Hi,
Thanks to reviewers Vintorez, olischulu, darkfinder, XxDeathStarxX, TCandBTVSluver, CloudyShadows, sasha starr, EvilTheLast, Nyrki, greg3952, leex02, kaotic2 and 1080.
Keep going, keep going, you're nearly there, you can do it.
Tearing through the thick woods with his arms tied behind his back, John's breathing was heavy and his entire body pleaded for rest. Never before had he ran so hard and so fast to reach his goal. He fought his way through branches without his arms, he could feel the scratches forming on his face despite the fact he'd lowered it in an attempt to barrel through the foliage.
Sparing a quick glance backwards, he heard more than saw the branches give way as his relentless pursuer continued to gain ground.
As he looked forward, there it was, Derek's truck, his ticket out of there.
He hurdled a fallen tree trunk with little difficulty, climbing one side and prepared to leap off the other to gain any advantage he could. At the last possible moment just before he was about to jump, he heard a branch snap behind him signalling his hunter was closing and he lost his concentration. He'd never seen the ground approaching his face as fast as it was in that moment.
And the day started off so well…
There were many things that could be described as beautiful. A sunset, the sky at night, a cool beer after a long and hot day. But for John, nothing would ever top this, he was certain of that.
He watched on in awe as Cameron was experiencing what could only be described as the intense pleasure that only an orgasm can bring, or rather her equivalent of one.
From the way her brow cinched together and her mouth hung agape between screaming his name, to each and every shiver and movement he felt through their connected bodies, John was sure this was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. As his busy hands explored her body, the relatively flimsy wooden headboard above him creaked and strained in protest under her vice like grip. John gave a silent thanks that she wasn't clinging to his shoulders like that.
As she moaned his name again, her eyes still screwed firmly shut as she rode the waves of her climax, John felt an overwhelming sense of love and pride. He was the only one who could make her feel this way, the only one who could break down her cyborg walls and give her the sensations she was feeling now. A primal urge overtook him and he sat up and buried his head in her chest.
Seeing that she was in no fit state to continue her movements, John cupped her backside and did his best to help her rise and fall as she removed her hands from the headboard and clung to him for dear life. Never before had he felt like such a man, not a boy, a man. Being able to please a woman, any woman in this way was something to be proud of, especially a woman as complex and different as Cameron.
His hard work and effort had finally paid off as he felt her head slump on to his shoulder as her orgasm subsided. The weight of her body forced him backwards and his head crashed back down to the pillow, but he still held her as she recovered from her first ever climax. He lay there and showed remarkable restraint on his part and merely stroked her hair gently until she was ready to continue. As they lay there, still joined, John felt her quivering each time he lazily drew a feather light touch up and down her spine.
Finally she looked up and smiled at him. Looking more satisfied than he'd ever seen her before, she slowly began to rock back and forth, not forgetting about him in the slightest. She trailed a slow and languid line of kisses down his neck and across his chest as she maintained her steady rhythm. John's eyes rolled back in to his head as she increased her pace, it wouldn't be long now.
As John felt his pleasure rising, he opened his eyes to see her beautiful face smiling down at him.
"John?"
Barely registering her saying anything, instead focusing on what he was feeling, John mumbled out a reply.
"Yeah?"
"Wake up"
The next thing he knew he felt something freezing cold surround his groin. His eyes snapped open to find Derek holding an empty bucket over him and looking more than a little disgusted. John however had more important things to focus on as the contents of said bucket were sinking in to his pants at a rapid rate. Ice cold water coming in to contact with one's reproductive organs should never, ever happen under any circumstances. Especially when it's just been dumped on the area by your pissed off looking uncle in an effort to wake you up from your amazing dirty dream.
"GAAAHHHHH!" John exclaimed, all rational thought leaving him the moment his brain had caught up with the nerves down below.
Derek meanwhile stood there, or rather having stood there for a few seconds earlier before leaving immediately to retrieve the instruments of his wake up call. He was in no mood to see his nephew clearly in the middle of a sexual dream first thing in the morning. Hence his choice method of waking him up. Putting out the fires directly, he reasoned.
He was simply going to drag him out of bed by his ankle and dump him on the floor, but after seeing him writhing around in his bed like a horny puppy he changed his mind to something a little more creative.
"Get dressed, put these on" he said as he slung John's combat boots he'd remembered to salvage from the old house down beside his bed.
"Derek, what the hell?"
John had good right to be more than a little dazed and confused. The last thing he knew he was literally giving Cameron the time of her life, now she was nowhere to be found and he had a soaking wet and freezing crotch. That having quickly taken care of his obvious arousal, he focused his eyes on Derek who looked like he'd been awake for hours. He reached over and picked up his phone and squinted at the screen to try and tell the time.
"It's five AM. What's going on?" he asked as he slumped backwards and his head hit the pillow, for real this time.
"Get up, you wanted to be trained right. Well it's a five AM start every morning until you're ready. Now get up, I want you dressed and downstairs in two minutes" with that he left the room without so much as a backward glance.
Letting out a long groan of disapproval, John did as he was told and dragged his tired and wet butt out of bed. Quickly stripping off his soaked pants, he stumbled around a bit in the darkness as his foot got stuck in one of the legs. Oh, if only the human race could see him now. John Connor, their future leader and saviour stumbling around his bedroom with his pants around his ankles with soaking wet nether regions. Skynet would be quaking in its metaphorical boots he was sure.
Eventually after a monumental struggle, John made his way downstairs rather stupidly expecting to find a fried breakfast awaiting him to start his day. Instead he found Derek waiting at the foot of the stairs looking more pissed off than he was upstairs.
"I said two minutes, that was five minutes ago"
"Sooorry"
Apparently five AM starts didn't agree with John, his mood wasn't the best to start off with, it was even worse now.
"Come with me" Derek said bluntly.
Someone fell off the wrong side of the bunk this morning.
Derek lead John out of the front door and stood midway down the path and raised his arm to point down the road.
"Go, run, three miles and then run back"
John looked at Derek like he'd just asked him to stand on his head and spin around.
