"Hey, Franks, did you look at the schedule for tomorrow?" Shayne asked as he sat down with a bowl of cereal at the outdoor table with the brunette.
"Briefly. I know there's a lunch and supper service. That'll be a bitch." Franky usually tried not to be so negative in there, but it was early, and she hadn't slept well. She knew that Bridget and Emily had had a rough night on Saturday, and she had laid awake wondering how things were going for them last night.
"Yeah, but look at the lunch service." He handed her his copy of the schedule.
"Children's lunch service." The brunette read from the page. "The food may be simple, and the diners young, but the standards are still high. Teams will compete to serve a dining room filled with children ages five to eight. The team who gets the highest rating from the diners will be the winners, but beware, even the young can have strong opinions about their food."
It took Franky a second to realize why Shayne had brought up the lunch service. When it clicked, she looked over to see him smiling at her.
"You're brilliant, mate! I need to go see if Jillian is around yet." The brunette gave him back his paper, and headed inside.
"Sure, not like I came out here to have breakfast with you or anything." He laughed as Franky reached behind herself and gave him the finger.
"Hey, is Jillian here yet? I need to talk to her," the brunette asked the assistant director.
"Yep, come with me." The AD led her away from the main living area, down a hallway to the side.
"What's up with that anyway?" A sound guy approached one of the cameramen.
"What do you mean?" The cameraman was busy fine tuning some settings on his camera.
"That's the second time she's asked for Jillian and gets taken to see her, no questions asked. I've seen them talking off to the side lots of times, too." The sound guy knew that no other contestant on any show he'd worked on had ever received that kind of special treatment.
The cameraman looked around this time before he spoke, but he failed to notice Hank, who was returning from the interview room, just out of sight but well within earshot. "Between you and me, I was talking to a buddy of mine who works for another network. He said that she did a show like this before. Ended up going all psycho on the host before they finished filming. Beat the shit out of him, and they had to shut the whole thing down. My guess is they're trying to keep her nice and calm this time. I heard she got to go home to her girlfriend when she won the first challenge instead of going to the hotel, too."
"Damn. Don't piss her off then." The sound guy laughed and shook his head as he walked away.
"Jillian, I've got Franky here to see you." The door to the producer's office was open, so the AD left the brunette there and headed back to set.
"Yep, come in." Jillian closed the file that was laying on her desk. "What's up?"
"The kids lunch service tomorrow, is there any way Em could come to that if Bridget agrees?" The brunette knew she was asking a lot, and she didn't even know yet if Bridget would allow it.
"You're aware this means she will be on camera, and they might ask her questions about if she likes the food or which dish is her favorite." She wanted to make sure that Franky understood exactly what this would involve since she had initially wanted to keep her family out of it.
"I think that would be okay. The other contestants won't realize who she is." When Jillian didn't reply right away, Franky got nervous.
"Fine, but she'll have to pretend like she doesn't know you when there are people around. No waving, no saying hi, no running up and getting a hug. Nothing." The producer could see this going all kinds of wrong, but she knew the brunette wouldn't be getting to go home for a while.
"Yes, for sure, that's fine. I'll talk to her, I'll get Bridget to talk to her. Thank you!" For a moment, the brunette had really thought it wasn't going to work.
"I'll make contact with Bridget since I'll need to send her some papers to sign, and we'll go from there." Jillian gave her a smile.
"Again, thank you." Franky wasn't sure if she should shake her hand or what, so she ended up just turning and leaving.
"Hello?" Bridget had seen Jillian's number come up on her phone, and her stomach instantly did a somersault. Her first thought was that something had happened to Franky.
"Hi, is this Bridget Westfall?" the producer asked.
"Yes, it is. Is Franky okay?" The blonde couldn't help herself even though the other woman's voice showed no sign of anything being wrong.
"Yes, she's fine. I'm actually calling to ask if you would allow Emily to be a part of the lunch service we're filming tomorrow." Jillian felt bad now having called Bridget in the middle of the morning, knowing she'd be at work. Of course the blonde was going to think there was something wrong.
"A lunch service? You mean like she'd be on the show?" Bridget wondered if Franky was okay with this.
"Yes, we're doing a lunch service for ages five to eight, and Franky asked if it would be possible to include Emily. She'd be filmed while she was in the dining room eating, and she may be asked something like which dish she liked best. There'd be nothing that would indicate a connection to Franky." Jillian waited for an answer. The few seconds of silence made her think that the blonde wasn't going to allow it.
"You're sure Franky is okay with it?" Bridget needed to know for sure before she gave her response.
"Yes, she came to me and asked if it would be possible. The only catch is that neither of you would be able to interact with her at all during the service or while there are any other contestants or diners around. I'm prepared to give the three of you some time alone in one of the green rooms afterwards though." Jillian thought that would be a nice gesture even though the brunette hadn't asked for it.
