"Good morning." Bridget leaned against the door frame of Lana's cell.
"I didn't know you made house calls." The inmate was stretched out on her bed, hands behind her head, staring up at the ceiling.
"Well, you've skipped out on both of our sessions last week, and when I sent Will to bring up to my office just now, he said you refused." The blonde paused for a moment. "You know, if that had been a different officer, they may have written you up instead of coming to get me." If she had a choice, Bridget always chose Will to deal with her more difficult patients. His background in social work came in handy in those situations.
Lana scoffed. "What difference would it make if he did write me up? I've already lost everything."
"That's not true. You'll get a hearing before any new charges are laid, and you'll be able to explain your side of it." The blonde knew for a fact that a hearing had been scheduled regarding the yard incident, but the inmate hadn't been informed yet.
"No one cares about my side." She shook her head. "You know, I'm not even allowed outside anymore. I haven't seen daylight in weeks."
Bridget sighed, and shifted her weight against the door frame. She saw Lana studying her.
"You gonna come in, or what?" The young inmate moved her feet to one side of the bed, and glanced down at the empty spot she'd just made.
"No." The blonde gave her a polite smile. "I was hoping you'd agree to come back to my office for your session."
"I don't feel like talking today." Lana zipped her hoodie and hugged herself tightly.
"Alright." Bridget knew when she wasn't going to make any progress, but she had an idea now of how she might get the young woman to open up. "But I'm scheduling you in for the end of the week. If you change your mind before then, let one of the officers know, and they'll put you on my schedule."
Lana stayed silent, so the blonde left her in her cell.
Bridget knocked on the door of Vera's office, and saw her motion to her through the large window to come in.
"Good morning." The blonde smiled as she entered the office.
"Morning." Vera gave a small nod. "How are things at the house?" The governor folded her hands in her lap, and looked up at her friend.
"Oh, uh, they're good. Why?" Bridget was surprised at the question.
"Shayne told me that Franky seemed upset with him when she found out about us. He said she threatened to cut off his, uh, his dick?" Vera pulled on her earring again.
"Oh, yeah, well, you know Franky." The blonde sat down in the chair in front of the large desk. "She was just making sure she got her point across."
"I'd say she did." The governor let out a small chuckle.
"Good." Bridget paused for a moment. "What I actually came to talk about has nothing to do with you and Shayne. I was just down to see Lana in her cell. Today's appointment is the third in a row she's missed, and I'm concerned."
"Me too." Vera nodded. "It seems maybe that her time in the slot was counterproductive. Before the incident, I had no reports of her causing any problems, and now in almost every shift report there's some mention of her."
"Anything filed officially?" The blonde knew that it would be the official reports on her conduct that would carry the most weight during any hearings.
"No, but I have a feeling she's on her last chance with most of the officers." Vera scanned through the file she had pulled up on her computer while they were talking. "Fletch mentions her the most in his reports. It seems they don't really get along."
"I got that impression the day I visited her in the slot." Bridget decided it was a good time to pitch her idea. It seemed like she and her friend had similar thoughts on how to proceed with the young woman's treatment. "When I went to see her today, she mentioned that she wasn't being allowed out into the yard anymore."
"Part of her punishment is a loss of privileges, and since that's where the incident occured, she has lost that one." The governor knew where the blonde was going, but she had her protocol to follow.
"She said she hasn't been outside in weeks. That's not healthy, not physically and certainly not mentally." Bridget was preparing to launch into her list of reasons why her statement was true when she saw the other woman hold up her hand to stop her.
"I know, trust me, I know, but my main goal is to avoid a repeat of what happened before. It's not just about punishment, it's also about keeping people safe; both her, and the other inmates. I can't risk her going off on someone else, and I'm certain she's got a target on her back now." Vera ran her hand back over her hair. "But what's your idea?" She knew by the look on the blonde's face that she had already anticipated everything she'd said so far.
