Hi,
Thanks to reviewers lje100smith, olischulu, morded, EvilTheLast, Mouse56, hollyxsuicide, The1Russter, justjoe, XxDeathStarxX, Lsquare, kaotic2, sasha starr, darkfinder, macgamer and sumofme.
"You're up totally early today!" Emily quirked a brow as she walked past Jessica in to her apartment, "This had better be as important as you said, cause you like, totally freaked me out on the phone. Someone die?"
Jessica leaned back, pressing the door closed with her ass, giggling lightly, "No, I just need you to do my hair and makeup. I have a very special date tonight," She grinned from ear to ear, the anticipation of finally meeting Derek's family having kept her awake most of the night.
"Oooohhh," Placing a gentle hand on her friend's back, Emily ushered Jessica towards her bedroom, familiar as she was with the place. She set her down in a chair near the dresser, a large, lit mirror in front of them. Before she'd even got herself comfortable, Jessica found her friend already slipping in to their now familiar routine of dishing any and all dirt to each other while she worked. "Another one of your dad's business partner's kids?"
"It's the new guy I told you about," After glancing behind her, she realised her friend was lost, an eye roll quickly followed, "Derek."
"Ohhhh," Emily smirked, brushing Jessica's hair back with behind her head with quick, practised strokes, "I thought you were just slumming it to piss off daddy?"
Jessica couldn't keep the frown off her face, in fact if she was honest, she wanted her friend to see it in the mirror, "Daddy doesn't know about him."
"Well, I'd hope not." Emily shrugged, concentrating on setting up the curlers in Jessica's hair, "He like, works with his hands or something, doesn't he? Like people used to do before computers?"
Jessica giggled again, for someone who was always the richest kid in amongst her social group, she really did have the most level head, "Yeah, he used to be a soldier…I dunno what he does now."
"Wait," Emily scrunched up her face in confusion, "A soldier? Like, he used to shoot a gun? Kill people?"
"Well, yeah. That's what soldiers do isn't it?" Suddenly Jessica couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable at the look she was receiving from her friend in the mirror, "He fought in the war."
"Honey," Emily looked scandalised, like she'd just heard that skank arch enemy of her's Jenny Smith was dating Brad Pitt or something, "This guy could be nuts! How can you be safe with someone like that? I hear a lot of them come back crazy and violent…I saw a whole thing on it on Oprah."
Jessica merely rolled her eyes in the mirror by way of reply, "Derek would never hurt me."
"How do you know that?" Emily quickly finished with the curlers and whipped out a makeup bag the size of a small suitcase, "Does he carry a gun?"
"I uh…I don't think so." Jessica ran her fingers through one of her longer curls nervously. She really hadn't noticed if he carried a gun or not, and that thought unnerved her a little.
"You don't know? How long have you been seeing him?"
Jessica shrugged sheepishly, "About a month."
"Have you slept with him?" Emily asked, quirking an eyebrow in the reflection of the mirror.
"Well, yeah," Jessica answered, suddenly blushing furiously.
"So…let me get this straight," Emily stopped what she was doing and stood tapping an eyebrow pencil on her chin, "You've been dating the guy a month, you're having sex with him, and you don't know what he does for a living or if he's a psycho with a closet full of machine guns?"
"He's not a psycho alright!" Jessica glared up in the mirror, not really appreciating being made to feel like a scolded child by her friend, "Derek would never hurt me, or go nuts, just trust me on that."
"Well soooorrry, I'm just worried about my friend is all." She shook her head with her own eye roll, "So, on to the important stuff. Is he cute?"
"Definitely." Jessica grinned in reply, the rough stuff of a moment ago thoroughly forgotten about, "He's handsome, strong, and he has a total soldier's body on him."
"What's a 'soldier's body'?" As a rich girl, Emily had only really seen soldiers in movies, "All tattooed and scarred?"
"Well, that..." She smirked, "And his ass is as tight as a drum!"
"Ewwww," Emily smirked, swatting her friend on the shoulder while adding some blush to her cheeks, "How can you think tattoos like that are sexy? He doesn't look like some biker reject with a ponytail does he?"
Jessica couldn't help another eye roll. "You know that guy you dated a while ago, Josh I think his name was. All clean cut and handsome?"
"Yeah, he was nice." She hopped around a little, manoeuvring for better access to the makeup she was applying, "He had the most awesome Mustang!"
"Well clean cut is boring! Derek is like, the opposite. He's still handsome, but there's just something about him, you know?"
"Um... the opposite of clean is dirty, isn't it?" Emily went back to her confused gaping, "He's dirty?"
"You don't understand. He's clean, he's just not so neat. Every guy I've ever dated has never worn anything besides a suit. Derek is different, he's...rugged." Jessica's eyes sparkled when she spoke of Derek, more so than she had with any other guy, Emily noticed.
"So what? He can like, kill food himself and cook it over a fire?" She asked sceptically.
Jessica scrunched her face up, having never really thought about it before, "I dunno, I guess he could."
"Cool." She shook her head, "As long as he doesn't kill Bambi's mother or anything. So where is he taking you out? Doesn't sound like he can afford the places we normally go."
"I don't care if he can or not." She paused, a slow smile creeping across her face, "I'm meeting his family tonight."
"Wow." Emily took a step back to check over her handiwork, and it wasn't too bad if she said so herself, "So it is getting serious. You're not like... pregnant, are you?"
"God I fucking hope not." Jessica smiled, the sparse frequency of her own cursing taking her by surprise, that was until she saw her friends face, "No, no, I'm not. Yeah it's getting serious, I've been nagging him to let me meet them. Tonight's the night, that's why I wanna look my best, make a good impression."
"They're probably not expecting much, are they?" Emily tilted her head to the side while ushering Jessica over towards the closet, "I mean, they're like, poor, right?"
"You are so shallow!" Jessica shook her head while being ushered, "I only get one chance to make a first impression, I wanna knock 'em off their feet."
"So give them each a hundred bucks and they'll love you forever." Emily deftly ducked under her friend's expected swat with more agility than a spoiled rich girl should have had before opening the closet with a flourish, "He doesn't have kids or anything, does he?"
"No, no, but Sarah does."
"Sarah? Oh my God, he has an ex-wife?" Emily asked, stepping back away in total shock.
"Brother's widow. He moved in to help out." Jessica clarified with a sweet smile, fond thoughts of her man popping to the forefront of her mind.
"Widow, huh?" She looked instantly suspicious, despite it being a seemingly innocent thing, "So he's living with his brother's wife and kids? Are you sure he's not screwing her? Cause I saw on Oprah that..."
"Shut up, he is not screwing his dead brother's wife alright!" Jessica scolded, making her glare visible from around the door she was partially hidden behind.
"Don't you remember that guy Trevor you dated? Wasn't he screwing his step-sister?"
"Well, he was from Alabama...but no, Derek's not screwing her. He just moved in when she was going through a rough patch, help out with the kids and stuff." Jessica explained with a shrug.
"So... he kinda does have kids then, just not HIS?" Emily seemed to be really having a problem seeing how people could live like that without ulterior motives, after all, nobody ever does that in any TV shows or anything. Sex is always involved somewhere, the sexy widow being a pretty definite scenario.
"She has kids," Jessica rolled her eyes, unseen to Emily, "He's their favourite Uncle Derek of course."
"Well at least you know he can handle rugrats." She shrugged, idly tossing out three dresses she liked, "What are you guys gonna..."
Jessica stopped her digging through her closet when the doorbell rang, she quickly double checked her alarm clock beside her bed, "Oh shit. That took a while, didn't it?"
"What time is it? Oh God, I am so fucking late." She scurried to the door, still in dressing gown, opening it to reveal a surprised looking Derek. "Uh, hi, Babe."
"You're..." He glanced over her shoulder to see another woman peeking out from behind the wall, he quirked a brow at his girlfriend, "Why aren't you dressed yet? Sarah said dinner would be ready in forty-five minutes, the drive takes at least thirty."
"I know, I know, we just got talking and..." She stepped back from the door, "Come on in, meet my friend."
Derek for his part looked a little reluctant to speak to anyone, but he didn't want to piss Jessica off, "Uh... hi. I'm Derek, Jessica's..."
They hadn't really discussed it before, but he just decided to take a leap, "Boyfriend."
Emily stepped forward, her eyes roaming appreciatively, for the first time seeing why Jessica seemed to like the guy. "Hi, I'm Emily, your...girlfriend's best friend." She held out her hand for Derek to take.
