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Kallie laid on the couch, Roscoe curled up next to her as she watched Grey's Anatomy. She was not feeling so good, being on the new medication and all. Lewis was working out in her home gym, and normally she would workout too but she was far too tired and the doctors didn't recommend it. "Hey love, I gotta take a shower but can you take out my braids for me before I do that?" Kallie looked up at his voice, watching him walk into the room.

"Sure. Come sit." Lewis laid a towel down before sitting down, letting out a tired sigh. She moved behind him, putting her legs around him for him to lay in between. She loved how normal it became for them, as if they weren't pining after each other days ago. "I've been thinking, since we're going to Africa to celebrate your father's birthday, why not just go to South Korea instead? Since that's where your father loved to be. You did say you had a place there." Lewis voiced, his hands tracing the tattoo that wrapped around her thigh.

"It's a good idea, but I don't know. Mum doesn't like flying, and I don't think I'd have it in me to go there again." Kallie replied sadly, moving onto the next braid.

"I think Kaikara would do it for your father, it would help her feel closer to him. And you did say you were avoiding it because it reminded you of him. On his birthday, shouldn't you be in the place he loved most, other than South Africa with his family." Kallie smiled softly, pressing a kiss to his head even if he was sweaty, she didn't care. "I'll go if you come with me." She agrees. Lewis smiled, turning to press a kiss against her lips, "of course I'll go with you."

"Okay. I'll call Kezie later to tell her about it. She can convince my mum to get on a plane." Kallie nods, ushering him to look down so she can get the braids on the bottom.

An hour or so later, Kalliope was still lying on the couch with Roscoe, her eyes drooping tiredly. Lewis walked into the room, his eyes falling onto her tired and probably asleep figure. "Allie, love, you gotta get up." He gently shook her, making her groan and bury her face into the pillow, luckily she wasn't wearing makeup cause last time she had to get rid of a pillow because the stain wouldn't come out. "No. No. Let me sleep."

"You've been sleeping all day, love. Come on, I want to take you somewhere." He chuckles, pulling the throw blanket off of her.

"Fine. Carry me." She held her arms up, gaining a laugh from him but nevertheless he scooped her up in his arms.

Followed by many complaints, they were in the car, Roscoe accompanying them in the backseat. "Where are we going?" She asks again, leaning back in the seat, looking over him. Normally she would drive but she was far too tired. "You're a very impatient woman, you know that, right?" She rolls her eyes at his words, moving to rest her head on his shoulder. "You've told me so, many times."

"I recall I did last night, too." He smirks, receiving a sharp glare. "Not in front of Roscoe. What is wrong with you?" She moves to cover the dog's ears, gaining a laugh from the driver. "He doesn't know what we're talking about." She scoffs, "he might, you don't know that."

After dropping off Roscoe with a friend, Kallie was growing more impatient, though maybe it was because she had to tell Lewis about the surgery. "I'm telling you, I will never go to those kids choice shows again after last time. They got slime shit all in our hair, it was horrible. Kezie was pissed." He just laughs, stopping the car and she turned to see where they were, raising a brow when she realized they were at a go karting place. "We're going Karting?" She grins excitedly, she hadn't been Karting in years.

"Yes, we are. I figured it'd help you remember why you love racing so much." He answers, climbing out of the car, walking around to her side to open the door for her. She took his hand with a smile, stepping out of the car. After paying and such, they went to the track outside, as it was a weekend, there was quick a few people there. A lot of them snapping pictures of the two, but Kallie didn't mind, still holding onto Lewis's hand without a care in the world.

She could tell people were waiting to get photos until after because they didn't want to disturb them. They both couldn't help but chuckle as the people in charge went on about the rules. "How much you bet I'm gonna beat you, again?" Kallie jokes, climbing into the kart next to Lewis's.

"Hey, that first time was only cause you pushed me off track." He argues. "You were in my way, gotta do whatever it takes to win." She shrugs, even though that wasn't the reason she pushed him off track. It was honestly because he pushed her off the previous race. "Don't let me win either." She shoots him a pointed look, getting a smirk in response, "wouldn't dream of it, darling."

"Embetha ngokupheleleyo." She mumbled with a smirk.

[embetha ngokupheleleyo = totally beating him/ beating him completely]

The race finally started, Kallie smiling as she made her way past the others in front of her. "Hey baby." She waved at Lewis before passing by him. After three more laps, she won three and he won one, the other three in second place. "I thought you were a 7 time champion, yes?" She teased, her thick accent growing more prominent as she spoke. "Haha. Very funny. You got lucky on that last one. I was distracted." He scoffs, climbing out of the kart.

