One Day You Will

by DESTINYSARA

S#4 Sequel to Named By Fate. Tensions run high as Destiny struggles to make sense of this new world as the future flies towards her. She feels lost as she tries to find her place in this time. As the predicted Judgement Day comes closer she begins to feel hopeless in stopping the war. Destiny can't help but wonder what will happen to her own existence if the future is changed.

14. Chapter 13: Helplessly, Hopelessly

[Reader's discretion is advised. Mature readers only. Contains sexual content. Not suitable for young readers.]

"The future has not been written. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves."

Racheal leaned against the railing of the stairs while the household investigated their new guest.
"What year are you"? Sarah asked.
"What year?" Her older self asked, confused.
What year did you come from?" Sarah asked again.
"I don't know. I woke up in an alley a few days ago. I remembered a place underground. A city. When I got there, it was empty and abandoned. " She paused. "I stayed there three nights before the girl…Destiny showed up. She's the first person I recognized since I got here."
Racheal pursed her lips. "How did you recognize her?
She looked up. "I had flashback and saw her..at different ages."
Racheal nodded. "Do you recognize any of us here?"
The older Sarah frowned and scanned through everyone's faces. Sarah, Racheal, John, the smaller Racheal,Amy. She sighed. "He looks familiar." She pointed to John.
Racheal frowned. "But no one else?"
"You..somewhat."
Rachel sighed and thought for a moment. "Did John send you?"
"Who's John?"

Destiny opened her eyes slowly and found her mother staring at her.

"Destiny Sarah Connor, what in the world were you thinking? You left by yourself, without permission or informing anyone, you didn't take a weapon with you or your phone.. Hell , you didn't even wait long enough until you were healed to the point that you could defend yourself in a fight."
She gestered to her wound.
"What.. on earth ...were you thinking!"

Destiny winced. "Mom, I'm sorry."

"Oh I bet you are. But for now, you can expect to lie here and recover while we repair the damage."

Destiny focused on Tyler sewing up her side when she noticed the IV in her left arm. "Ouch."

Racheal checked her IV. "You shouldn't be in pain, you're on enough valium to not even feel a broken bone."

She shook her head. "Doesn't hurt, just..looks bad."
She frowned... "I saw Nana."

Racheal nodded. "She's downstairs. Seems she's suffering from memory loss, forgotten who she is and where she is. Hopefully, it's temporary."

Destiny nodded while watching Tyler sews her wound. She watched Cameron replenish her IV bag as her eyelids begin to feel heavy. "No..more…drugs." She gasped and reached for the needle in her vein.

Racheal pulled her hands into hers. "The needle stays. You are going to take a nap while your body rests and heals." Racheal let go of her hands and added another layer of gauze tape to secure the needle. "This is not a request, young lady."

"I don't.. want nightmares.. please, mom?" She pleaded.

"No nightmares, I promise. " She gently closed Destiny's already closing eyelids. "Goodnight."

One Week Later

Assuming she had fallen asleep, her mother had finally left her alone. To make sure that the coast was clear she had waited another few minutes before getting out of bed. She had to fix this. She needed to make sure that he knew that she wasn't some con artist trying to trap him.
In the hours her mother had been her shadow, she had tried to find the courage to go to him, to find the words that she would need to convince this had not been some ploy.
Silently she snuck out of her room and hid in the shadows of the dark hallway as much as possible. She almost gasped with surprise when she tried his door and found it unlocked. Careful as to make no sound, she opened it and glanced into his room. It was dark inside. For a second she thought that he might still be out, but then she saw a still figure on the corner of the bed.
Her heart beat frantically. What if it was her mother trying to catch her in the act? But the figure was too tall. Too broad. Her heart now skipped a beat. He was home. Silently she entered the room and closed the door behind her. She switched the lights on.

"Leave the lights off," he growled, unmoving.

She winced but still did as he had said.
"TJ? Can we please talk?" She asked after some hesitation.

He snorted with contempt: "Ah, the Connor Princess. Coulda known. Though I don't see what there is to talk about."

"Please, TJ, I need to talk to you," she pleaded with him.

"Fine, you can talk to me, but whether I listen or answer is an entirely different story," he said gruffly.

The belting and not even the gunshot wound hurt as much as the pain and anger etched deep into his voice. Yet his announced unreasonable behavior was enough to make her temper flare and she quickly tucked her hands into the pockets of her sweat pants.
"Fine," she echoed. "I'll talk and you listen. Or not. Whatever."

"Not a good start, Destiny."

She winced again. The anger, the danger to his voice made her second-guess her decision to come and explain things. It felt like she was on a thin sheet of ice that was rapidly cracking under her feet.
"Please, TJ… I never… This wasn't the plan," she stammered.

"Nope, because it backfired. Guess I should thank your mother for that."
"I never meant to -"

"To what?" He interjected. "Trick me? Lie to me? Hurt me? What?"

"I wasn't trying to trick you, TJ. It was supposed to be this friends with benefits one time deal, remember? No strings attached? Or have you conveniently forgotten?"

"I never forget," he growled. "I didn't change the rules of the game, you did. If they hadn't already been the rules from the get go."

"What is it you want to hear, TJ? That I'm sorry? I am deeply sorry for what I did but… When you joked about it and then turned it into a serious offer. It was my first time and I wanted it to be natural, to really feel you. Using a condom would've prevented that."

"A condom prevents a lot of things. Arguments. Pregnancies. STDs."

She had to keep her temper in check.
"STDs? You were my first! How can I-"

"Self-centered much? Wasn't talking about you, darlin'. Like it or not, but you were not my first. Hell, you weren't even my first virgin."

So much for the saying that words could not hurt. Because they seemed to cut right through her heart. This was not where she had wanted this conversation to go. And she definitely did not need reminding that he had a lot more experience and that there was a certain number of women out there who had seen him naked. A stab of jealous anger shot through her.

"Haven't you been safe? With others, I mean?" She hissed, angry about his hypocrisy.

He took a deep breath before answering: "Almost always."

She let his words sink in.
"Almost always. Not always. How often, TJ?" She wanted to know.

"Just once," he grumbled annoyed. "But once is enough."

"Do you have a STD?" She feared to ask.

"No, I got off clean. No kid. No disease."

She bit her tongue. Maybe he hadn't contracted a disease but he did have a child. Was he denying its existence? Or did he honestly not know?
"You sure?"

He nodded slowly: "The sex just happened. It wasn't planned or I would've done a lot better than the backseat of my car," he said with a wry smile. "But I did call the girl it happened with a while later and she said that the test had been negative. After that, with what I know, I always took my responsibility."

She concluded that he really did not know. Hesitating if she should tell him or not, she decided against it. It was not her place to tell him and it was not something she could lay on him like that. No matter how much he would piss her off now, or in the future.
It had begun to annoy her how easily they had gotten sidetracked. She had been preparing for this most of the afternoon and evening, and they were getting nowhere. His attitude and body language were still tense, still hostile. She was here to apologize and to make him understand that she never had the intention to trap him like that. She liked him too much to pull a stunt like that on him.
A long, extremely strained silence followed. He had barely moved since the start of this conversation and she had no idea if she could approach him or not. A deep sigh passed her lips.

"For what it's worth, TJ. I truly am sorry for the way things have gone. I didn't," she paused, trying to find her words. "I didn't mean this… This was never the plan. Ever."

"Then what was the plan? Screw me and pray I wouldn't knock you up?"

"I don't know. You can't always have one. Not all the time. Sometimes you just do. And I did. To you."

He snorted again: "Everyone always has a plan. Or a plan behind the plan."

"What the fúck is it that you want to hear, TJ? That it wasn't supposed to be more than a one-timer? Because if you want, then that was the plan and you were okay with it. Just one fúcking and both on our own merry ways."

His reaction was a single shrug of his shoulders. She clenched her fists. Maybe she could not raise her voice but she certainly could hit him for being an impossible ass.

"That plan failed," she continued. "I never expected you to be so sweet, so patient with me. Letting me set the pace so I'd be comfortable. I know that I should've told you the truth when you asked about protection, but," she paused to search for the right words. "I didn't want you to think I was some little girl."

"If you had been some little girl, we wouldn't even be having this conversation," he countered. "I figured you were old and mature enough, but I guess I was wrong about that," he stated darkly.

She cringed.
"People always treat me like I'm four instead of seventeen. You didn't. You treated me like an adult, made me feel wanted and desirable… I know that I shouldn't have lied, shouldn't have said that I was on the pill. It was stupid and childish. But I didn't want to give you any reason to back out."

"Back out?" He sounded confused. "Only times I back out is when a girl wants unsafe sex."

She let out a small whimper upon hearing her suspicions confirmed. A sharp intake of breath, followed by a soft 'oh', told her he had come to the same conclusion. Suddenly she realized something.
"Why did you agree to not using a condom when-"

"Don't even go there," he barked but the deeper emotion etching into his voice did not go unnoticed to her.

She wonder what that meant: "Why not? You have me grovel for forgiveness, acting all righteous while you're a fúcking hypocrite."

"Maybe I am, but there's a big difference between lying to get what you want and keeping something unsaid to protect something else."

She rolled her eyes. Acting all high and mighty would no longer help him.
"Like riddles justify lying by omission," she growled angrily.

"Didn't lie," he growled back. "Just refusing to disclose something to you of which I know you can't handle it."

"Stop talking in fúcking riddles!" She yelled exasperatedly, forgetting for a short moment that she couldn't raise her voice.

"Fine! You want to know the truth? Then you better make damn sure you can handle the truth!"

"Yes, goddamnit!"

He kept quiet for a good minute before starting in a softer, gentler voice: "The truth is… I liked you the moment I first laid eyes on you… Denied it, try to tuck it away, denied it some more, tried to bury it, denied it even more."

"Oh," she mumbled, caught completely off guard and feeling like someone had just punched her in the stomach.

"So yeah, I kept that to myself. Joked about it. Played it down as if it was nothing, while realizing all too well what risk I was going to take. It was my mistake to think you were old and mature enough, though I could and should have known better. You acting like a little girl is a pretty common sight around here. Guess fantasy and reality got mixed up."
A deep frown creased her brow. When had the roles become reversed? She had come to his room, to him to defend her actions, and now he was defending his instead.
"Still doing it. Still thinking you're more mature than you lead on, even though considering your schemes it should be clear that you're just a little girl."
She huffed.
"Honestly thought that your history had given you some more maturity, like mine did with me," he added.

