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.

WARNING:These chapters can contain a lot of angst and can get a little graphic with the pain and blood...consider yourself warned. Don't like...Don't Read...

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: So I know there's still interest in this little story.

From the last Chapter:

"What are those?" He wondered aloud.

"Uh…well, here take a look." She handed Sam the clippings and watched as he read through them.

"This looks like a hunt." Sam said as he shifted and stared at the girl with renewed interest. She obviously understood how to research for the supernatural and that was unusual.

"It is…these women go missing in this apartment building or the surrounding area…cops seem to miss it because of the time in between the disappearances." She continued to explain what she'd found and the animation with which she approached the hunt actually reminded Sam a little of the way that Dean used to approach hunts. It made him wonder if his brother still as interested in hunting as he'd once been…a part of him really hoped not. Sam didn't want to bury Dean…and for some reason he seemed to be the one always survived.

Chapter 34

Unexpected Allies

Jo stood in the doorway of the back room at the bar. She stared quietly at the enigma that was the sleeping man resting on the small bed and wondered just what exactly had happened to him. She glanced around the room and determined that Sam obviously wasn't in the immediate area, so she carefully crossed the threshold and sat in the chair next to the bed. Her eyes scanning the elder brother for additional injuries or changes in his condition. Jo couldn't stop her fingers as they reached up to push the short blonde hair off Dean's sweaty brow. She smiled slightly as he pushed back into her touch and the unconscious gesture touched her in a way most others couldn't. The smattering of light freckles across the bridge of his nose only adding to the obvious beauty of this man as her eyes glided over his silent form. There was something about him that made her feel protective...but she couldn't quite pin down where the feelings were coming from. Just that, if he asked, she would gladly follow him into any battle. Maybe, even if he didn't ask...she thought silently. The sudden strength of that line of thought had her reevaluating the sanity of coming into this room without the presence of the younger brother. She never would have been bold enough to 'touch' Dean if his little brother had been standing guard over him.

Jo leaned back and pulled her hand away as though she'd been burned. Her eyelids falling closed as the unwelcome feelings flooded through her system. She'd seen the look in the younger brother's eyes as he'd tried to save the life of this man and she knew that there was a bond there that couldn't be contained or controlled. Neither of them would ever give up the other…not for a woman. Just her luck, the first man that she's been interested in since Cameron had left her high and dry her Freshman year in college. She shook her head and stood up, suddenly the air in the room seemed too thin.

"Wait…" A raspy voice called from the direction of the pillows and the patchwork quilt that her grandmother had sent her for her sixteenth birthday. Jo spun around and found herself woefully unprepared to face the intense green of the sick man's eyes as he stared at her. "Where's Sam?" He asked. Dean's eyes circled the room as he tried to locate the overly large form of his little brother. His gaze finally coming back to rest on the petite blonde that currently had a 'deer caught in the headlights' look plastered on her pretty face. He saw the disappointment flash through her soft brown eyes and then the immediate lack of any and all emotion as she covered the obviously unwanted reaction quickly. Dean didn't understand…why would she look disappointed? Had she been hoping to find Sam here as well?

"He stepped out for a minute. I think my mom cooked some soup or something, he should be back…" Her explanation was covered up by the solid footfalls of what could only be a pair of work boots.

Sam stepped into the room with a mug of steaming hot soup and then immediately halted when he saw that not only was his brother awake…he wasn't alone. Sam instantly disregarded the appearance of the young woman and rushed to Dean's side, setting the hot soup down on the small bedside table. "Dean, you look a little better." He slipped onto the chair and leaned over his brother, fussing over the bandages and the small beads of sweat rolling off Dean's forehead. He didn't know when, exactly, Jo had slipped unnoticed from the room, but he saw his brother's eyes slide toward the door as it was gently pulled shut from the other side.

Dean's green eyes flickered back to Sam's gaze and he blinked slowly. "I feel a little better…" He groaned as a wave of dizziness washed over him. "Emphasis on 'little'."

Sam forced a slight smile and then bit at his lower lip. He wanted to ask Dean 'why'. Why he hadn't told Sam about the injury…the gunshot…the infection? "Dean…" Sam started. His brother held up his hand in a gesture that begged Sam not to ask the question that he knew was burning through Sam like a piece of molten coal. "Dean, I need to know." He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and then leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as the wounded expression in his puppy-like eyes dismantled his brother's defenses with that one look.

