Yes! I managed to write this chapter much sooner than I anticipated. Why? Because it was really fun to write. For the first time ever I tried to describe Catherine Weaver and John Henry, with small 'special guest appearances' by James Ellison and I hope I got them right. Even though other characters, especially John and Cameron are very OOC, I tried to keep these new players as much OC as possible, with exception of John Henry, who is already a bit OOC – more emotionally developed than in the series.

Actually, this chapter was initially much longer, but I decided to split it and the last part will be posted as the first part of next one.

Thanks to all of you who took your time to write a review. As for the others, who just read the story, but leave no feedback – I hope you enjoy it nevertheless.

Chapter 6

Looking around and evaluating the situation, John's nose cringed barely perceptible. Human eye wouldn't have even noticed it, but Cameron was no human. She saw the small movement and noticed the expression in his eyes, almost involuntarily painting a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"It's not for a long term stay, John. Just until we find a new safe house." She leaned towards him and whispered into his ear. After he turned to her with surprise written all over his face, she gave him a small smile and squeezed his hand, she had been clutching to all the way, gently.

"How do you know what I've just been thinking of?" John couldn't hide that she surprised him with her remark. He was really considering the fact that this safe house was completely unsuitable for so many people.

"I guess I know my husband quite well. I learned to read his tiniest expressions." Cameron answered self-assured while her eyes sparkled in silent amusement.

John's lips now curled upwards: "You really know me too well, Cameron. Maybe I should be more mysterious to remain interesting and intriguing, don't you think so? Otherwise you might get tired of me and look for some new challenge."

Cameron's face got serious: "You don't have to change, John. I love you the way you are and because you are that way. I don't like mysteriousness too much. It's an incalculable risk. And I most definitely would never look for someone else. Remember? I promised myself to you for all eternity."

John shook his head slightly while smiling brightly at his wife.

"This is really … small." Sarah, who joined John and Cameron, while her eyes swept over the small room, commented with a voice, revealing that she definitely wasn't overwhelmed by the place. Yes, from her voice and her expression it was obvious that her first impression of the safe house was not sending her into hooray kind of mood.

They arrived from their Canada retreat just few minutes ago and Edward, Isabel and Lesley showed them their safe house. It was actually the definition of minimalism. Two small rooms with bunk beds, two mattresses on the floor, a small table with four chairs and a small cooking plate in a corner, was all they had. The bathroom was down the aisle, shared with another similar flat, which was standing empty. Definitely not the conditions someone would enjoy living in.

Isabel noticed that the Connors eyed the flat critically and smiled at them: "Don't forget that it has never been meant for so many people. But I guess we could open the second flat and you could use it."

"You mean, we could break in, right?" Derek joined the small group. He was the only one who wasn't so critical about the safe house. "In the future we never had such luxury."

"I guess it is so." Sarah deadpanned and took another tour around the room, while Cameron and John remained standing in the middle of it.

"I could open the second flat." Cameron offered helpfully like a star pupil, exclaiming what they could do better than anyone else. Her eyes looked at John questioningly.

"Sure you could, Cameron. I believe I'll accept your offer." John chuckled and pulled Cameron towards the door to the other flat.

"Wait!" Lesley stopped them. "Are we going to break in? It would not be exactly subtle." His face showed his reservations about entering the flat forcefully.

"I'll open the door subtly." Cameron gave him annoyed look, stressing the last word specifically. Does he really think I'd crash in like a terminator on the hunt?

Lesley looked at her incredulously. If there was something he would never expect from a terminator, then it was subtlety. Cameron might be different than any other machine, but he still doubted that she'd learn how to act inconspicuously. True, the Cameron he knew in the future was very human-like in her mannerisms, but he didn't know about this one and he had never seen her in action before.

"You'd better believe her, Lesley," John chuckled again in silent satisfaction how his wife handled the situation. "She can be very, very tactful if she wants to. But, on the other hand, you don't want to piss her off." He noticed the look Cameron was giving the big man and was sure that he annoyed her. It was not just this remark. Ever since they met, he had been very reserved towards Cameron and, on the contrary to his colleagues, often showed openly that he considered her probably less important than humans. Cameron tried to ignore it, but in the last months she got used to be treated like an equal, not like a stupid machine. So it definitely disturbed her if someone showed her openly that they disliked her because of her mechanical nature.

