The rest of the week had gone well. There hadn't been any more trouble on set from Hank, and the filming had all gone smoothly. Franky was learning a lot in most of the classes they had them taking, and she couldn't wait to put that new knowledge to use when she taught.

The brunette was headed home that Friday evening with a copy of the first episode. She wasn't sure what they had put in it, but she was hoping she and Bridget would have a chance to watch it. They hadn't had time to talk about much stuff during their phone calls. She hadn't even gotten a chance to tell the blonde about Shayne yet, or the trouble with Hank, and she had kept her impending visit a secret. She wanted to surprise them, and she wanted Emily to keep her plans with Charlotte.

As soon as Franky closed the front door behind her, Bridget appeared around the corner. The brunette looked her up and down. She had on a pair of very short shorts, and one of the brunette's old t-shirts.

"Hey, babe." Franky tossed her keys in the bowl. "I missed you."

"Franky! What are you doing here?" The blonde wrapped her arms around the younger woman's neck and gave her a deep kiss.

"Your girl won a night at the Pan Pacific hotel and a spa day tomorrow, and made a deal to come home to you guys instead." The brunette had a huge grin on her face, seeing how happy her fiancee was to see her.

"I'm so glad you're here." Bridget ran her fingers over the back of the younger woman's neck. "That would have been an amazing prize though, baby."

"I know, but I'd rather be with you guys. I don't care about the prizes." The brunette gave her another quick kiss. "You look hot."

"Not because I'm trying." Bridget let out a laugh. "It's just so warm. I was considering walking around naked to stay cool."

"That would have also been acceptable." Franky lowered her head, and placed a kiss on the side of the blonde's neck.

Bridget closed her eyes, enjoying how the brunette's lips felt against her skin. When she opened them, she saw the bowl of keys sitting on the table, and had an idea.

"I know somewhere we can cool off." The blonde stretched her arm out to grab Elinor's key, not wanting to pull away from what Franky was doing.

"Where's that?" the brunette mumbled in between kisses.

"Come with me." Bridget took her by the hand.

She led Franky across the street, and when she slipped the key into the front door, she caught the confused look on the other woman's face. It was only then she realized that, in all the craziness of the week, she must not have told her that she was looking after Fred.

"Elinor and her husband went away to see their new great grandchild, and I'm watching the house and feeding their cat." The blonde gave Franky a wink as she went inside. She walked straight through to the back of the house with the younger woman following behind. "And…" The sun was starting to set so she reached up and turned on the switch just inside the sliding glass doors. The whole backyard and pool area lit up. "She said we could use their pool."

"Gidge, this is awesome!" Franky opened the door, and walked out onto the patio.

The brunette was taking in the backyard when she felt something soft hit her back. When she turned to see what it was, something else hit her in the side of the face. She looked down and saw Bridget's t-shirt and shorts in a pile on the cement. When she brought her head up, she was just in time to see the blonde gracefully dive into the water.

Franky pulled her shirt over her head and added it to the pile. The rest of her clothing, she left in a trail on her way to the pool. She dove in and swam underwater, surfacing just in front of Bridget.

They stood there for a second, just smiling at each other. The blonde never broke eye contact as she dipped her hand into the water and flung a handful of the cool liquid at Franky, hitting her in the face and chest.

"Oh it's on!" The brunette lunged at her, wrapping her arms around Bridget's shoulders and taking them both under for a few seconds.

When they had both regained their footing, it was the blonde's turn to try to take Franky down again. Except, the brunette had a height advantage, and ended up pretty much catching the blonde in midair. She did lose her footing, but managed to keep both of their heads above the water.

"I foiled your plans, I win," Franky said as Bridget wrapped her arms around the younger woman's neck.

The brunette walked them into the deeper water, and when the blonde couldn't reach the bottom anymore, she wrapped her legs around Franky's waist. She leaned in and placed a small kiss on Bridget's jaw.

"Got it." Franky leaned in again and kissed a different spot along the blonde's jawline. "Got it."

Bridget let out a giggle. "Baby, what are you doing?"

"Kissing all the drops of water," the brunette said as she kissed her cheek this time.

"We'll be here all night if you try to kiss every one of them." The blonde moved her fingers lightly back and forth across the back of Franky's neck as they locked eyes.

"I'm okay with that." The brunette captured Bridget's lips in a deep kiss, as she carried her towards the edge.

When the blonde's back was against the wall of the pool, Franky lifted her a couple of inches so that she could wrap her legs more tightly around the brunette's waist. Bridget pushed her hips forward, creating friction between her clit and Franky's lower stomach.

The brunette watched as the older woman's eyes fluttered closed. This time when she felt the blonde start to move, she pushed herself forward a bit as well, and was rewarded with a moan from the older woman.

