Author’s note: Please forgive me. I promised you a new chapter a long time ago. I can tell you that I have begun work on the next chapter. I started it before I posted this one. I annoyed my fiancé/beta enough that she has threatened me with bodily harm if I don’t pick up the pace, so don’t worry. Also this chapter has some future scenes. Let me know what you think. Reviews are always welcome.

Chapter 5: I’ll make pancakes.

John walked up the driveway in the twilight that had quickly followed the sunset. He noticed with some relief that it was still deserted. ‘I don’t think I could have handled my mom right now.’ He let himself in. John headed straight for his room. Putting on his headphones he started his CD player and started to think about what had just happened.

‘Damn it, we didn’t stop it after all and she’s… one of them. It’s a good thing she wasn’t here to kill me. I wouldn’t have known what was going on until she took my head off or something.’ He chuckled darkly at that thought. ‘Well she’s here to protect me so that means there’s another one after me. So what do I do? Do I tell my mom?

‘No mom would just freak out and make us move which would draw attention and make it easier to find us. Besides it would be hard to explain Cameron disappearing to follow us, like she certainly would.’ With that last thought his mind went back to Cameron.

‘Why didn’t she follow me here? That doesn’t make sense.’

‘Maybe she did and I was just too distracted to notice. If she didn’t… well I sure don’t know why, it is her job to protect me after all’

As he considered Cameron’s reasoning a stray memory of their date came to his mind. When it did a pained look formed on his face. The memory started a chain reaction in which he reexamined every interaction between them based on what he knew now. ‘She didn’t actually want to spend time with me. She can’t want anything she just had to be near me.’ With that and other similar thoughts John fell into a restless sleep.

---------------

Sarah arrived home about an hour after John. She was exhausted after her double shift. She was headed to her room to get some much needed sleep but saw that the light was still on in John’s room. She decided first to say goodnight and to let him know she was back. Opening the door she saw that he was asleep on top of the covers. She watched him for a minute then turned the light out and quietly closed the door. ‘I’ll talk to him tomorrow.’ She yawned entering her room.

---------------

The next morning John jerked awake from a nightmare. In his dream he had come back from the festival with Cameron and while they were parked watching the sunset she had told him she was a terminator. Phew, it was only a dream. But, Jeez, what a nightmare, where did that come from?’ He looked at his clock to see that it was not Sunday as he had believed but was in fact Monday. ‘Oh ****… not a dream.’ His heart sank as he realized that the nightmare had been a repeat of the actual day.

With a groan John ran his hands through his hair and dragged himself out of bed. He dressed halfheartedly and walked downstairs. He planned to walk to school so he left a little earlier than usual.

---------------

Cameron waited out front of the school building. She saw John approaching from the street. He was walking quickly looking at nothing in particular. When he was close Cameron smiled hesitantly and said “Hi, John.”John walked past into the hallway without even glancing at her or giving any other sign he even knew she existed. Cameron stood there in surprise for a moment. ‘Maybe he didn’t hear me.’

Cameron entered their chemistry class a few minutes later to find John sitting not in his usual seat next to hers but instead a few rows further forward surrounded by other students. She quietly sat down with a slightly downcast expression on her face which went unnoticed by anyone.

-----

Cameron once again attempted to speak with John during the morning break. “John,” She said stepping in front of him.

He bumped into her but simply grunted “sorry.” without looking to see who he had hit. Cameron turned to follow him and get his attention. She stopped as he quickly turned into the restroom. ‘I don’t understand. I thought he might be angry but this is not how he acts when angry.’ She activated her HUD and began an analysis based on the situation and her files on human behavior. In a few seconds she found what she was looking for.

SUBJECT IS LIKELY CONFUSED, ANGRY, AND AFRAID AND NEEDS TIME TO ADJUST AND CALM DOWN.

She realized that he was simply not ready to talk to her about everything yet. I’ll give him some time.’ She thought as she turned and walked to her locker. ‘I hope telling him was the right thing to do.’

