NOTES: This is the sequel to my previous story "Only Lonely". I'd recommended reading that one first. This story takes place during "Strange Things Happen at the One Two Point".
SUMMARY: The truth of John and Cameron's relationship spreads to those willing to go to any lengths to undermine it.
DISCLAIMER: All characters herein are the property of someone other than me. No profit has been earned.
"Fuzzy Dice"
Chapter 2
T.R. Samuels
Jesse Flores exited the steaming shower, wrapping a soft white towel around her naked body. Her skin tingled within the soft caress of the fluffy fabric, its woolly fibres spin-dried to perfection.
She loved this world. A world of plenty and convenience were for just a few notes of worthless paper you could have anything you want. Food courts on every block, cold beer in a refrigerator and a thousand channels of hedonistic entertainment, digitally enhanced with surround sound and colour correction. Everyday there was sunshine, not a cloud in the sky, each night a veil dotted with scattered white. You could go down to the endless yellow beaches, their sands patrolled from dawn till dusk by an army of topless guys, swim out into the ocean and forget the world you left.
Pretty to think so…
A disquiet haunted her soul as she remembered what she was here to do. Something far more important than this worlds' debaucheries. The mission for the man. A great man who needed saving from himself before it was too late.
Drying out her hair she made her way back into the bedroom, her senses spiking as her gaze fell upon the collection of photographs strewn out across the bed in an angry disposal.
"You've got thirty seconds."
She spun around to face the gruff and coarse appearance Derek Reece as he held out his sidearm, placing the Berretta down gently on the nearby dresser before levelling her with cold grey eyes. "Go."
No foreplay today then. Straight down to business.
"Funny Derek."
"Twenty-five. I'm not joking." His voice left little obfuscation as it dipped down into dangerous territory.
Jesse had seen him like this before, in the future, right before he made a Grey eat a bullet.
"I was sent back to find him"
"You could have told me."
"You could have told me you were living with him. With her! It! Metal." She knew what buttons to press and she jabbed at each one with ruthlessly deceit.
"He wasn't talking to anyone anymore. Just her." She watched the flicker in his eyes at the mention of the machine. "He's making questionable decisions, getting people killed. Good people."
Derek steeled his wavering nerve as her subtext took one step over the line. "That's above your call to make soldier. Ten seconds."
"She's taken over! It's sick is what it is! Perverse!" All the bile and revulsion began rising upward, fuelling the perpetual motion of a burning hate that had grown inside her like a cancer since they'd met so long ago. An evil monster that had taken his Jesse away.
"Just imagine if he spends the next twenty years with her! Imagine what he'll become. What she'll turn him into. Just try…"
Try as he might to bury his own demons, Derek felt the truth of her words push his mind ahead, into a grotesque future where John did all her bidding, bent over backwards and sent good men to die. He had always known John was close to the machines, had an affinity with them no other did. Understood them in a way no other had mastered and beat them at their own game.
But why always her? He'd even given it a name. Cameron Phillips. A name pulled out of the ether and bestowed on his favourite. The one that went with him wherever he went. Day in, day out. Night after night.
He could remember the talk; idle mutterings among the soldiers that had heard the rumours. How the machine was Connor's plaything. He'd shot it down whenever he'd heard it, ordering them away or back to work.
Maybe he should have listened.
"I'm here to stop her. I'm here to save him."
All of the anger of betrayal he'd built after finding her surveillance had by now ebbed away, leaving behind a gnawing trouble that sickened him with its images and took the wind out of his sails.
"I've gotta think about this." He grabbed his gun, clicking on the safety as he shoved it into the back of his pants.
"What the hell are you doing here anyway?! Why'd Connor send you back?"
Snatching one of the photos he waved it under her smug and irreverent nose. No matter how many times he tried to believe, every time he came to visit, this woman before him became less and less like the one he loved.
"I love you. But don't push it…"
####
The fingers of John Connor tapped mercilessly away at the keys of the laptop, jabbing at the ones that refused to comply as he finished compiling all the information his mom would need before his nail scratched along the fiddly touchpad and clicked print. As the nearby printer came to life he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, freeing up tear ducts that stung him in gratitude.
He'd been up all night since Derek and his mother had returned, their timing impeccable, interrupting his ascent of the stairs where Cameron was leading to his bedroom. The effect had been every bit equal to a cold shower and they had been forced to join them; examining the fruitless bounty of the stolen hard drives.