"Yes, baby." Bridget held onto Franky's shoulders to get as much leverage as she could. "Oh god."

The brunette hoped that none of the neighbours were outside or had their windows open. The older woman wasn't being overly loud, but this area was usually quiet, and there wasn't a lot of open space between the houses. She could tell by the flush on Bridget's chest and the way she knit her eyebrows together that she was already getting close.

Franky ran her fingers up the back of the blonde's thigh, over her butt, and then around to the front of her hip. She leaned in and captured Bridget's lips. The brunette turned her hand so she could slide it in between them, and as her fingers brushed across the older woman's hip bone, she heard her take in a sharp breath.

"Fuck," Bridget moaned as her orgasm spread through her body. She knew she was getting close fast, but she wasn't expecting it to happen this soon.

The brunette held her fiancée close and kissed along her jawline.

When the blonde opened her eyes, she saw that cocky grin on Franky's face; the one she found hot. It reignited something inside her. She reached up and pulled the brunette towards her, crashing their lips together.

Franky let her hand continue its journey in between their bodies. She felt her fingers brush over Bridget's clit, and the blonde moaned into her mouth. When she reached the older woman's folds, she let her fingers slide deep inside. Between the water, and Bridget's wetness, they met no resistance. She pressed hard and curled her fingers inside the older woman.

"Fuck. Yes, baby." The blonde pushed herself onto Franky's fingers. Bridget pulled the younger woman close.

The brunette could feel Bridget's breath against her ear, and hear every sound coming out of her mouth, no matter how small. Franky must have hit a particularly good spot, because the blonde let out a loud moan that ended in a whimper. The younger woman could feel her orgasm starting to build. It had happened a couple times now, that she had come without any or much physical stimulation from the blonde. Bridget was the only woman she'd ever experienced that with.

The blonde was close for the second time that night. As she pushed herself into Franky's fingers, her back slipped against the side of the pool and out of instinct, she grabbed on tighter to the brunette's shoulder. She heard Franky hiss in pain, but the younger woman never faltered in her movements.

The brunette felt the sting on her back, and while she wasn't one to normally associate pain with pleasure, something about that scenario was working for her tonight. Bridget let out another loud moan as Franky pressed deep inside her, and the younger woman was right on the edge.

"Yes, baby." Bridget's lips brushed against the brunette's ear.

Franky felt a shiver run down her back then her orgasm washed over her. It wasn't something hard and fast like it usually was. This one felt like all the muscles in the lower part of her body were slowly spasming, but in a very pleasurable way. She was glad she had the water to support her this time.

A few seconds later, Bridget gave another loud moan, and felt every muscle in her body tighten to the point that she couldn't breathe. When the first muscle contraction had eased, she managed to take in a small breath before the second one started. When her body finally calmed down, all she felt like she could do was hang on to Franky.

"That looked like it was a good one, babe." The brunette kissed Bridget's temple.

"Mmm." The blonde turned her head and placed a kiss on the side of Franky's neck. "I'm sorry it happened too soon the first time."

"Don't ever apologize for that." The brunette placed a small kiss on Bridget's lips when she lifted her head from the younger woman's shoulder.

"I was just very..." The blonde trailed off.

"Horny?" Franky said with a grin.

"I was going to say 'into it', but maybe horny works too." Bridget giggled.

"Mhm." The brunette nodded her head, and saw a slight blush creep into the other woman's cheeks. "A week is a long time for us to not be able to be together."

Intimacy was never something they were lacking. They had sex quite a bit, but even on the nights they didn't, they made sure to have that physical connection in some other way. Some nights it was as simple as cuddling, others maybe it was a massage, or a shower together, or even just making out for a few minutes. This past week though, they'd had none of that.

"It is." Bridget leaned in and gave her a slow kiss. "Let's go home, I want to lay with you."

They exited the pool and collected their clothes. The blonde found them a couple towels to dry off with in an outdoor storage cabinet.

"Here." She threw one to Franky. "Use this then bring it to our place. I'll wash it and bring it back."

"When are they coming back anyway?" the brunette asked as she dried herself off.

"Sometime tonight. I'm surprised they're not here by now," Bridget said casually.

"What?!" Franky's head snapped up and she looked into the house as if she expected to see them inside.

"Joking, baby." The blonde couldn't help but grin. Usually the younger woman was the joker so she loved when she could get one over on her.

"Not cool, Gidge." Franky just shook her head and went back to getting dressed.

When they got back to the house, the brunette took the towels into the bathroom and dropped them in the laundry basket. She pulled off her t-shirt and let it fall into the basket as well.

