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Geeky- Gracias, friend. Thanks for the speedy beta. You're the best! I give you a new nano in the color of your choice. :D Huzzah!

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Chapter Ten: More Introductions

Gus and Shawn watched as the commissary filled with uniformed individuals. For the most part, rarely anyone had given the two newest additions to the city a second glance. Still, a handful of people stared at Gus and Shawn as though wondering if they had missed out on a 'causal Friday' memo.

And really, Shawn and Gus hardly looked as though they fit in with the Atlantis crew. Gus was wearing perfectly pressed khakis and a pink button down shirt. Shawn was in jeans and a kelly green polo. They stood out amongst the gray, white and blue crowd. But other than a few stray glances, the two of them hardly received special attention.

Which suited Shawn just fine. He was in a people watching mode.

"It must be dinner time for the G.I. Joes. Air Force, Marines...They're all here," Shawn mused out loud, while sounding impressed. The place was packed full of people from all over the Earth. They were all eating and chatting without any sign of animosity toward one another. Everything seemed to be in perfect harmony. "This place is actually pretty cool." He turned to Gus; his friend had become awfully quiet ever since John had left. "Am I the only one thinking this is all a crazy dream and that I'm about to wake up to the sound of my alarm clock?"

Gus nodded. "I've already pinched myself. Twice. Especially after that alien attack earlier."

Shawn raised a brow. "You pinched yourself? Buddy, that is so cliche."

Gus ignored him. "Shawn, do you even own an alarm clock?"

Instead of replying, Shawn smiled at a female Marine walking by their table. She returned the smile as she brushed past.

Shawn watched the Marine till she was out of sight. "Heh, did you see her?"

"Where's John?" Gus asked, somewhat concerned. "He was supposed to bring back hot chocolates."

Shawn seemed in agreement with him. "Well, it looks as though he left us. I guess we really shouldn't be surprised. I'm sure duty called."

Their present wonderings over John's location washed away as the two watched a highly attractive, slightly midriff baring woman walk over to their table.

"Is she...?" Gus's voice grew quiet. "Walking over ...here?"

"Yep. And this has got to be a dream."

As she came closer, the answer was a hearty yes. She was most definitely making her way to the table.

In a blink of an eye she was taking a seat in a chair and sitting directly across from them.

"Hello." Her greeting was punctuated with a bright smile. She then held out her hand. "I'm Teyla Emmagen. It's a pleasure to meet both of you."

Shawn half-giggled. "Hi," he then cleared his throat, realizing he should also introduce himself. "I'm Shawn Spencer," he said while shaking her hand.

Gus returned her dazzling smile with one of his own. "And I'm..."

"Tiberius K. James," Shawn interjected with a smirk. "If you're wondering what the k stands for, it's Kirk.. But... heh, that's a silly name."

Gus glared at him momentarily, and then turned back to Teyla, "Actually, my name's Burton Guster. But everyone calls me Gus."

"Gus," she smiled and then looked at Shawn. "And Shawn. And one of you must be... Colonel Sheppard's brother?"

Gus and Shawn looked at each other, and then back at Teyla. Before they had a chance to say anything, she continued while pointing at Shawn.

"Is it you?" She asked him. "I am sorry, I'm not completely educated on Earth customs. I'm not sure if that would be considered rude with just assuming."

"I don't think anyone could consider you rude," Gus said, give her a sly smirk.

"Yep, that'd be me. The Shep's brother. And might I say, it is so nice to meet you," Shawn added with a grin. "So, you're not from Earth?"

Teyla shook her head. "No, I am not. I'm actually an Athosian."

Gus became clearly interested. "Is your planet this one?"

"No, not entirely. But in a way, yes. My people occupy the mainland. We abandoned Athos long ago, seeking refuge from Wraith cullings..." She paused, seeing that Shawn and Gus had no idea what she was talking about.

"Wraith?" Gus questioned. His face grew grim.

"Do those things have creepy green skin and white hair?" Shawn asked, trying to piece together what he had seen earlier. No one had offered explanations as of yet.

Teyla nodded. "Yes. By the look on your faces, I'm guessing you saw one that was beamed into the city?"

Gus appeared as though he was recalling the horrendous scene in his mind. "We saw more than enough."

"It threatened to kill us," Shawn added with a shrug. "I think."

"What exactly are these... Wraith?" Gus had to know. Curiosity was killing him.

Teyla became quiet, clearly thinking it over. "Well, ... I'm trying to recall how Colonel Sheppard once describe them to those newly from Earth... Vampiric, telepathic and hungry." She smiled, but Shawn could easily see it was forced. There was a sadness behind her eyes; Teyla must have seen plenty of traumatic experiences in her lifetime. And he hardly wanted to press for any 'exciting' stories.

Gus, on the other hand, simply stared at her.

Teyla offered a better description and she held out her hand while pointing to her palm. "You see, they have a feeding organ in their hand, allowing them to feed on the life force of living creatures. And to the Wraith, humans are nothing but cattle or livestock. A crop to be harvested. They're powerful, and evil... And..."

Gus let out a small 'eep'. He then nudged Shawn roughly in the ribs with his elbow. "Shawn, we've got to get out of here! I don't care how, but..."

