#dad!max

Your son, Ruben, had recently turned 3, and in a few short months, your family would be growing in size with the addition of your little girl. He turned on his side to face you, he found that the space between you in the morning grew bit by bit every morning as your little girl grew. He smiled, placing his hand on your swollen middle, feeling the kicks of your daughter through your RedBull Racing shirt - It was one of Max's champion t-shirts, but these days, you found Max's t-shirts were all that could fit over your ever growing stomach.

"Max, she was sleeping," You sleepily groaned, rubbing a hand over your stomach to try and soothe the child kicking at your ribs. Max chuckled, leaning over to place a kiss on your lips.

"Sorry, schatje, just wanted to make sure that she knows I'm here now," He said quietly, as if his hushed tone would somehow send your daughter back to sleep. You giggled, trying your hardest to shuffle closer to your husband.

"I think that you being here is what's causing her to kick, my love," You joked, placing your hand on Max's cheek, rubbing it with your thumb. These mornings made Max realise how lucky he was, he knew that he had turned it around from how his father treated him - He made it clear to you that if Ruben didn't want to drive go-karts, then that would be perfectly fine. Your son had taken an interest in football, and even though Max fell short of the skills in that, he always made an attempt to play along with Ruben, even if he always let him win. "We're so lucky to have you Max. Me, Ruben, and baby girl, we're so lucky to have you." You told him, resting your head on his shoulder.

"I think I'm the lucky one, I don't know what I did so right to get so lucky to have such a loving family and wife," He placed a kiss on your lips, taking your hand in his and rubbing over the cold material of your wedding band. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you and the kids, our own little babies." You smiled as you nodded - You hadn't had much of a say over Max retiring, but you made sure that he knew that either way, you would support him with all that you had.

Secretly, you were relieved when he told you that he was retiring. You never told him about the endless pit of anxiety that opened up in your stomach at every race weekend, the constant fear that something bad would happen to him, and that you would be left to raise your children on your own without the love of your life. 

The thought didn't bare thinking about.

You were snapped out of your thoughts by the gentle creaking of yours and Max's bedroom door opening, followed by the soft padding of your son's feet coming into the room. Clad in his blue pyjamas, his blonde hair a mess on his head, and carrying his favourite comforter.

"Mama," He made your way over to your side of yours and Max's bed, but your heart broke every time that he wanted you to lift him up - You really wanted to try, but you couldn't risk hurting you or baby girl.

"Mama can't lift you, Rubear, come over and Daddy'll lift you up and you can sit between us," Max told the small boy, offering him a compromise on you lifting him. Ruben knew that his baby sister was growing in your tummy, but that was as much as he knew. He padded over to the other side of your shared bed, holding his arms up to his father to be picked up, to which he obliged and picked his small son up. "There's my boy, did you sleep good?" Ruben nodded and lay down against his father's chest, holding Max's t-shirt in his small hands and he clung to his father.

As the winter rain battered off the window, you, Max and your son settled down for a cosy morning in bed, you rubbing small circled on Ruben's back as he settled on top of Max.

This made Max retiring worth it. Spending time with you and Ruben as a small family of three before you gave birth to your daughter was worth it, being able to see your kids grow up was worth it, to even see you have another child - in Max's mind, everything was worth it. The daily, mundane activities would be worth it, taking Ruben to school, grocery shopping, cooking - Those things made his retirement worth it.

"Go Ruben!" Max cheered, trying not to get too excited that your daughter, Saskia, would lose her grip on his shoulders. Ruben had gotten bored of football and taken an interest in his father's hobby, and it was clear that being a champion ran in the Verstappen bloodline. "Y/N look, he's in the lead!" He cheered excitedly. You smiled at Max's excitement, he made sure that when Ruben was racing, his yelling was a sign of constant encouragement, telling his son how well he was doing - He was breaking the cycle, as the harsh words his father screamed at him at 8 years old were still prominent in his mind.

"I see, my love, I'm just scared if I get too excited, I'll go into labour," You giggled, your concern genuine at this point. You were 8 months pregnant with yours and Max's last baby, you'd told him that if he got you pregnant again, then you would give him the snip yourself. "Saskia, baby, are you not cold, do you want your hat?" You shouted up to your daughter.

"No mama, I'm okay!" She shouted back to you, a smile which mirrored your husband's present on her face as she watched her older brother speed around the track. With Max's hands occupied holding your daughter's ankles, you put your arm around his waist, to which you smiled - Max had never been known to have a little waist, but he had gained what you had affectionally called 'a dad bod'. He'd gotten insecure about it after a while, which you understood - He'd gone from being at his peak physical health, to carrying a few extra pounds.

You'd told him none of that mattered to you, that no matter how he looked, fat or thin, that you would always love him - You told him that it was a sign that he loved his children, a sign that he could indulge in their favourite treats with his kids. He had told you the exact same thing a couple of months prior, when you realised that after 3 kids, your body no longer looked the same - But that made it more special to Max, that your body bore the marks of what it was possible of, of creating and carrying life.

"Go Ruben!" You, Max and Saskia cheered at the same time, watching as your oldest son crossed the finish line in first place. He immediately gout out of his kart, instantly searching for you and Max, but spotting his little sister on his shoulders first. Max brought Saskia down and off of his shoulders, so he could meet his son's embrace as he came running to him.

"Dad! Did you see me dad?! I won! Mama did you see me too?!" He yelled excitedly, having tossed his helmet to the side of Max, who crouched down to embrace your son in a tight embrace.

"Of course we saw you! You did so good out there, we're all so so proud of you Ruben!" He cheered, lifting his son into the air as you held onto your daughter's hand. "Our winning boy, right girls?" You and Saskia nodded, your eyes filling with tears as you saw your daughter immediately run to hug her big brother.

Damn pregnancy hormones.

"Mama, can I please take Saskia up with me to get my trophy?" Ruben asked you, pulling his best puppy eyes. You looked to Max, who nodded in response, agreeing with you.

"Of course you can, honey, just be careful in case you need to help her up if the podium is too high, okay?" Ruben nodded as he ran away with his little sister in tow, and you leaned against Max as he stood beside you, his arm around you. "He's such a good big brother." You said, looking up at your husband, who watched his children with nothing but pride in his eyes.

-✨✨

It was like the calm before the storm. When you opened your eyes for the first time, the sun shone on the bed and wrapped itself around your body like a warm veil. However, the little devil on your shoulder had won the debate. You closed your eyes once more to enjoy the warmth and the peace. However, you must have fallen asleep again.

When you opened your eyes for the second time, the sun was still a source of warmth wrapped around you, but there was something else. Two arms wrapped around your torso and the corresponding hands gently nestled against your body. One on your belly, while the other lay at the junction of your neck and your chest. A glance at the clock told you that it was already far too late, yet not even that could faze you.

"There is nothing more soothing than feeling you sleep." He had deftly placed his lips slightly below your ear and softly whispered his words before deftly breathing a few kisses towards that one spot below your ear. He knew exactly what that did to you.

"Max - Elodie's in the next room and I'm pretty sure she's already awake at this hour." But he didn't let up. Again and again he placed single kisses in different places on your neck, on your shoulder and on the upper part of your back.

"Hey, I mean it." You carefully broke free from his embrace to turn around and look at him. But you immediately recoiled as your eyes landed on the person actually lying in bed behind you. You sat up in your bed as far away from him as possible and pulled the covers tightly around your naked torso.

"Samuel, what are you doing here? How did you get here? How are you in my flat, in my bedroom even?" So many questions and yet he just grinned at you and indirectly answered only one question you had asked.

"I can't let this cocky asshole steal my family. You belong to me. Only mine." He moved closer to you again and tried to reach for you, but you kept backing away until the bed suddenly ended and you fell to the floor.

When you opened your eyes, the bedroom was empty. There was only you, completely terrified in the middle of your bed. The second side next to you was used but Samuel was not to be seen.

The living room and kitchen were completely silent as you stepped out of the bedroom with a slow step but still elevated pulse. It must have all been just a bad dream. Samuel didn't know where you had moved to, probably didn't even care at all. You got yourself a glass of water as the door of the flat opened behind you and the two voices that sounded, immediately reassuring you.

"Mummy, look." Like a little whirlwind, Elodie came running towards you when she saw you at the other end of the room. You took the little one in your arms. Probably a little longer than normal and breathed in her own scent a few more times. Even though you knew it had been a dream, your mother's heart was only truly relieved when you held her in your arms. Elodie, however, was not impressed at all.

"Look, me and Maxy got for Laura." She held out a small plush elephant to you. The grin on her face stretched from ear to ear and her eyes literally lit up as you set her down on the countertop of the small kitchen and took the elephant in your hand.

"He's very cute. I'm sure Laura will be pleased." Your little angel nodded madly and then asked you to put her back on the floor.

"Have to show him to Bunny." The second her legs touched the floor she was quickly flashing back to her room. How wonderful those days were when you too had such an imagination. Soon Elodie would turn four and then the other years would pass quickly too. You only hoped that your little one could keep this imagination for as long as possible.

You flinched a little as Max wrapped his arms around your body and pulled you close. He looked at you a little confused for a moment and tilted his head a tiny bit.

"Are you okay?" You took a deep breath in and out and then put a soft smile on your lips before you let yourself sink into his arms, against his chest and your head found its place in the crook of Max's neck.

"Yeah, I just had a stupid dream. But everything's okay again." Max pulled his arms tighter around you and placed a loose kiss on your temple. Feeling his warmth, having him so close to you and being able to breathe in his own scent was the best medicine. No matter what the situation, Max managed to calm you down. Whether after a stressful day at work or when Elodie had her five minutes again. Max always had a solution for every situation and always remained relaxed. Almost nothing could rattle him.

"Are we ready for Spa?" you lifted your head a little to look Max in the eye. He brushed a strand of hair from your face before placing a fleeting kiss on your lips. Afterwards he grinned proudly.

"I'll be honest with you, I'd be more convinced if you were talking about a real spa and not a race track. You and me, a sauna, a massage and lots and lots of time together." Max laughed out loud before abruptly falling silent and seeming to think.

"After this weekend, we have three weeks to spend with each other almost non-stop. I'm sure we can find a spa somewhere." Just the thought warmed your heart.

"MAXY!" Elodie shouted from her room. It wasn't a desperate cry for help. She just wanted his attention and she knew full well that shouting his nickname loud enough was perfectly sufficient and the Dutchman would be beside her in no time. She had deftly wrapped him around her little finger in just a few weeks. And even if she didn't understand exactly what that meant yet, she enjoyed his undivided attention very much.

Max gave you another kiss, but this time he let it last a little longer and deepened it as he ran his tongue over your lower lip and you almost automatically gave him the opportunity to unite your tongues. All too soon he broke away from you again and put his hands on your cheeks.

"I'll go check on the little bunny and you get ready. There's still porridge on the cooker from this morning that we had saved for you. We should leave the house in about an hour and make it to our airport transfer on time." You nodded cautiously as Max broke away from you and winked with one last look over his shoulder.

It was going to be the first time you would officially go to a race with Max. If you had been honest with yourself, you would have realised that your concern for Elodie was not the reason why it had taken almost two months after Monaco for you to finally agree to Max taking you. Elodie could hardly wait. She had talked about how she would accompany her Maxy to Belgium in the kindergarten and everywhere else she got the chance to do so. In you, on the other hand, it caused more of a small panic. The thought that so many people would see you and that so many pictures would be taken made your heart beat faster every time you had to think about it.

But Max was by your side. He had assured you of that over and over again. Nothing could happen to you because he would make sure that no one could get too close to you if you didn't want them to. And again you were less worried about Elodie than you were about yourself. The little one was already widely known among the drivers and their girlfriends or wives, but also among some mechanics and team bosses. After every race Max came back with greetings from all the different teams for Elodie and sometimes there were voice messages from individual drivers like Lando or Charles with whom Max got on well and communicated outside the race weekends.

-✨✨

The car ride from the hotel to the track was relaxed. Max and Brad sat in the front and took turns talking to Elodie, who kept pointing to things outside the car. You liked Brad and his relaxed way of dealing with Elodie. Which you put down to the fact that he was also the father of a daughter not much younger than Elodie.

You let the surroundings sink in. To be honest, it didn't look much different from a rural region of France. Nevertheless, your thoughts kept drifting to what was about to come. Although Max said that Thursdays weren't that busy in the paddock as it was almost exclusively a media day, you would still see people and pictures would be taken and after a little research the night before you knew how some of the drivers' girlfriends were treated. And it wasn't particularly nice.  

Max parked the car and you got out while Elodie waited for someone to get her out of her seat. Brad was on her side, so he went straight to work while Max pulled you close for a brief moment.

It would probably never go away that when he looked at you like that or he put his hands on your body, or even better, both together, the butterflies in the pit of your stomach went crazy and made it almost impossible for you to concentrate on what Max was saying or what was happening around you.

"Hey." He brushed a strand of hair out of your face and gave you a kiss on the forehead. "It's going to be alright. You and Elodie can walk into the paddock a bit ahead of us and then wait for us in the hospitality. You know where to go because it's actually set up exactly the same as Monaco once you're inside the hospitality and you know where my room is." You nodded a little cautiously but pleased with the suggestion, while Max put a hand on your cheek and smiled at you. Then it was over with you again. Your knees went weak and if Max hadn't had his other hand on your hip you would certainly have fallen over.

