The walls were unbearably white and it only brought more attention to the fact that his shirt was soaked in blood. John couldn't remember the last time he had been in a hospital. As a rule, the Connor family typically avoided hospitals. They led to too many questions that couldn't be answered without bringing danger to them and the people around them. Besides that fact, hospitals didn't exactly bring fond memories for John. He knew that they weren't all like the one where his mother had been held captive, but he didn't care. He still had a strong dislike for doctors.

"What was she doing?" Cameron asked, breaking John away from his thoughts. She was sitting painfully straight in the chair beside him, her eyes searching his face for answers.

"What do you mean?" He asked. His voice was tired, as if he hadn't slept in days.

"The razor," she said, "it was covered in blood." She paused for a moment. "She wasn't shaving." She stated factually. John rubbed his temples. He wasn't in the mood for this.

"She was trying…" he began, but couldn't finish. "You wouldn't understand."

Cameron stared at him, unblinking.

"I'm programmed to understand humans," she told him.

"No," John said harshly, "you're programmed to act human, not understand them."

Cameron's gaze left his face and she stared straight ahead at the nurse's desk. He wasn't sure if he had hurt her feelings or not, but then again he never truly believed she had any feelings. That's what he told himself, at least.

"A gun would've been more effective," she stated after a few moments of silence. John looked up at her and began to think that maybe she did understand after all. He chose not to reply to her statement, mainly because he was imagining the scene he would've found if Riley had opted to use a gun.

"Have you ever wanted to die?" she asked calmly. It wasn't the type of question people asked without expressing emotion, but Cameron asked it in the same monotone voice she normally used. John contemplated for a moment.

"Yes," he answered. He hadn't asked to be the savior of the world, and it wasn't a job he had gladly taken. He didn't like the feeling of the weight that had been placed on his shoulders. He was forced to grow up too fast, never knowing a lot of the joys most kids had. His life consisted of robots that looked like humans and being forced to push people away.

"I can't let that happen," Cameron told him. "I'm here to protect John Connor," she stated. "That's my mission."

John nodded.

"I know," he whispered. He buried his face in his hands. He could really use some sleep right about now.

Someone near to him cleared his throat. John looked up to find a doctor with short gray hair staring down at him.

"Are you John?" he asked. John nodded.

"I normally don't do this, but it's a special circumstance and…" the doctor trailed off. "Anyways, Miss Dawson would like to see you."

John nodded and stood up. Immediately, Cameron mimicked his movement.

"I'm his sister," she stated. The doctor nodded and pointed in the direction of the hall.

"She's in room two," he told them. He then left and John slowly made his way to the room. Cameron followed closely behind.

When they entered the room, his attention was immediately focused on the figure lying in the hospital bed. Riley was pale and had tubes in her nose and arms.

"Riley?" John questioned softly. Riley's eyes fluttered open and he noticed they weren't as bright as they normally were.

"Hey," she managed to whisper. John walked close to the bed while Cameron stayed near the door.

"She's dying," Cameron said. John glared at her.

"You don't know that," he said. Riley nodded.

"Yes, she does." She took John's hand lightly in her own. Cameron inched forward.

"There's something you need to know," Riley said. John gave her a questioning look, but said nothing. He was waiting for her to continue.

"I'm from the future," she said. Cameron immediately pulled out a gun and walked towards the bed, but John held out a hand to stop her.

"You said yourself she's dying," he told her. "She's not a threat."

Cameron put the gun back, but remained hostile toward Riley.

"I'm sorry," Riley choked out. "I was sent to distract you, to keep you away from her." She gestured toward Cameron.

"But why?" John asked. "Cameron was sent to protect me."

"In the future you're different." Riley tried to explain. "You ignore everyone but her. It's like no one else exists." She paused and looked away from him. "Everyone says you fell in love with her," she whispered. John swallowed.

"But she's a machine," he protested. A tear rolled down Riley's cheek.

"That doesn't mean that she can't feel—or express—love."

A beeping noise came from a machine that was beside her bed.

"Goodbye, John," Riley whispered as her eyes slowly closed. The beeping became more frequent.

"Fix her, damnit!" he yelled at Cameron. Cameron stared unblinkingly at Riley, but didn't move. The doctor from earlier, along with a few nurses, rushed in.

"I think you should leave," the doctor told the both of them. Cameron's head snapped in the direction of John. She walked over, grabbed his arm, and effortlessly pulled him out of the room. As they left, one of the nurses shut the door. John slumped against the door frame. From inside he heard one last, long beep.

"She's dead," Cameron told him as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

let me know if you think i should continue :)