Title: Memories
Author: Stormhawk
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: This all belongs to The W Brothers and Warner Brothers. And the Agents, don't forget the agents.
Notes: Yeah, another in my Agents series.
I don't know how the rest of the world's schools work. In .au it's pre- school, primary school (grades 1-7) and high school (Grades 8-12) we don't have middle school over here.
I hate having logic gaps so I will explain it here. Stevie was introduced in Daughter as Smith's daughter. Obviously he hasn't been raising her for years but there she was anyway. Here is how it worked.
The mainframe issued Smith, Brown and Jones with a baby each, filling it's mind with plenty of generic memories but they needed to create specific memories to help them learn about humanity which was the original idea.
The agents can choose how old to make the child for the creation of the memory but as the experiment ends (events in Daughter) they have been the same age for a few weeks but believing that they are teenagers.
If this has confused you more than you were before ignore everything I just wrote and live in ignorant bliss just happy to read the stories without worrying about the logic.
Word Count: 3057
Summary: Prelude to Daughter. Stef helps Smith to create Stevie's memories.
Please Read and Review.
'Mimosa?'
'Yes?'
'Could you come down for a minute?' Smith looked up at his recruit who was hanging upside down in mid air shooting at a floating target. She dropped down beside.
'What's wrong?'
'I have a favor to ask.'
'Sure, anything.'
'The mainframe is giving Brown, Jones and myself an experiment child each to do a humanity study.' He waited for her laughter to die down before continuing.
'Ok, that's out of my system, what's the favor?'
'We need to create memories for them.'
'Create?'
'So we don't have to raise them in order to learn about them.'
'Ok.'
'Would you assist me in creating the memories. You can also assist in choosing which memories we should create.'
'They are giving you kids?'
'We are being issued a child each. Will you help me?'
'Sure.'
'Shall we begin?'
'Yes.
*****
'Do you need help with your child?' Stef asked Jones.
'No, raising a child is simple.'
'Oh.?'
'Feed them, clothe them, send them to an educational facility. Make sure they have an interest so that they don't become aware of the matrix. It is as simple as that.'
'Good luck.'
'Luck is not needed.'
'What about you?' She asked Brown. He shook his head and turned away.
*****
Smith looked down at the small smiling baby. 'What do I do?'
'Well first you have to name her,' Stef said.
'Stevie,' he said after a moment's thought. Stef nodded, not thinking anymore about the name.
'Good name. Pick her up.' Smith froze, Stef smiled and showed him how to hold a baby.
'She has your eyes.' She commented as she handed the baby to him.
'Shall we start creating the memories now?'
'You can't raise a child in the agent building - you need a house.'
'A house?'
'As in something humans live in.'
They disappeared from the agent building and were standing in front of an ordinary house, on an ordinary street in a computer simulated world.
'Is this all right?'
'Top of the range two-level house. Landscaped yard and remote controlled garage. It'll do,' Stef said not believing it was possible for a computer program to have taste in real estate.
Stef looked around the house, it was disturbingly human. A calendar showed the date as being the 23rd of December.
'It's Christmas in two days,' Stef said, 'that should make a good memory.'
'What's the first Christmas you can remember?'
'I think I was about four or five.'
'Then Stevie will be five in two days.'
Smith and Stevie looked at each other when the mainframe fed some news to them. 'Rebels.' Smith said.
'You stay - I'll go. It's only a dozen.'
Smith sighed as Stef left, he looked down the baby. Really not wanting to look after a baby he altered her age and made Stevie two years old.
'Daddy,' Stevie spoke her first word. 'Hungry.'
Feeding a child is very different than observing a human do it Smith discovered as Stevie ate her first real meal though she had memories of two years of eating.
By the end of the meal Smith and most of the kitchen floor was covered in various foods. He should have been angry but he wasn't.
Following the tips Stef had given him he had read her a bedtime story. Stevie fell asleep quickly.
*****
The next day followed the same routine, breakfast, games, lunch, cleaning the kitchen, dinner, story. The only difference was that Stevie was now four years old.
Smith lay on his bed, in his pajamas simulating sleep. His eyes opened when he heard someone screaming.
