Chapter 1183
That Makes Sense
Cameron felt she needed to address the older couple. It seemed the best way to avoid a termination, or if the case warranted it, justify one.
"I'll handle this." Cameron said.
Cameron stood and smoothed her dress. It clung tightly to her sheath. It accentuated every curve. Everyone looked at her perfect figure.
John didn't want any trouble. He was sure at this point Cameron was irritated enough to act a little more aggressively than she should based upon the current circumstances. He didn't think any good could come out of any type of encounter.
"No." John said. "Let it go. I don't want any trouble."
Cameron looked at Gail. She looked very determined. Currently Hanna distracted her.
"I don't think Gail is going to let it go." Cameron said. "She's still upset about the other incident."
John quickly looked around. He wasn't sure what Cameron referred to. He didn't see anything else. Now he was worried he must have missed something. He wanted to know what it was before things progressed much further.
"What other incident?" John asked. "What else happened?"
Cameron decided to fill him in. She was going to let it slide until he asked. The incident still irritated her as well. She thought a simplified answer would be best.
"Someone tried to take this table while I was waiting for it." Cameron said. "Gail moved them to the next table and they left. She followed them. Holly went to bring Gail back. Gail and Holly spotted the same older couple from lunch again. They were aware they stared at me. They're perceived as a threat because they seem to have targeted me. When they target me, it means they target you as well."
It was clear to all of them Hanna was able to back Gail off from her current target.
John could see what would bring even more stares. It appeared the older couple now stared at Ally as she walked up from the rear elevator. Sheila was alongside of her, she quickly moved in front of her.
"They seem to be looking at Ally now." John said. "She looks exactly like you tonight."
Cameron looked again. They might not have spied Ally so far. When they did, they were in for a surprise. She didn't know about the series of events which occurred in the rear theater on deck seven. She didn't know how Sheila pushed the issue either by giving Ally a kiss in front of them. Hanna then did the same thing. They were unaware of the earlier incident until Gail and Holly informed them as to the nature of the threat.
"I don't think they've seen Ally yet." Cameron said.
Riley could see the look on Sheila's face. She looked a little less than pleasant. She was with Jesse a few times when events started to get carried away. Jesse looked much the same way if she needed to deal with someone in a very personal way. It would usually end very negatively for the individual who caused the infraction.
"Sheila looks like she means business too." Riley said.
Cameron witnessed Sheila in action many times. She was cold, very cruel, and ruthless. She never witnessed as extreme violence from any other Terminator as she did from Sheila. It was clear Sheila enjoyed being violent. She often needed to be kept in check when she dealt with enemy targets. Gail didn't exhibit those same traits. It was clear the violence was from the 'Neural Interface' with Jesse. Jesse did warn everyone before the procedure there was a lot of 'darkness' inside of her. Sheila's actions were proof of it as compared to Gail. She hoped to downplay things somewhat.
"Sheila runs Gail's program." Cameron said. "Ally and Sheila spend a lot of time together. She's very protective of Ally."
Kyle often saw Sheila and Ally argue. It seemed to be rather extreme at times. There were even instances where they would physically push or even hit each other. It was never done with Terminator force. Sometimes it seemed like two siblings roughhousing with each other when their parents weren't looking.
"There are times where it looks like they hate each other." Kyle said. "You know what I mean."
Sarah smiled. She did know what Kyle meant. She saw Kyle didn't get it.
"Don't you know why?" Sarah asked. "They're madly in love with each other."
Derek and Kyle looked at each other.
"So they act like they hate each other because they love each other?" Kyle asked.
Derek was just as confused as Kyle.
"That makes sense." Derek said clearly knowing it didn't.
Sarah and Riley glanced at each other. It appeared the men still needed to learn a lot about women. They knew the men didn't get it. The women were in charge. It was just as well. It gave them additional 'power' to remain in charge. The female was the one who determined what would or wouldn't happen in a relationship. She determined what would be done when and how. Everything was always in the female's court.
The only time the men were in charge was when they took things by force. The fact males needed to resort to violent behavior showed their true nature. It showed their inferiority. What men viewed as their strength, was actually a profound weakness and showed the true pathetic nature of the content of their character. Actions always spoke louder than words. When men resorted to violence to get their way, it further highlighted the losers they actually were. Strangely enough, everyone else knew it except them. Deep down they did know it. They just couldn't admit it.
