Thank you for all your reviews. I won't list everyone, because I'm sure I'd forget someone – so – thank you all.

John's surprise for Cameron. I guess that it's really a surprise only for Cameron. You've probably guessed what he intended to do. At least I've given some hints in previous chapters (foremost in chapter 22). Nevertheless – here it is and I hope you enjoy it.

I'd like to express thanks to TKK-800 for the idea which I used in this chapter. Yes, sometimes the reviews and suggestions from the readers find a place in the story, especially considering the fact that I'm writing this story consequentially. I have (had) a rough outline of the complete story from the beginning, but the exact contents and details have not been determined.

Chapter 32 – Surprise, Surprise

"Thank you again for helping me, Cameron." Andrea smiled at Cameron. They've just entered the hotel and Cameron declared that she would go straight to their room.

They've spent the last hour searching for something that Andrea and Tim could give to John. Cameron, being her normal self, was, expressed very mildly, picky and didn't settle for anything less than what she definitely found appropriate for her lover. She discarded quite a few options that Andrea proposed. Andrea slowly began to understand that it definitely wasn't the easiest job to go shopping with Cameron. But after few stores, they finally stopped at the clothes store where they first met and Cameron instantly noticed something that she found to be the best choice for her John. They bought him a new jacket, black leather, which Cameron found absolutely adorable. Andrea was satisfied with the choice too, especially because they got it on sale and it didn't cost too much. The fact, that Cameron finally settled for something also helped to improve Andrea's mood. Still; she was now completely convinced that Cameron was a very special girl, different than anyone of her friends and that was something Andrea valued very high, especially considering her realization that Cameron was definitely the most intelligent girl she ever met. True ... sometimes she acted almost autistic, but in the next moment she revealed all the highlights of her knowledge and intelligence and revealed her things that almost made her stunned. Even her occasional robotic behavior didn't bother Andrea. Perhaps she was the only girl Andrea knew with whom she could talk about everything. She was sure that meeting Cameron and John was possibly the best thing that happened to her. Maybe the start of their friendship wasn't exactly the smoothest, but now, after they came clear, she believed, that she could easily get used to hang out with Cameron more often. It would be a refreshing new experience compared with her hanging out with other friends that considered mostly in shopping, gossiping and ranting about boys, while with Cameron she could talk about science and philosophy as well as about other, more mundane things.

Cameron, on the other hand, was surprised that she actually enjoyed the shopping trip with Andrea. True … she was all the time worried about John, but she found the experience of going shopping with another girl as very enjoyable. Maybe I should go out more often with girls? I think that I could learn very much from such experiences. She noticed that Andrea really liked her and she was feeling that she liked the girl too. Even though she reminded her of Riley, Andrea was so different, so much friendlier and approachable and especially, not obviously hiding something from her that Cameron really liked spending time with her. Not to forget that Andrea was one of the brightest girls Cameron ever got to know. She was, beside John, the only one with whom she didn't have to hide her knowledge.

Cameron gave her a ghost of a smile: "No problem. I believe that he'll like it." Then she turned towards the lift: "I'll go up to our room now. See you later."

Andrea nodded and waved her hand, satisfied that her mission to distract Cameron was a total success and at the same time she actually got something to give to John. "Sure, we'll come around later to give him the jacket. Bye."

After Andrea left, Cameron sighed and entered the already waiting lift. She enjoyed the shopping trip with Andrea, but she was still more than anxious to be close to John again. Few seconds later the doors of the lift opened on their floor and she strolled purposefully towards their room. She tried the door and found it locked. A small smile spread across her face. Good! I see that you are careful John. She pulled her keycard from the pocket and unlocked the door.

"John, I'm back." Her voice echoed in the room, but there was no expected response. She quickly assessed the situation and realized with a little shock that John was not in the room. A deep frown appeared on her face, but before she could begin to really worry or even panic, she noticed an envelope on the bed. She zoomed in on the writing on it and saw her name, written in John's best Connorish, meaning that it was barely readable.