"How am I going to know when I've ran three miles?" he inquired, really not having any clue how he would know.
"I've asked Amy to stand exactly three miles away, just keep going that way until you see her"
With that, John took off running, shaking off the momentary confusion that Derek had actually managed to get Amy to agree to go and stand three miles away and wait for him. After only a few steps, he caught sight of Cameron returning from her nightly patrol. She'd deemed it enough of a risk with Vasquez out there for her to spend the night outside for security.
John bounded over to her, easily ignoring the way her head tilted to the side in confusion over why he was awake at five AM and out running no less. John thought he saw a flicker of disappointment flash across her face but dismissed it as hopeful thinking. She doesn't like lying next to me that much…does she?
Tossing his thoughts aside, he sidled up next to her and jogged on the spot.
"Good morning" he said in a surprisingly chipper voice considering the time of day. An amazing dream will do that to people.
"Morning John" she replied, baffled by what she was seeing.
"Hey, I said run. Amy won't wait forever" Derek hollered from the path.
With a grin, John planted a hasty kiss on Cameron's cheek and took off running, leaving a very confused cyborg in his wake. Said cyborg slowly walked back up to the house and took up a position beside Derek and turned to watch John disappear from view. She turned to the resistance soldier, but before she could ask anything Amy appeared from the house and squeezed herself in between the pair.
"Where's John going?"
Amy looked on in disgust as Sarah picked up a four pack of plain white underwear, 'granny panties' as they were more commonly referred to and dumped them in her shopping cart. With a frown, she picked it up and flung it to her left, not caring in the slightest where they landed. Sarah looked down at her shopping companion, Cameron having disappeared a long time ago saying something cryptic about finding the perfect bed for her and John, and inquired what Amy was doing with a frown.
"Come on Sarah, if Cameron can take the time to look sexy…" Amy said, standing with her hands on her hips.
"Don't even finish that sentence…you want those bunkbeds right?" she threatened.
With a pout, Amy stuck her tongue out at Sarah. She didn't know why she wanted bunkbeds, but all she knew was she did, and it annoyed her that she did. "You really want someone to see you wearing those granny undies?"
"Well it's not like anyone is going to see them anyway. May as well save some cash for important things like guns and ammo" feeling the conversation over, Sarah reached over and picked up another four pack of the white monstrosities Amy seemed so offended by.
Snatching the pack before they'd even hit the cart, Amy flung them aside and this time watched them land in the same spot as their counterparts. Looking around, her eyes settled on her target and she scanned them to match Sarah's body shape. Taking a few short steps, Amy yanked a pair of frilly, lacy black panties off a hanger and impudently flicked them at Sarah. "We have plenty of guns and ammo, and no one seeing your underwear is kind of the problem, isn't it?"
"Wait, wait, wait. Am I really receiving relationship advice from a machine who thinks she's an eight year old girl?" Sarah asked as she removed the panties from her face and held them in her hand.
"Hey, I may not be human but I've spent a lot of time around them. Enough to know that being a mom doesn't magically halt your sex drive" Amy's hands had returned to her hips. Despite her small stature, she could look quite imposing when she had a bee in her bonnet about something.
"No, but it puts a pretty big dent in it, especially with the two lovebirds right across the hall. That's enough to put anyone off"
Sarah paused for a moment to consider the aforementioned couple. While she had accepted them and their 'love', she also didn't want to accept that her John had found someone else in his life who held as much sway over him as his dear old mother. While she of course wanted him to find happiness, she didn't want to lose him completely.
That was the most prominent reason for her imposing the restrictions on their relationship that she had. He was still her little boy, despite him being pretty much a man, his own man. In her eyes he would always be that little boy she trained in the jungles of Central America, the little boy who learned to fire a gun at the tender age of four.
The more control she could maintain over him, the better it was in her eyes. She knew what was best for him, she was convinced of it, and making sure he didn't rush in to this thing with Cameron was her priority. She never regretted what she did with Kyle, but that did give her a certain perspective on spur of the moment relationships.
Plus she didn't need to hear either screaming or moaning down the hall from her son or her mechanical fake daughter, at least not for a while yet.
Meanwhile Amy had gotten that infuriating little smirk on her face that told her nothing good was about to come. The way she innocently twirled on of her pigtails round her finger didn't help either. "Come on Sarah, how much of that anger has to do with it not being your bed being jumped on?"
Taking a moment to pick her jaw up off the floor, Sarah looked at Amy with an expression of disbelief. "Alright, conversation over. Have you seen Cameron? We need to pay for all this stuff" she asked, referring to her now full cart of household items, including new underwear.
"You're no fun!" Amy said as she hopped on the front of the cart for a free ride. She looked at Sarah with an evil little smile. "Every little girl deserves a daddy you know"
"A little girl needs to know when not to push it" Sarah growled "Where is that girl?" she asked, doing her best to scan the department store for telltale signs of Cameron.
"Come on, Uncie Derek needs a friend his own age" Amy said, continuing to push Sarah. She knew full well where Cameron was, being able to hear the bed springs squeaking from the other side of the store. Evidently Cameron was giving the beds a thorough test before she committed to buying one.
"I think 'Uncie Derek' may already have someone his own age" she said as she started wandering aimlessly looking for Cameron. She had her suspicions about Derek for a while, when else does Derek smell of anything other than gun oil or engine grease unless there's a woman involved. Cologne certainly wasn't this usual scent, neither was wearing a suit, or shaving.
Amy looked a little crestfallen that Sarah might know what she thought was her and Derek's little secret, but then again Sarah knew everything about everyone, or so it seemed. Her mood picked up however when she realised that Sarah knowing could have it's advantages for messing with Uncie Derek later on. "Yeah, a model Sarah. Derek can score a lingerie model and you're telling me you can't even get a date?"
Wow, a lingerie model?
"Hey, I can get a date if I want to, I just choose not to"
"Yeah" Amy said with a less than ladylike snort "How's that workin' out for ya?'
"Well enough" Sarah snapped "Why are you pushing this so much?"
