John lay in bed staring at the ceiling. The house was quiet, as everyone had decided to just go to bed and start the enormous clean-up effort in the morning.

He was alone, too. Cameron was on high alert, guarding the perimeter after the surprise attack. She doubted another terminator would randomly show up again, but she evidently wasn't taking chances. John was actually surprised Sarah didn't just make them pack up and run already.

There was just too much that happened, and too much to think about for John to fall asleep, although he was tired as hell. He had tried counting ceiling tiles, even did some sit-ups to try to wear himself out, but it didn't work. He just laid there wide awake, thinking about how much his life completely imploded in the past three days.

And what the hell was he going to do with Dani? He had to do something, though. He was afraid if he let it go this time, it would just happen again.

And he was sure Cameron was never going to let it go…

So.

John turned his head when he heard the basement door squeak open. Ah, speak of the devil.

Cameron walked down the steps, drenched head to toe. John raised his eyebrows in question.

"I got caught in the rain," she said. "Would you mind if I did not go back out tonight?"

John gave her a strange look, wondering why she was genuinely asking him if he minded. "Why the hell would I? Get out of those wet clothes before you… well, before you soak the carpet," he finished lamely. Terminators didn't catch colds.

Cameron did as she was told, exchanging her soaked clothes for a pair of her Victoria's Secret dry yoga pants and one of John's old t-shirts. It made him smile that she chose one of his shirts. He knew she never made a clothing decision lightly; everything was always meticulously thought out; even pajamas.

It was because of this evidently mushy decision that John was surprised when Cameron ignored him and started for the steps. "Hey, where are you going?" He asked, patting the bed beside him.

Cameron stopped and turned back around. "My hair is wet. I should dry it."

"Oh. Well it looks fine. It's already starting to dry."

Cameron stood a bit awkwardly in silence. In truth, she wanted to go upstairs to let John sleep. She didn't think he would want her to stay with him tonight, and even if so, she wasn't sure if she herself really wanted to. The feelings she was having towards him were confusing her greatly.

On one hand she was still upset at the situation and wanted to just walk away and leave him alone; but on the other hand… she really missed John. She missed the way he would smile at her and how it made her feel unexpectedly warm all over. She missed talking to him until he fell asleep, and his gentle caresses that simply made her feel. She missed her only friend.

Cameron thought about what Sarah had told her.

Rule number one, when a man fucks up and he knows it, he'll apologize, try to pretend it didn't happen, behave extra sweetly, buy you flowers, beg for forgiveness, blame you, pout a lot, act extra grumpy… it all depends on the man and the situation. If it's a reaction that works in your favor, such as flowers and doing the dishes without asking, milk it for all it's worth, but don't over do it. If he's an asshole about it, ignore him.

John was already proving this rule correct. Normally, he would have never skinned the terminator. He couldn't even stand to be in the room while she did it before.

Rule number two: regardless of his behavior, you never let him off the hook too soon.

That was where she wasn't sure what to do. If she stayed downstairs with John, would that make him think he was off the hook? Would it just allow a repeat of the situation?

Rule number three: never keep him in the dog house for too long.

Cameron wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but she thought she had gist of it. Problem was, how did she know if it was too long or too soon?

If she were human, Cameron would have sighed dramatically. As it was, her shoulders visibly slumped. Boys were so complicated. She had a lot to learn.

John scooted over and lifted the covers. "Come on, you look cold."

"I'm all right, it's comfortably warm now." Cameron watched John's face fall a bit, and he dropped the covers listlessly. She processed the action and realized he was just trying to get her to lay down with him. She made her decision and smiled gently.

"But I do detect a cool draft that might make you chilled, dressed only in your underwear as you are." She made her way over to the bed and lifted up the covers before sliding underneath them. "I will have to make sure you stay warm, and don't catch a cold."

John smiled, and snaking his arm around her waist, tugged her closer. "How is it that all the other terminators are cold, but you manage to stay warm?"

"Skynet secret. If I told you, I'd have to kill you," she said with a mischievous smile, but it slowly faded away. "Not all of me is warm though. You felt it yourself."

John remembered. It was an odd sensation. His hand deep in her chest; the rest of her body warm, but the nuclear power cell was nearly freezing.

"That's okay. You're warm where it counts.

"And your hand is ice cold."

"Oh, sorry." He retracted his hand from where it had found soft skin under her shirt. He settled for resting it on her hip and gazed at her affectionately. "Does this mean you're not mad at me any more?"

