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.

Previous Chapter:

Once Sam had Dean settled in the cheap little room, he set about collecting the medical supplies and once again sat down to clean his brother's injuries. Luckily they weren't anywhere near what they had been the last few times he'd had to find Dean. Mostly, it looked as though he was very low on blood and had been severely dehydrated in the last couple of days. The holes from the gunshot wound seemed to be slightly infected, but nowhere near as bad as Sam had thought they might be.

He had just finished cleaning the shoulder wound when Dean groaned and his eyelids fluttered open. Jade colored eyes blinked sluggishly and rolled until they found Sam. "You okay Sammy?" His voice was tight and had a gravelly quality that seemed to be amplified by the dehydration.

Sam smiled slightly as he leaned away from Dean. "I'm fine Dean. But you have to quite doing this." He'd been pretty fucking scared this time. He'd had no clue where his brother had taken off to this time and in his current condition, Dean shouldn't have been going anywhere alone. It wasn't that Sam doubted whether or not his older brother could take care of himself. Because Dean had proven that he could. But the idea of losing Dean while Sam was with him…that was spinning around inside his head like a crazy top.

"Hunting? Not gonna happen Sammy." He muttered as he shifted his upper body and then realized that he, once again, couldn't feel his fucking legs. Reality washed over him in that instant and Dean knew that he was back in his own reality. The one where he couldn't walk, his brother had abandoned him for years, and his father hated him to his very core. He didn't have a beautiful girlfriend that thought that he'd hung the moon and Sam wasn't dating a gorgeous blonde and headed to Law School. But the one thing that he did have? Sam. In this reality he had Sam. He swallowed the disappointment at losing his legs and licked his lips as he stared at the worried expression plastered on his brother's face.

"You know that's not what I meant…" Sam started to say something else, but Dean interrupted him.

"I don't know where it sent me…like trippy version of reality…maybe a wish…I don't know…but it was all wrong." He looked up at Sam and for once his face was an open book. And Sam read it. "You and me…we were wrong. We didn't hunt. People that we saved? They all died and a lot more…" Dean continued explaining what exactly had happened and what the other reality had been and he watched Sam's eyes widen even further in surprise.

"But you gave that all up?" He asked with a confused expression on his face.

Dean dropped his expressionless mask into place and then lowered his eyes to his useless legs. "It wasn't real." He whispered.

XXXX

Chapter 42

The Link

Sam watched helplessly as Dean began pulling further and further into himself after the encounter with the Gjinn. He'd tried to engage his brother in conversation, but every attempt was rebuked by the solemn silence that was quickly becoming Dean.

The motel they'd stopped at was out of the way and below even their usual lax standards. The only light flickered in one of the letters of the old electric sign above the manager's office and the windows looked like they hadn't been cleaned in…well ever. If he'd had his way, they would have kept going until they'd gotten to a motel 6 or something. But he'd glanced over at his brother in the passenger seat. Dean was listing to the side, his knees pushing together at an unnatural angle. His hands were resting palm up in his lap and his legs leaned against the side of the car. He couldn't see his brother's face, but he knew that if he could it would be pinched in pain, though whether that pain was physical or mental, Sam didn't know.

He'd gotten a room on the ground floor at the Hideaway Motel and he'd watched as Dean had rolled silently into the musty smelling double room. Sam's eyes had flickered over and then shifted to the trunk. He quietly removed his and Dean's duffel bags before following Dean inside.

His blue-green gaze swept the room and he sighed when he noticed that the beds were a lot smaller than normal. Great, my feet are gonna be hanging off the end of that bed all night. He actually hated when that happened. Sam remembered it happening a lot when he'd been going thru his growth spurts as a kid.

"You should grab the first shower." Dean said. He rolled to his bed, carefully shifting his body to the bed and leaning forward to push the chair away.

Sam watched his brothers actions and his heart sank. This was a repeat of every night for the past week. He'd hoped that maybe tonight things might be different…that tonight his brother might pop off with some snarky comment. He furrowed his eyebrows and nodded as he grabbed his bag and headed into the bathroom. He gently pushed the door shut behind him.

Dean looked over as the door clicked shut. He'd been waiting for Sam to head into the shower; he reached over and pulled his bag up, setting it in on his lap. He began sifting through it and sighed when his fingers closed around his father's journal. He listened as Sam turned on the water and then started reading where he'd left off.

After the demon has twisted the 'Twin Souls' in the ritual and the eldest is reduced to a cripple, the younger soul will gain power from the elder soul as it deteriorates. Only through a sacrifice of pure intent can the souls be separated and each of them…become free to…

And that was where the page had been ripped out of the book. He'd read and reread this passage to the point that his eyes were swimming and his brain hurt. Dean didn't want his brother's soul messed up with his own tarnished one. Somehow he had to get them separated so that Sammy could move on. He could still feel Sam's constant concern slipping down the link that he felt at the back of his mind. Dean was careful to lock off his own emotions. He wouldn't let Sam know what he was thinking…or feeling. His little brother didn't deserve to be assaulted with the black despair that was an everyday thing for Dean. So he simply didn't speak as he tried to figure out their next move. He was aware that it was wearing on his brother, but he couldn't think if anything else to do.

He looked over at the door again and carefully re-hid the book as he heard the water shut off. Sam wouldn't be in there too much longer. He never was when he was worried about leaving Dean alone. A lump formed in Dean's throat at the rush of emotions he felt for his brother. His entire life had been about Sam. Their father had been a real bastard, so the only person in the entire world that had loved Dean despite his shortcomings…had been Sam. And he would not allow his brother to go down as a result of Dean's own failings.

