Cameron versus Derek

Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Don't own TSCC

These stories are set in the timeline of my other TSCC stories and take place during CameronGrows Up, The Future Cameron and Cameron's Revenge. Characters from the original TSCC story arc and Cameron Grows Up as well as The Future Cameron and Cameron's Revenge appear in these stories.

TechCom Cafeteria – End of Lunch Shift…

Standing in the southeast entrance, Derek scanned the expanse of tables in TechCom's cafeteria. The lunch shift was ending and the last of the soldiers and workers were leaving to return to duty. Sitting at the table used by the Connor/Reese family was Cameron.

A quick run through the last open serving line netted Derek a healthier lunch than he liked, but it was what was left. Without saying a word, he sat down across the table from Cameron. Without looking up from the tablet she was busy with, Cameron greeted Derek with a simple hello.

"How's my second favorite metal today?"

"I am functioning efficiently within my design parameters."

"I see you ate lunch today."

"I see you are eating healthy and I didn't prepare the meal."

"It was all that was left in the serving line."

Cameron did not respond. She simply continued her task.

"Hey, I need to talk to you Tin Miss."

Cameron quickly sat the tablet down and focused her gaze on Derek.

"Is my John okay?"

"You tell me."

"My John was fine when he left for duty this morning. He had a restful sleep. No nightmares. I prepared an adequate breakfast, meeting his fiber intake requirements. His vitals were normal."

"That's not really what I mean and I think you know that."

Cameron turned her attention back to her tablet.

"Don't ignore me."

"I'm not ignoring you. I can maintain a complete sensory scan of you while I collect data on the project assigned to me."

Derek reached across the table and gently pulled the tablet from Cameron's hands, causing her to look up at him again.

"This is about us, me and you. About John."

"John is better."

"So the two of you have worked this out?"

"I think John understands now. I tried to explain it to him."

"That's good, because I don't think I understand it myself."

"Are we okay Derek?"

Derek watched Cameron as he thought, hating the fact she was so hard to read emotionally most of the time.

"Do you want us to be okay?"

For a millisecond, Cameron's forehead creased, giving away her anxiousness. Derek waited for her to respond to his question.

"Yes. I need us to be okay."

"Tin Miss, you have to do better than that. I don't like cryptic answers. We're talking about our family, not just the two of us."

Cameron nodded, indicating she understood what Derek was implying.

"I have worked too hard for you to disrupt things now. I need us to be okay Derek Reese."

"So, that's it. You need us to be okay so your schemes work out."

He watched as Cameron tilted her head, considering his question. It would take time for her to formulate an answer. Derek turned his attention to his lunch, mentally preparing himself to catch Cameron in a lie if she was so inclined to tell one.

"Yes," Cameron finally responded. "But it is not like you think."

"You don't know what I think," Derek mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"I cannot be alone, without purpose."

"I know that. It's a simple fact of nature for every Terminator."

"No, I cannot be without family."

"So you can be without John so long as you have a family unit to belong to?"

"That is not what I meant. I need John. He is my purpose."

"You're going to have to do better than that," Derek mumbled.

Cameron set her tablet down and pushed it aside, focusing Derek's attention on her.

"Can I trust you?"

"I suppose."

"No, really trust you. To keep my secret."

A subtle change had come over Cameron's expression. To must onlookers Cameron's face betrayed nothing, her expression being her normal blank look. But Derek knew better, he could see the narrowing of the eyes, the slightest tilt of her head and the slight furrowing of her brow. Tin Miss needed to confide in someone.

"So long as what you are going to tell me will do no harm, yes. You can trust me."

"Future John sent me back to protect John. That was all I intended to do when I traveled back in time. I never counted on my attachment to John developing in the manner it did."

"You didn't count on seeing him as a man and not the General."

"No. I did not. Nor did I realize how powerfully my orientation as a female would guide my processing functions."

None of what Cameron had just told Derek seemed like a major revelation. He had witnessed firsthand how she had grown and developed from the Terminator he new in the future to the creature sitting before him.

"Once I was allowed to live under the same roof as John, I decided he did not deserve the fate that awaited him. I knew he needed to become the General, to lead the Resistance. But the leader who would defeat Skynet deserved to have a better life."

"There is no way you came up with that when you met John."

"It happened over time," Cameron admitted. "I learned how imperfect I am. Even before the explosion that damaged my chip, I was not up to the task. John had to have a support group. A family."

"So that's why you sucked up to Sarah."

"Only in part," Cameron responded. "I needed a family too."

Derek laughed. "C'mon, you expect me to believe that?"

"You of all people should understand loneliness."

"Yeah, but if you had John all to yourself, why would you need anyone else?"

"In the future, John had isolated himself. I was the only individual with regular access. You saw how well that worked out."

The unpleasant memories of what his brother's son had become returned to Derek. Cameron had a point.

"So John needed family. It's a human thing."

"I needed it too," Cameron reminded him. "You will never know what I experienced. Being a child of Skynet is a horrible thing. To know an innocent died so I could have a template is horrible. I sometimes still look into a mirror and feel a sense of shame I shouldn't. John finds me beautiful and I need that, it comforts me and makes me feel secure. But should I have that at the expense of poor Allison's life? I feel guilt and shame. I know it was not anything of my doing, that I am not to blame, but still. What is there is there."

