Erin Lindsay had been up all night searching through the endless files, the name Amanda Patterson in her head as she shifted through the documents. A combat medic. Child. Female. Premature birth but no complications. These files were built on information and facts.

When she woke up the next morning she soon found herself wanting to head towards Jay's apartment and that's where she found herself.

"Erin, what are you doing here?" Jay asked, partially shocked at his partner who stood in front of him.

She wore a serious expression and held an armful of files.

"I said you didn't need to raise Sophia alone. I'm here, Jay." Erin stated.

"It's 8am? Sophia isn't even up yet." Jay yawned.

Usually Jay would be up and dressed before 7am on a weekday but Sophia's post-concussion syndrome had yet to subside and he had been checking on her every two hours like Will had suggested, which meant that he really didn't get any proper sleep.

Jay moved out the way and gestured for Erin to enter the fairly large room. Rubbing his eyes he closed the door behind her and made his way gingerly through the apartment. It was a mess, any other day Jay would have already tidied the living room but Sophia's toys were currently invading the living space.

Erin shrugged. She put the files she held on the kitchen table before placing her cell, car keys, badge and gun beside them.

"What's all this?" Jay asked curiously.

"I'm going to help you find the attempted kidnapper." Erin smiled.

****

There was a loud knock on the door, so Jay got up from the couch, and went to open the door. Antonio stood there, a plastic bag in his hand. Erin had left around an hour ago after promising to spend the day with the Halstead family the following morning.

"Hey Jay." Antonio stepped inside Jay's apartment and hugged his old friend. "I thought I'd stop by. Sophie called me earlier, said she felt better and wanted to go to the park for a walk, so I said we could go in a bit?"

Jay smiled. "Yeah, sure, I'll come along too."

Antonio raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk coming to his lips. "Who said you were invited, Halstead?"

Jay rolled his eyes. "Ha ha, what a joke, Toni."

Antonio just laughed. Just then, Sophia popped out from her room, and squealed happily when she saw her Uncle Tonio. "Uncle Tonio!" she yelled, running over to him.

Antonio picked her up, leaving a kiss on her cheek. "Hello, kiddo," he smiled. "I have something for you. Want to see it?"

"YEAH!" Sophia grinned excitedly.

Antonio gently put her down on the floor and took out a Bears t-shirt. Sophia took it from Antonio and looked at the t-shirt, then back up at Antonio and then back again at the -shirt. Then she slapped her palm to her face, giggling as she exclaimed sassily, "Not the bears again, Uncle Tonio!"

Jay and Antonio laughed, watching her pretend to dislike the t-shirt, but in fact they both knew she really loved it.

"Thank you, Uncle Tonio!" Sophia hugged Antonio tightly.

"No problem, kiddo." Antonio ruffled her hair lovingly, earning a happy laugh from her.

"Come on, Angel," Jay announced. "Let's get you ready so we can go walk in the park."

"Yay!" Sophia grabbed her father's hand and led him to her room and pushed him gently in

front of her closet. "You pick, Daddy."

Jay chuckled. "Okay, Boss." He smiled as he heard Sophia's adorable little giggle that always seemed to warm his heart to the core. He went through her clothes and finally found her favourite pair of black jeans, and a yellow top which she loved. He showed them to her. "How about these, Princess?"

Sophia nodded enthusiastically. Jay helped her wear it and she looked at herself in the tiny mirror in her room. "Daddy, I look like a Bubble Bee."

Jay leaned down to kiss the top her head. "Well, you're my Bumble Bee, aren't you?"

Sophia turned and hugged Jay's legs. "I love you."

"I love you too, Angel." Jay made her wear her shoes before he took her hand and led her back to where Antonio was waiting patiently. Suddenly, Sophia remembered something,

"Oh Daddy! I need to get my hat!" Sophia exclaimed.

"Go get it, then."

Sophia ran off back to her room, getting out of earshot of Jay and Antonio. Antonio lay a hand on Jay's shoulder. "How are you doing, since the letter came?" Antonio asked Jay, his voice low and soft.

Jay sighed, feeling worried and vulnerable once again. "I don't know what to think, Toni," he whispered back. He looked at his friend and asked worriedly, "Do you think I would ever do anything to hurt Sophia?"

