Fic:Of All That Earth Has Been Or Yet May Be (Heroes/Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Of All That Earth Has Been Or Yet May Be
by Tracy (lunarknightz)
Rating:PG
Category: John/Claire
Spoilers: All of Season 2 for Heroes; Gnothi Seaton for SCC.
Disclaimer: My super power is that I own nothing of this I write about! Nifty, huh?
Summary: Everyone has a destiny.
Concerning God, freewill and destiny:
Of all that earth has been or yet may be,
All that vain men imagine or believe,
Or hope can paint or suffering may achieve,
We descanted.-Percy Bysshe Shelley
It would be so much easier if his mom would just let him drop out of school and get his damn G.E.D. John doesn’t have lofty plans for the future that include college and a steady job- his future’s already been determined for him. Studying Romeo and Juliet won’t stop Skynet from taking over, passing Algebra II won’t improve his leadership skills.
On some level, he gets it. His mom is trying to protect him, trying to keep things as normal as possible for as long as she can. But seriously? They live with a futuristic robot/killing machine. Normal flew out the window a long time ago, if it ever existed in the Connor family.
That doesn’t make it any less frustrating; to be shown your future while at the same time being held back from it. Sometimes John feels like he’s going to explode with frustration. He’s sick of waiting, but at the same time he has no clue how he’s going to become this man he’s going to be. The more he waits, the more he thinks about it, and the more he thinks about it, the bleaker things seem to become.
He’s the new school in kid again, but for a change, John doesn’t mind. Nobody at school besides Cameron knows him, and he’s able to sneak by in a quiet anonymity. He doubts they’ll be here long enough for him to actually make friends. And by keeping to himself, he won’t accidentally say something makes it absolutely obvious that he’s missed the last eight years- like the fact that the WB television network doesn’t exist anymore; Friends has been over for years, and the fact that he has absolutely no idea who Spongebob Squarepants is.
John is struggling to get through the first day of school when a girl- cute, small, and blonde, runs up to him and throws her arms around him.
“Zach!” She says, and her face lights up. In that moment, this girl is the most beautiful thing John has ever seen. “How did you get here? I can’t believe it! Isn’t this amazing?”
He has absolutely no experience dealing with girls- well, none that don’t have robot parts (his mom does so not count). Not knowing how to act, John awkwardly pulls away from her.
“I’m….I’m not Zach.” He says, hurriedly walking away and getting lost in the rush of students in the hallway.
He feels like a major tool.
This is not a feeling that will go away anytime soon.
***
The next time John meets the blonde girl, they are thirty seconds away from becoming husband and wife.
In Home Ec Class (a class John was more or less forced to take because his mother forbid him to take any classes involving a computer), that is. They would be husband and wife for the first half of the semester, until midterms do they part.
“I’m sorry about earlier.” John says as they push their desks together as the teacher instructs.
“It was my bad.” She says, tucking her hair behind her ear nervously. “You look like…you remind me of someone I used to know.”
“I hope that’s a good thing.”
“It is.” She nods. “Zach was a great guy. My best friend.”
“That’s good.” John smiles. “I’m John Stahl.” He sticks out his hand to shake her hand.
“Claire Brady.” She smiles. “So where do you see yourself in the future?” She says, reading off of the Xeroxed handout.
“Alive?” He shrugs
“You’d think.” Claire winks at him. “Personally, I think planning for the future is way too overrated.”
“Amen.”
***
“How was your day?” Sarah asks, dishing out the bucket of fried chicken she’d bought for supper.
“Okay, I guess.” John shrugs.
“John got married today.” Cameron says in a nonchalant manner.
The Colonel Sanders embellished bucket slips out of Sarah’s hands and onto the floor. “WHAT?” She screeches.
John laughs so hard he can’t speak.
“This is hardly a laughing matter, John! Not to mention the fact that you are way to young to even think about getting married, but you’ve got a future that doesn’t involve a family and a wife that has no idea what she’s getting into! Really, John, is this the kind of life you want to force on anyone else? And do you have any idea how hard an annulment is to get when you’re living under a false ID?”
