"Franky is sick?" Emily asked as she walked to the car with her aunt.
"She's just not feeling well today, so she came home to rest." Bridget was trying to be as vague as possible, but she knew that the young girl was very much aware that Franky hadn't been feeling herself for a while now.
The blonde could tell by the look Emily was giving her that her niece hadn't completely accepted her answer, but she was glad the young girl hadn't pushed her for more information.
"Is she asleep?" Emily looked around the house as soon as they got home.
"She's resting in the bedroom." Bridget placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder, and guided her towards the kitchen. "I want you to empty the dirty dishes out of your lunch bag, then you can go get changed into some comfy clothes if you'd like."
"Can I see her?" She looked up at the blonde with sad eyes.
"Unpack your bag, then you can look in on her from the doorway. She really needs to rest, okay?" Bridget normally would have let her go in and see up close that the brunette was alright, but she really didn't want to risk waking her up. She could see the disappointment on the young girl's face. "After that, we can play a game, or play with your lego, or watch some cartoons."
Emily nodded, but the blonde knew that her heart wasn't totally in it.
The blonde waited while the young girl unpacked her lunch bag, and placed her dishes in the dishwasher, then walked with her down the hallway.
"See, love, she's okay, just having a nap," Bridget said as she opened the bedroom door enough that Emily could see Franky laying in the bed. She could hear the brunette softly snoring, which meant that she was indeed in a deep sleep. "Come on, go get changed, and we'll do something fun." She didn't want to linger there and risk waking the other woman.
"Franky is sick a lot now," the young girl said as she returned to the living room with one of her boardgames.
"She's been working hard, and she just got a bit overtired." The blonde put out her arm so that Emily would sit on the floor beside her. "You know how sometimes you just feel kind of yucky when you've had a long day, and you need to sleep?"
"Yeah." The young girl nodded as she unpacked the game on the coffee table.
"So she's not going back to work until the end of the week." Bridget wanted to prepare her for the fact that she most likely wouldn't be going to the restaurant for the next few days.
"She's going back for my class lunch?" Emily stopped what she was doing, and looked up at her aunt, who nodded. "We can cancel it. She should rest."
"Oh, love." The blonde pulled her in for a hug. She was truly touched that the young girl would offer to do that so that Franky would get better. "That's very thoughtful of you, but she really wants to do it. She saw the doctor earlier today, and he thought she just needed a couple of days to rest."
"Okay." Emily was quiet as she set out the remaining pieces.
As Bridget watched her, she decided that she needed to have a talk with Franky later that night. Right now though, she wanted to spend some time with her niece.
"How was school today?" She hadn't heard the young girl mention anything about her classes lately, so she wanted to check in.
"It was good." Emily gave her a small smile. "Ms. Williams put out a basket with extra worksheets in it, and if we finish early we're allowed to do one of those. She says they're worksheets, but they're more fun than the regular ones."
"That's great!" The blonde was genuinely happy to hear that Emily was enjoying school a bit more now.
"Red, or black?" The young girl had finished setting up the checkerboard.
"I'll go with red." It had been awhile since Bridget had played this game against Emily. It was usually one that she played with Franky. "You can go first."
They had played a couple of rounds before Franky emerged from the bedroom.
"Ooo checkers. Looks like you're not doing so well, Gidge," the brunette teased the older woman as she laid down on the couch so that she was looking over Emily's shoulder.
"Well, someone seems to have taught her too well." The blonde smiled when she saw Emily try to hide a grin.
"No mercy, right bub?" She reached out, and gave the young girl's shoulder a squeeze.
"Right." Emily giggled. She reached out, and jumped her checker over the final red one remaining on the board. "I win."
"Atta girl." Franky held out her hand, and got a high five.
"Maybe I'll have to get some lessons too before the next time we play." Bridget caught the quick wink, and small grin from the brunette.
Franky started to get up as the blonde placed the pieces back into the box.
