Hi,
Okay, a few issues to clear up. I KNOW JOHN IS BEING AN ASS!
That is intentional, and although I may have dragged the storyline out a little too long, I don't need it ramming down my throat (not picking on anyone in particular), nor do I need to be reminded that Summer Glau is more attractive than Coco Rocha. Hell, I know that, John knows that, but if a seventeen year old boy meets a fashion model for the first time, he's gonna stare, and drool. It's kind of what men do around attractive women.
I like writing this story, and I like hearing nice comments, so it annoys me when I leave people with a negative impression of it, I take it personally. Which is why I've cranked out this chapter in about three days, because I don't want to disappoint people and put them off this tale. Hopefully this will restore some people's faith in me, and know that there will be more to come for John, he has to grow up, and the actions of the last few chapters have set him up for that. It's just a shame that wasn't picked up on.
Rant over, sorry if I've offended anyone, I know you read this story to be entertained, not yelled at, but I really do care about it that much to make me rant.
What a dump!
Amy stood back and scanned the run down roadside motel from across the street. There were no flowers, the paint was pretty much all cracks, and she was fairly sure she could smell the dumpsters from where she was, despite being unable to see them.
For the last half an hour she'd been tracking her target, and it was difficult. The trail had gone cold several times, testing her abilities to their fullest, and yet she'd kept going and persevering. Her desire to reach her target worth more to her than the inconvenience of being forced to locate it.
She'd ducked and weaved, shifted form, thankfully with no side effects, and made her way to the targets location in the dead of night. It certainly was intriguing, the sights to be found at three in the morning going through suburban Los Angeles. From the homeless, to the junkies, to the celebrity couple she'd spotted getting busy in a back alley. The tabloids would have a field day if they ever got access to that particular memory.
Finally shifting back to her usual form, she bounced across the road…checking both ways twice, just in case, and wandered up to the motel reception. Standing up on her tip toes, she peeked in to the booth only to find the overweight, sweaty manager slumped asleep in front of his TV, shotgun resting lazily across his lap. Yep, this was a classy joint.
Snaking a long tentacle under the glass, she flicked the safety of the weapon to safe before retracting her arm. As much as she hated guns and usually the people who wielded them, it wouldn't be very nice for anything to startle this guy and for him to end up with a gaping hole where his testicles used to be.
Satisfied that she'd done her good deed for the day, she checked the guest register and found her target in room 2A. Turning on a heel, she headed for the rickety looking metal staircase, putting her foot on the bottom step and gingerly testing it out.
Sure it would take her weight, she hopped up on to the step and made her way up as quickly as she dared to, which wasn't very fast at all by machine standards. Wandering along the walkway, she looked up at each door until she came to room 2A. Double checking that nobody was around, she allowed her body to shimmer, quickly melting in to a puddle that looked remarkably similar to the walkway she was on, only shinier.
Moving quickly under the door, the puddle reformed silently on the other side. Tilting her head, Amy scanned the room, which surprisingly was nicer on the inside than the exterior would indicate. Then she located her target lying on the bed, asleep, vulnerable.
Striding over to the bedside with more purpose than she usually exhibited, she leaned over, taking a moment to scan the man.
Target confirmed…
ID…Charley Dixon…
Terminate…
Shaking her head, she cancelled the readout. One of the drawbacks of her tracking systems was that she had to assign a target before they would kick in, and her being a Skynet creation, it always just assumed she would be hunting to try and kill someone. She was still working on fixing that one, but until then, she had to assign somebody as the target.
Huffing, she leaned over and confirmed the man was sound asleep, her completely silent entry not disturbing him at all. With a small smile, her midsection shimmered, followed by her chest, then finally one of her arms. A moment later, a small rectangle of plastic emerged on the upturned palm of her hand, a credit card.
She set it down on the pillow next to Charley's head and looked around. Spotting what she needed, she made her way over to the small dresser in the room and picked up the notepad and pen. Flopping down cross legged to the floor, she set about writing the note in perfectm undistinguishable handwriting.
This card is clean and can not be traced. Use it for whatever you need, funds are not an issue.
Sarah doesn't know about this, but she is very sorry. She'd want you to stay safe, stay alive.
Although not exactly poetic, it served two purposes. Aside from the obvious explanation of the card, it helped Amy's other goal…after all, every little girl needs a daddy to keep mommy company, and Charley would make a great daddy.
Standing up, she set the note next to the card on the pillow and turned away. Sliding out from under the door again, she reformed on the other side with a smile, mission accomplished…for now.
"Soooo…you having fun yet?"
Cameron didn't bother to even glance away from the road. The only sign she'd even heard Amy was a slight narrowing of her eyes, "Do I appear to be 'having fun?"
"I don't know, it's been so long since I've seen it that I've kinda forgotten what it looks like," Amy answered, happily kicking her feet off the underside of the dashboard in time with the second counter in her HUD, a monotonous rhythm that would've driven most people crazy.
"I'm happy around John," Cameron snapped a little, or at least, her equivalent of snapping which was simply a raised voice and a tilt of her chin, "He's been avoiding me, so my fun has been limited lately."
"You need to broaden your horizons a little," Amy advised, knowing full well just how reliant Cameron was on John, "John isn't everything you know. Come on, you might at least have a little fun today."
Cameron actually did turn her head away from the road, eyeing Amy like she'd just told her it was raining kittens, "But to me, John is everything. You're a protector, you know what that's like."
"Yeah, doesn't mean I can't have fun without Sarah. I mean she's actually quite dull when you really get to know her, I get my entertainment from other places." Amy stopped twirling her hair around her finger and looked over towards her friend, "Have you tried watching cartoons? They're really good."
"We watched cartoons," Cameron replied with a shake of her head and a sidelong glance, "Tom was a very ineffective Terminator."
Amy rolled her eyes, swatting at Cameron's side lazily, "You haven't been working on your imagination like I asked you to, have you?"
Oddly enough, Cameron looked a little uncomfortable at the mention of her imagination. The truth was she had been working on it, however she'd come across an…issue, "I have, but my focus tends to drift beyond my control to one subject."
"That sucks," Amy replied sympathetically. The little machines 'imagination' was very important to her, without it she'd have probably gone nuts through boredom, yet another caveat of Skynet's experimentation. "Well look, just try to forget about John today."
"How can I?" Cameron asked, turning back towards the road and glaring at it like it had just insulted her maternal lineage, "This…woman, made a difficult problem even worse. Did you see the way my John was looking at her? He was…aroused."
"Well, she is pretty," Amy said with a shrug, and sank down in to the seat when Cameron turned her glare in her direction. For once she was actually unhappy about having to defend John, but she did kind of have a point, "He's only human."
"More attractive than I am?" Cameron asked, her glare subsiding as she tilted her head to the side curiously, returning her attention to the road, "John said I was the most beautiful person he'd ever met."
"Well, yeah, you might be," Amy sighed, taking a deep, simulated breath, "But humans like shiny new things, especially if they're a member of the opposite gender. Surely you must have noticed that?"
