CHAPTER 26

It was the smell, the putrid, disgusting, repugnant smell that John felt as if it permeated him. Real or imaginary he seemed to be completely unable to clear the awful stench from his nostrils. It was almost as if it were following him. It mattered not if the hallways were well ventilated or how far away from the incinerator room he got, he still found that he could smell, almost taste the repulsive odor. He wasn't exactly sure how long he had been forced to wait for Danny and Fischer to leave, but he did know that by the time he came back through the interrogation room all traces of Alison Young had been removed. The table where she had lain was now perfectly clean and not a drop of her blood could be seen anywhere. The room was in pristine condition and ready to be used once again on another unsuspecting resistance member. It was almost as if Alison had never even been there, almost as if Alison herself had never existed. John felt as if he were experiencing an all too disturbing analogy for this particular future, his now ever present guilt continued to increase.

As he stumbled further down the winding hallways he struggled to contain his emotions. He began to fear that the plan he had constructed, the plan that he believed would ultimately save humanity's future, even if it was at the cost of destroying another's was quickly reaching a point where everything might spiral completely out of control. He wondered if his sanity might indeed be the first thing to give way. His sense of responsibility for all that was occurring in this place had become almost unbearable. There was virtually nothing that John believed would ever be able to silence his conscience now, save for one action. John let out a heavy sigh as his thoughts drifted. He had attempted it before, lied to his mother and to Cameron about it, told them he had "forgotten" to unload the gun. An uneasy sensation swept over John as he struggled to push that image to the back of his mind, nevertheless in the end once Cameron and everyone else were safe John believed that may indeed be his only option left.

John realized that there was another more immediate problem. While he knew that he must somehow gain access to the Time Displacement Equipment so as to transport Cameron and himself back in time, he had yet to discover where the TDE was located or how to gain access to it. He had spent as much time as possible trying to covertly search the base for any clues as to where it might be, but had found none. John was rapidly coming to the conclusion that he would have to do something more overt in order to learn of its location. This had been the reason why he had been searching for Fischer. But, he also knew that this information would not just be handed over to him. He realized that he would have to be a bit more "forceful" in his requests for information.

However, there was another problem. Even if he were to obtain the information he needed, John knew Skynet would not just allow him to walk right into the Time Displacement Room and use the equipment; he would have to create a diversion. He had long kept Savannah's faction in the back of his mind for this very specific purpose. While he had left that faction on far less than favorable terms he hoped that giving them the advantage of having someone on the "inside" of the Skynet base might be a tempting offer for them, one they would not readily turn down. Still, he was uncertain how far he would have to go in order to garner their support or what actions he might have to undertake. All of these thoughts weighed heavy on John's mind. Compounding his mental distress were the horrifying images of the incinerators. Sarah had once told John how his father had painted a particularly terrible image of the incinerator rooms describing how they ran nonstop to dispose of the bodies. Nevertheless, nothing could have prepared him for the despicable things he had just seen. Nothing would wipe away the mental pictures that were now playing out in his mind. These images would haunt him for the rest of his days.

John continued to wander through the hallways of the Skynet base attempting to shake the abhorrent memories from his mind. These attempts were futile, however and as the minutes ticked by he made his way closer and closer to his quarters. The longer he walked aimlessly about the more his chances of being noticed grew. Plus, he longed to see Cameron again. While he would not be able to discuss what he had seen with her for fear that Skynet might overhear, he hoped that just the mere sight of her might give his tortured soul some sort of solace. John was nearly to his quarters when a familiar voice called out to him.

"John..." Somewhat startled he quickly spun around and found himself somewhat surprised by what he saw.

"Jody..." he abruptly responded. It was not just her presence that had startled him, it was the way she was dressed. Jody had changed yet again from the BDU like uniform that she had worn earlier into solid white attire; form fitting white pants and a tight white long sleeve T-shirt. Her blond hair cascaded over her shoulders and the dark eye shadow that she wore allowed her hazel eyes to stand out quite well against her face. The snugness of her outfit which left little to the imagination caused John to be relatively certain she had nothing on underneath her exterior clothing. Due to Jody's prior actions he found it somewhat unnerving to now see her dressed in solid white. Disregarding the distraction though, he had neither the time nor was he in the mood for another possible sexual advance on her part.

"Are you okay?" she asked, "It looks like you've seen a ghost."

Thousands of them... John thought quietly to himself as images of the incinerator room crept back into his mind.

"I'm fine..." He retorted as he took a step away from her and towards his quarters, at which point Jody quickly reached out and touched him on his bicep. After what John had so recently witnessed he struggled against the urge to jerk his body away from her in disgust. But, in order to avoid suspicion he managed to control his natural reaction. John remained perfectly still only allowing his body to tense slightly as he gave Jody a cold stare as she gradually stroked his arm with her fingers.

