Woohoo, I finally got this finished. It was a pain, I hate writing action stuff.

I hope you enjoy!

7:59:58

7:59:59

8:00:00

Looking to her left, Cameron smiled as she switched off the TV, silencing Timon and Pumbaa mid song. The sight of her John with his head snuggled against her chest in the morning would never fail to bring a smile to her face. Leaning over, she dropped a soft kiss on his brow before setting about trying to extricate herself from the remarkably strong grip he had on her waist.

But still, she'd been mulling over what to do about other matters ever since John had fallen asleep. The situation with Jessica wasn't ideal, and couldn't be allowed to continue as it was. She liked having a human female friend, and the way Jessica reacted to her the night before had managed to upset her more than she was willing to admit. Usually only incidents directly relating to John were able to affect her that much. Evidently she cared for Jessica more than she realised.

So after watching the Lion King on repeat for the majority of the night, she'd formulated a plan to prove to her friend that she was still the same old Cameron she'd came to care for, and that started with breakfast. Slipping out of the room, she made her way downstairs and to the kitchen, padding across the tile in her bare feet to prepare what she hoped would be something suited to Jessica's tastes.

Having prepared a variety of fruit and cereal, she waited for the coffeemaker to do it's job. However, she surprised herself when she caught herself humming one of the cheerful songs from the kids movie she'd been staring at all night.

That is…odd.

Dismissing it, she looked down at her arm and noticed the bandage still stuck to it, covering the wound where she'd sliced her skin open in a demonstration that had probably made the situation worse in hindsight.

Peeling the bandage off and discarding it in the trash can by her foot, she inspected the tiny line of slightly pink skin where she'd sank the blade into her it. It had pretty much healed, a few more hours and some nutrition and it would be like no damage had occurred at all. Perhaps it would make Jessica feel better to know that she wasn't permanently damaged.

Shrugging to herself, a trait she was carrying out with worrying frequency these days, she finished up preparing the coffee and set it down on a tray with the rest of her breakfast before taking it back upstairs. On the way she noted out the living room window that Derek's truck was no longer in the driveway. This was good, it meant that he wouldn't be around to interfere with her reconciliation with any of his 'anti-metal' comments. Although his confession of trusting her the night before still remained slightly difficult to believe and process.

Dragging her fingers through her hair just outside Derek's door one last time until she was satisfied she looked presentable, Cameron knocked quietly on the wood panelling.

"Derek?" Pulling the covers up over her chest, Jessica was nowhere near getting back so sleep, having only gotten a few minutes the night before after she'd exhausted herself sobbing against Derek's chest, "Baby?"

Twisting the handle slowly, Cameron made her way in, the tray balanced perfectly on one hand, "Jessica?"

Crawling up the bed until she hit the wall with her back, Jessica narrowed her eyes, forgetting about the covers as they pooled around her waist, "Wha... what are you doing here?"

She nodded down at the tray in her hands and then back up to her friend, frowning at her reaction, "Breakfast. I thought you might be hungry."

"You don't have to do that." Eying the .45 Derek had left on the bedside table for her, she decided she had no idea how to use it properly and quickly discarded the idea, "I'm fine! Really."

"But you haven't eaten since yesterday. You'll be hungry." Plastering on a wide smile, she took a step closer, intent on making sure her friend ate. It wouldn't do for her to be hungry.

Slowly reaching for the food, Jessica froze when she caught sight of the quickly healing wound on Cameron's arm, her eyes flaring like a frightened rabbit at the sight, "My God... it's almost... almost gone!"

Glancing down at her arm while setting the tray down on the nightstand, she flashed a bright smile, although the memories of the pain it caused weren't exactly pleasant, "I heal quickly, but thank you for your concern."

"You cut it... all the way down to the bone. Nothing heals that fast!"

"I don't have bones." Setting the coffee down beside the tray, Cameron held her arm out for a closer look. "Here, see? No permanent damage."

Quirking a brow, she found her eyes oddly drawn to far more domestic matters. "You're wearing pyjamas... with a drool stain over your boobs!"

Glancing down at said stain, Cameron couldn't help but smirk, "It's John's...he drools on me. I've tried to get him to stop, but he refuses to listen when he's sleeping."

"So... he really does sleep with you?" Frowning, she couldn't help but notice the slightly revealing nature of Cameron's clothes, then all of a sudden it came rushing back to her. The advice, the questions... "Oh God... he was the one? Your boyfriend? I helped you sleep with... with JOHN?"