Glancing down at her hand, she felt it clench around the steering wheel. If she'd had any skin on her hand, it would've turned whit with the pressure she was applying, "Your analysis of their attraction to 'shiny', is distinctly flawed."
Amy rolled her eyes again, sometimes her friend was just impossible to try and cheer up when she got on this one woman emo thing. "And you are just way too touchy about that."
Cameron glared over at the smaller machine, "And how would you feel if Sarah couldn't look at you without bordering on a panic attack?"
"Been there, done that. She got used to me," Amy shrugged, "John will do the same…eventually."
"I…" She quirked her head, sending the road at an odd angle in her vision, the sudden realisation of something hitting her like a sledgehammer, "I don't want to wait…I miss him."
Cameron had never really know impatience before. After all, she didn't really have a human like concept of time. Like the T-800 that John knew, she would stand in the same spot all night if it meant ensuring John's safety. She didn't like to, but she was more than capable of doing nothing for hours. She didn't feel boredom, nor did she yearn for something to happen to liven up her day. But the emotions she felt whenever she was around John made her crave them all the more. Yes, when it came to her current situation with John, she found she wanted it resolved as quickly as possible, she didn't like it when she wasn't with him, in every sense of the word.
Amy merely rolled her eyes in response to Cameron's statement, deciding the mood could use a little lightening, "John and Cameron sitting in a tree!"
"Stop that." Cameron warned, her voice devoid of all inflection.
"Stop what?" Amy enquired sweetly, "K I S S I N G!"
Swivelling her head slowly, Cameron thought back to something she'd heard said on TV that seemed to be particularly effective at dealing with situations like this. "If you don't stop I'll turn this vehicle around and take you right back home," Her tone matched that of a frazzled parent pitch perfectly.
Amy's eyes flew wide, stretching over to try and grab at Cameron's arm, her progress impeded by her seat belt, "No! I promise I'll stop it!"
Pausing for a few seconds, Amy couldn't stand it any longer when Cameron hadn't replied, or even made any indication she'd been heard. "Are we still going?" She ventured in a small voice.
"As long as you don't resume the singing." Cameron cautioned, matching her tone from before, "I don't understand your attraction to this woman. She wears lingerie for a living."
"Well, you wear lingerie too! John likes it, you said so!" Amy defended, not liking people talking about her new friend behind her back.
"When I'm wearing it, nobody is taking pictures that millions of people can see, humans are private about their nudity. It's just for John."
Amy huffed and sank down in her seat again, feeling defeated in a rare break from normality, "Look, just promise me that you won't try and kill her, or threaten her, or go all 'scary robot' on her."
Cameron, despite her best efforts couldn't prevent the tiniest corner of her mouth from quirking upwards a minute amount at the thought, "What scary robot thing? I'm unaware of any scary robot thing." She purposefully kept her voice flat and neutral.
"You know, when you do that silent staring thing, it creeps people out," Amy glanced over, noticing for the first time Cameron's smirk, "But you already know that, don't you?"
Pulling the truck up in the nearest free parking bay without the precision of a veteran stunt driver, Cameron put the truck in to park and opened the door, lithely stepping out. "I have no idea what you're referring to."
"Yes you do!" Amy yelled, unclipping her seat belt and heaving the door open. Hopping out of the truck, she slammed the door behind her and jogged around the front, planting herself in front of Cameron, glaring up at her, "You always do it!"
"It's not my fault that humans intimidate easily." With that, Cameron cut the conversation short as she scanned her surroundings for her latest nemesis. For a cyborg who mostly kept to herself, she certainly did seem to collect nemeses like they were going out of fashion. Riley, Derek, the infuriating nodding dog that John had bought and kept on leaving outside her bedroom door in the old house. Although that one had been swiftly dealt with when she emerged from her room one final time to find that inanimate object nodding at her. A swift rise and fall of her boot had taken care of that problem.
Now she had Jessica to occupy the position. She really had tried to go in to the dinner the night before with an open mind, but after seeing the way John was ogling her, Cameron had suddenly developed an irrational dislike of the woman. So much so that Cameron couldn't help but going through the same emotions that she had when Riley used to be around.
Rolling her eyes at the lack of response for the last few seconds, Amy nudged in to Cameron's legs, trying to get her attention, "Cameron, it's a park, there aren't any Terminators here…well, besides you and me that is. Just promise me you'll try and be nice?"
Cameron quirked a brow, looking down at the mini machine from behind her assuredly, by Katie from the store at least, fashionable sunglasses. However, she looked up again a moment later, resuming her scan, "What would you consider, 'nice'?"
"Um, don't ask her any personal and embarrassing questions, don't make any kind of threat. You know, just…be nice!" Amy begged exasperatedly, throwing her arms to the side pleadingly, "Just think, 'my dad sells tractors' and you'll be fine!"
Finally catching sight of her target…no, not target, 'that woman' was more appropriate. So appropriate in fact that Cameron assigned her that name in her targeting systems, it was nicer than 'bitchwhore' after all. Spotting 'that woman' on a bench near the slides, Cameron slipped in to her 'grin and bear it' face, idly wondering why the woman would turn up to the park looking just about a fabulous as she had when she'd came over for dinner. Didn't she realise she'd likely be spending her time playing with a small, hyperactive and most likely dirty child in the park? Shaking her head, she looked down at said small child, "I will attempt to be…civil."
"Good," Amy said with a smile, following Cameron's gaze to find Jessica on the bench facing away from them. Strangely enough she wondered the same thing about her outfit as Cameron had, causing her to break out in a wide grin, "I am so gonna make a mess of that dress today!"
Cameron smirked too, unusually pleased with that idea, "You have my support."
She started walking towards the woman in typical Terminator fashion, long strides and not deviating her eyes to anywhere but the back of her head. Like a predator stalking its blind, deaf and stupid prey, she approached, eating up the distance between them in very little time.
"What did I say about your scary robot thing?" Amy warned, jogging up beside her, once again cursing her chosen form for having such little legs. It had the potential to become a problem one day.
Cameron ignored Amy as she stepped up behind the bench from behind. Making a conscious effort to try and keep her voice neutral, she neglected to make any subtle indications of their presence, instead she chose to bellow out a greeting, "We're here."
Jessica almost leaped out of her skin. She'd been so engrossed in staring, somewhat longingly over at the kids playing in front of her that she hadn't even heard a heavy pair of footsteps and a par of lighter scurrying ones approaching from behind her. Placing a hand on her chest, she turned around to find Cameron looking down on her, decidedly unruffled, "Jesus, you scared me!"
Cameron didn't fail to notice her stare, although she was pretty sure the woman missed her narrowed eyes from behind her aviators. However her attention was drawn to the far away look she seemed to have in her eye as she watched the kids playing. Forgetting, or rather ignoring Amy's advice about personal questions, she filed the information away for later use, "That wasn't my intention. Perhaps you should pay more attention to your surroundings."
