Chapter 21 – First Day of School

Disclaimer: Don't own TSCC

Cold water is never how John wanted to wake up. Sleeping in an extra 20 minutes had cost him dearly. There was no hot water left. "Everybody else must have gotten up early and taken a shower," he thought. Hurrying to finish quickly, John scrubbed the bare minimum with soap to get clean, rinse off and give his hair a quick shampoo and rinse.

Drying himself furiously with a thick towel, John began to warm back up from his unpleasantly wet morning wakeup. He brushed his teeth, combed his air, applied deodorant and decided not to shave his barely present stubble. Tossing the towel into the laundry hamper, John noticed it was half full with damp towels. Cameron! How can a terminator use up all the hot water!

He pulled on fresh underwear, a pair of jeans, a clean t-shirt and looked for socks. Finding a pair, he slipped them on and then pulled on his Nikes, lacing them up in a hurry. He grabbed his backpack, slipped his laptop in and eased out of his room, gently closing the door behind him.

Sighing, John made his way down the stairs to eat breakfast. "Another school year starting at another new school," he thought. "I need to stay positive. This is for Cameron. At least it is my senior year and no more school after this year. Be nice, be positive, be happy for Cameron."

Halfway down the stairs, the smell of breakfast reached his nose. A Cameron cooked breakfast, not his mom's burned pancakes! The smell of eggs, bacon, hash browns and freshly cooked biscuits wafted through the air, drawing him to the kitchen where John could hear the sounds of bacon frying. He stood in the entrance to the kitchen and observed his family. Sarah was reading the front page and drinking coffee. She was wrapped in a robe, her hair still up in a ponytail from the night before. Derek, his hair looking like a rat's nest, was absorbed with the sports section, no doubt reading about the previous day's MLB games.

Cameron stood at the cooktop, finishing the last of the pancakes for the morning meal. She looked perfect dressed in her boots, a denim skirt that struck a balance between showing too much leg and covering just enough, and a form fitting purple top that showed her curves in a feminine way. Cameron had styled her hair, and while it was in her usual "down" style, it had more body to it than normal. She had changed her makeup slightly, doing something different with her eyes, creating the effect of making her brown eyes seem even larger. Her lips were shiny and looked very kissable.

John walked up behind Cameron and took in her strawberry scent. "No wonder there was no hot water this morning. You look nice. Is today a special occasion," John asked adding with a grin, "because if there isn't you nearly froze me to death this morning. No hot water." He slipped his hands on her waist and leaned in to kiss her on her cheek.

"You said that once John," Cameron replied flatly, not turning to face John as she began serving up breakfast on individual plates. "You know full well today is our first day at our new school. This is your senior year of high school. Mine as well. We need to make favorable impressions today. Change your shirt after breakfast and put on a belt. There is juice in the refrigerator."

Annoyed Cameron ignored his affectionate greeting, John opened the cabinet where the juice glasses were kept and pulled the orange juice container from the fridge. He poured himself a glass, returned the juice container and closed the fridge, making his way to the table, sitting down at his normal seat to pout.

Derek took a sip from his mug of coffee and grunted good morning. Sarah looked over the top of the newspaper and made eye contact with John, shaking her head from side-to-side.

"What? What did I do?"

Sarah lowered the newspaper and mouthed silently "Tin Miss is nervous. Be nice."

Cameron strode quickly to the table and set a plate of food in front of both Derek and Sarah. She returned and picked up bowls of fruit she had chopped up and gave one to each of the adults. Making a final trip she brought a bowl of fruit for herself, leaving John's plate and bowl on the counter. Sitting down, she began to eat her fruit, ignoring John.

For once John was able to stop the words of complaint from leaving his mouth. Thinking better of saying anything, John rose and retrieved his food. Returning to his seat, he paused to smell the food Cameron had cooked, making a show of it by lifting the plate to his nose and taking a deep sniff. Sitting down, he offered, "breakfast smells great Cameron."

She continued to ignore him as she took another bite of her fruit. Determined to move out of Cameron's doghouse as quickly as possible, he asked, "What shirt should I wear?"

"I am not your mother. Ask Sarah."

Now she'd done it. "Just what is wrong with what I have on anyhow? I normally dress like this to go to school?"

