CHAPTER 10: "THE AFTERMATH"
Thursday, June 19th, 2008 – 01:49 p.m.
Burbank
Charley Dixon checked the address again as he entered the gravel-filled driveway to the last house in the street. It was an old brick building, built onto a flat area that had been cut into the hillside. Straight ahead, at the end of the front yard, stood a crooked wooden shack, apparently the garage. Three cars were parked in front of the house: a blue Jeep Liberty, a black Jeep Commander and a black Chevrolet Suburban. It looked like their vehicle fleet had expanded, and it seemed that Sarah had kept her preference for cars with all-wheel drive. Altogether the property made a very neat impression, with well-kept bushes and flower beds. Definitely an improvement to their previous house – the slightly shabby one in North Hollywood that had burned down. This one was anything but shabby. It was... classy. And it looked robust and stable by Los Angeles standards. Houses were no longer built that way.
The front with a large, walled up porch was facing south, so there'd be a lot of sun all day. The next neighbor lived about a hundred yards away, which also made the location ideal if you needed to have privacy. Nobody was just passing by here, this place had to be looked for. Behind the west side of the house, hidden from view, seemed to be a small backyard, and there seemed to be a small garden in the back as well. To the south, beyond the front yard, the hill dropped steeply towards the valley, offering a beautiful, unobstructed view over Burbank and Los Angeles. Behind the house rose the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains, and there was nothing but sparsely overgrown bush land and impassable hilly landscape. Whoever tried to approach the house, would probably be seen long before they could reach it.
Charley parked next to the black Suburban and turned off the engine, holding the steering wheel in a tight grip. It had been a bit over an hour since Sarah had called him and frantically asked for his help, saying that John had been shot. Why had he come at all, what was he thinking? From all he knew, this could be a trap. And the last time he got involved with Sarah and John, it had cost the life of his wife. That was seven months ago, seven months in which he'd been trying to find his inner balance again, trying to stop hating himself and Sarah for something none of them could be blamed for. He had to be crazy to come back again. Absolutely crazy. And yet, here he was. Why? He knew the answer but was too afraid to admit it to himself.
"DAMN!" he shouted loudly and hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand.
Then he quickly grabbed his medical kit and left his car. He was half-way up the stairs to the front porch when the terrace door was opened, and a young woman stepped into view. Charley stopped dead in his tracks. It was her! The machine, that robot girl John was so fond of. The one that had almost killed the boy. The one that freaked him the hell out. Only now she had red hair.
"In here, quickly" Alison said and ushered him inside.
"Where's Sarah?" he asked,
"Please, in the kitchen," Alison replied and Charley followed her.
However, Sarah wasn't in the kitchen. Instead, a teenage girl lay on the kitchen table, apparently unconscious and with a gunshot wound to the belly. A dish towel had been placed over the wound as a temporary bandage and Charley saw a blood stain slowly form and expand on it. Another half dozen bloodstained dish towels were already lying on the floor.
"Unfortunately, they took the first aid kit with them," Alison said, "I had to improvise."
"Where's Sarah?" Charley asked again, "she told me John was hurt."
"Sarah isn't here," Alison replied, "It was I who called you, I imitated Sarah's voice because I knew you'd come when I said John was hurt."
"You… WHAT?" Charley asked irritable. "You imitated her voice? How did you get my number? And who the hell is this?"
"Sarah has your number stored in her phone. This is Lauren. She's my friend. Sarah's and John's friend as well. They don't know what happened, they're running an errand and I haven't been able to reach them on the phone. They should be back soon, though. Please, help my friend."
Charley looked at Alison for a moment to express his annoyance about being tricked into coming here, then he sighed and shook his head. His training as a medic kicked in and he examined Lauren.
"How long has it been?" he asked, checking Lauren's pulse and opening her eyelids.
"Sixty-seven minutes," Alison replied. "The bullet was deflected by the belt buckle. There are no vital organs injured, but she's losing a lot of blood."
"Alright," Charley said. "I can't do this alone. You have just become a nurse. I need more light. Open the curtains."
-0-
When the pickup truck entered the driveway to the Connor house, it was Derek who first spotted the unknown car in their yard.
"Who the hell is that?" he asked.
"No idea," Sarah replied. "Let's be cautious."
The four left the truck, guns at the ready, carefully approaching the house, climbing the stairs to the front porch. The terrace door was open, and they entered.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't shoot! It's me."
"Charley?" Sarah asked in surprise and holstered her gun.
The other three lowered their guns as well, looking awestruck at the unexpected visitor. Alison came running towards John and flung her arms around his neck. He hugged her back. Charley frowned upon seeing this clear gesture of affection.
"You've been shot at!" John said alarmed, checking her torso, "You okay?"
Alison nodded.
"I'm okay. But Lauren not so much."
"What's going on here?" Derek asked.
"In there," Charley said and pointed in the direction of the kitchen door.
Sarah, Derek and Cameron quickly walked into the kitchen. Lauren lay unconscious on the table. Sarah felt her pulse.
"Thank God she's alive. What happened here? Charley?"
But Charley was currently occupied with staring open-mouthed at Cameron.
"Another one?" he asked baffled.
"Long story," John and Sarah replied at the same time.
Alison brought everyone up to date about how Lauren went down to bring Jacobson food, how Jacobson must have somehow grabbed the gun and shot Lauren and how Alison had called Charley for help, knowing his phone number from Sarah's phone. Lauren survived, the bullet was removed. She'd lost a lot of blood, but not enough to need a transfusion. She'd need some time to recover, though.
"Is Jacobson still alive?" Sarah asked.
"I suppose so," Alison said. "I checked on him a couple of minutes ago. He was still unconscious."
"I'm gonna take a look myself," Derek stated grimly. "You know, if we wouldn't be needing that piece of shit, I would…"
He didn't have to finish the sentence. Everyone knew what he was thinking. Derek walked out the back door and they heard him running down the wooden stairs towards the basement door. Sarah looked at Alison.
"Well done, Tin Miss, that was quick thinking. But if I ever catch you using my phone again…"
"You shouldn't leave it lying around so often then," Alison replied coolly," and your own birthday isn't really suited as a code."
"Go to hell!" Sarah spat but then picked out her phone to change the access code.
Derek returned a minute later and reported that the prisoner had been conscious again.
