"Baby, I really think you should stay home today," Bridget said as she rubbed the brunette's back.

Franky was currently hunched over the toilet. Her nausea had woken her up at five, and this was her second trip to the bathroom.

"I can't. I already asked Shayne to work extra all weekend. I need to at least go in for a couple hours, and get things going." The brunette knew she should take Bridget's advice, but she figured she could get through a couple of hours.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but are you really going to be able to work with food with how you're feeling?" The blonde knew that the past couple of days, even the smell of food had the younger woman running to the bathroom. She and Em had been using the barbeque, or getting take out, and eating outside all weekend.

"Ye-," Franky turned and retched into the toilet again, and immediately felt the older woman's hand on her back. When she felt like that wave of nausea had passed, she sat back on the floor. "Babe, I know you're trying to be supportive, but I'd really rather do this on my own. Please. We'll talk when I come back to bed if you're still awake."

The brunette really did appreciate how attentive her wife was being, but this was definitely not her finest moment, and she just wanted to get through it, and go lay down again.

"Okay." Bridget understood that Franky was asking for some space, so she handed her the cool washcloth she'd gotten, and headed back to the bedroom.

The brunette wiped her face. She'd felt bad asking Bridget to leave, but she just needed a minute alone to regroup. After a few more minutes, she picked herself up off the floor, washed up, and made her way back to bed.

"Thank you for coming in to check on me," Franky whispered. The blonde had snuggled against her as soon as she'd crawled back under the covers, so she knew the older woman was still awake. "I appreciate how well you look after me, but being hunched over a toilet isn't a very flattering look, is it?" She chuckled softly at her own joke.

"No." Bridget gave her a small grin. "I just want you to know I'm here."

"I do." The brunette gave her a kiss on the forehead. She continued talking, softly. "I have to go in for a couple of hours, just to let Shayne have a morning to sleep in. He's been so good about covering for me this weekend. I can't ask him to do it again today. If this was just the flu or something, I would ask him, but this is something that isn't going away for awhile yet. He'll get burnt out long before I start feeling better. If I'm still feeling crappy when he shows up, then I'll come home."

"Okay." Bridget knew that she wasn't going to win this argument, and she wanted them to both get some more rest before they had to get up.

Franky had managed to make it to the restaurant, and was slowly working through what she needed to get done. She'd gone across the street to a convenience store, and picked up a bottle of Gatorade since she still didn't feel like eating or drinking much. She was thirsty, but the thought of drinking anything made her queasy. Nonetheless, she forced herself to slowly sip on the drink, which she'd poured over a full glass of ice to make it nice and cold.

"Hey, Franks." Shayne arrived through the back door, and tossed his bag into the small storage room.

"Hey." Franky gave him a small smile.

"You got all the veggies prepped?" He surveyed what she'd managed to get done so far. "I'll start on the pastries. We had a bit of a lull yesterday afternoon, so I got some of the fillings prepped already."

"Hey, guys." Jenna arrived just a few minutes after Shayne.

"Hey. You're not in for another hour, and a half, right?" Franky glanced over at the schedule written on the whiteboard by the door to make sure that she was correct.

"Yeah, my landlord had to come fix the kitchen sink this morning though, so I had to get up anyway." She tossed her bag into the storage room with Shayne's. "Plus it's kind of awkward to make small chat with him, so I just came here. You don't have to pay me extra." She thought that maybe the brunette didn't want to pay for additional hours she hadn't asked her to work.

"No, you're here, you're working. I'll pay you." Franky shrugged. "I was just surprised to see you."

The three of them worked along in relative quiet. Franky was the only one who might qualify as a morning person, but today she wasn't feeling like her usual self.

"Are you feeling alright?" Shayne asked as he set up his workstation on the counter beside her.

"Yeah, all good." The brunette was not all good. She could feel another wave of nausea coming on, but she also felt warm and a bit lightheaded.

The young man glanced over at her. He didn't think she looked 'all good', but she obviously wasn't willing to admit that to him.

She layed the knife she was using down on the cutting board, and placed both hands in front of her, leaning on the counter. She needed to get out of there, it was too hot, and she needed to sit down. She turned towards the door, intending to go to her office. Everything went black, and she felt like she was falling.

