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 and chan. nelson4444 for your reviews :)

Chapter Eighteen.

Dixie sensed that Jeff was angry, she understood, what Lucy had said to Sophia was horrible. What was Lucy trying to achieve by making Sophia call another man dad and then not letting her speak to her real dad when she refused to do it? It was worse now, Jeff knew that she was trying to replace him as their dad, she had hoped that he would never find out. Dixie knew that she was going to have to calm Jeff down before he talked to Lucy, if he spoke to her while he was still angry then he would make things a lot worse than they were at the moment. She'd got Jeff to send Lucy a message saying that Sophia was safe and that he would call her later, she didn't think that it was wise for Jeff to talk to her right now.

They'd stopped off for fish and chips on the way back from the train station, Sophia was now quite happily tucking into hers, the poor kid was very hungry, leaving a child without food is no way to punish them. Little Abs was quite happy to see Sophia, she was feeding him chips under the table. Dixie was feeling quite angry, anything could have happened to Sophia when she left that house. She tried to stay calm, if she got angry too then it would be a lot harder to calm Jeff down. Jeff was angry but he was worried too, she could see it in his eyes, he was thinking about every little thing that could have happened to Sophia while she had been travelling from London to Holby. She could tell he was not himself, he was picking at his food and not really eating it, it was unlike Jeff not to eat.

Dixie put the plates in the sink, she would deal with them soon, right now she was more bothered about getting Sophia to bed, the young girl was beginning to look tired. 'Come on scrap, say goodnight to your dad.' Sophia got up from the table and hugged Jeff, he hugged her back and then reluctantly let go of her. 'Goodnight Sophia, my little princess.'

'Goodnight daddy.' Dixie went upstairs with Sophia, she was surprised that Sophia had brought a bag with her when she left London, it proved her suspicions, Sophia was very resourceful. 'Sophia, how did you know what to bring with you?'

'My bag was still packed from when we came here, I just took it with me.' Dixie remembered washing John and Sophia's clothes before they went back home. 'Find your toothbrush and get yourself something to wear for bed.'

'Okay.' Dixie looked through Sophia's bag with her, most of the stuff that she had washed for Sophia was still in there, it would keep her going for a while until they decided what was going to happen. Sophia pulled out some pyjamas and Dixie put them on the bed, she then sat down to wait for Sophia to come back.

Jeff sat at the table, he was thinking, what had Sophia done that was so bad that Lucy would have a go at her like that? He knew what it was, she had stayed loyal to him and wouldn't call another man dad. Was Lucy trying to make the kids believe that someone else loved them more? Never, nobody would ever love those kids more than he did. He was still angry, someone could have hurt Sophia, could have kidnapped her, a lot of things could have happened to her while she was alone. Jeff had no idea what was going to happen now, he would have to talk to Dixie, they had work in the morning, what were they going to do with Sophia?

Dixie helped Sophia into bed and pulled the quilt up around her to keep her warm. 'Dixie, is daddy mad at me?'

'No, he is just afraid, you could have got hurt.'

'I had to see him, mummy was horrible to me.'

'I know, don't worry about that now, get some sleep.'

'Goodnight Dixie.'

'You know where we are if you need us, just come in and wake us up if you need anything.'

'Okay, thank you.'

'Goodnight Sophia, do you need me to stay until you fall asleep?'

'I'm okay, maybe you should go and hug daddy, he looks sad.'

'I will do, I'll give him a special hug from you too.'

'I'd like that, make sure you tell him it is from me.'

'I will.' Dixie kissed Sophia on the head and closed the door, now she had to sort Jeff out. She went downstairs, Jeff had to talk to Lucy, it was going to be unpleasant but it had to be done.

Jeff had moved onto the sofa while Dixie was upstairs, he was watching the television but wasn't taking any of it in. He registered Dixie coming into the room but he just continued staring at the television until she turned it off and hugged him. 'That's from Sophia, she thinks you look sad.'

'I'm not sad, I'm angry, Lucy is trying to erase me from their lives, she's getting them to call another man dad.'

'She's trying, I think she's failing. Look at what Sophia did, she travelled all the way here to be with her daddy. I don't think Lucy has any hope of turning them against you.'

'We don't know that, she might succeed with John.'

'She won't.'

'How do you know?'

'Because those kids love you, no matter what Lucy says or does she will never change that.'

'You sound sure.'

'I am.' Jeff sighed and hugged Dixie, he hoped that she was right.

'I need to call Lucy.'

'Are you sure that you're calm enough to talk to her?'

'Yes, stay with me though, I need you here Dixie.'

'I'm not going anywhere.'

'Thank you.' Jeff reached over and took Dixie's hand in his, he really needed her around while he talked to Lucy.

