" Kind of galling when you realize that nutbags with cardboard signs had it right the whole time."

Destiny picked up a sleeveless, low cut dress and pulled it off the rack to examine it..

"Never gonna happen." Racheal loomed over her, frowning. "You're not going to dress like Britney Spears.

Destiny looked confused. "Who?"

Her mother frowned. "Never mind, just no on the dress."

Destiny sighed sadly and it put it back. "Fine, let's just go."She said and stormed to the car.

She stuck her head out the window of the car and sighed again. "What is wrong with you?" Racheal asked. Destiny looked towards the driver.

"Do you think Katya is dead?"

"Not once, not ever."

"You thought I was dead."

"You have a target on your back, she does not."

Destiny nodded. Racheal sighed and rubbed Destiny's arm. "Think I found a place for us to go. Somewhere safe till we figure out a way back home."

Destiny rolled her eyes. "Why can't we stay?"

"Primary and secondary targets in the same house is a very big risk. Two terminators drawn in the same direction." Destiny was silent for a long time.

"What do I do in the future? Why do they want me?"

Racheal sighed. "I can't tell you."

Destiny balled up her fists and stared out the window. Driving through town, they passed a sign that "Repent: The end is near."

"Why can't we do that? Put up some sign…a warning. That the world ends in 2011. Some way to tell people what's coming. To give them a chance." Destiny mumbled.

"Because no one takes them seriously. Most people believe they are daft." Racheal sighed and turned her attention back to the road. She swerved the car a bit to make Destiny laugh.

"So how was your birthday?"

Destiny smirked.

"Bit different than last year."

"Bad or different?"

"Just different."

"Tell me about it."

Destiny chewed her lip then faced forward. "Mom, look out!"

A tall man stood in the middle of the road. Racheal frowned and slowed down. Something didn't look right. Might have been the stance he was in, or the fact that he was simply too still. Most likely it was the way he seemed to be waiting on them. Whatever the reason, Racheal tightened her grip on the steering wheel. She swerved the car to avoid hitting him. A quick jerk on the car and it veered off the road and into the sand. It landed on its side, shattered glass mixing with sand. Destiny's head smacked against the window and she blacked out. Racheal's head slammed against the dashboard. The man 's eyes glowed red and he stalked up to the car. A quick thrust of his hand and he pulled Destiny through the windshield and flung her several feet from the car. Racheal lifted her head from the dash and followed his eyeline to Destiny's still form lying face-down in the dirt.

February 16th, 2012

Racheal awoke to a bright light shining in her face. She lifted her head and rested it on the pillow behind her. The pale walls and rails on the bed told her she was in the infirmary.

"How are you feeling?" A woman asked from across the room.

"Like I've been in a coma."

"Do you remember anything?" She asked.

Racheal closed her eyes and concentrated hard. Fragmented pieces of memory flashed before her eyes. Metal hand around her throat….. Being thrown into a concrete wall…..Blood running down her legs….. John's voice in the distance… Her eyes snapped open. She sat up with some difficulty and lifted her shirt just enough to touch the stitches running across her abdomen.

"The baby?"

The woman across the room shook her head. "I'm very sorry, Ma'am. There was too much damage, the bleeding... we couldn't save…. " She hung her head and held her hand to her eyes.

Racheal shut her eyes tightly to force the tears back. "Boy or girl?" She asked hoarsely.

"A boy."

"I want to see him."

"Ma'am, John has him."

"Then go get John."

The nurse quickly left. John walked in a moment later and sat next to her. He looked at the lump of green blanket he held before looking into Racheal's eyes and scraped his throat before talking.

"This wasn't your fault. No way in hell...was this your fault."

"I should have... been more careful."

"You didn't know... You didn't know he was there." John eased the blanket into her arms and gently nuzzled her face.

Racheal unwrapped it, just enough to fully see his size. "He's tiny."

"He's estimated at about 19 weeks. No bigger than a hand at most."

"We should name him. I ..I...I can't... bury him without a name. " She said sobbing.

"I like William or Matthew." John suggested.

"Looks more like a Matthew to me." Racheal swallowed and caressed the infant's face with the side of her finger.

"Matthew sounds good to me." John reached over and softly kissed her on the cheek.

Racheal blinked her eyes hard and glared back at the machine. She pulled her 9mm and emptied the magazine into the back of its head. It turned away from Destiny to Racheal, long enough to take a shot at her as she ducked behind the flipped car. The terminator loomed over Destiny and took aim.

Tyler sprinted from behind the other side of the flipped car. He grabbed the can and tossed it to the ground "Where the hell had he come from?"

Racheal scrambled to her feet, took Destiny's arms and began to drag her to the parked car. Tyler pulled a screwdriver from his pants pocket and walked over to the terminator. He looked back at Racheal who nodded to him before pushing Destiny into the backseat of the car and climbing in the driver's side. Tyler seized the tin can's throat with his hand and held it in its place. He bashed its head with his left hand until its endoskeletal skull became visable. Racheal scrambled through the papers and tools in the glovebox of the car till she found what she was looking for. She got out and ran towards Tyler and the machine. A flick of the screwdriver and the porthole popped open.

"Five more seconds, Tyler." Tyler reached with his right hand and jerked the chip out.

John walked into the kitchen and leaned against the sink. "Morning

"Morning to you." Sarah answered and handed him a plate of pancakes.

