Hello everyone! We are getting quite close to the end of this book, but don't worry! I have book 2 in the plans, if you guys would be interested.

Thank you for all the reads, comments and votes. They're really appreciated!
Much love

HB3112

'morning, princess' Seb whispered, as he gently put down a tray on the bed. 'happy birthday, again' he kissed her, as she was stretching to wake up.

'Thank you, my love. I can't believe you brought me all the way down here and I am going to spend my birthday in Hobbiton.'

'And you can spend as much time there as you want... well, until they close'

'thanks captain obvious' Valeria chuckled, getting a side eyed look from Seb. He laid down next to her again, as they shared breakfast and planned their day. Valeria couldn't wait to get moving. She inhaled her breakfast and the coffee Seb had made her and jumped in the shower. She changed into a pair of black shorts, a bright coloured tank top and her favourite neon vans.

She put her sunglasses on, joining Seb in their rental car. They drove the short distance to the sets in silence, enjoying the warmth of the sun reverberating through the car windows. Valeria failed to contain an excited 'woah' as a smiley attendant directed them to a parking spot, miserably trying to hide her excitement once she had recognised Seb. She could already see so much from the car park she felt like a kid would at Christmas. She excitedly grabbed Sebastian's hand and walked to the entrance of the sets.

Seb hadn't expected, or thought through, the reaction he had got from her. She had been walking, almost hopping with joy, around the sets, taking pictures of everything. He snapped a picture of her looking at Bilbo's door in awe, her tattoo of if visible on her left upper arm.

'thank you so much for taking me here. This is the best birthday I've ever had' Valeria told him, kissing his cheek.

40+k steps later

'I'm absolutely knackered' Valeria said as she let herself fall on the bed back in their little hut. 'but it's been the best day. My legs ache, but my heart is full'

'I'm glad you enjoyed it.' Seb told her 'We don't have to go anywhere tonight, I have prepared a little something for new year's, just you and I.' Valeria had told him she wasn't great with big crowds, especially on new year's. She had always hated the big parties and had always preferred celebrating with her friends at small house parties. It was good as Seb wasn't a party animal himself, always choosing peace and quiet over big celebrations.

'I'm gonna take a shower' he told her, leaning in to kiss her. 'just be ready in about 2 hours, ok?' Valeria nodded.

She unlocked her phone, wanting to upload a couple of pictures she had taken on their day out. She picked the picture Seb had taken of her in front of Bilbo's house. Having freed herself from the emotional weight of her past, had given her a new found energy, she could even see the difference in herself.

Find yourselves someone who looks at you the way I look at Bilbo's door. I couldn't have asked for a better way to start my last year in my 20s and couldn't have asked for a better companion for this adventure. NZ, you've been amazing. 📸SV she captioned her post, adding a couple of other shots from around the sets.

She had also got Seb to record her running down the hill of Hobbiton shouting 'I'm going on an adventure' just like Bilbo did in the first hobbit movie. You could hear Seb's chuckle at the end of it, as she almost tripped and fell. She decided to post that too.

Since I found myself falling in love with Middle Earth, I always had a soft spot for Hobbits. Like me, they are short, they like drinking, eating and smoking. They like the safety of their Hobbit holes in the Shire, they are scared to leave it and for that they are almost always underrated. But they're tough, brave and they fight for the good things in the world. Once they had a taste of adventure, they become explorers, warriors but mostly they stick around for each other. I wouldn't have got to this point in my life without my adventure buddies, old and new. In my "there and back again" I have just started a new chapter and I thank all of you who have stuck by my side until now. Happy new year. X

She hit post and put her phone on charge on the bedside table. Seb had just gone out of the shower, his blonde curls dripping over his naked shoulders. Valeria gazed upon his sculpted muscles for a little while, as he looked through his clothes to pick his outfit for the night.

'I can feel you staring' Seb teased her, making her blush to a nice shade of vermillion.

'I wasn't' she tried, turning around to grab her towel and to cover her embarrassment.

'sure' he smirked. Valeria gave him a guilty look and a wink before going to the bathroom herself.

After having changed into a light green summer dress and a pair of converse of the same shade, she looked at her phone again. Her NZ posts had attracted quite a few comments, especially the video.

Proiettinoemi: you almost falling at the end and the chuckle are all I needed to see. Happy birthday little sis. You're my favourite sister (and the only one too, so I had no choice.) Gu says: "gurgle" make of it what you want.

Alanstephens: happy birthday Val. Waiting for that Silverstone pass, still, you stingy cow.

Landonorris: careful, knees weaken with age. Happy birthday, Rosie!

      Proiettivale: only my grandad is allowed to call me that

         Landonorris: I'm basically part of the family, now.

Valeria shook her head, laughing, as she read a couple more comments from fans and trolls. Most people were being lovely, wishing her a happy birthday and them both a good stay in New Zealand, whilst some other were just calling her a gold digger and an exhibitionist.

JamesSmith: since she's been with Seb she's gone from going on holiday to Rome to being in Maldives and now New Zealand. People that say she's not with him for money must be blind.

