"I need to be out for a couple of hours this afternoon. You'll be okay?" Franky asked Shayne. She usually tried to get her appointments in the morning, so that she could get them over with before the busy part of their day, but today the clinic had scheduled her in for one o'clock.
"Yeah, we can handle it." He knew Jenna would be in by then. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah." The brunette gave him a smile. He'd been checking in with her ever since the day she'd passed out at the restaurant. "It's just a checkup, and some tests."
"Tests? Do they think something is wrong?" He set down his knife, and gave her his full attention.
"Geez, with the amount you're worrying you'd think you're the father." Franky knew it was a bit mean to make fun of his concern, but she didn't like being fussed over.
"Franks." Shayne gave her a slight frown.
"Nothing is wrong. It's just the normal week twelve stuff," she reassured him.
"When do you get the little pictures so you can tell everyone?" The smile had returned to his face.
"Probably in a month. That's usually around week sixteen, I think." She scraped the veggies she'd been chopping into a large bowl.
"You're going to wait that much longer?" His shoulders slumped as he grabbed another chunk of beef to cut into steaks.
"The chance of having a miscarriage drops a lot after this week, which is what we were waiting for. I don't know though," she shrugged, "I'll have to talk about it with Gidge."
Shayne nodded as he carefully sliced the steaks.
"I've been looking for apartments online. I've got a couple places lined up to look at over the next few days." He glanced up, and saw the brunette open her mouth to protest. "I know you didn't say I had to go yet, but I want to give you guys some space. I've already overstayed our deal as it is anyway."
"Fair enough." Franky knew it was obvious that he'd have to leave to make room for the nursery. "I just kind of thought you'd move in with Vera." She had brought this up with Bridget once before, but she wanted to know what his thoughts on it were.
"Yeah, me too." He let out a sigh as he brought his knife down on the board a bit harder than necessary.
The brunette jumped slightly at the noise, even though she knew it was coming. It was clear that she'd hit a bit of a nerve.
"Are things okay with you guys?" Franky was hesitant to ask the question, as it was clear that they weren't.
"Yeah...I guess….I don't know." He sat the knife down on the board. He had a tendency to talk with his hands when he got worked up, and the last thing he wanted was for someone to get hurt accidentally. "Everything's good on my end, but she's been distant, and moody the past week or so. We don't talk anymore, we don't have sex anymore. We just stare at the TV then go to sleep. I've tried to think what I could have done. I just come to work, then go home to her. I've tried to think if I've missed a birthday, or anniversary, but I got nothing."
"Dude, that sucks." The brunette really did feel bad for him; he seemed genuinely upset. "Have you mentioned it to her? Asked what's causing this?"
"Yep." He nodded with a sigh. "She just says 'nothing'. I know it's not nothing. The worst part is…" He shook his head, and picked up the knife again to resume his task.
"Is what?" Franky gently prodded.
"Is not knowing why." He shook his head. "If she doesn't want to have sex, that's fine, and I know she doesn't owe me a reason, but as someone who cares about her, it would be nice to know if something's wrong. Like if she's got something going on somewhere," he motioned to his lower abdomen, "that makes it uncomfortable, or even if she's just not feeling it, then I get it, but right now, I have no idea if it's something medical, or emotional, or if I've done something wrong and not realized it."
"I'm sure you haven't." The brunette had no idea what was going on with Vera, but other than the incident with Jenna, she knew of nothing that would cause her to be this upset. "Look, you don't have to move out yet. Why don't you sort whatever this is with Vera out first, then decide whether you need a place or not? We're not planning on doing the nursery for a couple more months. Even if we were, I wouldn't kick you out completely. I'd just downgrade you to the couch."
"Thanks." He gave her a small, half hearted smile. "I'll still look. Something month to month would be best, and hopefully this gets figured out soon."
Franky simply nodded, and went back to her work.