"Lay back down. I'm making supper tonight." She stood, and placed a kiss on Franky's cheek before she headed to the kitchen.
"Can I lay with you?" Emily turned her head to look behind her so that she could see the brunette.
"Sure." Franky moved so that her back was against the back of the couch.
"Auntie said you had to see the doctor this morning," the young girl said as she settled in.
"Yeah, I did. I wasn't feeling well." She wasn't sure how much Bridget had told Emily, so she stuck to the basics for now.
"Are you okay now?" She looked up at the brunette, watching her closely.
"I'm starting to feel a bit better, yeah." Franky placed a kiss on her forehead. "Tell me about your day." She wanted to move off the topic of her health as quickly as possible.
Bridget worked away in the kitchen as she listened to her niece go over the details of her day again with the brunette.
"Did your supper settle okay?" the blonde asked as she climbed into bed with Franky.
"Yeah, so far, so good." The younger woman pulled Bridget close. "If I'm sick again tomorrow, I'll get that prescription filled, and give it a try."
"You're okay with taking it?" Bridget trusted the doctor, but she knew that Franky was being extra cautious.
"Yeah." She gave a small nod. "I thought about it today, and I did some of my own research online. It's been used safely for years, and I think that me not being able to keep anything down, and passing out, is more harmful to the baby than the medication. I might call Dr. Ryan though, and get a second opinion, just to be sure."
"Sounds like a good plan." She placed a soft kiss on Franky's lips. "I think we should tell Em what's going on." She heard the brunette sigh. "I know we said we'd wait a bit longer, but it's obvious you're not feeling well, and she's definitely picking up on that."
"I know. I'm going to be so awkward though." Franky looked at the blonde with a nervous grin on her face. "What if she starts asking questions? We don't even know how much she knows about this stuff already."
"It'll be okay. Let's talk about it." Bridget slipped her hand beneath the younger woman's singlet, and trailed her fingers along her back; a gesture she knew comforted her. "We're going to know how much she knows based on what questions she's asking. Going by her comments about our honeymoon, she knows that it takes two people to make a baby. She's seen pregnant women before, so she knows they grow in the woman's belly. Other than that, we'll have to let her guide us. We've already talked to her about what sex is, so that's one thing out of the way."
"But creating this baby didn't come about through sex." The brunette couldn't help but close her eyes for a few seconds to enjoy the feeling of Bridget's hand on her back.
"No, but it did come from love." She brushed her nose against Franky's cheek, then gave her a soft kiss.
"Yeah, it did." the younger woman whispered quietly.
"So we'll keep it basic. If she asks for more details, we can give a bit more of an explanation." Bridget was trying to appear confident to ease the brunette's mind, but on the inside, she was unsure of exactly how it would go.
"Walk me through the basics." Franky gave her a kiss.
"Well, when a man and a woman love each other…" Bridget tried to keep a straight face.
"Be serious." The brunette smiled, and tickled the other woman's side, causing her to giggle. "I know how it works."
"I know you do. Okay," she cleared her throat, "why don't we tell her that a man has a special type of cell, and a woman has a different special type of cell, and when they come together, they make a baby."
"Come together." Franky giggled.
"Are you five?" Bridget smiled, and shook her head.
"Sorry, sorry. It's my way of dealing with uncomfortable situations; I become a sarcastic asshole." She gave the blonde a kiss. "What if she asks how that happens?" When the older woman was quiet for a moment, Franky continued. "We're not going to say it happens during sex, right?"
"I mean…" Bridget sighed. "I'd rather she heard it from us than someone else. Obviously she doesn't need to know specific details."
"And we're going to tell her right away that they have the same dad? That could bring up questions too." The brunette was starting to think this sounded like a lot for a young child to take in.
"I think that's important. What about you?" The blonde felt like Emily should know right away that this was something her dad had wanted for them.
"Yeah." Franky smiled. "I want her to know that she's getting a brother or sister, and not just in the sense that they'll be raised together."
