Chapter 824

Things Have Changed

Riley was with Sarah and John Henry as the girls started to arrive. They all came by to see her. She was pleased by all the emotional support that they were there to give her. She knew she was always treated a little differently than everyone else but she understood why. It was for the sins of Future Riley. She wasn't Future Riley but she needed to pay the toll. Everyone was anxious to see what was going to happen. They were all worried as well.

Cameron called and wanted everyone to have on clean clothes on if they went to see Riley. She suggested they not get too close and not touch her to keep the germ count down. John Henry reassured her that the filters in the infirmary were in top shape. Everything was properly disinfected.

She wanted to use the infirmary at her base for Claire and Savannah when they returned from the past. It was top notch in everything like the one at the Resistance base was. It also gave her better control.

In the back of her mind she was aware it would also allow her to 'take' what she wanted from either Claire or Savannah. She sure hoped it didn't come down to that. Maybe she should have them arrive here at the Resistance base to take that temptation away from her. Those babies when they were born belonged to Vanna and Allison. They needed those babies to keep them here in the present.

Once everyone finished cycling through to see Riley, it was down to Sarah, Claire, Savannah and Cameron that were with Riley. John Henry was in the area where the men were gathered. He was 'on call' until Cameron would call for him.

Young Allison waited with the other girls, both Metal and human. Her presence there seemed to uplift all of them some. They could all see how much like Savannah that she was. It was very comforting to all of them.

Allison watched Young Allison. She wondered if she was ready for this. She'd seen it all happen by Young Allison's current age. She was able to deal with it. She wanted to make sure it was what Young Allison wanted and not what Cameron 'made' her do.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Allison?" Allison asked.

Savannah and Cameron went over everything with Young Allison on the way to the Resistance base. Savannah asked Cameron if CamNet could provide Young Allison with the video files of her in childbirth from both futures and with Cammy's files too from Cameron's future. It would be what Cameron and Cammy witnessed with their own eyes. Cammy was in Ginger's chassis at the time.

Young Allison and Allison both watched. They tightly gripped Savannah's hands as they did. It wasn't pleasant to watch what she'd gone through.

Young Allison felt she was ready to step up. It was a little traumatic to watch the files of Savannah but she understood that was how life worked. It was something that all females needed to go through to propagate the species.

"I need to learn." Young Allison said. "You've all watched and helped before. I've seen video files only. Now I'm going to witness it."

Vanna wanted to make it clear how it actually was and why it was like that. There was no choice involved. There were people that needed help and they were the only ones there to help.

"We needed to do that. There was no choice." Vanna said. "People died, babies died, mothers died sometimes. It was terrible. The conditions were appalling, even squalid."

Jesse assisted others too. It was traumatic for her as well. They were all young when they needed to learn everything about life.

"We did what we needed to do." Jesse said.

Young Allison was well acquainted with stories about the future. She knew that there were differences between the futures. Some of them are more difficult than others. She knew that stories and video files were not the same as living it.

"I know many suffered." Young Allison said.

Young Allison saw the pain Savannah endured.

Vanna wasn't sure what all Cameron subjected Young Allison to in her 'training'.

"What's Cameron been telling you?" Vanna asked.

Young Allison believed it was the truth. She always wanted everything straight. She didn't want anything white washed or sugar coated. Reality existed around the truth.

"It's been the truth." Young Allison said. "I told Cameron I always want the truth no matter how bad it is or how much it hurts. I need to be ready for the future. John, Cameron and Savannah will depend on me as I will them."

Vanna thought that sounded exactly like Savannah did at the same age. She was aware of all the promises Cameron made Savannah make. She didn't like that Savannah's future was planned for her by someone else. She would have liked Savannah to have a little more say in what her future would be. She was pleased to see that Savannah was able to pick her own sexual partners, at least the female ones. Cameron was going to force the girls to be part of the 'Natural Order'.

