"Auntie Bridge, I can see light outside. Can we get up now?" Emily peeked over her aunt's shoulder to look towards the window.
"Let's try to sleep a little longer, you've got a busy day ahead of you," Bridget said, pulling her niece closer.
Franky had asked Emily if she wanted to cook with her for the finale of the show during their phone call the night after she'd cleared it with the blonde. The young girl had, of course, responded with an enthusiastic 'yes'. Bridget had explained to her that she had to listen to Franky and Liz, and work hard and carefully. She still worried that the brunette's decision to include Emily in this was a mistake. She hoped that this wasn't a case of Franky's heart getting in the way of her better judgment. Bridget knew she had felt a lot of guilt about leaving them, and particularly missed cooking with the young girl. This was her idea of making up for some of that, but there was too much at stake, in the blonde's opinion, to let that guilt guide her. At the end of the day though, Franky was an adult, and Bridget had voiced her opinion, so if it was still what the brunette wanted, then she would allow Emily to participate.
To her surprise, the young girl had fallen back to sleep, and they were both woken by the alarm clock a couple of hours later. Emily didn't have to be on set until after nine that morning, and Bridget had cleared it with Vera that she'd be able to come in a bit late for work.
"Are you sure you have everything packed?" The blonde didn't want there to be any problems with Emily having forgotten something she'd need for the two nights she'd be away. Vera had agreed to meet her at the studio Friday after filming was done, and take the young girl back to her place from there.
"Yeah. I have clothes and pyjamas." Emily nodded, proud of herself that she'd remembered what she'd need.
"Underwear?" Bridget asked.
"Oh, oops." The young girl giggled, and walked over to her dresser to get the items she'd forgotten. "Can I take my knives?"
"We can take them, but you'll have to check with Franky to make sure you can have them there." The blonde knew that Franky had taken her own set, so it probably wouldn't be an issue, but she didn't want to make any promises that would lead to disappointment later on.
"Where will I sleep?" Emily looked at her aunt, suddenly concerned.
"You'll sleep in a room with Franky and Liz, and maybe a couple other people." Bridget wasn't sure if each team got their own room or if they would have to share with some members of the other team as well.
"I don't want to sleep in a room with strange people. Can I sleep with Franky in her bed?" The young girl gave her her best puppy dog eyes.
"Love, that's up to her." The blonde could see that her niece was nervous about the whole experience. "Listen, no matter what, Franky will look after you and make sure you're okay. You trust her to do that, right?"
"Yeah." Emily nodded.
"Okay. Try not to worry, then." Bridget gave her a reassuring smile.
Franky was waiting by the front entrance when she saw Bridget's car enter the carpark. Liz, Jenna, and Shayne were already inside. They had each been brought in by one of the crew members when they arrived, but part of the deal that the brunette had made with Jillian was that she would be with Emily the whole time she was on set. The producer didn't want her to be wandering around and get hurt, or be in the way of the crew trying to do their work.
"Hey, bub." Franky crouched down and held open her arms to greet Emily with a big hug.
"Franky!" The young girl wrapped her arms around the brunette tightly.
"It's so good to see you." Franky gave her an extra squeeze before she stood to greet Bridget. "Hey, Gidge." She placed a soft kiss on the older woman's lips.
"Hey." Bridget smiled, and leaned in for another kiss. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Franky said, smiling against the blonde's lips.
"I brought my knife set with me but Auntie said I had to ask you if I could have them here." Emily interjected, pulling them both out of their moment together.
"Uh, yeah, that's fine. We were allowed to bring our own with us, and it's probably safer for you to use the ones you're used to. Same rules apply as at home though. You can't use them unless me, Liz, or Shayne are there." She trusted Shayne, but she didn't include Jenna because she hadn't planned to let the young girl work with her. She figured that it would take all of Jenna's focus to keep on track, and she didn't want to give her any unnecessary distractions.
"When do we cook?" Emily asked, excitedly.
"The dinner service is tomorrow. We've got a lot of work to do first today though." She looked at Bridget. "We really should get going. I'm sorry, babe."
The blonde shook her head, and gave Franky a small smile. "It's fine. I need to get to work anyway."
"Before you go, Jillian said that Lucas and I can each invite two guests for the service. She said you guys wouldn't be able to vote, but you can come and have a nice dinner. I'd love to have you there to share this with me." She reached down and squeezed Bridget's hand.