"Um, yeah, I'm fine with it. I think Em would really enjoy it." The blonde knew that 'enjoy' would be an understatement.
"Great! I'll send over some paperwork that you'll need to sign and send back, along with the details for tomorrow like what time you'll have to be here and all that." The producer was getting the email ready as they were talking. With just over twenty-four hours until the taping, she knew they had to get things moving.
Bridget confirmed she had received the email before they ended their call. The next step after that was clearing it with Vera; she'd need at least part of the day off, and she had to let Emily's school know that she'd be missing some time.
"Okay, listen up!" Jared stood in front of the remaining contestants; five on the Red team and four on the Blue team. "Tomorrow we're doing two services. The first one is a lunch service. You'll be serving kids between the ages of five and eight. It's a tough age group. Some are picky eaters, some aren't, and trust me it changes from day to day." The chef got a chuckle from the contestants. "So it's going to be a combination challenge and service. Each team will come up with their own menu, and at the end of the service, each of the kids will rate their food on a scale of one to ten. The team with the highest rating wins. The losing team is cleaning then prepping both kitchens for the supper service. You have until five this afternoon to decide on your menu. Go!"
When they returned to the dorms, the Red team headed out to the patio area while the Blue team claimed the living room.
When they got outside and seated, Franky realized that no one had picked up the pad of paper and pen that had been left there for them. Without a word, Shayne picked them up and sat them in her lap.
"Thanks." She gave him a sideways glance. "Okay, so anyone have any ideas they'd like to put out there?"
"We need appetizers, mains, and desserts," Catherine said quietly from her spot across from the brunette.
"No shit, Sherlock." Hank mumbled, then laughed to himself.
"Hank, if you don't have anything useful to contribute then just shut up. We don't have time for bullshit right now." Franky never looked up from the paper in front of her where she was writing the three headings, but she was sure Hank gave her a dirty look or the finger, even though he didn't say anything.
"So kids like simple, familiar stuff, and we should probably stay away from anything too spicy." Shayne was more thinking out loud than addressing the group, but he was on the right track.
"For an appetizer we could do a kid's version of a charcuterie board. Some veggies, artisan bread, and crackers with hummus, dip, and cheese. We could throw a mild pepperoni or smoked sausage in there too. The dip and hummus would have to be something we made from scratch, I think." Catherine usually didn't say much, but she was excited to share her idea.
"That could work," the brunette said as she wrote it on the paper. "We could probably make the bread, too if they let us in there to do some prep this evening, or early in the morning. We wouldn't need a lot."
"I'm not spending my night in there prepping." Hank folded his arms over his chest.
"Cool, so if we lose, you won't have to ask why we nominated you, right?" Shayne threw back at him.
"What do you think about mini taco cups? We could make a light pastry, then put the meat and toppings inside." Franky was trying to think of things that she had made with her children's classes.
"Those would be good. Quick too. Put them on the list." Shayne pointed to the paper.
"Grilled cheese fingers." Hank spoke up, and everyone turned to look at him, surprised. "You cut the sandwich into strips and serve it with a little dish of tomato soup to dip it in. We could use a nice smoked gouda for the cheese, and make the soup from scratch." He was self-conscious that everyone was watching him, but not saying anything. "My little cousin likes when I make those for her."
"Sounds like something they'd enjoy. So that makes three apps. Now we can move on to the mains." Franky added Hank's dish to their sheet.
"Buttermilk marinated chicken tenders with seasoned potato wedges." Catherine added another idea.
"Nice. We could do a cheeseburger sliders platter. Different kinds of cheese in each slider." Franky knew those were always a hit with Emily.
"We should do some mains without meat, too. Some kids won't eat it, or they're too picky about it to order it at a restaurant." Shayne didn't want to get a bad score from any kids just because there was nothing on the menu they would try. "We could do a classic homemade mac and cheese, and maybe a nice margherita pizza. Handmade crust, our own sauce, and nice, fresh mozzarella cheese."
"This is making me hungry." The brunette wasn't lying. She felt like she could probably eat everything on the menu so far at once. " And yeah, those sound good. I made the margherita pizza with one of my classes once, and they loved it. Desserts?"
"An ice cream sandwich made with chocolate chip cookies." Hank offered his second suggestion of the day.
"Delicious. A fruit kebab? We could serve it drizzled in chocolate with fresh whipped cream." The brunette suggested this because it was another favorite of Emily's.
Everyone nodded their agreement.
"Guys, this may seem like a simple menu, but there's a lot to do. The chicken needs to be marinated. There's cheese to slice for the grilled cheese and the charcuterie boards. The veggies and fruits all need to be sliced, and the kebabs need to be put together. Plus, we're making soup, hummus, and two different sauces. We'll need everyone fully on board." Franky looked at the whole group, but she was waiting for Hank's response in particular.
"Yeah I'm in," he agreed after a few seconds.
"Alright, let's see if we can get into the kitchen." The brunette gathered her papers, and they all headed inside to find a crew member who could let them into the other part of the set.
