Fic Sarah Connor Chronicles
There's no fate, but that which you make. Chapter 3
She’s fine,” John whispered into Cameron’s ear still holding onto her arm as they stood cheek to cheek but facing different directions; his green eyes staring at the side of her face as the cyborg turned her head to look at him before letting her eyes drop down to her arm
Staring into those blue eyes, that at one time made him think there was a chance of him living a somewhat normal life, one that didn't involve machines trying to kill him or running for his life. However John was left with a choice, he clearly wasn't Zach and if he was honest with himself he never had been either, that meant he could turn away and ignore her; turn away and walk away from her and out of her life much like he had done nearly a year ago, apparently without so much as a second thought. There was only one problem with that idea; the longer he spent thinking about it, the longer he was looking into her eyes, unaware of anything she had been saying.
“What happened to you? Everyone thought you were dead or kidnapped, you just took off in the middle of the night.” She spoke still staring at him in shock. He had been her only friend after she gave up her popularity to defend him and then he just disappeared. In the days and weeks that past she hated him for it, she had been his friend on two separate times having to fight for it on the latter occasion and yet he didn't even think highly enough of her to say goodbye or tell her where he was going. In the end though, thoughts of Zach left her head as everything seemed to be moving at a pace too quick for the former cheerleader, and she gave up all thoughts of seeing him again.
“Claire?” John asked almost in a daze and not actually believing it was her in front of him, his much rougher voice brought the tiny blonde from her ramblings about him vanishing from Odessa in the night with no-one having a clue as to what happened, never mind his parents who went on like they didn't have a son; his room converted within days. Him calling her name was enough for her to know that it was Zach in front of her, like a snake she wrapped her arms around his waist locking them securely to make sure he didn't disappear like a ghost much like he had in her dreams following his departure. “I don’t.” John started not having moved his arms to wrap them around her, still in a state of shock. “What are you doing here?” he managed to get out now looking down at her still hugging him just staring into his chest. Cautiously he followed her suit and hugged her back, more than aware that when he was living in Odessa he would have done so without a thought; but back then he was in hiding and there were certain standards you had to live up to.
Any reply to his question was cut short by the emergence of another blonde walking through the cafe door’s, this one much taller than the one that was still holding onto John and was wearing a less friendly look at seeing him. Years of being trained by numerous people, criminals or not, meant that he had developed a sixth sense of knowing when someone was watching him; living in Odessa had allowed him to ignore whoever was watching him, after all who’d want anything with the outcast, Cameron turning up meant he had to know who was watching him at all times once again. Turning to look over his shoulder, John’s stomach nearly dropped out. The glare that Riley was giving him said that she was more than willing to kill him or the girl in his arms possibly both, pulling away from Claire caused the smaller girl to look up at him, not aware of just how long they’d stood there; seeing his eyes staring at someone else she followed her own gaze to follow.
“John, I thought you were getting a bottle of water.” Riley spoke slowly making her way over to him as she eyed Claire up, the smaller girl looked confused when Zach was met with a different name it was only increased when he turned to face the newcomer ready to deal with it head on. “So what’s going on?” she asked with a vague hand gesture now standing in front of both John and Claire, both sets of blue eyes were glued onto the sole male who was looking decidedly more and more uncomfortable and unsure of how he’d gotten himself into his situation, which wasn't helped by the over interested people watching.
“Errm, Riley this is Claire. I knew her when I lived in Odessa.” John answered after what seemed to be an eternity of everyone watching him, his reply however didn't seem good enough for the girl that had decided she wanted to know more about him, and in a more claim-full move then she’d used before reached forward to take his hand only for it to be pulled away. “I need to get back anyway.” He added suddenly aware of just how open he was to an attack and with no bodyguard there to help him, placing the water that was still in his hand back down, John started walking towards the door unconsciously aware of the footsteps following him. Spinning around after a few seconds, not like the thought that someone was trailing him without his say so, John found the two blondes at minutes ago he had been talking to and was hit with the rudeness of him just walking away. “You can come with me,” he said not sound all that sure if he wanted them to and was just as unsure as to who he was talking to. It didn't seem like either Claire or Riley were going to be the one to say that they wouldn’t go with him, and like a mirror image of the trip to the pier were Cameron replaced the smaller girl they took up positions either side of him.
“Why did she call you John?” Claire asked the question that had been on her mind since the name was spoken, flashing her a look from the corner of his eye knowing now wasn't the best time to try and have the type of conversation that the almost innocent question would need. Standing on the other side of John and having heard what was asked, Riley couldn’t stop from looking at Claire like she was retarded, just what type of question was that? Why did she call you John? Maybe because it was his name. With the question unanswered and not looking like it was going to be either, the trio fell into a awkward silence that John had no desire to break for fear of what either of them would do to his body.
The small dirt path that they’d been walking down finally started to clear and the set of new houses began to appear in view. Still in slight shock at seeing his new and more then possibly temporary home John couldn’t stop the small smile that formed on his face when he compared it to their last one, first it wasn’t blown up and standing half destroyed which was always a plus and then there was the fact that it just looked like more like the houses in Odessa. None of them had been run down or in gang territory because there weren’t any gangs around there, of course there were bad things as well; mainly his mum standing outside talking to Kacy with Derek walking towards the shed that now housed their weapons. The less then stealthy entry Riley and Claire were making earned them Sarah’s and Kacy’s attention, who both turned and stared at John; one looking at him in slight amusement from the look on his own face and the other in annoyance mixed with anger. Neither of their reactions though matched Derek’s who was discreetly trying to clean a shotgun he had taken when he and Sarah had left to help Charley. Looking up for a split second to make sure no one was walking over to him, he nearly dropped the gun as he did a double take of John taking two girls into the house before his eyes found Sarah’s.