John reached out and retrieved the stack of warm paper spewed forth from the printer, the hairs on the back of his wrist rising to the static as he neatly aligned the pieces with some others that had lay in wait, joining them together at the top corner with the swift bite of a stapler.
"Morning."
John flinched at his mother's stealthy appearance, already halfway across the living room and bearing down in his direction.
"Morning to you." His hand gently slipped over to the laptop, fingers making the surreptitious moves necessary to quickly close down the open windows. "I did some digging on the drives."
His arms folded neatly over one another as his mother reached the opposite side of the table, looking as haggard as he felt. He wondered if she had got any sleep at all last night or just stared off into oblivion like she had used to do. Well over a decade now from the perspective of the calendar.
"Dakara Systems is hunting for start-up money. They need investors for the server farm they're going to build. Big investors." He reached over and retrieved the document he had just finished, its top pages lukewarm, tucking beneath it a cold cardboard binder. "I made you an appointment. Here's your cover."
Sarah received the items and quickly shuffled through them.
"I'm a rich divorcee looking to put my money in tech start-ups?"
"That's right." John chewed the corner of his mouth, hiding a sly grin of mischief. "I also made you a cheat-sheet so you wouldn't sound like a total moron when you're asking about neural networks and emergent behaviour."
"I have no idea what you just said."
"Yeah, that's my point."
A tender smile graced the corners of her mouth as appreciation warmed its way through her, marvelling at how much better John had been with her lately. The sarcasm and obstinacy of his recent youth curbing into maturity.
"Were you up all night doing this?"
"Dakara Systems is a start-up. So was Cyberdyne once. Andy Goode was building a chess program; Barbara Chamberlain was trying to solve a traffic problem. It… always starts small."
John's eyes glazed over as his mind slipped off to some other place. Sarah caught it, wondering what was on his mind as she took in his scraggy appearance. Hair unkempt, odour ripe, his eyes scrawled with angry red lines.
"You look beat. Go get some sleep."
He rubbed his eyes again, hands muffling a humourless chuckle. "I can't sleep during the day."
"Just lie down on your bed and close your eyes. Trust me, you'll sleep."
He smiled as he felt the weight of exhaustion catching up with him, making her suggestion all the more viable.
"Or you can spend some time with Cameron."
A rush of adrenaline brought him back to life as he opened his eyes and looked at his mother.
"Huh...?" He asked weakly, certain that he'd either misheard or that their basement contained a pod.
"I noticed you guys have been off with each other lately. Is something wrong?"
For several insane and fatigued seconds, John actually considered levelling with his mother, laying the recent truths bare for her to explode over before good sense prevailed.
One bombshell at a time, John.
"No. We're fine."
She had realised as far back as Mexico that John and Cameron was a subject she would never gain any traction on, their relationship now too firmly entrenched in memory and flesh. Still the thought of him being with the machine made her uneasy, but it was gradually beginning to ebb.
Sarah wasn't blind or a fool. She knew Cameron was different. More so than any other machine. Perhaps that was what made it easier to tolerate, if certainly no easier to stomach. But John had made his choice and now she was going to make the best of it. The tirade he'd given her almost a week before about how every day was numbered still rang in her ears.
"Look, John. I know that I was angry at first but I'm alright now," She tried to reassure; the lie one of a thousand she had told throughout his life to protect her sons' feelings. "If there's… anything you're not sure on, or want to ask me about, you can."
"Like what?"
She shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. "Anything you want. I mean are you and Cameron having any… problems?"
"Mom…"
"I know it's uncool to talk to your mother about sex, but there are some things you just have to know, John."
What more was there to know? He was sixteen-years old and he was having a baby with his cybernetic girlfriend from the future. Already his biography would be a bestseller.
"Cameron and I are fine mom. And we're being careful from now on." He tried to reassure; the lie one of a thousand he had told throughout his life to protect his mothers' feelings.
Though she wasn't proud to admit it, a small wave of relief spread through her. "Alright. But I'm here if you need me."
"I know."
Sarah watched him rise from his chair and head past her for the stairs, hearing him climb the steps as she turned her attention to the meticulous preparation of her cover, flicking through the top pages that summarised the wealth of content beneath.
After a few minutes she was forced to concede that it was all a bit complicated.
She reached out to John's stationary case and rummaged through, finding a bright green highlighter to abridge the more relevant points. As she pulled her hand away, her sleeve caught on some of his papers and dragged them off the edge of the table.