To: Franky
I didn't tell Em about the lunch service tomorrow. I'll let you do that when you call tonight
so you can see how happy she'll be. Xo
Bridget had decided that she'd let Franky tell Emily that her plan had worked out, and she'd be allowed to attend the lunch service. The blonde had to admit that she was excited as well. She'd watched the first episode with the brunette, and visited the set, but she wanted to see everything in action.
Right after Jillian called, Bridget had gone to speak with Vera. The governor agreed to let her have the day off. The blonde knew that had her boss not also been a good friend, she probably wouldn't have been allowed the time off on such short notice, so she was grateful to Vera.
Emily's teacher Ms, Williams had been supportive of the idea of the young girl visiting with Franky. Bridget hadn't gone into details, and only told her that the brunette was away for work, but they would be able to spend some time with her tomorrow. The teacher said she had noticed that Emily had been a bit more quiet lately, and agreed that the visit might cheer her up.
When Bridget's phone rang that night, she let Emily answer it. She was eager for Franky to tell Emily about the lunch.
"Franky!" The young girl bounced in her seat with excitement.
"Hey, bub." The brunette had a huge grin on her face. "How are you feeling today?" She didn't want to ask Emily outright if she'd slept better since Bridget had told her that after she'd sent her niece away.
"Good, I like when you call."
"That's good, I like when I call, too." Franky gave a small laugh. "So, me and Auntie have a surprise we wanted to tell you about when I called tonight. How would you like to come and have lunch here on the set?"
"With you?" The young girl's voice was raised with excitement.
"Not with me, but you'll get to eat in the restaurant while I cook with my team." The brunette knew it wasn't the answer that Emily wanted, but it was the best she could do. "I'll get to see you for a few minutes, too."
"I can have a hug?" Emily's excitement had returned.
"Yeah of course you can! Is Auntie not giving you hugs?" Franky asked with mock seriousness. She knew there was no way that was true.
"Yeah, she does." The young girl giggled.
"Good! Get lots of rest tonight too. You'll need it because tomorrow will be a big day." This was the brunette's way of trying to make sure they both got some sleep.
"Why is your jacket different?" Emily leaned in closer to the screen as if that would help her find the answer to her question. "It's got red."
"I'm on the Red team. Everyone on my team has a jacket like this. The other team wears blue." Franky just realized this was the first time she'd called them while she was wearing her chef's uniform. She and the rest of the team had spent most of the day in the kitchen after they'd completed their menus, and she was going back to continue working after the call was over.
"It's pretty," Emily said with a nod. "I like red better than blue."
"Ah, good! So you're going to cheer for us tomorrow, yeah?" The brunette laughed as she saw the young girl give an enthusiastic nod. "Good. Listen though, bub. We need to talk about something serious for a second. I asked the person in charge if it was okay for you to come to the lunch, and she said yes. The other contestants aren't going to have their kids there though. I don't want them to be sad and miss their family if they see you, and me, and Auntie together. So, you can have a hug like I promised, but it can't be until the person in charge says it's okay after the other people have left, and you can't tell anyone else that you know me."
"It's a secret?" the young girl asked, slightly confused.
"Yeah, it's like a secret. The same as when we had a surprise party for Auntie, and when we went and bought her ring. Can you promise me you won't tell anyone anything, and that you'll wait to get your hug?" Franky knew this had a high chance of all falling apart if the young girl's excitement took over in the moment.
"I promise." Emily gave the brunette a serious look.
"Good." Franky gave her a smile. "I love you, and I can't wait to see you tomorrow."
"I love you, too."
"Em, love." Bridget tapped her niece on the arm.
"I know, I have to go play now while you talk to Franky." Emily hopped down off the couch, and headed to her room.
"You know, Gidge, I'm surprised she actually leaves and lets us talk." Franky had assumed that when she was away, it would be next to impossible to get time alone to talk with her fiancée.
"Me too. I just explained it like she has her time to talk to you, then I get mine, and she's just accepted that." The blonde shrugged.
"Are you excited about tomorrow?" The younger woman gave her a cheeky smile.
"Mhm, too bad we can't sneak off into a dark room somewhere for a few minutes." Bridget's mind had played out all kinds of scenarios over the past few hours. She stood from the couch and walked out onto the patio, checking on her way to make sure Emily was still in her room.
"Gidge! Were you always this horny? How did you manage when you were single?" Franky enjoyed giving the blonde a hard time once in a while.
"Let's just say that since we've been together I've gotten used to certain things, and I'm missing those things right now." Bridget could tell that her cheeks were turning a bit red when she saw the brunette's cocky grin.
"I miss those things, too, babe. I miss everything." Franky winked at her.
"Maybe I'll send you another video at some point." The blonde had been surprised at how not self-conscious she'd been when she made the first one.
