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, chan. nelson4444 for reviewing the last chapter.

Anything that happens in this chapter has been researched before I put it in, Tamzin's use of the Glasgow Coma Scale comes from Wikipedia.

Chapter Nine.

Dixie sat in her office, her periods were back to normal and her second one was due any time now. She pulled out her calendar and checked off another day, she'd been doing this since her and Jeff had started trying for a baby again. She would mark off every day until she ended up pregnant, so far she had marked off eight weeks worth of days. It saddened her a little to think that she still wasn't pregnant but the rational side of herself knew that it would happen now, when the time was right. Marking the days off helped her feel a bit calmer about the whole thing, it gave her something to focus on, gave her hope that one day she would be able to stop marking the days off and be able to tell Jeff that she was pregnant.

Dixie was feeling off and tired and had been for a couple of days. Her coffee cravings had completely vanished and she was dealing with drinking water and juice instead. She had surprised herself by gaining a liking for peppermint tea. Dixie wouldn't be surprised if her period started in a day or two, she was getting all the usual symptoms; the mood swings, sore breasts, headaches and occasional moments of weepiness. Her chocolate cravings were back with a vengeance and she was determined to ignore them but they really were hard to ignore right now. Everyone seemed to be getting on her nerves today so she was staying out of their way. She knew that it was because she had stopped taking the pill, it was the only thing that kept back her period symptoms.

Dixie had decided that staying in to do the paperwork for the week was probably a good idea, she had a very short fuse and even the littlest thing would set her off. She rubbed her forehead, the painkillers were kicking in slowly, she could feel the pain easing. The door opened and Dixie saw Jeff stood there. 'Dixie, are you all right?'

'Jeff, could you work with Will today?'

'I can, but you didn't answer my question. Are you okay?'

'I'm just feeling the effects of not being on the pill. I'm not the best person to be out there right now, one wrong word from any person today and I will lose my temper.'

'I understand. You look pale though, maybe you should go home and rest.'

'It is just the headache, once it eases fully I'll be back to normal.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes, I'm just going to stay here and work on the rotas and so on until I feel more like my normal self.'

'Okay, try not to do too much while you're feeling unwell.' Dixie smiled at Jeff as he kissed her on the head. 'I'll see you later princess.'

'See you later Jeff.' Dixie was happy that she had such a supportive husband, she was a bit down because her period was well on the way, it confirmed what the test said, she wasn't pregnant. Despite dismissing the what the doctor had said about getting pregnant early after her operation, she had held a little hope that maybe it would have been true, maybe just once she would get lucky and get what she wanted.

Jeff left Dixie in her office and went to find Tamzin, he wanted to ask a favour of her, he found her in the rec room. 'Tamzin, I need a favour.'

'You're not having my coffee.'

'No, that's not what I want. Will you check on Dixie when I'm not around, she's not feeling very well and I can't be here all the time.'

'Of course I will, what's wrong with her?'

'She's having a hard time with her hormones and being off the pill.'

'I see, don't worry Jeff, I'll check on her.'

'Thanks Tamzin, you're a star.'

'I'll keep in touch with you and tell you if I think she should go home.'

'Okay, that makes me feel so much better.'

'No problem, she's my friend and so are you, I'll do whatever I can to help you.' Jeff put his hand on Tamzin's shoulder, he really was grateful to her for all the help that she was giving them.

Dixie sat with her eyes closed for a few minutes, her headache was resurfacing again, it had never been like this before. She thought that her disappointment over not being pregnant was making the headaches worse. Dixie took a deep breath and tried to relax, she sighed when she heard the knock on the door. 'Go away, I'm not here.'

'I think we both know that isn't true Dixie.' Dixie saw Tamzin stood in the doorway.

'Tamzin, sorry, I'm just having a tough time right now.'

'I know, I came to see if you wanted something to drink. You need a time out.'

'Perhaps you're right, can I have a peppermint tea please?'

'Coming up.' Dixie rubbed her temples again in an attempt to make her headache disappear, if this kept up she might take Jeff up on his offer to go home. Dixie stood up and closed her eyes as the room started to spin, she steadied herself by placing her hand on the edge of the desk. Dixie was starting to feel very dizzy, she tried to make it back to her chair but the dizziness became too much for her and she blacked out by her desk.

