Thanks to Nyrki, DarkKnight, Olischulu for taking the time to read my story. I try to keep it interesting and varied, whilst at the same time thinking about Summer Glau's POV on a story like this.
Thomas from 2040 continues his explanation to John, Cameron & Allison.
"You seem to be quite knowledgeable about events in the future, why is that Thomas?" says John.
Thomas replies "This answer is quite lengthy but I will cut it short and leave out the history and technology.
One thing that Skynet does not possess is humanity, it will never think the way we do. Not even Cameron will ever grasp completely the unpredictability of humans, their constantly changing brain chemistry due to their environment, what they eat, drugs, etc etc. and why it is that adult humans know how to deal with unexpected remarks which is beyond the comprehension of children.
Skynet continued to make and program an artificial intelligent cyborg, after the theft of their development in 2024. They still went ahead and built another one, believing at that time that the other one was either destroyed or never used. The replacement cyborg thought for itself, resisted Skynet and joined John Connor in his time and was amazingly named Cameron Philipps but did not look like her, it looked like another of our resistance members and stayed with John Connor until she was destroyed in 2030 - she was modelled on a girl name Joanne.
In 2039 I was captured by the re-emerged Skynet, it improved my body's strength and regenerative processes and attached a chip like Cameron's but much smaller, compressed and attached to the main nervous system of my brain in key places, thus affecting everything I did. This chip is more advanced than Cameron's as it stores all of my brain processes too and could rebuild my brain if it was damaged by something like a bullet. In fact the wiring from my chip can be regrown in to my brain too.
Like Cameron, I fought against Skynet's will. This time it planned for my fightback or resistance to their base code but I fooled it and adjusted all of my responses to whatever it wanted from me, even committing murder of varying age groups. I had no choice because I was one of a kind and I knew that eventually I would be released from their complex to do their assumed bidding.
Once I was released, I was able to work for the benefit of mankind in the hope that my wrongs could be somehow compensated.
I joined General Connor but it was soon realised our fight against Skynet was not going our way as time really does tell. Especially when we did not have enough replacements for all the key things like healthy food and weapons.
John sent me back here in 2040 and I searched for an alliance, that alliance being Catherine Weaver.
I believe I have told you all you need to know for now John, I am essentially human".
Cameron adds "and your body is like Sarah's".
Cameron attempts to 'rat' him but is not successful.
Catherine is intrigued because she never envisaged this type of communication would be used by the cyborg and now realises that Thomas's ears are only hyper-sensitive but unable to receive 'rat' frequency.
Catherine has a few final things to say "John, now that we have met, I would like to stay in contact with you. I have given my phone number to Cameron and I would like to arrange a further meeting very soon. In the meantime, if you have any problems with anything, please let Thomas or myself know & we will help you".
"Is that correct Cameron?" says John. "Yes, she ratted her contact details to me".
John then says, "look, if you are constantly going to talk that way, I am going to get annoyed. Please stop it, in our culture it is considered rude to whisper or talk in a foreign language".
Thomas says "we can fix that for you too John" as he smiles, then says "in fact, my next task for self improvement" - he knew what 'ratted' meant by sheer deduction.
"Oh OK, I will leave it for now but we can talk about it next time we meet. I have friends and relations to get back to, bad timing unfortunately. Ms Weaver and Mr Reese? It has been more than intriguing to meet you, daunting and bad news I agree".
John goes over and shakes hands with Thomas and offers his hand to Catherine but she just smiles and stays where she stands and says "I will watch events".
Come on Ally & Cam, I believe we should go now".
On the way back to Jenny's house, John is intrigued to know what Allison meant by 'no way', so he asks her.
"Ally, do you want to tell me why you said 'no way' at Helena?"
Allison replies "John, I'm not sure what this means but if what Thomas refers to is my own Aunt, then we are kinda related".
Cameron says "If it is true, then it means you are related through your great nephew Thomas, that is all. Your law allows you to have sex and get married".
John looks over his shoulder at Allison and they smile, then looks at Cameron and says "Cam, for us there is still a problem, we don't have a law that allows cyborg/human/human 3 way unions.
And what's more, you are too close to the point, perhaps you should have replaced your last words 'have sex' with 'make love' or er... 'get intimate' because it sounds nicer ". He looks at Allison and Cameron alternating.
Cameron says "I will remember that, it is nicer for Allison and yourself to hear".
Allison in the back seat says "Yes Cam" (looks right) and says "John, you must change the law when you defeat Skynet in the future. Finally (looks left) she says "Also, Cam, you can call me Ally when we are alone like this, I would like that".
"Yes" they both say with a smile, knowing that a smile means a lot at the correct time.
Cameron says "I do not know if it is possible to analyse Thomas's DNA, so it is possible that you can not verify your genetic link without finding some kind of evidence another way. I will ask Thomas next time we meet".
