"Your son, Sarah…your unborn son"

Disclaimer: I do not own The Terminator or any of the characters, though I wish that Kyle Reese was mine, sigh.

The sun was unbearably hot most days, but today it seemed the heat was even more stifling. Sarah raised her bottle of water up to face, and cherished the cool relief that the liquid gave her throat. It had been solid ice in that bottle about ten minutes ago, and now it was only water that filled the container. She re-tied the bandanna she had taken to wearing across her forehead to push her fringe away from her face, and took in the landscape around her. Dust and sand were all she could see for as far as her eyesight stretched along the horizon. She thought back to Los Angeles, and how different her life had been back there as a waitress. She thought of the neighbourhoods occupied with family homes that she would pass daily on her scooter, almost all identical to one another, with their big gardens filled with freshly mowed immaculate lawns, flowered bushes and the ever so stereotypical white picket fences. She'd never have that kind of life, not now. She looked down at her swollen stomach and absentmindedly smiled as she stroked her belly softly, imagining that her unborn son could feel and recognise her touch. A pang of sadness overwhelmed her as she thought of Kyle, and how her son would grow up not knowing his father, and the sacrifices that Kyle had made in order for them both to survive. She could feel her eyes brimming with tears as the images of Kyle flooded into her mind, but she swallowed them back down, she had refused herself the permission to cry a long time ago. She couldn't go back to being that witless, frightened girl that she had been when it had all began. She'd never be that girl again, the terminator had succeeded in that much. Next time she'd be ready, she'd be stronger, but most of all she'd be prepared.

"You frighten the kids when you pull that face,"

Enrique's jokey tone relieved Sarah from her haunted memories, and she turned to see the Mexican stood behind her with a broad smile on his face, gesturing to his left, where far in the distance three small children were playing. She reciprocated the smile, it was the least she could do for this man. Enrique Salceda had provided her with shelter as she had retreated to Mexico in an effort to disappear off the grid after the events that had unfolded in the Cyberdyne factory, but much more than that, he had believed her tales about the Terminator and Judgement Day. She hadn't been exactly forthcoming about it to begin with, and had mostly kept herself to herself after first meeting Enrique, and he had silently respected her privacy, but she had felt he deserved to know the truth about what was coming after her, just in case. She had expected him to turf her out, maybe give her enough money for gas, but insist that the crazy woman raving about killer machines from the future left him and his family alone. Instead he had offered her a home, and had even promised to train her after John was born. He had served in the military briefly, and had a small inventory of weapons at his home, just in case.

"I hope, you're hungry, Jolanda is determined to make that kid come out a porker,"

Sarah couldn't help but laugh at Enrique's comment. It was true that since she had arrived at their home, Enrique's wife had fussed over Sarah; making sure ate more than enough to feed herself and keep John healthy.

"Sure, you go ahead, I'll be there in a minute,"

He nodded in recognition that Sarah wished to be alone for a few more moments, and turned to leave. A melancholy smile formed on her lips, as she watched him go. The Salcedas had never asked about Kyle, and for that she was thankful, she found it hard enough to talk about him in her tapes to John, talking to anyone else about him would be too painful. The closest they had come to asking about John's father was when she had first met them and Enrique had enquired as to whether she was alone, for which he had received a sharp dig in the ribs with Jolanda's elbow. She had replied by holding a hand against her then small bump and simply stated that she was not alone. Slowly she pushed herself up off the bench that she had been resting on, and started waddling towards the house. As much as she loved her unborn son, and knew how important he was, she couldn't wait for her pregnancy to be over. She wasn't as agile with her massive bump, meaning that she was on no state to protect herself and John, which made her even more indebted to Enrique. She had just reached the entrance to the house when a sharp shooting pain ran down her spine. She left out a large gasp and grabbed her stomach. Enrique's sons Franco and Paco, a few steps ahead of Sarah turned at the noise, just as another ripple of pain flashed along Sarah's abdomen. This time she let out a loud grunt, and doubled over, grasping onto the doorframe for support. Franco let out a small yelp, and Sarah lifted her head enough to see the two horrified expressions on the young boy's faces.

"Go. Get. Your parents!"

Sarah panted out the words between breaths. Even though she knew this day would be coming soon, she wasn't ready for this. She wasn't prepared yet for John to arrive. She wasn't expecting him to be born for at least another month. She bit her lip hard to stop a scream escaping her lips as another wave of agony flooded through her body, as Franco ran down the corridor, yelling to him parents as he went. Paco stood motionless for a moment, before waddling over towards Sarah. Without saying a word, he wrapped his small hand around hers. Sarah attempted a smile, but she got the feeling that it came out as more of a grimace. Enrique rounded the corner, a look of panic on his face, with Jolanda peeping over his shoulder, wearing a similar expression. She shouted out to her children, speaking hurriedly in Spanish, and rushed past Enrique to Sarah's side. Grabbing an arm to support her, she turned back to her husband.

"Enrique! The Jeep!"

He stood panic-stricken for a moment, before snapping out of his trance, and nodded to his wife. Snatching the car keys from the worktop surface beside him, he hurried towards the two women, but Sarah held her hand up to stop him.

"No!"

She yelled, finally catching her breath,

"I'm staying here! No hospitals! Do you understand me?"

As the words escaped her lips another contraction hit, and she was forced to bend over again, waiting until it passed. Enrique paced up towards her and grabbed her other arm,

"Sarah. If this baby is going to be half as important as you said he is, we're not taking any risks with his or your lives. Do you understand me?"

She looked up as the pain subsided, to see his nostrils flaring in what she could only imagine to be a cross between anger and concern. Part of her agreed with him, her maternal instincts knew he was right and since John was arriving early it might be a good idea to get medical help in case of an emergency. She couldn't lose him as well, not after everything she'd gone through, but the other half of her was worried about being in the presence of strangers with her and John being at their very most vulnerable. Just as she was about to argue back, a powerful contraction hit.

"Fine"

She screamed through gritted teeth. At the sound of her agreement, Jolanda and Enrique wasted no time in rushing her over to their jeep. After easing her into the passenger seat, Enrique sprinted to the driver's side of the vehicle and started the ignition. As she watched the figures of Jolanda and the children waving fading away into the distance, she couldn't help but think of how Kyle should be there.

Enrique Salceda,

(Jolanda-wife, Franco & Paco-sons, Juanita-daughter, Carlos-nephew)