"Franks? Franky!"

The brunette heard Shayne's voice far off in the distance, and felt someone's arms around her.

"Shit! Shit!" Shayne lowered Franky gently to the floor. He tapped her cheek. "Franks, wake up!"

"Fuck. Is she breathing?" Jenna peered around the corner of the counter.

"Yeah. Yeah, she's breathing." He'd never taken first aid, but he knew you shouldn't leave someone on their back, so he rolled her towards him onto her side. "Call triple zero, and get an ambulance." He turned his attention back to the brunette. "Come on Franks, don't do this to me."

"They're on their way." Jenna reappeared around the end of the counter a moment later. "Is she okay?"

"She's breathing, and her pulse is good, but she's still unconscious." Shayne was still kneeling beside her; he hadn't taken his eyes off her the whole time, and he felt helpless. "Can you go watch for the ambos, and bring them in?"

"Shayne?" Franky's eyes fluttered open for a second.

"Yeah, I'm here." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "You passed out, just rest, okay? The ambos are on the way."

She gave a slight nod, then closed her eyes again. She felt far too tired to even understand what he was saying to her.

"Just through the doors there. Yeah, in there." Jenna's voice floated in from the hallway.

"I'm John, and this is Michelle" The male ambo introduced himself and his partner as he sat down his bag. "What happened, mate?"

"She was standing here working, and just passed out." Shayne stood, and stepped aside to allow them to work.

"What's her name?" Michelle asked as she kneeled down beside her.

"Franky." Shayne's attention was pulled away by the other ambo.

"Was she feeling unwell before that?" John asked, as his partner began evaluating the brunette.

"She didn't look well, but she said she was fine. I've only been here for about a half hour." Shayne wished he could tell them more.

"Pulse is tachy. BP low." Michelle listed off her findings as she went along. "Did she hit her head?"

"No, I caught her." Shayne ran his hand through his hair. "She said my name a minute ago. She was starting to wake up, but I told her to rest and wait for you guys. I put her on her side…is she okay?"

"You did good." John put his hand on the young man's shoulder.

"Franky, I'm going to take off your jacket so I can put an IV in your arm, then we're going to take you to the hospital to be checked by a doctor." Michelle explained as she unsnapped the brunette's jacket.

Franky nodded.

It wasn't long before they had put the brunette onto the stretcher, and packed up their gear.

"I need to come with her." Shayne said as they loaded her into the back of the ambulance.

"Sorry, we can't transport anyone except the patient." Michelle put her hand on his shoulder to stop him from walking any further before she stepped up into the back with Franky.

"But, I need to stay with her." He hadn't gotten a chance to tell Bridget what was going on yet, and he knew it may take a bit for her to get there after he called. He didn't want Franky to be alone. "Please."

"Are you her next of kin?" John asked as he closed the ambulance doors.

"Wha...yeah, uh, I'm her partner." He reasoned that it wasn't a total lie. He was her business partner….sort of.

"We're taking her to Footscray Hospital. You can meet us there." He started walking towards the driver's door.

"Footscray? Williamstown is closer." Shayne wanted her to get somewhere as quickly as possible.

"Williamstown is full. It's on bypass. We're going to Footscray today." John got in the ambulance, and started the engine.

Shayne took the hint that they were done talking. He turned and ran back into the restaurant.

"Jenna, I'm sorry," he ran through the kitchen to the storage room to get his bag, "I have to-"

"Yeah, I know. Go with her, I'll be fine." She had assumed he'd be gone with them already, and was surprised to see him back inside.

He found Bridget's number in his phone, but it went straight to voicemail. She was probably in a session. He tried Vera next with the same result.

"For fuck sake." He jogged down the hallway to Franky's office, and found her bag. He'd need her car if he was going to the hospital. He found her keys easily, but decided to take the whole bag with him. There was probably stuff in there that she'd need.

He had the number for the main switchboard at Wentworth programmed into his phone as well, so he decided to try that.

"Wentworth Correctional Centre. How may I help you?"

"Yeah, uh, I need to speak to Bridget." He opened the door to Franky's car, and got in. "Westfall," He added. He didn't know if there was more than one 'Bridget' who worked there.

