The warehouse was across town, and on the ride there all Jay could visualise was Erin's broken body. He'd seen her like that before, he knew he had. But with a guy with a knife to her throat. Jay had shot him without hesitation. The images came back in one hectic flood, so vivid and real it was as though he'd never forgotten.

When they finally pulled up at the warehouse, Halstead barely waited until the car rolled to a stop before jumping out and heading towards the door, feet crunching on the gravel. The adrenaline pumped through his veins. This was it.

And suddenly, his phone rang. He whipped it from his pocket and saw the unknown number flash on the screen. He swallowed before answering, again hitting the speakerphone option.

"I see you've found me. Nice work." Mario chuckled. "Here's the funny thing: I've got a bomb rigged to blow this whole thing to pieces."

Jay squared his jaw, his breath uneven. With scared eyes he look up at the building. He knew Lucy was in there. His defenceless daughter who was made up of nothing but goodness. The same girl who thought that Santa was real and still believed in the tooth fairy. The girl who was so pure it made him believe there was still some good left in the world.

"What do you want?" Jay asked through gritted teeth.

"You." He responded immediately. "You come in alone, and we end this like men. If I see any of your team even attempt entry, I will blow everything - including your little girl - to dust."

Everyone stared back at him, determined for him not to take the deal. He watched Hank turn and get the bomb squad on the phone, but he knew it would be too late.

"She was calling for you." Mario said. "You don't want to keep her waiting, Detective."

"Fine." Jay said. "Me and you. No one else. You just leave her the hell alone."

A chuckle came from the other end of the line. "I knew you'd make the right choice."

Jay tucked his phone into his pocket and tried to steady his breath. He could do it. He could save her. Because if he couldn't…

He didn't even want to consider that.

"Wait for the bomb squad." Voight said, ending his call at just the right time. "They're fifteen minutes out."

"We can't wait that long, I have to go in."

"Halstead-"

"I'm going in!" Jay yelled.

Hank stepped up to him with that signature Voight intimidation. "If I let you go in there and Erin loses you, she'll never forgive me."

"And if I don't get Lucy out, she'll never forgive me, either."

They were at an impasse, and the clock was ticking. Voight's eyes remained unwavering, as did Jay's.

"She's four years old." Jay begged. "She's my daughter. I'm not leaving her."

He felt his team, in turn, pat him on the shoulder, all offering their support and strength. Finally, Hank's eyes softened and he tensed his jaw. He nodded, with his brow tensed in concern. If Hank Voight was afraid, Jay sure as hell needed to be.

He entered the warehouse alone, nothing but the pounding of his heart and heavy breathing to keep him company. The room was dark, caked with a thick layer of dust. He stared down the corridor straight ahead to see a large door, barely on its hingers, slightly ajar.

He swallowed any hesitation and surged forward. If for a second he felt doubt, he pictured Lucy's face and knew he didn't have a choice in this. He was bringing her home.

When he finally got to the threshold, slipping through the door, he saw Lucy strapped to a chair. Her head lolled to the side and she seemed non-responsive.

"Lucy." He gasped, taking off in a sprint. He kneeled down in front of her, his heart in his stomach. The time he took checking for her pulse seemed to last an eternity. When he finally found it, he let out a big a sigh as he could manage. He went to untie her hands before hearing the blood-curdling voice.

"I hope you're saying your goodbyes."

Jay turned, got to his feet. He remembered that face, there's no way he could forget it. Because he saw that face, and he saw Erin taking a bullet to her vest.

"This can be really hard or really easy." Jay said smoothly.

"This only turns out one way." Mario said, taking slow, even steps towards Jay. "Me walking out of here with my heart beating, and you on the floor with yours not."

Jay swallowed. He felt the gun at his side. Shoot. Shoot now.

He must've twitched because Mario pulled a gun from his back, too. "I wouldn't try it, detective. Or your daughter will have a pretty little hole in her head. Right. Between. The. Eyes."

Jay took his gun from the holster and held it by his side. He felt beads of sweat make their way down the back of his neck as he watched Mario point the gun just left of Jay, right at Lucy.

"You're not a fan of fair fights then, huh?" Jay asked, trying not to let his nerves show.