  Domenik: hey, jealousy has called. It asked when you'll stop being salty.

Valeria laughed and like Domenico's comment. She felt like all the boys had taken her under their wing and she couldn't have asked for a better team. Her phone buzzed in her hands with Daniel's name ringing her.

'hey honey Badger' she picked up, waiting for her camera to turn on.

'I didn't realise you were on my side of the world. I would have called earlier, but thought you were in Europe'

'I didn't plan any of this, mate' she laughed, as Seb joined the frame smirking. He gave Dan a wave.

'Well, I'm sure you're enjoying it' Dan stated. 'we just wanted to wish you a happy birthday'

'We?' she asked confused. Slowly more people started to appear. Valeria smiled widely as the faces of Charles, Pietro, Domenico, Giorgio, her parents, Noemi and Simone and Philippe and Christine appeared on the screen.

'wow, this is a group call I definitely wasn't expecting. Hello, everyone' she smiled widely.

'Everyone has a quick message for you, happy birthday Taz' Daniel said.

'Valeria, working with you has been the highlight of our 2019. You are a pleasure to have around. You're goofy, silly, funny... and also professional and hardworking. We hope to see you actually punching Fabrizio in the face soon. We have banners' Pietro said, smiling. 'this was from Dom and Giorgio too, they couldn't be bothered to come up with their own' Valeria laughed, as the two mechanics nodded.

'happy birthday, darling. It's been a while since you've spent a new year's with us, or we've come down to you, but we always think of you today. We know Jules would be so proud of the woman you've become and he would be ecstatic to see you so happy. We love you' Christine said. Valeria could feel tears coming, Seb grabbed her hand and gave her a small smile.

'Valérie, I've known you for most of my life. We have had our ups and downs but I'm proud of calling you my friend. And I couldn't ask for a better companion to have along this Ferrari journey. I am sure Jules is looking at us with a proud smile. Happy birthday, honey' Charles said.

' Guglielmo thinks you're the best aunt he could have hoped for. I know he's only a week old, but he said so himself. On the other hand, Simone and I think you're average' Noemi joked. 'happy birthday, we love you'

'same from us. You've made us proud of you every day, since the day you were born. Happy birthday, honey. We're so happy to see how you've grown' her dad said.

'Taz, we have known each other for a while and you know I'm not one for speeches. You're a great friend, PR officer and woman. As Christine and Charlie said, Jules would have been proud of who you have become. Don't ever change and try to conform to them. Happy birthday!' Dan concluded.

'Guys, you are all amazing. Thank you so much. I'll make sure to come kiss every single one of you soon' she saw Seb raising an eyebrow 'not in that sense' she laughed. 'thank you so much for calling in, I love you'she said before they hung up. Valeria couldn't believe the amount of love she was receiving for her birthday, she felt like there was no better way to finish off the weirdest and beat year of her life. She grabbed Seb's hoodie she had "borrowed" and followed him outside.

The German grabbed her hand and they walked together over a hill, nearby where rhey were staying. In his other hand he had a big insulated bag. Valeria had already tried to look inside of it but was promptly told off by her fiancée.

'Last time you made me walk over a hill, we ended up getting engaged... I now worry you're going to use it to push me off it'

'damn, is it so obvious how much you annoy me?' Seb laughed.

'Is it because I keep stealing your stuff?' she asked.

'A little.' He replied. 'but I'm paying you back' he said, showing off the university hoodie he had taken from her luggage.

'Hot' she winked. They walked a while longer until they reached a plain field. Seb unpacked a blanket from his backpack and laid it on the floor for her.

They sat together, chatting away about everything and nothing in particular.

Seb had started to empty the case he had brought for them, he had got food for a little army, Valeria thought. Before they could realise it, it was almost midnight.

Seb filled up two glasses with champagne and passed her one, they only had a few minutes left of 2019.

'Seb, I don't think I say this enough. Thank you. Thank you for being the most amazing human I have ever met, thank you for being by my side no matter what, thanks for not judging me, for listening, for asking the right questions at the right time; for being my partner, my lover and my friend when I most needed you. I could have never imagined how good my life would get since I met you. You are what keeps me going, you gave me purpose. And I can't wait to see what the future will bring to us.'

'Vale, I am only all of that because you've let me. Thank you for being my rock, my shoulder to cry on and my therapist for the hardest year of my career. I will love you forever for many reasons, but I will never forget how much you've helped me through 2019. This is only the beginning.' He checked his watch again '10... 9...8... 7... 6...'

'5' Valeria started counting with him, leaning forward towards him.

'4...' she grabbed his hands.

'3...' she felt her heart skip a beat as Seb gave her a little smile.

'2...' she closed her eyes.

'1...' she felt the German's lips on hers and at the same time was startled by fireworks going off not far from them. She pushed herself towards him a bit more, making the kiss deeper. They separated, the lights from the fireworks made Seb's blue eyes sparkle even more.

'ich liebe dich, Sebastian Vettel'

'ti amo, Valeria Proietti'