Franky opened the box of flooring that had just been delivered to the restaurant, and ran her hand over the surface. She'd chosen a medium-tone laminate wood grain just to balance out the brightness of the walls.
She'd spent almost every day here since she'd bought it, and she felt like she'd made good progress towards getting it to look exactly how she wanted. She had hired a team to come in and give the place a deep cleaning, especially the kitchen area, and the old appliances had been removed. The new ones she had picked out were supposed to arrive sometime the next week, along with the new countertop. She was planning to do the painting and flooring herself. She could have hired someone, but she wanted to be as involved as possible and only hand over the tasks that she wasn't able to do for herself.
Her routine had become dropping Emily off at school in the mornings, then heading straight to the restaurant where she worked until it was time to pick up the young girl from school. They'd come right back and finish up whatever Franky had been working on that day, then leave for home in time to be there when Bridget arrived. The brunette had made a promise to herself not to let this take time away from her family, and so far she'd been able to keep that promise.
She was full of a kind of nervous energy though today. They had been able to get an appointment at a fertility clinic that they had researched, and found good things about. Bridget had reassured her over and over that there was no reason to think there would be any complications for them, but she needed to hear it from a professional. Deep down she knew that she wouldn't fully rest easy until she was well into her pregnancy.
She glanced at her watch for the hundredth time that day. Only two more hours left until their appointment.
"Yeah, come in." Bridget heard a soft knock at her office door.
"Hey, sorry to bother you, but I kind of need a favor." Vera knew that her friend was usually fully booked each day, but she felt like this was a special situation. "I, uh, need you to have a session with one of the new arrivals."
"That's no problem." The blonde glanced at her calendar on the computer screen. "I have a free slot first thing tomorrow morning."
"Actually, I'd like you to see her now." Vera saw Bridget glance at the clock. She knew the blonde had arranged to leave early today. "I know you're done soon, but I really think she'd benefit from talking to you."
"Okay, sure, but I can only do a half hour." She felt bad that she wasn't able to offer a full session, but she was committed to being at every appointment with Franky.
"I appreciate it." The governor gave the blonde a small smile. "I'll go get her."
Once Vera had left, Bridget made her way to the staffroom. She poured two cups of tea, and grabbed a couple packets of biscuits before she headed back to her office. She knew that Vera had her reasons for insisting on a session right away. Usually, it was that the prisoner was very upset, or anxious about their new surroundings. The blonde had found that rather than having a formal counselling session, these cases tended to benefit more from some general conversation in a calm atmosphere. She was hoping that was the case this time. She could offer the woman some comforting words while they had their tea, and then start regular sessions with her tomorrow.
It was only a minute after she'd arrived back in her office that Vera was at her door with the new inmate.
"This is Lana Caldwell, she's just arrived here. Lana, this is our psychologist, Ms, Westfall. I've asked that she have a little chat with you this afternoon." The governor gave the inmate a small smile, which wasn't returned. "I'll be back in a half hour to take you to your unit." She handed Bridget the woman's file.
The blonde briefly glanced at the cover page before tossing it onto her desk. Jesus, she thought. This girl is only barely 18. She had caught the word 'assault' on there somewhere, as well.
"It's nice to meet you Lana. Why don't we have a seat in the chairs here?" Bridget motioned to the set of green chairs, and waited until the young woman took her suggestion. "Right. This is for you." She moved the cup of tea on the coffee table to sit in front of the inmate. "These as well." She slid the packet of biscuits over beside the cup as she took her own seat in the opposite chair. "You can call me Bridget, by the way. The governor likes to keep things a bit formal, but I prefer to just use my first name."
"What do I have to do for them?" Lana asked, looking at the tea and biscuits, then at the blonde.
"Nothing, I just thought you might like something while we talked. You've probably had a long day so far," Bridget said as she took a sip of her own tea.
"So if I want them, I have to talk to you?" Lana wrapped her arms tighter around herself.
