Chapter 30 Cameron the Changeling

Sarah's initial reaction to her son's idea had been less than positive. Even more surprising was Cameron's openly enthusiastic endorsement of the idea. Now that everyone had settled in for the rest cycle, Sarah found she was able to relax in a way not possible in her bunker in TechCom City.

"Mom, I have to get away. I need time with Cameron that's just for fun. Exploring, taking a few risks, spending time with my family and no, absolutely zero pressures from command."

"I understand, John," Sarah protested. "But wandering around the Wastelands is not the way to do it!"

"Then just where do you suppose we go camping?"

Not having an answer, Sarah had brought up the dangers of radiation zones and roving bands of raiders, some with metal, some without.

"Mom, we've mapped every hot zone in TechCom territory. John Henry's engineers have been able to create a functional early warning system for all of our land around TechCom City for a 75-kilometer radius. We'll have four metals with us."

"Three," Sarah corrected. "My granddaughter is not old enough yet to be considered combat effective."

"Mom, Ruth had her first kill at what, three months?"

"Yes," Sarah had huffed in response. "And I'd like to see to it Naomi never has a first kill!"

John frowned in disgust. "Mom, Naomi is a T-1000. She's a metal. What's more she's a Reese which means she will serve. Being a liquid, and Ruth 's daughter, I'm pretty sure a first kill is unavoidable."

"What are you implying about your sister, John?"

"Nothing," John snapped. "Do I have to point out to you what you harped on at me about for years about Cameron? That she's a metal and deep down inside she wants to kill me? Ruth is no different, Mom."

Her son's words touched a nerve in Sarah's core. She'd turned and stormed out of his office, slamming the door behind her, causing the staff personnel in headquarters to hurriedly get out of her way.

Two days out from TechCom City, Sarah watched her family from the security of an all-weather sleeping bag in the arms of her husband. The camp site was atop a small ridge and sheltered on all sides by large outcroppings of concrete and steel, the remains of a building that had been destroyed on Judgement Day or the fighting shortly afterwards.

The orange embers of the small fire they'd built for warmth and to cook with was Sarah's only source of light. Across the small encampment she could see the two glowing red eyes that would have caused her nightmares for weeks had Sarah not known it was the Old Man. Hailey had been allowed to bring her current boyfriend, blonde hair and all, as had Tamara.

The pair of unwed couples had silently submitted to the fact the T-600 was their chaperone for the duration of the camping trip. Hailey had finally given up on attempting to thwart the Old Man's efforts, realizing if she didn't submit and let the T-600 perform his duty he was likely to deliberately injure her boyfriend, forcing them to call an HK and have him evacuated.

He'd made it a point to inform Hailey and Tamara both of his intentions prior to their departure into the Wastelands. Her father had been standing right there when the pronouncement was made and the good General had only nodded his approval. Hailey had high hopes for her relationship with Carl. Ruth was convinced Hailey had fallen hard and this trip was a test to see if her beau could handle the family dynamics.

The situation made Sarah smile in amusement as she took note of how close Hailey had managed to curl up to Carl without making physical contact. A distinct line between the pair indicated where one blanket ended and another began. The same was true of Tamara and her human mate. Tamara's Brandon, used to the quirks and possible threat of harm that came with being around a terminatress, had taken the Old Man's pronouncement in stride. Tamara was alert, and watching the perimeter as she held her sleeping Brandon's hand.

Curled up to Sarah's right was Ruth who held her tiny T-1000 infant, Naomi, who was wrapped in cloth like a human child. Bundled in such a manner and safe in its mother's arms, the T-1000 had only to focus on maintaining its facial form while it was in its maintenance cycle. Ruth's head rested on her husband Dan's shoulder as she engaged in Terminator sleep herself, clutching Naomi to her chest like a human mother. The paratrooper had a blanket pulled up over himself and his family as he slept, his arm around Ruth.

Sarah's gaze finally settled on John and Cameron. Somethings never changed. Despite John's protests, Cameron had arranged a wall made of concrete, stone, and other debris which she then insisted John use as a shield. Having commandeered several sleeping bags, Cameron had made a comfortable mat for the couple to recline on. No sooner had John lain down for the night, Cameron had draped herself on his left side, monitored his vital signs, and then pulled two blankets over her and John.

Having turned on his left side, Sarah noted Cameron had adjusted as well. Still shielding John with her body, Cameron had turned on her left side and was holding John's right hand in hers, clutching it to her abdomen. Tin Miss was awake and stroking the back of John's hand with her thumb, no doubt, enjoying the uninterrupted stream of data she was collecting without any complaint from John.

