War, What's it good for? Absolutely nothing!

Disclaimer: Nope still nothing, was hoping for an early birthday present from Mr Kripke but sigh still nothing.

Author's Note: This is a different story altogether for me so please bear with me. This is a futuristic story, everything in the show has been and passed, the biggest difference is that all of the seals are broken

Author's Note 2: I would also just like to apologise for not answering reviews, I appreciate each and every one, I save them to my own files as well as here on FF. Life is just so hectic for me that I am having trouble just keeping up with updates and figure that they are more important than anything else. So here is a big {{{{{HUGS}}}}}} to all of my reviewers and {{{{HUGS}}}} to those who like to read and lurk, your presence is just as appreciated.

Chapter Four: Who's afraid of the big bad Winchester?

S—D

Present Day:

Bobby yawned, scratched at his beard, shifted his cap on his head before he stood and stretched for the last week he sat in vigil between the beds of the Winchester brothers.

It was all too familiar to him, not that long ago he watched over the brothers, as Sam fought back from having his back broken and Dean from the life-threatening internal injuries he had sustained before Sam had arrived.

Seven days had passed since they found the boys in the old mill, seven days since they once again prayed while Ethan worked on his boys. 'Sorry Johnny but they are mine now, maybe not by birth but mine just the same.' He muttered while he absently scratched at his injured leg and tried to get comfortable once again.

'Stubborn men and their stubborn ways.' He heard a woman's voice behind him, a small smile graced his craggy features, 'don't know what to do for their own good.'

'Mornin' Janice.' He turned slightly and looked up at the nurse, 'you sound nice and happy.'

'Ha! I'll be happy when you stay off that leg and these boys stay out of trouble for two minutes.' Janice huffed without any heat in her voice. 'How they doing?'

'M'fine.' Dean mumbled sleepily, 'what?'

'Nice to see yer awake so I can whack yer on the side of yer head yer great eedjit.' Bobby groused, 'and that brother of yours.'

'Sammy?'

'He's right next to yer.' Bobby moved slightly to give Dean an unimpeded view of his brother.

'How?'

'Ethan will be here soon, how bout you son?' Bobby laid a gentle hand on Dean's arm and squeezed it slightly, 'you two gave us a helluva scare.'

'Bobby ... Sammy he – he.' Dean winced as pain coursed through him, 'fuck Bobby.'

'Janice where's that Ethan?' Bobby yelled, 'Ethan!'

'Here, I'm here what's wrong?' Ethan hurried into the room and skidded to a stop when he saw Dean awake, 'how you doin' there Dean?'

'He's in pain how do ya think he's doing?' Bobby moved out of the young doctor's way but in the process he banged his leg on the end of the bed and let lose with a string of cusses before he realised that Janice was still standing behind him.

'Okay now you have that out of your system, you old coot come on and I'll get you something for that leg.'

'Give over woman.' Bobby frowned but willingly took Janice's offered arm, 'I aint no invalid.'

Dean watched Bobby and Janice leave while Ethan injected some pain relief into the IV port. 'So Dean how's the pain level?'

'Fine.'

'Honestly?'

'Ah bout a twelve.' Dean grudgingly admitted, 'ahh but that's making it feel better.' He sighed as he felt the drugs attack his pain.

'Now let's see to those new surgical scars of yours.' Ethan noticed that Dean's gaze kept flickering to Sam and smiled at his patient, 'want to hear about Sam first?'

'Huh?' Dean blinked up at the doctor, was he really getting that predictable? 'Ah yeah thanks doc how is he?' He asked sheepishly.

'We stitched up all of the welts, treated his burns, and repaired the tear in his shoulder, but ...'

'But what doc? What are you?'

'I'm worried about the headaches, he burst the blood vessels in both eyes this time I need to send him for an MRI but ... it's just too risky you've both got ... worse now than when the FBI were after you.'

'Yeah I know, especially since Sammy was able to send Lilith packing.' Dean glanced over at his still sleeping brother, taking in the gauntness of his face, the dark smudges that had taken up permanent residence under Sam's eyes and the thick bandage swathed around his left shoulder. 'He's gonna be pissed when he finds out that he can't wheel himself around.'

'Dean ... there ahh ... there were some other problems we found with Sam's spine.'

'Ethan?'

'There's considerable swelling just above his original injury site.' Ethan said with a heavy heart, 'it's pressing ...'

'Out with it doc.'

'I am hopeful that when it settles nothing will happen and he'll be fine but, at the moment Sam probably has little or no feeling from his neck down.'