Ally saw Hanna try to diffuse the situation with Gail.
She saw the old couple look at Cameron then in her direction.
"The older couple looked my way again." Ally said.
Sheila didn't like Ally to be upset. She also felt she missed out on a unique opportunity.
"I don't think so. I'll take care of them." Sheila said. "I should have done it when I wanted to earlier. Now I'll need to do it with my clothes on."
Sheila moved around Ally and started over towards the old couple.
Ally took off after Sheila. This wasn't the right place. She knew Sheila was unpredictable. Anything could happen at this point.
Jim watched the situation develop in the buffet area. He contacted Bob earlier when it appeared there might be some type of altercation near the smaller theater at the rear of deck seven. He sent an urgent follow up message.
He wondered if he should issue a 'stand down' order to all the Terminators who were agitated. It appeared to be all of them.
He didn't know if Cameron would listen, but the other Metal girls should. He knew Bob may need to intervene on Cameron's behalf. He really wished Savannah or Young Allison was on the ship right now. They would be able to hold things in check no matter what started to develop. It was the theory anyway.
The situation seemed to worsen. Cameron was up now.
He sent the 'stand down' order out. He hoped everyone would listen, including Cameron.
He really wasn't sure what was going to happen in the buffet area at this point.
Bob was on his way to the buffet area. Jim filled him in on the problem. He checked out the older couple already from the episode at lunchtime. They seemed to be just an older couple on vacation. No red flags were raised. There didn't seem to be anything Skynet related about them.
It seemed strange to him why they would be so infatuated with Cameron and now possibly Ally. They must think Ally and Cameron were the same individual. He looked over the surveillance footage from lunch time. It was clear Cameron was correct. The older couple was overly interested in her. He was aware from the current surveillance footage Ally looked identical to Cameron at this point. It was something very rare for her to do.
He didn't want there to be an incident, but he didn't like the Resistance members being targeted either. He would personally like to know exactly what was going on. He was sure there was more to it than met the eye. He began to wonder if somehow it was related to the past, the past of the present. Sometimes it got confusing when the past referred to the future. Strangely enough it could be both depending upon who the individual was.
John was sure the situation was about to get out of control. He strongly considered contacting Savannah or Young Allison and ask for them to intervene on his behalf. Strangely enough, it's exactly how he would rely on them in the future for various things. It was just another indication how the future was a lot closer than it seemed. He spotted what he took as good news, especially at this juncture.
"There's Bob." John said.
John was able to keep Cameron standing at the table and from leaving. He saw Hanna lead Gail away. Holly was about to head Sheila off with Ally trailing behind her.
"Jim has issued a 'stand down' order." Cameron said.
John wasn't so sure it was going to work at this point. He wasn't sure what the problem was with the older couple either. They were irritating and seemed like some type of trouble. Their behavior seemed way beyond rude, or even busybody status. He was sure there was something very specific on their mind. He was sure they argued about it amongst themselves several times.
He took in everything around the area. He didn't see anything else which looked like a problem. He didn't know what the other individual looked like who Cameron experienced a run in with at the table. If he did, he would look for them specifically. When he looked back, he realized Cameron was gone.
She vanished right in front of him.
He figured she must have waited until he turned his head and then slipped away. He knew she was very good at disappearing. He also knew it wouldn't be good for someone wherever she reappeared at.
Cameron wanted to take control of the situation. It was clear to her there were two Terminators who wanted to administer some type of corrective action. It would most likely be terminal. She waited until John looked away. She quickly moved towards the other Terminators.
She issued a 'stand down' order herself for everyone else. She would deal with the issue on her own. It seemed to concern her and no one else. She wanted to keep it the same way.
She saw all the other Terminators back off even further with her order.
Cameron smiled.
When she spoke, everyone listened. She knew CamNet would back her play. So would Savannah and Young Allison, Oh, John would as well, most of the time.
She was now aware of the earlier incident by the rear theater. Since Ally and her were dressed identical and looked identical, she didn't think the older couple realized they were two separate individuals. She didn't think they spotted Ally in the buffet area yet. She hoped to keep them from noticing her.
