Title: Dealing
Series: No
Characters: Jeff Gordon and Dale Jr, Jeff POV
Prompt: Nascar_100 prompt #030 Death
Rating: PG

Summary: Jeff helps Dale deal with the death of his father.
Disclaimer: This is not true, fake, not real and all made up. I make no money from this endeavor.
Author's Notes: This is my first NASCAR fic and my first story that does not contain JC Chasez in some way so forgive me if it’s a little “off”. Sorry to those JC fans but I think you’ll like this one too, just give it a chance. Italics are thoughts. *** indicates time jump.

“I can’t believe it, two laps to go and…what the…Oh that’s gonna hurt in the morning.” I turn from the race just as I hear another loud crash. When I turn back toward the track I see Ken and Dale’s cars slide down the track to the infield. Ken jumps right out and starts walking around but the other car, the one I’m more interested in is eerily still. I search, from my pit box, to see some kind of movement but can see nothing. “Finally, about time those idiots get out there,” I mumble to my self. I hear the cheers and realize the race is over but don’t really care. All I can think about is the car in the infield where all the action is.

***

The ambulance drives off and I see his son standing around confused and lost. “Junior, you need a ride to the hospital?”

He looks around, confusion clear in his eyes, “Huh?”

“You need a ride…you know…” I motion toward the speeding ambulance.

“Yeah, but how you gonna…” he trails off as I grab his arm and drag him to the police car parked outside the garage.

“Let me worry about that, just get in the car.” I walk up to the nearest officer. “Who’s car?”

The taller officer turns to me, “Pardon?”

“I’ve got the son over here and he needs a ride to the hospital where they’re taking Senior.” He looks around for a couple seconds, “NOW!” I shout.

He looks down at me, “Ok, relax. I’m just trying to find…there he is. Hold on.” He walks away and talks to a younger officer who looks our way and then comes running over.

“You got the kid; we’ve been looking all over for him. Where’s he at?”

“He’s over there. Can you take us to the hospital or what?”

“Certainly, that’s why we were looking for him.” He looks up at the other office, “You let the chief know?”

“Yeah, just go.” He looks down at me, “Before he takes your keys and drives them himself.”

Guess he noticed the twitch in my hand. Bought time the two of them got it together. We walk to the car and I look at Junior, “we’ll get you there quick.” I look at the cop and lean over to him, “You better get us there in record time.”

“Yes sir.” He unlocks the doors and we all get in.

***

I hear her cries first and look up as the she falls to the floor wracked with tears. Junior falls to the chair directly behind him with a stunned look on his face. I could tell what the news was, long before I heard. HE was pronounced dead. Turns out, he was dead before he ever left the track, before they ever rolled the car off the track. I look from one family member to another and start to feel a little out of place. What was I thinking coming here? They don’t want me here. I start to walk to the entrance to leave the family but feel a soft grip on my arm.

“Jeff, stay, please,” she whispers.

“I don’t want to intrude,” I look down at her hand then up to her face. “I’m not family and that’s what…”

“Nonsense, you’re just as much a part of his family as I am. You probably knew him better than any of us…at least the ‘racer’ part of him.” She looks down at Junior, “stay, if nothing else for him.”

I take a deep breath and silently walk back over to the spot I had been occupying for the last hour. I watch as Junior stands and walks up to Theresa. Kelley about knocks him down as she grips him in a bear hug, tears streaming down her face. He pulls her in tight as she whispers in his ear. I can only guess as the words she used but the effect was briefly evident in those crystal blue eyes. The tears well up immediately but none manage to spill over and down his cheek.

I observe the young man as he struggles to control the emotions running rampant in his head and heart. They briefly flash across his face but he is quick to get them back under control as he meets his stepmother’s tear stained face. His face hardens and his tear-filled eyes dry up as quickly as they had filled. He pulls his sister’s arms from around his neck and steps away from her. He takes her hand and walks over to Theresa. I almost miss the flinch as she quickly wraps her arms around his neck and starts crying even harder than before.

I walk down the hall away from the small gathering to the front door to call Rick and see if the chopper is still around then head back to the three still wrapped around each other.

