A/N: I apologize for the delay in updates. If someone offers to do my homework for Kinesiology, I will totally take you up on that and update sooner. ;)

Previously on Stumbled…

"I trust Andy's instincts. So, I am going to help her keep that promise she made to you." Sam paused, wanting to see Dean's reaction, but the young man didn't so much as flinch. "I'm not doing this for you. As far as I'm concerned, you can rot in prison. I'm doing this for Andy."

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"They transferred Dean to his arraignment early this morning – he pleaded guilty. The prosecution is working on a plea bargain."

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Andy shook her head, kicking herself for not having talked to Dean about his predicament or find him a damn good lawyer. Maybe she could convince the judge that Dean was sleep deprived or something and allow him to reinstate his plea. "I have to go."

The cold instantly hit her as she hurried out of the police department, slipping past her layers of clothing and settling within her. She pulled her jacket closed tighter and hurried through the parking lot, her feet scrambling in order to keep up with her pace.

"Andy!"

She ignored the voice—Sam's voice—as she walked faster. She heard his heavy boot's footsteps behind her, hurrying to catch up. She was not in the mood to have another conversation with that man.

"Andy, wait!" Sam said, running in front of her and holding out his hands, trying to stop her. She did so with a sigh, looking down at her shoes, not wanting to look at his face. "What's wrong? What are you doing here?"

She sighed, still on edge about Dean's arraignment. "I came to see Dean. Apparently he was arraigned already."

"I know." Sam said, slightly out of breath. "I was there this morning."

Her eyes met his, he looked at her with such concern—such affection. She had to remind herself that he probably made things worse for Dean. Panic spread throughout her in an instant. "You were?"

"Yes." He said, sounding exhausted.

"You should have told me." Andy said bitterly, taking a step back from the man, prepared to walk away. "You let him plead guilty… he probably won't have a chance to see his daughter now. Did he even have a lawyer? You should have told me."

Sam looked hurt, but nodded understandingly. "He will see his daughter."

Andy was taken back. "Wait… what? How?"

"He pleaded guilty so he could see his daughter." Sam said simply. "I talked to the prosecution— we worked it out. If he pleaded guilty, we would talk to social services about bringing his daughter here for a visitation. They are finalizing the rest of the terms right now… I just got back from social services—they are trying to locate his kid right now."

She stared at the man before her, surprised and ecstatic about his actions. "Wh-hy—" Her voice was hardly audible, so she quickly cleared her throat and tried again. "Why would you do that for him?"

"I didn't do it for Dean." Sam said with a slight shrug, looking bashful. "I did it for you."

Her heart pounded harder than she ever remembered.

"I know this was important to you…" he started again, closing the gap between them. "And if it was important to you, then it is important to me. I may not understand why you're defending this guy… but if it were the other way around, I would want to know that someone had my back."

"Thank you." The words slipped through her lips before she realized she was saying them. It was like she had momentarily forgotten that she was supposed to be annoyed with him. "I know that probably wasn't easy for you… but I really appreciate it."

Sam smiled. "No problem."

They stood there awkward, neither seeming to know what to say.

"Okay… I'm going to—"

"I could actually use your help." Sam said, stopping her before she could leave. "I know you're supposed to be taking time off, but convincing child protective services to let a convicted criminal see a kid who has yet to prove he the biological father is not quite as easy as it might seem."

Andy debated internally. The idea of working with Sam sounded painful and awkward.

"I guess that's probably not the best idea…" Sam seemed to notice her hesitation and quickly took back his offer. "I don't want you to get chewed out by Best… and if you're working the case, I don't want any complications to arise. Don't worry, I've got it covered."

"Are you sure?" Andy asked.

Sam nodded confidently. "Yep. I've got a couple strings I can pull… don't worry. I'll let you know as soon as I get everything worked out."

"Thank you, Sam."

He smiled. "You going to go see Dean?"

She nodded. "Yeah, um, I think so…"

"Okay." He said, sounding bothered but trying to hide it. "I guess I'll see you later then."

"Yeah… see ya." She said, already walking past him, only looking back when she thought knew he would be out of sight. Sam had looked exhausted—he must have spent most of his night calling in favors. Whatever plan he was working on to 'win her back' was working—at least a little. She couldn't hold a grudge against the man who was helping Dean and his kid.

"Hey, Swarek… can I have a word with you?"

Sam looked up from his desk, his phone still glued to his ear. The annoying hold music played through his mind as Luke Callaghan approached him, looking rather disgruntled. "I'm on the phone… can you wait a minute?"

"No, now."

Luke must have been in a pretty sour mood, as he forcefully took the phone from Sam's hand and hung it up on the receiver with a loud click. Sam groaned internally, the idea of waiting a couple more hours—on hold no less—was torturous. Despite that, Sam plastered on a face smile and clasped his hands together, deciding to approach this conversation with as much sarcasm as he could muster up. "What can I help you with, detective?"

