Hi,

Nice quick update this time, don't get used to it!

"Sarah, just stop and listen to me for one second!" Derek yelled, slowly moving between an irate Sarah and his still passed out girlfriend. He glanced to John for help, but he seemed a little lost off himself, "She didn't know anything, remember. She still thinks Amy is your little girl!"

"Her security goons just tried to ice you in her apartment! She was the one who invited Amy to that stupid fun day! She lost her!" Sarah bit back harshly, in no mood for Derek trying to defend this girl.

"She was dragged away by security!" He shook his head and glanced back at the woman in question, "What? Did you expect her to overpower two goons, go grab Amy and take her out for pancakes?"

"They were her own people, they wouldn't have hurt her!" Growling, Sarah tossed the last of the gauze and tape back into the med kit and stormed over into Derek's face, "Face it, Reese, you got played! She used you!"

"These guys weren't Aegis security. They..." Frowning, he knew what he was about to say would only make Sarah's mood worse, "They were mercenaries, and they recognised me right away, Sarah."

"How do you know they were mercs?" Looking down at Jessica, she appeared one step short of slapping the girl around until she woke up.

"I know, alright. Just trust me on that." Again Derek made sure he was blocking the path to the girl behind him, he did not want Sarah anywhere near his Jessica, at least until she'd calmed down a bit.

Speaking of that girl, Jessica slowly came to, blinking her eyes in an effort to clear them. It took a moment to register her stomach doing somersaults before she heard familiar, raised voices, "D, Derek?"

Shoving a finger up into Sarah's face, Derek was practically begging her to relax for a moment as he spun on a heel and kneeled down to stroke the hair out of Jessica's face, "Hey, you're safe. You're at Sarah's house."

"Sarah's? Why are we..." In a flash, the memories all came flooding back...

Jessica made her way out of the bathroom with a swing to her hips and a spring in her step, grinning nearly ear to ear as she kept up with the song she'd been listening to in the shower, "Cal-i-fornia girls, they're unforgettable, daisy dukes, bikinis on top! Sun-kissed skin, so hot..." Her words trailed off when she rounded the corner, still using her spare towel to dry her hair, head quirking to the side at the scene before her, "D... Derek?"

Before her boyfriend could respond, he was slammed backwards into the wall by a much larger figure in a multi-thousand dollar suit, a pistol brandished in one hand before Derek knocked it away with a downward swipe of his hand. With a low grunt, he slammed the larger man back into the opposite wall of the hallway, headbutting him harshly. The attacker had barely managed to hit his knees before a bloodied Derek leaned forward and grabbed him around the neck, twisting at an odd angle until a sickening 'snap' filled the room.

Stumbling backwards, Derek ran a hand over his bloodied mouth, grumbling as the limp body fell to the floor, "Asshole... oh, fuck!"

Another figure rounding the corner, he ducked low, slamming a fist into the man's side as he lifted his gun-hand high enough that the round he squeezed off swept harmlessly into the ceiling, "Where are you... guys... coming from? A... clown car?"

Ducking under a vicious swing from the well-tailored security man, Derek nearly lifted him off his feet with a text book uppercut, catching the sidearm in the air like an action movie and pointing it at the man's forehead as soon as he slammed into the antique hardwood. Without even the slightest hesitation, he fired off two quick shots, sending Jessica stumbling back into the wall behind her, covering her scream as best she could with her hand.

Glancing up as he wiped the spattered blood from his face, Derek froze in terror as he realized his Jessica has just seen what happened, stumbling towards her with an arm outstretched, "Honey... I didn't..."

That was the last thing she remembered as the floor rushed up to meet her.

Her face twisted into a one of horror as she vividly recalled Derek snapping a guy's neck like it was a twig, the sickening sound of bones and muscles crunching as he twisted. She pushed back as far as she could to get away from him, slapping the hand that had made her feel good so often away from her face in a panic, "Y, you killed two guys!"

"Jess! Baby! Relax, okay?" Holding his hands up in an effort to calm her down, he tried to keep his voice low and steady, "I did kill them... but," He did have to raise his voice when she immediately started to freak out again, "BUT! I only did it because they tried to kill me first...and there were actually three of them"

"I heard his neck snapping...it was horrible!" Still trying to push back as far away from him on the couch as she could, she noticed her surroundings for the first time. Sarah looked like she wanted to kill her, and Cameron was quietly rubbing John's hand...wait, why were they holding hands, "What's going on?"

