A/N: This story is set immediately after the first movie, following Neo's defeat of the agents inside the Matrix. This story explores what might have happened to Neo in the real world as a result of his injuries in the Matrix, and explores a little of Trinity and Neo's relationship.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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Trinity used her body to shield Neo's prone form when the EMP blew. As the Neb went dark, she could only pray that he had made it out of the Matrix in time.

Neo was in agony as he regained consciousness on the Neb. It was unlike any pain he had ever felt, leagues beyond the aftermath of even the most brutal training simulators. It felt as though someone had crushed his entire torso. Nearly fainting, he gasped, "Oh... shit..." Clenching his jaw and swallowing hard against the pain, he dug his nails into the arms of the jack-in chair, steadied his ragged breathing, and willed himself to focus on the face hovering over him. It was Trinity, her eyes full of concern. "Trin..." he breathed, "I thought I'd never see you again."

Trinity could clearly see that Neo was in a significant amount of pain. She smiled weakly, leaning in to place a small kiss on his lips. His body responded with more strength than he felt he had. Reaching up and gently placing a hand on her delicate neck, he pulled her into a deep, grateful kiss. God, she tastes good, thought Neo, his heart began to race as the kiss intensified, and the pain from his injuries was muted by endorphins. Trinity was similarly elated, reveling in the sensation of his warm, soft lips against her own, the feel of his hands on her body, the yearning intensity of his mouth as it captured her own. She came crashing back to earth when she tasted blood.

"God, Neo... you're bleeding..." she muttered, breaking their kiss. She caressed his ashen cheek with the back of her hand. His skin was clammy. "I'll be fine, Trin. Don't--" a low, guttural moan escaped his lips as he felt his chest constrict painfully. He covered his mouth as he was overcome by a fit of coughing. His battered body trembled from the effort of it. When the spell had ended, his eyes were moist and the back of his shirt sleeve was spattered with blood, "...fuck!" he spat, refusing to meet Trinity's eyes. This was the last thing they needed right now.

"Your mind makes it real," Morpheous's words echoed in Neo's head as he struggled to come to terms with reality.

No one had ever survived a Matrix death. Neo had taken a clip of bullets to the chest and abdomen. He was alive-- for now-- but what injuries had he sustained in the real world? Were they life-threatening? Fear seized Trinity's heart, they had to get him to Zion.

"Morpheus!" Trinity shouted to their captain, who was attending to Tank's wounds, "Neo's hurt, I'm taking him to med bay." She unbuckled his restraints and helped him struggle to his feet. He let out a stream of curses, and his step faltered, "I can't...I can't...shit this hurts, Trin! Oh god..." he panted, sagging in her arms.

Trinity was having none of it, she grabbed his face and turned it towards her, "Look at me, Neo!" his eyes were hazy and full of pain. Beads of sweat now covered his brow, Trinity used her own sleeve to wipe it away, "I know," she murmured, "I know it hurts, Neo. Here, lean on me." she said gently.

Draping his arm over her shoulder, Trinity hoisted as much of his weight as she could manage, Neo gritted his teeth to keep from crying out as new waves of agony tore through him with each step. Slowly, they made their way to the ships med bay.

She helped him onto the examination table, a groan escaped his lips as he laid back onto the cold metal surface, his eyes never leaving Trinity. By now, an alarming amount of blood from Neo's wounds had seeped through the front of his shirt. Neo felt the wetness of the shirt where it clung to his body, and reached down to touch it. Bringing his hand up to his face, he saw that his fingers were covered in blood.

His breath caught in his throat and his eyes rolled back, the room was spinning. Trinity grasped his hand firmly and looked into his eyes, "Stay with me, Neo." she implored, "I'll be right back." He nodded vaguely, "Ok, Trin," he muttered. She squeezed his hand once more and went to raid the med bay supply closet. She returned minutes later with scissors, bandages, antiseptic solution, and pain medication that would normally be used to alleviate pain from a headache.

The Neb didn't stock heavy duty pain killers. The strongest pain killers are opiate based, and derived from certain species plants. Zion has large hydroponic facilities that provide its residents with essential plant products, primarily algae-- because it is cheap and easy to grow, harvest and process. Due to the rarity of suitable agriculture space in Zion, and the energy required to cultivate plants below ground, only a small percentage of hydroponic facilities bother cultivating plants with opioid properties, making opiate based drugs prohibitively expensive.

Given that the nature of hovercraft crews' work was in the virtual world, and serious injury inside usually meant an unconscious death in the real world, the Zion Council did not feel that it was necessary or appropriate to provide its defense forces with these expensive pain killers.

Trinity silently cursed the Council's spendthrift mentality under her breath, and gave Neo as much as he could take of the pain killer she had found in the supply closet. Neo's body relaxed somewhat as the medication took the edge off of his pain.

Trinity cut Neo's shirt free using scissors, revealing a severely bruised torso covered in deep lacerations. She sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of his injuries, and marveled that he had managed to remain conscious during the walk from his jack-in chair to med bay. He was looking at her now, his eyes half-lidded, "Trin..." he murmured. "Hmm?" she responded, leaning in to hear him better, "Did you mean it?" Trinity paused, puzzled, "Did I mean what?" his eyes closed, seconds of silence passed, "Neo?" he had slipped out of consciousness.

He was very likely suffering from internal bleeding and, considering the blood he was coughing up, his lungs had been damaged. Her heart sank. There was nothing they could do for him on the Neb, other than bandage his wounds and try to keep him comfortable. If Neo's injuries were severe enough, there was a good chance he would die before they reached Zion.