A/N: Myriadragon, that exact scene was on my mind when I wrote that line. (proud owner of seasons one thru four on DVD, with five and six hopefully soon and seven when its available)
In short order a phone book and nearby vet willing to see them on short notice had been located, and Sam had been enticed into an empty box. Sam had gone willingly into the "trap" baited with bits of meat and leftovers. She did remember to act the part of a cat and meowed and scratched on the box lid a bit, but nothing could dampen her elation at the recent turn of events, not even a vet visit! She was going home!
Chapter 55
Sam resettled herself in the large plastic carrier and sighed, twisting her neck around the now unfamiliar weight of a collar, causing the small tag to swing. Sam didn't even want to be reminded of what the tag said, and sincerely hoped she'd be able to work out a way to remove the collar before she found her way back home. Sam wished they could have at least given her a better name, something with a little dignity perhaps. But Princess Snookums?
Sam made a disgusted noise, which was lost by the cacophony of yet another Barney sing-a-long tape. If she heard one more Barney song, she might just consider shooting herself. That is if she could figure out how to hold the gun. Or get one. Never mind. The kids were singing along, at least the little girl was, at the top of her lungs, the toddler was chanting "Barney! Barney!" Brian was the luckiest of them all Sam thought, he was lost in his own little world with a set of headphones and a Gameboy. Sam sighed again.
What had seemed like a bright idea at the time was now giving Sam more than a few doubts. The vet visit had been an all time low. She'd expected an exam at the least, maybe a few shots, but it had been much worse. Not only had she had to put up with the thermometer, exam, and blood work, but she'd also been subjected to a flea bath, worming treatment, had her claws trimmed, and been given full set of feline vaccines, which had left her exhausted and achy even a full day later. After her treatment by the vet, Sam had felt little remorse over her deception when Ted saw the bill.
"$220??? Holy sh-!" He'd said, interrupted by his wife with a look to the kids who were still excited about getting a cat.
After the vet, the family had hauled the kids and their new "pet" to the local Petsmart, and Sam soon found herself inside a new carrier, with a litter box, food and water bowls, and lots of nice Kibble. Mmm... Yummy. They'd also given her a few cat toys, and Sam was very much relieved to notice that none of them smelled at all like catnip. The carrier they'd bought and crammed into the overloaded SUV must have been for a large dog because there was more than ample room for her and the food and the litter tray. Sam glared at the litter tray and dry cat food again. She hadn't been given any opportunity to escape, even if she'd wanted too. They always made sure the outside doors were closed whenever the carrier was open to allow access to the food and to clean the litter pan.
From her vantage point in the cargo section of the SUV, Sam could see very little except the back of Brian's head, the little boy, who looked to be about seven, was just tall enough that his head poked over the top of the seat in front of her. She could see next to nothing of the road or road signs since she could only see what was in front of the cage. Sam hated cages. As soon as they'd put her in there, she'd been unable to sit still for the first hour, pacing and pawing at the door, which she was unable to open from the inside, the latch secured around the side. After the first hour, she tried calling out, sounding her most pathetic. That's when they'd turned the radio and music on. Eventually, Sam resigned herself to being stuck in the cage, even if she still didn't like it. They didn't know she wasn't really a cat, and that she had very good reasons to dislike cages. She hoped they would be "home" soon and that she'd be able to find an escape.
As if sensing her thoughts, Ted announced that they were almost there. Sam wasn't sure if she should be relieved the trip was nearly over, ecstatic about being so close to home, or worried about what was to come. Maybe it was still residual from the vaccines, or the long trip. but she was exhausted. The family had cut their vacation short, only making one more stop on the way home to visit some relatives. Sam had been left in the garage in her carrier all night, seemed the relations were allergic to cats.
They'd gone home early since most of the other stops would have been impractical with a cat in the car. Sam was relieved that she wouldn't be subjected to being left in the car in the carrier in the hot sun, she knew there were plenty of folks that did that. They had still all left her once for about fifteen minutes and the car had gotten incredibly warm despite being left in the shade with the windows cracked. Sam had started to panic, as the interior grew stuffy and warm, and had cried out in her most pathetic voice when they'd returned, bringing a blast of welcome fresh air and soon a return of air-conditioning.
