Chapter 1: February 28th, 1985

San Ángel, Mexico

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Jolanda Salceda's tired brown eyes were struggling to stay open as she sat at the kitchen table, watching the back door closely. Her husband, Enrique, had told her that he would come back through that door and that if anyone came in a different way that she would know it was an intruder. Jolanda had lost track of all the sleepless nights she had had since her husband had gotten into the money and guns trade. Most of the time they had it under control, making it easy for Jolanda to raise her three children but every once in a while, Enrique would be threatened and they were placed on high alert.

The kitchen window was cracked open, occasionally letting a gust of the hot Mexican air into their home. She let out a small sigh along with the wind, placing her right hand in her lap on instinct. Her fingers traced over the trigger of the pistol and checked to be certain the safety was on. She glanced away from the gun and turned to the clock which read 4:53 A.M. Jolanda looked back at the door, wondering whether or not her husband would make it home.

She drew in another deep breath as she ran her fingers through her long black hair, trying to keep her mind off of her husband's business. She slowly leaned forward and rested her elbow on the table, placing her head on the palm of her hand, feeling the lack of sleep begin to pull her in. Jolanda tried to reason with herself saying that it would be okay if she fell asleep for only a few minutes. They house was quiet, the children were all asleep, and she had the gun in her lap, ready to use. However, her desire for sleep was interrupted by a loud cry.

"JOLANDA!"

Jolanda's eyes opened wide as she flinched in her sleep, seconds before standing up. She shoved the pistol in the back of her pants and began to run. She rushed out of the kitchen and ran through the living room, down the hallway to the guest room. She opened the door and ran next to her friend's side, gripping her right hand tight.

Sarah Connor's straight blonde hair was matted with sweat and tears were blurring in her blue eyes as she struggled to tell Jolanda what was happening. Jolanda watched as her friend gasped in pain, placing a hand on her stomach as her muscles contracted. Her jaw was clenched tight as she leaned forward in pain, squeezing Jolanda's fingers so hard that they were turning white. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she spoke through gritted teeth.

"Something's… wrong!"

Jolanda nodded quickly and gripped Sarah's wrist, pulling her up to her feet.

"Come on, get to the car. I'm taking you to the hospital."

As Jolanda helped pull Sarah to her feet, her sister, Salma, was standing at the door with wide eyes. Jolanda quickly spoke to Salma in Spanish, telling her to watch the children and that she was taking Sarah to the hospital. As they reached the door, Jolanda handed Salma the pistol and told her to keep an eye out for Enrique. Salma nodded and wished Sarah luck as they began to walk away.

As soon as they exited the house, Jolanda's only thought was on getting to the hospital as quickly as she could. She helped her friend into the passenger's seat and jumped into her seat, starting the old pickup truck. She raced out onto the dirt road and went as fast as she could without getting a speeding ticket. Jolanda's eyes glanced between the road and her friend, trying to calm her down through her cries of pain.

Jolanda felt a flood of relief pass through her once they arrived at the hospital. They quickly exited the car and walked to the front desk where she spoke to the woman quickly. The woman nodded and instantly called a doctor and nurses over in a hurry. Jolanda turned to Sarah and tried to help her calm down.

"It's okay, Sarah."

"No… it's not oka… ah!"

Jolanda gripped Sarah's arms as she shouted in pain, her legs buckling under her. The moment the doctors arrived they placed Sarah on a stretcher and wheeled her out of the room. Jolanda was given a clipboard and asked to fill out some of the information about Sarah while she waited for results. Her instincts told her that they would be leaving with a child and ran a hand through her hair nervously, exhaling slowly as she walked over to the waiting room with a nurse.

As she sat in the chair, looking over the paperwork she had to fill out for her friend, she remarked at how different Sarah Connor was from most women. Sarah had not told her a lot about her life in the United States or her family and when she had asked, she had been given very little information. Jolanda had been even more confused when Sarah had told her that it would be safer that way. She remembered talking with Enrique when they were considering letting Sarah move into their home so they could help her.

When Enrique had found Sarah a couple months ago she had been poor, single, alone, and pregnant with her dead lover's child. Her only possessions had been an old red Jeep, a small bag with her wallet and papers, and an old tape recorder. Jolanda had instantly felt compassionate towards the young woman and was glad once Sarah had accepted their offer to live with them for the first few years. Sarah got along well with Jolanda's children and worked as much as she could to help them whether it was around the house or outside of it.

Despite the lack of information she had been given, Jolanda knew that Sarah had been hurt somehow and ran to escape whatever was back in the United States. About a month after Sarah had moved in, Jolanda did some research on her name and learned a little bit more about her story and how two other women with her name had been murdered. The case was private but with Enrique's help they managed to be able to look more into it regarding the factory where her lover died a couple feet away from some sort of robot.

The story was confusing and there were a lot of things Jolanda didn't know about it but she knew that Sarah would eventually have to tell them and so she waited patiently for that moment to come. She knew that Sarah was strong but also knew that she had been hurt by it. She recounted all the nights that she had heard silent cries coming from her room, most likely from the pain of losing her lover.

Jolanda finished filling in what she knew about Sarah and set the clipboard on her lap, resting her head on her palm once more. She knew she wasn't going to get any sleep but needed to help relax herself for the busy day ahead of her. She was concerned with Sarah's condition and eager to figure out what was going on. The moment she was going to close her eyes, she noticed a nurse walking towards her and instantly rose to her feet.