Cameron was still trying to figure that out herself. It obviously bothered her to think about it, but she was no longer emotionally overreacting and feeling so negative towards John. "I don't know. Maybe."

John sighed. "What do I have to do to make it up to you?"

Rule number one… Cameron smiled. "You can do my laundry, dishes for two weeks, and clean all the weapons."

John rolled his eyes. He knew his mother was behind this particular idea.

"You will also be on upstairs cleaning duty with Derek while Sarah and I go out for the supplies we will need to start repairing the house tomorrow."

John groaned. "And here all this time I thought you loved me… is that all?" he asked sarcastically.

Cameron's face was suddenly very serious. "You can make sure it doesn't ever happen again."

John reached over and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. "I promise. You know I'd die before I ever did anything to intentionally hurt you. And that's the truth"

Cameron tore her gaze away from his and studied the pattern on the sheets with feigned interest. "I know I overreacted. I've played the moment over and over, and I've concluded my actions were illogical. I do not know why I behaved in such a way, or why I am even still upset about it. It does not make any sense."

John tilted her chin up and forced her to look at him. "For one, you're still learning about your emotions, and how to deal with them. Everyone has overreacted at some point in their lives. It happens. I've overreacted plenty of times. And to be honest, I'm not sure I would have behaved any different if the situation was reversed."

It was true. While rare, there were plenty of times she had witnessed even future John overreacting to a situation.

"So forget about it, relax, and tell me what you'd like to do about Dani… except anything else physical of course. I think you may have broken her face."

Cameron couldn't help but grin. "She deserved it."

John chuckled. "I don't disagree, but still…"

"You should make the decision yourself, John. You're the General. This will be good practice for you."

Of course it would be. John yawned and closed his eyes, snuggling closer to Cameron. "Fine. General Connor will make his official disciplinary decision in the morning."

It was quiet for a few moments before Cameron spoke again. "I think it stopped raining. I should…"

"You're not going anywhere."

"But…"

"That's an order."

**********************************

Savannah woke early as usual and poked her head outside her door. There weren't any of the usual morning sounds, and she assumed nobody else was awake yet. Sarah's bedroom door, which was usually open in the mornings, was still closed.

She tiptoed to the bathroom to relieve herself and rake a comb through her snarled hair. She wasn't sure what she should do. After last night, she was actually still a little scared. Sarah had read to her until she fell asleep, but now there was nobody around. She couldn't play quietly in her room either, as Dani was sleeping and snoring rather loudly on her floor.

She glanced down the steps and saw the massive destruction below. Making her way carefully down the steps to avoid stepping on any errant splinters, she glanced around the house in shock. The banister was completely shattered, there were gigantic holes in the walls, and the kitchen furniture was smashed into pieces. There was no way she was going to be able to pick her way through the kitchen in her slippers.

She hoped Cameron was okay. She didn't get to see her last night, but Sarah said she was all right. Looking around at the amount of destruction though, she was rather doubtful.

She glanced at the basement door that was left slightly ajar. She knew Cameron didn't sleep. Savannah had woken up several times in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and most of the time Cameron would hear her and go upstairs to tuck her back in.

She wondered if Cameron was downstairs this morning. The door was open, so she knew it was safe to sneak down.

Cameron heard the moment Savannah crawled out of bed. She knew it was probably best to get up and take care of her, but getting out of bed herself would probably wake John, who was currently clutching her in a ridiculously tight grasp. She kept her eyes closed (John hated when she watched him sleep) until she heard the girl walk over to the bed and stand in front of her.

"Morning Savannah. Is everything all right?" she whispered.

Savannah didn't answer. She was staring at Cameron's mottled right arm. The bandage had gotten soaked the previous night, and she didn't bother replacing it.

"You got hurt real bad?" Savannah asked, pouting.

Cameron shook her head and moved her arm. "No, it's okay. John fixed it," she whispered. "See?"

Savannah looked doubtful. "Does it hurt?"

Cameron wasn't sure how to answer. She could feel pain; she was covered in real flesh and "neural" sensors after all. She could feel pain as much as she could feel the pleasure of John's caresses. She just did not experience it in the exact same way humans did. It did hurt, and was uncomfortable, but she had the ability to ignore it. Humans would call it pain tolerance. It was similar; a trick of the brain to ignore the pain. Cameron simply sent a command to ignore the discomfort.

