Work Text:
Lando batted Oscar’s hand away from the volume control for what felt like the hundredth time in the last 5 minutes.
“Leave it mate.” He said, wearily, also for the hundredth time in the last 5 minutes.
Without looking he knew Oscar’s brown eyes were filling up with tears… again. God no one had warned him that looking after someone coming around from anesthesia was this troublesome. Already he had had to stop Oscar from jumping out of the car at a red light right after pulling away from the dentist, listened to him babble about a childhood dog, and then an awkward 10 minutes where he got a bit teary talking about how he wasn’t sure he could ever be as quick as Lando and all he wanted was to never let the team down.
That last one had been a little uncomfortable to listen to, and Lando figured he would have to find a way to tell someone on Oscar’s team about it. Maybe he could tell Jon and let him handle it, but Lando knew that keeping those thoughts bottled up wasn’t a good idea, and he couldn’t in good faith do nothing about it, especially when he doubted Oscar would remember the conversation in 24 hours.
All in all it had been a very long 25 minutes and Lando was wishing Oscar hadn’t picked a dentist on literally the other side of London.
When Oscar had texted him the night before in a panic because his ride to his wisdom tooth extraction had bailed, and no one else he knew was available, Lando had been more than willing to help him out. Sure he had been planning on going back to Monaco, and had had to rearrange his travel plans, but Oscar had never asked him for any kind of favor, and Lando hadn’t wanted to let him down the one time his teammate had finally reached out. He had assumed it would just be a ride across down to the dentist and back because Oscar would be getting some kind of laughing gas, and wouldn’t be able to drive. When they got to the dentist however, he had found out that Oscar would be going under anesthesia, which was a whole lot more serious than Oscar had made the whole thing sound over text.
He couldn’t believe Oscar just expected him to just drop him off and let him potter around his flat alone right after surgery, so when the nurse had asked if he was planning to “help out at home for the rest of the day” he had said yes, taking the symptoms and side effect brochure from her before Oscar could stop him.
“You really don’t have to mate, I’ll be fine.” He had whispered to him once they took seats in the (fortunately empty) waiting room, face flushing as he had refused to meet Lando’s eyes.
“Oscar, you don’t want to be alone after surgery, believe me. I’m going to stick around for a few hours at least. It’s not like I have other plans.”
This did not seem to reassure Oscar, who if anything flushed even brighter red, anxiously twisting his hands.
Ah crap, Lando knew Oscar had this Thing, where he never wanted to be a burden or impose or take up people’s time unnecessarily.
Sometimes Lando worried that Oscar felt guilty about even taking up space in meetings at McLaren, although he was literally supposed to be there.
“Osc '' He had softened his voice, as if Oscar was some kind of scared cat.
“I wouldn’t be doing anything I don’t want to do. I’m glad you asked me to come here with you and I’m glad I can help you out for once.”
Oscar hadn’t looked up from the floor at that, but he had nodded, the flush on his face fading a little.
Now on the M25, he maybe regretted agreeing to this, a little bit, just a touch (not at all).
He could still feel Oscar’s eyes trained on his face, and he risked a glance. Oscar had gone full “heart eyes” on him as the fans would say, and Lando felt something in his chest flutter as he met Oscar’s gaze.
“Y’re pretty.” Oscar drawled. It would be endearing, his bright but unfocussed eyes, if not for the drool at the corner of his mouth.
Lando felt himself blush at Oscar’s words.
“Why don’t you count how many lorries we pass.” Lando said, redirecting as if Oscar was 5 and needed a distraction on a long road trip, but just going with the first thing he could think of to get Oscar’s big doe eyes off him.
Fortunately it seemed to work as Oscar turned to look out the window, leaning his head against the glass.
“One, two…” he began counting. Lando glanced at the GPS to see how long they had left. Another 15 minutes. He prayed to God, Jesus, and Zak Brown that he could get there without any more distractions.
Once they pulled up to Oscar’s place, Lando reached over to shake Oscar’s shoulder, his younger teammate had dozed off and was slumped against the window, the bulky ice pack he had left the dentist with beginning to slide off his face.
“Hey Oscar, mate, we’re home.”
Oscar stirred, slowly coming back round, blinking owlishly as he came back to consciousness. He slowly sat up, and Lando couldn’t help but worry about how sluggish he seemed, especially after how much energy he had had not even 20 minutes earlier.
He didn’t care if Oscar swore up and down that he could take care of himself, there was no way Lando could just let him be alone all day. He unbuckled his seatbelt, leaning over to gently shake Oscar again. Oscar, who had started to slump back down into his seat.
“Come on, let’s get you inside.”
Oscar sat up again, slowly turning towards Lando.
“ ‘Anks ‘or the ‘ide.” He slurred around his swollen mouth, at least seeming a little more aware, fumbling for the latch of the car door. Lando quickly hopped out of his door, moving around to the passenger side door, and opening it. Grateful for his quick reflexes, he grabbed onto Oscar’s bicep as his younger teammate slumped sideways.
“ ‘Orry, ‘orry.” Oscar mumbled as he steadied himself before clumsily climbing out of the car.
