Chapter 5
Two weeks had passed since Derek had left and John stood in the kitchen, making pancakes. Sarah having always made pancakes for him, he had decided to return the favour. Sarah condition had gradually gotten worse as the weeks went by. She lay on the sofa, drenched in sweat from the pain from the tumours. Cameron sat beside her, holding a cold wet towel to her forehead. John brought her the half burned pancakes on a plate to Sarah. Cameron took the plate from John while he took the towel from Sarah's forehead. He took it back to the kitchen to add some more cold water. Cameron helped Sarah sit up and offered her the plate. "I'm not hungry". She said this through gritted teeth and pushed the plate away. Cameron cut some of the pancake with the fork and held it to Sarah's mouth." You haven't eaten in four days, the sooner you eat, the quicker I can give you the pain relief fluid". Cameron pushed the fork in to her mouth. Sarah nearly choked on the pancake, finding it hard to swallow.
Sarah took the plate from Cameron, not wanting to be fed like a baby. She took large bits of pancakes in to her mouth , chewing and swallowing as fast as possible. Finishing, she gave Cameron the empty plate. John returned with the wet towel and placed it again on Sarah's forehead as she lay down again. "You really need to learn to make pancakes properly". Both Cameron and John smirked. "When can you get that pain stuff?". Cameron put her hand on Sarah's check, doing another scan. "The tumours have grown, the pain fluid will only lower the levels of pain, not remove it completely as before". Sarah moaned in pain as Cameron stood up. "I'll make some, just lie still". With that, she stood up and left for the kitchen. John watched as she walked, his eyes moving up and down her body until she was out of site. John looked back at his mother. She was looking at John with a grin on her face, despite the pain. "What?". He put his hand on the towel and pushed softly in to her forehead." I saw you, checking her out". "I wasn't checking her out". Now John was smirking, ruining any chance of deceiving Sarah. "Yeah, course you didn't". Her sarcasm was obvious.
Cameron retuned ten minutes later with the pain relief fluid. John stood back as Cameron held the glass to Sarah's mouth. "Hold your nose". Sarah lifted her hand and held her nose as Cameron tipped the glass in to her mouth. Sarah nearly choked due to the taste but drank it all in one go. Slowly, the pain began to ease away, allowing Sarah to slow her breathing. Cameron handed to glass to John an held her hand to Sarah's check. After a few seconds, Cameron stood up. "You should get out of the house for a few hours, the fresh air will do you some good". Taking the empty glass from John, she walked in to the kitchen. John took a seat next to Sarah. "How you feeling?".
"I've been better, I can still feel those things inside me but it's not as bad". Getting up, she made for the stairs. "Where you going". "Going to get ready, I haven't been out in weeks. We can just go for a walk or something, if that's alright?". "No, its fine, I'll go get some guns". With that, he headed for the front door while Sarah went upstairs. Outside, it wasn't the hot weather that John was hoping for. It was cold and looked like it might rain later. But Sarah needed some time outside and John wasn't going to let a little rain stop him. Opening the shed door, John stepped inside. Half of the shed used to be full with weapons, but Derek took most of his the day after he left. This left only the bare essentials left for them. Most of what they had was a half dozen pistols and an old shotgun. Taking three pistols and some spare ammo. He left the shed and crossed back towards the house.
Cameron was standing in her room, putting on her purple leather jacket. Having overheard John and Sarah arranging to go out for a walk, she got ready herself. She left her room and entered Sarah's. Sarah was having trouble getting her own Jacket on. Cameron walked over and took the jacket from her, holding it open to allow Sarah to put her arms through. "Thanks, is John back from the shed yet?". Cameron stood back to allow Sarah to zip up the jacket. "No, not yet". Sarah walked slowly downstairs. Cameron entered Johns room and found his jacket in a heap on the floor. Picking it up, she made after Sarah. John entered the house with the guns when Cameron got to the bottom of the stairs. She held out his jacket for him. "Swap you". John smirked as he gave her one of the guns and took his jacket. Handing the other to Sarah, he put his jacket on and led them both out the door. Walking towards the car, Sarah opened the drivers door and got in. John made for the passengers seat but Cameron beat him to it. Looking in to her eyes, John was about to argue when Cameron opened the door and said. "I call shotgun". Taking a step back, he opened the backseat door. "I guess that means I call nine millimetre".
John got in to the back while Cameron got in to the front. Sarah grinned at Cameron. John laughed at himself, he could see the relationship between the two women in the front of the car had grown from what it once was. It used to be full of suspicion but now was full of trust. Sarah drove them to the nearby forest, a small lake was visible in the middle of the forest through the trees. Getting out of the car, the three of them walked to the lakes edge and began walking around it. It was quiet in the forest, there were no people around. John guessed the cold was keeping people away. This suited him fine, the less people around, the easier it would be to spot danger. Sarah was just happy to be outside again, ignoring the pain from the tumours, she breathed in deeply allowing her to feel at ease. Cameron looked around them every few seconds. This was a perfect ambush point for a terminator to attack John. Their was nothing it site except some birds and a few stray dogs. Half way around the lake, they found a pier leading the centre of the lake. At the end, was a small fishing boat. A small dirt road led from the pier in to the forest. Sarah stopped at the start of the pier. Sarah looked like she was going to be sick "Mom, are you alright?". "Yeah, I just need to sit down". John looked towards the end of the pier, seeing the boat. We can sit in the boat, lets go". John moved to Sarah's left side, holding her up.
