AN: Hi everyone! I just came back from the baseball game (The New York Mets playing against the New York Yankees in part one of the Subway Series) and I'm pretty excited. My New York Mets beat the rival New York Yankees. The game was a lot of fun and it took my mind off of the fact that I have finals this week. Finals always make me nervous for some odd reason. I also saw The DaVinci Code Friday night after Girl Scouts. The movie was very good but, like in most cases, the book was better! I will, however, give Tom Hanks credit for playing a good Robert Langdon in the movie. I had my doubts but he did a really good job. Anyway, back to the story! Thanks for the reviews everyone, especially on that chapter. It was really hard to write because I'm not much for writing stories with romantic undertones. This whole thing sort of happened by accident! Please keep the reviews coming though! They're always appreciated!

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 in graduate school studying biology. All I own are my Pointe shoes.

"There isn't anything
I wouldn't do for you
We stick together, we can see it through
Cause you've got a friend in me" (From "You've Got a Friend in Me" by Randy Newman)

Pixie wasn't exactly sure how long she and Wheeler remained at the Gathering but she knew it had to be quite a while. Of course, they'd only had one or two dances after the first.

The rest of the time they spent looking for their friends. The plan had been, according to Wheeler who had heard it from Aisling, that they bunch of them were going to leave together since they'd all come together.

There was just one small hitch in Aisling's plan, as far as Pixie could see.

They'd lost their friends someplace in the vast crowd, even as it began to dissipate. It almost looked as if no one had left even though Pixie could plainly see people leaving the Gathering and heading home. There were many who were leaving because they had places to be later on in the day- Since it was well past midnight- but others were leaving because they had other things planned. She guessed

It was just the two of them, together but alone, to walk back to their respect homes. Neither of them wanted to say anything to the other for some strange reason. Stranger still was the fact, they two of them were always able to talk freely with each other. Even for someone who was as shy as Pixie was, talking to Wheeler was something she found surprisingly easy. This fact she chalked up to their past in the Matrix.

Now an uncomfortable silence hung between them. Something awkward, it seemed, had happened and neither one of them knew how to approach it. Instead, they took the route of discretion being the better part of valor. Except, in this case, it was making it hard to walk home together.

There was just one little issue with the whole thing. It seemed they seemed to be taking the long way home.

Pixie never realized just how long the route from the Temple to her home was. For her it was just a quick walk at the longest. Unless they were taking the scenic rout, trying to avoid the vast crowds that spilled from the Temple and onto the dimly lit Zion streets.

People seemed to still show an interest in making connections or something to that effect because every one appeared to be walking away from the Gathering with, at least, one other person. No one was alone for the time being.

"You know, you don't have to walk me back," Pixie stated, trying not to sound rude and making sure to avoid anything that remotely resembled eye contact.

The young girl didn't exactly relish the odd quiet that had appeared between her and her friend. It was frightening her and forcing her mind to keep replaying what had taken place in the Temple. Something had happened there and she didn't know what it was. Whatever it was, Pixie decided, had frightened her enough. That said, she didn't want to dwell on it.

Wheeler, apparently, found humor in her comment. He gave a slight laugh and shook his head. He wasn't laughing at Pixie, by any means. It was just that the answer was rather obvious to him. It was part of how he'd been raised back in Arcadia, Texas.

"It's what us gentlemen do. We walk the lady to her door and see that she gets inside safely. Besides, I don't like the idea of letting you walk home by yourself. There are too many people like that guy from before- The one from the bar- out tonight. I'd be angry with myself if I didn't make sure you got back safely," Wheeler explained, in a matter of fact tone.

Though it had been fake, like a video game, every lesson he had learned from his very much Southern "parents" and "grandparents" had stuck with Wheeler. He was a hacker, no doubt about that, but he's been groomed as the perfect gentleman too. There were just certain things his mother and grandmother had insisted he know, like how to treat a lady and show her respect.