"I think she'll like that. Especially since she's mentioned it a couple of times." She studied the brunette's face for a moment. "Are you feeling a bit better about it now?"
"I think so, but we'll see when it happens." The younger woman let out a small chuckle, then turned serious. "I wouldn't want to do this with anyone but you."
"Ditto, baby." Bridget pulled her in for a slow kiss.
Franky was almost asleep when she heard their bedroom door open, then a few seconds later, felt a small hand on her arm.
"Can I sleep with you?" Emily asked quietly.
The brunette lifted up the blankets to allow her to get under them.
"You feeling okay? Franky asked in her half-asleep state.
"Yeah." The young girl snuggled in close to her.
"Bad dream?" she moved on to the next possibility.
"No." She shook her head.
Franky opened her eyes, and saw that the blonde was still awake as well. They made eye contact, and she gave the older woman a small nod. She knew they were both thinking the same thing. Emily had been doing well sleeping on her own after she'd worked through her fears following her father's death, and now this setback appeared when the brunette started to feel unwell. It was definitely time to tell her what was going on.
"You ready, baby?" Bridget had just finished cleaning up after supper, and now she joined the younger woman on the couch.
"Yeah," Franky took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, "we'll tell her when she comes out."
They had sent Emily to have a shower, and get changed into her pyjamas when they'd finished eating.
"Can I be the one to actually tell her? Then we can all talk about it? I just want to be the one to say it to her." The brunette couldn't explain why, but she wanted the young girl to hear the news from her.
"Yeah, of course." Bridget gave her a smile. "I think that would be nice since you're the one who's actually having it."
Franky's eyes snapped up when she heard the bathroom door open. She knew that Emily would go to her room, and get dressed then come out to spend time with them. It wouldn't be long now.
"It'll be okay." The blonde reached over, and squeezed Franky's arm.
"I know. I'm really excited to tell her, but I'm also a bit nervous too. What if she's not happy about it?" The younger woman knew she was being a bit irrational, but the question had been in the back of her mind for a few days now.
"I think she'll like the idea of it right now, but yeah, she might be a bit jealous that she has to share you when the baby actually arrives." Bridget knew that while her niece was a good kid, she'd probably still have a problem giving up any time with either of them, especially 'her Franky'.
"I'm going to feel so guilty about that, Gidge. I don't want her to feel like she's any less important to me than she ever was." Franky looked down at her hands.
"We're getting ahead of ourselves a bit here." The blonde put her arm around the younger woman. "Let's focus on what we need to do today, and we'll deal with the rest as it comes. We'll talk to her about the other stuff when we need to, and never forget that you're not doing this alone."
"I know." Franky nodded as she heard the door to Emily's bedroom open. She took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "Here we go."
"Em, love, can you come sit with us for a minute?" Bridget saw the look that her niece gave her. "You're not in trouble, or anything. Come here." She patted the space she'd made between her, and the brunette.
The young girl slowly walked over, and sat down between them on the couch.
"So…" Franky began, then paused. She glanced up at the blonde, who gave her an encouraging nod. "So you've probably noticed that I haven't been feeling well lately, and I, we," she corrected herself, "just want to tell you what's going on."
"What's wrong, love?" Bridget saw silent tears running down the young girl's cheeks.
The brunette had been looking down at her hands as she talked, trying to find the best way to say what needed to be said. She looked over now, and saw that Emily was indeed upset.
"Are you sick like my mom was? She was tired a lot, and didn't eat, and she threw up." The young girl looked up into Franky's eyes.
"No, bub." The brunette shook her head. "I'm not sick like your mom was. Come here."
Franky opened her arms, and Emily quickly climbed onto her lap.
"You're not dying?" The young girl asked as she buried her face in the brunette's shoulder.
"I'm not. I promise." Franky held her tightly, and rubbed her back.
"Promise?" she asked, her voice muffled.
