****

Jay clenched his jaw, his eyes hard as he shifted his weight to one foot, ready to tackle Callum. His mind was clouded with the rage he felt and he knew he needed to get rid of it, preferably take it out on Callum. Callum smirked, watching Jay's rigid body, and knowing he had pissed his former lieutenant off.

Erin kept her gaze locked on Jay, knowing that he was conflicted, but she knew more than anyone how much his daughter meant to him. If he chose to save Sophia, Erin couldn't blame him. Well, obviously she could not blame him, she'd be dead. And saving Sophia would be the right choice, and anybody who couldn't see that would be really damn stupid. Erin didn't WANT to die, she just knew that she would never want to be in Jay's position. She knew that if she were in his place, and had to choose between his life and Sophia's, he would want her to choose Sophia's life over his. Because that was the kind of man Jay Halstead was. He would sacrifice his life, if it meant saving those he loved. And as a father, his number one priority would undoubtedly be Sophia. And even just hoping that he would not choose would be unfair, because Sophia deserved to live a long life, and be happy. She was only 5, but she was an angel, and she deserved to be protected and loved and she definitely deserved to live. Erin could not blame Jay. Instead she felt sad that he was put in such a position where he was being forced to choose.

Jay, on the other hand, was NOT going to let his daughter or his girlfriend die. He needed to find a way to save them both, even if that meant sacrificing his own life so they could live. And Jay decided, he was going to do just that.

Without even so much as a warning, in lightning flash, Jay, despite his broken ribs, lunged right at Callum, his fist punching one of the guns out of Callum's hands. The gun fell and Jay kicked it away, his fist instantly connecting with Callum's jaw. At the same time, Erin swung her leg back and knocked Callum onto his back, ducking as he fell. As he fell, his finger pulled on the trigger and a shot was fired.

Jay swung his fist again. The skin on his knuckles broke as he connected with Callum's nose, which cracked. Blood spilled out from the former ranger's nose but Jay was merciless.

Callum's grip on the gun never loosened and he brought the butt of the gun and smacked it brutally against Jay's head, effectively breaking open the skin right above his left eyebrow. Blood ran down Jay's head as he was momentarily dazed from the vicious blow. Erin rolled onto her back and swung her legs, the heels of her boots connecting with Callum's ribs, causing him to let out a grunt of pain, the wind knocked out of him for a minute. Jay regained his bearings and grabbed Callum by the collar.

"What do you want from me?" Jay demanded, his voice low and menacing.

Callum looked into Jay's eyes. "You were my commanding officer," he spat. "And you left me in the hands of the insurgents...to die. To be tortured...I will NEVER forgive you, Halstead." With that, Callum reared the hand holding the gun and viciously hit Jay's ribs with the butt of the gun.

Once again, Jay felt like his entire body was on fire and he had no choice but to release his grip on Callum's collar. The man managed to get up, and he left, but not before sending one last kick to Jay's ribs. Jay collapsed, in pain, and he felt the throbbing in his head worsen.

"Jay!" Erin's voice echoed in his head, causing him to wince slightly. And suddenly, he felt his daughter curl up beside him, her face buried in his shoulder.

"Daddy!" Sophia sobbed, the tears flowing freely as she clutched onto her father, her tiny hands wrapped in his t-shirt. Jay slowly raised himself onto his elbow and he used one arm to wrap his daughter in a hug, kissing the top of her head.

"Are you okay, Angel?" he asked her, carefully looking her over to see if she had sustained any injuries.

Sophia nodded, but her eyes were fearful and wide as she looked at her father, who was still bleeding from the new gash above his left eyebrow. Sophia was smart for her age, and could tell that her daddy was hurt badly, but he wouldn't show her the pain he was in.

"Okay, let me help Erin, and I'm coming back to you, alright?" Jay informed Sophia, as he slowly got to his feet. Sophia just nodded again and he kissed her head again before going over to Erin to untie her. When he finally freed her hands, Erin wrapped her arms around Jay's neck and he held her tightly, glad that she was relatively speaking, unharmed.

"You alright?" Jay asked her, his hands still holding her to his body.

"I'm good," Erin replied back. Her eyes landed on Jay's bleeding head. "You don't look okay though."

