author's note: Hey, I'm glad you all are enjoying the story so far. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I will be posting new chapters weekly, every Friday.

Chapter Three:

Even Heroes Fall

Derek shoved his suitcase into the truck, slamming the door behind him. This whole trip was turning out to be his worst nightmare. Spending summer camp as John and the machine's counselor. He'd thought a new mission would help distance his nephew and the cyborg, but at a camp, he had a feeling their bond would grow stronger than ever.

Unless he could stop it. Somehow.

He walked back into the house, hearing Sarah talking with John and Cameron in the hallway.

"What about tin-miss?" Sarah asked.

"I don't sleep," Cameron replied.

"I know," Sarah said. "You've told me. I meant what are you going to do at night? Hang out in John's room again?"

Derek could hear the bitterness and hostility in Sarah's voice, but Cameron didn't react to it. "I'll make sure the perimeter is secure," the machine replied. "Keep watch over John. Look for threats."

Threats. "Like yourself?" Derek scoffed.

Cameron turned and stared at him. "John has no threat from me. I was sent back to protect him."

Derek chuckled humorlessly. "So you said. But I think we all know that you lie."

John stood up angrily. "Leave her alone, Derek."

Derek smiled bitterly. It was always so…twisted to hear John refer to the walking computer in such human terms. "Her," he laughed. "What a joke."

John didn't find it funny at all. He held his uncle's stare and Derek soon glanced away, disgusted at how adamantly John continued to defend the machine. What was it Jesse had warned him about?

He wasn't talking to anyone anymore, just her. She's taken over. It's sick is what it is. Imagine what will happen if he spends the next twenty years with her. Imagine what he'll become, what she'll turn him into. I'm here to stop her. I'm here to save him.

Derek had noticed the same thing as of late. It had gotten worse after that ridiculous Romeo and Juliet play and had only compounded his fears when John and the machine were out of sight for nearly a week in Canada, especially with the newfound information about what took place in that hotel room. His fists clenched involuntarily.

Things had been great before that. John had a real girlfriend; he had been treating Cameron more and more like a machine. It was good. Healthy, even. His nephew had been on the road to recovery…until Romeo had realized he didn't love Rosaline, he loved the beautiful, dangerous, unattainable Juliet. A romance doomed from the start, a forbidden love. A love that got both of them killed. It would happen to John and Cameron, too, all because of one single moment where everything had gone spiraling out of control.

His worst fears had come true. Something had happened that had pulled them back together.

And Derek didn't like it one bit.

**********

"This can't go on, Sarah," Derek said sullenly. "You see what's she's turning him into? You know as well as I do that they're twisted."

Oh, she knew all right. Twisted, sick, manipulative…she wasn't disagreeing with him on any account. But knowing Derek, his plan of getting John away from Cameron probably involved the cyborg's immediate termination. "So what do you suggest?"

"A gun," Derek said simply. "And thermite."

Sarah shook her head quickly. "You can't just kill her."

"It's not as hard as you think," Derek explained. "One shot to the chip, they don't get up."

"You can't make that decision," Sarah replied. If anyone was going to make the decision to kill Cameron, it had to be John. He'd have to choose it for himself.

Derek seemed surprised by her response. "What?"

Sarah shook her head. "You don't understand. You don't know how many times I've considered waiting for her with a sniper rifle, how many times I've come close to rigging that front door to the electricity."

"So what's stopping you?"

My son... "If we kill Cameron…" her voice broke and she swallowed hard. "I'll lose him. I'll lose John forever. He'll never forgive me. I'll lose him."

Derek was quiet for a moment. "So Cameron is off-limits..."

He didn't seem quite as upset as she would have imagined. Which probably just meant he had a backup plan.

Sure enough, he grinned. "Then I'll just have to think of something else."

***********

Derek hesitantly knocked on Jesse's apartment door. His AWOL girlfriend opened it promptly, not seeming surprised to see him.

"Derek," she said simply. "How's Connor?"

Derek hesitated. Still with the metal, if that's what you're asking. "I've been thinking."

Jesse cocked an eyebrow curiously. "About what?"

"About what you said, about saving John," Derek stated. He drew in a deep breath. "I'm here to help."

