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Sam arrives in Landry's office within five minutes, carrying Lauren, with Daniel, Teal'c and Janet close behind. Her face lights up with a smile as soon as she sees Jack. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," he assures her, grinning at her and the baby. He beckons to her. "Bring her closer." He steps forward, to what is apparently the very edge of the holo-transmitter's field. Now he can look directly into the baby's face. "She's awake! Hiya, Sweet Pea!"
Lauren gurgles at the sound of his voice. "See, she knows me!" Jack exclaims happily. "Thor! Come over here and meet my daughter!"
After a moment Thor steps into the hologram field.
"Come on over," Jack encourages again, grinning. "She doesn't bite!"
"She does not? Then how will she eat?"
Jack rolls his eyes. "It means she can't hurt you, Thor. And she doesn't have teeth yet, anyway." He waves Thor forward. "Come closer."
Thor approaches cautiously, stopping about three feet from Sam and the baby. "Colonel Carter," he says. "It is good to see you... and your child."
"Good to see you, too, Thor." Sam smiles and holds the baby more upright so she can be seen clearly. "This is Lauren Janet O'Neill."
"Isn't she the most beautiful baby you've ever seen?" gushes Jack.
Thor pauses for a moment to consider. "I find I must agree with you, O'Neill, since she is the only baby I have ever seen."
Jack looks completely taken aback for a moment, and a ripple of amusement runs through the assembled group.
"Thank you very much, Thor," Sam says graciously.
"Are all infants of your species this small?" he asks.
Puzzled glances are exchanged, and it is Janet who replies. "Actually she's a bit bigger than the average newborn at seven pounds, fifteen ounces. Average weight is about seven pounds, nine ounces."
"And yet they grow into large beings such as like yourselves." The little Asgaard glances around the group. "Fascinating. It has been many millennia since growth was a part of Asgaard development. How rapidly does this enlargement take place?"
The group at the SGC all look at Janet again. "Oh, she'll start gaining weight very quickly. In a month, you'll see a difference."
"And at what age will she become independent?"
"That depends on what you mean by independent," Janet says. "There are lots of milestones—crawling, walking, talking, going to school… but she won't be truly independent for, oh, sixteen or eighteen years… or more."
"I see," the Asgaard nods. "Thank you, Doctor. O'Neill, we must prepare for our arrival on Orilla."
"Right. Just give me a couple of minutes." He quickly explains to the others why Thor beamed him onto his ship. "I don't know how long the meeting with the new council will take, but I'll do my best to keep it short," he promises. "I'll get back to you as soon as I can." When they reach out toward one another, their hands pass through each other.
A moment later, his holo-image vanishes.