At that moment Elodie came running around the car, clinging to Max's legs.

"Up." Max bent down for the little one and held her between you.

"You ready?" Elodie nodded her head madly. There was a gleam in her eyes again that you could see so often in the last few weeks. Mostly when you mentioned that Max was coming over or that he was picking her up from kindergarten. Max also gave Elodie a little kiss on the forehead before setting her back down on the floor between you and turning his attention back to you.

"I'll see you in a minute." From his rucksack, which Brad handed to him, he pulled out a paddock pass each for you and Elodie and hung the correct one on each of you. You took Elodie by the hand and made your way to the turnstiles. No one seemed to pay any attention to you and thankfully the walk to the Red Bull hospitality wasn't long. Just as you were about to walk up the ramp just before your destination and the security of the hospitality you could hear someone calling Elodie's name. You turned around on the spot and before you could see who it was Elodie had broken away from you and was running towards a blonde lady standing a few metres away in front of the Ferrari hospitality.

"I see you have your mum with you this time?" Elodie nodded and turned her head to you, beaming at you.

"C'est ma maman." This is my Mummy. The lady straightened up with Elodie in her arms and held out her hand to you.

"Pascale Leclerc, nice to meet you. The last time I saw Elodie, if I remember correctly, she had run away." Max had told you that the mother of another driver had recognised Elodie because she came to the café every now and then for breakfast with her friends. And when you thought about it, Pascale did look familiar. But with so many guests, you couldn't remember her exactly.

"Nice to meet you Mrs Leclerc." Her attention went straight back to Elodie but she looked up from the little one for a moment and smiled kindly at you.

"I beg you my dear, please call me Pascale." She looked back to Elodie. "I see you still have your little bunny." Elodie nodded and hugged the plush bunny.

"Got elephant for Laura." Pascale smiled and then looked to you.

"She wanted to give something back to the little one, I think. That's why Max and her went to get a stuffed elephant yesterday before we flew here." Pascale tilted her head slightly and stroked Elodie's cheek with her free hand.

"You have raised a very sweet and sensitive little girl. You should be very proud of that." You could feel your cheeks blush slightly. It hadn't always been easy but you always did your best to make Elodie a polite and well-mannered young lady. Hearing such a compliment from someone who didn't know you was like music to your ears.

"Thank you, that really means a lot to me." Pascale set Elodie back down on the floor and took a step closer to you.

"While we're on the subject. The little one and you mean a lot to Max too." Pascale looked behind you before continuing to speak. "After every race weekend, when my son comes home again and we talk to each other, he talks about Max and how his eyes light up when one of his friends ask him about Elodie. He talks so much about what you do together and how much he likes having you around. I don't know you, but from all that Charles has told me, what he knows from what Max says, I was one hundred percent convinced that you had to be a goddess." The more Pascale said, the more embarrassed you became. You had no idea that Max talked about you so much with his friends. Of course, you had a premonition that you had grown close to his heart, since he spent almost every free minute he had with the two of you and hardly ever slept in his own flat anymore. But knowing that he was not afraid to talk to others about you and wanted to show how happy he was made your heart beat faster.

"I had no idea." From behind, two hands placed themselves on your shoulders. Before you could turn around Max was standing next to you and Elodie once again next to his legs and hugged one of them. He patted the little one lightly on the head while he looked at you and Pascale.

"I must say that I thought you had run away for a moment when I didn't find you in my room. Hello Mrs Leclerc." He winked at you and gave a friendly nod to his fellow driver's mother.

"Don't worry my dear, I've distracted them both a bit. I hope you have a good weekend. I'm sure we'll see each other a few more times." The Monegasque said goodbye to you both and gave Max a friendly nod before disappearing into the Ferrari Hospitality.

"Not five minutes alone and you've made acquaintances." Max grinned at you and at the same moment took Elodie by the hand. "Little bunny I have a little surprise for you." Max took your hand too and then walked towards the Red Bull garage with the two of you. On the way you ran into some mechanics who recognised Elodie in particular. However, you wondered how much Max told them when Pascale already knew so much and she wasn't even at the track most of the time and didn't talk to Max normally either.

"Hello little bunny." GP stood beside the car and gave Elodie a little high five before nodding and winking at you. "I heard you were complaining to Daniel last time that only Max and Checo were allowed in the car." Elodie nodded and looked up at Max who just shrugged and mouthed a 'sorry'.

GP lifted your little one up so Max could take off her shoes and then slowly, carefully and expertly set her back down in the car. Before Elodie's feet had even fully touched Max's seat, she had a glow on her face that dwarfed the hot Belgian sun. Her eyes were like stars from one moment to the next, so brightly did they shine. Elodie jumped up and down a little before kneeling down on the seat and examining the car closely. GP explained to her what all the buttons and switches on the steering wheel did while you and Max stood a little further along beside the car and Max gave you a hug.

"I don't think I've ever seen her so happy." Little tears formed in your eyes. The team photographer and social media team made sure the moment was captured for you as you enjoyed it without your phone in mind. Max gently put his hand to your cheek and turned you around so that his body covered you and the fans who were allowed to walk through the pit lane couldn't see what was happening between you.

"Funny, because that's actually how I feel every time I get to see you again after a race weekend and hold you in my arms." Max moved a little closer to you and gently placed his lips on yours. You returned the kiss without giving it much thought, but it was over far too quickly. Max wiped that one tear from your face that had managed to leave your eyes before he moved back next to you so that you could look at Elodie again.

Just at that moment, the little one turned and looked for you and her Maxy.

"Maxy?" She held out her hand for him and even though it hurt a little that she preferred Max to you at that moment, you could understand it somehow because it was Max's car.

Max knelt down next to Elodie, who pulled him closer and whispered something in his ear. You couldn't hear what she was saying with all the commotion around you, even though Elodie hadn't quite grasped the meaning of whispering yet and usually just talked down a volume.

"Are you sure?" Elodie nodded, whereupon Max stood up again and walked over to you. Without saying a word he knelt down in front of you, undid your laces and took off one shoe after the other. Max stood back up in front of you and gave you a gentle kiss on the corner of your mouth before lifting you up and carrying you to the car. GP had lifted Elodie out of the car for a brief moment so that you could sit down.

You would like to be able to say that you weren't that moved by the moment but the fact that Elodie had probably asked Max if you could be in the car with her made you immensely happy as you had rather suspected that she wanted her Maxy with her which would have been perfectly fine with you. As you got comfortable GP handed you Elodie again who sat in your lap and took your hands to put them on the steering wheel which Max had just put back after GP had removed it so that you could get into the car more easily.

Elodie explained the steering wheel and some of the buttons to you, somewhat awkwardly but completely convinced of herself. Even though you could tell by the look on Max's and GP's faces that what she was saying wasn't always the right thing. It made you so incredibly happy to see your little one so excited and to hear her talk about the car with so much energy.

"The radio. Maxy talking to GP in race, like on WhatsApp." She turned away from you while still in the middle of her sentence and turned to Max who was kneeling next to you outside the car, surveying the situation. "You talk to me too in race?" Max laughed and patted Elodie on the head.

"No, my little bunny. I can only talk to my team on that one. GP gives me important information I need to win the race." Elodie got sad for a moment before Max got her out of the car again and talked to her while GP gave you a little correction about some buttons Elodie had explained wrong. Shortly afterwards he helped you out of the car Max was already waiting next to it with his shoes off as well. The mechanics waited until he was sitting in the car and one of the mechanics had put Elodie back on his lap. You put your shoes on next to him and watched as the mechanics pushed the car out of the garage.

"We have to do one or two pit stop practice on Thursdays too." GP explained to you before he walked out of the garage with you so that you could also see Elodie clinging to the steering wheel in Max's lap and two mechanics pushing the car to a stop shortly after and the crew changing the tyres. Elodie's loud, enthusiastic laughter could be heard even over the tyre guns and afterwards over the fans watching from behind a barrier tape.

After a second run through, the mechanics pushed the car back into the garage and Max handed you Elodie, who happily fell around your neck, and then stepped out of the vehicle himself expertly before putting his shoes back on.

Elodie thanked each mechanic individually, gave them high fives and jumped so much in your arms that you had difficulty holding her every now and then. Together with Max, who held Elodie's shoes in his hand you made your way back to the hospitality. Only in his room did he put them down by the door and you sat down with Elodie on the little sofa there. Gemma, came into the room on your heels and looked at Max rather less enthusiastically.

"We should have been at the media centre five minutes ago." Max put on his best grin, while Gemma rolled her eyes, unimpressed. She grabbed the Dutchman, gave you a friendly nod and then ran down the stairs with him. "Can you imagine how much I would have loved to pull you down here holding onto your ears? You lucky you have your girlfriend with you and more importantly little Elodie." You could hear her say that in the distance before the two of them had presumably reached the bottom and then headed out of the building towards the media centre.

-✨✨

It had been pure utopia on your part, and especially on Max's, to think that on Sunday you could still walk into the paddock as undisturbed and undetected as on the other days. The truth had been that after Thursday the situation had changed drastically. Even though the official Red Bull pictures of you and Elodie in Max's car were only meant for you, some fans had logically spread pictures anyway. Especially the pictures and videos of Elodie and Max during the pit stop practice spread like wildfire on the internet. Actually, you could have guessed that. Many fans recognised your little girl from the day Max brought her back to you in the café from the paddock in Monaco.

Elodie was not impressed by any of this. She ignored the people around her and brought a smile to the face of every team member. But most of all, she made Laura Magnussen smile when she presented the little one with the stuffed elephant on Sunday morning.

Most of the day, however, was spent with Max's mother, who spent most of the time with you in the Red Bull hospitality and later made her way with you to the garage to watch the race together. Max won the race, which he called his second home Grand Prix, with ease. However, by the time he had spoken to all the media sources and finally debriefed his team, it was just before 8pm when he returned to his driver's room. Elodie had fallen asleep with her head on your lap on the small sofa next to you a while ago, while you and Brad had talked about his upcoming plans for the summer.

You hadn't noticed Max at first. He stopped for a moment in front of the door and looked at how you had been talking pleasantly with Brad. He could finally see that gleam in your eyes that Elodie had had all weekend. Max had been worried to no end that it would be too much for you and you would never want to come to a race again, or even worse, that you would realise this week how crazy his life was and how much he was in the spotlight and that it didn't fit with the life you wanted to have with Elodie. Seeing you sitting there with the little bunny sleeping next to you and that gleam in your eye had been the best part of the day for him. Sure, the victory had been great but for him you and your daughter were his future and nothing mattered more to him than seeing you happy.

The flight back to Monaco had been a short one. To be honest, you don't remember anything. Which was probably because you fell asleep the second you settled into the seat. Elodie was snuggled up to Max asleep, so you knew she was safe and could close your eyes yourself with peace of mind.

After a short helicopter flight from Nice to Monaco, it was already after ten o'clock when Max unlocked the door to his flat and switched on a dim light.

"You know where my bedroom is. I'll put Elodie to bed. Get ready and take a shower. I know we're rarely here but make yourself at home." Max gave you a gentle kiss on the cheek before walking out of the room with Elodie still asleep to the guest room which was not far from his bedroom.

On any other day it would have been uncomfortable for you to feel at home here, especially because you had never spent the night at the Dutchman's house, he had always stayed with you in Menton to sleep. But that day you were so tired that the deep relaxing rainforest shower in the bathroom was like a blessing you wouldn't have wanted to miss after such exhausting but still very beautiful almost five days in Belgium.

You didn't know when Max got into bed with you. But when you woke up the next morning, his bed had been touched and you knew he had slept there, but there was no sign of him.

You sat up in bed and stretched, stretched your neck and flipped the covers aside to get out of bed and walk from the bedroom towards the living room. Max's flat was huge. Your little flat would fit in there at least four if not five or six times. From the living room you could hear the TV playing in French. But there was no sign of Max and Elodie at first. Only when you came around the corner and the whole sofa came into your field of vision could you see Max and Elodie lying at the other end.

Max was stretched out with his back on the sofa, while Elodie had made herself comfortable on his chest with one cat in her arms and the other lying on the sofa next to Max's head. Your heart swelled and for a brief moment you couldn't cope with the sight. This was how you had always imagined your life when you were a young girl, when you had thought about having a family of your own.

"Mummy's coming." Elodie sat up on Max and handed you her little plush bunny, while still keeping a firm grip on the poor cat and sat it on her lap.

"Baby, careful with the cat. I don't think she'll like it that much." You glanced briefly at Max who just shrugged and then reached for Elodie to sit himself down. He plopped the little one down on the sofa with, if you had judged correctly, Sassy, as Jimmy didn't like being touched. Sassy, however, took the chance and jumped out of Elodie's lap, who also got up and ran after the two cats, playing with them with the cat toys.

"You were sleeping so peacefully and deeply I didn't want to wake you up. Elodie and I made you breakfast." Max put an arm around your shoulders and pulled you against his body. Your head found its place in the crook of his neck where you could feel Max's steady pulse as usual.

