InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "i love aaron gillespie"

John Connor (johnbaum) wrote in omega_reality,
@ 2013-04-12 19:50:00

Entry tags:

*complete, 2013 04, character: john connor, character: savannah monroe

RP: John and Savannah
Who: John Connor and Savannah Monroe
Where: Savannah and Marty's
When: Saturday, April 13, 2013 - afternoon
Summary: John checks up on Savannah

John had waited a couple days to check-in and see how Savannah was doing. There'd been things to do with the machine after the quake and he'd wanted to give her family some time with her to reassure themselves she was okay. Give her some time to rest after giving birth...not that he thought she'd do much of that. Unless she was practically dead, Savannah didn't do rest.

But, it was looking like they'd be without power for a while because of the quake, which meant not using his computers anymore than he had to. And, John had been spending less of his free time on the computer in order to spend more time with Brian ever since his birthday, anyway. So, he took the opportunity when Thomas had come over to talk to Brian about getting a new phone to replace the one of his that had been crushed in the rockslide to head over to Savannah's for a little bit, Snaz at his heels.

Smiling when he saw her, he started to say hello, but the border collie beat him to it, getting his paws up on Savannah's knees with a happy bark. "I guess Snaz thought his greeting was more important than mine,' he said with a laugh. "Feeling up to a visit?"

"From you or Snaz?" she said, grinning. She petted the dog, before stepping closer to John and hugging him. "I'm always up to seeing you. Come on in." She waited for them to step inside and closed the door. Things had changed, but she still followed Sam's guidelines for home security.

"Can I get you something to eat? I made pie. They won't let me sleep, so I bake," she said laughing. Savannah moved around the twins that were playing in the living room, running and tossing things, creating the sort of chaos that Savannah didn't even see anymore. "Jamie is sleeping, not that he does much of anything, but-" She nodded toward the stroller. "He's in there. I turned it toward the wall so they don't poke him. What do you want to drink with that pie? Milk, tea, water?"

"Like I'll turn down pie." Laughing, John shook his head before sitting on the floor to both play with the girls, tossing things for them to run after and keeping Snaz calm enough he wouldn't accidentally knock them over in his exuberance wanting to play, too. "Milk's good.

"So, other than not sleeping because two pretty little blonde girls want to play, how are you? No lingering ill effects from your night spend on the side of a mountain? You didn't seem too freaked out by your first earthquake...that was your first, right?"

"That's because you are a smart man," she said, chuckling. Savannah cut a slice and poured some milk in a glass, before bringing them to the table. "You might want to sit on the table. Three dogs, two girls, you might not get to eat the pie."

Savannah laughed. "Besides them? I've been too busy to be freaked out. Baking, making side everyone is all right, making the rounds, trying to get in shape, planning a christening. I've already emailed Brian to stand up for Derek at the ceremony, since he's the only Catholic man I know. If you could talk to him and make sure that he's on his best behavior. Although without G and Sam to annoy, I'm sure he'll much better." She stopped. "I should be freaked out, shouldn't I? I think it's a testament of what we've been through. Nick... I'm sorry about him, but the earthquake is just another thing to deal with, if you know what I mean."

"A smart man who knows you make really good pies," he told her with a wink as he took the plate from her. As if to prove her point, one of the twins toddled over, hand reaching out for the pie. John lifted it out of her reach and stood up. "And you are a smart lady."

Digging in, he listened while she talked. "Yeah." He nodded. "I'll talk to him. But, it's you. So, he might restrain himself a little more than usual without my saying anything." Smiling, he shrugged. "A massive quake, the road breaking apart underneath you...yeah, a lot of people would be freaked out, especially with all the aftershocks and the lack of power."

John pursed his lips, but then went on. "Nick...well, that's why I came over, actually. I know what it's like to lose people you feel responsible for. Wanted to make sure you were okay, not blaming yourself for a freak accident."