"And you came back in time with this grand scheme?"

Cameron promptly rewarded Derek with a head tilt and daggers from her eyes.

"Of course not. How could I? I did not have true free will yet. My infiltration program had total control of my emotion simulator."

"When exactly did you decide to try to alter the future then?"

"When I mated with John, on our honeymoon. Even then, it was only a vague concept."

Several minutes passed in silence as Cameron watched Derek contemplate her revelations.

"Why did you play all those games then about being respected and accepted? All that whining about dignity?"

"They weren't games Derek. I know what true isolation is like, to feel nothing, to be nothing more than a tool waiting to be used. Once I had set my sights on John, I wanted it all. I wanted John and what came with him. I wanted more. I might be a machine, but I'd become a person. Once I felt love for John, I desperately wanted to be loved. To have my purpose acknowledge me."

"So this family thing is serious business. You haven't been gaming me all these years?"

A flash of hurt passed through Cameron's eyes, barely noticeable even to Derek.

"How can you ask me that?"

"Because I need to hear the truth."

"Sarah is my mother figure, not just the mother of John. She is the head of our family. You are her mate, her husband, John's uncle. Hailey and Ruth are the offspring of our clan, insuring a future generation."

"You're a first rate scheming conniver," Derek muttered.

"Thank you," Cameron responded in her monotone. "It has been a challenge and I have much more to do. I will not have John live out his life only to see his legacy fall. To see the legacy of our clan turn to nothing. Skynet is still out there. Our city is not finished nor is it safe from attack yet. John's vision of man and machine living and thriving together still has much work to make permanent and successful."

"So this sort of happened over time then."

"Yes. I cannot tell you otherwise."

Derek folded his arms, unsure what to think. He'd merely intended to tease Cameron and irritate her when he'd sat down with her. That and to make sure things were okay between her and his nephew.

"Where do I figure into all of this?"

"Truthfully, initially I viewed you as a threat. Not just to my existence, but to my dream of possessing John. Then you became a huge irritation."

"What changed?"

"You know full well, Derek Reese."

"No, I really don't."

"Sarah gave me the opportunity become a ballet dancer. It changed everything. It taught me disciplined control over my emotions. You saw me in a different light. I became something more than just a killing machine, not just in your eyes, but my own. Sarah saw me differently too. It became something for all of us, something different to each but still unifying.

You began to respect boundaries and I don't think it was because I had saved your life in combat. I looked at you differently after that. You became more than John's uncle who could train him for military leadership."

"Since you're revealing so many secrets, what prompted you to push Sarah and me together?"

"Men are stupid," Cameron responded, enjoying insulting Derek after the serious nature of their conversation.

"Hey, I haven't done thing to warrant that," Derek protested.

"Yes, you did. You openly lusted after Sarah. I also knew you felt guilty because of Kyle. I understood how Sarah suffered in her self-imposed solitude. I also saw how she pined for a man like Kyle. A warrior who would fight Skynet and not think she was crazy. An alpha male she could look up to and be a true wife to. A man strong enough to stand up to her and tell her no but still be compassionate to her. You Derek. Being male, you were to stupid to see the obvious."

Derek nodded. It was old ground really and he understood what Cameron was saying. He'd been through it before many times.

"It is nice to hear you say it Cameron. That you thought I was a match for Sarah."

Cameron used her most human expression. She shrugged. "You were meant to be Sarah's husband. She is still alive because of you. Sarah has purpose beyond John now. Her identity is no longer just the mother of the leader of the resistance against the machines. She is the wife of Colonel Derek Reese. She is the mother of Ruth Reese and a respected leader of TechCom and the Resistance. You have given her many reasons to take care of herself. Derek, you've given Sarah hope."

"So what about us?"

Cameron smiled at Derek for a brief moment.

"I hate fighting with John. I can't cope with not being at peace with him."

"But you like to fight."

Cameron grinned again. "Nobody wants to deal with Sarah when she's wound up or in one of her crazy moods. And you like to fight too."

Derek returned Cameron's grin.

"I guess that just leaves the two of us."

"I'm warning you," Cameron monotoned, "do not tickle me again. John has given me permission to hurt you if you do."

"Sure he has," Derek growled back. "More like he set a protocol for how serious the injuries you inflict on me can be."

Cameron pouted. "So, I still get to have my revenge."

"Just like a little sister."

A head tilt was Cameron's response. After a moment a quick smile appeared, vanishing just as quickly.

"Big brothers are dumb. And mean."

"Yeah, they can be, but they look out for their little sisters too."

Reaching across the table, Cameron touched Derek with her hand. "I think I would like to have a big brother."

She smiled briefly, pausing. Derek knew the snarky comment was coming.

"Even if he's you."

Reviews are always appreciated. If you liked this story, you might want to consider my other TSCC stories:

Cameron Grows Up

The Future Cameron

Cameron versus the Queen

Cameron's Revenge

Cameron and the Black Bird

Cameron and John's Wedding

Who's the Boss?

The Storm Before the Calm