"I don't think I've slept this well in a long time. I don't even remember when you got into bed. And certainly not when you got up." Max laughed. That was one of the most beautiful sounds. Especially when you lay on his chest and could hear and feel the laughter from deep inside.

"I noticed that. But if you're sleeping so well here, maybe it's time for you and Elodie to move in here with me." You held your breath for a moment, which Max felt immediately. You sat up straight and put some space between you. It wasn't that you didn't like it when you had so much time together. There was no better time than the time you got to spend with Max and Elodie together. You could see the panic rising in Max's head a little.

"Max ..." He shook his head and took your hands in his.

"Forget what I said. I don't want you to feel pressured by me. I just thought it might be nice for you to live here. I mean the little bunny loves the cats and I think she's comfortable here. And you seem to like it, too. But, if I was wrong, then I'm sorry I brought it up." This time you shook your head and moved a little towards the Dutchman again. You released one of your hands from his and placed it on his cheek.

"I don't think I'm ready for that yet. The last time I gave up my whole life and moved for a man and left everything behind, it went downhill pretty fast after that. Not that I think you would ever do what Samuel did and at the end of the day this time it's just one place away not across several countries but I love what we have and..." It was hard to admit it to yourself but fundamentally the problem was that you didn't trust yourself any more.

Max was different from Samuel. But as much as it hurt you to think that way, your conscience kept reminding you that you had thought so well of Samuel in the beginning as well until he had let you down at some point. It's not that you would expect it from Max, he loves Elodie far too much to let her down, you could see that.

"I guess I'm just not ready." Max pulled you close again, gave you a kiss on the forehead and pressed your head against his chest. For a few minutes he said nothing. Just ran one hand through your hair while he drew patterns on your back with the other.

"It's perfectly fine and it's reason enough. I won't push you into anything you don't want. But when you're ready for it, maybe someday you'll know and feel that my heart you hear beating inside me right now ..." He fell silent for a few seconds and indeed you could hear his heart beating. It was even a little faster than usual. It was beating in rhythm with yours, which was also beating faster than usual for fear that Max wouldn't understand that you weren't ready to move in with him yet.

"...My heart beats for you and Elodie. You are my world and even though some people say you can't know that after such a short time, I really have to say those people haven't experienced true love and met their soulmate yet. I will spend the rest of my life loving you and Elodie, someday Elodie's siblings too, because you are my world and all that matters." Tears came to your eyes. You would so much like to just say yes and get all your things to Max by the evening but just yet your conscience wouldn't allow it, even though your heart would have been full for it.

"I'll get there eventually, and you'll be the first to know when I'm ready, okay?" Max put a hand under your chin and pushed it up a little so you could look him in the eye. There was so much love there that you were almost sorry you couldn't say yes. But what touched you even more was that there was also understanding in his eyes. Then he slowly came closer to you and put his lips on yours. Your lips moved directly as one, as if you had done nothing else all your life. You broke away from Max and grinned at him.

"Besides, Elodie doesn't have a room here. Your flat has been a man cave until now and it shows. The little one also needs her own realm where she can hide from us when she has her five minutes again." Max laughed.

"Ok, so goal for me, design a room for Elodie that she loves so much you have no choice but to move here because Elodie doesn't want to leave." You shook your head but couldn't help a little laugh.

Just then Elodie came running back. She had her little plush bunny in her hand and a cat toy in the other. Sassy and Jimmy ran after her and only stopped when Elodie jumped into your arms on the sofa and made herself comfortable half on you and half on Max. Max also pulled Elodie to his chest and gave her a kiss on her totally confused hair.

"Okay, girls. Are we ready for a well-deserved summer holiday?" Elodie dropped the toys from Jimmy and Sassy, turned in Max's arm and fell around his neck.

"Yaaaa."

-✨✨

Two weeks of just Max, Elodie and you and then finally another week with Max's sister, her family and Max's mother. That was the payoff that awaited you over the summer. Max had planned everything down to the last detail. It was first off to Curacao for the three of you alone. A destination that had been unknown to you at first. When you saw the flight time, you realised why. You were going to the Caribbean, a destination that would probably never have been accessible to you and Elodie under other circumstances.

On the flight, you learned from a travel guide that the ABC islands in the Caribbean - Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao - belonged to the Netherlands and were also known as the Netherlands Antilles. They were also called the "Windward Islands" because they were so close to the Venezuelan coast that they were always spared from the bad Caribbean hurricanes.

Your hotel in Piscadera was just incredible. Situated directly on the coast, it offered many activities on the water to which Max Elodie took you. However, you preferred to stay on the beach. From your little bungalow you could watch the adventures of Elodie and her Maxy while you sipped one or more cocktails under a parasol and studied the book you had bought at the airport in Amsterdam because you had left yours at home. You had to translate every other word, but the more time you spent on the small island, the more and better you could at least understand simple conversations in Dutch, even if you couldn't speak it yourself.

On various days you made small excursions to the small but really very nice capital Willemstad. From the first day you set foot in the city, you fell in love with the colourful houses, the prominent architecture and the general charm of the city, which is why Max couldn't deny you the wish to come back a few more times.

In general, there was very little that Max was not willing to do for you. After you had done your research, there were several places you wanted to see, including the green landscape of Soto, the fishing village of Sint Michiel and countless restaurants, whether on the water or in various small villages. For Max, staying at the resort for most of the holiday would have been enough, but the joy on your face every time you got out of the car at a new place was the most beautiful thing he could imagine.

After two weeks in paradise, you finally headed back to Europe and France. Max had reserved a house for you and his family on the coast of Sardinia. The house was at least as impressive as the hotel on Curacao. On a small rocky outcrop, not too high above the water, it had an incredible view of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

The pool invited both small and big to play and the men and children didn't let themselves be told twice. There was hardly a morning when you weren't woken up by a shrieking Elodie being thrown into the pool by Max or playing tag in the garden with Max's sister Victoria's older son.

After three long weeks away from the world, probably the most beautiful and relaxing weeks of your life, it felt strange to be back in your flat. The suitcases were still in the hallway half unpacked from the day before and Elodie was lying next to you on the sofa, head buried in your lap, she had fallen asleep with a smile on her face when the phone rang.

"Hello my beautiful." Max was already in bed and had snuggled into his pillow, smiling at you.

"Well how was your first day back at work?" Max rolled his eyes and slowly shook his head.

"I think you'll understand me when I say I'd so much rather be lying on a Caribbean island with you in my arms and Elodie playing in the sand next to us than here alone in bed in the middle of dreary Milton Keynes." You could understand that all too well. For you, too, everyday life began again the next day, as you would be working a shift at the café again for the first time in four weeks.

"Believe me, I understand. Elodie was very sad when she heard you were going to the race without us this weekend." Max yawned but quirked his eyebrows at the same moment.

"I know you probably don't want to hear this but she would technically have time to come along." You had explained to Max several times that you couldn't choose when the team needed you most and unfortunately weekends were often the most understaffed.

"Tell that to my boss." Max shook his head.

"No that's not what I meant. She knows my mum by now and they get on brilliantly. Besides, my sister and her husband are also at the track this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. So there would always be someone there to be with Elodie if I don't have time." You drew in a breath deeply and didn't expel it for the moment. you knew deep down that it probably wouldn't be a problem for Elodie to spend a weekend with just Max. Especially if you could talk on the phone. Still, there was this funny feeling in your stomach. It wasn't really a bad feeling though. It was mostly the realisation that Max was right. Elodie had taken Max's family to her heart very quickly and even if you weren't ready to take the next step, she was already at the point where she had no problem seeing Max as more than just a friend she spent a lot of time with.

"I know. But doesn't that distract you when you have to take care of Elodie on the side? And where is she going to sleep?" Max rolled his eyes.

"Well firstly I just told you my mum and sister are there, I mean it is my home race after all, secondly I wouldn't have suggested it if I thought she would distract me. On the contrary, I think it will be very nice if she is there. And thirdly, when you're not there, the right side next to me in bed is always so empty." A small smile flitted across your lips at his third point which told Max that he had persuaded you already.

"Okay." His eyes began to sparkle and he unwrapped his biggest grin.

"I'll be back home tomorrow at noon to get my stuff and the flight to Amsterdam was scheduled for 7pm, so we'll have plenty of time to pick up Elodie together after you finish work from kindergarten."

And he had been right. Max was at the door at 5pm when Café closed to give you a lift. He had brought his own luggage with him, while you had packed a few things for your little angel the night before. Not only Elodie was happy to see Max, but also her group leader at the kindergarten. Usually you picked up Elodie yourself or Max was there but sat in the car so as not to have to look for a parking space.

"Little bunny, your mummy and I have a surprise for you." Max walked ahead of you into your little flat and took his shoes off right next to the door as he had done ever since he first entered your falt many weeks ago. He helped Elodie get rid of her shoes before lifting her up and walking with her to the sofa. You were close on their heels.

"Maxy stay here." Elodie looked at you and Max alternately with wide eyes.

"No, little one. Max has to go to the race, but ..." you looked at Max, who was sitting next to you on the sofa, leaving him to break the happy news.

"Well, mummy has to work unfortunately, but we thought you could come with me alone. My mum is at the race and so is my sister Victoria. Remember, you had a lot of fun with them on holiday?" Elodie's eyes got all big and started to light up. She looked back and forth between you and Max, trying to gauge if she was really going to go with her Maxy to the race.

"Really?" You nodded and put a hand on the small of her back where Max's hand still lay. He put his hand on top of yours and also looked at you like Elodie, full of expectation.

"You're going to be four soon and I trust you to behave well for Maxy because you know he has quite a lot to do at the weekend. And if you're not with him, but with his mummy or Victoria, then you need to be just as sweet, ok?" Elodie freed herself from Max's arms and fell around your neck.

"Thanks mummy. You not coming?" Though her eyes still shone like the stars in the night sky, there was that little glimmer of sadness as she asked the question.

"No, bunny, I have to work."

"Do you think you can come with only me and without Mummy?" Elodie looked from you to Max and then back to you. Before she whispered shyly in your ear.

"Mummy is like being alone with you, only now being alone with Daddy. FaceTime?" Your eyes grew wide and you knew Max had heard every word too, as Elodie still hadn't figured out the actual meaning of whisper.

Max looked at you full of expectation, just like Elodie, and waited with bated breath for your answer. You weren't expecting it at all, at that moment. But what were you supposed to say? Actually, it was silly to think that Elodie would think otherwise. Max was with you all the time. You spent all the time you could together and on holiday the little girl had seen Max's nephews calling Victoria and her husband Mummy and Daddy. Of course she would learn from the two of them. And it wasn’t wrong either. All you wanted was for Elodie to have a father she could look up to and May had been just that over the last couple of months.

"Exactly, it's no different to spending time alone with Mummy." Both Elodie's eyes and Max's eyes started to sparkle when they heard your answer. Both probably for different reasons.

Max couldn't believe Elodie had just called him Daddy and you hadn't corrected her. His heart was beating so much faster than would be healthy for him, but hearing that word come out of Elodie's mouth while she was talking about him warmed his heart and made him all nervous. He loved the little bunny and would protect her with his life, just as he would you. And even though he expected a lot of things, become a father that day wasn’t on the list. But he liked it and in that moment he swore to himself that he would do everything to make you feel comfortable with it, because in the moment when the word had been spoken for the first time he could see this inner struggle taking place in your eyes, which also kept you from moving in with him. He put his arm around you and pulled you into his chest together with Elodie, while he gave both you a kiss on the temple. It was incredible for him how comfortable and at home he felt to have you in his arms.

-✨✨

It was strange for you to go through the day alone. Waking up on your first day without Elodie felt awful at first, until you got the grove of it and were able to enjoy some time to yourself. Something you hadn't had for years.

Only on the way to work was there this uneasy feeling. Somehow it didn't let up even at work. You felt a bit paranoid, kept looking out of the window, had the feeling that someone was watching you. But outside the window there were only the few tables spread out with a few guests and in the distance you could see the port of Monaco. Nothing different from a normal working day, you declared yourself crazy and told yourself that it was just unusual to be alone and not have Max or Elodie or anyone else around.

Especially on the way home after work it felt very crazy and strange and you turned around several times but everything was as usual. Except Elodie wasn't next to you. The train had its normal 5 minute delay, on the way from the station to your flat you met the same people as usual. Your head was just far too caught up in the situation of Elodie being with Max instead of you.

"Hi, Mummy!" Elodie waved at you through the phone you were balancing on your knees.

"Hello my darling." Max appeared next to the little one and waved at you too, but didn't say anything at first. "Did you have a good day?" Elodie nodded and began to talk about how she had been on the beach with Sophie and then later played football with Maxy, Charles and Lando in the Red Bull Hospitality until Lando accidentally broke a lamp and Christian was angry. The girl laughed and you could see the sparkle and enthusiasm in her eyes, which only confirmed that it had been the right decision to let her go with Max. After a while, Elodie handed Max the phone and made herself comfortable next to him on the bed. She was already in her pyjamas and snuggled under the covers and against Max and her plush bunny.

