The Surrogate

A change of heart?

Thursday May 19th, Barcelona, Spain.

Britta peeks around the passenger seat from where she's sat in the back of Seb's DBX. As expected Holly is still fast asleep and has been pretty much from the moment they left their hotel in Saint-Étienne, France. Starting the long drive to Barcelona from his home in Switzerland yesterday, the hotel had been a halfway stop over point. "Do you not think the travelling is getting too much for her?" she asks, taking in Holly's limp form and head lulled towards Seb.

Seb looks at her, taking in her long, dark lashes, perfectly pretty nose, soft, kissable lips and then her perfectly round tummy. It's a valid question that Britta has asked but right now he's not too worried, he knows that Holly's tiredness is down to the baby and not just the travelling, "I think she's fine, it's just the baby that takes it out of her."

"How many weeks pregnant is she now?"

A big smile erupts on his face, for him it's not a case of how many weeks pregnant Holly is but how many weeks he has left until he meets his longed for child, "eight weeks and six days to go."

Britta can hear the excitement in his voice; he's counting down the weeks and days like a child with a chocolate advent calendar at Christmas and it's heart warming to be one of the few people to witness it. "Let's get checked in, get her settled into your suite and then head to the circuit," she gives his shoulder a friendly pat and together with Antti, she gets out of the car while Seb presses a button to open the boot for them.

He hates having to wake Holly when she's sleeping but Britta is right, they need to check in as they only have about an hour before they'll have to head out of the city and to the circuit. He releases his seatbelt and turns to face her, placing his hand on her left thigh. The warmth of his hand is enough to make her stir and her eyes flutter open, instantly meeting with his and it's enough to make his heart feel like it's swelling and will very soon be too big for his chest.

"We're here?" she asks sleepily, not wanting to tear her eyes away from his.

"We're here, you slept the whole way," he confirms, leaning in to give her a soft, lingering kiss.

She lifts a hand to stroke his jaw, her fingers taking in the slight coarseness of his stubble before finishing by gently grasping his chin.

Her gentle touch has him fighting the sudden urge to deepen the kiss but he doesn't want to be caught making out in the car park. "Let's get checked in," he murmurs quietly, regretfully pulling away. He gets out of the car before her, his eyes automatically beginning to check their surroundings for anyone wanting to capture a sneaky photo. Britta has already headed towards the hotel's entrance, she has all their documents and will check everyone in so all Seb has to do is get their room card from her.

Antti is waiting to head in with them and he's doing the same, cautiously looking around him. He dutifully takes charge of Holly's case as well as his own, while Seb holds the car door open for her as she gets out.

They head across the car park together with Seb holding her hand, his rucksack slung over his shoulder, trailing his black case behind him. He's pleased to get inside, not only because of the thought of someone sneakily taking photos but also due to the heat outside and he feels himself relax as Britta hands Holly their room card.

"Right, we'll meet in the lobby in forty-five minutes," Britta declares as they exit the lift on their floor, "don't be late."

"Am I ever late?" Seb jokingly asks, knowing full well what the answer will be. As they head down the corridor he hears both Antti and Holly snigger and she tries to mumble, 'always', under her breath but fails. He just smiles, he can't really argue, he's almost famed for his timekeeping as he is his racing and there's numerous shots of him running on the internet to prove that.