Soooo just like I promised this morning I give you the next chapter! I think it's the longest so far but the next chapter or the chapter after that will be pretty short so I'm trying to make up for that in advance ;) anyways I'm rambling... Enjoy! Hope you like my version of Shawn'S past.

Chapter 8

Meanwhile in Denver…

Shawn closed his eyes and leaned back in the comfortable seat of the car. Theodore had turned on the radio and was humming along the rhythm of the song. Shawn smiled in the backseat feeling like it was 8 years ago again. His smile grew wider at the pleasant memories of this city. His smile faded though when they arrived at the Central Denver Hospital.

As soon as they stopped in front of the main entrance Theodore had gotten out of the car and opened the door for Shawn.

"I can show you to his room if you want, Mr. Spencer." He suggested while Shawn got out of the vehicle as well.

"Thank you, Theodore. I don't think that will be necessary though. Just give me the room number and I'll find it on my own. You look like you could use a break. Drive back to the house and take a nap or go for walk. Spend some time with your family. You sure deserve some time off." He looked into the elder man's eyes who in return just nodded.

"He's in room 307." He turned around to get back into the Maybach before he stopped and turned to face Shawn again. "It's really good to have you back, Mr. Spencer."

Shawn answered with a smile before entering the hospital.

Oh how he hated hospitals. He had been in them way too often, both as a patient and as a visitor. He hated everything about being in here. The white walls. The screeching of the shoes on the floor. The doctors wandering around in their white work coats. The emotions that ranged from relief and joy to desperation and grief. The thin line between life and death. But what he hated the most was the smell. He would never get used to that.

He finally reached the door that read 307. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath before he entered. As soon as he had set a foot in the room he took in a sharp breath. He had expected it to look bad, Theodore had told him so on the phone this morning, but somehow this looked worse than he could have ever imagined. On the bed in front of him lay a man in his sixties with short gray hair that was neatly combed to one side and an also gray mustache that assured Shawn that this actually was the Mike Riley he knew. But the rest of his body just didn't fit Shawn's memories. The man actually looked old. Shawn recognized that the man looked thinner, nearly fragile; he was so pale that you could've mistaken him for a ghost. He had a lot of additional folds covering his forehead. He was attached to various tubes and wires. To sum up his observations Shawn could only think of one suitable word: awful.

He plopped down on the chair next to the sleeping man hoping that he would get a chance to talk to him again. Just like old times. That wasn't too much to ask for, was it?

Shawn sat there for an hour not moving an inch just dwelling on thoughts until a doctor entered the room.

"Ah hello. I'm Dr. Jenson. It's nice to see that Mr. Riley has a visitor." He smiled at Shawn offering him his hand.

Shawn shook it. "Shawn Spencer. So Doc let's cut to the point here. What can you tell me?"

Dr. Jenson hesitated for a second. Usually he wouldn't be allowed to tell non family members anything about the situation of a patient but this time was different. Ever since Mike Riley had been hospitalized two weeks ago not one day had passed without him urging his servant to call a certain Shawn Spencer. And now he was here.

"Well, Mr. Spencer, I won't lie to you. Mr. Riley is in really bad shape. The cancer has spread from his lungs to nearly all other essential organs. He refuses to start chemotherapy as well as radiotherapy again."

Shawn swallowed hard at this information. "How long?" He asked in a low voice.

Dr. Jenson looked at the younger man in front of him seeing the sincere sadness in his eyes. "We can't be sure. One maybe two weeks. Definitely not much longer than that. It seems like he has given up. He only wakes up for a few minutes every other hour. He's lethargic and doesn't bother to try and stand up anymore. And he barely speaks to anyone. But he has been very determined to have you here. You know normally he wakes up around this time so I'll leave you two alone. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask." He put a hand on Shawn's should giving him an encouraging smile.

Shawn could just nod slightly giving his best to pull his act together and don't sink to the ground and start crying like a little girl. Even though he really felt like doing so right now. That wouldn't help anyone in this situation. He sat back down on the chair and waited for Mike to wake up. He suddenly felt a wave of guilt wash over his body. He hadn't been around much in the last 5 years. The psych thing had him so occupied that he hardly found the time to come down here and visit his old home. He smiled weakly at the sound of the word home. But that was the truth. Denver had been the first place in his years of traveling that he happily referred to as home. He couldn't think of any other place where he felt happier.