"I'm fine, Er," Jay assured her and leaned in to give her a quick kiss. He knew he wanted to do more, but with Sophia right beside them, it was impossible.

"Daddy?" Sophia squeaked, making Jay turn to his daughter. She pointed behind him, and he turned. He was shocked, even frozen, when he saw Amanda lying on the floor, her hands grasping her stomach.

He went over to her, kneeling beside her. "Mandy?"

Amanda's eyes fluttered open weakly. When she saw her ex-lover, a tear trickled out of the corner of her eye. Jay immediately pressed his hands to her stomach. He realised she had been shot. "Erin, call 911," he ordered, and Erin immediately pulled out her phone to speak into it.

"This is Detective Erin Lindsay from CPD Intelligence, badge number 61317. Shots fired at the police 5 minutes ago, Offender is in the wind. We need an ambulance at 1876 Edgewater now, one GSW victim."

"J-Jay?" Amanda spoke weakly, her eyelids fluttering. She coughed, causing blood to spill from the corner of her mouth.

"The ambulance is on its way, Mandy," Jay reassured her gently, making sure to keep his hands firmly against her gunshot wound, to staunch the bleeding.

"I-you-need-to-know," Amanda managed to talk, but her body was weak and her voice was barely audible so Jay had to bend over to hear what Amanda was saying. "I-I'm p-pregnant, Jay," she whispered, and coughed again, before her eyes closed, and she lost consciousness.

****

Arriving at Chicago Med a team of trauma specialists were waiting amongst them was Dr Rhodes who took lead "What do we got?"

"Female, 34. GSW to the lower abdomen. We've lost output twice en route." The paramedic relayed the information. His voice lowered for a second. “She claims to be pregnant.” Stopping at the nurse's station where Maggie quickly found a cubicle for Amanda, Dr Rhodes took this liberty to get an idea of her condition.

It was only when Connor looked at the woman that was brought in he gasped. “Amanda.”

The staff all stared in confusion as Connor Rhodes backed away hurriedly. “I-I can’t treat her.” The usually calm and collected was now shaking and on the verge of throwing up. “She’s my fiancé.”

Jay had to double take, had he heard Connor Rhodes correctly?

“Someone page Dr Choi.” Maggie called. She looked back to Connor who was white as a sheet, he was pacing frantically. No one knew Dr Rhodes had been engaged and definitely no one knew it was to Sophia Halstead’s mom.

Dr Choi quickly arrived and continued from where Connor left off. “Can you tell me where you are?" Having no response from the woman who lay open eyed on the gurney with blood gushing from her abdomen he began to order the necessary tests. "Let's get a line in and organise oxygen and-" Dr Choi was cut off by the sound of the monitor connected to Amanda as it began to beat erratically. "She's coding."

"Code Blue Trauma 2. Code Blue Trauma 4" The tanoy blared.

Jay stood in horror as he watched Ethan try and save Amanda. He felt like he was floating with all the information he had received, Amanda was pregnant? She was engaged?

"We've got rhythm. Let's get her to Baghdad," Ethan announced as he moved towards the bay.

Connor now suddenly coming into action tried to pass the nurses that blocked off the entrance. “Dr Rhodes. You can’t go in there.”

“She’s my fiancé. She’s carrying my baby," he protested.

"We're going to have to have to intubate," Ethan informed as he was handed an intubation kit and prepared to tube the pregnant woman. "We're in and we've got rhythm. Now let's get her to the OR," He ordered as the trauma staff rushed her to the operating room to perform emergency surgery.

"Dr. Choi." Jay stopped the doctor who prepared to head up to surgery.

“Make sure she’s okay.” The words felt odd as they ran from his mouth but he couldn’t help it. He had to know Amanda was going to be okay.

Ethan Choi didn’t say anything. He just nodded and continued to make his way up to the operating department.

Jay was quickly escorted back to the main entrance where he was informed that Erin and Sophia had both been taken to get checked out. Erin hadn’t been hurt but Jay was thankful that Sophia had been taken to get checked out, he hated to think that his daughter could have been hurt by that monster.

Jay sighed as he moved through the hospital corridors as he tried to find his girlfriend and daughter. He collided with a body that pushed him back painfully, he was hurt.

“Jay?” The voice questioned.

Jay looked up, it took a few moments for his eyes to adjust. It was Will.