"She was really very good today. I honestly hardly saw her except for late afternoon. My mother is blown away by her and was blindsided when she heard Elodie say Daddy to me." Max ran his hand over his face, glancing briefly at Elodie, who had already closed her little eyes and appeared to have fallen asleep as well. It must have been an exciting day for her.

"How are you? Are you all right?" Max turned his attention back to you and spoke a little more quietly so as not to disturb Elodie.

"Yeah, everything's great here." You could tell by the look on his face that Max wasn't buying it. Max, on the other hand, could see that non-lightness in your eyes, that insecurity that had been with you all day.

"Oh, it's just weird without Elodie I guess. I think someone is looking at me all the time, but that's just because I'm alone and I'm not paying attention to Elodie, I'm paying attention to everything around me and it makes me feel weird. I'm sure that will get better from tomorrow." Max raised an eyebrow and looked at you urgently. Then he shrugged when you didn't show any further reaction.

"All right, yes, I think that may be it. But Y/N please, if there's anything wrong, call me. I'll always make the time, unless I'm in the car obviously. I know it must be weird for you to be alone, but you are never completely alone. Elodie and I are just a phone call away and I'll send you my mum's number and tell her to send you updates throughout the day so you always know what the little bunny is up to, ok?" It did reassure you a little that Max wasn't minimising the problem. He took you seriously. And even though it was probably just your head playing tricks on you, you knew you could always count on him.

"I wish I could be with you. I'm already counting the days until you're back here." You said goodbye to Max. Elodie was already fast asleep next to him when Max sent you a kiss through the camera. Only Friday and Saturday left, you thought to yourself. On Sunday, the two of them would be in your arms again in the evening.

But this strange feeling didn't leave you during the days. From the moment you woke up in the morning, to the way to work, at work, the way from Monaco back to Menton and also when you were back home in the evening. You tried to ignore it as much as possible and especially when you talked to Max on the phone so that he wasn't worried. He asked several times but either you ignored the question by changing the subject or you thanked his mother who actually sent you photos all the time every day.

"Y/N, the race is starting." Your colleague Aria was in the small staff room at the back of the shop, setting up the LapTop so that you could also watch the race from behind the counter. Now it was only hours until Max and Elodie were finally back home and everything would be okay again.

"What an incredible start from Max." Aria had never been very interested in Formula 1 until you met Max. Since then she watched every race and said of herself that she had become addicted to it. Even though you spent a lot of time in and around the sport because of Max, it was actually Aria who volunteered to watch every session from Friday to Sunday.

It was a rather quiet Sunday at the café, so you had plenty of time to watch the race. That was the first time that weekend that you felt a little better and your worries were almost completely forgotten. The doorbell let you know that someone had come into the little shop. Aria looked at you with pleading eyes whereupon you had to laugh.

"No one really would believe us that you are the one more engrossed in Formula One than me, whose boyfriend is riding along." Aria grinned at you and thanked you as you made your way to the sales room. But before you could take your place behind the counter you stopped, rooted to the spot just past the door to the staff room. For a moment you felt as if you had been transported back in time.

"Samuel?" The man took several steps towards you and tried to put a hand to your cheek, but you slapped it away.

"Why so aggressive my dear? Am I not allowed to greet my GIRLFRIEND when we haven't seen each other in so long." You shook your head and took a few steps back to get away from him. You hadn't noticed, however, that Aria had gotten up and was now standing behind you.

"I'm not your girlfriend. You left me alone. Walked away, I haven't been your girlfriend since the day you abandoned me." The man who was so unknown to you but somehow also so familiar shook his head.

"I don't remember us ever officially breaking up. So I still have the right to call you mine. Not just you but my daughter too." When he mentioned Elodie, your heart started beating faster. This was the first time this weekend that you were glad Elodie had gone to Zandvoort with Max, otherwise she would have been with you and Aria.

Aria pushed past you and pushed you back into the small office where the lap top was still running and you could hear the celebration as Max crossed the finish line followed by Fernando and in third place Charles.

"Samuel what are you doing here?" The man raised his hands and took a few steps back. His gaze moved from you to Aria and back to you again. He looked at you insistently, trying to intimidate you but he had been doing that for a long time and he knew it.

"I just came to get what is legally mine too. I want my daughter and then I'll be on my way." Your heart began to beat much faster and tears began to run down your face as he mentioned Elodie again. Was he maybe right? Did he have a right to take his daughter? After all, he had been registered as the father after the birth. What if he really could take her and just walk away?

"Boy, fuck off or I'll call the police. She hasn't been your daughter since the day you left her mother sitting alone with her with nothing in her hand but what she was carrying. Elodie is not here and you will not see her again." Aria reached for the phone. Samuel seized the moment to push past her and run toward you.

He grabbed your wrists and held them together tightly in one hand before grabbing your chin with the other, forcing you to look him in the eye. His eyes were saturated with aggression, violence and anger.

"Listen to me you stupid bitch. You have no right to just take my daughter and start a new family with Mr. Oh-So-Nice Verstappen. You're mine and that asshole can fuck off because I'm entitled to both of you." Your breath got stuck in your throat, you couldn't move and you couldn't say anything. The tears rolled down your face continuously, so much so that you could hardly see him in front of you. But you could smell him all the more for it.

"Hey asshole. The police are on their way. And we have cameras here that show exactly what you did. So if I were you, I'd get the hell out of here." Aria stood behind you with the phone in her hand and tried to pull Samuel off you by the upper arm. He pushed her off and came closer to you again. He rested his forehead on yours and then whispered in your ear.

"I will come again and next time I will take her with me." He pushed you off of him which knocked you out of your equilibrium weight. You landed with your hip on the corner of the table but the pain was only incidental. You just wanted Max to be here, falling into his arms and that he told you that everything would be all right.

Samuel had already disappeared from the café when Aria helped you up and took you in her arms. You stood there together for a few minutes until the clock in the café caught your eye. It was already after 5pm. It couldn't be much longer until Max was home. You freed yourself from Aria's arms and looked for your phone, which was still lying on the table next to the lap top. 2 missed calls from Max. 3 text messages.

Maxy ♥: Hey, everything okay with you?

Maxy ♥: Are you still at the café, busy?

Maxy ♥: Y/N please check in.

You: it's been very stressful. Please come home.

It didn't take you 10 seconds to have an answer from Max.

Maxy ♥: I still have some press. Should be there by 8:30pm at the latest.

Maxy ♥: Is everything alright?

You: Miss you 🙂

There was no answer to that. But you knew very well that Max probably turned to Gemma at that moment and gave her hell that they had to hurry because Max wanted to see you. Somehow you knew he could sense that all was not well.

"Okay, sweetie. Get cleaned up quick and then I'll take you back to my place. Max can pick up from there." Aria put her arm on your shoulder reassuringly. You took a few deep breaths. It almost seemed to you as if you hadn't taken a breath in the last half hour. Then you shook your head.

"Can you please just drive me home?" Aria tilted her head a little, seeming to weigh whether she should really take you to your place. Knew, though, that Max probably wouldn't be there long after you. Which is why she agreed.

The place was cleaned up quickly, since there were so few guests and you were able to clean up and stow away some stuff in advance for the next day during opening hours. Aria stopped her car right outside your front door.

"Just because I didn't call the police at the store and so just distracted him into leaving doesn't mean you can't call them if anything happens, okay?" She put her arm on your shoulder again reassuringly and finally took you in her arms as best she could as you nodded.

"I'm just glad I don't live in Monaco but here." This time Aria nodded. "I just wonder how he found out where I work. But I think if he saw me just once or knew someone who saw me, it's an easy game. I'm sure he still has friends in Monaco." Aria joined you in taking a deep breath in and out.

"Relax and look forward to Max and Elodie being back soon." She looked at the clock in her car. "It's just about an hour until you can give her a hug and then please tell Max everything, okay?" You had no idea how to tell Max without him going ballistic and probably putting a bounty on Samuel's head, but you knew there was no way around it because Max could read you like a book. You said goodbye to Aria, who waited until you were in the house before she left.

The apartment seemed strange to you somehow. You put on more comfortable clothes and sat down on the sofa, which seemed so empty without Max and Elodie, especially that day. The minutes passed like hours and as much as you tried to distract yourself you kept looking back at the clock. So 30 minutes passed in which you barely managed to read an article about the race that had already been published.

It was shortly after 8pm when the doorbell rang. It warmed your heart. There were only two doors separating you, Elodie and Max. With your phone in the hand you ran to the front door. Max had not texted you as normal that they had landed. He probably just wanted to get home quickly, which you couldn't blame him for.

You opened the door to the house downstairs for them and without waiting long you also opened the door to the apartment directly after. Probably Elodie had fallen asleep in Max's arms, which is why he had no hand free to look for his key. But not even three seconds passed that you regretted opening the doors without questioning your actions. You did your best to slam the apartment door shut, but his hand squeezed between the door and the frame, pushing it open with ease.

"I promised you I would come and get my daughter, didn't I?" Samuel tried to reach for you but you deftly dodged his hand and ran straight into Elodie's room which was right next to the doorway. You slammed the door behind you and turned the lock, which at the beginning when you moved into the apartment seemed stupid in a child's room, but now you were all the happier for it. Samuel could not react so quickly, because he did not expect you to resist so quickly. He knocked on the door.

"You can't hide in there. At some point you're going to have to come out and I'm going to be here. I'm going to take my daughter and give her a better life than she could ever have with a bitch for a mother. You don't stand a chance. Who would ever believe you over me, a successful manager?" Samuel didn't let up, banging on the door again and again. When it got quieter for a moment, you could hear his footsteps going into the kitchen. You were infinitely happy to have your phone in your hand and dialled Max's number, but he didn't pick up. You left him a voicemail.

"He's here." Your words were completely tearful. You were sure Max wouldn't even understand what you were talking about. "He wants to take Elodie. Max I'm scared please come." Before you could even send the message Samuel knocked on the door again.

"Come out you stupid bitch. I want my daughter. You don't deserve to hold her in your arms while I'm here after all." Your hands shook and for the first time in a very very long time you prayed that everything would be okay and imagined Max taking you in his arms. You didn't know how much time had passed. With your eyes closed and your fingers in your ears, you tried to block out the noise Samuel was making and concentrate on your breathing.

Only when it became suspiciously quiet outside did you dare to go to the door and put your ear to the wood to listen if Samuel was still there. You didn't know what time it was, you left your phone on the bed, but with all your strength you turned the lock as quietly as possible and opened the door very quietly.

The apartment door was the first thing that caught your eye. It was closed. Maybe he really did run away. This gave you the courage to open the door a little further, but you immediately regretted the decision. Samuel was standing on the other side next to the door and pushed the door open he pushed you backwards, you landed with your back on the floor while Samuel searched the room for Elodie. When he noticed that the girl was not in the room, he angrily turned to you and knelt with his knee between your legs. With one hand on your chest, he pushed you to the floor and didn't hesitate for a second to strike you with the other.

You couldn't defend yourself, you were already prepared for the blow and the pain that was about to hit you. But the blow never came.

"I sure hope I didn't just catch you getting violent with my girlfriend." His voice alone made you feel safe in your chest. Max pulled Samuel off you and gave him a good punch in the face with his fist. He staggered backwards and fell face first onto Elodie's small bed.

Max reached for you without hesitation. He lifted you up and carried you out of the room. Just as he arrived at the front door the policemen he must have called met you.

"He was violent towards her. Pinned her to the floor." Two of the four cops made their way into Elodie's room while the other two escorted you and Max downstairs to the car. Everything that happened after that was a big question mark for you. You couldn't remember it.

-✨✨

"Thanks, buddy. I really appreciate it." You were awakened by a conversation in the hallway. The clock next to the bed said it was already close to noon. You swung your legs over the side of the bed and walked to the door of the room. As you opened the door, Sassy snaked right around your legs. You patted the little one before making your way towards the voices.

"Did you have a good time at Charles' place." you could hear Max say.

"Yes, Daddy. Uncle Charles show me how to play piano and chocolate breakfast." The sound of your daughter's voice in your ears brought tears to your eyes. You walked around the corner and saw the three of them standing in the doorway. Charles saw you first.

"Hey, I'm glad you're okay." You couldn't say a word, just nodded. When Elodie realized who Charles was talking to, she let go of Max's hand and ran towards you.

"Mummy. Slept at Uncle Charles'." She jumped into your arms and then began to tell you how much fun she had with him last night and this morning.

"I'm glad you had a good time with him." Elodie gave you a kiss on the cheek and then jumped towards the cats. You stood back up and walked toward Charles to give him a hug.

"Thank you." Charles returned the hug.

"Sure thing. It was pure coincidence that our jets landed at the same time. When Max saw me and told me briefly what had happened ..." He faltered and swallowed. "The little bunny is always welcome to stay with me. So even if you ever need a babysitter." You could see the gleam in his eye when Charles spoke of Elodie. Your little one must have had that effect on the people around her. You nodded and then stood next to Max. He shook Charles' hand and then said goodbye.

Max took you by the hand and pulled you into the living room. He made himself comfortable on the sofa and then pulled you next to him on his chest.