"I know you're still very lonely here, but I still want you to know that you don't have to be." She said in a softer voice; Jody could not, however help but insert her own natural undertone of sexuality into her statement. John's facial expression did not change. He fought against his feelings of anger and resentment towards her. The fact that Jody continued to caress his arm was only intensifying his emotions. John slowly nodded his head managing to muster up a false smile for her before turning and walking away. Jody stood silently watching John as he moved closer to his quarters. A slightly evil smile danced across her face as he walked off.

I'll have you... she thought to herself, one way or the other, I'll have you... Jody turned and walked the opposite direction down the corridor.

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Cameron took a half step away from the interior door of John's quarters. Thanks to her enhanced auditory ability she had heard everything that had been said; and she recognized who had said it. Cameron stood briefly inside of John's quarters staring straight ahead. There was a subtle change to her facial features. While it was barely noticeable it was definitely there and it could easily be described as representative of anger or possibly even jealousy. Numerous scenarios and plans of action began to make their way through her consciousness. Cameron had to talk to John privately; she had to tell him about John Henry, about Jody, about everything...But how? John was almost to the door now.

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His search for Fischer and the events that followed had left John mentally exhausted, nevertheless he knew he would not be able to sleep. He was unsure if he would ever be able to sleep again. That however was an entirely separate issue that John would not concern himself with now. As he stepped in front of the door to his quarters it hissed slightly as it opened. Still looking toward the ground John stepped into his room, the door closed behind him. He immediately noticed that the lights inside his quarters were significantly lower than he had left them. John glanced up and his jaw nearly dropped open. Cameron was standing near the center of the room completely naked, her brown hair hung slightly in her face and she gazed at him with her soft brown eyes. Out of shock, John took a small step backwards.

"Cameron..." He said in a soft yet surprised voice. There was a momentary pause before Cameron gracefully glided across the room until she was face to face with him. John felt as if his heart were about to pound out of his chest. Cameron slowly reached up and cupped her hands around his face pulling him to her and kissing him. As her lips gently pressed against his John felt as if everything suddenly stopped. While he had never fully admitted it to himself or anyone else, he knew deep down in his heart that he had desperately wanted to do this for quite some time. From the moment he had lost her, John had desperately wanted to hold Cameron in his arms and never let her go. For a moment John actually forgot to breathe. He slowly brought his hands up along side Cameron's body and rested them on her hips. Seconds drifted by before she moved her lips slightly away from his mouth. She then began to slowly kiss around the side of John's face. As she did this he took a long, slow breath of air and gently ran his hands up along her side as she continued to around his neck and then back up to his ear. It was at this moment that she spoke in a very soft and barely audible voice.

"John Henry is alive..." she whispered. John's eyes widened slightly as he immediately and somewhat regrettably realized exactly what Cameron was doing.

Damn!... Was the immediate thought that streaked through his mind. At the same time John also reluctantly realized that far more was at stake than his feelings.

"A part of him is still alive on my chip..." Cameron continued as she gently kissed the side of John's face and slowly slid his jacket off of his shoulders. John was rapidly losing his focus as Cameron continued to caress him. It was strange, while he knew that she was doing this as a means to speak covertly with him, it was slowly, yet unmistakably beginning to feel as if something much more significant and unique was taking place here. Desperately trying to formulate a strategy for this new found information while at the same time beginning to completely lose himself each and every time Cameron so much as touched him; John struggled to balance his emotions as he tried to concentrate. Taking another slow breath John continued to allow his hands to naturally make their way up Cameron's body and then over her shoulders.

"He can be downloaded onto Skynet's mainframe and temporarily disable some of its functions." Cameron said in a soft and quiet voice that only John would have been able to hear as she untucked his shirt. She then gradually began to lead John over to his bed. His focus was almost completely shattered, all the different thoughts, and emotions were about to overpower him. While a piece of him knew that he should try to remain as calm as possible and only go along with the "game" Cameron was playing out for Skynet so as to conceal the true nature of their actions, John could not deny the other part of him that desperately wanted to believe that there was much, much more behind her actions. The images and sensations that were washing over him were nearly overwhelming. Cameron, Alison, John Henry, the war, saving humanity, it was all manifesting itself into this one moment.

Running his fingers slowly through Cameron's hair John brought her head back away from him so that he could look into her eyes. They stared silently at each other for a few seconds. While Cameron had initially devised this sequence of events due to her need to communicate covertly with John it was rapidly becoming something completely unknown to her. Subtle, yet undeniably effectual sensations were beginning to take hold of her.

John slowly began to kiss down Cameron's neck.

