"Alright, love, here's your breakfast." Bridget sat a bowl of cereal and a small dish of fruit in front of the young girl. The cereal was some sugary thing that Franky always bought, and Emily had insisted on getting when she went to the store with her aunt. The compromise was that she had to eat some fruit with it.
"I don't want it. I don't feel good." Emily pushed the bowl away from her.
"Come on, just try some." The blonde knew that Emily wasn't sick. She'd had trouble sleeping last night, and had needed reassurance a couple of times that Franky was still okay.
The young girl shook her head.
"Okay." Bridget picked up the dish of fruit and took it back to the kitchen. "Go get washed up and dressed if you don't want to eat then."
The blonde wasn't going to force her to eat only to have her end up throwing up again. She dumped the fruit into a container, and placed it in Emily's lunch bag. The cereal already had milk on it, so it would most likely end up in the garbage.
"Can we stay home today?" Emily asked as she came back into the kitchen.
"No, you promised me and Franky you'd go back to school today. Besides, you have to take Rex. You want to show him to your classmates, right? You worked hard on him." Bridget gave her a smile. "Ooo, I love the shirt you picked!" The young girl had chosen her Rex t-shirt, the blonde assumed, to go along with her presentation.
"It's Rex!" Emily giggled, as she sat down at the table again with her aunt.
"Let's try a bit of cereal now." Bridget placed the bowl back in front of the young girl. She began eating with no argument this time, and the blonde couldn't help but smile to herself.
"Franky!"
"Heyyy!" the brunette laughed. She loved the way that Emily always greeted her as if she were surprised to see her face appear on the screen. "How was school? Did everybody love Rex?"
"Yeah, and they liked my shirt too! It was the Rex one." She had taken up Franky's habit of changing into more comfortable clothes to lay around the house in as soon as she got home, so she was in her pyjamas now.
"Aww, that's awesome! It wasn't so bad talking in front of everyone, right?" The brunette had known that Emily would be fine.
"It was okay. Does your face hurt?" The young girl moved in closer to the screen so she could see Franky's face better.
"Just a little, but only if I touch it." That was a lie. She'd had a dull headache all morning, and it hurt slightly everytime she blinked her eyes.
"You're okay?" Emily asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay." Franky gave her a small smile. She was touched by the young girl's concern.
Bridget tapped Emily on the shoulder, and she and the brunette said their goodnights.
"She's been okay?" Franky asked, once Emily had left.
"Yeah, she needed some reassurance last night, but things were okay today." The blonde left out the part about her trying to get out of going to school that morning. It was only a half-hearted attempt, and nothing more came of it, so she didn't want Franky to worry about it.
"Okay, good." If Franky had a chance to do it over, she would have tried to de-escalate the situation earlier.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" Bridget had seen through the brunette's earlier lie.
"A bit, yeah." Franky said softly.
"Are you alright?" The older woman sensed that maybe there was something else bothering the brunette.
"Yeah, just a little, I don't know, amped up. There's another challenge thing tomorrow, and there's only four of us left. It just seems like it's higher stakes now, I guess." Franky sighed. "The services are going pretty smoothly now, so I'm thinking the challenges are going to be both reward, and elimination."
"I know it must be stressful, but just do your best, baby. We're all very proud of you. Liz and Vera ask for updates all the time." Bridget was happy to see the smile that appeared on the brunette's face. The airing of the episodes had been pushed back by the network, so Liz and Vera relied on her to know if Franky was still in it or not.
"I just want this so I can look after you, and Emily, and Liz, and hopefully a baby." Franky took a deep breath. She knew that starting a restaurant was a lot of hard work, but she knew she could be successful.
"You already look after us." The blonde waited until the younger woman made eye contact with her. "We all know that, and feel it."
Franky nodded slowly. "I just want to make sure." She glanced up over the screen of her phone. "Fuck. I have to go. I love you, babe."
"I love you, too. Just try to relax tomorrow. You're good at what you do." Bridget blew her a kiss.
"Thanks. I'll try." The brunette blew her a kiss in return.
"Good afternoon, everyone! Today, we are doing one of the challenges I have been looking forward to the most. I'm calling it 'Make It Gourmet'. Each of you will choose an envelope and inside will be a classic dish that you will have to turn into something that could be featured on the menu in a fine dining restaurant. Heather, you're up first." Jared stepped aside so she could pick her envelope.
