-1Thank you thank you for your wonderful replies, as I have said countless times it is for you guys that I keep this angst goodness flowing. I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much!!! Remember to review and let me know what your thinking!

Bar Fights & Bullets

Chapter 7

Eyes. Eyes were burning into Dean, staring and gawking as they made there way into the restaurant which to the wheelchair bound man felt far to small and cramped. He swallowed hard, everyone was looking at him like he was some circus attraction, at least that's how it felt as he bowed his head deciding the carpet was a much less judgmental thing to look at.

John took note of the reaction both from his son and the people currently residing inside. He drew his lip between his teeth as Dean's head dropped lower and a small soundless sigh came from his mouth, he knew that Dean hated attention like this, he hated feeling different in this way… But he also knew that his son could not live the rest of his life locked inside that apartment like some caged animal hiding and being protected from the world.

He knew that Dean was making it out in his head to be worse than it was, because he knew his son better than anyone on this planet including himself. He knew that Dean felt like this whole room was focusing on him, their eyes watching his every move fixed continuously on his imperfection.

And there were a few sets of wondering eyes, pitiful stares and apologetic expressions currently being tossed not only Dean's way but john's as well, as if to say, we are so sorry that you have to live with… Have to take care of someone like that…

Clearing his throat however John said nothing to these people as they passed by their ignorance far to much for him to even acknowledge them, instead he simply settled for a stare vengeful enough to murder, letting his eyes do the talking before sliding into the booth and softening them immediately as he gazed toward his eldest boys obviously uncomfortable and nervous form.

"We're just here to eat breakfast like everyone else son." He lamely attempted to ease his mind, but the truth be told, John knew there was nothing even he could say to make this feel any better, that this was something Dean was going to have to cope with, have to work past and learn to deal with on his own.

"I know." Dean never so much as cast his glance upward as he opened his menu and shifted his eyes to read the pages in front of him, even though suddenly his stomach was in so many knots he found himself far less than hungry.

"What can I get for you boys today?" A young, sweet voice was the next thing that Dean heard and he let his still down cast eyes wonder over slightly coming into contact with a pair of beautiful, tanned, toned, young stems… A smile played on the corners of his mouth as he slowly gave her the once over… Very slowly.

To Dean Winchester there was nothing more beautiful then a woman, the way their bodies seemed to fit so perfectly next to his, the way they smiled so sweetly at him as though he were the only thing they could see… Everything about them was just magnificent.

So As his eyes now came to rest on her breasts only a second or two away from her face, Dean had forgotten about everything. Everything that had happened to him up until this moment, the last few months passing him by in a blur, he was lost once more in a gorgeous woman's form placed before him like a delectable and delicious French desert his for the taking… and he couldn't wait to bite into it….

"And what can I get for you sugar?" Her voice broke into his mindless trance shaking him from his thoughts as he tilted his head the rest of the way up to meet her gaze, the minute he did so however… The second he looked at her, there in that stranger's eyes , the eyes of a beautiful blonde young woman, all his pain an anguish from the last few months was rediscovered… and it stung just as much, if not deeper then it had the first time around.

This was unlike any look he had been given from a woman before, Dean knew he was irresistible to the female race, it was common knowledge he was never shot down, he was never rejected…

But that, was before.

So much pity, her eyes read as if she were looking down at nothing more then a child, as though she felt bad for him, but feared him all the same, and it hurt, it hurt worse Dean had hurt in a long time, he was strong, fearless and irresistible, he was supposed to be looked at with admiration, and, and, and lust even… But not this…

John watched Dean's hands ball into fists in his lap and frowned deeply watching the seen unfold before him.

"Coffee… Black." Dean nearly growled before shoving the menu in the direction of the waitress and shifting to look once more at the horrible green and blue carpet beneath his wheels.

"Dean…" John whispered once the young woman was out of ear shot.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"Your brother needed time, I told you that already…"

"Well then why didn't he leave… I don't belong out here…. Not anymore." His head snapped up and John saw the anger flashing inside of them, the pain deep and devastating .

