Can We Find Our Way Back?

Chapter 11

Bridget's POV

Bridget hurried out of Franky's room trying to locate her doctor. She did a quick glance around the hallway and when she didn't see him she decided to approach the nurses' station.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where doctor Morrow is please?"

"Sure, I can have him paged for you." The nurse picked up the phone and punched some numbers. She looked back up at Bridget and asked, "Is there a specific problem?"

"Yes, Franky Doyle is suffering from a nosebleed and some head pain. That can't be normal." Bridget tried her best to keep her voice steady even though she was fucking terrified. She waited with bated breath while the nurse related the info to the doctor over the phone.

"He'll be here shortly."

"Thank you." Bridget let out an audible sigh.

"In the meantime, he told me to check on her."

Bridget nodded and she and the nurse headed back in the direction of Franky's room. Please let her be okay. Please please. Minutes before they had been laughing, smiling, and she was thoroughly enjoying the banter. Then suddenly, Bridget could see in it Franky's eyes. She just went elsewhere. Then before she knew it she was holding her head and in pain. Jesus. That had made Bridget shoot to her feet to be as close to Franky as she could be.

As they entered the room, Bridget's eyes zeroed in on Franky. She was pinching her nose, and her hospital gown had a bit of blood on it, but otherwise she seemed fine.

"Hi Franky," the nurse greeted her, "I'm just gonna hold this gauze to your nose, until it stops."

Franky nodded at her and removed her fingers so the nurse could apply the gauze. Her eyes then jumped to Bridget's and she looked so scared. Bridget decided to go to her then and offer some comfort. She walked to Franky's bed and held onto her foot while the nurse held the gauze to Franky's nose.

Franky kept looking at Bridget in an odd way. Bridget couldn't decipher the look and she didn't want to ask Franky about it with the nurse in the room.

"Are you okay?" she asked her instead.

Bridget didn't get the answer she wanted. Franky just shrugged her shoulders and continued to look at her with those piercing green eyes. At the moment, they looked full of sadness, and fear.

"Franky…" Bridget began, but she was interrupted by the doctor making his entrance.

"Franky, I heard you had a nosebleed?"

"Yea Doc."

"Can you tell me what happened before?" He began to check Franky's vitals.

"Yea, uh, I got this intense pain in my head."

The Doctor nodded his head, and asked, "How bad would you say the pain was, on a scale of 1-10?"

Franky was momentarily distracted from his question as she felt Bridget's thumb start to make soothing strokes on her hand.

"Uh, maybe a six?" He just nodded and jutted something down on Franky's clipboard.

"Anything else?" He stopped writing and looked up at her.

Franky hesitated, and she glanced nervously at Bridget. "I…um…I remembered something."

The doctor looked surprised. "That's great Franky. But then you had the pain and the nosebleed."

Franky just bit her lip nervously and nodded. She glanced at Bridget again, and Bridget felt her heart skip beats in her chest.

Holy shit Franky had remembered something. It didn't look like it was anything good, and the way she was looking at Bridget, she knew it had to do with her. That had to be what the odd look was about.

"Any lingering pain?" The doctor asked.

Bridget looked at Franky and saw her shake her head. "Nope doc, just kinda sore."

"Ok well, I'm going to order a CT for you just to be sure. But I wouldn't worry until we know something."

"Sure thing Doc." Franky gave a smile, but Bridget saw right through it. Franky was putting on a brave face. She wanted to speak with Franky's doctor but she also wanted to find out what Franky had remembered.

"Doctor Morrow, I would like to ask you some questions, but first could I be alone with Franky for a bit?"

"Sure, I'll be at the nurses' station, filling out some paperwork. If not, you can just have me paged."

"Thank you doctor."

Bridget could not wait for him to leave, and as he did so she turned to look at Franky. She looked scared shitless. Bridget did not want to push her though, so she took Frank's hand in hers and sat quietly in the chair. After a pause, Franky began to speak.

