Chapter 119

Liberation

Bob and Jim left the Command Center. They went out to the carpool. They got back into the SUV they returned in earlier and took back off. They were headed towards one of the suspected Skynet related locations they received information on. John Henry would keep them updated if anything else developed.

The two Terminators were soon near the location. Jim looked at satellite images of the location as they approached. He showed them to Bob.

Bob took in the images. Some of them were as recently as a few days ago. Other ones were past images from prior years.

"There doesn't appear to be much change over the years." Bob said.

Jim didn't think change was always obvious.

"It's the changes which occur behind the scenes where the problems start." Jim said.

Bob was aware the 'unknown' was something they needed to face all the time. It was seldom anything good. They did a 'drive by' of the location. Something was spotted almost immediately.

"There's a vehicle parked alongside the building." Bob said.

Jim checked his weapons.

"We're ready for any threat." Jim said.

Bob nodded. There was only so much they could do until they knew more. He parked two blocks away from the location.

They were just about ready to get out of the vehicle when they were contacted by John Henry.

"There's a box truck in the vicinity of where you're currently at." John Henry said. "I spotted it on several traffic cams several times in the same location."

Jim wanted to know more.

"Do you mean previously, or now?" Jim asked.

John Henry wanted to be clear.

"I mean recently, as in the last ten minutes." John Henry said. "They repeated the pattern three times. This time they've moved on."

Bob understood what it meant.

"It appears as if they're checking for a tail." Bob said.

Jim scanned the area around them. He spotted something.

"I see a box truck. It's painted white." Jim said. "There's blue writing on the door of the cab of the truck."

John Henry confirmed their suspicions.

"It's the one." John Henry said. "There are two men in the cab."

Bob spotted the truck as well.

"They're both still there." Bob said.

Jim got out of the SUV as the box truck passed. He moved up along the side the building they were parked next to. It was so he could peer down the street in the direction the box truck went. He carefully looked around the corner of the building. He could see the box truck turn into the location they planned to visit. He hurried back to the SUV.

"They're at the target location." Jim said. "Do we move in now, or do we wait to see where the box truck goes when it leaves?

Bob and Jim needed to decide what their next move would be.

Allison walked out into the hall.

She'd just spent a few hours with Cameron. It was a few hours she would never forget….

Allison felt happy, but sad at the same time.

She reflected on what just happened….

John was in the Command Center. Savannah walked in and greeted everyone. He noticed the way she looked at him. She looked into him, not at him. She then turned her attention to John Henry. He felt she wanted to speak with John Henry. It looked personal.

He wanted to speak to his mother. He asked John Henry where she was.

John Henry told him Sarah was in the lab.

John excused himself and headed there.

Savannah exchanged a long look with him as he left.

Along the way he spotted Riley. He didn't want to speak with her right now. She seemed like the wrong person, at the wrong time. It was too late. She spotted him.

Riley walked over towards John.

"Hi, John." Riley said.

John tried to be polite.

"Hello, Riley." John said.

Riley didn't think John looked very happy. He actually looked sick.

"Are you OK?" Riley asked. "You don't look so hot."

John didn't feel so hot either. He didn't want to let Riley slink in under his armor at this time of vulnerability. He felt Savannah just did it without trying.

"I'm fine." John said.

Riley doubted it.

"If you want, we can talk about it." Riley said. "It helps sometimes to know other people care. It helps me."

John did know sometimes it was nice to have help. He just wasn't sure Riley was the one he should seek it from. He always still felt a twinge inside of him when he looked at her sometimes. There was always a feeling of 'love' which was soon over powered by a feeling of guilt. He still felt responsible for Future Riley's death. If he'd done things a little different, and she had too, everything could have been different. They both played it too close to the vest. They 'trusted' each other, but they didn't trust each other enough. It appeared their love could only go so far. It obviously wasn't far enough.

He knew if he opened up to Riley right now, it would open the door to more problems. It seemed as if Future Riley 'called' to him right now. He needed to clear his mind and think about Cameron.

He was surprised to see Savannah come around the corner and look at both of them.

John and Riley looked at each other, and then back to where Savannah was.

Savannah frowned and walked away.

John understood it for the 'warning' it was. He realized now the 'look' in the Command Center was a 'warning' as well. It was time to move on.

"No, really, I'm good." John said. "Thanks anyway."

