"Welcome to limbo!"
Tully pried a single eye open to read the message on her phone. "What the fuck Seb." she muttered, noticing that it was only 7am.
Limbo. That much was true. It was exactly another six weeks before her official start date as Seb's trainer. In the meantime, she had literally no obligations, and theoretically, nowhere to really call home. One thing was for sure though, she had to make way for Stoffel's new trainer, Elliott, who would be moving in over the following week.
Heikki didn't know it yet, but he was going to be enjoying her company for the most part of his remaining time in Switzerland. Tully had one more surprise for her brother too, one that he'd find out in just two days time.
"What do you think this is? Christmas Morning? Go back to sleep." Tully wrote back to Seb before accidentally dropping her phone off the side of the bed.
"Fuck you, phone." she whispered, closing her eyes.
"What?"
Oh yeah! Rayan was there.
She opened her eyes again and looked over at him. He looked adorable, laying on his side gazing back at her with sleepy hazel eyes and messed up hair.
"Morning." she grinned, rolling into his chest. He sighed contentedly and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head.
"What do you want to do today?" he asked huskily.
"I'm working." Tully said dejectedly. Lie.
What good was there in spending anymore time with him when in 2 days she'd say goodbye to Belgium for good. That was the excuse she was telling herself this time anyway.
---
On Monday morning, Tully woke up bright and early. Today she was leaving for England. Stoffel had insisted on driving her to the airport.
"Last chance to realise you're making a terrible mistake." Stoffel teased as he pulled into the drop-off zone.
Tully smirked and glanced over at him as he undid his seat-belt.
"I'll visit you, maybe... no, probably not. You can visit me though!" she replied with a laugh.
"I will definitely be visiting you!" Stoffel replied enthusiastically, "Preferably when Vettel is around."
"I'll see what I can do." she smirked, before jumping out of the car and walking around to the boot. Stoffel pulled her cabin bag out and placed it down on to the pavement. Olivia was standing nearby, watching them sadly.
"This is it then." Tully breathed, smiling at her beloved driver and reaching her arms out towards him. He quickly engulfed her in a hug and she felt Olivia's arms join in around the outside of them both.
"Thanks for everything Tul." Stoffel murmured, "I'll miss the hell out of you."
"Me too." Olivia sniffled.
Tully pulled away from Stoffel and turned to Olivia, "It's all up to you now Olly, to keep him in line. I'm counting on you."
Olivia managed a small smile and wrapped her arms around Tully's waist one last time.
"Call me whenever you want." Tully cooed softly into her ear.
"Love you Tully, have a blast." she said, wiping her eyes and releasing her hold finally.
"I will."
"Can you send me a signed shirt?" Stoffel asked, wrapping his arm around Olivia's shoulders.
"I will make it my top priority." Tully winked, picking up her bag and walking backwards slowly, "See you in the F1 paddock soon yeah?"
"Yeah." Stoffel grinned, waving as Tully shot them one last smile before turning away and walking towards the check-in area.
She looked down at her shoes as she walked, feeling her throat tightening as she pondered when she might see the pair of them again. She quickly pushed the sadness aside, there were more important things to think about now. Things like the playful German driver who'd be waiting for her on the other end of her flight.
---
Seb ducked his head out of the simulator room and checked the hallway was clear of any tall, blonde Finns. Clear.
Typical. He'd been counting on Heikki doing a disappearing act and the Finn hadn't disappointed him. No doubt he was lurking around Factory 2 somewhere, searching for his girlfriend.
Seb made a quick beeline for the car-park and fired up the silver Infiniti waiting for him there. He had about 3 hours until his afternoon session began, just enough time to get to the airport and back.
He couldn't deny he was excited to see her again. 6 weeks was a long time, though the trial felt like it had only been yesterday.
Traffic was surprisingly forgiving and he made it within the hour, finding a park a few rows down from the arrivals exit. He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Tully's number.
"Hey!" she answered on the second ring.
"Where are you?" he replied brightly, running his eyes over the stream of people pouring out of the automatic doors.
"Open the boot." Tully instructed.
Seb's eyes darted to the rear-view and he laughed, she was already standing behind the car with her hand on her hip. He pressed a button on the dash and the boot clicked open softly.
He watched her throw her bag in and pull the hatch shut before walking around to the passenger side and slipping into the car.
"Hey." she said happily, sounding vaguely breathless as she grinned at him.
"Well that was easy." Seb replied with a laugh, pushing the Infiniti into gear and swiftly making his way out of the parking bay.
"Does my brother get lost in airports?" Tully smirked.
Seb shrugged causally, "Can't say it hasn't happened before."
Tully chuckled to herself and relaxed into her seat beside him, "How have you been?"
He seemed to consider his answer carefully, finally settling on "Same old."
"That's all I get?" she asked, turning to him and raising an eyebrow.
The corner of Seb's lip pulled up into a lop-sided smile. He didn't really know what to tell her at this point. They'd only technically known each other for 3 days in person. The occasional messages over the last 6 weeks still felt like they counted though, at least to him. Her presence felt surprisingly familiar, like she'd always been there.
Still, aside from it all, pouring his heart out to her about his struggles with Hayley on the trip back from the airport didn't seem like the best time for it.
"That's all you get." he confirmed, glancing over at her with a coy expression.
"I don't accept that." she replied, sitting forward in her seat and staring at him intently. Seb chuckled, Heikki would have dropped it, but not her.
"I feel good, everything's been going well." he explained casually.
"But?"
