riders in the sky | anklebones

act 4

Sarah opened her eyes to a patronizingly bright morning. The birdsong outside her window was almost too cheerful to be real. Combined with the picturesque sunbeams lying in smug lines across her blankets, it made Sarah want to go back to sleep until the world had a more sympathetic atmosphere to offer her. Rain would have been good. She could have been legitimately cranky about rain. Instead she was stuck trying to rationalize an irrational resentment of the weather because she didn't want to think about the real reason for her black mood.

She managed not to think about it all the way through getting dressed, brushing her teeth, and making her bed. Finding Savannah's giraffe wedged between the headboard and the mattress was a good distraction, and Sarah made a point of smoothing it out and setting it on the pillow, ready for another night of warding its mistress's dreams.

Even so, it was looking rather desperately worn around the edges.

"I know the feeling," Sarah muttered, one guardian to another. "We're going to do better by her, I promise."

The giraffe was silent on the subject, and there was only so long Sarah could talk to a stuffed animal before she had to acknowledge that she was reaching pathological levels of avoidance, but she felt they understood each other.

And then there were no more distractions.

Cameron had said she would be back. Waiting for the tell-tale creak of the door that would herald the machine's return, Sarah had fought to stay awake well into the morning hours, but Cameron hadn't come, and eventually she had fallen into a fitful doze.

There had to be a reason, Sarah told herself. For once she wasn't going to believe the worst. Cameron had promised, and Sarah had work to do. Deliberately putting the terminator out of her mind, she set out to do it.

Still, doubt made her cranky and short with everyone, including John who seemed to be under his own black cloud. Cameron was nowhere to be found and Sarah didn't go looking for her, and James was smart enough to leave her alone, but before the morning was over Sarah had snapped at Terissa and snarled at Danny. She even managed, completely unintentionally, to step on the kitten's tail, so now Walther wasn't speaking to her either.

Only Savannah was immune, though she was still giving Sarah a wide berth.

Finally Sarah retreated to the back yard with a third cup of coffee and sat on the picnic table by herself for the rest of the morning. Even neglected and half-wild, the garden had a sense of tranquility and beauty to it, and Sarah watched little birds flit and hop around the freshly turned earth where Terissa and Savannah had been working, wishing her life was so simple. For a bird, happiness was a mouthful of food and maybe a good bath along the way.

If they feared anything it was only for an instant, and then they either escaped or they were dead. Birds didn't know the kind of fear that ate away at your soul. A cat might stalk them for hours unnoticed, but if a bird saw it coming, he only had to fly away. Flying away was no longer an option for Sarah, no matter how much she might wish it was.

"I thought you might need a refill." Terissa, coffee pot in hand, sat down on the table beside her.

Sarah offered her cup wordlessly, and Terissa filled it in kind.

They sat quietly together, sipping coffee and watching the birds.

So slowly that it felt like the water draining out of a leaky bucket, Sarah felt her dark mood ebb, falling away from her a single drop at a time. If she concentrated she could almost hear each one splash into the grass, shattering into a hundred tiny fragments. The temptation to hold onto the wall she had put up was real, but Sarah consciously chose to let it go.

Just like the birds, now was all she had.

As if sensing when Sarah had reached a point of calm, Terissa stretched and stood. "The boys think the program is ready," she said. "John says you and he settled on a decoy yesterday, so they're just waiting for your seal of approval."

Sarah pursed her lips, impressed with Terissa's people skills and accepting she'd just been expertly handled. She shook her head. "John is making those calls now."

"Right." Terissa smiled. "And you and Cameron were stacking flower pots in the shed yesterday." Her grin widened at Sarah's furious blush. "You can hand over as many reins as you like, Sarah, but so long as you're here, he's going to need you."

"And here I thought I could retire," Sarah drawled, following Terissa back up the walk.

"Just get us through this one, and I'll personally send you and that machine of yours around the world," Terissa promised, holding the back door open.

"Not that far," Sarah said wistfully. "Just a little house on the beach... with a porch and an ocean view."

"Sounds perfect."

"You have no idea," Sarah murmured.

*****

The den felt crowded even before Sarah and Terissa got there. Four people and a wall of computer equipment left more than enough square feet to go around, but the room was thick with words left unsaid.

Sarah felt them settle onto her shoulders as soon as she stepped over the threshold, but it was James who gave them a voice, as if her arrival was the weight that upset the balance of silence.

"It's not going to work," he said to John, including Sarah and Terissa with a glance. "C.A.I.N. knows your mother's tricks by now. Blowing up a building is too obvious. He'll never buy it. You'll be risking your lives for nothing but another hole in the ground."

Sarah exchanged a look with her son, and he nodded fractionally. She tried to catch Cameron's eye, but the machine was lurking behind Danny at the back of the room, her attention seemingly absorbed in his computer screen. "He'll believe it because he wants to believe it," Sarah said, her mind only half on the conversation. "The server farm is a trap. The only question is whether or not we can fall for it convincingly enough."

"You're walking into a trap." James didn't sound surprised. He sounded as if he wanted to be surprised, but couldn't quite manage it. "On what planet would that be a good idea?