"Excuses, excuses. Where is my prize?" She jokes, taking his hand as they leave the track. He leans down by her ear, whispering his next words for only her to hear, "I'll reward you when we get home." She blushed, shaking her head playfully before they were then bombarded by some fans. The girls mostly recognized her as the guys recognized Lewis. And being the nice people they were, they happily signed autographs and took pictures with the fans, choosing to ignore the questions of them dating.

They walked to a nearby vegan restaurant, sitting at a booth in the corner. "I forgot how much I missed racing. That feeling you get when you're on the track. I miss it." She smiled, holding her head up with her hand. "So why not come back? You know there's so many who would jump to put you in their cars." Lewis said. Kallie's smile grew faint, her eyes drifting to window, "you know I can't."

"Why not? Kallie, you left at the prime of your career, if there was anyone who could've beat me that year, it would've been you. I don't understand what would make you leave, when you were so close to that championship." He said, taking her hands in his, he could see her trying to come up with a response that would only be another lie, and he was tired of hearing lies. "I know it's not really about your father, Kallie. You can tell me why you left, I can keep a secret. You can trust me."

Her eyes fell onto his hands, seeing how supportive he was and he didn't even know what she was going through, but he still stood by her. It reminded her when she left F1 and he was the second one to defend her next to Max. "I didn't have a choice. You can't drive when you're- you can't drive if you're not at your best. You cannot drive when you are sick. You can't drive with cancer, Lewis. I had no choice but to leave." A tear fell from her eyes, she didn't bother to brush it away, still keeping her hands in his.

He looked down, processing the information, adding everything up. It didn't explain everything. Cancer explained it all. "So...the throwing up, the losing weight, lack of energy, the scars, the daily checkups to the hospital, it's all because of cancer?" Kallie nodded softly, biting the inside of her cheek, nervous for his reaction. "I understand if you're not okay with that. We don't have to continue whatever this is."

Lewis was quick to shake his head, "what? No, I'm not- that's not what I'm thinking at all. I want to be with you, sickness or not. I just don't understand. Kaylen said you got tests when you were kids, you were the least likely in the family to get cancer. Kez was the most likely, which explains why she kept getting it. I don't understand how you could've got it. You were healthy, you did everything right."

"I know. I wondered the same thing. I was just really unlucky." Kallie shrugs, let's go of his hand to wipe her tears before they could dry. "I'm scared to ask but...how bad is it?" He questions, his thumb rubbing small circles on her tattooed skin. "It's not good. They're switching up my treatment tomorrow, so I'm definitely going to feel worse. But Dr. Montgomery promised that she was going to heal me. And if none of this works...I don't know how long I'll have. So I understand if you don't want to stick around for that."

"No, I'm not leaving you. I'm staying. You're my girlfriend. I'm gonna stay by your side when you fight this." He stated, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. Kallie smiled softly, blinking away her tears. "I'm your girlfriend?" Lewis chuckles, tilting his head at her, "of course you are. I didn't spend all this time flirting with you to not make you my girlfriend." Kallie grinned, moving to sit next to him, his arm wrapping around her. "I talked to Kez. She owns a house in South Korea, so everyone's going to go there. She's going to fly to Africa to pick up my mum first."

"That's amazing. Your father's gonna love it." Lewis mumbled against her hair, pressing a kiss to her head.

"I have a question. Why didn't you tell anyone you're sick?" Kallie looked down at her hands, thinking of what she was feeling during the time she got diagnosed. "I did tell someone." She voiced, making him look to her in confusion.

"I uh- I told Sean when I found out. And then, when he wasn't there for me, I guess it got to me. Everyone was grieving father, so I thought if I told them, they wouldn't be able to give me the support I needed. I didn't want to make things worse. Ya know, growing up, I have an amazing family, and I'm so grateful for them, but I still feel so alone. They were always so focused on Kezie, and it got worse when she got cancer again. I never got the attention I needed when I was a kid. I thought if I told them, it wouldn't change. So I kept it to myself."

Lewis brought her closer, pressing a kiss to her head. "You don't ever have to worry about being alone again, okay? I will always be here for you. You're going to fight this." And the first time since she got diagnosed, she actually had hope. She was going to fight this, not just for her family, or for Lewis, but for her, for her hope to live, and for her hope to keep on racing. Although Lewis was a big part of her hope.

"Did you want to eat something now?" He asks, holding up the menu.

"Oh no, I can't eat. I actually have surgery tomorrow." Lewis turns to her in alarm at the sudden revelation, "what?" She pursed her lips awkwardly, nodding her head. "We checked my scans yesterday and Dr. Grey and Dr. Montgomery found another small tumor, and they said the chances of the new medication working will improve if they remove it. They wanted me to put an emergency person to call for after surgery and I put your information down, I hope that's okay."

"Of course, it's okay. I'll be with you." He assures, pressing a small peck to her lips.

"Now...I recall you mentioning a reward."

