Chapter 15

Me, Myself and I

Cameron left John with Sarah. She figured they needed a lot of catching up to do. That would be a special time for them and to reaffirm their family bonds. Sarah previously confided in her that she didn't think John would return for her as his mother but he would return for her as someone he cared deeply about. It was clear Sarah was hesitant to use the word love, even though she knew that's what it was.

She didn't really want to see what other interaction John and Allison would have together. John was free to choose. He'd been stuck in the future and Allison was there. She probably provided him with the 'comfort' and human 'female companionship' he seemed to desire over 'robot love'. She knew John was the one who needed to make the decision. If she 'forced' him to choose her, then that was no choice at all. Then nothing was 'real' at that point.

There were some other matters for Cameron to attend to.

Cameron, Bob and Jim headed toward the lab. Cameron wanted to check all three of them over and update her 'Cameron server'. Once again she wanted create a Master File to be downloaded onto her chip. She especially wanted all of 'Bob-Cameron's' interactions with John and Allison. John was entitled to make a choice. She wasn't there when he was all alone in a strange and violent place. Cameron wanted to try to find out what that choice was. The last time John was presented with a choice, John chose someone else over her. She noted her hand now began to glitch. It hadn't done that the entire time she was in the future with John. Now thinking of what John did before with Riley and probably did again with Allison caused her much grief. The feeling of 'not good enough' began to creep back in.

Jim looked at Cameron and then at Bob.

"Why did we have to bring the 'Bitch Whore' back?" Jim asked.

'Bob' was a copy of Cameron's program too. It was copied in the future by John so he could have Allison return Cameron's original chip. That way he was able to have 'Cameron' be around him and watch over him.

Bob didn't see what the big deal was or why Jim was so 'ate up'.

"I'm you and you are me." Bob said.

Jim returned his usual response.

"But if you're me, then who am I?" Jim asked.

This was some of the banter that went on between Jim and Bob. They were both her program but developed very distinct personalities at this point. She told them to stop arguing. This happened over and over. It irritated her more and more.

"Besides, you're both me. I have the original chip. You might want to take a look in the mirror." Cameron said. "I also have the original chassis."

Jim did not want to let it go. He never did.

"You saw that 'Bitch Whore' body Bob was in." Jim said. "I think something - happened."

Cameron wondered about that herself. That was another reason she wanted ALL of 'Bob-Cameron's' files. John was going to need to come clean at some point once she uncovered the evidence. She'd avoided the issue as much as possible when they were in the future.

Bob was very defensive over what happened. It wasn't his fault. John was the one who chose the original female chassis that looked like Riley.

"I was only in it for two days." Bob said. "Nothing happened."

Jim wasn't sold.

"It only takes two minutes." Jim said.

Bob was upset now.

"Are you looking for another reboot already?" Bob asked as he moved towards Jim.

Bob and Jim stood facing each other. This seemed to happen often.

Cameron was tired of this continually happening. She grabbed both of them and forcefully jerked them apart. She held each of them by the collar.

"Enough. We have work to do." Cameron said angrily. "Stop this constant bickering. It's driving me insane."

Cameron feared she was insane anyway. This incessant bickering was going to make it happen, if it already hadn't.

Bob and Jim backed away from each other and resumed what they were doing.

Sarah spent a lot of time with John. That was because Cameron, all three of 'her' spent the last two months with John.

Sarah was curious about what other interaction there was going to be between John and Allison. There was none. Vanna pretty much dragged Allison away from John and her.

Vanna and Allison went off together to 'catch up'. They needed to do a lot of catching up to make up for the time apart. It was a dark time with both of them separated and alone.

Vanna wasn't so sure Allison was all alone. She saw the way Allison looked at John.

Later on Vanna wanted to speak with Cameron.

Cameron reassured Vanna again to peruse her own life as that is what she intended to do her life, with John.

Vanna wanted to express her feelings to Cameron

"Cameron…." Vanna started.

Cameron knew what was coming and how it was going to hurt Vanna. She'd said the words to John on several occasions and knew the pain of rejection.

