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Chapter Text

Charles sighs when the discussion on track limits becomes heated, in the pre-race debriefing together with all the other drivers.

Max and Lewis are the ones to have conflicting opinions and the Dutchman never misses an opportunity to remind his bitter rival how the race direction pardoned Mercedes driver well over twenty times a couple of seasons ago, right on this track.
Lando and Yuki, on the other hand, don't seem particularly interested and take the opportunity to whisper something in each other's ears and giggle like two naughty and unruly schoolboys.

Charles rubs his temples annoyed by the subdued and uncontrolled shouting of his colleagues: they are adults for God's sake, why don't they adopt the rule of speaking one at a time?

The Ferrari driver feels heavy in his eyes and is thankful that he can hide his tiredness behind his Ray-Bans.

A throbbing, intense pain, perhaps a beginning migraine, is beginning to form in one half of his head, and Charles begins to suspect that he may have been careless in omitting his team the small incident whose he was victimized a few days ago.
The "Cavallino" has always been scrupulous and fussy about Charles' health, preventing him from skiing, parachuting or any other sport in which he could be seriously injured, so it would not be a good idea to go and tell Frédéric or any other member of Ferrari that their lead rider went out into the waters of Monaco on his jet ski but was eventually catapulted into the water and hit his head.
At first Charles didn't give it too much importance, he felt fine and, apart from a bump, he didn't even fear he might have gotten a concussion.

Now he is questioning his evaluative skills.
"Are you OK?"
Pierre's voice reaches him muffled, even though he's sitting not even a meter away from him. Charles barely remembers his friend telling him anything: about Esteban, a soccer match, or whatever, he just can't remember.

******* ********

Everything happens in slow motion before Pierre's eyes.
Instead of answering his question, Charles just stares into space, then smacks his lips and blinks his lids in repetitive motions.

Someone screams, in surprise and fright, when the Monegasque's muscles stiffen and then start to contract abruptly in a totally uncontrolled way.

"Let's give him space and move away any objects with which he could injure himself!"
Lewis is the first to regain the lucidity necessary to help the Monegasque; Logan, Oscar, and Nick help him move chairs around the floor where Charles has fallen and is writhing.

Instinctively Pierre would like to take him in his arms and wait for this bad moment to pass but seeing his best friend cyanotic, his arched neck and lower and upper limbs in an unnatural posture scares him to death. He knows he can't shake Charles to avoid breaking him.
He just slides his thigh under Charles' head to cushion the blows until Esteban provides him with a soft sweater to tuck under Charles' head.

Meanwhile, George has already taken off Charles' sunglasses and Lance has loosened his belt and unbuttoned the top two buttons around his neck to make breathing easier.

Carlos is on the phone to call for help while Fernando has gone to look for help inside the paddock.
Charles' convulsions last only two minutes but it is the longest period of time for many of those present.
Once the crisis has subsided, Max, on Lewis's instructions, moves Charles on his side to prevent saliva or vomit residues from ending up in his lungs.

Pierre and Max always remain close to Charles trying to appear calm even if, several times, the Frenchman furiously has to brush away his tears.
When help finally arrives, Guanyu and Alex lead the paramedics to Charles immediately.

***** *******

After his brain is affected by a blackout and he had the first seizure of his life, Charles is tired and sleepy.

Doctors tend to him, monitoring his vital signs and blood sugar, blood tests and head CT scans.

Charles feels weak and in pain from strong muscle contractions however the fact that his mother and siblings are in the hospital with him calms him down. He is also reassured by the news that there is nothing alarming in his head and that the bad experience he had a few hours ago was an delayed early post-traumatic seizure that occurred days after his head injury.

"Your friends would like to say hello before we get back on track for free practice but I can tell them to come back tomorrow!"
Arhtur says to him cautiously, affectionately stroking his brother's hair.
Charles is pale and looks exhausted however his breathing is now less labored and his forehead relaxes in a more calm expression.
"Okay. I can handle them for a few seconds. I owe it to them, after the scare I gave them!"In order not to tire Charles too much and speed up the times, the drivers enter paired and most of them just wish Charles a speedy recovery and tell him they want to see him again soon on the track.

Some go together with their teammate, others with their friends from the grid so Charles finds no logical connection when Max and Pierre show up together at his bedside.

“Did we go back to 2019 or what?”
The Monegasque tries to play down the drama, although speaking costs him effort and his voice is slurred like that of a drunk. He can see how upset his best friend is and this is a feeble attempt to make him smile.

"Tais-toi, idiot petit calamardo. Vous nous avez fait une bonne frayeur, vous savez?"
Pierre gently scolds him and Max, on the other side of the bed, rolls his eyes pretending to be disgusted by the flirtations between the two colleagues.

"Je suis vraiment désolé."

"Come on Pierre, kiss Charles goodbye now so he can rest while we go beat the Ferrari on the track!"

In moments like this, Pierre would like to kill Max instead he just turns redder than Charles's Ferrari who cackles.
"Let him talk, calamar. I pissed myself in front of the whole grill today, do you think it's more embarrassing if you kiss me in front of Max?"

Pierre's lips gently brush Charles's, silencing him, while Max exclaims a longed-for finally!

"However, there's a silver lining to all of this, you know Max?"
Charles's eyes have regained a sly spark as he caresses Pierre's shaggy cheek.
"It's not bad to miss the opening race of the season as it is known that whoever wins the first race always loses the world championship!"