Supernatural does not belong to me, although I wish it did. I am simply playing in Kirpke's sandbox for a bit. All rights and ownership are the property of Kripke and the CW network. I am not making any money from this; it is for my own personal pleasure.

Synopsis: Set at the start of Season One, Dean had been in a wheelchair since his father disappeared more than a year ago and he finally has to tell Sam… There'd been an accident that night and Dean had paid a very high price….one he still doesn't understand. The story will have some hunts from season one and possibly into season two…the brothers will continue their search for their father…there will be alterations to the hunts to accommodate Dean's new situation. I have every intention of returning Dean to good health before this ends…but getting there is going to be bumpy.

Please keep in mind that I do not have a Beta, so all grammatical errors are my own. Not Slash. Brotherly love and Angst only…

Please Review: They help me write...

Chapter 2

A Hunt...Good Idea or Bad Idea

Dean watched his brother wave goodbye to his friend as the tall blonde kid named…what was it?...oh yeah Brady. Drove away in his car with some girl in the other car they had driven over in. In another lifetime he would've been hitting on the cute brunette as soon as they had pulled up…but these days…he just didn't want to make the effort. Hell, he'd never been shot down and he didn't exactly want to break that streak now…besides…who would wanna be hit on by a guy in a wheelchair? It wasn't that Dean didn't think that he could probably still sweet talk the ladies…but he just wouldn't want to drag them into something with him…he wasn't even sure if he could seal the deal… He felt kinda bad that Sam's friends had had to drive all the way out here, but there wasn't he could do about his brother's chosen mode of transportation.

Dean's green eyes shifted and softened as he fondly stared at the sleek black Chevy now parked in front of their motel, the pale gold and yellows of the setting sun glinting off her shiny exterior. Sam had made several calls throughout the day, starting with his friends, then placing a call to the school, and finally talking to his boss at some part time job he apparently had at the campus bookstore. His brother had explained that there had been a family emergency and that he needed to take the remainder of the semester off…kinda like a leave absence. Then his little brother had walked the mile and a half to the shop where the Impala had been and picked her up, driving back to the motel…to an extremely relieved older brother.

Dean rolled over to the car and lovingly ran his fingers along the highly polished fender, his eyes closing in pleasure at the smooth feel of the paint. And then he remembered that if the car needed to be washed or polished or even tuned up…he wasn't going to be able to do it…not without help. His good mood dissipated quickly as the realization struck home causing him to glance back over to Sam's overly observant gaze. Dean's eyes were drawn down to the totally useless legs attached to his hips, the feeling in them stopping just below his pelvic bone, while the numbness extended all the way to his toes. He sighed and sank further into the leather back of his wheelchair, his fingers dropping to absently pick at his pants…a habit that he seemed to have picked up when he realized that he couldn't feel anything…interesting that it mirrored Sam's habit. He wondered somtimes if it was just to reassure himself that his legs were indeed still there. His gaze flickered back up as Sam walked back toward him, his expression distant…and something else that Dean didn't recognize. He figured there were probably a lot of things that he was going to have to relearn about Sam.

He turned away from the car and rolled himself back toward the motel, he was surprised to feel someone step up and start pushing him, Dean slammed his palms into the wheels and stopped their forward motion. "I got it Sam…I've been pushing myself for a year now." He said his voice edged with irritation and resignation. Sam hadn't been around when he could have used a little 'push' in more ways than one. So he really didn't need to worry about trying to help out now, Dean was just catching their combined reflection in the window of the motel as Sam stepped away with a soft 'Sorry.' Great, now I feel like an asshat... He thought in exasperation. It wasn't that he didn't want Sam there, obviously…because Dean had called him, but he didn't want Sam to take away what little autonomy he still had.

"Sorry Sammy…" he said quietly. Dean was careful to remove the anger and frustration from his voice, his didn't want to hurt Sam, but he still hadn't really accepted this whole 'thing'…so the anger was close to the surface. It also didn't help that he secretly wondered if the only reason that Sam had come at all is because he'd told his little brother that their father was missing…and that Sam was only staying because he felt sorry for Dean.

