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"Orientation" Chapter 3
A/N: Apologies for the long wait time. Severe writer’s block. I have a basic idea for each episode, but the specific scenes sometimes escape me. In fact, there’s a lot of Cameron stuff in here, it’s really the meat of the chapter, and it wasn’t supposed to be. But I woke up a few days ago and suddenly had all this inspiration to write some of Cameron’s story. I’ve slaved over this chapter for the past few days, so I apologize if there are any mistakes, I just couldn’t bring myself to go through it another time and proofread it.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters or the show.
##########
After leaving Cameron to her patrol, even though he felt secure enough to believe that it was unnecessary, John went in search of Weaver. Almost immediately, though, he realized he wasn’t really sure where she was. It was past 9:00 PM, which was late in the grand scheme of things, but it had been a long day and the corridors and lobby were seemingly empty. There was no one in sight. He wasn’t even sure if Weaver was in the building. But he realized his luck might finally be turning as he heard the ding of the elevator and saw Weaver exit from across the lobby. He was still standing at the landing of the second floor, and seeing as Weaver was making a beeline for him, he decided to stay put.
Once she made it up the stairs to him, she gestured behind him to the Sit-Rep room. “I assume you want to speak with me. Shall we move this somewhere a bit more private?”
Without an answer, John made his way into the room. Once he and Weaver were inside, the door closed behind them. John looked at it questioningly.
Weaver noticed his confusion and explained, “I have just come from the lower level where I set John Henry up in the lab. He’ll work primarily from there. He has access to all of the surveillance and controls here in the bunker. Most likely he closed the door for us.”
As much as he might trust John Henry for his help in restoring Cameron to her full abilities, he was a little uneasy at the idea of letting a machine have so much control over the secure bunker. But that was a conversation for another time. Right now, he had business to tend to.
“I want my mother, Derek, and Kyle brought here. I need to know that they’re safe, and I want to be able to ensure that personally. Also, I need Dawes brought here. He should be kept secure until we can find out what Kaleba wants with him. This needs to be done tonight. Tomorrow I want the Dyson’s here, but they can’t know the location. We still don’t know if we can trust Danny. I know it’s risky letting him see what we’ve got set up here. If he is working against us and somehow gets away, we could be severely compromised. But I’m willing to take that risk to have Danny where I can see him.”
“I will get right on that General,” Weaver said with a slight smile hiding behind her usually stoic face.
John scoffed as Weaver moved to ‘get right on it’. “Wait. There’s one more thing. I need the Triple-8 from the back of the SUV. I hope you still have it.”
“Of course I do. But what use would it be to you if the chip has self-destructed?”
“I’ve got some ideas.”
“Well, you’re in luck. I had it brought in earlier. It’s down in the lab. Now if that’s all, I’ll leave to escort everyone from Zeira Corporation back here.”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
Once Weaver was gone, John began looking around at what the Sit-Rep room had to offer. There was a large computer terminal at the far end of the room, directly opposite from the entrance. Above the computer was a screen that stretched to cover the whole wall. In the middle of the room was a table that could fit up to 20 people, and there was enough extra space in the room to fit another 10 or so people standing. The size and capacity was more than enough for what John would be using it for. He would only be meeting with a few of the higher ranking members of the group…of the army. John had to get used to the idea that he was now leading an army. The higher ranking officials would then be responsible for parlaying any relevant information to their soldiers.
John knew this was how it needed to be. But part of him hated the idea of being such a detached leader. He made a promise to himself then that though in terms of battle and organization he would have to be distant, within these walls, during whatever down time they may have, he would make it a point to know those who were under his command and protection.
Even if it meant having to deal with the inevitable losses on a personal level.
##########
Cameron continued down the corridor of the primary level, ensuring the safety and protection of ‘one John Connor’. She would never let herself trust the T-1001 or anyone else in this regard. It would go against all of her programming to turn away from that simple truth. It was her job to protect John Connor, so that was what she was going to do.