"Yeah, I promise. I'm not going anywhere." The brunette looked over at Bridget. The older woman had been right that they needed to tell her about the baby sooner rather than later.
Franky held her, and rubbed her back until she'd calmed down.
"You okay now?" the brunette asked softly.
"Yeah." Emily reached up, and dried her cheek with her hand. "I was scared."
"I know, bub. I'm sorry." Franky placed a kiss on her forehead. "What Auntie, and I want to tell you right now is actually happy, and pretty exciting."
"But you don't feel well." The young girl couldn't comprehend how anything good could come from being sick like the brunette had been for the past week or so.
"I know. Why don't you sit between us on the couch again?" She gently eased her off her lap, and waited until she got settled. "So, like I was saying, we want to tell you why I haven't been feeling well." Franky suddenly realized that she didn't know exactly how she wanted to say it, and she looked over at the blonde, who gave her an encouraging nod. "The reason I haven't been feeling well is because I'm going to have a baby." The brunette placed her hand on her stomach. "You're going to be a big sister."
Franky couldn't help but smile as she and Bridget watched Emily processing what they'd just told her. It was only a few seconds before the young girl smiled again, but then turned serious.
"I don't understand." She looked up at each of the women.
"What don't you understand, love?" The blonde knew there were a lot of things that the young girl may not get about the situation right now, and she didn't want to confuse her even more by giving her information that she wasn't looking for yet.
Emily shrugged.
"Did your parents tell you anything about babies? Where they come from, or anything?" Bridget knew that Tim and Sarah had wanted to have more kids, but Sarah's illness had prevented that, so she was unsure if the topic of babies had ever come up between them and the young girl.
"Just that a mom and a dad make a baby." She looked at each of the women again.
"Is that why you're a bit confused?" The blonde saw her nod.
"Franky is the mom, but…" Emily looked at her aunt, unsure what to say.
"You're confused who the dad is?" Bridget had hoped that this particular conversation would come a bit later, but her niece was clever, and curious, so she should have expected it would come up sooner.
"Is it you?" The young girl asked the question in a tone that said she knew she was wrong, but she had no other information that could lead her to a different conclusion.
"No, I'll be the baby's mother as well." The blonde saw the confusion grow in Emily, and she knew it was time to be direct with her. "Men and women each have a different kind of special cells in their bodies. In men, it's called sperm, and in women, it's called an egg. You need one of each to make a baby. So what happens is the man gives his cells to the woman, and when they mix with the egg, it can make a baby that grows in her stomach. Does that make sense so far?"
"Yeah." Emily nodded slowly. "Is Shayne the dad?"
Franky started to laugh, but played it off as a cough. She didn't want to discourage the young girl from asking questions, but the idea of Shayne fathering her child seemed so off to her. She'd come to see him as a brother. She knew that Emily had chosen him solely because he was the only male who was close to their family.
"No, bub, it's not Shayne." The brunette had pulled herself together enough to answer the young girl's question.
"I know this is going to be confusing, but I'll explain more in a second." Bridget prepared herself for her next statement to open up a whole flood of emotions in Emily. "The father of the baby is your dad. So you and your new brother or sister are going to have the same father."
"But…" The young girl looked at Franky's stomach, then back at the blonde. "My dad is dead."
"Yes," Bridget nodded, and took one of her niece's hands in hers, "but remember those special cells I told you about?"
"Yeah, the sperm and the egg have to mix to make a baby." Emily carefully recalled what she'd just been told a moment earlier.
"Right." The blonde was glad that her explanation had made sense. "Those cells can be taken out of the person's body, and kept for a long time at a hospital, and then when the person wants to use them, they can go see a special doctor, and the doctor will help them make a baby."
"What does the doctor do?" The young girl was curious now.