Having moved to the couch and sat there like a loyal guard dog after John left, Cameron’s head snapped towards the door when it opened and her eyes that seemed to become more emotional each day were filled with something akin to relief at seeing he was ok, which was subsequently dropped when she saw Riley follow him in and then a second girl who was looking decidedly out of place. Standing from the couch, she started to make her way towards the newcomer who was staring at her with a somewhat pleasant smile; it did nothing to stop her CPU from telling her she needed to scan her to see if she was a threat. However John did, having an idea about what she was going to do when he saw her stand up and make her way over to them; he quickly grabbed her by her forearm earning a confused look from his Terminator protector as he pulled her backwards and towards the couch.
“She’s fine,” John whispered into Cameron’s ear still holding onto her arm as they stood cheek to cheek but facing different directions; his green eyes staring at the side of her face as the cyborg turned her head to look at him before letting her eyes drop down to her arm. “I’ve known her long enough to know she doesn’t want to kill me,” he continued in his whisper, “so try to not freak her out. If she talks to you, act normal; don't be a freak.” Taking in his words as she continued to stare at the side of his face, Cameron was aware of one way to thank someone for giving you advice that would help in the long run, leaning forwards she placed a kiss on his cheek and her mind was assaulted with information. The heat, texture and durability of his skin including the fact that he needed to have a shave to remove himself of the slight growing in stubble, as well as the taste and smell on that his skin carried. It was all sent to her in a second, and being take off guard by the gesture John pulled away letting go of her arm as he did so; this time aware of the opposite happening then earlier in the day, this time her arm seemed to warm up under his touch stunning him. “Riley stay here, Claire come with me.” He said walking away from his cyborg protector and towards the kitchen, not before giving her one last confused look; something that was mirrored in her brown eyes.
“Who is she Zach?” Claire asked as soon as they were alone, staring at him as he walked around the unexpectedly small kitchen given the size of the house, pulling two bottles of water from the fridge and placing on in front of her. “And why did Riley call you John?” the distaste on how she said the other girls name was much the same as when Cameron called her his friend, watching as he unscrewed his water and took a long gulp before his eyes finally landed on her; and then flashed out of the kitchen when he heard the door open once again.
“First,” John replied walking towards a drawer and pulling out a small knife and stared back at her, with hesitant steps he moved himself in front of her. “I’m going to need you to hold your hand out Claire,” he told her with a sigh; he knew that walking over to her with a knife wouldn’t fill her with hope but he needed to know that it was her, and not a metal that had stolen her skin. “I need you to trust me,” he added when he saw the worry and confusion in her eyes, making sure his statement was said loud enough for Cameron to hear after telling him he couldn’t be trusted anymore. She still didn't seem to be convinced but Claire slowly held her hand out towards him. Looking down at the tiny hand which to her credit wasn't shaking. John made a small cut in the palm and then waited, he remembered vividly just how quickly she could heal, something that put Cameron’s healing to shame. Not even two seconds later the wound vanished like it was never there. “Sorry about that.” He told her sitting opposite the tiny blonde, whose Azure eyes were once again glued to him.
“You still haven’t answered me,” Claire said not sure why he needed to cut her and then watch as she healed, but it was just one of the things that didn't make sense about him now that he walked right back into her life. There was an unnatural air of importance that he unconsciously carried around that made people way him attention unlike all those times he went unnoticed in Odessa, his walk was firmer, back straighter like that of a fighter. But it was his eyes that puzzled Claire the most and how much they changed, when she thought back his eyes shone with laughter and an almost carefree attitude that had always made her smile; now they looked like they belonged to someone much older. Someone that carried the weight of the world on their shoulders alone and couldn’t cope with the burden, those green eyes belonged to someone that was struggling to find out what they were worth to themselves and possibly everyone else. Eyes that held such sadness appearing like they’d never seen a happy day or maybe closer to the mark spent so long looking into hell.
“She called me John, because that’s my name.” He finally replied after a minute of deciding whether or not to answer the question, “John Connor.” The way he said his name, held a slight taste of bitter resentment about that fact. A look of confusion was once again forming on Claire’s face, she was about to tell him that she knew that wasn't his name; and if he were in a witness protection program he could tell her. “I want to tell you, but I can’t.” He added after struggling with himself for a while, John knew that his statement made no sense and the chances are it never would.
“Can’t tell me what?” Claire asked not knowing what he was trying to say to her, “John.” She pushed getting a feel for the taste of his name on her tongue, it was clear to her that he was hiding something and it cut deeply; after she’d told him about her secret back in Odessa when she didn't have to and here he was keeping something from her. “I trusted you,” Claire whispered, not meaning to him cutting her with a knife.
“You don’t understand,” John replied looking up at her, silently begging for her to try and force him to have to say something more to her. The trademark raised eyebrow that he had seen a lot back when Terminator’s and apocalyptic futures were being banished to the back of his mind only revisiting him in nightmares. “Why I was always at your house, the fact that I never tried to have any friends, why I just left suddenly without a word. Everything, I can’t tell you. There’s a reason.” The slight outburst seemed to catch both of them off guard, placing his hand over his eyes for a brief second; John stared past her and towards the living room seeing both his mum and Derek looking back at him, or more importantly at Claire’s head. “You just have to trust me, I promise you that I’ll tell you everything soon.” He added unsure if it were a promise that he could keep or even how much he wanted to, more than aware of the dangers knowing his secret put people in even if she did have her own amazing secret he knew about.
As neither of them knew what else to say and thought the other was going to talk first, the soft nearly unnoticeable sound of feet walking across the wooden floor of the living room headed towards the kitchen. Turning her head to see who was coming in, Claire stared at the brown eyed brown haired girl that John had stopped from coming over when they first walked through the door; offering her a smile that seemed to light up the room, she was greeted with one in return.
