Woohoo, I passed my Cisco CCENT exam this week!

Just to let you all know I'm thinking about ending this story with chapter 12 and starting a new continuation story pretty much straight away, maybe with an OC or two!

Thanks to reviewers jojobevco, The1Russter, ElusiveSanity, CloudyShadows, DragonSeraphin, olischulu, TK-MR, kaotic2, fullhans1, clearfanfic, MementoMoriYB, Jbeaster, uncommoner and meanoldmoe.

John Connor woke up very gently that morning. It was one of those mornings where you wake up with your eyes closed and just relax some more. Lying on his back with his eyes closed, he could feel the sunlight shining gently through the window. He could feel the cool breeze blowing across him from the open window and he could hear the birds tweeting softly outside. All in all it was a pretty good morning.

After finally deciding to open his eyes he took in his surroundings. The room looked warm and inviting. There was a subtle waft of bacon, no doubt coming from the kitchen downstairs. John however quickly noticed something was off, he felt a weight on his body that wasn't usually there.

It must have been Mom, just her way of keeping me a kid by tucking me in too tight while I was asleep, yeah that must be it.

John looked down and was taken completely by surprise, his eyes widened in panic. He saw the top of a full head of long, dark, beautiful hair.

Oh crap, if Mom comes in here now she'll flip. Just gently ease away, don't wake her and make a swift exit.

John had never been one to follow his childhood training however and sheer curiosity gripped him as he decided to take a closer look. Looking down at his legs he saw her bare left leg intertwined with his own.

Are those my boxers? Dude, those are my boxers!

Needless to say his eyes were trailing further up her body. She was wearing one of his larger dress shirts and a pair of his boxer shorts. Cool. Her left arm was draped over his body. He faintly felt her tiny left hand gripping his t-shirt possessively. Continuing on up, he felt her soft breasts pressing up against his side, her head resting on his shoulder. He noticed the small damp patch on his t-shirt near her mouth.

Aww, even when she's drooling all over me she's still cute.

John reached out his left hand and tenderly twirled a few strands of her hair around his finger, marvelling at how soft it felt. She stirred and let out a soft sleepy moan.

"Morning sleepy head"

"Mmmm, morning" she breathed.

She lifted her head up from his shoulder and noticed the small patch where she'd been sleeping. She also noticed the tangled up posture of them both. John felt her stiffen and her breathing became more and more ragged.

"I…I'm sorry John…I…I don't know why…I'm sorry…I'm so so sorry…I…we shouldn't"

Her body was racked with uncontrolled sobbing, she gripped his shirt tighter as if he was about to leave her forever.

"Hey hey hey, what's wrong huh?"

"We shouldn't be doing this John, I…I've failed you"

"What are you talking about?"

"John Connor can't be with a machine...it's too dangerous...you won't survive"

He felt her start to shake against his chest, her face buried deep in the fabric of his t-shirt. He did what he felt was right and put both his arms around her and held her tight, desperately wanting to be there for her. He held her close for a few minutes until he felt her stop crying and heard a few soft sniffles coming from her. He pulled back slightly to look at her dishevelled appearance. She still clung to his torso tightly and her hair was a mess.

"Feel better now?"

"Yes John" sniffle "Thank you"

He gave her one last squeeze before releasing her and lying back down, Cameron following him to lay flat beside him. She busied herself for a moment by playing with a loose thread on his t-shirt. She seemed to be trying to come up with the right words. He helped her out.

"So...you wanna tell me what you meant a minute ago?"

He felt her stiffen again before replying in a careful voice.

"I don't understand"

Yes you do, but I'll let it slide for now.

"I mean when you said it's dangerous for me to be with you. What did you mean by that?"

She didn't reply and instead took a renewed and determined interest in that loose thread. John suddenly realised he hadn't seen her angelic face since he woke up, only the top of her head. He reached out his right hand to pull her chin up to face him. When he did his hand felt cold.

Hmmm, tears must still be damp or something.

He tried to gently tilt her chin up to face him but she resisted.

"I meant what I said John. I am a machine. I am dangerous"

Her voice lacked all of its usual warmth and innocent curiosity, instead replaced by a cold mechanical tone. John lay there with his mouth open for a second as he processed her words, and the way in which she said it.

"Um, okay. So what does this mean for us then Cameron?"