"It hurts a little," Cameron stated truthfully. "But it's not that bad. It'll be okay."

Savannah nodded, and continued to stand there. Cameron wasn't sure what she wanted.

"Is there something wrong?"

Savannah shook her head slowly, and surprised Cameron by sliding into bed beside her.

Cameron just lay there confused. She had no idea why Savannah climbed into bed with them. She thought it was rather odd behavior. But when Savannah snuggled up closer to her, she understood.

Just like John, she simply needed comforted. She'd been thrust into terrifying situations that no eight-year-old should have to experience. She was handling them quite impressively, but she was still just a child.

Cameron brushed the girl's hair away from her face, much like John would do to her. She kissed her on the forehead and hugged her close, feeling the girl relax in her arms.

********************

Sarah dumped another bucket of dirty mop water out in the back yard and wiped her forehead. It was late afternoon, and she was exhausted. They'd gotten the kitchen cleared out, and overall, there wasn't as much damage as they thought. They just knocked the rest of the useless wall out between the living room and kitchen, and the rest was broken furniture. The biggest effort had to go into cleaning all the dust, dirt, and splinters that seemed to have exploded everywhere.

She rubbed her lower back as she waited for the bucket to refill again. Dani was still in a hell of a lot of pain, so she was basically babysitting out in the back yard. A small blessing, as there wasn't much for an 8 year old to do to safely help.

Sarah glanced out the kitchen window. Dani had also been a little more depressed than would have been expected. She and John had a private, serious chat earlier that morning. Sarah didn't know what was said, but she knew whatever it was had left Dani completely dejected, and close to tears.

Derek was fixing the staircase banister, and Cameron was puttying a head-sized hole in the living room wall. John had disappeared and reappeared all day long. She knew he was up to something, but what she didn't know. Right now he was holding a piece of banister in place for Derek. In other words, staring at Cameron's rear end as she bent down to wipe her hands on an old rag.

Sarah rolled her eyes and turned off the water. If she ever got to meet him, she had a few choice words for the elder General Connor. For one… next time send another Uncle Bob.

She lifted the bucket out of the sink, but suddenly, the world was spinning around her.

She was vaguely aware of arms clutching her, keeping her steady. She blinked a few times, trying to get the world to stop moving.

"Mom! MOM! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, John." She pulled away and leaned against the counter. What the hell had just happened?

John glanced at Cameron, who'd rushed in a second after him, hoping she could help.

"You haven't eaten in seven hours, and you're dehydrated," Cameron stated seriously. "You need to go sit down. We'll get you something to eat."

"I'm fine," Sarah protested.

"Mom, don't make me have her carry you upstairs," John said in a no-nonsense tone.

"Ugh, I just got dizzy all right? Relax!" She pushed away from the counter and headed for the living room, carefully walking through the massive amount of spilled water from her dropped bucket.

John took his mother's spot leaning against the counter and sighed worriedly. "Cam... is she…?"

Cameron mimicked John's posture beside him. "I should tell you…"

**************************

John took a bottle of water and a plate of leftover pizza into the living room and set them on the coffee table in front of his mother. He sat down on the couch next to her and reached for her hand.

"Hey… are you sure you're all right?"

Sarah turned her head to look at her son. "Yeah, just too much I guess. I should know better. Kinda stupid…"

"Eh, chill. We were all busy. None of us had really eaten. Shit happens."

"Yeah well… I should probably take a lot more care of myself than I do, considering…" she swallowed audibly and glanced away.

John sighed. "Mom… you're going to be all right. You're not sick."

Sarah turned her head so fast she almost gave herself whiplash.

"Cameron said you must've just lost all that weight from stress. She's been monitoring you closely. You've gained almost all of it back, and um…" John blushed slightly. "She said your body has been functioning just as it should."

Actually, she had said Sarah finally started menstruating again. Evidently she had stopped, which was why when she got sick coming home from Mexico, Cameron asked if she was pregnant.

"So…" Sarah started. It was such good news, she was almost afraid to believe it.

"You're not sick. I mean, at least not yet I guess… You were supposed to die of leukemia in 2005. We left in 1999. So, technically, you still had 6 years to live from the time we got to this time. If… and that is if… you do get leukemia, then technically you have until about 2013… assuming things pretty much go the same. But I don't see anything biologically changing, you know?" John wasn't quite sure if this was exactly comforting, but he wasn't really sure what to say.