“Riley has gone home,” Cameron told John pulling up a third seat and seat to his left, merely nodding his head as if he knew she would have he stayed silent now just living in his own thoughts and not doing any introductions.
“I’m Claire,” the former cheerleader said trying to fill the silence between the three of them with something, the smile that could very well melt anything still on her face. At first it didn't seem like Cameron was going to reply to the statement, but a well time unnoticed kick to her shin by John changed that.
“I’m Cameron,” she grinned once again, his words replaying in her head she quickly turned from the anti-social posing teen into the bubbly chatterbox that she had been when tricking John into thinking she was normal. “So how’d you know John?” she asked her voice taking on a lighter tone as she now fully turned in her chair to look at Claire. Narrowed green eyes stared at his Terminator protector as she was once again doing a flawless job of making someone think she was normal, unable to force himself to stay and there witness her fake emotion when it merely brought everything that he wanted to forget about back up, John pushed his chair away from the table and walked out of the kitchen without so much as a backward glance. Brown and blue eyes watching his movements worry and concern in both of them.
“Oh, I met him in Odessa, he was pretty much the outcast of our school; the weird kid no one wanted to talk to.” Claire answered after a few seconds where they watched John vanish into the living room.
Walking out the door of the house needing to get some air, he hadn't expected to be met with any part of his past. His future sure, he was met with that all the time as it constantly came to either kill or save him, but not this. Both mum and uncle once again outside, this time standing side by side having left the house after Riley did was his target, he knew that there was a good chance something would be said about taking someone new to the house and wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.
“You’re coming with me, we need to get some supplies.” Derek said looking at his nephew, happy that he didn't have to go in the house and pull him out; there was no doubt in his mind that it would have been trouble to try it. A nod of the head was all the answer he got from John, as he stated to walk towards the black 4 x4 he and Cameron had taken when they went to buy new computers. Giving Sarah a meaningful look as he picked up a shotgun, a semi automatic .45 and a 9mm semi automatic, handing the .45 out to his nephew as he walked past him and around the truck to the driver’s seat; tossing the shotgun into the back and tucking his own pistol into his jeans as John did.
“Don’t freak her out,” John called to his mum as the car drove away from the house and three women that where now there.
- - -
The car ride started silent, and didn't seem like either male was going to start a conversation, their eyes took in the road ahead of them with disinterest but at the same time more than aware of any threat that might emerge. Far from stupid, John knew that this was more than just a trip for he and Derek to go and get supplies, his mum probably thought that his uncle would be able to convince him to do nothing that would have people take an interest in him; maybe she was right and it would be for the best, but that didn't mean he’d listen to her
“So,” Derek started looking at John quickly, “you brought another one home. I don't know just how you managed to bring two of them the same day; it’s hard to find women that are into that type of stuff even in the future, next time though tell me and I’ll make sure that the house is empty for you.” He finished with a smirk, having thought his nephew had something planned when he went back home, the insinuation was something not lost on John who was looking at him slightly wide eyed.
“What! No that wasn't what I was...... we weren’t going to.” Unable to get his words out and going slightly red faced he settled for crossing his arms over his chest and staring forwards, trying his best to block out his uncles laughter. It was only after he was still trying to look angry did he realise that it was the first time he’d heard him laugh since Derek found them, given where he came from though it was no surprise he didn't seem to have a sense of humour; having machines chase you all the time would do that.
Flashing him a look from the corner of his eye, Derek had to fight off the smirk on his face happy that he’d managed to embarrass John; it was important that he had times where he could still be a teenager and a major part of that was being embarrassed by family members whenever they thought it would be funny. Or so he’d been told. Pulling up outside a K-Mart, with some dangerous driving and cutting other people off, the resistance fighter managed to get a parking space as close to the store as possible making any escape they’d need all that easier.
“You’re insane, you know that.” John shot at him with a small smile seeing the looks the pair were getting off of customers that were walking out of the store and witnessed the whole thing. Repositioning his t-shirt to make sure his gun was covered, he walked alongside his uncle both of them taking in everything they could as was often the case when they went somewhere public; the size of the shop, how big the doors were, what type of doors they were, how far away from the car would they be parked, how quick could they cover that distance, anything that they could use for cover. It was all important to make sure they did this without so much as a second thought in case a Terminator would show up, and based on Cromartie at the pier it was no longer just being paranoid; their methods of trying to find John were becoming better and better with each day.
“The Tin-miss didn't like you leaving the house with Riley,” Derek spoke again bringing up the subject that he wanted to talk about, as he grabbed hold of a basket outside the store and walked in, not looking at John once as he spoke. “If I didn't know any better I’d say the metal was getting jealous, but I do know better and I know they can’t feel emotion.” The last part of his statement seemed to be more to reinforce the point to John that Cameron was lying to him about what she said in the warehouse, the sixteen year old had no doubt that his mum had told Derek about it at a time when John couldn’t hear them; possibly even that night when he fell asleep on the chairs.
Not having a reply to the statement, John decided on staying silent as they walked around the store; they were both determined to get him to have the thought that Cameron couldn’t feel anything imprinted in his brain. But it was so easy for them to say that, his mum might have heard the words he Terminator said trying to stop him from removing her chip and in the end prevent her from killing him, but she hadn't seen the way that Cameron had looked at him when she had said it. The adoration that shone through the tears, John had no doubt she was still bad when she had said it to him and merely wanted him to let her go, but deep down on some level he did believe her and that was what scared him more than anything else
- - -
“They thought he was gay?” Sarah repeated looking at Claire, her original thought that been that John was trying to push her with bringing someone else to the house and his request that she doesn’t freak her out was going to be ignored; with the older woman more than happy to give the small blonde the same silent treatment that Riley had received. The only problem was that the diminutive female seemed to be full of energy and even Cameron who for some reason she could only guess John had to do with was talking to her like she was a person made her more than aware of why she had been able to trick him.
