1998: Dixie came back to Pine Valley with Junior and quickly became enmeshed in Tad's life once again. Their attraction still burned brightly, but just as they were on the verge of reuniting, Dixie's kidney collapsed, and soon her heart was failing, too.

1999: Although Dixie didn't want to be a burden to Tad, given her health troubles, he convinced her that he was with her for the long haul. In May, they married again. Shortly thereafter, Dixie learned she was pregnant. Tad pressed her to terminate the pregnancy because it threatened her health, but Dixie refused, and tension mounted when Dr. David Hayward sided with Dixie by saying she was healthy enough to bring the baby to term. Both Martins were crushed when Dixie miscarried.

2000: Once again work came between the couple: Tad was busy running Chandler Enterprises, and Dixie was consumed with her work at the Andrassy Foundation, which brought her into close proximity to David. David fell for her and made it clear to her with a kiss, which she came clean about to Tad. Determined to snag Dixie, David plotted to make Tad cheat on her by drugging him with Libidizone, a libido enhancer that he concocted. After unwittingly consuming a large dose of the drug, Tad did sleep with Leslie, who was as obsessed with him as David was with Dixie.

2001: Devastated by Tad's infidelity, Dixie slept with David, while Tad resolved to prove to Dixie that David was a no-good louse. Leslie became completely unhinged and kidnapped Junior, then tried to force Dixie to jump off the roof at Chandler Enterprises. Leslie fell off instead, but survived. Tad ultimately was able to provide Dixie with incontrovertible proof of David's crimes, but Dixie was conflicted by her feelings for both David and Tad. She and Tad grew closer when JR started doing drugs and they patched up their marriage. However, Tad brought Leslie back to town as part of his quest for revenge against David, which Dixie found unforgivable. She informed Tad that she wanted a divorce.

2002: In January, Dixie and Tad's divorce went through. But unbeknownst to Tad, Dixie was pregnant. (Her reason for staying mum had been that she knew Tad would oppose the pregnancy, given its potential threat to her health.) Dixie left for a clinic in Switzerland that was her best bet for successfully bearing her child. Dixie wrote Tad a letter 'fessing up to her condition and saying she wanted to reconcile. He flew off to Switzerland, but tragically, he was too late — Dixie and her unborn daughter had just been killed in a car accident.