I'm sorry it took so long for this chapter. The life had been merciless and as if it weren't enough, my muse also decided to take a short leave. I had to chase after her and I hope to have caught her.

This chapter answers some questions from previous stories, or, at least I hope it does. In next chapter the preparations for the endgame begin.

Chapter 5

Cameron followed William into the house. It didn't matter that he explained to her how much he might have changed; she was going to be very careful and would always keep an eye on him. Her experiences with him in the future were too negative to be simply washed away by mere proclamation that he changed. True, his actions during their vacation proved his words, but still …

After she closed the door, she took a quick look around the room and immediately noticed the three resistance fighters, sitting at the table, together with John, Sarah and Derek. John was talking to Edward, while Sarah and Derek leaned heavily on their chairs, keeping their arms crossed as if they would try to give an unmistakable sign that they were not exactly overwhelmed by the situation.

Cameron couldn't help but feel amused at the sight, but she immediately noticed that Chris and Danny were missing. She stepped to John and as she stopped at his side, he tilted his head backwards and looked into her face. As soon as their eyes met, he smiled and raised his eyebrows questioningly.

She returned the smile, put her hand on his shoulder and give him a reassuring squeeze, while she nodded once. Then she took another look at the table and returned her look to John: "Where are Chris and Danny?"

"We haven't summoned them yet." John frowned slightly: "Do you think that it would be wise to include Danny too?"

"I don't see a reason why not. He knows almost as much as the others and he proved himself." Cameron's voice vas calm and little flatter than normally when she spoke with him.

John thought for a second and nodded: "I guess you're right." Then he turned to Derek: "Could you please go and bring them. And maybe you could also inform Andrea, Tim and Brian that we would like to have one hour for ourselves."

"And what am I supposed to say why we don't want them around?" Derek raised one eyebrow and then cast a quick look at Cameron: "She might be better suited for such task."

John kept his unimpressed gaze linger at his uncle for few seconds, causing him to almost flinch a little, before he said with cold determination in his voice: "I gave the task to you, Derek. Don't try to avoid it. Now go!"

In that moment, Derek heard the voice of General Connor and not the voice of his nephew. The voice which wouldn't tolerate any insubordination; the voice that made the blood in his veins a little colder. He nodded meekly: "OK, I'm on it, John."

After Derek left the room, all time being followed by John's cold look, John turned back to Cameron and his face instantly turned into a soft one: "Take a chair and sit beside me, Cameron."

Cameron hesitated for a second. There were still free chairs around the table, however none beside John: "I can sit there too, John." She gestured towards a chair opposite John on the other side of the table.

"I want you to sit by my side, Cameron. That's how it's going to be from now on; you are my second in command and I expect you to be always by my side. Not to even mention that you are my wife." John's voice was soft, but firm. He already made a decision, concerning his and Cameron's relationship when it came to fighting; he named her his second in command, but he would never give her a rank and would most definitely never give her an order. He wanted his wife to be his partner, his equal in each and every aspect. He suspected that the resistance fighters wouldn't exactly welcome it if he'd openly name her his equal, therefore the title 'second in command'. Not to outrank her, but to satisfy possible vultures among his men. He gained no false hopes that she would be accepted without problems. There would always be some people, who wouldn't accept her.

Cameron smiled, not showing how his words influenced her. In fact, she felt valued, important to him, but she also understood that they had to be careful in their communications not to irritate the resistance fighters. They might have known their John and Cameron, but they definitely didn't know this version of them and were probably a bit skeptical, especially considering their young age.

She stepped to one of the unoccupied chairs, effortlessly lifted it and carried it to John's side. She didn't miss the inquiring looks that Isabel sent in her direction. The woman seemed to her the hardest nut to crack. She couldn't read her and no matter how irrational it might be, it irritated her that Isabel had that slight resemblance to her.

"OK, we shall wait for our friends to join us and then you should tell us what you know and why you made all the way up here to tell us what you know." John clarified after Cameron positioned her chair next to his and sat on it. He gave her a meaningful look, telling her that he appreciated her being by his side.

Cameron Connor. It sounds so nice and yet so strange at the same time. Cameron zoned out for a split second, but after she pushed such thoughts aside, she questioned herself why did a thought like that cross her mind at all.

"Everything OK, Cam?" John leaned towards her and whispered into her ear.

"Of course! Why wouldn't it be?" Cameron turned towards her husband with questioning look.

"You seemed so … distant for a second." Worries laced John's voice.