"If you have to ask, there is no point in my explaining to you John. Sarah, Derek, I am going to finish my fruit in my room. I hope you enjoy your breakfast." Without another word Cameron stood and left the kitchen, taking the stairs two at a time.

"Yep, gonna be a fun first day of school with that one. You stepped in it big time," Derek mumbled without looking up from the scores.

"John, you could have been a little more sensitive. Tin Miss made an effort to look very nice and cook all of us a nice breakfast."

"How Mom? I told her she looked nice."

"John, Cameron styled her hair differently, changed her makeup and is wearing a new top. It is the first day at a new school, a school the two of you are going to because of her. Yes, she wants to go, but she has also made her objections to the change known."

Sarah looked at her son's puzzled expression and sighed. How can men be so obtuse at times? "Look, to you, this is another school year at another school. To Cameron this is another school, which means she has to scout all the students and faculty. There are new dangers for you and as badly as she wants to take the dance classes, her first priority is still protecting you."

Seeing her son was still a bit confused, Sarah continued, "This is not like the last time the two of you started a new school together. You're not going as brother and sister. You're going as boyfriend and girlfriend. You know how insecure she is about other girls, especially blondes. She won't be running the infiltration program she used when she first met you. It takes up to much operating capacity when she has to protect you. You know how socially awkward Cameron is when she doesn't run her infiltration program. Have you considered Cameron might not want to embarrass herself? She might want to make a friend or two? This is new to her. She can't hide behind the fact she's your brother now. She has to compete for opportunities to dance in performances. On top of it all, Cameron has to protect you in a new school. All of this change while she's struggling with developing her free will and her control for emotion simulator no longer works. Cut Tin Miss some slack John. For you this is just a first day at another new school."

John looked down at his breakfast looking dejected. Derek sighed, folded up his sports page and laid it on the table. "John, go upstairs, put on a new shirt. My suggestion is one Tin Miss made you buy when ya'll went shopping for new clothes. Ask her if she likes it. She'll like that. Then tell her, again,she looks nice. Make a point to mention her hair and makeup changes. Then ask her to review the safety procedures for the day."

"Why? She's being unreasonable and moody for no reason."

Derek laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, but all things considered, you're getting off light." Picking up the sports page again, Derek looked at John, "You're the one who picked a terminator who somehow managed to develop free will and break her emotion simulator control. So now you have a moody teenage female terminator to deal with. Tin Miss is dealing with two sets of issues. A new school to her means everything it does to you along with all the new issues involved in protecting you."

Derek looked at his nephew as John tried to take in what he had just told him. "John, no man in the history of mankind has ever been able to figure out women. Ever. The best you can hope for is to be able to predict Cameron's behavior." Laughing he added, "You have one advantage regular men don't. Once Tin Miss is done being mad at you, she might explain to you why she was mad in a way you can understand. Most women won't." Sensing a final opportunity to needle John into a quick apology, Derek added, "of course at the rate she's developing her female side, that ship may have sailed. Go make nice. I want to enjoy my breakfast and some quiet."

John wolfed down his breakfast and then stood and slowly made his way to the stairs. A pronounced thud on each step marked his ascent to his room.

Sarah set her paper down and reached across the table, pulling down Derek's paper so she could see his face. "Thank you, Derek. I know that wasn't easy for you. John needs a man to help him deal with the females of the species."

Derek looked at Sarah, his expression neutral. Sarah knew he was conflicted. Pleased she recognized his helping John but still unhappy Cameron was a metal. Finally breaking Sarah's gaze by returning to his scores, Derek uncomfortably mumbled, "us men gotta stick together. Otherwise there'll be no peace around here."

"Bros before hoes now is it," Sarah said with a laugh. "Still, thanks."

"At least I didn't call Tin Miss a hoe. I'll give her that, she'll never cheat on John."

"No, Derek, Cameron never will."

Upstairs…

John looked at the clock in his room as he tucked in the new blue shirt Cameron had picked out for him. He ran his hand around his pants, making certain he had not missed any loops when he put on his belt. He had about five minutes to apologize before the two of them had to leave for school. Well, better swallow my pride and get this over with.

John knocked lightly twice on Cameron's door and opened it a few inches, peeking in to see Cameron sitting with her perfect posture on the edge of her bed. Her hands folded in her lap, her back straight, Cameron was looking down at the floor. She did not raise her gaze to look at John.

