[h2] Dean Winchester [/h2]

Dean leaned forward, not catching Sam’s glare but worried about Madison’s sudden outburst of worry.  He reached a hand across the table to try and say something to her to potentially calm her, if not just to prevent the entire house from exploding.  But Sam got to her first.  He watched how gentle his brother was with Madison, and couldn’t help but soften his gaze.

When Sam turned back to him, after seemingly handling Madison’s panic easily, Dean raised an eyebrow and barely noticed his brother speaking to him, until he shook himself from his thoughts and shook his head at Sam.

“It’s been years, but I don’t remember her ever reacting that way to a facial expression.  I mean, maybe it was because I didn’t laugh fast enough?  Is she scared of me, because I went to Hell?”, Dean asked, completely confused by the sudden change in demeanor.  He was definitely a different person than he was the last time she held his hand, but his personality hadn’t changed that much, had it?


[h2] Madison [/h2]
Madison flinched a bit as Sam’s hands came to hers, taking her food away before holding her hands so gently.  She took a deep breath as Sam looked into her eyes, just trying to concentrate on his demeanor, and how unmoved he seemed by Esme leaving.  She wrapped her fingers around his, nodding her head slightly, but the light in her eyes didn’t completely fade, only flickering as she stared at him.

She was so afraid Esme was really gone, and with Dean, she didn’t know if she could trust Sam to protect her.  Castiel would be her only hope without someone there to calm Dean when he got paranoid and angry, which she had gathered he would do often.  

When he leaned in and whispered in her ear, the amber light in her eyes completely faded, as if turning down a dimmer switch and she took another deep breath, nodding, “I believe her too…”

Madison watched Dean as he spoke and she frowned, wondering who Dean was before his trip to Hell.  Was he more fun?  Was he more understanding, and gentle, like Sam?  The questions buzzed around in her head until Sam said that he was getting up, and left to go to the kitchen.

“I’m sorry I scared you, okay?”, Dean apologized honestly, tapping his knuckles on the table in front of him, just as Sam returned with the beers.  Dean leaned back in his chair, patting Sam’s arm as he patted his chest, and nodded absentmindedly.  He hadn’t tried to do the whole relationship thing in so long that he wasn’t even sure what giving someone space looked like, anymore.

Madison trailed her eyes up to Dean’s face, watching him pick up his beer and take a drink.  She sighed, and crossed her arms, waiting patiently for Esme to hopefully walk back through the door.

[h3] Later [/h3]

[h2] Madison [/h2]

Madison’s head perked up at the sound of a car door closing, at the same time that Dean’s did.    As Esme stepped into the house, Madison’s heart fluttered with excitement, turning to smile widely at Sam as Dean stood from his chair and followed her.  Madison reached a hand out and took Sam’s hand, “You were right!  Like always, you were right.”

She spoke excitedly, buzzing with excitement that she had everyone back in one place.  Well, everyone but Castiel, but he was off doing angel stuff, whatever that was.  She let his hand go awkwardly, and pushed her hair behind her ears, shrugging her shoulders, “Sorry I got so scared and almost blasted you. But I can help you with the rest of the stuff in the car!”

[h2] Dean Winchester [/h2]

Dean’s ears perked up the second that the car door closed, standing from his chair quickly to run to the door.  He had held out hope that Esme would definitely be back, but there was still a clenching feeling in his stomach that he could quite swallow down as he waited.  He reached for the doorknob, just as Esme stepped through and he gasped at her appearance, following her.

Shooting a glance back at Sam, he silently told him to take care of the rest while he checked on her and followed her into the kitchen.  Reaching a hand out, he took the bags from her, and sat them down on the floor beside the refrigerator, taking her hips in both his hands and pushing her back toward the counter.

“What the hell happened?  Let me look.”, he asked with slightly widened eyes, the panic evident on his face.  She hadn’t been gone long, but he hadn’t been there to protect her from whatever had happened and his stomach ached thinking about someone or something laying hands on her, like the old days.

He reached a hand up and grabbed for the hand that held the bandana to her face, peeling it away, and taking the bandana between his fingers to look at the cut on her face, “Esme.  Dammit. What did this?  Was it a human? I’ll run back right now.  You just tell me where and I’ll give them a nice dental makeover.  Are you hurt anywhere else.”

In his panic, he hovered his hands along her torso, glancing around as if he could see through her shirt.  It was a mixture of actual worry, guilt, and anger that someone would even do that to her face, much less any other part of her body.  He took a deep breath and rested his hand against her uninjured cheek, closing his eyes to calm his nerves as he stood with her, giving her a chance to speak.