Pride 2A/?
Pairing: Sarah/Cameron
Rating: PG:13, for now
Warnings: None that I can think of
Summary: Sarah remembers
Disclaimer: I don't own the Terminator franchise.
AN: I dedicate this chapter of Pride to Shemp o2stk for the wonderful kick in the pants to post this.
AN2: I have no beta so all mistakes are mine, and if you see any PLEASE let me know so I can fix them. Your comments can only help me improve my writing.
The memory was still fresh in Sarah’s mind when she woke the next day. Still lost in the bliss of her first kiss with Cameron, she rolled over to cuddle closer to the girl. Only to find the sheets cold and empty. The realization of what she had just done brought a strangled gasp from her throat.
When am I going to learn…
Sarah glanced at the clock, only now realizing that it was almost noon, and she still hadn’t gotten out of her bed.
“Come on Sarah…time to get up. John will be here soon.” Sarah had to hear the words aloud, had to acknowledge the fact that he hadn’t completely forgotten about her.
‘Meow’
Sarah smiled as she felt the gentle press of the cat at her ankles. She scooped the black and white tabby into her arms.
“Come on Alexi, lets get you something to eat.”
Prrrr
Alexi’s whole body seemed to resonate with the sound.
Sarah couldn’t help but smile at the cat’s loud affirmation of its hunger. Still smiling, she set down the tabby, while she prepared its dish of ‘Fancy Feast’.
“I’m not really sure what about this food is fancy, it smells like the bottom of the garbage can; however, your mother seemed to approve of this for you, so who am I to argue?”
Sarah dropped to her knees and spun around to face the door when she heard it start to open.
“Alexi, get down off the counter!”
Alexi just looked at Sarah, and continued to eat her breakfast. Sarah swears the tabby just rolled her eyes.
“Mom, when you start talking to the cat, it’s time to go out and make a new friend.” John stated as he walked in the back door to her kitchen.
“Yeah well if it would start acting like it did when her mother was around…”
John immediately recognized the signs of his mothers distress, and swiftly walked over and embraced her in as tight a hug as she would allow.
‘MROOOOWW’
Sarah and John looked up at Alexi, who was standing on the counter, her back was fully arched and her ears were pulled back atop her head hissing at the door.
“I only know one thing that makes her this upset.” Sarah smiled as she stood up to face the back door.
“Stupid, no good cat. Just like that tin can that found her.” Derek stated when he walked into the kitchen.
“Yeah, they both had impeccable judgment when it came to you.” Sarah chuckled to herself and picked up the tabby. Derek snorted at Sarah and walked to grab a beer out of the fridge.
“Its nice to see you too Sarah.” Derek stated as he walked to the living room and sat on the loveseat and turned on the television.
Sarah turned to glair at her son, “Why did you bring him with you John? Especially this weekend.”
“Mom, this is an important weekend for all of us. Besides, I’ll keep him out of the way tomorrow night. I promise, it will just be the two of us when we go. I would never bring him with us.” John knew his mother was upset with Derek being in the home with them, but he knew he couldn’t let his uncle spend this weekend alone.
Sarah slumped her shoulders in defeat, she knew her son was right, knew that Derek shouldn’t be alone this weekend. Sarah let out an audible sigh as she set Alexi back down on the counter so she could finish her breakfast. “I know John. I know he shouldn’t be alone this weekend, none of us should be.” Sarah dropped her voice to a whisper, to make sure she couldn’t be overheard in the other room. “He better not be anywhere near us tomorrow John. I swear, he is not to be anywhere near, we both know what would happen.”
John shifted on his feet uncomfortably knowing full well what his mother would do if his uncle showed up tomorrow night. “I know, and I’ll handle it.”
“How are things going with the machine anyway?”
“I have a little work to do, but it should all be done by tomorrow. She didn’t leave anything out, and knew exactly what I would need. It’s amazing how detail oriented she made this. Nothing has been left out, it’s all set up for me.”
“So what’s taking you so long?” Sarah joked.
“Taken so long to do what?” Derek asked as he strolled into the kitchen in search of another beer.
“Uh, graduate from collage. John was just telling me how easy his computer classes are.” Sarah easily let the lie flow off her tong, as she turned to pour herself a cup of coffee. “Don’t you think it’s a little early to be drinking Derek?” Sarah didn’t even try to disguise the disdain in her voice.
“I don’t know about you, but I plan on spending this weekend drunk, and if I’m lucky enough unconscious. John, why are you taking all those computer classes anyway? I figured you would have had enough of them in your life by now.” The revulsion Derek felt towards the machines and technology in general could be heard in every word he spoke.
“Because, this way I can keep an eye on the technology. I keep up my grades; keep them high enough that I can work for any company I want when I graduate. So this way I can always keep an eye out for what is going on. There is no stopping the advancement of technology, not in our lifetime. This way I can stop anything from getting to out of hand, I can help people understand how to work with the machines we create, instead of making them work for us.”
Derek just scoffed at John, and walked back into the living room, a beer in each hand, and a bag of chips tucked under her arm. Sarah and John just looked at each other and with that look, they both knew that they should drop the subject; it wasn’t safe to talk around Derek.
“So, are you hungry John? I could make us some breakfast before I go.” Sarah started walking to the fridge not even waiting for John to answer. “I bought some blueberries, so I was thinking blubbery explosion pancakes.”
