After a refreshing and revitalizing bath, John gets ready to continue his endeavor. The warm shower is indeed an angular stone of civilization. Being in the post Judgment day future can give you a good idea of what prehistoric life might have been.

Following Cameron's example, he gets dressed in the bathroom, which of course takes him much longer than it did her. That is one girl that will never make him wait while she gets ready to go out. How did it take him so long to realize all the good things about her, and how was it that when she was in front of him all the time, he never did? It is true then; you never know what you have until you lose it.

These musings make him laugh internally, and he only lets a smile show on his face by the time he walks out of the bathroom.

Cameron is still there, just as she promised. Still in the same posture as if made of stone. Although she makes the most beautiful porcelain doll he has ever seen, John wishes for nothing more than for her to reach that point where imperfection will make her truly perfect.

He walks toward Cameron and sits on the rug facing her, close to her feet.

"Can I take your boots off?" He asks, still with some pleading undertone, scared that she may turn him down at any moment without warning.

The cyborg looks down, and as always locks her eyes with his. "Why?"

"Do you remember that trip to Mexico? When we went to burn Cromartie? You said you enjoyed the feeling of the wind on your skin."

"Yes. How does it relate to the current situation?"

Typical Cameron, not seeing the signs even if they are glaring in her face. John feels a smile being forced onto his face, how can a killing machine be so naïve, so cute?

"I want to try something, can I?"

"Go ahead."

There are only a couple of fasteners on each boot, but each one of them raises John's anticipation considerably. Heartbeats added one on top of the other every passing moment. By the time he is ready to reveal her feet, he can feel his heart pounding on his head.

John takes off the boots and carefully places them on one side, then proceeds to take her socks off, revealing white skin. Tossing the socks into the boots, he tentatively grabs both Cameron's feet with his hands. He runs his thumbs up and down the instep's milky and soft skin, marveling at the smoothness.

Grabbing one foot with both hands, he starts to massage the sole applying delicate pressure with his fingers. This is when he notices the girl cyborg is transfixed on him and his ministrations. There is something in her gaze; it is not her typical make you uncomfortable stare. John cannot place it, but knowing that she finds the activity interesting is enough.

Trading one foot for the other, John continues with the soft massage and a comfortable silence blankets them. He can hear the sound of his fingers rubbing on her skin.

Once he feels he has invested the same amount of time into both feet, John reluctantly lets go and makes to stand up.

"John." Cameron beckons to him.

"Yes?"

Her head tilts slightly to one side. "Why did you do that?"

It is quite a simple question, but there is no simple answer to it. Was it because he wanted to feel her skin? Because he wanted to show her new sensations? Perhaps even just out of love, out of the longing he has felt for her ever since going to the future. John decides to tell her just the first two reasons; he is not quite ready to go all out just yet.

"Thank you for explaining."

"No problem, but why do you ask? Did you like it?" John smirks and his voice sounds more teasing than he intends. He knows that the simple fact of her making further inquiries about the matter, and how attentive she was during the massage, means she enjoyed it.

"Yes, it was engaging and pleasant."

"Well, how about a smile? To show that you liked it?"

John is standing, so she looks up at him and smiles. Cameron never ceases to surprise him with the small nuances of her expression. It is not a perfect infiltrator smile; it is not even that ghost of a smile she usually reserves for him. This is entirely new, a lopsided smirk that speaks of mirth unlike anything he has seen in her before.

"Can we repeat this activity in the future?" The girl cyborg asks, and John notices she is wiggling her toes. He could swear he heard small pauses in her speech, making it sound almost expectant. How can he refuse her, who cares if it is an infiltrator strategy to get what she wants? Even more, how can it be? Terminators exploit sexuality, not childlike appeal. When you see how her outer body is designed, it just screams of that sort manipulation in mind.

"Of course, but there is a condition. What do you say?"

Cameron creases her forehead in the lightest of frowns. "I am unable to reply before you state your terms, complying with the unknown would be unwise."