"You wanted to be such a big man when you killed my brother. Let's see you be the big man, now. Drop the gun. Kick it over."

Jay's mind raced a million miles an hour as he did as Rossi said.

With his gun on the floor, Jay watched apprehensively as Mario put his gun down too - right beside Halstead's. Rossi chuckled thickly before cracking his knuckles, the sound echoing off the walls.

"I'm going to tear you apart with my bare hands. I want to feel the blood of the man who killed my brother running through my fingertips."

Jay only tensed his jaw. His mind was on Lucy - whatever they'd done to her, he didn't want to waste a single second. She needed to be on her way to Chicago Med.

"I'm not unreasonable." Rossi added after a passing moment. "I'll let you have the first hit."

Jay took a few steps forward, as did Rossi. Soon, when they were only inches from each other, Jay lurched forward with everything he had. He punched and kicked, feeling the breath knocked out of him as Rossi retaliated.

Soon they were both on the floor, Jay on top of Mario as he threw three hard punches to his face. Blood spouted from his nose and it caught Jay off guard for a second. He looked at the blood on his knuckles and and thought of Erin with her stab wound. What if it was septic? What if she didn't pull through? What if-

Mario grappled him until he had the upper hand, pounding Jay's stomach with everything he had. Jay felt his anger, his desperation to avenge his brother in every blow he landed.

Each one hit Jay worse than the last. His vision became blurry and his body numb. He groaned in pain and spat out blood, pretty sure the wounds that had healed from the accident had reappeared. He creased in pain, wanting for it to just end.

And then, with another punch to his abdomen, something clicked in Jay's head. The air felt dusty, the heat unbearable. His military gear felt heavy on his back as the heat of the sun beat down on him. He blinked rapidly, feeling nothing but fear in his heavy beating heart.

But then survival mode kicked in and he lashed out in a way he hadn't done since Afghanistan. Where he detached from his body and did what he needed to stay alive.

Everything happened so quickly. He felt his limbs move with more speed and dexterity than they had done in years, screaming under the strain but continuing nonetheless. He punched until his knuckles hurt and then long after that. He punched until Mario stopped moving and then long after that.

He told himself to stop, knowing the Afghan heat and sand under his fingertips wasn't real - that it was just a memory he'd conjured up in a need to fight back.

It's not real. Get out of it. Stop.

Stop.

Stop.

Stop.

At some point, for some reason, he looked up and his vision landed on Lucy.

Stop.

He snapped out of whatever hold it had over him. He rolled off Rossi and spluttered for air. Drenched in sweat, his vision slowly came back into focus and he could finally breathe again. He sucked in the air slow and steady.

While his breathing came heavy, he lurched for his gun in the split second his mind told him to. He scrambled to his feet and pointed it low to the piece of trash in front of him.

He pictured Erin, bloody and shaking, and held the gun a little steadier. Then he looked over his shoulder and saw Lucy, and any deep lust for revenge seeped out of his body. If he fired that gun, there would be inquiries, investigations, probably some jail time. He knew how the system worked. Mario Rossi deserved a bullet in his chest, but Jay wasn't going to give it him. He was going to get his daughter to Chicago Med and make sure that Erin pulled through.

Though the pain in his legs soared, Jay dropped his gun and painfully limped his way over to Lucy. He pushed the hair back from her face and again scanned her body for signs of injury. He breathed a sigh of relief upon finding nothing and quickly untied her hands and legs from around the chair.

With a guttural groan, Jay lifted his daughter in his arms and carried her. He walked slowly, his muscles aching under the strain as he carried her past Rossi's still body and down the same corridor he walked down. He looked up and into the light, instantly seeing a team flood in. The bomb squad.

He awkwardly pointed to the room he'd just escaped, the squad nodding as they flooded past him. Steadying himself on his feet again, Jay shuffled out of the warehouse and into the sunlight.

"Halstead!" Ruzek shouted, instantly running to collect Lucy from his arms.

"She's got a pulse." Jay said, his voice strained.

"You alright?" Voight was next to him, putting his hand on his shoulder. "Halstead? You good?"

Jay took a second to regain his breath but nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Lindsay crossed his mind instantly. This wasn't over. "What about Erin? Is she okay?"

