"Good morning, babe." Franky placed a soft kiss on Bridget's lips as the blonde began to stir.

"Mm, you're awake early." The older woman snuggled in closer to her wife, and placed a kiss on her neck.

"I couldn't sleep." The brunette had been laying in the bed, listening to Bridget's slow, even breathing for the past hour, waiting until it was time for them to get up. Her body was tired, but her mind was busy.

"You can take the test today." The blonde smiled. It had taken her brain a moment to wake up enough that she registered what day it was. She pulled back, and saw a huge grin on Franky's face as well.

"Yeah. I've got a really good feeling about it this time. I was sick that morning, and didn't feel well on a couple other ones. Plus, I just keep having these weird feelings in my lower stomach." The brunette listed off everything that made her think the insemination had worked this time.

"Baby," Bridget placed her hand on the younger woman's cheek, "let's just wait, and see what the test says."

"I know, but I'm really feeling those things, it's not in my head." Franky knew what the blonde was suggesting; that she wanted this so bad, she was experiencing things that weren't really happening.

"I'm not saying it is." The older woman gave her a small kiss. "I'm just saying that there are explanations for all of those things other than being pregnant, and honestly it would be very early to be experiencing that many symptoms." She saw the look of sadness on her wife's face. "I want this too, baby, I really do, and I hope you're right."

"I know you do." The brunette gave a small nod. "I should do that now?" Franky hadn't intended for it to come out as a question.

"If you're ready." Bridget brushed her thumb across the younger woman's cheek. She would always be Franky's unwavering support, but she'd never push her. "Do you want me to wait here?"

"Yeah, I'll be back in a minute." The brunette gave her another kiss, then climbed out of bed and took a pregnancy test from the dresser drawer on her way out of the room.

"Please, please, please." The words were little more than a whisper as the blonde laid alone in the quiet bedroom, waiting for Franky to return. She wasn't religious, but she guessed this could be counted as a small prayer to any higher power who was listening. She heard the toilet flush, then the water running in the sink.

It was only a moment before the brunette slipped back into the room, and closed the door behind her. She sat the test on the edge of the dresser like she had the last time, and sat on the edge of the bed.

Bridget reached out, and placed her hand on the younger woman's back.

"Lay down with me." The blonde felt like it was important to have that connection with Franky while they waited.

"Hm?" The younger woman glanced behind her.

"Lay down." Bridget patted the space she'd made on the bed in front of her. "I want to hold you."

Franky laid down on her back in the spot the blonde had made for her, and immediately felt the other woman's arms wrap around her from the side. She let out a sigh of content as she felt Bridget's lips on her shoulder, and checked the timer she'd set on her phone.

"How much longer?" The older woman knew it was no use telling Franky not to watch the clock.

"Two and a half minutes." She dropped the phone onto the bed beside her. "I feel sick."

"It's just nerves, baby. Concentrate on my hand." Bridget moved her hand slowly over the younger woman's stomach. "Better?"

"A bit, yeah." Franky let out a small chuckle. "You did the same thing the night I ate too many oatcakes at Em's class."

"Yeah," the blonde smiled, "I remember that."

"I really miss teaching that class." The brunette turned her head so she could see Bridget's face.

"Maybe once the restaurant is up and running you could do a class or two back at the Centre if you want." The blonde saw a flicker of a smile on the younger woman's face.

"I'd like that a lot." She could still remember clearly that first day that Em had walked into her class.

They were pulled from their conversation by the sound of the alarm on Franky's phone. The brunette quickly turned it off, and reached for the test. She had her hand wrapped around it so as not to see the result before she was ready.

"You want me to look, and tell you what it says?" Bridget sensed that the younger woman was nervous to look at it, so she offered her an option.

Franky shook her head. "We'll both look together. Ready?"

"Yeah." The blonde smiled, and turned her attention to the item in the younger woman's hand.

When the brunette slid her hand away from the little screen, they both leaned in to try and read it.

