AUTHOR'S NOTES: There are Spoilers for Season 3 episode 4 "Greatest Adventure in the History of Basic Cable." Also, there is a bit of tear Jerkyness at the end.

I loved Steven Weber as Jack in the episode and think it is horrible how they keep giving us these awesome and quirky family members for only one flipping episode. Anyway, rant over and hope you enjoy the chapter.

Thanks again to my wonderful beta Aakira for curbing my use of too many ellipses at the end of sentences... lol


Chapter 4- You Don't Know Jack

Santa Barbara: April 1993

"Uncle Jack!" Shawn shouted as he ran to him and wrapped him in a big hug.

"Shawninator!" Jack leaned over and caught Shawn in a tight embrace, patting him on the back for good measure. He stepped back and looked at his nephew. "Wow! You have gotten so tall. How long has it been?"

Henry stepped forward, arms crossed. He gave his brother a cold, hard look. "Almost two years."

At twenty-nine, Jack did not look his age. He had a wiry build and a sparkle in his eyes that made him look a lot younger than he was. Growing up, no one believed he and Jack were brothers at first glance. Besides the six-year age difference, Jack had their mother's features—brown hair, reminiscent of Shawn's, with a longer nose to match. Henry, on the other hand, had taken after their father—blond hair and hefty build. Henry rubbed his scalp and felt the thinning hair. I have his tendency for baldness too, he thought bitterly. They both had light blue eyes though, which they had jokingly called "Spencer Blue" growing up.

It looked to Henry like Jack hadn't bathed in a couple days, and the grin plastered on his brother's face failed to reach his eyes. That meant there was something wrong, as usual. His son might wear rose-colored glasses when it came to his uncle, but Henry knew Jack. His brother never came around without some kind of ulterior motive. "Why are you here Jackie?"

"Henry, good to see you too. How is that lovely wife of yours?" The glare he got at that statement said it all. "Okay. Can I come in?"

Henry moved out of the way and Jack entered the house.

The detective watched as Shawn smiled and picked up the penny that was still laying on the ground. "What's special about this one?" He asked his uncle. The date on the penny was 1982. Each of the pennies Jack left had some sort of significance.

"That, Shawn my boy, is one of the last pennies ever made that was solid copper. After 1982 they started only plating them." Jack made a beeline for the fridge and grabbed a beer, ignoring his brother's annoyed stare. "Anyway big bro, to answer your question, I came back to California to visit my family." He bowed with a flourish and popped open the cap on the beer. "I just got back from visiting dad in San Francisco. He says hi."

"Sweet!" Shawn exclaimed. "Grandpa promised to take me on a tour of the city next time we go up." It had been almost two years since they'd had the time to go up and see the old man. San Francisco was only about six hours away but with both his parents working, it was hard to find any time. Shawn vowed when he got his driver's license he would go up there every weekend and keep his grandfather company.

Jack felt a sadness at Shawn's words start to bubble to the surface. He recovered quickly and finished chugging his beer with a satisfied ahhh... "Hey bro, since I'm in town only for a little while, would it be okay if I grabbed Shawn and Gus for lunch later?"

"It's a weekday, they have school."

Jack smiled wryly, "I'm sure they haven't taken away lunch hours since we went there, have they?"

Shawn piped up, "We get lunch at about eleven thirty! C'mon Dad, we'll be back in time for class. I promise!" Jack put his face next to Shawn's and both sets of eyes pleaded with Henry.

Henry gave in when both gave him pouty lips. "Fine!" He pointed at his brother, "You better have them back by the time class starts, or it won't happen again."

"YES!"

"WOO!"

The pair high fived and pumped their fists.

Henry glanced at his watch. "Okay Shawn! Out the door now, your bus should be waiting already."

Shawn grabbed his backpack and flew out the door, with one more high five to his uncle. Gus will be super excited! Gus loved it when Uncle Jack came to town because Jack always included him in their activities. Gus had an uncle of his own but when he came to visit, which was seldom, he seemed to treat Gus very condescendingly, and Gus hated that.

An awkward silence descended on the kitchen after Shawn left. Jack glanced at his brother. Henry still had the ability to intimidate him just by crossing his arms and giving him The Look. "You know, you never really answered my question earlier. What are you doing here? It isn't just visiting family."

