Forever and Always

Aftermath

Charles woke up with a pounding headache, his body so sore and heavy he felt like he couldn't lift his finger. His eyes were foggy for a few seconds before he was able to see clearly. But when his vision cleared, he saw the worried face of Emilia. She looked so scared, so concerned. It made his heart deflate a little seeing her like this.

"Cha! My goodness, Cha. You scared the shit out of me, mon amour," she whispered when she saw he was awake, her voice shaky.

Emi pressed her forehead to his hand, holding it tight with hers. He could feel her damp cheeks now, and he tried to use his thumb to wipe some away.

"I'm sorry, Em," he whispered back, his throat a little scratchy as the words came out of his mouth.

She looked up, their eyes meeting, and he instantly saw the pain behind them. His heart broke a little. Had he really caused her that much pain?

"Cha, I love you so much. I thought I was going to lose you. I don't know what I would've done," she said. "You went into those barriers so fast, I don't think anyone really- I think almost everyone would have had at least thought that you may not have made it. Especially when they pulled you out. Oh, Cha," Emi cried.

Hearing that - that she, that everyone, was scared for his life - was something he'd never thought would happen. He'd never wanted that to happen, yet here they were. It took him back to Japan 2014, Jules's crash, when the track was silent and everyone was thinking the worst. The worst in that situation had been right, though. He was just grateful it hadn't turned out the same way for him.

"I'm so sorry, beautiful," was all he could think to say. After all, he could not imagine her pain. She'd already lost almost everyone she loved, and he'd be damned if she lost someone else.

"It's ok, Cha. It's ok. I love you, I love you, I love you," she said back, kissing his hand over and over.

It was then that he realised his wrist, the opposite one to which Emi was holding. A cast was wrapped around it, and when he tried wriggling his fingers around, a sharp pain seared through his hand up his wrist and arm.

He pointed to it, eyes pleading with Emi, begging her not to say what he thought it was.

"It's shattered," she confirmed quietly.

"Fuck," Charles mumbled.
He really hoped she wouldn't say it. He didn't want it to be true. But now, that meant that he's be out for a while. Charles deflated, and it must have been obvious because he felt Emi squeeze his hand in a comforting way.

He was so close to achieving his dream, to getting the title of Champion of the World. Charles had promised his papa he would back before he had passed. He intended on keeping that promise. But it seemed so far out of reach now. If Max had good races, there would be no way for Charles to catch up if he was able to get back for the last few races. There were only three left - Qatar, Brazil, and Abu Dhabi, all two weeks between each one. That might give some time, but not a lot. Not a lot at all.

A knock sounded at the door, and a moment later, it was pushed open. A doctor came through with a nurse trailing behind. The doctor was a tall, tanned man with silky black hair and light stubble across his jaw. His eyes were narrowed but a piercing hazel colour shone through, and he held a clipboard.

"Mr, Leclerc?" he asked.

"Yes?" Charles replied.

"During your high speed crash today, your wrist was shattered, and you have quite a bit of bruising across you body. You'll have to have a few weeks off, but with physio, you may be able to come back for, say, maybe the last race. But don't get your hopes up, because we don't know if that can happen yet. We will try and get you discharged by the morning," the doctor said, checking over the notes on the clipboard, flipping through the pages of the files he in front of him.

Charles sighed heavily. "Um ok. If that's what has to happen. But, just before you go, I'd like to ask what happened to my race suit?" he asked.

He could see in the corner of his eye how Emi put her hand to her face, seemingly dumbfounded on how that was one of the first things I asked the doctor.

The doctor simply chuckled though. "We had to cut it off you. We didn't want to move you too much before not finding out what exactly your injuries were. It was the easiest way," he replied with a smile.

Charles nodded. Well, there goes his suit. There was nothing he could do about it anyway.

"Anything else?" the doctor asked. Both Charles and Emi shook their heads. "Right, I'll make sure you are discharged by tomorrow morning. But right now, get a good rest," he concluded before heading out of the room, the nurse quietly trailing him again.

Charles looked over to Emi. Her deep brown eyes looked back at him. He loved her eyes, it was like a blanket of warmth over him. Lifting his hand, Charles reached for her, placing it gently on her jaw, tracing circles on her cheek with his thumb. Then, she was holding it to her face, taking off some of the pressure he had to keep it there, and leant into it. Her skin was nice and smooth, and so warm too. It made him smile.

"Carlos sent me pictures of the car earlier. Do you want to see them?" Emilia asked softly.

A feeling of unease washed over him. He had to admit, he was a little scared to see them. He knew the car was most likely wrecked, and the guilt of having done that to the team was like a tidle wave. But, at the same time, he really wanted to see.

Charles nodded quietly and he watched as Emi quickly started tapping on things on her phone until she turned it to him a moment later. Holy shit, he thought.

The two front tires were practically detached, only a few thin wires holding them to the car. The nose was broken from its hinges and snapped in two. Closer photos showed the cockpit caved in, the petal box all disfigured. And then, the seatbelts. The fabric had been stretched out, like they hadn't loosened at the buckles but Charles had just gone through them. It scared Charles a bit to think that he had been in that accident. It could have really done some damage to him.

He took his gaze away from the phone to look at Emi, who was wiping away the gathering tears in her eyes. Oh, she was such a sweetheart, Charles thought. She didn't deserve this.

"I'm sorry, mon amour," he whispered.

"It's ok, Cha. As long as your ok, I'm happy," she replied, leaning forward and kissing him.