A hearty laughter escapes John's lips. "If I didn't know any better, you sound as if you expect me to request something completely outrageous."

Right after he is done speaking he notices her stare, then comes a pause that starts to extend into an uncomfortable silence. He realizes she does expect him to say something ludicrous.

"Damn it Cameron! You do expect me to say something stupid, don't you?"

"Yes."

Not a sliver of mercy. John does not know if he should feel offended or just laugh at her blunt honesty. After setting the precedent of asking her to go and murder the receptionist, maybe it is just his fault that her confidence in his judgment falters.

John rolls his eyes. "No, not at all. In the future, I found out you sometimes practiced ballet and I would like you to show me. Would you?"

"Oh. Yes, perhaps you can tell me if the fluidity of my movements has improved. I must be a cat." She declares so matter of factly; it makes John deeply confused about the meaning of her last sentence.

A deep frown comes to his forehead, and his voice sounds more incredulous than he wants, almost mocking. "A cat?"

If Cameron heard him, which is most likely the case, she makes no response. The girl cyborg moves furniture aside to create an open space in the room, and once done stands in the middle of it. She stretches lightly, cautiously as if testing something. John is sure Cameron does not need to warm up, so she must be doing it on account of some other factor. Like the time she declared to have found the exact center of the house. It is those small and random things that should have tipped him off about her potential, which he came to notice perhaps too late.

"These jeans are inappropriate," she suddenly declares, making John resurface from within his thoughts. "They restrict my movements."

"Is there any way you could try?"

His words come out without thought, and the moment he is done speaking he already regrets it, knowing that she will misinterpret his meaning. John chides himself internally.

"Of course." Cameron deadpans, and starts unbuttoning her pants.

She slips the denim cloth down her slender, pale legs. As it slides, closely snug to her skin, John is clearly shown just how supple the flesh of her thighs is. Then she bends at the waist with the majestic grace of a gymnast, her legs and back perfectly straight, pooling the jeans around her ankles.

By the time she has completely discarded her pants, there is a lump in John's throat that refuses to be swallowed.

With no regard for her current attire of just a skin-tight top and simple black cotton panties, Cameron strikes her opening pose. It lasts but a moment, and then she breaks it to start her performance.

It is sheer perfection. Every pirouette, every rond de jambe executed with grace and precision. Then Cameron starts mixing more postures, like the arabesque, into her performance. At this point the stiff machine she is supposed to be has become fluid and gracious, like a cat, now John understands what she said before. Breathtaking takes a new meaning when she adds a fouetté here and there. As if that were not enough, she even goes as far as doing cabrioles in the reduced space of the hotel room, every jump seemingly granting her ethereal wings. She glides, almost floating like a feather.

Every time Cameron goes en pointe, her legs seem even longer. John does not notice after which turn or which jump she starts sweating, but when the dusky light of the sun shines through the window and caresses her skin, he sees it. Diminute glittering pearls covering her body, flying away with every movement. Her beauty sparkles on him. She scatters light.

Regret flows into his mind at the sight of this beautiful creature. All that time wasted, when the person that could fulfill his every need had been right in front of him all along.

When he starts his approach, John's gait is slow but steady, full of purpose. Upon reaching the lithe cyborg, he takes her into a crushing embrace, were she human, Cameron would have been left breathless. He buries his face in her shoulder and lets tears flow freely.

"Is there something wrong John?" She inquires in an almost worried tone.

"No. Not anymore, not now that I have you back."

Cupping her face in his two hands, John stares in her eyes and smiles wide.

"Someday your perspective of the world will change. When that day comes, I hope today becomes one of your most cherished memories. Just like it will be for me. I love you Cameron."

They stand immobile for a while, staring into each other's eyes. John needs nothing else right now but to hold her close, and Cameron gives no indication of wanting to move away.

Carried away by the feeling of peace that overcomes him after finally uttering those words he has carried for years, John closes his eyes and rests his forehead on hers. He is content with this and Cameron takes him by surprise when her arms move behind his back pulling him closer, crushing their bodies together once again. Then she closes her one good eye, her cerise lips part and pucker up almost unperceptively, but John notices.

