Title: Moving On

Author: Raven Shadowrose

Rating: M

Pairing: ?/?

Summary: Dixie has been left broken hearted by Cyd's departure from the Holby team, what will happen when Cyd is replaced by Hannah Darbyshire and Dixie takes a liking to her? Will she find the happiness that she has been searching for, or will she end up with even more of a broken heart?

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 anyone to use this story.

A/N: This story will contain some femslash, if you do not wish to read then, by all means, back away slowly the way you came, other than that, enjoy the story and reviews are appreciated.

Thank you to chan. nelson4444 and BeethovenRIP for your reviews, I hope you enjoy this chapter, I am glad that you are liking the story, enjoy the chapter

Chapter Seventeen.

Hannah put her guitar down and watched Polly play, she really had a talent for playing the guitar, she learned quickly and had a brilliant memory. Hannah took a sip of her drink and let Polly run through the chord sequence a few more times. 'You really have got that down, it's a pity you don't have your own guitar to practise with, you could be excellent if you practised more.'

'Do you really think so?'

'Yes, you should think about buying a guitar of your own.'

'I can't afford it, not with the rent and bills to pay and food to buy.'

'I understand, not everyone can buy luxuries. Have you ever thought of sharing a house with someone?'

'I like my own space. What about you, will you be sharing with someone soon?'

'Was that a subtle way of asking me if Dixie is going to be moving in here soon?'

'Maybe, so, is she?'

'I wouldn't rule it out, I'd like her to one day. I still think it is a bit early for us to move in together.'

'True, you are perfect for each other though. I don't think I've ever seen her so happy. Dixie has dated people in the past, but, until you came along she has never been relaxed or carefree.'

'So that is why Jeff got away with his comments today with only having to buy Dixie's coffee and walking the dog for a week.'

'Yep, if he'd said that to her earlier then she would have tied him up naked to the ambulance and left him there for being a sexist pig.' Hannah laughed, perhaps it was a good thing that Dixie was more relaxed. 'You do make her happy Hannah.'

'She makes me happy too.'

'I can see that.'

'You can?'

'Yep, I've watched you two when you're together. I've seen how you share little smiles and hugs during the day. It is lovely, it makes me happy. I'm so glad that you came to Holby.'

'I am too, if I hadn't started working here then I never would have met you, Dixie or Jeff.'

'I believe that we end up in the place that we're meant to be, that must mean that you are meant to be here.'

'I like that, it's lovely.'

'I like to be positive about things, our experiences make us who we are and I am so glad to be part of the experience of you and Dixie being together.'

'Polly, Dixie told me about her dad, but she didn't say anything about her mum, is there a reason for that?'

'There is, but you will have to ask her, it is not my story to tell.'

'I know, thanks Polly.' Hannah wondered about Dixie's mother, she had sensed Dixie's pain when she talked about her dad, would she be opening up more wounds for Dixie if she asked about her mother?

Jeff watched Dixie wandering around the house, she was definitely happy, she only hummed to herself when she was in a good mood. 'Dixie, have you lost some weight?'

'Maybe a little bit.'

'I thought you'd been eating differently lately.'

'I just want to look good for Hannah, I am ten years older than her and carrying a bit more weight than I should be.'

'Dixie, she likes you as you are.'

'Jeff, have you seen that woman? Hannah has a gorgeous figure.'

'I think you are losing weight for the wrong reasons. Trust me when I say that Hannah likes you as you Dixie, she doesn't want a supermodel or a stick-insect, she wants you.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes, when you kissed her the day that both of you went into that bank, were you a supermodel?'

'No, I was just me.'

'Exactly, Hannah wants Dixie. I bet if you talked to Hannah, you would find out that she has her fair share of body hang-ups too.'

'How do you know?'

'Because every woman does, they all have something that they don't like about themselves.'

'You're probably right.'

'Not probably, I am right. I don't think you have anything to worry about, she said that you looked beautiful at the Halloween party.'

'She did. Are you saying that I shouldn't lose weight?'

'I'm not saying that you shouldn't, I'm saying that you should make sure that you're doing it for the right reasons. Nobody wants a person that lives on lettuce for a partner.'

'I see your point, I've been craving chocolate all week anyway.'

'You can have treats Dixie, sometimes a little of what you fancy does you good.'

'I agree with you there.' Jeff went to the fridge and took out the chocolate that he had bought Dixie to make amends for his comments about recording her and Hannah kissing. Dixie broke off a couple of blocks and put the bar on the table, she popped one of the blocks in her mouth and licked her fingers to get rid of the melted chocolate that was left behind. 'Should I leave you two alone?'

'Very funny Jeff.'

'I thought you might need some time to get reacquainted.'

'I've not been off chocolate for that long.'

'Are you going to share some of your chocolate with me?' Jeff took the bar from Dixie when she held it out. 'Thanks princess.' He broke off some of the blocks and slowly ate them, he hoped that Dixie was feeling better about herself now.

