Chapter Text
It wasn’t often that Franky’s days went by slowly, but on the rare occasion that they did, she would catch herself staring down at the ring on her left hand. In the past she was known to wear several rings on her fingers, but she’d shed them all years ago the moment her girl put this one on her finger. When she’d been released from prison for good, she wasted no time in proposing. The ceremony was a formality. In Franky’s mind the two had been married in a boxcar as she bled out from a bullet wound the shoulder, vows spoken in her heart as Bridget refused to let death part them. Bridget should have run when she had the chance, but for some reason, she didn't. Instead, she ran right into the eye of the storm that was Franky Doyle. Unlike most that came before her, she had no fear. Try as she might to push the woman away, she kept coming back each time. And slowly she began to trust her. The psychologist had somehow been able to tame the beast within her. Once Franky had put away her teeth and her claws...she’d fallen for her, and hard. They were like magnets, unable to stay away from each other no matter how hard they and the rest of the world had tried to pull them apart. Something always brought them back together. Two years into marriage and they were still finding new ways to fall in love with one another.
“Franky, can you come here please?” Imogen, Franky’s boss ripped her from her daydream. She quickly shook herself back to reality and went to her office.
“Let me guess, you need a runner to the courthouse?” She leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed.
“Come in and close the door,” she instructed with a straight face. Instantly Franky panicked. She closed the door quietly and sat in the chair on the other side of the lawyer’s desk.
“Am I in trouble?” She tried to laugh off her worry, but it came out as genuine fear.
“No, not at all. I just got a call about a child abuse case.”
“Another one?” She had to hand it to her boss. She always checked in before passing off those types of files to Franky. She knew how much they wore on her.
“I’m afraid so,” her voice sank as she spoke.
“Give me the papers and I’ll get to work,” Franky held her hands out for the forest green folders she’d been working with for years. She was damn good at her job. Her record would prevent her from becoming a full blown lawyer, but she was the best paralegal that Legal Relief had ever seen, and her boss made sure to tell her every day.
“It’s not that.” Imogen shook her head.
“You’re scaring me,” Franky laughed nervously.
“It’s the surname. It’s Doyle.” Franky’s heart dropped.
“What’s the first name?”
“Maria. Is there any relation? If there is I can’t assign you to the case. It’s a conflict of interest.” Franky stopped listening as soon as the name came out of her mouth, and she stopped breathing. She hadn’t heard the name uttered aloud in so many years. Anyone with half a brain knew better. But Festler had no way of knowing what fear the name ignited inside her.
“She’s my mum.” she swallowed. She wanted to spare Imogen of the sordid details. She’s my birth giver, was the more appropriate response. Maria Doyle was not a mother. She was a monster who plagued her dreams decades later.
“Franky, I’m so sorry. She’s died. It was an overdose.”
‘Bout time she offed herself, Franky thought bitterly, still reeling from the unexpected revelation. Truthfully, she was surprised the bitch hadn’t died years ago. “Wait,” she started as the gears in her mind kept turning. “You said it was child abuse.” Didn’t she? Franky was struggling to remember the last five minutes. They felt like an eternity.
“They found a little girl in the home,” Imogen revealed.
“What?” she whispered as her brain struggled to stay focused.
“She had a child. They managed to find a birth certificate. Her name is Tess. She’s five years old. She’s...she’s in pretty rough shape.”
“I want to see her.” The words flew out of her mouth before she’d had time to process them fully.
“Let me drive you to the hospital.” Imogen stood without wasting any time. Franky followed like a little duckling, unsure of what was happening. “Get your coat and call Bridget.” Thankfully Imogen was thinking for her, for which she was grateful. She nodded wordlessly and snagged her coat before they left the office.
The phone call to Bridget was short and concise. Mum’s dead, there’s a child, meet me at the hospital. Bridget left work without a single question.
They were met at the hospital by detective Pierce. She was a tall woman with sandy blonde hair and a sharp jawline. They could tell just by the look on her face that the situation was worse than they thought. She escorted them to the intensive care unit, which only confirmed their fears. When they first got a glimpse of Tess, they instantly fell in love. Bridget and Franky had been allowed to look through the window at the tiny little girl sitting on the bared hospital bed. Even though she was incredibly pale, her skin still contained a slight olive tone just like Franky’s. Their mum was Portuguese, so it didn’t surprise her to see. Her hair was dark and wild, landing just around her shoulders in messy tangled waves. The thing that struck Franky the most about her appearance was her eyes. They were sunken in with dark circles underneath, but still a familiar bright shade of green.
