Alex was home the second he could be after Nashville, which unfortunately ended in a 17th-place finish. Within the next few weeks, he'd finished 37th at the Chicago Street Course, 26th at Atlanta, 14th at New Hampshire, and now he was headed to Pocono.
He was with her for now, and hanging out while they did yet another ultrasound to check on the baby.
"Baby looks great. I'll have her come and double check but right now, baby looks wonderful," The ultrasound tech smiled, wiping the gel off her belly.
"Thanks," she nodded, looking at the pictures she'd been handed before.
"No problem. I'll see you guys later," the woman smiled before Grace's nurse entered the room.
"Hey Grace," She smiled, setting her clipboard down on the counter.
"Hi Hannah," she grinned, "Baby's doing fine,"
"That's good to hear. Pictures?" She asked, smiling as Grace got the pictures from Alex. "Baby Bowman, 30 weeks. Only 7 to go,"
"Look at that little nose," Hannah smiled, holding the picture as she looked at the little baby.
"We don't want to know what it is, but what's your bet?" Grace asked, looking at Hannah for her answer.
"I'm thinking it's a girl," she smiled, handing the picture back to Grace.
"We do too," Grace smiled.
"Regardless of what it is, it'll be a cute baby," Hannah said before she got her things, "Do you need anything?"
"No. I'm okay, thanks," she smiled, shaking her head before Hannah left.
"I should go home and get packed up," Alex said as he sat down on the bed.
"Yeah probably. Sorry, I can't go with you," she sighed, sitting back in the bed while he grabbed her hand.
"I'm sure you and the little one will be fine,"
"We will be," she nodded, kissing him one more time before he left.
She laid back and rubbed her belly, relaxing after Alex had left.
"I can't wait until you get to see your daddy race,"
——————
Days had passed and Alex had qualified in 20th to start but they were both pretty sure that he'd be able to get to the front.
He'd called and talked to her a few times, but usually had an appearance or meeting so it wasn't a long call. She'd take what she could get though.
She watched all of the race coverage as well as the race hub shows to get whatever information she could before the race.
On the day of the race, she called Alex before the race, hoping he'd pick up.
"Hey,"
"Hi," she smiled, "You ready for today?"
"Yeah, I think. Hoping we can move closer to the front,"
"You will. You know I believe in you. So does your baby," she smiled, rubbing her belly softly.
"I'm glad you guys are in my corner," he smiled, which she could hear through the phone.
"Always," she smiled, "Now be safe and bring a trophy home for us,"
"I'll do my best," he nodded.
They said their "I love you"s and goodbyes before hanging up and setting her phone on her tray table.
She turned on the pre-race coverage, watching as they said the prayer and sang the national anthem. It was a little sad for her to see him on camera and not be standing with him. It was something she'd never get used to. She hoped it wouldn't be long and soon enough, they'd be standing there with their baby.
She sat back and watched stage one and two as Alex inched toward the front. The 'Best Friends' car kept at a steady pace, keeping anyone back that tried to pass.
It was down to under 20 laps to go and Alex was currently running in third. She was playing with her ring as she watched and rubbing her small bump every once in a while, being careful of the sore spots after her surgery.
She looked down for a split second and the next time she looked up, Denny Hamlin was right on Alex's bumper and the beautiful Best Friends car was sideways and hitting the wall.
She immediately grabbed her phone and texted him, even though she knew he wasn't going to see it until he was out of the car.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
She watched the last few laps of the race immediately shutting it off when Hamlin took the win.
She knew it would still be a while so she relaxed in her bed and ate her dinner before he texted her back.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
It was almost 11:30 by the time he walked back into the hospital. With her being there since her surgery, they all knew him and let him through, even though it was way past visiting hours.
Grace was sound asleep with her phone in her hand on the camping tycoon game.
"Hey babe," he whispered, waking her up as he took the phone out of her hand. He then got in the small bed and pulled her close, playing with her ring as soon as she rolled over.
"Sorry you had a rough day," she mumbled, cuddling up to him since he'd been away all weekend.
"It wasn't bad until the end. But I got to come home to you,"