"Negative." Bridget glanced to her left, and saw the silent tears in Franky's eyes. "You can take another in a couple days if you don't get your period. They said this would be the earliest it could show up, so maybe it just needs a bit more time." The blonde hated giving false hope, but she also hated seeing her wife hurting. The literature they'd been given had stated a range for the days when a pregnancy test would first come up positive, and right now they were at the minimum of that range.

"Yeah." The brunette wiped her cheek. "I just really thought it would be positive today."

"I know, baby." Bridget gave her a kiss on the cheek, and pulled her close. "Do you want me to stay with you today? I can call in sick."

"No." Franky shook her head. "I'll be okay. Working will be a good distraction for me."

"Okay." The blonde snuggled in closer against her. "We still have a couple minutes before I absolutely have to get up though."

"I love you," Franky said quietly, as she laced her fingers with Bridget's.

"I love you, too." The blonde squeezed the younger woman's hand gently, in reply.

"I'm so glad it's Friday," Franky said as she stood from the booth, and stretched.

"We taking the weekend off?" Shayne asked as he followed her lead.

"Yeah, I might have to work the next couple, so I want to spend some time with Gidge and Em." The brunette hated the thought of not spending Bridget's days off together, but she needed to get the restaurant up and running. After the initial kinks were worked out, she hoped she'd be able to turn it over to Shayne on the weekends, and any other days she wanted to have off.

"So what's my official title? Executive chef?" He saw the look Franky gave him. "Co-executive chef? No, wait, Assistant executive chef!" He gave her an intentionally overly charming smile.

"Assistant to the Executive Chef." Franky couldn't help but make the joke, earning her laughter from the young man. They both shared a love of 'The Office', and it was a perfect opportunity to use that line.

"Seriously though, Franks." Shayne didn't want to push her, but he felt like knowing what his role would be would make it more of a reality.

"Sous chef, I guess would be good. You're my 2IC, and I'm going to expect a lot from you." Franky had a hard time sitting back and letting other people do the work. She was a perfectionist when it came to her food, and especially when it came to her food in her restaurant.

"I can live with that." The young man was happy that someone was finally giving him a chance at his dream job, and he was willing to work however hard the brunette wanted. He planned to prove that her faith in him hadn't been misplaced.

"Good, because it wasn't open for debate." Franky gave him a hard time, and she knew she probably came across a bit harsh, but that was her way of protecting herself; something she still did after all these years. She was only really comfortable opening up to Liz, and Bridget. She had a closeness with Emily, and had shared some things with her, but most of Franky's past wasn't suitable for someone her age to hear.

The brunette felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. When she retrieved it, she saw that it was Emily's school calling. She hoped it wasn't the principal saying that the young girl wasn't feeling well again. Franky had felt good about the talk they'd had with her earlier in the week, and she'd be very disappointed if Emily was trying to fake being sick again just to be able to spend time with her.

"Hello?" The brunette prepared herself for what she thought was coming.

"Ms. Westfall?" It was Ms. Johns. "I have Emily here with me. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to come pick her up."

"Is she not feeling well?" Franky knew that she couldn't refuse to come get her, but she wanted to know what she was dealing with.

"Yes, she's fine." The principal paused. "She's been suspended again."

"What!?" The brunette couldn't help her reaction. It came out of her mouth before she had time to think. "Sorry, sorry. Uh, what happened?"

"I think it's best we discuss that once you get here." Ms. Johns preferred not to have these conversations at all, but when they were necessary, she wanted them to happen in person.

"Alright." Franky sighed. "I'll be right there."

The brunette angrily shoved her phone back into her pocket.

"Uh.." Shayne wanted to ask if everything was okay, but stopped himself. He could tell that it obviously wasn't.

"I'll be back." Franky knew he was trying to ask what was going on, but she was too upset right now to talk to him.

On the drive there, all that went through the brunette's mind was that there must have been another incident with the boy who had tried to hug her before. The more she played out that scenario in her head, the more angry she got. She couldn't believe that the school would be punishing her again for just defending herself. Emily was a good kid, and she couldn't think of anything else that she would have done.