Heather opened the envelope, and read what was on the card inside. "Sausage rolls."
"Nice one! Lots of possibilities there. Franky, you're next." Jared called the brunette to the front.
"Grilled cheese," Franky said, reading from her card. She was already working through the options in her mind.
Shayne ended up getting shepherd's pie, and Lucas chose chicken soup.
"You have one hour. Good luck everyone." Jared started the timer, and two chefs moved into each kitchen and began working.
The brunette took her time looking through the ingredients in the pantry and walk-in fridge. She knew she wouldn't need long to cook her dish, and since that part was fairly simple, she felt like she'd need something extra special to pull off a win. Most of the time a grilled cheese was just butter, bread, and cheese. She knew some people used some mayo, and she chose artisan breads and cheeses. She felt like she needed more though. She grabbed an onion, and on her way out the door, something else caught her eye. She took some prosciutto with her as well. She wasn't sure what she was going to do with it, but it could be the something she was looking for.
Franky decided to do a test run of her idea. If it worked out, she still had time to make another for the judging part. She diced some onions, and added them, along with butter, olive oil, rosemary, and thyme, into a pan she had heated. Once the onions had almost cooked, she added in a bit of brown sugar, cooked them for another couple of minutes, then put them aside on a plate.
Next, she cut two slices of bread, and spread one side of each slice with mayo. She added a bit more butter and rosemary to the pan, and when it had melted, she placed the bread in, mayo side down. She added thin slices of white cheddar, gruyere, and muenster cheeses. When the cheese started to melt, she sprinkled a few of the onions on one slice, and placed some prosciutto on the other. She checked to make sure the bread was turning a nice golden brown, then put the two halves together, and turned the heat down to low.
When she felt like the cheese had melted enough, and the onions and prosciutto had warmed, she took it out of the pan, and placed it on a plate.
"Here, try this." Franky cut the sandwich in half and held the plate out to Shayne.
"Damn, Franks! This is amazing!" he said with his mouth full, and still chewing.
"I should make another one for Jared?" the brunette asked with a laugh.
"Oh yeah, definitely. Actually, make two. I want another one," Shayne said as he shoved the last bite into his mouth.
Franky smiled and shook her head as she began working.
She was just plating her final product when Jared signalled that time was up. She carefully arranged the food before carrying it up to the front of the kitchen.
"Our guest judge today will be the food critic from the Foodlife network magazine, Jacob Warren. Alright, Franky, we'll start with you since grilled cheese doesn't do well when it sits around. Tell us what you've done here." He took the dome cover off her dish.
"This is a grilled cheese with muenster, white cheddar, and gruyere, along with caramelized onions and prosciutto. On the outside I used mayo instead of butter on the bread, and it was browned in the pan with a rosemary infused butter." The brunette hoped she hadn't left anything out.
"Sounds delicious, let's see how it tastes." Jared picked up a piece of the sandwich and took a bite. "Very nice. I like the sweetness of the onion with the cheese and the saltiness of the prosciutto. Jacob?"
'I agree. I like that you used mayo instead of butter. It gives it a bit of a kick. I could definitely see this on a fine dining lunch menu." He gave Franky a smile.
"Well done." Jared handed her back the plate. "Lucas, let's have yours next."
The judges tasted all four dishes. In the end, it was up to the food critic to decide who had most successfully elevated their simple dish to gourmet status.
"They were all very well executed, but I have to say I was most impressed with the grilled cheese." Jacob gave a small nod in Franky's direction.
"And is there one you don't think would make it onto a fine dining menu?" The chef looked at the other three contestants as he asked the question.
"Unfortunately, I'd have to say the sausage rolls. They were very good, but other than changing up the spices a bit, I didn't see a lot of difference from the regular dish." The critic gave Heather an apologetic smile.
"Right, so Franky, you've won a two-day Yarra Valley wine tour with a stay at a luxury vineyard resort along the way. Unfortunately, Heather, this was also an elimination challenge, so I'll have to ask you for your jacket now." He held out his hand.
Shayne nudged the brunette with his elbow, and gave her a smile. He knew that this meant that she'd be going home to spend the weekend with her family.
It was Saturday morning, and Franky had woken up even earlier than usual. She had decided to keep her visit home a secret from Emily, but she'd told Bridget during one of their phone calls. It had to look to the other contestants that she was going on the wine tour, so she threw a few clothes into a small bag along with her toothbrush. They hadn't given her a time when she was supposed to leave, and she figured the sooner she got out of there, the more time she got to spend at home, so she picked up her bag, and headed for the set exit.
