Under the mistletoe - Part 11

[4kennedy]

Title: Under the mistletoe
Author: 4kennedy
Fandom: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Pairing: Cameron/Sarah
Rating: PG-13
Summary: As Christmas is coming closer even the Connor household gets into the seasonal spirit.
Disclaimer: I unfortunately don’t own them; they belong to FOX television and Warner Brothers.
Notes: Written for charrua33. The wish on the Christmas wish list at passion_perfect was 'Getting caught under the mistletoe'. Thanks to my wonderful beta reader gsr_rocks! The awesome storypic is made by 2headedturtles.


Part 11

At half past eight in the morning of the twenty-first of December Cameron was standing in the kitchen and looked outside the window with disapproval.

“Mornin’,” John greeted sleepily when he entered the kitchen and found the terminator frowning at something outside in the yard. “What are you glaring at?”

“Sarah,” came Cameron’s simple reply, her vision still fixed on the human in the garden.

John scratched his head and sat down at the kitchen table, contemplating the girl curiously for a few moments. “Why? What has she done now? Did she slap you again?”

“No.” Cameron watched Sarah as she stopped doing push-ups in the grass and followed her with her eyes as she went over to the metal swing set. “Your mother’s behaviour is irrational.” She usually enjoyed watching the raven-haired woman doing her morning work-out, but today she was frustrated by it.

“Tell me something new,” John sighed and shrugged. He then looked at her expectantly. “Anyways, what’s for breakfast? Some French toast, a ham and cheese omelette or pancakes? I’m starving.”

There were no pans on the stove, no sight at all that Cameron was preparing anything for breakfast, but John was hopeful that his question would spur her into action. He also threw in a charming smile for good measure, which was wasted as the terminator didn’t regard him at all.

Without answering him Cameron turned away from the window and took a cereal box from the sideboard and the milk out of the refrigerator. She placed the items in front of John and gave him an inexpressive stare, before she resumed her position in front of the window.

“Right. Muesli it is then.” John stood up to get a bowl and a spoon, but stopped when he followed Cameron’s gaze. His mother was doing pull-ups on the swing. “She’s back to her usual morning routine,” he observed.

It had actually surprised John that his mother had neglected her daily training for some days; usually not even a gunshot wound could hold her back for that long.

“Yes,” Cameron confirmed the obvious, knitting her brows. She had tried to deter Sarah this morning, before she had gone outside, but the human had been inapproachable with rational reasoning. As was the case most of the time. “It is too early for her to take up her usual training pensum already. She will most likely overextend herself.”

“You know how she is. She can be as stubborn as a mule,” John agreed nodding and took a bowl and a spoon out of the cabinets. He went back to the kitchen table and prepared his breakfast.

He had first wondered why Cameron hadn’t made anything for breakfast, but now he suspected that the terminator was something like annoyed with his mother and had therefore decided that Sarah didn’t deserve a treat. It was unfair that he had to take the punishment too, he had already gotten used to having more than a pop tart or muesli for breakfast.

Cameron did understand the axiom; she was in fact familiar with a large amount of sayings. Her database was broad concerning this subject, as well as of course on many others. But she often pretended that she didn’t know what they meant, finding it amusing when the humans struggled to explain to her something that came so naturally to them.

She agreed silently with John, but didn’t comment on his remark. His mother was indeed a very obstinate woman, a streak Cameron mostly found attractive.

“Sarah argued that she needs to stay in shape. I disagree. Human muscles do not degenerate so quickly.” Cameron gave it moment of thought, zooming in on Sarah and scanning her as she pulled herself up on the swing one last time before dropping to the ground. “Also her body is in great shape, I find her physiques very appealing.”

“Ugh, please stop.” John lost his grip on the spoon and splashed some of the milk when it fell into the bowl. He covered his ears with his hands. “I know you have the hots for my Mom, but I really do not need to hear this.”

Cameron turned halfway towards him, tilting her head like she often did. “I have indeed observed an increase of temperature of my skin on various occasions, for example when…” If John had taken a closer look, he would’ve discovered the slight smirk on Cameron’s lips. Again she had understood the saying perfectly well, but she couldn’t let this chance to tease him a little pass by. His uneasiness gave her some kind of pleasure.

