Bridget felt the brunette stir beside her.

"No," Franky mumbled. "No…no…" She gripped the back of the blonde's shirt in her fist.

"Baby, it's okay," Bridget rubbed the younger woman's back, trying to settle her back into a restful sleep.

She watched Franky's face change expression as she reacted to whatever she was seeing in her dream. The blonde heard her hold her breath, then a few seconds later, her eyes opened, and she took in a deep breath.

"Shh, it's okay, it's okay." She tried to calm the younger woman.

"Gidge." Franky tried to focus her vision.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm here." Bridget placed her hand on the brunette's cheek. "You were having a dream."

"Fuck." The younger woman rolled over onto her back.

The blonde watched the rise and fall of Franky's chest slow gradually as her breathing returned to normal. She wanted to reach out and touch her, comfort her, but she knew that the other woman usually needed a moment to collect herself after one of her unpleasant dreams.

"That was a bad one." Franky turned her head to the side so that she could see the older woman.

"About your mom?" Bridget knew there was really only one thing that affected the brunette this way.

"Yeah. She was holding me underwater or something. I must have been in a bathtub," Franky shook her head, "I don't know."

"It's okay now." The blonde was careful never to tell her 'it was only a dream'. She knew the monster coming after the brunette wasn't a made-up one.

The younger woman nodded, and turned to face her wife once more. This time it was Bridget's turn to take her in her arms.

"Is it weird that after those dreams, I want to go check on Em, and make sure she's okay?" Franky had nuzzled in under the blonde's chin.

"No, it's not. You care about her, and you just want to reassure yourself that she's safe." She felt the brunette sigh. "Do you want to go check on her now?"

"No, I know she's fine." Franky did want to, but she knew she was being irrational.

"You can if you want." The blonde knew that she wasn't telling the truth.

The brunette hated how well Bridget knew her sometimes. She turned over, and sat up on the side of the bed.

The older woman smiled to herself as she watched her walk out of the bedroom.

Franky opened the door to Emily's room as quietly as she could. When her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she could see the young girl asleep in her bed; the teddy bear that she'd given her wrapped tightly in her arms.

Franky remembered as a young girl, waking up, and seeing her mother standing in her doorway. She wasn't there to watch over her child, however. Those were the nights when she was usually the most drunk, and Franky was about to take the brunt of her anger. The brunette swiped at her cheeks, wiping away tears. She would kill to protect Emily, and die to save her, and the thought of the young girl being subjected to any of the abuse she'd experienced growing up, made her feel sick to her stomach.

Bridget lay in the bed, waiting for Franky to return. She glanced at the clock; the brunette had been gone for almost five minutes now. She'd assumed the younger woman was just going to check on Emily, then come right back. She wondered now what was taking her so long, and decided to go make sure that everything was okay.

When she exited the bedroom, she saw Franky leaning against Emily's door frame. She walked up behind the brunette, not trying to be too quiet so as to not startle her.

"You alright, baby?" She whispered as she rested her hand against the younger woman's back.

"Yeah, I just…" Franky shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "I'm good." She gave the blonde a small smile that wasn't entirely convincing.

"Come back to bed." Bridget placed a kiss on the brunette's shoulder.

Franky nodded, and reached out for the doorknob. She pulled it closed slowly, turning the knob so as to avoid the click of the latch sliding into place.

"What time is it?" The brunette asked, as they settled back into their bed. She cuddled in against Bridget the same as she had earlier.

"Just after two. There's still lots of time to sleep." Bridget heard a hum of content from the younger woman as she held her a bit tighter.

"Can you rub my back?" Franky asked quietly.

"Sure." The blonde moved her hand slowly up, then down, the other woman's back.

"I love you." The brunette sounded like she was already starting to relax.

"I love you, too. Try to get some sleep."

Franky had gone straight to the clinic that morning after she'd dropped Emily off at school. It was time for her next blood test, and she'd also had some cramping that morning. The doctor had reassured her that at this stage, that was most likely normal, but the results of the test would confirm if everything was okay. She hadn't mentioned anything to Bridget. She figured that if she had, the blonde would have insisted on going with her to the clinic, and she didn't want her to miss more time from work.

The brunette heard the kitchen door open, and close, and she quickly ripped off the bandaid they'd put on her arm. She didn't want to have to answer questions about it.

"Morning, Franks!" Shayne thumped her on the back of her shoulder on his way by.

