Thanks for all the support and the amazing reviews everyone :D

I tried to figure out how the legal system works in a case like Cas' but it's really hard to find and when I do find something I feel like I need legal training to understand it, which I lack. So mostly this is what I think how it should work and what I saw on TV or read in books. And I think in reality things would take much more time than I want for this fic, so I'd make things go why then anyway. Hope you enjoy the chapter.


Dean had trouble concentrating on his work today. His thoughts were with Cas, who was in court at the moment. Anna had been right. Claire had really been Zachariah's biological daughter. Cas had been devastated when he'd found out and Dean had spent several hours that night talking to him to try and cheer him up with only little success.

But Anna had also found something else. A signature of Castiel's name on a document used to transfer the stolen money out of the country had been proven to be forged and the expert Anna had found was reasonably sure that Bela had done it. This was enough evidence to reopen and reexamine the case Anna had thought and today they were in court to achieve just that.

Dean had seen Cas right before he had left. He had looked handsome and smart in his nice suit and he'd been carefully optimistic. Dean couldn't wait to see him that evening to hear how things had turned out.

It was just after dinner, which Dean now had together with all the other inmates again, when Cas returned to their cell. Dean was sitting on his bed pretending to read something incredibly interesting to mask the fact that he'd been waiting for Cas to get back. He put down his book after a moment and looked at Cas expectantly but the other man had put on his poker face again. He was staring right back at Dean, showing no emotions at all when their gazes locked.

Finally though, after several seconds of intense staring, Dean thought he saw an amused twinkle in those blue eyes and Cas couldn't hold back any longer and smiled.

"It worked?" Dean asked hopeful and Cas nodded.

Dean jumped down from his bed, landing right in front of Cas, thereby unintentionally invading his personal space. For a few seconds he just stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do, when neither of them moved. He settled on clapping Cas on the shoulder before taking a step back and saying, "Well done."

"I didn't do anything. It was all Anna. She's brilliant. The case has been reopened and trial starts next week," Cas told him, sounding very happy about this.

"That sounds great. Will Anna be able to gather enough information to clear your name by then?"

"She's been given permission by the court to have Bela's personal belongings searched since she forged my signature. She's optimistic that there will be more evidence and even if not she might have already created reasonable doubt. So all things considered it's looking good," Cas told him.

Cas kept talking for a long time that night, telling Dean exactly what had happened at court. Dean didn't mind. This Cas was different from the terrified man he'd met just a little over one week ago. Damn, Anna had been really fast. She really seemed to be a brilliant defense lawyer, Dean thought. Which led him to wonder why Cas had been convicted in the first place. If Anna could dig up such strong evidence in only a little over a week, why hadn't she been able to do so before?

"She didn't defend me the first time," Cas explained when Dean voiced his confusion. "She doesn't live here in Kansas. She lives in New York. I was innocent and never expected to be convicted, so I told her I'd be fine and she shouldn't fly over here for this. I guess she shouldn't have listened to me but I just honestly never expected to end up in prison."

"But now she's here," Dean said matter-of-factly.

"Now she's here," Cas agreed with a soft voice that showed his love for her and touched Dean somewhere deep within. "And she has already found so much. My other lawyer just didn't bother to look beyond the apparent facts and I didn't notice that until it was too late."

"Lazy dick," Dean muttered and Cas laughed. They kept talking for a while about all kinds of things until they both drifted off to sleep.

Two days later Anna visited Cas again and when he returned to the cell a bit later he was so happy, Dean could hardly get him to talk and make sense. Finally, as a last resort he went to the sink and splashed a load of cold water into Cas' face, which made him stop talking for a moment, so Dean could actually get a word in.

"I take it Anna told you something really good, since you're so excited," Dean said and handed Cas a towel so he could dry his face.

"She did," Cas answered, calmer now.

"Would you mind starting at the beginning again? I didn't get a word of what you said earlier," Dean asked and Cas started to blush slightly in embarrassment about his earlier excitement.

"Of course. Sorry. Okay, Anna went through Bela's things and found that she had a safe deposit box I didn't know about. She had it opened and inside was all the evidence she needs. Bela kept track of exactly how much money they stole and when. And where it went, too. It's amazing. There is no way they won't overturn my conviction. They have to, now."

"That sounds great," Dean smiled and couldn't help but get infected with Cas' enthusiasm. He really hoped things would work out well for him and soon. But from what Cas had told him about his former work place Dean was sure that Zachariah's firm had a big and able legal department which would do whatever it took to keep all blame away from the boss and make it stick to Cas. He was confident that Anna was prepared for that but it would be difficult.

The days until Cas' next court date passed quickly and without much trouble. Not that Cas would have noticed any trouble in his still elated state. Not even Lucifer could bring him down anymore. The prospect of possibly getting his name cleared soon was so overwhelming that he wasn't scared anymore. Or maybe he just didn't notice Lucifer at all. Dean thought that this was very well possible because several times Cas had almost run into him.

But, just as Dean had predicted, Lucifer had made many enemies with the pudding affair and Cas was never alone. There were always people around him just waiting for Lucifer to give them an excuse to try and beat him up. And that happened frequently even without Cas being involved. Mostly those encounters ended with Lucifer back in isolation and his opponents in the medical ward.

Cas didn't notice any of those things. When Dean told him at night he was surprised by the day's events every time. Dean could only shake his head at him. It was really time that the court date came. Cas would not survive much longer the way he was acting right now. Eventually Lucifer would get him on his own. So Cas had better get out of prison before that happened.

But Cas excitement had faded when he returned from court after the first hearing in his new trial. Dean immediately noticed the drastic change in his cellmate's mood.

"What's wrong?" he asked carefully.

"Nothing," Cas answered. "Really, it's nothing," he assured Dean when he noticed the worried look on the other man's face. "I guess my hopes were just a little too high. I seriously believed that I would walk out of here today."

"Tell me what happened," Dean said gently and sat down next to Cas.

"Since Anna accused Bela and Zachariah to actually have stolen the money, they were subpoenaed to appear as witnesses and tell the court their side of the story. But they didn't show up. Everyone involved in the trial spent the entire day trying to find them but it appears they have left the country. Of course that makes them look even guiltier but it also delayed the whole trial. Now I have to wait another few days," Cas explained and Dean understood his disappointment.

But at least he still had the best chances to get out soon; he just had to wait a few more days. It wasn't as bad as Dean had expected upon Cas' return and he'd make sure that the next days would go as smoothly for Cas as possible.