"Cutting it pretty close, aren't we?" Franky asked as she sat down in her office with Jillian. The finale was set to air that night, and they were only just now sitting down for the interview.
"I know." The producer gave her an apologetic look. "I've just been so busy getting stuff together for the new show, that this was the first chance I've had to do this."
"You don't have to make excuses to me." The brunette shrugged. It didn't matter to her when they did it. She wasn't the one with a deadline to meet. "Shouldn't you be over there?" Franky pointed to the chair facing the sofa. She'd expected Jillian to sit there, but the producer had dropped down beside her on the couch instead.
"The first part of the interview is with both of us. Then you're on your own." She gave the brunette a small smile.
"Ah," Franky draped her arm across Jillian's shoulders, "and here I thought you were just trying to start some rumours again." She gave a small chuckle and raised one eyebrow.
"Uh, no," the producer gave her a quick smile, "I wasn't."
Franky could see the blush creeping into Jillian's cheeks. The brunette was pretty sure the other woman was straight, but in her experience that didn't usually matter. She smiled to herself as she removed her arm from around her shoulders. Still got it, she thought to herself.
"Anyway," Jillian cleared her throat, "there won't be anyone conducting the interview, really. The questions will appear on the screen, and then they'll play our answer."
One of the crew members sat down in the chair that Franky had pointed to earlier.
"You guys ready?" He straightened a small stack of cards, then looked up at them waiting for their answer. When they both nodded, he read the first question. "First one's for Jillian: What made you want to put together a show like this?"
"I'd had the opportunity to work on a couple of shows for Foodlife, and I just wanted to do one that put a bit of spice, pardon the pun, into the competition. Most shows have the contestants competing individually, but I wanted to see how a show could work with a team-based format." She nodded her head when she'd finished speaking.
"Alright." The crew member clearly wasn't into helping out with the interview. "Franky, why did you decide to audition for the show?"
The brunette was about to correct him, and say that she didn't audition, she was asked, but then realized that wasn't common knowledge. She couldn't believe she'd almost forgotten that. She glanced over at Jillian, who was noticeably nervous.
"Well, I had a dream of one day owning my own place. That takes a lot of start-up money, and I saw this as an opportunity to get what I needed." She heard the producer slowly let out the breath she'd been holding.
"Who was the most challenging person to work with, any behind the scenes gossip?" This was the one question so far he'd actually seemed interested in so far.
"Well, I don't think it was a secret that I didn't get along with Hank," Franky let out a small chuckle, "but other than that there's nothing that you didn't see on screen. I'm kind of allergic to drama and BS."
She went on to answer questions about her favorite moments, and what led to her decision to include Emily on her team for the finale. They ended off with some questions about the restaurant before they moved on to interviewing Shayne and Jenna.
"Let me go!"
Bridget knew immediately whose voice it was, and she picked up her pace.
"Let me go! Don't touch me!"
"Fletch, what's going on?" The blonde went around the corner to see the officer holding Lana by the upper arm.
"She's supposed to be in her work unit, and I caught her wandering around out here." Fletch still had a grip on the young inmate.
"I was going to the bathroom!" Lana tried to keep her voice steady. "Can you let me go?"
The inmate tried to pull her arm away, and Bridget could see him hold onto her tighter.
"Why? So you can try to run away from me again?" The officer stared down at her.
"I wasn't trying to run away! You scared me! You didn't say anything before you came up behind me, and grabbed by arm! I didn't know who it was!" Lana's voice rose, and the tears flowed as spoke.
"Okay," Bridget knew she had to step in, "why don't you let me escort her to the bathroom, and then I'll make sure she gets back to where she's supposed to be?" She reached up, and placed her hand on Fletch's arm, trying to encourage him to let Lana go.
"Fine. Looks like she saved your ass this time." He dropped her arm, and walked off around the corner.
"Are you alright?" The blonde placed her hand on Lana's back between her shoulders, and rubbed small circles. She could tell that the young inmate was on the verge of a panic attack, and she needed to calm her down.
"I just," Lana took in a deep breath, "he came up behind me, and I thought."
"Okay, I know, it's alright." Bridget continued the motion with her hand. "Just take some deep breaths, take a minute to calm yourself before we talk any more."
The young inmate looked to the ceiling, and tried to steady her breathing.
"I didn't mean to fight him. I was just scared," Lana explained as she began to feel her pulse rate return to normal.
"I know." The blonde gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Where were you headed?"
"The bathroom. Honest. I was just taking the long way. I needed to get out of there for a few minutes." She tilted her head towards the direction of the laundry.