Luke pursed his lips together, looking on the verge of exploding. "I need you to tell me why the hell you got Dean's arraignment bumped up—and why did you help him make a deal with the prosecution? I thought you wanted to nail this guy's ass as badly as I did. Did you forget what this sicko did?"

"No. I didn't forget." Sam said as he shook his head, knowing that he never would be able to.

The detective hands formed fists—he must have been using a lot of restraint to not punch something. "Then why the hell did you do it? I was going to stand before the judge and tell him to fry Dean's ass, and you go and give him everything he wants. What were you thinking? Did you catch Andy's case of Stockholm syndrome or is love not just blind, but stupid too?"

Sam forced another smile, though he wanted to punch the guy as badly as Luke did. "Maybe… or maybe I've just learned to trust Andy's instincts on people."

Luke scuffed. "Yeah, right… have you forgotten where some of Andy's instincts have led? How she got herself, and others, into trouble?"

His words stung—he knew Luke was referring to Jerry. He chose to let the comment slide and keep up with his sarcasm. "You know, you make a good point, Callaghan… she did agree to marry you."

Luke looked away, the comment obviously hitting a tender spot. "You were out of line, Swarek. I can't believe you're using the little pull you have to help the bastard that kidnapped, beat, and could have killed Andy." He shook his head as he walked away, attitude echoing with each step he took.

Sam let out a sigh and let his body sink against the back of the chair, hoping it was worth it.

Ding-dong.

Andy's attention was pulled away from the television set. She had spent the last few hours watching reruns of Andy Griffith and the news channel. She groaned as she pushed herself up from the couch and sluggishly made her way to the door. Traci stood in the doorway, a big smile on her face and a grease-stained bag in hand.

"I brought burgers." She said warmly. "I figured you probably haven't had lunch yet."

Andy stepped aside to let her in, shutting the door behind her. The aroma of the food made her instantly hungry.

"I heard you stopped by the station earlier…"

"Yeah… I did." She shuffled her way back to her couch, disappointed it had already lost her body heat from earlier. Traci followed, placing the greasy bag on the nearby coffee table before settling into the cushions.

"How are you holding up?"

Andy shrugged as she reached for a pillow, picking at a piece of string that had come loose. "Fine."

Traci scooted closer, her eyes nearly drilling holes into Andy's head. "Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah, really. My ribs feel a lot better today, and my headache finally went away… I'm good."

"That's good… not exactly what I meant though."

"I know." Andy said with a sigh. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, so we won't." Traci said with an understanding smile, leaving it at that.

Andy eyed the bagged food, her stomach growling. "So, are we going to wait for the food to get cold before we eat or…?"

Traci laughed, reaching for the bag and pulling out a couple burgers. She passed one to Andy who opened the wrapper greedily, practically shoving the food down her mouth. They ate in silence until news reports fluttered across the screen, one in particular. A skinny blonde reporter stood outside the fifteenth division, giving her audience an update on the Dean Andrews case—the man who had kidnapped a child and police officer. "They chose a bad picture of me to plaster all over the news."

Her friend chuckled, nodding in agreement.

"They chose a bad picture of Dean too… his mug-shot makes him look… look like a really bad guy." She turned to look at Traci, who seemed to want to say something Andy didn't want to hear, so Andy quickly continued. "That picture of Gavin is adorable though… he has the best smile, doesn't he? He's the only kid who likes me…"

"What are you talking about?" Traci asked. "Leo loves you."

Andy smiled half-heartedly. "That's because I buy him ice cream and sneak him sour patch kids when you're not looking. I didn't have to bribe Gavin… though I guess considering the situation, he didn't have a lot of options." She paused. "He really is such a cutie—and brave. I know he's only three, but he was so smart too."

"Seems like you're quite infatuated with this boy."

She thought back to the morning when she had told him the story about the little pigs. His laugh played in her ear, making her smile. "He has the best little laugh too… I was really hoping to see him again."

Traci smiled. "Maybe you will."

"I know it's weird and maybe even crazy all things considered, but… I… I realized I'm going to want kids someday."

Traci looked surprised, but happy. "Yeah?

Andy nodded, as if realizing it for the first time herself. "Yeah… I see Gavin and I don't want to miss out on that experience—raising a little human being. Seeing Dean try so hard to see his daughter—it made me think how much I would do for a kid of my own… that's crazy, isn't it? I mean, I spent a couple days with a kid and now I want to be a mom? Maybe I am crazy…"

Traci shook her head and reached for Andy's hands. "Wanting to be a mom doesn't make you crazy sweetie, no matter how you went about discovering that fact. I think it's awesome."

Andy smiled, thinking it was too. The last couple days had been rough, but quite the eye-opener. Who would have thought it would have thought it would take being kidnapped to discover important life decisions?

That's it for now. Please let me know what you thought.