“Yeah,” she laughed looking at John’s mum and what she guessed to be sister even if no one had said it yet, finding it funny that they hadn't known. She was still having trouble wrapping her head around the fact that Zach was really John; the puzzle surrounding him hadn't been cleared up by either Cameron or Sarah so she was going to hold him to his promise that he’d tell her everything later on. “You could tell it bothered him, but he never tried to stop the rumours by getting a girlfriend,” she continued not thinking about it and wondering why he never had; it wasn't that he was unattractive and couldn’t have got a girlfriend, and she knew that he wasn't gay so there had to have been another reason. “In the end I felt bad for him; I’d gone around with people saying it about him. But when we became friends, I saw how bad it was for him. This one time I knocked out my former best friend for saying that he was a girlfriend.” She finished before bursting into a fit of laughter thinking of the memory when he’d had everyone vote for her as homecoming queen.
“John isn’t gay,” Cameron finally spoke having stayed silent throughout the exchange, “his body releases too much testosterone around females of his age.” Her own warning about not being a freak went unheeded as she earned a bewildered look from Claire and an incredulous one from Sarah. Realising she’d created a uncomfortable moment, the cyborg effort what she hoped to have been an embarrassed smile before turning away once again. She had her own reasons to continuing to spend time around John’s newer friend, she had been able to scan the tiny blonde to see if she was a threat but much like with Riley hadn't been able to come up with an answer, which had resulted in her staying around to try and find out.
Before anymore talk about whether the future saviour of the world was homosexual or not could take place, the front door opened revealing the male they were talking about and Derek in a conversation of their own
“I’m telling you John, I need to make sure that your aims up to scratch. Tomorrow I’ll take you to a range so we can check what you need work on.” The older man said before either of them seemed to know that there was anyone in the living room watching them. Five pairs of eyes hit each others, three of them green, one brown and one blue as they all took in each other being in the house; almost like they shouldn’t have been there and were interrupting something. Which in John and Derek’s case they had been. “We brought pizza.” He added taking the box that was in his nephew’s hand and holding it up like a peace offering, however it didn't stop the silence that had filled the house as each of them seemed to be waiting for Claire to ask why John would need to go to a range to practise his aim.
“Place it on the floor, and back out of the room slowly.” John advised taking a small step back towards the door as Derek followed the order and made sure the three women could see just where he put the pizza before joining his nephew in leaving the house and closing the door behind them. Almost as if they were worried that either one of the three that had been watching them would come out and attack, John and Derek made their way back to the 4 x 4 and climbed in, not taking their eyes off of the front door of the house. “How long before they eat the pizza and come looking for us?” he asked his uncle unsure if the two of the three had been turned into Terminators and the other one was bad again, he could have sworn he saw their eyes flash when they walked in.
“I’m not sure, but if they come for us it’s everyman for himself.” Derek replied looking at his nephew before his gaze turned to the shotgun still in the back seat. For a few minutes the both of them just sat there in silence awaiting their deaths for something they weren’t sure they did. As one they turned to face each other confusion etched in their eyes. “Why exactly are we out here?” he asked only now coming to the conclusion that they had no reason to be out of the house acting like they’d done something wrong.
“So we have pizza.” Sarah said coming in with three plates dropping one in front of Claire and Cameron. “That was friendly of them,” she laughed taking a bite of her own slice, slightly confused as to what just happened that led John and Derek to leave the house in the manner they did. However they didn't have long to laugh about the situation as the door was opened and for the second time both males walked through, this time though the pair looked more confident as they each took a seat on the chairs opposite the couch taking a slice of pizza from the box on the table.
Looking between the trio of women sitting on the couch, John didn't know why there wasn't an odd tension like someone was going to say something out of place or do something much like he and Derek just had. In fact it seemed like Claire already fit in with their bizarre family dynamic.
Standing up from the couch without a word, which seemed to be out of place considering what she had been like earlier; Sarah walked out of the living room smiling slightly at John who looked like he had no idea what was going on. However the free seat at the end of the couch was quickly taken by the sixteen year old, unaware of the contemplating look Cameron was giving him for moving and sitting next to Claire, a slightly nudge from him sent the tiny blonde into the cyborg to her left; which she responded to by hitting John on the shoulder to the humour of Derek who was watching, and the attentive eyes of Cameron who didn't understand why they were doing it.
“It wasn't the same without you,” Claire whispered to John, tones too quiet for the older male sitting there to hear but the Terminator less than five feet away was able to listen in to what was being said. “The day after you disappeared everyone thought that you were sick, and no one paid it any attention because of who you were. But then another day passed, and another. In the end I went to your house to see if you were ok, but they said that they’d never heard of you.” She continued taking care to make sure she didn't say his parents seeing as how he was apparently living with his mum and uncle. “I went into the house and there wasn't a single picture of you there, no room for you to sleep in, it was like you had never existed in Odessa.” Looking down at her, John could see the sadness coming through her eyes from him just up and leaving without a word to anyone; his foster parents having acted like he had never been there wouldn’t have helped matters. But that was how it had to be. Standing up he gently touched her wrist and walked out the door, Claire trailing him outside.
“They acted like I never existed because as Zach I never did.” John told her, there was still the mystification in Claire’s eyes at his words; she knew he existed in Odessa but here he was saying that he didn't which didn't make any sense because he remembered her. “You have to trust me Claire, and I promise I’ll explain everything.” He added loosely holding her shoulders as he stared into her eyes hoping to see some sort of confirmation that she believed what he was telling her.