"Let me take her outside for our sessions." Bridget sat forward in her chair. "Give us an empty yard, and it'll just be the two of us. She gets her time outside, plus she has to come to the appointments with me. It might be just the motivation she needs to start showing up again."
"First of all, that's a huge safety risk to have you out there alone with an inmate. Second, it'll look like she's getting preferential treatment. And third, just, no." Vera sighed. She didn't really have a third reason. "I don't want you to get hurt."
"Vera, I know you're concerned, and thank you, but I really feel like this is what she needs. I was making progress with her before. If I lose her now, that might be the end of it." Bridget knew the fact that she saw a young Franky in Lana was clouding her judgement a bit, but she also knew that what she was saying was true; if she lost the girl now, she'd lose her forever.
The governor looked at her friend, then the file on her screen again, then out the window, as if the answer would somehow magically be written on the glass.
"I want an officer in the yard with you two at all times." Vera couldn't believe she was agreeing to this.
"Will." The blonde knew that her preference for him was well-known, but she wanted to be very clear that for these sessions, he was the only one she wanted. "And I don't think Fletch should be dealing with her at all anymore."
"That's...that'll be difficult to guarantee." Vera knew that although the officers had assigned areas, they generally moved throughout the prison during their shift.
"I'm not saying he can never be around her. If he's on yard duty when she's there, or cafeteria duty, or something like that, then fine. Just try not to have him do the counts in her block, or escort her anywhere, or be assigned to her work area. Avoid anything where it's likely he'll have to interact with her." She knew she was asking a lot.
"I'll do my best, but I can't make any promises." The governor brought up another file on her computer. "I can give you C block's yard, and Will, at one. Does that work for you?"
"I'll make it work. Thank you." Bridget knew she probably wouldn't be getting this if she and Vera weren't friends.
The governor simply nodded.
"I have good news." Bridget was once again standing in the doorway of Lana's cell. She noticed that the young woman was still lying on her bed in the same position as she had been that morning. The blonde hoped this didn't mean that she'd stayed there all day, but she had a feeling that was exactly the case.
"Unless you're going to tell me I'm getting out of this place, forget it." She closed her eyes, and pulled her hood down over her face.
"I got permission for us to have our session out in one of the exercise yards." Bridget could only wish she held that kind of power. "Come on." The blonde tilted her head out towards the common area of the block, and turned, hoping that Lana would follow her.
The young inmate reluctantly stood from her bed. It wasn't so much that she wanted the counselling session, but that she just really wanted to go outside. She stopped short however when she saw Will waiting for them just outside the steel bars that served to lock them in the cell block each night.
"Is he coming with us?" She glared at the tall officer, but her question was directed at Bridget.
"He is, yes." The blonde glanced over at Will who hadn't moved, or said a word. "I'm afraid that was a condition that the governor insisted on."
"You said our sessions were confidential. I'm not doing this if he'll be listening." Lana turned to go back into her cell.
"Wait. Lana, wait." Bridget took a few quick steps back into the block to catch up with the young inmate. "He'll be close enough to see us, but not close enough to hear anything, okay?"
"Are you scared of me or something? Is that why he has to be there?" Lana asked as she watched him out of the corner of her eye.
"No." The blonde made sure to look her in the eye. "It was a condition set by Ms. Bennett. Come on, let's go enjoy the outside, and have a chat."
This time Lana followed her. She glared at Will as they passed by, and he made sure to keep a good distance behind them as they walked.
"It's a beautiful day out." Bridget smiled as the sun hit her face. "Would you like to sit at one of the tables, or would you prefer to walk a bit while we talk?"
"I like walking." Lana pulled up the hood on her hoodie.
"Okay." The blonde turned back to Will. "We're just going to walk the perimeter."
"Yep." He made his way to one of the tables in the middle of the yard and sat on it, with his feet on the bench. From there, he could see them as they made their way around, but if they talked at a normal volume he couldn't make out what was being said.
"Why are you doing this?" Lana asked after they had walked the first few steps.