"Someone's in a good mood." She herself wasn't in a particularly bad mood, but she hated bubbly morning people.

"It's been a good morning." He winked at her.

"Gross." She knew exactly what he meant, and now she had the mental picture from the night she walked in on them.

"Are we going to watch the interview?" He checked his watch.

"Yeah, we can go down to my office." Franky checked her phone before she put it into her pocket. Nothing yet from the clinic.

The brunette set up her laptop on the coffee table, and they both sat down on the couch. They'd made it just before their segment of the show.

"Coming up next, we have an interview with reality star Franky Doyle, and well as Foodlife

producer, Jillian Banks.. We see them here now, at Franky's newly opened restaurant

preparing to join us after this commercial break."

"Are they pretending this is live?" Shayne let out a small chuckle. It had always amused him how the media manipulated things sometimes when there was really no reason for it. It made no difference whether the interview was live, or recorded, but they'd decided to lie, and portray it as live.

"Yeah, it seems like it." Franky watched as they showed a behind the scenes clip before they cut to the commercial break.

The brunette remembered the scene playing out in front of her. Jillian had just sat down on the couch beside her, and Franky had made a joke about her sitting in the wrong spot, and just wanting to be close. She saw herself put an arm around the producer, and then Jillian's red cheeks as the brunette gave her a grin.

Franky had a bad feeling in her stomach. She didn't like how this looked; she didn't like how she looked. At the time, she'd been just messing around being the typical old Franky, but that was the problem. She caught Shayne's glance at her out of the corner of her eye, and knew that he had picked up on the same thing. At this point, she didn't care about anything other than the fact that Bridget was going to be watching as well.

She was pulled from her thoughts by her phone ringing in her pocket. It was the clinic.

"I'll be right back," she told Shayne, as she stepped out into the hallway.

"Hello?" Franky's voice came out a bit shakier than she'd intended. She'd been waiting anxiously for this call.

"Hi Franky, it's Dr. Ryan from the clinic. We have your test results back, and everything looks great. The number is exactly where we want it to be at this point," she explained.

"That's great!" The brunette let out a long breath. "That's really great!"

"It is, yes." The doctor was always happy to be able to deliver good news. "This means the cramping you mentioned this morning was most likely a sign of implantation, which we talked about on your last visit."

"I figured it probably was. I know I'm overthinking everything right now." Franky felt like she had never been more aware of every little ache, pain, and sensation in her body as she had been for the past few weeks.

"It's fine, really." Dr. Ryan tried to reassure her. "If you don't have any questions, then we'll see you again on Thursday for another test, and if anything comes up before then, you know where we are."

"Yeah, for sure. I'm all good. See you Thursday." Franky said her goodbye, and slipped back into the office.

"Hey, just in time. Sit down." Shayne motioned for her to hurry up.

She sat down, and began to type her message to the blonde, as they watched the interview.

To: Gidge

Just heard back from the clinic, and everything is great! I love you. X

It wasn't uncommon for Franky to sign off her texts to Bridget that way, but today, she felt like it was both a statement, and an apology for her mistake with Jillian.

Bridget rushed to the governor's office as soon as her first session had finished that morning. She'd intentionally left a gap before her next appointment so that she and Vera could watch Franky, and Shayne's interview that morning. The blonde had run a couple of minutes over in the session, and she hoped she hadn't missed anything yet.

Vera waved her in as she saw her approach the door.

"Sorry I'm late. Did I miss anything?" Bridget took a seat in the extra chair that the governor had moved behind her desk.

"No, nothing about them yet." Vera gave her a small smile. "Shayne was so excited about it this morning. He even said he was going in early so he, and Franky could watch it together."

"That's sweet." The blonde was happy that Franky had found a true friend with whom she shared similar goals, and dreams. "They're pretty much like siblings, and Em adores him. It's the big kid thing he has going on, I think, just like Franky."

"He likes kids." The governor nodded.

Bridget thought she caught something in the way that her friend said that, but the show caught both of their attention at that moment.

"Coming up next, we have an interview with reality star Franky Doyle, and well as Foodlife

producer, Jillian Banks. We see them here now, at Franky's newly opened restaurant

preparing to join us after this commercial break."

"They're pretending it's live." Vera glanced over towards her friend when she got no response.

