Hi guys,

Sorry about the awful delay. This chapter was originally meant to be one big chapter, but I've split it in two to save time, the next chapter should follow along a lot sooner than this one.

"Whatcha doooooin?"

John glanced behind him, twisting his body a little uncomfortably, his arms above his head, one hand on the other elbow, "Stretching. Going for a run."

"Oh." Amy nodded her understanding, hands clasped behind her back.

Once again glancing behind him, John looked at the mini metal curiously as she settled down on to the porch steps, her hair in pigtails as usual, her dress bright and sunny. "How's mom?"

Amy scrunched up her face as she rested her head on her hands, "Ugh, she told me to fuck off when I tried to drag her out of bed."

John couldn't help but chuckle as he leaned forward at the waist, stretching out to reach his toes, imagining Amy trying to literally drag Sarah out of bed. "Yeah, you'll get used to that. She's uh…difficult, when she's sick."

"Tell me about it," Amy grumbled her agreement. After a moment of watching John gently bounce to stretch out his hamstrings, she stood up and made her way beside him. Examining the movement, she mimicked him, bending over double and reaching out for her toes.

Twisting his head to the side, John couldn't say he wasn't confused, "Whatcha doooooin?" He asked with a grin.

"Duh…stretching!" She replied, her smile wide as she copied him by standing upright, holding her arms out bent in front of her and twisting herself to the left at the waist. "Besides, you look like you could use some company."

Quirking a brow, John twisted to the right, chuckling a little at Amy's ridiculously wide stance as she copied him, "What makes you say that?"

The little machine shrugged by way of reply, finding the movement decidedly awkward in her current posture, "You look…" she turned her head to examine him, looking him up and down a couple of times, "Well you look like you're in a half way decent mood. It's…weird."

"Wow, thanks Amy," John replied with a chuckle, "Am I usually so miserable that when I finally am happy, you decide to keep me company? What, you think I might go crazy and enjoy myself if I'm left unsupervised?"

Swinging an aimless, playful swat out behind her, hoping to make contact with his arm, a wry grin tugged at the corner of Amy's lips, "Something like that. In the future, you were pretty infamous for going waaay overboard when you were in a good mood."

"Yeah, I remember Derek telling me about my infamous thirtieth!" John laughed a little at the memory of his uncle telling him about it, imagining his future self drinking alcohol that could no doubt pass for petrol if left to ferment long enough. "No, I'm good. I'm actually happy."

Amy let her arms drop and glanced over her shoulder at him, "I dunno why. Everybody around here's been miserable for a week."

"Yeah, it is a little weird that isn't it?" Rolling his head around in circles to stretch out his neck, John reached out and gave Amy's sleeve a tug to get her to watch and copy him. Why, he didn't know, but if she wanted to copy him, he may as well help her out. "How come Jessica managed to infect everybody besides me, and then she somehow recovers in like a day. How is that even possible?"

Amy shrugged as she turned to face him, mimicking his move and rolling her head a little more vigorously than she should have, making John wince a little watching her. "I dunno, but it is soooo funny that she kicked Derek out of her apartment in case he re-infected her."

"Yeah," John answered with a laugh, "To be fair though, she did have a big fashion shoot to go to somewhere this week. Derek and his constant snorting and sneezing would've kinda ruined the mood for her."

"She managed to infect everyone and keep them that way for a week," Amy added with a smile. "To be honest, I'm surprised Cameron hasn't declared her a biohazard and quarantined you!"

Amy was laughing, but her statement made John falter mid step. That was the one thing that was bothering him about his life the past week. He was pretty sure Cameron was acting a little…strangely. Both Sarah and Derek had noticed it and commented, especially Derek, but it seemed like the change was more subtle to John. In fact, he had a feeling that if it hadn't been pointed out to him, he'd never have noticed a difference.

"What? What's wrong?" Amy asked, her voice laced with concern as she sidled up behind a stationary John.

"You know what, I'm surprised she hasn't already done that based on her current mood." With that he carried on his path and placed his hands on the small wooden fence on the porch, pushing against it to stretch out his calf.

Once again copying him, Amy looked downright ridiculous stretching her non existent calves in a dress. Feigning ignorance, she looked up at him with a tilt of her head, "What do you mean?"