Amy frowned and looked down at her hands, she was only trying to help. "Because everyone else is happy Sarah. Why can't you be?"
"John's alive and happy, that makes me happy. Why do you care so much anyway?"
Amy suddenly felt a little miffed at Sarah's dismissal of her. She should know that she cared for her, in fact she was so miffed she stamped her foot a little. "John is happy because of Cameron. Derek is happy because of his new girlfriend. I care because humans always seem to be better of when they have someone close to them like that" she paused and spoke in a softer voice "You're making yourself miserable for no reason Sarah"
"I have John, that's enough" she answered in a quiet voice.
Deciding to go for broke, Amy seized her opportunity. "And John has Cameron now. I'd say that frees you up a bit"
Sarah had enough and stopped in her tracks, she didn't like Amy probing so close to the mark like that. "You need to stop pushing this alright. If and when I'm ready I'll do something about it. Thank you for your concern. You're supposed to be my protector, not my mom"
Sarah carried on her path, leaving a forlorn looking Amy to trudge after her. Her mood was improved however when Sarah rounded a corner and stopped in her tracks. She slid up next to her to the sight of Cameron bouncing up and down energetically on a double bed with a big childish grin on her face.
"This one is optimal…plus it's in the sale"
Amy bounced up on to the bed beside Cameron and started jumping up and down with a huge grin on her face.
Sarah growled at the sight in front of her. "How much is this?"
Before Cameron could answer, Amy butted in, still bouncing around happily. "Doesn't matter! This is definitely the one!"
Cameron glared up at her. While she'd ensured the bed would hold up to the strains of her weight and John and her's activities, she certainly didn't appreciate what Amy evidently had planned for it. "You will not be jumping up and down on this bed. It's not designed for that"
"Oh come on! You and John used to let me jump on your bed all the time in the future" she paused and pouted, but still continued to bounce "He was a lot more fun then. He used to do this trick when he got really drunk with a glock and a pair of salt shakers that would have you blowing a gasket it was so funny"
Evidently Amy had forgotten Sarah was there, otherwise she wouldn't have launched in to 'future drunken John storytelling mode'. Now taking one look at her face, she instantly stopped bouncing.
Hmm, maybe I went too far…
Where the hell is she?
John could have sworn he'd been running way more than three miles, and yet still no sign of Amy. Maybe he'd take a wrong turn? No, that couldn't be it, the road was pretty much straight.
Come on John, you can do this. It's only three miles.
Just as his legs started to feel heavy, he heard the low rumble of tyres beside him. He looked over to see Derek leaning out of his truck window with an infuriating smirk on his face.
"Hey John, you should've been there by now. You can't afford to be this slow when you have a triple eight on your ass"
Shut up Derek.
"Hey, where's Amy? I've been running forever"
"Oh, she's not out here, but keep going, you're almost to three miles, just a little further"
Little did john know, Derek had set the trip odometer on his truck when he left the house. He watched as it ticked over to five miles and looked back out the window. "There ya go, three miles"
John stopped and doubled over at the waist, panting heavily. Derek watched in amusement as he looked like he was about to vomit from the exertion.
"Hop in"
John did as instructed and walked around to the passenger side and climbed in. As soon as the door closed Derek put the truck in drive and pulled away from the kerb. After a few hundred yards, Derek still hadn't pulled a U-turn like John was expecting. In fact he'd taken a turn off to head out of the city.
"Uh, Derek? Where are we going? I though we were heading home?"
Derek looked sidelong at his nephew with a smug grin on his face. "What, you think that's it for today's training? We haven't even started yet John. That little jog was just to wake you up"
John frowned. "The bucket of water did that well enough Derek"
"No, that was just to stop you thinking about whatever it was you were thinking about. The run was to wake you up…" he paused as he recalled that morning "I should not have to see…that, first thing in the morning"
Feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over him, John hunkered further down in to the seat and kept his mouth shut for the remainder of the journey.
"You have got to be kidding me"
"Why would I be kidding? This may save your life some day"
"How on Earth will tying my hands behind my back save my life some day?"
"You'll see"
Derek had driven John out to the woods on the outskirts of the city and marched him to a clearing about a mile from the road. It was then he'd pulled out the zip ties and told him to turn around.
"This is called escape and evasion. You've been held captive by me for the last couple of days. You managed to overpower me and now you're escaping. The truck is a friendly base, you have to get there without me catching you. If I catch you, we start over from this clearing"
"Why?"
"Because me catching you means you die. This isn't a video game John, you don't have checkpoints when you die. But seeing as this is just training you get the honour of starting again from the beginning"
John nodded, after all, this was what he asked for. "Alright, what kind of head start do I get?"
"You get thirty seconds, after that, I'm coming for you. Thirty…twenty nine…twenty eight" Derek reeled off as he looked at his watch and pointed in the direction they'd just came from and watched as John took off running.
This'll be easy, Derek's old and slow. No problem.
Sarah looked up from the mess Amy was making of her ice cream and scanned her surroundings for points of interest, meaning threats. A useful habit she'd picked up over the years. Several small screeching kids piqued her interest first, mostly their parents who seemed content to let them continue to screech while they sipped their coffee in ignorance.
Forcing aside the urge to dish out some old school Sarah Connor rage, she shifted her gaze just in time to see Cameron approaching them with her arms laden down by what looked like about twenty shopping bags. When that girl was given a mission she sure executed it pretty well. Unfortunately, no normal eighteen year old girl could manage to hold even half of what Cameron was carrying now.
Sarah stood and met her halfway.
"Cameron, let me help you with those bags dear" she said, keeping up appearances for the few patrons who were gawking at this wisp of a girl who somehow managed to hold all these bags with ease.
"I don't require any help" she stated with a tilt of her head.
"Yeah, you do" Sarah replied, leaning close "You're making it look like you have metal fingers, most girls don't have those"
By this time, Amy had stood up and joined them. Cameron looked down at her bags and realised her mistake. Not for the first time she'd used her natural abilities without considering how odd it would look. "Oh" was all she said before handing five bags off to Sarah and thrusting three in to Amy's unsuspecting arms, totally obscuring her face from view.