"But I knocked him out again, just for good measure. Catherine and James surely won't complain."
"I'm really proud of you," John said and Alison beamed at him. "Proud because you didn't kill Jacobsen and proud because you did the right thing to help Lauren."
"Killing Jacobsen wouldn't have made sense," she replied, "in his current condition, he isn't a threat to us."
"I have to say, that girl on the table owes her life to you," Charley said and looked appreciatively at Alison. "You seemed to be genuinely concerned. Is it me or have things changed around here a bit?"
"Things definitely changed," John responded. "Cam and Alison have evolved a lot."
"So... two of them now...?" Charley asked and looked between John, Sarah and the girls. "Cameron and Alison? How...?"
"Actually, they're both Cameron," Sarah answered, "they're identical. But we named one of them Alison and dyed her hair, so we could tell them apart."
John and Sarah took turns in telling Charley the whole story. He could hardly get over his astonishment.
"Let me get this straight," he said, "the last time I saw Cameron, she was damaged and wanted to kill you. And now you have two, and John and they are…?"
"We three are romantically involved, yes," John confirmed, realizing how crazy and bizarre this had to sound for Charley.
"But… but she wanted to kill you, John!" Charley exclaimed in a serious tone. "Have you forgotten that?"
"It's different now, Charley," John replied calmly.
"Different?" he scoffed. "And you, Sarah? You're okay with this? You're okay that John is, well… having a love affair with… these… things?"
"A lot has happened, Charley," Sarah said and massaged the base of her nose. "A lot you don't know about yet."
Charley looked at Sarah as if she had gone completely mad.
"Sarah's right," Derek confirmed, "a lot has changed recently. How about we fill you in first, hm?"
"If you don't need to leave immediately, that is," John added.
"I… I don't know. I don't wanna get involved again."
"Then you should have stayed away, as I told you," Sarah said coldly. "You knew they could imitate voices. The rational thing would have been to ignore the call. But you didn't, and now you're here. In or out, Charley, what'll it be? You can't have both."
Charley looked at her, taken a little aback. Then he looked at John, at Derek, and finally at Cameron and Alison, with a wary expression.
"I dunno," he said. "To be honest, I'm not sure what to think anymore. Machines? Lovers? Robots? Girlfriends?"
"You can trust Cam and Alison," John stated. "They won't harm you. Or anyone else who's with us."
Charley gave him a doubtful look.
"John's right," Derek agreed, "I know this might sound strange to you, coming from me… but it really seems you can trust them."
Alison and Cameron considered Derek with a surprised expression, then looked at Charley.
"Yes," they said in unison. "No need to worry. You can trust us, we're no longer scary robots."
-0-
Alison carefully carried Lauren upstairs and put her into her bed. Charley agreed on staying for the rest of the day to make sure she'd be fine. Sarah took the job of caring for baby Sydney until Lauren was better. Adam Jacobson was sedated and carried to the Suburban with less care. He was thrown unceremoniously into the back and nobody checked if he sprained something or worse. Then Derek and Cameron drove off to deliver him to Catherine Weaver and James Ellison.
Lunch was ordered in and while everyone sat at the dining room table, Charley couldn't help but stare at Alison and John, who sat next to each other and behaved like all teenagers in love would. Of course, Alison registered Charley's eyes on them but resisted getting into a staring contest, which probably would have unsettled him.
"When you're finished with gawking at them," Sarah said to Charley after everyone had finished, "you can help me with the dishes."
She gave John a meaningful look and tilted her head. Getting the hint that his mother wanted to be alone with Charley, John stood up and pulled Alison with him.
"We'll be in our room. I'm going to remove the bullets from her body."
"Lock the door, please," Sarah said, "and keep it quiet."
John rolled his eyes and shook his head. Charley kept watching the two, bending himself to the side to follow them with his eyes as they crossed the living room hand in hand and disappeared into the master bedroom, closing the door and locking it behind them.
"You're going to sprain something," Sarah said with a smirk.
Charley straightened up.
"I'm sorry," he replied, "you must think I'm nuts but if I wouldn't know for certain that she's a machine…"
"I know what you mean," Sarah stated and started letting the water into the sink.
"How can you cope with that as a mother? And with two of them on top of it?"
"They've had it coming for a long time," Sarah said with a sigh, "from the very beginning there was an undeniable attraction. I was left with the choice to either learn to live with it or risk losing my son. Let's face it: with them, John doesn't need me anymore."
"Don't be silly, he'll always be needing you, you're his mother!"
"What would you have done in my place then?"
Charley shook his head.
"I don't know," he answered. "I had noticed how John responded to her, back when he brought me to your house to patch Derek together. She's pretty, he's a teenager, his hormones are going apeshit and there's no chance of him finding a real girlfriend under the conditions you live in. Frankly it gave me the creeps, knowing what she was and what she could do. I had taken him aside and tried to warn him about falling for her. Looks like it was a futile attempt."
Sarah nodded in understanding.
"I felt similar at first. But by now, I've tried to rationalize it for myself. You're right, John wasn't supposed to lead a normal life. Cameron told me that in the future, he'd lost everyone who meant something to him. It's only logical for John to hook up with somebody who essentially is replaceable. In fact, I can relate to that, having been alone myself for so long. That's not the really weird part, though. "
Sarah paused for a moment and noticed the frown Charley gave her. She avoided looking at him, though.
"So, what's the weird part then?" he asked, not wanting to comment on her other statement.
"The weird part is that they seem to genuinely love each other."
"Seriously? But she's a…"
"... machine, I know. They are machines. They only look human. And yet… If somebody had told me, I wouldn't have believed it. But I saw it with my own eyes, Charley. There's no doubt about it but she feels, she loves. I don't know how she feels or if she feels the same way we do, but… she obviously does. Somehow, the machine has developed a consciousness, a personality. She convinced even Derek – and that means something."
Charley huffed and shook his head, looking down.
"Sarah, has it ever occurred to you that she was programmed to act so convincing?"
"Actually, it has," she replied, "I've told it myself ever since she suddenly appeared in our life. It may sound strange, Charley, but from the beginning I felt there was something different about Cameron, something not quite right. She seemed to be more than just a machine. I didn't want to admit it, not let it get to me, but I witnessed how in certain situations she seemed to react emotionally, not driven by logic."
"Seriously, Sarah?"
