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Thanks to reviewers The1Russter, kaotic2, ljm, CloudyShadows, meanoldmoe, XxDeathStarxX, gypsy069 and Nyrki.

"Daddy, where's mommy?"

Four heads turned almost in unison and watched as a five year old Abigail Connor unhappily stomped right up to her daddy with a tattered old bear clutched to her chest. It wouldn't have been an odd sight, but the fact that she'd chosen to burst in to John's office during a meeting of his senior staff made it rather strange for all the rooms occupants besides John himself. Smiling to himself and flashing apologetic looks at his Generals, John bent down in his chair and placed his hands on her upper arms in a tender fashion.

"Sweetie, you know it's rude to interrupt people…" he glanced up at the other men in the room "…especially when Daddy's in a meeting with Uncle Derek, Uncle James and Uncle Charley"

He looked down at his daughter while she gave her best impression of her mother by pouting and staring at him with big doe eyes.

Despite her birth mother being blonde, Abigail had developed a head of full, long, dark brown hair. The resemblance to Cameron was striking despite them obviously having no blood relation, so to speak. John was so captivated by his daughter's beauty that he was startled when she shrugged his hands off her and stamped her foot petulantly.

"But I need mommy NOW"

John sighed and looked up at his colleagues, friends and by this point in time what he considered to be his family.

"Could you give us a minute please gentlemen?"

Derek Reese, the younger version, the older having died at the start of the war, Charley Dixon and James Ellison stood and shared smirks and knowing glances at each other before quietly leaving the room. They knew when not to get involved in a family squabble. After all, Abigail was known for having a nasty temper…once a Connor, always a Connor. Each one of the girl's 'uncles' had found themselves on the receiving end of a tantrum or two when assigned babysitting duties and weren't in any rush to repeat the experience. John watched them leave before looking back down at a, clearly on the verge of erupting, Abigail.

"Abi…" he paused for a moment, he hated having to do this "…don't you EVER do that again…"

The little girl's eyes flew wide and she clutched her bear tighter. Her daddy didn't tell her off very often, but when he did, she paid attention and the lesson invariably stuck.

"…I told you I was having a meeting and that you were to stay with Laura…" he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and when he spoke again it was in a much softer voice "…Honey, sweetie, I don't like you walking around this base on your own. It's not safe for you to be walking around here okay. That's why Laura looks after you when your mommy and me aren't around. She's strong like your mommy and she won't let anything happen to you…" he brought his hand up and rubbed her cheek with his thumb "…Do you understand me Abigail?"

She gave a tiny nod and hugged her bear closer. She knew the rules and she knew she'd broken them. But she had a really, really good reason…or so she thought.

"I'm sorry…" John thought her bottom lip sticking out was adorable "…Where's mommy?"

"Mommy had to go away for a few days, you know that" he answered in a kind voice.

"But why? I need her" she whined in reply.

"She had to go see some friends, some very important friends. She's been doing it every month since you were born. What could be so important that you need her now?"

Abigail sighed sadly and unfolded her arms. She held out her left arm and showed John her elbow, complete with a nasty looking scrape. He took hold of her arm very gingerly and kneeled down in front of her.

"Oh, baby, how'd you get this?"

"I was playing with Rebecca and I bumped in to a wall" she sniffled and pouted to seal the deal.

"Let me take care of that"

John stood and went back to his desk, pulled opened the bottom drawer and retrieved a first aid kit. He set it down on the table and turned back to Abigail. With a flourish he picked her up and sat her on the edge of the desk and took hold of her arm again. After examining it for a moment, he reached in to the medical kit and pulled out a bottle of antiseptic disinfectant and some cotton wool. He poured some liquid on the cotton wool and hovered it over her wound.

"This is gonna hurt, sweetie"

He waited for her nod before gently dabbing at the graze. She hissed at the pain, but to her eternal credit, didn't even look like she was about to start crying. That's my girl, tough like your mother.

As he tended her arm, she clutched her bear tighter in to her chest with her free arm and whimpered a little.

"So why did you want your mommy so much?"

"Well, you were busy. I wanted someone to make it better"

"I'm sure Laura could've seen to this for you until I got back"

Abigail looked away from him and shrugged.

"I don't like Laura" she declared in a tiny voice.

