Sorry it took so blasted long but between school and work...ugh.

There will be some adult themes in the next chapter which is also why I'm struggling. I have never been able to write lemons and its been a challenge but I promise there will be one and it will be tasteful...hopefully.

Enjoy...

"John, wake up." Cameron's dulcet tones floated all around him, easing him out gently from his dream world and into the real one. Cameron was in his bed and from what he could tell she was not wearing pajamas. She wasn't wearing anything at all.

"Good morning, John." She greeted him.

"Morning, Cam."

It took John a full minute before he realized that he had already answered though he never opened his mouth and that it wasn't him she was addressing. To be more specific he was no longer part of the couple occupied on his own bed.

He found himself standing at the doorway and staring at the bed with horror even though he couldn't recall when he'd gotten up.

There he was…only it was him but it wasn't him. The John in the bed was older and much more rugged looking. He was also in better shape than current John was. It made him self-conscious about his slim and seemingly scrawny frame.

Older John was as slim as his younger counterpart but that was where the similarities ended. There was nothing remotely scrawny about the man, he was muscular and defined. He also had a five o clock to rival Derek's. A large scar ran down from his forehead past his right eye and to the top of his cheek.

John was disconcerted to be face to face with none other than his famous self, General Connor.

That same Connor's arms were currently wrapped securely around Cameron. His Cameron, not that Cameron made no such distinction as she was too busy giggling and enjoying the General's embrace.

A hollow ache ate at his insides giving him the feeling that he was caving in on himself. He watched at his older self took liberties with her body that John had never even quite dreamed of. He touched her with an expertise born of practice and familiarity.

"What's the matter, John. Are you jealous?" his counterpart mocked gazing at his younger self over the smooth skin of her torso.

John swallowed the lump in his throat at how natural they looked together.

"You should be. He's the one I love. You're just a poor imitation." Cameron said moving off the older John. "Good until I can get back to him," she said approaching John, who despite her cruel words couldn't seem to keep from opening his arms to welcome her.

She chose to further humiliate young John by sidestepping them while she pushed at him.

"Why would I want a boy when I've had a man? You aren't Connor. You're just John, who can't be left alone to do anything." She continued pushing him until he was outside his own room. "Who gets into trouble and has to be saved by his mommy." She openly mocked him.

"But…but…you said I love you and you love me." John clung to her arm desperately.

She shoved him splintering his heart into a million pieces as her laughter was joined by his older self. "I never said which John I meant. You didn't think I actually meant you, did you?" She laughed and slammed the door in his face.

John pounded on the door. He twisted the doorknob over and over until his hands burned but he couldn't get it to budge and he refused to leave. So he screamed and hit the door uselessly as the sounds of someone other than him touching Cameron echoed all around him.

"No…no…she's mine. She's mine. CAMERON!!" he shouted jerking awake. He hit the ground painfully his thrashing having resulted in him falling from the tiny bed.

He cracked open one eye surveying his surroundings. The mellow color of the wall, the tiny bed and the abnormally large amount of toys for a teenager's room reassured him that he was indeed still home and really awake.

"Oh thank you. It was just a dream. Just a dream." he mumbled now quite lucid.

He relaxed his tense shoulders and using the bed as support rose off the floor. A brief trip to the bathroom and several splashes of cold water on his face later John wandered back into his room. He slipped on a pair of jeans, barefoot and bare-chested he went in search of the girl tormenting his dreams.

It was amazing that not even fully awake he could tell there was something odd about the peaceful silence permeating the house. Either that or the dream had disturbed him more than he cared to admit. The lack of noise along with the missing smell of burnt breakfast was enough to set him on edge and investigate.

He was suddenly glad that even in his terror he had not forgotten and had the foresight to get a weapon before leaving his room. He called out to his mother but no response was forthcoming. Derek was no where to be seen but that wasn't rare. Sometimes he didn't bother coming home for days at a time.

He glanced out the windows but Cameron was nowhere around the property. Knowing that she sometimes acted more like the girl she was supposed to be and hid in her room trying out outfits, he chanced a peek into it. He found no sign she had been there at all.

He suppressed the disappointment at not finding her right away. It would have helped to ease his mind and wipe the ever present fear of not meeting up to her standard of what he was in the future.