"Was something going on there?" Bridget was worried that maybe some of the women from her old unit shared a work assignment with her.
"No," Lana shook her head, "just needed a break from all the people."
"Alright." The blonde accepted her answer. "I think it might be best that you relax by yourself back in your unit for the rest of the afternoon." She didn't want the young inmate going back into a situation that was already causing her anxiety, even before the run in with Fletch.
"Is that allowed? I mean, can you authorize that?" She looked around. "I don't want to get into any more trouble."
"Yeah, I can." Bridget saw the look of relief on Lana's face. "Come on, I'll walk you back to your unit."
They walked slowly back to Lana's cell, and the blonde waited outside while she used the toilet.
"All good?" Bridget asked when the young inmate opened the door. She had just been planning to leave as she'd dropped her off, but Lana had asked her to wait.
"Yeah." She looked around the unit, then out into the hallway. "He's not in this section today, right?"
"I honestly don't know, but I doubt it." The blonde had talked to Vera awhile back about not assigning Fletch to areas where he'd be likely to interact with Lana. She figured the only reason the two had run into each other today was because the young inmate had decided to "take the long way" to the bathroom.
"Can you just stay for a minute to make sure he doesn't come back?" She couldn't explain it, but the encounter with the officer had really shaken her up, and having Bridget there helped to calm her.
"Sure, but I really don't think he will." The blonde followed Lana into her cell, making sure the door stayed open behind her. She wasn't afraid of the young woman, but she knew it might not look good if anyone were to know they were in there with the door closed.
Lana had curled up in the corner of the bed, hugging one of her pillows. Bridget took the chair from the desk, and sat so that she was facing her, but back far enough so that she wouldn't feel crowded.
"Have you had any issues with him lately?" Bridget wanted to know if Lana's strong reaction to Fletch was simply because he had frightened her, or if Vera, even though she tried, hadn't been able to limit their interactions.
"No, I don't even see him around much anymore." Lana paused when she heard someone walking in the hallway.
The blonde glanced out, and saw it was just one of the other officers. She looked back at the young inmate, and shook her head, answering her silent question.
"For a while I thought maybe he didn't even work here anymore. I figured that was too good to be true though." She gave a small, sarcastic chuckle.
"Lana," Bridget knew what she was about to ask was a delicate question, "you mentioned before that there were people on the inside involved with the drug trafficking you got caught up in. Was he one of them?"
"No," the young inmate shook her head, "not that I know of. I think he's just a bastard who hates all of us."
"Okay." The blonde was relieved that he wasn't involved in that situation. "How are you feeling now?"
"A little better." She sighed. "I feel a bit tired."
"That's probably just the adrenaline wearing off. I'll leave you to get some rest." She stood, and patted Lana on the shoulder as she made her way out of the cell.
"Thanks," the young inmate mumbled.
"You're welcome." Bridget closed the door behind her, making sure to do so quietly. Before she left, she moved the piece of fabric covering the small window, and looked in to make sure Lana was still settled before she left.
The blonde had been planning to go back to her office, but then she remembered something that Vera had told her back when she'd first started counselling Lana. She changed course, and headed to the governor's office.
"Come in," Vera called out without ever looking away from her computer screen.
"Hey." Bridget entered, and closed the door behind her. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
"No, just the usual paperwork." She watched as the blonde took a seat. "What's wrong?" She could sense from her friend's body language that this wasn't a social visit.
"I just witnessed an incident between Fletch, and Lana." Bridget sighed. "I wanted to tell you before you read it in his report later."
"He always did enjoy writing her up for some reason." She turned now, giving the other woman her full attention. "What happened this time?"
"I was walking down the hallway, and I heard Lana yelling for him to let her go. When I came around the corner, he was holding her by the arm. He said she wasn't where she was supposed to be, and she was trying to run away from him. She says he came up behind her without any warning, and grabbed her, and she struggled to get away because she didn't know who it was at first." Bridget shrugged. "I didn't hear or see how it started, so I don't know which of those is true, but given their past history…"
"You could see Fletch doing something like that?" Vera finished her thought for her.
"I could." The blonde nodded. "She seemed genuinely upset when I found them."
"Was he right that she was somewhere she wasn't supposed to be?" The governor didn't doubt what her friend was saying, but she needed the whole story.
"Technically yes. She was supposed to be in her work unit. She said she was on her way to the bathroom, and when I talked to her after he left, she admitted that she took a longer than necessary route because she needed a break from the people in the laundry room." Bridget saw Vera give a small nod as she listened. "She gets overwhelmed easily if there are people in her space. Removing herself from the situation, and taking a few minutes to calm down is exactly what I've advised her to do when she's feeling that way."