"Who may I say is calling?"

"Shayne. She'll know who it is." He waited while the operator tried to connect him.

"Bridget Westfall."

The blonde's voice came from the other end of the line, and he'd never felt more relieved to hear someone's voice.

"Bridget, it's Shayne. Uh, don't panic," He realized as soon as he'd said it that that was probably the worst thing to say if you actually didn't want someone to panic. "Shit, sorry, uh Franky passed out at work. She's on her way to the hospital with the ambos."

"What hap- which hospital?"

"Footscray. I'm on my way there now, too." He heard a faint 'I'm on my way', and then a click as Bridget hung up the receiver.

"Good morning, Lana." Bridget greeted the young inmate, and took a seat in one of the large green chairs.

"Always so formal. I think we're past that by now, yeah?" Lana took her usual spot, and gave the blonde a half-grin.

"How would you rather I greet you?" She watched Lana's face, and could tell there were multiple responses going through the young inmate's mind.

"Well, if naked in bed isn't an option, how about just something a little more relaxed, like 'hey, how's it going', you know, something like you'd say to a friend." She stretched out in the chair.

"And is that what you consider me? A friend?" Bridget knew that any kind of personal relationship between a client and a therapist was usually trouble, but she also prided herself on earning the women's trust, and making them feel comfortable.

"I guess. Maybe." Lana shrugged. She was quiet for a moment before she looked out the window. "The governor told me this morning that Fletch had dropped the physical and verbal abuse charges against me. Did you have anything to do with that?" She turned her attention back to the blonde.

"Why would you think that?" The blonde had thought about what she'd say if asked about her involvement in getting the charges dropped.

"Because he hates my fucking guts, and no one else in here gives a shit about me." She gave Bridget a look as if to say that should have been obvious. "So did you?"

"I spoke with him, yes." The blonde confirmed that Lana had been right in her assumption.

"And he agreed to drop them? Just like that?" She snapped her fingers in the air. "No," she shook her head, "what deal did he make?"

"Why do you think he made a deal?" Bridget knew that she should probably shut down this line of questioning, but she thought it might be an opportunity to get some inside information on the goings on in the prison.

"Because that's how he works. He never does something nice out of the goodness of his heart." She maintained eye contact with the blonde. "He didn't make you fuck him, did he?"

"Is that...no, he didn't...is that something he does?" Bridget's mind had combined everything she was thinking, and tried to say it all at once.

"I've heard rumors that a couple inmates have fucked him," she shrugged, "but nothing concrete. So what was the deal?"

"You've gotten all you're getting out of me. Now, let's talk about how your weekend went." The blonde had just settled back in her chair when the phone on her desk rang. She glanced over at it, but quickly returned her focus to Lana.

"You can get that if you want." The young inmate lifted her chin towards the phone. "Seems like they're not giving up."

Bridget normally wouldn't have interrupted a session for a phone call, but something in her gut told her to answer it this time. She stood, walked over to the desk, and picked up the receiver.

"Bridget Westfall." She gave her standard work greeting.

"Bridget, it's Shayne. Uh, don't panic,"

The blonde could feel her heart start to race. He sounded out of breath.

"Shit, sorry, uh Franky passed out at work. She's on her way to the hospital with the ambos."

"What hap- which hospital?" She felt her stomach turn.

"Footscray. I'm on my way there now, too."

"I'm on my way," she said as she hung up. "Lana, I'm sorry, I have to-"

"Yeah, yeah go, it's fine." She dismissed Bridget's apology with a wave of her hand.

"Sorry." The blonde gave her one last glance as she grabbed her bag, and hurried down the hall. "Can you let the governor know there's been a family emergency, and I've left?" she called behind her to the guard who was escorting the young inmate. She didn't wait for an answer, just hurried her pace.

Shayne pulled into the hospital parking lot, took the first vacant spot he saw, and jogged towards the entrance to the emergency room. He saw the two ambos who'd been at the restaurant loading up their gear in the ambulance bay.

"She's stable, and awake." John called over to him, "We told them at the front desk that you were on your way."

"Thanks." Shayne gave them a quick wave as he passed.

He was surprised, but pleased to see that the waiting room wasn't too crowded. He walked over to the window where the receptionist was sitting.