"You're pushy." he laughed.
"And you suck at being vague." Tully retorted.
"I'll tell you about it tonight." he bargained. He needed time to get back into step with her and know what would be weird to talk about and what wouldn't be.
"So there's something." she stated.
"There's something." Seb nodded.
"Be as open or closed as you like." Tully said, suddenly becoming diplomatic.
Seb glanced over at her and raised a questioning eyebrow.
"It's what I'm here for. To support you. With anything." she shrugged.
He turned his eyes back to the road and let a small smile slip.
---
"Welcome to Red Bull Racing." Seb announced excitedly as they pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car. Tully looked up at the building in front of her and felt her heart thumping a little faster than normal. She glanced over her shoulder to find Seb watching her closely.
"Show me this wall of trophies you've been working on then." she said.
A proud grin crept across his face, "Yes, ma'am."
They approached the main entrance and Seb grabbed the door, pulling it open for her and leading her inside. Tully gazed up at the staggering trophy cabinet immediately inside the foyer and couldn't help but laugh.
"That is surely a work, health and safety hazard. How long until those shelves buckle and an avalanche of trophies kills someone?" she teased.
Seb had stopped at her side and was gazing up at the wall too, "I was hoping it might happen the last time Webber walked through the foyer."
Tully gasped in feigned shock and slapped his shoulder, "Sebastian!" she hissed, completely failing to hide her amusement.
The German shook his head and laughed under his breath, "Only kidding of course." A well-timed clearing of his throat said otherwise.
Tully turned back to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, nudging him onward, "Come on, we need to find Heikki. I have some payback to deliver. And by the way, stay out of my Instagram! That place is not exactly a repository of my finest moments."
Seb scoffed, "You want me to tell you all of my darkest secrets and then tell me I can't look at yours? I don't agree with this relationship model."
Tully laughed, "Fine then... just don't judge me by what you find on there."
---
Heikki sat at the cafeteria table, chewing a mouthful of his grilled chicken salad contentedly. The brunette at his side rested her chin on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear, causing him to smile bashfully and look down.
"They are always doing that. Whispering like teenagers."
Heikki frowned and looked up at the sound of Seb's voice. He suddenly dropped his jaw open as his eyes landed on Seb and Tully casually sitting across the table from him.
"We don't need to see your lunch." Tully commented smugly, cocking her head to the side.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Heikki asked incredulously, staring wide-eyed at his sister.
"I have something to tell you." Tully said, leaning forward on her elbows and glancing at the confused-looking girl at his side before focusing a steely gaze back on her brother, "I'm pregnant. You're the father."
Heikki's expression suddenly turned into a dark glare as he looked between his straight-faced sister and Seb, who appeared to barely be holding himself together.
The brunette at Heikki's side dropped her fork on the table and made to stand up and leave.
"Case, no, wait. She's my sister!" Heikki said, reaching out for her arm and missing as she tore it away.
"Because that makes it sound so much better." Seb murmured in Tully's ear as the pair of them burst into poorly-veiled giggles.
"She's just messing around!" Heikki called after the girl before turning back to Seb and Tully, "For fuck's sake. You're both dead to me." Heikki declared as he got up and hurried after the brunette who'd almost made it to the door.
Tully and Seb watched him hurry across the room and spin the girl around, holding her shoulders and doing his best to explain that it was just a joke.
Tully held her palm up to Seb discreetly and felt him slap it lightly in return.
"Teamwork." she said, turning back to him and grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"The look on his face definitely made the 2 hours of driving worth it." Seb replied confidently.
"I told you it would!" Tully sang, "Oh, they're coming back."
Heikki's face could not have conveyed any more irritation as he lead the girl back to the table and they resumed their seats.
"I don't know what I did to deserve her as a sister, but this is Tully." Heikki sighed, gesturing across the table to the beaming blonde.
"Sorry about that. Not pregnant... for the record." Tully said casually, reaching a hand out. The girl looked back at her warily before taking her hand and shaking it gently.
"Er, nice... to meet you." the brunette replied hesitantly, still seeming rather shocked about it all.
"This is Casey." Heikki gestured to his girlfriend, at the same time taking the opportunity to shoot a glare in Seb's direction for his part in it all.
"Casey." Tully repeated, grinning at the girl. A tiny part of her felt a little bad about the stunt they'd just pulled, but she couldn't pretend she wouldn't do it again in a heartbeat.
"So this is the girl we've been hearing about all winter?" Tully said, immediately changing her tactic to flattery. Casey smiled and bit her lip.
"How did you even get here?" Heikki demanded, taking a bite of his lunch and frowning at Tully.
"I had a volunteer helper." Tully replied simply, glancing to her left and catching Seb's eyes. They smirked at each other before turning back to the rest of the table.
"This is the shit I deal with, day in, day out. Either from him, or her, or twice as much when they're in the same room." Heikki grumbled, looking down at Casey who just shook her head and chuckled.
"He gives almost as good as he takes." Tully commented, eliciting another smile out of the brunette opposite her.
At that moment, a figure in Red Bull uniform approached the table behind Heikki and Casey and looked down at them all. He grinned wildly as his gaze flickered between Tully and Seb, "Well Seb, who have you got here?"
Author's Note: Before you get out of here, hit that little star button! And then, if you haven't already, go and read __highflying's F1 fanfic "Connections" (which is deservedly popular, so you're missing out if you don't follow it!). Not long now until she joins me on writing another perspective of Lifeline and we get into the knitty gritty stuff. Stay tuned. ;)