Chapter 1 – An Early Surprise
Disclaimer: Don't own TSCC
This story is set in the universe of Cameron Grows Up. Hopefully, most of the story will make sense if you have not it. To bring things up to date for the purpose of this stand-alone story, John and Cameron have graduated from high school. John attends the local community college and works for a software company. Cameron has earned a full time position as a ballerina for the Los Angeles Ballet Company.
DeMarco's Jewelry Store…
It looked perfect. And now it was his to give to Cameron. Martha, the saleswoman he dealt with, had been wonderful. Martha had seen to it the ring was sized perfectly for Cameron. Every two weeks when John had come in to make another payment on the ring, Martha had made it a point to wait on him and tell him what a prize he had in Cameron. Today had been no different.
Cameron always impacted people she met, one way or another. Many were struck by her indifference and puzzled how such a beautiful young woman could be such an emotionless ice queen. Other's found Cameron to be a delight to be around and would do anything for her. Fortunately, the third group was small in size. Those were the individuals who had made themselves an enemy of Cameron's. For them, being in Cameron's presence was an occasion to be fearful.
Many people warmed up to Cameron over time as she was able to interact with them more. For those individuals, they came to believe her indifferent expression was caused by shyness or social awkwardness. Little did they know, most of the time Cameron was in fact indifferent. As a Terminator, she had the ability to filter out anything distracting and ignore it. Often the distraction was other people, people she had scanned and determined were not a threat to John, her family, friends or her objective of the moment.
John was proud Cameron had made the effort to develop better social skills. She had even learned to form real friendships with two other girls in her dance troupe at school. It had taken considerable effort on his part to convince Cameron to try to run parts of her infiltrator programming when she was out in public, to at least look like she might be approachable. Driving home, he thought about how far she had come as he recalled one of their conversations on the topic.
"It is a waste of CPU processing capability. Once I have determined the individual's friend or foe status there is no need to interact in any way with the individual."
"You interact with Grace and Mary and you do it by choice."
"They are my friends. I learn from them and find their company pleasant."
"Yeah, but if you had ignored them when they tried to interact with you, then the three of you would never have become such good friends."
"Your point is irrelevant John. I had already classified them as friend from my initial assessment. There was no reason to not be polite when approached."
"There is no reason to not be social ever Cameron."
"Yes there is. That bitch whore Cindy made eyes at you the first time she saw you at school. Then there was the incident in the shower after dance class. I classified her as a foe and with good reason."
"Incident? You never told me about an incident? What did you do to her?"
"I established who the alpha female was. I made it very clear you were mine and off limits to her. I also established she was not to challenge me in regards to anything dance related."
Despite her stubborn resistance, Cameron had come around and dramatically improved her social skills. For that, John felt he owed a debt of gratitude to Grace and Amy as the two silly teenagers were devoted to Cameron and were determined to help Cameron overcome her shyness. Little did they know what they were actually dealing with.
More than anything, John believed it was "the Sisters" who had transformed Cameron. They were her two beloved ballet teachers who had seen something in her. Devoted teachers, they had invested heavily in Cameron, teaching her to be graceful and to express her emotions through dance. In doing so, they helped Cameron make peace with the emotions that so often nearly drove the cyborg over the edge mentally. Being a highly tactile creature by nature, teaching Cameron to express herself physically had allowed her to learn to control most of her emotions and emotional responses. Performing had shown Cameron the value of interacting with others. Without her audience, there was no one to share with, nobody to see the beauty of her dance.
John had been stunned when Sarah, his mother, had come to him at the restaurant after one of Cameron's performances, and offered to help him finish paying for her engagement ring. "Her ring" as Cameron called it. She had been the one to find the ring. He smiled when he thought about the ring and Martha. The saleswoman was convinced the ring was perfect for Cameron, that it fit her personality perfectly. It hadn't hurt that the price was a hefty one either.
