author's note: Again, thanks for everyone who reviewed. Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the previous. The next one will be longer, I promise.

legionary logan - Ha ha, I like the honey in Riley's insect repellent idea. That'd be funny!

TK-MR () - No, no I'm not Canadian. LOL. But I have been there before.

cptlatnok - Thanks! I hope you laugh during this chapter as well. :)

Chapter Five:

My Father's Keeper

John found his mother still hard at work in the kitchen. "Mom, we've got a problem. Things have gone from bad to worse," he said to her, voice grim.

"You say that like you're surprised," Sarah replied evenly.

"She has a point," Cameron agreed.

"Cromartie's here," John interrupted hastily.

Sarah's whole body froze. "What?"

"I know it sounds impossible, but he's alive."

"John, are you forgetting what we did to his chip? I annihilated it. We buried the body."

"But the body was gone!" John insisted.

"It still has no chip," Sarah said. "He can't be alive. His body is out there, but not his chip, not his brain. Who told you this?"

"This girl from school, Jessica, said some guy was looking for me," John explained hurriedly. "She described Cromartie."

"She's probably mistaken," Sarah said, biting her lip. "John, there's nothing out there that could be used as his chip, even if someone has the body."

"What about the Turk?"

"It would take someone who knew how a Terminator CPU works," Cameron spoke up.

"So it's possible, though?" John asked.

"Yes."

"Don't you need to be in the meeting hall?" Sarah demanded.

John gripped the edge of the counter tightly. "This is more important!"

"No. Kyle Reese is more important. You have to find him, protect him, we have to be ready to rescue him from a Terminator attack. That's our mission now."

John shoved off the counter and stalked out the door, Cameron on his heels. "She doesn't believe me," he muttered once they were outside.

"She destroyed Cromartie's chip herself," Cameron reminded him. "She's just trying to make excuses, trying to convince herself it's impossible. She's scared. Scared that it wasn't enough. She still thinks it's her fault Cromartie found you in Mexico."

"But no one believes me when I say he's still alive now."

Cameron stared at him. "I believe you."

"Thanks," he muttered, though it really didn't do much to lighten his mood. "I wish my mother had that much faith in me."

******

John sat in the meeting hall with his arms crossed and a sullen look on his face. Why wouldn't his mother believe that Cromartie was back? They'd faced so many other impossible situations, what was one more?

The only thing that amused him at the moment was Cameron, sitting at his side, copying his moody behavior, with arms crossed and a simple frown reflected on her own face. He smiled slightly. Everyone's gonna think we're anti-social.

Sure enough, their behavior caught the eye of a counselor, who slowly made his way over, looking suspicious. "How are you two doing?"

John snorted in disgust. I just found out that I've got not one but two killing machines coming after me. How do you think I'm doing?

The counselor didn't seem deterred by his stony silence. "See, there's always a few in a group that are, shall we say, the troublemakers. Moody, depressed, or violent."

John glanced over at Cameron. Between the two of us, I think he got it right. "I'm fine," he muttered.

"Yes," Cameron agreed. "We're fine."

The counselor stared at her for a moment. "Okay. Well, we're just here to get to know you better."

John scoffed. Get to know you better was just code for seeing if they were so-called "bad" kids. "So what, you gonna interrogate us?"

"No, we'd just like to make known a few camp rules. You have probably already heard these. Most are pretty basic. For example, there is no drinking on campus…"

"How will they survive?" Cameron cut in. "John needs to drink a bottle at least three times a day to stay hydrated."

John groaned as the counselor's eyes grew wide. "He means alcohol," John hissed. "Not water bottles."

"Oh," Cameron replied. "Alcohol is damaging to the body. We don't drink it. But Derek drinks beer."

The counselor still eyed her suspiciously, but slowly drew his gaze back to John. "O-kay. Do you smoke?"

John smirked. "Only when I'm on fire."

The counselor didn't quite laugh, but a small smile formed on his face. "Oh, you're a spunky one, aren't you?" He looked at Cameron. "Do you?"

"Smoke?" Cameron repeated.

"Yes. Do you?"

"No," Cameron replied. "I've never smoked, though I have been on fire."

John put a hand over his head and the counselor's face exploded in shock and worry. "On fire? Was that a traumatic experience for you?"

Cameron gave him a curious stare. "No, it was fun."

"What?" the counselor appeared confused.

"That was called sarcasm," Cameron stated.

John sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Ignore her. She's, uh…had some brain issues."

"Yes, I am a freak," Cameron pointed out helpfully.

John scowled. "Shut up, no, you're not."

"You two are an interesting pair," the counselor said, shaking his head, seeming amused by the situation. "But you seem alright to me."

"No one will talk to us," Cameron stated. "They think we're weird."

The counselor scoffed. "Well, welcome to Los Angeles."

Cameron smiled. "Thank you."

*******

The meeting started with the counselors being introduced and the schedule being explained. John was only half-listening, scanning the crowd for a camper that looked like Kyle Reese. So far he hadn't found any.