"No, you don't have to, but I'm here to listen." The blonde was used to not getting anything out of her clients for sometimes the first two or even three sessions. She could tell that the inmate had deep trust issues, so she wasn't going to push it today.
They sat in silence for a moment, and for now, Bridget was counting the fact that Lana was still there in the office, as a win.
"I know the first day here can be overwhelming. I can assure you that what you're feeling right now is very common." The blonde had decided that even if the inmate wasn't going to talk, she could offer some kind words.
"No, you don't." Lana made eye contact with her for the first time. "You don't know anything about me, or how I'm feeling." She angrily wiped a tear from her cheek.
"I'd like to." Bridget calmly held her gaze. "I'd like you to share that with me when you're ready, and we can work through anything that's bothering you."
The inmate scoffed. "You don't care about me, you get your paycheque either way."
"I can assure you that I care about all my patients, and I do my best to help them." The blonde sighed. "We don't have to get into anything today if you don't want to, but I would like to ask if you have any immediate concerns that maybe I can help with."
"Yeah, how do I get the fuck out of here?" Lana gestured to the space around her.
"Well, that's something we can work on." Bridget took another sip of her tea.
"Do I have to stay any longer?" She sat forward on the edge of the chair, as if she was ready to jump up and run at a second's notice.
"No, I can call someone to take you to your unit if you'd like." The blonde knew there was no point in forcing her to stay if she didn't want to. That would be counterproductive to getting her to open up later on. "I'd like to meet again tomorrow morning though at nine. Just a little check-in to see how your first night went."
"Do I have a choice?" Lana shrugged in defeat.
"You do. I will say though, that if your goal really is to get out of here, then it looks good to have taken advantage of the programs we offer here if you go in front of the parole board." She got the sense that she wasn't going to be able to bullshit the young woman, so she might as well be honest with her. Counselling was never mandatory, but it always counted in the inmate's favor.
"Yeah, whatever. Can you call someone now? Not the governor. She's a pushy bitch," the inmate said, as she looked out the window.
Bridget resisted her urge to defend her friend, and instead just picked up the phone, and asked for Will to come pick up the young woman.
As Lana was leaving, the blonde noticed the two packs of unopened biscuits still sitting on the coffee table.
"Lana, here." She picked them up and held them out to her. When the young woman hesitated, she continued. "You can take them to your cell with you. In case you're hungry later."
Lana simply shook her head, and walked out the door with Will following close behind.
Bridget sighed, and sat the packets back on the table. The young woman didn't trust her yet; didn't believe that there was no ulterior motive behind her offer of food. It was something they would need to work on.
The blonde closed her door again, and sat down at her desk. She only had a few minutes before she had to leave to meet Franky, but she was curious to know more about the new inmate. She opened the file that Vera had given her, and scanned through it quickly.
Her initial quick math had been correct. Lana had turned 18 just a month earlier. Her crime was listed as serious assault, and there was no next of kin or address listed in her information. Bridget assumed this meant that she was homeless, and probably had been a runaway. Her only previous crimes before the assault were a couple of petty theft charges from local grocery stores.
The blonde closed her eyes. She understood now why Vera had wanted her to intervene early in the young woman's stay. This was the path that Franky had been on in her youth. This is what could have happened to her wife if Liz hadn't stepped in, and shown her that someone could care and be kind without wanting anything in return.
She closed the file, and entered the appointment time for tomorrow morning into her schedule before she logged out of her computer.
"Hey, baby." Bridget greeted the brunette as she slid into the passenger's seat.
"Hey." Franky smiled, and leaned over for a kiss. "Ready?"
"I think I should be the one asking you that, but yes." The blonde gave her a smile.
When they arrived at the clinic, the receptionist gave them a clipboard with paperwork to fill out while they waited.
Franky rested her foot on her opposite knee, and began working her way through the form. After a minute, she felt Bridget's hand resting on her ankle. She realized that she must have been moving her foot. It was a nervous habit. She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath before she continued.