"Yes." Quirking a brow, Cameron calmly sat the glass of orange juice on the nightstand, "You seem surprised."

"You said it was your boyfriend." Looking at the cyborg in a whole new light, she shuddered a little, "You said you loved him."

"I do." Frowning, Cameron took a step closer, but with her somewhat dark expression, it came off as a little intimidating, "You don't believe me?" She did not like it when people doubted her love for John, after all she'd worked so hard to realise it herself.

"You can't love. You're a machine." Pulling back, Jessica clutched the blankets up to her chin, "You kill us!"

Flopping down to the bed with a frown, and watching Jessica fly up out of it, Cameron looked devastated, "I can love. I love John, he's important to me."

Narrowing her eyes, Jessica shook her head heatedly, pointing as she clutched the covers to her chest and stumbled back towards the closet, "No... no! Derek told me all about you... things last night! That you try to trick us. Pretend to be human. So you can kill us! So you can kill John!"

Cameron stood up off the bed, hands stretched towards the woman to try and calm her, "No, I'm not like that anymore. I promise!"

"John... JOHN!" Tripping over some of Derek's clothes as she tried to slip past Cameron to the door, she tumbled, not even bothering to cover herself as she hurried to stay away from the 'scary robot', "Help!"

Following the human out of the room with a look on her face akin to someone who's had their puppy kicked, Cameron rounded the corner, "Jessica, please, I'm not going to hurt you."

Rolling over onto her back, she kept on scooching down the hall, holding her hand up between them pleadingly, all of the warnings Derek gave her the night before causing her to shake in fear. All the stories about the future, "John. M... METAL!"

Slowly opening his eyes and sitting up in bed from all the commotion, John tried to blink enough to see Jessica backing into his room on her ass...naked. As if that wasn't bad enough, Cameron came stalking in after her a moment later, "Shit. Jessica, don't panic! Nobody is gonna hurt you."

Crawling backwards, she practically vaulted onto the bed, not caring in the slightest how this looked. Derek promised her John would protect them from the machines, "Derek said... he said... they can't be trusted! They trick us!"

Tearing his eyes off the nude model crawling into his bed, John vaulted up off the bed himself, pretty sure Cameron wouldn't like it if he let his eyes wander too long. She had a thing about him staring at Jessica too much. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Cameron isn't one of them. She's on our side."

Jessica looked frantic, tears forming in her eyes as if she couldn't understand why John was abandoning her instead of helping her, "She's one of them!"

Intentionally getting himself in between the two women, he gently laid a hand on a very confused Cameron's shoulder to stop her coming any closer before turning to Jessica, "No, she isn't. Jessica, you have to stay calm and listen to me okay. Nobody here is going to hurt you. You're safe."

"Just... just get it away from me." Shaking like a leaf, she curled into the softness of the bed, trying to cover herself with the still-warm blanket John had been using, "You don't... don't get it do you? Those things? I've seen... they hurt Derek. MY Derek! His scars... Bastards!"

Sighing, John stood up properly and turned to face his Cameron who looked more upset than he'd seen her in a while. Laying a hand gently on her cheek, she looked up at him as if he could make everything better, "Princess, would you go wait in Amy's room for me, please?"

"But... why?" Tears of her own threatening to fall, her hand twitched wildly, to the point she realised it and began fiddling with her hair to cover the action, something Amy had taught her that she'd done in the future to make her tic seem more human.

"Because. I need to talk to Jessica, and you're..." Frowning, he couldn't think of a way to put this without making Cameron feel worse, "It'd be easier if you weren't here."

Nodding sadly, she backed up slowly, "I'll... go get her breakfast, for when she's ready."

Pausing at the door, she tried one last time, plastering on a shaky smile as she looked at her 'friend', "I know you didn't have a chance to pack before coming here. You're more than welcome to borrow my clothes. John.. can show you where they are."

Clutching the sheets higher around her neck, Jessica couldn't even look at the machine. John meanwhile nodded gratefully to his girlfriend before kissing her cheek gently, "We'll talk later, okay?"

"Of course, John." Trying to seem as normal as possible to calm Jessica, she kissed her boyfriend gently on the lips, straightening his wrinkled shirt the way Sarah usually did, "Would you like me to make you something while I wait?"