"Has Cameron seemed…off, to you?" John looked down at this little friend, hoping beyond hope he was wrong about his girlfriend, that it was just everybody choosing that week to pick on her or something.

"Off? Off how?" Amy asked, looking at the fence in front of her, trying to keep the knowing smile off her face.

Of course she knew what was bothering Cameron. The same things used to affect her in the future she came from. However Amy was content to let the young couple, particularly Cameron, work it out for themselves. After all, she had a feeling neither of them would really like the solution, so why bother telling them, she reasoned.

"I dunno," John answered honestly, switching legs, "She's just been more…twitchy, lately."

He looked over to her, hoping she'd understand. He really couldn't think of a better word to describe it, and based on what he'd been told by his family, Cameron had certainly been easier to provoke over the last week. Of course he hadn't believed his uncle when he'd told him that Cameron had yelled in his face when he'd raided her stash of pop tarts looking for junk comfort food. But when Sarah had informed him that she'd even slammed a couple of doors on her way out of the house, he started to worry about her.

He'd asked her of course if she was alright, and of course she'd vehemently insisted everything was fine. Invariably the discussion had turned into a rather steamy encounter…literally, the bathroom walls were dripping with condensation by the time the water had ran cold in the shower. However, it had once again resulted in disappointment for Cameron. Now that they both knew she was capable of reaching her own form of release, John felt bad that they hadn't been able to repeat it as yet.

Afterwards she'd assured him it was fine, that she didn't 'need' her release, that it was simply an added bonus. He'd took that at face value, but it did seem a little odd that she'd been acting strangely ever since they tried and failed to give her that 'added bonus'.

Could that be why she's acting strange? Nah, couldn't be…

"I hadn't noticed," Amy answered with a shrug, startling John out of his musings.

"What? Uh…oh yeah, probably just my imagination." John tried his best to force a smile as he stood back up properly, his stretch finished. Looking down at his little workout buddy, John forced a smile and pushed his doubts about Cameron to the back of his mind. "So, wanna come with?"

Quirking a brow at the offer, Amy shook her head, "Nah, I'll leave you to it."

Pausing for just a moment, John suddenly knelt down to her level, a look of uncertainty on his face, "Uh, can you do me a favour? See if you can find out what's bothering Cameron for me, she just refuses to tell me anything whenever I ask."

Tilting her head to the side in a pretty good impression of the aforementioned cyborg, Amy looked at John with sympathy, "I will, but I think it might just be something you two need to work out for yourselves."

Nodding slowly, John stood back up and started walking backwards towards the street, "Thanks Amy. You're on shopping duty today right?"

Amy nodded, watching him curiously as he backed up.

"Get me some of those cheese things will ya?" John asked, his grin wide.

"The crunchy ones, not the puffy ones." Amy smiled, "I gotcha!"

Smiling wide, John pivoted on a heel and took off at a jog down the path and onto the street. Although he had more questions than answers, Amy sure had a way of making him feel better about himself.

"Your weight would make that inadvisable." Cameron looked one step short of rolling her eyes at the mini metal's antics, "Besides, you appear older than any of the other children riding in the shopping carts, Don't be a freak."

Stamping her foot petulantly, Amy stood her ground, "I'll make this trip a nightmare if you don't lift me up into that cart right now…Cammy dear."

"I just wish to finish this as quickly as possible so I can return to John." It was an odd sensation, this 'anxiety' she'd been feeling ever since she left the house. The time she'd spend away from John would lead to this feeling manifesting itself, and it had started ever since her emotions started exerting themselves into her daily life.

It was a decidedly unpleasant feeling.

"I'll be much more help in the cart," Amy countered with a grin, pushing herself up on the side of the cart, "I can organise stuff!"

Sighing impatiently, Cameron snatched Amy under her arms and easily hoisted her into the cart, trying on her best 'big sister' voice, levelling a finger at Amy's face, "You will behave. Understood?"

"Of course!" Smiling, Amy turned away to face the front of the cart, out towards the store, "Well come on, let's get going!"

"I require the list." Cameron began pushing the cart, thankful she didn't pick out one with a squeaky wheel…that would have just about pushed her over the edge today. "I believe Sarah gave it to you."

