Alessia stretched her hands above her head and yawned. Like the previous days, Valentino, together with Uccio, were long gone. Esmeralda's big eyes darted at the sealing, recalling that this wasn't home, that uncle Luca might not enter the room and bring her downstairs for breakfast like he always did.

"Mama." She cried, clinging on to the only thing familiar.

"Hey baby, did you sleep well?"

She didn't have the words to answer her mother, however Esmeralda nodded with every word.

In the small kitchen space Alessia made them breakfast, an hour later they were out of the motorhome headed for Valentino's garage. A big day ahead, he was gonna need all their support for his comeback race.

*****

Gregorio felt robbed, cheated. This was not what he had signed up for, what the job description had promised.

"Can we at least step out of this cramped up coffin, there's no way we can work if we can't breathe."

Fernando, the tailor, was fed up having to repeat himself to his new apprentice. "No, we have to stay put in case...."

"....In case Biaggi needs us, yeah yeah." Gregorio waved. "What if he doesn't need us, we'll rot in here, watching the broadcast of a race we can see live by just poking our heads out the damn door." Gregorio was hysterical, the tailor suspected slight claustrophobia, a reason to get rid of him, a very compelling thought indeed. "Don't be so dramatic. Make yourself useful and organize the pins for me."

"I am not." Gregorio protested. The nerve Fernando thought maliciously. Miss Diallo would never complain, she would sigh and roll her eyes, but never complain. He could tolerate her and she tolerated him and his way of doing things, mutual respect, even the baby had seemed to have left him with a conscious mark.

"As you wish." Fernando exhaled. "Max Biaggi is in his motorhome, go knock on the door and confirm that the new measurements have been put in their place."

"In other words?" Gregorio talked as he looked. Foolish.

"Tell him that the suit is ready to be worn. Go on!" Fernando shouted, anything to get rid of this imbecil. Tonight he's calling his sister. That's what you get for hiring your nephew.

******

Sunday, race day, less interviews and more focus on working alongside the team. The significance of Valentino's role really played out on Sunday's. How he felt the bike respond to the track during the final run would be crucial to the combination of tires the team chooses to run with during the race, the maximizing of set up was what determined the course of a good or bad race.

Despite his awareness of his significant role, Valentino's head wasn't in the game. He kept on throwing anxious glances at the clock on the wall located above the entrance to the garage. Jeremy Burgess, not the only team member who took notice of this, simply had to ask: "You alright Vale, are the nerves kicking already?"

Only then did Valentino realize his position, the mechanics were looking at him, relying on him to guide them in the right direction, he mustn't be distracted. With a subtle wave he summoned his friend.

"Yeah?" Uccio leaned in for them to speak in hushed tones.

"Where is Alessia, shouldn't she be here by now?" A mechanic standing close by lifted his head, overhearing Valentino's anxious plea, but quickly turned his head, continuing to look busy.

"I dunno?" Uccio shrugs. Valentino gives his friend a daring look, hoping he'll telepathically read his mind. He does. Uccio nods understandingly before moving towards the wall, looking to not want to disrupt any of the work going on in the middle, quietly slipping out of the door. Valentino felt himself relax.

*****

There was not meant to be any hold up, Alessia thought with anxious delight. They had gone as far as to the door in the wall, all she had to do was to walk through it and soon they'd be on the other side of the paddock, with Valentino's garage now in sight. However, invisible forces had taken over. Alessia blamed these dark forces for interfering with her conscious mind. "No one's bothering us." She had thought in the mist of these inevitable forces. "We might as well take the regular root through the paddock." This detour was not the main factor for the hold up. No. Alessia blamed no other than the tailor for summoning her in his almighty distress. She believed him to sense that the world revolved around himself, everywhere everyone should come to his aid, fall onto the ground and kiss his feet like being summoned by him was an honor, no matter if they had more important obligations to attend.

******

Gregorio returned from Max Biaggi's motorhome bearing what he thought to be urgent news, however the tailor had known this to be the last straw of his tolerance towards his superior Max Biaggi.

"The measurements are all wrong!" Gregorio said in despair, having had to face a fuming Biaggi on his own. Delivering the news, he had thrown himself over the threshold into the small barrack that made up their tiny workspace, dramatically displaying his now agitated state.

"What now?" The tailor had said, his foul mood unable to get any fouler.

"Biaggi wants us to do them all over again before the race." In all hopelessness Gregorio fell onto a chair looking at his watch. "Two hours." He cried. "There isn't any time."

"Well, tell him to just take his other leathers, it has been fitted and worn in yesterday's qualifying race." The word 'do over' was not included in Fernando the tailor's vocabulary.

"He said you would say that." Gregorio drastically points out.

"Is that so?" Fernando said, raising a brow, as well as letting go of his pins in order to angrily fold his arms. "Tell me, what else did Mr Biaggi say?"

Gregorio's lips trembled a little, his uncle's stern tone reminded him of his mother. "H...he said you've been sloppy. Only you, not me. He sees the way you treat his leathers as if you don't want to deal with them."

"Ha, I'll say." The tailor laughed, still feeling the burn underneath his shirt, his torso being covered in scaling scabs no ointment could mend.

"We might need the girl, your former assistant.... Diallo... something?" Gregorio said, repeating the words of Biaggi as if they were his own.

Unlike his starstrucked nephew, there was no influence that the tailor could be brought under, not anymore. If it means ruining his reputation as a professional, so be it, he was done with it all. "And where did he suggest we'd find this girl so urgently and if we do what then?" The tailor asked, already possessing the answer.

"He said you'd know and that we should bring her with us so that she could do the measurements."

The tailor uttered himself with a low chuckle. He shook his head, muttering something to himself.

*****

It was in the passage between two parked trucks that Alessia became aware of the fact that she was being followed. Perhaps she had been watched over ever since they left the motorhome. Conjunction to the young man being noticed, he upped his pace, eventually walking beside her.

"Fernado wants you." He said short.

"What now?" She sighed, pretending not to be faced by the young man's fiery gaze that resembled her merely acquaintance Fernando the tailor.

"It's Biaggi."

"I don't work for Biaggi." Alessia said hastily, drowning the fact that her heart skipped a beat.

The young assistant regarded her with a lot of interest, he then looked at Esmeralda, who shied away behind her mother. They stood in silence, a minute passed. Alessia lunged forward, attempting to pass. However the young man stood blocking her way. She cleared her throat. "Excuse me, I have to...."

"...get to Valentino Rossi?"

"Yes." She said firmly, her days of hiding were no more.

"Good." The young man nodded, almost lowering himself to a bow, allowing her to pass. Alessia was left confused. Gregorio explained: "My uncle wants to see you."

She opened her mouth to protest, however Gregorio was quicker: "....after the race, that is."

"W...where Will I find him?" She stuttered, the resemblance was there, in the young man's eyes as well as his weak mustache.

"Worry about that later."

Letting her through, Alessia kept on throwing glances backwards. He stood regarding them for a minute, eventually turning back around.

Alessia felt as if she had been among friends, Gregorio however had learned about her truth and no longer found his job appealing, what would become of it they had to wait and see after the race.

****

"There you are!"

Halfway to Valentino's garage, Uccio came running. His heavy breathing increased as he fell over, supporting his hands on his knees. Alessia looks at him slightly amused, happy to have been summoned for.