Hi,
Thanks to reviewers uncommoner, kaotic2, meanoldmoe, CloudyShadows, The1Russter, J0hn_Henry, Steel_Dragon_64, olischulu, gypsy069, XxDeathStarxX, Nyrki, Dragon_Seraphin, morded and NordWest.
There is a phenomenon that humans involved in near death situations refer to as 'seeing your life flash before your eyes'. While in a human's case, these flashes would be vague and wouldn't include every single memory. In Cameron's case however, the phrase was literally true. When she saw the bolt of plasma energy streaking towards her chest, several things happened. First of all, her tactical systems marked the shooter as a target. Second, the same systems calculated the angle and velocity of the shot and predicted it would strike her breastplate directly above her power source, likely causing irreparable damage. The third thing that happened was that a subroutine activated in her CPU. This program was specially designed by Cameron herself for this very moment. It was designed to activate in the event that only an unforeseen occurrence would prevent her destruction.
The subroutine tapped in to her visual memory and replayed the files she had marked to activate in this event. They ran in chronological order, as you'd expect from a machine. Well, they played in her chronological order, from her activation in 2025, to being sent back in time to 1999, to jumping forward to 2007 and through to the present day in 2033. The majority of the files accessed were of her time spent with John. Mostly the happy times, although she did mark some during the time before he realised his true feelings for her and didn't treat her well. There were some memories of Sarah before she died, memories of Amy and even a couple of Derek, she always did enjoy their little staring contests and the satisfaction she got from beating him every time. Her more recent memories were filled with thoughts of Abigail and how happy she made John. Her playback ended with her most recent pleasant encounter with her friend Savannah.
Despite twenty eight years worth of memories flashing, literally before her eyes, she deemed there to be enough time to spare and a particular memory replayed.
The model TOK-715 Terminator opened her eyes to find bright fluorescent lighting glaring back at her. After a moment, her vision filled with the face of a man, a human, her tactical systems informed her. He stared down at her for several seconds, never removing his eyes from hers and she did the same in return. Eventually his lips quirked up a little.
"Hello"
The Terminator tilted her head and replied.
"Hello"
Her head turned from side to side. On her right she saw a desk with computer equipment on it, and to her left an assortment of power tools. She returned her gaze to the man.
"Where am I?"
If anything the man's smile grew.
"You're in a resistance lab"
The machine had very little reaction to the information. Instead she tried to sit up on whatever it was she was currently lying on but found herself unable to do so. She looked back up at the man with a perfectly innocent expression.
"I can't move…"
There was no accusation or confrontational tone in her voice, she simply stated the fact.
"We had to take precautions and restrain you for the time being"
There was a certain gentleness about his voice, as if he were dealing with a child.
"Why?"
The man sighed and deftly changed the subject.
"Do you know who I am?"
The machine tilted her head in the opposite direction while still gazing up at him.
"You're John Connor"
"Yes I am…do you want to kill me?"
She didn't hesitate at all before answering.
"Yes"
Rather surprisingly, John calmly nodded.
"Are you going to?"
This time she did hesitate, and even went so far as to avert her gaze.
"No"
John breathed an internal sigh of relief and a tiny smile formed on his lips, only to be quickly removed when she looked at him again.
"Why not?"
Her voice reverted to a typical mechanical tone.
"The mission objective is being overridden by another section of coding"
The warmth returned to her eyes when she'd finished reciting the error.
"What is this code instructing you to do?"
"To protect you"
He allowed himself a smile on front of her.
"Are you going to do that?"
This time she didn't hesitate at all and replied immediately.
"Yes"
"Good…" he released the heavy metal restraints and stood back as she sat up on the worktable. He moved slightly closer and placed his fists either side of her legs on the table and examined her for a moment "…now, what do we call you? Do you have a name?"
She tilted her head and looked down at her neatly folded hands in her lap.
"I don't know" she replied honestly.
"Well that's no good. If you're gonna be my protector I can't just keep saying 'hey you'"
Her face scrunched up, causing John to smile again.
"The name 'heyyu' is not present in my database…could I have another one please?"
John wasn't sure if it was the scrunched up face, her lack of understanding or simply the innocent way she asked for a name, but John thought her behaviour was adorable.
"Okay then, it's not 'heyyu'. You say you have a database of names…" she nodded "…how many female names are in it?"
"Two thousand, nine hundred and thirty four"
"Okay. What's name number two thousand…five hundred…and nineteen?"
"Sarah"
John turned a distinctly paler shade and swallowed deeply.
"Uh, let's choose a different name for you"
The machine tilted her head inquisitively.
