Gina stuck close to her teammate - the R8 bellowing as if it was a bat from hell. The rigor and long, hard hours of racing at this level taking a toll on the purpose-built race car. There was a reason why GT3 was one of the hardest racing disciplines there were out there. Only coming behind rally and open wheelers. This wasn't even the very worst the cars would be put through - there was the inclusion the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 24 hours of racing would kill any car. Those who made it out must have been lucky, and had the perfect strategy. Key suspension components were beginning to give out underneath all the stress Gina had dealt to it, and it could be felt with the slightest touch. She was praying to god it would at least stay intact until the end of the race. She needed to have Ryan's tail. His R8 also was feeling the pain. Every car here was. Some gave in, and had to retreat to the pit to retire for the night. Races like these - they were hard as fuck. They not only tested cars, but the determination of the driver. Everyone must've been drowsy, but plowed on for the chance at glory. Gina could've been practically dead, but she was still continuing. The adrenaline acted as a fantastic fuel. All she had to do was take over whenever Ryan slipped up, which was starting to get harder than it sounded. --- The Asian girl flipped up the visor on her helmet, allowing her eyes to get used to the light she would now be surrounded by. She had deserved this moment. Hours and hours of rigorous racing. The R8 was in some bad shape, if she had to be honest. But it was only expected considering the nature of the sport. All sports beat up something. Soccer? Racquetball? Tennis? They beat up balls. Racing happened to beat up automobiles. Racing was an art in itself. Every single aspect of it. Gina was glad she was part of this lovely sport. It was just... phenomenal how she had come all this way to be racing professionally. The R8 pulled into the paddock, before shutting off for the night. It had been through so much. She pulled off her helmet and got out of her car, a smile on her face as she realized that she had just completed her first season professionally. Second place as a rookie? That definitely wasn't bad. Not bad at all considering she was playing with the big boys now. She was one of the only females in the league, which made it even more awesome. She accepted Ryan's hug and cheered, a big smile on her face as she turned around and looked at the car before her. The hours she spent with it... she was definitely going to miss spending time with the car. "I can't believe it, Ryan! First professional season in GT3 and we've taken second! Woo!" She cheered, high fiving an engineer. --- Racing was a spectator sport - so of course that included lots and lots of press. All Gina had to do was to just sit there at the table, answer the occasional question, and look pretty as a representative of her team. The three hours between the end of the race and the end of the event. For some odd reason they felt much longer than the race itself. She didn't like talking to the press. A good majority of them were ignorant, definitely didn't know what they were talking about. People tended to ask her questions that made absolutely no sense. People who knew she was definitely, but they mostly knew her as that girl racer. Not that she was Regina Lam born in China. Not that she had a racing heritage. She was just the girl who drove the car in a land dominated by males. She wanted people to know there was a lot more to her than just that. Regina was more than capable. At least now, she was sitting in her garage with Ryan. Her head leaned back pretty far, extending past the cushion and resting on the rather hard part. She looked up at the ceiling. Yas Marina. Probably one of the more hotter places she had been to. The daytime was hellish hot, but at least now when it was night it was much more cooler and bearable. Regina grew up in a warmer climate, yes, but she wasn't used to the dry heat Saudi Arabia possessed. How did people even live like this? Regina would leave that question to be answered by the natives. But for now, here came Lucas and Ryan discussing whatever it was they were going to discuss. Regina closed her eyes, pretending to space out when the two discussed. She did feel a bit cheated... even though she was a rookie. She came into this line of work hoping that she would be able to make a pretty penny and a few. Instead she was cheated. Honestly, this would probably be her last season with Forge as well. She received better offers already, hopefully on the same team as Ryan. The two were a dynamic duo most definitely. They could not be celebrated, so teams would probably treat them like a package. Not that Regina minded. She liked working with Ryan anyway. Regina opened her eyes towards the end of the conversation, "Yeah man... I agree with Ryan. He's got a good point. I think the both of us should be paid a lot more than we are right now. But that's just me." She protested, before