Cameron followed, eventually grabbing Sarah's right arm and helping hold her up as well. Getting to the boat at the end, they found it half full of water. Instead, Sarah sat at the end of the pier, her feet hanging over a metre over the water. John took a seat next to her while Cameron again scanned the horizon, looking for threats. "John, thanks for this". "Thanks for what?". Sarah turned her gaze to the water below her. "For helping me these past few weeks, and bringing me here, thanks". John put his arm around his mother. "No problem, I'll look after you, you've always looked after me, so its my turn". Sarah smiled. She had wondered if she should tell John what she was about to and decided that he had to know. "John, soon I wont be around anymore". John removed his arm and looked at his mother." What do you mean?". "Last week, Cameron found some more tumours, I have about a week left and then I'm gone". John looked to the water. Tears filling his eyes, it was hard holding them back with Sarah looking right at him. "John, look at me, what's happening, we cant control, but you have to let go and keep fighting, promise me you will". John turned and hugged his mother tightly. "I promise".
Cameron meanwhile, was halfway down the pier, giving John and Sarah some privacy to talk. Looking around, it was quiet, no threats or anything to harm John. Standing at the edge of the pier, she looked down at the water. The feeling she got from this she didn't expect, Goosebumps began appearing on her skin and the longer she looked at the water, the more it seemed threatening to her. But she knew water couldn't harm her, no more then falling over would. Stepping back from the edge, she felt a little safer. Turning to face the forest, she scanned the forest, not finding anything, she didn't know how, but she knew she was being watched. Taking the gun from the back of the jeans, she held it at her side, just looking. John noticed Cameron where Cameron was, leaving Sarah at the end, he got up and walked to her. He eventually noticed the gun in her hand." Cameron, what's the matter?". Cameron didn't turn to look at him. "Someone's watching us". John looked around, not seeing anybody. "Err, I don't see anybody".
Cameron this time turned to John. "That doesn't change the fact that someone's watching us, I don't know how I know, I just know". John now felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He took out his own gun and stood just behind Cameron. Looking at the back of her neck, he could see the small hairs on her neck standing up also. "The hairs on your neck are standing up, that usually means we sense something's not right". Cameron turned and looked at John, taking step backwards, she looked and saw that his hairs were also standing up. "Yours are as well, something's not right, we need to go". John turned towards his mother, "I'll get mom, you keep a look out". John broke in t a run, getting to Sarah within seconds. "What's wrong?". John grabbed Sarah's arm and forced her up. "Someone's got Cameron spooked, we need to go".
Sarah pullet her gun out of her jacket. "Typical, one day out of the house and something happens, just typical". Reaching Cameron, they stopped when they heard the sound of a car, getting loader as the seconds went on. Cameron turned, realising that John and Sarah were there. "Lets go". The three of them moved along the pier, walking fast, they stopped just before the end when a black car came in to view from the trees on the road. The car stopped temporally before moving towards them, getting faster and faster. " Its Derek". Came Cameron's voice.
Derek had followed them since leaving the house, more determined then ever to get rid of Cameron. Sarah pulled John back along the pier. John could only watch as Derek smashed in to Cameron, sending her flying off the edge and in to the water. "CAMERON!". John ran and jumped in to the water after her. The water was freezing, but John ignored it. Cameron appeared from beneath the surface, about ten metres away form John, Panting for breath "JOHN!, HEL….".She disappeared under the water again. John swam to as quickly as he could to her location. Driving under the water himself, he could see Cameron waving her arms above her head, trying to reach the surface. Reaching out, he managed to grab her right hand. Pulling her up was difficult, due to the fact she weighted a lot more then she looked. Finally, he had his arms around her and kicked his way to the surface. Reaching the surface, both he and Cameron breathed in deeply. Cameron was coughing up water. "JOHN!, HELP ME!"
John didn't understand, Cameron didn't need to breathe and she was terrified. He put that to the back of his mind, he needed to get her out of the water. The journey back was difficult, not just because he was having to move both himself and Cameron, Cameron herself wasn't helping John swim, she was trying her hardest to keep her head above the water. Finally reaching the bank, John sat breathing deeply, he was exhausted, the cold water not helping in the slightest. With her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, Cameron refused to let go of him, still breathing in fast and deeply, her eyes fixed on the water, seemingly terrified of it. "Cameron, are you okay?, Cameron, talk to me". Cameron didn't say a word, her response was to hold John tighter. Looking down at her face, he saw nothing but fear.
