Chapter 969

One For Each Of Us

Earlier:

John still wasn't convinced that what he'd experienced wasn't real. If it was, Cameron sure took it well. He was sure that the only way that would happen is if she was behind it all.

He needed to get to operations and catch up on what was happening. The battle always seemed to lurk on in the background.

John and Cameron headed for the Command Center.

They passed Jesse on the way.

John swallowed hard when he saw Jesse. He didn't know if he should say anything or see what happened. He was still pretty sure that he'd been with her.

They exchanged pleasantries. Cameron noted John looked very uncomfortable to see Jesse for some reason.

"Riley, needs me." Jesse said. "I'm ready to go."

Cameron looked at John and then at Jesse. She wanted to give Jesse a practical solution.

"If you ever experience pressure build up and need relief, call John." Cameron said. "It would be a good 'learning experience' for him."

Jesse liked that idea. She thought about it for a few seconds and came up with an alternate solution. It was one she liked even better.

"Can I call you, Cameron?" Jesse asked.

Cameron actually liked that idea. She figured it was one way to get John jump started. She was up for a little experimentation herself. What could it hurt?

"John and I can both come." Cameron said. "There's one for each of us."

Jesse liked that idea. She cupped both of her breasts and jiggled them up and down a little bit in front of them. She looked at John. She wondered what he was doing.

"That looks kinky." Jesse said. "I think John's getting warmed up."

Cameron looked at John. He'd started to pinch himself again.

She thought he seemed to do that a lot lately. It seemed to be some new thing. She wondered where or who he'd learned it from. Perhaps this required some further investigation.

She would need to check his pornography viewing habits on the internet and see what he'd been watching lately. She thought she'd kept him focused in the direction she wanted him to go. She would have to see if he'd slacked off watching his favorite scenes from a movie he liked. She wanted to keep him focused on Young Allison.

Young Allison looked around. She was tired. She paused to rest for a moment.

"I want to get back home." Young Allison said.

Anna tilted her head slightly. They had the opportunity to do that just a short time ago.

"Why didn't we go with Savannah and Cammy?" Anna asked. "They could have let us off at the house."

Young Allison didn't want to talk about it. She came up with a plausible excuse.

"I needed to finish my workout." Young Allison said. "I don't want to slack off. You're to 'push me' if I do."

Anna was sure things were a little deeper than they seemed. They always were when it involved Young Allison. She was pretty sure of the real reason anyway.

"You don't want them to know you played them." Anna said. "I think that's the unspoken reason."

Young Alison felt they would figure things out soon enough.

"They'll know. It's no big deal." Young Allison said. "I don't plan on doing that again. Nobody was played."

Anna didn't think they would accomplish anything going over the same information with the same predetermined results. She wanted to move on to the operation that was currently underway. She knew that was why Young Allison wanted to get home.

"What about Gail?" Anna asked.

Things progressed a little more rapidly than Young Allison anticipated. She hoped Gail would have made better use of her backup teams. She didn't.

"I asked CamNet to assist Gail once I was aware she was about to act on her own." Young Allison said. "I figured since some drones were being sent out. I could plan ahead.

Anna wanted to get back to the house.

"When we get back, you can do more." Anna said.

Young Allison wasn't sure what the reference was. In her case it could mean two very distinct things.

"Do you mean back to the house or back from the past?" Young Allison asked.

Anna tilted her head slightly. She didn't realize her answer had dual meaning. She decided to run with it.

"Both." Anna said.

Young Allison smiled. Not only did some of the evidence indicate that she'd been to the past, it indicated it was universally accepted by everyone. She still wasn't sold on the idea that what happened in the past with Cammy and Sheila was actually her. She just didn't think she would play things that way.

There was another possibility. There was the possibility that there were other divergent timelines that coexisted with theirs. That meant the events in the desert could be from another 'Young Allison' and not her.

What would she do if she ran into 'herself' in the past? She was pretty sure that she would do what Future Allison and Allison did. If they were to kiss or touch each other, it would be really no different than what she was already doing at night by herself or would it? It was still her and nobody else.

If that occurred, she was in for whatever the other divergent timeline 'Young Allison' was willing to do. She would wonder what the extent of her sexual experience actually was in the other timeline. Maybe another timeline version of her would be older or younger. With the TDE she didn't need to be the same age. She wondered what would happen if there was an alternate timeline version of Savannah with her. Would that version of Savannah want to be with her? It would still be the same person, even if it wasn't.

Anna felt Young Allison was inattentive. Whenever they were away from the bunker, everyone needed to be on the lookout for danger.

"…stay alert." Anna said.

Young Allison blinked and looked around.

"What?" Young Allison asked.

