New Year's Eve.
With the music playing loudly and filling the gym, Seb ran hard and fast. He could feel the sweat tricking down his back, his torso and down his face as he ran out his pent up frustration and anger on the treadmill, slowing just enough so that he could remove his t-shirt and throw it down on the floor beside him. Then he realised that he was running to the same track he'd seen her dance to with Harry, it caused a swell of longing to build up inside him and he started to run harder, trying to chase it away. It had been quite a week since Christmas Day, since he'd nearly kissed his wife. That had been the last time he'd managed to spend any time alone with her, since then she'd always been with her parents or grandmother, his kids or his parents and siblings until they'd returned to Germany the day after Boxing Day and while he was happy to see her getting on so well with his family again, he was craving some more close moments like the ones they'd shared on Christmas Day. He'd been unable to even get one minute to ask her if she would have really kissed him. He wanted to ask her what was holding her back and why she'd reacted like she had. Then there was the conference call with the Norwegian Police that they'd taken in his office on Friday, understandably she'd wanted her mother there with her for support as they were told that Corinna had been charged with 'planned murder' and could face a lengthy spell in prison and that when it got to court, they were both required to be there. Antti and Stephen hadn't got away things either, with the Finn being charged with firearms offences and Stephen being investigated after the contaminated cloth was found at the lodge. Unsurprisingly, the media had got hold of this new information and it had been on the tv and online as well as plastered all over the papers the very next day. It had given Britta a very busy weekend dealing with it all and Chloe had become rather subdued, leaving Seb angry and anxious that this had pushed her back in her recovery. This was exactly why he hated things about his private life and that of his loved ones being in the press, this is why he worked hard to stay out of the limelight and said so little about his life away from Formula One. The effects it had on other people just wasn't worth it. He was so lost in his thoughts as he ran that he didn't notice David enter the gym. David paused for a second, seeing Seb like this, training hard, was a first. His son-in-law certainly had the body of an athlete, lean, toned yet muscly and his expression was one of steely focus and pure concentration, he was certainly an impressive sight. As he got nearer to the treadmill Seb finally noticed him and started to slow his pace down steadily until he came to stop and grabbed a remote from the drinks holder on the handle to turn the music off. His body and his hair was absolutely soaked in sweat, it was obvious to David that he'd been running for a while.
"I thought you wasn't training until Thursday?" He asked as Seb stepped off of the machine, panting heavily. He said nothing back for a moment as he grabbed a towel that he'd left flung over a spin bike and started to wipe his face and body. "That was quite some pace you had going there." David added to break the silence.
"Thanks." Seb breathed. Leaving the towel draped around his neck he grabbed a bottle of water from a small table that stood against a wall. It was clear that he had a lot on his mind, he hadn't been quite right for days and while David knew that Friday's conference call was part of that, he also knew that his daughter was probably an even bigger part of it, which is why himself and Chrissie had come to the decision they had.
"Do you usually push yourself this hard when you run?" David asked. Seb's brows raised as he lowered the bottle from his lips.
"I have to push myself hard, it's part of my training, it's part of my job."
"So you're not doing it because you've got things on your mind?"
"Such as?"
"The trial in Norway, my daughter....."
"I have a new trainer coming over from Finland on Thursday, I thought I'd start training now." Seb eyed the weights bench, maybe if started on there then David would leave him alone.
"Thing's have seemed a little off between you and Chloe since last week, is everything ok? Has something happened?" David was quick to notice Seb's face change at the mention of his daughter, there was his answer.
"Why? Has she said something to you?" Seb started to dry off his body once more, he felt in need a cool shower now.
"So something has happened?"
"You tell me." He shrugged his shoulders. "She won't spend a minute alone with me."
"I have noticed, so something has happened then?"
"We nearly kissed." He sat down on the seat of the weights bench.
"Well that's good, that's excellent news." David smiled. "That's a step in the right direction."
"Try telling her that." He replied miserably. "Only I can't because she won't come near me."
"You know she needs time Seb, and plenty of it. She's probably confused."
"She's not the only one. She says about not letting her memory hold her back, how she wants to move on and make new memories but it's like she's doing the opposite."
"Look, me and Chrissie have been talking and hearing you say that makes me feel like maybe we're doing the right thing." He paused and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. "We think that us still being here could be holding her back."
"No, she relies on you, you've been helping her." Seb disagreed, shaking his head.
"Exactly, she relies on us but it's you she should be relying on. I don't think she's going to get any closer to you while we're here, we've helped her to get as far as she can in her recovery, now it's your turn. So we've talked about it and Catherine agrees....we think it's time we headed back home." There was silence as David waited for Seb's reaction, he looked quite surprised which in turn surprised David because Seb clearly hadn't been expecting it.
"I don't know if she's ready for that." He replied after a couple of minutes.
"We do and we don't think she'll get any better while we're here."
"Have you spoken to her about this?"
"Not yet, I wanted to speak to you about it first before we tell her. I think we all agree that she probably won't take it too well."
"I definitely agree with you there." Seb nodded, dropping the towel down on the floor.
"You two need some proper time alone, she needs to learn to live with you again and she's not going to do that with us here." David added, seeing Seb looking very unconvinced.
"When are you going to tell her?" He picked the towel up and stood up.
"As soon as you're ready, we've got the flight booked for Thursday morning."
"As quick as that?" He walked over to where he'd left his t-shirt and bent to pick it up. There was no way that Chloe was going to be happy about this but he could see David's point and while he wasn't looking forward to consoling her once they'd gone, a part of him was happy to be getting his wife back to himself again.
