"God I love this car" Frankie mused as the black Porsche pulled to a stop in Bridget's family home driveway in between two cars she didn't recognize, one a BMW SUV and the other an Audi hatchback.
They exited the car at the same time, not bothering to raise the roof as it was a cloudless day and the car was parked behind the secure gates of the property.
Bridget had broached the topic of Frankie's nerves several times over the last three days, each time choosing her words wisely so not to give away Bea's heads up. Each time Frankie expelled the suggestion with her carefully honed bravado.
Bridget led Frankie to the side entrance which led to the back garden where she could hear her family talking and laughing. In her left hand was a cake that Frankie had spent the morning making, surprising Bridget with the bangs and clatters from the kitchen at 5am, Bridget went out to see what the noise was, and when she found the normally serene ex chef in a state of chaos, she went back to bed, leaving Frankie to digest her thoughts in peace, she had offered her plenty of opportunities to open up, and Frankie knew she could always approach her, so she decided that the younger woman just needed to process in her own way. her right hand clasped Frankie's hand, giving it a squeeze in a silent act of support.
"Bridgy" a tall man who looked like a much younger version of Derek jumped up and hugged his sister, lifting her feet an inch from the ground.
"Put me down you idiot, and for gods sake stop with the calling me Bridgy, it wasn't cute when I was 10 and it still isn't" Bridget laughed at the age old joke between her and her baby brother.
"Good to see your still alive" he joked as he kissed her softly on the temple.
"Piss off, some of us have to actually work, we can't all pay people to do our work for us while we play golf every day" Bridget grinned, grabbing Frankie's hand again.
"Ahh and you must be the Frankie that Bridget won't shut up about" the tall man grinned, pulling Frankie into a slightly awkward hug.
"Sam this is Frankie… Frankie meet my youngest brother Sam.. I will let you discover for yourself how much of a pain in the arse he is… you two will get on" Bridget laughed as her brother pouted and flicked his finger at her.
"Oh Bridget and Frankie are here… Sam let them come through and stop pestering your sister" Sally called and several people laughed before they materialized from the side of the house, each looking straight to Frankie to get their first look at the first person Bridget had ever introduced to the family.
"Hey guys… subtle as always" Bridget grinned as she shoved her youngest brother aside playfully and dragged Frankie towards the group.
"Everyone meet Frankie… Frankie this is everyone" Bridget squeezed her partners hand, noticing how pale she was as the younger woman raised a trembling hand to wave to all of the people staring at her.
"Come on through Frankie love, I'll grab you a beer" Sally said, also noticing the paleness and bashfulness of the newest member of her family.
"Well you have already met my youngest baby Samuel… this is my oldest son John" Sally pointed towards a man who looked like an older, more masculine version of Bridget.
"This is Lily, Sam's wife and Beth, John's wife" Sally pointed towards first a short woman with long black hair, she looked almost latino with her olive skin and dark features, and then to a slightly older woman who wore her strawberry blonde hair in a short but stylish do, they both grinned and waved towards her.
With introductIon out of the way, Bridget pressed forward, hugging each of them and placing affectionate kisses to their cheeks. Her grin spreading as each of them moved on to greet Frankie with the same sentiment.
"Derek" Sally called as they moved towards the table. "the girls are here, come and say hello"
"Aunty Gidge you're here!" echoed as five girls ran from their grandfather towards their Aunt, wrapping her in hugs and each telling her things over the voices of the others as they fought to fill her in on the gossip of games they had recently won, awards they had received and things that they had done lately.
Bridget glanced to Frankie and saw the smirk on her face. "Looks like your not the first person to call me that" she laughed knowingly.
"Aunty Gidge, is this your girlfriend?" the eldest of the group asked, the young girl of about 10 years called the word girlfriend like she was in the school playground.
"Girls this is Frankie… and no she isn't my girlfriend she's my fiance" Bridget smiled proudly as her mother took the cake box from her hands.
"Do you know what that means Charlie?" Sam asked his eldest daughter.
"That Aunty Gidge is getting married?" the girl said matter of factly, throwing her long dark hair over her shoulder.
"No it means Frankie is crazy coz she is willing to put up with Aunty Gidge's smelly farts" Sam laughed until he received a rather hard punch to his chest, he couldn't help the whimper that escaped his lips as he began rubbing his tender pec. The girls laughed before running off to resume whatever game it was that they were playing.
"You're such an ass… and my fart's do not smell Dickhead" Bridget growled once the girls were out of hearing distance.