When they get back to Jenny's house it is late and they have a quick chat before retiring for the night, leaving the twins to do their thing.
Sonia thinks that now is a good time to tell Cameron who Derek's girlfriend is.
The following morning everybody has a good time chatting but John is more interested in taking Jenny to one side and asks her if she would like to meet with Catherine Weaver & Thomas Reese Zeira Corp.
He also discussed the USAF liaisons and Sarah recommends to Jenny that she stay in touch, which she will.
Later, Sarah phones home to inform Derek that they are on their way.
When they get there the house is locked up and it is assumed by the twins that Jesse did not want to be there.
The usual routine takes place in preparation for the next day back at school. Ally/John share tonight.
Cameron does outside patrolling but has arranged to change places with Sonia at 2am
Sarah hears the door open and comes downstairs to see the shift change and stays up a while to find out if anything new has been discovered over the internet.
Sonia shares her information about the work of 'Flt Lt, Trevor Howard, USAF Inv. Dept., and his father's higher ranking status'.
Sarah says "now that things have changed, having had contact from Thomas and Catherine, I will contact Trevor at the USAF and try to 'work on him' tomorrow. I will phone Jenny and ask her to do the same, if she feels up to it. Perhaps she will need some help with her babysitting/teaching. We can't leave Connie there all the time - she needs more contact with us and the children can not be left with anybody that does not know their past - they are valuable to us".
Cameron also tells Sarah that Connie has fallen for Ricci.
Back at school, the students have seen the pictures of the Connor group in the newspapers and internet. In the corridor inside, they have pinned the pictures on the notice board for all to see. It is obvious that Sonia is not Sofia, which they all think is funny and she gets lots of attention again.
Very soon some guys mention the hottie in the Light mauve dress, followed by the olive green dress. Whereas conversely, the girls mention John and ask about the Mexican guy.
Suddenly some anxious jealousy creeps in as some girls try to wiggle in closer to John, pushing Cameron & Allison slightly apart. Cameron knows not to be rough and quickly processes that her John will remain 'her John' but she is quite intrigued by her jealousy and allows it to develop with 'blocks' to avoid irrational behaviour.
She wants to know how other girls, like Allison might feel - a not wholly unpleasant feeling, as she knows it is a natural reaction. She also wonders why jealousy has entered her emotional software in the first place and connects it to Skynet infiltration software. Something worth a little rat-a-tat later!
"Your mother! you're joking, that is one hell of a cougar, can I have her phone number" is one line that John hears. There is a lot of interest in Conny and similar words are spoken. One guy keeps a straight face and says to John "does she have a boyfriend, if not, does she need your permission to date guys like me? I will take her out!"
John replies "I give you permission to try but 911 will probably be sending an ambulance round to pick you up afterwards".
During the break, new students come up and the whole process is repeated again with new dialogues like "I think she is your girlfriend, not your mom" & "do you think I might stand a chance John?" & "John, next time you go out, please take me with you(flashing eyelids), I will always be here waiting for your invitation"(smile).
There is one lesson that stands out today, it is the cringeworthy sex relationship education, taken by a man: Mr Jackson.
They all have their books and diagrams and all the students that are in the final year attend in the assembley room. It is more of a school ending relationship education seminar.
Girls sit one side and boys the other.
"Can any of you lads tell me in front of the class that you have always treated the opposite sex courteously and patiently?"
Cameron stands up and says "Just recently, John has learnt to always be courteous and patient. I believe that most guys of our age find it difficult from the beginning but if they are real gentlemen they will realise this and face up to their inhibitions and peer pressures".
"Yes" says Allison, who stands up smiling.
Everybody stares and then the room is filled with rousy noise.
Mr Jackson is not the type to withstand rousiness and forcefully tells everybody to be quiet with the threat of the cooler.
"John Baum, Cameron and Allison seem to think you are the ideal guy. Do you agree with them?" says Mr Jackson
Students start again: "Yeah," "Yeah," "shut up or else" is heard as John stands up.
John thinks that now is the ideal time to be the General Connor that people tell them he is and speaks
"Everybody here, I want you to know that no matter what, I am your friend. There are those amongst us who want to be the leader of the pack, those who are happy to just stand by and try to fit in. (John purposefully looks from person to person trying not to be embarrassed). Personality, looks, appeal to the opposite sex. Those who do not do so well academically or at sports. We all have our role and there will be a time when all of those roles will be filled by you. It does not matter to me, you will always be my equal because as they say 'nobody is immune from disease, explosions, bullets, etc.'
If we have disagreements, I hope this will only be temporary.
You girls, please do not accept too little or think yourselves lesser mortals. Your role in life is not just mothering, child rearing, or many other things. I hope many of you will leave all that for quite a few years and do well for yourselves out there. Women were born just as brave as men and I hope one day you will prove it."
John looks at Sonia, then away and continues with his speech.