John held her arms as he stood up, bringing her up with him. Cameron was breathing in deeply, her eyes still fixed on the water. John pulled her back towards him, wrapping his arms around her. Cameron rested her head on John's shoulder, her breathing gradually getting slower and more calm. John looked past Cameron towards the pier, seeing Derek and Sarah facing each other. John couldn't hear what they were saying, but due to the fact they both had guns in their hands, John knew it wasn't pleasant. John made to move towards them but Cameron held him tighter. "Cameron, look at me".
Cameron moved her head slowly away form his shoulder, green eyes met brown again. "Are you okay?". John saw something in her eyes that made him forget the cold, his heart began beating faster and faster, until it started hurting his chest. "I'm alright, I just…. I just want to go home". She spoke slowly, shivering from the cold. John removed his arms from around Cameron and she reluctantly did the same. John walked passed her towards the pier, stopping when Cameron didn't follow. Turning, Cameron was rooted to the spot, staring fearfully again at the water. John walked back to her and took her hand in to his. Cameron looked away from the water. "Cameron, I wont let anything happen to you but we need to go". She nodded and they both walked slowly towards the pier.
Cameron's CPU was in overdrive. The amount of different emotions and sensations she had felt in the last five minutes were confusing her more then ever. She knew humans felt fear, some were afraid of heights while other were afraid of spiders. She however, was afraid of being in the water, she didn't know why. Cameron was also confused about the way John was making her feel by just holding his hand. He, like her had just been in freezing cold water and yet, his hand was warm to touch. John also made her feel safer after getting her out the water, she felt safe when he wrapped his arms around her.
Derek had his shotgun in his hands and in a steady argument with Sarah. Sarah had her pistol at her side because she didn't have the strength to hold it up. "I'm not saying it again Derek, she's stays and that's final". "No, she's a machine, we should have got rid of her ages ago, she's going to kill him one day, no matter what she says or does, that's never going to change, she's a machine, not Human". Sarah never thought the day would come when she would be protecting a machine from a Human. "She's not been a machine in a long time now, In my eyes, she already is human". Derek was equally shocked to hear Sarah's words. Joining the resistance, fighting Skynet, Derek heard of Sarah Connor, fighting machines all her life before the bombs fell. This Sarah Connor wasn't the one he heard about.
This Sarah Connor was protecting a machine. He noticed movement to his left, looking up, he saw John and Cameron walking towards them, holding hands. Derek's rage got the better of him. Derek aimed his shotgun towards Cameron. John's instincts took over as he moved his body in front of Cameron's. A shot fired and John waited for the bullets to pierce his back. It never came. Brown and green eyes met again. Cameron was shivering more then John was. For a few seconds, John and Cameron stared at each other, waiting for the other to do something. They both left the trance of each other when the heard screams of agony. John turned to see Derek on the ground, holding his knee and screaming pain. Sarah held her pistol up, still aiming to where Derek was lying. Sarah seemed more shocked then John to have pulled the trigger first. John moved towards the pier, dragging Cameron along with him.
He reached Derek, bent down and picked up his shotgun form the ground. Derek reached up, trying to take the gun form John but he held it out of reach. "I'll kill that bitch, I swear it John, I'm not the only one who wants her dead". John didn't say anything, looking to his mother, he moved his head in the direction towards where they packed the car. Taking the hint, Sarah walked passed Derek, keeping her eyes away from him. "Even you would turn traitor, your worse then the greys". Sarah stopped, wondering what the hell a grey was and weather or not to shoot his other knee, instead she carried on walking. John and Cameron made after her. John still held Cameron's hand. Realising this, he tried to let go Cameron responded by gripping tighter.
Stepping in to the house half an hour later, Sarah instructed them both to go upstairs and get out the wet clothes. John led the way, still holding Cameron's hand. By this time, their skins had begun turning blue. John tried to forget the cold and led Cameron in to the bathroom. Finally letting go of his hand Cameron looked in to the mirror. She hardly recognised herself. She usually looked calm and blank but what she was seeing was a terrified looking teenager. John turned the shower on, making sure the water was hot. He took off his jacket. Throwing it to the floor, he turned Cameron to face him. "Cameron, you'll feel better after a hit shower, I promise".
Cameron nodded her head and tried to undo her jacket, finding it imposable due the way her hands were shaking. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me". John grabbed her hands and held them in his. He began rubbing them together between his. Cameron was surprised when her hands warmed up slightly. "Nothings wrong Cameron, your just cold". John then took the zip on her jacket and pulled It down, helping her out of the jacket. Dropping the jacket to the floor, water flowed from it all over the place, John thought she brought half the lake back with her. "I'm going to change, I'll be downstairs". Cameron looked towards the shower and back to him again. "Okay, I'll be out soon".