"Well…" Sarah sighed. "I suppose then that explains how I had stuck around so long when you went to the future, huh?" Sarah was both relieved and scared at the same time. Relieved that she wasn't sick, that she still had a chance and more time. But scared that she pretty much knew when and how she was going to die. It wasn't something anyone really wanted to know.

"Yeah," John cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Hey we all need a break once in a while. Tomorrow's the Fourth of July. We could have a picnic or something."

Sarah gave her son a look like he'd lost his mind, but was glad of the subject change. "A picnic?"

John shrugged. " Yeah why not? We can fire up the grill, eat out on the back porch… seeing as that's the only table we have left now… and maybe go catch some fireworks somewhere."

Picnic. Fireworks. It had its possibilities. "Picnic huh? I thought you and Tin Miss would have some sort of plans for her birthday or whatever."

"Well…" John lowered his voice conspiratorially. "I do, but they're for tomorrow night."

"Oh, God John!" Sarah groaned, covering her ears with her hands. "Please don't share that kind of information with your mother."

John was momentarily confused before finally catching on. "NO! No, no… I meant, I plan on taking her out tomorrow night," he whispered.

"Oh... I take it she doesn't know about this?"

John shook his head. "Nope. She wanted a surprise… she's going to get one."

*********************************

Derek threw yet another match onto the charcoal and watched it burn out almost instantly.

"Son of a bitch. Easy-light my ass."

When Sarah told him he was in charge of the grill, he'd been kind of excited. It was the man's job to barbecue, and he took his job seriously. After all, the fourth of July was always a big deal when he was a kid. His dad had always grilled hot dogs and burgers while they burned sparklers in the back yard. It was turning out to be a lot more frustrating than he anticipated though.

He grabbed a can of lighter fluid and began liberally pouring it over the coals.

"You do not need to use fluid," Cameron said, carrying out dishes and placing them on the patio table.

"The bag lies," Derek said, closing the bottle of lighter fluid.

Cameron walked over to the grill and saw how much he used. "You used too much."

"Nah…" Derek grabbed the box of matches. "It'll burn off quickly. Watch."

Cameron quickly stepped back about 30 feet as Derek lit another match.

********************

The Connor clan sat at the patio picnic table listening to a few neighbors light backyard fireworks. Despite the occasional explosive noise, dinner was actually passing quite enjoyably.

At least for those who could actually enjoy it. Dani's face was so swollen she could barely chew, and she simply had to resort to sucking a protein shake through a straw… a Cameron concoction John was sure probably tasted like it had already passed through the human digestive system.

"How's your arm, Derek?" John asked, grinning around his hot dog.

Derek flipped him off and took a bite of macaroni salad. He glanced at his own arm and cringed.

"I told him he should not have used so much lighter fluid," Cameron said matter-of-factly."

Derek mocked her, causing Savannah to giggle.

"I wouldn't worry," Sarah said. "I'm sure your eyebrows will grow back…"

Even Dani laughed, wincing a bit at the pain it caused.

"Sure, laugh it up. Maybe I poisoned all your hot dogs."

Suddenly, Cameron snatched John's hot dog out of his hand.

"Hey, what the hell?"

Cameron took a bite of the hot dog and froze. John could see her eyes twitching, and just a hint of blue.

"Cam…"

Another moment passed before she finished chewing the bite and swallowed. She handed John his hot dog back. "There is no poison. Only a faint taste of lighter fluid, but it should not be dangerous."

Everyone stared at her.

"Um, he was only joking hon," John said quietly, patting Cameron's thigh.

"Retard." Dani mumbled under her breath.

"Oh…" Cameron actually looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, we have brownies and ice cream for dessert," Sarah said, breaking the awkward moment. "Who wants to get this little party started?"

************************

The family sang happy birthday, atrociously off key, and let Cameron blow out the few candles in the brownies.

"Can we start with the presents now?" John asked around a mouthful of vanilla ice cream.

"In a hurry or something?" Sarah asked with a knowing grin.

John just gave her a warning look.

"Yeah, let's start," Derek agreed. He reached under his chair and pulled out a badly wrapped cylindrical present. "Here ya go, ma'am."

Cameron took the package cautiously and unwrapped the paper, revealing a can of WD-40.

"Really, Derek?" John asked, shaking his head.

His uncle was shaking with laughter. "Hey, it prevents rust, and is a great lubricant. Keeps the squeaks out." He cracked himself up even more.