"Franky Westfall?" a woman about Franky's age, dressed in scrubs called from the doorway.
"That's us." The brunette picked up the clipboard from the chair beside her, and stood up.
"Just follow me." The woman led them down a hallway, and into a small room on the right-hand side.
"I finished filling these out." Franky held out the clipboard.
"Oh, excellent. Just hang onto them though. The doctor will want to look through them when she comes in." She opened up a cabinet and took out a hospital gown and robe. "You'll need to get changed into this so she's able to do her examination. It shouldn't be too long before she's in to see you." She gave the couple a smile, then left.
"What's wrong, baby?" Bridget asked, placing a hand on the younger woman's back.
"Nothing, I just didn't realize I'd be getting naked today for this. I would have prepared more." Franky pulled off her t-shirt, and placed it on one of the chairs.
"You would have worn your fancy underwear?" the blonde teased with a half smile as she sat down in the other chair.
"No, like prepared." The brunette gave her a look, pleading with her not to make her explain any further.
"Ah." Bridget picked up a pamphlet and began to look through it. "I wouldn't worry. She probably sees a hundred vaginas a day. It's nothing to her."
"Yeah, I guess." Franky tied the gown behind her, and put on the robe.
They waited another ten minutes before the doctor knocked softly on the door.
"Hello, you must be the Westfalls." She held out her hand to each of them. "I'm Dr. Ryan. It's so good to meet you both."
After the introductions, the doctor took the paperwork from the brunette and spent a moment looking through it. "So I see here that you've just turned thirty, and there are no known medical conditions."
"Yeah, that's right." Franky's voice came out quieter than she had intended, so she cleared her throat.
"Good. If you don't mind, I'd like to start with the physical exam. That way I'll have a better idea of what options I think will work best for you. If you'll just lay down on the table there." Dr. Ryan gestured towards the exam table on the other side of the room.
"Is, uh, there a chance that none of them will work?" The brunette looked at the doctor, then Bridget.
"In rare cases, yes. But given your history that I know so far, I have no reason at this point, to believe that it will be an issue for you." Dr. Ryan gave her a reassuring smile. "I know you're probably nervous, but we do this all the time here. You're in good hands."
Franky nodded, and climbed onto the table.
"The first thing we need to do is an ultrasound to look at the uterus and ovaries. Then we'll need to take some swabs, and do a pap smear." She waited for the brunette to nod that she understood before she continued.
They all watched the screen as the black and white image appeared on the screen. It didn't mean much to either Franky or the blonde, but the doctor seemed to be studying it intently.
"Will this be your first child?" Dr. Ryan asked them, making conversation as she put away the ultrasound machine and prepared what she needed for the rest of the tests.
"We have my niece. She's six." Bridget shared a smile with the brunette.
"I bet she'll be excited for a sibling." The doctor took a wrapped tray from the cabinet. "Okay, I'm going to do the pap test and the swab now, and then we'll go through a few more questions."
"We haven't told her yet." Franky gasped as she felt the cold metal. "She's been through a lot, and she's mentioned a sibling a couple of times so we didn't want to get her hopes up, just in case."
"That's probably a smart decision. A lot of couples like to keep it to themselves until they're through the first trimester." She finished up and began to gather her things. "I'll go get these samples ready for the lab. You can get dressed, and I'll be back in a minute."
"She didn't say anything. That's bad, right?" Franky asked the blonde as she took off the gown and robe and threw them into the laundry hamper.
"I don't think it means anything. You have to remember that to her this is all just another procedure. She's not going to get excited every time she sees a good uterus." Bridget tried to hold back a laugh at her own joke, when she realized that the brunette didn't find it funny. She waited for Franky to finish getting dressed, then she stood, and put her arms around her. "Baby, listen, I understand that you're nervous, but I need you to just relax. Just remember that I love you, and I'm here no matter what, and everything will be fine, okay?"
"I know, I'm sorry." The brunette gave her a quick kiss. "It's not just that I'm nervous, but I'm also really excited. I really want this."
