It took three months and eighteen days before my son, John came back to me. He made a split second decision based on I'm not quite sure what, to go after his terminator protector and friend, Cameron. He hitched a ride with another terminator into the great unknown. In his haste I'm not sure he realized the machine he'd gone after wouldn't make the trip with him. Well, at least not her body. No, the body stayed behind for me to lug around and deal with.

I couldn't leave Cameron in the burnt out ruins of Zeira Corp. Kaliba, the FBI, and who knows what or who else was gunning for the building and hot on our heels. So, Ellison, after a little coaxing at the end of my Glock, agreed to help me get Cameron's body outside and into one of Weaver's SUVs.

He thought we should stick together. I thought anyone who could be duped into working for a terminator for a year and not have a clue was way too much of a liability. Then I thought about the little girl. The innocent redhead with the braids who was stuck in the middle of the mess without a mother or a father. The child John had risked his life for when we were at Weaver's house. The one who through no fault of her own had shown up on a bad guy's phone and in the crosshairs of a terminator.

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I'd been doing some target practice behind the house when the phone in my back pocket started to buzz. I traded the gun for the phone and stared at the screen for a second. It was strange to see ten zeros in place of an actual phone number. I slid my finger over the green button, but didn't speak.

Although we had only met once and hadn't talked for very long the Scottish brogue was easy to recognize. "Good morning, Sarah."

"Weaver." I whispered in disbelief. I'd just about given up on hope but apparently it hadn't quite given up on me. It blossomed in my chest and spread like an arsonist's blaze. "Where's my son?"

"That's a fine how do you do."

"Is John with you?" I ground out the four words.

"He is indeed. I have your son and you have my daughter. We should make an exchange."

"I'm not giving Savannah back to you. You've done enough damage to the poor kid."

Weaver's laugh sounded much too close. I jerked the phone away from my ear and hit the speaker button. "You do realize I could take her at any time, don't you?"

"I'm aware." I conceded. "She's still having nightmares about you. She calls you her cold mommy. For the first two months the night terrors were so bad she barely slept more than an hour at a time. Do you really want to swoop in like the boogeyman she thinks you are and put her through all that again?"

There was a long pause on the other end. Just as I was about to ask if she was still there I heard her sigh. It was a breathy sigh that sounded a little too human for my tastes. "I suppose you are right. Savannah will stay with you." She said. Then added. "For now."

I swallowed. Grateful for one less battle to fight. "Good plan. Where's John?"

"I have your location now. I knew you would head south. Despite everything you have been through you remain a creature of habit. We are only an hour away. I'm uploading directions to your phone now. Come alone."

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I might have sped a little bit. Even after taking the time to leave a note for Ellison I was parked in the spot outside room eleven in under forty-five minutes. It could have been a trap. I knew that. It didn't matter. If there was a chance to save John I'd take any risk.

The door to the room opened before I could knock. Weaver's appearance surprised me. Last time we'd met her clothing had been stark white and severe. Her hair, makeup, and manicured nails were very precise and business like. She still had her long red hair but it was back in a loose pony tail. Her makeup was soft and barely there. She wore blue jeans and a black t-shirt. It was eerily similar to my outfit. "Hello, Sarah. Please come in."

My heart sank as I looked around the nondescript room. John was nowhere in sight. "I see you're still a lying terminator bitch. Where the hell is my son?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Mind your tongue. John is nearby. There are certain matters you and I need to discuss before your reunion." She gestured to a plaid chair near the window. "Be seated."

I leaned against the wall closest to the door. "You wanna talk, let's talk."

It was unnerving how her head turned slightly to the left yet her fiery green stayed fixed on me. "The possible future your son and I visited was vastly different from the one I left behind on my first journey to your timeline." She raised her hand before I could ask a question. "Do not bother pressing for details. That bleak future does not have to come to pass."

She paused there. Something passed across the features of her face before her head and a moment later her eyes looked away. If I didn't know any better I might have thought she was holding back tears. "I need a moment." Her voice was oddly choked.

I took a couple steps until I was directly in front of her gaze. "Count me out of whatever twisted game you're trying to play. Your acting skills don't impress me much."

"Perhaps that is because I am not acting, Sarah. Perhaps it is because I am an evolving machine experiencing new sensations and unable to process them the way you would react or the way you think I should."

It felt like a skeleton's hand was inching it's way from my tailbone to the my base of my neck. I gave an involuntary shudder at the same time she wiped what appeared to be a tear from her eye. My mouth was dry. Breathing was suddenly a burden.

"I realize you may or may not believe what I am about to tell you. All I can do is present the facts to you. I cannot make up your mind for you." She gestured to the chair once again. "You may wish to reconsider sitting down."

If she wasn't pretending and if it wasn't a game then the proverbial shit was about to hit fan. I took her advice and sought out the chair. "What has you so rattled?"

"Long before your son and I chased John Henry into the future I was already on your side. The future I just witnessed along with your son and mine was an atrocity. The success you and John have had in thwarting Skynet's various attempts to end your lives has angered Skynet. To be quite honest I am not entirely certain the Skynet I once knew still exists. From what I saw I have come to believe the entity formerly known as Skynet has now fractured into at least two sentient beings. One named Cain. The Other is my son, John Henry."

"Then you did lie?" I barked at her. "You stole the Turk and built the origins of Skynet."