She’s fine,” John whispered into Cameron’s ear still holding onto her arm as they stood cheek to cheek but facing different directions; his green eyes staring at the side of her face as the cyborg turned her head to look at him before letting her eyes drop down to her arm
Staring into those blue eyes, that at one time made him think there was a chance of him living a somewhat normal life, one that didn't involve machines trying to kill him or running for his life. However John was left with a choice, he clearly wasn't Zach and if he was honest with himself he never had been either, that meant he could turn away and ignore her; turn away and walk away from her and out of her life much like he had done nearly a year ago, apparently without so much as a second thought. There was only one problem with that idea; the longer he spent thinking about it, the longer he was looking into her eyes, unaware of anything she had been saying.
“What happened to you? Everyone thought you were dead or kidnapped, you just took off in the middle of the night.” She spoke still staring at him in shock. He had been her only friend after she gave up her popularity to defend him and then he just disappeared. In the days and weeks that past she hated him for it, she had been his friend on two separate times having to fight for it on the latter occasion and yet he didn't even think highly enough of her to say goodbye or tell her where he was going. In the end though, thoughts of Zach left her head as everything seemed to be moving at a pace too quick for the former cheerleader, and she gave up all thoughts of seeing him again.
“Claire?” John asked almost in a daze and not actually believing it was her in front of him, his much rougher voice brought the tiny blonde from her ramblings about him vanishing from Odessa in the night with no-one having a clue as to what happened, never mind his parents who went on like they didn't have a son; his room converted within days. Him calling her name was enough for her to know that it was Zach in front of her, like a snake she wrapped her arms around his waist locking them securely to make sure he didn't disappear like a ghost much like he had in her dreams following his departure. “I don’t.” John started not having moved his arms to wrap them around her, still in a state of shock. “What are you doing here?” he managed to get out now looking down at her still hugging him just staring into his chest. Cautiously he followed her suit and hugged her back, more than aware that when he was living in Odessa he would have done so without a thought; but back then he was in hiding and there were certain standards you had to live up to.
Any reply to his question was cut short by the emergence of another blonde walking through the cafe door’s, this one much taller than the one that was still holding onto John and was wearing a less friendly look at seeing him. Years of being trained by numerous people, criminals or not, meant that he had developed a sixth sense of knowing when someone was watching him; living in Odessa had allowed him to ignore whoever was watching him, after all who’d want anything with the outcast, Cameron turning up meant he had to know who was watching him at all times once again. Turning to look over his shoulder, John’s stomach nearly dropped out. The glare that Riley was giving him said that she was more than willing to kill him or the girl in his arms possibly both, pulling away from Claire caused the smaller girl to look up at him, not aware of just how long they’d stood there; seeing his eyes staring at someone else she followed her own gaze to follow.
“John, I thought you were getting a bottle of water.” Riley spoke slowly making her way over to him as she eyed Claire up, the smaller girl looked confused when Zach was met with a different name it was only increased when he turned to face the newcomer ready to deal with it head on. “So what’s going on?” she asked with a vague hand gesture now standing in front of both John and Claire, both sets of blue eyes were glued onto the sole male who was looking decidedly more and more uncomfortable and unsure of how he’d gotten himself into his situation, which wasn't helped by the over interested people watching.
“Errm, Riley this is Claire. I knew her when I lived in Odessa.” John answered after what seemed to be an eternity of everyone watching him, his reply however didn't seem good enough for the girl that had decided she wanted to know more about him, and in a more claim-full move then she’d used before reached forward to take his hand only for it to be pulled away. “I need to get back anyway.” He added suddenly aware of just how open he was to an attack and with no bodyguard there to help him, placing the water that was still in his hand back down, John started walking towards the door unconsciously aware of the footsteps following him. Spinning around after a few seconds, not like the thought that someone was trailing him without his say so, John found the two blondes at minutes ago he had been talking to and was hit with the rudeness of him just walking away. “You can come with me,” he said not sound all that sure if he wanted them to and was just as unsure as to who he was talking to. It didn't seem like either Claire or Riley were going to be the one to say that they wouldn’t go with him, and like a mirror image of the trip to the pier were Cameron replaced the smaller girl they took up positions either side of him.
“Why did she call you John?” Claire asked the question that had been on her mind since the name was spoken, flashing her a look from the corner of his eye knowing now wasn't the best time to try and have the type of conversation that the almost innocent question would need. Standing on the other side of John and having heard what was asked, Riley couldn’t stop from looking at Claire like she was retarded, just what type of question was that? Why did she call you John? Maybe because it was his name. With the question unanswered and not looking like it was going to be either, the trio fell into a awkward silence that John had no desire to break for fear of what either of them would do to his body.
The small dirt path that they’d been walking down finally started to clear and the set of new houses began to appear in view. Still in slight shock at seeing his new and more then possibly temporary home John couldn’t stop the small smile that formed on his face when he compared it to their last one, first it wasn’t blown up and standing half destroyed which was always a plus and then there was the fact that it just looked like more like the houses in Odessa. None of them had been run down or in gang territory because there weren’t any gangs around there, of course there were bad things as well; mainly his mum standing outside talking to Kacy with Derek walking towards the shed that now housed their weapons. The less then stealthy entry Riley and Claire were making earned them Sarah’s and Kacy’s attention, who both turned and stared at John; one looking at him in slight amusement from the look on his own face and the other in annoyance mixed with anger. Neither of their reactions though matched Derek’s who was discreetly trying to clean a shotgun he had taken when he and Sarah had left to help Charley. Looking up for a split second to make sure no one was walking over to him, he nearly dropped the gun as he did a double take of John taking two girls into the house before his eyes found Sarah’s.