"Oh, that! It's nothing. I was just thinking how nice it is to be married to you." Cameron gave him a shy smile while whispering into his ear and her lips slightly brushed his earlobe.

John involuntarily shuddered a little upon feeling her soft lips against his skin, but before he could answer, Derek returned with Chris and Danny in tow. As he saw John's raised eyebrow and slightly stretched neck, he just nodded. Everything's been taken care of.

Danny looked a bit surprised, but the uncomfortable feeling lingered only for few seconds. Then he found a free seat and took it, leaving Chris to seat down between Lesley and Derek. It was obvious that Danny as well as Chris were feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"OK, we're all here. Chris, Danny, you haven't met our friends yet. They come from the future in order to help us." John introduced all members of the group to his friends. "I believe you should now explain what you came here for." He turned towards Edward.

Edward nodded: "Sure. I might not be acquainted with all of you…" His eyes lingered on Danny for a while, before he continued: "But I I'm sure that John knows whom he can trust. I'd like Isabel to give us the latest information concerning our possible allies."

Cameron suddenly perked up as she heard those words and it didn't escape John. He gave her a questioning look, but restrained himself from saying anything. He turned to Isabel instead.

It was obvious that the visitors have already assigned the roles and Isabel only nodded before she started: "I don't know if you are informed about our recent activities, so I'll give you the brief résumé." She took a quick look to see if she got undivided attention of all present and after she satisfied herself with the seen response, she smiled slightly before continuing: "We have been sent back by Generals Connor … the future John Connor and his wife … in order to help by changing the course of events. In their original timeline, many things went wrong and the humanity was completely unprepared for the Judgment day. We are here to help you," She looked directly at John and Cameron, who were sitting just a bit closer than absolutely necessary and listening to her carefully, "fight the Judgment day and, if possible, to stop Skynet before it becomes too powerful to be stopped. In order to be successful, we had to search for some allies in this time. Allies, coming from the future, just like we do."

Sarah stared at Isabel and interrupted her: "Are you trying to say that there are more resistance fighters in this time?" Then she remembered the words Isabel said: the future John Connor and his wife and she gaped at the black haired woman: "Who's John's wife in the future?"

Isabel shook her head vigorously, sending her long black hair flying while barely preventing her lips from stretching from ear to ear: "His wife is the one who sits beside him now. Concerning other fighters: no, I never said something like that. If there are any other resistance soldiers here I have no knowledge of them. As the matter of fact, I was talking about someone else. Someone much more powerful and resourceful."

Cameron's head jerked upwards and she looked at Isabel with barely hidden anticipation in her brown eyes. Her abrupt gesture didn't escape John and he covered her hand, lying on the table with his, squeezing it gently. Cameron turned to look at him apologetically and relaxed. She saw how Sarah fixed her with her stare and had to smile a little upon seeing her mother in law's reaction to the news that her son was married to the cyborg girl in another timeline too.

Isabel noticed Cameron's reaction too and she smiled in her thoughts. This Cameron is really very similar to the one I know. She nodded towards her: "Yes, Mrs. Connor, it's the ally you have been asking about. I believe that Edward and William could give you more information, for it was them, who talked to this ally." She leaned back in her chair, looking at Edward as if encouraging him to continue.

Edward looked at William quickly as if to confirm that he should be the one to give the information and got his nod in response. He inhaled deeply: "True, we met this ally and talked to her. Actually, to say that we talked is a bit of exaggeration. She's very down to minimum of used words." He grinned in remembrance of their visit to Zeira Corporation.

John was now looking at Cameron with surprise in his eyes. It was obvious that Cameron again hid something from him, even though they promised to each other they would be honest. He felt how a slight feeling of annoyance began to build in his mind, but chased it away. Now was not the time to be angry or resentful. She must have had good reasons to withhold this information from him.

Cameron somehow sensed John's look and turned to him. She saw the slight annoyance and disappointment in his eyes and suddenly felt very bad. She knew that she should have told him before, but she was afraid that something might have gone wrong and she would just wake false hopes. However, she knew that she would have some explaining to do after they were left alone and only gave him an apologetic look, begging him with her expressive eyes to wait for the explanation.

Edward meanwhile wiped the grin from his face and continued: "The fact is, she is ready to talk to you, John. She wants to see if you're the one to put her trust in."

John now turned to Edward: "And who is 'she'?"

"Catherine Weaver, the owner and CEO of Zeira Corporation."

"How could she be of assistance in our fight?" John looked slightly perplexed that a businesswoman could be such help.

