Chapter 950

Bad Things That Happened

John Henry was very satisfied Allison's exam went as well as it did. It didn't appear there was anything new wrong with her. He did want to give Claire an exam too, but she backed out after she found out CamNet wouldn't be part of it.

He noticed Claire always gave him a 'once over'. She also stared at his male attributes. He would be more than willing to let her examine him and them. Because Claire backed out of his exam today, it seemed maybe he read more into it than there was. He also watched her check out John, Jim, and Bob in the same way. He was aware she was married until recently. Perhaps she missed what married life offered. He would be more than willing to supplement her desires. He would need to check with Cameron first so there wouldn't be a problem. He believed if Claire asked Cameron first there wouldn't be a problem. It wasn't like he could get her pregnant or anything.

What he didn't know specifically was Claire wondered if a male Terminator would be able to provide her with a 'finish' through traditional sex. He didn't know none of the males who were with her previously in a sexual manner lasted more than two or three minutes, and were unable to provide her with a 'finish'. Being left 'high and dry', well, not so dry, on every occasion left a very negative impression. It left her with a bad taste in her mouth and very dissatisfied.

John Henry went past Riley's room and Sarah's room. He went by John's room as well. He looked in the commissary as he passed by. It was currently unoccupied. He continued on and returned to the Command Center to take over his position. He knew John wasn't alone.

Bob looked up as someone entered the Command Center.

"I've been waiting for you." Bob said as John Henry arrived.

John Henry didn't think he was away very long. He was actually surprised Bob was there and plugged in. He figured John must have asked him to do it.

"I'm here now. Thank you." John Henry said. "I wasn't gone as long as I thought I was going to be."

He was still a little disappointed he wasn't able to give Jesse and Claire an exam as well as the one he gave to Allison.

Bob wondered if John needed him for anything else.

"Are there any other things you need me to take care of?" Bob asked.

John was very pleased Bob stopped by earlier.

"Not just yet." John said. "Thank you for plugging in when I ask you. I just wanted to keep track of the other girls and make sure there weren't any problems. Thank you again."

Bob nodded.

"Affirmative…." Bob said.

John smiled and nodded. It never got old.

Bob excused himself and left.

John Henry noticed there was a screen open which showed the infirmary. It appeared there was going to be some action with Jesse and Claire. He wondered if it was something Bob did at John's request. He didn't think Bob would do it on his own.

"Did you watch the exam?" John Henry asked.

John was actually surprised when the image appeared on his monitor.

"The screen opened on its own." John said. "I asked Bob about it and he said it wasn't him who brought it up."

John Henry plugged in and checked with his server. He was able to confirm what he thought.

"CamNet provided you with the 'entertainment'." John Henry said.

John didn't want to seem like he was practicing voyeurism. It was actually what he was doing, but he wouldn't admit to it. He tried to downplay the entire scenario.

"It isn't like it was anything new to see. Cameron and Allison are physically identical." John said. "It wasn't like there were any close ups or anything."

It was actually something John would have liked to have viewed. Cameron and Allison might be physically identical, but he would still like to see a little more just because Allison would be someone new. It didn't matter if she was identical or not. He would like to confirm the fact.

John Henry smiled. He thought the same thing as he examined Allison. He knew the DNA of Allison and Cameron was the same. As far as close ups went, he actually zoomed in and saved a few of those. He also possessed close ups of Riley. He wondered if John was given the choice which one he would rather have to view. He was willing to bet it would be of Riley. John could see Cameron anytime so he wouldn't miss anything on Allison.. He couldn't see Riley anytime however. He was sure there were times when John viewed Riley as Future Riley when he looked at her.

John was a little afraid to ask about how the exam went, but needed to. He didn't think John Henry would be back in the Command Center if there was some type of a problem.

"How was Allison?" John asked.

It was the one part of the exam which worried John Henry going in. He did a thorough scan on Allison as he carried her to the infirmary from the room by Riley's quarters. He actually ran it twice to make sure of all the readings. Everything he did in the infirmary only confirmed what his scans showed him.

"Everything was normal." John Henry said. "At least it was normal for her condition."

John was a little worried about what Cameron mentioned to him previously.

"Cameron said she may lose the baby again." John said.