"There is no us. There is only John Connor and the machines...it is your destiny"

She slowly lifted her head up off his chest and raised it up to face him for the first time. John froze in fear as her beautiful features were replaced by the cold, calculating, mechanical grin he was so used to seeing in his nightmares.

John screwed his eyes shut for a moment in disbelief. When he opened them again he saw Cameron standing at the foot of his bed. Her hair was gone, as were her clothes and more terrifyingly so was her skin. He took in her gleaming endoskeleton in all its glory, smaller than a triple eight but still imposing in its own way.

John couldn't understand what was happening. One moment he was in bed with a beautiful girl and the next he was at the mercy of a metal monster. Her eyes suddenly flashed an evil red glow and John started to back away in sheer terror. He scrambled backwards on the bed, never taking his eyes off 'her'. His back hit the headboard, forcing him to turn away and look for another escape route. When he turned, instead of seeing his headboard he found he had backed in to a burned out shell of an overturned car.

What the hell?

John turned back to face Cameron, when he did he found himself on the ground in a post apocalyptic wasteland. He saw a group of triple eight endo's on the horizon firing their plasma rifles at some unseen foe. He could smell rotting and burning flesh and half the landscape appeared to be on fire. His attention returned to Cameron suddenly as she started to move towards him. He tried to scramble away even further, forgetting about the wreckage behind him. He bumped in to it again and tried to crawl to his right when he bumped in to a triple eight endoskeleton towering above him. He fell backwards and landed with a thud on his ass, his instincts kicked in and he tried to back away from it as fast as he could. He succeeded in backing in to another endo a few yards away.

His worst nightmares had come true as he was stuck between two machines with no hope of escape. He backed away a couple of feet when something grabbed his throat and slammed his head back in to the car. He felt his head being turned to face his attacker. He was greeted with the sight of Cameron seemingly studying him intensely, the chrome of her bare endoskeleton sending a chill down his spine. She noticed his fearful expression and tilted her head in her usual fashion as she examined him closely.

"Don't be scared John. This is your destiny"

John struggled more in her grasp to no avail. She wasn't choking him, instead she was merely holding him in place while she continued to stare at him.

"What do you want?"

She looked away from him for a moment while she considered.

Just like my Cameron does.

John was shook from his thoughts when she answered.

"I'd like a kiss John"

John's eyes widened in panic as she moved her face closer to his. She noticed his renewed struggling and spoke again, her optical sensors never leaving his eyes.

"I love you John"

With that she inched her face ever closer to his until John couldn't bare it any longer and closed his eyes. A second later he felt cold metal press against his lips.

"CAMERON...AAARGH"

John shot up bolt upright in bed and screamed out in pain before falling flat on his back again, the pain in his stomach overwhelming him as he let out another cry.

"Stay still John. Extra movement will only increase your blood loss"

The words didn't register with him as he continued to thrash around in pain. Cameron feared this would happen. With him unconscious she was able to work on his wound without feeling the guilt of causing him pain. She didn't want to administer sedatives when he was unconscious due to the risks it posed, however she was now left with little choice.

"This will hurt John. I'm sorry"

She pulled her hand out from his wound where she had been trying, unsuccessfully, to pull the still lodged bullet out. John cried out in pain at the action. She had used her fingers due to the exact precision and germ resistant coating they offered when compared with using forceps.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry"

She kept on repeating these words over and over as she reached in to the medical kit and retrieved a syringe filled with a clear liquid. She repeated her words until after what seemed like an eternity she injected the powerful sedative directly in to John's carotid artery. He slumped back on to the bed a few seconds later much to Cameron's relief.

"I'm sorry"

A single tear rolled down her cheek as she stuck her thumb and forefinger back in to his wound again.

"Dammit Derek get out of my way"

Sarah tried to shove her way past the future resistance fighter, but he kept his hand firmly on the door frame blocking her path. She shot him a murderous glare before trying to move past him on the other side, once again he blocked her with his arm.

"What the hell is your problem? Let me past, I need to go help John"

"No you don't Sarah, you're hurt"

"I don't give a crap Derek, he's my son"

She tried again to move past him but he wouldn't budge.

"Reese, move" she practically growled at him.

Derek took a deep breath and thought about what he was about to say.