"It sounds like an 'arranged marriage'." Vanna said.

Young Allison didn't believe that was a bad thing. She would rather have an 'arranged marriage' than be held down by a group of men as they took turns while they stripped her innocence away from her.

"It is in a way." Young Allison said. "We all know it. We all know the future. Cameron, Cammy, Holly, Hanna, Savannah and my mother all have all seen it. I even met Future Allison. She is ME and she told me everything. She told me it was nothing to be afraid of. In reality that means that I told myself that there was nothing to be afraid of. I honestly don't think that I would lie to a younger version of myself to tell them that."

Allison shared with Future Allison. She was also able to see that Future Allison was much more dynamic and versatile than she was.

"What all did she tell you?" Allison asked.

Young Allison didn't think any of it was a big deal. Everything already happened. No one needed to guess what was going to happen and who it would involve. It was very frustrating to her that when they saw her they saw her physical age. They didn't see her emotional and intellectual age. She could understand that from her mother but not from the others. They should all know better by now.

"She told me what I need to know and when I need to learn it." Young Allison said. "I'm ready for everything. I'm more ready than any of you can understand. You all still judge me by my physical appearance and not my mental development and aptitude. The only thing still young about me is my body. Everyone needs to understand that."

Claire and Sarah came out of the room.

Cameron asked for Young Allison to join Savannah and her with Riley. She went over everything that would happen.

It looked as if the baby was going to arrive early. John Henry returned and both Cameron and he were plugged into the server. There were four more cables ready with connections if they needed additional Terminators to assist for any emergency. Everyone was in scrubs as they waited. John Henry and Cameron monitored everything. Savannah would assist where Cameron directed her and Young Allison would observe.

Derek joined Riley for the waiting. Once the delivery was about to begin, he would step back and watch. He would give Riley support and encouragement if she needed it. He was a little apprehensive as the time drew near. He'd been there when things went bad in the future. That was something that was hard to push out of one's mind.

The tension was high in the other two rooms as they all waited.

Riley made one last attempt to reach out to Cameron in the most meaningful way.

"Cameron, Derek and I would still like you to have this baby as your own, for John and you." Riley said.

It pained Derek greatly to admit it but he also wanted to show Cameron his appreciation.

"I agree." Derek said.

The gesture was still touching to Cameron. It did cause her to experience a momentary glitch impulse. That wasn't something that she needed right now. She did understand the sacrifice Riley and Derek we're willing to endure for her.

"Thank you but we've discussed this previously." Cameron said. "This baby belongs to Derek and you, Riley. You won't be denied your child."

Young Allison wanted to reassure Riley and Derek that it was covered.

"Riley, Savannah and I will both make sure Cameron has children." Young Allison said. "I've promised her. We both have."

Cameron looked at Young Allison and Savannah. She was worried about their promises to her and what she'd made them promise. She honestly didn't think that she would be able to take a baby from any female, at least any female that she knew personally. Maybe if she would have impregnated one of the females that she'd terminated for their crimes against the future or for their involvement in the sex or drug trade that it would be a different story. They would be terminated anyway. They didn't matter. The people that she knew and loved did. She could never forget the anguish that she watched Savannah go through as she left her children with two different versions of herself in the two futures.

Savannah wanted to reaffirm this but didn't want anyone to dwell there with the thoughts of Young Allison and her.

"I have as well." Savannah said. "Let's not discuss this right now. We have everything covered, we will. This is about Riley and Derek now. This is going to be a very special time for both of them. It's going to be a very special time for everyone in the Resistance as well."

Cameron hugged both Young Allison and Savannah. John Henry and Derek both looked 'uncomfortable'. They were both aware of what Cameron made the girls promise. It was the other promises too that bothered them. They decided to follow Savannah's advice and not worry about anything else other than what was going to happen with Riley. That was something that was real and it was now.

Time went by slowly. Young Allison and Savannah both watched additional videos of several child births off to the side. These were under more clinical conditions like where they were at now.

