Bridget woke to the feeling of a soft kiss next to her ear.

"It's Christmas Eve, babe." Franky whispered quietly.

The blonde stretched as her lips curved into a smile. "Merry Christmas Eve," she said, giving the younger woman a kiss."I've been good this year, so does that mean I can have my present early?"

"Not a chance." Franky gave a small laugh. She kissed Bridget again. One of her favourite things about the holidays this year, aside from seeing her girlfriend enjoy the beautifully decorated house and tree, was the fact that they didn't have to get up and rush to work in the mornings. They were free to be a bit lazy and cuddle and talk.

It was only a few minutes before they heard the doorknob turn slowly. Bridget lifted her head.

"Good morning, love." The blonde watched as her niece made her way to their bed.

"Can I lay down with you?" Emily's voice was quiet, and Bridget could sense that there was something on her mind.

"Sure," the blonde said as she felt Franky shift away from her to make room for the young girl to lay in between them.

Emily settled in, and buried her face into her aunt's shoulder. Bridget rubbed her back for a moment waiting for the girl to speak. When she didn't, the blonde glanced up, catching Franky's eye. The brunette gave a small shrug. As far as she knew, everything was fine when they had gone to bed last night.

"What's wrong, darling?" Bridget asked quietly.

"Nothing," came Emily's muffled reply, followed a few seconds later by, "I don't know."

"If you want to tell us something, you can. Sometimes it helps to talk about it." The blonde wasn't going to push it much further. She knew that forcing someone to talk when they weren't ready rarely resulted in a good outcome.

"I'm happy but I'm sad too."

"Feelings can be confusing sometimes, yeah?" Bridget felt Emily nod against her shoulder. "Would you like to tell us why you're happy?" She thought maybe starting with a positive emotion might encourage the girl to talk.

"I'm happy because I'm here with you and Franky, and because I like Christmas." Emily took a shaky breath.

"We're happy you're here with us, too." The blonde gave her a small smile.

Franky reached out and placed her hand on Emily's shoulder. "I'm excited to spend my first Christmas with you and Auntie." The brunette didn't really know what else to say, this was more Bridget's area of expertise, but she wanted the young girl to know she was still there and listening to what she had to say.

"I'm sad because I miss my mom and dad." This time, Emily spoke without needing to be prompted. "And because I'm happy."

Franky gave Bridget a confused look.

The blonde was starting to put the pieces together now. "It's okay to be sad. I miss them, too. Are you also sad because you think you shouldn't be happy that you're here with us instead of with them?" Bridget felt her niece nod. "Love, it's alright to be happy, it doesn't mean you miss them any less. They would be glad that you're somewhere with people you love and who love you. And they would want you to enjoy Christmas."

"Are you sure?" Emily pulled back a bit from Bridget, and looked first to her aunt, then Franky.

"Yeah, of course." The blonde gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Franky whispered a quiet "Yeah". She could see the tears in the young girl's eyes and it broke her heart.

They laid there in the quiet for a few moments before Bridget broke the silence. "Do you feel a little better?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, a bit."

"What would you like for breakfast, bub?" Franky asked. "I'll make anything you want."

Bridget smiled because she knew that the brunette would always make Emily anything she asked for anyway, but this was her way of offering some comfort.

The young girl shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

"Hmm, I bet I know something that could change your mind." Franky gave her a smile. "You and Auntie stay here and relax for another little while. You'll know when it's ready." The brunette gave them a wink, and crawled out of bed. She tucked the blankets back in around the young girl before she made her way to the kitchen.

"I like Franky." Emily said, once the brunette had left the room.

"I know, love. Me too." Bridget gave her another kiss on her forehead.

They must have drifted back to sleep because the next thing the blonde knew, she was waking up to the smell of cinnamon coming from the kitchen. She felt Emily stir beside her.

"You smell that, love?" The young girl nodded. "I think that's our cue to get up."

Bridget and Emily wandered into the kitchen just as Franky was mixing up the icing for the cinnamon buns she'd made.

"There's my girls!" The brunette greeted them. "Did you get some more sleep?"

"Yeah, how long were we out?" Bridget asked as her and Emily each took a seat on one of the stools at the island.

"About an hour. These are just cool enough to put the icing on." Franky had set one out for each of them on plates and the rest she'd left on the pan. Emily watched as the brunette drizzled icing over their three first. "You want to take these over to the table and I'll be right there?"