"Oh, probably, because she's a T-1001." Edward's smirk was now outright evil. He enjoyed the confusion that momentarily appeared on John Connor's face.

Before John could even open his mouth to answer, Sarah jumped up like she'd been bitten by a snake, sending her chair two meters away and falling on the floor: "WHAT? A TERMINATOR? A LIQUID METAL TERMINATOR? ARE YOU ALL OUT OF YOUR MIND?" She screamed so aloud that it must have been heard even to the upper floor, where Andrea, Tim and Brian were in their rooms.

"Mom! Calm down! We don't need everyone in Canada to know what we are discussing." John's voice was calm, but allowed no doubts that he gave an order.

Sarah realized that her reaction was probably too wild and immediately regretted to have been so loud. But she still could not comprehend that the resistance fighters might seek the help of a liquid metal terminator. The memories of the T-1000 that almost killed her were still too fresh. She took few deep breaths to calm down and then stepped to her chair, lying on the floor to put it back on its place. Her every move was slow and deliberate, like she would try to calm down by doing something unimportant.

She sat down, her eyes never leaving Edward's face: "For god's sake, that's madness! The liquid metal is the most dangerous one. It tried to kill John and me and it took a lot of molten steel and a T-800 to destroy it. How could you even think of seeking a help from some machine like that?"

Edward held her gaze: "First: it's not the same type as you've encountered. You met the T-1000 and this is a T-1001. Second: she's not under Skynet command. Actually, she's one of the rogue machines, machines that oppose the Skynet and would like to see the war ended with its defeat."

Sarah was now shaking her head unbelieving what she just got told: "So you say that there are also machines in the future that are against Skynet? How's that possible? Aren't they all programmed to obey every command and code line that Skynet gives them?" She looked at Derek, as if seeking his support, but he looked lost in his thoughts.

Derek was actually beginning to connect things. He had heard of some machines that would forge the alliance with human resistance, although nothing like that ever happened while he was still in the future. But hearing this now … some things began to make sense to him.

Edward saw that everyone except Sarah was accepting his explanation and continued: "No, not all machines are obedient servants of Skynet. You've got the best proof right here." He slightly inclined his head towards Cameron before continuing: "And that's not all. According to our information, this Weaver terminator is building an AI that should rival Skynet."

Before he could take a breath, Sarah cut him off: "Another Skynet! This is getting better and better!" She turned to John in anger: "John! Are you really going to listen to this madness?"

"Yes, I am, mom! It might seem like madness to you, but we need every possible help and if the best help is a LMT and an AI, then so be it." John spoke calmly, his eyes drilling holes into Sarah's. He felt how Cameron lightly put her hand over his as if she would be trying to offer him her support. He twisted his palm up and gave her hand a squeeze to show his gratitude. On the outside he might have appeared completely calm and concentrated, but in his mind and heart, a storm was raging and Cameron's soothing hand managed to keep it at bay.

Edward shook his head: "We don't believe that it could be another Skynet. But … to be completely honest, we don't have enough information to say anything for sure. I guess we'll have to check it out."

John turned back to Edward and while giving Cameron's hand a firm squeeze, he asked: "How do we get in contact with this … Mrs. Weaver?"

"We have her contact number. As soon as we have your confirmation, we'll call her and arrange a meeting." Edward looked hopeful.

For a moment John seemed lost in his thoughts. Then he looked directly into Edward's eyes: "Arrange the meeting for next Tuesday. That's three days from now and we have enough time to prepare. I believe you have a safe house in L.A. right?"

"Indeed we do." Edward confirmed. "I'll inform Weaver that you agreed to meet her."

John nodded wordlessly. Then he suddenly stood up and pulled a surprised Cameron up too. She willingly followed him, even though it would be quite easy for her to remain seated. But she sensed that he was up to something.

"OK, that's it for now. Let's talk about the details later. I have something to discuss with my wife." John pulled Cameron towards the stairs to bring her to their room. He ignored funny looks that everybody gave him and trailed Cameron behind him.

Now Cameron knew exactly what he was up to; he wanted the truth.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Would you explain this to me, Cam? You knew about this LMT and didn't say a word to me! Why?" John's voice was quiet. There was no anger in it, just a slight disappointment and hurt.

Moments before they entered their room and John sat on the bed, while Cameron remained standing in front of him. Maybe for the first time in her existence Cameron was nervous. She now understood that it was wrong to keep things from John and was afraid that he might be angry with her.