Jay was usually so confident and sure of himself on so many levels, but suddenly, he felt insecure and unsure about everything, including his ability to take care of his 5 year old daughter. With one letter, Amanda had cast doubt upon Jay, and his parenting skills. If he hadn't known what really happened that night, he might have almost believed that he had held the gun to his daughter. One letter was all it took for Jay to second guess himself, and wonder if he truly was fit to father Sophia.

Antonio tightened his hand on Jay's shoulder. "Jay, you're a great father. I know you, and I KNOW you would NEVER do anything to hurt Sophie. What Amanda is proposing, it's preposterous. She just wants to get to you, to get in your head. Don't let her win, because remember, you still have a dangerous stop, in which one mistake or moment of hesitation can lead you to your death. If you die, you're thereby ensuring Amanda gets a hold of Sophia again."

Jay closed his eyes but opened them once again when Sophia reappeared, wearing her cap. She could see her daddy wasn't happy and she hated it when he was sad. She went over to him and took his hand. Jay felt reassured when he felt his daughter's small hand take his own and she gently pulled, telling him to get going.

The three of them left the apartment, crossed the street and headed one block down to the park.

Sophia bounced happily on the balls of her feet as she skipped along, despite her slowly healing but still broken arm. Jay and Antonio lagged slightly behind, enjoying the happiness that lit Sophia's face up.

"Jay, don't worry, okay?" Antonio advised. "I'll talk to Peter Stone. He's a damn good lawyer, and he'll be happy to defend you in court."

"Thanks, Toni. I appreciate it," Jay nodded.

Antonio clapped Jay on the back and turned around. It was then that his eyes fell upon a blonde-haired woman, talking to a man dressed in a suit at the far end of the park. Antonio recognized her immediately. Amanda Patterson. He also knew that she was talking to a lawyer at the moment and his heart skipped a million beats before he turned back to Jay.

"I'm going to try get a hold of Stone," Antonio informed Jay.

"Okay." Jay watched Antonio leave in a hurry and wondered why he was in such a rush.

His question was answered when he saw his ex-girlfriend, Amanda Patterson, walking over to Sophia. His body stiffened but before he could do anything, Sophia came running back to Jay.

"Daddy!" Sophia tugged on his jeans. "Daddy!"

Jay looked at her. "Yeah, baby, what happened?" He crouched down to her height, and she put her good hand on his shoulder.

"There's some lady, she looks like Mommy," Sophia whispered.

Just then Amanda popped up behind Sophia, who immediately ran behind Jay, and hugged onto his legs from behind him, slowly peeking around his body to watch the mean-looking woman.

"My my! Haven't you become something, Jay?" Amanda greeted, her eyes raking over her ex-boyfriend's toned, muscular body.

"What do you want, Amanda?" Jay demanded, his voice filled with anger and disgust.

"I came to wish you luck," Amanda grinned maliciously. "You're going to go to prison, and Sophia will be mine. You'll lose her forever. I'm gonna make sure we make your life hell in court."

"Do you really think any judge in their right mind would believe what's in the picture?" Jay scoffed, giving off the vibe that he was not fazed. He looked like he was calm and collected, when really, he was just hoping that when the time came, that the judges wouldn't believe what they saw in the picture.

"Oh they'll believe me," Amanda laughed, unsympathetically. "I bet prison's gonna love a boy scout like you, Jay."

Sophia peeked out from behind her daddy's legs. "Hey mean lady! Leave my Daddy alone!" Sophia spoke up, looking at the woman angrily.

Amanda's eyes landed on her daughter. "Hi sweetie, it's me, your mommy."

Jay gently pushed Sophia behind him again and stood in Amanda's away so that she couldn't see Sophia anymore. "Get away from her," he ordered. "Now."

Amanda, the stubborn woman that she was, ignored Jay's order. Instead she kept trying to catch a glimpse of Sophia, but Jay's muscular body hid her from view very well. Amanda locked eyes with Jay and a triumphant smile crossed her face.

"Cherish the last few days you have. After this, it's all hell for you," Amanda chuckled humourlessly.

"Daddy!" Sophia tugged on her father's jeans once again. "Is Pretty Lady Erin coming over for dinner tonight?"

Amanda's eyes narrowed when she heard her daughter's question. She looked back at Jay, who had one eyebrow raised, watching his ex-girlfriend get angry. "Yeah, Angel," Jay replied to Sophia, but his eyes remained on Amanda. "Erin's coming over tonight, don't worry. Let's go home."