"I know. Me too." She brushed her thumb over the younger woman's cheek. "Let's just sit and wait until we hear what she says."
Franky nodded, and allowed the blonde to lead her over to the chairs.
There was another soft knock at the door before the doctor entered once more. She took a seat at the small desk, and opened the brunette's file.
"I know you're anxious, so I'll get right to my first point. Your ultrasound looked perfectly normal, and I didn't see anything during the exam that caused any concern." She paused a moment to let that sink in.
Franky let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, and felt Bridget reach over and squeeze her hand.
"We'll also do some blood tests to screen for hepatitis and HIV, and to check your hormone levels. Any questions about any of that?" Dr. Ryan glanced up as she flipped to the next page, and saw both women shake their heads. "I see here that you've already picked out a sperm donor."
"Yes, Gi-, Bridget's brother." Franky felt weird using her nickname for the blonde with strangers, but it came out so naturally now that she often ended up having to correct herself.
"Oh." The doctor looked up from the file. "The father of the niece you're raising?"
"Yes, he made the offer to us before he passed away." This time it was Bridget who felt a hand squeeze.
"That's pretty special. I'm sure your niece will be even more excited then." She continued reading. "I see here you've picked intrauterine insemination, or IUI. You're aware that it has a lower success rate?"
"We are, but I just wanted to try to keep things as natural as possible to start out with. If it doesn't work, I'm open to in vitro fertilization as well." Franky knew the odds of success for each method off by heart by now, but her instinct was to at least try the easier method first.
"Excellent. How regular are your periods? Have you been keeping track?" Dr. Ryan asked as she made a note.
"Yeah, I have an app I've been using." The brunette saw a small grin flicker on Bridget's face. "They're pretty regular. They only vary each month by a day, or maybe two, if at all. The next one is due to start next week."
"Okay, that's good." She made another note on Franky's chart. "You should ovulate about fourteen days after your period starts, so that would be the first time we'd be able to attempt the insemination. If you're ready." She knew that some couples expected it to take longer before they would be able to try getting pregnant, and so for whatever reason, they decided to wait an extra month.
"I think we're ready?" The brunette looked over at Bridget.
"I'm ready whenever you are." The blonde gave her a reassuring smile. "You get to call the shots on this one; it's your body. If you feel ready, then I'm ready, too. If you want to wait, or feel like you need a break at some point, that's fine as well."
"Thanks, babe." Franky gave her a smile. "Yeah, I want to try this time."
"Excellent. I'll give you a prescription today for a hormone treatment. It just helps to prepare your body a bit more, and gives you slightly better odds of conception. You'll need to start taking them on the first day of your next cycle, so when your period starts. I recommend getting it filled so that you have it on hand when you need it." The doctor wrote out the orders, and handed the sheet to the brunette. "When you do start your period, give us a call and let us know and we'll make an appointment for two weeks after that. I want you to get some home ovulation tests though, and check each day from day ten onward. If it looks like you're going to ovulate a bit sooner or later than day fourteen, call us so we can change your appointment. Which sperm bank is your sample stored in?"
"One in Sydney, that's where my brother lived. I have the information here. It's actually under my name now." Bridget took out the card she'd brought with her with the account information on it.
"Alright, I'll get you another form to fill out then giving us permission to have some of it shipped here to the clinic to have on hand. We usually bring in enough for two rounds of insemination at a time." She handed the blonde a form from the drawer of the desk. "You can leave that at the desk on your way out. Any questions?"
"What are the chances?" Franky knew what she'd read, but she had to be sure.
"Of getting pregnant with this method?" She saw the brunette nod. She knew the young woman was anxious to make this happen, but she was never one to give false hope. "Only slightly better than through intercourse, which at your age would be about fifteen percent." She saw disappointment flash across Franky's face. "Give it a few cycles. People get pregnant all the time, so fifteen percent may sound bad, but it's really not. And we have other options if we need them."