"I'm sorry John. I thought it would be the best to tell you after I got the confirmation. I didn't want you to gain hopes that might never come true." Her voice was meek and she chose to look at the floor. Why am I acting like an ashamed human girl?

John sighed heavily and gave her hand, which he still held in his a strong pull to show her she should sit down by his side. "Cameron! I believed we were over hiding things from each other. You know yourself how devastating it can be if you don't tell me such important things." He still felt no anger, just hurt. Then he looked at Cameron, who sat down beside him, but still refused to look into his eyes, her other hand fumbling with a loose string on her T-shirt like it would be the most intriguing thing in the whole world.

Seeing her so obviously in distress, John couldn't help but smile at her. He reached for her hand that was finding the loose string so fascinating and covered it with his big palm: "Cameron, please, look at me!"

Cameron hesitated for a second before turning her head and looking into his eyes. She expected to see anger in his eyes, but she only saw kindness: "I'm really sorry John. Edward told me that they were trying to establish contact with a T-1001 and I agreed to keep the information from you until we could have a positive response from her. She's very powerful, you know, John …"

"I know that Cameron. I've fought one of her kind before and it was a losing battle. I'm just sad that you didn't include me in this arrangement. I love you Cameron, I want to spend my life with you. But you should trust me too." John's voice was soft and his thumb was gently striking her knuckles.

Cameron was surprised that he was being so gentle and understanding and she looked at him wide-eyed: "But I do trust you John! I just don't want you to be hurt or sad. And if you'd expect a powerful ally, but after a while it would turn out to be a hoax, you'd be sad and angry."

John saw in her eyes that she really just wanted to protect him: "I understand Cameron. But … please … don't ever hide things from me again, OK?" He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek. He felt how she leaned against it and smiled at her. "I love you, Cameron."

"I promise to never try to deceive you again." Cameron's voice was soft and he barely heard it. But he actually didn't resent her, knowing that she always had his best interest at her heart, even if it meant that she had to withhold some information from him. He leaned and gave her a tender kiss, sensing her immediate response.

XXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile the others were vividly discussing the situation. Sarah and Derek stood in one corner and argued about the information that the liquid metal should be their ally. Sarah still couldn't accept that she should work together with it. Surprisingly, Derek was more inclined to accept the fact that it would be a very powerful ally. Not that he would trust it, anyway. But he knew that they had absolutely nothing to fight it. Should this Weaver decide to terminate them, they wouldn't stand a chance. Oh, what the hell! You have to die someday and somehow. He smirked humorlessly at the thought.

Suddenly the steps could be heard on the stairs and everybody looked up to see if John and Cameron were coming back. But instead of them, they saw a cute blonde girl, clinging to a young man's hand and another man, accompanying them.

"Who are all these people?" Andrea whispered to Brian, who just shook his head, but before he could say anything, Andrea suddenly noticed a man with a long pony tail, smiling at her friendly. She instantly smiled: "Beaver!"

It took her only few seconds to descend the stairs, leaving Brian and Tim along the way. She ran to William and stopped in front of him, smiling at him wide: "I'm so glad to see you again." Then she remembered that there were other people in the room, people whom she didn't know and asked him: "Who are these people?"

William smiled wider: "My friends. This enchanting lady is Isabel, the grumpy man is Edward, and this mountain of a human goes by name Lesley."

Andrea turned to his friends and greeted them friendly, but turned towards William almost immediately thereafter and in the meantime Tim also joined her. He offered William his hand and after he took and shook it, Tim smiled at the man: "I should thank you for giving me the directions. I found the doctor, but unfortunately someone had something against me and I wasn't able to even talk to him."

William nodded knowingly: "I know. I hope you're all right. This little sister of yours was quite upset after we found your car, but no you."

"You bet I was upset!" Andrea confirmed nodding. "I feared he was dead!" She pouted a little as she remembered the horror of those moments.

"I'm happy that everything turned out well." William nodded at the siblings.

"Did you send us that newspaper article about a hit and run drunken driver?" Andrea's question came unexpected like a lightning from clear sky.

William grinned at her: "Of course I did. I promised you I'd take care of the matter, didn't I?"

Andrea nodded: "Of course you did. But I couldn't believe that someone, who never saw me before would do something like that for me. Tell me: how did you manage to get that man arrested?"

"Oh, he just needed a little persuasion. Nothing permanent." William's grin widened. "He should be sentenced soon as far as I'm informed. He's going to jail."

"I guess I don't want to know too much, right?" Andrea tilted her head slightly and smiled at William.