"That was really hot. I really hope the others were as asleep as I thought they were when I went to bed that night." The brunette let out a small, nervous laugh.
"Baby! You didn't!" Bridget's mouth hung open. "There are cameras in there even if everyone was asleep!"
"I was under the blanket." Franky knew that anyone watching could probably figure out what she was doing anyway.
"I wonder how much Jillian would charge me for a copy of it." It was the blonde's turn to tease the younger woman.
"You don't need a copy. I'll let you watch in person sometime." The brunette glanced up from her phone. "Shit, I have to go again in a minute."
"It's okay. We'll get to see you tomorrow, and spend a bit of time with you after lunch." Bridget hadn't told Emily that part either.
"What do you mean?" Franky asked. As far as she knew, they were only there for lunch.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said anything, but Jillian said we could have some time together after the service." The blonde had assumed it was something the other woman had asked for as well.
"I didn't know she was going to let us do that." At that moment, a thought crossed Franky's mind. "The losing team has to clean and prep both kitchens for supper. Fuck. Hank had better not fuck this up tomorrow or I'll kill him with my bare hands. We've got a good menu, we could win no problem."
"Please don't. I can't have you in Wentworth again." Bridget saw the brunette crack a small smile.
"I won't, Gidge. I love you and I'll see you tomorrow." Franky kissed her fingers and held them up.
"I love you, too." The blonde did the same.
"Alright guys, how's everyone doing with their prep?" The brunette had stopped fighting the leadership role, and she wanted everything to be perfect today. "Remember, don't be surprised if we get special requests. LIke they want the fruit kebab but without the banana."
"Do we take special requests?" Hank inquired from the back where he was assembling the kebabs.
"Sure we do, if it's possible. They're kids." Franky had never worked in a restaurant that didn't try to accommodate their guests so she wasn't sure why he was asking. "So everyone make sure you have a little bit extra ready in case."
The lunch service started at noon, and the first guests started arriving shortly after eleven. The brunette tried to watch the door without being too obvious, so she'd see when Bridget and Emily arrived. It wasn't long before she saw them walk in. She smiled. The blonde always did like to be early for things.
"Which one is yours?" Shayne asked quietly. They were at the front of the kitchen while the others were still working at the back.
"The blonde who's facing us at table five." The brunette didn't dare look over at her again.
"She's adorable, Franks." The young man said with a smile, and continued with his work. "Hey, we've got this pretty much ready now, you should see if you can go find your girl."
"I can't just leave the kitchen." Franky glanced back at the others to make sure they still weren't paying attention to her and Shayne.
"Sure you can. I'll cover for you, say you went to get something for a headache or whatever. It'll be fine." He gave her a reassuring nod.
The brunette seriously considered it for a moment.
"I can't." She sighed and shook her head. "I appreciate the offer, but I can't risk fucking it up. If I did she'd probably kill me anyway."
"She's that tough on you?" Shayne asked with a laugh.
"No, she's perfect." Franky smiled to herself. "She just knows it took a lot for me to get to where I am now, and she's been really supportive."
"Fair enough. Let's win this thing then so we're not stuck in here all afternoon." He gave her a playful nudge with his elbow before he carried the containers of sliced vegetables over to the ice bath.
They had just put the finishing touches on everything when Jared arrived.
"Okay! First off, I'd like to say that both menus look really good. I think the kids will love them. Second, remember it's kids out there, yeah? So I don't want to see any petty BS, alright? Right then, let's go!" The chef turned, and sent the wait staff off to get the first orders.
"Red team, first order, table three, four covers. One charcuterie board, one taco cups, and two grilled cheese fingers." Jared called out the order then hung the ticket up. "Okay, next we have table five, four covers again. One charcuterie board, two taco cups, one grilled cheese."
They all worked to get off to a strong start. They were mid-way through the apps when Franky saw one of the waiters returning to the kitchen with a charcuterie board.
"Shit," the brunette mumbled under her breath. She watched while the waiter talked to Jared.
"Okay." The chef turned and placed the board on the end of the counter. They complained because the hummus and dip are touching the vegetables."
"There's nothing wrong with it." Hank had been making the boards. "Tell them to suck it up."
"Is that what you want to tell them?" Jared waited for Hank's response, which never came.
Franky quickly went into the back room and grabbed the pan filled with small sauce dishes. She went back to the kitchen and set them on the end of the main counter.
"From now on, serve any sauces or dips in these." She began to unpack them and deliver stacks to each station. "And when we do the mains, make sure the foods don't touch each other on the plates."
"That's ridiculous, and extra work." Hank shook his head as he made a new board to replace the one that had been sent back.
"Hank, there are two types of kids when it comes to this: ones who don't care, and ones who hate when their food touches. So plate everything like they care. It only takes a second or two extra now, but if it gets sent back then we have to start over on that order again." Franky set down a stack of dishes for him. "So just do it."
"Good thinking, Franky. Let's keep going." Jared turned around to send the next batch of food.
