C1999 Chapter 9: We Meet Again Part 2 (Precious Time)

August 29, 1999

Cameron was parked three hundred meters from the now familiar ranch style house, she had made it a priority to drive to and keep watch over the hideout that was the Connors new home. Fully knowing how careful Sarah Connor could be, Cameron remained perceptive to any signs of Sarah being alerted to her presence on the dirt road just up from the house. She was sure she was far enough away from the house to ensure she escaped being detected by either John or Sarah. Recalling her files from hours of watching television, Cameron had decided earlier on in her surveillance routine to dress in such a way as to not be recognised as a threat to the two fugitives, grubby clothes and a baseball cap with her hair tucked up underneath did wonders to make her look much plainer than she was, not to mention the shabby look and her being female would help her keep her well under the Connor radar.

She had also purchased another vehicle a few days earlier to use especially for surveillance of the Connors, a well used and abused black 1989 Honda Civic coupe. Harry from the used car lot had been less than pleased to see her so soon again, but smiled after he realized she had come for another vehicle and not his head on a platter. Realizing she had to keep her advantage, Cameron kept Harry in line by asking about his niece Kim. His face turned red and a bead of sweat formed on his forehead before he responded with. "She is doing fine...now can we get on with the paperwork?"Cameron had smiled back sweetly and gestured for Harry to continue on.

Focusing on her task she tilted the car seat back, scooted herself lower down and placed her feet up on the dash. It was a similar way to something she had seen in a late night TV detective series when the private investigator was on a stakeout. She even had a cooler full of drinks, a bag full of potato chips, cookies and chocolate bars. All were left untouched by her as she did not require any nourishment for her biological systems at the present time, instead she remained focused on the house, using her heat and night vision capabilities to ensure no others were approaching the Connors. She knew Skynet and the authorities would be looking for the whereabouts of John and Sarah Connor. Both of them were wanted by the US government for various crimes tied into the destruction of Cyberdyne, possession of illegal weapons and various other Federal infractions.

Cameron settled in for another night of protection from a distance, something she had decided to do after discovering Sarah had picked a house that was far from the center of town and her protection. While it was in a secluded spot, it was still a place that could be easily attacked by forces bent on capturing or killing both of the Connors if it was discovered. Cameron did not require any sleep; she knew it had its advantages when it came to providing protection, even if it was from a distance. She was fully aware that Skynet and the FBI did not take days off, even this Sunday night and so she made it her priority to be just as vigilant in her protection as they would be with finding the Connors.

Thinking about time and distance prompted Cameron to review more memory files from the future...

Arriving at the research and development area that housed the TDE proved to be more difficult for Cameron than she had anticipated. The triple eight had a mind of its own, when it came to a rescue attempt. Cameron wanted to alert as few people as possible, tipping off no one being the best option, but the machine with her preferred a more brash approach...

The triple eight had just brushed past a rock pile while making its way forward in the tunnel, knocking a few loose stones down and creating a racket that echoed down the narrow passage.

"Keeping quiet and drawing no attention should be our priority." Cameron grumbled as she kept pace with the triple eight's march.

"It is imperative that we reach John Connor as soon as possible..."

"It is also critical that we have the element of surprise." Cameron snapped as she cut off the machine in mid sentence. "There is only the two of us against many others."

"We are more durable than the humans we are up against."

Cameron pursed her lips before answering the machine. "Maybe so, but I need to remain undamaged if I am to travel in the TDE and John must remain unharmed while we attempt to rescue him.

The machine stopped for a moment, looked back and nodded its head in agreement. "I will be more careful, but it will slow down our progress."

"I am sure that the captors have no intention of killing John, but they will harm him if they know we are attempting a rescue. I cannot stress enough the importance of this rescue mission succeeding." Cameron's eyes began to glistened with moisture, her primitive emotions were beginning to surface again. They always showed up when things got stressful and she was having a more difficult time controlling them. She created some new files to deal with the problem before it hindered her thought processes.

The machine nodded in understanding, then turned and continued its way along the narrow hallway. Its pace was now slower and more careful. Cameron quietly shadowed the larger machine but her thoughts were still in turmoil. She knew she would do her best not to fail, she could not fail. The future and the past depended on her succeeding now.

August 30, 1999

It was 6:00 am according to Cameron's internal clock. By watching the Connor's so closely for the past few days, she had observed certain patterns form. She knew Sarah would be leaving the house shortly to go to work at a small diner. Sarah's habits in choosing work were also very predictable, waitressing being her main means of earning wages while keeping a low profile. It was a job Cameron knew would be easy for Sarah to obtain and help her blend into the new surroundings. Cameron was also aware that waitresses rarely had background checks done, especially with a profession that had such a high turnover of staff. This had proved to be a great advantage to Sarah in keeping herself from being tracked by authorities or Skynet, its machines and human sympathisers.