Young Allison could see that most of the females we're in pain. The degree of pain seemed to vary from female to female but they all seem to be in some type of pain. It bothered her when she saw that Savannah was in pain.

"I saw you suffer." Young Allison said. "Is it as traumatic as it looks?"

Savannah felt that she was luckier than some of the females she'd witnessed.

"It is." Savannah said. "It's over fairly quick. At least it was for me. Some females can experience very long labor. Some of them need surgical procedures to assist them with delivery. Those can be quite bloody and traumatic."

Savannah gritted her teeth a little as she thought about it. It still bothered her having to give her children to 'herself'. She told herself it was necessary and she would want 'a Savannah' to do the same for her if she ever needed it. It always worried her that it would come down to that. She always worried she would have provided children to other versions of herself and then Judgment Day would happen before she actually had her own baby. She always worried Skynet would ruin her body too. She would need to wait for some other version of herself to come and have a baby for her. It was something that she dreamt about often. It was a fear that always haunted her.

There was movement from Riley.

There was some liquid now.

"I feel something." Riley said.

Young Allison knew right away what it was.

"That's the amniotic fluid." Young Allison said. "That's normal."

Savannah relayed the information to the others.

"Her water broke." Savannah said.

The anticipation grew for those waiting.

Cameron and John Henry went to work, Savannah assisting as needed. Young Allison watched and did whatever Cameron told her to do. It was an eye opening experience for all of them.

Everything went 'textbook perfect'.

There was the crying of an infant a short time later.

Derek watched it all unfold from the sidelines. He came out and made the announcement.

It was a healthy baby girl.

Riley seemed to be OK.

Jesse, Vanna and Allison all breathed a sigh of relief to know that both the mother and the infant were healthy and survived. It didn't matter if they were out of the future, there was still a lot of apprehension that they all felt from everything that they'd experienced growing up and living in the future.

You could take the girl out of the future but it was hard to take the future out of the girl or anyone for that matter.

The celebration started.

Everyone was happy about the newest member of the Resistance. The females all stayed to help Riley out for a few days.

Claire asked Cameron again about the Young family moving to the Resistance base. Cameron suggested they wait until Allison's baby was born.

Nobody was sure why Cameron would delay this request from Claire. It seemed to be something that would play into her narrative. Everyone figured that she would go to bed with John one night and switch Young Allison out for herself. They all believed she could pull that off without John knowing. Well, he would probably know in the first few seconds with his initial contact with Young Allison. They all knew that she was definitely going to feel it. At any rate, that didn't seem to be in the cards.

Vanna was in her room.

Allison knocked on the door.

Jesse answered the door, she was naked. The two embraced and greeted each other. Allison gave Jesse a kiss. Jesse quickly gathered her clothes and excused herself. She was still naked when she left the room. That was actually nothing new for her.

Allison faced Vanna, who was naked as well.

The two long time lovers looked at each other.

Vanna went to Allison and kissed her. Allison kissed her back.

Allison silently stripped.

Neither spoke to each other yet. They didn't need to.

Vanna led Allison to her bed, their bed.

Both of the girls knew that there was no other place that they would rather be.

Savannah and Young Allison watched Allison enter Vanna's room and a very naked Jesse emerge carrying her clothes and return to her room.

Young Allison took in the view. She'd been able to view someone else that looked almost exactly like that not long ago.

"Jesse looks just like Sheila." Young Allison said. "Almost…."

Savannah was used to seeing Jesse or Sheila naked quite frequently.

"Some things never change." Savannah said.

Young Allison wanted to ask Savannah if that was exactly how Young Jesse looked. She thought maybe the question would be inappropriate or invasive. She was pretty sure that she did. She decided to move on.

"That's because they can't." Young Allison said.

Savannah wasn't so sure about that. Even though what existed in the future is what existed then, that didn't necessarily mean it was exactly how it would be in the present.