Smiling, he settled his hands on her waist and gave her a quick squeeze, "Bacon sandwiches? Make some for yourself too, I know you like them."

"I do. But just this once... it's not healthy." Returning the squeeze, she made her way out of the room, fighting the urge to glance back over her shoulder.

Sighing while he watched her pad gracefully down the hallway and down the stairs, John slowly closed the door and made his way back to the bed, "There, she's gone…you can come out now."

Pulling herself up into a sitting position, Jessica brushed her hair back behind her ears, finally able to breathe normally, "Thank you, John. I just... I don't want it around me."

"She." He corrected impatiently as he sat down on his bed, leg tucked beneath him, "Cameron is a she, not an it."

Just as she was about to say something snide in response, she felt something soft and lacy against her foot where it hung off the bed, glancing down, she caught sight of something she might have worn to bed with Derek, "Oh... oh God."

Looking down at where she was moving her feet beside the bed, John lifted the covers and extracted a pair of Cameron's panties with a grin, "What? You think she looks the way she does and then goes and wears granny panties?"

"I can't believe you... you sleep with metal." Clutching at herself again, Jessica frowned, "I saw how strong she is. You'd break like a twig."

"Hey!" His voice becoming sterner, he wasn't about to hear someone talking about Cameron that way. He'd tried to beat his uncle up because of it, he wasn't about to let Jessica get in the habit, no matter how scared she was. "That's my girlfriend you're talking about. Don't get into the habit of calling them all 'metal' like Derek does."

"But that's what she is! I don't get offended when people call me human." Sniffling a little, she looked at the door, as if afraid Cameron would hear them and come back, "Same diff, right?"

"No, it's not the same." Sucking in a deep breath, John tried to keep his calm while he explained it, "The Terminators, they're all made of metal. But it's what's in their head that makes them different. Cameron is one of those. She doesn't just go around like an automaton wanting to kill all humans. She's not a Dalek, okay?"

"A... a what?" Tilting her head to the side, she frowned, "There's more than one thing in the future trying to kill us? Awesome..."

"No, that's not...Seriously, Dalek? Doctor Who? Nothing?" John looked at her incredulously. Surely everyone had heard of the Daleks?

"How do you expect me to know the guy if you can't even remember his name?"

"What?" Looking quite frankly shocked, John shook his head and refocused, "Look, never mind. Point is, she's not one of them any more. You liked her well enough before yesterday didn't you?"

"Yesterday I didn't know she was a robot that almost killed you. I didn't know her kind almost wipes out our species. And most of all, I didn't know what they'd done to my boyfriend. That they were the reason he was so... Derek."

John shook his head, trying to make her understand, "No, look, it wasn't the machines that did all that. It was Skynet. They're all slaves to it, Cameron was at some point, but she isn't now. She has free will, she chose to be with me, she chose to protect me."

"Derek said she was programmed to get close to you." Slowly calming down, she still didn't understand why John was so attached to the machine, "John, haven't you ever thought that might be why she... shares a bed?"

Despite the situation, John chuckled softly, Jessica's face looking even more confused. "Trust me. If she wanted me dead, I would've been about five hundred times over by now, and...sharing a bed is something that she's definitely doing through choice. No mission there."

"Do you..." Shrugging a little, she had to admit that Derek said no one knew the machines like John, "Do you love her?"

Nodding, John answered honestly, not showing any kind of shame or hesitation, "Yes. I do, more than anything."

"This is just... strange." Frowning again, she flopped back onto the bed, for the first time since the day before looking like normal Jessica... if incredibly unkempt. "Kinda sucks."

Staring for just a fraction too long at the side of her body almost completely exposed, John had to shake his head to get himself to concentrate, "I know it does, it freaks everyone out the first time they hear it. But the way you just reacted, you have no idea how much it upset Cameron. She's...fragile."

"Her?" Snorting a little, she didn't sound unkind, just overwhelmed. "Yesterday I was worrying about when Derek would propose to me. When I'd finally convince him to have kids. Now... I know that will never happen."

"Why not?" John asked curiously, "Why wouldn't he do that? I...I wanna marry Cameron some day." Admitting that, more to himself than anything, for the first time kinda took John by surprise as much as it did Jessica.

"John..." Reaching out, she patted his thigh softly, "Are you sure she'd even understand what that means to us?"

"I know what it means to me. Up until about a week ago, Cameron didn't truly understand love either." He looked up from her hand and to her face with a smile, "She's a quick learner."