Sarah meanwhile had managed to grab hold of 'her' bags and had them mostly under control. However she spotted something Amy was holding that any woman, even Sarah Connor would be able to spot from six blocks away. A pink striped monstrosity known as a Victoria's Secret bag. While Amy juggled her bags, Sarah dug in the top and started to pull something small, black and mostly see though out of it.
Cameron whirled around and snatched the garment out of her hand and placed it back in the bag. "That's for John" she said with a glare.
"Really? I didn't think that was his size"
Cameron's head tilted to the side and she decided to clarify her statement. "For his enjoyment, not to wear"
Sarah shuddered. "I did not want to know that Cameron"
"Then why did you decide to start snooping in my shopping bags?" she asked, suddenly feeling very defensive. She paused and considered an alternative reason for Sarah's attitude. "Are you unhappy I didn't get any for you? They had many garments in your size"
"We did!" Amy squealed from behind her bags.
Cameron reached out and moved the bag obscuring her face so she could lock eyes with the smaller machine. "Explain"
"Uh, no we didn't" Sarah said, trying to divert everyone's attention from how uncomfortable she was sure she was about to get.
With nothing more than an eye roll, Amy started speaking excitedly. We got Sarah some sexy panties. Makes a change from those things that could be recycled in to sails"
Cameron nodded and looked over to Sarah with an expression that carried sage wisdom. "Less is more, according to Fashion Weekly"
Sarah looked like she was about to snap and lose it. "Yeah, less, as in we're putting this ridiculous thing back and everybody is going to stop talking about my underwear"
"Why?" Cameron asked with a frown, unsure as to why Sarah seemed to be taking her advice so badly. "Your partner would undoubtedly prefer something more revealing. John can't even form a coherent sentence when he sees…"
"Cameron!" Sarah exclaimed "I neither want nor need to hear the rest of that sentence. Besides, as Amy is failing to understand, there is no partner. I'd rather be comfortable than sexy"
"But sexual release is an important part of mental and emotional wellbeing" she paused and glanced at Amy "She was only trying to help you"
"Maybe I don't want any help. Did either of you stop to consider that? Besides, how would you know about sexual release?" she asked Cameron, clearly not aware of the problems she and John were having in that department. If anything she was just curious as to what, if anything she felt when she was with John. However her argumentative tone made it sound harsher than she intended.
Cameron looked down at her hands, suddenly feeling sullen and depressed. "I…I'm sorry Sarah"
She didn't chance saying anything else, refraining from explaining that her son is always more relaxed after he achieves his release.
Sarah couldn't help but frown at how her words sounded and how it had obviously struck a nerve in the cyborg. "Alright then…" she looked around for a distraction "So, did you pick out anything else nice…that didn't come from Victoria's Secret?"
Cameron shrugged. "I followed your instructions, I picked up a reasonable selection of clothes for myself and John. I believe you'll find them acceptable"
Sarah dug through some of the bags. "Cameron, I don't see many things here for John, it's all just your stuff" she looked up at the innocent features of the cyborg "did you get him anything?"
Cameron frowned, expecting John's mother of all people to understand this. "John prefers to wear older, worn and comfortable clothing. His sense of style is considered 'retro' now, they don't sell many garments he likes"
"'Retro'? Old and tattered is more like it. I told you to get him some new stuff"
Cameron raised an arm and pointed to the men's section, consisting mostly of nice jeans and polo shirts. "Do you see anything John would be willing to wear?"
Sarah walked over, determined to prove the cyborg wrong on this one. She pointed out a smart shirt, nothing wrong with it, but certainly what would be considered more 'mom' than 'John'.
"Here, this is nice. He'd like this…right?"
Cameron gave Sarah a look that screamed 'what the hell are you thinking?'. "Have you ever seen him wear anything resembling that before Sarah?"
"Well no, but it's still nice" she frowned, realising she was losing this particular battle. "Alright then smartass, what would you pick out for him?"
Cameron tilted her head for a moment before marching off down the aisle until she found a pair of relaxed fit, faded jeans. Without even bothering to look around, Cameron tore a large hole over the left knee and examined her handiwork closely. She pulled them down off the rack and handed them to Sarah. "He would wear these"
Quickly looking around for any signs of security charging towards them, Sarah breathed a sigh of relief at finding none. "Cameron, what have we told you about breaking things that aren't yours?"
"It's for John" she reasoned with a shrug. "Since he'll wear them I assumed we'd purchase them"
Sarah shook her head, clearly unable to see the same thing John saw in her. By this time, Amy had made her way over to them and yelled out from behind her bags. "What'd she do?"
"Altered John's jeans for him" Cameron replied with a small smile "They were insufficiently tight"
"Alright, they're tight now. Just grab them and let's get the hell out of here. This day is just getting too weird for me"
Cameron nodded. "We should be getting home, John should be finished with his training soon"
"Oooh, I call shotgun" Amy hollered.
Cameron, looked a little disappointed. "I always get stuck with 9mm. Perhaps I should start 'calling' it earlier to prevent that"
Sarah grumbled under her breath as she walked away, that being the last straw. "Fuck my life"
Cameron looked down at Amy as Sarah walked off and leaned in a bit conspiratorially. "Did you retrieve the panties she put back?"
"Of course" Amy replied with a grin.
"She'll thank us later" Cameron said with a nod as she proceeded towards the checkout, Amy in tow with her bags.
And the day started off so well…
That was until John came crashing face first in to the ground, having tried and failed to hurdle that damn log. An instant later, he rolled over just in time to see Derek bounding towards him through the foliage. Dragging himself to his feet once again, John took off running towards the now clearly visible truck as fast as his legs could carry him. It was all for nought however as he felt the now familiar feeling of Derek's shoulder ploughing in to his lower back.
He tumbled to the ground underneath the older man's weight, breathing and panted heavily in to the dirt, kicking up dust and leaves.