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johnbaum
2013-04-14 12:50 am UTC (link)

John chuckled. "I don't think Derek knows what to do with spoiling. But, pie he can appreciate. If you want to get rid of even more, I can always take a slice each for Mike and the Director, too."

Smiling, he nodded. "He is a good man. He just doesn't like to admit to it very often. Doesn't want to blow his cover and all. But, yeah, we...worked some things out...at the club on my birthday and things are better." John's original plan had been...well, wrong. But, things had worked out and he couldn't regret how things had turned out when he got the real Brian back. And the next time he got it into his head that pushing John toward someone else was a good idea, John would just smack him. "Much better."

He squeezed her hand in return. "And it shouldn't stop you from getting those lessons. In fact, I'm pretty sure Brian's taken up permanent residence under the hood of something every time we're not training, so he'd be easy to find to ask," he added with a laugh. "I keep thinking I should join him some night. It's been too long since I've gotten under the hood myself. I'm not sure what we can do to replace the club, but I'll help you think of something. And, in the meantime, maybe you and I at least can work on it. Mike's been hanging out with Brian and I some. We can both go join Brian. You can get your lessons and I can get my hands on an engine. I'm not sure what Matt's into, but we can talk to him and find out. We make sure to include them and the Hammonds in outings like dinner or that where appropriate." He shrugged. "We'll figure something out."

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savannah_monroe
2013-04-14 01:27 am UTC (link)

"How about this? I'll keep the open pecan pie and you can take a full apple pie as long as you promise to get Derek to eat some. I can make more tomorrow," she said. "Let just say that kitchen as been stocked, and food is always a good way to get to people."

Savannah grinned. "I don't even know to know how the club made things better, but as long as you two are okay, then it's good." She paused a moment. "Have you notice like all the so called 'kids' are the most emotional balanced? I don't think they understand what growing up means. Somehow they all think it means emotionally screwed up."

She scrunched her nose. "Oil and... whatever else there is in a car are not as interesting as driving it. It's so uncomfortable with a skirt anyway, and then you ruin your clothes, your hands get all black and yucky, and you smell of gas and oil. So not nice." She looked at him, before leaning closer and kissing his cheek. "You're a genius. Well, I'm a genius, but you gave me an idea. Something informal, yeah? People can join or not. Do you remember at the beginning? We had those barbecues? We can do it at your house, because it would look natural for the director of the program to do it, or even better, out in the park, get some grills, meat, football. We'll have to give up Sunday dinners, but it's... I think it'd do everyone some good. People can toss a ball, drive a car, have a burger, get a tan, sing, play. Just an afternoon hanging around without any structure. What do you think?"

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johnbaum
2013-04-14 06:54 pm UTC (link)

"I don't think it will be that hard to get Derek to eat some." John chuckled. Derek was too aware of how much he wasn't going to have any of this at home, John thought, to refuse fresh apple pie. "You have a deal."

Smiling, he shook his head. "You don't. But, there were words, too. And we're good." He chuckled. "Are we? Or do we just seem it because we're supposed to be emotionally weird at this age anyway? We're supposed to do crazy things and act on our emotions, impulses. Even me," he added with a laugh.

"Oil, coolant, brake fluid, anti-freeze..." He gave her the list with a smirk. "May not be as interesting, but I'll bet either Brian or Travis would tell you to drive like them you really have to know the car inside and out before you know what you can do with it. It's like with a computer, given the right equipment, I can get most systems to do pretty much anything. But, only because I know what they can do and how far beyond that I can push it."