"Of course, baby. I'll ask Vera if she'd like to come with me." The blonde returned Franky's hand squeeze and gave her another quick kiss before she left.
"Alright, you ready for this?" the brunette asked, looking down at the young girl.
Emily nodded.
"Okay, let's go put your things away, and then we have to go to wardrobe and get you a proper kitchen outfit." Franky led her onto the set. She felt the young girl take her hand, and hold on tightly as they walked through the hallways.
When they got to the dorms, Franky led her into one of the bedrooms. They were assigned based on teams now, not male and female as they had been during the rest of the show. Jillian said the reasoning for that had been because she figured each team would have their own schedules, and she didn't want a team of early risers to get up in the morning and wake a team who had chosen to pull an all-nighter instead.
"This is your bed, bub," Franky said, placing Emily's bag down on it.
"Where are you sleeping?" the young girl asked as she looked at the rows of beds.
"Mine's the one on the end, so you're right beside me." The brunette pointed to the bed in the corner of the room. She had picked that one so that she could face the wall and have some privacy from the cameras and other contestants.
"Can I sleep with you in yours?" Emily asked, softly.
"Sure." Franky wasn't going to argue with her. She knew Bridget had been letting her sleep in their bed while she'd been gone, and she didn't want her to get upset and have a restless night. "We'll put Liz in the bed next to us, how's that?" She moved Emily's bag to her bed, and set Liz's on the one next to theirs.
Franky had taken Emily to the wardrobe department, and not surprisingly, they didn't have an outfit that fit her properly. They took her measurements, and assured the brunette that they'd have something for her before they started actually working in the kitchen. Franky figured it would take them the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon to decide on their menu, then they'd take a meal break before they started on any prep work.
"What's this?" Lucas asked when Franky and Emily entered the living room area where he and his team were hanging out.
"This," Franky smiled. "Is the last member of my team, Em."
"But she's a ch-" He stopped talking when he saw the look the brunette was giving him. "Well, welcome, Em."
The rest of Franky's team was out on the patio, so she and Emily continued out there to join them. When the young girl saw Shayne and Jenna, she stepped a bit closer to the brunette.
"So, Em, I know you already know Liz." Franky reached down, and put her hand on the back of Emily's shoulder. "This is Shayne, and Jenna. They were both on the Red team with me, and I chose them to come back and be on my team now."
"They're your friends?" she asked, looking up at Franky.
"Yeah, they're my friends," the brunette said, smiling at her. "Why don't you have a seat with Liz, and we'll start talking about the menu?"
The young girl took a seat between Liz and Shayne on the couch while Franky set up a small whiteboard to start writing down ideas.
"Okay, so what I'm thinking is a key element to our success, is making sure the dishes we choose are something that we can pull off consistently well. It's no good to have a menu filled with fancy foods if you can't deliver an excellent end product. We need to impress with our execution of the dishes, our consistency, and our ability to do all of that quickly." The brunette began writing headings on the board. "We need apps, main dishes, and desserts. I'm thinking three of each, minimum, and some vegetarian or vegan options mixed in, or at least dishes that we could make vegetarian with just a small modification if requested. Anyone have anything that comes to mind?"
"I have a vegan couscous cake recipe that my friend gave me. It would be a great appetizer." Jenna was the first to speak up.
"Okay, good." Franky wrote her idea on the board. "Is that something we can prep ahead?"
"For sure, they're supposed to be baked for fifteen to twenty minutes at the end but we could partially cook them ahead then finish them in a pan. She had a cucumber and sprout salad for the side, too," she added, as Franky continued to write.
"Bacon stuffed mushrooms with sweet corn." Liz chimed in.
"Ooo, yeah, those are delicious." The brunette had had the chance to sample those on many occasions, and they were one of her favourite dishes that Liz made.
"Could you do a vegetarian option without bacon?" Shayne asked her.
"I suppose you could. Might need a little more salt for seasoning, but it should work." Liz nodded her approval of the idea.
"Love it." Franky put a star beside it on the board.
"What about a deviled crab crèpe or omelette? It's got some scallions, chilies, lemon zest, and herbs." Shayne offered his first suggestion. "Easy to prep the fillings ahead and just warm it while the eggs cook."