John had to think hard on what she said, her body shivering violently made it almost impossible to understand her. Taking a spare towel, he left the bathroom and closed the door. Entering his own room, he undressed himself and dried himself off. Putting on some dry warm clothes, he left his bedroom. He stopped outside the bathroom door. He wondered again why Cameron reacted the way she did in the water. She had once said that she didn't swim, but nether could Cromartie, he just suck to the bottom and walked out later. Cameron could do just the same but she didn't, she was shouting for help instead.
Leaving the door, he headed downstairs, entering the kitchen, Sarah was putting pancakes on to a plate for him. "Good timing, you better eat up before it gets cold". John ate the pancakes within a minute, he hadn't eaten anything all day. Once finished, he sat next to Sarah on the couch.. Sarah gripped her arms in pain. "You okay". "I'll be fine, I'm just tired, where's Cameron?". Looking towards the stairs, he tried to push the image of her terrified face out of his mind, without success. "She's in the shower". John looked back towards his mother. She did seem exhausted. "Something happened to her in the lake, like she was scared of the water or something, she wouldn't let go of my hand and she kept gasping for air". Sarah thought deeply on this. "She's growing more human by the day, we know she can't swim, so she could be scared of drowning and the gasping for air would be her natural reaction of getting out of the water". John was taken aback, he didn't expect Sarah to just drop every answer in one go. Noticing this she simply said "I have my moments of great intellectual knowledge, it's rare, but accurate".
They both laughed. "When she gets out, I'll talk to her, I need to know she's okay". Sarah looked up and took his hand in to her own. "I know you care John, and so does she, more then you know, trust me on that". Smiling slightly, he wondered what he was going to say, then he remembered Derek. "Derek, you shot him, I'm not saying that's a bad thing but,…. You know". Sarah closed her eyes and sat back, making herself more comfortable. "Not exactly how I wanted the day to go, but yeah I shot him, he should be graceful it was the leg and not the head". John stood up t allow Sarah to lie down on the couch. Picking up the blanket from the other chair, he placed it over Sarah. "He aimed for Cameron and you still shot him, why?". Sarah opened her eyes slightly. "I don't care for her as much as I do for you John but I still care for her". Smiling, she closed her eyes again and became still. John wrapped her up in the blanket, making sure she stays warm.
Cameron didn't come out of the bathroom for nearly three hours. John by this time had gone in the shed and cleaned the guns and was now searching the internet for anything related at all to Skynet. He hard a hard time searching, he was worried about Cameron, no matter how much he tried, he could push her out of his head. When she finally did come out, Cameron came downstairs slowly, she spotted John and came over. John closed his laptop. "Are you okay, how are you feeling?".
Cameron, biting her lip, still seemed shaken from earlier. "I'm okay I guess, I'm calm, well…..sort of". John's eyes darted to Cameron's chest. As much as he wanted to see what was under her clothes, his eyes caught something else, her chest was moving, up and down. "Your still breathing". Cameron just stared at him, then looked down at her chest. She looked back up at John. "I didn't notice, I thought I stopped". She raised her hand and held it against her chest. Feeling her chest rising then falling was new and strange. She knew she didn't need to breath so tried to stop. After a few seconds, she started to feel a need to breath again. "I can't stop, its like I need to breath but I know I don't". She seemed afraid by this so John took her hand away from her chest and placed it on his. Cameron felt John's chest rise and fall as he breathed. Cameron could also feel his heartbeat, steadily getting faster. "
Everyone needs to breath Cameron, it's the one thing that comes completely natural to everyone. There's nothing to be scared about". Cameron raised her other hand and felt her own chest. Feeling both of them breath was strange, she found that her breathing was adjusting to go at the same time as John's. "I like this, breathing, its nice". John sat down again at the table while Cameron took a seat next to him, she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, taking the whole experience in.
"Cameron, what happened in the water". She opened her eyes and looked to the floor. She felt ashamed of herself, she had never once shown fear in front of John before except when he removed her chip. She decided on the truth. "I don't know, I hit the water and I was scarred, being under the water, sinking to the bottom away from the light, I just…. Wanted out, wanted to be home". Looking up, she expected John to look at her with disgust but found him smiling at her. "You don't swim Cameron, being in the water when you cant swim tends to panic people, its nothing to be ashamed about, it is scary being in the water even if you can swim". Cameron was relived, she felt a lot better when John said these words. That was until he spoke again. "Can you learn to swim at all?". Cameron had to think now, she wasn't built to swim but to walk and run, Skynet built other machines to tackle the water. "I don't know, I think I could".
Cameron honestly wasn't sure. John then had an idea, an idea that could have Cameron face her fear, he had to face his one day, so should she. "Why don't we go to the pool and I'll teach you how?". Cameron was shocked, she liked to idea of John helping her but the idea of being back in the water terrified her. "No, I hate the water, I panicked today, I'll just panic again". John cut across her. "Remember today, I had a hold of you in the water, how did you feel then? And on the bank, when we were out of the water?". Cameron remembered back, the water terrified her, but when John took her hand, she felt a sudden rush of warmth fro within her. When she was on the bank and John held her, she felt warm, calm and safe. "Safe, you made me feel safe". John smiled and held out his hand towards her and Cameron took it, unsure what he was going to do. John rubbed his fingers around hers.
