-Chapter 2-
The following morning

John woke up well-rested the next morning. Looking around he saw that Cameron was gone. He was partly relieved and partly disappointed. He recommitted himself to coming to some decisions today.

John walked into the kitchen to the slightly burnt smell of his mother's pancakes. The first thing he saw was Cameron sitting at the table with a single half-eaten pancake on her plate, slathered in syrup. Stopping with a piece of pancake on her fork, she looked at him for a long moment, her eyes looking at him intently a reminder of their shared secret. "Good morning John. Sarah made pancakes."

He returned her knowing look with a slight smile, then added, "Of course she did," causing Cameron to smirk, and Sarah to turn around from the skillet with a glare, "I don't see you learning to cook, smart-mouth." John put up his hands in surrender.

Giving John a plate of pancakes and a glass of milk, Sarah asked John as he set down at the table, "Do you have any plans for today?"

John cast Cameron a quick glance before looking directly at Sarah, "Not really. I think I'll just crash out- do some reading, work on the computer- take it easy...if that's okay with you. How are you feeling? Did you have something planned?"

Sarah shook her head smiling, "Not today. Take a break." Sarah's expression darkened, "No Riley today?"

"No," John answered quickly, causing Sarah to give him an odd look. "I mean she's probably freaked out about what happened in Mexico, you know." Sarah nodded reluctantly.

At that moment John's phone started buzzing. He pulled it out and sighed when he saw the caller. Sarah muttered, "Speak of the devil."

Cameron looked at Sarah oddly, "If I speak of Riley, John will become irritated." Cameron paused in thought for a moment, "I could lie." She turned to John, "Riley is a good person with many wonderful qualities." Sarah had to cover her mouth to keep from collapsing with laughter at Cameron's dry 'compliment'.

John tossed his mother and Cameron a rueful glare. "Knock it off you clowns. I'll take this in the other room." John got up and walked into the living room, the corner of his mouth twitching- it was funny.

He answered the phone and after a moment heard the date code he'd taught Riley. He returned the proper code, and said "Riley. Hey".

"Yeah I'm alright...no, not today...sorry, but I've got some things I need to take care of today...no, I'm sure...Riley, no. I'm serious. I'm staying in today...no...I won't be able to concentrate if you're here...yes, I'm sure...I'm really sure..." John rolled his eyes, "Look, Riley, today's just not a good day for us to hang out, okay? I'll call you later. Maybe tomorrow, alright?...alright. Bye."

John ended the call and walked back into the kitchen to finish his breakfast. Cameron had the slightest smirk on her face. He glared at her, and muttered "You don't have to be so smug".

Cameron's face returned to its mask of robot blankness, but John was sure there was still a self-satisfied twinkle in her eyes.

After finishing his breakfast, John went up to his room and lay on his bed, grabbing a book. He needed to clear his head before he would be able to really consider his situation with the two girls. He read three chapters before closing the book, now feeling like he'd relaxed enough that he could think clearly without feeling pressured.

First, there was Riley. Did he like Riley more than Cameron? Did he like Riley at all, or was he just using her as an act of rebellion against his mother and Cameron? That thought made John feel like a creep, 'Great. I already knew I'd hurt mom and Cameron. Have I been hurting Riley too?' He decided to list Riley's good points- her 'wonderful qualities'; she was human and normal, she was fun, she was pretty, she wanted to be with him, and, though he hated to think about it, Riley had never tried to kill him and he wasn't afraid of her.

On the other hand there was Cameron. Cameron wanted to be with him too, and she was beautiful. She could be fun too, just in a subtler way than Riley. She would do literally anything for him. Though she hadn't used the word, John believed she loved him- there was simply no other way he could interpret what she had said the night before. He was the center of her universe, and he knew that she would be there for him, no matter what he did. As coldly as he'd treated her over the past few months, since her chip was damaged, she still wanted to be his friend and wanted to be with him. Cameron would stay by his side even if he picked Riley over her. Could he say the same thing about Riley?

And then there was the proverbial elephant in the room; what did John want? Who did he want to be with? Who did he love?

At this point there was a knock on his door, "Come in."

It was Cameron with a plate. "It's almost lunchtime. I made you a sandwich."

He gave her a sincere smile, "Thanks Cameron".

She smiled back, setting the plate on the bed next to him and handing him a coke. She then excused herself without another word.

John leaned back and ate his sandwich, still considering the question. He felt like he could finally admit it to himself- he wanted to be with Cameron. He still felt like he was obligated to make things right with Riley though. He'd used her as a temporary escape from his life.

The bigger question settled, he moved on to the details, namely his mother and uncle. Could his mother ever accept Cameron in his life that way? What would he do if she couldn't? The answer came to him in a flash of inspiration; Kyle Reese. He needed to make his mother see that his love for Cameron was just as important to him, no matter how crazy it was, as her love for his father had been. The road to Sarah Connor's brain went through her heart.

Derek would be a harder sell. Derek had fought and hated machines his entire life, and seemed to hate Cameron especially on general principle. And Derek didn't have his mother's heart- any plea based on love or what made him happy would fall on deaf ears. John came to a decision, and it felt as if a piece of his heart had moved and locked into a more solid position; if Derek couldn't accept Cameron being important to him, that was Derek's problem. John didn't want to lose his relationship with his uncle, but he realized that, ultimately, if it was a choice between Derek or Cameron, he would choose Cameron.