Derek nodded kind of curtly, accepting her hand, just wanting Jessica to get dressed so they could leave, "Nice to meet you. Babe, are we gonna be good to go soon or should I tell Sarah to hold the food?"
"Uh..." Jessica looked around, she still had no clue what she was wearing for the night, she didn't want to start badly though by jerking Sarah around, "No, we should be good."
Trying desperately to fight off an eye roll, and being mostly successful, Derek yelled in to the bedroom, "You do realise this isn't a premiere, right? We'll be lucky if Sarah's shirt has sleeves and John decides to wear pants to the table."
"Oooh, lucky you Jess, not one but two to keep you occupied." Emily smiled, bumping Jessica's shoulder, not realising John was in fact seventeen and thoroughly unavailable.
"Um... Em, John is Derek's nephew," Jessica turned bright red, ducking into the closet to tear through her mountain of dresses, "He's a kid."
Emily sighed defeatedly, "Damn, I thought a double date was on the cards," she smirked teasingly at Derek, making him uncomfortable beyond belief.
"He's seventeen... and taken." He forced a smile, really not understanding how someone as smart as Jessica could stand to be around this woman, "So, you work with Jess?"
Emily scoffed very unladylike, "Work?" She turned to Jessica, "This guy's funny, where'd you find him again?"
"He was doing security at one of Mr. Carlson's parties." Jessica hollered from the closet, neglecting to tell the truth about Derek lying to her through his teeth when they first met.
"Security huh? I'll bet you look cute in a uniform." Suddenly out of nowhere Derek's uncomfortableness rose when Emily developed a sexy little smile aimed solely in his direction.
Derek was honestly starting to wonder if all rich girls went crazy at the sight of a normal guy, shaking his head in disbelief, "I haven't worn one of those in a long time."
Jessica rushed out of the closet holding up three dresses for Emily's approval, "Red, blue, or black?"
Emily managed to tear her attention away from the new piece of ass standing in front of her for a moment, not really bothering to even look properly, "Black."
Instead she turned back to Derek, "So, you're a soldier huh? You know I always thought soldier's were sexy," She wandered towards him, taking up an uncomfortably close position to him.
Derek glanced over to Jessica for help, but she'd already rushed off to the bathroom to change, "Uh... yeah. So does your best friend. She tells me that all the time."
"Jess has always had good taste. Who knows, I might have to steal you from her. My last boyfriend was a total douche."
Derek frowned pointedly, but the soldier in him was unwilling to back away from some rich model friend of Jessica's, "Who's to say I'm not a total douche? You just met me."
Grinning with one hand on her hip, Emily approached closer, looking up at him from behind her lashes, "Well, maybe you are, but Jessica seems to like you. She's always had good taste."
Derek actually did back off a little, oddly cowed by such a small woman, "Yeah, and she prefers the faithful type. I think that's why she calls me her... Scruffy Puppy."
Emily covered her mouth with her hand and sniggered, "Hey Jess!"
Jessica poked her head out from the bathroom, only half-dressed, "What? Derek, I said I'd be out in a minute. You can't rush perfection!"
"Jess," She turned and looked behind her, "Scruffy Puppy? Really?" Emily asked, continuing to snigger.
Jessica quirked a brow, looking like it should have been the most obvious thing in the world, "Um... yeah? Look at him, is that not a scruffy puppy?"
Derek just groaned by way of reply, "Jess..."
Emily's sniggering finally subsided, "Yeah, I guess he is. Cute though," She said with a smile and a shrug towards Jessica.
"Cuter if he hadn't worn that faded Army jacket to the most important dinner of my life..." Jessica's voice trailed off as she stepped back into the bathroom, mumbling to herself about Derek not taking this seriously.
"Well I think you're cute," Emily stepped even closer, glancing back to make sure that her friend was out of earshot. "You know, if it doesn't work out with her, gimme a call sometime."
"Um.. you do realise I'm taking her to meet my family, right?" Derek could barely believe that this was the kind of person Jessica had as a best friend, "It's pretty serious."
Emily shrugged, not at all deterred by his statement, "Whatever," She stepped back with a sly smile, "Hey Jess, your doggy is getting impatient."
Jessica stepped out of the bathroom with a sigh, running her hands nervously down the front of her dress, "Now, I didn't have time to go all out, and I don't know what kind of style Sarah likes, but I think simple and black is something all women can get behind. Oh God, what about Cameron? She's young, she probably has a whole different style..."
Meanwhile Derek's jaw had pretty much hit the floor as soon as she stepped out, fortunately though he managed to flap it around a little until words came out, interrupting her. "You're..." He eyed her up and down again, "Beautiful."
She did look beautiful, wearing a long black dress, the hem of which draped behind her. Simple straps over her shoulders showed just the right amount of skin, and it fit beautifully, accenting her figure in all the right places.
"Thank you." Jessica stepped forward and kissed him gently, rubbing the stubble on his cheek with a playful sigh as she glanced at his clothes, "I know you own a suit, so what's with this?"
"I eat dinner with them all the time. What's with all this?" He waved a hand in the general direction of her dress which looked more expensive than his last two trucks combined.
"I want to make a good impression!" She swatted at his chest, "You don't want your family to think you're hooking up with someone dirty, do you?"
"Well" He answered with a smirk, "John might..."
"John already has a little girlfriend." She smiled over at Emily, "You should see his nieces and nephew Em, they're soooooo cute!"
"Yeah, great." Emily had been quietly simmering, first at how great Jessica looked, secondly at how totally in love the couple seemed to be.
"So, am I forgetting anything?" She glanced around almost frantically, snatching up her purse and her cellphone off it's charging cradle, "I've got my phone, a backup pair of shoes, makeup for any touch-ups, digital camera to mark the occasion..."
"Trust me, they're not a picture type of family. I'd just uh...leave the camera behind...seriously." He added a nod for good measure.
"Really?" She pouted, fiddling with the camera in her hands, "But... you had pictures of them."
"Yeah, one, and I took that just to show you. Really, it's fine, just don't bring the camera. Not just yet anyway."
Rolling her eyes with a smirk, Jessica tossed the camera it into her dresser drawer, "You make it sound like they're wanted by the FBI Derek. They're just kids."
Derek chuckled nervously, "FBI, that'd be weird. No, we're just not big on pictures...spare shoes, really? What's wrong with the ones you're wearing?" He asked, trying desperately to change the subject.
Looking at Derek like he'd just said the world was flat and inhabited by undead squirrels, Jessica explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "In case I get something on this pair, or break a heel, or realise someone else is wearing the same pair? Come on, Derek. Think."
Derek rolled his eyes, "Of course, what was I thinking." Smiling, he offered her his arm, "So, you ready? We're only ten minutes late, I can make that time up on the drive."
"Oooohhhh, I love it when you drive fast!" Getting that giddy grin she usually wore around Derek, Jessica tossed her arm through his, "Oh, hey. I almost forgot. Do you have a gun? Ems seems to think all soldiers carry them around, but I've never seen one on you."
"Well..." Derek stalled, frantically trying to come up with something believable, "I guess I just didn't want to scare you." He shrugged, flashing her his puppy dog eyes for added effect.
"Wait, so you do own a gun?" She quirked a brow, not really upset, just surprised. Then she suddenly remembered that picture of him on his phone, "Um... how many exactly?"
He shrugged, "It's not important." He gave his watch a cursory glance, "Come on, we really are running late." He grabbed her hand and started tugging towards the door.
No sooner had they left her apartment than Derek let out a huge, and audible sigh of relief as they headed towards the elevators.
Jessica glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, she'd never seen him looking so nervous…and she had a feeling she knew why. "Did Ems hit on you?"
Caught slightly off guard, Derek almost choked on his own tongue, however after recovering he still tried to play it cool, "What? No, of course not."
Hoping that was the end of it, he turned his attention forward and hit the button for the elevator…several times.
"Come on Derek, it's alright…she hit on you didn't she?" Jessica asked, squaring her shoulders to face him.
"Well…"
"I knew it!" Jessica declared cutting off whatever it was he was about to say.
"Look, Jess, she just…"
Once again she cut him off, threading her arm through his, "It's okay Derek."
"It is?" He asked, somewhat sceptical for obvious reasons.
"Yeah, she always does that. Any time I have something new and shiny she just can't keep her hands off of it..or him." She answered, tugging herself closer to his arm, laying her head on his shoulder.
"So, why are you friends with her Jess?" Derek asked, breathing a much quieter sigh of relief this time.
