Author's note:

Alright, this is my way of blowing off some steam as I continue to work on my season three interpretation. This is also my first ever venture at writing for Cameron, who is probably the most challenging character to characterize in TSCC.

This story takes place during season two, but the time is unspecified. It's much safer to classify this as an AU fic, as I don't want the hassle of writing around or through individual episodes in a predictable manner, so I leave the matter at the descretion of the reader as the story develops.

I had some fun writing this, so I hope you guys can get a kick out of it too. This is going to be a much more relaxed experience than "All Creation" is turning out to be, so feel free to leave your input wherever you like. Thanks for reading!

"Kevin, it's time to leave." Kevin's mother bent down and adjusted the eight-year-old's tie and took the opportunity to brush some of the stray hairs from his newly-bought tuxedo.

"Okay." The young boy quietly replied.

The drive to the funeral was one of the longest that Kevin could remember. Even after they arrived at the church, Kevin was still never more than an arm's length from his mother's side throughout the entire proceeding. He could hear the various whispers and the many nervous glances that bore down on him from time to time.

"It's okay, son." Father Armando Bonilla said as he was guided to the casket at the front. "I want you to know that God works in great and mysterious ways. There's a reason for this, I want you to know that."

Kevin kept his silence. It made things easier for him - and he refused to let these strangers around him see him cry. It was only when he finally reached the casket when he sought the elder priest's counsel.

"What do I say?" Kevin asked.

"You don't have to say anything." The older priest replied. "Just remember the good times you shared. Those memories that you cherished that will stay with you for the rest of your life. That is what's most important."

Kevin let out a heavy sigh as he stared at the body of his best friend for the last time and said the only thing that he could think of.

"Goodbye." he whispered before turning around and meeting the embrace of his mother.

"I just want you to know how brave you were today." Kevin mother said to him from the driver's seat. "I'm thinking we should go out for ice cream. What'd you think?"

"No, I'm okay…"

"Did you just want to go home then?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay. We can do that."

The drive back was much easier this time. Kevin let out a sigh of relief when he felt their apartment door close behind him and heard the large definitive 'clang' of his mother's keys hitting the kitchen counter.

"I'll get dinner ready. Kevin?" Kevin's mother broke the silence.

The disillusioned boy turned his head to his mother.

"Your uncle stopped by. He said he left something for you on your bed. You should check it out while I get the mashed potatoes ready." She let out a weak assuring smile.

Without anything better to do, the young boy strode over to his bedroom while struggling to take off his dreaded tie. He pushed open the door and immediately saw the brown package on his bed. Curiously, he walked closer to it and saw a small note tucked under the string that held the entire package together.

"Hey, big guy! Heard you did really well out there today. I'll still be stuck at work for the rest of the day, but I was able to sneak away at lunch. I had these lying around for a couple weeks now – thought you might like to take care of them for me. Keep them in a cool, dry place. And don't tell your mother! – Love, Uncle Mike"

Kevin placed the note down and began gently untying the string. His eyes widened as he tore off the brown paper and saw what his uncle had left him.

"Kevin!" His mother called. "We're going to have company showing up in a little bit. Could you help me set the table?"

It was later that night when Kevin heard the crashing noise, followed by some heightened screaming.

On a normal day, he would've been fast asleep by three o'clock in the morning, but that day was anything but. It was okay, though. Because of the recent turn of events that turned his world upside down, he was excused from school for the rest of the week.

He had much bigger things that needed his attention, the first one being the large stack of comic books that was sprawled across his entire mattress. The ones his uncle had so graciously left in his care.

After the uncomfortable dinner he had with most of his extended family, he was all too eager to spend the rest of the evening digging into the incredible amount of reading material his uncle had left him. There had to be at least a hundred issues, ranging from the early 1980's to the more recent 2000's. It was everything he could've asked for and more.

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and it wasn't long after midnight when his mother saw the light still emanating beneath his door and stumbled onto the young boy's continued trips into the various fantasy worlds scattered in front of him. After one of his mother's famous "one-way discussions", it was determined that Kevin needed to sleep and that the comics could wait for the next day. Kevin conceded and his mother clicked off his bedroom light after giving him a second kiss goodnight for that night.

Kevin waited for her footsteps to disappear completely when he reached into his closet and pulled out his flashlight and continued reading under the thick blanket of his bed.

From this position he remained until he heard the disturbance that pulled him out of his many fantasy worlds. Something that sounded a lot like glass breaking. But then it was followed by muffled screaming.

The sounds got louder as Kevin quietly ascended the fire escape with as much subtlety as he could muster. As he approached the building's top, he finally got to see the scene unfold before him.

It had already been a fruitful evening for the girl lived under the guise of Cameron Baum. Even against the wishes of Sarah Connor, she had taken another "night off" from her regular patrolling duties at the Connor household – a decision made all the more easier with the presence of John's new girlfriend, Riley, who decided to stay over for the night to indulge John's occasional zombie movie marathon. Cameron regarded her as a nuisance, a threat, a security hazard, a liability, and one more important classification that she had recent created in her databank.

Bitch-whore.

Instead of being the leading of cause of spider-death (one of the implied tasks Sarah Connor had entrusted her with while she slept) and awkward silence in the household, Cameron opted to spend her time elsewhere. Originally, she could've considered leaving John's immediate proximity a grave irresponsibility to her mission, but things change. People change. And Cameron, herself, had changed. John wanted his distance from her, and to an extent she begrudgingly accepted this. Besides, with Sarah and Derek staying home for the night, John would be suitably protected for the time being.