Sort of like the pitching lessons his father had given him, except for the fact what he learned from his mother and grandmother had next to nothing to do with baseball. The pitching lessons had been a bit more fun when Wheeler first started with them but, towards the end, just before he took the red pill, they were no longer enjoyable either. Especially once his father started suggesting he take "supplements" in order to get more speed on his fastball.

Pixie gave a nervous giggle, something she found she only did in front of Wheeler. She hadn't even known she knew how to giggle like a schoolgirl before meeting him. Usually, she just quietly laughed at things or she'd just give a very sheepish looking smile. Giggling was something she, normally, did.

"Oh….thank you, I guess," Pixie answered, feeling her face turn red, "I didn't think of that."

"It's not a problem, Pix," Wheeler stated with a laugh of his own, "It's really nothing. I don't mind walking you back at all."

He, like Pixie, was still trying to rationalize what had just happened. It was proving to be quite difficult for the scruffy haired male to figure out what exactly he'd felt when he caught Pixie earlier on in the evening. It wasn't something Wheeler thought he'd felt before, at least consciously anyway. Maybe it was an unconscious thing or something like that.

Either way, Wheeler was torn. Part of him wished those feelings would have just stayed in his unconscious mind but another part of him was almost glad these feelings had appeared. Perhaps they were a clue meant to unlock something else in his heart or mind. Wheeler just wished that, if it was the latter, things made a bit more sense and didn't leave awkward silences between him and his best friend.

The young pair walked for what seemed like an eternity, moving along the metal streets of Zion. The city was growing quiet as people found their homes and turned in for the night. Here and there, pockets of rowdy people stood. Some were belting out versions of Matrix songs that left much to be desired. Others loudly argued with each other in a drunken sort of way.

"This is your room, right?" Wheeler asked, breaking yet another uncomfortable silence that had cropped up between him and Pixie.

Pixie's attention- Attention that had been wandering just to keep her mind off of the person walking with her- snapped back into the moment. She looked at the door, alike in every way to the others on her level and every other level in Zion, and knew instantly it was hers. The pattern of scratches and rust was something she learned to use to help in distinguish her door from the rest.

"Yeah, this is it. I should get going. I have an early call time tomorrow," she babbled, leaning her back against the red door.

It seemed almost a lifetime ago that she'd been trying to hide behind the door, begging Aisling and the others just to leave her here and not force her to go to the Gathering with them. There was something different now, something other than the fact Pixie knew she was heading out into the unknown a bit later in the morning. She didn't know what that difference was, though, and she was trying not to consider it.

Now that the night was winding to a close, thoughts of where she would be later were in her head too. Thoughts that involved her heading into situations that were deadly and dangerous to say the least.

"You've been real quiet tonight, Pix. Quieter than I've seen you since Hawk pulled that stunt on you. What's wrong? You didn't have fun?" Wheeler questioned, sounding concerned.

"No, I had fun," she answered, speaking slowly, "it's just that I'd never done anything like that before. Never had the opportunity. I wasn't able to in the Matrix."

"If it makes you feel any better, neither have I. I guess we all have our firsts here," Wheeler stated with an absent minded shrug, "I had a good time, though…even if I didn't know how to dance.

Pixie turned to enter her small home, beat a hasty retreat and trying to find sleep. It would do her no good to be tired the next morning when she went down to the docks to find out what ship she had been assigned. If there was even a ship and this whole thing wasn't just a huge joke someone had decided to play on her.

A though occurred to her, forcing her to turn back to Wheeler. She hadn't said "good night" to him nor had she thanked him for walking her back. Very rude indeed and Pixie was one who never liked to be rude. She wanted to Wheeler to know that she appreciated the dance and the fact he'd been so very nice to her.

Opening her mouth to say what she felt she had to say, Pixie found that an odd sort of smile was on Wheeler's face. It was half nervous, half mischievous...all strange. It was sort of like the smile Aisling and the rest of their friends dubbed the "Pixie" smile. A smile that was more mischief than anything else.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Wheeler took one of Pixie's hands and pressed something into her palm. Using his hands, he closed her fist around whatever he had just placed in her palm.

