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“I just wanna hold ya” she shook her head in defeat as she spoke and Bridget felt her heart shatter into a million pieces at the vulnerability of the statement. She was so angry with the younger woman firstly for putting her job at risk and taking it as a given that she would just cover for her but more so for being so reckless with her own future. Like she wasn’t in enough trouble without trying to make some daring escape that would inevitably end in disaster. And then, she’d made a wise crack about being a good root. Now, Bridget knew Franky. She knew Franky better than even Franky knew Franky. And she knew that it was pure deflection. She wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of Bridget's anger and her self preservation tactics had set in the moment she’d realised she was actually in trouble. Knowing that didn’t make it any less annoying. And she was furious. But watching Franky stare at her with wide eyes, an obviously breaking heart and her hands shoved deep in her pockets looking so beautifully exposed was fast melting the ice that had coursed through her veins when she’d realised she’d been played. She looked over at her with tears in her eyes,
“You promise me you won’t pull a stunt like this again” her voice was stern but her eyes gave away her desperation. Franky nodded and looked away,
“Yeah yeah…okay” she mumbled. Bridget felt her heart clench, knowing she was being lied to,
“You look at me and you promise me!” Franky struggled to look up but eventually did and met her eyes, her chin trembling as she tried desperately to hold herself together, squeezing her own arms around her waist,
“I promise” She felt a rush of emotion overtake her and looked away, bringing a hand up to cover her face,
“Oh fuck I can’t do this” she mumbled, more to herself than to anyone else. She couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down her face. The last couple of weeks with Franky had crushed her and she was struggling to cope with the loss of their relationship. Since Franky’s release from Wentworth they’d gone from strength to strength and Bridget had come to rely on the security she felt so having that ripped from her so suddenly and in some senses, brutally had left her with a hole she had no idea how to fill. She saw Franky step towards her in the corner of her eye and raised her hand to stop her,
“Franky” she warned. Franky stopped and let out a sigh,
“I’m so sorry Bridget…I’m so, so sorry” they stood apart, both crying quietly. Bridget lowered her arm and dropped the hand from her face, looking at Franky with pleading eyes,
“Please stop shutting me out…I need you Franky” Franky shook her head,
“I’m trying to protect you Gidge”
“I don’t need protecting. I need to feel like my girlfriend loves me. I need to feel like we’re not breaking up” she let out a sob and dropped her head, “I thought you were it. I thought we’d get married and grow old together” she whispered. Franky couldn’t help herself. She stepped forwards and grabbed Bridget's hand,
“Please let me hold you” Bridget nodded and moved closer, allowing Franky to wrap her in a tight embrace. They both cried harder as their bodies met, clinging to each other as if they never wanted to let go. Franky kissed her head, “I love you Gidget. Please don’t ever doubt that” they stood in the embrace for a few minutes, neither speaking. Just holding each other and trying to calm themselves down. Once Bridget felt slightly more in control she pulled away slightly, without breaking contact, to look into Franky’s eyes,
“Baby I need you to talk to me. I love you so much and this is killing me” Franky nodded and sighed,
“I’ll try. Being in here is hard, Gidge. If anyone suspects anything about us, you become a target. I can’t take that risk with the freak sniffing around”
“I get that. I’m not asking you to hold my hand and skip down the corridor. I just want you to trust me enough to tell me the truth about things. I’m so sick of finding everything out from Vera. This is my life too!” She couldn’t keep the frustration from her tone and Franky winced,
“It’s a bit different!” She snarked and Bridget raised an eyebrow and pulled away, backing up to lean on her desk,
“Yeah it is. I have to go home to our house and sleep in our bed with all of your things around knowing that you’re in here pretending I don’t exist! I can’t pretend you don’t exist! Fucking hell I wish I could but you’re everywhere. I can’t even sit in this office without thinking back to how we started!”
“Your life isn’t on the line Bridget!”
“Yeah and yours might not have been if you’d just fucking told me what was going on!” They glared at each other for a moment before Bridget softened,
“I’m sorry. That was unfair” Franky dropped her head and sighed,
“It’s true. I should have been honest. If I could go back and change it I would Gidge but I really thought I was doing the right thing by you. I didn’t want you to have to worry about losing your job” Bridget let out an unamused breath of laughter,
“I’d quit tomorrow if it would get you home. I don’t care about the job Franky. I care about you. Please, let me help. We can get you out of here the right way. All you have to do is agree to sessions like so many other women do. Nothing suspicious about that” Franky raised an eyebrow at her, “it’s more inconspicuous than me constantly chasing you down in the hallways!” She huffed as she noted the look on Franky’s face. The taller woman smiled a little and nodded in agreement,
“You’re right. I’m sorry, I will do better” she moved towards Bridget and stroked her cheek gently, “I didn’t mean to hurt you” Bridget looked into her eyes and gave her a sad smile,
“I know” she whispered, leaning her cheek into Franky’s hand. The brunette leaned forwards and hovered her lips over Bridgets, not quite closing the gap so that the psychologist had the chance to pull away. The older woman let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes,
“Can I?” Franky asked quietly and Bridget melted inside. After their last physical encounter, she needed Franky to hand over some control. She gulped and nodded. Franky closed the distance and kissed her softly, making every effort to pour as much love into the kiss as she possibly could. Bridget reached up and put her arms around her neck, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. Franky wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed their body’s together. She felt herself getting aroused and started to slow the kiss down, her rational brain kicking in and reminding her of where they were. She pulled her mouth away and rested her forehead against Franky’s lips, letting out a slow breath as she did. Franky kissed her head and closed her eyes for a moment, taking herself off to another place with Bridget in her mind, pretending the last few weeks hadn’t happened,
“I love you” she whispered against her head, stroking up her sides under her jacket,
“I love you too baby”
“Are we okay?” Bridget lifted her head and looked into her eyes,
“We are okay now Franky but if you keep hiding things from me, we are not going to be. I know you think you’re doing the right thing but I can’t sit on the sidelines of your life”
“I won’t, I swear I’ll be better. I just want you to be okay”
“I’ll be okay when you’re back home with me. We’re a team darling, please don’t forget that” she put her hands on either side of Franky’s face and leaned up to kiss her again, “you’re the most important thing in my life, I know it’s hard but I need you to try for me okay?” Franky nodded and smiled at her,
“You’re the best thing I’ve ever had, Gidget. I don’t ever want to lose you” she wrapped her arms around her again and pulled her into a bear hug, holding on tight and kissing the side of her head, “I’d better go” she whispered after a few minutes. Bridget hummed and squeezed her,
“Be safe baby. Don’t do anything stupid” Franky nodded and pulled away,
“I love you”
“I love you too. Always” Franky turned around and put her hand on the door knob, turning around before she left,
“Hey Gidge?”
“Hmm?”
“That jacket is hot” she gave her a smirk and swung the door open, swaggering out without a second glance. Bridget blushed and chuckled to herself, shaking her head and walking around her desk to flop into her chair. She felt lighter now, more like they’d be okay.