This is a little Valentine's day one-shot. Nothing to do with my other stuff. I got the idea while actually assigning the activity described here in the story to my high school students. Hope you enjoy :)

John slammed his hand down on his alarm clock, effectively silencing the annoying radio announcer. He didn't need any reminders of what day it was. It had been hyper-commercialized since the start of the New Year. Red hearts, chocolate flowers, and obnoxiously cute stuffed animals.

Valentine's day. The worst holiday of the year, in his opinion. A disgusting waste of money, and depressing reminder of just how much it sucked not having a girlfriend. He could rationalize it away just like all of the other single losers, of course. You should show your partner love all the time, not just when Hallmark tells you to. Or worse, I don't need a special day; I have all the love I need from my family! None of that worked, especially with his dysfunctional half-metal family in mind. In the end, he was still single, still lonely. And quite frankly, sick of seeing nothing but hearts and cupids decorating every inch of the school. Stupid student government association nerds.

A knock on the door made him groan and shove his head farther under the pillow, but it was his mother's voice that made him cringe. "John, are you awake?"

"No!" he groaned, as he slowly dragged himself out of bed. Yesterday's jeans and a shirt that he assumed to be clean pulled from a laundry basket was his chosen "heart day" attire. It was only coincidence that they were both black.

In the kitchen, he made a beeline for the fridge and pulled out the half-empty carton of Tropicana orange juice. Before the spout could even touch his lips, an empty glass was shoved in his face. Taking the hint, he sat down at the table and poured himself a glass of juice.

A plate of misshapen pancakes was set down in front of him, and he looked up at his mother with a raised eyebrow.

"Happy Valentine's Day," she said with a half smile, before leaning down and planting a kiss on his forehead.

Muttering thanks and barely suppressing a sigh, he picked up his fork and started picking at his somewhat heart-shaped breakfast.

"Don't be so mopey, John," she said, squeezing his shoulder lightly. "Half those kids at school will break up by the end of the week, if not the end of the day." She looked up as Cameron walked in the kitchen, and put a slightly condescending look on her face. "Did you leave me hot water this time, Tin Miss?"

Cameron stopped in the middle of the floor, her usual blank stare one of slight confusion. "There should be a sufficient supply of hot water left."

"Good. I hate cold showers. Make sure you get to school on time."

Cameron waited until Sarah was out of earshot before taking a seat beside John at the table. "Happy Valentine's Day."

At this, John did sigh and set his fork down. "What's so happy about a commercial-driven pretend holiday?"

"I don't know," she said bluntly. "I thought it was the appropriate thing to say."

"Yeah, well, I don't do Valentine's Day. Okay?" He set his empty plate in the sink and grabbed his backpack from the table. "Coming?"

XXXX

Cameron waited by the large tree outside the school where she usually waited for John at the end of the day, watching the mass of teenagers exit the building. She used to wait by his locker, but he claimed it made her look more like a "special needs" sister, whatever that had meant. If anything, she argued, he was the one with special needs, which was why she was there in the first place. She still didn't understand why he got so angry when she said that.

She spotted John easily with his all-black attire among the crowd kids wearing various shades and degrees of red. He made his way straight for her, and Cameron noticed a greater than usual slump in his shoulders. She thought she might have the perfect remedy for that.

"Hi John. How was your day?"

"Whatever," he grumbled as he sulkily stomped past her.

"I have something for you." She waited until he had stopped and turned around before handing him the item he'd failed to notice she had been gingerly holding.

He took the red construction paper heart from her and stared at it blankly. There were sequins glued around the edge, and super-fancy handwriting that was too perfect for a human hand to create.

When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew. ~ William Shakespeare

"It's a Valentine," she explained pointlessly. "I made it in English class. We had to make valentines with love quotes by Shakespeare. We're supposed to perform them for someone to practice intonation. Can I practice it on you?"

John shook his head slowly, staring at the paper in his hands as if it had a contagious bacterial growth on it. "You can't give this to me."

"Why?" Cameron asked.

"Because... because you can't give something like this to your brother. It's inappropriate. Besides, I told you. I don't do Valentine's Day!"

"Oh," she said softly, casting her eyes to the ground. "Thank you for explaining." Without another word or glance, she walked away, leaving him standing under the tree alone, holding her heart in his hands.

XXXX

AD 2027

General John Connor sat silently on his bunk alone, staring at an old crumpled plastic Ziploc bag in his hands. He sat there just staring at it for a long time, not moving, just remembering a time long ago.

A soft knock at the door pulled him out of his reverie. "Come," he called, without looking up.

The recently reprogrammed TOK715 model terminator opened the door, and after a brief moment of uncertainty, stepped inside.

"Close it," he said, and waited to hear the click of the door shut. "Sit." He motioned to a nearby chair and watched as she dutifully followed his command.

"Are you aware that it's Valentine's Day?"

The machine stared blankly at him. "I'm unaware of the significance of Valentine's Day. Can you clarify?"

John sighed and handed her the bag he'd been holding. She accepted the item and examined curiously.

In the bag appeared to be a red, heart-shaped piece of paper. The words in the center had been written in ink, using a neat calligraphic script. There were small, round shiny objects glued around the edge. A few of the shiny objects had fallen off and lay at the bottom of the bag, but other than a few creases and a bit of fading, the paper seemed to have been well-preserved.

"When I saw you I fell in love," she read aloud. "And you smiled because you knew. William Shakespeare." She flipped the heart over and saw a few, less-fancy written words. "To John. Love, Cameron." She looked up at John in confusion. "I don't understand."

"You will. Where you'll be going, everything will be explained." He stood up and opened the door, expecting her to take the hint.

Cameron stood up, but didn't leave the room. "I didn't make this."

John smiled sadly. "No, not yet."

"But I will."

He shrugged one of his shoulders half-heartedly. "That will be up to you. But do me a favor, okay? If you do... tell me why."

"I don't understand."

John sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I think you will. When the moment comes, you'll know."

She finally moved to leave, but stopped to face him in the doorway. She handing him back the paper heart, but he held up his hand to stop her. "Keep it. It's yours. Just remember what I said, okay?"

She looked back down at the heart for a brief moment and nodded. She left him standing in the doorway, alone and empty-handed.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Cameron," he whispered to the darkness.

Author's Note (because not everyone thinks along the lines of my insanity!): This story was meant to fit into the show itself, season 1-ish. The ending left it open to allow season 2 to happen. We just find ourselves watching a grown up John talking to new cameron. But to make sure he fixes things, this time before he sends her back, he tells her (in a way) that she should tell him how much she actually cares about him (truthfully) instead of hiding it. Imagine how much would have been different in S2 if that had happened...