Noticing her focus on the couple, Derek rolled his eyes, unable to handle this much stupidity in one day, "Would you two knock it off? Hasn't she been through enough?"

Letting go of John's hand with a pout, Cameron silently folded her hands in her lap. Rolling his eyes at the loss of contact, John took her hand back in his and gave it a squeeze while he glared up at Derek, "She's gonna find out sooner or later, Derek."

"It doesn't have to be right now." Glad to have somewhere to vent his anger, Derek almost wanted to thank the pair, "She just saw me kill four guys with my hands."

Ignoring the unimpressed scoff from Sarah, Jessica looked between people she considered family like they had all become insane overnight, "What the hell is going on here?"

Tired of the hysterics and just wanting to get the search for Amy going, Sarah stepped over to the couch, "I'll break it down for you. I'm not a house mother, Derek isn't a mercenary - for that he'd actually have to get paid to kill people, John and Cameron... share a bed, and AMY IS MISSING! Any questions?"

Mouth hanging open at the suddenly threatening looking woman edging towards her, Jessica considered pinching herself to see if this was some sort of dream. Ignoring the more odd statements, she focused on the shouted one, "Missing? No, the security guys said they'd bring her home, they promised."

Jessica didn't understand, the guy who told her there was a security threat promised they'd bring Amy to her apartment once they'd gotten her out of there. She knew these men, they were daddy's security, they wouldn't lie…although, she didn't recognise the man at the time who collected her.

"What, you didn't recognise the guys Derek had to kill?" Narrowing her eyes, Sarah's hand rested menacingly on the .45 shoved into the front of her pants, "They were the security. They took Amy, and tried to kill your boyfriend. So either you start talking... or I leave the room and you and Cameron will have a long chat."

Looking over at her friend who appeared to be completely focused on her brother, Jessica fought off the urge to shrug, "Why Cameron?"

"Because she's not as nice as I am." Glancing over at the machine, she tossed her chin in Jessica's direction, "And she's pretty pissed about you helping them nab her sister."

Cameron looked far from pissed. In fact, it was John who looked more pissed, glaring up at his mother, "Leave Cameron out of this, don't use her like that."

Sighing, he slowly stood and walked over to Jessica, giving Cameron's hand one final squeeze, "Look, Jessica, just tell us what you remember about today. When was the last time you saw Amy?"

"I already told you!" Looking around the room frantically, she hugged her knees to her chest, "Daddy's security guys showed up, they told me they would make sure she got home. They said there was an emergency!"

"You didn't see anything suspicious? Nobody talked to Amy?" Sarah pressed, arms folded across her chest, not believing the model for a second.

"She was playing with the other kids, I barely saw her all day." Laying her chin on her knees, she looked at Derek pleadingly, "Derek... I... I want to go home."

"You can't, babe." At the horrified look on her face, he shook his head, "I'm sorry, but it's too dangerous. Believe me, there's no safer place right now than here."

"This doesn't make any sense!" Shutting her eyes with a groan, Jessica kept praying this was all just a bad dream, "Why would they go to all this trouble to kidnap a little girl? I mean, no offence, but it's not like you guys have money or anything."

John looked between his uncle displaying a side he'd rarely seen before, and his mother who looked ready to fight someone, anyone. Giving Derek a nudge and looking up at Sarah, he came to a decision, using those command instincts he was just starting to develop, "Tell her...everything."

"You have got to be kidding!" Looking ready to throttle her own son, Sarah seethed at the idea, "John, she's a security risk! For all we know she's been feeding them intel from day one! And you want us to open up our lives and tell her everything?"

Standing up to his full height, John stood toe to toe with his mother. Even Cameron looked intrigued as to what might happen. Trying to keep his voice steady despite his heart pounding, John looked Sarah right in the eye, "We tell her. She isn't responsible for this, and she isn't going to betray us. If she was, we'd be surrounded right now and they wouldn't have needed to lure us out in the open to hurt us."

After keeping her eyes locked on her son's for the longest few seconds of John's life, Sarah tossed her hands up in frustration, "I don't have time for this. I'm going to start looking for Amy."

Storming over to the chair, she grabbed her coat and her favourite shotgun, pausing in the doorway just long enough to cast a menacing glance back at the couch, "If I find out she had anything to do with this... I'll kill her myself, John. And not even you will be able to stop me. Understood?"

Nodding slowly, John let the breath out he'd been holding, "Mom…be careful."

"You too." Nodding crisply in reply, she shouldered the door open, "Keep this place on lockdown until you hear from me. We have no idea if they're going to hit us again."