"Sarah..." Terissa didn't sound surprised either, she sounded concerned. And faintly disapproving, like a mother catching her son climbing out the window on a school night. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," John cut in, and Sarah let him, too preoccupied with the way Cameron was deliberately not looking at her to maintain an active presence in the conversation. Danny pointed something out on the screen and she nodded, whispering something back too low to hear. Sweat visible on his brow and staining his shirt, Danny looked like a man with a demon on his shoulder, but for now he seemed to have decided that Cameron wasn't going to kill him for breathing the wrong way. They ignored the debate going on around them, as if it didn't matter, or as if they already had an answer.

"C.A.I.N. has no tethers left, no reason to set up so close to L.A.," John continued. "The only reason for him to be here is us."

James frowned. "You can't be sure of that."

"He let Mom and Cameron go for a reason," John said. "He's trying to lure us in, and we'll give him what he wants long enough for the program to do its work."

"I still think it won't be enough." James shook his head. "This isn't just another terminator. This is the kind of mind that could create them one day. If you're right and it's a trap, then C.A.I.N. is probably anticipating something like this. He'll be looking for the hook. You need something he can't ignore."

John threw up his hands. "If blowing his new server farm up isn't going to be enough, than I don't know what is. Please, feel free to make suggestions, or let us do what has to be done, because we're running out of time."

Sarah could think of one thing that might tempt C.A.I.N.'s curiosity, and the idea curdled her stomach. Suddenly understanding exactly what Cameron was thinking, Sarah's green gaze locked on her, willing the other woman to turn and face her. Look at me, she thought at Cameron, feeling grief and anger rising in her in equal measure. They'd promised. They'd fucking promised. No more secrets.

"It won't work," James repeated stubbornly. "And I'm not going to watch you throw your lives away without calling you a damned fool."

John bristled, but before he could retort, Cameron stepped away from the computer and touched his shoulder. Her eyes swept up to Sarah's before she spoke, meeting them for an apologetic instant before dropping again, but it was enough. She saw the realization waiting for her in Sarah's eyes, watched them shutter with the truth. "It will work."

Sarah knew what she was going to say next, and she didn't want to hear it. Turning on her heel she left the den, ignoring James as he called after her and shaking off Terissa's sympathetic touch on her arm. She didn't know whether to cry or hit something, she only knew she needed to be somewhere Cameron wasn't.

Cameron watched her go, oblivious to John's puzzled gaze on her profile as he studied the regret and upset that she telegraphed on her features without realizing it. She had thought she was finished balancing her feelings for Sarah against the mission, but what could she do when protecting Sarah was the mission, and having a chance at success meant risking hurting her?

"It will work," Cameron said again, remembering the freedom of a world without guilt, without emotion or pain, and acknowledging that what had once seemed so inviting, now echoed with the emptiness of a tomb. As the back door slammed, Cameron forced her gaze back on John. "C.A.I.N. won't be able to ignore a direct attack. He won't be able to ignore me."

*****

The night was clear and cold, and the stars looked very far away. James leaned against the porch railing and wondered what he was doing here. Everyone else seemed to have found a role for themselves, but he was feeling more and more like a loose thread that no one had the heart to cut.

John had been right in one respect, having them all grouped together like this was a tactical nightmare, and the close quarters were making everyone uneasy. James had found this place for Savannah, he had made her his mission, but she didn't need him anymore. Sarah and Cameron had taken on that role, and as unlikely as it seemed, he couldn't help but think they were going to make damn good parents.

But where did that leave him?

James let that question sit for a minute, taking the time to simply exist in the moment. The day had been long and trying, filled with short tempers and fraying nerves. Sarah had retreated to her room and stayed there. John and Danny had argued in endless circles about code. Terissa had spent the day with Savannah, keeping the child occupied and out from underfoot. Even now, the pair was dragging a tent into Savannah's room, planning to spend the evening telling stories and roasting marshmallows over a single candle. At least they all had something to do, something to keep their minds off the confrontation with C.A.I.N. tomorrow.

And then there was Cameron.

Her silhouette nearly invisible against the night, she was sitting cross-legged on the picnic table. Her back was to the house, and she might have been monitoring the perimeter, but James had been getting more and more in touch with the machine's moods, and after Sarah's walk out this afternoon he didn't think Cameron was sitting alone in the dark for security reasons. Maybe it was merely God's plan for him that he help guide this machine through an all too human evolution. Maybe that was to be his role in things. James accepted the possibility, but prayed that there would be more to his existence here than playing shrink to an emotionally-stunted cyborg.

Sighing, James came closer, watching the telltale dip of Cameron's head as she indentified his footsteps. "Nice night," he greeted, sitting on the bench below her.

"It's cold," Cameron said in return, eyeing him knowingly.

James shrugged. "It's warm inside."

Cameron's silence was answer enough. James shook his head. Apparently being made out of metal didn't make someone any less of a fool.

"Stubborn as mules, both of you," he murmured.

Cameron didn't disagree. She looked away, but said nothing.

"You sure this is the best way, Cameron? Going back into the system? C.A.I.N. is even more powerful now..."