"So what? Your just gonna sit in that damn apartment all day and wait for your muscles to completely wither away, your just gonna stop living, and simply exists until one day when you finally drop dead."

"Looks like. Yeah"

"I don't think so son, that's not the Dean Winchester I know…. My son would never give up that easy."

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but your son is dead," Dean's face was stone cold, had a sense of finality to it as he looked not at but through his father. "He was shot down by a bullet… Two of them in fact, and he was announced D.O.A. on impact." The younger man smirked a little bitterly.

"You are my son." John exhaled loudly, "And we're gonna pull you though this Sammy and I were gonna help you… And you will walk again, then you can chase women ten times more beautiful then this one, women who don't stink like bacon grease and French fry oil."

Although his head nodded just once and his smirk grew just a little with a scoff Dean found only a smidge of humor in his father's statement, but at least he was trying… Which was more then Dean himself was doing.

- Pulling back up to the apartment the same sense of discomfort and awkwardness fell over the two oldest Winchester's as it was time for them to exit the vehicle.

"You can go get Sam you know?" Dean offered trying to sound nonchalant.

"You're my son, I can do this…" John retorted almost instantly swallowing hard, as he lifted Dean up and out of the car, "Besides it's not like I've never held you before, there was a time when you spent more time in my arms then out of them."

Dean's cheeks were pink with embarrassment now and he simply gave a little chuckle in response as his father pushed him toward the door letting them both inside.

Dean and John both had identical expressions of surprise and wonderment across their faces as they made there way into the living room… Sam had spent the last two hours not with himself, not taking an easy, no he had finished putting together the therapeutic equipment. The Parallel bars, the standing mechanism, the apparatus, everything was ready to go placed almost strategically against the far wall.

"Well, would you look at that." John smiled down at Dean his smile growing as he took note of the genuine gratefulness written across his son's features.

"Yeah… Look at that, when we left this morning this stuff was no where near finished. Aside from the bars of course."

John put a hand on Dean's shoulder just as they heard the bathroom door open, "I guess it just goes to show you, when you put your mind to it anything is possible."

Dean rolled his eyes and looked to his father, "Subtle dad. Very subtle."

Wearing only his grey sweat pants and still drying his hair freshly showered Sam made his way toward the two man in the center of the living room.

"Nice work son." John offered up a small thankful smile.

"Well, you know, I had some time to kill before you guys got back."

"Well good." Dean tore his eyes from the contraptions across the room to look at his brother, "When should we gat stared then?"

"No time like the present man, I even showered I figured if I'm gonna be holdin you up on there and all the last thing you need is the permanent stench of sweat box breaking your concentration."

"Noted. And appreciated." Dean smirked his brow cocking.

Sam walked over and picked up two metal and plastic leg braces before making his way back toward Dean and kneeling down at his feet un-strapping them. The braces fit all the way from his upper thigh to his toes and the minute his gaze fell to them Dean felt vomit once more return to his throat.

"Relax." Sam whispered his eyes glancing up at the slight hitch in his brothers breathing, "No one can see you, no one is here."

You are… Dad is…. Dean thought as his head bobbed up and down in response and he swallowed hard and loud.

"Now I've been reading quite a bit.. And the best I can tell you is that it's uh not as hard as it looks?"

"That's very reassuring thank you." Dean grumbled as he was now wheeled to the front end of the long metal parallel bars, they sat before him like a demon far worse then any he had faced, staring at him, taunting him, ripping him apart limb from limb before he even laid a finger on them. Dean closed his eyes and took in a deep breath and before he could open them again he remembered everything about how his life, how he had come to this and his heart grew weak his soul breaking…

3 Months 12 Days, 3 hours and 22 minutes earlier.

"Don't call them victims Sammy you make them sound innocent or something… Makes me feel bad."

"Nothing makes you feel bad." The two boys were only inches away from the Impala now as Dean reached into his pocket retrieving his keys.