No, it had been the purple diamond. A rare and expensive gem, just like Cameron, that made the ring perfect in John's eyes. To Cameron, it was the purple diamond. Despite the best efforts of John and Sarah, it was difficult at times to get Cameron to adorn herself in something other than purple. Even Cameron did not know why she was obsessed with the color. But now he was on his way home with "her ring," with its purple diamond she so loved.
The Connor Residence…
Annoyed at not being able to engage in her weekly ritual of going to the mall to try on "her ring," Cameron had vented her energy by washing all the laundry, ironing and folding the clean clothes, vacuuming the entire house, washing all the windows and was contemplating cleaning the oven when John returned home.
With Sarah and Derek leaving in his truck and John's unannounced absence, Cameron had no way to go to the mall after Sarah dropped her off following rehearsal. John, she decided, could pay for his thoughtless act of taking the SUV by driving her to the mall for a visit to DeMarco's to see "her ring" and then a movie followed by a stop on the way home for ice cream.
"Hey! I'm home!" John announced as he entered through the backdoor.
"Where did you go? I needed the SUV.\"
He smiled at her annoyed expression. John knew exactly where Cameron planned to go as soon as she got the car keys to the SUV.
"Need to go somewhere? Let me clean up and I'll take you. Then if we have time, how about something to eat and a movie? I'll even spring for ice cream on the way home. How does that sound?"
Tilting her head, Cameron watched John. He often liked to take her to a movie as long as she promised not to ask questions during the film and then stop for ice cream on the way home. But something was different. John seemed more cheerful than normal by a considerable margin. It was possible he had a surprise for her.
"I want to go to DeMarco's and see "my ring," she said cautiously, watching John for any reaction that would reveal if he had plans to surprise her.
"No problem. Come with me and we can make conversation while I clean up."
The two headed up to John's room. Cameron sat on his bed while John went into their shared bathroom to brush his teeth and freshen up. When John emerged, his demeanor had changed. Puzzled by the change from upbeat and cheerful to serious and slightly nervous, Cameron tilted her head and asked, "Is something wrong John? You don't look well?"
Swiftly John walked over to where a now alarmed Cameron sat on his bed and kneeled before her on one knee.
"Hold still John. I cannot scan your vitals signs properly if you are moving around."
"Cameron, you need to sit still for a minute and no scanning me."
John fumbled with his front pants pocket, struggling to get his hand in. After a moment his hand emerged with the prize, a small, black velvet ring box. Thoroughly confused, Cameron watched John with an alarmed expression, her mouth slightly open.
"Cameron, I know we've already discussed this, but you have every right to change your mind. I want you to know that."
John looked down at the box in his hand and tried to open it. His hands shook so badly he failed to get any grip on the top of the box. On the third try, he managed to get the box open, revealing the beautiful ring Cameron had her heart set on.
"Cameron, would you do me the honor of marrying me? Will you be my wife?"
Seconds passed as Cameron sat motionless, her facial expression blank and without emotion.
"Cameron?"
The sound of her name seemed to break the grip of whatever had stilled Cameron. She gently took the ring box from John. With her right hand she removed the engagement ring. Sitting the box down beside her on the bed, Cameron slipped the ring on the ring finger of her left hand and held it up before her eyes.
Unsure of what Cameron was thinking, John watched and held his breath, afraid to speak. Of all the different reactions he had envisioned, this was not how John thought Cameron would react.
"John?"
"Yes, Cameron?"
"You really want to marry me?"
"More than anything. Yes, I really want to marry you!"
"Then I want to be your wife more than anything!"
The shy smile spreading on Cameron's face warmed John's heart. He took a deep breath as the two embraced and held each other tight for a long moment.
Releasing Cameron, John sat next to her on his bed as she looked at her ring finger, admiring "her ring."
"I did not anticipate a proposal for at least another year John. How did you finish paying for my ring?"
"You're not going to believe this. Mom paid for half."
"Sarah? I do not know what to think John."
"Well, you better find a way to thank Mom."
"Sarah has accepted me?"
"As much as Mom is capable of, yeah."
