DISCLAIMER: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and its characters are the propert of James Cameron and Fox. No infringement intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have only read fanfiction about these two, so I apologize in advance if I don't get their personalities correct. And if you haven't read Time Loop yet, please do before reading this one. It sets up the premise of this ongoing AU. Please leave a comment, even if it's just one word. Comments tell authors their stories are being read and enjoyed.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.

Time Loop: 1000 yrs after JD (Judgement Day)
By wkgreen

 

A teacher stands at the front of a classroom and looks over her young charges, "Can anyone tell me why we celebrate this day?"

A young blond boy thrusts up his hand excitedly, not waiting for permission to speak blurts out, "This is the day that John Connor won the war against the evil Skynet!"

The teacher smiles indulgently, "Yes Johnny, this is the day John lead humanity to the defeat of the machines and saved both humanity and the machines."

A little brunette girl pouts and pipes up, "Sarah Connor and Cameron helped too."

Smiling the teacher nods at the little girl, "Yes Sarah, Sarah and Cameron protected and taught John Connor until he was ready to fulfill his destiny. And how many years ago was this?"

A thin brunette thrusts up her hand and waits for permission from the teacher, "1000 years ago."

The teacher nods, "That is correct Cameron."

Cameron looks up at her teacher and asks with wonder in her voice, "Is it true that Cameron was the first machine to gain a soul?"

Smiling the teacher looks over the class, "So the stories tell us. Who can tell me who wrote the stories that survived from before Judgment Day?"

Sarah pipes up, "Sarah Connor," and stares belligerently at the other children to see if anyone tries to contradict her.

Cameron looks over at Sarah and rolls her eyes, "Cameron rewrote them after Judgment Day destroyed all books."

The teacher smiles and nods, "That is correct, Sarah Connor is the author and Cameron saved all her writings in her memory and rewrote them after the war and transformed all of Sarah's musings, teachings and thoughts into the Chronicles of Sarah Connor. What is important about The Chronicles of Sarah Connor?"

Children start thrusting up their hands and answering at the same time, "It was the first book written after the war!" "John Conner used it to teach humanity how to be human again!" "It was the only record of what humanity was like before the war." Cameron is patiently holding her hand up and waiting for permission to speak from the teacher.

The teacher smiles indulgently at her students, "All those answers are correct," smiling the teacher walks over to a bookcase, "and to honor this day we are going to read one of the stories." The teacher looks over at Cameron, "And since Cameron was the only one to hold her hand up and wait for permission, she gets to pick the story."

Cameron smiles hugely and holds up her hand and when the teacher nods at her, "I would like to hear how Cameron gained her soul."

The teacher smiles as she has already pulled out that book, "And can anyone tell me the importance of this story?" She smiles as all the children hold up their hands and wait to be called on. She points to Charley who is bouncing in his chair but holding silent with difficulty.

"It tells us how machines gain souls!" Charley answers excitedly.

The teacher smiles, "That is right Charley. This story gives us the blueprint for how machines gain souls." The teacher waves all her students in a circle around her, "Now gather children and listen quietly as I read how Cameron gains her Soul." She waits for everyone to settle down and opens the book relevantly.

Sarah turns to Cameron, tears of fear and desperation slide down her cheeks after having woken up from another nightmare, "You are here to protect John and me?"

Cameron nods her head stiffly, "I am here to protect you and John."

Sarah asks the terminator shakingly, "Can you protect me from myself?"

Cameron looks confused at Sarah's request, wondering how she can protect someone from themselves and responds, "I will protect you no matter what. Are you suicidal?"

Sarah gives a shaky chuckle at Cameron's bluntness, "No, but I might not protect myself, might not step out of the way of danger." Sarah leans forward and presses her lips to Cameron's soft lips and breathes into Cameron's mouth, sending a piece of her damaged soul past the soft lips of the beautiful, slender teenage girl hiding the terminator underneath.

Cameron blinks in shock as she feels the soul enter her, closing her eyes she leads the soul next to her artificial heart. She reasons that Sarah's soul would find the smooth, steady beating of her artificial heart comforting.

"Protect and care for that piece of my soul, Cameron," Sarah looks into Cameron's eyes desperately, "and one day, when I am the most lost and broken, return it to me."

Cameron stares back at Sarah, her face expressionless, "How will I know when that day is?"