When Franky arrived at the office, the secretary once again waved her through. She was beginning to feel like perhaps they were seeing her there too often.

"Ah, Ms. Westfall, please have a seat." Ms. Johns motioned to one of the chairs sitting in front of her desk.

The brunette glanced over to where Emily was sitting on the couch. The young girl didn't make eye contact with her.

"Em? You alright, bub?" Franky studied her, as she stepped towards the chair. She was ready to go be with her if needed, regardless of where the principal had asked her to sit.

The young girl still didn't make eye contact with her, but gave a small nod. Franky didn't like this at all.

"What happened?" The brunette sat down, but kept her body angled so that she could still see Emily out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm afraid there was an incident between Emily, and her teacher, Ms. Williams." The principal cleared her throat, and straightened a piece of paper that was sitting on her desk in front of her. "I think maybe it's best if she tells you the details herself. Emily?" She pointed to the second chair, beside Franky, and the young girl got up and made her way over.

"Tell me what happened." The brunette now had a feeling that this wasn't like the last time.

"I told Ms. Williams that I didn't want to do my worksheet." Emily glanced up, and saw no reaction yet from Franky. "I told her it was stupid, and boring. She said I had to do it anyway. Then I said something bad."

"You can say it, just this once, to tell Franky." Ms. Johns didn't condone the use of bad language, but she felt it was important that the child tell all the details themselves.

"I called her a bitch." Emily looked up to see the expression on the brunette's face, then quickly looked back at the floor.

"You what!?" Franky couldn't believe what she'd just heard. "Why did you do that?"

"Because it was boring, and I don't want to be here, I want to be with you." The tears were flowing down the young girl's cheeks now.

"Em, we talked about this!" The brunette tried to keep her voice level.

"I'm sorry!" She wiped her cheeks. "I'll go back to class."

"It's too late for that, Emily." The principal always felt bad when she had to punish an otherwise good student. "Since this is the second time, it will be a five day suspension, not counting today. You won't be allowed back for all of next week."

"Get your things." Franky was mad. She'd never truly been upset with the young girl before, so she told herself to keep calm until she had time to process everything.

"I said I was sorry!" Emily took in a shaky breath.

"Can we see her teacher before we leave?" The brunette knew that Beth was a sweet person, and she'd take the young girl's insult to heart.

"Am I allowed to go back?" Emily asked, hopefully.

"No. You're going to apologize to her." Franky stood. She'd heard enough, and it was time for the young girl to start making things right.

"I'll let her know you're on your way." Ms. Johns picked up the phone, then hesitated. "I'd like to speak with both you, and her aunt sometime, as well."

The brunette nodded, and held open the door for Emily, who began her slower than usual walk back to her classroom.

The young girl's teacher was waiting for them as they turned the corner.

"Hi." Ms. Williams greeted them with a polite smile.

"Hi." Franky tried to return the smile, but her heart wasn't in it. "Emily has something to say to you."

When the young girl didn't start to speak, the brunette reached down, and nudged her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." Emily looked up at her teacher, then turned her head and glanced behind her to see if Franky thought what she'd said was adequate. When the brunette was silent, the young girl turned back to her teacher, and continued. "And I didn't mean it." She looked down at the floor again.

"Thank you for the apology, Em." She gave the girl another small smile. "I'll see you when you get back."

Franky reached down, and guided Emily to the side.

"If you have any worksheets or anything that you were planning to do over the next few days, I can take them with me. I'll make sure they get done." The brunette had decided that next week wasn't going to be free time for the young girl.

"Sure, I'll be right back." She disappeared back into the classroom.

"Are we going home, or…" Emily got quiet when she looked up, and saw Franky glaring down at her.

"Here you go." She handed an envelope to the brunette. "If you have questions about anything, I check my email regularly during the school day."

"Thanks." Franky sighed, as she made eye contact with the young teacher "I'm sorry she called you that."

"All good," she said quietly. Ms. Williams of course wasn't saying that what Emily had done was okay. She was answering the brunette's silent question of whether or not she was okay.