"Yeah, you're right." Franky nodded. "Thanks."
"No problem." The doctor gathered up her papers. "It was lovely to meet both of you. I'll send someone in to draw your blood for the rest of the tests, and then once you're done with the form for the sperm bank, just drop it off out front, and the receptionist will give you the date for your next appointment." She stood and shook both of their hands before she left.
"You alright, baby?" Bridget glanced over at the brunette as she wrote.
"Yeah, just feeling a little overwhelmed with information. I'm ready to just pick up Em and head home." She rubbed her eyes.
"Sounds perfect." The blonde gave her a smile.
Franky woke to the sound of her mobile phone ringing on the bedside table. She reached behind her, and fumbled for it in the dark, trying to silence it before it woke Bridget.
"What the fuck?" She mumbled under her breath. It was two in the morning, and a local number that she didn't recognize.
She gently pulled away from the blonde and sat up on the side of the bed as she slid her finger across the screen to answer it.
"Hello?" She wiped the sleep from her eyes, as she tried to exit the bedroom as quickly and quietly as she could.
"This is Sergeant Hansen calling from the Newport police. Is this Franky Doyle?"
"The last name is Westfall now, but yeah." Her mind immediately flashed to something happening to Liz or one of her friends. "What's going on? Is everyone okay?"
"Yes, ma'am," the sergeant reassured her. "I have a young man here that we've picked up by the name of Shayne Butler who'd like to speak with you."
"What? Yeah sure, put him on." Franky couldn't wait to hear what this was about.
"Franky, Frankyyy, Franksss. I need your help. I need you to come here and talk to the officer dude." Shayne sounded wasted. "I need you to tell him that I'm not bad, I just….I'm good...okay..not bad…"
"Shayne, shut up, and give the phone back to the cop." She was quickly losing her patience with his rambling.
Franky could hear Shayne's voice off in the distance. "She doesn't want to talk to me anymore. She wants to talk to you, officer dude."
Sergeant Hansen came back on the line. "I'm sorry we had to wake you, but what he's trying to ask is if you're able to come pick him up."
"Yeah," the brunette sighed. "I'll be there in twenty." She hung up, and walked back down the hallway to the bedroom.
She left the bedroom door open a crack to give her just enough light to find some clothes without waking Bridget. Once she'd dressed, she walked over to the blonde's side of the bed and put her phone on silent. She sent a quick text explaining where she'd gone, and waited for it to go through before she turned Bridget's ringer back on, and put her phone back on the bedside table.
"Franky Westfall. I'm here to pick up Shayne Butler." The brunette told the receptionist at the front desk.
"Ms. Westfall, follow me, please." Sergeant Hansen had heard someone come into the station, and guessed that it was probably the woman he'd spoken with earlier.
"Does he need bail or something?" Franky asked as she walked behind the tall man.
"No, ma'am." He unlocked one of the holding cell doors, and held it open for her. "He got drunk and refused to leave one of the bars downtown so they called us to remove him. He's not being charged with anything, but he is on probation and two of the conditions are that he not consume alcohol, and that he maintains employment. He says he works for you, but couldn't provide the name of your business."
The brunette looked at the young man sitting on the bench, slumped back against the brick wall.
"I, uh, just bought a small restaurant. It doesn't have a name yet. I'm still doing renovations actually, but yeah, he's helping me with that and he'll be working there when it opens." Franky wasn't totally comfortable with the lie, but she hoped it sounded convincing enough.
"Frankssss," Shayne said, with a goofy grin on his face.
"Shut up." She pointed her finger at him, and turned her attention back to the officer.
"He's too drunk for us to release him on his own. He just needs someone to take him back to his place." The officer hated babysitting drunks for the night, so he was hoping she'd agree to take him off his hands.
"Fine." She walked over to where Shayne was sitting and kicked his foot. "Get up, we're leaving."
"You're the best Franks." He stood and swayed for a second before he found his balance. "She's the best, huh?" he said to the officer as they passed by him.