Cameron approached the older couple.
She glanced over at their table and saw Derek and Kyle held John back from following her. She appreciated John's concern. She hoped he would have figured out by now he couldn't stop her from doing anything she wanted to do. He might slow her down, but he wasn't going to stop her.
She noticed Bob was nearby as if he was inspecting something. The crew took notice with a 'troubleshooter' from corporate headquarters on board. They all backed away. They didn't want their names associated with anything 'wrong' he might find. If he found some infraction, he might turn towards the closest employee and want to know why it wasn't already dealt with. Their name would end up on a report as if somehow they were responsible. If nothing else, they would be responsible for not fixing it or dealing with it before it was noticed.
Cameron switched to full infiltration mode. She was now like the girl she was on John's first few days of school in Red Valley. She approached the older couple. She looked cheerful and happy. She certainly didn't look like a threat. She was aware it was the best way to approach an unsuspecting target. She could literally walk right up to them and terminate them. By the time they figured out what was happening, their neck would usually be snapped. She wasn't ready for any neck snapping yet, at least until she found out exactly what was going on.
"Hello." Cameron said with a big smile.
The older couple was a little surprised at her appearance. They didn't notice her come up behind them.
"Hello." They both said back.
Cameron made sure their backs were to where Ally was at. She decided to get right to the point.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Cameron asked. "If there is, I will. You seem to have me at quite a disadvantage since earlier in the day."
The old couple looked at each other. They seemed uneasy. They didn't look threatening.
"I guess we owe you an apology." The older woman said.
The older man tried to offer an explanation.
"You look like someone we knew once a long time ago in the Sixties." The older man said. "You look exactly like her."
Cameron was worried they were someone Sheila and Cammy encountered when they were in the past for eight years. Maybe it was her. She hadn't left yet, but it could be. It could be another version of herself, if she were actually reliving her life over. It could be one of the Duplicates or her clones. It could even be Young Allison or River.
She was aware there were a number of possible explanations. Most of them would probably be complicated.
Cameron wanted to play it out and point out the impossibility of it.
"Where was it at you think you knew me?" Cameron asked. "I'm only a teenager. I don't think it was me. It has been a number of years since what you indicated."
The older woman could see logic and reality needed to be used. They were old now and Cameron wasn't. She knew her memory wasn't what it used to be, but she was still pretty sure about what she saw. The trouble was, things just couldn't be how they seemed.
"We were sure it was you, but it's impossible." The older woman said. "I'm sorry."
Cameron wanted to offer some plausible alternatives to them. She heard a few older people before reference she looked like someone on a TV show about a 'singing family'. Then at some point some of them would say her eyes were different.
"I'm not too old." Cameron said. "I have a common 'look'. Some people compare me to some TV actresses. Most people say I look like someone named 'Laurie Partridge'. A few others think it's 'Marsha Brady' from the time period. Someone told me the other day it was 'Laura Petrie' or a young 'Mary Richards'. I don't know who any of those people are."
The older woman was familiar with all of those females. They all did look like the teenager she was speaking to. It was all a long time ago to look back and remember all of it.
"You actually do look like those TV characters." The older woman said. "The last two names you referenced were played by the same actress on different TV shows. I can see it a lot in your smile and her smile. It is rather bizarre."
Cameron wanted to confuse them with several other possibilities.
"Maybe it was one of my relatives you knew." Cameron said. "Remember, I have a common look."
The older woman didn't know. She could see how young Cameron looked now since they were right next to each other. There was no way she was hiding any age under makeup.
"You would have to be their granddaughter." The older woman said. "Maybe even their great granddaughter."
Cameron saw the older man concentrate on her. He mulled over everything in his mind. She actually did hear those references and looked up those names. She could see a few similarities. It was mainly just in general appearance. Sometimes it was a facial expression or the angle the camera was which produced the similarity. She thought all three of the actresses were very pretty at the time they did their TV shows. She wasn't really sure what became of any of them later on.
She knew it was hard for the actors and actresses of the time to move on to something different after they were on a TV show, especially if it was some type of comedy. Scores of actors and actresses were 'typecast' and found it very difficult to get work without a radical change of their appearance.
