Give Me The Greatest Peace I've Ever Known - 4
They walk into the paddock hand-in-hand, Jean-Eric taking the lead when Jaime shies away from the cameras that suddenly focus on them. The whispers hit the paddock before even the first practise session, and Jaime confirms it on 5Live when James Allen asks, Jennie giggling down the live-feed at them, and ‘aww-ing’ at appropriate intervals. Even though he’s not racing, the radio is pretty fun, and he finds his feet pretty fast. The baby seems to like the engines, wriggling around more than ever when they go past the commentary box, and Jaime does spend most of his time with his hand resting over where the baby’s moving, occasionally feeling him kick out enough to be felt by his hand. Jaime even waits for Jean-Eric, having had his own meeting for the BBC, sitting through the TV production plan even though he’s on the radio, and could have probably gone back to the hotel, but he said he’d wait. Jean-Eric does meet him, knocks shyly on the door and blushes when Jake calls him in and shakes his hand in congratulations. Eddie starts to go off on one about how ‘drivers didn’t date in his day’, DC quietly standing on his toe when he stands up to shake Jean-Eric’s hand, and advises him to take Jaime to go to sleep in a bed before the Spaniard falls asleep where he’s sat. Jaime does fall asleep in the hire car, and ends up sleeping in Jean-Eric’s bed again, but Jean-Eric’s physio doesn’t seem to mind, not when it means that Jean-Eric actually spends most of the night asleep, and a pretty deep sleep at that, the couple spooned together, both of them curled up around their baby
The rest of the weekend passes in a similar manner, they wake together, shower together (both times, weirdly, without any sort of shower sex, odd for them, but then falling over this time wouldn’t just harm Jaime, so maybe Jean-Eric is being quite sensible in his decision.), wander down to breakfast together and turn up at the track together. Jaime chats about the various sessions all day with James, Jean-Eric drives in them. They meet after all their various meetings (Jean-Eric with significantly more than Jaime, but Jaime spends a good deal of time catching up with people, grabbing dinner at one of the hospitality units, chatting to people he’s never seen before, or shamelessly using the BBC F1 team to improve his English, and on the Saturday, he does go out for a bit of a sightseeing trip exploring Melbourne while he waits for his boyfriend. Then they go back to the hotel together, shower, and laze around for a bit, Jaime edits music on his laptop, Jean-Eric revises telemetry, and then they fall asleep together. It’s nice, even when Dan scores and Jean-Eric doesn’t, but they do have ‘let’s-cheer-up-Jean-Eric-sex’, where Jaime realises afterwards, when they’re drowsily kissing, that it’s the first time they’ve properly had sex since they found out he was pregnant, but it was nice, well, more than nice, he laughs gently and shakes his head when Jean-Eric inquires what is so amusing, and wriggles again to encourage the fingers gently rubbing his hip. But it doesn’t last long, Jaime has to fly out first, but Jean-Eric’s flight is but a few hours after his, so they decide to go to the airport together, wander round for a bit, have a meal together before Jaime boards with a bunch of media personnel and a group of mechanics from Force India
Jaime flies to Barcelona. Jean-Eric goes back to the team base in Italy, to properly debrief and begin preparing for Malaysia. Although Jaime is in Barcelona, Jean-Eric flies out for a day, for Jaime’s third sonogram. The doctors even manage to get a copy of the first two sonograms for Jean-Eric, and then they get through his examination, and Jaime clings to Jean-Eric’s hand until they see the baby, Jean-Eric blinking damply at Jaime before he turns his attention to the black-and-white image. “I think you felt that one.” The technician grins, when the baby kicks out at the scanner. Jaime nods, laughs wetly when Jean-Eric sniffles. “He or she looks fine. I can try for the sex if you want?” She asks them, and they glance at each other, Jaime quickly translates the question. Jean-Eric shrugs, Jaime nods
“If you want.” Jean-Eric shrugs.
“Yes, please.” Jaime answers her question.
“Well, it depends if he or she will move into the right position, hang on.” She moves the scanner around Jaime’s stomach, spreading the cold gel further, Jaime attempting not to shiver, and finally their baby moves, flashes its bum for long enough to let the technician get a good enough look to nod and smile at them. Jaime raises an eyebrow, she raises one back. “Boy.” She says in English, picking up that Jean-Eric’s Spanish, although it is vastly improving, is not brilliant. Jean-Eric nudges his face with his nose until Jaime turns his head to look at him.
“I think that he will look like you.” He decides. Jaime shakes his head.