Franky gave a small nod.

"Let's go." The brunette turned, and started to walk back to the main entrance. She heard a couple of quick steps behind her as Emily hurried to catch up with her, then eventually fell into stride beside her.

Emily was quiet on the drive back to the restaurant, and Franky glanced up often to check on her in the rear view mirror. The brunette was mad, and she knew that the young girl was upset. Her first instinct when she saw Emily start to cry was always to comfort her, but this time, she had to stand her ground, and not give in.

"Hey, kid," Shayne greeted the young girl when they arrived. He first caught the look of sadness on Emily's face, and thought maybe he could do something to cheer her up. Then he saw Franky, and realized he should be quiet until he knew what was going on.

"Down to the office." Franky motioned to the small hallway that went past the entrance to the kitchen.

"Can I sit wi-"

"Go." The brunette snapped her fingers loudly, and pointed towards her office again.

Emily walked slowly down the hall, as if delaying their arrival at the office would somehow change the fact that she was in trouble. When they got to the door, Franky held it open for the young girl.

"Franky, I'm sorry." Emily looked up at her with tears threatening to spill over again.

"Go sit at the desk." Franky followed her, and waited for her to get comfortable in the large chair. "I want at least two of these done today." She pulled the top two sheets from the envelope Ms. Williams had given her, and set them on the desk. "Now, stay here unless you really need something."

"What about lunch? It's almost time." She looked up at the brunette again with her sad eyes.

"You can come out and eat with us, but then as soon as lunch is over you're back in here doing schoolwork." Franky was careful not to say 'as soon as you're done eating', as she knew the young girl might take that as an invitation to eat as slowly as possible.

The brunette turned and left. She could hear Emily crying, and it took everything in her not to turn back, and at least give her a hug.

"You alright?" Shayne asked as she joined him at the table.

Franky simply sighed, and shook her head. "She called her teacher a bitch because she thought that class was boring, and she wanted to be here. So now she's suspended for all of next week."

"Wow, I mean faking sick to come here is one thing, but…" The young man didn't know how to finish his thought. Emily was a good kid, and what the brunette had just told him was totally out of character for her.

"I need to call Gidge, and let her know." Franky reached into her pocket for her phone.

Normally the brunette wouldn't have bothered her at work, at most she would have sent a text, but she felt like this was something that Bridget needed to know about as soon as possible.

Bridget had to listen to her voicemail a second time to make sure she'd heard correctly. She'd just finished a session, and decided to check her phone before she started her paperwork.

"...picked Em up from school. She got suspended for something she said to her teacher.

I made her apologize before we left. I had to bring her back here…"

She could hear the weariness in Franky's voice. The brunette had been dealing with the bulk of the parenting duties lately when Emily had said she wasn't feeling well, and Bridget knew it was her turn to step up. She dropped her phone back into her bag, and headed for Vera's office.

The blonde glanced through the large windows as she approached the governor's office, and her friend waved her inside.

"Bridget." Vera greeted her with a smile, but quickly read the expression on her face. "Everything okay?"

"I just got a call from Franky." Bridget gave her an apologetic smile. "I need to go home. Em's gotten herself suspended, and Franky is up to her neck at the restaurant. I just need to go take care of this. I'll make up the time somehow."

"She wh-...how did she?" Vera almost couldn't comprehend what the blonde was saying. "Actually, just, we'll talk later, just take care of whatever you need to. I'm not worried about your work, you always get everything done."

"There is one more thing. A favor." Bridget knew she would be pushing her luck with this request. "I'm supposed to have a session with Lana in a half hour." She hesitated.

"Do you want me to let her know something came up, and you'll have to reschedule?" The governor thought this was a simple enough request.

"No. In the fridge in the lunchroom, along with what I brought for you, there's one for her as well. Can you make sure she gets it, and has somewhere to eat?" The blonde was hoping Vera wouldn't ask too many questions. She wasn't violating any policies that she was aware of, but she knew she wasn't exactly following protocol either.