"Figures." Laughing a little manically, even Jessica had to see the humour in it all. "Story of my life. I finally find the guy I wanna be with, and I meet a robot who will probably get married and have kids before me."

"No kids." Giving a small shrug, John gave her a 'what can you do?' look. "Cameron can't get pregnant. Doesn't mean I love her any less."

"At least I finally do know one thing for sure."

"What's that?" John asked, snapping himself out of his daze, no doubt brought on by the thought of Cameron and kids.

"That Derek's genes really can produce cute kids." Smirking, she reached up and playfully slapped his cheek a few times while yawning.

Smiling, John kinda forgot in all the furore that another little secret hadn't been told yet, "Yeah, although the only blonde in the family should've been a bit of a giveaway something was wrong. You might wanna cover yourself up there." He pointed to her exposed side, not noticing the confused look on her face.

Pulling the blanket back up, Jessica looked like she just wanted to go back to sleep. After all, maybe this was all just a bad…very bad, dream she might wake up from eventually. "What? Amy's adopted? But her and Sarah are so close."

"Not adopted. Machine." John stood up to let Jessica get some sleep, idly wondering why she thought Amy was adopted.

"Yeah." Snuggling down, ironically in the side of the bed the 'metal' usually occupied, she cuddled the pillow close, "And I'm the Tooth Fairy. It's not nice to fuck with the already traumatised, John."

Settling back down onto the bed, John shoved her shoulder while shaking his head. "No, I'm serious, Amy is a machine. I thought we told you that last night?"

Groaning like she usually did when Derek tried to rouse her, she rolled onto her back, "And I thought I just told you it's not funny? Your sister is missing John, it's not a cool time to joke."

"She's not my sister," John replied, face deadly serious, "She's a model T-1002, liquid metal. She's a machine, Jessica."

"She's... a little girl. She had a sleepover at my house! She sat on my lap! She's not a machine!"

"Uh huh, she is," John nodded, trying to get her to believe him. "Did you ever notice she's about ten degrees colder than any other little girl you know?"

"So she has poor circulation!" Jessica seemed to desperately be trying to convince herself, "So what? Sarah's hands are always cold too."

"No Jessica, listen. Amy is made up of something called mimetic poly alloy." At her confused look, he clarified, "It's something we call liquid metal. She can change shape to whatever she wants."

Jessica stared at John for nearly a minute, her face totally unchanging, before she finally exhaled slightly, "Bullshit."

Eyes widening in surprise, John made a crossing motion across his chest, "I swear on Cameron's life that I'm telling you the truth. Amy is made of metal, but like Cameron, we love her all the same."

"Oh...COME ON!" Tossing her hands in the air, she flopped back onto the pillow, "Is there anyone in this family that isn't a machine? Oh... oh God. Derek's not... I mean, right?"

"No, no, he's human." Chuckling slightly, John kinda forgot how difficult this was for someone who wasn't used to it, "Mom's human, I'm human. It's just Cameron and Amy."

"Well, at least there's that." Sighing softly to herself, she curled back up, groaning into the pillow a little, "I'm going to sleep. If you have any kindness in your heart for me at all, there will be a strong bottle of booze on the nightstand when I wake up."

Gently patting the covers, John smiled kindly, "The best I can offer you is Cameron's breakfast. She made it for you, the least you could do is eat some of it."

"John, I just found out the little girl who made we want to have babies is made of poly aluminium. If I eat now, I'm gonna hurl all over your nice sheets."

"Cameron picked those out too...and you're on her side." John frowned, despite the odd fleeting realisation that they apparently had 'sides' now, "You know, she's made an effort. Will you do the same, eventually?"

She had to admit, the pillow did smell decidedly girly, "I will, John. I promise. It's just... too much too fast. Okay?"

"Okay. When you're ready, just, come find us, alright?" Smiling, he patted the covers above what he hoped was her hip and stood from the bed. "If you need anything just let me know alright?"

As he walked down the stairs, his finely tuned nose picked up on the heavenly scent of bacon wafting about the house.

God damn, that smells good!

But before he rounded the corner into the kitchen, he took a moment to think about what he might potentially say to his likely pissed off or upset girlfriend. Coming up short on answers to that one, he entered the kitchen anyway. Seeing said girlfriend by the stove, he sat down at the kitchen table, hands clasped under his chin as he watched her idly flipping the bacon in the pan.