"Children behave, Frankie doesn't need to see you two winding each other up" Derek warned as he handed Frankie a beer with a polite nod before he hugged Bridget.
"Hey Dad" Bridget smiled into the embrace.
"Hi Sweetheart, your looking well" and with that, he was gone as he pulled up a seat at the table and everyone followed him.
"Ok you need to show us the ring now, I can tell Mum is about to pee her pants in excitement" Sam giggled before receiving a slap to the back of his head from his mother.
Bridget excitedly raised her hand, showing them all the stolen family heirloom that Frankie had managed to track down and retrieve.
"I still can't believe you managed to find this" John grinned. "You have no idea how hard we tried to find this thing before we gave it up for lost forever"
"Well it wasn't the easiest of tasks" Frankie stated, finally breaking her silence, she couldn't believe how nervous she was, even Bridget's hand which sat soothingly on her thigh did nothing to ground her and help push away the shyness she felt as she watched all the new people that had just been brought into her life.
"I'm impressed, if you ever want work as a PI let me know, I know a lot of people who would love to get you on their staff" John smiled warmly, hoping to coax the woman from her shell so that he could get to know the real person that had stolen his big sisters heart.
"Is that what you do? Private investigation" Frankie asked, for the first time realizing just how little she knew about the most important people in Bridget's life.
"No, I'm actually a cop... but I doubt if I offered you a job you would be interested... don't hold my job against me though" John's warm smile told Frankie that he wasn't judging her or making jokes at her expense. She couldn't help but notice the difference between the two brothers, the younger was tall and looked like Derek but was full of laughter and playfulness, whereas John was a male version of Bridget, shorter, more reserved, but she could tell already that behind his more serious and mature personality, he had all of Bridget's kindness and heart, his humor was more reserved, just like Bridget... she couldn't help but muse that if she ever found herself in an alternative universe, John would be the perfect man for her. Yet as she glanced sideways to her partner, she knew that even in that alternative universe, when John brought her home to meet his family, she would have met Bridget and fallen head over heels for her.
"Hah, nah I think I have had enough experience with the police to last a lifetime thanks" Frankie finally smirked as she felt herself relax.
"I can only imagine, there are a lot of bastard cop's out there, it takes a lot trying to weed out the bad ones so that they aren't in a position to abuse their power"John said, smiling when he realized how easily he could discuss the topic with the younger woman, and how her eyes held no sign of distrust or hatred that he worked on what could only be described as the opposite side considering Frankie's past.
"You know, Frankie actually just passed her bars a few weeks ago, she's a fully qualified lawyer now" Bridget said proudly, loving that her brother was taking the time to inform Frankie of his position in the community without any form of judgment.
"No shit... that's fantastic, do you mind me asking how you got into law? I mean, if you don't mind me mentioning, I saw how everything played out on that show, Beth here is addicted to cooking shows and forces me to watch them with her, you were an incredible cook by the way, we were rooting for you to win" John hoped he hadn't said the wrong thing, but he wanted to get the elephant out of the room so that he could see Frankie relax a bit.
"I got into it inside, an old friend talked me into looking at some studies and when I looked over the brochures, it was law that spoke out to me the most. I love cooking, but I'm a realist and I knew that I would never work as a chef again, and so I started studying it, never really thinking that I would be out here putting that education to use... I'm glad I did it though, I never saw myself as an office girl, in fact the thought of sitting at a desk working on a computer would have repulsed me several years back, but I love the work, no day is boring, I always have plenty of cases to stick my teeth into, its great work" Frankie admitted.
"That's awesome, what firm are you working at?" Lily asked with genuine interest.
"I managed to get a job at Legal Aid after my release, I started out as a paralegal but after passing my bars they gave me a promotion to being a lawyer" Frankie smiled towards the attractive brunette sat opposite her.
"Oh so you will know Jane Stevens then?"
"Jane's my boss" Frankie answered nervously, wondering how the other woman knew Jane.
"Jane and I went to uni together, we actually lived in student accommodation together, she was a bit older than me but we hit it off straight away, I haven't seen her for months, how is she?" Frankie eased into the conversation with the other woman, instantly recognizing that she was talking with a fellow lawyer, and they happily discussed all the people that the knew in common.
"Frankie seems to be settling in ok" Sam commented as he and Bridget stood in the kitchen preparing the salad, Bridget had left Frankie and Lily to their conversation, Beth and John listening with admiration as the two women chatted easily like old friends about various cases they had worked and cases that were upcoming in both of their firms.
