I updated this chapter faster than expected, which is a good thing! Most people here(of course) are more familiar with Stargate Atlantis rather than Psych. For those who haven't seen Psych yet, check it out! It's a fun show. And someone commented that James Roday and Joe Flannigan looked somewhat alike, and they kind of do. Which helps this story work. :D

Special thanks to Geeky BMWW Fan for her awesome beta-skillz. She's the best. And thanks Kippling Croft for all the ideas.

Disclaimer: Stargate nor Psych is mine.

Chapter Two:

Thanks For The Memories

John left Cheyenne Mountain earlier than was planned. He only had so many days set aside before he was meant to return to Atlantis, so the quicker he started his vacation the better. To his relief, General Landry complied and let the colonel leave the SGC ahead of schedule.

After getting to Denver in just under an hour, he quickly got on the next flight from Colorado to Long Beach.

Sitting comfortably at his window seat, John had plenty of time, 1 hour and 53 minutes to be exact, to think over everything that had been building up in his mind.

The real reason why John Sheppard wasn't exactly looking forward to a family reunion, rested solely around his step-father.

John's step-father, better known as Shawn Spencer's father. Even better known as Henry Spencer, Santa Barbara Police detective.

He was an awesome cop, and an even better detective, but his paternal skills went right out the window the moment John had stepped into his life.

John's own father wasn't the greatest either. One particularly cogent reason why John's mother was divorced in the first place.

But what really confused John was the fact that his mother married the same person, in a different body, all over again.

John's biological father and his step-father were pretty much the same. Hair was different, height as well. But the hard-ass military 'I will break you or bust' attitude showed that both men were cut from the same cloth. Keep it looking like a happy family on the outside, run it like a hard working machine on the inside. A machine that never breaks.

Shawn was born approximately one and a half years into the marriage. And John hated him from the get go . Shawn was the star. As a baby, Shawn received more attention from his mother and less attention from his step-father, which made John despise the baby for all he was worth. Of course as he grew older he realized that having a younger sibling could work to his advantage. But from an eight and a half year old's standpoint, the baby had to go.

And of course it didn't.

Shawn eventually grew up, and John would travel between parents. Summers with his father. School semesters with his mother and step-family.

Once John hit the prime age of eighteen , he up and joined the Air Force, and never looked back.

His own father was out there single and alone and so was his step-father, since he and his mother had divorced when Shawn was about twelve. Too many years being married to a jerk could take its toll on a person. And John's mother wasn't strong enough.

So now, she too was alone.

But Shawn had Gus. Always did and always would.

The last time John saw Henry was about ten years ago. Still an amateur in the Air Force and still an amateur to life in general. It didn't help that he was also married and failing miserably at it.

John hadn't realized that a person's life could so easily be modeled after their own childhood. He learned that quickly after a short and wasted marriage to a former Air Force pilot. She soon left the Air Force after the wedding, since she outranked him, and it went downhill from there.

Nearing the end of his marriage, John met up with Shawn at Henry's house one night. First big mistake.

John sat at the large dining room table and a rather large steel head stared back at him.

"Caught that one with my bare hands," Henry said right after shoving a piece of fish into his mouth.

John smiled and nodded. "I'm sure you did."

"You should come with me sometime, John."

"Oh no, you've been caught in the web of a fishing invite, what do you do now?" Shawn mock asked while laughing his head off.

"Shawn knock it off," Henry said, pointing his fork at him.

"Thanks, Henry, maybe I will sometime," John replied, cutting into his fish.

Gus shook his head and stared wide-eyed at the idea of ever going fishing with Henry. That alone could and most definitely would give him nightmares for a good solid week.

"Don't worry, Gus... I'm not going to invite you," Henry mumbled, while promptly turning his attention back to John. "And maybe we can take that wife of yours too."

John looked across the table at Henry after poking his fish with a butter knife. "Um... I don't think she'll be coming."

"Oh? Why is that?"

What irked John about his interrogation was that he already knew why. This was Henry's way to problem solve. Get the issue out in the open and then tell the person what they've done wrong and how to go fix it.

"She and I separated last Tuesday."

Shawn and Gus grew really quiet.

Henry, on the other hand, did not.

Is that so? What happened, John? Irreconcilable differences?"

"I guess. We just grew apart," John said growing quiet as he thought about his wife and her affair with John's second in command . The three of them were all friends. He hadn't known just how close his wife and now former friend were.