Derek stood up and did his best to yank his flat out nephew back up to his feet by his belt. Taking sympathy at last after seeing his face slam off the ground four times already that day, he decided that was enough for one day. He pulled out a pair of cutters and released John's wrists and sympathised as he rubbed them with a wince.
"Come on, lets head to the truck, that's enough for today"
The short walk to the truck was filled with silence, sheer, uncomfortable silence. That was until they reached the road.
"You…could have…gone easy…on me you know…first day and all" John just about managed to get that out around his ragged breathing while walking around the hood to the passenger side.
Derek stopped his own movement towards the driver's door and glared at his nephew over the hood. "You're kidding right? Only reason you're even conscious right now was I decided my original plan would've had Cameron chasing me like I was chasing you"
John raised an eyebrow, like that day wasn't bad enough. "What was your…original plan?" he suddenly regretted asking that, feeling the need not to know.
Derek started to speak and then stopped, his jaw still hanging open slightly. "Nah, still probably gonna do it at some point…wouldn't want to ruin the surprise"
John merely groaned and climbed in to the truck. Looking over to his left, he watched as Derek climbed in and started the engine. "So that was a good day's work wouldn't you say?"
Derek eyed his nephew sceptically. "You died John, like four times. That's a pretty low bar to be setting for a 'good day'" he wasn't impressed at all with everything about the day, from John's seeming lack of interest to his flat out appalling performance.
"Four?" John asked with a quirked eyebrow and a certain measure of disbelief in his voice.
"And that's a conservative estimate…" with that he slammed the truck in to drive and started barreling down the dirt road "…the only positive thing I can think of is that at least you didn't shoot at me today"
John narrowed his eyes at his uncle. "I've already apologised for that. It's only one day right, the only way is up" John stated confidently.
Deciding his nephew needed a wake up call, Derek slammed on the brakes, almost bouncing John's head off the dash. He'd had enough of John's attitude of this being a breeze just because he was John Connor. "Did you not fucking hear me? I said you DIED. Four. Times!"
Pausing only to suck in a breath and glare at him, Derek couldn't help but shake his head, partly in disbelief and partly in disappointment. "I can't understand it. Between Kyle and Sarah you should have at least SOME natural ability"
John wasn't one to give up on an argument, and he hated being told off, least of all by his Uncle. Sparing a sidelong glare, John felt his irritation rising. "Hey, I'm sorry I'm not Rambo. That's why I asked you to do this. First day, gimme a break" as far as he was concerned that was the end of the argument and he slumped back in to his seat. Apparently Derek had other ideas however.
"Do you realise that today was supposed to be a confidence booster?" he looked at John with yet more disbelief. Why wasn't the kid getting this? "You're right, you're not Rambo, but you've been trained to run John"
Derek sat back and rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked a his nephew pityingly. "I was trying to play to your strengths so you'd start off with a win"
In no mood to take Derek's pity, John bit back. "Well it's pretty hard to run properly with my hands tied behind my back" he pointed out, firmly believing that particular exercise to be pretty much pointless.
"Oh, and I guess you'll never, ever, under any circumstances be running in anything other than perfect condition right?"
Derek actually chuckled, such was his mood at the moment.
"You think it's hard running with your hands behind your back? Try it with a bullet in your shoulder. WHEN it happens, not if, you'll thank me because you'll be ready"
Derek turned away and faced out of the windscreen. Pulling the truck away a little more calmly than earlier, he felt he'd made his point pretty well and waited for John's response.
John meanwhile felt firmly put in his place by his dear uncle. 'WHEN it happens, not if'.
That was the thing he was failing to comprehend and he knew it. Mostly it wasn't his fault, nobody could possibly prepare him for living and fighting in a post apocalyptic wasteland with hordes of roaming Terminators all with his name at the top of their hit lists. But ever since he was old enough to understand what was coming, he'd never really given up hope of avoiding that nightmare. Even though he was the one responsible for changing the family's long term plans and accept that Judgement day was inevitable, he always help out hope.
Now with Derek doing his level best to lay out the harsh realities of it all, he couldn't help but feel daunted. Not that he'd expected it all to be sunshine and daisies, but he'd just assumed it would come naturally to him. He'd always heard about the great General Connor and how he led the human race to victory over the machines. Now though he was starting to realise that he probably had to learn all this stuff the way he was trying to do now. While it was true, and Cameron had summed it up perfectly the day before, Sarah had trained him well, but she'd trained him to shoot and run. Run first, shoot only if required.
That wouldn't cut it, not for who and what he'd be fighting. He needed more, and if he had to suck it up and endure this for however long it took for him to go from little Johnny Connor to General John Connor.
"You're right…" John turned to face Derek who still remained focused on driving and seemingly nothing else "…Honestly, how did I do today? I'm really serious about doing this Derek, I might not seem like it but I do wanna get better at this"
With a sigh, Derek tore his eyes away from the road and regarded John seriously. He was convinced that John wanted to do this, he wouldn't be helping him if he wasn't. But the kid needed a good slap sometimes to shake him out of his seeming disinterest. "I know John…but your idea of 'serious' about something is a lot different than mine. I think you know that by now"
"I do, I guess I'm just not sure what running through some woods with my hands tied behind my back will accomplish. It's not like there'll be trees in the future anyways" he pointed out, trying to get his point of view across and hoping he would understand.
Chuckling a little more convincingly this time, Derek shook his head. "We couldn't exactly do this downtown John. I'm trying to get you used to facing the worst case scenario…" he paused and turned serious "…If you can survive the worst thing that can possibly happen, the other possibilities are a walk in the park"
John's mood turned serious to match his uncle's, his frown only serving to punctuate it. "What is the worst thing that can possibly happen? Out there I mean, in the future?"
"For you?" he asked, keeping his eyes firmly glued to the road.
"Yeah, what's the thing we fear the most out in the field?"