"May I come in?"

"Yes."

John walked in and quickly sat next to Cameron. She looked up at him with her blank terminator expression and waited for him to speak.

"I am sorry. I did not think. Derek says it's a man thing, we just see the world differently than women and so we do stupid things sometimes."

Cameron tilted her head back down and remained silent.

"You do look nice. I noticed you changed how you do your eyes. I was just teasing about the hot water, well not completely, but you know. You smell great too. Strawberries, love that smell."

John paused to see if his words were having the desire effect yet. Cameron showed no signs of changing her expression. More crow pie to eat I see.

"We're going to be late if we don't go soon. Wouldn't do to be late to school with my girlfriend on the first day. Might give people the wrong idea."

"Yes, we cannot have that," Cameron said looking up with a smile. Just as quickly she tilted her face down again, angling her eyes upwards to look at John. "Are you happy we do not have a cover story this year? That we are boyfriend and girlfriend?"

John reached around Cameron and hugged her. "Very."

Cameron quickly stood up. "We must not be late. I have planned for possible delays on our drive to campus. We must leave within two minutes to remain within the margin of error. We will review the safety protocols en route to school."

Pausing for a moment to look at John, she smiled and reached for his hand. "Thank you for changing shirts. I want all the bitch whore's to know I have a hot boyfriend."

The school parking lot…

"Do we need to review the safety protocols again?"

"No, I think I've got it Cameron."

"John, do I look nice?"

Remembering Derek's advice at breakfast, John smiled at Cameron. "I have the hottest girlfriend in the entire school. I'll have my hands full keeping the boys away from me this year!" Unable to resist getting a dig in at Cameron, John added, "of course, I am sure I will attract my share of hot blondes."

Cameron promptly took the bait. "I had better not see you encouraging a single one of them John Connor. I will not hesitate this time in dealing with another individual like Riley. The skank will get one warning and that is it. You are MY boyfriend."

John smiled at his pouting terminator. Leaning over as he cut the engine off, he kissed her on the cheek. "Promise me you will give them a warning."

"I promise. But you have to promise you will not encourage any female who shows an unacceptable level of interest in you."

Sensing Cameron was feeling a little insecure, John nodded as he opened the door and got out. "I promise. It works both ways you know? I don't want you flirting with any cute guys. Be nice, but do not encourage them."

Remembering a few unfortunate incidents in the past when aggressive males had taken their advances too far by placing their hands on Cameron John added, "No breaking bones if they start touching. You may slap them. No breaking skin. No unwarranted attention."

Cameron smiled briefly, pleased John was demonstrating some possessiveness towards her. "I promise, no broken bones or sprained joints so long as the perpetrator removes their hand quickly and does not persist. There will be no need for you to become involved physically to defend me."

Cameron slipped her hand into John's as the two entered the school building. Immediately she began scanning all of the students present, taking note of each individual student. John noticed a cute pair of blonde girls with a striking redhead with them walking in their direction. He smiled, waiting to see how Cameron would handle this first confrontation.

The trio approached, smiling as they looked John up and down like a piece of raw meat thrown to a wolf. The redhead smiled and spoke, "hi, you're new here. I'm Cindy, this is Joanna and this is Dawn."

Before John could reply, he felt Cameron move closer and slip her arm around his. Looking down he was surprised to see a broad smile on Cameron's face. She tilted her head so the temple of her head touched his shoulder as she spoke, "Hi! It is nice to meet you Cindy, Joanna, Dawn. I am Cameron. This is my boyfriend, John. We are both new." She suddenly stood on her toes and gave John a chaste kiss on the cheek. Standing flatfooted again, John felt Cameron tighten her grip on his arm, all the while still smiling. With a gentle tug on his arm, she propelled John in the direction of their first class.

Feeling proud of how well she had handled the situation John looked down to praise Cameron only to notice she was looking back at the trio of girls, glaring at them. The three were glaring back. Cameron upped the ante by assuming her Terminator Death Stare, unnerving the trio who quickly turned and looked the other way.

Cameron looked up at John and smiled at him. "Did my handling of the situation meet with your approval?"

He laughed and put his arm around her, pulling her close for a second. "Yes, you handled the situation much better than in the past." Looking down at Cameron again, John noticed her face was again blank except for a faint trace of a smile.