"You've been….feeding her?" Vera wasn't sure what she'd been expecting her friend to ask her to do, but this certainly wasn't it.

"Yes, well...yes. The inmates weren't letting her eat, and…" Bridget shrugged as if the rest were self explanatory.

"Okay, fine. I'll figure something out for today, but you and I need to talk about this when you're back." Vera switched out of governor-mode. "Go deal with Em. I'm here if you need someone to talk to."

"Thanks." The blonde gave her a quick nod, and headed back to her office to gather her things.

During the entire drive there, Bridget thought of how she was going to deal with Emily. She didn't know the circumstances yet, but if Franky's tone in the voicemail was any indication, it wasn't good.

She parked in front of the restaurant. As she walked to the door, she looked up and noticed that the sign bearing the establishment's name had been installed. She remembered the night that Franky told them what she'd chosen, and why. The blonde thought it was beautiful that she'd included each of the special people in her life somehow.

Franky and Shayne both turned to look at her when they heard her walk in.

"Gidge, hey." The brunette stood, and walked to meet her. She gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "I didn't mean for you to leave early." Franky was now worried that maybe her message had come across the wrong way.

"I know, baby," She reached up and placed her hand against Franky's cheek. "We should talk."

"I'm going to go get a snack. You guys want anything?" Shayne knew when he should make an exit.

The brunette gave a small shake of her head.

"No, thanks though." Bridget watched as he left, then turned her attention back to her wife. "Let's sit." She took the brunette's hand, and led her over to the couch in the corner. "Em's in your office?"

"Yeah." Franky let herself drop onto the seat. She rested her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. "I didn't know what else to do. I had stuff I had to finish here. I told her she had to do the worksheets they sent home for her."

"You did good, baby." The blonde felt like she said that to the younger woman a lot, but it was true, and she didn't mind offering her that reassurance when she needed it. "So what exactly happened?"

"She thought class was boring so she called her teacher a bitch so she'd get sent home." The brunette turned her head slightly so that she could see her wife's reaction. "She cried before we left, she cried on the way home, she cried when I told her she had to stay in the office. It hurt, Gidge. I just wanted to give her a hug. I made her apologize to Beth before we left. She's a sweet person. I know she'd probably be a bit hurt by it. Especially with how understanding she's been about everything going on with Em before."

"That must have been hard." Bridget reached out, and took Franky's hand in hers. "Do you think she said it knowing she'd get suspended?"

"I don't know." Franky looked up to the ceiling, and shook her head. "She admitted she said it because she wanted to be here, but I don't know if she meant she knew she'd get suspended for saying it, and have to come home, or if she was just expressing how she was feeling at the time."

"Well either way, she did something wrong, but one is a bigger issue than the other." She gave the brunette's hand a squeeze.

"Yeah," the younger woman sighed. "But what's the punishment?"

Franky had tried to think of some suggestions, but other than not letting her do stuff at the restaurant, and making her do the work that her teacher had sent home, she wasn't sure what else they could do.

"I don't know." Bridget gave a small shrug. "I mean obviously she can't get what she wants this week while she's off."

"Definitely not." The brunette was completely on board with that.

"Other than that, there's not like a favorite toy, or video game, or anything we can take away from her. Most of the time she just wants to spend the evening with us." The blonde loved that their little family was so close. Most evenings were spent around the fire, or playing games, or with the three of them cuddled together reading books or watching a movie.

"I won't take that from her. I'm not saying no if she wants a cuddle, or a hug. I'm not pushing her away." Franky knew all too well what that type of rejection felt like.

"Of course not, baby." Bridget was on the same page as far as that type of thing went. "We'll figure it out. I'll go take her home so you can finish up here, and we can talk to her later."

"Okay." Franky leaned forward, and gave a small nod.

"Baby." Bridget waited until the brunette turned to look at her, then leaned in and gave her a long, slow kiss. "I love you," she said softly when their lips parted.

"I love you, too." The brunette had no idea until that moment how much she'd needed to hear those words, and to know that Bridget supported the decisions she'd made with Emily.