"That's not true I-" Loud. Brain rattling loud, the sound of a single gunshot filled Dean's ears fallowed very abruptly by a powerful pressure against his back, as though someone had sucker punched him in his spine the air immediately rushed from his body.

A tinge of fear began to grow inside of him as he glanced up and over a little in Sammy's direction swallowing repeatedly trying to catch his breath,, Sam was not looking back at him though and Dean was thankful because even he knew fear was evident in his eyes at this point.

He'd been shot. Those Hillbilly bastards had put a bullet in him, he wasn't sure where though, the pain had not registered yet, but his body was beginning to feel numb already.

"What the hell was that?" Sam's voice sounds a million and one miles away, even though he is right next to Dean, within arms reach, and Dean wanted to reach out wanted reinforcements his brother could give him as he felt his feet swaying below him, his body giving way.

His world began to tunnel out, as though he were traveling farther and farther from it, his heart in his chest beating faster and faster, his body trembling… He knew then and there that this was it…

Dean was trained by his father to hunt and protect in any situation, especially when it came to his baby brother, there was nothing more important to him in this world then his Sammy, he would protect him with his last breath if he had to….

And now was the time to do that, even as the sounds of the world grew fainter and fainter by the mili-second, Dean heard it loud and clear, as though there was nothing going on around him and the rest of the world was silent, as he heard the sound of a trigger being pulled.

'Sammy No…' He thought to himself his pulse thumping at full speed as he felt his body now plummeting toward the ground and forced himself to fall to the side rather then face first. Relief washing over him as he felt what he knew to be his brother's body going down beneath his… He had saved him he had protected him, Sammy was safe, and that was what was important.

Slipping, the darkness was pulling him in now, his body felt weaker then he would normally ever allow it to as he blinked slowly looking at his brothers face, the last thing he believed he was ever going to see… 'Open your eyes' He thought to himself, 'let me see that your alright, tell me that I didn't fail.'

Cold. It was suddenly so cold, and the fog began to blanket the eldest Winchester's vision, Then there they were, his brother's kind and innocent gaze was now looking at him tainted with fear and worry. Dean hated putting that look on his brother's face causing him so much pain, but at least this was a pain he could get past, a pain he could move on from and physically he was safe.

"Sammy…" Dean grimaced at the weak and broken sound of his own voice, he wanted he needed to remain strong in these last few moments, for his brother, it was not his way, it was not his right to cry in devastation or in fear, it would only make things worse for Sam. The taste of blood began to taint his lips as he choked heavily and it felt like it took everything he had inside him just to cough,

Sam was crying now, Dean found it harder to hold on to his own tears and his consciousness as his brother's comforting yet scared voice graced his ears. "I'm here Dean…I'm right here…" He heard him whisper as he closed his eyes feeling his body being lifted, Sam's grip strong on him feeding him with warmth against his own chest.

Dean hated chick flick moments, he hated any real emotion, but right now, right at this moment he had never needed anything more, he had never felt safer then he did right now, and for a brief very brief moment he wondered why there had not been more hugs in there family something about this closeness felt right, it felt good, It gave strength.

Then the thought was gone, he opened his eyes and his brothers tear stained face came into view. There was more fear evident in them now then there had been only seconds ago, and Dean knew that whatever was happening, that wherever he had been shot this was a losing situation…

The darkness began to pull him again, and he fought, fought to keep from accepting it, if these were going to be his last moments, he wanted them to last as long as they could….

He opened his mouth again to speak his jaw heavy and almost immovable, "Sammy…" There were so many things he needed to be told, so many things he had never said so many things Sammy didn't know… but that single word irrupted a coughing fit that zapped the rest of what Dean had inside of him and more, he was colder now, so cold it felt like there was ice running through his veins,

He wanted to rest, he wanted to just close his eyes and rest, he needed to, he felt his entire body beginning to tremble with the cold air biting at his skin, Sammy was still looking at him, staring helplessly, searching, and then his eyes widened, they grew wider then Dean had ever seen them grew, sadder and darker then they had ever been.