Lunchtime in the cafeteria…

Hurrying to meet Cameron for lunch, John milled in the crowd of students as the lunch shifts changed. Seeing Cameron waiting for him near the entrance to the food service line, he began politely pushing his way through the students. Movement from the pack of students caught his eye as three large males separated and approached Cameron. The leader of this trio had a wolfish expression on his face. The leering smile told John all anyone needed to know about the boy's intent.

Breaking free of the crowd John ran towards Cameron, slowing his approach as he neared. Cameron looked at the three boys as they formed a triangle around her. She looked at John and shook her head slightly, indicating she did not feel threatened and he was not to intervene.

John's male pride got the best of him and he cleared his throat, drawing the attention of the three large males. "Hey Cameron! Ready to eat lunch?"

The largest of the three, glared at John. "I was about to ask this pretty young lady to eat lunch with me and my friends. You shouldn't be a jerk and butt in like that."

"Yeah, well, Cameron's my girlfriend. She and I already had arrangements to meet each other to eat lunch together. So, if you will excuse us, we're going to do just that."

"What if I don't excuse you? You're new here, so you don't know how things work here. Like they say though, ignorance of the law ain't an excuse. I eat lunch with pretty girls of my choice. Today, Cameron here, is my choice." Smiling, the bully put his arm around Cameron's waist and patted her bottom.

"I don't know you, but I'm going to do you a favor and warn you. You need to take your hand off Cameron's butt or you're going to get hurt bad."

All three of the boys broke out in laughter. "Yeah, you and what army dude?"

John shrugged indifferently and nodded at Cameron. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Cameron pivoted on her left foot, swinging her body around to turn into the blow, she launched her right arm towards the leering bully's face, increasing the velocity of her hand. The impact was loud, sounding like the snap of a bullwhip. Staggering backwards from the blow, the bully was caught by his two friends. Cameron moved to John and again wrapped her arm around his. She pulled up her Terminator Death Glare and initiated a staring contest with the bully. "Nobody touches my ass except John," she declared. Humiliated, the three quickly retreated and left the lunchroom.

Surveying the now silent lunchroom, John noticed all of the teachers on lunch duty had pointedly turned their backs to them. Evidently this was not the first time the bully and his buddies had done this, but it was the first time the tables had been turned on them. Evidently the teachers saw no reason for Cameron to get in trouble.

"Did I hand the situation well John?"

Cameron's eyes were wide, each eyebrow raised slightly as she sought John's approval. Realizing Cameron felt slightly insecure about how she had handled this challenging and charged situation with a huge audience, John smiled and nodded. "Yes. No broken bones. You let me assert my claim to you. You only took physical action when he touched you inappropriately. He had that coming."

"I will intimidate the trio again after school. There can be no threat of retribution against you later when I am not present to protect you. That should be sufficient."

After waiting several minutes in line they both got pizza and found a place to sit with their backs against the wall, allowing a view of the exits and all the students and faculty present. Cameron placed her food on John's tray and began sipping from her juice carton. She scanned the students as they ate their food, talked and caught up with friends they had not seen over the course of the summer.

Cameron scooted closer to John, allowing her shoulder to come in contact with his. He felt her tense slightly. Following the line of her gaze, John saw the trio of girls led by the redhead Cindy staring at him. To be more exact, locked in a staring contest with Cameron.

"Cameron."

"Yes, John."

"It is not polite to stare in public."

"Tell those three skanks. I clearly staked my claim to you this morning. I will not tolerate further demonstrations of interest in you."

"Cameron."

"Yes."

"No hitting. No slapping. No physical contact or injuries. You may not employ booby traps or any device capable of causing injury. There is to be no yelling. No use of electronic devices of any kind. Do you understand?"

"Yes John."

Knowing the trio was watching, John put his arm around Cameron and reached for her chin with his other hand, turning her face towards his. He leaned in and kissed her on the mouth, holding the kiss longer than appropriate.

"Relax. I'm yours."

Cameron smiled with content, pleased John had demonstrated just whose boyfriend he was by kissing her. A quick glance at John showed his attention was again focused on his food, allowing Cameron a few seconds to give the trio, especially Cindy, one final Death Glare before finishing her juice.