Despite the fact both machines had perfect photographic and CPU driven memories, Sarah still felt it necessary to give the pair a list. John found it cute, Cameron merely found it inefficient, especially when she didn't get a look at the list before leaving the house.

Fishing in the pockets of her dress, created specifically for the task of holding the list, Amy pulled it out a moment later as she settled herself down cross legged in the cart facing her big sister. "What does she want all this stuff for?"

Wishing the little machine would simply hand her the list so she could get back to John, Cameron had to fight off the irrational urge to snatch it from her friend, "What 'stuff' are you referring to?"

"Nasal spray, Vaporub, Aspirin…" Looking up at Cameron, Amy's expression could have been put under a dictionary under 'Confused'. "Chicken soup?"

"She and Derek are sick," Cameron explained, quirking a brow, "If you wish to be a caretaker for a human, you must learn how to facilitate their needs. Their health is a particularly important factor."

"Chicken soup?" Amy asked again, "How can that help?"

"The warmth loosens mucus deposits in the throat and nasal cavities," Turning the cart into the pharmacy area, Cameron started scanning the array of bottles and boxes lining the shelves. "It is also 'easy on the stomach' and soothing to the sick. You really should try to expand your knowledge of human needs if you wish to care for one."

"Hmph," Amy declared unhappily, hoisting herself up and leaning on the hand rail in front of Cameron. "Humans are way too fragile."

"True," Cameron looked more than a little disturbed at that as she considered just how much a 'Fuckload of Nyquil' really was. Apparently Derek didn't believe in using standard measurements of liquid volume. "But it can also provide you with a bonding opportunity with your human. They rely on you more when ill, and are generally more agreeable to accepting assistance."

Quirking a brow almost comically, Amy sat up just a little higher, "You sound like you want your little boy toy to get sick. Now that's just mean!" She poked Cameron's belly by way of mock punishment.

"I would never want John to be ill." Cameron snapped at the insinuation that she could ever wish her John to get sick, losing her cultivated calm momentarily, "Besides, he already accepts my assistance."

"Yeah but, you can mother him, nurse him." Amy smiled as she stood up in the cart, Cameron's snap not lost on her, "Florence Nightingcyborg!"

"I have no desire to 'mother him'." Cameron quirked a brow when she spotted a medication that claimed to reinforce the immune system and fight off illness…she picked up three boxes for her John, "I am his girlfriend, not his mother."

"Yeah, so you keep telling everybody…" Slumping back down into the cart with a sigh, Amy idly started stacking the boxes of medicine into some semblance of order. "How's that working out for you?" She asked, trying not to smirk.

"It is…progressing nicely." In an uncharacteristic move, Cameron rubbed the side of her neck gently as she pushed the cart. For her at least, it was an odd subconscious manoeuvre as she remembered how she responded when John bit down into her synthetic flesh, shivering at the memory.

Amy quirked a brow at her friend's odd behaviour. It wasn't a very machine like thing to do, however she recognised it from her time in the future, a subconscious twitch Cameron had developed at some point, however Amy wasn't sure why or when…until now. "Uh huh…itchy neck?"

"N…no!" Cameron snapped again, yanking her hand away from her neck and grabbing several different bottles of cold medicine indiscriminately, literally throwing them into the cart. "My neck is fine."

Easily dodging out of the way of flying medicine bottles, Amy tried not to openly grin at her friend's predicament, "Okaaaaay…what's next on the list?"

"John requires razors," Cameron frowned, turning the cart into the next aisle, "His stubble is getting out of control."

"Really?" Amy asked, quirking a brow from her position in the cart, "I thought you liked the feel of his stubble. 'Intriguing', is how you once described it."

"That was before we became this intimate." Walking over to the razors, she began scanning her choices with her on special brand of efficiency, "It has become…bothersome. In certain situations."

"Oh, you mean when he goes down on you?" Amy asked offhandedly, setting the offending medicine bottles upright, drawing several questioning looks from other shoppers, from one young man in particular, whose girlfriend looked less than amused as she dragged him away.

Ignoring the looks, Cameron glared down at her tiny friend, stopping the cart in the middle of the aisle, hand tightening in irritation on the hand rail. "You have been spying on us?"

