Hi guys,
Thanks to reviewers olischulu, Steel_Dragon_64, TCandBTVSluver, ElusiveSanity, kaotic2, darkfinder, Lariun, lee443, LoT56, Sasha Starr, XxDeathStarxX, CloudyShadows, Dragon_Seraphin, EvilTheLast and Nyrki.
For once in her life, Sarah appreciated being the Terminator hunter for a change, if only for a short while. Amy certainly was elusive. She'd only walked out of the door less than two minutes ago to start her patrol and yet Sarah could find no signs of her. While it was true that she could take any shape she wanted, Sarah also knew that the enigma that was Amy always preferred to remain in her little girl form, as evidenced by her unhappy grumbling when forced to mimic the back seat of Derek's truck.
After a complete sweep of the surrounding area of the house, Sarah's attention was distracted by a squeak of metal on metal. She halted her movements so she could listen. There it was again, and again. Every second or so, the sound of rusted metal squeaking against more metal. Given that Terminators didn't rust, Sarah ventured towards the sound not quite knowing what to expect. She rounded the back of the house, following the noise as it grew louder. Eventually she came to the overgrown back garden that she'd made a pact with herself to mow today. Giving the area a cursory once over and instinctively checking her angles of entry, Sarah stepped further on to the lawn and locked in on the sound coming from the far end, furthest from the house.
Long neglected, the location of the sound was shrouded in overhanging tree branches and untamed shrubbery. Sarah felt like Alice heading down the rabbit hole with every step she took. She'd never ventured this far in to the garden, preferring of course to remain near the house on the odd occasion she did venture out. She had no doubts that both Cameron and Amy had scouted the perimeter in detail, but Sarah had never felt the need to explore.
Using the back of her hand to push a branch out of her way and to hold it back to prevent it slapping her in the face, Sarah pressed forward through the relative wilderness. The squeaking was right on top of her. She rounded a naturally formed corner and discovered the source of the noise, an old rusted swing set. Of course, the kids bedrooms. They must have set up this area for their kids and it was simply forgotten about when the previous occupants moved out. Sarah's eyes trailed all along the rusted metal frame and down the chains of the one seat that was swinging. Her heart clenched when she saw a small eight year old blond girl perched forlornly on the plastic seat, gently swinging as if it brought her some small comfort.
Amy looked up from her apparent inspection of her hands and saw Sarah standing over her with a concerned expression on her face. Without a word, Amy looked away and grabbed hold of the chains either side of her head and stared straight in to the dark trees ahead. Why anyone would set up this slightly scary area for kids to play in was something of a mystery to Sarah, the surrounding area was the stuff of nightmares as far as she was concerned.
Sarah, still in bare feet carefully padded around to the other side of Amy and took a seat gingerly on the spare swing. Lowering herself down slowly, she made sure that the seat would take her weight before allowing herself to sink down on to it properly. She looked to her left to find Amy staring at her, as if her behaviour was somehow fascinating. At Sarah's look however, Amy turned her head to stare straight ahead again. Sarah matched her gaze and lifted her feet up off the ground a couple of inches and allowed herself to swing gently. Sarah couldn't help but smile at the small sense of childlike joy it brought her, after all, who didn't enjoy a child's swing set, whether they were willing to admit it or not.
"What do you want Sarah?" Amy asked, out of the blue and in a commanding tone.
The unusually harsh voice startled Sarah a little. Amy's usually sweet and soft voice was replaced by a voice she recognised very well. The voice of someone deeply troubled and upset. Whether it was a human or lately a machine voice she couldn't help but recognise it as something akin to her own over the last eighteen years.
"I just um…are you alright? You haven't said a word since the desert" she asked, concern deeply laced in her voice.
Amy turned towards Sarah and fixed her with her patented 'come on, seriously?' look.
"Why do you care?" Amy asked while looking ahead and in a distinctly unpleasant tone.
Sarah hesitated, she didn't really know why she cared, all she knew was that she did. She had to admit, she didn't know when she started caring about this little machine, but one thing she knew was that seeing her this miserable made herself miserable as a result. Sarah reached out and twirled the end of one of Amy's pigtails around her finger, earning herself a shrug and a glare from Amy.