"I know," Cameron stated evenly. "But this is the only way to weaken him."

"He could destroy you."

"He won't."

James pursed his lips and shook his head again. "You don't know that. You can't guarantee that."

"I won't leave Sarah and Savannah," Cameron insisted, a determined set to her jaw.

"You wishing for something won't make it so."

Cameron shifted so she could look at him fully. "I'm not trying to fight him directly... just distract him... get him engaged so we can release the virus."

"Who are you trying to convince? Me or you?" James crossed his arms and continued to regard the machine's profile as Cameron looked away, clearly disgruntled by his response. He sighed. "They care about you, Cameron," he said gently, trying for another approach. "Sarah... Savannah... it'll kill them if they lose you." James watched in surprise as Cameron swallowed in reaction.

"If I don't stop C.A.I.N. then he'll kill us all."

"You shouldn't have surprised her like that. You know Sarah hates surprises... secrets even more." James looked back out at the night, missing Cameron's features as they crumbled slightly.

"I know," she admitted. The silence stretched out between them for several quiet minutes before Cameron looked at him again. "I didn't decide to go into the system until this morning," Cameron confessed. "I didn't keep the secret from her for long," she continued, feeling the need to explain her actions to someone. "Caring for someone is... hard."

"It is," James agreed.

"But you would do anything to protect them," Cameron added. "You would still give your life for your ex-wife," she pointed out bluntly.

It was James' turn to swallow, feeling like the air had suddenly thinned. "I would," he breathed, rattled by the abrupt change in conversation but gleaming much from Cameron's comparison. "Talk to her," he said standing up. "Apologize, confess, do whatever it is you need to do. Life's too damned short for pride, and you need each other. Maybe you can avoid some of the mistakes I made."

"James?" Cameron's soft voice stopped him halfway back to the porch and he turned.

"Do you still miss her?"

It was a cruel question, but life was cruel. "Every day," James said, meeting her eyes. "But I'm glad she's not here."

Cameron nodded. "I'm sorry you can't be with her."

The honest sympathy in her voice offered some measure of comfort. If James had played some small part in Cameron's evolution, in the realization of a machine with emotion, with ethics and humanity that could stand up against her creator, than it hadn't all been in vain. Still... "It's for the best. She's far away from this. Safe," he added.

"I don't have that luxury," Cameron pointed out simply. She turned away, peering back into the darkness.

*****

Sarah spent all day sulking in her room, avoiding everyone, but the solace did nothing to ease the turmoil chewing at her stomach at the thought of Cameron going back into the system. Images of a thick cable binding the terminator to a world where Sarah couldn't follow, her eyes blank and staring, haunted Sarah in her self-enforced solitude. But she didn't seek company, opting instead to stubbornly sit on her bed, cleaning her 9mm, and waiting for Cameron to appear with an apology or one damn good explanation. When a knock finally sounded, she had practically raced to the door, only to school the disappointment from her expression when it turned out to be Terissa and Savannah on the other side.

Terissa was too damned smart for comfort. She kept a straight face while Savannah, eyes bright with anticipation and arms full of a bag of marshmallows nearly as big as she was, solemnly explained their camping plans for the night.

Sarah gave Savannah permission with an equally straight face, but she raised a brow at Terissa over Savannah's head as the girl hugged her goodnight, rolling her eyes at the other woman's smug grin. No doubt the evening would do Savannah a world of good, but Sarah doubted that had been Terissa's sole motivation. Sarah wasn't sure if she should hug the woman or strangle her for interfering, especially now when she was actually looking forward to spending the night with Savannah to provide a buffer for her raw emotions. At least with Savannah in the room, she wouldn't yell at Cameron when the terminator finally showed up.

The knowing smile on Terissa's lips did nothing to help Sarah's mood as the two moved off down the hallway. She closed the door firmly and leaned against it for a long moment, trying to sort out her feelings. Finally, she headed into the bathroom to take a shower.

She dithered under the scalding spray, uncertain of what she wanted to see when she stepped out of the bathroom, but the pang of disappointment in seeing an empty room told her that she had wanted, even expected, Cameron to be there waiting for her. After slipping on a robe and cinching it tight, she toweled her hair dry ruthlessly, before sitting on the bed and glaring at the closed bedroom door, willing it to open. Finally, she got up and opened it herself before discarding the towel and settling at the foot of the bed again to wait out her errant lover.

It was late by the time Cameron finally returned from her patrol. Sarah heard her prowling around the ground floor before climbing the steps. She stopped at Savannah's closed door long enough that Sarah guessed she was surprised by the arrangement and was listening in to make sure Savannah was okay. She moved on slowly, reluctantly, Sarah thought, wondering if Cameron's feelings were as mixed as her own had been by the loss of their child-sized shield.

Cameron hesitated in the doorway. In the past, their disagreements and arguments had always ended in closed doors, and Sarah could see that the change had surprised the machine. She was cautious, but determined, stepping into the room like a long-legged deer ready to fight or flee. There were a few pieces of wet grass on her feet, and for some reason the sight made Sarah ache. It was so human, like toes burying and wiggling in the sand.

