This part's a bit shorter than usual but I thought it worked better if I had Dylan's chat with Zoe as a separate chapter. I'm also not sure whether to leave the relationships platonic or if Rita should get a little bit of romance (not necessarily from Dylan) so I'd love to know what you'd prefer.
"He did what?" Dixie gasped as she sat on Rita's sofa, tea in hand, catching up with her friend.
Rita laughed and sipped at her tea, "he came round, built the furniture for her nursery and then stayed for dinner."
"Dinner?" Dixie raised one eyebrow.
"No Dix, not 'dinner' just dinner. We talked about the benefits of co-sleeping and he offered to buy her a Moses basket."
"And he just turned up the next day?"
Rita nodded, "with a beautiful Moses basket, some bedding and a crib for her to sleep in next to my bed."
"And he hasn't mentioned it since?"
Rita shook her head, "not a word, we're back to just being a doctor and nurse who work together." She bit her lip and sipped at her tea, "do you think I'm being stupid? To keep giving him chances?"
"I can't make that decision for you." Dixie said softly, taking Rita's hand and squeezing it softly, smiling as Rita instantly moved their joint hands to her swollen stomach so Dixie could feel the baby moving, "I know you want what's best for the little one but you've given him a lot of chances to be involved and he just ignores them, you've got to draw a line somewhere. You won't be the bad one or in the wrong if you do, you've given him chances, he knows where you live, he knows where his Daughter will be, he can come to you if he changes his mind. You're going to have a baby soon, you can't keep running around after Dylan and, as much as you might want to, you can't force Dylan to stand up and be a father. You need to put yourself and the baby first, if he chooses to walk away then he'll be the one that misses out Rita, not you and not this gorgeous little lady."
"I saw how his father was with him" Rita said softly, "I don't blame him for being scared about being a dad."
"And how do you feel about being a Mum? Dylan wasn't the only one that was surprised by this" she said softly, her hand still stroking Rita's bump.
Rita shrugged, "I try not to think about it too much" she admitted, "I mean I know I'm having a baby but other than that…"
"Rita" Dixie frowned, "talk to me Darlin'"
"If Dylan doesn't step up she's going to depend on me for everything Dix, it wasn't that long ago that I could barely take care of myself and now, if I screw up I won't just be screwing my life up, I'll be screwing hers up too" she whispered as her eyes filled with tears, "I love her" she ran her hand over her bump, "I love her more than I've ever loved another person but sometimes I think about the responsibility, about how her entire life will be dependent on me having my shit together and it makes me feel sick, I don't know if I'm ready to be a mother Dix."
"Oh sweetheart" Dixie held Rita tight, "where's all this coming from? I had no idea you felt like that."
"Everyone else seems so excited" Rita whispered, "but they don't have to raise her, they won't be the ones that are up all night when she won't stop crying. I can't really say to Robyn or Charlie or Zoe or Whoever, "yeah, you might be looking forward to cuddling her and buying her lots of cute things but it could be years before I ever get some time to myself and that absolutely terrifies me."
"You could have told me Rita, you can tell me anything."
"It's virtually impossible to find childcare for when I have to work night shifts and I'm not even sure I can afford to pay to send her to nursery or the creche at the hospital, I don't want to end up being a single mum on benefits but there are times when I can't see any other way."
"What about Dylan?" Dixie asked softly, "even if he doesn't want to be involved he has a duty to…"
"No" Rita said quietly, "he's made his feelings clear from the start, I knew how he felt about having a baby when I decided to keep her, I made the decision, I'm not going to expect him to pay for her, I wanted her, she's my responsibility."
Dixie nodded, "I'm sure he'd help you if you were struggling though."
"I'm scared I'll let her down" Rita whispered, "I'm scared I'll hurt her, that I won't be enough for her and she'll grow up to hate me."
"She won't hate you Rita, you might argue as she gets older but she won't hate you and you won't be on your own, you're stuck with me kid. You want a day to lay in bed and watch crap films, Auntie Dix'll take her out for the day, you've not slept in days because she won't stop crying, she can come for a sleepover at mine so you can get some kip, I might not be her Dad but I'm here for the both of you yeah, even if you just need me to come round, make a cuppa and wash your pots. Whatever you need Darl' you've always got me."
"I know" Rita sniffled as she snuggled into Dixie, "and I'm so grateful for that."
"So you should be" Dix teased, but if you were really grateful…"
"No" Rita laughed, "I am not calling her Dixie-Two"
"Made you laugh though" Dixie winked, "have you thought of any names for her?"
"A few, I haven't really decided on anything yet, I think I'm probably going to wait until she's born, see if there's anything that seems to suit her."
"What sort of thing are you going for? Princess? Honeysuckle Fairyblossom?"
"No" Rita laughed again, "I like Charlotte, and Olivia, Florence, Amelia, Emily, Alice, Phoebe, Sophia, I don't know, her middle name's going to be Elizabeth though."
"Like you?"
"And my Mum, and my Grandmother and my Great-grandmother and...yeah, you get the idea."
"What about Kathleen? Kathleen Elizabeth Freeman?" She frowned slightly, "no, actually, don't do that to the poor girl."
"I wasn't planning to" Rita rolled her eyes, "she's going to be a nice little girl with a nice name."
"What are you trying to say?"Dixie pretended to be shocked.
"I'm trying to say that you're a pain and one of you is more than enough."
"Hey" Dixie pretended to be insulted, "If I'm a pain you won't be wanting a takeaway tonight…"
"Well Ms Dixon, that is exactly where you're wrong, you're such a pain I'm expecting you to buy me and your niece a takeaway to make up for it. And" Rita pointed her finger at Dixie, "and I'll be choosing the DVD."
Dixie laughed and rolled her eyes, one hand still gently stroking Rita's bump, "and she thinks I'm a pain" she whispered to the baby.
"Oi" Rita playfully pushed Dixie away from her, "I heard that." She laughed as her stomach rumbled loudly, "now are you buying us a Chinese or are you going to let us starve?"