"I want to call Grace and Mary. Is that okay John?"
"Yeah! But don't take too long. You have to change. Nothing real fancy, but we're meeting Mom and Derek at a restaurant to celebrate."
Picking up her small ring box, Cameron quickly vanished to her room. As he selected nice casual clothes to wear, John heard Grace and Mary answer on the conference call Cameron had placed. The loud squeal from all three told him what he wanted to know. Cameron was happy.
The restaurant…
The maître' de greeted them with an enormous smile on his face. Moving through the patrons waiting for a seat, he made a show of greeting John and Cameron.
"My favorite young couple! Sarah and Derek told me the wonderful news! I am so pleased you wish to celebrate this wonderful moment with us! Please, right this way. Sarah and Derek are waiting at your table."
His face suddenly all business, he cleared a path for John and Cameron as he moved towards the seating area. Noticing the frown on an older, obviously wealthy couple, he stopped and smiled.
"Young love! Our little ballerina is to be wed! It is such good fortune her young man finds our establishment to be worthy of celebrating their special day."
Murmurs of recognition spread through some of the waiting upscale crowd as they recognized Cameron. Dressed in elegant black wool slacks and high heels, Cameron wore a beautiful white blouse. Her only jewelry was the engagement ring and her purple amethyst earrings. Cameron had cleaned her beloved purple leather jacket and purse (complete with .22 caliber pistol inside) and styled her hair. Emphasizing her eyes more than normal with her make up, Cameron was the picture of a stunning young beauty.
The maître de led them to their table; proud and pleased Cameron was being noticed as a guest by many of his upscale clientele who were patrons of the arts. Sarah and Derek stood to great them.
"John, why don't you sit with Derek? Cameron and I have so much to talk about."
Taking Sarah's seat, John sat down next to Derek and the two males watched as Sarah and Cameron looked at each other awkwardly. Finally, Sarah reached for Cameron with both arms and the two embraced to the delight of those in the dinning room. The two held each other for a long time, both fighting to control their emotions.
Finally, a teary eyed Sarah let go of Cameron and wiped her eyes. As Sarah turned to sit, Cameron took her hand and stopped her.
Whispering with sincerity and so only Sarah heard, Cameron told her, "I need to thank you for my ring. John told me. I cannot tell you what it means to me. I so badly want to be John's wife, but I want to be part of his family as well."
Slipping her arm around Cameron's, Sarah led her to the two waiting chairs.
"Let's sit down before one of us starts crying. Then the other one will start crying and then it will take us forever to fix our makeup."
The two sat down. Sarah wiping her eyes with a tissue while Cameron watched her.
"Well, looks like John finally manned up and asked the question," Derek blurted out.
"Derek be nice. This is Cameron's special night."
"Sarah, it is John's special night too."
"Tin Miss, you have a lot to learn. You're going to be a bride. It's all about you! Since I never married and you don't have a mother, we are going to have all the fun we can planning your special day!"
"But, if this is my special night, why do I get to have a special day too? What about John?"
"Tin Miss, to night we're celebrating your engagement. The wedding day is all about you! You're the bride!"
"But what about John?"
Sarah leaned over to whisper in Cameron's ear just loud enough John would hear, "Tin Miss, his special night will be your wedding night!"
Cameron's eyes grew large as John blushed. Derek, realizing what Sarah had told Cameron burst out laughing, drawing the attention of couples sitting close to their table.
Chapter 2 – The Church?
Opening the door to John's room, Cameron peeked in. Finding John awake, she slipped in and shut the door. Lying down beside John on his bed, Cameron curled up next to him. John smiled at her and leaned over to kiss her.
"Let me see," he asked.
Cameron held up her left hand and turned her wrist so John had the best possible view of her engagement ring.
"You really should keep in the box it came in. If you wear it too much the diamond will lose its purple color," John teased.
"It will not silly. I want everyone to see I am engaged. I am not taking it off John."
"Okay. I didn't want to tell you, but DeMarco's wants the ring back. I still have more payments to make on it."
