The cosy bubble Darcey and Sebastian had created over the past week was soon to burst, as Darcey prepared for her first day back in the garage. Back in the paddock, back with the team where she once called her happy place. Now she wasn't so sure.
"Everything's going to be okay, Liebling" Sebastian whispered, as Darcey stood in front of the hotel mirror getting changed into her uniform. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she let out an anxious sigh.
"I know, I'm just being silly" Darcey murmured, relaxing into Sebastian's presence wishing they could stay just the two of them for a little longer. It wasn't so much the people she was afraid of seeing but rather herself, she was afraid of how she would react.
"I wouldn't say it was silly. What you went through was tough and it was real, okay?" Sebastian turned her around to look her in the eyes "That doesn't just go away overnight and I don't want you pretending that it has. Just know that you are safe as long as I'm with you"
Ever since the incident reached the media, everyone was talking about the girl that Sebastian Vettel risked his life for. Any chances they had of keeping any sort of relationship private was long gone, as it didn't take long for them to track her down on social media. Luckily Sebastian had never been the selfie type and all they knew for sure was that she worked on his car.
Heading into the locker rooms, the last place she felt remotely normal she took a deep breath while she pilled her bag into her locker. She hoped that she would be able to shut it off, like some sort of switch would turn her back into Darcey Collins, the mechanic who keeps her head down and gets the job done. But what if it became too much and Brad got what he wanted all along, for her to fail.
On your average race weekend, Darcey's next stop would be the motorhome as she looked forward to demolishing a full English with a side of waffles. The hours were long and since you'd be expected to be on your feet until late this was a must for sure, but Darcey's appetite hadn't been what it was lately.
So as her team sat, with her usual breakfast already plated up they grew concerned waiting for her arrival. Her arrival that never came, as they picked up their things and headed for the garage. Kendall cleared away her plate as she waved goodbye to Scotty and Will, noticing the absence of their once close friend.
There they found Darcey, where she always found comfort and peace working on the engine of the RB9. Scotty scoffed slightly as he wondered why they expected anything less of the media's favourite mechanic.
He greeted the young mechanic with a gentle squeeze, a hello, a I'm here or you're not alone anymore. She looked over her shoulder, breaking from the trance she had caught herself in and let slip a sigh of relief. She was home.
"Darcey, do you have a second later? I'd like to go through some setup choices with you?" Rocky asked as he held a mountain of paperwork. A smile appeared on her face before she answered.
"Of course, I'd love to" She grinned, which Rocky returned.
"Great, see ya later kiddo" He nodded before walking away into the back of the garage while the rest of the team began to pack up for the lunch break. She hadn't even noticed the time, which was quite strange as normally she'd be counting down the minutes until her next supper. Darcey's tummy rumbled as the absence of her usual breakfast became evident.
Walking through the canteen, chicken nuggets and chips served and ready to be consumed all she needed now was somewhere to sit. That was when she recognised the familiar voices coming from a table at the end of the room by the window.
Darcey could tell they were trying to go on as normal, like nothing had changed and there wasn't a missing person at the table right now. And honestly Darcey herself didn't know how she wanted to handle this situation either, it must've been weird for them too - he was just as much their friend as hers. Then all of a sudden, the whole table stopped and looked at her as she noticed she hadn't been listening at all.
"Sorry, I must've zoned out for a second there" Darcey muttered, her voice barely a whisper now feeling unsure of herself and overthinking the whole situation.
"We were just talking about Sebastian's times so far" Scotty explained, filling in the gaps he paused for a moment before continuing "And how well he's recovered from--you know"
"It's going to take a lot more than some broken ribs to keep Seb from racing" Darcey smiled as she recalled Sebastian's words previously. That was what she loved most about him, how passionate he was about this sport, his work and everything he does.
"I'm just glad you're both okay" Will stated, being the first to approach the subject with more intent. "We all are" He finished as Darcey looked down at her plate, feeling the tears building up.
"I'm trying to be, it's just a lot. You know?" Darcey sighed, as Kendall placed a gentle hand over hers, squeezing it slightly. "But it could've been much worse so"
"I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now" Kendall spoke calmly, trying her best to comfort her friend.
"We should've known, we should've seen the signs" Scotty poured out, seeing his friend like this made him feel angry at his ex-coworker, at himself.
"I don't think anyone saw that coming, there's nothing you could've done. Don't blame yourself because it's nobody's fault but his" Darcey stated, watching her friend go through a similar thing as her, blaming herself for not seeing it sooner and falling into his trap. She had to keep telling herself there was nothing she could've done, and blaming herself won't change anything. "There's only one person to blame, and he's not going to hurt me again" She finished, feeling at ease while her friend held her close.