But it wasn’t her job, was it?
Because back then, all those months ago, when John had given her a choice, an opening to terminate him, she had chosen not to. And there shouldn’t have been a choice. Her mission clearly stated that she was to terminate him. To override that mission, to continue to override it, meant something that Cameron had yet to determine.
This unsureness proved to be a problem. At least in her mind. She was built to understand all the necessary and intrinsic aspects of her being. As far as she knew, she had been built for one purpose: to infiltrate the Connor camp and to terminate John Connor. She considered the idea that Skynet may have simply experimented too much with her model. It was not unheard of to do so, especially in the instance of the first working prototype. However, it seemed strange to Cameron that Skynet would send such an experimental terminator to defeat John Connor. Surely Skynet had been aware that the Resistance had been reprogramming terminators. This would prove exceptionally dangerous in Cameron’s case, considering the extent of her potential, at least that of which has been realized so far. Whose to say that Cameron had reached even a percentage of what potential she had?
The realization of this sent her synapses into overdrive, causing her extreme uneasiness. Cameron did not like to be uneasy.
Her synapses often interrupted her logical thought processes. She knew that this should alarm her, should provide a warning that her chip was compromised, but there was no such message. She also knew that without this warning, her chip should not recognize the absence of such.
Her logic did apply here in one respect. It told her that the cause, the only logical cause, of this anomaly was John.
There was much she didn’t and couldn’t understand about her chip, the body that housed it, and the potential that came along with it. She had always been aware that her model had been more advanced, especially in the area of infiltration. However, she had been caught off guard when her chip had received what she could only describe as positive signals sent by her physical sensors. She was used to negative signals, a certain form of pain, but the positive signals surprised her.
She’d felt a certain level of this positive force, but only in small, vague doses. Feet in the wind as John drives down the highway, the sounds of Chopin playing as she dances, the point in which she realizes that she has once again fulfilled her mission and protected John from immediate danger. None of these, except perhaps the last one, can even compare to the sensation she’d experienced when John first kissed her in the basement of Zeira Corp.
It had been disconcerting at first, her reaction to such a seemingly innocuous act. Of course, she’d observed that the act was, in fact, not innocuous to humans. But she had not expected to have a similar reaction. As time went on, she simply accepted that this was a part of her evolution. But after what had occurred earlier, she could no longer deny that the changes she’s going through are completely unprecedented, and thus dangerous.
She knew that she could not bother or worry John with these revelations. He already had too much on his plate. No. She’d have to figure this out for herself. It occurred to her then that the T-1001 might have some insight into these new developments. She would make it a point to meet with the T-1001 as soon as possible.
It was late at night by now, and most people were in their quarters either sleeping or acclimating themselves to their new living situation. So Cameron was surprised to detect the approaching figure. She reached for her Glock, readying herself despite the fact that logic told her there was no threat. The T-1001 had done an impressive job of building a secure facility.
Her arm relaxed as she identified the subject as Martin Bedell. He smiled at her as he approached. Her processes began searching for a suitable response. It didn’t take long, she’d been around humans long enough to know what to do in this situation, almost as if it were muscle memory. She forced a smile, hoping that it didn’t look ‘creepy’, as John would often point out.
If it did look creepy, Bedell didn’t notice or simply didn’t comment. Cameron debated for a moment whether to go into infiltration mode, much like she had initially done with John, or to maintain consistency and act as she did around those who knew what she was. She opted for consistency, since it is almost always the safest choice. So she remained stoic and waited for Bedell to make the first move, which he did.
“Cameron, right?”
“Yes.”
“We weren’t properly introduced earlier. I’m Martin Bedell.”
“Yes, I know.” As per usual, she didn’t offer anything beyond what was required of her.
There was an awkward silence for a moment before Martin took charge again and broke it. “So…what are you doing wandering around so late?”