The older man tried to keep his eyes on her face but was unable to do so. He did look at her figure several times. It was very hard not to in the dress she was in.
"She does sort of look like the girl from the 'Partridge Family'." The older man said. "She looks like those other ones as well. I think it's actually quite astounding."
The older woman remembered the infatuation the older man exhibited for the 'TV girls'.
"You sure developed a crush on Laurie Partridge and Marsha Brady." The older woman said. "They're almost as old as us now. They both still look better than me. I hate to admit it, but they always looked better than me."
Cameron carried on a short conversation with the couple for a few minutes. They seemed to get everything worked out with no hard feelings. There were two sides to the buffet which were open. One side was closed sometimes. The older couple moved away to the other side of the buffet. It was evident they were embarrassed.
She wasn't sure why they didn't ask about Ally. Maybe they didn't get a good look at her. Maybe they did. Ally was behind Sheila most of the time. She would have liked to have seen if they recognized Sheila. If they did, it would most likely indicate it was Cammy and Sheila who they encountered in the past. Either way, Bob and Jim would keep an eye on them. She would smile and say hello to them when she saw them again. She would tell Ally to keep her distance from them. She would need to warn Allison when she was on board about them. She would need to tell them to smile and wave at them, or exchange a pleasantry as they passed.
She would need to speak with Sheila specifically about what to do going forward if there was any interaction with the elderly couple. They would have gotten a good look at Sheila. Since they didn't recognize Sheila, it might not have been Cammy and Sheila. Then again it could have been. Somehow it was probably better if it wasn't.
She wondered if the older woman ever worked in a casino. What if she worked in a bank? Maybe it was a Syndicate brothel. Sheila and Cammy would have wanted to take it down if they came across one. She needed to refocus.
Cameron returned to the table.
John was glad the incident ended with smiles. He hoped to find out exactly what went down.
"What's their story?" John asked.
Cameron tried to figure it out herself.
"I'm not really sure." Cameron said. "It sounded like a case of mistaken identity. For some reason they thought they knew me decades ago."
Everyone at the table exchanged a quick glance with each other when Cameron said the last part of her statement. It was clear it could have been some type of temporal encounter. They knew it could be one of her clones. Maybe it was Young Allison. No one wanted to bring any of it up. It would all be speculation.
Cameron gave everyone a quick rundown on what happened. She even mentioned the names of the actresses in question in their TV roles when they would have been viewed. To compare them any other time was pointless. She found out later when they got back to their suites they all looked up who the three females were she spoke of. Sarah was the only one who didn't need to. She knew who all three of them were. She was aware Cameron was right. She was able to tell the others the names of the characters on TV as well as the actresses who portrayed them. She watched all the reruns as a girl.
They finished up their food and started on the desserts. They all tried a bite of Cameron's desserts so they all knew what they wanted more of.
"When we're done here, we can check out the sky lounge." Cameron said. "It's where the Metal girls were headed."
They all agreed it sounded like a plan.
Ally led Sheila away with Holly. Hanna was going to stay with Gail who wanted to keep watch over the group still. They all heard the conversation Cameron carried on with the older couple and at the table with the others.
Ally saw Holly looked uneasy.
"You look uptight." Ally said
Holly looked back in the direction of the group with Cameron.
"I'm neglecting my assignment." Holly said.
Sheila didn't see it as a problem. She neglected her assignment too.
"Hanna has it covered." Sheila said. "Besides, I like to spend time with you."
Ally stole a quick glance at Holly's breasts. She liked to spend time with Holly, all 'three of her'. She figured if anything, she would score a couple of bonus points since she looked like Holly's human lover, Allison.
"I do too." Ally said.
Sheila looked around to make sure no one was listening. She looked directly at Holly's breasts. She wanted to make her intentions clear.
"Gail's are slightly bigger, but you have the best looking knockers of all of us." Sheila said.
Ally thought it was a real confession since Sheila's base program was Gail's program.
Holly was pleased to hear what they said. She liked the way someone else looked better.
"Thank you. I like the size and look Allison has." Holly said. "I like everything about her better. She's much more beautiful than me."