"I remembered something." Franky said softly.

Bridget just nodded and waited anxiously, trying not to show it, until Franky said something.

Franky wrinkled her brow as she thought back to what she remembered. "We were in your office I think. I told you I was not a good person. But you kept pushing me." She shook her head and continued.

Tears trickled down Franky's cheeks, as she tried to explain the memory that she had recently experienced.

Bridget knew as she went on, exactly which memory she was referring to. She remembered it well herself. How could she not? It was seared into her brain. It was the day she had pushed Franky for a breakthrough, as her parole was drawing nearer. Franky had had a complete breakdown in her office, and confessed to killing the previous Governor, Meg Jackson. Fuck. No wonder she was so emotional. Bridget swallowed what felt like a lump in her throat and stayed silent however, because she felt like Franky needed to get this out.

"I told ya Gidget. About the horrible thing I had done." Franky lowered her voice to a whisper and said, "I fucking killed Meg Jackson." She started to cry and Bridget stood up to comfort her.

Franky held a hand to her face as she cried and Bridget stroked her hair from her face.

"Oh baby. Yes I know. I remember that day like it was yesterday."

"Fuck Gidget, you never told anyone?" Franky's emerald eyes searched Bridget's looking for the truth.

"No Franky, I couldn't do that to you. I already cared deeply for you and I could see how remorseful you were. You said it was an accident."

"Shit." Franky said as she cried. "So no one else knows, besides you, me and Liz?"

Bridget paused and shook her head.

"Mr. Jackson knows and Ferguson."

"Fuck!" Franky's eyes widened in shock.

"Let me explain Franky. Ferguson,…that manipulative cunt, planted a recording device in my office. She gave that recording to Mr. Jackson. From what you told me, he confronted you, pushed you against a wall, and you apologized and explained it was an accident. It's all in the past Franky."

"Oh fuck." Franky let out a long exhalation and looked at Bridget in disbelief. "And the Freak, is she still being a fucking psycho Governor? I can't believe I still have to go back to that shithole."

Bridget laughed wryly and raised her eyebrows. "She is now a prisoner at Wentworth."

"No fucking way!"

Bridget really laughed this time, but then became serious. She realized where this conversation was going. She did not want to have to tell Franky about why Joan was still in prison. Especially the main reason which was for the murder of Bea. She had already felt her heart breaking along with Franky's when she came home to tell her the first time. To go through that again. Fuck. This was such bullshit.

But she would do it. Because she loved Franky. So fucking much. And she was not leaving her again. She was going to stick this through, and she really needed to call her private investigator to see if he had uncovered anything. Franky did not deserve to still be in Wentworth. Bridget was going to fight tooth and nail to get her the fuck out of there.

She turned her attention back to Franky's eyes and realized that she was looking at her curiously. Waiting.

"Gidget…? What is it?"

Be strong Bridget, you can do this again. For Franky. Just tell her.

Bridget let out a huge sigh, and bent her head to kiss Franky's handcuffed hand. She heard Franky's intake of breath at her gesture.

"Bridget, tell me. How did the freak end up in prison?"

Bridget took a deep breath and began to tell the story about the fire, and then the whole debacle with Ferguson getting rid of the witness in her trial. Then she reached the part she was dreading.

"Fuck, so all of this shit happened. How is she still in prison then?" Franky looked confused.

"Because she murdered another inmate Franky."

Franky's eyes widened, "Who Gidget?"

Bridget didn't reply right away. She was having a very difficult time getting this out. Shouldn't it be easier this time around, to spit the words out. No. It was never easy to tell someone you loved that someone they cared about was gone forever.

"Not one of my girls?" Franky asked shakily.

Bridget just stared into Franky's eyes as she felt her heart aching for the woman she loved. She felt a tear escape her eyes and betray the strong façade she was trying to portray for Franky. It was a dead giveaway that the news was not good. Bridget cleared her throat, and got ready to tell Franky about Bea.

Again.