Having moved to the couch and sat there like a loyal guard dog after John left, Cameron’s head snapped towards the door when it opened and her eyes that seemed to become more emotional each day were filled with something akin to relief at seeing he was ok, which was subsequently dropped when she saw Riley follow him in and then a second girl who was looking decidedly out of place. Standing from the couch, she started to make her way towards the newcomer who was staring at her with a somewhat pleasant smile; it did nothing to stop her CPU from telling her she needed to scan her to see if she was a threat. However John did, having an idea about what she was going to do when he saw her stand up and make her way over to them; he quickly grabbed her by her forearm earning a confused look from his Terminator protector as he pulled her backwards and towards the couch.
“She’s fine,” John whispered into Cameron’s ear still holding onto her arm as they stood cheek to cheek but facing different directions; his green eyes staring at the side of her face as the cyborg turned her head to look at him before letting her eyes drop down to her arm. “I’ve known her long enough to know she doesn’t want to kill me,” he continued in his whisper, “so try to not freak her out. If she talks to you, act normal; don't be a freak.” Taking in his words as she continued to stare at the side of his face, Cameron was aware of one way to thank someone for giving you advice that would help in the long run, leaning forwards she placed a kiss on his cheek and her mind was assaulted with information. The heat, texture and durability of his skin including the fact that he needed to have a shave to remove himself of the slight growing in stubble, as well as the taste and smell on that his skin carried. It was all sent to her in a second, and being take off guard by the gesture John pulled away letting go of her arm as he did so; this time aware of the opposite happening then earlier in the day, this time her arm seemed to warm up under his touch stunning him. “Riley stay here, Claire come with me.” He said walking away from his cyborg protector and towards the kitchen, not before giving her one last confused look; something that was mirrored in her brown eyes.
“Who is she Zach?” Claire asked as soon as they were alone, staring at him as he walked around the unexpectedly small kitchen given the size of the house, pulling two bottles of water from the fridge and placing on in front of her. “And why did Riley call you John?” the distaste on how she said the other girls name was much the same as when Cameron called her his friend, watching as he unscrewed his water and took a long gulp before his eyes finally landed on her; and then flashed out of the kitchen when he heard the door open once again.
“First,” John replied walking towards a drawer and pulling out a small knife and stared back at her, with hesitant steps he moved himself in front of her. “I’m going to need you to hold your hand out Claire,” he told her with a sigh; he knew that walking over to her with a knife wouldn’t fill her with hope but he needed to know that it was her, and not a metal that had stolen her skin. “I need you to trust me,” he added when he saw the worry and confusion in her eyes, making sure his statement was said loud enough for Cameron to hear after telling him he couldn’t be trusted anymore. She still didn't seem to be convinced but Claire slowly held her hand out towards him. Looking down at the tiny hand which to her credit wasn't shaking. John made a small cut in the palm and then waited, he remembered vividly just how quickly she could heal, something that put Cameron’s healing to shame. Not even two seconds later the wound vanished like it was never there. “Sorry about that.” He told her sitting opposite the tiny blonde, whose Azure eyes were once again glued to him.
“You still haven’t answered me,” Claire said not sure why he needed to cut her and then watch as she healed, but it was just one of the things that didn't make sense about him now that he walked right back into her life. There was an unnatural air of importance that he unconsciously carried around that made people way him attention unlike all those times he went unnoticed in Odessa, his walk was firmer, back straighter like that of a fighter. But it was his eyes that puzzled Claire the most and how much they changed, when she thought back his eyes shone with laughter and an almost carefree attitude that had always made her smile; now they looked like they belonged to someone much older. Someone that carried the weight of the world on their shoulders alone and couldn’t cope with the burden, those green eyes belonged to someone that was struggling to find out what they were worth to themselves and possibly everyone else. Eyes that held such sadness appearing like they’d never seen a happy day or maybe closer to the mark spent so long looking into hell.
“She called me John, because that’s my name.” He finally replied after a minute of deciding whether or not to answer the question, “John Connor.” The way he said his name, held a slight taste of bitter resentment about that fact. A look of confusion was once again forming on Claire’s face, she was about to tell him that she knew that wasn't his name; and if he were in a witness protection program he could tell her. “I want to tell you, but I can’t.” He added after struggling with himself for a while, John knew that his statement made no sense and the chances are it never would.
“Can’t tell me what?” Claire asked not knowing what he was trying to say to her, “John.” She pushed getting a feel for the taste of his name on her tongue, it was clear to her that he was hiding something and it cut deeply; after she’d told him about her secret back in Odessa when she didn't have to and here he was keeping something from her. “I trusted you,” Claire whispered, not meaning to him cutting her with a knife.
“You don’t understand,” John replied looking up at her, silently begging for her to try and force him to have to say something more to her. The trademark raised eyebrow that he had seen a lot back when Terminator’s and apocalyptic futures were being banished to the back of his mind only revisiting him in nightmares. “Why I was always at your house, the fact that I never tried to have any friends, why I just left suddenly without a word. Everything, I can’t tell you. There’s a reason.” The slight outburst seemed to catch both of them off guard, placing his hand over his eyes for a brief second; John stared past her and towards the living room seeing both his mum and Derek looking back at him, or more importantly at Claire’s head. “You just have to trust me, I promise you that I’ll tell you everything soon.” He added unsure if it were a promise that he could keep or even how much he wanted to, more than aware of the dangers knowing his secret put people in even if she did have her own amazing secret he knew about.
As neither of them knew what else to say and thought the other was going to talk first, the soft nearly unnoticeable sound of feet walking across the wooden floor of the living room headed towards the kitchen. Turning her head to see who was coming in, Claire stared at the brown eyed brown haired girl that John had stopped from coming over when they first walked through the door; offering her a smile that seemed to light up the room, she was greeted with one in return.