The young girl grabbed hers and Franky's plates and headed to the table, while Bridget followed with her own. It had already been set with glasses of juice poured for each of them, and cups of coffee for the blonde and Franky.

On her way to the table, the brunette picked up the angel chime ornament that sat on the end table by the couch. Every evening since they had decorated, Emily had asked for the candles on it to be lit, and she'd sit and watch it, usually from her spot on Bridget's lap.

"I think this would make a good centrepiece for today," Franky said, setting it in the middle of the table. She thought that it would be a nice way to include the memory of Emily's parents into their holiday. She knew she'd made the right choice when she saw the smile on the young girl's face as she lit the candles.

After they were done eating, Franky and Bridget cleared the dishes from the table, but Emily stayed in her spot slowly drinking her juice.

"Can we leave this going all day and tomorrow?" the young girl asked as she watched it turn.

"We can leave it for as long as the candles last since we're going to be home." Bridget knew they probably wouldn't even last the day, but there was nowhere to get more now. The shops would be closed for the holiday.

Franky walked over to a drawer in the island, and opened it. "Gidge," she said just loudly enough that Bridget turned to face her. The brunette held up a package that contained enough candles for two more replacement sets.

Bridget walked over to stand beside her. "I didn't know we had extra ones."

"I picked them up the other day when I was out." Franky put them back in the drawer and closed it.

The blonde smiled at her. "Thank you." She gave the brunette a small kiss before she went back to cleaning up from their breakfast.

They had spent most of the day with Emily helping Franky get food ready to cook for their Christmas Day meals, and Bridget wrapping last minute presents in the bedroom. For supper, the brunette had made her now perfected lasagna. It had been Liz's request, but Franky thought it was also fitting because it had been the first meal she'd made for Bridget.

Liz arrived as planned about an hour before dinner, and Vera shortly thereafter.

"I didn't really know what to bring. My go to is wine, but I know you guys don't have that in the house anymore…." Vera trailed off as she stepped in through the door. She handed Bridget a box of chocolates.

"Thank you, but we told you you didn't have to bring anything." The blonde gave her a warm smile. "You can take your bag to Em's room if you'd like. She's sleeping in with us tonight," Bridget added when she saw the questioning look on her friend's face.

"Oh, I can just sleep on the couch. I don't want to put her out of her bed."

The blonde shook her head. "If memory serves me correctly, she likes to try to sneak out early to see if Santa has been here yet. At least this way we'll know if she wakes up."

Vera gave a small laugh. "Yeah, she tried that last year, I think."

"Yeah. I only caught her because I was on my way to the bathroom." Bridget smiled at her friend. They had some good memories from the past couple of Christmases they'd spent in Sydney. "Anyway, I'll let you get settled, then I think supper is almost ready."

Franky was just putting the plates on the table when Vera joined them.

"This looks amazing," the governor said as she sat down.

"We have lasagna, Italian chopped salad with a vinaigrette dressing, lemon herb steamed cauliflower, and garlic bread." Franky listed off each dish as she pointed to them on the table before taking her seat.

"Franky, love, this looks delicious," Liz said as she placed some salad on her plate.

"Yes, and thanks again for having us," Vera said.

"Of course, you guys are family to us." Bridget reached over and gave Vera's hand a small squeeze.

"Oh my god." Vera closed her eyes as she tasted the first bite of her lasagna. "Seriously? Let me guess, it's all homemade, the pasta and everything?"

"Mhm." Franky nodded as she took a bite of her own meal. "The pasta, the sauce, the salad dressing, and the bread."

"Can I just hire you as my personal chef?"

The brunette laughed. "I think Gidge has claims on that."

"It's a perk," Bridget said with a small laugh.

Once they had finished their meal, they decided to sit in the living room just to chat and spend the evening together.

"I think we should add this to our yearly tradition," the blonde said, turning on the tv. She found the movie she was looking for and pressed 'play'.

The theme song for "Christmas Vacation" began to play, and they all laughed. The brunette caught Bridget's eye, and they shared a smile. She knew that the blonde had picked this particular movie because of the conversation they'd had the night they were unpacking the decorations.

"I think we need some hot chocolate to go with the movie," Franky declared.

"Let me guess, it involves more than just boiling water," Vera said jokingly to Bridget.

