The Storm Before the Calm
Disclaimer: Don't Own TSCC
This one-off story is written in the Universe of my fanfiction story Cameron Grows Up but does not fit anywhere in the current story other than somewhere in the not-to-distant future after their Christmas vacation adventure in Lake Tahoe. Sarah begins the day in a reflective mood, but like any normal day in the lives of the Connor/Reese family, things can change at the drop of a hat and often do.
Standing on the stairs, Sarah could see Cameron in the kitchen cooking dinner for the family. As much as it had irritated her when Cameron had inserted herself in the role of family cook, Sarah had slowly come to realize just how much she hated cooking and how much healthier the family's diet was with Cameron in charge.
There had been other changes as well now that Sarah thought about it. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had to yell at the little Terminator for walking around the house in nothing more than her underwear. She still had to fuss at Cameron periodically for her sleepwear, but for the most part, Tin Miss had developed an appropriate sense of modesty.
Thinking back on the start of Cameron's career as a high school student, her attire had improved considerably. She no longer had a "for sale sign" on as Sarah liked to call Tin Miss's style of dressing. No more wearing skirts that were too short and tops that were too tight or revealed too much skin.
Some things hadn't changed. Cameron was still annoyingly stubborn at times. Especially when it came to John or her curiosity had been aroused. It was always advisable not to stare at her and meet her gaze. Without fail Cameron would engage in a staring contest. Not even John had been able to break her of that habit.
Smiling, Sarah thought about a few of the quirks she hoped Cameron would never outgrow. The tilting of her head when she asked a question or was confused was endearing, most of the time. Cameron's utter devotion to John's safety and well-being was a habit Sarah was counting on for when she was gone. Cameron would probably even do her best to take care of Derek if Sarah asked.
Jealousy still reared its ugly head, much to John's dismay. Cameron simply could not help herself when a blonde paid what she believed was undue attention to John. Still, Cameron dealt with it better. John had learned to recognize the warning signs and take steps to allay her fears and insecurities. Sarah laughed to herself as she recalled the time Cameron announced she was having breast augmentation surgery and coloring her hair blonde. It had taken John an entire week to talk Tin Miss out of that idea. In the end, he succeeded only because he convinced Cameron the security risks in finding a surgeon who could be trusted with her secrets was too great.
Derek. There was a change as well. The other machine hater in the family had made peace with Cameron. In fact, the two were now able to maintain their truce for periods of up to three weeks before they had a serious squabble. Things were getting downright boring sometimes in the Connor/Reese family.
Derek had finally started to look at Cameron in a different light after her attempt to play matchmaker for Derek and Sarah. It also helped Tin Miss was an excellent soldier and Derek always valued her skills in a firefight. Their squabbles now were of a different nature, more like an annoyed older brother fighting with his stubborn younger sister. The two of them just couldn't seem to help themselves, almost as if it was their nature to fight with each other.
And then there was John. More than anyone else, Cameron had helped shape John into a more mature version of himself. He was more confident, more assertive and had shown signs of maturing into the leader he had to become after Judgment Day. More importantly Sarah realized, in helping Cameron to find herself, to develop her own conscience, her sense of who she was, John had saved his own humanity. His love for Cameron would prevent John from becoming like the Future John, described by travelers from the future as a cold hearted, machine like, distant man. Bitter and filled with self-loathing, avoiding all contact with humans, keeping company only with reprogrammed Terminators.
Glancing at the table by the backdoor where the family side arms were kept as well as Cameron and John's backpacks for school was Cameron's dance bag. Sarah never thought she would be the matriarch of a family involved in the arts. Cameron's dance recitals and performances had become a unifying event for the family. Even Derek looked forward to watching Cameron perform.
Encouraging Cameron to take up dance was the one thing Sarah felt was her contribution to Cameron's growth and development as a person. Never would Sarah have ever believed a machine, a Terminator, could learn to create beauty. Now, when she watched Cameron dance, Sarah felt such joy and sadness as the emotion of the dance unfolded.
Then there was the crying. Thankfully John dealt with most of Cameron's emotional upheavals. There had been a few times, particularly when John was the culprit behind Cameron's turmoil, the duty had fallen on Sarah. Derek in time had found it amusing, much to Sarah's annoyance. Sarah hadn't appreciated Derek telling her Cameron was just modeling how Sarah often behaved. Tin Miss was just being a moody, stubborn female. When did Terminators learn to cry anyhow?