She opened her mouth to object against his claim of maturity, but the objection would hold no ground; he was indeed mature, especially for his age. Knowing the future would do that to anyone, and cuteness and a great sense of humor did not equal childish behavior. Still it did sting that he only needed a few words to cut her down to size. Trying to come up with an equally hurtful reaction, she missed her chance while he continued:
"Sex, okay. No kissing, okay. No condom, okay. Pretty damn naïve of me," he sighed before he shook his head slowly. "And I'm supposed to become this brilliant strategist. The Devil."

"You're not the Devil," she immediately protested.

"Yet."

Now it was her turn to sigh. His moods could be so erratic, but what else could she expect from someone who had been infected with nanoattrioids? She heaved another sigh. It was time to get back on track again and say the things she had come to say. After that, it would be up to him.
"Please, TJ, will you at least listen to what I have to say?" She began.

"Though I already was," he answered with another single shrug of his shoulders.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. This was her last shot at giving him an explanation.
"Maybe all of this shouldn't have happened. Maybe it should've stayed strictly platonic. Maybe it should've only happened once. Tough luck, it didn't. When you joked about taking me right there and then on the table, I thought you could never be serious. Then you offered to make it come real, and I felt a spark of hope," she paused for a moment. "If it had been any other guy but you, I would've declined in a heartbeat, but it was you who offered. You are the only person in this damn household who doesn't constantly treat me like I'm some dumb toddler. Even Racheal treats like I'm totally naïve and don't know anything."
She took another pause to collect her thoughts.
"You respect me. And you're not one of those idiots from my school with only sex on his mind and no experience… When you offered me sex with no strings attached, I saw it as a chance to escape that whole kid treatment. Stupid reason, I know. A few times I feared you'd back out, but then it really happened and you were so very patiently taking me through all the steps. I'd heard stories about the first time being painful and rather disappointing, but with you it turned out to be nothing like that. You really took care of me… Suddenly it became really real and it was more than I could've imagined. So much more."
She looked at him and she could tell that he was indeed listening to her. His body language seemed less tense and the hostility was almost entirely gone.
"For the first time in my life I felt like I was in the right place at the right time. Your patience while I bumbled, the reassuring tone in your voice, the way you felt inside of me. By the time," she hesitated for a moment, heat rising to her cheeks. "When I came for the very first time, it had slowly become an entirely different ball game. I wondered how it would be to kiss you and acted on it… Without fully realizing it, I'd fallen for it. For all of it. Hard. And then came round two, with you all over me and I loved every second of it. How smooth you moved, how great you smelled, how your skin felt against mine. The warmth of your body… The very intimacy of what we were doing, of what I was doing with you. I let my guard down and surrendered to you without a second thought. It felt like I finally woke up. Or that I could finally breathe. I looked up and I saw you… And I knew that I wanted more, more of this, more of you… You might not know it, but you're a very hot guy, TJ, with an irresistible smile. Smart, sexy, great sense of humor and a little wicked. I wanted," she stopped to correct herself. "I want you, TJ. Not just for the sex, but for everything."
Fearing his reaction, she decided not to wait for it. Instead she turned on her heels and left his room, feeling emotionally drained.

The sliver of relief she felt upon seeing that her mother had not returned in her absence paled in comparison to the vast emptiness where her heart had been. Surely he would reject her explanation, and she was not entirely sure if she could blame him if he were to do so.
The tears came the second she lay down on her side of the bed. So many emotions undermined her composure. She flipped over on her stomach and buried her head under her pillow, letting the tears run freely.
She hated how she felt. Hated that a boy could make her feel this way. She was the daughter of John and Racheal Connor, granddaughter of Sarah Connor. And she was upset over a guy. Is this how Nana had felt after Kyle? She asked herself in thoughts.
A little while later, she could not tell if it was one minute or ten, she felt a weight shift on her mother's side of the bed. Assuming it was her mother turning in for the night, she made no attempt to remove the pillow from over her head. She could not care whether she suffocated or not. If only the anguish would stop.
Her mother moved closer and rested a hand on the small of her back. No doubt she wanted to apologize for being so harsh with her, explain that her actions came from only wanting the best for her. Like a hug would make it all better.
She almost jumped up with a start, in shock, when she felt warm lips softly brush up against her neck. Quickly she tossed the pillow aside and turned her head, only to be met by hazel-colored eyes in which mischief shone and a crooked grin.
"TJ," she sighed happily.

"You left so quickly I had no choice but to follow, Princess," he smirked.

The gentle manner in which he had said Princess had her heart skip a beat.
"You're nuts, TJ. What if mom comes in and finds us like this?" She squeaked.

"Like what? We're not doing anything and we're both fully clothed. Besides life would be boring without taking risks."
"She won't see it like that. Things happen in the dark."

"A lot of things happen in the dark, and not all of them good. Charley said that you should rest up and not engage in straining activities."

She groaned with disappointment. Him looking her up could only mean one thing: he had accepted her explanation. While her heart felt like it was going to burst with happiness, she felt bad that they couldn't properly make up.
"No sex?" She ventured to ask.

"Nope, no sex. No school or fighting either though," he answered with his usual grin.

"Damn, and I was so looking forward to wiping the floor with you tomorrow morning," she giggled relieved, rolling onto her back.

He moved closer again and leaned over her. She reached up and rested her hand against his cheek, unable to stop smiling until she noticed the serious look in his eyes. Her heart sank.
"So," he began after taking a deep breath. "I listened to what you said."
She braced for impact: surely he had only sought her out to let her down gently.
"I trusted you, Des. And you betrayed that trust."

"I know," she whispered tearfully. "And I'm so sorry."

"I know you are. I think you got caught in the moment and one lie led to another, but I could've and should've taken responsibility for my own actions. And I am sorry for that."

"So what are you saying? Do you want to keep seeing me or are you breaking up with me?" She asked impatiently.

"It may take a while for me to trust you completely again, but I'd like to keep seeing you, if that's okay with you," he answered, treating her to his slow, crooked grin once more.

"Does this answer your question?" She purred while she undid his jeans and slid her hand down the front.

He groaned in agreement when she stroked him softly. It did not take more than a few seconds to have him rise to the occasion. A smirk graced her lips. Maybe they could not have sex in the traditional sense but she could make him very happy nonetheless.
Obediently he let himself roll onto his back when she gave him a soft push against his shoulder with her other hand. Now leaning over him, she studied his face, his expressions, listening to his breathing speed up and hitch. She had never done anything like this before but the way he was squirming and bucking under her touch told her that she was definitely doing it right. Changing paces, applying more or less pressure, short or long strokes, she enjoyed the power she held over him.
"Come, Tiger," she encouraged him in a soft voice. "You know you want to."
His breathing hitched in his chest for a second, followed by a low groan and few strong jerks of his loins.
"If you're a good boy, maybe I'll use my mouth instead of my hand next time," she giggled while she watched him trying to catch his breath; the look on his face was priceless.

Escaping the curious looks she had gotten over breakfast from John and Racheal, she nestled deeper into the pillows on the couch. TJ had set her up nicely and she felt like a real princess. Waiting for the teens to leave for school, she flipped on the TV. She was half watching some comedy series when her mother switched the TV off.
"Hey, I was watching-" She began her protest.

"Not anymore. You and I need to have a good talk," her mother gave her no chance to finish her sentence.

"Which comes down to me listening while you lecture me."

Her mother placed her hips firmly on her hips and glared at her: "Don't be such a smart mouth, young lady."

"Why not? All you'll do is preach about morality, me being stupid and irresponsible and what not. And all this while present you, seventeen and unmarried, is getting screwed by one John Connor who happens to be the savior of mankind one day. Not only a double standard, but ultimately gross as well."

The anger on her mother's face became more obvious until it faded into a faint smile and a distant look in her eyes.
"Oh good god, mom!" She exclaimed with disgust. "Can't you even think of dad for once without going there?"

Confusion sank in when her mother simply sent her a shy, almost apologetic, smile. Nevertheless it did not erase the fact that her mother had been thinking about that. With her dad. She shuddered. As if it was not already difficult enough to deal with this John and this Racheal without her constantly regarding them as her parents. She really did not want to think of her parents like that. The look on her mother's face had not helped one bit.

"Sorry, Dessie. I miss him, you know."

"Wish I could say the same, but he sent me here, so I don't miss him one bit," she lied, trying not to sound upset.

Her mother nodded slowly.
"I just want to talk, not upset you, sweetie."

She had almost said 'Too late' but stopped herself the very last moment: "Which means a lecture and I'll have to do as I've been told afterwards," she said instead.
For a second she feared her mother's anger but apparently her mother decided to let that one slide.
"Are you and the boy still at opposite ends?"

The question took her completely by surprise.
"He helped me get settled on the couch, didn't he?" She countered with a question of her own.

Her mother sat down in the recliner closest to her and sent her a cryptic smile.
"Yes, but that could be his sense of honor and duty kicking in. It doesn't mean that you're on speaking terms again. Tyler could argue with John one minute and take a bullet for him next. As he would do for all Connors. It's what he does. Even if he is at odds with any of them at the time."

"Would it matter? If we were still at odds, I mean."

Her mother shook her head slowly and sent her another smile: "I know you don't see things my way, Des, but I do have your best interest at heart. A good mother will always worry, always look after her children first. And you getting involved with someone like TJ is a disaster in the making. I don't want you to get hurt."

"How can you sit there and say that?" She hissed when her temper took over briefly. "If not for him, I'd be dead now."

"Don't mistake gratitude for love, my child. It is a common mistake and easily made."

She knew that her mother probably meant it well but right now it was only adding to her growing temper. Again she was being treated like a four year old instead of the seventeen year old she actually was.
"I don't," she growled. "I already was with him before that damn can tracked and shot us. Thanks to dad, by the way. And I'm not some kid anymore."

"No, just a lovesick teen," her mother concluded. "I get it. Your first crush, all these exciting and new emotions, but it'll pass. And what if the nanos strike?"

"It's not a crush! And I can deal with the nanos. Already hit him with a chair once and I'll do it again if I have to."

"Brave words. And I do hope you won't have to swallow them soon. But that's not what I came to discuss with you," her mother said in a kind voice.
She looked at her mother curiously. For a moment she wondered if her mother was finally going to give her 'the talk'. A wry smile formed on her lips. It would be a little too late for that. She suppressed the need to giggle.
"About you being with him," her mother sighed. "What the hell were you thinking? Unsafe sex. And not once, but twice? Did you even consider the possibility of getting pregnant?"

She had to think about her answer for a moment: "It was a calculated risk, and I didn't get pregnant, did I?"

"Thank the heavens for that. You're way too young and you know what's coming. How could you ever be so incredibly stupid?"

"I don't know, mom. Caught up in the moment and in a lie. After that it was too late."