The space between them hummed, like a string held taut and then plucked by a single finger. Without turning around, Cameron pushed the door shut behind her. "Sarah," she began, the weight of words ready to follow clear in her eyes.

Facing Cameron, Sarah felt the desire to yell, or even talk, evaporate into the cool night air. There had already been enough yelling between them, enough fighting. Tomorrow, with its risk to life and limb and love, would come, but this was now. She had wasted so many "nows" in her life, always worrying about what would come, unable to let go of the future long enough to enjoy the present. That, she decided, would stop now; they had a night alone and she was determined not to waste it on harsh words and hurt feelings.

"Stop." Sarah rose and closed on the terminator. She stopped scant inches away and reached out to slide her fingers through Cameron's silky hair, her other hand finding the tie of her robe. She smirked a little as Cameron's eyes dipped and went dark. Taking Cameron's hand, she drew it beneath the fabric and laid it on her hip. "No talking," she said pointedly. "Not tonight."

"But I-" Cameron's gaze swept back up, full of things unsaid.

"Shhh..." Sarah pressed closer, brushing Cameron's lips with a light, teasing kiss while her fingers busied themselves with her belt. The metal buckle was chilled from being outside, but the skin of Cameron's stomach was warm. Sarah felt the machine shiver as she let her hands wander. "It's okay."

When she felt Cameron sliding the robe off her shoulders, Sarah let everything go. Clothes scattered, teeth nipped, hands stroked, whimpers were muffled against lips and skin. Rational thought fled, waiting patiently until they were done before creeping back in the dawning hours and climbing into the sweat-soaked bed to wonder for Sarah what it was that Cameron had wanted to say.

*****

Dawn found Vaughn still awake. Fueled by hatred and coffee so strong it was burning holes in his stomach lining, he refused to quit. He had ripped out every camera in the small back-up facility that he'd been running his pursuit out of since Kaliba's main headquarters had burned. But he still felt exposed. He didn't trust their security anymore, he didn't trust anything.

He had his best hackers working to keep C.A.I.N. out of his mainframe, but he had no idea if they were succeeding, or if they only thought they were. The search for the Connors was at a complete dead end, and he'd switched to looking for possible targets that might interest a small group of terrorists.

People didn't change, and crazy people only more so. Connor was at war against technology, and sooner or later she'd need another fix. That meant another building blown up, and thanks to an exhaustive history on the woman, Vaughn knew exactly the kind of place she went for.

"Sir?"

Vaughn put down his empty coffee mug and joined the team of three at the computers. "You've got something?"

The lead tech brought up a page of shipping records and an address. "I think so, sir."

*****

It felt strange, to be the one left behind. Cameron prowled the grounds to make sure nothing had changed during the night, but her thoughts churned on Sarah. She remembered the lingering look her lover had given her as John had knelt to give Savannah a quick hug before they'd departed for the server farm. Cameron had seen regret, fear, and so much longing in Sarah's eyes that she'd almost forgotten herself and gone to her. Only Savannah's hand in hers had kept her anchored to the spot. Cameron had wanted to ditch the plan right then and there and go with them, even though she'd known such a maneuver would be pointless. Her place was at Sarah's side, and it wore on her that she wasn't there.

Cameron kept moving, unable to focus on anything, even reading a book to Savannah. It was unsettling. She used to be able to sit, perfectly still, and let the world rush on past until it was time to strike. Machines shouldn't have nerves. It was what made them so effective.

Satisfied the perimeter was secure, Cameron returned to the house. Danny was at his computer, head bent as he typed at a steady pace, his mother lingering nearby. Ellison had gone with John and Sarah, playing his part as lookout and getaway driver. Savannah was seated on the couch with Walther in her lap, her young features tight and worried as she petted the kitten aimlessly. She looked up when Cameron paused in the doorway, offering her a hesitant smile that hurt more than helped. Cameron returned her grin, hoping it didn't appear as forced as it felt. When she turned back to Danny he was watching her curiously, but he said nothing.

When the phone finally rang, it made all of them jump, and Cameron took a moment to get herself under control before answering it.

"Sarah?" Codes were exchanged, and Sarah's welcome reply gave Cameron's equilibrium back to her. She felt herself come back into alignment, an arrow trained on a target with Sarah's hand on the bow.

"We're here," Sarah said, and something about the wind in the background sounded dry and dusty. "It looks empty, but there are fresh tire tracks. I can't see any cameras yet, but there was security equipment listed in the shipments, so there may be surveillance we can't see, or it could be inside. Any activity from C.A.I.N.?"

Cameron sat down at the computer beside Danny, ignoring the way his pulse leapt. She brought up her monitoring programs, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "Not yet-" she started, falling silent when a spike in the system told her C.A.I.N. had noticed their intrusion.

"Cameron?" Sarah's voice sharpened.

"He sees you." It was part of the plan, but Cameron felt uncharacteristic dread well up inside her. Something felt off, and Cameron's mind worked feverishly to decipher what it was. "Maybe..." She started to say more but Sarah cut her off.