Anna could see that Young Allison had been totally inattentive. A Terminator could have walked past her if she would have missed it. She wondered where Young Allison's thoughts were actually at. She figured it was more than likely something sexually related. That seemed to be a big distraction for Young Allison recently.

"I said you need to pay better attention and stay alert." Anna said. "It looks like you're a million miles away from here right now."

Young Allison may have let her mind wander a little bit as she pondered different sexual possibilities. She didn't think it was a big deal one way or the other. She wasn't about to tell Anna what her mind was focused on specifically.

"I think I was." Young Allison said. "For sure I was decades away from here."

Young Allison would be willing to switch realities with that 'Young Allison' to see what another timeline was like. How much different could it be? Maybe everything was different. Maybe it was almost identical. If they were the same approximate age, they could probably pull off the switch.

She needed to consider the possibility that the 'Natural Order' could be further advanced in that timeline. She might find herself with 'bed duty' in John's bedroom. She was ready for that in this timeline but she didn't know if she would want to do that in a different timeline. Even if everything was the same it was still different.

Wait.

What would happen if they did that and she couldn't get back to the proper timeline? They could both be trapped in the wrong timeline. There would still be an Allison Young in each timeline but it wouldn't be the right ones.

She knew that her timeline was already corrupted with the addition of an extra Allison, Vanna and Jesse. Technically that should also include Derek, Riley and Kyle. There were two of each of them in the current timeline.

It made her wonder if that's why there hadn't been any anomalies when Savannah was out of the current timeline. There was still another version of her here.

Young Allison pondered what would happen if she went back in time and was the one to meet John before Cameron did in Red Valley. She could have actually intercepted him in Nebraska before they went to New Mexico. Would he have believed her that she was from the future? It wouldn't be from the distant future but the near future. It was an interesting possibility.

She glanced over at Anna and saw the look of disapproval on her face. She knew she needed to get with the current program.

Young Allison knew she needed to stop thinking about this.

Vanna saw Allison return with Claire. She asked Bob to accompany her back to the Command Center for a few minutes.

"Affirmative…." Bob said.

He finished up making an origami figure for Summer.

Summer was thrilled as always and thanked him. They all saw the big hug she gave to Bob before he left. It said a lot.

That left Allison and Claire alone with Summer.

Vanna walked with Bob. She wanted to know more about the operation the Metal girls all went on to back up Gail. It seemed to be a little more involved to her than everyone let on to.

"How critical is the operation the Metal girls are on?" Vanna asked.

Bob understood the nature of their business wasn't only fluid but dangerous.

"It involves Grays." Bob said. "Anything Skynet related is a threat."

They rounded the corner. John and Cameron were about to arrive. They both noted Cameron was smiling and John looked very pale. They wondered if he was sick. They both noted the series of small red welts on his arms.

Vanna wanted to play a little.

"I'll trade you." Vanna joked.

Cameron looked at Bob and John.

"Done…." Cameron said.

Cameron moved John next to Vanna and stood next to Bob.

To be with Vanna was always in John's mind. He always found her highly attractive. He knew Allison would always be around her as well. He figured if anything ever started with either one of them, it would evolve into a 'package deal' with both of them. That was something he could deal with.

John started to pinch himself again.

Vanna noted that John started to pinch himself. Now she wondered if that was where all the small red welts came from. When she first saw them, she hoped it wasn't some type of contagious disease or rash going around. She'd witnessed plenty of those in the past - the future. Now it looked like more of an emotional issue than a physical one. She wondered what was going on.

"What are you doing?" Vanna asked John. "That looks kinky."

Cameron watched John do it as well. It was a mystery to her.

"He seems to do it a lot lately." Cameron said. "I'm not sure if it gets him off or not."

Vanna didn't think that would get anyone off. She decided to try it once and see what it was like. She pinched herself but not too hard.

"That hurts." Vanna said.

She saw that John was still doing it.

Allison decided to let her mother speak with Summer. She would only watch and listen and see what was needed to help her mother. If Summer was against the idea, she would tell her mother and Samantha it wasn't going to happen. She wanted her sister to feel comfortable about something like that.

For Claire to discuss her possible death with her young daughter wasn't a pleasant thing to do. She didn't really want to talk about the fact that she was dead in Allison's future. The next big issue associated with that was the fact that Summer didn't exist in that timeline.

Summer wanted to know why Cameron or Savannah couldn't take care of her if Judgment Day came. She thought she'd be able to stay with Sarah and Jan. There were also two versions of her sister that should be available to help her.

Claire tried to be as tactful as possible.

Allison watched Summer and Claire talk. She couldn't imagine the things that were done to her and especially Vanna to happen to Summer. There was no way she was going to tell Summer either. Summer didn't need those images in her mind. She was savvy to the way things worked in the world already.

