Sparks - Daniel Ricciardo

Forty Three

adult content warning
📍8th July 2022 - Spielberg, Austria

One thing Daniel did well was stand up for those he cares about.

As soon as he made his way back behind the scenes to his driver's room, to find a flustered looking Amber who couldn't quite gain control of her own breathing, he knew that Blake had been the cause of this impending storm.

Daniel had planned to speak with Blake after this race weekend, to see what his issues were with Amber and to ultimately see whether he would put them to one side, or work things out between the pair, in order for Daniel to feel comfortable.

Both Blake and Amber meant the world to him and it was hard for him to imagine a world without either one or a world in which Daniel had to keep them separated. 

He was dreading this conversation with his manager, but he knew he needed to communicate with him for Amber's sake. He was surprised that she hadn't mentioned it yet, if he was being honest. He never wanted her to think that he wasn't willing to stick up for her.

But, this had put him in a very uncomfortable situation. He didn't want to lose them, but he also didn't want to have to force them to like one another.

"What do you mean, Blake said that?" Daniel raged as he pulled Michael aside whilst Francesca placed a supportive arm around Amber's shoulders.

Amber was scarily staring into silence, not making a sound or uttering a word. The words which harshly fired from Blake's mouth had wounded her, placing her into a silent prison where she can only hear and see her thoughts and feelings.

Which, to Daniel, panicked him more than anything considering he had read Amber's journal, detailing what her thoughts and feelings did to her.

"Mate, I tried to stop him. Amber walked away at one point so they could speak after the race. Blake, he just decided to throw it out there without any warning." Michael shook his head and watched over Daniel's shoulder as Francesca tried to pry out a conversation from Amber.

"Where is he?" Daniel asked, calmly breathing to keep his cool before he ultimately looses his shit.

He never thought Blake would be this cruel to her. He knew that Blake had problems with her, but thought he'd fired out the worst of it during his birthday dinner.

Obviously not.

"I haven't seen him since I left the garage." Michael admitted. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there to congratulate you on track as normal, Dan. I just couldn't stand there with Blake after he said that shit to Amber."

"No, I understand." Daniel nodded. "Thank you for making sure she was okay and going after her."

Michael simply nodded back as his eyes followed Daniel moving across the small room behind the garage to carefully sit down next to Amber on the sofa, allowing Francesca to move away completely.

"Honey?" Daniel questioned as he placed his hand across Amber's clothed thigh. "Do you want to head back to the hotel?"

"You have m-media." Amber reminds Daniel as she tried to breathe through her congested nose. "I'll be f-fine."