"We're going to have a restraining order put on him. I've already talked to the lawyer. He won't be allowed within 100 yards of you. Aria told me what happened at the café. Luckily you have cameras there." Max put his fingers gently under your chin and forced you to look him in the eye. "I knew something was wrong when you wrote me and didn't answer my question, but you have to tell me. I would have flown out on the spot." You nodded and knew yourself that it had been stupid. You had already regretted it when you lay in Elodie's bed with your head under the covers and pressed into the pillow, praying that Max would hear your message and come quickly.

"I know. I'm sorry." Max put his lips gently on yours and stroked his hand parallel like a breath of fresh air over your hair.

"I think it's time we move in with you." Max raised an eyebrow and looked at you questioning. "Well I don't think it could have happened here like that. You have security and concierge services downstairs. Samuel would never have made it to the apartment." Max nodded understandably but saw directly the guilt in your eyes. In contrast, you could hear Elodie laughing and talking to the cats in the background which brought a small smile back to your lips.

"I would of course be very happy to share my home with you and the little bunny but Y/N none of what happened yesterday is your fault. The man is deranged, had been stalking you the last few days since Elodie and I flew to Zandvoort and documenting your every move. The feeling you had that someone was watching you, that wasn't just paranoia because you were alone. I'm so sorry I didn't take it seriously, but how could we have ever known? Neither you nor I could have seen it. He would have gone right ahead if I had been there. But the police confiscated his phone and found all the evidence necessary to convict him. Believe me, he'll never come near you again. Not if I have anything to do with it, okay?" You could hardly believe that you had been so lucky to have met Max. Even though it hadn't been long but Max made your life so much better and Elodie had him wrapped around her little finger from day one anyway.

"I love you." You put your hand on the back of his neck and pulled him a little closer to you so you could put your lips on his again. "I've never felt so comfortable in another person's arms. With all that had happened yesterday I just kept thinking about you and that I could count on you to be there to save me. I just knew it because ..." It took a while to realize it but you finally knew what you had found in Max. That one person who would have your back through thick and thin and get you out of any situation, no matter how stupid. The person you wanted to have with you when it felt like the world was against you and no one would listen to you but him. Max was what you had imagined as a little girl when you thought of a husband and the father of your future children. "I knew it because I can always count on you. You love us at least as much as we love you and would never let anything happen to either of us." Max beamed at you. It was almost scary how wide his grin stretched across his face.

"Okay, you definitely need to spend less time with Daniel. That grin definitely doesn't look so out of place on his face." Max laughed out loud and then tickled your hips, making you laugh too. Elodie could hear you and wanted to see why you were both laughing. As she stood in front of you Max stops tickling you.

"Daddy, want too." Max shook his head.

"I have a better idea. I have a surprise for you and Mummy." Elodie's eyes lit up at the word surprise as you furrowed your eyebrows and looked at Max asking. He carefully stood up and pulled you to your feet beside him as well. Max pulled Elodie up so that she was at eye level with you before walking off with you holding his hand. He stopped again in front of the door of the guest room where Elodie had slept the last time after the Belgian Grand Prix.

"I honestly didn't think it would happen so quickly that you would agree to move in with me. So I focused on the weakest link, because as we've said before, if Elodie doesn't want to leave, then you have no choice but to stay." Elodie looked at Max in confusion while you raised your one eyebrow. Max grinned back at you and then let Elodie open the door.

The room was unrecognizable. What had once been a loveless guest room was now a paradise for a soon-to-be four-year-old little girl. The bed in the corner was surrounded by an accent wall in a dark forest green. The bed itself was slightly larger than Elodie's bed had been in your apartment. Level a real big girl bed, as Elodie had called it when she asked you when she was going to get another bed. On the bed were several stuffed animals, including an elephant, a monkey, a lion, a dinosaur and a giraffe, as well as several small and slightly larger pillows. On the wall next to it was a small desk with a rabbit lamp, some colouring books, and endless crayons. Next to it was a shelf with many different books, the background on the wall painted in the same colour as the accent colour around the bed. Across from the bed, right next to the door, was a closet in which a few new dresses, pants and T-shirts were already hanging.

"I was already planning with my mum in the weeks leading up to summer vacation, and while we weren't here she met with an interior designer who was able to bring my vision to life." Tears formed in your eyes. They were tears of joy though. Joy that your daughter had a father who loved her and did everything he could to make sure that not only you but also she was well and could have a carefree childhood.

"I love it." Elodie, meanwhile, jumped from corner to corner in the room and eventually stopped at the desk where she opened one of the colouring books and began to colour.

"Elodie, what do you say?" The little bunny turned around in her new desk chair and then jumped toward Max, who got down on his knees to give the little girl a big hug.

"Thank you daddy. It perfect." She gave him a kiss. When Max let go of Elodie again so she could continue painting, you saw tears in his eyes for the first time. You put a hand on his back. He looked up at you and then stood up beside you, one hand on your cheek the other on your hip.

"I love you both. You are the most beautiful gift I have ever received." With a little kiss on the corner of his mouth, you put your arms around him and pulled him close to you. Your head on his chest so that you could hear his heart beating. Right there, that was your home. With Elodie next to Max and there was nothing more that you could have ever asked for.

"We love you too."

-----------------------------------

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Thank you for reading ♥

"I was thrilled with your CV. At your age, most people who apply don't have that much to show for it." You walked behind Christian through the hallowed corridors of Milton Keynes.

"I knew quite early on what I wanted to do when I grew up. So I got behind it and did internships to gain experience and then later on I gratefully accepted every job opportunity during my final years at school and then during university." Christian grinned at you and nodded.

It had been a long way for you to get to Formula 1. As a woman, nothing is thrown at you in the engineering field. Unfortunately, you had to make this experience more often than not. While your male fellow students had jobs and internships almost literally thrown at them during their studies, you always had to prove yourself and justify your decisions.

You were invited to interview with several teams. But at the end of the day, Red Bull was the only company and team where you didn't feel like you were being reduced to just being a woman, but where your experience and your skills were in the foreground.

"These gears will quickly become your own. In the beginning, it can happen that you get lost. But your team will see to it that you feel at home here as soon as possible." Christian smiled at you and held open a door to an office.

"Welcome to the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 Strategy Team!" The office stretched out in front of you with several men and women at desks to the right and left of a corridor, comparing data from past races, watching videos of various tests and already preparing for the start of the new season.

"You'll be Hannah's shadow for the first few weeks so we can get you up to speed as quickly as possible. The aim is to eventually be able to use you together in the races, one as head and the other as support. It's just not clear yet if we'll always take both of you to the races or if one of you will work here but we'll figure that out over time." You just nodded and followed Christian around the office until he stopped in front of a desk.

"Hannah, this is Y/N." Hannah looked up from her screen and immediately stood when she saw you and Christian.

"Y/N! Hey, it's really great to finally meet you and have some more female support. Welcome to the team." She took you directly in her arms. Her outgoing and warm manner made you feel right at home. You would get along well with Hannah and work even better together.

"Thank you and the same to you." You returned the hug. Christian beamed at you.

"Great that you guys are getting along right away. Then I'll let you have Y/N directly and you can start familiarising yourselves. After all, it's not long until the first race." He said goodbye to you both, but was to be proved right.

Time passed like the wind. Together with Hannah, you went to different meetings every day, you got to know the car for the season inside out, and you prepared yourselves for the upcoming first race weekend using the pre-season tests.

It definitely hadn't been easy the first few weeks. All the information was not easy to process but Hannah tried her best to make it as easy as possible for you.

In fact, you not only got along great with Hannah, but also with many of the others in the team. It was really like a family in which you were accepted without argument. Everyone looked after you in the first few weeks and made sure you didn't want for anything.

-✨✨

"Welcome back." Christian stood in front of the assembled crew in the motorhome and gave a little speech to mark the start of the season. According to Mark, one of the mechanics you got on very well with, he did this every year.

"We are coming off another strong season where unfortunately we lost the drivers' title to Charles in the last few races. But I think we're all the more encouraged to bring both titles back to the house of Red Bull this year." You looked around at the crowd. Most were listening intently and nodding. "Besides two strong drivers, we have the perfect team to achieve this goal. We also have some new faces and of course we want to bring them the feeling of winning. So, let's go."

Hannah, who was standing next to you, pulled you right behind her and made her way with you towards the pit lane.

"We enjoy a front row seat," she said proudly as you left the garage together and sat down at the pitwall. She handed you headphones printed with your initials. "And we never share our headphones." She grinned at you.

The first few sessions flew by.

Before you knew it, the drivers were getting ready for the qualifiers. Together with Hannah, you went over the tyres that would be put on the boys' cars during the qualifying, so that there wouldn't be any complications, when you felt two small hands pulling at your trouser leg.

Your eyes wandered from the screens down between you and Hannah. There stood a little girl with her hair in a braid but nevertheless tousled short hairs that were probably not yet long enough to be included in the braid.

"Maja, what are you doing here?" Hannah bent down and picked the little one up. She sat her in her lap and smoothed the hairs standing away from her head. She immediately began looking at the screens and pressing various buttons.

"Where's your daddy?" The little one looked at Hannah for a moment and just shrugged her shoulder, then turned in Hannah's arms and reached hers out to you.

"Want you." She leaned in further but you were unsure. You didn't even know the little girl, after all.

Hannah nodded at you and let the little one switch laps. She didn't sit with her back to you like Hannah did, but put one leg each to the left and right of your hip and looked at you.

"You are very beautiful." She put a hand on your slightly flushed cheek and grinned at you. How a comment from a little girl you didn't even know could get so close was beyond you.

"Thank you, you look very beautiful too. Would you like me to do your hair again?" Maja beamed at you with her beautiful big Ocean blue eyes.

"Like Hannah?" You looked over at your colleague. Her hair was braided in a French plait. You nodded at the little one and turned her around in your lap so that her back was now facing you and got straight to work.

Hannah had disappeared into the garage in the meantime, but bit by bit the pitwall was filling up. GP took a seat next to you, keeping Maja busy for a moment while you put the finishing touches on.

You took your phone out of your pocket and opened the front camera so that she could look at her hair. Maja's whole face was beaming.

"Wow. Thank you!" She turned her body so that she could put her hands around your neck and gave you a kiss on the cheek.

"Maja! I was looking for you." Together with the little one, you spun around in your chair to see who was on their way to you. "You can't just disappear without telling anyone." Max stood next to you and Maja at the pitwall, where Hannah was about to sit.

He wanted to take the little one to him but she clings around your neck.

"Nah, pa. Ik wil bij haar blijven." (No, papa. I want to stay with her).

"Sweetie, Oma is waiting for you in the garage. We're about to start qualifying, you can't stay here." Max stroked her hair. He surveyed the hairstyle his daughter now wore. "Who made your hair so beautiful?" Maja sat up proudly and pointed at you.

"I don't think we've met." Escaped your lips as Max looked at you. "I'm Y/N. I've been working in strategy next to Hannah since the beginning of the year." You extended your hand to him, which Max accepted and returned with a gentle handshake.

"If you want me to get a good position today, preferably even pole, then we need to leave Y/N alone now." Maja looked at you sadly and reluctantly let Max lift her out of your lap.

You gently stroked the little one's cheek with two fingers while she rested her head on her father's shoulder. She smiled at you and lifted her hand for a high five. Max watched the interaction between you and his daughter.

"It's always nice to see new faces on the team. Welcome." He nodded at you and smiled at you before turning and leaving the pitwall towards the garage. Maja waved to you as Hannah sat down next to you again.

"The little one likes you." she looked after the two of them before they disappeared into the garage. "Max tries to keep her out of the public eye as much as he can, doesn't want her photographed by the press much to give her a relatively normal life. Still, she's there almost every weekend, sitting in the hospitality with her grandma, which is Max's mum, watching the race." You listened to Hannah while your eyes glided over the screens again.

Everyone in the Formula 1 world knew that Max had a child. His girlfriend at the time had left him with the little baby not long after she was born and disappeared off the face of the earth. According to the press, the only thing she left behind, apart from the child, was a letter in which she said that she did not want to have anything to do with Max or the baby in the future. The press had reported about it for weeks - you could still remember that.

"She's cute, but he needs to work on the hair styling skills a bit." Hannah couldn't help laughing, handing you your headphones as she did so, and off you went with the first quali for you at the pitwall.

-✨✨

You had just picked up your backpack and texted Hannah that you were heading out for breakfast and that you were meeting at the same table as the last few days, when a rather hurried and rather loud knock on your room door jolted you out of your thoughts.

Hannah had just sent you a message confirming that she was already on her way down. Confused as to who else would be knocking on your door at this hour, you opened the door.

"Max?" The driver had just turned around and was about to leave. He turned back in surprise and put his phone away.

"Oh thank God you're still here." You looked at him confused.

"I was just leaving." He took a step closer and rubbed a hand over his face. Visibly upset about something.

"I'm so immensely sorry to be bothering you all of a sudden and bugging you before you're actually at work but Maja is on strike. For almost an hour my mother and I have been sitting in the room with her and trying to do her hair but she doesn't like it. She keeps pulling the hair ties off her head and crying. I thought maybe you could do her hair again. She was so happy with her hair yesterday."