Amy rolled her eyes at her friend's easy to provoke attitude, "It's hard to ignore the sound of you wailing like a banshee. Besides," she added with a shrug, "Future you told me you liked it when he does it."

"I…I talked about my sex life in the future?" Cameron looked decidedly uncomfortable with the prospect, "John insists it is private."

"Oh it is…but I know everything about you." Amy punctuated her statement with a mysterious grin, turning away from the other cyborg to face the front of the cart.

"Really?" Cameron seemed torn between anger and blatant interest, wanting to know if the little machine might have answers for her, "What…what else did I tell you?"

Grinning, Amy glanced over her shoulder, "Why? What do you want to know about yourself?"

"My sexual preferences have been…evolving." Glancing down, she was unsure if this was a good thing or a bad thing, "I wish to know where they will lead. It could be…detrimental to John if they go too far."

Crossing her arms, Amy feigned ignorance with a knowing smirk, "Now how could that be?"

Placing her fingertip on her chin and tapping, Amy pondered the question dramatically, "How could sex become a bad thing, hmmm?"

Cameron started to feel budding anger flashing through her chip, but tried to restrain herself, not wanting to alienate the only person who could be capable of answering her questions.

"I have become…impatient." Either not picking up on Amy's sarcasm, or just plain ignoring it, Cameron looked down at her hands with a frown, "John's performance has been inconsistent."

"He looks like he's doing alright to me." Grinning playfully, Amy reached over the side of the cart and snagged an item off the shelf she remembered from the list, almost tipping the cart in the process, "In fact, he looks positively delighted!"

"That's because he receives pleasure every time we are intimate." Cameron sounded rather bitter about that fact, "I make sure of it."

"What, you're telling me some of the noises I hear from your bedroom aren't pleasure?" Amy asked with a knowing smirk, "How can that be possible?"

"There is a difference between pleasure and release." Cameron sighed, her hand returning to the side of her neck, gently rubbing over the now healed marks John left on her pseudo flesh with his teeth, "And yes, not all of those noises are pleasure. John has been…experimenting."

"Experimenting? How?" Amy asked, sitting up, her expression eager. Even future Cameron never really gave intimate details, nothing to the level she had a feeling this version of her friend was about to divulge anyway.

"He…" If Cameron was capable of blushing from embarrassment, she probably would've been right about now, "He bit me."

"Bit you?" Amy scrunched up her face in confusion, "What, like a vampire, bit you?"

Surprisingly, Cameron smiled happily, "It wasn't unpleasant. I…I found it oddly stimulating. I am not used to pain at all, let alone for it to cause pleasure. But it did. Is this normal? For me?"

"Hmm," Amy tapped her fingertips on her chin again, thinking back to her time with future Cameron, "It hurt?"

"At first," Cameron got a far away look in her eye, replaying the memories, "It registered as pain. Then there was a flood of what can only be described as pleasure."

"Well let's see," Amy sat down cross legged in the cart again, "You can feel pain now. All the time, or…"

Cameron shook her head quickly in reply, "No, not all the time. Only when I am sufficiently aroused."

The poor young man who was dragged away earlier had the misfortune of rounding the corner of the aisle at that particular moment. His girlfriend looking less and less amused with his reactions to the amazingly good looking girl having the frank and open discussion about sex with her baby sister.

She was so annoyed in fact, that she literally dragged him away by his arm, berating him for staring and drooling. Something told Amy, who'd witnessed the entire incident, the poor guy wouldn't be having anything similar to Cameron's problems for a while.

Smiling at the absurdity of it all, she turned back to face her fellow machine, "So it only hurts in the bedroom…kinky!"

"Are you going to help me or not?" Cameron snapped, letting loose an uncharacteristic growl of annoyance, despite knowing Amy was only teasing, "I don't appreciate being made fun of!"

"Ooooh, snappy!" Amy smirked up at her quite obviously pissed and confused friend, taking pity on her…if just a little, the other cyborg looking like she wanted to break something, "You can also feel the good stuff though, right?"

"I have achieved orgasm, yes." Cameron shook her head, growing increasingly impatient with this line of questioning, "But you knew that already."

