Castiel expects the office downtown to be empty when he gets there, so when he steps inside and sees Lucifer sitting on the floor with a bottle of beer, he jumps a little. He takes solace in the fact that he won't have to wait around for him; every second he's spent thinking about how this conversation could go has been stressful beyond belief.

Lucifer scrambles to his feet. "Cassie!" He runs over and pulls his brother into a tight hug. "I can't believe it. Twice in one year! Who would've thunk it?"

Castiel awkwardly hugs him back. He should probably enjoy this while it lasts. He's not sure Lucifer's going to be too happy with him after this. Between stealing Jack away and inadvertently getting Dean arrested, there's a lot to talk about that will probably turn his brother against him.

Eventually, they pull apart, and Lucifer leans against the wall. "So, what's up? This is about Jack, right?"

"It's about... a lot of things..." Castiel frowns. Where does he even start? And how does he start without pissing Lucifer off too much at once?

"That's ominous," Lucifer remarks. "What happened?"

Castiel swallows hard. "I messed up. I really messed up."

"Then you came to the right place," Lucifer says, giving him a reassuring punch to the shoulder. "I mean, I mess up all the time, so you are in good hands."

Castiel smiles. That makes him feel a little better.

"What'd you do?" Lucifer asks.

Here goes nothing.

"I lied," Castiel says. "Jack's been at my place since Friday."

Lucifer cocks his head to the side. Castiel had thought he'd be pissed that he kept that secret for so long; instead he just looks confused. "But... why?"

"He asked if he could," Castiel says. It's probably best that Lucifer knows it was his son's idea, not his brother's. "He didn't want you to know — and he doesn't want you to know — but he got jumped by some Vamps and they really roughed him up."

Lucifer balls his hands into fists by his side and grits his teeth. "I'm gonna kill them."

"Jack knew you were gonna say that," Castiel tells him. "That's why he doesn't want you to know. He doesn't want you to make this into something bigger than it already is."

"Well, no offense to you or Jack," Lucifer says, "but I do want to make this into something even bigger than it already is."

"That kinda leads me to the other thing, actually," Castiel says. It doesn't really seem related, but he'll explain all that, too.

Lucifer cocks an eyebrow.

"Dean kinda got arrested."

Lucifer's jaw drops. "He what?"

Castiel nods. "He was looking for Jack and the guys on the Target case — I'm assuming you know about Target?"

Lucifer nods.

"They recognized him from the video," Castiel finishes. "He's sitting in a holding cell right now."

"Ah, fuck." Lucifer runs a hand down his face. "Can I bail him out?"

"They deemed him a flight risk; he's stuck," Castiel says. .

"Did he get a phone call?" Lucifer asks. "I haven't heard anyone mention getting one."

"He used it on Sam," Castiel tells him. "Asking for legal advice, I think. I don't know. He wouldn't let me stick around." In fact, other than asking for Sam's number, Dean didn't want anything to do with him after he made his deal with Jody. He took this whole "Jack has been staying at Castiel's place" thing a lot harder than Lucifer did (probably because it inadvertently got him arrested and not Lucifer).

"Oh, smart move," Lucifer says. "Is Sam gonna come all the way here for the trial? That sounds like a lot of work."

"God no," Castiel says immediately. Like Sam would ever do that. He hasn't come back in almost 14 years; he's not going to start now. "No, actually, this is where the Dean thing and the Jack thing come together. There's not going to be a trial."

Lucifer furrows his brows. "I'm no lawyer, but I'm pretty sure 'innocent until proven guilty' still extends to... well, whatever the fuck Dean's in trouble for. I'm sure there's a long list."

"He struck a deal," Castiel says. "He's gonna help us get the Vamps, and then he's free to go. Off on all counts."

Lucifer's response to that is a big grin. "It's about goddamn time those fuckers got what was coming to them. I wish he could've killed him — and I wish I could've helped — but this is more than good enough for me."

Well, if he's happy about it, Castiel isn't going to stop him. He'll just keep talking and hope Lucifer doesn't change his mind. "I don't know how it's gonna go tomorrow. Dean and I are going in together —"

"Wait, you can't go," Lucifer says quickly. "They're gonna kill you."

Wow. It really wasn't hard to get him to change his mind.