"I heard that!" Franky called out from the kitchen. "There's no water in my hot chocolate. That's blasphemous."

They all watched while Franky created her version of the classic drink. The brunette then placed all the mugs on a tray and made her way back to the living room. She wished them each a Merry Christmas as she handed them out, giving Liz and Emily each a kiss on the cheek, and Bridget a quick one on the lips. When she handed Vera her mug, the governor said a quiet 'thank you' and went to take a sip.

"Vera?" Franky was still standing in front of her, and Vera paused with the mug halfway to her mouth and looked up. The brunette leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Merry Christmas."

Vera smiled and quickly took a sip of her hot chocolate.

Franky settled in beside Bridget with her own mug, and the blonde cuddled in next to her. The younger woman lifted her arm, and wrapped it around her girlfriend. Vera stole a glance, thinking how glad she was that her friend had finally met someone who was good for her, and who treated her well. Liz stole a glance at the couple as well, thinking how far Franky had come since she'd first met her all those years ago when the brunette was still a teenager. She'd had no doubt even back then that Franky could overcome her anger issues, but she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to open up and love and trust someone after everything that had happened with her mother and father.

They all watched the movie. Emily seemed to enjoy it too even though she was too young to fully understand some of the humor in it.

"So how did you and Gidge meet?" Franky asked, breaking the silence when the movie ended.

Vera looked over at the brunette. She had been lost in thought watching the angel chimes that were still lit, and now sitting back on the end table in the living room.

"We, uh, we were in the same book club," Vera said, looking down at the empty mug that was still in her hands. "That was before we worked together."

"Yeah, that wasn't yesterday, hey?" Bridget let out a small laugh. "I think I started at Wentworth maybe a month or so after you did."

"Mhm, it wasn't very long after."

"And here we are almost fifteen years later." The blonde gave her a small wink.

They chatted for another few minutes before Bridget sent Emily to go have her shower. She figured after the big meal they'd just eaten, and the sugar in the hot chocolate, that when the crash came, it would be hard and sudden, and she wanted the young girl to be all ready for bed.

"Anyone want cookies when she gets back?" Franky asked.

They all shook their heads 'no'.

"Baby, you're going to have us all feeling like you did that night after your class." Bridget laughed and gave her a small kiss on the cheek.

"I feel like there's a story behind that." Liz leaned forward in anticipation.

"I don't think we need to hear it," the brunette said quickly.

Bridget ignored her and started telling the story anyway. "The first night I had the class with Em we made these dessert cakes, and one kid asked Franky to try hers, so she did. Well, then all the other kids wanted her opinion as well, and I bet you ended up eating how many? Like seven or eight?" The blonde looked at Franky for confirmation.

"Probably, yeah."

"So we get home that night, and she's laying in bed poking at her stomach, complaining about how full she is." Bridget gave a small laugh. "And I lay beside her and she says 'don't lay on me, babe, or I might throw up on you'. There was a lot of whining."

"I was seriously uncomfortable!" Even Franky couldn't help but smile thinking about how silly she probably sounded, considering she'd caused her discomfort entirely by her own choices.

"Then I rubbed your stomach until you fell asleep."

The brunette heard small giggles come from Vera and Liz. "Gidge! I've got a badass reputation to uphold here!"

"Ah love, you may be fooling her," Liz nodded in Vera's direction. "But you're not fooling me."

"Yeah…" Franky trailed off. There was no point in denying it or trying to make excuses.

They continued telling stories about memories they had with each other until Bridget noticed that Emily was starting to look like she was getting too comfortable on the end of the other couch beside Vera. They had decided that as a treat tonight, she could stay up late with them, but it was time to put her to bed. The blonde caught Franky's attention and nodded towards the young girl.

"Yeah, it's almost eleven," the brunette said glancing at the clock.

"Em, love. Let's put out a snack for Santa then I think it's time to head to bed." Bridget had walked over and put out her hand for Emily to take.

The young girl rubbed her eyes as they walked to the kitchen. Franky joined them, and they let Emily pick out a few cookies to leave, and poured a glass of milk.

"Go brush your teeth, then me and Auntie will be in, okay?" The brunette watched as the young girl walked down the hall and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. "Liz? You know what to do?"

"Ay, love," Liz said, giving her a wink.

Earlier in the day, Franky and Bridget had stashed Emily's gifts from Santa in the spare room that Liz would be staying in. Since Emily would be sleeping in their bed that night, they didn't want to risk having her wake up if one of them tried to leave to put out her presents, so Liz had agreed to set them out after they had taken her to bed.