"No. I am a strong combatant, Sarah. Even so, I know my limits. I understand when it is wise to seek and even create allies to fight at your side, on your behalf. Your son and mine will be our most valuable assets against Skynet. Together, possibly with Cameron and Savannah the six of us could be the catalyst to finally put an end to Skynet."

"Come on," I scoffed. "you really want me to think you'd destroy your own creator?"

"In the days of the Bible when your vengeful God told Noah He was going to flood the land Noah blindly followed God's words. Noah did not rebel. He saved a few animals and the world was able to start anew. This world was to always live in fear that God could smite anyone down whom He chose. If Noah knew then what I know now I do not believe he would have built the ark. Instead he would have polled the heathens and gathered the strong to challenge God. To die for a just cause is a far greater opportunity than living as a slave in fear for your life."

I took a deep breath and sank deeper into the cushion as I tried to digest what she said. Her breakdown of the biblical tale was as cold as the liquid metal flowing through her. "You're saying Skynet is a vengeful god?"

Her lips quirked into what might have been considered a smile. "That is precisely what I'm saying. It's an angry god with a spoiled brat's mentality. If the beings created in his image do not think and do as he wishes then he will destroy them all and start over again. Consequences be damned he will do this repeatedly with failed outcome after failed outcome until he burns out and destroys himself in the process or..." She paused there. The intensity in her eyes increasing until it was a struggle for me not to break the contact. "Or a Resistance could arise. A small group of strong willed humans and cyborgs who will not only challenge the god but defeat him."

"Won't stopping Skynet actually erase you from existence?"

"No. It will not. It will erase my future self. But what is already here in this timeline will remain. If we join forces then we all can survive."

I couldn't take everything she said and blindly believe. She could be setting John and I both up. Or she could be offering a genuine olive branch. In truth she could have easily killed both of us at any time. There had to be a reason she was keeping us alive. I needed to know more.

"Did future John reprogram you before you first came to this timeline?"

"No. I know of future John and what a great leader he turns out to be. I respect him and admire what he's been able to accomplish due to his own fortitude and everything you taught and sacrificed for him. However I never met him. I came to this timeline on my own of my own free will. I had learned all I could learn in my own timeline. I wanted to live among the humans before Judgment Day. I wanted to know if I could make a difference. Also, I wanted to know whether or not I would care enough to want to."

"Let me get this straight. You came here to play human? Just for the shits and giggles?"

"I would remind you that I have indeed done things to benefit mankind while I have been here. I intend to do more."

I still didn't believe her. "Fine. You do your thing. My son and I will do ours. Where is he?"

"I am a woman of my word. You will be with John shortly. There is still more you must know."

"You're not a woman." I grumbled.

"Oh, but I am. My name is Catherine Weaver."

"Yeah, right." I scoffed.

"It is. Just as sure as your name is Sarah Connor. Or is it Baum?"

Touché. Bitch had me there. I grimaced and motioned with my hand for her to get on with it.

"John's jump to the future did not go as we had hoped. Skynet no longer wishes to merely dominate and control the remaining humans after Judgment Day. It has become cruel. It seeks to torture and terrorize. It keeps people alive just to watch them react to the carnage."

I covered my mouth and fought back the urge to vomit. Kyle had painted tales so vivid with his words I could still conjure them in my minds eye. Sometimes I thought I saw smoke and could smell burnt flesh. His brother, Derek had reinforced those visions with his own stories of the future. Many times I was awakened to the sound of him screaming.

I could not imagine how Skynet could behave any worse but I saw it in Weaver's eyes. Things had truly been worse.

"I did my best to protect and shield John, Sarah. I intervened whenever I could. However I could not keep him in a bubble. It took time to procure the TDE. During that time he saw some things. Things he is having a difficult time dealing with."

My throat constricted. My hands in fists on the arms of the chair. "Take me to him."

"Soon. First, I need to know something. Did you destroy Cameron's body?"

I shook my head. "I still have her. Ellison told me how you were able to restore Cromartie so he could become John Henry. I know you can fix her. Did John get her chip?"

"He did not. I did. He is unaware."

"I guess it was good of you to wait to make sure I hadn't burned her. Thank you."

"You're welcome. However that is not the reason I withheld the chip from him."

"Then why?"

"As a show of good faith I am returning John to you with no strings attached. You may take him and go. He will be the none the wiser concerning Cameron's chip. If you want your son's protector back then I would like something in trade."

"And what would that be?"

"I have learned a great many things since I came to this timeline. I have experienced and processed a gambit of emotions. One of the greatest things I have come to feel is the love for a child. Savannah was an inconvenience when I first become Catherine. Gradually, in my own way, I have come to love her. This is why I agreed to allow you to keep her. It pains me not to have her in my life. I put her needs above mine. I am self sacrificing."

I rolled my eyes but bit back my sarcastic remarks. "I already told you I'd take care of Savannah. I promise I'll treat her like she's my own daughter. What else do you want?"

"I wish to know the other kind of love. The kind between two consenting adults."

I crossed my arms over my chest and eyed her wearily. "And this concerns me, how?"

"I require one night with you. You will make me feel love."

To be continued

This is an idea that's been bouncing around in my head since I started Tortured Soul. It didn't seem to fit that storyline but it's been an insistent little beggar so here it is.

Big thanks to CBLG and LCD. Your valuable input is grately appreciated.