"You're still worried," Cameron spoke up from the seat next to him. It was a statement, not a question.

John nodded. Of course he was still worried. "We've got a T-Triple 8 on Kyle Reese's tail, and now Cromartie's back for me. It could not be a worse time." He sighed. "What would Future-Me do in this situation?"

"Future-You isn't stupid enough to get into this kind of situation."

"Gee, thanks…"

Mercifully, the meeting ended pretty quickly and everyone was given some free time before the team events would start. The counselor who had talked to John and Cameron about smoking came up to them again.

"Hey, John, would you mind going and asking that kid to join the group?" he pointed out to the tree line where a young teen stood looking up into the trees with binoculars.

"He seems a little outcast," the counselor added.

"Uh, yeah, sure," John agreed. He and Cameron both walked over to the edge of the forest where the young teen stood alone, staring into his binoculars. Cameron cocked her head and studied him.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Bird watching," the kid replied without taking his eyes off the binoculars. "Now hush before you scare away all the birds from here to Los Angeles."

"Los Angeles is 46.2 miles away," Cameron recited. "It is impossible for birds to hear us from there."

"Cute." The kid put down his binoculars and looked at them for the first time. "Name's Kyle Reese."

John's breath caught and he exchanged a look with Cameron before turning back to study Kyle. He was younger than John, probably no older than fourteen. Besides that, he was thin and wiry, with almost non-existent muscles. He didn't even look like he could lift a basketball, much less a machine gun. John felt his face twist into disgust. How could this be Kyle Reese, his father and hero of the human resistance? He doesn't even look like me.

Kyle stared at them uneasily, and John finally thought to introduce himself. "John Baum. This is Cameron Phillips."

Kyle's eyes lingered on Cameron and John had a sudden urge to let the punk get bulls-eyed by a Triple 8. Before either of them could say anything else, a tall, older camper came over towards Kyle. By Kyle's flinching reaction, John guessed they weren't friends.

"Hey, Reesie Cup," the camper said tauntingly. "How bout some lunch money?"

"We're not even at school, Eddie," Kyle muttered.

"Why do you want his money?" Cameron questioned innocently. "Sarah is making pancakes for free."

The camper, Eddie, turned a sharp eye on her. "Back off, girlie, this doesn't concern you."

Despite Cameron's superior ability to protect herself, John still felt inclined to step between her and the bully. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

Eddie laughed, taking it as a challenge. "Like you?"

John saw Cameron tense. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he advised.

Eddie snorted. "Why not?" He took a step towards John and Cameron's foot lashed out, sending Eddie flying backwards a good ten feet. She had a proud smile on her face until John turned to look at her. It faded quickly and John realized she was probably expecting him to lecture her about blowing their cover. It made him understand how much he'd been doing that to her since she arrived from the future.

Instead, he smiled. "Nice kick."

The smile returned to her face and John felt his spirit lift at the sight of it. Kyle was staring at Cameron, not with suspicion or fear but awe. John felt that twinge of irritation once more, but Cameron didn't even look at Kyle.

"You were amazing," the boy exclaimed.

Cameron glanced at him briefly. "Yes. I was."

"You think you could teach me that move?"

"No. You do not have the lower body strength necessary to perform such an action."

Kyle blinked. "Uh…I see. Well, maybe you could help me build up that strength. We could work out or something."

"I don't work out," Cameron replied, starting to walk away. Kyle refused to give up, following after them.

"Your last name is Phillips, right? Maybe we'll be on the same team! Mine's Reese."

"Yes. I know."

"You remembered my name?"

"I know everyone's name."

Kyle's face lit up nonetheless. John brushed past him, purposely bumping the younger boy.

"Watch yourself," he warned. "Just looking out for ya." He linked arms with Cameron and walked off, leaving Kyle no doubt confused but still enraptured.

******

John stood over the laptop, staring with disgust at the camper profile picture of Kyle Reese. Derek and Cameron stood beside him, observing the photo more quietly than he was.

"This can't be my father," John insisted. "He's a wimp." Not to mention crushing on Cameron…

"That's cuz he's not," Derek replied. "Trust me, if that boy was my brother, I think I'd shoot him myself. Be a mercy considering what's coming. Your father's only six right now."

So it was just like Martin Bedell, John realized. And Sarah Connor. Skynet was targeting every Kyle Reese, hoping to kill off the one who would become the true hero. John swallowed hard. "Does the Triple 8 know about him? My father, I mean."

"I checked on that," Derek stated. "We're not listed in the phone book. He won't find my brother."

John felt a weight off his chest hearing that. His father was safe. For now. "But we still have to keep an eye on this Kyle," John finished.

"Right," Derek said with a nod. "Shouldn't be too hard. You seem to have made a friend."

John scowled. "Yeah. Great."

Derek smirked at his nephew. "Well, I suppose we should be heading to the meeting hall, right?"

"For what?" John asked.

"Team activities," Derek said with a broad grin. "Maybe you and wimpy Kyle will be on the same team."

John scowled. His uncle was enjoying this way too much.