"That's entirely possible," Castiel says. "I'm gonna pretend I'm still a Hunter, that I'm just using my gig with the cops for the perks. Hopefully they'll hear me out. But that's kinda the point. I don't know how tomorrow is gonna go. It's entirely possible that I'm gonna get shot, and it's entirely possible I'll end up in the hospital — or worse."

"Expelled."

"Lucifer, shut the fuck up."

Lucifer just smiles.

"I just wanted someone to know everything," Castiel says. "I'm keeping too many secrets from too many people, and that would be a pretty shitty way to die."

Lucifer shakes his head. "You're crazy for this. You know that, right? The fact that you're fully aware that you might die and you're still gonna do this anyway? It's stupid. You're stupid."

Castiel shrugs. "Well, if I didn't, I'd probably have to testify at Dean's trial someday, and that would put me in a very uncomfortable position." With a small smile, he says, "Can't be uncomfortable if you're dead."

"You got me there," Lucifer says.

"The cops are vaguely aware that my nephew is staying at my house," Castiel tells him. "And they probably know he's a Hunter. I don't know; no one really asked about it. So if something happens to me, my partner will take Jack. I don't know if she'll take him to you or to me if I'm in the hospital or to her own place, but she'll keep him safe."

"And does he know?" Lucifer asks. "About any of this?"

Castiel shakes his head. "Hopefully I'll get to tell him when I come home from work tomorrow that the Vamps are gone. If not, Charlie's gonna tell him what happened."

Lucifer nods solemnly. "You know, I really don't like this."

"I know," Castiel says. "But it's the only get-out-of-jail-free card Dean's got, and hopefully it'll get the Vamps in jail."

"Or it'll get you or Dean killed," Lucifer says. "There are worse things than jail, you know."

Castiel shrugs. "There are worse things than death."

"Touché."

Castiel fidgets with his hands. He should probably stop while he's ahead. Now would be a great time to say goodbye and go home. He just can't stop thinking about what happens if he fails, if he's not around for Jack when he needs to be. This is probably the last thing the kid wants him to do right now, but it might be the best thing he can do for him. "Can I just ask you one favor before I go?"

"Anything," Lucifer says.

"If I die and the Vamps still have free reign of the neighborhood," Castiel says, "will you take Jack somewhere far away?"

Lucifer snorts. "Jack wouldn't let me take him away even if I wanted to. This is the only home he's ever known."

Castiel shakes his head. "He does want to leave," he says. "I don't think he'd tell you if you didn't ask, but he does. The Vamps scare the shit out of him. As long as they're here, he's never going to feel safe." And he'd never admit it, either, which is the worst part. At least when Castiel decided to leave, he could admit it aloud because Sam was in the same boat. If Castiel's not around, Jack doesn't have any kind of support system like that.

Lucifer sighs. "But what if I don't want to leave?."

Castiel shrugs sympathetically.

"For Jack's sake, though, I would," Lucifer says.

"I know."

In a more playful tone, he adds, "So you better not fucking die, okay? 'Cause if you die, I'll have to kill you."

Castiel chuckles. "I'll try."

"It's pretty fucked up that you're even allowed to go on a mission or whatever where there's this much of a chance that you're gonna die," Lucifer adds. "Like, you should not be actively planning for your own state-sponsored demise right now. You shouldn't be allowed to be actively planning your state-sponsored demise."

Castiel shrugs. "I kinda over-exaggerated how likely it was that the Vamps would let us talk," he says. "I know I might die and Dean knows I might die but she thinks it's a pretty slim chance."

The corner of Lucifer's mouth twitches upwards at that. "I love it when you lie to the cops."

"Then you would have loved to come to work with me today," Castiel replies.

"Mm, I don't love it that much," Lucifer says. "Stay safe tomorrow, Cas. I know you want to help Dean and I know you want to take down the Vamps, but don't do anything stupid. You're no use to anyone dead."

Castiel gives him a small smile. "I'll do my best, but my safety is out of my hands tomorrow. It's the luck of the draw; whatever happens happens."

"In that case, good luck," Lucifer says. "I will avenge you if I have to, but I really don't want to so you better walk out of there without a scratch."

Castiel chuckles. "Thanks, Lucifer. That's very nice of you."