"Take a seat. I'll need your name and date of birth." She talked as if it was a recording playing.

"Uh, no, I'm here with Franky Westfall. The ambos just brought her in." He told himself to calm down.

"One moment." She stood, and disappeared around a wall.

A few seconds later, a nurse appeared at the waiting room door.

"You can come in." She motioned for Shayne to follow her. "The doctor is with her now, so you'll just have to wait here until he's done his examination." She pointed to a chair beside the nurse's station. "I'll come get you when she's ready."

"Thanks." He took a seat, and placed the two bags on his lap.

He rested his head back against the wall. He knew someone passing out wasn't usually a big deal, but he couldn't help but be worried. It seemed like forever before the nurse returned, but it had probably only been a few minutes.

"Hey," she reached down, and touched him on the shoulder. "You can come in now. I'm Gabby, by the way." She talked as she led him to Franky's cubical.

"Shayne." He introduced himself.

"You're the partner?" She glanced over, and saw him nod. "Well, you'll be happy to know that she, and the baby are both fine. I'll leave the rest to her to explain."

"The ba-" He stopped himself. "That's great." He couldn't help but smile.

"Here we are." She held back the curtain so he could step into the small space. "Let us know if you need anything."

He simply nodded, and sat down in the chair beside the stretcher. He was still trying to process what Gabby had told him. He placed the bags on the floor beside him, and reached in between the rails to take one of the brunette's hands.

She turned her head to the side, and opened her eyes a bit.

"Hey, Franks." He gave her hand a squeeze, and felt her squeeze back.

"Hey." Franky gave him a small smile.

"How are you feeling?" Shayne knew it was a bit of a dumb question, but he asked anyway.

"Awful. They said I'm dehydrated." She looked up at the bag of fluid running through the plastic tubing into her arm.

"You should have told me you're pregnant," he said softly. He saw her give him a questioning look. "The nurse told me that you and the baby were okay."

"We weren't ready to tell anyone." She sighed, and closed her eyes.

"Don't be upset with her. I lied and told them I was your partner so they'd let me in." The young man gave her a sheepish look.

"I know." Franky gave him a small grin. "I heard her tell the doctor that my husband was here waiting to come in. I figured it was you."

"Yeah," he chuckled. "How far along are you?"

"Seven weeks." The brunette smiled when she saw the look of surprise on his face. "We've been trying for the past few months. Third time's the charm. We were going to wait until I was twelve weeks to tell anyone. I wanted Em to be first."

"Hey, your secret is safe with me." Shayne made a motion like he was zipping his lips closed. "Bridget is on her way, but it might take her a bit. They brought you all the way to Footscray, and it took me a bit to get ahold of her."

"Okay. Thanks for catching me...again." She hadn't forgotten that he'd been the one to break her fall when Hank had accidentally punched her in the face.

"No problem." He smiled at her. "Get some rest. I'll stay until she gets here."

Franky nodded, and gave his hand another squeeze as she closed her eyes.

It took the blonde another twenty minutes to make it to the hospital. She'd taken what she thought would be a faster route, only to get caught up in construction.

"Ms. Westfall, your wife is here." Gabby pulled back the curtain, and allowed Bridget to step in ahead of her. She gave Shayne a stern look.

"Don't be too hard on him, his heart was in the right place." Franky tried to smooth things over with the nurse.

"The results of your blood tests are back, so the doctor will be in shortly to talk about those." Gabby pulled the curtain closed behind her as she left.

"I'm going to head back to the restaurant." Shayne stood, and picked up his bag. "I don't want to see you back there for a few days." He pointed a stern finger at the brunette.

"Em's class lunch is Friday." There was no way she'd miss that.

"I don't want you back until then. I'll handle everything." He reached in his pocket for the car keys. "I kind of borrowed your car to get here," he said, holding them up.

"Just leave it at the house later." Franky watched him turn to leave. "And thank you, again."

He turned and gave her a nod before the curtain fell closed again.

"Baby." Bridget bent down, and kissed the brunette. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Franky reassured her. "They said I'm dehydrated."

"And the blood tests agree. Dehydration paired with mild exhaustion." The doctor walked in through the curtain, looking at the notes on his clipboard. "We're going to run this bag of saline through, and possibly another, then we'll probably let you go home."

