"Lana, it's good to see you." Bridget truly meant that. She had tried to focus on her family over the weekend, but in the back of her mind, she'd been concerned for the young inmate's wellbeing. The blonde hadn't made contact with her after she'd left her office on Friday, and she'd hoped Lana had been able to calm herself.

"Is it?" The young inmate gave her a half grin. "I mean, I kind of dropped a bomb on you then ran out."

"It is, yeah. I was worried about you." Bridget saw the subtle flicker in Lana's eye. "And don't ever feel bad about sharing something that's on your mind. It's my job to help you work through things."

"If you were so worried about me, you could have come and checked on me." The young inmate let herself fall into one of the large green chairs. "It's not like you don't know where I am." She held her arms to each side.

"I was…I don't work on the weekends." The blonde caught herself. If she'd said she was busy, the inevitable next thing would be for Lana to ask "Doing what?", and that was a door she didn't want to open any further than she already had.

"Sure," Lana shrugged, "I get it. Out of sight, out of mind."

"You weren't out of mind…" Bridget trailed off when she saw the grin playing on the other woman's lips. Lana had gotten her to admit exactly what she'd wanted.

"Neither were you." The young inmate watched for the blonde's reaction, but saw nothing. "I thought maybe you wouldn't want to continue the sessions."

"Why? Because you told me something that's uncomfortable?" Bridget thought that was putting it mildly. If what Lana had told her about Channing was true, then there was a whole scandal just waiting to erupt.

"You were upset when I left." She shrugged. "Most people don't want to deal with the tough things."

"Well, that's not me." The blonde tried to reassure her. "I'm here to listen to whatever you want to talk about, and I'll be there at your trial to support you."

"I said I didn't want you there." Lana held the psychologist's gaze. "I've been thinking, and I meant what I said on Friday. I don't want you in that room."

"How are you going to convince them of your state of mind at the time without a statement from a professional who's been treating you?" Bridget had a bad feeling.

"I'm not." The young inmate shook her head, and glanced out the window.

"You could be looking at a significant sentence if you don't offer some defense and reasoning for your actions that night." The blonde knew that assaulting one of the top members of the corrections department wouldn't be taken lightly.

"I'm going to cut a deal, and tell the cops everything I know. Whatever happens after that," she shrugged, "happens. As long as he's not allowed to keep using people, and dealing, then it's worth it."

"Do you know enough to get a deal?" Bridget was almost scared to ask, but putting someone like Channing away would take more than just a vague general knowledge of what he was up to.

"I know everything." Lana gave her a smug smile. "A little bit of alcohol, and a good fuck, and he'd start bragging about how many people he had working for him, and how much money he was making."

"You were…" The blonde trailed off.

"Fucking him?" The young inmate let out a small chuckle at Bridget's surprise. "Sometimes. When I wanted a nice meal, and a warm bed for the night."

The alarm sounded in the hallway outside.

This is a Code Black. All prisoners return to your cells immediately.

The officer who had escorted Lana to the session, opened the door.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have to take her back now." He gave Bridget an apologetic look.

"Yeah, sure." The blonde silently cursed. Lana had just started to really open up.

"Stay in here, and lock the door until the all clear is given," he instructed Bridget, then closed the door behind him as he left with the young inmate.

"Franky, there's someone out here asking for you," Dan told the brunette, as he brought the next round of orders into the kitchen.

"Tell them sorry, but I'm not on the menu," Franky smiled just a bit at her own joke as she continued working.

"Uh…" Dan glanced over towards the door, then back at the brunette.

"It was a joke." She was only a little disappointed that he hadn't picked up on it. "I'll be out in a minute."

"Right." He made his way back out to the dining area to deliver the message.

Franky finished up the dish she was working on, and went out to see who was there waiting to talk to her.

"Jillian, hey." The brunette had been expecting her to get back in contact, but she was a bit surprised that she'd dropped by again instead of just calling.