Henry raised a brow. After setting down his fork he leaned into the table and gave John a 'look'. Even though Henry was at least four feet away, that was too close from John's standpoint. "And are you just going to give up?"

"Excuse me?"

Henry shrugged. "Meaning what?" He leaned in a bit closer. John scooted his chair back a bit. "Want to know what I think?"


"Not really," John said almost inaudibly. Thankfully Henry hadn't heard, but Shawn and Gus did. Their faces looked as though they had just seen the first sign of the Apocalypse.

I think," Henry continued, "that you don't know how to take care of a woman, John. You need to take responsibility for your actions."

"But she had an affair," John interrupted now sounding a bit louder than before. "And from your rap-sheet, I don't think taking advice from you is exactly a great idea."

"I'm much older than you, John. I think I'm a little bit wiser by now. And I know how disrespectful you are to your commanding officers. Hell, you were almost demoted for ignoring a direct order. How are you supposed to support a marriage with actions like that?"

"How did you-" John stopped. No body was supposed to know about that. He couldn't imagine his mother even knowing. The only person he told (while a bit inebriated, mind you) was... Shawn.

Shawn now looked as though he was getting ready to be hung from the gallows.

John glared at him. "You told your dad?"

Shawn held up his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to; it just slipped out."

Gus looked over at Shawn. "You told your dad about John's reprimand?"

John's eyes widened. "You told Gus too?"

Shawn tried to look innocent as he gestured to Gus. "Oh, c'mon it's Gus."

"But you told your dad." John stood up from his chair. "I'm leaving."

"Go ahead, John. Walk out of this, just like you walk out of everything else in your life," Henry called out to him.

Shawn looked around as if he had no idea what had just happened. In fact, he had to ask.

"What just happened?"

Gus glared at his friend while Shawn got out of his seat to stop his brother and to make things right.

"John! Wait!" He ran out of the screen door and almost ran smack dab into John, who was making his way to his car.

"I don't need this, Shawn. Not him, not you. Not any of this," he said angrily while opening the door to his car.

"John. I'm sorry…"

"Why don't you go back in the house and play lap dog for your dad, ok?"

"What?" Shawn shook his head in disbelief. "You didn't mean that."

"Oh, I meant it." With that John shut the door to his car and drove off, leaving everyone behind.

John Sheppard drove down cookie-cutter streets in his Ford Taurus rental. He was pretty sure he reserved an SUV of some sort, but the teenager manning the desk at Hertz told him other wise.

"Those cars don't match our policy of low-emission standards and do not pass smog check," the bracedfaced kid mumbled.

Since John hadn't felt like arguing, as he could fill that quota spending the day with his step-dad, he just took whatever was available.

I feel like I'm driving an unmarked police car, John thought to himself.

It didn't help that he looked slightly suspicious while traveling down the road. Every time John passed a street sign or a familiar looking home, he slowed to stare it down with scrutiny. As of yet, nothing looked recognizable.

To the left of him, the Pacific Ocean graced the skyline with its rolling, frothy white waves and masses of seagulls. To his right, litters of over-priced bungalows and stucco homes. Plenty to the point of too much stucco.

He needed a landmark. Anything to help guide him along.

John slammed on his brakes for a moment when he thought he had passed the same stucco house with a turquoise door and a for sale sign. To the dismay of both him and the driver behind him who honked and yelled simultaneously, it was just another stucco house with a turquoise door and a for sale sign.

"I'm in a sunny twilight zone."

John turned the corner at the stop sign and pulled into a parking spot next to the sidewalk.

He checked the directions Shawn gave him. The street name was right but the address was way off. It also didn't remedy the situation that everything looked the same.

Most, if not all, of the southern west coast looked the same. It was almost a ploy to ward off weary vacationers. Along the same lines, Santa Barbara was a So. Cal dream. Every cliché or rumor you heard was right. Palm trees were scattered like wildflowers. Surf-shops, outdoor cafes and Starbucks laced the road side. Meanwhile tourists, girls in bikini tops and shorts, and dog-walkers comprised the majority of the pedestrian population.

He watched momentarily as two young guys carrying surf boards ran down a cross walk shoe-less.

He recalled those days. Sort of. What he really remembered was that there weren't enough of those days to actually have a lasting memory. He'd fix that this weekend.

John sighed as he looked over his directions once more and thought about calling Shawn's cell phone. Or rather Gus' cell. Why Shawn gave him Gus's number in the first place was still a mystery to him .