Suddenly the man next to him started to move, groaning lightly and shifting in the bed. Shawn moved his chair closer to the bed.

"Mike? Hey Mike, don't you wanna wake up for me?"

"Shawn is that you?" Mike asked in a weak voice.

"The one and only. Come on open your eyes, old man." He smiled. This would get him.

As he said the last two words Mike's eyes shot wide open. "Who are you calling an old man, huh?" He asked in playful angry voice and held up his hand a little.

Shawn took it into his own and did a secret handshake even though he realized that his friend was too weak to move his fingers. "So you wanna tell me what this is all about?" He motioned to the electronic equipment and the tubes and wires

"Sorry, kid, wish we met under better circumstances. But it's still good to see you again. Has been three years or so since you visited, hasn't it?" He asked in return not bothering to answer Shawn's question.

"Yeah about three years. Sorry, I couldn't stop by more often but Psych is actually doing pretty well and we have case after case." He couldn't keep a proud tone out of his voice when he said that.

"Tell me something about this Psych stuff you've got going on anyway."

And so Shawn did. He told him how he started out using his abilities to call in tips and how he was brought in for questioning when they thought he was part of the committed crimes and how he had to act like he was a psychic in order to avoid being locked away in prison. He told him how he met Juliet and how he pushed Gus to open up the Psych office together. He couldn't help but state proudly and with a sparkle in his eyes that they had a one hundred percent success rate.

"Well, well, who would've thought you'd finally settle down after all those years. And tell me is there a girl in your life?" Mike mused.

Shawn hesitated for a second. "Well there was one. Abigail. She was my high school crush and I met her at our reunion and we dated for a while but she broke up with me 'bout a year ago. Didn't want to live with the fear all the time." He said in a quite voice.

"So you haven't dated in a year? What happened? Did you lose your magic on women?" Mike asked laughing slightly.

Did you lose your magic on women? That was exactly the same question Juliet had brought up last night. He had to chuckle.

"What so funny, kid?" The older man asked confused.

"Well a woman asked the same question last night. Guess you're right about it."

"Who is she?"

"Juliet O'Hara. She's the Junior Detective in Santa Barbara. I work with her and we're friends." Shawn said smiling widely trying to cover up his wince at the word friends.

"Friends huh? Why would a female friend ask you if you lost your magic on women last night?" Mike asked wit his eyebrows raised.

"Well, we…uh… we are good friends and she crashed at my place last night because we were pretty exhausted because of this case we're working on right now." Shawn said quickly.

Mike laughed at his reaction and was about to taunt him some more when Dr. Jenson entered the room again.

"Mr. Riley, it's nice to see you awake. We'd like to run a few tests so maybe you could wait outside, Mr. Spencer? It will only take half an hour." He turned to Shawn who nodded and shortly placed his hand on Mike's, smiling encouragingly at him and left the room.

"I'll be back in half an hour, Mike."

Santa Barbara….

Juliet sighed once again. She didn't want to admit it but Shawn was right. The case files didn't give them any clues. She thought back to last night. Back to Shawn. He had been great throughout the last few days despite his strange change of behavior. She knew that she could rely on him and that was exactly what she needed. She had enjoyed sharing a bed with him as well. His presence alone assured her that she was safe and that everything would be okay. She thought about the moment he had slung his arms around her waist holding her tightly to his chest, not letting go for the whole night. It felt so right, so meant to be. She would have thought that she wouldn't let him touch her in that way but she did and she didn't regret that decision for a moment. She couldn't help but let another content sigh slip through her lips when she thought about waking up in his arms two mornings in a row.

Chief Vick had watched her Junior Detective all morning. Juliet wasn't focused and she definitely wasn't making any progress. Not that she would blame her, there just weren't any clues or leads. Karen had looked over the case files herself for a few times and wasn't able to find anything. But she trusted the young detective to give her best and she would give her another two weeks until she'd go to a higher authority.

Juliet thought that the day just didn't seem to end. She was looking forward to Shawn's call tomorrow and was eager to find out what was going on with him. What she didn't know at the time was that she would have to wait for four weeks to talk to Shawn again.