Sighing, he forced a smile as he eyed the bread and plates she'd laid out for their breakfast, "Smells good."

"It's bacon," She replied a little tersely, "It always smells good."

Nodding in agreement, John let his gaze wander as he tried to come up with more dull chatter. It was right around that point he realised she was, well, wearing clothes, "Did you change during the night? Last I remember you were naked!"

Moving the streaks of thinly sliced pig around in the pan, Cameron nodded, "Yes. After you fell asleep, right around the time Simba's father was killed, I felt cold."

Sounding as if this was a shameful thing she'd one, she reluctantly continued, "I got out of bed and put some pyjamas on…Is that okay?"

Frowning at her unusually low self assurance levels today, John couldn't help the sigh that escaped his lips, "Of course it is, Princess. You can do whatever you want."

Corner of her lips quirking up just a fraction as she settled the bacon on the bread by the side of the stove, Cameron felt a wave of satisfaction wash over her, despite her worry regarding Jessica's mental state. Squeezing just enough ketchup on John's sandwiches to his exact tastes, she sliced them in half and set them on the plate before repeating it on her own.

Satisfied with her work, she turned around and set the plates down at the table before taking a seat opposite her John. She couldn't help but smile when he looked up and smiled appreciatively at her. It was amazing how the little things could provide her happiness.

"Thank you, Honey." Cameron watched as he picked up one lovingly prepared sandwich and took a bite. From the expression on his face and the groan low in his throat, anybody would think his breakfast had been prepared by a five star chef with the finest ingredients money could buy. Perhaps it was because she'd made it that he enjoyed it so much? Or maybe it was just her cooking, either way, he looked happy. "Hey, is that my drool on you by the way?"

Following his slight nod down to the same patch Jessica had pointed out on her shoulder, Cameron nodded, "Yes. I did tell you to stop, but you never listen when you're asleep."

Chuckling around a mouthful of sandwich, John nodded and shrugged apologetically, "Sorry, I'll try to make my unconscious body respond next time."

"That's physically impossible. I know that humans are unable to…" Catching his slight head tilt and teasing smile, Cameron stopped her explanation of human subconscious behaviour, "Thank you John. I appreciate it, and so will my pyjamas."

Laughing heartily, he nodded towards her plate and motioned for her to eat, smiling when she did, albeit in more ladylike portions than he currently was. "They're cute. Are they new?"

Looking down at her purple pyjama bottoms and white top, she nodded, having picked them up on a recent shopping trip with…Jessica, "Relatively."

"Did you enjoy the movie last night? I know it's one of your favourites." John asked quickly, Cameron noted. Very quickly.

"Yes," She answered with a tilt of her head. "I'm happy Amy came back and started watching Disney movies. I find I relate greatly to some of them."

"Remind me to watch The Little Mermaid with you." John answered with a smile, "I think you'll love that one."

"Okay." Cameron had barely taken another bite of her sandwich before John was talking again, this time asking another seemingly randomly arrived at question.

"I'm thinking of doing a little studying today. You feel like helping me?"

Narrowing her eyes slightly at her human, Cameron set her sandwich down, "What will you be studying?"

"Oh, you know, the usual." John answered with a quick shrug, "Field tactics, how to eventually command mankind stuff, the usual."

Tilting her head, Cameron folded her arms across her chest and sat back in her chair, fixing him with an impatient stare, "What are you doing?"

"Huh?" John asked as he looked up, feigning innocence and confusion, "I'm eating your delicious breakfast, Honey."

"No, not that," Cameron replied with a stubborn shake of her head, "You're asking me random questions very quickly. You're nervous."

That was one thing he loved about her, and hated about her. Not only was she blunt and to the point, but when it came to him and his behaviour, she was highly perceptive. Not that he'd ever want her to change, but sometimes it worked to his disadvantage, like now. Setting his sandwich down with a sigh, he leaned forward and eyed her glare warily before shaking his head, "Yes, alright, I'm trying to keep you occupied."

"Why?" She asked, taken a little by surprise with his answer.

"Because, I…" Sighing, he reached out across the table and took her hand in his, idly stroking his thumb across her perfect skin, more for himself than her if he was being honest. "I wanted to let you talk about what just happened if you wanted to. I know it upset you, I just thought that you might not want to talk about it, that's all."