"I'll see you later at home." The blonde leaned in and gave her another kiss. "I like what you've done with the place, too. I'm so proud of you."

Franky couldn't help the smile that came across her face, despite her low mood.

"Thanks." She squeezed Bridget's hand, then watched as she walked across the restaurant towards the office.

When the blonde entered the room, she saw Emily sitting quietly at Franky's desk. It crossed her mind that this could very well be a glimpse into the future. She could picture walking into this office in thirty or so years, and seeing an adult version of Emily sitting in exactly the same spot.

"Em, love, get your things together, we're going home." Bridget knew immediately the feeling that Franky had been talking about just moments before.

Her niece was definitely still upset, and the blonde wanted nothing more than to hug her, but that would have to wait until later. If she gave in now, she'd be making Franky look like the bad cop.

"Did Franky tell you what happened?" The young girl asked as she packed her things into her backpack.

"She did, yes." Bridget waited patiently.

"Am I in trouble?" Emily closed the zipper on her bag, and put it over her shoulder.

"Yeah, love. We're not happy with what you did." The blonde wasn't exactly sure what the punishment would be yet, but it had to be something.

"I told her I was sorry." The young girl looked up at her aunt, hoping the fact that she'd apologized to both Franky, and her teacher, would carry more weight with her than it had with the brunette.

"I know. Come on, let's go." Bridget held open the door for her.

Franky and Bridget waited on the couch for Emily to come back to the living room after she'd taken her shower that evening. It was taking the young girl longer than usual to get dressed, so the blonde decided to go check on her.

Bridget knocked gently on Emily's door, and heard a soft 'come in". When she opened it, she saw that her niece had already put herself to bed.

"Hey, love, you okay?" The blonde thought that maybe the stress of the day had made Emily start to not feel well.

"I'm okay," the young girl said quietly.

"Franky and I would like to talk to you about what happened today." Bridget walked over, and sat on the edge of the bed. "Would you like to come out to the living room, or would you rather do it here?"

"I want to stay here." Emily pulled her blankets up under her chin.

The blonde knew that her niece was probably feeling a bit nervous, and unsure right now, so she wasn't surprised that she wanted to have this conversation in her own space. She hadn't been in any real trouble with them yet, and Bridget knew from the last time she'd been suspended, that one of Emily's greatest concerns was whether or not they were upset with her.

"Okay." The blonde left, and walked down the hallway just far enough that she could see the younger woman still sitting on the couch. "Franky?" She waited until the other woman looked over at her. "We'll talk to her in her room."

It was only a few seconds before the brunette joined Bridget in the young girl's room. They each took one of the small chairs and sat beside her bed. Franky was still upset, but her initial anger from the morning had faded.

"Can you tell us what happened this morning at school?" The blonde knew that she was probably going to sound like a therapist for some of this conversation, but she felt it was important to get her niece to explain why she'd behaved the way she had, and how she'd felt at the time.

"I called my teacher a bad name," Emily said quietly, "and everyone got mad."

"Why did you call her that?" Bridget wasn't going to let her get away with generalized answers.

"I didn't want to do my work, and she said I had to." The young girl poked one of the small dinosaurs that was printed on her bedsheet.

"Why didn't you want to do it?" The blonde waited, but all she got in reply was a shrug. "Were you upset? Is there something at school that's bothering you?" Bridget thought that maybe there was something more happening that they weren't aware of.

"I wanted to cook, and you said I couldn't cook if I'm not feeling well." Emily looked at each of them, trying to read their reactions.

"Em, did you say that to Ms. Williams because you knew if you did, you'd be sent home?" Franky asked the question calmly. It had been on her mind since she'd picked her up, and she needed to know the answer.

Emily remained quiet, but the tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Hey, we're just trying to figure out what's going on." Bridget reached out, and placed a comforting hand on the young girl's arm. "Answer Franky's question, please."

"I knew I would get in trouble, and last time I was in trouble at school, Franky came and got me, and we had fun at the restaurant." She sniffed, and took the tissue that the blonde handed her. "But Franky was mad this time, and you were mad too when you got there."