--------------

John flung open the door and walked out in to the school parking lot. He was glad that Cameron had been keeping her distance since that morning. ‘I hope she doesn’t insist on driving me home.’ He saw her watching him from her truck but just kept walking. From the corner of his eye he saw her get in and heard the engine start up. He sighed knowing that she would pull up and try to make him get in. John was surprised when the truck sped past him and even more so when it turned in the opposite direction he was headed. ‘Huh, that’s weird. Maybe she’s just gonna loop around and follow me from a distance.’ Without another thought he began walking home.

----------

Sarah was startled when she heard the front door slam shut. She whipped around to see John putting his backpack down in the front hall. “Oh, you’re home. I didn’t hear the truck.”

“That’s because I walked. Cameron had things to do.”

Sarah noticed that he sounded a little down. “Oh, guess that explains it then.” She paused “How was your day?”

“It was fine.” He said heading into the kitchen. “I have a lot of homework though.”

“You alright?” ‘Definitely bummed about something. Maybe it’s just that he wanted to see her today.’ She picked up his backpack and followed him into the kitchen.

“I’m fine.” He opened the fridge and started rummaging around.

“I think it’s kinda cute you know.”

John smacked his head as he emerged from the fridge.”Ouch” He rubbed the top of his head. “What are you talking about?”

“That you’re all bummed out because you didn’t get to spend time with her today.” When John didn’t respond she continued “Just remember you’re not the center of her universe.”

A strange expression crossed John’s face but it was gone too quickly for Sarah to read what it was. “Yeah, I know mom.”He laughed a little but it seemed forced.

There was a pause “Oh, c’mon John cheer up. I’ll make you pancakes.”

John gave her a false look of horror. “Alright, alright, I’ll cheer up.” His expression shifted to a grin.

Sarah laughed “That’s better.”

---------------

Tuesday started much like Monday for Cameron. She waited for John outside the school building but did not try to speak to him this time. He gave her about as much notice as the pole she was standing next to.

When she entered their first class she found him in his usual seat as the student that was absent the day before had returned. However he would not look at her. ‘I wish he would talk to me. I need to tell him how sorry I am.’

-----

Cameron felt extremely nervous as she approached John during the morning break but she needed to talk to him. “John,”

He sighed and turned to her. “Yes, what is it?”

“Can we talk?” She indicated the door, hoping he would understand that it needed to be in private.

“Fine.” He sighed again and followed her outside.

“John I… I’m sorry I lied to you.”

“I wish I could believe that, but I understand you needed to get close to me.”

“I didn’t want—“

“Just stop.” He took a deep breath “I understand you need to be near me to protect me. But don’t pretend to be my friend. Don’t pretend like you actually care.”

“I understand” Cameron said in a flat emotionless voice
“Good.” John turned and walked back into the building.

As Cameron watched John walk away her eyes brimmed with tears and she felt pain growing in her chest. Then her HUD bloomed with warnings.

WARNING ABNORMAL POWER CELL READINGS. POWER FLOW ERRATIC.
WARNING DAMAGE TO ANTERIOR CHEST DETECTED.

Cameron looked down at her chest and couldn’t see any sign of damage.

RUN DIAGNOSTIC…
NO PHYSICAL DAMAGE OR ABNORMALITEIS FOUND

‘Good I am not going to explode and injure John.’ Cameron thought as the warnings disappeared. However the thought of John brought her back to their last conversation. The tears and the ache returned. ‘You were wrong John’ she thought as she slid down the wall and curled into a ball, sobbing uncontrollably. Her thoughts turned to John, not this John but his future self.

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(Serrano Point, 2027)

Cameron walked towards John’s quarters, on her way to deliver a report on the battle to capture a Sky Net weapons factory. She reached the door but hesitated knowing that this report was going to upset him. She knocked twice.

“Come in Cameron.”

She entered the room letting the door close behind her. “John I have the report on the weapons factory for you.” She paused then nervously added “I’m afraid things didn’t go as planned.”

“How bad is it?”

“Sky Net was ready for the attack. Our forces secured the factory but suffered 60% losses and… I’m very sorry but Colonel Prichard was killed.” Her voice had softened and her face showed her sympathy.

John sank into the chair behind his desk. “What else does the report say?”