“I would rather he look like you.” He declares, takes the tissues offered by the technician to clean the gel off his stomach, and groans as it takes a while to come off. The doctor returns to make Jaime a second appointment, they collect the photos from the technician, and Jaime drives Jean-Eric back to the airport so the Frenchman can go prepare for the Malaysian grand prix. The knowledge that the baby is a boy has Jaime carefully approaching his family again - the only reply is from his sister, so he invites her over for dinner one night, proudly shows off his bump and is glad he did. Maria is far more excited than he is, though she is ignoring the main issue being his being gay, to focus on her nephew, who happily performs and kicks out at her inquiring hand on his bump. He passes her the phone number of Jean-Eric’s sister and tells her to express her excitement that way, rather than bombard him with texts, and falls asleep smiling even though Jean-Eric is in another country
Malaysia means that some kind soul at Toro Rosso bumps into him at the airport and informs him that their logistics department have sorted him out with a new hotel room - one he’s sharing with Jean-Eric, even if Helmut wasn’t impressed, apparently. Sebastian, of all people, had managed to diffuse the situation and so the BBC have relinquished his rooming arrangements. To be honest, Toro Rosso should just be glad that Jean-Eric will be getting a decent sleep, because while Jaime’s been sleeping quite well because he‘s quite tired despite not training and with the baby still not large or active enough to wake him or keep him awake, Jean-Eric struggles to sleep without Jaime now, homesick in a way without him or the bump to cuddle. Their routine stays the same as Australia - and they find it far too easy to drop into one, working around each other easily like they’ve known each other for far longer than the one and a bit, nearly two years they’ve been dating. The only difference is the place and the size of Jaime’s bump. Jean-Eric downloads several baby name apps and starts reading lists of names at Jaime’s bump. Jaime vetoes most of them immediately. The baby doesn’t appear to have an opinion yet. Not that that stops Jean-Eric from trying, mouth pressed to his bump as Jaime sprawls on his back, t-shirt tugged up and over his bump.
The race goes well enough that Jean-Eric gets points, Jaime basically sprinting down the paddock (well, as fast as he dares run without harming the baby) to Toro Rosso, flings himself at Jean-Eric and kisses him pretty much senseless in celebration. The mechanics whistle and laugh before Jaime is gently ushered out so Jean-Eric can debrief. Jaime instead goes around grinning manically before James gathers him to go back to the hotel, and reminds him that he‘s flying back on Monday, so he should check what Jean-Eric is doing. Jean-Eric texts back a request to look fairly smart, as he’s got a surprise. Jaime waits (fairly patiently) for him, and laughs all the way through Jean-Eric trying to get changed fast, nearly chokes when it involves him tripping over his clean pair of jeans while trying to get them on and nearly knocking himself out on the end of their bed. His surprise is a really nice restaurant, where they toast his first points with lemonade and play footsie while they eat
They split up again after that - Jaime heads back to Barcelona, Jean-Eric to the factory and simulator. China is fast approaching, and so it won’t be long until they’re back together again, but time drags out, every day ticks past slower now Jean-Eric isn’t next to him even some of the day. Trying to sleep is harder when there isn’t a Frenchman kissing his bump and cuddling up to his back, warm palm over his bump while they sleep. Breakfasts aren’t quite the same when he has to make them for himself, because while he’s not too bad at meals when he’s awake, he definitely isn’t awake for breakfast, and it normally means it’s pretty horrendous tasting. The baby doesn’t mind though, and Jaime finds that cravings for ice-cream and cake make good breakfast solutions. Jean-Eric phones as often as he can, still keeps texting names, keeps sending links to cute clothing or baby equipment he‘s found online. It’s not enough to distract him from the gaping hole that’s where Jean-Eric should be, but it’s enough to get him by until China
In China, the BBC are paying for their hotel room instead of Toro Rosso - things have been busy behind the scenes between their respective logistics departments - and so Jaime finds a sleeping, probably jet-lagged Jean-Eric curled up in their bed, bags abandoned. He sits down next to Jean-Eric, cross-legged with one hand resting on his bump, which at twenty-eight weeks, is both unmistakable for what it is, and very active, (the baby currently has hiccups). Stroking a hand gently through the soft strands of his boyfriend’s hair is enough to wake him, Jean-Eric excitably sitting up and kissing him, tugging up his t-shirt to examine his bump. “You’ve got huge.” He murmurs, running his hands reverently over the taut skin. Jaime laughs, grins as the baby hiccups again. “Whoa, what was that?” He glances up at Jaime, an expression that Jaime has only describe as completely and utterly in love.
“Hiccups.” Jaime explains. Jean-Eric looks stunned
“I didn’t know that unborn babies could get hiccups.” He whispers, awed. Jaime continues to watch him, one hand sat just by his hip and resting on the underneath of his bump, while Jean-Eric strokes over it, following the faint stretch marks now appearing, watching the skin faintly move as the baby does
“He can do allsorts now.” Jaime whispers back. “I thought you were reading about this.”
“It’s a little bit different seeing it. Feeling it.” Jean-Eric replies, pokes at the bump and giggles when the baby kicks back at the pressure
“Try it when you are trying to sleep.” Jaime grumbles, but it’s good natured, said with a smile
“Are you keeping your Papa awake?” Jean-Eric asks his bump, mouth pressed to his skin. He gets a hiccup in reply
“A little bit. I think, that I will sleep better now you’re here.” Jaime admits, feels Jean-Eric’s smile against his lips and tangles a hand in his hair, kisses back and lets it lapse into a lovely morning make out session