“Jay? What happened? Where’s Sophia?” Will asked panicking. He had been on break so he hadn’t been called to the ER when the last call came in. One look at Jay told him that something had happened, something bad.

Jay shook his head. “She’s okay. We’re okay.”

Will guided his brother back to the waiting room where Sophia and Erin were sat. Sophia had been quickly checked out by Dr Manning, once she was satisfied she assured Erin that Sophia’s cast could be removed within the next week.

Jay looked to where Erin and Sophia sat, Sophia was curled up into Erin’s side. She wasn’t speaking, which was unusual for her. Jay couldn’t blame her, he noticed Sophia’s cheek, it was red from where Callum slapped her.

His fists clenched as he thought of Callum, as he thought of choosing between his daughter and girlfriend.

He could feel tears starting to form and Will must have too because he gave his older brother a reassuring squeeze of his shoulder and motioned for him to go and sit with his daughter and Erin.

“Daddy?” The once excited voice was now uncertain and shaky. “Can we go home?”

Jay sat on the other side of Sophia and watched as Erin caressed her cheek. “You okay, Angel?”

Sophia nodded, though clearly, she was scared.

****

After hearing the news the intelligence unit had been quick to head towards Chicago Med.

It was then they were met with the three who all had sombre looks. It was clear that Jay had been hurt further, Erin seemed to look like she had been knocked about but thankfully other than a rosy cheek and an already broken wrist Sophia seemed unharmed.

"Do we know what's happening with her?" Olinsky asked, Voight had informed the older detective of the ins and outs of Jay’s life since he arrived at the intelligence, he was sure Jay didn’t expect anything else.

Jay shrugged. "Ethan has taken her to surgery”. He didn’t elaborate any further, he couldn’t. Amanda had been in surgery for nearly two hours now.

The waiting room was quiet as everyone waited for news about Amanda. Connor had disappeared and Jay assumed he was praying for his fiancé in privacy.

"How is she?" Will asked his colleague as he rose from his seat beside Jay and his niece who was now fading between consciousness as she tried to put the events of the past day behind her.

"She had internal bleeding which was repaired in surgery…” Ethan started slowly. He wasn’t allowed to divulge this information so Will knew not to press him further. “She’s awake. She’s asking for Jay.”

Jay and Erin shared a confused look whilst the intelligence also shared the same look. Jay whispered to his daughter who nestled closer into Erin’s side and slowly rose from his seat, hugging his ribs slightly, which didn’t go unnoticed by his brother or his girlfriend.

Ethan followed the older Halstead towards the Intensive Care Unit as Jay stopped at the door, watching the fragile body of the woman that once had him hope for a future full of happiness. She was lying on the bed, her eyes wide open as she stared at Jay.

They sat in silence for a while, it took over their once very verbal relationship. It was only when Jay caught the tear that rolled down Amanda’s cheek he stepped forward.

“I deserved it Jay. I deserved it for what I did to you and Sophia.” Amanda sobbed. “I deserved to lose my baby.”

Jay shook his head, no matter how much pain Amanda had put him and Sophia through no one deserved to lose a child. “Mandy….I can’t ever forgive you for what you did but trust me- when I tell you, you didn’t deserve this.”

Amanda nodded reluctantly as the tears flowed down her face, she was pale but that was understandable especially considering she had only woken up from her surgery 30 minutes ago.

“And Amanda? You saved Sophia’s life. Thank you.” Jay thanked before he turned to meet back up with Erin and Sophia who were with the rest of the intelligence team.

Sophia was now sat between Ruzek and her Uncle Will whilst Erin was talking to Hank about their ordeal. Jay had to hold onto something, his body felt heavy. Erin and Hank had both reached an arm out as they watched Jay become unsteady but he quickly pushed their hands away.

“Mm-m. Okay” Jay muttered as his body swayed slightly.

“Jay, you need to get checked out,” Erin begged.

It was only when Jay looked to his daughter’s big bright eyes he reluctantly agreed, Sophia was his life and if he had to get checked out just to reassure her then he would.

****

Jay had just been checked out and Sophia was clinging to him tightly, she had been as soon as she had the chance. Jay didn’t care, he understood Sophie was frightened and if holding her was helping he would continue to do so.

“Daddy?” A small voice squeaked from beneath his chin.

