I know I have some 'splainin to do…I accept full responsibility for spelling/grammar errors as I am a lazy person. :P

Lena walked down the stairs, "So I talked to Bill and he's on his way over. He's going to get in contact with…" The vice-principal's voice trailed off as she grew aware of the people in her house. Two men were standing near the doorway, one with a pair of handcuffs in his hand. Stef looked like a mix between angry and shocked, and Jude was standing in the hallway looking as scared as ever.

"W-what's going on?" Lena asked as she descended the last few stairs.

Stef kept a steady glare on the men in front of her, "These detectives are under the impression that we kidnapped Jude." Lena's eyes widened.

"Please don't make this any harder than it is." Detective Juarez entreated in an exasperated voice.

Detective Stein waved at Jude, "Hey, buddy. Come with me, I'm gonna take you back to your grandma." Jude took one look at the man and skittered back into the kitchen. Detective Stein went to follow him but Stef put her hand out to stop him.

"Don't," she commanded in a deadly voice, "What evidence do you have to support this ridiculous accusation?"

"You mean besides the fact that Jude is here with you and not with his grandmother?" Detective Juarez asked sarcastically.

Lena came up besides Stef, "He ran away. We just called his social worker to let him know. We didn't do anything wrong."

"In any case," Detective Stein said, putting his hand up, "Jude needs to come with us. His grandmother is waiting for him at your local precinct."

Stef shook her head, "He's not going anywhere. Adelaide Jacob has no legal claim to him, we do. We sent our lawyer the papers this morning. That woman forged her son's will. If anyone should be arrested for kidnapping, it should be her!"

Lena took out her phone, "I'm going to call ADA Gardner and see if he can come over." She walked into the dining room where she would have more privacy, leaving Stef to have a silent stare down with the detectives.

"Can you hear anything?" Mariana stage whispered. The siblings were gathered around the kitchen opening, trying to remain out of sight and quiet as they attempted to listen in. Jude had come into the kitchen looking frightened and had explained what was going on.

"I didn't mean to get Stef in trouble," Jude spoke softly, the guilt clear as day on his face. He hadn't really thought of what would happen after he ran away. He just wanted to be home so badly. And now Stef and Lena were about to get arrested.

"Hey."

Jude looked up at Callie who was giving him her patented 'everything is okay' smile, "It's not your fault Adelaide is blowing things out of proportion. Besides, she's the one in the wrong here. Not us."

"Lena is calling Mr. Gardner," Brandon informed the group, stepping back a bit from the doorway, "That's good, he can talk to the police and prove that this is just a huge mistake."

Callie rubbed Jude's shoulder, "See? Everything will be fine."

"Ugh," Jesus groaned, making a sour face, "One of the cops just said Adelaide is on her way over with her douche bag lawyer."

Mariana started back for the kitchen table, "Mom's coming!" she hissed. Her siblings followed suit and ran back to their seats, trying to appear as though they hadn't spent the past five minutes eavesdropping. Stef walked into the kitchen and looked over her children, stopping herself from rolling her eyes as she parked her hands on her hips.

"If you guys were trying to be inconspicuous, you failed," she informed them with a raised eyebrow. The teens made a conscious effort to avoid eye contact. Stef waved her hand at Jude, "Come with me, Love. I need you to talk to the Detectives."

Jude's eyes widened, "They want to talk to me?" He wiped his palms on his jeans as he began to sweat from anxiety.

"It's alright, Jude," Stef assured him, coming up to put a hand on his back, "We just need to get a few details straightened out, okay?" Jude nodded and hopped off the stool. Stef kissed his forehead and put an arm around his shoulders before turning to the older kids, "I suggest you four do more eating and less eavesdropping, you naughty kids."

"So, what gave you the idea to run away?"

Jude was seated on one side of the dining room table next to Bill with Detective Stein and Detective Juarez on the opposite side. Lena and Stef were standing off to one side with ADA Gardner while Adelaide was in a different corner with Mr. Benton.

"I missed my moms," Jude answered quietly, looking at Stef and Lena who each gave him a small smile, "I wanted to see my sisters and my brothers. I wanted to be home."

"So you thought of this all by yourself?" Detective Juarez asked as he leaned a bit forward in his seat, "No one put you up to this?"

"I thought of it by myself," Jude answered firmly, eyes locked on the detectives.

Adelaide let out a sigh, "Thank you for your time, Detectives. I'm sorry for the trouble; Jude and I will be on our way…"

"No," Lena interrupted, eyes narrowed, "You won't be. We found Christopher's will. His original will. We were named as Jude's guardians."