Cameron watched the entire argument with a growing sense of wonder, padding over to John as soon as the door had slammed behind Sarah, "She took that well."

"Better than I'd hoped." Forcing a smile, he rested his hand on Cameron's lower back, idly rubbing his thumb over her skin. "Jessica, we have some explaining to do, please don't freak out. We're not going to hurt you, but you have to listen carefully, okay?"

Only clutching her knees more tightly, Jessica forced herself to nod a little, glad Sarah had finally left. At least John seemed to be on her side, "I'm listening."

Smiling what he hoped would be a calming smile, John laid his hand on his uncle's shoulder, "Tell her, from the start, the whole story. J-Day, everything...including Amy...and Cameron."

Looking over at his girlfriend, he caught the nervous look on her face. Guiding her with the hand on her back, he led her over to the other couch and took her hand in his. Still though, it didn't shake the pensive look off her face.

"I uh... I guess I should start with me." Frowning himself, Derek sat down on the coffee table in front of Jessica looking tired and defeated, although quite impressed with the leadership his nephew was displaying, "Um, what year do you think I was born in?"

Brow cinching together, she really did fear everyone around her had gone insane, "What kind of question is that, Derek? I dunno, nineteen eighty or something?"

"The only person in this room born in the eighties was John." Tossing his head in his nephew's direction, he rubbed his stubble with a shrug, "Nineteen eighty five. I was born ten years later."

Doing some quick maths in her current emotional state wasn't easy, but she managed to come to a figure with a scrunched up face, "That would make John twenty four and you fourteen. What the hell are you talking about?"

"There is a fourteen year old me out there." Trying his best to get this across, he leaned forward, nearly pleading with her to listen, understand and believe him, "Do you remember that night we got drunk, spent hours having sex, and then you asked me about my scars?"

Glancing nervously over at the siblings on the couch, Jessica nodded, "Yeah. You told me you got them in the war."

"And I did." Frowning, he looked down at his boots, "Just not the one you thought I was talking about. Do you remember what I told you caused that strange one? Right before I told you to go to sleep?"

"Um, vaguely. That circle one with the three marks around it?" Jessica asked, trying to remember the word he used, "A, a Hydro something?"

Nodding eagerly, he reached out and held her hand, "A Hydrobot. I know this all sounds crazy, but in the next few years, a defence system is going to become self-aware. It's going to try to wipe out every human on Earth."

Trying to continue before she totally freaked out, his words kept picking up speed as he went, "It's going to launch a full-scale nuclear attack that wipes out half of us in one day. Judgment Day. Eventually, we turn the tide, we beat it. But it had technology light-years ahead of ours. It tried to change the past, to win the war, by sending machines back in time to kill our leader. People like me were sent back to stop them."

Taking a moment to make sure Derek wasn't about to break out into a fit of giggles and yell 'gotcha!', Jessica shook her head, laughing herself, "What? Come on, Derek, are you high or something?"

Not looking at all amused, Derek popped the buttons on his shirt sleeve and rolled it up to his elbow, shoving the barcode forward, "Didn't you ever wonder where I got this?"

Shrugging, she stared down at the barcode, "Lots of people get crazy tattoos."

"The machines rounded us up like cattle. Those that could work were worked until they died. Those who couldn't... well, you've studied the Nazis." Shaking his head, he tried to will her to understand, to believe him. "One man stopped all that. He freed us, taught us to fight. He beat the machines. And I'm here to protect him."

"Who?" She asked, starting to think he really was being serious.

Sighing, for some odd reason he felt this would be the hardest part to sell to his girlfriend, "Um... you're up, General, sir."

"General? Sir?" Jessica watched as John stood and moved closer again, perching himself on the armrest at the opposite end of the couch.

"I'm the guy he's here to protect." Taking a moment, he glanced over at Cameron who offered him a small, encouraging smile, "I'm John Connor. I'm the one who saves all mankind. I beat the machines."

"You?" Looking torn between the desire to laugh and cry, Jessica kept glancing back and forth between John and Derek, "But you're... really,you?"

"Yes, me." Sighing, he knew she wasn't buying this, and couldn't help but look a little hurt that she didn't believe him in the slightest. "Look, I know this is hard to believe. But you have to. There are some of these machines here, now, in this time. Some of them are hunting for us."

