AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay… So here's the latest on my carpal tunnel imposed hiatus.

First off, updates to my stories will be starting up again, but I'm only going to be updating one story a month. The super long marathon writing sessions were part of why my wrists were so bad to start so that's something I need to stop. At the same time, not writing anything was sending my muses into overdrive and actually affecting my sleep so no more cold turkey on the writing.

Also, for some of my long-standing WIPs, if there's a story you would like to adopt to finish or rewrite, just let me know.

Now, I've posted these before, but just for the record, the following plot bunnies are up for adoption:

1. While filming his Food Network special 'Feasting on Asphalt', Alton Brown and his film crew come across the Harvelle Roadhouse.

2. Bobby's not the ghost haunting Sam and Dean but rather someone else. (Rufus, Ellen, Ruby… but someone unexpected)

3. Sam or Dean starts getting carpal tunnel. (Art imitating life, I guess)

4. Something funny involving Lucifer (Hallucination Lucifer, that is) and Sam. (I don't know! The bunnies don't make sense, they just move in!)

5. I'd love for someone else to use my OFC Celeste in a story. I keep trying to pin something down but no such luck. (Celeste is an angel who is supposed to be one of God's favorites. She focuses on healing and tends to be a bit of a pacifist.)

And lastly, there's one story line that's been bugging me for weeks so here it is:

6. Sam has been losing his hearing since he was 9—something that resulted in permanent injuries to himself and Dean during a hunt. When Dean goes to get Sam at Stanford years later, he finds Sam completely deaf and engaged to a girl named Maxine (Max, for short) who has a hunting past of her own.

OKAY!

Now that all that is out of the way, let's turn the focus of the notes onto this story.

First off, to reviewer cocoa85715—if you thought I was insane for possibly putting Dean in a wheelchair, you're going to swear I'm certifiable when you see what I'm actually going to do to him… and Sam and Kelly and Corey.

Also, Ruby is going to be coming into the picture in this chapter since John Winchester bumping off Yellow-Eyes at the start of this story.

AND NOW… What y'all are REALLY here for, the next chapter of 'What Goes Up…'!

And... really? NO ONE caught the 'House' reference last chapter? I'd have thought someone would have mentioned it.

Chapter 5

It was almost afternoon when John finally slipped into his son's hospital room the next day. The doctors had been testing all morning to see how bad the muscle disorder in Dean's legs was progressing, leaving the kid exhausted and sound asleep as John sat down next to his son's bed. Looking up at the sounds of footsteps in the doorway, he was surprised when he saw Gibbs come into the room.

"How's Dean?" Gibbs asked, looking at the sleeping teenager. He remembered seeing Kelly lying in the hospital only months ago and he knew how his friend must be feeling. At the time of the accident, Gibbs had been told that there was a likely possibility his little girl wouldn't be able to walk. But at her latest physical therapy session, Kelly had been walking fairly well on her own without assistance.

John sighed as he thought about what Dr. Hughes had told him earlier. She'd been reviewing the test results when he'd arrived on the pediatric floor of the hospital. In her office, Laurie had gone over said results with John, trying to be supportive but the facts weren't good. "Dean has a pronounced level of weakness in his legs," John replied quietly. Looking at Dean, he wished he could torture that ghost for doing this to his son. "Dr. Hughes is keeping him here for another week for a full evaluation while Dean's fitted for leg braces."

Gibbs didn't say anything for a while but after almost 10 minutes, he said, "Go home, John. Get some sleep. I'll call Special Agent Franks and tell him you're taking some time off and I'll stay with Dean for a while."

Maybe it was just how weary he felt in general, but John just sighed and nodded, standing up.

"Dad?" Dean said, waking up looking at his father. "Where were you earlier? What'd the doctors say about those test results? Am I going to be okay?"

Gibbs could tell that John wanted some time alone with his older son and said nothing as he headed out of the room.

xx

An hour later, Gibbs was at his desk at NCIS working on case reports when Mike Franks came in.

"Where's Winchester?" Franks asked, looking at the empty desk where his other probie usually sat.

"His son's in the hospital," Gibbs replied, succinctly. "He's taking a couple days off."

Franks looked at Gibbs and raised an eyebrow. "First your kid, then Winchester's," he said, shaking his head. "Sorry to hear it. You two have some shitty luck."

Gibbs just nodded in reply and went back to his work. He'd never been one to believe in luck—good or bad. Things just happened, sometimes without any apparent rhyme or reason. But then Kelly and Shannon's accident happened and Gibbs had almost lost the two most important people in his life. God, what would he have done if they'd died?