“No! No examples,” John interrupted her quickly. Cameron had his full support when it came to her plans for his mother, but some things were better left unsaid. “Keep it to yourself.”

Cameron nodded at him in agreement and turned back to the window. She calculated how long until Sarah would be finished with her training and decided that it was about time to start the coffee machine. Water was already filled in the tank and coffee powder was in the filter. All she needed to do was to switch on the machine, which she did in a single motion without averting her gaze from Sarah.

John continued to eat his cereal in silence, his eyes mainly on the bowl. Though after several minutes, when the terminator hadn’t moved at all and was still staring out of the window, he picked up the subject again, his curiosity getting the better of him. “Sooo, how is it going anyways… with Mom? You haven’t spoken with me about it since she has slapped you.”

“I was under the impression that you do not wish to hear about it.” Cameron made a quick analysis and found that she hadn’t sought out John for any advice like she had in the previous weeks.

He was still unaware of the latest developments between Sarah and her, mainly because Sarah had asked her to leave this part to her, to when she found the time was right to tell her son. Cameron reasoned that at the moment John felt locked out by her and that it hurt his feelings, which were common emotions for teenagers his age and nothing to worry about.

John sighed. “I meant the juicy details or you slobbering all over her. She’s my mother; I don’t need certain images popping up in my head, okay?” He had already told Cameron many times before, that her straightforwardness wasn’t always appropriate. Apparently it had no effect on the girl, no matter how often he repeated it.

Maybe she wasn’t sure where to draw the line. Maybe she was sure and just enjoyed it to torture him, which was an odd thought as he had sent the terminator back to protect him and not to torment him by producing unwanted images of his mother in his mind.

For a second Cameron contemplated to ask John what he meant by ‘certain images’ and if he could give her some examples, but neglected it. She had tortured him enough for now. “Understood.”

“Sooo?” John prompted again when Cameron showed no intention of giving him an update of the situation. “Any news in the area of sweeping my mother off her feet?”

It was starting to get on his nerves that the terminator was reluctant to talk to him about it. Especially over the last couple of days he had seen and felt the changes between his mother and Cameron. There were several signs that something had happened between them and he wanted to know what it was.

“I currently do not require your assistance on that matter,” Cameron stated and added for politeness, “Thank you for asking.”

John growled and shovelled several spoons of cereal into his mouth as to not get too annoyed by the girl’s behaviour and snap at her. But he decided to not let go of the subject that easily. “So you have either given up or made some progress and don’t need my help anymore.”

Cameron still followed Sarah’s every move, somewhat enthralled. The raven-haired woman was doing her T’ai-Chi-Ch’uan exercises, her body currently in the form called ‘The white crane spreads its wings’.

It was Cameron’s favourite part of Sarah’s work out training; she liked the slow yet strong movements. They were gracious. It was art applied with internal power. It reminded her of ballet, which was also art, just a different form of it.

Some months ago Cameron had done some research and had come across the old Chinese martial art. T’ai-Chi-Ch’uan was only partially about self-defence and the appropriate change in response to outside forces. It helped to bring about a state of mental calm and clarity and was also known for bringing general health benefits and stress management.

Cameron had suggested it to Sarah and had been bugging her about it for a while until the other woman had finally agreed to give it at least a try. By now Sarah had included it in her training for weeks. Cameron was very pleased with this achievement.

When Sarah looked into her direction for a moment and spotted the girl, she gave her a brief smile. Cameron returned it without giving an accordingly command. “I never give up,” she stated firmly to respond to John’s conclusion at last.

John finished the rest of his breakfast and occasionally raised his head to watch Cameron watch his mother. The terminator’s face didn’t have to show affection as strongly as it might have on a human’s face for him to recognize it. He could feel his heart swell at the sight and he had to swallow the suddenly formed lump of emotions in his throat back down.

After a while John stood up and went over to the girl, putting his bowl and the spoon into the sink. He stood right next to her, but Cameron wouldn’t look at him. “Are you planning on giving Mom a gift for Christmas?”

He had wondered how far Cameron would go with her mission to twist Sarah around her finger by giving her a nice and traditional Christmas for once. The idea would have been rather sweet, when Cameron hadn’t said a second later that this would get her into his mother’s pants even quicker.