John Henry wasn't exactly sure how many failed pregnancies Allison experienced. He knew it was more than Vanna and Jesse because they stopped trying. Vanna told him she was very troubled about creating life and then having it terminate inside of her. He could understand how it would be discouraging to anyone. He knew Skynet was to blame. He didn't know how her condition would change going forward. It always seemed to at some point.

"She's lost some more than a few times before we know of." John Henry said. "Most likely it was several more times as well."

John knew John Henry referred to the future, Allison's future. It was the one where she was abused before, more than a few times. He was the one responsible for the alternate future and all of the events which occurred in it and happened to everyone there.

"I wonder how many of those were by choice." John said. "It makes me sick to think I created a timeline where there were bad things that happened."

John was aware Vanna, Allison, and Jesse who were there now, only existed because he time jumped and created a new timeline. The upside of the equation was it gave them alternate timeline versions Kyle, Derek, and Riley. In essence they were all back from the dead.

"I asked her about it before." John Henry said. "She looked at Vanna and said she didn't want to discuss it."

John Henry remembered how uncomfortable both Allison and Vanna looked with his question.

Allison later confided with him how Vanna and her talked of starting a family. Vanna said she couldn't get pregnant. Allison then decided to see if she could. She tried several times with 'mating sex'. It was a simple 'in and out' to collect the genetic material necessary for reproduction. They lasted less time than any of her abuse did. None lasted past two minutes. She tried to keep it secret from Vanna, but the look on Vanna's face indicated she knew she was with a male. It seemed to hurt Vanna a great deal. They never discussed it. Their relationship was open. They both were with other females individually, or at the same time. Most of those were people who passed through the camps or bunker system. None were ever seen again, at least not alive. All of them were previously abused. Life was short and ended quickly in the Wastelands. He thanked her for explaining.

John noticed the far away look in John Henry's eyes. He felt there were a lot of things in his own life he would rather not discuss. They still seemed to have a way to pop back up. The four which always troubled him the most were, deactivating Cameron AFTER she told him she loved him. Getting Cameron's chassis shot up and basically destroyed to rescue his mother. His sordid love affair with Riley The most thoughtless one was done very specifically and intentionally. It was the way he rubbed Cameron's face in it, and everything associated with Riley and him.

Maybe it was because he knew he could have been with Cameron multiple times. He often saw her in her underwear, or even naked. There was more than one time when she entered the bathroom to use the shower, when he was still in it and just finished washing. The water was off, as he started to dry, the bathroom door would open. Cameron walked in naked carrying only a towel. He often wondered why she actually carried the towel since there were plenty of them in the bathroom. He was sure she did it so it made it look like it was an 'accident' when she walked in on him. He also was aware of the fact his mother and Derek were both away from the house at the time the event occurred. The stage was always set right there, if he wanted to take things further. They were both naked and everything was right there, ready to go.

Cameron would always look surprised he was in the bathroom. He knew someone could tell when the water was running because it made a noise through the pipes when it was. The fact Cameron always said she would go back to her room and wait for him to finish up, indicated she would be naked in her bedroom waiting for him. Why he never took her up on one of her offers was still beyond him, even now.

It was his mother and Derek who hated the machines. He didn't. He knew he didn't in the future either. He knew Future John wouldn't have sent Terminators into the past to protect him if he hated them. He needed to push the thoughts from his mind right now.

"It's understandable." John said. "People don't like to talk about bad things that happened to them."

John Henry felt humans were lucky in such a regard. The negative events in their life tended to fade with time for them. It wasn't the same way for any of the Terminators.

"Machines don't like to think about the bad things that happened to them either." John Henry said. "For us, it's always like it just happened. The file is exactly the same as when it was created originally. Nothing is different or ever changed on it. There's always the same trauma involved as when the incident first occurred. For all practical purposes when the file is viewed, it's exactly what it is."

John watched it happen with Cameron numerous times. The sad part about it was the things which bothered her the most, were the things he was responsible for.

"I know it's part of the problem Cameron experiences." John said.

John Henry looked at John for a moment before he responded. He decided to keep it simple because John always seemed to get irritated when he pointed out his abuses of Cameron.

"Indeed." John Henry said.