She picked the envelope, opened it and pulled out a small card. She could see few words, scrabbled in Connorish as well, but it was obvious that John tried his best to write so nice that people, not acquainted with his unreadable handwriting could read it.

Dear Cameron,

I'm waiting for you in the hotel whirlpool area. The receptionist knows what to do, just tell her who you are. Please, don't be angry. I've got a surprise for you.

Love,

John

PS: I took your bikini with me.

She frowned even deeper. If there was something she didn't like very much then it was a surprise. It always meant a possibility that everything could go wrong. But after few seconds her frown vanished. John is doing this for me. He wants to surprise me and make me happy.

She knew that there was a small whirlpool area in the hotel and she knew exactly where she would find it. So she turned on her heel and left the room quickly. Any additional minute that she didn't spend together with John was somehow wasted.

As she reached the entrance to the whirlpool area, she saw a receptionist, a woman in her forties, leaning on the counter heavily, more than obviously bored to death and staring into nothingness. Her fingers drummed against the counter and she leaned her chin against the other hand, a perfect picture of bored misery. But as soon as she saw Cameron entering, life returned into her eyes and she smiled to her. Cameron got a feeling that the woman already knew who she was. She decided that it would be the best to act politely, so she smiled friendly at the woman and, after she approached the counter, she looked at the now warmly smiling face. "I'm Cameron Phillips. I believe my boyfriend is here and he asked me to join him?"

The woman nodded eagerly: "Of course, Miss. He told me to guide you to him immediately." She looked Cameron up and down and added admiringly: "My, you two really make a nice couple. So young and cute …" She sighed exasperatedly: "When I was your age…" She trailed off and winked at Cameron: "Your boyfriend is such a perfect little gentleman. He told me that I should wait for the most beautiful girl that ever came in here, but I thought that he was exaggerating. Now … after I've seen you … his words were no exaggeration … no, that was an understatement."

Cameron couldn't help but feel flattered. Since they came here, everyone was flattering her and she slowly got used to like this flattering, especially since she could notice that it was always sincere. And this woman's face was definitely radiating sincerity. "Thank you." For the lack of better response, she limited herself to crispy expression of her thankfulness; she just smiled at the woman warmly.

The receptionist grabbed a bathrobe and a big fluffy towel and exited her booth. "Would you please come with me, Miss Phillips?" She turned and strolled towards the entrance door, not leaving Cameron any other choice but to follow her.

They entered the whirlpool area and Cameron made a quick scan of her surroundings. They were in a short corridor, which opened into a small lobby area, with comfortable looking benches at the walls. In the middle of the room was a small fountain, decorated with blue and white tiles. In the middle of the fountain there was the bowl, in which the water burbled and flew down its walls, quietly rippling and completing the soft music playing in the background. As her look fell to the opposite wall she could see two doors, both closed.

The woman went to the right door and stopped in front of them. She looked at Cameron's curious face and smiled, while offering her the bathrobe and the towel. "Your boyfriend is waiting for you in there, Miss. Behind the door there's a small locker room where you can change."

Cameron took the offered items and smiled at the woman: "Thank you."

The woman nodded: "I hope you enjoy your stay. If you have any requests, there's a phone in there and you can call me anytime you want." Then she turned and left the room.

Without any hesitation, Cameron opened the door and entered the room behind it. It was just like the woman said: a small locker room with two lockers, one of them closed. Probably John's. I wonder where did he put … ah, there it is! Just as she began to wonder where John put her bikini, she saw a note on the locker door beside the closed one, saying simply: "CAM".

She laid her robe and towel on the small bench and opened the door of the locker and her eyes widened abruptly. There it was, her bikini, waiting for her. But what made her eyes stare into the locker was something else: over her bikini was a deep red rose facing her. She hesitantly reached for it and almost subconsciously sniffed at it. It smelled pleasant and her lips curved into a smile. She thought how tremendously her relationship with John had changed since they arrived here. Just few days ago she wouldn't even in dreams expect to get a rose from him and now it seemed like the most normal thing.

