Life goes on.

By the end of the summer Alessia and Valetino still found themselves housing at the Rossi's, with Valentino continuing traveling between the teams factory in Mugello. On the fifth of August Esmeralda their daughter celebrated her fourth birthday, with banners and balloons decorating the backyard of the house. Mrs Rossi prepared an aisle of refreshments including a two tower birthday cake, decorated with all the animals in the zoo. Esmeralda enjoyed a handful of flamingos, stuffing her slice of cake straight to the dome.

"At it girl!" Whitey laughed, rasing a glace in celebration. For the occasion he wore what would seem more discreet than his previous fashion choices, if it weren't for his rodeo hat sporting a flannel pattern.

"I'll go wash her off." Said Alessia, lifting Esmeralda from her cake infested seat. Valentino was quick to step forward, "I got it." He winked, unhanding Esmeralda from Alessia's arms. She was left startled, watching the two mount the steps leading up to the house.

"I guess he's not as useless as I thought." Alicia leaned in to say.

"Don't you have packing to do, your plane back to Paris leaves tomorrow."

"I get it, I get it, you want me gone." Alicia said sarcastically , throwing her hands up in defence.

"Never." Alessia said, putting her arms around her friend. "I want you here with me forever."

"Promise to visit?"

"I promise, because you still owe me a shopping trip "

******

Life goes on.

"Vale, it's not working. " Frustrated, Alessia tries turning the throttle. The rattling burn out would have left her permanently deaf if it weren't for Valentino's helmet protecting her ears.

"Release the clutch!" Valentino shouted from the sidelines, watching the cloud of dusty smoke rise from the back wheel of his 500 cc motorbike.

Alessia does what she is told by slowly releasing its clutch. "Ahh." She yells, being whiplashed forwards.

"Are you okay?" Valentino is quick to rush to her side.

"No." Alessia groans. Removing her helmet, the two stroke engine still roared below her. "This was a bad idea, I've never been on a 500 cc before."

"You did good up until the release of the clutch." He laughs, helping her turn off the bike.

"It's not funny. I wanna go home."

It was after hours, but with a little help from a friend (Whitey and his connections) Valentino and Alessia had the motorpark to themselves. Alessia had only tagged along as a spector, however with Valentino's exceld spirit having her with him, he suggested she'd try out his Motogp bike. A dream come true for her, he thought.

"Home? Come on, you almost had it. Here let me show you."

"Vale please." Alessia pleaded. However Valentino throws his leg up and over the bike, settling down behind her. "Like this." He said, resting his chin on her shoulder. Alessia felt timid and flustered, having Valentino guide her hands over the steering. He released the clutch and together they turned the throttle.

"Vale not so fast." She gasps. The bike starts rolling, slowly tilting with the first approaching corner.

He whispers into her ear. "Thought you liked it when I go fast."

"No." Alessia shakes her head. "I like it when you go slow."

"Like this?" Valentino grins as he surprises her by turning up the throttle going down the hill.

"Vale!" She laughs. They do several laps around the track, having a laugh while attempting to steer the motorbike together in each other's arms.

*******

Life goes on.

All wounds weren't mended but Alessia didn't want to rob Esmeralda of her grandmother. Tea cups in their hands, they sat on the front porch overlooking the sun going down behind the rooftops. A part of her had really missed home, it was strange to be back in her old house, Alessia once felt that she had entered a museum, her old bedroom, now turned into her mother's personal walking closet.

"Do you find it difficult?" Her mother asks, blowing on her cup of tea.

"Find what, difficult?" Alessia frowns.

"Having Valentino leave you alone with the baby every time he's off with his friend."

"First of all I'm not alone, secondly Valentino isn't just 'going off with his friend', he's working hard with his MotoGP team ahead of next season."

"I see." Her mother hymns curiously. Esmeralda was seen chasing shadows below them on the front lawn. She laughs tripping over her feet. An insticv nerve makes Alessia twitch, but seeing Esmeralda get right back on her feet, had her settle back down again.

"If you need help...." Her mother started. "....I'm also here."