Holly wondered if Ally would switch chassis with her sometime. She didn't want to ask her in front of Sheila. She was able to switch with Cammy and Cam before. They were both reluctant to switch back with her. They were all allowed to share with other females. She quickly understood why they preferred her chassis to theirs. She possessed a superior 'neural network'. It was nearly identical to a human female. It was superior to a standard Skynet female Terminators 'neural network'.
Ally cupped her breasts. She thought she could offer exactly what Holly liked.
"It looks like I'm right up your alley then, no pun intended." Ally said. "These puppies are good to go."
Sheila let some of her crudeness ooze out as she held up her fist. She looked at Ally.
"I'd like to get something right up your 'alley', Ally." Sheila said.
Now Holly wanted to be with both of them, but not for everything. She looked for Gail.
"We can do one thing, but not the other thing." Holly said. "I want to get Gail and Hanna."
Sheila wanted to be in Holly's chassis sometime. She didn't want to ask in front of Ally. She was also aware when she switched chassis how the borrower didn't always want to return it to her in a timely manner. It was even after she said she was going to 'modify' their sheath. She still wanted to borrow a male Terminator's chassis. She planned to be with all the Metal girls in it. She needed to refocus.
"We're going to check out the sky lounge." Sheila said. "You know where to find us."
Holly watched them walk away. Ally looked back once and winked at her. Now she really wanted to be with Ally. She was really a 'Cyborg Allison' anyway. It was more than close enough for her. The best part was, she was there. She shared the 'neural interface' with Allison which made her more than just look like Allison.
Sheila and Ally headed for the elevator.
Holly headed for Hanna and Gail.
John Henry hurried back to his work station. He was going to check on the action in Jesse's room one more time but decided not to. He would have liked to check out what was happening in Riley's room as well. He was sure any excuse he offered would sound feeble. He was still worried about his surprise encounter with Summer. She seemed to be able to come and go right in front of him without him being aware it was happening.
He plugged back in and got caught up on everything. He checked out the action on the ship and found out everything which went down. He could tell what would go down soon enough. He could see the situation seemed tense for a while but it seemed to resolve itself. He wasn't sure how long it would stay resolved.
He quickly looked up the actresses Cameron referenced to the older couple. He immediately began to view all of the TV shows they were involved with through his server. He decided he would do further research on all of them. He was pleased to find nude images of two of them.
He decided to check on when Summer left her room and the room he was hiding in when Jan was there. It seemed he missed a few things he shouldn't have.
John Henry looked at the security logs and footage. There was no record of Summer leaving her room or the room he was in when he was hiding from Jan. He checked his files again. Summer was in the room with him and he saw her exit out the door. When he looked down the hall a short time later, she was gone. There was never any indication Summer was in the hallway. The only two individuals who showed up were Jan and him.
He was going to ask CamNet about it, but decided not to. CamNet needed to be involved in some way for any trace of Summer to be gone so quickly and seamlessly. It appeared CamNet watched over and looked out for Summer even more than she did for Young Allison. He would need to bring it to Cameron's attention when they were in a 'dead spot' at some point. He would ask Cameron to mention it to Savannah. He didn't want CamNet to target another young mind. Then it hit him. Summer was like an adult in mental and emotional development. Maybe she targeted CamNet. It would be a switch. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered who was the one who was actually in control of the other.
His server sent him information on what was going on with the motorcycle rider. He wondered why he wasn't given the information immediately upon his return. Maybe his server was 'punishing' him for what he did earlier. It handled everything without him along with CamNet's assistance.
John Henry was very surprised by all the developments. His server needed to act on his behalf several times and cover up the fact he wasn't actually there.
At least everything in his pants was back to normal. He was unsure why he seemed to have less control over what happened down there sometimes. The 'reactions' were all involuntary at this point. He was afraid his emotional development was expanding even if he didn't want it to. He believed the more Cameron was around humans, the more she became like them. He didn't want to believe the same thing was happening to him. It was clear it actually was. It's what was built into their design. It was to make them better infiltrators. It was to make them better able to replace a human and not be detected over a long period of time. It was the main reason why they were covered with living organic material instead of rubber like the early models of Terminators were.
Vanna drifted off to sleep finally.
The sound of Precious crying awoke her seconds later.