Then she realized that John was probably just as nervously waiting for her in the next room as she was longing to be with him again. She expected that there was a whirlpool, but she had no idea what else could be awaiting her and specifically, why John summoned her here. With a quick glance to the glass door, leading into the whirlpool room, she noticed that the room was considerably less lightened and a flickering of the warm, yellowish light, made her wonder what kind of light could be flickering so much. But she would find out very quickly.

She undressed, carefully folded her clothes in the locker and put on her bikini. Her eyes fell to the bathrobe and she contemplated if she should put it on or not. Calling upon her database to find some appropriate information, she decided that she should put it on. She picked up the towel and turned towards the door. But in the middle of the step, she turned back, picked up the rose and clutched it to her chest. John gave it to me!

After she opened the door and stepped in the whirlpool room, she stopped dead in her tracks and her eyes widened uncontrollably. The room was small, just big enough for a small whirlpool, which could accommodate no more than two persons. The water in it was rippling, various massage streams and air bubbles burbling softly. Beside the pool, a small table with two chairs was placed and on the table she saw a basket of fruits and two tall glasses, filled with bubbling liquid, which she identified as champagne. Additionally, three high candles standing on the table illuminated the close surroundings with flickering light. She also noticed many other candles, distributed all over the room, giving it the unique atmosphere. She smelled some pleasant aroma, similar to the one her rose had. These must be scented candles. They smell really nice. On one of the chairs, John sat with a huge smile on his face and looked at his astonished girlfriend. The candlelight played across his face and caused his features to become soft and tender under the sparse lighting. Cameron couldn't tear her eyes from his face and realized that if she hadn't fallen in love with him before, she'd most definitely fall now. Nobody ever did something as beautiful for me as he did. Nobody ever gave me a rose like he did.

"Finally! I was already scared you'd run away with Andrea." He stood up and stepped to her. Cameron was still so astonished that she only managed to fix him with her huge eyes and slightly opened mouth. Seeing her face, John enveloped her in his arms, taking care not to crush the rose, which she still clutched to her chest and kissed her lips tenderly.

"I see that you found my rose. I hope you like it. I wasn't sure if you'd like the red one, but they didn't have any purple ones. And … after all, red roses are the ones you should give to the one you love." He murmured softly after they broke the kiss. Cameron was still trying to regain her normal senses and after she heard his words, she finally managed to get out of the astonishment and smiled at him.

"I did. I like it. Very much." Her answer was more than crisp and her eyes swept across the room again. After they settled on his face again, she asked, still heavily under impression of the milieu that John created for her: "Why?"

John smiled at her inquiring eyes: "Am I not allowed to surprise the one I love? Am I not entitled to make something nice for my beautiful girlfriend?" Then he got serious: "I've been treating you so badly, Cameron, that I don't know if I'll ever be able to make it up to you. And this …" He swept across the room with his arm "… this is just a beginning. You are my princess and you should also be treated like one."

Cameron gazed at his eyes and saw nothing but love and affection in them. Her vision suddenly became slightly misty. Oh no! Not crying again! I'm happy! Why am I then crying? She let the towel drop to the floor and cupped John's cheek with her free hand, the other still holding the rose. "I'm no princess, John. I'm cybernetic organism from the future, built to terminate you. I don't deserve such affection."

John's hands moved from her waist to her shoulders, pulling her a little closer to him and shaking her gently: "Stop beating yourself Cam! You're much more than what you think you are. You ARE my princess." Then he carefully laid his arm around her shoulders and guided her towards the table.

Cameron let him guide her, eager to experience more of closeness with her John. After they reached the table, John let go of her shoulders, took the ends of the belt on her bathrobe in his hands and slowly untied it. Then he carefully slipped the bathrobe from her shoulders. "We should get in the pool. The water is perfect."

Cameron allowed him to gently take the rose from her hand and put it on the table and let her arms fall down, so that he could slip sleeves of her bathrobe off of them. After she was left with only her bikini on, John took her hand and pulled her towards the pool, in which the water bubbled invitingly.

