"No, wait! That's-" Shayne watched helplessly as Jenna reached out, and touched the handle of a skillet he had just taken out of the oven a moment earlier, "still hot. I just took it out of the oven. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She pulled her hand away when he reached for it.

"You should run it under cold water." He reached out again, and again, she pulled her hand back.

"I said I'm fine." Jenna was in pain, but she wasn't about to admit it. She'd made enough of a fool of herself around him lately.

"Just put your hand under the fucking tap." Franky had watched all afternoon as the pair had worked, both trying to pretend that nothing was wrong, and failing miserably. The brunette was tired of it already. "When you're done there, get some ice for it, and come see me in my office."

Franky sat in the chair at her desk, waiting for Jenna to show up. She needed to address the situation in her kitchen, but she didn't want to let on that she knew what had happened the night before. She figured it would only serve to make the young woman feel more upset if she knew that there had been witnesses.

"Hey," Jenna said quietly from the doorway.

"Come in, and close the door." Franky motioned to the chair in front of the desk, and waited for the other woman to sit down. She saw that Jenna had wrapped some ice in a towel to use as a makeshift ice pack. "As your employer I have to ask if you would like medical attention."

"No, I'm fine." She looked at the brunette, a bit confused. She didn't think she'd be called into the office just to be asked that question.

"Okay, good. Now what's going on?" Franky couldn't mention what she'd seen last night, but she'd seen enough today to know that things weren't alright.

"Nothing, I mean, it's just a small burn." She lifted the towel to check on her wound.

"I'm not talking about the burn." The brunette watched the young woman for a few seconds, hoping that she would bring up the awkwardness between her and Shayne herself. When she didn't, Franky continued. "I'm talking about you two." She motioned between Jenna and the direction of the kitchen. "Yesterday you were asking him to taste everything you made, and today you've barely said two words to each other."

"It's nothing." She shook her head.

"I don't like it when things affect my kitchen." The brunette watched her shift in her seat, and she could tell she was getting closer to talking.

"It won't." Jenna couldn't hold eye contact with Franky.

"It already has." The brunette sighed. "Look, you don't have to tell me, but you can't let it affect how you two work together."

"Fine." She took a deep breath. "Last night, we were here late. I asked him to help me with some of the dishes. He and I," she paused, searching for the words, "slept together a few times while we were filming. I had a good time, he seemed like he did too, so I made a move on him last night. He turned me down because he's with someone. I feel like an idiot for assuming things would continue like before, but I'm also mad because I feel like he should have told me he was with someone. I was nervous after you offered me the job, and I texted him, and that's when I found out he worked here too. That made it better, like instantly. Then last night happened, and I don't know, I asked him if we could just forget about it, but I'm having a hard time with that, I guess."

"Trust me when I say we've all fucked up in a similar way at some point in our lives." Franky gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I understand that it may take some time before you're feeling back to normal again, but you can't let it affect you this much while you're here. You were distracted to the point that you got hurt."

"I know. I just can't help feeling embarrassed about the whole thing, and he's acting like he's fine." Jenna gave a small shrug.

"Isn't that what you wanted though?" The brunette caught the questioning look from the young woman. "You said you asked him if he could forget what happened. Isn't that what he's done?"

"Well, yeah, I guess." Jenna looked down at her hands. "I just wanted him to be a little upset cause I am."

"Jenna, stop being such a girl. This is coming from a place of caring, trust me, but seriously, stop. You can't get mad at him for doing exactly what you asked." Franky thought she saw a hint of a smile on the other woman's face. "I know Shayne, and if he says it's all good, then it's all good. Okay?"

"Okay." Jenna gave a small nod.

"Okay. Good. Do you think you can finish your shift?" The brunette was hoping she'd say yes, because she wanted to go home soon, but she understood if the young woman needed a bit of time to pull herself together.

"Yeah, I'm good." She started to stand.

"Alright. I'm leaving as soon as I finish this." Franky pointed to the computer screen. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Yeah, and thanks." Jenna turned, and left without looking back.

"Worse than kids," the brunette mumbled to herself.

"Em didn't seem too happy about going back to school tomorrow," Franky said as she climbed into bed beside the blonde.

"No, she didn't." Bridget cuddled into the brunette's side, and slipped her hand under the younger woman's t-shirt so she could rest her hand on her bare stomach.

Franky glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" The blonde chuckled.

"That's a bit forward, Gidge," the younger woman teased.

