I do not own Terminator: Rise of the Machines.

I do own silver circles.

Not A Church Youth Group Sleepover


The first group of survivors should be arriving within the day.

". . . wounded . . ."

". . . minimal supplies . . ."

". . . under assault . . ."

And John Conner and Katherine Brewster are preparing . . .

". . . many?"

"Not more than twenty. Less if the machines get to them."

"Okay."

. . . for their arrival.

And he has thought about it.

It seems hokey, unimportant.

A silly, ridiculously human thing in the face of the end of the world.

Which was exactly why he realizes he wants to do it so badly.

That and . . .

"Uh, Kate?"

. . . it might provide some semblance of protection against . . .

"Yeah?"

. . . anyone who might still have a shred of dignity left in the world of the machine apocalypse.

"I, uh, gotta ask you something."

She's prepping medical supplies, this pre-apocalyptic apprentice veterinarian.

"What is it?"

Prepping medical supplies like she's ever received any training in the care of human beings.

"I, uh, well, I . . ."

Rather than small pets and the occasional equine mystery malady.

". . . listen, could you just . . ."

He gets that she needs to be ready, they both do, they're both on high alert but . . .

". . . Kate . . ."

And she finally turns from her work, those flashing eyes of hers, that line between her eyebrows, that serious glare she gets when she's concentrating.

"What? What is it?"

Not angry or impatient or anything but just really, really . . .

"Well, I, uh, . . ."

. . . focused.

Well, was.

And John fumbles . . .

". . . I . . ."

I wish I knew how normal people actually did this.

I wish what normal was.

But he didn't and he doesn't and nothing's normal anymore so that's out and he's already in the middle of this and survivors could be banging on their escape hatch door at any minute, most likely with machines gunning them down so there really isn't any time to do it properly and there never will be and if there was she wouldn't be with him anyway and they definitely wouldn't be here and . . .

John Conner, the Leader of the Resistance and Guy Whose Mother Didn't Train Him For This takes a shaky, nervous breath . . .

"John?"

. . . and just goes ahead because that's all he knows and there's no time anyway.

"I, uh, I know this is weird and everything and it's okay if you want to say 'no', I get it . . ."

And he knows he's not doing this right and it's only getting worse and Kate absolutely has no idea what the hell he's talking about and she's looking at him like he's crazy . . .

"But, uh, I wondered because, uh, people will be coming in soon and uh, . . ."

He holds up the hand holding the rings, not even real rings really, just some perfectly shaped circlets he's stumbled across and he thinks they might fit and he doesn't want to ask her to put her engagement ring back on, that would probably hurt and definitely be holding on to the dead past but . . .

"Do you want to, uh, wear these when they come?"

And Kate stares at him like he has lobsters growing out of his ears.

Stares at him until he thinks he'll die of embarrassment before the machines get to him.

"Wear them? Why?"

Well, shit, Kate, I know they're not diamonds, but a Terminator beat me to the last one at the Zales counter.

"Well, uh, it would make it look like we were, uh, together or, uh, something . . ."

She's expressed worry about being attacked, raped, before.

He knows her fear, has seen it in her eyes.

Rage and fear when the Terminator threw her into the back of the truck and he, John, jumped in after her to calm her down.

". . . beat the shit out of you!"

"I'm not going to rape you! Jesus! I'm not even going to touch you. Would you just . . . please calm down?"

She has spoken indirectly of it here in past weeks.

"Just because there's a machine apocalypse going on, doesn't mean all the humans will automatically be good people."

"No, Kate, no matter what, I won't let anyone hurt you. I'll kill them if I have to."

He had joked about arming her with a paintball gun and hugged her and she had told him to shut up and then hugged him tighter.

So it's there, she knows, and she knows the Terminator's, well, prophecy, so to speak.

So everything is there except the wine and soft music.

And the pre-apocalyptic world where those things are even a possibility.

So it's not the dumbest thing-

"You want us to pretend we're married when the survivors come so it'll look good?"

And she's not mad, not yet, but she's definitely not being swept off her feet and he wishes now he'd never brought it up because this is going south really fast-

"No, I just, well, sort of, but I also thought, you know . . ."

Kate Brewster just stares a disbelieving hole . . .

Shit, Machines, take me now . . .

. . . right through him.


When Scott had proposed there had been wine and candles and music . . .

". . . me, Kate?"

. . . and a pre-apocalyptic world in which she wasn't trapped underground in a fallout shelter with a guy who was humanity's only chance for survival.

