DISCLAIMER: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and its characters are the propert of James Cameron and Fox. No infringement intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In an attempt to jump start my muse for its summer run, I thought I’d try something I hadn't done before – the five things ‘thingie.’ And since zennie asked for TSCC, I thought – why not? And while I was at it, I decided to go for the gold – 5 perfect drabbles.
Special thanks to ralst for the beta.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
Five Things Cameron Processed
By Ann
Danger
The moment she first came online, Cameron was able to recognize danger and its significance. With her mission firmly rooted into her microprocessor, she wouldn't allow anything or anyone to get in the way of her final purpose: Keep John Connor safe, and with that order, she intuitively knew Sarah Connor was to be protected as well. She never once stopped to analyze exactly why Sarah's safety was just as important as John's. She just knew it was, and somewhere along the way, the line had blurred until she could no longer put more value on John's life than Sarah's.
Mixed Signals
Cameron's programming was much more sophisticated than the earlier models, and she proved to be a quick study of human behavior – watching, learning, and asking question after question. And that's where she first picked up on the different signals Sarah Connor gave off. She didn't understand human emotion, but it didn't take long to experience the entire spectrum as Sarah rarely reacted the same way twice. In fact, their last encounter had a confused Cameron standing in the doorway of Sarah's room, watching the older woman as she slept. A month of watching Sarah sleep hadn't made things any clearer.
Fear
Cameron had heard about fear – tightness in the chest, breathlessness, muscle weakness, gnawing in the pit of one's stomach – and she knew it was physically impossible for her to have such feelings. So, when every single symptom made itself known, she was at a loss. She had no frame of reference for what she was 'feeling.' She'd felt strangely when Derek Reese had shown up, but when Charley Dixon came onto the scene, she'd thought there was something terribly wrong with her systems. Fear of losing Sarah, not to a bullet, but to a man, had never crossed her circuitry.
Jealousy
And with her fear came another more intense feeling – jealousy. When Cameron had finally put a name on the almost uncontrollable anger she'd projected toward Charley Dixon, she'd changed her destination from the backyard to her bedroom, stepping directly in front of the mirror. She turned her head left and then right, expecting to see a green tint to the skin covering her metal endoskeleton. John had once mentioned a classmate turning green with jealousy, so she'd assumed she'd do the same, but her alabaster skin was all she saw. There was no sign of green anywhere on her features.
Acceptance
Now that she'd discovered the meanings behind her different processes, Cameron was still at a loss. What should she do with her newfound knowledge? How was she to act upon these feelings she'd worked so hard to understand? What was the next logical step in her progression? She simply had no idea. None of her programming addressed the situation, and she hadn't yet learned enough about the human emotion of caring deeply for another individual. She'd just have to wait until she had enough information to act properly or perhaps she'd get lucky and Sarah would show her the way.
The End