Jesse smiled and he had a feeling she always expected him to come around to her way of thinking. "Where is he?"

"We're going to Camp Jabez, trying to protect a Skynet target," Derek explained. "He'll be there. With her."

"I think I can change that," Jesse said. "I already have someone in place, someone who can toy with his emotions. Someone whose job it is to keep John from getting closer to her."

Derek frowned. "Who, Blondie?"

"Riley. Riley Dawson," Jesse corrected. "She may have failed the first few times, but I have some faith in her. If anyone can sway John, she can."

It was true, Derek knew. Riley had been John's first girlfriend, until their break-up which had to have happened in Canada. Still, Derek had seen that John enjoyed spending time with Riley. They'd been friends at the very least.

Derek shifted his weight. "What do you want me to do?"

"I'll send Riley to camp so she can get to John," Jesse explained. "How are you getting in?"

"Counselor."

A slow smile spread across Jesse's face. "Perfect. You can influence events, Derek. I'll be there too, in the background, but you, as a counselor, can ensure that John spends minimal amount of time with it."

Derek nodded, but he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Why? Why did this feel like he was betraying John? Because he wasn't letting John make his own choices?

If John found out that Derek was manipulating events because he didn't trust John to do the right thing… he knew what would happen.

John would lose his trust in Derek too.

Derek hesitated… but saw Cameron's manipulative face in his mind and his face darkened once more. Yes, maybe John would never trust him again.

Maybe that was a risk he was willing to take.

**********

Riley felt incredibly nervous entering Jesse's apartment again. The last time she'd been here, she had not received a warm welcome. Quite the contrary, she'd been given a hard slap and a strict lecture about finishing her job. This time, however, she'd been summoned by Jesse, and she wasn't looking forward to reporting her failure in Canada.

Sure enough, Jesse looked absolutely infuriated when Riley entered. "You've failed."

Riley took a deep breath, trying to gather the courage to explain. "I'm sorry. I…I don't know what happened."

"What happened was instead of allowing John Connor to fall for you, you all but pushed him towards her."

Riley flinched at Jesse's harsh tone. "I didn't mean to." She hadn't really had much of a choice in Canada. She'd seen how John and Cameron had acted around each other, she'd seen the looks John gave Cameron even when he was supposed to be focused on his real girlfriend. She'd finally given up, bowed out gracefully, allowed Cameron to step in and have John…because deep down, it was what John had wanted all along.

"I just got…I got upset and confused…" Riley sputtered. "He doesn't love me! I can't help that!"

"You're not finished here," Jesse said coldly.

Riley shook her head desperately. She'd never wanted out as badly as she did now. She couldn't keep pretending. "I can't do this anymore. He loves her."

Jesse took a single step forward and struck Riley across the face. "Listen to me!" she demanded. "You cannot fail. If you fail, the machines take control of the future, she is in control of the resistance."

Riley bit her lip, trying to keep her emotions in check. The sting of Jesse's words and hand both overwhelmed her.

"Now," Jesse finished sternly. "John and the machine are going to a summer camp on an undercover mission. I'm sending you too. You have to go back there and finish your job. Keep John Connor away from her."

Riley had heard the order so many times, and now her face flushed with anger. "Maybe I'm making the future happen. Maybe I'm the reason he gets pushed back to Cameron. Maybe it's fated to happen this way. Maybe by trying to change the future, we fulfill it! Maybe it's your fault this future happens!"

Jesse's face hardened and Riley flinched, knowing the blow was coming even before Jesse's palm made contact with her face, much harder than before. It was going to leave another bruise, she knew.

Jesse stepped up into Riley's face, furious now with the accusation hanging in the air. "Listen to me. I'm not your friend. I am your commander. You will do as I say. Finish your job. You do that and maybe you can have a real life here in the past."

Riley scoffed. Some life…No family, no friends... but at least there's no war. But is it really worth it?

"This is your last chance," Jesse said firmly.

Riley nodded meekly.

***********

"Okay, does anyone have directions to this camp?" Derek asked from the driver's seat. Sarah started searching for a map before Cameron piped up from behind.

"I can navigate. I'm a Cam-Cam."