"Good morning Ms. Doyle," the receptionist at the desk greeted her. "Ms. Banks thought you might want to leave early, so she left your personal belongings here. There's your mobile, and your car keys." She took the items from a drawer, and placed them on top of the desk. "She's also asked me to remind you not to discuss the details of the show with anyone, and to be back here by eight on Sunday evening."
"Got it. Thanks!" Franky grabbed the items off the desk, and hurried out the door.
This would be her first time home in almost a month, and she had to remind herself to pay attention to the road, and not let her excitement distract her.
The brunette pulled into the driveway, and turned off the car. The neighborhood was always quiet this time of the morning on the weekends. As she made her way inside the house, she was careful to be as quiet as possible,
She shut the door behind her quietly, and listened for any sounds. She wasn't surprised not to hear any. It was barely after seven. Franky took off her shoes, and walked softly down the hallway towards their bedroom. She pushed open the door. It was dark in the room, but she could just make out Bridget and Emily still fast asleep. The blonde was on her side of the bed with Emily cuddled against her, occupying the middle space.
The brunette smiled to herself. She was so happy to finally be home. She had thrown on a pair of trackies and an oversized t-shirt when she'd woken up that morning, so she didn't bother to change before she crawled in under the covers, careful not to disturb either of them. She watched them both sleep for a couple of minutes, then closed her eyes. She was sure that the young girl wouldn't let her miss anything once she woke up.
Bridget felt herself wake, and was vaguely aware of Emily laying against her. No matter where her niece started out in the bed, she was usually right next to her by the time morning came.
The blonde opened her eyes, and lifted her head to look at the clock. When she saw Franky laying on the other side of the bed, she blinked to make sure she was actually awake. She knew the brunette was coming home for the weekend, but she wasn't expecting her nearly this early. When she'd learned that Franky was coming home, she'd planned a little surprise for her. She wondered how long it would take her to notice the change she'd made. She felt Emily stir beside her.
"Auntie Bridge?" The young girl's voice was still thick with sleep.
"I'm here, love," Bridget said as she brushed a strand of hair from Emily's face. "I have a surprise for you, but you need to promise to stay very quiet, okay?" She figured maybe the young girl's excitement would be lowered by the fact that she was barely awake.
Emily nodded. "Okay."
"Look who's on the other side of the bed," The blonde whispered in her ear.
Emily turned to look behind her, then quickly looked back at her aunt. "Franky!" she said with a huge smile on her face.
"Mhm. You can wake her, but be gentle." Bridget smiled when she saw the joy on the young girl's face.
Emily turned over, and moved closer to the brunette. "Franky," she said, placing her hand on the brunette's cheek. "Franky, wake up!"
The young girl moved her face in closer. Franky was awake, but she was waiting another second before she opened her eyes.
"I'm awake," she said, opening her eyes wide, and startling the young girl.
Emily's squeal of surprise quickly turned to a giggle as Franky pulled her into her arms for a tight hug.
"I've missed you, bub," the brunette said as she gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I've got an idea. I think we should all go out for breakfast at Crème in Port Melbourne."
"Yeah! Can we Auntie Bridge?" Emily looked behind her at Bridget.
"Sure! You go get washed up and dressed. We'll be out in a few minutes." The blonde watched as the young girl climbed over Franky and onto the floor. "Close the door behind you, please."
"I missed you, too." The brunette pulled the other woman closer. She placed her hand behind Bridget's head to pull her in for a kiss and hesitated.
The blonde saw the look on Franky's face. She never said anything, but just waited patiently for the younger woman to figure it out.
"You cut your hair," the brunette said, studying Bridget's face.
"I did. Do you like it?" she asked, giving Franky a barely-there kiss.
The brunette was quiet, but Bridget felt her bury her fingers into the now much shorter hair at the back of her head. She felt the younger woman's grip tighten, and she allowed her head to be pulled backwards, exposing her neck. The blonde felt Franky's lips on the side of her neck, caressing her skin as she made her way down, and then up again towards her jaw.
"Yep, still works for me." The brunette gave a small laugh as she placed a soft kiss on the older woman's lips, and loosened her grip on her hair.
Bridget laughed. "Good."
Franky smiled as she slid her hand down the blonde's side, then around into the back of her pants.
