Here's the next chapter. I hope you like it

"I have a team looking for the Major and Dr. McKay. I just…"

Weir nodded understandingly at Lieutenant Ford. "You were right to bring him to the infirmary. From what you've said, these children sound like they've been through a lot."

Ford grimaced. "You got that right, ma'am. I don't know what happened, but they're scared, tired, and hurting. That stab wound came from a knife, and by the way the kid acted it wasn't accidental."

"Aye, I'm afraid you are correct, lieutenant." Weir and Ford turned to see Dr. Beckett step out of the operating room. "The wound wasn't too deep, though the lad lost a lot of blood. He's in recovery now. However, during surgery my team found scars to indicate that this wasn't an isolated incident." Beckett sighed, his eyes troubled. "To put it bluntly, the lad's been physically abused."

Ford swore and Weir's face looked grim. "Can you tell us anything else?"

The doctor shook his head. "Not at the moment. I was hoping to talk to the other lad—his brother?" Ford nodded. "He might be able to tell us more. I also need to check him over."

"He's asleep right now, but…"

"I'm awake." The three turned at the small voice. J.D. slowly sat up on the bed, his eyes looking suspiciously at Dr. Weir. "Who are you?"

Ford jumped in, remembering how distrustful the boy was. "This is Dr. Elizabeth Weir, you can trust her too. You've met Dr. Carson Beckett, and my name is Aiden Ford. Call me Aiden."

Weir smiled at the boy, taking a seat next to his bed so she could look him in the eye. "You can call me Elizabeth. What's your name?"

The boy looked up at Ford who nodded encouragingly. He looked back at Weir. "My name's John Drexel Callaghan."

Ford tried not to frown, the name sparking a memory that couldn't possibly be right. "Do you go by J.D.?"

"No, only my brother calls me that, just like I'm the only one who calls him Quinn."

"What's your brother's name, then?"

John stared straight into Ford's eyes. "He's Rodney Quentin Callaghan."

Weir forced the smile to stay on her face, not letting her eyes betray her confusion. "And how old are you, John?"

"We turned seven in June. We had a space party, and Mom made us a cake…" His eyes grew sad, tears clouding their blue depths. "I want to go home! I want Mom and Dad to still be alive, I want to be able to play in our fort with Rodney, I want to go on the trip to Devil's Lake with Dad like he promised…I want to go home!" The tears fell and John began sobbing.

On instinct, Beckett sat next to the boy and pulled him into a hug. "There now, lad, I know." After a few moments, John's sobs turned into sniffles. "I know you're tired, son, but I need to give you a check-up, make sure you're healthy. Why don't you tell Elizabeth and Aiden about yourself while I do that, hmm?"

John nodded and Beckett helped him out of the oversized shirt. As the doctor began examining the boy, Weir decided to continue questioning him in order to get him to open up. "So, John, where are you from?"

"Fairhills, North Dakota. It's near Canada."

Weir paused. "John, I know this may sound weird, but what it the date?"

John wrinkled his forehead. "I'm...I'm not sure. It was September when…when they took us. I lost track of the days, but it's been a long time." He looked up, troubled. "It might not even be 1976 any more. I…I think we missed Christmas!"

Beckett paused in his examination and patted the boy on his shoulder. "It's alright, lad. I'll have the cook make you some gingerbread and hot tea for you and your brother, as a belated Christmas treat."

Hazel eyes actually lit up at the mention of good. "We love gingerbread! And tea too, 'cept Rodney's allergic to lemon so we can't have any with that in it."

"Right, no lemon."

Cheered at the thought of treats, John happily continued talking. "Rodney's really smart. He wants to be an astronaut when he grows up, and build a laser gun to blow aliens up with. I want to be a doctor or a policeman like dad." At the mention of his father, the light in John's eyes died. "We were playing baseball with dad when…" He shook his head and looked up at Beckett. "Is Rodney going to be alright?"

"Aye. His cut wasn't too deep. He should be right as rain soon. You can see him in a bit if you would like." John nodded, but quit talking. Beckett finished up his examination and helped the boy put his shirt back on. "You look tired, lad. I'll have a nurse bring some food, but then I want you to get some sleep. Alright?" John nodded again, and Beckett gently squeezed his shoulder. "Into bed you go."

The doctor turned to Weir and Ford. "I'm going to have some tests run; I'll be out in a bit."

0000

It took Beckett only a moment to drop off the blood work with one of the nurses. He ordered three different tests, then made his way to the room off the side of the infirmary where Weir and Ford were waiting for him. The three just stood there for a moment, each processing their thoughts. As deference to Weir's leadership and just being gentlemen, Ford and Beckett allowed her to speak first.

"I'm guessing the both of you are thinking what I'm thinking?"

Ford agreed. "Ma'am, during downtime one day the team got to talking about names. Major Sheppard's middle name is Drexel."

Weir remembered that from the personnel files. "Yes, and Dr. McKay's middle name is Quentin."

Beckett shook his head. "I'm not making any judgment until the DNA tests come back." A pause. "Still, how many smart Rodney Quentin's are allergic to lemons?"

Weir was still trying to sort out her thoughts. "But how could we not know that Rodney and Major Sheppard were twins? Besides, the major is a year younger than Rodney."

"The lad is quite small for his age," interjected Beckett.

Ford shrugged his shoulders. "I guess we won't know for sure until we get the DNA results."

Weir nodded, though it was obvious that she was still chewing on the implications of these new developments. Shaking her head, she changed the subject. "Carson, how is John? Was he…?"

"Nay, he wasn't physically abused like Rodney. However, he is much too thin for my liking. If Rodney is our Rodney, he still suffers from hypoglycemia which his brother would know about. And knowing Major Sheppard…"

"John gave Rodney his food." Weir didn't look happy about this. She knew Major Sheppard would sacrifice himself for anyone on his team, and she wouldn't put it past him that he was the same way as a child.

The doctor didn't look happy either. "Aye, at least some of it. Rodney himself was too thin so they obviously weren't given a lot to begin with."

Weir let out a frustrated sigh. "What did they go through?"

Idid mention that Evil Skittle wrote most of this, didn't I?