He sat up, required a gun and walked into Stevie's room. He made the gun disappear when he saw she was having a nightmare.
He sat beside her and gently shook her awake. 'Stevie?' Her eyes flew open and she looked around the dark room. She saw the comforting silhouette of her dad and reached forward to him.
Instinctively he pulled her into a hug. 'Did you have a bad dream?'
'A monster was chasing me,' she said as she sobbed against him.
'It's ok, there's no monsters here.'
'But what if they come back when I go to sleep?'
'They won't. I promise.'
'How do I know?'
'Trust me.'
'I'm scared.'
'It's ok,' Smith was worried, he had no idea what to do. He hugged Stevie as he went into communication mode.
Stef was in her room sitting at her computer, she turned when she heard Smith appear.
'Pajamas?' She asked smiling.
'Stevie had a nightmare about a monster. She doesn't want to go back to sleep. What do I do?'
'Give her a night light. Tell her they scare monsters away.'
'Will that work?'
'Usually doesn't fail.' Smith nodded thankfully and snapped back to Stevie's room.
'I know the monster's going to come back.'
'No it won't. We have a weapon to use.'
'Like a gun?'
'No, something better.' He stood up but she wouldn't let go so she climbed around onto his back so he could use both his arms.
He opened her wardrobe and pretended to be looking for something but in fact he required a night light. He handed it to her.
'Plug this in next to your bed.' She jumped down and put it into the socket. It filled the room with a soft, safe, comforting glow.
'No monsters are going to get you.'
Stevie jumped up into her dad's arms. 'You are the best dad in the whole world.'
'You be all right to go back to sleep now?' she nodded. She climbed back under her quilt and he tucked her in. He waited until she was asleep before leaving.
'Goodnight Stevie,' he said as he left the room. 'I love you.'
*****
The house was decorated with Christmas decorations. There were three stockings hung near the tree and candy canes hung from tinsel.
A wonderfully decorated Christmas tree dominants the room, the bottom leaves have childish hand made decorations on them.
'Is it all right?' Smith asked Stef as she came in the front door. She stopped dead when she saw something very wrong. Smith wasn't wearing his suit, he was seasonally dressed in red, green and white.
'Uh.um.' she said pathetically unable to form real words. She looked shamefully down at herself - not expecting such a change in him she was still wearing her standard-issue suit.
One requirement later she was in red and green as well. Then she took the time to admire the house.
'It's perfect. It's beautiful, I don't I ever had a Christmas this good.' She stops and sniffs the air. 'You forgot the cookies.'
Smith held out his hand and a required tray of cookies appeared. 'Like these?'
'Are you you're not human?' Stef asked as a small screaming human girl ran at her and threw herself into Stef's arms.
Both fell to the floor giggling. 'Merry Christmas Stevie,' Stef said.
'Merry Christmas Stef.' She looked up at her dad, 'Presents, Stef's here, presents.'
Smith smiled, 'all right, you waited this long.'
'How long has she been up?' Stef asked as she picked up her pile of presents she had left near the door.
'Since four am.'
They sat around the tree and started to give out presents. Stevie got enough for about half a dozen children and her smile grew broader with each box handed to her.
One of the boxes Stef brought Stevie starts to move and bark. Smith looks at it in confusion while Stevie smiles so broadly her face started to hurt.
'Is that for me?'
'No - it's for your dad,' Her face fell. 'Of course it's for you.'
Stevie pulled off the bright green ribbon and a small fluffy ball jumped out.
'You got her a ball of fur?' Smith whispered as his daughter played with the cuddly puppy.
'It's a puppy you idiot.'
'Did you just call me an idiot?'
'Yes, I did.'
'Stef.' Smith growled.
'Merry Christmas.'
'He's so cute,' Stevie said, while the dog licked her face.
'I've got a present for you outside,' Smith said rising from the floor.
'Another present?' Stevie echoed. 'But I got all these.'
'Yes, another one.' Nonetheless they followed him out. He opened the garage door and inside was a small purple bike with a bright red bow around it.
'Is that for me?'
'It's a little small for your aunt.'