"Save it for tonight, baby." The older woman gave her a kiss. "Then you can do whatever you want to me."
"Naughty, Gidge." The brunette gave a small laugh. She heard Emily leave her room, and walk through the hallway towards the kitchen. "That's our cue to get up and change."
Bridget could feel Franky's eyes on her as she took off her pyjamas then got dressed. She smiled to herself, and made sure to take a little extra time picking out her outfit for the day.
"Thinking about what you want to do to me?" the blonde asked when she looked over her shoulder and saw the younger woman sitting on the bed watching her with her socks still in her hand.
Franky's only response was the small grin that Bridget had come to love.
What the brunette didn't say was that she was surprised by how much she liked the other woman with short hair. She'd never tried to picture her with it before, but she could see it better now that they were out of bed, and she thought it looked really good on her. It even crossed her mind that maybe it suited the older woman better than her long hair.
It wasn't long before they'd made it to the small café, and Franky was glad to see that it wasn't too busy.
"Can we sit in the corner?" Emily asked, pointing to a booth with an L-shaped bench along two sides of the table.
"Yeah, sure." The brunette grabbed one of the boardgames off the bookshelf they passed on the way to the table.
Emily took a spot right at the corner of the table so that she could sit between the two women.
"Do you know how to play checkers?" Franky asked as she took her spot on the bench seat, and set the box on the table. She knew that it wasn't one of the games they had at the house, but it was common, so she thought Emily might know how to play.
The young girl shook her head.
"Would you like to learn? One of us can help you, and you can play against the other." The brunette began to unpack the game board.
"You teach me." Emily looked up at Franky.
"Good morning! I'm Rachel. I'll be your server today. Here are your menus, I'll give you a few minutes with those, then I'll be back to take your order." She smiled as she placed a menu in front of each of them.
"Thanks," Bridget said as she picked up her menu.
"What are you in the mood for, Em?" The brunette knew that the young girl would need help reading some of the items on the menu. She saw her shrug. "Well, there's toast with eggs, or bacon and eggs, or pancakes with strawberries and cream, or granola. Any of that sound good?" There were lots of other options too, but Franky doubted that Emily would eat any of them.
"Pancakes!"
The brunette wasn't surprised. They were one of Emily's favorites. "What do you want to drink? There's milk, juice, water, hot chocolate, iced te-"
"Hot chocolate!" The young girl was playing with the checkers they hadn't set up yet.
"Good choice!" Franky scanned the menu, looking for something that caught her eye for herself.
When the waitress returned, Emily ordered her pancakes and hot chocolate, the brunette ordered the gypsy omelette with bounty coffee, and Bridget opted for the pulled pork eggs benedict with tea.
"I need to use the washroom," the young girl announced, as Franky was setting out the checkers on the board.
"It's right over there." Bridget pointed to a door at the end of the small dining area. "Do you want me to come with you?"
"No, I can go alone." Emily waited for the brunette to stand so that she could slide out from behind the table.
"Don't let her win this game on purpose, Gidge." Franky knew that the blonde was a softie sometimes when it came to letting her niece win the games they played, but the younger woman didn't believe in doing that.
"I won't." Bridget leaned over the corner of the table, and gave the brunette a kiss on the cheek. When she sat back in her seat and glanced across the room, she saw that an older couple sitting two tables away were glaring at her and Franky. She gave them a small smile, but it wasn't returned. "Baby," she whispered quietly, moving to the corner of the bench so that she was a bit closer to the younger woman.
"Hmm?" The brunette had been lost in thought watching the people on the street pass by the large window at the front of the café.
"Kiss me." The blonde placed her hand on Franky's cheek, and gently turned the other woman's head towards her.
The brunette didn't question it. She didn't need a reason, or excuse, to kiss her fiancée.
Bridget made sure it was a slow, sweet kiss. Nothing too over the top that it was inappropriate for where they were, but enough that it wouldn't be mistaken for just a friendly kiss. When their lips parted, she glanced towards the couple, and saw the woman shake her head in disgust.
When Franky opened her eyes, she followed the blonde's gaze, and saw the couple staring at them. The brunette soon realized what was going on, and stared right back at them, until the woman gave up and went back to eating her breakfast.
When Emily returned from the washroom, Franky stood again, and let her back into her spot between them. The brunette explained the basic rules of the game, and they started to play while they waited for their food.