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"You are so pretty." Kallie smiles, admiring her boyfriend's features. "Isn't he so pretty?" She asks Dr. Montgomery, still not taking her eyes off of a very amused Lewis. "Don't answer that. I know he is." Kallie takes Lewis's hand, tracing over his tattoos. Maybe she was little high off the medication. She had just came back from surgery, Lewis had indeed been by her side the whole time. He also spent a while talking to Dr. Wenham, getting every detail about Kallie's condition, he wanted to know everything.

"Wait- am I going to get an ugly scar again?" She whines.

"No, you won't. It was small incision, it should only leave a little scar, not super noticeable. Hopefully, you can also gain some more weight after this. I'm going to send a list of things you can do and eat to your trainer, okay, Kallie?" Dr. Montgomery smiled, even though the singer was very focused on Lewis's hand tattoos. "I'll make sure it's taken care of, Dr. Montgomery." He assured.

"Good. The next few days will be a little tough. She needs a lot of rest, so no heavy lifting, but do a few small exercises, and please, no singing, it can put a strain on her even if she doesn't realize it. No solids either, so just liquids, such as soup." Dr. Grey adds, sitting at the computer as she updates Kallie's chart. "I understand you'll be in South Korea for a few days, so I'll talk to your doctor over there and then when you get to South Africa, I will fly over there so you can come to me rather than your regular doctor." Dr. Montgomery said, more so to Lewis because Kallie was out of it.

"Oh, my gosh. Did I tell you? I finished my album and guess what? I wrote so many songs about my boyfriend. He's so amazing, isn't he?" Kallie ranted, pressing more kisses to Lewis's hand. "You should hear the songs. I have one with Beyoncé. Oh she's so amazing and beautiful. Like I have never seen a more beautiful woman, I wanted to kiss her. And her voice, ugh, it's perfection. Ya know, I think she might a little fruity too 'cause I swear she was checking out my sister. Crazy right? I knew she gave bi vibes."

Lewis sucked in a breath, mumbling a small apology to her doctors. "Baby, can you get my laptop? I want to play them the album!" Kallie grinned. His eyes widened, quickly shaking his head, "no, no, you can't show anyone. Remember, it's a secret? You don't want to get in trouble with your sister, right?" Kallie frowned, shaking her head, "no...she's mean to me. Last time I showed a friend her new song and it got leaked and she still throws it in my face til this day."

"Alrighty then. We're gonna give you two some space. I'll be back soon for checkups." Allison says, ushering the other doctors out.

"Baby, I want to cuddle." Kallie pouts, taking his hands to try and pull him over. "Okay, hold on." Lewis removed his shoes and walked over to shut the curtains, making sure it was dim in the room because he knew Kallie had trouble sleeping with lights in her face. "Move over, love." Kallie smiles, moving over to give him room to lay down next to her. He laid down, bringing her close to him but being careful of her stitches. "You smell good," she mumbled tiredly against his chest.

"Did you know, I had the biggest crush on you when I was younger? My stupid sisters used to tease me about it all the time. I was too shy to go up to you when I joined F1. I actually found it so hot when you defended me even though I wasn't your favorite person on the track." She rambled, giggling at the memories. Lewis just listened to her high rants with a smile, slowly hearing her words slur as she fell into a slumber.

"I had a crush on you too."

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"There's no way Kaylen is joining. Isn't he in Italy?" Kallie heard Lando say, the singer too focused on the game. "No. He's at my house in LA. He just got there yesterday." She said. She was on stream with Charles, Lando, Max, and Carlos, and Kaylen said he'd hop on soon after dinner. "Damn, Kallie, how many houses do you own?" Lando asked in amusement. "If we're being technical, I own four, and I rent an apartment or penthouse, whatever you call it, in South Korea. I have a house in Monaco, LA, South Africa, and London but I don't use it a lot so Merida practically lives there."

"She's not lying. I've been to the London house. It's really nice there." Charles comments with a smile.

"It's like he's not even trying to hide their relationship," Carlos chuckles.

"Yeah, we can hear Merida in the background, mate," Max rebutted.

A few seconds later, Kaylen joined the stream, being welcomed by the four. "It's been a minute. How you guys doing? Not you Kal, cause we talk everyday." He said. Kallie chuckles, laying back in her chair, she didn't have her camera on because she had an ice pack wrapped around her where her stitches were. She was healing quite nicely but she still felt some pain, which the doctor said was normal. Lewis was amazing too, he wasn't letting her do anything at all. In fact he was out getting her a Korean soup.

"Hey, Kay, is it true you still live with your sister?" Lando chuckles.

"Yeah, at least I'm loved, you clearly couldn't relate." He retorts, gaining laughs from the rest of the group except for Lando. "No but seriously, nothing wrong with living with my sister. She has several houses for a reason. And hey, it's free meals, no rent, and to top it off, I get to spend time with my lovely sister who I love very much. You wish you were me, Lando." Kaylen said.

