CH 2
Upon seeing each other, Nana and Mayu collided together with happy cries, hugging and bouncing together. Even Lucy smiled at their exuberant reunion. Chattering happily, they ran inside with Nana eager to show Mayu their new house.
Yuka was more subdued. After her greeting to Kouta, she hugged him, then frowned at him. "Kouta, you could have warned us that you are living in the wideness. I thought we were lost!"
"Sorry Yuka," Kouta replied as he rubbed the back of his head. Gesturing to the house, he asked, "Do you like it? We made it from trees right here in these mountains. Lucy cut, Nana shaped, I stained them and we all put them together. The hardware store is a few miles away, but they delivered all the other things we needed."
Cameron noted the two story thirty by sixty foot log cabin lacked the same sized logs on every tier. The obviously larger ones were on the bottom. There was also no even color to the structure like modern log homes. Overall, it looked like an old style, but well built log cabin. The porch was rough cut lumber with many coats of clear sealant. The foundation was evenly cut rock. Stone pillars held up the porch. The roof was long sheets of metal.
"Kouta, how can you afford something like this?" Yuka asked as she took in the size of the house and seemingly endless land around them.
"Lucy got lucky in a place called Las Vegas," Kouta explained, then said with a wince, "but now, we can't go back there."
Yuka eyed Lucy. "You were gambling?"
"No, I put the ball on the spinning disk where my number was." Lucy said indignantly. "The men in dark suits got upset after I did it six times. Those men wanted me to go with them. Kouta coaxed me to go instead of killing them. They took us to a room and became mean. So I got mean with them. I didn't kill them, but they will never walk again. After that, another man paid us what I won, and gave us a bonus to go play at another casino. This happened in several places. By the time we got to the end of the 'strip' as they call it, we had plenty of money."
"We are pretty well off," Kouta agreed. Looking at the group, he added, "It is a long way back to any motel, so please everyone, stay the night."
.
Sarah was impressed with the cabin's interior. Walking in the door, the front of the cabin was a great room with a high, vaulted ceiling. Thick timbers supported the second floor. The walls were straight, flat and varnished to a soft shine. Plush rugs on the floor and a large open hearth fire place adorned the great room. Thick plank stairs went up to a balcony type hallway that looked down on the room. She could see another hallway leading back father into the cabin. Kouta was telling Yuka about their new house in Japanese, Sarah didn't understand a word he said.
"Four bedrooms upstairs," Cameron said beside her, telling her what Kouta was explaining. "Two baths, one upstairs, one down. The community tub off the dinning room is not finished yet. There is another spare guest room first door to the right downstairs, next to the bathroom. The kitchen is in the back, with a dinning room to the side by the laundry room. Three bedrooms are free, the first ones on each side as you come to the hallway, and the downstairs bedroom."
.
Yuka was taking all this in as Kouta explained. Nana then chimed in with, "And Mayu can sleep in my room, so Yuka can have her own room!"
"Umm, Nana, we have three other guests as well." Kouta reminded her.
Pointing to where John and Cameron stood, Nana said, "John and Cameron can share a room together just like you and Lucy do .. oh wait ... I guess Yuka will have to share with Sarah," she finished thoughtfully.
"HUH?" Yuka asked. Eyeing Kouta warily, she asked, "Where does Lucy sleep?"
"Nana burst out with a happy, "With Kouta!"
Gapping at Kouta, Yuka's face turned into a scowl. "You ... you ... sleep with Lucy?" she asked in a shriek.
As Kouta backed up from Yuka's wrath, Lucy stepped between them. Holding up her left hand to show Yuka, she said, "We are married."
"What!" Yuka gasped again as if she had just expelled the last of the air from her lungs.
"I said we are married. Kouta is my husband," Lucy explained sternly.
"Kouta?" Yuka asked as she gazed at him in shock.
Kouta nodded sadly, he knew Yuka was not going to take this well. "I'm sorry, Yuka, but I choose Lucy."
The blood ran from Yuka's face. "Kouta ... Kouta, how could you?" she asked weakly. Turning, Yuka stumbled for the front door.
"I though Yuka was the Mother..." Mayu asked. Gazing at Kouta, she said, "You were the Father and Yuka was the mother. Not Lucy."
"Mayu," Kouta said, and tried to ease any fears she had, "Yuka is still your Mother if you want her to be."
"Mayu," Lucy said evenly. "Please give me a chance to be a mother too."
