Seb and Joey had ended up embracing the new found spotlight on their relationship, spending some time away from London in a little cottage in the new forest where Seb could keep up with his summer break training and they could start some proper relaxation, in the nature like Seb liked.
Travelling to Switzerland, Joey had agreed to upgrade herself to first class, but had insisted she would pay for it herself.
Antti had offered to pick them up and they found him waiting at the arrivals car park with an excited chocolate Labrador who attacked Seb with excitement as soon as he saw him.
'Guessing that's Otto' Joey chuckled. 'Hey Antti' she gave the Finn a hug.
'How bad was it? How much work do I have to do?' He asked her, jokingly.
'Hey! Thanks for the trust, mate! We both followed your plan. Actually, you owe me a week of sports massages. Can barely feel my legs' she told him.
'Yeah, I'll leave that to Seb' he smirked.
'What now?' Seb was distracted from his dog as he heard his name.
'Nothing' the trainer chuckled. 'Ready to go?'
Joey sat in the back of Antti's SUV, getting to know Otto who had seemed to enjoy her company. Joey had always been a lover of animals, having grown up with lots of adopted cats and dogs around her grandfather's home.
When they arrived to Seb's home, Joey could barely contain a gasp. It was immense, to be only for himself. They said goodbye to the trainer and Seb grabbed her hand to walk in.
'Welcome to my humble abode' he smiled.
'Humble? What the fuck?' She let slip, without thinking.
'I like how Irish you get when you don't think' he said, with a smile.
'I'm sorry. I just... wow. This is huge. I mean, I'm sure you get paid quite well and winning those four titles must have helped financially but God damn!' She gestured to the huge open plan bottom floor they were standing in. 'Wow.'
Otto wiggled over to her leaving a battered football on her feet.
'Wow, Otto likes you. That's a first. He's usually quite protective over his home, you must have given him some good cuddles'
'Yeah, we bonded. Do you wanna play?' She asked the dog. 'Let's go handsome'
'Jee, overshadowed by my own dog' Seb huffed. He opened a sliding door to his back garden to let Otto run free.
He watched Joey run around with his dog and, for the first time in forever, he felt like he was at peace.
'I think both Otto and I need some water, now' Joey huffed, having been running in the sun for a few minutes. 'And I need a shower too' she added.
'Sure, come in' Seb smiled. 'Otto, chill for a moment, uh? Maybe I can get some affection too?' He asked, annoyed.
'Is someone jealous?' Joey teased him.
'Of Otto, yeah. He's getting all the love' the German replied.
~●~●~●
Joey and Seb spent the rest of the evening chatting, laughing and just being at ease with one another. By late in the evening, the two were slouched on Seb's sofa, watching a comedy show Joey loved with Otto sitting on the floor in front of them.
Joey's head was resting on Seb's lap, with the German playing with her long hair. It felt like they were two pieces of the same puzzle, Joey had been looking for someone who made her feel whole for so long.
By the time the clock struck midnight, Joey had fallen asleep in Seb's embrace. The German quietly turned the TV off and gently shook her to wake her up.
'It's time for bed, Süße' he whispered.
'Mh? You're comfy' she mumbled, burying her head in his chest.
'I also have a pretty comfortable super king size bed upstairs.' He replied.
'Alright, alright' she agreed. 'Does Otto sleep with you as well?' She asked, watching the dog lead them upstairs.
'He has his own bed next to mine, but most of the time I end up cuddling up to him' Seb replied.
'Cute' Joey mused.
'I hope I can cuddle up to you tonight, though' he pouted.
'We'll see' she teased.
~●~●~●
The following morning Joey woke up with Otto at her feet and Sebastian next to her. The sleeping German was a beautiful sight that early in the morning. She quietly slipped out of bed, trying not to wake him. She placed a sweet kiss on his forehead before grabbing her hoodie off the floor and walking back into the living room. Otto had excitedly followed her around, wagging his tail happily as she filled his bowl with fresh food and fresh water.