"Listen to me Sarah. As much as I hate to say it, the metal is taking care of John. It can do a better job of it than either of us can. John doesn't need you right now, he needs medical attention and that's exactly what he is getting next door"

He swallowed and waited for her reply. For a moment he actually wondered how he was able to separate Sarah from her son for even a moment. He got the courage up to speak again, in spite of her continuous glare.

"Listen, let me patch you up and give you something for the pain. Then we can go next door to see if we can help"

As if noticing it for the first time Sarah looked down at her shoulder and would have seen two large holes on both sides were it not for Derek's jacket wrapped tightly around the wounds.

"Alright, but make it quick"

Sarah moved to sit on the edge of her bed, Derek following closely behind.

"Okay, let's get this off"

Derek gently removed his blood soaked jacket from her shoulder. He took his time, trying not to cause additional pain.

"Faster than that Derek, I can take the pain" Sarah said through gritted teeth.

Derek did as instructed and ripped the jacket away, discarding it on the bed. He pulled back to inspect the wound. He had seen many wounds like this in the future, through and through's caused by plasma rifle rounds. He was grateful that General Connor had insisted that all resistance solders be trained with basic field triage. Sarah was lucky on this occasion, the bullet hadn't penetrated any major arteries and the bleeding was surprisingly light. He reached in to his own medical kit and pulled out a needle and thread.

"This is gonna hurt like hell Sarah. You ready?"

She nodded, keeping her eyes locked on her bedroom door, towards John.

Derek proceeded to stitch the entry wound on the front of her shoulder. He did it with the efficiency of a soldier and soon had it stitched and bandaged.

"Alright, turn around a little and I'll take care of the exit wound"

Sarah did as instructed and turned slightly away from him to give him access. Derek moved to sit on the bed behind her and pulled out a fresh needle and thread. He noticed an old wound on the back of her other shoulder as he did.

"Hey Sarah, what's this wound from?" he tapped it gently to clarify his meaning.

Sarah still did not remove her stare from the door as she replied.

"T one thousand"

"Tell me about it"

Derek stuck the needle in to her skin as he spoke, trying to keep her distracted enough to lessen the pain slightly.

"Skynet sent a T one thousand back to kill John when he was ten. It followed us to a steel plant and we managed to destroy it. At one point it cornered me, it pinned me to the wall through this wound with a spear from its finger. It tried to get me to call to John. I didn't"

Derek continued to stitch the wound while he listened.

"How come it didn't kill you?"

"A reprogrammed T eight hundred damn near sliced it in half just as it was about to kill me. That machine saved me from another and eventually he was the one that fired the shot that killed the one thousand. He had to sacrifice himself to stop judgement day. He had me lower him down in to the molten steel that killed the other. That's why when Cameron showed up I accepted her in to our lives. I saw that not all machines are evil"

Sarah hesitated as she recalled the next part.

"John didn't want him to go. He cried and begged for the machine to stay. He couldn't understand why he had to lose his best friend. He thought of the machine as a kind of father figure, he even named him Uncle Bob"

Sarah laughed at the memory of John trying to teach Bob how high fives worked.

"I've known since then that it doesn't matter to John what things are made of. He treats them as if they are human anyway. That's what scares me so much about him and Cameron. He sees her as a human girl, he doesn't even seem to remember that she tried to kill him not so long ago. He's too close to her and it scares me Derek"

A tear spilled from her eyes that Derek didn't notice from his position behind her. He did however notice the shaking of her voice. He knew she was getting emotional and wouldn't be of any help at all to John now. He finished up bandaging Sarah's shoulder.

"I'm all done. Let's go see John. But will you let me give you something for the pain?"

Sarah nodded solemnly, still keeping her back turned to him. Derek pulled out a similar looking syringe to the one Cameron had used on John earlier. He injected the clear liquid in to Sarah's arm and helped her to stand from the bed, staying very close behind her.

After taking a couple of steps toward the door Sarah suddenly felt very light headed. She realised what had happened and turned her head to look at Derek who had an apologetic look on his face.

"Why you..."

Sarah never got to finish the sentence as she collapsed backwards in to Derek's waiting arms. He caught her easily and managed to hoist her up on to her bed. He laid her flat on her back and pulled a blanket out from the dresser drawer. He laid it over her up to her stomach.

"I'm sorry but this is for your own good"

With that he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. He made the short journey over to John's bedroom and pushed the door open quietly. It looked like a bomb had hit. There was blood splattered on the floor, making a trail to the bed where John lay unconscious. He had an IV drip running in to his arm and was still covered in dried blood.