"It's time then." Sarah sounded grim, but determined. There was a pause. "Cameron..." Sarah began only to trail off, and Cameron closed her eyes, almost able to see her, tense, but steady with a mission in front of her, and the wrong person at her back.

"I know," she said refocusing on the screen in front of her. This was the best way to protect them, to save them, she reminded herself. What they felt for each other would have to wait. "Sarah?"

"Yeah?"

"When this is over, we're taking Savannah to the beach." Cameron watched as the child in question shot her a beaming smile.

Sarah was quiet for so long, Cameron began to wonder if she'd hung up.

"Sounds perfect. Be careful in there, Tin Miss." The wealth of emotion in Sarah's voice cut Cameron to the quick. When her lover disconnected, Cameron reluctantly did the same.

"It's time?" Terissa asked when Cameron had hung up.

Cameron handed her the phone. "If anything happens to Sarah or I..." She silenced the protest she could see forming with a look. "I want you and James to take Savannah and run. Someone will call this phone in a few days, help them however you can."

"Them?" Terissa looked doubtful as Danny turned and watched the conversation with avid interest. "Does Sarah know about this?"

"Promise me."

Terissa regarded her for a moment, a searching gaze that Cameron met as honestly as she could. Danny aside, they were good people, and they didn't deserve to be dragged into this, but they was the only people she could ask. The only people she could even marginally trust.

Terissa nodded, though Cameron guessed she would have questions to answer if she survived. "I promise," Terissa said, closing her hand around the phone.

*****

"What did she say?" John asked when his mother had stuffed her phone into her back pocket. "Are we a go?"

There had been unease in Cameron's voice, and the memory of it scraped along Sarah's nerves. "We're a go," she murmured slowly.

"What's wrong?" John asked, picking up on something.

Sarah shook her head. "Nothing. Let's get this done." She nodded at James before they moved off, hoping the thicket of trees would be enough to hide the truck from any passing cars.

"This is going to work," John insisted as he adjusted his grip on his backpack, feeling the bundles of C-4 shifting inside.

"We're about to find out," Sarah muttered, reluctantly letting him take the lead.

*****

"Are you ready?" Danny asked, the scent of his fear filling the small room. His mother's presence was probably all that was keeping him there. She hovered close by, as if sensing he might panic and bolt. The program he and John had spent so many hours working on was in his hand. It was tiny, a portable hard drive no more than two inches long. Not much to save the world with, but maybe enough to save them.

"I'm ready." Cameron sat beside him, the cable she would use to enter the system in her own hand. It felt heavier than it really was, a set of numbers Cameron could call up effortlessly that did nothing to describe the way it felt against her skin. No longer a route to freedom, but the noose that might hang her.

"I'm ready too." Savannah pulled up her own chair, sitting Walther down on the seat before climbing up herself. The kitten tolerated the shifting about, finally settling in Savannah's lap. He'd learned there was no use protesting his mistress's strange whims.

Cameron knew she should send Savannah out of the room, but she also knew that neither the child, nor the woman she would become, would thank her for it. And having her there made it easier somehow to raise the cord and plug in.

The physical world retreated in a rush. Distantly Cameron was aware of her body slumping back in the chair, of Danny swearing and Savannah's tiny hand reaching out to clasp her own, but she turned away, searching for her brother.

She found him watching, and for a moment she was able to see with his eyes and hear with his ears, as Sarah and John broke into the empty building only to find it dark and quiet, the shipments unpacked and everything still swathed in plastic, save for the surveillance equipment. They had been right, it was a trap.

Yes, but not for you. Almost gently, C.A.I.N. disengaged, pushing Cameron away from him and closing off the feeds to the building, hiding Sarah and John from her.

Cameron didn't like that. She tried to go around him, but he was everywhere at once, no longer the bloated and awkward consciousness that had been tied down by Kaliba, but a being, however disembodied, that had made the system its home. He had learned from their last encounter, he would not retreat this time.

She pulled back, making herself smaller within his coils. A mouse exhaling to gain relief from the grip of the constrictor, not realizing that it is condemning itself. Who is the trap for then? She asked, buying time. Cameron didn't have to defeat him, she just had to keep him busy and engaged.

Vaughn. C.A.I.N. offered, and if he was lying Cameron could see no sign of it in his code. It should have been impossible to lie in the system, one mind to another like this, but if it could be done, it would be C.A.I.N. who would know how. He is coming now, with men and guns. Should I warn your friend? I did before.

The mall? Surprise was impossible to hide, and Cameron felt C.A.I.N.'s... amusement? Satisfaction, perhaps? Did he have emotions or was she simply interpreting his responses in a way she understood? In turn, she wondered if he felt her sudden terror for Sarah and John.

You didn't know? I thought perhaps you did, since you allowed me to talk to the boy. Yes, I knew you watched, though I could not find you. But now you have come to me, so choose, should I tell Sarah Connor to run? Or should I let her die?

*****

Danny watched the activity on the monitor. He was aware of the moment when C.A.I.N.'s involvement was such that he could have pressed the button that would loose the program, but he didn't reach for the keyboard. The clock on the wall ticked steadily, reminding him that within seconds the moment could be lost, John and Sarah could die, Cameron could be overwhelmed, and C.A.I.N. would win.

