Chapter 825

Cards In Play

Cameron was very pleased that everything worked out as planned and Riley was able to have a healthy baby girl. She went to visit Riley and Derek. She wanted to see the baby too. They hadn't picked a name yet, maybe they'd come up with one by now.

Derek opened the door and let Cameron in. He led her to where Riley and the baby were.

Riley currently nursed the baby. Cameron watched with a certain amount of awe. She always felt that way when she'd watched Savannah, Young Jesse and Claire nurse as well.

Not only could their bodies create life, they could sustain it too. It made her feel very vain as she thought about her sheath. She'd been very upset when her sheath sustained cosmetic damage. It made no difference if her breast ever would have regenerated or not. It didn't do anything nor could it. It was just a lump of organic material. The more that she thought about it, the more that she realized it was simply there for someone else's pleasure. It was part of her facade so she could masquerade as a human female. None of it could change the fact that she was a very scary robot from the future. It made her think of her other simulated female attributes. They also only existed so that others could take pleasure from them. On her sheath there was no other function for her female attributes other than to do that. It made her feel very inadequate as compared to a human female.

Cameron was aware her chassis could not reproduce or sustain life like that. Her chassis was constructed to destroy and a human female was born to create. They were two total opposites. She felt a little upset she was on the losing side of that miracle. It seemed to pound home the feelings that she always felt for various reasons of being 'not good enough'.

Riley saw Cameron and smiled. She was still willing to give Cameron another try. She would try again to reach Cameron.

"Cameron, I'll make the offer one more time. Derek and I will give her to you." Riley said. "I'm already bonding with this baby. I'll nurse it for John and you but she will be YOUR child."

Cameron felt a glitch impulse shoot through her left arm. She needed to remind herself she was a machine. She wasn't a mother nor could she ever be. She would always be a machine. She thought that it was very cruel for Skynet to create a machine like her where her program continued to advance along with expanded emotional development. Where did Skynet think that would lead its creations and what would it do to them emotionally and mentally the more that they evolved and progressed? She again looked at the infant in Riley's arms as it suckled. Now she was afraid to even hold her.

"I can't take your child." Cameron said. "I can't."

Derek wanted to give Cameron another chance as well.

"We haven't named her yet." Derek said. "Riley wanted you to pick her name if you'll accept her."

Cameron could clearly see how much Riley and Derek were attached to her and how much they loved her. She may be a stone cold killer and not have a heart but she knew love when she saw it. She could see it right now. The feeling of guilt seemed to grow inside of her. She remembered when she wanted to take Summer away from Claire. How could she have ever thought of anything so cruel and selfish?

"I could never take anything so precious away from you." Cameron said.

Riley suddenly perked up with Cameron's statement. Something caught her fancy.

"Precious…." Riley said. "That is a beautiful name. I like it."

Derrick understood right away the meaning behind the name Precious.

"I like it too." Derek said. "It sounds like what we feel about her, to us."

Cameron tilted her head slightly. She quickly referenced 'Precious' as a girl's name. She understood how it could have meaning to both Riley and Derek and what it actually stood for based upon a Skynet future. Her database also showed there were other similar names but they didn't quite convey the same meaning.

"Precious, as a girl's name, is of Latin origin. It means 'of great value or highly esteemed'. It's a term of endearment." Cameron said. "Similar female names are Amber, Gem, Goldie, Jewell, Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire or Topaz."

Derek was impressed with the names Cameron just listed. He still liked the original name.

"Wow!" Derek said. "I think you just named the baby anyway. Those are some beautiful names."

Cameron didn't feel that she'd done anything other than say what were simply the facts.

"She's a miracle for both of you." Cameron said. "Thank you for your offer, both of you. I want you to keep your precious miracle."

Riley held out her other arm to hug Cameron as she fed her baby, Derek hugged her as well.

"This miracle is your doing, Cameron." Riley said. "I'll never forget it."

Derek was sure none of it would have ever happened without Cameron's assistance.

"WE will never forget it." Derek said.

Derek and Riley both thanked Cameron as she left.

They watched Cameron depart.

Riley looked down at the tiny infant in her arms. She already needed to switch to her other breast to continue the feeding. It seemed like she never had very much to offer the baby at one time.

"Do you think she will change her mind and want her?" Riley asked.

Derek could tell Cameron wanted the infant. He also watched her make a choice not to take it from them.

"She wants her now." Derek said. "She's sacrificing what she wants for our love and our daughter."

Riley always felt like a second class person at the Resistance base. It seemed that the person who reached out to her the most and tried to make her feel comfortable and part of the group was actually Cameron. She didn't like it but she understood why all the others were hesitant to ever get too close to her. They didn't want to upset Cameron and make her feel like John made her feel about Future Riley.

"She's very loving and understanding." Riley said.

