Hey hey!
Next chapter is up, enjoy and thanks!
I don't own Wentworth or the characters.
Previously:
Bridget lovingly cupped Franky's face in both hands, looking the woman directly in the eyes before speaking. "You're safe here Franky, I promise." Bridget put into words, before embracing the younger woman in a tight hug.
Present:
Even when it was Bridget who initiated the hug, Franky immediately placed her hands around the other woman's back and waist bringing her close. She wanted to trust Bridget's words, but it was hard… Trust had always been a difficult subject for the woman, growing up the way she did. It left her with some deep trust issues, and although she never felt the need to deal with them before, she wanted more out of life than some random hookups here and there and wasting her days. Franky longed for some stability in her life with someone who she could love and who loved her back just as much. Over the years she had always pushed these feelings away, because in order to establish that she needed to open up and she was not ready for that. She covered all of this up by being an angry person, but that got her nowhere… On the contrary, it had landed her in prison instead. Franky felt emotionally unstable these last few weeks, actually since she opened up toward the psychologist and she had no idea how to deal with that. The younger woman wanted to explain everything to Bridget, but how? It would make her feel even more exposed than she already felt and there was so much they needed to talk about apart from that. One step at the time, Franky said over and over in her head, feeling herself calm down in Bridget's arms.
Despite all of that it took Franky a long time before she could force herself to loosen her grip around Bridget's waist. It had been such a long time ago since someone had hugged her like this. For sure they had hugged last Wednesday, but both women were sitting on the ground which made it more a rare side-hug that lasted only for a few seconds. But just up until now the older woman had hugged Franky so tight that they both could feel the other rapid heartbeat. Bridget had wrapped both arms around Franky's shoulders while resting her head against Franky's collarbone, feeling safe and serene herself.
The words Bridget had spoken to Franky meant so much more than the psychologist could even imagine. Somehow Franky felt incredible safe when being around Bridget. Even when there were voices in her head that kept yelling at her to be careful and not let anyone too close, despite the fact that the psychologist had had her back time after time in prison. Sure Bridget had pushed Franky to her limits now and then, but in the end it only resulted in breaking free from some old demons.
"Thank you." Franky uttered, still feeling quite overwhelmed by the older woman's spoken words.
"It's the truth, or at least I'm going to try very hard to keep my promise Franky." Bridget responded, giving the other woman one last squeeze before putting some distance between them, so that they could look at each other properly.
"I think I believe you Gidge, or I wanna try to believe your words." Franky put into words carefully. Bridget could see the uncertainly reflecting in the other woman's eyes, being aware that Franky was taken a huge step toward letting the other woman in, to start to trust her.
How could someone give so much about her, Franky thought. All her life she had met people who always wanted something back from her and the woman had to admit that she did the same. Franky had a very hard time to not be in the dominant position, she had the urgent need to control everything in her life as much as possible. When in a relationship, if you could call it that, Franky always needed to be the one to direct things. She was the one who called the shots. That need came from growing up in a house were nothing was ever constant. The abuse she had endured by her mother's hands, a woman who was supposed to love her and being abandoned by her father later on had Franky bereaved of a stable environment to grow up in. All that had definitely left her with some major emotional scars, but instead of dealing with them Franky had become this angry woman. Although she had changed these last few weeks and had tried to make amendments with a lot of the women in prison, she wanted to become a better version of herself. Not only because she doesn't want to end back in prison, but also because she wanted to be worthy of Bridget's love.
After a minute or two, when Franky hadn't spoken a word, Bridget tried to get the other woman's attention by placing a hand on her arm, being under the impression that she had lost Franky's attention. "Penny for your thoughts." Bridget spoke softly.
"Huh?" Franky uttered, definitely lost in her own thoughts.
"What are you thinking?" Bridget rephrased, an honest and open smile appearing on her lips.
"I was thinking that you're one fucking fantastic woman Gidge." Franky voiced, her smile matching Bridget's. This was followed by the psychologist happy laugh, squeezing Franky's arm playfully.
"You're not so bad yourself." Was Bridget's witty response.
"Thanks." Franky spoke, laughing as well.
"You're sure your fine Franky?" Bridget questioned, because the other woman looked a little thrown off balance.
"I am, don't worry." Franky answered, not ready to express her feelings and thoughts just yet.
"Okay." Bridget said, knowing not to push the woman. She would talk when she was ready, hopefully.
"It smells great in here by the way." Franky continued, ready to divert the subject to something lighter.
"Hmmm, it's nothing special because I don't really know what you like or not. So I've kept it save, hopefully." Bridget breathed, a slight hesitation audible in her voice.
