Thanks everyone for your reviews. I'll try not to disappoint you with this one and following chapters. As I already wrote, every character will be quite OOC, however, not that different that they couldn't be recognized. Derek is still going to be his paranoid self, Sarah the bickering one ...

Anyway, here's the next chapter. They're still at home, but some things did happen since the decision to go to a winter vacation resort has been made. Some are happy with them, some not exactly...

I hope you enjoy the story.

Chapter 2 – Getting Rooms Is Not Easy

„Sorry mom, but this was the only possibility to book any accommodations. No single rooms, no family rooms, no free cabins, just few double rooms in this hotel. All other hotels are completely sold out. We really tried to find a suitable cabin, but it seems that they have all been rented months ago. Perhaps we should have looked for one sooner." John tried vigorously to persuade his mother that this was really the only possibility to get some accommodations in the time period she chose. His eyes, however, didn't exactly confirm his words. They darted all around Sarah's face as if trying to avoid being looked at directly, or attempting desperately to hide something, not exactly in unison with the spoken words. His voice was, on the contrary, quite persuasive and didn't reveal anything but sincerity, be it true or faked.

Sarah looked at him suspiciously, not completely persuaded that he had told her everything and then turned to look at Cameron, sitting by John's side looking completely passive and uninterested in the discussion between Sarah and her son. "Is that really so, tin miss?" John sighed inwardly, relieved that his mother didn't pay attention to his eyes, or maybe simply missed his efforts to look sincere.

Cameron nodded, maintaining her blank face: "We checked every hotel and resort in the vicinity, but these were only free accommodations in the requested time period."

Sarah sighed: "Oh well, then I'll probably have to share a room with you and John's going to get Derek as roommate." I wonder if they planned it that way? Let's see John's reaction to this suggestion and see if I'm right or wrong.

John coughed: "Ahm … well … mom … you see … I think it would be better for me to be together with Cameron. You know … safety, many people, attacking terminators and all that stuff." He refused to look into Sarah's eyes, again, and he couldn't bring himself to concentrate his eyes on anything, so they darted all around the room.

Sarah snorted: "I should have known that you're up to something the moment you came up with your 'no rooms'! Soooooo … I guess that is the real reason why there are no cabins vacant? Not early bookers and similar natural disasters? Just your intention to share the room with tin miss." She turned towards Cameron again, just to see that her expression remained unchanged. While looking at the cyborg girl's face, she questioningly raised an eyebrow, as if challenging her to tell her the truth.

Cameron cast a quick look at John, who sat on the couch like a heap of misery, but immediately turned to look Sarah straight in the eyes and answered: "I think that John is judging the situation correctly. I can protect him the best if I'm together with him. Because we'll be staying in the hotel, full of guests, there will be many possible threats and even if we would get two rooms next to another, it could take me too long to get to him, should a need arise." Her voice remained emotionless, flat and cool.

"I don't believe it! You two planned from the very beginning to be together in one room, without cranky mom or nagging uncle interfering with you, right? And you," she pointed at Cameron with outstretched finger, "Why are you looking at my son before answering my question?" Sarah began to fume and raised her voice considerably.

"I object. We were just stating the facts. And the facts are that there are no other free accommodations in the time period you chose. I really can be much more effective in protecting John when I'm in the same room with him. And I look at him to check if everything is all right." There was a slight trace of annoyance in Cameron's voice, but Sarah couldn't pinpoint if it was for real or acted to reassure her. She was absolutely sure that John and Cameron really planned the whole vacation so that they would be together in one room. Well, at least she was sure that it was John's plan all along, while she wasn't quite sure if Cameron was just implementing John's suggestions and ideas or was she perhaps proposing and even directing some of her own.

Sarah waved her hand at Cameron: "Don't you give me that 'checking upon John' excuse. I know exactly why you're looking at him." Without saying anything else she peered at John, who was at the moment working hard on perfecting his camouflaging skills and tried to make himself invisible by adapting the color of the couch. He was quite successful at his efforts, for his facial color was beginning to take the same shade of red as the blanket on which he was sitting. She sighed and thought that after all, Cameron was right. They will be in a hotel, full of people, offering a perfect chance to try an assault and it would be advisable that Cameron stays with John 24/7. But she also knew very well that, seeing her son's reaction to his beautiful protector, such a solution could lead to some changes in their relationship, changes she couldn't say to be content with or to even approve of them. It was still more than obvious, that even John wasn't completely aware of his affection for Cameron, but this could change very quickly by having them both in one room for a week. Cameron was a different tale altogether. She couldn't break through the outer shell of a teenage looking cyborg and it maddened her that she wasn't able to decipher if she returned John's feelings. Sometimes she could swear that she did, the way she looked at her son when she thought no one would be watching her, the look of longing and affection clearly seen in her eyes and even showing on her face. But when she was aware that she was being observed, neither her eyes nor her face showed any recognizable emotions.