A grunt from Derek gave Sarah a warning her sleeping husband was about to shift and likely would become friendly with his hands until settling back into a deeper sleep. Pushing her husband's hand down to her hip, Sarah closed her eyes.

She knew Cameron was watching and that her metal daughter-in-law could see the broad smile of satisfaction stretched across her face. From a family of two, just her and her son, Sarah's family had grown in size and composition in ways she'd never dreamed.

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When the clan vacation was over and an appropriate time presented itself, the Old Man decided he would pull Hailey aside and let her know he was joking, only partially of course. He was immensely proud of his latest charge, Naomi, the second generation of Connor/Reese off-spring he would protect with his life. For Hailey to become in the family way, she needed to get married. The Old Man sort of liked her current suitor which was about as close to approval as he was capable of.

He scanned the surroundings, looking for threats before turning his attention back to Ruth and Hailey. It mattered not to him that Ruth was married and Hailey might be in the not too distant future. They were his charges still. Better able to defend themselves, but his charges nonetheless.

Detecting movement from the area of Ruth's chest, the Old Man scanned the metal mother and Naomi. The T-1000 infant was wiggling and making faces. Ruth stirred, her face displaying typical human expressions of concern and worry as she tried to determine what was the source of Naomi's stirring. The T-600 paid close attention, desiring to learn as much as possible about Naomi, her programming, and how it would manifest itself as behavior. Like her mother, Naomi would have violent tendencies that required curbing. Just as he had done for Sarah and Derek, the Old Man would intervene and teach little Naomi killing for its own sake was unacceptable. Whether he kept his interventions confidential from Ruth would remain to be seen. He had no doubt Ruth was well aware of Naomi's potential for mayhem.

His permanent smile fit the Old Man's mood. It wasn't like Hailey Connor didn't have the potential to create mayhem at a second's notice.

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It puzzled Cameron still how John could think he could sneak up on her. Surprise her by something he said or a decision he made, yes, but physically surprise her, no. Her sensors provided early warning every time. John was stirring, no doubt from an erotic dream about her, and when he woke up his hands were going to go places Cameron didn't want anyone else to see. She smiled, her impish smile that irritated both John and Sarah, and pulled the blankets up to her shoulder, effectively hiding from view any place her husband might suddenly grab.

On command, John grunted, smacked his lips, and shifted his weight, all while his right hand loosened its grip on Cameron's hand and shot upwards to her chest. Cameron was quicker, catching his hand with her own, forcing his hand onto the sternum of her breastplate, missing his intended target.

"Sexbot is on standby," Cameron whispered, squeezing John's hand.

"You can't blame me for trying."

"In the privacy of our home, no."

"We're with family," John replied, teasing his wife. "They know you're my sexbot. Everyone in TechCom knows your my sexbot."

"It's one thing to know something," Cameron teased back, bracing herself. "It's another to have visual confirmation for evidence."

Releasing her husband's hand, Cameron rolled on her back just before John's left hand could land on its intended target.

"That's off limits, too," she teased. "You can adjust my bottom for maximum efficiency when we get back home."

"You're impossible," John groaned.

"No. Just difficult," Cameron replied, delighted John rolled his eyes in response.

Rolling over onto her husband, Cameron rested her head on John's shoulder. Having forced him back onto his back and gotten comfortable, Cameron allowed John's left hand to rest on her backside. She'd made her point.

"This was a good idea," Cameron whispered.

"Really, after the grief you gave me about our last vacation, I thought you'd have put up a fight."

"The last vacation was an expedition that led to a war, took place in unknown territory, and involved too many risk variables for me to be able to protect you."

"And this is different?"

"Yes, TechCom has detailed maps of every square kilometer of this quadrant of our territory. John Henry finally got around to designing, building, and coding a tie in for me to patch into the sensor network, and we are within minutes of a rapid response deployment team. In addition, we have four full size terminators and a new T-1000."

"That Ruth may or may not have full control over."

Cameron placed her finger on John's lips, warning him to be silent. Defying his wife, John whispered in her ear. "Sarah and Derek don't know everything there is to know about sweet little Ruth. Or the fact when Hailey was asleep the Old Man took her into the drains and tunnels to hunt rats. Even took her into the Wastelands beyond the perimeter to look for rogue Tunnel Rats or Greys. Until she had control of her impulses, that is."

Genuinely surprised, Cameron's mouth opened.

"I'm the General," John whispered. "I know everything, eventually."

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After shutting off the programing that caused her cheeks to blush red, Tamara looked away from the General and his wife. Cameron had successfully, and playfully, brushed off an advance from her General. Noting how quickly Cameron re-directed her General's attention, Tamara saved the skilled maneuver in her own files.