Savannah's 'message' was sent and received.

Riley and John both continued on their way.

John didn't want to look back at Riley, but he couldn't help it. When he turned to look back at her, she turned to look back at him. There it was. The connection was still there. It was a 'different' Riley, but it was still the same Riley.

They both quickly turned a corner and kept going.

Savannah waited to make sure they parted. It was her 'job' to assist Cameron in every way. It meant more than just the future use of her womb. She returned to John Henry. Nobody slipped up on her watch.

Allison wasn't sure what to do. There were a million thoughts and feelings running through her mind right now.

She went to the lab to look for Vanna.

Allison felt she needed to talk with Vanna. She needed to tell her what 'happened' with Cameron and confess to Vanna. She sure hoped Vanna would understand.

She really needed to talk to someone….

It wasn't who she expected. It certainly didn't seem like the right person to talk to, based upon the circumstances.

Sarah was in the lab.

"Hi, Allison." Sarah said.

Allison looked for Vanna but didn't see her.

"Hey, Sarah. Have you seen Vanna around?" Allison asked. "I really need to speak with her."

Allison was very uneasy right now.

"You just missed her. Cameron called and wanted to see her about something." Sarah said. "It seemed important. Vanna left in a hurry. I think I heard her start to run."

Allison cringed. She was sure what was about to happen right now. She'd just 'come' from Cameron's room.

Sarah could see Allison looked a little under the weather. It actually seemed rather abrupt.

"Allison, what's wrong?" Sarah asked.

Allison knew she couldn't tell Sarah. How do you bring up something personal and private with someone's mother in law? She felt like a total piece of crap just thinking about it.

Vanna wondered why Cameron called her.

She figured it must be something important since she told her to come right away.

Vanna thought about how much she loved Cameron. She loved Cameron from the first time they interacted. It was her and a very advanced AI in a computer server. She knew later on she loved the fact Cameron looked like 'Allison'. Cameron's personality, and her presence, is what captivated her the most. Cameron was so different and so very special. She was the most dynamic and unique individual she'd ever encountered. She sadly reflected on how they almost 'completed' their love for each other. It never happened. She'd give anything to have such an experience. They'd been so close to achieving it before, so very close.

Almost….

Vanna wondered what was so important….

She was worried now and broke into a run.

Allison knew she needed to leave before Sarah started asking her questions. She didn't want to lie to Sarah about where she'd been and what she'd done. She wasn't ashamed of her actions, she was actually proud.

The door to the lab opened.

She hoped it was Vanna returning. It wasn't.

Allison saw it just went from bad to worse. She felt her heart sink a little lower. She didn't think it was possible. Apparently it was.

John came into the lab.

Allison saw him and wanted to run, or hide, or get away. She didn't want to be around him right now. She felt the guilt creep back in. It was the circumstances which made it seem a little off.

There was nowhere to go. She decided to make a break for it. She wanted to avoid any more questions. She was short on answers, even if she wasn't. She was actually short on good answers.

Allison looked at him and quickly started to walk out.

"Hey." John said.

She tried not to look at John.

"Hey." Allison said.

Allison looked back once as the door closed.

John looked right at her.

'Great.' Allison thought. 'He's going to know.'

John turned back to Sarah.

"Hi, Mom." John said.

Sarah felt she had a pretty good idea why he was there.

"Are you here for some motherly advice?" Sarah asked. "I know I'm not a great mother, but I have seen a few things. My experience is much greater than my finesse."

John needed some advice and he needed it straight.

"I could use a little motherly insight, and some womanly advice." John said.

Sarah wasn't sure where things were headed. They needed to be headed somewhere.

"Shoot." Sarah said with a smile.

John looked back at the door Allison just passed through. He then looked back to his mother. Something was off about her…. It wasn't like Allison at all.

He understood he wasn't the only one with problems. Everyone had problems. They were just different, even if they were the same. There was always trouble around the corner in Paradise.

John reflected back on his interactions with Cameron earlier. She was wired up to prove something, to do something. Allison looked at him with 'guilt' on her face. He brushed it off. He was sure he was seeing things where there was nothing to see. He refocused on his mother.

It was time to swallow his pride and see how he could 'fix' any of it. There was nothing to do but get straight to the point.