"Yes, seriously. There were moments I could have sworn I had a human girl in front of me. I dismissed it all as nuances of a sophisticated, ingenious programming. I never allowed myself to consider that it might be more, that a machine could evolve. I should have known better, though. After all, I saw how a T-800, an unsophisticated model compared to Cameron, began to evolve from a heartless, cold killing machine into an empathic father figure for John. All it took, was setting his chip to read/write. Sometimes I wonder where we'd be today if we hadn't let Uncle Bob die? In retrospect, his sacrifice was in vain, Judgement Day happened anyway. I've been asking myself where we'd be today if we hadn't let him down into the molten steel. We definitely could have used his help."
"All right," Charley said, "let's assume for a moment they really have these feelings. But can their… love… have a future? Relationships often don't last very long. What if one day John meets a human girl he likes and falls in love with her? How would the two react to getting dumped? Can you imagine what a jealous Terminator could do?"
Sarah chuckled.
"I don't need to imagine it, I've already seen it," she said. "John already dated another girl, and it turned into a disaster for everyone. Not only became Cameron jealous of her, she almost killed her. In her honor, however, I must say that in retrospect it turned out that Cameron had been exemplary in her behavior all along."
Sarah told Charley the story of Riley and Jesse.
"Good God," Charley exclaimed when she was finished. "No wonder that boy gets hooked on cyborg girls when humans keep on letting him down like that. I don't know how I would have reacted."
"I have to admit, I appreciate Cameron and Alison for giving John the necessary solace to get over Riley's death. They'll definitely never be a disappointment for him."
"So, you gave them your blessing?"
"What choice did I have, Charley? At least she can't get pregnant or give him a disease. Besides, John is happy. And from a mother's point of view, I should be happy for him as well."
"And are you?"
Sarah sighed.
"I'm trying. I'm getting there, step by step, a little more every day. But it's not easy. I guess we're not the standard run-of-the-mill family and I won't be the run-of-the-mill mother-in-law one day."
Charley chuckled.
"No, you won't be."
Sarah had to chuckle as well.
"Our lives are complicated and dangerous," she said, "we need to surround us with people who are familiar with what we are and what we do. People who don't mind. Otherwise it could end badly."
"Yeah, I definitely experienced that," Charley agreed glumly. "It ended very badly for Michelle."
"I'm sorry," Sarah said, noticing Charley's discomfort, "what I meant was…"
"Don't worry about it," he interrupted her. "It's been seven months. The wounds have started to heal."
Sarah saw that it wasn't the whole truth, and that it was still a sensitive topic. Charley hadn't made any accusations, but she knew that deep inside, he blamed her for the death of his wife - maybe himself as well - simply because there's nobody else he could blame. She'd left him alone after she'd helped him finding a new place at the coast in Palos Verdes… a small wooden house next to an abandoned lighthouse. She'd helped him setting up a decent security system, and then they'd parted, never been talking to each other ever since.
"How's the job?" she asked and started washing the plates. "Still driving the ambulance?"
Charley grabbed a dish towel and began to dry the dishes.
"Yeah," he replied, "Mostly night shifts these days. After all, I have no family. I was actually asleep in my bed when you… I mean, when Alison called."
"And otherwise?" Sarah asked carefully. "Are you back on track?"
"I'm alone," he declared matter-of-factly, "have been trying to get a grip on life again. Moving to the coast has helped. The ocean and the waves have a soothing effect on me. I think I've begun to get over losing Michelle."
"I wish I could have visited, but we have been rather busy, and I didn't want to put you into any more trouble."
"That's okay, Sarah. I needed some time alone to find myself again."
"And have you?"
"I guess... I also found that being alone sucks. A dog isn't enough to keep me company."
The two chuckled again.
"What about that cyborg? What was his name again…? Cromartie? Did you get him in the end?"
"Yup, we got him," Sarah replied, "and I personally smashed his chip to pieces."
"Good. At least that's something."
"More things have changed today. We formed an alliance that will hopefully enable us to accomplish greater things. It also allows us to live a rather normal life again without having to fear the authorities."
"That's good," Charley said, "It was never fair that you were doubly punished by being chased by these killer robots from the future and by the FBI. It's good you got rid of both now. Is there a reason why you're telling me this?"
"No reason," Sarah replied, avoiding his gaze, pausing for a moment. "I doubt we'll ever get rid of it all completely. At least we were able to defeat and destroy all those who were after us or tasked with killing someone of importance for the future."
"How did you manage to do that?"
"We had help. A resistance fighter from the future wrote a list on the wall in the basement with his own blood before he died. A list of names, dates and places. We have now worked it off. Still, there is no way in saying how many more of them are still out there, occupied with missions that have nothing to do with us."
"So, even if you should prevent Judgement Day, you will still be busy fighting those cyborgs?"
"I suppose so. But from all we know, one of them could walk right by us today and wouldn't recognize anyone of us."
"And what if you succeed in preventing the war? Can you ever imagine leading a normal life? You know, with a job, a daily routine, with John going to college, making a career, making you a grandmother?"
Sarah smiled.
"If the nightmare ever ends, I'd like that," she said, "I'd love some normality in my life. Starting all over again, not being worried all the time. Grandmother, though… that'd be hard to achieve under the current circumstances."
"It'd be difficult with the two cyborg girls, yes," Charley agreed.
They both laughed. Then there was a moment of silence and Sarah cleaned the knives, looking down into the sink while Charley wordlessly dried the plates.
"You know…" she finally said without looking up, "you're always welcome here. In case you have enough of being all alone."
Charley nodded.
"I know that, Sarah. But I'm not sure if I'm ready for that again yet and…"
She looked up and their eyes met. They looked at each other and both saw the longing in the other's eyes. Then Sarah looked down again.
"I understand," she said shortly and continued washing the silverware.
Suddenly, Charley put the towel down, stepped closer to her and took her into his arms. She hugged him back vehemently. Water from her wet hands dripped down onto his shirt but he didn't care. They considered each other for a moment, then kissed. It lasted quite a while, and both enjoyed the moment they had together. Finally, Charley softly loosened himself from her.
"I need to check on my patient," he stated softly.
"Sure," she replied.
While Sarah started putting away the dishes, Charley left the kitchen, turned around once more but she didn't meet his gaze again. So, he walked across the living room and then upstairs. Only when he was out of sight, Sarah stopped and looked after him, a smile on her face.