"That sounds really good. Since it's an appetizer I'd probably make it as a crèpe just to make it a bit lighter. I bet it would be good on a breakfast menu as an omelette too," Franky said as she turned around to write it on the board with the others.
"What about just a classic pan fried pork chop with some garlic and herb mashed potatoes for a side?" Liz offered another suggestion.
"Good one. We'll have to be really careful about making sure the pork is fully cooked the whole way through." Franky knew that you could get away with a pink center in some meats, but pork and chicken were definitely ones to be careful about. "I had a parmesan crusted salmon one time that was amazing. We could pair it with a nice salad."
"I like the little things you make with the funny name." Emily spoke up for the first time. "You said they were Italian."
"Gnocci?" Franky said the only thing that came to mind matching that description, and saw Emily nod. "I think we made the one with the squash mixed in and the sage butter," she said as she wrote. "Okay so that's three apps and three mains. What about dessert?"
"Chocolate souflée? It's classic, fast, and simple." Jenna remembered it was one of the dishes that she was good at during filming.
"Yep." Franky noted the suggestion.
"The cookie and ice cream!" Emily added excitedly.
"That's one of your favorites isn't it?" Franky winked at her. "Can I put you in charge of making the cookies for those tonight?" The brunette was glad that she had found something that the young girl could do mostly on her own to contribute.
"Yeah, we made those all the time!" the young girl said with a huge smile on her face.
"What's the connection there?" Jenna asked Shayne very quietly as she looked at Franky, then Emily.
"Her kid," he replied equally as quiet. He didn't really know what they called each other, but he knew that Franky thought of the young girl as her own.
"Oh…" Jenna still looked like she had questions, but didn't say anything more.
"Tiramisu?" the brunette asked the group. "It can be made ahead and we can add some ice cream or dark chocolate sauce just before we serve it." She saw the rest of the team nod, and added it to their list. "I think this looks good guys. Anyone have anything to add, or see any potential issues?"
"It just looks like a lot of prep work, but the actual service shouldn't be too bad." Liz gave her a smile.
"Good, and that's why we're starting our prep work as soon as we have some lunch." Franky checked her watch. "We'll meet in the red kitchen in an hour."
"Oh, you look adorable, love!" Liz exclaimed when she saw Emily enter the kitchen.
Franky had taken Emily back to the wardrobe department after they'd finished eating their lunch, and as promised, they had an exact child-sized copy of the outfit ready for her. She, along with the rest of Franky's team had jackets with red across the shoulders, while the brunette wore her black jacket.
"Okay, so let's get as much prep done as we can today, and hopefully we'll be able to sleep in a bit in the morning. Jenna, you good to do your couscous cakes?" the brunette looked at the young woman.
"Yep, we can do everything today expect pan-frying them. They actually hold together better if they sit overnight." Jenna had made this dish many times, and she was comfortable with it.
"Perfect." Franky nodded as she looked through the list she'd made of things that needed to be done.
"I can do the filling for the mushrooms, some with and some without the bacon." Liz had perfected her version of this recipe, and she wanted to be the one to make it.
"Right on." The brunette checked another item off the list. "Em, you're doing the chocolate chip cookies for the ice cream sandwiches, yeah?" She saw the young girl nod. "Okay, I want you to work beside Liz in case you have any questions. And no using the oven without one of us there to help you. I think a salted caramel sauce to put on the side would go well, so I'll help you with that when you're done with the cookies. Shayne, you can start with the filling for the crab crèpes, and I'll make the gnocchi. There's lots of little stuff to be prepped too. We need the cucumber and sprout salad to go with the couscous cakes and the garlic and herb mashed potatoes to go with the pork chops. We may actually have to butcher the pork chops ourselves; I'll have to see what kind of meat they brought in for us. Em, when you're done with the cookies, you can help chop up veggies and stuff or peel potatoes, but you know the knife rule."
Emily gave her a small nod. She remembered very well her punishment for breaking that rule before.
"Okay, let's get started." Franky stood, and headed to the walk-in fridge to check on some of their ingredients.
"What's the deal with the kid?" Lucas entered the fridge not far behind her.
"What do you mean?" the brunette shrugged.
"I mean why do you have a child on your team for one of the most important nights of your life?" he asked as he looked through one of the shelves.