"Doing what?" Bridget wasn't sure if she was referring to her insistence on having sessions, or the fact that she'd brought her to the yard.
"Bringing me out here." The young inmate was starting to trust her, but she was still extremely wary.
"When we talked this morning, it seemed like not being able to go outside was affecting you in a negative way. I thought that bringing you out here might make you feel better." The blonde thought she saw a smile flicker at the corners of the young woman's mouth.
"So you care about me." Lana watched the psychologist closely to see what impact her words were having on her.
"I care about the well-being of all the women in here, and I do what I can to help. This was something I thought would help you, and I was able to arrange it." Bridget knew that having a client think you cared about them on more than a professional level could be dangerous and counterproductive to their treatment, so she chose her words carefully. "You've already told me what happened that day with the other inmates, and I believe your side, but I'd like to talk more about what brought you in here. What happened on the outside?"
"Back to business, huh?" The young inmate looked up at some birds flying in the sky as they walked.
"Well, this is a counselling session," the blonde gently reminded her.
"I was so scared that night," Lana began quietly.
Bridget had been looking at the ground as they walked, but when the inmate started talking, she couldn't help but react with a surprise glance towards her. The blonde really hadn't expected it to be this easy, especially after she had just reminded her that this was a purely professional meeting.
"I was supposed to be meeting my supplier, like the head guy. I had worked for him for a while, and he trusted me, so I ended up being kind of like a distributor for him. He'd meet me and drop off a bunch of drugs, and I'd split them up between myself and the other dealers, and everyone would go off and sell what they got, or use it themselves. Didn't matter which as long as they brought back the right amount of money." Lana glanced to her left to see if Bridget was reacting to anything she was saying. "They'd bring me back the money after a couple days, and I'd take that back to the supplier. He said it kept him more anonymous since only a few of the dealers ever actually met with him. So this one night, we were supposed to meet up, and he calls and cancels, says he thinks the cops are onto him. So here I am with like ten grand out on the streets. Word gets around so fast, you have no idea. Every group has little spies everywhere. So of course, they all know I've got this cash on me, and they jump me and take it. Two days later when the guy finally wants to meet, I've got nothing for him. He's pissed I don't have the money, I'm pissed that he expected me to be able to hang onto it for that long. He pulled out a gun, and grabbed me, tried to force me into his car. I didn't know if he was going to kidnap me, or rape me, or kill me, so I just started beating on him, and kicking him. I know it was stupid since he had the gun, but I must have surprised him because he never tried to use it. And then I don't remember anything until the cops picked me up the next morning."
The blonde had been listening, but she was lost in her own thoughts now. All that ran through her mind was how dangerous it was to be out on the streets, and Franky had lived that. She wondered how often the brunette had come close to being in a situation similar to Lana's; how close had she come to not ever meeting her wife? It was the young inmate's voice that finally pulled her back to the current situation.
"Bridget?" Lana had stopped walking, but the blonde had continued on for a few steps.
"Yeah?" Bridget looked to her right, then back behind her. Somehow she'd missed the fact that the young inmate wasn't beside her anymore. "Sorry." The blonde shook her head to clear it, and walked back to meet her. "Your story was just so...sad."
"It is what it is." Lana shrugged.
"You know, if you know who this head dealer guy is, you could probably trade that information for a deal with the police." The blonde thought information like that had to be worth something to the authorities.
"Nah, no way. If I rat on him, I'm fucked. Dead. He's a pretty powerful guy, I hear. I'd be safer keeping my mouth shut and staying in here for the rest of my life." She gave a small chuckle when she realized how screwed she might be.
"Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that. I still think self-defence is a valid option, and I'm going to work with you on the PTSD. We'll start with working on clearing up what happened here the other week, then go from there, alright?" Bridget caught Will wave to them out of the corner of her eye. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I could only get Will for a half hour this time. We'll have a full session on Thursday."
"We'll get to come back out here?" Lana hadn't started to follow the blonde back towards the building yet.
