"Hey Rita, I'm all cleared!" Dixie cheered as she saw her friend walking slowly from the emergency departments back entrance.
She let go of Jeff and almost skipped with happiness over to her friend.
Rita ignored her and carried on walking, pulling her jacket hood as far over her head as she could.
"Hey Rita? You gone deaf or something, love?" Dixie laughed, pulling the hood off Rita's head.
Rita just looked away, a lone tear falling down her cheek. She went to brush it away from her cheek and envelop Rita in a hug but Jeff stood between them.
Dixie's eyebrows furrowed as Jeff caught hold of her shoulder.
"Good thing everything sorted out now isn't it? You could've had Dixie in a lot of shit Rita and you didn't even think to ask if she was ok?" Jeff almost spat at Rita.
Rita flinched, like she'd just been burnt by the fire of Jeff's words.
She pulled her hood back up and wandered off into the night.
"Hey Rita, wait up…" Dixie went to jog after her, not believing that Rita didn't care about her but Jeff held her back.
His hand digging hard into her shoulder
"Get off Jeff!" Dixie ordered, becoming angry when he didn't and angrier still when she lost sight of which direction Rita walked off in. "What is your problem mate?" Dixie turned around to face Jeff, hands on her hips, her eyebrows highly raised.
"She almost got you put in jail, and didn't even give a toss about it…" Dixie was about to cut in but Jeff put his hand over her mouth. "Because she doesn't like you… dyke!" He whispered into her ear, before smiling casually and sauntering away, whistling loudly.
Dixie crossed her arms.
Then uncrossed them.
Then crossed them again.
She could feel tears welling in her eyes.
She felt a drop in her stomach when she heard the word 'dyke'.
She started to walk.
Brushing it off, Jeff was her mate.
But the more she walked the more it sounded like a genuine insult and like he was blaming Rita for everything that happened.
No he wouldn't do that, would he?
She kept walking until she came into view of the ambulance station where her and Jeff's car was parked.
She plastered on a fake smile and waved to Mac as she made her way to the car.
Jeff was already sat in it, his face like he was going to murder someone with his gaze.
She sat down and decided to kill the elephant in the room before it ate them alive.
"Jeff you don't blame Rita for me getting locked up, do you?" Dixie asked straight.
"What do you mean 'do I?'?" Jeff laughed sarcastically. "Of course I do! It's all her fault, I talked to her several times at work and she didn't even know what had happened to you.
She didn't wait to find out, and when I found out that's he didn't give a shit I told her to stay away from you or I'd smack her head in!" Jeff ranted, as Dixie sat still in shock.
"Jeff take that back!" Dixie cried in dismay, how could he say that.
Rita cared about her.
They were like best friends as far as adults went.
They told everyone almost everything. Didn't they?
"You're lying Jeffrey, and I'm going to prove it!" She got up and stormed out of the car, not exactly knowing where she was going.
She stalked back to the ED car park, only to bump into Doctor Hanna.
"You alright there, Dixie? You look a bit flustered!" Doctor Hanna placed a hand on Dixie's shoulder seeing that the younger woman was clearly in distress.
"No… I mean yes of course…" Dixie looked up to see Zoë staring at her with her big brown eyes. "No, I'm completely not ok!" Dixie's voice cracked, and Zoë pulled her into a heart-warming hug.
"Is there anything I can do Dixie?" Zoë asked seriously, knowing that Dixie was a very private woman and preferred to be the strong, never faltering paramedic that everyone else thought she was all of the time.
"No… I'll be fine…" Dixie shrugged of Zoë's hug and started to walk away.
"I don't think so, what can I do to help?" Zoë told Dixie taking her hand.
"Will you take me to Rita's house?" Dixie pleaded.
"Of course come on." Zoë smiled and led Dixie to her car.
Ten minutes later and they had arrived at Rita's house.
"Thanks Zoë I owe you one!" Dixie gave her friend a hug before sprinting out of the car, towards Rita's door.
Zoë smiled, driving off, glad that's he had been able to help her friend.
Dixie rang the doorbell loudly, seeing the lights on and Rita's car in the driveway she knew she was in.
"Rita, it's me love! Let me in!" Dixie shouted. She knocked on the door, panicking slightly when the door swung back freely on its hinges.