"It's good to see you both again. How are you feeling?" Dr. Ryan asked as she sat down at the desk in the exam room.
"Pretty good actually. I haven't had to take any extra time off work since the time I passed out, and I'm rarely sick anymore; it's mostly just nausea." Franky knew that her pregnancy symptoms were far from being over, but the morning sickness was the one she'd hated the most so far. "Do you think I can stop taking the medication for it?"
"Of course, if you think you're feeling well enough for that." She glanced at Franky's chart in the folder she'd brought with her. "You're on a bit of a higher dose, so if you'd like you could try just cutting back on it a bit to start with. If you're still feeling okay after a few days on the lower dose, you could cut back a bit more. Or you can stop all together, and pick it up again if you need to. It's up to you really. As long as you don't go over the prescribed dose, it's perfectly safe."
"Maybe you should just try cutting back," Bridget suggested gently. "There are still some mornings when you don't feel like eating breakfast."
"That's true," Franky agreed. She'd be happy even with just reducing the amount for now.
"Wise advice." The doctor gave Bridget a small smile. "Now, today you're here for the genetic screening tests. We'll do an ultrasound, and a blood test. Basically we're looking for any of the markers that could indicate that the baby will be born with a genetic condition."
"Is that likely?" The brunette looked at Dr. Ryan, then the blonde.
"There's nothing in either family history to indicate an increased chance of something being wrong. The majority of these tests that we do are negative. If you'd like to lay down," the doctor motioned towards the exam table, "I'll explain a bit more about the ultrasound while I get it set up."
"I don't really know my family history though," Franky said as she covered the few steps between where she'd been sitting, and the exam table. "I was pretty young when I got taken from my mom, and even younger when my dad left."
"I understand your concern, but these tests will help to ease your mind." She moved the ultrasound machine over beside the table. "Now, this is called a nuchal translucency screening ultrasound. We'll look for a fluid sac behind the baby's neck, and measure it. If the measurement is above a certain value, then it could indicate that the baby may have a disorder such as Down's Syndrome. I will say though that we do get false positives on this sometimes, which is why we do the blood test, and there are other testing options as well that will help us if we need them."
"So, if something comes up on these tests, what does that mean in terms of the rest of the pregnancy?" The brunette knew she was getting ahead of herself, but she needed to know.
"If something showed up that indicated that the baby had a condition that was incompatible with life, or that would put you or the baby at risk, we would look at terminating the pregnancy." Dr. Ryan knew this was a difficult topic, but it was a discussion that needed to be had sometimes.
"But something like Down's Syndrome isn't incompatible with life, or whatever you just said." The brunette had been trying to pay close attention to what the doctor had been saying, but her mind was distracted with 'what ifs'.
"No, it's not, and there are many other conditions that we screen for that aren't either." She took in a slow breath. She knew she hadn't answered the real question yet. "Some people feel, for whatever reason, that they would be unable to care for a child who would have special needs. In those cases, abortion is an option that is open to them."
"I don't…" Franky shook her head. "I don't think I could do that just because of...Gidge…"
"Let's not worry about it. We're getting way ahead of ourselves here." Bridget gave her a reassuring smile.
"Ah, there's the little one." Dr. Ryan centered the small image on the screen. "And there's what we're looking for." She clicked a few buttons on the machine.
"Our baby," the blonde whispered as she placed a kiss on Franky's temple.
"Yes, and it's officially considered a fetus now, not an embryo." She clicked a few more buttons, then studied the images once more. "All good." She glanced over at them, and gave them a smile. "We'll do the blood test just to be sure, and check for a few other things, but everything here looks good."
"That's it?" Franky had been watching the image on the screen, and couldn't believe the whole procedure was done already.
"That's all." The doctor nodded as she began putting away the equipment. "We'll draw some blood before you leave, and you'll get those results most likely on Monday. If everything is good with those, we'll see you in a month for your sixteen week ultrasound, and we'll get you some nice pictures of the baby then."