Jessica shrugged, looking up at him, "Because I have been since we were old enough to know what friends are. I love her."
Shaking his head in disbelief, Derek couldn't believe how odd his night had been so far. Unfortunately for him, he had a feeling it was about to get a whole lot worse.
Would she prefer pink, red perhaps…purple?
It was an odd dilemma for Cameron to be facing, and something she never, ever thought she'd have to go through. Why was she put in this situation, why was it even a concern? It was quite beyond her reckoning as she scanned her dresser for an appropriate item.
It wasn't like she didn't have a personal preference, and it wasn't like she didn't have an opinion on what would look 'tight', but she couldn't work out just what Sarah would choose or prefer. In fact, she was taken completely by surprise by the request in the first place.
Picking up an unopened pink, she turned it around in her hands, superimposing it on to Sarah in her HUD and considering if it was an appropriate choice. Deciding it wasn't quite her, she set it back down and picked up a black, once again unopened.
Satisfied this was indeed the correct choice, she turned on a heel and started making her way back to Sarah's bedroom. When she arrived, she found a half dressed Sarah currently leaning over, squinting in her mirror at her face, the cyborg not having bothered to knock before entering. "Sarah?"
"Did you get what I asked?" Sarah asked without even bothering to look back, also seemingly not bothered by the cyborg seeing her in a state of undress. After all, she was a soldier, she just got on with it. It wasn't like Cameron was going to take pictures and spread them all over the internet or anything.
"I did…what are you doing?" Cameron enquired with a tilt of her head.
"Nothing. Give it here.." Sarah answered, holing out her hand behind her, still staring at herself in the mirror.
Cameron handed over the small bottle of black nail polish with a frown, apparently manners were at a premium today. So much so that John had just breezed past her when he'd came home, citing the reason of a 'mission to prepare for' so he could pretty much avoid having that talk Cameron was intent on making him endure.
"Thanks…for a minute I thought you were going to come back with purple or something." Sarah joked, her eyes flicking to Cameron in the mirror.
The cyborg's face betrayed nothing, but internally she congratulated herself for having excellent taste as she sat herself down on the edge of Sarah's bed, after clearing a small space for herself in amongst Sarah's clothes.
Catching sight of Cameron staring at her in the mirror like a little lost puppy, Sarah glanced over her shoulder as she carried on getting ready for the evening. "You're programmed to…fool people, right?"
With a trademark curious tilt of her head, Cameron answered as neutrally as possible, "Yes, I'm an infiltrator, it's what we do."
"Well I'm not." Slamming the bottle of nail polish down suddenly on the desk with all the frustration of a monk on a visit to the Playboy mansion, she could've sworn even Cameron jumped a little at her reaction. "Derek fed this girl a line of bullshit about me being a stay at home mother to you, Amy and John. How in the hell am I supposed to pull that off?" She asked with an exasperated shake of her head.
"You have been a mother to John for many years," Cameron calmly replied after a moment's consideration, subtly eyeing her bottle of nail polish Sarah had just slammed without cause on the dresser…she liked that colour. "How is this any different?"
"It just is!" Sarah replied, rounding on Cameron like a scolding mother. Rubbing her face in irritation, she slowly turned back to face her mirror. Leaning forward slightly, she found herself irrationally displeased with the lines under her eyes she'd never really paid much attention to until now. "I buy my clothes for tactical utility, and maybe for a little slice of vanity, not a PTA meeting. I just don't look like a stay at home mother, now do I?"
Taking a few seconds to scan Sarah from top to toe, Cameron managed to summon up a response she was sure wouldn't offend. "Perhaps you just work out a lot. Many women these days can look good while still maintaining their daily household duties."
Sarah rolled her eyes, the cyborg sounded like she was reciting that from a magazine. The worst part of it was that Sarah realised she probably was reciting it from a magazine. "And my clothes?" Sarah asked impatiently.
"You have a lot of free time, you shop," Cameron responded like she was stating the perfectly obvious, "You prefer practicality over…" She paused, once again trying to summon up the correct phrase to dispel any possible reaction, "Flamboyance."
With a quick glance over her shoulder, Sarah, unable to forget their conversation at the mall about the merits of choosing one particular set of underwear over another, eyed the cyborg warily. "And you prefer…flamboyance? Or is it that John does?"
Sarah watched as Cameron's normally placid face twisted in to a glare, aimed right at her reflection in the mirror. "I prefer it because John has a…an attraction to it."
Cameron wasn't at all happy with Sarah's unappreciative attitude, especially as she was just trying to help the woman. She was the one who'd initiated the conversation, and yet Sarah felt the need to use it to get in a little derision of the metal, or at least that's what it felt like to her.
"Do you require a loan of something more appropriate? I have many garments that would fit you…" Cameron's eyes sank lower, subtly running a quick body mass scan. Her eyes snapped back up to Sarah's as she turned around, the same moment Cameron realised that her 'many' statement was probably something of an embellishment.
With a sigh, Sarah pinched the bridge of her nose, "You don't think that would just look more odd? A thir…an older woman, wearing clothes like that?"
Tilting her head just a fraction to the opposite side than it was before, Cameron's shoulders rose and fell in time with a quirked brow, "Are you concerned that it would be uncomfortable? They are the latest fashion, Katie from the store assured me they are 'so in right now'.
Sarah almost had to stop herself laughing at the way Cameron deadpanned a statement like that. But it was actually her words that made her realise how ridiculous she was being, after all, what the hell did she care what some spoilt little rich model thought of her. If she got too close to her, the killing machine giving her fashion advice could take care of the problem.
Damn crow's feet.
"Fuck it, hand me a tank top."
Standing up with her usual fluid grace, Cameron turned and scanned the bed where it seemed that Sarah had half her wardrobe laid out. She idly wondered if this was a trait all human women shared, the need to see every item of clothing before choosing one to wear. She imagined it might be, after all, human women weren't capable of creating and updating a database in their minds containing every item of clothing they owned. It was a sad day for Cameron when they had to move and leave their old house. Purging her database was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do. Building her wardrobe back up would take forever.
Refocusing on her task, Cameron noticed an oddity. Sarah wasn't one for much colour, in fact, her choice was very limited. "Black or white?" Scanning the bed again to make sure she hadn't missed anything and moving around the odd item, Cameron confirmed those were in fact her only choices, "You don't seem to have much variation in your attire."
"I don't need much variation. It's not like I go out," Sarah glanced over her shoulder again, she wasn't in the mood to have her lack of social life shoved in her face by Cameron of all people. "Derek does enough of that for the both of us. Black will be fine."
Handing off the closest black top to Sarah, Cameron examined her, searching for any way to improve her appearance, "Are you planning on altering your hairstyle for the evening? I have straighteners if you'd like to borrow them." Cameron offered with an innocent smile, genuinely thinking she was being helpful, "It's the hardest part to get right."
"Yeah I remember you saying," Turning back to the cyborg with a clear 'WTF?' face, Sarah stared for a long moment, Cameron's gaze and smile unwavering, before donning the top and yanking her hair back in to a loose ponytail, "And my 'style', is just fine, thank you."
Cameron's smile grew, somebody's gratitude other than John's was a refreshing change, "You're welcome." Eager to build on the improved mood, Cameron glanced down and back up again, "Perhaps a nicer pair of shoes?"
Sarah's expression only tilted further towards its intended meaning, "Who the hell is going to notice my boots?"
"You're right," Cameron answered with a sage nod, "Katie also said that boots are making a comeback."
She sat back down on the edge of Sarah's bed, idly wondering if Katie's statement meant that Cameron could be considered some sort of trend setter, after all, boots were very much a part of her style, "What do you know of Derek's new friend?"
Quirking a brow at her future daughter in law in the mirror, Sarah was at least willing to go as far as throwing on some makeup as she talked, "Other than the fact they're fucking?"
"Yes," Cameron responded without a moment's hesitation, "Although John prefers the term, 'making love'."
Almost choking on her own tongue, Sarah managed to recover after a couple of subtle coughs and a firm thud to her chest with a closed fist. "That implies the people doing it are actually in love. You really think Derek and some ditsy model type care about each other beyond what part fits where?"
Ignoring the comment, she knew Sarah wasn't fully aware of her…issues, Cameron continued on. "Derek Reese has risked a lot by agreeing to bring her here. He at least trusts her…and us, enough for nothing inappropriate to happen."