“Yes,” the girl replied, having decided that she could at least share this information with him. She hadn’t finished Sarah’s present yet, but there were still four days left including today where she could work on it.

Cameron had processed very carefully what to give Sarah for Christmas and hoped that the other woman would take her intentions behind it well.

John tried to hide how surprised he was by this news. He hadn’t really expected it. “What is it?” he wanted to know right away, finding it highly interesting that a terminator actually planned on giving his mother a Christmas present. It certainly held some irony.

“It is private,” was all what Cameron revealed, not ready to tell him anything more about it. It was how she felt about the present, it was for Sarah only and the girl wanted to keep it just between them.

“Sometimes it’s really frustrating to talk to you.” John didn’t argue, didn’t push her on it. When Cameron had set her chip on something, then even the future leader of mankind couldn’t make her, especially when it wasn’t essential to her primary mission. She would just ignore him, if he tried to order her to tell him what it was.

So John simply shook his head at her and left the kitchen. When Cameron didn’t want to tell him everything, fine. But he didn’t have to tell her everything too. A smug smile appeared on his lips as he thought that he hadn’t shared the knowledge with the terminator that his mother would go out today to get a Christmas present for Cameron.

*****

Five minutes later Sarah came through the backdoor into the kitchen and went straight for the coffee machine, smiling pleased when she discovered that Cameron had already made some for her like every morning. She took a fresh mug and filled it with the brown beverage, eyeing the terminator contemplatively.

“Haven’t I told you to stop studying me like a damn lab rat, girlie?” Sarah wanted to know, repeating what she had told Cameron three weeks ago. At that time she had been cross with the girl for observing her constantly, but now it was only fake anger that resonated within her voice and her eyes sparkled mischievously.

“Yes, you have,” Cameron confirmed with an unwavering gaze. “But the circumstances have changed since then. I have re-evaluated the subject and came to the assumption that your request to stop watching you does not apply any longer.”

Cameron considered the human for a moment, reading her vital signs as well as taking in her general appearance. Sarah’s hair was in a loose ponytail; several strands had escaped and framed her face, which was red from the work-out. She wore a white tank top and gray sweat pants. But even in the simplest cloths, sweaty and red-faced, Cameron found her striking.

Sarah nodded at the girl’s conclusion. Back then she hadn’t understood why Cameron observed her, but now the circumstances had indeed changed and Sarah had to admit that she was flattered by it.

She sipped at her coffee and it was, of course like always, exactly the way she preferred it. She could tell that Cameron was analysing her and found it annoying as well as amusing. “Are you done with your examination, Doc? What’s the result?”

“That your body seems to take the physical strain better as expected,” the terminator acknowledged and abruptly turned away from the other woman when her right index and middle finger began tapping against her leg. “But I still disapprove that you resume your regular training pen sum.”

A drop of sweat, which had trickled down Sarah’s neck, had captured Cameron’s full attention, the quickened beating of Sarah’s heart and her risen body temperature from the previous training were distracting and alluring. Cameron had used an unusual amount of processor capacity to imagine different scenarios, all of them X-rated.

At least her programming had only protested with tapping fingers and not with a much more obvious twitching of her whole hand. So before it could get any worse or before she would follow the impulse to live her fantasies, Cameron needed to busy herself with something else. Doing the dishes seemed to be a good idea and so she turned on the tap and added some squirts of washing-up liquid into the water.

“I told you that I’m feeling better today and ready for some action.” Sarah had a self-satisfied smile. It wasn’t hard to tell what was going on with the terminator. She had noticed how Cameron’s eyes had travelled over her body, had seen the changes on the girl’s face and also the twitching of her fingers hadn’t gone past her.

Now that she knew what it meant, the glitch didn’t worry Sarah that much any longer. In fact it was exciting that Cameron reacted so strongly just by looking at her. It was also somewhat adorable that the girl tried to restrain herself, probably because she was still peeved at her for training and not listening to her.

Sarah moved closer to the girl until their bodies were almost touching. But Cameron pretended that she didn’t notice their close proximity and continued to wash the dishes with a focus only a terminator had, even though it was obvious that Cameron had a hard time to keep that concentration.