"I'm not trying to start anything. I just want to feel your skin." Bridget smiled as the brunette gave her a soft kiss.

"Hmm, okay." Franky said with a hint of a grin on her face. "What did Em tell you yesterday?" She'd been eager to find out all day, but this was the first time they had had alone together.

"You were exactly right with what you said the other day after our meeting with the principal. She's bored, she hates it there, she hates being finished and having to wait to start the next task. She liked what you did because you kept her busy. She needs that." The blonde didn't see any point in sugar coating what Emily had told her.

"In other words, she's pretty miserable." Franky sighed.

"She's...unhappy." Bridget knew that the brunette's statement was accurate, but she didn't like to think about her niece feeling that way.

"I can take her." The brunette had been thinking about this ever since the meeting. "If she likes being with me, then I can take her. I'll make sure her school work gets done, and then I can teach her to cook."

"Franky," the blonde knew the younger woman's heart was in the right place, "there's more to it than just making sure she does her worksheets. Ultimately what you're talking about is home schooling, right?"

"Yeah, I guess." Franky shrugged. "She could do her work with me instead of going to school."

"Homeschooling isn't exactly like that though. There's a lot to it. It's not just giving her some worksheets. We'd have to arrange for educational outings, come up with projects and other extra stuff for her to do." Bridget had never home schooled anyone, but she'd known people who had, and it was a lot of work. "It seems fine now, but what about in ten years when she needs to learn physics, and calculus? Are we capable of teaching her that? Plus there's a whole social aspect to schooling that she'd miss out on. She's already shy. If she's only interacting with people within our little family group, I'm worried that it will get worse. She needs friends her own age. She needs to learn those social lessons that have to be experienced."

"Okay, maybe I didn't really think about it like that." The brunette was frustrated with herself. She'd thought she had it figured out, and the other woman had pointed out all the potential issues in just a few seconds.

"I know you want to fix this for her." The blonde could see the disappointment on Franky's face. "We just need to really think about the options, and what each one really means. Besides, I thought we were going to give it some time before we jumped into anything."

"We did." Franky sighed. "I just don't like knowing she's feeling this way, and not doing anything about it."

"It's not that we're not doing anything, we just need time to figure out what's best, and what we can realistically make work." Bridget brushed her thumb back and forth across the brunette's stomach, pulling the younger woman from her thoughts. "I don't like that she's not perfectly happy either, but she still has us, and she still has her time with you at the restaurant. She will be okay while we deal with this. Maybe this is a bit of a lesson she needs to learn, too. There's nothing bad happening at school, she's just bored with it. If we always bail her out of every little thing she doesn't like, then she won't learn how to cope with those situations in the real world. You can't always just walk away, and not deal with stuff when you're an adult. Well, I mean you can, but it's not healthy."

"True." The brunette let out a small chuckle. She'd mastered the whole 'not dealing with your shit' thing as a teenager, and it hadn't served her well. "Okay. She's okay, yeah?" She just needed an extra bit of reassurance.

"She's okay. If I thought she wasn't, I'd pull her out of there in a heartbeat." Bridget gave her a soft kiss.

As their lips parted, a soft knock sounded at the door.

"Come in, love." The blonde lifted her head, and saw Emily walking towards the bed with a book in her hand.

"I can't sleep," she said, as she handed the book to her aunt, and began to climb onto the bed. "Can you read to me?"

"Sure, just a short one though, okay?" Bridget looked at the contents page to find one that was only a few pages long.

Franky turned on her side, and let the young girl cuddle in against her. Emily never elaborated on the reason why she was having trouble sleeping, and neither of them asked. The two women were pretty sure they already knew what was playing on her mind.

"Wednesday," Franky whispered next to the blonde's ear, as she placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Mm," Bridget smiled, and opened her eyes to see the brunette sitting on her side of the bed. At some point through the night, Emily had moved over to cuddle with her instead of Franky. "What's Wednesday?" she asked quietly so as not to wake the young girl.

"This." The younger woman held up the ovulation test she'd just taken. It said she had two days before she could try the third insemination. "I'll call the office a bit later."

"I'll be there." The blonde didn't care when it was, she wouldn't miss it for the world.

"I know." Franky leaned over, and gave her another kiss. "I'll go make breakfast."

"Good morning, Lana. How was your weekend?" Bridget greeted the young inmate as they both took seats in the large green chairs.

