See disclaimer on Ch. 1.
Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. My life has been complete choas. Thank you to all the loyal readers who have stuck with this story from the very begining. This is the end though, so I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter Seven: Satisfied
Rodney sat in his dark, quiet lab. The last few days were something of a shock. They had gone from normal Atlantis trouble to life changing revelations. 'Brothers?' Rodney just couldn't get his mind around it. Sure he had always thought that he and John were alike but this was just too weird.
Suddenly there was a knock at the doorframe. Rodney turned and saw John standing there. They just stared at each other for a few moments.
"So, um, how are you doing?" John offered.
"Well, I'm a little confused. I mean, do we share a mom or dad? There are so many questions that need to be answered."
"I'm glad you feel that way because I do too. Which is why I talked to Elizabeth about you and I going Earth for two weeks to find some answers." John said with a smile.
"Really, that sounds good. But both of my parents are dead. The only family I have is my sister Jeannie. I doubt she knows anything."
"My dad is still alive. We can talk to him. We leave tomorrow."
A couple days later on Earth…
John and Rodney slowly got out of the car. They had arrived on Earth a few days earlier. The sun shone through the clouds. It was a fairly nice day, earth standards. They stood for a few moments outside the building. They both knew that the one man who could answer all their questions was there. They had talked to Jeannie but she knew nothing. She was surprised though, just as they had been.
"Well, this is it." John stated as he started walking for the door.
"Wait! Do we really want to do this? I mean, I know we both want answers but what about your dad? What if he had nothing to do with this? Wouldn't this be like bringing up the past?" Rodney spouted off.
John stopped. "It's not the past. We are not the past. I think this needs to come out, whether he knows anything or not."
Rodney nodded. "You're right. Let's go."
They walked in and looked around. The nursing home was how you would expect it, cold and sterile. John looked around. He knew that this was the best place for his father but it didn't make it any easier. Finally he spotted him.
"There he is." John pointed. They slowly walked over to the nearly abandoned couch. There was a lone man sitting there, watching some game show.
"Hi dad." John said. The man slowly looked to the side of him to see the boys. He suddenly gasped, as did the guys. John looked from his dad back to Rodney. If they hadn't believed the test results, they sure believed them now. Rodney and John's father had the same eyes.
Slowly, the old man recovered and regained his composure. "John, hello son, how are you? It's been years. Who's this?"
John shook his head. "You know who this is, don't you dad?"
John's father sighed. "Yes, I do. This is my son, your brother."
Rodney just stood there. This was too much to take in. If this was his father, then who had raised him all those years. Thinking back, the man had seemed to resent him.
"I suppose you want to know what happened." John Sr. said. Both boys nodded. He sighed. "John, your mother and I had been married for five years when I made a mistake. I had a one night stand. It was with a lady I knew was married. She even had a daughter. It was only one night but two months later she met with me. She told me that she was pregnant. I was excited. I loved your mother very much but I wanted a child so bad. She told me that she didn't want my help or anything. In fact, she didn't want me to have any contact with my baby."
"Why would she do that?" Rodney asked, speaking for the first time.
"She wanted to stay with her husband, they had a child together already and she didn't want to mess with that. So she told her husband that the child was his. That was you." He said, looking at Rodney. "I never got to meet you. A few months later, my wife became pregnant. That was you." He looked at John.
"Did Mom ever know?" John asked.
"No, I never told her. I really did love her and when she died, I felt so guilty. But then I realized that I still had a part of her with me, you. And Rodney, I watched the papers, always keeping tabs on you while you were growing up. I figured that if I couldn't be with you, at least I could know you."
Rodney and John both smiled. They knew that this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. And the best kind, family.
Wow, it's finally finished. Again I apologize for the month-long wait on this chapter and the who-knows-how-long wait for the entire story. It was a blast to write and I hope you enjoyed it.