"Gotta say that you really dodged the bullet, twice," her mother remarked. "And to avoid future accidents I've decided to put you on the pill."

"I thought you said-"

"I know what I said," her mother interrupted her in a harsh tone of voice. "But fact is that you are a Connor. A stubborn bunch. Your Nana, your dad, your sister and now even you. I could forbid you to see the boy but I doubt you'd listen and obey."
Damn right, I won't, she thought.

"So I gave it some thought and think it is necessary to take precautions. But don't think, not even for a second, that by getting you on the pill I accept this thing between you and the boy. I'll allow it, but I'll never accept it. Not one bit. And there will be some rules for you to follow."

Allow it. At least that was a start. Maybe her mother would turn out to be right, but she had to make mistakes in order to learn from them. How else could she ever shed the image of naïve little girl?
"Which are?" She asked with an unsteady voice, barely able to contain her excitement over this turn of events.

"I don't ever want to see it. Not ever. No hugging. No kissing. No holding hands. Nothing. The moment I enter a room and you two are kissing, you simply stop."

"So no pda, check. What else?"

"Absolutely no sex in or on my bed. It's already unsettling enough that my little girl is doing it, it's even more unsettling to sleep in a bed my daughter had just sex on."
She blushed fiercely, though her mother did have a point. How would she feel if John and Racheal decided to use her bed for their pleasures? She almost gagged when her breakfast decided to come up the same way it had gone down.
"If you two really must have sex, you go to his room."

"No pda, sex in his room, check."

"And as tempting as it may be, you do not stay in his room for the night. You sleep in your own bed. Understand?"

She nodded. The rules were not as demanding as she had feared them to be.

"And finally, if you must do it, try to keep the noise down. One couple openly sharing their business is more than enough."

It was a dangerous question to ask but she had to: "What if I can't help it?"

Her mother looked at her with one eyebrow raised in curiosity: "That's why I said try, Des. Sometimes you simply can't help it."
She shuddered again since that last sentence spoke of experience. Parents never had sex. They simply played board games to spend time together.
"Think you can obey those rules?"

"No fooling around in front of you, sex only in his room, sleep in my own bed, be more discrete than Tyler and Amy. Sounds reasonable," she agreed.

Racheal nodded towards the door. "Your friend is here to see you."

Destiny whirled around to see a glimpse of Hannah at the driveway. "Oh."

"Oh, hun!" Hannah exclaimed the second she saw her. "How are you?"

"Could be better, could be worse," she answered with a smile.

"Said the victim of a robbery gone wrong," Hannah added wryly. "You could've been dead."

"But I'm not."

"How can you act so like it's nothing. It's not like this happens all the time."

If only you knew, she thought.
She looked up in time to see TJ entering the living room. Her heart fluttered in her chest. He gave her a wink when he placed their drinks on the coffee table and disappeared out of sight again.

"Isn't that... TJ Devlin?" Hannah asked shocked. "What's he doing here?"

"Yes, and he lives here," she answered somewhat annoyed with the tone of voice Hannah had used.

"A robbery. A gunshot wound. Harboring a fugitive. Sweetie, what the hell is going on?"

"Nothing."
"Des, you're obviously in over your head. Whatever he's told you, it's a lie. We can go to the police and have him arrested."

"Why?"

"Don't you know that he spent the last few years on the run from the cops? He killed his own father in cold blood."

"No, he didn't!" She said angrily.

"Sweetie, he's a wanted man. He'll tell you anything to keep out of jail," Hannah sighed.

She heaved a deeply annoyed sigh. Usually Hannah wanted to gossip and talk about boys, but the fact that she did not want to take her word on TJ's innocence bugged the hell out of her.
"I know for a fact that he didn't kill his dad. And I really wish you'd listen to me, instead of believing all those rumors about him."

"Why are you so defensive of him? Oh god, hun! Tell me you didn't?" Hannah exclaimed upset.

"Didn't what?"

"He's not right for you, Des. He's bad news. Sure, all the girls had a crush on him when he was still in school, but trouble seemed to follow him wherever he went."

No shít, Sherlock, she thought bitterly, if trouble is a machine sent to kill you. She could not imagine that Cromartie was the first machine to try and kill him.
"He had a slut for a mom," Hannah stated matter-of-factly.

"What?" She asked, her temper rising quickly.

She had known TJ's mother, in another time and place. Robin had been dedicated and loyal, and had put up with a lot of shít from Derek before he decided to hook up with Jesse Flores.
"Or do you have an explanation for why she died in a car crash, hundreds of miles from home, with another man?"

She did have an explanation, but it was not one Hannah would accept, let alone believe.
"And his dad. Quite the lady killer," Hannah added. "And then there's TJ himself. Did he tell you he got busted for hacking a few times?"

She forced a smile: "He did. Just stupid kid's stuff. "

"If you call hacking into government systems kid's stuff. There's obviously something very wrong with him and we need to go to the cops before it's too late."

"No, we don't," someone said from the door opening.

"Nana?"

A foul inaudible curse followed and she knew it was not her Nana but Sarah. All of a sudden Sarah was standing in front of Hannah.

"Your family is nuts," Hannah mumbled intimidated.

That was entirely the wrong thing to say around someone who had spent time in a mental institution, but so far Sarah seemed to let it slide.

"And dead, if you go to the cops," Sarah remarked.

"Huh?" She and Hannah said simultaneously.

"He'll kill us all, if you do."

"Who? TJ?" Hannah asked in an unsteady voice.

"No," Sarah answered with conviction. "A dirty fed named Robert Kester."

She settled back into the pillows and watched Sarah take the lead in this.

"What?" Hannah laughed insecurely.

"Oh, you think cops and feds can't be dirty?"

"Yes, eh, no. I don't know. Too much coincidence," Hannah mumbled.

"Sit," Sarah said while she nodded at the recliner. "I'll tell you the truth."

She listened as Sarah told Hannah the entire story. It was admirable how the woman twisted the unbelievable truth to one that did make sense. The best thing was that if Hannah were to make a slip of the tongue, the backlash would be minimal.

"So you see. That's why TJ can't go to the police to turn himself in. That's why you can't call the cops. Everything they'll find here, when they send a team to pick TJ up, it'll end up on Kester's desk," Sarah concluded.

Hannah was silent for a few long moments and then nodded: "I get it, Miss Sanders."

"Good," Sarah said with a slow smile. "I'll leave you girls alone now."

Sarah turned on her heels and left the room.

"Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time," Hannah said. "Poor TJ."

She nodded in agreement.

"So you and TJ, hmm? Sean will be heartbroken," Hannah teased.

"Sean? Really?" She looked at her friend with a deep frown. "He's like the least mature boy of our year."

"Yeah, but he likes you. Heard from Cass that he was planning to ask you to the next dance."

"Right, like I'd say yes," she remarked, rolling her eyes. "Sean's an idiot."

"Yeah, but a hot idiot."

She shook her head tiredly and faked an amused smile: "Have you seen TJ? He's way hotter than Sean."

"So you admit that you think Sean's hot?"

"Nope, I don't," she laughed.

"Right, since you've got TJ now. He does know that he's your boyfriend, right?"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" She asked annoyed.

"Just saying. You wouldn't be the first with an imaginary boyfriend."

"Oh, I'm pretty damn sure that TJ knows, Han."

Hannah gasped in shock: "Nooo... really, sweetie?"

"Really what?"

"You and him. You did it already?"

She blushed fiercely. There was no use in denying it, but it was not something she wanted to discuss with Hannah. Especially not after Hannah tried to make TJ look bad, didn't want to believe her and the whole Sean discussion. The walls had ears in this house, no different than the whispers in the tunnels.
"Com'on, Des. Details. How was it? How was he?"

"Jeez, Han," she squeaked embarrassed.

"What? Just curious."

"Well, it's none of your business," she grumbled.

Hannah shrugged and handed over a stack of papers. "Brought your homework."

"Oh.. Thanks."

Hannah smirked. " I figured you had enough on your plate as it is, so I fixed up a cheat sheet at the back."

Destiny grinned. " Awesome. Thanks. "

Hannah smiled.

It would take two weeks before she would hang out with Hannah again, but in a way those weeks had gone by in a flash since TJ insisted on taking her on little, harmless road trips. This world still amazed her in many ways.
It had promised to be a warm day so TJ had suggested a day at the beach with Hannah and his friend Rick. It had not turned out quite as planned with John throwing a temper tantrum when he learned of their plans for today and decided he and Racheal should come along as well. It resulted in Cameron coming along as well. Sarah's orders.
"Here you go," TJ said with a crooked smile while he held out an ice cream to her.

"Thanks, Tiger," she answered with a grateful smile, taking the ice cream from him. "Sorry about John and Racheal though."

"He's just a little girl who throws a fit when things don't go his way," he remarked. "Can you believe that I've been told to take a dive the next time it comes to a fist fight with him? Just because his overgrown ego, it would be devastating to lose."

"Really? And will you?" She asked curiously.

"Won't like it, but I suppose I will. All for the good of the cause," he sighed.

She understood his annoyance, and really wished she had not said anything to Racheal about going to the beach this afternoon.
"I wonder if she'll rust if we threw her in the ocean," she said, looking in Cameron's direction.

"John would throw yet another fit if we tossed his pet can in the water," he chuckled.

She laughed and elbowed him softly in the ribs: "You don't have to keep sitting with me, if you want to hang out with Rick."

"I'm sure that Rick can do without me for few minutes, unless Hannah decides to slap him again," he chuckled again.

"What?" She tried not to laugh.

"Yeah, Rick's idea of a good time is pulling birds."

"Pulling birds?"

"Hitting on them to take them home later on," he explained.

"Oh," she giggled. "Hannah's not like that."

"He'll be in for a treat then."

She glanced at him and immediately looked away again. He was just too damn hot, only wearing swim trunks and aviators. Only two weeks down and two more weeks left to go. Silently they sat there for a few minutes, eating their ice creams, watching the others play in the surf. She felt like rambling and bit her lower lip to keep herself from doing so.

"Des?" He asked in a soft enough voice to have her look at him again.

Her heart beat frantically when she realized that he was a lot closer now than a few minutes before. Gently he put an arm around her shoulder and leaned in. She leaned towards him and stifled a giggle when she felt his cold breath brush up against her lips.
His lips brushed up against hers and she put an arm around his neck to pull him even closer. A soft moan escaped her before a deeper feeling of frustration settled in the depths of her stomach. How on earth could she get through the remaining two weeks without giving into her own desire?

"Get a room already," John stated gruffly, causing her to back out of the kiss.
Without any parental supervision, she glanced at John and flipped him off. He laughed amused: "Frustrated much?"

"Mind your own damn business, John," she growled through gritted teeth.