A wailing cry sounded from outside. Yuka. Lucy turned to Kouta and said, "I will go talk to Yuka. Please take care of our guests."
Cameron watched, processing the information as she tried to get the full picture. "Kouta, you were married to Yuka before?" she asked, concluding that Mayu was Yuka and Kouta's child.
"What? No! Yuka is my cousin I knew from when we were kids," Kouta said defensively. "I adopted Mayu"
On a completely different train of thought, Sarah said, "Cameron, you and I should share a room."
"I don't need a room, I don't sleep," Cameron told Sarah.
"IT can still spend the night with me," Sarah said firmly.
Kouta's head hurt from having to shift languages so quickly. "Ummmm, split up the rooms however you want," Kouta said, seeing how neither Sarah or Cameron looked very happy. He glanced towards the door. He really hoped Yuka and Lucy would not get into a fight.
Grabbing Mayu's hand, Nana stated, "Mayu is staying in Nana's room!"
Not sure what was going on, John asked, "Umm, Cam?"
"It stays in my room tonight," Sarah said firmly as she cast Cameron a glare.
"It?" John asked. "Mom, can't you be a little nicer to Cameron?" he asked angrily.
"I do as John tells me to do," Cameron stated.
"And let some machine seduce my son? fat chance!" Sarah grated as she eyed Cameron.
With his mother angry, and Cameon's face glazing over, John knew things were getting worse. Normally, Cameron took on that glassy look just before plunging into a fight. Gently, he turned Cameron toward the stairs. "Mom, Cameron IS sleeping with me tonight, so get over it!"
To Kouta, Cameron asked, "Kouta-san, do you mind if I sleep with John?"
"Ummm, I'm fine with it," Kouta said hesitantly.
"What was that? Say it so I can understand!" Sarah demanded.
Cameron felt like her CPU was overloading. Her targeting system was locked on Sarah with no commands to do so. Every movable object in the room was highlighted, and the best place for it to land on Sarah's body to shut her up was being fed into her heads-up display. Cameron had not intended to speak, but she found herself saying, "We're going upstairs to have sex."
"Wha ... John!" Sarah yelled.
Rolling his eyes, John said, "We're just going to settle into our room and get away from the fighting."
"Hey Kouta, I think I should go show Mayu my room," Nana said, looking uncomfortable.
Kouta nodded. "Go on, someone will call you for dinner," he told them.
John and Cameron went up to their room and shut the door, followed by Nana and Mayu running up into Nana's room. Sarah stomped her way outside. Alone, Kouta let out a sigh and went over to the fireplace to get a fire started. The reunion with the rest of his family was not going well, and their uninvited guests were also having problems. Not the best of days, but at least Yuka wasn't beating on him.
.
On the porch, Yuka sat with her back to the wall and holding her legs, tears streaming down her face. Kouta that BAKA had married Lucy! What was so special about that girl? Was it her pink hair? How powerful she was, or maybe he'd seen her body so many times he felt he had to have her. It was so unfair that she could just wash up on a beach and take Kouta away! All these years Yuka had loved him, all the ones she spent waiting for him, meant nothing?
"Hey," Lucy said as she sat near Yuka.
Yuka's fists balled. "Come to gloat?" she asked in a hard tone as she tried to stare a tree to death.
Lucy thought for a moment, then said, "If he would have chosen you, I would feel the same betrayal and heartbreak you are feeling now. I've known Kouta since I was very young ... I've loved him since I was very young."
Yuka turned to stare at Lucy. Lucy's face didn't hold triumph, but a pained look as she stared off at nothing.
"I am so grateful for Kouta. All my life, he was the only who cared anything about me," Lucy said in a far off tone. "Those years when I was locked away, the only thing that kept me going, was wanting so badly to see him again. Through all the years of hell I went through, he was the only good thing I ever knew." Turning her head to focus on Yuka, she added, "So you see, I know exactly how you must feel. I will not gloat or tease you, but I will ask you to accept that Kouta is my husband. Mayu sees you as her mother. Even if you don't like me, please stay in our lives for her sake."
Yuka opened her mouth to reply, and Sarah came bursting out the door. Stomping down the steps, she balled her fists, shaking her arms as she stopped and faced the woods, tensed her muscles and belted out an angry scream at the top of her lungs.
Eyeing this, Lucy said, "I think both of you could use some wine coolers. They aren't as strong as the fruit and sake drinks, but they'll do."