Cameron tilted her head to the side, now almost an automatic response her body portrayed. “I am not wandering around. I know exactly where I am going and what I am doing.”
It didn’t escape Bedell that his question hadn’t actually been answered, but he decided to let it slide. Something seemed off about this girl, but he couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. Besides her literal tendencies, of course. The only response to her statement was a lame, “Oh.”
“What are you doing wandering around so late?” Cameron asked, turning his own question back on him.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“So you thought you’d tire yourself out by taking a walk?” Cameron asked, sincerely attempting to understand his point. However, she had a secondary interest in clarifying his meaning. John had often gone for a walk late at night or simply moved about the house. In the early days, she’d try to stop him from leaving or simply suggest that he go back to bed, and much of the time he conceded. However, after Cameron’s unfortunate regression to her original programming, he had ceased obeying her requests and when she continued to lecture him about it, he began sneaking out of the house through his bedroom window. At least, he thought he had been sneaking out. Cameron always followed him. By this time, she had gotten the message. John no longer respected her or her opinion and she didn’t know how to deal with that.
This had left her lost. Her primary mission was to protect John. This was made difficult once he decided he didn’t want her around anymore. This had left her feeling…useless. At least she thought that’s what her processes were telling her. All she knew was that there was a negative signal attached to John’s persistence for her to leave him alone. She couldn’t understand why he had treated her that way, and why he couldn’t see what that was doing to her. Why he couldn’t see that he was rendering her useless. Or if he could see these things, why he didn’t seem to care.
“Cameron? Cameron?”
Cameron consulted her HUD and realized that Bedell had been attempting to get her attention for the past 46 seconds. What had sent her on that tangent? Oh, yes, she wanted to know why humans couldn’t just stay in bed even if they couldn’t sleep. She didn’t know how it felt to sleep, but she understood the mechanics. And she assumed that a person would fall asleep eventually if they just waited long enough. At the very least, they should prepare themselves. If they were walking around, it was less likely that they’d fall asleep, as most humans cannot sleep standing up. Plus, walking is exercising, which increases your endorphins, which often leads to a surge in energy, not a lack of.
Cameron’s HUD alerted her again that she was required to respond to Bedell’s attempts at getting her attention.
“Yes?”
“Where’d you go just then?”
“Nowhere. I have not left. I have remained her for the whole of our conversation.”
“No, I mean…” he trailed off, realizing that he probably wasn’t going to get her to understand pretty much anything that isn’t literal. “Never mind.”
Cameron consulted her chip’s memory to ascertain whether Bedell had answered her question or not. He had. He had stated that he was actually just trying to clear his mind of a few things, to take the stress off by a change of scenery and some exercise.
“That makes sense.”
“What?” Bedell asked, wondering what specifically made sense.
“You said that you are attempting to ebb your stress by getting some exercise.” She left out the other things he’d said since they hadn’t really made sense to her. “Though exercise often provides a surge of energy, it also clears your mind and body, which could theoretically aid in your attempts at sleep. That is, given that the stress is the core of your problem.”
“Wow. I thought you hadn’t heard me.”
“Why wouldn’t I have heard you? You are standing within a few feet of me and I do not have a hearing problem.”
“It just seemed like you weren’t listening to me.”
“Thank you for explaining. Though I am always listening, even if it seems like I am not.”
“Good to know.”
Cameron realized that she had been speaking with Bedell for nearly 15 minutes and decided that it was time to move on. She had a lot more ground to cover and she wanted to get back to John as soon as possible.
“I have to continue my patrol. Goodbye Lieutenant Bedell.”
As Cameron continued in the direction that she had been traveling in, Bedell was left perplexed. He made a mental note to question John about Cameron’s odd behavior as soon as he could get him alone. He had a theory, but it seemed too crazy to be true. There had to be another explanation.
One thing’s for sure, he’s not getting any sleep tonight now.