She could hear loud sobs emanating from upstairs.
Somebody was shouting angrily at themselves.
Screams of self-hatred filled Dixie's ears.
She slammed the door and ran up the stairs.
She stopped when she heard what the screams were screaming.
"Why am I still here?! I should be dead! It's all my fault that Dixie got arrested! I'm sorry, I just want to die! I don't want to hurt you anymore! Why am I still here..?" And the cycle started again.
Dixie felt a pang of guilt enter her gut, knowing she should have done more to tell Rita that it wasn't her fault.
She dashed into the room where she heard Rita sobbing and didn't stop running until she was holding Rita firmly in her arms.
Rita sobbed, thrashing out at Dixie who grabbed the knife from her palm and threw it across the room.
"Jeff will kill me! You hate me! What do you want? "Rita sobbed.
But Dixie didn't answer she just held her closer, biting her lip when she saw the blood pouring from Rita's open wounds on her arms.
Rita continued to scream and sob in Dixie's arms until she was so worn out, all she could do was lie in Dixie's arms breathing heavily.
"I'm so sorry my love. I never meant for any of this to happen. I promise you Rita, I don't blame you for anything. I never have." Dixie told Rita who seemed to have calmed down slightly, but Dixie kept an eye on her arms, worrying deeply about the amount of blood she had lost.
Rita, looked up at Dixie's blue eyes, with her equally blue eyes. A few tears falling down her cheek, looking at Dixie in amazement.
"But Jeff said…"
"Well he was wrong Rita, I promise you that I don't hate you. Now let me look at your arms darling." Dixie suggested, immediately wishing she hadn't, when Rita wriggled out of her arms and ran into the bathroom, locking the door.
Dixie threw her hands up in frustration, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to tackle Rita on her own she decided to phone Zoë.
She picked up her phone with bloody hands, shaking as she found Zoë on her contact list… She listened to the dial tone for a few seconds before Zoë picked up.
"Doctor Han…"
"Zoë please, it's Dixie you have to get back to Rita's house!" Dixie pleaded, Zoë didn't even ask what had happened as she grabbed her emergency medical kit threw it in the car and sped off the drive.
"I'll be less than 5 minutes Dixie!" She called before hanging up and concentrating on driving as quickly as she could.
Her heart had wrenched when she heard the desperateness in Dixie's voice, knowing her friend really needed her she didn't ask anymore.
Dixie put down the phone and decided to try talking to Rita through the door.
She could hear Rita's desperate sobs; her heart broke to hear the woman she loved in so much pain.
"Rita? Darling?" Dixie called through the door, earning something heavy thrown at the door. "Rita please, I just want to help you." Dixie heard Rita's body fall to the floor with a thud and panicked, but was relieved slightly when she could hear Rita's quiet sobbing cutting through the almost silence.
Dixie nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Zoë shouting through the letter box.
She dashed downstairs to let the Doctor in.
"Jeez Dixie, what is going on?" Zoë looked over Dixie, not seeing any obvious signs of injury, definitely not one that would account for all the blood on her person.
"It's Rita." Dixie started to run up the stairs and Zoë followed, glad that she had brought her medical kit. "Jeff told her that I hate her and he completely blamed her for me getting put in jail, so she tried to kill herself. I tried to help her but she locked herself in the bathroom."
"Alright Dixie just wait out here and let me try and talk to Rita on my own." Dixie was about to protest. "I'm not saying you've done anything wrong, I'm just that I'm completely neutral in this." Dixie nodded. "Like I'm gonna neuter Jeff after this, but keep that to yourself eh?" Zoë raised her eyebrows as she whispered the latter, nodding to Dixie as she entered Rita's bedroom and made her way to her en-suite.
"Rita? It's Zoë can you hear me?"
"Dixie hates me, and Jeff wants to kill me!" Rita sobbed through the door.
Zoë shook her head, knowing she wouldn't allow Jeff to work another day as a paramedic as soon as she laid hands on him.
Dixie sat down on the landing, her heart being torn to shreds every time Rita repeated what Jeff had told her.