"Kinda hard to do when you play sucky-face in public with the guy who's supposed to be my best friend in all of this," John countered.

"Best friends don't steal girlfriends," TJ interjected.

Her temper rose quickly. She tried not to think about TJ and Racheal all that much, but now that it had been brought up, she wondered what had been up with that.

John glared at TJ: "She wasn't meant for you."
"Oh, I know. That's been made pretty clear, but that doesn't change the fact that you only started to notice her when I hung out with her. And just like a spoiled little kid, you threw a fit and moved in right under my nose," TJ growled.

"Better late than never," John smirked.

The look on TJ's face did not bode well and for a moment or two she worried that she had break up a fight soon.
"Now," TJ began. "I'm actually glad that you did. It was a great trade up."

"Hey!" She cried indignantly. "I'm not a car! And it's still, eh, will still be my mom you're talking about."

John sent them a victorious smile, turned on his heels and left to find the others.

"Spoiled little shít," TJ grumbled underneath his breath.

Angry with him, with John, she turned and punched him hard on the shoulder: "Jackass!"

He rubbed his forehead and sighed: "Sorry, Princess. I shouldn't have taken the bait."

"Don't Princess me, you jerk."

"I didn't mean," he stopped mid-sentence and heaved a deep sigh. "He just got on my nerves."

"He gets on everybody's nerves, but that's no excuse to compare me to a car or put Racheal down like that," she hissed.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay. Didn't mean it like that and it sounded a lot better in my mind. All I meant to say, was," he stopped again.

"Was?" She asked impatiently when he did not continue his sentence.

"Never mind, anything I say will get misconstrued. So I'm sorry for being an idiot and I'm sorry for putting my foot in my mouth," he said gruffly before he got to his feet.

"Guess John got what he wanted, again," she sighed in defeat.

"All I wanted was a nice afternoon, with you. But the Buttinskis had come along and, oh look, we're having an argument," he growled while he looked towards the ocean.

"It's not an argument, TJ. It's just. I'm not a thing and Racheal is no less than me."

"I know, Princess. Only said it to get on John's nerves, not yours."

She patted on the towel and sent him a warm smile: "I know, Tiger. But you and her."

"Wouldn't have lasted," he added after he sat down next to her again. "She runs away when I get a 'headache'. You simply smack me across the shoulders with a chair when I do," he said with a slow smile. "Lucky for you, I like it rough," he teased.

She gave him a playful push on the shoulder and laughed when he let himself fall on his side: "Such a silly boy."

"Boy?" He echoed while he raised his eyebrow sardonically.

"Man," she giggled when he sat up and reached for her. "I meant man."

By the end of the afternoon, all were in good spirits. Until Cameron had to spoil it by droning: "Time to go home now."

"Nope," TJ chuckled. "Destiny and I have other plans for this evening."

She looked at him curiously. Normally she did not like surprises but TJ's kind were all fun or sweet.

"It is unwise-" Cameron began.

At least the machine had left out 'tactically'. She rolled her eyes.

"Save it," TJ interjected. "I cleared it with Destiny's mother and with Sarah. So now be a good sister to John and take him and Racheal home," he added in a commanding voice.

For a second she worried that Cameron would answer him with 'sir' since the tone of voice he had used had not differed much from Tyler. Cameron reacted with a slight head tilt.
"Hannah, you ready to go?" TJ asked in a much friendlier fashion.

"I can take Hannah home," Rick offered. "To make up for being a complete jerk earlier?"

"No funny business, Rick," TJ warned him. "I will hunt you down and seriously hurt you if you do."

"I promise. No funny business," Rick said intimidated.

"Hannah?"

"Fine with me," Hannah answered.

She looked at him, at his face, as he spoke and pointed out the constellations and the major stars that were in it. Such a smart man. A familiar feeling fluttered deep inside her stomach.

"Just too bad that it's almost full moon," he said. "Too much light pollution for the Milky Way to be really clear tonight."

She managed a smile and looked towards the sky once again. It was not that it did not interest her because it did. Just not now. Not here. So once in a while she would look up at the night sky and acknowledge what he was pointing out, but it did not keep her attention. The rest of the time, she would look at him, study him, listen to his voice.

"I bet," she said in agreement.

It was so nice to be alone with him like this. Instead of at home, where they had to be on guard, with the huge chance of someone barging in and demanding attention one way or another. Especially John could be such a drama queen, like he had been earlier today.
So far it had been a perfect night. The romantic picnic at the hidden cove. The easy conversations. The star filled night. And him. There was not another place in the world where she would rather be right now.
He was very sweet and attentive, even getting the extra blanket from the car when she had gotten a little cold. It looked like it would remain a headache free day for him. She moved closer to him again.

"Still cold, Princess?" He asked with a mixture of concern and amused.

"Just a little," she admitted.

He put his arm around her again and hugged her closer.
"You smell so good," she sighed, breathing in his scent mixed with his after shave when she rested her head against his shoulder.

He chuckled. On a whim she brought her mouth to where his neck and jaw met and softly kissed. He purred softly, causing her to giggle. It was such a shame that she could not do with him what she would love to do with him, so she opted for the next best thing. She placed a series of soft kisses along his neck and throat.

"Des, we can't," he said in a gentle voice.

"You can't, Tiger, but I can," she said with a smirk while she slid her hand down the front of his t-shirt "Just lay back and relax, Tiger," she purred before she gently pushed him on the chest.

He opened his mouth to say something, but she quickly pressed her index finger to his lips to silence his protests. Obediently he lay back on the blanket and she took the chance to straddle his lap.
"Princess," he breathed. "No sex."

She could not deny that she had thought about it; it would be the perfect ending of a perfect night. Nevertheless Charley had not forbidden straining activities for nothing.

"Relax, my overly worried boyfriend," she teased.

Traditional sex was definitely out of the question; the physical strain of the act would likely lead to injury or wound tears and an even longer recovery period. Now it was still another two weeks but who knew how much more time would be added if she were to take the risk. Not that she did not feel tempted.
Still, she wanted to do something very special for him and thus she had decided that it was time to make good on her promise.
Looking down at him, a smile playing on her lips, she slid her fingers down his chest and stomach, only slide them up his t-shirt again, slowly revealing that hot upper body inch by inch. Just two more weeks, she told herself in thoughts, when her wanting him almost got out of hand.

"Destiny," he mumbled when she softly scratched his chest.

"TJ," she countered with a smile, helping him out of his t-shirt.
He growled softly when she showered his chest and stomach with wet kisses, playfully running his hands through her hair as she moved down. His groans of enjoyment were music to her ears, encouraged her to move even lower. He was in for quite the treat. She kissed him along the waistband of his board shorts.

"Baby," he breathed.

She slid her fingers under the waistband and pulled his shorts down, releasing him. A deep whimper of want and frustration broke in the back of her throat when she saw him stand tall and proud. There would be nothing easier than taking her own shorts and briefs off and having him. She managed to resist the tempting ideas flooding her mind.
Taking it as a moment to calm down and collect herself, she took his shorts off.

"Torturess," he said in a soft, warm voice.

"You know it, Tiger," she giggled before she leaned over him and showered his lower abdomen and groin with butterfly kisses, running her right hand up his right inner thigh, very softly scratching his skin.

He gurgled and shuddered when she ever so softly brushed her hand up against him. In a certain way she was impressed with how much self-control he seemed to have. Another part of her found it disappointing for all the wrong reasons.
She glanced up at his face and smirked; the poor man was practically dying to be put out of his 'misery'. A loud groan escaped him when she tenderly cupped his balls and played with them.

He raised his head and looked at her with feigned anger: "Holy hell, woman, you'll be the death of me," he growled.

If she had not seen the hungry look in his eyes or the devilish grin playing on the corners of his mouth, she might have mistaken it for real anger. She almost burst into laughter.

"Tshk, tshk. Patience, Tiger, patience," she told him. "Or I won't suck that big dick of yours like it's the sweetest lollipop in the entire world."

She saw him gulp nervously, in anticipation. He was trembling under her hands. And she was well aware that she was playing with fire, because even his patience could come to an end. It was wearing pretty thin already. Yet she took her time to admire him from up close. This was it, the moment of truth. Did she have the guts to go on or would she back out? It was unfamiliar territory for her, but that had never kept her from doing something new before. She wanted him to be happy, only thinking of her.
Pushing aside all doubt and hesitation, she leaned in closer and ran her tongue over his entire length.

"Princess," he groaned while gasping for air.

"Tiger," she giggled.
The fact that she had left him breathless for a moment, she took it as a good sign, a sign to continue. Another lick, another gasped groan. Carefully not to graze him with her teeth, she had read that it could be extremely painful if she did, she took him into her mouth.

"Oh... damn," he grunted when she started to suck him.

Her heart somersaulted in her chest before racing. Gentle and explorative. She put her right hand around him and began to move it up and down, in sync with her mouth. He writhed and twisted under her tender touches.
It did not take her all that long to find a steady rhythm. She moaned softly for his pleasure. He kept running the fingers of his right hand through her hair, tenderly caressing her.

"God, you're big," she whispered after she let go of him for a bit to catch her breath, trying to keep her rhythm by continuing to stroke him.

It took her a little while to get the hang of it, but she did manage to find a steady rhythm. Her heart raced in her chest and her body and mind ached for him, responding to his increasingly seductive groans of pleasure. Teetering on the edge of her own sanity, she fought to keep her self-control.

"Gonna... come," he groaned, his breathing rapid.

It was thoughtful of him to let her know he was close, yet it did not matter since she had already made up her mind the moment she had decided to give him his very special treat. As she sucked and licked, she had taken him in more and more, with a tricky moment being when his length had reached the back of her mouth, but she hadn't gagged. She let go of his balls and put her hands on his behind, his muscles flexing under her fingers.
He surrendered himself to her completely in a hitched groan, writhing and jerking under her touch, and she eagerly swallowed all he gave. Very much to her own surprise it did not taste as bad as some of the things she had eaten back home. Even then hunger had been the best sauce. After one last tender suck, she let him go before glancing up at him. His chest was rising and falling rapidly.

"Holy... fúck," he managed to say.

She lay down next to him on the blanket, turned on her side to look at him and sent him a warm smile. His heart hammered in his chest, she noticed when she placed her hand over his heart. Without warning upfront, she felt insecure again: she had looked up some hints and tips on the internet but that did not necessarily mean she had done it right, especially since it had been the first time she had ever done such a thing.

"You like?" She asked after a long minute of contemplation.

"Like? I love, Princess," he answered in a drowsy manner.

"Really?"

"Really. Never had a woman do that to me before."

"Really?"