Dean pulled in a ragged breath and then reached up to scrub a hand down his face. "Sam…you didn't do this to me. That damn demon did…and I didn't tell you because I didn't want you looking at me the way you are right now. Like an insane hero wanna-be or something. I'm fine…" Sam's raised eyebrow and shifting expression had him amending his statement. "Okay…alright…I'll be fine."

"Fine is a four letter word Dean." Sam said in irritation as he turned to grab his soup off the stand. Dean's eyes tracked the movements and he narrowed his eyes when he saw that Sam looked thinner than the last time that he'd looked at his little brother.

"You need to eat more Sammy." He said evenly. Dean's eyes dropped when Sam turned an incredulous look in his direction and his mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Look who's talking. You haven't eaten much of anything in the last week, Dean." Sam's eyes scanned the thinning frame of his big brother and he wondered when the last was that Dean had eaten. He hated that he felt like he had to say something, but this wasn't like his brother and Sam was worried. The more hits they took, the harder it seemed to weigh on Dean and he was sick of it.

Dean shifted uncomfortably under his brother's glare and thinned his lips in agitation. "Been a little under the weather…in case you missed that." He knew that the comment would hit Sam hard, but he wasn't gonna just lie here and take Sam's mother henning. Nope, not gonna happen…not this time Sammy. His thoughts drifted back to the previous week and how he'd felt when Sam had been gone…disappeared without a trace. The fear and the absolute helplessness that had ruled every waking moment until he'd managed to locate said 'little brother' again.

Sam sat back as though Dean had struck him and his mouth dropped open in a silent denial and then popped shut, with an audible snap, when he realized the truth of what his brother had said. "Dean…I never meant…" His brother's eyes softened marginally and he shook his head in a dismissal.

"You think I don't know that Sam? You think for one minute that I think that you did any of this on purpose?" His green eyes searched Sam's face and he saw the truth of his words being reflected back at him. Sam did. He thought that Dean was worried that he'd do this again…and the scariest part was that Dean couldn't assuage those fears. They didn't know exactly what the demon wanted Sam for…only that it did want Sam. Dean shifted in the bed and bit back a groan of pain as his shoulder lit up in fiery agony. Sam started to move to help, but Dean's hand shot up and his eyes rose to connect with his brother's worried gaze. "Sam…I trust you." That was it. He didn't have anything to add to that statement.

Sam's eyes widened at that and he blew out a long slow breath as he rose slowly to his feet and started pacing the small room. His long legs eating up the ground quickly and forcing him to turn and start back toward his brother's silent, yet watchful, form. "How can you say that after what happened, Dean?" He gestured to the chair resting unnoticed in the corner and then turned as his eyes stung when Dean's face twisted into one of regret. By the time he'd turned back around his brother's expression had changed to one of silent indifference and he shrugged his good shoulder.

"Because it happens to be true." Dean watched as Sam slowed and then sank onto the end of the bed, near his motionless legs. Sam's eyes flickered down to the strange angle at which his brother's feet rested and he reached out and gently placed his palm against Dean's ankles.

Sam didn't know what to say to that…so he changed the subject. "So…uh….what was Jo doing in here earlier?" A ghost of a longing passed over Dean's face before he managed to school his expression and Sam wondered just what exactly his brother was thinking about the spritely little blonde.

Dean raised an eyebrow and then shrugged again. "Just checking on me…she didn't really say much before you came in."

The youngest Winchester nodded…he didn't really believe his older brother…but it seemed that this was all that Dean was going to give him on the subject. There was something there in his brother's voice that made Sam think that somehow that tiny little woman/child had managed to get beneath his brother's skin. The same way that her mother had managed to get beneath Sam's. Maybe it was because he'd never known his own mother…he wasn't sure, but one thing that Sam did know was that they both cared for these women.

Dean settled back against the pillows again, his eyes falling shut as exhaustion claimed him once again. Sam sighed and moved back to the chair near the head of the bed, he grabbed a book out of his bag and settled in to read while his brother slept.