Tamzin made Dixie's drink, she wanted to help Dixie feel better, Tamzin was worried as Dixie was looking very pale. Tamzin picked up Dixie's mug and took it to her office, she knocked on the door. 'Dixie,' she called when she didn't get an answer. Tamzin started to worry, it wasn't like Dixie not to answer. 'Dixie?' Tamzin pushed open the door and saw Dixie lying on the floor. She rushed to her side. 'Dixie, Dixie can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?' Dixie's eyes slowly opened and then closed again. Tamzin gently pinched Dixie's thumb to see if she responded, Dixie muttered something that Tamzin couldn't hear and moved her hand away. 'Can I have some help in here?' Tamzin shouted as loudly as she could, she turned her attention back to Dixie. She quickly checked Dixie's breathing and pulse, her pulse was definitely on the quick side and her hands were a bit cold. Tamzin looked at the door when Jess appeared there. 'Jess, can you get me the trolley please?'

'What happened?'

'I don't know, I just found her like this.' Jess nodded and Tamzin held Dixie's hand. 'It's okay Dixie, we're going to get you sorted.' Tamzin and Jess put Dixie on the trolley and wheeled her quickly towards the E.D.

Zoe came over the minute she saw them enter the building. 'What happened?'

'I don't know she was just lying on the floor. Kathleen Collier, 36, found collapsed in her office, she's tachycardic with a pulse rate of a hundred, her hands are cold and she's been complaining of being tired, she has a GCS of seven.'

'Thanks Tamzin, don't worry, we'll find out what's wrong with her.'

'You should know that she's been trying to get pregnant.'

'Okay, let's get the usual bloods done, FBC especially and test for pregnancy please. Tamzin can you let Jeff know that she's in here, he'll want to be here and I know that she'll want him here.'

'I will, take care of her for me.'

'We will, don't worry.' Tamzin looked at Dixie, she was really worried now, she felt that she had let her down somehow.

Tamzin took out her phone, she had to let Jeff know straight away that Dixie wasn't well and was in hospital. She listened to it ring and waited for Jeff to answer her. 'Hello?'

'Jeff, you need to get back here, it's Dixie.'

'What's wrong?'

'I found her passed out in her office, she's in the E.D. Zoe is looking after her.'

'I'm coming, we're a few minutes away, we've just had a hoax call so I won't be long.'

'Okay, hurry.' Tamzin put the phone down again and held onto it, she didn't want to worry Jeff but he had to know that Dixie was in the hospital. For the second time that day she really felt as if she had left Jeff and Dixie down.

Dixie found herself lying in bed, when had she got into bed? Dixie moved her arm and groaned, it was painful, she heard someone walking around near her. 'Dixie, can you hear me? It's Zoe.'

'Zoe?' She must be in the E.D. Dixie struggled to put the events of the day in order, how had she ended up in hospital? 'What happened?'

'Tamzin found you unconscious.'

'What's wrong with me?'

'I don't know yet, I'm waiting for your blood test results to come back.'

'Blood test, so that's why my arm hurts.'

'Yes, take it easy Dixie, you've been unconscious for a while.'

'What do you think is wrong with me?'

'I can't be certain, I'm going to wait for your results to come back.' Dixie heard the bleeping from the machine next to her bed.

'Why am I linked up to the monitor?'

'You were tachycardic when you were brought in, it is just a precaution.'

'Where's Jeff?'

'Tamzin has called him, he was on a shout but he should be here soon.'

'Okay.'

'How are you feeling Dixie?'

'Tired and a bit dizzy.'

'Just rest, I will be back soon.' Dixie lay back against the pillow, Zoe's advice seemed like a good idea, she was tired and the room was still spinning a little bit.

Jeff jumped out of the ambulance and nearly ran into Tamzin. 'Where's Dixie?'

'She's in resus.'

'What?' Now he was worried, he prayed that she wasn't seriously ill.

'It's just a precaution, she blacked out on us.'

'Do they know what caused it?'

'Not yet.' Jeff went straight into resus and to Dixie's bed.