"Sarah was the name of your deceased mother. Why do you not wish me to share her name?"
John closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. When he opened them, he found her patiently waiting for an answer.
"Let's just choose a different name…" he smiled and lightened his tone "…what's number…five hundred and twelve?"
"Cameron"
"Hmm, Cameron. Sounds nice, kinda suits you…what do you think?"
"It is acceptable"
"Well then…" John pulled back from the table smiling. He held his hand out towards her "…nice to meet you, Cameron"
She surprised him when instead of grasping his hand with a grip an olympic arm wrestler would be proud of, she daintily placed her hand in his and allowed him to shake it. What surprised him even more was the tiny smile that formed on her lips. He grinned as he stood up fully, allowing her to get down off the table. She took two steps and gracefully turned around, taking up a position to his side and slightly behind him.
Little did either of them know, this would be the position she would occupy for the next four years of her life. That was until the day she metaphorically moved to his side and placed her hand in his.
As the file finished playing in her CPU, Cameron's vision returned to normal and was filled with the sight of the plasma bolt. Suddenly she felt her balance shift to the right as an enormous force exerted itself on her left side. Ordinarily such a force wouldn't affect her, however she was thrown off balance by the pirouette she'd performed a moment earlier to avoid a different shot. She clattered to the ground unceremoniously and watched as several shots streaked towards her attacker, ensuring he wouldn't be targeting anyone ever again. She was about to try and stand when she detected a weight on top of her body. She looked down and discovered the weight was a body slumped across her waist.
"Come on, who's a big girl, you can do it"
"Uh, John? Why are you on the floor?"
John looked up to see Amy hovering above him, looking on curiously. He chuckled as he realised he did look a little ridiculous. Nobody should be seeing the commander of the human race flat on his stomach partaking in some baby talk with his daughter.
"Hi Amy, I'm trying to get her to lift her head"
"Oh…why?"
She moved closer and sat down cross legged next to him. John propped himself up on his elbows and looked sidelong at her. Since she'd spent some time with Abigail recently, Amy's mood certainly had improved. The bright, pretty dresses and pigtails had returned and she seemed to bounce around the base energetically as opposed to the skulking she had been doing recently.
"Because, her body should be getting stronger, starting with her neck. I'm trying to get her to look at me. Come on Abi, look at daddy"
Amy watched as the little girl seemed disinterested in even attempting to look. It seemed to be causing John a great deal of frustration. She had to admit, it was a little odd to see the great, hardened General lying flat on his stomach and talking in such an odd fashion. But according to her research, parents often forgo their appearance and reputation when it comes to their children. Apparently John was no exception.
"Okay. Having any success?"
John sighed and rolled on to his side to look at her.
"Nah, she seems to be more interested in the blanket than in me. It's no problem, I guess I was just hoping she would be able to do it"
Seeing the look of disappointment on his face caused Amy to have the sudden urge to reach out and ruffle his hair like he were a little boy. She managed to restrain herself however and instead moved to lay down beside him.
"Let me try"
John shuffled over a little to give her some room.
"Well, you can try. But if she didn't do it for me, she's not gonna do it for you" he said with a false confidence.
Amy fired off a half smile in his direction before focusing her attention on the squirming baby in front of her.
"Abi, over here. Come on, look at your Aunt Amy"
John watched on with a mixture of delight and annoyance as his daughter craned her tiny neck upon hearing Amy's voice. Delight that she'd done it, annoyance as she always seemed to respond to Amy.
"Oh, there's a good girl" Amy cooed happily.
Maybe she's slipping her some special baby candy when I'm not looking…nah.
John rolled back on to his stomach and nudged Amy out of the way a little so that he was in Abi's eye line. Almost immediately her head dropped back down to the blanket with a tiny thud and she went back to her exploration of the blanket she lay on. Amy gave a smug grin as John's head followed Abi's to the floor with a distinct thump. When he eventually looked up again he was smiling, albeit an exasperated smile.
"I get it, she's definitely a tease. She could do it all along, but she just wanted to show off in front of you and not her daddy. I'm really in for it when she grows up…" he looked back at Abigail and idly ran a finger through her thin hair "…I wonder what she'll be like" he said distractedly.
Surprisingly, Amy scoffed.
"Are you kidding me? I know exactly what she'll be like. Her parents are in charge of the entire human race…" she paused a moment to let her theory sink in "…she'll be the most spoiled brat on the face of the planet. When that little girl scrapes her knee you'll be ready to get her a pony, every time"
John smirked at first, but it soon became a full blown grin. He returned his gaze to Abi and watched her thoughtfully.