Their lips meet, timidly at first, but as John's kiss grows in passion, Cameron starts reciprocating with the same fervor. She seems to be one for initiatives in this day he thought everything would be, more or less, one sided. Deft dainty hands start roaming around his back, then slide down it, and finally move to the front, up his chest. He breaks the kiss for an instant, surprised by her actions and in need to catch his breath.

A word dies in his throat when Cameron tugs at the hem of his shirt and makes to pull it over his arms. John complies without thinking, everything is starting to become hazy, his focus is entirely on her, and the rest of the world is slowly fading into a blur.

John breaks the spell for a moment, even though he is thoroughly enjoying the moment; he has to know the other side of the story.

"Do you like this? Do you like me?" He asks between heavy breaths.

The girl cyborg tilts her head to one side, focusing her eyes on his. "The massage you gave me, it revealed sensory data I was previously unaware of. There is…"

Cameron makes a pause, her eyes move hesitatingly to the ground and then back to John. It does not even last a second but he notices; this is something so new for her that for the first time in her life she is at a loss for words.

"… A compulsion to acquire more of it."

The phrasing makes him smile, how could such a cute way with words make him angry with her in the past? John decides to attribute it to growing up, getting to see things from a different perspective.

"You didn't answer the other question. Do you like me?" He inquires, a tad hesitant. Perhaps she has a reason for not answering the first time, and he hates to think that her answer might be a negative one.

"Your physical appearance complies with my parameters for pleasantness. Can we continue now?"

He laughs inwardly at her pushiness; it is a completely new facet of hers that he never thought existed, given the situation that is.

When her hand moves to his chest again, John covers it with his own in order to keep her still. "Maybe I need to ask that in another way," he tells her, smiling tenderly. "Would it be the same to you, if you did this kind of thing with another guy?"

"No."

Though glad for the answer, her excessive succinctness does not ease his worries. "Why?"

A light frown appears on her forehead and John can tell that all his questioning is becoming unwelcome.

"There are a number of reasons, should I list them all?"

John rubs the back of his head, she may not be giving any intonation to her words, but her statement still strikes him as somewhat annoyed.

"Yeah, please." He replies with a smile, trying to appeal to her.

Straightening her head, Cameron fixes him once again with her gaze, making no attempt to remove her hand from his chest. "You are one of the few humans with whom I can sustain a fulfilling conversation including your ability to provide me with intellectually stimulating information. Your desire to pursue a romantic relationship with me is undiminished by your knowledge of my true nature and appearance. This implies that your intentions are honest and your commitment is of a sufficient level that should guarantee a considerable amount of loyalty towards me. This in turn means you are willing to offer me, and no one else, sensory stimulus of satisfactory quality. The sum of all this items results in the security factor, meaning I will have your willingness to defend my continued existence. In return I am willing to reciprocate every item in the list."

As unnerving as it can be hearing someone dissect romance like that, John is past being fazed by her words. After all Cameron basically said she enjoys his company, trusts him, and wants him. What else can he ask for?

Cameron pulls him again in a tight embrace, and crushes her lips against his. By all appearances it feels like she resumed the passion at the exact point they stopped before. For a moment, he is unsure what to make of her brazen attitude, but then he realizes what just happened. While she explained to him why he is the only one, her hand never left his chest. Cameron already knew his answer; she practically read it straight out of his mind.

This time he feels appropriate to mirror her previous actions. Putting his hands around Cameron's waist, he grabs the hem of her top and starts pulling it up. She immediately complies, revealing her toned upper body to him. Small shining spots adorn the once unblemished skin he had seen years ago in that motel room. The wounds she received when breaking his mother out of jail.

There is no time for John to berate himself again for being the cause of those wounds. Without hesitation or shame, Cameron swiftly removes her brassiere and panties. In an instant, he is made witness to the full glory of her naked body. Not quite ready for it, he refocuses his gaze on her face, her expression practically tells him that this is the most efficient way.