Only now, when you looked a little closer, could you see the desperation in his eyes. He didn't even have to ask you any more questions. You pulled the door closed behind you and nodded at him.

Max understood your gesture and ran ahead of you to the lifts. One floor up you could hear the little girl crying as you came out of the lift.

When Max opened the door and let you in, you felt four pairs of eyes on you. Before you could even look around the room, two little arms wrapped around your legs. Maja was standing there with teary, red eyes and looked up at you.

"Would you be happy if Y/N did your hair?" Max stepped next to you and went down on one knee in front of his daughter, while you looked to his mother and greeted her with a friendly smile and nod.

"Yes!" You turned back to Maja and Max and put your backpack in the corner to be able to lift the little one up.

"Ok, I have an idea what we can do with your hair today." You walked with the little one in your arms towards the bathroom, as the room was built almost exactly like yours you knew directly where to go.

When you arrived in front of the mirror, you made sure that the washbasin was dry and then sat the little one down on the edge of the washbasin, facing the mirror and with her back to you, so that she could relax and rest her legs in the basin.

Maja beamed at you through the mirror just as Max came after you to bring her brush and the little one's hair utensils. Max stepped aside but stayed behind you in the doorway and watched you while you got to work and talked to his daughter.

A little later, Maja's face was beaming as she looked at her Waterfall Braid in the mirror. Her eyes shone at least as much as the stars in the sky last night.

"THANK YOU Y/N!" She jumped out of the sink around your neck and you just managed to catch her. Max had jumped up from his spot in the doorway out of fear and was now standing very close behind you, his hands resting on your shoulders. He thought you couldn't keep your balance as energetically as Maja was coming towards you.

"I'm glad you like it. But now let's go. I think we're all hungry." Maja nodded, but didn't let go of you. You turned around with her.

Max hadn't moved yet, hadn't taken a step behind you. Your arms, with which you held Maja tightly, touched his body. He smiled at you and Maja. But he didn't react or move.

"Um Max?" He shook his head slightly and remembered to breathe again. Now he looked at you in wonder, not knowing what you had just said.

"Breakfast?"

"Oh yeah, sorry." He reached for Maja, but she tightened her grip around your neck and nuzzled into your side.

"It's okay. I have to go downstairs as well anyway." Reluctantly, he walked ahead of you out of the bathroom, grabbing your backpack and his while you put on Maja's shoes, which were waiting for her by the door.

"But we can't add that to the daily routine now, Y/N coming just to do your hair." Maja looked sadly at her father, who waited until his mother had also stepped out of the room and then pulled the room door shut behind her.

"But Dad, you can't." Max was visibly overwhelmed. He knew she was right. He would never have been able to fix his daughter's hair as beautifully as you did.

"That's easy, then we'll have to teach Papa." Maja and Max both looked at you. Maja with a smirk on her lips and Max with a startled look. "But for now, we'll let him do his race today and then we'll worry about broadening his horizon, ok?" Maja nodded frantically, obviously excited by the idea.

-✨✨

The results spoke for themselves. While you had worked on the second race in Saudi Arabia from Milton Keynes and only Hannah was on site, you were able to get super results in both races. First came the opening win and then a very strong second place for Max. Checo also made it to the podium both times with two great third places. 

The next two races you were supposed to be on site and Hannah had to work from home. But here too, everything worked like clockwork. In both races Max made it to the top of the podium again, Checo once to second and in the fourth race once again to third.

Christian was more than satisfied with the performance of you and Hannah. You two were just like a dream team together. Even though you hadn't been in the team that long, you and Hannah got on almost blindly. Almost all of your decisions went hand in hand without even consulting each other.

Back in Milton Keynes after 4 exciting races, the work didn't stop. The preparation went straight on with the next race. You sat next to GP at his desk to look at data from the last races in Azerbaijan with him. Unfortunately, most of them were not as successful as the team would have liked.

"Unfortunately, we've often had bad luck here." Your eyes flew over the race data, analysing any mistakes.

"Well, not much has gone wrong. From what the data tells me, you could say the only mistake was putting Checo on the Hards so early. That could have worked with a bit of luck though so it wasn't even really a mistake." On another screen, a recording of the last race was running in parallel.

You were looking up from the data when Checo, because his tyres didn't come up to temperature, lost control and took Max with him. Although the race was only over for Checo and Max was able to continue, he had lost many positions and could not make up the lost places due to several damages to the car. In the end it was a disappointing eighth place after the two cars had led the race.

"Ok so target is definitely a 1-2 this year. The track suits our car and we've done it before. So it should actually be possible." You looked up from the screens to refocus on GP as a bright screech echoed through the room.

"Y/N!" You turned at just the right moment to catch the little Maja jumping towards you. Max was still standing in the doorway, probably watching the situation with an increased heartbeat.

"Maja, you can't just jump off. If Y/N hadn't reacted so quickly you would have landed face first on the floor." He came up to you and stroked the little one on the head, but she was only focused on you.

"I missed you." She threw her arms around your neck and pulled you into a hug. Now your heartbeat increased and not for the first time triggered by the little one.

"True, it's been a long time since we've seen each other." As she let go of you a little, your eyes moved to her hair. You could see Max was trying hard but there was still hair sticking out of her head.

"I tried." Max had understood your looks directly. He rocked back and forth from one leg to the other unsteadily.

"I can see that. But I think your dad really needs some coaching on how to do your hair." Maja nodded and Max looked back and forth between you and his daughter, slightly embarrassed.

"Very nice of you to gang up on me. I'm a racing driver, not a hairdresser, and with good reason." Max tried to sound annoyed but the smile on his lips betrayed him as his daughter continued to make herself comfortable on your lap and rested her head on your shoulder.

"I think Y/N needs to get back to work. Maybe we should leave her alone now. We can stop by later before we go home." But Maja refused. She wrapped her arms tighter around you and shook her head.

You knew that Max had to do some simulator time today. You, on the other hand, had a fairly relaxed day, because there was a week's break before the next race. In fact, you only had one more real meeting before you had to sit down with Hannah and a couple of other strategists from your team for the debriefing of the last race and a first preliminary discussion for the upcoming race.

"I have an idea." You turned to Max who was actually just waiting for Maja to take his hand. "I'm having a pretty relaxed day today, if you can call it that. So if it's okay with you, Maja is welcome to stay with me and you concentrate on the simulator and everything else you need to do."

Max was a little unsure at first. But like you, he could see Maja's eyes light up at the idea of spending the rest of the day, it was afternoon after all, with you. Still a little reluctant, he slipped a small backpack off his shoulder and handed it to you.

"Here are some of her things inside. I'll try to deal with everything as quick as possible." Maja bounced up and down on your lap with joy. "Please be good for Y/N. And if you need me, you know where I am, ok?" Maja nodded her head hastily and you couldn't help but grin.

"Don't worry, she'll survive a few hours without you." you assured him. Max said goodbye to you and headed off towards the simulator but not before pressing several kisses to Maja's head and telling her again that she could always come to him if she wanted.

Maja, however, was only slightly affected by the fact that her dad wasn't there. She wandered with you from room to room, always sitting sweetly next to you and now leafing through a book you had found in her backpack while you were in your last meeting for the day.

The rest of the time you had spent in your and Hannah's office, but as you had no urgent to-dos for the day, while you talked about the strategies, you did Maja's hair again and Hannah played with the little one.

You were not aware of how much time had passed. Only when the door opened and Max came in, completely exhausted, did you notice that it was already shortly before six.

"Come, mijn engel. It's time for us to go home." Maja stood up somewhat reluctantly and walked to her dad.

"Maar pap, Y/N moet je nog laten zien hoe je mijn haar doet!" (But papa, Y/N still has to show you how to do my hair.) Although you couldn't understand what the little girl was saying, you knew it had something to do with you.

"Baby, I'm tired and our plane is waiting for us." Maja, with tears in her eyes, tore herself away from her daddy, who was holding her hand, and ran to you.

"Nee, ik wil niet." (No, I don’t want to.) She threw herself into your lap and began to cry. Her arms were wrapped tightly around the middle of your body and you could already feel your T-shirt getting wet where Maja's head was.

"Hey, sweetie." You lifted her up so that you could look at each other. Her eyes were already slightly puffy. The tears lessened as she looked at you but she didn't quite stop crying.

"He always makes my hair ugly." She reached for her braid you had braided for her earlier. "I want my hair to always look this nice." Max, meanwhile, was standing not far away from you. But he didn't know what to say. He knew Maja had a point. He had no idea how to touch and style his daughter's hair properly so that it looked anywhere near as good as yours.

The original tiredness was no longer visible on his face. His expression was more offended now. It hurt him that his daughter was so sad because of him. And you could see him thinking. He looked at you and sat down on a free chair not far from you and Maja.

"Do you have to work tomorrow?" Maja buried her face in your shoulder again, while Max looked at you urgently.

"But of course. I only have Thursday off this week for overtime and then the weekend." Max leaned back in the chair and considered.

"Do you think maybe you can work from home? Or do you really need to come into the office?" You looked at Hannah who thought for a moment before running to her computer and presumably looking at what was on the schedule for the day.

"Well I don't think it should be a problem if you don't work from here. We have a couple of meetings but they're hybrid anyway because some participants from other teams are out of the office too." Max nodded in satisfaction and then turned back to you.

"I know this sounds really weird but would you be willing to come to Monaco with me and Maja?" He played nervously with his fingers and tried to avoid any eye contact with you. "You could sleep in our guest room, or I could book you a hotel if you prefer. And I have to be back here on Monday at the latest to prepare more for the next race, then I could bring you back here. In the meantime, I'm sure we'll find time to take care of Maja's hair sometime."

Max still couldn't look at you, was super nervous and looked down at his feet. You looked at Hannah, who just shrugged. Maja, of course, had heard what her dad had suggested and looked at you with hope.

You didn't even really know Max, apart from the first race, you hadn't spoken much to each other. Always a nice 'hello' or 'good morning' but not much more. Only when Maja was around he had to talk to you willy-nilly, you thought to yourself.

"Are you sure you're OK with this? I don't want to disturb your private life?" That was the first time Max looked up and looked you in the eye.

"No, you definitely wouldn't be intruding." He rolled the chair forward a little and came closer to you and Maja. He stroked his daughter's head, who had stopped crying by now. "If it makes Maja happy, you'll do anything but disturb us."

His words made your heart warm. This was a side of Max that certainly few people got to see normally. Most knew him as a hot-tempered, sometimes aggressive driver but not as a loving dad who puts his daughter before everything.

"I'd have to go home for a moment to get my suitcase." When both Maja and Max heard your words, they both began to smile. Maja's eyes even began to shine almost in competition with the stars that were now visible outside.

For a moment you saw the same joy flit across Max's face, but he quickly regained his composure and nodded.

"That's no problem."

-✨✨

"Y/N, Can we play together tomorrow?" You stood in the doorway to Maja's room. Max was kneeling on the floor next to her bed, just shaking out the pillow, while Maja herself was already sitting up in bed, now eyeing you intently.

"We will surely find some time." The little one happily let herself fall backwards onto her pillow and Max gave her a kiss. She hugged her father, then let go of him and then held out her arms to you. Max made some space next to his daughter's bed and gestured for you to come over to them.

You also knelt down next to Maja's bed and she directly pulled you a little closer to her and hugged you just like her father a few seconds ago.

"I think it's so great that you're here." It just felt right at that moment to stroke the little one's cheek and press a kiss to her forehead. She smiled at you contentedly and pulled her blanket a little further over her body.

"Good night, little one. I'm glad to be here too." You stood up together with Max, who walked out of the room behind you, turned off the light and pulled the door shut behind him.

"Are you drinking wine? If not I can offer you something else." He gestured for you to make yourself comfortable on the sofa. "Of course, if you want to go to bed that's fine too." He stopped on the way to the kitchen, briefly unsure because at first he hadn't thought about whether you wanted to spend more time with him than necessary.

"A glass of wine never hurt." Max let out a long breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding and then went to the kitchen for two glasses and a bottle of Merlot. He settled down next to you on the sofa.

Only when he took his first sip could you see his shoulders slowly relax and he let himself fall back into the sofa. The short silence that fell between you while you let your eyes wander through the flat was anything but unpleasant but was interrupted by Max after a short while.

"She really likes you a lot. I really don't get it because normally Maja always takes a while to warm up to new people."

He put his glass down on his thigh and turned slightly towards you to be able to talk better. You did the same.

"I'm glad to hear that. I really like Maja too. She's a little sunshine and definitely knows how to wrap people around her finger, especially you." Max grinned. He knew full well that he would do anything for his daughter and without much effort on her part.

"I'm so sorry she has to grow up without a mum. But I want to show her and everyone else who doubted and still doubts me that I can raise her on my own. Unfortunately, I fail more often than not. It's really not easy." Max closed his eyes for a brief moment. It definitely hurt him a lot that he couldn't offer his daughter a perfect world with a mum, you could hear that from his words and read it on his face.