-0-
"You're aware that I am perfectly capable of removing the bullets myself?" Alison asked.
"Yeah, I know," John said with a smile, "but it's like you once told me: sometimes…"
"… it's nice to have help. Yes."
"And as a bonus, I get to see you topless in broad daylight," he added grinning.
Alison grinned back, took off her shirt and unhooked her bra. Then she took off her boots, smiled at John and took off her jeans and panties as well.
"There are no gunshot wounds down there," John stated.
"If you don't like the view, I can put my pants back on again."
John grinned.
"I definitely like that view," he said smiling and sat on the edge of the bed, bending forward a little, resting his hands on both sides of her torso. Then he used his left hand to tenderly brush the hair from her face.
"I remember this position," Alison replied in a husky tone.
"You do?" John asked.
"Yes. You sat like that and brushed the hair from my face when you put the chip back into me after I defeated ARTIE. You sat like you do now."
"But you weren't naked."
"No... I am now, though."
"And I didn't do this," John said, bent down and kissed her softly.
Alison just lay with her arms at her sides and let it happen, apparently enjoying it.
"No." she agreed. "You didn't do that then. But I wish you had."
"How would you have reacted?"
"I would have let you, of course."
He leaned down and kissed her again. Longer, more passionate, probing her mouth with his tongue. She opened it and played with his tongue in return. He cupped her left breast with his hand.
"And how about that?" he asked, "would you have let me do that as well?"
"Yes." She said. "Always."
"Alright, how about this?" He kissed her right nipple and suckled on it.
"That too," she breathed.
John kissed, licked and sucked both her nipples and felt them getting hard. His right hand slowly glided between her legs. She opened them wider to grant him access. He let a finger slide inside.
"And this? Would you have let me touch you there as well?"
"Yessss," she responded and pushed her pelvis against his hand, which was getting wet now. "You can do that to me always, whenever you want."
John kissed her lovingly.
"If only I had known," he said quietly and started to undress himself.
"You weren't ready back then," she replied and gently stroked his cheek. "We both weren't."
"It was all so new back then…" he explained. "So unfamiliar. I didn't know how to treat you. Most of the time I treated you badly, didn't I? I'm so sorry."
She smiled at him and brushed her hand through his hair.
"It's okay, John. Everything is fine now. Everything's perfect."
He caressed her legs and took in her naked body with his eyes.
"Do you think I'm pretty?" she asked.
John chuckled.
"Yes," he said, "you are beautiful. In fact, I believe you are the most beautiful woman in the world with eight bullet holes in her abdomen."
Alison chuckled.
"What about my breasts? Do you like my breasts?"
"I adore your breasts," he replied and fondled them tenderly.
"They're not very big, though, not as big as Riley's."
John flinched.
"I never saw Riley naked," he replied evasively, "we… just made out. That was it."
"Good," Alison said. "She had big tits, though. Which ones do you prefer?"
John snorted.
"What?" she asked.
"Your wording for them."
"Uh... udders? Hooters? Fun bags?"
John laughed out loud.
"Yours are definitely fun bags," he replied, "Don't hide your light under a bushel."
"But they're not as big as hers. Do you think I have tits as well?"
"You have the most marvelous tits I can imagine," he said with a huge smile on his face.
She smiled back at him. Then her expression became longing.
"John?"
"Yes?"
"Fuck me now, please?"
-0-
"You don't talk very much," Derek observed behind the wheel of the Suburban.
He was driving, Cameron sat in the passenger seat and Jacobsen lay well tied up and gagged in the hold. She looked at him, her hair waving in the wind of the open window.
"What do you wanna talk about?" She asked.
"I don't know, it's just that… I just feel that… we should talk about something. You know, to pass the time."
Cameron seemed to consider that for a moment.
"You wanna talk about Jesse?"
"No," Derek replied tightlipped and stared straight ahead.
"You haven't talked about her with anyone yet. I know you loved her. You must be in pain."
"It will go away," Derek stated and stared straight ahead.
For a few more minutes, they drove on in silence, staring straight ahead. Then Cameron looked at him again.
"She was pregnant."
"What?" Derek asked shocked and almost tore off the steering wheel.
"When she came back from her mission on the 'Jimmy Carter', she was pregnant. But she miscarried. "
Derek threw her a look with a mixture of surprise, hate and desperation.
"She never told you, did she?" Cameron asked.
Derek said nothing, he just kept staring straight ahead.
"It seems she never told you a lot of things."
"Why are you telling me this now?" he asked irritable.
"Because we have an agreement. No more secrets. And it was something you had the right to know."
Again, a moment of silence.
"The Jesse here…" Derek finally said, "she wasn't my Jesse."
Cameron looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
"She wasn't from my timeline."
"How do you know?"
Derek told her about the episode with Charles Fisher.
"Was that the man you sent me a picture of on the cell phone?"
"Yes."
"I understand," Cameron said nodding, "Fisher wasn't in my future either. I was instructed by a former government agent who had interrogated terrorists after 9/11. It seems we indeed originate from another timeline than Jesse."
"I came to think that Jesse and I might have created that alternate timeline in the first place."
"How so?"
"If Fisher wasn't in our future, he also wasn't a former prisoner who joined Skynet for the sake of revenge on humanity. Jesse had captured him and also his younger self and confronted them with each other. I believe that was the point where the new timeline was created. My theory is that the old Charles Fisher had a mission. Opening a backdoor for Skynet to an Air Force computer. And the young Charles Fisher was blamed and sent to prison for it. He will now spend years in his cell and become the embittered guy who teaches cyborgs how to torture humans."
"It's possible," Cameron said.
Derek looked at her with an unreadable face and said nothing for a couple of minutes. Cameron noticed his uneasiness.
"I'd like to thank you," she finally declared.
He looked at her.
"Thank me? For what?"
"For what you said back home. That Charley can trust Alison and me."
"Oh, that…" Derek replied. "Consider it a moment of sentimental weakness."
"Was it?"
"Look, it just felt like the right thing to say at the time to reassure Charley, okay? We could use him again, he's a great medic. So, don't get too wound up on it."
"I am calm," Cameron stated, "but you aren't. Lauren said that having a friend who listens can be rewarding. I'm listening."