But he didn't dwell on those thoughts. Shannon and Kelly were alive and well and Gibbs could imagine Kelly being back to normal in no time. Turning his focus to the case reports on his desk, Gibbs went back to work.

6 Years Later

Every time Kelly Anne Gibbs walked down the hall at school, guys always eyed her the same way—starting with her legs and slowly roving all the way up to her face and her brilliant blue eyes. Even the seniors wanted a date with the incredible daughter of NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

But presently, as Kelly grabbed her books from her locker and shut the door, she only had eyes for the tall, trim sophomore student who was leaning against the lockers, his mop of brown hair falling across his brown eyes.

"Ready for Saturday?" Sam Winchester asked with a smile, brushing his shaggy, brown hair out of his face.

"Tri-State track finals?" Kelly replied, as she and her boyfriend headed to their class. "We are so going to cream Maryland and Pennsylvania. I mean, between your speed and every other guy staring at my ass—" Catching Sam's frown, Kelly rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know—you don't like me flaunting my butt or boobs. But I say if you've got it… why not?"

Sam didn't say anything but he wished Kelly wasn't so hung up on her looks. Yes, she was hot, and tons of other guys wanted to date her, but there was no doubt in Sam's mind that it was only because Kelly was so attractive.

Well, maybe her looks weren't the sole reason for her popularity, Sam realized as he and Kelly stopped to help one of the teachers who had dropped a pile of books and papers. Kelly was also very smart, sweet, friendly with just about everyone, as well as being athletic.

After recovering from the car accident when she was a kid, Kelly had jumped straight into sports—first soccer along with Sam when they were 12 and then track when the two entered high school.

For Sam, high school had started out awkward as he'd been kind of on the short side the first half of the freshman year. But by the end of the year, he'd hit several growth spurts at once and now Sam was even a couple inches taller than his brother, Dean. It was also awkward because the kids in Sam's school actually knew him—either because they knew him from middle school or they knew him as Dean Winchester's little brother.

It was strange to be at school and not be a total stranger. Sam had friends now, he had a life, he had a girlfriend… everything he'd missed out on as a kid while his dad hauled him and his brother across the country fighting monsters, ghosts, and demons.

But thinking of his brother and the supernatural, Sam let out a deep sigh as he thought of Dean's curent problem. Six years ago, Dean was cursed by a very, very angry ghost—something he actually had in common with his girlfriend.

Corey Adler had been cursed by the same ghost a couple years before Dean and as a result she'd developed lupus—an autoimmune disease occasionally causing intense joint pain, rashes, and a myriad of other symptoms. Although the worst symptom for Corey had actually been the hair loss—something that was usually temporary but for her had apparently become permanent.

But none of that had mattered to Dean. He and Corey had been friends for almost 7 years and seriously dating for 3. At first, the friendship had sparked because both Dean and Corey felt like outsiders. A year later, the two were dating and both seemed to be much happier than before.

Of course, the couple wasn't without problems. Corey's illness still flared up sometimes and several times she'd had to go to the hospital for treatment. But Dean was always with her when that happened, trying to help in any way he could.

And then there was Dean himself. When the ghost had cursed him, it had caused the muscles in his lower legs to get weaker. At first, Dean had been okay with just wearing the leg braces even though at school it caused a fair amount of teasing and harassment from the other students. Eventually, though, that had died away as Dean started making friends. But almost 3 years ago, he started having more and more trouble walking, necessitating the use of a pair of forearm crutches in addition to the braces.

"Mr. Winchester!"

Sam jerked out of his thoughts when his science teacher shouted and gave her his best puppy-dog look before muttering, "Sorry."

The teacher didn't say anything else but just gave Sam a 'pay attention' look before going back to the lesson.

xxxxx

After school, Kelly and Sam shared a brief kiss before Kelly went to meet her friends on the bus.

Sam, meanwhile, headed towards the curb where a gleaming black '67 Chevy Impala was parked. Leaning against the front of the car on the passenger's side, wearing his dad's old leather jacket, was Dean. He also leaned on his crutches, one foot on the asphalt of the school's driveway while the other was propped up on the edge of the curb. And even as used to it as he was, Sam's eyes were still drawn to the supportive braces on his brother's legs.

The braces were actually in two parts—the larger brace which started mid-thigh and ended at mid-calf was worn over Dean's jeans and supported his knee while the more discreet ankle brace could be hidden by the legs of his pants and the custom sneakers Dean wore.

"How was school?" Dean asked, giving his brother a grin.

"Not bad," Sam replied with a shrug and he tossed his bag in the backseat. He tried to keep Dean from noticing his stares but when Sam straightened up, he saw his brother's look.