"My goal is to have our sessions out here as often as possible. As long as there's a yard, and an officer available, then yes." Bridget gave her a small smile, and motioned for her to follow.
"As long as it's not Fletch. I don't like him," the young inmate said quietly as they walked.
"I know." The blonde was glad she'd already spoken to Vera about that matter, now that her suspicions had been confirmed.
"What do you say we call it an early day, and go home instead of back to the restaurant?" Franky had assumed that Emily would take her up on that offer. She was so confident, in fact, that she'd driven to the house, left her car there, and had walked to the school to pick up the young girl.
The brunette had let Shayne leave early as well, thinking he'd go spend time with his friends. She was surprised when he said he'd just come home with her until she remembered that he had probably never actually been spending time with his friends, but had been with Vera instead, and she was still at work.
"Can we cook something?" Emily asked, looking up at Franky as they walked.
"Sure, what do you want to make?" The brunette smiled. She had made a promise after the young girl's meltdown at the school to spend more time with her, so she was glad that she was still so eager to cook.
"The sandwich cookies you said were hard to make." Emily always did like a challenge.
"Macarons?" Franky looked down, and saw the young girl nod. "Alright. They take a while though. You sure you're up for it?"
"Yeah. I need to learn if I want to be a chef." She said it as if her reasoning should have been obvious.
"You do, but you don't need to learn everything right now. There's lots of time." The brunette saw the look of disappointment on her face. "We can make them today. I'm just saying there's no rush." Franky pushed the front door open, and let the young girl go into the house first.
"But I want to work at the restaurant." Emily spotted Shayne laying on the couch watching TV, and gave him a small wave.
"When you're older, sure." The brunette washed up, and started gathering the ingredients they'd need.
"Why can't I work there now?" The young girl moved her step stool over next to the island.
"Because you're too young to work, and you need to go to school." Franky saw the disappointment return to her face. "Hey," she put her arm around Emily's shoulder, and held her close to her side, "you can hang out at the restaurant whenever I'm there, and you don't have school, and you can make some stuff in the kitchen for fun like we do here, but you can't work there, not yet."
"I already know it's what I want." The young girl looked at Franky with a serious expression.
"I believe you." The brunette felt like it was important to Emily that she acknowledge that she understood that the young girl knew what she wanted. "And you'll get there someday, but not right now."
"Promise?" Emily asked quietly.
"If it's something you really want, and you work hard, then yes." Franky didn't want her to think she'd be handed a job just because she was the owner's kid. The brunette would hold her to the same standards and expectations as any of her other employees. "Let's get started on these so they're done in time for us to have supper ready when Auntie gets home."
As they worked, Franky noticed Shayne watching them every so often from his spot on the couch.
"Alright, we have to make sure our measurements are really accurate for these, so we need to actually weigh out the ingredients." The brunette moved the kitchen scale from the main counter onto the island. "Remember how to do this?"
"Put on the bowl, then press this button, then measure." Emily pointed to the tare button.
"Right. And what does that do?" Franky decided that if this was what the young girl really wanted to do, she'd push her a bit harder.
"Takes away the weight of the bowl." She smiled; proud of herself that remembered what the brunette had told her.
"Very good." Franky was impressed.
Things went along smoothly, with the brunette letting Emily do most of the work, and her only offering suggestions and advice along the way. There were a couple of times that she could tell that the young girl was getting a bit frustrated with something, but she talked her through it, and overall, she did very well.
"Alright, go wash up, then you can help with supper if you want." Franky sent Emily off to the bathroom to get cleaned up.
"Franks." Shayne sat up and stepped over the end of the couch before taking a seat on one of the stools.
"Yeah?" the brunette asked as she wiped off the counter.
"She's really good. Like I don't even make those that well." He had observed them through the whole process, and Emily had known things that were normally taught in specialized pastry classes. "And she knew shit."
"She sat in on like two semesters of my classes at the Centre, and she was going with Liz while I was doing the show." Franky opened the fridge door, looking for some inspiration for their meal.
