Thank you so much VegasGranny and Ncsupnatfan for pre-reading. This chapter is un-beta'd, so I apologize for all remaining mistakes.

Chapter Four

There was already coffee brewing in the kitchen when Dean got there, fresh from the shower that had dispelled enough of the drowsiness of a bad night's sleep to make him feel human. He poured himself a cup and joined Mary and Castiel at the table.

Mary pushed over a bowl and the box of cereal, but Dean pushed it away with a grimace. "Maybe later," he said.

Mary didn't seem surprised, and by the shadows under her eyes and only half-eaten bowl of cornflakes in front of her that she wasn't in the mood for food either.

"You look awful, Dean," Castiel stated.

"Don't sugar-coat it, Cas."

Castiel shrugged. "Am I wrong?"

Dean, who had avoided his reflection when he'd cleaned up, forgoing a shave out of sheer tiredness, didn't know how he looked. He figured it was bad if it was anywhere close to how he was feeling though.

"Where's Nick and Jack?" he asked, wanting to redirect the topic of conversation.

"Nick was here earlier. I think he went to shower. Jack is sleeping still," Castiel said. "He will be tired for a while without his grace. His body will need time to acclimatize to the difference."

"Good," Dean said with a yawn. "More time he spends sleeping, the less time he has to stew on what's happening."

"Shame that doesn't work for us, too," Mary said.

Dean's shoulders slumped. "Yeah. I spent half the night turning over what happened. No matter how I come at it, we're screwed. I don't know how we're going to get through this."

"We always have before," Castiel pointed out. "And we faced The Darkness who was infinitely more powerful."

"Yeah, but we had Chuck then, and she had something she wanted. And there was a way to stop her. We can't use the archangel blade on Michael or Lucifer ourselves, and there are no other archangels left. And I don't think blasting Michael or Lucifer with a couple hundred thousand souls is going to work." Dean perked up hopefully. "Is it?"

Castiel shook his head too fast for it to be believable. "Definitely not."

Dean narrowed his eyes. "You really believe that? Or are you trying to stop one of us doing it?"

"Yes, I am certain it wouldn't work," Castiel said, his jaw jutting out. "Exposure to souls won't destroy an archangel as it would have done Amara. We were trying to cancel out her darkness. Though, obviously, I would also prefer to steer you away from a suicide mission."

Mary's startled attention snapped to Dean. "Suicide mission?"

Dean waved a hand. "It's nothing. It won't work anyway."

She didn't look appeased, but Nick came in then and distracted her. He looked as tired as Dean felt, and his hair was uncombed and damp. Nick wasn't exactly vain, but he usually took a little more care of his appearance than he had today. The fact he wasn't bothering meant he was feeling the same way as Dean about things.

His phone was pressed to his ear, and he said, "Hold on, Jody. I'm here with Dean, Mom, and Cas now. I'll put you on speaker." He pressed a button and set the phone down on the table then sat down beside Mary. "Okay, what's going on?"

"I saw Lucifer," Jody said. "He showed up in town last night."

"Shit," Nick breathed.

"Are you okay, Jody?" Mary asked.

"Yeah. I have no idea how I am, since I shot him and he looked pissed, but he didn't hurt us. I was there with my deputy, Frank. We both unloaded a bullet apiece in him, but he just took off."

"Why?" Mary asked, seeming to be speaking to herself.

"Damn good question," Jody said.

Nick's eyebrows were high and his face pale. "You shot him! Jody, what were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking, obviously," she said with a bite of anger. "I panicked. He was armed and not leaving. Frank was with me, and, obviously, he had no idea what he was facing. It just happened."

The fact that Jody, a damn good hunter and cop, had lost it enough to shoot the devil himself was a telling statement about the very real fear she'd felt.

"But he just left," Castiel mused.