"Don't say it, Sammy," Dean said with more of a snap in his voice than he'd intended. Seeing Sam's hurt expression, he wordlessly dug the car keys out of his pocket and handed them over before getting into the Impala.

Once Sam was behind the wheel, he started the car and drove out of the parking lot and out onto the road. When Dean started to turn on the radio, Sam immediately switched it off, earning an aggravated huff from his brother. "Hey, Dean," Sam began, not quite sure of what to say. But sensing that Dean really didn't want to talk about the problems with his legs, Sam switched gears and asked, "So when are you popping the question to Casey?"

Dean was quiet for a while as he thought about the question. In truth it had been something he'd been thinking about for several months now—ever since he'd turned 20. He and Casey loved each other and they fit so well together as a couple.

But dating and being married were two very different things—especially when you factored in Dean's leg muscle disorder and Casey's lupus.

Casey knew that there was nothing that could be done for her disease and on more than one occasion she had insisted that she wouldn't be hurt or offended if Dean broke up with her.

Of course, there were plenty of times when Dean had said the same thing, stating that his leg weakness was progressive and would get much worse as time went on.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts and looking at Sam, Dean just shrugged. "I don't know, Sam. We haven't really talked about it. Mostly these days… we just try to avoid breaking up."

Knowing how his older brother felt about 'chick-flick moments', Sam was reluctant to ask, but curiosity got the better of him and he asked, "You guys aren't really splitting up, are you?"

"Not this week," Dean replied, shaking his head. Changing the subject, he grinned as he asked, "So… Big track meet Saturday. You nervous?"

Sam started to shake his head but then stopped when he caught his brother's look. Knowing that he didn't have Dean fooled one bit, Sam shrugged. "I'm not nervous, exactly." Glancing at his brother again, he added, "Okay, I'm scared as Hell, alright?"

Dean laughed again and after a moment or two, Sam's laughter joined his.

xxxxxxx

"What do we got on that dead Marine?" Gibbs asked as he entered the squad room at NCIS, looking first at his partner, John Winchester, and then at Jenny Sheppard, the newest Special Agent on the team.

"A confession, believe it or not," Jen said with a slight smile. "I went back to talk to the lieutenant's CO to ask him about the affair with Lieutenant Vale's wife and he told me everything." Holding up a file, she added, "Just finishing my report now."

Gibbs nodded, wordlessly. He'd been worried that they'd still be spinning their wheels on this case by the weekend and he and John would miss the Tri-State Track Final. Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania would all be competing and Sam and Kelly were amongst those students chosen from the Anacostia High School Track Team to compete in the tri-state finals.

Sitting at his desk, the Senior Field Agent looked at a picture of Kelly tacked up on the wall next to his desk. Shannon had snapped the photo just as Kelly had launched herself at her father, wrapping her arms around his neck in an ecstatic hug. Gibbs smiled as he studied the picture. Every day—since Kelly was 8—he woke up and for one split second, wondered if it was all just some wonderful, crazy dream that was all going to come crashing down on him.

But every time he held Shannon in his arms or kissed her good morning or saw Kelly smiling at him, her blue eyes sparkling, Gibbs knew that this was not a dream and he was grateful for every second he had with his family.

"You're going to the meet?" John asked, noticing the photo Jethro was looking at.

"Kelly made me swear I'd be there," Gibbs replied, nodding as he finished up his own paperwork. "Even if it meant leaving in the middle of a case."

Across the bullpen, John finished up his own work and glanced over at Jen who caught his eye and gave him a wink in reply. He'd asked her last week if she'd wanted to come to the track meet and cheer Sam and Kelly on and she'd said 'yes'… and then she'd asked him if he'd wanted to get away for a few days. After all, they had that assignment in Paris that would be starting the following week.

"Am I missing something?" Gibbs asked, looking from John to Jen and back again. He saw the looks that passed between the two agents and tried not to smile. He remembered looking at Shannon that way when they were younger. And in all likelihood, a relationship between John and Jen wouldn't work out, but as Gibbs packed up and grabbed his jacket, preparing to leave for the day, he figured he'd just wait and watch for a while to see just what would happen.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Saturday arrived with blinding sunshine and balmy temperatures.

Inside an arena about 4 hours out of Washington, DC, the track was ready and cheer squads positioned themselves around the edge of the track, ready to root for their respective schools.

In the stands, parents and students wore t-shirts or held posters and banners stating which students and teams they were rooting for.

Positioned right above the cheerleaders from Anacostia High School, Gibbs, Shannon, John, Jen, Dean, and Corey watched Sam and Kelly as the two warmed up and stretched.

x

Across the way, a young blonde woman watched Sam Winchester as he got ready for the race.