"I guess." William smiled at her and nodded to her.

While they were busy talking about the past, Cameron and John appeared at the top of the stairs. Edward noticed them as first and immediately after he acknowledged them, John motioned to him to come up. Without hesitating, Edward started up the stairs to join them.

XXXXXXXXXX

After they entered Cameron's and John's room, John started without hesitation: "Edward, there are some things we'd like you to explain to us. In private."

Edward nodded and sat on the chair facing the bed, while Cameron and John sat on it. "What do you want to know?"

"First of all: what were you doing in that military base where Cameron had been kept? I can't believe that it would be coincidental." John began. "Not that I'm not grateful that you were there. Hell, it made Cameron's escape possible and for that I'll be always thankful."

Edward nodded barely visibly and started: "Actually, everything that happened there was a part of the plan that my John and Cameron devised for me."

"Wait a minute! Are you trying to say that future us knew about that thing?" John was astonished, although his voice remained calm. He almost subconsciously reached for Cameron's hand and squeezed it gently.

"Of course they did." Edward nodded. "It happened in their timeline too, only the consequences were far more devastating." He paused to see if John or Cameron would like an additional explanation, but he only got a nod in response from John, while Cameron fixed him with her large brown eyes without showing any emotions at all.

"In their timeline you all went to the Shasta region for a vacation, just like you did. Cameron had been captured by the undercover military organization and brought to the same installation as she had been now. However, you haven't been injured then and you soon discovered where they kept her and stormed the base with your mother, Derek Reese and some friends." Edward made a small pause to allow the news to settle in their minds.

"Did we … did we rescue Cameron?" John gulped. The thought that he might have lost Cameron in some other timeline instantly made him forget that Edward spoke that he and Cameron sent them back.

"I guess you did John. Otherwise I wouldn't be with you in the future and wouldn't have sent Edward back." Cameron gave him the look.

If her answer amused Edward, he didn't show it, he continued calmly: "You rescued her. She had been pretty beaten, but alive. However, it cost you dearly." He paused again and a shadow flew over his face.

John already suspected that there must be something horrible waiting for him and he swallowed heavily before nodding to Edward to continue.

"You two were the only ones to get out alive. Everybody else died." Edward hung his head and looked at the floor.

John expected something like that, but he was still shocked: "You mean … my mom, Derek … my friends … everybody gone? Everybody?" He felt Cameron's hand enclosing the one with which he held her other one and her thumb gently began to caress the back of it.

"Yes, John, everybody died." Edward lifted his head. "That's what future you told me. He also said that he could never forgive himself for causing his mother's death. Even though he got you back." He looked towards Cameron.

"Did I, I mean, future me, blame Cameron for that?" John's voice was very quiet and he pulled Cameron's hands closer to his body.

Edward shook his head resolutely: "No, he never said anything to her or to anyone else for that matter. You know, they were married too, just like you two and even after many years they were still in love. It was impossible not to notice how much they hung on each other."

John finally managed a smile and looked at his wife: "Well, some things obviously never change."

"So, the future you two decided that they would send someone back in time to prevent the disaster from striking again. I was the one to infiltrate the base and get Cameron out. The rest, I believe, Cameron already told you." Edward finished his explanation.

Cameron suddenly tilted her head in slight confusion: "What about Chris?"

"He has nothing to do with this operation. He was just on the right place at the right time to help me. I could have pulled it by myself, but his help was more than welcome." Edward smiled.

"How about the fact that my mom and Derek have been taken by the Kaliba? Was that also a part of the plan?" John remembered that there was another issue.

"No, absolutely not. As I said; they had been killed in the raid on the base in their timeline. So I had absolutely no information about them being abducted by the Kaliba." Edward shook his head.

"Well, the timeline is never set in stone. Some things change, while others don't!" John smiled at Cameron and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. He didn't mind that there was a hardened soldier sitting in front of them, looking their every move.

"Did William jump with you?" Cameron asked suddenly.

Edward furrowed his brows before answering. "No, there was no William in our timeline. We met him here in this time and after initial suspiciousness we decided to work together. I have no idea what is he doing here, what is his mission and who sent him. He has always been very mysterious and never revealed anything about the background of his presence in this time."

"Well, I know something." Cameron concluded and looked at John.

For few seconds they all remained silent, John and Edward obviously waiting for Cameron to tell them more, while Cameron clearly didn't find it necessary. She gave John a long look, telling him with her mimic that she'd explain everything later.

