72 hours later…

"Mr Connor, Mr Connor !"

Curtis literally burst into John Connor's office, slamming the door against the wall. Connor let out an irritated sigh and snapped, "Don't you see I'm busy here !? Wait outside !"

Allison, who was sitting in front of Connor, looked curiously at the tech. She recognized him to be one of the few that had been assigned to… fix Carter. She hated this term, but unfortunately there was no other.

The tech insisted. "Sir… you should come see that, it's incredible ! The cyborg…"

This last word caught Connor's and Allison's immediate attention. They jumped to their feet simultaneously, stared at each other, then turned to the tech and said in unison : "Let's go !!" The tech gulped, nodded and walked out of the office, closely followed by the two others. When they came to the lab's entrance, the three saw a tech walking out. Curtis immediately asked him : "Are the tests completed ?" The second tech stopped dead in his tracks, then blinked : "uh… yes. Everything works."

Without even responding, the tech chief opened the door and entered the lab. Connor stopped and motioned for Allison to go first, then he went inside.

They both turned their heads in the direction Curtis pointed… and both gasped in complete awe.

Carter was sitting on a lab seat, with electrodes attached on his bare torso, shoulders and arms. A third tech was pulling them off one by one. His new arm was in place and fully functional, but what had to be seen was that he was fully healed. His flesh and skin were completely regenerated, leaving only small scars here and there. But, aside from that, he looked like nothing ever happened.

Allison blinked several times, mouth open. She couldn't believe it. Only one day happened since the mechanical repairs were completed, and yet here he was, as fresh as the first day she saw him. He locked his gaze onto hers, and smiled.

It was too much. She laughed, tears of joy now brimming in her eyes. And, when he rose to his feet, she ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head on his collarbone. Still not able to believe he had been able to heal that fast. When she felt his arms around her, one on her back and the other stroking her hair, she broke up and cried. But this time, there were no pain, disgust or grief. Only happiness. And love.

Carter was happy as well. Happy that he was fully repaired and healed, that Allison had forgotten her own pain. It was the best thing he could have asked for. He held her tenderly, and glanced over Allison's head at Connor, who was smiling. When he noticed it, the Resistance officer winked. Carter chuckled and winked back before saying : "Thank you, Connor. I'll never forget what you did for us."

Allison broke the hug and turned to the man. "Yes, thank you so much." she added. Connor's smile grew wider and he nodded. "I'd have done the same for anyone, you know. Cyborg or not, we all deserve a chance to be recognized as… more than what we are." His voice trailed off, and he lowered his head. "Even Terminators can be so much more…"

Carter noticed Connor's reaction. He was curious about it, and about what experience had allowed Connor to think this way. But he remained silent. That was none of his business, and besides, if Connor wanted to mention it he'd done it already.

Suddenly an idea came to his mind. "Connor ? I'd like to ask you something."

The man stared at Carter again. "Sure, go on."

"Well… Our car was destroyed in the explosion, right ? When you found us ?"

"Yes."

"We had a dog with us… a German Shepherd…"

"Oh, yes. Sam, is that it ?"

"Yeah."

"Allison told me about him." Connor grinned. "A smart boy, it seems. He's alive. Dawson told me it ran out of the car shortly before the HK crashed. Right now he's on our kennel."

Carter felt relief wash over him. "Thank God. I thought I'd lost him. Sammy…"

"You trained him, right ? Because, he's quite resourceful."

"Yeah. Found him in Brawley. Poor boy was starving… Since then, he never left. I trained him to react to machines, taught him to recognize weapons, evade threats, things like that."

"Well, that was successful. May I ask a question ?"

"Of course."

"Uh… how did you two meet ?"

Allison smiled at the memories of this day that changed her fate and taught her what hope was. She spoke first. "He found me in Palmdale… my native town… I was unconscious, and he helped me… gave me food, and… well, I stood with him since this moment. He taught me to handle a shotgun…" she chuckled. "…and I shot my first Terminator the next day."