"We'll see if you still feel that way in the morning. I think you're in more trouble with her than you would have been with us." Sergeant Hansen chuckled to himself as he watched the pair leave the station.
"Now, when we go in here, you're going to be quiet. Gidge and Em are asleep, do not wake them." Franky slid her key into the front door. "Hey, where are you going?"
"I need to pee." Shayne had walked over to the row of bushes along the fence.
"Seriously? We have a bathroom in the house, you know." The brunette shook her head.
"Have to be quiet in the house." He glanced over his shoulder at her and giggled.
Franky waited while he finished and stumbled back up on the front porch.
She guided him down the hallway. "In here." The brunette nudged his shoulder, steering him into the guest room. "Go to bed."
She closed the door behind her, and went on to her own bed. She took off her trackies, but kept the t-shirt, and climbed back in with the blonde.
"Where did you go, babe?" Bridget asked as she cuddled into Franky again.
"I'll tell you in the morning." The brunette figured the older woman must have woken up enough to realize that she was gone, but not enough to think to check her phone for the text message.
Bridget's alarm went off bright and early, and she reached up and turned it off. She felt the brunette stir beside her.
"Is it morning already?" Franky mumbled.
"Yeah, it is." The blonde placed a kiss on the younger woman's lips, and heard her groan.
"I don't want to get up." She pulled Bridget closer.
"Well, if you hadn't been out half the night, you might be more rested." She brushed the tip of her nose against the brunette's.
"I had to pick up Shayne from jail. He got drunk, and got kicked out of a bar." She saw the look of disbelief on the blonde's face. "He's in the guestroom."
"You're a good friend, baby." Bridget gave her another kiss just as her second alarm went off. "I guess we really do have to get up now."
By the time Franky had actually managed to convince herself to get out of bed, Bridget and Emily were enjoying their yogurt and granola.
"He's not up yet?" Franky asked the older woman.
"Haven't heard anything," she replied, taking a drink of her coffee.
The brunette thought for a minute, then walked over to the kitchen and took two small pots out of the cupboard.
"Cover your ears, love," Bridget told her niece. She knew exactly what Franky was going to do; she remembered how Liz told her she used to wake the brunette after a night of heavy drinking.
Franky opened the guestroom door, and beat the pots together as loudly as she could.
"Time to get up!" she yelled over the noise.
"Oh my god, Franks!" Shayne put the pillow over his head.
Franky beat the pots together again. "I said get up!" She reached down, grabbed the pillow, and dropped it on the floor. "Get up!"
"Okay, okay, I'm up for fuck sake." The young man sat on the edge of the bed holding his head.
"Good." The brunette was back to her usual calm self. "Breakfast is ready." She turned and went back to join the others.
Emily and Bridget watched as she put the pans back in the cupboard, and sat down with them at the table.
"Shayne!" The young girl's eyes lit up when she saw him emerge from the hallway.
"Hey, kid." He said as he dropped into one of the dining chairs.
"Did you come early so you can go to the museum with us tomorrow?" she asked excitedly.
He looked at Franky, confused. "No, I, I needed some help with something last night, and Franky was there for me."
"I'm sure he'd love to come with us tomorrow though, right?" She gave him a look that said that any answer other than 'yes', was unacceptable.
"Yeah, I'd love to." He gave her a smile. "And thanks for covering for me with the whole job thing."
"Oh, I didn't cover for you," the brunette said as she ate. "You do work for me. In fact, you can start today. Have you ever put down a laminate floor?"
"I helped a mate once, yeah. It's pretty easy." He didn't like where this was going, but he knew he owed her big.
"Good, because there's a whole main floor at the restaurant that needs the flooring taken up, and put in the dumpster. Lucky for you, the new stuff just came in yesterday, so you can lay that as well. Better go get something to eat." She pointed towards the kitchen with her spoon. "You've got a long day ahead of you."
Bridget smiled to herself behind her mug. Their kids were never going to get off easy.