"But I mean, like those turned out perfectly." He motioned to the plate of macarons sitting on the island. "She could totally work for you now."
"Shayne, enough." The brunette glanced down the hallway to make sure that Emily was still in the bathroom. "I get it, okay, but you and I both know that even if I wanted to let her, I can't, for multiple reasons. If she wants to hang out with us there and cook some stuff for herself or us that's fine, but that's it. Don't let her hear you say that and get ideas in her head that I have to play the bad guy and shoot down."
"Yeah, you're right. I didn't think of that. But Franks," He waited until she turned to look at him, "she's good."
"I know." Franky gave him a big smile before she turned back to the fridge.
"Mm, that feels good, baby." Bridget felt the brunette's lips against her neck. It was one of the younger woman's favorite ways to wake her up, and she knew Franky always took her time when she did this. It had been a busy week for both of them, so she wasn't surprised that now that the weekend had arrived, the other woman wanted to have some fun.
"I know." She stretched her lips into a smile against the blonde's skin, as she continued.
The brunette shifted her weight, forcing Bridget to move onto her back, and allowing the younger woman to shift so she could work her way across to the other side of her neck. Franky hooked her leg over the blonde's hip, and immediately felt the other woman push against her. She had only planned to wake up her wife, but she was happy to oblige.
Bridget loved feeling Franky's weight against her, and on her. She loved when the brunette slipped her hand under her shirt so that she could touch the older woman's bare skin. She loved that Franky always made sure to brush her fingers over the spot where she'd gotten the kite tattoo to match the necklace she'd given the younger woman. A necklace that she could now feel trailing across her collarbone as Franky kissed the underside of her jaw. She only moved slightly, but it was enough to cause pressure between her clit, and the brunette's hipbone. It had been unintentional, but it had felt so good.
Franky felt the blonde start moving against her with a steady pace, and applied a bit more pressure with her leg to give the other woman more resistance.
Bridget could feel her heart rate pick up as the brunette gently bit her earlobe, and couldn't help but let out a small moan. She felt Franky's hand move across her side again, then up to cup her breast. She let out another moan as the younger woman let her fingers run over her nipple, and then give a small squeeze.
Franky brought her hand down to rest on the blonde's hip for a moment before she brushed the backs of her fingers against the older woman's lower stomach. She felt the muscles there twitch, and a small tremor in her leg before Bridget came hard. The younger woman simply continued her motions, not letting up on anything until the blonde placed a hand on each of her cheeks, and pulled her in for a kiss.
"Sorry, baby." Bridget was the first to speak when they broke apart.
"For what?" Franky shook her head, and brushed the tip of the blonde's nose with her own.
"I assume you were only trying to wake me up," she said with a small chuckle.
"Mhm, I was." The brunette gave a quiet laugh as she kissed the side of Bridget's neck again. "But never apologise for that. I'm not complaining. Guess what morning it is."
It took a second for the blonde's brain to switch gears. "It's time to take the pregnancy test!" She couldn't help the huge smile on her face. "Are you going to do it now? Do you think you can go?"
"Yes, and yes. I've actually had to go pretty badly since I woke up." Franky laughed at the apologetic look she got from Bridget when the older woman realized that she had kept her from going to the washroom. "It's fine." The brunette gave her a quick kiss. "I'm going to grab a test, then we'll see."
Franky got out of the bed, and opened the drawer in the dresser where she had put the box of pregnancy tests. They hadn't told anyone they were even trying, so they didn't want Shayne or Emily to find them in the bathroom cabinet. She took one out of the box and gave the blonde one last quick smile before she opened the bedroom door.
The brunette stepped out into the hallway, and looked up to see Shayne walking from the kitchen to the living room, sipping on a mug of coffee. She quickly shifted the test in her hand so that it was hidden from his view.
"Good morning." A grin played on his lips.
"How long have you been up?" She honestly hadn't heard any noises in the house, and thought that everyone was still asleep.
"Long enough." He gave her a knowing look, and a cheeky smile. "We were just settling in for some Saturday morning cartoons."
