The summer was passing by quickly, and it was the final week of classes at the Centre before the break for Christmas and New Years. Franky was in her classroom prepping for her class that evening with Bridget and Emily. It would be the third session, and tonight they were making a meal that they'd all be able to sit down and eat together: tacos.

"Hey, love." Liz entered the classroom to find the brunette prepping trays of ingredients that would be placed at each workstation. She leaned against the counter across from Franky.

"Hey, you going to join us for supper tonight?" The brunette looked up to see Liz shake her head. She could tell that this wasn't just a social visit, and the other woman had something on her mind. "What's going on?"

Liz sighed. "I got a call from Jillian this afternoon."

"Yeah?" Franky didn't look up this time, but just kept working.

"She said you haven't gotten back to her yet, and it's been almost a month." Liz waited a few seconds, and got no response from the brunette. "Franky?"

"I know," she said letting a chunk of cheese drop onto one of the trays. "I know."

"Have you thought about it at all?" Liz didn't want to push the brunette in either direction, but she wanted to make sure she had at least thought about the opportunity, and what it could mean. If Franky decided in the end that she didn't want to do another show, that was fine, but Liz didn't want her to have any regrets just because she was avoiding dealing with it at all.

"A bit." Franky sighed. "Not really, no."

"Did you talk to Bridget?" Liz knew that if anyone could talk the younger woman through this, it was her girlfriend.

"I mentioned it to her that first night after the producer came here to talk to me." Franky began placing fresh veggies on the trays to be chopped up and used for toppings.

"What did she say?"

"She said she'd support me either way, and that I'm not that angry person anymore like I was back then." Franky knew that Bridget was right, she just needed to trust herself that she wouldn't go back there again no matter what happened.

"Wise words." Liz walked around the counter and gave Franky a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Have another talk with her, okay? Then call Jillian, even if the answer is 'no'." The brunette nodded. "I'm always here too, love, if you ever need anything."

"Thanks, Liz." Franky gave her a small smile, and Liz turned to leave and go back to her office. "Hey, wait a second." The brunette had just remembered she had something she'd wanted to tell the other woman.

"Yeah?" Liz turned, and came back to stand beside her.

"About Christmas, besides us being family, there's another reason I wanted you to be there with us this year." Franky was surprised she was a bit nervous right now, and she didn't know why. "I'm going to propose to Bridget."

"Oh, love!" The tears started to form in Liz's eyes. "I'm so happy for you." She reached out to give the brunette another hug.

"Thanks, Liz," Franky smiled, returning the other woman's hug.

"Have you bought the ring yet?" Liz asked, stepping back.

"Yeah, I've had it for awhile. Here, look." The brunette pulled her phone out of her pocket and found the picture she'd taken of the ring.

"That's beautiful! She's going to love it." She smiled up at Franky.

"I hope so." The brunette took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"She will. I'm so proud of you." Liz held Franky's gaze, and the two exchanged another smile. "I'll let you finish getting ready for your class." She gave the brunette a squeeze on her arm, and turned again to leave.

Bridget was the first to arrive, and was greeted by Emily as soon as she walked through the door.

"Auntie Bridge!" Emily ran up and gave her aunt a hug.

"Hey, love. How was your day?" Bridget bent down and gave the young girl a kiss on the cheek.

"It was good! We learned about the solar system and we made a model." Emily talked excitedly.

"Oh, that will go nicely with your room." The blonde stood, and turned her attention to Franky. "Hey, baby." She smiled and gave the brunette a small kiss.

"Hey." Franky smiled and felt herself relax. She'd felt a bit tense ever since her talk with Liz.

Bridget studied the brunette's face for a few seconds. "You alright?" Franky nodded.

"Auntie Bridge! I want to show you my model. It's just in the classroom down the hall," the young girl called from the doorway.

"Just a minute, love." The blonde turned her attention back to the younger woman. "Are you sure, baby?"

"Auntie Bridge!"