getting up. Gina made a curious face as Lucas beckoned for her to follow. She nodded and caught up to them, walking out the exit. She stood before a pair of drivers. One man, presumably European (?), sitting on a hood of a red Mercedes Benz C63 AMG. The woman next to her, also Caucasian, sat on the roof of her black BMW M5. --- [i]Two Years Ago Glasgow, Scotland[/i] "Just relax, Miss Rossi. You'll be in good hands here." Kimberly at this point was a little over nine months in her pregnancy. If someone were to ask her where she would be at this point earlier that year, it definitely didn't include being in labor somewhere in Scotland of all the places in the world. The girl was only twenty four years old. Many years before the age she intended to have a kid, if she decided to at all. And if she were to have one anyway, would she really be giving birth to her child in Scotland? Figuring out how exactly the kid she would be having with some guy she met at a race track earlier that year, who just happened to be her fiance? It was a rather bad interruption in her plans. She didn't plan on any of this. She wanted to just race and drive her cars back across the big ol' pond. But here she was, lying in a hospital room in Scotland in the process of giving birth. The female driver lost track of how long she exactly spent in this hospital. Whatever it was, it was certainly long enough for her to start to get a bit touchy and a bit deep. Maybe this was supposed to happen? Maybe she was supposed to meet Ross and have all this happen to her? No, no. She was much too young to be having a child. She still had plenty of years to live! It was a bit disappointing to know that she would have to put her passion on pause for this child. She did feel guilty though, this baby was born out of wedlock. Kimberly also didn't intend on having a bastard child, but it was much too late. In the next few hours, her life would be turned completely upside down with the introduction of a brand new life. A life that she and Ross had created. It was rather surreal - knowing that her life would be flipped completely upside down. Kimberly reached over to the side table, grabbing a hairtie and tying her long, brown hair back. Her hand migrated to her forehead, wiping it clear of sweat. The expectant mother winced in pain, groaning as she experienced some discomfort. This labor thing sure was hard. Probably the most pain Kimberly had ever experienced in her lifetime, and that was kind of an impossible feat considering Kimberly's past and what she had experienced before this moment. Hands down, most painful thing ever. Made everything seem like a walk in the park. "Oh.. fuck." She gasped, the pain clearly enveloping her and giving her a whole another world of discomfort. Even though she was put in a high tier maternity room, it sure didn't feel like it. Sure, the TV was on, but it was on BBC News, and the last thing Kimberly wanted to think about was the world she would be putting this child in. It definitely wasn't the same world Kimberly herself was born in. Definitely wanted this to end soon. She was starting to become disoriented. The midwife sat by besides her, doing god-knows-what on her phone as Kimberly awaited the contractions to come along. She had already lost track of how far she was into this... which was not a good sign for Kimberly as a mother. Thankfully the midwife kept track for her, so that wasn't as big of an issue for her. This room was rather DULL for a maternity room. It was painted a lovely shade of boring beige, the only light on in the room was the lamp next to her, and the hallway outside. Otherwise it was pretty dim since it was night time. A stormy night at that. Such was the weather in a land like this. Always stormy, at the very least cloudy. Kimberly had never seen sunshine during her time here. The place she and Ross were staying in was lovely, but it couldn't reach its full potential considering that Kimberly spent a lot of time indoors. Too afraid she might've fucked something up. Kimberly glanced around the room once again, it was only her, her fiance, and the midwife. Felt rather lonely, but this was a moment that only required Ross and Kimberly. After all, Kimberly was about to introduce a new life into the world - and Ross assisted in creating that life. She stared at the TV, before another contraction kicked in. This was indicated by Kimberly's low groaning, and sudden rising from her dormant position within the bed. The midwife took some notes, before realizing what this meant now. The midwife got up and took Kimberly's hand, as Kimberly breathed deeply and heavily. "Okay... you're in the transition phase now... all this means is that you're on the home stretch. Just stay strong, breathe, and relax." Kimberly nodded, feeling more sweat drip down her face. This was it. A few more moments, and she would be a mother. She was going to put an actual life into this world. Kimberly could already feel the accomplishment that would overwhelm her as soon as she got done with. But for now, she had to be strong. Kimberly