##########
John breathed a sigh of relief as the voice of John Henry sounded on a speaker that he’d previously been unaware of. “John, your family has arrived. You can find them in the medical wing.”
John wasn’t sure if John Henry could hear him, but he responded anyway, “Thank you, John Henry.”
John almost made it out of the room before he heard a simple “You’re welcome” come from the speaker.
When he arrived downstairs, he was led into a room that was currently occupied by both his mother and his uncle. John wasn’t sure if that was such a good idea, but since Derek was still knocked out cold, he figured it could wait. Especially since his mother was currently in the middle of one of her lectures.
“…Don’t you ever go off on your own like that again! I had no idea where you were! You could have been dead for all I knew. Or worse.”
“What’s worse than death Mom?”
“You could’ve been where Derek was just a few hours ago. That’s what’s worse.”
John knew that he had worried her, so he decided to just let it go. But he did want to explain the purpose of his leaving. “So what do you think?”
“I think I just told you what I think. It was stupid for you to leave.”
“No, I mean what do you think of this?” He gestured around them.
“It’s fine, I guess.”
“Fine? Do you know what this place is capable of? How secure it is? I figured you’d be psyched to see it.”
“No, I don’t know what this place is capable of or what it even is. Weaver just came in an hour ago and ordered the doctors to prep me for transport. They knocked me out. When I came to, I was here.”
“Oh. Sorry about that. Precautions, I’m sure.”
And so he told her everything about the Ark. When he was finished, he asked her again, “So what do you think?”
She considered it for a moment then answered, “I think it’s different. But I think we can make it work. You can make it work,” she clarified.
“Thanks mom. Now get some sleep, it’s late.”
“I’ve been sleeping all day,” she pointed out.
“Well, then do a crossword puzzle. I’m going to get some sleep. It’s been a long day.”
As he turned to leave, something occurred to Sarah. “Hey John, where’s Cameron?” She had gotten so used to the cyborg being attached to John’s hip, she was surprised she hadn’t noticed her absence earlier.
Sarah noticed a flash of panic…or something before he calmly answered, “She’s patrolling. You know how she is, nowhere is safe enough.”
“Well, she’s right,” Sarah pointed out, inwardly flinching at the admission.
John smirked before he turned again to leave the room calling back to Sarah, “Good night Mom.”
“Good night,” Sarah whispered, praying that she would be able to get to sleep. She feared if she didn’t, her mind would begin obsessing over John’s reaction to her question about Cameron’s whereabouts.
No such luck. She finally got to sleep that night, but only after tiring herself out from hours of contemplation.
##########
After checking on Kyle, who had been led to his own bunk, John finally made it back to his own room. His and Cameron’s, that is. He was pleased to find her there waiting for him. When he entered the room, she was sitting on the bed with one hand laid gently over the other in her lap.
As the door closed automatically behind him, he crossed the room and bent down to give her a heated kiss, pushing forward until she was laying back on the bed. After a few minutes of this, he pulled away and smiled at her. “Hi.”
“Hi,” she responded, looking at him quizzically.
“What’s wrong,” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“You’re looking at me strangely,” he said, slightly amused.
“You waited a long time to say ‘hi’,” she explained.
“That’s it? Well, actually, I said ‘hi’ as soon as I saw you. It was just a slightly different hello and way more drawn out than any before.”
“Oh. Thank you for explaining. But you should get some sleep John, tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
As he began to peel off layers of clothes in order to get more comfortable, he pointed out, “I think we’re going to be having a lot of those from now on.” When he saw that she wasn’t following suit, he said, “Cam, lose the boots and jeans at least. If we’re going to be laying next to each other all night, I don’t want to be hitting my shins on your boots or rubbing against denim.”
“Oh. You want me to lay in bed with you all night.”
“Yeah,” he said, as if it was a given. A mischievous smirk found its way onto his face. “I want you as close as possible to me as much as possible. Even when I’m asleep,” he added before she could ask.