"Whoever you date, try to impress them but remember we all have failings, nobody can help that and one day your partner will find out about them. If they love you enough they will overlook them. So, keep your standards up and earn that respect.
Please bear this in mind and remember, even leaders of packs can not be ultimate leaders, they will always be lead by other leaders higher up.
Thank you all". John smiles then sits.
Silence then a quieter response, "wow", "that was nice", "i'm in love", "who is this guy, where did he come from?"
"Thank you Mr Baum, that was an impressive speech, I was only expecting a few words" Says Mr Jackson.
Lionel (brother of Lesley), says to Lesley "I want to come with you next time you visit Sonia's house, this guy is a guy worth knowing". She replies "If that is what you want, I'll ask Sonia".
Later in the afternoon when they arrive home, Allison decides it might be a good idea to visit Kacy instead of letting her 'stew' indoors.
"Come in" shouts Kacy.
When Allison finds Kacy, she is sitting on an armchair looking a little worse for wear. "Are you OK?" says Allison.
"I'm not sure, It feels a little painful beneath my stomach, I could be getting close to my time".
Allison agrees to get help and fetches John and Sarah. It looks like a trip to the hospital is necessary and Kacy says "John, I am glad you are coming, that is nice of you".
Cameron was upstairs with Sonia at the time, Cameron was using the hairdryer whilst Sonia showered. She heard noise outside but talking followed by tires on grit did not appear important to her as she trusted John to stay in contact with her if something happens.
In the hospital John sits outside whilst the ladies sit with Kacy at her birth. Occasionally Allison comes out to let him know what is happening. John gets a phone call from Cameron who wants to know where he is - he tells her and amazingly she tells him off "John, you know I must be with you at all times, what made you leave me here?"
John says "Sorry Cam, the heat of the moment made me forget. It is unforgivable of me and I realise I must not do things like this. Sorry Cam, one of my human failings. I need you Cam, please come to the hospital where Sarah was taken, 'maternity ward'. Kacy wants me here".
"Why John?"
"Er, I am not quite sure, probably because I am male. See you soon".
As school is the next day, the teens need to leave at 9pm. Kacy is sorry but 'that's life'. Sarah stays behind and they all go home in John's jeep.
At home in bed, a little inquisition takes place, for which John does not know the answer.
"I suggest you ask Allison or Kacy when you see them Cam, I went because Kacy asked for me. It could be a joke or it could be that male company is sometimes important to a woman? Anyway, her Trevor should be there by now".
"OK John, I understand". 'Hmnn' thinks John, 'is this end of the 'thank you for explaining'?'
Tuesday 13 Jan.
The next day at school, it has been announced that further singing/dancing/acting will take place after school. Riley has found John in the corridor after missing a day and says she will have another go at dancing tonight.
"Are you sure that is a wise Decision?" "Yes, I have got the necessary wraps and they should not bounce around any more" she says.
John says "why is it assumed that my thoughts are always on those things? I never talk about them?"
Riley says "so, one of the things that we girls use to attract guys like you never enter your thoughts?"
John says "Well, not exactly but..." "you don't like mine? You haven't even seen them yet." replies Riley.
Cameron's class in the science lab over-ran but now she is walking down the corridor towards John.
Riley is facing that way so she sees her and says "if you ever had a girlfriend, would the size of her breasts matter?"
Cameron heard that but instead of speaking, she listens to John's response.
He does not want to appear rude.
"No Riley, large breasts are fine but we must stop this talk now".
Cunningly Riley says "now that you know what they are like, I will see you at dance practice tonight. BYE".
She walks off smiling just as Cameron says, slightly loudly "JOHN, I HEARD THAT. ARE YOU STARING AT HER BREASTS?"
"No".
"DID SHE SHOW THEM TO YOU?"
"no".
Controlled jealousy coupled with lots of processing takes place & Cameron decides that John is probably telling the truth but she has decided not to tell him this.
That evening, dance/acting/singing practice takes place and John is compelled to wait in the corridor.
There are not any more mammary problems and Riley's long survivalist legs dance very well, which pleases her no end, much to the disappointment of Cameron.
John phones his mom and asks about Kacy and anything else that she might like to report.
"Kacy had a boy, it is fine and she is staying in overnight. She has asked you to come and visit her, along with the girls. I think she feels that we are part of her family. She does have parents and they will see her tomorrow".
The door to the gym is closed and the music loud - Cameron can not hear him speak.
"That's good mom, Cameron wants to know why Kacy wants me to see her. I find it difficult to explain this to her".
Sarah smiles and says "let's just say that it is a kind of prestige thing. You know, a younger boy interested in an older woman's welfare. She is not that old but she is not that young either. It is only her pride, not really connected to fancying the pants off of you but that being said... OK John, understand now?"
"Yeesssss OK, I still think that will be hard to explain. Does that makes me a bad leader?" says John jokingly.