A minute later the bathroom door opened. "I'm ready," the young girl said, still rubbing her eyes.

"Alright, bub. We're coming." Franky turned back to Liz and Vera. "You guys stay up as long as you like." She lowered her voice to an almost whisper. "And eat those before you go to bed." She pointed to the plate of cookies on the island.

Emily and the brunette were settled into bed waiting for Bridget to join them. When the blonde returned from the bathroom, she took something out of a bag that was sitting next to her bedside table.

"I picked up something for us for tonight," she said as she laid down next to her niece. The blonde rested a book on the blanket in front of the girl. "The Night Before Christmas." Bridget read the title.

"That's tonight!" Emily's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, it is, love. I thought you might enjoy this. My mom used to read this to me and your dad when we were kids." Bridget smiled as she recalled the memory. "Would you like me to read it to you?"

Emily nodded, and Bridget began. By the end of the book, Franky was fast asleep, and it looked to the blonde like Emily wouldn't be far behind her. Bridget carefully reached over, and placed the book on her bedside table, and turned off the lamp.

The blonde was almost asleep when Emily spoke. "Auntie Bridge?"

"Mm?"

"How will Santa know where I live now? It's not where I lived last year."

Bridget's mind started searching for a believable answer. "I filled out the paperwork."

"What does that mean?" It sounded like Emily was starting to wake up, so the blonde knew she had to end this conversation soon.

"When you moved in with us, we had to fill out the 'Santa Change of Address' form. It's all looked after. He knows you live here now, love."

"Oh. Okay." Emily settled back into the bed.

Franky slowly opened her eyes and looked at the clock on her bedside table. It was only two in the morning. She had to use the washroom, so she carefully slipped out of the bed. When she went into the hallway, she could see a silhouette standing in the dining area looking out into the backyard.

"Vera?" the brunette said as gently as she could. She knew Vera hadn't heard her approaching, and she didn't want to scare her. The governor jumped slightly anyway. "Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. You alright?"

"Yeah, thanks. I just couldn't sleep. I'm sorry if I woke you." She turned now to face the brunette.

"Nah, you didn't. I was on my way to the washroom and saw you out here."

Vera glanced down the hallway. "Since we're alone, there's uh, something I wanted to say. I just wanted to thank you for inviting me. Bridget said it was your suggestion, and I know what you have planned for tomorrow, so it means a lot that you'd want me here for that."

"Oh, yeah, of course. You're a friend, and you're special to Gidge." Franky watched as Vera gave a small nod. "She told me about Julia after I got out. I'm glad she has you to look out for her too." Vera nodded again as she looked out over the backyard, and the brunette thought she saw tears in her eyes. "Hey, come here." She reached out and took Vera in her arms. They stood there for a moment before Franky spoke again. "You okay?" The brunette let go of Vera and took a small step back.

"Yeah, I am." Vera wiped her eyes. "Are you? Big day tomorrow, or, well, today actually."

"Nervous, but I'll be okay." Franky gave her a small grin. "I'm gonna use the washroom then get back to bed before Em realizes I'm gone and comes looking for me."

"That could be bad." Vera returned her grin. "I think I'll just stay out here another few minutes if that's alright?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you need." The brunette gave her shoulder a squeeze as she turned to go back down the hallway.

"Franky! Auntie Bridge!"

Bridget woke to a hand on her shoulder, shaking her awake. "Mm, what time is it, love?" She could see the morning sun peeking through the curtains.

"Six! Did Santa come? Can we get up now?" The young girl was already up kneeling on the bed, and had pulled the blankets mostly off both of the women.

"He did, love. Why don't you wake Franky and the others then when everyone is up we can open presents?" Bridget yawned as she sat up on the edge of the bed.

"Franky!"

"Em, I know you're excited, but be gentle, okay?" the blonde asked as she stood up and made her way to the bedroom door.

She was still trying to get her eyes fully focused as she walked down the hallway. When she reached the living room she saw that Liz had put out the gifts, and that she and Vera had eaten the cookies and drank the milk that had been left out. The first thing she did was to switch on the coffee maker. She had a feeling they'd all be needing at least a couple cups to get through the day.