'Hello princess.'

'Jeff, I'm glad you're here.'

'You frightened me Dixie.'

'I'm sorry love, I thought how I was feeling was just something to do with my period.'

'It's okay.' Jeff kissed Dixie's head. 'Whatever it is we'll deal with it together.'

'What if it is something to do with the operation, what if they say I can't get pregnant now?'

'Hush love, that's not going to happen.'

'How do you know?' Jeff hugged Dixie, he understood that she was afraid and that she needed his hug more than she needed his words right now.

Dixie just clung onto Jeff, she needed his reassurance and the warmth of his body, it helped soothe her when nothing else could. She was still holding onto him when Zoe came into the room. 'Dixie, I have the results of your blood test.'

'What's wrong with me?'

'You have iron deficiency anaemia, it is why you blacked out.'

'When can I go home?'

'There's something we have to discuss first.' Dixie gripped Jeff's shirt, what if there was something seriously wrong with her?

'Which is?'

'Are you aware that you're pregnant?' Dixie just looked at Zoe in shock. 'Tamzin told us you had been trying for a baby and we had you tested to make sure that we weren't missing anything. It is the likely cause of your anaemia.'

'But I took a test, it was negative, are you certain?'

'Yes, we tested your blood, we are certain that you're pregnant.'

'Oh.' Dixie was struggling to take it all in, she was pregnant. 'Would my blacking out have hurt the baby?'

'No, it is highly unlikely but I have organised a scan to make sure, you'll need to see the clinic anyway so it may as well be now. They're going to give you some iron supplements to make sure that this doesn't happen again.'

'Thanks Zoe.'

'No worries, congratulations to both of you.' Dixie turned to Jeff when Zoe had left resus.

'Jeff, we're having a baby.'

'I know princess.'

'Now I know why I was feeling so rubbish. I just thought I was having bad period symptoms, they're all things I've experienced before I was on the pill.'

'Don't worry about it now princess, the iron supplements will help you get better.'

'I know, it's probably not the best start to being pregnant though.' Dixie snuggled into Jeff, she was happy, a few hours ago she thought that she was going to have wait another month to get pregnant but now everything was different, she knew that there was a baby in her belly and she was going to be a mother at long last.

Jeff kissed Dixie's head, he felt the sudden urge to protect her, she was carrying his baby and he didn't want anything to happen to either of them. 'Dixie, what are you going to do now?'

'I can stay as I am for now, working on the crew and so on. Then when I'm about five months I will start working at ambulance dispatch. I probably won't be able to work on an ambulance for longer than that.'

'You've thought this through haven't you?'

'I have, don't worry Jeff, I won't do anything that causes harm to me or the baby. I'll be careful.'

'I know you will.' Jeff placed his hand on Dixie's belly. 'I love you Dixie.'

'I love you too.' Jeff held Dixie close to him, he saw the change in Dixie now that she knew she was pregnant, she looked happy and relaxed even if she was still a bit pale.

Tamzin popped her head around the resus door. 'Can I come in?'

'Of course you can.'

'Hi Dixie, you're awake.'

'They told me that you found me, thank you.'

'You're welcome Dixie, do you know what is wrong yet?' Tamzin saw the look that Jeff and Dixie shared. 'What is it?'

'You tell her princess.'

'I have anaemia, they can sort it out with iron tablets though.'

'Oh, I'm glad it isn't serious, I was worried about you Dixie.

'There's something else.'

'What is it?'

'I'm pregnant.'

'Oh my goodness, are you serious?'

'Very.' Tamzin ran over and hugged Jeff and Dixie.

'I am so pleased for you both. I'm going to be an aunty, congratulations.'

'I think Tamzin is happy Dixie.'

'I think she is.' Tamzin hugged Jeff and Dixie one last time.

'I'll leave you alone now.'

'Thanks for coming Tamzin.'

'You're welcome.' Tamzin quietly closed the door to resus, she was so happy that Dixie and Jeff were going to have a baby, she loved them both and now they were going to have the baby that they wanted. Tamzin started thinking, she wanted to get them something nice for the baby and she knew exactly what she going to do, it would take her some time to do but it would be perfect.