A/N: Ok, so the last chapter wasn't exactly the most accurate... But I didn't want to ruin the image of happiness and caring, and chasing after Sam to spay her might just not be the nicest thing ever... Besides, I'm not ready for someone to spay Sam yet...

At the top of the rise, Sam stopped, and turned to look over her shoulder. Mary and Charles still stood where she'd left them, watching. Sam burned the image into her mind, treasuring the warmth they'd shared with her, then resolutely turned away, heading away from the rising sun, and towards the road home.

Chapter whatever

Sam arrived at the town; it had taken her over an hour of walking when it had only taken a few minutes to drive in with Charles the other day. It wasn't much of a town, some shops and businesses, homes and even a few fast food places. Sam spotted a small gas station and convenience store, and decided to check it out, see if she could find a map or get a better idea of where she was.

Approaching the store, Sam found the door had been propped open, so that was one hurdle she didn't need to worry about. Slipping quietly into the store, Sam kept an eye out for maps as well as anyone that might not want a cat wandering around inside a store. The store wasn't large, and Sam quickly located a display of maps and postcards. There were some shelves nearby, and Sam thought she could use them to get to the one she wanted. Something else had caught her attention though.

Over on the counter, next to an unwrapped cheeseburger and French fries, sat a telephone. There was no one in sight that Sam could see.

Cautiously, Sam approached the counter. Hopping first to a nearby chair, then to the counter, Sam ignored the food, although the smells made her stomach rumble. Right now, she had eyes only for the telephone. Up close she could see it had push buttons. She would have liked it better if the buttons had been larger, but beggars couldn't get choosy.

Carefully, Sam teased the receiver off the hook, and was rewarded with the sound of the dial tone. Now whom should she call? If she called the Colonel's cell phone, he wouldn't be able to trace her location. The SGC would, hopefully, whoever answered wouldn't just think it was a prank, or would find the call suspicious enough to mention it to a superior. Course of action decided on, Sam started pressing buttons. Unfortunately for Sam the owner of the cheeseburger returned before it connected. The man clearly thought his lunch was in mortal danger. Shouting, the man ran towards her and Sam had no choice but to abandon the phone, even as she heard an answer come from the phone.

Sam ducked under the counter, avoiding the man's grasping hands, and then mentally cursed herself, she was effectively blocked from escape. Sam moved behind some phone books, and peered around carefully, trying to make herself as small as possible. The man was standing in front of his sandwich grumbling. Sam watched in dismay as the man picked up the phone and replaced it on the receiver before sending a glare in her direction, and popping a few fries in his mouth. The man sat down on a rolling chair, and Sam made herself more comfortable resigning herself to a long wait.

She thought he would just ignore her now that his meal was "safe", so Sam was understandably startled when the man spoke to her.

"Skinny little thing aren't you? Didn't meant to scare you away, you must have been hungry." Almost as an afterthought, the man held the French fries in his hand out to her. When Sam didn't move, he laid them down, and added a bit of his burger meat. Leaning back, he regarded her in her hiding spot as he munched on his meal.

"Sure, you'll take it when it's not yours, but now that is offered, you won't have anything to do with it. Cats." The man snorted, and Sam narrowed her eyes, little did he know.

Sam wondered if the call she'd managed to place had been connected long enough for them to get a trace, and if the anonymous hang up on the secure line would be enough for someone to pass on a report. Sam thought about remaining in or near the store, for a short time at least, to find out, but her plans changed suddenly as the man sighed and leaned back in his chair, still regarding her.

"As cute as you are, can't have a cat in the store, so will have to do something about you. Wife will kill me if I go bringing some stray home, so I guess its Animal Control for you. Shame really. Better go get that carrier from the last time out of the storeroom." The man sighed. Now finished with his meal, he stood and moved away, presumably to get the carrier. Sam's ears were flat on her head and her eyes wide. Having only just escaped from cages, Sam had absolutely no desire to return to one. There would be no hanging around, she needed to get away, and needed to do it NOW.

Her mind made up, Sam listened cautiously for the return of the man, and when she heard nothing, she made her move, heading with all speed towards the still open door. Sam detoured only briefly to the shelves she'd seen, taking costly moments to locate the map she wanted. Grabbing it up in her teeth was more awkward then she had thought it would be, and more time she didn't have was consumed.

Briefly, Sam felt a flash of guilt at needing to steal the map, but there was no choice about it, there was no way for her to pay for the map. Sam quashed her feelings by reminding herself that the man who had seemed so nice at first, intended to put her in a cage and turn her over to animal control. Sam didn't want to think what might occur if that happened. It would be best for her to stop getting second thoughts and get out of there. She could have all the time she wanted to feel guilty later. Her hold on the precious map was precarious at best, but Sam had no time for finesse as she heard a sudden shout behind her, alerting her to the fact that the man had returned, likely with a cage to put her in.

Daring to glance behind her, Sam's guess was confirmed, and the man was heading towards her, cage in hand. Wasting no more time, Sam dove from the shelf and headed for the door. The man was hot on her tail, as Sam charged between the legs of a very large, very startled woman and a handful of children just entering the door. The woman tottered alarmingly, and grabbed at a display rack, which unfortunately was too small for her bulk. The rack crashed to the floor as the woman shrieked as she followed it heavily down, the children shouting. The man, unable to stop his headlong race, tripped over the fallen rack, but Sam was too intent on her escape to notice.

All Sam could hope as she ran, with the stolen map clutched awkwardly in her teeth, was that the confusion and noise behind her would slow down any pursuit. Just in case, she concentrated on putting as much distance between her and the store as possible, forgetting everything else in her desire to prevent being returned to a cage.