One eyebrow raised. "Only a near-genius according to Nell," he teased. But, listening to her, he nodded. "Yeah, the barbeques were good. I'd say the park might be a better idea than the house because of the kind of community this is. There are others living here that aren't part of the team. If we were normal, we'd include all the neighbors, but that won't let people relax the way they need to in order to do that bonding. Some of us might be making friends with the neighbors, but it's not the same thing. The park takes that pressure off. And, really, even more than the club, I think that's what bonded our little group. Troy, Sean, Nell, Alexis, Tim, Brian and I, Derek...we all came together over those group dinners at their house. It's why they left the invitation an open door policy where everyone was welcome. Not that a lot of people seemed to understand they really were welcome." He grinned sheepishly. "Okay, it took me a while and an explicit invitation from Troy to get there. But, that was more my loner streak than not thinking I was welcome. You get what I mean, though."

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savannah_monroe
2013-04-14 07:35 pm UTC (link)

"Good, and if you want something or if you know there is something he or Brian prefers, I'll make it. Peaches, cherries, any fruit, really. I don't make as many mousse cakes, but I can always try," she volunteered. "I just need to know in advance to make sure I have all the ingredients."

Savannah chuckled. "Words are very good. They help." Words with Thomas helped plenty and she really believed that they always helped if you were willing to keep going until you understood each other. The other question had her thinking, before she shook her head. "I don't think so. Sure, teenagers act on impulse, but except for you, Alexis and Nick, the rest of us aren't teenagers. Also, they have all been scarred emotionally one way or another. It's... sad how they all have these traumatic stories, and we need to teach them how to feel. That's all."

She waved a hand. "I can learn. I can know that car inside out if I have to, as long as they touch the smelly stuff. I'll just figure out what it is and how you fix it. They can do the manual work that doesn't involve me getting my hands all stained. I already use too much moisturizer as is."

Savannah snorted. "That's because Sheldon is the genius and he wouldn't know what to do with people. All right, so park, a few charcoal grills, since I'm sure propane ones would be illegal. They were in New York and I can't imagine being any different here, where everything can go up in flame a lot faster." she snorted again. "With the people around here, I doubt any of them will try to get near, with the possible exception of those two teenagers who seem to like Alexis a little too much. I'm sure a little talk with Tim should solve that problem. A very normal Texan talk," she said with a shrug. "Troy is Troy. Even you couldn't say no. He's the one who 'invited' me to discuss club night and suggested that I cook dinner," she said laughing. "He's so subtle, too. All right, since it's too soon for tomorrow, we'll start next week. Speak to Vance, and I'll send an email. We still have time doing not much of anything this coming week, so we can get all the supplies. Sounds good?"

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johnbaum
2013-04-14 10:46 pm UTC (link)

"You're out to spoil all of us, aren't you?" John teased, brushing a kiss across her cheek. "You're one of a kind, Savannah."

He shrugged, setting his empty plate on the table. "I don't think I'm the best one to compare. I've got my own traumas and it was Brian who taught me how to let myself feel and that it was okay to care about people again. As far as history and experience goes, I'm probably closer to some of them than I am the rest of you."

There was no way to avoid laughing at her reaction to working on the cars, especially when he knew how much work she'd put in when they were setting up the island together. "You do that. And check with the park on the grills. It will depend on if it's state or county run and not all the parks have the same restrictions, especially if there's any camping in the area. Most of the city parks also have public grills that can be used. Although, you'd probably want to clean them really well first." He shrugged off the others in the trailer park. He knew there were one or two of the team actively trying to be on friendly terms with them, even if the others weren't. It was part of blending in, adapting the culture. But, the park was a better idea, anyway. "But, yeah, it sounds good. I'll talk to him tonight or tomorrow, depending on how busy he is getting things settled after the quake, and let you know what he says."

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savannah_monroe
2013-04-15 07:30 pm UTC (link)

"I'm not. We just have no power and I can't keep all of these ingredients home," she said with a smile, and not pointing out that she was buying more ingredients that needed to be used quickly. "I like people happy. I don't think that's so unusual."

Savannah shrugged. "I think we all have some. We're too young to let it define our lives. They need a little more care, and Brian is just as bad as everyone else. He might teach you to feel, but he hides pretty well."