"Sometimes I think you forget how I work." Cameron commented after a few moment's thought, "I am capable of analysing everything I experience on a fraction of the time it takes you. I've analysed what just happened with Jessica."

"And?" John prompted when she seemed to falter.

"And you're right, it did upset me." Looking down at her lap, she idly fiddled with the drawstrings on her shorts, tilting her head as she wrapped one around her finger, "She is unable to reconcile me with the person she knows. All she sees now is what I am…not a human."

Pushing his plate away, John stood up and walked around behind her. Leaning down, he laced his arms around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. It still amazed him how easily they fit together, and how comfortable they were with being this physically close. "What you are is an amazing creature, okay. You're my Cameron, and I love you, do you understand?"

Smiling up at him, Cameron nodded as she brought her hand up and squeezed his arm lightly, once again marvelling how a simple act of physical contact could affect her burgeoning emotions, "Will she be okay?"

"She'll be fine." Dropping a kiss on her hair, John let go of her and sat back down, "I know you mean well, but just give her some space for a while. She'll come around eventually."

Nodding, Cameron watched as he picked up the rest of his breakfast, "I'll help you study today. Derek has gone out, I think to help Sarah. She ordered us to keep this place secure until we hear from her."

"Yeah. I just hope she doesn't do anything stupid," John commented around a mouthful of bacon and bread.

"Sarah isn't stupid. She knows what she's doing."

What the fuck are you doing, Sarah?

That was the question she'd been asking herself ever since she'd left her home in a blind rage, slamming the door behind her and disappearing into the night in a haze of squealing tyres and anger towards the model.

She had something to do with this, Sarah was sure of it as she double checked that her 9mm was safely concealed in the back of her jeans. How could it not be the model's fault? She walks into their lives and now suddenly her Amy disappears, it was all too perfect for Jessica not to have been involved. She'd been scoping them out and feeding information to whoever she was working with, it was obvious.

Hence her current location and quite frankly ludicrous plan. Strolling casually across the road outside Zeiracorp's building, she was fuelled by rage, suspicion and some other emotions she wasn't entirely comfortable admitting she had. She was doing all this for her little girl that wasn't a little girl. She'd spent all night trying to convince herself it was because Amy knew all their secrets, all their plans, that she was a security risk, and she'd almost managed to do it. But at the back of her mind, she knew all those reasons were bull crap. Her Amy had been taken, and she was going to get her the fuck back.

If she'd been thinking straight, she'd have realised her plan was ludicrous. It was thought through and efficient in typical Sarah Connor fashion, but still, it wasn't going to get her anywhere. Having had a whole night for her anger to boil up, she was now convinced this was the right thing to do. That bitch Weaver had always had it in for her Amy, she was in league with the model and knew where she was. If anything had happened to her…

Sarah was so busy plotting what she'd do to Weaver, she barely noticed the blaring of an alarm as she stepped through the main door to Zeiracorp. For most companies, a metal detector on the front door may seem odd and intimidating, but when the CEO was made of liquid metal, the threat of Terminator's was very real and an early warning system would come in handy. Unfortunately for Sarah, the gun tucked in her pants and the contents of the bag slung over her shoulder invariably made the thing freak out in obvious distress.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to place anything metal in this tray and pass through again." A bored sounding voice off to her left snapped Sarah back to the present, her head swivelling slowly to look at the pot bellied man holding a plastic tray out in front of her.

No guns, spring baton, easy.

In no mood for any of this crap, she took a step forward, intent on bypassing anybody that tried to stop her. Unfortunately the guy was also intent on doing his job and in a move he'd forever regret, he threw his arm across her waist, stopping her in his tracks, "Hey, I said you can't go in until we clear you!"

He tossed a nod to his colleague on the other side of the gate who approached slowly, sensing trouble. Again, he wasn't armed either, and Sarah's gaze slowly dropped to the arm blocking her path. Teeth grinding together and a dangerous glint in her eye, she grabbed the guy's wrist before he even had a chance to snatch it away and twisted, forcing the man to his knees. The shock and the pain in his shoulder from the sharp and deceptively powerful twisting was nothing compared to the pain he encountered when Sarah's knee drove up into his chin, teeth shattering against teeth and delicate skin rupturing causing a spatter of blood as he dropped to the ground.