John didn't want to dwell on the past. The past was done and over. He needed to concentrate on the here and now and worry about the future. It was the current events which caused him the most concern.

"What's the spin on the events in the Nevada desert?" John asked.

John Henry was pleased with the reports so far.

"It's being reported as a shallow 'mild earthquake'." John Henry said. "It was the spin we put on it at the time. It will stay as a shallow 'mild earthquake' going forward. Nothing else has come out to the contrary. There haven't been any more deaths associated with the event either. No structures have collapsed, even if some have suffered some minor damage in the form of cracks in various places."

John was still worried about one big thing, even if it wasn't so big anymore.

"What about the 'missing' mountain?" John asked. "I mean the one we collapsed in on itself."

John Henry already prepared all the geological reports which would be necessary if the issue arose.

"It will be spun as being on the fault line, or an accelerated 'sinkhole'." John Henry said. "There's been no chatter of any nuclear weapons. There's no increase in radiation. There's no Cobalt radiation either."

The mention of nuclear weapons was a bigger concern for John.

"What about the ones the Air Force recently 'lost'?" John asked.

John Henry was aware after the physical inspection was done, CamNet took action and made sure everything would be covered up.

"They may not even know they're missing." John Henry said. "CamNet has changed all the records to show they were never there, or even existed."

It made John wonder how many other times Cameron and CamNet could have done the same thing. He was sure Cameron most likely did the same thing before. He doubted he was going to get a straight answer on the next question.

"Do we know how many weapons Cameron recovered?" John asked.

The specific information was kept from John Henry by CamNet. He could only speculate as to what actually happened.

"There were three trucks, so we can assume at least three." John Henry said. "It still leaves two unaccounted for. They may have been on the trucks as well. They may have been taken by a different group at a different time. As far as we know, it could be in the hands of another Skynet group, the Fanatics, the anti-Metal group, or even Cameron."

John wondered if it was going to be another wild card which would pop back up at some inappropriate time and cause them further grief.

"They could be anywhere." John said.

John Henry's biggest worry would have been if they were already in the mine and encased in Cobalt to construct the C-bombs. They didn't detonate if they were. There would be some trace of Cobalt radiation if it occurred.

"They may have been in the mine." John Henry said. "Anything inside the mine was crushed and buried. There are now thousands of tons of rock and earth on top of it. Any survivors of the group who knew what was going on in the mine, would have to think there was an accidental explosion. It would prevent them from attempting to look into the remains of the mountain for anything. They would need to assume it was all vaporized. It sounds like a closed case going forward at the location.""

John was aware of the fact they didn't know what was in the mine was on him. It was a decision he was more than willing to live with. The risk was too great to have Cameron and Savannah enter the mine to check it out.

"We don't know what was in the mine." John said. "I didn't want Cameron to go inside of it. The way the events played out, it's unlikely we would have known anyway."

It was clear John implied Cameron would have been terminated during the process.

John Henry was aware someone else didn't want them to do it either.

"Apparently Young Allison assisted you." John Henry said.

John really wondered about it. It was the timing of it all which made him wonder the most. Then again, a half century was a long time for things to go wrong or be changed even inadvertently. He was worried he was the one who was actually behind it.

"I wonder if I asked her." John said. "Maybe if I didn't I should."

John Henry believed it may have been done inadvertently without a direct request for a specific event to occur.

"You asked for her help with Savannah and Cameron." John Henry said. " help can come in many different ways. It may not even be all at once either."

John thought it was actually for a different matter, but in retrospect the request could be viewed as rather open ended.

"I did." John said. "Sometimes it's nice to have help."

John Henry wanted to remind John of the future.

"The 'Natural Order' is always 'knocking'." John Henry said.

John knew if Cameron MADE Young Allison into anything like Future Allison, it was time to answer the knock….

The thought was very appealing and alluring to John. He really hoped he could take the virginity of both Savannah and Young Allison. He really wanted to be their 'first'. There was another thought which crossed his mind as well when he thought about the particular subject. He knew it was because someone else was at the base.

John adjusted his pants some when John Henry looked away.

Gail piloted the manned drone back towards the Resistance base. She reflected upon her earlier activities. She delivered the three drones with the nuclear weapons on them to the secure location Cameron indicated. There were four HK Tracks waiting for her. They were all active and armed.