Stevie gets on and pulls off the bow. She hands it to Stef who tied it around the dog's neck.
'Hmm.not quite right,' Stef said as Stevie rode around the garage. 'Smith?'
'Yes.'
'Here, hold the puppy for a minute.' She picks the dog up and hands it to him.
'The bow looks fine.'
'No, not yet.' She untied it and faster than he could react ties it around his neck. Stef smirks, unsure if he's going to yell, knock her out or delete her. To her infinite surprise and amusement he started to laugh.
'Would you like to take the bike down the park to ride?' he asked Stevie who nods furiously. She rides out and toward the park. Smith puts the dog down who follows them.
'A bike?'
'I heard it was traditional. Is it right?'
'Yes. Stop asking that.'
'The dog won't run away will it?
'No, it's a perfect dog. Obeys commands, doesn't chew furniture or shoes, gentle as a lamb - unless someone tried to hurt Stevie in which case it would tear their throat out.'
'Take you long?'
'About thirty-two seconds to dream up and one very long requirement. She likes her bike.'
Stevie rode ahead of them as they entered the park. There were several other kids with their Christmas presents so Stevie rode around on the pavement testing out her present.
Stef and Smith sat on an empty bench. Stef had an obvious, content smile on her face. 'Christmas comes but once a year.'
'That's why it's special.'
'Special Smith?'
'Look at Stevie, look at all the humans, look at that dog. Special is the right word to use.'
'Agreed.' Stef said, he was right but she had never heard him talk like this before. She wondered if he'd tried alcohol and was slightly inebriated.
Stevie rode past them and waved at her dad and her aunt who smiled back. All smiles faded when Stevie's bike hit something and crashed over. In less time than it took to blink Smith and Stef were at the child's side.
Stevie was crying and her arm stuck out at an odd angle. 'It's broken,' Stef said.
Smith didn't hear her, he was too busy holding his crying child. 'We have to get her to a hospital.'
Smith picked Stevie up while Stef required a car. She opened the car and Smith sat down with Stevie in his lap. He was trying to calm her but she was in too much pain. Stef closed the door and then climbed into the driver's seat.
In less time than it took for humans they reached the hospital. They ran into the emergency room and unlike humans they could make the attending nurse and a doctor drop what they were doing.
'You need to fill in these forms,' the nurse said to Smith.
'You go with Stevie, I'll fill them in.' Smith followed the doctor while Stef looked at the form.
'Name, Agent Smith. Patient Name, Stevie Smith. Address, yeah. Phone number, easy. Blah, blah, blah. I hate paperwork.' She looked up at the nurse and handed the nurse back the form.
'This isn't filled in.'
Stef looked at her and the nurse ignored that fact.
Smith sat on the hard plastic chair while the doctor set Stevie's arm. Stef sat down beside him.
'She'll be ok, it's just a broken arm.'
'I should have been watching her closer.'
'It was an accident.'
'What if she'd been hurt more? A broken leg, a cracked skull?'
'It didn't happen. Don't be a pessimist.'
'It's not as simple as it used to be. She was just a baby but something happened.'
'She grew up.'
'No. I don't mean that,' he stopped, at a loss for words.
'Smith?'
'I love her Stef. She's my daughter and I love her.'
'Are you serious?'
'Would I joke about this? You can't tell anyone.'
'You have my word.'
*****
It was Stevie's first day of high school. 'Are you nervous Stevie?' Smith asked as he parked the car.
'Yes, no. Maybe a little.'
'You'll be fine.'
'I hope so.'
'Would you like me to come in with you?'
'No, dad that would be embarrassing.'
'Are you sure?' Stevie nodded slowly as she opened the door.
'Bye dad.'
'Good luck,' he said
Stevie waved goodbye as she walked into the school gates. The second she did someone ran from the side and grabbed her.
Before he knew what he was doing Smith was out of the car with his hand on his gun. He looked over to his daughter and relaxed when he saw the stranger was only Stef.
'Stef - what are you doing here?' Stevie asked.
'Just grabbing a ride to work with your dad. I had to wish you good luck.'
'Thanks. I couldn't tell him but I'm a little scared.'