"That lady keeps looking at us," Emily stated while she and Franky were waiting for the blonde to take her turn.
"I know, bub, Just ignore her." The brunette pointed to the board to indicating that it was now the young girl's turn.
After a few minutes, Franky saw the couple stand up to leave the café. The man went to the counter to pay the bill, but the woman headed towards their table.
"Shame on you!" The woman never stopped walking, but went out of her way to make sure they heard her homophobic comment.
"You have a good day as well." Franky called after her in a cheery voice. She and Bridget shared a small grin.
"Why was she mad at you guys?" Emily looked between her aunt and the brunette.
"We can talk about it when we get home if you want," Bridget said softly. It was a topic she didn't want to gloss over with her niece, but she felt like it would be best to save the conversation for a time when they weren't in public.
They just had time to finish their game before their food arrived.
"What kind of coffee did you get? It smells really good." The blonde peered into Franky's coffee mug.
"Bounty coffee. It's supposed to have a slight chocolate flavour and then they put coconut milk in it." The brunette took a sip. "It's really good."
"Can I try it?" Emily looked at the mug in Franky's hand.
"Are you sure? It's not really like anything else you drink." The brunette knew that coffee was a somewhat acquired taste, and Emily was probably too young to enjoy it.
"Yeah, I want to try it!" the young girl insisted.
"Okay, just take a small sip." Franky held the mug down in front of Emily, and helped her take a small drink.
"That's gross!" she said with a disgusted look on her face.
"Here, have a drink of your hot chocolate." The brunette set the glass in front of Emily. She'd known the young girl wasn't going to like the coffee.
When they'd finished their food, Emily asked to play another game of checkers before they left, which she won this time with very little help from Franky.
Emily had been quiet on the way home, but as soon as they'd gotten into the house, she asked again why the woman at the café had been mad at them.
"Come here, love." Bridget took her by the hand, and led her over to sit with her on the couch, with Franky not far behind. "A lot of the time, when people fall in love, the couple is a man and a woman, like your mom and dad. Sometimes though, it can be two women, like myself and Franky, or it can be two men. Some people don't think it's right when two men, or two women love each other, and that's what that lady thought about us this morning."
"Why doesn't she think it's right?" Emily asked, confused.
"Some people just don't understand people who are different from them, or maybe when they were young their parents taught them that certain things were wrong, or bad, and they still believe that." The blonde was trying to give honest, clear answers without going into too much detail.
The young girl was quiet for a moment. "That's stupid. Can I paint your nails now?" she asked, turning to the brunette.
"Sure, go get your polish." Franky managed to suppress her amusement until Emily was out of the room. "Well, our work here is done!" The brunette stretched her arms above her head and then behind her over the back of the couch. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Bridget watching her, and couldn't help but smile. "I'm going to go change." She half expected the older woman to follow her to the bedroom, but she remained seated.
When Franky returned, the young girl was waiting for her.
"Can I use both colours?" she asked, holding up both bottles so the brunette could see them.
"Yeah, I want you to paint them just like yours!" Franky placed a small towel on her lap and laid her hand on it. She hoped that the towel would avoid any mess on her clothes or the furniture. "Just take your time, okay? You should ask Auntie if you can paint hers too when you're done mine."
"Can I?" Emily turned to Bridget with a big smile on her face.
"Of course, love." She watched as her niece went back to work on Franky's nails. "Is there anything you guys would like to do this afternoon? We could go into the city to the zoo or the scienceworks place."
"I'm up for whatever." The brunette was just glad to be around her two favorite people.
"Can we finish the lego house?" Emily asked as she carefully applied a layer of black polish to Franky's thumbnail.
"The Ghostbusters one?" Bridget asked. She had gathered it up, and moved the box to the corner of the living room when the brunette had left to film the show. She hadn't wanted to work on it without Franky being there to help.
"Yeah!" The young girl stopped her work for a second. "Can we make food on the fire again?"
"The same meal as last time or something else?" Franky remembered her liking the salmon she'd made the last time she was home.
"Anything on the fire." Emily shrugged.
"There's some chicken and fish in the fridge, and some veggies." The blonde had made sure to pick up groceries on her way home from work the day before.
"We'll come up with something then. You can help me." The brunette gave the young girl a wink.
After Emily had painted both their nails, they'd all spent the afternoon working on their lego project, and had finished the first story of the building. The fire they'd lit to cook their supper had almost burned itself out, and Emily looked like she was fading quickly as well. The excitement of the day was catching up with her, and Bridget decided to put her to bed before she fell asleep outside with them.