"As good as can be expected in here, I guess." Lana shrugged. "That's a bold choice."

The blonde gave her a questioning look.

"Your nails." She nodded towards the psychologist's hand, which was resting on the arm of the chair. "The pink is a bold choice."

Bridget looked down at her fingers.

"Who painted them for you?" Lana decided to see if she could push the boundaries a bit today.

"What makes you think I didn't paint them myself?" The blonde was curious to hear what the young inmate's answer would be. She wanted to hear Lana's reasoning, mostly to know what assumptions her patient was making about her, and how easily she was being read.

"Well I've been coming here for awhile now, and I've never seen you wear nail polish. Then you show up today with hot pink nails, and looking a bit tired." She paused to see if she'd get a reaction from Bridget, but the blonde just waited quietly for her to continue. "So, I'd say your kid painted them, except the tiredness suggests that maybe you're not used to looking after a kid, but you did this weekend."

Bridget was impressed. Lana was partly wrong, of course, but she'd been right about the blonde's lack of nail polish previously, and she was tired because of her niece, but not for the reason the young inmate had stated. Emily, and Franky, had both fallen asleep listening to her read the extra story that the young girl had requested, but she'd laid awake long after, watching them in their slumber, and trying to come up with a solution that would make everyone happy.

"My niece." It was out of Bridget's mouth before she realized what she'd said. She'd never given away personal details to a client before, and she hadn't planned to start now, but Lana had somehow begun to work her way through her defences. She didn't like it. She wasn't used to not being the one in control during sessions.

"Cute." Lana smiled at her, pleased with herself that she'd actually gotten an answer.

"Yes, well, why don't we talk about your trial? I see they've set a date. Tell me how you feel about that." The blonde was actually very thankful that they had something significant to talk about that day. It made it easier to turn the attention away from herself.

"Scared," the young inmate answered honestly. "Scared as fuck, really."

"Scared about the possible sentence, or..?" Bridget left it open for her to fill in whatever she liked.

"Everything. Scared of being told I have to spend years here, even if I get parole at some point. Scared of seeing that guy at the trial." Lana shook her head. His face still haunted her dreams sometimes.

"I can assure you those are all very natural things to be nervous about. We can talk through it though, and I can give you some more coping strategies for your anxiety." The blonde remembered what Lana had told her that day out in the yard. "Have you thought any more about offering what you know to the police?"

"I'd be dead if I sold him out." The young inmate glanced out the window. "He's definitely got people in here working for him."

"We could make sure you stayed separated from any inmates he may try to send after you." Bridget knew this happened all the time. Inmates were either put in separate blocks or into protection for their own safety.

"I'm not talking about other inmates." Lana looked her straight in the eye.

"Officers?" The implications of what Lana was saying chilled the blonde.

"I can't say for sure, but I'd bet money on it." The young inmate was torn. She wanted to tell someone what she knew; it was getting to be too much for her to keep in her head, and she trusted Bridget, but on the other hand, once it was out, it was out, and there was no way for her to take it back. "Everything I say in here is confidential, right? You can't tell anyone?"

"That's right. Unless I feel like you're a danger to yourself, or someone else." The blonde could feel her heart beating in her chest, but on the outside she remained cool, and composed.

"Not today. I can't today." She shook her head, trying to clear it.

"Okay, that's alright." Bridget let out the breath she'd been holding. "How about we start on those anxiety coping strategies?"

Lana nodded, and the blonde was grateful to move on. She knew it was just a matter of time however, before the young inmate shared her knowledge, and if what she was saying was true, and officers were involved, it could be explosive.

"Hey, Vera." Bridget had just arrived at the governor's office.

Ever since her friend had told her about the relationship with Shayne, they'd moved their lunch time meetings to the office. Vera was very private about her personal life, and she wanted to be able to talk freely without the chance that the other officers might overhear.

"Hey." The governor sat down at the table without saying anything more.

"Are you alright?" The blonde could tell that obviously, she wasn't.

"I don't know." Vera shook her head, and let out a long breath.

"Talk to me." Bridget reached out, and gave her friend's hand a squeeze.

"It's stupid, maybe. I don't know." All Vera knew was that she was upset, but this was uncharted territory for her, and she didn't know if she had a right to feel the way she did or not.

"If it's upsetting you, then it's not stupid." The blonde didn't care how trivial a problem might seem to someone on the outside. If the person was hurting, then it was something important to them.

