. . .But What We Make
by Bethe
~*~
Okay, this is going to be my first author's note for this piece, but I want to establish a little timeline, of sorts. After seeing T3 today (for the third time), I've realized that the movie has seriously messed with the canon of the two previous films. That has made finding a reasonable timeline and age for Reese extremely difficult. At the beginning of T3, John says that the T-1000 was sent back to kill him when he was 13. That would make the setting of T2 1997, which would be feasible, making T3 be set in at least 2007. However, there is the whole Sarah issue to deal with. He says that she lived three years after being diagnosed, which would make T2 now be set in 1994, and that would make John 10 instead of the previously mentioned 13. Which is right? I suppose we might never know. So, for this fic, I've taken a couple of liberties with dates. Since John never gave an exact number of how many years had passed since he and his mother had shut down Cyberdyne (only "a little over ten years"), I'm going to say that Judgment Day happened in the year 2007. We were never given an exact day in T3, so I will probably just make one up. Now, another question is since Judgment Day was postponed, does that mean that all of the events in the future are postponed as well? Meaning, is the year that all of the Terminators get sent back still 2029? Or some later date? And if so, would the resistance be as close to destroying Skynet as they were in the previous timelines? It certainly can cause one to go insane just thinking about it. It's not a huge problem, but it is something I want to get right and have it be consistent throughout the fic, unlike other people (*glares at the screenwriters for T3). This will also come into play for the age of Reese Connor, and other characters. If anyone has any insight on all of this, could you please send me an email? My address is airhead_1984@hotmail.com. Or you could just send a review, and it will get to my email anyway. Sorry this note was so long. And now, here's the next part of the story.
~*~
How does that old saying go? Time flies when you're having fun? Cliché, but true. Jarod, my unplanned mistake, proved to be the best decision I'd ever made. He showed me about life, how to live. I was learning so much from him. And then the future had to butt in.
~*~
Reese took a swig from her water bottle and dropped a folder on the sofa. She picked up the TV remote and pressed a button, eager to catch up on her favorite show. Somewhere, far off, she heard a dog barking wildly, but it never registered in her mind.
She sighed in disappointment to find her show had been pre-empted by a college basketball game. It seemed March Madness was all anyone could ever think about. She turned the set off and walked into the kitchen, water bottle in hand. She opened the refrigerator door and searched until she found a Granny Smith apple. Then she closed the door, but jumped and screamed at the huge man that had materialized out of nowhere behind it.
"Reese Connor, you must come with me," he said simply in a heavily accented voice. Reese placed a hand to her chest as if the action could calm her racing heart. A confused expression affixed itself to her face before understanding finally dawned.
"No," she whispered firmly. "I have a life here, and I'll be damned if I let you ruin it for me."
The Terminator in front of her remained in his position. His expression did not change. He did not blink. He stated monotonously, "You will cease to even have that life if you do not come with me."
Reese stamped at the floor indignantly. "Tell me why."
"Because," the T-101 explained, "in 24 hours, you will be terminated. My mission is to make sure you stay alive. You come with me." With that, he hefted the young woman into a fireman's carry as if she weighed little more than paper.
"Put me down!" she screamed while pounding his back. He paused, then unceremoniously dropped her on the hard tile floor. She sat up and rubbed the back of her head. "You don't just pick people up like that!" she barked. "I'll go willingly. Just let me leave a note to Jarod." She picked up a pen and fished around for a blank sheet of paper. "Nothing specific," she called out, not even looking at him, as if she'd read his mind. "Just that I have to leave, and I'll be back."
When she'd finished writing the vaguely brief note, she turned back to the machine. She could see a slight smirk beginning to materialize on his face and she said, "Don't say a word."
~*~
Although I'd never seen an activated T-101 before, the Machine's sudden appearance in my life roused all kinds of emotions. Although it was not the same Machine that had been sent back to save my father, stories and anecdotes that he had told me so many years ago came to mind just watching it. I felt overwhelmed, and finally understood what Dad had felt for so long. The future was interfering. What could I have done, or what could I do, that would cause this? I felt as if past and future were about to meet in a head-on collision, resulting a terrifyingly real present. And there was nothing I could do.
~*~
"Do you think we'll know the outcome immediately?" Kate asked quietly in the privacy of her and John's bedroom.