Sighing, Sarah settled her hand back on the chain of her swing. "I don't know why I care. To be honest it scares me that I do. But…you were nice to me when I was sad, so, I'm trying to be nice to you"
Wow, now Sarah was surprised by her own tenderness concerning Amy. For her part, Sarah went beet red as Amy turned to face her with a sceptical look on her face. Not saying anything, she merely arched an eyebrow and turned back to face nothing again.
"Look, all I know is that something's bothering you. Are you going to tell me what it is?"
Shaking her head defiantly, Amy abruptly stood and made to leave the small clearing they were in. "No" she said over her shoulder.
"Amy, wait" Sarah said, standing up to follow her out from under the trees. She pushed her way out the way she came in, cursing under her breath about overgrown shrubbery. She caught up to her in the relative garden of eden that was their lawn and placed a hand on her shoulder to halt her determined march towards the house. Amy felt the contact and shrugged her off again, stopping to glare up at Sarah dangerously as she did.
"What?" Amy asked, quite clearly not happy about anything this morning.
Taken aback by her outburst, Sarah steeled herself. "Let me do something to cheer you up" she offered.
Amy's face almost involuntarily changed to one of delight for the briefest moment before she remembered she was supposed to be upset. Her face reverted to its sour mask, but it was enough for Sarah to know she was on to something.
"No, I don't need cheering up, I'm fine" Amy replied as she stomped off towards the house again.
Smiling to herself, Sarah nonchalantly followed. "Fine, but I need to go out later. I might be going somewhere very dangerous…" she smirked, and it came through in her voice "…I might need protecting"
Amy stopped in her tracks, was Sarah really going down this route?
"Take Cameron with you" she reasoned, not taking another step forward just yet.
Sarah scoffed. "Oh please, she'll be too busy screwing my son's brains out to come with me…" she paused and smirked "…I guess I'll just have to go alone"
Despite her desire to mope some more, she couldn't defy her self appointed mission. She turned to face a deadly serious looking Sarah.
Releasing a very human sounding sigh, Amy tilted her head to the side. "Where are we going?"
What in the hell just happened?
As John stood at the kitchen counter making a turkey sandwich almost on autopilot, he let his mind wander. Invariably it wandered to the conversation he'd just been a part of with Cameron and his mother. It was almost surreal to him, as was the way he'd wandered out to the kitchen, pulled out the ingredients and started on the sandwich. For all he knew he could be putting slices of raw bacon on the bread instead of the turkey he'd intended. As the conversation turned over and over in his mind, he didn't hear Cameron and her cat like approach as he sliced through the sandwich with a large knife.
"John"
"Dammit"
He pulled his hands away from what he was doing and caught sight of the blood trickling from about half way up his left index finger. In his daze, the shock of her entrance had caused him to slip and slice in to his finger by accident. He dropped the knife and immediately stuffed the side of his finger in his mouth in a vain effort to stop the bleeding. Cameron meanwhile had sauntered over to him as if nothing was amiss. She examined the situation and reached up to take his finger out of his mouth. She grabbed a nearby towel to dry his finger off before placing the pad of her thumb over the wound.
"What are you doing?" he asked, obviously unsure as to what she was doing.
She responded by pressing down on the wound with a vice like grip, so hard in fact that the tip of his finger turned white, it felt like his bones were about to snap.
"Applying pressure…hold still"
John nodded while trying not to wince in obvious discomfort. After a few moments, she removed her thumb and examined the wound. As blood flow began to return to his finger, she was satisfied that she'd stopped the bleeding. John tilted his finger to admire her handiwork and he had to admit, that was the fastest he'd ever seen bleeding stemmed. He watched as she reached in to the cabinet under the sink and pulled out a med kit. John held out his finger as she placed a bandaid on it and secured it. To his surprise and delight, she placed a tiny kiss over the bandaid and smiled at him. There were a few ways of making John feel like a kid again that he actually appreciated, and this was one of them.
