𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 // ᵐᵃˣ ᵛᵉʳˢᵗᵃᵖᵖᵉⁿ

𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘⁰³

( ** indicates flashbacks)

**  Celia woke up suddenly when her alarm clock blared loudly. She felt tired and grumpy as she reached out to turn it off. The time flashed in red: 7:00 AM. Letting out a big sigh, Celia got out of bed and washed her face. Then, she went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

It was the day after the Belgian Grand Prix, and Max was flying back home to Monaco today. Christian Horner was also accompanying him. Celia thought it was strange that Christian was coming with Max all of a sudden, but she didn't ask any questions. Maybe Christian and his wife Geri wanted to have a vacation in Monaco.

Putting aside her thoughts, Celia made breakfast for everyone - bacon and eggs for the guests, and her special breakfast quesadilla. Just as she finished, the doorbell rang. Celia opened the door to see Christian and Geri standing there, smiling.

"Hi Celia," Christian greeted, giving her a hug before entering the penthouse with Geri.

"It's been a while since we last saw you," Geri remarked as they sat down in the living room, "how come you didn't come to any of the races this year?"

"I've been busy with Prema," Celia replied. "They're signing new people, so I had to be there most of the time."

"You've done a great job with your team," Christian complimented.

Just then, the front door opened again as Max walked in.

Walking up to the group, he greeted Celia with an awkward smile, "Hi Lia."

"Hi Max," she replied shortly. As a silence fell, Max turned to Celia again.

"Where's Harper?" he asked.

"Asleep in her room," Celia answered. "Do you want to go wake her up?"

"Yeah, sure," Max nodded, walking towards Harper's nursery room as Christian engaged on more talk about Prema Racing with Celia.

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Max quietly entered Harper's room and found her sleeping soundly in the dark, covered by her blanket. A big smile appeared on his face when he saw her. He sat on the floor next to her bed and gently stroked her hair, still smiling. Harper stirred a bit and slowly opened her eyes as she noticed her father in front of her with a bright smile.

"Dada!" she exclaimed happily and immediately hugged him tightly, making Max laugh.

"Hi, mijn engel," Max whispered as Harper hugged him tightly, happy to see him after three months. "How are you, baby?"

"I'm okay," Harper replied, smiling, as she let go of the hug. "When did you get home?"

"Just now," Max replied, matching her smile. "And the first thing I did was come to see my dear girl. I missed you, munchkin."

"I missed you more, Dad," Harper said playfully, pouting a bit. "I kept asking Mama when we could visit you, but she said not now. I missed you."

"Well, I'm here now," Max reassured her, picking her up and taking her to the washroom. "How about you freshen up, and then we have breakfast together?"

"Really?" Harper exclaimed excitedly. "Okay!"

Max chuckled as Harper quickly washed her face, eager to have breakfast with her dad after so long. From the doorway, Celia watched their interaction with a fond smile. Their bond was truly special, and she was glad they could co-parent so well for Harper's sake.

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Ten minutes later, Max and Harper entered the kitchen together, holding hands. Harper went up to Celia and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek before sitting down next to Max.

"Hi Harpie, how're you, dear?" Christian asked, and Celia served Harper some pancakes with honey.

"I'm fine, thank you," Harper replied with a mouthful of food. "Why are you here?"

"Harp," Max intervened, trying to signal her that her question was impolite.

"Are you on vacation like Dada too?" Harper then asked Christian, changing her question.

Christian nodded. "Yes, and we wanted to meet you and your mom too. We haven't seen you in so long."

"I told Mama I wanna go!" Harper complained. "But she was busy with work."

"Yeah, your Mama is too busy for us now, right?" Christian teased, while Celia rolled her eyes.

"Mhmmm," Harper nodded, still eating the pancakes and getting honey all over her face, which Max wiped away with a tissue, a big smile on his face the entire time.

"How long are you guys staying?" Celia then asked. "I'll schedule my off-days accordingly."

"Not long, maybe one more day," Geri replied, and Celia looked confused.

"You guys flew down here to stay one day? Why?" she inquired.

"Oh, well," Christian trailed off, "there was something we wanted to discuss with you."

"What is it?" Celia pressed, curious.

"Checo is in the hospital," Geri revealed, and Celia gasped in shock.

"What happened to him?" she asked.

"High blood pressure. The doctors think it could lead to a cardiac arrest, so they're taking precautionary treatment now," Christian explained. "He's going to retire, Cece."

"Oh," Celia said, sounding disappointed. Checo and Celia were close. She looked up to him a lot, and when she joined F1, he had become a mentor to her. The thought of him retiring was sad for her to think of.

"So, what does that have to do with you being in Monaco?" Celia questioned, still not understanding their purpose of the visit.

"We have a gap in the team, Celia," Geri pointed out. "We need a new reliable driver to take over Checo's place."

A silence followed as Celia stared at their faces, unable to tell if they were saying what she thought they were saying.

"We want you to join Red Bull Racing, Cece," Christian finally said. "We think you'd be a perfect fit for the team, and it's high time you return to the track, don't you think?"  **