Forever With You

Chapter Nineteen

Erica storms out of the visitors' room, obviously shaken by Boomer. Will walks Jenkins back toward her unit when Vera passes by. "Hey Vin...Ms. Bennett. I need to get in touch with Ms. Westfall. It's kinda important." Boomer says while wringing her hands. Vera looks from Boomer to Will, who nods. "It's about Franky...." Vera cuts her off by raising her hand. She doesn't want anything personal said in earshot of other inmates. "I'll see what I can do. I'll contact you when I have an answer." Boomer nods, then hugs Vera, whispering in her ear. "She didn't do it." Vera stands back from the hug with a confused expression on her face. Boomer just nods and continues to her unit.

Vera, now concerned for her friends, 'yes Franky has become a friend' she thinks to herself; she rushes to her office to call Bridget. "No Vera, she hasn't come in today. She said she wasn't feeling well and may not be in for a few days." Vera frowns. 'This is NOT good.' "Thank you, Marge. Have a good day." Vera drums her desk with her fingers. 'Should I call or just go over? If this is like the last time...' She grabs her purse and keys and heads out of her office.

Bridget stares at the empty box on the counter and finishes half a glass of wine before putting the glass down. She wipes a tear from her eye and lets out a heavy sigh. As she picks up the books Franky left on the table, the doorbell rings. Bridget drops the books as she jumps at the sound, then heads towards the door. She looks through the peephole and sees Vera standing outside. She tries to fix her hair and takes a deep breath before opening the door. "Vera! To what do I owe this honor?" She asks as she leans against the doorframe for balance. Vera frowns. "What's wrong with your phone?" Bridget looks behind her. "Nothing why?" She asks as she turns around. "I called you three times on the way over. Where's Franky?" She asks, moving past Bridget and into the house. Bridget closes the door and starts to sob. "I turned the phone off. I told Franky to get out and I didn't want to see her calling." Vera walks over and hugs her tightly. "Oh Bridget. What happened?"

Fessler is on her phone, pacing back and forth in her office. "What happened?" She stops dead in her tracks. "Is she alright? Where is she?" She walks to her desk and jots down a name and number. "Okay. And I need any photos or whatever ASAP. Do you understand?" She pauses and holds the bridge of her nose with her free hand. "They did what? When?" She drops down into her chair. "Okay, okay. That's alright then. We need to clean this up. You take care of Chang, but I need the evidence to confront Erica." She sighs and switches the phone to her other ear. "What other one?" She pauses as the voice on the phone continues. "Shit, I forgot about her."

"Hi, I'm Alan Doyle. I got a call saying my daughter was in an automobile accident and transported here." The receptionist types into the computer. "I'll call for an attending nurse. She is in surgery as we speak, but the nurse can take you to the waiting room and give you any information they may have." Alan lets out a breath. "Okay. Thank you." He shoves his hands in his pockets as he paces the reception area. Eternity seems to pass before a young nurse walks in. "Mr. Doyle?" He looks up with worry. "I'm Nurse Pritchard. I'll take you to the waiting room and go over her injuries."

Vera picks up the empty wine bottle and places it in the recycles as Bridget paces the floor of the living room. When she has composed herself, she starts by telling Vera about Boomers' day in court and the celebration planned for after. Tears fill her eyes as she recalls the pain she felt when she saw Franky lip locked with Erica at the bar. Vera picks up the wine glass and fills it with water, then walks over and gives it to Bridget. When she is calm again, she tells how she sat there all night worrying about what Franky was doing. When she couldn't take it anymore, she searched for Erica's address online, then drove over, just to find Franky's car outside. Luckily, Vera sees Bridget growing weaker as she talks and manages to catch her before she collapses to the floor. Vera helps her to the couch and hugs her tightly as Bridget tells how she threw Franky out Saturday morning.