"Yeah, remind me to kiss Lily for sparking that conversation, for a second I thought she was going to sit silently the whole day, which you will soon learn is definitely not Frankie" Bridget grinned as she watched her partner through the window.
"She seems really nice, not at all what I expected" Sam admitted.
"What did you expect?" Bridget asked, he eyebrow raising in a warning that she wouldn't be amused if he started bagging the woman she loved.
"Well this is you, so I was expecting some wild child, especially when we found out it was Frankie Doyle you had decided to make an honest woman of... Jesus Bridgy, dad must have flipped when he found out" Sam laughed.
"He wasn't best pleased, but I think Frankie won him over, despite him still playing ignorant to everything" Bridget frowned, her dad had been more silent than Frankie had the entire time, only speaking when spoken to, and even then his answers were short and to the point.
"It's just Dad you know that Bridgy... he could never understand the whole gay thing, he loves you, he probably loves you more than John and me, you're his blue eyed little girl, but he's not wired to understand these things" Sam wrapped his arm around his sister and pulled her into a quick hug.
"I know, I just wish he would finally accept that this is who I am, surely he can see how happy I am, how happy Frankie makes me, I've honestly never felt like this before Sam, Frankie is just... I know it sounds cliche, but Frankie is literally every single thing that I have ever been looking for, and I don't just mean that she's gorgeous... she is funny, and smart, and sensitive, if you had known her before she got out of Wentworth, you would know how hilarious it is for me to be describing her that way, but that's what makes me love her even more, when she was inside especially she had this wild side, it's like she had no fear, and she was always getting herself into trouble, and running her mouth off, and flirting with anything with legs. She is the hot bad news that I always fantasized about, but at the same time is this sweet, innocent and beautiful person that just makes me fall for her every day" Bridget confessed.
"Sounds like the real deal sis... it must be for you to be bringing her home to meet us all" Sam grinned.
"Yeah well, you know I thought considering I was marrying her, it was only right for you to meet her before the wedding" Bridget laughed, her seriousness dissipating as the playful banter returned. She glanced outside a few moments later, hoping to catch a glimpse at the woman she loved, but found her missing.
"Frankie, walk with me" Derek practically demanded as he returned from the table, interrupting the conversation, and not particularly caring. Frankie's voice caught in her throat as she nodded and stood up, not failing to notice the nervous glances that passed between Bridget's middle brother and two sister-in-laws.
Frankie followed as the older man walked towards the rear of the large garden slowly, clearly trying to formulate his speech as he walked.
"I want to know, what your plan is for Bridget?" Derek finally stated as he paused, turning to glance at the young woman so that he could read her body language as she answered. He could see the young woman squirming under his gaze.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand the question" Frankie finally found her voice as she tried to force herself to keep eye contact with the imposing man, she couldn't believe the effect he had on her, for fucks sake she had dealt with Jacs Holt, Bea Smith, The Freak... yet here she was feeling like a scolded child on the receiving end of a bollocking from her parent, and that was the moment she felt her stomach lurch and the panic start to rise within her. The only experience she had with a parent speaking to her like this, always ended in bruises, scars and broken bones.
"I know you plan to marry her, that's not what I'm asking" He softened slightly as he watched the young brunette pale, she took a step back subconsciously, her breathing had picked up and he couldn't fail to notice her palms closing into two tight fists as she prepared to defend herself, he couldn't imagine what she thought was going to happen right now, that she felt the need to prepare herself for a physical altercation.
"Sir, I love Bridget, I really do. She has saved my life in more ways than I care to recount, I owe her everything" Frankie gasped, she could feel her throat constricting as the fear built up inside her.
"Is that what this is... are you trying to repay her for everything she has done for you? Do you feel obliged to be with her as some kind of repayment?" He asked, carefully studying each and every one of the woman's movements. He moved towards the fence and lent his forearms against it, hoping that if he relaxed his posture, the woman would settle down a little, it was obvious she was getting herself worked up and flustered.
"What... no of course not. I owe Bridget my life... but I'm not... prostituting myself out to her, if that's what you think" Frankie relaxed a little at the distance the older man put between them, the fact that he had turned his side to her showed her that she shouldn't be expecting an attack from him.
"That's good to know... so this thing between the two of you, it's real?" Derek asked, turning his face towards the woman and motioning for Frankie to come closer so that they could speak properly.