John had certainly discovered Cameron had developed a stubborn, moody side. When she was annoyed with John, there was no avoiding the fact. Cameron made certain John knew she was irritated with him. Cameron could pout better than any female Sarah had ever known. Unfortunately for Cameron, Tin Miss could not do without John's affection for more than about 48 hours. If John could hold out that long, he could win the argument through sheer perseverance.
Cameron had learned to make friends as well. Sarah had never foreseen that. Cameron had formed several close friendships with girls in her dance classes and occasionally socialized with them on the weekend. It was stressful for Cameron to be away from John and strained her infiltrator program, but she valued her friends and enjoyed a girl's night out every so often.
Stress. The fear of harming John after the explosion when Cameron had nearly killed John had done more harm to her than Sarah had thought possible. Stress was now part of Cameron's daily existence, manifesting itself in what the family called "her glitch," the involuntary opening and closing of her left hand. Everyone, including Derek, was attuned to her stress levels and had learned to help Cameron develop the coping skills she needed.
The purple leather jacket, Cameron's prized possession. Sarah had purchased her a matching purple leather purse and given her a .22 cal. pistol for the purse. At times it seemed like it took an act of Congress to get Cameron to wear something else. Nobody, including Cameron, understood her fascination with the color purple. It was simply one of her many quirks.
It went against everything Sarah believed, her John being in a relationship with a machine. With each passing day, Sarah spent more and more time reflecting on whether or not John and Cameron's relationship was healthy for either of them. There was no doubt the two were best friends and Sarah had come to grips with the fact. If Cameron were male, Sarah would be fine with John's relationship with the machine.
The problem was, Cameron was a girl, and with each passing day, Sarah seemed to pick up on one more tiny change that made Cameron more feminine. Most of the time Cameron could best be described as a tomboy in her attitude and dress. She certainly dressed in a rough and tumble attire of blue jeans, cotton tops and her leather jacket. Add her favorite footwear, combat boots, and Cameron was essentially ready to fight at anytime of the day or night. Unless it was time for dance class, but that was a separate issue.
Sarah couldn't quite put her finger on it, but Cameron certainly seemed to be more of a girl even if she outwardly hadn't changed much. Perhaps it was some of the subtle changes, such as the custom purple grips on her favorite Glock or the fact she had engraved scrollwork into her favorite shotgun. Cameron was certainly still a warrior at heart and outlook. It was never wise for an enemy of the family to provoke her, particularly where John's safety was concerned.
Strangely, Cameron's decorating of her guns did not seem out of place. It simply fit Cameron's personality these days. Cameron was blossoming into a beautiful young woman, who also happened to be an incredibly deadly weapon. Sarah supposed it made sense Cameron and made an attempt to beautify her personal weapons as well, beautiful weapons for a beautiful warrior.
What would the future bring though? Cameron had made it clear she wanted to one day become John's wife. While John never talked about it and Cameron appeared to not be pressing the issue with John at all, Sarah thought about the issue more and more. With each passing day, John grew and matured as a man. The same could be said for Cameron. Since graduating from high school, she had been able to deal with her dysfunctional emotion simulator more effectively.
John liked to say Cameron had "matured" emotionally. Tin Miss was certainly on a more even keel emotionally, but as far as Sarah was concerned, Cameron was still moody, stubborn and sometimes displayed a rebellious, independent streak. At home she was better able to maintain her even, bland Terminator emotional keel. Unless John frustrated her or Derek decided it was time to violate their truce. Then it was Johnny bar the door.
Contentment and happiness were now a part of John's life on a regular basis. Cameron provided John with something he had never found anywhere else in his life and Sarah had never been able to provide. Cameron was equally happy and content with John, barring her occasional bouts of insecurity, which occurred less and less. Allowing her to curl up with John alone for 30 minutes an evening had done wonders for her ability to cope and gave the pair time to resolve issues in private on a daily basis.
If Cameron weren't a machine, a Terminator, Sarah would be filled with unbounded happiness for her son. She'd even be silently looking forward to being a mother-in-law. But Cameron was a machine. It just wasn't natural. Sarah realized if the two had never developed a relationship, but had simply remained "brother and sister" and had become close friends, she would be able to accept the idea of Cameron being an "adopted" daughter, just not a daughter-in-law.