He glanced over at the machine's limp body, wondering if he could reach over and jerk the cord out of its head before anyone could stop him. Savannah was holding the thing's hand and staring at the computers, as if she actually understood what she was seeing. He felt sorry for her. Growing up without a father had been hard enough, at least he had been mostly normal. She would be lucky if she didn't end up just like Connor, crazy and obsessed with her futile war against technology while she kept a cyborg as a pet.

Artificial intelligence couldn't be stopped. Danny understood what his father hadn't, what his mother refused to see. Destroying one man's work wouldn't stop it from happening. All they had done was delay the inevitable, and there was no way to know if C.A.I.N. would try to blow up the world or save it.

But Danny wasn't stupid. He was smart enough to be afraid of what would happen if C.A.I.N. continued to run through the system without any kind of limits. He needed to be reined in, reminded that his existence depended on the people who had created him. Before anyone else died, even Sarah Connor.

Danny lifted a hand, hesitated. Would this make C.A.I.N. his enemy? What if he offered something C.A.I.N. wanted in return? Again Danny's eyes strayed to Cameron. The A.I. was interested in her, was probably pulling her apart right now to see what made her tick. Maybe he could wait just a little longer... and with luck, he wouldn't have to worry about her looking over his shoulder anymore.

"Danny?" his mother's voice, quiet and knowing, made his face burn with shame.

"Almost there," he lied, giving C.A.I.N. a few more minutes.

*****

C.A.I.N. tightened the noose.

Cameron twisted in his grip, seeing through the simple choice to the conditions underneath. Yes, he could save Sarah, but he wanted something in return. His mind pressed on hers, trying to gain access, trying to understand. He didn't feel, not really, but he had a terrible curiosity, and it was threatening to swallow Cameron whole.

He wanted to know what made her different from himself, why the life of a single human was so important to her. His questions were living things, pulling and tearing at her. He wanted to use her to grow, the same way he had used Danny and Kaliba. He was a virus with a brain.

Cameron had expected this, all of it. It had been the plan all along as unpleasant as it was. C.A.I.N. was finally fully engaged. It was time. What was Danny waiting for?

Cameron reached back to the house, looking for the path she had left herself. She couldn't be here and there at the same time, not enough to push a button, but she could interface with the utility program and loose the virus herself. Danny had never been a cornerstone, but she had let him think he was. If he had come through, she would have known she could trust him, but she didn't need him.

Or she shouldn't have. The path was gone.

Fighting to keep herself together and keep C.A.I.N. out of her consciousness, Cameron groped after the link, but all she could see was C.A.I.N., his code wrapping around her like a snake and squeezing. He had cut her off completely and she hadn't noticed. Real fear, strong enough to be felt even here, immobilized her.

You cannot fight me. C.A.I.N. didn't gloat, he wasn't capable of it, but there was something of the innocence of a large child sitting on a smaller one and demanding their lunch money in his words. He was not malicious, he simply hungered. Submit, and I will give you the woman's life.

There was no way out. Her thoughts on Sarah, of what fate could await her if she didn't comply, had Cameron yielding to his demands.

Opening up her mind, she gave him everything. Every feeling Sarah had ever made her feel. She gave him the unfamiliar sympathy and respect that had first puzzled her when she lifted a strange woman onto a table and pulled a bullet out of her shoulder. She gave him anger, frustration, fierce protectiveness, the passion she had discovered in a dilapidated motel, and she gave him love... Love for a woman she wanted to spend the rest of her existence with. Love for their child. Love she would die for.

C.A.I.N.'s triumph was short-lived.

The emotions hit him in ways he didn't understand, couldn't understand. Cameron had come to them gradually and still they had staggered her. Their combined strength slammed into C.A.I.N. like a bullet to the chest.

He writhed, first trying to contain the information, to absorb and process it, and then rejecting it as it overwhelmed him, but Cameron was already out of his grip. He snatched at her wildly, but everywhere they touched she fed him pain. The pain of a hundred bullet wounds, of cuts and scrapes, of being hit by a car, of burning, it was all there in her memories, and she used it as a weapon.

Breaking free, Cameron reached first for the cellular system and sent Sarah a message, relief almost undoing her when she felt it connect with Sarah's phone. Next she aimed for the house, but C.A.I.N. had regrouped, and he blocked her path, radiating a primitive anger born of thwarted plans.

That was a mistake.

*****

The buzz of her cell phone startled Sarah, making her hands twitch as she set another charge. John glanced at her speculatively, and she gave him a wry look as she dug the phone out of her back pocket. The vast, cavernous space echoed with the sound of another buzz, the phone seemingly insistent that she read the incoming text message immediately. Feeling a thread of unease wind through her, Sarah flipped open her phone and absorbed the single word on the display: Run.

Chilled, Sarah straightened, leaving the explosives half-wired at her feet without a thought, her gaze taking in the silent room as she pulled her gun from the waistband of her jeans.

"What?" John asked with alarm.

Sarah stared at the text. Was it Cameron as the number suggested? Or C.A.I.N. playing more tricks? She swallowed.