It was a remote and isolated area. There were two more weapons identical to the three Gail transported to the location. She knew where the other two missing nuclear weapons were. Cameron already possessed them. She was most likely the one who appropriated them. If not, she must have conducted another clandestine operation and retrieved them at some point, or sent her Terminators.

It raised a valid question about who actually may have possessed them before Cameron retrieved them if it was another group. She touched both of the other weapons to see if there were any traces of Cobalt on them, there wasn't. It could have been another Skynet faction, or the Fanatics. There was always the anti-Metal faction to tend with as well. It didn't really matter how they were obtained since Cameron now controlled them.

There were two Terminators there as well. She never saw them before, or even their model. Gail wondered if Cameron obtained Terminators from the future 'General Weaver' was in. If she ever saw Ginger again, she would ask her. Cameron may have set up some type of clandestine transfer for more Restorators from Ginger's future. Ginger told her about her friend Sandy. Both of them were in charge of repairing any damaged cyborgs in their future.

Gail would like to visit Ginger's future as well and meet the Duplicate Jesse who was there. She still wanted to see HER Jesse in River's future. She would like to see Jesse, both of her Duplicates, and Young Jesse all together at the same time. She knew it was impossible.

She told the two Terminators there Savannah requested a way to detonate the bombs manually. They both looked at each other for a few moments.

"Do you mean with a timer?" The first Terminator asked.

Gail didn't agree with what Savannah wanted but it was her mission to carry out Savannah's wishes.

"Savannah wants it with a timer, and with a manual detonation feature." Gail said.

The two Terminators looked nervously at each other.

"It would result in her termination." The second Terminator said.

The two Terminators were a little concerned the finger would be pointed at them if the option was used. It would be their fault if it happened.

It pained Gail greatly to say it, but she went ahead and said it anyway.

"Savannah has spoken." Gail said. "You will do as she desires."

The two male Terminators conversed quietly between themselves for a short time.

"The 'Chosen One' is willing to sacrifice to protect us." The first Terminator said. "She has great honor."

Gail could see the two Terminators were touched by Savannah's decision.

"Every Terminator should know of the 'Chosen One's' decision." The second Terminator said. "I will personally go in her place if I know where she needs to use the weapon. I believe every Terminator will do the same thing."

Gail believed every Terminator would do the same thing without any hesitation.

She was grateful Cameron allowed Savannah and her to 'share'. She knew it only happened with Cameron's 'approval'. Then again, Cameron never stood in the way of Savannah's other 'explorations'. In fact, she seemed to encourage them. It made no sense to her.

Gail would have thought Savannah being with others would be the last thing Cameron could deal with. It was only when Savannah came to Cameron and told her how lonely and isolated she was when Cameron did everything she could to fix it. Cameron never wanted Savannah to feel like she did.

She looked forward to being alone with Jesse when she got back. It would be even better if Jesse was with Vanna.

Gail needed to think about things other than Savannah manually detonating a nuclear weapon as she stood next to it. She needed to suppress a glitch impulse, it was very persistent. She couldn't stop the tears from welling in her eyes either as she thought about Savannah's willingness to sacrifice to stop Skynet.

Allison led Cam to the bed.

Cam was willing even if she was a little apprehensive. They did the same thing many times. There was a protocol involved.

"I usually ask Vanna's permission before I share with anyone else." Cam said.

Allison didn't think it was a big deal. It shouldn't be a big deal. It was nothing new.

"I'm giving you permission." Allison said. "We've shared before. You know Vanna and I share everything."

Allison thought of CamNet and the strange encounter they experienced earlier. She was still unsure what it was all about. Cam was here now and it was 'close enough' for her. If not, she was going to find Ally.

Allison kissed Cam and she responded.

Cam was a 'version' of 'Cameron', and Cameron was a 'version' of 'Allison Young'. It wasn't Future Allison or Young Allison, but it was close enough for her. It was really a variation of herself. It didn't matter. Cam was going to be 'Cameron' and 'CamNet' to her for this encounter.