"You do not John Connor! We are engaged and you are not backing out of your commitment!"
Cameron sat up and straddled John's hips. He looked up at her face in wonder as her hair framed it, emphasizing the shape of her face and jawline, bringing out the size of her brown eyes. Slowly, Cameron lowered herself until she was reclining on John's chest, her lips inches from his. John wrapped his arms around Cameron and drew her closer, eliminating the final few inches.
Closing her eyes, Cameron kissed John. Gently and chastely at first, then growing more passionate as the kiss deepened. Needing to breath, John finally ended the kiss.
"I have no intention of not honoring my commitment," he told Cameron, grinning as he spoke.
"Let me think. I know! You just want me to be your sexbot! You do not want me as a wife," Cameron exclaimed.
Sitting up quickly, Cameron folded her arms across her chest and pouted. Her bottom lip curled and protruding with a deep frown on her forehead causing the ends of her eyebrows to tilt downward towards the bridge of her nose.
"Cameron, you're being silly."
"I have studied marriage customs. You have extended a contract of marriage by proposing. I have accepted. You are now bond by honor to take me as your wife. It is a commitment you will honor."
Cameron pushed John down and maneuvered herself off him and stood up. A flustered John watched in surprise as Cameron went to the door, opened it and without another word, left, slamming the door behind her.
"Where did that come from?" John muttered in frustration. "One decent kiss and she thinks I'm going to do something stupid?"
The door opened a few inches and Cameron's face appeared. Winking at John, she smiled.
"Fooled you!"
"Not funny Cameron!"
Giggling, Cameron let the door swing open as she leaned against the doorframe, arching her back gently to emphasize her curves and feminine charms.
"I just want to remind you about the special treat that awaits you."
Walking sensuously over to John, Cameron leaned over, pulling her hair back with her hand. Gently she gave John a teasing kiss before standing to leave. Looking over her shoulder, Cameron stopped at the door.
"I will be the best sexbot ever John. Good night!"
Cameron shut the door and John could hear her footsteps as she crossed the hall to her room and gently shut her own door.
Staring up at the ceiling, John could feel every cell in his body was experiencing frustration.
"Cameron, you're killing me," he whispered aloud to himself.
The next morning…
Stumbling down the stairs, John rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Entering the kitchen he stopped to look at the source of his lack of sleep the night before. Instead of nightmares, he had dreamt of a teasing Cameron, causing him to constantly wake up through out the night.
Cameron was sitting with Sarah and the two women were looking at a long list written on a yellow legal pad. Looking around the kitchen, John noticed Cameron had not cooked breakfast for him that morning.
"Hey, good morning," he muttered. "Any breakfast left for me?"
Looking up from her list, Cameron scowled for a moment. "Cereal. Sarah and I have been busy making a list of things we have to do for the wedding."
"What did Derek have for breakfast?"
"Cereal."
"Cameron, you always cook breakfast."
"John, you are a big boy. You're engaged. You can pour yourself a bowl of cereal. Cameron and I have more important things to do right now."
"It is all right Sarah. John, I will cook you breakfast. What would you like?"
"Uummm, let's see. An omelet sounds good, and I'd…"
"Cameron, you will do no such thing. John can fend for himself. You are his fiancée, not his cook, maid or servant."
"But Sarah!"
"Nip it in the bud now Cameron or he'll take advantage of you later."
"But Sarah, I want to prepare John's meals."
"Not this morning. We have several stops to make on the way to dropping you off for rehearsal. It's good for John to fend for himself every once in awhile."
John realized his mother was putting her foot down. Not wanting to be the cause of a fight between Cameron and Sarah, John hurriedly spoke up. "Cameron, it's all right. I'm a big boy. I've been wanting Fruit Loops for awhile anyhow."
"We do not have any John. Too much sugar for anyone's diet in this family. I only purchase Grape Nuts, Cheerios and Raisin Bran now. Everyone needs more fiber."