"Yeah, let's go!" Sophia agreed, taking her father's hand and dragging him away from the mean lady standing there, an angry expression plastered all over her face.

****

"Sophie!" Jay called from behind the cup of coffee he was nursing. There was a sudden stampede of feet that halted in front of Jay.

"Yes daddy?" Sophia asked sweetly, her big blue eyes fixed on her father as her head tilted to look at her daddy. Her arm was free from its sling, Will had advised Jay to let Sophia move her casted arm freely for a few hours of a morning in order to avoid possible muscle cramps later on.

"Should we go get some air?" He asked washing out his coffee mug before lifting his daughter from the floor allowing her feet to dangle as she balanced on his forearm.

Sophia grinned, she wrapped her arms around her father's neck. Although it was uncomfortable for Jay with the cast digging in to his neck, he didn't stop her from doing so. "Can pretty lady Erin come too?" Her voice muffled as she rested her head on her father's chest.

"She sure can. Now let's go get you some clothes on and I can call her. How's that sound?" Jay asked his daughter, he rubbed her back gently, a habit that had stuck with him since Sophia was only a few hours old.

"Can I wear my cubs t-shirt that Uncle Tonio got me, Daddy?" Sophie lifted her head and rambled innocently mixing up the two teams in the process. "I want to show pretty lady Erin."

"It's the bears, baby." Jay reminded, ruffling her hair lightly. "Of course you can. I'm sure she'll love it."

She smacked her good hand to her forehead, sighing dramatically. "It's still sports. Silly daddy."

Jay smiled, and made his way to Sophia's room where he quickly got her changed into the 'bears' t-shirt her Uncle Toni bought her.

It hadn't taken long for the father and daughter to leave the house. When Sophia was much younger it took Jay and Will, who had been living with his brother and niece at the time, a whole morning to organise themselves and Sophia to leave the house.

"Daaddyy! Stop." Sophia giggled as her father tickled her tummy, lowering her to the floor so they could make their way to find Erin.

"You want me to stop? Do you know what, Angel? I think Daddy's going to carry on." Jay taunted, chuckling as his daughter tried to free herself from his strong grip.

"Daddy" Sophia whined. Jay eventually set his daughter on the ground just in time for her to notice Erin who stood opposite the pair with a huge smile on her face. "Pretty lady Erin!"

Sophia giggled again as she skipped her way towards the brown-haired woman.

"Hello there muffin."

"Uncle Tonio got me a present. He got me a cub's shirt!" Sophia declared happily, showing Erin the shirt her godfather had bought her.

Erin raised an eyebrow at Jay who was slowly approaching the pair, he couldn't help but let out a chuckle himself. No matter how much Antonio, Will or himself tried to teach her Sophia would always mix the teams up.

"She mixes them up," he mouthed to Erin, who also found the mistake kind of cute.

Jay couldn't help but smile as he watched his daughter skip in front of him and Erin. He was walking with his hands tucked in his pocket, he chuckled slightly when his daughter began to talk to him and Erin. He was pretty sure she was rambling but he hadn't paid attention once he caught sight of his ex-girlfriend fast approaching. Jay quickly looked to Erin who moved protectively towards his daughter and tried her best to shield Sophia away from the tornado that was about to hit. Unless Jay had something to do about it, that is.

Amanda stopped a few metres away from Jay. Her eyes on Sophia and Sophia only, she smiled sincerely at the sight of her daughter. That smile was something Jay really didn't trust. He narrowed his eyes and stared at her, his jaw clenched in anger. Amanda was a pretty woman. She had long blonde hair and when it was down, it was so different from tied back bun that she always sported when she was working, a mandatory style for women in the military. She was around average height though the heels she was currently wearing added to her height, making her taller than she actually was. She was currently wearing a grey suit, she had clearly been to see her lawyer hence the attire.

Looking back to make sure Erin was with Sophia he turned back and spoke to the woman.

"What the hell are you doing here, Amanda?" Jay demanded.

"She's beautiful." Amanda admired. "She looks like you, Jay. Her eyes-"

"What do you want, Amanda? Why are you really here!" Jay's eyes blazed angrily, his father instincts on high alert. His relationship with Amanda Patterson may have only been short but he knew she didn't do anything without a reason.