"Damn it!" She reached down and began dragging them back together, scooping them up in a haphazard manner that revealed what lay beneath. Her hands froze before reaching in, sweeping back the large sheets to uncover a neatly folded leaflet. She turned it over, almost dropping it when she read the title.
What to Expect When You're Expecting
She flicked it open, finding bite sized paragraphs and testimonials in professional text, all printed between happy cartoons and cutaway diagrams of a female figure, her belly growing larger and larger as the months elapsed.
Dread sank through her like a cold marble, working its way down into the pit of her stomach where it left a dull sickness that refused to relent. She wondered what else she would find if she checked the history on his laptop.
NO! It wasn't what she thought. John was just being sensible. She'd told him about consequences and now he was doing research, finding out for himself.
Good boy! Always thinking. I didn't raise a fool.
Her mind skipped back to a time when she'd been young and carefree, remembering what her friend Ginger had told her once about love.
"Love makes fools of us all, kiddo!"
Sarah's eyes closed in what felt like the final crush of defeat before she cast it from her mind, banishing her unfounded paranoia and refocused on learning her cover.
####
Footsteps echoed along the polished timber floorboards as John traversed the upstairs landing on the way to his bedroom. His weariness had multiplied after making the ascent of the stairs, its vertical challenge enough to drain whatever energy he had left. The thought of climbing into bed felt heavenly, almost as much as it had the night before.
He remembered what had happened, disaster once more narrowly averted on the rocky road of love with Cameron Phillips before his mother and Derek had returned, dampening out their impending act of reconciliation in a flash.
John immediately chastised himself. Cameron wasn't the least bit difficult to love. It was what he liked best about her. It was always him and his problems that got in the way. Without them they could have been together ages ago, from the moment they met.
He remembered vividly the instant attraction, more so than mere physical, finding himself opening up to her in ways he never had with anyone before, wanting her to know and to judge.
Arriving at his destination he twisted the door handle and stepped inside, a new bolt of adrenaline cutting through him as he felt the barrel of a sidearm jab into his back.
"Freeze!"
John did as commanded as his heart rate exploded, the voice leaving no margin for disobedience.
"You've got thirty seconds to answer my questions."
John frowned as he recognised the voice.
"Cam?"
"No talking human!"
John dared to defy her and turned around, coming face-to-face with a semi-naked Cameron wearing nothing but matching silk underwear, her hand extended before her in the shape of a gun.
"You scared the crap out of me! What are you doing?"
"Role-playing."
"Why, might I ask?"
"Statistically speaking it is a relatively simple technique that can inspire sexual activity and enhance its gratification."
He felt his response die in his throat as his mouth curled upward, the method in her madness revealed. "You think we need inspiring?"
A twinge of sadness laced her response as her hand fell gracefully to her side. "Lately we have."
John felt his own pang of guilt as he reached forward and drew her into his arms, slipping around her narrow torso and squeezing her hard against him. Something else he loved about her; no matter how hard he hugged her she could never get hurt, muscle and sinew useless against a hyper-alloy skeleton.
"I'm sorry. I haven't been much of a boyfriend lately."
"Your mind has been preoccupied."
"I know. I'm still sorry. I should have thought about you."
The billions of quantum connections quickly generated her response. "If we have sex, I'll forgive you."
"When did you get so horny?"
The fire that was kindling inside him was given more fuel as he watched a subtle redness flush her cheeks. "Since…"
She didn't have to finish. He knew since when.
"What type of role-playing was it anyway?"
"I'm a terminator programmed to capture a resistance fighter so that Skynet could learn more about human sexuality."
John grew a lascivious grin as he pulled back to look at her. "Nice!"
"I tie your hands behind your back and order you to turn around. Then I'd ask 'what were you up to?'. Then you would look me up and down and say 'this is what I'm up to'." Her eyes indicated downward before her brow scrunched together. "I don't understand exactly what that means though."
John's shoulders began to shake as he fought back his laugh. "Cam, have you been watching late-night cable?"
"I don't sleep."
Marvelling at just how cool his girlfriend was, John raised his hand, brushing the hair away from the side of her face, her head sliding into his fingers like it had done so many times before. Cameron released her breath as she let John kiss her, fill her soul with the human tenderness that drove out the machine inside her. Their passion growing, it wasn't long before they had manoeuvred to the bed, where Cameron sank back into the soft cotton covers and John moved over her, his warmth slowly pressing against her in a wave that travelled up her body until their faces lay only a breath apart.
"Cam, is this safe? I mean, with the baby."
