Author: Raven Shadowrose

Rating: M

Pairing: ?/?

Summary: Sequel to Epiphany, Jeff and Dixie are trying to have a baby, what happens when it is likely to be more difficult than they first thought?

Disclaimer: I do not know or own any of the characters from Casualty, any original characters and the story are my property and I do not give permission for either of them to be used.

A/N: This is a direct sequel to Epiphany, please read that first to understand this story :) Reviews are welcome :)

Thank you to BeethovenRIP, olivia. c. king1 and chan. nelson4444 for your reviews, I really appreciate them. How will Dixie's first day at ambulance dispatch go?

Chapter Thirty-Five.

Dixie sat quietly in the car as Jeff drove her to her new job, she wondered what the people she would be working with would be like, would they be nice? Would she get on with them? Would they like her? Jeff stopped the car in front of the dispatch building and she looked up at it, she didn't really want to go in there, she was used to being the person that went to the shouts and dealt with the casualties. How was she going to deal with being the person that took calls from people needing help and gave the crews their shouts? How would she deal with spending the day apart from Jeff? Dixie sighed and took off her seatbelt, she was going to have to go in there sooner or later. 'Dixie,' she heard Jeff say and she looked at him. 'Are you all right princess?'

'I think so.'

'You'll be all right Dixie, this is the right thing to do.'

'I know it is.'

'You and the baby will be safe here.'

'We will be, that's why I'm doing this. Jeff, you will keep your promise, won't you?'

'Of course I will princess, I will not do anything reckless.'

'Thank you.' Dixie felt better hearing Jeff say he wouldn't do anything reckless.

'Anything for you and our little bug princess.'

'You know he has name now Jeffrey.'

'He does, I do like little bug though.'

'It is cute. I'm going to miss you Jeff.'

'I will miss you too princess, come on my Dixie.' Dixie got out of the car and waited for Jeff, he came over to her. 'Give me a hug my Dixie.' She moved into Jeff's arms and let him hug her, she breathed deeply and hugged Jeff tightly. 'Good luck princess, I know you will do just fine.'

'Thanks Jeff.'

'I'll pick you up when your shift ends and you can tell me everything.' Dixie hugged Jeff again and then she let him go. 'I'll see you later princess.'

'See you later Jeff.' Dixie kissed Jeff and waved at him as he drove away, she watched the car all the way to the end of the street and then turned back to the dispatch building. 'Come on peanut, let's make daddy proud,' Dixie said and walked into her new workplace.

Jeff got himself changed and went out into the station, Tamzin was waiting for him by their ambulance. 'Hey Jeff, how is Dixie this morning?'

'She's okay, I think.'

'She will be fine Jeff, it is better for Dixie to be away from shouts while she's pregnant.'

'I know, I am glad that she's somewhere safe.'

'Of course you are, daddy Jeff. Have you thought of a name for him yet?'

'We have, we're going to keep it a secret until he is born though.'

'I am sure that the name you picked will be adorable.'

'Thanks Tamzin.'

'It is so quiet without Dixie here, I keep expecting her to come through the door any minute now.'

'I know, it is going to be weird not working with her for over a year.'

'You'll be all right Jeff.'

'I know, it might just take a lot of getting used to. How does it feel wearing the duty manager's badges?'

'Right now it feels weird, I keep forgetting that I'm in charge.'

'You will do a wonderful job Tamzin.'

'I hope so, it is nice that you have faith in me though.'

'You deserve it.' Jeff's thoughts turned to Dixie and how she was coping on her first day at ambulance dispatch and working with totally different people.

Dixie sat in the reception of ambulance dispatch waiting for the manager to come and get her, it was going to be strange working for someone else and no longer being in charge. There were people walking by and she looked at them curiously, they all seemed to know each other and it reminded her of her own crew. She was beginning to miss everyone already and she felt so very out of place. Dixie saw a woman walking down the stars towards her and she stood up. 'You must be Kathleen Collier, I'm Tania.' Dixie shook the hand that Tania held out to her. 'Come with me and I'll show you around. I have your ID badge, you must wear it all the time that you are in this building.'

'Okay.' Dixie took the badge from Tania and put the lanyard over her head.

'You'll sign in here in the morning and then out again at the end of your shift.' Dixie quickly signed herself in and she followed Tania into the control room. 'I am sure you know a bit about what goes on here as you're a paramedic. All of the emergency calls for the Holby area come through here and it is our job to dispatch crews to everyone in order of need. Are you with me so far?'

'Yeah, I am.'

'Good. I just need to check a few things so if you'll come with me.' Dixie followed Tania into her office and sat down in the chair that she was offered. 'The information I have in front of me tells me that you'll be with us for three months, is that correct?'

'Yeah, I'll be here until I go on maternity leave.'

'Okay, I assume you're here because as duty manager you couldn't take light duty.'

'That's correct.'

'All right, this morning you will do some training and then shadow one of our more experienced call handlers to see how they handle emergency calls. Is that all right?'

'Yeah, that's fine.'

'Okay, follow me and I'll take you to our training suite.' Dixie stood up and left Tania's office, she hoped that she would do well at the training.

Jeff's mind was still on Dixie and how she was coping with working at dispatch, he was wondering and thinking a lot about how she was getting on. He was still thinking about Dixie when his phone rang and he smiled when he saw Dixie's name on the screen. 'Hi princess, I didn't expect to hear from you today.'

'I've got a break for lunch, I just needed to hear your voice.' Jeff smiled at the thought that Dixie wanted to hear his voice. 'It is nice to hear you too my Dixie. How did your morning go?'

'All right, they've been training me in how to take calls and dispatch crews.'

'Are you enjoying it?'