"Um…yeah, I'll do that." Jessica switched her attention to the overly excited ball of energy known as Amy bouncing off to Cameron's side, "Well hi there sweetie!" She cooed almost as excitedly as Amy was looking.
"Aunt Jessica!" Apparently Amy had been politely waiting, because as soon as she'd had some form of acknowledgement, she left her spot beside her sister and sprinted around the bench, throwing her arms around Jessica's midsection, "I missed you!"
Jessica chuckled, returning the hug, resting her cheek on the top of the little angel's head, "It's only been a few days sweetie…but I missed you too!"
Amy detached herself, nibbling on her bottom lip like while looking longingly over towards the children running around on the nearby jungle gym, "Can I go play?"
"Sure you can!" Jessica replied warmly, "Just stay where I can see you alright." She warned, not wanting to ruin the admittedly small amount of trust Sarah had placed in her by allowing her to be responsible for her daughter by letting her wander off.
Amy nodded excitedly, already half way to the other kids by the time she verbally responded, "I will. Bye Cammy! Be nice to Aunt Jessica!"
Cameron watched the blur that was Amy sprint off towards the other kids, idly wondering how she blended in so well with humanity when she wasn't really designed for it. Herself on the other hand was designed for infiltration, and yet she struggled with the more complex aspects of human behaviour. It was nothing if not infuriating. Speaking of infuriating, se took a seat next to Jessica, content to sit in silence for the duration of Amy's 'playtime', not at all feeling the need to initiate conversation.
Jessica watched Amy play, albeit distractedly, glancing over at Cameron out of the corner of her eye, behind her own pair of stylish and no doubt expensive sunglasses. After a few minutes of idly fiddling with the strap of her purse in her lap, she couldn't take the silence any more, "So, um…lovely weather today isn't it?"
Even the usually cool Jessica had to roll her eyes at that one. Just why was she so uncomfortable around this girl?
Giving the woman a 'really?' look from behind her sunglasses, Cameron returned her attention forward, deciding to humour her at least. Amy had asked her to 'be nice' after all, "I prefer cooler weather, it expands my wardrobe options."
"Really? I would've thought that, um…never mind." She looked back to Amy nervously, wishing she'd never said anything, she could practically feel Cameron's gaze landing squarely on her.
"You would have thought what?" Cameron actually looked offended, her fashion sense something she prided herself on…the fingerless mittens an aberration, "Not only models are capable of making fashionable choices."
"No no, it's not that, it's just…" She hesitated, trying to come up without the right words to convey what she meant without offending, of typecasting, "Most girls your age, especially ones as pretty as you, tend to like wearing…less, especially during the summer."
Immediately pulling up a quote from a magazine she'd read the week before in her HUD, she turned to Jessica, her face a blank mask, "More is the new less. A little mystery lets the imagination do it's thing."
Jessica merely quirked an eyebrow, not quite sure if what she'd just heard was correct, "You read Fashion Weekly?"
Cameron nodded distractedly, watching Amy curiously, "It's tight."
Jessica filed that little tidbit away for later use, "It is. Did you happen to see the shoot I did for them a couple of months ago?" She ventured.
Quickly scanning through her memory banks, Cameron pulled up the article, complete with images in her HUD, the whole process taking less than half a second, "Black lace. They said your pale skin accentuated the dark colour and advised others with similar complexion to do the same."
"Um…" Jessica stuttered, embarrassed by simply knowing that Cameron had seen her mostly naked, "I meant the Armani shoot. But I guess it's good that you noticed me in the other one too," She sank lower in to her seat, staring resolutely forwards.
"Lingerie is more noticeable than sunglasses," Cameron shrug nonchalantly, "Don't you agree?"
"I guess so…I like yours by the way." She was just about to launch in to a spiel about the merits of one brand over another when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, "AMY! Don't climb so high sweetie!"
Cameron had to fight off an eye roll, despite her eyes being hidden, it would look odd after all if she didn't appear concerned about her 'little sister's' wellbeing, "I notice you seem to like children…a lot."
"Yeah," Jessica agreed with a chuckle, "Amy's so cute!"
"You're still within the age range of prime fertility," Cameron pointed out in a manner not too dissimilar to the tone Jessica had used when actually discussing the weather earlier. After all, she may not like the woman, or Derek for that matter, but the same genes that spawned John Connor and Kyle Reese should be preserved, "As is Derek," she pointed out casually.
Jessica blushed furiously, fiddling with her dress to try and cover her embarrassment at the frank nature the girl beside her was discussing such a private subject, "Um, I'm not quite ready for that yet. I'm only twenty four!"
"The female body disagrees with your assessment." Cameron shrugged, "Peak fertility begins at fifteen and ends at twenty six."
"It..it does? How do you know that?" Jessica asked, obviously sceptical and yet, intrigued as to how the girl would know that. If she was forced to admit it, she would have to say she was impressed.
"Biology texts, primarily Grey's Anatomy…not the TV show." Cameron clarified with a shake of her head, unable to work out just how humans didn't seem to be interested in the workings of their own bodies. She knew everything about her body, "Your body is also in a much better position to recover from the trauma of childbirth at your age…You should consider letting Derek impregnate you."
Jessica choked, despite the fact she wasn't eating or drinking anything, "Wha, what?" Cameron, we've only been dating a month! We can't just, have a baby. We haven't even discussed it or anything!"
"Time is short," Cameron argued, not elaborating on her cryptic comment, "You do love him, don't you? The signs are very clear."
Jessica's face softened from the initial shock of hearing the suggestion put so bluntly, "I do, I really do. Wait, what do you mean, the signs?"
Cameron rolled her eyes, her voice picking up in a tone similar to a parent explaining a concept to their small child, feeling that was the level she may have to dumb herself down to for this one, "Blush response, pupil dilation and speech patterns. You seem most comfortable when in close proximity to Derek. He makes you feel safe, it's obvious."
Jessica smiled, looking down as she considered it, "You noticed all that?"
She knew from what Derek had told her that Cameron was a little odd, focused, but for her to notice all those tiny indicators, she must have been something special.
"It was hard not to." She replied, quirking her head to one side, not seeing how her words might be mis-interpreted, "What I found odd was that Derek exhibited all the same signs. It's... out of character for him to be romantically infatuated."
"It is?" Jessica asked eagerly, unsure as to how the girl beside her could know so much, but wanting to hear about Derek all the same.
"Derek is intensely loyal, but doesn't form attachments easily." She glanced over at Jessica and couldn't help but think how much this paralleled her struggles with John, "He's lost much, and has learned it's best to forego attachment in the first place. Walls like that aren't easily overcome."
Sitings back with a smile, Jessica was glad she was the one who made that happen if Cameron was right. Just then her phone rang, speak of the devil it was Derek. Fishing around in her purse, she answered it, his voice cutting out a lot, "Derek? Are you home?"
The call cut out a moment later, "Derek? Hello? Dammit," She looked at her phone, the display reading 'Call Ended'.