With one small step Sarah closed the remaining cap between them and pressed her body lightly against the girl’s side. She could hear Cameron breathing in sharply and watched her shutting her eyes for some seconds.

Sarah reached around the terminator, her lips brushing against Cameron’s earlobe when she whispered, “Don’t be sulky anymore that I worked out a little, ‘kay?” She kissed the girl’s ear and placed her now empty mug into the sink. “I’m going to shower and then I’ll go out for a bit.”

Cameron turned at this and stared intensively at Sarah. “Where are you going?” she wanted to know, trying to ignore the reactions her body had to being so near to the other woman.

“You’re a nosy terminator, do you know that?” Sarah asked back with a grin, not allowing the terminator to ruin the mood. “But if you have to know, I’ll get John’s Christmas present. I thought as you want to set a high value on Christmas this year, I should probably get my son more than just a taser or something like that.” Some of her typical sarcastic undertone came through, it was unnerving that Cameron always had to know and discuss everything.

Luckily she wasn’t lying, because the terminator could easily detect a lie, but John’s Christmas present wasn’t the only one she was planning on getting. However, Sarah couldn’t tell Cameron that she also wanted to get her a present, it would be embarrassing. At least she had the perfect idea of what to give the girl for Christmas.

“I can accompany you,” the terminator readily offered. “Considering the contusion of your skull, which is still present, although you might feel better currently, you shouldn’t drive a car or go out alone.” It was too dangerous and Cameron didn’t understand why Sarah didn’t care about herself that much.

Sarah groaned and rubbed her forehead. “No, Missy, you’ll stay here with John. He’s your priority,” she reminded her. “I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl and can look after myself. End of discussion.”

Sarah had to admit that she was tempted by the idea of kissing Cameron, the concerned expression of the girl was endearing, but Cameron’s revelations of last night were still too fresh on her mind and their quickly growing relationship still somewhat frightening.

So Sarah settled for a quick peck on the lips, which took the terminator by surprise. “Don’t worry, I won’t be long.” She brushed past Cameron and headed for the stairs.

“Do you not want to have breakfast?” Cameron asked almost reproachfully.

“I’m not hungry,” Sarah shouted back at her over her shoulder, rushing up the stairs and disappearing into her room.

Cameron took a pan and placed it on the oven, going over to the fridge and taking out everything she needed to make scrambled eggs with tomatoes and mushrooms. Under no circumstances would she let Sarah leave the house without breakfast and she would also make her drink at least one big glass of multivitamin juice. Even if she had to tie her to the chair and feed her.

*****

At eleven in the night on the same day Sarah was fast asleep on the couch in the living room. Again. At least this time she hadn’t fallen asleep snuggling into Cameron’s side like five days ago when they’d been watching an old movie together.

Still Sarah hadn’t meant to doze off in front of the TV, but at some point she couldn’t force her eyes to stay open and to concentrate on the screen any longer. Damn painkillers knocked her out regardless the circumstances. But she’d had to take them.

Sarah wouldn’t admit it to Cameron, but the girl had been right. She had overstrained herself, with her work-out in the morning and her shopping trip to the mall. By afternoon her head had felt like it would explode any second, she had been dizzy and queasy.
At first Sarah had tried to get through it without taking the pills, though at some point she had given in.

Now she barely registered it, when strong arms were placed under her, lifting her up und gently pulling her against a warm body.

Cameron, she thought with a feeling of contempt.

She wasn’t awake enough to rebuke the terminator and to tell her to put her down and she wasn’t asleep enough to not notice the comforting warmth of Cameron’s body and the typical, intoxicating smell of her skin.

Orange blossoms and vanilla.

Once more Sarah felt ridiculously safe in the girl’s arms. She had to chuckle at this thought, knowing that Cameron had turned her gaze and was looking at her with a puzzled expression.

“Sarah? Are you awake?” the terminator whispered, ducking her head towards the other woman.

“No,” Sarah whispered back, a slight grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. She nuzzled the terminator’s neck and heard Cameron taking in a sharp breath just like this morning. A reaction she liked bringing out of the terminator.

After a couple of minutes they had reached her bedroom and Sarah had the impression that Cameron had taken her time to get there. As if she enjoyed carrying her.