"I think it's best, don't you?"
"She's your daughter, you know her better than anyone. I'll be sad to see you go though, it's been good having you all around."
"Thanks Seb, I knew you'd understand and thanks for having us, it's been great considering the reason why we were here, you've made us all feel really at home here."
"You're welcome and you can all come back to visit anytime." He smiled.
"Right, let's get ready to break the news huh?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey dad." Chloe smiled as David entered the lounge with a coffee in his hand, already she noticed his slightly anxious expression. "Something up?"
"No, I just think I burnt my tongue on this coffee." He stood and looked at the sight on the sofa, Chloe was nestled in between her mum and nan watching tv; like they were a human shield, shielding her from Seb. Going home was looking more and more like the right decision.
"Aren't you going to sit down?" She pointed to an arm chair. It was unusual for him to just stand about like this and it made him look as if he felt awkward.
"Yeah, I will in a minute, just thought I'd stand for a bit." He replied before taking a sip of his coffee.
"You could have made me one." Chloe remarked enviously.
"You've already had your quota for the day." He replied just as Seb walked in. Her eyes immediately met with his and as he took a seat in the arm chair close by, his shower fresh scent hit her but it only distracted her for a few seconds. She knew that something was going on. David placed his coffee down on the low table and sat down in the arm chair opposite.
"Why do I feel like you're all about to stage an intervention?" She sat up, looking suspiciously at Seb, who couldn't hide his pensive expression.
"We need to talk to you." David began.
"Why? What's happened? Is it Rich? Freya? Oh Christ, don't let it be Freya!" She started to feel worried.
"No, no it's nothing like that." David shook his head vigorously.
"Then what is it?"
"Let your dad speak." Chrissie said, exchanging a worried look with Seb that Chloe couldn't see.
"We're all so chuffed and proud of how well you're recovering and re-adjusting to everything....." He began.
"But?" Chloe cut in, earning herself raised brows from her mum. There was a small silence as David thought about how to word what he was going to say.
"Your relationship with Seb...." He began again and then stopped, still not sure how to put things to her. Chloe felt herself tense up and she bit her tongue to try and stop herself from interrupting. "We think that in terms of your recovery we've helped you to get as far as we can but you're not going to be able to start rebuilding your relationship with Seb with us here."
"Oh my god, you're leaving." She muttered, already sounding upset. Seb looked down to the floor, suddenly finding the rug interesting, he was feeling guilty already even though he had no real reason to feel like that.
"Chloe, you've come so far and you've been getting on so well with Seb but we just feel that you won't be able to rekindle things whilst we're all here. You two need your space, some proper time alone to be a married couple."
"When?" She asked shakily.
"Huh?"
"When are you leaving?"
"Thursday morning, I've booked the flight." David didn't want her thinking that Seb was behind this.
"The day after tomorrow?!" She exclaimed, sounding devastated. Chrissie looked to Seb, now it was time for time for him to start taking over, but he was still looking down at the floor.
"We've not been home for getting on for four weeks Chloe, I think it's time we went and like I said, you and Seb need your space. He's your husband."
"But I'm not ready, I need you here." She looked to her mum and then her dad. "Please, you can't go yet."
"We're holding you back, you won't get any further while we're here and you've got Seb here with you. You don't need us, trust me."
"Your dad's right." Chrissie said gently, after shooting Seb an annoyed look for sitting there and saying nothing. "Your life is here with Seb, you need to start building new memories with him. He can support you and help you far more than we can now and you never know, being alone with him some more might help trigger your memory. You need to get your life back to how it was before, it's the only way forward."
"I suppose that you engineered this, did you?" Chloe sneered tearfully, looking at Seb. He wasn't surprised to hear her say that, he'd kind of expected it.
"No, I didn't. I'll be sad to your parents and your nan go, it's been great having everyone here." He replied, defending himself.
"I mentioned it to Seb earlier and he actually said he wasn't sure that you were ready." David added in Seb's defence. "But I do and so does your mum."
"Nan, what do you think?" Chloe turned to her nan, desperate for her to disagree.
"I have to agree, they're right. You need to have your life like it was before to help your memory and it's not helping you anymore having us here. Please understand, we're only doing this to help you and I'm sure Seb is looking forward to spending some quality time with you. You two need to get out there and enjoy yourselves before this baby arrives." Catherine placed her hand on Chloe's. "I've never seen a man so smitten with a woman as he is with you, I know he'll take good care of you."
"So that's it then?" She sniffed. "None of you care what I think? That I need you here?" She couldn't believe they were really going to leave her, she just wasn't ready to be left completely on her own with Seb and she wasn't ready to cope without her family's support.
"That's not what this is about Chloe and you know it." Chrissie said, hating to see her daughter so upset. "We're doing this because we care and we want you to get back to how you was before. You were happy here, you were even more happy with Seb and you will be again but not while we're here holding you back. You want things to be how they were before, don't you?"
"How can I when I don't remember?"
"You will soon, I'm sure of it. You'll see, once we've gone and you settle back into life here it'll all come back. I promise." Chrissie was aware of David shooting her a look, making promises about Chloe's memory was meant to be a no go because no one knew what would and wouldn't come back to her.
"I'm tired." She suddenly announced, getting up from the sofa.
"Please say you understand Chloe." Catherine tugged on her hand.
"Do what you like." She huffed as she started to walk away. "What does it matter what I think or understand, you're leaving anyway!" She swept out of the room and Seb rubbed his face with his hands as he heard her stomping up the stairs. He wasn't sure what was going on in her mind but it felt like things had taken a big step back again.