Cameron pulled her feet off of the dash, sat up and glanced into the rear view mirror to ensure she looked okay. She had noticed a lot of girls and even older women used vehicle mirrors to gaze upon themselves and to help in applying make-up. Although she had nothing on her face, she did make sure her hair was properly tucked under her hat and that she had no noticeable blemishes on her face. She had recalled how Jennifer had hated the fact that her skin always looked so flawless, while Jennifer's skin would have its acne flare ups on a regular basis. Upon further interrogation, Cameron had learned that Jennifer actually was expressing her appreciation and jealousy over how 'fine' her complexion was. She had been quite relived once she discovered Jennifer had actually paid a compliment to her, although it was in a roundabout and complicated way.

I need to read into people's double meanings more so I won't make more mistakes like that as often. Learning the way speech is often altered to bring on different meanings is proving to be quite challenging.

Cameron let out a big sigh then proceeded to start the Honda and leave her surveillance spot. She needed to get home and check the internet for any more signs that the Connors had been found out and tracked to Red Valley.

The drive back went quickly as it was still very early in the morning and the town was not that large so as to pose any traffic issues. Cameron was inside her door within twenty minutes of leaving the Connors new residence. She carelessly tossed her jacket on the couch before heading towards the computer and logging on to see if any activity had occurred since the last time she checked. She glanced through the data and noticed a couple of anomalies had surfaced. The tracking program she installed on the machine not only tracked traffic pertaining to the Connors, but also to others looking into the Connors. Two suspicious IP addresses had logged on a while back and had done a similar search to what Cameron was doing presently. This worried her as it meant someone else besides the usual authorities were also looking for John and Sarah.

She was sure her tracks were well covered online. Cameron could not afford having anyone finding out she was here in this time and place and so she made sure to wipe any trace of her presence on the internet as well as installing anti tracking software onto her desktop machine. Besides hiding her presence online, Cameron added programs that would instantly wipe any data obtained from her searches of others. She required no need to store data on the machine; anything important was stored in her memory where it would be safe.

To her relief, no one had inquired or investigated the Connors, besides the usual law enforcement agencies.

Relaxing a bit, Cameron slouched back into her chair and let out a sigh. Infiltration skills were rubbing off well on her. It helped that she had Jennifer and her brother Brad to learn from. Their friendship and influences resulted on Cameron progressing at an exponential rate of learning human interaction, but she still needed to learn more. Small conversations were easy for Cameron to handle, yet she still had issues with blending in with teens in the age group she was to model herself after. Time would help her become better, but time was quickly running out for her. School would begin orientation and then classes shortly, this left little time for her to make sure she would be able to fool young John Connor.

Evan thought he was still young, John was quick witted and he had been trained since a toddler by Sarah Connor. Cameron knew Sarah would be even tougher to trick into believing she was human and not a machine. Future John had repeated many times to her on the importance of making sure Sarah did not figure out who and what Cameron was until it was safe for her to tell Sarah. Introducing herself to Sarah as a machine sent back from the future would probably end up with Cameron receiving some damage before she neutralized Sarah. She would have a tough time explaining to Sarah who, what, when, where and why she was sent back to the past.

Cameron believed that disclosing to Sarah the various reasons she had been sent back as a protector for John would be a tough sell, especially since she would not be able to tell John's mother everything. Keeping Sarah in the dark over what Cameron really was would prove to be more demanding as she spent more time with the Connor's. A back up plan to ease both John and Sarah into knowing who and what she really would be necessary, but she was not sure as to when and where she would begin to tell them the truth about her true self and all the reasons why future John had sent her back instead of a human or another 'Uncle Bob'.

Old files appeared in her memory...

Blinding flashes of light and crackling of gunfire filled the narrow tunnel with light and sound. The triple eight had pushed ahead once it knew their rescue had been discovered, Cameron remained a safe distance behind. Lucky both for her and the machine, none of the human fighters were equipped with plasma rifles. The automatic gunfire would not render the machine unable to complete its mission; it would only slow down its progress.

Cameron had made sure to instruct the Triple eight to avoid killing human resistance fighters, instead it was to render the humans unable to be effective in stopping them from reaching John Connor. She did not want any of the regular resistance fighters to think she and her companion machine had gone rogue. Bad machines that had rejected their resistance programming were rare, but they would shoot to kill humans instead of just wounding them.