"She's a rich fashion model Cameron," Sarah glanced back over her shoulder, eyed the girl for a moment before turning back with a scoff, "It's pretty unlikely she was working with Skynet. Besides, I have no idea what he could possibly see in this girl."
"Her appearance perhaps?" Cameron offered with a tilt of her head, she knew first hand just how powerful physical attraction could be, especially in the case of human males.
"And we're right back to the fact they can't possibly be in love with each other." Sarah countered, bobbing her head in agreement with her own statement. Growling under her breath, she finished her makeup off, what little of it there was, and made her way over to the bed, perching herself beside Cameron and setting to work pulling on and lacing up her boots. "Which means that Derek is risking exposing us for a booty call."
"Perhaps she has more endearing qualities we aren't aware of. People are often different than others assume, we'll find out tonight." Turning around, Cameron couldn't help but wonder just where that little tidbit had emerged from. In a way, she was comparing herself to Derek's new friend, was there more beneath the surface to be discovered with her too? Cameron hoped not, disposing of somebody as supposedly wealthy as her would have its complications.
Twisting her body around to look behind her, Cameron started poking through a nearby pile of clothes, searching for something to make Sarah's outfit suitably 'tight'.
Finishing up her boots, Sarah rose to find Cameron fiddling with a pile of her clothes. Ignoring the odd behaviour, she stood and walked over to her closet. Instead of reaching to open the door, she instead lifted the crappy ten dollar painting off the wall to reveal the hollowed out cavity behind, storing some of her favourite 'accessories'. Quickly perusing her choices, she selected an accessory of the 9mm variety, something that wouldn't be sticking out of her pants all night. "What are you doing?"
Cameron glanced up and noticed the quizzical look on Sarah's face in the mirror. "Looking for something to improve your outfit."
Deciding that a little extra firepower may be necessary, as was her usual stance when it came to, well, pretty much everything, Sarah also snagged an extra pistol small enough to tuck in her boot and replaced the painting on the wall. Crouching over to tuck the pistol in to her footwear, she looked up at Cameron, who had resumed her digging, "My outfit is just fine."
Setting yet another white tank top down on the bed, Cameron frowned at Sarah's very distinct lack of ambition when it came to looking good. Amy would have the machine equivalent of a heart attack if she knew Sarah was this disinterested in her appearance. Standing up from the bed with a tiny growl of frustration, Cameron scanned Sarah with a small tilt of her head, when the perfect item to improve her outfit came to her. "Wait here."
Before Sarah even had a chance to protest, or even to question, Cameron had disappeared from the room. Oddly enough, rather than just ignoring the instruction and doing whatever she pleased, Sarah found herself rooted to the spot, feeling rather awkward despite the fact she was alone. But Cameron was just trying to help, the least she could do was comply with her request.
Cameron returned a moment later, rounding the door frame with the merest ghost of a smile adorning her lips. She held her outstretched arm towards Sarah, "Here."
She waited for Sarah to accept her gift almost on autopilot before continuing as Sarah turned it over in her hands. "I bought it the last time we went clothes shopping."
Sarah examined the small, delicate looking necklace in her hands. The small pendant hanging from it reflecting the light in the room nicely. She couldn't help but be surprised, it was actually really nice. She looked up at the satisfied looking cyborg, a question readily apparent on her face, "I didn't realise you wore much jewellery."
"I don't, but I'm always trying new things. I like new things." Cameron answered, standing stock still and waiting for a response. Any response would've done, be it a 'thank you', or even a small sign of appreciation for her efforts, or her excellent taste and eye for accessories.
"It's uh…nice." Quickly slipping the necklace on, Sarah straightened it around her neck and looked up to find Cameron smiling approvingly. Sarah rolled her eyes, it was almost too much to bare, "I'd limit it to necklaces though, Cameron. I'd hate to see what your style of fighting would do to a ring."
Cameron's smile suddenly faded, replaced by a look of…curiosity. Would a ring look good on her hand? Could she wear one and still perform her job? It was a bridge she'd have to cross eventually, only one ring sprung to mind that she desired, however. It was a curious thought that flashed through her mind, the vision of her John slipping a ring on to her finger was something she found to be quite appealing.
One step at a time, Cameron.
Shaking herself from her reverie, and quite frankly, fantasies, her ears detected the familiar sound of a truck pulling in to the driveway. "Derek is here."
With a dramatic sigh and one final smoothing down of her top, Sarah made sure both her weapons were very much concealed. "Alright, let's get this over with. You go downstairs and check her out, make sure she's, you know, not a cyborg or anything."
Assigned her task, Cameron left the room with nothing more than a small nod. On her way down the stairs towards the front door, she heard a distinct commotion as Sarah entered John's room unannounced. Apparently John wasn't ready for dinner yet.
Carrying on down the stairs with the unintentional stealth of a B-2 bomber, Cameron made her way to the door. Surprising herself by self consciously ensuring her outfit was still in all it's perfection, she had to use all of her reflexes to narrowly avoid the opening door clipping the tip of her nose. Watching it swing past her, she turned her attention to the couple on the front step. A tilt of her head and a stare was all it took for a clearly nervous Derek to try and force a convincing smile.
"Hey there." Derek greeted, using his free hand to wave vaguely in her direction, glancing around behind her in to the house nervously.
"Derek," Cameron greeted with a curt nod before turning her stare to the young woman nervously clutching to Derek's other hand. It was such an odd sight for Cameron to behold, that after a moment, her eyes shifted down to the pair's joined hands and then back up to her face.
Trying and failing to suppress a convulsive gulp, Derek put on a good natured smile and shrugged, "Uh, Jess, this is Cameron. Cameron, Jessica."
Jessica put on her best model perfect smile, really hoping it was coming off as sincere. She really wanted to make a good impression on Derek's family, and yet, she couldn't help but feel intimidated by this wisp of a girl standing before her, metaphorically holding the keys to the castle. "Hi Cameron, heard a lot about you," Jessica greeted, holding her hand out for Cameron to take.
Ignoring the offered hand, Cameron shifted her blank stare to Derek where it morphed to a more menacing expression. With a quick tilt of her head, she returned her attention to the woman still holding out her hand, "What have you heard?"
"Oh, uh…" Jessica answered a little shakily, withdrawing her hand feeling more than a little hurt and frankly discouraged that it wasn't taken. "Just that you were a…nice girl," She shrugged rather pathetically, unable to come up with anything else to say. She knew very little about the girl, such was Derek's inability to divulge details about his life, however the small details she did know she wasn't sure she should bring up. The subject of the asshole boyfriend who refused to touch her since she was injured at the forefront of that list, that and the apparent obsession with her brother.
After taking a moment, Cameron nodded once as a sign of her acceptance, a small portion of her 'scary robot face' fading, "Your dress is…noticeable."
Noticing the young woman's eyes trailing downwards over her body, Jessica matched her gaze, smiling, "Uh, thank you." She wasn't quite sure if 'noticeable' was a compliment or not, but she chose to think of it as one, desperate to cling to any positive out of this pretty dismal first impression so far. "You look nice too. Derek told me you like to look your best."
"Some of us take pride in our appearance." Cameron's eyes quickly shifted to Derek and his faded army jacket, her face twisting ever so slightly in to a look of disdain.
With a roll of his eyes, Derek stepped forward, almost to the point of trying to push past Cameron. "Alright, enough introductions…sweetie," he said through gritted teeth to Cameron, "Come on in Jess."
Tugging Jessica by the hand, almost yanking her from her spot on the step, Derek brushed past Cameron, glaring at her the entire way, unseen to Jessica.
Cameron remained rooted to the spot for a moment, staring at the back of Derek's head like she genuinely couldn't understand why he appeared to be annoyed. Her questioning was perfectly valid, after all, humans were stupid, at least compared to her. Closing the door quietly, she followed the couple in to the living room to find Derek, in an uncharacteristically gentlemanly action, helping Jessica remove her coat. Cameron couldn't help a small huff of disappointment, her frame was much too lithe to house a standard Terminator.
Dropping a quick kiss on Jessica's cheek and folding her coat over his arm, Derek took off towards the closet, "Is uh…mom around?"
Head cocking to the side a fraction, Cameron stared at him as he walked past her. She knew she had to keep up the pretence of being Sarah's daughter, and Derek's niece, but she found it oddly fascinating how committed Derek was to the lie, all to protect a girl who would most likely be perishing in a few years anyway. That was unless he had other ideas in mind for her on Judgement Day. "She's upstairs, John isn't ready yet."
