AN: Hiya everyone out there still reading this mess of a story! I hope you're all enjoying the ride through The Matrix and the misadventures of a young woman with a mythological name and her former baseball playing friend. I promise to get back to the main movie storyline sooner rather than later. This little…sidetrack…is there just because I figure that, in the movie, the Nebuchadnezzar needed a couple of repair days before the final scene. That's just my assumption though and I could be totally wrong about it. Anyway, the next few chapters are sort of uncharted water for me. I'm not entirely comfortable writing things like this for some strange reason (maybe I read too many sci-fi novels or something) so please feel free to let me know how I'm doing with this. I'm open to any opinions and criticisms, good, bad, or indifferent. Just let me know how I'm doing, alright? To anyone still reading this, you're still awesome and I still thank you for taking the time to read this. To anyone who's left a review, you still rock like a box of socks!
Disclaimer: I own nothing except the characters I made up and their Real World alter egos. I don't own The Matrix, The Animatrix, or any of that cool stuff. I'm broke and I just finished graduate school for my Master's Degree. All I own are my Pointe shoes.
"Everything's gonna be all right.
Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye.
Everything's gonna be all right.
Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye…." (From "Lullaby" by Sean Mullins)
"And…yeah…this is my room," Wheeler mumbled, opening a nondescript door to show Pixie a room only slightly smaller than the one she use to call home on the Nebuchadnezzar. "Not much of a place but this is home for me on here."
Pixie, still hobbled by her back despite the fact she'd been given a very mild painkiller, stuck her head in the room and smiled a bit. The space was plain, utilitarian and metallic, just like her own space on the Nebuchadnezzar had been. There wasn't a lot in the way of obvious personal effects in the small space but Pixie did spy what looked to be a worn spheroid that could have been a Zion made baseball tucked into a mesh net against one of the walls.
That only made her smile grow a bit more. Leave it to Wheeler--- The former pitcher that he was ---to have a baseball with him. Pixie remembered playing catch with Wheeler once before, the day after they decided to make things…official…as it were and become a dating couple. Though the two of them preferred calling themselves "better than best friends" instead of an actual couple. It was just more comfortable for them to use that phrase instead.
"It's nice," Pixie said, speaking more to the floor than to Wheeler. "Cozy."
Wheeler laughed and, nervously, rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. He was almost sure he was as embarrassed as Pixie was about this whole thing. He figured that he was just doing the nice thing by asking if she wanted to borrow his room but it had dawned on him during the course of his day that there would be some point in time where they would wind up together in the same room. He wasn't going to be able to work all night, even with three ships and Hawk to watch.
Actually, and according to Depa, he wasn't going to be working that night at all. After the fight with Hawk and the fact he'd put in a full day's work--- A day's work that didn't include having to take another shift babysitting Hawk ---had made Mace decide to spare the boy late night shifts. He needed his rest in order to help with the major repair work that was to start the next day and, besides, he could just keep an eye on one of Barriss's patients for her while he was at it.
That was definitely not what Wheeler planned when he brought up the idea of sharing his room with Pixie. Still, he didn't want to be mean and go back on what he said. The two of them would just have to figure something out.
"I'll take the floor," Wheeler stated, after a time. "And you can have my bed. Can you, maybe, just thrown me down one of those blankets and a pillow?"Pixie furrowed her forehead, giving Wheeler a very confused look and sitting on the edge of his bed. Not that she was confused about what he was asking for. Someone, maybe Luminari or Barriss, had left the pair extra bedding that way it wouldn't be two people fighting over one thin blanket and one worn pillow. It made sense, actually, but Pixie had to wonder just how they knew about the fact she and Wheeler were going to be roommates for the rest of the night.
As it was, Pixie, herself, had only just found out that little fact. The young woman wasn't sure if she was upset or not by her knew sleeping arrangements. She'd been flattered and a little embarrassed by the fact Wheeler had offered her his room for the night. Maybe a little appreciative too. The whole situation she'd found herself in seemed just a bit too huge for her. Something simple like her better than best friend offering her his room was a welcome comfort. It was a little thing that made her feel less lost in the shuffle of what had taken place over the past few days…or was it weeks, Pixie wasn't sure. "You can't sleep on the floor, Wheeler," she protested. "You'll freeze to death down there and I can tell you for a fact that freezing to death is no fun!"
Sitting up proving to be difficult for her given the state of her back, Pixie had shucked off her boots and was lying on her stomach on Wheeler's bed. She hoped he didn't mind her doing that but, even with the painkillers, her back was aching her. She was trying to ignore it as best she could but, every so often, she'd get a twinge from a muscle that was trying to work despite the severe bruising. She was just a bit more comfortable lying down instead of sitting up. It took less effort on her part to lie down instead of sit up. Sitting up was starting to require a conscious effort.
"Where am I going to sleep, Pix?" Wheeler wanted to know, sitting in a catcher's crouch against the far wall of his room. "One night isn't going to hurt me. You were on that ship several days; at least that's what Barriss figured."
"You take the bed, it's yours anyway. I'll take the floor," Pixie answered, clambering off the bunk and situating herself on the floor. "I don't want to put you out or anything, Wheeler. This is your room on your ship."