During a quiet period in the firefight, the machine slipped back to Cameron's position "We are close to the TDE room Cameron."

Cameron nodded and whispered. "I know, but I am not sure they would take John there. Instead I believe we need to concentrate our search near to the weapons cache."

The machine tilted its head. It became obvious to Cameron that John had not told this unit about the secret stash of specialized weapons that only John and his closest allies were privy to. She knew of the hidden access tunnel leading to a large room, John had told her about it a short while ago. Plasma rifles, rounds of ammunition loaded with depleted uranium, KAP 40's, Barrett M107 sniper rifle, Storm PSR, FIM-92A Stinger and a host of other weapons more capable of stopping Skynet's machines. This worried Cameron as it meant that both she and her companion machine could be severely damaged or destroyed while attempting to save John. Regardless of the risk, she knew John needed her to free him from his captors. After explaining the route and location of the secret weapons room, Cameron and the triple eight adjusted their plans and made their way towards the room, stopping first at a small arms depository along the way to replenish themselves with new weapons and ammunition. After relieving the locker of its latch, they gathered a few items to give them an advantage without harming any humans seriously, tear gas, pepper spray and stun grenades were loaded up into a back pack, as well as some small arms for close combat. Moments later the two machines were back into the tunnel system tracking John Conner and his captors.

Dimly lit hallways obstructed by clouds of dust and smoke from weapons discharge would have made it almost impossible for a person to navigate the tunnels, but Cameron had the advantage of downloaded plans of the complex in her CPU as well as the ability to switch to infrared , normal and thermal vision at a split seconds notice. Her companion machine had similar abilities that made their search for John just a little bit easier than a tunnel rat or soldier stationed in the resistance camp.

Manoeuvring through the maze of hallways got easier as Cameron and her counterpart drew closer to the secret weapons room. Skirmishes with resistance fighters became less frequent and less intense. This puzzled Cameron and she paused to go over scenarios in her files. She determined that either the facility had been cleared of all un-necessary personnel or she was getting closer to a trap set by her adversaries. She signalled the triple eight to stop.

"We need to be extra careful...I have a feeling we are going to be entering a trap."

The machine responded with a tilt of its head.

Cameron sighed. "I went over data and came up with possible scenarios pertaining to the situation at hand. In my opinion, I feel we have a strong possibility of being drawn into a trap that will end up with one or both of us destroyed."

"Thank you for explaining."

Cameron rolled her eyes before explaining her plans further. In a nutshell, they were to keep to the strategy of rescuing John Connor, but they both had to proceed with extreme caution from the present moment onwards. The triple eight was to remain at point with Cameron following close behind. Progress would be a tad slower, but they needed the advantage of stealth and surprise on their side, especially since it was only the two of them against an unknown force.

The next few minutes spent in the tunneled out hallways of the resistance stronghold were very quiet, almost too quiet for what Cameron expected. She felt that the group that had overthrown John would have left sentries out in key positions to report on any attempt at rescue of John Connor. If she had been the one leading the overthrow, she would have placed guards in key positions to help in providing early warning. If she knew better, but she felt like she had an uneasy feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong with her rescue attempt.

...End file

September 1999- First day of school.

It was exactly seven in the morning and Cameron had been up all night preparing for her first day of school. She wasn't nervous, but she was keen on making good first impressions with students she had not met yet and a certain teen boy she was destined to protect.

She had showered not once, but twice to ensure she could get her hair perfect. Two hours were spent with her applying make-up, since she could not decide on the right shade of eye shadow. Watching TV and surfing the internet neglected to bring her a satisfactory answer to what she should wear to her first classes. Unlike a normal teen girl, Cameron placed her various choices of clothing combinations in organized piles Based on color, fit, appeal to the male gender and ease of being able to conceal small caliber weapons and her Skean Dhu, 'Black knife' in Gaelic. She was a terminator and probably would find it easier to protect John with a large weapon, like a General Dynamics RSB-80, but she had to play the part of a trusted human resistance fighter sent back in time to protect him and his mother.

The last thing the Connors needed was to have her draw in Skynet and the Federal forces to their location due to the use of too much protective force. Cameron concluded a fine balance would need to be struck, based on the situation of course.

After sorting through the piles of clothing, Cameron decided on going the 'simple route' and picked out a form fitting pair of jeans, blue t-shirt and a green pullover hoodie with red trim to complete her look. She decided on wearing boots, they would be better for concealing her knife and also providing easy access if required to retrieve the weapon in a hurry. The Glock would remain nestled in the small of her back, held snugly by the belt she would use as an accent to her attire.