"Ooo, baby, I'm sorry." Bridget had caught a glimpse of Franky's back as she passed by the bathroom door.

"Huh? For what?" The brunette had no idea what the older woman was talking about.

"Look at your back." The blonde pointed towards her back.

The brunette looked over her shoulder into the mirror behind her. There were two large, bright red scratches about three or four inches long on the back of her right shoulder. She figured they must have happened when Bridget slipped and grabbed onto her.

"It's alright. They'll heal." Franky was actually surprised how little they hurt right now, but that was probably thanks to the endorphins still floating around in her system. They'd be sore in the morning.

"At least let me wash them and put something on them." The blonde opened the small cupboard and grabbed a washcloth and the tube of ointment.

She carefully washed the scratches and made sure there was no dirt or anything in them before she applied a thin layer of the ointment.

"Do you want me to put something over them? We have these bandage pad things." Bridget held up a small package. She saw Franky nod her head. "Okay, I'll even use the nice stretchy tape."

The brunette couldn't help but smile. She loved the blonde's caregiver side. Franky had thought more than once that if she hadn't been a counsellor, she would have made a great nurse.

When Bridget had finished with the bandage, she placed a small kiss on the skin next to it.

"Are you trying to kiss it better?" Franky asked, turning and putting her arms around the blonde.

"Maybe." The older woman gave her a lazy smile. "Did it work?"

"Maybe." The brunette gave a small laugh, and lowered her head to give Bridget a slow kiss. "I brought the first episode home with me if you'd like to watch it together?"

"Sure, baby. If it won't stress you out too much." Bridget was curious about what Franky was experiencing, but when she was home, she wanted her to relax.

"I'll be alright. Besides, I want to share my week with you somehow." The brunette gave her a quick kiss.

She reached for the blonde's hand and led her out into the living room. Bridget arranged the pillows on the couch, while she set up the episode to play on the tv.

"Lay down," the blonde instructed Franky when she finished with the tv.

The brunette smiled. She knew what Bridget wanted; to lay on her. It was the older woman's favorite way to watch tv when Emily wasn't with them. Franky settled in against the pile of pillows so that she was in a half-sitting position, and the blonde laid on top of her and got comfortable.

The brunette pressed 'play' and the opening credits appeared on the screen. She recognized the picture of her they used from the day they did the photo shoot.

"You look hot, baby! I know who my favorite is already." Bridget wiggled against the younger woman.

"It's the old guy, isn't it?" Franky teased.

"No." The blonde giggled, and softly pinched the brunette's side.

Once the show started, they were both quiet. The brunette was curious as to what they included or left out of the final cut. She slowly moved her hand up and down over Bridget's back, and felt the older woman brush the tip of her nose against her neck before she rested her head back against her chest.

The first thing they showed was some shots of everyone arriving, then standing in rows waiting for Jared to show up. As the narrator spoke, the camera panned across the contestants, it caught the moment where Franky had leaned over to speak with Jenna.

"She was nervous, wasn't she?" the blonde asked quietly.

"Yeah. I thought she was going to throw up or cry; maybe both." She thought that felt like so long ago now.

Of course this episode included the individual dish challenge, the tasting challenge, and their first dinner service. First up was the individual dish challenge. Franky liked seeing what the other contestants did. She'd been so focused on her own dish that she didn't even know what most of the others had made. When Bridget saw the brunette patiently explaining the knife technique to Jenna, she couldn't help but smile a bit to herself.

There was some footage of them moving in, and different groups talking about random stuff. Then it showed the brunette, sitting on her bed in the middle of the night, unable to sleep.

"You were so restless," the blonde said quietly.

"I kept thinking about how I just wanted to be home and laying with you in our bed instead of surrounded by strangers." Franky sighed.

When it showed her walk out onto the patio, the younger woman held her breath. This was the conversation where she and Shayne had told each other about their shitty pasts and she'd admitted to having a family. She'd known they were being recorded, so anything they said had the possibility of turning up in the show.

They were both quiet while they watched. Everything had been left in.

"You okay?" Bridget reached out for the remote, and paused the show.

"Yeah," the brunette sighed. "You know, my first thought was just to lie, but then that felt so wrong. It felt like I would be disrespectful if I pretended like you and Em didn't exist."

"Baby." Bridget moved so she was now face to face with the brunette, and placed a hand on her cheek. "I'm going to say something, and don't take it the wrong way. The decision to not talk about us was yours. I know you did it because you're private, and you want to protect us from all the shit that's out there, and I love you for that." She gave Franky a small kiss. "But if that decision feels wrong now, for whatever reason, it's up to you whether you want to change it or not. I never said you couldn't talk about us, and I'm fine with it if you do. I wouldn't feel right denying you or Em either, so I understand. It's easy to sit back and say you'd do something a certain way, but sometimes it's a different story once you're actually in the situation."