"This doesn't make any sense." Tossing her hands up in the air, she looked insulted they expected her to believe this crap, "If they have time travel, why not just send back a whole army to kill you? Or better yet, if you could send Derek back, why not just make sure the damn thing isn't created in the first place? It kills half of all humans, that's a pretty good reason to scrap the project!"

"Because the people who made it in the first place didn't know what it was they were messing with. The first time Skynet was created, it became self aware. They panicked and tried to pull the plug. Skynet defended itself and we've been going around in this loop God knows how many times." John took a deep breath, hoping she'd believe him without having to resort to his 'proof' in Cameron. "It was created to protect us, and it ended up killing us. It's tried to kill me three times now. Once before I was born, once when I was ten, and again in 1999...when I was fifteen."

Again struggling with the mental math, that was Jessica's breaking point. John may be mature for his age, but there was no way in hell he was closing in on thirty, "Bullshit."

"We jumped eight years into the future to try and stop it, that's why your math isn't adding up. I'm almost seventeen now, but I should be twenty five."

"Twenty five my ass!" Practically climbing the back of the couch, Jessica was convinced she was in the presence of psychopaths, "And why do you and your sister constantly look like you're about to hump?"

"Because she's not his sister." When John froze and looked like he didn't want to admit the truth, Derek stepped in for him, "Right, John?"

Glancing over at his girlfriend, he shuddered when she looked even more afraid than he did, "Princess... can I tell her?"

Torn between the desire to keep her secret and her friend, and the almost compulsion to go with what John wanted, Cameron's face scrunched up in confusion. "No…I will."

Frowning a little at the sad look on Cameron's face, John rested a hand on Derek's shoulder, pulling him a few steps back from his girlfriend, "It's for the best. She trusts Cameron."

Glancing up in confusion herself, Jessica looked at her friend with wide eyes, "Princess? Why is he calling you that? Tell me what?"

Standing up and making her way over to her friend, Cameron sat down on the coffee table only a couple of feet away. Wringing her hands together nervously in her lap, she forced what she hoped was a warm smile, "I'm not John's sister. I'm his girlfriend, and…" Looking back at John again and smiling when he nodded, she looked back at Jessica, "And I'm one of them. I'm a creation of Skynet."

"A... a 'creation'?" Her eyebrows pulling together, it was still odd the way Jessica seemed to relax in Cameron's presence, "What does that mean? You're just a girl. I know... I tried to help you with your boyfriend. Remember? Sex and stuff?"

Feeling a blush creep up his cheeks, John laid a hand on Cameron's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, "Show her, Princess."

Looking down at the floor, for the first time in a while, she felt the need to disobey her John, "Please... don't make me. They fear me when they know. In the future... they all did. I don't want it to be that way again. Please, John?"

"Fear you? Why would I fear you?" Looking between John and Cameron, Jessica felt lost, confused, scared…anything that Cameron could do surely wouldn't make her more scared than she already was.

Only looking more ashamed, Cameron turned around, suddenly lost as she clutched at her John's arm, "You see? I don't want to lose my friend. Please, John. I'm not that... thing, anymore. You told me yourself."

Crouching down behind her, John took Cameron's hand in his after managing to detach it from his arm. Ignoring the odd look on Derek's face, he stroked her skin soothingly while looking her in the eyes. "I know you're not, honey. But she's your friend, and I know you want her to be safe. If she doesn't believe us, then there's no way we can keep her here, protect her. It…it's up to you, Princess. If you don't want to, I'll understand."

Looking at her John, she lovingly stroked his cheek, resting her forehead against his and taking a small, shuddering breath, "You're sure she'll understand?"

Keeping his voice low so he wouldn't be overheard, John kissed her gently, "I think it'll frighten her. But I know deep down she'll still love you."

Nodding slowly, she pulled back, still gripping John's hand tightly as she turned to Jessica, "I'm sorry... please know that I am still the Cameron you know and care for. Are you ready?"

Looking a little in awe of what she was watching, Jessica nodded dumbly, mouth hanging open slightly.

"Skynet created many machines to hunt and kill John Connor. I am... the last." Looking over her shoulder, she only turned back to Jessica at John's nod, "I failed my mission. I was reprogrammed to protect him, here, in the past. But I have found so much more... I love my John. He loves me. Do you understand?"

"Reprogrammed? Created?" Shaking her head, Jessica looked on the verge of tears out of sheer frustration, "Cameron, what are you talking about?"

"I am a cyborg. Living tissue over a metal endoskeleton." Scrunching her eyes up, Cameron looked almost pained as she admitted it, "Created by Skynet to hunt and kill John. My John. But he saved me... he freed me. Now I choose my own fate. And I choose to be with him."