She could see that Bridget was focused on what was happening on the screen. At first glance, the governor thought that it was just the typical behind the scenes stuff, but then she saw Franky sitting with her arm around a slightly red-faced Jillian; a grin on her face. Vera had been the object of the brunette's attention before, even if it was just in a fun, teasing way, and she knew that it was a powerful thing.

Bridget didn't know how she felt. She saw Franky sitting with her arm around Jillian. The brunette had said something that made the other woman giggle, and blush just a bit. The video had cut to a commercial after that, so for all the blonde knew, that was all there was to it. She trusted Franky, and she knew that the younger woman would never cheat on her, but she definitely didn't feel good right now. She knew what it felt like to be in those arms, and she didn't like the thought of having to share that feeling with anyone else.

"You okay?" Vera asked, softly.

"Yeah, I'm good." The blonde gave her friend a small smile, and they both settled in to finish watching the segment.

When the show was over, Bridget headed back to her office. She checked her phone, knowing that Franky had gone to the clinic that morning. As she read it, she felt relief wash over her, knowing that everything was going well with the baby. She saw that the brunette had included her 'I love you', as she usually did, and today, it was just what she needed to see.

She quickly typed a reply before the inmate arrived for the next session:

To: Franky

So glad to hear, baby! I love you, too. X

Bridget put her phone back into her bag. They could talk later.

"Hey!" Emily entered Franky's office, and threw her bag onto the couch.

"Hey, bub. How was school?" The brunette pushed her laptop to the side. She always made sure to give the young girl a few minutes of her undivided attention when she arrived.

"It was good, but I missed you." She gave Franky a weak smile.

"I missed you, too." She got up, and walked over to the couch. "Come sit with me for a minute."

Emily climbed up beside her, then onto her lap.

"Did you learn anything fun?" the brunette asked as she shifted to get more comfortable.

"We're learning about our bones." The young girl played with one of Franky's bracelets as she talked. "Some kids said they'd broken ones before, but I haven't."

"That's a good thing. It means you're being safe, and careful." She felt almost queasy at the thought of Emily having to experience that pain.

"Did you ever break a bone?" She looked up at the brunette.

"Yeah, my arm." Franky was actually surprised, looking back, that she'd only had the one.

"What happened?" Emily went back to playing with the bracelet.

"I fell off my bed." The brunette neglected to add in the rest of the details.

"Oh." The young girl seemed to accept her answer, and was quiet for a moment. "Some kids in my class saw me on TV. They asked if we could be friends."

"Oh yeah?" Franky heard the alarm bells going off in her head. "Are these kids you normally play with?"

"No." Emily shook her head.

"You need to be careful, bub. Sometimes people are nice for the wrong reasons." The brunette didn't want to worry her, but she thought that it was best that the young girl learned early on that not everyone had good intentions. She saw Emily give her a questioning look. "Sometimes people see other people on TV, and they want to be friends with them, but not because they like spending time with them. They just want to be able to say they are friends with someone who's on TV."

"I shouldn't be friends with them?" Emily looked a bit sad now.

"You can if you want. I want you to be careful, though." Franky knew it was possible that these kids were maybe just too shy to come up, and talk to the young girl before, and now they had something in common, but she would hate to see Emily get hurt.

"Okay." The young girl gave a small nod.

An idea was forming in Franky's mind, but she wanted to run it by Bridget, and Emily's teacher before she mentioned it, and got the young girl excited.

Before she, and Emily headed home for the day, Franky made a trip to the flower shop down the street from the restaurant. She genuinely did feel bad about what had happened with Jillian, and even if Bridget wasn't upset, she felt like she wanted to get her something nice.

"Why did you buy flowers?" Emily asked as they drove home.

"I wanted to get something nice for Auntie." The brunette glanced at the young girl in the rearview mirror.

"They're pretty." She gave Franky a small smile.

They were home about an hour before Bridget arrived. The brunette, who was preparing supper, quickly wiped her hands, and grabbed the bouquet of flowers from the island.

"Hey, babe." She met the blonde as she entered the kitchen.

"Hey." She gave the younger woman a quick kiss on the lips.

"I got you these." Franky held out the flowers with a small smile.

"Thank you, they're beautiful." Bridget had wondered if the brunette had seen the clip before the interview, and the gift of the flowers now confirmed, in her mind, that she had. "I'm going to go change, then I'll put them in some water." She placed the flowers back onto the island.