Sarah's pensive reverie was shattered with the ending of the latest truce as the sounds of shouting came from the kitchen. What have Derek or Cameron done now?
"Get out of the kitchen NOW Derek Reese!"
"Think that knife scares me Tin Miss? Think again!"
"OUT! I saw you stick your dirty finger in the sauce!
"I'm hungry! You deliberately cook stuff that smells good so it makes me hungrier! It's your fault I needed a taste to hold me over!"
"Well, you've had your sauce for the evening! Here's your dinner!"
Sarah saw Derek duck suddenly as he ran from the kitchen. The sound of an object hitting the wall in the living room caused Sarah to spring to her feet and come down the stairs in a hurry.
"Stop it! Both of you!"
"Derek stuck his dirty finger in my sauce. Now it has to be thrown out!"
"She's starving me on purpose!"
"I am not! Your dinner is over there on the floor! You can use the microwave after I've cleaned up the kitchen AFTER we've eaten!"
"Cameron, go put the knife up! NOW Tin Miss!"
"Derek, you're eating whatever Tin Miss threw at you! You know better than to mess with her when she's cooking and has access to sharp knives!"
Cameron folded her arms across her chest and glared at Derek. Gone was her calm, emotionless Terminator expression. She showed no signs of moving.
"Derek has to apologize. He ruined the sauce."
"Not going to happen. You threw a can of beans at my head!"
"You are lucky you have good reactions and the can missed! Next time I'll throw the knife at your center mass and I will not miss!"
"STOP IT BOTH OF YOU! Derek, go to the basement! Now! Cameron, in the kitchen and put that knife up! NOW!"
The two combatants slowly backed away, neither taking their eyes off the other. Derek finally began his way down the basement stairs and Cameron returned to the kitchen.
Sarah followed the enraged Cameron and watched as she put the knife up. She picked up the pot of sauce and dumped it down the garbage disposal in the sink. To Sarah's surprise, Cameron sat the pot down and started crying.
"Tin Miss, you need to calm down and get control of yourself. I will order us something for dinner. Go to your room and lay down. I want you to spend half an hour in standby mode so your CPU can get control of your systems. I will NOT have you and Derek acting like this. Nor will I have you throwing things at him or threatening him with a knife!"
"He makes me so mad Sarah! I was making John's favorite Italian dinner and Derek ruined it! It was going to be a special surprise for John!"
"Cameron, you are going to give me a heart attack. It's OK if you are angry with Derek for being a jerk, but you are never to throw things at him again in this house! Do you understand? You cannot act like a crazed, hormonal teenage drama queen!"
"That is not fair Sarah. You get angry with Derek all the time for trivial matters. He stuck a dirty, bacteria laden finger in John's dinner! I have every right to be angry with Derek."
Without another word, Cameron wiped the tears from her cheeks and swiftly made her way up stairs to her room, slamming the door behind her.
"Is it safe?"
Sarah looked at the basement door to see Derek sticking his head out.
"No! What were you thinking? I can certainly see why Tin Miss is furious with you."
"Oh, so it's all right for her to try to kill me?"
"Did I say that? You stuck your finger in the sauce she was cooking! What do you think the first thing that ran through her CPU was? Tell me!"
Realizing he was not going to win this fight with Sarah, Derek shrugged before answering. "I was thinking how hungry I was and how good it smelled. What was I supposed to think?"
"Hmmmm. Let's see. Dirty finger goes into sauce. Who is going to eat said sauce? Sarah and Derek? Cameron might not care. If Cameron wants to eat, she's not concerned about bacteria. Oh, that leaves…..JOHN!"
"I see your point. Tin Miss does have a tendency to be, ah, assertive in dealing with what she perceives as threats to John. I should have gotten a spoon."
"You are going to apologize to Cameron first and then I will see to it she apologizes to you."
"Nope! Not happening. That metal does not get to throw things at me just because she's irritated. She can apologize to me first and then I'll think about apologizing to her."
"Well, while your waiting for that to happen, you can just sleep by yourself in the basement tonight."
"Fine. Better yet, I'll eat out by myself tonight."
"Why don't you Derek Reese! Don't let the door hit you in the butt on your way out either!"
