****

True to Will's word, Jay had been discharged from med the following evening. Sophia had spent her first day back at school playing and talking which had been music to Jay's ears, he had been concerned that his daughter would feel alone when she returned to school.

Though the past three days had been a nightmare for Jay and Sophia's family, Jay was finally glad to be leaving the hell he called the hospital to go home. That's where he was now, walking into his two bed apartment, with his angel and his girlfriend.

"Couch, now," Erin ordered as soon as they walked into his apartment. "Will's orders."

Walking up the stairs had been too much of a task for Jay, though he didn't like to admit it and Jay being typical Jay refused to use the lift, not only tiring himself out but also tiring Sophia and Erin in the process.

Jay raised an eyebrow at Erin as he hugged his ribs carefully. Ignoring the 'don't mess with me' look he received in return he made his way to the sofa.

"I'm gonna make something to eat," Erin called back to Jay as she headed towards the kitchen area and a tired Sophia lingered at the doorway.

"Daddy, uncle Will is a doctor, maybe you should listen to him, " Sophia pointed out. "Can you read me a book?"

"Of course, Angel," Jay quickly agreed as he lowered himself to the sofa, watching his daughter's retreating figure head towards her room, her little feet connecting with the floor with a patter.

The sound soon returned, but it wasn't slowing down.

Erin turned as she heard the sound, her voice rising a little. "Sophia! Watch your daddy, Muffin."

Sophia came to a sudden halt, her body lunging forward as she tried to stop in time. Her head bowed quickly. "Sorry, Mommy."

Jay watched his daughter's lip quiver. He wasn't sure if it had been because Erin had reminded her to be careful with a slight raise of voice or if it had been because Sophia had realised she was close to hurting her father.

"It's okay, Angel. What have you got to read then?" Jay spoke softly, smiling over to Erin who had a sad look on her face.

Sophia's smile brightened as she lifted the book she had picked up so her daddy could see. "Tinkybell! " she squealed excitedly, bouncing up and down in the spot where she stopped.

"Uh oh. Here it goes," Jay chuckled and waved his daughter over. "Come on, come sit with Daddy." Sophia carefully jumped on the couch and nestled into her daddy's side.

Erin had made food for the three, a simple bolognese, something they would all eat. She had been watching Jay and Sophia from afar, wondering who would be the one to fall asleep first.

"Jay, Muffin, dinner," she called from the stove. When she didn't hear anything in reply, she wandered over to the living area where they both seemed to be falling asleep. She had to suppress a chuckle at what seemed to be Jay mumbling the sentences of Peter Pan and the tale of the child that never grew up. Erin maneuvered towards the pair, using her hand to shake Jay awake and whispered words to Sophia encouraging them to get some food.

Jay woke up groggily, whilst Sophia was a bit more difficult to wake up. But she did soon enough, a face of pure disgust and exhaustion.

"Come on you two," Erin coaxed affectionately. "Let's get some food." Erin ended up lifting Sophia from the sofa to make sure she had something to eat. Jay followed gingerly, his hand still secure around his ribs.

The family eventually sat down and had their dinner, little conversation passing between them as they tried to best to eat their food.

It was only when Erin noticed Sophia's face getting closer and closer to her food she decided that it was best to get her to bed.

"Come on Muffin, bed time."

Sophia nodded, a hand rubbing her eyes tiredly as she yawned, a small squeak escaping her mouth as she did so. "Will you come too, Daddy?" Sophia asked softly.

"Of course, Soph," Jay agreed quickly. Getting up carefully, Erin held Sophia and the pair wandered to her room. The past few days had really caught up with them.

They entered Sophia's room, where she stayed curled up to Erin, not wanting to let go. "Pyjamas now, baby." She kissed Sophia's forehead.

With Sophia eventually changed into her pyjamas she almost dived head first into her bed frame, nearly completely missing the frame she ended up on Jay's knee.

"Hey, Angel, careful," Jay spoke softly.

"I tired, Daddy," Sophia whined. Sleep was clearly something that Sophia needed, they all needed after these past few weeks. Picking up officer bear, she held it close to her chest.

Erin pulled the covers down whilst Jay embraced Sophia. Sophia snuggled into her father's body, burying her face into his chest.