Then she remembered her last, but not the weakest weapon: "And how are you two going to explain this to Derek? I am reasonably sure that his attitude towards Cameron hasn't changed since yesterday and you two in one room …" She shook her head while grinning at the thought: "I guess he won't be exactly thrilled about it. I'll enjoy listening to you, trying to explain to him that you'll be staying with tin miss and especially finding a believable reason why it would be the best solution. You know his mistrust against anything not made of flesh and bones …" She trailed of, grinning even broadly.

John looked at her wide-eyed: "Why, that's something I hoped you would do."

Sarah's grin turned into one, looking especially wicked: "And this is supposed to be a future leader of the mankind, a hero of the resistance against machines, a messiah of the humanity. He doesn't even dare to talk to his own uncle about how he planned the accommodations for the vacation." She shook her head again, this time vigorously. "John! I'm not doing it for you! You made a decision and you should bear the consequences. You, not me."

Cameron saw this as a perfect occasion to chime in: "I'll tell him."

John's face was a picture of pure gratitude as he grabbed Cameron's hand without thinking and exclaimed in elation: "Cameron, I could kiss you for this."

Sarah gasped for air upon hearing her son's words, while Cameron looked completely taken aback and she cast her eyes to his hand, holding hers with open mouth. Neither of two ladies expected John to say something like that, not after he practically ignored Cameron for the last few months. He noticed their shock, dropped Cameron's hand as if he'd been burned and blushed further: "Ahem … well … not literally."

Cameron was the first to return to normal and she decided to tease him: "Why not, John? I was really looking forward to be kissed by you." She winked at him and noticed how Sarah began gasping for air like a fish out of water. John didn't look much better, just his face took another, if possible, even darker shade of red than before while his mouth repeatedly opened and closed without producing any articulated, understandable sound. Did I really say it? I know, I know … I slipped and said something I really wanted to say, but I know I should never admit that I care for Cameron much more than I should care for my sister. Oh, heck, I think I love her… At this thought his eyes suddenly widened but he managed to get himself under control not to reveal his thoughts to his mother … or to Cameron.

Sarah finally managed to retrieve her speech and screeched: "WHAAAAT? Are you two insane? John, there's no way I'm letting you share your room with … her! And you … you …" She turned to look at Cameron who was still grinning from ear to ear, but as soon as Sarah's eyes rested on her face, the mask of a deadly terminator returned. "What was that? Was that a joke? Are you making fun of me?"

"No, Sarah, I'm not making fun of you, I'm making fun of John. And yes, it was a joke." Cameron answered flatly, but fire in her eyes still burned and she couldn't hide her amusement as she added: "Why does everyone think I make fun of them? I'm just stating the facts." She deadpanned and fire vanished from her eyes, leaving the perfect terminator face in place.

Sarah calmed down visibly. Not just the fact that it was really no big deal what John said, also Cameron's try at making a joke was something she normally would laugh upon, naturally after surmounting the initial shock of hearing the terminator attempting to make a joke. She slowly began to think in reasonable frames again and after few seconds she grinned: "Well, I have to say that he deserved it. And it was quite a good joke. However … don't you ever try to really do the thing my dear son just mentioned." With her forefinger lifted, she cast them both a stern look.

John managed in the meantime to get rid of his deep red color and sighed relieved to be apparently off the hook: "Mom! You know it was just a figurative speech. I mean … I was so thankful that Cameron is prepared to poke the hornet's nest for me that I simply slipped."

Sarah grinned at him, completely forgetting that she should be angry with them both for putting her into such situation. "As if I would believe you John. I know you all too well to give your poor excuses any serious consideration. But there's still the decision to be made if we should let tin miss tell Derek that he's going to share the room with me. I really don't see any reasons for her taking the blame for something what you did." Suddenly she realized what it really meant if John and Cameron would be in the same room. It meant, she would have to share a room with Derek Reese, and the thought of it made her shudder. "Jesus, I won't survive this vacation with Reese in the room with me."