Derek wondered about the depth of Riley's statement.

"Do you mean for a machine?" Derek asked.

Riley quickly looked up from her baby to Derek's face. She wanted to make herself perfectly clear.

"I didn't say that." Riley said. "I don't see any of the Metal girls as machines, even if that's what they are. They're all so much more than a machine."

Derek never would have thought that way when he was in his future. He was no longer in that future and he interacted with the machines everyday. It was only when he saw one of them shot or use their superior ability to do something that he would remember they were machines.

"I have to agree." Derek said.

Derek thought back to when John first introduced him to Mrs. Weaver. Now he lived and worked with Terminators everyday. They really were some of the best 'people' that he'd ever known. They were certainly much better 'people' than the people he'd left behind in the future. Maybe all the good people in his future were already dead. Maybe the ones that were left were all the second stringers. He hoped that wasn't what he was.

Cameron walked away. She knew it was wrong to take away someone's child. For Derek and Riley it was most likely their only child. She really wanted that baby for herself. It made her remember again how useless and worthless her body actually was.

She felt a glitch impulse shoot through her left hand.

No matter how much she wanted that baby they were willing to give to her, she could never take it from them.

She knew Savannah wouldn't let her keep it either, if she took 'Precious'. She was sure that Savannah would MAKE her give her back. Savannah would use herself to force her to do it. She didn't want to lose Savannah's love. There was nothing that she wanted more than the love that Savannah and Young Allison could provide her.

After the excitement of Riley's baby being born, operations returned to normal in a very short while. There was still a job to do and Skynet to be hunted.

John Henry went through the information from the last raid himself as John asked him to do. He'd been able to gather and compile some information.

"I have the records of where the Gray's phones pinged at, along with the visual files from the Terminator." John Henry said.

John hoped this produced some targets for them to take down. He was ready to act if John Henry could provide a location.

"What's our next target?" John asked.

John Henry didn't want John to get ahead of himself. There were still many more things that needed to be checked and verified.

"There's nothing definitive yet. We still have teams out looking for more stored boxcars as well." John Henry said.

John hoped there was at least something they could act on.

"Do we have anything solid?" John asked.

John Henry wanted to make sure there were valid targets before any teams were sent out.

"No." John Henry said. "But we have several areas we need to do some recon at."

John figured that was a start, even if it was a poor one. There was also something else that bothered him greatly. He was worried about the home front too.

"I don't want Derek out on any recon duties or operations for awhile." John said. "I want him here with Riley, especially if there's any help she needs."

From what John Henry was able to observe, it seemed to him things went as well as expected.

"Riley's been doing very well." John Henry said. "Savannah, Vanna, Jesse and Allison have all been there to assist her as well as Sarah."

John was aware it wasn't just the human girls that were around Riley in abundance.

"We have a lot of female Terminators present now too." John said. "They've all asked to tend to anything that needs tending to at night."

John Henry was a little surprised at the enthusiasm the female Terminators showed towards the new infant.

"I can see they all want to help and learn." John Henry said.

John wasn't sure exactly what that meant. They were killing machines. What did they need to know about an infant?

"What's there for them to learn?" John asked.

The answer seemed very straightforward to John Henry. It was clear that the Metal girls with human lovers all hoped that their human lover would be able to be in the same spot Riley was in now.

"They want to be able to help and care for the offspring of their human mates." John Henry said.

John didn't say anything at first. It made him wonder what else Cameron may have been up to lately.

"Is there something I need to know?" John asked.

John Henry wasn't aware specifically of any new developments in regards to Cameron and offspring. He was aware of the ever worsening condition of Allison's future offspring.

"Allison is pregnant, she's not doing well." John Henry said.

John felt a feeling of tightness in his gut. He was aware that was his baby as well. It may not have been conceived in the traditional manner but nonetheless it was his genetic material that helped in the creation of that child. He knew of the multiple attempts by Allison you have a child, everything so far and ended in failure for her. It sadly reminded him that both Vanna and Jesse stop trying because they both felt like embryo serial killers with all of their failures.

"I know that, it's terrible." John said. "I know that's hurting her."

John Henry heard the rumors of what Allison planned to do after her next failure.

"I've been informed that she's leaving for the future when the pregnancy fails." John Henry said.

John heard rumors of that before. Nothing was set in stone that he knew of. He was aware that there were several choices open to her, including River's future. There was advanced medical care available in that future.

"What future will it be?" John asked more than a little concerned.

John Henry did know the answer to that question.

"It will be Cameron's future." John Henry said.

John quickly contemplated when John Henry indicated. He was able to derive an answer very quickly.

"Future Allison is already there…. Allison wants HER baby back." John said. "That's it."

John Henry knew that was the reason and who else was going with her.

"Yes." John Henry said. "Vanna is going with her. Jesse will most likely go with them as well."