S—D

County Hospital

Angel's Bluff, Missouri

November 8th 2009

Sam laid in his hospital bed, relieved finally to be able to lie on his back for short periods of time. He took a deep shuddering breath, and turned to look at his older brother, Dean was asleep, but moving restlessly, a soft moan slipped from his dried and cracked lips.

'Dean?' Sam whispered recognising the signs, the small tells of Dean's, the ones that show just how bad the nightmare is for him. 'Dean?' A tight lump in Sam's throat made it hard for him to swallow, desperate to console his sibling, Sam pulled his unresponsive body up the bed, his arms shaking with the effort as he managed to sit up. Not willing to rest or to take a calming breath, Sam dragged one dead leg at a time over the edge until he could brace himself on the side of the bed. 'Dean?'

Turning stiffly Sam found his wheelchair sitting where he had discarded it the day before when the therapists brought it to him to try and use.

'No Sammy.' Dean's cry was so filled with anguish it broke Sam's heart and he reached for his chair, his fingertips grazed the handle. Off balance Sam toppled face first to the floor.

'Boys?' Bobby pushed the door open and stepped into the darkened room, as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the sudden change in lighting, his gaze finally rested on Dean's restless form as he writhed through another nightmare. He quickly glanced over at Sam's bed and cussed under his breath when he saw it was empty, 'what the hell is going on?'

He stepped closer to both beds when a tiny movement caught his eye making him look down, 'ah no Sam?' He gasped, simultaneously he pressed the call button and dropped to his knees next to the fallen young man. 'Sammy?'

A heart wrenching cry from the occupied bed had Bobby feeling like he was literally splitting in two. 'What do I do now? Someone tell me coz I swear I'm about to lose it.' He mumbled as he pressed trembling fingers to Sam's throat and felt for the nice strong pulse, 'damn it all to hell.'

'Mister Singer?' Nurse Tracy Westerly hurried into the room responding to the emergency buzzer, 'what's ... oh my?'

'Not sure what happened Tracy I came in and found him like this.' Bobby said succinctly, 'gonna need some help to git him back into bed.'

'If you brace his shoulders, I'll get his feet.' Tracy crouched down and steadied herself as she took a tight grip of Sam's feet. Firstly, they carefully rolled Sam onto his back and straightened his limbs, before Bobby and Tracy levered him up and back onto his bed.

'S'mmy?' Dean cried out, his eyes snapped open and he stared over at the other bed while he tried to control his erratic breathing. 'What's ... Sammy?'

'Stay put Dean,' Bobby grumbled going over to the older brother, 'let Tracy check him out.'

'What happened?'

'Not sure but looks like he face-planted the floor.'

'How? Sam can't move ... he's a – a Para...' Dean started to cough and choke as his lungs refused to let any oxygen in or out.

'You have to calm down Dean, please for your sake, for Sam's sake calm down.' Bobby coached the younger man hating to have to pull the Sam card but it seemed to be the only calmative that worked.

Tracy finished settling Sam back into his bed, she reconnected his IV into the cannula in the back of his hand, but this time she also replaced the electrode patches to monitor his heart rate and then she slipped the oxygen nasal cannula under his nostrils before raising the head of the bed slightly. After making sure that he looked comfortable Tracy pulled the railings back up and locked them into place, 'I'm just going to get Sam's doctor to give him a once over.' She said trying to sound reassuring.

'Is he alright?' Dean gasped out still unable to catch his breath properly. Tracy shook her head and placed the nasal cannula under Dean's nose and watched as his breathing immediately eased as fresh oxygen began to pump into his overworked lungs. 'Tracy?'

'The most troubling thing is that he hasn't woken yet, he may have hit his head harder than we realised, other than that he had a small split on his lower lip from where he caught it on his tooth, but I want the doctor to check him just in case.'

'How? How can he just climb out of bed like that?' Dean asked his gaze shifting from Tracy to Bobby, 'how?'

'Danged pure Winchester stubbornness, your daddy instilled into both of ya at a too early age ... aint nuthin can be done for it now.' Bobby grumbled with no heat in his teasing words, 'you were in the throes of a pretty nasty nightmare Dean.' Bobby said after Tracy went to find Sam's physician.

'Yeah I was huh?'

'So what was it about?' Bobby pressed, knowing from experience Dean would bottle it all up until the stress exploded in a fit of rage.

'Not much.' Dean suddenly found the covers on his bed very interesting, 'not ...'

'Dean Winchester do I hafta cuff yer head to bang some sense into ya?'

'I – I just can't get him out of my mind Bobby, the clearing. I so wanted to help but couldn't move. I watched as they tried to kill Sammy and couldn't even lift my little finger to help.' Bitterness dripped from Dean's words as his self-loathing reared its head for a split second before he clamped it down and shoved it back into the depths of his mind.