Franky glanced behind Bridget to where Emily was still impatiently waiting for her. "Liz said the TV producer called her again looking for my answer. We can talk about it later. I'm okay. Promise." She gave the blonde a quick kiss, and felt her rub her back.

"Okay," Bridget said quietly. She turned to Emily. "Alright, let's see this solar system of yours!"

"Can I hang it up in my room?" The young girl took the blonde's hand and led her to the science classroom.

"Yeah, sure. We can do it on the weekend."

Franky heard Emily still talking as she led Bridget down the hall, and smiled to herself. The young girl's excitement had been growing over the past week, but especially since she and Bridget had told her that they could decorate the house this weekend and make their Christmas cookies.

It wasn't long after they had left when the other people started showing up for class. Franky went to the walk-in fridge and got the cart she had loaded earlier with the prepped trays. As she placed one on each station, she said hello to the kids and their parents.

The brunette was at the front getting ready to start the class when Emily and Bridget returned and took their spot next to Richard and Mia.

"Hey, I thought maybe you guys weren't here this week." Richard greeted them warmly.

"Oh, nah, we wouldn't miss it. Em just wanted to show me something she made in one of her other classes today." The blonde smiled down at her niece.

"It's a solar system model! We're going to hang it in my room tomorrow!" Emily peeked around Bridget to tell the man and his daughter what she'd made.

"Alright everyone! So tonight we're making tacos!" Franky was up at the front of the class, and had everyone's undivided attention.

"My favourite!" one of the children in the back said.

"Awesome!" Franky gave them a thumbs up and continued. "So the first thing you want to do is to cook the ground beef. While that's cooking, you can prepare the spice mixture. As you can see, on the tray there are small jars of spices. They're not pre-measured. Don't make that mistake." She smiled and a few of the kids and adults laughed at her joke. "If you'd like yours to be a bit more on the spicy side, there's some optional ingredients there you can add in. So let's get started!" She made her way around the classroom as everyone began cooking.

"So what do you think Em? Spicy or not spicy?" Bridget figured her niece would choose spicy. She had always thought that most kids didn't care for spicy foods, but it seemed like Emily almost preferred them.

"Spicy!" Emily handed the blonde the recipe.

"Ooo, okay, so we have to add some extra chilli powder, and some hot sauce." Bridget located the extra ingredients on their tray and set them aside for Emily to measure out.

"You guys are making the spicy version, I see," Franky said as she walked up beside their workstation.

"Yeah, I let Em choose."

"Good choice. I like the spicy ones too." The brunette winked as she moved on to Richard and Mia. "How about you? Which one did you choose?"

It wasn't long before they were ready to sit down and eat. Emily sat beside Bridget, while Mia and Richard sat to Bridget's left. After a moment, the blonde noticed the two young girls trying to talk to each other.

"Mia, why don't you switch seats with me? It'll make it easier for you to talk with Em." Bridget quickly switched chairs with her, and smiled as she sat down beside Richard. "Hope you don't mind being stuck beside me," she said as she gave a small laugh.

"Not at all." Richard smiled. As Bridget reached for her glass of water, he discretely looked at her left hand and took note that she wasn't wearing a ring. "I bet Emily is excited about the holidays."

"Oh yeah, she's had a lot of extra energy this week." The blonde laughed. "How about Mia, you guys all ready?"

"Yeah, I think so. She's been pretty excited too." He glanced behind Bridget to see the two girls talking while they ate. "They seem to get along well."

The blonde looked behind her. "A budding friendship, I'd say." She turned back to Richard. "That's great though. Em is usually so shy."

"Mia's the same way." He took a deep breath. "Maybe they could get together sometime over the holiday break. If you guys don't have a lot of plans made already."

"Oh, nah just Christmas Day and maybe New Years. Other than that I don't think we have any plans." Bridget smiled thinking of the first Christmas she was going to get to spend with Franky and Emily.

"Great!" Richard took a drink of his water.