“It’s ok Osc, let me help you get inside.” Lando said, tightening his grip on Oscar’s arm. He led Oscar into the building and supported him as they slowly climbed the stairs to Oscar’s door.
Oscar fumbled with his keys as he pulled them out of his pocket, swaying on his feet. Not wanting to have to haul Oscar off the floor should he collapse, Lando took the keys with his free hand, and quickly unlocked the door.
Fortunately, Oscar’s place was not very big, and Lando soon found the bedroom, where he let Oscar immediately flop down onto the bed, clumsily kicking off his shoes.
“ ‘Ank you.” Oscar murmured, his eyes starting to slide shut once more, a stray strand of hair flopping over his face. “ Oo ‘on’t have ‘oo s’ay.”
Lando had to physically stop himself from smoothing back the hair from Oscar’s face.
“I want to stay, Oscar, I’m glad you asked me to help you today.”
There was no way he wanted Oscar waking up alone and in pain. Between going back along to his place in Monaco or sticking around a couple days to help out someone he did consider a friend, it was a no brainer.
“Ok, ‘ank ‘oo.” Oscar murmured as he drifted off to sleep again.
This time Lando couldn’t resist, pushing the hair away from Oscar’s paler than normal face. He pulled his hand away quickly, before busying himself with putting the extra ice pack they had been given in Oscar’s empty freezer, then hunting down a water glass. He slipped back into Oscar’s room, putting a glass of water and the bottles of antibiotics and painkillers from the pharmacy they had had to stop at on the way home on the nightstand. Oscar barely stirred as he walked in, but as Lando turned to leave, he saw Oscar shiver slightly. He hadn’t gotten under the covers before collapsing onto the bed, and it’s fairly chilly in his flat. It takes some poking around, but Lando found the linen closet, and pulling out a spare duvet cover, he draped it across Oscar. Oscar didn’t stir as Lando tucked the cover around him.
Taking a seat in the living room, Lando sent off a text delaying his flight back to Monaco again, no way he was leaving tonight. Apologizing, he said he didn’t know how long he was going to stay in the UK after all.
He then pulled out his laptop, and after a bit of snooping, found the wifi password on a sticky note on the router. Settling in on Oscar’s couch he pulled up google and looked up post wisdom tooth surgery care. He made a note of what was needed, soft foods at first, take antibiotics with water and painkillers with food. Make sure the ice packs stay on fairly constantly for the first couple days to help reduce swelling. Complications include infection, bleeding, and dry socket.
Checking the fridge Lando was glad to see Oscar had seemingly thought ahead somewhat, with the fridge stocked with yogurts, protein shakes, and pre-portioned fruit for smoothies. Poking around in Oscar’s cupboards he found several cans.of tomato soup as well.
Lando returned to the sofa, and pulled up his email. If he was going to be here for the long haul, he may as well try to get some work done, he had a list of Quadrant video ideas and merch proposals to go through.
He made it about 15 minutes before pulling Fortnite back up instead. He could see that Angry Ginge was streaming on Twitch and had a discord message asking him if he wanted to hop into the stream.
not today sorry, at a mate's place.
Lando played by himself for about an hour before a low moan coming from the bedroom caught his attention. Putting his laptop aside he hopped up, and went into Oscar’s room.
“Hey Oscar, are you waking up?” he asked softly. Another sick sounding moan came from the direction of the bed as the lump shifted. Lando made his way over to the bed, frowning at how ghostly pale Oscar’s skin was. His teammate’s eyes were cracked slightly open, looking dull against his skin. Suddenly Oscar squeezed his eyes shut, swallowing convulsively as he threw a hand over his mouth, muttering out something that Lando could only assume was along the lines of “I'm gonna be sick”.
Lando panicked. He knew vomiting after surgery was a relatively normal side effect thanks to the nurse's helpful brochure and his brief googling, but he hadn't expected it to actually happen.
“Uh… hold on one second!” he said, frantically looking around for literally any kind of container.
There was a plastic trash bin in the corner of the room. Thanking every deity he'd ever heard of, and a few he had probably just made up on the spot, Lando leapt across the room, grabbing the trash can, and holding it next to Oscar’s head just in time for Oscar to lean over and puke into it. Lando grimaced, his gut rolling, partly in sympathy, partly at the sight of blood mixed in with the bile.
Eventually Oscar stopped coughing, rolled onto his back, and flinging his arm over his face, letting out another moan. Lando put the bucket to the side, and couldn’t help himself from reaching out to brush his fingers across Oscar’s hairline, frown growing deeper as he felt the slight warmth to his skin. He knew low-grade fever was another thing listed as a common side effect of the surgery, but he had been hoping Oscar would get to avoid it.
“Sorry.” He heard Oscar murmur, voice muffled by the arm over his face, but slightly clearer now that the anesthesia was starting to wear off.
“It’s ok, Osc.” Lando replied, rubbing his thumb over Oscar’s brow before catching himself and stopping.
“D’you want some water?”
Oscar shook his head. Lando decided not to push it, knowing that it was almost time for Oscar’s next round of painkillers anyway.
