"Are you certain of his due date?"
Sam and Jack both nodded, watching as the preemie specialist examined Jacob once more, the baby lying on an extremely fluffy blanket which had been placed in a specially designed basinet type structure that he'd brought with him.
Doctor Lawrence Ali had been introduced to them both and had proven to be a very affable man who was huge and gentle at the same time. Quite spoken – probably because of the nature of his work – he was also quick to smile and reassure and when Jack handed Jacob over to him, he'd handled him gently, his large hands dwarfing the tiny infant.
"We're certain within a couple of days," Janet said, agreeing. Of course she hadn't actually been on the honeymoon, but there was no mistaking the time, because of how difficult it was to work around the peculiarities of Sam's fertility.
"The reason I ask," Ali said, running his cheek lightly against Jacob's belly as he listened to his heart beating – without the use of a stethoscope – "…is that his lungs and heart are extremely well developed for a baby born so early." He smiled at Sam – and he had a warm, reassuring smile. "Usually that's the biggest concerns with preemies; the fact that their organs haven't had a chance to develop completely, even though they're already formed. Which is why so many end up have difficulties. Young Jake here," and he held the infant in one hand while he tested his vision by waving his other hand lightly in front of the infant. "Has no developmental problems at all, as far as I can tell. And from the looks of the tests we've run, he's perfect." Again the warm smile. "But I'll bet you two have already figured that out?"
Jack couldn't help himself; he smiled. Not only in response to the relief of hearing that his son was fine, but because the doctor was seriously one of the nicest and most caring people he'd ever seen – and Jack never made that kind of snap judgment. He was usually quick to decide the bad, but slow to decide on the good in the people around him.
"Yeah, he gets that from Sam," Jack told him.
Ali nodded and handed Jacob back to Sam, who was blushing despite herself. The compliment was nothing new – Jack was always quick to say something sweet about her, whether she needed it or not – but it had been delivered with such a warm look of tenderness that she couldn't help but feel gooey inside.
"So he's going to be okay?"
"For all that he was delivered prematurely and by kid who had no clue what he was doing? He's going to be something special. How could he be anything but with a start like that?"
Sam cuddled Jacob, who was starting to fuss just a little.
"Is there anything we need to watch for?" Janet asked.
Ali shook his head.
"Just the usual things. Make sure he's gaining weight, double check his vision and reflexes every visit to make sure he's still on track – but really, apart from being so small; he looks great. And he'll grow quickly, I assure you."
"Thank you, Doctor."
The specialist nodded, and offered Jack his hand.
"You're very welcomed, Colonel O'Neill. I'll leave my number with you, and if you or Samantha have any questions, please feel free to call."
"We will."
"How about a cup of coffee before you go, Lawrence?" Janet asked, smiling her own relief. It was one thing for her to say Jacob was okay, but she wasn't a specialist and it was a relief to have one agree with her. Ali was one of the best in his field, and he was rarely wrong about such things.
"Sounds great."
He was hoping to get a look around this securely guarded base that he'd been brought to – although there was no way he could have known that all he'd see was corridors on the way to the commissary.
OOOOOOO
"I was thinking…"
Ian looked up from his lasagna when Daniel spoke up. He was halfway through it, with another two sandwiches to go – although most of the soup was gone, as was the cherry pie and ice cream, since it had started to melt, and he couldn't have that, right?
"About what?"
"The ship you were on."
"What about it?"
"It's Ancient, right?"
"You said it was," Ian agreed, cautiously. He wasn't going to give his opinion.
"Then it's probably the main transportation that the Ancients used for getting around."
"What did they do before they'd built the Stargates, though?" Ian asked.
Daniel frowned. Oh yeah.
"Well… they probably had transport ships, too – long distant ones, since they'd need to carry all the materials for building the gates to the various worlds. Very few of the worlds we've come across have natural supplies of the metals the gates are built of."
"Not to mention DHDs probably don't grow on DHD trees," Ian added, stuffing a buttered roll into his mouth.
Daniel nodded his agreement.
"You just have to wonder what they could have-"
A wail interrupted Daniel's tangent, and both of them looked over towards the entrance to the commissary, knowing already what – or who, to be precise – they were going to see. Sure enough, Sam and Jack appeared at the doorway, Sam crooning to a fussy Jacob, and Jack walking beside a guy that had to be at least as big as Teal'c, but who had no military bearing whatsoever. And Ian knew military when he saw them.
Janet Fraiser entered the room right behind the three, and Ian and Daniel saw them all look their way.
"That must be the preemie specialist," Daniel said. "Wow… he's… um… big."
"Bet he played football," Ian agreed. The guy just got bigger as they approached the table, and Sam smiled a hello to Ian and Daniel, both.
"Hey, guys," Jack said, looking at the dizzying array of food on the table – most of it centered in front of Ian. "Lunch?"
Ian nodded, and Sam came over and sat down beside him, Jacob starting to gear up into a full-fledged fit.
"Is he okay?" He asked.
"He's fine," Sam said, smiling. "Probably just being Grumpy baby, again."
"Ian, Daniel? I want you to meet Doctor Lawrence Ali… baby doctor extraordinaire. Doctor Ali, this is Daniel, and Ian. Ian's the one who delivered Jake."
Ali smiled and offered Ian his hand, and the cadet dropped his fork and took it. His hand was huge, but the handshake was surprisingly gentle.
"You did very well, young man," Ali told Ian, sitting down without asking for permission. Of course, when you're that big, who do you have to ask?
Ian blushed, and mumbled something, looking into his lasagna.
"Hungry?" Fraiser asked, coming over to join them with a tray of coffee mugs, all filled and piping hot. She couldn't believe the amount of food in front of the cadet – of course, she'd seen him eat at Thanksgiving, but that had to have been a fluke, right?
Ian blushed again.
"Don't listen to her, Ian," Jack said, taking a cup and handing it to Sam, and then taking Jacob from her so she could drink it. He was glad to see Ian eating so heartily. It was a good way to regain some of that lost weight that Janet and the others had noticed. The infant stuttered for just a moment, debating if this change of possession was a good thing, and decided he was still feeling grumpy. The crying continued.
Ali smiled, not at all concerned by the crying.
"Preemies normally have very weak cries," he said. "Because of their under developed lungs. Jake's are great. Don't worry, though, if he screams sometimes. As long as you know he's not wet, or hungry or hurting, he's fine. Babies cry."
Jack already knew that – although it was good to hear it again.
"Want to see something neat, Doc?" he said, smiling. He handed Jacob over to Ian, who, startled, reached out and took him before he could think about how many reasons there were for him not to be holding the baby – the main one being that Jacob was very fragile.
Immediately Jacob hiccupped, and with a dazed expression on his little face, he stopped crying.
"How'd you do that?" Daniel asked, just as impressed as Ali was.
"Cuddle him, Ian," Jack reminded him.
Ian gave a purely mental sigh, and brought Jacob up close against his chest. Not that he didn't like the baby – his Godson, thank you very much – but he just knew he was going to end up dropping him on his head.
"He likes Ian," Sam said, smiling proudly – even though she hadn't really even considered handing the crying baby over to Ian, thinking that the first time had been a fluke.
"Someone has to," Ian said, tucking Jacob's head under his chin.