Derek scoffed.
"I definitely won't spill my guts in front of a machine."
Cameron shrugged.
"It was you who complained about us not talking," she said.
"Listen," Derek replied, "despite what John believes, I don't think you can grasp the complexity and diversity of human emotions."
"I'm not human. But I understand more than you think."
"Really? Humor me."
Cameron looked at him.
"You feel betrayed," she stated. "The one person you trusted, the one person you loved, betrayed you. She was your anchor in this time and place. She lied to you, she even used you for getting information about us. She was using Riley, too, and was willing to sacrifice her just to alienate me from John. Jesse acted like a machine would have acted, and she betrayed everything you believe in. How's that?"
He looked at her for a moment.
"You know nothing," he then said spiteful. "You may be able to analyze our behavior but grasping or understanding it, is something completely different."
"I understand pretty well what's on your mind. You believed that humans are better than machines, that humans could never be as cold-blooded and callous. And now you started to realize that I, a machine, have become better and more trustworthy than the woman you loved. She turned out to be like a machine and I turn out to be like a human. You have trouble accepting that your world was turned upside down."
Derek said nothing.
"It pains you that John and Sarah hold you partly responsible for Riley's death," Cameron continued. "You feel unjustly accused and have to see how Sarah suddenly reacts more favorable to me than to you. You have trouble coping with the fact that she's currently more comfortable with us machines around than with you."
Derek scoffed but again said nothing.
"But it's worse than that," Cameron went on, "because deep down you know it's your fault. Because you trusted Jesse without really questioning her motivation to be here. Deep down, you feel guilty for letting down John, for disappointing Sarah and for misjudging me. You can't admit it to yourself, but it haunts you, so you drown your trouble in alcohol."
"What do you know?" Derek snapped. "You know nothing! Absolutely nothing!"
"I know how it feels to be pushed aside," Cameron replied coolly. "John pushed me aside after the car bomb. I had lost his trust. But it worked out in the end because I never let go. You also shouldn't let go. Self-pity never works for solving problems. In the end, things will work out for you, I'm sure of that."
Derek didn't reply. He had gripped the steering wheel very tight, his knuckles turning white. Not another word was spoken until they arrived at Zeira Corp. But it didn't matter. Cameron was satisfied. The message had been received. Derek could choose to ignore it and keep on drowning his guilt in alcohol but at least the truth now was where it belonged.
-0-
John pulled the last bullet out of Alison's flesh and let it fall into a bowl on the night table.
"There," he said and put the final band-aid over the entry wound.
Alison smiled.
"That felt strangely pleasant."
"You mean me working around in your flesh with metal pliers, or the sex before that?"
"Both, actually."
He bent down and kissed her belly button.
"And that feels nice, too," she stated.
John lay down next to her and enjoyed just lying there naked with his girlfriend for the moment.
"When you asked me to 'fuck' you," John said, "I almost exploded in my pants."
"It's what women say in the videos Derek has on DVD."
"You watched Derek's porn?" John asked amused and chuckled.
"Yes. I don't sleep."
"Does Derek know about that?"
"No. Also, it was very educational for me. For us."
"Educational? In which way?"
"It showed us what men like when they're with a woman. So, we now can be better lovers for you."
"You are already the greatest lovers without guidance through porn. Besides, I have a feeling that those flicks don't show everything that we like. They were made for men to jerk off while watching them."
"I know. But we took that into account. The reason why we're so interested in it is that most relationships get stale after some time. Good, imaginative and varied sex helps to avoid that."
"We have just begun our relationship and you already started thinking about that it could end?" John asked with a frown.
"I'm a machine. It's the rational thing to do, John. Please don't be alarmed. We only want to make sure that you'll never grow tired of us."
He turned around and lay his arm around her, kissing her softly.
"That will never happen," he said. "Never in a million years. You were made for me and I was made for you."
For a while they just lay there, nestled together, enjoying each other's body warmth.
"Why did you almost explode in your pants?" Alison then suddenly asked.
"What?"
"You said when I asked you to fuck me, you almost exploded in your pants."
"Because of the wording. Talking like that was a massive turn-on for me."
"Really? You liked that?"
"Uh-huh," John admitted with a smile.
"I can do that more often, if you like. We could do that more often."
"That… would be nice," John replied, a little embarrassed.
She leaned over to him.
"Do you wanna fuck me again, stud?" she asked in the sweetest voice directly into his ear, "I'd like you to take me from behind. You know, doggy-style."
"Oh. My. God." John gasped and laughed.
Alison looked down at his penis.
"It works," she commented satisfied.
John just groaned.
-0-
Derek and Cameron delivered Jacobson to Catherine and Ellison, who immediately took him into custody. It was a relief to finally be rid of him, knowing that he was a burden and a risk as long as he was kept in the Connor house, especially with the impending barbecue on Sunday. In the remote parts of Zeira Corp's basement levels, where only a few people had access to, Jacobson would be in good hands. He'd be able to take a shower and even put on some normal clothes. It was necessary to keep him healthy and in absolute isolation. Catherine assured them that he would be taken care of and that only the most trustworthy employees would have access to him. But just to be sure, he was injected with a GPS location device when he was still unconscious. Zeira Corp had their own communication satellites in orbit and they'd be able to find him in minutes wherever he went, if the unthinkable happened and he somehow escaped.
In the light of the unplanned encounter with Kaliba's henchmen earlier in the day, it was agreed on not seeing each other before the plan to invade the Simdyne Tower would go into effect in eight days. They would have a final meeting the day before but until then, there was a lot of time to kill. Catherine had suggested that they'd leave town for a while to minimize the risk of being accidentally seen by their opponents.
"Go on a holiday or something," she'd recommended. "Somewhere outside of L.A. County. You could as well use the time to regenerate a bit before things get serious."
They promised to suggest that to Sarah but since the barbecue was scheduled for Sunday, leaving town wouldn't make sense before Monday.
"You still didn't tell her about Alison," Cameron said on their way back.
"I still don't trust her enough," Derek replied. "She's metal, no matter what John says. She might not be like any metal I've ever encountered but nevertheless, I prefer to be extra careful with her."
"Teaming up with her has considerably increased our chances to defeat Skynet once and for all," Cameron said. "And if you're so suspicious, why did you agree to hand over our greatest trump card, Jacobson, to her?"