Dixie was thinking about everything Jeff had said to her, Hannah didn't care for physical appearance. Sam and Zoe were looking at a fashion magazine one day, and Hannah had said that she thought they were only good for making women want a body that they could never achieve. She also said that she thought the women in there looked unhealthy and needed to put on a good few pounds. It was a sentiment that Dixie agreed with, she thought the women in the magazine looked unnatural, it was as if their heads were too big for their bodies. Hannah had also implied that she liked her women curvy, something that made Dixie feel a whole lot better about herself.

Dixie had something else to think about, she would be asking Hannah if she wanted to make their relationship more serious on their next date. It also meant that maybe it was time to ask her some other things too. 'Jeff, how would you ask someone about their experience.'

'I don't understand princess.'

'I want to ask Hannah about her past relationships and so on.'

'I see, you want to know what she does and doesn't like and how far she has gone with other women.'

'Yeah, I don't know how to ask her though, she blushes when I call her beautiful, so asking her questions like that might make her feel uncomfortable.'

'It needs to be done Dixie.'

'I know, I'm just having a hard time asking her. I know I am the more experienced one and it will be up to me to bring it up.'

'Then do it when you go to Hannah's again, have a bit of a cuddle and wait until you know that she is relaxed. Just ask if you can ask her some questions.'

'I don't want Hannah to think that all I am thinking about is getting her into bed.'

'She won't think that, if anything she is probably expecting you to ask, you have been together for a while.'

'I hope so, I am not sure that she is ready to take things further just yet.'

'Do you know that for certain? She might just be waiting for you to make the first move. She is definitely all right with you kissing her.'

'I know she is, she is definitely responsive to my kisses.'

'You see. Maybe all she needs is a little push in the right direction.'

'I think I'll start with talking to her and go from there.'

'I know you'll figure it out, if you didn't care then you wouldn't be asking.'

'I just want to make sure that she is comfortable with everything.'

'Like I said, just talk to her, tell her what you just told me and it will be fine.'

'Yeah, thanks Jeff.' Dixie knew that she had to bring up the subject of making love with Hannah sooner or later, she'd rather it be sooner as she wanted Hannah to feel comfortable with everything that they did together.

Hannah had said goodbye to Polly not long ago and she was waiting for Dixie to call her, it had been a great lesson and she had enjoyed teaching Polly. It was a real shame that Polly couldn't afford a guitar of her own, Hannah hated seeing all that talent go to waste, maybe there was something she could do about it in time. Hannah jumped when her phone rang, she had been so lost in her own little world that she'd lost track of time. 'Hello beautiful,' Hannah heard Dixie say when she picked up the phone. 'Hi Dixie.'

'Are we still going out on Sunday?'

'Of course we are.'

'Good.'

'Are you going to tell me where we're going?'

'No, I want it to be a surprise. Can I stay at yours again?'

'Of course you can, I liked having you there the last time.'

'I liked being with you. Hannah, I need to ask you something on Sunday and I want to give you time to get used to the idea first.'

'Okay, what is it?'

'I want to talk about our relationship and where we go next. I know that I really like you and I think that you like me too, at least I hope you do.'

'Of course I do, I don't let just anyone stay in my house.'

'Glad to hear it. Hannah, I would like to get some idea of what you think you're ready for. Have a think about it and we can talk on Sunday.'

'Okay, I will.'

'I haven't embarrassed you, have I?'

'No, I sort of knew this was coming.'

'Good, I won't make you do anything that you're not ready for. I will take care of you.'

'I know you will.'

'Goodnight beautiful, I'll see you at work tomorrow.'

'Goodnight Dixie, sleep well.'

'You too beautiful.' Hannah replaced the phone in the holder and sat down by it, she knew what Dixie wanted to talk about. How would Dixie take the knowledge that she barely had any experience at all? Hannah wasn't the type of person to go out and tell people that she liked them, if Dixie hadn't kissed her that day then Hannah would have kept her feelings inside and never told Dixie anything.

Hannah knew that they were going to have the conversation and it may as well be now, it made her smile that Dixie cared about her enough to ask. She hadn't worked out how to put into words how she felt when Dixie kissed her, sometimes it felt as if she didn't want her to stop. Hannah wondered if that was what desire felt like, she wasn't sure. The one thing that Hannah did know was that she cared more for Dixie than anyone she had dated in the past. Was she in love? She looked forward to seeing Dixie every day, even just hearing her voice made Hannah's heart skip a beat or two. Maybe she would find out on Sunday, Hannah knew that she could trust Dixie, the time that she had been in Hannah's bed all night had proved that.

Dixie hoped that she hadn't been too forward with Hannah, she just wanted to know what Hannah did and didn't want her to do. Dixie thought back to the last time she had kissed Hannah, it was true that the younger woman was becoming more confident, she couldn't wait to see how she blossomed when she ventured out of her shell a bit more. Dixie formulated a plan in her mind, if she wanted Hannah out of her shell then she was going to have to help her get out of it. Dixie smiled, her plan just might work, she wanted Hannah comfortable with being touched and touching and the way to get her there was to start small. Dixie smiled again, she was looking forward to teaching the woman she loved the beauty of a loving caress.