“Riley has gone home,” Cameron told John pulling up a third seat and seat to his left, merely nodding his head as if he knew she would have he stayed silent now just living in his own thoughts and not doing any introductions.
“I’m Claire,” the former cheerleader said trying to fill the silence between the three of them with something, the smile that could very well melt anything still on her face. At first it didn't seem like Cameron was going to reply to the statement, but a well time unnoticed kick to her shin by John changed that.
“I’m Cameron,” she grinned once again, his words replaying in her head she quickly turned from the anti-social posing teen into the bubbly chatterbox that she had been when tricking John into thinking she was normal. “So how’d you know John?” she asked her voice taking on a lighter tone as she now fully turned in her chair to look at Claire. Narrowed green eyes stared at his Terminator protector as she was once again doing a flawless job of making someone think she was normal, unable to force himself to stay and there witness her fake emotion when it merely brought everything that he wanted to forget about back up, John pushed his chair away from the table and walked out of the kitchen without so much as a backward glance. Brown and blue eyes watching his movements worry and concern in both of them.
“Oh, I met him in Odessa, he was pretty much the outcast of our school; the weird kid no one wanted to talk to.” Claire answered after a few seconds where they watched John vanish into the living room.
Walking out the door of the house needing to get some air, he hadn't expected to be met with any part of his past. His future sure, he was met with that all the time as it constantly came to either kill or save him, but not this. Both mum and uncle once again outside, this time standing side by side having left the house after Riley did was his target, he knew that there was a good chance something would be said about taking someone new to the house and wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.
“You’re coming with me, we need to get some supplies.” Derek said looking at his nephew, happy that he didn't have to go in the house and pull him out; there was no doubt in his mind that it would have been trouble to try it. A nod of the head was all the answer he got from John, as he stated to walk towards the black 4 x4 he and Cameron had taken when they went to buy new computers. Giving Sarah a meaningful look as he picked up a shotgun, a semi automatic .45 and a 9mm semi automatic, handing the .45 out to his nephew as he walked past him and around the truck to the driver’s seat; tossing the shotgun into the back and tucking his own pistol into his jeans as John did.
“Don’t freak her out,” John called to his mum as the car drove away from the house and three women that where now there.
- - -
The car ride started silent, and didn't seem like either male was going to start a conversation, their eyes took in the road ahead of them with disinterest but at the same time more than aware of any threat that might emerge. Far from stupid, John knew that this was more than just a trip for he and Derek to go and get supplies, his mum probably thought that his uncle would be able to convince him to do nothing that would have people take an interest in him; maybe she was right and it would be for the best, but that didn't mean he’d listen to her
“So,” Derek started looking at John quickly, “you brought another one home. I don't know just how you managed to bring two of them the same day; it’s hard to find women that are into that type of stuff even in the future, next time though tell me and I’ll make sure that the house is empty for you.” He finished with a smirk, having thought his nephew had something planned when he went back home, the insinuation was something not lost on John who was looking at him slightly wide eyed.
“What! No that wasn't what I was...... we weren’t going to.” Unable to get his words out and going slightly red faced he settled for crossing his arms over his chest and staring forwards, trying his best to block out his uncles laughter. It was only after he was still trying to look angry did he realise that it was the first time he’d heard him laugh since Derek found them, given where he came from though it was no surprise he didn't seem to have a sense of humour; having machines chase you all the time would do that.
Flashing him a look from the corner of his eye, Derek had to fight off the smirk on his face happy that he’d managed to embarrass John; it was important that he had times where he could still be a teenager and a major part of that was being embarrassed by family members whenever they thought it would be funny. Or so he’d been told. Pulling up outside a K-Mart, with some dangerous driving and cutting other people off, the resistance fighter managed to get a parking space as close to the store as possible making any escape they’d need all that easier.
“You’re insane, you know that.” John shot at him with a small smile seeing the looks the pair were getting off of customers that were walking out of the store and witnessed the whole thing. Repositioning his t-shirt to make sure his gun was covered, he walked alongside his uncle both of them taking in everything they could as was often the case when they went somewhere public; the size of the shop, how big the doors were, what type of doors they were, how far away from the car would they be parked, how quick could they cover that distance, anything that they could use for cover. It was all important to make sure they did this without so much as a second thought in case a Terminator would show up, and based on Cromartie at the pier it was no longer just being paranoid; their methods of trying to find John were becoming better and better with each day.
“The Tin-miss didn't like you leaving the house with Riley,” Derek spoke again bringing up the subject that he wanted to talk about, as he grabbed hold of a basket outside the store and walked in, not looking at John once as he spoke. “If I didn't know any better I’d say the metal was getting jealous, but I do know better and I know they can’t feel emotion.” The last part of his statement seemed to be more to reinforce the point to John that Cameron was lying to him about what she said in the warehouse, the sixteen year old had no doubt that his mum had told Derek about it at a time when John couldn’t hear them; possibly even that night when he fell asleep on the chairs.
Not having a reply to the statement, John decided on staying silent as they walked around the store; they were both determined to get him to have the thought that Cameron couldn’t feel anything imprinted in his brain. But it was so easy for them to say that, his mum might have heard the words he Terminator said trying to stop him from removing her chip and in the end prevent her from killing him, but she hadn't seen the way that Cameron had looked at him when she had said it. The adoration that shone through the tears, John had no doubt she was still bad when she had said it to him and merely wanted him to let her go, but deep down on some level he did believe her and that was what scared him more than anything else
- - -
“They thought he was gay?” Sarah repeated looking at Claire, her original thought that been that John was trying to push her with bringing someone else to the house and his request that she doesn’t freak her out was going to be ignored; with the older woman more than happy to give the small blonde the same silent treatment that Riley had received. The only problem was that the diminutive female seemed to be full of energy and even Cameron who for some reason she could only guess John had to do with was talking to her like she was a person made her more than aware of why she had been able to trick him.