Franky watched her walk away for a second, then glanced over at Emily, who was playing in the living room. The brunette sighed, and took a few quick steps, ending up at the bedroom door at the same time as the older woman.

"I was an idiot, and I'm sorry," she said as closed the door behind her. She watched as Bridget gave a small nod, and began to unbutton her blouse. "I know you're probably hurt, and mad, but I really am sorry."

"I'm not mad." Bridget tossed her blouse into the laundry hamper. "Maybe a bit jealous, though. I know what it's like to be the focus of your attention." She gave Franky a small, half-grin.

"I know." The brunette almost wanted to make a cocky comment about Bridget being jealous, but now wasn't the time. "It didn't go any further than what they showed. I was just joking around with her." She reached out for the blonde.

Bridget looked up at her, and let herself be taken into Franky's arms.

"You're just…" the blonde shook her head, looking for the words, "...magnetic. It's so easy to feel drawn to you, and I don't think you even realize that."

"It's something I'm learning." The brunette smiled, having earned a small laugh from Bridget. "I don't want to be with anyone else but you."

"Good." The blonde pulled her down into a long slow kiss. "I should finish changing," she mumbled against the younger woman's lips.

"Or not." She worked her way down the side of Bridget's neck.

The blonde let her head fall to the side, as she closed her eyes.

"Yeah," Bridget forced herself to focus, "I really should." She placed a hand on each of Franky's cheeks, forcing her to stop, and look her in the eye. "Later," she answered, as if reading the younger woman's mind.

"You're giving me blue balls, Gidge." Franky laughed, as she let herself drop onto the bed, and proceeded to watch the blonde change.

"Impossible." Bridget glanced over her shoulder, and flashed her wife a small grin. "What did Dr. Ryan say today?" She asked as she selected a t-shirt from the drawer.

"Just that everything was good. I had some cramping this morning, but the test showed it was nothing." She didn't mind telling the blonde how she'd been feeling now that she knew everything was alright.

"You didn't tell me you weren't feeling well this morning." Bridget sat down on the edge of the bed, and turned to the side.

"I didn't want you to worry over something that was probably nothing." Franky reached out, and took the blonde's hand.

"I want to know everything." She didn't want the younger woman to feel like she had to go through any of this on her own. Knowing what was going on was also her way of feeling a bit more connected to the pregnancy.

"Okay," the brunette said, quietly, and nodded.

Franky closed the bedroom door behind her, and turned to see that the blonde had chosen to skip the pyjamas tonight. She could see the older woman's bare shoulders in the faint light coming in through the curtains.

The brunette smiled to herself, and removed her clothes, tossing them into the laundry hamper. She lifted the sheet, and crawled in behind Bridget. She placed a kiss on the back of her neck as she put her arm around her.

Franky heard a hum of content from the blonde, as she felt the other woman's back muscles tense, then relax against her.

Bridget took the brunette's hand, and placed it over her own breast.

"Naughty," Franky said with a giggle.

The younger woman loved that the blonde wasn't shy about showing her exactly what she wanted. She gave Bridget a small squeeze, and felt her nipple harden against her palm.

"It's naughty to want to be touched by my wife?" The blonde asked, casting a glance back over her shoulder, a small grin playing on her lips.

"Maybe." Franky whispered against her skin, as she placed a kiss on her shoulder.

"It's no fun being good all the time though, right?" She held the brunette's stare, as she moved her hand downward to touch herself.

The younger woman's eyes flicked down to see the tips of Bridget's fingers trail down over her stomach, and dip between her legs.

The blonde smiled as she saw the look on Franky's face as the brunette watched her. It was the same look she'd seen on those video calls when they'd been apart; the same look as the night when Franky's shoulder was still injured, and she'd let her watch.

Bridget gathered some wetness on her fingers, and brought them up so the brunette could see them glistening. She saw the younger woman begin to move forward, and she quickly placed her hand back between her legs.

"You're a tease." Franky said, as she lowered her head, and placed a gentle bite on the side of the blonde's neck, quickly soothing it with a kiss. She started to move her hand down, but Bridget intercepted it with her free one, and laced their fingers together. "Not letting me touch you yet?" She ran her teeth over the other woman's ear lobe.

The blonde shook her head slightly, as she turned to look at Franky behind her again.

"I like the way you look at me when I make you wait." She looked down at the brunette's lips, then back up to her eyes. The sensation of her own fingers gliding over her clit was making her heart rate speed up a bit more.

