Castiel sighed and walked into the police station looking more rumpled than usual.

His hair refused to lie flat today and any attempt to placate the locks ended up making them more unruly than the last. His azure eyes had faded to a washed out gray, highlighted by the dark circles and shadows that lined his face.

"Well aren't you a bucket of sunshine!" a shrill voice called, much too loud and much too close to Castiel's ear.

"Gabriel. My apologies if I wished to spend my day off getting a decent amount of sleep."

"Well look alive cupcake! You just got assigned to the Winchester case!"

Castiel nearly choked on the steaming tea he'd been idly sipping. The Winchester brothers had been running rampant across the country, they'd been on the news and in papers more than politicians affairs. They'd be seen in a small town, and would then leave missing persons, break ins, bodies and even ritualistic mutilation in their wake.

Gabriel continued to thump Castiel on the back as he finally managed to gasp "You have them? Here?"

"A waitress recognized them and called us! Got to handcuff the big one myself. We wouldn't have called your highness on his day off if it wasn't important!"

Castiel managed a quick scowl in his brother's direction before he registered a loud banging followed by some muffled shouting coming from the hallway with the interrogation rooms. "Is that..?"

"Dean Winchester, quite a temper on that one. Quite a mouth too" Gabriel added with a wink. "Although it probably doesn't help that Uriel keeps egging him on with his whole 'mud monkey' schtick."

"I'm still unawares from whom he adopted that terminology whilst referring to criminals."

Castiel straightened and followed the source of the shouting while Gabriel kept pace behind him. He stopped at room 4, which was guarded from the outside by Anna and Uriel. When they noticed Castiel's arrival they allowed their shoulders to slump in slight relief.

"Castiel," Anna sighed, "you've arrived just in time. Perhaps you can talk some sense into these boys."

"I doubt it," Uriel bit, "these mud monkey's brains don't work like ours do."

"The perhaps they'd be more civilized if you could lead by example." Castiel counters, brushing past them and pushing through the door.

Anna's eyes widen but he wisely said nothing as Gabriel snickers and Uriel bristles, but they all move aside as Castiel makes his way into the room.

Inside the room Castiel finds two men, not far from his own age, both handcuffed to the table. One is intimidatingly tall, even while sitting, and has long mahogany brown hair, and is sitting calmly with a resigned expression. But his eyes looked hopeful as he turned his gaze to Castiel.

Unlike his brother who was red in the face and looking quite put out as he crossed his arms over his chest, boring holes into the wall with the heat of his glare. He had ash colored hair that was spiked in the front but the rest of his face was covered in shadow.

Incidentally he was the first that spoke-

"I told you I'm not sayin shit. I know my rights so hurry up and call your lawyer friends."

Castiel felt his eyebrow pique and he moved more fully into the room, setting his briefcase down on the table. "I am your lawyer."

Dean, he assumed, turned his eyes towards him for the first time since he entered the room, and Castiel felt his heart skip and face warm under the scrutiny of such a beautiful profile. Although Castiel quickly regained his professionalism and crossed to the opposite side of the table, opening his case and taking out the folder that had everything that was known about the Winchesters. "Right, so first I believe it will be the most beneficial to the case that we firstly discuss what it is you've been charged with. Next we-"

Castiel found himself quickly cut off by the sound of Dean's open palm on the tabletop, followed by "I plead guilty to all of it, just let Sammy go. He isn't a part of this."

"Dean!" Sam hisses, pulling him down from where he'd risen from his seat. "Just shut up and calm down. We have our alibi, they don't have any admissible proof other than that we were travelling the country, and we have plenty of witnesses and friends who will testify on our locations. So just sit down, shut up, and listen to our attorney."

Castiel felt his eyes widen and he sat down slowly as the brothers continued to bicker under their breath.

"Sam," He finally interjected. "you are quite knowledgeable of the law," Hazel eyes turned to regard him curiously. "why is that?"

The boys eyes turned downcast and a shrug lifted his shoulders for a moment. "I've always had an interest I guess."'

Dean stiffened at his words, his face set in a grimace and Castiel decided to end the conversation there.

"Well, my name is Castiel, and I will be your defense attorney for the next few months. So, why don't we start at the beginning?"

Castiel sat with the Winchesters for hours as Dean eagerly recounted the story of their pasts.

Now Castiel had heard many a sob story, some dramatic and some obviously fabricated, but never had he heard experiences retailed with as much emotion and as much passion as he had from Dean Winchester. He spoke more genuinely than anyone with whom Castiel had ever spoken to.

He spoke of losing their mother in a fire while at very tender age and how their father lost himself in his search for justice and dragged the boys around the country until Sam couldn't stand for it anymore. Often left to themselves Dean would hustle pool amongst other things in an attempt to support and raise his younger brother and drunken father until Sam was sent off to college. That is until now, their father was missing, and Dean unfortunately had to pull Sam from college where they now criss crossed the country looking for their father.

Having a backstory such as this one can easily use it to their advantage, to touch the hearts of their audience and win over the crowd. But Dean told it as it was, he left no details out and even included past mistakes and misdeeds only to come back as he revealed how they could learn from their mistakes and how being on the road was in their blood. He was so earnest and passionate that Castiel could not help but be enraptured by the elder Winchester.

Sam remained silent for the most part, adding scattered details throughout the story telling. When they were finished Castiel closed the notebook he'd been messily scrawling notes in and leaned back in his seat, letting out a slow breath.

"There are many loose ends that can be tied together in response to you both travelling the country, as well as Sam's school records will form proof for your backstory. I'm sure these details will help aid us in gaining a positive verdict."

Dean sputtered for a moment, his mouth open but unable to form words, while Sam sighed and slumped in obvious relief.

"You're seriously gonna help us?!" Dean finally spat through his disbelief.

Castiel's eyes narrowed and he tilted his head in what he was told was a bird-like gesture. "But of course. I will do everything in my power to aid in your defense." He quietly packed up his things as the brothers spoke to one another in hushed whispers. Once he was ready to depart he moved easily to the doorway-

"Hey Cas!"

Castiel froze at the shortened version of his name and turned to find Dean standing, his face a mix of fear, desperation and awe, "Thank you…" he breathed.

Castiel smiled softly, "Until next time."

Castiel found himself lying awake in bed later that evening, sleep was not coming easy tonight.

He couldn't help thinking back on the earnest eyes of the elder Winchester. They had sparkled in the dark room but Castiel could still see them clearly in his mind's eye; those green eyes, they held so much pain, so much misunderstanding. The devotion Dean held for his younger brother, and even to his terrible father, how honest he was silently pleading with Castiel to not only hear him but listen to him.

And Sam, so young and quiet, barely out of college age. forced to give up higher education for the mission of tracking their missing father. Sam was strategic and cunning while his brother emotional and impulsive. They complimented each other, while both were certainly smart enough to be aware of the penalties that came with what they'd been charged.

Castiel sighed and twisted his position for what felt like the 1000th time. His sheets were too constricting yet comforting at the same time as Castiel tossed and turned under his bed clothes. He settled onto his back once more and stared at the old wood of his ceiling as it creaked as if it had the weight or the world upon its shoulders. Castiel knew that feeling well, he lives of two young men in his hands and the worst part was that he didn't believe that they were truly guilty.

Castiel huffed once again and rolled onto his side to look out into the night as he thought of the souls that had been placed into his palms. The brothers eyes told solem tales of wisdom and suffering far beyond their time. Castiel couldn't help feeling that if he'd known them sooner, if he'd been quicker, he may have aided in the softening of their expressions.