Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

My beta is out of town, but I figured I could post it anyway. But it might be error ridden, so I apologize in advance. :D

Thanks to KipCroft for giving me the thumbs up.

Chapter Nine: No Problems, As Of Yet

As John walked to Weir's office, he contacted Teyla via the com.

"Is there any way you could keep my brother and his friend company while I meet with Dr. Weir?"

Her pause indicated her slight shock to his sudden favor. "I had heard you brought someone back with you... But your brother? This is most interesting." John could hear the smile in her voice.

"It's only interesting till you've met him. And really, he's my half-brother." John wasn't sure why he had already divulged so much information to her, but it was easy confessing things to Teyla.

"Of course, Colonel, I will help you out."

"Thank you," he added before cutting the com connection. "They're in the commissary and I've left them at the table closest to the eastern wall. You'll probably recognize their clothing..."

John glanced down at his own clothes. He was still in flip flops.

"If I have any trouble, I'll be sure to contact you." He could already determine that this was most likely humorous to her. And why shouldn't it be? He was practically asking her to babysit. Besides, she was probably curious as to what a John Sheppard sibling would look like.

As John marched up the stairs adjacent to the gate room, Rodney sauntered up the side and joined him. "So, where did you leave them?"

"In the commisary. Teyla's going to... eh, 'watch' them," John answered.

Rodney raised an eyebrow. "Hm. Well, in any case, she'll find it funny. Or she'll drop them off at your room as soon as humanly possible."

John nodded. "That's a possibility. Too bad they won't be able to get in my room, since I haven't unlocked it yet."

Rodney was quiet in answering. "Uh, yeah..." He cleared his throat. "Anyway..."

"Wait." John halted. And, fearing the sound in his voice, Rodney did as well. "You didn't do anything to my room, right?"

"Nooo. No. Of course not. Why would I...?" The look on Rodney McKay's face was enough proof.

"Rodneeeey..."

"Ok, yes. I overrode the security on your door while you were gone. It was only to play a joke. But..." He smiled. "I didn't get to do anything since you came back so fast."

John glared at him.

Rodney shrugged. "I know. It was in bad taste. And you can pull a prank on me whenever I leave." His smile widened, as if it was going to make it better.

"Oh, that's great," John said with an eye roll as he started walking. "You never leave!"

That seemed to offend Rondey. "That's not true!" He called after him while trying to catch up.

After a few seconds rolled by, John and Rodney, now not speaking about what they had discussed prior, entered Weir's office.

She was sitting at her desk, staring at her computer placidly. She then looked up at them and smiled. "So, how are our newest guests?" She used the term 'guests' loosely. The look on her face indicated she was slightly stressed about the situation.

They both took a seat and John shrugged causally while smiling. "Fine. I have Teyla keeping an eye on them."

Weir moved closer and gently folded her hands across the surface of the desk. "Oh. Well, I wouldn't want them to think we regard them as a threat. It's only for their own safety.

Of course. The last thing Weir wanted, or anyone on the city for that matter, was the 'accidental' civilians becoming accidentally dead or seriously injured.

John chuckled. "You haven't met them yet. Teyla will be a nice distraction."

Elizabeth's posture eased up and she smiled. "I can hardly wait to meet them." She then nodded to Rodney. "Did you compile a list?"

"I did." He pulled out his hand-held device. "N90-663 would be our safest bet."

John was confused. "List? What are talking about?"

"Rodney had a few planets that were located in the At antis data base as being possible ZPM 'houses', we considered the possibility and if we could assemble a team, we wouldn't have to wait for the Daedalus and we could get..." She paused. Elizabeth just realized that she didn't know the names of their 'guests'.

"Shawn and Gus," John offered.

"Right, thank you. We could get Shawn and Gus home faster."

The plan seemed to work from John's standpoint. He turned to Rodney. "So, N90-663?"

Rodney nodded. "We've actually visited it before, right after we raised the city. But the lengthy ruins deterred our search. Since our means in searching for a zed-pm has improved for the better, I don't see why it'll take long. And we'll be able to pinpoint it from the gate. If it's not completely drained. Or long since missing, that is."

"Any potential dangers?"

"It's completely uninhabited. And other than ruins, I don't think there is anything to be worried about." Rodney seemed pretty confident. Sheppard could recall their last mission to the planet, but it was certainly uneventful.

"It works," he said with a nod. Elizabeth nodded along with him.

