(I cannot begin to describe how scared I was just then. It seemed a cruel twist of fate that she found out that I was the father of the twins and now someone was going to snatch that away from us. I couldn't let Karl win, I couldn't let him take them away from us, I couldn't let him take her away from me. The seconds seemed like minutes, hours as we waited for the nurses to come in, I stood there in shock, staring at her bloody hand, looking at her as she paled and panicked. She turned to look at me, tears evident in her eyes, I just stood there, totally dumbfounded. I couldn't believe this was happening again, I couldn't lose another baby, not again. It hurt me so much when Lucy lost our baby, but, it now hurt me even more.

When the nurses came in, I was pushed to the side of the room watching them as they calmed my wife down, gave her oxygen and lay her flat on her back. I watched on as they pulled the cover away to reveal so much blood, it had soaked her pyjamas, dressing gown and the bed sheets. I knew she was haemorrhaging badly, I knew it wouldn't be good. I stood there watching, tears rolling down my face, it didn't take them long to get rid of me though, one of the nurses took me by the hand and led me outside to wait while they checked her over. I sat on the plastic chair staring into space, watching as people and equipment flew in and out of Dixie's room. I was a mix of worry, panic and anger. Worry about what was happening, panic over what could happen and anger at Karl, he had done this, I was going to make him pay.

As I am writing this now, six months later, I get choked up. She has just brought me in a cup of tea and some biscuits asking me how I am doing. She has just commented on the amount I have written, she expects to see that in my patient transfer sheets when we are next on shift. I told her not to be stupid. She didn't need to ask where I had got up to; she could see it in my face, in my eyes. We have just spent the last ten minutes in each other's arms, I really needed a big hug and I got one. I am so glad she stayed with me, I am so happy that she still wants to be with me. Karl didn't take her from me, I wasn't going to let him.)

'Mr Collier?' Jeff's trance was broken as the Doctor and Midwife sat either side of him outside Dixie's room.

'Jeff, we need to talk to you about Kathleen.' The midwife said softly noticing that he wasn't really taking anything in. 'Shall we go to the office?' She said as they both got up lightly placing a hand on Jeff's shoulder guiding him to the Office away from Dixie.

They made sure he was sat down before they sat opposite him, they needed to tell him what was happening, they needed him to understand what was happening with his wife and children.

'Jeff, as you know, we were unable to ascertain what affect on your children the attack on Kathleen had, we were hopeful that it wasn't going to be much as all of her scans came back clear, both of your children seemed to be developing normally and had healthy heart beats, we were given no cause for concern.'

Jeff seemed to snap back out of his trance. 'You are using the past tense; you said had, seemed, what's happening? What's happened?' Jeff was becoming increasingly concerned and emotional, he didn't want to think that Karl had murdered his children; he didn't want to think that Karl had succeeded in his plan to ruin their lives.

'Mr Collier, we have had to sedate your wife, she is in a lot of pain at the moment, and she really is very poorly.' The doctor continued. 'But we do need to explain to you what has happened and what we are going to do, we will need your consent Mr Collier. Do you think you are in the right frame of mind to do that?'

Jeff nodded. He needed to know exactly what was happening with Dixie and their children. He was going to do everything in his power to save and protect them.

'Mr Collier, it appears that Kathleen has some internal injuries as a result of being attacked in her stomach, now we know that she was hit repeatedly with a chopping board at full force, this has caused some problems for her. It appears that the more she had moved around, to try and get better, she has caused more damage to herself. We are going to need to perform some surgery on her to find out where the damage is and repair it. Now, we think at the moment her appendix is on the verge of bursting, so we need to operate quickly. I need to have your consent Mr Collier.'

Jeff nodded before asking, his voice barely audible, 'What about our children?'

The Doctor looked over at the Midwife, who, up until that point, had been quiet.

'Jeff, Kathleen has lost a lot of blood, the ultrasound shows that the placenta is starting to break down and leave her body.'

'What does that mean?' Jeff asked as fresh tears formed in his eyes.

'It means that we may have to deliver them early. At the moment, they do seem to be OK, it isn't usually a problem if the Placenta breaks down during pregnancy, but, there is a concern that if it breaks down even more, Kathleen will not be able to provide your children with the nourishment they need to develop normally. She will not be able to go full term on the pregnancy.'

'Will they be safe, you know when you operate on her?'

'Yes Mr Collier, they will be perfectly safe, there are no known risks of the anaesthetic or surgery on pregnant women, although, we cannot be certain at this point how you wife will react post op, you may need to prepare yourself.' The doctor said not taking his eyes off Jeff who was still visibly in a state of shock.

'Jeff, do we still have your consent to operate?' The midwife asked.

'Yes, please, help my wife and look after our children. I don't know what I would…' but he never finished that sentence. Taking a few deep breaths, Jeff looked up to the ceiling, 'Can I see her before she goes to Theatre?'

'Of course you can Jeff, but, she is sedated.'

Jeff nodded that he understood before following the Midwife back to Dixie's room.

(I stood outside her door for a little while, not knowing what I was going to see as I walked in, I knew it was bad, but I didn't know it was that bad. The midwife opened the door for me and gave me a light pat on the back as she guided me in closing the door behind me. Dix looked a mix of peaceful and a mix of being in pain. She was now in a hospital gown, her blood soaked clothes were in a bag at the end of her bed. Seems silly, but I hoped that she wasn't expecting me to try and wash the blood out of them. I thought it would be easier to buy her new ones, so I opened the bin and threw them away. I would buy her anything she wanted; just as long as she was safe and so were our children.

She had a second drip attached to her; they were trying to replace lost blood. I sat on her bed holding her hand, stroking her hair and face. I couldn't lose her, no matter what, I couldn't. She had her other hand resting on her baby bump, just like she does when she is sleeping at home. Two small people depended on us right now; they depended on me holding it together and their mother making a speedy recovery.

I kissed her softly before they took her away to theatre; I kept my fingers crossed that everything would be OK, that she would be back here in her room with me by her side soon. I didn't know what they would find when they opened her up, I didn't know if they had got to her appendix in time, I was totally in the dark, left to my own thoughts, my own fears, my own emotions. I was on my own and I hated it. But, one thing was clear to me, I was going to get Karl myself, if the police wouldn't do it, I would. There was no way he was going to take her or our children from us. I could just hear her voice in my head, telling me not to be so stupid and let the police deal with him, but I couldn't. It was because of me she has ended up like this, it is because of my need to 'fix broken Britain' as she tells me that has got her in this mess.

I think I am going to leave it here for a minute; I am in need of another hug from my beautiful wife before I can continue. The next bit is going to be really hard to write down as well, so, I need all the love I can get right now, and I know just the person who can give it to me).

A / N – Here you go, another chapter down. I am afraid this will be the last update until next week. I have an idea for the next chapter, but I warn you now, It isn't going to be pretty. So, as I don't think I left it on a cliff-hanger, here are some questions for you to ponder (cruel aren't I?) – What will happen with Dixie during the surgery? Will the twin's deffo be OK or is there something else to come? What will Jeff do if he catches Karl?

I will leave you to ponder and await my next update! Thanks for all the kind and supportive reviews xx