Bridget could see the brunette, out of the corner of her eye, shift in her chair. She could see the muscles in the younger woman's jaw twitch slightly. She wasn't sure if it was because the young girl's confession had angered her again, or if it was an attempt to hold in her emotions at seeing Emily so upset. She suspected the latter.

"I was mad, yes. You're a good kid, Em, and it upset me that you would do something like that." Franky took a deep breath, and cleared her throat. "You're always so kind, and loving, and what you said to your teacher probably hurt her feelings."

"I know." The young girl wiped her eyes. "I miss going to the Centre with you after school. I liked your classes. We don't do that anymore."

"I know." The brunette took in a shaky breath as she reached out, and took Emily's hand in her own. It struck her how small the young girl's hand felt in hers.

Bridget's heart broke watching the two people she loved more than anything both hurting, and hurting each other. They hadn't discussed Emily's punishment yet, but she felt like maybe they'd all had enough of this emotionally charged situation for tonight.

"Maybe we should leave this for tonight?" The blonde reached out, and placed her hand against Franky's back. She watched as the brunette nodded. "Okay. Em, are you going to stay here, or are you going to come out with us for a bit?"

"I'm tired." The young girl tucked her hand back in under the covers, and pulled them tighter around her.

"Alright. We'll see you in the morning then." She stood, and placed her chair back at the small table, then gave her niece a kiss on the cheek before she left.

"Goodnight." Franky leaned in, and placed a kiss on Emily's cheek as well.

When they exited the room, Franky went straight to their bedroom, while Bridget headed back out to the living room. She sat down on the couch, and began to flip through the channels. It was more a habit than anything, especially tonight. She knew that she and the brunette would more than likely be having a talk as soon as the younger woman joined her.

Five, then ten minutes went by, and Franky still hadn't come out of the bedroom. The blonde listened carefully, but didn't hear any sounds of movement that would indicate that the younger woman was changing her clothes, or doing anything, really. Bridget turned off the tv, and decided she'd go check out what was going on.

When she peeked into the bedroom, all the lights were off, and she could see that Franky had changed into her pyjamas, but she was lying on the bed on top of the covers.

"Baby?" Bridget asked, as she closed the door softly behind her, and gave her eyes a second to adjust to the darkness. "Are you alright?"

"It's just been a really shit day, Gidge." Franky knew that her voice gave away that she was crying.

"I know," the blonde said, quietly. She grabbed her pyjamas off the chair in the corner of the room, and quickly changed her clothes. "Let's get into bed."

She waited as the brunette stood up, then she pulled back the covers so that they could both lay down. Bridget figured this conversation would be neither quick, nor easy, so they may as well get comfortable. As soon as they were both in the bed, she wrapped her arms tightly around Franky.

"I love you, so much," the blonde said, as she pulled Franky in closer.

She felt the younger woman nuzzle against her neck, and couldn't help but smile. She remembered what she'd told her on their honeymoon; that this was her happy place where she felt completely surrounded by the blonde.

"I love you, too," came the brunette's soft reply. She sighed. "Gidge, what are we going to do about this?"

"It's a bit complicated, isn't it?" Bridget rubbed the younger woman's back as they talked. "I absolutely agree with what you said earlier about not taking away her time with us. That's not healthy, or beneficial to any of us." The blonde felt Franky take in a breath as if she were going to start talking, then let it out slowly instead. "What are your thoughts?" She knew this had probably been on the other woman's mind all day.

"I'm partly to blame for this." Franky pulled away from the blonde, and turned to lay on her back. "I let her down. I made a promise when I started all this that I'd still spend time with you both; that it wouldn't get in the way of family stuff. It has. Yeah, I pick her up after school, and she spends time there with me, but she's right, we don't cook together much anymore. It broke my heart when she said how much she missed those things. I was holding her hand, and I just realized how small it was, and how I'm supposed to be the one protecting her from getting hurt, and making sure she's happy and getting everything she needs, but right now, I'm the one causing her pain." She took in a shaky breath as she wiped her eyes. "And every time I think about how to punish her, all that goes through my mind is how I wasn't there for her enough."