Sarah says "See you later Mommy's boy - other Mommy's boy that is. Bye"
"Bye".
On the way to the hospital, with Sonia, Lesley, Lionel, Cameron in his jeep, along with Riley who said she loves babies. John is feeling a little awkward with Cameron. He hopes she is toying with his emotions and is not seriously jealous or insecure.
In the ward, Kacy is amazed by the number of teenagers at the bedside. "sshhhh, sleeping".
The girls take it in turns to look at the baby and the twins try very hard to emphasise but it is difficult.
After a while the baby is awake. The unusual words spoken like "who is a cute little boy then" for which it is obvious that a response will not be received.
Kacy is not bothered about revealing all and to the pleasure of Lionel, the baby is soon having a little meal.
Sarah, Allison, Riley & Lesley have great pleasure out of watching Cameron watching John, who in turn is trying not to watch anybody which is made worse when Lionel says to John "were you breast fed John? I was!"
Laughing and sshhhh take place.
"Why the hell does everybody think I am embarrassed about breasts? Cameron, I will talk to you later. The rest of you, I will deal with you all too, I do not have a problem with them, it is all in your silly minds. Come on guys, you know I am no different from the rest of you, I would prefer to keep my ladies assets 'in there', not 'out there', that is all" Says John as he points at Cameron's chest and then at the window, with a smile to show he is not mad.
He continues "Kacy, keep up the good work, your assets are a sight to behold for any man, and I am sure the same goes for the rest of you girls" he says as he looks at Riley.
Finally John says "I am surprised we have not heard from Catherine or Thomas". Then looks at Lionel and says "are you sporty like your sister?"
Lionel says "yes John and by the way Sarah (as he turns his head), John made a speech today to everybody in our year group, which is 3 classes. It was quite impressive, considering it was not scripted, I thought he was president Bush for one moment. Mind you, Bush has his speeches written for him".
The others concur as they look at Sarah who seems pretty proud to hear that.
John says to his mom "Can you come outside a moment, there is a small thing that I thought I should do".
"Sure John".
Outside John says "mom, if what Thomas says is impending, we need as much help as possible. I suggest we use people we know and trust to become better people and be with us all the way. I am going to see if Lionel is one such person, sometimes it helps to talk. Do you concur?"
Sarah replies "I think so, always worth a try but the more people we have the more exposed we are".
John says "yes, I have thought of that too and I believe we should think about our exposure a little more and ask for Catherine's help. I think it is a matter of time before someone out there, Kaliba, law enforcement, FBI etc latch on to our existence and the resultant outcome could be serious".
Of course Cameron & Sonia heard their conversation but John would realise this and the need for their presence is not necessary so they stay in the room with Kacy.
Back home, there is homework to do and Lionel offers to help Allison. She looks at him and smiles then says "OK, but you must promise not to be surprised because my standard is much lower than others. I have missed lots of school".
John asks Cameron for a phone number then gives Catherine & Thomas a call and arranges for a meeting at the weekend, expressing his fears about his little band of resistance fighters.
After that, John asks Sarah to phone Jenny, so that he can give her the lowdown.
Jenny says "Tuesday 13 January. Sarah how are things there - I am sitting in the bedroom with the children lying on the bed listening to them giving me answers to arithmetic - they are quite good".
"Hello Jenny, that is nice to hear. Always nice to talk to you, I hope you are well. You can let them know I am pleased with their homework, perhaps I will see them again soon. No doubt they will be expecting something exciting to happen but definitely not a theatre, meal and dance".
Jenny quickly passes on the message as he hears some noises in the background, then John says "future John would be quite jealous to know I am talking to you again - is that possible" he says in a smiling voice.
Jenny replies "The outing on Saturday was a fantastic night out, we should do it again next year, if we can" .
John's reply is "Too right. Jenny, as you probably guessed, I am looking for alliances and trying to make us all safer in the future, whatever it holds".
"Go ahead, tell me".
"OK Jenny, "We have put a hell of a lot on your shoulders. I want to help you, that is one of the reasons why I have called you. I need to tell you the story about my conversation with Catherine Weaver, plus other things".
"I'm listening".
"you probably already know that those USAF guys could be useful to us. Do you think you could contact him and show him your good side. I'm sure he will be impressed by your skills, not Skynet related of course. Butter him up with your story about adopting the responsibility for the children and how generous you are. Get him completely on your side.
Mom, Sarah to you, will be more than willing to use her awesome seductive skills to do the same job on his son, won't you mom?"
Jenny hears "yes John".
John continues "One other thing Jenny, I want to arrange a meeting this weekend with Catherine at the AI company, she has some awesome news for you. Admittedly not nice but you above any other living person will totally understand everything she has to tell you. Do you agree to come along?"
"If only because I am intrigued but I am always nervous about leaving the children and Connie and of course Ricci at home".