Cameron noticed Lesley's reaction to her statement, but knew better than to linger on it. She simply started towards the adjacent door and grabbed the door knob.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Mrs. Weaver, your visitors are here. Should I allow them up?" The voice of the secretary from the phone speaker was clear, but it was unmistakably noticeable that the poor secretary wasn't feeling all too comfortable with the visitors. If someone could for a moment take the appearance of a fly and sit on the ceiling, watching the scene with their own eyes, the secretary's discomfort would be understandable. Two men, one older, looking like an experienced soldier, the other one young, but with cold determination in his eyes were accompanied by two women. One a little older, giving the secretary a cold stare and the other, looking like in her early twenties, with long auburn hair, facing the poor woman with expressionless face, but with razor sharp brown eyes. The only comforting thing was that she linked her arm with the younger man, at least giving the impression to be a socially skilled person.

The secretary's eyes darted from one to another, wide open, and the hand in which she held the telephone trembled barely visible. She hoped no one would notice her discomfort, however, it seemed that the younger woman noticed it and gave the secretary even sharper glare, while her lips barely noticeable twitched into a threatening smirk. It was obvious that she enjoyed making the secretary nervous.

"Sure, Mrs. Weaver, I'll tell them." She said into the phone, put it down and turned to the younger man who was obviously the leader of this dangerous looking pack: "Mrs. Weaver asks you to wait for a few moments. She's sending her chief of security to guide you to her office. If you would please take seats over there …?" It sounded more like a frightful question than kind invitation while she pointed with still slightly trembling hand towards the seating facility in the far corner of the entrance hall.

John noticed the woman's discomfort and smiled at her: "Of course, ma'am." He then pulled the younger woman towards the sitting corner. She followed him willingly, but before she moved she stared at the secretary for a second longer. The older woman seemed to overhear the young man's words and stayed put until the man turned towards her: "Mom?" It obviously shook her from whatever she had been thinking about and she followed the pair. The older man was the last to take a seat.

After they sat down, John whispered into Cameron's ear: "Why did you have to frighten the poor woman, Cameron? She hadn't done anything wrong." There was no accusation in his voice, but barely hidden amusement.

Cameron looked at him with big innocent eyes: "I was just trying to determine if I'm still capable of intimidating humans by just looking at them." She stopped for a second: "And she was giving you too gooey looks for my taste. I don't like it when other women look at you that way." A tiny trace of jealousy could be heard in her voice

John chuckled: "Cam, you have absolutely no reason to be jealous. You're my wife, the only woman for me, and that's how it's going to stay till the day I die. By the way: was the test successful?" He grinned at her.

"Definitely. She's scared of me, just like she should be." Cameron deadpanned with still innocent looking eyes.

John gave the secretary a quick look and noticed that she was busy busying herself with anything else but looking at them, and yet she still appeared nervous. "Yes, most definitely. I guess she'll be the happiest person when we're out of here."

Only few moments later the door opened and a tall black man in expensive looking suit entered the room. He looked at the group, waiting for his arrival and approached them with measured but confident steps. While walking towards them, he turned to the secretary, who couldn't hide the relief upon his entrance: "I'll take it from here, Miss Delaney."

The secretary nodded with a bright smile.

As soon as Sarah noticed the man, she almost jumped up: "You!" She spat at the man.

Cameron and John stood up too. They've recognized the man too and it was obvious that they were at least slightly surprised, just like Sarah; they just managed better to hide their feelings.

The man gave Cameron a slightly nervous look, which she clearly noticed, as her lips curled into a small smile. She still remembered how she had been throwing the man around his living room and at the end, while he had been lying on the floor, turned him on his belly. I wonder if he had to redecorate the living room? It was more or less destroyed after we left.

"Hello, Mr. Ellison." John greeted the man calmly and stretched his hand towards him. "I can't say that I'm very much surprised to see you here."

James Ellison accepted and firmly squeezed John's hand: "The last time we met had been under … different circumstances." He looked at Cameron, whose smile grew slightly larger. He stared into her animated, smiling face and asked himself if this was the same impassive cyborg girl that tried to teach him how to fly in his own living room not so very long ago.

"I have no intentions to repeat what I've done then." She exclaimed with slightly amused voice and stretched her hand towards James Ellison too. "Only if you give me a reason to do it."

He was clearly surprised that she acted so human and after a split second of hesitation accepted her hand and shook it. Interesting! The last time we met she was acting completely mechanical and now she's just like any other girl her age.

Then he turned towards Sarah: "I believe I owe you an apology, Sarah. You have been right and I have been wrong. About everything."

Sarah looked at him grimly, but she restrained herself from lashing out in the public. She was still a long way from accepting this man, who was in her eyes one of the guilty that the FBI was after them.

John noticed his mother's bad mood upon seeing the former FBI agent, whom she blamed for so many things he did and also for some he didn't do and leaned towards her: "Relax, mom. He's not our enemy."

"I know that John. Or at least I wish I could believe it. But that still doesn't mean I have to like him." Sarah whispered back through clenched teeth. A soft snicker from Cameron accompanied her words and made Sarah look at her daughter in law in surprise. But Cameron already managed to put on her best terminator face and looked at her blankly. "Yes, Sarah?"