John sat down at the table where Racheal and TJ were both eating their breakfast in silence. "Morning." Neither looked up nor answered. Cameron walked into the room and analyzed the table of three.

Cameron tilted her head. "Why are you mad"?"

Racheal grumbled. TJ scowled.

"He pissed me off." Nodding at John.

Cameron looked him up and down. "You do not appear to be wet."

John hit head on table. "God !..Cameron. It's just an expression."

"I get it." She replied.

"No, I don't think you do." John looked around before looking back at Sarah. "Where's everyone else?"

"Don't know. Took off before I got up. Why?"

John shrugged and turned his attention back to his plate.

Racheal examined the CPU in her hands and sighed. "It's toast. Figures." She rolled her eyes and looked at the backseat.

"She still hasn't woken up since the last time you checked. 30 seconds ago." Tyler answered.

Racheal glared good-naturedly at him. "Shut Up. Not that I'm complaining but why were you follow us?"

"C's idea."

"To follow us?"

"Cameron's there for John, I'm here for her."

"Protector?" She asked.

"Glorified Babysitter it would seem."

"Too old for a babysitter." Destiny mumbled from the backseat.

"The sleeper awakes." Racheal smirked .

"Finally." Tyler quipped as he slowed the car into the driveway.

He parked the car as Racheal got out and opened the door to the backseat. A quick jerk of her arms and he had Destiny thrown over his shoulder. Racheal shut the car door and went to open the back door to the house but not before Tyler kicked it open. Racheal rolled her eyes and walked in. The kids were in the living room and Sarah had her gun drawn at the door.

"Just us, Connor." Tyler replied and let himself in.

"What happened to her?" She nodded at Destiny.

"Lent." Destiny smiled. "I gave up walking."

Tyler dropped her on the couch and smirked.

"Hey! Easy Sasquatch, I'm breakable."

"Toughen up then."

Destiny rolled her eyes and plucked a shard of glass from a cut in her arm. "Yeah. Whatever."

Tyler rolled his eyes and grabbed a first aid kit from a kitchen cabinet as Destiny got up off the couch. "Sit down, kid"

"I'm fine." Destiny mumbled.

" I said "Sit down."

"And I said "I'm fine."

"Destiny, park it." Racheal ordered while she wet a washcloth in the kitchen sink.

Destiny sat back on the couch while Tyler brought over the first aid kit and sat it on the coffee table. He took out a pair of tweezers and pulled a shard of glass from the back of Destiny winced.

"So, what happened to you?" The younger Racheal asked.

"Wouldn't know. Didn't see it."

"You didn't see how a bunch of glass embedded itself into your skin."

Destiny pulled her hair aside to show her head wound.

"Gross." Racheal quipped.

"Shouldn't you assess her head wound first? She might have a fracture or at least a concussion." TJ asked.

"There's glass sticking out of her neck. For me to assess her trauma, she needs to lie back. She lies back, the glass goes further in, possibly nicking an artery or her brain stem, killing her." Tyler grumbled.

"So when you tossed me on the couch, I coulda landed on the glass. It coulda nicked something. You coulda killed me. Some babysitter you are. Can we fire him?" Destiny asked looking at Racheal.

"You don't have the authority, Silver Spoon and neither does your mommy." Tyler answered while finishing her bandages.

"Silver Spoon?" TJ asked.

"Yeah, Silver Spoon, Princess, Privileged daughter of C." Tyler answered while checking Destiny's ears for blood.

"Oh."

Amy came in the back door with Derek before looking around. "Nice. Average day of hell. Huh?" She smirked.

"Something like that." Tyler smirked back.

"Can I go now?" Destiny piped up.

"Yeah, you're done." Racheal answered.

Destiny took off upstairs as Amy got a rag and nodded to his injuries. "Reckless."

Tyler grinned. "Part of my nature."

The older Racheal smirked and went into the living room. "Thank you, Ty."

TJ looked at the bit of coltan showing in Tyler's arm. He glanced back at Racheal, before following her into the living room. He scratched behind his ear, finding his words.

"What's on your mind, TJ?" She turned around and smirked at his sudden loss at words. "I was a military brat with an overbearing mother. I know when people sneak up on me."

He smiled. "Destiny is his and hers isn't she?" he asked nodding to the younger Racheal and John in the kitchen.

"Yes."

TJ chewed his lip. "Is she why Tyler asked me to let her go?"

Racheal sighed. "Yes, TJ. If my younger self stayed with you, picked you. Then Destiny and Katya would never exist or she would be altered and it would not bode well for the future."

"Katya?"

"My oldest daughter."

TJ nodded and looked at his feet.

"TJ, just ask. I'll answer any question you have. My only request is that you be certain you want it answered."

"When IT fell and Tyler lost his arm, why didn't you speak up? Let him die a human rather than turn him into the enemy, into what he hates."

Racheal sat down and nodded. "Reasonable question. In 2025, I had my hands full with the war and a 12 and 13 year olds who made it their lives purpose to sneak off and give me a heart-attack. So when a guy is brought in missing an arm and nearly dead, it's not a shocker. It's not uncommon. Katya was holed up in her room, mad at something. Destiny was running off, hiding the camp. She was… mad at me for something I don't even remember. I didn't know the guy was you or the lengths that John would go through to keep you alive. I would have tried to help you."

"Yeah, right."