"I can't speak for Bridget, the only person who can tell you how she feels is her, but for me... Sir, I love her, truly. She has made me feel things that I never thought possible, or even deserving of. When I said I owed her my life, I meant it. But that's not the only reason that I love her. You know, when I was inside I was lost, I was honestly a mess, I had gone from being this angry little girl, to being this angry adult, I was angry with everything and everyone, but mostly I was angry with the world for all of the bad things it had thrown at me. I was on a path to nowhere, I went through the motions, you know starting my studies, agreeing to look into parole, but I never thought that I would get out of there, I didn't think I deserved to get out of there, and honestly sir, the person that I was in there, I didn't deserve to get out" Frankie could feel tears rolling down her cheeks as she looked out at the forest on the boundary of Bridget's family home, she could feel Derek's stare, examining her every move and word, but she couldn't face looking at him and seeing the disgust in his eyes.
"When Bridget walked into my life, she saw through all of my bravado, she wouldn't put up with my crap and for the first time in my life, instead of someone being intimidated by me, and backing away as they wrote me off... she stood her ground, challenged me, dared me almost to give her my worst. At every single opportunity she challenged me to believe in myself, she challenged me to be a better person, challenged me to drop the act and start being the person that I was deep down. And for that I owe her everything. But sir, I am in a relationship with Bridget because I love her, because I have never met someone who is so beautiful inside and out, she has the biggest heart, she is so much stronger than she realizes and she is such a good person. I mean, on the inside there is this unspoken law that the screws and the cons don't get on, the cons hate the screws and give them as much grief as they can, there is no respect there, there is no like there, the screws are against us and we have to make their lives a living hell without getting ourselves into trouble, that's just how it is inside. But you know, not one woman has ever said anything bad about Gidge, every one respects her, everyone can see that she just wants to help and has no agenda... I have seen many officers come and go, and none of them have had the ability to get every single woman on side, she is literally loved by a prison full of women, and respected, she is so good at her job and she is changing lives in there, making the women better people, and I don't actually think he realizes just how much of an impact she is having, I don't think she realizes how unique she is, she just see's it that she's doing her job and that's that... but she goes out of her way for people, and they love her for it, I love her for it" Frankie trailed off, nervous that she had said too much.
"Very well, but let me make this perfectly clear, Bridget is my daughter, my baby... my little girl. If you hurt her, ever hurt her, that won't be forgiven, and I don't care how many prison buddies you have on your side, I will made sure you feel every single tear you make her cry, am I understood?" Derek said, finally turning to face Frankie who had paled again at the threat from a parental figure.
"Jesus what do you think he's saying to her" Sam asked to his family, as they all sat glued to the scene unfolding in front of them.
"I should go over there" Bridget announced for the thousandth time, much to the amusement of her brothers.
"Let Frankie deal with it, she's gotta learn to stand up to the old man" John rubbed her shoulder, he could see how concerned Bridget was, but Frankie had to cement her place in this family with their father, and the only way to do that was with her own two feet and not with Bridget jumping to her defense.
"Holy shit, look at that" Beth grinned as Derek pulled the former inmate into an awkward hug, rubbing his hand over Frankie's back.
"Shit, this must be serious" Lily laughed softly, hoping to ease Bridget's nerves. They watched as Derek pulled away from the embrace, patting Frankie's shoulder before saying something, Frankie nodded as Derek walked off, walking back towards his family and leaving Frankie alone, Bridget jumped to her feet to run towards her fiance to find out what was going on.
"Bridgy, give her a few minutes ok, she just needs to compose herself and then she will be back over" The whole group stopped in shocked silence and looked towards the head of the family, it had been many years since any of them had heard him use the pet name for his daughter.
"Is she ok? What did you say to her?" Bridget asked, finally allowing the shock to diminish.
"We just had a little chat about a few things, don't worry dear, I didn't scare her off" Bridget couldn't believe it when she saw the playful smile erupt on her father's face.
"Aunty Gidge over here" one of her nieces called later that night, they had all eaten together, chatting easily and not mentioning the conversation between Frankie and Derek, although the two seemed to converse easily, Frankie often saying something that got Derek nodding in approval. After dinner they had all cleaned up together, and found themselves playing in and lounging around the pool.
Bridget had decided to go for a swim and play with her nieces, partially to give Frankie the opportunity to talk to her family as an independent person, she wanted her family to get to know Frankie for who she was, not just as Frankie her partner, and it was important to her that they all could see that her and Frankie were equals in everything, including intellect. And as she kept sneaking quick glances towards the 'adults table' her heart strings pulled as the most important grown ups in her life chatted easily and laughed amongst themselves
Bridget returned her attention to her nieces who were taking it in turns to jump into the pool, electing Bridget as the judge and ordering her to score them.
