From Deep End to Surface and Everything In Between (Sebastian Vettel FanFic)

Home Is Where Your Heart Is

After the retired couple had gone in, Seb turned to face her, an unreadable expression on his face, grabbing her hand. 'So you're not staying any longer?' He looked sad, and she shot a faint smile at him. ' You're going camping tomorrow, remember? We agreed it will be a bonding time for you and the girls... Besides, I need to help out Emily with her dilemma. It's getting out of hand... She is stressed. I'll be back after your camping trip.' His thumb soothingly rubbed against her hand. 'I'll miss you.'

'It's only for a couple of days.' She stated matter of factly, feeling gloomy.  Her sourness didn't last for long as she giggled at his sulking look before pressing her lips gently against his, allowing him to take control of the kiss.

His hand rode up on her arm, to her shoulder before finding its spot on her neck, tugging her closer to him whilst deepening the kiss. She drowned in the kiss, and she felt her lips curving up. Tenderly, she separated their lips from each other. 'I'll miss you too. I'm not far. I'll see you soon.' She pressed her lips to his with a lingering effect, and she ushered all her self-control to take a step back to jump into the car.

She saw him waving to her from the mirror, and she flashed her lights to let him know she had seen them. Then her focus shifted to the road. She was feeling a little guilty that she had so suddenly left. She could have spent the night. Still, she felt overwhelmed with the unexpected meeting with the ex-in-laws. She needed time to process it. She and Seb were in a good place, but everything seemed so painless to him.

The twilight had appeared by the time she parked the car in front of her house, making her sigh. Being in her homemade her feel lonely, even with Emily there. She was about to take the key out to open the door when Emily swung it open, beaming. 'I wondered who it might be. I thought you would stay at Seb's later?'

'Hannah's parents came over to drop the girls, and they ended up staying overnight. Seb and the girls are also heading on a camping trip tomorrow for a couple of nights.' Scar explained when she walked in, dropping her items to the side table, shooting a meaningful side look towards Emily.

'Right... I got it now. Have you eaten dinner yet? I just finished cooking something, and there's plenty of food.' Emily commented casually before wandering towards the kitchen. 'Thank you, Emily. I'm starving.' Scar grabbed a wine glass before pouring a drink. 'Shall we eat at the patio?'

'Yes, please.' Scar commented and collected the necessary items for their dinner outdoors.

'Emily, it's just too perfect. Everything is perfect. No one yells at the house. Everything is organised and structured.' Scar wandered out when she took another sip of wine. They had just finished the dinner and were sitting lazily at the patio, catching up. 'Seriously, love? You're complaining because things are too perfect. Are you looking for trouble?' Emily blurted out and hissed. 'Okay, peanut. I know you like your dance exercise, but mummy is in pain.' Emily cooed and traced her hand up and down on her visibly round tummy. 'Why are you speaking to your tummy?'

'I heard it hear the baby feel more attached to the mother before their birth. Since this peanut will only have one parent, it's better to start the relationship as emotionally attached as possible. I never know what that fool comes back with it.' Emily said darkly, her fairy-like features turning ugly and dark.

'Has he called you again?' Emily sighed heavily. 'This morning. I had hoped he had changed his mind on the custody matter, but no... He still feels I should give him full custody since, quoting, 'He has better ground to bring up the child in a more stable environment'. He's never home!' She exploited in anger.

'Stress is not good for the baby.' Scar reminded hastily when she saw how heavily Emily was breathing. She reached out to pill glass of water and handed it to her. 'I don't know how long I can do this, S.' Emily whispered, clearly emotionally drained of the daily battle. 'The baby is not even born yet. Aren't you supposed to fight about these matters then?' She cried in desperation.

Scar put her wine glass to the terrace table before she squeezed next to her friend on the sofa on her patio, hugging her tightly to her side. 'Emily, you'll be fine. He doesn't have a solid ground to claim the baby's custody as he doesn't have the time to take care of him or her. Also, I doubt any judge would rule out a child to a parent who pushes the child to nanny's care. They want to see the bond and care from a parent, not revenge and neglecting behaviour towards the child.' Scar smiled softly to her friend, swapping the teardrops away from Emily's cheeks before saying. 'You're gonna rock this as you think about the baby first. Now, shall we gush over the cutie-pies on the F1 circuit?' Emily nodded with a brighter look in her eyes. 'Have you seen the latest girlfriend additions at the paddock?' Scar smiled whilst reaching for her glass.

The event progressed with a rare bonding time during their time in Switzerland. The camping trip for Seb and the girls had turned out a blessing for Scar and Emily. This meant they could have a girls night, which was spent gossiping, catching up, laughing and just talking on this and that.

Their quality time was interrupted by a phone call from an anonymised number. Scar frowned and declined the call. However, the ringing continued. 'Aren't everyone off now?' Emily wondered when the phone rang the third time. 'They're.' Scar commented slowly before getting up from her spot to reach her phone.

'Hello.'

'Is this Ms Scarlette Smith?'

'This is she.'

'This is Portland Hospital from London UK. Your name was listed as an emergency contact for Emerson James.' She rolled her eyes. Of course, the idiot would forget to remove her from his list. 'I'm not sure if I'm the right person to help -'

'Mr James was in an accident and passed away on the way to the hospital. We would require your presence to identify his body.'

The phone dropped from her hand, simultaneously with the wine glass she had been holding, smashing to the ground. Emerson was dead. 'He's dead?' She repeated, and a hysterical giggle rolled past her lips. That was just utterly ludicrous. He was still so young, so many years to go. The call must be a prank. She lifted the phone from the ground and pressed it against her ear, where she heard repeated: 'Hello, is anyone there?'  Scar giggled, but she blamed the wine. 'Sorry, so you were saying -'

'Ms Smith, Mr James passed away -' The impatient voice repeated her words. The giggling continued until it turned into heartbreaking sobs when the news finally hit her,  and she realised the person on the other end wasn't joking. 'He's dead?!'

'Ms Smith, I'm truly sorry for your loss -'

'He can't be dead. He can't be dead! That's just absurd.' Her head was spinning, and she felt fizzy. She disconnected the call, letting her phone drop next to her. The last thing she remembered, was arms wrapped around her before the darkness took over. He can't be dead. The whole thing must be a silly nightmare.