"Well," Vera leaned back in her desk chair, "it's probably a good thing that you found them when you did. Where is she now?"
"In her cell. I walked her back there, and waited while she used the toilet. I was going to leave after I made sure she was okay, but she asked me to stay for a few minutes. She was worried he'd come back. He didn't, but she was exhausted from being so worked up, so I told her to rest. We should probably let laundry know not to expect her back today."
"I'll call, and let them know." She reached for the phone.
Bridget waited while the governor spoke with the officer on duty in the laundry that day.
"Can we look at the CCTV footage?" the blonde asked when Vera had hung up the phone. She needed to know for sure what had happened.
"I was just about to suggest that, actually." The governor stood, and picked up her radio. "Let's go to the control room."
When they arrived, Vera told the officer on duty to take a break. She always kept things discrete when she was looking into a staff member's conduct. She knew that news travelled fast, and gossip got blown out of proportion, so she preferred to deal with things as quietly, and quickly, as possible.
"This happened right before you came to see me?" the governor asked as she sat down at the computer.
"About a half hour before. They were in the corridor between the mailroom and admissions." Bridget didn't have any ill will towards Fletch, but she hoped that Lana's story checked out for personal reasons. She'd spent a lot of time working with the young inmate, and she'd hate to see her get into trouble again.
"Okay, let's see…" Vera trailed off as she searched through the video. "Here we go."
The two women sat back and watched the footage. The camera positioned in the main hallway, where Bridget had found them, showed Lana walking , then Fletch entering from a side hallway, walking up quickly behind her, and grabbing her arm. The second video that Vera pulled up, showed Fletch standing in the side hallway, seeing Lana walk by, then stepping out behind her.
"It doesn't look like he said anything or asked her to stop, and she doesn't react at all until he grabs her." Bridget breathed a sigh of relief.
"No, it doesn't." The governor pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'll have a word with him, and if he puts anything in his report today, I'll make a note in it as well with what I've seen here, and what you've told me."
"Thanks, I really appreciate you doing this for me." The blonde gave her friend a smile.
"It's not a favour. If one of my staff does something wrong, I deal with it." She'd done the blonde a lot of favours over the years, but this was something she would have done for anyone.
"Of course." Bridget knew that Vera was a good governor who cared about both the women, and her staff. She checked her watch. "I have a session starting in a few minutes. I'll see you, and Shayne tonight?"
She, and Franky were hosting a small get together that night to watch the finale of the show. It was just going to be them, Emily, Liz, Shayne, and Vera, and she'd been looking forward to it. With Franky not working at the Centre anymore, they didn't get to see Liz as much, and she knew that was something the brunette was a bit sad about. She felt a bit the same way about Vera now that she was with Shayne. It seemed like their group had been drifting off in different directions lately, and it would be nice to have everyone together tonight.
"Definitely!" Vera had been there for the filming, but she was happy to be spending time with her friends, and she was curious to see what had gone on in the kitchen during the dinner service. "Do you need us to bring anything?"
"No, Franky was going to put together some food. I think we've got it covered." She gave the governor's shoulder a squeeze as she got up to leave.
"Alright. See you around seven." Vera began closing the files she'd been viewing.
"Sounds good," Bridget called out, as she left the room.
"Hey, baby." The blonde dropped her bag at the end of the couch, and walked over to Franky. She wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck, and gave her a long, slow kiss.
The younger woman put one arm behind Bridget's back, and held her close. Her other was still holding the knife she'd been using.
"Mm, I like this greeting," Franky mumbled softly, as the older woman stole another quick kiss.
"I've been thinking about you today," Bridget whispered next to her ear.
"Does that mean I'm getting some later?" the brunette asked with a cheeky grin.
"Maybe." she leaned in for another kiss.
"Get a room!" Emily said as she came in from the patio.
"That's not nice, Em." The blonde gave her a look.
"Shayne says it to you guys," the young girl said as she got up on one of the stools.
"It's not nice when he says it either." Franky chimed in. She'd have to remind him that they needed to be more careful with what they joked about around her.
"What's for supper?" Bridget didn't want to dwell on the topic any more.
"Em requested burgers on the grill, and I made some veggie kebabs to go with them. Right now I'm working on a little fruit tray appetizer." The brunette glanced towards the tray of food she'd been assembling before she'd been interrupted.
"Is all that okay for you?" she asked quietly, glancing down at the younger woman's stomach.
"Yes." Franky reassured her. "I washed all the fruits and veggies well, I made sure the cheese was pasteurized, and I'll make sure my burger is cooked properly."