He forced himself to focus, to fallow his brothers gaze; thick red blood was pooling around the two of them, so much of it, his blood…. He didn't fight it now, the trembling, the fear or the tears, there was no reason to, the darkness was creeping up into him and he wouldn't fight that either, he was so tired, so damn tired, he just couldn't fight anymore…

"I'm right here Dean.." He heard Sam's voice growing farther and farther in the distance… the fog slowly moving in on the vision of his brothers face in front of him.

"You stay with me Dean, You hear me? You Stay with me…." Sam's voice was pleading and desperate, and Dean wanted to, he wanted to hold on, but he couldn't he was tired, so tired, and cold so cold, the darkness was warm, didn't Sammy understand? The darkness was warm and he could rest there…. 'Sammy I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry….' He thought to himself

"C-C-C-Cold." He hadn't realized that the word had actually come from his own lips until the sound of his broken and small voice was heard through his ears….

The sounds of his brother's sobs slowly drifted from him, his vision slowly blackened and Dean didn't fight it, he was exhausted, and nearly numb, he felt tears begin slipping from his eyes, this was final curtain call… He could no longer see Sammy's face…. He could hardly even hear the whispers of his voice as he felt his brother's arms holding him… when all else slipped and right before the darkness hit that was the last memory he had, the warmth and the safety radiating from his brothers desperate grip.

'I'm sorry Sammy' He wished he could say, he wished he could tell him, but there was nothing noting he could do now….

Present Day

"Dean?" Sam's voice broke through the memory like a mega phone as he felt the younger man's hand on his shoulder and looked up at him, still sitting there in the chair before the bars. "You alright man?"

Dean nodded and knew by the expression on his brother's face that Sam could see the tears he was holding back, that he would never shed again…

"Alright…"

John stepped between the bars first making his way to the end where his son's were waiting for him, "Just remember Dean, there is no rush here, you don't need to heal yourself in one day and these things take time…."

Another nod was all the response John received. Dean's jaw was now locked in determination his features stiff and still. John put his hands out a little readying himself for any mishaps that might happen in the next few minutes making sure he was ready to support not only himself but his son if he needed to.

"Now put your hands one on each side and pull yourself up." Sam instructed as he strapped himself into the apparatus that would shortly bound him to his brother. "Use your upper body strength and lift then I'll move the chair and step in behind you…"

"What If I hurt you?"

"Your not going to hurt me… I'm bigger then you I can handle this…"

Dean drew his lip between his teeth and dropped his head a little putting a hand on each of the bars, he hated this he hated this more than anything, but that was good, that was a very good thing, he could use that hate, let it drive him to get better all the faster, use it to push himself into a recovery, everything and anything about Dean Winchester's life could be used as a weapon at one point or another.

And with that thought he pulled himself up and out balancing between the two bars his entire body aching almost immediately as he did so, the stain on his arms immense causing his muscles to bulge as he waited there.

"Look at me son." John ordered putting his hands on his son's waist, "If you need to you lean against me alright?."

"You feel the burn?" Sam asked trying to lighten the mood as he came up behind his brother and quickly strapped the apparatus around his waist having already moved the chair out of the way.

"Screw off…" Dean's teeth were now clenched together sweat forming on his forehead,.

"I know your nervous man…" His brother's voice was only a centimeter from his ear now, "But you can do this alright, nice and easy."

John stepped only a foot back now his eyes studying intensely as he watched Sam place his hands around Dean's waist their bodies directly against one another strapped together at the legs and waist.

Sam would step forward and dean's leg would fallow motion. Then the other foot, Both boys looking more than a little uncomfortable, but both also having the same look of determination and stubbornness across there faces.

Sam could feel his brother's weight falling back on him more and more with each single step he took, and the load was a lot to bare, but he didn't care, he told himself then and there, at that very moment, that he would do this everyday for the rest of their lives if he had to, that he was not going to give up on his brothers recovery no matter how long it took…

The guilt that he felt not the only thing driving him… No this, this was something much deeper. Much more important.