For the simple reason that he was a handsome man, she found that hard to believe. However the fact that he thought of her as a woman, and not a child, gave her confidence a good boost

"Hmm-mmm," he yawned. "Gonna close my eyes for a few and then we should head home."

She giggled giddily; it was a very interesting choice of words.
Worried that he might get cold, she put the extra blanket over them and curled up to him, resting her head on the crook of his shoulder. What harm could there be in closing her eyes for a few minutes as well?

Woken by the screeches of seagulls, she sat up with a start, blinking against the hazy, early morning light. Shock grasped her heart. She had only closed her eyes for a short bit and now it was already light out. She searched for her cell phone and looked at the display. It was still really early, but late enough. The number of missed calls told her that much.

"Teej?!" She said in a firm tone of voice, nudging him.

"What?" He growled annoyed.

"We fell asleep. It's morning already. Oh, and mom is going to kill us."

He sat up, pulled the blanket to him and rubbed his face: "If she is, we better enjoy our last moments. How 'bout we pack up and stop for breakfast on the way home?"

It would probably make matters even worse, but she decided to take him up on his offer: "Sure, now hurry."

Quickly she grabbed his t-shirt and shorts, tossed them to him and began pulling on the blanket so she could fold it up.
"Seriously, TJ?"

"Sorry, Princess," he sighed, slipping on his shorts. "It's not something I have control over. It just happens. I wake, it stands."

She laughed slightly embarrassed. Still it was a good thing to know.
Less than an hour later, TJ let the jeep pull up to the house. She had just gotten out when the front door swung open and her mother stormed out of the house.
"Destiny Sarah Connor! Where the hell have you been? And why don't you answer that fúcking cell phone?"

Uh oh, her full name and cuss words. It did not bode well. She looked to TJ for a few seconds. He seemed very composed.
"It's my fault, Mrs. C," he said calmly.

"Of course! Always pushing the limit. Always the little bit further than is wise," her mother fumed.

"I was showing Destiny the stars-"

"Oh, I bet you did," her mother interrupted, sounding even angrier.

"Mom!" She exclaimed. "He did. Ursa Major and Minor. Cassiopeia and all. Back home we check the sky to see if birds are coming, but here. I saw millions and millions of stars, and he pointed out the major constellations. The sun was coming up before we knew it."

"The sun's been up for nearly two hours, Destiny," her mother stated.

"Yeah, we know, Mrs. C.," TJ jumped in. "But we figured, since we were already be in trouble, we'd stop for breakfast along the way."

"True," her mother agreed, much to her surprise.. "You're both in a world of trouble."

She glanced at TJ again, who reacted with a simple shrug of his shoulders: "Don't think I'm in trouble," he stated very calmly.

"You'd be surprised," her mother said with a similar calmness.

He shook his head and smiled slowly: "Not much you can do about that, Mrs. C. I appreciate the roof over my head and the training, but that doesn't mean I am bound by your rules."

She looked back at her mother, who was rubbing her temples with her index and middle fingers.

"Stubborn little boy," her mother grumbled. "Not all that different from the old one at all."

Maybe TJ had come away with it, but she seriously doubted she would be that lucky.
"Destiny, in the house. You're grounded indefinitely. TJ, garage, Tyler has been waiting for you."

Two Weeks Later

She rolled onto her back, folded her hands behind her head and looked at the ceiling, thinking about the day ahead. In a short while her mother and her would go and see Charley, who then would determine if she was fit or not.
Could she deal with another week or two of inactivity? The fact that she had been grounded for staying out all night two weeks ago would not have been as bad if she had been allowed to do stuff around the house. But she had been ordered to be still as a statue.
The worst part of it all was that it felt like TJ was starting to lose interest in her. She had even talked to her Nana about it, but the latter had had no answers for her.

She fidgeted nervously in the passenger seat, waiting for this since day one. The second Charley had confirmed she was fit and ready for active duty, her mind had become consumed with just one thought.

"Earth to Destiny," her mother's voice droned somewhere in the background.

"Huh?" She mumbled before she shook her head to clear her mind. "Sorry, mom," she added with a sheepish grin. "My mind was somewhere else."

"That much was clear," her mother agreed. "Him, no doubt. You know how I feel about that."

"I know, mom, and though I appreciate your concern, I'm not a little girl anymore."

"No, you just prefer acting like one most of the time."

A sigh of exasperation passed her lips; she was in no mood to argue with her mother about her behavior. An argument could jeopardize her plans, if not destroy them altogether.
"Why him?" Her mother asked after a long silence. "You know who he'll be. What he'll become."

"I don't know, mom. It's not like I decided on a whim to fall for him. It just happened. He's sweet and caring, funny and charming, bright and sexy."

Her mother's annoyed groan brought a smirk to her face: "I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth."

"That's not it, Des," her mother paused for a few seconds. "The Connor genes are strong in you, but there's a bit of Sanders in you as well."

It confused her. Apparently her mother could tell because she went on to explain: "Those traits you just mentioned, those were exactly the reasons why I was drawn to him in the first place. But unlike you, I couldn't deal with his 'dark side'. It scared the hell out of me, drove me straight into your father's arms."

The explanation confused her even more: "Almost sounds like you regret your decision."

Her mother shook her head vehemently: "Oh no. I don't and I never will. But sometimes I do wonder what would've been with different choices. But I never ever regretted picking your dad over Tyler. Despite all the rotten things your dad has done, I love him so much. And he did give me Katya and you," she finished with a warm smile.

She had no idea what to think, what to make of her mother's revelation.
"So what are you saying, mom? Are you still in love with Tyler?" She asked appalled.

Her mother laughed amused: "I never was in love with him. At least not really."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" She bit defensively.

"I was in love. With a feeling. You need to understand that I had just lost my mother to the machines. Tyler understood, both his parents killed by those metal bastards, and he comforted me. He offered me his shoulder to cry on when your dad was emotionally unavailable. It lead to a few hugs and kisses, and I mistook comfort, gratitude and friendship for something it wasn't. Tyler's a good friend, who has gotten my family out of more jams than I wish to remember, but he never ever made me feel the way your dad does."

"How... How do you feel with dad?" She asked with some hesitation, realizing it might lead to things she definitely did not want to hear from her mother.

"I don't know. It's difficult to put into words, without getting overly sappy. I feel safe with him around. Cherished. There's danger for us around every corner, but when it's just him and me... That kind of safe. When he's not there, I feel like I'm choking. Like I can only breathe with him around."

"Oh," she muttered.

"It's how you feel about TJ, right? Safe? Like he's the air you breathe?"

She tried to shrug nonchalantly, like her mother was nowhere near being right about that: "No one's ever safe."

Her mother chuckled: "Thought we'd just established there are at least two kinds of safe. Besides I know you, Destiny. You're not fooling me."

"More like trying to fool myself," she mumbled a bit upset.

All her wild ideas had been flushed from her mind and deeper thoughts had taken over. Her mother reached over, took her hand and squeezed it encouragingly. The action took her completely by surprise, just like the soft-spoken: "I'm sorry, sweetie."

"What? No 'I warned you'? No 'I told you so'?"

It sounded harsher than she had intended. Still her mother's change of heart made her wonder about the motives behind it.
"What use would that have, Des? I still strongly disagree with you seeing that boy, but things are as they are. You didn't choose to feel for TJ. Unlike your dad, I think I do have a pretty good sense of your type of guy. And regretfully TJ fits that description perfectly, something your dad failed to see when he decided to send you here."

"So what are you saying? You knew about TJ and me? Was I in your teen years?"

"No and no. And I had hoped that I had it all figured out wrong, that you wouldn't fall for a guy like TJ. But I know Tyler, and I know that he's always been good to his dates or girlfriends or whatever you want to call it. He was always straight up with them, no expectations and with that no disillusions. I doubt TJ's any different."

She could tell her mother that wasn't true. TJ had lied to her by omission, had tried to make her believe he had cared for nothing more than a good lay, but she had not exactly been honest in the matter either. Besides had it not been to shield his heart, to keep his feelings under wraps.

"Taking me back home wasn't the only reason you jumped time, was it?"

"It was the main reason, yes, but preventing you from meeting a young and charming TJ was another. I had really hoped to find you before they would so I could limit the damage to a minimum. Things would've remained so much easier if you'd only known Tyler as the gruff, menacing Devil."

She shrugged again: "Forgot about Nana, did you?"

Her mother chuckled again: "That I did. She's Wonder Woman. Hard example to live up to, so I never even tried."

"I didn't mean to really like TJ, mom."

"I know you didn't, sweetie."

"It just happened."

"I know."

"It's just... It's just extremely hard to see him and lug nut as one and the same person."

"And yet, technically they are. War changes everyone, sweetie. Tyler has a reduced fear reaction, which makes him unafraid of stuff that would make any other **** their pants," her mother paused again. "Tyler's the only person we know who ever made it out of U-Section alive, but it changed him. To the extreme."

"U-Section?" She echoed.
She had heard war stories about it. It was the most gruesome section of Skynet's most notorious death camp, Century.
"You mean... He's an Undertaker?"

Her mother nodded slowly: "U-Section is equal to death, but somehow he managed to escape from it. Whatever he experienced or witnessed down there," she stopped mid-sentence, the rest unspoken.

It made it even harder to see TJ and Tyler as one and the same person. Knowing TJ now, knowing what he would go through, for the first time in her life she began to understand how the Devil had come to be.
She had sided with her peers, with the people who had called him a humachine, an abomination. She had argued with Kyle over why he had sided with Tyler and not with the rest. Without knowing the full story. She had tagged along, basing her opinion on that of others.

"In this war we all pay a price. We sacrifice a part of our humanity to survive. He paid with his entire humanity."

"Yet he blames dad for that."

"They blame each other, sweetie. They're both no angels. However your dad could've undone, compensated for what Tyler gave up down there and he chose to willingly withhold that from Tyler."

"Meaning?"

"You think it's a coincidence that Tyler and Amy hooked up in the here and now?"

She pretended to gag.

"I should've kept my mouth shut to your dad when I saw how Tyler took to Amy after the big escape from Century. Maybe I should've helped fate a little, pushed them towards each other a little more. Instead I listened to your dad and helped him keep Tyler 'confined'. He can be so convincing, so determined and I believed him when he said that Amy would be a distraction, a possible weakness to Tyler."

She had no idea what to say. The idea of denying someone love, even if it was the devil, seemed utterly cruel.
"John feared that Tyler would be a lot harder to persuade to take on suicide missions if he had someone he really cared for," her mother elaborated. "So if Amy was on the base, Tyler was out on some mission and vice versa. They didn't get the chance to really meet and hook up, but here and now, your dad isn't there to keep them apart."