Derek stormed out of the house and Sarah turned to go upstairs to her room only to run into a puffy eyed John.
"What is all the yelling and noise about? I was sound asleep. What's up with Derek?"
Sarah's expression caused John to lean away from her as she stormed up the stairs. "Ask your metal girlfriend. If you want something to eat, fix it yourself or order something!"
That's just great. Derek's stormed off and mom's acting like a ticking time bomb. Cameron's nowhere to be seen. I'm not sure I want to talk to any of them. Think it would be wise if I went to get myself a pizza somewhere.
Two hours later…
John strolled into the house, locked the backdoor and set the security system. Patting his overstuffed stomach, he made his way up the stairs. Pausing outside his room, John decided it might be wise to see what Cameron was doing.
He gave her door two quick raps and eased the door open to take a peek inside. Cameron was lying on her bed, flat on her back, staring at the ceiling. John entered and walked over to her bed.
"Hey, could you scoot over?"
Cameron's eyes blinked once and her entire body shivered once as she came out of standby mode. She looked up at John and then moved over on her bed, creating enough space for John to lie down next to her.
"I may have to terminate Derek Reese."
"Is that what all that noise and shouting was about? I was sound asleep and all that racket woke me up."
Cameron quickly turned on her side and stroked John's cheek. "I am sorry. I did not realize you were sleeping."
"What were you to fighting about this time?"
"Derek stuck his dirty finger in the sauce I was cooking! He ruined the anniversary meal I was cooking for you! He is lucky I did not shoot him on the spot!"
John felt a sudden sense of panic. Anniversary? When did Cameron start worrying about celebrating anniversaries? What anniversary could she possibly want to celebrate? Just how mad is Cameron going to be if I can't figure out what anniversary it is in the next 30 seconds. Why do these things happen to me?
"Well, the kitchen did smell great. I am sure it would have been a fantastic meal Cameron."
"Yes, but John, I wanted it to be special! Today is the day we met at school in Kansas!"
Relieved Cameron had let slip the all-important day, John made a mental note to record the date on his computer calendar. One thing John had learned, any male who forgot an anniversary date important to his wife or girlfriend could expect no end of grief until he had suffered sufficiently in the eyes of his significant other.
"I am so sorry Cameron."
"Now Sarah is angry with me. I may have overreacted."
"What did you do?"
"I pulled a knife on Derek and threw a can of beans at his head. I would have knocked him unconscious but he has excellent reflexes and ducked in time."
"No wonder mom freaked out. Cameron, I'm disappointed in you. You have come so far in getting control over your emotion simulator. Now you go and do something like this?"
"But John, Derek stuck his dirty finger in the sauce. You could have gotten sick if I had not seen him."
"Let's go. You're apologizing right now."
"Do I have to?"
"Yes. Now."
John stood and scowled at Cameron, letting her know he was both angry and disappointed with her. He walked to the door and waited. His not offering his hand for Cameron to hold made her realize just how angry John was.
"You think I acted inappropriately?"
"Yes! Yell at Derek all you want. But you cannot try to hurt him physically! You want him to start up on his "burn the metal" rants again?"
Downstairs…
The sound of boots on the stairs caused Derek and Sarah to look up from their newspapers as they sat at the kitchen table ignoring each other. John entered the kitchen with a clearly unhappy Cameron in tow. Stopping in front of Derek, John waited for Cameron to speak. After waiting for several seconds, he squeezed her hand to remind her of his order to apologize. Cameron looked up at John with pleading eyes, begging not to apologize to Derek. John's frown indicated otherwise.
Putting on her best blank Terminator expression and using her monotone, Cameron spoke, "Derek, I apologize for throwing a can of beans at your head and threatening you with a knife because you stuck your dirty, germ laden finger in the sauce I was cooking for John."
"Cameron, try again."
"I am sorry. I behaved inappropriately. I will not throw a can of beans at you again Derek."
"Apology accepted," was Derek's terse reply as he went back to his paper.
"Ahem."
"What?"
"Derek, Cameron apologized. You should do the same."
"Only because John made her."
"Well, then consider this an order from me, apologize to Cameron. You started this by sticking your finger in the sauce she was cooking."
Sarah glared at Derek. Out of the corner of her eye Sarah noticed Cameron's faint shift in expression. Tin Miss needed an apology.