Cameron glanced between the bottle and Derek. "Lubricant? Sounds like you might need this more than I do."

Sarah let out a loud cackle, and John bent over in laughter; even Dani covered her face, her shoulders shaking. Savannah sat quietly, not having a clue what was so funny.

Derek just shook his head and pointed to John. "You let her read those horrid magazines. It's all your fault."

"Oh, no," John said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I have nothing to do with that."

"Can I give her mine now?" Savannah asked impatiently.

"Sure sweetie," Sarah said, taking a long swig of beer, trying to calm down.

Savannah scrambled out of her chair and skipped around the table. She pulled something colorful out of her pocket.

"It's a bracelet. I made it," she said, holding up her gift for Cameron to see.

It was an impressively woven bracelet made of purple, white, and red colored floss.

"It's beautiful, Savannah." Cameron was genuinely impressed. "Where did you learn to make it?"

Savannah grinned from ear to ear. "My friend at my old school taught me. We used to make friendship bracelets all the time. Do you want it to put it on?"

"Absolutely," Cameron smiled, and held out her right hand. Savannah tied it securely around her wrist and watched Cameron admire it closely.

John smiled and glanced across the table, catching a strange look on both his uncle's and Dani's faces.

"Derek," he mumbled to catch his attention. When his uncle looked at him, he raised an eyebrow in question.

Derek whispered, "The bracelet. She wore it in the future. Never saw her without it. Never knew what it was or where it came from, either."

John felt a shiver run up his spine.

"Thank you, Savannah," Cameron smiled. She leaned forward and kissed the girl on the cheek.

"Here…" Sarah said, handing Cameron two small boxes. "You have to open the bigger one first or it won't make sense."

Cameron did as she was told, and revealed a brand new purple iPod. She smiled brightly, and unexpectedly stood up. She walked over to Sarah and gave the woman an awkward hug.

Sarah froze, not at all comfortable with receiving public affection from terminators.

"Thank you Sarah," Cameron said sincerely, letting the poor woman go. "Purple is my favorite."

Sarah snorted. "One would never guess…"

Cameron opened the smaller package to reveal the matching ear buds.

"The ones that come with the iPod suck," John supplied. "These ones have a wider decibel range."

Cameron smiled. She knew the whole thing was probably his idea anyway, having shown frustration at discovering Britney Spears and Chopin on his own iPod.

"And this…" John said, pulling out an envelope. "… is from me."

Cameron opened the envelope and pulled out several items. There were two rectangular pieces of paper and a smaller piece of plastic. She picked up the paper first and read closely.

A feeling she learned to recognize as excitement flowed through her, and she jumped back out of her seat. She nearly flung herself at John, causing him to reach out and clasp the table for support as the wind was knocked out of him.

Cameron wrapped her arms around John in a death-grip hug. "Thank you!" She squealed like a child.

Everyone else at the table just looked at each other confused. Cameron didn't normally show such a display of emotion. When it was this much, it was usually anger. Nobody had ever witnessed her being this happy before, and it was really quite disconcerting. Sarah cleared her throat.

"Oh…" Cameron stood back up and took her seat again. She held up the paper in her hand. "John got me tickets to the No Doubt concert."

"Really? I thought they broke up?" Sarah asked. She'd been a fan herself back in the day.

John shrugged his shoulders and cracked his neck back into place. "Not anymore. It's a sold-out reunion tour of some sort. She has all three albums on my damn iPod. I just assumed she had a thing for them…"

"Oh, slick," Derek complimented, punching his nephew lightly on the arm.

"I heard you listening to them, too," Cameron accused, picking up the remaining piece of plastic and looking at it quizzically. It was blank white, with a magnetic strip on the back like a credit card. "What is this?" She glanced around the table hoping someone could supply her with an answer.

Sarah was the only one who recognized what it was, and hid a smirk behind her bottle of beer. Slick. Yeah, that her son definitely was. She hadn't even noticed he left the house.

"Well, you wanted a surprise," John said. "You just have to figure that one out."

Cameron studied the small card, but she was getting no help from her CPU database.

"I'm going to assume you won't be joining us for fireworks then?" Sarah raised an eyebrow at her sneaky son.

"Nope," he shook his head and stood up. "In fact… we need to get going or we'll be late." He held out his hand to Cameron.

Cameron looked up confused. "Late for what?"

John faked exasperation. "For your surprise, of course!"