"Mom, I'm losing Cameron. I don't know how to 'fix' it." John said. "I need to 'fix' it somehow."

Sarah thought back on her life experiences. None of them were very pretty. None of them ended well for her or the other person. She thought the situation was different even if it was the same.

"Sometimes it can't be fixed." Sarah said. "You do understand you two are 'different'."

John wondered where the conversation was headed. It wasn't really in the direction he thought it would go. He actually wasn't sure which direction he thought it would go.

"Yes I do." John said.

Sarah didn't want to sound negative, but she did want to point out the reality of life.

"Sometimes someone stays with another until they can't face another moment of life." Sarah said. "If you love someone so much, sometimes you need to let them go."

It was something he heard her say before. It sounded like what he witnessed growing up with his mother's personal relations.

"Who knows better than you?" John asked.

Tears welled up in Sarah's eyes.

John felt she took his words as an insult. It wasn't his intention.

"Mom, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." John said.

His statement hit home with Sarah. It was the truth. She needed to put John's safety first. It led to every bridge behind her being burnt. It left more shattered lives, and more broken hearts. It was a smoldering path of emotional destruction as terrible as the physical path of destruction left by a Terminator.

She did what she did to protect John. She did what she did to protect the future. There wasn't really a choice involved, even if there was. She simply did what she needed to do. It left her with a lot of guilt to deal with. It seemed to magnify her personal shortcomings.

"It's true." Sarah said. "How many men did I hurt by running? I hurt you too. I took away any security and sense of a home you felt. Don't you think it still bothers me?"

The emotional toll was obvious to John. He never saw it at the time. He did see it later on after he went into the future. There was a lot of time for him to reflect on past events. Many of them centered around his mother and their interaction with others. He knew his mother had feelings too. Her feelings were just as important as anyone else's feelings. He felt he needed to address the issue.

"You did what you thought was best for me to protect me and protect them from harm." John said. "I understand it now. I understand the sacrifices you've made for me. I know how it must have hurt you and ripped you apart inside. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize your suffering. If anything, I believe it shows the depth of your love for me."

John didn't feel he was worthy of such love, especially with some of the things he'd done.

Sarah appreciated John's words of understanding. It made her love him even more. She knew she made the right choices before. She needed to remind John about the future.

"Everyone sacrifices for John Connor." Sarah said and started to cry.

Now John really felt like crap. He left Cameron in bad shape. Now he put his mother in a bad place. It seemed the past to all of them was nothing more than a living Hell. The thing which seemed to make it worse, was the fact it all revolved around him. He was at the center of everyone's personal anguish and suffering. The way he acted sometimes must have really hurt them even more.

Savannah returned to the Command Center. She knew Cameron was having problems. She really didn't understand why.

"Is Cameron broken, John Henry?" Savannah asked.

Her question made John Henry reflect there were many ways, or things, for a person to be 'broken'.

"Yes, in a way she is." John Henry said.

Savannah believed she could help if she knew what to do.

"Can you teach me how to fix her? I want to help her." Savannah said. "I think I can reach her. I know I can. I just need to know what to do."

John Henry didn't think outside help was always the solution. It seemed to him in many cases it only seemed to make things worse. The current situation seemed to be one of those.

"Sometimes people need to fix themselves." John Henry said.

Cameron once delivered a direct, but cryptic, message to her.

"I can tell she's hurting." Savannah said. "She won't tell me what's wrong. When I ask her, she starts crying. She hugs me like she's never going to see me again. She once looked at me and said, 'Stay a girl, forever'."

John Henry felt having a chip instead of a brain played a big role in how events played out. They processed everything differently.

"Cameron has experienced much trauma and suffering in her life." John Henry said. "They've caused problems which don't seem to go away like they do for you and other humans."

Savannah spoke without hesitation.

"I want to be like Cameron, and my mother, when I grow up." Savannah said.

John Henry wasn't really sure what she meant. Cameron and Mrs. Weaver were both machines.

Savannah looked sad. Some of the past events begin to pile up on her. They were all things which she had no control over.

"When is my mother going to come home? I miss her so much. Can you make my mother come home?" Savannah asked. "I'm afraid she's never coming back, now both of my 'mothers' are gone."

John Henry really wished there was an answer to her question. There wasn't.