"Hey," the producer greeted her with a warm smile. "Glad to see things are going well." She looked around at the dining area that was already over half full of diners waiting for their lunches.

"What can I say? We have good stuff here." Franky gave her a cocky wink. "What can I get you? On the house."

"I didn't come here for lunch, although," she peered around the brunette to see what the daily special was, "I wouldn't say no to the grilled chicken tequila burger."

"Good choice." The brunette smiled. The special today was one of Shayne's creations, and she was glad to see that it was popular so far. "I'll go get it."

"Uh," Jillian reached out, and placed a hand on Franky's arm to stop her from leaving so quickly, "is there any way you can take a break, and eat with me? I'd like to talk to you about something."

"Yeah, but," the brunette looked around the restaurant, "not right now. It's just me and Shayne cooking, and we just got a bunch of orders in. If you can wait like a half hour we should be caught up enough by then."

"Sure, that's fine." The producer knew she had shown up with no notice, so she knew there'd be a chance that Franky wouldn't be able to just drop everything.

"Okay, good. Pick any table you'd like. I'll send Dan over to get you something to drink while you wait." She gave the other woman a quick smile, then went back into the kitchen.

After the lunch rush had calmed down, Franky joined Jillian at her table.

"Grilled chicken tequila burger for you." The brunette sat the plate down in front of the other woman.

"This looks amazing. Yours looks delicious too." She eyed Franky's food.

"This is the mac and cheese with chorizo sausage. Here, try some." The brunette picked up one of the extra forks on the table, and handed it to Jillian. She watched as the other woman took a bite.

"Mmm." Jillian hummed as she savored the flavor. "So good."

"Something to order the next time you're here." Franky gave her a smile. She loved seeing people enjoy her work. "Speaking of which, what brings you all the way across the city?" The brunette wasn't trying to rush her, but she didn't want to leave Shayne on his own for too long.

"Well, the last time I was in, I mentioned that we'd like to do an interview to go along with the finale. That's airing next week, so I'd like to set up something for either Thursday or Friday." She took a bite of her burger. "This is so good, too."

"Yeah, that should be fine. Is it just for the magazine?" The brunette was hoping that was the case. She still wasn't comfortable being the focus of attention.

"I'm thinking that will be where the main interview is, but I'd like to film a small clip for a little update segment that we have planned. That will air the following day on one of the network's morning talk shows." She glanced towards the kitchen. "I'd like to include Shayne a bit as well. I think it's great that you two are working together."

"Jenna works here, too." Franky knew that Jenna didn't have as much success on the show as she and Shayne had, but she'd been a part of her team for the finale, and the brunette felt she was a great chef.

"Oh wow! So it's like the whole team is back together. That could be a huge drawing card for people." Jillian thought that maybe Franky had unintentionally hit on something big. "You're just missing Liz, and Em."

"Liz is still working at the Centre. She loves it there. I'd offer her a job in a second, but I doubt she'd leave, plus this is harder work physically than what she does there. I want to make things easier for her, not worse. And Em, yeah she'd be in here too if I let her." The brunette let out a small chuckle, and took a bite of her lunch.

"She was really good, you know. Em, I mean," Jillian clarified. "You taught her everything?"

"Mhm." Franky swallowed her food. "She was in one of my classes, and she just really took to it. She helps me a lot at home, and she's very adamant that she wants to be a chef. She comes here every day after school, and just hangs out. I can't really let her do much, but sometimes I walk into the kitchen, and Shayne's letting her help. Just something small like chopping veggies. He's got a soft spot for her."

"I have a feeling that you and her will be a favorite with the audience once the finale airs. We got good feedback on the episode where you worked with Olivia. People liked how you handled that." Jillian had been very happy with her choice to pair them up after she'd seen the results.

"She was a brat," the brunette said with a small laugh.

"Yeah, a bit." The producer had intentionally picked some kids that would be more difficult to deal with. "But what you did with Liam, that was special."

