"Although I really don't want to become Sam and start being nosy," Dean said while looking between the three of them. "I have to ask what the hell is going on here."
His confusion was completely justified.
On one side of Henry stood Madison.
On the other side stood Bela practically attached to his arm.
Neither woman looked particularly interested in moving.
Dean pointed between them several times.
"Because I genuinely feel like I'm losing my mind," he continued. "Bela is hanging off your arm smiling like she belongs there, Madison is standing right next to you, and somehow everyone is acting like this is normal."
Sam rubbed the back of his neck.
For once, Dean wasn't wrong.
"Umm..." Henry sighed. "There's a long explanation for that."
Dean immediately became more interested.
"Good," he said. "I've got time."
"I'm not telling you."
Dean looked personally offended.
"You can't create whatever this is and then refuse to explain it."
Before Henry could answer—
Madison completely lost her patience.
The smile disappeared from her face as she suddenly stepped toward Bela.
"You know what? I've had enough of this."
She swung toward Bela immediately.
Henry reacted on pure instinct.
The second Madison moved, he wrapped both arms around her waist from behind and lifted her completely off the ground before she could reach her target.
Madison kicked her legs in frustration.
"Henry!"
"No."
"Put me down."
"No."
"Let me hit her."
"Definitely no."
Madison looked ready to murder somebody.
Meanwhile Bela looked far too amused by the entire situation.
"You see?" she said smoothly. "This is exactly the sort of aggression I've been forced to endure."
Madison pointed accusingly at her.
"She's been hanging off you all afternoon!"
Bela looked thoughtful.
"I believe it has only been eleven minutes."
That did not help.
At all.
Henry immediately closed his eyes in frustration.
"Bela, for the love of God, stop talking."
The fact that Madison didn't even seem surprised by this anymore told Dean everything he needed to know.
Which somehow raised even more questions.
Dean looked from Madison trying to escape Henry's grip to Bela looking entirely too pleased with herself.
Then a slow grin spread across his face.
The kind of grin Sam recognized immediately.
The dangerous one.
"Oh, this is good," Dean said while grabbing a chair and sitting down near the barbecue. "This is really good."
Then the barbecue finally began, and somehow the situation around Henry became even worse.
Madison and Bela had both claimed the seats directly beside him, turning what should have been a simple dinner into a silent competition.
Madison picked up a piece of barbecue with her fork and held it toward Henry with an affectionate smile.
"Dear, say ahhh."
Before Henry could respond, Bela calmly picked up a piece from another plate and extended her own fork toward him.
"Say ahh."
Henry stared at the two forks hovering near his face.
The food smelled great.
The situation did not.
A long sigh escaped him as he wondered how fighting monsters had somehow been less exhausting than this.
Across the table, Dean was struggling not to laugh.
Unfortunately, struggling and succeeding were two very different things.
The amusement on his face had been growing for several minutes now.
Sam eventually noticed.
"Dean," he said quietly, "don't you think this is a little strange?"
Dean looked toward him in disbelief.
"A little strange?" he repeated. "Sam, this is the weirdest thing I've seen all month."
"Then why are you enjoying it so much?"
Dean leaned back comfortably in his chair and took a drink from his beer.
"Because for once it's happening to somebody else."
That answer honestly sounded exactly like Dean.
Sam shook his head.
"Dean..."
"No, Sammy," Dean interrupted. "You are not taking this away from me."
His eyes immediately returned to Henry.
"I have spent years getting shot at, stabbed, cursed, possessed, chased by monsters, and nearly killed every other week. If the universe wants to give me front-row seats to whatever this mess is, I'm taking it."
Sam pinched the bridge of his nose.
The worst part was that Dean genuinely meant it.
Meanwhile Henry was still trapped between the two women.
"I'm perfectly capable of feeding myself," he said patiently.
That statement accomplished absolutely nothing.
Neither Madison nor Bela showed any intention of backing down, and by the end of dinner Henry had simply accepted that resistance was pointless.
A few hours later, after the food was cleaned up, Henry led Dean and Sam into the basement.
The difference between the cozy house above and the room below was ridiculous.
The basement looked more like a hunter headquarters than a storage room.
Weapons lined several walls. Shelves contained books on magic, demons, and obscure supernatural creatures. Boxes of ammunition sat neatly stacked beside containers filled with ingredients that probably shouldn't exist outside of a witch's workshop.
Dean slowly walked through the room while examining everything around him.
"You have have a mini armory in here," he said while stopping near a rack of weapons. "Seriously, half of hunters would kill for this setup."
Henry shrugged slightly.
"Safe houses are supposed to be safe."
Dean picked up a blade from one of the tables and inspected it.
"Yeah, but most safe houses don't look like they're preparing for World War Three."
While Dean continued looking around, Sam turned his attention toward Henry.
"So," Sam asked, "what exactly are we hunting?"
Henry's expression lost most of its amusement.
"Well," he said calmly, "it's Lilith."
The name immediately changed the atmosphere.
Sam's eyes narrowed.
Because unlike Dean, he actually knew who Lilith was.
"Who the heck is she?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow. "Your ex?"
*****
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