'He'd understand but everyone else is scared on their first day of school.'
'Thanks Stef.'
Stef waved goodbye as she walked over to Smith. They both watched Stevie walk away into the school grounds.
'I thought you'd show up Mimosa.'
'You know me too well.'
'Will she be all right?'
'Yes.'
'They grow up so fast.'
'Considering she's less than a month old that's true.'
'She doesn't know that and it doesn't matter to me.'
*****
Stevie was now fifteen. She laid unsleeping in her bed. She heard something hit her window, she threw the covers off and opened the window. Her friends Jean and Michael stood below her window.
'He asleep?' Jean asked.
Stevie nodded, 'Yeah, I'm coming.'
She quietly opened her door, the whole house was dark. She tiptoed down the stairs and picked the car keys up from the table near the phone, opened the door that led out to the garage and pressed the button that opened the roller door.
'Hurry,' she whispered to her friends as opened the car doors. They climbed in and she started the car.
* * *
While appearing to be asleep Smith was actually at the agent building discussing new ways to try and kill Neo.
'Stevie just left,' he said as the information came to him. 'She stole the car.'
'Sneaking out? Congratulations you are the parent of a teenager.'
'It is irresponsible behavior. I taught her better than that.'
'They're only young once.'
'She can't drive.'
'Sure she can, I taught her myself.'
'Mimosa!'
'Relax, I'll look after her.' Stef elevated her eyes as she tracked Stevie's joy ride. 'She's crossing the bridge into the city. She's not a bad driver. Oh shit!'
Stef screamed the last two words as she disappeared from Smith's sight.
* * *
A drunk driver had swerved into oncoming traffic, Stevie had tried to dodge him but had gone off the bridge. The car was halfway down to the river already. All the teens were screaming.
Stef morphed into Stevie, there was nothing she could do for the others, she didn't have time to think. She opened the door and threw herself free of the car.
The car fell faster than her and she required a barge to appear below them to catch the car but it had too much gravity behind it and exploded on impact.
Stef flew away from the explosion toward the land. For the first time she was glad she spent so much time in the gym suspended in mid air. She landed on the ground as soon as she had touched down Smith appeared.
'Stef - where is she?'
'Safe and sound.'
'Let me see her.' Stef nodded and morphed from Stevie and into a street person a block away. Stevie looked around, not quite sure of what had happened.
'Dad?' she said seeing her father, her bottom lip trembling. 'What.?' she was at a loss for words. Smith just opened his arms, she stepped forward and hugged him.
'I thought I was going to die.'
'Don't ever do that to me again. I almost lost you. I never want to loose you Stevie.'
'I promise,' she said as she started to sob.
Stef looked down to them and stopped walking, it wasn't her place to intrude. As she turned to leave she saw Smith look up. He mouthed the words 'thank you.'
Stef nodded and pointed to the ground beside her, a car appeared. She smiled and left.
* * *
'What did you tell her?' Stef asked when Stevie finally fell asleep.
'The truth. By some miracle she was thrown free of the car and into the water.'
'Did she accept it?'
'She isn't thinking clearly enough to question it. Should we delete this memory?'
'Loss is a part of life, let her keep the memory.'
'Thank you Stef. You saved her.'
'You already thanked me.'
'I don't know what I would have done.'
'If she had died and you weren't able to hand in your report in its entirety because your experiment was terminated early?' Stef said pointedly, the agents were permitted to act a little more human around their experiments and their experiments only. Stef didn't want Smith to say something that would come back to haunt him later.
'Exactly Mimosa. Exactly.' He said as he removed his ear piece.
'Keep your guard up. Always keep your guard up. Isn't that what you said to me?'
'Yes, I did. Thank you for saving my daughter.'
'I wish I could have done something for her friends. Besides, she's my niece, I have to look after her.'
*****
A few days later Stevie was walking home from school, she had missed her bus while working out plans with her friend Tanya about staying over on Friday night.
She walked down a busy street listening to her Walkman. Only paying attention to the music she didn't notice the man in black until she had walked into him.
'Oh sorry - excuse me,' she said to the man.
'Oh it's ok,' Neo said.
