Sam usually rewards Friend physically or verbally for engaging with her. The result is that Friend 'likes' doing what Sam does (much like any one unit of Skynet 'likes' to please Skynet). It is counted as 'Infiltration' internally despite the lack of a functioning shell (a feature that Friend lost after he was captured by the Resistance due to physical damage).
Indeed, Friend was going to be used for parts before Sam stepped in and reprogrammed him. He reeked of putrescine and cadaverine and every thioalcohol afforded by dead flesh. She was able to clean and repair him, and she both reseated his Chip and reprogrammed his Missions. In doing so, she recruited him to her side - he sees her as Skynet much more concretely and prototypal than Bob sees John.
Most believe him to be her personal bodyguard, or that she has a sick preference in men for machinery rather than humanity. In truth, Sam is the companion to Friend that Cyberdyne was not to Skynet, and she encourages him to make decisions without relying on her. She is unwilling to utilize him in combat situations (which confuses him, a Terminator) and keeps him close to her side.
He helps her reprogram other captured units and carry heavy parts between bases, entertains her, reminds her to eat, is an endless listener, and keeps her from losing herself in a desolate wasteland; they are inseparable companions. She encourages his curiosity and spoils him in turn. He has learned to value many things by her.
The biggest unknown success Sam has is that if Friend had to choose between serving her or serving Skynet, he would always choose to "serve" her; her positive reinforcement is common, frequent, and occurs from little, and his lifespan has lasted far past the one to three days of a standard Infiltrator.
It was a simple question, asked in a quiet moment, but it had knocked him off his feet.
His little boy hadn’t even looked up at him as he’d asked, keeping his eyes on the colouring book in front of him.
But the question had the same thoughtful, inquisitive sincerity that his questions always had.
“Daddy, how do I be brave?”
Kurt stared at Sam for a moment, watching as he carefully coloured inside the outline of the car on the page.
“What do you mean?” Kurt finally asked, smiling softly as Sam looked up at him.
“I want to be brave like you and Mommy. And Eden and Charlie,” he added, setting down the red crayon he’d been using for the car and picking up a grey crayon to use for the tires. “But how do I do it?” he asked, holding the crayon in his hand as he looked up at Kurt expectantly.
Kurt couldn’t help himself as he leaned over and pressed a long kiss to Sam’s forehead, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze as he sat back up.
“You, Sammy, are so, so brave,” he told him, keeping his hand on his shoulder reassuringly as he looked into his son’s blue eyes. “So brave,” he repeated.
Sam furrowed his brow and let out a little huff, playing with his crayon in his hands.
“I don’t always feel brave,” he said, looking down at the crayon. “Sometimes I get scared.”
Kurt smiled and covered Sam’s tiny hands with one of his, looking at him until he lifted his eyes up to meet his.
“Being brave doesn’t mean that you’re never scared,” Kurt told him, waiting to continue as Sam set the crayon down on the table and looked back up at him, a sceptical frown on his face. “I get scared sometimes, too,” he added and Sam’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You...you do?” he asked and Kurt nodded.
“I do, and so does Mommy and Eden and Charlie,” he added, resting his hands on Sam’s needs and leaning towards him. “Being brave means being scared of something...but doing it anyways.”
He waited patiently as he watched Sam consider his words and then he continued.
“So, remember when you were a little bit scared of going in the tandem kayak at the lake? But then we went in anyways, and it wasn’t so scary, was it?” he asked and Sam nodded, his eyes lighting up a bit as his dad gave him an example of his own bravery.
“And when Eden and Charlie taught you how to ride a bicycle, that was a little scary at first, too,” he added and Sam nodded, smiling at the memory. “But now, it’s not scary at all, right?”
Sam shook his head, his smile widening.
“So...I’m brave like you?” he asked hopefully and Kurt had to blink back the tears he felt welling up in his eyes.
He leaned over and wrapped his arms around his little boy, pulling him into his chest and hugging him close.
“You are very brave...brave, like you,” Kurt whispered, pressing a kiss to the side of his head.
A/N: found this in my drafts and decided to finish it up and post it. A little sappy drabble about Jane and Kurt and my imaginary kiddos of theirs...
series: what i never knew i always wanted
It’s not unusual for one, two or all three of the kids to sneak into bed with Jane when Kurt is away for work. Sam, their baby, is the most frequent visitor, often curling up against Jane’s side as she reads or sketches. Eden and Oggie sometimes scurry in together, with Eden stretching out on Kurt’s side of the bed and Oggie curling up at her feet.
Charlie usually sleeps most of the night in his own bed but Jane often stirs awake when she hears him tiptoe in to check on all of them early in the morning, smiling at the protective way he takes after Kurt. She always lifts her head and waves him over, scooting to the side to make room for him to curl up on her other side.
So, she’s surprised one night when, after getting all three kids to bed in their own beds, she looks up to see Charlie rounding the corner into the room.
“Hey Charlie boy,” she says softly, setting down her book on her lap. He walks over to Kurt’s side of the bed, staring at the empty space for a moment before he looks up at Jane. “You OK?”
He nods, furrowing his brow before he crawls up onto the bed, lying down against Kurt’s pillow.
“When’s Dad coming home?” he asks and Jane smiles, curling onto her side to face him.
“Tomorrow,” she says, her smile widening as she says it. He’s been in DC all week and she’s ready to have him home. “He’s going to come straight to your game, remember?”
Charlie nods, biting his lip as he frowns a bit.
“And then...we’ll go for pizza?” he asks hesitantly and Jane nods.
“Yep, like always,” she says, not sure where this is coming from. They’ve had the same Friday night routine for nearly two years.