After everyone had finished eating, they went back to their stations to clean up before they headed home for the night. Bridget was helping Emily put their clean pans and utensils away when she noticed that Richard and Mia were almost ready to leave.

"Oh, Richard, I almost forgot!" Bridget tore a scrap of paper off the recipe sheet that had been handed out at the beginning of class. "Do you have a pen on you?" The blonde had asked Richard, but Franky had heard her, and as she was walked by, she laid one on the countertop. "Oh, thanks." The brunette gave her a small smile. Bridget scribbled something on the paper, and handed it to him. "Here's my number. In case Mia wants to make a playdate during the break."

"Oh! Right, yeah." He folded the piece of paper and put it in his pocket. "Thanks."

"No problem. Have a good holiday, okay?" Bridget smiled, and gave his arm a squeeze as she turned to go back to finish up with Emily.

"Thanks, you too," he said as she walked away

She looked back and gave him another smile.

It wasn't long before everyone had left, and Franky was finishing up what she needed to do before she could leave as well.

"Thanks for this," Bridget said, as she slid the brunette's pen back into the pocket of her chef's jacket. "I think Em is making a friend." The blonde spoke quietly, as the young girl was in Franky's office, and she didn't want her to overhear them talking about her.

"Oh really? That's great!" The brunette thought for a moment. "The girl you switched spots with when we were eating?"

Bridget nodded. "Mia. Her dad says she's really shy as well. They seem to get along though. He suggested that maybe they could have a playdate over the holidays so I gave him my number so we could set it up if everything works out. I didn't mention it to Em though. I don't want her to be disappointed if it doesn't happen."

"Well hopefully it does. That would be really good for her." Franky finished putting away the last of the clean dishes. "Ready for home?"

"Always." The blonde gave her a small kiss.

"Alright Em, I'll take your lunch bag and empty out the dirty dishes, you go have your shower and put your pyjamas on." Franky took the bag from the young girl.

"I want to stay out here and sit with you and Auntie Bridge." Emily gave Franky her puppy dog eyes. It was something she'd only started recently, but she'd learned quickly they were very effective.

"You know the deal. After the late class you have to get ready for bed when we get home, then you can spend a bit of time with us. It's a long day, and everyone is tired. If we let you wait, you won't want to do it." Franky was good with Emily, but she was new with having to be firm with her. She was thankful that the young girl didn't push it any further, and simply turned and went to her room.

The brunette entered the kitchen, and began to clean out the girl's lunch bag. She reached out for Bridget's when she had finished. "I can do yours too, babe."

The blonde heard the water turn on in the shower. "You handled that well," she said as she gave Franky a kiss on the cheek.

"I just don't like having to do it." The brunette set the empty lunch bags back on the counter.

"I know. She's usually a good kid. A really good kid. We're lucky. But every kid from time to time needs some discipline. I don't think any parent enjoys that part." Bridget studied Franky's face for a moment. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Just getting used to this new bit, I guess." The brunette gave her a small smile.

"Okay." She gave Franky another kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to go change out of these clothes."

Bridget and the brunette were sitting on the couch, when they heard Emily call out from her bedroom.

"Auntie Bridge!"

The blonde looked at Franky, then got up and made her way to her niece's bedroom.

"Yeah, love?" Bridget stood in the doorway and saw that Emily was still wearing her bathrobe.

"Where are my dinosaur pyjamas?"

"They're in the laundry. Remember? You spilled juice on them this morning." Bridget walked over to Emily's dresser and opened one of the drawers. "Do you want the polka-dot ones, the star ones, or the pink ones?"

"Dinosaur ones!" The young girl raised her voice.

"Em. Come here." Bridget crouched down so that she was eye level with Emily. "If you pick out a pair of pyjamas right now and put them on, then you can come out with us for a few minutes. If you argue any more, then you're going to bed right now with no story."

"I want the dinosaur ones!" The tears started down her cheeks.

The blonde reached out and wiped them away with the backs of her fingers. She reached in the drawer and took out a pair of the girl's underwear. "Alright. Put these on." She waited while the young girl put them on. "And these." Bridget held out a pair of pyjamas."