“…Blueberry explosion? After all this time you still sound like her when you cook those.”
Johns words cut straight through Sarah’s happy mood at seeing her son. She knew he didn’t mean anything by what he said, but the prompt reminder of how Cameron used to make them breakfast, made Sarah pause. “It’s kind of hard not to when you’re talking about her recipe.” Sarah tried to joke, but it fell kind of flat. John shook his head, and walked to get the mixing bowl out of the cabinet.
“Yeah mom, I would love some food.” Even though we got something to eat before we got here.
“You might as well go ask your uncle if he is going to want any.”
“Sure mom, we both know how much he loves your amazing cooking.” John laughed and jumped away as his mom tried to swat his arm. Sarah could hear him laughing when he went to ask his uncle, and could hear Derek’s answering chuckle to the thought of eating Sarah’s breakfast.
“You know Alexi, I don’t think they have any faith in my skills.”
Meow
“Yeah, yeah, I love you too.” Sarah smiled and scratched the cat behind its ears as she watched john come back into the kitchen. “You don’t have to say anything, I know, he isn’t hungry.”
“Yup, looks like it’s just you and me. So where do you have to go?”
“What?”
“You said you had enough time to cook us something to eat before you had to go, where are you going? …You’re not going to the house are you?”
“No…I’m not going to the house, I have to take the cat to the vet. She needs to get a checkup.”
“A check…a checkup…for the cat? Mom, are you feeling ok?” John couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His mother Sarah Conner was taking a cat to the doctor for a checkup, not because it was sick, or injured, but just because.
“Yeah, she needs it, besides, what would her mother say if I let her die before she could say goodbye to it?” Sarah shook her head, “I sound like the crazy cat lady don’t I?” Sarah chuckled.
“A little bit yeah.” John smiled at his mom, hearing her joke lifted his spirits a little. He didn’t realize how much he missed talking to him mom. “Hey mom, do you want me to score the blueberries and put them with the brown sugar?” John asked looking around the kitchen for something to do.
“No, I did it last night; I wanted to make sure they were ready for today.” Sarah reached for a pink bowl that was upside-down on the countertop. She picked it up, and unwrapped the bowl of blueberries and brown sugar.
“Why did you put the bowl, in a bowl of water, under a bowl?”
“Well the bowl of water used to be ice. If I put the blueberries and brown sugar in the fridge they stay to cold, and the sugar doesn’t really pull enough flavor out of the fruit. If I just leave it out all night, then it gets to warm and the fruit doesn’t taste right. So, if I put the fruit bowl in a bowl of ice, the ice keeps it cold, but it steadily melts, and warms, so the fruit stays fresh, but the sugar can still do its job. And this bowl on top is to add an extra barrier to keep out bugs, or Alexi. She has a thing for sugar.”
“O.k., who are you , and what have you done with my mom?” John poked Sarah in the shoulder
Sarah laughed and swatted Johns hand away. “You would be amazed what I can accomplish when I don’t have to worry about killer robots from the future, and no longer have to protect anyone from them.”
John felt the sting in his mothers words. “Well I’m just glad you found a hobby that doesn’t include guns, or explosives.”
“Yeah, cooking is much more relaxing than setting up a plastic explosive to blow up a building.”
“Sarah Connor, the best soldier the resistance has ever known, is turning herself into a squishy domestic goddess.”
Sarah and john just turned and looked at Derek. The shock visible on their faces.
“Did he just call you a domestic goddess? Wow Goddess Conner…never thought I would hear those words put together in the same sentence.” John laughed as he watched his mother flip the first batch of pancakes.
“Well its certainly been a while since I have been called a goddess, but your right John…I don’t think I have ever been a domestic one.” Sarah smiled and finished making breakfast for her and her son.
John wanted to know why and when she was called a goddess, but was afraid to hear why Cameron called her one. Some pieces of information just didn’t need to be shared with him. His uncle on the other hand didn’t have any misgivings about asking that question.
“Who used to call you a goddess and why?” Derek laughed at the thought of anyone calling the hot headed women a goddess. He figured he knew who, but he could resist poking at an old wound. Cameron was the only one who would ever dare call Sarah a goddess. He still couldn’t understand what finally tipped Sarah over the edge of sanity for her to fall into the arms of a machine.
“For the sake of John’s sanity, I’m not going to answer that question.” Sarah was trying to suppress the surge of rage that was rising within her at Derek’s attitude. She decided to busy herself by setting the table for John and herself. John was impressed by his mother’s restraint.
Wow, if this conversation was happening any other time than the weekend when her heart would finally mend he would have a bullet in his head.
“Thanks mom, they actually look really good.” John hesitantly bit into his first pancake. “WOW! Mom these are actually good! I can’t believe you made these. Don’t give me that look, we both know your track record when it comes to cooking.”
“Im not sure if I should be pleased or offended by that John.” Sarah smiled at her son’s loud verification of her new found cooking skills.”
After breakfast, Sarah went off to search for the cat carrier and John took Derek out of the house to give them some space apart, besides wearing his uncle out before he started drinking was the best idea he could come up with. If Derek followed John and his mother to the house tonight someone was going to die, and there was no way around it. John had a job to do, and he couldn’t let his uncle be there to stop him.
It has been two years since Cameron died for his cause, and now it was finally time to bring her home.