Amy shrugged, trying her best to let the other cyborg come to her own conclusions, "So, what's the problem? Seems like it's a good thing to me."

"Because I can't repeat it!" The handle of the cart groaned under the pressure Cameron was exerting on it as she practically yelled at Amy, "John can't keep up his performance long enough to achieve the desired results."

"Well how'd you manage it the first time?" Amy eyed the relatively flimsy metal bar Cameron had a death grip on, glancing around to make sure nobody had just witnessed a one hundred pound girl almost snap it like a twig.

"The process took over an hour," Despite her previous outbursts, Cameron couldn't help the small smile as she replayed the memory, "John was injured, I did most of the work."

"So do it again!" Amy, despite her future knowledge and general know how, even she was confused at the seeming circles Cameron was going in, "It can't be that hard."

"You do not understand human males." Cameron frowned, she realised she wasn't likely to get any help here, unless Amy wasn't telling everybody something, "Once they orgasm, they become useless until their refectory period elapses."

Sniggering like the little girl she was pretending to be, Amy covered her mouth with her hand, "John leaves you hanging?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Cameron sighed softly, ignoring the mocking of the other machine, "He is usually exhausted by that point, and falls asleep shortly after."

Amy carried on her childish giggling, pointing an accusing finger at her friend, "You wore your poor human out!"

"It's not my fault I require a certain amount of effort," Cameron pouted, lamenting the fact her statement was true, "I didn't design myself, and it was John who insisted on teaching me about the pleasure I was capable of feeling."

"Aww, you broke your human." Putting on her best sad face, Amy stuck her bottom lip out in mock sympathy, "What are you gonna do about it? Keep going until he can finally keep up with you?"

"What did I do in the future?" Cameron asked, quirking her head to the side, looking barely one step short of taking notes, "Will it always take this long to achieve release?"

"Mmmno," Amy answered coyly after a moment's hesitation, "You uh…you find a way around it."

"I do?" Cameron looked just about ready to leap over the cart in eagerness. If Amy knew of a way to help her out of her predicament, then Cameron was willing to do just about anything to learn about it, "What did I do?"

"Umm," Amy looked around, growing increasingly uncomfortable with this line of questioning, looking for something to try and divert the determined cyborg in front of her. "Oooh, do sick people like donuts?"

Cameron narrowed her eyes dangerously at the other machine, in no mood for any games, "Why won't you tell me?"

"Because," Amy turned back to face her friend with a sigh, "It's kinda something you need to work out for yourself."

"The results will be the same regardless of how I arrive at the conclusion," Cameron leaned forward over the front of the cart, looking more angry than Amy had ever seen her before. "You are supposed to be my friend. Why would you want me to suffer?"

"I uh…" Amy couldn't quite work out how this went from being a fun little game of tease the cyborg to…this. John had just accepted it when told to work it out himself, why was Cameron being so stubborn? "I just don't want John to suffer either I guess," She replied somewhat cryptically.

Cameron, despite her earlier anger, now looked confused by Amy's statement, "Why would John suffer? He likes it when I find release! He encourages it."

Losing her glare, Cameron's face softened. If this was how her body and mind were going to react to this…situation, then she had to know how to overcome the way she was feeling. Her voice turned pleading, wanting her friend to help her out, "Please Amy, I'm having trouble concentrating…it is affecting my ability to protect John."

"Cameron…" Amy looked up at her pleadingly, unable to ignore her tone, but not able to really divulge the truth of the situation, for her own good. "I can't tell you…you won't like it."

"Are you saying that my sexual evolution is going to be detrimental to John?" Cameron went from looking pleading to downright afraid of that prospect, stopping in the middle of the aisle and tightening her already firm grip on the handle.

"Um…you uh…" Amy couldn't bear to look the other cyborg in the eyes any more. She hated lying, and keeping the truth from her friend was killing her as she fiddled with the hem of her dress. "You find a way to channel your…aggression."

"But John will be okay?" it seemed like Cameron was ignoring the meaning behind Amy's words, seemingly oddly fixated on one aspect, "He will accept my changes?"

