Author's Note: I own none of the characters! Also, I always sort of assumed Mini named her daughter Grace, but it's not officially canon or anything.
And she loves Franky, but because she's Mini, she had to break Franky because that's what Mini does. She finds something she loves and she breaks it because when Mini loves something, it gets unpredictable. And Mini can't stand not being in control. So instead of loving, Mini breaks things so she can feel a little less broken.
But now her only resource is Franky. Franky is all she has left. She can't face Alo. Every time she tries, she just feels the vomit in the back of her throat and knows that if she stays and tries to explain, there will be a mess, so she leaves and doesn't say anything. Not even goodbye. The only reason she told Liv was to save the baby's life, and even that just sort of slipped out. If she'd given it a moment's thought, she could've made up another excuse. And Gracey, well, Gracey is dead. So she sticks with Franky, who in turn sticks with her in her room, making sure she gets fluids and arrives at her appointments and doesn't get sick on the floor.
Franky is her best friend, even if just a year before, Mini had looked at Franky as if she was a circus sideshow. But even then, Franky fascinated her beyond belief. Terrified her, sure, but definitely fascinated. Mini knew her world would come crashing down the moment Franky had come crashing in on that scooter, and there was nothing she could do about it. So Mini wanted to know more about this he-she, straight-gay, and what made him/her tick. When Mini met Franky, Mini started to feel again. She let herself feel hurt, happiness, want, desperation. She had been not feeling for so long she'd forgotten what feeling felt like. It was like breathing after a lifetime of holding her breath.
Later, she found out that Franky was indeed a female and for the first time in a long time, Mini felt a little scared. Intimidated. Franky was new, exciting, fresh, crisp, something Roundview hadn't had before. There had been a hundred Minis, but Franky was one of a kind. And Mini was jealous. So Mini wanted to feel in control again, and she did the only thing she could think of: befriend the friendless and once Franky was at a high, shove her down, down, down. Mini was good at that. She'd had it done to her too many times not to be. Granted, it was mostly by her father, save for the odd time with Nick or this thing, whatever it is, with Alo. Still, it hurt.
But then she was stupid and got pregnant and Franky was there. She knew what Mini liked and what she hated and which tea made her feel better and how to make Mini laugh. And then Franky's daily visits became sleepovers. And then the sleepovers turned into one continuous stay at Mini's. The first time Franky stayed over, Mini had fallen asleep and the roads were slick with ice and Franky didn't want to drive home, let alone walk, so she crawled into the cocoon of Mini's bed and cuddled close to the warm body.
The next morning, Mini woke up wrapped in someone's arms and her first thought was Alo, but then she saw the nail polish, and realized it was Franky, because Franky was the only one she knew who wore that sort of nail polish, the dark blues and dark greens and dark grays. So Mini, instead of freaking out, snuggled deeper into Franky's arms, content. Her baby bump had grown a considerable amount since she'd been found in that bathroom, and instead of going back to sleep, she lay dazedly awake, slipping her hand over her belly, making her fingers walk over the incline.
And then, something happened, some sensation inside her exploded and she wanted to laugh and cry and scream and cheer all at once. What happened was something small but forceful had jammed against her stomach.
"What the fuck?" Mini yelped before she could stop herself. "Fucking hell." She added more softly, rubbing her baby bump. And then she sucked in a breath, realizing what she had just felt.
"Hm? What? What's going on?" Franky sat up groggily, and realized her arms were around Mini. "Shit- I- sorry- shit."
Mini's eyes sparkled with tears as she took Franky's hand and pressed it against her belly.
"Kicked," she whispered. "Baby kicked." And as if right on cue, a tiny foot came crashing.
"Oh, Mini!" Franky withdrew her hand and threw her arms around Mini's shoulders. And when Franky finally pulled away, the brunette was on the verge of happy tears, a smile lighting her face like a hundred fairy lights.
That was when Mini first realized she loved Franky. Franky, who she'd known for less than two years but she trusted more and was more help than either the father of her baby or Liv, who'd been friends with her since they were six. That was when she realized Franky was her best friend.
