Emma heard a knock at her door. She spun around in her chair and watched as her parents barged into the room.
"Mom! Dad!" Emma exclaimed. "What do you need?" She sat up in her chair and crossed her legs in a very professional-looking way.
They sat on the couch, and Mary Margaret held her husband's arm, probably to keep him from saying something he shouldn't.
"How's Killian?" she asked. "Any objections with this one?"
Emma rolled her eyes. She dealt with twenty-three years of her mother asking these types of questions, and it almost always ended with a lecture of some sort.
"He's fine, Mom," she replied curtly. She recalled a few minutes ago, when he was practically on top of her and whispering in her ear. It had never been like that with any of her other teammates (unless you counted those short-lived days with Graham during her Formula Three days as a teenager).
"You should try to get to know him, honey. I know it was tough when August left, but-"
"Yeah, I know. But we're getting a couple of drinks later. And no- I don't want to hear about it." She added the last part when she saw her mother raise her eyebrows in surprise, hoping it would help her avoid questions.
David shook his head in surprise. "Wait, you actually agreed to talk to this guy? Willingly?"
"Yes, Dad, I did. You've said it before, I should be friends with my teammate, so I'm just- well, I'm just doing what you told me to! Is there a problem?" she argued. When her thoughts strayed to Killian's request to get a drink, she realized that there was no reason for her to agree to see him. He made no particularly effective arguments, and she didn't believe they needed to be all buddy-buddy. It had just felt right.
David scoffed. "You've just never listened to me. I'm shocked."
Emma glared at him and protested. "Hey, August and I were friends! We talked, and I even did sim races with him!"
Mary Margaret finally butted in. "You and August were acquaintances, nothing else. Befriending Killian is crucial for our chance at the constructor's championship. That's the only way." The motherly tone she used caused Emma to once again feel like a fifteen-year-old girl arguing with her parents over something stupid.
"I'll do whatever you want so that we can win, okay?"
"That's all we're asking," Mary Margaret replied. She and David stood up and David rubbed Emma's shoulder.
"Thanks, kiddo," he said with a smile. They left, shutting the door behind them. Emma breathed a sigh of relief that she was alone again and went to sit on the couch they had occupied.
Her thoughts turned to the "friendships" with her previous teammates. As a Formula Three driver, her teammate was Graham, who she always had a crush on, so they never got the chance to become friends. Sure, they could talk and hang out for a while, but there was nothing of substance.
When she moved to Formula Two, her teammate was Elsa, at least for her first stint before Henry was born. They had been the only all-female team on the grid, which thrust them together as friends. But that was only for the cameras, and outside of the press, they hardly talked, and Emma was so far ahead in skill level that they rarely competed.
The only relationship she could consider a true friendship was with Regina, her teammate for the year she spent in Formula Two after Henry was born. They had bonded over caring for Henry throughout the season. While Emma was in her sim races and meetings, Regina always volunteered to babysit Henry, so Emma finally had a friend to rely on. When Emma moved to F1, Regina moved with her but became a race engineer instead. Because of their established friendship, their strategies were almost instinctive and always worked out how they were planned.
As if on cue, Regina walked into Emma's room and stood in the doorway.
"Geez, is everyone in the world planning on coming in here unannounced?" Emma complained.
Regina pursed her lips. "I was just going to ask if you wanted me to watch Henry tonight while you're out with Killian."
Emma shifted in her seat. "Oh. Yeah, that would be great, thanks."
"Of course."
"How did you hear about that? We just decided on it like, ten minutes ago," Emma wondered aloud.
Regina rolled her eyes. "Well, once your mother knows something, everyone knows about it.
"You're not wrong. Oh, how's everything going with Robin?" she asked, trying to change the subject.
Regina blushed and sat down at the desk chair. She and Robin met at the team retreat over the break (before a new driver was signed) and hit it off instantly. Well, sort of. Robin was the outdoorsy type, and Regina was anything but that. She found him annoying, he tried to convince her otherwise, and the rest was history. Their relationship was always a safe topic for discussion.
"We're going out again tomorrow. It's our one-month anniversary, so he told me he planned something special," Regina explained. She fought back a smile as she said it, which made Emma smile right back.
"You guys are so sweet. But don't be distracted during races, so sit on opposite sides of the room or something," Emma joked.
Regina rolled her eyes and stood up to leave. "How funny. Well, I have some work to do, but I'll pick Henry up from daycare on my way out."
"Thank you so much, Gina. You know you're my savior," Emma said.
"I won't argue. Have fun tonight!" Regina opened the door and left, and Emma was left alone again. She laid back down on the couch, planning to finally enjoy the quiet moments, something she rarely experienced while at CFR headquarters.