After growing up in a family of cops, Jack was unnaturally good at lying and hiding his guilt, but for some reason, his brother was one of the only people who could see past the bull to the real Jackie.

Before Henry could give him the third degree, Jack figured it would be a good idea to make a strategic exit. "Okay, I'll see you later tonight. You are inviting me to dinner, right?" Henry opened his mouth to reply but Jack was already at the door. "Great! See you then!" He flashed a big grin and left.

Henry stared at the empty beer bottle before shaking his head and tossing it in the trash. If Jack was skirting the issue that much, his situation must be pretty bad. He grabbed his coat and straightened his tie in the living room mirror before heading out himself. He wondered if he'd made the right decision about letting Jack take Shawn out for lunch, his brother had a habit of roping people into his problems...


As promised, right at eleven thirty, Jack was waiting for the boys outside of their school. "Wow, sweet!" Shawn exclaimed when he saw what his uncle was riding—a fairly new Harley Davidson motorcycle.

"Yep." Jack patted his baby, "Ain't she a beaut?"

Gus hoped his eyes showed the dismay he was feeling at having to get on a motorcycle, "Uh, we don't have to ride on that, do we?"

"Nah, I'm going to leave it here. There isn't room for three on it but if you want Shawn, we can go for a ride on it later." He gestured to the bike.

Shawn had only ridden on a motorcycle once. One of the motorcycle cops had taken pity on him when he begged for a ride. His dad had grounded him for a week for riding on a "death trap." "Yeah! I would love to!"

"Well alright then!" Jack hopped off and put his helmet on the seat. "Let's get some lunch and see if we have time afterwards to give you a ride."

Grinning broadly, Shawn turned to Gus, "How awesome would I look on one of those?" Not waiting for Gus to answer, he followed his uncle at a fast pace. He wanted to finish as fast as he could to be able to go for a ride.

Gus responded with a less than enthusiastic "Eh" and followed them down the street to their regular hang out. When Jack was in town, they always went to the same diner. It probably had the best shakes and burgers around, and Gus was in the mood for some good food.


Shawn and Gus both ate and listened, spellbound by Jack's latest adventures. "So there I was, surrounded by ten, no, twenty armed men telling me to drop the artifact and they wouldn't take my life."

"Whoa!" Gus exclaimed and took another bite of his fries.

Jack continued with a smile, "Needless to say, it was looking like a good option to cut and run, but lo' and behold!" He raised his hands in a wild gesture, "A miracle happened, my partner came out of nowhere with a Jeep scattering the armed men enough so I could hop in and make my escape!" He swept his hand mirroring the Jeep's movements, almost knocking over his drink in the process.

"What happened to the artifact?" Shawn wanted to see the item that was so important that twenty guys wanted to kill for it.

Jack leaned in, as if telling the kids a secret, "I hid it in a locker as soon as I got back to the US. I am the only one who knows where it is. When I'm sure they've stopped looking for me, I'll show you." The boys nodded in understanding.

He didn't think of his storytelling as exactly lying to the kids. He really had managed to capture an important artifact. It just happened that he'd captured it after breaking into a scientific team's excavation of an Egyptian tomb. He had gotten about a hundred feet away before five armed guards stopped him. His partner had bailed, taking their only means of escape, leaving him holding the bag and the artifact. He'd spent a month in an Egyptian prison for his little stunt, but he figured Shawn didn't need to know that part. They had asked for an adventure story, so he gave them one.

"Man, I wish my dad were as cool as you," Shawn lamented as he worked on finishing his meal.

Jack stared at his nephew. The boy's hair, eyes, and nose were the spitting image of his own mother. He mused at how funny it was that features skipped generations and had given Henry a hard time about Maddie cheating on him. After all, how else could two blond haired blue-eyed people create a kid with brown hair and hazel eyes? His brother had almost punched him in his equally large nose for the comment before both realized there was someone in the family that looked like Shawn. Their mother.

It was still painful to think of his mother even nine years after her death. He was always the momma's boy, and proud of it. Contrary to what his father and brother believed, Jack did care about his family. He just had a hard time being around them after losing her. Now, he was going to have to deliver some more bad news to the family, but he didn't want to ruin everyone's day just quite yet.

Shawn saw his uncle's eyes glaze over and go distant. "Jack?" He cocked his head. Was his uncle sad about something? "Uncle Jack!"

