Title: Hope for the Future

Author: jess-pirate

Summary: Sarah and John reflecting on the future, after T2.

Music: "I learned from you" - Hannah Montana

Disclaimer: I do not own Terminator, or any of it's characters.

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They had stopped Judgment Day from coming, or so they thought. But deep down, Sarah Connor knew it would come sooner or later. She knew the dark future still existed, but it just hadn't come yet. It would always exist. For her, and her son, John.

So they made sure they were prepared. Sarah made sure John would be ready. She had taught him to be a fighter. And she was going to make her proud.

John found himself often thinking back to when he was younger, and his mother had told him about the person he would become one day.

The leader of the human resistance.

He hadn't believed her. No one had. So they locked her away from the world. But it had been true. He felt guilty after that. But she forgave him. She didn't need to say it. He knew she did.

She would always try to help him for his fight, but he would tell her that he knew what he was doing. He wanted to act like a leader now. He didn't want his mother's help. But he knew he could always learn more.

I didn't wanna listen to what you were sayin'
I thought that I knew all I need to know
I didn't realize that somewhere inside me
I knew you were right but I couldn't say so
I can take care of myself, yeah, you taught me well

But he had learned so much from her already, and perhaps the most important thing he learned was to stay strong.

For himself.

For the human resistance.

For her.

I learned from you that I do not crumble
I learned that strength is something you choose
All of the reasons to keep on believing
There's no question, that's a lesson, I learned from you

When she first told John about what would happen in the future, Sarah had some trouble getting John to take her seriously. She need him to know how important he was. To everyone. She didn't think he fully understood. But he had.

She remembered the moment she realized she knew he was ready.

It was at the gas station that they hid at for a night, after springing Sarah from Pescadero. She and John were changing the pin switch to write-mode, so the Terminator could learn. Sarah had the chip in her hand, and was going to smash it with a hammer.

She didn't trust this machine. Not after what had happened in 1984.

But John had stopped her. She remembered his exact words.

"Look, Mom, if I'm supposed to ever be this great leader, you should start listening to my leadership ideas once in a while. 'Cause if you won't, nobody else will."

And he was right. After that, she knew he would be okay.

We always don't agree on
What is the best way
To get to the place that we're going from here
But I can really trust you, and give you the distance,
to make your decisions without any fear

I'm grateful for all of the times
You opened my eyes

I learned from you that I do not crumble
I learned that strength is something you choose
All of the reasons to keep on believing,
There's no question, that's a lesson
I learned from you

But that fight was over. And a new one was beginning. The future that they had feared, would soon be reality. They didn't know how to stop it. But they would fight it. Side by side.

Sarah looked over at John, who was sleeping. She knew that she might not make it through this Judgment Day, but she knew John would.

She had raised a fighter. She had never been prouder. The human race would be okay, all because of her son.

And with this thought, the luxury of hope returned to Sarah.

You taught me to stand on my own
and I thank you for that
You saved me, you made me,
and now that I'm looking back I can say

I learned from you that I do not crumble
I learned that strength is something you choose
All of the reasons to keep on believing,
There's no question, that's a lesson
I learned from you