"I have help." Alessia said short, knowing this relationship was still on a short string.

"Are you planning on getting a job, if you guys are planning on staying here, that is?"

"I dunno." Alessia shrugs. "God knows we can't keep staying at Mrs Rossi's, but with Vale traveling....." Like a twig, her voice broke. "....I have no idea what to do."

"You could always come work for me in the shop, business has been flourishing these past year, didn't your brother tell you? It will be like the old days, you coming to help me out around the shop."

"No thanks." Alessia said, massaging the sore part of her neck. The whiplash she got the other day still lingered. "I've had enough of being a tailor's assistant." She thinks of her friend, she thinks of Max Biaggi, but not without the sickening feeling of his touch reappearing.

"If you change your mind." Her mother insisted.

Silence. Alessia's tea had gone cold.

"Have you talked to your father?"

"He sends his love." She yawns.

A low chuckle leaves her mother's mouth. "Can't believe he missed the death of his own father, his children's grandparent."

"It's different for everyone, how they deal with loss." Said Alessia, a sense of calm coming over her. "I know that now."

*******

"You guys won't believe it! Everyone, listen to this!"

It was around eight o'clock in the evening when Valentino and Uccio emerged through the front door in their usual chaotic fashion, this time bearing good news.

"What is it?"

Like Luca who quickly descended the stairs, Mrs Rossi emerged from the kitchen, startled by all the commotion. They boys looked to barely keep it together, pushing each other around like kids eager to deliver the good news.

"I'm in." Valentino said, a wide smile almost cracking his cheeks.

"In where?" Luca frowned. Slightly irritated having been woken up from his overdued catnap. He hoped to rub the sleep out of his eyes. It would be hard going back to sleep at this hour. School would be a dread tomorrow, he thought.

"They're letting me back into MotoGP for the second half of the season."

"What! Really?" Mrs Rossi gasped.

"How?" Luca said skeptically.

"Max Biaggi." Valentino nods.

"Max Biaggi?" Mrs Rossi and Luca question in unison.

"Apparently he made a statement to the press when asked about me, saying: he'd rather beat me on track than in person and that my race ban was issued too harsh, he thought. 'A real loss for the sport,'' he said, a robbery of the title fight.'

"Yes he got all snobby about it." Uccio laughed.

"Nevertheless, my team issued a formal complaint about the penalty and since Max Biaggi, "the victim", seems to agree, the FIM has allowed me to return for the second half of the season, my penalty being my disadvantage in points caused by the previous races I've missed."

"Vale, this is great." Mrs. Rossi admits she could have gone either way, but seeing her son this happy to be back racing, meant the world.

"I know, I've got to tell Lessy, is she here?" He looks around the living room, to his disappointment, no Alessia.

"Err...She's still at her mothers I think."

"Will she be back in time for dinner?"

I believe she's having dinner over there sweetie." Mrs Rossi hoped to wipe away the temporary despair on her son's face.

"Maybe I should call her, I should call her right?" Valentino was already making his way towards the phone.

"Vale..." His mother paused. "Maybe this is the sort of thing you tell each other In person. I'm sure Alessia would appreciate having the big news delivered to her in person rather than over the phone. Don't you think?"

Valentino looks to ponder, eventually agreeing with his mother.

"Alright then, what are we having for dinner?" He jokes, returning to a more joyous state.

******

Alessia is mentally exhausted returning late from her mother's house, not to mention her sore neck. Valentino owes her a massage, she thought.

Walking into the house, Esmeralda asleep in her arms, Alessia had a sudden sense that all eyes were on her.

All heads on the living room sofa turned her way upon her entry.

"Lessy you're back!" Valentino jolts, almost jumping to his feet.

"I am, where else would I be?"

"Here, let me help you."

Valentino goes to unhand her Esmeralda, but before he carries her upstairs, Alessia gets a quick peck on the lips, an unusual act from Valentino's side, she thought. Usually he'd kiss her on the cheek in the presence of his family.

"What's going on?" Alessia silently mouths to the remainder of people on the living room couch.