"I can be suspicious and at the same time act logically. We need her to defeat Kaliba and the pre-Skynet A.I., no doubt about that. And I believe she's been honest with us when she said that she wants to work with us to reach that goal. It's logical and effective, machines like that. I also noticed she's taken a strange liking in John. But make no mistake, when this is over, it's very likely our ways will part again and then we'll have to be on our guard. She'll still have John Henry and you saw what he can pull off. What will become of him when Skynet is no more? Catherine certainly isn't planning on dismantling him after we're finished, is she?"
"No. She considers him like a son. She'll never dismantle him. She wants a peaceful coexistence of man and machine. And we should stay in contact with her. After all, through Zeira Corp, we can have access to a lot of resources: money, weapons, technology. It would be foolish not to make use of that. Besides, even if we defeat Skynet, there are probably many cyborgs here, each one having a different mission. They all need to be found and – if necessary – destroyed. "
"'If necessary'?" Derek asked with a frown. "Aren't they all a threat to John? To us?"
"We don't know that. Things have changed and aren't so clear anymore. I used to be a threat to John once, way before I traveled back in time. You know that. But I changed. Not because I was forced to but because I wanted to."
"That's different."
"How so?"
"Listen, I know that you think I'm prejudiced about machines but if you'd know what I know, if you'd seen what I've seen…"
Cameron looked at him.
"I know you're probably traumatized and tired of fighting a war," she said. "But according to Catherine, so were many of the cyborgs. Some of them might have fled here and they might even be willing to join us. It's a possibility we shouldn't exclude from the start."
Derek scoffed.
"That's an awfully big leap."
"Is it? Many machines joined the cyborg resistance. I'm not saying we're finding a lot of allies in them. But I think we should check carefully whether a cyborg is a danger before we deactivate and destroy it. Besides, there's something else we have to consider."
"What is that?"
"We live for a very long time until our power cells eventually fail, our hardware is designed to last centuries without maintenance. There must be cyborgs here who have completed their mission and have nothing to do anymore. Cyborgs can't self-terminate, so they'll have no choice but to blend in, integrate into human society and wait until Judgement Day comes to rejoin with Skynet. The least we can do is approach them. It wouldn't be right to simply kill them all. Who knows? Maybe some even started a career, have a job, lead a normal life. And maybe they do not want to change that kind of lifestyle."
"Are you freaking serious?"
"We're made to blend in, to adapt. Yes, I'm serious. Think about Vic. He even convinced Barbara that he was her husband."
"I don't like to be reminded of that, it was creepy. I don't like the thought that they could be anywhere and everyone, to be honest."
"I understand, but I'm only suggesting that we don't rule out from the start that they might not be unfriendly towards us. We have to check it in every single case."
Derek looked at Cameron.
"Is that why you didn't destroy Vic's chip as ordered? To see if he could join us? Because I still don't believe for a second that you did it to get information from it. That was just a pretense, wasn't it?"
Cameron hesitated for a moment.
"In the light of our newly established honesty, I think it's time you reveal that secret," Derek continued. "Come on, time for you to do something to earn the trust I'm supposed to put in you."
"The truth?" Cameron finally asked.
"If you don't mind."
Cameron looked straight ahead.
"I don't know if we're any longer facing a future where the truth might matter. But if you must know, I was ordered to collect CPU's for John. By Future John."
Derek hesitated for a moment.
"You mean Connor ordered you to collect them?"
"Yes… for the young John to practice and learn, and to have something to build on. The sooner he learns how to reprogram them, the better. I devoted a large amount of my night time activity on hunting down other cyborgs. Eric sometimes helped me with it, of course oblivious to what exactly he helped me with."
"How many have you hunted down? How many chips have you collected?" Derek asked, fearing the worst.
"Five."
Derek closed his eyes and groaned.
"Where are they?"
"The chips are in a safety deposit box, where nobody except me and Alison have access to. The bodies were destroyed."
"Does young John know about that?"
"Not yet. And I have to ask you not to tell him. Or Sarah or anybody else. When the time is right, we'll them."
"So, what happens if we defeat Skynet and prevent Judgement Day? The chips would be no longer of use for training purposes. Will you destroy them in that case?"
"We'll hand them over to John and let him decide."
For a couple of minutes, there was silence.
"What you said earlier," Derek finally stated, "about me and Jesse… you were right about that. Obviously, you understand our human nature better than I've been willing to give you credit for."
"Thank you. I'm very observant."
"I suppose I'll keep to myself what you just told me about your little chip collection. This family is just being stitched together and I don't want it to fall apart again."
Cameron reached out and softly touched Derek's shoulder as a supportive gesture, causing him to jerk in his seat.
"Thank you," she said with a shy smile.
He looked down on her hand and nodded.
"Don't mention it."
-0-
"You needed an awful long time to remove those bullets," Sarah commented when John and Alison appeared in the living room again.
"He didn't only do that," Alison replied, "John and I also had sex and tried doggy-style."
"ALISON!" John said loudly and turned crimson red.
Charley choked on a cookie he'd just bitten into and Sarah stared at the cyborg girl open-mouthed and unbelieving, thinking "She didn't just say that, did she?". She looked at John with a raised eyebrow, like a teacher who just caught a student breaking all the school rules. Charley still coughed.
"She's… um… she's been watching Derek's videos at night," John stammered. "You know how she is: she absorbs everything."
"It seems we have to redefine what's decent and modest in this house, Tin Miss," Sarah finally said. "And I'll be having a word with Derek as well."
John decided to take a sharp exit and quickly went out onto the front porch while Sarah gave Alison a proper talking-to. She was then instructed to clean the basement from all traces of their former prisoner, Lauren's blood and the remains of the lasagna. After a moment of being alone on the porch, Charley joined John. He'd brought a beer for himself and held out a can of soda to him, which John gladly accepted. They both sat down on the balustrade and enjoyed the view over the city below.
"Nice place you found here," Charley said.
"Yes, it has really begun to feel like home," John replied. "I wish we can stay here, now that we're off the authorities' radar."
"Will they still come looking for you? I mean those… robots?"
"Cyborgs," John corrected him and took a sip from his soda can. "Yeah, I suppose so. I guess it all depends on how successful we are with destroying Skynet. But we're readier than ever for them, if they should come."