He hadn't realized it until he'd re-read the journal what the passage had meant. But after looking at those words and then reading a book he'd seen at Bobby's? He knew what the answer was. His gaze flashed down to his legs and he reached down and pushed at them in irritation. He'd wanted to walk again so badly…but that didn't seem to be in the cards for him.

"Dean?" Sam's void was soft and worried.

He glanced up and forced a slight smile onto his face. "I'm okay, Sammy." He said quietly.

"I wondered when you'd start talking to me again." He sank down onto the bed next to the wall. His fingers reaching up to card through his wet locks. The jogging pants and sweatshirt he was wearing were such a throw back that Dean's chest tightened painfully and he looked away. He blinked away the unwanted moisture that worked its way into his eyes.

"I was never mad at you, Sam." Dean answered. His voice was worn and so tired sounding that Sam almost didn't recognize it.

"Sure felt like you were." The words were soft as he leaned against the wall and stared stone faced at his older brother.

Dean looked over as his brother and sighed. He scrubbed a hand down his scruffy face and took a moment before he continued. "I'm not good at this type of thing…" He reached down and shifted his weight before continuing. "But…uh…I would never…" He licked his lips and swallowed the lump that threatened to choke him.

Sam looked down and he smiled as he shook his head, letting his brother off the hook. "I know, Dean." He inhaled deeply and crawled off his bed to grab the phone book. "Hungry?"

"I could eat."

"Pizza?" Sam knew his brother had a weakness for the stuff…and towns like this always had a little private joint that served great pizza. Something about it being call a 'pizza pie' seems to appeal to Dean. Plus they usually had some sort of dessert, which was Dean's favorite part of any meal. And as he looked at his brother's thin form, Sam wanted him to eat about 10 pizzas at this point. "Okay. Why don't you go take a shower and I'll order?"

Dean nodded and leaned forward, his intention was to pull his chair closer, but Sam anticipated the move and pushed the wheelchair close enough for Dean to shift his weight. He ignored the slight pinch of pain as his past injuries reminded him they weren't quite healed yet.

XXXX

The next morning had them heading toward Indiana. Dean had reclaimed his rightful place in the driver's seat, the music once again filling the cabin of the Impala as she ate up the miles. His long thin fingers were tapping along to the tune. The classic rock was a welcome reprieve from the empty acrid silence of the last few days.

"So where are we headed?" Sam finally asked. He turned and grabbed a bottle of water from the back seat and some aspirin from the glove compartment.

Dean's eyes narrowed. "Headache?"

Sam shrugged and downed the white pills, chasing them with half the bottled water.

"You don't have to do that with me, Sam. You know that right?" Dean had watched his brother down play the severity of his headaches since they'd started on the road.

"Destination?" He asked again.

Dean sighed and let his brother keep his dignity. "Indiana."

Sam's eyebrows rose and he turned to look at his brother. "What's in Indiana?"

"Another mission…" He was interrupted by the wail of sirens. Dean glanced in the rear view mirror and groaned when he saw the whirl of red and blue flashing lights. "Son of a bitch." His bit out as he slowed the car and pulled off to the shoulder.

"Were we speeding?" Sam asked as he made sure that anything suspicious wasn't in plain view as the officer slowly pulled himself out of the cruiser and stalked up to Dean's window.

"No." Dean said simply. He was just reaching over to roll down the window when he saw it. The aura around the man approaching the car. A black edge of pin pricking darkness that seemed to surround and penetrate the tall sheriff. "Shit…." He hissed as he slammed the car into drive and peeled out down the two-lane highway away from the demon.

"What the hell, Dean!" Sam cried as he was shoved into the passenger door and his head made contact with the window…painfully.

Dean was throwing frantic glances over his shoulder as he shot down the road at an almost reckless speed. "It was a demon, Sam…not a person." He said by way of explanation for his odd reaction to the cop.

His brother's mouth fell open and he tried several times before he found his voice again. "A…a…demon? Are you sure? How do you know?"

His face twitched with irritation at all the questions, but he'd just repaired the damage to their relationship last night…and Dean wasn't willing to go back there just yet. "When I lost my eyesight…I gained another way to identify demons…something to do with the whole 'twin souls and destinies' thing. And yes, I'm sure." He glanced in the mirror and again. No lights were following them just yet, he saw a turn off up the road to his right. He slowed and eased the car off the main road and followed the small road into the woods. He just wanted to wait until dark and then they could get moving again.

"So what now?" Sam asked as they rolled to a stop and Dean killed the engine.

"Now? We wait until dark and then we get back on the road." It seemed fairly obvious to him. So he had to wonder why his brilliant little brother was asking him what Dean knew he already knew.

Sam bit at his lower lip and nodded as he leaned back against the seat. He was getting so worn down by the constant running. He felt like that was all they did anymore…run from one life-threatening situation to the next. And then they'd hope like hell that they made it out again. He wanted to find the witch's and the demon responsible for Dean's current condition.

Something was niggling at the edges of his consciousness and until that moment he'd been completely unaware of. Sam focused and suddenly he felt a wash of Dean's emotions. The fear at the fact that the demons had found them so quickly was at the top of the list. The nearly debilitating concern that he was feeling because of Sam's vision-dreams running a close second and finally deceit. Dean wasn't telling him something…something extremely important.

TBC…

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone that continues to read and follow this story. I have several lose threads that I want to address before I try and close it out. There is still one more hunt on the horizon and then we'll see about how they help Dean get his legs back. This is not a death-fic, so no worries about that. Hope you are still enjoying it. Thank you to anyone that reviewed the previous chapter...Callieannamaria and Cecile...along with guests and reader.

Please Review: There wasn't much of a response on the last chapter; I hope you take the time to review this one.