He considered turning around and going back. He had a whole other galaxy to take care of and from the sound of it, Shawn didn't need him in the first place. Even though John's mind was harboring second thoughts on his trip, he decided to stay and make the most of it. He was already here, so why not?

It didn't help that John already felt like an outsider. He didn't visit Earth enough to really feel part of it anymore. It felt odd to be out of military garb. And his right hand itched to touch a P-90.

Instead, John had donned a light blue t-shirt and black board shorts. Not to mention flip flops. Those were a must. Have flip flops, will travel.

After a few extra seconds, he finally got out of his car and felt the balmy sea breeze brush over his face and hair. The familiar smell made him smile. He took a long glance around and pushed his aviators up the bridge of his nose.

After taking in a deep breath of ocean air, John eyeballed a few palms next to a stucco building.

Did I already pass those palm trees?

He glanced across the street and recognized the address. Immediately he found the place Shawn had reverberated over the phone. John quickly double-checked the scrawled letters he used for directions. It all seemed right.

The only thing that didn't seem right? The word 'PYSCH' on the front window, followed by: 'Private Psychic Detective'.

Gus peered out of the windows of their office. Still no sign of John.

"Shawn, why didn't you give John directions to the house? We had to rush all the way out here."

Shawn was currently leaning back in his desk chair. "Just think about it, we're closer to I-5 this way. John probably has a rental car , and we can soon be on our way to Disneyland or some other tourist trap."

Gus narrowed his eyes. "We have to play tourist the entire time your brother his here?"

He shrugged. "It'll make the time go by much faster, and we won't have to bother him with any of our work," he said with a wink.

"Why did you wink? It's not like your keeping a secret from me."

"Winking just adds to the mystery."

"Whatever, Shawn," Gus said while looking out the windows again. "You do realize that Disneyland is a crazy place this time of year."

Just then Gus saw a beige Ford Taurus pull up across the street. Signature dark bed-head hair got out of the car.

"He's here. And I think he's found us."

"You're making him sound like a serial killer. He's supposed to find us."

"I know, Shawn," Gus said, now exasperated. He pointed to the letters that read 'psychic' on the window. "How are we going to explain that?"

"Hm..., let's just see what happens."

Gus checked the window again. "He's walking toward the building."

"Thank you, informant," Shawn said shaking his head.

Both Gus and Shawn watched as they saw the black, spiky hair show up at the door. A firm knock came after.

Shawn jumped over and pulled the door open and found John standing there. "Brother! How long it's been!" Shawn promptly pulled him into a hug.

After John pulled away, he glanced around the building. "Nice, cute place." He turned to look at both Shawn and Gus. "But who's the psychic? Are you renting this place and forgot to change the name?"

Both Shawn and Gus looked at each other and then back at John. "Well you see-.," "The funny thing is-.." Each man said simultaneously to John. And then they stopped.

Gus spoke up again first. "Shawn... he's uh, he's a psychic."

John raised a brow and looked at his younger brother. "You're a psychic?"

"Yes?" Shawn answered, although it sounded more like a question.

John laughed and pulled off his sunglasses. "And by psychic, you mean that your observation skills are uncanny and the only way you can rightfully pull it off is blaming it on superhuman abilities?" He stopped and before both Gus and Shawn could answer him, he continued. "What do you think I am, stupid? Or could you sense ahead of time that I wouldn't believe you?"

Gus looked over at Shawn momentarily and then back at John.

"Well, as long as the Santa Barbara police department is content, why not?" Shawn asked with a grin.

John smiled. "You're right."

"So, long trip? Where did you come from, Colorado? Which is funny because I didn't think the Air Force had a base near the Rockies."

John looked somewhat alarmed. "How did you..?"

Shawn smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. "Superhuman abilities, bro. Superhuman abilities."

"I knew it! You are stationed at Area 51, aren't you?" Gus asked, almost giddy. "What's it like?"

"Hey, I was the one who said he was at Area 51!" Shawn exclaimed.

John pointed to Gus. "First off, no. And second... even if I knew, that would be classified , wouldn't it?" John said with a shake of his head. He turned back to Shawn. "So, share with me. How did you know that I was in Colorado earlier?"

Shawn grinned. "Oh, that's easy."

Thanks for reading. Comments and reviews greatly appreciated!

PsychFan -I agree with you there! Thank you and thanks for reviewing!

starfish- Thank you! Glad you like it so far. Believe me, chaos will enuse soon enough. :)

A pal- BCBW. wink Thanks:D