A/N This is for everyone who needs something happier this week. This story is dedicated to my new friend, Amber, who makes awesome fanvids. She made a video that I requested, and had perfect timing, which raised my spirits. She has been so low the last few days, I wanted to try to do the same. Ballie will live on, even if only in spirit! And Leila, look, here is a little Fridget ;) **
Wentworth's First Family were all in H1, relaxing before work duty. The Top Dog and her First Lady, and their wayward children; Boomer, Doreen, Liz, and Maxine. The last four cackling at the table while Bea and Allie lay curled up together on the couch.
Suddenly Bridget stood in their doorway with a guard at her side. "Smith...Novak...I need you to come with me."
The lovers looked at each other in genuine confusion. Things had been so calm with the Freak gone, and with Kaz seeing the error of her ways. What could they have possibly done now? Bridget gave no hints, just continued leading their escort to her office, apparently. When they reached the door, Bridget advised the guard, "I got it from here."
Bea pulled Allie behind her as they entered the doorway. It's not that she didn't trust Bridget, but surprises never seemed to work out in her favor.
"Let your girlfriend in, Red, I don't bite...well maybe just a little."
Allie giggled when both Bridget and Bea shot Franky dirty looks at her spot on Bridget's desk. Bridget walked over and sat beside her, nudging Franky's shoulder with a soft smile on her face.
Bea wasn't as gentle. "What the fuck, Franky? Was this your idea? Summoning us to the bosses office?"
"Ah...shit...Red...she's not the boss..."
The brunette quickly backtracked when Bridget raised her eyebrows and coughed, causing Allie's giggles to turn into full blown laughter.
Bea groaned, pulling Allie to the couple of chairs at their right. "Don't encourage her, aye? Franky doesn't need any more women falling at her feet..."
"Aw, your jealousy is showing, Red, never thought I'd see the day you'd be jealous of me."
Bea huffed, "I'm not...did you really just call us down here for this?"
Franky laughed wholeheartedly, "No, we brought you here for couples counseling."
"What?" Bea screeched, and Allie finally found a reason to quit laughing. One of the many things they would agree on is they don't need counseling, well not for their relationship, as individuals though, probably.
"Franky..." Bridget warned.
"What? It was Boomer's idea..."
This time it was Allie's turn to screech, "Why?"
"Is Red your girlfriend?" All Allie could do was make duck lips, trying to sputter out some sort of response. She failed.
Franky addressed Bea next, "How about you, Red? Is Allie here your girlfriend?"
"That's none of your business, or Boomers. Is Bridget your girlfriend?"
"Of course," Franky answered without hesitation. Oh.
"Well, a wise woman once told me to fuck the labels, and I am sticking with that."
Franky shook with her chuckles. "That's about your sexuality, you twat. Boomer's worried you won't claim your girlfriend and that you'll lose her. Apparently no one misses the old Top Dog, except me, I thought that was pretty hot."
"Do you ever stop?" Bea questioned.
They all four laughed when Bridget mumbled, "no."
"What, I'm just cheering for you, yeah? Team Ballie all the way."
Bea groaned, "Really? You too? You don't even know Allie."
"I know what you've told me." Bea blushed as Allie grinned like a little kid who found a way into the drawer full of candy.
"You talk about me, love?"
"Oh yeah, all the time," Franky hurried to say. "Like, this one ti..."
"Franky!" Bea roared.
"That's why you should talk to me. Doctor/patient confidentiality. Plus, I don't have as big of mouth as Franky." Bridget stated matter of fact.
"You love this mouth," Franky shot back. Bridget just rolled her eyes and shook her head, though she didn't deny the accusation.
Fuck it, Bea was crazy about this girl, and Allie so obviously felt the same. "So..." Bea drawled out, gaining the other three's attention. "Franky, I want to properly introduce you to Allie Novak...my girlfriend."
Allie inhaled sharply before adamantly shaking her head yes. "Yeah, I'm her girlfriend."
Franky belly laughed, "Now was that so hard?"
Bea placed her hand on Allie's knee and gave it a light squeeze. "No, of course not. Can we go now?"
"You in that much of a hurry to get back to work? I bought you an hour to hang out with some friendly faces...no one ever appreciates my efforts." Franky cocked her head at Bridget before amending, "Well, some people do."