The warm feeling she had from the bank of the lake returned again. Cameron copied John's hand movements, rubbing her fingers around his. A huge surge of heat fall Cameron from head to toe, she didn't know what it was but she did know she liked it. "You felt safe with me in the water, when we are in the pool, I swear nothing will happen to you, I'll look after you". Cameron smiled and leant forward, she wrapped her arms around John and hugged him. John did the same, a little shocked at her bluntness. "Thank you John". John moved his arms down her back and back up again. He couldn't see Cameron's face but he knew she liked as her breathing speeded up slightly. John let go of her and she did the same. "We can go tomorrow, we need to buy you a bikini as well, we can do that on the way". Cameron tilted her head to the side, not having an idea on what a bikini was.
John woke up the next mourning to the small of pancakes. Getting dressed and heading downstairs, he wasn't surprised to find Sarah making the pancakes. "Hey, is that for me?". Sarah jumped slightly, not knowing John was there. "No, but I'll half it with you". John got a glass of water and sat down at the table. Sarah brought the pancakes over and sat down opposite him. " You don't look so good, are you alright?". Sarah was moving uncomfortably, she seemed tense and stiff. "I'm fine, the pains coming back slowly, that's all". Taking a bite of the pancake Sarah made him, John gave her a smile of approval, her pancake making skills were second to none. Sarah couldn't help but smile back. "Did you talk to Cameron?". "Yeah, you were right, she was scared of drowning. I'm taking her to the pool today, teach her how to swim". Sarah, biting in to her own pancakes, smiled widely. "That's sweet of you, not the first time you've been sweet to her". "When was the first time?". "When you gave her the diamond, she still has it somewhere". John remembered when he gave Cameron the diamond, telling her that diamonds were a girls best friend.
"I'm going for a bath, you go wake Cameron and head off, give me some peace". Sarah got up and headed upstairs. She hadn't eaten all her pancake so John finished his an hers. Once he finished, he headed knocked on Cameron's door quietly. He didn't get a reply so he opened the door slowly and stepped inside. Cameron was in bed, fast asleep. John had told Cameron to try and sleep and dream weeks ago and since then, Cameron has slept every night with out fuss, tossing and turning as she dreamed different things every night. John watched as Cameron breathed in and out, he sat down slowly, making sure he didn't wake her. John to this moment to look at her face without hr looking back. He took in every detail over and over. He couldn't understand how Skynet could make her so beautiful, though he wasn't going to complain.
Some of Cameron's hair was covering her face. John reached over and moved it out of the way. He gently stroked her hair, the same way he did when he reinserted her chip. Cameron stirred slightly, making John remove his hand. Not wanting to wake her, John made to leave. "Hey, don't go". John saw Cameron was awake, she raised her hands and rubbed her eyes. "Morning, sorry if I woke you". Cameron simply smiled. "Yeah you did, but I liked what you were doing?". She reached out and took John's hand, raising it to her head, John began to stroke it again. Cameron closed her eyes again, enjoying the feeling of John stroking her hair. John smiled as she moaned softly.
"Are you taking me swimming later?". Cameron after saying this put her hand on John's, forcing Johns hand further through her hair, she didn't remove her hand from his. "Yeah, I'm ready to go when you are, I'll wait downstairs". As mush as she wanted him to stay and stoke her hair, Cameron removed her hand and Let John get up and leave. John closed the door behind him and sat on the couch. He liked the fact Cameron was becoming more human, smiling to himself, he tried to visualize what Cameron would like in a bikini.
Cameron came downstairs ten minutes later. John packed his swimming trunks and a towel for himself. He also packed a towel for Cameron. Both took a pistol each form the shed before setting off for the pool. The journey was silent. John tried to keep his focus off Cameron and on the road. Cameron was gradually getting more nervous as they drove, the thought of being back in the water got stronger as they stopped outside a small shop and turned the engine off. Cameron looked around. "This isn't the pool". John smiled and nodded his head towards the shop, which sold swimming gear. "You haven't got a bikini, you need one to swim or you will got noticed". Cameron had to think before realising what he meant. She smiled at herself. "Thank you for explaining". John gave her some money and she left the car for the shop. John instantly watched as she walked, his gaze falling all over her body. Cameron was walking in a way that most girls did when trying to look good. John could only guess that she knew he was watching her.