"As in being near Keziyah 24/7? Then yes, I would very much like to do that. In fact, I hear she's in LA quite often to please don't be afraid to invite me over." Lando smirks, of course he turned the conversation back onto the driver's older sister.

"You really gotta chill on my sister, mate. Was her rejecting you not enough?" Kaylen queried.

"Hold on! Pause! Before you even start that- I would like to point out, she only said no because she has a boyfriend. If she was single, I guarantee she would've said yes." Lando argues, and the chat was quick to laugh and make jokes. "Dude, it would've never happened. You're not even close to her age." Carlos comments. "Kallie, my love, you beautiful woman, please back me up here!" Lando pleads.

"Sorry, Lan, I gotta go with Carlos. She only dates in her age range. She would've went for Daniel if we're being honest, ya know since they're the same age." Kallie chuckles, now noticing that Lewis was in the room, walking over and setting down the food on the table. He took off Kallie's headphones and put them on, "Hey, you better watch who you're calling your love, mate."

"Oh shit! Kallie, why didn't say he was there? You're gonna get me killed!" Lando exclaimed.

"Nah, your mouth is gonna get you killed." Kaylen adds in amusement.

Lewis sat back down as the others were making jokes at a nervous Lando. Kallie just smiled, taking the soup to eat with Lewis handing her some chopsticks. "I'm gonna take a break to eat. I'll just watch." Kallie said into the mic before she leaned back in her chair, making sure to pull Lewis's chair closer to hers. "Kal, what are you eating today?" Kaylen asked in curiosity. Out of him and two sisters, Kallie and Kezie ate more of their traditional Korean and African dishes whilst Kaylen just ate whatever was put in front of him.

"I got Dak Gomtang from that Korean place nearby. Lewis got the vegan tofu one." Kallie answered.

"Mka, that sounds so good right now. Korean food is like an hour away from me, brah. I should've went there instead. Kez dragged me to LA to babysit." Kaylen said, Lando perking up at the mention of the actress. "Bro? You're with Keziyah? Like right now?" Lando questioned eagerly. "Not technically, she's in the studio with a friend. I had to watch the kids but they're asleep now." Kaylen replied.

"She's in the studio?!" Lando exclaimed, making everyone wince at the loudness.

"Calm down, mate. She rejected you. Move on." Max rebutted.

"Stop trying to bring me down! Kaylen, would it be too much to ask if I can accompany you on your family trip?" Lando asked in a very serious tone, making Lewis and Kallie share concerned looks. "Uhh...don't you think that's a bit weird? It's a family thing..." Charles imput in a questioning tone. "What? I am family. I'm Kaylen's best friend!" Lando argues.

"Actually his best friend is George," Kallie pointed out.

"Kallie, shush, the adults are talking." Lando retorts. She scoffs, returning to her soup. "Anyways, I am totally happy to pay for myself, I can even babysit, just let me come with you please!" He pleads. Kaylen chuckles, "I can't make any decisions man, my sister's planned the trip so you should be asking Kallie." Kallie smirks, she was going to enjoy this.

"Kallie- come on, you know I love you, I respect you, I invite you to every post race celebration! Please! I will do anything. I will buy your album a million times! I will stream every song you have! Please!" He begged in desperation, and the chat was continuously making fun of his obsession with Keziyah. "Hm...I don't know," she hums, pretending to think it over. "That's not fair. You're letting Lewis come with you and he's not family!" Lando argued. "Actually, if I may, Lewis was really close friends with Kallie's parents. So technically, he is family." Carlos comments.

"Carlos- shut up. That's not important. Kallie please, I'll do whatever you want. I won't bother you. I'll stay with Kaylen the whole time. Please, just let me go." Kallie chuckles, sharing a look with her amused boyfriend. "Fine. But you stay with Kaylen, and no saying out of pocket stuff in front of my mum." She answered, then hearing a loud cheer from Lando and a annoyed groan from Kaylen.

"Thank you, thank you! I love you so much, Kallie!" Lando blew kisses at the camera excitedly.

"That was really funny to watch because Merida is bringing Charles and Kallie was completely cool with it," Kaylen says, giggling with Charles.

"What? Was everyone invited but me?" Lando gasped.

"Yes, even I was invited, but I can't make it," Carlos adds.

"It's true. Keziyah invited me too." Max rebutted.

"I feel personally attacked."

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a/n: lewis finally knows abt kallie and he's not leaving 🥲 that's a real man

decided to add lando to the family trip bc it's gonna be so funny 😭 he's gonna be flirting with kez any chance he gets and i can't blame him

lewis taking kallie karting to remind her how much she loves racing 💔 and now she's going to fight to get back in a race car again MY ROMAN EMPIRE FR

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