They finished the rest of the appetizers with no more issues, and moved on to the main courses.
"Table five. Two sliders, one chicken, one mac and cheese." The chef called out the order for Emily's table.
"Eight minutes for the sliders," Franky called out.
The brunette glanced up and noticed that Bridget was sitting off to the side of the restaurant. She was the only parent there, and there was a small table with a glass of something sitting beside her chair.
"Is that your girl?" Shayne asked quietly, as he came to stand beside Franky.
"Yeah. How did you know?" The brunette shifted her attention back to her work, not wanting to draw attention to herself.
"She looks just like the kid." He watched Franky work for a few seconds. "And I saw how you were looking at her. Why is she sitting out here instead of going with the other parents?"
"Maybe she doesn't trust Em not to try to come see me. I'd imagine she was pretty excited today." The brunette glanced up at Bridget again. "Aren't they getting lunch as well?" Franky had overheard the caterers that fed the crew earlier saying they were making lunch today for the parents.
"I thought so, yeah. Maybe they don't realize she's out here." Shayne looked again at Franky, then the blonde.
"I wish I could send something over to her." She felt bad. She knew they had gotten there early, and definitely wouldn't have already eaten.
"I'll send it over." He knew that the brunette couldn't make it look like she knew Bridget, so he offered to make it look like he was sending it to her.
"Are you sure?" Franky didn't want him to get in trouble.
"Yeah, I'll even cook it if you want. What would she like?" Shayne was willing to let her be completely hands off if she wanted.
"She'd like any of this. You're doing the chicken though so let's stick with that. Can you do a side of the wedges for her too?" the brunette asked as she grabbed another pan, and sat three burger patties into it for her next order.
"I'm on it." He reached for a serving of the potato wedges.
Shayne finished the extra order, then walked up to the front. Jared was busy sending out food from the other kitchen. He saw one of the waiters standing at the front, looking out over the dining room, waiting to be given food to deliver.
"Hey, excuse me." He waited until the guy turned around. "Can you take this to the woman sitting off to the side there?" He nodded in Bridget's direction. "And ask what she'd like for dessert later. Thanks."
Bridget saw a waiter walking towards her with a plate of food. He moved her drink to the side, and sat it down on the small table beside her.
"Um, sorry, I didn't order anything." The blonde thought he must have misunderstood which table he was supposed to deliver it to.
"No, ma'am, but the chef has sent it to you." The waiter stepped to the side and indicated the young man in the Red team's kitchen, who gave a small wave.
"Oh, well, tell him I said thank you." Bridget recognized Shayne from when she and Franky had watched the first episode together, and returned his wave.
"He would also like to know which of the desserts you would like. We have a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich, and a fruit kebab drizzled with chocolate and served with fresh whipped cream." He waited while the blonde thought about her answer.
"The ice cream sandwich would be lovely, thanks." Bridget gave the waiter a small smile before he turned and went back to the kitchen.
Shayne returned to his station after the waiter took the plate. He watched while it was delivered and the blonde questioned where it came from. He pointed back towards the kitchen, and Shayne gave a small wave.
"Why are you sending out food no one ordered?" Hank asked, trying to draw attention to them, but no one could be bothered.
"Just doing something nice." Shayne never stopped working, and never looked up.
"Something nice? Yeah, right. You trying to hit on her or something?" Hank laughed.
"Look, she's obviously here with one of the kids, and they didn't give her any food, so I thought I'd be nice and send some over. Just fuck off and go back to your station." He stepped to the side to grab another pan to start his next order, and bumped into Hank, causing him to take a stumbling step backwards.
"I think you were trying to hit on her, and now that I've called you out, you're embarrassed. I don't blame you for that, she's old enough to be your mother, mate." He looked around to see if anyone was looking at them yet.
"I'm not your fucking mate," Shayne spat out.
Franky hadn't been planning on stepping in, but enough was enough.
"Hey! Hank! Go back to your station and shut the fuck up." The brunette hoped she'd kept her voice low enough that the kids hadn't heard anything.
"Maybe you'd like to have a go at her instead," Hank said just loud enough that only Franky heard him as he walked by.
It took every ounce of self-control the brunette possessed to not turn around at that moment, and put her fist squarely in the middle of his face. She took a deep breath, and reminded herself what was at stake, and that he wasn't worth it.
"Alright that was the last table of main courses, let's finish strong with the desserts," Jared shouted into the Red kitchen. He walked across to the other kitchen. "Blue team! You're falling behind. Let's go!"
Shayne caught the eye of the waiter he had talked to earlier, who discreetly made the shape of a circle with his hands, indicating that Bridget wanted the ice cream sandwich for dessert.
"This one's for your girl," Shayne told the brunette as he rolled the edge of the sandwich in sprinkles, creating a rainbow-coloured coating over the exposed ice cream.