He leaned back on the counter as he watched Cameron put the supplies away. As he was admiring her bending over to put the kit back under the sink, Amy walked in through the back door closely followed by his mother. One looked happy and the other looked pissed off, for once it wasn't the way you'd expect. Amy practically stomped right through the house, not stopping to acknowledge anyone as she made her way out of the front door, closing it behind her with a slam. Sarah meanwhile hovered around, at least taking the time to give a curt nod Cameron's way and walk over to her son. She took immediate notice of the bandaid on his finger and lifted it up to inspect it closer.
"What happened?" there was no accusation, or threat of her taking her wrath out on something, just an inquiry.
"Oh, uh, I cut myself making your sandwich, Cameron took care of it"
Sarah looked past him to the sandwich.
"Oh yeah. You have it, I'm not all that hungry. We're heading out, be back later…"
She leaned forward and kissed John on his forehead.
"…Remember my rules okay" she warned with a glance in Cameron's direction.
"Yes, mother" John rolled his eyes, much to Sarah's annoyance and she had to admit, slight amusement.
John watched Sarah walk away and out of the house before his eyes settled on Cameron who had silently observed the entire mother son exchange. She tilted her head inquisitively, letting John know there was something she either didn't understand or wanted clarifying.
"What?" he enquired.
She took a couple of steps forward to close the gap between them.
"You mother isn't eating well" she observed.
John, rather surprisingly and spontaneously reached out and pulled her in to a hug. She flowed in to his arms and laid her head on his shoulder, confused as to the meaning behind the hug, but willing to accept it anyway. John laid his chin on her head and stroked her back. Just why he'd felt the sudden need to hug her he didn't know, he just knew he wanted her in his arms.
"I know…" he said with his chin still resting on her head "…I've known for a while"
Hearing the slight quiver in his voice, Cameron chose not to pursue the subject. Instead she tugged him closer and held him tighter for a long few moments. She felt John shift his head so his cheek was laying on top of her head. Seeking to lighten his mood, she changed the subject with an out of the blue question.
"John, when are you going to take me out?"
Despite his train of thought, John chuckled at the non sequitur.
"What?"
"The last time you took me out was several weeks ago, and I recall that you ruined the date by asking me about the future"
John pulled back from the hug to look at her with a highly confused expression.
"Yeah, I remember…" John's brow knit together in confusion "…You mean you want to go out on a date again?"
"Yes" she replied, unsure as to the reason why she wouldn't.
"But, why? It's not like you enjoyed the last time" he reasoned.
Cameron pulled back from the hug and separated from him properly.
"I did enjoy it up until you spoiled it. Besides, we're a couple now, I believe we should partake in couple like activities"
"Well, yeah. I guess I just thought that going on dates wasn't really your thing"
She shrugged, a very human gesture she'd been picking up a lot of lately.
"I don't particularly, but you said you wanted me to partake in everything a relationship had to offer. You were referring to sex, but why shouldn't I experience everything else?"
Sound reasoning John thought, he was still just a little surprised she actually wanted to be taken out. But then again, she'd already dragged him shopping several times, as far as he was concerned they may as well already have been married.
"Alright, I'll uh, I'll take you out some time. Go see a movie or something" he said, nodding more to convince himself than her.
"When?" she asked, looking more eager than he anticipated.
"Um, I dunno, some time. To be honest I'm surprised mom's even letting us out on dates. Do you think those rules were a little harsh?"
Cameron took a step forward, stood on her tip toes and kissed him lightly on the lips. She sank back down and smiled sweetly at him.
John frowned at her sudden actions, confused as to what she was thinking.
"What was that for?" he asked warily.
She leaned forward again, this time putting her lips close to his ear.
"All rules can be bent John" she whispered huskily, her breath tickling his ear lobe.
John watched as she turned on her heel and walked away from him towards the stairs. She chose to walk in a way that seemed to accent her features perfectly. The skin tight jeans helped too. John followed behind her like an obedient little puppy, almost tripping over a chair leg on his way. He just about caught up to her when they reached the bottom step. Just as his hand reached out, almost of its own accord to do a little exploring, the front door opened and he found himself suddenly behind a very alert looking Cameron. He peered out from behind her to find a very happy with himself looking Derek, casually walking in and looking around.
Derek's eyes eventually found the slightly comical sight of John looking rather flushed and Cameron looking like she was ready to rip someones head off.
"Um, hi?" he said, not quite sure what to make of the scene before him.