In Denver…

The day was slowly coming to an end. It was still too fast in Shawn's opinion. He had come back to Mike's room half an hour later just as he promised and stayed with him the whole afternoon. They talked about the last years and about the day they met.

"Do you remember what happened, kid?" The older man asked Shawn with a huge smile on his face. If Shawn hadn't known better he would have never thought that this man was fatally ill.

He nodded. Of course he remembered that day. It was 8 years ago and he was forced to stop at a gas station in the outskirts of Denver with his Norton.

~Flashback~

By the time he had gotten off his bike he had already taken in the scene in front of him. Two older men were standing in front of a black Bentley their posture was defensive and Shawn could even see from the distance their scared facial expressions. There was another younger man standing in front of them. His appearance was the exact opposite of the others. He was standing tall in front of them facing them directly, with one hand in his jacket pocket probably holding a gun or another kind of weapon. Whatever it was it definitely intimidated the older men.

Shawn took another look around checking for accomplices before he slowly walked closer to the three men cautious not to draw the thug's attention. He was close enough to listen in on the discussion.

"Give me the keys now or I'll shoot you right here right now." The thug demanded.

"No. You won't shoot us here. There are cameras all over this place and you probably wouldn't get further than a few miles especially with a car like a Bentley. There is only this one exemplar within the next few hundred miles." One of the men concluded.

"I don't care. I want this car and I don't care if you have to die in the process. Last chance to give me the keys." He demanded for the second time.

Shawn was close enough to act now so he took his helmet and slammed it into the thug's head from behind, making him tumble to the ground while his gun flew out of his pocket and out of reach. He recovered quicker than Shawn thought and lunged at him. Shawn was pressed up against the gas pump and took a punch in the stomach. He managed to get some room between the other man and himself and brought his fist up to connect with the thug's cheek sending him to the floor once again. But his attacker was quick and before he could do anything else the thug rammed his shoulders into Shawn's stomach and shoved him against the gas pump again. Shawn let out a groan when his back hit the solid material with force but the thug didn't give him another to second to react instead he grabbed Shawn by his collar lifted him up and threw him to the concrete floor. Shawn felt something poking in his back when he landed on the ground and a thought hit him. The gun. He landed right on the gun. He took it in his right hand and held it behind his back. Looking over to the car he saw that the thug had pulled out a knife and threatened the two older men again. Shawn got up pointing the gun directly at him.

"Drop the knife, now." He said in a loudly. The thug was startled by the loud voice. It was like everything was moving in slow motion. The thug realized that he couldn't get away and raised the hand with the knife ready to plunge it into the old man in front of him.

Shawn saw this and took only a split second before he fired the gun sending the bullet straight into the thug's left shoulder. The shot thug dropped instantly the knife in his right hand to clutch it on his wound.

"On the ground. Hands on your head." Shawn demanded. The thug followed reluctantly wincing in pain when he moved his left arm.

Shawn still pointed the gun to the thug while his look shifted to the two men.

"Could anyone of you call the police, please?" He asked in a steady voice.

They did as he told them and two hours later their statements were taken and the thug was in custody.

Shawn was about to mount his Norton again when one of the men came to him. "Excuse me, Mr. …"

"Spencer. What's up?" He answered nonchalantly reaching out his hand.

The man shook it. "My name is Theodore Brooks. I'm Mr. Riley's butler and he sent me over to invite you to dinner this evening at his mansion in order to thank you."

"Uh, thanks I guess, but I'm actually just passing through." Shawn shrugged not knowing what to do.

"Be our guest. You could stay the night if you can't find another place to stay tonight." The butler suggested and Shawn finally agreed on having dinner with Mr. Riley. Little did he know that he wouldn't leave Denver for another three years.

~End of flashback~

The two men both smiled at the memory.

"I still owe you for saving my life, kid. That was one hell of a shot." He looked proudly at the younger man sitting next to his bed. "It's good to have you back!"

Shawn's smile grew even wider. "Thank you, Mike. It's good to be back. Felt like finally coming home."

They talked a little more until a nurse stepped into the room announcing that visiting hours were over. Shawn stood up from his chair and bent over Mikes figure to engulf him into a hug.

