A/N: Didn't forget about the boys... well... ok, maybe I did a little bit lol. We'll check in on them soon, promise. I just wanted to get the fluff out of my system! Adventures to come soon... Little more fluff til Sam's ready for some adventuring...

Charles and Mary watched the cat as she drifted off again, tummy full of warm food. The purr coming from her was soft, but unmistakable. Mary continued to stroke the cat as she started to sing softly again, Charles joining in with a rusty but deep baritone.

Day is done,
Gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.

Chapter 43

When Sam woke again, bright sunshine was streaming through the windows, making the room light and cheerful. Sam was comfortably warm inside a basket on the hearth. Sam didn't remember going to sleep in a basket, she distinctly recalled falling asleep in an older woman's lap, an older man nearby. Sam remembered thinking that the man and woman were married. Remnants of a soft song, like a lullaby drifted through her head, but she lost the words before she could recall them.

The basket had been lined with something soft and warm like flannel, and Sam wondered again where she was. Somehow, she felt safe, even though she didn't really know what was going on. She couldn't remember feeling so safe and protected for a long time. Briefly, the thought crossed Sam's mind that she had died as a cat, and this was heaven. She quickly dismissed the idea when she shifted and pain shot through her chest, legs and back. She didn't think death would hurt quite so much.

For the first time, Sam noticed her right front leg; it was immobilized in a neat splint. Sam didn't remember the splint getting put on, although she had a vague recollection of it getting injured first when Arden had knocked her into the table, and then again later after jumping out the window. Sam tried the figure out the last thing she could remember, before the details had gone fuzzy, but the best she could come up with was standing on a wall, with an overflowing stream on one side, and snarling dogs on the other. The rest of it seemed like a dream, but obviously some parts of her dream were real.

From the other room, Sam could hear occasional soft singing, and from the other sounds and smells, it seemed like the woman from last night was in the kitchen. She thought it about time she got out of bed and met her hosts, if hosts they were. Sam was half tempted to bolt and take her chances, but she didn't think she'd make it very far. First of all, even after sleeping so much, she still felt completely exhausted. It was also a bit harder to breath than she was used to, almost like there was a tight band around her chest. She probably had a few bruised ribs. And then there was her leg, splinted neatly, she couldn't tell if it were broken or not, but she did know it was very sore. After she'd experimentally tried flexing it, she'd quickly decided not to do that again if possible, at least for a little while.

Even with the sore leg, she thought she could make it out of the bed and to the kitchen to investigate all the interesting smells and sounds she detected. With very little grace, Sam somehow ended up on the floor in front of the basket on the hearth. Picking herself carefully off the floor, Sam would have winced if she could. She couldn't believe how weak she felt, she was now starting to suspect that she had been sick for several days at least, and judging by how bad she felt, she probably wasn't out of the woods yet. Sam stretched carefully and gently, cataloguing each ache and twinge. Something stung across her shoulder and Sam vaguely remembered the men with guns bearing down on her, and the sharp pain. So she had been hit.

After resting a moment, giving her wobbly legs a chance to support her for a few minutes, Sam headed slowly in the direction of the kitchen. She was unable to bear much weight on her splinted leg without a lot of pain. Since she had two extra legs more than she was used to, she thought it should have been easier to walk on just three of them, but it didn't seem to work like that. Sam was reminded of a friend of her brothers when they were kids, whose dog had lost a leg in an accident. The dog eventually became known as "Tripod". Sam padded carefully to the kitchen, stopping in the doorway to watch.

Unaware of her presence, the older woman that had fed her last night was standing in front of the stove, tending to several large pots and pans. Most of the delicious smells were coming from that direction.

Turning to pick something up from the counter, the woman caught sight of Sam sitting in the doorway. She looked surprised at first, as Sam watched her warily, not knowing what to expect. The woman frowned slightly, a look of concern etched across her features.

"Bella!" She said. "You shouldn't be up and about yet, you're still sick and you need rest." Sam briefly wondered if the woman would put her back in the basket, but the woman didn't make any moves towards her. Sam relaxed marginally.

"Well, now that you are up, you are probably wanting something to eat! Skinny little thing that you are, I'm surprised a bird hasn't lifted you up and carried you away!" The woman turned away but continued to ramble on about what a state Sam was in, and how bad off she'd been when they (the woman and Sam presumed her husband, who the woman called Charles) had found her by the stream. Sam was getting a lot of missing details filled in for her, as the woman talked. At least the woman didn't seem to mind that she was talking to a cat, as if she could reply.

Suddenly, the woman lifted a dish, and placed it on the floor, on a small hand woven rag rug. The rug lay by the table, the warm sunlight streaming in through the window catching it.

"Here Bella, come and see what I've got for you. I'll make you up something to eat while you drink this." The woman was smiling. "Come on Bella, come here, don't be shy."

Sam approached cautiously. The woman gave her space, and didn't make any moves to touch or grab her. Sam investigated the contests of the saucer, sniffing. Thick cream filled the dish, and it smelled deliciously sweet. Sam looked to the woman and back to the dish, before deciding. Hesitantly at first, then with greater enthusiasm, Sam lapped up the tasty cream. Sam found herself lapping up every last drop and her tongue darting out on its own accord to clean her chin and whiskers. (She still amazed herself that her tongue could do that now)

Sam looked up as the woman approached her. She made no move to touch Sam or pick her up, so Sam relaxed. The woman set a dish down in front of her. A tantalizing aroma came from the dish, and Sam realized that she was still hungry despite the cream she'd just eaten. Sam stretched forward to investigate as the woman talked over her head; she'd taken a seat at the nearby table and seemed to be peeling potatoes.

"There's something to fill your tummy little one, and much needed! Too thin you are, much too thin. This should stick to your ribs." Sam tuned out as the woman continued to ramble, the contents of the dish taking all her attention.

Sam could smell chicken, and a hint of vegetables, it smelled not unlike what she'd been given at the SGC. It was warm too! Sam started out cautiously at first, and then ate with greater gusto as she found the food not only recognizable, but also tasty. She surprised herself by finishing the entire meal.

Comfortably full, Sam lay down, the warm sun inviting and the rug soft. Sam blinked sleepily as the woman abandoned her potatoes and came to kneel before her. Slowly, the woman held out a hand, which Sam sniffed, sneezing at the smell of potatoes. The woman seemed to be waiting for her, and Sam butted her head against the woman's hand in gratitude for the warm meal. The woman and her husband were obviously the ones that had found her, whatever state she'd been in, and taken her in. Without them, Sam suspected she would not be here eating warm cream and chicken, lying on a rug in the warm sunlight. Sam wished there was some way to convey her thanks.

The woman smiled at Sam's invitation, and scratched the little cat's head behind the ears, her smile widening as the cat leaned into the caress. Before long the little cat had drifted off, soft rhythmic purring emanating from its chest. What Sam didn't realize, was that she had just given the woman ample thanks indeed.