"It's not true Rita, Dixie loves you and I'm sure that you love her too. Jeff has made up a load of bullshit about Dixie, saying that she hates you. I promise that it's not true sweetheart." She heard Rita sniff and shuffle around. "Now why don't you open this door and let me and Dixie make sure that you're alright?"
Zoë waved for Dixie to come into the room.
They waited patiently until they heard the resounding click of the lock being undone.
Rita appeared from behind the opening door.
Black mascara trails were trekked down her face.
The red blood continued to flow but at a slower pace.
Her tiny body exhausted, she was almost dragging her feet as she stepped out of the room.
"I promise I don't hate you Rita!" Dixie reassured her opening her arms.
Rita placed a hand in front of her sobbing face and ran into Dixie's arms.
"I love you sweetyheart." Dixie held her close for the second time that evening, but this time Rita didn't wriggle to be set free.
Instead Rita snuggled into Dixie's chest and sobbed loudly, appreciating Zoë's comforting hand rubbing her back gently as Dixie whispered sweet nothings into her ears.
"Rita love, we really need to have a look at your arms." Dixie whispered to Rita, who became frightened and clung to Dixie like a new born to its mother.
Zoë knew her highly rated skills of persuasion would be coming into play very soon if Rita lost any more blood, she knew that the amount she had already lost was dangerous but any more and Rita would be almost at deaths door.
"Come on Rita, Dixie doesn't have to let go. I just need to make sure you haven't lost too much blood." Zoë explained, as if she was talking to a child.
Dixie by this point had completely released her hold on Rita and was trying to peel her off.
"Rita just let go and let Zoë have a look at you sweetheart…"
"You do hate me!" Rita cried, letting go of Dixie and falling backwards on the floor and crawling backwards towards the door.
"Rita if you don't let me take a look at those cuts I will order an ambulance to be brought here and take you to the hospital where all of your friends will be and see you in this vulnerable state, one of them will then have to undress you fully and assess that you're not doing yourself any other kind of self-harm. I will then refer you to a…" Zoë was getting near the end of her wick and was getting extremely worried about the amount of blood over the floor, herself and Dixie.
She tried to scare Rita into being more cooperative but it had a devastating effect.
Rita passed spark out on the floor.
Dixie and Zoë rushed over to her.
Zoë immediately started to clean and dress Rita's wounds. Dixie assessed Rita's pulse and breathing rate.
"Her blood pressure is low, her pulse is slow but her breathing is completely normal, well as normal as her breathing ever will be." Dixie told Zoë who had managed to completely bandage up Rita's wounds and check her legs and hips for any other signs of self-harm.
"Well Rita isn't a stranger to self-harm, she's got old scars on her hips and legs but none anywhere near as deep as this." Zoë sighed, Dixie just stroked Rita's head in worry, neither of them knowing what had caused her to pass out. "I think we need to get her to hospital Dixie. We can take her in my car, I don't think she's in any immediate danger." Zoë suggested softly, watching Dixie nod slowly and give Rita a loving kiss on her forehead.
Dixie carried Rita down to Zoë's car and sat in the back, holding Rita like a baby as Zoë started up the engine.
Zoë sped off, not driving as quickly as she had before. But still a good 10 mph over the speed limit. Rita started to come around in the car, taking hold of Dixie's top in her tiny pale hand.
"I don't feel so great Dix…" She looked sadly up at Dixie who rubbed her side lovingly. "What happened?" She asked confused about her actions of the night, crying out quietly when she as the blood stained bandages which covered her wrist. "I don't remember much…"
"Shh… It's ok, Zoë is gonna take us to the hospital because you've lost a lot of blood. You're gonna be fine Rita…" Dixie smiled, watching Rita sigh.
Her pale skin making her look dead, her heavy eyelids keep trying to pull her into the world of unconsciousness.
They quickly arrived at the hospital.
Dixie gathered Rita up in her arms, smiling and encouraging Rita that she was doing well.
Charlie, Big Mac and Robyn came to meet them as they walked toward the ED entrance.
Big Mac dashed off to find a trolley and was back in seconds.
Robyn smiled at Dixie and Rita, taking Rita's hand in her own and whispering in her ear.
"This one's a keeper…" She winked before letting go so that Dixie could put her down on the gurney.
"Right guys we need to get her straight to Resus, she's lost a lot of blood.