"Exactly what I just trained you to avoid…" Derek paused and frowned, having considered this many a sleepless night "…You can NEVER allow yourself to be captured John. Skynet has agents from the future back here right now, they know who you are, what you look like…you won't be going to a work camp this time"
John fell silent, he'd never considered the consequences of all this messing with the timelines that both he and Skynet were guilty of. Not only would he be targeted immediately, but he would be killed on sight as soon as he was identified. Skynet wouldn't be taking any chances, anyone even remotely linked with John Connor would be killed. No work camps, no great legendary tales of escape from said camp, just death, probably a quick one, Skynet was efficient that way.
"Do what you have to do Derek. I'll take all this seriously from now on. No joking, no messing"
Surprisingly Derek smiled and actually rubbed his nephew's hair in that same infuriating way his mother always does. "I was planning on it. But seriously, Conn…YOU, had no patience for bitching and whining in the future"
Pausing only to smirk, Derek continued. "Never too early to adopt that trait"
Chuckling more to himself than anything, John looked sidelong at his uncle with a smile. "Yeah, I'll leave the bitching and nagging to Cameron. She's surprisingly good at it"
Suddenly Derek's face turned to stone and he looked back at the road. "If she becomes a distraction…"
"She won't, I promise" John said, not giving him a chance to finish his sentence.
"Good…" he said with a nod "…She uh…can actually help, if she wants to that is"
Wow, now that felt odd for Derek. He wasn't used to asking the cyborg to do anything. He was more accustomed to issuing orders to her kind than asking for things.
John quirked a suspicious eyebrow in Derek's direction. "Yeah? How?" he asked warily.
"You wanna be able to walk tomorrow?" he paused and smirked "Have her do a little work on your lower back before you crash"
Frowning, more in confusion than disapproval, John didn't quite know what to make of that suggestion. "My back feels fine…not that I wouldn't appreciate it but…"
"Trust me on this one…" Derek said with a laugh "…or don't. It'll be kinda funny watching you walk around bent at the waist all day"
Making a mental note to himself to get a little TLC from Cameron, John looked over at his uncle who appeared in good spirits for a change. "Thanks Derek, for doing this I mean"
Looking over at John with that evil Reese smirk growing on his lips, Derek looked nothing short of menacing at that moment. "We'll see if you still wanna thank me tomorrow"
As far as John was concerned, tackling that flight of stairs was more akin to climbing Everest than the simple task it was. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so exhausted and he wondered how people did this on a day to day basis, he felt like one day was on the verge of killing him. His body ached all over and his feet stung with every step. All he wanted was a shower and his bed.
Stepping in to his new bedroom, he was pleasantly surprised to find Cameron sitting Indian style on his bed with his laptop in her folded legs. She'd changed from the last time he'd seen her, now she was wearing a simple white cotton tank top and pink cotton short shorts, her hair appeared slightly damp and her head quirked slightly to the side as she concentrated on whatever it was she was doing.
"Hi Princess"
John wandered over to the bed and slumped down tiredly on the edge beside her. He leaned over and confidently dropped a kiss on her cheek, then set about the arduous task of removing his boots.
"What are you doing in here?" he asked while tugging on his laces.
Cameron looked up from the laptop as if noticing his presence for the first time. "I was researching something" she answered as she closed the lid of the laptop and set it aside. John found the way she daintily folded her hands in her lap and waited for a response irresistibly adorable.
John nodded and returned to the battle with his boots. Eventually he managed to kick them off and frowned when he caught sight of blood on the tops of his socks where his toes were. Clearly his feet weren't used to the punishment of running miles and miles in combat boots. Remembering what she'd just said to him, John glanced back over his shoulder.
"Research? About what?"
"Delivery times" she stated, as if it were obvious.
She also didn't fail to notice him wincing as he pulled off his boots and the frown when he examined what lay underneath. It appeared that Derek had been tough on him for their first day's training. Deciding against trying to comfort him, something he wasn't seeking and might reject, Cameron continued the conversation as if nothing were out of place.
"Delivery times for what?" he asked distractedly as he peeled his socks off and tossed them in to the corner beside the boots. He was far too tired to care if he was making a mess. He just wanted to have a shower and curl up in bed, preferably with Cameron right there next to him.
"Our new bed…" she said with a smile, despite the fact he was still facing away from her "…Sarah wouldn't let me stay when she paid for it…" Cameron paused and frowned at the memory of that particular incident "…She said I would embarrass her by asking too many questions"
John couldn't stifle a chuckle at that, it was like she could read his mind. "Our new bed. I think I like the sound of that"
He stood and leaned over the bed while trying not to allow anything to come in to contact with his red raw toes and planted a kiss on the tip of her nose, earning himself a half frown, half smile at the action. He turned and hobbled towards the shared en suite bathroom, similar to the old house when a thought struck him.
"Wait, what kind of questions could you have embarrassed my mom with about a bed"
Cameron frowned, not only at the sight of her John in such obvious pain, but at the memories of the day. "I believe I failed with a certain aspect of human integration. Apparently it's impolite to test out a bed…vigorously in the store"
Shaking his head with a smile, John took up a position in front of the sink and pictured Cameron bouncing around on every bed in the store until she found 'the one'.
Nah, she wouldn't do that. Right?
Deciding a shower would be too much of a struggle, he stripped off his shirt as best his tired muscles would allow before turning the tap on full as hot as it would go. "Well, we wouldn't want it breaking every few days now would we?"
Cameron shook her head, despite the fact nobody was around to see it. Some of these human traits she'd picked up were often a source of fascination for her. "No, that's what I wished to enquire from the lady at the checkout. Sarah however deemed this behaviour unacceptable"
"Yeah, mom can be kind of a killjoy like that"
John splashed some water on to his face before wetting a washcloth. Running it over the back of his neck, he felt relief flooding through him at the warm water on his stressed and tired muscles. He was so not used to this physical activity. While it was true he could probably outmatch most eighteen year olds who didn't spend all day in the gym, he was in no fit state to be tackling what he would have to face in the future.
He had gotten soft recently. The training in his early life had stood him in good stead, however recently he'd been slipping, probably since they jumped eight years to the future. Couple that with his attempts at having a semi normal life and his ill fated relationship with Riley, John Connor had become, not pudgy, but definitely not in as good a shape as he should've been.