John made his way past his girlfriend, slightly embarrassed at being caught, not in the act, but the way he was sure they looked would have suggested that was what was happening.
"Hey Derek…" he greeted, trying to look and sound nonchalant "…what brings you here? Haven't seen you around in a while"
Now it was Derek's turn to look a little uncomfortable. He plunged his hands in to his pockets and shuffled from one foot to the other.
"I've, uh, been busy. Anyway, um…" oh how Derek didn't want to ask the next question "…Do you know where, um…Amy is?"
Cameron tilted her head.
John almost collapsed.
Both understandable reactions to Derek's question. For him to be asking the whereabouts of his little metal nemesis was unthinkable. The little girl who'd made it her mission to annoy him, the fact that she was metal was almost secondary in that regard.
Seeing that John was in no state to speak, Cameron spoke with her head still tilted inquisitively.
"She left with Sarah a few minutes ago. Why do you wish to know where she is?"
Derek rubbed the back of his neck subconsciously and averted his eyes like an embarrassed little schoolboy.
"I uh, just wanted to ask her something" he said, trying not to glance at a bemused looking John.
"What did you wish to ask her? Perhaps I could help" Cameron asked with a hint of a smile.
"Uh, no, it's fine. Do you know when they'll be back?" Derek did his best not to stutter, why did she have to be gone? The one time he actually needed the help of metal and he ends up with the wrong one.
"Sarah said they'll be back later, she didn't specify when"
"Oh, okay then. I uh, needed to work on my truck anyway. Sarah has some tools in the garage and I uh, I'll just uh, be out there. You know, if you need me" he said, clearly trying to put a brave face on his mission to find Amy and to cover his disappointment at not being able to find her. Now he'd have to wait to find out if his suspicions were true, something which might not be able to wait.
"Wouldn't have to fix the damn thing if it weren't for her anyway…" he grumbled to himself as he turned away.
"Very well" Cameron said with a nod as she watched Derek walk out of the house the way he came in. She turned to John who had remained oddly quiet through the whole conversation.
"What, the hell, was that about? Since when has Derek even acknowledged Amy's existence, never mind wanted to talk to her?" John asked, quite clearly baffled at Derek's strange behaviour.
"I don't know. But I do believe we were in the middle of something" she said with a tiny smile as she brushed past him and walked up the stairs.
John followed, still in somewhat of a daze about the whole crazy day he was having.
Wow, amazing, that gets better every time. Admittedly, they'd only done it three times, but damn, that girl knew how to make him feel good. As John lay back, breathing heavily with his fingers idly stroking Cameron's side, he couldn't help but wonder if it was pre-programmed or if she just learned and improved based on his reactions.
"You know, mom would throw a fit if she knew we just broke her rules like half an hour after she laid them out for us right?"
He chuckled as she draped an arm and a leg over him.
"Technically we didn't break any rules John" she replied as she settled in to a position that she was sure wouldn't hurt him.
"How do you figure that?" he asked with a frown, he was pretty sure they'd just violated all of Sarah's new rules.
"Sarah said I had a bedtime, and that I had to be in my own bed, not yours by a certain time…" she looked up at him and fixed him with her 'I'm deadly serious' stare "…It's day time, and we're in my bed. We haven't broken any rules"
John couldn't help but smirk. He pinched her side playfully before snuggling her in closer.
"Well aren't you a devious little thing. I wondered why you agreed to her terms so quickly"
She actually looked offended.
"I'm not devious…" she said defensively "…like I said, we didn't break any rules. I wouldn't like to irritate Sarah any more than is required…she was surprisingly understanding about us" she said, sounding deep in thought.
She was right and John knew it. At the time he was totally surprised and shell shocked that Sarah Connor had basically said she was okay with her son, the saviour of humanity, sleeping with a machine designed and programmed to kill him. It didn't make any sense. Either she'd finally flipped and needed to be carted back to Pescadero, or something had changed her mind about Cameron. He had a sneaking suspicion he owed Amy a thank you card on that one. Since she'd came back his mom certainly had seemed to lighten up and take a back seat more to his decisions. It was almost as if she'd finally realised that they were never going to stop Judgement Day and had decided to allow him to take the lead like he was one day supposed to.