XXXX

The high-pitched argument that woke Dean up sounded like angry cats. It took him a minute to realize that his brother was staring at the door as though it might burst open allowing the angry cats into their room.

"Joanna Beth…I said 'no'. This family has lost enough. I've already lost your father; I'm not losing you too." Ellen's voice sliced through the air and landed on both brothers with a definite impact. Sam's eyes shifted to Dean's and they both looked slightly confused as they tried to not overhear the personal argument going on in the other room.

"You can't keep me here." Jo shouted back.

"Then go…go back to college." Ellen's voice was sharp with barely contained anger and concern.

"I didn't belong there…I was a freak with a knife collection." Sam could hear Jo's voice was on the brink of breaking as it became thicker with emotion.

"And out there in some dirty alley? That's where you belong?" Ellen's voice had softened and was pleading now. It made Dean wonder just what exactly had happened to make Ellen so hateful of the hunter's life. He wasn't sure exactly what the argument was about…but that seemed a pretty good guess.

"I wouldn't know, mom. You've never let me do anything. I don't know where I belong." Jo's voice was quieter now and it was evident that she was crying.

Dean's gaze shifted to Sam's and they both stared at each other in confusion. Neither of them had been raised around women that were more like family than conquests…at least Dean's had been conquests…Sam's had been friends. But neither of them had had family…

The voices got more muffled and then disappeared altogether. Dean shifted as nature called again…it had been the needs of his body that had woken him originally. But the fight between the two women had caught his interest, making it impossible for Dean to ask Sam for help. "Uh…Sam?" His brother's ocean colored eyes flickered over to him again. "I need to hit the head."

Sam's eyes widened in understanding and he reached up to pull the blankets away from his brother's chest. "Let me get your chair." Dean moved around in the bed while Sam crossed the room and pulled the wheelchair from its resting place in the corner. He helped Dean get situated in the leather of the chair and then pushed him toward the small bathroom. With his left arm pinned to his body and in his general weakened state, Dean wondered momentarily how he was going to do this. He sure as hell wasn't going to let Sam 'hold it' for him. His eyes flitted from the wall to the toilet and then he sighed in relief when he saw a small bar attached to the opposite wall. I can do this myself.

"I got it from here Sam." He said quietly.

Sam shot a surprised look at his brother and then stepped back to allow Dean some privacy. He had no clue whether or not Dean could actually accomplish this task alone, but Sam was sure as hell willing to let him keep some dignity and try.

Once Dean had finished he managed to get himself settled back in the chair and then called out for Sam's help with the door. His brother was there immediately, coming through the door in a lightening quick manner and rolling him into the other room. "You want to go back to bed, Dean?"

"No. I've spent enough time lying down to last me for a life time. Can we go out into the other room?" Dean asked. He thought about his appearance and then amended his request. "Wait. I think I need a shower before I talk to anyone but you."

Sam raised his eyebrows and then smiled. "You should really shower before you talk to even me…you're kinda ripe dude." A slow smiled spread across Dean's face as he recognized the banter and he slipped back into his role as older brother and Sam slipped back into that of little brother.

"Okay, but you're not bathing me Sammy…I've got some pride left." Dean continued to smile at Sam as he turned them around and headed back into the small bathroom. Luckily it had a tub and Dean said a silent 'thank you' to anyone that might be listening for that small gift. "Can you go grab my duffel? I think I can manage once I'm settled in."

Sam nodded. "Okay, just keep that shoulder out of the water Dean. I don't want a repeat of everything we went through already this week." He turned and walked briskly out of the bathroom.

Dean watched as Sam went and his gaze narrowed in sadness. "Me neither, Sammy." He whispered.

TBC…

Author's Note: The hunt is forth coming…a conversation between Ellen and Sam will reveal a little bit more about the loss of her husband. And a conversation between Dean and Jo will show how they will interact in this AU. Keep in mind that this is not a romance and I will not be writing that into this, but I thought that the connection between these characters deserved acknowledgment. Thanks to everyone that took the time to review the last chapter, thank you to Tricia, who I cannot PM. This is one of my all-time favorite stories that I've written, so I really look for your interest.

Please Review: I value your thoughts and try to incorporate your opinions into the verse.