"You sound like the sheriff in a 1960's Western."
John chuckled.
"Yeah, sometimes I feel like I'm in some weird sci-fi franchise that never ends, with bad guys continuously attacking me left and right."
They heard a car coming up the driveway and saw it was the Suburban with Derek and Cameron. After they exited the car, they saw John and Charley and went up the stairs to the porch. Cameron leaned down to gently kiss John. With growing fascination, Charley watched the undeniable affection between the boy and the cyborg girl.
"Did everything go smoothly?" John asked.
"Yup," Derek said. "The package was delivered without incident. Got another beer?"
"In the fridge," John answered and Derek went inside.
"Where's Alison?" Cameron asked.
"In the basement, cleaning up."
"Mind if I join her? You and Charley seem to enjoy your 'men time'. So maybe we can have some girls time. There's a lot I need to talk about with her."
"Sure, go ahead."
She lovingly kissed him again and then went inside, smiling at Charley who still wore his astonished face.
"God, Charley," John said, looking at him with an amused face, "spill it out. Ask your questions before you explode."
"Is she… I mean… are they… like other girls? Human girls, I mean?"
"Yes and no. They feel the same, taste the same, smell the same. If I wouldn't know what's underneath their skin, I couldn't tell the difference."
"They were designed to be like that," Derek said and returned to the terrace with a beer in his hand. "Mind if I join you?"
"Of course not, please sit," Charley responded and Derek grabbed one of the garden chairs, sitting down on it.
"Designed like that?" Charley asked. "What do you mean?"
"Infiltrator models," Derek replied. "They can mimic human behavior to near perfection. They even imitate breathing and eating. Wouldn't be very convincing if they failed where it counts, would it?"
"Cameron and Alison are not just mimicking and you know that," John said.
"Yes, those two are special," Derek agreed, "I know that now."
"Finally!" John exclaimed. "Took you an eternity to come around."
"Charley's question was if they are like other women. And the answer to that question is 'no', John. And you know that. Cameron and Alison are still cyborgs, they're still machines and always will be. They were originally designed to kill humans. They cannot stop being Terminators in the same way you cannot stop being human."
"I know that," John said grudgingly.
"If someone threatens you," Derek continued, "or Charley, or Sarah or even me, they won't hesitate to kill that person in an instant, if necessary."
"Sounds like you got yourself some serious bodyguards." Charley remarked, sounding a little uncomfortable.
"All right, yeah, they protect me," John said a little irritated. "And they protect my family and friends. But they learn more and more every day, they keep on evolving. Cameron didn't kill Riley, Derek, even though I know her programming was telling her to. She didn't kill her, she overrode her killer programming."
Derek suddenly became quiet and took a swig from his beer bottle. He didn't want to be reminded of that again.
"Sarah has told me about Riley," Charley stated, "I'm sorry that you had to lose her like that."
"Part of it is my fault," John said and sighed. "I knew Cameron was desperate for my attention and very jealous of Riley. I also knew how terrified Riley was of Cameron. But I behaved like an asshole, enjoying the feeling that two pretty girls were competing for me. I didn't realize I was playing with Riley's life. That was stupid of me and in the end, Riley paid with her life for my stupidity. Because she became so frightened of Cameron that she panicked and confronted Jesse - who then killed her in a fight."
Derek looked at him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"We were both idiots, John," he said. "And we both paid dearly for it. Sarah was also behaving idiotic with her solo stunts. In hindsight, it's almost as if the only one not being an idiot all the time was Cameron."
"When exactly did you fall in love with Cameron?" Charley asked. "Was it already too late when I took you aside and tried to warn you of her?"
"Yeah, much too late, Charley," John replied with a forced smile. "You were right back then, but I refused to admit it."
The terrace door was opened, and Sarah entered the front porch.
"Are you guys having a man talk?" she asked.
"Just talking, mom," John explained. "Filling Charley in and stuff."
His mother smiled.
"It's nice to see you three together that way. Makes me think this whole mess could actually end well after all."
"Maybe there's still hope," John replied, "even for people like us."
"Hope never dies," Charley agreed.
"Only because man hasn't found a way to kill it yet," Derek said and raised his bottle. "Cheers."
He drank the rest of the beer from his bottle in one go while getting some odd looks for his pessimism. Sarah frowned at him.
"Talking about hope, Derek Reese," she stated in a stern voice. "If you hope to stay here with us in this house, you better keep your private stuff out of reach of our two very curious cyborg girls."
Derek frowned at her.
"What do you mean?"
Sarah held out a DVD, marked with the letters "XXX". Derek flinched. John grinned and looked at Charley who grinned back at him.
"I found this crap on top of the DVD player," Sarah said, slapping the disc over his head. "Next time I find something like that lying around here, I'll burn it. Understood?"
Derek turned red, took the disc and quickly shoved it into the pocket of his jacket.
"I asked if you understood?" Sarah replied a little louder.
"Yes, ma'am," Derek responded meekly with a hint of spite in his voice, avoiding looking at her.
Before Sarah could say more, Alison entered the porch, followed by Cameron.
"What's up?" she asked. "Is there a secret meeting out here?"
"I just made it clear to Derek that he too is responsible for upholding morality and decency in this House and that he should not leave his filth lying around everywhere," Sarah replied.
"Yes, I've also tried to tell him several times that we have a laundry basket for dirty laundry," Cameron said. "But he wouldn't listen, so I had to take action."
"YOU THREW MY CLOTHES INTO THE DAMN TRASH CAN!" Derek shouted.
"So?" Alison asked. "Seems like you knew where to look for them. Why do you complain?"
"I was talking about his smut DVD's," Sarah clarified before Derek could utter another furious reply.
"Oh…" Alison said and looked at Cameron. "Yes, we discussed that, and we agree that it was inappropriate to tell you that John and I were having sex and that he was taking me from behind. I wish to apologize for that."
Sarah frowned, trying to find irony or sarcasm in Alison's words but realized that she was just plain honest, like always. Meanwhile, John, Derek and Charley sniggered but stopped immediately when Sarah looked at them sternly. Then she sighed in resignation.
"Whatever… apology accepted. But please keep your private matters behind closed doors from now on, okay? You're already loud enough, nobody wants to hear any details."
"Yes, Sarah," Alison and Cameron replied in unison.
"Yes, mom," John said.