"Great!" The brunette couldn't help but smile. She was relieved that the first test had gone well.
"You don't have anything planned for tonight, do you?" Bridget asked as they stood beside her car, saying goodbye to each other after they'd left the doctor's office.
"No," Franky placed a kiss on her lips. "Just you."
"Franky," the blonde blushed slightly as she looked around to see if anyone passing by had overheard. "Vera asked if she and I could have a girl's night, if that's okay with you."
"You don't need my permission, but yeah that's cool. Shayne was saying just this morning that she'd been a bit off lately. Maybe a fun evening will help her." Franky wondered if that meant Shayne was already planning on spending the evening at the house.
"Hopefully. There's something going on for sure." Bridget had noticed a change in her friend lately. She seemed more distracted.
Franky kissed the blonde once more.
"You should stop by the office with me on your way back to work," the brunette said with a smirk. Between the nausea in the mornings, and the tiredness at night, she hadn't been feeling up to much physical intimacy other than a cuddle the past few weeks. The desire was there, but her body had been unwilling to cooperate. She usually felt better through the day, and this was a rare opportunity when they had time together in the afternoon without Emily around.
"Tempting," Bridget returned the grin, "but I need to get back. I have a full day of sessions scheduled."
"Come on, just a few minutes." Franky normally liked to take her time, but she wasn't opposed to a quickie once in a while.
"God, you make this hard." The blonde let out a small laugh, and shook her head. "I really can't today, baby. I had to eat my lunch in the car while I was driving over here, just to clear enough time. Maybe Liz can take Em for an afternoon this weekend, or we could ask Shayne to just take her to the park for an hour or so."
"Yeah." The brunette gave her a small smile. She was disappointed, but she understood. She had a flexible work schedule, and she knew not everyone was lucky enough to have that. "I love you." She gave the older woman's hand a squeeze.
"I love you, too." Bridget stretched up for a quick kiss, then studied Franky's face for a moment.
"You're still considering it, aren't you?" The brunette could read her wife well by now.
"Yes, but I need to go." She smiled, and shook her head, as she reached for the door handle so she could get in her car. If he stood here any longer, she'd lose her resolve.
She watched Franky turn, and walk to where her car was parked a few meters up the street. The blonde searched in her bag for her phone, and quickly pulled up her schedule for the rest of the day. She had a session starting in twenty minutes, but she had also set aside forty five minutes for writing up reports at the end of the day. She could move the session into that time, and free herself up for over an hour right now. It would just mean she'd have a bit of work to catch up on on Monday. She decided to send a quick text to Vera.
To: Vera
Can you move my next session to 15:30? The doctor is running a bit behind. Thanks!
She'd told her friend that the appointment she had during her lunch break was for herself. She was worried that the governor would start asking questions if she kept saying they were something that she, and Franky were going to together.
Vera confirmed a moment later that she'd made the change, and the blonde felt a slight twinge of guilt, which she quickly pushed aside.
Bridget started her car, and looked around before she pulled out into traffic. Franky was long gone now, and probably halfway back to the restaurant. The blonde thought that was kind of perfect. It would give the younger woman time to get settled into her work, and be truly surprised that she'd changed her mind.
Franky tossed her jacket over the end of the couch, and made her way to her desk. She had a couple days of earnings to enter into her accounting program, and an inventory order to submit to one of their suppliers, then she was calling it a day if everything was going well in the kitchen.
She'd thought about Bridget the whole drive back, and her body was reminding her now how badly she wanted the older woman. She sat back in her chair while she waited for the software to open, and her mind drifted to what the blonde would look like naked underneath her on the couch, on the desk, against the wall, moaning as Franky pushed her fingers deep inside her.
She shook her head. This wasn't going to help her get anything done.
"Numbers, numbers are boring, and not at all sexy," she mumbled to herself.
She'd just begun her work when there was a faint knock at the door.