“Mom.” John says, catching his breath. “First of all, if you look at the actual difference between the calendar year and my date of birth, I’m totally old enough to get married. And secondly, I got married in Home Ec. For a project. We’ll make a budget and plan trips to the grocery store together, and in about a week or so you’ll be a grandmother to a lovely little bag of flour.”
After staring blankly at John for a few moments, Sarah looked at Cameron. “Don’t scare me like that.”
Cameron gazes back at Sarah blankly.
“Fine.” Sarah sighs. “Just don’t get attached, John.”
“What, are you afraid that I might actually make a friend, Mom?”
“I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I’m a big boy, Mom. Protect me from Terminators if you want to, but you can’t stop me from growing up! I bet in the future, the great John Connor has many friends. Don’t I, Cameron?”
“John Connor has many friends in the future. He is admired by all.”
“Think about the future, John.” Sarah warns him.
“All I ever do is think about the future!”
***
The next few weeks are some of the best of John’s life. Working with Claire on the project is a blast. Often they’ll meet over at Claire’s house. Claire lives with her mother, brother, and pet dog. Her mother, Sally, is constantly baking cookies and cupcakes, and John eats more than his share at visits. Her little brother, Lance, is a trip. John spends time playing basketball in the driveway with him, even though they both suck at the game.
Claire’s dad isn’t in the picture; and the lack of a dad is something that brings them closer together. They don’t talk about it much, but sometimes a comfortable silence says more than a million words.
One evening, they work at John’s house, an a more awkward night has never been had by anyone. His mom refuses to talk to Claire, and eats dinner by herself in her room. Cameron, on the other hand, spends the whole evening silently watching Claire, to an extent that it’s almost creepy. Cameron sitting on and crushing his and Claire’s flour child, Peter, tops off the evening.
John walks a flour covered Claire out to her car. She looks like a snow angel come to life, and under the glow of the porch light; he kisses Claire on the lips. She kisses him back.
This is one of the most perfect moments in John’s life.
***
Naturally, the next day is when the world goes to hell.
Cromartie finds him; somehow replacing the guest speaker and opening fire under what was supposed to be a gun safety seminar. Cameron rushes him out of the gym. John holds Claire’s hand tight in his own. He won’t let her go.
To her credit, Claire doesn’t cry or make a fuss- it’s almost as if she’s used to running for her life.
They run, but eventually the terminator catches up with them. In a moment of sheer bravery on Claire’s part, she steps between John and Cromartie. The bullets intended for John pummel into her body. Claire slumps to the floor, broken and bleeding.
Before Cromartie can fire again, Cameron has gained the upper hand, using her extraordinary strength to knock the terminator down. She wrenches a wire off of the wall and zaps her opponent with it. It will take a while for his altered system to reboot. The technology he was repaired with wasn’t as advanced as that he was created with.
“John.” Cameron insists. “We must go.”
“Claire. I can’t leave her.” He sinks down to his knees beside her, and smoothing her hair on her forehead. He fights back the tears that threaten to come.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
He pulls back her shirt slightly to see if he can stop the bleeding. To his astonishment, the wounds seem to shrink before his eyes.
A second later, Claire coughs and sits up. “Ugh.” She says, patting her stomach where the bullets hit. “Ouch.”
“You’re…you’re okay?” John says, staring at her in wonder.
“Did I forget to mention that I heal really extraordinarily fast? Because I do.” She said sheepishly.
“And I might have forgot to mention that I kind of have a robots after me that kind of want to kill me, because I’m a future savior of the world, apparently.”
Claire smiles at him and squeezes his hand. “It sounds like we both have our issues.”
“It’s not safe to stay here.” Cameron says, frowning at them. “Come with me.”
When they don’t move, Cameron leans down and forces both of them to stand up. “We’ve got to go.” She announces. “Got to make tracks away from this town.”
“Claire doesn’t have to be part of this.” John fights her. “She’s got a family…she just can’t leave them!”
“She always has been a part of this.” Cameron says coolly. “My mission parameters include protecting Claire Brady, also known as Claire Butler, and Claire Bennet. Save the cheerleader, save the world.”
Claire noticeably flinches at Cameron’s words.
“Why?”
