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Chapter Two: Contemplation
Cameron's Redemption
"Contemplation"
The ride home was uncomfortably silent. Sarah was driving; John was in the front passenger seat and Derek in back with the shotgun in case Cameron decided to slip back into “crazy mode”. But she hadn’t said a word since John had got her to stop crying, she silently allowed him to guide her into the back seat and said nothing when Sarah stopped John from joining her there.
Though she was sure that Cameron had indeed returned to her former self, Sarah was not without caution. It had been only nineteen hours since Cameron had overturned their car and dragged her out of the driver’s seat before pressing her heel down upon Sarah’s stomach wound. Sarah was no stranger to pain; she’d been shot multiple times, stabbed, bludgeoned, she even had a piece of Terminator shrapnel lodged in her thigh once. But having your body slowly crushed by a girl/machine that you once considered to be the closest thing to a daughter you ever had, was something different altogether.
“We should remove her chip.”
Derek’s sudden declaration broke the heavy silence like a gun shot, causing Sarah to jump out her skin and almost crash into the car on her left, earning her an angry honk from the driver. John looked back at Derek with a slightly confused expression.
“What?”
“We should remove her chip, before she goes loco on us.”
Sarah could see the anger and frustration building behind John’s eyes and recognised the tell-tale signs that he was preparing himself for a fight.
“She’ll be fine, her systems have returned to normal. She just needs time.”
“Time? She’s a machine, John. She doesn’t need time for anything. She can just file away the past few days and carry on as if nothing happened. And who’s to say that she’s back to normal, I mean look at her.”
Sarah glanced at the rear-view mirror to see Cameron sitting there with a sullen look on her face; she seemed thoroughly distant and showed no awareness of her surroundings. Sarah could sense John was hurt by the unavoidable truth behind Derek’s words, yet he remained determined to dismiss his uncle’s suspicions.
“She’s in pain. Just leave her alone, okay.”
Derek opened his mouth to retort but was cut short by John.
“Okay?”
John’s face was set like stone, Sarah no longer recognized him as her 16 year-old son, but as the future leader of mankind. Cameron’s homicidal rampage had a deep effect on John. After narrowly escaping death at her hands, John decided that enough was enough, and after having a hair cut, he set out to “save” the machine.
“Whatever.”
Once Derek had backed down John returned his attention to the road, though Sarah knew he was thinking about Cameron and how to help her. ‘I need her’, Sarah was still a little disconcerted by his admission, though at the time she believed he was referring to the protection Cameron represented. After seeing him hold the machine and kiss her, however, Sarah was less sure about the true reason why he’d risked everything to bring Cameron back.
Sarah was so lost to her thoughts that she didn’t notice that they had arrived at the house already. Surprised that she hadn’t crashed while day dreaming, Sarah pulled into the drive way and switched off the engine. John was the first to get out; he immediately went to the other side of the car and opened the door for Cameron, who had trouble getting out because of her busted leg. Like before, she allowed John to guide her indoors without a word. Derek got out and leaned on the bonnet once John was out of ear-shot.
“So, what do you think? Shall we make her pancakes, buy her new clothes, maybe get her a t-shirt that says ‘World’s Best Daughter’ or something. Isn’t that what forgiving mothers do?”
Sarah was not in the mood for Derek’s quips; her feelings about Cameron were conflicted enough without him adding to them.
“I haven’t forgiven her…Argh!”
At that moment her stomach injury decided to twinge, an appropriate reminder of Cameron’s actions.
“But I believe that she can be saved. We need her.”
Derek was incredulous.
“You believe she can be saved! She tortured you. Beat the crap out of John. God knows what she’d have done if John hadn’t fixed her.”
“Exactly, John fixed her. And no, I don’t believe that she’ll ever be trustworthy again. But I believe in John, and that’s all that matters. That’s all that ever matters.”
Sarah slowly limped indoors and found John in the kitchen with the first aid kit. He retrieved a few bandages and headed for Cameron’s room. Sarah followed him, Cameron was sat on the edge of her bed, she wasn’t moving, just staring into space. Derek was right, thought Sarah. She isn’t fine. She’s broken. John began applying plasters to Cameron’s injuries with a tenderness that Sarah had not seen in her son before now.
“She’s got quite a few burns and scratches, not to mention this cut on her cheek. She’ll need stitches for that.”
John’s eyes softened as he examined the extent of the damage and didn’t even flinch when his fingers brushed her endoskeleton. He was perfectly comfortable with the fact that she was a machine underneath. This made Sarah nervous, she knew John had a tendency to grow attached to people, but growing attached to machines was something else. Sarah remembered how upset he was when the T-800 destroyed itself, how he had cried and begged it to stay, telling it everything would be okay. How much harder would it be for him when the time came for Cameron to make that same sacrifice, would he cry, beg her not to do it? Would he kiss her? Confess his love… No, she thought. John knows it can never happen. She’s a machine; no matter how she acts on the outside she’ll never be human. John knows this.