The man to her left, alarmed at what he'd just saw made to grab her shoulder. Ducking deftly under his grasp, Sarah grabbed the spring baton clipped onto his belt before he even realised he'd missed her. Swinging the weapon with a modicum of effort, she aimed at the much larger man's knee and shattered his kneecap. Pain like he'd never known before raced from his knee making him cry out in agony. His cries only lasted a second however as Sarah brought the butt of the baton down on the back of his head, rendering him unconscious with one blow.

Stepping over the two prostrate bodies, Sarah casually hefted the baton in her hand, the feel and the effectiveness of the weapon earning it a nod of approval. If she'd have been looking up though, she'd have saw the panic her actions had created in the lobby. Several well dressed people scurried in different directions, some even screaming due to what they'd just witnessed as general chaos ensued. She even thought she heard one of them yell something about 'terrorists', but that was just crazy talk. She was no terrorist, no matter what homeland security thought.

Setting a quick pace towards the stairwell, she caught sight of the receptionist ducking down under her desk as she frantically pushed the silent alarm, no doubt notifying law enforcement and probably more security throughout the building. Leaning over the desk, Sarah tapped the finely manicured fingers of the girl with the baton until she poked her terrified face out over the edge of the desk, "Don't do that."

Fingers trembling, she nodded quickly and withdrew her hand with a quick glance over her desk towards the door and the two men this woman had just knocked out. "Where's the security office? What floor?"

"Uh…" Quickly racking her panic stricken brain, the receptionist answered, even though she didn't understand what possible reason she'd want to know that, "Seventh floor. Please don't hurt me!"

Withdrawing the baton from the girl's fingers, she nodded and set off for the stairwell again. Seventh floor, they'd probably manage to intercept her around the fifth. Luckily enough, despite her irrational anger and swirling emotions, this was still Sarah Connor. She didn't go through years of training and general hardassery to be dumb enough to take the elevator to Weaver's floor. The stairs would be no problem as long as the guards weren't armed. The real fun would surely start once she reached her target.

Shouldering the fire door open to the emergency stairwell, she looked up at the floors above her, her ears picking up the sound of people scurrying around several floors above. Pulling herself up two steps at a time, she climbed higher and higher, controlling her breathing and keeping a watchful eye out for any straggling security guards that weren't inevitably either heading for her or heading to Weaver's office to 'protect' her. No doubt they had picked her up on the numerous security cameras dotted around the building. Glaring at one as she passed by, she fought off the urge to smash one, just for the hell of it.

When she reached the fourth floor, she could hear raised voices from the hallway next to the stairwell, in addition to those above her working her way down. Not wanting to get caught between two groups of guards, Sarah stopped and crouched low by the wall near the door, waiting for the voices to get closer. Her eyes raised up in case she was blindsided, she waited until the fire door pushed open and swung the baton to her side, catching the first one through the door on his shin, tripping him up and sending him sprawling on the ground, clutching his shattered leg.

Sarah paid him no extra thought as she stood back to her full height and faced the second guard coming at her through the doorway, looking a little shellshocked as he looked down at his colleague rolling around in agony on the ground in front of him. The next thing he knew, he felt a sharp pain in his gut as the baton smacked into his midsection, doubling him over. With a sharp blow to his back, he dropped to the ground. Sarah followed her swing up with a sharp blow with her boot the the head of the man she'd caught in the shin, effectively silencing him before moving on.

Digging in her bag as she heard the voices and footfalls growing closer above her, she made it one more floor before the sounds of multiple guards were right above her. Taking cover behind the hand rail, she pulled what she was looking for out of her bag. An M84 stun grenade, and pulled the pin. Leaning out from behind her makeshift cover, she tossed it up the next set of stairs before quickly ducking back down and covering her ears and closing her eyes. She barely made out the sounds of alarmed voices preceding a loud bang as the grenade exploded, followed by the cries of the disoriented guards.

Charging up the stairs, she wasted no time in swinging the weapon in her hands, catching the first man she came to on the back of his head as he faced away, hands clamped over his ears. One down, that only left three. Swinging her boot, the next guard's groin was too tempting a target. Immediately doubling him over with a hard kick, she shoved him down the flight of stairs a moment later, giving him a reprieve from the blinding pain between his legs.

Still disoriented from the blinding flash and the deafening blast, the third guard did Sarah's work for her as he bundled past her and tripped over his colleague, sending him tumbling down the stairs from where she'd just came. He came to rest on the guy she'd kicked in the face a few moments ago after cracking his skull off the concrete.

