Okay. Now I'm getting hokey and out of character. Well, I do think that Trinity would want to protect Neo. And I do think that they'd be all over each other. I mean. Neo's very attractive. And Trinity. Well. So, let me know what you think. It would make me happy. And as I have three major papers, two presentations, and an oral report due in the next three weeks, I need some happiness.

If this sucks, it's because it's 4:11 am here, and I'm tired.

Xixie (aka: She who should be home and in bed snuggling with the cat)

The Deviance docked with the Nebuchadnezzar late the next evening. The Captain, Fencer, a Zion born man, and a good friend of Morpheus' entered first. The two embraced. "You invited us. You better have some food ready."

Morpheus laughed. "It's very good to see you again, old friend."

Fencer nodded, gripping both Morpheus' arms. "I am glad to see you alive." He glanced around. "You seem to have the place in remarkable order, considering."

Morpheus acknowledged the rebuild with a nod. "We would have wished to spend our time elsewhere, but we make do."

Fencer gazed at his friend respectfully. "E5elyn tells me that you have a new crew member. She wouldn't say much. Just that I would like to meet him."

"This is probably more true than she realizes."

Fencer waited for further explanation, but when realizing none were forthcoming, signaled his crew to come aboard.

Trinity, Tank, and Neo stood behind Morpheus waiting for the visitors. E5elyn and Dust entered first, smiling at Trinity and then Neo. Then came the youngest member of their crew, Etrusca, a tiny black hair girl. Finally, a tall man with brown hair entered. His eyes immediately landed on Trinity, who nodded in recognition.

Morpheus moved over to his officers. Gesturing towards Neo, "This is our last requisition. Neo. And this is Fencer, E5elyn and Dust you know. The girl is Etrusca and this is Pusher."

Neo nodded hello.

"I believe" continued Morpheus, "that we should take this into the mess. We can all sit down and I'll explain."

As the entire group moved off to the kitchen area, E5elyn made her way over to Trinity. "I didn't tell him about Neo. He doesn't know."

"We've not been together for years now. I don't think he's going to have any issues."

E5elyn patted Trinity's back and moved away but didn't agree.

In the back of the mess hall was a large sitting area, replete with uncomfortable sofa-esque things. The nine sat down, and Morpheus began his story.

"I suppose you have all noted Neo's advanced age. At least for initial unplugging." The group nodded. It had, indeed, been most everyone's first thought.

"The reason I unplugged Neo so late was because I believed him to be the One."

At this everyone stared at Morpheus and then Neo. Uncomfortable with the scrutiny, Neo looked to Trinity. She smiled and looked back at Morpheus.

"In an effort to protect him from Agents, I was captured."

This elicited a response from everyone from the Deviance. "What?" "By agents?" "How are you not dead?"

"This was during Cypher's. . . last contact with the agents. Tank was able to stop him and pull Trinity and Neo out. They, in turn, reentered the Matrix, attacked the building where the Agents were holding me. They rescued me before the Agents could retrieve Zion's codes. Trinity and I were able to get to a hard line. Neo was unable to leave. He was attacked by an Agent."

Trinity did not like to relive this part of the story. The deaths of her friends, Cypher's deception, and Morpheus' capture were bad enough. She did not like to think about how close she had come to losing Neo.

Neo noticed Trinity's mood change and took her hand, pulling it into his lap. They locked eyes and Trinity shifted slightly closer to Neo. Finally, they turned their attention back to Morpheus.

The crew of the Deviance had not missed the interaction, however. While Dust and E5elyn were unsurprised, Fencer was shocked. This was unexpected, to say the least. He looked over to Pusher. The hacker had definitely noticed. He seemed completely relaxed, but those who knew him well, Fencer, Dust, E5elyn, and Trinity, had she cared to look, knew that he was upset by the development.

He and Trinity had a tempestuous relationship seven years before. They had been young, she had risen through the ranks faster than him. Pusher had once worked on the Neb. When it became obvious that he was in love with her, Trinity had tried to end it. Pusher had ultimately been transferred to another ship. Trinity had told him that she could never love anyone. That the Oracle had told her and it was true. She had obviously lied.

"Neo was shot by Agent Smith."