John says "perhaps Catherine has a creche or something, I will ask her, our locations are too distant, we need to talk about things like that. I will contact you soon Jenny, be safe and I apologise for bringing all this down on you".
Jenny says "well, I must admit it went from hardly anything to a hell of a lot but it is all in the mind and we must handle things accordingly without stressing. I'll wait for your call".
"Thank you Jenny, an admirable way to think. Within a day I will get back to you". click off the line.
John thinks about that last statement and will try to remember it as he gives the phone back to Sarah.
Cameron is on the computer, whilst Sonia is outside, having got the terminator rifle out of the house unseen by Lionel, until such time that John is satisfied Lionel is reliable. She left Lesley in her bedroom doing homework and made her promise to stay there and she will reward her later.
John stands next to Cameron, puts his hand on her shoulder and says "I am going to arrange a meeting with Mrs Weaver this weekend, if I can. I need to try and build some kind of safe place for everybody, we are all too exposed if what Thomas tells us is true".
Cameron says "you are right John, people bring danger but if the odds are high, we need need them all. Thomas might have some additional advice for us".
Cameron phones Catherine and hands her phone to John.
"Hello, John Connor here. Firstly we are working on some USAF guys to try and gain their confidence. Also we are looking for a few people that we can trust who will join us. My main concern is their safety. We are too exposed in our current locations and wondered if you had any solutions in mind. For this reason we would like to speak to you this weekend and bring with us a person that knows all about TDE and the entire workings behind it. Correction, we now have 2." as John looks at Cameron. (he forgot that memory was copied to Sonia too).
"That is fine by me John but you must only bring a few totally trustworthy people with you. Who is the person trained in TDE technology? Is she Jennifer Beal?"
"You guessed it but she has two 2024 children in her care."
"They would presumably be Dean and Marta, is Contessa with them too?"
"You guessed that quick, I guess I really can't hide much from you" said John.
"You can bring the people you mention, the children too. I have a daughter who will look after them. You can also bring your cyborg companions and your mother if she is alive. Is there anybody else from the future that stays with you, Kyle or Derek Reese, Derek's resistance group or a few others?"
"Yes Derek is here but Kyle and the others are dead. My mother Sarah is alive, which I believe you already knew anyway".
"Yes I did. OK, Saturday 3pm but you must let me know when you are approaching, I will open up the rear underground car park for you". Immediately the phone goes dead.
"She is good at saying goodbye isn't she?" John says to Cameron.
"John, there is something you need to know. She is not human". Cameron does not tell him the whole truth.
"I thought she was a little strange, the cyborg population seems to be growing".
Finally Cameron says "Sonia has agreed to come back in at 10pm to keep Lesley company and I will take her place, so I will leave it up to you what you do. I believe Lionel will go home soon".
"Oh, OK, thank you Cameron". He fancies giving her a kiss and says "you are one girl that I could never be tired of, you are always a source of excitement to me. As you know Allison looks like you and I have to admit my mind wanders to and fro from you both when we make love. I know I am a little frank but what is the point in keeping quiet about something that you probably know anyway."
"John, I process many thoughts on our relationship and it is logical that if we share your touch that you will always make comparisons or think about the best things that we offer you. I do not mind, I brought her here to make your happy, just so long as I can make you happy and satisfy my own personal love for you.
At the moment I am satisfied and I don't want you to worry".
"I hope so" says John.
Sarah hears all this but everybody is beyond caring now. In fact, Sarah realises that John loves Cameron and Allison but Cameron does not have what Allison has because she is human, it is sad. She also thinks that Allison must surely feel very safe having Cameron around, a kind of comfort for all. Odd but it seems to work... so far!
9.55 & Allison has left the bedroom with Lionel. She has not even given his attention a second though, she only has thoughts for John as she knows Cameron will be outside soon and she wants to speak to her.
Lionel leaves the house and at 10pm exactly, Sonia comes inside, having watched Lionel pass her undetected.
Allison follows Cameron out the door and says "Before we part for the night Cameron, I wanted to know if you ever thought about me and John together - tonight for instance?"
Cameron says "I always think about it but as John physically sees it, our bodies were built identical and he probably can't tell the difference".
"Do you know that for certain, has he ever told you?"
"No, I do not ask because in this scenario I am like a woman in some stories that I read where they would rather not know the truth. If I asked him, he might lie and I would detect it, which would be worse".
Allison says "I like you Cameron, you make me feel much safer living with John, just like Sonia does. If you are ever outside and you want to come in and upstairs, I would not mind. I don't believe John considers our relationship as 'two stars' to boast about, like some guys would think. Without asking him, I believe he would be nice to the pair of us and be glad that he has us both.
That is my make-believe idea"
"OK, I will process what you say and see what my emotional responses do each time I run the scenario. I must go now" says Cameron who gives Allison a hug.