Picking up the trash bin, he made his way into the bathroom, dumping the contents into the toilet and rinsing it in the bath. Seeing the blood again, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He knew from TV that throwing up blood was Capital B Bad, but it wasn’t a lot, and Oscar had just had mouth surgery, so maybe he didn’t have to take him to the hospital, but still, a second opinion wouldn’t hurt.
He dialed the 111 nurse line, fortunately not having to wait too long before speaking to a woman named Denise or Denelle or Debra or something he had immediately forgotten.
“If he just had wisdom tooth surgery then most likely it’s just blood from the extraction site, but if he’s sick again and it looks like there is more blood, bring him in to A&E. Reach out to his dentist if it looks like the extraction sites are still bleeding tomorrow. As for the fever, that’s normal, make sure he’s taking the antibiotics and painkillers as prescribed, and you can give him some paracetamol to help with the fever as well.”
Lando thanked Donna or Daisy or Dottie, feeling slightly reassured that at least he didn’t have to rush Oscar off to the hospital immediately. He made his way back into Oscar’s room, placing the now clean bucket next to Oscar’s head, just in case.
“Hey, it’s almost time for your first round of pills, what do you want to eat?”
Oscar, who was still lying there, arm across his face, shifted his arm down slightly, one bleary eye becoming visible, searching for Lando.
“I’m not hungry.” Was what Lando was pretty sure Oscar muttered.
“Ok, but you can’t take the pain meds on an empty stomach. I’ll get you some yogurt.”
Oscar just shrugged, letting out another low moan. Lando watched, holding his breath as Oscar swallowed convulsively again.
“Are you going to be sick again?”
Lando hoped not, but was ready to jump for the bucket anyway. There was a pause as Oscar seemed to be considering it, before shaking his head.
“Ok, I’ll be right back.”
A man on a mission, Lando went back into the kitchen, he got the fresh ice pack out of the freezer, a strawberry yogurt out of the fridge, rummaged around until he found Oscar’s cutlery drawer, and rummaged around some more until he found a half pack of paracetamol.
Back in the bedroom, he dumped his goods on the bedside table, before encouraging Oscar to sit up slightly, piling pillows behind his back to keep him elevated. First things first, he removed the now thawed out ice pack from around Oscar’s face, trying not to move his mouth too much as his teammate screwed his eyes in pain, before wrapping the still frozen pack around his head.
“I brought you some yogurt, you aren’t supposed to take the painkillers on an empty stomach.” Lando removed the lid of the yogurt, passing it and a spoon over to Oscar. Oscar looked at it disdainfully, poking his spoon into it but making no moves to eat.
“I’m really not hungry.”
“Is there something you would prefer, because eating is non negotiable.”
Oscar shot him a scornful look,
“Ok mum.” It was as sassy as Lando had ever heard Oscar, but decided to let it roll off his shoulders, knowing how much pain he was in and how uncomfortable he probably was.
“Sorry. You don’t have to stay, I can look after myself from here.” Lando raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side as he looked over Oscar.
“I want to help you Oscar.”
The truth of those word’s crashed over Lando.
Ever since the first day they had met, a year ago now, Oscar had been so independent. He had left his family and his home at a young age, had a maturity that Lando still didn’t think he could quite match a lot of the time.
He had seen the pressure Oscar had put himself under to perform, but he had never shown frustration when things went wrong. Lando could tell that he was one to bottle it up, compartmentalize to hell and back in order not to be a burden, not to overstep or get in the way.
He wondered how much of that could be blamed on Alpine’s smear campaign.
As the older, more experienced teammate (finally), Lando had spent all year wanting to be for Oscar what Daniel and especially Carlos had been for him, but Oscar had never seemed to really need that.
It wasn’t a bad thing, and complaining that his teammate wasn’t needy enough was an exceptionally stupid complaint, so Lando had put it aside. But he had grown to really like Oscar, and maybe it was the sleepy koala thing Oscar had going on at all times, but something about him set off all Lando’s protective instincts, even if Oscar didn’t need it.
To finally be able to care for Oscar and show him how much Lando wanted to help him, even if it was in a way Lando was not expecting, felt.. Nice.
Oscar briefly met Lando’s eyes, before his gaze shifted to the duvet he was still tucked under, fingers pulling at a loose thread, while his other hand still held the yogurt he had yet to take a bite of.
“Are you sure? I didn’t mean for you to get stuck here.”
“Yes, I’m sure, you can’t make me do anything I don’t want to do, you shouldn’t have to be alone recovering from this, and I’m glad you’re letting me take care of you. Now come on, you need to eat.”
Lando busied himself counting out the medication dosage, 1 antibiotic, 2 of the painkillers, and 2 paracetamol for good measure.
Oscar swirled the spoon around once, before lifting it to his mouth and taking a tentative lick, then dropping the spoon back into the pot. Lando frowned, moving over to sit on the edge of the bed, taking the pot from Oscar.
“Osc, I know you probably feel like shit, but you cannot take these pain meds on an empty stomach, you’ll just feel worse.”