"What are you talking about?" Emily looked at them with a bit of a puzzled expression on her face.
"I just wanted to know what we were having for supper, love." Bridget gave her niece a small smile. "Do you need help with anything?" she asked, turning her attention back to the brunette.
"No," Franky shook her head, "the burgers and kebabs are in the fridge ready to go, and this is almost done."
"Can I have cuddles?" Emily looked at both of the women.
"Sure, let me go change, and we'll sit on the couch for a bit." She gave the brunette a quick kiss, and went to the bedroom to change her clothes.
When she returned, she laid down on the couch with her niece. The young girl cuddled in close, and Bridget heard her let out a sigh of content as she rubbed her back.
The blonde wasn't tired, but she closed her eyes anyway, and the sounds of Franky working in the kitchen must have lulled them both to sleep because the next thing she knew, she could hear the brunette, and Liz talking softly.
She opened her eyes slowly, blinking to bring the world around her into focus.
"Sorry, love, I hope we didn't wake you." Liz was still over in the kitchen with Franky, but she'd seen Bridget stir.
"No," the blonde rubbed her eyes as she sat up carefully, trying not to disturb Emily, "I didn't mean to fall asleep anyway."
"It's alright. You probably had a long day." Liz gave her a warm smile, and picked up one of the glasses from the island. "Here, Franky made some iced tea," she said, handing her the glass.
"Mm, raspberry." Bridget tasted something else. This wasn't something the brunette had made for them before. "And lemon?"
"Yep." Franky smiled, happy that the older woman seemed to enjoy it. "Raspberry lemon iced tea."
"Honey, I'm home!" Shayne called out, as he, and Vera entered the house. "What?" He was greeted by Liz, and Franky, staring at him. He followed the brunette glance over towards the couch, and saw Emily still sleeping. "Oops, sorry." He whispered.
"It's alright." Bridget waived it off, as she got up to join them in the kitchen. "I just want to know which one of us is 'honey'."
"You, of course." He bent down, and placed a kiss on her cheek.
"God." Franky rolled her eyes, and the blonde giggled.
Vera watched the exchange in silence. Even though Shayne had been spending more nights with her now than he did here, it was obvious that he had inside jokes with them that she wasn't aware of.
"Good to see you again," the brunette said quietly as she handed Vera a glass of iced tea, and placed a kiss on her cheek. She'd sensed that the governor was feeling a bit left out.
"Thanks." Vera gave her a smile, and took the drink.
"Shayne!" Emily's sleepy voice carried over from the couch, as she reached out towards the young man.
"Hey, kid." He walked over and sat beside her. "Did you have a good nap?"
She reached out, and took his hand, examining it.
"Yeah." She tried to hold his hand, but hers was too small. "You have big hands. Bigger than Franky's, or Auntie Bridge's."
Bridget couldn't help that the first thought that popped into her mind after Emily's big hands comment was the fact that Vera had shared some info about another big thing Shayne possessed, and she almost choked on her iced tea as she tried to stifle a laugh.
"Sorry." She waved her hand as she coughed, as the other women all looked at her. "Sorry." She cleared her throat.
Shayne smiled at her. He knew she was probably thinking of the joke about guys that went along with that comment, but he didn't know that she knew anything.
"Because I'm a boy," he said, turning his attention back to Emily.
"Why do boys have bigger hands than girls?" she asked, looking up at him.
"That's just usually how it is." He shrugged. "You know what else?" He saw Emily shake her head. "We have smellier feet, too."
He lifted his foot as if he were going to make her smell it, and she let out a small yelp, then they both giggled.
"You got a good one there." Liz reached over, and patted Vera's hand.
"I know." The governor smiled, and took a sip of her drink.
"I'm going to light the grill, and start cooking. I want us to have lots of time to eat before the show starts." Franky grabbed the barbeque lighter from the drawer, and got the trays of food from the fridge.
"I'll come with you. We can have a little chat while you cook." Liz had been missing the brunette, and she saw this as an opportunity to talk with her alone, and catch up a bit.
Franky lit the grill, then closed it again to let it heat up. She brought over chairs for her, and Liz so that they wouldn't have to stand while they waited.
"How have you been, love? You look tired." She wasted no time in getting to the point. She wanted to make sure that the brunette wasn't stretching herself too thin.
"I'm good, but yeah, I'm a bit tired." Franky gave her a small smile. She wished she'd had someone like Liz looking out for her when she was younger. "It's just been a lot getting everything up and running."
"I'm so proud of you." She reached out, and squeezed the brunette's arm.