Cameron leaned over eagerly, not realising that the call had ended, "Is John with him? Is he alright? Can I speak with him?"
Jessica looked up, her face a mask of sympathy, "Um, the call cut out, I could barely hear him."
Cameron glanced down at her hands folded primly in her lap, looking absolutely forlorn, "Oh... thank you for trying."
"Um, are you alright?" Before Cameron had even had a chance to answer, Jessica had turned away to check on Amy.
"AMY!" She shook her head in warning after she'd caught her attention, Amy slowly lowering the plastic spade from the sandbox from above another boy's head. Her face turned in to a pout as she crossed her arms, clearly unhappy and being stopped from exacting her revenge on the boy who'd had the audacity to throw sand in her hair.
Quickly realising her slip, Cameron shook her head slowly side to side, "It's just... my boyfriend and I still aren't having sex."
Amy came bouncing over before Jessica had a chance to respond, leaving a sympathetic look on Jessica's face. It was almost like the little girl knew all the right points to interrupt them, "Come on Aunt Jessica, come push me on the swings!"
"Hey Derek, time for a break maybe?"
John was exhausted, he was tired and he just wanted a small break, that was all. Ever since Derek and him had arrived in the wilderness, and John had asked where the fishing poles were only to have Derek shove a backpack in to his hands, he'd been in a pissy mood. Apparently the man had decided that if he was going to be dragged away from Jessica for a while, then they may as well put the days to some good use. Hiking and survival training was decided on as being the most efficient use of time.
So much for relaxing by a lake with my uncle!
"I told you," Derek halted his progress for a moment, but only to glance down at his cell phone in his hand, "When we reach the RP."
"We've been walking for hours," John complained, his feet were aching, his back and shoulders were numb from the pack he was being forced in to carrying and he had a constant headache from the sun beating down on top of him all day. Groaning, he jogged a couple of quick steps, trying to make up just a little ground on Derek, his uncle's pace having quickened noticeably over the last half hour or so.
Derek rolled his eyes at the constant bitching from his nephew, who fancied himself as a man, although a whining child seemed more accurate at that moment. He'd been sick and tired of John's complaints since they'd first gotten out of the truck, "That's kind of the point, John. Pushing yourself, remember? Some day you might be doing this with metal on your ass, you gonna stop for a break then?"
"I'd rather do that than fall flat on my face through exhaustion," Again he hopped a couple of steps to keep up, "Besides, we're not being chased by machines, it's only a hike in the woods." He rolled his eyes, despite the fact Derek couldn't see it, and there was nobody else around to be impressed.
"If you wait until there really are machines on your ass, you might not survive it!" Derek cautioned, glancing down at his phone again and mumbling to himself in tones that shouldn't have been uttered in polite company, "Fuck, fuck!"
"I'll take my chances." John didn't hear Derek's muttered curses, instead he carried on, even breaking out in to a smirk in clear defiance of his uncle and his cautionary tone, "Besides, I've got my very own smoking hot girlfriend to take care of me!"
Derek, despite his obvious aversion to the kid's relationship and his deep seeded hatred for all machines, Cameron to a slightly lesser extent these days, she had after all earned his respect, he found himself thinking 'maybe not if you keep running off to avoid her'. But for all his internal musings, he wasn't quite angry enough yet to say anything like that.
Finally realising that he should probably get to higher ground if he had any chance of getting a signal out in the ass end of nowhere, Derek spotted a rocky outcropping a few hundred yards away and immediately made a beeline for it without even glancing back at John, who by this point had caught up somewhat, "She'd tell you to keep going too and you fucking know it."
John stopped in his tracks and stared at his uncle, losing the precious ground he'd gained on him in the process, just why he had suddenly changed direction away from their intended destination he didn't know, but he was curious all the same. However he fell in to step behind him a moment later, shaking his head and deciding to bite his tongue for now. "You know, I do have an army to command too. Aren't they supposed to be pretty fanatical when it comes to yours truly?"
"'As fear and love can hardly coexist'," Derek grumbled as he shucked his pack up on his back a little higher to try and take some of the strain off his aching shoulders. John wasn't the only one who didn't like being out there, after all, Derek had just abandoned his beautiful girlfriend and her luxuriously soft bed in order to accompany John's whiny ass out in to the wilderness. His situation was made all the worse as the pair approached the first incline towards their destination of higher ground, "'It is better to be feared, than loved.'"
John quirked an eyebrow, wondering to himself if the heat had gotten to his uncle. It was a very hot day after all, "What?"
"Machiavelli, John." Derek rolled his eyes pointedly, usually he wasn't one to quote scripture, but what little of it he knew seemed appropriate at that particular juncture, "You should probably know that one."
"Why?" John asked, using his hands to aid his climb up a particularly steep face.
"Because you did in the future!" Derek snapped as he climbed, really starting to lose his cool. The blinding heat and the sweat dripping from every pore on his body only adding to his irritation at John's piss poor attitude. Plus, he was already several hours late on the call he'd promised to make to Jessica. He'd already ditched her, the least he could do was honour his word, the girl had enough disappointment in her life as it was without him adding to it. "What? You think I've read Machiavelli? Who the hell do you think told me that?"
"Hey!" John snapped, feeling the need to justify and defend himself, "I can hack a firewall in under a minute. I think that's infinitely more important to our future than me being able to recite scripture." John shook his head, not quite understanding just what the fuck scripture had to do with winning a war, "I'm not trying to be the exact same guy as the version of me that you knew in the future. I'm my own man and I intend to stay that way."
"It's not scripture!" Derek argued, spinning to face John with a glare, "It's one of the most important books on strategy and government ever written! He won the war because he knew this shit!"
"Well sooooorry if I haven't had a chance yet to read every single book on the planet yet!" John snapped, his attitude matching that of Derek's, or at least, well on the way to matching it, "I've been a little busy trying to dodge Terminators half my life. Not much time for reading in the life of John Connor."
"You're not trying to dodge Terminators any more John!" Derek turned around, his glare remaining in place as he stomped away up the hill, trying desperately to contain his temper, but John was really pushing him. "You're supposed to be trying to learn how to beat them! Why the hell else would I be going to all this trouble?"
John shook his head, the days events actually causing him to laugh, he was just past caring, "What can I say, I've survived so far. I think I'm doing a pretty decent job, not to mention in my past lives I didn't have Cameron, or you, or Amy, or a liquid metal ally with an army of machines at her disposal." John scoffed, shaking his head, "I've already got an advantage over those other versions of me."
"So what? You can just hang out, sit on your ass and hope for the best?" Derek released a low growl, that John had the gall to make light of just how fucked he was being something he just couldn't take, that and the fact his piece of shit phone was still refusing to establish a connection to the network. "The only person a leader, a real leader, should have to rely on is himself."
"Well that's the point isn't it? I do rely on myself," John stated confidently, "Other me's have won without the help of others. The way I see it is that I'm on equal ground with them, and now I'm doing even better with all the added help." John grinned, that statement making perfect sense in his head.