"And the baby is fine?" the blonde asked, anxiously.

"The baby is fine," he reassured her. "It seems like this came about because of the morning sickness. I'm going to write you a prescription for something to help that. It's perfectly safe to use during your pregnancy. If you don't want to use it, that's fine, but you'll need to keep a very close eye on how much fluid you're taking in versus how much you're losing, and if you can't keep up with the hydration, I'm afraid you'll have to come in again for IV fluids."

"This is just saline?" Franky ran her fingers along the tubing leading into her arm.

"Yes, just salt and water in a concentration that matches the normal concentration in your body. It's perfectly safe for the baby." He knew why she was asking what was in it, and he wanted her to know that they would never give her anything that would harm her unborn child. "Are you feeling hungry? Thirsty?"

"Uh, I'm not sure." The brunette almost felt a bit hungry, but she was wary after being so sick all weekend.

"I'll have Gabby bring you a little snack you can eat if you feel up to it." He hung the chart on the rail of the bed. "I'll be back to check on you in a bit."

"I'm sorry, Gidge." Franky turned her head to look at her wife. "I know you're probably upset with me right now."

"I'm just happy you're both okay." She rested her hand on the brunette's lower stomach. "Actually, no, you know what, I am upset. I'm upset that you insisted on going in today when you so obviously weren't up to it. Shayne seems more than okay with covering more hours."

"He knows I'm pregnant." The brunette felt that she needed to let Bridget know that right away, and that maybe part of why he had said he would work the extra hours was because he knew. "They told him because he lied and said he was my partner."

"Maybe it's good that someone else knows. He'll look out for you." The older woman wondered what would have happened today if Franky hadn't come to in the ambulance, and been able to tell them that she's pregnant.

"Yeah." The younger woman closed her eyes. She was still a bit tired.

"Try to get some sleep, baby. I'll be here." Bridget knew that the brunette had been restless the past few nights, and if the extra fluids were making her feel more comfortable, then she wanted her to sleep.

"Alright, you heard the doctor. You need to rest for the next couple of days, and Shayne is looking after the restaurant." Bridget had gotten the all clear to bring Franky home, and they'd just arrived at the house. "So do you want to lay down on the bed, or the couch? Your choice."

"How about the bed for a while?" the brunette asked. "I'd like to lay with you."

"Sure." Bridget was feeling a bit tired herself, so she welcomed a short nap.

"You're the big spoon today, huh?" Franky asked as she felt the blonde lay down behind her, and wrap her arms around her.

"Damn right." She loved when the brunette held her, but she also enjoyed switching it up. "In a few months, I'll always be the big spoon."

"You think?" Franky wasn't planning to give up her role as the big spoon just because she was pregnant.

"Mhm. When you get your baby belly." Bridget giggled as she moved her hand over the brunette's stomach.

"I totally never thought of that." The younger woman giggled along with her. She placed her hand over the blonde's. "I can't wait to feel it moving."

"Me either." The blonde kissed the back of Franky's bare shoulder.

"I was thinking. Maybe we could do the nursery in a jungle animal theme." She turned onto her back so that she could see the older woman more easily. "We could paint it a pale green or yellow, and get animal decals to put on the walls. Like a tiger, and an elephant, and a lion, even a monkey. Oh, and a giraffe. There'd be lots of toys to choose from, and it works for either a boy, or a girl. What?" She noticed Bridget watching her with a smile on her face.

"Nothing." The blonde shook her head. "I just like seeing you excited over this, and obviously feeling a bit better." She leaned in, and gave the younger woman a quick kiss on the lips. "I think it's a good idea."

"Really?" Franky didn't know why it surprised her that the blonde agreed so quickly. Maybe she'd expect her to have some ideas of her own for the nursery.

"Yeah. Really." She gave the brunette another kiss. "Let's try to rest for a bit before I have to go pick up Em."

They didn't have long before she'd have to go pick up her niece, but she hoped that at least if Franky got to sleep, she would stay asleep even after she left, and start to catch up on some rest. They had a long way to go until their future son or daughter came into the world, but they were already very much having an impact on the two women's lives.