Chapter 25

Disclaimer: Don't own TSCC

TechCom Cafeteria…

Brandon looked around the entire TechCom Cafeteria from the south entrance. Not spotting either of the girls, or the Connor/Reese Clan, he hurried over to where Rachel sat eating her breakfast.

"Hey, Sis."

"I thought we weren't supposed to be seen here together," Rachel said flatly.

"They know, at least about you."

Rachel dropped her spoon. "They know about what we're doing here?"

"No! Keep your voice down." Brandon looked around the cafeteria again.

"They know who your mother is."

"She's your mother too! Don't you forget it! That's why we're here, something you seem to have a hard time remembering."

Brandon stood up and glared at his sister. "I just wanted to warn you, that's all. And no, I haven't forgotten our mother. In fact, I'm more certain now than I was before she thought what she did was the best way to help us. What I'm not sure of is the truth of what happened once she met the General."

Without looking back, Brandon left as quickly as he had arrived. Rachel looked around to make sure no one had noticed their brief, intense exchange. Brandon was slipping away from her grasp. Rachel knew she had to do something drastic soon to keep control over her brother. After the raid, after Cameron and Hailey were dead, Rachel didn't care if Brandon slept with the little T-1000 he was so smitten with. In fact, Rachel realized, she didn't really care what happened to Brandon after the raid.

The Connor Family Bunker…

Cameron eased into Hailey's room. Sammy greeted her at the door, wagging his tail. The sad expression on the little Italian Greyhounds face told Cameron the girls were still upset. She stopped long enough to scratch him between his ears and then let him out knowing Sammy would wake John up so he could be let out to run to the park.

Gently Cameron sat on her daughter's bed and stroked Hailey's hair until she woke up. Hailey's eyes were swollen and puffy from the long bouts of crying the night before. Cameron smiled and leaned over to kiss her daughter on the forehead. Ruth stirred as her CPU brought her out of Terminator sleep quickly.

"Girls, you need to get up. It will be time to go to school soon."

"Please, Mom. Can't you let me ditch today?" Hailey pleaded.

"Not facing your problems is not going to solve anything. You are going to go to school, find Brandon and apologize for slapping him. He did not threaten you or a member of our family. And you, Ruth Reese, are going to apologize for being rude to Brandon as well."

"Aunt Cameron!"

"The Old Man disobeyed my directive and filmed the entire exchange."

The girls looked at each other and made faces.

"Better to go now and apologize, both of you, before things get worse. Letting things linger in relationships only increases the amount of conflict. I have learned this the hard way, from experience."

"Yes, ma'am," the girls said in unison.

"Now, I have breakfast on the table, so get up and get ready for school. The sooner you apologize and make nice the sooner you will feel better."

Ruth slipped out of Hailey's bed and kissed her aunt, thanking her for letting her spend the night. She gathered her things and left to go home and get ready for school.

"Mom, have you ever said something really stupid to Dad? Or, you know, done something that made him really mad that you thought you were justified in doing?"

"Yes."

Hailey looked at her mother. The emotionless reply and blank expression didn't help Hailey understand her situation any better.

"Mom, have you ever apologized to Dad?"

"Yes." The same flat response.

"Mom, was it hard?"

Cameron looked away for a moment.

"Yes," she whispered. "Especially when what I did was in anger and I meant to hurt your father's feelings. Hailey, I've never told you this, but I ran away from home once. I abandoned my John because I could not bear the pain, the guilt for what I had done. I left him unprotected."

Shocked and concerned at this unexpected revelation, Hailey sat up straight in her bed. "But Dad forgave you didn't he?"

Cameron did not answer immediately.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Hailey. Your father not only forgave me, he came and found me. He saved me. It was right after I had developed emotions and everything overwhelmed me. So I ran away from our home. Derek found me first and saved me from two triple-8s I was fighting. Then John and Sarah took me home."

Hailey sat in silence. She could hear her mother weeping softly. Hailey leaned over and hugged her mother tightly.

"I still feel shame. I left my John unprotected. I abandoned my mission and purpose."

"But things worked out, right?"