"Shayne told me last night that the other chef at the restaurant made a move on him, and that they slept together when they were on the show." Vera closed her eyes for a moment in an attempt to calm herself.

"I can understand how that would be upsetting, but he did the right thing by telling you." Bridget cringed internally at how generically therapist her answer sounded.

"Did you know?" The governor could tell that her friend wasn't as surprised as she thought she should be.

"Franky told me, yes." The blonde didn't see any point in lying.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Vera asked, quietly.

"It wasn't my place." Bridget gave her a sympathetic look.

"And Franky knew, too?" The governor was starting to feel like an idiot for being the last to know.

"She did." The blonde reached out again, and took her friend's hand. "Shayne needed the chance to be the one to tell you, and he did."

"I suppose. I just...I don't know." Vera's emotions were all over the place. He'd only told her the day before, and she hadn't had time to fully process it.

"What about it bothers you the most?" Bridget needed to know this in order to know where to start the conversation.

"I'm scared he'll change his mind about us. She's young, and probably more experienced than me. I'm afraid he'll realize he'd have more fun with her." The governor wiped a tear from her cheek. She'd promised herself that she wasn't going to cry over this, but talking about it was amplifying her emotions.

"The way I see it, he turned her down, then was honest with you about what had happened. He didn't have to do either, especially not tell you about it, but he did. He's choosing you, Vera." The blonde knew exactly where Vera was coming from. She'd had similar thoughts about her and Franky when she'd seen Kim, and then Emily's teacher, but at the end of the day, she trusted Franky, and had never had any reason not to.

"You know what the worst part was? When he came home Saturday night, we slept together. Then he told me this on Sunday, and I found myself wondering if he came home all worked up from her touching him, and just needed sex, and was thinking about her." She wiped another tear from her cheek, frustrated with herself.

"Do you not normally have sex?" Bridget had been under the impression, from things that Vera had told her previously, that it was a fairly common occurrence for them.

"We do a lot of nights, yeah." The governor finally clued in to what the other woman was trying to say. "See! I told you it was stupid."

"It's fine, and it's not." She reached out, and rubbed Vera's arm. "I would be upset, too, but I really do believe you can trust him. He did the right thing."

"You're right." Vera closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "I know I probably overreacted, but I'm not used to all this stuff, and I really love him."

The governor locked eyes with her friend, and Bridget knew that she hadn't meant to say that last part.

"Have you told him?" the blonde asked with a small smile.

"No," she said, quietly. "I don't want to scare him off."

"You won't." Bridget had often heard Shayne say that he loved Vera, so she was confident that if her friend decided to voice her feelings to him, it would be well received.

Vera simply gave her a small smile, and took a bite of her lunch. The blonde took that to mean the conversation was over for now.

"Not going to Vera's tonight?" Franky asked as she cleaned up the dishes from their supper.

Shayne had eaten with them, then went and changed into a pair of trackies, and a t-shirt before making himself comfortable on the couch.

"Nah, I thought I'd just hangout here tonight if that's okay." He looked at the two women in the kitchen.

"Well, you do live here, so yeah." The only reason the brunette had said anything to him was because she was worried he was avoiding Vera after what had happened with Jenna on Saturday.

Emily emerged from the hallway. She had changed into her pyjamas, and was carrying her favorite blanket. She crawled up and sat beside Shayne on the couch, and proceeded to cover them with the blanket.

"What's up, Em?" He asked, curiously.

"You're sad, and when I'm sad, I like someone to keep me company. We can watch a fun movie. Have you seen the new Trolls movie?" She looked up at him.

"No, I think that one must have slipped under my radar." He glanced up when he heard the brunette try to stifle a laugh.

"We can watch that." She took the remote from him, and began scrolling through the streaming menu to find the movie. When she found it, she pressed play, curled up with her legs beside her, and settled in against his side, hugging his arm, and resting her head against his bicep.

He glanced over towards the two women, as if to ask if that was okay. Emily had never shown any type of affection towards him, and he wasn't sure what to do with it.

Bridget gave him a small smile, and a nod. She was happy that her niece was able to pick up on how he was feeling, and be comfortable enough with him to want to help him.

Franky covertly snapped a picture with her phone, then turned it so that the blonde could see.

"That's a nice one. Send it to Vera." Bridget wanted her friend to see it, not only because she thought it was a cute picture, but because the blonde wanted her to see that Shayne was choosing to spend his time away from her with them, and wasn't out meeting up with Jenna.