"Your time in the basement can be extended, along with loss of "benefits."
"Gross, Mom! I'm mentally scarred again."
"Fine, Cameron, I apologize for sticking my dirty, germ laden finger in your sauce. I won't do it again. I'll use a clean spoon instead. OK?"
"Apology accepted. But you still ruined the special evening I had planned for John. Sarah, make Derek apologize for ruining our anniversary!"
"Anniversary? What anniversary Tin Miss?"
John seized the opportunity to earn some boyfriend points and jumped into the conversation.
"Today Cameron and I met for the first time at school in Kansas. How could you forget Mom?"
"You're right. Tin Miss, I agree with you. Derek must make amends for ruining your special evening with John."
"What? I'll do no such thing. I apologized for sticking my finger in the sauce and I meant it."
"To make sure you don't forget your apology, and the lesson, you are taking the entire family out tonight to a nice restaurant. We'll all dress up for the occasion. Oh, and Derek, I think John and Cameron would enjoy a restaurant where they could dance," Sarah said, winking at Derek with her bedroom eyes.
Derek swallowed and realized he had a chance to get out of the basement and stay in Sarah's good graces. Opportunities like this didn't come along often.
"You're right Sarah. Cameron, I will make reservations for 8:00 at a nice Italian place where they have a dance floor and live band after 9:00. Would that meet with your approval?"
"Only if John says it is acceptable."
"I think Uncle Derek's eaten plenty of crow Cameron. Derek, you offer is accepted."
"John, you will look very handsome in your suit. I have a new tie I bought for you. I was keeping it for a surprise. I am going to start preparing for tonight!"
Sarah couldn't help but chuckle at Cameron's happy reaction to the promise of dinner and dancing, even if her "uncle" and "foster mom" were coming along as chaperons.
"Mom, I have to get her something! What should I get? I've only got an hour."
"Forgot the big day did we?"
"Mom, it's not funny!"
"Fine, get some money out of the stash and go to DeMarco's and buy her something."
"Mom, jewelry? Isn't that a bit much?"
"Don't spend a lot."
"What if Cameron gets the wrong idea? You know girls read things into every thing you give them!"
Derek and Sarah both burst out laughing at John's obvious distress.
"John, that ship has sailed. Cameron laid claim to you a long time ago. Doesn't matter what you give her, anything you give to her she treasures. Now go," Sarah said, shooing John out of the kitchen.
"Well, somebody got lucky and dodged a series of bullets. I'm going to start the process of camouflaging my age," Sarah said.
Jumping up, Derek caught Sarah before she made it to the stairs. "You look fine to me."
"You have to say that. You've been a bad boy today," Sarah purred.
"Wear that black evening gown Cameron got you and I'll show you just how bad I can be," Derek whispered back before kissing Sarah on her cheek. "Have to run an errand, but I'll be back in plenty of time to clean up and get into my monkey suit."
At the restaurant…
Looking over her wine glass, Sarah watched as John tried to lead Cameron on the dance floor. Slow dancing was not on the list of skills she had taught John and try as he might, he managed to step on Cameron's toes about every eighth or ninth measure.
Poor Cameron, our John needs to learn how to dance. Well, at least she's not a human girl. Having steel feet is a plus when dancing with someone with two left feet.
Frustrated at Sarah's constant watching of John and Cameron dance, Derek decided if you can't beat them, you might as well join them. Standing, he offered his hand to Sarah.
"Cameron looks like she's in metal heaven. Would you like to join the lovebirds? I promise I won't step on your toes."
Derek held Sarah's hand and led her to the dance floor. Sarah slipped into Derek's arms as the two warriors began to glide across the floor in perfect rhythm.
Growing weary of trying to stay off Cameron's toes and failing, John noticed Derek and his mother gliding across the dance floor.
"Let's take a break Cameron. Besides, let's watch Derek and Mom dance for awhile."
"John, it is all right. I enjoyed dancing with you even though you stepped on my toes 47 times."
Smiling with relief, John offered Cameron his arm and led her back to the family's table. John pulled Cameron's chair back and seated her. Sitting down in his own seat across from her, John began fumbling in his pocket.
Smiling with tender affection, John spoke so softly only Cameron's enhanced hearing enabled her to discern his words.
"I have something for you. I think you'll like it."