Cameron wiped her eyes. "Yes. They did. But it was very difficult. Sarah was very angry and so was Derek. I had to prove myself to Sarah and regain her trust. I had to do the same with your father. It took me years to gain Derek's trust and friendship. Relationships are hard Hailey. Saying your sorry is just one part of making relationships work."

"Why did you do it if it is so hard?"

"Oh, Hailey, the answer to that is easy. I love your father more than my own existence. Once my John came for me, nothing could have made me leave him."

Cameron smiled at her daughter. "Hailey, when you love someone, you can make yourself do things you would never ordinarily do. Like apologizing to Ruth's boyfriend."

"Yeah, I may have messed things up for them," Hailey admitted.

"And because you love your cousin, you are going to swallow that enormous Connor pride and make this right."

"Yes Mom. But he said some mean things about you," Hailey spouted, making one final effort to evade the unpleasant task of apologizing.

"Honey, Brandon doesn't know the problems Riley caused. He wasn't there. Let it go."

Cameron stood to leave.

"Mom?"

Cameron stopped at the door and turned her head to look at Hailey.

"Yes?"

Before Hailey could stop herself, the words slipped out of her impetuous mouth.

"Can you let go of the fact Rachel is Riley's daughter?"

Hailey waited for her mother to respond. Finally, Cameron turned her head away from Hailey and spoke. "I know it's wrong, but please Hailey, in this one instance, just do as I say and not as I do. Please."

Without another word her mother left Hailey alone in her room.

Events referenced in this passage took place in my earlier TSCC fanfiction Cameron Grows Up.

TechCom Command Central…

He hated having to tell the Leadership Council. Everyone had been looking forward to what John was certain would become a cherished annual community event. But he was the General and it was his job to be the bearer of bad news when necessary.

Catherine and Cameron in particular looked disappointed.

"This doesn't mean we are canceling the event. In fact, canceling it would tip off we know an attack is eminent."

"John, isn't that irresponsible, to place our community at danger if an attack is imminent?"

John looked directly at his mother. "Mom, we are in danger as we sit here. Sometimes I think we forget that fact. Living here in our new underground city allows us to forget that just a few feet of dirt and stone separate us from the dangers of the Wastelands."

He paused to take in the expressions of those he trusted to counsel him. "If it becomes necessary, we'll cancel the event. Until then, everything, and I mean everything, continues as planned. Catherine, I'm counting on you to make this work. Organize dance classes for our young people – teach them ballroom dancing. Cameron, you, Mary and Grace are going to reach the classes. Make sure our military has dress uniforms, everything. Get with Cook to make sure we have a first class banquet planned. John Henry, whatever Catherine needs to make Central Park ready, make it happen."

"Ellison, Assassin, somehow this spy is slipping through the cracks. Do your best to find out who it is. In the mean time, I want more patrols in the Wastelands. For any attack to succeed, the forces will need to be substantial. We need as much advance warning as possible."

"Mom, Wilhelm, Cameron, Derek – step up the training. Make sure Brighton is in a foul mood. I want our forces sharpened to a razor's edge. John Henry, make sure you get all the new air defense systems up and running."

Feeling anxious, the burden of command weighing down heavier than it had in a long time, John stood and walked over to the wall mounted map of TechCom City and the surrounding Wastelands.

"Doctor Johnson, Savannah, get the medical staff and facilities ready for combat. Disaster drills would be a good cover. We do them anyhow, just make improvements, changes, anything that won't tip our own people off to the fact we expect something. The same goes for everyone. Business as usual, except the General is going through a cranking period and training is getting upped.

Father Hidalgo, I'm going to need you to step in and shoulder the responsibility of running the school for a while. Pick up Ellison's classes and do something about that idiot of a principal."

He turned to face his people, those he trusted the most. "Finally, we're going to put a halt to all construction accept defense related activity. John Henry, Catherine, find a way to make it go unnoticed. Cancel scavenging trips. Focus on sorting what we have. Keep all of our people except our scouts and patrols inside our defensive perimeter."