“She’s so small,” Franky whispered, touching the glass of the window in front of them. She longed to pull the girl in her arms which was strange for her. She’d never held a child before. Even when given the opportunity, she’d quickly shake her head and make up any excuse. Franky Doyle and kids were like oil and water. Never in her life had she felt such a connection to a child before. And yet here she was, falling head over feet for the little girl as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And judging by the look on Bridget’s face, she was falling head of ridiculous heels.
“It’s most likely due to the fact she’s been malnourished. It is often referred to as psychosocial or stress dwarfism. The body doesn’t grow if the environment and food supply isn’t stable. Thankfully it is temporary, and with time and proper care her growth should pick up. We’re getting her on a regular dosage of vitamins and trying to get her to eat something. That being said, brain scans came back normal, there’s no lasting damage. Which in cases of neglect like this is very rare. It leads me to believe maybe it wasn’t always as bad as it was when we found her.” Pierce said.
“Her mum...our mum, she was a user, but she’d get clean sometimes,” Franky admitted freely. She had stopped feeling personal shame about her mother long ago.
“How long was she there like this?” Bridget couldn’t even begin to imagine what trauma the young girl had faced, watching her mother die in front of her and then being left alone for god knows how long. She was reminded of the movie ‘Nell’, but she never expected to encounter such a work of fiction in real life.
“We are still waiting for the coroner’s report, but just going on decomposition alone, it was likely around a week.” Simultaneously Franky and Bridget’s hearts broke in unison.
“W-Why is she in that cage?” Franky’s protective instinct was already in full effect, especially with the mention of her mother.
“It’s a protective crib,” Pierce clarified. She was hitting and biting the nurses, so it’s for her and the staff’s safety. The bandage wrap around her arm is so she doesn’t pull out the IV,” she explained to them both. “I must warn you, she’s… Tess is not like most five year olds. She hasn’t been socialized and we don’t think she can speak.” Her brown eyes narrowed.
“When can we meet her?” Bridget asked, her hand safely nestled inside Franky’s in a show of silent support. Everything had happened so quickly that they’d hardly gotten a chance to speak about how she was handling things. She appeared strong, but the blonde knew that she was good at saving face. No doubt it was a skill she’d been perfecting her entire life.
“Would you like to go in now?” The detective offered. She’d been assigned to Tess’s case and had been with her since her discovery. Franky nodded almost immediately. Something inside her chest swelled and clenched, made her feel drawn to the little girl, even though they’d never met before.
Detective Pierce entered the room first. Tess startled initially at the sound of the door opening, but relaxed slightly once she saw who it was.
“Hello, Tess. It’s just me,” she said as she approached her bedside slowly. She carefully unlatched the bars of the crib. “I have someone I want you to meet.” Pierce then glanced back as a cue for the two women to enter the room. Bridget led, sensing Franky’s nervousness.
“Stay calm,” Bridget whispered to her wife. She knew children raised in toxic stress such as Tess would need an extremely sensitive approach.
“This is Bridget and Franky.” Tess tensed slightly watching the two enter the room, but she stayed seated on the bed with the detective close by. Her eyes stayed down on her hands which were turning over in her lap restlessly.
“Hi, Tess. That’s such a pretty name.” Bridget smiled when she’d come to stand at the end of Tess’s bed; close, but not too close. Franky stood behind her with her heartbeat pounding loudly in her chest. The blonde used her their linked hands to gently guide Franky into standing beside her. “My name is Bridget and this is Franky.” She introduced the two like it was the most normal thing in the world. She would never understand how Bridget could just...remain so poised at all times. She was always so cool and collected whereas Franky always felt anxious and panicky despite the front she put on for the rest of the world.
“Hi, Tess,” Franky said softly with a slight wave of her hand. Little green eyes finally flashed upwards at the sound of her voice. The hue haunted her as she recalled who it came from. A trait passed down from mum to daughters. A trait that Tess had been conditioned to fear when she saw it. She released a piercing cry as she kicked backwards and curled into herself. She raised her hands in front of her face protectively. Franky immediately stepped back to the door to give her space. Something had obviously spooked the girl, and Franky was almost positive that it was her.
“I-I think she thinks I’m our mum.” Franky knew she bore a striking resemblance to her mother. It had haunted her for a long time, but Bridget had smoothed it all out with ease. She explained that Franky’s heart would always be her own, and that she was everything that Maria Doyle was not. Franky was full of hope. She was kind. And she was fiercely loyal to those she loved. Franky may have looked like her mum, but that is where the similarities stopped.