The End.
Author: Stormhawk
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: This all belongs to The W Brothers and Warner Brothers. And the Agents, don't forget the agents.
Notes: Yeah, another in my Agents series.
I don't know how the rest of the world's schools work. In .au it's pre- school, primary school (grades 1-7) and high school (Grades 8-12) we don't have middle school over here.
I hate having logic gaps so I will explain it here. Stevie was introduced in Daughter as Smith's daughter. Obviously he hasn't been raising her for years but there she was anyway. Here is how it worked.
The mainframe issued Smith, Brown and Jones with a baby each, filling it's mind with plenty of generic memories but they needed to create specific memories to help them learn about humanity which was the original idea.
The agents can choose how old to make the child for the creation of the memory but as the experiment ends (events in Daughter) they have been the same age for a few weeks but believing that they are teenagers.
If this has confused you more than you were before ignore everything I just wrote and live in ignorant bliss just happy to read the stories without worrying about the logic.
Word Count: 3057
Summary: Prelude to Daughter. Stef helps Smith to create Stevie's memories.
Please Read and Review.
'Mimosa?'
'Yes?'
'Could you come down for a minute?' Smith looked up at his recruit who was hanging upside down in mid air shooting at a floating target. She dropped down beside.
'What's wrong?'
'I have a favor to ask.'
'Sure, anything.'
'The mainframe is giving Brown, Jones and myself an experiment child each to do a humanity study.' He waited for her laughter to die down before continuing.
'Ok, that's out of my system, what's the favor?'
'We need to create memories for them.'
'Create?'
'So we don't have to raise them in order to learn about them.'
'Ok.'
'Would you assist me in creating the memories. You can also assist in choosing which memories we should create.'
'They are giving you kids?'
'We are being issued a child each. Will you help me?'
'Sure.'
'Shall we begin?'
'Yes.
*****
'Do you need help with your child?' Stef asked Jones.
'No, raising a child is simple.'
'Oh.?'
'Feed them, clothe them, send them to an educational facility. Make sure they have an interest so that they don't become aware of the matrix. It is as simple as that.'
'Good luck.'
'Luck is not needed.'
'What about you?' She asked Brown. He shook his head and turned away.
*****
Smith looked down at the small smiling baby. 'What do I do?'
'Well first you have to name her,' Stef said.
'Stevie,' he said after a moment's thought. Stef nodded, not thinking anymore about the name.
'Good name. Pick her up.' Smith froze, Stef smiled and showed him how to hold a baby.
'She has your eyes.' She commented as she handed the baby to him.
'Shall we start creating the memories now?'
'You can't raise a child in the agent building - you need a house.'
'A house?'
'As in something humans live in.'
They disappeared from the agent building and were standing in front of an ordinary house, on an ordinary street in a computer simulated world.
'Is this all right?'
'Top of the range two-level house. Landscaped yard and remote controlled garage. It'll do,' Stef said not believing it was possible for a computer program to have taste in real estate.
Stef looked around the house, it was disturbingly human. A calendar showed the date as being the 23rd of December.
'It's Christmas in two days,' Stef said, 'that should make a good memory.'
'What's the first Christmas you can remember?'
'I think I was about four or five.'
'Then Stevie will be five in two days.'
Smith and Stevie looked at each other when the mainframe fed some news to them. 'Rebels.' Smith said.
'You stay - I'll go. It's only a dozen.'
Smith sighed as Stef left, he looked down the baby. Really not wanting to look after a baby he altered her age and made Stevie two years old.
'Daddy,' Stevie spoke her first word. 'Hungry.'
Feeding a child is very different than observing a human do it Smith discovered as Stevie ate her first real meal though she had memories of two years of eating.
By the end of the meal Smith and most of the kitchen floor was covered in various foods. He should have been angry but he wasn't.
Following the tips Stef had given him he had read her a bedtime story. Stevie fell asleep quickly.
*****
The next day followed the same routine, breakfast, games, lunch, cleaning the kitchen, dinner, story. The only difference was that Stevie was now four years old.
Smith lay on his bed, in his pajamas simulating sleep. His eyes opened when he heard someone screaming.