The girl lowered her carefully to the bed, covering her up with a blanket and making sure that she was tucked in properly.

Sarah easily drifted back to sleep, her body too exhausted from the events of the day, but she was suddenly dragged back into consciousness as soft lips were pressed tenderly against her temple and a whispered “Sleep tight” reached her mind.

Cameron was still in her room and still close, leaning over her and a small hand was lightly placed on her shoulder.

Sarah sighed at the admission how good this felt. “I’m tired of fighting,” she admitted soft-spoken to the darkness, not even sure herself whether she meant the fight against the machines or the fight to hold back her feelings for one of them. It was probably a bit of both.

In situations like this, Cameron’s decision-making process was hit hardest by the glitch. Programming and feelings were complete opposite opinions on how to proceed. So Cameron didn’t move and didn’t say anything, silently waiting for the other woman to continue, to give her a sign of what she should do.

“Stay.” Sarah voice was barely audible; someone without a perfect hearing like the terminator would have perhaps missed it. “Please,” the raven-haired woman added even lower than before, her eyes still closed as if she were sleeping.

Cameron didn’t need further encouragement. She quickly undressed until she was only in her panties and a thin, pink tank top and slipped into bed, which ached under the additional weight.

She was lying on her back, staring through the darkness at the ceiling while Sarah was lying on her side, facing away from her and with half an arm-length distance between them. Cameron wasn’t able to specify it, but she felt that this wasn’t right. It was… awkward.

Sarah was yet only halfway conscious and a part of her was glad that her mind was clouded by the painkillers, when she slowly slid backwards until Cameron’s arm touched her back. It wasn’t near enough and Sarah feared that she would be trapped in a state of semi-consciousness if she wasn’t able to find a comfortable enough position.

“Fuck it,” Sarah mumbled after a moment, reaching behind her until she had found the girl’s hand and tugging at it. “Could you…?” She couldn’t finished the question, couldn’t speak out what she secretly desired, but Sarah hoped that the terminator would understand her anyways.

“Yes,” Cameron replied, reading the human easily. Her systems buzzed with anticipation when she shifted onto her side, gliding closer to Sarah so that she was pressed against her back.

The raven-haired woman placed the girl’s arm over her waist and her hand on her stomach. Goose bumps were covering her whole body and something fluttered inside her belly at the intimate position. Without giving it much of a thought she had submitted to the arms of a terminator and all she felt at this was a thrill of joy, which made her tremble.

Cameron noted that the human in her arms was shivering and she began to heat up her skin like she had done for her the night before. “Are you cold?” she wondered. The room temperature was at a pleasant sixty-two degrees. “You’re shaking.”

“I’m fine,” Sarah assured her, a flush creeping into her cheeks. After a few moments of taking in some deep, calming breath she could feel herself relax against Cameron’s form. She sighed contentedly when she finally settled down.

Suddenly Cameron’s hand on Sarah’s stomach twitched and clenched into a fist, grasping Sarah’s shirt. The terminator tried to take her hand away, but the other woman wouldn’t let her and stopped her by laying her own hand on top of hers.

“Your programming doesn’t like that, huh?” Sarah suspected, caressing the girl’s back of her hand softly with her thumb.

“No, it doesn’t,” Cameron affirmed, relieved that the human wasn’t scared by her malfunction and that Sarah trusted her that she wouldn’t hurt her. “But I like it.”

The other woman squeezed her hand at this and Cameron lowered her head to place a light kiss on the back of Sarah’s shoulder.

Some time later, when Sarah had almost drifted back to sleep, a melody reached her sub consciousness and stirred her somewhat to wakefulness. Cameron was humming again and it was the same song she had hummed over two weeks ago. At the time all Sarah knew was that the song was familiar to her, but she couldn’t remember it properly. But now the lyrics came back to her too. It was an old, cheesy song of the early 90’s, sung by Bryan Adams.

Look into my eyes - you will see
What you mean to me
Search your heart - search your soul
And when you find me there you'll search no more
Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for
You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for
You know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for you.

Sarah fell asleep not long after Cameron had stopped humming; knowing that she was safe and hoping that the strong arms of the metal girl would keep the nightmares away.

tbc…

Feeling:  rushed