Tonight, she was busying herself with a lead she found in the newspapers. A sudden ball of electricity erupting on a rooftop downtown the night prior made its way on the eight page of that week's LA times. It was good enough excuse for Cameron to investigate.

And that brings us to this moment right now. On a lonely apartment rooftop embedded into the dark underpinnings of downtown Los Angeles. Holding a man who she didn't know over seventy feet from the ground.

"Please! Please, let me go!" The man's legs kicked uselessly as Cameron held him by the collar of his shirt over one of the building's ledges. Cameron scanned the area once again for any potential witnesses and was relieved to find none.

"No." Cameron replied.

"Listen, I'll get you anything you want. Cash, money –"

"I don't want it."

"Lady, c'mon! I don't want to die!"

"You and your friend were peeking into the girls' windows across the street. You lied to me." Cameron reflected on her days at John's high school, remembering how girls like to have their privacy. More importantly, she remembered how girls stood up for one another, as evidenced when Morris, John's friend, tried to get a peek at Cameron's naked figure in the girl's locker room after a gym class. He was met with a hail of objects that were thrown on her behalf in his general direction. At that moment, she sought to retain that sense of comraderie.

Almost as if in total agreement, the word Pervert suddenly appeared on Cameron's HUD in an almost righteous manner when she scanned the man's face for an ID.

"W-what's the harm in getting a quick peek in every once in a while? We weren't hurting nobody!"

"You were being very bad." Cameron pulled the man closer to her face for a brief instant. "I don't like that."

Cameron didn't see the young kid watching the scene unfold from the fire escape. Nor the other man sneaking up on her with a baseball bat ready to strike her.

"Look out!" Kevin called out. Cameron turned toward the impending threat, but it was too late.

The bat had connected with the back of Cameron's head with a thunderous crack, but did little to discourage her from dangling the man's comrade off the building. It was a mistake on all levels for the thug, but one stood out to Cameron the most.

It messed up her hair.

She then noticed something else on a her shoulder. A small tear had occurred in the shoulder of her purple jacket from when the bat splintered into a thousand pieces upon impact.

Her HUD flashed an immediate response that she all-too-willingly agreed with.

The thug gulped as Cameron's head turned to him in a semi-similar manner to Selma Blair's character in The Exorcist. And then he could see the petite girl's eyes flash white in absolute rage.

The man clearly had no idea what he had just done.

Cameron didn't even register the fact that she let go of the man she was previously dangling over the ledge. Or the screams that were coming out of his mouth on the way down. Not even the SPLAT noise he made when he hit the pavement below.

For the next two minutes, Cameron did to the thug what she was later best describe as "turning him inside out". In retrospect, it was a smart decision to crush the man's vocal cords first to prevent his screaming, but everything else Cameron did was deemed… excessive… to say the least. John would most certainly not agree with this. And she made sure to better classify this action as something to never do again...

No... wait.

For no good reason, Cameron quickly ran a simulation where Riley took the place of the thug, and found herself immensely more satisfied with the results. She wasn't quite sure why. She secretly stashed the idea away in her memory for further review later as she stepped away from the mess she left on that rooftop. In all the excitement, she failed to acknowledge the young boy that previously called out to her.

"Whoa." Kevin spoke and Cameron immediately turned in his direction. "What did you do?"

Cameron was poised to strike, but upon performing a quick threat diagnostic she retracted her stance and casually walked over to the best calculative position to block the red, pulpy pile of loose organs and bodily fluids behind her from the boy's prying eyes.

Even though she knew it may have been a lost cause, Cameron hoped to minimize the potential trauma he may have incurred while watching the scene.

"You shouldn't be here." Cameron broke the awkward silence after a few long seconds passed. "You should be at home. Sleeping."

Then something unexpected occurred in Cameron's HUD.

Facial Structural Match… 84%

Identity: Kevin Everhart

Surprised at the sudden revelation, Cameron walked to the young boy, who continued to eye her with a growing sense of curiosity, and knelt down so she was at his level.

"Are you Kevin?" Cameron asked.

"Yeah… How do you…"

"I know you." Cameron said plainly.

"You do? I don't remember you."

"No. You wouldn't."

Kevin's mouth stood agape as he tried to register the totality of the events that had taken place.

"Who were those men?"

"They were… bad guys." Cameron said as she began readjusting her tangled hair.

"Oh…" Kevin relented. "What's your name?"

"Cameron." She spoke with as much gentleness as possible. "I'm a friend."

Kevin continued to stare at the strange girl that had unexpectedly entered his life. It was when his gaze wandered back to the mangled pile of flesh behind her when Cameron spoke again.

"You should go back to bed now."

"I don't sleep." Kevin said grimly. Cameron turned her head slightly sideways at the familiar three word phrase. "At least not anymore."

The young boy took a step back to get a better grasp of the scene before him, but his eyes never strayed from Cameron's. And then a strange thought entered his brain.

"Hey, would you like to see my room?" Kevin's eyes glittered with anticipation. "It's two floors down from the fire escape." Cameron took a hesitative look back at the mess of things she had created and let out a forced humanlike sigh as she pondered her recent homicidal behavior.

"Yes." Cameron replied. "But I may need you to go ahead. I need a few minutes."

Satisfied with the response, Kevin smiled widely as he walked back toward the fire escape. Behind him, Cameron looked at the red mess in front of her and the larger one on the streets below. Miraculously, another witness scan showed no activity, something Cameron was incredibly thankful for.

She quietly retrieved a mop and bucket from a nearby janitorial closet as she made her way down below. It was ten minutes later when she emerged back up on the rooftop, ready to rejoin Kevin.