groaned and groaned, grabbing her fiance's hand and squeezing it as her midwife moderated the process, bringing along some nurses with her. After a few hard, intensive moments later, Kimberly groaned loudly one last time. It was quickly replaced by the sound of crying. At that point, Kimberly was stricken with a multitude of emotions. Fear, accomplishment, pride, and worry. "It's a girl!" Kimberly breathed a rather hard sigh of relief, plopping back in her bed as she smiled, tears flowing down her face and looking up at her fiance. "Oh my god... we did it." She said, her voice catching in her throat, "I-I'm a mom now... oh god..." Kimberly tried to keep the tears away from her face, but her efforts were futile as they started to stream. Her daughter was wrapped in a blanket promptly, putting a cute little beanie on her as she was put in her mother's arms. Kimberly had the biggest smile on her face, tears of joy flowing down her cheeks. The girl in her arms calmed down a bit, fussing around as Kimberly looked at Ross, and back down at her daughter. "Hi there... I'm Kimberly. I'll be your mother." She said, looking up at Ross, "You see him?" Kimberly asked as she gestured to her fiance. "That's your dad, Ross." Kimberly planted a kiss on her forehead, lightly grabbing her cute, delicate little hands, "Welcome to the world, Mia Hartley." --- [i]Present Day[/i] Two years had passed since the biggest day of her life. Kimberly still thought back to it from time to time - but now Mia was two. The cutie was already walking and talking. When people said their kids grew up fast, they really did mean it. Her career had in fact taken a hard stop for about a year and a half. But, she realized that she shouldn't have to put her life on pause just because something had unexpectedly happened. Kimberly had sold off most of her garage to support her new family. However, her 2009 Subaru WRX STi Hatchback, and 2001 Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 V-Spec II Nur remained - those cars she had loved dearly. Not to mention the latter was incredibly rare, and she had jumped through so many hoops to get to it. But, that didn't mean she couldn't introduce new additions. To be more family friendly, she bought a 2015 Subaru Impreza WRX STi, the updated version of one of her preexisting cars to carry her kid around whenever she wanted to. She also obtained a few more cars, mostly for herself. It was a bit sad when she got back in the seat of her Skyline for the first time a long while. She had completely forgotten the bond she had formed with this car. However, the more time she spent reconciling with it, the more she remembered its quirks and her style of driving with this. Within no time she was back into her prime, driving like she did two years ago. To the limit and beyond. Now she was here in the Middle East, driving a BMW M5 given to her by a Sheikh to deliver something. It was good money, so she couldn't deny. Plus, there were definitely a lot of cars to see here. Big plus to the enthusiast indeed. However, they stopped by Yas Marina to visit a couple of drivers. She wasn't exactly sure who these drivers were, maybe old friends, perhaps? She did know a few, but she wasn't sure if they remembered her. It wasn't until they walked out the door that Kimberly recognized one of them. "Hey Ryan!" She beamed, her face lighting up at the sight of his face. It had been too long since she had seen him. Kimberly was a big fan of the guy, she liked him. However, she didn't recognize the female driver next to him. She decided to introduce herself, walking up to her, "Hey. I'm Kimberly." She said, reaching out a hand. Regina responded promptly and reciprocated the introduction. --- Kimberly had one hand on the left side of her steering wheel, the other on the gear lever as she proceeded to transition into a tight turn. She kicked the clutch, sending it into a powerslide and clearing the corner easily. The M5 growled, all the horses packed in that biturbo 4.4L V8 working their hardest. The cops were all over them like ants on sugar. Whatever this car carried - definitely wasn't something the cops really appreciated. Kimberly gripped her gear lever tight momentarily, before loosening her grip so she could switch gear in a blink of an eye. She stuck behind Ross, hoping that he could get them out of the police's reach in no time. If they were to be caught, chances were that she wouldn't see her daughter ever again. The fear of that alone acted as enough motivation for her to keep driving to the best of her ability. Kimberly followed suit as Ross turned right, straight into the construction sight. She could see sand be blasted onto the windshield, prompting her to turn on the windshield wipers before getting back on the road. The sound of squealing tires accompanied the sound of the V8 roaring, storming down wherever the hell they were as an attempt to get away from the police. The Sheikh was going to have to deal with some inevitable damage on his car, but it was better than not having his stuff delivered at all.