"No! Not those ones!"

"Last chance to pick something from the drawer then." Bridget waited while Emily looked in the drawer. "It's either one of these pairs or nothing." Emily shook her head. "Okay, get in bed."

Emily looked at her with big eyes. "But I don't have any pyjamas on."

"That was your choice. You didn't want to wear any of them." The blonde hated seeing her cry, but she knew the girl had to learn that she needed to listen to what they told her to do.

After a moment, when Emily realized that Bridget wasn't going to change her mind, she crawled into her bed. Bridget pulled the blankets over her.

"I'm cold," the young girl said quietly.

The blonde took the extra blanket that was at the end of the bed, and covered her with that as well.

"I'll leave these here. If you're still cold, put them on. Goodnight, love." She placed the pyjamas on the end of the bed, and gave Emily a kiss on the forehead.

"No story?"

Bridget shook her head. "Not tonight." She wiped the final few tears from the young girl's cheek. She made sure the fairy lights were turned on before she turned off the ceiling light, and closed the door quietly.

Franky was watching her from the couch as she returned to the living room. "What was that about?"

Bridget shrugged. "She wanted her dinosaur pyjamas and I said no because they're in the laundry."

"That's all? She sounded really upset."

"I think it's just the excitement of Christmas combined with the long day. She's tired." The blonde sat down beside Franky and cuddled into her side. She immediately felt the brunette's arm around her.

"Tomorrow is a big day," Franky said quietly.

"I know." Bridget smiled. "We're getting the tree, and starting to decorate. Then making cookies on the weekend. I'm excited." The blonde was lucky enough to have the holidays off. Of course, she was on-call if anything major happened, but the other psych who looked after the women in the protection unit was there to handle pretty much anything else.

It wasn't long before Franky and Bridget had decided they were tired after the long day as well, and called it a night. As they laid in bed, the blonde could sense that the younger woman's mind was preoccupied.

"I can feel you thinking." Bridget pulled Franky closer to her, and gave her a soft kiss.

"I need to give her an answer, and I don't know what to do." The brunette sighed as she felt her girlfriend's fingers on her back.

"What do you want to do?" Bridget asked softly.

"I don't know."

"If all that stuff hadn't happened with Pennisi, what would your answer be?" The blonde studied Franky's face.

"I would do it." The brunette answered faster than Bridget had expected.

"I think that should be your answer."

Franky shook her head. "But those things did happen, and I'm scared they'll happen again."

"You're not the person you were then. You're more self-aware. You know when someone is trying to push your buttons and you know how to deal with it. You have me, Em, and Liz for support." Bridget tried to make eye contact with the brunette, but Franky's gaze was fixed on a point on the blonde's shoulder. "Hey." She waited until the younger woman looked at her. "If I didn't think you could handle this, I wouldn't encourage it. I would never put you in that situation. I love you too much to do that to you." She reached out and wiped a tear off Franky's cheek.

"Okay." The brunette let out a long breath. "I'll do it. I'll call her tomorrow. I want to be clear with her though, that if there's any shit going on like last time, I'm out. I'm there to cook. That's all."

"I think that's fair." The blonde gave her a small kiss. "How are you feeling?"

"Nauseous." Franky gave a small laugh.

"You're nervous, that's expected. Come here." Bridget shifted a bit closer to her, and rested her forehead against the younger woman's.

The blonde ran her fingers up the back of Franky's neck and into her soft hair. She lingered there a moment, then retraced her path, this time, ending between the brunette's shoulder blades. Bridget repeated her actions a couple of times, as she felt Franky relax.

"How do you do that, Gidge?" the brunette mumbled, her eyes still closed.

"Do what, baby?" Bridget asked softly.

"Make me relax so quickly." Franky shifted so that she could bury her face in Bridget's neck, but still allow the blonde access to continue her calming motions.