Oscar shrugged, blush creeping up his cheeks, averting his eyes back to the covers, but made no effort to take the yogurt back. Lando looked from the spoon to Oscar’s face. There was one option, but there was no way their relationship would ever be the same if Lando did this. He took a moment, debating if it was worth it.
Yes, he decided. He had vowed to take care of Oscar, whatever it took.
He wanted to be the one Oscar could turn to whenever things got hard or overwhelming. Maybe it was because Lando had never really been so far away from his family, wasn’t the one who had to move to the other side of the world to chase his dreams in Formula One, but he had spent all year worrying about Oscar being lonely or unsupported, even if Oscar himself had never really said anything along those lines. There was something about Oscar, soft, kind, dependable, Oscar, that made Lando want to drop everything for him.
Lando picked the spoon out of the yogurt pot and held it up to Oscar’s mouth.
“Open up.” He said, trying to sound serious.
Oscar lifted his eyes from the duvet, giving Lando the most withering expression Lando had ever seen from him.
“You can’t be serious.”
Lando pushed the spoon up against Oscar’s lips, as his teammate valiantly tried to stop him from getting it into his mouth.
“I’m dead serious, I’m the one who volunteered to look after you, and I plan to do that, whatever it takes.”
With that Lando managed to get the spoon between Oscar’s lips. Fortunately, Oscar was either too tired or in too much pain to really fight him, so although he refused to look Lando in the eye, Lando was able to hand feed him about half the yogurt before he could see Oscar paling.
“Please Lando, no more.” Oscar screwed his eyes shut, a slight green tint on his cheeks.
Not really wanting to clean up vomit for a second time that day, Lando put the cup aside.
“Ok, I think that’s enough. Take your meds and go back to sleep.”
Lando passed over the cup of water he had laid out earlier in the afternoon and the collection of pills he had gathered one by one. Once Oscar had forced them all down, he gently encouraged Oscar to lie down again, adjusting the ice pack over his face and pulling up the covers again. He gently brushed Oscar’s forehead, frowning that he seemed slightly warmer than earlier. He decided to give the paracetamol a chance to kick in before worrying too much.
It was still only late afternoon, but the December winter sun had already gone down. Lando drew the curtains, throwing the room into darkness except for the light in the hall. He could already hear Oscar’s breathing slowly even out as he drifted back to sleep. He gathered up the discarded yogurt pot and the old ice pack and gently shut the door behind him as he quietly slipped into the hall. He threw the rest of the yogurt away, stuck the ice pack in the freezer so he could trade it out in a few hours, then settled back down at his place on the sofa with his laptop. He pulled up Fortnite again, but found he couldn’t get into it, so he switched over to Twitch to see if any of his friends were still online. None were, so he pulled up his emails again, determined to at least get something done. He made it all of 30 seconds before tossing his laptop aside. There was a blanket draped over the back of the sofa, because of course Oscar was that kind of domestic, and pulling it over himself, Lando lay down and shut his eyes, figuring he may as well try to catch up on some hard earned sleep.
He blinked open his eyes to the pitch black room, momentarily confused on where he was, not recognizing the feel of the sofa under his cheek or the scent of the blanket.
Ah right, this was Oscar’s place. Scrambling for his phone, Lando checked to see what time it was. It was just past midnight. He rolled over, prepared to try and fall back asleep when he heard what he supposed had been what woke him up in the first place, a groan followed by a choked sob from the direction of the bedroom. Lando tripped over the blankets, scrambling to his feet. Making his way into Oscar’s bedroom, he flicked on the light, rubbing his hand over his eyes trying to get rid of the sleep in them.
On the bed he could see the lump that was Oscar shaking as he heard the sobs coming from him.
“Osc? You ok sweetheart?”
Lando clamped his mouth shut. What the fuck? He had never called Oscar any kind of pet name before, let alone sweetheart. Where the hell had that come from?
Luckily it seemed like Oscar hadn’t heard him, or if he had, he hadn’t processed it, because nothing about the lump changed.
Lando moved over to the bed, pulling the covers away from where Oscar had pulled them over his head. Oscar was curled into a ball, hair sweaty and plastered to his face. The ice pack had gone askew, and Lando could see where his jaw was starting to swell up. Oscar was pale white, with blotchy red spots high on his cheeks,a thin coat of sweat across his forehead, tears trickling down his face, and he was shivering like Lando had never seen him do before. He reached out a hand, pressing it against Oscar’s forehead frowning at the heat he felt there. Oscar’s fever had skyrocketed. Thoughts of infection crowded Lando’s brain, he had never seen Oscar like this before. DId he need to take Oscar to the hospital? What was it that Dottie or Doris or Daphne said earlier?
Lando pulled his phone and for the second time that day dialed the nurse’s line. He frantically explained the situation to someone who had introduced herself as Emily or Ellie or Esther.
“His fever has spiked so high and he’s obviously in a ton of pain and I don’t know how to help him.” He spilled out.
“Alright love, calm down, panicking won’t help either or you. Now, when was the last time he had some fever reducer?”
Lando tried to take a couple deep breaths, pulling his phone away from his ear to check the time.
“Um, about 5 or 6 hours ago.”