Franky leaned so she had a view of the couch, and saw Emily sitting there with a bowl of cereal. A second one was waiting on the coffee table, presumably belonging to the young man.
"Franky, are you going to watch cartoons with us?" the young girl called out.
"Yeah we'll be out in a few minutes. I just have to use the bathroom." She glared at Shayne, who was still smiling, and shut the bathroom door behind her.
She took a deep breath as she sat on the toilet. In a few minutes she'd know for sure whether the insemination had worked.
She finished up, and hid the test in her hand again as she walked back to the bedroom. No matter what the result, she wanted Bridget to be there when she found out.
"What did it say?" the blonde asked as she sat up in the bed.
"We have to wait five minutes, so probably like four more." Franky placed the test on the dresser.
Bridget didn't say anything, but simply wrapped her arms around the younger woman from behind, and rested her head against her shoulder.
It was the longest five minutes of her life, and she was almost sure there had to be something wrong with the clock she was watching. Finally though, the minutes ticked away, and she reached up for the test.
"Negative." Franky let out a long breath, and felt the blonde hold onto her a bit tighter.
"Are you okay, baby?" Bridget whispered softly.
"Yeah." The brunette reached up, and squeezed the older woman's arm. "Are you?"
"Yeah, I am. I was hopeful, but I knew it was unlikely to happen on the first try." She loosened her arms, as Franky turned to sit sideways on the edge of the bed,
"I knew I wasn't," she said, looking down at the test she was still holding in her hand. "I had read some stuff about early pregnancy, and what to watch for, and I had none of it besides being tired, which was probably from getting the restaurant ready. A lot of the women said they just knew like really really early on; they just had a feeling. I didn't have that either."
"We'll get there." Bridget placed a soft kiss on the brunette's lips.
"Yeah, we will." Franky gave her a small smile. "What you said before about not letting it become a negative experience really stuck with me, so I'm focusing on the good. We're making progress with the restaurant, we'll have our honeymoon, then the second insemination."
"The second round might be the weekend of the honeymoon." The blonde suddenly realized that maybe she hadn't done so well with planning the timing of their vacation after all.
"That's kind of perfect though." She saw the look of confusion on Bridget's face. "How many lesbian couples can say they got pregnant on their honeymoon?"
The blonde laughed, and shook her head. "So we're doing the second round right away?"
"Absolutely. I already picked up the meds." Franky was sure she could do at least two or three before she might need a break.
"I love you." The older woman gave her another kiss.
"I love you, too." Franky smiled, remembering the exchange in the hallway a few moments ago. "Also, Shayne heard you this morning." She chuckled at the expression on the blonde's face.
"I'll just stay here." Bridget laughed as she pulled the sheets over her head.
"No, no, no. There is cereal to be eaten, and cartoons to be watched!" The brunette pulled the sheet off the older woman in one quick motion, then swooped in and picked her up, placing her over her shoulder.
"Seriously?" Bridget started to laugh as Franky carried her out of the room and ran down the hallway.
Just as they were entering the kitchen, the brunette lost her footing, and stumbled. Luckily she was close enough to the island that she was able to reach out, and steady herself. She placed Bridget's feet on the floor, and when they finally stopped laughing, and caught their breath, they looked over to see Emily and Shayne both watching them.
"You said no running in the house,' the young girl said with a completely straight face.
"I know, that was bad." Franky dried her eyes.
"They never follow their own rules," Emily said to the young man, then went back to eating her cereal.
"I'm sure punishments will be handed out later." Shayne gave the two women a cheeky grin. "Ow!" The brunette had given him a playful punch in the arm on her way by. It hadn't hurt, but he played it up anyway.
"See," the young girl said, not taking her eyes off the screen. "That's another one; no hitting."
Franky poured bowls of cereal for her and Bridget before they joined the pair in the living room. The brunette looked around as she ate. The first insemination may not have worked, but she had a lot to be thankful and happy about in her life right now.