Yuka nodded. Getting drunk right now sounded like a very good idea.
.
In Sarah's raging mind as she stomped through the woods, she saw only one solution. John was not going to leave that THING alone, and IT would do whatever John asked. Her only son was intent on humping a robot. As she thought about it, with Lucy here SkyNet was not going to build anything on this land. When Lucy has kids with that man, surely there would be more of them, and even IF Judgment day came, they would turn all those machines into scrap metal. John being here meant that he would be safe from any assassins, even if they did somehow find him. They didn't need Cameron any more.
Marching her way back to the house, Sarah flung the truck door open and pulled out a 9 MM from under the dash. She checked to be sure it was loaded with the armor piercing rounds, then held it close to her side as she moved to go into the house. She was going to get rid of the problem for good!
Coming upon the porch, Sarah saw Lucy still sitting by the sobbing woman. Three empty bottles were scattered about, and Yuka was working on the fourth. Lucy turned to see Sarah, and narrowed her eyes.
Sarah tried to hide the gun behind her. It didn't work. Her arm flew out as an invisible hand grabbed her. The gun was jerked out of her hand and went flying off over the treetops. Lucy shook her head.
"Rrrrrr," Sarah growled. She wanted so bad to shoot Lucy, but knew to attempt such was suicide. She turned around to stomp back down the steps to go looking for her gun.
.
"No guns in MY house," Lucy snapped at the departing woman.
"Huh?" Yuka asked as she dropped the fourth bottle to grab another.
"That Sarah tried to bring a gun into our house," Lucy grumbled. "I threw it away."
Yuka gave her a drunken nod, and clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Good for you!" She breathed into Lucy's face. "I don't like them either, and neither does Kouta."
"Only Baka's carry guns," Lucy said, trying to edge away from Yuka.
"Right!" Yuka said, giving a nod. Leaning into Lucy, Yuka cast her the most serious look a drunk could give. "I am glad that if I can't have Kouta, at least you are with him. I know you will do your best for him."
"Thank you," Lucy said, and winced from Yuka's alcohol breath as she tried to butt-scoot away.
Yuka sagged down and put her head on Lucy's shoulder. She sniffled and held Lucy by the arm. "I do still want to be Mayu's mother. Mayu needs a good family."
"So, you will stay with us?" Lucy asked, thankful Yuka was now breathing away from her face.
Yuka sniffled again. She took a long pull from the fifth bottle, then let out a burp. "I ... want to be here. Even though I lost Kouta ... I do love you girls so much..." Yuka then started crying again.
The door opened, Nana and Mayu came out. They stared briefly at the scene of Yuka hugging Lucy's arm and crying on her shoulder.
"Yuka don't look so good," Nana noted.
"Is Yuka going to be OK?" Mayu asked meekly.
"Yuka will be fine," Lucy assured them.
"Is Yuka still going to be our Mama?" Mayu asked.
Lucy nodded. Before she could speak, Yuka cried out.
"Oh Mayu! Of course I'll still be your Mama!" She said in a sob. Holding out an arm to Mayu, she tried to get up.
Mayu got the hint and knelt down by Yuka to accept the hug before Yuka fell over.
"Nana is really happy Yuka is going to stay the Mama too!" Nana said joyfully.
Lucy began to realize being Kouta's wife was more than just having the comfort of knowing that they were finally together. This house, Nana and Mayu, and even Yuka, they all gave Lucy responsibilities. Although they were asserting that Yuka was still part of the family, Lucy herself had to step up and be a mother also. She knew nothing about being a mother. "Hey, Yuka, will you show me how to be a good mother too?" she asked.
Yuka looked at her, then fell on her again with a happy cry of, "Yes!" as she gave Lucy a one-armed hug.
Yuka's breath was horrible, but at least now she was crying happy tears, Lucy thought.
.
Kouta decided he was the one who had to get dinner ready. Lucy was comforting Yuka, and he was very proud that she was – so there was no way he was going to interrupt them. Nana and Mayu were also currently in the huddle on the porch, so he left them alone also.
Kouta got water on to boil for the noodles, but was trying to figure out how much to cook. As he pondered, Cameron came in.
"Would you like some help, Kouta-sama?" Cameron asked.
"Huh?" he asked. "Ahh, sure if you wouldn't mind. I don't know the correct proportions for eight people," he admitted.
"Seven, I don't eat. Show me what you're making," Cameron replied.
Kouta did, and Cameron portioned out the food and got everything going.