"Those 'other you's', were toughened up by years of labour in a Skynet work camp, John." Derek rolled his eyes, turning around and checking his phone again, despite having only made it about a yard higher since he'd last checked it, "And trust me, they actually accomplished something before they were half as cocky as you are."
John stopped in his tracks, stuttering for a moment before collecting himself and jogging up behind Derek, "Cocky? You think I'm cocky?"
"You're damn right I think you're cocky!" Derek finished off the last few steps of the incline they were on with a few loping strides. After a moment, he started walking around in circles, staring down at his phone, just willing for that first bar to light up on the signal gauge. "You tried to take on a small army, by yourself, John. As happy as I am that you're finally getting over that shit your mom put in your head about always running, suicide isn't an acceptable battlefield tactic."
"Oh, so I'm just supposed to let Charley die, is that it? Let a man die to save your own ass, didn't realise that was in the book of modern warfare." John rolled his eyes, once again having to listen while someone berated him for trying to save the man he looked up to like a father. "I won't be that guy Derek. I got enough of that shit from Cameron a couple of nights ago." John subconsciously let out a low growl just thinking about it.
This break was supposed to be helping him to get his head clear, and yet all he'd been able to think about was setting things straight with Cameron, about getting his mom some medical help, about getting his fucking life in order. He could've done that in the comfort of his own home, but no, he'd been dragged out to the middle of nowhere with his asshole of an uncle who was just using it as a chance to get some revenge he was sure.
"I…oh, thank God! Shut up for a second!" Derek stopped mid sentence and waved his arm towards John dismissively, punching in his speed dial as quickly as he could before the weakest cell signal in human history crapped out on him, holding the phone to his ear like a man waiting to hear if his $1000 bet had come through from his bookmaker.
John stopped himself mid retort to stare disbelieving at his uncle, mostly at how he could go from a berating to telling him to shut up at the drop of a hat, "What the hell are you doing?"
"I thought I said shut up?" Derek growled dismissively. Then suddenly, before John's eyes, the Derek he knew disappeared, replaced by a guy with a bright, beaming smile, his face looking more relaxed than he'd ever had the pleasure of witnessing. "Jess! Hey, babe. Can you hear me?"
"Are you freaking kidding me?" John glared incredulously at his uncle, coming to the realisation that he'd dragged his ass miles off course just so he could talk to his girl.
"No, we're still…Jess? Babe?" Derek pulled the phone away from his ear, only to see the very unpleasant message telling him his call had been disconnected after three seconds and a notification that he'd lost the signal he'd worked so hard to get. "FUCK!"
John had been staring at his uncle the whole time since he'd told him to shut up. Finally shaking his head in disbelief, partially at watching Derek fiddle with the buttons, and mostly from the fact that he'd been dragged halfway up a hill so that he could call home.
Stomping over with more purpose than he'd managed ever since they first arrived at this God forsaken place, he snatched Derek's phone out of his hands and held it out of his reach.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Derek growled, his glare telling John he was one step short of snatching the phone back and using it to slap John around a little, "I made a promise!"
John stared down at the phone for a moment, considering his next actions very carefully. Deciding he'd had enough shit to last him a lifetime over the past few weeks, he flicked Derek's phone away with a sharp movement of his wrist. Both Derek and John looked over and watched it scraping away over the rocks they were on until it smacked in to a tree a few yards away, John switched his gaze back to his uncle, glaring at him as if the roles were reversed and he'd just had his phone tossed.
"You brought us all the way up here just so you could get a fucking signal? You've been filling my head with all this responsibility bullshit and here you are putting everything aside to call your little girlfriend? What happened to 'get your head out of your girlfriend's pussy John'?"
"I already know what I need to know to survive what's coming." Derek glanced back and forth between John and the phone pointedly, "I've done it before! You're just pissed off you had to actually do something for a change instead of sitting in front of your computer pretending like that will win the war!"
"Hey, at least I try to use my fucking brain to win a war. I've got a whole army of grunts like you who don't need to do any thinking, you just focus on blowing shit up and I'll focus on beating the hyper intelligent, very pissed off A.I. alright?"
Derek stood there for what seemed the longest few seconds of both his and John's lives. Eventually, he rolled his shoulder, letting his pack fall to the ground. "Men won't follow someone who expects the 'grunts' to do their fighting for them. Connor fought from the front, right beside us! You wouldn't survive ten minutes."
"You wanna try and prove that, huh?" John squared up to Derek without even thinking. If he had been, he'd probably have remembered that Derek was in fact a trained killer, and had been doing it since he was John's age. The last thing he should've been doing was squaring up to him and asking him to carry out a vaguely concealed threat. But the amount of shit he'd had to put up with recently had pushed him over the edge. He'd snapped, he'd lost all reason. He wanted a fight, and Derek was the only one around.
"Do you? Old man."
Derek quirked his head to the side, wondering if his nephew had lost his damn mind, "You can't be serious. Do you really hate living that much, or do you just feel like eating your meals through straws for the next week or so?"
John scoffed, the words not really registering by that point, a red mist descending over his eyes, clouding his better judgement, "And here I thought I was 'too important to die'. That's the shit I've been fed for the last sixteen years. You wanna change that, you gotta work for it."
"Oh…I won't kill you." Derek slid his sunglasses off with a smirk, tossing them on top of his pack before shrugging out of his jacket, the garment quickly following the glasses, "But if you force this, you might wish I had."
"Now who's cocky?" John taunted, tilting his head in a very similar manner to his girlfriend, eyeing Derek like he'd just threatened to kill his mother.
"I've earned it." Derek held his arms out to the side, pushing his chin out pointedly, a target for John to take aim at, "Take your best shot…General."
Surprising even himself, John didn't hesitate, his raw emotions having overtaken logic long ago. He swung as hard as he cold, connecting solidly with Derek's chin with a right hook he thought Muhammad Ali would've been proud of, despite the fact his hand stung beyond belief, and he was fairly certain at least one bone had cracked. Resisting the urge to clutch it to his chest, he watched Derek, expecting him to tumble to the ground like a sack of scrap metal.
Derek though didn't comply with John's wish, instead, he slowly turned his head to face the boy who'd just took a swing at him, his movement oddly reminiscent of a Terminator. Terminators could take a steel rod to the face and be unfazed, Derek looked eerily similar to that. It was about that moment that John realised he was royally screwed.
"That it?" Derek asked, his voice disconcertingly calm and even.
Suppressing the urge to mouth 'what the fuck?' no matter how much he was thinking it, John aimed another swing at Derek's chin, this time connecting and being very sure he'd broken something important in his hand, actually clutching it to himself afterwards this time.
Derek snorted a little, tilting his head to the side and spitting out a small glob of blood, "Your mother hits harder than that."
John swung again, this time however, Derek caught his fist mid swing. John was so surprised that he barely registered it when he started applying pressure. More and more until John felt pain lancing up his arm, his already damaged hand unable to take any more punishment. Almost against his own will, he felt his knees starting to buckle, the sheer pain Derek was causing dropping him to the ground as he desperately tried to pry his hand free.