"You're assuming a lot about my life there, Lucas." Franky didn't like people prying into business, and as far as she was concerned, her team and why she chose who she did, was her business and hers only.
"You know what I mean." He sighed. "Why not pick someone you can win with?"
"I can win with her." She started to gather the few items she needed for her dish.
"Listen, I'm not trying to pick a fight here or anything. I like you, I do, it just kind of seems like a foolish decision." Lucas turned and headed for the door.
"Thanks for your concern, but I'll be fine." Franky heard the door close behind him.
Franky had to admit to herself she'd had her doubts about choosing Emily for her team. Not so much because of her cooking ability, but because it would be a long day, and she worried the young girl would tire faster than the adults. To her surprise though, Emily only required one additional break than the rest of them took, and she never complained once. The brunette had actually been the one to send her for her extra break. She could tell the young girl was getting a bit agitated, so she quickly made her a small snack, and took her to a nearby booth to eat and relax by herself for a few minutes. After that, everything went fine for the rest of the day.
They had just finished eating a very late dinner, and Emily was curled up on Franky's lap on the couch outside. Liz was relaxing on one of the lounge chairs.
"You did a good job today, kid," Shayne said to the young girl as he sat down beside them. "I brought you this." He handed her a popsicle, then unwrapped one for himself.
"Thanks." Emily unwrapped hers.
As they sat and chatted, Franky noticed the young girl looking at the tattoo on Shayne's arm. She reached out slowly to touch it the same way she had done to the brunette's cherry blossom one.
"Hey, bub." Franky reached up and guided Emily's hand away from him. "We don't touch people without asking."
"I just like his tattoo," she said quietly.
"I know, but you can't do that. You wouldn't like it if someone touched you, right?" the brunette asked, and Emily shook her head.
"You like tattoos?" Shayne asked.
"Yeah, they're pretty. Can I see yours?" The young girl looked up at Franky, who nodded her approval of the question.
"Sure." He laid his arm on his thigh so that she could see his heart tattoo.
"It's pretty." She studied it while she ate her treat. "Auntie Bridge has one too."
"Ah, so she's a cool chick too like Franks." Shayne gave a small laugh.
"Yeah, you'll get to meet her tomorrow. She and her friend, Vera, are coming to the dinner service." The brunette brushed a piece of hair from Emily's face.
"And is Vera perhaps single?" He watched Franky to see her reaction.
"Vera is perhaps off limits to you," the brunette said with a sidewards glance.
"Aw, come on," he said with a smile, shaking his head.
Franky saw that Emily had finished eating her popsicle, and took it as an opportunity to end the current conversation with Shayne.
"Let's get you showered, then I think it's time for bed, yeah? We've got a big day tomorrow." The brunette helped her off her lap, and took her inside.
Franky took the young girl to the bathroom she'd claimed as her own, and adjusted the water for her since the faucets were a bit different than the ones they had at the house.
"I'll be across the hall in the bedroom when you're done," the brunette said as she closed the door behind her.
Franky changed into her pyjamas, and climbed into her bed. Before Emily had returned from the shower, the rest of the team had joined her. Once she'd settled in beside the brunette, Shayne got up, and turned off the lights in the room.
The young girl cuddled in close, and Franky put her arm around her and placed a kiss on the top of her head.
"When are you coming home?" Emily asked in a sleepy voice.
"No matter what happens tomorrow, I'll be there on Saturday when Vera drops you off, and things will be back to normal." It made the brunette feel good that she could finally, and with confidence, give her a concrete answer and know that it wouldn't change. Whether she won, or lost, she was going home, and maybe that was the best prize of all.
"I missed you." The young girl cuddled in closer. "So did Auntie."
"I missed you guys, too." For Franky, being away from them had definitely been the hardest part of being on the show. The brunette glanced around to make sure they weren't disturbing the others with their conversation. It appeared that Jenna and Shayne were already asleep. She could tell Liz was still awake, but when they made eye contact, the older woman simply shook her head, indicating that they weren't bothering her.
"I liked that I got to sleep in the bed with her, but I like it better when you're both there and I can sleep between you." Emily sighed.
It seemed to Franky like the young girl had some things she needed to get off her chest.
"Yeah? Why is that?" The brunette rubbed Emily's back, trying to keep her calm while they talked.
"I have dreams. There are monsters and they come and take you and Auntie away during the night, just like they did my mom and dad." She took in a shaky breath.