As I come back down the hall his bright eyes meet mine and he scowls for a second. I guess he must have remembered that I came with him. He starts trying to untangle the arms from around him when I put up a hand and mouth that he has all the time they need. He still tries to pry them off so I speak up, “The chopper won’t be here for another twenty minutes.” He tilts his head in question and shrugs, turning his attention back to his sister and step mother. I smile and think, You take care of them. I’ll take care of you, for now. Someone has to.

***

I feel a vibration in my pocket where I had put my phone and look at the threesome still clinging to each other. I stand which immediately catches Junior’s attention. I try to tell him, through sign language, that the chopper has arrived but he just looks at me. Finally I blurt, “Chopper?”

“Oh,” he stammers. “Come on, rides here.”

“I hate to bother you but we’re gonna need to know where to go once we get to the chopper. Where do you want the pilot to…” He meets my gaze and states, “They need to go home but I need to go back to the track?”

I understand the question and nod, “I’ll take care of it.”

***

We get back to the track and he immediately heads for his motor coach. I quietly follow behind, not sure what to do or where to go. It was obvious I wasn’t needed any more but I really didn’t want to be alone. Once he gets to his coach he stops outside and takes a deep breath. I watch as the young man who’d tried desperately to keep the appearance of having everything under control came apart. He doubles over as he breaks. I stand there for a minute but notice a group of reporters heading toward us and quickly move to his side.

Quietly, so I don’t startle him, I put a hand in the small of his back and lean near his ear. “Where are your keys?” I question as I turn the knob. He tries to pull away but I nod my head in the direction of the reports and ask again, “Where are your keys?”

He reaches into a pocket and pulls out the keychain. I quickly turn, unlock the door and usher him inside. I follow closely, not wanting to answer any questions myself. He drops to the nearest chair and puts his head in his hands. I stand around for a few minutes, again not sure of what to do. I finally wander to the small kitchen area and ask if he wants something to drink. He flinches slightly as if he’d forgotten he had company and mumbles something that I can’t quite make out. I ask again and he grumbles again so I reach in the fridge and grab the first thing my hands come in contact with. I come back over to him and hand him one of the bottles, finally looking at what I’d grabbed and realized it was two bottles of Pepsi. I raise an eyebrow but say nothing as he takes the bottle.

He takes a long drink and then glances at me. “You don’t have to watch over me Gordon. I’m not gonna disappear ya know?”

I shrug, “What else am I gonna do? Go home? Talk to the press?” I shudder, “No thanks.”

“You could go home? Least you have someone…” He trails off shaking his head.

“I’d rather be here than with her right now. She’d never understand.” I say with a tinge of bitterness in my voice.

“Why’s that? She’s been married to a driver for years, she should understand. At least a little.”

“There is no way Brooke could understand the relationship I had with Dale. No. Way.” I state.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

I could see he was starting to get a little ticked so I started to explain, leaving nothing out.

“You’re dad meant the world to me. He was my mentor, teacher, my preacher, my conscience and most of all, he was my father in a way that my dad could never have been. He told me things and taught me things I could never have learned from anyone else. He showed me how to be a ‘real’ racer. He taught me how to act on and off the track. He showed me how to control my emotions during races and around the media. He kept me from getting eaten alive when I first came to this sport. He kept the wolves away when he could and when he couldn’t he stuck around until they were done chewing on me so I had someone to lean on. He was everything to me for a very long time. I don’t know about anyone else around here but, a piece of me died today in that car with him.” I take a deep breath and look into the tear filled eyes.

He just looks at me for a long time then breaks again, tears streaming down his cheeks, “What’s gonna happen now?”

I just sit and hold him while he cried; thinking quietly about all the things this kid was going to have to deal with in the coming days after his father's death. I couldn’t think of anything important or meaningful to say so I remained silent. After a while he slowly raises his head and whisper, “What do I do now?” He looks at me with those bright blue eyes with a slight bit of hope.

“I’m sorry Junior, I don’t have an answer for you.” I watch as he starts to crumble again and quickly catch his chin in my hand, “But if you ever need someone to talk to, lean on, what ever. I’ll be here, I know I’m not you’re dad but if I can help in any way, I will.”