Yes, I wrote that this story would be one shot, but after I posted it, I realized that something's missing … the Christmas itself, exchange of gifts, interaction between characters etc. So I decided to write another chapter, dealing with all the above. I hope you'll like it.
What I Want for Christmas – Part 2
Chapter 2
John took two steps back from the Christmas tree that he had been decorating for the last hour, naturally with Cameron's help. Sarah and Derek were somewhere out, mumbling something about having a lead to follow, although John suspected that it was actually something else they were after. As he and Cameron returned from their shopping trip to the mall, soaked to the bones, Sarah got very suspicious. He had quite a hard time to explain to his paranoid mother that they took a walk in the park regardless of heavy snowing. Well, she believed that they did it, but she couldn't understand why they would do it at all. After few tries to explain it to her, he gave up and left her question unanswered. Cameron suspiciously quickly vanished right at the beginning of their discussion and reappeared immediately after they finished it, grinning at him slyly. He had a strong feeling that she deliberately left him alone to deal with slightly put off Connor matriarch. Sometimes she's all too human in her behavior. Avoiding my mom when she's in foul mood definitely isn't a terminator virtue. It's all my Cameron!
"It's nice. Much better than last year." Cameron's soft voice caused him to turn to his right side and look at his girlfriend, who stood close to him, her arm brushing against his and he smiled at her affectionately. Cameron gazed at the tree, beautifully decorated with gold and red ornaments. This year the tree was really much nicer than last year. At least it was straight, with almost perfect shape.
"Not thanks to me." John had to admit that he was actually just doing the physical work with hanging up the ornaments, while Cameron directed where they should be placed. She proved to him to have an exquisite taste. Is she really a cyborg?
Cameron gave him a beautiful smile and stepped to the tree, to make a small correction of a golden ornament in form of a small bird that didn't quite suit into her concept. Then she retreated for a step or two, tilted her head and gazed at the tree again. After a second, she turned back to John and smiled: "Now it's perfect."
John just nodded and admired their handiwork. "It's much better if we do the decorating than if we left it to mom and Derek." His grin was a little devilish.
Cameron gently slapped his hand: "You should not talk like that about your mother John!" She looked thoughtful for a moment. "But I agree that Derek Reese has absolutely no taste concerning Christmas trees and gifts."
Upon hearing a word 'gift', John's ears literally perked up and he turned to Cameron, taking her hands in his: "We should put our gifts under the tree, don't you think so, Cameron?"
The cyborg girl nodded and turned to leave for her room, where she had her gift for John stowed, but was stopped by John's hand. She turned to him frowning and wanted to say something, but was cut off by John's lips that crashed on hers and lingered there for few moments.
"Now we can go." John whispered after he lifted his lips from hers and looked deeply into her eyes.
Few hours later, in the evening …
"Would you like some more, John?" Cameron asked John with inquiring eyes as he leaned back in his chair after having finished his oversized portion of turkey and everything that went together with it. He put his hands on his stomach and sighed contentedly.
"Despite the fact that it had been the best turkey I've ever eaten, I really can't take any more, Cam." John smiled at her. "It was delicious! You should do the cooking more often."
Cameron smiled thankfully at him and almost missed the look that Sarah gave her. It was a look that revealed a very mixed emotional state of the elder Connor. On one hand, she had to admit that John was right, but on the other hand she was feeling being pushed aside by a cyborg girlfriend of her son. Not only considering the kitchen work. Finally the satisfaction with the food prevailed and she nodded: "John's right, tin miss. This was really good. Actually …" She paused and grinned deviously at the cyborg: "You're hired!"
Cameron looked at her perplexed: "I'm already here. Why would you need to hire me?"
John chuckled quietly. Sometimes Cameron made such sweet remarks that revealed her naivety and childlike perception of things she didn't know. "She meant that you are a good cook and you could take over the kitchen."
"Oh! Thank you for explaining." Cameron smiled at him and put her hand on his, squeezing it gently.
Derek chose the moment to chime in, but his attempt began with a belch that caused Sarah to give him a deadly look, John looked utterly amused while Cameron gazed at him with expressionless face, even though her eyes reveal that she found his slip completely unacceptable. He grinned sheepishly: "Sorry for that. It was so good that I had to do it."