Dixie sat with Jeff as he picked up the phone and dialled Lucy's number, she wasn't sure what was going to happen. She heard Lucy answer and Jeff start talking to her, he'd put the phone onto the speaker phone so she could hear everything. 'Jeff.'

'I thought you should know that Sophia is fine, she's in bed and is sleeping.'

'This is all your fault, you and that woman of yours, you've put ideas into her head.'

'My fault? You told Sophia that she had to call another man dad, then you told her she couldn't speak to me and couldn't have anything to eat when she refused. What did you hope to achieve?'

'I was hoping they would forget about you, I should have never let them start seeing you again. I wanted to remove your influence but I can see that Sophia thinks that you're some kind of hero. She is too like you, there is no getting that out of her now. I hope you're happy.'

'I know what your problem is, she reminds you of me, that is why you have been so hard on her. You'd punish your own daughter because of that reason?'

'She always was more like you than me, do you think I want to be reminded of you? I made a mistake in ever marrying you, it was the worst decision of my life.'

'You heartless bitch.' Dixie squeezed Jeff's hand, she sensed he was getting agitated and worked up.

'I don't care, you can keep her, I don't want her back after what she's done.'

'You'd let her go, just like that?'

'Why not, she has made it very clear that she doesn't want to be here.'

'Right, you can drop Sophia's stuff here and I'll look after her.'

'Fine, I'll be there at weekend.'

'Good.'

'Then it is settled.'

'It is.'

'Bye Jeff.' Lucy put the phone down and Dixie stared at Jeff, how would they cope with looking after a young girl with their jobs? A lot of things were going to have to change now.

Jeff was shocked, Lucy had abandoned Sophia because she was like him, how was he going to tell her that her mum didn't want her? 'Dixie, what are we going to do?'

'Start with one day at a time, we're going to have to go to work tomorrow, Tamzin is off this week so we can ask her if she will look after Sophia for us. I do not think that she will mind.'

'Okay, what about after that?'

'I don't know.'

'There is so much to do, she has to be in a school and then we have our shifts to think about.'

'Jeff, calm down. You don't have to think about all that now. It has been a long day, I think you should go and get some sleep. You're not thinking straight.'

'Maybe you're right, will you call Tamzin?'

'Yes, I will.'

'Thanks Dixie. I'm just going to see Sophia.'

'Don't wake her up.'

'I won't, I just need to see her.'

'All right, go on up love, I'll be there shortly.' Jeff smiled at Dixie, he still didn't know what he was going to do but she was right, they needed to sleep.

Jeff quietly walked up the stairs and opened the door to where Sophia was sleeping, he just looked at her, she was deeply asleep. He kissed her head and stroked her hair, she didn't move, he was happy that she was sleeping. 'My brave little princess.' He wondered again how he was going to tell her that her mum didn't want her. Jeff decided that he would tell her she was staying here because he and Dixie wanted her to. He would tell her that they had decided she could stay here because they loved her so much. Jeff wasn't sure what they would do about John, would he want to stay with his mum or would he want to come here too? Jeff kissed Sophia's head again and quietly left the room, he didn't want to disturb her, it was best that she slept, she'd had quite the adventure today.

Jeff went into the room he shared with Dixie, he was tired, he felt like the whole world was against him right now. He had Sophia to take care of, work to worry about, then there was Dixie and the baby to think of, how was he going to juggle all of those things? He was still thinking when Dixie came in and sat by him on the bed. 'Tamzin will look after Sophia next week for us.'

'What did you tell her?'

'Everything, she's quite angry at Lucy.'

'So am I.'

'I know, come on love, let's go to bed. You're tired and you need to rest Jeff.'

'You're right, as always.' Jeff hugged and then kissed Dixie, everything was very uncertain right now, plans would have to be made, they would have to move house too, there wasn't enough room for Sophia and the new baby in this one. Jeff sighed, he would think about it all tomorrow.

Dixie climbed into bed, Jeff was already lying down, he was staring at the ceiling. 'Jeff?'

'Dixie.'

'Come here love.' She let Jeff cuddle up to her, he'd had it rough today, Sophia being all alone had scared him, and though she knew he'd never admit it, his emotions were all in a mess. 'It will be okay, we'll get through this.' Jeff didn't answer, she hoped that her words had brought him some comfort. Dixie held Jeff, it was all she could do for him right now, there was a lot to do in the coming weeks and he would need her support. 'Goodnight Jeff, get some sleep.'

'Goodnight Dixie.' Dixie held Jeff in her arms until she was sure that he was asleep, being asleep was the best thing for him. She closed her eyes and listened to Jeff's breathing, it always helped lull her into a deep sleep.