"We can bend the 'Natural Order'." Savannah said.

Young Allison thought about all the other people that Savannah had been with including Allison, Duplicate Allison, Future Alison and her mother.

"But we can't change it." Young Allison said. "That's us in there. It will be."

Young Allison indicated Vanna's room.

"It will be us one day." Savannah said. "I've seen it in two futures as well."

Young Allison looked at Vanna with love in her eyes and in her heart

"It will be beautiful." Young Allison said. "I can hardly wait…."

Young Allison often dreamt of the day when Savannah would finally 'take her'.

Allison awoke.

She looked over to her side and Vanna looked at her.

Vanna had been awake for quite some time. She'd stared at Allison intently during that time and reminisced about days past in the future.

"I want you to move back into OUR room." Vanna said.

There was no one else Allison wanted in her arms more than Vanna.

"I want that too." Allison said. "I don't know if I can. Things have changed."

Vanna knew that change was constant.

"They always change." Vanna said.

Allison could think of two big obstacles.

"What about Cam and Holly?" Allison asked.

Vanna saw that as a plus, especially at night.

"They'll help us." Vanna said. "With OUR children while we sleep at night."

Allison frowned a little.

"We can't have kids." Allison said.

Vanna reached over and gently touched Allison's lower belly.

"You're still pregnant now." Vanna said.

Allison reached down and put both of her hands on each side of Vanna's hand. She was painfully aware Skynet ruined all their bodies.

"I know I'll lose this baby too." Allison said.

Vanna thought that might be true for Jesse and her but she didn't think it was true for Allison.

"You don't know that." Vanna said.

Allison felt a lot of frustration. She felt cheated.

"I'm going to the future to be with my baby." Allison said. "That baby was for me. It's from MY body. It is MY baby. Destiny belongs to me."

Vanna knew that was a source of contention with Allison. She didn't want to get drug into it again.

"I don't want to argue about this." Vanna said.

Allison still felt Vanna's hand gently touch her belly.

"I'm sorry." Allison said.

Vanna moved over and kissed Allison. It was slow, long and deep. It was a kiss of love. She was never going to lose Allison again.

"I'll go with you." Vanna said. "We'll always be together."

Allison wanted to remind Vanna that the future sucked.

"Life won't be pleasant." Allison said. "You know this. We will have new bed duties and obligations to fill."

Vanna thought about asking Cameron if she could be with John a few times before she left. She wanted to get acclimated to what she would need to do in Cameron's future with Future John. She didn't think it was too much to ask for. She thought that Allison should as well. If they were going to replace the girls there, they needed to be ready to step right in and do their female duties. It wasn't something that she looked forward to but she didn't want to lose Allison ever again. Love is about sacrifice. She was ready to sacrifice for Allison.

"I do. We've discussed this multiple times." Vanna said. "Without you, it would be even more unpleasant, even in Paradise."

Vanna already experienced that. She was in Paradise and Allison was still in her future, fighting for her life. It was a decision she'd regretted. Once she was reunited with Allison in the present, she vowed never to let it happen again. It didn't matter what the sacrifice would be. Allison and her belonged together.

Allison backed up a little and looked at Vanna's face intently. There was a deep down fear that she knew she wouldn't be able to beat.

"I don't want to say 'goodbye' to everyone." Allison said. "If I start with goodbyes, I don't think I'll be able to go."

Vanna understood that feeling well. She wondered if anyone could act as an anchor to keep Allison in the present.

"If Savannah asks you to stay with her, will you?" Vanna asked.

Allison continued to look intently into Vanna's eyes.

"I love her, Vanna." Allison said.

Vanna wished that she was young and beautiful and unblemished like Savannah was.

"She's not me." Vanna said. "Even if I'm her or was her."

Allison moved her face closer to Vanna's face.

"I love you too, Vanna." Allison said.

Vanna didn't want to be in second place.