Standing in front of the pantry to look at his options for breakfast, John scratched his head.
I'm not even twenty-two years old and she's feeding me like I'm in my fifties.
That evening…
Finished finally with the most recent project assigned to him, John had crashed for a much needed nap after his sleepless night. The sound of Cameron and Sarah entering the house had awakened him. He looked at his clock. It was approaching 9:00 at night. The two must have been out shopping or browsing. Either way, he was glad he had not been involved.
"John, come down here right now."
"Great. I haven't done a thing and Mom's going to go off," he muttered to himself.
Making his way down the stairs, John reminded himself not to antagonize his mother. Sarah had been on an even keel for the past month and things were going well within the family, particularly between her and Derek.
"Hey! Been out shopping?"
"Yes. There is too much for us to do so we will be giving you lists of things to do each day with deadlines."
Feeling a sudden sense of impending doom, John felt compelled to speak up.
"How hard can this be to plan? We just have to get our marriage license and go to the Justice of the Peace. I'll have to pay for a fake blood test for Cameron, but our regular guy can take care of that. As much business as we send his way he should do it for free as a wedding gift. I can wear my suit."
Cameron looked at Sarah, her face clouding up quickly in concern. Noticing her quick reaction, John realized he'd left a few things out.
"Of course, you need a white dress Cameron. Mom, you should get a new dress too."
"Tell him Cameron. Lay the law down right now. It is your wedding day," Sarah ordered as she frowned at John, hands on hips.
"I want a church wedding John. With bridesmaids and our friends. It will be a small wedding, but it's what I want."
"And you're getting it, is that clear John?"
"Mom, you haven't set foot in a church except to hunt for Cromartie or set up a deal since I can remember. What's up with this?"
"What's up, John, and you better pay attention, is this is what your bride-to-be wants. It's her special day. It's not about what I want or what you want. Cameron wants a church wedding. She's having one, is that clear?"
"What about what I want?"
Cameron pleaded, "John, please. I know I have not discussed it with you, but this is important to me."
Her big brown eyes seemed to grow as Cameron tilted her head slightly. Her mouth forming an ever so slight pout as she brushed her hair from her eyes with her left hand, letting the light in the room catch her purple diamond. A quick look at Sarah and John realized this was a fight he had no hope of winning. He could never say no to Cameron when she pouted like this, she was just too cute. Sarah had sided firmly with Cameron on the issue. If Sarah's mind was made up, Cameron was having a church wedding if Sarah had to kidnap a priest and force him to conduct the ceremony at gunpoint.
"All right. It's important to you, so we'll have a church wedding. Is that one of my tasks? To find a priest?"
"No. I wish to do that by myself John."
"Well what is it I'm supposed to do tomorrow?"
"Here is a list of colors and dress shops. I have contacted all of them and you are to pick up samples tomorrow. You will be expected."
Looking down at the list, John felt a sense of dismay.
"I finally finished my last project. I planned to hang out on my own for a day. There are seven stores on this list. Just driving to all seven will take me all day."
"Now you see why we need your help John. Cameron has rehearsal. Derek and I are leaving to meet with an arms dealer and check out a tip on some possible Grey activity. We'll be gone most of the day, so you'll have to handle getting Cameron to and from work."
Looking at her son's face cloud up in preparation for a Connor explosion, Sarah headed his outburst off.
"This is YOUR wedding John."
"You keep saying it's Cameron's special day Mom."
"It is! But it's YOUR wedding too! You need to be involved."
Cameron suddenly left the kitchen and headed up the stairs. As she passed between John and Sarah, both Connors could see tears running down her face. When the sound of Cameron's door shutting could be heard, Sarah growled at John.
"I was afraid of this. You need to understand something. Cameron is on edge emotionally. It has taken years for me to accept her into this family. I'm not sure if what you and Tin Miss are planning to do is right, but I've made my peace with it and with Cameron."