"Yeah, but that's not the weirdest part," Jody said. "He said he didn't want to hurt anyone; he just wanted to leave. He's obviously having no problems with his wings since he flew off when we started shooting, but it was like he wanted to get past us on foot instead of just flying out of there." Her sighing breath crackled the line for a moment, and then she said, almost apologetically, "He wasn't like you said, Mary. He seemed more… human."

Dean hadn't known his mother had ever discussed Lucifer with Jody, or anyone really. Though Mary had a different insight into who and what Lucifer was since she'd been trapped with him in the other world, she rarely spoke about him. Only Nick discussed him less than her. Nick seemed to keep a barrier between himself and the facts of Lucifer, only talking about him when he had to. Dean wondered what had made Mary open up to Jody and if Nick ever would.

"He is not human," Castiel stated. "You can't think like that, Jody. He's the furthest thing from human there is. He is the purest kind of threat there is."

"I'm just saying what I saw."

"No, Cas is right," Nick said. "You can't think of him as anything but evil. I don't know why he didn't kill you, but there's got to be a reason, and it's not because he had a change of heart about murder. It's got to be a play on his part."

"Okay, I'm with you, I'll remember it. There's one more thing though. He knew me. He said my name, I heard him, and it sounded more… shocked, pleased in a way. It wasn't a taunt or mocking thing the way I'd have expected. It was like he was happy to see me, and not to kill me."

Nick shook his head briskly. "This is wrong. He's not like that."

"Then what was it?"

"He would know you," Castiel said. "He's possessed both Nick and me at some point, and he had full access to our memories when he did. He knows who you are and what you mean to Nick and Dean. Though why he would be pleased… Unless it was pleasure in what he could do to you…."

"Then why didn't he kill her?" Mary asked.

"I don't know," Castiel said, his voice tight with frustration. "Where was he when you saw him, Jody?"

"That's another weird thing," she said. "He was in a vet's office. I responded when someone set the alarm off. Once he took off, I got Frank out of there and spent the night talking him down—he's freaked by the fact he shot a man that disappeared. I went back this morning, though, and saw what he left behind. It looked like he'd been treating a wound. There were bloody bandages and a used suture kit. I think he was sewing something up. I thought angels came with automatic healing."

"They do," Castiel said. "It can't have been Lucifer."

"It looked like him. I saw the picture that bitch Hess showed Nick; same ridiculous hair and height. It was kinda dark, but I saw enough to know it was him. And he flew away. Only an angel could do that, right?"

Dean pressed his fingers to his temples to offset the building pressure in his head. He didn't understand what was happening, and he was worried.

Even if Lucifer had been somehow affected by Jack's grace, maybe softened around the edges enough to not kill Jody—which seemed impossible to him—he'd still left the bunker chock full of Nephilim grace that should have only added to the power he already had. He shouldn't be needing to stitch wounds.

"It's got to be some kind of trick," Nick said. "Maybe he wants us to think he's weak. He could have staged the scene and set it somewhere he knew would get back to us. Why else would he have chosen Sioux Falls?" He nodded and his jaw tightened. "This is definitely a trick."

"Maybe," Jody said, but Dean could tell she didn't believe it.

"You've got to listen, Jody," Dean said. "Lucifer is evil. He tricks people, plays the good guy. The fact he let you see him at all means he's playing some game. Do not let your guard down." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "We'll come by and set you up with some protections. There are ways to hide you from angels, these sigils Cas can carve, and we can ward your house. They might not keep him out, but they'll slow him down, maybe." He glanced at Castiel. "Can we do that?"

Castiel considered a moment. "If he is powered down somehow…"

"Which he isn't," Nick cut in.

Castiel went on, undeterred. "…then we can use sigils to slow his progress and tone down his power. But if he's still a powered archangel with additional grace, there is little we can do."

"That's reassuring," Jody said, the hardness in her voice showing her worry.

"We'll do what we can," Dean promised. "Get the girls together. If he knows about you, he knows about Claire and Alex. We'll give you all the carvings, Patience included, to be safe. The most important thing you can do is hide though. Come stay here."