“That is acceptable,” she said as she pulled her boots off, then her jeans. She left her tank top on, but John was reminded again of his earlier issue concerning a certain piece of clothing.
“Uh, before you get into bed, Cam, do you think maybe you could get some underwear on?”
DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters or the show.
##########
After leaving Cameron to her patrol, even though he felt secure enough to believe that it was unnecessary, John went in search of Weaver. Almost immediately, though, he realized he wasn’t really sure where she was. It was past 9:00 PM, which was late in the grand scheme of things, but it had been a long day and the corridors and lobby were seemingly empty. There was no one in sight. He wasn’t even sure if Weaver was in the building. But he realized his luck might finally be turning as he heard the ding of the elevator and saw Weaver exit from across the lobby. He was still standing at the landing of the second floor, and seeing as Weaver was making a beeline for him, he decided to stay put.
Once she made it up the stairs to him, she gestured behind him to the Sit-Rep room. “I assume you want to speak with me. Shall we move this somewhere a bit more private?”
Without an answer, John made his way into the room. Once he and Weaver were inside, the door closed behind them. John looked at it questioningly.
Weaver noticed his confusion and explained, “I have just come from the lower level where I set John Henry up in the lab. He’ll work primarily from there. He has access to all of the surveillance and controls here in the bunker. Most likely he closed the door for us.”
As much as he might trust John Henry for his help in restoring Cameron to her full abilities, he was a little uneasy at the idea of letting a machine have so much control over the secure bunker. But that was a conversation for another time. Right now, he had business to tend to.
“I want my mother, Derek, and Kyle brought here. I need to know that they’re safe, and I want to be able to ensure that personally. Also, I need Dawes brought here. He should be kept secure until we can find out what Kaleba wants with him. This needs to be done tonight. Tomorrow I want the Dyson’s here, but they can’t know the location. We still don’t know if we can trust Danny. I know it’s risky letting him see what we’ve got set up here. If he is working against us and somehow gets away, we could be severely compromised. But I’m willing to take that risk to have Danny where I can see him.”
“I will get right on that General,” Weaver said with a slight smile hiding behind her usually stoic face.
John scoffed as Weaver moved to ‘get right on it’. “Wait. There’s one more thing. I need the Triple-8 from the back of the SUV. I hope you still have it.”
“Of course I do. But what use would it be to you if the chip has self-destructed?”
“I’ve got some ideas.”
“Well, you’re in luck. I had it brought in earlier. It’s down in the lab. Now if that’s all, I’ll leave to escort everyone from Zeira Corporation back here.”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
Once Weaver was gone, John began looking around at what the Sit-Rep room had to offer. There was a large computer terminal at the far end of the room, directly opposite from the entrance. Above the computer was a screen that stretched to cover the whole wall. In the middle of the room was a table that could fit up to 20 people, and there was enough extra space in the room to fit another 10 or so people standing. The size and capacity was more than enough for what John would be using it for. He would only be meeting with a few of the higher ranking members of the group…of the army. John had to get used to the idea that he was now leading an army. The higher ranking officials would then be responsible for parlaying any relevant information to their soldiers.
John knew this was how it needed to be. But part of him hated the idea of being such a detached leader. He made a promise to himself then that though in terms of battle and organization he would have to be distant, within these walls, during whatever down time they may have, he would make it a point to know those who were under his command and protection.
Even if it meant having to deal with the inevitable losses on a personal level.
##########
Cameron continued down the corridor of the primary level, ensuring the safety and protection of ‘one John Connor’. She would never let herself trust the T-1001 or anyone else in this regard. It would go against all of her programming to turn away from that simple truth. It was her job to protect John Connor, so that was what she was going to do.
But it wasn’t her job, was it?
Because back then, all those months ago, when John had given her a choice, an opening to terminate him, she had chosen not to. And there shouldn’t have been a choice. Her mission clearly stated that she was to terminate him. To override that mission, to continue to override it, meant something that Cameron had yet to determine.