Sam saw the shift in his brother's face…Dean had been pleased to get his baby back…but that turned out to simply be another reminder of what he'd lost in the last year. His brother seemed to have lost much of his drive…hell he hadn't even looked for their father as far as Sam knew….and that really wasn't like his 'obedient' soldier of an older brother. "It's okay Dean…I get it." He replied simply, grabbing the handle of the door and twisting it open. Dean's hand flew up and he grabbed Sam's elbow pulling him around to face his older brother's questioning green eyes.

"What 'exactly' do you get?" he asked as he stared intently at Sam.

Sam shifted uncomfortably and inhaled slowly reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose in an attempt to alleviate some of the tension that was so thick he could've cut it with a dull butter knife. "Nothing Dean…just forget I said anything." He pulled his elbow from Dean's grasp and walked into the room without another backwards glance.

Dean watched with frustration as Sam fall back into the same secretive habits he'd had as a teenager…the kid had consistently pushed Dean away as he got older. That might've been the second hardest thing that Dean had ever had to deal with…the first being that night Sam left him with their father. He felt a flutter of something uncomfortable in his stomach at the thought of their dad…so he pushed that thought away and rolled into the room, pushing the door shut behind him. Sam was sitting on his bed flipping through the limited TV channels in this cheap ass motel, his face blank of any expression.

Dean took the opportunity to look at his 'not-so-little' brother…Sam had gained even more height, if that was possible, he had also gained weight. It looked like his brother had maintained some sort of training regime while he'd been at school. He looked every bit the hunter that their dad had trained him to be. Dean glanced away and caught his own reflection in the bathroom mirror…at least one of use fulfilled dad's expectations…the thought bounced through his head so fast that he wasn't able to hide the pain of the random thought. As he looked back up he was horrified to see Sam staring at him, his face twisted in concern and a peculiar look that Sam always got when he was 'figuring' something out. Dean quickly rolled away so that he wasn't looking in that direction anymore, grabbing the phone book off the table and flipping to the pizza delivery places.

"Pizza okay for dinner?" he asked, without looking at his brother.

Sam rolled his eyes as he saw Dean's walls slam back into place. He'd thought that he saw something akin to disappointment slice across Dean's pale face before the 'great wall of Dean' went back up…but he couldn't be certain. He exhaled loudly at the thought of being back to eating crappy fast food; he missed his organic salads with chicken and balsamic dressing. "Yeah, that's fine Dean." He said without any enthusiasm.

"Well don't bust a gut there Sam." Dean snarked as he flipped through the book until he landed on something that looked like it would work. He looked for his phone, realizing that it wasn't in his pocket on the side of his chair.

Sam saw it on the nightstand and wondered if he should go get it for Dean or if his brother would just be pissed that he'd had the nerve to try and help…God forbid. He decided to risk his brother's wrath and walked over to the stand, picking up the small silver flip phone; he turned toward his brother's searching eyes and held up the phone.

Dean's eyebrows came together in irritation and his head tilted to the side as he held his hand out silently. Sam rolled his eyes and tossed Dean's phone at him, Dean realized a fraction of a second too late that he wasn't going to be able to catch the little flying object. He leaned out to the side, reaching too far off to the right, his balance shifting forward and causing his body to slide from its neutral position in the chair. "Shit!" he cried as he felt his legs slip and then the rest of his body follow as he fell to the floor in a pile of tangled limbs and embarrassment.

Sam watched the whole thing like it was in slow motion, his brother's over correction of his lost balance and then the awful sight as Dean realized his mistake and his face flooded with humiliation as he was unable to stop his less than graceful descent to the floor. "Oh God Dean…I'm so sorry." Sam cried as he ran forward trying to prevent Dean's complete and utter collapse onto their motel's questionably clean carpet.

Dean batted at his hands angrily and shook his head as he bit his lower lip, closing his pain-filled eyes for moment. He needed to get control of his raging emotions. He was embarrassed…more than anything else. "I don't need any help Sam! It's not the first time I've fallen and there hasn't been anyone there to pick me up…I'm fucking fine." He bit out the response through clenched teeth as he twisted his upper body and grabbed his chair, using his strong arms to pull himself back into the chair, situating his legs so his feet were on the silver platforms at the base of the chair.