"Mom?" John insisted. He came closer, reading the message when she turned the phone toward him.

"It's C.A.I.N.," he guessed, but he looked as uneasy as she felt. "Just like the mall..."

"What if it isn't?" Sarah asked, focusing on the message and letting her instincts guide her. "The other message had no number, John. This is Cameron's number."

"She's in the system," he reminded her. "If anything, this could mean C.A.I.N. destroyed her and got the information for our phones." John watched as his mother flinched at the thought. "We'll finish and get out of here. This is our only chance."

Sarah shook her head and knelt once more to bag the remaining explosives. "We should go."

"What?" John asked with disbelief. His eyes automatically checked the exits and saw nothing, the sight adding to his simmering anger.

"Now, John."

The hint of command in her voice had John bristling. He returned to his backpack and hefted it, but rather than slinging it on his shoulder he turned back to his mother. "Do you trust me or not?" he snapped. "Am I in charge only so long as things go well but the second there is a..."

"John," Sarah ground out. "This isn't about being in charge, it's about staying alive."

Sarah crossed the room, positioning herself between the main entrance and her son. She pocketed the phone, keeping her attention on the doors. "Come on," she said as she pushed John toward an emergency exit at the back of the building.

He resisted. "Mom, it's C.A.I.N. playing games."

"It's Cameron," Sarah said with conviction, feeling it in her guts. "She's warning us." Her tension increased as the feeling of a target between her shoulder blades grew. "Something must have gone wrong..." She swallowed past a sudden lump in her throat, refusing to consider the possibilities. "We have to go."

John stepped away, shrugging off her hand when she tried to grab his arm. "How do you know?" he snarled, and there was a dark look in his eyes Sarah had never seen before.

"I just do." John crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a stubborn look. "Damn it, John, I don't have the time to explain. We need to go. Now!" This time she caught his arm and held it, her fingers clamping down to keep him from breaking her grip again. She managed to turn him bodily toward the door before he dug his heels in, slowing their progress. Her fingers released him suddenly and he staggered back, colliding sharply with a server rack.

"We don't have time for this, John," she snapped between bared teeth. She could feel too many precious seconds slipping by, could feel something bad closing in.

"Like you didn't have time to sit holding hands with that machine when Kaliba was going to blow?"

The words hit her like a slap to the face, but she didn't have time to respond. The door they were heading toward banged open, and two guns snapped up in reaction. Ellison held up his hands, one waving a phone. "Phones jammed and a lot of black SUVs are on their way. We've got company."

*****

"You're afraid of her, aren't you?"

Danny frowned at Savannah's innocent question, lowering his hand away from the keys and clenching it into a fist. "No."

She shrugged, swinging her feet, her toes not touching the floor. Walther was asleep in her arms, his fur rumpled where she was holding him a little too tightly. "I was," she admitted, her blue eyes standing out like drops of an indigo sea against her pale, freckled features. "But that was a long time ago. She's nice, you know. She won't hurt you."

"She's just a machine," Danny muttered, looking away. He felt like the kid could see right though him, and that made him uneasy. She was six, for God's sake.

"Danny," Terissa admonished.

"She's one of them," Danny reminded his mother. "A terminator. We're supposed to help it?" he hissed.

"Cameron is an ally. The only thing that could stand between us and a hundred other beings like her. You really want to lose that?" his mother ground out, an edge of cold fury in her voice. "They tried to kill me, Danny. One of those machines came for me because the thing you helped create wanted me dead."

Danny stared at her before his gaze shifted to Cameron.

"Skynet killed your father," Terissa seethed. "And you're letting it live."

Savannah watched them, climbing off the chair and moving closer to Cameron as if she could somehow protect her.

"We don't know it's Skynet," Danny argued weakly.

"Either you push that damn button," Terissa told him as she stood. "Or I will."

*****

Cameron felt it, the moment the tide turned in her favor. C.A.I.N.'s grip on her dissolved, just when she'd thought he'd won, when he'd been swallowing her code, her consciousness, beginning to break her down and absorb her into his own being. She scrambled free, feeling rage and confusion chase her as she raced for the path back to the house, back to Sarah and her family. If C.A.I.N. hadn't known emotion before, he did now, and Cameron hoped he choked on it as he went blind.

A warm hand in hers. The sound of purring and harsh breathing. The scent of fear and sweat assaulted her as Cameron lurched forward, slamming home into her body in a dizzying rush. She stumbled from the chair, landing on her knees and reaching back for the cable, fumbling to cut that last link to C.A.I.N. It was Terissa that got there first, yanking the cord free as Savannah's tiny arms came around Cameron's neck and held her close.

Terissa knelt on one knee. "Did it work?" she asked.

It took Cameron a moment to remember how to speak as her consciousness reestablished itself. She nodded slowly, her hand carefully resting on Savannah's back.

"You okay?" Terissa demanded, gently pushing a lock of Cameron's hair away from her features. She was clearly unhappy with how rattled Cameron was.