"I don't think even dad would be successful in separating them," she chuckled. "Not even with a crowbar."

"Destiny," her mother sighed, trying to mask the laughter in her voice.

"What?" She asked with faked innocence.

"I don't think you really understand how the nanos come into play in this, do you?"

"Okay, what do the nanos have to do with Tyler and Amy enjoying each other's company so much?" She took the bait.

"Remember how you whined to Nana about TJ supposedly losing interest in you and gaining interest in hitting the weights? And that she said that it would pass?"

"You eavesdropped?" She cried embarrassed.

"Technically, yes. But about those nanos, Baxter studied them back home and discovered they somehow manage to store their host's excessive energy, only to use it against him later on. The more is stored, the easier it is to try a hostile takeover. Tyler is pumped full with those things and back home it wasn't really a problem because he could go out and junk a few cans, but here," her mother paused. "Luckily Amy's very willing to catch up on lost time with him and burn some excessive energy in the process."

"That explains lug nut. But what about TJ?"

"He's not so corrupted by the nanos yet, but he's already discovered that his headaches get more severe over time with too much energy left. So he works out a lot, which will only benefit him later on."

"So? I'm a conductor of some kind? Like Amy?" She asked rather offended.

"In a way you both are," her mother answered honestly.

"So this whole love is the key is bullshít?"

"No, that's true. Love lets you calm him down, bring him back when he does go tin can mode. It's the only way to get through to him," her mother replied in a grave voice.

"Sounds like you know what happens if people don't get through to him."

"I've seen it. This young sniper, Porter, she had the hots for Tyler, even thought she was involved with him. Skynet-mode hit. It didn't end well."

"He killed her?" She gasped in shock.

"No, she got away. A broken arm and permanently deaf on one side. I don't want to think about what would've happened if Kyle hadn't been able to knock him out."

"Nothing good, I am sure," she sighed.

"And we would've blamed Tyler. As usual. Even when Tyler tried to kill Kyle, Kyle understood it wasn't Tyler and looked him up in solitary."

"Sounds like something Kyle would do," she agreed with a smile.

"What's going on now?" Her mother exclaimed when they pulled into the driveway.

John and Tyler were caught up in a heated argument outside of the house.
"... Mean to shoot him," she heard John protest when she opened the door.

"Shoot who?" She immediately asked.

"Oh, John shot TJ," Tyler answered. "Nothing serious. Just a through-n-through."

"You shot TJ?" She asked, wanting to make sure she had heard it right.

"It was an accident," John protested vehemently. "Rache left a gun on the kitchen table, I picked it up to secure it, it went off."

"Of course," Tyler said with disdain. "You need to get your head back in the game, kid. Before someone gets hurt or worse."

"It was a freak accident. If I had wanted to shoot him, don't you think my aim would've been better?" John defended himself.

Tyler shrugged: "No idea, kid, on how good your aim is nowadays. If you're firing, it's not at a target."

"Damn, Tyler," her mother spoke her thoughts aloud.

Tyler crossed his arms across his chest and stared at John: "I know you fúcked up his mind and his system already, but that doesn't make him suitable for live practice. Next time I won't shove him in the closet and you can fend for yourself. Got it, kid?"

All of a sudden the overwhelming feeling of needing to know if he was okay took over and she stormed into the house.
"Don't need enemies with friends like that," she heard him quip in the kitchen.

"You know that he didn't mean to shoot you," Sarah sighed.

"I know," TJ admitted.

"I don't think Ty would've shoved you into the closet if he had thought John had the intention of shooting you," Amy added to the conversation.

"Damn, and I just love coming out of the closet," TJ joked.

She stopped in the door opening and looked at TJ buttoning up his shirt. Sarah and Alex both sent her an apologetic smile while Amy only shook her head and tried to hide her grin.

"You okay?" She managed to ask.

"I'm fine. Just a scratch."

"Tyler said it was a through-n-through."

"Nah, the blood made it look worse than it was," he said, shaking his head slowly. "Just a little accident."

"How can you be so cool about it?" She wondered aloud.

He shrugged his shoulders: "Thought it would bring a headache when it nicked me. Lug nut musta thought the same since he shoved me in the closet. Still he couldn't have had more than a few seconds to see the wound."

She looked at the four of them and frowned: "Where's Racheal?"

"Most likely hiding. Ran off after the shot. So probably in her room, cowering under her bed," Sarah answered wryly.

Amy shook her head wearily: "She's a lioness when it comes to one of her kids, and a decent fighter if need be, but she's no warrior. More a strategist."

Her first reaction was to come to her friend's, her mother-to-be's defense. However in all her memories she could only remember her mother as fierce when either Katya or she had gotten into trouble. Her mother was strong, just not in the way all these warriors were. She wasn't a Sarah Connor or an Amy Adams.
Instead she looked at TJ again and wondered about the wound. Worry took over and drove all her wild fantasies from her mind.

"You really okay?" She asked to make certain.

"I'm fine, Princess," he answered with a big smile. "How'd it go with Charley?"

"He sees no reason why I can't go back to whatever I was doing before I got shot," she replied in the most neutral manner.

"So you're cleared? That's awesome news," he said with great enthusiasm. "That calls for a celebration."

She smiled insecurely: "Sure, but can I talk to you first? In private?"

He walked past her and now with his back turned towards her, she took the opportunity to check him out. Dark red short sleeved dress shirt, black slacks and black sport shoes. She sighed wistfully; he was looking sinfully hot. Dressed to the nines, but not for long. Not if she had a say in it.

She had lured him to his room under false pretences, not to have a chat but to have him. After making sure that the door to his room was locked, she grabbed him by the arm, pulled him back and against the wall.

"Des?" He grunted, a slight confusion present in his voice.

She smirked. Like he had not seen this coming. A month was a very long time, even if she had made him a very happy TJ on occasion. An exciting shiver of wanting him ran through her.
He did a step towards her, but she shoved him back against the wall. She slid her hands over the soft fabric of his shirt.

"I hope you're not too attached to this shirt," she said with a wicked grin.

"Huh?"

Unable to suppress the giggle, she grabbed the plackets and yanked his shirt open. The buttons flew everywhere and tapped on the floor.

"Better. Much better," she breathed, sliding her hands over his pecs and six-pack abs.

"So that's how you want to play," he purred while he treated her to his familiar crooked grin.

The odd feeling in the pits of her stomach grew strong again, as it always did when he looked at her a certain way or gave her his wicked grin. He tried to do a step towards her again and she pushed him back against the wall before he reached for her but she pushed his hands away. His low purr of excitement did not go unnoticed to her and it brought a smirk to her face.
He shuddered and let out a deep growl when she ran a hand over the prominent bulge in his pants and made another attempt to grab her, which had him ending up against the wall again. She wagged her index finger at him and he groaned in disagreement.
Growing increasingly impatient, she quickly undid his belt and his pants, only to push the latter down enough to free him. There was definitely a huge benefit to dating a guy who liked to go commando; it meant one piece of clothing less to remove.
A soft moan of want escaped her when she glanced down. He stood upright and proud in arousal. Her body responded to the sight of him.
Suddenly it felt like she had no second to spare. She undid her jeans, yanked them down to her ankles along with her panties and stepped out of them. Now it was her turn to shudder when she caught the hungry look in his eyes.
She moved close to him, kissing him ever so softly where his jaw and neck met. He answered with a soft purr.

"I want this," she said in a voice husky with lust, taking hold of him. "In here," she groaned as she pressed him firmly against her.

A very seductive growl passed his lips while he crouched down. She straddled his legs and moaned softly while she pushed him into her slowly. His warm hands on the backs of her thighs to support her, just before he stood up straight again. Deeper, she felt his heat sink into her. She bit her lower lip to keep herself from groaning loudly. To feel him so deep inside of her was. Fulfilling.
She placed her hands flat against his cheeks and looked deep into his eyes before claiming his mouth in a passionate kiss that only lasted a few seconds. A low moan of expectation rumbled in her chest when she found herself wedged between him and the wall all of a sudden. She sent him a reassuring smile when she saw the look of worry on his face.
It was endearing that he kept thinking about her wellbeing first and she playfully tugged his hair. She gasped in pleasure at his first thrust. Oh good god, that felt good.
After wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders, she showered his neck and jaw with kisses. She could not get enough of him and told him with a carnal kiss. Greedily swallowing his growls of growing pleasure that followed every thrust.

"Oh fúck yes," she groaned almost out of breath, digging her fingers deep into the soft flesh of his shoulders. "Oh fúcking god! Like that! Fúck me like that!"

He answered her request with a deep growl and more force to his thrusts. Arcs of sensation. Sparks of pleasure. Following up in faster succession. All meshing at the core of her being.

"Please," she muttered, moaning uncontrollably at every thrust. "Don't stop."

All she could feel was him, his smooth moves and the hot tension brewing deep within. No more coherence of mind, all thoughts fleeting. She pulled him back a little by his hair and glanced at his face. Beads of sweat trickled down his brow, down the sides of his face. He managed to grin crookedly at her when he caught her looking at him, but he did not slow down.
His thrusts became harder, more decisive. The tension deep within grew beyond control. Accepting. Resisting.

"Oh! Fúck me!" She squeaked, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and shoulders.

More of him. Deeper. Closer. Her mind began to crack as the pleasurably tense energy swirled stronger and stronger deep within her lower abdomen.
His pace was unrelenting, each thrust accompanied by a low groan. Closer to the blissful abyss. Almost.

"Oh guh…od! Tee…Jay!" She howled right before her mind shattered when the ecstatic release shook her entire being.

Wrapping herself tighter around him, trying to match his rhythm to prolong this amazing feeling. It felt like she was floating on a cloud. The world outside had dimmed and all she saw was him, all she felt was him.
He buried his face in the crook of her neck, groaning and growling, and she could tell he was getting close as well; he was breathing heavily. She moaned with surprise when he pressed on one last time and pinned her firmly against the wall.

"Oh, Des," he gurgled out of breath.

She managed to bring her hand up and playfully ruffled his hair while she felt him contract deep inside of her. A sigh of content passed her lips, only to be followed by a soft shriek when he seemed to lose his footing and stumbled a little but he managed to regain his balance.
She turned her head a little and softly kissed him on his ear before whispering: "Good tiger."
He was still a little shaky on his feet but it did not keep him from leaning back a little to send her a warm and sincere smile. It was enough to make her feel all warm and fuzzy again.
Carefully, as to keep his balance, he crouched down again. It took her a while to understand his silent request. Reluctantly she disentangled herself from him and got to her own feet, whimpering softly when she felt his warmth leave her. Her legs began to buckle and she leaned back against the wall to remain standing.