"Yeah, you're probably right"
John had finally managed to escape from daddy duties for a while. Sure he adored his baby, but every man needs time away, even the great General Connor needs his man time. Unfortunately for him, man time consisted of doing his job. His free time was taken up with his family, leaving only his duties as an alternative. He'd left Abigail in her bassinet after a feed and change and set up an old baby monitor system which he took to the war room with him.
In truth he was glad to be here. He was a little concerned about Cameron who was an hour overdue. While it could be forgiven considering the amount of terrain they had to cover, this was Cameron after all, and she'd never been late for anything if she could avoid it and that meant she'd probably ran in to some trouble. While he was looking at a map of the area distractedly, one of the other soldiers in the room looked up from his monitor.
"Sir"
John shook his head and turned around as he realised he was being addressed.
"Yes Private, what is it?"
"Sir, it looks like Purple Squad is on it's way back, I'm picking up the heat signatures of four humans and one cyborg approaching the South entrance"
"Four? What makes you think it's Purple Squad?"
Surely there should be five?
The young man hesitated and looked back at his monitor.
"Um…"
"Yes? What's wrong?"
"Uh sir, there is a fifth signature but it's barely registering. It looks like it's being carried by the machine…" at John's glare, he decided to rephrase his statement "…uh, I, uh, I mean, your wife is carrying the body…sir"
Dammit.
John didn't hang around to chat. He immediately headed out towards the South entrance, ignoring all the salutes he received on the way, even going so far as to barge his way past a couple of people to expedite his journey. When he arrived, it was just in time to see Cameron lowering the body of Lieutenant Hansen on to the waiting gurney. He sucked in a deep breath as he saw the blank look on her face. She didn't even raise her eyes to meet his as she usually did when she detected his presence, which was always. John watched as the rest of her men joined her around the gurney and shared her expression. One of them had retrieved a sheet and laid it over his body and pulled it up over his head. John's attention was snapped away from the body when he heard his wife's usual strong voice emerge as little more than a whisper.
"Dismissed"
Cameron turned and walked towards John while the men escorted the body of their friend to the infirmary. John couldn't help himself and reached out to try and take his wife in to a hug. She stopped a couple of steps short of him and raised her eyes up to meet his. Instead of flowing in to his arms like John was hoping, she merely sidestepped him and carried on her original course. John turned around and watched her back as she walked away from him and disappeared around a corner, leaving him feeling almost as bad as she did.
"Good morning Savannah"
John Henry almost always had a cheery disposition about him and mornings were no exception.
"Mornnn"
Savannah's reply was less than cheerful, in fact her whole dishevelled appearance eluded to a sleepless night. She slumped down in the chair opposite him and started picking at her breakfast, prepared by John Henry.
"You didn't sleep well?"
She shook her head with her eyes half closed, her tattered red hair swinging around a little.
"No. I couldn't sleep. Too busy thinking about Cameron"
"Oh, what about her?"
She looked up at his kind face and forced a half smile.
"I guess I was just thinking about her baby…she makes her happy John Henry. A tiny little baby…" she held her hands out about a foot apart for emphasis "…makes a cyborg happy"
She looked down at her hands sadly before withdrawing them and resuming 'eating' her breakfast. John Henry watched with a look of concern on his face, Savannah was usually such a cheerful character despite her surroundings. His advanced processing capabilities quickly came to a conclusion about her behaviour.
"Are you unhappy because Cameron has a baby to look after and you don't?"
For some reason, Savannah always felt like she was an eight year old again whenever she was around John Henry. His inquisitive gaze and annoyingly accurate ideas reminded her of the days early in the war when she looked up to him physically as well as mentally. This time his guess was as accurate as his others, but unwilling to directly admit it, she merely shrugged somewhat childishly.
"Would you like to go and see Cameron's baby?"
Savannah's eyes widened as she processed what she'd just been asked. Slowly raising her head, she looked up at John Henry with a quirked brow and a tiny smile.
"Well…maybe…"
Her grin slowly crept further up her face. She picked up her fork and started digging in to her breakfast properly this time, but not before standing up and giving John Henry a quick peck on the cheek.
He watched her tuck in to her food with his own crooked grin, gently touching the spot where she'd kissed him.
Since Cameron's return, John had parked himself back in the war room for a coupe of hours before discreetly slipping away in search of his wife. He knew she'd need a little bit of space for a while. It certainly was an odd characteristic of hers that when she was upset, she did what guys usually do and closed herself off and disappeared somewhere. He made his way to their quarters and pulled the hatch open, idly saluting the two guards outside. He shut and secured the door behind him before looking in to the room for the first time.