"I love you, baby." He stroked her soft, silky hair, leaving a kiss on her forehead.

"I love you too, Daddy," she whispered back.

Erin looked down to the pair, the sight melting her heart. "Hop in."

Sophia nodded into Jay's chest. Slowly pulling away from her father she moved tiredly towards her bed.

Safely tucked into her sheets, and her head hitting the pillow, Jay knelt down, not caring about his injuries. "Goodnight Angel." He placed a soft kiss on his daughter's forehead.

"Night Daddy," came an incoherent mumble.

Jay stood up a little too quickly. A loud gasp and the grit of his teeth made Erin instantly aware something was wrong. He had taken the meds that Will had gave him at the hospital but she hadn't seen him take anything since. She was sure it had something to do with Sophia, being drugged up on painkillers made him tired and groggy and he needed to be awake, just in case.

Erin's eyes were set in a hard glare as she eyed Jay suspiciously. Jay turned away and moved away slightly allowing room for Erin to say goodnight. "Good night, Sophie." Erin smiled as she placed a kiss on the 5-year-old's cheek.

"Night, Mommy"

Carefully leaving the room it wasn't until the door had been shut and they had been far enough away from Sophia when Erin crossed her arms.

"Are you okay?" Erin asked, her eyebrows raised and her features full of pure concern.

Jay nodded once, gulping.

Erin shook her head, not believing it for a second. "Come on, Jay, talk to me"

Jay closed his eyes, a hand lifting to his eyes as he rubbed them. He was tired, he really didn't need a lecture. No matter how much he knew Erin was trying to help him, he just needed to be left alone, to get some sleep, and be there for his daughter.

"Can we talk about it tomorrow?" Jay's jaw was set in a hard line.

Erin, although completely against the idea, knew Jay was in pain. "You'd tell me though, would you, if there was something wrong?"

He didn't reply.

His hand lifted, it touched her cheek. Erin followed in suit, clasping her hand to the back of Jay's, wanting to melt into his touch, her eyes closed for a moment as if to ingrain the memory. Opening her eyes she saw it, she saw the pain, she saw the fear, but most importantly she saw hope.

He couldn't promise something that he couldn't stick to. But he could do one thing, he could promise to love her, to hold her, to never give up, and allow her into his world. "I love you, Erin."

Erin had to hold back her tears, she loved Jay, she had loved him for years, she had heard him say those words to her before but this time, this time it truly meant something. They had been said with such passion, and such admiration that she knew she would never leave him, never abandon him, ever.

"I love you too, Jay," she whispered, as her husky voice caught in her throat.

Jay pulled her head forward, his lips connecting with her forehead. "I'm going to bed."

She nodded, she didn't move and allowed Jay to pull away.

With Jay, in their room Erin let out a choked sob and reached for her phone almost immediately. Dialling the number she knew all too well she lifted the phone to her ear.

"Voight," came the gruff answer.

Erin breathed out in relief at the voice. "Hank."

She could tell Voight had sat up straighter in his chair, no doubt still in his office. "Is everything okay? Is Sophia okay?"

Erin wanted to smile at Hank's concern, she could see already how much he doted over the young Halstead. She shook her head, though Voight wouldn't be able to see her "It's Jay."

Hank allowed her time to continue knowing that there had clearly been something she needed to get off her chest.

"I don't know how to help him, Hank. What can I do? I can't let him break." He could hear the crack in her voice as she spoke.

"Be there Erin, be there for him and for Sophia." He stated simply. "He'll lean on you when he needs to, you'll find comfort in each other, I promise."

Erin smiled through her tears as she listened to Hank Voight's words.

****

It was around 7am when Jay's eyes opened. Erin was cuddled into his side, her hand resting gently on his stomach. But she was awake too.

"Morning," she whispered, leaving a kiss on his neck.

Jay smiled. "Morning, babe."

Now it was Erin's turn to smile. She just loved it when Jay called her "babe". Coming from his mouth, it sounded so sexy and full of love. The only kind of love Erin had ever really known was the parental love given to her by Hank and his late wife, Camille. To have the kind of love that Jay gave her was something she never would have dreamed to be possible years ago. Jay Halstead really was the epitome of the kind of man most girls and woman only dreamed of having.