Charley couldn't control himself any longer and began to chuckle, then to laugh, louder and louder. John had to laugh along and then Derek joined in as well. Finally, Sarah also had no choice but to laugh out loudly and heartily. It immediately loosened the tension among them.
Cameron and Alison just looked at each other in bewilderment as if to say, "these weird humans.".
"You're really delightful," Charley said as he calmed down and dried the tears he'd laughed himself to. "I don't even know the last time I laughed so much. Maybe it's not such a bad idea after all to spend more time with you."
"You know you're always welcome here," John declared and smiled warmly at him.
"I know, Johnny, I know."
"So," Sarah said and looked at the girls, "have you two updated each other about everything that happened today?"
"Yes," Cameron replied. "Our knowledge levels are identical again."
"Good," Derek stated and stood up. "Who wants another beer?"
"… and then Cameron said: 'It doesn't, but next summer we're going to have to repaint.'"
Everyone laughed at John's anecdote, only Cameron and Alison didn't. They all still sat outside on the porch and watched the sun starting to set over the ocean in the distance.
"I was still suffering from the side-effects of the car bomb back then," Alison said in defense.
"And it was a correct calculation," Cameron added. "As you have probably noticed, small cracks in the walls have begun to show up here and there."
Everyone laughed again. The afternoon had gone by quickly with everyone sharing quips and anecdotes. Sarah looked at Charley.
"Staying for dinner?"
"I'd like to check on Lauren before I can answer that," he replied.
Everyone went upstairs and gathered around the bed. Lauren was awake and welcomed them smiling.
"I heard laughter from downstairs. You guys having fun while I've been shot?"
She tried to chuckle but grimaced.
"You need to rest," Sarah said. "Charley says you can get up on Sunday. But not earlier."
"We will help you with everything," Alison added. "Bathroom, washing. You know, best friends and stuff."
Lauren smiled.
"I'm sorry I put you into this situation," she said. "He seemed to be asleep, then jumped up and surprised me. I couldn't prevent him from grabbing the gun as I was wearing those damn oven gloves."
"It's not your fault," John stated. "The only thing you have to worry about, is getting well again, okay?"
Lauren sighed.
"Okay. What about Sydney?"
"Leave her to me," Sarah said smiling. "After all, I'm having baby experience already."
She looked at John with a smile. He looked back at his mother and rolled his eyes.
Dinner was ordered in again, since nobody felt like preparing a meal after such an eventful day. Sitting at the dining room table, there was a lively discussion about what to do in the following week, leading up to the attack on Simdyne Cybernetics. Derek brought up Catherine Weaver's suggestion to go on a holiday trip, and everyone immediately liked it.
"We could drive north," John suggested. "Oregon or Washington. It's nice there at this time of the year."
"What about Portland?" Alison suggested.
"Why Portland?" John asked.
"It's more authentic. Maybe we could re-invent ourselves."
"Every place in the world is more authentic than L.A.," John said and chuckled.
"Still, sounds like a good idea," Sarah admitted. "What do you think, Derek?"
"Sure. Lots of forests, fishing in a lake... I'd like that for a change."
"Oregon it is then," Sarah said. "We're leaving on Monday. What about you, Charley? Care to join us?"
Everyone could see that he was tempted.
"It would be nice to have you back, Charley," John stated. "You know you can be part of the family, if you want to. Come with us on this trip, use it to make up your mind. And then you can make your final decision after we're back."
"Well, I've got some vacation left and collected a lot of overtime," Charley replied, "and there is no shortage of staff at the moment... Let me sleep on it, okay?"
-0-
It was just before midnight when John lay back and relaxed with a groan. They'd just had a lot of hot sex and he was sweating all over, closing his eyes, totally exhausted. Cameron and Alison cleaned his cock with their mouths and tongues. They had deliberately positioned themselves in a way he could clearly enjoy the view of their still glistening pussies.
"You're killing me," he said, breathing heavily, "I guess there's no question anymore about who's wearing out who first."
"We're willing to give you a break," Alison replied grinning as she lay down next to him.
"How generous of you," John said chuckling. "But in all honesty, at this rate, my dick will be too sore for anything within a matter of days."
"Then we'll have to lubricate ourselves more."
"You can do that?"
"Of course."
"Why was I even asking?"
"We went on the internet," Cameron said, gave John's cock one more slurp and then lay down next to him as well.
"And…?"
"We've found the ideal place for our holidays," Alison replied and kissed him softly
"You have?"
"Yes," she said, "a forest resort with separate cottages and cabins. Located at a lake with a private shore section. Also, each cabin has a sauna and an outdoor jacuzzi. Between the different cabins there is a densely overgrown forest, so privacy is taken care of. Food is being delivered on request, so we don't have to go to the restaurant if we don't want to."
"That sounds suspiciously like a love nest. Not sure if mom would like that."
"It depends on what you make of it," Cameron said grinning and nibbled at his earlobe. "We three will share one cabin. Derek, Lauren and baby Sydney can have another one, and your mom and Charley can have a third one for themselves."
"Sounds great, but isn't it too late for booking already? Summer break is just around the corner."
While the girls alternated in kissing and licking his face, John started playing with their pussies, resulting in an immediate lubrication.
"It's not too late, John," Cameron said and moaned.
"Not if you're a cyborg and know how to hack into their computer," Alison added, moaning as well.
Both were pushing their pelvises into his hand. John hesitated and frowned.
"Don't tell me you've booked already," he said with suspicion in his voice.
"With a discount because of eight persons," Alison stated proudly.
"What? Are you serious?" John exclaimed and sat upright. "Mom won't like that, she doesn't like being confronted with a fait accompli."
"So, what?" Alison asked. "What's the worst that could happen?"
"Exactly," Cameron added. "She'll be pissed for a day or two, and then everything will be fine again."
John let himself fall on his back again and sighed.
"I hope you know what you're doing," he said, "because I'm going to keep my distance when you tell her."
-0-0-0-
Author's notes:
- Charley's back, yay! :-) It was such a waste to simply let his character disappear, only to bring him back for one episode and kill him off. Who writes such cruel scripts?
- A lot of character deepening in this chapter. It's not enough that everyone suddenly likes each other, it also has to be logically comprehensible. The path is now prepared.
- Leave your opinions and reviews. Every single one is appreciated.