"Look Mom, this is not your wedding, so…"
"I am fully aware it's not John," she snarled. "It's my sons wedding. You need to grow up right now. You want to marry her? You want to sleep with her? Then you need to start acting like a husband to be. She has no mother, do you understand?"
"What are you ranting about?"
"John, the bride's mother helps her plan her wedding. I never got to have one. I know how much it would have meant to me to have married Kyle. It means just as much if not more to Cameron."
"I never said it didn't matter to her Mom. I think you're getting carried away a little bit too much."
"John. She's a Terminator. Don't you think she's feeling insecure right now? As much research as Tin Miss has done on weddings, she's just as confused as any young bride to be who is human. I am the closest thing to a human mother she has, any mother for that matter, and I am going to do my best to see to it my son and my future daughter-in-law have a beautiful wedding."
"We can have a nice wedding ceremony at the Justice of the Peace. It would be a lot easier and less expensive."
"No. It's not what Tin Miss wants. You need to stop and think John. Judgment Day is coming if we don't stop it. The memories of a beautiful wedding day will be important for both of you when the horrors of the future come."
"Mom, just getting married to Cameron will be a great memory."
"John Connor, you are just plain selfish. Self-centered too. I am ashamed of you! Has it occurred to you Cameron has reasons why she wants a church wedding? Have you stopped to think about that? She wants Grace and Mary to be bridesmaids. Tin Miss has asked me to be her Matron of Honor. She wants her friends from the ballet company to be there. Cameron wants to marry you in front of her friends. Has it occurred to you John, that a lot of people want to be at your wedding?"
"Mom, shouldn't this be something Cameron and I decide?"
"Yes, it should. But you just dismissed it out of hand like it was not a big deal. Until you say I do and slip her wedding band on her finger, Cameron will feel insecure. She has no frame of reference in her files for this. Tin Miss has struggled for acceptance in our family. She's managed to win Derek and me over enough you proposed. Now, you are acting disinterested in your own wedding."
"Mom, it's not that I'm not interested, I just don't see why it has to be a big deal."
"It's a big deal to her John Connor! And THAT is exactly why it had better become a big deal to you in the next few minutes. You want to get married? You want to have sex with her? Take care of her? You better start putting Cameron first right now John Connor. If you don't figure that out, you are going to make her miserable. You'll make yourself miserable and if I were you, I would NOT want to have an unhappy Terminator for a wife lying by my side while I slept at night. Now you go up there right now and apologize to her. I expect Cameron to be down here in half an hour with a smile on her face so we look at pictures of wedding dresses! Go!"
Cameron's room…
After staring at the doorknob to Cameron's room for nearly five minutes, John realized just how clean and shiny Cameron maintained things around the house. Wondering how he was going to clean up the mess he had just stepped in, he knocked twice on the door and entered.
Cameron was lying on her bed in her underwear, looking at the ceiling. She had stopped crying but tear tracks ran down both of her cheeks.
"You may do to my body whatever you desire John."
"That's the last thing I expected to hear you say," he replied with a surprised voice.
"It is what you want. I was foolish to make you wait until we were married."
"Yeah, about that, don't you think you are overreacting a little?"
"No. I teased you during our courtship. I was wrong to do so. Now you may have your way with me. It is why you are marrying me."
"Cameron, I think you misunderstand a lot of things here."
"No, you find me attractive physically. Many other human males do. I will be your sexbot."
Cameron sat up on the bed and reached behind her back to unfasten her bra.
"No, no, no! Wait Cameron, don't do that!"
Puzzled, Cameron tilted her head, "But you only want me for a sexbot. I am simply complying with your wishes John."
Desperate to control his hormones so he could think clearly, John went to Cameron's closet and returned with one of his dress shirts Cameron liked to wear.
"Put this on. Please."
"I am confused. You want me to put more clothes on?"
"Uh, yeah. So I can think straight. You're not helping things right now and we need to talk."
Slipping the shirt on over her head, Cameron adjusted it to fit her comfortably. Sitting next to her, John took Cameron's hand and held it with both of his.