Shaking his head, Jack noticed a hand in front of his face, waving for his attention. "Sorry there Shawnie. Got lost in the past for a while." He patted Shawn's arm reassuringly and looked at his watch. "Okay guys, let's split. I don't want my brother having a conniption fit over you missing any school."

Since when? Shawn wondered, sharing a look with Gus. Jack always used to take them out of school, posing as Shawn's father and heading to the fair, the race track, anywhere they wanted to go, so why not now? Shawn grew worried that there was something wrong.

Seeing the doubt in his nephew's eyes, Jack thought up something quick. "I'll make it up to you Shawn, how about I pick you up from school and we go riding?"

All traces of suspicion were gone as Shawn imagined how great it would be to ride home on a motorcycle. He just had to make sure his dad didn't find out. "Gus, will you be okay riding the bus by yourself? I know how much the bus monitor freaks you out."

Gus' eyes narrowed, "She doesn't freak me out, I just don't like her perfume. You know my nose is sensitive." He pointed to his nose for emphasis, and ignored his friend's eye roll.

"That settles it!" Jack announced with his usual bravado as he ushered the kids out of the restaurant and back to school.


Once school was over, Shawn waved goodbye to Gus and waited for Jack to come pick him up. As his uncle rolled up, a few people pointed and whispered as Shawn got on the bike. He waggled his eyebrows at a group of girls, but didn't get to see their reaction as Jack was already pulling away from the curb.

"Hold on to my waist." Jack yelled over the roar of the bike and then sped up, heading down the street. Shawn noticed it was in the opposite direction of his house.

"Where are we going?" Shawn shouted back. Jack didn't answer but continued driving. Shawn whooped and hollered as Jack sped up to give him a good ride.

Ten minutes later, they pulled up to a grassy bluff on the outskirts of the city. Jack stopped and removed his helmet. "Come here. You have to see this view." He motioned for Shawn to join him.

Still a bit concerned with Jack's weird behavior, Shawn tentatively followed him to a bench that overlooked the ocean. The blue expanse was astounding. Shawn was surprised that he had never seen this place before. "Wow, pretty."

Jack nodded. "My mom used to bring us here all the time. I haven't been here since she died. I don't think your dad has either." He sat down and sighed before looking over at Shawn. "How have you two been getting along lately? He hasn't been too hard on you, has he?"

Shawn smirked. "Only a lot. I haven't had this much down time since starting advanced classes in October."

"See!" Jack exclaimed, "I always knew you were the bright one of the family." He rubbed the boy's head affectionately.

"There's something else." Shawn sighed. Jack leaned forward and listened intently. "You know all the training and stuff dad's given me over the years?" His uncle nodded. "Well, the new chief noticed and he gave me the DET to see how well I would do."

Jack knew what the DET was. It was a big deal to pass it but couldn't for the life of him understand why the chief would want to give it to a boy Shawn's age. "Yeah, and?" He prompted.

"And... I aced it."

A silence followed the statement as Jack took in what that meant. Not only did it mean that Shawn probably cheated to get that score—Jack wasn't angry at him for it, he would have done the same thing—but it also meant that when Henry found out about it he would either know Shawn cheated or would make Shawn's life miserable with even more training. He now understood the kid's reluctance to say anything. "Wow, you know Shawn, I think you need to go with your gut on this one. I wouldn't say anything if I were you."

Shawn relaxed. He knew Jack would understand and resolved never to let his father know about the test. "What was dad like when he was younger? Was he ever... I dunno, normal?"

Jack huffed in amusement. Henry had always been a hard case growing up, but there were times Jack had seen him let loose. Laughing at the memory, he decided to share it. "There was this one time when I just turned fourteen, your dad was twenty. He had just married your mom a few months before. So he knocked on our door, and he was as drunk as I've ever seen him. I have no idea how he walked the three miles from your house to ours." He turned to Shawn, "You remember that old house right?"

Shawn nodded. His grandpa and grandma had lived in Santa Barbara until after Jack moved out at nineteen, then they moved to San Francisco. He missed the days when he could visit them whenever he wanted.

"So anyway, he comes stumbling into the house, drunk, and everyone meets him at the door, thinking something was wrong. He could barely speak and was crying. We all freaked out thinking something had happened to your mom, until he said three words..."