"What, why? Laura's nice, that's why I made her your babysitter"

"She's not nice. She just keeps staring and slowly turning her head round. She's creepy"

John stopped his treatment and looked at her seriously.

"Abi, do you not like Laura because she's a machine?"

Another shrug.

"I guess"

"Abi, do you have a problem with machines?"

Shrug.

"Do you have a problem with your mommy being a machine?" he asked with a rising sense of anger.

Her eyes flew wide and she started shaking her head vigorously. Even though she hadn't cried with the pain of her wound, tears threatened to spill at the question.

"NO, no, no, no, no. I love mommy"

"Well then, what is it?"

"I, I wanted mommy to kiss it better. She always makes stuff better. Laura doesn't do that"

The tears she'd been trying to hold back flowed freely down her cheeks now. John immediately hated himself for asking such a thing and for even thinking it in the first place. He pulled her in to a hug and gently rubbed her back while she sniffled in to his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Abi. I know you love mommy…I love her too. I'm just a little protective of her that's all"

He felt her nod in to his shoulder and continued to rub her back comfortingly. After a minute, she spoke.

"Daddy…what's pro-tec-tive mean?"

John couldn't help but chuckle and pulled back from the hug. He used his thumb to wipe her damp cheeks and smiled.

"It means I love her very much, and I don't want anything bad to happen to her"

"Me too"

John went back to treating her wound. When he'd finished putting a plaster over her elbow, he brought her arm up to his face and placed a kiss on top of the new plaster. Abigail smiled in return and moved to hop down off the table when he stopped her.

"Hey, you wanna go for a piggy back ride and watch everyone salute you?"

Her smile grew even wider and she nodded enthusiastically. He turned around and helped her climb up on to his back. She linked her arms around his neck and they set off out of the room in search of some entertainment. He noticed she still clung to the bear in her left hand. Since almost the day they found her, she'd always loved that tattered old thing. As he walked down the corridor and watched each one of his men stop and salute, he fondly remembered the first time she met her new toy.

"We've got more incoming here sir"

General John Connor popped his head up from behind the barrier to survey the scene.

"Looks like we're gonna need some reinforcements Lieutenant"

"Yes sir, I'm on it"

With that, the young lieutenant hurdled several items strewn about the place and went to get help. John meanwhile risked another glance out from behind cover.

"Damn, looks like we're gonna need a lot more reinforcements…it's gonna take me forever to find a place to put all this stuff"

He stood up fully from behind his cover that consisted of several unopened crates of 'Huggies' diapers piled as high as his head.

For the last few days, gifts had been pouring in from the human population for Abigail. Evidently it didn't take long for word to spread that the Connor's now had a child. He found it somewhat amazing that, first of all, all of this survived judgement day, and second of all that people would actually horde this stuff. It looked like some of these crates had been in storage for years judging by the amount of dust on them. Apparently some people deemed Abigail important enough to donate what they had.

But it wasn't just the unopened diapers that surprised him. Many people simply decided to gift some of their old baby things to them. There were many different baby clothes of all shapes and sizes, as well as two cribs, three bassinets and enough toys to keep even a grown man occupied indefinitely. John smiled while thinking about the generosity of some people and looked back down behind the crates at his little treasure.

Abigail lay flat on her back, happily kicking her legs in the air. She was dwarfed by their double bed and looked tiny laying in the middle of it. She was recently fed and changed and therefore happy, much to John's delight. He was used to sleepless nights, but sleepless nights listening to his poor baby screaming he was really struggling to cope with. He scooped her up in his arms, earning himself a slight whimper of protest that her playtime was interrupted. John hefted her up in to a position so that she could see the room they were in.

"You see all this stuff Abigail?" he walked several paces around the room "…all this is for you. It means people love you, and they wanted to be nice to you"

Instead of replying, like John was stupidly hoping she would, she simply stuck her fingers in her mouth and started sucking. John sighed and started gently bouncing her in his strong arms. He was interrupted by a soft knock on the metal hatch to his quarters which was pinned open to allow the supplies in and out. He looked over and saw a young, rather attractive girl no more than sixteen years old hovering near the entrance. She had something clutched in her hands and peered in to the room shyly.

"Can I help you…um…"

She stood to attention as best she could, given the height of the hatch.