John didn't want to lose his personnel, his friends and the girls that he loved.

"I can't allow that." John said. "Is Future Allison returning here in Allison's place?"

John Henry thought that would be debatable. He wasn't sure things would be able to happen as simple as that.

"It's a possibility." John Henry said.

John was instantly excited about the prospect of having Future Allison at the Resistance base. He wondered if she would hook up with Savannah. If she did, he planned to take her up on her offer to be with her.

"I'll only agree to this if Future Allison comes back." John said.

John Henry didn't see it as a problem for the girls from the alternate future to be out of the current time line. There presence here clearly disrupted it. He could tell that John let the little head do the thinking for the big head by his demand.

"John, 'Future Allison' is already here, she's still a very young woman. It's Young Allison." John Henry said. "That's the only 'Allison' that belongs in this timeline. She'll be your mate, NOT Future Allison."

John didn't want to get called out for what he'd been thinking.

"It was just a thought." John said.

John reflected on how HOT Future Allison was compared to Allison. She'd been 'all over' him too when she was here. As she touched him, she reminded him she already shared his bed with 'him' in the future. She said she would in the past as well too. He didn't think Cameron was behind it either. Future Allison did what she did on her own. It was what she wanted to do.

John Henry had moved on to the next subject but evidently John hadn't. He seemed to be lost in thought.

"…John…?" John Henry asked.

John was aware his mind drifted to where he wanted it to go. It was with Future Allison in his bed with him. He even contemplated that Future Savannah would most likely accompany her. She too was acclimated to be in with Future John. Because they'd both been with his future self he wouldn't feel as guilty as he did whenever he wanted to be with Vanna or Allison here. They'd never been with 'John Connor'. Future Savannah and Future Allison both had been. They'd been with him by choice as well. It wasn't a decision that was made for them by Cameron like it was an obligation that they were supposed to fill.

"What?" John asked. "Sorry, I started to think about somebo… SOMETHING else…."

John Henry knew exactly what John started to think about.

"That's understandable." John Henry said. "Future Allison was very alluring."

John knew he was busted. The best solution to him seemed to be to fix the problem.

"You got me." John said. "I don't want Allison or Vanna to leave. How can we fix it?"

John Henry knew that there was one way John could keep both of them here.

"You can prevent them from leaving." John Henry said.

John knew that the girls were out of their own future. He could understand the feeling to not belong to anything specific. It was a feeling he experienced often growing up.

"If they want to go, I won't stop them." John said. "I want to make them WANT to stay."

John Henry wanted to spell it out clearly for John. He didn't want the girls to leave either.

"You can always do what Cameron has wanted for years." John Henry said. "Mate with them."

John didn't say anything at first. It didn't take him long to come up with an answer to that.

"If Cameron will tell me that's what she still wants, I will." John said. "I don't want them to leave. Would that change anything with them being unable to have a child?"

John Henry wasn't sure of what the results would be but it would certainly increase the chances to multiple times a year. He knew that this was something that John should have started on a decade ago. There'd been well over a hundred chances lost. The law of probability would have seemed to favor the girls during that time span at some point.

"They would be able to try every month then if you did as Cameron asked. It also may be too late for that." John Henry said. "You've waited too long to act."

John thought of all the times Vanna and Allison were 'all over' him. They'd all wanted to expand their relationships but it just never happened. Even if Cameron said it was what she wanted, the girls and him always found Cameron 'between' them as they worried about her. They all put Cameron's well being in front of their desires. They all loved Cameron. Love was clearly about sacrifice at times. They'd all sacrificed for Cameron.

"I KNOW." John said. "I wanted to but I didn't want to hurt Cameron."

John Henry understood Cameron was in a 'no win' situation in regards to her mission and her own personal feelings.

"You hurt Cameron more by not doing what she was programmed to do for you – BY YOU." John Henry said. "Those are programming conflicts she hasn't been able to resolve. They have caused her many problems."

John didn't need to hear this. He'd seen the results of that too many times.

"I KNOW." John said.

John Henry felt it was more than his duty to the 'Natural Order' to remind John of his personal feelings as well.

"John, my 'sister' must not be rejected as you've done with Vanna, Allison and Jesse." John Henry said.

John just thought about Vanna, Allison, Future Savannah, Future Allison and Jesse. Now here was an additional layer of females that John Henry brought up.

"Savannah?" John asked. "Now what's up?"

John Henry was painfully aware Savannah often longed for her children too.

"Her children are in the future as well…." John Henry said. "They are in two different futures at that."

John begin to wonder who was going to be left in the present.

"That would still leave Young Allison, right?' John asked.

John Henry strongly doubted that.

"She would follow her true mate, Savannah." John Henry said. "I imagine Claire would still be available and Summer. Then again Claire may choose to be with Allison and her grandchild in the future."