She picked up the young girl, and walked across the patio and into the kitchen. She felt Emily start to stir.
"Where are we going?" she asked, her voice full of sleep.
"I'm taking you to bed, love." Bridget spoke quietly hoping not to wake her any more than she already was.
"I want to sleep with you and Franky tonight." Emily picked her head up off her aunt's shoulder.
"No, you have to sleep in your bed tonight." The blonde had been worried about this.
"No!" Emily started to squirm.
Bridget tried to hold onto her, but in the end, she was worried she would drop her if she didn't put her down, so she bent over and stood her on the floor.
"Em, you have to sleep in your own bed. It's not open for discussion." The blonde reached down and put a hand on her shoulder to guide her towards her own bedroom.
"No." She pulled her shoulder away from her aunt's hand. "Can I please sleep in your bed? I missed Franky, and I like sleeping with you."
Bridget was surprised at how quickly the young girl was able to switch her gameplan, going from defiant one moment, to sad and puppy dog eyes the next.
"No. We talked about this, remember?" She tried again to get Emily to move, but her niece stood her ground.
"Why can't I sleep in your bed?" The young girl looked at the two women.
Bridget sighed. "Em, when you were having trouble sleeping because you were upset that Franky was gone, I said that you could stay with me until she was home. That was the deal, and you agreed, yeah? You promised you'd go back to sleeping in your bed. You know you have to keep your promises, so I need you to do that now please."
"I'll still be here in the morning, bub. We'll have all day tomorrow together, too." Franky thought that maybe Emily was worried that she'd sneak out sometime through the night, the same way she'd snuck in this morning.
The young girl reluctantly turned, and went into her bedroom.
"Do you want a story tonight?" Bridget asked from the doorway.
"No." Emily pulled the blankets over her head.
"Okay, goodnight, love." The blonde closed the bedroom door. "It's been a long day, what do you say we call it a night, too?"
"Sounds good to me. I'll go pick up the stuff outside and make sure the fire is out." Franky gave her a quick kiss and headed back out to the patio.
When the brunette had finished outside, she entered the kitchen to find Bridget wiping down the counters. She walked up behind the blonde, and immediately felt the older woman press her back against her.
Bridget reached around to place a hand behind Franky's head. She looked back over her shoulder, and connected their lips. It was a bit awkward, but she was quickly getting lost in the kiss. She felt the brunette's hand reach around, and then her fingers trail lightly from her belly button, down to the waist of her pants.
Franky flattened her hand against the blonde's stomach, and slowly worked her hand in between her pants, and the fabric of her underwear. She moved her hand down, and let her fingers brush lightly over Bridget's clit. She felt the other woman moan against her lips.
"We should go to bed, baby," the blonde said, as she turned in Franky's arms.
The brunette grinned, bent her knees, and picked Bridget up so she could carry her over her shoulder. She heard a small giggle behind her from the older woman.
"Shh," Franky warned as she playfully spanked the other woman, which only earned her another giggle.
When they got to the bedroom, the brunette turned, and made sure to lock the door behind her. She walked over to the bed, and pulled down the blanket and sheet before placing Bridget on the soft linen.
The blonde let herself fall backwards, and reached up to pull Franky down on top of her. She pushed her body up against the younger woman, trying to make as much contact as possible.
The brunette reached up and turned Bridget's head to the side, allowing her to suck and bite at the skin on her neck. When she felt the blonde take hold of the hem of her shirt, Franky reached down, gathered both of her hands, and brought them above her head, pinning both of them there by the wrists with one of her own. She felt Bridget push against her again.
"Patience, Gidge," Franky murmured as she scraped her teeth over the blonde's earlobe. "You said I could do whatever I wanted, and I intend on taking my time. Unless you've changed your mind." She saw a small smile form on Bridget's lips, as the older woman shook her head. "Tell me how you want it, babe."
"I just want you." The blonde tried to pull one of her hands free, and felt Franky release both of them from her grasp. She put a hand behind the brunette's head, and pulled her down for a deep kiss.
The doorknob rattled then there was a faint knock. So faint, in fact that neither of them heard it the first time. A few seconds later it was there again; louder this time.
"Auntie Bridge? Franky?" Emily's voice came from the other side of the door.
