Battle Scars // Esteban Ocon

12

During the two week gap between Monza and Russia, Esteban spent a lot of time in England with Abi making sure she was okay after what happened in Italy.

He knew things were going to be tough during her recovery but he hated to think she hated the look of her body and the bruises after what had happened.

But during the time they had spent together he noticed her forgetting more about what had happened and focusing more on her recovery.

"How long until you can take that off?" Esteban asked referring to the cast on Abi's leg.

"Doctor said 6-8 weeks and then I might need an air cast depending on the healing." Abi said looking down at it.

"And next week would be 4 weeks right?" Esteban wondered as he done the maths in his head, counting the weeks since the start of the second half of the season.

"Yeh. Half way there." Abi faked her enthusiasm.

"What's wrong?" Esteban spoke as he stood up and moved over to sit beside the Brit.

"What if this is it? What if Fernando does better than I have and they replace me? What if my whole F1 career ends after only 11 races?" Abi explained as she stared off into the distance.

"It's gonna be fine Abi. You earned that seat. Laurent isn't going to get rid of you that easily." Esteban assured her as he took her hand in his using his free hand to lift her head up so their eyes met.

"How do you know?" Abi asked quietly.

"Because you are amazing Abi. And Alpine would be stupid to let you go." The Frenchman replied before leaning in to close the gap between the pair connecting their lips.

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Weeks later Abi was officially free from her hard cast that was starting to repulsed her as it was no longer the white colour it used to be and she hated not being able to shower properly.

After spending nearly two hours in the shower scrubbing her whole body clean, Abi was on the way to her first physiotherapy session to build the strength in her leg back up.

Her calf muscle had completed deflated due to not being used for the last two months to the stage where it was just floppy skin.

While the team was in Texas for the American Grand Prix, Abi was meeting up with Sarah, her performance coach, and the the physiotherapist who specialised in muscle restrengthening.

It felt weird for the Brit to be back walking normal without the aid of her crutches for the first time in eight weeks.

She wasn't exactly the strongest on her feet at the minute after it took her nearly 10 minutes to walk from her car in the car park to the reception area in the Alpine factory.

She walked inside and was met with Sarah, who was talking to an attractive looking, brown haired man in a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt.

"Hey Abi." Sarah spoke as she noticed the driver walked into the factory.

"Hi Sarah." Abi replied as she slowly walked over to her performance coach and the stranger.

"This is David, the physiotherapist you'll be working with. David, Abigail Wilson." Sarah introduced the pair.

"Nice to meet you." David said holding out his hand to Abi while smiling.

"Likewise. Thanks for this by the way. Can't wait to get started." Abi smiled in reply after dropping hands.

"Shall we head to the gym area." Sarah spoke gesturing to the door.

"Sure." David nodded in reply and they all started walking. "Just so you know Abi, some people heal quicker than others. So don't be disheartened if things start out slow. We'll get you back in that car as soon as possible."

"Thanks." Abi smiled once again before they arrived in the gym while David went to get set up.

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Esteban returned home from Austin feeling deflated after a double DNF for the team left them in desperate need of some good races for the last few races.

He text Abi to find out where she was and she told him she was at the Alpine factory for another one of her recovery sessions with David.

The Frenchman didn't ask who David was before hopping into his car and heading over to the factory excited to see the Brit for the first time in nearly two weeks.

He arrived Enstone and headed inside and was met with Sarah, Abi's performance coach, who smiled at the sight of the French driver.

"Hey Esteban. Hard luck last weekend." Sarah spoke with a smile.

"Hey. Thanks Sarah. Do you know where Abi is?" Esteban asked the woman.

"Yeh she's in the gym with David doing her recovery session. She should actually be finished about now." Sarah explained as she looked at her watch to see the time.

"Thanks." Esteban replied as she turned to walk away before turning back briefly. "Quick question, who's David?"

"David is the recovery physiotherapist the team brought in to help Abi with her recovery. He specialises in drivers and getting them fit for being back in the car." Sarah replied.

"Oh okay." Esteban nodded in reply. "Thanks."

Esteban headed for the gym and as he approached he could hear music blaring inside. He opened the door pretty sure that the sound would be drowned out by the music coming from inside.

Inside the gym her found Abi doing exercises with a young, good looking man who Esteban could only assume was David.

The pair were pretty close together as Abi was walking between two poles for support. Then David said something causing Abi to laugh.

Esteban watched the pair interact for another minute before deciding the best thing he could do at the moment was leave.

The loud music had allowed him to slip in and out unheard as Abi was on the far side of the gym unaware that Esteban had entered and left again.

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Thoughts? Long time no update ha🙈 I really wanna complete some of these books cause I have so many at the minute that I forget about half of them.

-ky❤️