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. NO SLASH. Brotherly love and Angst only…

Please Review: So I know there's interest

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Previous Chapter:

Andy shook his head. "That bitch came after me."

"Ruby?"

Andy looked at Sam like he'd lost his mind. "Who's Ruby? No…it was Ava."

The rain picked up and they found it difficult to hear one another over the storm. Both guys moved further into the structure. "Who's Ava?" Sam asked. He kept looking over his shoulder and around the dilapidated barn.

"Another one of the yellow-eyed demon's blood babies." Andy said with a snort. "Who's Ruby?"

"A demon with a vendetta."

Andy's eyebrows shot up and he tilted his head to the side. "Wow…can we pick'em or what?" A crack of lightening had both guys peering out into the pouring rain. Two large white dots in the distance caught Sam's attention. He squinted into the storm and his heart froze in his chest…Dean.

Jake came out of nowhere and slammed the end of a knife into Andy's head. The psychic was instantly out cold. He crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Jakes brown eyes pinned Sam in a manic stare. "Only one of us is getting out here." It was apparent that the soldier thought that he was going to be that one.

Sam shook his head as he gaze dropped to the ragged breathing of the unconscious man. "We don't have to do this." He breathed as he held up the iron bar in a defensive position. Jake's gaze narrowed and he flipped the knife around so that he was holding it the way Dean would hold it…and Sam's heart sank. This guy knew how to fight with blades.

"Yes. We do." Jake ground out. He rushed Sam and shoved him into the driving rain. The air was knocked out of Sam as he landed hard and the bar popped out of his hand and slid in the mud. Jake jumped forward, but Sam rocked back onto his shoulders and his long legs shot forward hitting the soldier in the chest. He was caught off guard and fell hard against the side of the barn.

Sam hauled himself to his feet. He blinked several times and then wiped his soaked hair from his eyes as he searched for his weapon. Sam caught sight of the steel bar about four feet from his position. He lurched forward and grabbed the bar just as Jake regained his feet and launched himself at Sam again. He drew back a huge fist and drove it forward into Sam's shoulder. He felt the bones cracked beneath the inhuman strength of the soldier. Pain launched itself through Sam and he bit his lower lip in an effort to control it. Jake was just getting ready to hit him again when Sam managed to beat him to it. He threw a front kick that shoved the man through a wooden fence and into the mud. The knife skittered out of Jake's hand and Sam stepped through the busted fence. His arm was wrapped around his shoulder and his eye was swelling shut. Jake wasn't moving and Sam knew that he could finish this right now all he had to do was kill Jake.

His gaze dropped to the two weapons lying side by side and the debate only lasted for a fraction of a second before Sam heard Dean's voice in the distance.

"SAM?!"

Sam's gaze sprang up and he whispered. "Dean…" When he saw his brother running through the pouring rain toward him. Sam started toward him, but was stopped in his tracks when Ruby stepped out of the shadows and blocked his path.

"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" She purred as she held up a gleaming silver blade. Sam's blue-green gaze lifted to his brother's manic face as Dean sprinted toward him.

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Chapter 57

Cold Oak…Part Two

Fear trip-hammered through Sam in waves. The silver of the blade glinted in the low light of the night. His eyes flickered between the demon and his brother's frantic cries. Rain poured down, soaking him through and Sam felt the first tendrils of despair rip through him. He turned and tried to catch sight of Dean through the rain. A sudden "Oomph" had Sam wiping his hair from his face. Several meters away, Dean was pounding on an invisible barrier. His words were being carried away on gusts of howling wind.

"What do you want?" Sam managed as he turned away from the heart-wrenching expression on his older brother's face.

Ruby smiled and stepped forward. "Make a choice, Sam."

He shook his head at the cryptic answer. "What are my options? And stop talking like yoda…be straight with me." Sam squeezed his eyes shut at the pain in his shoulder and shifted his weight as mud squelched beneath him.

"You know about your destiny?" She didn't wait for him to respond. "Which means that you know you have to kill Dean."

"No." He growled.

Ruby's face shifted and suddenly Sam didn't have to use much imagination when thinking of her as a demon. "Yes. You want a choice, Sammy?" He winced at her use of his brother's nickname for him. "Here's a choice for you. As a vessel you have the ability to help mankind…or you can save your brother and watch the entire world burn." She smiled. "And know that it is your fault. All those children that will die horrible deaths…all those mothers that will never know what it's like to let their children play in the backyard…all of it will be your fault."

Sam recoiled from the picture she was painting. It sounded like something out of Terminator. But as he thought about it, he wondered if 'Judgment Day' was that far off from the 'Apocalypse'? His blue-green eyes lifted to the frantic pounding of his brother on the barrier. Dean's fists were bloody now; the rain was slowly washing away streaks of red. How can I kill my brother? Even if it means the world burns? The answer was so simple and heartbreaking that Sam wanted to crumble in a ball of misery. He couldn't. There wasn't a scenario where Sam could imagine killing Dean.