If she would have had any doubts about getting into the whirlpool before, the first contact with the warm water would have dissolved them. The memories of the pleasant experiences in the spa convinced her that this would probably be as nice as it was there. The water was warm, even warmer than in the spa and it faintly smelled like roses. Air bubbles caressed her feet and after John guided her to a position above the nozzles, and she sat down, she felt how they enveloped her whole body. It was a really pleasant feeling and she giggled quietly in satisfaction. John looked at her and his eyes sparkled in recognition that he made the right choice with this surprise.

After they settled in their submerged seats, letting the streams and bubbles massage their bodies, John turned to Cameron, who was still wearing a huge grin and was more than obviously enjoying herself. "Well, Cam, there's another reason that I organized this all."

Cameron's eyes snapped to look into his and the grin began to vanish from her face. Seeing it and realizing that she probably misunderstood him, John hastily added while leaning forward to grab her hands: "Something very important and … I hope … also pleasant."

Cameron was now confused again. What could it be more to John's surprise? Her eyes followed him, as he, slightly embarrassed, turned to pick up something from behind his back that she didn't notice before. Before he turned back, he also pushed few buttons on a remote control, she just now noticed behind him too. After he turned to her again, she could see that he was holding a small box, like the ones she usually saw in jewelers' store windows. He didn't … did he?

In that moment she registered that the soft music in the background became slightly louder and the song that played was the one they danced to. I want to know what love is … funny … I think I know now what love is; but this song will always wake the memories of our dance. It's OUR song! Funny! I'm a terminator that gets sentimental every time a specific song plays. I wonder if Skynet intended to make me this way.

John squirmed for a little while, before he gathered the courage to look into her eyes again. He took a deep breath and began with still slightly wavering voice: "Cameron. In these last days I finally came clear with my feelings and realized what you mean to me. I finally realized that I love you more than the life itself. You are the one who completes me. Each day you give me strength for living; you're the one who can persuade me to keep going on even when I'm down by just looking and smiling at me. Each time you look at me I feel like in seventh heaven. Without you my days are empty, meaningless. I may be predestined to be a future leader of mankind, but I am still just a man. And a man needs a woman to stand by him, to guide him, to offer him her helping hand when he needs it the most. And for me, you are that woman. You may not be human by your origin, but you are more human than many humans I know. It doesn't matter that under your skin you're made of coltan and circuits, it matters what's inside your soul. Cam … I … I don't want to live another day without you and I'm sure as hell that I can't make anything I'm supposed to without you. Cam … will you accept this ring from me?" During his little speech, he opened the box and now he turned it over to present her a beautiful ring, sitting in the royal blue velvet dressing of the box and sparkling in the candlelight.

If Cameron was astonished before, now she was shocked. Shocked beyond any imagination. Her jaw fell open and in a second her eyes filled with tears, which immediately began to pour down her cheeks. And this time she didn't bother to cry. John asked me to take his ring. He loves me so much that he wants me to carry his ring? For the first time in her existence, Cameron was absolutely speechless. No, speechless wasn't the right expression; she was shocked beyond imagination. There was so much she wanted to tell him, but she found it completely impossible to speak. Her throat was completely tightened and no words could come out of it.

She gazed into John's expectant, yet slightly insecure eyes, tears obscuring her view. In that moment she knew that there was only one answer possible. She nodded vigorously and launched herself at John, snaking her arms around him and hugging him so tightly that she had to remind herself that he was just a fragile human and that she could easily hurt him. Hurting her John? Absolutely unimaginable! His arms appeared around her back as out of nowhere and squeezed her tighter than ever before. Upon feeling them, Cameron gasped and tightened her embrace for a second before she forcefully restrained herself.

They remained hugged tightly for few seconds until Cameron finally brought her systems under control and asked in a husky voice: "John? Are you asking me to marry you?" She tried to find any other explanation why would John want to give her a ring and found none. And she had to know if she was right.

John gulped in embarrassment for not saying it directly without her incitement and looked directly into her sparkling eyes: "Yes, Cam, I am. I would very much like to marry you." He paused and continued: "If you will say yes, that is. I can only hope that you do and that I'll live up to your expectations."

