i. against all evidence

The noise was and explosions and screams melded into one cacophonous hell. Other stations in the control center had switched on to receive the volume of desperate calls, and the din surrounded them as they huddled against one of the terminals.
Kate's eyes were squeezed shut, her face pressed against Connor's chest in a futile attempt to drown out the sound. Her mouth was open in a silent scream as she clung to him, almost wishing the shelter walls would just fall in on them.
Connor's eyes were open but unfocused as he listened to the war begin, listened to his existence being validated.... It was all coming true, and billions were dying, and he was going to save the human race.
At the moment, though, all he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and die. He wanted his mother, he wanted Terminator, he wanted someone to tell him what to they were gone. He would have to figure the rest out on his own.
But not entirely on his own, he realized, his arms wrapped around the shuddering Kate. She was a part of the future that they had never known about, but right now he couldn't imagine the future without her. He buried his face in her hair and began to cry.
Though it seemed like an eternity, within a few minutes all open channels produced nothing but static. Kate slowly opened her eyes but was loath to release her grip on Connor. Then she noticed that he was mumbling something into her hair, and she reluctantly moved a bit to hear what he was saying.
"I'm so sorry, Kate," he cried, his eyes squeezed shut now. "I couldn't stop it."
"No, John," she said quietly but firmly. "You weren't meant to stop it. Nothing you could have done would have stopped it." She couldn't keep the fatalistic tone from her voice, but she had been forced to alter her worldview quite drastically that day, and parts of her were still adapting. She sat back, thinking. -Some things were meant to happen.- "We were meant to go into this together," she added quietly.
They looked into each other's tired eyes. He, whose entire life had been leading up to this moment. She, whose entire world had been reduced to this place, this man, in barely twelve hours.
Kate no longer saw a mess when she looked at Connor. She saw a man who had lived his whole life with the knowledge that he would see the world end. How many people would have pulled the trigger long ago?
And though his eyes were haunted by this knowledge and dulled by recent events, she could see in them what she saw all those years ago...strength, a fighting spirit that they would need when things seemed hopeless.
And didn't things seem awfully hopeless now? She put her arms around Connor's neck and rested her head against his. "We'll be okay," she said softly, and against all evidence she meant it.

------

They stayed on the floor for a while, leaning against each other, dulled by their own thoughts. They both knew they should get up and do something, and it wasn't like huddling on the floor was comfortable, but...moving, doing something, would somehow make it all real.
At one point Kate's leg bumped against the ankle the T-X had grabbed, making Connor jump. Looking at his leg, she decided it was time to take the initiative.
The first thing she did was switch off all the speakers. She doubted anyone would be trying to call now.
"We need to get your leg cleaned up," she said, helping him to his feet. "Not to mention any other damage you've sustained," she added, suddenly noticing blood all over him.
"You've taken some damage yourself," he replied, gently touching her face. She winced, not even knowing her cheek had been cut. A mirror hung on a nearby wall, and they staggered over to it. Looking at themselves, battered and cut but alive, they couldn't help but smile at each other.
They managed to find the infirmary, and Kate helped Connor onto an examination table. He lay down while she investigated the supplies; having opened just one cabinet, she turned to him and whistled. "There's enough here to medicate an army."
Connor lay still while she tended his wounds, the sensation of being treated by a person other than himself something of a luxury in his life. And the care and concern with which she fixed him up were downright extravagant.
Once his wounds were clean and his bandages were secure, Kate dug around in a cabinet for some medication. She found some antibiotics and inspected the label, expecting to find an expiration date somewhere in the 1970s. To her surprise, the medicine didn't expire for another year. At any other time in her life she would have made a crack about 'your tax dollars at work'; now she just thanked God that some government lackey had been responsible for keeping the shelters supplied.
Feeling Connor's forehead, she thought he felt a little too warm. (Feeling Kate's hand on his forehead, Connor could have died happy right there and then.) After Kate had stuffed him with antibiotics, a fever reducer, and something to help him sleep, he closed his eyes as if to fall asleep right there.
"Hey," she scolded, "this is no place for the savior of humankind to sleep." She grabbed him gently and hauled him off the table. "Saviors deserve beds."
He smiled sleepily at her attempt at levity. Terminator was right, it almost always makes us feel better. And a bed? Would the pampering ever stop?
There was a room off the barracks-style sleeping quarters that Kate figured must have been meant for the president or whatever VIP would be in charge of this particular shelter. Well, it's our room now, she thought. I'd say we're important enough.
Kate got him settled on the bed, then turned to go. With lightning speed he grabbed her arm and asked where she was going. She looked down at him fighting sleep, obviously afraid of being left alone again. Where would I possibly go, John? she thought to herself, but he looked seriously worried. She wondered just how long he had been alone.
"I'm going to do some reconnaissance, check out the supplies. See what kind of food this place has." She smiled and put a hand against his cheek. "I'll be back, don't worry."
Satisfied, he promptly drifted to sleep. She ran her hand up through his hair, kissed him on the forehead, and left the room.
There would be plenty of time to save the world later, but right now they needed to take care of themselves.