It was kind of rare to see the older woman anything but confident about her actions and herself, Franky thought. She was convinced that the woman was one of the most composed and strong persons she had ever met in her life. Bridget knows who she is and acted accordingly. Smart, strong, beautiful and a great sense of humor were only a few words by which Franky could describe the woman at the moment. She hoped that in the future she could add a lot more to that list.
But right Franky guessed that Bridget was a little nervous as well, which was kind of cute.
"I'm sure it will be great and I like most things anyway." Franky said, hoping to take away the other woman's doubt. "Is there anything I can help you with?" She questioned.
"Nope, I am the one asking you over at my place, so it would be a little rude to ask for your help." Bridget responded calmly.
"But I want to if you need some help." Franky urged. The woman already felt very grateful that Bridget had asked her over, so the least she could do was ask if she needed some help.
"Maybe another time. Now you make yourself comfortable and relax. Dinner is almost ready, so no problem." Bridget explained, gently grabbing Franky's hand and leading her toward the couch.
"Thanks." Franky murmured.
"What would you like to drink Franky?" The older woman asked, after Franky was seated.
"Some water would be fine." Franky responded, looking up at the other woman.
"Okay, dinner will be ready in about ten minutes." Bridget voiced, walking toward the kitchen to grab Franky her drink. After handing it to Franky, she started working on finishing dinner. Bridget hoped Franky would like the chicken breast, with rice and a mix of vegetables she had prepared. The woman was aware that she was not the best cook, even when she loved the activity. Especially after a long day at work.
During dinner, which had been exquisite, the women had talked about some lighter subjects. Like what their favorite movie or preferred music was. Bridget had enthusiastically told the younger woman about playing the piano since she was a kid. Her father had taught her how to play the instrument and till this day it was a passion shared between the two partners. Her father and she could talk hours over the phone or when they saw each about music. Franky could picture a young Bridget engorged in learning how to play the piano and sitting behind the instrument with her father. The image made Franky smile and she questioned if Bridget owned a piano herself. Which she confirmed, it was situated on the first floor, in her 'music room' as she liked to call it.
At one point the older woman had asked Franky if didn't mind telling her these stories. She was aware that Franky had grown up in a whole different environment. Franky had looked Bridget in the eyes and told her honestly, that although she hadn't known such things herself, she loved hearing these stories about the other woman's life. It showed her that Bridget was serious about getting to know each other and that she trusted her.
Bridget on her part had asked Franky about her parole officer and the specific conditions off her parole. The younger woman had calmly told her that she thought it was a nice woman, and about the fact that she needed to be at her bedsit between 9 am and 3 pm during the week. During the weekend she was a free woman, even when she wasn't allowed to leave the country for the next twelve months and that she had to inform the woman when she planned on leaving the city or if she couldn't be at her place between these hours because of her studies, working or something along these lines.
Bridget had responded that she was convinced that she could make it thought the 12-months for sure. It meant a lot hearing these words from the other woman.
When the food had been eaten, Franky helped Bridget with cleaning of the table. She didn't want to intrude the older woman's privacy so she had handed over all the different items to Bridget, who putted them on the right place. Afterward Bridget suggested that they could watch a movie and continue drinking some of the wine that Franky had brought with her, it was just a little after 8 pm after all. But only if Franky wanted to, of course. The night was still young and the psychologist hoped that maybe it would give them the opportunity to talk a little bit more.
"I would like that, but I do need to catch the last bus." Franky answered, making herself comfortable on Bridget's couch, taking the place next to Bridget. The two women felt comfortable in each other's company, facing one another.
"At what time does he come?" Bridget questioned, hoping they still had some time left.
"10.24 pm, but the stop is like a five-minute walk away. So I should leave around 10.15 pm, I guess." Franky responded. She didn't want their time together to come to an end just yet. She felt calm and good when she was in the other woman's company. It had been such a long time since she had a meaningful interaction with a person of her interest. Both parties had agreed on taking things slow, but fucking god it was hard not to grab Bridget and kiss her senseless. The woman had no idea what impact she had on Franky. Franky was convinced she had never fallen for a woman this hard before. Spending time together was everything she wanted at the moment.
"Okay so we still got some time?" Bridget questioned, still giving Franky to option to back off.
"We sure do Gidge." Franky smirked, bumping her shoulder gently into Bridget's. "What movie do you have in mind?" Franky asked.
"Neighbors 2? It's a comedy, nothing too heavy." Bridget spoke. It was not her favorite genre, but she guessed that watching something dramatic or too romantic would be a little risky. Although it was a stupid thought, Franky probably didn't mind either way.