Franky gave a small nod. "I'm so proud that you're my fiancée, and I'm proud of Em; she's a great kid."

"I'm proud of you too." Bridget gave her a soft, slow kiss. She could tell the brunette was getting emotional, and she didn't want her to get any more upset. "Let's finish the show, okay?"

Franky nodded, and the blonde unpaused it. She felt the younger woman's hand resume it's movements on her back.

Next up was the tasting challenge. As they watched, they both laughed at some of the faces the other contestants made when they were confused by what had been placed in the mouth.

"Ugh, Gidge, I don't think I can watch myself do this." Franky cringed, knowing that she probably looked funny trying to figure out a couple of hers.

"Nah, you're fine, baby." Bridget turned her head slightly to place a kiss on the brunette's collarbone. "I like when you rub my back."

Franky answered with a small kiss on the top of the older woman's head.

Of course, the conflict between Shayne and Hank had been left in, including Franky pulling Shayne aside, then talking to him while they ate. Bridget laughed a bit at the young man's joke about her making Franky a bracelet.

"He seems nice. He tried to protect you from that asshole, too."

"Yeah, but he's got a lot of anger in him," the brunette said quietly.

"Yeah." The older woman's reply was barely audible.

They watched the dinner service, and Bridget declared that Hank had to go, and soon. It was obvious from the footage that the mix up of the salt and sugar had been intentional, and he had stood back and watched while Franky had tried to figure out what she was doing wrong.

"I'm glad you confronted him afterwards. He won't last long." The blonde sounded confident, but Franky knew that if the show wanted to keep him around for added drama, they'd find a way.

"I told him too much, didn't I?" the brunette asked after they'd watched the end of the episode.

"No. It's obvious that you two clicked with each other, and that you trust him." Bridget lifted her head and smiled at the younger woman. "It was nice of him to make you supper, too. You okay with everything in there?" She tilted her head towards the TV screen.

"Yeah, I think so."

The blonde studied Franky's face. "Okay, good." She leaned in and gave the brunette a soft kiss. "Let's go to bed."

Bridget woke first the next morning. She watched Franky, who was still peacefully sleeping. They hadn't bothered to change into their pyjamas the night before, choosing instead to just shed their clothes and fall into bed. The brunette was laying on her back with her arm wrapped around Bridget, who was cuddled into her left side. The blonde had her left leg casually draped over Franky's hip, allowing her to move those few millimeters closer. She let her hand move over the younger woman's skin. Bridget followed the path of her cherry blossom tattoo, then moved across her lower stomach, then up her other side and over her breast, coming to rest on the brunette's neck. She heard Franky sigh.

The blonde lifted herself, and carefully straddled the younger woman's thighs. She lowered herself slowly so as not to wake Franky suddenly. Once she'd settled, Bridget leaned forward, and placed a kiss on the side of the brunette's neck. She moved down slowly, kissing a trail down to the centre of the other woman's chest.

The blonde worked her way slowly over to Franky's left nipple, and took it into her mouth. She sucked on it gently. The brunette took in a short, sharp breath, followed by a small moan. Bridget looked up to see Franky's eyes, barely open, watching her, a small smile on her face. She brought a hand up to rest on the back of the older woman's head, and closed her eyes once again.

When Bridget ran the tip of her tongue over the hardened bud, she felt Franky arch her back slightly, pushing herself into the blonde's mouth. She lingered there for another minute or two, then turned her attention to the right side.

The blonde moved down the younger woman's body until she rested between her legs. She guided Franky's right leg over her shoulder, as the brunette let the left one fall open a bit. Bridget wasn't in the mood to tease her; she'd missed her all week. She lowered her head, and wrapped her lips around the other woman's clit, sucking gently as she massaged it with her tongue. She ran her hand over Franky's stomach, and the brunette lifted her head slightly to watch for a second, before closing her eyes, and resting it back against the pillows again.

"Mmm, that feels good, babe." The brunette concentrated on the feeling of Bridget's tongue moving over her clit. It was slow, soft, and warm.

Franky felt a calmness seep through her body. She hadn't realized how tense she'd been all week, until now. She pushed everything else from her mind. Every swipe of the blonde's tongue sent a tingling wave through her, and she pushed herself closer to Bridget's mouth.

"Gidge…" The brunette trailed off, as her hand found the back of Bridget's head once again.

The blonde hummed in response, and Franky felt the first twitches inside of her. It felt so good that if she had her choice, she would let this go on forever, but she knew that wasn't possible. The more she thought about how good it felt, the better it felt. It was a cycle feeding into itself that was bringing her inevitable orgasm closer and closer.