"How do I look at you?" Franky maintained eye contact as she lowered her head to place another kiss on the older woman's shoulder.

"Like it's taking all of your self control not to throw me on my back, and fuck me." Bridget couldn't help the small grin on her face when she saw a flicker in the brunette's eyes.

"Accurate," the younger woman said with a small chuckle.

The blonde could feel the familiar warmth building in her stomach. She closed her eyes, and concentrated on the sensation of Franky's lips along the back of her shoulder, and on the nape of her neck. Bridget didn't really want to come by her own hand; it was much more intense and satisfying when the brunette did it, but she was also having fun playing with her.

"Let me try to guess which memory you like to use," Franky let her lips brush against the older woman's ear as she spoke. Two could play this game. "Is it the first time we slept together? Maybe it's the first time you fucked me with the strap-on." She heard the blonde take in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Yeah, I don't blame you, that was pretty hot. There's lots of others to choose from though. Is it when I handcuffed you in your office, and fucked you against the door while everyone was walking by outside? Or when I had to arrest you after the Halloween party? Maybe it was when I fucked you in my classroom."

"Christ." Bridget let out a groan. She was trying to hang on, but the brunette's words were causing scenes from each of those nights to flash through her mind.

"Christ? Hmm, nope, don't remember role playing that," Franky said with a small laugh.

The blonde let out an exasperated breath as she turned over onto her back.

"Shut up." She placed a hand on each of the brunette's cheeks and pulled her down for a kiss.

Franky wasted no time in maneuvering herself so that she was on top of Bridget in between her legs. She pushed her hips forward, earning a moan from the blonde.

"Is this what you want?" The brunette asked, as she pushed forward again.

"I want your fingers inside me." Bridget pulled the younger woman down again, and connected their lips. The blonde felt Franky shift her position so that she was straddling one of her thighs.

The brunette ran two fingers over the other woman's folds, and then slipped them inside easily. She felt Bridget's muscles flutter around them almost immediately. She pushed in hard each time, positioning her leg to give her more leverage, and rocked her hips giving just the right amount of friction against her own clit. It felt good. She was more turned on than she'd realized.

"Do it harder," the blonde whispered as she pulled Franky closer.

The brunette buried her face against the older woman's neck. She felt Bridget dig her fingers into her back as she applied pressure inside her.

"Oh god." The blonde moaned as Franky hit a spot inside of her that made her back arch.

The younger woman lifted her head, and placed kisses up the side of Bridget's neck, then along her jawline.

"I can tell you're holding back," Franky whispered, as she brushed her nose against the other woman's cheek. She felt another flutter around her fingers.

She had pointed out how close the blonde was, but she'd also been trying to defer her own orgasm. Had she stayed nuzzled against Bridget's neck for much longer, she would have been the one who gave in first.

"Come with me." The older woman could tell that she wasn't the only one holding back. She could read the brunette like a book.

"Mhm." Franky rocked her hips a bit harder as she picked up the pace with her fingers.

The closer Bridget got to her orgasm the tighter she held onto the brunette, and Franky used this to guide her own pace. She knew it would only be a few more seconds before she wouldn't be in control.

The blonde raised her hips slightly to meet the other woman's thrusts. She felt her toes curl as Franky reached deep inside her twice more before her orgasm hit her.

The brunette felt Bridget's muscles spasming around her fingers, and quickly felt her own body follow suit.

"You dressed as the cop works well. So does the night in your classroom." The blonde was the first to speak as they lay in the quiet, catching their breath.

"Huh?" Franky lifted her head. Her mind wasn't fully functioning yet.

"You asked which fantasies I use." She placed a hand behind the brunette's head, and tangled her fingers in the locks, gently massaging the younger woman's scalp with her fingertips.

"Oh." Franky smiled, and let out a small chuckle that turned into a quiet moan as she rested her head back down on the blonde's shoulder. "That feels nice, babe. Can we stay like this?"

"I suppose I can make a call, and cancel my other plans." Bridget had no intention of moving. She relished the times when they could just lay in each other's arms after they'd made love, and not have to get up, or rush to do something.

"Good." The brunette lifted her head, and placed a soft kiss on the other woman's lips. "I love you," she mumbled, as she laid her head down once again.

"I love you, too." Bridget closed her eyes. She could feel that her heart rate was still slightly elevated, and she focused now on Franky's slow, steady breathing, knowing it would soon lull her to sleep.