Though she knew it was impossible, the cold floor seemed to sense that something warmer than it had decided to have a seat on it. It sent little tendrils of cold up Pixie's legs, chilling her all the way to the bone. The cold crawled up Pixie's skin, leaving trails of goose bumps as it moved from her legs to spread out and across the rest of her body. Despite all the clothing she was wearing, Pixie found herself starting to shiver from the chill that was seeping up through the floor.
"I'm not letting you sleep on the floor. The idea was for you not to be stuck sleeping on something cold," Wheeler stated, physically lifting Pixie from the ground and placing her back on his bed. "Besides, Barriss said you're getting over exposure so I figure that it's probably not a good idea for you to get colder. It might make you sick or something."
Straightening up, the former pitcher added, "Aren't you medics supposed to know things like that?"
"But it's your bed," Pixie protested. "I don't want you to have to be all displaced and uncomfortable. Plus the floor is cold and I don't think you want to get sick either. I know you're going to say that one night isn't going to hurt you but you never know. I don't think Barriss or Luminari will be happy with another patient on their hands."
Wheeler got quiet for a moment, giving Pixie a rather strange look. Thinking he wanted to sit down, she scooted backwards on his bed, freeing up a space for him to sit. Even though there was a space for him to sit, Wheeler still didn't move. He just stood before Pixie, hands on his hips and a faraway look in his eyes. He seemed to be thinking about something but what that something was, Pixie couldn't say.
Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Wheeler sat down on the bed, ruffling Pixie's hair as he did so. She laughed, shaking her head in order to get her hair to fall back into its more "natural" position. Her bangs hung nearly over her eyes--- Pixie knew she was in dire need of a haircut and a good scrubbing of her hair but that was a luxury that she couldn't afford. When they got back to Zion, she could deal with her hair. ---but the rest of her waist length hair fell around her shoulders and down her back. The young woman was well aware of the fact that her hair wasn't exactly standard for someone in her position but she couldn't see herself without it.
Her hair was just part of how she saw herself. When she'd had no hair, just after she'd been freed from the Matrix, Pixie had felt almost naked. There was just something not right about not having her hair brushing against her neck and shoulders. Once it had started growing, she'd kept it growing until it returned to the length it had been in the Matrix. Having waist length hair was far from practical, especially given her job, but she just couldn't see herself without it.
Thinking for a long while--- or what seemed like a long while to Pixie anyway, Wheeler, with a sigh and an embarrassed expression on his face, proposed, "Since you don't want me to sleep on the floor and I don't want you sleeping on the floor, the only suggestion I have is one I don't think you're going to like."
Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Wheeler said, "The two of us are could always share the bed. That way neither of us has to sleep on the floor."
It took a few moments for Wheeler's words to fully sink into her addled and tired brain. She figured that she should have been offended by Wheeler's suggestion, like some young women should have been. Instead, Pixie found that she couldn't bring herself to be offended by Wheeler's innocent sounding suggestion.
For some reason, a warm fluttery feeling was spreading over Pixie, starting someplace near the pit of her stomach. She felt oddly nervous, a feeling akin to the one she had before entering the Matrix, but there was no reason for the feeling now. There wasn't anything dangerous about to happen; her life wasn't at risk at the moment nor was it going to be at risk so long as someone was on watch.
The young woman was well aware of the fact she was just getting some rest while someone watched her back and shared a bed with her. That was no reason to be nervous. It wasn't like Wheeler was a bad person or anything like that. It wasn't as if he was someone like Hawk, who couldn't be trusted with anything at all. Wheeler was different, somehow and in some way.
"But how are we going to do that?" Pixie wanted to know, a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"As I see it," Wheeler replied, his voice matching her own. "We can sleep back to back or head to feet. Whatever makes you more comfortable about this whole thing."
Pixie knew how she felt about Wheeler and Wheeler knew how he felt about the young woman he was sharing a room with. The logical part of Pixie's mind knew that Wheeler was doing this for her benefit. He was trying to make her feel comfortable so that she'd do what he knew was good for her.
There were logical reasons for Wheeler making such a surprising suggestion. Sleeping on the floor was not what was good for her and Pixie knew that fact. If anything, it would just make her condition worse between the cold and the fact the floor was far from comfortable. Maybe there was also the fact Wheeler wanted to protect her or something like that but Pixie wasn't sure. She knew, back before the pair had become an "official couple," Wheeler had always wanted to protect her. Pixie wasn't entirely sure that still held true now.
The other, less rational, part of her had slipped its mental muzzle off again. It was suggesting Wheeler had ulterior motives to his suggestion. There were other reasons why he was suggesting they share his bed for the night. Ones that had nothing to do with keeping her warm and safe for the rest of the night.
"He's not Hawk," Pixie reminded herself. "He'd never even think of doing anything like that to me.
The young woman hoped that she was telling herself the truth and that placing her trust in Wheeler was the right thing do. For some reason, Pixie was almost sure of the fact he wasn't the type to think like Hawk. Wheeler had far more respect for her than Pixie thought she deserved. She wasn't entirely sure why he held her in such high regard since she was just herself. Nothing more and nothing less.