Cameron could see the strain her John was under, the pressure he had not felt in a long time. She stood and went to her husband, not caring who witnessed her actions. Standing close to John, Cameron reached out and touched him on his shoulder.

"We will make it happen. TechCom will survive this threat like every other we have faced. We will be victorious."

John just nodded at his wife's words.

"John, do not shut me out," Cameron ordered politely. "Do not shut your leaders out. We need you to lead us, but you have to let us help."

TechCom Cafeteria…

In the far corner of the cafeteria, Brandon sat alone, lost in his thoughts. It was not until Hailey cleared her throat that he looked up and noticed she and Ruth were sitting across from him. Surprised, Brandon scooted his chair back far enough to be out of Hailey's reach.

"I haven't done anything or said a word to anybody about yesterday," Brandon said defensively. "I get the message. Never say anything bad about your mother, your dad or your family for that matter."

"Yeah, about that," Hailey began. "I owe you an apology. I should have just politely declined to answer your question. I am very sorry for slapping you Brandon. I'd let you have a free shot to even things out but the Old Man would terminate you on the spot. He's got to be around here somewhere."

"That's okay," Brandon cautiously responded. "I don't want to hit a girl anyhow," he paused for a brief second before adding testily, "Even if she deserves it."

The chip still firmly lodged on her shoulder, Hailey's irritation began to shine through as she continued, "look, this is really hard for me. I would be dead if it weren't for Cameron. I wouldn't have a family that loves me. I want you to know, I am sorry for what I did. I'm not going to apologize for defending my mom. I'm apologizing because I should not have hit you. Most of all, I love Ruth. You make her feel good about herself and I don't want to be the reason something happens to that."

Brandon sat and looked at the two cousins, considering his emotions and the motivation for Hailey's apology.

"Apology accepted. If you promised to never do that again, I will put it behind me. We'll just consider it something we both wish had never happened and not bring it up again."

"Thank you. It hurts me to say it, but you're being more mature and forgiving about this than I am capable of. Thank you again."

Hailey left Ruth and Brandon alone in order to give Ruth the privacy she needed to make amends with her boyfriend.

"I'm sorry too," Ruth said softly. "Everyone in our family has pushbuttons. For Hailey, it's her mother. They have a sort of odd relationship sometimes, but they love each other very much. You see, Hailey is a real handful on a good day and Cameron struggles with finding a balance between John and Hailey. So it's a difficult relationship."

"Cameron impresses me as being a real ice queen. I'm surprised Hailey feels the way she does about her mother."

"That's not fair, Brandon. Cameron cannot help the fact she's a Terminator. Nor is she ashamed of it. What you take as a lack of emotion, a lack of feeling is just her outward demeanor. She has to make so many choices about protecting her John and her family, all day, every day. When she decides something is not relevant, she acts indifferent towards it."

"People are not irrelevant," Brandon replied firmly, pushing his anger down inside. Perhaps Rachel was right after all. Cameron was a cold, calculating machine. "She should not be indifferent towards people, especially humans."

"Really?" Ruth shook her head. "Would you like me to replay some digital memories of you walking past people, humans no less, and ignoring them every single day? You're no different so don't you dare accuse Cameron of being uncaring. Did you know she knows the name of every person in TechCom? Bet you don't!"

"She could smile."

"Yeah, she could, but it's not how she works."

"I've seen her smile at people."

"Ooohhhhhh. I've seen you be expressionless too. You're just looking for things to be mean about."

"I don't think so. I think your aunt is a cold, calculating machine. I'll bet she broke up the General's relationship with that blonde girl Hailey hates, the one named Riley, just so she could steal the General away."

"So what if she did." Ruth folded her arms in defiance across her chest. "John was hers first. That means this Riley was in the wrong. Cameron was just fighting for her mate."

Brandon shook his head in disgust. "How do you know John was Cameron's first? Before, as you claim, Riley stole the General from Cameron."

"Simple. Future John from another timeline sent Cameron back to protect him. Then the Resistance, for whatever reason, sent Riley back to split them up. Cameron was here first! Future John sent her back to be with him. Time travel sucks, but that is what happened!"