"I just try things, and pay attention to your reactions. I can tell when you like something. It's the same as you do with me." She could feel the brunette's warm breath on her neck, slowing as Franky relaxed more, and started drifting into sleep.

"Mhm." The brunette nuzzled in closer. "No one cared enough before to figure it out with me I guess."

Franky was so close to sleep that Bridget barely understood the last sentence. She didn't reply, but just held the brunette a bit tighter. It broke her heart that Franky had never had a relationship before this with anyone who took the time to learn what she needed.

The next morning, Bridget was the first to wake. Franky still had her head buried in the blonde's neck, in much the same way as when they went to sleep the night before, and she knew it would take great care not to wake her as she got out of bed. Bridget wanted to make a special breakfast for everyone since it was their last day to work before the holidays, and the first day of the Christmas preparation at the house.

The blonde had managed to get out of the bed with Franky stirring only a bit, but then quickly settling back asleep. In their house, waffles were the go-to when they wanted to have something fun and different, so that's what she decided she would make.

It wasn't long before she heard a bedroom door open. She wasn't sure which one it was, but a moment later, Emily appeared in the kitchen. Bridget noticed that she had indeed ended up putting on the pyjamas that the blonde had left on her bed, and she smiled to herself.

"Good morning, love," Bridget greeted her. "Would you like to help me make breakfast?"

"Okay." Emily brought her step stool over to the counter beside her aunt and climbed up on it. "When I grow up I want to be a chef like Franky."

"Yeah? I think you'd be good at that, and you already know you like it." The blonde had to admit that the fact that Emily thought she wanted to be a chef didn't surprise her at all.

"I don't know if I want a girlfriend yet though."

Something about the way the young girl said it so seriously made Bridget have to hold back a laugh. "Well, that's okay. You have lots of time to decide if you want a girlfriend, or a boyfriend, or some people enjoy just being on their own."

Emily was quiet for a moment before she spoke again. "I think I'd like a tattoo though. Franky's are pretty."

"Yeah they are. I remember that was one of the first things you told me about her that day when I came to pick you up." Bridget thought back to when Emily had said that Franky had let someone draw on her arms, and the blonde could only wonder what other artwork was on the younger woman's body.

"Do you have a tattoo?" the young girl asked, as she helped measure out the last of the ingredients.

Bridget glanced over to see Franky walk into the kitchen. The brunette gave her a small smirk as she sat down on one of the stools. "Yeah, I do." The blonde didn't see any point in hiding that fact from her niece.

"Can I see it?" the young girl asked.

Bridget had been expecting that question, and again, felt like it wasn't something she needed to hide. The blonde reached down and pulled the side of her shirt up to expose the kite tattoo on her ribcage.

Emily looked from the tattoo to Franky then back again. "It's like her necklace," she said looking up at her aunt.

"It is. I gave her that, then I got the tattoo. So she's stuck with me forever." Bridget smiled and glanced towards the brunette.

"I'll try to make the best of it." Franky got up and walked around the island, coming to stand beside the blonde. She lowered her head, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Do you want to help us make breakfast?" Bridget asked the brunette.

"Nah, it looks like you've got it all under control. I'll make your lunch for you though." Franky opened the fridge and searched for the items she needed. It was only the blonde who needed to pack a lunch today. Franky would be done work at noon, then she and Emily would be able to head home.

Franky's morning had gone by quickly. She just had one more thing left to do before she headed home for the holidays. She sat in her office with her phone in one hand and Jillian's business card in the other. She took a deep breath as she dialed the number on the card.

It only rang twice before the producer answered. "Hello, Jillian Banks speaking."

"Hi, Jillian. It's Franky." The brunette swallowed, feeling nauseous again.

"Ah, Franky, I was hoping to hear from you soon." Judging from the way their initial meeting had gone, Jillian wasn't at all confident that she'd even hear back from her at all. "Did you have a chance to think about it?"

"I did." Franky took a deep breath. "If I say 'yes', I have some conditions."

"Like what?" Jillian was cautious.