"Bullshit!" She never thought she'd ever do this, but she found herself shouting at the sweet flower she thought of as Cameron, "You're all liars and this is some kind of sick joke!"

"I assure you... it's not." Moving forward slowly, Cameron framed her friend's head with her hands, locking her eyes with hers. "I don't... I don't want to frighten you. But this is what John wants."

Without any further hesitation she flared her eyes, keeping Jessica's face locked in her hands despite the tears running down her cheeks.

Jessica didn't understand what she was seeing. Sure she was a little afraid, but she was still refusing to believe the bullshit story she was being fed, "No, no! You're…wearing special contacts or something!"

The glow behind her eyes fading, Cameron turned back to face her John who looked almost as surprised as she was about Jessica's stubborn refusal to accept the truth, even with pretty solid evidence.

"Look, Jessica, we're not…" John was stopped mid word when Cameron laid her hand on his arm from her spot on the table. Looking questioningly down at her, John tilted his head a fraction when he spotted her reaching into her back pocket with her free hand.

Offering John a sad smile, Cameron turned back to her friend, "You require more proof."

Not waiting for a reply, she lowered her gaze to her lap as she pulled her ever present flick knife out of her back pocket. The thing had always came in handy, especially when fighting other Terminators. She never imagined she'd be using it for the purpose she had in mind.

Catching sight of the knife, Jessica scrambled back again, thinking of course that Cameron intended her harm. But the girl's soft, shaking voice stopped her, "Please, I'm not going to harm you…I'm going to show you what I am."

Stepping forward, John laid his hand on her shoulder gently, "Cameron, you don't have to do this."

"It's okay, John. I do."

Stepping back, John felt a rush of pride welling up over his Cameron. He knew what she was about to do, and he couldn't help but be reminded of the way he'd treated her not so long ago. If she was willing to potentially go through that again, albeit not to the same extent, then she was a lot braver than he felt he could ever be. She truly was a special creation, and he didn't deserve her, not in the slightest.

"W, what are you doing?" Jessica asked pathetically, just wanting this nightmare to end as she watched the girl she called her friend nervously playing with the knife in her hand.

"Watch…" Flicking the knife open, Cameron held it against her forearm, just below her elbow. After a moment's hesitation, she screwed her eyes shut and hoped her emotions weren't having enough of an effect on her that she'd feel what she was about to do. Sinking the blade into her skin, she opened her eyes when she realised she felt nothing, no pain, nothing at all.

Following an internal sigh of relief, Cameron ignored the sharp intake of breath and the hastily sputtered objections from the direction of the couch and drew the blade several inches down her arm, towards her hand. When she had enough of an incision, she set the knife down in her lap and dug her fingers into the newly created opening.

Jessica watched in stark terror as the girl in front of her mutilated herself. Blood ran down her arm, the blade glinted in her skin…and then she dug her fucking fingers in the opening! What the hell was wrong with these people?

Just as Jessica's feet started moving again in an effort to push herself further away, Cameron pulled her wound open enough to show the main length's of coltan that made up her arm. Several servos and pistons moved when she opened her fingers and sank to her knees in front of the couch. She held her arm closer to the panic stricken Jessica in front of her, "Look."

"What? No, no way!" Jessica replied, stubbornly closing her eyes, she hated the sight of blood, and what Cameron was doing was just plain sick.

"Please, just open your eyes." Keeping her voice soft, Cameron held her arm closer and moved her fingers, just enough to make some noise, the room was quiet enough to hear the mechanics of her arm performing their functions, "Please?"

Something in Cameron's voice had Jessica opening her eyes tentatively, she was surprised about the fact that blood wasn't gushing all over the room right now like it should've been, it was a mere trickle instead. Her curiosity piqued, something drew her in closer and she looked inside the open wound.

What she saw made terror grip her heart. She moved her legs in an effort to try and get away, but she made little actual progress, fear overriding everything as she stared at the inner workings of Cameron's arm, "W, what are you?"

"I told you already." Using one of her hands to swipe at the tears on her cheek, Cameron tried to use the other to reach out and stroke Jessica's cheek soothingly, the same way John always did to calm her, "I am a cyborg. But I am not like the others. I make my own choices, and I have chosen to protect John, and all humans."