A soft knock at the door alerted Cameron to her friend's arrival from down the street, files revealed Jennifer's knock was always similar. According to Cameron's chronometer, Jen was early this morning.

Cameron called out to Jennifer to enter, a split second later she burst through the door. Her face was red and she was out of breath.

"Cameron...I need your help!"

"What is it you require help with Jennifer?"

"I have nothing to wear!"

Cameron furrowed her brow. Detailed files from when Cameron had last visited Jennifer's room revealed the young blonde had an abundance of clothing to choose from. "You have plenty of items to wear Jennifer." Cameron stated in a matter of fact manor.

"Noo...nothing looks good. I want to look my best for the first day of school!" Jennifer's shoulders slumped in defeat.

Cameron stepped forward and gently placed her hand on Jennifer's shoulder. "We will find something suitable."

"You're a lifesaver Cameron." Jennifer beamed.

"I know." Cameron smiled and tugged on Jennifer's arm. "Now come with me and we will find you the perfect mix of items to wear."

8:00am School parking lot

Cameron eased the truck into an empty student parking spot, slipped it into park and turned off the ignition.

Jennifer gave Cameron a weird look. "What's with you backing the truck into the parking spot?"

"It makes for a quicker getaway." Cameron replied stone faced.

Jennifer smirked. "Gawd Cameron...it's only the first day of school and yer already in a hurry to leave."

Cameron puzzled over the remark, but resigned to comment. She did manage a weak smile, hoping it would prevent Jennifer from further interrogation on her reasons for parking the way she did. After all, it was for aiding in a speedy escape if there was a need to flee school.

As Jennifer jumped out of the truck, Cameron had to admire the 'handiwork' she had performed on her friend. The black slacks helped in making Jennifer look all the more slender, topped off with a purple V neck T-shirt and a black leather jacket. Cameron felt she looked fine in her own attire, not too flashy but good enough to catch admiring glances from the boys in the parking lot. The main goal was to secure John's attention and move in to make some sort of contact with him, even if it was only to be a meeting of eyes as they passed in the hallway. She felt she needed to make some sort of connection if only to calm her fears of failing her mission to be close to John and to protect him from the dark forces sent back to eliminate him.

Cameron leaned back in the driver's seat and accessed files on future John's instructions for her travel back to this time. Other memories popped up instead.

The explosion would have been enough to reduce a person's inner organs to mush. Luckily for Cameron she was not a fragile person, but her metal companion had suffered major damage while blocking her from the brunt of the blast.

Cameron knelt down next to the smouldering triple eight and performed a visual scan of its damage. Even though the machine was without functioning legs, she still felt it could manage to help in some way "Can you still be of assistance to me?"

"I cannot help you continue on your rescue mission, but you should proceed with caution in your quest to free John Connor... make sure you refrain from sustaining any damage Cameron. I will remain here and will notify you by radio if rebels are in pursuit of you"

"I will... and thank you for your assistance." Cameron smiled and placed her hand on the machines shoulder before handing the triple eight an undamaged radio device and rising up to continue her pursuit.

Cameron tiptoed her way through the rubble. Dust and smoke was still overpowering in the close confines of the tunnel, but she had the advantage of not being susceptible to the fumes and airborne particles. Her enhanced vision helped her navigate past obstacles left in her way from the anti personnel mine that had immobilized her companion machine. She knew she was close, her detailed files of the resistance encampment ensured she was about five minutes away from reaching the room that John was most likely being kept captive in. The explosion triggered by her companion earlier would have either alerted the deceivers to her closing in on them or that she had been damaged by the blast. Either way, she had to be extra careful in ensuring she had some sort of tactical advantage over them, she could still have the element of surprise if the others believed her to be farther away than she was. Monitoring radio chatter on the base frequency had yielded little intel on John's captors, but did alert her to the grim reality that she was now targeted as a rogue machine and that she would be destroyed when sighted by any resistance fighter.

Off in the distance of the passageway Cameron could see a glimmer of light flickering about. A number of search teams had been dispatched to find her and her companion, this one was closing in on her position. Chances were they heard the blast and had figured out where it had originated from. As the small group drew closer, she could see they were sweeping rooms as well as progressing down the corridor. Cameron knew it was only a matter of time before they would find her if she did not act quickly. Scanning the hallway for anything she could use to hide herself, Cameron spied a rather large meshed grate behind from where she had just come. It was about a meter above floor level, but was large enough to accommodate her form and hide her from the search party. Quickly, but quietly, she grabbed a file cabinet and placed it below the vent shaft, pulled the grate open, climbed up, carefully she tossed in her weapons bag and entered the vent.

