Friday January 31st. Maranello, Italy.
"Come on superstar." Chloe raised his hand to her lips to kiss him there, his face lit up with a smile not only at her gesture but also at the nickname she'd called him by. "Let's go and see the new woman in your life."
"Jealous already are we?" He teased.
"Of a beautiful, sleek, aerodynamic work of art of a car - never." They stopped outside the door of the factory area. "I am jealous of you though Britta."
"Me?" Britta squeaked in surprise.
"I'm missing the job and I'm envious of you beginning another year of working by this man's side."
"You've got a far better and more important role coming up this year." Britta smiled and patted Chloe's blossoming little bump.
"Yeah and I can't wait to start but I wish I could do something else in the meantime."
"Well you've certainly popped since I've last seen you."
"I must admit this has taken me by surprise too." Chloe glanced down at her rounded belly. "It's literally got bigger over the last couple of days, at first I thought I was just having a fat day but this one is here to stay."
"Well get ready for your secret to be blown to the entire team." Britta opened the door and Chloe felt Seb clutch her hand even tighter as they walked in to a surprising rapturous and welcoming applause.
"Oh wow!" She breathed as people rushed over to them; people she didn't even know that well were embracing her and Seb, there were a few words spoken to them in English, welcoming them back and saying how good it was to see them both after what had happened but a lot of what was said to them was in Italian and she hadn't got a clue what any of it meant. As they'd expected though, it didn't take long for people to spot the baby bump but then wearing a figure hugging burgundy dress she knew it was silly of her to expect anything else. There was yet more hugging and kisses on her cheeks and she heard "complimenti per il bambino!" said to herself and Seb a lot which she knew from her extremely limited knowledge of Italian meant congratulations on the baby in English. Britta stood back happily watching the scene in front of her as everyone made a fuss of the couple, Chloe looked stunned by all the attention while Seb looked quite overwhelmed and touched by it all. Their secret was out now whether Seb wanted it to be or not though it wouldn't get beyond the factory gates, or at least she hoped it wouldn't. Eventually the crowd around them started to disperse and finally Riccardo and Mattia managed to get a couple of minutes with them.
"È così bello vederti Chloe!" Mattia hugged her warmly, his hand rubbing up and down her back. "So wonderful to see you! You look stunning, so good to see you looking so well."
"It's good to be here Mattia and good to see you too." Chloe looked up at him, he was even taller than Seb and she'd always thought that Seb was tall.
"I trust you are fully healed?"
"Yes, patched up and mended now." She glanced at Seb who was already engaged in a conversation with Riccardo, the Italian standing by his side with his arm loosely slung around Seb's shoulders. These people were like family to him.
"And I must congratulate you on the baby!" Mattia exclaimed, lightly patting her tummy. "A new member of the Ferrari family."
"Thank you Mattia, yes a new member."
"Can I ask, when we can expect to meet him or her?"
Chloe glanced at Seb once more, would he mind her telling Mattia when the baby was due? Everyone here now knew she was pregnant so surely it wouldn't make any difference, would it? "I'm actually due to give birth on the day of the Hungarian GP." She replied with a slight grimace, thinking that Mattia would simply love her timing.
"I will have to make sure Sebastian doesn't miss it then." He smiled.
"The race?" She asked. Surely he wouldn't expect Seb to race if she was in labour would he?
"The birth of course!" Mattia laughed, keen to ease the flicker of worry he'd seen cross Chloe's face. "I will make sure we have a reserve driver on standby for you."
"Chloe!!" Riccardo tugged lightly on her arm to pull her into his embrace. "My god, it is so good to see you! We were all so worried when we heard!" He kissed her cheeks in greeting.
"Hello Riccardo." She embraced him back.
"What you and have Sebastian have been through....." He shook his head. "No one should have to go through that but look at you now! Beautiful as ever and with a little baby too!" He held her at arms length and glanced down at her tummy. "You have a miracle in there! A miracle!" He hugged her again and she shot another look at Seb who was now being hugged by Mattia, obviously it wasn't the new car that Seb had been talking to Riccardo about. "You have a precious new life in there." Riccardo held her at arms length again. "And you both deserve every joy it brings."