Ruth's hostility unsettled Brandon. Well aware of what Ruth was capable of when threatened, he could not understand her anger about something that did not directly involve her. Nor could he explain to Ruth why he felt the need to find out the truth about Cameron and Riley.

In frustration Brandon exclaimed, "Why does this upset you so much?"

"Because, stupid! She's my aunt. John is my brother. I might be adopted, but they're my family. Cameron has always been there for me when my Mom didn't understand my Terminator nature. Raising me has been hard for my parents. They suffered so much because of machines like me. Cameron helped me to understand why Sarah and Derek think the way they do. She helped me learn to fit in like learned to. She helped me to understand the conflict I feel as a Terminator when sometimes I feel so human."

Ruth's explanation jarred him. There was just too many conflicting images, pictures of who Cameron was. He put his elbows on the table and rested his face in his hands. It was starting to be too much, to overwhelm him.

To Rachel, Cameron was an evil, calculating figure, someone whose sole goal in life was to steal the rightful future of others for herself. Cameron's family saw her as a slightly eccentric, but loving family member who was devoted to the entire family.

"I'm sorry, Ruth. I really am. You're my first girlfriend and I really like you. I don't want anything stupid like this to come between us."

Ruth reached out quickly and touched Brandon's arm, causing him to raise his head to look at her.

"Oh, Brandon, you mean so much to me. But you have to understand; I'm nothing without my family. If Sarah and Derek had not adopted me, I probably would have been put to death for being a T-1000. Endo's fear us and probably with good reason. Hailey and I would not be here if it were not for Cameron."

Ruth's words hurt. Family had saved her. A lack of family had caused Brandon and his sister hardship. Without understanding why, he lashed out.

"I know family is important, Ruth. I know because I don't have parents, or cousins for that matter. No uncles or aunts or a T-600 to keep me safe. I was just a Tunnel Rat."

"Yeah, well you need to get over that attitude," she threw back with open hostility.

"Explain to me just why that is?" Brandon retorted.

"If it weren't for Cameron, John would be dead. If John were dead, there would be NO TechCom City! Skynet would still be alive and you, you would probably not be alive either. Without TechCom, Skynet would have wiped out Tunnel Rats like you! So you need to be a little more appreciative of Cameron. Good bye!"

Shocked, Brandon watched as his pretty girlfriend strutted away, not once looking back. Her raven ponytail bouncing from side to side as Ruth stormed through the tables, clutching her sketchpad with both arms to her chest as she made her way towards the nearest exit.

The Weaver Family Bunker…

Wilhelm jumped from his chair at the sound of the knock on his bunker's door. He rushed to the door and opened to find a breathless Savannah.

"I came as soon as I could."

"Your mother is in our bedroom. I think the stress of everything has caused issues with her processor."

Savannah stopped to hug her stepfather, an act that caused the big warrior to tense up. "It will be all right," she reassured. "This is not the first case of processor failure due to data overload I have treated."

"If something happens, if Catherine cannot be repaired, I am not sure how I will function. My priorities have changed. I now serve the General and protect TechCom in order to provide Catherine with a place to work, live and have purpose. Please, Savannah, do not let anything happen to your mother."

The Wastelands…

Sarah shivered from the cold. The ever-present darkness chilled Sarah even more. She longed to be inside her bunker with Derek and Ruth where it was lighted and warm during the day. She wanted to know John and Cameron were safe and protected and the Old Man was doing his best to keep Hailey out of mischief.

Just as Sarah had been determined to defeat Skynet, to win the war against the machines, Sarah felt the old hatred building up inside her. She vowed to herself this new threat would meet the same end Skynet had in its lair in southern California.

Her son had led their people to the site Derek and Cameron had found. That her family had found. And it had been the leadership of her family and friends who led the effort to build their city, a place where life would be good again. Sarah made the decision as she looked out into the Wastelands that she would give her life to protect what her son and her family had built.

Reviews are always appreciated. If you liked this story, you might want to consider my other TSCC stories:

Cameron Grows Up

The Future Cameron

Cameron and the Black Bird

Cameron and John's Wedding

Who's the Boss?

The Storm Before the Calm