Franky was quiet for a moment, then something clicked.
"Em, when your mom passed away, was it during the night, and you found out in the morning when you woke up?" Franky felt the young girl nod. She knew that the same thing had happened when Tim had his accident; it was during the night, and she and Bridget had told her about it in the morning. "Have you told Auntie or Brad about the dreams?"
Emily shook her head. "Just you. I don't want to tell them."
"Why not? You know you can tell me and Auntie anything." The brunette wasn't so concerned with her not wanting to tell the psychologist, she understood not wanting to open up to strangers, but she didn't want Emily to start feeling like she couldn't openly talk to both her and Bridget.
"You're like me. You lost your mom and dad, too," she said as she buried her face against Franky's shoulder.
"Yeah, I did. Then I found Liz, and she didn't leave me. You have Auntie and me, and we're not going to leave you. Even though she didn't lose her parents, she will understand how you're feeling if you tell her what you told me. She loves you very much." The brunette wasn't going to force Emily to tell Bridget anything if she didn't want to, but she hoped that maybe, with some encouragement, she'd make the decision on her own to share her feelings with the other woman as well.
"I know. You both love me."
"Yeah, we do." Franky looked up to see Liz dry her eyes on the sleeve of her pyjamas. "We should try to get some sleep."
Franky's team had done a lot of work the day before, which gave them an easy morning and afternoon before the service. They were now all dressed, and setting up their stations in the kitchen as the guests were being seated in the dining room.
"Okay, so remember, the key to this service tonight is to stay calm and stay focused. You all know these dishes, so just take a deep breath, and we'll get through it." The brunette saw her teammates nod in agreement. "You each have your stations, but Em you'll be kind of a floater helping out in different places. You can do the sprinkles on the ice cream sandwiches then plate them with the cups of sauces, you can plate the side salads, you can get the pots of garnish ready to be heated when I call out the orders, anything else just check with me or Liz first, alright?" Franky wasn't worried about her messing something up, but just that she'd try to do something she shouldn't and get hurt.
"Hey, baby."
The brunette turned to see Bridget just inside the entrance of the kitchen from the dining room. She was wearing a navy blue dress with a subtle shimmer woven into the fabric, and a wrap of the same material draped loosely over her arms and around her back. It was cut just low enough to show off her shoulders and collarbones with a hint of cleavage, and fell just above her knees. Franky couldn't help but just stare for a few seconds, making the blonde blush slightly.
"Gidge," she said with a huge smile on her face. Franky walked over, and took her in her arms. "You look beautiful; that dress is amazing."
"Thanks." Bridget smiled back at her before leaning in close to whisper in her ear. "You can take it off me later." The blonde took Franky's face in her hands and gave her a long, deep kiss.
The brunette placed a hand on each of Bridget's hips, and held her in place against her. They hadn't shared more than a kiss in over a month. When Franky heard a whistle from someone in the Blue kitchen, she briefly removed one of her hands from the blonde's hip to give them the finger.
"I love you," the brunette said as she parted their lips.
"I love you, too, and I'm so proud of you. Good luck tonight." Bridget gave her a quick kiss.
"Ahem." Shayne cleared his throat behind them in the kitchen.
"I think someone wants to meet you," Franky said with a small laugh. She turned, and put her arm around the blonde. "Gidge, you already know Em and Liz, but this is Jenna, and Shayne."
Jenna gave a small nod from her station, while Shayne came over to greet her with a big smile.
"You must be Bridget, it's good to finally meet you." He reached out to shake her hand.
"Nice to meet you, too. You cooked for me at the kid's lunch service. It was delicious," the blonde said, taking his hand.
"I just wanted to say good luck today, Franky."
The brunette turned to see that Vera had appeared by her side.
"Thank you. It means a lot to have you guys here." Franky gave her a quick hug, and a kiss on the cheek.
"Okay, fifteen minutes until showtime everyone!" Jared announced from the front of the kitchens.
"I'll see you in a few hours." Bridget gave her another kiss, then gave Emily a hug before she left with Vera to go back to their table.
Franky paced back and forth, trying to stretch out her tense shoulder muscles while she waited for the first orders to come in. It wasn't long before the waiter placed the first ticket on the counter for her to call out.