Seeing no other alternative he resolved to further chance a look about outside. He wanted to confirm his suspicions that he was indeed alone. Both trucks were gone and several of the larger guns were missing as well. He walked back into the house carefully looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Once he was comfortable and had set aside his paranoia it finally hit him. 'He'd been left home alone. Without his mother or Uncle or Cameron. He, John Connor, future savior had been left alone.'

He was trying to figure out if this was Skynet's latest trick to kill him. Driving him mad would not be too hard given his family history and leaving him alone and defenseless would be a big help in eliminating the biggest threat to the AI's existence.

Well if he was going to die ambushed, he at least wanted to do it on a full stomach. He tucked the gun into his belt and began pulling out all the ingredients to make a superb omelet. He was so busy mixing and cutting that he hadn't noticed Riley walk in unannounced. However years of training didn't go to waste and he instantly got the drop on her.

"What the hell John? You scared me half to death." Riley snapped smacking John's arm.

"Sorry. I wasn't expecting company. I'm kinda home alone."

"No shit." She smirked with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "So you're all alone? Nobody around?"

"That's what alone means." John remarked making his way back to his forgotten omelet.

Riley did not get much time to enjoy her rare fortune since at that precise moment John's cell rang. He answered and punched in a few numbers. He waited patiently until the person on the other line did the same before he began to talk in earnest.

"Mom! Where are you guys? Are you ok? Are Derek and Cameron with you?" He paused to hear and Riley occupied herself by cooking the breakfast that John had started.

"Ok. I'll tell her." he paused again this time rolling his eyes at Riley. She smiled and slid the completed egg onto a plate. "See you soon…be careful."

He hung up leaving the phone on the table instead of putting it back in his pocket.

"So what's the news, Cat fancy?" Riley inquired sliding some egg onto a plate for herself and taking a seat across from him.

"Mom's on some work thing and my…Derek is with her." John caught himself just in time. He'd almost forgotten who he was talking to. There was no need for Riley to know the exact nature of his relationship to Derek.

Riley was not dumb and caught his slip but she figured if his parents were as messed up as hers, she had no right to say anything. "Step dad huh, so where's your psycho sister?" she said around a mouthful of eggs.

John tried to hide his disgust as he was presented with a view of Riley's partially chewed food. "She went to get groceries or something." John said carefully avoiding any answer to her assumption of Derek.

He was hyper aware of the fact that he was alone with his supposed girlfriend and yet all he could think of was his supposed sister. He shoved his food into his mouth in an effort to get Riley to leave just a bit sooner and before Cameron back from wherever she had gone.

Riley was either not very good on non verbal cues or she just didn't want to leave. Either way she settled in more comfortably, taking a second helping and even pouring John and herself a glass of orange juice. John nursed his. He was wracking his brain to say something to break the awkward silence that shouldn't have existed if he really cared about the blond sitting with him.

"Is she really your sister?" Riley muttered nursing her glass as well.

Sadly John had just taken a rather large gulp and he hastily swallowed burning his throat in the process. "What…of course she's my sister." He chocked out.

"Oh."

"Riley, you asked for a reason."

"Do you believe in fate? I don't mean like soul mates or anything but like that we're all born and destined to play a certain part?"

John had known what his destiny had been before he had even formed a syllable. He'd been trained and grilled since he was two that he was important and that he couldn't do what other kids could. He was too important to break a leg climbing a tree or to make friends.

After all, friends and loved ones could always become leverage for your enemies. It had been a lonely way to grow up and still was. He watched Riley paste a feeble smile on her face and he wondered if her home life had been as fragile as his.

"There's no fate but what we make." John reached over clasping her hand, "my mom's motto. She believes that only our choices decide our fate and nothing else."

"That's cool." Riley answered wiping discreetly at her eyes. John picked up their dishes and deposited them in the sink turning his back to give her some privacy. He wasn't so keen on her leaving anymore. She was silent for awhile before she wrapped her arms around his middle.

He could feel her lean against him and he welcomed the soft body against him. Her breath blew across his neck sending shivers down his back. He turned to gather her in his arms but froze as he caught sight of a tell tale shade of purple coming up the drive.

"You gotta go."