"Parks sir, Emily Parks"

"Parks, can I help you miss Parks?"

"Yes sir, I, um…" she stepped across the threshold of the entrance and her gaze locked on the baby in John's arms "…I have something for her" she said, nodding towards Abigail.

"Oh…" John took a coupe of steps and closed the gap between the two, he watched as she almost melted at the sight of his daughter bundled up in a white blanket "…what would that be miss?"

Her eyes snapped back up to John's and she blushed noticeably.

"Sir, I'm about to join the base's training wing. I'm joining the resistance sir"

"That's excellent soldier…" he tilted his head in a quirk he'd picked up from his wife "…go on"

The young girl brought her hand around in front of her and revealed a tattered old stuffed bear.

"I've had this bear since as long as I can remember. It's always helped me through some…bad times. I'd like her to have it"

Slightly taken aback by the young woman's generosity, he examined her face and found nothing but innocence and kindness.

"You don't want it any more?"

"Well, I do sir. It's just that I don't think a tough resistance soldier should really be hanging out with teddy bears. I'll have a reputation to uphold" she smirked a little and looked at John for approval.

John nodded and held out his arms a little further and moved closer to her. Emily tentatively reached out and held the bear out for Abigail. Abi's eyes almost instantly locked on the strange looking bear and she stopped sucking on her fingers. She slowly pulled her hand out of her mouth and gurgled a little. She tentatively reached out and grabbed the bear in her tiny hand. Emily lowered the bear towards her and somewhat reluctantly let go, allowing Abigail to pull it in to her grasp fully and stuff an ear in to her mouth causing both her and John to smile.

"I think she likes it" John said in a kind voice.

"Good, I'm glad he's going to a good home" Emily sounded very sad, sad enough to tug on John's heart strings a little. He watched as she gently stroked Abigail's cheek with the back of her fingernail.

"Listen, Emily, I wanna do something to repay you for this"

Emily immediately started shaking her head vigorously in protest.

"N, no sir, that's not necessary"

John smiled and laid a fatherly hand on her shoulder.

"Yes it is. I look after the people who are good to me and my family…" she smiled shyly and John continued "…You're going in for training soon?"

Emily nodded, still staring wide eyed at her General.

"Okay, so in six months when your training's complete, you come back here and see me. I may have something special in mind for you"

She didn't think it was possible, but her eyes grew even wider. The great General John Connor knew who she was, and was planning on taking an interest in her life, all because she'd given her teddy to his daughter. She withdrew her hand from Abigail's cheek and stood to attention. She raised her arm and did her best to salute. Her form was sloppy, but whatever, she hadn't been taught how to do it yet. John saluted back and smiled warmly.

"At ease soldier…and thank you…" he looked down at his daughter fondly "…I don't think she's ever letting go of him" he chuckled a little and looked back up at Emily and her beaming smile. She once again reached over and tickled Abi's chin.

"I guess I'd better be going sir"

"Good luck Emily, remember what I said"

"I will, thank you sir"

She turned and left the room, sparing a glance back over her shoulder at Abigail and her bear.

John looked down as Abigail happily sucked on the bear's ear while looking up at him.

"You see, I told you people love you"

John eventually managed to shush Abigail to sleep and placed her down in her new bassinet with her still clinging to her new bear. He'd set to work on quietly moving boxes and clothes to try and get their quarters in some semblance of order before Cameron returned. She was like a mother in regards to tidiness, always nagging at him to keep the place neat.

When he had most of the clothing squared away and the crates moved in to a nearby empty room for quick access, Amy wandered in to the room and looked around.

"Wow, been busy?"

Her voice startled John who was busily arranging Abigail's new clothes in to the order of onesies to dresses then to miscellaneous items he had no clue about. He looked up and saw Amy entering the room sheepishly.

"Uh, yeah. All this stuff keeps pouring in for Abi. I guess word is spreading about her"

"Yeah, looks like it"

John was a little confused by her uninterested tone.

"Listen, John, I…"

She was interrupted when a young corporal burst in to the room, sweating and out of breath.

"Sir, we need you in the war room, right now"

"What is it Corporal?"

"Sir, I don't know, they just sent me here to get you" the young man leaned against the entrance and struggled to catch his breath.