He sat up, required a gun and walked into Stevie's room. He made the gun disappear when he saw she was having a nightmare.
He sat beside her and gently shook her awake. 'Stevie?' Her eyes flew open and she looked around the dark room. She saw the comforting silhouette of her dad and reached forward to him.
Instinctively he pulled her into a hug. 'Did you have a bad dream?'
'A monster was chasing me,' she said as she sobbed against him.
'It's ok, there's no monsters here.'
'But what if they come back when I go to sleep?'
'They won't. I promise.'
'How do I know?'
'Trust me.'
'I'm scared.'
'It's ok,' Smith was worried, he had no idea what to do. He hugged Stevie as he went into communication mode.
Stef was in her room sitting at her computer, she turned when she heard Smith appear.
'Pajamas?' She asked smiling.
'Stevie had a nightmare about a monster. She doesn't want to go back to sleep. What do I do?'
'Give her a night light. Tell her they scare monsters away.'
'Will that work?'
'Usually doesn't fail.' Smith nodded thankfully and snapped back to Stevie's room.
'I know the monster's going to come back.'
'No it won't. We have a weapon to use.'
'Like a gun?'
'No, something better.' He stood up but she wouldn't let go so she climbed around onto his back so he could use both his arms.
He opened her wardrobe and pretended to be looking for something but in fact he required a night light. He handed it to her.
'Plug this in next to your bed.' She jumped down and put it into the socket. It filled the room with a soft, safe, comforting glow.
'No monsters are going to get you.'
Stevie jumped up into her dad's arms. 'You are the best dad in the whole world.'
'You be all right to go back to sleep now?' she nodded. She climbed back under her quilt and he tucked her in. He waited until she was asleep before leaving.
'Goodnight Stevie,' he said as he left the room. 'I love you.'
*****
The house was decorated with Christmas decorations. There were three stockings hung near the tree and candy canes hung from tinsel.
A wonderfully decorated Christmas tree dominants the room, the bottom leaves have childish hand made decorations on them.
'Is it all right?' Smith asked Stef as she came in the front door. She stopped dead when she saw something very wrong. Smith wasn't wearing his suit, he was seasonally dressed in red, green and white.
'Uh.um.' she said pathetically unable to form real words. She looked shamefully down at herself - not expecting such a change in him she was still wearing her standard-issue suit.
One requirement later she was in red and green as well. Then she took the time to admire the house.
'It's perfect. It's beautiful, I don't I ever had a Christmas this good.' She stops and sniffs the air. 'You forgot the cookies.'
Smith held out his hand and a required tray of cookies appeared. 'Like these?'
'Are you you're not human?' Stef asked as a small screaming human girl ran at her and threw herself into Stef's arms.
Both fell to the floor giggling. 'Merry Christmas Stevie,' Stef said.
'Merry Christmas Stef.' She looked up at her dad, 'Presents, Stef's here, presents.'
Smith smiled, 'all right, you waited this long.'
'How long has she been up?' Stef asked as she picked up her pile of presents she had left near the door.
'Since four am.'
They sat around the tree and started to give out presents. Stevie got enough for about half a dozen children and her smile grew broader with each box handed to her.
One of the boxes Stef brought Stevie starts to move and bark. Smith looks at it in confusion while Stevie smiles so broadly her face started to hurt.
'Is that for me?'
'No - it's for your dad,' Her face fell. 'Of course it's for you.'
Stevie pulled off the bright green ribbon and a small fluffy ball jumped out.
'You got her a ball of fur?' Smith whispered as his daughter played with the cuddly puppy.
'It's a puppy you idiot.'
'Did you just call me an idiot?'
'Yes, I did.'
'Stef.' Smith growled.
'Merry Christmas.'
'He's so cute,' Stevie said, while the dog licked her face.
'I've got a present for you outside,' Smith said rising from the floor.
'Another present?' Stevie echoed. 'But I got all these.'
'Yes, another one.' Nonetheless they followed him out. He opened the garage door and inside was a small purple bike with a bright red bow around it.
'Is that for me?'
'It's a little small for your aunt.'