"You okay, Princess?" His voice was a bit hoarse.

"I'm fine," she replied. "More than fine, actually," she added with a smirk.

She looked at him, her eyes half closed. He looked rather disheveled; his shirt in shreds, his pants around his ankles. Evidence of a rather wild encounter. Her body reacted to the sight and she groaned with desire anew, to sigh appreciatively when he took his shirt off and revealed more of his lean and muscular body. She winced when she saw the bandage covering his right upper arm near the shoulder.
He sent her a funny look, which caused her to giggle. Just a certain look or that slightly crooked grin was enough to feel like she had a flock of butterflies in her stomach. He took the rest of his clothes off and lay down on his bed.

"Come here, Princess," he said in a gentle voice, showing her his grin while he patted on the empty spot next to him. "Or did you really think I'd let you off with only once?"

Heat surged through her body again and she wheezed with anticipation. Without a second to lose she quickly took off her tank top and her bra. He laughed amused when she jumped on the bed. Barely able to control herself, she lay down on her back next to him; she had not planned past this first time in what appeared to be ages.
"Maybe you should consider wearing skirts, Princess?" He suggested, leaning over her to look at her face.

"Why? I don't really like skirts, and they're horrible to fight in," she answered, desperately trying not to drown in his eyes.

"Just practical thinking, baby."

"Practical how?" She wondered aloud while her heart beat wildly at the notion of him calling her 'baby' instead of 'Princess' or 'Des'.

His grin turned deliciously wicked.

"Next time, it would simply be a matter of hiking up your skirt and pushing your panties aside," he explained in a very seductive tone of voice.

"Oh," she mumbled, feeling like she was blushing all over.

It was not that she was blushing with embarrassment, but with the totally obvious inexperience she had just shown.

"I don't know, TJ. Mom isn't stupid. If I would start wearing skirts all of a sudden," she paused for a moment. "It won't take her long to put one and one together and she will only allow so much."

"It was just a suggestion, Princess, so that next time you want me that badly it's only zipper down and skirt up."

She giggled and gave him a playful push against his shoulder: "You're horrible."

He looked her in the eyes again, seemed to think about something for a minute and began to smirk.

"Now, if I were horrible, as you said, I wouldn't be doing this," he said in a low purr before he leaned down, tenderly cupped one breast with his hand and showered the other with feather light kisses. Her hands shot up to his head, her fingers delving into his hair. A deep moan escaped her.
Another loud moan shook her chest when his tongue circled lazily around her nipple before he suckled it softly. Her thoughts swam and drowned in a lake of incoherency.
"Just give into it, baby," he purred again.

Allowing herself to wallow in growing pleasure while he divided hand and mouth time between her breasts equally, she ran her hands through his hair, played with it, tugged it.

"Such a good man," she sighed, biting her lower lip to keep herself from moaning too loudly.

Her breath hitched in her chest when she felt his lips softly graze the skin of her abdomen. She closed her eyes and enjoyed his tender nips and kisses, only to open them in sweet surprise when she felt his hand brush up against her between her legs.

"TJ," she whispered wistfully when he removed his hand. "You're evil."

She raised her head a little and glanced down his body. Her heart practically somersaulted in her chest when she saw he was standing proud again. She reached for him and gently stroked him a few times. A deep groan rumbled in his chest.

"Oh really?" He asked with a seductive growl.

She nodded eagerly and spread her legs. He sent her a hungry look, put his hand between her legs again and tenderly touched her.

"Not the thing I'd hoped for," she breathed, writhing under his touch.

"And what had you hoped for?" He asked with feigned innocence.

"Something big and hard, like this," she answered while she reached for him again and gave him a very gentle squeeze.

He growled again before continuing his little game: "And what would you want with it?"

"Oh, I don't know," she sighed, feigning innocence. "What could a woman possibly want with a thing like that?"

"No idea," he answered with a grin.

"Oh, that's too bad. Such a nice piece of equipment and its owner has no idea how to use it," she teased.'

"Shame, isn't it?" He laughed. "Maybe you can give me a few tips?"

"Why don't you start with lying down on top of me?"

She roared with laughter when he climbed on top of her. Somehow she loved this kind of silliness.
"Now what?" He asked, pretending to be clueless yet again.

"Now you take this," she began when she reached down and took hold of him again. "And put it in here," she moaned softly while she eased him into her.
She gave him another playful push against his shoulder when he made mo attempt whatsoever to move. He was being so very silly, which was endearing in a strange way.

"Kinda boring," he remarked after a few moments.

She giggled: "Well, it would really help if you moved, and I happen to know for a fact that you've got some great moves."

"For a fact, huh?"

"Experienced it myself."
'Myself' became long and ended high-pitched when he drove himself into her deep and hard.

"Like that?" He asked in a sensual growl.

"It's a start," she forced herself to sound neutral.

"Oh really?" He grinned amused.

"Uh huh. If anything, you should know what you're doing."

"Had a good teacher," he whispered before he kissed her where her neck and jaw met.

His answer could have fed her insecurity, could have lead to an argument, but it did not. Instead she did not care where he got his skills since he was using them on her.
She closed her eyes and allowed herself to wallow in his undivided attention. There was not a place in the world where she would rather be that instant. She let her hands wander over his shoulders down to the small of his back. Exploring. Discovering.
He reached back and took her hands in his, lacing their fingers together, before bringing them up over her head and pressing them firm but gently into the pillows. Heat surged through her veins when she realized that he was pinning her down, that all she could do was completely surrender to him.
Slowly she opened her eyes and found his face at just a few inches from hers. She lifted her head in an attempt to kiss him, but he was out of reach. Unable to touch him. Unable to kiss him.

"Bad tiger," she murmured.

"You don't mean that," he said in a soft voice.

"Nope. Not bad, just evil."

He treated her to his most wicked grin: "Evil, huh?"

"Definitely," she answered with a nod of her head.

"Hmm, I think it's time... To teach you a lesson," he growled in a sensual way.

"A lesson?" She squeaked. "What for?"

"For being a bad, bad girl... Better be ready, Princess, because I'm going to tear you up."

Her heart somersaulted in her chest with anticipation: "Promise?" She breathed.

He looked her straight in the eye, a grin playing on the corners of his mouth. He did not even have to say it; she could tell by the look in his eyes. Pinned down, an unspoken promise.
The mere suggestion was enough to make her... A deep thrill shot through her, caused the muscles in her calves to strain painfully. Her breath hitched in her chest and escaped in a long sigh.

"Did I say you could come already?" He growled in her ear.

"No, but," she stammered, searching for the right words in her jumbled mind. "This. With you. What you said. Sorry, Tiger."

She heard him chuckle. All of a sudden she felt really stupid. It was all part of the game.

"I need to be punished," she offered in an attempt to get things back on track.

"What am I to do with you now?" He whispered in her ear.

"Anything you think I deserve," she breathed.

His deep groan caused her to giggle; it certainly had sorted the right effect. She wanted him to know that she was up to anything, as long as it was with him. A deeper emotion surfaced and she bit the inside of her cheeks. Did she dare tell him? Did she want him to know?

"I trust you, TJ," she said instead.

He looked at her curiously and treated her to his crooked grin. Her heart skipped a beat. Did he know? What she had actually meant to say.
"The real question is... can you take it?" He asked in a sultry whisper.

She arched away from the bed when he drove himself deep and hard into her once.
"More," she pleaded with him.

"More, huh?"

She nodded eagerly, grinding her hips against his: "Make me scream, Tiger," she demanded.

Slight disappointment ran through her when he let go of her wrists; she had totally loved his dominance over her. He steadied himself on his hands and smirked at her. When he almost pulled out, she was ready to beg and plead with him. She threw her head back and howled when he returned to her. Deep. Hard.
"Want more?" He growled sensually in her ear after he lowered himself a little.

"Oh fúck yes!"

"Take it," he growled again.

Tears welled in the corners of her eyes when she bit down hard on her lower lip to keep herself from howling. Her mind began to slip away from her even more; all she could see was him, all she could feel was him. Each thrust, deep and hard, seemed designed to drive her closer to the edge of bliss.
She ran her hands over his chest, scratching him lightly, before sliding them to his behind. A silly giggle escaped her and he sent her a confused look. She giggled again and gave him a firm slap on the backside. He let out a deep growl before he pulled out and sat back on his knees. Had she misread it?

"TJ, I-I-I-...," she stammered utterly confused.

She almost shrieked when he grabbed her by the legs and rolled her over on her stomach. His warm breath caressed her skin when he leaned over her and placed soft kisses down her spine. She trembled uncontrollably at his tender attention; her worries about doing something wrong all dissolved.
Without giving it another thought, she pushed her hips up from the bed instinctively, even if it did make her feel awkward a little for a few seconds afterwards, with her face buried in his pillow and her behind up in the air. A moan of want and anticipation was muffled when he moved close again, his thighs supporting hers. That very moment she did not care how he would take her, just that he would take her.

"You've got a great ass, Princess," he purred appreciatively while he rubbed her behind with his left hand.

She moaned softly, enjoying his tender touch, before she squealed with unexpected delight when the rub was followed by a firm slap with the flat of his hand. Oh god, she thought, take me now. On a whim she pushed her behind back, deep into his lap, his hard manhood pressing against her comfortably. To let him know she was so very ready for him, one way or the other.

"Tshk, tshk, such impatience," he said in a soft voice that did not mask his amusement.

"Please, TJ," she mumbled after she had turned her head little to be heard and not muffled. "You're killing me."

"Ass or *****? Decisions, decisions, decisions," he chuckled before he rubbed and spanked her again.

"Don't care, TJ," she growled in growing frustration. "Pick one and fúck me already."

It came as a disappointment as well as a relief when he made up his mind and picked the 'safe' way. She wanted him to be her first in everything, but she was not sure if she would have been ready for 'that', despite her feelings at that moment. Not that soon anyway.

"Good god," she moaned when he filled her up again. "Such a big... boy."

She grabbed the pillow and buried her face in it again to at least muffle her cries of pleasure a little as he continued to caress and spank her backside.

"Think you learned your lesson?" He groaned when he pulled back a little and returned to her.

It was a final push. Suddenly she started to tremble all over as a powerful surge of pleasurable energy rocked her body. She pressed against him, but could not help the feeling of falling, shattering. His hands came to rest just above her hips and she sighed happily: he was right there to catch her.

"Guess not," he said, unable to hide the laughter from his voice. "Time for another lesson."

So far his thrusts had been equal, timed, measured even, but now he began to alternate. A series of quick and shallow, followed by a few slow and deep ones. His hands pulled her to him while he pushed to her. That little extra.

