Hi Mum, It's Sammy (Clone 63 - Part 13)

"Officer Grant, I want a word."

This morning, Officer Grant sounded friendly and congratulatory. This afternoon, it's menacing. Chuck, the senior officer in our small department, already knows I went against his orders. "Yes sir?"

"So you ignored me and went ahead about those pet reports?" he was frowning. Damn, I am so busted.

I shrugged. "Yes sir." No point in denying it. It was a nice job while it lasted.

A movement from the side of the room caught my eye. "Officer Grant," it was Merlot, grinning broadly. "Chuck says you are not allowed to take money from us. But the committee for the Pet Show wants to show our appreciation for finding our pets and saving the show." He handed me a small envelope.

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (Clone 63 - Part 12)

The next morning was just as hard to drag myself out of the our lovely warm bed as ever. I would be jealous of leaving Jericho sleeping peacefully but I do know he's up a couple of times a night to check on the toddlers. Even though the cribs are in our room, and we'd know if one of them was fussy, Jer still checks on them every few hours.

In spite of that, I still managed to get to the station in time. I was rather surprised to see Chuck at the front desk.

"Chuck? How did I do? Did I pass the test?"

"Sam, they sent your results. Congratulations, you had 78%. A good solid pass." He smiled, "Not high enough that I'll promote you extra fast but enough that I can feel confident about the fact that you do know the law as well as any cop should."

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (Clone 63 - Part 11)

Felipe showed us the area his German Shepherd usually stayed in. It was outside, without even enough of a fence to keep the dog in but definitely nothing that would keep a human out, other than Rex himself.

“I was thinking that we should leave one camera a little more obvious and camouflage the others,” I mentioned to Howie.

“That’s not a good idea. Spotting one camera is likely to have any crook who knows these systems on the lookout for more. They all have to be hidden fairly well, so that the pet nappers don’t notice any of them at all.”

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (Clone 63 - Part 10)

"I'm glad you came home early," Jericho told me. "Eddie's still home so I'd like to hold a household meeting."

"What's this about?"

"Let me get Eddie and Howie. I'd rather get this over with and have all three of you here." Jericho motioned to the couch and I collapsed on it. Jer's mood had turned rather somber, whatever the household meeting was going to be about wasn't pretty.

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (Clone 63 - Part 9)

I woke the next morning still feeling different. My bond with Jericho is going to take some getting used to. Even as I got out of bed, I could feel that he was relaxed, warm and happy in his sleep. I'd love to crawl back into bed too but unfortunately there is work. If I don't go, I won't get paid.

So I tended the babies, then got myself ready for work. I rang Felipe and Jared and asked them if they could meet me early for a bit of a chat. We agreed to meet up and have talk before work.

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (Clone 63 - Part 8)

(This scene was done in collaboration with Avanis, Jericho's creator and THE expert on Striders.)
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"So, Sammy, what the hell do you want to ask that requires coming home?" Jericho demanded of me as we entered the door.

"I'm worried you are about to answer no. So I want a stiff drink before I ask. And you remember how our last jaunt to the dive bar went." We left without even ordering drinks, the service was impossibly slow. I grabbed two drinks from our bar and handed one to Jer.

Hi Mum, It's Sammy (Clone 63 - Part 7)

The next day, I got up as quietly as I could manage. Jer had been on baby duty most of the night and he needed some sleep. I played with and fed each of our little munchkins then grabbed something that seemed edible from the fridge.

I barely made it out of the door in time, given that I was supposed to show Jared around town before work officially started. I made it just before Jared. He pulled up in an old clunker.

“Hey, Jared. Bad news, Felipe has the only cop car in town. I don’t own a car so I’m afraid we are going to have to use yours.”

“Right, fine. I hope that the department can splurge for another car soon. Another few miles on this beast and it’s going to finish falling to pieces.”