Stevie gets on and pulls off the bow. She hands it to Stef who tied it around the dog's neck.
'Hmm.not quite right,' Stef said as Stevie rode around the garage. 'Smith?'
'Yes.'
'Here, hold the puppy for a minute.' She picks the dog up and hands it to him.
'The bow looks fine.'
'No, not yet.' She untied it and faster than he could react ties it around his neck. Stef smirks, unsure if he's going to yell, knock her out or delete her. To her infinite surprise and amusement he started to laugh.
'Would you like to take the bike down the park to ride?' he asked Stevie who nods furiously. She rides out and toward the park. Smith puts the dog down who follows them.
'A bike?'
'I heard it was traditional. Is it right?'
'Yes. Stop asking that.'
'The dog won't run away will it?
'No, it's a perfect dog. Obeys commands, doesn't chew furniture or shoes, gentle as a lamb - unless someone tried to hurt Stevie in which case it would tear their throat out.'
'Take you long?'
'About thirty-two seconds to dream up and one very long requirement. She likes her bike.'
Stevie rode ahead of them as they entered the park. There were several other kids with their Christmas presents so Stevie rode around on the pavement testing out her present.
Stef and Smith sat on an empty bench. Stef had an obvious, content smile on her face. 'Christmas comes but once a year.'
'That's why it's special.'
'Special Smith?'
'Look at Stevie, look at all the humans, look at that dog. Special is the right word to use.'
'Agreed.' Stef said, he was right but she had never heard him talk like this before. She wondered if he'd tried alcohol and was slightly inebriated.
Stevie rode past them and waved at her dad and her aunt who smiled back. All smiles faded when Stevie's bike hit something and crashed over. In less time than it took to blink Smith and Stef were at the child's side.
Stevie was crying and her arm stuck out at an odd angle. 'It's broken,' Stef said.
Smith didn't hear her, he was too busy holding his crying child. 'We have to get her to a hospital.'
Smith picked Stevie up while Stef required a car. She opened the car and Smith sat down with Stevie in his lap. He was trying to calm her but she was in too much pain. Stef closed the door and then climbed into the driver's seat.
In less time than it took for humans they reached the hospital. They ran into the emergency room and unlike humans they could make the attending nurse and a doctor drop what they were doing.
'You need to fill in these forms,' the nurse said to Smith.
'You go with Stevie, I'll fill them in.' Smith followed the doctor while Stef looked at the form.
'Name, Agent Smith. Patient Name, Stevie Smith. Address, yeah. Phone number, easy. Blah, blah, blah. I hate paperwork.' She looked up at the nurse and handed the nurse back the form.
'This isn't filled in.'
Stef looked at her and the nurse ignored that fact.
Smith sat on the hard plastic chair while the doctor set Stevie's arm. Stef sat down beside him.
'She'll be ok, it's just a broken arm.'
'I should have been watching her closer.'
'It was an accident.'
'What if she'd been hurt more? A broken leg, a cracked skull?'
'It didn't happen. Don't be a pessimist.'
'It's not as simple as it used to be. She was just a baby but something happened.'
'She grew up.'
'No. I don't mean that,' he stopped, at a loss for words.
'Smith?'
'I love her Stef. She's my daughter and I love her.'
'Are you serious?'
'Would I joke about this? You can't tell anyone.'
'You have my word.'
*****
It was Stevie's first day of high school. 'Are you nervous Stevie?' Smith asked as he parked the car.
'Yes, no. Maybe a little.'
'You'll be fine.'
'I hope so.'
'Would you like me to come in with you?'
'No, dad that would be embarrassing.'
'Are you sure?' Stevie nodded slowly as she opened the door.
'Bye dad.'
'Good luck,' he said
Stevie waved goodbye as she walked into the school gates. The second she did someone ran from the side and grabbed her.
Before he knew what he was doing Smith was out of the car with his hand on his gun. He looked over to his daughter and relaxed when he saw the stranger was only Stef.
'Stef - what are you doing here?' Stevie asked.
'Just grabbing a ride to work with your dad. I had to wish you good luck.'
'Thanks. I couldn't tell him but I'm a little scared.'