Erin found herself moving a little closer to her boyfriend, if that was even possible, given how she was already curled up to his body.

A noise could be heard from Sophia's room.

"Someone's up," Erin grinned.

"Wait for it," Jay chuckled.

It was at that moment a little pitter patter of feet could be heard and the door to Jay's room opened slowly. Sophia ran in, heading straight to her father, but skidding to a stop almost suddenly, a frown on her face. It was as if she had suddenly remembered her father was hurt, and she couldn't jump on him like she wanted to.

Erin gave the little Halstead a small smile. "Come here, Muffin." Erin patted the empty space next to her.

Once Sophia had moved onto the bed so that she was sitting in between her father and Erin, Jay asked her, "Did you sleep well, Angel?"

"Yes Daddy," Sophia nodded. "I dreamed of flying cats."

Erin laughed. "Flying cats huh? What did they do?"

Sophia giggled as if suddenly remembering her dream. "They made big brown blobs, Mommy."

Both Erin and Jay laughed. Sophia touched her stomach and looked at Jay. "Daddy, I hungry."

"How about pancakes for breakfast?" Erin asked Sophia.

The little girl started bouncing up and down on the bed, excitedly, her big blue eyes shining brightly."Yes! Daddy?" She immediately turned to Jay, once again giving him her usual puppy dog look, knowing how well it worked on him.

Jay shook his head, an amused smile on his lips. "Oh alright, baby. I'll make it for you. Why don't you go play with your toys while Mommy and I change?"

"Yes, Officer Daddy." Sophia climbed off the bed carefully and dashed out immediately.

Jay got up out of bed, his body protesting as he stood up. He had just reached the bathroom door when he realised Erin wasn't out of bed. He turned, chuckling when he saw her wrapped in the blankets, her eyes slowly closing again.

"Babe, aren't you getting up?" he asked her. He loved watching his girlfriend sleep, it always made him smile.

"No," Erin groaned from under the covers.

"Come on. I thought we were going to spend the day together? Look at houses?" Jay tried to tempt her to get out of bed, but was unsuccessful in his endeavour.

"Nope," she replied, as she sat up for a brief moment. Her eyes were barely open as she felt around for a pillow. Finally finding one, she held it over her head before crashing back down onto the bed.

"I'm going to shower, I thought you'd want to join me."

"I'm up! I'm up!" Erin jumped to her feet, suddenly energized, as she made her way over to her boyfriend.

"I knew that would do the trick," Jay gave her his sexy smirk, and Erin could feel her body just being drawn closer to Jay, and she laughed, kissing him gently.

"I'm down for anything that lets me see that sexy body of yours, Halstead," Erin grinned, innocently.

Jay laughed and wrapped his arm around her. "Let's go then."

**

About 20 minutes later, Erin stepped out of the bathroom. "You sure you'll be okay, Jay?" she asked one last time, concerned that his burns would hurt him.

"I'll be fine, babe, don't worry," Jay reassured her.

"Yell if you need anything!" Erin reminded him.

Jay came out with just a towel around his waist. Erin's eyes couldn't help but land on his abs. She felt tears prickle at the corner of her eyes when she saw the burns, but she willed them back and looked back at Jay.

"Go to Soph, I'm gonna be fine, okay?" Jay repeated, resting his hand on her cheek. Erin pressed her cheek into his hand and closed her eyes for a brief moment, as if to ingrain the feeling of his warm hand on her face, and how it felt, in case she ever lost the chance to feel it again, as she almost had when he had been at Callum's mercy.

Erin finally but very reluctantly pulled away from Jay's grasp. She sent another concerned look his way. He smiled at her, letting her know he was okay, and she decided to leave him to get changed while she occupied his daughter. Their daughter.

It took Jay another five minutes to get ready. He managed to pull on his t-shirt, wincing a little from the movement, but knowing he had no other choice but to let himself heal. Rubbing his towel on his hair, he made his way out to the living room.

He was met with the sight of Erin and Sophia rolling around on the floor, and he smiled, watching in awe. But finally, he couldn't help himself. "Who's the bigger kid?" he quipped, his usual smirk back on.

Erin rolled her eyes playfully at him.