"Hank made that kid feel like shit. It wasn't right." Franky shook her head. It still upset her to think of the young boy standing there crying after Hank had said he was stupid.

"I know." Jillian had personally reached out to the boy's family afterwards to apologize, but they said everything was okay, and that Liam only talked about how nice the brunette had been. "You handled two very different situations really well."

"What conversation are we really having here?" Franky had sensed from the beginning that something was up.

"We're reminiscing." The producer gave her a quick smile.

"Bullshit." The brunette chuckled, and saw Jillian's smile widen. "I know you're a busy person, and we could have set up the interview over the phone. So why are you here?"

"Well," Jillian set down her burger, and took a deep breath. She knew she might have to approach this carefully. "The network has offered me a second show. Not the same as the one you were on, though. This would be all individual challenges."

"So, you want me to do another show?" Franky was confused. She'd just done one, and won. She didn't see the point of being asked to do another so soon.

"Yes, but not as a competitor." The producer straightened the knife that was laying beside her plate. "It'll be a kid's show. I want you to be the host, the judge. Like what Jared did with you guys."

The brunette was quiet. She looked down at her plate.

"I don't need an answer today, but I will need one soon. We're scheduled to start filming in about a month." Jillian knew that Franky's silence probably wasn't a good thing.

"I can't leave them again." The brunette shook her head. "They both had a hard time with me being gone, and so did I."

"This will be different. You don't have to stay there." The producer's hope was renewed a bit. If that was the problem Franky was having, she could easily put her worries to rest. "You'd only be there a couple days a week for filming, and sometimes probably only for part of the day."

"That definitely works in your favor." The brunette wasn't anywhere near agreeing to it, but the fact she'd get to stay home was a huge plus.

"We're interested in Em, too." Jillian knew this might be more of an issue.

"How so?" Franky's protective instinct kicked in. She didn't like something about how Jillian had phrased it; interested in her, as if she was negotiating to buy something.

"Given that the audience liked seeing you work with kids, and I'm assuming they are going to love you having Em on your team, I'd like her to be a part of the show along with you. A co-host maybe at times, or a guest judge. Maybe she could even do some of the demos with you. Regardless, she wouldn't be on set without you." The producer knew how Franky was with Emily, and she wanted to reassure her that the young girl would be able to have her there at all times.

"This is a lot." The brunette could feel a headache coming on.

"I know, and I'm sorry it's such short notice, too." Jillian had only gotten the final go-ahead a couple of days ago, and she had to work within the network's timeframe for filming. "It would come with a substantial salary for you, and Em would be paid as well, of course."

"The money isn't the deciding factor for me." Franky was being honest about that, but in the back of her mind, an idea was forming.

"Fair enough. I just wanted to put everything out on the table." The producer had said everything she wanted. The ball was in the brunette's court now.

"I need some time. I need to think, and talk to Gidge, and Em." She knew that Emily would be on board instantly. Anything that involved cooking, and Franky, was an automatic winner for her.

"Of course." Jillian hadn't expected an answer today. "I will need to know by the first of next week though." She saw the look on the brunette's face. "I know. I'm sorry, but if you turn it down then I need time to find someone else, and I'm on a tight schedule."

"Alright." Franky sighed. "I'll do the interview things for sure. I'll talk to Shayne, and Jenna, but I'm sure they'll be okay with that too. I'll get back to you about the other stuff."

"Sure." Jillian gave her a small smile, and went back to enjoying her meal.

"Baby, you've been tense all evening." Bridget had just put Emily to bed, and now she returned to the living room to spend some time with the brunette. Instead of sitting beside Franky, however, she straddled her lap.

"Have I?" The younger woman tilted her head back slightly, and looked up at the blonde, as she placed a hand on each of Bridget's hips.

"Mhm." The blonde lowered her head, and gave Franky a gentle kiss. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Franky ran her hands down the sides of the older woman's thighs, then back up again to her hips. "Jillian came to the restaurant again today."