“Apparently a grey tipped Sky Net off about the attack. He was captured and was interrogated but revealed nothing useful and is now awaiting execution.”

“Is there any good news?” John asked quietly

“The recalibration of the factory machinery is nearly complete and we captured several triple 8’s and T-850’s nearly intact.”

“Thank you for the report. You should return to your duties.”

Cameron knew he wanted to be alone for a while. She let herself out but as the door closed she heard John say “JP is dead. I--” The door closed cutting him off.

Cameron pulled up Colonel Pritchard’s profile once again.

John Prichard (deceased) 1983-2027
Served with John Connor 2013-2027
Associates: Close friend of John Connor.

She then pulled up records from the last few months and discovered that several other officers had died recently.

-----

Cameron patrolled the corridors for several hours. Her thoughts had drifted to John. He had lost another one of his friends. Cameron was saddened by John’s distress. She could only imagine what he was feeling since her only friend was John himself and thankfully he was safe.

A few minutes later Cameron was relieved precisely on time by a T- 888 named Bill. She made her way to John’s room once again. At the door Cameron hesitated once again unsure if she should be doing this. She didn’t know how close of a friend he considered her to be. She raised her hand and knocked.

“Come in.” Came John’s reply. He sounded exhausted. A small click came from the lock in the door and she entered. He was sitting on the edge of his bed. His face lightened a little when he saw it was her. “Cameron, what can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if we could talk.”

John moved over slightly and patted the edge of the bed indicating that she should sit. “What about?”

“Are you alright?” Cameron spoke softly as she sat next to him letting her hand rest on his shoulder.

“You know you’re the first to ask me that in a long time?” He paused and took a deep breath. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“I knew Colonel Prichard was your friend and I thought you might like some company.”

“I will miss him.” John said sadly.

“Could you tell me about him? All I have is a basic profile.”

John sighed and leaned back resting against the wall and closed his eyes. “We met about two years after Judgment Day. We both had gathered a few small groups together. We came across each other down in the tunnels. Our groups joined together and after we visited one of the weapons caches my mother had hidden we started going on missions to collect food and medicine.” He stopped for moment. “Back then the machines were much simpler and less durable. Anyway, he was a great fighter. Everyone said he was nearly as good as I was. Personally I thought he might have been better.” He smiled slightly “I remember this one time we were ambushed and he took out a T-1 with his pistol then used its own guns to take out the rest.”

John continued to share some of his favorite stories with Cameron and she noticed that his mood was slowly improving. John stopped talking for a little while then said “I must be getting old just listen to me rambling away.” He laughed but then his face seemed to darken.

“Is something wrong?”

“NO… It’s nothing… I’m just tired. I should get some sleep.”

Cameron was not convinced that he was simply tired but rose and took a step away. “Good night, John.”

“Good night.” As she was about to leave he called her back “Cameron,”

“Yes?”

“Thanks for coming to see me.”

----------

Cameron’s memories were interrupted as a proximity warning appeared on her HUD. She opened her eyes blinking away her tears but saw no one. Just then she heard quickly retreating footsteps around the corner. ‘Some one must have seen me crying and decided not to intrude. I hope it wasn’t John he’d only be angry with me after what he said earlier.’

---------------

John entered the cafeteria with his lunch and scanned the room for Cameron without thinking about it. She was once again nowhere to be seen. ‘Maybe she is at one of the tables outside.’ He turned around and left through the door he’d just come through. When he got there he found that Cameron was not their either, in fact only a few people were outside. He sat down at an empty table to eat his lunch. As he ate he realized that he missed having her around. ‘I guess I just got used to her always being there.’

Having eaten only half his lunch, John made his way over to the trashcan to toss the rest of it. He turned to walk back inside when heard something. John stopped, trying to figure out what it was and where it was coming from. ‘Who’s crying?’ He thought as he realized what the sound was. John peaked around the edge of the building to see who it was. ‘Cameron?!’ He couldn’t believe what his eyes were telling him so he blinked but there she was huddled against the wall crying, not three feet from where they had talked that morning.

John froze as an array of conflicting impulses and emotions shot through him. Just then she lifted her head and John stepped back around the building.


To be continued