With a chuckle, Derek pulled John up by his hand before realising it and pushing him by the shoulders, more than a little pleased when his back connected solidly with a tree behind him. Finally, he slipped in to a lazy fighting stance, "And at least she doesn't expect anyone else to fight for her."
John grimaced when his back hit the tree, fighting down the urge to let it show on his face. Instead, he focused on Derek in front of him, thinking just how in the hell he'd managed to get himself in this position in the first place. Suddenly his good old Uncle Derek looked anything but cuddly, more like a predator with a massive reach, height and weight advantage circling him for the kill. But no matter how much his brain was screaming at him to just give up, play dead and try to slide away with at least some pride intact, Derek's last comment just couldn't be allowed to slide by the side of his brain that controlled stupidity.
"I've never asked mom to fight for me, it's probably her fault I'm stuck out here with your hypocritical ass." He defended, clutching at his hand pathetically.
"You wanna be a man? You want people to respect you?" Derek didn't budge from his spot, idly hoping John would just accept the lesson and not force him to do any real damage. There was after all a good chance Sarah would kill him for it, or if she didn't, Cameron certainly would, without any hesitation. "Respect is earned."
John didn't bother replying, instead he charged forward, intent of proving a point and actually earning Derek's respect. If it took an ass kicking to do it, then so be it. Learning his lesson that Derek had a jaw made from fucking Coltan, he aimed low, raising a knee and angling it towards the larger man's guts.
Still not quite at the point of wanting to inflict any real damage to the saviour of all mankind, and to Kyle's son, Derek just wanted to embarrass the kid, put him on his ass and prove to him that he didn't know jack shit about fighting a war. John was obviously using the same 'tactical genius' that he'd displayed during the ambush where he'd charged headlong in to a firefight, he decided he might as well use the opportunity to display to John just how badly that would turn out if he carried on using it.
Sidestepping at the last second, Derek deftly left a trailing leg out behind him, casually letting John's own momentum toss him over and flat on to his face.
John groaned in to the dirt, kicking up a small puff of it in the process. He struggled to sit up before hauling himself up on to his feet, his mind working in overdrive contemplating just how in the hell he could even get close to his opponent. Coming to the conclusion he was altogether more nimble and quicker than the relative giant he was facing, he feigned a right hook and aimed an uppercut with his left.
Coming to his own realisation, namely that John wasn't just going to walk away like he should've been doing, Derek finally let instinct take over, discarding his carefully controlled defence. Blocking the uppercut with his crossed arms, he twisted his own until he had John in a grip above and below the elbow. Shoving his arm up behind his back, he fired a vicious shot in to John's kidney as soon as he was spun around, then launched him away and back on to his face again.
"Come on General," He taunted, the sneer clearly heard in his voice, the rank a pointed insult, "Where's that tactical ability you keep bragging about?"
John released a low growl as he picked himself up, again, "Shut the hell up Derek. Ask that question when you manage to pull your balls out of Jessica's purse." Quickly, without waiting for a reply, John aimed a kick behind him at Derek's knee, hoping to take out his base and bring him down to a more manageable height.
Derek did drop down a little, but just to catch John's boot in his left hand, lifting it up to waist height and using his right fist to land a blow directly on John's crotch. Before John had even finished crying out in pain, Derek casually flipped the boot in his hand over, landing John flat on his back, "My balls are just fine…how are yours?"
John rolled around in the worst pain he'd ever felt before, and he'd been shot only a few months back, clutching at his groin in a desperate attempt to try and numb the pain. Once the fireworks had stopped exploding in his vision, he opened his eyes enough, even managing to muster up a glare. "Cheap shots…really?"
"You think the machines will fight fair?" Derek stomped over to him, feeling no sympathy at all, lifting him up by the back of his shirt and tossing him down a small slope in a fairly good imitation of a T-800. "What's the matter John? Not as tough without your girlfriend around to fight for you?"
John came to a stop at the bottom of the hill, still clutching at his battered manhood, not caring about any potential damage to the rest of himself as he tumbled. Despite the overwhelming, blinding pain, John managed to stand up while trying not to cause any additional agony, "You leave her out of this," He growled.
"Oh, now you care about her?" By this point, Derek was just trying to get John to fight back, to show some backbone, "I thought you were still pouting about her shiny new look."
John somehow managed to forget about the lack of damage he'd been able to dish out thus far as a red mist descended again. Nobody belittled Cameron, nobody, and he wasn't about to take it lying down. Not to mention his comment hitting pretty close to home about him personally. Charging forward, ignoring the pain it caused in both his ribs and his groin, he was intent on at least knocking Derek off his feet.
Really wanting to hammer home to John just how much stronger he was than him, instead of simply dodging out of the way, Derek just braced himself for the impact, letting his irate nephew slam in to him with everything he had, barely budging an inch as his boots dug in to the dirt.
Glancing down almost pitifully at the kid struggling to topple him, he dropped an elbow between his shoulder blades, sending him sprawling face first in to the ground, "Touch a nerve?"
Without hesitation, Derek picked him up by the scruff of his neck and casually tossed him back down the small hill, watching him roll to a stop a few yards away. He stood back, propping his hands on his hips, waiting for his next move, "Come on General, is that all you got?"
Derek slowly approached, looking like he was doing nothing more than wandering over to the grill to pick himself up a burger, he reached down, intent on dragging the boy's sorry ass up and repeating the process.
John felt blinded by rage, not only had he insulted Cameron, but now he was toying with him? That shit just wouldn't fly.
Propping himself up, ignoring the pain lancing up and down his spine, John swung a leg out from behind him, looking to sweep at the back of Derek's legs, now desperate to simply take him off his feet. John knew by this point that he simply couldn't beat Derek, he wasn't strong enough, fast enough or smart enough to get the better of the man, at least in a flat out brawl anyway.
Having expected John to stay down, Derek was caught off guard for the first time, actually toppling over. Sadly for John, all he'd managed to do was piss Derek off, the older man pushing himself up on to his elbows with a glare, "You little…"
John didn't hesitate or wait for him to finish, deciding to try and press his advantage. Instead he sprung to his feet, aiming a quick kick to Derek's midsection.
Derek rolled to his side however, much faster than John thought possible and sprung up behind him, wrapping his left arm around his neck in a vice like grip, at the same time slamming his right fist in to his ribs again, and again. Only when he'd decided John had had enough did he stop, spinning him around and slamming a palm in to the centre of his chest, hard enough to drive the breath from his lungs and send him reeling backwards.
John landed on his back with a thud, breath escaping from his lungs as his eyes rolled around in his head. The lack of air and the blinding pain overcoming him and completely blocking out any other rational thought. Catching Derek approaching out of the corner of his yes, he mustered up enough strength to raise his leg and aim a kick at his uncle's knee with the bottom of his boot, hoping at least to stall any more punishment.