"She's at Chicago Med." Atwater said, heading towards the car. "Let's meet her there. Come on."

Jay paced outside paediatrics, rubbing his hands up and down his biceps. He'd gotten briefly checked for his injuries but he was virtually in the clear.

He looked tentatively into the room to see a doctor checking Lucy, giving her various tests. He was waiting for those words saying she was okay, that she was going to be fine. Maybe then he could finally breathe again.

He hadn't seen Erin - none of the team had. And it had plagued Jay's head in the worst possible way. But Will had fought his way through hospital policies to track down the doctor on her case and found out that she was okay. Well, as okay as one could be after going through that. He frowned as he thought back to it, feeling guilt at what had happened. He should've been there.

"Detective?"

Jay snapped his head up, the doctor looking at him with bright, wide eyes.

"You can see her now."

Jay looked past the doctor and to Lucy sitting on the exam bed. Her face lit up. So did his.

He followed the doctor into the room and wasted no time before wrapping his daughter up in his arms. Her hair smelled of that Jungle Shampoo she used, and it comforted him in a way nothing else could.

"She's okay? Completely?" Jay asked, looking back up at the doctor.

"She was given a pretty strong sleeping sedative, so expect her to be drowsy for the next 12-18 hours. I'm also advising she see Dr. Charles for a few sessions of psychiatry, just to ensure she works through any emotional trauma suffered today."

Jay nodded. It seemed like a smart idea.

"I'll give you two some time alone."

As the doctor left the room Jay sat down on the bed with Lucy curled into his side. She played with the material of his shirt as she yawned.

"What happened, daddy?"

He took a deep breath. "Some bad men did some bad things. But they won't ever do it again." He kissed Lucy's head. A beat passed before Lucy became restless. Her voice, small as it was, came out broken and distressed.

"Mama - they took her! The bad men-"

"I know. I know. But she's fine. The doctors have fixed her, she's okay."

That seemed to soothe Lucy. Jay however wasn't so easily soothed. He needed to see her. He needed to see for himself.

"Are you still sick?" Lucy asked.

"No." He said, not wavering in the slightest. "Not anymore."

A gentle knocking rapped off the door, and Jay turned to see Hank in the doorway. He had his hands shoved in his pockets, an open grin on his face.

"Grandpa!" Lucy said, her eyes sleepily trying to stay open.

"I asked where the bravest person in the hospital was and the nurses told me to come here." Hank said. Jay smiled and lifted Lucy from his lap. It was endearing watching her go to him. "I'm so proud of you, Lucy. Your mom and dad are, too."

Hank lifted her up and squeezed her tight. With Lucy tucked into him, he looked forward and to Jay.

"You did good, Halstead." He said, and Jay took it as though it were a badge of honour. He was about to close his eyes for a second and recuperate, before he heard the words to send him to his feet. "Erin's awake."

"She is?" Jay asked, wide-eyed. Hank nodded. He went to leave, then nodded to Lucy. "Can you-"

"I got her. Now you go and get Erin."

Jay grinned. He kissed Lucy's cheek as he passed, then took off down the corridor.

He found her room fairly easily - the unit hovering outside made it pretty obvious. He felt all eyes on him as he approached, coupled with words of respect for what he'd done. He accepted them humbly and threw smiles round, but made hasty work to slip into Erin's room.

She looked washed out against the white of the room, but her eyes still seemed dark and sunken. She looked to him instantly as he entered, something unfamiliar in her eyes.

Kim stood from her bedside, Jay only now realising her presence. "I'll be right outside." She said, offering a gentle smile to Jay as she passed him. The door clicked closed behind Burgess.

"You saved her." Erin said, her voice slightly hoarse. "You saved me."

"You saved me plenty of times before. It's what we do, right?" He said, a smile slipping his lips as he echoed the words she'd said after the accident.

She gave him a small smile, enough to ease the aching in his muscles before letting it drop from her lips.

"Jay-"

"I love you." He said, a little breathless as though the words took everything out of his lungs. Her eyes scanned him. He felt his heart pounding. "I'm in love with you. I think I have been since the day I met you. And I think I knew right then that this was how it was gonna turn out for us. I mean, it had to, right? Because anything else would just be second best." He thought of another life - any life without Erin or Lucy - and felt sick. They were it. They were the only future that made sense.