"Oh yeah?" Bridget had known there was something going on. "What did she want?"

"She wants me to do an interview to go along with the finale next week." The brunette figured she'd start off with the easy part first. "Something for the magazine, and a clip that they'll use on one of their morning talk shows."

"That's great! It'll be good promo for the restaurant." The blonde hoped that what she was sensing was just Franky being nervous about having the spotlight on her again.

"She wants me to host her next show. It's one for kids, and she wants Em to be involved, too." Franky didn't see any point in dragging out the conversation, so she just laid it all out.

"Franky…" Bridget felt everything at once. She felt proud of the brunette's talents getting her to this point. She felt excitement for the opportunities this could open for the younger woman; the promo for the restaurant, which would benefit Shayne, and Jenna as well. She also felt the heaviness that was radiating from Franky at the moment.

"I told her I needed time to think, but she needs an answer by next week." Franky concentrated on the feeling of the blonde's weight against her, and the warmth of her skin coming through the fabric of her pants where the younger woman's hands rested. Those things were keeping her relaxed, and grounded at the moment.

"Okay. We'll figure it out." Bridget brushed her fingers back and forth across the nape of the brunette's neck, and saw the younger woman close her eyes, as she let out a long breath.

"I wouldn't have to be away from you guys like the last time. That was the first thing I asked her. I'd only have to be there a couple of days a week for filming." Franky shivered as the blonde's fingers hit a sensitive spot on her neck. "I don't know if they'd want Em there that much."

"Well that's already a big improvement over the last time." Bridget had decided she'd focus on all the positive stuff for now. They could talk about the rest later when they weren't both tired at the end of the day. "If you have to be there without Em, I can try to arrange to work from home those afternoons, so I'll be here when she gets out of school. I can write my reports just as easily here as I can in my office."

"Gidge?" Franky saw the blonde give a small nod. "What if I'm pregnant?"

She had whispered it so softly that Bridget strained to hear it, even in the quiet house.

"That's something to consider, yeah." The older woman placed a hand on the brunette's cheek, and felt her lean into it a bit.

"I don't want to fuck it up by trying to do too much." She took a deep breath, and concentrated again on the feeling of Bridget against her. "And I don't want to have to tell them if I am. I want it to be just between us, until we're sure, you know?"

"Yeah," the blonde replied softly. She could see the storminess in Franky's eyes. It was something she hadn't seen in a long time. "I understand everything you're saying. I think that if you set some clear boundaries up front, then you can make sure you're not overworked. Once you and Jillian agree to the hours you'll be there, stick to it. She knows you have a family, and a business to run. She did right by you the last time."

"Yeah, she did." Franky had to admit that had been one thing that had surprised her. Throughout the whole filming process of the last show, Jillian had always kept her word about letting her call home, covering for her when she actually got to go home, and keeping details of her childhood off the show. Any involvement of Bridget or Emily had come about as a request from Franky herself. "Would you be okay with Em being involved?"

"If she wanted to do it, and one of us was allowed to be with her the whole time, then yes. It's her passion, and I don't want to stand in the way of that." The blonde had to admit that if someone had asked her back when all of this television show business had started if she would be okay with letting her niece be on camera, she probably would have said no. Now that she had seen Franky navigate through it, and they had built a relationship with Jillian, she was willing to let Emily make that decision for herself, provided that certain of her criteria were met.

"What are you talking about?" Emily's voice came from the kitchen, drawing the attention of both women.

"Why are you out of bed, love?" Bridget moved to sit beside the brunette, silently wondering how much the young girl had heard. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I just couldn't sleep." She rubbed her eye with one hand.

"You were asleep when I left." The blonde got up, and started walking towards her. "How about I tuck you in again, and you try to sleep?"

"You were talking about me. I heard my name." Emily made no motion to head back to her room.