Thinking of her assaults, Allison could no longer keep it in. She needed to say something or make it clearer. The thought of Summer being cornered by a group of men or Scavengers bothered her greatly.

"You'll need protection." Allison blurted out.

Claire and Summer looked at Allison.

Allison didn't know what to say other than the truth.

"It won't be safe." Allison said. "You'll need to be protected."

Summer looked up at Allison.

"It's never safe anywhere." Summer said. "No place is safe."

Allison wondered what Cameron was having the Metal girls teach Summer.

Summer looked at Allison and then at her mother.

"I know a lot more than you think." Summer said.

Claire and Allison looked at each other. Those sounded like Young Allison's words.

Allison could see that Summer was already caught up with the ways of the future.

"She's going to be like Young Allison." Allison said. "I can see it."

Summer didn't see it as a big deal. There was one person who oversaw everything.

"Cameron knows what's best for all of us." Summer said.

They quizzed Summer for a while to see what other revelations she was going to make.

Claire tried to keep an eye on Summer to make sure Cameron didn't gain too much influence over her. It appeared it happened anyway.

She was aware that when she was with Hanna, Allison was usually with Holly. That left Summer alone with Young Allison and Anna.

In that instant, they both knew it. It was Young Allison that taught Summer about the future.

They both wondered if Young Allison wanted to set up her 'replacement' if anything happened to her….

They were both sure they knew that's what it was.

It was the same thing. It was the same fear that Cameron faced. Cameron wanted John to be provided for by the other girls if she fell. It appeared Young Allison felt that same thing about herself. She wanted Savannah and John to have her 'replacement' if she fell. It appeared Summer was on board and ready to accept that role if necessary.

Allison thought that was a lot for a couple of young girls to have on their mind. It bothered her that Young Allison already needed to contemplate her own death. She wasn't really sure if that was Cameron's fault or not that made her think like that. She felt it was something that should be addressed. She thought Savannah should talk with Young Allison about it as well.

She knew that recently Young Allison was more involved with the operations. She knew she was responsible for the deaths of Grays. She figured that Young Allison knew what went around could come around as well. It was a sobering thought.

John Henry filled everyone in on what the current events were.

Cameron was very displeased that things seemed to have advanced so far without her knowledge or input. She felt that with Gail in the building already that she should probably be there as well. Now the operation was underway and she was still at the Resistance base.

"Why wasn't I notified about this earlier?" Cameron asked.

John Henry wondered why he needed to remind her. He'd been told by both of them not to bother them. He didn't have any other choice but to bring that up in his defense. He didn't want it to seem like he was the one who dropped the ball. He looked at John and then at Cameron.

"John left word not to be disturbed." John Henry said. "So did you."

Cameron knew that was true. A potential combat situation still deserved her attention sooner. She didn't like the way that it was being conducted.

"I didn't expect anyone to head off into combat alone." Cameron said.

Cameron resisted the urge to tell John this was all his fault. If he didn't try to monopolize all of her time, this never would have happened.

John Henry gave Cameron a complete rundown of where everyone was at. He wanted her to understand they were two teams of Metal girls there to reinforce Gail.

Cameron noticed a couple of key players were left out of the line up.

"Where's Savannah?" Cameron asked.

John Henry was provided that information by CamNet as soon as Cameron asked.

"Cammy and Savannah are responding." John Henry said. "They're on their way from Palmdale."

That was news that John didn't want to hear.

"Damn." John said.

Cameron looked over John Henry's various monitors. She was a little surprised at what she saw. She hadn't expected any drone activity this early in the operation or at this time of the day.

"I see Gail has drone support." Cameron said.

John Henry glanced at John before he spoke. He didn't want to get too specific on what he speculated was the origin of the drones that were over the target area currently.

"CamNet provided that before Gail entered the structure." John Henry said.

Cameron was extremely dissatisfied that Savannah was on her way there.

"I'm going there." Cameron said and left.

Vanna ran after her. She didn't want her to go off alone.

"I want to go with you." Vanna said.

Cameron certainly didn't want to endanger Vanna. There were more important things that she was needed for now. Combat wasn't one of them.

"I can't allow that." Cameron said. "You're needed here to help Riley, Allison and Precious."

Vanna saw Cameron was able to further distance her from combat by 'assigning' her to a more domestic role. She did understand the importance of her new assignment. It was something that mattered. She wanted to offer Cameron another suggestion before she left.

"Take Bob with you then." Vanna said. "Please, Cameron. Don't go off on your own."

Cameron didn't want to disrupt any of the other Resistance operations. She didn't want to pull any other personnel away from the jobs they currently were assigned to. There were two teams of Metal girls there and another team on the way from Palmdale. The decision seemed easy for her to make.