"Yes, love?" Bridget asked as she broke their kiss.
"I'm thirsty. I need water." The young girl still sounded a bit upset.
"There are bottles of water in the fridge on the bottom shelf. You can take one back to your bedroom with you, just make sure you put the top back on when you're done drinking." The blonde always made sure there were some drinks and snacks where Emily could reach them in case she woke up hungry or thirsty. She knew it didn't happen often, but once in a while she'd find a bottle of water or a juice box in the young girl's room in the morning.
"Okay," Emily sighed.
They waited until they could see from the light coming in under the door, that she was no longer standing there. Franky began placing soft kisses on Bridget's neck once more, and started to work her hand under the soft fabric of her shirt.
"Auntie Bridge?" The soft voice on the other side of the door had returned.
"Yeah?" The blonde felt Franky stop her movements.
"I can't get it open. I need help." Emily tried the doorknob again.
"Okay, just a second." Bridget looked at the brunette. "I'm sorry, baby."
Franky shook her head, and gave the blonde a small smile. "It's okay." She didn't want Bridget to feel bad, the young girl could have just as easily asked for her instead.
The blonde opened the door just enough to stand there and talk to Emily.
"Here, let me see that." Bridget reached out and took the bottle that her niece held up to her, and easily opened the top before handing it back to her.
"Can I come in with you guys?" she asked, trying to look past the blonde into the room.
"No, you have to sleep in your room." Bridget stayed where she was, not giving Emily any opening she might interpret as an invitation to come in.
"What are you guys doing?" the young girl asked looking up at her. "I heard you talking."
Bridget briefly wondered how long she'd been standing there before she'd decided to knock.
"Yes, we were talking." The blonde reasoned that it wasn't a total lie. When Emily didn't make a move back to her room, Bridget tried once more to get her to move along. "Come on, time for sleep." She nodded across the hallway towards the young girl's door.
"Why can't I come in?" Emily tried once more to look past the blonde.
Bridget sighed. Maybe a bit of honesty was all that was going to work right now.
"Because Franky and I are spending some time together, just the two of us." The blonde studied Emily's face to see if she understood that meant they just wanted to be left alone.
"But…" The young girl started to get upset when she realized that this basically meant she was excluded.
"Hey, shh, love, listen." Bridget crouched down to talk to her niece. "You like to spend time with just me, and you like to spend time with just Franky, and it's fun sometimes to all spend time together, right?"
Emily nodded her head.
"I like all those things, too, but couples also like to spend time with just each other. We all spent all day together, and you and I have spent a lot of time together lately, and Franky will be here all day tomorrow for you to hang out with. Right now, she and I just want some time to talk and hang out with each other, and then we're going to sleep too. You're not missing out on anything fun, okay?" Bridget gave the young girl a small smile. "So go back and lay down, and try to sleep." She gave Emily a kiss on the cheek.
The young girl didn't say anything, and Bridget waited until she'd gone in her room and shut the door before she went back and joined Franky in their bed.
"We're not doing anything fun, huh?" Franky teased as she wrapped her arms around the blonde.
"You know what I meant." Bridget shook her head and smiled.
"Mhm." The brunette kissed the sensitive spot below the other woman's ear.
"Mmm, that feels nice," Bridget whispered softly.
"Franky?" Emily was at the door again. "Are you still awake?"
"We're going to sleep, bub. Go back to bed, okay? I'll see you in the morning." Franky felt a bit bad telling her to go away, but she knew that ultimately, what the young girl wanted was to stay in their bed, and that wasn't allowed.
Emily didn't say anything, but they could see from the shadow under the door that she'd left. They tried their best to pick up where they'd left off earlier, but they were both listening too carefully for every little sound outside the room, and waiting to see if it was Emily out of bed again.
"I don't think this is going to happen tonight," Franky sighed as she placed a final kiss on Bridget's lips.
"I'm sorry, baby." The blonde turned onto her side to face the younger woman.
"There's nothing to be sorry about." Franky wrapped her arms around her and held her close.
"I just keep thinking I hear her, and waiting for her to knock again." Bridget gave her an apologetic smile.
"I know, me too." The brunette gave her a soft kiss. "I like this though. Just holding you, and having you close."
The blonde pulled her in for a long, slow kiss.
"I like it, too." Bridget smiled.