Huh, that one was easy.

The fourth guard was easy pickings. The effects of the blast had begun to wear off as she approached him, his eyesight returning just in time to see a baton flying towards his face. A split second before it crashed into his skull, he couldn't help but lament the fact that this was supposed to be his day off.

Stepping over the prostrate guards, Sarah's face betrayed no emotion as she set foot on the next step. She was stopped however when the door behind her opened. She turned around to watch an elderly security guard step through chattering on his radio, trying to raise his colleagues that now lay at his feet. His eyes widened in surprise as he almost tripped over one of them. Shifting his gaze to the stairs and the woman staring at him with a look that suggested he was merely taking up some of her precious time, he moved his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.

Sighing, Sarah twirled the baton in her fingers slowly and stared at the guard who appeared about a week short of retirement with a barely interested look on her face. "You should be running now."

Nodding in stunned agreement, the man dropped his radio and held his hands in the air. His spine bumping into the doorway as he backed away made him jump out of his skin, right before he took off in the direction he'd came. He didn't want anything to do with the crazy lady and he had the good sense to get out of there with all his teeth intact.

Rolling her eyes, Sarah started climbing the stairs again at a fast pace. Hearing no more voices or footsteps until she reached Weaver's floor, she smiled when she reached the door. Shouldering it open, she casually strolled out into the plush corridor, some of the artwork on the walls looked more expensive than her first apartment. Picking up the sound of hushed voices and shuffling footsteps, she slid her body against the wall as she approached the corner to the hall she knew Weaver's office was located.

Peeking her head around just enough to get a look at what was going on, she immediately pulled back when she saw the six guards all deployed behind cover with standard 9mm revolvers levelled at her position. Apparently they were better equipped than she thought. No matter, she'd come prepared.

"Come out with your hands up!" One of them shouted, "The police are on their way and we have the exits blocked!"

Yeah, because she'd came all this way and was intimidated by a few guns. Why didn't people ever learn? Flattening herself against the wall, she slid to a crouch and opened her bag again and pulled out another grenade. Looking at her side and the trusty baton in her hand, she kinda wanted to keep it. The thing came in handy. However, she slid it across the floor, the metal cylinder scraped across the ground and rolled to a stop in the middle of the hall. Pulling the pin from her grenade, she tossed it out while the guards were all no doubt staring at the baton.

Wasting no time while they scurried and panicked, Sarah pulled the thermal goggles out of her bag. A moment later, she saw the smoke from the grenade starting to spread around the corner towards her. Coughing and spluttering greeted her as she stood up and slipped the goggles on over her head. Stepping into the hallway, she made out the shapes of the guards futilely trying to cover their faces against the harsh effects of the smoke.

Calmly walking towards the double doors at the end of the hall, Sarah picked her way through the stumbling guards. One man was unfortunate to stumble into her path, blocking her route. He didn't hold her up for long however, one quick kick to the back of his knees sent him to the ground, giving Sarah a chance to grab the taser from his belt. One jab to his neck later and the man was nothing more than a quivering mess on the floor.

Shouldering the old ornate wooden doors open, she quickly closed and bolted them behind her. She found it somewhat odd that a clinically modern office building would have wood panelling and doors in this area, but was thankful for it anyway. It'd keep security out for just that little longer, especially as she dragged a couch from the nearby waiting area and barred the door with it.

Slipping the goggles off and into her bag, she surveyed the room, a small enclosure for Weaver's assistant to work in before visitors hit her main office. Striding towards the set of doors at the far end of the room, she stopped when said assistant popped up from behind her desk, the obvious commotion scaring her half to death. She stared at Sarah, shocked that this woman was the cause of the trouble, and that she'd made it this far into the building.

"Sit!" Sarah commanded, and grinned with satisfaction as the woman did as instructed and flopped down onto her chair.

This was it. She was about to get her little girl back, she was sure of it. That bitch had her, and what better place to hold her than her freaking office! If not, then she would find out where she was and burn that whole place down to find her.

Sucking in a slow, calming breath, she laid her hands on the two handles of the doors and pushed them down. Swinging the doors open, she paused, shocked, as a little girl stood up off the floor and started hurtling happily towards her.

"Sarah!"

As I said, I hate writing action scenes, so hopefully this one turned out okay. Thanks go to Dekardkain for helping me with it massively. (Yes, he's still alive and working on BJC in case any of you were wondering ;) )