Chapter Text
The team had gathered for lunch, they were back at their old GT academy race track testing new cars. They amusedly walked the whole campus and reminisced about how they were different people when they all first met even though it was only about a year ago. Jann got to show Audrey where it all began.
“Finally, now we can eat!” Matty shouted as soon as he saw Jann and Audrey arrive.
“Wait, isn't Danny supposed to be coming too?” Antonio looked around.
Matty groaned and put the food he picked up, back down with a dramatic thunk, “if he got caught up in a meeting I’m not waiting for that. He talks too much.”
“Go ahead and eat, I’m sure he will be right along. I talked to him earlier and he said he had big plans for today so I assume that’s Danny talk for ‘I’m going to be busy’.” Jack shrugged unconcerned.
“Who cooked today?” Audrey looked at all the food.
“Danny said he did.” Antonio said.
“What? All of it?” Jann looked at the spread of soup, pasta, and other things he couldn’t even identify plus it looked like a whole cake at the end.
“I guess.” Antonio shrugged.
“Danny is a good cook. He made me soup once.” Jack nodded.
Everyone turned at that comment. Jack stopped in his tracks after he realized how it sounded.
“What kind of soup?” Matty waggled his eyebrows and leaned in.
“Alright, alright, don’t be gross. It was just chicken noodle because I was sick.” Jack pushed him back. “He’s weirdly motherly sometimes for a soulless marketing man.”
“That’s true. When I cut my hand at that last race he made the medic help me when he wasn’t supposed to.” Audrey nodded.
“He was by my side when I woke up from my appendectomy. It was good to see a familiar face.” Antonio leaned back in his chair.
Jann shuffled awkwardly, “he rearranged the schedule to allow for more rest when I hurt my ankle during the academy.”
“That was because of you?” Both Antonio and Matty said at the same time.
Jack shook his head and stayed silent as he ate his lunch.
“Well, I insist I was fine and I didn’t need special treatment but he said that we needed a break anyway.” Jann shrugged helplessly.
“We always knew you were the favorite.” Matty joked.
“Aw, c’mon he must have done something for you.” Jann shifted the topic awkwardly.
Matty blinked for the moment and then smiled, “naw, I was all good.”
“Lemons.” Jack said simply and continued eating.
“Traitor!” Matty called over to Jack who just ignored him.
“Lemons?” Jann asked.
Matty sighed, “I’m allergic to citrus and when they changed the cleaning supplies to lemon scented he immediately changed it back for me.”
“That was because of you?!” Both Matty and Jann said.
Matty laughed, “hope you two don’t like lemon because we aren’t having any any time soon.”
They were interrupted by a mechanic running over to Jack, “sir, one of the cars is wrecked. We won’t be able to fix it. It’s totaled.”
Jack coughed as he choked on his food and looked at him in confusion and shock. No one was supposed to be driving at the moment. Who could have wrecked the car so badly that they wouldn’t be able to fix it at all.
“Who was it? Are they ok?” Jack asked.
“Uh, it was Mr. Moore. He’s ok, but he’s refusing medical attention, but we were hoping you could talk to him.” He said nervously.
“Danny?” Jack’s eyebrows shot upwards. What was he doing driving? He knew that Danny could drive passably but usually he had someone with him to assist. He also wasn’t the type to refuse medical care. He was always more cautious about those things.
He followed the mechanic down to the track. He could hear everyone else get up to follow. They made their way over to Danny who looked absolutely frazzled. Both his hair and clothes looked like a mess and askew. He was walking around seemingly aimlessly.
“Jack! You’re here! Great! I wanted to get your opinion on me driving a lap against one of them.” He had an excited look in his eye that looked more unhinged than usual. “I think I could beat one of you. Can’t be too hard, I just practiced even and I was most certainly doing better.”
“Danny, what’s going on? I heard you just crashed.” Jack looked at him confused. “Why were you driving?”
“Ah, a minor setback. At least it was only a car. We can get another one.” He waved it off like it was nothing. “I was thinking that maybe we could even invite a bunch of people to watch this. Jack, you can drive too if you want, but it will be totally grand and I’m sure that we would make a lot of money from those ticket sales. You guys know that you are famous after that podium, right? Everyone knows you and we need to capitalize on the hype surrounding you and the podium.”
Jack’s head was getting dizzy at how fast and how much Danny was rambling at the moment. None of it even made any sense. Danny was also rocking back and forth on his feet and waving his arms very excessively as he spoke.
“Danny, you need to see a doctor. You just crashed!” Jann tried to interrupt but Danny almost didn’t hear him over his continued rambling about how this proposed event would go.
“Don’t worry about me Jann, I am fine. I feel great!” Danny patted his arm. “But if we get media from across the globe then I know that we could also market the rights for broadcasting and then that would be where the big money is!”
Everyone looked at each other concerned about his hyperactive behavior.
“Do you know if Danny has a bipolar disorder?” Audrey asked eventually.
No one answered her. Jack shrugged.
“It seems like a manic episode. My friend’s aunt was bipolar.” She explained. “We should probably get him to the hospital. I assume he needs his meds to be readjusted.”
“Ok, how do we convince him to go? He doesn’t even want to go after crashing the car.” Matty asked.
“Danny, are you bipolar?” Audrey asked abruptly.
“I am! I am bipolar I, which is marked by mania vs hypomania. I was diagnosed when I was 23.” Danny nodded. “I’ve been on medication ever since and I think it’s been pretty well managed!”
“Danny, I think you’re in a manic episode right now.” Audrey said gently.
He stared at her for only half a second, “yeah I agree, but I’ll be ok. I can just wait until it’s over and I’ll talk to someone. This isn’t such a bad episode. I have other important things I need to get done and I don’t need to go to the hospital for something like this.”