"Get, get off me!" Managing to get away from the thing in front of her, Jessica leapt up off the couch, barely catching the look of hurt stealing across Cameron's face. Instead she hid herself behind Derek, clutching at the back of his jacket as she seemingly forgot about what she saw him do to those men earlier.

Standing there for a long moment, Cameron's entire body seemed to shudder as she turned and clutched desperately to her John, "Do you see? This is how it was... this is how it will be. I'm alone... no one... no one trusts me!"

Fighting off the urge to glare at Jessica, John's heart clenched as Cameron gripped at him, the look of hurt on her face too much to handle. She didn't have many friends in this world, and one of them had just abandoned her, "Shhh, it's okay. She's just shocked is all."

As John softly whispered in his apparent girlfriend…girl machine thing's ear, Jessica hugged herself to Derek's back and whispered too, "Let's get out of here. Quick, while it's distracted."

Despite every instinct in his body, Derek had to shake his head. In the end, he trusted his General more than he would ever tell the kid, "No. That thing... that, 'girl', is going to be very important. John trusts her. So... so do I."

Looking like she'd just been betrayed more than Cameron had, Jessica shook her head, not understanding what was going on in the slightest, especially with her Derek, "W, what? How can you…Derek, it's not human!"

"Stop!" Finally deciding the gentle approach wasn't working, Derek pulled himself up to his full height, "You've just seen what we told you was true. You know we're here to help you. Now ask yourself, do you think everything we have is a lie? Or do you believe that I love you?"

More than a little shocked at her boyfriend's raised voice, Jessica shrank under his gaze, "No, I know you love me. I know you'd never hurt me, but what about that?" She waved a hand in the direction of John trying to console Cameron on the coffee table.

"They hunted me... the put me in a camp! They tried to wipe us all out..." Clutching at her cheeks, Derek laid a gentle kiss on Jessica's lips, "And I trust her, because I trust John. He saves us all... every human on Earth. Please, I'm begging you, if you love me... trust me."

"I do trust you. I love you." Nervously glancing towards the cyborg, Jessica again positioned herself behind Derek, "Can we go home now? I, I promise I won't tell anybody what you've told me."

"Baby... I wish you could. I wish I could make this all go away like a bad dream." Smiling sadly, he stroked her cheek, "For both of us. But I can't. All I can do is protect you. Will you let me?"

Getting a little lost in a cloud of emotions, Jessica nodded dumbly and allowed him to guide her towards the stairs. She cast a nervous glance at the couple on the couch as they brushed past.

John could only clutch at an unusually shaky Cameron, dropping kisses along the curve of her jaw, "Please, talk to me. It's not so bad. See? She'll be okay."

"She hates me." Looking up at a departing Jessica, it only made Cameron feel worse, "She's my only human friend besides you, and now she hates me for what I am."

"She's just afraid." Clutching her cheeks, he tried to get his Cameron to meet his eyes, "Just like I was. Just like mom was. Just like Derek was. Did you hear what he said?"

Nodding against his hands, Cameron finally looked up at her John, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes, "He said he trusts me."

"And if Derek, of all people can trust you..." Smiling softly, he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her, "What does that mean?"

"If Derek can then anyone can?" She chanced, getting hopeful that she might not have lost her friend after all.

"Exactly." As soon as the pair had disappeared up the stairs he pulled back, only to dip back in and kiss Cameron deeply, his hands running through her hair as he mumbled against her lips, "I'm... so... proud of... you."

Enjoying the kiss for a few more seconds, Cameron pulled back with a relieved smile, "For what?"

"For being you. For telling the truth." Keeping her close, John tried to keep her mind off what just happened by drifting his lips up along her neck, "You've come so far. You really are my Cameron."

"Thank you." Shivering a little when he brushed his lips over her favourite spot, Cameron clutched at his t shirt tighter, "Should, should I go after your mother?"

"Not tonight," John answered with a shake of his head, his lips still gently moving over her skin. For whatever reason, probably the rush of pride and love he felt as he watched his Cameron do what needed to be done, John found himself 'in the mood', as it were.

He was so in the mood in fact that he barely noticed his precious girlfriend staring down at her arm, her mouth hanging open in obvious distress, "J, John…m, my arm. It's starting to hurt."

Pulling back almost immediately, John was ashamed to admit he'd almost forgotten about that. Her emotions must have gotten the better of her, she could feel pain now!

Dammit, why didn't he consider that earlier?