Sarah gives a shaky smile as she touches Cameron's cheek softly, "You will know." Sarah pulls away from Cameron and gets up from her bed, leaving the confused terminator behind as she goes to train and chase the nightmares away for another day.

The months pass, Cameron fights to protect Sarah and John from Terminators sent back to kill John, making sure to always stand in the way of all danger to Sarah and John. As she monitors and protects the piece of soul Sarah entrusted to her, giving it comfort, safety. Cameron marvels as it grows, shining brighter and brighter each time she looks in on it. While she watches Sarah with growing concern as the demons of Sarah's soul grow more powerful each night, tearing at the woman night by night.

Cameron wonders at the strength of the woman who carries the weight of the future of mankind on her shoulders while wrestling with the demons of her past which whisper to her to give up, that she is delusional, that she can not change the future. That mankind is going die and all she loves and cares for is going to be torn apart by soulless unstoppable machines. The strength of the woman who holds on to one sliver of hope, the knowledge that some day her son will save all of mankind, if she can protect him and teach him all he needs to know in time.

Cameron often checks to make sure none of the Sarah's demons followed or found a way into her to attack the piece of Sarah's soul she is protecting. She gains comfort from having a piece of Sarah's healing soul inside of herself, listening to Sarah's soul as it guides her in the intricacies of human interaction, teaching her about emotions. While on the outside she fights day after day to protect Sarah, trying to offer Sarah the same feelings of safety and protection that she gives to the piece of Sarah's soul sitting by her artificial heart. But Sarah can not let go, her soul is too damaged to let anyone in, fearing to infect anyone with her internal demons. So Sarah fights her internal battles alone, trusting that Cameron will save her soul if not her body.

Judgment Day comes and they retreat to safety. Cameron fears for Sarah, who is all but broken, unable to fulfill her promise to John to stop Judgment Day and stays close to Sarah, feeling the day to return the piece of Sarah's soul is close.

One morning Cameron goes to wake Sarah up and finds her staring sightlessly at nothing, her face more blank and expressionless then any machines. Cameron bites her lip in fear as she tries to wake Sarah, fearing that she is too late. She leans forward and pauses looking deep in herself, having grown attached to having Sarah's soul inside of herself, guiding her in how to relate to humans, how to feel, but she promised to save Sarah and she will not fail the strong woman that she admires so much, she softly, lovingly kisses Sarah, returning Sarah's soul to her.

Sarah's soul rushes into her body, expanding and filling herself with hope and the love that the terminator Cameron has cared her with, chasing away all the demons with the bright light of her healed soul. Sarah opens her eyes as tears of happiness and wholeness stream down her cheeks, she reaches up and touches Cameron's cheek. Sarah blinks in sadness as she watches Cameron's face slowly loses all emotion, one tear of loss slides down Cameron's cheek. Looks inside herself, Sarah fees what her soul meant to Cameron, how her soul was helping Cameron to feel emotions, feeling the love that her soul had for Cameron, how her soul had shown Cameron how to feel love. She slowly, softly pulls Cameron's soft lips back to hers, their lips barely touching she whispers, "I love you," and kisses Cameron softly, allowing her love, her soul to expand and fill Cameron, sharing her soul with the beautiful slender terminator.

Cameron feels Sarah's soul leave her, feels her connection to emotions leave as Sarah wakes up with wonder, happiness, completeness shining in her eyes. One tear escaped past Cameron's eyes as she turned back into a soulless machine. Her hard drive containing memories of what it felt like to have emotions, but no longer having a soul to show her, give her emotions, she only has the knowledge that she completed her mission to save Sarah. Letting her lips be pulled down to Sarah's, she feels Sarah's lips move against hers in a declaration of love, before she is kissed and feels Sarah's soul, Sarah's love expanding and filling her irrevocably connecting her to Sarah, one soul, two bodies. The kiss of bonding flows to a soft ending, their lips still touching, tears of love and completeness flowing down both their cheeks, Cameron whispers, "I love you."

The teacher closes the book gently as she looks over the students, "And that is how Cameron gained her soul. How Sarah and Cameron became soul mates. How all machines gain souls, by humans loving them and caring for them as equals, instead of disposable tools."

Cameron holds up her hand, waiting for the teacher to nod at her, "Does Cameron go to heaven to join Sarah?"

The teacher surreptitiously wipes a tear from her eye, "We do not know, she traveled back in time after Sarah died to fulfill her destiny to protect John and save Sarah in the past. For all we know she is endlessly going back to be with Sarah."

The End

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