Last period…

John strolled into his last period class and sat down. He watched as other students who knew each other came in and sat with their friends. ROTC. This could be interesting. Or not. He'd hack in and transfer out of the class if he did not like it after a week or so. The tardy bell rang and the door to the instructor's office opened. As the instructor entered, someone shouted "attention" and the students all jumped to their feet, coming to attention. Without even looking at the class the instructor said, "as you were."

John was thankful he was sitting in the back of the class and hoped he had not been noticed for his failure to act accordingly.

The large instructor stood before them in the parade rest stance, unlit cigar in his mouth. "Allow me to welcome you cadets. I am your new NCO for this school year. Major Anderson and I are both pleased you returned for your senior year. It is my responsibility to introduce you to new concepts concerning ground tactics against modern military land weapons." The instructor paused before continuing, "for those of you who do not know what I am referring to, that is military combat robots."

After Dance Class…

Cameron sat alone in the far corner of the locker room, wrapped in a large, thick white towel. She listened to the sounds of the other girls in the shower. Pieces of lumber and other construction materials lay about the shower area, leftover from remodeling during the summer. The workmen had yet to clear away the remaining leftover materials.

The instructor had been pleased with her efforts the first day and complimented her. Tomorrow she would have a written evaluation of what Cameron needed to focus on for the first semester. Cameron recognized most of the other girls were more graceful than her and had more skill but none of them had her strength or flexibility. John and Sarah had been so wonderful in letting her come to this school. How could she ever thank them.

"Hey you! New girl! I want you to see this."

Cameron recognized the voice as that of Cindy, the red headed competition for John. A faint smile crept on to her lips. No physical injuries, I promised John.

Looking directly at Cindy and her two friends, Cameron maintained her smile. With a sarcastic tone she said, "I believe I introduced myself earlier this morning. My name is not New Girl. It's Cameron. What would you like to show me, Cindy?"

Cindy, wrapped in a bright red towel, her hair wet from her shower, looked around the locker room, pleased the other dancers were all filing in to watch the show she planned to put on. Joanna and Dawn were similarly attired and just as wet. After the two period class, everyone but Cameron had been soaked in sweat.

Cindy nodded to her two partners in crime who promptly pulled out a piece of lumber from behind them. Cameron noticed it was a piece of 1x6 plank. Anticipating what was going to happen, she planned her response.

Joanna and Dawn each took one end of the plank and braced themselves, holding the piece of wood at waist height. Cindy stepped back and paused for a moment, focusing her concentration. Stepping forward she raised her right hand and brought it down with lightening speed, breaking the board in two. Smiling, she stepped closer to Cameron who remained seated.

"I have a black belt. Just thought I would let you know. I take what I want and I just might want John. Maybe, maybe not."

Cameron stood and walked to within inches of Cindy. Smiling she dropped her towel to the floor and struck a seductive pose. "In the past you might have, but not now." Cameron strolled seductively over to Joanna and took the broken piece of wood from her. Oozing sexuality, Cameron coyly looked at Cindy as she grasped the piece of wood with one hand at each end. Suddenly and without effort, Cameron snapped the board like it was a twig.

Placing the two pieces of wood on top of each other, she swung her hips as she walked over to an awestruck Cindy. Cameron stepped on her towel, clinched it with her toes and picked it up using her foot. Poking Cindy with the pieces of wood to force the red headed girl to take them from her, Cameron wrapped her towel around herself again. Looking Cindy in directly in the eyes, Cameron smiled at the shocked girl.

"You might know Karate, or Ju Jitsu, but I know Terminator. Take what you want I do not care. But John is mine. You are not woman enough to take him from me. Also, just to let you know, I am a better dancer than you." Cameron strolled towards the shower and stopped at its entrance. Turning back to look at the stunned group of dancers in her class, she could not resist herself.

"I have to freshen up. My man is waiting."

Outside…

Bored and ready to go home, John waited for Cameron outside. Hoping she would hurry up so they could stop for a snack and some alone time on their way home, he paced back and forth by the bench outside the exit. The door burst open and the trio of attractive girls who had approached him that morning walked quickly by him. Expecting them to stop and flirt with him, John was surprised when the girls only glanced at him and then sped up as they passed by on their way to the senior parking lot.

Only one thing can cause that kind of behavior. I hope Cameron has not done something too freaky to them.

