Long Haul

Twenty One

After landing back in Charlotte, they all went home and crashed for the night. Kade slept on the reclining couch while Ashton managed to make it up to their bed. Bristol and Dayton were both in their rooms and the whole Williams family was asleep for the night.

The morning was a little crazy as Kade was getting ready for the doctor's appointment to make sure that he was ready to go back to racing. Paige Keselowski was willing to bring her girls over for a play date so Ashton could go with Kade and know that her kids were taken care of.

As soon as she pulled up, Dayton was at the door, excitedly waiting for her friend.

"Thank you so much for doing this Paige," Ashton said as she walked over to the car.

"Not a problem. Scarlett has been begging me to call you guys so she can play with Dayton," Paige chuckled, watching Scarlett run up to the porch to greet her friend.

"We shouldn't be too long. Bristol is taken care of and she should nap the whole time we're gone. If she wakes up, some cuddles should do the trick," Ashton promised, waving to Dayton before they got in the car.

Knowing they were leaving the girls with someone they trusted helped as they drove to the doctor's office and checked in.

"You nervous?" Ashton asked as she sat next to Kade.

"A little bit," he nodded. "I just want to get back to racing this week and get back to normal life,"

"I know," she nodded, "Me too Kade,"

"Kade?" A nurse asked as she came out of the back room.

"That's us," he nodded, getting up and following her back to a room. He was going to have to do an X-ray and CT just to check that everything had healed properly.

Ashton waited in the room, sitting by Kade once he returned.

"How's it feel?" Ashton asked, breaking the tension-filled silence as they waited for the doctor.

"I think okay," he sighed, grabbing her hand and squeezing it as the door opened.

"Kade?"

"Yeah, hey," he smiled, shaking the doctor's hand as he sat down.

"So. I've gone over everything and I'm comfortable with you returning to racing," the doctor spoke, not leaving them in suspense very long.

"Does he have any kind of restrictions?" Ashton asked, looking between Kade and the doctor.

"Not at the moment. If you start to feel pain, I want you to stop. But I'm talking about extreme pain. There will obviously be small amounts of pain when you do day-to-day things. But if you start feeling like after you first got injured, then you need to stop,"

They both nodded and talked a little bit more about his recovery before they headed back home with the happy news. Ashton was lying if she said she wasn't nervous about it though. She was happy for him but she was nervous.

"Hello," Ashton smiled as she unlocked the door to their house.

"Hey, girls are in the playroom. How'd it go?" Paige asked as they met her in the kitchen.

"Back to racing. All clear," Kade nodded, grabbing a water from the fridge.

"With the exception of extreme pain," Ashton added, knowing that Kade would not.

"Well, hopefully, you won't have to worry about that,"

"I hope not. How were the girls?" She asked, leaning against their island.

"Bristol slept pretty much the whole time. I only had to go up and give her a pacifier," she shrugged.

"And Dayton?"

"She was great. Her and Scarlett have been in the playroom the whole time," she chuckled, "pretty sure Scarlett is going to be asking for a bed like Daytons,"

"I'm sure Kade would help Brad put it together," Ashton chuckled, looking over at Kade as he saluted her playfully before going to check on the girls.

"How are you feeling about him coming back?" Paige asked, noticing how Ashton's face fell after Kade left the room.

"After Talladega, I'm terrified to let him get back in the car," she sighed, "I don't want him to get hurt again,"

"I can understand that. It was probably hard to watch,"

"It was gut-wrenching. I felt like I was gonna puke but I couldn't take my eyes off the car," she nodded, "And now the image is burned into my brain,"

"Maybe it'll be easier when he gets back in. I know it's gonna be hard regardless, but maybe it'll help," Paige shrugged, "Try not to think about it,"

"Thanks, Paige," she smiled, putting their conversation on hold as little feet ran into the room.

"Scarlett go get your stuff honey. We gotta get home,"

Dayton and Scarlett ran off for a few minutes before coming back with her backpack of things.

The 2 Keselowski girls left, leaving the Williams family on their own. Dayton and Kade had gone to the theater room, watching a movie together in one of the comfortable recliners. Ashton checked on the baby, before sitting in a chair beside them with her laptop.

"Alright, guys. He's back!

We got the official clearance today for Kade to return to racing so he will be racing this coming weekend at Charlotte!

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. Scratch that, I'm terrified. But it's what my husband loves. And I'll support him in whatever he does.

Kade is extremely happy to be returning and will need all the good vibes and encouragement as we get back into a groove.

We'll see you guys at the track!"

Once she edited and posted that to her blog, she curled up in her chair and watched the movie, enjoying the time she had with her small family.