John sighed and turned to Amy.

"Duty calls. Could you look after Abi for a while please?"

"Well, I…"

"Thanks" John called back over his shoulder as he swiftly left the room leaving Amy alone with Abigail for the first time.

Amy slowly and cautiously walked over to the bassinet, she peered in and looked down at the sleeping baby. She had to admit, the child did look angelic and she could see why John and Cameron had instantly fallen in love with her. Amy however had little interest in the child. The less contact she was forced to have with her the better.

Then suddenly, Amy's worst fear was realised as Abigail's eyes fluttered open.

Oh crap.

Abi almost immediately let out an ear piercing scream, unhappy that her mommy and daddy weren't around. To top things off, she dropped her new bear and was unable to grab it again, making her cries louder and more urgent. Amy didn't quite know what to do. She knew she had to do something to stop the irritating noise, but she had no clue how to go about doing it.

She reached in to the bassinet and picked the baby up gently and settled her in her relatively small but still impossibly strong arms. She also picked up the stuffed bear, obviously knowing the importance these things had to children, her own experiences with Jenny being a painful reminder. Bringing the bear around in front of Abigail, she allowed the child to grab the bear and watched as she immediately stuck it in her mouth where it belonged, stopping the screaming much to Amy's relief.

She looked down at the girl in her arms and looked on curiously as her eyes followed her every move. She tilted her head to the left and watched as Abigail's eyes followed. She tilted to her right, and again her eyes followed. Amy actually found herself amused as she continued to look down at the small human.

"Hello. I'm Amy. I guess…I'm your Aunt"

She had no clue why she was talking to the baby, it's not like she could understand. But her theory was put to the test when suddenly Abigail's tiny mouth broke out in to a smile around the bear's ear. Amy quickly accessed her database and looked up human maturation patterns. Apparently babies weren't supposed to smile until they're six weeks old. As far as anybody could tell, Abigail was only three weeks old.

This was the first time the child had smiled at anybody, and she'd chose Amy. For some reason, Amy felt an overwhelming happiness that she was chosen to be the first person this sight was gifted to. She was finally beginning to understand why all the attention was suddenly focused on Abigail. She also felt stupid for harbouring feelings of jealousy towards her.

Amy walked around the room and gently rocked Abigail, smiling at her and trying to get her to repeat the feat to no avail.

"Come on, smile, you can do it"

Another smile formed on her face. Amy realised that the child was smiling at the sound of her voice. Before she could do it again, John came storming back in to the room looking a lot more pissed off than when he'd left. He looked down and found Abigail in a smiling Amy's arms.

"Hey, you two getting along okay?" he said half jokingly.

"John, look at this, she, she smiled at me"

John kneeled down next to them with a huge smile on his face.

"Really? She did?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah she did, watch…Abi, can you smile for me again please?"

Both John and Amy watched as Abi broke out in to a wide grin and chewed on her bear. John chuckled and reached out to stroke his daughter's cheek before turning to Amy.

"Thank you. She has a beautiful smile. I guess she likes you more than me huh?"

Amy looked down at the baby and considered his words.

"Yeah…I guess she does. I'm sorry I've been such a bitch lately. I, I guess I was a little jealous of her"

John chuckled again and pulled Amy in to a hug, something she clearly wasn't used to and didn't quite know how to respond to.

"It's okay to be a little jealous. All kids are when there's a new baby born"

"But I'm not really a kid John. I'm a machine, I shouldn't be jealous of a baby" she realised the way she said it made it sound even more ridiculous.

"Hey…" he pulled back from the hug and looked at her seriously "…you're a kid to me. I mean, Cameron's a machine, but I think of her as my wife, friend and the mother of my child. I think of you as just Amy…the second cutest kid on this base"

Amy looked up to find him grinning at her.

"Second? I'll show you second. Come on Abi, let's go kick daddy's ass"

Abigail gurgled in reply and continued to chew on her bear as Amy set off in hot pursuit of John as he quickly scampered away.

I think this is the first chapter I've ever wrote that doesn't have any Cameron in it. Yay me!

Also, in case you haven't guessed it already, this entire story is inspired by DarkDanny, ElusiveSanity and the Delusive thread on the blue wiki. Love you Alexis!

(If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you're probably best off not finding out!)