“In the future she will be known as Kate Brewster. John Connor’s wife and second in command. She will help to lead the resistance to victory against the machines.”
by Tracy (lunarknightz)
Rating:PG
Category: John/Claire
Spoilers: All of Season 2 for Heroes; Gnothi Seaton for SCC.
Disclaimer: My super power is that I own nothing of this I write about! Nifty, huh?
Summary: Everyone has a destiny.
Concerning God, freewill and destiny:
Of all that earth has been or yet may be,
All that vain men imagine or believe,
Or hope can paint or suffering may achieve,
We descanted.-Percy Bysshe Shelley
It would be so much easier if his mom would just let him drop out of school and get his damn G.E.D. John doesn’t have lofty plans for the future that include college and a steady job- his future’s already been determined for him. Studying Romeo and Juliet won’t stop Skynet from taking over, passing Algebra II won’t improve his leadership skills.
On some level, he gets it. His mom is trying to protect him, trying to keep things as normal as possible for as long as she can. But seriously? They live with a futuristic robot/killing machine. Normal flew out the window a long time ago, if it ever existed in the Connor family.
That doesn’t make it any less frustrating; to be shown your future while at the same time being held back from it. Sometimes John feels like he’s going to explode with frustration. He’s sick of waiting, but at the same time he has no clue how he’s going to become this man he’s going to be. The more he waits, the more he thinks about it, and the more he thinks about it, the bleaker things seem to become.
He’s the new school in kid again, but for a change, John doesn’t mind. Nobody at school besides Cameron knows him, and he’s able to sneak by in a quiet anonymity. He doubts they’ll be here long enough for him to actually make friends. And by keeping to himself, he won’t accidentally say something makes it absolutely obvious that he’s missed the last eight years- like the fact that the WB television network doesn’t exist anymore; Friends has been over for years, and the fact that he has absolutely no idea who Spongebob Squarepants is.
John is struggling to get through the first day of school when a girl- cute, small, and blonde, runs up to him and throws her arms around him.
“Zach!” She says, and her face lights up. In that moment, this girl is the most beautiful thing John has ever seen. “How did you get here? I can’t believe it! Isn’t this amazing?”
He has absolutely no experience dealing with girls- well, none that don’t have robot parts (his mom does so not count). Not knowing how to act, John awkwardly pulls away from her.
“I’m….I’m not Zach.” He says, hurriedly walking away and getting lost in the rush of students in the hallway.
He feels like a major tool.
This is not a feeling that will go away anytime soon.
***
The next time John meets the blonde girl, they are thirty seconds away from becoming husband and wife.
In Home Ec Class (a class John was more or less forced to take because his mother forbid him to take any classes involving a computer), that is. They would be husband and wife for the first half of the semester, until midterms do they part.
“I’m sorry about earlier.” John says as they push their desks together as the teacher instructs.
“It was my bad.” She says, tucking her hair behind her ear nervously. “You look like…you remind me of someone I used to know.”
“I hope that’s a good thing.”
“It is.” She nods. “Zach was a great guy. My best friend.”
“That’s good.” John smiles. “I’m John Stahl.” He sticks out his hand to shake her hand.
“Claire Brady.” She smiles. “So where do you see yourself in the future?” She says, reading off of the Xeroxed handout.
“Alive?” He shrugs
“You’d think.” Claire winks at him. “Personally, I think planning for the future is way too overrated.”
“Amen.”
***
“How was your day?” Sarah asks, dishing out the bucket of fried chicken she’d bought for supper.
“Okay, I guess.” John shrugs.
“John got married today.” Cameron says in a nonchalant manner.
The Colonel Sanders embellished bucket slips out of Sarah’s hands and onto the floor. “WHAT?” She screeches.
John laughs so hard he can’t speak.
“This is hardly a laughing matter, John! Not to mention the fact that you are way to young to even think about getting married, but you’ve got a future that doesn’t involve a family and a wife that has no idea what she’s getting into! Really, John, is this the kind of life you want to force on anyone else? And do you have any idea how hard an annulment is to get when you’re living under a false ID?”