"Don't try me, Cameron! You might be my daughter in law, but that doesn't mean I can't be … angry with you." It was obvious that Sarah wanted to say something else, but reconsidered upon seeing John's serious face. He wouldn't allow anyone to insult his wife, not even his mother.

Meanwhile Mr. Ellison greeted Edward, whom he knew from his first visit here and then turned towards John: "If you'd follow me, Mrs. Weaver is expecting you."

John nodded and followed Mr. Ellison towards the door. Cameron stayed at his side, but just before passing the door, she turned over the shoulder and gave the secretary a quick dark glance, noticing that the poor woman sighed relieved.

"Is she relieved now that you're gone?" John asked her casually, while still strolling purposefully after Mr. Ellison.

Cameron was surprised that John noticed her gesture: "How did you know …?"

"Because I know you too good, my love." His answer was quiet but the voice expressed how much he cared for her and how much her behavior amused him.

They entered the elevator and Mr. Ellison pushed the button for the highest floor. Nobody spoke during short ascend towards the highest level. After the door opened, Mr. Ellison again took the lead and strolled towards the door at the end of the aisle.

He knocked on it and after an immediate response from inside the room he opened the door and stepped through it. "Mrs. Weaver, John Connor and his team are here." He stepped aside to allow the group into the room too.

After he entered the office, John took a quick look and noticed that it was a very big space, decorated sparsely and modernistic, yet very tasteful. He was looking directly at the huge desk, a combination of metal and glass, extended by the conference table for 10 people, on his right side there was a large seating group, which would easily accommodate 10-12 persons and on the other side there was a large fish tank in which a long eel swam. He got the impression that the eel turned to look at them carefully, but discarded the thought immediately. Surely no fish would be interested in who just entered the office! I must have been imagining things!

Behind the desk, an elegant woman with striking red hair sat. Her face was cold, expressionless, just like Cameron's used to be before that storm that unlocked her potential for being what she actually was, giving her the gift of humanity. John could feel how Cameron tensed immediately after she set her eyes on the woman. He felt how she pulled him closer to herself and smiled in his thoughts over her protectiveness. No matter how human she becomes, she'll never be able to forget her protective instinct.

"Welcome, Mr. Connor. It's a pleasure to meet you in person." The woman's voice was just as cold and emotionless as was her face and bared a heavy Scottish accent. She didn't bother to stand up just yet. She simply sat there and scanned them carefully for few seconds. Then she fluidly stood up and gestured towards the sitting group: "I suggest you take your places there, Mr. Connor."

John fought the urge to answer in the same cold manner and opted for a cold smile instead: "Mrs. Weaver. I'm not sure if it's a pleasure to meet you, but I'm more than inclined to find it out. If you'd allow me, this is my mot…"

He couldn't continue his attempt to present all members of his group, because the LMT in the form of Catherine Weaver cut him off impatiently: "Your mother, infamous Sarah Connor, your resident terminator, TOK-715 presenting itself as Cameron Phillips and the resistance fighter from the future, Major Edward Anderson. I know them all, Mr. Connor, so I can spare you the unneeded attempts to introduce them."

John barely managed to hide his annoyance upon her reaction and in this moment he decided that she might be a valuable ally, but it would take a long time for him to like her if ever. "Excellent, Mrs. Weaver. I see that you've done the digging after the information. But in one point you stand corrected. The beautiful lady by my side is Cameron Connor, my legally wedded wife, formerly known as Cameron Phillips." He then nodded sharply and guided Cameron towards the sitting area and sat down on one of the couches. Sarah and Edward followed them and took their positions on each side of the pair. John, however, noticed that Cameron tried to sit so that she was at least partially shielding him from the Weaver terminator. It was a very sweet gesture, although he knew that she couldn't do anything, should the liquid metal machine decide to kill them. But she'd probably die trying to protect him. So he gently but firmly pulled her back into the seat. He was as much protective of her as she was of him and he would never allow her to sacrifice herself for naught.

Cameron sensed John's pull and looked at him, not understanding why he wanted her to sit deeper on the couch. She saw his reassuring smile and after a second relented and leaned back. But she tightened her grip on him and pulled him closer. That was the least she could do. She was well aware of the fact that she stood no chance against this terminator, but she was absolutely determined that she'd do anything in her power to protect her husband, even if it would mean dying in the process of defending him.

Catherine Weaver hid any reaction to John's correction, even though for a split second something crossed her face. Meanwhile she rounded the table and approached the group. She remained standing for a second, before sitting down opposite John and then looked at Mr. Ellison: "James? Would you please sit down? I hate it when I have to look up." Her voice was still ice cold and flat.