"I'm not hiding," Jody snapped. "I've got responsibilities in this town. I'm the sheriff. People are relying on me to keep them safe. I'm not leaving them so that I can be safe, leaving them unprotected."

Nick rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to answer, but Dean spoke before he could. "We get that Jody, and we'll do what we can to keep you safe while you keep going with your usual life, but you've got to be careful."

"We can give her an angel blade," Mary said. "Castiel was able to hurt Lucifer with one."

Dean would have been reassured if not for the fact he knew Lucifer could kill a human with a snap of his fingers. If Jody came at him with a weapon that could cause him even a little pain, he was going to strike. Whatever game he was playing, if he was playing one, the good-guy act would probably get dismissed as soon as he was hurting.

"Sounds good," Jody said. "I'll keep Patience home from school. Alex is on the night shift, so she'll be here anyway."

"And Claire?" Castiel asked.

"She's going after a werewolf in Nebraska. I'll give her a call."

"Good," Nick said. "You all need to be there when we come." He glanced at his watch. "We'll leave now and get to you by afternoon."

"Got it," Jody said. "I'll fix you some ribs to take home."

Dean smiled automatically at the offer, but Nick frowned. Dean had a feeling he was about to say something cutting, so he quickly said, "We'll see you soon, Jody," and ended the call before her goodbyes finished.

"She doesn't get it," Nick said, his hands fisting on the tabletop. "Lucifer has fooled her."

"He has," Castiel agreed. "But we'll find a way to convince her of the truth."

"Maybe he hasn't," Mary said. "I'm not saying he's good, but there could be something else going on here. If Jack's grace is affecting him, he could have changed. And the fact he needed to treat a wound…"

"No!" Nick snapped. "This is all a game." He grabbed his phone and shoved it into his pocket before storming out of the room.

Mary watched him go and then sighed. "I don't know what to say to him when he's like this."

"Me either," Dean said. "But I'm pretty sure he's right. Lucifer is playing the long game on this. He tried to do it to Nick when he was trying to get him as a vessel; he was working overtime on making himself seem like a good guy right up until the end. If he's doing that again, we need to be even more careful because it means he's got a big plan again."

"You think he'll turn his attention back to the apocalypse?" Castiel asked. "He didn't seem to want that after I freed him. He seemed happier to work on a smaller scale."

"Maybe he changed his mind," Dean said darkly.

Mary rubbed her hands over her face. "Then what do we do?"

Dean scraped back his chair and got to his feet. "We go to Sioux Falls and take care of Jody and the girls."

"And after that?" she asked.

Dean sighed. "Honestly, Mom, I don't know. I'm going with what I can do right now. Cas, you come with us to help Jody and then put some time in on getting hold of Naomi. Me and Nick will come back here and help Jack. The big picture is going to have to wait."

That was all he could think to do because that was all they could control. Everything else was too big for them right now.

Nick's boots pounded the floor as he marched through the hall toward the library. His heart was racing, and there was a ringing in his ears that he was trying to banish to think clearly. It wasn't Jody's fault that she was taken in by Lucifer, she wouldn't be the first person he'd tricked, but it frustrated him. It meant she was vulnerable to him, and that worried Nick.

The fact Lucifer had been that close to his friend made his bile rise. He could have killed her.

When he'd stopped Lucifer coming through the rift after him, he'd thought it was over. He was finally done with the monster that haunted his dreams. That should have been him taking control and ended his reign at last. But Lucifer, cunning and cruel, had found a way through, and now he was loaded with Jack's grace. It was bad enough that he was even more powered than he had been before now, but he'd hurt Jack to gain that power, which felt like a failure. Jack was family, like a son, and Nick loved him and wanted to protect him. He was hurting now, and Nick didn't know what to do for him. He wanted more than anything to make it right for his family, but he was useless.