They hadn't done it again after seeing how worked up she'd gotten. She'd even accidentally tipped the food and water bowl in her growing panic, making a big mess. She hadn't been very cooperative with the cleaning up either, Ted had had to hold her while his wife cleaned up and she'd made it very difficult to be put back in the cage wanting nothing more than to escape and cut her losses, not worried about where she was, she'd figure it out. She just didn't want to end up another statistic, another "pet" overwhelmed by heat when left in the car. It made her realize again, just how vulnerable she was.
Back in the present, Sam sensed as the vehicle slowed and got off the interstate. She could tell it was moving a lot slower, and it stopped several times and made several turns over then next few minutes. It still came as a slight surprise when the truck came to a complete stop and the engine was cut.
"We're home!" Ted announced, to be met by cheers and groans, and the toddler shouting, "Home! Wan' Barney!"
"I'll get the cat if you want to start getting the kids in hon." Ted told his wife. The back of the SUV was opened and Sam stumbled as the carrier was lifted out. She got a slight view of a split level home, with a manicured lawn and flower beds, before the carrier was turned around, giving her a view of more of the same sort of houses. Ted carried her inside, setting the carrier down in the center of the living room. Sam was hoping they'd open the cage and let her out, and maybe she could get away while they were busy unloading the truck, but it was not to be. She was left in the carrier and more or less ignored while everything was taken care of and put away.
After giving them what she thought was plenty of time to settle in, and still hadn't been released, Sam tried reminding them she was there. "Mwrow?" She said. Hello?
Alice's face appeared in front of the grate, and she spoke to Sam in a sickeningly sweet voice. "There there Princess Snookums, you just stay there a little bit longer, while mommy gets dinner ordered. There's a good kitty now."
Sam pawed at the door, mrowing at the retreating figure, who ignored her. She sighed and settled back down again, nothing to do but wait.
A knock at the door heralded the arrival of the pizza delivery guy and Sam suppressed a pang of hunger. She'd barely touched the dry food she'd been given; it brought back too many sour memories. Not to mention it was cat food. Sam still couldn't bring herself to eat cat food. As the family tucked into their meal with gusto, Sam started to cry out again. She was tired of being locked in a cage, and she wanted out NOW.
Just as she was starting to explore the upper ranges of feline vocalizations, Ted turned to Alice and suggested maybe it was time to let the cat out. Sam kept making noise until finally someone released the latch, allowing the door to swing out, and startling her into momentary silence. So involved in making her displeasure known, she'd failed to notice anyone approach.
A small stampede of little feet headed her way, and Sam shrank to the back of the carrier, wondering if demanding to be let out was such a good idea after all. Fortunately, Ted and Alice seemed to realize that unleashing three small children on one new cat in an unfamiliar environment might not be the smartest thing to do, and the kids were ordered back to the kitchen to finish their dinner.
In the relative quiet after banishing the kids back to the kitchen, Sam left the dubious safety of the carrier, and started to explore the living room. She'd just made a circuit of the room and was thinking about moving onto the next room, which appeared to be a dining room, when something latched onto her tail and yanked, hard. Sam gave off an earsplitting yowl as she thought her tail was about to be dislocated. Spinning around as much as she could, tail caught in a vise like grip, it was all Sam could to not swat the little boy gleefully howling. Fortunately, Ted and Alice had come running at the sound of laughing and one obviously distressed feline.
"No no Bobby, don't grab the kitty like that! That hurts!" Ted quickly freed Sam's tail, and Sam bolted under the chair, wrapping her tail around her body. The toddler was screaming as he was taken back to the kitchen. Meanwhile Ginny appeared in the doorway, holding a plate containing a slice of pizza at a very precarious angle.
