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“He did say don't hesitate to call.”
Daniel huffed a laugh, caressed Andy’s downy head once more and then stood, transferring the caress to Janet’s cheek briefly.
“If you’re all right here, I’ll go check in with him? If there’s nothing pressing, maybe we can all head home.”
Janet nodded, fatigue creeping in now. She watched as he slipped out the door.
Sometimes it was easy enough to forget how she’d ended up with Daniel as her husband. That they hadn’t had the conventional period of dating in which to learn how to navigate their relationship. The last two months, full of sleep-deprivation and midnight feeds, had reminded her in a whole new way. Her capacity to curb her sarcasm had taken a real hit, if nothing else.
Andy snuffled. Janet returned her attention to their daughter and her now very loose latch. “All done?” she whispered.
Together they repeated the squirm and burp routine that Janet could practically do while 80% asleep herself. Andy barely stirred as she was tucked into her carrier.
Janet readjusted her own clothing, checking herself quickly in the small mirror. “OK, shall we go find Daddy?”
When she knocked on the General’s door, Daniel was the one to open it. Upon seeing it was her, he stood aside.
“Sir,” Janet greeted. Hammond looked about as tired as she felt, but she thought she saw his eyes light up a tiny bit once he caught sight of the baby carrier.
“Doctor. I’ve had word from An—the Tok’ra.”
Janet didn’t miss the verbal adjustment, nor the way Hammond’s eyes had briefly flicked over her shoulder to where, presumably, Daniel had been desperately broadcasting Abort Abort hand signals. Her lips twitched, which Hammond didn’t miss either, but he pressed on bravely.
“Your efforts made all the difference for Martouf. Supreme High Councilor Per'sus wanted me to pass along his gratitude.” Hammond smiled warmly at her and she nodded. She took a breath to respond, only to stop as the General’s expression turned into something she couldn’t quite name. “That's brownie points for us, thank you, albeit via some… unconventional multitasking.”
Ah. Fond exasperation, she decided. She’d thrown a similar look or eight at Daniel over the years.
“Yes, Sir,” she agreed mildly, setting Andy's carrier down on the floor. Daniel moved into her peripheral vision just to her right and laid a subtle, proud hand on her lower back as she straightened up.
“I’m assuming you’re wanting to get your family home?” The light twinkle in Hammond's eyes had returned and they moved down momentarily to the baby carrier again. “I’m happy to negotiate the release of Dr Jackson for the evening... in exchange for one more moment with Miss Andy, here, if she's amenable?”
Smitten. Janet bit back on a smirk and moved the carrier up to the solid desk. “Go ahead, Sir, though I doubt she's going to be very interactive.”
Hammond leaned over the carrier, murmuring something softly, which allowed Janet to turn to Daniel and share a grin with him. His eyes were soft. She remembered that he'd not been around for any of the earlier exchanges with the General.
Then, realising belatedly that Hammond's unerring politeness was unnecessarily depriving the man of anything more than soft murmuring, she scooped up the sleeping infant.
“You can hold her again, if you'd like?”
“It's been too long since Kayla was this small,” Hammond admitted, and Janet stepped forward to settle Andy into the crook of his arm. Andy woke enough to protest a little, only to snuffle in a satisfied kind of way once Hammond bounced her for a few moments.
“Uh oh,” Daniel whispered. “Don't tell Jack, but I think she's got a new favourite.”
Janet, who hadn't stepped back from Hammond's personal space yet, tucked a tiny hand back into the swaddle. “Grandpa George is a hit, hey Pumpkin?” she whispered.
It took a second for everyone, Janet included, to register what she'd actually said. Her eyes shot up to Hammond's, froze there, and then slid across to Daniel's. Everybody's eyebrows were up in their hairlines, or lack of. Janet even imagined Andy's might be, too.
“I'm SO sorry, Sir," she began after a long awkward silence, not exactly mortified but not far from it. Talk about taking liberties! "I d—”
“I think,” Hammond's deep drawl cut her off, “that's an honorific I could get used to.”