'Mr Collier, sorry to bother you again so soon after we spoke last time, but we need some more information from you please?' The young constable asked as he gingerly approached Jeff. He hadn't long been back from his scan, he was tired but at the same time anxious to get to Dixie.

'Well, it is not as if I am going anywhere is it. I don't know what more I can tell you really.' Jeff replied trying to mask the panic that started to rise from within him, he was nervous as to what he would be asked and if he could answer it, for Dixie's sake he would try.

'Mr Collier, the FME has completed her examination of your wife and has collected some samples for analysis. Now, what I need to talk to you about is quite sensitive and I will understand if you wanted to stop at any time.' (I was immediately worried as to what he was going to tell me, deep down I already knew that Dixie had been raped, as much as I didn't want to believe it, I knew that was the case. However, that did not prepare me for the conversation I was about to have with a complete stranger, nothing remained sacred anymore, everything was out in the open, ready for more scrutiny).

'Mr Collier, it does appear from our initial findings that your wife was sexually assaulted today.'

'Oh God.' Jeff felt his voice shaking, it seemed that by hearing someone else say it, it hit him harder, and he had to face up to it.

'Mr Collier, we haven't yet been able to speak to your wife, but I have been asked to find out from you when her last period was.'

'Why do you need to know that?' Jeff asked, he was still groggy and confused. What did her cycle have to do with anything?

'Mr Collier, could you answer my question?' The young officer continued.

'Umm, a couple of weeks ago I think.' Jeff responded.

'Thank you Mr Collier. I now need to ask you if you have had sexual intercourse with your wife in the last 48 hours. If you have, we will need to collect a sample from you so that we can match it up to what we find.'

Jeff lay there totally dumbstruck by what the officer had just asked. Did he really need to answer that question? What would people think if he did? They all knew Dixie was a Lesbian, would they believe what Jeff said? (I knew he had to ask questions, but I wasn't expecting that. I started to wonder what he was getting at, where this was going, it was bizarre to say the least. I wanted to shout at him that he should be using his energy to find my wife's rapist, not questioning me about our sex life. The truth is, we had made love to each other, that morning. I don't know how it happened, but it just did. I gave her the present, she flung her arms around me, next thing I know we are sharing a passionate kiss and ended up in bed. I needed to be truthful for her sake and not worry about how it would make us look or what our friends would say).

'That's a bit personal isn't it?' Jeff responded.

'I am aware of that Mr Collier, but we do need to know.'

'This morning.' Jeff said quietly bowing his head towards the ground avoiding eye contact with the officer.

'Right, well we will definitely need a sample from you especially if it was unprotected.'

'It was'. Jeff said, he was almost ashamed of what they had done that morning, it had, after all, come from nowhere.

'Right, well, I will ask the nurse to provide you with a pot for your sample then Mr Collier, that way we can compare it against the other three samples.'

'Wait, hang on there a minute, you said three. What do you mean three samples?' Jeff asked raising his voice slightly although it was shaking uncontrollably by this point.

'Oh, nothing Mr Collier.'

'No, tell me what is with all these questions, what is going on, I demand to know.' Jeff retorted, nostrils flaring with anger, not directed against the officer, but more at the situation again. The young officer shifted awkwardly on the spot unsure of how to respond before his superior walked in to take charge of the situation.

'Mr Collier, there is no easy way to tell you, but it looks like your wife has been raped by three different men and, if you are correct in your answer about her last period, you may need to prepare yourself for the possibility that she could be pregnant.'

Jeff really didn't know how to respond to this one, he sat there, jaw dropping to the ground, eyes wide, colour draining from his face. The realisation of what had happened had sunk in, Dixie had been raped by three people and there was nothing he could do. Now he was faced with the possibility that she could be pregnant with another man's child. This, again, was all too much for him to handle, Jeff was sick all over the floor as he passed out for the third time that day.

Meanwhile, still unaware of what was going on, Dixie was now dressed in scrubs and a fleece sat in Tess' office. She was still holding the picture but had been persuaded to have a cup of tea and talk to the police. She was still really anxious and worried about what to say, she felt violated, dirty, cheap and used. All she could think of was Jeff; would he still want me now? She continued to look back at the picture thinking back to that morning, they had done something totally unexpected, but she didn't regret it. Now, she wondered what their life would be like together and how he would feel about being with her. She hated herself, she hated who she was, she needed to get clean again, she wanted to scrub and scrub her skin off. It made her skin crawl even more, she wanted to get out of this body and go back to how she was at home that morning.

'Dixie, the police are here to talk to you.' Tess said as she entered the room with two female officers. Dixie looked up, tears forming in her eyes.

'Dixie, do you need anything else?' Tess asked her friend.

Dixie nodded. Tess moved in closer to hear what she said, Dixie's voice barely above a whisper. 'I want Jeff; I want my husband here while I talk to the police.'

'OK, I will call up to CDU and speak to Dylan', turning to the police she said, 'Could you wait outside please?'

Dixie continued to sit in the office; she couldn't do this without Jeff. There was a part of her that knew he would fly off the handle and become protective, but, she didn't want to have to explain it a second time to him when they got home, he needed to hear it and she needed his support.

The door flew open again revealing Jeff, he ran into the office as Dixie got up and ran over to him, the pair collided in the middle falling into each other's arms, Dixie couldn't stop the tears that fell and neither could Jeff. He knew she didn't know about the possibility she could be pregnant, that was a burden he would have to keep to himself. For the second time, he rubbed her back,

'I am here Princess; we will get through this together, like we always do.'

Dixie moved away from him nodding her head as she wiped her eyes. Jeff raised his finger to help her before rubbing her cheek.

'Are you ready Babe?'

'No, no, I don't want to do this Jeff, I am scared.'

'I know Princess, so am I, but you need to talk to them, I am here and I am not going anywhere. You have been so brave so far, be brave for me Dixie.'

Dixie nodded falling back into his arms as he gave the police the signal to come in and talk.