Unable to visually scan their surroundings, Tamara used her motion and sound sensors to perform a sweep of the area around the encampment. She still felt uncomfortable without Very lights being set along with Claymore mines around the perimeter.

Everyone in the party was armed to the teeth and experienced combat veterans. They were well within the boundaries of TechCom territory, and recent patrols and all the data from the sensor net indicated the area was safe.

Her Brandon shifted in his sleep, and without realizing she'd accessed her new file, Tamara deflected his hand safely away from her bottom. Ignoring the General and Cameron, who were whispering to one another, the blonde metal observed each group in the encampment. Sarah and Derek were sound asleep in their sleeping bag, spooned together. Derek had wrapped his arms and a leg around Sarah who held on to his arms. Tamara had learned this was his way of providing a safe rest cycle environment for Sarah, fending off the machines and allowing her to rest without the debilitating nightmares she had suffered from for years. In return for his protection, Sarah accepted Derek for who he was, mental and physical scars and all.

Cameron had tried to explain to Tamara the pair was badly broken. More than most pairings, the melding of two into one in their marriage had been a healing one. Watching them as they rested, each clinging to the other in their own manner, Tamara felt she finally understood. It was a good pairing. It made each partner stronger and by doing so, increased the strength of TechCom's ruling family.

Shifting her gaze to Ruth and her Captain, Tamara observed as Ruth calmed the fussy Naomi, finally getting the tiny T-1000 to enter a maintenance cycle. Ruth's pairing, like that of Cameron and her John, was a source of inspiration for Tamara. If a legendary terminatress, a TOK-715 no less, could create a solid, happy pairing with a human, and a T-1000 could do the same, it gave hope the impulse generated by her software to pair with a human was not a coding error.

Ignoring Hailey, who still struggled to accept Tamara as a full member of the family and clan, the blonde turned her attention to the T-600 who stood upright near a large piece of steel and concrete, ever watchful of Hailey and Ruth. Sleeping at his feet were the family's dogs, Italian Greyhounds, curled up in round lumps beneath a blanket. The slightest sound would awake them. They would listen intently, make a determination of the threat level, and either growl a warning or return to sleep.

Another security device, albeit a biological one. Experience had taught Tamara sometimes biologicals were as essential a component in the early warning system as mechanical detection devices.

The group was safe, meaning her Brandon was safe. Tamara needed to relax and enjoy the trip, just as Cameron had ordered. She opened a filed memory of a chance meeting between Captain Guderian and Hailey's Carl. The issue of how protective the Connor/Reese clan was of each other. Time spent informally on the camping trip had provided Tamara with insight of how true this was. Now that she had seen how Sarah and Derek slept or the Old Man hovered, ever present, both watchful and threatening, how the family's constant awareness of its surroundings included every member, it caused Tamara conflicting emotional data. As the second newest member of the family, Tamara needed to alter her coding for her basic surveillance software. The fact she had not done so caused the T-800 to feel a sense of shame. Tamara also felt a positive sense of acceptance into the family dynamic. She'd realized the T-600 kept a close eye on her Brandon, a fact that made her human partner nervous. She was family now.

Cameron was right, Tamara reminded herself. With war coming, patrols would be the norm, not a camping trip with her clan.

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John loved teasing Cameron. His mother had done a real number on his wife during their years living together in Los Angeles prior to Judgement Day. Gone were the days where Cameron would walk around the family home in nothing more than her underwear. Well, unless it was within the privacy of the bedroom of their bunker.

Sarah had harped endlessly at Cameron about clothes, being decent, and not looking like a street walker. Somewhere along the way, Cameron had coded his mother's instruction into her programming.

Which of course made teasing Cameron all the more fun now. Unless she was in the mood and had privacy, any advances he made were rebuffed. To cope with the frustration, John had learned to expect his advances would be rejected and to channel his energy into getting Cameron flustered in some way.

She'd won tonight's struggle and afterwards the pair had talked for nearly half an hour. Discussing things other than defense, supply issues, or personnel problems. Instead, they'd talked about the Wastelands and how it was a shame the once beautiful land lay waste. Cameron noted Hailey was paying close attention to the Old Man and his monitoring of Carl.

"It will be time soon," Cameron had told him. He sensed a mixture of emotions from his metal wife. Happy Hailey would take a mate. Sad that their baby was now in every sense an adult capable of surviving on her own.

Sleep began to make John's eyelids heavy with the desire to sleep. The time spent with his family, exploring aimlessly in the Wastelands, armed to the teeth, but essentially safe. He needed this. Time to enjoy watching his loved ones exploring, interacting with one another in a non-command situation. It wasn't normal by pre-Judgement Day standards, but it was as normal as life could be now.

John treasured every moment. War would be at their doorstep all too soon.