The Surrogate

A Celebration Too Far

Holly doesn't know if she's said the wrong things, if she's said too much or not enough. It's been quite a while since her chat with Heike, it's now nearly seven in the evening and she's met Seb's brother and two sisters. They've all been very curious to meet her and she's answered all their questions and found herself repeating a lot of the stuff she's told Seb and his parents about herself and surrogacy, not that she minds, she's happy to tell them everything they want to know.

Thankfully they all seem quite keen and Stefanie in particular is the most enthusiastic, especially as she's going to be helping Seb at race weekends once the baby's born.

Seeing Seb with his siblings has kind of let her see another side to him, he's a lot more chilled now they're here and they way all verbally bounce off of each other is heartwarming to see. It's clear that he has their full support as there's a lot of talk of when the baby's here and jokes of how the baby will be a useful tool in attracting women and how he could use the side-pod of his F1 car to change nappies on. Fabian even jokingly asked if Seb was going to have the cockpit altered to accommodate a baby seat too.

But Heike and Norbert have been ominously quiet, both of them appearing to be deep in thought, she just hopes it's a good sign and that when they leave here in a while, Seb will be leaving knowing that he's got his parents' support. It's already obvious to her that having the support of his brother and sisters means the world to him, it would be even better if his parents would join them.

His thigh nudges against her own and it snaps her out of her thoughts and makes her look his way to answer his boyish grin and silently mouthed, "ok?", with a nod and a smile.

It means a lot more to him than he'd first realised to have his family, especially his siblings, seeming to accept Holly but like her, he's a bit worried about the silence coming from his parents and he leans forward a touch to look at his mother who's bought a chair in from the dining room and is sitting next to his father. She looks like she's miles away, certainly her mind isn't physically in this room and he can't help thinking that they haven't changed their minds or their opinions on the surrogacy. Although today hasn't been a disaster by any means, it's not been the success that he's hoped for.

Holly observes him quietly, her heart aching a little because she can read his expression and his thoughts right at this moment. His mood is dipping and he's disappointed that they've not been able to change his parents' minds. Wanting to let him know that she gets how he's feeling, she rubs his back affectionately and briefly leans her head on his shoulder.

He gives her a quick, light kiss on her head in response, silently thanking her because he knows that she knows what's going through his mind. He decides that tomorrow they'll drive back to Thurgau and spend her last couple of days with him at home there, it's best if he's distances himself from his parents for a few days after today.

Heike has watched their brief little physical exchange, noticing the way they communicate with barely any words. It's clear that Seb's disappointed not to have her backing but it's also clear that he's a lot more fonder of Holly than he lets on who seems to reciprocate his feelings when she loops her arm through his and lets her head stay resting on his shoulder. Maybe he's met someone in Holly? Maybe this surrogacy won't go ahead but instead will just be two people falling in love and having a child together - the way she still feels its meant to be. Feeling Norbert looking at her, she looks his way. Like she'd been chatting to Holly earlier, Norbert has been talking to Seb during their walk with Otto and now both of them know exactly what this means to their son and how it doesn't mean that they won't see him meet the right girl, get married and have more kids. He just wants to be a father and Heike can see that happening with Holly. If he's to do this with anyone, she's the one.