"Doesn't ring a bell, but fine by me." Franky answered. It didn't matter what movie they watched, as long as she could sit closely next to Bridget and spend some more time in her company.
During the movie Franky had dared to grab the older woman's hand and intertwined their fingers resting them on her own thigh. Bridget saw the big smile on the younger woman's face when she let Franky take her hand in hers. It felt great!
"I really like you Bridget." Franky spoke suddenly, her voice soft and calm. The use of her real name caught the other woman's attention immediately, and although she kind of liked the nickname Franky had given her she guessed that the use of her first name meant that Franky was very serious. Bridget turned the television off and slowly turned her face upward, catching Franky's gaze.
"I really like you as well Franky." Bridget responded sweetly, placing her one free hand on Franky's cheek.
"Are you for sure okay with our situation... With what I've done in the past?" Franky put into words carefully. This was the moment of truth, they were going to talk about it. Bridget answer could possibly change everything between them. She had already told Franky that she wasn't bothered with her past, but she needed to know for sure. They couldn't move forward if they hadn't talked about it properly.
Bridget removed her hand from Franky's face and instead grabbed the woman's hand in both of hers. "I know why you've been incarcerated Franky and I've read your file. I am fully aware that that's not your whole story, because I also got to know this really strong and beautiful person during our sessions. I've seen your anger, but I've also seen your smile. You're a smart woman Franky and although you've made mistakes you deserve a second change. And believe me, I've tried to not care about you as more than my patient but I guess you could say I've fallen for you." Bridget spoke lovingly, never breaking eye contact with the other woman.
When Franky tried to answer her, Bridget gently placed her index finger on the woman's lips effectively keeping her quiet. "I'm not done yet." Bridget said. "I want you to know that there are rules against having any kind of relationship with a patient aside from a professional one when the patient attends therapy." Bridget started to explain.
"But I'm not your patient anymore." Franky interrupted.
"I know, but let me explain please." Bridget kindly answered, a smile appearing on her lips. "What I was about to say it that some institutions prohibit their personnel to have a relationship with patients even up to two years after their last contact. Fortunately Wentworth doesn't have such a policy, so we're not doing anything that could harm your parole. But I want you to know that sometimes or rather most of the times two people, so a therapist and a patient, who do pursue a relationship both get hurt in the end. There're many reasons to explain why. The mean reason being that one partner acts more dominant than the other, so there's no balance in the relationship and in the long run that doesn't work. I want you to be fully aware of that. I'm not planning on forcing or dominating you, but you are entitled to know all the facts. It's your choice." The older woman ended. Both women were intensely looking at each other, Franky being aware that the whole ordeal was difficult for both of them. Bridget was so open and honest at the moment and Franky admired her for that because it was most likely not easy.
"I never thought about that." Franky started, a little bewildered by Bridget's whole speech. "I mean I think you're way too good for me and too smart and beautiful. But I've never thought about the implications about seeing you in regard of you risking your job or me breaking my parole. It didn't know all these rules excited." She continued, not knowing what to make off the others woman's words. "It's hard." She whispered.
"I know and thank you. You're a beautiful person Franky." Bridget voiced, squeezing Franky's hand gently.
"What now?" Franky questioned, her voice wavering with uncertainty, looking down at their intertwined hands.
"I hope that we can still see each other regularly, and I would like it very much if you think about what I've just told you. You need to be sure about what you want, if you want us to continue seeing each other and more at some point… Until then we take things slow, I guess." Bridget answered, all bravery gone.
"I still wanna see you and do things together. I know that." Franky spoke.
"We can do that Franky." Bridget answered, placing both hands on the other woman's cheeks again. "We will figure this out, but I don't want to pressure you. We are equals in this!" She continued, encircling the younger woman is warm embrace, letting Franky head rest against her shoulder.
A heavy breath left Franky's body, her thoughts and feelings were all over the place right now. She knew that she was attracted to Bridget and that she trusted the woman. Franky wanted more out of life and she could picture herself with Bridget being in a stable and great relationship. It scares her, but she was ready to do the work and make it last. But Bridget was right as well, she needed some time to think about today's event.
"Thank you Gidge." Franky said, breaking free from the embrace. She turned the TV back on and pressed play. Both women stayed quiet, both lost in their own thoughts. Even so Franky gently rested her head on Bridget's shoulder after a while. In the end Franky thanked Bridget for the food and the great company. It was Bridget who placed a lovingly kiss on Franky cheek before saying goodbye.
Thank you all for reading! Same old, same old reviews are very welcome! Till next week!