"We'll join you guys in a few minutes." Franky thought that a family movie night sounded like the perfect evening.

"Are you ready to make a baby today, baby?" Bridget placed a kiss on the brunette's lips when she felt her stir from her sleep.

"Mm, yes." Franky squeezed the other woman's hip gently, then let her hand slip into the back of the blonde's pants.

"Are you also horny?" the older woman asked with a small chuckle. She was used to this. The brunette always felt this way leading up to the procedure. It was a combination of the hormones she was taking, and the body's natural desire to have sex around the time of ovulation.

"Also yes." Franky smiled, and connected their lips again. "I want to get you off." She nipped at the blonde's bottom lip.

Bridget felt her body react before she even had time to think about her response. She pushed herself against the brunette, and immediately felt the younger woman's hand grab the waist of her pants, and pull them down over her thighs. The blonde helped her get them the rest of the way off, and kicked them away, somewhere under the covers by their feet.

Next, she felt her shirt being pulled up, and their lips parted for just a half second to allow Franky to pull it up, and over the older woman's head, and toss it to the other side of the bed. Bridget realized that in just a few seconds, the brunette had gotten her completely naked, but was still fully clothed herself, and that needed to change.

"Take it off," she mumbled against the younger woman's lips, as she tugged on the hem of her t-shirt.

Franky obliged, and her shirt soon joined the blonde's on the other side of the bed. Bridget pulled on the brunette's pants, and those joined hers, lost somewhere under the covers as well.

"Maybe I'm not the only one who's horny this morning." The younger woman smiled against the blonde's lips, as she reached down and brushed her fingers along the older woman's folds.

"Just fuck me," Bridget said with a smile. She knew the brunette liked to tease, but that wasn't what she was in the mood for today.

Franky swiped her fingers over the older woman twice more, making sure she was wet enough, then sunk two deep inside her.

"Oh god." The blonde pushed back hard with her hips, and let out a moan as she felt Franky's thumb brush over her clit. She reached down, and nudged the brunette's thigh, so that she'd straddle her leg, then raised her knee, and placed her foot flat against the mattress .

Franky let out a small groan as she moved against Bridget's leg. She had intended to wait until after the insemination to deal with her own arousal, but this felt too good. She felt the blonde meeting her fingers each time pushed deep inside.

"You want it hard, babe?" the brunette whispered, letting her lips brush against Bridget's ear.

"Yes." The blonde felt her muscles flutter around Franky's fingers as the younger woman pushed in harder. "Fuck." She dug her fingers into the brunette's back as she held onto her tightly.

"I'm so close." Franky's own orgasm was approaching quickly, and she had no will or desire to try to delay it.

"Me too." Bridget squirmed to get the brunette's fingers that extra millimeter deeper.

She immediately felt herself clamp down on Franky's fingers. She dug her fingers into the younger woman's back as she rode out the waves of pleasure.

The brunette's body quickly followed behind, and soon they were both laying there, just trying to catch their breath.

Franky picked up her head, and gave the blonde a long, slow kiss.

"You good, babe?" the brunette asked softly as she brushed the end of Bridget's nose with her own.

"More than good." The older woman stretched out her legs. Her orgasm had made her toes tingle. "You know exactly how to fuck me."

Bridget wouldn't normally use that word to describe their intimate times together, but this morning, there was nothing slow or sweet about what they did, and she was perfectly okay with that. She liked a healthy balance in every aspect of her life. She knew, however, from past experience that it was a skill that not everyone possessed. It took an understanding to know how to be rough without hurting, and where that line was with each partner. The blonde knew that Franky was aware of that line with her, and she was never worried that the brunette would cross it, which left her free to just enjoy the ride.

"Is that so?" Franky raised one eyebrow slightly, and gave her a cocky grin.

"Yes." Bridget pulled her in for a kiss.

"It's my job," the brunette said when their lips parted. She saw the questioning look on the older woman's face. "As your wife, your partner. It's my job to learn what you like, and what you need, and to make sure you feel safe getting those things from me."

Bridget could feel herself getting emotional. She slowly let out a long breath, and shook her head slightly.

"What?" Franky asked as she brushed the end of the blonde's nose with her own again.

"You're too perfect." The older woman studied her face for a moment. "I love you."

"I love you, too." The brunette gave her a soft kiss. "I'm going to get cleaned up, then make some breakfast for us."