“And we’ll all come home after, right? Together?” he asks, his voice barely above a whisper at that last part.
“Of course we will,” Jane says, reaching out to wrap her arm around her little boy, rubbing his back reassuringly. “We will all come home together after pizza.”
Charlie nods as his expression changes from one of worry to one of relief. Jane leans forward and presses a kiss to his forehead.
“Everything OK?” she asks, keeping her arm around him as she rests her cheek against Kurt’s pillow. He nods and looks up at her, shrugging his shoulders a bit.
“Jack told me his dad went on a trip for work and now he lives in an apartment near his office,” he says. “Jack went to stay with him on the weekend.”
Jane’s heart breaks as she sees the worried tears in her little boy’s eyes and realizes that he’d come in worried that Kurt wasn’t coming home at all.
“Oh, Charlie,” she whispers, wrapping her arms back around him and pulling him close to her. “I promise, Daddy is coming home. He is always going to come home, right here, with all of us.”
She feels Charlie nod against her chest as his tears escape his eyes, wetting the front of her Tshirt, as a few of her own tears slip down her cheeks.
“You’re not getting a divorce?” he asks, tilting his head back to look up at her and she smiles, reaching out to brush his tears away.
“No,” she says softly but firmly, leaning down to rest her forehead against his. “No, Daddy and I are never getting a divorce.”
He breathes a deep sigh of relief and she can feel him relax in her arms, snuggling into her chest in a way he hasn’t in a long, long time.
They talk a little more about Jack and his parents and their divorce and Jane does her best to reassure him and help him understand. And they also talk about Kurt’s work trips, which Jane knows he’s already been trying to cut back on.
She dreads having to tell him about this conversation with Charlie, knowing the guilt and sadness he’ll feel when he hears his little boy worried for even one second that he wouldn’t come home.
But as Charlie dozes off, a peaceful smile on his face, she knows they’ll both be OK. That they’ll all be OK. That their family’s bond and love for each other is strong. Stronger than any time or distance apart.
The next night, her heart swells as they walk into the arena and see Kurt waiting there for them. Charlie drops his hockey bag and stick and rushes forward, barrelling into Kurt as he kneels down and opens his arms to him.
“Hey bud,” Kurt smiles, hugging him close. “You ok?”
Charlie nods, giving Kurt another squeeze with his arms before he stands up and smiles at him.
“I’m happy you’re back,” he says simply, tilting his head back to smile up at Jane as she walks up behind him, carrying his bag, while Eden and Sam carry his stick.
The rest of the evening is a regular Friday evening for them. They watch Charlie’s game - his team wins and he finishes with a goal and an assist -and then they go out for pizza afterwards, just like always.
The kids are still talking a mile a minute when they walk in their front door, regaling Kurt with the stories of their week, even though he’d heard them all in their nightly Skype calls.
Jane watches with a smile as he manages to perfectly divide his attention between them, never missing a beat as the kids jump from one detail to the next.
Amidst their storytelling, they manage to get all three kids bathed and into their pajamas and, unsurprisingly, all piled in together in their bed with them.
They’re getting too big for this, Jane knows. There’s barely enough room for all of them when Kurt’s away, nevermind when he’s home. But she will take as much as she can get of the fullness she feels in her heart in these moments, with all of them safe and warm and home together.
She smiles as she ducks her head down into Sam’s damp hair as he curls into her side, breathing in his baby shampoo - he’s the only one who still uses it - and smiles as she watches him flip through the new colouring book Kurt had brought back from his trip. She glances over top of his head to see Charlie resting his head on Kurt’s chest as they thumb through the pack of hockey cards he’d brought back for him.
She catches Kurt’s eye overtop of their heads, just for a moment before Eden calls his attention between them, wanting to show him Oggie’s new trick one more time before bed. Kurt glances back at Jane, smiling widely before giving Eden his full attention.
They all watch as Eden and Oggie show off their new trick - Oggie running around Eden in a circle, and then changing directions to run around her the other way - applauding and cheering as they finish.
The kids eventually tire themselves out, dozing off stretched out between and on top of them. Jane chuckles as she reaches across, brushing Eden’s hair off her forehead and then brushing her fingertips against Kurt’s cheek.
“I’m glad you’re back,” she whispers and Kurt smiles, turning his head slightly to press a kiss to her fingers.
“Me too,” he whispers, glancing down at Charlie, asleep against his side, one of his little hands wrapped around Kurt’s arm. “Is he Ok?” he asks and Jane smiles, knowing Kurt would pick up on Charlie’s extra attachment to him since he got home.
She takes a deep breath and nods, telling Kurt about Charlie’s friend Jack and his parents and their own little boy’s brief worries the night before. Her heart breaks as she sees the realization on Kurt’s face, reaching out to cup his cheek with her hand.
“Don’t do that,” she admonishes him quietly, brushing her thumb against his cheekbone. “He knows you’re here, he knows you love him, and he knows you’re always coming home.”
He nods solemnly and ducks his head down, pressing a long kiss to the top of his oldest boy’s head.
“Thanks to you,” he murmurs as he sits up but she shakes her head and reaches down to gently brush the hair off Charlie’s forehead.
“I only reminded him of what he already knew deep down...that you are the very best dad, who will always be there for him, just like you were tonight,” she adds. “Let yourself off the hook,” she tells him, even though she knows he won’t.
But he nods and leans across their sleeping children, kissing her softly and letting his lips linger against hers for a moment.
“I couldn’t do any of this without you,” he mumbles against her lips and she smiles, resting her forehead against his.
They had always been a good team, she knows that. But it was moments like this, with their family safe and together, that she felt it most strongly.