Riley peered around him. She spied Cameron walking up the drive and reluctantly let go of him. "You do remember that I'm your girlfriend," she said exasperated.

"I am aware but she's my psycho sister, remember." He said brushing a strand of blond hair. "I'll call you later." He said dropping a quick kiss on her mouth.

Seconds later he was washing dishes and Riley was out the side door and running down the lane just as Cameron appeared around the corner. "John. I'm back."

John lifted a soapy hand in greeting hoping that Cameron didn't notice the extra set of dishes in the sink. Maybe she would attribute it to Derek and Sarah. She walked behind him so closely that he would have sworn that she had seen Riley leave and was punishing him for his deception.

He felt guilty for having her here while Cameron was out doing what no doubt was to further ensure his well-being. His guilt magnified tenfold when Cameron reached in for juice and found a nearly empty container. He lost his concentration and the glass he'd been holding slipped from his hand.

It broke and its many pieces were lost in the suds. John attempted to pull out the stopper to clear out the soap instead managing to grab a rather sharp piece.

"Son of a bitch!" He exclaimed. Cameron appeared instantly behind him with a damp dish towel.

She placed the towel on the countertop reaching in for his bloody hand. She took out the very corner of the piece out of his left hand. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from squirming as she checked for smaller pieces.

She kept hold of his hand and gently ran warm water over it. Once it was clean to her satisfaction she reached around John to grab the towel she'd placed on the counter to pat it dry. She kept the towel on it and dragged him behind her. John had no choice but to follow since she still had his right hand captive.

"Cameron?"

"You need a band-aid." Cameron replied leading him to the upstairs bathroom. John was not comfortable at all with her sudden caring attitude especially in light of how hostile he'd been since Kyle had left. She pulled him in and sat him on the toilet lid.

"It's just a little cut. This isn't really necessary…" but Cameron was not going to take no for an answer so John let her have her way. In reality he was curious as to what she was going to do. 'What had his mother and Derek been thinking in leaving him alone with her?'

Cameron got the iodine out of the medicine cabinet and within easy reach. She removed the slightly reddish towel tossing it on the floor. She grabbed the iodine and stepped between John's legs. Completely at ease with the shirtless teenager in front of her.

John was fairly certain if their positions had been reversed he would not be so nonchalant.

"This will sting."

John was oblivious to the sharp pain of the antibiotic. All he could focus on was her shinny brown hair hanging long enough to graze his bare shoulder. She looked directly into his eyes and he again saw that spark of humanity.

It took him back to that classroom when she had busted him checking her school record like some sort of cyber stalker. "Is that better?" She asked her eyes searching his face eagerly. He broke eye contact and he received a delayed painful reaction to the iodine she'd dabbed on him. He hissed but his response went unfinished with the sight of her slightly parted mouth forming a pout and blowing on his wound. She peeled the backing off the bandage and wrapped it around his finger tightly but not enough to cut off his circulation.

She then lifted his hand and placed a kiss on his finger. "I kissed it to make you feel better." Cameron replied to John's frozen look.

He stared at her completely taken by surprise both by her actions and words. "Where did you learn that?"

For some reason she lowered her eyes back to the bandage. 'Of course, she learned it with him.' A dark bubble of hate began to rapidly expand within him. "Let me guess. You do this for me a lot?" He asked quietly trying to keep the images from his nightmare from popping up and tormenting him.

Cameron was putting the stuff back into the medicine cabinet. "In the future… you do this type of thing for him…me." She could hear the insecurity that John was so desperate to hide. "…just one of the many things you and I do together, right? Because that's what you do." John continued willing her to give him a straight answer for once.

"John, I can't tell you specifics." Cameron explained but John didn't want to hear it.

He got up roughly moving her aside so he could pass. She didn't budge and it enraged John further. "Cameron, move."

"No. You are upset. I have upset you. What did I do wrong?" she tilted her head childishly while confusion reigned on her face.

Annoyed at being taken it by her innocent act yet again John faced her head on. "That's the problem Cameron. You don't ever seem to learn what you did wrong. You claim to know me so well in the future, so why can't you figure me out here in the past?"

