says.
"Don't need bedtime." Gabi whines.
This is normally him screaming and Fernando rocking him until he gives up, but given how it's quiet whines really goes to show just how rotten he feels.
"Then we'll rest our eyes." Fernando says.
He carefully gathers Gabi up in his arms, taking the meds the doctor gives him and leaving to collect their things. Mattia looks like a scolded puppy with its tail between its legs, Fernando absolutely ripped into him for what he forced Gabi to do and the Spaniard has absolutely no regrets. He needed to hear it and he'd do it again. And as they pass Fernando gives him a nasty look, making sure he continues to feel bad.
"Let's get you comfy." Fernando decides to start before getting Gabi home.
"Didn't feel bad earlier, promise." Gabi says, his eyes already shutting.
"I believe you, darling. I promise you're not in trouble." Nando says.
Gabi cries silent tears though as he gets changed, a mix of feeling bad physically, feeling bad emotionally, and being so so tired.
"Daddy home please." Gabi begs.
"Yup, we're going now." Fernando nods, slinging the bag over his shoulder.
He lifts Gabi off the couch and takes him out to the car, buckling him into his car seat which comes with no whining, going to show how terrible he feels yet again. Fernando tucks his purple blanket around him, kisses his head then shuts the door.
From the rear view mirror he can see the dried tear tracks on the littles face as his eyes shut and his heart breaks. He swears he's going to kick Mattias teeth in, what type of team principal keeps their sick driver on track for an entire race even after they ask for medical help? Not a good one. Fernando breathes and gets Gabi home, the little asleep before they even reach the hotel, clearly exhausted. No matter, he will still get all the cuddles his heart desires because he absolutely deserves them after today.