“Yeah,” she laughed looking at John’s mum and what she guessed to be sister even if no one had said it yet, finding it funny that they hadn't known. She was still having trouble wrapping her head around the fact that Zach was really John; the puzzle surrounding him hadn't been cleared up by either Cameron or Sarah so she was going to hold him to his promise that he’d tell her everything later on. “You could tell it bothered him, but he never tried to stop the rumours by getting a girlfriend,” she continued not thinking about it and wondering why he never had; it wasn't that he was unattractive and couldn’t have got a girlfriend, and she knew that he wasn't gay so there had to have been another reason. “In the end I felt bad for him; I’d gone around with people saying it about him. But when we became friends, I saw how bad it was for him. This one time I knocked out my former best friend for saying that he was a girlfriend.” She finished before bursting into a fit of laughter thinking of the memory when he’d had everyone vote for her as homecoming queen.
“John isn’t gay,” Cameron finally spoke having stayed silent throughout the exchange, “his body releases too much testosterone around females of his age.” Her own warning about not being a freak went unheeded as she earned a bewildered look from Claire and an incredulous one from Sarah. Realising she’d created a uncomfortable moment, the cyborg effort what she hoped to have been an embarrassed smile before turning away once again. She had her own reasons to continuing to spend time around John’s newer friend, she had been able to scan the tiny blonde to see if she was a threat but much like with Riley hadn't been able to come up with an answer, which had resulted in her staying around to try and find out.
Before anymore talk about whether the future saviour of the world was homosexual or not could take place, the front door opened revealing the male they were talking about and Derek in a conversation of their own
“I’m telling you John, I need to make sure that your aims up to scratch. Tomorrow I’ll take you to a range so we can check what you need work on.” The older man said before either of them seemed to know that there was anyone in the living room watching them. Five pairs of eyes hit each others, three of them green, one brown and one blue as they all took in each other being in the house; almost like they shouldn’t have been there and were interrupting something. Which in John and Derek’s case they had been. “We brought pizza.” He added taking the box that was in his nephew’s hand and holding it up like a peace offering, however it didn't stop the silence that had filled the house as each of them seemed to be waiting for Claire to ask why John would need to go to a range to practise his aim.
“Place it on the floor, and back out of the room slowly.” John advised taking a small step back towards the door as Derek followed the order and made sure the three women could see just where he put the pizza before joining his nephew in leaving the house and closing the door behind them. Almost as if they were worried that either one of the three that had been watching them would come out and attack, John and Derek made their way back to the 4 x 4 and climbed in, not taking their eyes off of the front door of the house. “How long before they eat the pizza and come looking for us?” he asked his uncle unsure if the two of the three had been turned into Terminators and the other one was bad again, he could have sworn he saw their eyes flash when they walked in.
“I’m not sure, but if they come for us it’s everyman for himself.” Derek replied looking at his nephew before his gaze turned to the shotgun still in the back seat. For a few minutes the both of them just sat there in silence awaiting their deaths for something they weren’t sure they did. As one they turned to face each other confusion etched in their eyes. “Why exactly are we out here?” he asked only now coming to the conclusion that they had no reason to be out of the house acting like they’d done something wrong.
“So we have pizza.” Sarah said coming in with three plates dropping one in front of Claire and Cameron. “That was friendly of them,” she laughed taking a bite of her own slice, slightly confused as to what just happened that led John and Derek to leave the house in the manner they did. However they didn't have long to laugh about the situation as the door was opened and for the second time both males walked through, this time though the pair looked more confident as they each took a seat on the chairs opposite the couch taking a slice of pizza from the box on the table.
Looking between the trio of women sitting on the couch, John didn't know why there wasn't an odd tension like someone was going to say something out of place or do something much like he and Derek just had. In fact it seemed like Claire already fit in with their bizarre family dynamic.
Standing up from the couch without a word, which seemed to be out of place considering what she had been like earlier; Sarah walked out of the living room smiling slightly at John who looked like he had no idea what was going on. However the free seat at the end of the couch was quickly taken by the sixteen year old, unaware of the contemplating look Cameron was giving him for moving and sitting next to Claire, a slightly nudge from him sent the tiny blonde into the cyborg to her left; which she responded to by hitting John on the shoulder to the humour of Derek who was watching, and the attentive eyes of Cameron who didn't understand why they were doing it.
“It wasn't the same without you,” Claire whispered to John, tones too quiet for the older male sitting there to hear but the Terminator less than five feet away was able to listen in to what was being said. “The day after you disappeared everyone thought that you were sick, and no one paid it any attention because of who you were. But then another day passed, and another. In the end I went to your house to see if you were ok, but they said that they’d never heard of you.” She continued taking care to make sure she didn't say his parents seeing as how he was apparently living with his mum and uncle. “I went into the house and there wasn't a single picture of you there, no room for you to sleep in, it was like you had never existed in Odessa.” Looking down at her, John could see the sadness coming through her eyes from him just up and leaving without a word to anyone; his foster parents having acted like he had never been there wouldn’t have helped matters. But that was how it had to be. Standing up he gently touched her wrist and walked out the door, Claire trailing him outside.
“They acted like I never existed because as Zach I never did.” John told her, there was still the mystification in Claire’s eyes at his words; she knew he existed in Odessa but here he was saying that he didn't which didn't make any sense because he remembered her. “You have to trust me Claire, and I promise I’ll explain everything.” He added loosely holding her shoulders as he stared into her eyes hoping to see some sort of confirmation that she believed what he was telling her.