“Ok, well give him another dose, as well as the antibiotics, and the painkillers. Wait an hour, if there is no improvement in his condition, then I would bring him into A&E, they have a stronger fever reducer they can give him.”
Lando took a shaky breath,
“Ok, thank you.”
“You’re a good friend to take care of him like this, it sounds like you’re doing a good job.” Elise, that was her name Lando suddenly remembered, said.
Lando tried to take another calming breath.
“Thank you.” He replied, sincerely before hanging up.
Lando made his way into the kitchen, opening the fridge to look for something for Oscar to swallow down the pills with. Ideally he would get Oscar to eat again so he wasn’t taking them on an empty stomach, but Lando figured the odds of getting anything into him at that point seemed slim. He saw the lined up protein shakes on the top shelf. Perfect. Grabbing the first one he could touch, strawberry flavored, and retrieving the other ice pack from the freezer he made his way back to Oscar’s side.
Oscar hadn’t moved, he was still curled up in a ball on his side, shaking, body racked with silent sobs. Lando tried to encourage Oscar to sit up, but it didn’t seem like anything he said was making it into Oscar’s brain. Making a decision he wiggled himself into the other boy’s space, hooking an arm around Oscar’s chest and pulled him up to where he was leaning against Lando, almost-but not quite- in his lap.
Keeping an arm around Oscar’s chest, Lando awkwardly fumbled with the packet of paracetamol and the lid of the protein drink. Once he had both in hand and unopened, he lifted the drink to Oscar’s lips, coaxing him to take a sip. Fortunately, Oscar did, coughing a little as it hit the back of his throat. Lando pressed the first of the pills to Oscar’s lips, wishing he had some of the liquid medication his mum had used when he was a child. He was able to get it into Oscar’s mouth, then pushed the drink back to his lips. Oscar spluttered and choked a little as he struggled to swallow the pill, and Lando found himself gently running his fingers down the edge of Oscar’s throat, helping him swallow. Once the pill was down, another low groan came from the younger boy.
“I know sweetheart, you’re doing so well.” A shudder went up Lando’s spine as he registered he had used the same pet name once again, and it had felt so normal.
Slowly, the duo repeated the same steps over until Lando coaxed the cacophony of medications into Oscar, and replaced the ice pack. He really should get up and put the old ice pack into the freezer again, but Oscar had slightly settled as he leant against his chest, tucking his head into the crook of Landos neck.
Lando knew that Oscar had to be in a significant amount of pain and discomfort to be cuddling up to him like that. Oscar wasn’t cold, but he wasn’t particularly touchy feely, and although he would never actively flinch away from Lando touching him, outside of the one fan stage at Silverstone, when they had both been drunk off of success (and relief), and the enthusiasm of the fans, Oscar had never initiated any kind of close contact with Lando, outside of a fist bump or handshake.
Lando respected Oscar’s boundaries, but it made the few times they did hug, or touch each other for longer than a few seconds just that much sweeter. Oscar was strong and warm and gentle and painfully, painfully awkward and Lando loved all of it.
Taking advantage of the closeness, he closed his arms tighter around Oscar, rubbing up and down his biceps gently.
Oscar was still shivering, although the tears had slowed, and his skin was still far too warm for Lando’s liking. Lando hoped Oscar would be able to drift back to sleep, although he had spent most of the day trying to sleep off the anesthesia. Elise had said to wait for an hour, and if there was no improvement take him into A&E, Lando hadn’t even looked at the time when he had given Oscar the fever reducer. His phone was over where he had put it on the nightstand, so he had no way of knowing, and he wasn’t going to let go of Oscar now, not when his teammate was in obvious need of comfort.
Lando wished he could call his mum, but on top of not having his phone handy, she was definitely asleep this time of night. He wasn’t sure if she would have any additional advice beyond what he had already gotten, but it would be nice to hear a familiar voice.
He felt so out of his depth, but he was so glad he had decided to stay. He doubted Oscar had thought he would react this badly. The rundown the nurse at the clinic had given Lando while he had been counting the ceiling tiles in the waiting room had said that any symptoms beyond pain at the surgery site were very uncommon.
The thought of Oscar by himself with a raging fever, sick and in pain and unable to gather the energy to do anything about it, lying alone in his dark apartment felt like a stab in Lando’s heart. He knew that Oscar wasn’t totally alone in the UK, that during the season his trainer was here, that Mark split his time between England and Monaco, that Oscar had friends, from other racers to boarding school buddies, but he hardly had the wide circle of close childhood friends and family that Lando had, having never had to move halfway across the world for his career. It had never really struck Lando the scale of Oscar’s sacrifice until right now.
He had had a fairly significant procedure done, and had had no one to look after him through it. Even the friend who was originally supposed to give him the ride wasn’t planning on sticking around all day.
Lando swore to himself that when this was over he was going to make sure Oscar knew he could turn to Lando and his family for anything. His parents liked Oscar, his mum had even expressed concern about him being so far away from his family and his support system, which Oscar had shrugged off, assuring her kindly that he had plenty of friends and he wasn’t lonely in the UK.