"Yeah, come in." She heard the door open, and close, and didn't bother looking up. She figured it was either Boomer, Jenna, or Shayne. What got her attention was the sound of the lock clicking into place, and she glanced up to see the blonde standing there, a huge grin on her face.
"I reconsidered," she said with a giggle.
"Is that so?" Franky leaned back in the chair, and laced her fingers together, resting her hands on her stomach.
"Yeah."
They were just putting their clothes back on when there was a faint knock on the door. Franky looked behind her to make sure the blonde was fully dressed, then reached for the doorknob.
"Oh, hey, uh," Shayne glanced over the brunette's shoulder, and saw Bridget smoothing out the wrinkles in her shirt. He gave Franky a knowing grin. "Em just got here, and she said your door was locked. I told her I'd see what was going on, and uh, I see," he said with a small chuckle.
"Stop." The brunette shoved him playfully in the shoulder. "Uh, tell her she can pick something out of the pastry display for a snack. That's usually not a quick decision. Then she can come down here and hang out."
"Yep." He gave a quick nod, and turned to go back down the hallway.
"Oh, and don't tell her Gidge is here." Franky knew that the blonde had to get back to work, and Emily would only slow her down.
"Will do," He said as he went back through the kitchen door.
"That was close." Bridget grinned as she picked up her bag. "I'll see you later tonight. I'm not sure what time."
"That's okay. Have a good time with Vera." Franky gave her a quick kiss, and checked the hallway to make sure it was clear. "I love you."
"I love you, too," the blonde said over her shoulder as she slipped out the back door.
"Got kicked out of girl's night, huh?" Franky called out as she heard Shayne come in the front door. She and Emily were settled in on the couch watching a movie, which was almost over.
"Nah, I told her last night that I was going to spend tonight here." He turned down the hallway. "I'm going to take a shower."
"He's sad," Emily said without looking away from the TV.
"I think he is a bit, yeah." The brunette reached for a piece of popcorn.
"He can pick the next movie then." The young girl set the remote on the coffee table in front of the other couch, where she expected him to sit.
Franky put her arm around Emily, and gave her a gentle squeeze. She was proud of how caring she was, not only with her and Bridget, but now Shayne as well.
It wasn't long before they heard the water in the shower turn off, and he got dressed, and joined them in the living room.
"Em said you get to pick the next movie." The brunette motioned to the remote on the table. "There's leftover pizza in the fridge too if you're hungry."
"Nah, I'm good. I ate the last serving of salmon before I left. Wouldn't have been fresh enough to serve tomorrow." He glanced over the back of the couch towards the fridge. "But I could probably do a slice."
Franky chuckled as he got up, and got himself a slice.
"So what did you tell Vera?" The brunette knew he probably didn't want to talk about it, but she was concerned for both of her friends.
"I said I took the early shift tomorrow to give you the day off," he mumbled through a mouthful of pizza.
"Ah." Franky thought it was a believable excuse, but he was only postponing the inevitable. He'd have to talk to Vera at some point. He'd only just bought himself a night.
"I'll actually work," he said as he took another bite.
"You don't have to." She felt like he'd done enough covering for her when she was actually sick; she didn't need him doing extra when she was fully capable of working.
"I want to. You sleep in and spend the day with Em, Bridget." He knew she was about to protest again. "I need to keep busy."
"Alright, but Shayne," she waited until he made eye contact, "get things sorted, yeah?"
"I will," he promised.
"Vera, I'm here," Bridget called out, as she entered her friend's house. "I picked up the Chinese food. It should be fresh, I had to wai-" The blonde stopped short when she turned the corner, and saw Vera sitting at the table in tears. "Oh god, what's wrong?"
She sat the bags on the nearest counter, and went to join her friend at the table.
Vera didn't say anything, but simply pushed something from in front of her, over towards Bridget so she could see it.
The blonde looked down, and knew immediately what it was.
"You're pregnant."