"First of all, if there's any shit like last time with the staff poking contestants until they get a reaction, then I'm out. Right then and there. I'll just walk." The brunette hesitated. "So I'm giving you a tentative 'yes', but right after the holidays, I want a meeting with you, and I want details. Details about the show, the host, what the filming schedule is like. All that stuff."

"Sure, okay. We don't have to finalize anything right away. I actually figured you'd want to speak again, so I allowed for that when I told Liz when I needed to hear from you..." The producer flipped through her schedule. "How about the second of January?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you then." Franky needed to get off the phone.

She needed to get up and walk around and stretch and not think about this anymore right now. She wanted to go home with Emily, and wait for Bridget so that they could get out the decorations and get a tree. She promised herself that she wasn't going to let this be in the back of her mind over the holidays, that she was just going to focus on her family.

She smiled as she thought of what Christmas morning would be like with Bridget, Emily, Liz, and Vera. She couldn't wait to give the blonde her ring, and to be able to share that with the people she cared about.

The brunette could still feel some tension in her back and shoulders, so she closed her eyes and stretched against the wall, reaching for a point high above her head. After a second she felt two small arms wrap around her waist from the side.

"Hey, bub." Franky reached down and placed her hand on Emily's head.

"You're upset."

The brunette was always surprised at how perceptive the young girl was. She almost never asked how someone was feeling, but rather said it as a statement.

"Not really upset. There's just something on my mind," she sighed.

"Are you and Auntie Bridge okay?" Emily asked quietly.

Franky wasn't sure if the young girl was asking about them individually or their relationship, but either way the answer was the same. "Yeah, we're good." The brunette smiled and looked down to see an unsure expression on Emily's face. Most of the time, the young girl was fine, but every once in a while Franky saw a bit of the fear and anxiety return from those first few nights after her father's accident.

She led Emily over to sit on the couch. She thought maybe if she explained a bit of what was going on, it would help to ease the small blonde's mind.

"Remember when I told you that I had to go talk to a counsellor just like you did?" Emily nodded. "The reason I had to go was because I used to be very angry. One time, I had a chance for something really good, and my anger got in the way. I made a mistake and I lost my chance. Now, someone wants to give me a second chance but I'm a bit nervous about it. So that's what I was thinking about."

"You don't get angry anymore. You don't yell at me or Auntie Bridge." Emily studied Franky's face then gave her a small smile.

"Yeah." The brunette returned her smile. "Alright, let's get home so we can start the holidays."

Bridget arrived home not long after Franky and Emily had finished eating lunch.

"Hey, babe. You're home early." The brunette got up to greet her, and gave her a kiss on the cheek as she took the blonde's bag from her. "We could have waited to have lunch with you."

"Ah, no worries. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get away early, so I didn't say anything this morning. Besides, I ate what you packed for me and it was delicious." She reached up and cupped Franky's cheek, giving her a quick kiss. "Oh! Will said he could drop by a bit later with his truck and take us to get the tree. It's definitely not fitting in either of our cars."

Franky laughed as she pictured a tree tied to the roof of one of their cars. "Yeah, probably not. That's nice of him to do that."

"He's a good guy."

All of a sudden, the brunette turned to face Bridget again. "We should set him up with Vera!"

The blonde let out a small laugh. "Okay, there's two problems with that idea, baby. First of all, Vera is seeing someone. Remember Jake? And second of all, she and Will already know each other. They spend almost every day together. They don't need to be 'set up'." She watched as Franky's face fell. "I agree with you though. I think they'd be good together, but they also work together and that could get messy. So, I think we shouldn't get involved."

"Well, maybe if the Jake thing doesn't work out, you could just suggest it to her one time. Just put the idea in her head." The brunette looked at her hopefully.

Bridget narrowed her eyes. "Maybe."

Franky put her arms around the blonde. "Okay." She lowered her head and kissed Bridget softly on the lips. "If you show me where the decorations are in the garage, I'll go bring them in. We probably shouldn't start baking until this evening after we've gotten the tree."