“Mom.” John says, catching his breath. “First of all, if you look at the actual difference between the calendar year and my date of birth, I’m totally old enough to get married. And secondly, I got married in Home Ec. For a project. We’ll make a budget and plan trips to the grocery store together, and in about a week or so you’ll be a grandmother to a lovely little bag of flour.”
After staring blankly at John for a few moments, Sarah looked at Cameron. “Don’t scare me like that.”
Cameron gazes back at Sarah blankly.
“Fine.” Sarah sighs. “Just don’t get attached, John.”
“What, are you afraid that I might actually make a friend, Mom?”
“I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I’m a big boy, Mom. Protect me from Terminators if you want to, but you can’t stop me from growing up! I bet in the future, the great John Connor has many friends. Don’t I, Cameron?”
“John Connor has many friends in the future. He is admired by all.”
“Think about the future, John.” Sarah warns him.
“All I ever do is think about the future!”
***
The next few weeks are some of the best of John’s life. Working with Claire on the project is a blast. Often they’ll meet over at Claire’s house. Claire lives with her mother, brother, and pet dog. Her mother, Sally, is constantly baking cookies and cupcakes, and John eats more than his share at visits. Her little brother, Lance, is a trip. John spends time playing basketball in the driveway with him, even though they both suck at the game.
Claire’s dad isn’t in the picture; and the lack of a dad is something that brings them closer together. They don’t talk about it much, but sometimes a comfortable silence says more than a million words.
One evening, they work at John’s house, an a more awkward night has never been had by anyone. His mom refuses to talk to Claire, and eats dinner by herself in her room. Cameron, on the other hand, spends the whole evening silently watching Claire, to an extent that it’s almost creepy. Cameron sitting on and crushing his and Claire’s flour child, Peter, tops off the evening.
John walks a flour covered Claire out to her car. She looks like a snow angel come to life, and under the glow of the porch light; he kisses Claire on the lips. She kisses him back.
This is one of the most perfect moments in John’s life.
***
Naturally, the next day is when the world goes to hell.
Cromartie finds him; somehow replacing the guest speaker and opening fire under what was supposed to be a gun safety seminar. Cameron rushes him out of the gym. John holds Claire’s hand tight in his own. He won’t let her go.
To her credit, Claire doesn’t cry or make a fuss- it’s almost as if she’s used to running for her life.
They run, but eventually the terminator catches up with them. In a moment of sheer bravery on Claire’s part, she steps between John and Cromartie. The bullets intended for John pummel into her body. Claire slumps to the floor, broken and bleeding.
Before Cromartie can fire again, Cameron has gained the upper hand, using her extraordinary strength to knock the terminator down. She wrenches a wire off of the wall and zaps her opponent with it. It will take a while for his altered system to reboot. The technology he was repaired with wasn’t as advanced as that he was created with.
“John.” Cameron insists. “We must go.”
“Claire. I can’t leave her.” He sinks down to his knees beside her, and smoothing her hair on her forehead. He fights back the tears that threaten to come.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
He pulls back her shirt slightly to see if he can stop the bleeding. To his astonishment, the wounds seem to shrink before his eyes.
A second later, Claire coughs and sits up. “Ugh.” She says, patting her stomach where the bullets hit. “Ouch.”
“You’re…you’re okay?” John says, staring at her in wonder.
“Did I forget to mention that I heal really extraordinarily fast? Because I do.” She said sheepishly.
“And I might have forgot to mention that I kind of have a robots after me that kind of want to kill me, because I’m a future savior of the world, apparently.”
Claire smiles at him and squeezes his hand. “It sounds like we both have our issues.”
“It’s not safe to stay here.” Cameron says, frowning at them. “Come with me.”
When they don’t move, Cameron leans down and forces both of them to stand up. “We’ve got to go.” She announces. “Got to make tracks away from this town.”
“Claire doesn’t have to be part of this.” John fights her. “She’s got a family…she just can’t leave them!”
“She always has been a part of this.” Cameron says coolly. “My mission parameters include protecting Claire Brady, also known as Claire Butler, and Claire Bennet. Save the cheerleader, save the world.”
Claire noticeably flinches at Cameron’s words.
“Why?”
“In the future she will be known as Kate Brewster. John Connor’s wife and second in command. She will help to lead the resistance to victory against the machines.”