“Tess, it’s okay. No one here is going to hurt you,” Bridget cooed gently as she crouched down slightly, bringing her height closer to the child’s so she would be less intimidating. Tess peeked out from behind her hands and made eye contact with the blonde through the bars of the crib. Their eyes stayed locked together for a while as Tess took her in. Bridget knew that she was being sussed out by the little girl. Even being so young she was already trained to look for potential threats. It broke her heart. She continued to keep her body and her face relaxed as the little one considered her. After a few silent minutes, Tess slowly pulled herself up and reached her arms to wrap around the blonde’s neck. Franky’s heart began to melt as she saw her partner take the tiny girl into her arms and held her gently against her chest. The oversized hospital gown made her look even smaller than she was as it hung down touching her ankles.
Bridget had always had a way with children. She initially tried to pawn the gift off on her super psych powers, but Franky knew that wasn’t it. She knew it was her pure heart. Kids could sense she was an ally. It shouldn’t have been a surprise when she saw the instant connection between the two. She watched the exchange, all the while keeping herself at a distance.
Detective Pierce moved so Bridget could have a seat in the chair and hold the little brunette. Pierce was surprised, explaining that no one had been able to get close to the girl without being hit, bitten, or scratched so far. Bridget was the first person that she’d allowed to touch her without injury. She’d settled almost instantly against Bridget’s chest and popped her thumb into her mouth. Tentatively Bridget pressed her open palm against Tess’s back to rub it gently. Franky could see the moment the girl relaxed fully and she nearly wept at the sight. Bridget’s eyes met hers and they were glazed over with unshed tears.
“You’re safe, Tess.” She repeated as the girl drifted off to sleep in her arms while she rocked her. Once she’d fallen asleep, the doctor arrived to discuss a plan of action. Trauma had put the little one in survival mode for too long. It was clear that in additional to medical treatment, Tess would need some type of therapy to help her trust anyone after what atrocities she had experienced. Bridget had imagined more than once what Franky had looked like as a small, abused child. But the reality was much worse than any picture her mind had ever painted. Being confronted with the image up close in the form of her tiny sister nearly shattered her heart. She fought to keep it together for the both of them. The doctor pulled a chair over and began to speak.
“We need to keep her for at least a week to monitor her food intake. Her liver shows signs of protein deficiency. That’s why her stomach is distended. Truth be told, I’ve never seen something like this in a child abuse case. If we try to renourish her too quickly, it has some really catastrophic effects. Once we’re sure she’s out of the woods, we think it best to have her meet with a psychologist daily until they can figure out the best care plan,” she explained gently as she sat across from both women. With Tess sleeping, Franky had been able to tiptoe over to sit beside her wife. She watched the little girl out of the corner of her eye.
“Bridget is a psychologist,” Franky finally piped up.
“Not for children, Franky,” the blonde gently corrected.
“So? It’s still gotta be helpful. Look at her with you already.” She motioned at the two. Tess’ breathing had sunk into a rhythmic state as she slept on.
“It’s phenomenal that she is already so trusting of you.” The doctor agreed. ”In cases of severe abuse like this one, that’s rare. But I think that she should definitely see a specialist who is trained in this sort of work. Still, your experience will definitely be helpful. Hopefully it will help her make some progress in speech as well as her social and developmental skills, which are sorely lacking. This isn’t going to be easy, though. She’s going to need a lot of help and a lot of time,” she sighed.
“But you think she’ll be okay?” Franky had only known about her sister’s existence for a total of two hours, and she wanted a guarantee that she would make it. She’d made it away from the clutches of Marie Doyle herself long ago, and she wanted Tess to do the same. She couldn’t let the bitch win.
“Children are some of the most resilient people on this earth. What’s important now is that she has care and support. That being said, it’s obvious she has formed a bond with you.” The doctor gestured towards Bridget and Franky, tilting her head. “Would you consider fostering her until a more permanent placement becomes available?”
“She’s not going to anyone else. She’s my sister. It’s going to be us,” Franky spoke without consulting her partner. She knew in that moment that it even though Bridget was most definitely on the same page, it wouldn’t matter to Franky even if she wasn’t. She would not leave Tess to suffer like she had in the system.
“She’s right. It should be us,” Bridget agreed without a moment of hesitation. She smiled briefly at her partner.
“Before I leave, we also need to make arrangements about your mother.” Franky had been hoping that this conversation could be avoided.
“Burn the bitch or throw her in the fucking ground, I don’t give a shit,” she spat out violently. Bridget gave her the look and wordlessly, Franky listened. She pulled a deep breath in through her nose and let it out through her mouth. “I’m not close with her. I don’t care what happens to her,” she corrected herself. The doctor nodded as she accepted the explanation without pressing further.
“Very well, I will give you all some time to get acquainted. I’ll be back by to check on her in awhile. She’s a very lucky little girl.” The doctor stood and shook both of their hands before exiting the room.
And just like that, without a word to one another they became parents.