"I don't know, Savannah." John Henry said. "Your 'mother' is trying to save the future. We don't know which future she's in anymore. She may never return. She believes what she's doing is to protect you, and all of us, including me. It's possible she'll perish doing what she feels she needs to do to protect you."

Cameron tried to tell Savannah what she thought the truth was. It wasn't a pretty picture. The prospect of hope seemed slim.

"It's what I'm afraid of." Savannah said. "Cameron told me my mother is most likely never going to return, or she would have several years ago. It sould have been soon after she left. Cameron said she and Vanna would be like my mother, along with Allison, Sarah and Jesse. Vanna helps me with all my 'girl' questions and knows everything I want to know, or need to ask, without me having to ask it. I think I know why. I understand what's happening here and about both of the futures Cameron has been to. When I look around me, I see the future."

John Henry didn't want Savannah to worry about either future. They were trying to prevent them.

"You're very intelligent, Savannah." John Henry said. "Don't dwell on the future before you. Your future hasn't happened yet. You only need to accept life as it is now. Everyone is here for a reason and we are all trying to protect you and the future itself."

Savannah knew what awaited her. She was ready to embrace it. She really wondered why she needed to wait if the future was inevitable. Why couldn't she do things now if it would help others? Why couldn't she do things to help Cameron and John?

"When do I play my part?" Savannah asked. "I'm prepared to fulfill my 'obligations' to 'time'. Cameron has been very open and honest with me about them. I don't intend to wait until the 'bad future' to take my place. I'm going to take it as soon as I'm 'ready'. I'll be ready sooner than everyone thinks…."

John Henry didn't like to hear the development. These were not things a girl needed to worry about. She was going to be a 'woman' without ever being a teenager. He wasn't sure what he could tell Savannah which would make her listen. He was aware when humans made up their mind about something important to them, it was very hard to sway them.

"Cameron is rushing you too much." John Henry said. "You must wait for your place in time."

Savannah didn't see it as a problem. She knew where she was headed and what she needed to do. She planned to act as soon as it was possible. If she could provide Cameron what she wanted. It would help 'fix' Cameron. It would take away a lot of worry for Cameron and give her something else to concentrate her attention on. Cameron's wedding dress was in her closet. It wasn't in anyone else's closet. It was in her closet.

"I've been trained and prepared for my rightful place. It's mine to take as soon as I'm ready." Savannah said. "Time waits for Nobody."

Savannah looked into various cultures and mating traditions around the world on the internet. She came across a movie which caught her attention. She was actually surprised a movie existed indirectly related to the subject, especially with big name actors and actresses in it. She found it a little unpleasant to watch the first time. She realized similar events occurred around the world with extreme frequency. She made sure there was a copy of 'Petty Baby' for John to watch on his computer. She didn't need any prompting. It was the others who were holding her back. Someone needed to be able to help Cameron. She believed it was her.

Vanna knocked and entered the room.

Cameron lay covered by the sheets.

Vanna wondered if Cameron was – ill.

Vanna looked at the door as she closed it softly, when she looked back, Cameron lay naked before her.

"I NEED you." Cameron said.

All Cameron saw was - liberation….

'Sugar, Sugar' by 'The Archies', played in the background.

The lyrics echoed in Vanna's mind.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Complete Embrace

Your fingers stream through my soft hair
Your fingers slowly caress my face
Gently over my lips and smooth cheeks
From forehead to chin they sooth as they trace

Your lips slide across my arched neck
Pausing only to sweetly tug on my ear
They then glide down my bare shoulders
Advancing upon each soft firm sphere

Top to bottom around the side
To the end they do follow
My breath draws deep
It becomes hard to swallow

From one to the other
Then down the tummy to the navel
The breathing is faster
My shift hungrily to enable

The backs of my finger tips bracket your cheeks
As your lips touch my moist supple lips
You gaze up through the valley of my breasts
Our eyes meet and affix as the twins cause an eclipse

My knees rise up then bend out
The gate of my soul is infused smooth and slow
The contact is mutual and pleasant
Our hearts are pounding as your face is aglow

The excitement peaks as the feeling grows
The plateau is building then it explodes
The vision blurs words can not form
Our bodies relax as the mind unloads

We are two who shared as one for a long moment
Our bodies shift to the side arms still held
Our eyes embrace, the lips tenderly touch
Such sweet loving beauty as together we meld

Nobody