Ruby wasn't sure of how she was going to get things back on track. 7 years ago—before John Winchester killed Azazel—this would have been much easier. But now she had to do a lot more manipulating to try and push Sam back into the dark world of demons and monsters.

And John… That son of a bitch bastard John Winchester was the goddamned wrench in the works screwing everything up.

Thinking about the whole situation, a new plan started to form in Ruby's mind. One that would kill two birds with one stone—eliminate John Winchester and get the apocalypse back on track. But how to do it?

More importantly, how to do it without drawing too much attention to herself? She would have to force John to make a deal, she concluded after a while. The man had a fucking Achilles' heel the size of a Mack truck when it came to his sons and as Ruby thought about the best way to manipulate the situation, she glanced at Sam's friends and family—specifically Dean.

Of course… If Sam were injured badly enough, his father would do anything to save him.

Ruby watched as the meet began and her eyes fixed on Sam's body as he ran. Damaging such a fine male form would be a shame, so any obvious physical injury was out. But something subtle… something life-altering that Sam wouldn't be able to ignore…

And as Sam Winchester narrowly won the track meet and his teammates and supporters erupted in cheers, the final pieces of Ruby's plan finally fell into place and a clever smile spread across her face.

xxx

That evening, there was a huge party for the winning team in the banquet hall on the 3rd floor of the arena and as much fun as Sam was having, he couldn't stop glancing over at his brother who was just sitting at one of the tables, nursing a bottle of soda and watching the party.

It wasn't fair, Sam thought to himself for the umpteenth time. Dean had always been there to help him out but Sam was powerless to help his brother with his own problems.

"Everything okay?" Kelly asked, sidling up to her boyfriend and giving him a light bump with her left shoulder and a smile.

Sam nodded wordlessly at he watched Corey sitting down with Dean, saying something indistinguishable. After a while, he said, "Dean's legs are getting worse. He hasn't said anything about it, but he's limping a lot more these days. And Dad doesn't like him driving anymore just in case…" He didn't say 'in case' what, but the deeper meaning was obvious. Looking at Kelly, his brown eyes full of sadness, Sam added, "I just wish there was something I could do for him, you know? Dean has done so much for me. I'd give anything to be able to help him."

Kelly didn't say anything but she pulled Sam into a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck, even though she had to go up on her toes to do so. When Sam hugged her back, she smiled into his shoulder and said, "You'll get through this, Sam. I know you will."

While Corey went to help herself to the buffet that was laid out and talk to her sister who had just arrived at the party, Shannon Gibbs made her way over to the table Dean was sitting at and sat down next to him. "I know it's been hard on you and Corey the past few years," she began when Dean gave her a curious look. "I mean, just the two of you dealing with Corey's illness is hard enough but dealing with her lupus and your muscle disorder…" Putting a warm, comforting hand on Dean's arm, Shannon gave the young man a smile and added, "The two of you need each other. You love each other and no matter how good the argument is, you and Corey just can't split up. And I think that says something as to just how strong your relationship is."

Reaching into her pocket, Shannon pulled out an old engagement ring and handed it to Dean. "This was my grandmother's. They were married for more than 50 years and had probably one of the best marriages I've ever known."

Dean held the ring for a moment and looked at Shannon a touch surprised. "You're not my mom, you know," he said, lightly. "You don't have to do this."

Shannon laughed and gave Dean's shoulder a loving squeeze. "I know, Dean. But I also know that you and Sam are family. Besides," she added, giving a brief nod to Sam and Kelly who were sharing a kiss at one of the corner tables. "—someday we'll probably be in-laws."

Without saying another word, Shannon stood and gave Dean's shoulder one last squeeze before she went over to John and Jethro who were talking while sipping drinks. Gibbs saw the smile on his wife's face and raised an eyebrow as he asked, "Something I should know about?"

Shannon shrugged in reply and silently watched Dean as he waited until Corey came back to the table with a loaded plate and a bottle of water before slowly getting up from his chair and going down on one knee.

x

Dean had thought about what he'd say when he'd finally ask Cordelia Adler to marry him. He'd thought about the situation and the method of proposing…

But as he'd studied the ring that had belonged to Shannon Gibbs' grandmother, Dean decided to pass on all the ideas he'd had before. Even as he slowly went down on one knee he knew it was a bad idea and there was a really, really good chance he wouldn't be able to get back up without help.

But if he was going to ask his girlfriend to marry him with almost 100 people in the room, then Dean was going to have to make sure he did this right. Sure enough, as soon as the other students and their families had seen him standing before kneeling, they all stopped talking or whatever and turned in the direction of Dean and Corey's table.