Derek deftly moved his leg out of the way before John could do any damage. Leaning down, he snagged him by the front of his shirt and yanked him to his feet, "Can't say I'm not disappointed."
Firing a right in to John's stomach, purposefully aiming for the no doubt still tender bullet wound he'd suffered a while ago, Derek waited just a second before yanking him back upright, "Where's this ass kicking I was supposed to get?"
Slamming his fist in to John's midsection again, Derek let him slump to the ground in a heap, towering over him and watching him clutch at the wound he'd just aggravated. It was a pointed reminder he thought of what would happen if he lost his focus. He would get shot, he would die, and he'd been lucky before, and that doesn't last forever.
John lay on his back, coughing and clutching at his bruised and battered body, wishing he had more hands to try and rub the sting away from every hurting part. Realising he'd been well and truly beaten, and humiliated by a superior opponent, John was finally able to calmly, and reasonably admit defeat. He took a moment to ensure he'd be able to speak before he actually did, "Alright, you made your point."
Derek leaned down, absolutely none of the fire gone from his eyes, "I'd better have. Because you need to realise this isn't a fucking game! The next person to do this won't stop when you're on the ground, helpless."
John couldn't stand to look his father's brother in the eye, instead he carried on coughing, trying to encourage the air back in to his lungs and fighting off the urge to roll over and throw up from the pain. He did manage a nod however.
Grabbing John by the shoulders, he pulled him roughly to his feet, "Straighten up, curling up like that only makes breathing harder…and go get my fucking phone."
Eyeing his uncle for a long moment, John thought better of arguing, of making a witty retort, hell, of even refusing. He trudged off towards where Derek's phone had landed and bent over to pick it up, clutching at his ribs as he did, trying to fight off the pain as best he could. He returned a moment later, hesitating slightly before handing it off.
Derek sighed, despite knowing what he'd just done was necessary to make sure John didn't get himself and consequently the entire human race killed, he couldn't help but feel like an asshole. He'd just beaten Kyle's son to a pulp, "If it was Cameron, you'd make this call. I take enough shit from Sarah about Jessica, I don't need it from you. I've respected your decision to…'be with' Cameron. You owe me the same."
John nodded in silent agreement before picking up the stuff he'd dropped earlier with a pained groan. Slinging his pack over his shoulder with a hiss, he trudged off after a quickly disappearing Derek. "Hey Derek…" he hesitated for a moment, waiting for his uncle to stop and turn to face him, "Thanks."
Handing one of the largest bags of cookies that money could buy off to Amy, Jessica settled herself down on the couch next to Cameron, handing her off a large glass of Coke. "Is she okay watching this?" She motioned towards Amy lying on her belly on the floor in front of the massive TV in her apartment.
Cameron glanced down at the sugar water in her hand and shrugged, placing it gently on the table in front of her, "She loves cartoons, it should keep her sufficiently occupied."
Taking a sip of her own coke, Jessica eyed the glass she'd just put down, "Uh, would you like something stronger? I know you're not twenty one yet, but I think it's okay so long as you don't tell your mom. I can get Joseph, my driver, to take you two home if you'd like." Normally she wouldn't have offered, but wine with her girlfriends was just such a magnificent icebreaker usually, and she had the feeling she'd need it to break the veritable iceberg that was Cameron.
"No thank you... I'm watching my figure." Cameron simply didn't see any point in ingesting empty calories that wouldn't help her rebuild her synthetic skin in the slightest, "Though it's good you enjoy alcohol, it seems to be one of Derek's favourite activities."
"Well, he's not an alcoholic or anything...is he?" Jessica asked with a quirked eyebrow, he didn't seem like an alcoholic anyway.
"No," She shook her head, "But he does use it as a coping mechanism. It's very common among Res..." Cameron caught herself at the last moment, shocked at how comfortable she was becoming around Jessica in such a short amount of time, "Soldiers."
Jessica nodded sadly, thinking about her man, "Yeah, he told me it was tough to get through. Do you miss your dad?" She asked, not really knowing if the kids even knew him or not.
"John and I never really knew him." Cameron replied, deciding to stick with the truth.
"Oh, I'm sorry." She frowned, sensing she'd hit a nerve, "So, you were saying about your boyfriend?" She asked, trying purposefully to lighten her tone.
"I don't understand his behaviour," Cameron replied, looking down at her hands, which seemed to be the closest thing to embarrassment Cameron ever exhibited, "I keep trying to engage him, but he doesn't seem interested."
"So, dump his ass. You could do better." Jessica patted Cameron on the shoulder gently, forgetting their history for a brief moment, forgetting her uncomfortableness around the girl too.
"No... I can't." Cameron glanced up at Jessica, shaking her head vehemently, paying no attention to the touch, "He's the only person I've ever had... feelings for."
She still couldn't bring herself to use the L word, much to her dismay.
"Well, there are plenty more fish in the sea. First love rarely ever works out." Jessica reminded her sympathetically. She wasn't all that much older than Cameron, but she had the feeling she was more experienced, and had been burned before.
However her tone told Cameron that she wished it wasn't true, Derek was the only man she's ever truly loved, previous men just didn't compare.
"But I want it to, more than anything." Cameron didn't budge an inch, if anything getting more vehement, "He's a good man. To be precise, he's the BEST man."
"Look, honey..." She sighed, seeing just how desperately in love the poor girl is with what sounded like an asshole, and how worked up she was getting about him, "Just don't pin your hopes on one guy alright. He can't be all that great, otherwise you wouldn't be getting upset right now would you?"
"You don't understand," Cameron snapped a little, getting defensive of John despite all he'd done to her recently, "He takes care of me. He loves me. I just want things to return to the way they were before my accident. I miss making love with him... more than I thought I would."
Her revelation at that thought surprised even herself. Despite not having gained the intense pleasure John kept assuring her was possible through the act, she really did miss the closeness to John it provided.
"Okay, okay," Jessica responded soothingly, trying to get her to calm down. "Tell me about it, is your accident the only reason?" She asked, eyeing her gloved hand.
"Every time I try to engage him, his eyes go straight to my... damage." Cameron shrugged, looking unusually uncomfortable, "It's all he can focus on. I believe it frightens him." She neglected to mention that she may have said some things, particularly that the man's, kind of father was expendable.
Curiosity finally getting the better of her, Jessica eyed her hand again, "Can I see it?"
Cameron pulled her hand back towards her body protectively, quicker than Jessica had ever seen any human appendage move, "No! It's still healing."
"Okay!" She held her hands up, backing off slightly. "So um, is it just the sex that isn't happening? I mean, will he still kiss you, touch you?"
"He still kisses me, on occasion... but it has definitely decreased in frequency." Cameron glanced up at Jessica almost pleadingly, "It's your job to be desirable, correct?"
She nodded, a little confused at the sudden shift, but willing to go along with it, "Mmhmm"
"Can you... teach me?" Cameron asked, looking decidedly timid, almost desperate.
"Teach you?" She asked, clearly confused as she quirked a brow.