"Yeah, she loves ice cream." Franky's mind flashed to the night after she had talked to Emily about her plan to propose, and she had come into the kitchen to find Bridget sitting on the counter eating the ice cream they had brought home for her.
He quickly finished the dessert, and took it up front to the waiter when Jared was busy in the other kitchen.
"Joseph! Give me your jacket!" The chef's voice carried over from the Blue team's kitchen. "Give me your jacket, and get out. You're done! Go pack your bags!"
Franky looked at Shayne with wide eyes and mouthed 'oh shit'.
The Red kitchen was silent as they waited to see if they'd hear any more, but when Jared returned to their kitchen, he was calm again.
"Very nice, Red team. That was the last table. Shut it down, and go back to the dorms to wait for the results." The chef placed the last order on the tray for the waitress to serve.
Franky and the others returned to the living room, and took spots on the various chairs and couches. It wasn't long before the members of the Blue team joined them.
'So what the fuck did Joseph do?" Shayne asked what they were all wondering.
"We had spaghetti and meatballs on our menu." Lucas began to tell the story. "He takes up the dish and the spaghetti is undercooked, and the meatballs are still raw in the middle. So Chef throws it out and tells him to start over. Just a minute, maybe two later he brings the dish up again, and it's fully cooked. Chef asks how he did that because there were no other orders for it at the time, so it wasn't like he could just grab one of those. When he looks in the garbage bin, the food he'd thrown out wasn't there anymore. Joseph had taken it out of the trash, put it all back on the stove and kept cooking it."
"Wow." The brunette didn't know what else to say.
After about a half hour, they were called back to the main dining room. The kids had all left.
"I won't take long with this since one team has a lot of work ahead of them this afternoon." Jared stood in front of them holding two cards. "We asked each child to rate the food on a scale of one to ten, based on how well they liked it. Simple, yeah? These cards hold the average score for each team. The losing team will be cleaning both kitchens and prepping both for service again tonight. So here we go." He opened the blue envelope. "Blue team, your average score is eight point five out of ten." He opened the red envelope next. "Red team, your average score is nine point two out of ten. Blue team, I'd get started if I were you. Congratulations Red team. Now, I know I didn't mention what the reward for the winning team would be, so here it is: you'll be spending the afternoon cruising the harbour on a luxury yacht. So hurry up and go get changed. Your limo is waiting outside." He headed off set, and the teams went their separate ways.
As she walked back to the dorms, Franky caught Jillian out of the corner of her eye, trying to get her attention. She glanced around to make sure the others weren't nearby, then went over to speak to the producer.
"I'll make this quick. If you want to spend the afternoon with your family instead, then go come up with an excuse why you're not going on the cruise, and meet me back here, ASAP." Jillian nodded in the direction of the dorms, urging the brunette to hurry up.
Franky walked back to the dorm, but instead of getting ready to leave with the others, she just let herself fall onto the couch.
"Franks! Come on, we gotta go!" Shayne had already changed his clothes, and was headed to the door.
"Nah, I'm going to sit this one out. I don't do so well with boats." She stretched her arms back behind her head to work out the tension from the lunch service.
"You sure? It sounds like fun." He had walked over closer to her so the others couldn't hear. "Are they?" Shayne nodded in the direction of the kitchen set.
"Yep," Franky said with a huge smile on her face.
"In that case, have fun." He gave her a fist bump and hurried off with the others to their waiting car.
As soon as they'd left, she went back and met up with Jillian again. The producer led her down a series of hallways. The brunette had never been in this area before, and figured it was off limits to them normally.
"I'll leave you here. You'll probably have at least three to four hours before I'll have to come get you," Jilllian said as she opened the door.
"Franky!" Emily ran towards the brunette.
Franky knelt on one knee, and caught the young girl, wrapping her arms around her tightly.
"I missed you, bub." She could feel Emily holding on to the back of her jacket.
"I missed you, too." The young girl's voice was muffled because she had her face buried snugly against Franky's shoulder.
The brunette knew that Emily probably would stay like that forever if she let her, but she knew Bridget was patiently waiting to greet her as well.
"Okay, I'm going to say hi to Auntie, then we can all spend some time together, and you guys can tell me what you've been up to. Sound good?" Franky felt the young girl nod, and loosen her arms.
"Gidge." Franky stood, and barely got the word out of her mouth before the blonde's lips were on hers.
It was a hard, passionate kiss at first, then slowed into a soft, lingering one. They were pulled out of their little world when Emily giggled.
"What are you laughing at?" The brunette reached down and ruffled the young girl's hair.
"That's gross." Emily giggled again.
"Ah, love, someday you'll find someone you'll want to kiss like that, then it won't be gross." Bridget smiled when her niece wrinkled up her face like she didn't believe her. "Let's sit on the couch and have a chat, yeah?"
Franky was impressed at how nice the room was. There was a living room area with a large couch and two armchairs. Off to one side there was a small kitchenette with some snacks and drinks, and a small washroom. She thought maybe this was a room that a crew member would use if they had to stay there overnight occasionally. There was even a small tv, and a selection of books for entertainment.