They were both able to relax a bit, and enjoy each other once they had decided that sex was off the table for the night. At least if they were just cuddling and making out, they didn't have to worry about being interrupted in the middle of something, or have to worry that maybe they had forgotten to lock the door, and Emily would walk in and see something that she shouldn't.
When Bridget woke, the first thought in her mind was how good it felt to wake up being held. As soon as she moved a bit, she felt the brunette's arms tighten around her.
"Don't get up yet, babe," Franky mumbled, barely awake.
"I'm not." She kissed the younger woman's lips softly.
It took a few seconds, but once the brunette was fully awake, she deepened their kiss, and turned them so that she was on top of the blonde. She pushed her hips into Bridget, and was rewarded with a small moan.
"Are you guys awake?" Emily turned the knob, and stuck her head into the room.
Franky sighed. "I forgot to lock it when I came back from the bathroom during the night," she said quietly to the blonde.
"It's okay." Bridget gave her a quick kiss, and nudged her arm, so she'd move off her. "Yeah, we're awake."
Emily climbed onto the bed and made herself a space between them.
"Love, we need to talk about something." The blonde thought this would be a good time to talk about the issue of her running into their room without knocking. It was okay when she was younger, but she was getting old enough to understand that it wasn't polite.
"Am I in trouble?" Emily looked up at her aunt.
"No, you're not in trouble," Bridget said as she rubbed her back. "It's just, from now on, if the door is closed, we'd like you to knock, and wait for one of us to tell you it's okay to come in. If it's the middle of the night, and you need something, you can still just come in because knocking probably won't wake us. In the mornings, or any other time though, you need to knock."
"Why?" Emily asked quietly.
"Because it's the polite thing to do. Do you know what the word 'privacy' means?" The blonde knew this was a concept that children developed at different ages, but she figured the young girl should be able to understand it at least on a basic level.
"It's when…" Emily paused for a minute before she shook her head.
"Sometimes there are things that you prefer to do alone, right?" Bridget waited for an answer. When she got none, she continued. "When you use the bathroom, would you rather be alone?" Emily nodded her head. "And when you're in the shower, same thing?" She felt another nod. "And changing your clothes?" Another nod. "So that means that you want privacy when you do those things. You want to be alone. Let's make a rule that if you want to come into a bedroom or a bathroom, and the door is closed, you have to knock first."
"Okay." Emily appeared to be thinking. "Privacy is when you want to be alone, but you and Franky aren't alone in your bedroom."
The blonde silently cursed the fact that her niece was too smart for her age sometimes.
"That's different. There are special rules for couples. Kind of like what we talked about last night." Bridget hoped this would end the conversation.
"So you always want to be around Franky?" Emily's innocent question made her aunt smile.
"Well, I'd rather use the bathroom alone, but other than that, yeah." Bridget gave a small laugh.
The brunette let out a small laugh as well. "I'd prefer that too."
The young girl was quiet again for a moment, then simply said 'okay'. The blonde was glad the conversation was over.
They spent Sunday in much the same way as they had Saturday, except today Franky and Emily made breakfast instead of going to the café. After they'd eaten, the young girl asked to play checkers again, which prompted a short trip to the mall where they bought not one, but four new games from the toy store. The brunette had wanted to buy Emily her very own Rex, but Bridget insisted that the games were enough for one day, especially when it wasn't a special occasion.
"Why do you have to leave? We haven't played all the new games yet." Emily looked up at the brunette when she was told it was time to say goodbye.
"It won't be much longer until I'm back here all the time like normal." Franky crouched down and took hold of the young girl's hands. "You can learn them with Auntie, and then you guys can beat me when we get to play." The brunette gave her a big smile, which was returned. "Can I have a hug before I go?"
Emily nodded, and wrapped her arms around Franky.
"I love you." The brunette gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"I love you, too," she mumbled into Franky's shoulder.
The brunette stood, and held open her arms to Bridget. "I love you so much," she said as she wrapped her arms around the older woman.
"I love you, too. Kick some ass this week, okay? You got this." The blonde knew that this was the last week of filming and that in a few short days, Franky could be on her way to making her dreams come true.
"I will." The brunette gave her a soft kiss. She let go of Bridget, and picked up the small bag she'd brought with her. "I'll be back soon."
She gave them a final wave as she exited the door, and walked out to her car. Franky knew they were watching her, but she didn't look back until just before she sat in the car. Leaving was always the hardest part about getting to come home, but she took a deep breath and told herself that this was the last time she'd have to do it.