A tiny smirk crept across her face as her advanced brain formulated a plan, "Why don't you go upstairs and check on them…I'll stay here," Her eyes flicked quickly to Jessica and then back to Derek.
Looking like a deer caught in headlights, Derek froze. He couldn't exactly deny a suggestion as 'innocent' as that without it looking odd. He was certain Jessica was already suspicious about his past, what he really did and where he disappeared off to for hours at a time. If he said no, he may as well have plastered 'liar' on to his forehead for her to read. "Uh…sure, I guess."
Cameron watched him ascend the stairs, the pair's eyes locked until he disappeared from view, taking the last few steps extra slow and craning his neck to keep the cyborg in his vision until the last possible moment. Eventually though he had to depart, leaving Cameron alone in the room with a satisfied smile. Quickly clearing her face, she slowly turned to Jessica, who wore a similar deer in the headlights look as the one Derek had sported a moment earlier. It gave Cameron more satisfaction than it should have that she was able to provoke that reaction in people, especially people she wasn't familiar with. Intimidation is a powerful weapon.
Taking small steps, she approached Jessica slowly, almost predatory, circling around to the far side of her. Jessica found herself unable to tear her eyes away from the girl, she had an imposing presence despite her relatively small stature. Cameron spoke, startling Jessica slightly, "It's nice to finally meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too," Jessica stammered by way of reply, fighting the urge to back away, the primal, survival part of her brain kicking in. For the life of her, she couldn't work out just why she felt so uncomfortable around this girl, she looked about a hundred pounds dripping wet. Instead of her usual calm demeanour, she found herself rambling uncharacteristically, "I've been bugging Derek for weeks now. He's always talking about you guys, and there's so much love there…he's a really nice guy, you know? I really like him a lot…"
Cameron interrupted her with a nod and a sweet smile, "I love my uncle Derek. Did you know he kept you a secret from us?" She enquired innocently.
"He…what?" Jessica asked, taken aback by her statement, unable to completely hide the hurt from her expression and her voice, "No, I didn't know that. But Derek seems to have a lot of those…secrets, I mean."
"Yes, his past is a difficult subject for him to discuss," Cameron agreed with a nod and a sad looking smile, "Has he ever discussed it with you?" Her sweet and polite voice came in stark contrast to what Jessica was hearing and seeing as Cameron took a small step closer to the other woman, seemingly towering over her, despite the fact they were roughly the same height, and Jessica was in heels.
"Um, he uh…he said he fought with your dad in the war." Jessica shrugged sheepishly, assuming of course that it was her connection to her deceased father that was causing her to be a little sensitive when it came to the past, "That's where he got his scars."
"During the war?" Cameron asked, her gaze locked on the older woman.
"Yeah." Jessica replied sympathetically, although she was pretty sure this girl hadn't blinked since Derek left and it unnerved her that she was even noticing silly little things like that, "I heard Iraq was hell. I'm…sorry about your dad."
Jessica seemed to shrink under Cameron's intense stare. Working through her available data, Cameron decided that the girl was telling the truth, despite her obvious intimidation. In a way, she was glad, disposing of her body would be a chore, and she had far more important things to worry about, like getting John to speak to her properly again. Donning a sweet, innocent smile, all traces of the scary robot gone, Cameron held out her hand, offering the couch to Jessica, "John and mom will be down soon, please, have a seat."
Releasing a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding, Jessica carefully smoothed her dress under her legs and took a seat, "And um…Amy, is it? Your little sister?"
"Yes, but she isn't upstairs, she's in the back garden…I'll just go get her, she needs to wash her hands before dinner." Widening her smile, Cameron turned on a heel and set off towards the kitchen and the back door, leaving Jessica alone with her thoughts and slightly sweaty palms.
"I can't believe you pulled this shit on me, Reese." Sarah scolded in a hushed whisper as she descended the stairs, glancing back over her shoulder at John, "And you! I don't know what Derek has on you, but backing him on this bullshit? With everything else that's going on? Still not inspiring my confidence in your decision making ability."
"Hey," John protested, his hands raised in the air as a sign of his innocence, "Don't blame me for this, I'm not the one dating her."
"Oh no, you're just dating the cyborg sent back in time to…holy shit!" Stopping dead on the stairs, John almost barreling in to the back of her, Sarah couldn't quite believe what her eyes were telling her when she caught her first glimpse of Jessica sitting primly on the couch. She was in such a state of surprise, shock and disbelief that she actually had to look from Derek to Jessica several times just to confirm what it was she was seeing.
Jessica, hearing the commotion, stood up and self consciously smoothed down the front of her dress. Not that she wasn't used to being looked at, but the way the woman standing at the bottom of the stairs who she assumed was Sarah was looking at her, she was almost sure there was something very wrong with the way she looked, "Uh, hi." She offered with a smile, getting more and more worried by the looks and slack jawed stares she'd been on the receiving end of so far this evening.
After a few seconds, Sarah's face morphed in to something remarkably similar to Cameron's, cool and distant, only reinforcing the notion that she was indeed Cameron's mother. Descending the last few steps, Sarah extended her hand slowly with a tight smile to accompany it, "You must be Jessica."
With a small nod, Jessica shuffled forward, the hem of her dress dragging along the floor behind her. "I am. Sarah, right?"
Reaching out with more than a little trepidation, Jessica slowly and carefully took her hand with a forced smile. Although, she was infinitely less intimidated by the supposedly badass Sarah than she was by the cute little daughter, Cameron. It ought to have been the other way around.
"Yes." Nodding once and giving the young woman's hand a firm shake, very firm in fact. Jessica couldn't help but notice her handshake more resembled that of a strong man, never mind a slim, thirty something woman. Trying not to wince, she formed a smile as Sarah gripped, squeezed, then pumped twice. If she'd been wearing dog tags, she would've been so sure she'd met Kyle in the military. Her outfit and general appearance wouldn't have looked out of place on an army base out in the middle of the Afghan desert as far as she was concerned.
It was about that time that Derek had managed to tear his attention away from the scene of his girlfriend meeting Sarah Connor for the first time. Glancing to his left, he found the curious sight of the future leader of all humanity staring at Jessica the same way he'd gawked at her the first time they met. The difference between then and now being that she wasn't Derek's girlfriend yet, and he didn't much appreciate her being looked at like she was a piece of meat, especially by his nephew.
Shaking his head, Derek's elbow shot out at an impressive pace, physically and mentally knocking John out of his trance like state. Snapping his head around to glare at his uncle while rubbing the now sore spot on his ribs, John spoke in a hushed whisper, "What?"
"That's my girlfriend you're drooling over," Derek answered as it was totally obvious what he was pissed at, shaking his head harshly, "And if yours sees you staring like that, mine won't survive the night."
"Alright, alright, jeez," John replied, holding his hands up defensively as he barrelled forward, almost knocking Sarah over such was his haste to greet Jessica. "Hi, I'm John," He greeted excitedly.
"Wow," Jessica replied with a genuine smile, the poor girl just thrilled to be greeted nicely by someone in the family. It was a grand departure from the cold and downright unfriendly vibes she'd been getting so far, "You said he looked like his father Derek, but you didn't tell me he was so cute! You must have to beat the girls off with a stick, huh John?"
Blushing several shades of red like he'd just been busted on the job, John chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, "Yeah, I'm always beating off…beating them off…beating the girls off…with a stick! Yeah, a stick!" Once again he chuckled nervously, if anything blushing all the more, the sheer beauty of the woman making him act like a little boy all over again.
Sporting a delightful chuckle herself, Jessica reached out and patted him on the shoulder, probably not realising that the last thing the poor boy needed right then was physical contact. But despite it all, Jessica was starting to feel more comfortable around these people, if only slightly, turning to Sarah with a smile, "Cameron said she went to get little Amy. How old is she again?"
Sarah froze in a very uncharacteristic slip of preparation. She had no clue how old Amy was supposed to be, Derek had neglected to mention exactly what he'd told the girl, "She's uh…"
Seeing Sarah struggle, Derek mentally kicked himself for his slip. He jumped in to bail her out, "She's eight, and as cute as a button, you'll love her."
"Yeah, of course, she's eight," Sarah agreed with a nod and a smile, "You lose track you know, they grow up so fast." Despite the situation, Sarah couldn't help but smile when she glanced to her side to see her son. She smiled more at his boyish behaviour than anything else. It was nice to see him smile…especially when it was someone or something besides Cameron causing it these days.