The brunette sat down, and Emily was immediately on her lap. Bridget sat beside her, and leaned against her side. Franky smiled, remembering how she had teased the blonde one time that she and Emily were alike in a lot of ways, one of them being that they both liked to cuddle and be near someone.
"Did you like your lunch, bub? What did you order?" The brunette hadn't had time to pay much attention to what was going on in the dining room.
"I had the grilled cheese, the burgers, and the fruit stick thing. They were really good." The young girl settled in closer against Franky, and the brunette absentmindedly rubbed her back.
"That's awesome! We got to choose our own menus, and I put the burgers and fruit kebab on there because I knew you liked them." The brunette gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "How about you, Gidge?"
"It was delicious, baby. The waiter said the young guy sent it." Bridget had assumed the waiter had made a mistake until Shayne had waived at her.
"I had pointed out Em earlier, and when he saw you, he asked if you were my fiancée because you and she look so much alike. I wanted to send food, but I knew Jillian would be upset if I did anything while everyone was there, so he said he'd make you something and send it out." Franky was proud at how he'd handled Hank's comments as well, considering last time he'd tried to have a go at him for less.
"He seems like a nice guy." The blonde reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind Franky's ear.
They sat and talked about some things Emily had been learning about in school, and Bridget filled her in on some things that had been going on with work.
"I'm going to make a coffee. Do you want one, baby?" Bridget asked as she stood from the couch.
"Yeah, thanks. Do you want something to drink, Em?" Franky got no response from the girl on her lap. "Is she asleep, Gidge?" she asked quietly.
The blonde bent slightly so she could see Emily's face better. "I think so."
Bridget made the coffee as quietly as she could, then carried the two mugs back to the couch with her.
"She must have been really tired. Big day, I guess." Franky took a sip of her coffee. She studied Bridget's face. "Babe, what's wrong?"
"I don't think she's been sleeping well." The blonde sighed. She hadn't wanted to tell Franky this. "She only wanted to come in with me that one night, but quite a few mornings, when I've gone in to wake her, there will be toys on the floor that weren't there when I put her to bed, stuff like that. She's seemed a bit more tired lately too. She always just wants a cuddle in the evening, and usually gets close to falling asleep on me before I put her to bed."
"Do you think it's stress?" Franky kept her voice low.
"Maybe. Or it could be just a phase." In all honesty, Bridget thought it was mostly likely caused by the stress of not having Franky around, but she didn't want to say that to the brunette.
Just then, Emily jumped a bit in Franky's arms, and startled the brunette. The young girl opened her eyes enough to see that the two women were still there with her, then closed them and went back to sleep.
"That's what she did the night she slept in the bed with me," the blonde whispered. "Hey, it'll be okay, alright?" She reached up and wiped a tear from Franky's cheek. "I think I'm going to make an appointment for her to see Brad."
"Hopefully he can help her." The brunette leaned into Bridget's touch as she wiped another tear from the younger woman's cheek. "I miss you guys so much."
"I know you do, baby. We miss you, too." The blonde stretched over, and gave her fiancée a soft kiss. "Let's not make this visit sad, okay? You and I can have a little chat while she sleeps. We should wake her up after a bit though or she'll be sad she slept through all her time with you."
"Yeah, give her a half hour, then maybe she'll feel up to hanging out." Franky would have gladly just held her for the whole time, but she knew Bridget was right. "I can feel you watching me, Gidge," the brunette said with a smile on her face. "What are you thinking about?"
"Lots of stuff." Bridget gave her a cheeky smile.
"Like?" Franky raised an eyebrow.
"You want a full list?" The blonde watched as the younger woman nodded. "I'm glad Em is content. I miss you. I can't wait until you get to come home again. You look hot. I want to get married like, yesterday. I love you, and you're going to make a really good mother."
"You're thinking all that right now?" The brunette could feel herself blushing.
"Yeah." Bridget took a hold of her free hand.
"We can get married whenever you want once I'm done this." Franky brought their hands to her lips, and kissed the blonde's fingers.
"I'll be waiting at the altar when you get home." Bridget was joking of course, but the idea of it didn't scare her at all.
Franky laughed. "You'll be a really good mum, too, Gidge."
"Sometimes I question that." The blonde saw a look of confusion flash on the younger woman's face. "I'm definitely excited about it, but like right now, with her, I question if I'm doing the right things. I know she's not supposed to sleep in our bed, but that night, I didn't care. Even now, sometimes I catch myself thinking if she just stayed in there with me while you were gone, then maybe she'd sleep better."