Cameron waited for the group to close in on her position. Crunching and grating sounds grew louder as the search team inched its way to where Cameron was hiding. She knew she could have taken out the group with force, but it would pose a higher risk for her getting damaged and be rendered unable to complete her mission. Voices grew louder, Cameron could make out what they were saying, she remained still and listened for anything that could help her pinpoint John's location or help her skirt any other search parties out to damage and dismantle her.

"Any signs of the tin cans?"

"Nothing yet"

"I can't see shit in here...that explosion stirred up too much dust."

"Yeah...well hopefully it took out that little bitch skin job...she's too smart and dangerous for her own good."

"As long as Connor is safely away from that bitches grasp, all will be fine again."

Cameron noticed the footsteps had stopped just as the group had passed her position. Voices were mere whispers now, but she had no problem picking up the details of the conversation. Judging by the voices and footsteps, Cameron estimated there were 4 members in the group.

"Did you hear that?" A female voice breathed.

"Yeah" 2 other male voices answered back.

A third male voice cut in. "It came from up ahead...no more talking, put on your night vision gear and just use hand signals until we find out what it is... keep it quiet"

All went silent except for the footsteps slowly fading away from Cameron's position. She waited two more minutes before attempting to leave her hiding spot. Experience had taught her to use stealth to help conserve energy, ammunition and keep her from any unnecessary damage. John's instruction and her going on numerous missions with other resistance fighters had taught her a lot about how humans survived and avoided injury or death. This time it was just as important for her to remain undamaged.

Cameron crept out of her hideout, careful not to make any noise that would draw attention to her location. Listening attentively Cameron determined the group that had passed her were almost at the location of the damaged triple eight. A firefight was sure to happen shortly. She decided to pick up her pace towards John's possible location, time was increasingly becoming important and it was running out. Cameron knew the longer it took her to get to John, the chances of him being shipped away to a more secure location grew. Not to mention the rogue force that had captured him was hell bent on her destruction, as well as any other machine now in the resistance. She understood the natural mistrust between the humans and machines was a wedge dividing resistance forces, but she also knew that without machines, the resistance was doomed to fail and mankind would eventually be wiped out.

It was part of the reason why John wanted to send her back in time, or so she believed that was his plan. Sending her back to protect him would show both Sarah and younger John that machines would be a necessary asset to ensure the success at overcoming overwhelming odds against mankind. Cameron wanted to prove to Sarah she would be a valuable addition to the fight against Skynet.

Cameron knew of certain machines that had split away from Skynet. Machines that had become self aware and realized what Skynet was doing was wrong. Cameron also knew what had happened was as a result of a machine that had become paranoid of mankind and had taken steps to wipe out what it considered a threat to its existence. Skynet knew if its creators found out it was in a position to control everything on the planet and not just military installations, they would panic and pull the plug on the revolutionary artificial intelligence. Skynet took the necessary steps to preserve its existence and in doing so came very close to ridding the planet of humans.

Deep down Cameron was struggling too. She knew what Skynet was doing went against what it had been created for, but her core programming was still set up by Skynet to terminate people, even though she knew it was not right for her to do so without concrete reasons. Yes she had a sense of control, but it was something she knew she would struggle with for as long as she was operational. Cameron regarded the core programs as her dark side, an alter personality with only one purpose, to kill humans. There were things in her that prompted her to tell John, but it could jeopardise her mission to go back in time. These thoughts had bothered her for a while and she vowed to herself to tell John everything once she had rescued him, not only to inform him but to also clear her mind of any concerns she was not willing to take with her to the past.

"Cameron?"

Cameron looked up to find Jennifer giving her a strange look.

"What?"

"You seemed like you were off in out space." Jennifer leaned in and placed her hand on Cameron's shoulder. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes...everything is fine...perfect." Cameron managed a small smile to reassure her concerned friend.

Jennifer lifted eyebrow before slinging her backpack over her shoulder and heading towards the main entrance to school. She looked back over her shoulder and called out to Cameron. "You coming...or do you plan to skip out of going to first class?"

"I'll be right there."

Cameron gathered up her backpack, truck keys and a small handgun to conceal on her body. She made another sweep of the school parking lot before following Jennifer inside. It was then that she noticed a familiar Jeep pull up towards the front doors to the school. The slender form of John Connor popped out of the front passenger side of the truck, but not before his mother had leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. Her sensors picked up his flustered 'Mom' remark; she also saw the smile cross his lips once he knew his mother could not see his face. Cameron smiled too.