"Dude, relax. Relax," Shawn said, trying to sound as calm as possible for his unmistakably frightened friend. "John knows how to take care of them." He then gestured to the people around him, "And as you can see, there are plenty of people here who know how to take care of ...situations like that. And they are," He smiled at Teyla, "Lovely people."

Teyla smiled back. "Now that we've spent time together, you do remind me of John. So... Shawn and Gus," she was also doing her part in keeping Gus from freaking out, "what is it that you do on Earth?"

This eased Gus considerably, he then cleared his throat, "I'm in pharmaceuticals." It was easy to see that Teyla wasn't quite sure what that meant exactly, but she nodded as he continued. "And I also work with Shawn part time."

"Oh," Teyla turned to Shawn. "What do you do? Are you also in the military?"

Shawn almost snorted a laugh. "Me? No way. I'm a ..." Gus was giving him a look. A look that said 'No.' And Shawn knew the look all too well, but he was going to ignore it. "I'm a uh... psychic."

Instead of scoffing or looking even the slightest unsure, Teyla appraised him. "Are you?" She became even more so intrigued. "I have heard of such ones, and I had no idea anyone on Earth possessed such abilities."

Shawn shrugged. "Well, it's an ability as much as it is a burden. But we all have our crosses to bear."

"What do you do with this ability?" she asked.

"I fight crime, to tell you the truth, Teyla. You see," he patted Gus's shoulder, "Gus and I are a two man team of solving crime and serving justice."

Well, it wasn't a complete lie and Gus went along with it while nodding his head. "It's true. We've solved a fair share of cases for the Santa Barbara police department."

She raised a brow, "Santa Barbara? Is that where you live?"

Gus nodded. Shawn thought back to his home town fondly. Would he rather be spending time in his totally awesome office while watching Full House re-runs or be spending it with his best friend and a totally hot chick in another galaxy? That answer was obvious.

John's trip had turned out for the best. If his brother hadn't visited at all, Shawn wouldn't be in the incredible place he was now.

"So..." Teyla's pleasant voice brought Shawn back to reality. "What can you tell me about myself?"

Without missing a beat, Shawn grinned. "Well, Miss Emmagen, I can tell you one thing. John asked you to come watch us while he was busy."

Her face was a give away; she looked impressed. "Yes, of course!"

Shawn opened his mouth to add more, but he looked up and saw that the dreaded man from the earlier 'Wraith' attack was making his way over to their table. They certainly were becoming popular.

"Chewbacca's right behind you."

Gus snickered. Teyla was confused.

She turned and glanced behind her. "Oh, hello, Ronon. I was just meeting Colonel Sheppard's guests."

Ronon took a seat next to Teyla. "I've already met them," he grumbled.

Teyla ignored his 'enthusiastic' appraisal of Shawn and Gus. "Why don't we all have some dinner?"

Gus acted like that was the best idea he had heard all day. And it had been a long day.

He grinned at Teyla. "Yes, let's have dinner."

They all stood up and Shawn and Gus followed the other two to the cafeteria line, which had waned somewhat.

Teyla turned to Ronon, "Did you know that John's brother is psychic?"

Ronon seemed keen on this. He looked over at Shawn. "Really? Prove it."

Sheppard stood in front of his bathroom mirror and surveyed himself one last time. His board shorts and t-shirt were now safely stored away and his typical gray garb now graced his form. It felt good returning to something so familiar.

He smiled at his reflection. The Wraith weren't going to be knocking on his door anytime soon. His team was in one piece. No impending doom, as of yet...

How could he have forgotten? He was still taking care of Shawn and Gus.

He let out a breath and threaded his fingers through his hair. His only concern was their safety, but when dealing with Shawn, it was a matter of life and death at some points.

Still, he hadn't seen his brother for ten years. And there was a big chance his brother's 'antics' had diminished somewhat.

Oh that's right, there was a gun pulled on me within the first two hours of actually being with Shawn, he scoffed.

That murderer they had 'caught' at the nerd convention was certainly psychotic, but nothing a lieutenant colonel couldn't have handled. Maybe.

He shook his head. No use in wondering about what hadn't happened.

John's thoughts, however, did meander to Shawn's co-workers; the two detectives he had met at the police department. He wondered if they were faring ok with the search.

And the gnawing in the back of his mind became more clear. What did those back in Santa Barbara think had happened to them? They had been missing for quite some time.

John narrowed his eyes. "Henry's been brought on the case, I'm sure," he told his reflection.

Great. When he finally has Shawn and Gus returned to the proper galaxy, there was an earful and lecture in his future. And another possible ten years of bad blood.. He just knew it.

With a final sigh, John trudged out of his room. He still had to find Shawn and Gus, and share with them the exciting news of going off-world.

As Sheppard walked down the hallways to the commissary, he couldn't help but feel wary now. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all.

Whoo! Thanks for reading everyone. I hope to keep the chapters coming.

Michelle Morris- Thank you so much!

K. Arterton- Thank you! :D

fargirl 2007- So glad you're liking it! Thank you!

Fiera Sabre- Thank you, and yes, a well needed hiatus is always a good thing. :D

mimi- Thank you!

Ella Fitzgerald Fan- Thank you! Psych is one of my favorites as well. :)