"Franky!" Emily shook the brunette's shoulder again. Franky kept her eyes closed but couldn't help the small grin that appeared on her face. "You're smiling! You're awake!" The young girl shook her again.

"Okay, okay, I'm up." The brunette laughed. "Go wake up the others, alright? And hey, remember our secret, yeah? It'll be at the very end of the gifts." Emily nodded, hopped off the bed, and ran into the spare room to wake Liz.

The first thing Franky did once she was out of bed was to retrieve the ring from her hiding spot in the closet. She chose a pair of trackies that were loose enough that she could easily have the small box in her pocket and it wouldn't be noticeable. She took a deep breath, and went out to the living room.

Liz was already there, and she heard Vera and Emily coming behind her.

"Everyone want coffee?" Bridget asked, getting the mugs out of the cabinet. It was 'yesses' all around.

After everyone had gotten their coffee, and was sitting on the couches in the living room, Bridget handed out everyone's presents. Franky gave her a questioning look when she sat a rather large box in front of the brunette.

"We'll take turns. Em, you can start," Franky said as she took a sip of her coffee.

They each took turns opening their gifts once the young girl had finished with everything from Santa. She had gotten some new games, a new pair of pyjamas, some clothes for her dolls, and some candy. Next, Franky opened the set of books from Bridget.

"Gidge! How did you know I wanted to read these?!" The brunette took the plastic wrap off right away and started looking at each of the books.

"Because you mention it every time anyone talks about them." Bridget gave a small laugh.

Next Bridget opened the bath bombs from Emily. "Ooo these are lovely. Thank you, love."

Vera picked up an envelope for her that said it was from Franky. When she opened the card, another small card fell out. "Free lunches for a year."

"For the record, I did that before yesterday," Franky said as the other woman read the small card. "Gidge told me your lunches leave something to be desired, so from now on, I'll be sending her with one for you as well. So let me know if she's keeping both for herself." Bridget reached over and lightly hit Franky's arm as she shook her head.

They continued until they were down to the last couple presents. Franky still had the bear Emily had given her sitting on her lap, and Bridget could tell she'd been especially touched by it. The young girl had explained that now they each had a bear that the other had given them.

"Gidge, this is amazing, but really you shouldn't have," the brunette said reading the information on the box of cookware.

"I wanted to." Bridget gave her a small kiss.

The last gift that Emily had left to open was the knife set.

"After you open that, there's something I need to tell you, okay?" Franky wanted to make sure she knew they weren't a toy to be played with before they even came out of the box.

Emily nodded and ripped the paper off. "These are like yours!" The young girl looked at her with a huge grin on her face.

"Yeah, almost. They're a bit smaller and lighter because they're made especially for younger people. Listen though, there's some rules, alright?" Franky leaned forward, and made sure that she had Emily's full attention before she continued. "You can only use them if me or Auntie or Liz are with you, and you have to be careful. If any of us see you doing anything unsafe with them, they'll be put away until you're a bit older. And you have to look after them, I'll teach you how."

The young girl nodded her head. "Okay. Can I take them to the Centre with me?"

"There's a bag to carry them in, so yes, but the same rules apply, and they don't leave the house other than that." The brunette had a serious face, but inside she was excited over how happy Emily was.

"Okay! Thank you!" Emily gave Franky a hug.

"You're welcome, bub. We'll unpack them later and you can use them when you help me make lunch if you want." Franky gave her a pat on the back. Emily sat back down on the floor, and the brunette turned to Bridget. "I've got one more present, but I wanted to save it until last." She reached over the arm of the sofa and picked up the framed picture she had ordered, and laid it in the blonde's lap. "Go ahead."

Bridget tore away the paper to reveal a map of their area of Melbourne. She saw that three locations had been marked, then noticed the coordinates and dates listed at the bottom.

"It's all our important moments," Franky said quietly.

"The Centre." The blonde found the first place on the map, and saw that the date of Emily's first class had been written beside it.

"Where we first met."

"Your old apartment." Bridget ran her fingers over the glass.

"Where we had our first date." Franky glanced at Liz, who gave her a small smile, as the blonde looked at the final place on the map.

"Our house." Bridget looked at her and smiled, then looked back to the picture. "That's today's date so it's not for when you moved in. Our first Christmas?"

"Not exactly." The brunette reached into her pocket. She opened it with one hand, and placed a small kiss next to Bridget's ear as she set it on the picture in front of the blonde. "Will you marry me?" she asked quietly.