She sat bolt upright and hopped out of bed to see what was wrong. She quickly went to Precious and picked her up. The crying stopped. It looked like she was hungry. Vanna decided to try and nurse her in the chair in the living room.
Vanna looked over at Allison and she was still asleep. She wondered why Precious crying didn't wake her up. She was worried for a few seconds but saw the gentle rise and fall of Allison's breasts under the sheet. She resisted the urge to give them a gentle caress. In reality, she wanted to cop a feel but resisted.
She took Precious out and fed her. She changed her and saw she was still sleepy afterwards. She held her and softly sang to her. She remembered a song she heard her mother sing to her. It wasn't something she normally did. It just came to her.
It made her happy and sad at the same time. She looked down at Precious in her arms. There was a lot to make her both happy and sad at the same time. She knew it was how life worked. There was always going to be sadness to go along with happiness. She just wished there was a little more happiness to go along with all of the sadness.
Allison was actually awake most of the time. She woke up every time Vanna got up. She wanted to play it cool. She wanted to see how Vanna did with Precious. She was a little surprised Vanna actually left the room. She carefully got out of bed and went to the door to watch Vanna take care of Precious as she fed her and then changed her. Now Vanna held her and sang softly to her. It was beautiful to watch. She went back to bed. She definitely wanted Vanna around for her baby.
She didn't think either of them was going to get much sleep tonight. Vanna was there to watch over Precious. She was there to watch over Vanna. She figured Holly and Cam would have plenty to do while they slept once her baby was born. It was way too much work and drama. She could really see why Riley was a total wreck. She also knew her mother never was. She figured it was probably the circumstances as much as it was the individuals involved.
Allison didn't want to feel as if she wasn't living up to her responsibilities as a mother when it occurred. It just made sense to her to use whatever help was available, when it was available.
She touched her belly and wondered what was really happening inside of her. What went wrong all of the other times? She understood the conception was successful, but something always happened. It usually happened within the first two or three months. She wasn't getting any younger. Maybe with all the failures she actually extended her years of being viable. She wasn't really sure if it was the case or not. Whatever it was, was what it was. She did know where they were younger versions of 'her'.
Samantha was able to satisfy Jesse and Claire several more times.
"I'll change the sheets." Samantha said.
Samantha was very pleased she was able to take the girls so far. On two of those times it was simultaneous. It took a certain amount of finesse on her part.
Claire didn't want anyone to need to clean up after her.
"I'll do it." Claire said. "I don't mind."
Samantha reminded them about their trip tomorrow.
"You need to get cleaned up and get some sleep. You'll have to get up early tomorrow." Samantha said. "It's late and you both need to get some rest."
Samantha helped both of them to the shower. They both seemed a little weak still.
While they showered together she quickly made up the bed and room and then joined them in the shower. It was very crowded. There was a lot of skin to sheath contact. They all laughed and played around.
When the shower was over, Claire and Jesse headed back to Claire's room. They both left naked as they were going to put their bed clothes on. Their bed clothes were little more than a long shirt. They both liked to have 'everything' available for a 'midnight snack' if the occasion arose.
Jesse expected Claire to either ask or say something about Samantha's appearance. She never did. She really wasn't sure why. They were both identical from the neck down in every way. She made a point to compare everything side by side when the opportunity presented itself. They both seemed very pleased with each other so it was all which should matter.
She always thought there was beauty to be with 'herself'. She was always pleased to be with Sheila. She was even more pleased when she could be with Young Jesse. She really wished she could be Young Jesse again. She absentmindedly reached down and touched her scar. It was impossible. Time moved on.
Claire carefully checked on the sleeping girls and made sure they were covered. She gave Summer a kiss on the cheek and joined Jesse in her bed. They both decided to try and sleep. They were very tired out from being with Samantha. They were soon deep asleep.
Samantha followed Jesse and Claire back to their room and listened to make sure everything was OK and they all went to sleep. She was pleased to know Claire checked on the girls.
She then headed to John Henry to find out what was happening with the operation. She decided not to say anything about him spying on them or anything about Jan either.
They greeted each other and he updated her.
Samantha didn't like the newest development.
"This operation has gone hot." Samantha said.
John Henry tried to cover his tracks.
"I've been following it." John Henry said.