And then Franky planted a big, innocent, sloppy kiss on Mini's cheek. Well, she aimed for Mini's cheek, but the Scottish beauty turned her head and it ended up going right on the lips. Mini sucked in a breath and Franky sucked in a breath and they froze, staring at each other, faces centimeters apart.
After a moment, Franky spoke up. "I didn't mean-shit. Fuck. Sorry. Shit. I mean- fuck- I mean-"
"Chill out, Franks," Mini ruffled Franky's hair. "Wouldn't be the first time you surprised me." A beat passed before the two girls dissolved into a fit laughter, even though nothing was really very funny.
Franky had been out getting milk and bread and a refill of Mini's prenatal vitamins. When she arrived back at Mini's, she called a greeting but received no reply. She called again. Still nothing. Franky, now quite worried, rushed up the stairs and into Mini's room, where she found Mini, in all her six-months-pregnant glory, crying. Mini-fucking-McGuinness, crying with her knees pulled up as close to her chest as they'd go, huddled in the corner of her bed in the corner of the room.
"Oh, god, Mins," Franky crawled over the bed and pulled Mini into her lap, quite a feat, considering she was more than half a foot shorter than the blonde, not to mention that the other girl was quite pregnant. "Oh, Mini, what happened?"
Mini just buried her face in Franky's shoulder, crying. "Not ready," she mumbled. "I'm not ready for this."
"I know." Franky pressed her lips into the top of Mini's head. "I know, but I'm right here, all right? I'm not leaving. I'm going to help you. It's us forever, right?" Franky gently rocked Mini back forth slightly, the only positive thing she remembered her mother doing for her.
Mini nodded and allowed herself to be pulled into Franky's lap a little more and held like a small child might be. She continued to cry. It was silent crying, shaking shoulders. And it broke Franky's heart.
Tentatively, Franky took Mini's face in her hands, just to wipe away the mess of tears with a tissue. But Mini surged forward and pressed her lips against Franky's, who stiffened but then relaxed after a moment, letting what was, be. The kiss didn't last longer than a second.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what was happening," Mini said, beginning to cry again. "I just needed someone and you were there and-"
"Hush, it's okay," Franky pulled Mini close again, allowing the girl to cry herself to sleep before Franky tucked her in with a kiss on the forehead. Franky smirked at the irony of everything, she never having had a mother, yet doing a mother's job and putting a mother-to-be to bed.
There were a lot of days like that, where Mini couldn't do anything but cry. There were good days, too. And Franky was there through everything. She didn't leave, not even when Mini's mother, Shelley, came home and tried to convince her to give the baby up. Eventually, Shelley relented and allowed Mini to keep the baby, but they were never on perfect terms again. Mini made Shelley edgy and Shelley made Mini edgy and the entire mother-daughter relationship was rocky, civil at best.
Then the baby was born, a perfect little girl named Grace Francesca, after Mini's two best friends who got her through more than she could ask. The baby was brought home but Shelley was still odd around Mini, so Mini moved in with Alo full time for a bit, and was happy.
But Alo became careless and started staying out with Rich more often and Mini broke things off and moved into Franky's apartment because Franky is constant. Franky is stable. And sure, Alo still creeps into her mind, and sure, once he matured in a few weeks or months or even years, she might see him again as more than friends, but she was content staying with her best friend, even when once in a blue moon the lines blurred and an accidentally on purpose kissed was passed in one of the now rare drunken stupors. Mini and Franky never became anything more than best friends, and both were happy.
Sometimes, Mini felt something stirring deep in her belly and the words, "I love you" threatened to tumble out of her mouth. Sometimes, Mini could swear Franky experienced the exact same thing, the way she'd draw a breath and bite her lip and close her eyes for a moment. But then baby Grace would start to cry or the timer on dinner would go off and the moment would be broken. But Franky and Mini's friendship never broke, no matter how cracked they were individually. Their love is purely platonic, nothing more than friendship, but it's friendship so strong that nothing, nothing in the world could break it.