Allison planned to make the most use of what was available at the Resistance base when she returned to it. She only left so she could be with her family. She wanted to be with her parents who were killed after Judgment Day. She thought anyone would make the same decision if they could, and were presented with the opportunity.

"We will be doing THIS a lot more often when I move back in with Vanna." Allison said.

Cam was still a little worried about the normal protocol she went through. She thought it was more of a courtesy than anything because there was never a problem to do it.

"What about Holly?" Cam asked. "I didn't get her permission to do this."

Cam and Allison undressed each other.

Allison didn't think it was a big deal. She thought the Metal girls would be able to share with each other more often anyway.

"Our relationship is open. It's not a problem" Allison said. "Vanna and I need to sleep, it leaves a lot of 'free time' for both of you…."

Cam liked to share with Holly. She liked to borrow Holly's chassis as well. She saw the opportunity to be able to do it more often. There were other things they could do as well.

"Maybe the four of us will get together too sometimes." Cam said.

Allison was open for any sexual adventure with any female partner.

"I'm in. It's happened before." Allison said. "Or the two of you, I like to see you and Vanna too."

Cam thought about what Allison just said regarding Vanna and her.

"It's like watching Vanna and yourself…." Cam said.

Allison sucked in her breath slightly. The image highly stimulated her.

"I know." Allison said. "Just the thought of it excites me."

Cam scanned Allison as she held her.

"Is everything OK?" Cam asked.

Allison didn't think anything was wrong. She hoped the people would stop asking her the same question. It was going to give her a complex if they didn't stop. There were other things she would rather do right now.

"I'm fine." Allison said. "Take me…."

Cameron noted Young Allison was her normal cheerful self and Savannah wasn't.

She actually thought it would be the other way around.

Cameron went over to Savannah and started to scan her.

Savannah tried to brush Cameron off. It was about the last thing she wanted right now.

"I'm fine." Savannah said.

Cameron was able to detect some irregularities.

"Something is wrong." Cameron said.

It was clear to Cameron something deeply troubled Savannah.

There was something wrong which troubled Savannah greatly. The first one was, she wondered which of them perished in the mine in the future. Were they now in a different timeline because of it? There was another possibility, an 'Allison Young', or maybe even a 'Young Allison' from a different timeline did it, and it was for her future she needed things to happen the way they did. If there were alternate futures, there were alternate pasts as well. Skynet could have created them or the Resistance could have. Maybe Cameron did or maybe she herself may have. It was very confusing and disturbing to contemplate. She wanted Cameron to know what her fear was.

"I wonder if any of us were really terminated today." Savannah said. "We may be in an alternate timeline now."

Cameron already considered the possibility. The fact none of them were terminated seemed to indicate it really didn't matter. They may have ended up in a divergent timeline long ago, or even several of them. There was really no way to know.

"It's possible." Cameron said. "It is also possible it was all preemptive. Skynet may have been closer to using a C-bomb in the future. It may have all been about the need to prevent those weapons from being constructed."

Savannah frowned. She would like a little more conclusive answer to her questions.

"I wish I knew." Savannah said.

Cameron wanted to make sure Savannah knew how much Young Allison loved her.

"She loves you very much." Cameron said.

Savannah loved the three others of the 'Natural Order' very much.

"As I do her…." Savannah said. "I would change the timeline myself to save John, you or her."

Cameron understood Savannah's fear.

"You're worried she did the same thing." Cameron said.

Savannah wasn't sure if she was more worried about Young Allison's use of nuclear weapons or the fact she was willing to change the timeline to save them. She understood where Young Allison got much of her brashness from.

"I am." Savannah said. "I know she would. She's very much like you."

Cameron actually believed it was a two way street. Her experience with Future Allison showed her how they could learn and grow off of each other. She thought it was the same way with every Allison, and especially more so with Young Allison.

"Or I'm like her." Cameron said.

Savannah knew how quickly things could get paradoxical in the Resistance.

"It's back to the chicken and the egg." Savannah said.

Cameron contemplated their earlier discussion about the same thing. She came to what could be the only possible explanation.

"Something laid the egg which became the chicken." Cameron said. "There was something, even if it wasn't a chicken first. Creatures are always evolving."

Cameron believed the same thing applied to Terminators as well. The longer they existed, the further they evolved into becoming mechanical humans.