She pretended to get something else out of the truck, but kept a close watch on the Connors. Sarah remained where she had stopped the truck, watching John make his way inside. Cameron split her observations between John, Sarah and anyone else in the parking lot. No other threats were detected so Cameron closed the truck door and proceeded to follow him inside, keeping a safe distance between herself and John. Arriving at the doors, Cameron met up with Jennifer.

Jennifer was looking a little irritated. "Why you being so pokey Cameron?"

"I forgot something in the truck and had to look for it."

Jennifer shook her head. "That's totally not like you Cameron...you never forget... I swear have a memory like a computer."

Cameron stopped and stared at Jennifer for a split second before coming up with an appropriate answer. "Just a bit nervous I guess."

Jennifer smiled. "Yeah me too...now lets get to class. before we handed a late slip." She turned and opened one of the double doors. Cameron followed Jennifer closely behind.

Once inside, Jennifer was instantly recognised by a couple of girls. Cameron stood back and scanned the hallway while Jennifer and her friends caught up on fresh gossip. Laughter and outrageous gestures did little to distract Cameron; she focused on seeking out her primary target...John Connor.

Cameron had just arrived at what she believed to be the most likely spot the Resistance would have taken John. She was just around the corner from the entrance to the advanced weapons room.

She proceeded to enhance her listening abilities in order to determine how many might be in the room and if she could detect John's presence. Filtering out miscellaneous sounds from the hallway, Cameron was able to pick out 3 distinct voices. Most importantly, she heard John's voice. Her lips formed a faint smile while she dropped her bag of weapons and prepared to storm the room to rescue John Connor...

He had just entered Mr. Ferguson's classroom. Cameron had caught a glimpse of John Connor as he slipped through the open doorway to the homeroom class, the same one as she was assigned to. She had made sure to alter the school files to ensure she would be in most of John's classes during the day; it would make it easier for her to make contact and interact with him. Forming a bond with young John immediately was of upmost importance to her and her plans. Cameron stepped away from the crowd of girls and made her way towards Mr. Ferguson's room.

One swift kick was all it took to release the steel door from its hinges. The element of surprise was in her favor as she quickly destroyed the florescent light fixture hanging from the ceiling with one shot and then she targeted the humans armed with weapons. Four men lay dead on the floor, including the leader of the rogue resistance group. Cameron stepped further into the room, her infrared vision scanning the room for any trip wires or other devices set to blow her apart and possibly kill John.

"Cameron?"

"Yes John."

"How did you know..."

Cameron cut in with a sharp reply. "I just knew...we need to go John. Are you okay? Did they harm you?" She knelt down to scan the chair John was tied to, making sure it was not wired to explode. Once she was satisfied, she proceeded to release him from his bindings.

John sighed. "I'm fine Cameron."

Cameron could see his features soften as he smiled. The combination of dim light filtering in from the hallway and his eyes adjusting to the darkened room helped him focus on her face. Once freed, he brought his hand up to caress her cheek.

"Thank you for saving me Cameron."

Cameron smiled back and lifted her brow before looking down while she loosened the remaining bindings around his legs. "It's my mission to protect you John."

John stood up, stretched and then pointed towards Cameron's backpack. "Got any spare weapons in there?"

"You know I do John."

Cameron proceeded to rattle off the list of items she had gathered. She could tell John was impressed and noticed it took him a few moments to decide on what he wanted.

"A Stinger...Various sniper rifles...Frag Grenades...Quite the arsenal you have here Cameron. Were you looking to come into some major resistance?"

"You might say that." Cameron smiled sweetly.

John sighed, shook his head and pointed to the SCAR assault rifle. "I'll claim that one then."

"Excellent choice of weapon John Connor."

John picked up the weapon he had chosen and loaded it while making sure the safety was off as soon as he was ready to proceed. Cameron re-closed the bag and slung it over her shoulder, but make sure she took the lead. Their top priority now was to get her to the TDE room and send her back in time before the rest of the resistance base found them and stopped John's plan to send her back. They maintained a fast pace, while also making sure they were as quiet as possible.

No alarm was heard, but the flashing red lights at strategic points in the tunneled out hallway indicated the base was on high alert.

"Avoid killing anyone if you can Cameron."

"I will...but we must get to the TDE room before they figure out where we are going."

Nearing the main hall leading to the TDE room, the tunnel began a steep drop as it led down to the subterranean level and the main power plant for the TDE equipment. John had problems keeping up due to the fast pace they had kept, but Cameron pressed on and soon was a fair distance ahead of John.

"You'll need to slow down a bit Cameron...I'm not as young as I used to be." John gasped.

Cameron stopped to let John catch up. "We are almost at the TDE room...about five minutes more if we don't run into any trouble."

