Timeline: Season 2
Characters: Sarah, Cameron
Rating: PG
Warnings: None.
Feedback: Yes, please, and concrit will not be frowned upon :)
Disclaimer: No violation of copyright intended, and no profit made.
Summary/Notes: Written for the prompts broken/figure of speech at the lj community galpalficathon. Thanks so much to Stephen T. for the swift beta!
Deluge
Outside the rain hammered down, blanketing their house in white noise, diffusing the world around. Sarah sighed, squinting at the window, the heavy downpour effectively blocking her line of sight. Not being able to see or hear if anything came at them made her feel uneasy, and the solid pressure of the gun tucked into her waistband wasn't enough to settle the itch. Something was always barreling straight for them, leaving her with the feel of crosshairs trained on her back and a non-stop urge to keep moving.
The coffee probably wasn't helping.
Sliding the half-empty mug away from herself, she considered looking for John, but the clock showed ten past midnight. He would already be in bed; no company to be had there. Probably wouldn't have mattered anyway. He hadn't exactly been in a sociable mood since they moved into the new house. Sarah tried not to take it personally. She knew what it was like at his age. Couldn't imagine how much worse it must be for him. Nothing she could do about it either; just try to keep him alive.
Restlessly fidgeting with the kitchen counter and willing the goddamned rain to stop didn't seem to do much good, and after a few minutes more she admit defeat and gave up trying.
Venturing into the living room brought Cameron into view, and she was also staring out the window.
Machines don't give up that easily.
"Everything clear?"
Cameron didn't move, didn't answer at first. Then, "It's raining cats and dogs."
Already on her way up the staircase, Sarah did a double take, "Raining cats and dogs?"
She pivoted, hand on her gun, her back up against the railing, studying the Terminator cautiously. There had been something off with Cameron since John brought her back online, and Sarah didn't much like having a wild card in the house. Especially not one that was basically a killing machine.
"That's what John said."
"It's a figure of speech," she explained.
"I know."
Cameron kept staring out the window, and it bothered Sarah. Something about how Cameron seemed to tune out lately, and it made her curious to know exactly what machines tuned in to. She knew they adapted, changing their appearance, picking up mannerisms and terms like 'raining cats and dogs', but they were machines. They shouldn't actually understand these things, and they shouldn't be interested in standing around staring at the rain either. Cameron couldn't see any more than she had in the kitchen; this wasn't serving any practical purpose.
"Everything okay here?"
"The perimeter's clear." Cameron turned her head, taking in Sarah's appearance. The rest of her body remained rigid; statuesque. "You look tense."
Sarah huffed through her nose.
"You shouldn't drink so much coffee," Cameron added, matter-of-factly. "Caffeine blocks your adenosine reception, inhibits your deep sleep." She returned her gaze to the window, tilting her head slightly to the side as she watched the rain drumming against the glass.
Sarah gave a weary smile, "I've been a light sleeper for years. Nothing new."
"Because you worry. About John."
Talking to Cameron was like talking to a kid a lot of the time. Or like having your teeth pulled. Mostly both.
"I'm his mother," Sarah replied, explaining something that shouldn't have to be explained. "Even if we found a way to beat the machines, I'd still worry."
"This is how." Cameron traced her finger across the window pane, tracing a rivulet of rain. "If the humans win, this is why."
Yeah, there was definitely something off with her wiring. "With rust. Right." Sarah tiredly dragged her hand across her face, skepticism rising by the second. She really should have John take a second look at the chip.
Cameron turned towards her and said, "Not rust. Cats and dogs," sounding like it was the most logical explanation in the whole world.
Sarah knew the Resistance used dogs to detect the Terminators in the future, but this was the first time she'd heard anything about cats.
Off her puzzled look, Cameron continued, "One time the rain started pouring down, people looked outside and they said: 'It's raining cats and dogs'. I just see the rain."