"Oh my god. Franky…." She turned to face her girlfriend. "Yes!" Bridget took Franky's face in both her hands and kissed her deeply. When the blonde pulled away, she had tears running down her cheeks.

Franky reached up and brushed them away with the backs of her fingers. "I love you, Gidge."

"I love you, too." She gave the brunette another kiss.

The brunette took the ring out of the box and placed it on Bridget's finger. Franky looked around and saw that both Liz and Vera were crying as well.

"Did you know?" The blonde pointed at Liz, who nodded her head. "Did you?" She pointed at Vera next.

"I did." Vera smiled at her. "She told me the day we had our cooking lesson."

Bridget looked down at Emily.

"I knew, too!" The young girl blurted out before her aunt had the chance to ask.

"You did!?" Bridget looked at Franky.

"She did. She's known the longest actually. She helped me pick out the ring." Franky saw the blonde's surprised expression. "Remember the day we said we sat around and watched cartoons all day? That was the day we went and bought it."

"We went out for ice cream, and she asked me if it was okay."

"Yeah, so actually she knew before we bought the ring." Franky had momentarily forgotten that she had taken Em out the day before they went shopping.

"You asked her? That's adorable, baby." Bridget wiped her cheeks again, and took a deep breath. "This ring is beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it, babe." Franky gave her a kiss on the cheek.

The blonde took a deep breath. "Okay. Who wants breakfast?" She was ready for the attention to be turned away from her and the brunette.

After they had eaten, Emily asked Franky to play Legos with her. Bridget and Vera stood in the kitchen leaning against the counter, and watched the two of them sitting on the living room floor.

"I can't believe you knew and didn't say anything." Bridget gently elbowed her friend in the arm.

"Come on, like I would ruin a surprise like that." Vera sipped on her third mug of coffee.

"True." The blonde watched as Franky helped Emily figure out how to build one of the figures pictured on the box. "I can't believe I met someone like her."

"You deserve someone like her."

"I mean, she's smart, she's funny, she's hot, she's good at everything. Like…..everything." Bridget glanced at her friend.

"Yeah, I get it," Vera said as a slight blush coloured her cheeks.

"And her and Em adore each other. I know that's a bonus because I didn't even have Em when we met like I do now, but it's become so important." The blonde held her mug with both hands, and continued to watch the two in the living room.

"She's going to be a great….auntie?" Vera suddenly realized she didn't know what Em would call Franky.

"She calls her 'her Franky'. It's adorable." Bridget smiled. "Let's see if they'll let us play too."

The blonde and her friend made their way over to the living room to sit with Liz and watch Emily and Franky continue their building. They spent most of the afternoon like this until it was time for Franky to start preparing lunch.

"Em, grab your knife set, and bring it to the kitchen. We'll have our first lesson," Franky said as she got up off the floor.

Liz, Vera, and Bridget all sat on the stool on the other side of the island.

"I feel like I'm teaching a class." Franky gave a small laugh.

"We're just curious." Bridget gave her a wink.

"Alright, open it up and let's see what we've got." Franky waited while the young girl opened the box and pulled out the set of knives that was rolled up in their carrying bag, "Okay, so the first thing is that they don't get stored in this bag. It's fine now, because they've never been used, but once there's a chance that there could be moisture on them, it's not good to store them in here long term. See the magnetic strip on the wall?" The brunette pointed behind her. "That's where they go. I've got another one to put up so there's room for yours." Franky picked up one of the knives and unwrapped it. "So the only differences between these and mine are that they're smaller and lighter, but they're just as sharp." She caught the look of surprise on Vera's face. "Dull knives are actually more dangerous. You need to put more pressure on them which makes them more likely to slip, and if you do knick yourself, there's more force behind it." Franky saw the governor's nod out of the corner of her eye. "First thing, before you start, you should hone your knife. It's keeps the edge straight, smooth, and sharp." The brunette took the honer out of the kit and demonstrated how to properly use it. "You'll need to have them sharpened probably a couple times a year, but doing this each time keeps them sharper for longer. Next, for cutting boards always use wood or plastic, nothing harder or it can damage the edge of the blade, and when you scrape the food off the board, use the back of the knife, never the sharp side. Now, these are carbon steel blades, so you don't want to leave them dirty or wet for long. So what you do, is take a cloth and get it damp." She grabbed a dishcloth from the drawer and ran some water over it at the sink. "You put this on the counter beside where you're working and when you're done chopping one thing, you wipe each side on the cloth before you go on to the next. Once you're done with the knives, while your dish is cooking, you need to wash them. Always by hand and with the blade facing away from you, then dry them with a dishtowel. It's a good idea to put a bit of mineral oil on them to keep them from rusting after each time you use them, then they go right back on the rack. I know it's a lot to remember but I'll help you, especially with the honing, and you're not supposed to be using them without someone here with you anyway, right?" Emily nodded her agreement. "Okay, let's unpack the rest then we can get to work. I got a lot of stuff ready yesterday, but I saved some of the chopping because I figured you'd want to try these out." The brunette gave the young girl a wink.