Extending his hand across the table to Cameron, he offered her a small black, velvet covered box.
Cameron's head tilted immediately to the side as her CPU immediately called up her subroutine for examining objects.
"It is a jewelry box from DeMarco's, a high end jewelry store. Jewelry is often given as a token of affection or to commemorate a significant romantic event for a couple."
Cameron straightened her head and looked at John, her mouth open and her eyes wide.
"You have obtained a romantic gift to commemorate our anniversary?"
Feeling a sudden sense of unease, John realized he had no idea how Cameron would react to the gift.
"Well, yes. You're my girlfriend. We met on this day and it's important. It was important to me to get you something you would like."
"May I open the box?"
"Of course, it's yours."
Tilting her head again, Cameron's gaze shifted to the laser like focus only a Terminator was capable of as she opened the small box. Instantly her brown eyes lit up, flashing blue for just an instant. Cameron let out a girlish squeal, attracting the attention of all the people dinning nearby and on the dance floor.
"Oh, John! Amethyst earrings! A purple gem! I'll pierce my ears as soon as we get home tonight! They're perfect!"
Sarah turned to watch as Cameron held up one of her new tiny earrings and began examining it. Smiling like a small child, Cameron tilted the earring as she scanned it, analyzing the stone for composition, color and any other data she could obtain.
"John could have given her a piece of gravel and she'd be delighted. Look at her Derek, she's like a small child sometimes."
"I'd rather watch you look at something like that."
Derek stepped away from Sarah, releasing her as he reached inside his coat to withdraw a small, black velvet covered box identical to the one John had given to Cameron.
"Something I got for you Sarah. I hope you like it. John thought it would be a nice gesture."
Sarah touched her chest with her left hand as she took the small jewelry box from Derek with her right. Her heart racing, she opened the box. Inside was a pair of small, gleaming amethyst earrings.
"Derek, they're beautiful. I haven't worn earrings in years. It will be nice to have some to wear, but a purple stone?"
Suddenly uncomfortable and worried he shouldn't have listened to John, Derek muttered his response, "John thought it would be nice if we both gave our best girls the same gift. I wanted to give you earrings and John wanted a purple stone. DeMarco's had two sets of these. It seemed like a good idea at the time. If you don't like them, I'll…"
"Oh, hush Derek! They're perfect. It's cute. Tin Miss and I can match when the family goes out."
"You like them?" Derek asked in a small hopeful voice.
"Almost as much as the man who gave them to me."
At home…
Rolling over, John finally managed to get comfortable. Cameron would finish her patrol soon, which meant she would come check on him. She had loved the earrings John had given her. Cameron had been even more delighted when she learned Derek had given Sarah an identical set.
I'm permanently scarred for life. My cyborg girlfriend has bonded with my mother over jewelry. They giggled like middle school girls because they "matched." Then my mom drags my uncle up stairs because he's been a bad, bad boy and needs discipline just after she threatens me and Cameron about having an "inappropriate" celebration of our anniversary.
The image of Sarah leading Derek into her room lodged in his mind, John shook his head trying to erase the memory.
I'm scarred for life. Yep. Brain damage. No child should ever see something like that, especially with the dress Mom had on. I've got to have a talk with Cameron about picking out age appropriate clothes for Mom.
The door John's room slowly opened and Cameron slipped in wearing shorts and a t-shirt.
"You are awake. You should be asleep John."
Scooting over, John patted his bed. Cameron wasted no time lying down and curling up with John.
"I love my new earrings. They go perfectly with my leather jacket and purse. I cannot wait for you to take me a movie at the mall so I can wear them. They even match the grips Derek gave me for my Glock."
John smiled as he took in Cameron's face. Nestled close to him with her arm across her chest, Cameron's bare feet shone in the moonlight. The freshly painted toenails giving off a purple glow as her feet were draped across John's. Her face was a picture of contentment.
"Go to sleep John."
He kissed her clean, shiny hair, taking in her strawberry scent. Within minutes the events of the day passed from his mind and he fell asleep. Instead of nightmares that night his dreams were filled with the color purple and the sweet smell of strawberries.
If you enjoyed this one-off day in the lives of the Connor/Reese family in my Cameron Grows Up universe, I'd appreciate it if you posted a review. If you have any constructive suggestions to improve my writing or the story, please let me know. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.