"My experience is limited." Cameron glanced over to Amy, picking up the way the tiny machine's head was tilted just a fraction to one side indicating she was listening in, "My boyfriend is the only person I've ever been with, and it took surprisingly little effort to convince him to have sex."
Jessica chuckled, starting to really like how innocent this girl really was, despite her unusual ability to intimidate, "Yeah, guys are easy aren't they..." Her laughter subsided after a moment, leaving her to eye Cameron questioningly, "You're serious?"
Cameron decided to approach the question logically, as any good machine would, "Who else could I go to?"
"Well, don't you have your girlfriends for this kind of thing?" She asked a little sympathetically, certain that she must have had at least another girl her own age to talk to about this stuff, "Some of them must have..."
"I don't have many friends." Cameron confirmed, glancing back to her hands, "Outside John that is."
Jessica frowned, "Eww, yeah, you can't ask him can you?" She asked with a sigh, biting the bullet as it were.
"Alright, what do you want to know, I'll try and help as best I can, but there are limits to how...personal, I'm willing to go."
As always, Cameron really didn't understand the woman's embarrassment about something as basic as human sexuality, "How to you entice Derek? He seems infatuated with you."
"Well uh, I just always look my best I guess..."
"Do all men find the same things attractive? Lingerie, like you model?"
"Well, yeah, that's a pretty easy one. But it's how you act too I guess." She answered with a blush, hoping she wouldn't press the issue much further, and yet, she had a feeling she would.
"How I act?" Head tilted to the side, Cameron looked more interested by the second, "I thought sexual attraction was based on physical appearance? Especially with adolescent males."
"Well, it is, but you gotta know how to use what you have." She confirmed with a smile, starting to like the idea of taking the young woman under wing. She'd never had any siblings, but always wondered what it would be like to be a big sister to somebody, to impart advice.
Amy yelled out suddenly over the noise of her cartoons, "What are you two talking about?"
"Sex." Cameron pivoted back to Jessica, nodding eagerly as if nothing was out of the ordinary, "What do I 'have'?"
Jessica's eyes flew wide at her frank answer, she glanced over to Amy to make sure she's alright. The little girl appeared unfazed, still laying watching the TV, legs kicking around in the air happily, "Um...you have this," She wafted an arm vaguely in the direction of Cameron's body.
"All women have bodies." She shrugged, "Not all women are considered sexually attractive."
Jessica rolled her eyes, "What I'm saying is, that, you have a nice figure. I'm sure your boyfriend likes it too. Try using it to your advantage!"
"How? My figure remains unchanged, and he hasn't been interested."
"Just keep in mind that women have curves that men find irresistible. Just make sure that every little movement you do shows them off, keep his attention away from places he shouldn't be looking."
"So I need to find ways to draw his attention away from my hand, and to my 'curves'." Cameron nodded along, filing away every detail for later use with John, "What else?"
"Well..." She looked a little reluctant, hoping that Cameron wool have gleaned enough 'advice' for one day. It was like the girl just hadn't been living in common society her whole life. "There's more to sex than just, well, sex. Have you ever just...done all the work. You know, taken charge?"
Cameron quirked her head to one side, clearly confused, "I've been on top. Is that what you're referring to?"
"Well, yeah, kind of. But if this guy is as nice as you say, I'm guessing he usually puts you first, makes sure you're...taken care of?" Jessica asked, blushing several shades of red.
She nodded quickly, wondering how Jessica could possibly have known that about John. She might just be more observant than she'd given her credit for, "Yes. He always tries very hard to make sure I achieve orgasm."
Jessica rolled her eyes, nervously glancing at Amy who just happened to turn back, picking herself up off her belly, "What's an orgasm?" She enquired in a sweet and innocent voice.
"Watch your cartoons, Amy." Cameron turned back to Jessica, her tone a pitch perfect imitation of an impatient older sibling, "I thought men preferred to be in charge in sexual situations? Male pride is very potent."
Amy slumped back down on her belly with a huff and a small smirk, getting immense enjoyment from listening in, despite knowing that Cameron knew exactly how much she could hear.
"Well, it is important, but guys like to be taken care of sometimes, it makes them feel in charge when a woman does all the work and they just lay there. Plus it means you'll have a favour to call in at some point..." Jessica said with a smile, besides, sometimes she liked being the one in control.
"So I should be on top then?" Cameron enquired, looking as if she really was making an internal list of things to try.
"I'm not saying all the time, maybe just occasionally. If he has trouble focusing on you rather than your arm, then make him focus on you."
"But that requires we be having sex, the problem is convincing him to have sex in the first place. Are there ways to... motivate him?"
Jessica smirked, finally they were at the root of the issue, "Of course, that's where the lingerie comes in handy...or," She shrugged innocently, "You could just go without."
"I don't really have much lingerie," Shrugs, "We've only been having sex for a short time."
She had the items she bought from the mall, but had the feeling that variety was important, and she's already worn a couple of them before.
"Okay..." Jessica paused to think about it, "Then just throw on something a little skimpy. Regular panties will do fine, and maybe just throw on one of his t shirts, guys love that look."
"But I thought I was supposed to show off my curves?" Cameron asked, decidedly confused, she trusted the woman, but she wanted to make sure she got everything right. She didn't want to risk making things even worse like she had during her very first clumsy attempt at seduction during the 'Riley era'. "He is quite a bit larger than I am, his clothes are very baggy on me. Why would he prefer that?"
She rolled her eyes, despite her good intentions starting to get a little impatient, "Fine, wear nothing. I'm sure he won't be able to resist you either way! But you did ask me to teach you, there are more than just one way to act or dress to seduce a guy."
"What about 'foreplay?' Cosmo insists it's very important, but to this point it hasn't been a very integral part of our lovemaking."
With a small sigh, Jessica laid her hand on Cameron's, "Look, Cameron, honey, I really don't want to get in to this in front of your baby sister. Besides, maybe it's best if you just work some of these things out for yourself. You're a smart young woman who's just coming in to her own, I'm sure you'll do fine." She smiled and patted her hand where it rested in her lap.
Cameron nodded slowly, quiet for a long moment before turning back to her, although she would have liked to have gleaned more information, she was grateful all the same. "Thank you. You didn't have to help me, but you made an effort, and I appreciate it."
"You're welcome sweetie!" Jessica smiled, happy to have finally gotten something positive out of the girl, even if it was embarrassing beyond words, "Come to me any time if you need more advice...but not now. Now, let's just watch the rest of the movie."
Cameron turned back towards the television, "I'll remember that. For what it's worth, I believe you're likely to be a positive influence on Derek. He has seemed... happier, lately."
Jessica smiled shyly, hearing those words like music her ears, remaining focused on the TV, "Amy, do you need any more juice honey?"
Amy nodded enthusiastically, holding up an empty glass and grinning ear to ear at what she'd just been listening to, "And more cookies please!"
I hope that made up for any problems people might have been having. Thanks to Dekardkain for helping me get this out so fast. he next chapter might be delayed while I take a little break, but it will be well worth it, trust me.