Shawn was interested to hear what his dad had said but they were interrupted when sirens sounded behind them. They turned around and saw an unmarked cruiser heading up the road. Recognizing it as his dad's car Shawn muttered, "Uh oh."

They stood and waited for Henry's approach, knowing that this was not going to end well for either of them.

"What in the hell were you thinking Jack?" Henry yelled at his brother after getting to the guilty looking pair. "You had me worried sick! One of the teachers called and said some guy on a motorcycle took Shawn! I have been looking for you for almost an hour!"

Shawn didn't want his dad to be angry at Jack, so he tried to take the blame. "Dad wait! I asked him to pick me up from school and bring me here."

Holding up a hand, Henry silenced his son. "Don't cover for him Shawn. There is no way you would know about this place, if it wasn't for him!" Henry pointed right at his younger brother's nose. "I'm taking my son now Jack. I can't believe I trusted you with him."

"Look bro, I just picked him up and brought him here to talk okay? It's not like we ran off to Mexico or anything!" He defended himself.

In a mocking tone Henry asked, "Oh, you brought him here to talk? Talk about what?"

Jack bit his lip and looked shifty.

Henry continued to rant. "Are you going to talk to him about how you owe me two thousand dollars for bailing you out of jail last year? Or are you going to talk to him about how you always come around when you need something? Which is it Jackie?"

"I brought him here to tell him that his Grandpa is dying!" Jack unceremoniously blurted out. Both Henry and Shawn's face paled. Cursing his brother's temper, Jack explained. "I went up to San Francisco to see the old man and get a few bucks from him when I found out. Heart disease. The doctors give him a couple of months at most."

Finding his voice, Henry demanded, "Why the hell didn't he tell us?"

Jack rubbed a hand through his hair. He was angry when he found out the reason too but could understand why his dad had made the decision. "He remembered how mom's death was long and drawn out because of the cancer. He didn't want anyone to worry about him like that. You know how he is."

The detective did know how his dad was—stubborn as heck—just like himself, Jack, and Shawn. It was a Spencer curse. "Did he know you were coming up to tell us?" Henry's voice softened.

"No. He made me promise that I wouldn't tell. The only reason I found out was I saw the medication bottles lying around in his house. He was going to go without letting us know at all." Jack felt a lot of betrayal at that and he was sure his brother did too. "I couldn't let you guys be in the dark about this. I came up here to tell Shawn myself, okay? I was going to tell you later."

Shawn, who was silent the whole exchange, suddenly turned and ran to his dad's car. He didn't want either of them to see him cry. How could grandpa say he was going to tour the city with me when he knew he was dying?! He slammed the car door and put his head in his hands.

A minute later, Jack came into the car and sat next to him. They were silent for a while. Jack was never good at comforting people, but he figured it was a good time to try. "You know that story I was telling you earlier about your dad?"

Shawn sniffed and wiped at his eyes before nodding.

"The three words he said to us were 'I'm a dad.' He was happy about having you. He may be a hard-ass sometimes, or most times, but never think that he doesn't care about you kid." Leaning over he kissed Shawn on the top of his head and moved to get out of the car.

"Where are you going?" Shawn looked up at his uncle.

Shrugging he answered, "I'll be around Shawnie. I just wanted to say goodbye before I left."

"Bye Jack," Shawn said sadly.

"Bye Shawn."

Shawn heard the rev of the motorcycle and then a moment later, his uncle was speeding down the road. Shortly after, his dad entered the car. Henry was silent as he started the engine and drove them home.

Resting his head against the window, Shawn wondered what his dad was feeling and how he himself would feel if he found out his dad was dying. It was not a pleasant thought, and Shawn wondered when he would be able to see Gus and tell him what was going on. He needed someone to talk to and figured his dad wouldn't be in a talking mood for quite some time. One thing Shawn hoped was that he would be able to see his grandpa one last time, even if it was just to say goodbye.


END NOTES: I know in the episode "Indiana Shawn" Shawn mentioned that he had never lost anyone close to him but I am chalking that up to be a BIG BIG oopsy on the writers part because it was established that Henry's mom died when he was a kid. Maybe it was just Shawn getting into the moment and ranting... I dunno. If I did I would know a lot more secrets of the universe than I do. :D