The metal sat in a chair near John's bed and was just staring at him. Its hands were covered in dried blood and its back was shredded from the rounds that it took to protect John. If it noticed his entrance it made no indication of it.

Derek took a few steps closer in to the room and stood behind the metal.

"How is he?"

Cameron never removed her gaze from John as she replied in a mechanical tone.

"I have removed the bullet and stitched the wound. He lost a lot of blood but not a life threatening amount. He will be fine with a few weeks rest"

Derek moved past the machine and felt John's pulse just to make sure. When Derek felt his heart beating strongly, he smiled and turned away to leave the room. He spared a last glance at the machine which hadn't moved since he entered the room.

"Good job"

Derek left the room before Cameron had a chance to process his words.

Good job.

They were probably the nicest words Derek had ever spoken to her. But she wasn't concerned with anything Derek had to say. The only thing that mattered to her was what John said and did.

She looked at John with sadness in her eyes. He had been hurt while under her protection, she hadn't been fast enough and he had been seriously injured. To top it all off she hadn't done an efficient job of protecting him even after he'd been shot. She had panicked and had been completely unable to function.

If the bullet had entered an inch higher it would have severed a major artery and John would have bled out in a matter of minutes. John would have died and Cameron would have failed. The thought terrified her and she did her best to bury the feeling.

She was in danger of losing John, and she didn't know what to do about it.

Sarah woke with a start and immediately regretted it. The searing pain in her shoulder a vivid reminder of the events of what she assumed was the day before.

"Dammit Derek"

Sarah remembered moving toward the door and then suddenly feeling very faint.

That jackass drugged me.

Sarah swore to herself that she would never forgive Derek if anything happened to her son while she was out. She groggily sat up and rather unsteadily stood from the bed. She moved shakily toward the door, opened it and peered out in to the corridor. Seeing no sign of Derek waiting with another syringe she stumbled over to John's door, bursting through it as she did.

She took in the exact same sight that Derek had seen when he had walked in. Nothing had changed, Cameron hadn't moved an inch. Her eyes widened in panic as she saw John lying on his bed covered in blood. She naturally feared the worst.

"JOHN"

She did her best to race over to him when Cameron suddenly stood up from her seat and blocked her path. Sarah tried to wrestle with her for a moment before realising it was futile.

"Get out of my way Cameron" Sarah practically screamed.

"John is fine Sarah, moving him will reopen his wounds and start the bleeding again. I can't let you do that" Cameron replied with her robot voice firmly in place.

"What? Who the hell are you to tell me what I can and can't do with my son?" Sarah asked incredulous at the cheek of the machine in front of her.

Cameron took a look over her shoulder at John before turning back to Sarah and replying in a voice laced with emotion.

"I am his best friend"

With that she moved out of Sarah's path and resumed her previous position on the chair near the bed.

Sarah stared at the clearly upset cyborg and seemed to calm down for the moment. She slowly moved over to her son and ran her hand over his cheek.

"Please...be careful"

Sarah heard the voice come from behind her and turned to look at Cameron. She had a look of concern on her face and was staring at Sarah's hand on John's cheek. Sarah shook her head before asking a question.

"Why do you care?"

Cameron looked away for a moment as she considered her response. She wasn't sure how much she should tell Sarah. She settled on something that she hoped would be adequate to convince Sarah.

"John has been hurt. He could have died if the bullet had struck an inch higher. He could have died Sarah. I am supposed to protect him, and he has been shot. I have failed"

Cameron looked down to her lap as she awaited Sarah's response.

Sarah looked back down to her son and gave his cheek one last stroke before standing up and turning to face Cameron.

"Yes you have. You have failed. John got shot on your watch, you were supposed to protect him and you failed to do so..."

Sarah hesitated as she looked at the distraught cyborg.

"...but if you weren't there he would have been killed by those bullets that are lodged in your back. Thank you"

Cameron raised her eyes to look at Sarah with disbelief. First Derek was complimenting her and now Sarah was forgiving her.

Maybe I've been overreacting.

Cameron watched as Sarah left the room. She was intent on finding Derek and kicking his ass.

"Look after him" she said over her shoulder to the girl currently staring at her with wide eyes.

She would.