"OK, so, now that we know what was one of you missions, what about the one we have been discussing before … finding allies to fight Skynet." John sighed and turned back to Edward. There were still other questions he wanted to get the answers to.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tim was sitting on the couch and his eyes were almost involuntarily turning towards Isabel time and again. Ever since he noticed her, he fell strangely drawn to her and tried to get eye contact with her while desperately trying to evade her eyes should she turn to look at him. They have been introduced, naturally, and his hand still felt the soft skin of her small palm, as he shook it. Her dark eyes still lingered in his memory and the long flowing black hair still filled his inner eye. He knew a lot of pretty and beautiful girls, but he never felt just like that before.

"You look a bit absent, big brother. Is something wrong?" Andrea teased him quietly. She noticed his affection and how he followed Isabel's movements. Brian sat at her side, holding her hand and feeling a bit off with all those strangers suddenly filling the house. He asked himself if there was more to this gathering than it seemed. And the answer to this question was almost expected: something was going on, something big, but he had no idea what. Even Andrea and Tim seemed to know a little more than him, or at least they gave such impression. He would have to talk to Andrea later about everything. Since they arrived here it became obvious to him that Andrea kept secrets from him.

"Hmm? What?" Tim suddenly shook out of his daydreaming and turned towards his sister. "Why would anything be wrong, sis?" But a light shade of red slowly crept over his cheeks, even though he desperately tried to hide it.

"Oh, nothing. I too think that Isabel's a nice girl. But I guess she's a little … how should I say … too independent to be handled like another big city girl." Andrea answered with fake seriousness in her voice.

"Isabel? What does she have to do with this?" Tim blushed even more and suddenly grew angry with himself for showing his interest so obviously.

"I don't know. Why wouldn't you tell me?" Andrea continued her little play, but the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.

"Nothing! There's nothing!" Tim answered a little too hastily to make it believable.

Andrea couldn't keep her serious façade anymore and laughed aloud, causing Tim to look at her surprised: "Oh dear! Tim! I see that you're infatuated with her! Go and talk to her, you big dummy! She likes you too!"

Tim wanted to deny, but Andrea's last statement caught him off guard and he remained open-mouthed for few seconds before managing to speak: "Do you really think so? She hadn't even looked at me!"

"Believe me, bro. A woman knows such things. Just be careful not to be too fast. She's very special and you should be extremely careful." Andrea got her laughter under control, but she still smiled at her brother.

Tim fidgeted and squirmed in his seat a little and finally gathered the courage: "OK, I'll go talk to her. Wish me luck!" He looked at Andrea.

"Of course! Go, and present yourself in your best possible edition. Just be yourself, don't pull your 'cool big city guy' act on her! You'll fail if you do!" Andrea reprimanded him, fearing that he might fall into big city Casanova cliché again.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, what you're trying to say is basically that we caused the abduction by ourselves?" Sarah sounded incredulous and she looked at Danny wide eyed. They have somehow stumbled upon the topic of their abduction again and Danny surprised … no, shocked … her with the statement that they have been noticed only after they bolted down the ridge towards the house.

"If you want to put it that way … yes. Had you stayed up on the ridge, you could have gotten away without being seen and abducted. At least they wouldn't have taken you right there and then. True, Kaliba mercenaries planned to get you two, but not like it happened." Danny nodded and wondered why Derek looked like a cat that just caught a fat mouse.

Sarah pondered over his words for few short moments and then turned with lightning speed towards Derek: "Don't you dare saying anything, Reese!" She raised her forefinger and her eyes made unmistakably clear that she would not tolerate any word from him, especially not if it would hint at her misjudgment that effectively got them caught.

Derek raised both hands in mock surrender gesture and shook his head: "Why would I want to say anything, Sarah?" But the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, revealing that he enjoyed the moment all too much.

Danny's eyes bounced between Sarah and Derek in complete confusion. He couldn't understand why they would fight over such a simple explanation and what could be so funny that Derek barely held back the laughter. "Uhm … guys …. I don't quite get it?" His mumbled words made it through Sarah's anger.

"You don't have to get it!" She snapped irritably at the young man while her eyes never left Derek's.

Danny understood that he was not needed or wanted here right now, so he shuffled his foot a little before turning: "Uh, I'll just go … get … do something…" He turned on his heel and vanished.

Sarah and Derek continued to stare at each other, Sarah's anger slowly fading away while Derek's grin grew ever wider. Just as Derek opened the mouth to say something, Sarah's palm shot up warningly: "Don't!"

TBC