"John, I know you're mad at me...," Riley began, only to have John shake his head and cut her off.
"Not now Riley. Just...not now. Today we're talking about what your plan was. That's all we're talking about today."
Riley had the decency to look ashamed at her duplicity, but persisted in asking, "Today?"
John let out a tired sigh, before nodding slowly, "Today. We can talk about...anything else some other time."
Cameron felt a sharp spike of displeasure at John's implication that he might be willing to forgive Riley at some future time. "She lied to you," Cameron pointed out petulantly.
John nodded painfully, "She did."
'Oh', Cameron realized, "I lied to you."
"Yeah you did." Closing his eyes for a moment and running a hand through his hair, he looked at her, seeing her unease, "Look, Cameron, I'm not mad at you. It's just...Riley, you, mom, Derek...future John...I wish I knew why everyone who claims to expect so much from me seems to expect so little from me."
Cameron was uncertain how to respond, and went for a default response, "I'm sorry."
John shook his head, "I'm not blaming you or looking for an apology. I just want to know when people will stop lying to me and start trusting me."
"I don't have an answer for you," she replied.
John gave a sad little smile, "at least you're honest."
Cameron considered for a moment, before telling him, "I trust you."
That brought a genuine smile to John's face, "Thank you Cameron. You have no idea how much that means to me."
"I have some idea."
John nodded, taking her hand and squeezing it in appreciation, "Come on. Let's go."
As John, Cameron, and Riley approached the Connor family SUV, Cameron's tactical system considered various seating arrangements both for securing the prisoner (Riley), and protecting John's safety. Arriving at the optimal configuration, she announced, "John, you'll drive. I'll sit behind you. Riley will sit next to me in the back seat." At John's confused expression, she explained, "It's safest."
"Alright," John agreed.
They drove in silence for a few minutes, John clearly brooding, Riley smartly keeping quiet, and Cameron dividing her attention between assuring Riley behaved herself and her concern for John's emotional state. Her files on human psychology suggested that attempting to distract him with an unrelated topic would improve his mood, and there was something that she had been wondering about for several hours.
"Why would I see kitties if I looked at you long enough?" Cameron asked.
There was a long pause as John processed her question, before he asked "What?"
"Why would I see kitties if I looked at you long enough?" she repeated.
John turned as much as he was able while keeping his attention on the road to glance at her, his face screwed up in confusion. Cameron analyzed his expression, also noticing that Riley was now regarding her with a strangely wary expression. Realizing the non sequitur nature of her question, Cameron rushed to assure him, "I'm not experiencing a glitch. Sarah asked me if I see kitties if I stare at you long enough. I don't understand."
"My mother, Sarah Connor, used the word 'kitties'? When?" John realized too late that he'd used his mother's real name in front of Riley, and his eyes slid to her, but he saw no reaction or surprise on her part, adding more evidence that she was aware of their real identity.
"Last night." Cameron elaborated, "You were asleep, I was watching you sleep. Your mother came into your room and watched you for five minutes, eighteen seconds, then she watched me watch you sleep for three minutes, forty-six seconds. Then she asked me if I stare at you long enough, do I see kitties? Was she using a figure of speech?"
John's brow worked as he tried to figure out what his mother had been talking about, before scoffing in frustration, "I wonder if mom is having a glitch."
Cameron considered John's theory, realizing that John's reference to his mother having a glitch was figurative, as Sarah Connor is not a machine. "Perhaps the stress of recent events has had a negative impact on Sarah's mental stability," she suggested, before frowning and adding, "John, if Sarah is having hallucinations- seeing immature domestic felines when she looks at you- she could be dangerous. I have seen on tv that people often chase unwanted mammals out of a household with a broom."
"Uh, I don't think she's hallucinating Cameron. We're probably just missing something."
"When we return to the house, I will secure any weapons or objects Sarah could use to injure you until we determine that she is not a threat."
Riley snickered at Cameron's wide-eyed concern, causing Cameron to direct a harsh two-word command at her, "Be quiet!"
The harsh change in her voice caused John to twitch in surprise, "It's kind of disturbing when you do that."
"Do what?" she asked.