"Do you know that in some Arabic countries it used to be a sign of utter respect for the cook if the guests belched after the dinner? It meant that they were completely satisfied with the food." John's grin only grew wider and he squeezed Cameron's hand, which he still held, while looking at his uncle.
"Nope! I had no idea! But then I did the right thing, right?" He turned to Sarah challengingly and smiled at her still dark face and angry eyes.
Sarah wanted to remain angry, but Derek's smile and John's half suppressed chuckle, accompanied with Cameron's stoic face, with only corners of her lips, curled up in a tiniest of smiles, made it impossible for her, so her face softened: "As if you would have known it, Reese! You did it out of your bad table manners and not out of respect for the cook."
Derek shrugged nonchalantly: "It was difficult to learn the correct behavior in the future. We had no formal dinners, no holidays."
"OK, let's not think of things that are to come and of things that you two already experienced in your past … or in our future!" John stopped the discussion, pivoting his head between Cameron and Derek. "We should go over to the tree and look for the presents."
"But …" Cameron trailed off while looking at her boyfriend confused. "Isn't it customary to open the gifts on Christmas day? In the morning?"
"It sure is. But we're not an ordinary family, now are we? So we can bend some rules." John grinned at her mischievously and stood up, pulling her after him. "I'm dying to see what you got me for Christmas and waiting until tomorrow would be a torture. You probably don't want to torture me or make me unhappy, right?" He tilted his head towards Cameron.
Cameron was now debating what she should say. She wanted to stay true to history and custom, but she definitely didn't want John to be distressed. True, he was probably just bluffing, but even the slightest chance that he could be unhappy because of her, was unacceptable. So she just stared at him with huge eyes for few seconds, contemplating what to do.
John noticed her hesitation and could read in her eyes that she was trying to find a solution of this problem. He really didn't want to wait until morning to open the presents, but not because he would be too eager to see what she got him. He definitely wanted to see Cameron's face upon opening his present and that was the main reason why he insisted on opening them right away.
Sarah noticed Cameron's hesitancy and decided to intervene. She never really celebrated Christmas so it was just the same for her should they open the presents now or tomorrow. "I think that the custom is there as a guideline, not an axiom. We can bend it a little, Cameron. It wouldn't do any harm to open the presents now."
Cameron reached the decision that she would not insist on the tradition and smiled at John relieved: "OK, if you say so."
John smiled from ear to ear and gave Cameron a quick kiss, invoking a loud sigh from his mother.
"Haven't we discussed that a few times, John? No making out, absolutely no too intimate affections in front of me!"
"It was just a kiss, mom! It's not like we would be really making out here." John grinned at his mother cheekily and bowed to Cameron's ear: "However, what we're going to do later in our room…"
Cameron knew very well what he was talking about and a wide smile crept on her face. But she didn't answer, fearing Sarah might catch up to what they were talking about.
They slowly lined up to the area where the tree stood with all gifts, nicely (well, some of them were not exactly nicely) wrapped, waiting for them.
Sarah stopped to admire the tree and turned to John, who was leading Cameron by her hand towards the tree. "You did a great job, John. The tree is so beautiful …"
"You should praise Cameron, mom. I was just a physical worker and she was the brain behind the decoration." John smiled at Cameron lovingly, seeing how she almost unnoticeable perked up, obviously proud of the praise she got for her ideas.
Sarah looked at her incredulously. Is it really possible that a machine can have such good taste? She's definitely different than every single machine I've met until now. "Great job, Cameron!"
It seemed that Cameron grew a little taller upon hearing Sarah's words and looked even more proud. John noticed it. She likes to be praised. Is that a machine or a human trait? I guess she's more human than machine already.
Derek and Sarah took their place on two comfortable recliners, while Cameron and John kneeled in front of the tree, sitting on their heels, tight together.
"Who's going first?" Sarah asked, expecting John to be the one.
"I'll be the one!" Derek exclaimed happily and jumped from his seat, making Sarah's jaw fell open.
"And I thought John was the teenager!" She managed wide-eyed.