"Probably not," he replied, just as quiet. "This is a very different situation we're in. The moment I sent my fa. . .Kyle Reese back, I was still alive. The same for when I was a boy. On Judgment Day, I was already dead. But now, this still involves the future. Uncharted waters," he finished in a whisper, finally turning his eyes to his wife.
In that moment, Kate could see the frightened young man that he had been almost 20 years ago. She had been attracted to him, that much was for sure. But their relationship had been built more on need and a trust in fate than on love. And over the past couple of years, that relationship had started to suffer. They fought more often. Spiteful barbs came out of their mouths far easier than kind words of affection or encouragement. They both were being strained by the pressuring expectations of the surviving humanity. But in that moment, Kate felt genuine love for John Connor.
Without saying a word, she walked across the room and sat beside him on the bed. Looking in his eyes, she could see not one haunted soul, but billions. She lifted a trembling hand and ran a finger down the craggy scar on his left cheek. A tear slid down her face as she offered a tremulous smile.
John closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, allowing himself to truly enjoy it for the first time. A shaky sigh escaped his lips before he took her into his arms and held her there tightly. Then he leaned back and wiped the tear-matted hair from her face while searching her eyes. When he found what he was looking for, he whispered, "I love you, Kate."
Before she could reply, he pulled her to him and tenderly kissed her. During their 22 years of marriage, they had committed the conjugal act only for the purpose of conceiving their children. But that night, in that same bed, they slowly made love for the first time, finally sealing the eternal bond between their souls.
~*~
The world had an eerie quality to it. I'd removed my rose-colored glasses and was finally seeing it like it was. I was surrounding by walking ghosts, nothing more. For every living breathing human being, there was a matching skeleton in my nightmares. Buildings that stood tall at the same time were merely ruins on the gray earth. It was like I had double vision. In one eye I could see the world as it was then. In the other, I saw what was to come. It's truly haunting to know the fate of the world.
~*~
"So, are you going to tell me what it is I do that makes me a target?" Reese asked while looking out the car window at the passing landscape. She swung her head around and stared at the Terminator until he answered.
"In July of 2000, you make contact with Robert Brewster, your grandfather, and attempt to tell him what will happen with Skynet. You try to persuade him that it is all real, and show him the barcode on your arm that was given to you in the Machines' Death Camp. He doesn't believe you. However, he does give you vital information on how to destroy Skynet. Just in case. You keep those documents until April 28th, 2007, when you and your daughter go--"
"Wait a minute," Reese interrupted. "Daughter? I'm not even pregnant."
"On the contrary," he said, "You are eight and a half months into your pregnancy."
"What?" she shouted. "How is that possible? Don't you think I would know something like that?"
"The women who were born and grew up before the nuclear war had a menstrual cycle every month. Since that ceases when one becomes pregnant, the woman would obviously know if something like that occurred. However, women after Judgment Day were either exposed to residual radiation or could not maintain a healthy diet, so your molecular structure evolved and women now only have one menstrual cycle a year. Also, women used to gain a great deal of weight and experience certain hormone changes. Now, the weight gain is a fraction of what it used to be, and most of it occurs in the last month. Hormone changes are minimal."
Reese scoffed. "So what you're saying is that I'm going to have a girl in a couple of weeks?" She said nothing more as her face began to fall.
"You know who the father is?" he asked, but it was more like a statement.
Her eyes dropped to the floorboard. "Yeah," she whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek. "God, he would have been so excited. We were going to get married. No one knew, of course. And no one would know until after the ceremony. But the day before we were going to go through with it. . ." She worked her jaw to try to keep herself from crying. "He got the call to go topside. He said that he would come back to me. . .but I knew better. If I'm not mistaken, a T-101 killed him. His body was never found."
Silence filled the sports car.
"Would you like for me to continue?" the Terminator asked, almost quietly. Reese looked at him, then nodded. " You keep those documents until April 28th, 2007, when you and your daughter go to Baja California to warn Sarah Connor of Judgment Day."
"Impossible," she said, this time without feeling. "She's dead." Somehow, however, she knew he was going to contradict her. And she knew it would be true.
"Sarah Connor is alive on April 28th, 2007. A T-101 was sent back from the future with only two missions. One, to administer the cure for leukemia that had been developed by 2029. Two, to order Sarah Connor to terminate it."
"Who sent it?" Reese asked, shaking her head. "There are no reports of anyone using the Time Displacement facility besides my father." The Terminator took his eyes off the road and looked directly at Reese.
"You did."
~*~
To Be Continued. . .