“Danny, let’s go to the hospital. All of us can go with you.” Antonio offered. “We can keep talking about your race idea.”
Danny perked up immediately at that, “we need to get new cars and livery design just for this one race. Definitely need to market the once in a lifetime type spectacle.”
Jack gently guided Danny along as he followed the rest of the group to the car. Matty and Antonio went separately promising to meet them there.
“We should race them there! Good practice for the competition coming up right?” Danny made a beeline for the driver’s side only to be held back by Jack and Jann who quickly stopped him.
“I’ll drive,” Jack nudged him towards the back seat.
“Here, come and talk to me,” Audrey offered as she climbed into the back with him.
Danny climbed into the back and continued his rambling as Audrey politely nodded along.
“So Danny, when do you think this mania started?” She asked when he paused for a breath.
“Not long, just yesterday maybe. My episodes usually last for a few weeks. I don’t remember the last time I had one. I almost forgot what it’s like.” He said in one big rush.
She opened her mouth to ask another question but it was too late as he continued his speaking. They arrived at the hospital where Matty and Antonio were waiting just like they said they would be. When they went inside the nurses immediately took note of Danny’s elevated state and ushered him away from the other sick people to try and not disturb them.
“Sorry, only one visitor can come with him. Everyone else will have to wait here.” The nurse said apologetically.
“I’ll go, you guys can head back in Matty’s car if you want. I’m not sure what they will do or how long it will take.” Jack said.
“No. We are here for him. We will at least wait for an update.” Matty said firmly.
Everyone else nodded. They would wait. Jack smiled and nodded back. It was almost sad to see Danny look so frantic. His normal level of energy still managed to tire Jack out but this level of energy and confidence looked like it was burning him out from the inside and he couldn’t even stop himself.
“Hello, Mr. Moore. I’m sure you know that you are here because your friends are concerned that you are having a manic episode.” The doctor walked in and looked at both of them.
“I know they worry too much. I crashed a car today and they are also worried about that but I assured them that I was fine. It’s just so frustrating sometimes that people don’t listen to me and what I’m saying. I know that I’m fine. It’s like they don’t trust me or they don’t care about what I have to say. I have a lot of work to do today and now you guys took my phone and I can’t even plan or anything.” Danny was tapping his foot impatiently.
“I’m very sorry Mr. Moore, but you know the protocol. We will start you on some medications if you are willing. They should help you relax a bit.” He explained.
“Yeah, yeah, no need to explain. I know the drill. Just hurry up so I can get out of here and start working again. I can’t fall behind on things. It’s very important.”
“Ok, I will be right back.” He said before turning to Jack and seeing his confused face. “We found his chart so we will be providing some mood stabilizers and sedatives to hopefully help him calm down and relax.”
“Right, thanks.” Jack said awkwardly. “And can he be checked out about that car crash too?”
“We can let someone know about that and we can see if he will sit for an exam after the medications.”
He wasn’t a stranger to hospitals but he wasn’t typically here for mental health issues. It was completely different and he felt out of his depth. Danny was squirming and pacing again. He was talking again too but Jack was just nodding along politely. Thankfully they came in not too long later with the medication and he seemed to settle down more after that.
He texted a few updates to the kids in the waiting room.
Jack: they gave him some stabilizers and he’s much calmer now. They also managed to convince him to be checked out for the crash.
Jann: injuries?
Antonio: can we visit soon?
Jack: no injuries. I will ask about visitors.
They stood anxiously waiting for a reply. It was rather rattling to see Danny act so frantically. It was an intense amount of energy that they didn’t know what to do with. None of them even knew Danny had bipolar disorder. They wonder what had caused an episode if he was doing so well for years.
Jack: they said come on back for 5 minutes.
They immediately swarmed the desk asking the poor receptionist to go back to see Danny. They crept towards the room, unsure of what they would find. Jack was sitting next to Danny who was sitting still finally in the hospital bed.
“Hi, guys,” Danny said softly.
“How are you feeling?” Antonio asked, he glanced around at the sparse furniture of the room. It was empty beside the chair that Jack was sitting in and the bed with a desk.
“I’m doing better. I can still hear and feel my heart racing I think.” Danny laughed.
“We were very worried.” Audrey said.
“I’m sorry, I haven’t had any manic episodes in almost a decade I think. I forgot what it was like.” Danny sighed. “It was like every thought in my brain had to come out of my mouth. I know it’s a lot.”
“Hey, we are a lot on a normal day too. Don’t worry about it.” Matty smiled. “We were just talking over lunch about how you were there for us when we needed someone.”
Danny blinked and tried to remember when they meant before turning slightly pink, “I mean that’s just my job to make sure you’re ok.”
“Maybe it started out that way, but you did more than any job could have asked.” Audrey insisted and held up her nicely healed hand. “You didn’t have to yell at him for me.”
Danny laughed, “ok, but that was pure negligence!”
“You did not tell me the full story of that.” Jann looked concerned.
Audrey and Danny looked at each other, “well, it’s a long story, but let’s just say there is going to be some regulation changes to who can use the first aid in the paddock.” Danny said eventually.
“Oh no, this sounds juicy.” Matty leaned against the wall. “You can’t just gloss over this.”
“Alright, do you want to explain?” Audrey asked.
“Apparently your view is more interesting so I think you should tell it.” Danny shook his head.
“Alright, but you have to say your side after!” She giggled.
They stood crowded together in the small hospital room listening to how Danny chewed out the medic at the first aid station. Much more than 5 minutes passed but no one noticed or cared to kick them out.