Cameron grabbed his upper arms, shook him like a ragged doll, squeaked in delight and cried happily: "YES! YES, you silly human! I will marry you!" She pulled back a little to look into John's face, grabbed his head in both of her hands and crashed her lips onto his, making John quite stunned over her reaction. She never before allowed her eagerness, her love come to expression so wildly. Her lips on his and her tongue, fighting for the entrance to his mouth sent him in a dazed state and he couldn't respond differently.

The kiss was demanding and passionate and it lasted longer than any kiss they shared before. After they finally broke it, John was out of breath and panted heavily while Cameron's eyes gazed at him glassily, blue light glowing behind her irises, proving that she was lost in her emotions too. They just sat there for a second, before Cameron realized she should take the ring from John's hand. He was still holding the box and she eagerly reached for it, before stopping in the midair. She looked into John's eyes as if asking him if it was OK to take the ring. John was already starting to nod as he remembered that he should take it and put it on her finger. After all … she accepted it and it was only right that he slipped it on her slender finger.

He hastily pulled the ring out of the box, tossed the box behind his back and grabbed Cameron's outstretched hand. He carefully aimed the ring for her finger and slipped it on effortlessly. It's the right size! Fantastic!

Cameron allowed him to slip the ring on her finger and after he did it, she lifted her hand with outstretched fingers to admire the ring, her John just gave her. In the center a purple diamond sparkled, flanked by two small white ones, all intricately inlaid in the white gold structure that seemed like woven out of thin strands. "It's beautiful, John." She breathed and turned her longing look back to John.

John grinned proudly: "I'm glad you like it." Then he saw how Cameron's face darkened slightly. "Is something wrong Cam?" His heart almost skipped a beat, fearing that she might have changed her answer.

"Sarah and Derek." Cameron stated as if it was the most obvious thing. "They will not accept me as your fiancée. They will most probably be against it." Cameron's face fell as she remembered what awaited them after John's mother and uncle find out about their engagement.

John cupped her cheeks and pulled her into another kiss, this time full of tenderness. After pulling back, he leaned his forehead against hers, smiled a little as he saw her eyes going cross as she focused on his too and said quietly: "I don't care what they or anyone else for that matter say. I love you, you love me and we want to get married. Period. This decision is not open for discussion."

Cameron felt relieved a bit. She knew that it almost surely won't be as simple as John said, but she knew that John would fight for her, fight for his right to be happy with her, fight for her to be happy with him. Then she remembered something else. "John?" After he nodded into her head that he was listening, she continued: "You're too young to get married." She gazed at him with those big innocent eyes that made her so adorable, so irresistible, her head tilted slightly.

John chuckled at her: "Well, technically I could get married if my mom would agree. You, on the other hand, could be a problem. I don't know who would act as your parent. We'll just have to marry … differently. I do have some ideas, but we'll see about them later. Now I just want to make sure you wouldn't run away with someone else, maybe some secret admirer."

Cameron giggled at the thought. Then she kissed his cheek lightly: "I will never leave you John. I will always stay with you and I will always love you."

John's eyes got slightly misty: "And I will love you forever, Cam."

Their lips met again and this time it became more demanding. Their hands roamed over each other's naked skin greedily, bodies reacting to the ministrations like they did the night before. Before they even realized, John's trunks and Cameron's bikini were strewn outside the whirlpool and they explored each other's body with their hands and their soul.

Cameron suddenly tensed and as John pulled back from kissing the crook of her neck with a little frown, she panted: "I don't think they'd appreciate us making love in here." Great! Now I'm panting like I really would be in the need of breathing! Must be the emotional shock.

"Well, screw them! I know that they change the water after each visit and it's actually none of their business after all." John wouldn't be denied the opportunity to make love to his girlfriend in the Jacuzzi.

Cameron wasn't completely convinced, but, like so often in these last days, her emotions got the upper hand, defeated her logic and she gave in to John's caressing, surrendered to his kisses, growing more demanding with each passing second. Very soon they were both lost in their emotions again. Very soon they consumed their love again.

TBC