She made a face. "We can buy the grills. Thanks. We're not looking at fancy ones, just simple ones that allows us to cook eat. Now, with that out of the way, I have another question. You can go back to being the almost genius you are," she said grinning. "It's April's birthday soon, and I've emailed her a few times through that email you set up for me, so yes, I know it's safe. The question is can I send her a copy of the album we made for the dead? I know the other with the pictures of people from the current team is too dangerous, but if I send the this, would the government be able to trace it back to us?"

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johnbaum
2013-04-16 06:37 pm UTC (link)

"Then I suppose we'll just have to help you eat through your perishables before they spoil." John smiled and shook his head. It was kind of endearing that she didn't see it.

"I'm aware that he does," he said simply. "I kinda did, though, let it define my life." Or, he'd had his life defined for him and he went with it. And now...well, things were fuzzy. He didn't know what he was going to find at home, if there was even still a place for him there, or if his whole life's worth of training and preparation was wasted. And, the funny thing was, it was still, in a way, his fault for going forward and giving Martin a reason to come back, saving Derek and putting them in a position to do what John had been supposed to do. Of course, what this meant for John's continued existence who the hell knew. There would be no sending Kyle Reese back to father a child with Sarah Connor. So, what did that mean for the John that was, when there was unlikely to be a John to be?

And, yeah, stopping that brain-pretzel inducing train of thought.

Instead, he turned his mind to Savannah's next question and an easier to solve dilemma. "Well, I stripped as much of the EXIF data from the pictures as I could before we put it together. That removed all the location and system information from them. If you're still using the email I set up, it should be okay through transport with the number of international proxies it's bouncing off of and it's got my encryption during transport, so cached files on the proxies are useless for any but the most hardcore brute force attacks. The only real potential point of entry, then, would be whatever computer it's retrieved on, whether they've kept the encryptions or even if they've kept the same computers or phones, if they're maintaining the security software, if they know how to upgrade or install security software if they need to replace the hardware.

"I would say, as long as there aren't any images with people who are still with us, it should be safe enough to send them any pictures from the base or the ranch. The government already knows we were at those locations, so it's unlikely to cause a security risk if they're able to use any kind of analyzer to determine where the photos were taken. The school might be safe enough, since we're not likely to go back there, but I wouldn't risk it. And definitely nothing from the island or here or even Disney World. You could probably send them whatever pictures you have of them from those locations, as well."

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savannah_monroe
2013-04-16 09:13 pm UTC (link)

"Thank you. You're so sweet. I knew there was a reason I liked you so much," she said, amused by the concession.

"I remember, John. I might now have been as close as I had planned in those early days. We were all dealing with our own problems, but I do remember how serious you were, or how he could get to smile when no one else would. Or even how he annoyed you when he did something stupid, and only someone you care for would get you that annoyed. I might not know what he's done, but I've seen the result and that was enough for me to like him, even before the wedding." She smiled. "Of course, then he gave me plenty of reasons to adore him with the perfect wedding. Nothing he said since then has made much of an impact," she said, giggling. "But you two are good for each other. He does things for you that he wouldn't do for himself and that makes him connect to. It works. You work together, and really that's all relationships are, right? Anyone that can't see that is blind, and possibly an idiot."

Savannah stared at him. "I love you, but you're speaking a foreign language now. I'll just nod, pretend that all of those words mean something and I'll give you the layman version of what I'm doing and you tell me if we're good. No pictures of anyone that wasn't at the base, which means not even Travis or the Hammond twins. Nothing from the the school, the island or any vacation anywhere. When I'm done, I'll have you check it, just to double check in case I miss something. Hopefully they are taking care of their computers, and if not, there won't be anything that would lead us back to us, although if we're really really lucky, we won't be here at all. You need to push Sheldon and Dom.... Okay, maybe not Dom. I think he's forgotten he has a family, but I want to find them. They need to see their newest grandson."

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