Well, at least I found her.
John stood for a moment to take in the sight. Cameron lay on her side on their bed with her head resting in the crook of her elbow and her hand stretched out in front of her face. She'd also propped Abigail up on her side with a pillow facing her while she supported her head with her outstretched hand. He watched as Cameron idly placed a finger from her free hand in Abi's palm and watched it reflexively close and grasp tight hold. She used her thumb to caress her tiny knuckles and smiled sadly.
John sighed and slowly walked over to the bed. Gently laying down behind her, he wrapped an arm securely around her waist and placed his palm flat on her abdomen, slowly rubbing in small circles.
"She's so small…"
John sat up at the sound of his wife's whisper like voice and peered over her at his daughter. He reached out and did the same as she was doing and placed his finger in Abigail's other hand. He leaned down and placed a kiss on Cameron's cheek before resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Yeah, she is…are you alright?"
She removed her finger from Abigail's grasp and grazed her cheek with the back of her fingernail. Cameron smiled as she tried to latch on to her finger with her mouth. She allowed her to do so and analysed the sensation as she tried to suckle on her fingertip.
"So fragile…"
John sat up properly and retrieved his hand from Abi's grasp, earning a small whimper of disapproval. He reached down and caressed Cameron's cheek with the back of his knuckles.
"Hey, you're starting to scare me. What's going on in that big, beautiful CPU of yours?"
He smiled to try and take the tension out of the room. When she didn't reciprocate he grew deeply concerned. He studied her face, she seemed to be transfixed by Abigail's movements.
"This was a bad idea" she stated suddenly.
Huh?
"What do you mean?"
For the first time since he'd entered the room and lay down, Cameron tore her gaze away from her daughter and looked up at him.
"I was almost terminated today John. We shouldn't have adopted Abi. You were right, we're at risk every day, it's not fair to her"
She looked back at the baby who was still contentedly sucking on her finger while staring wide eyed at her mommy. John sighed and laid his chin on her upper arm.
"Let me tell you a story my mom told me Cameron…" he waited a moment to make sure she was listening "…She once told me about my great grandfather who fought in World War two. But the thing is that my grandmother was born in nineteen thirty eight. He had a one year old baby girl to care for, but he was a soldier. He was torn between going to war for his country, and the desire to stay home and look after his daughter, my grandmother. He loved that little girl so much that he even considered resigning from the forces so that he could be there for her…"
He slowly moved his hand up and down her side lovingly.
"…You know the reason he didn't do it? My great grandmother wouldn't let him. She said to him, 'you are going to go, and you're going to win this war…and then you're gonna come back to me and her'. Now I'm gonna say the exact same thing to you. We are going to go out there, we're going to find Skynet and end this war, and then we're both going to come back home to her…"
He withdrew his hand from her body and placed it instead protectively on Abigail's body who looked dwarfed by it.
"…I know you love her Cameron, I do too. She needs her mommy, so you are not going to die you hear me?"
He looked down at her and waited for a reaction. He got it when she rolled over towards him and gazed up at his face.
"Your logic may be flawed…but thank you"
John had always had the ability to inspire and motivate people. Apparently he also had the ability to create faith in his cyborg wife too. He stared down at her beautiful face before leaning down and placing a soft, tender kiss on her lips. He pulled back to see a tiny smile form.
"You look tired John"
He smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, I guess I am. It's about time for you to get some sleep too isn't it?"
"Yes, I'm coming up to seventy two active hours…" she looked over at Abi who had drifted off to sleep with her finger still in her mouth "…what about her?"
John looked over to his baby and a smile formed on his face.
"She can sleep with us tonight"
Her eyes widened, probably at the thought of crushing her and leaving her totally unattended.
"But…" she started to protest until he cut her off.
"Ah, ah, none of that. It's normal for babies to sleep in their parents bed with them. She'll be fine without you for three hours"
Cameron rolled back over and carefully removed the pillow out from beneath Abi and rolled her flat on her back. She shuffled closer and laid a protective arm around her. John meanwhile did the same and cuddled up to Cameron's back, snaking a protective arm around her.
"Good night Cameron"
"Good night John…good night Abi"
John smiled as she closed her eyes and went in to standby. He did the same a moment later and drifted off to sleep, happy in the knowledge that his family was safe.
You can blame the delay in releasing this on Dekardkain. I've been too busy discussing his stoopid story to work on my own! ;)
Thanks go to him and also ElusiveSanity for helping me out with certain aspects of this chapter.
