Ok so I'm not going to apologize anymore for updates. I know for me it gets hold when people apologize for the same thing over & over, so I'm just not going to do it anymore. I'm also going to stop predicting or promising when chapters will be out because I'm always wrong. This semester is crammed full of assignments for me to do, I should be working on homework right now, but I wanted to update really quick because I got this chapter written last night :) anyways on top of school, I am teaching three days a week, so my days are pretty full, but I promise that any free time I find I will write because if I'm being honest, I'm really in love with this story.

I have no idea how to the military actually works, and I really did not have the time to look it up, so I'm making it up as I think it would work. I hope this does not offend anyone, and if it does I'm sorry.

Thanks as always to Goggiebe for the reviews that keep me going; also a thanks to ellie2297 for the review. This chapter is for you two :) hope you enjoy. Thanks to everyone else who has followed/favorite my story. I don't thank yall enough for following my work.

So here is chapter 12. I really hope yall enjoy it :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Chicago P.D. or Chicago Fire.

Chapter 12

Jay sat on the couch re-reading the letter. The Army had received his change of information; Erin was added as his next of kin-he got away with that by saying she was his fiancée- & Jaylyn was added his daughter which automatically added her to his insurance. The second page was what was putting Jay on edge. His "reserve" status had just been upgraded to official alert. Depending on the outcome of the conference in London on ISIS, would determine if he was deployed or not.

His corps, the Rangers, was the best the Army had, and if they deployed he had no choice but to go. He needed to talk to Voight tomorrow. He never thought he'd be asking his boss to pull favors to keep him from a deployment, but things change. He had Jaylyn to think about and Erin too, and he'd be damned if he left them for extended periods of time with no guarantee of coming home alive.

He let out a deep sigh. Another envelop on the table caught his attention. It was Chicago City Courts. He opened it. It was a formal letter letting him know that the proper papers had been filed, and Chicago granted him full and sole custody of Jaylyn Faith Halstead. The papers stated that the mother had signed all rights away, and when the time came, he was free to let someone adopted Jaylyn if he so chose.

After the letter from his CO, he was struggling to find the good in the news that Jaylyn was only his responsibility. He let out another deep sigh without realizing Erin was watching him. It wasn't until he felt her sit down beside him on the couch did he even realize she was awake. "What's wrong, Jay?"

He didn't want to lie to her, but how did he tell her the news. "Well out of this mail, the good news is Chicago officially recognizes that JayJay is mine and mine alone. Emmalyn's rights have officially been terminated."

"That's great Jay," Erin said happily. When Jay didn't give a happy response she continued, "But there's bad news in the mail too?" Jay was quite for a minute too long. "Come on, Jay, it's just me, your best friend. What's wrong?"

"I… uh… I…. um… I got a letter from my Ranger CO today. They added JayJay to my insurance and updated all my information like they do once a year. I also got a letter officially bumping my status from reserve to official alert. Depending on the ISIS conference in London will determine if we are deployed or bumped back down to reserve." Erin wasn't saying anything so he ventured a look at her. She had tears in her eyes. He pulled her into his lap, "Shhh, baby, don't cry. I'm going to talk to Voight and see if he can pull strings to keep me here. I'm going to do everything I possibly can to stay here with you and Jaylyn. You both have become my world, and I don't think I'd make it months on end without you two."

Erin took a deep breath. "It's ok, Jay. If you have to go, I want to keep Jaylyn. I'd be someone stable and someone she loves. I think it would be best for her. I don't want you to go any more than you want to, but if you have to, we'll be okay. Jay kissed her forehead, "I'll talk to Voight tomorrow." Erin nodded. "Hey, Er" Jay whispered, "Would you like to go on that first date tomorrow night?" She gave him a funny look, "And just what would we do with JayJay?"

"Voight volunteered to babysit anytime we needed today while I was in his office." The look of surprise on her face probably mirrored his today when Voight offered. "Ok then," she said with a giggle. "I say yes then."

"Good. Make sure to dress up and wear something sexy." Erin kissed him. "Come on, detective, take me back to bed."

"Yes mam" and Jay picked her up and carried her to bed.