Letting him Leave with Cameron to meet with John Henry and Weaver was proof of that. The old Sarah Connor would probably have followed them with enough C4 to make even Derek blush. But now it seemed like for once in his life she was ready to let him go and finally start trusting him, even though she would always be his mother and as such felt it was her responsibility to embarrass the living hell out of him with their little chat. Laying down those rules like that and asking him if they were being safe made John feel like he was five years old again, but deep down he knew it was born out of her never ending concern for his safety and wellbeing. At the end of the day she was still his mother and still loved him, even if she had a hard time letting her baby boy go.
Apparently he'd been pondering and thinking about it for so long that his hand had stopped its movement up and down Cameron's side. Apparently she was enjoying the small gesture as she took immediate notice when he stopped.
"John? What's wrong?" she asked, concern apparent in her tone.
Sighing, John resumed his comforting movement, this time using only one fingertip to idly draw from her hip up to the swell of her breast and back down again.
"I dunno, I guess I'm just thinking about this whole situation with mom. I guess I'm a little worried about her" he shrugged to emphasise his point.
"Why? She has accepted our relationship…" she hesitated "…I thought that's what you wanted?"
Sensing the unease at her last statement, John pulled her closer to him in an attempt to reassure her.
"It is what I wanted, I love you, I want to be with you…"
"Then what is it?" she asked, feeling better with his reassurance.
He paused for a moment as he realised the gravity of what he was thinking.
"I'm all she's ever had. With Judgement Day coming up, and now this, me and you, Weaver and John Henry. I think she's just a little lost. It's almost like she doesn't have anything to focus on at the minute…" he paused as his voice faltered slightly "…I'm worried about her"
Cameron didn't quite know how to respond to that. She felt it was sound reasoning on his part. From what she knew of Sarah Connor from her own personal experiences with the woman and from the stories told to her by future John, Cameron had her own concerns about her. The fact that she hadn't indeed immediately reached for the thermite when she learned the truth about her son's new relationship was indeed a source of great confusion for Cameron. Still, seeking to reassure her John like he'd done for her a moment ago, she dropped a small kiss on his chest and recalled an earlier conversation.
"I think your mother will be fine. I believe Amy is helping her in that regard"
Johns brow creased in confusion, so much so that he once again stopped the movement of his fingers.
"How so?"
Huffing in annoyance at the lack of contact, Cameron laid her chin on his chest and looked up at him.
"Sarah asked me a question earlier about Amy. She asked what she likes to do for fun, how to cheer her up. I don't recall Sarah ever asking about what I like to do for fun. I believe Sarah is more fond of Amy than she is willing to admit"
John chuckled "Yeah, I guess she does kinda like her. Like the little sister I never had"
A sudden thought occurred to John.
"So, are you okay with how all this turned out? I just thought you were kinda nervous through all of that" he asked, resuming his tender ministrations.
Cameron laid her head back down on his chest and allowed it to rise and fall in time with his breathing, taking an odd sense of pleasure in it.
"Sarah Connor's acceptance is important to our relationship, without it, I'm not sure how we would have continued"
"We'd have found a way…" he said, sounding more confident in that statement than he actually was "…right?"
"I'm not so sure. What Sarah wants, Sarah usually gets. If she'd said no, I believe we'd have had no choice but to break off our relationship"
John looked down at her incredulously.
"Really, after all that we've…after I…told you I love you?"
She smiled against his chest and kissed him, running her hand over his chest again.
"No, I was joking. You really are too gullible John, we'll need to work on that" she deadpanned.
John meanwhile flapped his jaw while attempting to make sounds. Apparently unable to accomplish that simple task, he settled for allowing his head to slump back down on to the pillow and tangled his fingers in her soft hair.
He couldn't help but wonder where she got her sense of humour from, because it certainly was wicked and growing even more so all the time. He also considered what else was developing with his girlfriend. Her emotional range was certainly growing, as were her 'instincts' on how to please him. If only he had that ability. To the best of his recollection, she didn't scream his name in pleasure, or snap the headboard in half. Sure she'd shivered, smiled, and even let out the occasional moan. But somehow it wasn't enough for him.
"John, are you alright?" Cameron asked as she shifted her head on his chest.
