TITLE: Funny Things
SERIES: And So It Went
FANDOM: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
RATING: Adult for language
SPOILERS: Anything through 1:7 "The Demon Hand" is game.
DISCLAIMER: Don't own 'em. Don't know who does.
CHARACTERS: Sarah Connor/Derek Reese
SUMMARY: Kyle Reese wasn't funny. For better or for worse, Derek Reese certainly had a sense of humor..

***

Kyle Reese could have been described in a multitude of ways; intense, earnest, dedicated, battle-hardened, sweet. But as much as Sarah loved him – and she did love him – she couldn't say that Kyle had much of a sense of humor. Maybe they didn't have enough time together to really explore that side of him. (She doubted it.) Kyle just wasn't funny.

For better or for worse, Derek Reese certainly had a sense of humor. It tended toward the sardonic and biting, but it was there. Sarah often wished it wasn't.

The similarities between Kyle and Derek were undeniable. There were many times that John did something, the way he moved or the way he said a word, that reminded her of Kyle. But Derek … She supposed it came from the fact that Derek and Kyle had obviously been close. In addition to any shared hard-wired nervous ticks, they picked up each other's mannerisms. More likely, Kyle copied his older brother.

Sarah was still very sketchy on the details and no force on this earth could compel her to ask Derek to clear things up. If she asked questions, he'd ask questions – and she had no intention of answering any of his questions. From what she pieced together, Derek was the elder of the two brothers. She also gathered that from Derek's perspective, Kyle hadn't been gone long. When she knew Kyle, he was her age. Fifteen years later – from Sarah's perspective - Derek appeared near her age as well. However, if both brothers were sent back in time from the same year, that made the age difference between Kyle and Derek significant. Maybe a decade, maybe more, separated the two.

Much like Kyle, Derek had the tendency to try and take things over. It wasn't that she doubted his leadership credentials. A lifetime spent fighting the machines was one hell of a service record. But unlike when Kyle traveled across time, she was no longer some scared, innocent girl. And she sure as hell wasn't going to hand Derek the reins. It made for a lot of conflict, but that was the cost of doing business. It was easier to fight with Derek – in so many ways. She often reminded herself that regardless of the fact that he was John's uncle, John hadn't trusted him enough to tell him the truth. The easiest way to get Derek worked up was to keep the machine around. As much as Sarah hated that damn thing, it still seemed like the simplest answer to a lot of their questions. It did their dirty work. It kept Derek pissed off and suspicious.

Sarah had to keep Derek at arm's length. It would be too easy, too easy to take comfort in him, too easy to let him shoulder the burden for a while. And that scared the shit out of her. She wouldn't – couldn't – afford to trust anyone. So, she bitched at Derek. She made him eat at the table, made him sleep on the couch, made him live with one of the machines like the fucking Brady Bunch on acid. She fucked him, but didn't kiss him. The kissing would have been too much. He smelled like Kyle, she couldn't stand to find out if he tasted like Kyle too.

"Getting dressed up for your boyfriend?"

She turned around and Derek was leaning against the door jamb, smug, taunting smile firmly in place. He was barefoot – again – which she found incredibly odd for a soldier. "My shirt was covered with blood."

He shrugged. "So?" He glanced around the door, out toward the living room where Charlie waited with John and the machine. "He's a paramedic, isn't he? He shouldn't be turned off by a little blood." The look he gave her was openly challenging.

"Maybe I don't feel like sitting around covered in biohazard," she snapped, rising to the bait. She pulled the bloody shirt over her head, leaving her in a black bra.

His eyes raked over her body. "Doesn't he have a wife?"

"Yes," she replied, pulling the clean shirt over her head. "What's it to you?"

"It's nothing to me," he said dryly. "I just didn't realize you were into breaking up families."

She watched him carefully, crossing the room to stand directly in front of him. "Charlie's a friend."

He looked unflinchingly into her eyes. "Charlie's a liability."

She leaned into his face. "Go after him and it won't be pretty."

He smiled at her, but it was just a baring of teeth. "You seem to care about him quite a bit. You sure John's father's out of the picture?"

She smiled in genuine amusement and chuckled. Oh, that was a good one. Charlie as John's father. Big laugh. She wanted to tell Derek the truth right there just to see the look on his face. Instead she said, "Are you jealous?"

She expected a snappy reply, but instead he just looked at her for a few long moments. "Jealous?" he dead panned. "Why would I be jealous? Just because you suck my dick like there's no tomorrow? Nah. I don't have any reason to think there's anything between us."

She smirked. "You are jealous."

His expression was not pleasant. "Bitch."

"Pussy."  She shouldered past him and out into the hallway.

***
End Section

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