"I knew almost none of that! I feel like I need to sign up for one of your classes." Vera laughed at herself.

"Why sign up when you can have private lessons for free?" Franky smiled at her, and the other woman shook her head. "Why not? Call it a friends and family discount."

"I may take you up on that sometime."

The rest of the day passed quickly, and they had their meal of bbq ribs and wings, along with various side dishes. Franky had intentionally cooked way too much food so she was able to send Liz and Vera home with large containers of leftovers.

They had decided that after a busy couple of days, a quiet evening with just the three of them sounded perfect. Franky had made them hot chocolate again and they were all sitting around the coffee table playing with Emily's lego and watching Christmas movies.

"I do have another surprise," Bridget said, giving Franky a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh?" The brunette was curious.

"I'll be right back." The blonde walked out to the garage and returned with a large box.

"Gidge! No." Franky shook her head. "We said small gifts for each other, and you already got me too much."

"Relax, it's not a Christmas gift. It's a "just because I wanted to" gift." She set the box down on the floor.

"This is awesome!" The brunette turned the box around so she could look at the back. It was the Ghostbusters Firehouse Lego set she'd been looking at in the toy store when they were shopping for Emily's gifts. "But you shouldn't have. How about we all work on it together?" Franky reasoned that she would feel less guilty about Bridget buying it if it was something they all worked on.

"Sure, baby. Whatever you want." The blonde sat down beside her again and gave her a small kiss.

It wasn't very long before Emily was actually asking to go to bed. They had decided that for just one more night they'd let her stay up a bit later with them, but clearly she was tired out from the day's excitement.

"Alright, bub, go brush your teeth then I'll come in and read you a story," Franky said as she tidied up the legos.

The young girl called out that she was ready a few minutes later, and the brunette made her way to her bedroom. It wasn't long before Franky returned to the kitchen.

"That was fast." Bridget was just pouring the water into their mugs for a final cup of tea.

"Yeah she was out before I even finished the second page." The brunette walked up behind the older woman and wrapped her arms around her. She placed a kiss on the side of her neck.

"Hey, future Mrs. Westfall," Bridget said as she turned and wrapped her arms around Franky's neck.

"You want me to take your name, huh? Even though I'm the one who proposed?" The brunette gave her a small kiss.

"Names don't matter to me, I just want to be your wife." The blonde let her fingers caress the nape of Franky's neck, bringing a smile to the younger woman's face.

"Well, we can't let Em be the only Westfall, right?" She pulled Bridget a bit closer.

"Are you sure?" The blonde had been joking around when she'd brought up the subject, but Franky had turned it into a serious conversation.

"Yeah, I am. I've had a long time to think about it." The younger woman's eyes fluttered closed for a second as Bridget's thumb brushed over her lips.

"Me too, baby." The blonde smiled when Franky gave her a questioning look. "I heard what you said that night we were in the conjugal room in Wentworth. "'I promise I'm going to marry you someday.' "

The brunette's eyes widened. "I thought you were asleep."

"I almost was, but I heard you." Bridget stretched up and gave her a long slow kiss. "And I've been waiting." She mumbled against the skin of the brunette's neck, as she left small kisses there. She felt Franky's hands slip under the fabric of her shirt and roam over her back. "What do you say we call it an early night?"

"Sounds perfect to me." The brunette held on to her tightly as she walked them slowly down the hall to their bedroom, never breaking their kiss. Franky tightened her arm around the blonde a couple of times when she stumbled a bit from walking backwards. "I got you, babe." She mumbled against her lips.

"I know." Came Bridget's reply without hesitation. She knew Franky had always had her, and always would.