"Okay." Bridget gave her another kiss before she watched the younger woman gather her pyjamas from the sheets, and slip out to the bathroom.

Franky sat in the waiting room, her right ankle resting on her left knee, foot bouncing nervously.

"Baby." Bridget reached over, and placed a hand on the brunette's boot.

The younger woman closed her eyes, and nodded. She didn't need the blonde to say any more. She took Bridget's hand, and held it tightly. She was nervous, and excited, but right now her nerves were taking over. She wanted this so badly to work this time, and they didn't even know if there was an egg there yet. If not, it would be another month of waiting. She'd psyched herself up to make it to this point; she didn't know how she'd talk herself into another twenty eight days.

"Franky?" The blonde could tell that her wife was lost deep in thought, so she spoke quietly. "Franky?"

"Hm?" The younger woman turned her head towards Bridget.

"It's our turn." She tilted her head towards the offices.

Franky looked up to see one of the nurses standing at the entrance to the waiting room with a clipboard in her hand. Clearly the brunette had missed her calling them in.

The two women stood, and the brunette followed, as Bridget led her down the hallway, and into the small office. Franky was familiar with the drill, and began to change into the robe that was neatly folded on the exam table, as soon as she heard the door close behind them.

"We don't have to do this if you need a break." The blonde walked up beside Franky, and placed a comforting hand on her back.

"No," the brunette shook her head, "it's the opposite. I really want to do it, but I'm nervous that she'll say we can't for some reason, and I'll have to wait. I don't want to waste a month. I just need to know everything is okay, and we're going ahead with it."

"Okay." Bridget stretched up, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Either way though, I'm here, and we're together."

Franky didn't say anything, but just nodded, and placed a quick kiss on the blonde's lips.

They didn't have to wait very long before Dr. Ryan arrived. She gave them a warm smile as she sat down in the desk chair.

"How are you both today?" She asked as she opened the brunette's file.

"Good." Franky paused. "Nervous." She decided that there was no point in lying to the doctor.

"Same." The blonde was sure she wasn't feeling anything as strongly as the younger woman was at the moment, but she absolutely shared her feelings.

"Why are you nervous?" Dr. Ryan saw this often in her patients, and she liked to put them at ease whenever she could.

"I guess I'm just worried that it won't work again this time, or that there's no egg ready, or the sample is no good, or something like that." Franky could have gone on listing things, but she knew she was rambling, so she stopped herself at that point.

"Well," the doctor closed the file, "as I mentioned when we first started this, a lot of people need three to four treatments for it to be successful, and if it's not, we still have other options available. We will verify the motility of the sperm when we thaw it, but the other samples from the same batch were all of very good quality, so I don't anticipate a problem there. Have you had any changes in your general health over the past month?"

"No, not really. I've just opened my own business so I've been a bit stressed about that." Again, Franky decided to be fully honest.

"Okay, so I would recommend trying to keep somewhat normal hours, and make sure to eat well, and get plenty of rest. Keep up with the prenatal vitamins as well. I can't stress how important rest and proper nutrition are, especially over the next week or so. The body won't allow a pregnancy to happen if it can't support it." She saw the brunette nod in agreement. "Alright. If you're ready, we'll do the ultrasound to check to see if there's an egg there ready to be released."

"I'm ready." Franky took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, then made her way to lay down on the exam table.

Bridget followed, and stood beside her. She felt the brunette immediately reach out, searching for the older woman's hand. The blonde took her hand, and gave it a small squeeze.

They waited while the doctor looked at the image on the screen. As usual, neither of them could tell anything from what they were seeing, but Franky had a sense that this was taking longer than the two previous times. She exchanged a glance with Bridget, and she could tell by the look on her face that the other woman was thinking the same thing.

"Is everything okay?" The brunette didn't want to rush the doctor, but she needed to know.

"Everything looks good." Dr. Ryan gave her a small smile. "I'll go get the sample."

The blonde looked over to see tears running from the corner of Franky's eyes.

"Hey," Bridget whispered softly, as she reached up, and brushed the tears away with her thumb, "it's okay, baby."

"I'm just so relieved." The brunette took a deep breath. "We get a chance this month."

"I know. Me too." She leaned over, and placed a soft kiss on Franky's lips.

There was a small knock on the door, then the doctor entered carrying a tray with the sample, and the instruments she'd need for the procedure.

"This will be the same procedure as last time. Are you ready?" Dr. Ryan asked when she'd set up everything.