Allison has also noticed that 'thank you for explaining' seems to have left the cyborg vocabulary and says "gnite", turns and walks back indoors and sees Sarah standing in the kitchen area, smiling. She says to Allison, "good luck, I will make some luck for myself soon, if I am lucky".
Allison thinks 'the USAF guy, no doubt'.
Wed 14 Jan
At school, having had Lesley as a passenger in John's jeep again (again!)
Once past the 'concealed WMD' scanner guy, the girls automatically head for the ladies room, whereas the guys only go when it is extremely necessary! In many cases anyway.
Cameron detects sounds of sadness coming from a cubicle and realises that it is Leyla, (the afro caribbean girl), so she 'rats' Sonia, knowing she was her last interest.
Sonia is not too bothered about being late for first lesson, as she predicts 50% that they will probably be relocating soon.
She says "Leyla, you sound sad. Please come out and I will talk to you. I know you like me and you spoke to me on Monday, so we could be friends".
Slowly, the door opens and out she comes.
"People are being nasty to me because, because I am bigger than them. I show them how good I am at things like science, singing and I am great at domestic science. Cooking if you prefer it.
Yet, despite this they are not nice to me". Leyla composes herself at this point, same old thing, she is used to it.
Sonia says "From now on you should stay with me at school, I am not cruel and I will stop others from being cruel to you
I like your hair, I will tidy it up for you, then we can go to our lessons".
4 minutes later, the door opens in to the corridor and they head for separate classrooms.
When lunchtime comes, Sonia sits with Lesley and they chat about Leyla. The rest of John's group sit at another table to give them some privacy, for now.
Eventually Leyla turns up, not looking too happy.
Sonia says "you must tell me who has upset you and I will ask them to stop".
Leyla won't say anything.
Lesley says "please Leyla, it has got to stop, we can help you".
"It is Austin & Jimmy, they don't seem to want to be liked by anybody, they pick on people who they know will keep quiet".
Lesley looks at Sonia for a moment, who looks back, then she says "this must stop, can't you show them some of your retribution Sonia?"
Sonia thinks quickly, or at least processes quickly and comes up with a better idea that will not blow her cover.
She says "Derek has promised to be here tonight for our first self defence and tactical class. Leyla, you should join our class and I will ask Miss Lopez to inform Austin & Jimmy to be 2 of our offence attackers. She will agree when I tell her what they are doing, plus some last minute evidence which you must provide now.
Leyla, please go with Lesley and prepare to pull those guys in to your trap in the corridor and I will do the rest. When you hear us coming, get Austin to attack you somehow."
3 minutes later, Austin(little & large) & Jimmy, come down the corridor, as Sonia told them that Leyla has left a picture of them on the notice board.
Sonia has fetched Miss Lopez, having told her that Leyla is being picked on again.
Lesley says to the guys "I told Leyla how you got your name little&large". Leyla laughs her head off.
Austin shouts at her. Lesley pushes him on to Leyla who grabs him and pulls him down shouting "get off me, get off me" and immediately produces her crocodile tears and shows distress whilst holding on to his arms.
Sonia/Miss Lopez turn the corner. There it is, the bully on Leyla who is fearing for her safety.
Jimmy stands taught. Miss Lopez shouts at him and asks him what he is playing at.
Eventually Leyla gets up & continues crying.
Sonia says "Miss Lopez, we are having our self defence class tonight, instead of punishing these 2, can they join our class? We need people like them."
"Whadya mean, the cow pulled me on top of her".
Oh yes, an amorous advance I suppose" says Miss Lopez.
"That's a good idea", says Lesley, "don't you Leyla?"
"sniffle, yes"
Miss Lopez says "If you attend this class, I will review you afterwards. Your choice, visit the principal with a view to expulsion or go to the class tonight. Why the girls want you there I dread to think".
Leyla looks nervous but hopes Sonia will be good to her word.
That evening, Riley has joined this class too and John wonders whether even she could be a useful asset. "We need more guys" is his main thought when all of a sudden in walk Austin & Jimmy.
Derek welcomes everybody and gives them a little talk. There are 20 in the class but not any more guys because they were not invited.
Sonia has explained to John/Allison that this is the Austin that upset herself and Lesley.
He has a plan. He will appear to be a useless wimp.
After a while Derek asks John to attack Allison with a cardboard kitchen roll center. (playing safe).
Allison feins timid girl and tries to get away from John, making some wimpering noises.
"No, that's no good. I will show you all what to do" says Derek.
He tells everyone how to move then asks Lesley to put it in to practice with Jimmy, who ends up flat on the mat.
"OK, now Austin, attack Sonia, don't hold back".
He lunges. Sonia is careful not to hurt or kill him and tries in vain to fend him off. He laughs.
"Now you Leyla, do your best. Come on Austin, same as before".
Leyla does not do very well because she is frightened.
Derek says "Allison, you did not do very well last time, give it another go with Austin, perhaps you will do better this time".