"Well, yeah," Amy replied, looking up with a quirked brow at Cameron having missed something. "He'll accept you no matter what you do. He loves you, you know that. But Cameron, I think you're…"

Cameron didn't give the mini metal a chance to finish, smiling a little, "He is my John. I just want him to be happy, regardless of how I evolve in the future."

"Oh he'll be happy, trust me." Amy smiled a little warily, "You'll be delighted…sorta. But Cameron, maybe you ought to…"

Once again, Cameron cut her off, seemingly satisfied that whatever happened to her in the future wouldn't cause her John to come to harm.

"We should finish shopping," she started pushing the cart towards the food aisles, "This will be good practice for caring for your human. Sarah can be…difficult, when ill."

"Despite the fact Amy still hadn't gotten her point across, she couldn't help but smile at that, "My human?"

Quirking her head to the side, Cameron failed to understand Amy's confusion, "You do not claim Sarah Connor?"

"Claim?" Amy rolled her eyes with a slight chuckle, "Wow, John was right after all."

"Right about what?"

"You are more…animalistic, than you'd like to admit!" Amy grinned, standing up in the cart again.

"He said that?" Cameron asked, nose to nose with the other cyborg, her head tilted to the side in confusion, "What did he mean?"

"Oh…nothing." Amy smiled coyly and looked around, "You're right, we should finish shopping. We have 'our' humans to take care of!"

The first thing to bombard John's senses as he re-entered his home was the overpowering smell of something cooking. He wasn't about to lie, it smelled good, very good, especially when he was having a raging battle with his hungry stomach. A six mile run will do that to a young man.

Kicking off his shoes with a noticeable sigh of relief, he padded into the living room where he found the curious sight of his mother curled up on one of the chairs facing the TV, complete with blanket and a bright red, no doubt stuffy nose. Apparently Amy had managed to coax her out of bed after all.

Opposite her sat his obviously unhappy uncle. Clearly the man would rather have been somewhere else right then, probably somewhere with a model tending to his every need. Obviously being a man he felt the full effects of the sniffles harder than any woman could ever know. The rigours of childbirth and the vast array of female centric ailments paled in comparison to when a man got sick…nothing like a blocked nose to make a man feel like he was about to die a horrible, painful death. Derek was of course no exception to milking it for all it was worth, demanding sympathy from anybody willing to give it.

Unfortunately for him, nobody in this house gave a damn about his complaints. Well, Amy did a little, but she had much more important, Sarah related health concerns to worry about.

Shaking his head, he slipped past his dozing family and into the kitchen with a smile on his face. This was what he'd always wanted, a relatively normal life with a normal family with normal problems. The sniffles he could handle, hell, he could even handle a grumpy, manflu ridden uncle, this was downright easy compared to fending off machines hell bent on his death.

So when he rounded the corner into the kitchen, he had to stop and reconsider his thoughts. As much as he cared for them both, the sight of Amy and Cameron at the stove in the middle of a discussion, bordering on an argument was anything but normal.

But in his life it was, right? He was in love with one of the machines, and he was quickly coming to appreciate the other, quirks and all. So what if it was a little odd, different, even considered as wrong by some people, this was his life, surrounded by machines who he considered just as much people as humans. Hell, they had their moments of making him consider if it wasn't humanity that was something out of the ordinary.

As he watched the two go back and forth, evidently arguing over the best methods of food preparation, he couldn't help but smile at how passionate both of them could get over something as trivial as the optimum way to cook and serve chicken soup of all things. Not so long ago Cameron wouldn't even have raised her voice in defence of her own beliefs, and Amy, well, she was something different from any machine he'd ever known.

She looked like an eight year old girl and was just as mouthy and opinionated as any human girl of that age. Even now as she stood with her hands on her hips, standing her ground with her 'big sister', she reminded him so much of himself when he was that age. Right up until the point Sarah had been caught and thrown into Pescadero he'd argue with her about everything, like an eight year old should. The rebellious phase hadn't really ended, something he was determined to put an end to…eventually.

Cameron meanwhile looked like she was clearly having her patience tested by the little machine. He had no doubts that Amy could run psychological rings around Cameron. But that was one of the things he loved about her, that despite her massively advanced intelligence, she still didn't understand everything, especially when it came to her emotions and those of the others around her. He loved it when she came to him for advice about why she was feeling a certain way, or if she didn't understand something. The tilt of her head, the smile of appreciation when he explained, and lately the kiss by way of reward were things he was sure he'd never get tired of.