The next day, Jay and Erin got to work early. They drove separate so he could get JayJay after work, but they arrived at the district at the same time. Voight's door was open and no one else was there yet so he rapped his knuckles on the door frame before entering.

"What can I do for you Halstead?"

"I was wondering if you had a minute to talk."

"Sure come on in." Jay closed the door behind him. Voight raised his eyebrows, "Well this must be serious." Jay nodded. "What's on your mind, Jay?"

"Well I got two important letters yesterday; one good, one not so good. The one is that Chicago officially gave me full and sole custody of Jaylyn. Emmalyn's rights have officially been terminated."

"Well that's great, but I get the feeling you want to talk about the second letter."

Jay nodded. "Well see, I got a letter from my CO. The first page was just updating my information and adding JayJay to my insurance. The second page of the letter was informing me my status had been bumped from reserve to official alert. Depending on the conference in London will determine deployment or not. I really do not want to go. I love my life right now; I'm just starting to settle into a nice routine with Jaylyn and Erin for that matter. I don't want to leave the team, or JayJay or Erin if I'm being honest. This is my life, the girls have become my whole world, and I don't know what to do." Jay's eyes were glassy, but he blinked the tears away. Voight definitely did not need to see him cry about this. He just didn't realize Voight had already seen the glassiness before Jay blinked them away. He really felt sorry for the young detective. He finally had his world like he wanted it with the woman of his dreams and a baby, and the Army was fixing to uproot it.

Voight was thinking about life with Camille and he was starting to realize that maybe, just maybe, what Jay and Erin had was special like what he had with Camille before she passed. He was going to do everything he could to keep Jay here; he was afraid of what it would do to Erin, but more so his little girl. She'd already suffered one big change and a loss of a parent, but she had seemed to become really attached to her daddy, and she did not need to lose him too.

"I'll talk to Al when he gets here, and figure out how we go about getting your status bumped back down. Just know we might not be successful, but we will do everything we can Jay. I can promise you that."

"Understood, sir."

"Does Erin know?" Voight asked. He needed to know if this was just between him & Jay or if she knew.

"Yes, sir. I told her last night once I read it."

"How'd she take it?"

"She obviously doesn't want me to go, but she said if I had to that it would be okay. She wants to keep Jaylyn if I have to go. I think it would be a good idea, but I don't want to cross the bridge too soon."

Voight nodded. "I'll let you know once we know something. Just hang in there kid. If we can't prevent your deployment, we'll all be there to pitch in and help with Jaylyn. She will not go into foster care, and she most definitely will not go back to her biological mother. Those are two promises I can make you and can keep."

"Thank you, sir. I want to talk to Erin tonight about the future. I'm not proposing or asking your blessing yet, I just want to make sure her and I are on the same page. So we were wondering if you would be willing to keep JayJay. I know you said you would yesterday we just wanted to make sure. If you have plans I can see if her sitter can. It would only be for an hour or two."

"I'm free Jay. I'd be glad to keep her all night if you needed." Jay was a little speechless at first, but he recovered quickly. "Maybe next time. Until I know for sure if I'm deploying or not, I'd like to spend as much time with her as possible."

"Understood. Anything else?"

Jay nodded no and he got up to go. "Thanks, Voight. I really mean it."

"Don't mention it kid."

Atwater, Ruzek and Antonio had shown up since Jay had been in with Voight. To keep from having to announce their date to the whole unit, he decided to just send Erin a text. "All good for tonight. We'll take JayJay over after shift. Xoxo"

Erin looked up and gave him a smile so he knew she read it. They got to work on paper work. Jay couldn't wait for tonight. He prayed Erin was on the same page as him because if not it was going to break him in two. He hoped she wanted to be Jaylyn's mommy forever. Until then he needed to stay busy.

A/N: So there is chapter 12. I know I'd given EmilyMay93 the idea of a one shot in her Hours story about Jay & Erin with deployment/coming home, and by the way, she did a marvelous job with it. Go check it out if you haven't already read it. But, I have been toying with the idea of Jay and deployment for my own story after watching American Sniper, so I decided to just run with and see where this story continues to take us. The good news, I started writing chapter 13 last night, but I really have to get to homework now, so I will finish it and get it out ASAP. Please leave me your thoughts on chapter 12 and I hope to see you around for the next update.