But having friends wasn’t the same as having someone who would take care of you when you’re sick, and Lando decided that he would make sure that he and his family could be that for Oscar. He knew that his parents would readily agree.
Oscar shifted in Lando’s hold, and Lando snapped back to the moment. He moved his hand to feel Oscar’s forehead again, frowning because it did not feel like Oscar’s fever had even slightly dropped, if anything he swore it was higher.
Oscar’s breath suddenly hitched, and another sob shook his body as he mumbled something into Lando’s neck.
“What was that?” Lando asked softly. Oscar twisted his head, so his blurry, unfocused brown eyes were looking up at Lando. So he hadn’t fallen asleep then, as much as he had settled while Lando’s thoughts had spirals.
“I want my mum.” He whispered, and if Lando’s heart hadn’t already been heavy thinking about how alone Oscar was in the UK, it just dropped to the floor and shattered. He didn’t really know what to say to that. He would pay to get Oscar’s mum on the next flight out of Melbourne if that would help, but it didn’t solve the problem of her not being here now.
Oscar sniffled, and Lando saw his big, brown eyes fill up with tears again as he turned his face back into Lando’s shoulder, taking the pressure off his jaw. Lando rubbed Oscar’s arms against him, hoping to provide some comfort.
“We could give her a call? If you’d like?”
He has absolutely no idea what time it is in Australia, but if it was 2am in England, hopefully that means it's not the middle of the night there.
He felt Oscar nod against his neck, sniffling again, as tears soaked into Lando’s shirt.
“Where’s your phone?” Oscar had had it when they left the dentist's office, because Lando had had to stop it from falling out of his pocket. He hoped it wasn’t still down in the car. Oscar clumsily moved his hand, patting around his pockets, since he hadn't changed out of his jeans when crashing on the bed once getting home. Lando gently batted Oscar’s hand away, fumbling down to his pocket to find his phone. It was incredibly hot from being pushed up against Oscar’s fevered body for the last several hours, but Lando was relieved to see it hadn’t overheated, and the battery wasn’t completely drained.
“What’s your passcode?” He asked. Oscar again just mumbled against his neck. Lando sighed, using his free hand to gently adjust Oscar’s head so his mouth wasn’t against Lando’s shirt. Oscar looked up at him, face stained with tears and snot, eyes bloodshot, and no more focussed than the last time Lando had seen them.
“8181.” He mumbled out before dropping his head back into Lando’s neck.
Lando quirked an eyebrow.
“Not very creative, mate, probably could have guessed that.” He said, opening Whatsapp, remembering that Oscar had once mentioned using it to keep up with his family. Fortunately the first thread was with ‘Mum’. Lando read the last message,
Ok love, best of luck at the dentist tomorrow. Give me a call when you’re able xxx
Oscar hadn’t texted and hadn’t called, his family was probably worried, and Lando hated that he was probably about to make it worse for them, but if Oscar wanted to talk to his mum, Lando wasn’t going to stand in his way.
He gently encouraged Oscar to unbury his face again.
“I’m about to call your mum, I’m sure she wants to be able to actually hear you when you speak.
He hit the call button, hoping and praying it was the kind of time in Australia where Oscar’s mum (who he had met all of twice, ever) would pick up the phone. He felt a wave of relief as he heard the call connecting.
“Hello sweetheart!” Oscar’s mum’s cheery, warm voice came through the line.
“It’s very late isn’t it? How are you? How did it all go?”
Lando’s initial relief at the call being answered shattered as Oscar immediately burst into hysterical tears on his shoulder.
“Oscar? Sweetheart, what's wrong?” Still warm, her voice was now coated in worry. Lando really hoped Oscar would say something, but after what felt like an excruciating minute, that was probably all of 15 seconds or so, he felt like he probably had to say something, less Oscar’s mum tried to get the police or an ambulance sent round to Oscar’s place.
“Um, hi, sorry. It’s Lando here, Lando… Norris.”
He internally rolled his eyes, because Oscar knew so many Landos.
“It’s turning into a bit of a rough recovery, I thought a call home might…help.”
He wondered if he should tell her Oscar had been crying for her, but maybe that was a little bit of dignity he could allow Oscar to keep.
“Oh! Hello Lando.”
His mum sounded surprised, but not upset, which was a concern Lando didn’t realize he had until it was alleviated.
“Rough recovery, how?”
“Um, he’s been pretty out of it since I got him home, and the anesthesia made him pretty sick, and now he has this fever and the nurses line said to give him paracetamol and wait an hour and if it doesn’t get better to take him into A&E and I don’t know how long it’s been but it hasn’t been getting better and it might be worse and he’s super emotional although I think I probably would be too and…”
“Ok Lando, Lando, take a breath sweetheart.”
Nicole’s voice was steady, although Lando could hear the current of worry in it.
“You said he seems worse than before he took the paracetamol?”
“Um yeah I think his fever’s gone up a little.” Lando tightened his arm around Oscar as the younger boy sniffled, fighting to get the tears under control.
“Mum?” He asked.
“Hi baby, I’m here. I’m so sorry you aren’t feeling well.” His mum’s voice was warm as ever, even though Lando could hear the concern in it.