"DON'T say it." Cameron interrupted.

Vanna look distraught and confused.

Cameron wanted to soothe Vanna.

"Vanna, you have what you want back again. Your life can resume where it stopped. Not everyone has that chance in life." Cameron said. "Please…."

Vanna couldn't change her feelings. How do you turn love off? She didn't want to distress Cameron. She saw the slight glitch of her left hand a few times.

"I understand, Cameron." Vanna said. "I'm sorry."

Cameron was close to 'caving in'. She needed to physically leave the area.

"All is as it was." Cameron said and walked away.

Tears silently streamed down Vanna's cheeks.

"I love you, Cameron." Vanna whispered softly after Cameron left.

As Cameron walked away she heard it. She understood Vanna's love was pure and based on who and what she was, not just her appearance. Her left hand began to glitch as a single tear slid down her cheek.

Cameron knew love was about sacrifice. Sometimes you needed to let someone go or let go of them for what was best for them. That was love.

Vanna and Allison moved into the quietness of Vanna's room.

There was a nagging question that troubled Vanna. There was no easy way to ask it without asking it. She asked Allison when they were alone about her and John.

They both knew it would come up sooner or later.

Vanna wanted to know if they made love.

Allison didn't answer.

Vanna wanted an answer. She wanted to know where she stood at this point. Cameron just 'pushed' her away.

"Well?" Vanna asked. "Did you? What happened?"

Allison tried to dodge the question again.

"What do you mean, 'What happened'?" Allison asked.

Vanna became very irritated.

"I saw how you looked at him." Vanna said.

Allison wasn't blind. She saw what she saw with Vanna and Cameron.

"Are you going to 'sic' your Metal girlfriend on me? I saw how you looked at her." Allison replied.

Vanna was angry now. She snapped at Allison

"She'll do that on her own if YOU did anything." Vanna said.

Allison didn't like where this was going. It was a bunch of drama over nothing.

"Look, I don't want to argue over stupid things that didn't happen. The closest thing I've experienced to sex since you left was that near assault by those Scavengers."

Vanna still wasn't sold. She knew Allison's 'needs'.

"Are you saying it was a full year of nothing?" Vanna asked. "I know you, Allison. You NEED to scratch your 'itch'."

Allison spent a lot of nights alone 'polishing her pearl'.

"I did scratch my itch. I did it myself." Allison said. "That's nothing new. I've been doing that since I was a girl. You know that."

That was all that Vanna experienced too. She'd done a lot of it recently as she thought about Cameron. Sometimes it was a dozen times a night.

"Me too. That ends now." Vanna said. "Our hands get a rest from ourselves."

Allison tried to reach out.

"Now they are for each other again." Allison said.

Vanna smiled at Allison.

"Stop teasing me." Vanna said.

Allison touched Vanna's hair.

"I want you to change your hair back. It was so beautiful before." Allison said. "I don't like it now."

The talk about hair reminded Vanna about some changes elsewhere.

"Speaking of hair…." Vanna smiled. "I have a surprised for you…."

They moved closer and embraced. They kissed soft and slow as they started to remove each other's clothes….

Allison was surprised….

She reached out and touched the hairless area.

"Damn, that looks HOT…." Allison said. "It's so smooth."

"It's permanent too." Vanna said.

Allison was highly aroused already, that statement pushed her a little further.

"Now you're teasing me." Allison said as they fell into each others arms.

Cameron was with Bob and Jim.

The inevitable argument started again. It just NEVER stopped.

"You're not the Boss of me." Bob said.

Jim faced Bob.

"And you don't own me." Jim replied.

Cameron came back over to them. This was too much for her.

"Look, we either need to integrate our three chips back into mine so there is only one 'Cameron'. Or erase yours and reprogram them." Cameron said. "I can't take much more of this. I didn't know what a 'Bitch' I could be…."

That was fine with Jim. As Cameron Two she already tried to self terminate.