"Table three, four covers, two vegan couscous, one stuffed mushrooms and one deviled crab." The brunette took a deep breath and fought back a wave of nausea. She looked out over the crowd of diners and found where Bridget and Vera were sitting. Knowing that the blonde was out there, and Liz and Emily were in the kitchen behind her helped to calm her nerves a bit. She grabbed the next ticket. "Table seven, two covers, two stuffed mushrooms."
It wasn't long before the first orders arrived for her to send out. She checked them over quickly, and deemed that everything was good before calling for a waiter to come deliver them.
Out of the corner of her eye, she kept watch on the blue kitchen to see how things were going over there. It seemed like they were sending out their apps at an almost unbelievable speed. She focused her attention back on her own team. She couldn't let herself worry about what was going on over there.
Every time she turned around and looked back at the kitchen, her team was working with looks of deep concentration on their faces, and Emily had found something helpful to do. Whether it was stirring something so it wouldn't burn, or getting a side salad ready, she was always busy.
She glanced over, and it appeared that the Blue team had moved on to the main courses. Franky still had two more tables worth of apps to send, but she was confident that they could keep up a good pace. Finishing first wasn't one of the things they were being judged on, but she knew it was an indication of how well she ran the kitchen. Also, diners didn't like to wait too long for their meals, especially if they could see that one half of the room was being served faster than the other. It could reflect badly in their ratings at the end if one team fell too far behind the other.
As soon as the last of their apps were sent, she went back to the first ticket to call out the main courses.
"Main courses, table three, four covers. We've got two salmon, one pork chop, one gnocchi." She saw Emily grab a pot, and scoop the mashed potatoes to go with the pork chop.
"Come on, man, that fish is raw!" Lucas's voice carried over from the Blue team's kitchen. "Yes it is! Come look at it! Start over." He dumped the food into the trash bin. "Oh, come on!"
Franky glanced over and saw the waiter returning to the other kitchen carrying a plate of food.
"The New York strip for table nine was supposed to be medium, not well." Lucas dumped the second plate of food of the night into the trash bin. "Yes, I want another one! Urgently!"
The brunette thought that maybe the speed of the Blue team had been misleading, and now it was coming back to haunt them.
Shayne brought up the pork chop for the first order, and Franky touched it with the tip of her finger.
"Shayne." She motioned for him to come back. "Just give it like another minute in the pan. It's probably fine, but just to be safe."
"Sure thing." He took the plate from her, and headed back to the stove.
Honestly, Franky was surprised how well the service was going for her team. She had seen the menu Lucas and his team had come up with, and it was all very fancy fine dining dishes. She knew they were impressive, but they weren't ones she'd try to pull off in a situation like this. If she was catering a dinner party at someone's house for a handful of people, maybe, but not when there's half a restaurant of diners to get through in a competitive situation. She knew their menu was simpler, and right now that seemed to be working in their favor as she saw another waiter headed back to the Blue kitchen with a plate in hand.
"Goddammit." Lucas's voice cut through the kitchen again.
"Alright, come on guys, we're doing really good, let's keep it up." She said it just as much to motivate her team as she did in the hopes that the other team would overhear and know how well things were going for Franky.
They'd made it to the desserts with only one dish coming back to them. In Franky's opinion, there was nothing wrong with the way the salmon was cooked, and it came down to the diner's personal preference, but she wasn't going to bother to argue over it.
"Okay, guys, we're on to the desserts. I know it's been a long night, but we're almost there." The brunette grabbed the first ticket, and read out the order. "Back to table three for the first round of desserts. Four covers; two ice cream sandwiches, a tiramisu, and a souflée."
Jenna started on the souflée while Shayne began to plate the tiramisu. Liz was helping Emily with the ice cream sandwiches. She would scoop the ice cream and place it between the two cookies, then the young girl would roll the edge in the sprinkles and fill a small dish with the salted caramel sauce that she and Franky had made the day before.
The brunette heard a crash behind her, and turned to see that Emily had dropped the metal tray she'd been carrying to the front that held the ice cream sandwiches and dishes of sauce. They young girl looked at the mess on the floor, then at Franky.
"Hey, it's okay," the brunette said, as she bent to pick up the food off the floor. "Lots of time to make more." She gave her a reassuring smile, as she threw the cookies into the trash bin, and grabbed a towel to wipe up the spilled sauce as best she could. She could see that Liz was already making two new sandwiches, even before Emily had made it back to their workstation.