"I'm fine…" he replied "…so, did you um…was it uh…"
Suck it up John.
"…Was that any better for you?" he asked, suddenly overcome with embarrassment.
Laying a gentle kiss on his skin and running her fingertips through his chest hair, Cameron looked up at him and smiled warmly.
"I enjoyed certain aspects more. The increased duration and speed of movements were certainly more stimulating than before"
"Anything else?" he asked, encouraged by two things, first his ability to last longer, and second that she took increased enjoyment out of it.
She paused her movements to consider his question for a moment.
"I enjoyed that new position we tried. I believe it was called do…" she didn't get a chance to finish her statement as John cut her off.
"Awesome, so you think we're on the right track?" he asked while blushing.
Confused by his embarrassment over her words considering they were both lying naked tangled in the sheets, Cameron nodded against his chest and answered.
"Yes, I believe that my increased pleasure is a direct result of the increased pace"
John smiled, apparently he was heading in the right direction in his mission to bring Cameron to orgasm. Now if only he could work out a way of increasing his pace while lasting longer, he'd be golden. If only the whole male race hadn't been working on that one since sex was first invented he'd have been encouraged by his progress. But still, he resolved to persevere. He liked a challenge if nothing else, he only hoped he'd be able to stay awake during the daytime from now on.
Sarah had to hand it to Amy, when she was in a bad mood, she really was in a bad mood. There was no mimicry about this machine, no simulations, no pretending. Amy was in a foul mood and clearly didn't want to be in the Jeep with Sarah, in fact she looked like she didn't really want to be anywhere with anyone at that moment. Sarah could only hope that her plan worked.
She pulled the Jeep to a stop, switched off the engine and unbuckled her seatbelt. She looked over to Amy who appeared to have no clue where they were or that they'd stopped. The former being due to her lack of height seeing over the door and out of the window. Sarah fought the urge to reach out towards her, instead she settled back in her seat.
"Hey, we're here. You ready to protect me?" she asked with a smile.
Seeing only a shrug by way of reply, Sarah rolled her eyes and stepped out of the Jeep. She made her way around to the passenger side door and opened it. Amy looked up at the sight of the door opening and stared at Sarah. Rolling her eyes again, Sarah tossed her head in the direction behind her.
"Come on"
Amy sighed and unbuckled her seat belt. She hopped down out of the car and watched as Sarah shut the door behind her. She let out a deep breath as she walked around the front of the Jeep with Sarah.
"Alright, what was so important and dangerous? What did you need me to protect…you…from?"
Amy's voice faltered as she rounded the Jeep and took in the sights and sounds before her. She whirled around to face Sarah with a disbelieving expression. She moved her jaw but no words came out, instead she chose to turn back to watch as the many kids of different ages ran freely around the play park.
She watched as one boy slid down a plastic slide, she watched another on a swing set in better working condition than their own. She examined a couple of girls playing with their dolls, cross legged in the grass and she watched a small boy endeavouring to bury his arm in the sandpit. All in all, it looked like her own small version of heaven.
She felt something bump in to her from behind. Not bothering to look to see what it was, she allowed herself to be gently nudged forwards by an insistent Sarah. She gingerly approached the edge of the grass area and stepped on to it, not quite sure how to act. Sarah knelt down behind her and gently but firmly pushed her away towards the other kids.
"Go, play, have fun"
Amy didn't look back as she slowly made her way over to the swing set. She cautiously approached, suddenly wary of her surroundings. She ran a hand along the frame, seeming to just take in its appearance and feel. Catching the eye of the boy on the other swing, she smiled hesitantly. The boy replied in kind, almost as if giving a nod of encouragement to her. Amy slowly moved around and sat on the swing.
Sarah watched and couldn't help but smile as she watched Amy start to propel herself forward and back on the swing set. For a long few moments she simply ignored the fact that the little girl was in fact made of liquid metal and allowed herself to partake in the fantasy of Amy being her little girl.