Pixie was never one who understood the whole trusting another individual thing. The way she'd been raised, the location she'd done most of her growing up in the Matrix in, wasn't exactly the breeding ground for learning how to trust others.
Hawk was a perfect example of that. She'd trusted Hawk as something like a friend--- Pixie use to refer to him as an "ally" instead of a "friend" ---and wound up having that trust broken in more ways than she could ever imagine. With a mental smile, Pixie decided that Hawk had not only broken her trust more than once but had tried to break her back as well. There was just something extremely not amusing about that fact. Just sadly ironic, if anything, about that fact.
One of the many things Pixie had learned during her time in the Real World was that there were people she could trust. Not everyone was like Hawk or the people she'd lived with in the Matrix. There were a rare people she did trust and who had not broken that confidence. First and foremost in her mind was her adopted family--- Rain, Torrent, and, of course, Eli ---as people she'd trusted and had been found worth of that trust. Her few friends and most ofthe crew she worked with had begun to fit into that category as well.
It was almost a given that Pixie trusted Wheeler as a friend. He was one of her best friends in Zion, as a matter of fact. As friends, they had a strange sort of comfort between them. To trust him any further and as anything more than her better than best friend would take more practice.
Practice she didn't exactly have time for now. Pixie was still trying to get over the idea of the two of them sharing a room at the moment.
Unable to come up with a good enough answer to his question, Pixie shrugged, an awkward looking action given the fact she'd returned to lying on her stomach. It seemed to Wheeler that she wanted to leave the decision up to him since it was his bed they were sharing. That fact--- the fact she put that sort of trust in him ---made Wheeler both embarrassed and a little uncomfortable. He wasn't exactly use to being implicitly trusted like that.
"Back to back it is," Wheeler decided, speaking quickly. "Its how my brother and I use to sleep when we were kids and we went to our grandparents farm and had to share one room."
Looking half confused and half amused, Wheeler paused and rethought about what he'd said. Something about it, to him anyway, wasn't making any sense.
"It is weird when you think about it," Pixie commented with a nervouslaugh. "Even if it wasn't real, it's what you think happened and you still think it's real. Is that what you're thinking?"
Wheeler nodded and pointed out, "I keep trying to believe that my whole past was false but it's hard sometimes. I still find myself thinking about my brother and my parents, even if they weren't the greatest parents in the world now that I think about it."
Pixie gave Wheeler a small smile and said, "I wish I could say something to help you out there but I can't really. The best I can say is that sometimes I find it hard to forget about my past too. It's just part of me, I guess, real or not."
Returning her smile, Wheeler stated, "I guess we should probably get to bed. I don't want you to up too late. Barriss will have my head if I don't let you get some sleep."
Walking out of the room as best she could, Pixie went to get herself ready for bed. Not that she had much of a bedtime routine but she was glad for the chance to step out of Wheeler's room and get her thoughts in order. Pixie felt her mind, despite being drenched in painkillers, racing a mile a minute as she tried to make sense of the situation she'd found herself in.
Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Pixie decided that the pair of them could just muddle through their new situation. They'd just figure something and, besides, according to what she'd been told, once you got to sleep it didn't matter where, when, or with whom you were sleeping. Your mind was resting so you just didn't know.
"Um..." Wheeler started as Pixie wandered back into the room with her boots in her hand and an embarrassed look on her face, "do you want the outside or the inside of the bed?"
While Pixie had slipped out to do whatever girls did before they went to sleep, Wheeler found himself wondering just what he was going to do about the mess he'd found himself in.There was absolutely no question on how he felt about Pixie and he hoped he had the where with all to keep himself in check right now. He didn't need his body doing something stupid and making both of them--- him and Pixie ---even more embarrassed.
"Outside," Pixie answered, standing her boots next to Wheeler's, "I sleep on the outside of my bunk on my ship."
"So I guess this is good night then," Wheeler commented, crawling into the small bed and switching the pillows so that Pixie was sleeping on the outside of the bed and he was sleeping against the wall.
Not that Wheeler minded sleeping up against the wall. That was where he normally slept anyway despite the fact the walls on the Shatterpoint were cold. It was just something he'd always done from back when he was younger and still stuck in the Matrix.
"I guess it is," Pixie mumbled, sighing deeply.
Pixie wormed her way into Wheeler's bed, frowning every time she wound up accidently lying on her bruised back. She was just glad she didn't normally sleep on her back since that would have made things that much harder. Neither Pixie nor Wheeler, though, seemed interested in actually going to sleep. Wheeler lay on his back, staring at the plain metal ceiling of his room, while Pixie lay on her side, eyes down on the rough blanket she was covered with.
Rolling onto his side, Wheeler kissed Pixie on the forehead and said, "Sleep tight, Pix. If you need anything, I'm right next to you, alright?"
Pixie would have nodded her head if not for the fact it was on the pillow so she settled for answering with, "Alright. Sweet dreams Wheeler."
"You too, Pix, you too," he mumbled as he rolled onto his side to face the wall and try and get some rest.