"I would rather be erased than have anything to do with that 'Bitch Whore.' How could she take that Riley looking body after all the trouble that terminated 'Bitch Whore' caused?" Jim asked. "What were they thinking?"

Bob felt defensive.

"I was only a chip in John's hand when he made the selection. I wasn't involved." Bob said.

Jim felt John made the choice so he didn't have to use 'Rosie Palm'.

"I bet." Jim said. "Maybe the chip wasn't the only thing in John's hand."

Bob was frustrated.

"I didn't have a choice. That was the only female chassis there. John chose it." Bob said. "As soon as I powered up with my new chip I said I need a different chassis, ask John. It was the first thing I said. It was the very first thing I said."

Cameron heard this same exact argument over and over.

She hung her head in resignation.

"How many times are we going to do this?" Cameron asked.

She didn't expect an answer but received one anyway.

"So far it has been one hundred and seventy three times." Jim said.

That was it.

"STOP." Cameron shouted.

Bob still responded to Jim and ignored Cameron.

"Besides I carried you to the TDE room." Bob continued.

Jim saw it differently.

"If you'd been a little quicker I wouldn't have taken the 'juice' and gone offline." Jim quickly retorted.

Cameron thought about disabling her audio input.

"We need to go on a mission." Cameron said. "I can't take this anymore."

Cameron glared angrily at Bob and Jim.

Bob could see Cameron was on the edge. He tried to redirect the conversation.

"Too bad there aren't any Scavengers here now." Bob said.

Cameron nodded. They did a lot of 'clean up' before they'd left the future.

"We did hunt down a lot of them." Cameron said.

Jim was proud of their work and why.

"It was six hundred and twenty seven to be exact." Jim said.

Bob was pleased with what they'd done and why too.

"They would have become Grays eventually anyway. It was a preemptive strike." Bob said. "We protected a lot of females in that timeline from further assaults."

Cameron wanted the 'problem' eradicated for what was done to Allison and Vanna.

"We did it for what almost happened to Allison. I needed to repay a 'debt'." Cameron said. "It was personal to me."

Cameron wanted to avenge what was done to Vanna and Allison. It was especially for Allison because of what she'd done to her Allison - Future Allison.

"Payback is a Bitch." Bob said.

"And you're a 'Bitch Whore'." Jim said with another dig.

"It wasn't my fault." Bob said.

"ENOUGH!" Cameron shouted.

Bob and Jim looked at her.

Jim thought they better change the subject.

"You were very enticing bait for Skynet and Scavengers." Jim said to Cameron.

Cameron nodded with a faint smile

"We did work well as a team." Cameron said.

Bob thought they'd accomplished a lot.

"We also destroyed many Skynet facilities and over a hundred Terminators." Bob added.

Cameron saw it as a necessity.

"The Scavengers deserved it. They pillaged by choice and chose not to be part of the Resistance. The Terminators were only following their programming." Cameron said. "Maybe that is something John Henry can work on with you two. This needs to be done before we have a violent altercation or a double termination."

Jim bumped into Bob.

"Watch it - Bitch." Bob said.

"You watch it - 'Bitch Whore'." Jim said.

Cameron clenched her fists as her eyes began to glow red.

Bob and Jim faced each other.

"Here we go again…." Cameron said.

"You don't own me." Bob said

"And you're not the Boss of me." Jim replied.

"SHUT UP!" Cameron screamed.

Cameron grabbed both of them by the neck and lifted them off of the ground. She violently shook them back and forth a few times before she threw both of them to the ground.

She understood why she hated herself at times. She pulled out her Taser.

Me, Myself And I

There are many people
Who can enter our life
Which of them will bring comfort
Which of them will bring strife

We have those who use
They are very greedy
They search and hunt
To abuse the needy

When we reach out
What will we find
Will it be pleasure and joy
Or end as an attack on our mind

Everyone one is out for themselves
They are all very unreliable
We can't count on them
That fact is undeniable

When push comes to shove
On whom can we always rely
The answer sadly is only
Me, myself and I

Nobody