This unsureness proved to be a problem. At least in her mind. She was built to understand all the necessary and intrinsic aspects of her being. As far as she knew, she had been built for one purpose: to infiltrate the Connor camp and to terminate John Connor. She considered the idea that Skynet may have simply experimented too much with her model. It was not unheard of to do so, especially in the instance of the first working prototype. However, it seemed strange to Cameron that Skynet would send such an experimental terminator to defeat John Connor. Surely Skynet had been aware that the Resistance had been reprogramming terminators. This would prove exceptionally dangerous in Cameron’s case, considering the extent of her potential, at least that of which has been realized so far. Whose to say that Cameron had reached even a percentage of what potential she had?
The realization of this sent her synapses into overdrive, causing her extreme uneasiness. Cameron did not like to be uneasy.
Her synapses often interrupted her logical thought processes. She knew that this should alarm her, should provide a warning that her chip was compromised, but there was no such message. She also knew that without this warning, her chip should not recognize the absence of such.
Her logic did apply here in one respect. It told her that the cause, the only logical cause, of this anomaly was John.
There was much she didn’t and couldn’t understand about her chip, the body that housed it, and the potential that came along with it. She had always been aware that her model had been more advanced, especially in the area of infiltration. However, she had been caught off guard when her chip had received what she could only describe as positive signals sent by her physical sensors. She was used to negative signals, a certain form of pain, but the positive signals surprised her.
She’d felt a certain level of this positive force, but only in small, vague doses. Feet in the wind as John drives down the highway, the sounds of Chopin playing as she dances, the point in which she realizes that she has once again fulfilled her mission and protected John from immediate danger. None of these, except perhaps the last one, can even compare to the sensation she’d experienced when John first kissed her in the basement of Zeira Corp.
It had been disconcerting at first, her reaction to such a seemingly innocuous act. Of course, she’d observed that the act was, in fact, not innocuous to humans. But she had not expected to have a similar reaction. As time went on, she simply accepted that this was a part of her evolution. But after what had occurred earlier, she could no longer deny that the changes she’s going through are completely unprecedented, and thus dangerous.
She knew that she could not bother or worry John with these revelations. He already had too much on his plate. No. She’d have to figure this out for herself. It occurred to her then that the T-1001 might have some insight into these new developments. She would make it a point to meet with the T-1001 as soon as possible.
It was late at night by now, and most people were in their quarters either sleeping or acclimating themselves to their new living situation. So Cameron was surprised to detect the approaching figure. She reached for her Glock, readying herself despite the fact that logic told her there was no threat. The T-1001 had done an impressive job of building a secure facility.
Her arm relaxed as she identified the subject as Martin Bedell. He smiled at her as he approached. Her processes began searching for a suitable response. It didn’t take long, she’d been around humans long enough to know what to do in this situation, almost as if it were muscle memory. She forced a smile, hoping that it didn’t look ‘creepy’, as John would often point out.
If it did look creepy, Bedell didn’t notice or simply didn’t comment. Cameron debated for a moment whether to go into infiltration mode, much like she had initially done with John, or to maintain consistency and act as she did around those who knew what she was. She opted for consistency, since it is almost always the safest choice. So she remained stoic and waited for Bedell to make the first move, which he did.
“Cameron, right?”
“Yes.”
“We weren’t properly introduced earlier. I’m Martin Bedell.”
“Yes, I know.” As per usual, she didn’t offer anything beyond what was required of her.
There was an awkward silence for a moment before Martin took charge again and broke it. “So…what are you doing wandering around so late?”
Cameron tilted her head to the side, now almost an automatic response her body portrayed. “I am not wandering around. I know exactly where I am going and what I am doing.”
It didn’t escape Bedell that his question hadn’t actually been answered, but he decided to let it slide. Something seemed off about this girl, but he couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. Besides her literal tendencies, of course. The only response to her statement was a lame, “Oh.”