"Ginny, go back into the kitchen right now before you drop that!" Alice admonished the little girl, who looked to be about four. Ginny looked down at her plate just in time to see her pizza slide off the plate, down her shirt, and onto the carpet. She immediately started bawling.
"I just wanna play with the kitty!" She howled as her mother led her back to the kitchen sitting the girl back at the table. Brian was now announcing he wanted another slice of pizza and the toddler, who was back in his highchair, was mashing pizza bits into his tray. During the entire ruckus, Sam saw her opportunity, snatching up the fallen and temporarily forgotten nibbled on slice of pizza and disappearing behind the sofa with it. Alice had looked confused upon returning to clean up the mess, but had put one missing cat and one missing slice of pizza together, and figured out what had happened.
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Back at the SGC, Jack was scowling down at his hand of cards.
"I believe you need to 'Go Fishing' O'Neill." Teal'c said, a look of smugness on his otherwise impassive features.
Jack just scowled again, snatching a card from the pile. "It's 'Go Fish' T. Whose idea was this anyway?" he said.
"I believe it was yours O'Neill." Teal'c was watching him, an eyebrow raised.
Jack sighed. It had indeed been his idea to teach the Jaffa some card games, starting with "Fish". After doing every scrap of paperwork in his in-tray, (much to General Hammond's surprised delight) and rearranging his office, Jack was literally climbing the walls. Teal'c, sensing his friend's need for distraction, had suggested Jack teach him a few "Tauri games." Jack had decided to start with something simple, but he hadn't thought anyone could lose so badly at Fish.
Jack blamed his lack of concentration on his inability to do anything to help Carter get home. She was still out there somewhere, but at least now they (sort of) knew where she was. Or had been at least.
After Teal'c and Daniel had shown him the news clip, Jack had grabbed the tape and charged into Hammond's office, demanding to be allowed to commandeer the first flight they could get to Texas. To Jack, Teal'c and Daniel's surprise, Hammond had refused.
"I know you want to be out there looking for Major Carter, but given her tendency to so far remain one step ahead of all search parties, I can't authorize anymore personnel or expense to look for her unless we know for certain she is still in the area. In all likelihood, Major Carter is already well beyond where that film was taken. That event occurred hours ago, and she could be anywhere by now." Hammond held up a quieting hand as all three men started to protest. "We will not ignore this sighting. I happen to know the owner of that particular restaurant, he's an old friend of mine from before I joined the Air Force. I will contact him and have him look for Major Carter. Dismissed."
Hours later, Hammond gave the rest of SG-1 the news that the friend had not seen any other sign of a "missing cat" and had also reviewed the parking lot camera footage, which had apparently revealed the same cat slipping aboard a bus, although the camera hadn't picked up any identifying markers, so they had no idea where the bus was headed.
And so they sat, and tried to stay occupied, so they didn't have too much time to think about Carter, and wonder how she was doing. At least Daniel had his translations, and they at least could try and keep the man from working himself to the ground, making sure he stopped to eat and sleep now and then. It got harder and harder to pull him away though, he kept saying as to how he was so close now. Jack couldn't even pull the archeologist away for a game of fish with Teal'c. Maybe he'd thought Jack was asking him to go fishing?
Jack's thoughts wandered back to Carter again as Teal'c set his last pair down, thus winning the game... again. He couldn't help but wonder just what the Major was doing in Texas, the last he'd known about she'd been in Pennsylvania, where they'd just missed her by minutes. It looked like Carter would have quite a story to tell when she got home. Not if, Jack reminded himself. When.
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A/N: Ya'll are mean. But I'm meaner! I'm talking about the guesses and suggestions in the last few reviews! You'll just have to stop guessing and see what's in store for Sam in the next few chapters, if you want to see what I mean lol! Wow, over 400 reviews so far. That, and there's like 20 people that have me on their favorites and over 50 on their author alert list. Thanks guys! I'm glad to see everyone is still enjoying the story and stuck with me through the lull between updates! Its closer to being done, but not as close as you might think. And that's the only cookie I'm going to toss out!