"That change from normal conversation to 'Terminator intimidation mode'."
Tilting her head in confusion, Cameron replied, "I am a Terminator."
Smiling slightly, John replied, "I know, it's just a little jarring."
Cameron considered this, and mentally replayed John's startlement, "I will endeavor not to shift verbal tone so abruptly in the future."
John nodded, then after a moment he began chewing his lip, "Don't do that."
"Don't do what?"
"Don't try to change your behavior just to please me. Not about something that doesn't matter. I like you the way you are." John grinned, "I'm sure I've got a few habits that get on your nerves."
Cameron smiled at John's declaration that he liked her the way she is, before responding to his latter statement. She did not actually have human 'nerves' to be bothered by John's habits, either literally or figuratively, but she understood the expression and she was capable of experiencing annoyance. "Yes. You have many annoying qualities," she confirmed.
Rather than being put off by her blunt assessment, John smirked sheepishly, "Well, when I do one of them, let me know, and I'll try to stop."
Cameron processed John's words before frowning, "Why are you supposed to change your annoying habits, but I am not?"
"Um...well...," John tried to find a good explanation, before stating without confidence, "Because I'm the guy."
"Yes, you are male and I am female," Cameron confirmed, before frowning again, "I don't understand."
John realized that this was one of those times when he was lucky his girlfriend was a machine, as 'because I'm the guy' probably wouldn't have gone over well with a human woman. John had extremely limited experience with relationships, and Cameron was perhaps the one person on Earth more socially inexperienced than himself, so as he struggled to explain this to her, it was a case of the blind leading the blind.
"Okay, Cameron, it's not a good thing, but it's called the double-standard. It's...just expected that men and women in a relationship show their affection for each other in different ways." Pausing for a moment, he added, "Of course, every relationship is different, but in general men are expected to do certain things for their girlfriends, and women do other, different, things for their boyfriends."
"Are we talking about sex?" Cameron asked, causing John to redden.
"No!" he blurted, before thinking about it, "well, maybe, but that's not what I'm talking about. One of the things men are supposed to do is to improve themselves for their girlfriends."
"Girlfriends aren't supposed to improve themselves?" Cameron asked.
"Well...," John considered her question, "of course everyone should always want to improve themselves. It's just that a man's affection for his girlfriend is supposed to be a major motivation for him to do so." John frowned, "It's sexist and old-fashioned, but it's still expected that a man should be able to take care of his girlfriend and protect her. Even if she can take care of herself, he's supposed to be able to...back her up," John floundered, unsatisfied with his explanation.
Cameron absorbed this explanation, before asking, "How should girlfriends show their boyfriends affection?"
John tried to force his mind away from the hormonally influenced thoughts her innocent question brought to mind, and give her a real answer, "Um...I guess that depends on the girlfriend. Remember I said that every relationship is different? Like...oh...what you did this morning, when you made me breakfast. That's a good example."
"Making you food?" Cameron asked. John wasn't sure if he heard a note of dissatisfaction in her voice, or if it was just his discomfort with the conversation causing him to imagine it.
"No- you're not my housekeeper or my maid, you're my girlfriend. I mean that you were caring about my well-being and happiness."
There was a minute of silence as Cameron processed John's explanation. Just when he was beginning to think that she was satisfied and the subject was finished, she discovered a flaw in his logic and spoke up.
"But John, I take care of and protect you. I'm your protector. This is sensible as I'm significantly stronger and more physically capable than you are."
John frowned, realizing that she had a point. 'How did I lose control of this conversation?' he thought. "That's...a good example of how relationships differ. You'll always protect me because you're my protector- well, and because you care about me- and I'll always wish I could be the one protecting you." She smiled at his words, understanding.
John remembered their captive audience, and glanced over at Riley, uncomfortable at having had this conversation in front of his now ex-girlfriend. He was glad to see her looking out the window, pointedly disinterested in him and Cameron.
He finished his thought, "Most girlfriends aren't their boyfriend's bodyguard...or Terminators."
As soon as John said it, he snapped his fingers in realization, "Like a screen saver! Because you're like a computer!"
"Oh!" Cameron and Riley said in unison, then looked at each other and frowned.