James Ellison followed her instructions and in this moment, John asked himself if he even knew that Mrs. Weaver was in fact a terminator, a T-1001 model, deadliest terminator he knew of. At the same time he asked himself where the real Catherine Weaver could be. Probably a rotting corpse, laid or buried, forgotten somewhere. He somehow doubted any terminator would give itself the work to bury his victims.

Mrs. Weaver then turned back to John and scanned him up and down carefully, making the hairs on his neck stand. It was worse than being scanned by an x-ray machine. He knew that he couldn't hide anything from this machine. Actually, he didn't even want to hide very much from it, possibly just details that were, however, more than important for him to keep the upper hand in this alliance. After few seconds, she turned her eyes towards Cameron and the moment she looked at her, there was something in those cold eyes that made John uneasy. This machine was up to something and it made him uneasy that he had no idea what it was. Yet!

After she finished her inspection, she turned to John again: "So, Mr. Connor. I hear that you have a business proposition for me?" She tilted her head slightly and it annoyed John immensely to see this cold machine making the same move as his wife.

"Actually, I do, Mrs. Weaver. I have been informed that we are probably pursuing the same goal, namely, destroying the Skynet, if possible before it gains control over the world. Our initial impulses might be different, for I can't believe that you would be very much interested in preventing the genocide over the human population, but the final goal is the same." He paused, just to notice a strange look that James Ellison gave to Mrs. Weaver. He obviously really doesn't know that she's a machine! It shot through his brain and he decided to keep that in mind and use this piece of information should it turn out useful.

"Nevertheless, there are things that you could offer into this possible cooperation and there are things that I could provide. So I guess it's just the matter of reaching the understanding about what each side would invest in our mutual fight." A speech, he rehearsed a few times in front of Cameron, reaching the final version just on the way here.

Catherine Weaver listened to John carefully and after she believed that he said all he wanted to say, she straightened her head, looking at John coldly and arrogantly. "And what could you possibly offer me that I don't have, Mr. Connor?"

This was the question John had been preparing himself for. He smiled at her coldly: "Well, for one, there is the fact that I am capable of mobilizing the people, in consequence meaning that I can provide the necessary manpower for physical execution of your plans. With all due respect, I don't think that you could reach that. Therefore, you need me if you want to have the advantage of using human resources. Further: We have been following some leads that resulted in the information of the approximate location of the lab, where Skynet is being developed. Oh, not to forget that we have one of the programmers that originally worked on this project, who knows the structure of Skynet and his possible backdoors. We have the support from the future, people who actually fought in the war and they, I presume, have at least a bit of experience in such things. You could of course hire mercenaries. Lots of them, I suppose. But in the instant they'd stand against the machines, they'd be slaughtered like cattle in the slaughterhouse, not being aware of what they are fighting against." John smirked at the woman in front of him, carefully following if there would be any reaction on her face. "Do you want me to continue?" He tilted his head, just like Mrs. Weaver did before and mirrored her movement.

Interesting man! I think I could even make use of him. Or even like him as a fellow combatant. Catherine Weaver didn't allow herself to show that she was impressed by the young John Connor. She expected something like arrogant, spoiled and too self assured brat, or maybe even a weakling, depending for everything on his mother and his cyborg protector, but the man in front of her was anything but. In this moment she decided that an alliance between them would be a preferable outcome of this meeting, but there was something that she had to test before she would announce her decision.

"You don't have to continue, Mr. Connor." Her voice was just like before: unwavering, cold, flat. "I understand your point of view and accept your explanation. But in order to forge an alliance, there is something that I need from you, additionally to what you just mentioned."

John knew that there was something more, but he would not show his anxiousness: "Before you state your request, I would like to know what you can offer me in exchange."

"Very well, Mr. Connor." Catherine Weaver bowed barely visible towards him and an almost unnoticeable grin appeared on her lips. She definitely liked the way this young man was conducting the discussion. "I can offer you two things. First: the almost limitless financial funds and unmatchable research facilities of Zeira Corporation."

She paused to see if it made any impression an John, and was a little disappointed that he showed no reaction, but continued: "And second: an AI, equal to the one that calls itself Skynet in each and every aspect."

"As if we could believe you!" Sarah couldn't keep quiet anymore and she snarled at the red haired woman angrily.

"I don't care if you believe me or not, Sarah Connor, as long as your son believes me." Catherine Weaver was totally unimpressed by Sarah's remark and gazed unwavering at John.

John nodded: "Interesting offer, I must concur. I take you by your word for the former, but as of the AI … well, we'd have to check it by ourselves. So … what would be your condition, you spoke about before?"

Catherine Weaver paused for a second and then turned towards Cameron: "Will you join us?"

TBC