Franky let out a groan, and tightened her fingers in Bridget's hair. It only took a few more seconds before she felt the warmth wash over her.

The blonde stayed with her, moving her tongue slowly, until the brunette's body calmed down. She could hear Franky still trying to catch her breath, when she felt a gentle tug on her hair. She moved up the younger woman's body.

"Come here," Franky mumbled, pulling her in for a long kiss.

When they broke apart, Bridget gave her a smile. "Good morning, baby."

"Mmm, good morning." The brunette stretched out her legs, and back. She reached up and placed her palm on the older woman's cheek. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too." The blonde let herself be pulled down for another kiss.

After a moment, she settled in beside Franky again.

"I wish I had more than just today with you guys." The brunette laced her fingers with Bridget's.

"It's okay, baby." The blondet gave her a small kiss. "This is all just temporary."

Franky nodded. "How's Em been doing?"

"She misses you a lot." She hadn't wanted to say anything because she knew the brunette would feel bad, but she didn't want to lie to her either. "I don't think she likes my cooking either," the blonde said with a small laugh.

"Yeah." Franky smiled. "She may have mentioned that."

"What? That she didn't like my cooking?" Bridget's mouth hung open in surprise. She knew her niece didn't care for the food she made, but she didn't think she'd actually complain to the brunette about it.

"Mhm," Franky chuckled. "She told me the other night during our call when you went to the bathroom. She asked when things were going back to normal because your food tastes funny."

"Little brat." The blonde gave another laugh. "She's getting brussel sprouts all week."

"Gidge, you don't even like those." The brunette knew Bridget was joking, but she played along.

"I'll learn to." The blonde gave Franky a small bite on the shoulder.

The younger woman laughed. "I miss her a lot too."

"She's been very cuddly. She's usually on my lap or at least laying against me every evening. I don't mind, but I guess I never realized how much of that she got from you." Bridget shifted, moving in a bit closer to the brunette.

Franky nodded. "Yeah, she's usually sitting with one of us every evening." The brunette looked over at Bridget. "Maybe she gets it from you. You always like to be close to someone, too."

The blonde smiled, and buried her face against Franky's shoulder. "Yeah," came her muffled reply.

The brunette rubbed Bridget's back and felt her let out a sigh. "You doing alright?"

"Yeah, I am. Em's okay and you're okay, so I can handle this." Bridget shivered and felt goosebumps on her skin when the younger woman ran her fingers over her side.

Franky smiled. "Okay." She turned her head to give the blonde a quick kiss.

"Just…" the older woman trailed off, not knowing how to word what she wanted to say.

"Just what, babe?" The brunette gave her arm an encouraging squeeze.

"When you couldn't call the night because of the dinner service, Em was kind of upset because you'd promised her you'd call every night. I know you didn't have a choice, but maybe going forward, you shouldn't make such concrete promises. Maybe you could say you'll call every night you can. Just to avoid disappointment." Bridget could tell that the younger woman felt bad.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think about that, and I should have." Franky looked down. "I'll talk to her later."

"No, she's okay now. I explained it to her, but just from now on, be aware of that." The blonde gave her a small smile in an attempt to cheer her up.

The brunette nodded. "No trouble at work?" She was eager to change the subject. She didn't like thinking about the fact that she'd upset the young girl.

Bridget knew that the brunette was really asking about Julia; making sure that her ex wasn't giving her any problems.

"Nah, not really. I've seen her in passing, but Channing hasn't bothered to schedule the second part of our meeting. I'm not sure if that's good or bad." The blonde gave a small, half-hearted laugh.

"You do good work, Gidge, don't worry." Franky gave her a small squeeze.

"I hope it's good enough." The blonde's voice was small.

This wasn't the normal, confident Bridget. This was the Bridget that came out when she talked about her ex, and Franky didn't like it.

"I've seen firsthand what you do. You genuinely care about the women in there. Everyone can see that." The brunette watched her for a minute. "You okay?"

"Yeah." A smile formed on the blonde's face. "You always know the right thing to say."

"Ah, well, give me long enough and I'm sure I'll say something stupid at some point." Franky watched as the older woman's smile grew even bigger. "What do you think about us taking Em to the scienceworks museum today?"

Bridget thought for a minute. "Honestly, baby, I think she's going to be so excited to see you that she'll just want to spend time with you. I think the museum is a great idea, but maybe some other time. It's been a long week for her with school starting and everything."

"I didn't think of that, but yeah you're right. We'll save it for another time." The brunette had wanted to do something special with them to make up for her not being around. What she didn't realize though, was that her simply being there was enough for them, especially when Emily wasn't expecting her to be there at all.

