Terminator: The Series (John/Cameron, Sarah)
This only slightly edged out my Psych fic. Just slightly, amberlynne, don't fret.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Cameron/John, Sarah
Contains spoilers for the series premiere and Terminator 1 & 2
For all those conspiracy theorists named serialkarma and svmadelyn
Maybe Tomorrow
She thought Sarah Connor would be taller. At least she thinks she thought Sarah Connor would be taller, but Terminators don't have thoughts. Terminators are instruments. Cyborgs. Cyborgs have programming. They are instructed and taught. They can process data, but they do not think.
They have deductive reasoning. They have logic.
It is not the Terminator who thought Sarah Connor would be taller, it is Cameron Phillips who thought that. She is not Cameron Phillips.
Except that's not technically true.
Terminators do not prevaricate. There are no half-truths. And yet, she is Cameron Philips and she is not. She is the soul of Cameron Philips; she is Cameron Phillips' brain. She looks like Cameron; she has seen the photos. She has had this conversation many times with John -- her John, not this John. She meant what she said to Sarah Connor -- this is not her John. Her John is different. Her John created her when she died.
Her John -- her John is not really hers either. And yet, he is.
Her John made her into who she is. What she is. Terminators have basic programming. Her John taught her about strange loud music called 'punk' and black rubber shoes -- Chuck Taylors -- that are relics of a bygone era. Chuck Taylors are foot protection with flimsy soles and white shoelaces that do not protect your feet from bullets but look good.
Cameron did not understand the purpose of such items, or rather the Terminator did not. John had to explain. Terminators are not discriminating, but Cameron is. Was.
She's not so sure herself anymore.
Cameron liked Twinkies that survived the sky turning black and fire raining down for sixteen days. Cameron liked John. She loved John.
She loves John, even though he sent her away. He sent her back here.
He said, "You have to go, I need you there."
Cameron said, "I thought you needed me here."
John said, "I'll always need you."
She had no logic for that argument. It defied her processing.
He stared at her with water in his eyes. It was strange, she couldn't really understand how the water got there, but she went, because he asked her to. She would do anything he asked her to. She's glad this John doesn't know that yet. She's glad this is not her John yet.
It was strange, the disconnect she felt the first time she saw this John with his wispy hair and his withdrawn air. No scars, all his fingers in tact, no twitching at all.
She knew it was him before he spoke. Cyborgs do not have intuition, but Cameron has downloads. She has downloads and schematics and data that John imputed into her. She has the photograph that Reese gave her. He gave her more than one. He didn't say how he had gotten them. She presumes he took them from John. She assumes John knows they are gone.
John has a strange relationship with his father. John told her it was hard knowing he was sending Reese back in time to die just so that John could be born. Reese also gave her a message for Sarah; he said she would know when to give to her, but Cameron isn't sure that she does. That she will.
The uncertainty is not her own either, like so many things in her mind.
She thinks she liked it better when she was just a Terminator.
It's possible her existence would have been easier if it didn't revolve around her John, and yet, she knows no other way. This is her life as a Cyborg.
She watches John sleep sometimes, not because she is afraid he will go away, but because she doesn't sleep herself. She has nothing else but time.
Sarah Connor doesn't like her; Cameron is fairly certain of this, but in time she knows this too will change. They have a common interest that's more important than either one of them.
"Don't you ever have to shut down or something?" Sarah says. She is restless, checking and rechecking guns. Looking through the curtains. She only sleeps a few hours at a time. Her John learned that from his mother.
Cameron looks up at Sarah blankly. "I mentally refresh my data banks every 72 hours. Every six hours I perform a back up of my hard drive. Is this what you are referring to?"
Sarah looks at her with a look she recognizes from John. It is his look of doubt, of suspicion. It is the look of 'I wouldn't believe it if you weren't saying it. I'm not sure I believe it even now."
Cameron only knows this is what this look is because John told her.
John has told her many things. If she does her job properly, he will live to tell her many more. Sarah looks from her to John and frowns. "Don't wake him," she warns.
"I would never do anything to harm John," Cameron says evenly.
"You better not," Sarah snaps softly, before turning on her heel and leaving them alone.
After she is gone, the Terminator turns back to her creator and watches him some more. She is waiting for the day he wakes up and sees her for what she is. His creation, his sentinel guard, the woman he created to never leave him alone again.