"I'll join up with Cammy and Savannah." Cameron said.

Vanna wasn't sure if that would happen or not. She didn't want Cameron to brush her off.

"I'm going to call Savannah." Vanna said. "I want to make sure."

Cameron didn't want this to turn into a big production. It seemed like such a simple matter.

"I'll join with them." Cameron said and left.

Cameron felt the concern Vanna expressed to her. Vanna's love was as strong as ever. She smiled to herself. She knew that was the same love that Savannah possessed as well. If anything, Savannah's love was magnified over that of Vanna's love.

Derek returned from a recon with Kyle and Jim.

He passed Jesse in the hall as she returned to her room.

She told him Precious was taken care of for now and to give her or Vanna a call before there was a problem and one or both of them would come. She didn't want any situation to escalate and further traumatize Riley.

Derek thanked her for helping them and Precious.

He entered their room and checked on Riley and Precious.

He expected to see Samantha doing everything, instead he saw Riley doing it. Samantha stood in back of Riley and gave her an occasional pointer.

Cameron recommended he go with Kyle on the recon mission with Jim. He saw now that it was to have Riley try harder to do things on her own. Samantha only needed to offer her guidance and support.

He was pleasantly surprised to know that Riley asked Samantha only to correct her if she was about to make a mistake or later point out a more efficient way to do something.

Riley looked much more comfortable taking care of Precious now, which was a good thing.

Derek was surprised to see Riley smile at him. That was something he hadn't seen in a long time. Riley was always so depressed. He feared that she was headed down a path she wouldn't be able to return from. That didn't appear to be the case any longer. Riley was more of her previous self again. It was a start anyway back to that. He hoped the journey continued.

Sarah came by to check on things every few hours. Cameron asked her to start cutting back unless she saw a problem or Riley called her.

Once they put Precious down for her nap. Riley went to the small kitchen area of their room and tried to make a few things. Samantha was there to talk with Riley and assist her if she needed it. Sarah and the girls from the future weren't very good cooks and hadn't been good teachers.

Samantha told Derek she could go into standby anytime they wanted privacy. She could either do it in one of the rooms on either side or in the room with Precious. She assured them she wouldn't violate their trust.

Derek wondered if there was more he could have done to assist Riley but he really didn't know what else it could have been. He thought things looked a little brighter for a change. Things started to come back together.

Savannah checked the video feeds and was tapped into John Henry. He kept everyone updated. CamNet would contact her directly if necessary.

Savannah wanted the team to have full support and plenty of help. She looked at where they needed to go and what their current location was. She would have liked to have been a lot closer than they were to the target zone. She felt at the time was critical

"How far out are we?" Savannah asked. "I make it twenty minutes still."

Cammy could only hurry so fast with Savannah in the SUV. She didn't want to be involved in a traffic altercation.

"That's correct." Cammy said. "I'm hurrying as fast as I safely can."

Savannah received a call from Vanna. Since they were out on an operation, she doubted this was going to be good news. It wasn't. They spoke for a short while before the call ended.

Cammy received an update from John Henry.

"Cameron is responding now." Cammy said.

Savannah understood why Vanna called her.

"Vanna already told me." Savannah said. "Can we link up with Cameron before she gets there?"

Cammy checked their position against Cameron's position.

"It's doubtful." Cammy said.

Savannah's thought she should try a more direct approach.

"Maybe I should call her first." Savannah said.

Cammy was worried about the team on the ground. They might need all the help they could get.

"Gail may need help sooner." Cammy said. "The Metal girls are all there."

Savannah decided to call Cameron anyway and tell her they would back her up as soon as they could arrive. If Gail or any of the Metal girls needed help, she wanted them to have it and not wait for them or to draw Cameron off.

It seemed to Savannah that having Claire and Allison at the base seemed to put all the Metal girls into combat more often. She wasn't sure if this was by design or just a coincidence. She knew when Cameron was involved that there were few coincidences.

It worried her too that the Metal girls would all feel they mattered less the more the human females shared with each other. It would lead them to make rash combat decisions because they would feel it didn't matter what happened to them.

It was clear that every action produced a reaction.

What made all of it worse was that these are all the feelings that Cameron already experienced and needed to deal with. It looked like each of the Metal girls would need to do the same on their own.

Things Are Fine Now

Yesterday already was
Tomorrow is yet to be
This is today
With you and me

Your mind makes you wander
For another it longs
In your heart you know
I'm the one who belongs

Sometimes things go wrong
Sometimes things go right
We can argue and fight
Or with each other delight

To move life ahead
Takes more than a bed
Some things are best left unsaid
So Nobody wishes they were dead

It may have seemed that between us
Events occurred we couldn't allow
In your heart and mind you know
Things are fine now

Nobody