"Oh... my... fúcking... god!" She wailed into the pillow as the tension in her lower abdomen grew stronger and stronger again.

No more mercy from him; he was thrusting hard and unrelenting, like a man possessed, her backside colliding hard with his lap again and again. She could not expect any more from him than he had already given her. Her muscles started to strain. She fought to postpone, to resist, but she stood no chance against his onslaught. Bright spots danced before her eyes as the enticing tension reached new heights, causing her body to twist and strain.

Her resistance cracked. Her mind shattered. Her body reacted instinctively. The world faded, in sight and sound. Just then and there. Just him and her. His hands kept her in place, kept her from toppling when he drove into her one last time full force and surrendered to all she offered with a beastly groan.
Gasping for air, her heart hammering in her chest, she eased herself down on the bed, even though it did mean that he had to leave her, but she was drained. Laying on her stomach, she closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing.
A slow smile formed on her lips as she watched him lay down next to her. His chest rose and fell as he tried to catch his breath. Deeply satisfied, she closed her eyes and felt herself drift off into a slumber. She moaned softly to his soft touch on the small of her back.

"Come here, baby," he requested in a gently voice.

Somewhat reluctant but most lazily she rolled onto her back, only to turn on her side and cuddled up to him. He put an arm around her and took her hand into his. She put her head on his chest and listened to his strong heartbeat while closing her eyes again.

"You okay, Princess?" He asked with concern. "Wasn't too rough or anything?"

"I'm fine, Tiger, and you were just perfect," she answered drowsily.

"Perfect, hmm? Compliments like that could go straight to my head," he teased.

"Horny devil," she said without a second thought, only to realize the devil reference could have been one of the worst things she could ever have said to him.

"Evil angel," he chuckled.

Relief ran through her when it did not set him off. There was a huge difference between 'devil' and 'Devil', at least to her and apparently he had made that distinction as well.

She lifted and turned her head to look at him: "A man true to his word," she stated with a smirk when she caught him looking at her. "You tore me up good, my pet," she giggled. "Almost had me pass out with delightfulness."

He treated her to his wicked grin before whispering: "I aim to please."

"So I've noticed," she giggled, feeling really silly all of a sudden. "Hey, I've got a riddle for you."

He burst into warm laughter: "Really? You can ask me anything and it's a riddle?"

She tried not to feel hurt; her timing was indeed off, but it felt like it was now or never.
"Oh com'on, TJ, it's a good one," she coaxed.

"Hmm, alright. Shoot."

"What did one volcano say to another?"

He looked at her confused for a few seconds, shook his head and sent her an apologetic smile: "No idea."

"I lava you," she said almost inaudibly.

Her heart hammered wildly in her chest and her cheeks felt like they were burning hot.
"I lava you?" He echoed.

She felt really stupid now.
"I love you?" He continued. "You love me?" He asked surprised.

She nodded, smiling self-consciously: "I do... I love you, TJ."

It had been a silly riddle. That much was clear. He kept silent, only looking at her. She felt like fidgeting: he had told her before that he loved her, on more than one occasion, but now she was dying to hear him say it back to her. Seconds felt like minutes.

"I love you too, Destiny," he finally said, accompanied by the goofiest grin she had ever seen from him.

She smiled from ear to ear: "You are so silly."

"Princess?" He sounded rather confused.

"You know, I used to hate that name: Princess," she said, rolling her eyes to emphasize her point. "Still do, but when you say it, like that," she paused. "I just melt."

"Princess," he interrupted her rambling.

She stopped mid-sentence and looked at him curiously. He reached out to her face and softly caressed her cheeks before placing his hands on the back of her neck, tenderly urging her to come closer.

"No need to be so chatty," he whispered.

He closed the distance and pressed his lips softly on hers. She whimpered softly. Her hand slid down the middle of his chest and over the ridges of his six-pack.

"Have another round in you?" She asked after breaking off the kiss.

He did not have to answer that question because she could already tell from the look in his eyes and that crooked grin on his face. Her heart began to race.

She glanced at him from under her eyebrows and felt that enjoyable warm feeling in the pits of her stomach again. Not daring to look at him for too long, she returned her attention to her plate again.
So far dinner had been rather silent and pretty homely, but she knew that it wouldn't, couldn't last. Not with Connors and Devlins at one table. The Connors were already quite dysfunctional on their own, but add a few Devlins and it was waiting for pandemonium to break loose.

"So," Tyler began. "Turns out you can be quiet, Silver Spoon."

Of course. It had to be him to start things. She rolled her eyes and thought about flipping him off. The quick shake of her mother's head had her decide not to.

"Mind your own business, Tyler," her mother said instead.

The spark of mischief in his eyes, the smirk on his face did not bode well. He took it as a challenge.

"Would love to, but it's damn hard when your kid's sharing hers so readily with the entire world," he said in a leveled voice.

"Ty," Amy muttered, giving him a firm elbow in the ribs.

"Yes, yes," her mother grumbled, looking sternly in her direction. "Her indiscretion did not go unnoticed, but it won't happen again. Right, Des?"

"Sorry, mom," she mumbled with hot cheeks, feeling like a chastised four year old once again. "I tried but-"

"Ty, don't," Amy told him in a strict voice, interrupting her.

"The boy's just that good," Tyler finished the sentence for her.

She glanced at TJ, who had taken a great interest in his dinner all of a sudden. Was he embarrassed? Or simply trying to avoid getting sucked into this? She leaned forward a little and tried to get a better look of his face; he was smirking? TJ would be Tyler. Of course, he would find this situation amusing.

"This is just so dead wrong," Racheal voiced her opinion.

"I agree," John chimed in.

"Sure you do," Tyler remarked, the amused grin still very present. "Disagree and you won't be getting any later."

The look on John's face was one of shock and anger.

"Now look what you've done, Ty," Amy sighed while she shook her head slowly.

Tyler just grinned like the Cheshire cat.'

Suddenly John turned to her: "TJ? Really? You had to pick him?"

"Excuse me?" She seethed through gritted teeth when his tone of voice caused her temper to flare up.

"You're way out of his league," John continued without taking notice of her anger.

"Hey!" TJ growled annoyed. "What the fúck, man? Am I a mutt or something?"

"Yeah," John said with a smirk. "A goddamn stray alright. Mom took you in and this is how you repay her kindness. By taking advantage of a little girl."

TJ jumped to his feet, his chair hitting the floor with a loud bang, looking like he could jump over the table and attack John in a matter of seconds: "Care to repeat?"

Before she could react, Sarah remarked in a calm voice: "Sit down, TJ! And leave me out of it, John."

"Mom?" John exclaimed genuinely surprised. "Don't tell me you approve of this, this freak show?"

Sarah heaved a deeply annoyed sigh: "Since you don't understand the point of leaving me out of this. Yes, I approve. Destiny is not some prize poodle with a long pedigree, and TJ certainly is not a stray mutt. We are all ordinary people put in extraordinary situations."

"Damn right I'm not," she grumbled under her breath.

"TJ's the only one who doesn't treat Destiny like some unable, naïve little kid. He's good to her, and quite frankly she needs a break. You can only go for so long before something has got to give or it simply snaps. She likes him, he likes her. So I see no reason to keep them apart."

"Yet you don't want Racheal and me together," John stated matter-of-factly.

Sarah smiled slowly: "It's a mother thing, John. I'm sure that Racheal feels the same about TJ and her daughter. Yet she'd approve of you and her younger self."

"Wow, it's almost like I'm not even here," she grumbled under her breath while she put her knife and fork down before she got up.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" Her mother wanted to know.

"You talk about me like I'm not even in the room, so I figured I'd do all of you a favor and leave," she answered as neutral as possible. "TJ, you coming?"

He looked up, the fork halfway up to his mouth, and frowned deeply: "Huh?"

She glanced at everyone at the dinner table before letting her gaze rest on John. A victorious grin formed on her lips: "This prize poodle would love to be mounted again by the stray mutt."

Her mother fumed. "Sit..back...down.. this second or you will never sit again so help me god."
Seconds passed.
Destiny and her mother stared each other down in complete silence. Destiny took a step towards the stairs. Racheal scooted her chair back.
Tyler's eyes danced back and forth as if It was an interesting game of tennis.
Reluctantly Destiny dropped her gaze and went into the kitchen to put her plate up.

The younger Racheal snickered until her older self looked at her with confusion.

"You mastered mom's look. She would have been proud." Her younger self said wistfully.

The older Racheal lost herself in thoughts as TJ got up to put away his plate.
John turned his head towards the window at the sounds of sirens and nudged Racheal to change the subject. "Must have been bad wreck."

Sarah looked at the police car approaching and frowned.

Cameron tilted her head in interest. "Two cars would be sufficient to respond for a collision. They would not need the others."

"Others?" Sarah asked.

"Fifteen."

John snorted. "What do you need fifteen cop cars for?" He froze when they spread out in a surrounding manner.

"John run!" Sarah called out.

The older Racheal whipped her head out of the clouds and yelled towards Destiny's direction. "Get out of here!."

John grabbed Racheal's hand and ran towards the back door as their street became flooded with cops. TJ and Destiny had jumped the fence and took off running through the neighbor's yards.

Tyler got up calmly from the table and walked to the door. Racheal shook her head. "We just need time, Tyler. Don't scare them too badly."

Sarah grabbed a few guns and made her way to the cars as Tyler tossed cops like ragdolls. Cameron ran out the back door in the direction the kids had ran.
The kids stopped a full mile from the house when Destiny fell to the ground, clutching her side in pain.

"Destiny, come on. We can't stop here." TJ said.

Destiny winced.

May 1, 2017.
Destiny held her scraped knee. "Daddy, it hurts."
"Come on," John gestured to the end of the hall. "You still have to run. I know it hurts but you have to keep moving . Being still means being caught." He pulled her to her feet. " Running will always be a way to save yourself. You have to keep running, even if you're hurt otherwise you may be hurt worse by staying still. Do you understand?"

She thought for a moment. " Like that man that hurt you. If you had stayed there, you woulda been hurt worser but when you'd runned away, you only gotted hurt a little bit?"

"Exactly. Now, I want you to run to the end of the tunnel as fast as you can go and when it hurts, take a deep breath , breathe through the pain, ok?"
Destiny nodded bravely.

May 20, 2010

Destiny nodded to herself and got back up. "I know a place to go. Where we can hide."

TJ nodded. "Ok. I'll get us a car and we can drive then. We can get there faster and we wont leave any kind of trail."

Racheal smiled. "Good idea, TJ." John rolled his eyes.
TJ kissed Destiny's temple and took off towards the sound of cars.