"I can't." He whispered.

Ruby shook her head and pursed her lips in anger. "I wonder if your brother would put your life so far above those of the innocent?"

Sam didn't even have to think before an answer was spilling out of his mouth. "He would."

She inhaled a long slow breath and then turned to look at Dean. "Perhaps I should offer your brother a deal, since you don't seem to be in a bargaining mood." Ruby blinked out of the space in front of him and Sam found he was spinning frantically trying to figure out where the demon had gotten off to?

His eyes widened in horror when he saw her on the other side of the barrier. Dean was now pressed against the invisible demon wall, his hands pinned to his sides. Sam started to move toward his brother, but suddenly found that his feet wouldn't move. A weight settled on his shoulders that wasn't natural and Sam knew that he was being kept from his brother. His eyes flashed up and Ruby was 'tsking' her finger at him. An evil grin visible through the clear barrier and the driving rain. Somewhere in the back of his head, Sam knew that Bobby was out there somewhere…because there was no way that Dean that would go anywhere without their surrogate father.

"Dean!" Sam called in panic. Nothing. His brother didn't even turn or shift to indicate that he'd heard Sam's cry. "Whatever she offers, don't do it!" He knew it was useless; Dean couldn't hear him, but Sam had to say something…even if only for his own sanity.

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Dean's eyes widened when he saw two figures fighting in the distance. The rain was obscuring his view, but he knew by the practiced moves that one of those figures was Sam. "Shit…Sammy…" He whispered. He saw the other man punch Sam, who went flying backwards through a wooden fence. For a moment Dean forgot that he knew how to breathe.

"SAM!" He cried as his legs pumped faster through the mire and the muck. Behind him he thought he heard a faint 'Dean…' from Bobby…but he ignored the call and pushed forward. His lungs were burning and Dean knew that he needed to work on his cardio. Being stuck in a wheelchair for the past year hadn't done anything for his physical fitness level. A pang of sorrow flooded him when he could avoid the brief thought…What would dad say about that? The fact that he was too weak to protect Sam?

Dean took all that angst and fear and shoved it down into his gut. He didn't have time to get lost in self-loathing right now. He had a little brother to save. His green eyes flashed back up and he stumbled when he saw the woman. No. She wasn't a woman, she was a demon and she was taunting Sam. Dean wanted to rip her throat out. It was sudden an unexpected…the freezing of his muscles. "What the…?" He grunted when his arms pin-wheeled and he fell forward onto his knees. A rock slammed into the bottom of his kneecap and Dean bit his lip in pain.

"Dean." Suddenly the woman was standing in front of him. A slight smirk pulling at the edges of her mouth. "Oh…I bet that hurt." She cooed before he was demon lifted and pinned against the invisible barrier. He kept trying to snake his head around so he could see what was happening with Sam. But no dice. She had him firmly in her grip.

"Where's my brother, bitch?" He growled through clenched teeth. A part of Dean knew that his menacing tone lost something when water was running down his face in rivulets. He looked more like a drowned cat than a big bad scary hunter.

Ruby stepped forward, her brown eyes flashing black as she looked over Dean's shoulder. "Oh, he's not far." Her fingers lifted and traced the strong jaw, lingering on his lips. "You know it's weird…I'm not sure who's prettier. Little Sammy…or you."

Anger surged to the surface when the bitch called his little brother 'Sammy'. That was Dean's own private term of endearment for his brother. "It's Sam." He ground out.

She burst out laughing and the sound might have been the worst thing that Dean had ever heard. "You know he said the same thing." She took another step closer to Dean and he could smell the sulfur radiating off her skin. "But my question to you? Are you smarter than he is?"

Dean snorted. "Not by a long shot."

"Hmmm, that's too bad. I was hoping you were the smart one." Suddenly his throat was closing and his mouthed popped open in a silent 'O'.

Dean tried to gasp, but nothing, not even a whisper of air penetrated the demon strangle-hold she had on him. Ruby leaned in closer. "I have an offer…one your brother refused. But I think with his life hanging in the balance…you might be smarter than he was." She paused for a moment and pressed her lips against his ear. "Or maybe you just care more for him than he does for you?"

His world started to spin and his vision was darkening. Just before the world pin-pointed out of existence, air poured into his starved lungs. Problem was? It wasn't just water that poured into him…it was water too. He started coughing violently as he tried to dispel the rain that was trying to choke him. If it isn't demons? It's nature. Dean couldn't help the sarcastic remarks his brain was coming up with as he tried not to die of asphyxiation. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, there was a small part of him that had bought into his father's abuse hook line and sinker, and having his brother's devotion or lack thereof thrown at him made his stomach turn.