'Sort of, I miss everyone though.'

'We miss you too Dixie. It is very quiet without you Dixie.'

'Are you saying I'm loud Jeffrey Collier?'

'Of course not sweetheart. What are you going to do in the afternoon?'

'I think you are, naughty Jeffrey, I'm shadowing someone called Louise and then I get to have a go myself.' Jeff grinned at Dixie calling him naughty.

'You'll do brilliantly princess.'

'I love you Jeff.'

'Love you too Dixie.'

'How is Tamzin getting on?'

She's doing really well, you made your choice well Dixie.'

'I am glad to hear that, she can't go wrong with you supporting her.'

'Thanks princess.'

'I have to go, Tania, the boss, wants me back now so I can start shadowing Louise.'

'See you later princess, take care of yourself and our little bug.'

'See you later Jeff, you take care of yourself too.'

'I promise my princess, bye Dixie.'

'Bye Jeff.' Jeff ended the call and put his phone back in his pocket, hearing Dixie's voice had made him feel so much better, he had been missing her a lot all morning.

Dixie went back into the control room with Tania and she stopped by a desk that had a woman with dark hair sat at it. 'Louise.' The woman turned around and smiled at Tania, Dixie saw Louise look at her and then down at her bump, she saw the look that Louise gave her, it was clear that Louise thought she was too old to be pregnant. 'This is Kathleen, she'll be shadowing you this afternoon. I thought she should learn from the best.' Dixie wanted to throw up at the sickly sweet smile that Louise gave to Tania, Dixie was quite certain that she wasn't going to like Louise. Tania turned to Dixie and smiled. 'I'll leave you in Louise's capable hands, if you have any questions then you can ask her.'

'Okay.'

'I'll leave you to it.' Dixie sat in the spare seat and folded her hands on top of her belly.

'So you're the new arrival.' Louise spoke with a posh accent and made it very clear that she didn't approve of Dixie being here.

'Looks like it.'

'Like Tania said, I am the best here and you would do well to follow my example.'

'Right, I'll be sure to do just that.' Dixie smiled when Louise glared at her and turned back to the screen that she was logging her calls on. She wasn't sure if she should be making enemies on her first day but Louise was so stuck up and sure of her own self importance that she did need taking down a peg or two. Dixie was feeling quite annoyed that Louise kept glancing at her bump with a very disapproving look on her face, she reminded herself to stay calm for the baby, she would not let Louise wind her up.

Jeff happily drove to the ambulance dispatch in plenty of time to pick Dixie up, he was eager to know how her day had gone and how she had managed taking calls and so on. He couldn't wait to see Dixie, he had missed her so much during the day and that had only increased as it got closer to the end of his shift and to the time when he could see Dixie again. He tapped his hand on the steering wheel and hummed along to the radio as he sat waiting for Dixie to come out. Jeff felt even happier when he saw Dixie coming out of the building and he got out of the car, went over to her and hugged her. Jeff tilted Dixie's head up and kissed her gently. 'I missed you today princess.'

'I missed you too.'

'I'm so happy to see you.'

'Me too Jeff, that hug was just what I needed.' Jeff kissed Dixie again and he heard someone cough behind them and saw a dark haired woman staring at them as she walked past. She didn't look too happy. 'Who's that?'

'Louise, she is the self styled queen of the control room. I don't think she's ever met a rule that she didn't like.' Jeff laughed, Dixie was definitely on fine form and her usual self. 'She definitely doesn't like me or the fact that I am pregnant.'

'It's not bothering you is it princess?'

'No, she can think what she likes. I've been taking great pleasure in annoying her, whenever she gives me her disapproving look I just smile at her.' Jeff laughed again, it pleased him to see that Dixie was in high spirits and sounded happy.

'Come on then princess, let's get you and little bug home.'

'I like the sound of that, lead the way Mr Collier.' Jeff helped Dixie into the car and closed the door, he went to his own side and got in, despite the fact Dixie had met someone she didn't like she seemed to have enjoyed her first day at ambulance dispatch and that made him happy.

Dixie was happy to be going home, she had made it through her first day and Jeff was here, safe and in one piece. She had taken a few calls and it had gone well, Tania seemed to be pleased with her work and how quickly she had learned what she needed to know. It was different to her usual job but she'd liked learning something new and seeing how the other side worked. A couple of her new colleagues had smiled at her and said hello as they were walking past, it gave her hope that they weren't all like Louise. Dixie noted that nobody seemed to speak to Louise, maybe she had a talent for making people dislike her. Dixie was happy that her first day had gone so well, she was looking forward to going home and relaxing with Jeff and the kids.

Jeff looked at Dixie and he smiled, her head was resting against the chair and she had her eyes closed. 'Princess, we're almost home, don't go to sleep on me now.'

'I'm not sleeping Jeffrey, I'm resting my eyes.' Jeff chuckled, he could hear the sleepiness in her voice.

'I think my princess needs a little nap before tea and her treat.'

'Treat, what treat?' Jeff laughed at how Dixie was immediately awake the minute she heard the word treat. 'Come on Jeffrey, don't keep me in suspense.'

'Someone might just have a bar of their favourite chocolate waiting for them when they get home.'

'Really, can I have it when we get in?'

'No, you'll spoil your tea.' Jeff smiled when Dixie mock glared at him.

'Fine, you're no fun Jeffrey.'

'I am lots of fun, I'll show you later if you're a good girl.' Dixie laughed and Jeff smiled at her, she was in definite good spirits.

'Perhaps I should be a bad girl instead.'

'Bad girls don't get chocolate.'

'Spoil sport.' Jeff chuckled when Dixie started laughing, he was so glad to have her back, he had really missed her today.