Five minutes later Cameron emerged, looking just as fresh and pretty as she had in the morning. Seeing John waiting, she smiled and briskly walked over to him. Stopping to stand on her toes, she kissed John before slipping her arm around his. A quick scan of the parking lot revealed no threats, terminator, human female or otherwise. She gave John a gentle tug to let him know she wanted to leave.

"If we hurry, we can stop and have some ice cream. I have enough money. I want to tell you about dance class. The instructor had complimentary things to say to me. I know I am behind most of the girls, but I am stronger than all of them. I have greater flexibility as well."

Happy Cameron was so exuberant, for the second time that day, John heeded Derek's advice to try to predict, not understand, Cameron's female behavior. Letting her talk about her ballet class first before questioning her about the trio of terrified girls would probably be the best approach.

That night…

The tailored shirttail fell to just above her knees in front and back. When she turned to the side, the tail's curve exposed the sides of her thigh almost to mid-thigh. Cameron loved the way John's shirt made her look. She loved its smell, how its shoulders hung down to the middle of her slender upper arms. She loved how the rolled up sleeves made her forearms look. The shirt made her look appealing and she liked it.

Opening her door, Cameron listened for Sarah and Derek. The two adults had given her a rare night off from patrolling and Cameron intended to sneak into John's bed with him for some snuggling before he went to sleep. Quickly she moved across the hall and opened Johns door. Shutting it the door, she saw a sleepy John laying in his bed reading from one of the ROTC manuals he had gotten at school.

"You better not let Mom catch you in here."

"I had not planned on it," Cameron whispered.

John tossed the book at his backpack and quickly turned his reading light off. He moved over to create enough room for Cameron to lie next to him. She slipped under the covers next to John and snuggled as close to him as she could and rested her head on his shoulder. Cameron loved being close to John like this, being able to smell him, to touch his hair.

"Hey."

"Hello, John."

"You're looking sexy in my shirt. I suppose there is no possibility of my getting that back is there?"

"Thank you. I agree. I do look sexy in this shirt. No, there is no possibility of you getting it back. It, like you, belong to me now."

"Somebody's getting a little possessive."

"You do not mind. I saw the pleased look on your face when I dealt with Cindy and her cronies this morning."

"Yeah, speaking of Cindy and her buddies, would you explain the strange reaction they had after school when I ran into them?"

Cameron smiled and snuggled closer to John. "No bones were broken. There were no physical injuries of any kind. That is all I want to say."

Putting his arm around her, John settled in to get comfortable so he could go to sleep. He knew Cameron would leave and return to her room once he was asleep. Frowning, John decided he would listen to the school gossip tomorrow to see if he could find out what Cameron had done.

"Cameron."

"Yes, John?"

"Do you like our new school?"

"I like it very much."

"I'm glad."

"John?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for changing schools. I love you!"

"Love you too, Cameron."

Within minutes, John was asleep. Cameron timed his breathing and pulse, making sure he was sound asleep. Certain he would not wake up, she slipped from bed and made her way to the door. Listening carefully, the happy Terminator heard no sounds of Sarah or Derek and opened the door. Shutting it behind her, Cameron slipped into her room and quietly lay down on her bed.

Looking up at the ceiling as she lay on her back, Cameron did not bother to pull the covers completely over her legs. She pulled up files of her dance class and began reviewing for mistakes to correct, determined to improve each day. Cameron had an additional goal for her class. To make sure she was always better than the skank Cindy and her friends. After forty-five minutes her CPU placed her into standby mode and Cameron fell into Terminator sleep.

Walking quietly to her room to retrieve her boots, Sarah stopped and opened John's door. Peering in, she noted he was alone and asleep. Shutting the door Sarah stepped across the hall and noted Tin Miss was in her bed, dressed in one of John's few nice dress shirts as her nightgown. Her blanket only partially covered her legs. Like a cat, Sarah moved to Cameron's bed and pulled the blanket up to cover the Terminator as she lay asleep in standby mode.

Standing at the door to her room, Sarah looked back down the hall. It had been a good first day for John. He had been radiant while Cameron recounted in detail only a terminator was capable of her first day at the new school to her and Derek at dinner. Certain Cameron had left some interesting details out, particularly about the trio of girls who had greeted John, Sarah knew John would eventually tell her what Cameron had done to the girls later that day.

It had been a good day for the Connor/Reese family.