"We can work on that Lego set, play some games, maybe have a fire, depending on what time you have to leave." Bridget smiled. She missed those nights around the fires.

"Sounds good, babe. I probably can't stay long enough for a fire tonight, but we could cook supper on it, and have a treat for dessert." A thought popped into Franky's head. "Can we take her swimming?"

"I don't see why not. I have to go feed the cat later anyway." The blonde was quiet for a minute. "I don't know if she knows how to swim."

"If not, we can teach her." The brunette had a huge smile on her face. "Did she come with a bathing suit?"

Bridget couldn't help the laugh that escaped her at that moment.

"What?" Franky was confused as to what part of what she'd said was that funny.

" 'Did she come with a bathing suit?'. Like she's something we bought and you're asking what came in the accessory pack." The blonde gave her fiancée an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, baby, just the way you said it struck me as funny."

Franky chuckled. "Yeah, I meant did one come here with her stuff from the house."

"I think so, but I'll check before we pick her up. We should get her some water wings too." Bridget pulled away from the brunette's side, and got on top of her, straddling her hips. "But first…" She leaned forward and captured Franky's lips in a slow kiss. "We should go shower."

"I'll race you there." The brunette smiled against Bridget's lips, and reached up to squeeze her butt.

The blonde giggled and ran for the bathroom. Franky wasn't expecting her to take off so quickly, and Bridget was already at the door by the time she got out of bed.

Franky and Bridget had stopped at the store on the way to pick up Emily, and ended up getting something called a watervest instead. It would cover the young girl's upper chest, back and arms, but it was very lightweight. The salesperson at the store had said it would be less bulky than the waterwings and would allow her to move more naturally. They'd also made a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up supplies for their special fire-cooked supper.

"What's the menu tonight?" the blonde asked when they arrived at the store. She wanted to know which department to head for.

"Lemon-dill salmon with spiced corn on the cob. Then for dessert, waffle cones and stuff for inside them like mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, peanuts, and M&Ms." The brunette gave Bridget a big smile.

"You really are just a big kid at heart, baby." Bridget gave her a quick kiss. "I love it."

Once they had everything they needed for the day, they went to pick up Emily.

"Can I go to the door?" Franky asked as the blonde parked the car in front of Charlotte's house. "I want to surprise her." She couldn't wait to see the look on the young girl's face when she saw her there.

"Sure, baby." The blonde gave her a quick kiss. "She'll be glad to see you."

The brunette walked up to the door and knocked. It was only a few seconds before Charlotte's mother answered.

"Hey, I'm here to pick up Em." Franky gave the woman a small smile.

"Franky!" Emily ran to the brunette and threw her arms around her waist. "You came back!"

"Hey, bub, yeah of course I came back. I get to spend the day with you and Auntie." She reached down and rubbed the back of the young girl's shoulder. "Why don't you go get your things and say goodbye to Charlotte?"

Emily ran off down the hallway, and Franky was left to wait at the door.

"Thanks for having Em over." The brunette could feel the other woman's eyes on her.

'Oh no problem. The girls had fun. Are you going to be teaching any more classes? I was thinking of signing up for one." She gave Franky a soft smile.

"Uh, not this semester, no, but maybe the next. I'll let you know if I am." She really wished that Emily would hurry up.

"Ready." The young girl ran past the brunette and towards Bridget's car in the driveway.

"That's my cue. I'll see you later." Franky gave her a small smile, and waved goodbye, before she followed behind Emily.

"Did you have fun with Charlotte, love?" Bridget glanced into the rearview mirror at her niece.

"Yeah, we played with her dolls, and her dad tries to tell jokes, but they're not funny," Emily said with a serious look on her face, making the two women smile.

"Oh, well at least he's trying." Bridget tried to give a polite response to the young girl's criticism.

"Hey, Em." Franky turned around a bit in her seat, so that she could see her. "Do you like to swim?"

"Mom and Dad took me to the beach a couple of times, but I just made sandcastles," Emily said quietly.

"Well, what do you think about the three of us doing a bit of swimming today?" The brunette had a big smile on her face. It seemed like it was something the young girl hadn't really done before, so she was excited to share a new experience with her.

"Will there be a lot of people there?" Emily looked at the back of Bridget's head, then at Franky.

"No, bub. Just you, me, and Auntie." The brunette couldn't quite put her finger on why, but she sensed that there was definitely some issue at play here with the young girl.

"Remember that nice lady who's cat we're feeding?" The blonde had taken Emily with her a couple of times when she'd fed it. "She said we could use their pool while they're away."

"Okay." Emily smiled a bit, but Franky still thought she should be more excited about it.