"We just had a major misunderstanding and it's all my fault. I thought you would want to get married as easily as possible. It never occurred to me you would want a church wedding and all the stuff that goes with it."
Cameron looked at John with her blank expression, frustrating him. He needed to know what she was thinking and feeling.
"Mom pointed out some things to me and I realize I was a big jerk. We've wanted to get married for so long it never occurred to me you might feel insecure about it. I mean, getting married is a big deal. You won't have to worry about the Riley's and Cindy's of the world anymore. Officially, you will be a full-fledged member of the Connor family, for better or worse. You will be stuck sleeping in the same bed with me and you'll have my stuff mixed in with yours."
"You still want to marry me? You don't just want a license so you can have sex with me?"
"I want to marry you. The whole enchilada. Everything it means. I want you to be happy so if it means marrying you in a church, that's what I will do?"
"You don't want God's blessing on our union?"
"Cameron, you're confusing me. What's God got to do with this?"
"John, do not be mean to me. This is important."
"You're going to have to explain why to me. I want to understand. I really do."
"You do?"
"You think it is important, so it's important. I want to understand, no, I need to understand."
"Do not laugh at me when I tell you."
"I won't. I'm done being a jerk for today."
John waited patiently while Cameron thought carefully. He could picture her CPU processing.
"We are the first John."
"The first?"
"The first human and Terminator to marry."
"Oh. Yeah, we are."
"I am worried whether or not our relationship is moral."
"You're confusing me Cameron. I get that we are different. But what we feel for each other is pretty normal. I want to take care of you and make you happy. You protect me and I know you want me to be happy. We're good friends. We like being together and doing things with each other. Those are pretty normal things for married people."
"No John. I am worried it is not right for us to be mates. I want to stand before God, the Creator, and have our union blessed. I want to know it is a right thing for us to be together as husband and wife."
Surprised by Cameron's revelation, John paused to consider his response to her concern.
"I'm not trying to be a jerk Cameron. I know we've had a lot of talks about ethics, developing a conscience, value of life and things like good and evil. I know a lot of what we've done is troubling. It troubles me, that's for certain. But, you worrying about God? I'm confused."
"John, you are human. You were born with free will. Humans sin, all of you do. I have studied the Genesis account carefully. While you sin, you have the choice to do what is right. Sometimes you make a sinful choice. I was built to be a Terminator. To infiltrate, deceive and kill. My very existence would be considered by many to be an abomination. You have chosen to marry an abomination. Do you understand John?"
"I know you're a Terminator. But I see the good in you Cameron. You've learned so much. You make ethical choices. I know you kill and you're good at it. But you also create beauty. You are a loyal and faithful friend. You protect people who cannot protect themselves from harm and evil."
"I want to escape the fate my father wants for me John. I need the Creator of the Universe to say it's all right, that I can be redeemed."
"Cameron, Skynet created you. I don't think I want Skynet at our wedding."
Frustrated at John not understanding, Cameron bounced herself on the bed and frowned.
"Mankind created Skynet! Fools like Kaliba and FutureTech created my evil father! Misguided leaders allowed Skynet to take control of the nuclear arsenal. God did not create Skynet. That is mankind's folly!"
Cameron stood and walked to her window and looked outside. Frustrated, she wrapped her arms around herself as the tears began to flow again. Moved by the intensity of her feelings, John went to her and took her in his arms.
"You want to know you aren't evil simply because you are alive?"
"God created the Universe and man. Man sinned. Man created Skynet. I don't think mankind meant for Skynet to be evil, but he is. Skynet created me to do evil, to feel nothing, no remorse. To simply do his will. But John, I'm not that creature now."
"I know you aren't. I wouldn't marry you if you were evil Cameron."
"But I've done bad things. So many bad things, and John, I will do more bad things. Things I know are wrong but I will do them."
"Sounds like you're no different from the rest of the people in the world Cameron. Most of us want to do right, but we fall so short."