"Daddy, save me!" Sophia giggled, trying to get out of Erin's grip as she tickled the mini Halstead.

Jay shook his head, chuckling. "Sorry, Angel, looks like Mommy's got you good."

Erin shot him a smile. "Smart move, Halstead."

Jay winked at her before making his way to the kitchen to make the blueberry pancakes. Another ten minutes later and the breakfast was finally made. Erin and Sophia came over to sit and Sophia bounced in her chair happily.

"I misses pancakes, Daddy," she commented as she moved her face closer to the pancake to smell it.

"I know, baby." Jay sat beside her, ruffling her hair gently.

Sophia took a bite of her pancake, savouring the taste, before beginning to talk with her mouthful.

"Sophie, don't talk while there's food in your mouth," Erin requested gently.

Sophia swallowed the food before continuing. "Daddy, can I have pancakes everyday this weeks? I misses it too much."

"We'll see, Soph," Jay promised her, kissing her head. "Now eat up. You ready for school today?"

"Yeah!" Sophia nodded vigorously. "I gonna swing on the monkey lines, Mommy. Connie knows how, I wanna also do it like Connie does."

Erin nodded, a smile lighting up her face. Sophia was an angel, always knowing how to make others smile without even knowing it.

"You be careful, okay? We don't want you getting hurt again," Jay cautioned her.

"I will be, Daddy, promise!" Sophia vowed.

Erin got up from the table, taking the last gulp of her coffee. "Come on now, Muffin. Let's get you ready for school, okay?"

"Okay Mommy!"

Erin and Sophia left the table. When they returned, Sophia was all dressed ready for school, and Jay grabbed his keys. The three of them made their way to Jay's car and Erin buckled the little girl into her seat before sitting down in the passenger's side. Jay gunned the engine and drove to the school. Sophia sang along to the song on the radio, and Erin found she couldn't stop herself from smiling.

They reached within ten minutes, seeing as the school was nearby Jay's apartment. Erin got out and took Sophia's bag while Jay lifted his daughter out of her seat and placed her on the ground, taking her hand. He led her to the gate before painfully crouching down.

"Be a good girl, okay, Angel?" Jay reminded her.

"Yes, Daddy," Sophia nodded in agreement.

Jay smiled and hugged her tightly, hurting himself more in the process but not caring one bit.

"Daddy!" Sophia giggled. "You is squishiling me!"

Erin looked sombre as she realised that meant Jay had probably hurt himself while hugging Sophia, and knowing her boyfriend well, she immediately understood that something was bothering him. She didn't know what, but she knew she needed to help him. She needed to be his support, to lean on whenever he needed, and she was going to be just that. A friend, a partner, a girlfriend, anything she needed him to be, she would do so without any hesitance. Because she loved Jay more than she ever could have thought possible. And right now, he needed her more than ever.

"Daddy!" The voice of his angel soon jolted him from his slumber. He had dozed off for an hour or two.

"Sophia! Shoes!" Jay heard his best friend call from the front door as he watched his daughter bounce into the living area ignoring her godfather's instructions.

"Daddy," Sophia beamed. She walked towards her father, carefully, remembering that he was in fact injured and waited for him to lift her up.

Rubbing his eyes Jay picked up his daughter, setting her beside him. Jay had been about to ask his daughter how her day went when a load groan and a few choice words escaped the Latino's mouth.

"SOPHIA!" Antonio grumbled.

The little Halstead sat up, peering her head around Jay only to look up at her daddy who was looking at her with raised eyebrows."Oopsie," was her innocent reply.

"What did you do?" Jay hummed.

Sophia cuddled back into her father's side, refusing to enlighten him.

"I asked you to put your stuff away before someone gets hurt, kiddo," Antonio complained as he stalked into the living area. He had caught his foot in the strap of her bag, tripping him up and causing him to fall into the cabinet.

"Sorry, Uncle Tonio."

Antonio rolled his eyes, Sophia was too god damn cute sometimes which made reprimanding her much more difficult. "It's okay, just remember to put them away next time."

Jay tried to suppress a smile. He always admired Dawson's relationship with his daughter. He turned to the smaller Halstead, pulling back a piece of hair with his hand that had been wrapped around her. "Have a good day at school today, Angel?"