"I'm sure I will." Jessica brought out her winning smile, making it obvious to everyone just why she was a model, "You have such a beautiful family, Sarah. You must be very proud. Though I have to say, for twins, I expected John and Cameron to look more…similar."
Sarah shrugged, putting her genuine smile to the side, replacing it with the same tight smile she'd sported earlier. "Genetics are a bitch."
Her expression as she glanced over to Derek read 'twins, really?'. Derek merely shrugged apologetically in reply.
"I guess they are," Jessica looked a little sheepish, totally unsure if she'd just offended Sarah or not, "Your home is beautiful."
"Yeah, great place, great kids, great…everything." Derek grabbed everyone's attention with a roll of his eyes. He was the one out of the group who had the most riding on this. After all, Jessica could always go back to her normal life, as could his family. But he knew deep down he would never, ever get a shot with a woman as special as Jessica as long as he lived. He just wanted to get it all over with as quickly as possible, "So, dinner ready?"
Sarah glanced down at her watch, easily ignoring Derek's obvious uncomfortableness, "Well it will be soon, or we get it for free…"
She glanced around, finding everyone suddenly staring at her, "What? I burned the roast. We could still have that if you'd like, but the pizza is on it's way."
Jessica cut in quickly, trying to be gracious, "Oh no, that's perfect. We love pizza, don't we Derek? Always stuffing our faces!"
Sarah shrugged, not bothered in the least if she'd just declared she loved to eat Bulgarian baby moose for dinner, "Yeah well, you know, it was short notice and everything. Derek only saw fit to inform us you were invited to dinner about an hour ago."
Jessica spun on a heel towards her boyfriend, her dress swishing out behind her, "Derek? Why would you do that to them? Doesn't this woman have enough to worry about, raising three children, without you throwing this on her last minute? And Cameron said they didn't even know about me!"
Derek uncharacteristically stood slack jawed for a moment, his normally combat ready and effective brain turned to mush. He wasn't sure if it was the waft of her perfume as she spun around or the berating she was giving him, but he found himself unable to formulate any kind of plan that might get him off the hook.
Fortunately he was saved by the back door opening with a slam off the wall and Amy barreling in through it, practically sprinting in to the living room before coming to a sudden, screeching halt. Cameron followed behind a moment later after closing the door, but even she was surprised when a little blonde blur shot by her and clung to the back of her legs. She held up her hands, unsure what was happening, that was until Amy's head peeked out, eyeing the new arrival warily before disappearing again. Anybody could mistake her behaviour as that of a shy child, but Cameron was fairly sure she could make out a tiny smirk on the little machine's lips.
"Ohhh. Sweetie, it's alright!" Quickly stepping closer, Jessica kneeled down in front of Cameron's legs, ignoring the potential damage it could cause to her ridiculously expensive dress. "I'm just your uncle Derek's girlfriend, Jessica."
Attempting to step out of the way, Cameron found her efforts thwarted as a pair of tiny hands remained clinging to her jeans, moving with her step by step. After a moment, Amy's face peeked out from behind her legs, "You're pretty," She remarked before hiding again.
"Awwww, thank you. I like your dress." Smiling, Jessica stayed still, not making any move to approach the sweet little angel currently cowering behind her big sister, simply waiting for Amy to get comfortable with her presence. "Your uncle Derek has told me lots about you, he really loves you you know."
"He does?" Amy asked hopefully, and somewhat sceptically as she peeked out from behind Cameron again.
Derek meanwhile rolled his eyes at the sight, thinking to himself, 'just what the hell have I gotten myself into here?'.
"Of course he does!" Jessica answered brightly, her dazzling smile on display for all to see, leaning forward just a little, sensing that Amy might just be warming up to her. "He says you do a great job of keeping him in line, which I should thank you for."
"Why?" Amy asked, her curiosity growing and her grip on Cameron's jeans loosening just a little.
"Because I know how hard it is!" Jessica answered with a grin.
Amy giggled softly, detaching from Cameron completely, "You're funny." She stepped out from behind her sister, "Your dress is really nice."
"Well, that's great, everybody loves everyone else's dress." Derek interrupted with a smirk, returning from quietly having grabbed a much needed beer from the fridge, "Except Sarah, who looks like she raided John's hamper. Everybody ready to eat?"
Sarah scowled at Derek, wondering just what this clearly elegant, classy, beautiful young woman saw in him anyway. "Yeah, pizza should be just about…" As if she knew, she glanced out of the front window just in time for the pizza delivery guy pulling up outside. "Here. Alright, everyone grab a seat, I'll go get our dinner."
Derek led Jessica over to the table with a smile, which she happily returned when he pulled the chair out for her like a true gentleman. Usually he wouldn't have thought twice about it, were it not for the smirks he received from most of the other inhabitants at the time. Deciding he really didn't care he dropped a kiss on her check as she slid in to the seat before taking a seat beside her.
John flopped down into his chair, eventually, after stumbling in to it a couple of times. After all, it was tough to locate a chair when his eyes were glued to Jessica the entire time. He really couldn't fathom just how his uncle had managed to snag this one…life just wasn't fair. Although he seemed to be forgetting all about the beautiful cyborg who he loved, his hormones getting the better of him as soon as he clapped eyes on her.
Jessica settled herself in, brushing a few errant strands of hair back behind her ear, mostly oblivious to the drooling John opposite her as Amy bounced up in to the chair beside her. "Hi!" She said through a toothy grin.
"Well hi there sweetie!" Jessica greeted, her smile almost matching Amy's in it's exuberance. Swivelling her legs around, she turned to face the little girl, leaning on her knees so that she was at the same height, again not caring about how it affected her dress. "Aren't you just adorable? I love your dress, it's so cute. I wish I had a dress like that," She said with a small pout.
Amy shyly fiddled with the front pocket on her dress, aimlessly flapping it around in the air, her smile slowly creeping across her face, "Thank you. Why are you friends with Uncle Derek? He's yucky!"
"Awww, I think your Uncle Derek is sweet." Reaching over, happy beyond belief that somebody seemed to like her beyond how she looked, she grabbed Derek's hand and gave it a squeeze, "And he takes good care of me."
Amy scrunched up her face in disgust, sticking her tongue out just a little, "You'll get cooties," She warned, turning back to her plate.
Derek watched the whole exchange, glaring at Amy over Jessica's shoulder he entire time, that was until she turned to face him, her smile stretching from ear to ear. "You hear that Derek? You're yucky!" She mouthed an 'awwww', just for him.
The only thing running through Derek's head at that point was 'oh shit…she wants one'. "You'll change your mind about that some day…sweetie." The words just didn't quite feel right when said through clenched teeth, but Derek just couldn't help it.
"Yeah," John agreed, his mouth around a slice of pizza Sarah had returned with, him digging in first. "Wouldn't hold my breath on that one Uncie D. Something tells me Amy is never gonna grow up!"
Derek scoffed very ungentlemanly like, despite Jessica's presence, "Look who's talking." He glared at John, reaching out to grab a couple of slices for himself and Jessica.
"Hey," John said with a laugh pretty much devoid of humour, "I'm not the one hiding my girlfriend from mommy."
"Again, look who's talking. Tell me, how is your girl these days?" Derek knew it was a cheap shot, but he just didn't want any shit on tonight of all nights.
Despite almost choking on his pizza, grabbing everyone's attention as a result, John still managed to muster up a glare for his dear uncle, "We're…just fine."
Sensing the mounting hostility, it was pretty tough not to notice it, despite being unable to fathom the reason for it, Jessica tried to steer the conversation back to a more pleasant direction, "So, are you and Cameron in the same grade?"
Amy let out a heartwarming giggle beside her, "No, Cammy is way more clever!"
Cameron merely looked up from poking at her pizza at Jessica, levelling her with her favourite 'duh' look, "Yes, we're twins. Twins are the same age."
"So do you guys have the same friends?" Jessica smiled in reply, despite seeing the look Cameron was giving her, she was just happy to be able to use her knowledge about the pair, maybe proving she cared about the family. "Derek says you're very close. So, double dates, stuff like that?"
As she was eagerly waiting for a reply, Derek gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Cameron's not one for dates. But other than that, yeah, they're usually welded together."
Aside from the fact that it didn't look like that from her point of view, Jessica quirked a brow in confusion, she could've swore Derek had said she had a jerk of a boyfriend, "Um…what about you John? What's your girlfriend like?"
"She's…" He hesitated, his eyes flickering over to Cameron for a brief moment before he carried on eating, "She's great."