John didn't want to have this discussion. He saw the 'teenage' Metal version of Summer. She was HOT and even more beautiful than Cameron. He knew that was really why Cameron sent her away. Nobody could ever match Cameron's beauty, except Metal Summer. Now she was gone.

Not only did Cameron send her away. She sent her to River's future. It was the farthest place away that they knew of and that was where Cameron banished her to. There was a lot for John to think about.

"I need to ask Cameron about all this." John said.

John Henry doubted that was where the answer rested. He knew of Cameron's strong feelings for the girls that were in the correct timeline.

"She may decide to follow Savannah and Young Allison as well." John Henry said. "She also believes she took them to the past in a previous 'lifetime'."

John was able to think of a quick fix. With the use of 'temporal management' he knew it was something that Cameron could control and rectify the situation in a matter of days if not actually in hours.

"I'm aware of that." John said. "We need Savannah and Claire to 'act' again for Vanna and Allison."

John Henry saw another one of Cameron's cards fall into play.

John Henry knew that process took a toll on the females. He was aware that the mental toll was much worse than the physical toll, especially for Savannah.

"It is a lot to ask of them, especially Savannah." John Henry said.

John didn't want to lose anybody and he certainly didn't want to end up alone.

"Let me speak with Cameron and then I'll speak to Claire and Savannah myself." John said.

Cameron made sure that John Henry understood what Savannah wanted going forward.

"Savannah has asked for a 'traditional conception'." John Henry said.

John felt 'Little Willy' stir in his pants.

"Then that's what it will be." John said "We are not losing our people."

John had been to 'a future'. It was a terrible place. He heard descriptions and saw some video files from the other futures. They all appeared to be equally worthless and not good places to have to live, let alone raise children. They all looked like Hell on earth. It was his job as the leader of the Resistance to keep those girls safe. He would do what was necessary.

"I'll do whatever I have to do to keep those girls here. I've seen a future and it sucked." John said.

John Henry again saw another one of Cameron's cards fall into play.

"Cameron is out now." John Henry said. "Do you wish for me to contact her?"

John didn't want to disrupt Cameron with whatever she currently was involved with.

"No don't bother her." John said. "I want to be notified if anyone is trying to go into the future. I won't allow that."

John Henry knew that the future wasn't the only destination.

"What about the past?" John Henry asked.

John thought of how Hot Future Allison was. Young Allison would be just like that, maybe Hotter as a teenager. At this point he was ready to 'pop' her right now if it would keep her in the present and not gone for good.

"Maybe…." John said.

John Henry was aware that there could be other complications.

"Cameron may need to go and check on the futures she's been to." John Henry said.

John really didn't want Cameron to go anywhere else in time, especially alone.

"What would she need to go for?" John asked.

John Henry thought the answer should be obvious.

"She's worried about the girls there and her babies as well." John Henry said.

John was a little confused with the last part of that statement.

"What do you mean 'her babies'?" John asked.

John Henry already had a first hand look at Cameron's personal desires.

"Cameron wanted those children for herself. She wanted them for you and her." John Henry said.

John was a little appalled at what Cameron made Savannah do as a young girl. She'd actually given Savannah a physical reminder of what she promised with her wedding dress. It was a reminder to Savannah every day as she grew up that hung in her closet. The wedding dress hung in her closet as her future hung over her. He really believed that was a lot of pressure on a young mind.

"I know Cameron MADE Savannah promise 'that' for years." John said.

John Henry personally knew that statement wasn't correct.

"Cameron showed me the files of that from the first time Savannah promised. Savannah said it on her own." John Henry said. "Savannah loves Cameron and will make any sacrifice for her because of that love."

John was sure when Savannah as a child made the promise to have children for Cameron that she didn't fully understand the impact of that on herself. Even if she did, her mind never changed and she did it twice but they didn't end up with Cameron. There was no doubt that Savannah loved Cameron and that love was strong. It was strong enough for Savannah to die for.

"We've all seen that too." John said. "Savannah will even die for her or with her."

John Henry knew Savannah wanted more out of life.

"Savannah is ready to share that love with you as well." John Henry said. "John, Savannah is a very special woman."

John thought back to the encounters with Savannah when they'd almost made love, several times. Now that he thought about Savannah again, he really wanted her virginity. He really wanted to be her first. It didn't take him long to remember that desire applied to Young Allison as well.

"We're not losing ANYONE." John said. "NOBODY is leaving."

For Lying To Me

What is truth
What is a lie
When is a lie
Not really a lie

We may speak half truths
Or lie by omission
Or tell a good lie
To avoid contrition

So is to lie
Always something bad
Or can it sometimes
Keep another from being sad

It has been said
Lying is worse than stealing
The trust is gone
Leaving an empty feeling

I already knew the truth
You soon came clean I see
You apologized
For lying to me

Nobody