As promised, here's next chapter with little more humor. No big action (as if there were any in previous chapters lol), but John, coming out of his drunken state and recognizing what he'd done. With little help from his mother lol. Will he be able to jump over his own shadow? Read and find out.

Chapter 4

John groaned as his consciousness slowly began to return and he felt the sun shining directly on his face. He tried to open his eyes, but found it impossible. His head throbbed like an overpopulated beehive and his thoughts resembled scattered clouds on a windy day. The fog, covering his mind, began to dissipate slowly and after few minutes of groaning and chasing away the clouds and bees, he finally reached the point to be able to halfway open his eyes. First thing he saw, was his mother, sitting on his bed and looking at him with barely hidden disgust in her eyes.

"Mom! You know I hate it when you do it!"

"Right! And I hate it when you get so drunk that I have to search half the city to find you and that Orc, calling itself Derek Reese and dispatch you two back home, full of alcohol, unable to stand or even sit straight. Not to mention the babbling we had to listen to from you two! So, don't complain and take these!" She offered him a glass of water and two pills.

John tried to raise himself into sitting position but as he did, the bees in his hive went crazy and he groaned louder, desperately grasping at the temples with his hands. "Oh God, I'm never drinking again!"

"That would probably be your wisest decision in the last few years. However, the damage has already been made and I guess you'll have a lot to make up when you're able to think, talk and walk." Sarah grinned wickedly at her son and pushed the glass and the pills into his hands, which have reluctantly left his head to grab the life saving medical supplies.

"What? What damage?"

"Tin Miss? Cameron?"

Slowly, John's memories began to return and he suddenly gasped for air, remembering what he asked Cameron last night. "Cameron?"

Sarah nodded. "I'm so proud of you! You guessed after only two hints! She didn't tell me what you did or say to her, but I assume you must've screwed it big time, for I have never seen her cry before. After she transported you to this bed, she locked herself in her room and I haven't seen her since."

John put the pills in his mouth and took a large sip of water to flush them but as he heard Sarah's words, the water suddenly stuck in his throat. He coughed wildly, trying not to sorrowfully drown in his own bed and after he managed to speak again, he whined: "Cameron's been crying? Why? Mom, I have to see her!" He suddenly felt like the biggest jackass in the history of mankind. He tried to get up, but felt how bees suddenly exponentially increased their activities in the hive and fell back into his pillow. "Mom! Help me get up! I need to talk to her!"

Sarah looked at her son, who all of a sudden looked scared and frantic and grinned a bit while looking at her hands. She nodded to herself. I was right to be afraid of the truth. He really cares for her much more than even he's aware of. I guess we'll have to have a little chat about cyborgs, bees and flowers after he sobers up.

Then she looked at John again and said slowly: "Yes, you should talk to her. But only if you're able to stand on your feet all by yourself. I'm not accompanying you and I'm most definitely not listening to your whining when you try to find a sorrow excuse and apologize to her for your stupidity."

John gaped at his mother but understood her. He nodded and clenched his teeth: "Well, then I'll have to make it alone." He tried to get up again, this time slowly and carefully. First he lifted his upper body into the sitting position and when this small victory was won, he turned to drop his feet to the floor, still remaining seated on the bed. He grinned victoriously at his unbelievable achievement, completely ignoring the increased number of bees, frantically buzzing around in his head.

Sarah smiled genuinely for the first time since he woke up and rose from the bed. "I see you're going to make it. In case you still find yourself lying flat on the floor or hitting some sharp objects – first aid kit is in the bathroom. Now I have to go to see if that person, claiming to be your uncle, has already begun to show signs of life. However … after you do what nice guys have to do after they've screwed their relationship with their protector and remember how it is to be sober, we have some issues to discuss. And I know you won't like it!" She grinned wickedly and left the room, slamming the door shut in her best Sarah Connor manner.

John winced as the door slammed with loud bang but remained seated for another few seconds. He remembered that he should go to Cameron and try to make things right and winced again, this time due to sharp pain in his heart. His memories of the past evening were still a bit fragmented, but more and more details emerged from the haze of oblivion and the puzzle pieces of the picture began to fall into places. He remembered to have asked Cameron a very delicate question, he remembered to have been rude to her, but he also remembered that she helped him more than he deserved. I must apologize to her. I shouldn't have said what I said. But … why did I say it at all? Did I mean it? Was it alcohol speaking or was I expressing my true emotions and feelings?

He suddenly asked himself what was the reason for his behavior last night. He shook his head to clear it and regretted this reckless action instantly. His bees were obviously allergic to fast movements of the hive, called his head, and began to buzz around furiously every time he teased them by moving their hive too fast. So he restrained himself to slowly turning his head towards the clock to see what time it was. As he saw that it was already noon, he gasped slightly and decided to try another step in his quest; his quest being getting to Cameron's room, falling on his knees in front of her and beg her for forgiveness. He slowly, very carefully, trying not to move his head too much, rose from his sitting position and as he made it, he grinned at himself as he finally got himself standing straight up. As the bees in his head finally settled down it was time again to think about his behavior, about his feelings, about Cameron.

He didn't have to think for long, the revelation hit him like a lightning: he was telling Cameron the truth. He remembered to quote her the words "In vino veritas" and he instantly knew they described his yesterdays' behavior perfectly. He realized that he's been fooling himself for the past few months. He tried to deny his feelings for his beautiful protector, he tried to escape them by hooking up with Riley, he tried to push Cameron away by denying her personality, her feelings; sometimes he even denied her the right to exist by his side. He finally admitted to himself that he had known it all the time: she had emotions, even if she wasn't ready to admit them even to herself; she loved him, even if neither she nor he were ready to admit it neither to themselves nor to each other; he loved her, even if he pushed his feelings into the farthest, darkest corner of his mind and heart. But things have changed this morning unbelievably fast: pushing her away wouldn't work anymore. He might build a wall around himself, but she would tear it down with her smile. He might dig a trench around his heart, but she would cross it with a tilt of her head. He might steel himself against her smile and head tilt, but she would conquer him with her huge, liquid brown eyes.

By behaving like he did, he might have ruined everything. This thought hit him like a jackhammer and he winced again at the prospect that he might have lost her even before he had won her heart. In spite of his fear, he grinned at this thought; she literally had no heart and yet he was thinking of conquering 'her heart'.

While pondering over the situation he noticed that the pills finally began to work their magic and his bees slowly began to leave for the greener pastures and more beautiful flowers. Or were they perhaps sick of his problems and decided to leave him to solve them by himself? He didn't really care, he just enjoyed the fact that his mind began to work normally. At least conditionally normally. He was finally ready to go to Cameron and bite into this sour apple. Maybe, if he can do it right, it would turn into a sweet strawberry with cream topping?

TBC