Sam's face was screwed up into the 'wounded puppy look' again, only this time he looked like he wanted to cry. Dean's words had cut…and they had cut deep. He dropped his blue-green eyes as Dean looked up at him, "I'm sorry Dean." He whispered and walked back to sit quietly on his bed, picking up the remote again and ignoring his older brother's suddenly apologetic face.

Dean scrubbed a hand across his face and back through his blonde hair in frustration…this wasn't going how he'd pictured it. He was doing everything wrong and he was hurting his little brother in the process, he'd meant what he'd said earlier…Sam hadn't known he was hurt and Dean was pretty sure that Sam would have come if he had. At least Dean hoped that Sam would've come for him if he'd known. But there was always a chance that Sam would've been more concerned about school or their father than he would have been about Dean. Their relationship was a fraction of what it had been when they were young…Dean was no longer the hero and Sam definitely wasn't the star-struck little brother anymore. Especially now…Dean wasn't even sure that he could live up the role of a big brother and hero…not in this condition.

Their food arrived twenty seven minutes later…Dean knew this because he had watched the clock to see how long it would take Sam to start talking to him again…his stoic little brother still hadn't said a word. Now they were seated at the table, Sam in a normal chair and Dean in his wheel chair. Dean decided that he'd had enough of the silent treatment. "Should we call Bobby?" he asked as he popped a piece of pizza into his mouth chasing it with a beer.

Sam's eyes shifted to Dean and he shrugged his shoulders, "Probably." He said simply.

Dean furrowed his eyebrows at the short answer and shook his head as he reached for his phone. He flipped it open and found the number for one Bobby Singer…and hit send. He didn't have to wait for long, after two rings there was a gruff voice answering on the other end of the line.

"Hello?" Bobby's voice was rough with age and whiskey…he sounded exactly how Dean remembered from his childhood. He and Sam had spent many a summer running around the salvage yard while their father had been off hunting…Dean didn't want to think about the fact that he may never run again…

"Uh…hey Bobby. This is Dean…Dean Winchester." He managed around the lump that formed in his throat at the happier memories. Sam watched him with somber eyes and picked absently at his own pizza.

"Seriously! You damn idgit! You think I don't know who you are by your name alone?" Bobby groused.

Dean smiled and looked down at the floor. "Yeah…I guess I don't need an introduction do I?" he said.

Bobby huffed into the receiver, "Not even a little bit boy. How're you doing?"

Dean rolled his eyes up and they connected momentarily with his brother's gaze. He shifted the phone to his other hand and rolled in a slight circle so he was pointed at the tv. "Honestly…I've been better." He said slowly.

"What's that supposed to mean Dean? You okay? Your brother okay? Where's your father?" Bobby's voice was picking up both strength and pitch as he rambled through the questions.

Dean inhaled and then scratched his head before he continued. "Sam's good. He's here with me now. I don't know where dad is…" he let the other question hang.

Bobby wasn't a fool; he heard the avoided question like a bullhorn. "You okay son?" he asked, his voice softening slightly.

"Can we come and see you Bobby?"

"You're always welcome here Dean, you know that. That loaded shotgun was for your daddy…not you boys." Bobby's falling out with John Winchester had nothing to do with the boys directly…it was more indirectly. Bobby had seen the bruises on Dean and he knew damn well that they hadn't come from any hunt…John was taking his anger out on his eldest son. And that had pissed Bobby off to no end, so he had warned John to either cut the shit out or get the hell out of his house and off his property. Apparently it had been more important to beat his son than to maintain his friendship with a fellow hunter. It had nearly broken Bobby's heart to watch John drive away with Dean in the passenger seat, knowing that the kid was gonna catch hell for Bobby's outburst…he hadn't heard from any of the Winchester's since that day.

"Dean. Are. You. Okay?" Bobby said slowly, enunciating each word for emphasis.