"Well, I've never had a Christmas since the bombs fell. I forgot how it is." Derek apologized, but was already at the tree, checking the gifts. He found three of them and his eyes lit up. There was one quite big packet and two smaller. He decided for the smaller ones first, anxiousness taking over slowly.
He pulled one of the smaller boxes to himself, tearing the wrapping paper from it to reveal a neutral box without any signs of what might have been in it. He turned it in his hands and listened to the sound of something sliding inside it.
"Will you admire the box, or are you going to open it?" Sarah's impatient, almost barking voice caused him to flinch a little.
He opened the box and looked inside to find a baseball glove and a ball in it, together with a small card, saying 'to Derek from John'. He looked up at John with slightly moisturized eyes and uttered a silent 'Thank you' with his mouth. John just smiled and nodded to him.
The second gift was similar in the size, but heavier and as he opened it, he found a new handgun and some ammunition in it. There was no card, so he turned towards Cameron and looked at her questioningly. She just shook her head and caused him to turn to Sarah, who was grinning widely at him.
"There can never be enough guns. It might come handy sometime." She excused her gift.
"I like it. And I'll most definitely make extensive use of it." Derek grinned back to her.
Then he turned to the biggest gift and tried to pull it out, just to find it very heavy and his eyes widened. After he finally managed to pull it from under the tree, he opened it, to find hand weighs in it. He turned to Cameron and grinned at her: "You want me to exercise, right?"
"I think that it would only be appropriate to maintain your physical condition if we want to protect John." Cameron's voice sounded slightly smug and she grinned at him barely noticeable.
"Yeah, you're right. Everything for John."
"Yes. Everything for John." Cameron nodded solemnly, turning to look at John.
"OK, so, now it's my turn." Sarah interrupted the discussion and jumped toward the now smaller pile of gifts, quickly locating her three gifts.
After she opened all of them, she distributed everything in front of her and gazed admiringly at the gifts. She got a complete beauty set from Cameron, a pair of brand new combat boots from Derek and a shiny new iPhone from her son. Her eyes glided from one gift to another and lingered at the beauty set. She turned to Cameron: "Did you buy it to be able to make use of it yourself or do you want to apologize for using mine before?"
Cameron deadpanned: "Neither! It's for you. I've got my own now."
John almost chocked as he heard her deadly serious voice, knowing exactly that she really got two sets before, one for herself and one for Sarah.
After Sarah retreated to her chair, fumbling around her new phone, Cameron looked at John questioningly.
"Go ahead, Cam."
"No, I think that you should be the next. I can wait." She answered softly.
John didn't object and pulled three gifts labeled John from under the tree. One was quite voluminous and soft and he suspected that it was his mother's, containing something to wear. So he decided to open it as first and after he managed to tear the paper, he was proved right. There were new jeans and pullover, together with four T-shirts inside.
"Geez, thanks mom." He sounded more ironic than he intended to. He knew that he really needed some new clothes, but still didn't like to get them as Christmas gift.
"It's tight, John! You need some more appropriate clothing." Cameron reached for the now already crumbled pullover to straighten it correctly. "You will look dashing in this." She added smugly.
John just rolled his eyes and set on opening the next gift, obviously Derek's for there was more adhesive tape than paper on it. After a short battle with the wrapping, he managed to reveal the contents of the pack, just to find a nice book on baseball. "Thanks, Derek! I'll enjoy reading it. Since you've got a glove now, maybe we could play sometime?"
"O course, John, I'd be glad to." Derek was lifting his new weighs and answered between two deep breaths.
Now John looked at the smallest of packages, that was, however, expertly wrapped and he recognized Cameron's handiwork immediately. Only she could make such a perfect gift. He carefully turned the gift in his hands, noticing that she didn't use any adhesive tape, just folded the paper so expertly that it looked like it would have been glued together.
He carefully pried the packet open, taking special care not to damage the paper. After he successfully managed to unwrap it, he got to look at a small box, not unlike the one he got for Cameron. He looked into her eyes, seeing anticipation in them. After opening the box, he gasped in surprise. There was a small locket in a shape of heart in there, hung on quite thick but still delicate looking golden chain. He took it out and opened the locket, immediately noticing Cameron's and his pictures in the medallion.
He felt how his eyes began to water slightly and turned to Cameron: "Thank you, Cam. It's the most beautiful present I've ever got."