She looked breathless, too. And he knew then that this was exactly what she needed to hear, what she'd always needed to hear from him.

"This is the life I want. With you and Lucy. I almost lost both of you today… And I don't ever want that to happen again."

She opened her mouth to speak, her eyes fluttering a glistening a little. Before the words fell however, the door creaked open, and Dr. Raybolt let himself in.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting? I can come back."

Erin sat up a little in the bed. "No, no it's fine."

Jay took slow breaths, giving his head a chance to catch up to his heart. He stepped aside and gave the doctor room.

"Well, as you know the wound to your abdomen should heal nicely in the next couple of weeks, just go easy and try not to exert yourself." Erin nodded. Jay flooded with a new wave of relief. "And after speaking with Dr. Jefferson from OB I'm delighted to tell you that there are no lasting effects on the foetus. Your baby should be fine, so long as, again, you take it easy. We'll schedule frequent scans to ensure nothing develops, but we're very hopeful. You've got yourself a fighter there."

"What?" Jay said, mouth agape. He turned to Erin who was sporting a relieved but anxious look.

"I'll give you two a moment." Dr. Raybolt said awkwardly as he excused himself. The door clicked into place and they fell into silence.

"Any of that speech you want to take back?"

"You're pregnant?"

She nodded, and he could see the way her glassy eyes watched him that it scared her. And he didn't blame her. His recent actions didn't exactly instil fatherly confidence.

As he looked into her eyes, he felt something familiar. "Can you… Can you say it?"

She looked confused for a second, but complied. "I'm pregnant."

They sat at the table, platefuls of food in between both of them but neither of them eating. An awkward tension filled the room, with both detectives too wrapped up in their individual thoughts to notice it. It had been a tough day at work, and to top it off, both of them had things to discuss with the other.

Jay's 'Can we talk tonight?' was met with Erin's 'Yeah, I have things I wanna talk about too', and had led them right up to this moment.

Jay coughed and shuffled in his chair. He fiddled with his glass, then folded his arms across his chest. When he finally looked back at Erin, he decided to just say it.

"So I've been thinking lately. About you and me. A lot. And I think…" She looked about as nervous as he felt. "I think we should try and have a baby."

She stilled. "You do?"

"Yeah." Jay breathed. "I know you said before that you didn't think you wanted a family, but… Just think about it. I mean, doesn't a part of you think this could be really great?"

She looked down, hitching her eyebrow before giving him a tiny, nervous smile.

"The thing I wanted to talk about with you tonight?" He nodded. "I took a pregnancy test this morning."

His eyes lit up with disbelief. "Really?"

She nodded. "It was positive." She broke out into a smile. The room filled with his joyous laugh and she couldn't help but join in. She'd never felt so bright.

"I'm pregnant."

"Jay?" Erin prompted.

"I remember." He said, breaking out into a grin. "With Lucy - you telling me you were pregnant. I remember."

Erin's face was full of disbelief, even more so when he leaned over and captured her lips in a deep kiss. He held the side of her face and ended it by resting their foreheads together.

"I love you, and I need you. More than you'll ever understand." He said. "You make me better. I only like who I am when I'm with you. And I know I messed up, but… I want to be better for you. And for Lucy. And…" His eyes drifted to her stomach and he couldn't help but smile. "And for this baby."

He thought about the first time he'd met her; how she'd sassed him and quipped about how she wasn't up for his patriarchy bullshit - she was driving, he shouldn't assume she'd make him coffee and she wasn't up for any slacking he was planning to do. He lay in bed that very night and couldn't help but think this new partner of his was going to change his world. He wished he could go back now and tell himself how right he was.

She held his gaze for a second, and she looked as young as she did back then. "Did you sign the papers?"

"No." He said. "And I'm gonna spend the rest of my life showing you what a huge mistake it was to even think that I should."

Her lips twitched in a smile, though her eyes were still hesitant and wary. Until finally she reached for his hand and clutched it tight.

"I love you, too." She whispered. "More than you'll ever understand."

Thanks for reading!