Looking at the only girlfriend he'd ever had, Dean took Corey's hands in his and said, "For about 10 years I felt like an outsider. I was always going from school to school, never staying in one place for very long. Until I met you, I never even had a real friend. Someone I could really talk to."

Corey's eyes shone with tears as she looked at Dean. She knew how he felt because ever since she'd been sick, she'd felt the same way.

Dean paused a second and went on, trying not to mess up his words. "I love you, Corey. I love everything about you and no matter how bad a day I'm having or… You're always there for me. And I never want that to go away. I want us to always be there for each other." Holding out the ring, he asked, "Cordelia Adler… will you marry me?"

Tears fell down Corey's cheeks and she couldn't even find her voice as she let Dean slide the ring onto her the ring finger of her left hand. After a while, she nodded and beamed as she said, "Yes. Yes, Dean, I'll marry you!"

Cheers and applause rang through the room as Corey and Dean shared a passionate kiss but after a minute, Dean's smile faded, replaced with a pained look. When Corey looked concerned, Dean said, quietly, "Damn it… I can't get up."

As if he'd heard his brother from across the room, Sam rushed over and together, he and Corey helped Dean to his feet. Looking at his dad who had hurried over along with Shannon and Gibbs, Sam said, "Hey, Dad, I think I'm going to get Dean home."

"You sure you're okay?" John asked his older son as Dean leaned on his crutches.

Dean nodded, quickly. In truth, he wasn't okay, but right now he just wanted to go home to the apartment he shared with Corey and stretch out in the reclining chair. "I'm fine, Dad. Really," he assured the older Winchester.

"Hey, I'll go with you guys," Kelly said, quickly, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder and following her boyfriend, Dean, and Corey out of the room after a hasty good-bye to her parents.

John rubbed his face with one hand, not liking the odd sinking feeling in his gut. On the one hand, he was over the moon about Dean getting married. Corey was a good person and she'd been great at helping Dean deal with the muscle disorder slowly weakening his legs. Feeling someone take his hand, he turned to see Jen standing next to him, a gentle and reassuring smile on her face.

"You still want to get away for a while?" Jen asked, knowing that John was thinking more about his sons than romance.

But John just nodded resolutely and after making excuses to leave, he and Jen headed for a nearby hotel where most of the out-of-town track meet families were staying.

Unbeknownst to the retired hunter and his girlfriend, Shannon and Jethro had decided to make similar plans.

xxxxxxxxx

In Corey's car, Sam sat in the rear passenger seat with Kelly on his left. While Kelly had fallen asleep almost immediately, Sam was wide awake as he watched his brother driving.

It was getting late and the sun had just fully set on the vast empty stretch of Virginia countryside. The moon was full and the sky was clear so the fields and hills were bathed in moonlight as Dean followed the winding road. Sure, the interstates were faster but they were also more congested and one of the things Dean had always loved about when he was little was the long drives on two-lane asphalt.

After a while, even Sam nodded off, his head lulling against the window.

Next to Dean, in the front passenger seat of the car, even Corey had her eyes closed.

As he started to go through the intersection up ahead, Dean's last thought before the truck slammed into his side of the car was how perfect the evening had been.

xx

The truck was a heavy-duty pick-up and behind the wheel, Ruby kept her foot on the gas pedal for a moment until—as she'd hoped—momentum sent the old Ford four-door right into the one solitary tree along the side of the road.

Getting out of the truck, the demon went over to the car and looked at the unconscious inhabitants. From what she could see, Dean's right leg looked like it was pinned because of the leg brace and his left knee was grotesquely twisted. In the passenger seat, Corey Adler was bleeding from a bad cut above her left eye and her nose was clearly broken. Going to the backseat, Ruby smiled evilly as she wrenched open the door and saw Kelly Gibbs' broken left arm. The girl had been lucky, apparently, as she didn't seem to have any other injuries.

Grabbing Kelly's arm at the elbow, Ruby twisted the limb sharply, making the injury worse before withdrawing a knife and cutting up the teenager's face a little bit. Not enough to make the young redhead grotesque, but enough that the scars would always be noticeable.

And then Ruby moved on to Sam who was somehow still somewhat semi-conscious.

"Who's… there…?" Sam muttered, trying to move to see who had opened his door. He could feel the cool, nighttime air…could hear an owl hooting and crickets chirping…but he couldn't see anything. "I can't see you…"

"Perfect," a female voice said, sounding happy. "I couldn't have planned this any better."

There was a sharp burst of pain as something hit Sam right in the eyes before he was finally consumed by unconsciousness.