The dinner service was coming to an end, and Franky was pleased with how it had gone. She could see that the Blue team was still working on their last few orders, but it was the diner's ratings that mattered, not their speed. She'd seen a couple more dishes come back to their kitchen after the initial two, and she figured that might hurt them in the end.
"You did so well tonight, bub." The brunette gave Emily a big hug when the service had finished. "I'm proud of you."
Franky gave each of her team members a hug, and a thank you for all of their hard work.
The serving staff waited until the diners had all finished their food before they handed out the cards where they would give their meal an overall rating based on wait times, menu selection, and of course, the taste of the dish itself. Franky felt like it was taking forever, so she tried to busy herself packing up hers and Emily's knife sets, and cleaning up in the kitchen even though they weren't expected to do that part tonight.
After almost an hour, Jillian called everyone to the front where Jared was waiting with the envelope containing the rating results. Bridget joined Franky, and Lucas's wife and brother joined him. The brunette had invited Vera to stand with her as well, but the governor said she preferred to remain off-camera as much as possible. Franky put her arm around the blonde and held her close against her side. It felt comforting to have her near.
"First of all, I'd like to say congratulations to both chefs. You both worked very hard throughout the whole competition, and you definitely deserve to be standing here today. To the teams, I must say there were some unique choices made." Jared glanced towards Franky's team, and Emily. "But you seemed to make it work. The ability to adapt and be creative is important in this line of work. I have here the results of the diner's ratings, but first I'd like to offer some final comments to each of you on your performances tonight. Lucas, you put together an exquisite menu with some very delicious, but complicated dishes. Unfortunately, that hurt you in the end. You went too big, and your team was unable to execute it with the consistently high quality that was needed. Franky, your menu was a bit more toned down, but in my opinion, the dishes you chose would have appealed to a greater audience than perhaps the overly ambitious ones Lucas chose. You knew your team's strengths, and which role each person needed to fill in order to have the night go smoothly. Because of that, you only had one dish come back. I was very impressed with what I saw coming out of your kitchen tonight."
Franky felt Bridget's hand on her back, moving slowly back and forth. She knew her nerves were making her fidgety, and the blonde was trying to subtly calm her down.
"Alright, I won't drag this out any longer." Jared gave a small laugh as he opened the envelope. "These ratings are out of ten. Lucas, your overall score, as determined by your diner's ratings was nine point three. Very well done. Franky, wow this was very close." He gave a small shake of his head. "Franky, your overall score was nine point five. Congratulations!"
It took the brunette a moment to fully realize what he'd just said. She felt Bridget's hand against her cheek.
"Baby, you did it!"
Franky looked down to see the blonde smiling up at her. "I did it."
Bridget nodded and the brunette wrapped her arms around her and lifted her off her feet, spinning them both around a couple of times before she sat her back down on the ground and connected their lips.
One of the waiters arrived with a bottle of sparkling white grape juice for Franky to share with her team, and a tray full of glasses. She had specifically requested no alcohol, for a few reasons, if they won. The main reason was Emily. They still didn't drink in front of her, and Franky wanted her to be able to share the whole experience with them, including the celebratory toast. The second reason was that she knew that she and Bridget were heading to the hotel afterwards, and after a long day, she'd be tired. Adding alcohol to that would probably mean she'd be asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, which was definitely not what she wanted.
Franky opened the bottle, and poured a glass for each of her team members, as well as Bridget and Vera. The governor accepted the glass, but still stayed as much to the edge of the action as possible.
"First of all, I just want to say thank you to all of you. Without each of you, I wouldn't be here right now. Liz, you were the one who took me in and cared for me when no one else did. You helped me find my love of cooking, and made sure I worked hard to pursue that passion. Shayne and Jenna, I couldn't have done it tonight without you guys and all your hard work. Your friendship and support through this whole process made the time here, away from my family, seem a little brighter. Em, my little sous chef." Franky paused and took a deep breath. She could feel herself getting emotional. "I'm so proud of you, you worked hard for me these past couple of days. I'm so glad that our paths crossed, and that we found our shared passion for cooking. This is just the first of many adventures we'll have together. Vera, we've been through a lot, and you've become a good friend. Thank you for having my back, and thank you for being such a great friend to Gidge and Em. I know having me away wasn't easy for them, and you've stepped in, and offered your support when they needed it. It definitely put me at ease while I was here, knowing that they had you around. Gidge." The brunette looked into the blonde's eyes. There was so much she wanted to say, yet she wasn't sure she could put it into words. "I love you so much. I would have never been able to do this without your support and encouragement. Whenever I was having a hard time in here, I just thought of everything you'd told me leading up to this, and reminded myself that I wasn't just doing this for me, but for you, and Em as well. For my family." She reached up and swiped the tears away from each cheek. She held up her glass. "To family and friends."