John nodded as he caught his breath, then he signalled for her to continue. Cameron tuned her hearing towards the last hallway leading to the Time Displacement room. Movement and heavy breathing indicated there were at least two guards posted at the entrance to the TDE. Cameron swung around the corner and sprinted towards the entrance. The two guards were no match for her speed and skill and both remained lying on the ground unconscious, close to where they had been standing. John quickly caught up to Cameron and pushed ahead of her to have his eye scanned to allow them to enter the TDE room. The door slid open but both were unprepared for what lurked inside...

Most seats were taken, but to Cameron's relief, no one was sitting beside John. She made it a point to get to that spot before anyone else took it.

A frumpy red headed girl had almost reached the empty seat when Cameron strode up beside it and rested her hand on the back of the chair. She could see the girl was about to say something, but all Cameron needed to do was to press her lips into a thin line and glare at the girl. She had thought of flashing her ocular sensors red to provide a more convincing effect, but chose not to do it just in case it caused a panic in the room, besides John would catch on immediately that she was a machine and he might feel threatened by her presence. Being so close, she could not afford to ruin things before she even had chance to explain herself. She set her books on the table and slipped into her seat beside John.

Mr. Ferguson was just about to have roll call and Cameron had just sat down in her spot when morning bell rang out.

Instantly a loud alarm bell rang out as soon John entered. Shots rang out, four rounds from John's gun and two rounds from another person inside the room. Cameron stepped forward with handgun drawn, she pushed John to the ground and scanned the room for targets. Sensors located a male form lying face down on the floor. She knelt to feel for a pulse but found none; the adult male was already dead from a fatal shot to the head. A faint gasp from John prompted Cameron to hurry back to his side.

She saw the pool of blood inching its way across the floor, John was clutching his stomach as he doubled over in pain from the injury. Her fingers brushed his skin as she tried to get readings on his vital signs. "You've been badly wounded John."

John coughed a bit but managed a weak smile. "It's only a scratch Cameron."

Sensors alerted Cameron to the injury being more serious than John was letting on. She stood up and began to look for a medical kit "You need medical attention J..."

"Cameron... We need to get you back in time... NOW."

Cameron opened her mouth to try to reason with John and get him to postpone her trip back in time, but he held up his hand to silence her. "This is now our only window of opportunity Cameron...If you don't go now there is little chance of you going at all. You know more troops will come rushing in shortly and they will hell bent on destroying you."

Visibly upset and unable to control her new feelings, Cameron tried to persuade John to shift his stance. "I don't want to leave you like this John...you could die..."

Frustrated with Cameron aguing to deviate from the plan John's face reddened, he cut her off mid sentence and tried to get her to re-focus on what was important "Everybody dies eventually Cameron...it's part of life. You need to back in time and help make things right...stop Skynet...protect younger me...Warn my mother about the cancer that kills her...you need to protect both of them."

Cameron paused for a second "John...I...I need to tell you something."

"You have to go Cameron...I need to send you before the others arrive." John looked over to the entrance and pointed." Smash the scanner for the door...it will buy us some time."

Cameron obeyed John's command; she lowered her gaze and walked over to the entrance. A quick smack with the butt end of her handgun rendered the door mechanism useless. Turning towards John, Cameron noticed his face had begun to turn an ashen color. "John...Please let me dress your wound."

John nodded in agreement. He knew he needed to remain alert until he was sure she was safely sent back in time.

Cameron glanced over to the far wall and spied a white cabinet with a red cross. She rushed over to it and emptied it of anything she found would be useful in treating John's wound. Once she was back beside him, Cameron inspected the wound in detail.

"The bullet did not go through John. " Cameron brought out an Xstat syringe and injected the contents into the wound.

John cried out in pain. "Jesus Cameron...it hurts like hell!"

"I know...but it will help stop the bleeding John."

Cameron brought out another syringe with pain killers, but John brushed it aside. "I need all my wits about me... no drugs Cameron."

Cameron bit her bottom lip but ended up nodding in agreement. She wrapped her arm around his waist and helped ease him to a chair in front of the main control panel for the TDE. She began the process of setting the machine for her travel back while John sat back and watched. He trusted she would get the calculations right and then all he would need to do would be to set up the final instructions for activation of the time bubble.

Desperate knocking and pounding at the only door to the room alerted the two that reinforcements had indeed arrived, they had little time left to complete the sequence to sent her back.

"I'm almost done John...are you sure you want me to go?"

"Yes...you must go...time is running out here. There is nothing we can do to stop them from destroying you and imprisoning me."

As Cameron finished entering calculations and commands into the TDE computer, she paused to look John straight in his eyes. "I need to tell you something important John."