Pixie had not a clue what was going on and the look she was giving Wheeler let him know that fact. Her head was cocked to one side while her expression was plainly curious.

"Don't think I forgot about your birthday," he said with a sly smile.

"It's not my Real World Birthday; it's just my Matrix birthday. I'm not even sure if that counts as an actual event because I was never really born," she stated, starting at her closed fist.

Wheeler just gave another shrug and responded, "The lady I use to live with said that a birthday is a birthday no matter what. She was the one who told me to make sure to get you something. Besides, this is a big deal birthday for you and you got me something for mine, remember?"

For his eighteenth birthday, Pixie had managed to get Wheeler an actual book- Rescued from the surface and brought to Zion- about baseball. It had been well mended and Rain had helped her find it. It had cost quite a bit but, thankfully, Rain had helped her haggle the price, down to something manageable for Pixie.

Pixie, at Wheeler words, opened her hand. In the center of her palm lay a metallic charm at the end of fine metal chain. The chain alone must have cost a fortune. A fortune, she knew, Wheeler didn't have. The charm hanging off of said chain was of a small, metallic fairy. The little wings on its back made it appear to fly in profile.

"Wheeler, you shouldn't have. Not at all," she stated, trying to hand him back the object.

He danced just out of her reach, avoiding her hands. His hands were in the pockets of his pants, where he'd been hiding that small item most of the night as he tried to work up the nerve to even give it to her.

"Natasa said that she knew how to make things like this protect people. Not sure I believe it but I figured since we're going out there tomorrow and all..." he said, tailing off as he lost the words he wanted to use.

Pixie nodded her head, clearly understanding what he was talking about. Tomorrow was a big day for all of them. A day that could be the beginning of the next adventure or the beginning of the end depending on what fate had in store.

"I get what you mean. I could use all the help I can get, going out there tomorrow but you really didn't have to," she stated, fumbling with the clasp on the chain.

"It was nothing, Pix, really. You're my friend. Besides you gave me that awesome book for my birthday," Wheeler countered.

"Thank you, then. I really appreciate it," Pixie said, sheepishly as she couldn't get the chain around her neck.

Wheeler took the item from her, opening its small clasp and helping Pixie to get it around her neck. Pixie, herself, was blushing a bright crimson as Wheeler helped her out.

"You know, maybe I can meet you here tomorrow and we can meet up with the others and walk down to the docks. It might be the last time we get to see each other alive," Wheeler broached, carefully.

"That's not true," Pixie countered, "this war's not going to take any of us. I'm sure of it. There's always going to be some reason for us to pull through this entire mess. We're all coming back here to see each other again."

Pixie was well aware of just how insane that sounded but it was what she believed in her heart. They were all going to be alright in the end. It might have been just a fool's hope but it was still enough to keep Pixie happy. She didn't want to have to imagine losing any of her friends. Not until that ugly truth was staring her in the face.

"Whatever you say, Pix. If you say we're all going to stay alive, we're going to do just that. At least, I'm going to make sure I try to," Wheeler stated, speaking as if he actually knew that for certain.

Pixie wasn't sure why that comment made her blush deepen. It just did and that seemed to be that.

She turned her eyes back down and mumbled, "So, here tomorrow bright and early?"

"Yeah. I'd better go. Early call time tomorrow like you," he mentioned.

"Yeah...so, see you tomorrow then," Pixie called turning and entering her own home.

Sleep was a long time coming for the young rebel. Thoughts of the present and of the future were taking turns playing in the open expanses of her mind. Everything was change so fast- too fast for her linking- and Pixie felt powerless to stop it. Certainly she knew things had to change but it still felt like things were just moving too quickly for her.

Pixie knew, when she awoke from her sleep that she was heading into a whole new world. A world she wasn't quite sure she was ready for but she knew she was going to give it her all. After all, that was the only way Pixie knew to do things. Give it everything she had until she could give no more.