Austin lunges, Allison flings him over and 'accidentally on purpose' sticks her knee in to his pelvis and says "sorry, I tripped".
Austin eventually gets up and says "again, you lucky cow".
He lunges forward, and Allison throws him over her head, does a backward feet over head, straddles his arms and chops both shoulders, then shouts
"next time pick on someone your own size. I'll be watching you and so will my friends. We can all do that when we feel like it, we had you fooled. Sonia's turn next, surely you can flatten Miss Dubois?"
"I'll leave it for now, John needs a bit of practice" says Austin who sits on a chair and watches with Jimmy.
"Right" said Derek, "John, do you think you can take on a killing machine like Cameron?" he says jokingly.
John replies "I'll give it a go but I will probably need a high power rifle" he smiles.
He faces Cameron on the mat, she stares back at him and smiles. He runs forward, lunges at her and she lets him shove her backwards on to the mat. He grabs her neck and starts shaking her as she shouts "Ahhh no, get off me". John stays and stares down at her smiling.
Allison whispers to her "Cameron, smile at him and then say "ooh that was great, do it again, I enjoyed that".
She does, then lifts her knees, digs her feet in the ground and raises her midriff quickly and throws John over her, holding on to his wrists to make sure he does not fly too far behind her head.
Everybody laughs.
Derek smiles and then gets on with the other students, using Jimmy only once after he could not take any more. Austin declines, so only John is available for the next 2 hours, under Derek's supervision.
Cameron offers to be a partner with Riley but trying not to look 'freaked out' she quickly partners another girl.
Sonia partners Lesley, of course.
John works it so that Leyla is able to floor him and he shouts "ahh, you're too good for me". When he gets up he has a chat with her after being told her circumstances by Lesley. He says to her
"Hello Leyla, I believe you should stay in these classes, we will try to coax you through".
"John, are you saying you let me throw you?" John replies "Of course, I wouldn't let a chic get the better of me, er... on purpose anyway but I have to admit the twins are pretty hard to get the better of". (in this sense, twins means Camison (FOR (my new abbrev: FOR=for obvious reasons)).
Afterwards Lesley goes home with Lionel, for change of clothese etc. Riley has to go straight home too, her stepmother Kay (or Kate?) 'on orders'.
Upon arriving home, followed by Derek, the door is locked again. A note on the kitchen table says 'gone jogging - will be going out on a hot date later, see you soon'.
The evening is fairly normal in the John Connor cyborg world.
Sarah comes home and dolls herself up, then goes out.
At 10.34pm John gets a call from Sarah "Wed 14 Jan. John, I won't be home tonight, everything is fine, I am staying with the USAF guy from the party - business".
"What?"
"Our type of business John".
"Oh I see, let me know where you are, it is important that we know, just in case he ties you up or something" says John jokingly but serious.
"Leadenhall airforce base and if he ties me up it will be voluntary. I hope you are not considering bringing your friends here to rescue me. If fact, if you do, I will be extremely annoyed, if you really must know!"
"Oh, sure Mom, sense of humour too. You have changed. You do your thing, you deserve it. Shame Cameron is not there, she could tell me all about it".
"Very funny, I'm your mom, I deserve privacy".
"Call me, bye". "Bye".
John says to Derek, with all the others listening "mom is doing her thing on the airforce guy. Let's hope Jenny does not waste too much time , this could be the biggest breakthrough we have had if they work their ladylike charms properly.
I bet you 2 twins could do a great job too, given the opportunity".
This time Sonia speaks after getting the GA from Cameron "Yes, we have our full infiltration capabilities John".
Cameron says to Derek "Derek, there is something you need to know, I have not told John but I knew Jesse in the future".
"You knew Jesse! Why have you waited all this time to tell me?"
"Because I did not know she was here until Sonia told me. I share most of her memories and Jesse did not know this when they met".
"Well, that is very nice. I need to go now".
Cameron speaks to John so that Derek can hear "John, I was at her courtmartial".
"Really, that sounds serious. What did she do that warranted that?" says John as Derek looks shocked.
"She disobeyed orders in 2027, which resulted in events that would affect the war against Skynet. Future John from my time, was transporting a LMT frozen in a storage box, to his base, in order to try and persuade it to Join him. Jesse also ditched the USS Jimmy Carter, our only remaining deep sea submarine capable of helping us in our fight. It was a serious court martial."
John says "That is big news, we need to meet this Jesse. Cam, what made future me think that he could persuade a LMT to join him?"
"Because it was like me, working independant from the control of Skynet".
John says to Derek "did you know anything about this?" "No, I never even heard about that nuclear sub sinking. I knew what she was but I never heard that one".
John replies "we need to speak to her but you must not tell her. When you can, get her to go out with you somewhere secluded and we will meet you. Find out if she is AWOL or something".