Cameron grinned slightly at her: "I will tell him. I'm not afraid of him. If you wish I can give you some advice about what annoys him the most. I have extensive file containing things and actions that really annoy Derek Reese." She looked at Sarah proudly.

Sarah looked at her flabbergasted, but after few seconds her mouth began to curve upwards: "You do? I think that I could use some of your information to keep the man on a short leash."

Cameron tilted her head in confusion: "Short leash? But … I thought that only pets are being kept on a leash, not humans."

John snorted and tried hard to suppress laughter as he heard Cameron's question. She always managed to amuse him with her childlike curiosity and naivety. He forgot too often that she was very young in terms of human experiences and some things, humans took for granted and didn't even think about them, represented a difficult question for her. As he saw her turning to him with questioningly eyes and as he looked that an almost unnoticeable flash of hurt passed her face, he reminded himself of it again. She couldn't simply understand the many nuances that humans learned while growing up, for she never had a chance to grow up as a human child. Suddenly he felt sorry for her and in his mind he made a promise to himself to always help her come to terms with the whole 'being human' problem. He looked at her gently: "It's just a phrase we use to say that you won't allow someone to handle on their own."

Cameron's head tilted even further and for a second her face remained blank, but after she processed his explanation, she gave him a shy smile: "Thank you for explaining."

John melted into the couch at these words and her smile, underlined with her adorably tilted head, but managed to hide his affection before Sarah could notice how he reacted to Cameron's words and her head tilt, which he found impossibly cute.

Sarah grinned at Cameron: "Now you know what it means to keep someone on a short leash. I count on you to keep my son on an even shorter one. No wandering off, no lunatic actions, no teenage rebellion, understood?"

Cameron, who was still looking at John with a smile on her lips and warmth in her eyes, turned to Sarah to show her the terminator face again and nodded solemnly: "I can do that. I will go get a leash and a collar to put it around his neck. I'll find a store for pet appliances right away." She got up, turned as if she would want to go out but, upon hearing John's voice, stopped before reaching the door and looked over her shoulder towards him.

John's jaw fell as he looked at her in shock: "What? Didn't I just explain to you that it doesn't literally mean to …" He trailed off as he saw Cameron's eyes dancing with laughter and grin on her lips getting bigger with every word he said. "You … you … you are getting far too good at teasing me!"

Sarah watched amused. How did tin miss managed to suddenly have such a sense of humor? It looks like she'd really understood the point of humor, like she'd know exactly when she should use it. I wouldn't like to be in John's skin after she develops her wicked humor completely.

Cameron returned to John while still grinning at him: "Relax John, I was just kidding you. I would never put you on a leash." She reached for him and touched his forearm gently: "At least not literally."

John began to grin at her too. "You know Cameron … we'll have to work on your sense of humor a bit. You're being far too sarcastic for someone who actually just began to understand human emotions."

Sarah watched the exchange between them and silently shook her head. They were acting completely differently as only few days ago, more relaxed, satisfied with their relationship, not being tense in company of another. She couldn't put her finger on the difference, but she was sure that there was an unavoidable danger something would change completely in the next few days. "Well, now that you two have cleared this … when are you going to tell Derek?"

Cameron looked at her: "I'll find a right time and place so that there will be no negative consequences. I believe Derek Reese won't be thrilled by this solution. I wouldn't want to expose John to possible verbal mishandling."

John protested: "What about you? He could flip out and hurt you."

Cameron smiled gently at him: "Thank you for your care John, but he can't hurt me. Besides, I don't think he would go as far as trying to do anything to me."

John still wasn't convinced: "I still don't want you to talk to him alone. I'm going to be with you."

Cameron was taken aback, seeing that he really meant what he had said. His care for her was something she wouldn't expect in her wildest dreams, not after months of neglect, sometimes even open hatred and impatience. Little did she know that it was all just a show for everyone, a show, made by John to convince everyone, but first of all himself, that he didn't care about her, while he in fact knew that he cared for her much more than he should. She smiled tenderly and nodded: "I agree if you really want to. We'll tell him before we leave, OK?"

John nodded and grinned at her: "Yeah, OK."

TBC