"I know. You always were." Franky could feel a lump in her throat, and quickly took a deep breath to contain her emotions. She wished she could tell Liz about the baby, but it was too early. She decided to tell her about Jillian's offer instead. "Jillian, the producer, offered me my own show. I turned her down."
"Franky, that's...huge. Are you sure?" Liz knew that the brunette had probably thought it through thoroughly before she'd made her decision, but she asked the question anyway.
"Yeah." Franky nodded. "There's a lot going on right now. Plus, they wanted Em to co-host with me, and I don't want to put that kind of pressure on her at her age."
"Very wise." Liz gave her a small squeeze on her arm.
"The grill's ready." The brunette had glanced over, and saw that the thermometer was reading the temperature that she wanted.
Once they'd finished eating, there was only about a half hour left until the show started. They all settled in on the couches.
"This is going to be really weird; watching us all on tv." Liz had of course watched the previous episodes, but this was the first one she'd be in.
"I hope they got my good side." Shayne turned his head towards Vera to display what he thought was his 'good side'.
She reached up and playfully tapped him on the cheek, making him chuckle, and lean down to give her a quick kiss.
Bridget watched the exchange with a small grin on her lips. She'd never seen her friend this happy. She remembered back to New Years Eve when Jake had come over with her friend, and Vera looked uncomfortable even with just his arm around her. Now here she was, cuddled in next to Shayne, enjoying his attention.
When the episode began, the memories came flooding back to them all. Bridget was enjoying seeing the interactions between Emily, and the rest of Franky's team. Of course she'd heard them tell stories about it, but actually seeing it was different.
"Aw, that was the first time you met Shayne." The brunette nudged the young girl, then pointed at the screen.
"He was a stranger," she said, watching herself on the TV. "But he's not now."
"That's right." Franky smiled down at her.
They watched as it showed them coming up with their menu, and then Shayne bringing Emily a popsicle when they'd finished their work for the evening.
Franky saw Vera nudge him, and smile.
"...Yeah, you'll get to meet her tomorrow. She and her friend, Vera, are coming to the
dinner service."
"And is Vera perhaps single?"
"Vera is perhaps off limits to you."
Vera glanced up at the young man, and saw that his cheeks were a bit flushed.
Shayne had forgotten that part was in there, and while he'd been mostly joking at the time, since he knew nothing about Vera, he couldn't help but think that it was funny how things worked out sometimes.
The brunette was thankful that they'd left out most of the casual conversations they'd all had, as well as her bedtime talk with Emily. She understood that some of that stuff could have made for better ratings, but Jillian had kept her word, and kept the more personal details of Franky's life out of the show.
Bridget looked over, and saw that Franky was gently rubbing her lower stomach. She reached over, and took the brunette's hand in hers to still the movement. When the younger woman looked over at her, she gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. Maybe no one else would pick up on the movement, or know why she was doing it even if they did, but the blonde didn't want to take any chances. Both Liz, and Emily were very perceptive, and they'd never be able to keep it a secret for another two months if people started to suspect something this early on.
"Okay?" the blonde mouthed. She wanted to make sure that it was just an unconscious habit that Franky had already picked up, and not an indication that she wasn't feeling well.
The brunette nodded, and kept hold of the older woman's hand to remind her not to touch her stomach.
They all got emotional at Franky's speech at the end.
"That was beautiful, love," Liz said as she wiped her eyes.
"It was all true." The brunette smiled as she looked around that group.
Franky, and Bridget were in the kitchen cleaning up the last few dishes. Shayne, and Vera had gone back to her place, Liz had gone home, and Emily was already in bed.
The blonde felt Franky wrap her arms around her from behind as she placed the last glass into the dishwasher.
"I forgot how hot you looked in that dress," she whispered quietly as she placed a kiss on the side of the older woman's neck.
"I didn't forget how hot you looked in your uniform." Bridget giggled. She'd been thinking about her all day, which she'd told the brunette earlier, and watching that episode had only added to it.
"Tonight was a win-win, then. We both got to see something we liked," Franky smiled as the blonde turned in her arms to face her.
"The night isn't over yet." She pulled the brunette in for a slow kiss.
"Ready for bed?" Franky mumbled.
"I'm ready for the bedroom." Bridget laughed a bit at her own joke, and then again when she felt the brunette playfully tap her on the butt, and squeeze with the same hand.
"Let's go." Franky gave her another quick kiss, then led her down the hallway to their bedroom. Spending time with their friends, and family had reminded her how lucky she was, and ending the evening with Bridget was the perfect way to top it off.