Amanda stepped forward not caring one bit for Jay's concerns. "I'm here to see my daughter." She said matter of factly. Her approach had been different from the day before, she was sincerer but Jay was certain it was an act. She hadn't snapped and the bitter attitude she had possessed the day before suddenly seemed non-existent.

Jay was about to speak up but Sophia's sassy voice interrupted him. "Pretty lady Erin? Why's the lady upsetting my daddy? Peoples don't upset my daddy."

Erin pulled Sophia closer and whispered some quiet words to her.

Suddenly anger burned through the blonde-haired woman's body. This was the woman that took her daughter away from her. Or so she thought. That was far from the truth. "You!" Amanda pointed angrily, her collected demeanour now an enraged one. "You took my daughter and my boyfriend away from me."

Jay raised his free arm to stop Amanda from charging towards Erin and Sophia. "What the hell! You haven't been bothered with your daughter for 5 years, Amanda! You can't turn up here and hurt my family," Jay argued, unaware of the words he had just used.

From afar Erin was taken aback. Had Jay Halstead just referred to her as his family?

Jay swore he saw a stray tear fall from the woman's eye but he didn't act on it, he just moved back towards Sophia who was being held by Erin and transferred her to his arms. Amanda clutched to her bag angrily and stormed away.

****

Stone had agreed to meet the young father and detective at Molly's. Erin had agreed to watch Sophia, who by now was safely tucked in bed. Upon their return from their walk Jay had called Erin almost immediately and she was quick to offer to look after the sassy 5-year-old whilst Jay met with Peter Stone.

"Detective Halstead? It's nice to meet you." Peter Stone greeted with a firm handshake as he stood up from the booth he had successfully occupied. "Dawson." He took the investigators hand to shake.

"Thank you for agreeing to defend me." Jay said gratefully before joining the attorney in the booth whilst Antonio had gone to get a round of drinks.

"So, Amanda?" Stone started.

The men started to talk about the woman in question. Jay had told Stone about Amanda, the blonde haired, green eyes woman he met on camp when he was deployed. She was a medic, he was a sniper. They hadn't had an epic love story, it was far from that, it was purely a fling.

Antonio was quick to return with 3 whiskeys and quickly joined the conversation.

"Have you been in contact with her?" Stone asked, fearfully.

The two friends shared an uncomfortable look with each other. Jay cleared his throat and confirmed. "Yeah. She tried to talk to Sophie."

"How is Sophia? Is she aware?" Stone asked fearfully, they had been so concerned with Amanda and Jay they had forget to discuss the one person this would impact the most.

Jay quickly shook his head. "Sophia...she doesn't know. Amanda's been gone too long. Sophia won't be able to process this, I mean what will happen if I lose her?"

Antonio quickly clasped his hand on Jay's shoulder giving him a reassuring look. "The courts would be crazy to hand Sophia over to Amanda!"

"Jay.. you have to understand that losing Sophia isn't your biggest risk here." Stone said uneasily. Stone took a large gulp of his drink before sighing. "Jay. There's no easy way-"

Jay cut him off quickly. "Just tell me, please. I'm going out of my mind." His eyes were hard, but his tone soft and pleading.

"Attempted murder." Stone replied, his voice low. "The picture."

Jay felt his head spin, he could lose the one thing he loved the most. His daughter. Jay closed his eyes for a second, they remained shut as he spoke, his voice quiet and steady though his heart was tearing apart inside. "If-If I'm found not guilty what would my chances for custody be?"

"In most cases the mothers get granted custody." Antonio continued Peter's thought. He was reminded of the divorce he had gone through with his ex-wife. In the divorce Laura had been granted full custody of Eva and Diego.

"She abandoned her daughter, and I'm just supposed to hand her over?" Jay's voice began to rise. He wasn't about to lose his daughter.

"Keep it down!" Antonio warned, he didn't like the thought of Amanda being granted custody of Sophia any more than Jay did and everything would become ten times worse if everyone found out about the little Halstead.

Deciding to cut off the bickering between the two detectives Stone piped up from behind his whiskey tumbler. "Sophia. She isn't going anywhere. Not if I can help it."

"But the picture-" Jay started, even the thought of the picture Amanda had sent him turned his stomach. He would never hurt his daughter, she meant too much to him.

Stone shook his head. "That's not gonna happen...Look from what Antonio has told me Amanda is just trying to get into your head." He reassured.

"How do we play this then?" Antonio asked.

****