Dean exhaled loudly and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees again as he tried to ignore the burn behind his eyes at the concern he heard in the old man's voice. Bobby was one of the few people in Dean's life that hadn't ever made him feel like a loser or a complete waste of space. "No…Bobby. Not so much." He whispered into the phone. He heard Sam's grunt behind him and he determinedly didn't look in his brother's direction, he didn't want to see the 'bitch-face' that Sam was most likely wearing at that exact moment.

"Whatever that means Dean…you get yourself and that ginormous brother of yours over to my place and we'll see about fixing you two up." Bobby's offer was not unexpected…but it was still nice to know that they were welcome somewhere. That he and Sam had a place that was as close to 'home' as they were ever likely to get.

"We'll be there in a few days Bobby." Dean said.

"Good. Now take care of yourself Dean. And take care of Sam." Bobby said before they disconnected the call.

Dean just sat hunched over his legs as he tried to quell the sting in his eyes and the burning emotions that curled in his gut.

"So…we going to Bobby's?" Sam asked as he stood up and broke the silence heading to his bed where he flopped down and thrust his arms behind his head.

Dean glanced up and nodded as he rolled backwards toward the bathroom, "Yeah. We should get some sleep and leave first thing in the morning…okay?" Dean added before he pushed the door shut behind himself. Sam's eye's widened as he realized that they weren't leaving until the following morning, great at least this way we can sleep in real beds. The thought raced through his mind and he wondered how long they could really drive before they would need to stop. Dean's back wasn't exactly 100 percent, hell it wasn't even 50 percent. So it was logical to assume that Sam would be doing the majority of the driving, although he knew that this was going to start a fight with Dean…but damn-it he needed to be able to help his brother. Sam had never felt as guilty about anything as he did about not answering that damn call a year ago…he had to try and make up for that somehow.

Sam heard the water in the bathroom flip on, he rolled his eyes and pulled out his laptop scrolling through local news stories…he happened upon one about an old Asylum…one where the people went into sane and then went bat-shit crazy when they left. He read the story and was just finishing the article when his brother came rolling out of the steam filled bathroom, I hope he left me some hot water, the jerk.

"You finished in there?" Sam asked as Dean pulled a Q-tip out of his ear and nodded.

"Yeah…I'm good. Your turn bitch." Dean said with his usual smartass attitude.

Sam's eyes narrowed at his brother's snarky remark. "Leave any hot water for me jerk?" he shot back with every bit as much attitude as Dean.

"Some…better hurry though." Dean's green eyes tracked his brother as he shifted on the bed and stretched, yawning hugely. Sam rolled his eyes at Dean's pointed stare and stood up grabbing his duffel bag then heading into the bathroom to use up the remainder of the hot water.

Dean's eyes were drawn to Sam's laptop…he'd finished the article and was researching possible causes when Sam walked tiredly out of the bathroom, he was still toweling off his longer than necessary hair as Dean started to speak. "So this Asylum…"

Sam's head tilted and he looked intently at Dean… "What about it?"

Dean smiled, "It's on the way to Bobby's…"

Sam shrugged his tired shoulders, "So."

Dean rolled his eyes and then rolled away from the bed so that he was directly in front of Sam and looked up at him intently. "So…we should check it out."

Sam's face would have been comical if Dean hadn't been offended by the 'Why…you can't hunt.' look in his brother's eyes. "Dean…I'm not sure that's such a good idea man."

Dean squared his shoulders and schooled his featured defiantly. "I can still help Sam." He ground out, trying to rein in his temper at Sam's total lack of faith in his abilities…limited though they were. He wasn't without skills that could still be useful on a hunt…he was still a really good shot with whatever weapon was needed. True he couldn't run or anything, but he could research and talk to witnesses…

Sam saw the shift in Dean's face and he felt his chest tighten at the determined look he saw in Dean's intense green eyes…Sam wasn't winning this fight, not matter how good his arguments were. Dean had already decided that they were going to check this out…who knows…maybe it'd be good for his older brother and then they could move on to Bobby's and see about finding their father…and maybe….just maybe….fixing Dean's legs in the process.

TBC…

Author's Note: There will be some alterations to the hunt that takes place in the Asylum so that Dean can participate…but all the angst of that episode will totally make it into the next chapter…as will Bobby.

Please Review: Let me know if you like the direction this is headed in…