"Baby." Bridget propped herself up on one elbow so she could better see the younger woman's face. "You are amazing with her, and nobody's perfect." She draped one arm across the brunette's stomach, and brushed her thumb back and forth over her side.

"She's going to have to come with me to the restaurant next week. That's unavoidable. I was thinking, if she finished all of her worksheets for the day early, then I'd let her come out with us. We won't be cooking much, but I'll find her something helpful to do, and maybe one of the days I'll help her cook lunch for us in the kitchen, and the nights I cook supper, I'll make sure she can help if she wants. I was going to suggest that we all go somewhere together, like the museum, or Luna Park, this weekend, since it's the last one before the opening, but I think now that we shouldn't. It's too much of a reward, considering everything." Franky realized she'd been rambling on a bit, and stopped to look over at the blonde to try and gauge her reaction. She saw a hint of a smile at the corner of the older woman's mouth.

"It sounds like you've thought about this a lot." Bridget gave her side a gentle squeeze. "I agree with you. I don't think that punishment, in the traditional sense, is always the answer. Our job is to teach her right from wrong, and make sure she's going down a good path. The way she acted today was a result of her needing something. She should have talked to us, but kids don't always know how to communicate properly."

"We have to make sure that she knows what she did today was wrong." The brunette didn't want to see Emily getting into any more trouble at school.

"I think she knows. She's spent the whole day crying, and put herself to bed early with no story or anything." Bridget sighed. "But yes, we'll talk to her tomorrow, and make sure she knows that we expect better from her, and we can lay out our expectations for this week, and going forward."

"That sounds good." Franky felt like what they had decided was fair.

"Do you want to try and get some sleep now?" The blonde wasn't sure if the younger woman had come in here because she was tired, or just because she was upset.

"I don't know if I can yet, but I'd like to just lay with you." Franky turned on her side, and wrapped her arms around the older woman.

Bridget connected their lips in a long, lazy kiss. Spending the last hour or so of the day relaxing in bed with her wife seemed like the perfect way to end an otherwise unpleasant day.

The blonde felt a small hand on her arm, and opened her eyes to see Emily standing in front of her.

"Hey, love, you alright?" Bridget glanced up at the clock, and saw that it was just after midnight.

"I can't sleep." The young girl's voice still sounded like she was a bit congested from crying.

"You're still upset?" The blonde reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her niece's ear.

"Yeah. You guys are mad at me. Especially Franky." She glanced up and over Bridget at the brunette on the other side of the bed. "I wanted to say I'm sorry, because I don't want you to be mad anymore."

"Well, thank you for saying that. We are upset, yes, but we'll talk tomorrow, and figure things out, okay?" The blonde gave her a reassuring smile.

"I want to tell Franky, too." Emily glanced behind her aunt again.

"She's asleep, love. You can tell her in the morning." Bridget knew that it had taken the younger woman some time to fall asleep, so she didn't want to wake her.

"I'm awake, bub." Franky's voice was thick with sleep.

"Can I get in?" the young girl asked her aunt.

Bridget lifted the covers, and Emily crawled in over her and settled in between the two women. The blonde turned over so that she was facing them, but closed her eyes, and just listened to the exchange.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry. I don't like when you're mad at me." She studied the brunette's face.

"I don't like it either, bub, and I accept your apology." She couldn't help the small yawn that escaped. "Let's try to sleep some more."

"Can I stay in here?" Emily asked, quietly. She knew that might be pushing her luck after what she'd done that day.

"Sure." Franky had half expected the young girl to end up in their bed at some point that night, and honestly, she didn't have the energy to make her get up and go back to her room anyway.

The only response from the blonde was a small hum that the younger woman took to mean she didn't mind if Emily stayed.

The brunette was almost back to sleep when she heard Emily's small voice once more.

"Are you still my Franky?"

"Always," Franky mumbled.