"Why don't you have Lorne assemble a team?" She suggested.

John thought it over. There was a stretch of a possibility that... well, he might as well ask.

"Why don't I go?"

Elizabeth seemed surprised at first. "If you feel up to it, of course. Technically you're still on vacation."

He hated being reminded that. If the Wraith hadn't made their sudden appearance, he could have been surfing at that very moment. Or, eating dinner with Henry Spencer. I'll take exploring an uninhabited planet over that any day, he grimaced slightly in his head.

John shrugged. "It's fine. What if..." He paused. There might have been no point in asking, but he had to try. Shawn and Gus, well mainly Shawn, would never let John live it down if they couldn't go on an alien planet adventure with him. Now that he had thought of it more so, Gus probably wouldn't want to go in the first place.

"No, absolutely not." Weir obviously knew where this was heading. "I haven't even met them yet."

Rodney wasn't quite sure what their exchange was about.

"If you think about it, I've blasted a Wraith ship dead out of the water. The chances of another hive ship entering this part of the galaxy any time soon are slim to none," John said, smiling for effect. "The planet's devoid of people. And threats. It'll just be a quick jaunt. A grab and go."

To John's utter shock, she started to think it over.

But Rodney was shaking his head. "No way. It's too dangerous!"

John made a face. "If that's the case, then why do we take you along?"

"Because I'm a valuable part of the team. Not a sight-seeing tourist." He rolled his eyes to punctuate his feelings on the matter.

Weir was seemingly oblivious to their banter. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but..." She looked up at John, her voice becoming serious. "As long as they know they're going at the risk of their own lives and they understand the precautions needed to be taken, then... I don't see why it'd be a problem. But only one trip, and as soon as we have secured the ZPM, they have to go."

John grinned. He could hardly wait to share the news with Shawn. He was still uncertain as to whether Gus would consider it a good thing or not.

"What?!" Rodney obviously found it preposterous.

Elizabeth smiled. "Oh, McKay. It'll be fine." She refocused on John. "You do realize, though, that they're your responsibility. You'll have to keep an eye on them."

John nodded. "Of course."

Weir seemed pleased. "Ok, so we'll set out tomorrow. That way you can rest." She studied John's outfit for a moment. "I can see that you haven't had time to change. Unless this is your new look while off duty."

"It's been hectic..." He thought about what he'll have to do next to keep Shawn and Gus, ok, mainly Shawn, from... doing things. Things that could be considered scary to the city around them. He then smiled. "I suppose I should use this free time to get out of these ...flip flops." He stood up from his seat. "I should relieve Teyla of duty at some point too."

"I can hardly wait to meet these two," Weir stated with a grin.

In a galaxy far, far away-

"What do you mean 'Shawn's brother'?" Henry asked, eyeing Lassiter with much uncertainty.

Lassiter and Juliet were standing outside Henry Spencer's home in the waning Santa Barbara sunlight, explaining the situation further. It had been five hours since they had heard from either Shawn or Gus.

And, apparently, 'Shawn and Gus have gone missing' hardly had the poignancy as 'Shawn's brother was with them'. Henry hardly batted an eye at the possibility of Shawn being missing.

"Yes," Lassiter hissed, taking off his aviator sunglasses to look at Henry directly. "Shawn's brother. You heard me correctly."

"Shawn doesn't have a brother."

Lassiter sighed. "Sorry," though he was hardly apologetic, "I meant half brother."

"Now we're getting somewhere." Still, Henry hardly seemed convinced. He merely crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Did this guy have a pompous ass look on his face and act like he owned the place?"

Juliet and Lassiter looked at each other and shrugged. That hardly fit John's description.

Jules decided to take it into her own hands. "No, not exactly. He was tall and he had really messy, but good messy, dark hai-"

"John," Henry seethed. "What the hell is John Sheppard doing in Santa Barbara?"

Lassiter's interest in the subject now piqued. "We were hoping you could tell us," he answered with a raised eyebrow.

"I can't believe Shawn didn't tell me!" Henry seemed to be getting angrier by each second, and the idea of any of them being missing still hardly fazed him.

"You don't know anything about it?" Juliet asked him, sincerely.

"No." Henry sighed and shook his head. "I highly doubt they're missing." He then pointed roughly at Lassiter and Juliet. "But I want you two to tell me everything you know!"

Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think. The next chapter should be up soon! :D