Jessica then turned to Cameron, frowning at John's distinct lack of an answer, "Derek mentioned you have a boyfriend too Cameron. What's he like?"
Cameron set her pizza slice down and demurely gave her fingertips a quick but thorough wipe on her napkin. "He refuses to engage in sexual activity with me until my injuries heal." She cast a pointed glare over in John's direction before tilting her head curiously at Jessica. Perhaps the woman could provide a little insight after all, "Is this typical for adolescent males? I assume that since you're involved with Uncle Derek you have an extensive knowledge of the pattern of male immaturity."
Jessica, along with everybody besides Amy almost choked on their pizza at the sheer bluntness of her statement, even though Cameron's expression remained curious, seemingly ignoring the coughing fit. "Um, I uh, I guess it depends on the guy. What's he usually like?"
Seemingly for the first time since she'd met her, Cameron's face softened as she got a far away look in her eyes, "Kind, respectful, loyal, though he does have a tendency towards suppressing his feelings."
Jessica laughed, breaking the tension somewhat, "Yeah, guys are like that, you'll get used to it. Um, sorry you've fallen out. You uh, you don't look hurt, what happened?"
Cameron glanced down self consciously at her gloved hand, then over to John quickly. Jessica mistaking her action as simply looking for support from her brother, an easy mistake to make. Cameron tucked her injured hand beneath the table for reasons that were quite beyond her, "I had an accident. I required…surgery, to repair the damage."
Looking back up, wanting to change the conversation, Cameron put on a small smile, "Does Derek suppress his feelings?"
"Well he's…secretive, I'll give him that," Jessica glanced over to him, idly running her thumb over his knuckles. "Guys just don't like showing any kind of weakness. All guys are the same like that."
John meanwhile had grown decidedly uncomfortable at the turn the conversation had taken, shrinking down in to his seat slightly. Primarily he just didn't much appreciate his girlfriend talking about him so openly, despite the fact Jessica had no clue they were in fact discussing him. He interjected with a less than dignified stutter, "So, um, Jessica. Uh, Derek says you mod…well, that is, he says that you're a model."
Jessica, despite her surprise and usual strong personality, developed a small, shy smile. "I do. Although I'm not exactly Tyra Banks or anything." She shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed that the people she was trying to impress with her elegance and grace knew about her profession.
"No." Cameron confirmed coolly, not bothering to look up from her pizza. As the silence descended over the room, she finally looked up, and was decidedly unhappy to see the puppy dog eyes on her boyfriend's face directed squarely at Jessica. She decided to clarify her statement a little harsher than she'd originally intended, but seeing John looking at another woman like that just seemed to provoke her in a way she'd rarely felt since Riley had briefly poisoned their lives. "Not like Tyra Banks. She doesn't do lingerie shoots any more, does she?"
Derek glared up at Cameron almost immediately, pretty much forgetting just who and what she was. Jessica sat beside him, her face tinting several shades of red, "Uh, you uh, you know that huh?"
"It's difficult not to know," Cameron picked up her pizza and took a small nibble from the slice and carried on talking like she was just discussing the weather, "It's the first thing that comes up when you google your name. Did you know you're currently ranked number one hundred and eighty on the 'top two hundred hotties of 2008, compiled by various associated press'?
"You googled me?" Jessica asked, ignoring the question about the ranking, her eyes wide, "I didn't think you'd pay that much attention to me."
"It's not often our…uncle, brings a woman around to meet us." Cameron confirmed with a nod, glancing towards John again almost subconsciously, "We're very protective in this family."
"I can see that." Jessica agreed with a nod of her own, leaning just a little bit closer to Derek subconsciously, her grip tightening on his hand just a little. She turned to Amy, the one ray of sunshine in an otherwise depressingly dark company, "I bet your big brother and sister are always looking out for you aren't they sweetie?"
"Oh yeah!" Amy squealed, grinning from ear to ear, her mouth caked in pizza sauce, "They take great care of me. Cammy even let me help with the laundry yesterday!" She exclaimed happily, as if a chore really was like playtime for her.
Sarah frowned, turning her attention to Cameron. Despite her being mostly passive and being satisfied to observe this new appearance in their lives, something just niggled at her, "I thought I told you to do the laundry?"
Cameron turned her glare towards Sarah, eerily reminiscent of a scene from a horror movie, her neck slowly turning. She had no gripe with Sarah, but it seemed like this girl really brought out the worst, more abrasive elements of her personality. "I did, Amy helped."
Sarah nodded slowly, "Alright then, I just thought it might be something you could handle on your own is all."
Thinking about it and coming to the conclusion that Sarah was pissed at not being properly included in the conversation, Jessica turned to her with a smile, despite her assumption being like putting two and two together and coming up with seven. "So, Sarah…are you seeing anyone?"
Sarah Connor eyed the girl like she'd just spat on her shoes, everybody else in the room trying so hard not to even glance at the head of the house, "No, but if I were I'd inform my family about it." If Cameron's shift of attention was creepy, then Sarah's was just downright dangerous as she switched her glare to Derek pointedly.
"I didn't…I'm sorry about that," Jessica said with a frown and a meek sounding voice, she wasn't really expecting all the hostility she was on the receiving end of as she leaned towards Derek even more, "I would have told him to tell you."
"Yeah well, it's not like we even needed to know, it's not vital or anything," Sarah bit back, a little harsher that she'd intended.
A quiet descended over the table, giving Jessica the distinct impression she really wasn't wanted at all, either at the table or in their lives. Feeling a small tug on her dress, she looked down to find a set of little grubby pizza fingers clutching on to it.
Amy looked up with a grin, "Aunt Jessica, can you get me some more pizza please?"
Despite the marks on her dress, Jessica was just happy that at least one person didn't seem to mind her presence, "Of course sweetie."
Tearing another slice out of the box and setting it on Amy's plate, she ruffled the top of her head in just the way she didn't know Amy hated. She sank back in to her seat a little and her smile subsided when she looked back at the family, "I didn't mean to cause any problems. I'm not trying to steal Derek away from you all or anything. I know how important family is to him, and I'd never mess with that."
John, mostly oblivious to the conversation going on around him, felt a sudden, sharp pain in his shin. Halfway to reaching down to try and rub the sting out of it, he caught sight of Cameron, and she looked pissed.
For her part, she just couldn't understand John's behaviour, did he not realise he'd been staring at Jessica's mostly exposed chest most of the evening? It had been several minutes since he'd last spoke, and in that time he hadn't even taken a bite of his pizza he was so entranced by her. She wasn't fully accustomed to human behaviour, but she was pretty sure that when a man was in a relationship, he wasn't supposed to stare at another woman, especially with his girlfriend sitting opposite him.
Deciding he needed a not so subtle reminder of that fact, she'd aimed a gentle kick at his shin to get his attention, or at least to take it away from…her. Ignoring his glare, she turned to face the object of her dislike, "Family is very important to us all. So John is always reminding me."
"Ouch!" Another kick later and John realised his exclamation had the entire table staring at him. Blushing a deep shade of red, he ran a hand through his short hair, "Uh, yeah. Family is really important, isn't that right Derek? Kinda why we're taking that trip, right?"
Sarah, suddenly alert snapped her eyes up from her pizza, eyes flicking around the room wildly, "Trip, what trip? Derek?"
Suddenly another kick veered in to John's other shin, this one ironically not nearly as gentle as the ones the coltan skeleton-ed Cameron aimed at him, although this one was backed up by the steel toe cap in Derek's boot. "Yeah, uh, since our camping trip got ruined the other day, I figured I'd take John fishing or something. Get him out of the city for a few days."
Amy mumbled around a mouthful of her pizza, earning a sweet smile from Jessica, "Fishing sucks."
Sarah completely ignored the little girl, instead settling for flicking back and forth between John and Derek, "Excuse me?"
Just as Sarah had ignored Amy, Cameron ignored Sarah, instead focusing solely on John, looking at him like he'd just informed her he'd be leaving forever, or at least that's what her downtrodden expression would indicate. "A few days?"
Pointedly ignoring Cameron's look, John mumbled his own defense, "Just, you know, some guy time, right Uncle Derek? Too much oestrogen around here."
"Guy time?" Sarah stared at John like he'd just told her he was ditching her forever, something she held in common with Cameron. However Sarah's prevalent emotion wasn't sadness…anger would've been more accurate, "Since when do you need to 'get away' from me?"
"Come on mom, you know it's not like that!" He glanced pleadingly over towards his fellow man in the room, however Derek was too busy trying to avoid a hurt look from Jessica to even notice.