Maybe tomorrow, in his eyes, she will be born.
-end-
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Cameron/John, Sarah
Contains spoilers for the series premiere and Terminator 1 & 2
For all those conspiracy theorists named serialkarma and svmadelyn
Maybe Tomorrow
She thought Sarah Connor would be taller. At least she thinks she thought Sarah Connor would be taller, but Terminators don't have thoughts. Terminators are instruments. Cyborgs. Cyborgs have programming. They are instructed and taught. They can process data, but they do not think.
They have deductive reasoning. They have logic.
It is not the Terminator who thought Sarah Connor would be taller, it is Cameron Phillips who thought that. She is not Cameron Phillips.
Except that's not technically true.
Terminators do not prevaricate. There are no half-truths. And yet, she is Cameron Philips and she is not. She is the soul of Cameron Philips; she is Cameron Phillips' brain. She looks like Cameron; she has seen the photos. She has had this conversation many times with John -- her John, not this John. She meant what she said to Sarah Connor -- this is not her John. Her John is different. Her John created her when she died.
Her John -- her John is not really hers either. And yet, he is.
Her John made her into who she is. What she is. Terminators have basic programming. Her John taught her about strange loud music called 'punk' and black rubber shoes -- Chuck Taylors -- that are relics of a bygone era. Chuck Taylors are foot protection with flimsy soles and white shoelaces that do not protect your feet from bullets but look good.
Cameron did not understand the purpose of such items, or rather the Terminator did not. John had to explain. Terminators are not discriminating, but Cameron is. Was.
She's not so sure herself anymore.
Cameron liked Twinkies that survived the sky turning black and fire raining down for sixteen days. Cameron liked John. She loved John.
She loves John, even though he sent her away. He sent her back here.
He said, "You have to go, I need you there."
Cameron said, "I thought you needed me here."
John said, "I'll always need you."
She had no logic for that argument. It defied her processing.
He stared at her with water in his eyes. It was strange, she couldn't really understand how the water got there, but she went, because he asked her to. She would do anything he asked her to. She's glad this John doesn't know that yet. She's glad this is not her John yet.
It was strange, the disconnect she felt the first time she saw this John with his wispy hair and his withdrawn air. No scars, all his fingers in tact, no twitching at all.
She knew it was him before he spoke. Cyborgs do not have intuition, but Cameron has downloads. She has downloads and schematics and data that John imputed into her. She has the photograph that Reese gave her. He gave her more than one. He didn't say how he had gotten them. She presumes he took them from John. She assumes John knows they are gone.
John has a strange relationship with his father. John told her it was hard knowing he was sending Reese back in time to die just so that John could be born. Reese also gave her a message for Sarah; he said she would know when to give to her, but Cameron isn't sure that she does. That she will.
The uncertainty is not her own either, like so many things in her mind.
She thinks she liked it better when she was just a Terminator.
It's possible her existence would have been easier if it didn't revolve around her John, and yet, she knows no other way. This is her life as a Cyborg.
She watches John sleep sometimes, not because she is afraid he will go away, but because she doesn't sleep herself. She has nothing else but time.
Sarah Connor doesn't like her; Cameron is fairly certain of this, but in time she knows this too will change. They have a common interest that's more important than either one of them.
"Don't you ever have to shut down or something?" Sarah says. She is restless, checking and rechecking guns. Looking through the curtains. She only sleeps a few hours at a time. Her John learned that from his mother.
Cameron looks up at Sarah blankly. "I mentally refresh my data banks every 72 hours. Every six hours I perform a back up of my hard drive. Is this what you are referring to?"
Sarah looks at her with a look she recognizes from John. It is his look of doubt, of suspicion. It is the look of 'I wouldn't believe it if you weren't saying it. I'm not sure I believe it even now."
Cameron only knows this is what this look is because John told her.
John has told her many things. If she does her job properly, he will live to tell her many more. Sarah looks from her to John and frowns. "Don't wake him," she warns.
"I would never do anything to harm John," Cameron says evenly.
"You better not," Sarah snaps softly, before turning on her heel and leaving them alone.
After she is gone, the Terminator turns back to her creator and watches him some more. She is waiting for the day he wakes up and sees her for what she is. His creation, his sentinel guard, the woman he created to never leave him alone again.
Maybe tomorrow, in his eyes, she will be born.
-end-