When they got home, the young girl insisted on showing Franky the pictures from her first day of school again.

"Did you meet any new friends?" the brunette asked her.

"No, it's the same people as last year." Emily set Bridget's phone on the couch beside her. "Can I sit on your lap?"

"Sure." Franky lifted her arm so that Emily could move onto her lap. "Would you like to play a game or something before we have lunch?"

"Monopoly." The young girl leaned her head against Franky's shoulder.

Bridget got up to get the game for them since Emily made no move to get off the brunette's lap.

The first game passed by quickly, and they had time for a second one before lunch. After they ate, they sent Emily to change into her bathing suit.

Franky pulled on a pair of boardshorts and a teal bikini top. She layered a thin singlet over top to protect her from the sun when she wasn't in the water. When she turned around, she saw that Bridget had opted for a basic black bikini paired with a brightly colored wrap. The blonde caught her staring, and gave the brunette a wink.

As Bridget followed the brunette into the kitchen, she saw the red marks on the back of her shoulder. They looked sore, and she knew Franky must be feeling them when she moved that arm. When she stopped at the fridge to grab some drinks to take with them, the blonde placed a kiss beside each red line. The brunette looked over her shoulder and smiled. She tossed the drinks into the bag with their towels.

"You ready, Em?" Bridget called down the hallway.

"Yeah." The young girl came out of her bedroom.

The blonde picked up the watervest they had bought earlier, and reached down to take Emily's hand. Franky followed behind them with the bag of towels and drinks.

When they got there, Bridget and Emily went to feed the cat while Franky went out to the pool area. She found some shade, and set their stuff there. She took off her singlet and placed it in the bag with the towels, as she heard the patio doors open behind her.

"Hey, come over here first. You need to put on some sunscreen and this before you get into the pool." The brunette held up the vest. Emily had stopped walking and just stood there, looking at Franky. "Come here, bub."

The young girl walked over to her. The brunette sprayed her with the sunscreen then held up the vest for her to put her arms through. It zipped up in the back, and when Franky reached around to pull up the zipper, she felt a light touch on her side. Her first instinct was to move away from it. That tattoo was personal for her, and Bridget was the only one she'd ever tolerated touching it.

"Em, love…" When the young girl looked up at her aunt, Bridget shook her head, and Emily took her hand away.

Franky figured the blonde must have caught the look on her face. She finished fastening the vest. "Okay, go wait by the pool, but don't go in until one of us gets there." The brunette patted her on the shoulder. "Thanks, Gidge."

"She hasn't seen that one before," Bridget said quietly. When Franky gave her a puzzled look, she continued. "Has she ever seen you without a shirt on?"

"I don't think so." The brunette couldn't quickly remember a time when she had. "Anyway, it's okay. I just wasn't expecting it."

"I know." The blonde gave her a kiss on the cheek.

They didn't have to worry about Emily getting into the pool without them. When they turned around she was still several feet back from the edge.

"Alright, come on, love," Bridget said as she walked past her niece.

The blonde walked down the steps into the shallow end of the pool, and Franky followed behind. When Bridget looked behind her, Emily was still standing on the very top step.

The blonde had swam a few feet before she'd looked back, but Franky was still just at the bottom of the steps. When the brunette made eye contact with the young girl, she knew something was wrong.

"What's wrong, bub?" Franky stepped up on the bottom step so she could get a bit closer.

"I'm scared," Emily said quietly.

By this time Bridget had returned to the steps as well. "Scared of the water?"

The young girl nodded. "When we went to the ocean, I went in the water and a wave came and I couldn't breathe."

"There's no waves here, bub. Promise." Franky smiled at her. "You've got your special vest, and we're both here. We won't let anything happen to you." The brunette reached out her hand. "Take my hand, we'll go slow. Try coming down one more step."

They continued this way until the water had reached the young girl's waist.

"Would you like to come the rest of the way in? Auntie or I will hold you." Franky waited for her to decide.

When Emily reached out for her, the brunette stepped forward and let the young girl wrap her arms around her neck. Franky put an arm around her back and slowly walked backwards, pulling her away from the steps. When Emily's feet were no longer touching the bottom, the brunette felt her arms tighten around her neck.

"You're okay, bub." Franky pulled her in against her side and she felt a leg on each side of her, squeezing like the young girl was holding on for dear life. She could feel her shaking a bit as well. "I'm going to crouch down a bit and we'll walk around, alright?"

Emily nodded, and the brunette bent her knees a bit, until the water was a few inches below her shoulders. They walked around like this for a bit. Between the water and the vest, the young girl felt almost weightless to Franky.