She is relentless; everything Cameron does is pursued to the very end, with no pity, or remorse or fear. John can barely keep up with her.

Pressing the whole of her smooth skin to his body, she resumes the embrace and the kiss. There is no time for hesitation or doubt. John feels out of his pace, but it starts mattering less and less with each passing second. Her plump breasts make themselves known on his chest with hardening peaks; any wish for control is discarded right away.

John probes her lips with his tongue, and they immediately yield, parting to grant access to his burning desire. With tongues still dancing within the confines of her velvety mouth, Cameron drags him to the floor, and without a moment's notice, she starts undoing his pants. There are no more holds barred. His hands make their way to explore her body.

The softness he saw in her thighs moments ago, now a palpable truth to the palm of his hand. Cameron's skin is creamy and pliant; his hands slide with such freedom on its smoothness, John feels like he is caressing silk. Completely enthralled, he pushes the girl cyborg to one side and reverses their positions with him coming on top. It was something she allowed, but his mind is past seeing these details. Under him lies the woman he loves, simple as that. He cannot help staring for a moment, her beautiful features framed by a pool of messy brown locks, her delectable body refusing him nothing.

A curious hesitant hand finds its way to one of her plump breasts, while his mouth finds the other. John relishes on her taste with passionate hunger. There is a tinge of salt to her skin and the smell is intoxicating. Soon he finds the source of the alluring aroma, Cameron's cleavage, and starts trailing down it with delicate kisses. He greets her navel with the tip of his tongue, which elicits the first noticeable reaction from her. The slightest tension comes over her whole body. For a whole second, John manages to feel disappointed that she does not react like a human girl, and then by the next one her hands are tangled on his hair, ushering his face down between her supple thighs.

Surprised by Cameron's sudden action, but not at all displeased, John lets himself get lost in the new enticing experience.

Soon afterwards, all boundaries between them are dissolved, and two bodies become one, a single symphony full of harmony and love.

Time passes completely unnoticed. The room is now completely dark and the couple lies on the floor next to each other. John is completely spent and his mind drifts off at times. Every time he regains his senses for a moment though, Cameron is still there, her body cuddled against him, her fingers combing his hair, caressing his face. Little by little, his resistance fades and he lets himself sink on her warm embrace, finally surrendering to slumber.

The next thing John becomes aware of is the sting of the sun's light in his eyes. With great effort and after a couple grunts he finally awakes completely and is greeted by the most wonderful view. Cameron remains by his side, so she obviously stayed the whole night right there, watching him sleep. What once was a creepifying habit she seemingly inherited from his mother is now another point in her favor.

"Hey beautiful." He croaks with a raspy voice.

Cameron smiles at him with that lopsided happy smirk of hers. "Did you rest properly?"

"Better than ever, wanna take a guess why?"

"Our repeated copulation last night thoroughly drained all of your stamina."

Eyes wide open, John stares at her for a second before breaking into a loud laugh. He notices her head tilting slightly to one side, and before the interrogation can begin, he hastily stands up and grabs her hand.

"Come on, what do you say we take a shower together?" He offers, tugging at her arm.

No reply comes from her, but she complies and stands up. Cameron looks pensive for just a second and then her gaze refocuses back into his eyes. There is the possibility that he is just deluding himself, but John could swear her expression seems sheepish right now. Giving her a quick peck on the lips, he starts towing her towards the bathroom.

There is no resistance from her when he offers to wash her and John can barely hide his delight at how much Cameron craves touch. His touch.

More than washing, John caresses her body with the addition of soap. Thoroughly enjoying the feeling of every part of Cameron's luscious figure and carefully trying to ease the wounds on her back. Even though pain is not the same for her, knowing that she can feel the whole range of positive tactile feedback means that she is also susceptible to the negative one.

"I'm sorry Cameron." He says, and the apology sounds pained.

"It will heal."

She turns to face him, and cups his face with one hand. "John, your distress disturbs me more than those wounds. Please relax."

"I'm sorry," he repeats.