"You are doing a wonderful job. I think Maja wouldn't wish for anything else. For her, you are her everything, her personal superhero." You put a hand on Max's shoulder. He opened his eyes again and looked at you urgently for a moment. But then his gaze wandered back to his fingers. By now you had figured out that this was a habit for him when he was nervous.

"I don't think so. She's asked me before why other kids in her preschool have a mother and she doesn't. And besides, a superhero certainly doesn't fail at the simplest things, like doing her hair, for example, at the moment." The pain in this regard ran deep for Max. Somehow you could now understand why he had invited you to Monaco. He felt like a failure and was looking for a way to improve at least in terms of doing Maja's hair.

"Don't say that. You really are a good father Max."

The more wine you two drank the more open the conversation between you became. Just as Max was emptying the second bottle into your glass and Max was telling you about Maja's mother, you could hear soft footsteps approaching you. Shortly afterwards, Maja stood in front of you with teary eyes.

"Ik had een nachtmerrie." (I had a bad dream) The little one stood in front of you with her cuddly toy and red puffy eyes and you didn't understand what she had said but your instinct said it must have been a nightmare. Max lifted the little one onto the sofa between you. There was a blanket on the sofa next to you and you grabbed it and put it around Maja.

"I'm afraid to go back to my room alone." She looked first at you and then at her father, who took her hand and pulled the little girl closer to him.

"Do you think a hug will help you feel safe again?" Max played with his daughter's hair and Maja shrugged. "Tonight you're even better protected than any other night because Y/N is here too. So nothing can happen to you."

Maja nodded in agreement and settled into her father's arms before lifting her little head and looking towards you.

"You too, Y/N." She reached for your hand and pulled you close to her and Max. "Or else the evil spirits will attack you." You looked at Max and Maja with a questioning look.

"I don't think Y/N knows about the bad spirits of bad dreams. You'll have to explain that to her." Maja sat up straight again and turned to you. She began to talk sleepily and you listened intently to the little one.

"The evil spirits of bad dreams come to people who feel alone or have done bad things. But they can't attack you when you're embraced because love is stronger than anything bad." However Max came up with that story, you had to hand it to him it was very creative. Maja turned back to her father and put her arms around his body as best she could, since her arms were of course too short to reach all the way around him.

"Come here Y/N." A little unsteadily you came even closer to Max and Maja until your chest was touching Maja's back and your legs were touching Max's. Max put his arms carefully around you too but always ready to remove them again should he sense even the slightest sign of hesitation or discomfort from you.

But contrary to your expectations, this moment did not come. The moment you felt Max's hands on your back and arm, everything felt so right. You lowered your head, which was now half on Max's shoulder and partly on Maja's head. While one of your hands was trapped between the sofa and your body, the other was wrapped around the two bodies in front of you and found its place on Max's hip.

It was like a puzzle that fell into place all at once and formed a perfect whole. A pleasant silence fell over the three of you. You could hear Max's heart beating next to yours and the longer you listened to the rhythm the quieter it became and the heavier your eyes became.

When you opened your eyes again, they took a while to get used to the darkness. Except for a small lamp on the table, all the lights were off. You got up from the sofa and put the blanket you were covered with back together. On your way to your room you went to the kitchen to get a glass of cold water and just as you turned around Max was standing in front of you, dressed only in a pair of boxer shorts. You flinched for a moment, not expecting to see anyone.

"Sorry, I was just getting something to drink." He whispered, grabbing a glass and walking around you to fill his glass. As he stepped past you, your arm touched his torso and with a flick, goosebumps spread all over your body.

You made your way to your room, which Max had shown you earlier. Your door was still open when Max stepped into the doorway and looked at you for a moment. There was an indescribable power, you didn't know if it was still the wine or what, that made you pause when your eyes met.

Max didn't move a millimetre either. The air between you felt so heavy but somehow so light at the same time. After neither of you dared to move in the first moment, because neither of you knew exactly what it all meant, everything happened super fast in the second moment.

One second Max was still standing in the doorway, the second he had put the glass he was holding down on your bedside table and the third second his lips were on yours.

You couldn't react that quickly and return the kiss. It took you a few more seconds to realise what was happening. Max was about to pull back because he could feel that you didn't return his kiss when your hands wrapped around his neck and you pulled him closer to you.  

The kiss was both gentle and energetic at the same time. It made your heart beat so much faster, but in some way also calmed you completely. Your body seemed to have suddenly found its equilibrium, no longer wanting this moment to end.

When Max let go of you again, a coldness spread through you. Actually, you wanted to pull him to you again, to feel his lips on yours again.

"I think you should sleep a little more. I'm off tomorrow but you have to work." And of course he was right. With a cursory glance at your watch, you could see that it was already one o'clock in the night.

Max fleetingly put his hand on your cheek and caressed it before taking his glass and walking out of your room.

"Good night Y/N. Sleep well."

And how well you slept after that exciting goodnight kiss.

-✨✨

"Ok, then we have cleared everything up so far. Y/N I wish you a few pleasant days off. I know you're supposed to work on Friday, but there's not that much to do. You can relax and catch up on Monday when you're back here." Out of nowhere you suddenly had four days off in a row. It was true, there wasn't much planned for Friday, but you still didn't expect Christian to be so generous.

Christian finished the last meeting for your Wednesday and you said goodbye to your strategy team mates. You closed your LapTop and looked around the small room. Max had tidied up his simulator room for you and put a table in there so you could work in peace without him constantly buzzing around in the background.

After all three of you had breakfast together in the morning, Max took Maja to preschool and then came back a few hours later. He had brought you Chinese Take Away and left it on the table next to you while you were in a meeting and then you hadn't heard from him for the rest of the day.

When you opened the door of the room, you could hear soft music and two voices talking to each other.

With your empty plate from lunch and a glass in your hand, you made your way to the kitchen to put your things in the dishwasher. As soon as you entered the living room you knew where the voices were coming from.

On the balcony were Brad and Max. Max was doing an exercise while Brad was looking at him. Just as you were about to go to the door, something furry wrapped itself around your feet. You recoiled before your gaze went to the floor and there were two cats sitting in front of you, eyeing you intently.

"You guys are cute." You crouched down and reached out to them. They let you pet them without hesitation and nestled into your hands.

While you had made yourself comfortable on the floor to cuddle and play with the cats, you hadn't noticed that Max and Brad had come in from the balcony almost right in front of you.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that everyone in this house just seems to like you without much of a getting-to-know-you phase." You winced, surprised by Max suddenly standing in front of you and crouching down in front of you and the cats.

"They usually always take a few days before they trust someone so much and let you pet and cuddle them like that." Max stroked the cat in your lap over the head and cuddled the other one that had made itself comfortable on your shoulder.

He also touched your cheek probably by accident in the process. You got goose bumps all over your body almost instantly. Max didn't seem to notice. He was focused on the cats. Brad, on the other hand, who was still standing behind Max in the balcony doorway, twitched his eyebrow but waved at you when he noticed your gaze on him.

"Ok, I think I'll make a run for it then. From the looks of it, I'm only causing a disturbance here anyway." Max tore his gaze from the cats and looked at Brad who was walking around you and put his bag on his shoulder before turning back to you.

"Don't forget to pick up Maja later, please." He grinned at both of you. You couldn't imagine Max ever forgetting to pick up Maja from preschool. A short time later the door closed behind him and you were alone with Max. For the first time since the kiss last night.

"Are you done for the day?" You were still sitting on the floor, the cats making no move to move away from you.

"Yeah, and Christian was kind of generous and gave me Friday off too." Max nodded and lifted the cat on your lap, Jimmy as he told you, off you so that you could stand up. The little one on your shoulder was called Sassy.

"Thank you." He put the cat, who was complaining loudly, down on the sofa before turning back to you.

"I have to go take a quick shower and then I should pick up Maja from preschool. You're welcome to make yourself comfortable here or come with me." Max reached for Sassy, who didn't let go of you. The back of his hand touched your neck and cheek again. And again you got incredible goosebumps all over your body.

But it was not an unpleasant feeling. It ran through your whole limbs and settled over your body like an inner peace. A homely feeling that you had never really felt before.

This time, however, Max seemed to notice what his touch was doing to you. He took his second hand to pull Sassy off your shoulder and placed her on the sofa next to Jimmy, this time without taking his eyes off you.

The air between you felt so incredibly heavy. It was difficult for you to breathe properly and the longer Max looked into your eyes, the more impossible it seemed to ever start again.

His hands were on your neck on the right and left side, but because his hands were so big, his thumbs reached your cheeks, which were slightly red.

On the one hand, the moment seemed to drag on forever, on the other hand, everything passed so quickly that your brain once again had no idea what was happening. Because this time you were the one who closed the already barely existing distance between you to put your lips on his.

It was like fireworks when your lips finally touched. Max reacted immediately and returned the kiss without hesitation.

You couldn't estimate how long you stood there like that. Only for a short moment did Max let go of you to catch his breath and put a strand of your hair behind your ear before you pulled him to you again. This time you could feel his tongue asking for permission to join yours and of course you granted him that wish.

Without breaking the kiss, you walked around the sofa. Max sat down on the furniture and pulled you onto his lap. In the distance you could hear a cat complaining but you didn't care.

As your arms wrapped around Max's neck, his moved up and down your body to the right and left until they found their place just above your waist.

Completely out of breath, you leaned back a little and broke the kiss but still you couldn't move far from Max. He held you close, your forehead on his and your eyes met in the middle.

"Wow." That was all Max could bring himself to say. His chest was still heaving a little rapier than yours, which had calmed by now. You read your hands moving from his neck to his chest and felt his heartbeat. His heart was beating so much faster than would be healthy for Max.

"You're nervous. More nervous after the kiss than before?" You couldn't help a small smirk. Who could really say they made Max Verstappen nervous. Leaving aside the fact that you had no idea where your confidence came from so suddenly.

Max was actually a work colleague. Apart from the fact that you hardly knew each other and you were only with him because of Maja, he was also Max Verstappen, Formula 1 driver and multiple world champion. But lying in his arms felt homey. It felt right, like something you couldn't exactly describe because you'd never really felt it like that before.

"You make me nervous. I don't know it like that but it feels so right. You and me." His words surprised you. Not generally what he said but rather that he actually brought over his lips. "I've never felt something like I do with you. You attract me like a moth is attracted to light. Last night I blamed it on the alcohol and because we were both tired but now, ..." Max lifted one of his hands to your cheek and stroked your lips with his thumb.

"I want to lose myself in you, forget the world, and never let go of you again. Please tell me this isn't crazy. Please tell me it feels so right for you too." You couldn't bring yourself to say the words. Your breath was caught in your throat. Instead, you leaned your face forward slightly so that your lips touched again. That was approval enough for Max.

"Maja already loves you to death anyway. I don't know how I'm going to get on with her when you're back in England. But I'd still like to maybe try it slowly. Not get her hopes up so much. I want to get to know you more myself first, learn all about you, if you'll let me."

If one thing was certain, it was that you would never have thought in your life that Max was so good with his words. But he knew exactly what to say and how to say it to wrap you around his finger. And it didn't take much to do that.

You still had a few doubts because he was Max Verstappen, the racing driver and world champion, but something that felt so right couldn't mean anything bad.

-✨✨

"Do you really have to go back?" For four days, the three of you spent almost every minute together and still Maja couldn't get enough of you. She woke you up every morning and sat down on the sofa with a brush, hair ties and clips ready to wait for you and Max.

To your surprise, the Dutchman actually made great progress very quickly. He understood how to comb the hair and that he sometimes had to pull the hair a bit more to get it all neatly into one hairstyle.

Together, Maja and Max showed you around Monaco during the days you had. On three days during walks and little excursions through the city and on one day even from the sea on Max's boat. It was still a bit cold to swim, but you still had a lot of fun on the water.

In the evenings, after you had put Maja to bed, there was some time for you and Max. While one evening you just watched a film together with the cats on the sofa, Max hired Charles and Charlotte as babysitters on another evening so that he could go out with you. The other two days Max tried to teach you how to drive in the simulator which was actually the most fun you had, especially seeing Max's frustration every time you hit a wall again.

"I have to get back to work, sweetie. We have to get ready for the race this weekend. I'll definitely see you there." Your eyes wandered to Max, who nodded, and then to his mother who was standing behind Maja. For Max and you, it was off to the airport in a few minutes. Maja, on the other hand, stayed at home with her grandma.

"Will you come back afterwards?" Max got down on his knees next to his daughter, as you did, and stroked her beautifully coiffed head. He had been very proud of himself in the morning when he had sent Maja to your room to wake you up hair already all done.

"If you're really nice, maybe Y/N will come by again. But we have to go now our plane doesn't wait." That was a lie, of course, as you were travelling on his private jet again, but Max, as well as you, could already see the tears in Maja's eyes as she hugged you.

"We'll see each other again very soon." With these words and a little wink, you ran after Max to the helicopter that would take you to the airport.

The weeks went by and while the race results were unfortunately a bit up and down, as both Ferrari and Alpine, who were the surprise of the year with Pierre Gasly, fought their way back into the race for the championship, things went better and better for you and Max.