"You aren't the same. He's Connor and you are just John. He is…"

He recoiled at hearing the exact same words she had used in his nightmare. He had been trying all morning to convince himself that she didn't see him that way. That to her he was both but it hurt so much more now that he knew that was what she had thought all along.

He had been hoping that his tired mind had just been messing with him and yet it had spewed exactly what he needed to hear to get rid of the tiny kernel of hope that he stubbornly kept alive.

"…the great military genius. I know I'm not him because you don't talk about me the way you do about him. 'Connor does this, Connor does that,' I'm sick of you telling me how great he is and all the stuff you do together and how close you are in the future. That is what you do wrong!"

Cameron tilted her head again making her eyes open wide with surprise. "You don't want me to talk to you about your future self?"

"No. Cam. I don't want to hear about the great fucking general I'm gonna be, Ok. I don't want to hear it and I want you to stop comparing me to him. I'm not him." John turned away from her desperate to escape back to his room away from her and the lunacy of being jealous of himself.

"I never will be."

He felt her hands on his shoulders and they slumped in defeat. "John. You will never be the General I remember." John winced at the verbal stab but she continued unaffected by his pain, "he ceased to exist the moment I came."

Apparently she didn't want to have this conversation with his back for she turned him to face her. She placed her hands on his face much as Kyle had done to her. "I explained to you that the timeline is changed when anybody comes back." She stood on tiptoe and pressed her cheek to his. "You have every facet of that John. Being you is what makes you great."

Cameron felt him relax in her embrace but that didn't stop him from asking, "Why do you keep telling me about him…me then?"

"Because…I miss our time together. I miss you explaining things to me. I calculated that if I told you about what we were like in the future you would want to replicate it. I thought you would want to do things with me again," she said taking the moment to scan his face and the green eyes that connected all of her John's into one cohesive person.

"Oh."

"John, we will be home alone for a while." Cameron pressed his good grace by winding her arms around him tighter. "Will you stay with me, just me?"

"No Riley, huh?" he asked tugging up her face which was close to being buried in his chest. She tipped her face up to him.

"No Riley. Just Cameron and John, like before?" she asked hopefully.

John could almost feel the shimmer of the air around them. He had told Riley earlier that he didn't believe in fate. That he believed in choices. Yet standing here with his beautiful terminator…no his beautiful Cameron, John knew that he had lied.

Him and Cameron were meant to be. Just like his mother was meant to meet Kyle & Derek Reese, just like he was meant to be John Connor. He believed with all his human heart that Cameron would be the only woman for him. Whether he defeated Skynet here or in the future he knew she would be by his side regardless of the outcome and he would do anything to insure it.

"Just you and me, Cameron. You and me against the world… and some guns." John teased.

"Lots and lots of guns…." Cameron stood patiently gazing up at him through her lashes. Her other John loved when she did that and it wasn't long until this John lowered his head and kissed her. 'His preferences have not changed.'

In that single perfect moment Cameron forgot her annoyance at his previous abandonment of her. She forgot about his mother's hatred for her and she forgot that Riley Dawson existed.

John was hers and he would always be.

She just had to remind him and to do that she would have to stop lying about her capabilities. She would have to come clean about the sophistication of her Neuronet and what General Connor had sacrificed to keep the Resistance alive and why she had really been sent back to him in this time period.

"Cam…Tell me about Allison…"

"Come with me John." she said against his mouth hoping to distract him.

"Cameron. You are not authorized to divulge that information." Connor said from his desk. His tired green eyes pinned her where she stood. "He will not understand, I still don't but I love you. You have to be certain he does."

"He can't love me if he doesn't trust me."

"I know but that's a chance you have to take. He'll need you." John stayed seated and both were sure if he got up that he wouldn't let her travel back to him.

"I understand."

She kept looping in her mind her last conversation with her General. He would lose a little bit more of himself when she told him the whole truth about who Allison Young had truly been and why she'd been modeled after her.

She would lose a bit more of what she'd gained once he knew about Jesse and Riley. For now she didn't follow her orders. She apologized to her other John. She still had a few days to show this John that her programming didn't dictate all her actions.

His room loomed closer but they remained interlocked with each other. Cameron disabled the section of her chip that kept her video hardware. She did not want to replay the exact way John made love to her in the future.

She had always wished to be his first experience just like he had been hers.