If he could stop it by taking Lucifer back to the Cage, he would, doing whatever it took to make it happen, but he couldn't see how he could. Lucifer didn't need him as a vessel anymore. He had that Sam guy, the vessel he'd taken at the beginning of the apocalypse.

Nick's helplessness became anger, and he had never dealt with that well.

They had two archangels free in the world, and Jack was powered down. On the larger scale, that was enough to deal with, but there was also the fact Jack was going to have to come to terms with a new form of life with only Castiel able to relate to his situation on any level. Nick and Dean would be helpless to understand.

He passed through the library and came to the bedrooms. When he passed Jack's room, he paused and considered knocking to see if he was awake. He didn't want to take him from rest, but he had a feeling Jack might stay alone in there even when he woke, and that wouldn't help anything.

Before he could decide, the door opened and Jack peered out. He gave Nick a wan smile and said, "I didn't know if anyone else would be awake."

"We're all up," Nick said. "Mom, Dean, and Cas are in the kitchen. We're going to head out though. We got a call from a friend, Jody Mills, and we've got a problem."

"Which one is it?" Jack asked. "Michael or Lucifer?"

Nick's hands fisted as he felt a surge of anger at the pain in Jack's voice that Lucifer had caused. "Lucifer. She saw him last night. He didn't hurt her, but we're going to set her up with some protections."

"He didn't hurt her?" he asked incredulously.

"No. He's playing some kind of game with her, with us. He set it up to look like he was treating some kind of wound—probably the one Cas caused when he stabbed him."

"That makes no sense."

"It's a game, Jack," Nick said bitterly. "He's trying to make it look as though he's weaker than he is. He does this. He did it in the Cage, when he was…"

He trailed off. He didn't like talking about what Lucifer had done to him there. Those endless years were among the worst memories of his life, and it was his absolute defeat in that place that hurt him. He remembered it clearly, even though Castiel had taken the pain of the experience from him, leaving him with the memories that his mind could handle without them killing him.

In the Cage, sometimes Nick had been left to watch as Michael and Lucifer fought, and Nick remembered how Lucifer had played at being weak to win the fight. Michael would get in a blow that seemed to beat Lucifer down, send him to his knees with his hands raised in a plea for mercy. Michael would stop, enjoying the moment of triumph, and Lucifer would strike then. Michael never seemed to learn from his mistake, though Nick always knew what was happening. Lucifer had played at being weak, and it had cost Michael. That was what he was trying to do now.

Nick wouldn't let him trick any of them.

"What did he do, Nick?" Jack asked.

Nick shook his head and squeezed Jack's shoulder. "It doesn't matter. Just trust me, it's an act."

Jack looked into his eyes and shrugged. "Okay."

"We've got to head out now. Mom is going to stay here."

"I can come with you," Jack offered.

"You can," Nick agreed, "but we're not going to be gone long, and it might be better for you to rest now. Go get something to eat, maybe sleep some more, stay safe."

Jack glowered at him. "I'm not useless, Nick. I'm still me, even without my grace. He didn't take all of it."

"I know," Nick said, his voice soft. "But you've been through something big and need time to recover before you throw yourself back into the fight. This is just a milk run for us. You don't need to come."

He didn't want Jack facing Jody and the girls already. They would have questions and they'd want to talk about Lucifer, and they'd have to be told what Lucifer did to Jack. There was no need for Jack to be there for that.

He squeezed Jack's shoulder again and was pleased when Jack nodded and said, "I'll go eat then."

Nick watched him walk along the hall and turn the corner and felt a wave of frustration at the sight of his slumped shoulders and plodding footsteps. He was hurting because of Lucifer.

Somehow, someway, Nick was going to find a way to make this right. Not just for Jack, but for the rest of his family, too.

Lucifer was going to pay.

So… What do you think of Nick? He wasn't the most relatable character in this chapter, at least I don't think he was, but do you see his motivations and the similarities and differences between him and Sam?

Until next time…

Clowns or Midgets xxx