It wasn't much of a surprise to anyone when Sebastian set the fastest lap in Q3, landing himself pole position for his championship-deciding race. Behind him was the two Mercedes, Nico and Lewis and his championship competitor far a few rows back.
However, the race tomorrow was not the main question on everyone's lips that afternoon.
"Good afternoon, firstly Sebastian it's great to see you here. Not only here on pole but on track in general, was there ever a chance where you thought you'd have to sit this one out?" A journalist asked, which made Sebastian chuckle slightly.
"Why did you hope I would, miss this one?" Sebastian joked, smirking as he played with the media "Uh, No I think when you get hurt or injured it's best to focus on the recovery not any what-ifs or maybe because that won't help you get better. I had to take it easy, rest which was hard but soon enough I was back to normal and ready to fight for the win" Sebastian finished, ending with his signature grin.
"It's expected that when you step in the world of F1 that you may find yourself injured here and there, but the media was shocked to hear the police were called to the circuit last weekend. Is there anything you can say on the matter?" Another journalist asked, now pushing their luck.
"What is there to say that you don't already know, I don't have to read it out to you. I think we can all agree that at times like this, we need to be respectful of everyone involved" He stated, obviously annoyed by their pushing, this was a Formula One interview not some gossip magazine.
"And lastly, feel free not to answer but how is Darcey?" Just hearing her name made Sebastian smile.
"She's good, thank you" He smiled ear to ear, "Uh, yeah strongest person I've ever met"
The past couple of days had been crazy, Sebastian and Darcey had barely spent five minutes alone together apart from when they slept. The same thing was to be expected tonight as Sebastian was still wrapped up in TV interviews and Darcey had just finished up in the garage for the night. She was walking down the paddock alone, hoping to get out of there as quickly as possible. That was until she saw David Coulthard, his face lite up when he saw her and he began jogging over to her pulling her into a big bear hug.
"It's so good to see you" David cheered, his voice so jolly it was hard not to smile back.
"It's good to be back" Darcey smiled, "I never got to say thank you about before"
"Thank you? What for?" David looked puzzled, but Darcey smirked thinking that maybe he doesn't know what she knows.
"For taking care of my Mum, for being there for her and me through all of this" Darcey explained, "Dad would be happy that you're still there for both of us, you're a good friend"
"Yeah, well he was a good friend to me so" David smiled, with a glint in his eye.
Then that Sunday when the lights went out, Sebastian managed to hold onto the lead into the first corner. Massa who started from fifth, made a good start and managed to move up to 2nd place by the end of the first lap. Then 60 laps later Seb won his tenth race of the season, the garage broke out in chaos as they realised he had just won his fourth championship.
"You've done it in style! Fantastic, you're a four-time world champion. Brilliant, brilliant drive, you join the greats. Well done." Christian shouted down the radio, as Sebastian cheered loudly waving his finger for everyone to see.
"Unbelievable, guys. We did it, yes! Yes!" Sebastian called, taking his victory lap he deserved.
As much as Sebastian loved a good podium there was only one thing on Sebastian's mind, doughnuts. He stopped at the end of his final lap, giving the crowd the show they deserved as he swung the car around leaving marks on the track. Sebastian wasn't finished yet as he climbed out of the car bowing down to 'Hungry Heidi' causing Darcey to giggle at her man's dock like behaviour.
The top three finishers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies, and in the subsequent press conference. Sebastian was given a reprimand for failing to drive straight to parc ferme after the race, while Red Bull were given a €25,000 fine for failing to adequately instruct him to do so.
Amongst the cheering and celebrating Darcey felt her phone vibrate, she pulled it out and disappeared away from the crowd.
Sebastian Vettel
Meet me at the same place as last time? x
Darcey snickered as she shook her head, this lovable idiot she thought before slipping away into his drivers room to wait for her champion.
"Hey" Sebastian smiled as he closed the door behind him, his hair drenched in a mixture of champagne and sweat. She didn't care though as she wrapped her arms around him, then pulled back to cup his face in her hands. Admiring the view in front of her as she thought, my champion.
She didn't say a word, however, as she found herself getting caught up in the emotion of it all.
"You see, this is the part where you tell me you're proud of me," Sebastian smirked, holding her tighter and picking her up slightly like he had the last time he won a championship.
"Well, you see I would say I'm proud of you, but I'm genuinely worried about what that will do to your already inflated ego."
"Shut up and kiss me"
Then for what felt the first time all weekend, it was just them two and them two alone.