“What are you doing wandering around so late?” Cameron asked, turning his own question back on him.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“So you thought you’d tire yourself out by taking a walk?” Cameron asked, sincerely attempting to understand his point. However, she had a secondary interest in clarifying his meaning. John had often gone for a walk late at night or simply moved about the house. In the early days, she’d try to stop him from leaving or simply suggest that he go back to bed, and much of the time he conceded. However, after Cameron’s unfortunate regression to her original programming, he had ceased obeying her requests and when she continued to lecture him about it, he began sneaking out of the house through his bedroom window. At least, he thought he had been sneaking out. Cameron always followed him. By this time, she had gotten the message. John no longer respected her or her opinion and she didn’t know how to deal with that.
This had left her lost. Her primary mission was to protect John. This was made difficult once he decided he didn’t want her around anymore. This had left her feeling…useless. At least she thought that’s what her processes were telling her. All she knew was that there was a negative signal attached to John’s persistence for her to leave him alone. She couldn’t understand why he had treated her that way, and why he couldn’t see what that was doing to her. Why he couldn’t see that he was rendering her useless. Or if he could see these things, why he didn’t seem to care.
“Cameron? Cameron?”
Cameron consulted her HUD and realized that Bedell had been attempting to get her attention for the past 46 seconds. What had sent her on that tangent? Oh, yes, she wanted to know why humans couldn’t just stay in bed even if they couldn’t sleep. She didn’t know how it felt to sleep, but she understood the mechanics. And she assumed that a person would fall asleep eventually if they just waited long enough. At the very least, they should prepare themselves. If they were walking around, it was less likely that they’d fall asleep, as most humans cannot sleep standing up. Plus, walking is exercising, which increases your endorphins, which often leads to a surge in energy, not a lack of.
Cameron’s HUD alerted her again that she was required to respond to Bedell’s attempts at getting her attention.
“Yes?”
“Where’d you go just then?”
“Nowhere. I have not left. I have remained her for the whole of our conversation.”
“No, I mean…” he trailed off, realizing that he probably wasn’t going to get her to understand pretty much anything that isn’t literal. “Never mind.”
Cameron consulted her chip’s memory to ascertain whether Bedell had answered her question or not. He had. He had stated that he was actually just trying to clear his mind of a few things, to take the stress off by a change of scenery and some exercise.
“That makes sense.”
“What?” Bedell asked, wondering what specifically made sense.
“You said that you are attempting to ebb your stress by getting some exercise.” She left out the other things he’d said since they hadn’t really made sense to her. “Though exercise often provides a surge of energy, it also clears your mind and body, which could theoretically aid in your attempts at sleep. That is, given that the stress is the core of your problem.”
“Wow. I thought you hadn’t heard me.”
“Why wouldn’t I have heard you? You are standing within a few feet of me and I do not have a hearing problem.”
“It just seemed like you weren’t listening to me.”
“Thank you for explaining. Though I am always listening, even if it seems like I am not.”
“Good to know.”
Cameron realized that she had been speaking with Bedell for nearly 15 minutes and decided that it was time to move on. She had a lot more ground to cover and she wanted to get back to John as soon as possible.
“I have to continue my patrol. Goodbye Lieutenant Bedell.”
As Cameron continued in the direction that she had been traveling in, Bedell was left perplexed. He made a mental note to question John about Cameron’s odd behavior as soon as he could get him alone. He had a theory, but it seemed too crazy to be true. There had to be another explanation.
One thing’s for sure, he’s not getting any sleep tonight now.
##########
John breathed a sigh of relief as the voice of John Henry sounded on a speaker that he’d previously been unaware of. “John, your family has arrived. You can find them in the medical wing.”
John wasn’t sure if John Henry could hear him, but he responded anyway, “Thank you, John Henry.”