Cameron didn't come out of the shop for almost half an hour. John wasn't worried for her, he knew that if she was becoming more human, then she would adopt the female concept of taking forever to chose one item of clothing every time they entered a shop. John had spend the last fifth teen minutes listening to the local news. The wildfires in California were out of control again, some Hollywood stars were caught driving over the limit again and he was now listening to a report on how the new Zeira corporation had made a breakthrough developing AI. John had never heard of the Zeira corporation. He made a mental note to check them out on the computer when he got home. Suddenly, Cameron opened the door and got in the car. She had a bag with her so John presumed she had bought the bikini. "You took your time, what did you get?". Cameron looked at John. "You'll see". she smirked and just looked out the side window, she clearly enjoyed teasing John like that. John turned the ignition. "I guess I will". Cameron's smirk turned in to a wide smile that John couldn't see.
John and Cameron got out the car ten minutes later and walked towards the pool doors. Cameron had got gradually more nervous as they neared the building. John spoke to the woman over the checkout, arranging to be allowed in the pool. Cameron could see the pool through a window behind her. Their was no one in the pool. Cameron couldn't take her eyes away from the water, the longer she stared at it, the more scared she got. John looked to see what she was staring at. Seeing this, he walked over to her. "Cameron?". She snapped out of her trance. "I'm sorry, I just…". She never finished. She held her head down, upset that she let the fear get to her again. "Cameron, everyone gets scared, nothing to be ashamed about, I've already promised that I'll look after you and I wont break that promise". She raised her head and smiled. John held out his hand and she took it.
They walked hand in hand towards the changing rooms. "See you on the other side". John left Cameron outside the women changing rooms while he entered the men's. John changed in to his trunks and put his clothes in the locker. He didn't like the changing rooms much, it was freezing. He walked through out the changing rooms and towards the empty pool. Cameron wasn't there yet, he knew she would take her time. John walked around the edge to the deep end and dived in. The water was cold at first but he got used to it quickly. Reaching the surface again, he swam to the other end of the pool and back again. He hadn't been swimming in years, not since he lived with his foster parents. He remembered how he went with the school to learn himself, he was the first one to jump in out of everyone and the quickest to learn.
He loved swimming through the water, it made a change from running through the forest near the house. He decided the sink to the bottom and see how long he could hold his breath for. Looking towards the clock on the wall, he waited until the second hand hit twelve. He dived under towards the bottom. The deepest part of the pool was around fifteen feet deep. Getting to the bottom, he looked through the water. John had his back facing one of the walls of the pool, he faced towards to other side. Through the water, he couldn't see the other end. Looking at this was quite intimidating, the water was like mist, you could only see so far, then nothing. Needing air, he kicked from the bottom of the pool towards the surface. Getting to the surface, he looked towards the clock and found he had been down for about forty seconds. He was disappointed as he wanted to get at least a minute.
"John!". John turned in the water. His jaw dropped, he thought it could hit the bottom of the pool. Cameron was standing at the edge of the pool in a black bikini. The outlines were a light silver which caught the light. John's eyes flowed from one part of her body to the next, legs, thighs, belly button , neck, John had never seen anyone so god dam gorgeous. His eyes fixed on her breasts and despite his efforts at looking innocent, Cameron saw where his eyes were. "Eyes up John!". The look of shock on John's face brought a large smile to her face. John very reluctantly looked away, he would have been happy to stare at her body like that all day. "Sorry, I was….. never mind". He pushed himself forwards through the water towards where she was standing, Cameron was watching John swim, he found it so easy, yet her interest at his swimming skills quickly changed as her gaze fell on his muscles on his arms as he moved through the water. She liked the shape and size of them. She felt her face go red when John got to her and looked up. "Jump In then". Cameron's admiration for John's body was quickly replaced by fear. John, half forgetting why they came to the pool in the first place, remembered she didn't know how to swim. "Ah, sorry I forgot, follow me".
John climbed out of the pool and led Cameron around to the shallow end. Once there, he jumped straight back in the water. John stood up straight and faced Cameron, the water coming up to his chest. Cameron stood still, her eyes on the water. "Look, this part isn't deep, you'll be okay". Cameron stepped forward to the very edge, her toes just slipping in to the water. Her eyes widened and her breathing quickened. John quickly moved forward in to her gaze. "We'll do this one step at a time, okay". Nodding her head, she still didn't move. "First things first, just sit on the edge here and have your legs in the water". Stepping back a bit, John left enough space between himself and the side of the pool for Cameron to put her legs. She slowly sat down and lowered her legs in to the water. Her toes briefly touched John's chest as they went down.
Cameron quickly realised that there was nothing to be scared of at the moment, she slowly moved her feet from side to side, enjoying the feeling of the water going through her toes, it was a better feeling then sticking her foot out of the car window. "Okay, good, next is to get in the pool". A nervous look appeared on her face. "You'll be alright, you wont go under the water, if you want o, keep your hands on my shoulders". Cameron sighed in relieve. At least she could hold on to him, she felt safe when with him in the lake and now she would feel safe again. Holding her hands out, John moved forward, allowing her to rest her hands on him. Slowly he moved away from her, taking her arms with him and pulling her in to the pool. Slipping off the edge, Cameron fell in to the water with a small scream. She disappeared entirely for just a second before standing up straight. John could tell she was scared again because her grip on his shoulders had tightened. Her fear began to grow weaker and weaker the longer she was there, she lessened her grip on John till she had her hands were just resting on his shoulders. John was getting more impressed by the second, he had thought at one point that he would have spent the entire time trying to get her in the pool, let alone actually teaching her to swim. Her breathing became calm again and she smiled, pleased she had gotten this far. John raised his hands out of the water and put them on her shoulders. "Follow me".