"Which one of us do you love more?" Vanna asked.

Allison indicated their naked bodies and the bed they were in.

"I'm here aren't I?" Allison said.

Vanna wasn't blind.

"You were with her earlier." Vanna said.

Allison didn't want it to matter.

"We all are with others…." Allison said. "There's plenty of love to share. We both know this."

Vanna didn't want to let it go. She needed to know where she rated.

"Which one of us do you love more?" Vanna asked.

Allison kissed Vanna gently on her lips.

"I love the one that will follow me to the ends of the earth or time." Allison said.

Vanna was still a little worried by that description. She wasn't the only one who would do that.

"Savannah will do that for you as well." Vanna said. "I asked her before."

Allison was curious if anything else happened between them.

"Have you two…?" Allison asked.

Vanna tried to suppress a smile.

"Only the time we were both with you." Vanna said.

Allison laughed.

"That was a crazy mix up." Allison said.

It wasn't what Vanna expected it to be but it was something beautiful anyway.

"I did enjoy how it worked out, especially for you." Vanna said.

Allison's eyes were only inches from Vanna's eyes.

"It was very special to me." Allison said. "Thank you for allowing that."

Vanna was aware that Allison was dead serious about this. She'd been around Allison long enough that she knew she meant she was going to do this. She wasn't going to lose Allison again, ever.

Vanna stared intently into Allison's eyes.

"When are we leaving?" Vanna asked.

Allison's hands we're still on each side of Vanna's hand as she moved both of her hands on top of Vanna's hand and pushed down gently.

"Soon…." Allison said. "Right after I lose this baby. I'm DONE."

Vanna was sure they would run into some opposition.

"Cam and Holly are going to try to stop us." Vanna said.

Allison didn't believe her Metal lover would stop her.

"Holly will do as I ask her." Allison said.

Vanna wasn't so sure about Cam.

"I don't think Cam will." Vanna said.

Allison wanted to remind Vanna what could change.

"Will you give her up?" Allison asked. "You have your own 'Cameron'."

Vanna was aware that was a hard choice. Cam was a 'Cameron' but still not Cameron. Allison was so much a part of her life. It was being without Allison for a time that made her realize that Allison was her life. When Allison was sent back from the future, she'd thought she was going to be with Cameron. Cameron made the choice for her and told her to be with her true love.

"It's you that I want the most." Vanna said.

It was what Allison wanted the most too.

"Hold me like you used to do." Allison said.

Vanna was pretty sure she covered all the bases earlier as they made love.

"I just did." Vanna said.

Allison wanted to relieve their first contact.

"NO. Hold me like you first did when you got better after I found you." Allison said. "I want you to do it like before when you first you 'took me'."

Vanna knew she would have died if Allison hadn't physically pulled her from the burn pile for the dead. Allison spotted her scar as she stripped the pants off what she thought was a dead girl.

"You saved my life." Vanna said.

Allison could never forget that Vanna saved hers first.

"You saved mine too." Allison said.

Vanna was captivated by Allison from the first moment she laid eyes on her.

"I fell in love with you." Vanna said.

Vanna held and touched Allison.

"I want 'MY Savannah' back." Allison said.

The two longtime lovers held each other tightly. Their breasts were firmly pushed together. They could feel each other's heartbeat. They both knew that their heart beat for each other.

"She's here." Vanna said. "She always will be. I'm YOUR Savannah. I always was."

Things Have Changed

One can become complacent
Taking what they have for granted
Nothing in one's life but death
Is really made from or set in granite

What once was
Will seldom always be
Time erodes feelings and emotions
As it does a cliff by the sea

Love becomes toleration
We trudge on blindly
Drifting slowly apart
Seldom treating the other kindly

A heart not filled with love
Becomes empty and cold
Slowly turning to stone
Always begging to be paroled

People get lost or 'hungry'
Loved ones become estranged
Look around and wake up
Things have changed

Nobody