"Franky was just telling me that you're being really helpful at the restaurant. That's all." She glanced over at the brunette, who gave a confirming nod. Bridget didn't like lying, but they weren't ready to talk to her about the show yet. "Come on, back to bed."

The blonde walked her back down the hallway, tucked her in, and read her another short story. When she'd finished reading, the young girl was once again asleep, but she had a feeling that Emily was just having a restless night, and they hadn't heard the last from her.

"All good?" Franky asked when the older woman returned.

"Yeah. She fell asleep again, but we'll see." She gave a small shrug as she curled up next to the brunette, and felt the younger woman's arm around her.

"There's something else I've been thinking about." Franky's mind hadn't stopped all day since her lunch with Jillian.

"What's that?" Bridget had a thought that Emily might not be the only one not sleeping much that night.

"If I did the show, I could afford a tutor for her." The brunette looked to her left to see the other woman's reaction.

"Franky, I don't know." The more the blonde had thought about it, the more potential issues she saw with taking Emily out of school. "You know it's not like a one time payment, right? Maybe you make enough from this show to pay for one this year, but what about the next? She's got eleven more years left. Then what about the next kid? Can we really say, hey your sister gets a private tutor, but you're going to public school?"

"It was just a thought." Franky could feel herself getting defensive.

"Baby, I know you want to give her absolutely everything, but I don't want to get into a situation where you, or her, has to keep doing shows, even when you don't want to, just because we need the money. Assuming more shows are even an option." Bridget knew she was probably breaking the brunette's heart right now. "I want our kids to have equal opportunities, and trust me, you will too."

"I know, and I do." Franky let out a long breath. "I'm just trying to make everything right for everyone."

"An impossible task." The blonde gave her a small smile. "There are other options. Maybe we can work something out with the school, and she'll spend some days there, and some days with you on set. Maybe her boredom would be solved by simply skipping a grade. We'll figure it out, but not tonight." She studied the brunette's face for a moment. "Okay?"

"Yeah," the younger woman said, halfheartedly.

"I know you're probably upset with me, but I'm just trying to look out for everyone, too." Bridget did feel bad that Franky had probably spent hours thinking about what she could do only to have the blonde shoot it down.

"I'm not upset with you. I'm...I don't know...annoyed at myself? Frustrated? Confused?" The brunette honestly didn't know what she was feeling at the moment, but she knew she wasn't mad at Bridget.

"You're overwhelmed," the blonde stated. "Let's leave this for tonight. Do you want to watch something on TV, or should we go to bed?"

"I don't know." Franky's brain felt like it had shut off for the night, and was refusing to make any more decisions.

"Let's go to bed. If we can't sleep, we can just talk." Bridget made the call for them both. She figured if the brunette was able to sleep, it would probably take her awhile to get there, so they'd better start early.

"Alright." Franky pushed herself up from the couch, and walked down the hallway towards their bedroom.

When Bridget snuggled in next to the brunette, she felt her let out a long breath.

"It'll all be okay. I promise." The blonde stretched up, and gave her a soft kiss.

"I know." Franky gave her a small smile. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She stretched up for another quick kiss.

They laid there in an easy silence. Bridget had closed her eyes, and rested her head on Franky's shoulder, but she could still feel the steady back and forth of the younger woman's fingers along her side, indicating that the brunette was nowhere near sleep.

Franky had lost track of the time, but she was still awake when Emily quietly came into their room, and walked over to her side of the bed.

"Still can't sleep, bub?" she asked, quietly. She wasn't sure if the blonde was asleep or not, but then she felt the older woman lift her head.

"No." Emily shook her head.

"Okay, hop in." Franky held up the blanket, and the young girl crawled in between them. She figured if they were all awake anyway, then they may as well be together.

The brunette turned onto her side so that she could put her arm over both Bridget, and the young girl.

The blonde smiled to herself. She'd been right about not seeing the last of her niece that night. She hoped that having everyone together would bring them all some peace, and they'd finally be able to get some rest.