Allie giggled again. She liked Franky, in a platonic, sister-in-law kind of way. "So, what's the next step in our couple's counseling?"
Bea groaned, "Really, AllieCat?"
Franky gasped in amusement, "AllieCat? Really? The Top Dog found herself a pussy to play with, huh? Oh, man, I swear I couldn't make this shit up."
"That's not why I call her that, Franky...fuck..." Bea looked at Bridget in disbelief, "you really can't do anything to shut her up?"
"Not in front of company," Franky quipped without missing a beat.
"I could still shut you up," Bea swelled, about to rise up from her chair.
Allie put her hand on Bea's shoulder and she instantly deflated. "We talked about that. We are lovers, not fighters."
Franky chuckled, "Booms was right, Pussycat has got the Top Dog on a short leash."
"You know, as much time as you spend with the doctor, I figured she would have noticed if you had a death wish," Bea grumbled.
Franky just ignored her. "So, to answer your question, Allie, the next step is the Newlywed Game."
"What are you on about?" Bea questioned for them both.
"You answer questions about your mate. Hell, I don't know, explain the rules, Gidge."
"Franky has never been the brains of the operation," Bea advises Allie with a chuckle.
"We'll see who the smart one is, after this game, Red. We'll be calling you Blue," Franky taunts.
"I told you earlier, it's about knowing your partner, not being smart, Franky."
"We have been together longer, we got this, Gidge."
"We have been through way more shit..." Bea argues.
"Yeah, well...lets see how much you really know."
Bridget looked at Allie and shook her head. "It's like we are not even here"
"Maybe they want some privacy," Allie teased.
"Piss off...just explain the rules, Gidge."
"Well, on the game show..."
"Wait, I thought this was therapy." Allie interrupted. Now they are playing a game? If all therapy was like this, maybe she wouldn't have so many issues.
"This is not therapy," Bridget explains. "That was only Boomer's idea. Franky decided it would be funny to run with it."
"Franky and Boomer, hilarious combination," Bea scoffed.
"Oh, hush, babe, just let Westfall explain the rules."
When Bea didn't argue, Franky made cracking sounds until Bridget glared at her.
"Like I was saying, on the game show one half the couple leaves the room. We are going to have to do it a little different, so basically, you answer the question with what your partner would say. One half will have to write their answers down, and the other partner says their answer. If they match you get five points. The second round we switch and the questions are worth ten. The final question is worth twenty five points. Highest points wins."
"Okay, Gidge, you and Allie write your answers down first. I want to take Bea on in Sudden Death."
Bridget rolled her eyes, "wrong show, Franky."
"Okay, Allie. I write down what I think Franky would say, and you write down what Bea would say. Alright?"
"Sounds fun," Allie agreed. Bea scoffed again, silenced by a single look from Allie. Maybe she was whipped.
"Okay, first question, so for you, what would Bea say is her favorite feature of yours?"
"My smile," Allie wrote, and smiled genuinely when Bea answered the same. Five points for them.
Franky hollers, "her tits." and cheered when Bridget's card read exactly that. Tied Game.
"What was your first fight about?"
"Our first real fight that wasn't about someone else?" Allie questioned. When Bridget nodded, "who shopped Kaz," was easily their answer. Up to ten.
When Franky said, "throttling Liz," Bridget groaned.
"That was after Bea got shivved."
"What the fuck?" Allie interjected.
"Oh yeah, our first fight. Gidge here accused me of shivving your girl in the yard."
"It was Jodi because of the Freak," Bea argued.
"Well, yeah we all know that now."
"Why did she think it was you?" Allie questioned.
"Yeah, why did she think it was you, Franky?" Bea repeated.
"I don't know why, actually."
"Sure you do. You spent the session before complaining all about the bitch who took your job." Bridget deadpanned.
"You can have that shit back," Bea said with no hesitation. "I didn't do it to take Top Dog, I did it to get the fuck out of here, and kill Brayden Holt."
"Here, here," Franky and Allie cheered together, while Bridget just shook her head. She couldn't cheer for murder, but she couldn't say the world needed more evil either.
Bea never did like being glorified for what she felt any mother would have done, so instead she teased, "So we are in the lead, huh? Beating you again, Franky? Doesn't your pride hurt by now?"