"Thank you, that means a lot." She swallowed as her voice wobbled, his words had touched her more than she'd expected.
"So are you ready to see the car?" Riccardo asked, seeing that Chloe was on the verge of tears.
"Yes, more than ready." She looked at Britta who had now appeared at her side and along with Mattia and Seb, they walked further in to the brightly lit, squeaky clean, sterile looking area where Seb's new challenger sat under a silky looking red cover.
"Look at Seb's face." Britta murmured into her ear. "He already looks like a big kid in a sweet shop and he hasn't even seen it yet."
Chloe leant forward to look past Britta where Seb stood in between Mattia and Riccardo. Indeed his face was already lit up, she could see exactly the same excitement in him that she'd seen last year. And to think that he'd mentioned retiring to her, right now that looked to be the last thing he wanted. The cover was pulled back and Sebastian Vettel's twenty-twenty Ferrari Formula One car was revealed. His sixth Ferrari, and although it wasn't quite complete (the halo wasn't there for a start and it was completely bare of any logos), it looked startlingly similar to last years except for maybe a lower rear wing and some differences around the side pod area and the matte paintwork - it looked more red and less orange like last years colour had. There was a round of applause and Chloe joined in while watching as Seb started to slowly walk around the car, the secretly named SF1000. He was smiling broadly, his face even more full of excitement, his eyes bright, alert and eager as he took in every last little detail and all of a sudden it made her feel inexplicably sad. She looked down at the white floor, it was probably so clean that you could eat your dinner off of it, then she looked at her black knee high boots and finally at her small but perfectly formed baby bump. Right now she felt like her Seb had gone; he was now their Seb, their Sebastian Vettel the racer, their focused driver who ate, slept and breathed formula one and Ferrari. Right now he wasn't her husband or her lover, her friend or the father of her child. He belonged to them. She felt surprisingly hurt and then full of dread and finally, extremely selfish. This was what Seb loved to do. He was a race car driver who had always dreamt of emulating Michael and other great drivers who had driven a scarlet coloured race car. He was living his dream and still enjoying every moment, even the bad ones. She felt like he was going to be leaving her behind.
"Are you alright?" Britta whispered, taking a light hold of her hand while holding her phone and videoing Seb with her other hand.
"I need a moment." She glanced at her and then back at Seb just as he disappeared, squatting down at the rear of his car to look at something more closely. While he wasn't looking she took her chance and slipped away to walk quietly out of the room. Once she'd closed the door behind her she walked a little more briskly along the carpeted corridor until she found the ladies toilets where she pushed the door open and stepped inside. She went straight into a cubicle, shut the door and leant back on it, taking some deep breaths to try and calm herself. She wasn't expecting to feel like this. Why was she feeling like this? She never felt like this last year, not at any point. This is what Seb did for a living, though it wasn't work, it was his life and she knew that when she'd married him. She let out a long, heavy sigh. She knew what this was. She was jealous and scared of him leaving her behind. She wasn't ready to let go. She hoped and prayed that Kal would be able to make a difference because she simply couldn't face Seb going to Australia without her and the thought of not seeing him for weeks at a time was still unbearable, as was the thought of all those people back there getting to see him more than she would.
Seb continued to make his way around the car, examining the side pod and mentally comparing this car to last years. The were differences to the floor and the wings over the air intakes were more angular. He was just about to lean over and look into the cockpit when he looked up, looking for his wife. He wanted her to come over and have a look too. His eyes quickly scanned every face, where was she? Seeing Britta, he walked over to her.
"Where's Chloe?"
"She uh....." She tried to think of quick answer, she didn't want to worry him. "I think she went to the toilet."
"She's ok though?" He asked, he couldn't help but feel concerned. How long had she been gone?
"Yeah, she's fine. Weak bladder." She replied quickly. Seb nodded, he seemed satisfied with her answer and went back to looking at the car. Soon he'd be getting in for the very first time but he didn't want to do that without Chloe there. Britta checked the time on her phone before continuing at take more photos of Seb, a few of them would be used for social media as a little taster for fans ahead of the launch ceremony. Chloe had been gone for at least five minutes and she wanted to go and check on her but at the same time she didn't want to make Seb worry by doing so. If she disappeared too it would definitely arouse his suspicion that something wasn't quite right.