"What the hell are you yammering on about?" Dean finally managed. His voice was rough and he wondered if the next time he looked in a mirror if he'd see bruising around his throat.

"That's not a very polite way to speak to someone." Her voice dropped and she glared at him.

Dean shook his head as much as he was able. "You're not exactly human. Is that meat suit even alive?"

"I prefer to be the only one in residence." She shot back.

"Yeah, I don't like roommates either." Not that Dean had ever really had a roommate. At least not outside of his brother or his father. She tilted her head in irritation. "What is it you want with me?'

"Wow, ego much?" Her eyes drifted behind him again and Dean wondered what the hell she kept looking at. He hoped to God it wasn't Sam. "I'm not interested in you, Dean Winchester." She slipped her hand down his chest and shoved her fingers into his side. Dean gasped as pain washed through his body. He felt like he'd just been stabbed with a red hot poker. And I know exactly what that feels like.

"Then what do you want?" He hissed through the agony trailing up his side.

"Sam." She purred. Again her fingers slid over his side and he cried out as another wave of fiery torment spread outward. "I want Sam."

"Never gonna happen." He ground out through his clenched teeth. He wasn't sure if it was rainwater running down his face or tears. But at the moment he was grateful for the weather as it hid his pain.

Ruby stepped back and folded her arms across her chest. "Yes. It will. I just need the right key to unlock him…and I think you are that key."

Dean coughed and he grimaced when blood mixed with saliva dribbled down his chin. "I'm never gonna let you hurt him." Where the hell are you, Bobby? He wondered.

"You know…I was going to offer you a choice. Help me 'help' Sammy." She grinned when he glowered at her. "Or…" With a flick of her fingers, Dean crashed to the ground. His side was bleeding, but that wasn't what had him gasping in denial.

"No…" he whispered into the pouring rain. When he brought his gaze back up, Ruby was gone and he was alone. Except for the frantic calls from Bobby.

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Sam watched in horror as the demon toyed with his older brother. Emotions that he couldn't even name threaten to bury him as he tried to move toward Dean. He couldn't hear anything she was saying or whatever Dean's smartass responses were. Because let's face it, Dean didn't have anything but smartass answers. He nearly choked when he saw her rip into his brother's side…the blood that dripped off her fingers as she held them up, so he could see, and let the rain wash Dean's blood from her hands. Tears were dripping off his chin as he tried to fight the hold. His shoulder was screaming in pain, but it was his heart that was being ripped to shreds. He couldn't help. And this was happening because of him. I swear to God, I'm gonna fix this, Dean. He repeated over and over inside his head.

Movement behind him had Sam trying to see who might be there. Andy stumbled around the corner and stared at Sam in question. "There a reason you're just hanging around while that demon fucks with us?"

"Can't move. She's got some kind of hold on me."

Andy nodded and looked around. He wondered if he might be able to diffuse whatever she'd done to Sam. "Let me try something." He said quietly. The smaller man stepped up next to Sam, keeping a watchful eye on the unconscious form of Jake while he did. Andy placed his fingers on Sam's forehead and suddenly Sam felt himself slipping onto his knees, the hold releasing him.

"How'd you do that?" Sam breathed. He struggled to his feet, ignoring the squelch of mud under his boots as he turned and started toward the barrier.

"Just wondered if the movement thing was all in your head…guess it is." Andy said quickly. His gaze shifted to Dean and Ruby and then back to Sam. "He doesn't look too good." Sam was already moving.

Ruby's black eyes shifted to his and Sam paused for only a moment before starting forward again. She grinned at him and there was something in her look that was so sinister and evil, that Sam was sure it had touched his actual soul. Dean slid down the invisible wall and she disappeared.

Fear raced through Sam as he staggered toward his brother…don't be dead. Don't be dead. Don't be dead. He kept repeating it over and over in his head.

Author's Note: Sorry for the long hiatus. I am going to apologize for the sheer whump in this chapter, but I needed a good whump scene and that worked perfectly for this story (might need therapy, writing is cheaper). This is not a death-fic, so no worries there. Yes, Bobby's on his way and he and Sam are going to come up with a game plan (Sam's going to be the one doing the saving in the end)…plus throw in the added benefit of Andy (who I always really liked in the series) and you have a team that will stop at nothing to help Dean and stop whatever plan (yes, I know what it is and you will too…soon) Ruby and Meg have put into motion.

Thank you to those that reviewed the last chapter, ciarahelen1990, QueenWoofy, 1hotpepper, sbcarri, ncsupnatfan, babyreaper, sunshine102897, BranchSuper, LeeMarieJack, p4poonam, a guest, and jennytork.

PLEASE REVIEW: I know it's been a bit, just let me know you're all still out there. Thank you.