Once again the group stared at him. "He's not exactly dead, Morpheus."

"Not anymore, Fencer. He died. Trinity called him back. He stopped a barrage of bullets midair and killed an Agent. Neo is the One."

The group looked over at Neo in shock. To his credit, Neo merely tightened his grip on Trinity's hand and stared back blank faced.

Pusher was the one to speak. "That's ludicrous. Morpheus, I know that you've been on this search for the One forever. But Trinity, you never believed all that nonsense. What's going on?"

Trinity spoke. "He's the One, Pusher. The One. And you're here to help protect him."

"If he's the One, why does he need protection? Shouldn't he be protecting us?"

Trinity didn't seem surprised at Pusher's hostility. "He needs protection because the Agents are afraid of him. They're designing something new, a new Agent, to kill Neo. We need to know what that is, so we can prevent that. Neo can't exactly go back in a start looking around. It's far too dangerous."

"So you want me to do it?"

"It's your specialty. Yes. I want you to find out what they're up to and how we can stop them."

"I want a demonstration."

Trinity looked confused. "A what?"

"I want him to prove that he's the One."

Trinity glared at Pusher for half a second, then turned her attention to Morpheus. "He wants a demonstration."

Forty minutes later, Trinity pulled Neo out of the Construct and looked over to Pusher.

The entire crew of the Deviance was speechless. The first to speak was Etrusca. "That was wicked great. How'd you do that?"

Neo smiled. She reminded him of Mouse. "I just do it. I don't see the avatars in the Matrix; I don't see the representations; I see the code. And I can change it."

Neo had left no doubt as to his identity. Even Pusher had to admit that the strength, knowledge, and abilities of this guy were preternatural. He didn't have to like the fact that Neo was obviously very close to Trinity, but he did have to help. There was always a shot that Trinity and Neo were just really close friends. That she hadn't lied all those years ago. That she didn't love the bastard.

"What do you want me to do?"

"We don't want to tell Zion about Neo yet. We want him to train more before we throw him into the middle of a war. I want you to transfer to the Neb for a while. You'll work specifically on finding out about this new Agent and what the Machines know about Neo."

Pusher nodded and looked at Fencer. "It's okay with me. Pusher?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. It's settled then. You can move your things into . . . Mouse's old room."

Everyone involved looked upset. It was obvious that Pusher didn't want to use the room of one of his dead comrades. No one could blame him.

Trinity spoke. "He can stay in Neo's room. He doesn't use it anyway. We'll just get his stuff and put it in our room."

Neo, who was standing beside her, wrapped an arm around her waist. "Yeah. It's no problem."

E5elyn, who knew exactly the thought processes of her friends, watched Pusher's face for a reaction. It had finally clicked into place. Neo and Trinity were just that, Neo and Trinity. Everyone of the Neb seemed at peace with it. Morpheus had never liked shipboard romances. He had preached against them, and ultimately it had been his viewpoint that shipped Pusher off to the Deviance. Apoc and Switch had had a relationship, but it was far more complicated than Pusher's and Trinity's. They would have ceased to function on their own. Maybe it was the same way with Trinity and Neo. Maybe.

As it was very difficult to find other people with whom to interact, the Deviance remained docked with the Neb for the next day. They helped the Neb's crew with some repairs that required more than four hands. Pusher watched Trinity, in the mean time. He watched her laugh when Neo spoke to her quietly. He watched her walk over and initiate a hug, or caress. Things that she never did with him. Things that he thought she was incapable of.

Like Morpheus and Tank before him, the first time he heard Neo call Trinity "baby" he expected a bloodbath. Instead he saw her put down the blowtorch that by all rights should have been barbecuing Neo's face and smile before pulling him to her for a chaste kiss. Standing behind the shelf of engine parts he watched as Neo ran his hands through her hair and hugged her again.

All this pulled at his heart. He had been in love with Trinity for years. And, yes, he was mad. Mad that she had lied. Mad that she had slept with him every time she had met up with him for the last seven years. Mad that she would send him back to his quarters, or go to hers, afterwards, saying the beds were too small. Mad that she didn't even seem to recall that now that she had Neo.

But he was also happy for her. He couldn't hate her. And he'd find out about this new Agent, not for Neo, but for her.