"I thank you for helping ... what can I do to assist you?"
"Just sit, I can accomplish these tasks," Cameron said. She worked and thought of a question she had. "Kouta-sama, you married Lucy-sama even though she is not human. Why?"
Kouta cast her a smirk. "You don't need to keep using the 'sama'. I married Lucy because I love her."
With all the food started, Cameron turned to him. "But she is not human."
Kouta motioned to the table. "Please, come sit here," he said, pulling out a chair for her before he pulled out the one beside it. When they were settled, he explained the best he could.
"I married Lucy because I very much want to spend the rest of my life with her. Because I have loved her for a very long time. Yes, Lucy did some awful things, but she also had many sad years. All the bad things are behind us now, and I want to make her as happy as possible. Lucy is very special to me."
Cameron matched 'marriage' with everything Kouta told her, except one thing. "Lucy is a killer. A better and more dangerous killer than I am. She is also not human. Yet you married her anyway? I don't understand," Cameron said with an appropriate shake of her head.
"I don't care what Lucy is," Kouta said firmly. "Right now, and for many years to come, Lucy is my beloved wife. THAT is all that matters."
"And if she was a Terminator like me?"
"Still would not matter." Kouta leaned closer and said, "Cameron, I think I know why you are asking these questions. You are attracted to John?"
"I belong to him. I am his protector," Cameron stated.
Kouta pursed his lips for a second in thought. "How about this, imagine there is no Sky Net to protect John from and there never will be. John will live a long, full life even if you walked away right now. You are free to do whatever you want, go anywhere you want. John will be safe and happy no matter what you do. Tell me, Cameron, what would you want to do?"
Cameron put this scenario into her processes. The only thing that came back was the scene of her sitting on the kitchen table, having sex with John as they kissed deeply. "I would want to kiss John and have sex with him," she stated.
Kouta burst out in a red faced chuckle. "Too much information," he mumbled as he itched the back of his head. "Ahh, I take it you would stay with him?"
"Yes," Cameron agreed.
"And John, does he feel the same?"
A quick memory showed that he did tell her that even if she was no longer able to protect him, he'd still want her near him. She was about to answer, then John stepped in the room.
"Absolutely," John stated as he looked at Cameron. Cameron got up as John walked in to clasp her hands.
"Cameron, I don't know when it happened ... but I do love you. I know you're a Terminator, I don't care. No matter what happens, I want us to stay together," John said as he gazed into her eyes.
"As do I," Cameron said as she studied the face of her John. A quick calculation told her the food would not be ready for three quarters of an hour. Plenty of time. John was here, and Sarah was not. A glance at the kitchen table showed only a few items that would survive if the table was shaken. She looked at Kouta. "Kouta, may John and I please take care of dinner ourselves?"
Kouta nodded. He understood, they wanted to continue their confessions in private. "Of course. I'll shut the door on my way out," he said with a grin.
.
Sarah returned to the cabin in a foul mood. John was taking WAY too many liberties with that metal. She could not get rid of that thing, at least here with Lucy around, and she wasn't able to find her gun!
Marching back to the house, Sarah noted Lucy and Yuka were no longer on the porch. She was tempted to get another gun from the truck, but decided against it. The last thing she needed was to get Lucy angry at her. What she did need was to do was get Cameron away from here so she could blow her metal head off!
Calming herself, Sarah went inside to find Kota, Lucy, Nana and Mayu sitting on the floor around a small table playing Chinese checkers. Yuka lay with her head on Kouta's leg. Looking around, she saw no sign of John or Cameron.
Seeing her come in, Kouta said, "John and Cameron are making dinner. You can play with us if you like."
John and Cameron in the kitchen together. The thought made her eyebrow twitch, but surely they would not do anything in the kitchen of someone else's house. She noticed Lucy motion her over, as Nana said something that sounded like an invitation. Sarah nodded. Doing something was better than stewing over John kissing metal.
Kouta had Yuka sit up. The woman was obviously drunk. Sarah helped Yuka up to lean against Kouta with a happy sigh. Lucy seemed irritated by this, but kept quiet.
Sitting down, Sarah noticed pleasant smelling aromas coming from the kitchen. She heard a pleasant sounding cry come from the kitchen also. Stiffening herself against the noise, she sat and played a silly game to keep from going in there and doing something stupid, like trying to beat up a Terminator. She had to be patient and plan, but she was going to get rid if that thing!