She nodded, kissing him softly. "Yes, completely safe. I've been doing research."
"Uh-huh."
"Several studies suggest that it is beneficial for a mother to have sexual relations with her child's father during her pregnancy."
Mother. Father. Pregnancy. Words that had filled him with cold dread for a time now kindled fire.
"Really? Is that true?"
"Yes."
"Where did you learn that from?"
Cameron levelled him with a pained expression. "John, are we going to talk or are we going to have sex?"
"Sex. Definitely. Without a doubt. It's just that…"
In a flash of movement, Cameron wrapped her legs around his torso in a powerful grip, twisting him down onto the bed and righting herself above him. Her hands pinned his arms above his head, triggering a flash of cobalt in her eyes as she reset her ocular filters.
"John Connor?" Her tone was deadly serious as she levelled him with those menacing eyes.
"Yeah?"
A dirty smile curved the corner of her mouth as her voice switched to a husky baritone. "Come with me if you want to live."
John's eyes were as wide as saucers as she slowly descended on him, brushing her mouth against his in the teasing way that they enjoyed, daring him to continue before the last of his self-control finally snapped.
He seized her around her waist, hands moving upward to unhook her bra, proud beyond measure when it sprung apart on his first attempt, leaving her chest bare as he catapulted the frilly holsters across the room. Cameron reached down and lifted his shirt, helping it over his head before her hands found his shoulders, pushing him down until she could kiss his chest.
Their frenzied coupling passed by in a blur, a mirror of their first time as they struggled to satisfy pent up needs that had gone hungry for too long.
As they reached their crescendo Cameron cried out, muffling her face into John's shoulder to stifle the noise as they rode out the waves together.
John woke up a few hours later, the deep red bars on his digital clock confirming the time. He must have fallen asleep afterward, the final act that made him a genuine, card-carrying member of the male sex. He twisted his head and looked around, finding himself face down on the bed and pinned to the mattress, a weight bearing down on his back where Cameron lay on top of him, her breath tickling his cheek.
"Cam?"
"John?"
"How did you get there?"
His only answer was a gentle trail of kisses that moved along his shoulder, the simple act all the answer he required.
With a little manoeuvring, she slid off him to allow John to turn onto his back, the move laborious as his joints protested, appeased only when Cameron lay down in his arms.
"So…" He began, in the mood to play. "Is it a boy or a girl?"
She smiled as she listened to the beat of his heart. "I'm not going to tell you."
"Oh come on! Tell me."
"I want you to be surprised."
John sulked before inspiration struck. "Ah-ha! When I redecorate you'll have to tell me either blue or pink, then I'll know."
"Paint it green."
"Great… we're having a mutant."
"Green's my favourite."
He huffed at her intractability, knowing a lost cause when he saw it. Cameron could be as stubborn as he was sometimes.
The mere talk of babies had already got his mind diverted, remembering those first few days after they knew on the way back from Mexico. Sharing sideways glances at one another and grinning like idiots, laughing out loud when they caught one another's gaze.
At first John had felt ecstatic, happy beyond any logical reason, but all too soon the pragmatic realities of his life had begun sliding to the forefront of his mind. Afterward his days had become spent in perpetual worry, dreading the inevitable conversation with his mother, dropping the bombshell on Derek and getting through the next nine months.
The ethereal philosopher within him had rejoiced in the situation's irony. The first ever child between human and machine was going to be with the future leader of humanity and the terminator sent to kill him. There was something about it that just made him smile. The final 'screw-you' to Skynet that would crown its total defeat.
No fate but what we make for ourselves.
Never before had he been so at odds with that core belief. His mind told him it was so, but his soul was never more certain that he and Cameron were always meant to be.
"We have to tell them, John. Sarah and Derek." She broke his reverie. "The longer we wait the angrier they'll be."
He tried to repress an unenthusiastic groan. "Let's just stay in this room and never leave."
"John…"
"Think of all the fun we can have."
"What about food?"
"We'll order in."
"What about when the baby's born."
"I'll read a really good book on child birth."
Cameron raised her head and looked him in the eye, her expression telling him the fate for this day. After today, it would all come to light.
The dread of his mother's reaction made his blood run cold, imagining the yelling and screaming.
"You tell mom, I'll tell Derek."
Cameron remained silent for several seconds as her CPU crunched the heuristics.
"Deal."
That didn't take long, did it? I have quite a finite and specific plan for this story and I want it to flow right. That said, I will try and post new chapters as soon as I can.
Hope you like it. Please read and review.