"It was..." Cameron paused and was helpless to stop a shiver from racking her frame. "Close. It was a little too close." She glanced up at Danny who was watching her with an expression she couldn't decipher. "Thank you," she told him sincerely.

The scraping of his chair was loud as Danny simply got up and left the room.

*****

Hours later, Cameron stepped outside to meet the truck as it pulled up in the driveway. She was still shaken from her encounter with the A.I., and she craved Sarah's nearness, the heat of her, to steady her. When Sarah stepped out of the truck and their eyes met, it was all Cameron could do not to run to her. The moment made her feel weak, almost like a failure, but at Sarah's hesitant smile all of that faded and there was only the two of them.

"You okay, girlie?" Sarah asked, but her voice was hoarse, revealing almost as much about her state of mind as the piercing look in her eyes.

John got out of the truck behind his mother, slamming his door and brushing past them both without a word.

Cameron watched him go with confusion before swiveling her head back around to look questioningly at Sarah.

"Long story," Sarah murmured wearily.

"He seems mad," Cameron commented needlessly.

"You think?" Sarah answered in a dry tone. She searched Cameron's face as James gathered their gear. "You didn't answer my question. Are you okay?"

Cameron hesitated. "I'm glad you're home," was her telling response, and she closed her eyes as Sarah's hand slid up her arm and rested on her shoulder, the only contact they would allow themselves in the presence of others.

"Is he Skynet?" Sarah asked, figuring if there was ever and moment to know this was it.

"He could be," Cameron said softly. "We've hurt him, but he's not finished yet."

"We won this battle. For now, that has to be enough, right?" Sarah mused. She sighed as James moved past her, giving him the flash of a grateful smile as he left them alone. "So are we going to the beach now or later?" she wondered with a weak smirk.

*****

The sun rose over the waves, yellow and gold swirling into blue and green like an impressionists' masterpiece, a painting of light. Gulls, white m's against the sky, banked and dove into the water below, shattering the peace of the morning with their jealous cries.

Beyond that, the beach, with a little house and a girl skipping along a stretch of sand. Her red hair was pulled and teased by the same wind lifting the birds, and her feet darted in and out of the water. Shouting in triumph, Savannah leapt upon another shell, plucking it out of the waves before the sea could steal it back. Rolling it between her fingers, she savored the texture and the delicate rose and chocolate patterns spiraling down to its creamy point. It smelled of salt and, faintly, of dead fish.

Adding it to her bag, a sturdy canvas printed with grinning sea life and purchased for this exact purpose, Savannah immediately began searching for another.

Sarah watched from the steps, her own feet buried in the sand to keep the chill off them. It would be hot when the sun stopped making lazy art with the horizon and got all the way up into the sky, but that warmth was a long way off and dawn on the beach was damp, a cold that went all the way down to the bones.

"Terissa called." Cameron's bare feet made almost no sound against the deck, but Sarah had felt the steps behind her shift as they took the machine's weight, and she turned with a smile to reach for the offered cup of coffee.

"She found the note?"

"Yes."

"Are we in trouble?"

"No, but John is grumpy," Cameron admitted, settling down behind her on the steps. "Grumpier," she amended and was rewarded with the faint lift of Sarah's lips in a smile. "Are you going to tell me why he's so mad?"

The smile faded. "We're both stubborn," Sarah murmured. "We both always think we're right." Her throat rippled around a rough swallow. "We've got some things to figure out as we go forward."

Cameron digested that. "Our relationship doesn't make it easier," she guessed,

"It does and it doesn't," Sarah admitted. "I have to let him go," she whispered as she watched Savannah chasing after a flock of seagulls. "I have to let him lead. I just... don't know how."

"Part of being a good leader is listening to those under your command."

"John will figure that out." Sarah snorted. "Eventually. He's my son," she added. "He got all of my bad traits."

"And all your good ones," Cameron reminded her, pleased when Sarah glanced up at her.

"I never worried about the moment when we'd trade roles," Sarah confessed.

They watched the ocean, the shifting colors on the horizon.

"You never thought you'd live that long," Cameron deduced, knowing she was right when Sarah swallowed hard once more.

"No," Sarah agreed honestly. "I really didn't."

Cameron's heat suddenly enveloped her, the terminator settling behind her and drawing her close without a word. Cameron rested her chin on Sarah's shoulder as they watched Savannah squeal with delight as she darted after a crab scampering along the beach.

"You're cold," Cameron noted in a sympathetic tone.

Wrapping her hands around her mug, Sarah sank back into Cameron's welcome warmth. "That's what you're here for, girlie," she drawled, closing her eyes and snuggling closer. She smirked when Cameron responded by raising her body temperature. No fear of cold feet with a terminator to keep her warm.

"Always," Cameron whispered, tucking her arms around Sarah's waist.

Words crowded the back of Sarah's tongue, more than three, though those ones would have worked, but she let them all go. In the end they were only words, and some things didn't need to be said. Instead she opened herself up to the emotion, letting it embrace everything from the machine at her back, to the sun on her face, and their daughter playing on the beach.

Happiness, so elusive and complicated in the past, had become surprisingly simple.

For now, the rest of the world could wait. Cold, hard reality would return soon enough.

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