"So, did you girls have fun today?"
Despite her previous musings, Cameron found herself smiling again. "We did. We went shopping for furniture, then Amy requested we stop for ice cream, the I picked up some things while her and Sarah were eating"
It wasn't like Cameron to get verbal diarrhoea like that. But that day was probably one of the more pleasant in her short life. With the exception of John not being there, she would certainly class it as enjoyable. Safe in the knowledge that Derek was with John in the middle of nowhere with little risk to him, coupled with the burden of protecting Sarah falling on Amy, Cameron found herself able to 'relax' fully, if only for one day. While she'd certainly have preferred to be out there with John, to protect him always, she understood his reasoning for doing what he was doing and knew she shouldn't be there for it.
Besides, it was nice to just be herself for a day, and she was sure John wouldn't complain when he found out what it was she bought.
Smiling at her tidal wave of information and listening to the small sense of excitement in her voice, John did his best to wipe away the sweat and grime from his upper body with only a washcloth. "What did you get?"
"Some new…clothing" she replied carefully.
"That's great Cameron…" John replied distractedly as he dried himself off with a towel. Giving himself a quick squirt of deodorant he deemed his appearance satisfactory "…I know most of your stuff was left behind" he said as he re-emerged from the bathroom.
"Yes, I'm thankful to Derek for retrieving my jacket…" she paused for a moment, somehow unable to comprehend what she was about to say "…I didn't think he was that considerate, especially towards me"
John stopped in his tracks and considered her comment and her thoughtful look. Thinking back to Derek's earlier suggestion about Cameron, his head quirked a bit to the side. "Yeah, Derek can surprise you sometimes. Who knows, maybe we're seeing a new and more cuddly Derek" he said with a chuckle, causing Cameron's eyebrow to creep up her forehead ever so slightly.
"How was your day?"
"Long, very long" was his answer as he tried to suppress a yawn. He flicked the lights off in the bathroom and hobbled over to the bed. Slumping down on it, he crawled the rest of the way and cuddled up beside Cameron with a tired smile. By this point she'd stretched her legs out and appeared to just be lounging.
Cameron smiled by way of reply and brought a hand up to idly and comfortably play with the short hairs at the back of his head. "Was it a day well spent?"
Finding the simple activity incredibly soothing and relaxing, John did his best to shrug. "I'm not sure. I've got a long way to go…" he paused only to cuddle up even closer to her, taking in her sweet scent "…Glad I'm home now though"
"As am I…" she paused and considered his statement. Finding an opportunity to expand her knowledge of her boyfriends psyche, Cameron stopped the movement of her fingers "…You consider this place to be your home already?"
Despite his initial irritation at the loss of the comforting gesture, John thought about her question for a long moment. Eventually he arrived at an answer and immediately felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him. He pushed through it however, she may as well know how he felt. "Not the house…you"
Quirking her head to the side in familiar fashion, Cameron processed what he'd just said. "Really?" she asked, somewhat sceptically and resumed her movement.
"I've spent my whole life running from place to place Cameron…" he paused and looked up to meet her eyes, wanting her to fully understand this "…Home is people, not places. Before it was mom…now it's you"
Before she even stopped to consider anything, Cameron found herself leaning in closer to him and kissed him softly and tenderly. After a moment she pulled back and frowned. "Thank you for saying that. I…I…it's good that you feel that way"
Never before had Cameron wanted so desperately to tell him she loved him. But she couldn't, not yet, not until she was sure. If John had taught her anything it was that he appreciated honesty above all things. He'd always hated it whenever she lied, and she wasn't ready to lie about something as important as this just because she knew it was what he wanted to hear.
Seeing her frown and noticing the signs of an internal struggle, John's face formed in to a frown to match hers. His frown however was born out of his dislike of seeing her struggle with things like this. "Hey, I don't expect you to say anything Cameron. I don't tell you how I feel because I expect a response…" he paused and tilted her chin up before returning her kiss. He felt her lips latch on to his almost desperately, so much so he didn't want to stop, but he did "…take your time"
Cameron paused and looked at him, her eyes flitting about his face, searching for something she knew she wouldn't find, insincerity. Finding none, as she expected, Cameron felt a wave of relief flood over her. John wouldn't put any undue pressure on her to say what he wanted to hear, and for that she was glad. It meant she could continue to function as she was, as his girlfriend while still being able to sort through her new and confusing emotions.
Falling back to her standard and, she had to admit, preferred form of expressing her feelings, her hands slowly drifted from his hair and down his spine, earning herself a shiver of anticipation from him. "Sarah said she wouldn't be back home for another hour"
John smiled and let a couple of fingers dance slowly up and down her bare arm. "Really? Now?"
Cameron shrugged and used the movement to sink herself down lower on to the bed. "Why not? I'm due to be tucked in to my bed in three hours and twenty nine minutes. We might not get the chance to do this again for a while"
"Sounds logical…" John said through a smile as he levered himself on top of her and set about kissing at the curve of her neck and up towards her ear. "…smart, even"
She tilted her head to allow him greater access to her neck. "I'm a smart girl John" she said as she hooked a leg over his.
John pulled back and ran his eyes appraisingly over her body and clothes, his grin growing by the second. "You wouldn't happen to be wearing one of your recent purchases would you?"
"I believe the correct phrase is, that's for me to know and for you to find out" she said with a smile and an inviting wriggle underneath him.
The most coherent thing John could come up with at that moment was a low groan as he attacked her mouth with his. Trying to simultaneously pull her shirt off over her head, he realised he couldn't accomplish both and pulled back to remove her shirt. He returned to his previous spot on her neck with a sly smile. "I thought you weren't going to let me corrupt you?"
"You can be…" she paused, John's questing lips and tongue brushing over a particularly sensitive spot "…very persuasive"
"Yeah…" he mumbled against her skin as he ran his tongue once again over the spot that just caused her to shiver. Mentally adding it to his ever growing catalogue of knowledge about what gets Cameron going "…doesn't hurt I can't say no to you"
"You do seem to have a weak will…" she paused and sucked in a tiny gasping breath, giving John all the more encouragement as he returned to his exploration of her neck "…Perhaps you should have Derek work on that" Cameron was by far an inactive participant as her hands ran up and down his back, her fingertips dipping in to his waistband ever so slightly.