Immediately taking gentle hold of her arm, John inspected the damage, that was despite Cameron's initial reluctance to let her arm get too far from her body. Like a child learning about what they could feel, she was quickly developing the instinct for self preservation that John had been trying to instil in her for a while. Her breath hitched in her throat as he gently manipulated the skin a few inches from the wound. Damn, she was sensitive, "Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Wincing despite the fact he'd let go, Cameron shifted her eyes up to meet his, looking confused and a little scared at the alien sensations running through her chip from her synthetic flesh. Never before had she felt so much pain, not even the first time when John had bit her ear during sex and caught her unawares. Mouth hanging open and a pained expression on her face, she looked at John for help, for him to make it better. "M, make it stop?"

Chest tightening, John stood up off the couch and gently pulled her with him. Forgetting about what had happened with Jessica, his mother, Amy, John remained solely focused on Cameron as she gingerly stood alongside him. Maybe this was what a parent felt when their child hurt themselves, that desire to do anything they could to make them feel better. "Come on, we'll use the med kit in our room."

Nodding pathetically, Cameron allowed John to guide her silently up the stairs, all the while concentrating her hardest to block out the pain. It didn't work. As John carefully set her down on the bed, she realised she hadn't let go of her arm since first registering she was feeling pain, for some reason clutching at it seemed to lessen the sensations, "John, I don't understand. It didn't hurt when I made the incision. Why now?"

Returning as quickly he could from retrieving the med kit from the bathroom, John kneeled down in front of her and tried to prise her iron grip away from her damaged arm. "Cameron, let me see, please?"

She stubbornly shook her head. She trusted John implicitly, but for some reason she didn't want to risk any more pain. John forced a smile and ducked into her eye line, "I promise, I won't hurt you. Let me help you."

Slowly, reluctantly, Cameron released the death grip she had on her arm and held it out towards John. She watched like a hawk as he gently took hold of it and examined the wound. It wasn't too bad considering the length of the cut. If she'd been human, it would have been a whole lot worse. Deciding nothing more than a few stitches were needed, he released her arm and opened the med kit by his side on the bed.

"W, what are you doing?" Cameron asked, although John noted she didn't move her arm away.

"This needs stitches. It'll heal quicker and the pain won't be as bad once I bandage it up." Smiling encouragingly, John threaded a needle expertly, frowning at the way Cameron looked like she was about to flinch out of his reach any time he moved the slightest fraction towards her.

Sucking in a deep breath, he gently brushed a few stray hairs from her brow behind her ear, his hand carrying on its path until it came to rest on her cheek where his thumb lightly brushed over the prominent beauty mark on her eyebrow, "This…this is gonna hurt, Princess."

Brow cinching together, Cameron nodded quickly, the hair John tidied up flopping back into her face. But that was the least of her worries as she watched John bring the needle closer to her skin. She clutched tightly to his shirt, actually finding herself fearing the pain she was about to endure. Why? Why did she have to feel this, why was she developing the ability to feel pain?

A sharp intake of breath and a small exclamation of pain greeted the needle's entry into her skin, her mouth hung open, but no words were spoken. It felt like, it felt…she didn't know what it felt like, she had no reference. All she knew was that she wanted it to stop more than anything she'd ever wanted in her life. She barely noticed the pained look on her John's face as he fed the needle through her skin, he hated that he was putting her through this.

As Cameron whimpered her way through every second of being patched up, she tried not to lament that her body and chip were evolving to include pain. There had to be some sort of trade off for the increased pleasure she was capable of feeling whenever she was intimate with her John. If it mean she had the ability to experience the things a human woman could feel, then she'd gladly take a little pain. But damn it stung.

It took every ounce of her concentration to avoid flinching and pulling her arm away, a curious feeling she'd never gone through before. Previously it had simply been a nuisance, an electrical signal registering that she'd been damaged. But now it felt almost debilitating, she couldn't focus on much else beside the signals coming from the damaged flesh, registering as genuine pain in her chip, her body reacting accordingly, even going so far as to induce the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.

Looking up, John noticed her glassy eyes and took a moment to reach up and lovingly caress her cheek in an effort to soothe her. It seemed to have an effect as he refocused on his task. Well, her arm stopped quivering at least.

He managed to finish up her stitches with only a couple of sharp intakes of breath an pained noises, much to his relief. As he carefully cut the thread and retrieved a bandage from the med kit, he looked up to find her swiping the moisture off her cheeks and forcing a smile down at him.

Pressing the gauze bandage down as delicately as he could over her wound, John pulled back to admire his handiwork. Despite all that had happened, he couldn't help but smirk, "Would you like me to kiss it better?"