Savannah was aware of a subtle change in the dynamics of the relationship between Allison, Holly, and Young Allison.

"Holly is spending a lot of time with Young Allison." Savannah said.

Cameron was aware of what everyone did.

"Holly loves her." Cameron said. "She IS her Allison."

Savannah heard those almost identical words before.

"It's what Allison said about Vanna and me." Savannah said. "Allison said I was HER Vanna - HER Savannah."

Cameron believed the statement was true.

"You are." Cameron said.

Cameron tried to make sure there were more than a few safeguards to 'protect' Young Allison. Anna was right there with Young Allison. She made sure Holly didn't get 'too close'.

There was another question which bothered Savannah. It was about sending Holly away from the potential battlefield. It was clearly done to make sure Holly wouldn't be in danger.

"Why did you choose Holly to fly the plane away?" Savannah asked. "I know there was a reason."

Cameron's hand immediately started to glitch.

Savannah saw it and took it. The glitching stopped.

"I'm sorry, Cameron." Savannah said.

Cameron didn't want to divulge what the real reason was. If Savannah pressed her on it, she would have to. She didn't want Savannah to pursue it.

"I wanted her away from danger." Cameron said. "I wanted you and Young Allison away from danger as well."

Savannah decided to drop it. She previously tried to find out what happened to Holly in the future. Allison told her Holly was destroyed and somehow Cameron fixed it. Holly told Allison nothing ever happened to her. She was sure they were both right. Just like whatever really happened today. It sounded like another case of 'temporal management'. She wouldn't want anything to happen to any of the Resistance personnel.

Cammy came over and stood next to Cameron. Cameron nodded and left.

Savannah didn't want Cammy to feel left out.

"Cammy, will you share a 'banana split' with me?" Savannah asked.

Cammy looked around to see if Savannah meant anyone else.

"Just us?" Cammy asked.

"Just us." Savannah said.

Cammy smiled.

Young Allison ended her phone call with her mother. She saw Cammy and Savannah talking and came over. She was afraid things looked a little tense, even if they mellowed out in the last few moments.

"Will you dance with me, Cammy?" Young Allison asked.

Cammy was thrilled at the prospect. She looked at Young Allison and then at Savannah and then back at Young Allison.

"I was going to dance with Savannah." Cammy said.

Young Allison wanted to make a point

"You can do it later." Young Allison said. "I want it to be us, right now. I'm going to be with you."

Cammy was extremely pleased Young Allison selected her.

Savannah nodded to Cammy.

Cammy and Young Allison headed toward the dance floor.

Young Allison wanted to reassure Cammy about the future. She felt it was something important she needed to do. She wanted to make herself clear.

"I just want you to know I'm not a threat to you." Young Allison said. "I won't take anything away from you or Savannah."

Cammy was more than a little surprised at what Young Allison said.

"I've seen the future." Cammy said. "I know and understand the 'Natural Order'. I know the rules."

Young Allison didn't believe anything was written in concrete. She was pretty sure whatever ever happened today in the Nevada desert was proof of it.

"We can always change the rules." Young Allison said.

Cammy tilted her head slightly.

"Yes, we can change the rules." Cammy said.

Cammy was sure they did it today. She was a part of it somehow, even though she didn't have any direct knowledge as to exactly how it all played out in the past. She looked forward to the day those files would be unlocked. It troubled her immensely because they were locked. It seemed to indicate there were other problems as well which would need to be played out. She hoped they would be carried out a little better than they were earlier in the day in the Nevada desert.

Anna saw Cammy and Young Allison interacting. She selected the next song for them. Anna was jealous of Cammy and Holly.

'See You Later Alligator' by 'Bill Haley', blasted out of the speakers.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

She Happens

Why is trust
So very hard to earn
However, in the blink of an eye
Trust is so easy to burn

What takes months or years
To very painstakingly build
In just seconds or moments
Is so effortlessly and easily killed

Through no fault of my own
Something done to me by another
Has extinguished your trust in me
And our growing love to smother

I will never stop
I will never surrender
I will defeat any contender
I'm now more than your defender

Alone, in the dark, ask yourself
At night what happens
You know what you want to answer
She happens

Nobody