“You okay, Angel?” Jay shifted so he was now looking at his daughter.

Jay felt a flood of relief pass by as he heard his daughter speak for the first time since they arrived at med.

“Why did the man hurted you and Pretty Lady Erin?” She asked before her tone quietened. “And my- the lady.”

Jay sighed deeply, though his ribs burned from the action. His daughter, despite still shaking like a leaf, was perceptive and that scared Jay sometimes.

Erin stepped in. “I'm not hurt, Muffin.” She tried to reassure the little girl, she couldn't say the same for Jay and Amanda but as far as she was concerned she was okay.

Sophia wriggled herself around in her father's lap so her hands were free, she began to play with her fingers touching the tips to one another as she sat there thoughtfully.

“Is he a bad man, Daddy?” Sophia asked.

Jay gulped and nodded, though Sophia hadn't seen the action. Jay was trying to think of a reply when the intelligence unit walked in alongside Will who had come to occupy his niece for a few minutes whilst his older brother spoke to his team.

Jay really wanted to hold his daughter and tell her that everything was okay but he couldn't and right now he needed to talk to his team and he really didn’t want to have Sophia there when he explained who Callum Stone was.

It took one look in his brother’s direction for Will to understand what Jay wanted him to do.

Moving from the doorway Will tried to coax Sophia away from her daddy. “Come on princess, I think there are some toys for you to play with.”

Sophia just nestled closer to Jay, it was hurting him but he didn’t care.

“Angel..you've gotta listen to Uncle Will.” Jay tried to pry his daughter away from him but she clung to his neck. “Baby, come on.” Jay had to use his hands to unlatch Sophia's arms from his neck, her grip was incredibly strong but it always had been despite her size.

“Sophia. Come on princess,” Will urged, he hated seeing his niece like this. He hated it even more to see his brother hurting too.

“I want Daddy,” The 5-year-old cried as Will lifted her from Jay’s body.

“Daddy needs to speak to Grumpy Hank for a second, okay?” Will tried again. It was weird seeing his niece like this, she was usually so happy and bouncy, with energy like none other.

As soon as Sophia hit the floor she ran straight for her Grumpy Hank, clinging to his leg in fear. It broke everyone's hearts, Sophia was only 5 and her life had not been easy.

Voight crouched down slowly, so he faced Sophia. “Hey kiddo. You were really brave today-”

Sophia’s blue eyes now stared to him as she lifted her head from Hank’s leg. “Like my Daddy?” She whispered.

Jay, Erin and Voight all chuckled. “Just like your Daddy”

“Daddy? Did you hear Grumpy Hank?” Sophia spoke up excitedly.

Adam looked to Olinsky and mouthed. “Grumpy Hank?” Olinsky just shrugged.

“I heard, Angel. Now go with Uncle Will, please.”

Sophia reluctantly left her father's side leaving Jay alone with his unit.

Whilst Hank, Olinsky and Ruzek stayed to speak with Jay and Erin about the attack Atwater and Burgess had headed to the apartment to check things over.

“How are you both feeling?” Hank asked firstly.

****

Jay carried Sophia into the district, as Erin trailed behind him, both of them looking worn out and battered, Jay more than Erin. His body was protesting from lack of sleep and the beating he had taken a few hours ago.

Sophia clung to her daddy with one arm wrapped around his neck. Her grip was still strong, her face buried into Jay's shoulder. He could feel her body trembling, most likely still traumatized from what she had just witnessed and been through.

"Hey, Angel," Jay's soft and soothing voice made Sophia look into her daddy's eyes. "Daddy has to get upstairs to work, okay? I want you to stay with Trudy."

Sergeant Trudy Platt had just appeared as soon as Jay had said her name, and Sophia turned slightly in her father's arms to look at the lady. She cocked her head sideways, looking at Platt. "Toody?"

Platt chuckled. "That's me, ponytails."

Sophia's eyes brightened at the newest nickname she had received, as she always did whenever someone gave her a new pet name. She began bouncing in Jay's arms, which hurt his ribs further. Seeing Jay wince, Platt reached her arms out.

"Come on, Sophia. Let Daddy and Erin get to their job, I'll take care of you," Trudy assured the little Halstead.

Sophia turned to her daddy for confirmation and Jay gave her a nod, kissing her cheek. "I'll be back, baby."