"The doctor takes the cells from the man, the sperm, and puts them into the woman so that they can mix with her egg. When that happens, a baby starts to grow." Bridget glanced up at the brunette, who was nervously playing with her ring. "Before your dad had his accident, he talked to us, and said that he had given some of his sperm to the hospital, and that we could use it if we wanted to have a baby one day. So we went to the special doctor, and she helped us."
The two women watched as Emily took in what the blonde had just told her.
"I get to be a big sister," she said with a huge smile.
"Yeah, you do, bub." Franky could feel the tears in her eyes.
"But why does the baby make you sick?" she asked, concerned.
"Growing a baby takes a lot of energy, so it makes me feel more tired than normal, and sometimes my stomach is upset, but it's just temporary, and I'll be fine." The brunette wanted to reassure her once more that she was perfectly healthy.
Emily smiled, and hugged each of them.
"Do you feel better now, love?" Bridget asked as she gave the young girl an extra squeeze before letting her go.
"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm going to help take care of Franky, and the baby."
"We will definitely need some help." The blonde smiled. She loved that the young girl had such a caring, nurturing side. "Do you have any more questions right now?"
"I don't know," Emily thought for a moment. "I don't think so."
"Okay. If you think of any later on, you can ask us anything you want." Bridget felt like they had given her enough information to understand what was happening for now, but she knew there would be more questions later on. "One last thing, then we can just hang out for the evening. This is important, okay?"
"Okay." Emily gave her a serious look.
"What we talked about just now, about Franky having a baby, and where babies can come from, that's a private conversation just between the three of us, alright?" The blonde knew they still had other people to tell, and they wanted to wait a bit before they revealed it to anyone else.
"It's a secret?"
"Right now, the three of us, and Shayne, are the only people who know about Franky's baby, and we don't want anyone else to know until later on, so yes, for now that's a secret." She knew that Emily understood the concept of secrets, so she felt fairly confident that she wouldn't tell anyone else. "Remember when you asked us about sex before, and we said that it's okay to talk to us, and ask us questions, but you shouldn't talk about it with everybody?" She waited until the young girl nodded. "Same thing goes for what we told you about babies. Some kids you know may talk about it, and you may know more than them, and that's okay, but it's up to their parents to answer their questions, not you, okay?"
"Yeah." Emily gave each of them a hug again.
"Good." The blonde gave a quick nod. "Now, let's do something fun before it's time for bed. Your choice."
"Ninja turtles!" The young girl reached for the remote.
"I think that went well," Franky said as she, and the blonde settled into bed.
"Yeah." Bridget smiled at her. "She's excited, and she's feeling better now that she knows what's going on with you."
There was a soft knock at the door.
"Come in, bub." The brunette thought that maybe they'd spoken too soon about Emily feeling better.
The young girl walked in without a word, and claimed her usual spot between them.
"Is everything okay?" The blonde thought that the young girl appeared to be fine, but there must be some reason that she came and got in their bed.
"I can't sleep. I'm excited about the baby. When does it get here?" She looked at each of the women with a smile on her face.
"About seven and a half more months," Franky said with a small chuckle.
"Oh." The young girl thought for a moment. "That's okay, I have a lot to learn. Can I help feed it? And hold it?"
"Yeah, love, you can help us with lots of stuff." Bridget was glad that Emily was so eager.
"And dress it? And pick out clothes?" The young girl was counting off on her fingers all the things she wanted to do.
"It's time for sleep, bub. Remember what I said about needing extra rest?" Franky decided she needed to play that card for everyone's sake right now.
"Yeah," Emily answered quietly.
"Let's all be quiet, and close our eyes then so we can get to sleep." The brunette didn't want to tell her to be quiet, so she made it seem like something they'd all do together.
The room was quiet for a moment, and Franky could feel herself starting to drift off.
"Can I help pick out a name?" the young girl asked quietly.
The brunette opened one eye, and gave her a half-joking stern look, which made Emily smile, and go quiet again.
Bridget had listened to the end of the exchange between the two. It was going to be a long few months, but in the best way possible.