He walked slowly backwards through the water, Cameron followed. They moved in to the middle of the shallow end of the pool, giving them plenty of space. Cameron looked nervously at John, unsure on what he wanted her to do next. John noticed she was nervous again and gave her an encouraging smile before talking again. "Before anything else, you need to learn how to float, keep yourself above the water with out my help, I'll show you". John took his hands away form her and moved away, her hands sliding down his shoulders in to the water. Cameron tilted her head to the side and watched as John lay back, waving his arms through the water, keeping himself afloat. He turned himself and did the same thing but chest down. He then stood straight again and moved back towards Cameron. "Your turn, I'll hold you to start and then I'll let go, just say my name when you want me the help again, okay?". Cameron nodded once, she was having trouble keeping her breathing under control. John moved behind her and placed his hands on her back.
"Just lean back and take your time". Cameron didn't move, she closed her eyes and took deep breaths. John began to run his hands over her skin. Cameron didn't know what he was doing at first but allowed him to continue, slowly getting used to the feeling. She arched herself back slightly, hoping John's hands would press more in to her skin. To her disappointed, John took it as a sign she was leaning back to float, he moved back slightly. Cameron, though a little disappointed, leant back completely. Her feet leaving the bottom of the pool, she gasped in panic as she began heading under the water. John with his arms underneath her, held her up. Cameron didn't dare move an inch in case she slipped from John's grip. John waited for her to move her arms and legs before reminding her to do so. "Cameron, move your arms and kick your feet, I've got a hold of you".
Moving her arms first, she moved then from side to side exactly how John did it before. Gradually getting more comfortable moving her arms, she started kicking her feet slowly. Keeping a hold of her, John moved himself to her side, giving himself a good birds eye view of her body. With her eyes still closed, John ran his eyes over her body. The longer he stared, the more her body became more perfect to him. Not one girl he could remember from school or from around near where they lived came close to match her beauty. For once, he thanked Skynet in his mind for making her the way she was which in his mind, was perfect in every way.
After a while, John realised that most of Cameron's weight was on his arms, instead of being spread out using her arms and legs. He also remembered that Cameron, though lighter then most other terminators, still weighed more then she looked. John tried moving his arms out from under Cameron, she opened her eyes, wondering what he was doing. "You weigh more then you look so you need to put more strength in to your arms and legs, move faster and harder". Most girls would have slapped John for saying they weighed more. Cameron didn't know what he meant for a second before remembering her endoskeleton weighed more then normal human bones. "Right". Closing her eyes again, she did what John told her. The result was exactly what John wanted, he could feel Cameron's weight on his arms getting lighter. Slowly, he began to remove his arms from beneath her. Cameron could feel his hands moving across her back. Acting instinctively, she took a deep breath expecting to go under the water in seconds.
John removed his hands from her but kept himself in a position to grab her if she did sink to far. Cameron felt John's hands leave her and the water crept towards her face. Then it stopped, the water was at the back of her ears and yet she had stopped sinking. Opening her eyes, she could see John smiling down at her. Smiling back, she couldn't believe she was swimming. She wasn't made for swimming but here she was. "I want to stop now". John moved quickly, putting his hands under her upper back, he lifted her out of the water, her feet sinking as she rose. Hitting the bottom of the pool, she stood up straight. "You okay?". Cameron looked at the water. She didn't find it intimidating anymore, after all, her skin was half made of water. "I'm fine, I'm more then fine, I'm not scared anymore". Wrapping her arms around John, she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you John, for helping me". John, feeling a little uneasy with a half naked Cameron holding him, never the less wrapped his arms around her. "Lets just say this is my way to thank you for saving my life". Eventually letting go of each other, John moved back slightly till there was a half metre gap between them. Cameron raised her hands and ran then over the surface of the water. "What are you doing? Cameron kept her eyes on her hands. "Just watch". John watched as Cameron's hands stopped and stayed still. Cameron smiled as John fell in to her trap. Moving quickly, she turned her hands and threw water at John's face. John, not expecting this, swallowed half of it. Staggering back slightly, he looked at Cameron, who was having trouble controlling her laughing. "Funny, your turn". John threw water back at her, hitting her in the face.