She took a seat on a nearby picnic table, making sure she sat away from the other parents visiting the park with their kids. She watched Amy swing with a smile on her face as she laughed with the other boy, inadvertently getting herself in to a 'who can swing higher' contest. Sarah had no doubts as to who the winner would be and made her way over to a nearby stand selling drinks and bought herself a soda. By the time she'd settled herself back down in to her seat, Amy had moved on to the slide and was currently scrapping with another boy almost twice her size over who got to go first. Once again, Sarah didn't doubt the outcome of that dispute.
Sarah sat and allowed herself to relax for a while, a rare luxury in her life, but she didn't doubt for a moment that if there were a threat that Amy would recognise it and come to her aid. Since the revelation of her true mission, Sarah couldn't help but feel a little better about her life. Despite the fact that she continued to be ill on a regular basis, she herself would admit that she had been happier lately. With Judgement Day looming, and the inevitable fact that she would eventually have to watch her John become the man that would lead the human race to ultimate victory, Sarah felt safe in the knowledge that he now had at least three people to watch his back should the worst happen to her. Derek would always be there for her son. Whether he showed it often or not, he would always be the first to throw himself in front of a bullet for John Connor. That is unless Cameron beat him to it first.
On the subject of John's future bride, Sarah had to admit that her opinion of the machine girl had changed recently. Not only had she learned to accept that Cameron was no ordinary Terminator, but she had also came to recognise that she wasn't in fact a Terminator any more at all, she was so much more. Not only had her son seen fit to fall in love with her, but evidently she was trying her hardest to feel the same way about John. Being a mother, she could tell from the reactions of teenagers what they were really thinking. Cameron may be a machine approximation of a teenager, but she was still designed and programmed to act like one. When she'd asked her if she was capable of loving John, she'd hesitated and averted her gaze, something she never normally did. But the way she looked at John also told her that she cared deeply for him. Whether she didn't know how to love or even what it was, Sarah was sure she would get there eventually.
She also didn't doubt that they would find a way around her rules. After all, one of them is a horny teenager and the other is a cyborg who worships the ground he walks on. It was inevitable that they would continue to have sex, but Sarah still felt like she had to be a parent and at least try to stop them from getting it on under her roof.
If she was honest, the only reason she'd allowed them the freedom to continue the relationship was because of the fact that Amy was now taking on Cameron's old patrol routes anyway. As part of her mission to protect Sarah, she'd noticed her wandering around the perimeter of their house late at night. Mistaking it for her protecting John, she'd never thought anything more of it. While it allowed Cameron the freedom to spend the nights where she felt like it, Sarah herself felt safer with Amy out there. Besides, from the looks of it, Amy liked being out there alone in the wilderness. She had a weird one with nature thing going on when she was out there alone.
Sarah looked up to see Amy skipping over towards her with a beaming smile on her face. Checking her watch, Sarah discovered that almost an hour had passed. She examined Amy as she came towards her. The front of her dress was smeared with what she assumed with mud, she had sand in her hair and her hands and face were spattered with yet more mud. She looked like a real child, a child not weighed down by any cares in the world. She skipped over and settled on to the bench across from Sarah.
"Hi" she said with a wide grin on her face.
Sarah couldn't help but smile at her expression, she looked so happy and satisfied.
"Hi. Did you have fun?" she asked through her smile.
"Yeah, thanks for bringing me Sarah" she said as she rubbed her hands together to try and remove some of the mud.
"You're welcome…" Sarah watched her hands and frowned "…Why don't you just um, you know, get rid of the mud another way?"
"Were out in public, come on Sarah" she said with a roll of her eyes.
Sarah gave a half hearted glare in Amy's direction when something caught her eye.
"What's that?" she asked while nodding towards Amy and pointing at her own chest. She'd seen something gold glimmer underneath Amy's dress around the neckline.
Amy stopped rubbing her hands and looked down underneath her dress. At first she tried to conceal the necklace, but since Sarah had already noticed it decided to give up on that plan. Instead, she sighed and held out her hand. Sarah watched as the gold disappeared, melted in to her skin and reappeared in her outstretched hand. The necklace dangled and blew around in the soft breeze. Sarah's eyes trailed down its length to find, rather curiously, a gold cross hanging from the end of it.
