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Part Twenty-Six

Sam Hated to admit it, but he needed to get out.

Stuffed between Axel on his right, and his father on his left, Sam was curled up under a mountain of fabrics and the tail's of his family members. And while it was comfortable, almost overwhelmingly so, he had to leave.

The cold draft of a familiar snow flew in from the walls at an alarming rate, forcing the family of borrowers to adjust with quick thinking and huddle close to each other for an early night in. They figured it was better to sleep early, cuddled together to conserve body heat, than to suffer in the cold and fall asleep whenever they wanted. And it worked, for a while, until Sam was engulfed in the very nest that he slept alone in for years. Having that freedom suddenly ripped away from him, especially with a new stranger added to the mix, made him feel an urge to crawl out of his skin.

The only problem was finding a way to escape without waking anyone else up. He was in the middle, which meant that any sudden stir would cause a domino effect on the family, and so Sam took to slipping out a millimeter at a time.

First starting with his arms, which were trapped at his sides, he lifted one up at a time to the beat of his racing heart.

After that, Sam focused on using the strength of his legs alone, gripping the edge of the nest with his toes until he managed to slide down as carefully and quietly as he possible could. His tail, pinned against his back and lost to the years of grooming that he prided himself with, remained stiff as a board so as not to alert anyone with an accidental flick.

Once he was finally released from the suffocating nest of limbs and heat, Sam pushed himself up with his arms to come to a stand, looming over his sleeping family as he watched them at peace.

He really, Truly never thought he might see them like this again. And looking at them from this angle, examining the way they all slept as a unit, had his heart bursting with an unfamiliar cry. It was a desperate hole in his chest being filled with the knowledge that they were safe, and content to be in each other's arms as the cold fluttered in.

Which brought Sam to his current predicament; the cold. He didn't want to return to the flood of inescapable warmth and bodies in his nest, but the draft was getting impossible to ignore. And seeing his family so happy with each other, made Sam miss his other family that much more.

He found himself thinking of his humans a lot more than usual, now that he couldn't see them anymore. Not to mention the fact that he was now referring to them as 'his,' rather than 'the humans,' and Sam knew his father would throw a fit if he heard it. But to hell with his father's opinions, because he missed the feeling of laying across the wide expanse of Leo's sweatshirt. He missed the smile that Elijah could bring to his face no matter the circumstance, and he desperately craved the protective strength that Skip seemed to exhume.

Sam wouldn't stand for being trapped in the walls any longer. Not when his family could be happy, but wouldn't even give him the opportunity.

His mind made up, heart beating with a rebellious side he didn't think he had in him, Sam swirled around on his feet and bounded toward the hallway of the entrance in Leo's room.

"Well, that was fun..."

"Eli, stop talking."

Leo and Skip, both having endured Elijah's illness for the day, brought him inside Leo's house to throw him in the guest bedroom and tuck him under the covers with a cup of tea and some medicine.

Eli, who demanded they go out in the first place to get Sam off Leo's mind, started coughing the moment they stepped foot outside. And as much as he tried to cover up the scratch in his throat, it became evident after an hour that he was sick.