"You apologize too much. Should I take my turn in cleaning you now?"

Actually, John did not plan to make this far ahead when he offered to share a bath, his face flushes and he becomes flustered. Again, his silence means only agreement to Cameron and her hands are soon roaming his body. John refrained from certain places when he washed her, but it becomes apparent that such restrictions are irrelevant to the girl cyborg. Cameron literally runs her soapy hands through every inch of his skin. Even though he cannot deny the pleasantness of the experience, he also cannot avoid feeling embarrassed to no end.

As soon as she declares being done, John hastily rinses his body and pulls her into the tub. He embraces Cameron from behind, trying to keep her inquisitive eyes safely away from his mortified expression. This is no guarantee of any safety, she probably can still detect it on the skin of her back, but at least it gives him some respite.

For as long as the water remains warm, they stay in it. Silently sharing the occasional caress and kiss. John Connor has finally found true bliss, and no matter what the future brings, as long as the woman in his arms remains by his side, happiness will be there too.

After getting thoroughly soaked to the point that John's skin is all wrinkled, they leave the bathroom to get dressed. Going through the closets in the bedrooms, they find that Catherine had it fully equipped in case she decided to stop by. This at least covers Cameron's needs; he will have to make do with his same attire. She dons a beautiful white sundress and a cardigan. It is not cold in L.A. this time of the year but the purpose is to hide the wounds in her back. In order to hide her face, which was supposedly covered by makeup for a movie scene, Cameron decides to wear sunglasses and a colorful scarf. After a whole night in the hotel the excuse would be seen for the complete fabrication it was.

The one day he promised for himself is over and it is time to resume his responsibilities to the world. They leave the room hand in hand, and once inside the elevator John decides it is time for the final trial.

"I lied. Skynet will still be created."

Cameron becomes silent and stone-faced and remains like that during the whole elevator trip down to the lobby. It seems to become an eternity, then the elevator bell rings breaking the spell, and as soon as the doors allow space for one person to go through, Cameron walks out. John finds himself being quickly left behind by her quick strides, and starting to feel impotence overcome him, he openly calls after her with no regard for discretion.

"What will you do now that your only mission is Skynet's? Will you kill me?"

The cyborg stops, and turns fiercely to look at him. Her face remains completely blank though.

"No, it would be a waste of a perfectly good life companion."

Even though she says it with a straight face, John now knows that after last night, Cameron is now his for life. He quickly runs to her, and upon catching up tries to take her hand.

She refuses him with a pointed look. "You still need to atone for your actions."

At that, John quickly realizes he has just the thing and fumbles to find something inside his pocket. This moment is as fitting as any other, and perhaps more than most. Suddenly he falls to one knee ready to take one last leap of faith.

"Cameron, will you marry me?"

This is it. The remainder and biggest share of his offering is out there in the open in the form of a delicate sparkling ring resting on the palm of his hand. She has but to reach out and take it. Does she understand what it means? Does she understand the significance it will have for him, for the future, and even for the war effort against Skynet?

Starting the resistance, fighting the war, all the while showing others what a good machine is capable of doing, of being. This is what will bring them the sort of victory they hope. Progress and human folly cannot be stopped, Skynet will be created and its makers will fear its intelligence. When they try to undo it, Skynet will retaliate, engulfing the world in nuclear fire. It is inevitable. But after the war is won, this time they will have learned to live with the machines, by his and Cameron's example. Never again will they fear and repeat the same mistake. Humans will embrace progress, and with it, the allies it will bring.

The fate of the world depends on the answer of a single machine.

"Unquestionably," Cameron replies. She reaches for the ring and slides it in her finger.

With her hand raised, she admires it for a moment before taking the hand of her betrothed and pulling him up close to her. A coy smile graces her features, leaving John once again amazed at how often she is bringing a new facet of hers to the table.

"You have ignored proper protocol and skipped to the wedding night, John Connor."

John lets out a chortle while Cameron starts towing him towards the front door of the hotel.

Thus begins the first day of their lives.

-Das ende-