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Part Twenty Nine

   The footsteps continued until they reached the top of the stairs, and Sam could feel more than hear them. He swung his head to look all the way up, making contact with the biggest human in the house on his way down.

   "Skip!" Sam called out, but it seemed Skip hadn't the ears to distinguish such a small voice when he wasn't expecting it. Instead, he bounded down the stairs with a rush, oblivious to the borrower below him. His left hand met in contact with the rail to hold himself up as he walked.

   Sam didn't want to wait anymore, especially not with the human coming dangerously close. So, with a deep breath forming in his lungs, he bellowed out to the human with his high pitched voice, and nearly screamed bloody murder to capture his attention.

   It worked, right as Skip reached a step above where Sam's guardrail was attached to. The giant looked up, down, left, and right until he was able to catch Sam's tiny body holding on to a hook in the rail for dear life, and it seemed he came just in time.

   "The hell are you doing?" Skip asked, only a little concerned that Sam was sweating with relief.

   "I was trying...to come...visit..."

   "Why are you out of breath?"

   "I'm...gonna fall..." Sam huffed out, the energy from his yell leaking from his tight grip on the hook. He didn't feel very strong anymore, and lifted his free arm to reach out for Skip.

   The human, casual as ever, cupped Sam from underneath his spot on the slope and plucked the hook from the rail. It left a minuscule hole in the wood, and Skip didn't really feel comfortable alerting Leo of the intrusion. With Sam safe in his hand, he continued down the steps without much regard for his fast pace.

   Sam, just happy to relax his sore arm, shifted until he was laying across the expanse of Skip's palm, flopping forward and allowing himself to spread out against the warm skin. The human contact was always a nice welcome, though he much preferred Leo over anyone else.

   "Hang on," Skip stopped dead in his tracks before he reached the last step. "Are there any little people on the floor before I keep going?"

   "There shouldnt be," Sam responded, and Skip had to hold him closer to his ear to hear him repeat it.

   "Just checking..." Skip bounded over to the kitchen from the stairs, shifting around the pantry until he found the bag of chips Leo asked for.

   Another boom of thunder, this one much closer than the previous, broke through the house and nearly shook Skip in his steps. Through the small kitchen window, the light from outside was quickly diminished into nothing but solid sheets of rain that slapped again the roof like it was made of butter. The glass was coated in layers of water that only allowed the light of a nearby street lamp to break through, projecting into the entire kitchen and falling on the face of a scared little borrower, who's ears were aggravated with such loud noises.

   It didn't take long for a burst of lightning to flash throughout the house, forcing Sam to cover his tiny ears with the threat of the thunder following.

   Skip, always alert, noticed the borrower's disposition.

   "You good?" He rumbled down to Sam, who would much prefer Skip's voice over thunder any day.

   Sam could only nod, afraid of his vocal cords cracking the moment he spoke.

   "You wanna go to Leo?"

   This time, Sam nodded with a fierce determination that had Skip smiling, acutely aware of the fact that Sam's tail was swishing against his palm despite the obvious fear in his eyes.