Touched by this unexpected move Mike whispered into Shawn's ear. "You know I came to think of you as the son I never was lucky enough to have. I'm really proud of you and the things you achieved so far."

Shawn had to swallow the lump that had built up in his throat before he replied. "And I've come to think of you like a second dad."

Mike patted Shawn's back before letting go and they did their secret handshake one more time.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning, okay?" Shawn asked.

"Of course, kid." Mike smiled at him.

In Santa Barbara…

Juliet entered her dark apartment. She was exhausted even though nothing really happened all day (besides Shawn skipping town abruptly). She was looking forward to his call the next day since as she realized a few hours prior she really missed having him around and hearing his voice. She hadn't felt as happy as this morning when she woke up in his bed in a long time. As she thought about it she hadn't felt so happy at any point of her relationship with Declan. Of course he had made her feel special, buying her gifts and taking her on trips to Europe but that was about it. She never got past the point of just crushing on him. Maybe he was more like a diversion for her.

Later that night she came to the conclusion that it was a good thing that the relationship had come to an end, even though it wasn't a pleasant one. But it had helped her to come to terms with her feelings for Shawn: she couldn't and didn't want to live without him. With that in mind she drifted off to sleep.

In Denver…

After taking a cab from the hospital to the Riley mansion, Shawn had been happily greeted by a brunette woman and a young blonde girl.

"Uncle Shawn, you're back. I missed you so much." The girl shouted, running up to him and jumping into his outstretched arms.

"I missed you, too, little princess." He said while picking her up from the ground and whirling her through the air which earned him excited screams from the little girl.

"Shawn, be careful." The brunette woman tried to calm the two of them down. "We don't want to go straight back to the hospital, do we?"

Shawn set the girl down and they both looked at each other before turning to the woman with a pout on their face. "But Kaaaaaaaate… I haven't seen in her in soooo long." He said.

They earned a stern look from Kate and stopped immediately. "Ashley, I told you you could stay up until Uncle Shawn comes home but you really need to go to bed now. It's late and you've got school tomorrow."

"Okay." Ashley sighed. "Can Uncle Shawn tug me in?"

"Of course I'll do that. Come on let's go." He said enthusiastically and gave Kate a quick hug before he bent down offering his back for a piggy back ride. Ashley hopped on and they ran through the house until they reached her room. Kate could only shake her head in amusement.

Half an hour Shawn walked down the stairs and made his way into the kitchen where Kate was sitting at the counter waiting for him.

"Hey, stranger." She smiled and motioned to the stool next to her.

"Hey, yourself." He smiled back at her and gave her a kiss on the cheek before sitting down. "She has grown quite a bit."

"Yeah well that tends to happen, Shawn." She mused. "The last time you've seen her was three years ago and she was 5."

"I know. I feel so bad for not coming by more often. I really miss you guys. How are you holding up?" He asked, his voice filled with concern.

She hesitated for a moment. "It's like… history repeats itself. Like this giant nightmare that just won't go away."

Shawn nodded. "How's your dad dealing with it?"

"You know him. He's putting on a brave face but I can see right through it. He's really sad. Who can blame him? He's not only losing his boss but also a life long friend." She said in a small voice. "We already lost a person we love to this damn disease. How are we supposed to go through this kind of pain again?" A single tear made its way down her cheek.

Shawn stood up and pulled her into a hug, his hands drawing circles on her back. "This time I'm here to help you through it. I'll stay as long as you need me. I promise." He whispered into her ear.

"But you'll have to go back to Santa Barbara eventually. Your life is back there."

"But this is my home. You and your dad and Ashley and Mike are the closest I ever had to a real family. That's the only thing that counts for me right now."

They stayed like that for another minute before Kate pulled back and planted a light kiss on his cheek. She looked intently at him. "Now tell me what happened to you. You're not the same Shawn Spencer that I knew when you left five years ago."

He winced slightly at her remark. No, he wasn't the same Shawn he was when he left this place. They sure had some catching up to do. Kate took his hand and pulled him with her to the couch in front of the fire place in the nearby living room.

A/N: Reviews are welcome as always. I'm going to bed now and hope to wake up tomorrow and find a whole bunch of new reviews! ;) :D