"Yeah." Franky gave a small nod, and squeezed the blonde's hand again.

The brunette took a deep breath as she felt the doctor insert the thin tubing

"There, all done." The doctor stood, and removed her gloves. "Do you have any questions before I leave you to rest?"

"If, uh, if it doesn't work this time," Franky had a hard time even saying the words out loud, "will it set us back any if we skip a month?"

"Other than the fact there was no insemination, no. You could pick right up where you left off the month after." Dr. Ryan was used to this question. Most couples needed a month off at some point. "I would encourage you to keep up the hormone medications though, then if you do change your mind at the last minute, we'll be able to go ahead."

"And the next one would be in vitro, instead of just the IUI?" The brunette knew that at some point they would have to switch to something with a higher chance of success.

"If you wanted to switch to that, yes. We usually recommend switching after a few months if the IUI isn't working, but of course, it's up to you. If you want to continue just with the IUI, I'm happy to do that." The doctor only ever offered recommendations and advice. The final decision was up to the patient.

"Okay." Franky nodded. She'd promised herself she wasn't going to think about it too much until they knew the outcome of this insemination, but she needed the information for when or if the time came. "Thanks."

"I'll leave you two now. As always, we ask that you stay lying down for at least fifteen minutes, and after that you're free to go, or stay a bit longer, if you'd like." Dr. Ryan gave them one final smile before she left the room.

"How are you feeling?" Bridget asked once they were alone.

"Relieved, nervous, excited." She let out a small chuckle. "I can't wait to just be home with you tonight."

"Are you going back to the restaurant after this?" The blonde knew that Franky was supposed to take it easy for the rest of the day, but she thought the brunette might have some paperwork to finish in her office.

"No, Shayne and Jenna are there. They can finish up today." Franky wasn't going to take any chances, she was supposed to rest, and that's what she planned to do.

"Good," Bridget smiled, "because I took the rest of the day off, too."

"You did?" The brunette was surprised. She knew that the older woman had taken extra time off lately for the honeymoon, and things with Emily, so she was only expecting her to be there for the appointment.

"Mhm. I plan to take you home, and spend the afternoon in bed until we have to pick up Em. We'll have the house all to ourselves." As much as Bridget loved having Shayne, and Emily around, she had to admit she enjoyed the time that she got to have alone with Franky.

"In bed, huh?" Franky asked with a cheeky grin on her face.

"Yep." The blonde leaned in and gave her a kiss. "It's pretty much tradition now."

"I like it. I like the idea that we could be making love when our baby is conceived." The brunette knew that the probability of this was very low, but it was possible, and in the end it was more of a symbolic thing in her mind anyway.

"Me too." Bridget gave her another kiss. She glanced at her watch. "It's time to go, if you're ready."

"I'm ready." Franky didn't think anyone would refuse an offer like that.

"Holy fuck, Gidge." The brunette laid on her back catching her breath after her third orgasm. She was guessing at that number since she thought she may have lost count somewhere along the way.

"Was it okay?" the blonde asked with a small giggle.

"More than okay." Franky reached up, and pulled her down for a long kiss. She could taste herself on the other woman's lips. "Are you sure you only have one tongue?"

"Mhm." Bridget laughed. "I may have researched some new techniques though."

"Really?" The brunette saw her nod. "You didn't need to, you were always really fucking good at that, but wow."

"I know, but it was fun though, yeah?" Bridget had always prided herself on leaving her partners tired, breathless and satisfied, and this was especially the case with her wife.

"Absolutely." Franky smiled up at her, then turned to check the time. "I didn't tell Em not to get on the bus to go to the restaurant today, so I have to be at the school when she gets out. We have another forty five minutes though."

"Okay." The blonde gave her a soft kiss. "I can't wait until we get to tell her she's getting a sibling."

"It'll be awesome." The younger woman got quiet for a minute. "I think about that kind of stuff all the time. I don't know if that's normal, but I do. I think about us telling her, and I can imagine her coming in to see the baby for the first time. I think about us in the delivery room, hearing the first little cries, and then bringing him or her home finally. I can see you on the couch holding them like you held Em in that picture you showed me. Is that normal?"

"Yeah." Bridget took in a shaky breath. "It is."

"Come here." Franky pulled the blonde down on top of her, then turned so that they were now laying on their sides facing each other, and kissed her softly. She thought this was a good way to spend the rest of their afternoon.