"That is why I need the blessing of our union. I need to know the Creator is pleased. That I am redeemable, that we are both redeemable. I may be a machine John, but I want to do what is right even though I do what is wrong. I need to know, to feel, I am free from the evil of Skynet. That God knows I want to please Him and not Skynet. That I want to be a good wife to you."
"You really need this?"
"I need to know I am not evil. I need to know loving you is good. John, what we are doing is not normal. I want for our marriage to be right, a good thing."
John turned Cameron around so she faced him.
"I'm not a Biblical scholar by any stretch Cameron. But I do know the greatest commandments were to love God with all your heart and soul and to love your neighbor as yourself. I think that is how it's worded. Jesus was pretty big on loving people unconditionally. I'm a jerk and I've treated you badly so many times, yet you love me anyhow. You take care of me and my entire messed up family. You protect me. I think in some ways you are a good example of what that sort of love looks like."
"But I do wrong. I kill without thinking. I pass people who need help and do nothing because it would interfere with my mission parameters. I need to stop and turn the tortoise over and I don't."
"Makes you pretty normal, I'm afraid Cameron. Well, except that you think about it. Most people don't think about it that much."
"I know its confusing John. I'm confused. But I want this. I want our marriage to be a good thing. I want to be your wife. I want to lose myself in you, but I cannot if it is not a good union. I will not marry you if it harms you."
Moved by the sincerity of her devotion to him, John hugged her tight. Placing his chin on top of her head, he rubbed her back with his hand as he rocked side-to-side.
"A church wedding it is then. I'm not sure I understand everything, but I know you want to do what is right."
"You will wed me in a church?"
"You've convinced me it's the right thing to do. It's what you want and that's something I've got to learn to take into consideration. Being your husband means I have to think about what is best for you, not just what I want. That's new for me, so please be patient, because you know me, I'm going to screw up."
"I love you John. You are good to me."
"Let's see how you feel about that a month after we've been married. I'm gonna quote you on that when you start throwing pots and pans at me."
"John, Skynet never cared about what I wanted. He never cared if I was safe or protected. You do. I know you will be mean to me and make mistakes as a husband. But you love me and you do try to do what is right for me."
"So, are you sorry about the little stunt just now? You know, lying there in your underwear, tempting me like that again?"
"I am sorry. I was very hurt. I thought our wedding ceremony meant nothing to you. I reacted in an emotional, not logical way. I should have waited for you to come and then explained things carefully. I am very sorry John."
"Well, just proves it's hard to have emotions and free will Cameron. It's not easy for us humans either."
"You forgive me John? I should not have tempted you."
"Actually Cameron, you scared me."
"I did not threaten you John."
"What you did was so out of character for you. It made me realize how upset you were, how big a jerk I was being."
"We were both wrong."
"Yeah, we were. Would you mind talking with Sarah now? Mom is going to kill me if you aren't down there soon to look at pictures of wedding dresses."
"You may look with us. I would like that."
"Actually, Cameron, that is one thing I do know about weddings. It's bad luck for me to see the dress or you in the dress before the wedding."
Cameron smiled at John and wiped her cheeks. "You are lucky that is a custom. You don't want to be involved because you are lazy."
"Cameron," John whined, "It really is bad luck."
"I am going to ask Sarah."
"Feel free, I'm telling you, it's bad luck."
Cameron went to the door of her room and stopped to look at John. He looked at the petite Terminator and took in just how beautiful she was to him. Her bare feet and long legs looked exotic flowing out from underneath the male dress shirt.
"Thank you John. I am sorry for reacting the way I did."
"I'm sorry too. It's fine now."
She left and John felt his body relax. The latest crisis adverted. Lying back on her bed, he put his hands behind his head and took a deep breath and let it out. As he tried to work out Cameron's reasoning behind her desire for a church wedding, he smiled.
Tin Miss really does want a soul.
Reviews are always appreciated. If you liked this story, you might want to consider my other TSCC stories:
Cameron Grows Up
The Future Cameron
Who's the Boss?
The Storm Before the Calm