For the next two hours, John had taught Cameron how to swim forwards and backwards properly as well as having a dozen or so water fights. John, sitting on the pool edge, his feet in the water taking a break, watched as Cameron swam from one end to other. She wasn't anywhere near as fast as him but she was good at doing what she did. John couldn't keep the thoughts of Cameron out of his head, he remembered how her skin felt, of soft yet cold it was at first but how quickly it warmed up to his touch. Trying to push the thoughts out before he would have to leave for a cold shower, he stood up, ready to dive back in to the pool. Scanning the pool before hand , he couldn't see Cameron anywhere. "John, help me out". Looking down, Cameron was right below him, holding out her hand. Shaking his head, he reach out and took her hand.
Cameron smiled as John fell in to another trap. Pulling down, John was pulled forwards in to the water. Cameron had to duck to prevent John kicking her as he fell. Getting to the surface again, John rounded on Cameron, who with a laugh, swam past him as fast as she could to the shallow end. John made after her, quickly catching up with her. He reached out and grabbed her foot. She gave a small scream of surprise as she stopped moving forward. "That's not fair". She couldn't stop laughing as John picked her up out of the water, John held her in his arms as if he had just carried her out of a burning building. Cameron wrapped her arms around his neck to let John get his balance. John carried her towards the side of the pool, Cameron expected John to put her down there, but John dropped her just before hand. Rising from the water, Cameron shot him a disapproving look.
"That wasn't funny". John stopped laughing, thinking he had upset her, that changed when she threw more water at him. Moving forward, he wrapped his arms around her, trapping her arms preventing her from throwing more water. "Okay, you win". Both stopped laughing when they looked in to each others eyes. Cameron felt suddenly nervous, John was so close and looking right at her. John's grip loosened, allowing her to move her arms. Raising them, she rested her hands on his shoulders. John having his hands wrapped around her, moved his hands in a circular motion over her back. Closing her eyes for a second, the warm feeling in her skin at John's touch retuned. She let out a soft moan, hoping John wouldn't notice. John however, did notice her moan. He kept one of his hands on her back, moving the other to her arm, rubbing up and down.
Cameron also began to move her hands slowly across his chest. She could feel his heartbeat through his chest, which was beating extremely fast. She thought if it beat any faster, it would burst from his chest. Both their breaching increased, they could feel each others on their faces. Cameron didn't know what to do, she just looked in to John's green eyes. Looking back at her brown eyes, John heavily debated in his mind what to do. He wanted to kiss her so badly yet debated wheatear to do it or not. Ignoring the fact that deep down, he knew she was a machine, John leant forwards and kissed her before pulling away again quickly.
Cameron just stared back at John, trying to understand the feeling she received when he kissed her. Due to her just staring, John began stuttering apologies to her. Cameron didn't listen to a word he said, she herself leant forward and kissed John, shutting him up. John, taken aback, moved his hand slowly to the back of her head, Cameron responded by pressing herself against John. Both of them had their breath taking away as they rubbed their lips across each others. Cameron didn't think about what she was doing, she didn't copy John, she just went with the flow and judging from John's responses, she was doing it right. John pushed himself and Cameron to the side, pressing Cameron against the side of the pool. Cameron used one hand to hold herself up and the other on John's back, pulling him closer to her. They continued kissing, taking deep breaths as they went. John's heart was beating so fast it started to become painful. John pressed forward to take control of the kiss, forced his tongue in to Cameron's mouth. Cameron, allowed him in and pressed their tongues against each other. John was surprised on how Cameron would know what to do but quickly forgot about it. They eventually broke the kiss, both out of breath, keeping their foreheads pressed together.
John kept a firm hold on Cameron, running his hand across her cheek. He didn't know what to do next, her brown eyes kept any form of thought out of his head. "Cameron, I…". He couldn't think of anything to say. He just smiled at her, a smile of which she retuned. Cameron couldn't think of anything to say either, she just looked in to John's eyes, knowing that she wanted more then anything else at this monet was to kiss him again. Leaning forward, Cameron pressed her lips against John's. This kiss was far more intense then the first one, Cameron wrapped one of her legs around John and he rubbed her leg with his free hand. Cameron felt like she was on fire , the pleasure she was receiving from this was a thousand times stronger then anything she experienced before. She began digging her nails in to John shoulder as the pleasure began to overpower her.
SPLASH!, the sound of someone hitting the water could be heard at the other end of the pool behind then. Breaking the kiss, they both looked over at a group of teenagers who had just arrived, one by one jumping in to the pool. Cameron felt a surge on anger towards to group, wanting to go over and break their necks. John smirked when he noticed her anger on her face. "We better go". John pushed himself off Cameron reluctantly. Following John towards the ladder out of the pool. John let Cameron go first, giving him another good view of Cameron's body. Getting out himself, they headed for their separate changing rooms.
John spent the next ten minutes having a very cold shower, needing to cool down after what happened in the pool. Getting dressed, he noticed the nail marks on his shoulder he got from Cameron. Rubbing the marks with his finger, he wondered if Cameron would have cut down to his bones if they weren't interrupted. Leaving the changing room, he found her waiting for him in the corridor. Without a word, they turned to leave, walking side by side. Gradually, the hands drew closer, before coming together.