"Sounds like a plan." The blonde smiled at her, and held her gaze for a moment before she spoke again. "I'm so happy you're here."

Franky smiled back at her. "Me too."

Bridget took her hand and led her to the garage.

After everything had been brought in, the three of them unpacked the boxes. Among the things that Bridget had gotten from Tim's house for Emily were some of the decorations that she knew were the girl's favourites. She had made sure to get anything that said 'Baby's First Christmas', or anything that she knew had been given to her niece by a friend or relative. She had also brought an ornament that was a set of angel chimes. When you lit the candles, the angels flew in a circle and lightly tapped the bells on either side. She remembered how Emily would just sit and watch them go around.

A few hours later, Will showed up at their house.

"Oh, hey, come on in." Bridget greeted him at the door. "You can head into the living room. We're just getting the decorations unpacked. Thanks again for helping us out."

"Ah, no worries." He gave the blonde a warm smile as he passed by her in the hallway.

"Hey, Will." Franky looked up from her spot on the floor beside Emily where they were looking through a box of ornaments.

"Franky," he said, giving her a smile as well. "And this must be Emily."

The brunette felt the young girl move closer and a small hand grip on to the back of her shirt. Franky put her arm around Emily. "Hey Em, remember I told you about the man who helped me when I was in prison? How he helped keep me safe?" The small blonde gave a nod. "This is him. His name is Will. He's going to help us bring our Christmas tree home today."

"You're tall," Emily said, her head tilted back to look up at him.

Will smiled. "How about if I sit down over here?" He pointed to a spot on the floor on the opposite side of Franky. Bridget had mentioned before that her niece was shy around new people, and he thought that maybe she found his height a bit intimidating as well. It served him well in the prison, but he didn't want the young girl to be afraid of him.

Emily watched him closely as he sat down beside Franky and leaned back against the couch.

"You work at the prison with Auntie Bridge?"

"I do," Will said as he nodded his head. "I'm an officer there. I make sure people stay safe and follow the rules."

Franky felt Emily's grip on her shirt loosen. The four of them sat and talked for a few minutes before they decided it was time to go and pick out their tree.

When they got to the tree lot, they hadn't been walking for long when Bridget noticed that Emily was falling behind them. "Come on, love." The blonde reached down and took her hand. The place was huge and she didn't want to risk Emily getting too far behind them or wandering off.

"I'm tired," Emily said rubbing her eyes as the four of them came to a stop beside a group of trees.

Bridget figured the girl probably didn't sleep well the night before. She's made Emily go to bed without her pyjamas or her bedtime story, and she'd been visibly upset when the blonde had left.

"I know, love. We're going home after this though." Bridget gave her hand a small squeeze.

Will had overheard Bridget's conversation with Emily. He thought that maybe he had a solution that would cheer the girl up and at the same time allow Franky and the blonde to pick out their tree.

He walked over beside Bridget. Emily had wandered over to lean against Franky. "I can carry her on my shoulders if she's tired. If that's okay. There's a ways left to walk yet."

"Yeah, that's fine. If she'll let you. Don't be offended if she says 'no' though, you're still new." Bridget gave him a small smile.

"Nah, of course not." Will made his way over to the young girl, and crouched down. He remembered her reaction to his height earlier. "Hey, how would you like me to carry you? I heard you say you were tired. Plus you'll get to be even taller than me."

Emily looked at him for a moment then up at Franky and Bridget.

Franky gave a small nod. "It's up to you, bub."

"Okay," Emily said quietly.

Will crouched down a bit further, and the brunette picked up the young girl and set her on his shoulders. He held the bottom half of her legs against either side of his chest.

"Don't lean back, okay?" Will asked as he stood up.

When he reached his full height, Emily let out a giggle.

"See any good trees way up there?" Bridget asked her niece.

"Over there!" Emily pointed straight ahead of them.

The blonde was glad to see that the young girl's mood had lightened.