"You okay?" the brunette asked, and got a nod from Emily. "Let's go see Auntie."

Bridget had been watching the interaction from a bit of a distance. Once again she was struck by how good the brunette was with the young girl.

"You're doing really well, love," the blonde said when they came over next to her.

"Yeah, she is! You want to go with Auntie for a bit?" Franky wasn't trying to get rid of her, but she thought this was something that Bridget would like to be involved in as well.

"Okay." Emily reached out for the blonde, and Franky held onto her until she had her arms securely around Bridget's shoulders. She walked around with her for a bit, and she could tell that her niece was slowly starting to relax.

They traded her back and forth a few times before Franky decided to ask if she'd like to try something else. Emily was currently with the blonde. The younger woman grabbed one of the pool noodles from the side of the pool and swam over to meet them.

"Hey, bub, want to try something fun?" The brunette held up the pool noodle, but Emily stayed quiet. "It helps you float. It's like the same stuff that's in your vest. Look." Franky pushed it under the water, only to have it spring back up a second later. The brunette laid on it so it went across her chest and under each armpit. "It works for me, and you're smaller, so it'll be fine." She held it out to her.

"Will you be here?" Emily looked at the toy, then at Franky.

"Yeah of course. I'll hold onto the back of your vest until you're comfortable. How's that?" Franky saw a small smile on the young girl's face, and she held the toy still while Emily got positioned. "Okay, I'm still here." The brunette was standing beside her now and gave a gentle tug on the back of Emily's vest; just enough so she knew she was there.

The brunette walked around with her like this for a while then traded off with Bridget.

"Let us know if you want to try this on your own," the blonde said the second time she was walking around with her.

"I want to try." Emily sounded confident.

"Okay." Bridget let go of her. "Swim over to Franky."

The brunette reached out for her when the young girl got close.

"That was so good!" Franky smiled when she heard Emily's excited laughter. "Think you can swim back to Auntie?" The brunette pointed to where Bridget was currently, and she started swimming towards her aunt.

They continued this way for most of the afternoon, with Franky and Bridget walking to different spots in the pool and Emily swimming between them. She never got to the point where she wanted to ditch the pool noodle, and they would have made her keep the vest on anyway, but she'd still made a lot of progress. They were both proud of her.

Once they'd gotten back to the house, and changed out of their bathing suits, Bridget could tell that Emily was getting tired quickly. She'd lost count of how many times the young girl had swam across the pool between herself and Franky, but she knew it was a lot.

"Baby." The blonde put her arms around Franky and stretched up to whisper in her ear. "I think we should have supper now before someone falls asleep." She tilted her head towards the living room, where Emily was sitting on the couch, yawning.

"Yeah." The brunette gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Do you want to start the fire while I get the food ready?"

"Sure." Bridget gave her one last kiss, and headed outside.

"Hey, Em, do you want to help me get supper ready?' the brunette asked, setting the bags on the counter.

The young girl got up quickly and joined Franky in the kitchen. They'd never cooked a full meal using the firepit; she'd only ever roasted marshmallows or cooked hot dogs before, so she was excited to see how to cook a whole meal.

Emily and the brunette prepared all the packets of food, and took them outside. Franky carefully set them on the cooking grate that the blonde had placed over the fire.

As they sat and waited for everything to cook, the brunette tried to take in the moment. She had her arm around Bridget on one side of her, and her other arm around Emily on the other. It made it hard to want to leave again in just a few hours.

"Can we start reading one of the books tonight?" Emily asked as she watched the flames.

Franky glanced at the blonde. She thought they'd told the young girl she'd only be there for the day.

"I can't tonight, bub. I have to go back to the set." The brunette ran a soothing hand over Emily's hair.

"When?" The young girl's voice was small now.

"After we eat." Franky got no response, but she didn't need one; she'd felt Emily move in a bit closer.

The brunette crouched down in front of the young girl and wrapped her arms around her.

"I need you to be a brave girl, and keep looking after Auntie, okay?" Franky felt her nod against her shoulder. "I love you, bub." The brunette gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I love you, too." Emily returned the kiss.

Franky stood. It was Bridget's turn to say goodbye.

"Em, love, give us a minute alone?" Bridget waited until her niece started to walk away before she turned to Franky.

"I love you, Gidge." The younger woman wrapped her arms around the blonde.

"I love you, too," Bridget said as she reached up and pulled the brunette in for a long slow kiss. "Make that last until I get to see you again," the older woman said with a wink as they separated.

Franky smiled, and gave her a small nod. "I'll call tomorrow night." She gave the blonde another quick kiss, then headed out to her car.

Bridget watched until she lost sight of the brunette's car. Just take it one day at a time, she said to herself as she went back into the house.