"When were you planning on telling me about this trip Derek?" Derek's heart wrenched as he looked over to his love, she looked on the verge of tears, this on top of the pretty much disastrous evening getting the better of her. "You know I put aside time, I blew off that job in New York because we've barely seen each other lately."
"Look, we only decided on it today. It's not like I've been keeping it secret for days or anything." Derek reached out to try and take hold of her hand beneath the table, not at all liking having to see her so upset.
"You're always doing this to me," Jessica yanked her hand away before he had a chance to even get close, swiping away at her eyes, "You don't even tell your family what's going on with you!"
Derek stared at the woman as she continued swiping at her eyes, smearing a small amount of makeup, he couldn't quite believe her reaction, he'd expected her to be pissed. But then he remembered her history with her father, the man that barely raised her, the man who constantly abandoned her without warning whenever he smelled a lucrative business deal. His face twisted in to a sympathetic look as he once again reached out a hand to lay on hers, "Jess, I'm sorry, but you have to understand I didn't do it to hurt you."
"I know you didn't mean it that way…but it does." With a sigh, she couldn't help but look more than a little embarrassed when she finally remembered that they weren't alone in the room, "You're not in the army any more Derek. Not everything has to be some super secret mission."
Derek cleared his throat, realising about the same time as she did that they weren't alone, "Uh, how about we talk about this, outside."
Jessica nodded slowly, glancing around the room at everybody but Derek, "I'm sorry everyone. I didn't mean to overreact."
Surprisingly, it was Cameron who returned her nod with a sympathetic one of her own, "It's something we get used to…" She glanced over to John, looking no less hurt than the human woman across the table from her, "It runs in the family."
John buried his head in his plate, feeling downright awful about the looks he was getting and the obvious hurt he was causing Cameron. But this was the reason he needed to get away, he couldn't focus on anything but the people he loved when he was around the people he loved. He had more important stuff to take care of right then, but he couldn't do it with Cameron being all mopey around him and his mother glaring daggers. "Look, I'm sorry alright. I'll be back in a few days, I promise." He finally lifted his eyes from his plate as he waited for Cameron's reaction.
"Did I do something wrong?" Cameron asked in a tiny voice, looking down at her hands, not caring in the slightest if she blew their cover, she had to know why her John was leaving her, "I'm sorry for what I said, I know I hurt you…"
Sarah stepped in before anybody had a chance to say something that might leave them with one dead fashion model on their hands, consequently bailing John out, even though she really didn't want to. "Cameron, I'm sure you can manage a few days without your brother…and no, you didn't do anything wrong." She looked pointedly at John, encouraging him to say something, if only to protect their cover, or at least, that's what she told herself.
"It's okay Cameron," Amy interjected cheerfully before anyone could dig the ditch deeper for themselves, "We'll have some girl time while the boys run off to play with slimy fish. It'll be fun!"
Almost as an afterthought, she tagged on the end, "Aunt Jessica can come play too, right mommy?"
Sarah looked torn between shock and wanting to rip Amy limb from metal limb for playing up to her part so well, "Um…I don't know…honey. Aunt Jessica is probably very busy with…"
"Not at all." Jessica interrupted much to Sarah's chagrin, shaking her head side to side, looking for any possible way to make a better impression on her man's family. "I took time off anyways, so I'll just be lounging around the house. In fact, if it's okay with your mommy, why don't you have your sister drive you over to my place and we can all have a girl's day?"
Sarah's eyes almost bulged out of her head, despite how hard she tried to stop that from happening while Amy bounced excitedly in her seat. Cameron meanwhile remained staring at her boyfriend, lost in her own pity. "Um, we'll see alright." Sarah answered with a glare at Amy, hoping it'd get her to drop the idea.
Amy flashed a toothy grin before reaching over to Jessica and wrapping her little arms around her waist, again smearing grease and tomato all over her dress. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! We'll have so much fun! Can we watch movies? Oooohhh, and go to the park?"
Jessica smiled down, glad that she really did have someone on her side, "Of course we can sweetie!"
She looked up from Amy and glanced across the table, "Cameron? Cameron!" She smiled when Cameron finally tore her attention away from her brother, "Is that alright with you?"
Cameron merely nodded before picking up her half eaten slice of pizza, forcing herself to eat it, knowing that the more she ate, the quicker and better she'd heal up.
John stood up quickly, grabbing everyone's attention, tired of all the drama, which after all was the reason he was bailing the next day, "It was…nice, meeting you Jessica. Derek, I'll see you tomorrow."
Before anyone could respond, he disappeared towards the kitchen and out the back door, slamming it behind him.
Derek watched him go, glaring at the back of his head and just wishing the kid would grow up already. "Yeah, I guess we'd better get going too. Come on, I'll drive you home." He stood and offered his hand to Jessica to take.
Jessica managed to detach herself almost reluctantly from Amy and stood, not bothering to take the offered hand, "Thanks for dinner Sarah. It was nice meeting you."
"Yeah," Sarah replied, barely suppressing an eye roll, "Fun. Come on Amy, it's…bedtime."
"Yeah, thanks for dinner Sarah, come on Jess." Derek picked up his jacket from the back of the chair and set off for the door, remembering to pick up her coat from the closet on the way.
Jessica followed behind him in a daze, waiting until the door closed behind her before she finally let go and broke down, tears flowing freely down her beautiful face, tears she'd been holding in ever since she set foot in the house and was so rudely greeted by pretty much every member of Derek's family, "My God Derek…they hate me!"
Derek resolutely shook his head, reaching out to encircle her in a hug. "No, they don't hate you, they just all have their own problems to deal with right now."
"Are you kidding me? Were you even in the same freaking room?" She sniffled, leaning in to his chest, "Sarah thinks I'm not good enough for you, John wouldn't stop staring at my chest all night, and Cameron…I could've sworn she was ready to kill me!"
Derek grimaced, resting his chin on the top of her head. He knew everything she'd just said was right, but he still had to do something to try and cheer her up, he couldn't stand seeing her upset, "Amy liked you."
"Of course she does Derek, she's eight." She released a resigned sounding sigh, clutching him tighter, "And you're leaving me…again."
"Look, Jess." He pulled back just enough to look at her, coaxing her chin up with a finger, "I know I've been MIA a lot lately, but I'm not your dad alright, I'm not just gonna dump you, I'm back in a few days, I promise." He usually wouldn't have snapped like that, but the day and night he'd had were starting to get to him.
"Derek, it's not the leaving, like you said, my dad has made sure I'm used to that." She leaned forward, ignoring her fresh tears to place a hand on his cheek, "It's the secrets. I love you, don't you trust me?"
"I do trust you…I just don't want to put you in any possible danger alright. One day you'll learn exactly why I am the way I am, I just want that day to be as far away as possible right now."
"Any danger you're in should be my danger too! What is it Derek, what are you afraid of?" She asked, getting a little worked up at the thought of her man being in danger.
"I'm scared that if you knew me, the real me, you'd run a fucking mile," Derek answered with a shake of his head and a humourless smile, "I don't want that to happen. That life is behind me now, I don't want you anywhere near it."
"Alright." Jessica replied after a moment's thought, looking up at his eyes again, "It's okay Derek…I have faith in you. When you're ready to talk, I'll listen."
"Thanks, I appreciate it, I really do." He smiled, genuinely this time, wiping away the last of her tears and throwing her coat around her shoulders and tugging it in tight around her, "Come on, let's get you home."
Looking up from under her bangs and forcing a smile, "Will you stay until you have to leave?"
Derek couldn't keep the grin off his face, mostly at just how lucky he was, "I thought you wouldn't want to be anywhere near me tonight."
"I always want to be near to you." She smiled, dropping a kiss on his cheek, "When are you gonna realise that your bullshit is never gonna run me off?"
Derek smiled as he rounded the front of his truck and opened the door for her, "I love you, you know that, right?"
"Then take me home," She kissed him softly and slowly before sliding past him and flopping in to the passenger seat with a sultry smile, "And prove it."
Probably the most un-Terminator like chapter in the entire TSCC section I know, but Jessica is an important part of this story and I wanted a thorough introduction to the family. Don't worry, plenty of fluff and some John/Derek versus the wilderness coming up next chapter! :)
I've also added a picture in my profile of how I imagined Jessica looking for this dinner, the gorgeous Coco Rocha providing the perfect image!
Huge thanks to Dekardkain as usual. His story has just recently been updated, 'Becoming John Connor', check it out!