It didn't take them much longer to find the perfect tree. Bridget had had to talk Franky out of getting one that was so big she was fairly certain that they wouldn't be able to get it in the house, and in the end they settled on one that was about the same height as the brunette.

Will had helped them bring the tree into the house and get it set up. Bridget and Franky thanked him again for all his help, and even Emily gave him a quick hug before he left.

They had planned that evening to decorate the tree, put up the other decorations around the house, and choose which recipe they each wanted to make on the weekend. Franky figured that if they each picked one sweet or dessert to make that would be plenty, and she would handle the main meal on Christmas Day.

It wasn't long after they'd had their supper though, and Bridget noticed that Emily had fallen fast asleep on the couch. The blonde and Franky had been untangling strands of lights, and had given the young girl a couple boxes of ornaments to go through and pick out the ones she wanted to put on the tree.

"Baby," Bridget said quietly. When Franky turned her attention to her, the blonde nodded in the direction of her niece who was asleep on the couch.

"She had a big day." The brunette gave a small smile.

"I'm going to take her to bed." The blonde stood up and walked to the couch. She carefully picked up the sleeping girl and carried her down the hallway to her bedroom. When she returned, she took her seat again on the floor beside Franky. "You know, it's been a few years since there was Christmas in this house," Bridget said, looking around.

"Because you went to Sydney and spent it with Em and her family?" The brunette handed her a string of lights she was finished with and picked up another set to start on.

"Yeah. Even before that though." Bridget looked at the lights in her hand for a moment before she placed them on the coffee table.

Franky watched the blonde out of the corner of her eye. "What's going on inside there, babe?"

Bridget shrugged. "Julia wasn't into holidays. She said she didn't see the point. After awhile I gave up trying to convince her that we should decorate and enjoy them."

"And why was Julie so cranky? She's the ex you told me about?"

The blonde nodded. "Ooo she hated being called 'Julie'."

"Good, that's what I'll call her then." Franky plugged in the string of lights to check that all of the bulbs were working. She looked over to see Bridget smiling at her. "What?"

"Nothing." The blonde gave a small shake of her head.

The younger woman sat the string of lights down on the floor beside her, and leaned back against the couch. "Come here." She reached out for Bridget's hand and pulled her onto her lap. "Well this year, we are going to Christmas the fuck out of this place." She smiled as the blonde threw her head back and laughed. "Did you ever see that movie where the guy puts lights on like every inch of his house? So many that it drains the power from the neighbours houses?"

"Yeah I love that movie." Bridget gave the brunette a soft kiss and felt Franky pull her a bit closer.

"I say we go for that. Inside and out. We'll have to wear sunglasses in here so we don't burn our retinas." She reached down and picked up the lights again and wrapped the strand around them. "We'll start with us." She grabbed another nearby piece of garland and wrapped that around them as well.

The blonde giggled. "Good thing there's no wrapping paper or bows around here or you'd have me wrapped up like a present."

Franky pretended to think for a minute. "I think you'd make a pretty good present."

"You wouldn't want to re-gift me?" Bridget gave another small laugh.

The brunette shook her head. "No way. I'd keep you forever." She leaned forward and gave the blonde a soft, slow kiss.

When Franky leaned back against the couch again, Bridget followed, and buried her face in the brunette's neck. She felt Franky's hands rub up and down her back. Neither of them knew how long they sat there like that, Franky thinking about the fact that Bridget didn't seem to have ever had a good Christmas with her ex, and Bridget thinking how happy she was that this year would be different. It wasn't until Bridget felt herself start to drift off that she broke the silence.

"We should go to bed." She mumbled against the brunette's neck. "Before I fall asleep and you have to carry me like I did Em."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Franky let out a small laugh. She reached over and unplugged the lights as Bridget began unwrapping them.

"Sorry, baby."

"Nah, it's cute, Gidge." The brunette gave her a kiss when she stood up. "Let's go to bed." Franky took Bridget's hand and led her to their bedroom. She was looking forward to everything the next week would bring.