Cameron was now relieved. She was actually afraid if he would like her gift or not, but after seeing his reaction, she was sure to have made a right decision. She reached for the locket in John's hands and gently put the chain around his neck: "I'm happy that you like it John." She felt strangely reminded of a similar event in the shed at their old house, as she handed him the detonator for the explosive in her skull. The explosive was no more there, she had to took it out on John's insistence few months ago. He was adamant that he would never use it and he finally managed to convince her that he would always bring her back.
"Like it? I love it Cameron!" He pulled her to himself to kiss her gently, before leaning back again: "Now open your presents, Cameron."
Cameron now turned to the three remaining packets under the tree, noticing that one of them was really poorly wrapped. Probably from Derek. The second one was similar in size to her gift to John and she believed that it might have been from John. The last one was quite big and looked like it had been wrapped in the shop.
She decided to open Derek's gift first and after she expertly opened it, avoiding getting any glue on her fingers, she pulled out a book on human psychology. She looked at Derek questioningly and noticed his smug grin. "Thank you Derek Reese. It will improve my understanding of human reactions to unexpected."
John rolled his eyes and sighed towards his uncle as he saw what he got Cameron: "Did you really have to?"
"What? It's fun! She'll be able to understand why the humans don't like machines." Derek defended himself, still smiling deviously.
"Some do." John decided to drop the matter.
The next gift, probably the one from Sarah, contained a nice leather jacket. It wasn't purple, but it still looked good in its black glory. "Thank you Sarah. I'll be able to blend in more with such a jacket." Cameron turned it around in her hands, scrutinizing it thoroughly.
Sarah was too busy with her new phone, so she just nodded: "You're welcome, Cameron."
The last gift was the special one for Cameron. John got it for me. She picked carefully at the little strips of adhesive paper to open it and after she managed, she saw that there was a similar box inside as the one she bought for John.
After she opened it, she gasped deeply. A beautiful purple amethyst necklace and a matching bracelet adorned the black velvet insides of the box. She lifted her eyes to John and saw him smiling at her affectionately. "It' so beautiful, John!" Suddenly she threw herself into his arms and squeezed him tightly. Almost too tightly.
"Can't breathe, Cameron!" John choked out and she immediately loosened her embrace, but still held him close.
"Thank you, John!" She breathed into his ear, now finally leaning back, but maintaining the embrace.
John gently pushed her away slightly, so that he could reach for the box. He took out the necklace first and reached for her neck.
Cameron understood his intentions and lifted her hair with both hands to allow him access to her neck. As she felt his warm hands, touching the sides of her neck, trying to lock the necklace, she shivered at the pleasure, coming out of his touch.
After John managed to lock the necklace, he set on to put the bracelet on too. Cameron offered him her left hand and shivered again as his hands worked on her wrist to put the beautiful piece of jewelry on.
After he finished, John put his hands on her shoulders and held her at arm's length to inspect how she looked with the new jewelry. "You look fantastic, Cameron! Simply fantastic!"
Cameron suddenly jumped up and ran towards the mirror to look for herself. After she saw her image, she smiled and turned to John, who was in the meantime up and came to her: "It's really beautiful."
"Yeah. But not as beautiful as you." He pulled her into embrace and kissed her tenderly. They remained lip-locked for few seconds and after they separated, Cameron again squeezed him tightly.
They didn't say anything, they didn't move, they just stood there, tightly hugged, knowing that they found a soul mate for life. Even Sarah and Derek didn't say anything and chose to look away. It was their moment.
"I love you, Cameron. I love you more than the words can say." John whispered in her ear.
"I love you too, John. I'll never stop loving you." Cameron whispered back and gently nuzzled at his neck, planting small kisses on it.
John shivered upon feeling her soft lips on his neck. "Maybe we should go up to our room?"
Cameron stopped kissing him, but rubbed her cheek against his neck: "Later. I want to thank you properly for such a beautiful gift."
"Yeah, later. Mom and Derek are still there and they would probably be pissed off if we left them here on Christmas Eve." John chuckled gently.
Cameron nodded against his head: "Right. But I still love you."
John felt how his face stretched into a beaming smile again. "And I love you."
THE END