"OK John, I will contact you". John wonders whether Derek has too many feelings for Jesse and will warn her".
Derek goes out the door (it is quite late now). "Cameron, see if you can follow him, we need to know who our friends are" says John.
"Yes John" Says Cameron who immediately says to Sonia "use the computer to track his GPS & phone, in case I lose him". (not ratted this time).
Off Goes Cameron - She did lose him as he drove through various traffic lights but with Sonia's help she is informed that he has stopped.
Cameron parks down the road and watches, all night and all morning.
Eventually Derek phones John and tells him that they will arrive at the top of Leighton hill, where there is a car park and cafeteria overlooking nice views.
Cameron needs to know that Jesse will not leave her vehicle and runs up from behind and jumps in the back.
Then she says "Derek, please drive to your rendevous destination and wait for John".
Jesse knows this is it. She looks frightened and says "what do you want Cameron?"
Cameron says "you know what I want, if you are not from that time I will know".
Cameron puts her hand on the back of Jesse's neck and checks her out. The results show extreme stress.
"Please drive. Derek, take her phone".
At this, Jesse fights to keep her phone so Cameron intervenes and grabs it.
She looks at the speed dials but does not recognise the numbers, except that there is more than one, including Derek's. She will wait until they meet John.
Upon arriving at Leighton hill, they park and wait for John - he has Allison with him, he wants her to know everything.
They join Jesse in her vehicle.
There is no doubt that if Cameron was not there, Jesse would have opened the door and made a run for it but it is possible that Cameron might shoot her without asking questions, thus knowing her guilt because of her dash.
The first thing that happens is, Cameron gets out the vehicle and then calls the other speed dial number. Amazingly Riley answers.
She immitates Jesse's voice and says "Hello Riley, how are things progressing?"
"Riley says, I am having difficulty getting between John and Cameron, John is very hard to seduce. I don't think I can do it".
Cameron says, still mimicking "it is the only way, try again tonight, Derek told me that Cameron will be away tonight".
Riley replies "Alright, if you think it is necessary but I hate it because I like him and don't want to hurt him".
Cameron continues "It is necessary, I have told you why".
Finally Riley says "OK" and Cameron clicks off the cellphone.
Cameron gets back in Jesse's vehicle and plays back voice for voice the exact words of her conversation with Riley.
Jesse says "She's lying, she made it all up just to make me guilty of something".
The rest of the conversation verifies all that is portrayed in the TSCC flashback between Cameron conducting her tribunal on Jesse for what is portrayed as the orders of John Connor, although we can not be sure that in her reality John is actually alive, although it is likely that he is and gave Cameron more responsibilities.
John says "I understand you sunk a nuclear sub containing a LMT for which you was not supposed to make an enemy of. What possessed you to do it?"
"Cameron is lying, she made it all up" is Jesse's reply.
Derek says "Come on John, I don't remember any of this" for which John replies "let us find out what Riley's versions of Jesse's actions are".
John goes outside & phones Riley on his own phone and says "what's the code?" "Wednesday 14 Jan John, it's late, what's up?"
John says "I'm alone tomorrow, let's have some time together tomorrow evening, unless you want to come around now?"
"Really John? this time of night! I'll be right round, see you in 20 minutes".
Derek is asked to drive Jesse's car whilst she is transferred to John's jeep with Cameron and Allison.
Allison has not said much, just listened. Everyone is fairly quiet on the way home.
32 minutes later they arrive outside the driveway, so that Riley will not see them. John walks the rest of the distance and sees Riley's bike against the wall outside.
He says "hi, sorry I had to buy a few things" and smiles as they walk inside.
Only Sonia is there and she stays quiet as John says to her "Cameron & Allison have gone to the bowling alley, why don't you join them". "But". "That's an order Sonia, go and meet them, they will be pleased to meet you".
"Won't Cameron be upset John?" "No, why should she, I want to be alone with Riley tonight, I am young after all".
Sonia is not sure what to make of that and makes her mind up to stay outside and guard John, seeing that everybody else is not there. Her thoughts and emotions are completely torn over this prospect. She is extremely upset for Cameron and does not know what to do for the best. John gives her his jeep keys and she gets in and drives a short distance only to find Derek/Allison/Jesse and of course Cameron.
Indoors John starts the inquisition
Next time, Jenny is 'blown away' and wants l-Jenny to get 'hands on' experience ASAP but this will take a lot of persuading. She also believes Richard can make a valid contribution from an early age.
Some awful things happen as CW & TR begin their tracking. They also have an unusual ally, who came to be through unusual circumstances.
Sarah finds that it is possible to enjoy your job sometimes.
John has to be very firm with Cameron and asks Allison to help which is quite interesting. A new lodger joins them or not?
The team are enchanted by a munchkin.
Sonia likes Leyla and wants to see more of her, hoping that Lesley is 'game'.
What they don't expect is that the munchkin has a bigger friend.