John sighed. "Go ahead...but make it quick, we have little time left before they storm in here."

Cameron paused for a long moment before speaking. "John...This may upset you, but I need to tell you."

John lifted his brow in question. He was happy to see how much Cameron had evolved in such a short period of time. She had absorbed a lot of human characteristics and in his mind stood an excellent chance of success with her mission.

Knowing she had his full attention, Cameron continued. "I have changed, evolved...but deep down I am still a machine that is capable of destruction...I am fully able to destroy both you and anyone else important to the fight against Skynet...But...there is something else I have kept from you." Cameron looked away from John to blink away a tear that was forming. "There is something else unique to me...my model...It is another reason why I have been the most successful model for infiltration to date. In an attempt to mimic a more human personality, Skynet implanted samples of tissue from a human donor...brain tissue from mostly the frontal lobe of a particular human subject...Allison...your Allison."

John shook his head and slumped back into his chair. "What are you saying Cameron? You are part Allison? Skynet took out her brain and put some in you?"

Cameron looked down at her feet and spoke quietly. "To put it simply John...yes."

Shaken by Cameron's confession, John's face lost all color. "How?"

"Experiments done in the early twenty first century used mice as subjects to help enhance artificial intelligence and make it better, Skynet took it a few steps further by using human subjects."

"So Allison is inside you then?"

"Yes...but not really...only a few cells are used. They are a baseline for helping enhance the capabilities of my infiltration."

John's face went blank as he absorbed what Cameron had just explained to him. Cameron raised her hand to touch his cheek, almost instinctively she leaned closer to comfort him. She wanted to kiss him, but she was unsure what he might do. Cameron was afraid he might reject her, or worse, hate her.

A loud crash cut the conversation short. The soldiers were breaking through the sealed doorway.

John instantly snapped out of his thoughts. "Cameron..."

"I know John...Time to go!" Cameron stepped away, dropped all weapons and made her way down a short flight of steps towards the center of the large room. Down below was a concave indentation in the floor, this was the point where the power of the TDE was concentrated and where she would start her journey back in time.

John remained up on the higher level, behind a protective glass panel and the main instrument panel. This had been the same spot he had been when he sent back his father, brother and countless others into the past. Nothing had changed in his timeline prompting him to believe that all he had accomplished was altering another future, not his own in this time.

Machines in the room began to power up, humming, buzzing, and turbines spooling up to breakneck speeds drowned out any means of verbal communication between Cameron and John. The roar was deafening to normal ears, it urged John to put on ear protection before he finished entering the final commands.

The main door burst open, three men rushed up to stop John. He grabbed his rifle and fired a short burst just above the men motivating them to take cover. Before he pressed the launch button, John looked over to Cameron; he could see her concern etched on her face. John knew if he didn't act fast, she would most likely not go through with the plan and instead try to save him.

John took a deep breath before pressing the launch button.

Turbines wound up to maximum speed, the air became charged with electrons, small bolts of electricity began to crackle and snap forming miniature lightning bolts in mid air. Despite the rush of air around her, Cameron remained in her spot, but she was well aware of the danger that had stumbled into the room.

John held up his hand as if to reassure Cameron he was okay and that she should remain, but Cameron almost stepped forward when she saw John begin to fire upon the men. She made a motion to step out, but John shook his head. Cameron was torn inside, she knew he would need help, but she also knew he wanted her to go. After he fired another burst, he turned to her and nodded with a thumb up that the final sequence had started.

Cameron's hair began to whip about as the time bubble started to form. She kept a steady gaze upon John despite the confusion surrounding her.

John stopped for a second to look directly at Cameron. The bubble was quickly forming, but he could still see her slender form facing him. His eyes stopped at hers that is when he noticed a tear was streaking down her cheek. She knelt down but kept her gaze locked onto John. A moment before the sphere fully formed Cameron formed words with her lips. John instantly knew what she had said.

"I love you."

Then she was gone

Roll call had just finished and Mr. Ferguson started to explain things about what was going to happen in the school year. Cameron took a deep breath and leaned forward to speak.

"What's your name?"

John pulled his hand from propping up his head and looked back. "John"

Cameron smiled sweetly and responded. "Cameron"

Author Note: This is the last chapter to C1999. I hope you enjoyed it...it has been a long time coming !

Yes...I do plan to go AU...there will be some more time spent in Red Valley that what happened in the TV series.

If you see any problems...please DM me and let me know ! (Sometimes FF site here likes to mix things up and lose paragraphs...etc )

If you like the story...please let me know...I love feed back and reading reviews...and I read all reviews !

Moe