Over time, a certain routine developed between you, which was good not only for you but also for Max. Before and after the races you would always fly with him to the destinations and back home, then spend a few days in Monaco with him and Maja before heading back to Milton Keynes to work with your team on the ground.

However, you all realised more and more that it wasn't even really necessary for you all to be on site. The others also spent more and more time with their families and friends except for the days when you had to be in the company because there were meetings with the other teams or with other departments.

Your flat in Milton Keynes quickly became just a place to stay for one or two nights a week. You preferred to spend your time together with Max and Maja in Monaco.

The first few nights it felt right to sneak back into the guest room in the middle of the night so that Maja could wake you up in the morning without noticing anything about the relationship between you and Max or sleeping directly in separate beds but it wasn't long before Max decided to sleep with you as he could stay with you all night and as he was awake before Maja in the morning she couldn't notice that he hadn't slept in his room.

You looked at the clock on the wall. What used to be Max's simulator room had developed over time into your office, where there was a simulator in the corner. On some days when Max was bored, he would sit in the simulator while you worked, but quickly got distracted as soon as he noticed that you were no longer in a meeting.

"The rest I think would be better if we look at it after the summer. If we talk about it now, we won't know anything about what we said by the end of August. Maybe there will be other possibilities. For now, let's go into the summer shut down, relax, recharge our batteries for the second part of the season and meet again in three weeks with fresh energy." Christian ended the meeting as usual and said goodbye to everyone present, which was actually almost the entire company.

You hadn't noticed that Max had got up from the simulator and was suddenly standing behind you. He put his hands on your shoulders and began to massage them.

"So from now on we'll both have three weeks off without having to think about work." You let your head fall back and looked up at Max who had a smirk on his lips.

"I think I'll get bored with nothing to do for so long." Max didn't need to be told twice. The next second he had you over his shoulder and was on his way to the bedroom.

"We still have at least an hour before we have to pick up Maja. I have an idea of what we can do."

-✨✨

It was a head-to-head race. Everyone was tense and especially you at the pitwall were completely on edge. The tyres on your car just wouldn't work this week. Checo had been the first of the two to venture onto the Hards, after they had worked excellently at the Alpines.

To no avail. It didn't take him ten laps before there was a yellow flag and safety car because Checo had found the wall at the exit of the stadium. DNF in his home race.

During the safety car you had to act quickly and together with Hannah at home in Milton Keynes the decision was made quite quickly to bring Max in and put him on the mediums. But even those didn't seem to work as well as you'd imagined.

"What the hell is this." You could hear Max say over the radio. "These tyres are a pain to get under control." After a few laps, however, he seemed to have found the groove and overtook several cars in front of him with several good moves. After leaving Esteban behind in the first Alpine, only Pierre, the world championship leader, in the second Alpine separated him from a podium.

"It looks like our tyres are holding up better than the Alpines. Pierre had changed a few laps ahead of us before the yellow flag. He can do that." Your message to GP echoed through the radio into the ears of the entire pitwall and garage. GP nodded and relayed the exact same info to Max.

An incredible battle began between the former Red Bull driver and the two-time world champion. The two didn't give each other a millimetre on the track but both drove a very fair race.

In the last DRS zone Max pulled out of the Alpine's slipstream, then everything happened much too fast. Your head couldn't follow exactly how it happened. All you saw was Max' Red Bull off the track at turn 12 and Gasly's Alpine right behind.

Then followed an eternal silence. GP tried to contact Max several times but he didn't answer. The race was stopped immediately and all the remaining cars came into the pit lane.

You ripped the headphones off your head and went straight to the garage where you knew Maja was sitting with Max' mother. The little girl didn't really understand what was going on but she knew that the car she had just seen crash into the wall was her dad because Checo was standing next to her.

She jumped out of the seat next to Max' mother right into your arms when she saw you and then didn't let go. You could feel her first tears on your shoulder before you could see them.

"Y/N, is dad ok? Please tell me daddy is ok." But you couldn't say that because you were no longer in contact with the car. So you just hugged the little one even tighter.

The whole pit lane stood still, nobody really knew what to do. They all stood and waited for a report from the medical team about the condition of the two drivers. Christian came over to you and Maja and stroked the little one's head as well.

"He's fine. His radio must have gone out. But Gasly said over his radio that Max is moving." His words were almost a whisper. He didn't know for sure if it was true or not, because the connection to Pierre had broken up as well shortly after.

Christian was one of the only people in the team, apart from Hannah and GP, who knew that there were a few sparks flying between you and Max. "Take the little one with you and his mum and make your way to the medical centre. That's where they'll take him first no matter what." You took a deep breath and took Maja in your arms.

Christian hugged you both together and then dispatched you towards the medical centre.

It seemed to take ages until the doors finally opened and the first people entered the centre. First, however, Pierre came into the room. He saw you, Maja and Max' mother directly and immediately came over to you.

"I'm so sorry. I was too late on the brakes and then I lost the front of the car and crashed head-on into his side." The description sent shivers down your spine. "But they were able to get him out of the car and he's fine so far. From what I've heard he doesn't seem to be really hurt." Pierre went on and on and you realised that the Frenchman himself was in shock. You gave Maja to her grandma and put your arms around the Alpine driver, who still needed a few seconds until he finally calmed down a bit.

"You drove a great race. Both hard but fair and Max knows that too. I know that. I've seen it all. It's going to be alright." You didn't even know that because you hadn't even seen Max since then but your gut made you say it anyway because in your subconscious you knew it was the truth.

Pierre just nodded and was then taken by an assistant to a room where presumably more checks would be done on him.

Maja again freed herself from her grandmother's arms and snuggle up to you. Her head was resting on your shoulder, eyes so lazy you could have thought she was going straight to sleep. You didn't want to imagine how bad it was for her not to really understand what was going on with her dad. To have seen only what everyone saw.

Another five minutes later the doors opened again and Max was wheeled into the room on a stretcher. When he saw the three of you standing there, he sat up directly on the stretcher and made the doctor roll his eyes. But the doctor only made sure that Max didn't get the stupid idea of standing up.

You let his mother take precedence to hug him. Max, however, had other things on his mind. He hugged his mother but then turned directly to you and Maja. You put the little one on his lap and wanted to give them some time together but Max pulled you close and held your face with one hand as best he could.

"I know I haven't been able to bring myself to say it until now but I really thought for a brief moment out there that that was it and the only thing I could think about was you and how I haven't told you yet that I love you and I want you to officially move in with us and have the exact same part in Maja's life as I do."

With his other arm wrapped in a splint, Max pulled Maja as close as he could while with the other he pulled your face closer and kissed you in front of everyone, but especially in front of Maja.

Tears began to run down your cheeks. It had taken you long enough to hear those three little words from Max, but at that moment it was all the more special to hear them because you hadn’t heard anything at all for what seemed the longest time and those to be the first words made your heart skip a beat.

"I love you too. Both of you."

-✨✨

Two broken ribs, a broken arm and a concussion. These were the culprits that shortened Max's season by three races. But that didn't really matter to him or to you. The main thing was that he was fine and was allowed to fly home after only a short time.

His mother stayed with him in Mexico while you and Maja flew home. It was the first time that you were completely on your own and took care of Maja without Max' help, but it all came so naturally.

While the plan was for you to work from the track for the race in Brazil, Christian arranged for you to fly home with Maja the night after the race in Mexico to work from England and only be on site in Abu Dhabi.

Max's mother had written to you that they could fly on Sunday or Monday. Since you had to go to Milton Keynes for the race in Brazil, you hoped that it would be Monday to have time to fly home with Maja and prepare everything.

But Max had other plans.

You were standing together with Maja at the airport in Nice on Monday evening. Max had arranged for you to use his private jet without him and then be flown to Monaco by helicopter.

"Are we going to pick up Dad at the airport?" Maja looked out of the car that was taking you home from the heliport.

"We can certainly do that. I still have to write to grandma and ask when they'll arrive." The driver opened the door and let you out in front of the house. You didn't have any luggage except for a carry-on suitcase that you had shared, as you had only flown on Friday you didn't need so many things.

The flat was quiet as usual when you opened the door for the two of you, yet you knew you were not alone.

A path of lanterns and rose petals led from the door into the flat. Maja, who walked in front of you, had twinkling stars in her eyes as she followed the lights that led through the dark flat ahead of you.

You put down your bag and the suitcase before following the little one to get to the bottom of the matter. But before you could see it, you had heard Maja's shrieking cry for her daddy, which told you who was behind it all.

"Daddy, you're back." As you stepped out onto the balcony where Maja lay in Max's arms, your breath caught in your throat.

He had decorated the whole balcony with fairy lights and prepared dinner for the three of you. Even though you were aware that Max couldn't have done it all himself and that his mother was probably in a hotel room not far from you, happily looking through pictures of the meal and her creation of the decorations, you found it difficult to find the right breathing rhythm again.

Max put Maja to one side and asked her to sit there while he had to do something urgent for a moment.

He faced you and took your hands in his, though one of his would remain in a splint for a while as it was healing.

"Do you remember one of the first days when you were here at the beginning of the season and I told you that I was nervous because I felt something that I didn't know. An unknown feeling that you triggered in me, which was unknown to me and my body?" You had to think back to your second kiss. The feeling of having found what your body had been searching for so long. Your self-confidence, even though Max was so foreign to you at the time. You nodded.

"I know now why I couldn't describe it then. I didn't know what it was because I had never felt true love before. You gave it to me. For the first time. I had always thought that I had lost the love of my life, but it was never love. I only experienced love when you came into mine and Maja's life and inserted yourself into our lives as naturally as the missing piece of the puzzle we had been looking for for years but hadn't found."

Max put his hands to your cheeks for a brief second before he took a breath, pulled a small wine-red casket from his back pocket and then slowly got down on his knee in front of you.

His gaze, and therefore yours, wandered for a brief moment to his daughter, who was still sitting on the floor with sparkling eyes, but was now surrounded by the cats.

"My angel, is it alright with you if I ask Y/N to marry me and officially become your mama?" The little one nodded hastily and jumped up from her spot next to you on the floor to hug her father around the neck.

"She's perfect." Max gave his daughter a little kiss on the forehead before he turned back to you and Maja hastily sat back down next to the two cats on the floor from where she watched everything closely.

Your tears had already started to run down your cheeks when Max pulled the box out of his pocket, but Maja's answer to Max's question finished you off. From then on there was no stopping your tears.

How could you have been so lucky in life to have found such a loving family in such a short time?

"Y/N Y/L/N, you heard her. You are perfect and I sign off on that without argument. So it would be my honour if you officially become part of this family. My wife and the mother of my daughter."

It didn't take you a second thought to lift Max off the floor.

"YES!"

✨✨__________

There’s that wailing, gurgling cry that haunts his darkest nights. Max spasms, pinwheels backwards into the wall, but no one notices. They’re all smiling, crowding around Capable and the cargo in her arms.

Furiosa lets go his hand. Her grip transcended pain so long ago his fingers have gone numb.

“It’s a boy,” Capable says, turning to them, beaming from ear to ear. She has blood smeared past the elbows, sweat sheening her face, but she looks giddy with relief.

The baby is still crying.

Max meets her eyes, skitters away, couldn’t say anything even if he knew the words. Everything is locked up tight inside him. Capable frowns mildly at him, looks instead at Furiosa still curled and aching on the blood-soaked bed.

“Let’s sit you up, Furiosa,” she says. “Then you can hold him.”

Furiosa shakes her head fiercely, jaw clenched so hard the tendons are a clear line under her pale skin. “No,” she snarls. Max shrinks against the wall. Freeze fight flee screech his instincts, uselessly.

Capable freezes, perhaps as instinctive as Max’s reaction.

“You-you don’t want to hold him?” Cheedo pipes up from behind. Furiosa jerks her head again, hand twisted white-knuckled in the sheets.

“You should hold him,” Capable argues, trying for firm but betrayed by a small quaver in her voice.

“I will not,” Furiosa growls, more threatening for the quiet tone.

The baby is still crying, that awful wail that grates on the eardrums. Max grits his teeth, swallows against the rising crowd of voices swimming in his head. He - he needs to get out of here.

Freeze fight flee.

“Well, we need to clean you up,” Toast declares from Capable’s right side. “Max can hold him.” 

Max looks up, wild with panic, no no no he can’t but Capable dumps the squalling baby in his shaking shaking arms and there is still blood and mucus and whatever else smearing over his hands and the baby is tiny and the muscles shift under his skin and Max has done this and it broke him and -

It’s not peace that washes over him. It’s a terror so monumental, so all-encompassing that it literally steals the air from his lungs. He can’t move, can’t think, his mind is a raging storm and he is trapped at its mercy.

freezefightfleefreezefightflee 

He doesn’t know how long he holds the baby in his unreliable arms. Doesn’t know when he started rocking, just a little, tiny movements just to feel like he’s doing something. He’s barely aware of the struggle in the bed, Furiosa nauseous with bloodloss and murderously weak when she births the placenta.

The baby quiets.

Hours - months - years later, Max looks up. It seems strange to see the banal clinic. Capable is changing Furiosa’s clothing with Toast’s help, but Cheedo is watching him. She smiles.

“He likes you.”