Carter put a hand on her shoulder and added, "A T-633. She got him with the first shot. Blew half its head off. I gotta say, I was quite proud…"

"Half a T-633's head ?" Connor raised an eyebrow. "With a shotgun ?"

"A shotgun and FRAG-12 explosive slugs." Carter corrected with an amused voice.

"Oh." The Resistance commander smirked. "No wonder one shot was enough."

Both men laughed.

"Now, Connor." Carter said more seriously. "I have to ask you a favor."

"Go ahead."

"Well, can we stay here ? We're safer in this base than anywhere else. And besides, we could be of some use here…"

Connor shot Carter an incredulous look. "Why d'you even bother asking ?! Of course you can stay here, you are welcome here ! We're not gonna let you go like this !" he concluded, chuckling. Then he walked forward and extended a hand, which Carter shook happily. "You never know… Anyway, thanks so much, Connor." Allison herself smiled at Connor and nodded.

Hours later…

"A GTAR-21 ?! Man, where did you get this ?!" Carter exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the Israeli bullpup assault rifle. He couldn't believe such a rare weapon could be found here. After all, it was never imported in the States.

He was on the base's armoury looking for new weapons, since his old ones had been destroyed with the car.

Smith, the armourer, a short and stocky man with gray hair and a slightly wrinkled face, smiled and responded, "Well, this one comes from a former Colombian soldier who came here, but was killed in action several days after… I brought the rifle back, but hell, no one ever took it. Always asking for M16s or things like that… those guys don't know to appreciate exotic weapons. You like it ?"

"If I…?! I've been dreaming about a gun like this for years !! Can I try it ?!"

"Of course !" Smith said happily, and he handed him the rifle. "This way…"

He led Carter to another sealed room, fitted for target practice.

After handing Carter several magazines, the armourer smiled and said, "Enjoy yourself !", before heading out.

Carter examined the Tavor closely, weighing it, detailing the mechanism. Then he inserted a clip, cocked and aimed, carefully keeping his finger off the trigger. The weapon fitted perfectly to his shoulder, and the grip was comfortable. The underbarrel M203 grenade launcher was well-placed, as the trigger guard could be used as a secondary grip. Plus, the ITL MARS red-dot reflex sight was placed at ideal distance from the eye. In short, he already loved this gun.

Switching the safety off, he fired off several rounds in semi-auto mode, then switched to full auto and let out a few bursts until the magazine was empty. The feeling reminded him of his M4, except the ergonomics was far better and he had less trouble to hold it steady, even if the difference was tiny. He then tried to unload and reload the rifle as quickly as possible, and was pleased to notice that the bullpup layout didn't slow him down. This wasn't exactly a problem, thanks to his superhuman speed, but it was good to know. And it reinforced his conviction that this weapon was the one he needed.

Okay, I've made my mind. I WANT IT.

When he came back to the armoury, a wide smile plastered on his face, Smith was waiting for him, looking almost excited. "So ?..."

"If only I could've got one like this since the beginning.... This rifle is perfect."

The armourer grinned. "Well then, it's all yours."

"Thanks, man. By the way, can I get a supply of mags and grenades for the M203 ?"

"Sure, help yourself."

Carter went to the shelves where the ammunition was stored, spotted a load of STANAG standard magazines and put them in his bag. He did the same with 40mm HE grenades, then headed for the door. "Thanks again, man, I owe you one !" he said turning to Smith. The stocky man replied, "You owe me nothing, arm our people's my job. Anyway, it's been a pleasure to meet a connoisseur. You need anything else…"

"I'll remember."

Then he went out. Allison was in the corridor, waiting for him. "So, you found what you wanted ?"

"Yeah, I did." he answered, showing her his newly acquired Tavor. "Don't you want one yourself ?"

"It's already done," she said, smiling. "I've been to the armoury yesterday."

"And… what did you take ?"

"A shotgun."

Carter laughed. "Always the same good old habits, huh ?"

"You took an assault rifle yourself.", she countered playfully.

"Everyone does. It's best suited for this kind of combat."

Allison rolled her eyes. "I'm not the geek around here."

Carter softly punched her on the shoulder and she chuckled.

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