'He'd understand but everyone else is scared on their first day of school.'
'Thanks Stef.'
Stef waved goodbye as she walked over to Smith. They both watched Stevie walk away into the school grounds.
'I thought you'd show up Mimosa.'
'You know me too well.'
'Will she be all right?'
'Yes.'
'They grow up so fast.'
'Considering she's less than a month old that's true.'
'She doesn't know that and it doesn't matter to me.'
*****
Stevie was now fifteen. She laid unsleeping in her bed. She heard something hit her window, she threw the covers off and opened the window. Her friends Jean and Michael stood below her window.
'He asleep?' Jean asked.
Stevie nodded, 'Yeah, I'm coming.'
She quietly opened her door, the whole house was dark. She tiptoed down the stairs and picked the car keys up from the table near the phone, opened the door that led out to the garage and pressed the button that opened the roller door.
'Hurry,' she whispered to her friends as opened the car doors. They climbed in and she started the car.
* * *
While appearing to be asleep Smith was actually at the agent building discussing new ways to try and kill Neo.
'Stevie just left,' he said as the information came to him. 'She stole the car.'
'Sneaking out? Congratulations you are the parent of a teenager.'
'It is irresponsible behavior. I taught her better than that.'
'They're only young once.'
'She can't drive.'
'Sure she can, I taught her myself.'
'Mimosa!'
'Relax, I'll look after her.' Stef elevated her eyes as she tracked Stevie's joy ride. 'She's crossing the bridge into the city. She's not a bad driver. Oh shit!'
Stef screamed the last two words as she disappeared from Smith's sight.
* * *
A drunk driver had swerved into oncoming traffic, Stevie had tried to dodge him but had gone off the bridge. The car was halfway down to the river already. All the teens were screaming.
Stef morphed into Stevie, there was nothing she could do for the others, she didn't have time to think. She opened the door and threw herself free of the car.
The car fell faster than her and she required a barge to appear below them to catch the car but it had too much gravity behind it and exploded on impact.
Stef flew away from the explosion toward the land. For the first time she was glad she spent so much time in the gym suspended in mid air. She landed on the ground as soon as she had touched down Smith appeared.
'Stef - where is she?'
'Safe and sound.'
'Let me see her.' Stef nodded and morphed from Stevie and into a street person a block away. Stevie looked around, not quite sure of what had happened.
'Dad?' she said seeing her father, her bottom lip trembling. 'What.?' she was at a loss for words. Smith just opened his arms, she stepped forward and hugged him.
'I thought I was going to die.'
'Don't ever do that to me again. I almost lost you. I never want to loose you Stevie.'
'I promise,' she said as she started to sob.
Stef looked down to them and stopped walking, it wasn't her place to intrude. As she turned to leave she saw Smith look up. He mouthed the words 'thank you.'
Stef nodded and pointed to the ground beside her, a car appeared. She smiled and left.
* * *
'What did you tell her?' Stef asked when Stevie finally fell asleep.
'The truth. By some miracle she was thrown free of the car and into the water.'
'Did she accept it?'
'She isn't thinking clearly enough to question it. Should we delete this memory?'
'Loss is a part of life, let her keep the memory.'
'Thank you Stef. You saved her.'
'You already thanked me.'
'I don't know what I would have done.'
'If she had died and you weren't able to hand in your report in its entirety because your experiment was terminated early?' Stef said pointedly, the agents were permitted to act a little more human around their experiments and their experiments only. Stef didn't want Smith to say something that would come back to haunt him later.
'Exactly Mimosa. Exactly.' He said as he removed his ear piece.
'Keep your guard up. Always keep your guard up. Isn't that what you said to me?'
'Yes, I did. Thank you for saving my daughter.'
'I wish I could have done something for her friends. Besides, she's my niece, I have to look after her.'
*****
A few days later Stevie was walking home from school, she had missed her bus while working out plans with her friend Tanya about staying over on Friday night.
She walked down a busy street listening to her Walkman. Only paying attention to the music she didn't notice the man in black until she had walked into him.
'Oh sorry - excuse me,' she said to the man.
'Oh it's ok,' Neo said.
The End.