But then a thought struck him, and it did little to make him feel better about himself. Just what was Cameron getting out of this relationship?

He never truly understood what she was attracted to in him. Was it his outward appearance? He doubted she was after him just for his looks. His intelligence? She was smarter than him, so that was probably a no. His money?

Shaking his head a little, John dismissed those thoughts as ridiculous…he didn't have any money anyway! But the thought still nagged at him. Just why did Cameron choose to enter into a physical and romantic relationship with him. Why did she choose to kiss him that day in the truck?

It was after all her who had initiated the relationship, although admittedly he did little to try and prevent it at the time. He hoped it was because of the way he loved her, cared for her, showed her more affection than she'd ever received before. But then that lead him to the unwanted thought that she was merely reciprocating because she felt she had to, that she'd learned through interacting with humans that 'one good deed deserves another'. But then if that was truly the case, she'd have said the three little words he'd wanted to hear from her since the start and he'd be happy in his blissful ignorance.

No, it wasn't simply mimicry or anything like it. So what was it?

He had his doubts over whether or not it was his caring nature, otherwise she'd have dumped his ass as soon as he started with the whole, afraid of her metal hand thing. Glancing down at said hand, he noticed it healing up nicely. It had been three weeks since Catherine Weaver had removed the skin, and he still had a feeling she'd done it intentionally just to fuck with Cameron and him. But now the synthetic skin had regrown to her wrist. Her hand was still exposed, but in about a week or so there'd be no signs of any damage, he was sure of it.

Not that he minded any more. Since he'd had a mini breakdown about it, followed by gently making love to Cameron, he'd found a tolerance, even an interest in her true form that he'd never had before. As an example, the night before while lounging in bed, he found himself holding her hand up to his face, a curious expression on hers as he turned it over in his gentle grasp, inspecting the metal. He touched every inch, mapping out the intricate construction of her coltan fingers, watching pistons move when she squeezed his fingers, laying a kiss on her knuckles when he was finished.

That was quickly, and inevitably followed by a kiss, then a caress, then she straddled him, then everything was a blur of tangled arms and legs after that. Unfortunately, she hadn't gotten hers by the time he was exhausted and fell asleep, another in an increasing line of failed attempts on his part. She was a complicated creature, but he was determined to work out what made her tick.

Thinking about it ruled out another possibility of why she chose to be with him. If it was simply about sex, she could easily have used her wet dream inducing good looks to find another willing partner. Shuddering at that idea, John mentally struck a cross through 'good sex', on his list of possibilities.

Deciding he was being ridiculous and focusing on the wrong things, he decided that he should just be glad that she was in fact with him, his many, many flaws and all. But lately he hadn't done much to try and keep her, and he realised that could become a problem in the long run.

Admittedly, she wasn't a human girl, she didn't find pleasure in the same things a human girl would. That quickly shortened his list of things that he could try to keep her entertained and interested. While he was sure she'd simply be happy just being with him, he felt there should be more to it than that. After all, he couldn't remember that last time they'd done anything that he considered couple-y. In fact, he was pretty sure that ever since their last date at the restaurant, which he'd ruined, they'd just gone about their separate lives during the day and had sex on the night. A pretty unhealthy pattern to get into.

While he was pretty sure she wouldn't enjoy a lot of activities, it at least gave him a base to work from, things to try until they found something she did enjoy doing with him. If he couldn't work out why she held such a devout romantic interest in him, he could at least try to make sure they both had a little fun until he did.

Smiling to himself, he stepped forward a few paces with a smile on his face. Snaking his arms around his, he assumed, unsuspecting girlfriend's waist, he gave her a squeeze from behind and dropped a kiss on her bare shoulder, silencing the argument almost instantly as Amy folded her arms in a distinct huff.

"Hey Princess." He quietly whispered into her ear, "Hey Amy."

"Hello John," Cameron replied, a little snappier than he was expecting, although he shouldn't have been surprised, she was just in the middle of an argument after all.

"Hi," Amy replied, still with her arms folded, looking one step short of stamping her foot in irritation.