'De? Gotta help De.' Sam cried out rolling his head he slowly opened his eyes and stared miserably over at the other bed, 'Dean?'

'Right here Sammy ... what happened?' Dean pulled himself up enough to stare over at his baby brother.

'So what is going on in here?' Doctor Pointer breezed into the room closely followed by a gaggle of medical students and a harried looking nurse Tracy Westerly.

'What's with all the extra eyes doc?' Dean snarled, his opinion of the doctor treating his brother sliding down to the bottom rung, no, not low enough it slid down into the mud puddle under the ladder.

'These are my students,' the doctor said dismissively.

'Get them out.' Dean snarled his green eyes glittering dangerously with pent up emotions and anger, he was spoiling for a fight and set his sights on his prey.

'Now I assure you Dean that ...'

'No I assure you Doctor if you do not get them out of this room now, they will be scraping you off the floor.'

'There is no call for threats young man.'

'And there is no permission for me or my brother to be used for target practice for students, now get em out.'

The arrogant doctor stood staring at Dean for a moment longer before he dismissed the students to the hallway, and then he turned and ignored the older brother completely as he marched over to Sam's bed.

'So what have you done now young man?' the doctor demanded his spine stiffening when he felt a hand on his arm.

'Treat these boys with respect or you will be seeking treatment yerself got it?' Bobby spoke softly but firmly in the doctor's ear before taking up a post on the other side of the bed giving Dean a clear view of his brother and the doctor.

Doctor Pointer cleared his throat and tried again, this time he kept his tone of voice neutral while he examined Sam. 'Any pain?'

'No, except for another headache.' Sam mumbled wanting nothing more than to swipe the annoying hand away from his face.

'Well you don't need stitches for your lip, it'll be sore but that's all, now I do want to do a head CT just to make sure that you didn't ... that you didn't give yourself a head injury. Actually while you are there, I'll get them to do your spine as well, see how the healing is going.'

'My, my spine?' Sam blinked up at him with watery moss green eyes, 'why?'

'It's the easiest way to assess the healing process with the micro-surgery.'

'Fine.' Sam mumbled and turned his head slightly so he couldn't see anyone's eyes, he just wanted to block them all out.

S—D

Present Day:

'I'll be okay Dean.' Sam spoke so softly that it took a couple of seconds for Dean and Ethan to register the words.

'Sammy?' Dean blinked and tried to pull himself up a bit more, wincing at the pull on his stomach. 'Ah fuck it.'

'Dean please calm down.' Ethan counselled his friend before moving over to his other friend and patient. 'Now Sam how you doing?'

'M'tired,' Sam yawned, 'back hurts.'

'It hurts?' Ethan asked in shock, 'where Sam?'

'Between my shoulder blades,' the slightly slurred answer made Ethan smile, wha'?'

'That's actually good news Sam.' Ethan grinned widely and turned to Dean for a moment, 'Sam has feeling between his shoulder blades, I think we've averted a potential disaster.'

'What you two on about?' Sam slurred, blinking owlishly at his doctor and brother.

'You had swelling on the spine Sam, I was worried that it might impede your upper body movement.'

'Oh.' Sam yawned and let his eyes slide shut while he kept his gaze on Dean's face, 'that all?' He finished with a soft snore as sleep once more claimed him.

'Master of the Understatement he is.' Dean quipped shaking his head. 'So it really is a good sign?'

'Definitely, if he had no pain, no feeling then my earlier ... let's just say that someone is finally looking out for Sam.' Ethan sat on the edge of Dean's bed and scrutinised him carefully, 'talk to me Dean.'

'What?'

'What happened out there? You have to talk to someone so ...'

'We got ... it was a trap Ethan.' Dean looked up at his friend, his eyes filled with such sorrow and grief the forest green colouring shone almost black. 'The intel was corrupted, thank God Bobby ... he got out alright didn't he? I mean he says that he's okay but I saw the limp and just before when he hit his leg.'

'Bobby had a concussion and a bullet wound to his thigh.' Ethan answered preferring to keep everything honest and out in the open with the older Winchester brother after seeing first hand the aftermath lies and deception causes with Dean.

'But he-he's gonna be okay?' Dean asked sounding more like a small child than an adult, 'he's the closest thing we have to a father now.'

'He's fine, and in fact if Janice has her way ...' Ethan's cheeky response and grin brought Dean back from his funk for a brief moment, 'so it was a trap?'

'Ah yeah, dunno what happened the only thing ... Ethan I think that we have a mole in the ranks. Someone is feeding our intel to Lilith's minions. She knew exactly when to strike and what to do.'