Derek turned around in his seat, shooting her an icy glare. "Cam-Cam? Is that supposed to be funny?"

John seemed perturbed at his uncle's reaction. "GPS," he said stonily. "Like a Tom-Tom."

"I was the Cam-Cam on the trip to Canada," Cameron explained.

Derek turned back to keep his eyes on the road. "I don't need your help." Sarah held out the map and he snatched it up quickly.

They rode on for miles in silence. Sarah occasionally glanced around at the others. Derek's eyes remained focused intently on the road. John and Cameron were in the back seat, not talking…not even looking at each other.

Sarah couldn't stand the silence. It wasn't even a comfortable silence. It seemed as if everyone was on edge, John more than anyone, though she supposed she'd given him enough reason to resent her right now. She'd always been able to trust him, with anything. But for John to tell a machine that critical information about his father, about Kyle…he wasn't so trustworthy anymore.

Was her future son like this? Had Cameron so corrupted him into believing she actually cared for him? Was John Connor, the hero, really being deceived by the enemy? Even heroes fall...

Everything was falling apart. She could feel the break in the relationship with her son. The rift between her and John was wider than ever. The rift that hadn't even existed a year ago. It had started small. It had started with Cameron. That day when they'd been so close to burning Cameron's body, ending it forever. John had shocked them all; he'd chosen Cameron over his own family, had held a gun to them in her defense. She could still see his face burned into her memory. Him and Cameron standing on one side of the car; she, Derek, and Charlie on the other. Cameron was the cause of everything, all of Sarah's problems. If it wouldn't make things worse, she would have terminated the cyborg by now. But she couldn't alienate John further.

John was hurting, but maybe she could help stop that. She couldn't lie to him and say she completely trusted everything he was doing, but she could at least still show him she loved him. That would never change. And after all, no one could be trusted, not really.

"You've been quiet for 30 minutes," she spoke up.

"Thirty four," Cameron corrected automatically.

John still didn't react, so Sarah reached over and punched him in the arm. His eyes snapped around, widening. "What the heck was that for?"

"Bug slug."

His eyes betrayed his confusion. "Bug slug? Are you serious?"

"Yeah, we just passed it."

"We haven't played bug slug since I was eight."

"So?"

"So you can't just start without telling me."

Sarah shrugged. "Fine. We're playing bug slug."

John's eyebrows narrowed defiantly. "What if I don't want to play?"

"Too late, I already started."

"Are you trying to make up for what you said to me?" John demanded. "You think playing games will somehow make it all better?"

Sarah winced at his tone. It sounded worse when he put it that way. "John…"

Before John could really get riled up though, Cameron put a hand on his arm, cautioning him. "Don't say anything you'll regret."

John's angry eyes flashed to Cameron and slowly softened. He leaned back in his seat, looking out the window. Sarah hated that Cameron could influence him in such a way.

John reached over and tapped Cameron lightly on the shoulder with his fist. "Bug slug."

Sarah glanced out the window to see another voltswagon pass their jeep. Cameron had obviously caught on to the game and leaned forward, no doubt with the intention of bug slugging Sarah.

Sarah jerked her arm away, giving Cameron a vicious glare. "Don't you dare."

Cameron looked indignant, leaning back in her seat. Sarah stared at her angrily. Maybe it was her imagination, but the girl cyborg seemed to lean a little bit closer to John, almost in spite.

Sarah turned back around in her seat. Something was going to happen this week at camp. Rules needed to be laid down.

When they finally pulled into the camp parking lot, John and Derek jumped out to unload the suitcases.

Sarah grabbed Cameron's arm as she left the van. "Stay away from him," she warned. "You don't go near him. Don't touch him."

Cameron didn't even blink. "I'm not the one you should be saying that to." She pulled her arm away easily and followed John, leaving Sarah alone once more.

The more she replayed Cameron's words in her mind, the haughtier they sounded. Sometimes, Sarah could almost believe the machine enjoyed taunting her, enjoyed watching John slowly turn away from his mother.

She would see Cameron burn for that.

author's note: okay, so next chapter will be John and Cameron actually at camp for the first day, so there will be more Jameron coming. Please let me know what you think so far!