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Chloe was now stood at the sink, looking at herself in the mirror and adding guilt to the list of feelings she was currently experiencing. She shouldn't be dreading the new season, she should be looking forward to it, she should be sharing in her husband's excitement, she should be his biggest and strongest supporter. She shouldn't be jealous of a bloody race car and jealous of the people he'd be spending time with; all those mechanics, engineers, designers and strategists and any other important people in that team were all part of his past and future successes. They weren't really there to take him away from her. But why did she feel like they were? Seb was her husband and belonged to her, she shouldn't be feeling like it was Ferrari that he belonged to. She heard the door open and she looked to her left to see Seb walk in. At first he didn't say anything, he just came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her gently back against him so that he could muzzle his face in her hair until he reached her neck. He then kissed her there, making her lean her head to give him more access. Nothing could ever beat his neck kisses, apart from sex with him. After giving her a couple of sweet, warm open mouthed kisses he stopped, making her frown.
"What's wrong?" He asked, resting his chin on her shoulder to look at her in the mirror's reflection. "Only you've been in here for ages."
"Nothings wrong." She smiled, lying.
"I know you and I know you're lying."
"Hormones." She stated, turning around to face him.
"Hormones? And that's all?" He stepped back away from the sink, pulling her with him in his arms.
"Yes, that's all." She reached up and ruffled his hair before stroking his cheek. "You need to get your hair cut, it's getting long."
"I'll get it done before the launch." He leant into her touch. "Are you sure you're ok?"
"Yeah." She nodded, going from stroking his cheek to trailing her fingertips over his eyebrows, down his nose, across his lips and then along his jawline. "I just came in here because I felt a little tearful and I didn't want to make an idiot of myself by crying in front of everyone."
"You've been crying?"
"I didn't in the end, once I got in here and took a few deep breaths I felt a little better."
"So are you ready to come back with me and look at the car? I'm yet to christen the seat with my ass." He gave her a boyish grin.
"Yeah, sure." She nodded, his gorgeous smile was making her smile too while inside she felt far from ready.
"Come on then." He went to pull away but she stopped him, she didn't want to let him go. She wasn't ready to let him go back to his Ferrari family. Instead she pulled him in for a kiss; a deep, needy, hungry kiss that he reciprocated without any hesitation while pushing her backwards until her behind bumped against the sink unit which he then lifted her on to and hitched the skirt of her dress up so that he could stand between her legs. Neither of them heard the door open.
"Seb!" Britta exclaimed, making them rapidly break their passionate moment. "Seriously! Are you two really making out in a toilet?!"
"Oh we've done much worse than that before." He grinned. "You're lucky the media never got to know."
"Honestly, I don't want to hear it! You've got people waiting in the factory for you to take your first seat in the car so get yourself back there, now. You're holding them up!"
He stole one more kiss from his wife before lifting her from the sink unit and taking her hand to lead her back outside with Britta holding the door open for them. She followed them back along the corridor, smiling as they entered the factory like two naughty school kids that had been caught mucking around outside during lessons with her walking behind them. Leading her over to the car he sensed a little hesitation from her as Chloe lagged a step behind and he glanced at her, her expression was in unreadable. Surely she was happy for him, wasn't she? There was chance that this could be his last year in his beloved sport so surely she shared in his excitement? "What do you think?" They stopped in front of the car, taking in it's large, downward sweeping nose and and front wing. He looked at her again, she hadn't said a word. This wasn't just down to her hormones. "Hey." He said quietly, squeezing her hand to make her look at him. Instead stayed she focused on the car.
"Sorry, it's......" She blinked a few times as though she was bringing herself back to her senses. "......it's beautiful, it's a gorgeous colour."
"It'll never be as beautiful or gorgeous as you." He kissed the side of her head. "You will be always be my priority. I'm your husband and father to my kids first, their driver second, ok? And I promise I'll work with Kal to try and sort my head out. I want you with me all the time, I don't want to have to leave you behind but please understand that if I do, it's not because I want to it's because I feel I have to so that I can keep you safe but I promise I'll try hard to work through it. I love you."