"I dunno." They all shrugged, Both Uccio and Luca looking unusually smug.

"Look at that." Uccio said, gazing at his watch. "Big day tomorrow, time for me to go. Rising to his feet he says: "Tell Vale I said Hi." And just like that he was out the door. To Alessia's surprise Mrs. Rossi was also quick to scatter, mumbling something inaudible on her way to her bedroom.

"Where are you going?" Alessia frowned, catching Luca on his way towards the stairs. All of this was happening before she had even gotten a chance to remove her coat. "It's a school night." Luca said delirious, but the devious glimpse in his eyes tells Alessia there's more to his strange behavior, everyone's strange behavior for that matter.

"Alright." She surrendered. "See you tomorrow I guess."

"See ya!" He said, his quick steps echoing up the stairs.

Alessia had gone to wash her face and brush her teeth, by the time Valentino returned downstairs looking for her. In the bathroom mirror their eyes met.

"How was it hanging with your mother, did you guys get along?"

"We weren't hanging out." She chuckled.

"You know what I meant." He groans. Entering the bathroom, he approached her from behind, wrapping his arms around her waist, burying himself in the crease of her neck.

"Tell me about your day." She sighed, trying to restrain her longing for his touch. Valentino suddenly lit up, having lost his senses for a moment, inhaling her scent. "I had a great day actually." He said this with a wide smile shaping his lips.

"Really?" She said surprised, turning around in order to stop having to meet his gaze through the bathroom mirror.

"Mhmm." He nods. "I've been meaning to tell you."

"Tell me what?" She said, wrinkling her brow.

"That I'm back racing again after the summer break."

"Y...you are?" She stuttered. "How?"

A little faced by her peculiar reaction, he chuckled. "What do you mean how?"

"Well, who let you back in and why?"

"You'll never guess." Valentino grins.

"Tell me."

"Your friend Max Biaggi." He said, hoping her reaction would be just what it is, pure astonishment. "Said he wants to beat me on track. I say good luck." Valentino said confidently. "Nevertheless, they're letting me back knowing I'll be well on the back foot throughout the rest of the season."

Alessia suddenly felt lightheaded. Valentino watched her push past him towards their bedroom. He follows her to where she stops in the middle of the room, between the bed and the broken closet.

"Vale this is insane." She mumbled, beginning to pace back and forth. "You say Max Biaggi suggested this?"

"Yeah, so?"

"What do you mean 'So'? It's Max Biaggi we're talking about, there has got to be a catch."

"What if there isn't, besides, it was the stewards who let me back in, Max Biaggi merely suggested."

"I don't know Vale, I have a bad feeling about this." A sickening feeling, she thought, something she didn't want to admit.

"Aren't you happy for me?" Valentino had grown impatient, he was getting all the wrong reaction. Alessia stopped the pacing back and forth. The couple now stood facing each other.

"Vale, of course I'm happy for you, it's just...."

"What?"

"Just...." There aren't any words to express her angst, something that leaves Valentino feeling slight resentment towards her.

Silence lingers before he speaks.

"Isn't this what you want for me?"

"Vale, of course it is." Alessia is left with her mouth open.

"Then why aren't you happy for me." He pleaded.

"I am baby, I really am. It's just...."

"Is this about Biaggi? " he mumbled.

"No!" She nearly shouts. "Of course not."

"Then what is Alessia, because I just told you what I thought to be good news, but now you're making it seem like I've done something wrong."

Alessia bites down on her lip, knowing she's making a mess of it all.

"Are you happy?" She said, Valentino immediately frowned at the question. "What?"

"I'm asking you what you once asked me, "Are you happy right now, in your life that is?"

"Of course I am." He said, almost insulted by the question. " I've got you, Esmeralda, My team, Uccio. What else is there to mention? Why are you even asking me this Alessia?"

"In five years then?"

"What?" He said, rubbing his scalp, more confused than ever.

"Will you be happy then, in five years time?"

"Yes, of course I will, won't you?"

"What will your life look like in five years, what have you achieved?" She said, ignoring his backfiring questions.