John pulled back with a wicked smile and glanced down at her new bra approvingly, a cute pink and white striped number with an adorable ribbon bow in the middle, his eyebrow quirked up almost involuntarily. "You really want me to get better at being able to resist you?"
Having no patience for her sometimes idiotic human, Cameron reached up and pulled his head down to her chest with a resounding slap of skin hitting skin. "Never"
"Didn't think so" he mumbled against her skin as he kissed along the edge of the frilly garment. He had to admit, the feeling of her hands drifting lazily up and down his back felt remarkably soothing. The feel of Cameron's perfect, completely flawless, smooth and slightly chill skin caused John to pause just for a moment to lay his cheek on her chest and get comfortable.
Cameron meanwhile continued the motion of her hands and made similar movements with the leg draped over his, just enjoying the feeling of having her John pressed so close to her. Only when they were like this could she forget who and what they both were, they were simply John and Cameron enjoying each other's closeness.
John's body meanwhile slowly started to go slack, relaxing bit by bit until his entire weight settled down on top of her, his stubble scratching the top of her chest while his head subconsciously burrowed closer to her.
Noticing the extra weight on top of her and missing the feel of his lips exploring her chest, Cameron stopped the movement of her hands and looked down at him, or rather at the top of his head. "John?" she chanced in a quiet voice.
Mumbling something unintelligible, even to her advanced hearing, John's arms either side of her closed in and tugged him more snugly towards her.
Cameron frowned at the lack of movement and withdrew her hands from his back. She wiggled underneath him to try and get his attention. "John!"
"Mmnno now Cammm…" he mumbled against her chest.
Her frown deepened and she give him a bit of a petulant shove to his arm. He shifted slightly from the contact but immediately cuddled himself back in tighter against her. "Love you"
Cameron's frown immediately lessened. While she was indeed disappointed, and kinda stuck there in only her bra and shorts, she understood why he fell asleep. However she wasn't about to let him off so lightly with falling asleep on top of her and made a mental note to bring it up with him at an inappropriately public time.
Wrapping her arms around him and closing her eyes, she settled in for the night. Her bedtime would simply have to wait until another night.
There, that's good enough, right?
As Derek looked at himself in the mirror, he couldn't help but feel nervous. Tonight's date was the first that was arranged by him and the first he'd planned. He hadn't planned a date since 2011 when he was sixteen. For some reason he didn't think a bunch of flowers and his dad's tie would cut it this time.
However, owing to the fact that the last house was now somewhat out of bounds, he was now left without a suit to wear. He hadn't had the chance to buy one since the move and he forgot to pick one up when he was grabbing things from the house, suits weren't exactly high on his priority list.
Hopefully his choice of smart jeans and a jacket would suffice for what he had planned. He had no doubts Jessica would turn up in something absolutely beautiful that probably cost more than anything without doors and a steering wheel should. But that was what he liked about her, ever since they'd met, she always looked immaculate. That, and the fact that she got turned on by every little thing that made Derek, well Derek. Sometimes all it took was a scratch of his stubble and the next thing he knew she was on him like a rabid dog.
Smirking to himself, he made sure said stubble looked just right and added a quick splash of aftershave to round off his preparations before stepping out of his new room. The small room, the one with the two wide open windows he'd already blacked out much to Sarah's annoyance, the room Amy argued with him over. She got the big room, he wound up with the small because she knew about his relationship. He didn't want the family finding out about her, not just yet anyway. He needed to brief everyone on their covers first, and he had a feeling that neither John nor Cameron would be happy at having to play siblings again.
Not to mention the fact that Sarah was instantly mistrusting of anyone she didn't know completely. In her mind, that meant John and not many others. Plus the two, Sarah and Jessica were likely to grate on each other. Jessica was pretty, pampered and had no clue about real life. Sarah was hard as nuclear nails and would give Stallone a run for his money in the Rambo stakes. The two would give him endless grief if he played this wrong. On one hand he had Sarah, the mother of his nephew and not a woman to be trifled with. On the other hand, Jessica was a model who was sexing him up. A tough choice for any red blooded man.
Stepping out in to the hallway, he quietly made his way towards the stairs not wanting to alert any pesky liquid metal machines that he was going somewhere. He snuck past her room, filled to the brim with Benny Bear. What a waste, that could've been his room.
The next door on his way made him stop in his tracks. Catching sight of John slumped asleep on top of the metal, two things ran through his head. The first was, if John was tired now, he had no chance of coping with what he had planned. The second was the way that Cameron gently ran her fingers soothingly through his hair. Fingers that could snap his neck with little more than a twitch were now slowly and, dare he say it, lovingly stroking his nephew while he slept. Apparently his earlier suggestion of a massage wasn't too farfetched after all.
The metal clearly thought she was in love with John. Either that or this was simply her method of self preservation, sex up John so that when the time comes he won't want to scrap her. Every fibre of his being was telling him it was the latter. All his years of hating anything made of metal and treating them as nothing but tools to be used and discarded made him want to burst in there and deal with it personally.
But his opinion had started to change from the point where Cameron had told him about his child, the child he lost with Jesse. He thanked her that day. Thanking a metal was something unheard of for him. But now as he watched her actions, every movement so precise and calculated, his opinion of her and machines in general was starting to change. Who knows, maybe she might be good for John.
At the end of the day, that was all that mattered to him, what was important for and to John. Earlier he'd asked if Cameron would become a distraction, and he'd asked her the same thing a long time ago. Now it appeared that she was anything but. John depended on her, he needed her, and that meant Derek wouldn't do anything to threaten his precious girlfriend. If it was important to John, his General, then it was important to him too.
Now if only he could get the other one out of his hair everything would be golden.
As always huge thanks to Dekardkain. Sorry for the delay on this one, as you can see it was a monster and I found it difficult to motivate myself for some reason.