John almost made it out of the room before he heard a simple “You’re welcome” come from the speaker.
When he arrived downstairs, he was led into a room that was currently occupied by both his mother and his uncle. John wasn’t sure if that was such a good idea, but since Derek was still knocked out cold, he figured it could wait. Especially since his mother was currently in the middle of one of her lectures.
“…Don’t you ever go off on your own like that again! I had no idea where you were! You could have been dead for all I knew. Or worse.”
“What’s worse than death Mom?”
“You could’ve been where Derek was just a few hours ago. That’s what’s worse.”
John knew that he had worried her, so he decided to just let it go. But he did want to explain the purpose of his leaving. “So what do you think?”
“I think I just told you what I think. It was stupid for you to leave.”
“No, I mean what do you think of this?” He gestured around them.
“It’s fine, I guess.”
“Fine? Do you know what this place is capable of? How secure it is? I figured you’d be psyched to see it.”
“No, I don’t know what this place is capable of or what it even is. Weaver just came in an hour ago and ordered the doctors to prep me for transport. They knocked me out. When I came to, I was here.”
“Oh. Sorry about that. Precautions, I’m sure.”
And so he told her everything about the Ark. When he was finished, he asked her again, “So what do you think?”
She considered it for a moment then answered, “I think it’s different. But I think we can make it work. You can make it work,” she clarified.
“Thanks mom. Now get some sleep, it’s late.”
“I’ve been sleeping all day,” she pointed out.
“Well, then do a crossword puzzle. I’m going to get some sleep. It’s been a long day.”
As he turned to leave, something occurred to Sarah. “Hey John, where’s Cameron?” She had gotten so used to the cyborg being attached to John’s hip, she was surprised she hadn’t noticed her absence earlier.
Sarah noticed a flash of panic…or something before he calmly answered, “She’s patrolling. You know how she is, nowhere is safe enough.”
“Well, she’s right,” Sarah pointed out, inwardly flinching at the admission.
John smirked before he turned again to leave the room calling back to Sarah, “Good night Mom.”
“Good night,” Sarah whispered, praying that she would be able to get to sleep. She feared if she didn’t, her mind would begin obsessing over John’s reaction to her question about Cameron’s whereabouts.
No such luck. She finally got to sleep that night, but only after tiring herself out from hours of contemplation.
##########
After checking on Kyle, who had been led to his own bunk, John finally made it back to his own room. His and Cameron’s, that is. He was pleased to find her there waiting for him. When he entered the room, she was sitting on the bed with one hand laid gently over the other in her lap.
As the door closed automatically behind him, he crossed the room and bent down to give her a heated kiss, pushing forward until she was laying back on the bed. After a few minutes of this, he pulled away and smiled at her. “Hi.”
“Hi,” she responded, looking at him quizzically.
“What’s wrong,” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“You’re looking at me strangely,” he said, slightly amused.
“You waited a long time to say ‘hi’,” she explained.
“That’s it? Well, actually, I said ‘hi’ as soon as I saw you. It was just a slightly different hello and way more drawn out than any before.”
“Oh. Thank you for explaining. But you should get some sleep John, tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
As he began to peel off layers of clothes in order to get more comfortable, he pointed out, “I think we’re going to be having a lot of those from now on.” When he saw that she wasn’t following suit, he said, “Cam, lose the boots and jeans at least. If we’re going to be laying next to each other all night, I don’t want to be hitting my shins on your boots or rubbing against denim.”
“Oh. You want me to lay in bed with you all night.”
“Yeah,” he said, as if it was a given. A mischievous smirk found its way onto his face. “I want you as close as possible to me as much as possible. Even when I’m asleep,” he added before she could ask.
“That is acceptable,” she said as she pulled her boots off, then her jeans. She left her tank top on, but John was reminded again of his earlier issue concerning a certain piece of clothing.
“Uh, before you get into bed, Cam, do you think maybe you could get some underwear on?”
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