"I dunno Alessia, I guess I would have won a couple of championships in the premier class by then."

"And us?" She interrupted.

"What about us?" He asked, confused, but slightly curious.

"What would we have achieved in five years as a family?"

"Lessy I've told you this." He shakes his head, the question being almost laughable to him. "We would have built a house." He said, taking a step towards where Alessia was standing.

"Where?" She is quick to imply.

"I dunno. Near a beach or something, yeah, Esmeralda would like that." He fantasized.

"What about me, what will I have been doing all this time?"

"What do you mean? You can do whatever you want." He frowned.

Alessia shook her head, having gotten to her point. "No Vale." She said calmly. "I won't be able to do what I want, because according to your envision of me, I'll be a stay at home mom, taking care of your five kids while you're out traveling the world chasing your dreams."

The silence that followed seemed to last forever. Valentino seemed to choke on his own words that didn't want to escape his mouth, not without his whole body trembling with anger and hurt. Alessia was the opposite, afraid she had said too much, forcing anything from escaping her mouth, even her own breath.

"Fuck." Valentino eventually uttered or more correctly shouted into the nearest wall. It takes him everything not to smash his fist into it. Alessia was left standing, watching him collect himself in the most orderly fashion. First he refused to look at her, eventually settling down on the bed, but then he invited her to sit. The couple are left staring at the many Kevin Schwantz posters on the wall. Valentino shocked himself by putting her hand in his.

"I love you Alessia, I really do." He said after a long pause. The voice that escaped his mouth seemed more restrained than calm, more determined than angry. "You have to tell me what you want or at least what you think that you want, because I think I've been clear when I say that all I need is you."

"I don't know Vale." Her lips trembled to say. Beside her he sighed. "Please try." He said, almost desperate.

"All I want is you too." She began. Which surprised Valentino with a sudden feeling of relief. "I want a house, and more kids." She surprises herself by admitting. "However, I don't think you understand what all of this means Vale."

"Try me." He challenge.

"Well firstly, have you even thought about registering Esmeralda to a preschool of some sort, because I don't think you have and failing to do so with one kid makes me worry for the other four you'd like for me to have. " Alessia said all this with a sense of humor, feeling herself relax a bit beside him.

"You think I'm stupid and irresponsible, I get it."

"No Vale." She said, firmly squeezing their intertwined hands. "I just think you're getting ahead of yourself, overlooking the reality of things."

"Things such as?"

"Having five kids while you're still racing in MotoGP. This worries me to think that you believe I can do this all by myself, because I can't."

"I never said that." Valentino shouted, rising to his feet.

"You merely suggested it when you told me you wished I'd birth you five kids." She smiles.

"Okay fine, fuck the five kids. How about you me and Esmeralda just go about our business, with you becoming whatever you want to be, Esmeralda being put into a nice preschool and I...." He sighs. " I'll take a day job working as a mechanic or something. There, happily ever after." He said, throwing himself face down onto the bed.

"Hmm...I don't think so." She said, patting Valentino on the back for him to turn over and face her. Their eyes met, how grateful she felt for having those loving eyes on her. "That would mean robbing you of your dreams Vale and I could never do that. I just don't see how my life is supposed to fit into yours, I mean I have no ambitions, no future, and Esmeralda..."

Valentino shuts her up by raising her chin, keeping her steady while bringing her lips forwards. How he wished he could shut her up forever sometimes.

"Don't say that about yourself....." He said breaking up their wet kiss. "About us or our family. We're supposed to figure things out together, always, okay?"

Alessia nods, having no words to describe what she was feeling. "Kiss me again." She whispers, tears of joy escaping her eyes.

"Not until you promise me not to worry about us ever again, I mean it, promise."

Alessia felt Valentino's hand tremble underneath her chin.

I promise." She said, their eyes locking their eternal connection.

"Good, now where were we?" He smirked.

"The kiss?" Alessia said, unsure if he even wanted to kiss her ever again. She ate her own words up, Valentino pulling her into his embrace, tilting her chin once more, really putting one on her.