"What are you two arguing about?" He asked, gently swaying side to side, resting his chin on Cameron's shoulder.

Before Cameron could even get a word in, Amy had sprung to life, driving an accusing finger into the cyborg's belly, missing John's arms by less than an inch, "She keeps telling me how to do stuff! It's irritating!"

Trying to keep the smile off his face, John looked sidelong at Cameron. Putting aside his shock at seeing a murderous glare on her normally placid face, he leaned in and dropped a soft kiss on her cheek, "Cameron, you alright?"

After what seemed like several seconds to John, when in reality it was less than one, Cameron turned to face him. He watched as her glare almost instantly vanished, replaced by a look of serene calm, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Of course. I was only trying to help, preparation of food for humans is something Amy has no experience with."

She glanced down at the small machine, who still looked to be seething, "She doesn't have a sense of taste, I do. I merely offered my services."

Before John had a chance to reply, Amy spoke up again, "Hey! Offering your services doesn't mean dumping my first batch in the sink and starting over without even asking me!"

Chuckling at the absurdity of it all, John gently turned Cameron's face back to his, once again hiding his surprise at the irritated look on her face as it again faded when she looked at him. "I know you were just trying to help, honey."

He paused for a moment, trying the new pet name on for size, ignoring her quirked brow, "But maybe we should just leave Amy to it. She's just wants to look after mom after all."

Amy smiled when John looked past Cameron and winked at her. Taking that as her cue, she slipped back in front of the stove as John artfully guided a protesting Cameron out of the way and out of the kitchen altogether.

"But I was just trying to help," Cameron argued, her bottom lip sticking out just a fraction, making John's sympathetic smile all the wider.

"I know. Hey, listen," He stepped around in front of her and stood with his hands on her hips, "How would you feel about a movie night tonight?"

"A movie night?" Cameron asked with a quirked brow, although with a tiny smile on her lips at the offer of a night with her John.

"Yeah, you know, we'll curl up on the couch and watch whatever we feel like." Replaying his words, yeah, they did sound a little corny and dumb, but he couldn't think of a better way of making it appeal to her.

Judging from the smile on her face, he'd succeeded, "That sounds acceptable."

"Good," He was hoping for something a little more enthusiastic than 'acceptable', but he was willing to take it. "Why don't you go pick out a movie while I grab a shower?"

Nodding, Cameron pulled away from him, "I believe this activity requires popcorn too?"

Smiling at her keen interest, John nodded with a chuckle, "Yeah, popcorn is a must, an age old tradition among humans. Just…skip the hole in the bottom of the bowl thing. I don't think mom would appreciate that."

Tilting her head to the side, Cameron looked at him like he'd just told her he was considering adopting a small goat as a pet.

"Um…never mind," John shook his head, realising she obviously had no grasp on that old trick. Looking behind her, he watched Amy bounce past them, seemingly in a much better mood than she was a few minutes ago, bowl and spoon in hand, steam wafting all around her as she made her way to the living room.

Ushering Cameron into the room, John watched as Amy nudged Sarah awake and presented the fruits of her labour to her human with a flourish. Sarah shuffled in her seat, and to John's eternal surprise accepted the bowl with a grateful smile, taking the spoon from her little metal friend in the other.

As long as he lived, John was sure he'd never see Amy smile as wide as she did when her gesture was accepted by Sarah, even going so far as to prop herself on the edge of the chair to watch her charge eat. The whole room was however shaken from their reverie when Derek grunted himself awake, surprised to see a room full of people, machine and human had managed to sneak up on him. Almost instantly however, his eyes dropped to the quite frankly delicious looking concoction in Sarah's lap.

With a sniffle, he sat up higher, "Where'd bine?"

Translating that to him asking where his bowl was, Amy was the first to reply, "Jessica's place!"

Grumbling about smartass, and pain in the ass machines, Derek snuggled himself back under his blanket and turned his attention to the TV, lamenting the mouth of one metal in particular.

Please note that from the next chapter onwards I'll be bumping the story up to an M rating. I simply have waaaay too much fun when working on the Jameron sex scenes to water them down to a T rating. Hope you all don't mind a bit of smut in your reading! :)