"Just shut up so Gidge can ask our last question."
"What is your partner most afraid of?"
Losing another person she loved, swept the first round for Ballie.
When Franky said losing Bridget, Bridget purred but held her sign up with a frown. Coming back to Wentworth was an answer, just not the answer apparently. Fridget was behind by ten.
"Whatever, give me the notebook," Franky huffed. Everyone laughed but her.
"What would I think is the cutest thing you do without realizing it. Bea, your question is about Allie of course."
"Oh, hell, I don't know, Gidge. Smile at you even when I'm mad?" Bridget clapped and held her paper up. Tied game again.
Before Franky could get too excited, Bea said, "hold your hand wherever we go?" And Allie said, "We're back up bitches!" When the other women stared at her, Allie just smirked until they laughed. Couples therapy was fun.
Bridget laughed as she shared the next question, and Bea and Allie exchanged a quick look. It was time for a little payback on Franky.
"What friend of your partner annoys you the most?"
Without missing a beat, Allie says, "Franky," and Bea held up her answer.
"What the fuck? Really? I'm more annoying than Boomer, or Liz? Or fuck, even Doreen. That's not right..."
When her lover and her friends continued to laugh, Franky cried out, "Piss off..."
"What's your answer, Bridget?" Bea questioned.
"I don't really know many of Franky's friends..."
"Franky doesn't really have friends, you've met her," Bea teased.
"Fuck...Red, keep that shit up and you are going to have to come out of retirement, piss off your girl and everything, cuz we are fighting."
"Anytime, Franky. I've told you, you don't scare me..."
"Oh, but pissing me off is okay?" Allie frowned.
"AllieCat...no...of course not...I was just getting under Franky's skin."
"And I was getting under yours," Allie retorted with a twinkle in her eye.
Bridget tried to use the laughter to cover her answer, "Kim," she mumbled.
"You're still friends with Kim? Fucking seriously?" Bea threw her notepad across the room, aiming for Franky's stupid face. Really after everything?
"Hey!" Franky shouted, swatting the notebook away, just in time. "No, I'm not friends with Kim, but Gidge likes all my real friends, and I know how her mind works, so there you have it." Franky held up her notebook, and Bridget laughed. Franky had drawn a stick figure with disproportionate tits and long hair with an extra pair of hands coming around her, just like Boomer had, with a thought bubble that read, "the bitch had moved on!"
"Well, what does it say?" Allie asked as Franky picked their notebook up and tossed it back to Bea.
"Kim," Bridget chuckled, going for the short answer. "Here's the last ten point question. If your partner was a superhero what would their powers be?"
"No doubt in my mind about this one," Bridget giggled, only laughing louder when Franky said x-ray vision. Bridget held her paper up in triumph. "Do I know my girl or what?" They kissed in celebration of Franky's pervy ways.
"I'd like to fly." Bea answered.
"What the hell? I picked healer. You would so be a healer, love!"
Bea leaned forward, kissing Allie with gusto. Allie could be the best consolation prize she ever received. She didn't need to win, if she could kiss those lips for the rest of her very long life. That already made her the biggest winner of all.
Final question. "When did we know we were in love with our Top Dogs?"
"When you kept caring, despite what you knew, despite what it could cost you."
Bridget whispered, "it was worth it," holding her sign up that simply said, ethics violations. How she was ever supposed to think of loving Franky as wrong, she didn't know. This time when Franky pulled her in, she didn't let go.
"What about you guys?" Franky encouraged.
"Oh that's easy. When I first wanted to leave Kaz's crew. I didn't need the Red Right Hand anymore, I had something so much better."
Tears began to sneak out of Bea's eyes, against her wishes, as she held up her sign Me Over Kaz.
"Always," Allie whispered.
"Wait," Franky disrupted the stillness of their room. "What's the tie-breaker?"
Bridget's eyebrows raised, "Shit, I forgot that part. We were supposed to say what we thought our score would be, just in case of a tie."
"So, this was as useless as regular therapy?" Franky scoffed. "And, nobody won?"
Bea looked at the happiness etched into Franky and Bridget's eyes that almost mirrored the love she felt for Allie, before she scooted her chair close and wrapped her arms around her girl. "I'd say we all won."