"Very good Izzy, 9.5" Bridget grinned at her youngest niece, a five year old who followed her sisters and cousins around like a little lamb, copying everything they did, but where the older kids threw in a few dives, some bombs and even a couple of flips, the littlest of her nieces simply jumped into the pool and tried not to drown in doing so, the little girl swam up to her and wrapped her arms around Bridget's neck and her legs around her waist to support herself, tired from the long swim a few meters to her aunty.
"Do you think your friend would like to come and play?" The little girl asked shyly as she glanced over her shoulder towards the new woman that she had just met. Izzy had demanded to sit next to Frankie at lunch, spending her time staring and smiling at the stranger, causing much amusement to the rest of the group as they joked about how Frankie had a number one fan.
"Frankie... why don't you ask her? I'm sure if you asked nicely she would come and play" Bridget grinned softly, her heart warming at the conversation, she giggled as she saw her niece shrug shyly and shake her head.
"Do you want me to ask her?" Bridget grinned already knowing the answer, laughing when the little girl beamed at her and nodded her head enthusiastically.
"Ok, well why don't you go and tell her that I need to speak to her and tell her to come over here, and I will convince her to come play... deal?" Bridget asked, trying to nudge the little brunette girl into being brave and going to speak to Frankie herself. Bridget lifted the little girl up onto the deck surrounding the pool and watched as she waddled towards Frankie, poking her in the leg to get her attention, Frankie turned to her with a smile and a questioning glance when the little girl just pointed to Bridget. Frankie followed the gaze and saw Bridget smiling at her, motioning with her head for her to go speak to her, as Frankie stood up, she was surprised to find the little girl take her hand and lead her towards her aunty.
"Izzy wants to know if you'll come and play" Bridget beamed when her beautiful brunette finally reached her, Frankie glanced down and the little girl who was smiling shyly at her.
"Im not really a great swimmer Gidge" Frankie admitted, the little girl giggling when she heard the name that only she and her cousins used for their aunty.
"It's not deep Frankie, look I can stand up in it" Bridget stood up, her black bikini clad breasts rising from the water, she couldn't help but smirk as Frankie's jaw almost dropped.
"I dunno Gidge" Frankie finally muttered. "I haven't swam in like 20 years" Frankie admitted shyly, she watched in disbelief as Bridget pulled herself up the edge of the pool and stood up next to her, water cascading down her body, she could see Frankie making a real effort to not give in and perve on her.
"It's easy, watch" Bridget grinned as she picked Izzy up who laughed loudly before grabbing her nose with her little hand and waiting to be thrown into the pool, she surfaced with a huge shriek of laughter, which Frankie couldn't help but grin at.
"Your coming in this pool whether you like it or not" Bridget stated, a playful smirk gracing her lips.
"Don't you dare" Frankie warned, seeing the plan instantly in Bridget's eyes.
"Don't I dare, what?" Bridget asked innocently, her nieces all sat at the edge of the pool watching and giggling as Bridget stepped closer to Frankie who attempted to step back but wasn't quick enough as she felt Bridget's arms wrap around her waist, the water from her body and bikini soaking into Frankie's shorts and tee and shirt.
"Gidge your getting me wet" Frankie complained, trying not to follow through with something flirtatious and not appropriate for Bridget's nieces to hear. Frankie shrieked as Bridget easily lifted her up into her arms and walked towards the pool, Frankie was surprised to find herself lifted from the ground, never once thinking that Bridget would be strong enough to handle her weight, but the older blonde was full of surprises.
"Don't you dare" Frankie warned, loving the playful smile on Bridget's face but knowing she didn't have any spare clothes to change into.
"What do you think girls, do you think Frankie should come and have a swim with us?" Bridget asked and grinned when the five girls all cheered.
"The jury has spoken... sorry Frankie" Bridget took another step towards the pool, her feet now at the edge of the pool.
"Alright, alright, I will come for a swim, just let me get changed first... I don't want to get my clothes wet" Frankie admitted defeat, and with a smile, Bridget moved to put her down, Bridget threw Frankie a smirk and a wink before tossing her fully clothed into the pool, the girls all shrieked in laughter at their aunties antics.
Frankie surfaced from the water, spluttering and in a state of shock. She looked up at Bridget who stood with her hands on her hips, looking stunning in just her bikini and glistening skin.
"Oh you're dead!" Frankie announced, a smirk on her lips as she began wading towards Bridget, who waited till he was close enough then dived gracefully over her head and into the water behind her, the girls laughing before they began to bomb the pool again.