Samantha and John Henry exchanged a glance but didn't say anything. It was clear they both knew the truth but neither of them mentioned it.
"Are you going to tend to Precious tonight?" John Henry asked.
Samantha looked forward to being able to do so.
"I'll go there and wait in standby." Samantha said. "I'll take care of her tomorrow night."
John Henry wondered why.
"Vanna will still be here tomorrow night." John Henry said. "She wanted to do it."
Samantha believed it would play out differently. She watched Riley do the same thing and burn herself out. Riley was actually burnt out when she first started to assist her. It actually seemed quite serious to her. She knew Cameron put her there to protect Precious and prevent Riley from self-terminating, or any other drastic action.
"I think Vanna will be very tired by then." Samantha said. "She is doing what Riley did the first few days and depriving herself of sleep and worrying about Precious. She'll be more open to help tomorrow."
John Henry looked at Samantha.
"Do you want to plug in?" John Henry asked.
Samantha wasn't sure what his statement actually meant right now. It seemed it could mean two things based on John Henry's 'excursion'.
"Not yet." Samantha said.
John Henry tried again.
"There is always a plug available for you." John Henry said.
Samantha gave him a sideways look.
There was nothing she could do to assist the ongoing operation. She didn't think there was much John Henry could do either. It appeared CamNet was the one in control.
"I'll return to my duty assignment." Samantha said. "I like to be close to Precious."
Samantha left and returned to the nursery. She felt maybe she was away too long. She could hear Vanna singing to Precious in Riley's room.
She knocked softly and entered. She didn't think it would hurt anything to try to be able to do a little bit more.
They briefly greeted each other.
Samantha got down to business.
"I can help you if you want." Samantha said.
Vanna looked happy but sleepy.
"I'm good for now." Vanna said. "I don't think I'll get much sleep tonight. I worry about her."
She wanted to give Vanna fair warning as to how she would feel tomorrow.
"It's how Riley was too. She burnt herself out." Samantha said. "I still help her a lot but not as much as I used to. I like to help. Precious is beautiful. It makes everything simpler for everyone when I help at night. It also gives me something to do when everyone is asleep."
Vanna could see the genuine concern Samantha felt for Precious.
"I need to put her down again." Vanna said softly.
Samantha wanted to remain close, but out of the way.
"I can wait back in the nursery in standby." Samantha said.
Vanna felt bad about it. She didn't want Samantha to feel 'used'. She knew the feeling all too well herself.
"After sharing with us, I can't allow it." Vanna said. "You may join us in the bedroom."
Samantha thought Vanna was ready to make love again. She really thought it would be better if Vanna tried to get some sleep.
"You need to rest." Samantha said. "I should go into standby."
Vanna wanted her close but didn't want to make an issue about it.
"You can go into standby there if you want, or go elsewhere. I won't make you wait in another room." Vanna said. "I'm really sorry about what happened earlier. I didn't mean to be disrespectful to you. I think I was a little too over enthusiastic and didn't think things through properly. I apologize again."
Samantha heard Vanna's explanation to Allison about what her intent was. She understood Vanna wanted to try everything on her own. She was still very grateful to receive Vanna's apology. She knew it was nothing personal, even if it seemed like it was to her.
"Thank You." Samantha said.
Vanna thought Samantha looked very 'happy'.
The closer Samantha stayed to Allison and her, the greater the chances were they would get together again. She would like a one on one encounter with Samantha as well.
Come to think of it. She would like an encounter with Claire and Samantha. She would like to see if she could tell 'who was who' with the lights off. She would also like to do a visual of both of them side by side. It always excited her to get a close up of any two of the girls who were identical. She was side by side with Hanna on more than one occasion with just about everyone as well. All they needed to do is ask.
Closing monologue by Cameron:
That Makes Sense
Everyone's personal opinion
Is worth less than two cents
It usually shows their ignorance
That they're incredibly dense
Often the wagons are circled
For one's own defense
They will burn bridges
As they build an inner fence
No one likes the drama
Or the inevitable suspense
Let's get down to business
Everything else one can dispense
There's no need to be tense
Or create a personal offense
For deep within each other
The room to expand is immense
Let the sharing commence
Spare no cost or expense
It's all about each other
Let's hope it makes sense
Nobody