"Gidge." The brunette lowered her voice so as not to wake Emily. "You do what you feel is right. I know what the psych said, but if you're both hurting over it, then I think it's doing more harm than good. I understand why we had to be firm when she first came to us, because nothing was going to change that situation to make it better. Her parents weren't ever coming back. If what's happening now is because I'm not around, then let her sleep with you if that's what you both want. I'll be back, then things can go back to normal. Just make it clear that staying with you only happens until I'm back."
"Thank you." Bridget let out a long breath. Franky had no idea how much better she'd made her feel. "We should wake her now."
The brunette wrapped both arms around the young girl in case she startled her when she woke her up.
"Em. Time to wake up, bub." Franky brushed her cheek lightly with her fingers until she saw her eyes start to open. "Hey, sleepyhead." She smiled when the young girl giggled at the funny nickname. "We didn't think you'd want to sleep through the whole visit."
"I brought something for us." The blonde reached into her bag and pulled out one of her niece's card games. "I thought you might like for us to play this."
Emily nodded. "I have to pee first."
Bridget gave a small laugh. "The bathroom is over there, love." She pointed to the other side of the room.
Franky stood and stretched after the young girl got off her lap. She felt the blonde's arms around her. She placed a hand on each of Bridget's hips, and pulled her closer, running her thumbs over the older woman's hip bones.
"Don't start something we can't finish, baby," Bridget whispered as she connected their lips.
Franky kissed her slow, and hard. It reminded the blonde of their first one, as she pushed her body against the other woman.
"You feel good," the brunette said quietly, as she reluctantly broke their kiss.
The toilet flushed, and indicated the end of their alone time together. They each took a seat at the table, and Franky began to shuffle the cards.
They spent the rest of the afternoon together playing games, and talking. Emily told the brunette what she was learning in school, and some of the things that Liz had shown her at the Centre.
When it was time for them to leave, and Jillian knocked on the door, Franky was worried that the young girl would have a hard time saying goodbye. They'd had almost four hours together though, so she hoped that would be enough so that she wouldn't be too upset at this moment. Bridget answered the door.
"Hey, time to go back to set, Franky," Jillian said quietly from the doorway.
"Are you coming home this weekend?" Emily asked quietly.
"I don't know yet, bub. I promise I'll tell you as soon as I know for sure, okay?" The brunette wiped a tear from the young girl's face. "Remember to be brave for me, and look after Auntie."
"I miss you reading me stories at bedtime." Emily was quickly getting emotional.
"I know, and I miss that, too. We've got a whole stack of books for me to read to you when I get home. Auntie reads good stories, too. I bet you could get an extra one out of her tonight if you ask nicely." Franky gave her a wink.
She saw Emily touch the red bandana she'd been given as part of her uniform. Some of the others wore them on their head like they were meant to be worn, but she had just wrapped hers around her wrist a couple times and tied it. She remembered something she and Bridget did during her time in Wentworth.
"Here." The brunette started to untie the knot. "You can have this, and when you miss me, you can hang onto it." She handed the bandana to the young girl.
"Can I put it on my teddy bear you gave me?" the young girl asked.
"Sure! That sounds like a really good idea. You can show me the next time I call." Franky gave her a smile. "I have to go now, okay? I love you very much." She hugged Emily and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"I love you, too." The young girl returned the kiss on the cheek.
Franky stood. She put her arms around Bridget. "I love you very much, too. Remember, do what this thinks is best." The brunette tapped on the middle of the older woman's chest. "I'm okay with however you choose to handle it."
Bridget gave a small nod. "Thanks." She smiled, and gave the brunette a soft kiss. "I love you."
Franky let go of her, and left the room with the producer. They began the walk back to set.
"Jesus, Franky, that kid pulls at your heart, doesn't she? Even I was getting a bit emotional back there." It had finally clicked with her why the brunette had fought so hard to be able to spend time with them.
"Yeah, she's good at that." Franky let out a small laugh.
"Everything okay at home?" Jillian was partly asking because she genuinely did care, but also she wanted a head's up if there was something going on that was going to affect the brunette's mood on set.
"Yeah, she said Em's been having trouble sleeping, and one night she took her into our bed with her. It really helps to calm her down. I think she feels comforted by having someone close when she sleeps. The psychologist we took her to see after her dad died kind of discouraged that though, but I told Gidge to do what she thinks is best, and we'll deal with it when I get back." Franky didn't know why she was being so open, but Jillian had been good to her so far.
The producer nodded. "The professionals don't always know what's best."
When they neared the set, she and Jillian parted ways, and Franky headed to the dorms to rejoin her team before the next service.
The Blue team's service that night had been a disaster. Franky wasn't really surprised, considering they hadn't had much of a break the past couple of days. One of the women from that team ended up being sent home, leaving them with only three members while the red team still had five.
The brunette went to bed that night with a good feeling. Her team had won both services that day, and she'd gotten to spend time with Emily, and Bridget. She was also two steps closer to trading in her red jacket for a black one. When they were down to only five contestants, they became one team, but at the same time, it was also everyone for themselves. She had to keep up her focus and momentum.