“Maybe we could get Charley to take a look at her.”
“What? John. No. We can’t involve Charley in this; we’ll just have to…”
“Take her to the local A&E; tell them she fell down a flight of stairs?”
“John.”
“Charley can help us. He’ll want to help us. You got any other suggestions I’ll be glad to hear ‘em.”
“Fine, I’ll call Charley.”
Stubborn as ever, thought Sarah. When will he ever listen?
He was right, though, as Charley arrived not five minutes after Sarah called, medical kit at the ready. He looked shaken, as if he’d seen something horrible on the way there.
“Hey, I hear you need a little help.”
Sarah couldn’t help but smile, Charley always had a way of lightening the most depressive of moods.
“Yeah, in spades, c’mon in. The patient is right through here.”
Sarah led Charley into Cameron’s room. She paused for a second as she realised that Cameron was wearing just her underwear and couldn’t help but wonder whether or not it was John who removed her charred clothes. Thankfully, John had the good grace to be somewhat embarrassed, which indicated to Sarah that Cameron had done the stripping herself.
“Hey, Charley, thanks for coming. Oh, and sorry about your house.”
“My house? What about my house?”
John looked flustered; he had expected Charley to have returned home since they left. Obviously, he hadn’t, thought Sarah. John nervously scratched his head as he tried to explain to Charley about the hole in the living room wall.
“…’cos you see, I knew she’d come for you so I waited there for her…. I’ll pay for the damage.”
Charley just laughed and waved his hand dismissively.
“Forget about. We’ve been thinking about knocking down that wall anyway, you just saved me the trouble. But it sounds like you’re in need of treatment as well; you got quite a few bruises going on there.”
Charley pointed at the purple and black bruise on the side of John’s cheek, which Sarah could only imagine came from Cameron’s fist.
“No later. She needs your help more than anyone.”
Charley turned his attention to the semi-naked Cameron and began examining her injuries. To his credit, thought Sarah, he isn’t letting his eyes wander. Like a true professional, Charley got to work applying stitches to Cameron’s cheek. He then moved on to her other injuries, covering some with plasters, applying stitches to others. All the while, Cameron remained motionless. By the time he finished, Cameron had seven plasters, three bandages and 137 stitches. She looks like a raggy doll, thought Sarah.
“There that should do it. How d’you feel?”
No response. Charley waved his hand across her eyes, but still she didn’t react.
“Is she alright? I mean, she isn’t broken inside, is she?”
“No, she’s just… I guess you could say she’s traumatized. The past couple of days have been pretty rough, for all of us.”
Charley looked at John then Sarah, taking note of their respective injuries.
“So I see. C’mon, let’s take a look at you both.”
Cameron suddenly stood up, surprising all three of them. Sarah instinctively put her hand on the grip of the 9mm tucked in her belt, but Cameron simply strode past her and locked herself in the bathroom. A few seconds later the shower could be heard. Charley just shrugged.
“Well, at least she’s still hygienic. It can’t be all that bad.”
Charley’s examination of John revealed that he had several cuts and bruises, as well as a bruised rib from when Cameron had thrown him about. He also had the unpleasant experience of having his left arm popped back into its socket. John cried out in pain as Charley pulled his arm as hard as he could. Having heard the commotion Cameron peered into the kitchen, wrapped in a fluffy dressing gown. She looked to John like any normal teenage girl after a shower, her hair was wet, her skin clean, even her wounds looked less striking. Cameron stared at John, Sarah, Derek, and Charley for a few seconds before returning to her room.
As Charley saw to Sarah’s stomach wound, John ventured into Cameron’s room, rubbing his aching shoulder. He found her sitting on the edge of her bed once more, fully clothed this time. John sat down beside her and let out a sigh.
“How long until you start talking to me again, hm?”
No reply. He guessed what was on her mind, what was eating away at her.
“Look, I know you must be feeling awful for what you’ve done, for what you almost did. But you should know that I don’t blame you. None of this is your fault; it’s all because of Skynet and that bastard Sarkissian.”
“Destroy me.”
Her voice was barely a whisper, like before when she spoke his name in Charley’s house.
“What?”
“Destroy me. Take me into the garage and burn me away.”
She was speaking, but now he wished she wasn’t.
“No. Not ever. Do you hear me? We’ll get through this, together, you and me.”
She smiled ever so slightly. Cameron had never truly understood friendship until now. John was her friend and he’d never abandon her, never give up. She was sent back in time to protect him, but now she was the one who needed protecting.
“Cameron?”
She looked up, meeting his eyes with hers and smiled.
“I like your new hair cut.”
John laughed and placed his arm around her, wincing slightly as his left shoulder made a clicking sound.
“Thanks.”
Next: Chapter Three: Complication
Previous: Chapter One: Confrontation
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Latest page update: made by denkiva
, Jun 24 2009, 5:10 PM EDT
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Cameron
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