Joey made herself a coffee and decided to sit in the sun soaked patio, having borrowed a book about F1 from Seb's extensive collection.
A few hours later her phone started ringing, the name Liam and a picture of them together were filling the screen. Joey felt her heart skip a beat. Could that be the bad news she had been expecting since his accident? Why would they be calling her from his phone?
She had sent her friend a daily text every morning since he had been in hospital, just to update him on important events but she wasn't expecting a reply or a positive phone call. She had been preparing herself daily for the bad news to hit her.
The phone kept buzzing and buzzing, until Joey finally decided to pick up.
'Hello?' She said, tentatively.
'Fucken hell, lass, that was a long wait' Liam's thick accent was like music to her ears. She could hear he was speaking slower and quieter than normal, the faint beeping of a heart monitor could be heard in the midst of the background noise.
'Liam?' She asked. She couldn't believe it was him! He was fine!
'Who else?'
'Liam!' She screamed, finally breaking up in tears. 'You're... you're awake! You're ok! Oh god, you're fine' she sobbed.
'You know me, lass. I like to cause a bit of a fuss' Joey heard him chuckle.
'A bit?!? You absolute moron' she swore.
'Hey, I just survived a car accident.' He lightly laughed 'let me have this one. Can I see your beautiful face?' He asked.
'Of course you can. Not that beautiful though' she pressed on the camera, as he friend did the same. Liam was sitting in a different hospital bed from the time she had visited him. He was sitting up, even if still connected to numerous machines.
'When did this happen?'
'A few days back, mum wanted to call you and tell you but I wanted to do it myself. Sorry I made you wait a bit longer' he smirked 'I had time to read your messages though, I like the updates.'
'I just... can't believe this!' She wiped her tears away from her face.
'So... Switzerland, uh?' He said, watching her blush. 'Tell me everything'
Joey started telling her friend about what had happened in the previous weeks, from her trip to Ireland to the spontaneous camping trip in the UK and up to the very moment in which Sebastian appeared in the frame behind her, carrying some fresh pastries.
'Oh, sorry, I did not mean to...' the German started.
'Seb! Oh my god! Look! It's Liam! He's fine, he's... good and he's awake! And I'm sorry if I woke you up but I might have got a bit excited' she started crying again.
'Take a breath, babe.' Liam laughed. 'Hi, nice to meet you' he waved towards Seb. 'Sorry, my friend was always the emotional one out of the two'
'Hi, I'm glad to see you're doing well' Sebastian said with a warm smile on his face 'I'm Sebastian'
'Liam' he replied 'I'll let you guys be now. Sebastian, thank you for taking care of her. I'm looking forward to meeting you properly some time soon. Babe, please stop crying or Sebastian will change his mind about you.'
Joey snorted at her friend's comment, before waving to him and closing the phone call.
'Sorry if I was a bit loud' Joey apologised again, as Seb sat with her in the sun.
'You don't have to apologise' he smiled warmly. 'I'm happy to see you this happy' he lightly squeezed her hand.
'I can't believe it still! Oh man, I'm hungry now. You made these?!' She nodded to the pastries.
'No, I tried to make them once and it didn't go well. I kindly asked Britta to pick up some from a local shop.'
'I need a woman like Britta in my life' Joey stated, grabbing one of the croissants from the table. 'What are your plans for me this week, then?'
'I thought you were staying until we were going to Spa'
'I... didn't think about it, we spoke about one week and then it became two... are you sure you can bear with me for another two?'
'Now that I found you, I'm not letting you go' he said, blushing for a moment for being so open with her. 'And Otto loves you, how could I take you away from him?' He saved himself.
'Sure' she mused. 'Just for Otto, then'
'And we've been going out for a while now and I still haven't taken you out on a date. That is changing right now' he added.
'Wow. A date with Sebastian Vettel. What should I expect?'
'The unexpected' he winked.