"To family and friends," the group repeated after her before all taking a drink.
Lucas and Jared both made their way over after Franky finished her speech to congratulate her on a job well done. It wasn't long after that, that a crew member came around and gathered up the mics they were all wearing.
"Can I just have everyone's attention for a minute?" Jillian raised her voice to be heard over the group. "I'd just like to say thank you for making my first show as producer a success, and I'd also like to say congratulations to both of the finalists and especially to our winner, Franky. You worked hard, and you deserve it. Lastly, all the mics and cameras are off now, so you're free to relax, hang around for a bit if you'd like, or I totally understand if you just want to get the hell out of here." She laughed at her own joke as did most of the group. "But again, just thank you."
"What do you say, Gidge? We'll get Em to hop in the shower before she leaves with Vera, then I'll pack up my bag and we can get out of here?" Franky whispered next to the blonde's ear, then placed a soft kiss on her cheek.
"Sounds great, baby." Bridget gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
Franky took Emily back to the dorm, and got the shower ready for her the same as she had the night before. She could tell the young girl was tired, but after a full day in the kitchen, she didn't want to send her to Vera's without getting her cleaned up first. A shower was on the top of her list as well when she and Bridget got to the hotel. She didn't think the blonde would put up too much of an argument against that.
She went across the hall to gather her things while Emily was in the bathroom. She opened the small closet that belonged to her during her stay, and took out the small suitcase she'd brought with her. As she was placing her clothes into the bag, she heard Vera and Bridget talking as they made their way to the bedroom. She smiled at them when they entered the room.
"That was a lovely speech." Vera smiled.
"I meant every word. Thank you for protecting them like I would." Franky held Vera's gaze until the governor gave her a small nod. Bridget had told her about the incident in her office with Julia where Vera had stepped in to defend her. "Em's just in the shower, then she'll be ready to go." The brunette didn't like to dwell on the mushy stuff with most people, so she changed the subject.
"Oh, there's no rush." Vera took a seat on Franky's bed beside the blonde.
"Thanks for still taking her for the night. I know you've had a long evening, too," the brunette said as she folded the last couple items of clothing, and put them in her bag. She had everything packed now except her things from the bathroom which would have to wait until Emily was done in the shower.
"Oh, no worries. She's never any problem, and you guys deserve some time to yourselves." Vera looked at the ground, not wanting to give away that Bridget had told her they'd been interrupted by Emily multiple times the weekend before.
It wasn't long before Emily returned from having her shower. Bridget helped her pack up her things, and Franky went to the bathroom to gather the rest of her belongings. The young girl was excited when she learned that she got to keep the outfit that she'd worn on the show.
"Be good for Vera, okay? We'll see you tomorrow." The blonde gave her niece a hug, and a kiss on the cheek.
Emily said her goodbyes to Franky, then the rest of the team as she and Vera made their way out of the studio.
"Ready, baby?" Bridget took the brunette's hand.
"You bet." Franky gave it a squeeze.
They said goodbye to the others, then headed for the main doors of the studio.
"This is us." The blonde pointed to a fancy car with a driver waiting beside it.
"Gidge, no way." The brunette had just expected that they would take one of their cars to the hotel, but it seemed like Bridget had really gone all out.
"Good evening, ladies." The driver opened the back door for them as they approached the car.
They climbed into the back seat.
"Hot girl in a hot car," Franky said as she let her eyes roam over Bridget, then the interior of the car.
"Where to tonight?" the driver asked, looking back at them in the rearview mirror.
"The Grand Hyatt, please," Bridget replied.
He gave a nod, then pushed a button which raised the privacy glass, separating him from the two women.
Franky put her arm around the blonde and pulled her close against her side as they began the short trip to the hotel.