Cameron gave him a look that spoke volumes of what she thought of that question, but he persisted anyway. Picking her arm up, he dropped a soft kiss over the bandage, all the time keeping his eyes on her face. He was pretty sure that was a smile, albeit through a sniffle.

"You know, I haven't seen your emotions flare up like this in a long time," John commented as he set about tidying up the medical supplies, "Are you alright?"

Flexing her arm experimentally, Cameron had to say she was impressed with John's work, even if the pain still lingered in the form of a dull throb, "I'm okay. I just…she's my friend. At least, I thought she was."

"She still is." John sounded certain as he closed the med kit and stood up off his knees, not willing to let Cameron get too downhearted, "She's just in shock I imagine."

"I don't want to lose her, John." Laying down on her side, Cameron idly picked at a loose thread on her bed sheets as she watched John head into the bathroom. "When I think of being alone again, it fills me with unpleasant emotions. I don't like feeling that way."

"You wouldn't be alone," John replied from the bathroom as he tidied the med kit away back in it's place. Sucking in a deep breath, he stared at himself in the mirror for a long few moments and rested his hands on the sink, letting out some of the tension he'd been feeling ever sine Derek carried in an unconscious Jessica through the door. He'd managed to hold it together for a long time, but now he was pretty sure his extremities were about to start shaking. He had no idea how he'd managed to keep a steady hand when he'd stitched Cameron up. More to the point, he didn't know how she didn't notice. Perhaps her emotional state was worse than he thought.

Suddenly he had a feeling he needed alcohol, sex, or sleep to calm him down. Unfortunately, he also had a feeling it would end up being the latter. Picking his hands up off the sink, he quickly washed the dried blood off his hands before returning to the bedroom and smiling a tired smile at the sight of his Cameron. He stripped off his shirt and then his pants, leaving only his boxers. Reaching out, he brushed a few stray hairs from an otherwise unresponsive Cameron's face before sliding under the covers behind her. He lay flat on his back with his hands linked behind his head, "If you don't want to I'll understand, but can you hear what they're saying next door?"

Frowning, Cameron rolled over in the bed before sitting up and looking down at her John, "I can. They're talking about me. Jessica is crying."

With that she slid off the bed and stood. Without any hesitation, she pulled her top off over her head, quickly followed by her jeans. Deciding to forgo pyjamas, she simply shed her underwear quickly and lifted the covers to join her boyfriend. John had been watching the whole time, and when she draped her nude body over his side, he was having a tough time concentrating on what she'd said as he wrapped an arm around her.

"What uh, what are they saying about you?" He asked as he rubbed her arm lovingly.

"Derek is explaining about the future, about the war. He is telling her about machines, about Skynet." Cameron suddenly went silent and John felt her bury her head deeper into his chest, her arm wrapping around him possessively, "She's crying more. She's…afraid of me."

"Shhh, it's okay, you can stop now." Brushing her hair soothingly behind her ear, John squeezed her tight as he felt sleep approaching quickly. "She'll be okay, just give her time. Are you gonna be okay?"

"Yes. Do you need to sleep now?" She asked, laying her cheek on his chest and smiling when she picked up the beating rhythm of his heart.

"Yeah…oh!" Blindly fumbling around on the nightstand with his one free arm, John handed her the remote control for the TV, "That reminds me, here you go."

Taking the device from him, Cameron picked her head up off his chest, but only so she could perform one of her trademark confused tilts, "The remote? Why?"

"I put the Lion King in the player for you." Yawning, John kept his eyes closed while he squeezed her arm under the covers, "It's not fair that you just lay here while I sleep. I thought you might like to watch one of your favourites instead."

When he got no reply after a good twenty second count, John cracked one of his eyes open, "Cameron?"

The next thing he knew, he felt a cold, lithe body pull up higher and soft lips come into contact with his chin. "I love you, John. Thank you."

"You're welcome," He answered, grinning like an idiot. The idea had just come to him that day and he hadn't had a chance to let her know until now, and he was pretty glad it gained her approval. "I love you, I'm so proud of you."

Already turning the TV on and changing the volume to its lowest setting, Cameron dropped a kiss on John's mouth by way of appreciation. No words were needed as he drifted off to sleep. Despite all that had happened, even if she had permanently lost Jessica, and even Amy, she still had her John.

At the end of the day, he was all she'd ever need.

Not much action this chapter, but it was an important one nonetheless. Much more action coming up soon, promise!

Thanks as always to Dekardkain.