“I think Lando needs to take you into emergency, it sounds like you need something stronger for your fever.” Nicole continued. Lando felt a weight come off his back at someone just telling him what to do.
“No, no hospitals.” Oscar whined.
“I know baby, I’m sorry, but I think they can help you more than regular medications can, ok. I wish I was there with you baby but you’re in good hands.”
Oscar sniffled, his eyes watering up again at his mum’s words.
“Ok, mum. I miss you.” More tears fell down Oscar’s cheeks. Lando couldn’t believe there was enough of his heart still in one piece for it to be broken again, but there was.
“Oh I miss you too sweetheart, but you’ll be home in just a couple weeks. I can’t wait to see you and give you the biggest hug.” Oscar nodded, despite the fact this was not a video call and his mum could not see him.
“Lando?” Nicole asked.
“Hi, yeah, still here.”
“Let me know how it goes at the hospital will you?” She asked.
“Yes! Of course. Thanks for the help, I’m uh..” He paused to chuckle weakly,
“I’m a little out of depth, I’ve never really had to look after anyone before.”
He swallowed down the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. He had to stay calm, both of them crying would do nothing to help Oscar.
“I’m so glad he has you there with him. I know he was just going to look after himself, even though I told him not to and to see if someone could stay with him. I can’t imagine him being on his own right now.”
Fuck now Oscar’s mum sounded on the edge of tears.
“I’m glad to be here, I’m glad he accepted my help, I know he doesn’t like to accept help from others.”
Lando thanked his lucky stars that Oscar had gone back to nuzzling his neck and didn’t seem to be listening any more.
“He doesn’t, he’s stubborn like that. But I’ll let you go, we’ll talk later, yeah?”
“Yeah, for sure, I’ll let you know as soon as there’s something to know. I’ll look after him, I promise.”
They exchanged farewells, and Lando ended the call.
Gently slipping out from under Oscar, he found Oscar’s shoes and awkwardly got them laced up on his feet. He grabbed Oscar’s jacket from where it had been discarded on the floor, and moved back to the bed to pull Oscar into a sitting position. Oscar didn’t seem like he could really hold himself up, but Lando managed to get his arms into the jacket sleeves. He patted around Oscar’s pockets, relieved when he found Oscar’s wallet still there. He could just hope his medical card was in there.
Pocketing Oscar’s wallet, phone, and-for good measure- his charger in his own pockets, Lando leaned down to loop one of Oscar’s arms around his neck, pulling him up into a standing position… sort off. Oscar immediately collapsed into Lando’s side, Lando almost collapsing under the unexpected weight.
“Jesus, mate.” He grunted, stumbling as he adjusted his hold to keep them both on their feet.
“You’re going to have to work with me here Osc.” He said, as he began hauling his teammate towards the door.
Lando used his spare hand to grab the car keys and Oscar’s flat keys, awkwardly locking the door behind them.
It took a few minutes, and they almost fell down the stairs four times, but eventually Lando managed to get Oscar to his car. He opened the back door and encouraged Oscar to lie down across the back seat. Once his teammate was situated, Lando slid into the driver’s seat, pulling up the nearest A&E on his phone. He somehow managed to make it without breaking any major traffic laws, listening to Oscar’s feverish mutters from the back seat. He cried out for his mum again, at one point Lando swore he cried out for Mark Webber too.
When Lando had found a parking spot, he opened the back seat, pulling Oscar out, and hauling him into the waiting room. Fortunately it seemed fairly quiet, with just a handful of people scattered around. The nurse at the desk asked what brought them in, Lando explaining as best he could about the surgery and the fever that kept going up. They were directed to a row of seats, Lando with a clipboard of paperwork to fill out.
He encouraged Oscar to lie down, offering up his lap as a pillow without question. Lando filled out the paperwork best he could (thank goodness spending nearly half the year in each other’s constant company meant he knew quite a bit, and he was able to pull some of the other info from the various cards in Oscar’s wallet). The nurse at the front desk took pity on him, and came over to collect the clipboard when he was finished so he didn’t have to move Oscar’s head.
Oscar was now babbling incoherently, and Lando’s chest was tight with worry. He gently stroked Oscar’s hair. Usually soft and fluffy, it was now sweat matted, and Lando gently tried to pull apart the pieces.
They waited in the waiting room for what felt like an eternity (but according to the clock it was only about 30 minutes), with Oscar lying across the chairs, head in Lando’s lap, his fever still raging, yet shivering violently.
Eventually Oscar got called back, and Lando helped him stumble to the examination room. He briefly described to the doctor what was going on, relieved when the doctor listened intently, before telling Lando they were going to order an IV of a high dose pain reliever, a broad antibiotic, and some painkillers for Oscar. Hopefully that would help his fever break and he could go home in a day or so. They also encouraged Lando to call the dentist office in the morning, to see if they wanted Oscar to go back in so they could check whether the extraction sites were beginning to heal properly.
Fortunately, with the quiet night, a room was immediately available, and a wheelchair was brought to move Oscar upstairs in a far more dignified way than Lando hauling him around. Lando trailed behind the techs pushing Oscar like a lost puppy, but he wasn’t going to let Oscar be alone, they would have to physically haul him out before he would leave Oscar’s side.