"Savannah Weaver has a faction that may be able to help us." John whispered as he caressed her neck with his lips, desperately trying to stay focused.

"If we can coordinate with her for an attack after John Henry is downloaded..." John's voice trailed off as he continued to kiss Cameron's body. Suddenly, an extremely uneasy feeling came over him and almost without thinking he spoke.

"What about you?" he asked in a voice that would have almost been audible to Skynet. Realizing his mistake he moved his lips closer to Cameron before he spoke again in a quieter tone,

"What will happen to you during the download?" Cameron carefully pulled John's shirt off and slowly moved him over onto his bed, allowing him to sit down in front of her. She paused briefly, a solemn look gradually making its way across her face as she stood quietly between his legs. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders she gently pulled John's face close to her body. Cameron looked down at him allowing her hair to fall down into her face.

"There is a high likelihood that my program will be lost in the process..."

"What?" John said in a voice that was loud enough for anyone to hear as his face suddenly pulled back away from her. Cameron quickly, almost violently pushed John back onto the bed. His body hit the mattress with a minor thud. Before he could recover Cameron was on top of him kissing him.

"You must do this John..." She said with an unmistakably emotional quake in her voice. John could not escape the truth. He knew she was right, this was their and humanities only chance, though he did not want to acknowledge it. Desperately John pulled Cameron to him and kissed her, holding her tightly. He was experiencing a myriad of feelings. He fought back against the anger and regret for the events that had both transpired and would have to come. He allowed himself to experience one fleeting moment of happiness with Cameron.

Cameron was now loosening the belt around his waist and unbuttoning his pants as she continued to kiss him. The strange and unparalleled sensations that she was experiencing were becoming more powerful now. She was unsure how to classify this unique sensory input. Usually in such instances of confusion such as this she would become what humans would describe as nervous or on edge, albeit in her own "machine" way. Yet this entire scene had what she could only describe as a calming effect. She began to pull John's pants off of his body.

"To get Savannah's faction here...in order to get them to attack..." John was beginning to have trouble speaking as his sentences were now becoming interrupted by his rapidly increasing respiration.

"...I'll have to meet with her..." John took another breath, "...It's the only way we'll have a chance at convincing them." Cameron slid her hand down John's arm and tightly gripped his hand with her own as she leaned in and kissed him again. A few moments later she drew just far enough away from John's lips so that they were no longer touching.

"Leave that to me...I will be able to get a message to Savannah." She responded and then paused momentarily before quietly adding.

"...Do not trust Jody." There was silence. John responded to the latter statement with a slightly puzzled look.

How does she know about Jody? He asked himself. Then in almost an instant it came to him. Jody...she was there when Cameron's program had gone bad, she was the one that Cameron had nearly strangled, and now she was here working for Skynet.

No... John thought to himself as his eyes widened with fear, No...no...no...Jody has to know about Cameron by this point... After thinking on this for a second longer another thought shot through John's mind.

The bitch has been playing me against her. John's biceps tightened as his anger grew. While he had always known that Jody was not to be trusted this new found information pushed him to the point of fury. Observing the realization sweep over him, Cameron reached up and gently touched the side of John's face so as to distract him from displaying any other visible signs of emotion. Anyone who was watching had to believe that this was nothing more than what it appeared to be. John's look softened as Cameron touched him and they stared quietly at each other for another moment. Cameron's plan had succeeded. She and John had managed to lay out the groundwork for an attack on Skynet without it knowing what they had done. Yet, what had started out as a subtle and covert information exchange had evolved into something else. Cameron stared into John's eyes as she lay on top of him. After a few seconds had drifted by she slowly leaned in and resumed kissing him. A stranger might argue that both John and Cameron still knew they were possibly being watched by Skynet and to stop now would raise suspicions. In actuality that was no longer what either one of them was actually thinking. The world dropped away from John and if only for a short while he was able to escape the grim reality that surrounded him. For right now, it was just he and Cameron.

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"How very interesting..." Fischer said as he stared at the computer monitor watching John and Cameron.

"I see that "extreme attachment" was the correct term to describe his feelings for it."

"AFFIRMATIVE." The deep voice said in response.

"I do believe once our initial goals with John Connor have been met, a further more..." Fischer produced a twisted smile,

"...in depth study of his machine friend should be undertaken." There was a moment's hesitation before the voice responded.

"YOUR PROPOSAL IS ACCEPTABLE."

"Her program will likely suffer some unpleasant side effects during our experimentation."

"SIDE EFFECTS ARE IRRELEVANT." Fischer nodded his head.

"I did not think you would mind." Fischer said his devilish smile increasing as he continued to stare at John and Cameron on the display in front of him.

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Author's Notes: So John and Cameron finally got together. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Review! Review!