The Surrogate

Austin

Sunday October 23rd. Austin, USA.

I don't know if I've made the right decision or not. Seb paces around his small changing room, chewing his thumbnail. A glance to the clock on the wall reveals the time is just gone noon, soon his little girl will be here and attending her very first grands prix - not that she'll ever remember anything about it at such a young age.

He's been at the circuit around two hours now after making the decision that he'd arrive at the Circuit of the Americas with just Antti in tow, feeling it was best if Stefanie arrived later with the baby, his father and Hayley.

Now he's worrying that members of his family, along with his ex, will be surrounded by photographers and the rumour mill will fly into overdrive with the appearance of Emilia and Hayley and the last thing he wants is for Holly to see images of his ex, he doesn't want her thinking that he's moved on and got back with Hayley. It would be even worse if the media spouted lies saying that Hayley was the baby's mother. He's hoping that they'll assume his sister is the child's mother and that he's just 'Uncle Seb', bringing his sister and niece along for support.

There's a quiet tap on the door and it opens just enough to allow Britta to poke her head around it. She's about to ask Seb if he's excited to have his daughter here today but then she sees his nervous expression and how he looks to be deep in thought. He hasn't even noticed her presence as she opens the door wider and steps in, she could have been anyone walking in if it wasn't for the team's security team. "Everything ok?"

His head jerks in her direction, he hadn't even heard her knock and open the door and he responds with a vague sounding, "huh?"

"I just asked if everything was ok but you were miles away, is something wrong?" she asks, pushing the door closed with her behind.

"Do you think it's too soon?" he asks, getting more and more agitated. There's no way he'll be able to relax until everyone's safely within the more private confines of hospitality.

Britta's confused, before he left the hotel he was excited at the prospect of his daughter attending the race today so something or someone else must be on his mind - Holly maybe?

"You did send that reminder email this morning didn't you? To the press agencies and photographers?"

The penny drops and she tries her best to reassure him, "yes and I've emphasised your request to respect their privacy. They should keep their distance, Antti will be meeting them and he'll soon report back if there's any issues and if there is then I'll be dealing with them."

"Yeah but we wasn't expecting Hayley to come along and now they'll probably think the baby is hers," he points out anxiously, "the last thing Holly will want to see is my ex with her baby."

Britta raises a brow, bristling at the mention of Holly, who if she'd cared enough would be here instead of Hayley. "You invited Hayley," she points out, deciding not to mention Emilia's estranged mother.

"I know, I wasn't thinking," he groans, rubbing the back of his neck as he often does when he's troubled or anxious.

"It'll be fine," she tries to reassure him, "why don't I nip back out into hospitality and wait for them?"

He nods and then huffs out a breath, telling himself to relax and that Britta's right, it'll be fine. Stefanie knows what she's doing, she's savvy and will know not to let Hayley have anything to do with the baby while they're entering the circuit. And his dad will help too, Norbert will soon reprimand any photographer who oversteps the mark, he's just as protective over Emilia as Seb is himself.

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Back in London, a lonely Holly sits in Ester's lounge. With Ester having gone to Belfast to see the couple who she's expecting a child for, Holly has been on her own all weekend.