"Oh Seb." She turned her body into his and leant her head against his shoulder. "How did you......"
"I just know you and I love you."
"I love you too." She lifted her head and eagerly accepted the brief kiss he placed on her lips.
"Come on Sebastian, let the girl go and try out the seat!" Riccardo called out.
"Best not keep them waiting." She smiled shyly and blushed a little, aware that a lot of the factory based people in this room had probably never seen this side of Seb. He gave her an eager smile and then let go of her hand to get into the car. She stepped closer to watch him get in and to take a look in the cockpit herself; there wasn't really anything to see, there was no steering wheel and none of the protection around his shoulders and neck either. It looked quite empty but then today was purely a seat fitting and he'd be back in the cockpit again before the launch when it was fully kitted out as he'd have to try it in his race overall and with his helmet and HANS device on too. His face lit up once more and she smiled as he wriggled in the seat, knowing that it was moulded to his perfect behind. People swooped in either side of the car, all keen to hear his first impressions and whether there'd have to be any adjustments made and Britta also got closer, getting photos for the team's social media feeds. "What do you think?" She asked stepping forward and leaning over after standing back to give his team more room while they'd strapped him in with his harness and then spent a few minutes adjusting it.
"It feels good, really good." He smiled up at her. "Like home but obviously not as good as our home. Why don't you try it for yourself?"
"Me?" She put her hand on her chest. "I'd never get my fat arse in there or my belly."
"Of course you would." He unclipped his harness. "You'll be fine while there's no steering wheel or protection installed." With an easy grace he rose from the seat and got out of the car. "You'll have to take those boots off though."
"I don't know, I don't want to get stuck." She bent over slightly, looking into the compact space before removing her boots.
"You won't get stuck." He offered her his hand to help steady her and she took it, looking very unsure.
"Uhm....I'm not going to get in with this dress on."
"Ah, you're right." He let his eyes trail down her body in the figure hugging, stretchy dress. "No problem." He let go of her hand and then placed his hands on her waist to lift her as though she weighed nothing. She lifted her feet at the same time to clear the side pod of the car and soon she was standing in the cockpit. Remembering the numerous times she'd seen Seb getting in and out of the car she lowered herself down and then, leaning her arms either side of her on the car, slid in feet first.
"Oh my god, you're practically laying down in here!" She exclaimed as she settled back into the seat. Her feet felt like they were slightly higher than her hips, although she couldn't reach the pedals and the seat felt surprisingly comfy and moulded around her from her shoulders to her behind.
"What do you think? Comfy?" He asked, smiling while getting his phone out of his pocket, wanting to take photos of her.
"Yeah."
"You sound surprised." He unlocked the screen and tapped the camera app.
"I kind of expected the seat to be quite hard. You're not getting me out of here now." She let out a happy sigh and closed her eyes, then opened one when she heard him taking photos of her.
"It the seat was hard I'd have a bruised butt nearly every weekend during the season."
"Mmm I'd quite enjoy massaging arnica gel in to those bruises." She opened her other eye and then winked at him playfully.
"Oh really?" He bent over to get closer to her, not wanting to speak too loudly with so many people around them. He wasn't the only one taking photos, Britta was now filming them on her phone. "If it wasn't for you being pregnant, then I'd quite like to strap you up in this harness Mrs Vettel. I'd get quite a kick out of it."
"Maybe we should experiment after dinner tonight, I've always had a secret fantasy about that black Ferrari tie you wear."
"Maybe we should skip the dinner."
"Nice try Mr Vettel." She let out a little laugh. "We're still going out for that meal tonight but if you're a very good boy then maybe I'll use the tie on you after."
"Deal." He replied, extremely quickly.
"If you two are done with the flirting, I think the guys would like the car back." Britta gave him a small nudge and he stood upright, looking at the smiling faces all around them. Had they heard them? Chloe managed to get herself out of the seat and up and Seb lifted her once again to get her out of the car.
"Did you enjoy that?" He asked, keeping his hands on her waist.
"Yeah I did, thank you." She reached up and placed her palm on his cheek.
"Have I made you feel better and eased your fears?" He leant into her touch.
"Almost." She smiled as he nodded, he knew what she meant by her answer and he really wished he could reassure her further.