She's slipped unconscious once and doesn't remember a lot of what happened.
Her breathing rate was steady, but her blood pressure and heartbeat is very slow." Dixie explained to the Doctors and Nurses who sped to Resus.
Zoë grabbed Dixie's arm before she could enter Resus.
"Listen Dixie they're going to put her to sleep for a while, so her body can take in the new blood they're going to give her and her body can try to repair the damage. I need you to come and talk to me about Jeff." Dixie stiffened as Zoë mentioned his name.
The man who she had come to trust and love, the man who helped her come to terms with the sudden death of her ex-girlfriend a few years ago.
But he had betrayed her and made Rita hurt herself and for that he was going to pay.
Dixie nodded and followed Zoë to her private office.
"Sit down Dixie, we're just talking but when I get the police involved I may have to get you to make a personal statement." Zoë explained.
"What?!" Dixie exclaimed. "I mean I know he was a dick but what can you charge him with?!"
"From what I can gather he basically threatened to kill Rita if she went to see you, so that's threatened to murder, and he also assaulted you. Don't lie I can see the handprints on your shoulder." Zoë rubbed Dixie's arm. "I will not let one of the members of staff hurt another and walk away with it scot free!"
"You wanna know what happened?" Dixie asked, swallowing the sadness she could feel rising in her throat. Zoë just nodded and watched patiently, waiting for Dixie to speak.
"Well… The assault charge on me was dropped because there was insufficient evidence, probably because I didn't bloody do anything! I went to see Jeff straight away and we were pratting around, dancing and laughing and stuff like gave me a hug but I broke away because I saw Rita coming out of the ED and I wanted to tell her the good news. But she ignored me several times, even after I pulled down her hood and asked her why she was crying." Dixie sniffed, looking away from Zoë, scrunching up her nose in a vain attempt to stop herself from crying.
"I went to run after Rita but he grabbed me…" She started crying again. "He told me that it was all her fault I got locked up and she didn't give a toss. He told me that she hated me. He told me that he'd threatened to smash Rita's face in if she came near me again. I didn't believe him and was going to argue but he shoved his hand over my mouth." Dixie demonstrated on Zoë, who gently took Dixie's hand away from her face, and held it tightly.
"I didn't think he meant it but I asked him again at the station and he said he did mean it, and he solely blamed Rita for my arrest. So I ran away and that's when I bumped into you." Dixie sighed her tears lessening. "He called me a dyke Zoë!" She scrunched up her face. "Is it really that bad to kiss girls instead of boys?"
Zoë shook her head, smiled and released Dixie's hand.
"Dixie as soon as I get an update on Rita I will phone the police and get Jeff arrested. I'm sorry that everything has turned out like this." Zoë apologised for no reason.
Just as Charlie walked in through the door.
"Listen I've got a very impatient Rita who wants to go home. She's been wondering where you were Dixie you've been gone for almost 2 hours." Charlie exclaimed.
"God I didn't know that I'd been that long Charlie, I'm sorry!" Dixie jumped up and followed Charlie back to Resus. Zoë got straight on the phone to talk about Jeff to the police.
"Listen Dixie, I would usually have to refer this to the suicide awareness board, but I fear that it wouldn't be a benefit to Rita. I'm discharging her to go home with you, as long as you promise to look after her." Dixie just nodded and almost ran into Resus when she saw Rita pulling her coat on over her bandages.
"Rita…"
"Dix…" They smiled at one another before walking slowly towards one another. Dixie placed her hands either side of Rita's head, just taking in her beauty.
"You're amazing Rita…" Dixie leant in close to Rita.
"Look who's talking, I'm the one who would've died without you…" Rita laughed dryly before capturing Dixie's lips between her own.
The kiss started off tender but carried on to be passionate struggle to show each other the extent of their love.
Rita entangled her hands in Dixie's hair. Dixie kept on hand on Rita's face and the other on her nicely toned butt cheek for a while before they both had to pull back for air.
"Sorry…" Rita looked away flustered.
"You have nothing to be sorry about Rita." Dixie kissed her again, ignoring the woops of joy and happiness in the corridor as half of the ED watched as the two girls snogged happily in Resus. Dixie pulled back and looked into Rita's eyes. "I promise."