"Scott, . . . yes."

And she hadn't really been certain, not at all.

She liked Scott, she loved him.

But even though they had talked about . . .

Marriage? Er, um . . .

. . . she hadn't been really certain it really mattered as much as she was supposed to think it should.

Definitely . . .

Seriously, John? Now?

. . . not now.

Destroyed planet, humanity on the edge of extinction.

And John Conner wants to play house.

Even if it was just a message for the survivors.

To keep Kate safe.

You don't really think a little silver circle is gonna stop anybody from raping me, do you?

You know what'll stop them?

A gun, a gun with bullets will stop them.

Unless I miss.

But they had guns, they had lots of guns.

Guns and bullets too.

What they didn't have was . . .

Oh.

. . . symbols of hope and humanity.

She doubts he's ever thought about marriage or togetherness or anything in any real sense in his life.

Not with knowing he's supposed to be the Leader of the Human Resistance and all.

But here he is, holding up two silver rings and looking for all the world like an earnest, young, slightly disheveled suitor.

Proposing to his Terminator-prophecied wife deep in the bowels of a post-apocalyptic VIP fallout shelter in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in what used to be the southwestern United States of America.

And all she can think is . . .

Well, . . .

"I'm sorry, I, uh, . . ."

I mean, sure, you know, it's fate anyway, right?

She almost says them, those exact bitter words.

But then she slows down her chaotic, traumatized brain . . .

He probably wouldn't have proposed if the Terminator hadn't told him all that shit.

And your dad hadn't told him to take care of you.

And you hadn't had sex with him that time.

And that other time.

And that other other time.

And . . .

He really is a good guy.

And trying just so damn hard.

And here she is just having a pity party over something that is really sweet and actually very . . .

"I mean, yes."

. . . human.

Relief of a sort passes through his eyes, probably mostly because he doesn't have to keep trying to explain and grovel his way out of it.

"Okay, well, I mean, you don't have to wear it if you don't want to or you can just wear it when you're around people or whatever-"

He even smiles and it seems so absurd here in the post-apocalyptic world where nothing non- survival really seems to matter anyway.

And that's why it does.

And she laughs then, puts a hand over his mouth to stop his desperately casual conflagration of words.

"John, stop, stop . . ."


And just as he's about to drop dead of embarrassment . . .

Oh my god, I'm an idiot, where's that deer again-

Kate's entire glaring, bewildered, disgusted face . . .

"No. No . . ."

"What?"

"Well . . . you're a mess . . ."

"Hey, you're not exactly my type either."

. . . changes and she laughs and covers his mouth with a hand that smells like medical supplies.

"John, stop . . ."

Still bewildered and in disbelief and all . . .

". . . stop . . ."

. . . but brightening and clearly reaching toward some sort of . . .

What was the word the Terminator used again?

. . . levity.

"I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting it, I mean . . ."

And now she's the one that's rambling but not quite so bad as he had been.

". . . I just didn't think of it, you know, . . ."

And he feels himself smiling even though he doesn't know really why.

". . . it's nice and it's sweet and I'm sorry I laughed . . ."

Then she stops and takes a breath and good-naturedly shrugs . . .

"Well, Conner, you gonna slip that ring on my finger or what? I don't think the machines are going to stand in as our best man and maid of honor, do you?

. . . and now it's him chuckling over her bizarre attempt at a joke.

"Oh, my god, Kate. You're so weird."

And he slips the ring on her finger without dropping it and miraculously it fits or maybe she's just making it fit to be nice.

And he goes to put his ring on his own finger and . . .

"Jesus, Connor, I guess you haven't been to many weddings because that's my job. Give me that."

. . . he can't stop staring at her as she grins and grabs it and . . .

"There."

. . . does it for him.

And she's smiling, all red-faced . . .

"Now you're supposed to kiss the bride."

. . . and he's smiling . . .

"Come on, Kate, don't push me. I mean, you kinda caught me off guard, proposing and all-"

. . . and everything's okay for the moment.

"Oh shut up, Mister Leader of the Human Resistance."

Even in a world where . . .

"And kiss me."

"Okay."

. . . it's really not.


Okay, listen in Terminator: Salvation, (which yes, I do enjoy, leave me alone) John Conner (aka, Christian Bale) is wearing a wedding ring.

I don't know how he got it, I don't know where he got it, and I don't know why it hasn't gotten ripped right off his finger yet fighting the machines.

But I think it's just too precious for words.

But I decided to try anyway.

So thanks for reading! :)

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