The techs got Oscar situated on the bed, and Lando pulled up the chair as close as he could get and a couple of nurses made their way in with an IV pole and several bags of fluid.
As one nurse got the IV ready for Oscar, another brought a blanket over to Lando.
“I’m thinking we’ll have a hard time getting rid of you tonight.”
Lando smiled thankfully, the room was cold and he had no intention of leaving Oscar, not after he had promised Oscar’s mum that he'd take care of him.
He watched as the nurse picked up Oscar’s hand and tried to get the needle inserted. As soon as the needle touched the back of Oscar’s hand however and began to be inserted into the vein, Oscar’s entire body shuddered and he let out a low cry.
“Ok hun, let’s take a breath. I know it’s a little uncomfortable, but if you can relax a little bit, it’ll be a little easier and over much quicker.” The nurse said, kindly, pulling the needle away from Oscar.
Lando watched as Oscar tried to take a deep breath, but he was in pain, and feverish, and over emotional, and so unlike the Oscar Lando saw at the track and the factory, that all he was able to do was take shallow heaving breaths as tears tracked down his cheeks again. Without thinking, Lando reached out and grabbed Oscar’s other hand from where it lay on the top of the covers, standing up and leaning over him.
“Osc, you need to calm down. I know you don't feel well and you’re confused and in pain, but the doctors and nurses can’t help you if they can’t get the IV in.” Using his other hand, Lando wiped away the tears from Oscar’s cheeks as Oscar started up at him.
“I’m right here with you and I’m not going anywhere. You can squeeze my hand if you need to.” Oscar nodded, taking another shuddering breath. Lando was pleased that it was a little slower and less shallow sounding.
“Good job Osc, let’s breathe together.”
Lando took in an exaggerated breath, grateful as Oscar made an effort to follow him. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the nurse picked up Oscar’s other hand again. This time, as she inserted the needle, Oscar was able to keep from jolting, just squeezing tightly to Lando’s hand as the needle went in, keeping his eyes locked with Lando’s.
“Great job, honey.” The nurse said, taping down the needle.
“Now this will take about 6 hours to run through fully, so I would try to get some sleep. The call button is to your right if you, either of you, need anything.”
Oscar tore his eyes from Lando’s face, smiling blearily at the nurse, settling down into the pillows, eyes already hooded and sliding shut. As the nurses left the room, Oscar peeked one eye open to look at Lando.
“‘M glad you’re here.” He said, softly.
Still holding onto Oscar’s hand, Lando leant over, only pausing a moment before using his hand to stroke Oscar’s hair over his still too hot forehead. Oscar moved his head so he was pushing into Lando’s hand- much like a cat would. As he slowly drifted off, Lando couldn’t stop himself from brushing his lips against Oscar’s head.
“I’m glad I’m here too.” He whispered, before taking a seat, and still holding Oscar’s hand, texted Oscar’s mum that he had been admitted and was getting an IV, and settled in for as long as it would take for the IV to run its course.
Lando was awoken from the doze he had managed to fall into by a rustling sound from the bed. Blinking the sleep from his eyes he looked up to see Oscar slowly blinking awake. The IV drips were empty, and Lando was relieved to see Oscar didn’t look quite as pale or as shaky as the previous night, although his jaw was now very swollen with no ice pack. He was covered in sweat though, and Lando couldn’t help but to reach out and press his hand against Oscar’s forehead. It was much cooler to the touch, to Lando’s great relief, the fever must have broken at some point.
“L’do?” He heard a croaky voice. He looked down to see Oscar’s tired eyes. They were clearer than he had seen them all night, the effects of the anesthesia and the high fever finally wearing off.
“Hey, buddy, welcome back.” Lando said, keeping his voice soft, unable to stop himself from gently pushing the hair back from Oscar’s forehead.
“Wha’ happened?” Oscar muttered, clearly struggling to wake up fully.
“You had a fever, which spiked overnight. They think it was a super rapid onset of an infection after the extraction. You’ve been given a really intense cocktail of pain killer, antibiotics, and fever reducer.”
Oscar hummed, closing his eyes.
“I remember hearing my mum.” Despite his eyes being closed, he sounded a little more awake.
“Yeah we gave her a call, I let her know you were admitted, I’ll send her another message that you’re doing a little better now.”
Oscar just hummed again in response. Looking down, Lando noticed with a jolt that their hands were still intertwined. He loosened his grip, intending to pull away, but to his surprise Oscar squeezed his hand slightly harder.
“Stay, please.” Oscar murmured. Lando’s heart jumped. Using his other hand, he once again brushed the hair off Oscar’s face, allowing himself a soft smile when Oscar sighed contently.
“Of course. As long as you want me to.” Lando said, giving Oscar’s hand another squeeze, the smile on his face growing.
Oscar was going to be ok, his walls had come crumbling down over the last day, and Lando was sure he would be embarrassed when this was all over, but Lando wasn’t going to tease him over it. He would stay by Oscar's side, for as long as he was needed, even if it was forever.