Adelaide paled considerably and she looked nervously at Mr. Benton who was doing a poor job of maintaining his cool façade, "E-excuse me?" she sputtered.

ADA Gardner reached into his briefcase and held up the original will with a triumphant look directed towards Adelaide, "Read it and weep. If anyone is getting arrested today, it will be you."

The old woman began to shake her head, "It wasn't supposed to happen like this…" she whispered to herself.

Jude looked between the adults, somewhat confused, "But…how did my dad know we were with you guys?"

"We're not exactly sure, Honey." Lena answered, putting a hand on his shoulder, "He must of checked up on you guys when he got out of prison."

Mr. Benton shifted uncomfortably in his spot before sighing and opening his briefcase, reaching for something. Adelaide saw, and quickly figured out what he was about to do, "Arthur, don't―"

"It's over, Addie," he said in a resigned tone, shaking his head. He pulled out an envelope and held it out to Stef. The cop eyed him suspiciously for a moment before cautiously taking it from him.

"What's this?"

"A letter," Mr. Benton replied, "For you and your partner, from Mr. Jacob." Stef nodded in understanding: he had withheld it to help Adelaide win custody, but now that they had been caught, there was no point in holding on to it anymore.

"Thank you." Stef replied tersely. She looked to the detectives, "Detectives, please have these two processed." Juarez and Stein nodded, reaching for the old couple's arms and leading them towards the door.

"Jude!" Adelaide called out before she left the house. She waited for the boy to meet her gaze before simply saying, "Goodbye." Jude nodded at her and watched as she was whisked away along with her Mr. Benton.

Gardner held up the will, "I'll have this looked over and notarized tomorrow morning. We'll begin the adoption proceeding from there."

"Here's my number," Bill said, handing the lawyer his card, "We'll have to discuss some things." He turned to Stef and Lena, Jude in between them, "I'm sorry this whole mess happened. We'll get this sorted out." With a final look, he exited the house, ADA Gardner following close behind.

Lena put her hands on Jude's cheeks and kissed his forehead, before simply wrapping her arms around him and holding tightly. Stef grinned and joined in the hug, "Mama sandwich!" she exclaimed, pressing a ridiculous amount of kisses to Jude's head as he laughed and wiggled to get away.

"Is everything okay now?" Stef looked up to see Callie standing nervously in the hallway, eyes searching for the people who were previously here. The blonde opened her arms and Callie walked into them without a moment's hesitation.

"Everything is okay, Love." Stef assured her daughter running her hand through her wavy brown curls, "Everything is alright."

"Adelaide and Mr. Benton got arrested for lying," Jude informed his sister from Lena's arms, and Stef could physically feel the tension leave Callie's body. Stef stepped back a bit to show Callie what Mr. Benton had given her.

"Christopher wrote a letter to Mama and me," she informed her, holding up the envelope. Callie looked at it for a bit before gently taking it from her mother's grip, turning it over in her hands.

"Have you read it yet?"

"No," Lena replied for both of them, "We'll read it together tonight, okay? I think we need a movie night."

Jude's eyes twinkled in excitement, "Cool! I'm gonna go tell everyone else." He jetted off for the kitchen, the enthusiasm apparent.

Lena walked up to Callie and put a hand on her back, sensing that the teen had something to say, "Callie?"

"Thank you," the brunette said quietly, looking between her mothers with eyes that were a bit wet, "For not giving up on him."

"Of course, Baby." Stef sighed out, tears in her own eyes. She kissed Callie's head. "It's okay now, Callie. Jude is home with us."

Lena smiled, "Right where he belongs."

I am so sorry for taking so long to update! My life has been crazy for the past four or five weeks. Work, school and other obligations had been eating away at me. I had five AP exams to take and applications/essays to do. It has been absolute chaos. I picked a college! *Drumroll*

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY!

I'm very happy with my choice and super excited to go!

BAD NEWS: So the story, I'm sad to say, has reached its conclusion. The next chapter will be an epilogue. I had so much fun writing this and every single review, favorite and follow had made my day! :) That being said, I think it is time to lay the story to rest. Thanks to everyone who has been along for the journey. You guys mean everything!

GOOD NEWS: I have an idea for a Stef/Callie story. It will include all of the characters in one aspect or another and will not stray too much from the original idea of the show except for one tiny detail that is crucial to the Stef/Callie relationship I am writing. I am going to start it and (since I finished all of my tests and school is almost done) you should be seeing it soon. So look out for it!

Love you all!

-Liv