Sarah peered at the jewellery, putting aside her initial squeamishness about Amy's choice of method of how to transfer it to her hands. It was a simple adornment, nothing more than a plain gold cross, but the apparent meaning behind it carried so much more weight than its appearance. Amy extended her arm and offered the chain to Sarah who gave her an 'are you sure?' look. At Amy's nod, Sarah took the offered chain, not caring that it was actually a part of Amy's body that she'd detached. How it remained in its current form wasn't worth thinking about for Sarah and quite frankly, she didn't want to.
"It's my cross" Amy stated simply.
"Yeah, I can see that…" Sarah nodded as she examined the chain "…I uh, I gotta ask…"
"Why do I wear a cross?"
At Sarah's nod, Amy continued.
"Have you ever noticed I leave the house often?"
"Uh, I guess"
"Whenever I leave the house, that's where I go"
"To church?" Sarah asked, quite unsure as to what she was hearing.
"Yeah, church. In the future, we only had a room that was turned in to a makeshift chapel. I'd never been to a real church before I was sent back…" she hesitated for a moment as she thought about her past "…I like it. Nobody here judges me for what I believe"
"What do you believe?" Sarah asked, a hint of sympathy creeping in to her voice.
Amy sighed and folded her arms and placed them on the picnic table.
"I believe that there is something bigger than anything we do. Before you, me, Skynet, humans, animals, the Earth, even the universe even existed there had to be something there, something that started it all. When I go to worship in the church, I don't pray to a guy with a beard sitting on a cloud. I say my prayers to whatever power is up there" she finished with a shrug, as if saying all that meant nothing to her.
Sarah meanwhile wasn't sure what to think. Not only was a machine capable of worship and prayer, but one had chosen to worship something based purely on science, something that it could truly believe in. She idly wondered if Skynet thought of itself as some form of god, giving life to vast armies of machines. If that was true then Amy was a heretic of sorts by choosing her own beliefs over those programmed in to her.
"I uh…" Sarah started before Amy cut her off.
"You want to know why I believe in what I do? How a machine can believe in such things?" Amy said with no accusation, despite that, Sarah still felt uncomfortable and guilty when she nodded.
"Sarah, I assume you've had a near death experience. In fact, I know you have. You also know that I have…" she paused and looked around as a little girl ran past squealing as she was chased by a boy. He eventually caught her and kissed her cheek, causing them both to blush "…Going through that makes you think about things. I'm sure you went through the same. You reconsider what you believe in, but at least you have a perfectly healthy brain. My brain…isn't. I shouldn't believe what I do, all I know is that I do, and this is my way of showing it" she added, nodding towards the cross which Sarah still held in her hand.
Sarah didn't know how to react, so she settled for a sympathetic smile while watching the two children Amy had been watching walk back past them holding hands shyly.
"So that's why you went a little…quiet after the arms deal?" Sarah asked quite tentatively.
Amy nodded solemnly, thinking back to that moment, and all the emotion coursing through her mind as she skewered the goon between the eyes.
"Thou shalt not kill" she said with a shrug, as if that explained it all.
Sarah considered her statement, Amy regretted killing the man.
"Repentance" Sarah added with a nod.
"I killed him without any mercy, I heard you yell when you were hit. I thought you were dead…I snapped. I could have killed him in combat, I could have snapped his neck, made it painless. But I chose for him to suffer"
Before Sarah had a chance to consider her words, Amy spoke again.
"Would you like to go to church with me?" Amy asked out of the blue.
"Would I…no, it's your thing, I'd just…"
"Please?" Amy asked, no hint of playfulness, just a simple plea.
After a long few moments consideration, Sarah stood and walked around behind her. She unhooked the clasp of the chain and threaded it around her neck and joined it together again. Amy reached up and tucked the cross back under her dress and smiled up at Sarah gratefully.
"Come on, let's go" Sarah said, holding her hand out for Amy to take.
"Where are we going?" Amy asked as she took Sarah's hand and hopped down off the bench.
"Church" Sarah replied with a smile.
Disclaimer: I'm not a religious person. This story will explore religious beliefs in general and those of a machine, Amy. I do not intend to offend anyone, however if you do have a problem with anything I write related to this, please feel free to PM me.
Thanks to Dekardkain for beta reading this and for being awesome as usual. Go read his story, 'Becoming John Connor', seriously, it's good! :)